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  • IndyCar Season Review

    In a season of unknowns and new challenges, there was one constant… Scott Dixon. The new universal aero kits turned the pecking order on its head and completely disregarded all the form books, leading to sensational racing and a championship duel that went right down to the last race. The top three drivers in the championship – Dixon, Alexander Rossi and Will Power – all ended equal on three wins, but it was the races in between that counted, and there Dixon shone.

    Here we’ll dissect the season, looking the most notable driver’s years as well as a few other honourable mentions.

    Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi) – 1st – 3 wins – 678 points

    Scott Dixon.The 2018 IndyCar Champion. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu

    What to say about Dixon… he’s one of those drivers that you run out of superlatives for within the first race of watching him. Something that Rossi said earlier in the season is as close as you get to doing Dixon’s form this year justice – ‘Dixon never has a bad race’. His worst finish came at Iowa with a twelfth but that was on a day where many other title contenders also struggled, meaning he lost very little.

    One of the highlights of Dixon’s season has to be his dominant win at Toronto which saw him nearly double his championship lead while all his title rivals faltered in quite a major way. That said, consistency was the real winner for Dixon in 2018; with him finishing all but two races in the top ten, he was always going to be a tough driver to beat. Texas saw Dixon pick up the championship lead and, nine races later, Sonoma sealed title number five, after leading the standings for nine straight races.

    Alexander Rossi (Andretti) – 2nd – 3 wins – 621 points

    Alexander Rossi wins the Indycar 2018: Round Thirteen – Mid-Ohio
    Image courtesy of hondanews.eu

    The third year of Rossi’s IndyCar venture saw his best season yet, getting within a whisker of his first championship. Despite three wins and a further five podiums, Rossi couldn’t topple Dixon – even though his season was hardly inconsistent, completing all but two laps. Rossi only had three finishes outside the top ten and pulled off some of the best overtakes all season, only once really coming to blows as a result. That once was at Sonoma and, with double points on offer, it forced Rossi to kiss goodbye to his title aspirations.

    For Rossi, the best moment of his season is much harder to pick out. The back-to-back wins at Mid-Ohio and Pocono come close but the Indy 500 was really where the Andretti driver came into his own. After nothing short of a disaster in qualifying, Rossi started the 500 from thirty-second but made remarkable progress throughout the race, completing multiple risky overtakes to finish fifth, after being in with a shout of the win at some points in the race.

    Will Power (Penske) – 3rd – 3 wins – 582 points

    Will Power winner of 2018 Indy500. Photo by Michael L. Levitt/LAT for Chevy Racing

    It’s been a long time since the top Penske in the championship was only third. After years of dominance, Penske were finally overhauled by both Chip Ganassi and Andretti, curtesy of the regulation changes. Nevertheless, Power didn’t have a half bad season, though his six DNFs didn’t do anything to help his championship challenge. Consistency was the key this season, more so than it has been in the past, and Power was anything but that.

    Undoubtedly, the highlight of Power’s season came in the Month of May where the 2014 series champion was utterly dominant, first winning the Indy GP and then the all-important Indy 500 to take the championship lead, albeit only briefly. It was Power’s first Indy 500 win and he was elated after the race, introducing the world to the ‘Will Power crazy eyes’, much to the amusement of the rest of the paddock.

    Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti) – 4th – 2 wins – 566 points

    Ryan Hunter-Reay wins the Sonoma GP. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu

    Hunter-Reay will be annoyed at having spent the majority of the season in teammate Rossi’s shadow, yet 2018 was far from all doom and gloom for the #28 driver. Six DNFs hardly helped his cause and he was never really a factor in the championship however, Hunter-Reay did end his 41-race win drought in the second race at Detroit before going onto win the final race of the season at Sonoma.

    Hunter-Reay would certainly win ‘Celebration of the Year’ (if it was actually a thing) with his frolics following his victory at Detroit. Sticking to a pre-race bet, the 2012 champion climbed into the fountain by the side of the track, even riding one of the carved lions at one point… it was certainly an unforgettable moment!

    Josef Newgarden (Penske) – 5th – 3 wins – 560 points

    Josef Newgarden, (Photo by Scott R. LePage/LAT for Chevy Racing)

    Newgarden had one aim and one aim only this season: retain the championship. After a fairly promising start with two wins from the first four races, Newgarden’s season started to unravel from there on, only clocking up one more appearance on the podium with a win at Road America.

    There’s no one race where it all went wrong for the defending champion, it was just a culmination of not-so-good races that hampered any chance he had at taking his second championship. Despite leading the most laps and equalling most wins, fifth was the best Newgarden could do, just getting piped by Hunter-Reay for fourth at Sonoma.

     

     

     

     

    Simon Pagenaud (Penske) – 6th – 2 podiums – 492 points

    Simon Pagenaud, driver of the #22 Menards Team Penske IndyCar Chevrolet V6, (Photo by Phillip Abbott/LAT for Chevy Racing)

    Going winless with his worst season since 2015 was certainly not what Pagenaud was planning to do this season. Admittedly, sixth place in the championship isn’t all that bad but the world has come to expect more of Penske drivers. It took until Texas for Pagenaud to take his first podium of the season with a second-place finish behind Dixon, before his second and most recent podium three races later at Toronto, again behind Dixon. It’s not what he was hoping for, but it could’ve been a whole lot worse.

     

    Sebastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne) – 7th – 1 win – 425 points

    Sebastien Bourdais Indycar 2018 Round 01: St. Petersburg, Florida. Image courtesy of HondaNews.eu

    Bourdais was definitely one to peak early in 2018, taking his one and only win at the very first race of the season on the streets of St. Petersburg and then waiting fifteen races for his next podium at Portland. The win at St. Pete was rather gifted to Bourdais by Rossi’s rather overambitious move on race leader Robert Wickens, demoting the pair and leaving Bourdais in the clear to take his first win since the same race last year, and also his first since his huge crash at the Indy 500 that saw him sit out the majority of 2017. The Frenchman is on the up once more and should be a force to contend with in 2019.

     

    James Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) – 10th – 1 win – 391 points

    James Hinchcliffe. Indycar 2018: Round Eleven – Iowa Speedway, Iowa
    Image courtesy of HondaNews.eu

    Talk about a season of up and downs… Hinchcliffe’s had it all! From the heartbreak of getting bumped at the Indy 500 to the jubilation of taking his first win since his life-threatening 2015 Indy 500 crash and then the very difficult circumstances, for the entire team, that rounded out the season.

    Iowa couldn’t have been better for Hinchcliffe, stealing the win off Newgarden in the last stint, but the whole season really ended on a downer for SPM with Wickens’ Pocono crash. Hinchcliffe and Wickens are close friends off-track and the crash clearly impacted Hinchcliffe’s performances in the races following Pocono – SPM were glad to be done with 2018, and you can hardly blame them.

    Robert Wickens (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) – 11th – 4 podiums – 391 points

    It was the rookie season that, very unfortunately, proved too good to be true for Wickens. He burst onto the IndyCar scene by taking pole in his first race at St. Petersburg and so nearly took his first win in the same race, only being thwarted by an overambitious Rossi – starting a friendly rivalry that would resurface throughout the season. Wickens also took ‘Rookie of the Year’, beating Andretti’s Zach Veach by 77-points but, somehow, the win managed to elude him, despite coming oh-so close on a number of occasions.

    That all, however, faded into obscurity with Wickens’ devastating Pocono wreck that’s left him with an uncertain future. The Canadian’s started to give social media updates on his long road to recovery and SPM have said that the #6 will remain reserved for Wickens, as and when he’s ready to come back, however long that may take.

    Zach Veach (Andretti) – 15th – 2 Top Fives – 313 points

    While fellow rookie Wickens took the world by storm, Veach quietly got on with some very impressive performances in his first IndyCar season. Veach was probably in the best team to be in as a rookie with three strong teammates to rely on for data and some amount of coaching, but that’s not to take away from the work that the young American has put into this season. He never really grabbed the headlines but Veach delivered five Top Ten finishes and two Top Fives, ending up 79 points off teammate Marco Andretti.

    Tony Kanaan (A.J. Foyt) – 16th – 4 Top Tens – 312 points

    Sixteenth in the championship is certainly not where you expect to find arguably one of the best drivers on the grid, but it’s true testament to just how difficult this season has been for Kanaan and A.J. Foyt alike. Kanaan left Chip Ganassi at the end of 2017, after reported fallings-out with the team, and joined A.J. Foyt with the aim of making them championship contenders once again. The less that’s said about Kanaan’s 2018 the better… the fight to get back into title contention is going to be a tough one for A.J. Foyt, to put it lightly.

    That rounds out the 2018 IndyCar season, and what a season it was! Old hands facing new challengers was always going to be good and we expect more of the same next year, with even more drivers desperately wanting to get into the mix.

    Drivers Champion: Scott Dixon
    Manufacturers Champion: Honda
    Rookie of the Year: Robert Wickens

    Full Championship Standings:

    1. Scott Dixon
    2. Alexander Rossi
    3. Will Power
    4. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    5. Josef Newgarden
    6. Simon Pagenaud
    7. Sebastien Bourdais
    8. Graham Rahal
    9. Marco Andretti
    10. James Hinchcliffe
    11. Robert Wickens (R)
    12. Takuma Sato
    13. Ed Jones
    14. Spencer Pigot
    15. Zach Veach (R)
    16. Tony Kanaan
    17. Charlie Kimball
    18. Matheus Leist (R)
    19. Max Chilton
    20. Gabby Chaves
    21. Ed Carpenter
    22. Jordan King
    23. Zachary Claman De Melo (R)
    24. Jack Harvey
    25. Carlos Munoz
    26. Pietro Fittipaldi (R)
    27. Santino Ferrucci (R)
    28. Rene Binder (R)
    29. Conor Daly
    30. Kyle Kaiser (R)
    31. Patricio O’Ward (R)
    32. Helio Castroneves
    33. JR Hildebrand
    34. Stefan Wilson
    35. Oriol Servia
    36. Alfonso Celis Jr. (R)
    37. Colton Herta (R)
    38. Danica Patrick
    39. Jay Howard
    40. Sage Karam
    41. James Davison

  • Mercedes Team orders: All About The Racing?

    (?image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports)

    Today, September 30, marks a sad day for some Formula 1 fans. Hamilton took another victory, but for him to achieve win it was ‘necessary’ to sacrifice Bottas.

    Nearing the halfway mark of the 2018 Russian GP Valtteri, painfully obviously, let Lewis past through after being asked to do so by the team. This led to a lot of controversy, with even some Hamilton fans dismayed.

    In no way is this disrespecting Lewis, let’s make that clear. He drove sublime all weekend and throughout the race he showed that he was very fast. Bottas, however, took pole position after a mistake from the Brit in his final qualifying lap. This gave the Finn his best opportunity of the year so far to fight for the win, one he really needed and definitely deserved.

    What made this team order so frustrating for many was the fact that Lewis didn’t necessarily need to win. Vettel was behind him, the only thing Lewis needs to become a five-time world champion. Instead, Mercedes decided that Lewis needed that extra position due to a blister on his rear-right tyre, with Bottas then having to defend from Vettel behind them.

    Another reason was the fact that Bottas is really quick around this track. He won his first race here in 2017 and he always just seems to dominate here, hence a lot of fans rooting for the Finn. To see him lose the chance for his first victory this year because of team orders made it even more painful.

    On the other hand, for the drivers’ championship it can be seen as being the right choice. Mercedes and especially Hamilton really need the points to stay ahead of Vettel in the championship. However, this reason still doesn’t make this decision the right for me.

    Bottas asked over the radio if they were going to end the race in these positions. “Affirm,” he was told. It sounded like he was expecting or at least hoping they would switch those places back as Vettel was nowhere near them anymore.

    Toto Wolff decided to speak over the public team radio after the race: “Valtteri, this is Toto, difficult day for you and a difficult day for us,” he said. “Let’s discuss it afterwards.”

    On Twitter the team reacted to some of the angry comments. “We don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed. We stand up to our decisions and are accountable for them. We made the call for Lewis’ drivers championship, to maximise our advantage.”

    Bottas definitely looked very gutted after the race. Hamilton knew that as he at the same time seemed to feel sorry for his teammate. Who wouldn’t?

    The question now is: should team orders be banned? For the sake of the sport, it would be better. Let the drivers do their thing and if they decide for themselves they want to help their teammate, that’s fine. If he doesn’t, you’ll get an amazing battle.

    For the teams however, it stays necessary. Not only because they can keep the drivers from crashing into each other, but also because they always keep the teams’ interest in mind.

    Another PR disaster for Mercedes then, not because of an incident, not because of something the drivers said. All because of an unnecessary sacrifice.

    What are your thoughts?

  • Formula E Front-Runner Rosenqvist Joins Chip Ganassi

    Formula E Front-Runner Rosenqvist Joins Chip Ganassi

    The IndyCar action may have concluded on track, but silly season is far from grounding to a halt! Felix Rosenqvist adds his name to the long list of ‘F1-rejects’ who have made the jump over the pond to IndyCar however, to label him as that and that only would be more than just unfair, especially given his illustrious career record.

    Given the Swede is only 26, he’s achieved a remarkable amount in his career up until now! There are so many highlights to pick out in amongst a star-studded junior career, from his run of brilliant European F3 championship finishes and title to his two Macau wins, and other top-class performances in Formula E and Super Formula alike. Rosenqvist’s racing record is a thing to behold, and there’s certainly more to come.

    Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Mahindra Racing, Mahindra M4Electro. Image courtesy of LAT Photos/ Formula E Media

    2018 was probably not the racing year Rosenqvist would’ve been hoping for with a run of difficult races that ruled him out of title contention in Formula E, despite two race wins early-on and a rookie season to be proud of the previous year. It started to seem like Formula E might not have been giving Rosenqvist all he was after, but a switch to IndyCar is going to be a culture shock and a half!

    Rosenqvist is, however, no stranger to racing in the States…

    It may not have been a full season, but the Swede tried his hand at Indy Lights in 2016, winning three races out of the ten he competed in – turning heads throughout the IndyCar paddock, none more so than Chip Ganassi.

    That brings us to now with the two finally united, in a partnership that many have wanted to see for a long time. It’s not exactly been the best kept secret in the world with the paddock full of rumours surrounding this deal. The rumours have finally been confirmed and the deal has come to fruition.

    Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Mahindra Racing, Mahindra M4Electro. Image courtesy of LAT Photos/ Formula E Media

    This will, by no means, be easy for Rosenqvist though. Plenty of well-respected names have taken that #10 seat and failed to live up to Ganassi’s high expectations, most notably Tony Kanaan. Kanaan raced with the team from 2014 to 2017, gaining a top championship finish of seventh in a period where teammate Scott Dixon took his fourth title and two third places in the championship. With Kanaan out of the picture for 2018 after a supposed falling-out, Ed Jones was drafted in to replace the Brazilian – Ganassi stated in the press release that Jones was “the type of young talent we were looking for”.

    That didn’t play out so well for Jones. Despite being Rookie of the Year in 2017, Jones only took two podiums and, when that’s put in comparison to Dixon’s nine, it wasn’t enough for him to keep his seat. Many would see that as a bit of an injustice for Jones and he’s certainly been hard done by however, that’s the kind of team that Chip Ganassi runs… if you don’t perform, you’re out. Both Jones and Kanaan fell foul of that in the #10, here’s hoping that Rosenqvist doesn’t have the same fate.

    2019 will be tough for Rosenqvist, there’s no question about that. Rookie seasons are in IndyCar are hard enough as they are, let alone when you’re being put up against arguably the best driver on the grid who also happens to be the reigning champion. Comparisons will undoubtedly be drawn… Rosenqvist is going to have to perform, there’s no two ways about it. Robert Wickens has proven that you can hit the ground running coming from Europe to the US, but he had, in James Hinchcliffe, a teammate who was willing to share all his data and help him out where needed – there’s no telling if Dixon will do that for Rosenqvist, though it’s unlikely. In truth, Rosenqvist is in a more similar position to Alexander Rossi when he made the jump to IndyCar and it’s taken him three seasons to get within championship contention – Ganassi may not be as patient as Andretti have been.

    Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Mahindra Racing, Mahindra M4Electro. Image courtesy of LAT Photos/ Formula E Media

    However, putting all the potential negatives and drawbacks aside, this is a brilliant move for Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi and IndyCar alike. It will attract more European attention to the series, which is already in the spotlight thanks to more than one rumour involving the currently unspoken for Fernando Alonso.

    Given his record, Rosenqvist has the talent and promise to be an IndyCar title contender, and even champion. Ganassi just need to be patient to see it through.

    Featured Image courtesy of LAT Photos/ Formula E Media

  • Opinion: Will Jake Dixon Stick The Jump To Moto2?

    Jake Dixon’s move to the Moto2 World Championship might have come as a shock to viewers as the British Superbikes (BSB) rider won’t be starting where the majority of MotoGP riders start their careers, in Moto3. His jump from BSB to Moto2 will leave him with little preparation in comparison to the rest of the grid, who will have experience with tracks, machinery and what the way of life is for a Moto2 rider. Whether he lands this jump will depend on quite a few factors as the odds weigh heavily against him.

    On a positive note, he’ll be joining the Angel Nieto Team (formerly Aspar Racing Team) with a new bike powered by Triumph in 2019. However, they haven’t had a Moto2 ride since 2010, in the first ever Moto2 season when it switched from the 250cc two-stroke class. And even then, their only Rider’s Championships came in the 125cc class (four Championships between 2006 and 2011). So, for both rider and team, they’re both heading into new territory.

    However, the most successful riders for the Angel Nieto Team are Karel Abraham (MotoGP) in 15thplace overall and Andrea Migno (Moto3) in 10thplace overall, so their track record is nothing to be sniffed at. His teammate for 2019 hasn’t been announced yet, but he will face competition from other Moto2 rookies such as Jorge Martin (Gresini Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (PrustelGP).

    But this isn’t the first time a rider has made a significant jump from one ride to another, or skipped classes for that matter. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) rode in the Moto3 class for three seasons before leaping up to MotoGP in 2015, totally missing Moto2. Miller’s teammate Danilo Petrucci never even appeared on the Moto3 or Moto2 grids, going straight from Superstock 1000 to MotoGP in 2012. So, the change of pace is doable for a young rider like Dixon, after all it has been done before, but both of the Pramac Racing riders had teething problems and took time to adjust to new styles and tracks.

    If Dixon is given that time to find his rhythm, then success could well be on the cards for the Englishman. He has made two Moto2 starts for Intact GP in 2017. Let’s also not forget that racing is in Dixon’s blood as his father, Darren Dixon, won the British TT F1 Superbike Championship in 1988 and was the World Sidecar Champion in 1995 and 1996.

    Jake Dixon racing for the Dynavolt Intact GP Moto2 team at the British GP in 2018. (Image: Gold and Goose / LAT Images)

    Dixon is currently 31 points behind the BSB Championship leader, Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki), and if he could clinch the title before his move to Moto2 the confidence would certainly help him along. But unfamiliar tracks and a new bike will hold him back in comparison to other riders who have studied these tracks for years and have only ridden Moto3 or Moto2 bikes, but you never know with the intermediary class.

    It can be incredibly unpredictable at times. There have been multiple cases where talent has outweighed experience – Joan Mir (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) or Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) for example. It’ll take hard work and dedication, but nothing is impossible.

  • Assen Awaits as BSB Heads Overseas

    Assen has proven to be a popular addition to the British Superbike calendar since its first appearance in the championship back in 2012. That year, Shane Byrne and Josh Brookes shared the wins, as the #67 marched towards his third championship title.

    For the 2018 edition of the only overseas round of the British Superbike Championship, the paddock arrives off the back of a drama-packed weekend in Oulton Park a fortnight ago, which saw Jake Dixon (RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki) pick up his first double-win of the season, as Leon Haslam (JG-Speedfit Kawasaki) fought back from qualifying disappointment which saw mechanical issues force him to start last on the grid for the first race.

    Despite this, it is Haslam who arrives in Assen with the championship advantage, and ahead of the penultimate race weekend of the season his points lead stands at thirty-one points. It is therefore possible for Haslam to win the championship this weekend. He would need to win both races, and for Dixon to score no points in either race, but it is possible that the 2018 British Superbike Champion could be crowned this weekend.

    Dixon, then, must not crash this weekend. Having just been announced as a Moto2 World Championship rider next year for the Angel Nieto Team squad, he will be eager to continue where he left off in Oulton Park, and get out of Assen with at least a mathematical chance of winning the championship at the final round in Brands Hatch. But, to have a realistic shot at the title, Dixon could really do with a non-score for Haslam this weekend.

    As for the other Showdown contenders – Josh Brookes (McAms Yamaha), Glenn Irwin (BeWiser Ducati), Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) and Peter Hickman (Smiths-Racing BMW) – their chances are all but gone even ahead of this weekend, such has been the dominance of Haslam this season. Brookes and Irwin are tied for third place on 530 points, seventy-four behind Haslam, whilst Bradley Ray 11-DNF in Oulton leaves him fifth in the championship, six points further back of Brookes and Irwin. Finally, Hickman is four points back of Bradley Ray, and 84 behind Haslam. Like the riders outside of the top six, these four riders have nothing to lose for the remaining two rounds of the season, so only wins will do.

    With that said, as a previous winner in Assen, Josh Brookes will certainly consider himself to be one of the riders who should be fighting for the win in both races this weekend.

    Likewise, having been announced for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team for next season – where he will replace World Superbike-bound Haslam – Irwin will be keen to end his three-year stint with the Be Wiser Ducati team in a positive way, which means with five victories in the final five races of the season.

    Even Bradley Ray and Peter Hickman will fancy their chances this weekend. If the weather doesn’t play ball this weekend, Hickman will definitely be in the mix, and the stability of the BMW should prove valuable in Assen’s high speed sections. Meanwhile, Bradley Ray will be hoping that the speed he has shown this season remains this weekend, but that he can also keep the Buildbase Suzuki rubber side down.

    With this in mind, it could be important to consider that Dixon and Haslam will have to contend this weekend with not only each other, but several other riders who are both very fast and without the pressure of their mistakes having consequences.

    Of course, there is also the sub-plot, if you like, of the Riders’ Cup. Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) currently leads the way in this points fight, but Tarran Mackenzie (McAms Yamaha), Danny Buchan (FS-3 Kawasaki), Christian Iddon (Tyco-BMW) and Tommy Bridewell (MotoRapido Ducati) are all within ten points of the Australian. Mackenzie and Bridewell are on especially good form coming into this weekend, Bridewell coming off the back of a double podium in Oulton, and rookie Mackenzie improving all the time on the superbike.

    Overall, it looks like we’re in for an incredible weekend of racing in Holland over the next few days, which will hopefully set us up nicely for a cracking season finale in Brands Hatch in a few weeks’ time.

  • F1 2018: Russian Grand Prix Preview

    F1 2018: Russian Grand Prix Preview

    Twisting and turning through Russia’s “summer capital” is the Sochi Autodrom, the first and only F1 track built in the country.

    The 5.8-kilometre circuit takes the drivers past some impressive structures, among them a number previously used for the 2014 Winter Olympics and the stadium used at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, showing how Sochi has turned into both a popular destination for tourists and a great sporting town.

    Each of the four races held at the circuit since its debut have been won by Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton winning the first race in 2014 and Valtteri Bottas taking his first win in F1 for the world champions in 2017.

    This Mercedes dominance is a trend that may well end this year. Sochi is generally a power track, and we have seen the Ferrari engine overtake the Mercedes engine this year. If Mercedes are to win, then, they will face a stern test from the Prancing Horse.

    Großer Preis von Russland 2017, Sonntag – Steve Etherington

    Christian Horner has said that Russia will be a race to forget for Red Bull, as they are expecting engine penalties and they are even thought to be returning to the B-Spec Renault engine after several teething issues with the engine used in Singapore. It said a lot when even the works Renault team themselves didn’t use the new spec engine, nor did their other customer McLaren.

    This weekend will be the home race of Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin, who scored his first point of the season in Italy after Romain Grosjean’s disqualification, and he will hoping to add more to his tally. He certainly got some positive attention in Singapore with some brilliant defending against Sergio Perez, only for Perez to seemingly swing across the track and hit him. This, however, will be another tricky weekend for a Williams team that has suffered one of their worst ever seasons in F1 this year.

    Races around the Sochi Autodrom generally don’t toss up much drama, but the first chicane is something to keep an eye on. It is a place which has seen a crash in each of the four races in the circuit’s short history, the most notorious being Daniil Kvyat twice hitting the back of Sebastian Vettel. It was a home race to forget for Kvyat and he was demoted to Toro Rosso after the race, giving way to the astronomical rise of Max Verstappen.

    Großer Preis von Russland 2017, Sonntag – Steve Etherington

    Sebastian Vettel arrives into the weekend some 40 points behind Lewis Hamilton in the championship, meaning that he realistically has to win each of the remaining six races of 2018 to be in with a realistic chance of claiming a fifth title.

    It will be a tough challenge, but Ferrari’s championship demise has been of their own doing once again this year, and if there is to be a miracle turnaround for Vettel, it is one that must start in Sochi.

  • Titles On The Line At Magny Cours

    The 2018 FIM Superbike World Championship is set to be decided this weekend, whilst history could be made in the junior class, at the beautiful Magny-Cours circuit in France.

    Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) has his first clear cut opportunity to wrap up the Superbike World Championship this weekend. The 31-year old arrives at the French round with an imperious 116-point lead to closest rival Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Ducati). Provided Rea finishes the weekend with a lead of 100 points or more, he will be crowned champion with two rounds of the season to spare.

    For Davies, as the only other rider now with any mathematical chance of winning the championship, it simply “win or bust”. The Welshman produced a heroic ride in Race 2 last time out in Portimao – defying the pain caused by a badly broken collarbone, and holding off Rea in a thrilling scrap over the race lead for the first half of the race. Although still not 100% recovered, the fortnight’s break between Portimao and Magny-Cours will have considerably aided Davies’ recovery and fitness.

    Chaz Davies (#7) produced one of the rides of the season at Portimao, defying his broken collarbone to hold off Jonathan Rea (#1) for as long as he did.

    With the championship now an exclusive affair between Davies and Rea, the remainder of the field are focused solely on the glory of race wins. Alex Lowes and Michael Van der Mark (both Pata-Yamaha) have not shied away from this being their sole objective for the final three rounds of the season. Van der Mark arrives this weekend off the back of another impressive performance, claiming podium finishes in both races in Portugal. Now with 9 podiums to his name this season, the flying Dutchman looks the most likely of the pair to add to his brace of victories this season.

    There is also the matter of pride – and indeed team honour – at stake in the battle to secure a top 10 finish in the standings. Five riders – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pucetti Kawasaki), Loris Baz (Gulf-Althea BMW), Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), Jordi Torres (MV Agusta) and Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda) – are all in this fight, and are covered by just 18 points.

    Savadori will be desperate to return a brace of strong results this weekend, having crashed out of Race 1 at Portimao when sat in a comfortable podium position. With his place in the Milwaukee team for next year reportedly uncertain at best, he perhaps has the most to gain by ensuring he finishes the season inside the top 10.     

    World Supersport 300

    Ana Carrasco (DS Kawasaki Junior Team) Is on the verge of creating history

    Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team Kawasaki) is on the verge of making history this weekend. Should see clinch the Supersport 300 championship on Sunday, the 21-year old Spaniard will become the first woman to ever win a solo world-level series. With two wins this season, and 90 points to her name, Carrasco arrives at Magny-Cours in pole-position at the top of the standings.

    However, Carrasco will be pushed all the way to the chequered flag this weekend, as there are three other riders who can also win the ‘300 crown. Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki), Mika Perez (Kawasaki Parkingo Team) and Luca Grunwald (Freudenberg KTM) are all within striking range of the title.

    Deroue is closest to catching Carrasco, with the young Dutchman sitting on 80 points. How fitting it should be that these two should be duking it out for the title – in 2014 they were teammates together in the FIM Moto3 world championship. A difficult campaign for them both saw them seek pastures new. Carrasco remained in Moto3 in 2015 the following year – but racing for a different team, whilst Deroue entered and won the British Motostar championship.

    Although we cannot completely discount Perez and Grunwald, it is highly likely that – come Sunday night – it will be either Ana Carrasco or Scott Deroue who is crowned world champion.

  • Irwin Goes Green For 2019

     

    It has been announced today that Glenn Irwin will ride for the JG-Speedfit Kawasaki team for 2019.

    The Ulsterman will move from the BeWiser Ducati team following the conclusion of this season, and join up with the Bournemouth based outfit for their first winter test in November.

    The prospect of riding the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX10-RR next season was clearly too good an opportunity for Irwin to turn down, having described the new bike as “phenomenal”.

    Irwin is no stranger to Kawasaki machinery, having ridden for the Gearlink team in the British Supersport championship before getting his big break in the Superbike class. Regarded by many riders, journalists and spectators alike, his move back to Kawasaki machinery now will present the 28-year old with his best chance to date of winning the British championship.

    Irwin has had considerable success with his time on Ducati machinery – most notably three back-to-back superbike victories at the International North West 200, and numerous podium finishes in the British championship. Both he and the BeWiser Ducati team have made it clear that they intend to do all they can, in their final 5 races together, to take one last race victory together in BSB.

    Now that Irwin has become the first rider to put pen-to-paper for a 2019 ride, it is widely expected that a flurry of rider announcements will follow over the next few weeks.

  • F1 – Antonio Giovinazzi joins Kimi Raikkonen at Sauber for 2019

    F1 – Antonio Giovinazzi joins Kimi Raikkonen at Sauber for 2019

    Alfa Romeo Sauber have confirmed Ferrari junior driver Antonio Giovinazzi as their second driver for 2019 alongside the returning Kimi Raikkonen.

    Giovinazzi deposes Marcus Ericsson, who had been with the Swiss outfit for four years after debuting in Formula One with Caterham in 2014, while Raikkonen and Charles Leclerc have effectively swapped seats for next year.

    Ericsson will continue with Sauber as their reserve driver and as a brand ambassador.

    Having stood in for the injured Pascal Wehrlein at the start of 2017 for two race, Giovinazzi is no stranger to the Sauber set-up.

    He will be the first Italian to drive permanently on the grid since Jarno Trulli’s ill-fated spell with Caterham ended in 2011.

    Giovinazzi says he is honoured to represent the team and made reference to himself and the famous brand Alfa Romeo’s Italian roots.

    “I am delighted to be joining the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team. This is a dream come true, and it is a great pleasure to have the chance to race for this team. As an Italian, it is a huge honour for me to represent a brand as iconic and successful as Alfa Romeo in our sport. I am very motivated and cannot wait to start working towards achieving great results together.”

    Sauber chief executive Frederic Vasseur was delighted to have replaced the Ferrari-bound Leclerc with a like-for-like swap.

    “Together with Alfa Romeo, we are delighted to welcome Antonio Giovinazzi, who will take the place of Charles Leclerc. We have already had the opportunity to work with him in the past and he has proven to have great potential. We are very determined and motivated. Our target is to continue progressing and fighting together for positions that count.”

  • Suzuki Springs To Success

    The Aragon Grand Prix marked the high point in the championship for Team Ecstar Suzuki as riders Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins secured the team’s best result of the season so far.

    All the talk in the build up to the weekend had been positive. Knowing that they cannot compete yet with the likes of the factory Repsol-Honda and Ducati teams with straight-line speed, Suzuki focused all their set up work on two objectives: cornering speed and suspension.

    With the circuit being composed of 17 corners – a perfect blend of high, medium and low speed and considerable changes in undulation – setting a bike up to glide through each apex would significantly compensate for time lost on the 1 kilometre back straight. Additionally, with the Spanish climate boasting sunny skies and hot temperatures, ensuring the bike would be kind to its tyres would be critical.

    It cannot be underestimated how much the physical loads forced onto the tyres through the front forks and rear shock spring affect the set up. In an ideal world suspension would be set as softly as possible, allowing the front forks to absorb every bump and vibration, enabling the tyre to ‘float’ over the track. The reality however, is that setting the suspension too soft reduces the feeling the rider receives as to what that tyre is doing – which ultimately affects confidence in both attacking corners at speed, and how much braking the rider feels they have to do. Effectively, they are simply reduced to blind guesswork.     

    In contrast, set the suspension as stiff as you can, and the rider will feel everything the tyre is doing. They will also feel every bump and vibration too to the point where all the feelings merge and no clear distinction can be made. It is what is referred to in the industry as the dreaded ‘chatter’. Additionally, setting up the suspension in such an aggressive way, is a guaranteed way to destroy the tyres within a handful of laps.

    Alex Rins (above) had the confidence to push the limits of the Suzuki this weekend, thanks to the feedback and stability generated from the suspension.

    Finding an optimal balance between the two settings, is somewhat of a ‘holy grail’ for riders and teams alike. Indeed, this very thing hampered the Suzuki team all throughout 2017 as both riders regularly bemoaned a lack of ‘front end feel’.

    Having spent both Friday practice sessions working tirelessly to find such a balance, which involved customary excursions to the gravel traps, both Iannone and Rins had clearly found something to work with. The laps times tumbled, and off-track escapades became fewer and further between. Most tellingly of all, the times didn’t fall away during long runs. Qualifying saw both riders secure top ten grid positions, but it was in the race where the hard labour on the set up came to fruition.

    Iannone (P3) and Rins (P4) diced with each other throughout the 23 laps, with the pair battling each other all the way to the chequered flag. However, as a complete demonstration of their success, it was the gap to race winner Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) and second-place man Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) – just 1.26 seconds. Testament to how far Suzuki has improved their GSX-RR machine this season.

    Andrea Iannone (above) scored his third rostrum finish of the season. Suzuki now have five podium results between their riders.

    The podium for Iannone also means that the team have lost their concessions for the remainder of the season. For those unfamiliar with how this works, every factory team who did not score a podium finish (in dry conditions) during the 2017 season was given a much larger allocation of test days, plus slightly relaxed regulations on fairing homologations and engine allocations.

    To offset this, a points system is used during the season to gauge the competitiveness of those teams with concessions – 3 points for a win, 2 points for a 2nd place, and 1 point for a 3rd. Scoring 6 points across the season will see the factory ‘lose’ its concessions as they are now deemed competitive enough to no longer require them.   

    Suzuki are not expecting quite as strong a result next time out, in Thailand. The layout of the Buriram circuit makes it a Mecca for those with serious speed on the straights. However, with more technical tracks such as the Twin-Ring Motegi (Japan) and Phillip Island (Australia) on the horizon – there is still the likely result of more podiums for the smallest of the Japanese factory teams.