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  • Oliveira and KTM in Front as Moto2 Hits Austria

    The Moto2 Pack bunched up at Brno. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    Brno was probably the best Moto2 race of the season. In fact, it definitely was. For once, Miguel Oliveira qualified and fought at the front for the whole race. And what a fight it was. Between himself, Francesco Bagnaia, Luca Marini and later Lorenzo Baldassarri, there was some stunning action and, whilst it boiled down to what was ultimately a two-way scrap for the win between Miguel and Marini, that two-way scrap proved to be one of the highlights of the year.
    Oliveira came out the victor of that battle against the comparatively inexperienced Marini, and with that he took the championship lead heading into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix – KTM’s home round, as well as that of the title sponsor. A win for Oliveira this weekend would not only strengthen his position atop the championship, it would also be perfectly timed from the point of view of his employer and their backers. Furthermore, KTM are currently on two consecutive wins and the last time they had two wins on the bounce, they went and took a third in succession too. That was in the last three races of last season, where both Oliveira and Brad Binder dominated the 2017 series champion, Franco Morbidelli. A repeat at this stage in the season could put Oliveira well in the driving seat for the 2018 Moto2 World Championship with just under half the season remaining.

    That said, last year was not such a great round for the KTM Moto2 squad, and especially for Oliveira. The Portuguese crashed out of turn eight when closing down the leaders, with what was quite a big high side. Meanwhile, Brad Binder could only manage seventh place, nine seconds off the win. It would be a surprise to see them so far away this year, but if Oliveira has a return to his usual 2018 qualifying form, it could spell disaster for the championship hopeful, when you consider the pileup at turn one last year.

    Miguel Oliveira at Brno 2018. Image courtesy of Marcin Kin/KTM

    Pecco Bagnaia needs to hit back on Sunday. He looked good after Assen, and Sachsenring had shaped up well for him before Sunday, but with bad luck in the German GP and just losing out in the battle at the end of the Czech GP, ending up third, he is now on the back foot in the championship. On the positive side, Bagnaia still looks like one of two strongest riders in the last races, and ultimately it has been circumstance that has seen him lose his championship advantage. Also, the second Sky Racing Team VR46 rider, Luca Marini, has turned up in the last couple of weekends, so if it is needed Bagnaia has a rear gunner.

    But Marini is also out for himself, obviously, and as he proved last week he has the potential to fight strongly for the win himself. Marini has come almost from nowhere in the last three races, but the short summer break worked perfectly for him, as he was able to keep the momentum he built in the Dutch and German GPs – taking his first front row in Assen and first podium in Germany – into Brno where he fought for the victory for the first time. Now, he has gone 3-2 in the last two races, leaving the first position as the next logical step, right?

    With the improvement in the second side of the Sky VR46 squad, it is even more critical that Brad Binder becomes a consistent podium/victory contender. Other than his win in Sachsenring, Binde hasn’t really featured at the front all season, at least not for a full race. His Germany win proved that he has the potential to be there, he just needs to be there more often, and the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring would be the perfect time for him to return to the podium.

    Lorenzo Baldassarri has had a few difficult races. Assen was positive, and he could have won until he suffered the puncture. In Germany he dropped out before it was possible to judge what his potential was. Brno went better, though with a fourth place which could have been a podium, or even a win, but his tyre was destroyed by the end of the race, so he had nothing to fight with for the podium. He has taken some criticism, because he basically cost Bagnaia – a fellow VR46 Riders’ Academy member, and flatmate – the chance to fight for the victory in the last lap by passing him in the middle of the turn 11/12 chicane but ultimately he is out on the track for himself and he thought he would have the chance for the win, but to pass three riders in one lap is almost impossible. For sure, he cost himself and Bagnaia the shot at the victory with the move he made, but he had to try, because if he didn’t try, for the sake of another rider, there is no point in being there – it’s mid-season, you wouldn’t expect team orders at this stage, so why he should be expected to help someone from another team is a little strange. Anyway, this weekend presents a fresh opportunity for Baldassarri, and with Lorenzo, you just don’t know what you are going to get.

    The weather looks like it is going to play its part this weekend. Rain is predicted for the whole weekend, and last year, when it rained, the track was a disaster – riders were crashing almost by the second and reaching the barriers with regularity. Safety is definitely a weak point of the Red Bull Ring, and several riders have spoken of their worry ahead of the race weekend about the danger in wet conditions, so hopefully those concerns will be alleviated, either by fair weather or by decent track conditions, although both are unfortunately unlikely.

  • Bezzecchi Leads Moto3 to Austria for KTM

    For round eleven of the 2018 Moto3 World Championship, Marco Bezzecchi leads the lightweight field to Austria, and the Red Bull Ring (or, A1 Ring if you’re sponsored by another energy drinks company).

    Of course, Bezzecchi leading the championship at this stage is important, since it is also KTM’s home race. It means that the 40,000 people populating the KTM stand on Sunday will be able to see one of their chosen factory’s riders fighting to maintain the lead of the championship. However, coming off such a difficult weekend in Brno last week Bezzecchi will be hoping to return to his form of the first half of the year, where he was on the podium in six out of the nine races. And, of course, KTM would love for their sole championship challenger to take the win at their home event.

    Marco Bezzecchi at Brno 2018. Image courtesy of Marcin Kin/KTM

    The person most likely to deny Bezzecchi the title, Jorge Martin, who is trying to come back this weekend. He broke his radius last weekend in Brno in the first practice session on Friday morning, putting him out of last weekend’s Czech GP. The doctors have allowed Martin to compete, it would really be little surprise to see him fighting at the front – remember last year, when he was in tears in parc ferme after making the podium with his 5-week-old broken leg.

    Even if Bezzecchi can’t take full advantage of Martin’s broken radius  for the second week running, the Spaniard’s Gresini Racing teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio, may well make the number 88 pay. He took his first win last week, making up for the disappointment of Le Mans, and the feeling has been that one win would set the Italian up to become a regular Grand Prix winner. We will begin to find out whether Diggia will go the route of Jorge Martin, and become a serial victor, or the route of Enea Bastianini, and wait still for months before another victory.

    Speaking of Bastianini; he is without a podium since he was third in Assen, at which point he was looking like someone who could come back into championship contention. Since then, though, he crashed in Germany and could only manage fourth in Brno, which in reality wasn’t such a bad result considering the weekend he had. Nonetheless, he benefited from Martin’s injury last week, and is still in the mix for the championship – if very much on the outside – but this weekend will require a big result for La Bestia if he wants to close more on the top.

    Enea Bastianini at Brno 2018. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    The fifth and final realistic championship contender is Aron Canet, who has been completely under the radar this year, and is the only rider in the fight without a win. In fact, Brno was only Canet’s fourth podium of the year, but it’s been his finishing ratio that has helped Canet’s challenge, only crashing out of one race – Jerez. A win this weekend would make Canet an absolute contender, although he was only fifth last year, 3.5 seconds off the victorious Joan Mir.

    This summer, Europe has been in the middle of a heatwave, and it has had a big impact on the World Championship, bringing higher-than-expected track temperatures which have especially affected MotoGP. However, this weekend, it looks like it will be wet throughout, which could have a big impact on the result, with perhaps some unlikely riders finding the podium. Of course, Moto3 is the only category in the World Championship to have had a wet race this year, back in Argentina when Bezzecchi won his one and only race. It could be bad for Martin, though, as he will be conscious of his injury, and may be very cautious so as to not worsen the damage to his wrist. On the other hand, it could be great for Martin, because the riders with nothing to lose – such as a John McPhee, a Jakub Kornfeil, or a Gabriel Rodrigo – could arrive and take points off his rivals, meaning he wouldn’t lose too many points to his competitors should he be ruled out through injury.

  • The making of Skydriver

    The making of Skydriver

    Photo credit – Sky Cam Wales

    Awards, beers, eBay, clones, drones, a big yellow crane plus a crash landing – the full story and secrets behind the jaw-dropping #Skydriver viral video have been revealed in a short follow-up film released today (Tuesday).

    What started life as some bar-room bravado banter ended up, more than two years later, with a livered car flying down one of Zip World’s adventure tourism wires at Slate Mountain, Blaenau Ffestiniog in north Wales – an incredible stunt that has already been watched by many hundreds of thousands of online viewers in the first few days since being released on Wednesday 1 August.

    Matt Edwards (@MERallysport ) drove the car – Photo credit Wales Rally GB

    Although some of the more eagle-eyed browsers did spot that two different look-a-like Dayinsure liveried cars had been used for the rally driving and sky driving elements (the clue was in the wheels), what the cameras didn’t reveal was the car’s somewhat unplanned bumpy landing at the end of its dramatic, high speed flight down Zip World Titan.

    The full story is now disclosed in a special behind-the-scenes #InsideSkydriver film. The edit includes yet to be seen footage of the spectacular stunt plus interviews with key members of the ambitious #Skydriver team who were not only responsible for dreaming up such a crazy proposition but also for actually accomplishing the eye-catching feat.

  • The Goal Of F1 – Mick Schumacher On Following In His Father’s Footsteps At Spa-Francorchamps | M1TG

    The Goal Of F1 – Mick Schumacher On Following In His Father’s Footsteps At Spa-Francorchamps | M1TG

    Check out the latest Mobil 1 The Grid feature with Mick Schumacher, during which he talks about the Schumacher family legacy at Spa, what it was like to drive Michael’s title-winning 1994 Benetton at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, and his ultimate ambition of reaching F1.

    Make sure that you follow Mobil 1 The Grid:
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    Copyright (c) FIA Formula 3 European Championship / Thomas Suer

    On the Schumacher legacy at Spa: “I have only good memories of Spa. As everybody knows, this is, let’s say, the living room of my dad. I really like and love racing here, because I know that he raced here as well. I’m always happy to be here and every year to come back here.”
    On driving Michael’s title-winning Benetton: “The 1994 car was, for sure, stunning to have a lap in here. Unfortunately, it was only one. To be honest, it wasn’t that much of a difference to an F3 car. I had hoped to have a bit more, let’s say, mileage in it, but it wasn’t the case. Hopefully in the future I will be able to drive some other cars.”
    On the European Formula 3 season: “The championship is, for sure, very strong. We have good drivers, who all came from karting. For me, unfortunately, the luck wasn’t on my side up to now. I’m really hoping that the rest of the season gets better, and that the luck is a bit on my side. I will fight until I’m on the top step.”
    On fans and his Formula 1 goal: “To be honest, here I’m a bit more focused on what I’m doing on track, so I don’t really notice it too much. For sure, my goal was always F1, and it’s still my goal. Now we’re doing one step after the other. I’m looking forward to it.”

  • No Martin, But Di Giannantonio’s Brilliant Debut Win Keeps Gresini on the Top Step

    No Martin, But Di Giannantonio’s Brilliant Debut Win Keeps Gresini on the Top Step

    After scoring pole position on Saturday, his first in Moto3, Jakub Kornfeil went into Sunday’s Moto3 Czech Grand Prix with hopes of delivering his home crowd a top result.

    From the off, it looked as though it would be on the cards, as the most experienced rider in the lightweight class field got to turn one first, and duly scarpered, pulling a second on the field in the first lap. Kornfeil managed to hold that gap, too, for a small while, but after a couple of laps, the pack pulled their respective fingers out, and quickly closed erased the advantage the pole sitter had built in the initial stages of the race.

    Jakub Kornfeil falling back into the pack. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    At this point, it looked like a normal, chaotic, Moto3 race, with all fifteen points scoring positions, plus a few more, locked together in the fight for the win.
    This was good for several people, especially the likes of Marco Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini who were looking to take advantage of Jorge Martin’s absence, but were having to do so from poor grid positions, fourteenth for Bezzecchi and tenth for Bastianini.

    On the other hand, Aron Canet appeared at one stage as though he would have the pace to break the pack or at least split the group, setting several fastest laps on his early charge through the field to the front, but once he arrived at the head of the pack, he could do nothing about their attention.

    It was a similar story for Fabio Di Giannantonio, who should have been on pole before all of the mistiming occurred on Saturday afternoon. The Italian was at the front for less than half a lap before he started to pull away, along with Gabriel Rodrigo, but a mistake for the number 21 Gresini rider at turn ten made all that work null and void, as he was sucked back into the group.

    Further back through the field, but still in the front group, there were many changes of position, riders climbing up the rankings, only to steadily fall back again, whilst some hung around the same spot, unable to advance their standing. It was the most “Moto3” Moto3 race of the season, the group stayed together for almost the whole race, and when it split in the closing stages, there were still ten riders in victory contention.

    Di Giannantonio 1st and Canet 2nd in Brno 2018. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    Especially, though, it was Di Giannantonio, Kornfeil and Canet who were looking likely to take the top step, all looking for firsts of some kind: both Di Giannantonio and Kornfeil were looking for their first Moto3 World Championship victories and Canet was in search of his first of 2018.

    This doesn’t always happen – especially in races as frenetic, confusing and chaotic as Moto3 group races – but on this occasion it did, the fastest riders over the course of the race being the ones fighting it out for the victory.

    Finally, it was the should-have-been pole sitter, Fabio Di Giannantonio who righted the wrongs of Le Mans – where the Race Direction committed daylight robbery – and took his first (official) Moto3 World Championship victory.

    Twenty-two years on from Valentino Rossi’s first Grand Prix victory in Brno, back in 1996 in the 125cc class, there are of course many comparisons to make between the nine-times World Champion and Di Giannantonio – ironically one of the Italians not associated with the VR46 empire. However, on a weekend where the shadow cast by the biggest stars of Grand Prix motorcycle racing is under particular scrutiny, it seems like a bad moment and, after all, this is Fabio’s first win, perhaps he might even deserve all of the attention for this one.

    Either way, Di Giannantonio’s ride was sublime, with some stunningly tough moves on both Kornfeil and Oettl in the middle of the stadium section. His confidence was immense, and ultimately undeniable. Furthermore, Di Giannantonio spent a lot of time in the front five positions, a crucial thing if you want to fight for the victory, and a sign of a rider with a good feeling, because it means they are always able to respond, even to their fastest rivals. Now we have to see whether this victory will act like Jorge Martin’s first win, and open the floodgates for Diggia, who moved to second in the championship and just 17 points off the top spot. All of a sudden he is right back in the championship hunt, and could prove to be Martin’s biggest threat for the title.

    Aron Canet was second over the line, little over a tenth behind Di Giannantonio. It was a strong ride from the Spaniard, perhaps his best of the year and his strongest challenge for victory since Qatar. Like Diggia, he stayed pretty much in the top positions for the whole race, losing out only through the strength of Di Giannantonio, and no fault of his own, something from which he can take big motivation and confidence into the next races. Also, Canet is now only 21 points back on the championship lead, and like Di Giannantonio is still right in the title fight.

    Whilst a dream would have been the dream of Kornfeil going into Sunday, he had to make do with third place, whish is still far beyond what probably anyone expected him to achieve. KTM had a new frame for this weekend, a softer one to try to negate a little bit the problem they have been having in trying to get the bike turned, especially mid-corner. It seemed to work a treat for Kornfeil, as he had his best weekend of the year, and fully deserved the podium position he walked away with, and no doubt he brought a lot of smiles to the faces of the Czech fans who were out in their droves to watch Sunday’s action.

    Enea Bastianini at Brno 2018. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    Fourth over the line was Enea Bastianini, who passed Gabriel Rodrigo on the final lap to demote the Argentine to fifth, but was too late to mount an assault on the podium. Again, it was an important points haul for Bastianini who now lies 36 points off the championship lead, and is not entirely out of contention. But if he wants to take the lightweight class crown in what will probably be his final year in Moto3 he will need to have a strong run of races in the coming rounds.

    Behind fifth-placed Rodriog was the new championship leader, Marco Bezzecchi, who recovered quite well from a poor weekend to take sixth spot. It was the first race in which Bezzecchi has finished, but not inside the podium places. However, he did perhaps more than was expected after Saturday, when he qualified fourteenth, and gave KTM the championship lead going into the Austrian manufacturer’s home race in a weeks’ time, a round where he will hope to return to the podium, and maybe even win at a track which on paper should suit his bike and style quite well.

    Seventh place went to Marcos Ramirez, who continued his good form from Sachsenring; Philipp Oettl was eighth, ahead of Albert Arenas and Lorenzo Dalla Porta who rounded out the top ten.

    Niccolo Antonelli had one of his best races in recent times, but in the end could only manage eleventh, ahead of compatriot and fellow VR46 academy rider, Dennis Foggia who was running strongly all race but dropped back in the final two laps. Thirteenth over the line was Kazuki Masaki, ahead of Tatsuki Suzuki and Tony Arbolino who was the final points scorer.

    Nakarin Atiratphuvapat took sixteenth spot, whilst Jaume Masia was seventeenth, ahead of Alonso Lopez, Nicolo Bulega and Andrea Migno who completed the top twenty. Vicente Perez took twenty-first place, in front of Ayumu Sasaki, Darryn Binder and Filip Salac.

    There were only four retirements: Kaito Toba, John McPhee, Stefano Nepa and Adam Norrodin.

  • Terms & conditions of the giveaway

    1. The promoter of this giveaway is The Pit Crew Online in conjunction VirtTrade Limited.

    2. The giveaway is open worldwide to iOS users only over the age of 16 years.

    3. Members of the promoter and sponsor and their immediate families are excluded.

    4. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this giveaway however the following terms apply:
    • Download, (if you have not already), the F1 © Trading Card Game from: https://go.onelink.me/app/12f78352,
    • Register and claim the welcome bonus by using code, PITCREW in ‘Profile’ page’s ‘Redeem Code’,
    • You may enter the giveaway using iOS on any of the social media channels mentioned herein under the specific instructions below:
    • Twitter: Follow The Pit Crew Online and F1 Trading Card Game accounts, retweet and like the giveaway post and comment with your nickname from the game to verify your entry,
    • Facebook: Like The Pit Crew Online and F1 Trading Card Game pages, like the giveaway post and comment with your nickname from the game to verify your entry.

    5. By entering this giveaway, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

    6. Closing date for entry will be 11th of August 2018 23:59 GTM. After this date the no further entries to the giveaway will be permitted.

    7. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.

    8. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the giveaway will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.

    9. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this giveaway.

    10. The prize is as stated and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The welcome bonus is 10,000 coins for everyone, and giveaway winners will receive 10 packs of ‘Featured Driver Pack’ for the F1 © Trading Card game.

    11. The winner will be notified by Twitter/Facebook. If winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.

    12. The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected / is delivered. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the giveaway will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

    13. Entry into the giveaway will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network.

    14. The winner will be picked at random from all complete entries.

    15. The promoter also reserves the right to cancel the giveaway if circumstances arise outside of its control.

  • British GT: Adam delighted with teammate Haigh’s pace

    British GT: Adam delighted with teammate Haigh’s pace

    Jonny Adam was full of praise for teammate Flick Haigh after the Optimum Motorsport duo’s win at the British GT two hours of Brands Hatch.

    Haigh had to contend with two Safety Car periods – one of them almost 15 minutes – during her stint as she tried to negate the 10s success penalty to be served in the pits.

    Adam appreciated the job his Am teammate did for him.

    “The pace was great and has been good all year, we had a 12s gap at one point and unfortunately that just went away with the first Safety Car and then obviously with the nasty crash down here.

    “Really for Flick there were only four or five flying laps and she showed her pace again to eek out enough of a gap, a seven or eight second buffer, our pitstop was good and we managed just to get in front of Beechdean and Barwell.”

    After emerging from the stops second, ahead of all of their Championship rivals, Adam had almost an hour-long battle with the #69 Lamborghini of Jonny Cocker.

    “The Lamborghini in front looked strong and that’s their best result of the year so they were desperate for the win, but we’re desperate for the Championship as well, so we were pushing extra to get those extra 10 points.

    The Scot is confident ahead of the deciding round at Donnington, where Optimum could be in the lead should an appeal against a 30s penalty from Snetterton be upheld.

    “The Aston is normally a good car around Donnington, luckily enough we won there last year with TF so it’s a good package at Donnington. Qualifying is key, we’ve qualified pole for the last two races and that has really helped our momentum, we’re on a roll now with three podiums on the bounce, a second win of the year so we’re going for it at Donnington.”

    1. Meanwhile, Haigh was delighted with her performance in testing circumstances after twice seeing a significant lead wiped out.

    After building a gap of 12.6 seconds before the first Safety Car period, she was over six seconds clear when the second, longer caution was deployed.

    When Haigh did come into the pits to hand over to Adam, she was over six seconds clear of Andrew Howard once again.

    2. “I’m really pleased, you never what can happen even when you’re on pole so to build a lead and then have to do it again was really good, It was all about helping Jonny out and bringing that deficit down by any margin I could. The team, as always performed amazingly in the stops.

    I just wanted to make it as easy as possible because it is hard enough with the level of the pros there anyway, and I feel like I did my bit and I am really pleased for me, for him and the whole team.”

     

  • British F3 Reaction: Kjaergaard relieved to get back to winning ways

    British F3 Reaction: Kjaergaard relieved to get back to winning ways

    Nicolai Kjaergaard was relieved to return to the top step of the podium to complete a strong weekend at Brands Hatch.

    Kjaergaard’s win backs up a third place in Race One and an impressive rise to ninth in the reverse grid Race Two.

    The Dane led home Carlin teammate Jamie Caroline for a Carlin 1-2, while championship leader Linus Lundqvist maintained a healthy advantage with third place.

    Kjaergaard was quick to praise his Carlin team after ending a run of one podium finish in six races.

    “Carlin have had mega pace all year and prepared a fantastic car, it’s great to be back at the top step of the podium after two average weekends. I’m really, really pleased.

    “The start was good enough and after that all I had to do was a decent job and it’s difficult to overtake, don’t make a mistake and stay consistent.”

    Despite a 111-point deficit to Lundqvist, Kjaergaard says there is still motivation for the rest of the season.

    “Obviously we want to do as well as we can at Donnington and that means wins. I can’t control what he does, but I’m going to try and win as much as possible as I still have second place to play for.”

     

  • British GT: Adam and Haigh win to take the GT3 Championship to the wire,

    British GT: Adam and Haigh win to take the GT3 Championship to the wire,

    Optimum Motorsport were the class of the field at Brands Hatch as Jonny Adam and Flick Haigh took the championship to the wire with one round remaining.

    Mike Robinson took a much needed victory for Balfe Motorsport in GT4 alongside Graham Johnson in the #501 McLaren that started the race 13th in class ahead of Bens Green and Tuck in the #42 BMW, who snatched second from Martin Plowman and Kelvin Fletcher on the run to the line.

    Adam passed Barwell Motorsport’s Jonny Cocker late in the race after the Lamborghini had led for most of the second stint, with the first hour punctuated by a long Safety Car period caused when Mike Newbould and Paul Vice collided on the start straight, severely damaging the Ginetta and the tyre wall.

    Nicki Thiim took third from Darren Turner at the death while the championship leading Barwell Motorsport duo Phil Keen and Jon Minshaw retired late with engine failure to blow the title race wide open ahead of the decider at Donnington Park.

    As Brands Hatch basked in glorious sunshine, Flick Haigh made hay and quickly built the gap that was needed to negate the 10s pit stop penalty  as Andrew Howard provided stern resistance for Graham Davidson.

    Dean MacDonald had fallen back to second in GT4 class behind Century Motorsport teammate Ben Green as the BMWs bossed the early stages the race in that category.

    Haigh had got the gap to 12.6 seconds before the first Safety Car was brought out as the #88 Ginetta of Graham Roberts was spun off after contact with Minshaw, who was in the process of lapping the GT4 runner.

    A short Safety Car period ensued, and Haigh quickly got the hammer down again to build the gap up to seven seconds before a longer Safety Car period ensued, as Mike Newbould in the #55 Ginetta collided with Paul Vice in the #44 Invictus Jaguar on the start straight.

    Newbould in particularly was fortunate to be able to walk away, and indeed gesture angrily at Vice – his Ginetta totally destroyed.

    Haigh only had five laps to build another gap and while she didn’t get the 10s needed, six seconds was nevertheless an impressive effort. A crowded pit lane and the associated chaos meant that her teammate Adam only lost position to Sam De Haan and Jonny Cocker.

    Adam hounded Cocker for almost the entirety of the last hour, and it didn’t look like the Lamborghini would wilt under immense pressure.

    But it only needed one mistake for Adam to pounce, as Cocker ran wide on the kerb at Dingle Dell with four minutes remaining to steal a vital victory ahead of the final round in September.

    Jack Mitchell saw his GT4 Championship lead cut to 10 points after finishing seventh in class after starting pole with Dean MacDonald.

    A 20s pit stop penalty and two Safety Car periods in the opening stint meant it was always going to be difficult for the #43 BMW to convert pole into a win.

    Fortune and strategy in the pit stops melee meant that the #501 McLaren of Mike Robinson ended the round of stops in the lead, and while he didn’t drive off he was never troubled by Martin Plowman in the #53 Nissan and Scott Malvern in the #66 Mercedes.

    Malvern was faster than Plowman but the Nissan was wider than ever and the Mercedes simply could not batter the door down, while Ben Tuck recovered well for the #42 BMW to climb back from eighth.

    Tuck caught Malvern and Plowman at the end and quickly deposed Malvern with a minute left, before he outdragged Plowman on the run to the chequered flag.

     

     

     

  • Safety in Motorsports Week: Dan Wheldon, A Horribly Perfect Storm

    The 2011 IndyCar season finale is about to begin. The thirty-four drivers line up on the grid of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but there’s an unusual entrant at the back. Dan Wheldon had been without a permanent ride all season – he’d only started two races in 2011. Las Vegas was to be his third, this time with a very tasty incentive. He had been offered $5 million if he could win from the back of the grid by IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard as a way of adding to the spectacle, dubbed a ‘dash for cash’.

    The race distance stands at 200 laps. 200 laps to pass 33 cars and make it to Victory Lane, a challenge that Wheldon, ever the racer, relished. ABC selected the two-time Indy 500 champion as their in-race reporter, and they talked to Wheldon just before the race start, where he told them, “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think that I could win”.

    Formation lap done, it was time for the green flag, and Wheldon made up ten places in the first ten laps. If he continued at that pace, he’d stand a very good chance of being in the mix by lap 200 and he knew it.

    Wade Cunningham and James Hinchcliffe made light contact on lap 12 in a seemingly insignificant incident. However, the numerous and fast-approaching cars changed that. Cunningham and Hinchcliffe were collected in a high-speed, 15-car wreck as drivers tried to avoid the chaos.

    This type of wreck was more accustomed to NASCAR rather than IndyCar, but it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. The consequences, however, were.

    While 14 of the 15 drivers got away relatively unharmed, one didn’t. That one was Wheldon. There was a two-hour delay before the remaining drivers were given the news. It told them of something they knew could happen, but didn’t think ever would happen to them – they wouldn’t step in the car if they thought it would. The race was abandoned after the field completed a five-lap salute to their fallen friend, but this was just the start of what was to unfold.

    2011 Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon. Image courtesy of Greg Hildebrand (creative commons 2.0 )

    On December 15th 2011, a 49-page document was published and released to the media, providing in-depth analysis of every angle of the 15-car crash that resulted in Wheldon’s death. It attributed his death to a “non-survivable” impact with a fence post on the catch fencing where his roll-hoop was torn off and left his helmeted head exposed.

    As a result, Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s contract was temporarily suspended and eventually permanently ended after it was deemed that the series could no longer race there with ensured safety. The same fate almost befell Texas Motor Speedway, which is another high-banked oval, but after some consideration it remained on the calendar and is still there to this day.

    Las Vegas have since expressed interest at returning to the schedule, but IndyCar management remain sceptical, not wanting to re-open old wounds or risk anything else at that track.

    Since 16th October 2011, Bernard and IndyCar as a series have come under huge amounts of criticism for creating the deadly circumstances surrounding Wheldon’s death, namely the chance to earn $5 million, the often three-wide high-banked oval, the speeds in excess of 220mph and seasoned drivers having to fight against rookies. It is still such a worrying crash to look back on. Sure, the so-called ‘dash for cash’ competitions are no longer held, but the man-made nature of the circumstances are disturbing to say the least.

    Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosting a Nascar event in 2011. Image courtesy of Tom Donoghue (under Creative commons 2.0)

    This all happened at a time when IndyCar was far more like NASCAR than F1 and that was the direction that the series was being taken in. The directors wanted close, high-speed pack racing that was both unpredictable and dangerous in nature. But, while NASCARs can bump and barge without too much worry, open-wheeled IndyCars, quite clearly, cannot.

    This has since been turned around. A change of series directors brought about a change in attitude, and the realisation that IndyCar was not NASCAR and shouldn’t try to be like it because it just wasn’t going to work. The controversial and often polarising duo of Bernard and Brian Barnhart are no longer part of IndyCar’s management, with the former being removed in 2012 and the latter leaving to set up Harding Racing at the end of 2017.

    The truth is that Wheldon’s death didn’t cause anywhere near as much change as it should have, and probably would have if it happened now. It showcased the blame-culture within the management at the time, with blame being put on the circuit for a culmination of issues that were mostly in the series’ control, not the track’s. Change was dangerously slowly implemented but that has now altered, primarily and unfortunately due to another tragedy.

    Justin Wilson died as a result of injuries sustained at the 2015 IndyCar race at Pocono after being struck by a piece of flying debris that had come off the crashed car of Sage Karam. The report, which was never released to the media like Wheldon’s was, stated that it was a “freak accident”. Since then, front and rear wings have been tethered to the cars, the new universal aero kits were brought in to reduce the amount of flying debris and soon the new windscreen will be brought in, something that many believe would have saved Wilson’s life.

    This showed a quick, coordinated and effective response to a tragedy, one that was far from present in the aftermath of Wheldon’s crash. IndyCar, and motorsport in general, has thankfully changed drastically since 2011, with a much greater interest in safety and the prevention of unnecessary risks. But, the sport is, by nature, reactive rather than proactive. It takes an accident for the true danger of something to be seen and the correct preventive measures to be put in place.

    Not as much has been learnt from Wheldon’s accident as it should have, but times have changed. IndyCar has woken up to the safety revolution that European motorsport is already undergoing. That change just needs to keep going.