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  • Moto2: COTA Awaits for Round Three

    Moto2: COTA Awaits for Round Three

    After two straight wins for Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40), the Moto2 World Championship heads back to the Americas for round three of the 2019 season, at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

    Unfortunately for Baldassarri, COTA has been one of his worst tracks in Moto2. He crashed in his first Moto2 outing at the Austin circuit in 2014; finished twenty-sixth and second-last in 2015; in 2016 he was second-last and twenty-third; he crashed again in 2017; and last year he took his best result in Texas, with a tenth place. This weekend could prove to be a big damage limitation job for the championship leader, but his form in the first two races would suggest he is up to that task.

    Alex Marquez, Moto2, Argenttine MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman/MarcVDS

    Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) has a last name with mixed connotations. Of course, there are benefits to being the younger brother of a seven-times motorcycle Grand Prix World Champion, but the name also brings with it a lot of expectation and pressure, the justification of which is subjective. Arguably, the Marquez name brings the most pressure in Texas, where older brother Marc has never been beaten, and won his first MotoGP race back in 2013. Alex Marquez looked the nailed on winner ahead of last year’s race, before tyre woes in the latter stages saw him finish second to eventual series winner, Francesco Bagnaia. Marquez currently sits sixth in the championship, twenty-five points behind double-winner Baldassarri, after going 7-3 in the first two rounds of the season. With Baldassarri seeming destined to struggle this weekend, the Grand Prix of the Americas could be the chance Marquez needs to announce himself as a championship contender.

    However, it will not just be Marquez who will be looking to break Baldassarri’s 100% record this weekend.

    Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) has been one of the surprise packages of 2019 so far, just missing out on his debut podium in Qatar, before finally achieving it last time out in Argentina. He looked to be able to win in Termas, but when Baldassarri made his move on the Aussie, he was forced wide, and after that the Italian was able to extend the gap. Such a strong start to the season makes Gardner an outside championship contender at this stage, and he will look to confirm that this weekend.

    Contrarily, almost, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) – who were probably the three outstanding championship favourites coming into this season – will be looking to establish themselves in this, the third round of the championship.

    Brad Binder was given a one-place penalty in Argentina for irresponsible riding. The penalty was probably fair, as many of the moves Binder put on his rivals, especially in the closing stages of the race, were past the limit. The penalty meant he finished sixth which, combined with a difficult Qatar, means the South African lies seventh in the championship, thirty-six points off Baldassarri.

    Brad Binder, Argentinian Moto2 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

    Sam Lowes had an even more disappointing time in Argentina, crashing out early on. He now sits eleventh and forty points off Baldassarri in the championship. Fortunately for Lowes, he has good memories of Texas, as it is where he took, in fine style, his first Grand Prix win back in 2015 on the Speed Up, a result he will be hoping to match this weekend as he looks to recover points to the championship leaders.

    Luca Marini lies just ahead of Binder in the championship, by three points. The Italian has been recovering from a shoulder surgery from last year in the first part of this year. Whether the fitness of the Italian will be improved this weekend is unsure, but the physicality of COTA means that it will be important for Marini to be in a good condition for this weekend, if he is to make a good result.

    What is for certain is that Marini’s Sky Racing Team VR46 teammate, Nicolo Bulega, will not be in COTA at all, due to his physical condition. Bulega pulled out of the Argentina race because of arm pump, and surgery this week will see him miss round three of the series, in the hopes of being close to full fitness in Jerez at the beginning of May.

    Bulega is not the only Moto2 rider absent this weekend, as Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) is out after his monster crash in free practice two weeks ago. The Spaniard will be replaced for the American round of the World Championship by Mattia Pasini.

    Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

  • MotoGP: Another Battle for Second Looms in Austin

    MotoGP: Another Battle for Second Looms in Austin

    The Circuit of the Americas awaits the MotoGP field this weekend, two weeks on from Marc Marquez’ (Repsol Honda Team) dominance of the Argentinian round of the series.

    For round three, the result will likely be little different. Marquez is unbeaten in COTA, and indeed on American soil since 2010. This weekend could see the seven-times champion more dominant than ever, at his best track with the best motor Honda has produced since 2014 in the premier class, and no one seemingly in a position to challenge him.

    Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) of course shares machinery with Marquez, since they both operate out of the same garage. However, the condition of Lorenzo’s scaphoid has potential to restrict his potential this weekend, as the plethora of hard braking points at COTA mean a lot of stress is put through the arms and indeed the wrists of the rider. Any weakness in this area can be exaggerated in Texas, and the direction changes of the first sector exacerbate this even further. In addition to this, Lorenzo’s record in Austin includes only two podiums, the most recent coming back in 2016.

    That 2016 race showed a contrast in fortunes for Lorenzo compared to the two riders who two weeks ago fought for second place pretty much from lights to flag. Three years ago, neither Andrea Dovizioso nor Valentino Rossi finished the race, with Dovizioso being collected by Dani Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda and Rossi crashing out early in the race at turn two, after burning his clutch out on the start.

    Valentino Rossi, hoping to continue his in form 2019 performance at Cota. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

    However, both Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) have decent records in Texas, with two podiums each – Rossi’s coming in 2015 and 2017, and Dovizioso’s coming in 2014 and 2015.

    Yamaha have had good results in the last few years in Texas. In fact, apart from 2014, a Yamaha has finished on the podium each year, with Lorenzo (2013, 2016) and Maverick Vinales (2018) adding to Rossi’s aforementioned Texan rostrum appearances. There will be three critical points for Yamaha, this year, in theory, at least. Firstly, it will be important for them to manage the front tyre well, which they failed to do in 2014. Secondly, Yamaha will need to accelerate off the corners well and find perfect traction, as their lack of power will be highlighted on COTA’s series of long straights and hard accelerations. Thirdly, Yamaha will need to find a setup that allows their riders to be strong on the brakes, as the time they lose on the straight will have to be made up getting off it.

    The Ducati has struggled in recent years at COTA, Dovizioso languishing in sixth in 2017, and fifth last year. However, the improvements made by Ducati over the winter have the #04 in line for a better result this year.

    Andrea Dovizioso. Image courtesy of Ducati

    Critically, the Ducati no longer seems dependent on grip for it to be fast. Termas is a famously slippery, dirty track, with a narrow line, and yet Dovizioso was able to fight for second place for the whole race.

    This will be important in COTA, because once more the track has been shaved, like last year, and the condition of the track is questionable, with bumps, holes and cracks still noticeable on the surface. Fortunately, with IndyCar having a race a couple of weeks ago, there shouldn’t be the huge roosts we saw last year, as the Dallara-built single-seaters should have cleaned any rubbish left over from the shaving that was lingering between the stones.

    Several other riders could be in contention for the podium in Texas this year, including Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), whose then-teammate Andrea Iannone took third place last year on the GSX-RR. Between last year’s victory Marquez and third placed Iannone was Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who should have also finished second in 2017, but crashed early on, and won his first Moto2 race at COTA in 2014. Additionally, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) – who had the pace for a clear second place in Argentina – could be well placed to take his second rostrum of the year this weekend.

    Featured image of Marc Marquez courtesy of Box Repsol

  • IndyCar Long Beach Preview

    IndyCar Long Beach Preview

    Next up on the IndyCar calendar is the scenic street track of Long Beach, California, a track which no one has managed to dominate over the last few years. With just under 2 miles of streets and 12 turns, Long Beach has lots of overtaking opportunities, making the races here very interesting and often chaotic.

    Takuma Sato and Rahal Letterman Lanigan will be heading into this weekend on a high after their win at Barber Motorsports Park. RLL will want a good result all round at Long Beach, rather than just on one side of the garage, as was the case last weekend. Graham Rahal suffered an issue with his Honda engine that left him stranded on the track. This amounted to the sixth Honda-related failure in just three races, compared to just one Chevrolet issue, meaning Honda has still got some reliability issues to see to.

    Despite this, Honda has won two of the three races so far this season with Sato and Colton Herta both taking victories. Chevrolet holds the championship lead, though, with Josef Newgarden sitting 27 points clear at the top of the standings, having won at St Petersburg and finished second and fifth in the following rounds. Scott Dixon is second in the championship and Sato’s victory at Barber has elevated him to third, while COTA-winner Herta has dropped to fifth after suffering from reliability issues at Barber.

    Barber itself was almost entirely dominated by Sato, who led for 74 of the 90 laps. He made a mistake towards the end of the race and ran off track, giving Dixon a chance at the win but the reigning champion could not capitalise on the mistake, settling for second for the sixth time at Barber.

    2019 Barber podium (L-R) Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, Sebastien Bourdais. Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar

    This means Dixon is yet to win a race in 2019 but this is hardly anything to worry about given he didn’t take his first win in 2018 until the seventh race, and that didn’t exactly stop him going onto win the championship!

    Unlike other tracks, Long Beach has not had any single driver or team dominating in recent years. Alexander Rossi won last year’s race from pole – the first driver to do so since 2007. The race was incident-filled with four caution periods, but Rossi held firm throughout the 85 laps and to take one of his most convincing wins to date.

    The last four races at Long Beach have been split between Honda and Chevrolet, with neither manufacturer having a clear advantage – adding to the excitement of this track. This is the second street race of the season and will follow the same weekend format as all the races so far with the two-group qualifying eventually ending in the Fast Six.

    The grid is back down to 23-cars for Round 4 as Ben Hanley and DragonSpeed are not competing again until the Indy 500. Other than that, everything is the same as it was at Barber.

    As Long Beach is back-to-back with Barber, it’s unlikely that Honda has found many solutions to the problems experienced last weekend, meaning Honda unreliability could again be a factor this weekend. Dixon, Rossi and Will Power are all after their first wins of the season, with Rossi coming in as the defending Long Beach champion. Rossi is, in fact, looking for his first podium of the season as the highest placed driver in the championship without one, something that he will want to set straight in the next few races, especially with the Indy 500 on the horizon.

    2018 Long Beach podium, (L-R) Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Ed Jones. Credit: Joe Skibinski/IndyCar

    None of the Road to Indy programme are at Long Beach, as was the case in Barber, so it is just IndyCar again, though this time IMSA are also in town with a 100-minute shootout, taking place after IndyCar’s qualifying. The clash means none of the IndyCar drivers that normally compete in IMSA will be doing so this weekend, with each team made up of only two drivers, compared to the usual three or four. The timings for this weekend are as follows:

    April 12

    Practice 1 – 10:00am (PDT) / 6:00pm (BST)
    Practice 2 – 2:00pm / 10:00pm

    April 13

    Practice 3 – 9:00am / 5:00pm
    Qualifying – 12:10pm / 8:10pm
    IMSA Race – 2:00pm / 10:00pm

    April 14

    Race – 1:30pm / 9:30pm

    Entry List:

    # Driver Team
    2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske
    4 Matheus Leist AJ Foyt Racing
    5 James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
    7 Marcus Ericsson (R) Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
    9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing
    10 Felix Rosenqvist (R) Chip Ganassi Racing
    12 Will Power Team Penske
    14 Tony Kanaan AJ Foyt Racing
    15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan
    18 Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne Racing
    19 Santino Ferrucci (R) Dale Coyne Racing
    20 Ed Jones Ed Carpenter Racing
    21 Spencer Pigot Ed Carpenter Racing
    22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske
    26 Zach Veach Andretti Autosport
    27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport
    28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport
    30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan
    31 Patricio O’Ward (R) Carlin
    59 Max Chilton Carlin
    60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing/Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
    88 Colton Herta (R) Harding Steinbrenner
    98 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport

    Featured Image Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar

  • WorldSBK: Can Bautista be Toppled in Assen?

    WorldSBK: Can Bautista be Toppled in Assen?

    One week on from the third of the 2019 season in Aragon, the Superbike World Championship heads to Holland, and the legendary TT Assen, for round four – part two of the only back-to-back races of this season.

    For the fourth time in 2019, it is Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) who is the man to beat this weekend, having won all nine races – by a fair distance – so far this year. Since Aragon, the Panigale V4R has had 250 revs trimmed off its 16,000 rpm limit, which is unlikely to make much difference. However, what might allow Bautista’s rivals to challenge him this weekend is the layout of the Assen circuit, with no notably long straights meaning peak power is not necessarily so high on the essentials list for the Dutch track.

    Alvaro Bautista, Winner of Race One, Jonathan Rea Second, and Chaz Davis Third. Image courtesy of Ducati

    Instead, a blend of high-speed agility and stability are important in Assen, both of which are demanded by the third and fourth sectors which are both characterised by high-speed corners and direction changes. Fortunately for Bautista, it is clear he is not only fast in a straight line, but he is also fast in the corners, as was demonstrated by his ability to escape from his rivals in Aragon before they arrived at the long back straight at the end of the lap.

    However, Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) record in Assen means it is expected that Bautista’s greatest challenge yet will come this weekend. Rea is the most victorious rider in Assen, with thirteen wins which stretch back to 2010. In fact, Rea has won at least one race at Assen in every year since 2010, with the exception of 2013, and until race two last year the Northern Irishman had been undefeated at Assen aboard the Kawasaki. To beat Bautista is nonetheless going to be a tough task this weekend for the four-times World Champion, but if it is to happen anywhere, it is going to be Assen.

    Indeed, the race that was not won by Rea last year saw his then-teammate Tom Sykes take the victory, meaning the now-BMW Motorrad WorldSBK rider is the latest WSBK winner in Holland. Additonally, Sykes was extremely close to doubling in Assen in 2013, coming up short to Eugene Laverty – then on the factory Aprilia – in a run to the line in the second race, after dominating the first outing. Perhaps more importantly, though, Assen is arguably the circuit which would most suit this year’s under-powered, brand new BMW S1000RR. Sykes has stressed on many occasions how impressive the chassis on the German bike is, and it could be that the Dutch asphalt, with its chassis-centric layout, could lead Sykes and BMW to their first podium together.

    The Dutch win that Eugene Laverty, now riding for Team GoEleven Ducati, wrestled from Sykes in 2013, is his only WorldSBK win at Assen. The #50 has only one other WSBK podium in Holland, coming in 2012. Laverty and his GoEleven team seemed to make a step forward in Aragon last weekend, and they will be hoping to continue that into this weekend, on a track which should not suit their motorcycle as well.

    In the same sort of situation is Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati). The Welshman made a good step in Aragon, a track where he has always been successful. Despite a series of mistakes, proving his lack of comfortability with the Panigale V4R, Davies was able to stand on the podium in both of the full-length races last weekend. Davies has five podiums in Assen in the top class of production motorcycle racing, and even challenged Rea for the win in race two back in 2016, before his bike expired. Whilst Assen is not a track where Davies has been as strong in the past as Aragon, the #7 has a decent history in Holland, and will be hoping to back up the progress he made last weekend, this.

    Alex Lowes – Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – R3 Aragon. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

    Yamaha did not so much make progress in Aragon as confirm the progress of previous rounds, as Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) was able to match the pace of Rea – the benchmark for Yamaha – for almost the entirety of both full-length races. Clearly, though, the YZF-R1 needs to improve in tyre consumption, as Lowes fell back towards the end of both full-distance outings last week. Assen has always been a strong circuit for Lowes. He was strong there back in 2013 in his title-winning BSB year, despite some controversies, and also scored his maiden WorldSBK podium at the Dutch track back in 2014.

    However, it is Lowes’ Pata Yamaha WorldSBK teammate, Michael van der Mark, who will be the main attraction this weekend in Assen. Like Lowes, van der Mark scored his first WorldSBK podium in Assen, in 2015, when he finished third in both races, and has added three further podiums since then – one coming in 2016, and two others last year. Van der Mark will no doubt be out to win this weekend, although – as for everyone else – with the form of Bautista, it is hard to see another victor.

    Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

  • Ricciardo confident Renault “heading in the right direction” despite early problems

    Ricciardo confident Renault “heading in the right direction” despite early problems

    Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo says he is confident the team are “heading in the right direction”, despite the problems he has suffered in the first few races of the 2019 season.

    Ricciardo has suffered two DNFs in two races, retiring from his home Grand Prix in Australia as a result of damage sustained when his front wing was broken at the start of the race, and then grinding to a halt on lap 53 of the Bahrain Grand Prix due to a loss of power.

    Despite this, Ricciardo still believes that there are signs of promise and was buoyed by a positive showing in the post-Bahrain Grand Prix test.

    Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Renault F1 Team RS19.
    Bahrain Grand Prix, Saturday 30th March 2019. Sakhir, Bahrain.

    “I’m certainly getting there in terms of extracting the maximum [from the car] and getting more comfortable,” he said. “These things do take time, but it’s good to iron out these details going forward. We’ll get there soon and sure enough and I’m confident we’re heading in the right direction.”

    Renault have identified a certain pattern in their performance over the course of the weekend, and Ricciardo says it’s just a matter of the team finding their feet and delivering on the potential of the car.

    “We showed signs [of pace] over the race weekend, going from a struggle on Friday, followed by an improvement on Saturday to being in and amongst it on Sunday.

    “The car clearly has pace, but for me, it’s about finding all of it. I feel there’s a lot more to come.”

    (L to R): Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Renault F1 Team with Cyril Abiteboul (FRA) Renault Sport F1 Managing Director.
    Bahrain Grand Prix, Friday 29th March 2019. Sakhir, Bahrain.

    Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul shared a similar sentiment. “The start of the 2019 season has fallen short of our high expectations,” he said. “Our overall competitiveness is good enough for our drivers to be racing in the top ten and closer to the top teams than last year, but we have suffered from reliability issues.

    “We move onto China with caution, but also with a resolution to really get the season going.”

     

    [Featured image – Renault F1 Team]

  • Toto Wolff: Mercedes not daunted by Ferrari challenge

    Toto Wolff: Mercedes not daunted by Ferrari challenge

    Ahead of this weekend’s 1000th Grand Prix, due to be held at the Shanghai International Circuit, Toto Wolff has said that his Mercedes team are not daunted by the challenge posed by Ferrari in the first few races of the season. Instead, he believes the opposite is true.

    “The challenge we are facing doesn’t daunt us – it’s uplifting,” Wolff said. “We will keep pushing to extract the maximum performance from our package to deliver the best race we can.

    “We will try and exert pressure, maximise our opportunities and keep working hard to develop our overall package. We’ve seen exciting races so far this season and we’re looking forward to the next fight in Shanghai.”

    2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

    Mercedes have taken two somewhat unexpected wins so far, with Valtteri Bottas claiming victory in Australia and Lewis Hamilton doing likewise in Bahrain.

    Many had tipped Ferrari to have the edge over the Silver Arrows based on their form in pre-season testing, but they struggled around the streets of Albert Park, before Charles Leclerc suffered a reliability issue whilst dominating the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel spinning from a podium position in a battle with Hamilton.

    What that means is that Mercedes hold the lead in both the drivers’ and constructors’  championships, with a 1-2 in both races so far. Despite this, though, Toto Wolff is under no illusions that Mercedes are clearly ahead in terms of performance.

    2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

    “Two races into the 2019 season, it may seem like we’re in a strong position,” he said. “We have 87 points, just one below the maximum score. But the constructors’ standings do not tell the full story.

    “The truth is that we aren’t as quick as our direct competitors throughout qualifying and the race in Bahrain. The Ferrari was considerably faster on the straights and this added up to several tenths around one lap.

    “Nevertheless, the saying goes that ‘in order to finish first, first you have to finish’ and the combination of solid performances from the team, reliability of our systems and a strong drive from our drivers secured us the one-two.”

     

    [Featured image – Wolfgang Wilhelm]

  • Chinese Grand Prix Preview: The Millennia

    Chinese Grand Prix Preview: The Millennia

    Here we are then – 69 years, 71 circuits, 32 countries, millions of laps, and 33 World Champions later, we have arrived at the 1000th Formula One Championship Grand Prix. Legends have been and gone, tracks have been celebrated and forgotten, while some have stood the test of time. From Juan Manuel to Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Lewis Hamilton, and Michael Schumacher, the 999 championship Grands Prix so far have bought us the thrill of high speed drama, the jubilation of seeing our chosen few win championship gold, and the sorrow of watching some of our heroes and idols fall prey to the inherent and cruel danger of the sport.

    The big 1000 brings us to the 5.4 kilometre-long Shanghai International Circuit for the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix. An undulating first sector, high speed corners, along with harsh braking zones make for a real test of driver skill and car performance, and the circuit has given us some fantastic races over the years, like last year for example, with Daniel Ricciardo taking a dramatic win for Red Bull after an incident-packed race.

    Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

    We have seen five-time champion Lewis Hamilton’s 2007 championship dreams end in the pit entrance, crashes on the way to the grid half and hour before the race even started, an historic win for Mercedes, and the wheels falling off for Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi in 2010 – literally.

    In terms of the here and now, 2019 has already seen its fair share of excitement, drama, and exquisite racing. Coming into China, the cooler temperatures are generally expected to favour Mercedes over Ferrari, particularly in terms of tyres, which the Italian team really struggled with in the first race in Australia, but had no problems with in Bahrain.

    The problem they did have, however, was an electric failure in Charles Leclerc’s engine, costing him a fairytale maiden victory under the most cruel of circumstances and handing the win and the 1-2 to Mercedes, all while Sebastian Vettel was trying to keep his Ferrari pointing in the right direction. Leclerc’s Bahrain engine will still be used for China, as the issue was discovered to be as simple as a short circuit, meaning he will not have to take a grid penalty.

    Ferrari Media

    Vettel knows he will need to bounce back after a below-par performance in the first two races of the season. The fact that China is predominantly a power track will help, but Mercedes’ power coupled with their ability to keep the tyres in an operating window much more consistently than Ferrari should make for a cracking race. Let’s not count out Red Bull either, who won the race last year and could so easily have had a 1-2, if not for a moment of madness from Max Verstappen that saw him wipe both himself and Vettel out at turn 14.

    Further down, Renault look to improve on what has been a nightmare start to the season. An engine problem in qualifying and a bizarre first lap crash for Daniel Ricciardo ruined their weekend in Australia, before synchronised engine failures last time out in Bahrain saw the team leave the desert with no points.

    Racing Point, Alfa Romeo, Toro Rosso and McLaren continue their impressive and exciting battle in the midfield, while Haas, generally considered to be quicker than all of them, need an answer as to why their race pace was lacking so badly – a sixth-placed qualifying for Kevin Magnussen led to a P13 finish in the race in Bahrain, while Romain Grosjean failed to see the chequered flag after contact on the first lap.

    Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

    As for Williams, China does not look like a circuit that will go any way to improving their disastrous fortunes in the early stages of the season, with the tricky corners and long straights providing risks for poor reliability and a severe lack of spare parts. It’s not getting easier for the team that, during their championship-winning glory days, would not have foreseen them having the slowest car on the grid going into F1’s 1000th race.

    This weekend will be a celebration for Formula One, but who will be celebrating a momentous win at F1’s championship milestone? Onto number 1000 we go.

     

    [Featured image – Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool]

  • Esmee Hawkey Interview – Pit Crew Exclusive

    Esmee Hawkey Interview – Pit Crew Exclusive

    2019 is already shaping up to be a promising year for Esmee Hawkey. The 21 year old successfully made it through the W Series’ tough qualifying rounds to earn one of 18 spots on the grid, and she has also made a strong start to her second season in Porsche Carrera Cup GB.

    Hawkey fought back from 14th on the grid to finish sixth in the opening race of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB season this weekend, finishing second in class. While the second race proved tougher, with Hawkey finishing in ninth place, she showed good pace all weekend, running first in class in both FP1 and FP2.

    Before the weekend began, Hawkey took the time to tell us about her aims for the busy season ahead of her, as well as giving us an insight into what went on behind the scenes in the W Series qualifying rounds.

    Photo credit: Warren S Nel

    Alison Finlay: Congratulations for making it to the W Series grid – how tough did you find the qualifying rounds and the level of competition?

    Esmee Hawkey: The qualifying rounds were extremely tough. We were out in Almeria for a week, so mentally, it was extremely draining. To be in with the chance of having a free drive in an F3 car is a lot of pressure and you have to perform well. We were being tested on absolutely everything, from when we were in the car driving, to sitting down going through data with the engineers, so you had to have 100% full focus at all times! Aside from that it was great to go from driving Porsche Caymans and Ford Fiestas, being selected as 1 of 28 girls in Melk, and then getting 4 days to drive the all new Tatuus F3 car in Spain. The competition has been really high so it was important to have a positive mindset and not let any of that effect you. It was important to concentrate on solely you and what you were doing and how you could improve and progress every day.

    AF: What are your aims for the season ahead in both W Series and Porsche Carrera Cup GB?

    EH: I will be pushing for the best possible results. It will be my second year in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship in the ProAm category. After a successful year with a few podiums last year, we will be looking to build on that this year and hopefully have some race wins, podiums and ultimately be in with a fighting chance to win the ProAm championship. In regards to W Series the competition is tough, with some of the girls having raced in F3 championships before, therefore having more experience than me. Nonetheless, I will be taking in as much information as possible so that I speed up my rate of progression and I would really like to be finishing in the top 6 for the first year of W Series.

    AF: You’ve been racing Porsches for a few years now – can you tell us more about the series and how these cars are to drive?

    EH: The cars are amazing. One of my sponsors are Porsche Centre South London, so not only do I get to drive the GT3 Cup Car on track but I also get to drive around in Porsche road cars when I’m not racing which is definitely a nice perk! The GT3 cup car is a great race car but quite a tricky car to drive – it’s very important to drive them with the right braking technique otherwise you can lose a lot of time, and not only that, but you need to always be chasing the throttle but not in a way that you cause the car to understeer.

    AF: How was driving the W Series F3 car for the first time?

    EH: The car was amazing and I absolutely loved driving it. It’s very different in comparison to the Porsche GT3 Cup Car as there was no power steering and I had to get used to the aerodynamics and downforce of the F3 car. I quickly got to grips with it and it was amazing how much speed you could take through the corners. Such an adrenaline rush!

    AF: Does taking part in the W Series and having the opportunity to race a formula car change your ambitions beyond the 2019 season?

    EH: My plans have always been to race in GT cars, but not because I didn’t want to race in formula cars – it was mainly the fact our budget could only stretch to racing in GT cars. So my long term goal was to rise up the Porsche pyramid and race in the Le Mans 24hr. Now that W Series has come about and is fully funding 18 girls to race around Europe in F3 cars with a prize pot of $1.5 million dollars at the end of the year, who knows what the future holds for us.

    AF: We hear a lot about drivers struggling for funding to help them onto the junior ladder. Could you tell us why funding is so vital for young racing drivers?

    EH: Unfortunately funding plays a big part in motorsport, and it’s why we sometimes don’t get to see some really talented drivers make it all the way, or indeed start their journey. I’ve been very fortunate, of course, and now have some great sponsors such as Porsche Centre South London, Landmark Underwriting and others. Motor racing costs money, it’s as simple as that, so we make sure we really work hard with our sponsors and partners to create value and make sure we’re attracting new sponsors along the journey.

    AF: When do you think we will see the next woman racing in Formula 1, and what role do you think W Series will play in making this a reality?

    EH: I definitely think W Series has created a platform to give 18 women this year the best opportunity to rise up from F3 into either F2, Formula E or even F1, so I really hope that in the next couple of years we will see a woman racing in Formula 1. It all comes down to opportunity and W Series is definitely the start of that journey.

    AF: How did you first get involved in motorsport? Did you always want to be a driver, or did you consider other roles within the industry?

    EH: I got into motorsport through my dad. As a young girl I remember going to watch him race at the Monaco Kart Cup and at the time I was doing Ballet and Tap dancing and I asked him if I could get into racing. To my surprise, for my 8th Birthday I got given a kart and that’s where it all started! I’ve wanted to succeed as a professional racing driver ever since.

    AF: Finally, what advice would you give for young women hoping to pursue a career in motorsport, either as drivers or in any other capacity?

    EH: I think it’s important that we get more women into motorsport whether it be as a driver, mechanic, engineer or on the media side, so my advice to any young women hoping to pursue a career in motorsport would be go for it, as there are so many opportunities that come up and it can be such a rewarding job.

  • WorldSBK: Bautista Dominates Again for Ninth Win

    WorldSBK: Bautista Dominates Again for Ninth Win

    The final race of the weekend for the Superbike World Championship followed in the same vein as its two predecessors: a dominant winner, with a brilliant fight behind for second place.

    Surprisingly, Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was able to make the holeshot in race three of the weekend, despite Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) starting alongside him on the front row of the grid. Both of them got good launches, but some wheelie for Rea meant it was Bautista who got to turn one first, and as per the standard of the season, by the end of the first lap the Spaniard was out of reach.

    Alvaro Bautista wins Race 2 at Aragon Round 3 of the 2019 WSBK championship. Image courtesy of Ducati

    Behind, a battle formed Rea, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati). Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) was also there in the beginning, although in the end he dropped back, and his place was taken in the train by Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).

    The four of Rea, Lowes, Davies and Haslam eventually worked themselves a gap to those behind, initially led by an impressive Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) and then by Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven) who was unable to close the gap down, which was a surprise after his strong performance on Saturday. Maybe the #50 benefited from the broken winglet.

    Chaz Davis with another podium at Aragon 2019 WSBK. Image courtesy of Ducati

    Between them, the quartet fighting for the final two spots on the rostrum had a fantastic fight. Throughout, though, there was a fair assumption to be made that it was Rea who had the advantage. Davies is still not comfortable with the new V4R, evidenced by his plethora of errors in every race this weekend, despite his good performances and results, and this was mentioned by Rea in parc ferme. In addition, Alex Lowes had been struggling for tyre consumption all weekend and a group battle with three other riders is not conducive to gentle riding that conserves the tyres. Finally, Leon Haslam was still suffering with his wounded ankle.

    In that sense, it should be no surprise that it was Rea who came away with his ninth second place from nine races in 2019. However, considering the Northern Irishman had a less-than-perfect weekend, and struggled somewhat for setup, a third runners-up spot out of three is a good return for the four-times World Champion.

    Third place in the end went to Chaz Davies, who might have had a better chance at second place had he not run wide in turn one on the final lap, allowing Rea through. That mistake was one of many throughout the weekend which prove there is still a lot of work for the Welshman to do with the new Ducati before he is comfortable with it. So, in that way, to end the weekend with two podiums and three top fours is a good positive for #7.

    That left Leon Haslam just off the podium in fourth. Not only the result, but also his competitiveness throughout the race was something of a salvation for his weekend which was blighted by injury, a poor qualifying and a bad start in race one.

    Alex Lowes came home in fifth place, again running out of tyre in the closing stages. However, the Englishman proved this weekend that Thailand was not a fluke, and that the Yamaha genuinely has the potential to compete with Rea and Kawasaki on a regular basis this season, which is a good sign for the Iwata marque.

    Eugene Laverty came home in sixth place for the top ‘independent’ spot, one second ahead of the massively impressive Jordi Torres in seventh. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) paid for the poor grid position he received for the final race of the weekend courtesy of being caught up in Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s (BARNI Racing Team) crash at turn one in the Superpole race, and finished eighth, ahead of the aforementioned Rinaldi and Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) who completed the top ten.

    Marco Melandri at Aragon 2019 WSBK race 2. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

    Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) ended his torrid weekend with an eleventh, ahead of Tom Sykes who plummeted down the order after a good opening to the race. Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) finished in thirteenth, ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) and Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) who was the final points scorer and final finisher in fifteenth.

    Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was the first retirement eleven laps from the flag, and was joined on the side-lines only by Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) three laps later.

    Featured image courtesy of Ducati

  • IndyCar Birmingham Report: Sato dominates proceedings at Barber

    IndyCar Birmingham Report: Sato dominates proceedings at Barber

    Takuma Sato converted a slightly unexpected pole position into a dominant win at Barber Motorsports Park, in a race that could’ve seen a one-two for his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team.

    Sato ran an almost faultless race to take his first victory of the season and in turn the first of the season for RLL. His win only looked in danger once or twice during the race, with the first scare from Sebastien Bourdais’ two-stop strategy and the second from an off-track excursion from Sato with only five laps to go. Even so, Sato took the win with a two-second gap over second-place Scott Dixon to elevate him to third in the championship.

    The only disappointment of the weekend for RLL was that Graham Rahal couldn’t convert his front row start to a decent finish. Rahal had the pace to stay with Sato and hold second, but his throttle started to stick on Lap 3, meaning he had to have a long pit stop to correct it. Just after halfway through the race, his car completely died, ending any hopes of a recovery drive and forming half of the reason for the race’s only caution.

    Credit: Matt Fraver/IndyCar

    The other reason for the caution was an incident between Tony Kanaan and Max Chilton at pit entry that left the latter stranded in the wall, though he did manage to re-join the race, albeit two laps down.

    Dixon seems to be making a habit of finishing second at Barber, with his second place this race taking his total up to six, all without a win at the track. He ran a fairly uneventful race, with the only major drama coming as a result of Bourdais’ two-stop strategy. After the last stops, Dixon had got back ahead of Bourdais, but the Frenchman stayed with him throughout the final stint, though he was never able to make a move on Dixon, meaning they finished second and third respectively.

    Bourdais was the only driver to make the two-stop work, with many others bailing out and sticking to the safer three-stop. Spencer Pigot and Jack Harvey were the only other two to try the two-stop, but they finished seventeenth and thirteenth respectively, though it could’ve been a different story for Pigot had he not got a drive-thru penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Bourdais was helped by the one and only caution which ended up merging the two strategies, meaning he was not at too much of a disadvantage tyre-wise in the final stint.

    Championship leader Josef Newgarden had a very impressive recovery drive, finishing fourth despite having started down in sixteenth. He made up a lot of places through the first two stints and made steady progress after the restart, giving Alexander Rossi a taste of his own medicine with two laps to go as the pair banged wheels and, for once, Rossi didn’t come out on top. Penske struggled all weekend with pace and tyre wear, with Newgarden’s result a surprise compared to Simon Pagenaud’s ninth-place and Will Power’s eleventh. It wasn’t just Penske struggling though, all the Chevrolet cars were off the pace with only two finishing in the top ten.

    Credit: Matt Fraver/IndyCar

    Rossi made light of what was otherwise quite a disappointing weekend for Andretti, finishing a respectable fifth after getting the better of James Hinchcliffe on the restart. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the next best Andretti, coming home eighth while both Zach Veach and Marco Andretti spent the day buried in the midfield, eventually finishing twelfth and fourteenth.

    Schmidt Peterson Motorsports scored one of the best team results since Toronto last year with Hinchcliffe finishing sixth and Marcus Ericsson one behind him in seventh. Hinchcliffe had been in a solid fourth-place for most of the race but both Newgarden and Rossi passed him on the restart, and from there he was unable to stick with their pace. Ericsson, however, spent the whole race passing cars and making some Rossi-esque moves to finish seventh having started way down the order in twentieth.

    Credit: Joe Skibinski/IndyCar

    Having won the race last time out, Colton Herta was brought back down to reality with a thump. He’d had some engine issues throughout qualifying that his Harding team had hoped to be on top of by the race; the issues resurfaced early on and forced Herta to go behind the wall. The team managed to get him back out on track, but it was only for a test session as he was already 35 laps down by then, meaning he’s gone from hero to zero in the space of two races.

    After an eventful race at Barber, IndyCar head to Long Beach next weekend for their first back-to-back of the season.

    Full Race Results:

    1. Takuma Sato
    2. Scott Dixon
    3. Sebastien Bourdais
    4. Josef Newgarden
    5. Alexander Rossi
    6. James Hinchcliffe
    7. Marcus Ericsson (R)
    8. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    9. Simon Pagenaud
    10. Felix Rosenqvist (R)
    11. Will Power
    12. Zach Veach
    13. Jack Harvey
    14. Marco Andretti
    15. Santino Ferrucci (R)
    16. Patricio O’Ward (R)
    17. Spencer Pigot
    18. Tony Kanaan
    19. Ed Jones
    20. Matheus Leist
    21. Ben Hanley (R)
    22. Max Chilton

    DNF – Graham Rahal (engine), Colton Herta (R) (engine)

    Championship Top 5:

    1. Josef Newgarden
    2. Scott Dixon
    3. Takuma Sato
    4. Alexander Rossi
    5. Colton Herta (R)

    Featured Image Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar