A difficult weekend in Australia – the most challenging of his 2018 season so far – meant that Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) had to wait to be crowned 2018 Moto2 World Champion. Fortunately for Pecco, he has another shot this weekend, and at the more conventional Sepang International Circuit, with its bipolar characteristics in comparison to Phillip Island, the Italian rider has the 2018 intermediate class title firmly in his sights ahead of this weekend.
As has been the case for a while now, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is the only rider who can stop Bagnaia from clinching the crown this weekend. To do so, the Portuguese must outscore Bagnaia by twelve points to ensure the championship fight goes down to the final round in Valencia. Of course there are many situations which could allow this to happen but the simple way to put this is to say that Oliveira has to win with Bagnaia finishing off the podium for the title to go down to the wire.
But, will Oliveira win? Given his recent form, you would say probably not. After his Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Brad Binder’s victory last time out in Australia, Oliveira now has less wins than the South African over the course of the season, and hasn’t won since Brno at the beginning of the second half of the season. If ever there was a time for Miguel to turn around his form, it would be now, but that doesn’t mean it is going to happen.
Of course it was Oliveira who won the Moto2 Malaysian Grand Prix last year, as Franco Morbidelli wrapped up the 2017 title. This victory was the second of his back-to-back-to-back wins to finish off the season, and Brad Binder is coming into this weekend with the possibility to make a repeat of his teammate’s results of last year. Binder is in fantastic form at the moment, and has at least had the matching of Oliveira since his win in Aragon. The race the South African put together in Phillip Island was stunning, and suitable given Kork Ballington’s recognition as a MotoGP Legend on the same weekend. However, should Oliveira’s pace be enough to fight for the top positions, there should be no doubt that Aki Ajo, Pit Beirer and the rest of the top KTM mob will be urging Binder to play the team game.
Another crash for Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) last time out meant that Binder almost has third place in the championship wrapped up, sitting forty-one points ahead of the Italian. Coupled with Joan Mir’s (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) second place in Oz and suddenly there is quite a big fight again for fourth in the championship, with only four points separating Baldassarri in fourth at the moment, and Mir’s Marc VDS teammate Alex Marquez in sixth.
It is Mir who has the Sepang form, too, after having taken the Moto3 victory in Malaysia last year. In comparison, both Marquez and Baldassarri crashed out last season. If form is anything to go by then Mir could have that fourth place all but wrapped by the time the chequered flag comes out on Sunday.
Augusto Fernandez (Pons HP40) had his best weekend as a Grand Prix rider last weekend in Phillip Island. The Spaniard was fast from the get-go in FP1 and missed the podium for all of 0.008 seconds to Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) who also saw a return to form. Remember, also, that this weekend will not be Fernandez’ first time in Sepang, as he rode the Speed Up last season, finishing just half a second behind his then teammate Simone Corsi.
Vierge also had a strong weekend in Malaysia last year, finishing eighth on the Tech 3. Vierge’s teammate, Marcel Schrotter, will be hoping for better luck this weekend, as he showed some stunning pace in the race, but had to use it all to come from last on the grid thanks to mechanical troubles on the line. It wasn’t such a good race for Schrotter last year, though, in Malaysia, as he finished second-last and nearly one minute off the win.
As well as Schrotter, Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) will be after a better weekend in Sepang than he experienced last season, when he crashed on the first lap. Not only will Marini want to make a good result for himself this weekend, but he will also want to be at the front to help Bagnaia, his teammate, in his quest for the title. Throughout this season it has been clear that Marini is very aware of his teammate’s situation, and has proved a strong number 2 for Bagnaia – just look at how happy Luca was to have taken four points from Oliveira in the final laps of the Thai Grand Prix a few weeks back.
That sort of assistance could prove vital this weekend, as Francesco Bagnaia looks to bank his second match point.
It was a breath taking race that saw more than half the grid eligible for a podium finish – but it was Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto Team), Fabio di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini) and Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) who relished in the moment and the champagne. Except for 17-year-old Vietti, who isn’t old enough to spray champagne, but then again, a podium on your second ever Moto3 race probably tastes sweeter than any bubbles ever could, and he raced hard for it.
For di Giannantonio it was a necessary podium. The Italian has been battered and bruised on just about every race weekend for the last 3 weeks, making this a much deserved second place finish. And the man of the moment, Arenas, took his second win of the season and this time around he truly earned it – whether you think his Le Mans victory was really di Giannantonio’s, or not.
This entire race was important for the Championship, two very important crashes happened, and a few near misses, have changed the course of this season. Firstly, Lorenzo Dalla Porta’s (Leopard Racing) crash meant that his team mate Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) could keep his fourth place in the Championship.
Then it was Gabriel Rodrigo’s (RBA BOE Racing Team) unfortunate collision with Championship contender Marco Bezzecchi that paved the way for Martin to extend his lead in the Championship beyond the one point that he started this weekend with. However, this wasn’t really the case, as there is only 12 points between the Italian and the Spaniard now, but it could have remained at just one point because luck seemed to be firmly on Martin’s side. He narrowly avoided two crashes/contact which could have seen both of their weekends reduced to null and avoid effectively.
However, it does beg the question – had di Giannantonio not had his Le Mans victory taken away from him, could he be leading the Championship right now? With 20 points between the Championship leaders, he definitely could have made life difficult for Martin and Bezzecchi after this week’s results.
The race itself saw real talent shining through from all riders as, the top 15 stayed particularly tight and positions were traded so often that the leader board couldn’t keep up with them. It was Tony Arbolino (Marinelli Snipers Team) and Denis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) though showed potential for a podium finish, that was before they took each other out whilst vying for the top spot behind Martin.
But ultimately due to a constantly changing lineups, whether to do with crashes or overtaking, you found yourself rooting for half the grid at least once. This race has left the Championship wide open for the top three riders still, but it might have invigorated the rest of the grid as the majority of them got a taste of leading a race. With only two races to go, who could clinch the title between Martin, Bezzecchi or di Giannantonio?
Speaking at the Science of Formula 1 event at London’s Science Museum, Mercedes Technical Director James Allison commented that Lewis Hamilton was “devastated” by Mercedes’ under-performance at the Mexican Grand Prix, despite having just secured his fifth world title.
Asked what limited Mercedes’ performance in the race, Allison revealed “we know”, and while he was unwilling to share what the problem was, added that it was something with an “easy fix”.
Photo credit: Alison Finlay
Allison was also asked his opinion on the changing technologies in F1 over the years, and said that the removal of driver aids like traction control in previous years had not made that much difference, as the “best drivers were still the best drivers”, having adapted to the changes.
Allison said that he would like to see the possible addition of fans on the cars, “although not for the reason you might think”, explaining that he believed they could allow cars to follow each other more closely, and could mitigate against the ill-effects of dirty air which limits overtaking in Formula 1 at the moment.
Allison also revealed that Mercedes are already hard at work on their 2020 car, and that teams typically begin working on their cars over a year in advance. The 2018 car, Allison says, is now “a bit of a ghost ship”, with little development taking place this late into the season, with the team focused on both the 2019 and 2020 cars.
When asked if Formula 1 will one day become an all-electric series, Allison said he was convinced it will become a reality as the sport moves on to reflect the times. In future years, Allison believes that new generations of fans “won’t miss the sound” and that it’s “not a case of if, but when” the change will happen.
Allison was joined at the event, hosted by Dr Oliver Carpenter, by Annastiina Hintsa of Hintsa Performance and Dr Karl Surmacz of McLaren Applied Technologies.
Max Verstappen the winner of the 2018 Mexico Grandprix. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
1 – Max sticks to his word
All season it has been said that Red Bull realistically have talked up winning at Monaco, Hungary and Singapore. But if you were to ask that question to Max Verstappen, he would say ‘and Mexico too.’ He wasn’t a happy man on Saturday though as another chance at pole position went begging. On Sunday it took great guts to be the latest braker into turn 1 and his kindness to his tyres took him to victory, like he has been saying all season. He had two sets of new red supersoft tyres compared to the rest of the field, who only had one, and he won by a clear 15 seconds – his fifth victory in F1, and second of the 2018 season.
Photo Credit: Suceria Ferrari
2 – Vettel is gracious in defeat
When David Coulthard was doing the pre-podium interviews it was great to see Sebastian Vettel go to Lewis Hamilton and congratulate him. The German knew where it all fell apart this season and didn’t want to discuss it at the time. A true sportsman as he probably wasn’t in high spirits and he wasn’t standing on the first position on the podium. After this he entered the Mercedes pit section and congratulated the team too. The German will look to build on this season and look ahead to the challenges that 2019 hold.
Credit: Mercedes-AMG Petronas
3 – Mercedes tyre wear haunts them
The tyres that the Silver Arrows cars used just fell apart, which resulted in Hamilton finishing a distant P4 and Bottas pitting 3 times before finishing a distant P5. They had great starts but it was easy for others to overtake them, and poor mistakes from both Hamilton and Bottas put them back to P4 and P5. An investigation will surely be had after the celebration of Hamilton’s 5th title, as they were the team that struggled the most with tyres and they are close to wrapping up another Constructor’s title.
4 – Superb Sauber
Sauber had to start on the ‘chewing gum’ tyres, the pink wall hypersofts, and still managed P7 and P9. They both made a ‘one stop’ strategy work, taking us back to the days of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez doing it so well in the Sauber colours. They jumped Toro Rosso in the standings for P8, as Pierre Gasly had a solid Sunday, but more grid penalties only helped Sauber further. It was a great haul of points by the team considering they started on the hypersoft tyres.
Daniel Ricciardo in Aston Martin RedBull Racing garage at the 2018 Mexico Granprix. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
5 – Ricciardo can’t wait for his new challenge to begin with Renault
“Just let Gasly drive it” was the quote from the Honey Badger in the media pen after his eighth retirement of the season and his second mechanical failure in a row. He probably feels that his 2018 car is cursed and hasn’t taste champagne since his victory in Monaco. His new chapter edges closer and most are unsure how close he will be to the podium in the future, considering that Nico Hulkenburg, as of yet, still hasn’t been there.
The list of ex-F1 drivers on the IndyCar grid is getting longer by the day, this time with the addition of the recently-ousted Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson who will line up with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) for the 2019. With Felix Rosenqvist’s earlier move to Chip Ganassi, Ericsson takes IndyCar’s Swedish driver count up to two, an unprecedented amount for the modern era of IndyCar which has seen none from the country since its merge with Champ Car back in 2008.
Marcus Ericsson. Image courtesy of Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team
Ericsson comes from F1 having spent five years in the series, the last four of which have been with Sauber F1 Team. There’s no doubt that the significant funding that accompanied Ericsson played a part in how long he spent at the team, especially as he’s been comprehensively beaten by the majority of his teammates, however, his talent is not to be overlooked.
Where many expected soon-to-be Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc to absolutely wipe the floor with Ericsson, the Swede has stood up for himself and avoided complete embarrassment. Even so, it was not enough for him to warrant keeping his driver at the team, being replaced by 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen who will line up alongside Ferrari junior Antonio Giovinazzi.
Having spent so long in F1, a change is scene will probably do Ericsson good, though his predicament on entering IndyCar is remarkably similar to Andretti’s Alexander Rossi. When Rossi came to IndyCar, it was seen as though he was using the series as a filler until he could get back into F1 but soon after joining he fell in love with it and kissed goodbye to his F1 dreams. Ericsson has said that he wants to return to F1, but his mind could well be changed… just as Rossi’s was back in 2016.
Ericsson joins SPM at a rather troubled time in their history, to say the least. Last season’s rookie sensation, Robert Wickens, has been left paralysed (at least for now) by a horrific crash at Pocono while racing for SPM, with teammate James Hinchcliffe’s car also being wrecked in the crash. Certainly, the financial backing that Ericsson brings will be very well-received at SPM, given all the crash damage they’ve had in previous years, but that was not the only reason that they chose the Swede.
The 28-year old will pilot the #7 SPM car with Hinchcliffe in the #5, with the #6 seat remaining empty for Wickens to retake when or if he wants or is able to. Hinchcliffe is one of the more experienced drivers on the grid and definitely one of the most popular, so Ericsson will have his work cut out going up against him. Equally, Hinchcliffe will not want a repeat of 2018 where Wickens came in as a rookie and beat him, the Canadian will want to stand his ground, that’s for sure!
Either way, SPM is a very good team to be going into as a rookie and Ericsson will have all the tools he needs to turn into an IndyCar contender, much like Rossi has in the last few seasons, and his entry into the series is an exciting prospect for all.
Featured Image courtesy of Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team
Daniel Ricciardo in Aston Martin RedBull Racing garage at the 2018 Mexico Granprix. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Another race; another retirement due to a mechanical failure for Daniel Ricciardo. Every time he steps in the car, something seems to go wrong, even when he won in Monaco. It has led him to say that his Red Bull is “cursed” and that he might just let Pierre Gasly drive the car for the last two races of the 2018 season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
These comments were, of course, in the heat of the moment, but reliability-wise, the Red Bull with a Renault engine has not treated the Aussie well at all this year.
During the summer break, shockwaves were sent through the world of F1. Ricciardo was leaving Red Bull, but the shock wasn’t that he was leaving; if we’re being honest, the news was something we anticipated even before the turn of the 2018 season. The shock was who he was joining.
He wasn’t off to Italian giants Ferrari, instead to the midfield team that has yet to really prove itself since its return to F1 in 2016: Renault.
The French team was not really anyone’s expectation for Ricciardo, but the surprise factor was, truth be told, a negative one. Overall, there was a sense that Ricciardo is taking a career with prospects of a world championship and flushing it down the toilet. However, this may not be the case.
In reality, all you really need to do is look at the progress Renault have made since 2016. They took over a Lotus team that was in tatters, and they had to start a process of reinstating themselves as a Constructor in F1, after past success in the sport, most recently with Fernando Alonso in his two championship-winning years in 2005 and 2006. Of course, they had success supplying to Red Bull, but being a team that has to make a cohesive car with the chassis and the engine is an entirely different beast.
They went from being a team that was often at the back of the field in 2016 to a team that is now expected to score good points in 2018, and therefore, with the fast progress of a manufacturer team, will be handed even higher expectations for 2019. Therefore, this may be a leap, but it’s a leap to a fast-developing team, with a team boss in Cyril Abiteboul who demands the very best of everyone at the team, and certainly lets them know when he’s not satisfied.
Christian Horner over looking Dan’s car before the race. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
The main talking point in the races since the announcement has been that of reliability. Ricciardo’s scream of anger after an engine failure in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix in early October told us everything we needed to know about just how bad the Renault engine has been for Red Bull this season.
But if we look at the wider angle of this, Ricciardo has had 6 retirements due to mechanical issues this season compared to just two for soon-to-be team mate Nico Hulkenberg in the factory Renault car – I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions on just how much of a difference there is in reliability between the factory team and their customer. However, perhaps the most important aspect of this is that Ricciardo’s failures have not always been Renault’s fault. His retirement at last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix was down to a hydraulic failure, which lies on Red Bull’s side of the blame. A lot of pain for Red Bull in terms of reliability and performance has come from the French manufacturer though.
However, the Renault engine at certain circuits, when it is not failing, can be competitive – a good chassis for Renault next year and another factory push with the engine, and Renault could be a serious threat to Red Bull.
And let’s not forget Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes, in 2012, were dire. They, too, were somewhat of a midfield team, albeit more competitive proportionately than Renault are right now. Hamilton left a McLaren team accustomed to winning, and went to a struggling Mercedes team that had won one race that year and had been fairly average in most others, often struggling to score points. He has since won four championships with the German manufacturer.
Of course, this is not to say things will turn out equally for Ricciardo; two careers rarely turn out the same, but they say fortune favours the brave, and the Honey Badger has certainly lived up to his nickname with a bold move that might turn out a lot better than many are anticipating.
We’re in the final stages of the 2018 season, and as F1 entered round 19 of the calendar for the Mexican Grand Prix, another chance emerged for Lewis Hamilton to become a five-time world champion, with his rival Sebastian Vettel 70 points behind and just three races to go.
Qualifying was once again very close, with Daniel Ricciardo stealing pole from team-mate Max Verstappen by just 0.026 seconds. Behind them, it was close as well, with Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas and Raikkonen making up a very interesting grid.
On Sunday, Hamilton got an amazing start and got past pole-sitter Ricciardo, but didn’t quite manage to get past Verstappen. Ricciardo dropped to third, with Vettel and Bottas still in fourth and fifth.
It took only five laps before the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was brought out, after Fernando Alonso pulled over having had his car damaged by some flying debris from Esteban Ocon at the start.
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Hamilton started losing time to Verstappen once the green flag was shown, allowing Ricciardo to close to within DRS range by lap eleven, although he wasn’t quite close enough to attempt an overtake.
On lap twelve, Hamilton came in for his first pit stop along with Bottas just seconds after, and Ricciardo and Verstappen pitting on successive laps, all opting for the supersofts. On lap fifteen, Verstappen used his DRS to overtake Raikkonen, the winner of last week’s United States Grand Prix
With Raikkonen’s tyres fading, he dropped into the clutches of Hamilton and Ricciardo, with the former pulling off an overtake in turns two and three.
On lap eighteen both Vettel and Raikkonen finally made their pit stops, switching onto the supersofts and making Verstappen race leader once again, this time by a margin of eight seconds.
A second Virtual Safety Car was brought out on lap 32, with Carlos Sainz having parked his Renault at the side of the track. When the green flag was shown once more Vettel saw a chance to get past Ricciardo and, on lap 34, he finally overtook the Australian and set about closing the gap to Hamilton. By lap 38 he was within a second, and the following lap he overtook his rival on the main straight.
He now had a thirteen second gap to Verstappen he needed to close down, but more interesting was the fact that Hamilton was losing almost a second per lap to Ricciardo. The Brit would still become World Champion even if he got overtaken, but that wouldn’t be in style as he was now at risk of losing a podium place.
2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm
In an attempt to overtake Hamilton, Ricciardo tried the move on the main straight but Hamilton braked way too late and overshot the first corner, going across the grass. Unsurprisingly, he pitted at the end of the lap for a set of used ultrasofts.
With 22 laps to go, both Vettel and Verstappen pitted. Vettel went to the ultrasofts, whilst Verstappen opted for a new set of supersofts. This promoted Ricciardo into second place but, with him being on older tyres, Vettel soon closed the gap again.
On lap 62 Vettel’s job was made a lot easier when Ricciardo once again retired due to an engine problem. The Virtual Safety Car was called out for the third time, and Bottas took the opportunity to pit.
After 71 laps it was an outstanding drive from Max Verstappen, who took the chequered flag and claimed his fifth win in F1. Following him home were the two Ferraris of Vettel and Raikkonen.
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen’s victory, however, was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place, which was enough for him to be crowned the 2018 Formula One World Champion. He gave the crowd a bit of a show by doing some doughnuts in the stadium section of the track. Even Will Smith left a radio message for him, and Vettel showed his sportsmanship by congratulating his rival.
There are still two races left of the season to go. Sure, the tension of the championship is now over, but that doesn’t mean the upcoming races will be any less interesting. The Brazilian Grand Prix is up next, which always makes for a great race, especially as the weather gods always play their part there. But, for now, the party mode can be turned on at Mercedes.
Featured image: 2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Sunday – Steve Etherington
Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena celebrate their victory! Photo credit Citroen Racing
In the middle of a titanic battle for this year’s championship between Thierry, Seb and Ott, nine-time world champions Seb and Daniel took Citroen’s first victory of the year. Here’s the story of how it all happened.
On Thursday evening, the short SS1 was won by Seb Ogier, with his title rivals, Thierry and Ott just a few seconds behind. Seb Loeb meanwhile had a spin and was 15.9 seconds off the lead. As always it seems during these short stages, there were three WRC2 cars inside the top ten, with Eric Camilli giving the Polo GTi R5 a first stage win in that class.
Friday
Friday would dawn a nice warm and sunny day. The first day always features gravel only stages, and there would be six stages in total, the longest being 38km’s. The starting order looked like this – Neuville, Ogier, Tänak, Lappi, Latvala, Mikkelsen, Sordo, Breen, Suninen, Evans, Loeb, Al Qassimi, Block.
Ott Tanak put a charge on in SS2, winning the stage from Jari-Matti, with the welsh wizard Elfyn third. Seb Ogier was 4.1 seconds slower than Ott, the gap reduced to just a tenth of a second at the end of the seven-kilometre test. In the WRC2 class, it was another very good time from Eric in the Polo, keeping him in the lead of that class.
Into SS3 then and Jari-Matti set the fastest time, with Ott and Elfyn second and third fastest. Seb Loeb was quick too, with fifth fastest and climbing into the top ten as a result, despite being a bit nervous with the wet parts of the stage. Seb Ogier had fallen to sixth overall after only being tenth fastest in the stage, with the loose gravel not giving him the chance to really challenge. The top three was now Ott, Jari-Matti and Elfyn, with the young Welshman showing when things go well, he’ll be right at the front.
Into the longest stage of the day then, SS4 and Jari-Matti lost time, dropping down the order to tenth. Andreas set the fastest time, with Ott and Seb Loeb just behind, meaning he’d passed Craig and moved into sixth overall.
After the service break, SS5 was won by Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti started his climb up the leaderboard, moving into eighth at the expense of Esapekka Lappi. Meantime, in the Citroen camp, Craig closed on Seb Loeb, in their battle for sixth. Ott remained in the lead, with Elfyn and Dani second and third.
Into SS6 then and Jari-Matti won it, with Craig and Ott sharing the second fastest time, four seconds behind the Finn. Seb Loeb and Craig were moving up too, moving into fourth and fifth at the expense of Andreas and Ogier who were now in sixth and seventh.
After SS7, there were a few position changes. Jari-Matti again won, with Loeb and Tanak sharing second fastest. Dani Sordo moved ahead of Elfyn into second overall, whilst Loeb was now in fourth overall. Jari-Matti moved up from eighth into fifth too!
Here’s the top ten then after Friday’s stages.
STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1
Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 1:34:27.4
Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +26.8
Evans / Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +29.7
Loeb / Elena (Citroën C3 WRC) +30.2
Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +37.6
Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) +39.1
Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) +39.4
Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) +44.7
Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +59.7
Lappi / Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:07.4
The thought’s then of the drivers- top three first.
Ott Tanak
“Overall, I would say we have had a very good day, particularly from our position on the road as everybody starting behind us in the order had better conditions. I had a good rhythm this morning, particularly the first two stages which were quite nice and flowing. In the beginning of the afternoon I had a really good feeling with the car. We lost that feeling a bit in the middle stage, but I was still able to keep pushing and now we have a good gap. Nothing is finished yet though: Tomorrow we have a new rally and it looks like it will be wet.”
FIA World Rally Championship 2018 / Round 12 / Rally Catalunya-Costa Daurada Rally de Espagna 2018 / October 25-28, 2018 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC
Dani Sordo
“I am very happy to be back with the team for my home rally. It is always a pleasure for us to compete in front of the Spanish crowds. I am quite satisfied with my day and to be in a position to fight for the podium. It’s very competitive and there are lots of crews who are fighting for the top-three. If we want to remain in the battle, we have to push hard and show what we are capable of. The feeling inside the car has been good today but we will see what we can do when we move onto tarmac on the final two days.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a pretty strong day for us but I was disappointed to have given so much time away on that last stage – I would have preferred not to have done that! But tomorrow is another day and the gaps are so close that you could almost start a new rally – it’s going to be interesting for sure.
“It looks as though the weather could be fairly challenging and coming from Wales I’m used to a bit of rain, but we don’t have so much Tarmac so let’s wait and see what happens. The gaps are really small throughout the field so nothing can be taken for granted and it’s all to play for.”
Elfyn Evans and Dan Barritt in flight! Photo credit M-Sport WRT
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Sébastien Loeb (4th)
“After suffering a bit of understeer this morning, we made some changes to the set-up of my C3 WRC, and I felt full of confidence this afternoon and could really express myself. That meant we were able to close in on the battle for the podium, and now everything’s to play for. I haven’t driven on tarmac stages in the wet for six years so if we do get rain, that’ll be quite a big challenge!”
Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena show they still have the pace. Photo credit Citroen Racing
Craig Breen (8th)
“It’s been a bit of an up and down day. We set several good times but we also had a fair bit of misfortune. We lost almost twenty seconds with a spin this morning, then we lost part of the spoiler this afternoon. Without those issues, we’d be a lot closer to the fight for the podium. I love tarmac and I’m determined to make the most of one of the rare opportunities that we have in the year to drive on it and try and make up some ground.”
Khalid Al Qassimi (23rd)
“After not being comfortable this morning, we managed to find the solution with the technical team so that I could drive with confidence in the afternoon and really enjoy myself in the car. With very little competitive experience on wet tarmac, I’m expecting tomorrow to be a massive challenge for me!”
Hyundai Motorsport
Andreas Mikkelsen (6th)
“In the opening stages this morning, I struggled to find any control from our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. Each time braking into a corner I lost the rear and you really need to position the car at the right angle. We made a few changes, including the roll bar position, and the feeling was then suddenly there. I could push and we were fastest in the long stage before lunch, which was a nice feeling. We took a gamble in the afternoon with six tyres, but the conditions were cooler and the tyre wear was a lot less so it didn’t really pay off. It’s very close in the podium fight so we’ll aim to get ourselves further up the order tomorrow.”
Thierry Neuville (9th)
“We have been absolutely on it all day, and could not have given any more. We have gone as fast as we could but it has been hugely disappointing to struggle so much in the loose conditions, especially as first on the road. This morning, we just couldn’t find the rhythm and also made a mistake towards the end of the loop; it’s difficult to do much more from that starting position. A tricky day but we are not too far behind Ogier, so have to remain positive. Tomorrow we will face different conditions on tarmac. We’ll keep pushing.”
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 12, Rally de Espaa 25-28 Octobre 2018 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala (5th)
“I had a very good feeling with the car and with the driving from the very beginning today. The first two stages went well, and the third one was going really nicely too, even on the asphalt where I’ve struggled in the past. Unfortunately, we then got the puncture, which was incredibly frustrating. But we were able to keep the same speed in the afternoon, and this is the most important thing. The driving has been easy and I haven’t had to think about it too much.”
Esapekka Lappi (10th)
“It has been a really challenging day to be honest. We had some little issues here and there, but at least we were able to keep going. On the last stage we showed that when everything is right we can do a nice time, but we need to try and improve. Now we switch to asphalt and I am looking forward to that. Rain would obviously make it very challenging, as I haven’t driven in those kinds of conditions on these roads before, but let’s see.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Sébastien Ogier (7th)
“It’s been a tough day for us as there was a lot of cleaning out there. I tried everything I could, but it was so difficult running near the front of the field. The only one who made a difference out there today was Ott – he managed to set some incredible times!
“I gave it everything and only made one very small mistake this morning when I ran a little wide into a field and lost a couple of seconds. I wasn’t in full attack mode first thing this morning which probably cost us another couple of seconds, but other than that we have pushed very hard all day.
“The positive is that we are only 12 seconds behind second place which is definitely what we need to fight for tomorrow when it will be a completely new rally.”
Teemu Suninen (11th)
“It’s been a really tough day for us and we were struggling to get into the right rhythm. I was struggling to stay on the line and carry the speed through the corners. We have a good idea what the problem was, and the afternoon was a bit better, but there wasn’t so much we could do after one service. Tomorrow will be like a new rally so we will focus on setting some better times on the Tarmac.”
Saturday
It was raining on Saturday morning, giving the crews a lot to think about. The cars had been changed into tarmac mode with major changes to suspension and brakes. The start list looked like this – Al Qassimi, Suninen, Lappi, Neuville, Breen, Ogier, Mikkelsen, Latvala, Loeb, Evans, Sordo, Tänak. Seven stages would make up Saturday’s action. Unfortunately, the first stage of the day, SS8 was cancelled due to safety reasons.
The day would therefore start with SS9. Ott would pick up from Friday and win the first stage of the day from Latvala and Sordo. With such a fast time from the Finn, he moved ahead of Loeb into fourth place, just a couple of seconds from Elfyn. Andreas was the biggest loser though, dropping to tenth overall. He just struggled with confidence in the super slippery stage. Showing how remarkable rallying can be, Craig spun in the stage, losing part of his rear wing, yet he gained one position. Ott Tanak set a great time and his lead an incredible 32.9 seconds
It was all change though at the top come the end of SS10. Jari-Matti won the stage from Lappi and Neuville, but Ott picked up a puncture in the stage, and lost 1 minute 43 seconds! He was now in ninth place. Dani was the new leader, with Latvala in second place, just three tenths off the lead. Elfyn was now back into third, showing great composure.
Following the service break, Latvala took the lead from Dani who could only manage the ninth fastest time in SS11, but it was Thierry who won the stage from Ott who was now eighth overall and a minute from the lead and Esapekka.
Into SS12 and the wet conditions were challenging indeed, with Craig suffering a spin. Loeb though showed great pace, winning the stage and passing Elfyn for third overall. Thierry also drove a great stage, a full seven seconds faster than Ogier and halving the gap as such.
Neuville and Ogier were hard to separate at the end of SS13, just nine tenths of a second between them and they both moved up the overall leaderboard as a consequence, with Ogier moving into second and Thierry into fifth place.
The short SS14 stage completed the day and the top three was Ott, Kalle Rovanperä and Ogier. Yes, the WRC2 Skoda Fabia was just one tenth of a second behind the Yaris!
It was all to fight for then, with just ten seconds covering the top four going into Sunday’s stages.
STANDINGS AFTER DAY 2
Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:35:01.8
Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) +4.7
Loeb / Elena (Citroën C3 WRC) +8.0
Evans / Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +9.8
Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +12.7
Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +16.5
Lappi / Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) +46.5
Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:00.7
Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) +1:37.9
Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) +2:07.3
Here’s the thoughts of the drivers after day two – Top three first.
Jari-Matti Latvala
“To be leading after our issue yesterday is a great feeling and shows why you should never give up. The conditions were very demanding all day with the rain and lots of mud coming onto the road. The car was working well though and I think our tyre choices were good. In the last two stages I was a little bit cautious and we lost some time but we are still leading. It is going to be a big fight tomorrow. I have a five-time champion and a nine-time champion right behind me, but I will just focus on my own driving and keeping it relaxed: this will be the key.”
FIA World Rally Championship 2018 / Round 12 / Rally Catalunya-Costa Daurada Rally de Espagna 2018 / October 25-28, 2018 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC
Sébastien Ogier
“It’s been a tough day with the conditions and I don’t think we made the right tyre choices, but we did the best with what we had. I tried to minimize the time loss as much as I could, but it was difficult. Some stages this afternoon were very dirty and really tricky. It’s all very close now, and we’re still in a position to fight for the victory tomorrow. It’s going to be a really close battle, but our main target is to stay ahead of Thierry.”
“Obviously, I’m pleased with my day, even though it was stressful and pretty complicated because we had expected the roads to dry out more. But, I’m pleased with my driving, although it took me a bit of time to get back into the swing of things this morning. I gave it my all throughout the leg, without making any mistakes despite the really tricky conditions. We’re still right in the mix and that’s the main thing. We’re going to keep pushing because it’s so tight at the front that anything can happen.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Elfyn Evans (4th)
“It’s been another challenging but rewarding day. The conditions made for some fairly tricky stages, but we delivered a clean and tidy drive and are in a good position going into the final day. It’s so close out there and it really is anyone’s for the taking. We’re still in the hunt and we’ll keep pushing to bring home a strong result.”
Teemu Suninen (11th)
“It’s been another difficult day for us. This was our first time driving on wet Tarmac with this car and there were a lot of new things for me to learn. We also had some issues with the brakes in the middle stage this afternoon [SS12]. But then on the last long one [SS13] I was able to set quite a good time and I was happy with that. Of course, there are still some seconds to find, but we showed some improvement which was good.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville (5th)
“It has been a very strong Saturday for us. We have had a great feeling from within the car and we have been able to really push throughout the entire day. The tyre choice this morning was not easy with the wet conditions but we had to find a compromise. It was perhaps not the fastest but we made it through. We took two stage wins this afternoon and have climbed up to fifth place overall, just 12.7 seconds from the lead. It’s really close, and anything is possible. I can say for sure that we will continue to fight hard. There’s all to play for on Sunday.”
Dani Sordo (6th)
“I would summarise the day as one of two halves – a positive morning and a trickier afternoon. We had a promising Friday and we continued in that way on the opening loop today. We could set some good stage times and moved into the lead of the rally by lunchtime service. It’s always nice to lead a rally but even more so in front of our home fans. Sadly, we couldn’t maintain that pace on the muddier stages this afternoon, losing time to the leaders. However, we are still in touch and there are four stages on Sunday to get ourselves back towards the podium.”
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 12, Rally de España 25-28 October 2018 Dani Sordo, Carlos Del Barrio, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Helena El Mokni Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Andreas Mikkelsen (10th)
“Not a good day for us. We didn’t really understand why we struggled to get a good feeling. It is the first time we’ve really tackled competitive stages with this car in such conditions. The afternoon loop didn’t go much better so we will have to analyse what we’ve done today to see if there’s anything we can do before the final stages on Sunday morning.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Esapekka Lappi (7th)
“I am pretty happy with today. We had a good tyre strategy in the morning, and it wasn’t too bad in the afternoon either. On the long stage, SS13 this afternoon we had a small mistake on a really muddy corner and that lost us a lot of time. But otherwise the speed was there. Overall it was definitely more positive than yesterday. Tomorrow we can’t really catch those ahead but we will try to reach the finish and enjoy it.”
Ott Tänak (8th)
“Obviously it has been a tough day. It started fine but then we got the puncture and lost a lot of time.
This afternoon we had the worst position with all the dirt on the road. I made a mistake myself – we had a spin in the long stage, SS13 – but otherwise we did all we could. Let’s see what the weather brings tomorrow, as it looks like it will be another challenging day. In the drivers’ championship there is not much we can do now, but we are also fighting for the manufacturers’ championship and this is still looking good, so I will give my best for this.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Craig Breen (9th)
“We haven’t had the day we were hoping for, even though the pace was there again. Unfortunately, our two spins have proven very costly. But I’m going to give it everything to try and finish on a positive note tomorrow.”
Khalid Al Qassimi (19th)
“It was quite tricky this morning, driving in the wet on soft slicks. I was more comfortable this afternoon with rain tyres, even though the mud in places didn’t make my job any easier. I’m pleased to have avoided making any mistakes and I feel like I have learned more things today.”
Sunday
We had just four stages to complete the event, totalling 61.70km’s of action. The start list had been changed again – Al Qassimi, Suninen, Mikkelsen, Breen, Tänak, Lappi, Sordo, Neuville, Evans, Loeb, Ogier, Latvala.
The first stage of the day was damp, but drying. Loeb won SS15 from Dani and Thierry and this was good enough for him to take the lead from Latvala! This was after deciding to change to the hard compound Michelin. Thierry also closed the gap to Elfyn in their battle for fourth overall.
Into SS16 and Loeb increased his advantage over Latvala to 7.1 seconds. After going second fastest in the stage, Ott passed Esapekka for seventh overall. Meanwhile, Elfyn had found that he got passed by both Thierry and Dani and dropped to sixth overall.
Just two to go then and Ogier won SS17 from Evans and Sordo. Loeb suffered a spin, but maintained his lead over new second placed man, Ogier. What had happened to Jari-Matti? He’d clipped some Armco in the stage and broken his wheel. He lost 48 seconds as a result and was now in sixth place. Evans was now just two seconds behind Neuville and M-Sport wanted him to get the podium to take more points away from him.
Well, the final stage then and the power stage too. Who would fill the top five places and gain those points? Well, the top five looked like this. Tanak, Ogier, Loeb, Evans, Sordo. No power stage points for Neuville.
Well, Seb Loeb had won his first world rally championship event since Argentina 2013! Meantime, Seb Ogier had finished in second and Elfyn Evans secured third place, beating Thierry Neuville by just half a second! All of this meant that Thierry had lost the championship lead and was now three points behind Ogier.
Sébastien Loeb, Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans celebrate! Photo credit, Citroen Racing
Here’s final finishing positions.
FINAL STANDINGS
Loeb / Elena (Citroën C3 WRC) 3:12:08.0
Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.9
Evans / Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +16.5
Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +17.0
Sordo / Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 WRC) +18.6
Tänak / Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:03.9
Lappi / Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:16.6
Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:26.4
Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) +2:07.0
Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Hyundai i20 WRC) +2:48.2
The final thoughts then – Top three first.
Sébastien Loeb
“It was an almighty scrap, right to the bitter end. When I saw that I had won on the display at the end of the final stage, it was a truly incredible feeling! It’s really nice to have managed to be on the pace again after all these years, because the guys haven’t stood still whilst I’ve been away and they really pushed hard every inch of the way. I couldn’t afford to drag my heels in getting my bearings back on the gravel on Friday, or on the wet tarmac yesterday either. We were quick this morning after making the right call on tyres and then we held on, despite a minor error on the penultimate stage. Right now, given how the rally panned out, I’d be tempted to say it’s perhaps my greatest win and I’m delighted to secure what is a richly- deserved result for the team.”
Sébastien Ogier
“It’s been an eventful weekend but we’re feeling good at the end of it. We knew that it would be difficult starting second on the road and the wet conditions made it really challenging as well. But we never gave up and gave it everything we had. You’re always a little frustrated when you miss the victory by such a small margin, but we tried everything we could and it’s still been a positive weekend as we regained the lead of the championship. Starting first on the road in Australia will be difficult, but I prefer to have the points in hand. It will be a tough rally and we will have to give it everything we have if we want to regain the title.”
Elfyn Evans
“We came here to secure a good result and that’s what we got. The speed has been up there for the past few rallies now, but for various reasons we’ve come away empty handed. It’s good to finally see that speed rewarded and to show that we had the pace on both surfaces here in Spain.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville (4th)
“This has been a crazy and intense rally, which summarises the highly competitive nature of this entire championship. I am obviously disappointed not to have had the chance to finish on the podium today and to score valuable extra points in the Power Stage. We were unlucky; there was a stone in the road that I couldn’t avoid and it damaged the right rear wheel rim. Yesterday, we caught back up with the front- runners by taking some risks. Today we had hoped to compete with the Fords but we just weren’t able to manage it. The title fight is wide-open heading to Australia – both drivers and manufacturers – which is a great advert for WRC! We won the rally from second on the road last season so everything is possible.”
Dani Sordo (5th)
“I am not entirely happy with the weekend or the result but at the same time I’m not too disappointed. We have lost some time over the rally due to difficult tyre choices but it’s not been an easy event to read from a strategy point of view. I have done my best and also set some competitive stage times too, so it’s not all bad. We were in the fight right until the end and it was definitely an exciting rally for all of the fans. As always, it’s a pleasure to compete in my home rally and I hope we have given the spectators the entertainment they have become used to watching.”
Andreas Mikkelsen (10th)
“Once again, we have not come away with the result we were expecting or know we are able to achieve, but we’ve tried our hardest. I can’t quite explain why the feeling or the pace is not there. Today’s final stages allowed me to get some drier running and to try out a set-up that worked well in testing. It still wasn’t perfect so we just have to keep working to unlock whatever is missing. It’s been a tough rally with changing weather conditions, as well as gravel and tarmac stages, so not at all straightforward. We have to keep our heads up and put our full effort into the final round of the season in Australia, and to support the team and Thierry as best we can.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Ott Tänak (6th)
“Today the driving was very enjoyable. After the tricky conditions yesterday, these were really the typical Catalunya asphalt roads which we had been looking forward to. In the Power Stage I had more or less nothing to lose. OK, we still needed to finish but I pushed very hard as it was my only chance to stay mathematically in the championship fight. I did all I could and we will not give up. We also still have a strong position in the manufacturers’ championship.”
Esapekka Lappi (7th)
“It has been a tough weekend, but it is nice to finish this rally for the first time, which is important, and I think I learned a lot during the weekend. Today I didn’t have much to fight for in the overall standings: I just needed to bring the car to the finish and secure the points for the manufacturers’ championship, and in this sense, everything went well.”
Jari-Matti Latvala (8th)
“We were too soft with the tyres and with the setup this morning, but the second stage was a lot better and the fight for the win was still on. The car felt really good and everything was going well. Unfortunately, in one corner I turned too quickly and I touched a pillar that was supporting the barrier. It damaged the tyre immediately so we had to drive half the stage with a punctured tyre. I am really sorry for my mistake, but this can happen when you are fighting for every tenth of a second. The result was not what we wanted but I am very happy with the performance this weekend, and I am really looking forward to Australia.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Craig Breen (9th)
“It was a difficult weekend for us, even though we had great speed at times, especially on the gravel. But we lost a lot of time with our spins. We had nothing to play for today, but we enjoyed ourselves behind the wheel and that was the aim, so we can head for Australia in the best possible frame of mind.”
Khalid Al Qassimi (21st)
“With the unpredictable weather, it wasn’t an easy race for me. We improved gradually on gravel, on tarmac, I wasn’t comfortable on the wet roads yesterday, but I had more confidence today.”
What an amazing rally! Five different leaders, and a 79th win for Seb Loeb and Daniel Elena. The other standout performance was Elfyn Evans. He and Dan Barritt put together a really great drive, shading some drivers who have factory seats.
Well, there it is! What a championship finish we are going to have in Australia! The favourites have to be the top two, but I think it’s safe to say, we cannot discount Ott Tanak. Seb will have to open the road on Friday, and to keep the gaps small, will need to push hard. Thierry will want to win the rally and take the championship as well! We only have 16 days to go!
Brad Binder secured his third win of the season in the intermediate class. (Image courtesy of Ajo Motorsport)
From the qualifying session from the Moto2 Australian Grand Prix, we learned that Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) would not be fighting for the victory on Sunday. In fact, Brad Binder, Oliveira’s teammate was the pre-race favourite, after qualifying on the second row in fifth place.
Contrasting starts for the two championship combatants saw the Bagnaia climb up into the top five in the early laps, whilst Oliveira languished just inside the points. The lead chopped and changed at the front in the early stages, and soon Bagnaia’s lack of pace became evident as he started to fall back through the pack, and towards Oliveira.
At the front it was a big scrap, with Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing) being joined in a group fight for the lead by Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP), Brad Binder, the two HP40 Pons machines of Lorenzo Baldassarri and Augusto Fernandez, Iker Lecuona (Swiss Innovative Investors), Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46), Remy Gardner (Tech 3 Racing) and Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS). Both Baldassarri and Marini had shown some impressive pace in the early laps after the start; after getting caught behind Bagnaia in the initial stages they both managed to clear their VR46 Riders Academy colleague and join the fight at the front.
However, by the time they had arrived in the lead battle, Pasini had hit the deck, crashing out at turn four, and continuing his record of having never scored an intermediate class point at Phillip Island.
Soon after, Lecuona went down as he was trying to pass Vierge in the Southern Loop. Lecuona got a decent run through Doohan’s and looked on the inside of Vierge at turn two, but didn’t get far enough alongside his compatriot, who wiped the KTM rider’s nose sending the pair of them wide and Lecuona onto the grass, losing control and falling.
The next rider to drop out of the leading group was Remy Gardner, who crashed at MG (turn ten) on lap thirteen. It was a shame for Gardner, who had enjoyed a good home Grand Prix weekend, and was certainly in the mix for a top result.
That left Baldassarri, Fernandez, Mir, Binder, Vierge and Marini to fight it out for the win – at least until Baldassarri went down at MG with three laps to go.
With Baldassarri down, Binder made his move, climbing from fifth on lap 22 to second a lap later, before taking the lead on the penultimate lap, a lead which he held going into the final tour.
A strong move from Vierge on Fernandez at the Honda Hairpin let the two leaders escape a little, which was enough to ensure that the win was decided in a duel. Marini was unable to take advantage of Vierge and Fernandez running on as he ran on himself in the same corner.
A strong final lap from Binder ensured that he had enough distance to Mir going into MG – the last real overtaking opportunity of the lap – so the Spaniard couldn’t make a move, and had to focus on getting a good run from the final corner to try to slipstream Binder to the line.
Binder should have been far gone, really, but a good run through the final two corners for Mir, and what looked like too much spin for Binder gave the rookie a chance, although the South African’s tow proved insufficient to pull Mir by, and the 2016 Moto3 World Champion took his third win of the season.
Not only did Binder gain from this the satisfaction of taking victory, but he also surpassed his championship-contending teammate’s win total for the season, and heavily strengthened his position in third in the standings, which was also assisted by Baldassarri’s late crash.
Second place for Mir means he has one less race to try to claim his first Moto2 win before he steps up to MotoGP next season with Suzuki. Certainly the Phillip Island circuit saw a return to form for the reigning Moto3 World Champion, and he needs to carry this into Sepang and Valencia if he is to take a win before 2018 is through.
Joining Binder and Mir on the podium was Xavi Vierge, who won out in the all-Spanish fight for the bottom step of the podium. It was Vierge’s second podium of the season, and first since his injury in Austria. Like Mir, he will be aiming to carry this forward into the final two rounds in search of his first Moto2 World Championship victory.
Augusto Fernandez enjoyed yet another impressive performance for HP40 Pons, and built on his encouraging Japanese GP weekend one week ago. He missed the podium by 0.008 seconds to Vierge.
Fifth place for Luca Marini was well deserved. After the race he complained of chatter towards the end, which he offered as an explanation to his final lap mistake at Honda. Another solid result for him means that he looks to be ending the season in a good way, which is positive for him as he looks to 2019 and what should be a championship challenge.
Dominique Aegerter finished sixth in what was his best race of the season, which came at the end of his best weekend of the season. It looks like the team are not going to be on the grid next year, so on the weekend which marked one year since the death of Stefan Kiefer, Aegerter’s result was timely to say the least.
Miguel Oliveira eventually came home in eleventh place, with his championship rival Francesco Bagnaia 1.1 seconds behind in twelfth. Ultimately, Bagnaia did what he had to do, and lost only one point to Oliveira. Bagnaia now has the opportunity to take the championship in Sepang, needing just eleven points to become the 2018 Moto2 World Champion.
Andrea Dovizioso secured yet another podium finish this season, with a hard fought third place during the Australian Grand Prix. Such were the scenes of celebration beneath the podium and back in the team garage, a casual observer could be forgiven for thinking they’d won the championship.
The celebratory scenes from Sunday starkly contrast with last year’s corresponding Grand Prix, which was a complete disaster for Ducati. Slow times during the practice and qualifying sessions resulted in the humiliation of both factory riders, Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, having to start from the fourth and sixth rows of the grid respectively. The race fared even worse as between them they could only manage a frankly woeful three points. It effectively killed all realistic possibility that the Italian rider could become world champion that season.
Dovizioso demonstrated serious front running pace all throughout the weekend, rarely being found outside the top 5 of the timesheets. A remarkable feat in itself as, traditionally, the Phillip Island circuit is one of the worst for Ducati. Without any long straight to blast away from the pack, and a plethora of fast sweeping corners (so long the nadir of all Desmosedici machines), the Italian team generally grit their teeth and pray for the round to end quickly. To negate the severe loss of lap time due to the above reasons, riding style – and commitment – becomes of paramount importance.
It cannot be underestimated how brave Dovizioso is under braking, regularly being given the title of ‘Last of the Late Brakers’. Although there is no official measurement as to the stopping points of each rider, from the TV images the Ducati man does visibly brake later than the rest of his rivals. In addition to this, he possesses pinpoint accuracy with both his corner entry and exit lines. All of which results in an extremely competitive performance regardless of the circuit.
Speaking after the race, Dovi was beaming in the winners’ enclosure: “Phillip Island was a fundamental test to understand our level of competitiveness and now we know we have made a good step forward over last year.” Typically understated as always. Ducati have made an enormous step with the development of their bike.
Andrea Dovizioso battles with Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) for podium honours. Such a thing was not even remotely possible last year.
Across the garage, there were equally joyous scenes. Standing in for the injured Jorge Lorenzo, 33-year old Alvaro Bautista enjoyed a brilliant first weekend on the Desmosedici GP18. Having not ridden this year’s machine at all before the Friday practice sessions, the Spaniard went to considerable length in the build up to the weekend, stating that Ducati “had no real targets to aim for”.
Perhaps predictably as a consequence, he took a few tumbles during the early stages of the weekend as he learnt where the performance limits of the factory bike were. Despite this, Bautista produced a faultless race day performance, looking completely at one with the factory bike – and racing it as if he had been for a full season. His riding style – comparable to that of Casey Stoner – suits the Desmosedici, and the Spaniard relishes the physicality required to haul and wrestle the bike through the faster corners. Having started from P11 on the grid, Bautista charged through the pack, dicing for a place on the podium alongside his teammate for almost the entirety of the race before falling back to consolidate fourth place.
Speaking after the race, Bautista explained the reason for dropping behind his teammate: “In the last few laps I made a few small mistakes and lost contact with Dovizioso and Iannone, but in any case I’m very happy with my overall result, especially for the team and for Ducati, whom I would like to thank once again for the trust they have shown in me.” Any disappointment for not making the podium quickly evaporated, having achieved a lifetime ambition to race for the factory team.
Having taken some time on Friday to adjust to the GP18 performance limits, Alvaro Bautista produced a stunning ride on race day.
Despite not taking the race victory, Dovizioso has nevertheless demonstrated to the full just how far Ducati have developed the Desmosedici this season. It is still a rocket down a long straight, but crucially they have now made a bike that is stable enough at most circuits to enable the riders to attack the faster corners with confidence.
As for Bautista, he has almost certainly secured the factory ride now for as long as Lorenzo remains out injured. The result for the Spaniard could not have come at a more opportune moment ahead of his move to World Superbikes next season, with the factory supported Aruba.it Ducati team. A clear statement of intent to the established front runners of the series, watching on from their hotel rooms in Qatar.
