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  • British F3 – Monger: I’m getting the hang of it

    British F3 – Monger: I’m getting the hang of it

    Carlin Motorsport’s Billy Monger says he is getting used to the challenges that the British F3 series has thrown at him this season.

    The 19-year-old drives an adapted car having lost both of his legs in an F4 accident at Donnington Park a year ago.

    Those adaptations feature a throttle paddle behind right of his steering wheel, while the gear shifting paddles are both on the left.

    Monger says that it has been difficult, but he is getting on top of the added challenges.

    “Of course it has been a challenge because the step up from F4 to F3 is already massive on its own along with the fact that I’m learning new controls as well.

    “It has been a steep learning curve, but I do feel like I’m getting the hang of it now.”

    At the first weekend at Oulton Park, the man from Surrey took a fairytale podium, but at Rockingham things did not go his way with two races lost to incidents and contact.

    At Snetterton, he was closer to the sharp end of the field with a seventh, a ninth and a sixth and feels that the first dry weekend of the season helped him.

    “In the dry I feel more confident in the car than the rain because the hand throttle is quite difficult in the wet but I’m getting on alright.

    “The feel is different from hands to with feet, it is difficult to get a feel for everything, that is something I have to learn really.”

    And one of the championship’s bigger names is confident of fighting for the top three after misfortune earlier in the season.

    “We’re definitely competitive enough, it’s just about having the luck on our side to put us up there fighting for podiums and wins.”

    Monger does concede that his long-term involvement in the championship depends on finance and sponsorship, but is keen to stay with Carlin.

    “The plan is to finish the season with Carlin in British F3, it does depend on budget and sponsorship, those are things that will come into play with regards to whether I can finish the season or not.

    “We want a good solid position in the championship come the end of the year.”

     

    Image Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

  • Monaco 2018 Driver Ratings

    The principality of Monaco is the jewel in the crown of the Formula 1 season. It’s one of the triple crown of motorsport, the others being the Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours. The tight and twisty track leaves little room for error, giving a full punishment for hitting the wall, as some experienced this weekend, one in paticular. There was without a doubt a driver of the weekend no one can argue with that.

    Ricciardo – 10

    ? courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

    Super from the Honeybadger, his best win without a doubt, the first time he has won a Grand Prix starting within the first two rows. He was fastest in all practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday. On Sunday he once again in a different league, he got off the line well, and pulled away from the field. The problems came with his engine many thought the curse had struck again but with a car much less power he kept his cool to win! Redemption from 2016, a great drive, his best win out of the seven wins. He led every lap of the race and without a doubt driver of the day!

    Vettel – 8

    A solid drive and took points off Hamilton. His start was great but Ricciardo just closed the gap so was unable to overtake. Kept Ricciardo within distance but does seem Ferrari are harder on their tyres. Coasted to second late on as he struggled to get back up to pace.

    Hamilton – 7

    An uneventful weekend for the Championship leader three points lost a damage limitation race leaving a 14 points gap between him and Vettel. Mercedes knew that this wasn’t a good track for them and felt they had the third fastest car. Hamilton nearly caught Vettel midway through the race but fell away late on. Good haul of points.

    Raikkonen – 7

    In the battle of the number two drivers Kimi won this time. He was close to getting ahead of Hamilton and Vettel in qualifying. At a stage all three were 0.005 apart, but others improved whilst he didn’t. The cool Finn kept it out the walls and helped Ferrari outscore Mercedes.

    Bottas – 6

    He was off pace all weekend and at one stage it was touch and go in Q2 whether he would get through as Mercedes tried a different strategy. He left it really late to get in to the shootout. Due to his choice of tyres he had better grip which allowed him to close the gap, he didn’t have a lunge to even test Raikkonen with his better traction. 

    Ocon – 9

    Best of the rest from the Frenchman, only 5 seconds behind Bottas. Force India tend to not be known for their downforce and more their top speed hence previous results at Baku. Great qualifying and racecraft, a seasoned veteran now.

    Gasly – 8

    Pierre continues to impress, technically still a rookie season as he only drove for a few races last year from Round 15 onwards. The Honda engines not as bad in previous years, especially Monaco hiding the disadvantage. He battled with Alonso and Hulkenburg whilst keeping it clean. A long stint on the hypersoft gave him this chance, an opportunistic driver.

    Hulkenberg – 7

    A points finish after his two DNF’s in Baku and Barcelona. Just what he needed, he may of been out qualified on Saturday but a strong drive on Sunday gave him what he more often than not achieves for his team, points!

    Verstappen – 6

    The Dutchman needs to learn that sometimes you don’t need to go 100%. This was costly for him over the weekend when clearly Red Bull had the fastest car. A crash in FP3 in the swimming pool section, identical to a crash in 2016 cost him action in qualifying. The car was not rebuilt in time after a deeper look and had to start last. Max was more like himself on Sunday from great overtakes to score points but feel he was thinking about race win prior to third practice. Disapointing once again, involved in a collision somehow in the last six Grand Prix weekends.

    Sainz – 6

    The Spaniard had an unimpressive Sunday and left the principality with only one point after qualifying so well. He did a great job to defend his position from Ericcson at the end. 

    Ericcson – 7

    A good race in the streets of Monaco for the Swede. Finished in a solid P11, and was right up Sainz’s gearbox for the final stages. Seems a Sunday driver more than a Saturday, made the most positions up besides Verstappen.

    Perez – 5

    Finished 47 seconds behind his team mate which would of dented his confidence within himself. He had great pace as got through to Q3 but only went backwards on Sunday. Great potential, left with nothing.

    Magnussen – 5

    Out performed his team mate in a poor weekend for the Haas team. Hopefully just a blip for the Dane, has raced well at upcoming tracks but no joy in Monaco. Rather little happened to comment.

    Vandoorne – 5

    Another performance where very little was seen of him. Finished the race behind his starting grid position. He did have the pace it seemed in practice but it fell away on Sunday.

    Grosjean – 4

    Romain was already in hot water as he carried a three place grid penalty over from Barcelona. Haas where of form and couldn’t get their car in the sweet spot, so much so they ran 19th and 20th for the early laps. Grosjean seems to be in a rut and this race did him no favours.

    Sirotkin – 6

    The result hides what a great early weekend he had. He blitzed his team mate and made Q2. He suffered from two punctures but seems to be finally getting to grips with the Williams.

    Stroll – 5

    Sirotkin made Stroll look silly as a whole this weekend. The Canadian qualified P18 and was nowhere to anyone in the race. Finished last of who took the chequered flag. Williams as a whole hope Canada, a more power influenced track will push them up the grid.

    Leclerc – 7

    His record at Monaco isn’t that hot, and it continues. He failed to finish in both Formula 2 races last year. A brake failure ended his day early as he collided with Hartley. He couldn’t avoid the incident so unlike Verstappen his rating wasn’t hindered by it. Once more made it into Q2 and qualified strongly.

    Hartley – 6

    A waste of such a good weekend for Toro Rosso and on this side of the garage. Seventh fastest in practice as he failed to get out of Q3. He collided on the first lap damaging his car. Taken out by Leclerc but the pressure continues to mount.

    Alonso – 6

    I wonder if Fernando would of liked to be in America once again rather than Monaco. A gearbox failure on the front straight whilst battling with Gasly late on ended his race. He was deep into the points and raced well. Not a fan of Monaco this year and had a few choice words to say to the media.

    We go from the heavily downforce influenced track of Monaco to the more power influenced track of Montreal in Canada in 2 weeks time. Renault and Honda are bringing substantial upgrades to their engines which should help the teams that use them. 

    The main questions are if this would help Red Bull still keep the top step of the podium or will Mercedes bounce back to the top? 

  • Indy 500 Report: Power takes all the glory at the Brickyard

    Indy 500 Report: Power takes all the glory at the Brickyard

    Once again, the Indy 500 delivered an action-packed race full of twists, turns and the inevitable cautions, seven this time! We had a new Indy 500 victor in Will Power, who now tops the championship as a result of his 100-point haul, but the likes of Ed Carpenter, Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi all put up very good fights. It wasn’t all plain sailing though, the new, lower downforce cars coupled with the higher temperatures and subsequently lower grip caught more than one notable driver out.

    Starting at the top, Power may have taken the win and led a sizeable number of laps in the process however, it wasn’t until well after half-way in that he actually took the lead for the first time. After qualifying third, Power dropped back at the start but regained the lost ground at the first round of pit stops under the first caution, gaining three positions in one go and putting him back up to third. In the latter quarter of the race, Power’s win rarely looked in doubt but there was very nearly a surprise when Stefan Wilson, Jack Harvey and Oriol Servia all didn’t pit under the last caution. Wilson led the race for three laps after the restart, making him and his late brother Justin the fourth set of brothers to do so, but it wasn’t to be as all three drivers had to pull into the pits having run out of fuel. With those three out of the way, Power had a clear track ahead of him to take a dominant win, well ahead of Carpenter and Dixon. Power, along with his Penske squad, was clearly elated in victory circle and it was a win he certainly deserved after a less than great start to the season.

    Super-speedway specialist, Carpenter, was tipped by many to take the victory and seemed in charge in the opening stages of the race but he was overhauled by first Tony Kanaan and then, once Kanaan had eliminated himself from the lead with a puncture, Power who went on to the victory. Carpenter had taken a few front row starts at the Indy 500 before but never a win, he was confident that he could rectify that before the race but the cautions and changes in strategy just didn’t play into his favour and he was left in a rather disappointing second. A story of what could’ve been for Carpenter who knows time is fast running out for him to get that elusive Indy 500 win.

    Scot Dixon. Indycar 2018: Round Six – image courtesy of hondanews.eu

    Third on the road was Dixon who managed to not go flying this year to take a well-deserved podium. The #9 Chip Ganassi driver had a fairly quiet first half of the race, other than very nearly crashing with Sebastien Bourdais, often running within the top five but never taking the lead however, he rolled the dice under the sixth caution by pitting and trying to make the end. Once the rest of the pit stops had cycled out, Dixon found himself in the net lead and a fair amount ahead of Power however, he was soon caught on his older tyres with both Power and Carpenter blasting past, leaving Dixon to fend off Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay. That he did, taking third and propelling himself into fourth in the championship.

    Rossi was, amazingly, the bookmakers favourite going into the race despite the fact that he was starting second-to-last in thirty-second. After enjoying the last row club, along with Harvey and Conor Daly, it was down to business for the #27 Andretti driver. He made up a good six positions in the first five laps, but his progress stalled somewhat, only making up a further three positions in the next forty laps. By the third caution, Rossi had made it up to twelfth before he made incredible progress on the fourth restart, going around the outside, in very brave fashion, of just about everyone in his group. This trait was continued on the fifth restart when he went high to take a further two cars, putting him into third. The last round of pit stops didn’t play into the 2016 winner’s hands with Rossi eventually having to settle for fourth but gaining twenty-seven positions in one race is nothing to be ashamed of!

    Penske, despite the win, didn’t have the best of days with their other three drivers. Josef Newgarden’s off strategy gamble under the third caution didn’t really pay off and, after being as low as twentieth, he was only able to recover an eighth-place finish putting him ten points back from the lead in the championship. Simon Pagenaud went fairly unnoticed throughout the race but a long last stop quashed any remaining chance the Frenchman had of a podium, eventually coming home in sixth. The last Penske of Helio Castroneves was the most unfortunate after he was the cause of the fifth caution. He was clearly upset after losing the rear and ending up hitting the inside wall, but he wasn’t along in doing so.

    Danica Patrick’s last race. Image courtesy of media.gm.com

    First to fall foul of these oversteer-prone cars was last year’s third place finisher, and arguably Rookie of the Year, Ed Jones who ploughed into the wall, causing the second caution of the day. This crash was repeated by Danica Patrick whose fairy-tale final race at Indy was ended when she too lost the rear after struggling with her car all day. Bourdais, Sage Karam and Kanaan all had very similar crashes to Jones and Patrick with those three causing the fourth, sixth and seventh cautions respectively.

    Takuma Sato. Indycar 2018: Round Six – Indy 500, Indianapolis. Image courtesy of media.gm.com

    All but one of the cautions were caused by a single car crash which is very unusual for the Indy 500, usually famed for its wrecks. The only exception to that rule was the very first caution which was caused by last year’s winner, Takuma Sato, hitting the back of James Davison. Davison had been running considerably slower than the cars around him for quite a number of laps before Sato was caught out by the pace differential coming out of the corner, leaving him a passenger as he hit the side of Davison.

    All drivers were thankfully ok following their incidents, with only Jones’ in slight doubt for next week’s double header at Detroit after being taken to hospital as a precautionary measure with head and neck pain.

    It hasn’t been announced yet, but Schmidt Peterson’s Robert Wickens is expected to take Rookie of the Year after an impressive ninth place finish in the absence of bumped teammate James Hinchcliffe.

    Will Power, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske IndyCar Chevrolet V6, celebrates his victory Sunday, May 27, 2018, after winning the Verizon IndyCar 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the first Indy 500 win for Power and the 17th win for team owner Roger Penske.  Image courtesy of media.gm.com and the photo by Phillip Abbott/LAT for Chevy Racing.

    With the 102nd running done, it won’t be long before talk points to the 103rd running of the Indy 500 however, for now, IndyCar heads to the double header that is the Duel in Detroit next weekend before completing the second, and most valuable, triple header at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Full Race Result:

    1. Will Power
    2. Ed Carpenter
    3. Scott Dixon
    4. Alexander Rossi
    5. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    6. Simon Pagenaud
    7. Carlos Munoz
    8. Josef Newgarden
    9. Robert Wickens (R)
    10. Graham Rahal
    11. JR Hildebrand
    12. Marco Andretti
    13. Matheus Leist (R)
    14. Gabby Chaves
    15. Stefan Wilson
    16. Jack Harvey
    17. Oriol Servia
    18. Charlie Kimball
    19. Zachary Claman De Melo (R)
    20. Spencer Pigot
    21. Conor Daly
    22. Max Chilton
    23. Zach Veach (R)
    24. Jay Howard

    DNF – Tony Kanaan, Sage Karam, Helio Castroneves, Sebastien Bourdais, Kyle Kaiser (R), Danica Patrick, Ed Jones, Takuma Sato, James Davison

    Featured image courtesy of media.gm.com

  • BRITISH F3: Reaction – “Still a long way to go” says Kush Maini after Championship setbacks

    BRITISH F3: Reaction – “Still a long way to go” says Kush Maini after Championship setbacks

    Lanan Motorsport’s Kush Maini remained upbeat despite losing ground to championship rivals Linus undqvist and Nicolai Kjaergaard.

    Maini finished Race Two 14th after a third in Race One on Saturday, his race scuppered by a puncture sustained while trying to move through the field.

    The 17-year-old Indian made no excuses.

    “It’s a setback, the puncture was a bit of my own fault. That’s racing, Nicolai had similar luck. All I can do is look forward. It’s disappointing but it is all about how you react.

    “You win championships on how you react on your bad weekends, not your good weekends. At Oulton I could easily have lost my head and not finished races there but I got a podium, a fifth and made the best of the situation. The race was my error in race two, but it’s all a case of what ifs now.”

    Maini was still able to take third in the final race of the day, having threatened the Scandinavian lead duo of Lundqvist and Kjaergaard early on.

    Having already suffered in Race Two, he was keen to stay in the race avoid risks at a circuit that proved difficult to pass on.

    “I was driving with my head, honestly. It played a little on my mind, there was a time where I could get second off Nicolai where he’d gone off trying to pass Linus. I could have risked it but if I’d risked it there it could have been all over. We’re still in the game.

    “I wanted more than third as we had got the best lap in Race Two but this track is so difficult to follow at. I was getting closer in the slower corners but in the fast ones I was losing it all again, because you lose downforce.”

    Lanan were strong at Silverstone last year, and Maini is hoping to repeat that form when the British F3 series visits the home of British Motorsport again in two weeks time.

    “We went really well at Silverstone last year, two firsts and a second and we did well at the test. You can expect a fight between us three again, I’m excited and I can’t wait for it.

    “I love getting in the car and driving my heart out, I always have fun. Let’s see what happens at Silverstone.”

  • BRITISH F3: Reaction – Kjaergaard: We need to finish all races

    BRITISH F3: Reaction – Kjaergaard: We need to finish all races

    Nicolai Kjaergaard is hopeful that luck will soon start smiling down on him after a costly retirement in Race Two on Sunday.

    The Carlin Motorsport driver had ascended to the top of the standings on Saturday with victory in the opening race of the weekend, but contact with Tom Gamble saw him retire having climbed ten places early on.

    “I had gained a lot of positions in the first two laps and my speed was good.

    “I thought I was on for a podium so that was really good, but then I came up to Gamble. We were close to touching at Turn One, and he misjudged it at Turn Three where I was on his outside, put us on the grass and we hit the wall. He probably thought he left more room.

    “Hopefully that is my last DNF of the season.”

    Kjaergaard was second in the final race of the day behind championship leader Linus Lundqvist, and admits that the Swede’s consistency is cause for concern.

    “He just doesn’t not finish. He’s always there, and not making mistakes. I was really pushing, but Linus was just too fast. He’s getting further and further away in the championship so I really need to finish ahead of him now in all races.”

    Kjaergaard was realistic about his chances in Race Two, with Snetterton proving hard to pass at this weekend.

    “Second is a lot better than Race Two, it’s difficult to expect much around here because it is not an easy track to overtake on. The pole man has won here in all three races which tells the story. I was hoping for the win but we knew it was going to be hard.”

    And the Dane is looking forward to Silverstone in two weeks’ time, where he sees an opportunity to start making up ground to Lundqvist.

    “Usually at Silverstone Carlin have a really good car so I’m expecting to be at the front as we have been for these first three weekends. We need to get some wins.”

  • BRITISH F3: Reaction – Linus Lundqvist’s consistency sees him pull clear in the championship battle

    BRITISH F3: Reaction – Linus Lundqvist’s consistency sees him pull clear in the championship battle

    Sweden’s Linus Lundqvist enjoyed an almost perfect Sunday at Snetterton to stretch out a 30-point lead over nearest rival Nicolai Kjaergaard.

    In the full reverse grid Race Two, Lundqvist picked his way from 15th to fourth while Kjaergaard came to grief with Tom Gamble and third in the standings Kush Maini also faltered.

    Lundqvist was quick to acknowledge his good fortune in the morning.

    “I don’t like to be happy about other people’s misfortune but with the position in the championship, I won’t say that I was disappointed to see Nicolai off the track.

    “All in all I’m very happy with how my race turned out, my performance that we had a great car balance. We’ve had a strong car all weekend and we improved from yesterday’s race, the car and me as I’ve made less mistakes today. A big thanks to RR Racing for that.”

    The championship leader was keen to take advantage of opportunities presented to him by slower drivers starting higher up the grid, despite the difficulty in overtaking at Snetterton.

    “Going into this race we knew that there would be overtaking opportunities early on but we actually made up some places later on in the race, had some good battles, so I’m very happy and quite surprised at how close we could battle. That’s what this full reverse grid offers in that sense”

    Lundqvist went on to win from pole in Race Three, and dedicated the victory to his mother on Mother’s Day in his homeland, and places importance on the support his family offer.

    “I hope my mother is happy and proud of this result, I have planned something else for Swedish Mothers’ Day! I’m sure she’s happy. My family have been here with me every weekend since I started over here, it means a lot to me to have them here.”

    The mantra from Lundqvist throughout the weekend has been about staying consistent, and after three straight podiums at Rockingham followed by a second, fourth and a win he felt it important to build on the strong results achieved four weeks ago.

    “I’ll take these results any day, we’ve built on the weekend we had a Rockingham where we had all of those podiums. Here, we almost got the same results and it’s been a very good weekend results wise and championship wise. It feels really good leaving the weekend with these results, I just played my part in a team effort all weekend.”

    With Kjaergaard and Maini praising the intelligence shown by the championship leader, he agrees that it is the big weapon in his arsenal.

    “It is definitely an advantage I would say. We’ve been happy to take those fourth, fifth positions and score good points.”

  • GT4: Race One Glory for #56 Tolman McLaren, while last gasp victory in Race Two for the #42 Century Motorsport BMW

    GT4: Race One Glory for #56 Tolman McLaren, while last gasp victory in Race Two for the #42 Century Motorsport BMW

    Joe Osborne took the chequered flag in Race One for the #56 Tolman Motorsport McLaren to take their first win of the season, while in Race Two the #42 BMW Century Motorsport piloted by Ben Tuck and Ben Green rescued a late victory after being spun early in the race.

    Victory in the #56 McLaren also driven by David Pattison exceeded expectations for Osborne.

    “I’m absolutely delighted, especially when you don’t expect it at the start of the race. I always have an expectation, position that we’d be happy with and pre-race I’d have been super-happy with a top five.

    “With the Safety Car and David’s start, I changed those expectations to third, a podium was on the cards and the pitstop worked out so cleanly for us. I had to bring it home, manage it, do all the boring bits and not mess up.”

    After that good fortune from a Safety Car lasting almost eight minutes right up until the opening of the pit window, Osborne is hopeful that the #56’s luck is changing.

    “The Safety Car brought us into contention. You get your luck, last year we lost out in the Safety Car with a huge lead, things have maybe righted themselves.

    “I’d like it to be sign of things turning, bad luck is pretty boring and tends to follow you for a long time, and good luck comes and seems to disappear earlier. It definitely sets us up for a good second half of the season although it’s only the third weekend.”

    After victory at Snetterton, Osborne is now expecting more of a challenge from an entry that has not started with momentum in 2018.

    “It’s difficult. Success penalties with a podium stops you getting on a mega-roll for the next race, you’re shot in the kneecaps but I still haven’t changed my expectations from the start of the season to try and win the Pro/Am class and be in the mix for the top three overall. This definitely helps my predictions more than the first two weekends. Hopefully we carry this on.”

    In GT4 it was a last-minute move that won the day for Century Motorsport for Ben Tuck, after teammate Green hit strife when tagged into a spin shortly before the pitstops.

    “I thought that was it,” he began.

    “We had three instances of contact in the first stint, worked hard to get up to the front and I kept pushing even as the car didn’t feel good after the contact, Ben did a great second half of the race.

    “I am absolutely delighted, so so happy. You get spun off, in the grass, facing the wrong way and think it’s all over.  You just have to keep pushing no matter what happens.”

    Both men praised the two-hour sprint format in use for the final time this season in Norfolk.

    Green believes that the extra race means more chances for a big result.

    “The two-race format means more opportunities to do well, you can have a poor one in the first one but still dominate in the second like we did. But, a two-hour race is much harder because there’s less flexibility.”

    Tuck confessed to having more motivation for the shorter races this weekend.

    “The shorter races make you want it more because you have less time to get the job done. With the longer races it’s about managing tyres and looking after the car a lot more, it’s a good mix and good to have both in the championship.

    BMW’s second driver was delighted with the manner of his late victory, as he took his maiden British GT win.

    “The second group out was the Ams so I could pick them off a little easier, and up against the other silver cars the McLaren was struggling on the tyres at the end.

    “That is one of my favourite ever moves to be honest, seeing as it got us a win in the British GT for the very first time. It’s definitely one for the memories.”

    And Tuck believes there’s more to come, with the BMW outfit having improved as the season has gone on.

    “Winning it late is a different buzz, definitely. It’s a great feeling anyway because this season BMW and Century have done a great job, we’ve been learning and developing a lot more and getting better and better. It’s all come out on top here this weekend, doing it right at the end does create a different buzz because you know you have to do it. It’s almost do or die.”

  • BRITISH GT: GT3 Sunday Round Up. Race One Win and Double Podium for Thiim/Farmer, Howard makes Johnston sweat in Race Two

    BRITISH GT: GT3 Sunday Round Up. Race One Win and Double Podium for Thiim/Farmer, Howard makes Johnston sweat in Race Two

    Aston Martin dominated the British GT GT3 class with two victories from Snetterton’s two sprint races on Sunday.

    Nikki Thiim and Mark Farmer in the TF Sport #11 Aston Martin eased home after pole position for race one, and Farmer was relieved with his second GT victory after falling back to third.

    “I made a bit of a mistake which cost me momentum. Sadly the Aston got me and the Bentley got me because of that, it went from perfection to losing out in the blink of an eye but that is how it is.

    “We had a lightning driver change, we’d been practicing all morning, it was really fast and we jumped them in the pits.”

    Farmer was quick to point to the guidance given to him by Thiim, a world champion at sportscar level.

    “It’s massive to have a Pro driver like Nikki with you, as an Am you’re still finding your way in the sport so to have someone that can guide you an coach you is super important. I had John Barnes for a long time, to have Nikki as well, I’m extremely fortunate.

    “They’re both very different, but we get on well and I’m learning a lot from him.”

    After finishing well back at Rockingham with technical gremlins affecting his Aston Martin,  there’s plenty of motivation for the #11 Am driver, who conceded that the team cannot afford any more mistakes.

    “We were really quick in Rockingham but had a technical issue, these things happen and our championship starts now. The competition is really tough, you can’t afford to slip up and we have at Oulton and Rockingham. We need to be flawless from now.”

    Later in the afternoon, a stint-long battle between Derek Johnston’s #17 Aston and Andrew Howard in the #99 Beechdean Aston eventually went the way of the former.

    Copyright © Spacesuit Media Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.  Derek Johnston was made to work hard for victory in the afternoon at Snetterton

     

    J

    Howard had been all over Johnston and despite pushing, Johnston held on for a far from stress-free victory.

    I don’t know if it was fun! That’s the hardest I’ve worked in a race I think, Andrew kept me on it and as we’re in identical cars he knows what I can do and vice versa.  That is why we go racing. For two old guys like me and him to be out there like that, that was perfect.

    “I thought “What have I got to do?” because he just kept on following me through back markers. I was working harder and harder. He just never let me breathe.”

    Johnston was well aware of the importance of teammate Marco Sorensen passing the #33 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini of Phil Keen at the start of the race, which kept the #17 in touch with the leading #11 of Nikki Thiim.

    “To pass Phil at T1 at the start was important for us, we weren’t quite as quick as the sister car early on but all in all that was great. We had a BOP (Balance of Performance) disadvantage and we thought that may affect us, but the Aston is still a good old car at seven years old.”

    And the #17 Am driver praised the two-race, sprint format in use this weekend.

    “Two races lets you know whether you have made a mistake on setup, you can put it right. For me, I rarely get the opportunity to take the chequered flag with a win so that was phenomenal. The best feeling in the world.”

     

  • Maximum Monaco: Max taking risks again

    Max Verstappen – Photo credit, Redbull Content Pool

    After some impressive Free Practice sessions for the Dutchman –finishing second in both first and second Free Practice- it was looking to be a very promising weekend for Max Verstappen. The Red Bull dominated both sessions on the Thursday, with Daniel Ricciardo finding himself on top spot twice. They both outclassed the Ferrari and Mercedes, who already deemed Red Bull favourite for a potential victory. This might be the chance for Max to get his first ever pole position, and that on a track where pole position can mean the race win. Knowing how well he can defend, that special win could be guaranteed. It thus seemed like a fairy tale would come true in what is the crown jewel on the F1 calendar.

    They couldn’t be more wrong, as this fairy tale turned into a horror even before qualifying started. With just four minutes to go in FP3 –having set the fastest time yet that session- Max crashed his number 33 car into the wall at the Piscine section, one of the fastest sections of the track. Pushing maybe too hard that lap he steered in too early, hitting the wall which led to a suspension failure as he went straight into the wall. It looked almost identical as the crash he had there back in 2016. The car was damaged heavily and the question was raised if the Red Bull mechanics could fix the car on time for qualifying. Pictures on TV looked promising as the mechanics were working hard on the car with just 15 minutes to go in Q1. The dream of a potential first pole position ended quickly after that, when news came out that they found issues with the gearbox which they had to change.

    Of course such things can happen on Monaco, but after having incidents in all of the races this season so far the time might come for Max to ask himself if he can continue to drive like this, or if he has to change his driving style. We all know Max for his aggressive driving, both attacking and defending. That’s what makes him stand out from the rest. He takes risks like no one else. That might be just the problem. Those risks don’t get you as a driver nor the team the very important points. Max was criticised for his incidents like the crash in China with Vettel and his spin into the barriers at Bahrain and even his team became more critical. He responded to that, saying that he won’t change his driving style as he thinks that isn’t necessary. Now however, after the costly crash in FP3, Christian Horner has warned the young Dutchman that something has to change and the crashes need to stop. On TV we could see a seemingly angry Helmut Marko talking to Max, probably telling him the same. They are running out of patience at Red Bull. Afterwards he admitted he made the mistake all by his own. Does that mean he learned from it though?

    Max – Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

    Starting the race from last position, he had nothing to lose. After overtaking both Haas cars immediately after the start, his race already looked promising. He was very cautious at turn 6 on the first lap as he really left some room there so it might be clear that he really listened to his team. Some impressive overtakes on Leclerc, Sainz and Stroll brought him up to P12 in lap 20. Finishing the race in P9, on a track where overtaking is deemed very tough, starting from last place he really impressed F1 fans from all over the world. He has proven himself again.

    One thing that was noted over the course of this season, especially after another unnecessary and very costly crash, is the attitude towards Max from his Dutch fans. The comments on Facebook and Twitter have become way more negative. Dutch fans have become more divided on the subject of his driving style. On the one hand people enjoy his aggressive style and accept that this can lead to crashes as this style also brought him his victories, but on the other hand people get annoyed by the fact that he struggles to get points to fight for the championship especially when they see that his teammate dominated the whole weekend. One thing they all have in common is that they all think Max needs to learn from his mistakes to prevent them from happening again in the future. After all, he could have won the Monaco GP this weekend..

  • Double Dutch Delight At Donington

    Michael Van der Mark (Pata-Yamaha) secured back-to-back victories this weekend at the British round of the 2018 World Superbike Championship, at Donington Park.

    Due to the quirky partially reversed grid rules, the 25-year old began today’s race from ninth place on the grid having taken victory yesterday in race 1. Not that deterred Netherlands’ first superbike race winner one iota. As the lights went out he hooked up a perfect launch off the line, out dragging most of his rivals into the first corner at Redgate. The early laps were spent dicing with Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) over second place. The Aprilia could not live with the relentless pace being set and dropped out of contention for a podium finish.

    With Rea kept behind him, the Dutchman set about chasing down the leader, Alex Lowes (Pata-Yamaha). As the laps ticked by, it became apparent that the British rider was struggling for tyre grip. Once he was caught, Van der Mark passing him was simply inevitable. The move was brilliantly executed; having pulled alongside Lowes through the fast switchback craner curves, before squeezing up the inside of his teammate at the old hairpin. Lowes’ troubles would ultimately see him fall back to finish in P4.

    However, nothing would deny Van der Mark from completing the double today. Not even a resurgent charge from Rea in the closing laps could worry the Yamaha man – a further reminder (if needed) of his deep reserve of mental strength. Rea ambitiously attempted a do-or-die lunge at the Melbourne hairpin on the penultimate lap, but ran wide. The mistake consigned him to finish in P3, as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pucetti Kawasaki) pounced to secure second. It was a brilliant ride from the 22-year old, carving his way through the field from tenth on the grid. History made twice in one weekend – today was the first time a Turkish rider has stood on a World Superbike podium.

    It was a solid – if unspectacular – day for Aruba.it Ducati and Chaz Davies. The long night spent by the mechanics as they tried to solve the instability problems which have played the Panigale R all weekend. Sacrificing their straight line speed, and focusing on the bike’s ability to corner efficiently, Davies was able to bring home 11 points for a P5 finish. After the troubles the team have faced this weekend, its a result they will take. The other factory rider, Marco Melandri, endured another torrid race. Unable to ride with the confidence to push the bike to its limits, the veteran Italian could only manage P11. Ducati will be desperately hoping their fortunes improve next time out at the Czech round in Brno.

    Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda) will be quietly satisfied with his ride to P8 today. Having been forced to sit out the previous round at Imola due to injury, the British rider’s primary objective was to just finish his home round. Job done, and brought home a very respectable tally of points for his troubles. Even a not fully fit Camier is worth his weight in gold for the team as American rookie, Jake Gagne (P13), continues to struggle on his Fireblade machine this season.

    Loris Baz (Althea BMW) once again fought tooth and nail for every place he could get. The Frenchman has surprised the field this weekend when he secured his first front row start of his superbike career – the first time in five years for any BMW team. Although he was unable to maintain a front running pace during either of the two races – due to the comparative aging of the BMW machine to the rest of the competition – he was involved in several on-track battles. Most notably today against Jordi Torresc (MV Agusta). The pair spent much of the race locked nose-to-tail as they hounded each other across the parkland track. Eventually though it was the Spaniard who triumphed, securing P9. Baz completed the top ten.

    For Milwaukee Aprilia, it was a case of ecstasy and agony. Whilst Savadori battled his way to finish in P7, it was a different story for his teammate Eugene Laverty. Despite starting from the front row of the grid, a bad start left the 31-year old struggling in the midfield. Although he seemed competitive enough to compete with the likes of Camier, Torres and Baz, with eight laps remaining the Aprilia pulled off the circuit. It later transpired that the Irishman had suffered an issue with the wheel speed sensor, which caused a malfunction with the bike’s electronics.

    A final note on the wildcards from British Superbikes. Luke Mossey (Pedercini Kawasaki) was the highest finisher in P14, ahead of the Buildbase Suzuki machine of Bradley Ray, who claimed the final points scoring finish in P16. Leon Haslam (Pucetti Kawasaki), having experienced the highs of yesterday experienced the lows of today – crashing out early on in the race and retiring the bike. Gino Rea on the OMG Racing Suzuki was the last classified competitor to finish, in P19.

    World Superbikes returns with Round 7 at the Automotodrom Brno, Czechia – June 8th-10th.