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  • Mazda Road to Indy: Patricio O’Ward

    Mazda Road to Indy: Patricio O’Ward

    Patricio O’Ward, along with title rival Colton Herta, is one of the closest drivers in the whole Mazda Road to Indy programme to IndyCar with a 2018 seat firmly in the Indy Lights rookie’s sights. The Mexican is part of the Andretti family and currently leads Indy Lights, despite being one of only two rookies in the full-time field.

    Emily Inganni – How is this season of Indy Lights going for you so far? Is it what you expected it to be?

    Patricio O’Ward – The season has gone great so far. Honestly it is close to what I expected it to be… I knew I would have a great race car and it was just a matter of me putting everything together on the race track. And I knew I could win!

    EI – As a rookie, what have you had to learn entering Indy Lights and how hard has it been to match the more experienced drivers?

    PW – Almost every driver on the grid has at least double or triple the experience I have with that Indy Lights car, so I’ve been playing a little catch up and trying to learn as much as I can, especially in the ovals. But I think I got the hang of it pretty well! It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been something I have enjoyed learning and something I have enjoyed studying.

    EI – With a declining number of drivers and teams, do you think Indy Lights has a problem or do you expect the numbers to go back up in years to come?

    PW – I hope numbers go back up. The issue is that the championship is way too expensive.  That is the issue. If prices go down, then that’s the golden key to have more cars!

    EI – As a whole, do you think the Mazda Road to Indy programme is successful at getting young drivers higher up the motorsport ladder? Are there any improvements that you would like to see in the future?

    PW – Road to Indy is awesome. It gives drivers, especially the champions of each category, a chance to move up to the next one. The only thing I would change is the amount of $ it costs to do each class… especially Pro Mazda and Indy Lights.

    EI – Many Indy Lights drivers have made it to IndyCar before with Kaiser and Leist going up for this current season. Do you see yourself following that path?

    PW – I do. I’ll hopefully be in IndyCar next year and I am more than ready for the challenge.

    EI – What is the support like in a big team like Andretti? Do you get much support from the IndyCar drivers or not?

    PW – I don’t see the IndyCar drivers much, but the help is always there if I need it. I just haven’t really asked around much, but the team have given me an awesome welcoming to the team and any question I have, they answer!

    EI – To finish, what advice would you have for young drivers starting out in the Mazda Road to Indy or lower categories?

    PW – My advice is drive the heck out of that race car every time you get in it. You never know when is the last time you will be driving it so every lap, give it all you’ve got. People will notice, and you will get a chance sooner or later with the big boys if you have got the skills.

    Thanks to Patricio for answering my questions, hopefully we’ll be seeing him in IndyCar very soon! That concludes our Mazda Road to Indy series, another huge thank you to all the drivers for taking part, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the interviews!

  • Terms & conditions of the giveaway (for Android users)

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

    2. The giveaway is open worldwide to Android 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://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virttrade.foxglove,
    • Register and claim the welcome bonus by using code, PITCREW18815 (the code is valid until 24th of August 2018 23:59 UTC) in ‘Profile’ page’s ‘Redeem Code’,
    • You may enter the giveaway using Android 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 24th of August 2018 23:59 UTC. 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 (5) 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.

  • F1’s Summer Break – Daniel Ricciardo & Max Verstappen Reflect On Red Bull’s Season So Far | M1TG

    F1’s Summer Break – Daniel Ricciardo & Max Verstappen Reflect On Red Bull’s Season So Far | M1TG

    Check out the latest Mobil 1 The Grid feature with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, as they reflect on the Red Bull’s season so far.

    Make sure that you follow Mobil 1 The Grid:
    Website: mobil1thegrid.com
    Twitter: twitter.com/mobil1thegrid
    Instagram: instagram.com/mobil1thegrid
    Google+: google.com/+Mobil1TheGrid

  • Mazda Road to Indy: David Malukas

    Mazda Road to Indy: David Malukas

    David Malukas is fairly new to the single-seater scene and is only in his second year of the Mazda Road to Indy programme however, he’s already made it up to Pro Mazda at just 16 years old. The American took tenth in USF2000 last season, even though he missed the first four races, and is looking set for at least a top five finish with the top three only 20 points away this season in the middle class.

    Emily Inganni – How has this season of Pro Mazda gone for you so far?

    David Malukas – So far the season has been a rollercoaster. We’ve had so many ups and downs throughout the season so far but nonetheless it has been a big learning curve for me and the team.

    Image courtesy of David Malukas

    EI – How hard has it been to adapt to Pro Mazda as a rookie?

    DM – Coming from the USF2000 series the Pro Mazda is a big difference. It has a lot more downforce and grip throughout the car making the driving style a lot different from the USF2000 car. Luckily, we were able to test the car quite a bit before the season started to get a feel for it.

    Image courtesy of David Malukas

    EI – What made you decide to move up to Pro Mazda rather than do another season in USF2000?

    DM – Throughout my racing career my plan has always been to move up to the next class as soon as possible. The reason for it is because I end up racing against a higher level of drivers making me learn and advance quicker.

    EI – Do you have any plans for next season yet? Do you want to stay in Pro Mazda or move elsewhere?

    DM – Well as usual my plan is to continue to move up the ladder with no stops so moving up to Indy Lights isn’t out of question.

    Image courtesy of David Malukas

    EI – What do you think of the Mazda Road to Indy programme? Is it a good organisation for young drivers from what you’ve seen so far?

    DM – 100% the Mazda Road to Indy program is absolutely incredible for young drivers to succeed and make their dreams come true of becoming an IndyCar driver.

    EI – What’s it like, as a young driver, to be in the IndyCar paddock? Do you see much of the IndyCar drivers?

    DM – It is very cool to be able to walk through the paddock and see how professionally operated everything is. I personally haven’t had the chance to speak to one of the IndyCar drivers, but I have seen them driving around on their mopeds, so hopefully one day I’ll be the one driving the moped.

    Image courtesy of David Malukas

    EI – What got you into racing in the first place and where is your end goal?

    DM – It all started when I went with my dad to a local go kart track in South Bend, IN. I drove my first kid-kart and ended up really enjoying and continued to go. After some time, I got noticed by Brent Ebert, who wanted to help me on the coaching side and from there I went to my first professional go-kart race and within time I succeeded and followed the ladder up to where I am now. Like most drivers, my goal is to make it to Indy 500.

    EI – Lastly, what advice would you give to karters starting their racing careers?

    DM – Once you’ve gotten good in the class you’re in, make sure to keep moving up as soon as possible so that you could be surrounded by better drivers and learn quicker.

    A huge thank you to David for taking part in the interview! The last interview of the series will be published tomorrow so keep an eye out!

    (Featured Image courtesy of David Malukas)

  • Bagnaia Defeats Oliveira in Austrian Moto2 Epic

    The Czech Moto2 Grand Prix was the best of the season – by far. The battle between Miguel Oliveira and Luca Marini was stunning, with the pair swapping positions many times in the last laps.

    Start of the Moto2 race at the Redbull Ring. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    But the Austrian Grand Prix went a step further. This time it was Marini’s teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, who fought Oliveira for the win, and eventually the Italian came out on top in what was a stunning battle, with obvious differences between the riding styles of the two riders, and the characteristics of their two machines. Oliveira had supreme mid-corner speed, and was strong on corner exit, too, but Bagnaia’s entry speed was incredible, nearly hitting Oliveira’s rear tyre on several occasions, but somehow the pair never came to blows.

    The last lap rolled around, Oliveira leading Bagnaia, and the Italian’s move was obvious. The #42 had made a move for the lead several times into turn nine, the penultimate corner, and really it was the only place he could be close enough such was Oliveira’s corner exit speed. Sure enough, he made his move in T9, and whilst he had run wide on previous laps, on this occasion he managed to hold it tighter, and Oliveira’s response was a much tougher one to pull off than in previous laps. The Portuguese had to lunge Bagnaia, his rear tyre coming off the floor, and so it was simple enough for the Italian to square him off and out-drag him to the line.

    Bagnaia leading Oliveira at the Redbull Ring 2018. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    It was Bagnaia’s fifth win of the season, and took him back to the top of the standings, reclaiming the championship lead he lost in Brno, by three points. Furthermore, it was an important win for Bagnaia since it was the first proper duel between the two championship rivals, and psychological benefits he will take from that will be felt for time to come.

    For Oliveira – and KTM – it was a disappointing result, in the end. Oliveira had the early advantage, as Bagnaia ran wide in the first corner and lost a second or so to Miguel, and a position to Jorge Navarro. This gave Oliveira the jump, but he was unable to keep that advantage. Despite this, he was able to be fast enough in the right areas to keep Bagnaia behind, and respond to any passes that the Italian put on him. Unfortunately for Miguel, the only pass he couldn’t respond too was the one from Bagnaia on the final lap, costing him and KTM the victory in KTM’s home track. Still, he is only three points back in the championship, so has everything to play for in the remaining eight rounds.

    Six seconds back of the lead battle was the fight for the final podium spot, Luca Marini finally coming out on top. It was a tough race for Marini – a tough weekend, in fact. He had been struggling with rear tyre life all weekend, but a change in warm up improved his used tyre pace. This enabled him to fight from his grid position of 10th to fight for the podium. That fight was with Mattia Pasini and Alex Marquez, and a late pass on Marquez was what earned Marini the podium. Marquez tried to fight back in the final corner, but ran on and crashed on the concrete kerb in the run-off zone. This brought a flashback to the MotoGP race of last year, as Marini threw a left hand in frustration with Marquez’s move. Fortunately for the number 10, his run out of the last corner was not hampered enough to allow Pasini past, and Marini duly took his third consecutive podium, and gave Sky VR46 their second double podium in two races.

    Pasini took fourth place. He wanted the podium, of course, but opted to take as few risks as possible after crashing a lot in the last races. This fourth place was Pasini’s best ride since his win in Argentina back in round two, and hopefully for the Italian it will trigger a return to form.

    Alex Marquez, Mattia Pasini and Luca Marini. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    Jorge Navarro’s best weekend of the season culminated in an impressive fifth place. Navarro is currently on the job search for 2019, so he needed this result, and beating the factory KTM of Brad Binder (6th) by half a second was certainly impressive for the Spaniard.

    Marcel Schrotter was a further two tenths behind the South African, and yet again was unable to translate impressive pace through the weekend into a podium come race time.

    Despite a searing start, coming from 20th to 7th in just two laps, Joan Mir was unable to continue that hot pace, ending the race in a distant eighth place. At a track where he was so dominant in Moto3, it was disappointing to see Mir struggle so much in the race last weekend.

    Fabio Quartararo’s race was ruined in turn one. He had contact with Bagnaia which sent the pair of them wide, but also sent Quartararo back to 20th. He finally came through to ninth, which was quite an impressive comeback from the MotoGP bound Frenchman.

    Iker Lecuona rounded out the top ten. His weekend was tainted by a crash in FP2 where he took out Miguel Oliveira in turn one, but another top ten for the Spaniard is positive after a tough period with the Swiss Innovative Investors KTM team.

    Fabio Quartararo, Ramno Fenati, Stefano Manzi and Danny Kent at The Redbull Ring 2018. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    There was just one tenth between Lecuona and eleventh placed Romano Fenati, whilst twelfth place Danny Kent was a further second back.
    Six seconds further back was Andrea Locatelli, who was 4.5 in front of Stefano Manzi, who showed what is possible when he stays on his Forward Racing Suter. Meanwhile, Tetsuta Nagashima rounded out the points finisher.
    Sixteenth went to Khairul Idham Pawi, ahead of Dominique Aegerter, Steven Odendaal, Joe Roberts and Jules Danilo who rounded out the top twenty.

    Niki Tuuli was 21st, ahead of Bo Bendsneyder, Isaac Vinales on his Forward Racing debut; then came Alejandro Medina, Xavi Cardelus and Lorenzo Baldassarri who crashed early on but re-mounted.

    Augusto Fernandez and Simone Corsi were also involved with that Baldassarri crash, and were both lucky to not be hit by riders behind. Remy Gardner, Federico Fuligni, Sam Lowes and Alex Marquez were the other retirements.

  • Alonso retires: What does 2019 and beyond hold for McLaren?

    Alonso retires: What does 2019 and beyond hold for McLaren?

    After the news that Fernando Alonso will be leaving McLaren at the end of the season, on has to ask; how on earth the Woking team will fill the boots of one of the most enigmatic and talented drivers that Formula One has ever seen.

    Alonso has provided a racing know-how that took the car to greater levels than were expected, and frankly, he has made the team look an awful lot better than it really is. Frustratingly for McLaren, the arrival of Renault engines to their car has provided little more than Honda did for three abysmal years, which has bought about the valid suggestion that perhaps it has been the team at fault all along, which has thus frustrated Alonso.

    With someone like Alonso in the car, points finishes can still be achieved, but as Stoffel Vandoorne has proven, the car is not a legitimate points scorer, and it most certainly is not a car that gives any kind of indication or even any hope that success will return to MTC any time soon.

    Of course, if you’re in the Belgian’s shoes, there’s absolutely no shame in being out-done by a legend like Alonso, but the fragilities of the McLaren-Renault are highlighted every race weekend, which has been the cause of much frustration for him as well as Alonso let’s not forget.

    Losing Alonso will have a big effect on the team; they’re losing one of, if not the best to ever have raced in the sport, and the quality of the Spaniard, which at times paper-covered the enormous cracks in their performance, is sure to further expose the lack of harmony between the chassis and the engine, which has already been glaringly obvious even with Alonso in the team

    Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary.
    Saturday 28 July 2018.
    Zak Brown, Executive Director, McLaren Technology Group, and Gil de Ferrarn, Sporting Director, McLaren.
    Photo: Glenn Dunbar/McLaren
    ref: Digital Image _X4I1271

    However, is there light at the end of the tunnel? Well, when we say that Alonso’s enigmatic, that didn’t half bring pressure upon McLaren’s shoulders. There have been an awful lot of occasions since 2015 in which Alonso has savagely slated the Honda engine, making the team look disjointed and putting his team in a position where they really have no choice but to stand with him in squabbling with the engine supplier. Now of course, Alonso was not the reason for the problems, but if we have to be honest here, his complaining on team radio has never helped his team.

    What happens with Vandoorne now? His future has been cast into doubt amongst the media, but this news may well just aid the Belgian in terms of keeping his seat in the orange car, and now that the superhuman Alonso will be leaving, we will get to see Vandoorne stand out as himself, rather than compared to such a great.

    Who replaces Alonso? There are two main candidates: Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. Sainz has learned this summer that he will lose his seat at Renault to the incoming Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull – there was even speculation at some stage that Alonso was to make a sensational move to the Austrian team. Sainz, who is a good friend to compatriot Alonso, would surely much prefer to trade places with Ricciardo and move to Red Bull, but if this becomes an impossibility, McLaren would undoubtedly see Sainz as a brilliant replacement for Alonso. However, Lando Norris has been one of the most promising rising stars in all of motorsport in the  last few years, and he is currently second in the Formula 2 championship for Carlin Racing; the young British driver has been nurtured as a young talent for McLaren up until now, and he will certainly see this as the perfect opportunity to move into Formula One and make a name for himself, perhaps even to surpass Fernando Alonso’s talent.

    Either way, Alonso is going to leave a gaping hole in this McLaren team, which will inauspiciously add to the concerning amount of holes that already exist, and there are lot of unknowns for this brand new chapter for the McLaren Formula One Team.

    Featured Image courtesy of McLaren

  • Fernando Alonso leaves F1 in search of new challenges

    Fernando Alonso leaves F1 in search of new challenges

    Fernando Alonso is one of the most highly regarded drivers in F1 but, after a torrid four years with McLaren, he’s finally called it quits on the sport he loved so dearly. Now, let’s get one thing straight; this is, by no means, a retirement from Alonso, the guy lives and breathes racing and will certainly continue for many years to come… just not in F1.

    In truth, this announcement has been coming for a long time. Alonso has the habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when it comes to teams and his last venture with McLaren was certainly that. The well-documented but doomed partnership with Honda caused the first three years of misery for Alonso while this current season put the final nail in his F1 coffin when the team were unable to live up to expectations following a switch to Renault.

    Moving away from McLaren but staying in F1 was never really an option for Alonso either, sure there was a bit of speculation around the Red Bull seat and a few blind hopes that he might return to Ferrari but really, the only place that would have him was McLaren. Despite mellowing in his latter years in F1, Alonso spent the best part of a career burning bridges and inadvertently making this stretch of his career much harder – the doors-off-hinges malarkey at McLaren in 2007 did nothing for his reputation while the Ferrari years left him being portrayed as ‘grumpy’ and ‘difficult to work with’.

    It was not always this way for the Spaniard, he is, after all, a two-time world champion. Once upon a time he was the whiz kid, the young upstart, the driver that would be the one to beat the all-dominant Schumacher. That, he did. Alonso claimed both the 2005 and 2006 world titles before moving to McLaren for 2007 to partner F1’s new hope, Lewis Hamilton. We all know how that story went, what with the massive fall-outs and scandals resulting in Alonso sulking off back to Renault and so on.

    This stint back at the Enstone team wasn’t nearly as successful and only resulted in two wins, one of which was as a result of ‘crash-gate’ but we won’t open that can of worms again now…

    If you look at Alonso’s first year with McLaren in 2007 combined with his 2010 and 2012 seasons with Ferrari, he missed out on all those titles by a total of eight points. Just eight points difference would’ve made him a five-time world champion. That just shows that the record books don’t tell half the story when it comes to Alonso!

    Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary.
    Saturday 28 July 2018.
    Fernando Alonso, McLaren, puts on his helmet in the garage.
    Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren
    ref: Digital Image _2ST0511

    But, with all that behind him, what’s next for a rather frustrated Alonso?

    The best bet is by far and away IndyCar. 37-year old Alonso has long said that he wishes to complete the unofficial ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsport – Indy 500, Le Mans 24 Hours and Monaco GP. Of these three, Alonso has two after winning Monaco twice in 2006 and 2007 before taking the Le Mans 24 Hours victory on his first attempt with Toyota earlier this year. The only one missing for him is the Indy 500 which he attempted in 2017 to no avail.

    With the new universal aero kits in IndyCar, doing the Indy 500 as a one-off, as Alonso did in 2017, and being competitive is a lot harder, meaning that if Alonso wants to stand a chance at drinking the milk, he needs to do the full season. 2016 IndyCar Series champion, Simon Pagenaud, has said that he thinks it would take Alonso three years to get up to speed and win a championship, referring to title-contender Alexander Rossi, who’s in his third season of IndyCar after a spell in F1, as a prime example.

    A sticking point surrounding all this could be Honda. After numerous media attacks at the manufacturer following their time together in F1, Honda might not be so willing to accept Alonso with open arms however, the huge potential for media coverage and success may well outweigh any pre-standing grudges. The biggest problem is that Alonso’s under contract with Toyota for WEC, and you can’t imagine them being overly pleased at Alonso driving for one of their biggest rivals.

    The way around this problem would be Alonso driving for a Chevrolet-powered team, such as Penske, and it would be a viable solution for the Spaniard because they’re just as competitive and just about every team manager on the grid will be phoning him up, so he’s got the pick of the lot!

    Another option for Alonso would be to take a step back and just do the remainder of the Super-Season with Toyota in WEC however, given that’s only three races in 2019, that’s probably not the most appealing option for Alonso – who would be racing every weekend if he could.

    It won’t take long for Alonso to tell the world what he plans to do next season given he’s almost certainly already made that decision, at least in himself. He’s got the entire IndyCar silly season on pause and has left some large, if expected, shockwaves in F1 but the world will keep turning without him there and soon, his void will be filled by another.

    Wherever he ends up going, Alonso will be met with a huge amount of support and will provide a huge boost to the given series but, most of all, he will be hungry of victory, for wins, for championships…

    Featured image courtesy of Glenn Dunbar/Mclaren

  • Mazda Road to Indy: Igor Fraga

    Mazda Road to Indy: Igor Fraga

    Igor Fraga has been at the sharp end of the USF2000 class all season, sitting in third in the championship with the two races at Portland remaining. Fraga races under the Brazilian flag and, despite growing up in Japan, made the switch to the Mazda Road to Indy programme for this season, having dominated Formula 3 Brazil Light last year.

    Emily Inganni – How has this season of USF2000 been for you so far?

    Igor Fraga – I believe that overall, it’s being really good season for me. I am a no budget driver, and to cut some costs, my dad it’s my mechanic, sometimes we slept on the rental car, I don’t have any coach and even with all the difficulties, I’m still running in the 3rd place on championship.

    EI – How hard has it been to be a rookie in the series? Do you feel you’ve adapted well?

    IF – I’m definitely learning each day in this series. It’s being a tough year, but I think I adapted well in the series. I’m enjoying each moment that the series is providing, on track and off track.

    Image courtesy of Igor Fraga

    EI – Do you have any plans for next year yet? Do you want to stay in USF2000, move up to Pro Mazda or something else?

    IF – Until now, I don’t have any plans yet. How I said on top, I’m a no budget driver, so I depend on many circumstances. But if I have the opportunity, I really want to move up to the next category.

    EI – How have you found the Mazda Road to Indy programme in your first year, do you think that it’s a good way for young drivers to progress?

    IF – I believe that the Mazda Road to Indy is one of the best ways to become a professional racing driver. Not only on track but I’m having some off-track activities where I’m learning to deal better with the medias and etc.

    EI – How does racing in America compare to racing back in Brazil? Is it what you expected it to be?

    IF – I was expecting that the team and driver level was going to be really high. The engineers have a lot of knowledge and I’m enjoying competing here in the Mazda Road to Indy. I was just surprise about the off-track activities that prepare the driver professionally.

    Image courtesy of Igor Fraga

    EI – Where did you start racing, was it in Japan or Brazil? Also, what inspired you to race in the first place?

    IF – I started in the go karting when I was living in Japan (3 years old). I was really small when I started, so I don’t remember to be honest. I just know that since I was young, I already liked to play with toy cars, racing games and I wanted to do the same in real life.

    EI – Does racing in Europe appeal to you or would you rather stay in America?

    IF – The racing in general interests me. I really like to drive something fast! I think that have some really good categories on both continents, and I’m really glad to have this opportunity to be here on US chasing my dream.

    Image courtesy of Igor Fraga

    EI – To finish, what advice would you give to young drivers starting racing? Are there any things you wish you knew when you started?

    IF – Karting it’s always a good category to start. Also, with all the technology going on, the simulators it’s being really precise. My main advice is practice and prepare yourself the best way you can and don’t give up. It can be really difficult, but don’t give up and keep trying.

    A big thanks to Igor for answering my questions. The next interview of the series is coming up tomorrow so stay tuned…

    (Featured Image courtesy of Igor Fraga)

  • Bezzecchi Takes Second Career Win, as Injured Martin Takes Heroic Podium

    Bezzecchi Takes Second Career Win, as Injured Martin Takes Heroic Podium

    Lights-to-flag victories are uncommon to say the least in Moto3, but that is precisely what Marco Bezzecchi achieved in Austria on Sunday. He made the holeshot, and apart from one moment with four laps to go where Jorge Martin overtook him, Bezzecchi was never passed. It was a supreme ride by the Italian, one well-deserving of his second ever Grand Prix victory. It also meant he extended his championship lead, of course, which now stands at twelve points. Other than that, it is difficult to say much about Bezzecchi’s ride, because it was pretty much faultless.

    Marco Bezzecchi Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 2018. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose /KTM

    A poor qualifying and a worse start gave Enea Bastianini a lot of work to do – again. It is becoming a regular thing now with Bastianini, that he cannot start. Like Vinales in MotoGP, his starts have cost him a handful or two of points, and you have to say a few GP wins as well, because his late-race pace – also like Vinales – has been superlative pretty much all season. He recovered to second this time, though, keeping his championship hopes alive, although he is very distant at this stage, with eight rounds left, the deficit stands at 41 points.

    By far the standout performance, though, of the 2018 Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix was that of Jorge Martin. Just eight says after he broke his radius in Brno, he qualified second on the grid behind Bezzecchi, and a day later he fought until the end to finish third in the race. It really was a superhuman effort by Martin, and even though the conditions of the race played a little into his hands, you can’t take anything away from his ride. All of his time was made in the two left handers in the middle of the lap, as he consistently took ten bike lengths out of his KTM rivals in those two corners alone. That is impressive enough, but is made even more so considering it was his left radius that is the injured one. Coming into the weekend, Martin was expecting a damage limitation job at best, but instead he rode beautifully to take yet another podium, and drop only nine points in the championship, leaving him just twelve back in the standings to Bezzecchi, who was sure to offer his hand in congratulation and admiration to Martin after the race.

    Austria represented Albert Arenas’ best performance since his win in Le Mans back in May, as he took fourth place, ahead of Lorenzo Dalla Porta who bridged the gap to the leaders with Bastianini in the closing stages. The Leopard pair had been working together quite well all weekend, and it seemed almost destined that they would end up helping each other into podium contention.

    Jorge Martin. Moto3 2018: Round Eleven – Red Bull Ring, Austria. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing

    Jaume Masia was in second place until the penultimate corner, where he ran slightly deep and allowed Enea Bastianini through. Jorge Martin was also able to sneak underneath and as the #5 rider tried to hang on round the outside of the #88, he also lost fourth and fifth places to Arenas and Dalla Porta respectively.

    A disappointing qualifying for Ayumu Sasaki left him with a lot of work to do to be able to achieve a decent result. He achieved the work as well, coming from 23rd on the grid to finish seventh in what might be his best World Championship ride to date.

    After running with the front guys for a large portion of the race, Gabriel Rodrigo could only manage to come home in eighth place, ahead of Tony Arbolino and Aron Canet who disappointingly completed the top ten, when he really should have been fighting for the victory.

    Eleventh over the line was Fabio Di Giannantonio, who had been fighting with Bastianini and Dalla Porta, but then slowed, and ended up shoving a huge late dive on John McPhee in the final corner to try and salvage seventh, but he ran them both wide. McPhee came home twelfth, but it was still an impressive ride from the Scot after qualifying stone last.

    He may have been on the podium at his home race last week, but in Austria Jakub Kornfeil could only manage thirteenth, but was ahead of Philipp Oettl and Marcos Ramirez, who rounded out the points.

    Kaito Toba crossed the line in sixteenth, ahead of Adam Norrodin, Tatsuki Suzuki and Darryn Binder, whilst Ai Ogura rounded out the top twenty in his fourth wildcard of the year.

    Twenty-first went to Kazuki Masaki, whilst Niccolo Antonelli and Nicolo Bulega had difficult races in 22nd and 23rd respectively. Alonso Lopez also struggled, and finished down in 24th place, but ahead of Dennis Foggia who was 26th. Fellow CEV graduate, Vicente Perez was sandwiched between Lopez and Foggia in 25th spot over the line. Stefano Nepa was 27th, ahead of Nakarin Atiratphuvapat and Max Kofler who was the 28th and final finisher.

    In a somewhat surprising turn of events, there was only one retirement in the Moto3 race in Austria, and it was Andrea Migno at the final corner 12 laps from the flag.

    Featured image courtesy of Gold and Goose /KTM

  • Mazda Road to Indy: Bruna Tomaselli

    Mazda Road to Indy: Bruna Tomaselli

    As one of only two women in the Mazda Road to Indy programme, Bruna Tomaselli may be in the minority, but she doesn’t let that faze her. Bruna’s been in and around the top 10 all season in USF2000, the lowest category on the ladder, and has high hopes beyond that with her sights set on IndyCar in the years to come.

    Emily Inganni – How is this season of USF2000 going for you so far? Is it what you expected or not?

    Bruna Tomaselli – The season is very competitive, since the first race there have always been little differences between the first and last, I have been constant during the season, we had good results, we added good points, and now there are 2 stages to the end and I hope to continue fighting between the top 10.

    Image courtesy of Bruna Tomaselli

    EI – What are your hopes for the remainder of the season?

    BT – I hope to keep constant and competitive and I will fight for podium.

    EI – What do you think of the Mazda Road to Indy programme? Is it a good platform for young drivers to progress?

    BT – Yes, the Mazda Road to Indy is very good, I believe it to be one of the most competitive and well organized there is. Here the drivers have a chance to win cash prizes and a good amount also to make the next category, which is very important.

    Image courtesy of Bruna Tomaselli

    EI – What is your aim for your career? Do you want to get to IndyCar, go over the Europe or something else?

    BT – My dream since childhood has always been to reach Formula 1, as we are now trying in the United States, I hope to get IndyCar one day, and be racing and compete because that’s what I like to do.

    EI – Do you feel like you are treated differently as a woman in motorsport? Does it provide any different opportunities or challenges?

    BT – In go-karting it is more visible, because the cars move closer, but in the open wheels I don’t waste so much, of course the boys don’t like to lose to a girl, the same way I don’t like to lose to anyone, but inside the track we are all drivers, and everyone wants to win and I’m there to win too.

    Image courtesy of Bruna Tomaselli

    EI – Thinking back to when you started racing, who were your idols and where did you dream of racing? Has any of that changed over time?

    BT – My idol has always been Ayrton Senna, because he is Brazilian and because he is a legend, but as I could not watch his races, I always cheered for Felipe Massa and Bia Figueiredo who was an IndyCar driver.

    I always liked cars and races, since I was kid, I used to play with little cars, and asked my father to drive his car. He noticed that I liked it and one day he took me to see a go-kart race. A few days later he said he was going to give me a kart as a gift, in the beginning it was more for fun, small races, in the region of my city, Caibi, Santa Catarina, Brazil, later I started to compete in bigger races and with 15 years started competing in open wheels. Now I’m 20 and this year is my second year in USF2000 and in every race I feel the adrenaline and how much I love to compete.

    EI – Finally, what advice would you have for anyone starting racing or looking at racing in the Mazda Road to Indy programme?

    BT – What I can say is that it is a very competitive programme, the races are all full of adrenaline and that is a good programme for anyone who wants to get to IndyCar one day, because you run in the same Indy weekend, know the track, the activities.

    A massive thank you to Bruna for answering my questions! Another interview is coming up tomorrow so keep an eye out for that!

    (Featured image courtesy of Bruna Tomaselli)