The Circuit of the Americas is a phenomenally difficult circuit. From the heavy braking zone into turn one, you head into the snake, changing direction from turn two until turn ten, before the kink of turn eleven and the heavy brake into turn twelve – a critical corner for the run down the near-1km long main straight. From there, the riders head into turn thirteen – unlucky for many. In the Moto2 class, this is a deceleration from about 170mph down to around 50mph. Then starts what the Formula One drivers refer to as the “go-kart section”, as the riders twist between first gear corners, where the only way to overtake is to cause a crash. But the positive thing about this relatively unnecessary section is that it leads into the wonderful triple right-hander of turns eighteen, nineteen and twenty – watch for the rear tyres spinning on the exit there, which leads straight into turn twenty-one, a miserable off-camber right hander which just begs for you to exceed the track limits on corner exit, especially in the lightweight and intermediate classes where corner speed is more important. From there, finally, after just over two minutes, the riders arrive at the final corner, which is pretty average as final corners go, and on the exit there is just the short run to the line.
That’s a lap of COTA. It isn’t a particularly amazing one. From the point of view of a rider, it is too physical to really enjoy. The only enjoyment to come from the Austin circuit is winning, and if you’re in MotoGP there is only one person who can do that. Fortunately, Moto2 is somewhat more competitive, and after a thrilling race in Argentina the championship is completely open as the 2018 World Championship heads into round three.
Mattia Pasini. Image Courtesy of hondaproracing.com
The championship leader before this weekend starts is none other than Mattia Pasini, the Italian veteran performing a perfect display of offensive defence. Can Paso win the title? Well, like his compatriot in Moto3, Marco Bezzecchi, Pasini’s credentials will be determined in the next races, but it would be foolish at this stage to suggest that Mattia has no chance. Last year in COTA, though, like Argentina last year too, Pasini crashed out of a top position. If he wants to fight for the championship, and there is no reason why he shouldn’t, or wouldn’t, want to do that, he cannot afford a repeat, such is the level in Moto2 this season.
With a fourth place in Argentina to go with his second in Qatar, Lorenzo Baldassarri lies second in the World Championship and has started 2018 the best he has started any season. Last year was a disappointing one for Balda, and Texas was no different, as he was taken out early on by Yonny Hernandez, but realistically Lorenzo should not have been back towards the bottom end of the top twenty anyway. With Pons this year, the Italian has had a reset, and sat as the lead rider in such a top outfit is clearly suiting him well, hence the good start this year. Furthermore, no team with a Kalex frame can keep hold of rear tyres like Pons, and with questions being asked about the abrasiveness of the surface for this weekend at COTA, that could prove critical in the battle with the KTMs.
Miguel Oliveira. Image Courtesy of RedbullContentPool
Speaking of which, Miguel Oliveira, whilst having had a better time of it back in Argentina would have been disappointed that he could only manage third place. In the second half of the race, it was clear that Oliveira had the best pace of the leaders, but he just could not find a way to keep Pasini behind when he was able to pass the Italian. For Miguel, COTA last year was not so great either, when he finished only sixth, and thirteen seconds off the win. However, with the improvements made to the KTM since then, and also considering the Austrian chassis’ superior tyre management compared to Kalex in conjunction with the supposedly overly abrasive surface, we could see Oliveira win his first race of the year this weekend, and if Oliveira is there, it would be a mistake to discount Binder.
The positive for Oliveira is that Pecco Bagnaia, supposedly the Portuguese’s biggest championship threat, had a poor time in Argentina as he only managed ninth. For Pecco, it seemed to go downhill from FP2 when he seemed to have an issue with the bike. After that, he had a poor qualifying and struggled for pace in the race. It was not a complete disaster, though, for Pecco, who won the opening race, as he still sits in third place in the standings. But a recovery this weekend will be critical before the World Championship returns to Europe.
The way the first two races panned out, with no one from the podium in Qatar returning in Argentina, means that there are six riders covered by just eleven points heading into this weekend, with obviously Pasini, Baldassarri and Bagnaia leading Xavi Vierge, who had a ridiculously exciting race in Argentina; Oliveira and Alex Marquez, who could have won in Qatar but for an overheating rear brake and could have been on the podium in Argentina but for a mistake when trying to pass Baldassarri. It might be reasonable to suggest that each of those rider will be somewhere in the mix this weekend – and if they are it should be one hell of a race.
This weekend the World Superbike paddock heads to Assen, the “Cathedral of Motorcyling”, for round three of the 2018 World Championship, one weekend on from round two in Aragon.
MotorLand was conquered by Jonathan Rea in race one, and then by Chaz Davies in race two. It was the second round in succession that saw that sequence, and could have been the one to mark the pair out as the two main championship contenders. Of course, they were the favourites to begin with considering their form in the last few years, but the changes to the rules for this season threw a new element of doubt into that. But, the cream rises, as they say, and at the moment both the Northern Irish and Welsh varieties are rising fairly quickly, but Chaz is still ruing the error in Phillip Island race two that left him on the floor, and is a major factor in the twelve point deficit that Davies has in the championship.
Furthermore, the concession points that Ducati scored in respect to Kawasaki, who had a mixed bag in Aragon, mean that the green bikes are allowed an upgrade – and that could prove pivotal. For sure, it will probably swing back around at some point in the future and the Panigale’s will get an upgrade or two, but if it takes a while for that to happen, Kawasaki could have a real opportunity in the next races to make a decent advantage on the Ducati. Remaining on the subject of machinery, the rev limits have been adjusted for this weekend. All manufacturers, bar Ducati, receive a 250rpm limit increase. Again, this could give Kawasaki the advantage this weekend, especially because of the nature of Assen.
In MotorLand, Kawasaki struggled with the gearing, and struggled especially out of turn fifteen and the final corner because they couldn’t keep the bike in the right rev range to drive out of the corner well, and obviously this cost them a lot of time. The problem was that they were unable to change individual gears, because of regulations which were introduced a few years ago prohibiting such setting adjustments, and a change to the overall gearing (which is allowed) would compromise them in other corners to such an extent that it was not worth the gain in the final sector. It is worth pointing out, though, that the problems in sector four were hugely detrimental to Jonathan Rea, and probably cost him a chance to mount a genuine challenge for the win – it was obvious that Rea would not be able to pass Davies because of the acceleration and straight line speed deficit; he just could not get close enough into the overtaking zones, and even if he did, the advantage of the Ducati would have probably allowed Davies to respond.
Now, this is meant as no disrespect to Chaz, he rode superbly in both races, especially race two, and could have had the double but for a crash in Superpole that left him in just eleventh place on the grid. But in Assen, with the high-speed nature, perhaps Kawasaki will not be at the same disadvantage as one week ago, and also because the circuit is more suiting to a flowing, high corner speed riding style, so somebody like Jonathan Rea might be able to offset such a deficit as he had last week with his high corner speed riding style. Moreover, the main overtaking opportunity in Assen is the final chicane. Before the final chicane is Ramshoek, which is a fast left-hander, meaning there is always an overtaking opportunity on the final lap if one rider is close enough behind the rider in front. In essence, what this means is that if there is a similar situation to Aragon, where Kawasaki are struggling compared to Ducati for drive and acceleration on corner exit, then in then in the situation of a last lap dual, Rea isn’t unarmed – once more, Assen delivers.
Of course, there is the option that no one can get near the #65 Kawasaki this weekend anyway – Jonathan Rea’s prowess around the legendary Dutch circuit is well documented, and after a somewhat controversial but well-deserved double last season to bring his total of Assen victories to eleven, meaning one win this weekend will bring him level with Carl Fogarty for the most wins in Assen. Also, it is probably worth pointing out that Rea has never been beaten on a Kawasaki in Assen – it could have been close last season, with Davies, but the Ducati expired with a few laps to go in race two, depriving us of what could have been a classic finish to the race.
Perhaps we can see that dual this season, but a Ducati has not won in Assen since Sylvain Guintoli on the Effenbert Liberty Racing bike back in 2012. That said, Chaz Davies looks in sublime form at the moment, and if he was ever going to take his first Assen victory in World Superbike, this weekend would be a good time to do it, especially with Ducati’s home race at Imola next up on the calendar – going there off the back of a positive weekend in Holland would be ideal, and a reduction in the gap at the top of the championship would likely go down well in Borgo Panigale too.
For Marco Melandri, though, it could be a difficult weekend in store. Assen has been unkind to the Italian in the past. He was leading the race in 2012 when it was red flagged for conditions, and Guintoli went on to take the win. Also, in 2013 his BMW had mechanical problems on the warm-up lap which meant he was unable to start. It is possible to say that Melandri is heading straight into another difficult weekend tomorrow, as his Panigale this year has been almost everything you would rather it not be for a circuit like Assen – mostly, unstable. In every race since Phillip Island race one, we have seen the #33 Ducati shaking its head at high speed and also in high speed direction changes. Almost, it would be impossible to watch a race entirely looking at Melandri, because probably your heart would expire before the chequered flag. How on earth Marco holds on to the thing when it gets into the big tank slappers we have seen on occasion at Buriram and a few times also in MotorLand is precisely why I am writing this and not riding, because I have no idea. But as dramatic as it is, and as much as we can praise Melandri for being able to still achieve two wins and a further podium, and to be only eighteen points off the championship lead in spite of all these issues, it is not a situation which would lend itself to the many high speed direction changes of the Circuit van Drenthe, and it could be that the 2002 250cc World Champion finds himself very much in a damage limitation situation on Saturday and Sunday.
But, of course, Melandri is not the last option for Ducati. The factory support for 2018, combined with the phenomenal Xavi Fores means that it is impossible at the moment to head into a round of WSBK without considering the Barni Racing Ducati for a non-surprise. It has been an incredible start to the 2018 season for the Spaniard, finishing on the podium in three of the first six races, which is a podium rate equal to that of Marco Melandri – on a satellite bike. MotorLand was, as usual with Xavi, a fantastic round for the #12, with a podium in race one, and a good ride in race two until his crash in turn 16 when he was leading. It looked as though Fores could have had the speed to win that race, and his crash was a huge shame, potentially down to wind speed, as Fores and his data said he did nothing different to the previous laps but still entered turn sixteen 3kph faster. Should he win this season, he will become the first rider in an independent team to win a WSBK race since Chaz Davies on the ParkinGo Aprilia at the Nurburgring in 2012 (unless you count Crescent Suzuki as an independent team, in which case it would be Eugene Laverty at Phillip Island in 2014). Of course, that is if no one beats him to it, but I might suggest that is a rather small if, and no fault of the teams or riders, either.
Even Fores is not the last Ducati rider we have to consider before this weekend. Michael Ruben Rinaldi, last year’s FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Champion, is competing in all of the European rounds of the 2018 Superbike World Championship, and out in an impressive performance in Aragon one week ago to come away from his first WSBK meeting with an eighth from race one, and a seventh from race two. That puts him on sixteen points, which draws him level with Jake Gagne in the World Championship standings. It will be interesting to see what the Italian rider can do this weekend on a track which is perhaps not as well suited to the Ducati as MotorLand.
Apart from Phillip Island race one, 2018 has been a bit of a disappointment from the perspective of Tom Sykes. The 2013 World Champion has only one podium to his name so far this season, way back in race one in Australia. MotorLand showed no improvement, either, for the number 66, who struggled to a pair of sixth places, and things might not get much better for the Brit this weekend. At Assen, Sykes won in dominant fashion in 2013, but has failed to return to the top step in Holland since. It certainly seems at the moment that the rule changes, which hurt Kawasaki the most, have affected Sykes more than Rea – but that is understandable because we know that Tom likes to stop the bike in the corner more than Rea, who likes more corner speed. But I don’t think many people thought it would be this bad for Sykes at this point in the season. However, as previously mentioned, the track’s characteristics could help Kawasaki this weekend, and right now it seems like Sykes could do with all the help he can get if he wants to be challenging for podiums and victories again.
For Yamaha, Aragon was a little bit disappointing. They went to MotorLand with the idea that they could win a race, but they did not get close on either occasion. As both riders have eluded, it is not clear what they need to make the step to allow them to fight for race wins – it is not one thing – but when they find it they both expect to be fighting for race wins week in week out. Whether they will find it this weekend or not remains to be seen, but with it being Michael van der Mark’s home race, one he always does well at, and one of Alex Lowes’ favourite circuits, the signs are positive for the Pata Yamaha WSBK squad, and maybe this is the weekend the ‘new’ R1 will finally get the World Superbike monkey of its back.
There are absences again this weekend: Eugene Laverty is of course out again after his horror crash in Buriram, and joining him on the side lines is Leon Camier. Laverty is again being replaced by Davide Giugliano whereas Camier will not be replaced, leaving Jake Gagne as the sole rider in the Red Bull Honda team.
Normally, Assen has some predictability, because every time you go to Assen, it rains – without fail. However, this time, no rain. Actually, the rain has been replaced by sun, and supposedly for the entire weekend, and with the way this season has gone so far, it is possibly fair to say that the rain is welcome to stay away – WSBK does not need it.
Images courtesy of ttcircuit.com and mediahouse.ducati.com
IndyCar’s Birmingham race at Barber Motorsports Park marks the last of the triple-header races in April, after this there will be a few deserved weeks off for both the drivers and teams. However, before that, they’ve all got to go racing again at Barber, a track that has been a staple of the IndyCar season since 2010.
Before we get onto the race this weekend, let’s take a quick look back to last week’s race on the streets of Long Beach which was won, in quite dominant fashion, by Alexander Rossi. The #27 Andretti driver led nearly every lap to take his win tally up to three, in the process silencing his critics who try to claim that he’s ‘fluke’. Following him home was Will Power who was lead Penske after both Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud had disappointing races. Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Ed Jones, impressed with a podium while Andretti’s latest rookie, Zach Veach, finished just behind Jones in fourth, somewhat pushing Robert Wickens out of the limelight that he’s enjoyed so far.
As for the eternal Honda/Chevrolet battle well, it was a rather convincing performance from Honda at Long Beach with Chevrolet again poorly represented in the top ten. All that could be turned on its head this weekend because Barber has traditionally been a Chevrolet stronghold yet, with the new universal aero kit, tradition doesn’t seem to stand for much this year. So far, at least, Honda have comfortably had the measure of Chevrolet.
2017 Verizon IndyCar Series – Honda Grand Prix of Alabama, AL USA Josef Newgarden World Copyright Steve Swope/LAT Images
This race last year was at a similar time in the season and was won by Penske’s Newgarden after the other Penske of Power suffered an unfortunate puncture while leading. Chevrolet didn’t have it all their own way as Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon put up a very strong fight to Newgarden, as seemed to be the story throughout the championship. Pole, unlike at Long Beach, generally has a good record at Barber; last year’s pole sitter was Power who did come to blows however, in previous years it has been a definite advantage.
Like Long Beach, Barber is a street course so the grouped qualifying method will be used and rookies should have an easier time of it than at ovals but, as the street races so far have illustrated, the walls are close and unforgiving should a driver venture too close!
Only one driver change to speak of this weekend, Rene Binder will take the wheel of the sole Juncos car from Kyle Kaiser for the Austrian’s second IndyCar race.
2017 Verizon IndyCar Series – Honda Grand Prix of Alabama, AL USA Will Power World Copyright Steve Swope/LAT Images
With it being Barber, you’d be foolish to rule out Penske this weekend because, despite their recent troubles, they’ve always been a force to reckon with around this track. It will be interesting to see if Honda can keep up their good form and take their first win around Barber since 2014 while Rossi will quite probably be the Honda driver to watch once again.
Each race seems to throw up a new, surprising contender, be it Wickens, Jones, Veach or one of the more experienced drivers like Graham Rahal, there always seems to be someone fresh in the mix.
As per usual, practice and qualifying can be streamed on IndyCar’s channels throughout the weekend while the race will be on its usual channel, BT Sport/ESPN. IndyCar will also be joined by Indy Lights and Pro Mazda whose races can all be streamed in all the same places as IndyCar practice and qualifying.
The IndyCar timings for this weekend are as follows:
Leon Haslam. image courtesy of http://jgspeedfitkawasaki.co.uk
After a dry race one, rain arrived for the second BSB race of round two. The clouds began to open up during the supersport race which preceded the second outing of the day for the BSB class, but stopped early enough to allow a dry start to the premier class race.
After setting the fastest lap of race one, Bradley Ray started on pole for the third time in as many races, and just as in race one he arrived at turn one at the head of the pack. However, unlike race one, it was Leon Haslam who slipped into second place, whilst Shane Byrne dropped from his second-place grid slot to fourth as Jake Dixon also found a way through as they made their way into Paddock Hill for the first time. Danny Buchan got caught on some cement dust put down after an oil spillage in the sidecar race, and that dropped him close to the rear of the pack.
The first lap was over, and it had been a good one for James Ellison, who had made up a number of positions after his poor luck in race one meant that he was forced to start further down the grid. Brad Ray had also had a stunner, and was already opening a gap on Leon Haslam. And with Byrne still down in fourth, with Christian Iddon hounding him as well, it looked to be a good opportunity for Ray to take his third win in four races.
Indeed, it was Iddon who demoted Byrne to fifth place at Paddock Hill at the beginning of lap two, and at the same time Haslam started to reel the leader back in. Bringing Dixon with him, Haslam had managed to peg Ray back with the fastest lap of the race as they moved onto lap three.
After a few laps of little-to-no change in the order at the front, Jason O’Halloran moved past Byrne to take fifth place away from the reigning champion on lap five, the Aussie then, set his sights on his second podium of the day, and now it was the second Buildbase Suzuki of Richard Cooper who was having a look at the exhaust layout of the #67 Ducati Panigale.
Lap seven; and Peter Hickman chose that moment to make his move on Glenn Irwin for eighth place – the Smiths BMW rider at this point enjoying his best ride of 2018. As the leaders came to the end of the seventh circulation, the rain had started to worsen, and Jake Dixon was the first rider to put his hand up to signal that conditions were becoming too dangerous to continue, and his move was reflected by Leon Haslam before the red flag came out just as they crossed the line to start lap eight.
The race resumed a few minutes later in wet conditions, shortened to twenty-two laps. Everyone chose a rain tyre at both ends, apart from Jason O’Halloran who took a gamble with an intermediate rear.
Bradley Ray once more went off pole position, but this time he was beaten into turn one, as Leon Haslam assumed the early lead. At Druids, Richard Cooper stormed up the inside on the #47 Buildbase Suzuki to take third place, as Christian Iddon ran wide on corner entry, allowing Jake Dixon up the inside, but Iddon managed to hold the Tyco BMW around the outside, giving him the inside line at Graham Hill Bend with which he managed to reclaim the advantage from Dixon. It was nearly curtains for the pair of them when at the same moment Shane Byrne tried to take advantage of Dixon’s involuntary wider line at turn three, and came close to wiping the three of them out.
Shakey being Shakey, though, he managed to avoid the potential disaster, and despite running a little wide himself, luckily he only lost one position, to Glenn Irwin on the other Be Wiser Ducati ; who went around the outside of Surtees to take the inside at McLaren’s. On the exit of Clearways, Cooper continued his strong start to the race as he moved past Haslam to take the lead. As for Cooper’s teammate, Ray, the first lap had not been so great, as he was passed by Cooperman at Graham Hill Bend, which sent him a little bit wide and thus allowed Christian Iddon and Jake Dixon past.
Onto lap two, and Leon Haslam had a couple of goes at Cooper’s lead at Paddock Hill and then Druids, but ran wide on both occasions, allowing the Suzuki rider to remain in the lead. Meanwhile, Ray was falling further back, as the two Be Wiser Ducatis of, first, Irwin and then Byrne came through at turn two. Peter Hickman also looked for a way through at Surtees but that in fact gave Michael Laverty the chance to move through at Clearways as the Smiths BMW ran wide.
Laverty was then immediately looking for a way past Ray as lap three began, but the championship leader held firm, albeit temporarily as the Northern Irishman came through in the Surtees/McLaren’s/Clearways section.
Meanwhile, Dixon moved past Iddon at Graham Hill Bend for third place, whilst Cooper and Haslam remained out front. But no one looked as though they had a significant advantage with which they could mount an escape from the pack.
On lap four, the charge of the Be Wiser Ducatis continued, as Irwin charged past Christian Iddon for fourth, and Byrne followed him through with an expected immediacy. It is probably a ludicrous suggestion that Shakey does not understand the ability of Irwin in the rain, and so it is probable that the reigning champion was just gauging his race and the grip levels from the behaviour of Irwin, and he wanted to keep him in sight, hence the immediacy.
So, that was Iddon back to sixth place, and then his teammate, Laverty, made his way through at Druids on lap five, and made a better job of it than Haslam ahead, who went for the inside on Cooper at the second turn but ran wide. Cooper cut back underneath, but Haslam had the more flowing line into Graham Hill Bend and took the lead around the outside.
Michael Laverty then performed one of the most outstanding overtakes you are likely to see, as he went around the outside of both Shane Byrne and Glenn Irwin at Druids to go from sixth to fourth in one go. One corner later, Dixon made his move on Cooper for second, Byrne then decided that the time had come to demote his teammate and slid by for fifth. Laverty continued his charge, taking third away from Cooper between McLaren’s and Clearways. Cooper tried to come back at Paddock Hill but was unable to hold his line, and Laverty passed him back on the drive out of the corner.
Cooper fell yet further back when Byrne forced his way underneath him at Graham Hill Bend on lap seven. The lack of drive that Cooper had on the exit was irresistible for Irwin, who proceeded to have a look and make the pass down at Surtees. Richard’s decline was halted, though, thanks to a crash at Clearways just seconds after Irwin had past him.
At the beginning of lap eight, Michael Laverty passed Jake Dixon for second, and then set his sights on the lead of Leon Haslam, which he confiscated at Paddock Hill at the beginning of lap nine. Dixon followed Laverty through at Graham Hill Bend on the same lap. By the end of lap nine, which he began in the lead, Haslam was fifth, and at the back of the front group, whilst Michael Laverty was stretching away.
At Paddock Hill on lap ten, Irwin passed his teammate, and then pointed his crosshairs at Jake Dixon. Irwin seemed impatient to get past, but did so at Paddock Hill a lap after he put a similar move on Byrne, as he could see Laverty escaping at the front. Byrne, sensing the same, passed Dixon for third at Druids on lap 11, and Haslam came through on the youngster too at Surtees.
At the beginning of lap twelve, Brad Ray made his way past Christian Iddon, putting the Tyco BMW in a Suzuki sandwich, with Tommy Bridewell’s Halsall Suzuki at the rear of the trio. There was no change at the front, as they were all aiming at Michael Laverty.
Laverty, meanwhile, was aiming at Jason O’Halloran, who he lapped on lap thirteen, after which the Aussie decided to retire, knowing the tyre choice had rendered his race pointless – literally. On the same lap, Haslam went inside Byrne at Paddock Hill to claim third place for the time being. Byrne was passed by Dixon too, at Graham Hill Bend, and the reigning champion was now dropping off the back of the group.
At the same time, Irwin was closing down Laverty at the front, Haslam and Dixon joined him to make a quartet at the head of the race. Haslam, though, was not content with sitting behind the #2 Ducati, and overtook Irwin on lap fourteen, but only to be repassed at the beginning of lap fifteen.
Irwin came back at Haslam at turn two on lap 16, but had a huge moment at the end of the lap at Clarke Curve, though it didn’t cost him too much time.
Jake Dixon crashed on lap 17 at Graham Hill Bend as he was looking for a way past Leon Haslam. Unfortunately for RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki rider, he opened the throttle a little bit too much on the exit of the corner, and it spat him over the high side. Dixon was clearly okay, as he immediately got up and ran after the bike, before realising he was in the middle of the track, and probably shouldn’t continue to be there. It was a big shame for both Dixon & Cooper, because the pair had tricky rounds at Donington, and also looked really good in this race. Hopefully both will be able to take the positives from their respective outings in race two, and continue to fight at the front in the future.
That left a rather satisfying three-way battle for the win – satisfying in that, as long as they all remained in the saddle until the conclusion of lap 22, all of them would be on the podium. I don’t know if it is just me, but a four-way fight for the top three places always frustrates me, because probably all of the riders deserve to be on the rostrum, but inevitably one of them has to miss out.
But in this (satisfying) scrap for the win, hostilities were paused momentarily after Dixon’s crash, and the two Ulstermen led Haslam as lap nineteen began. And the order remained – Laverty from Irwin from Haslam – until Glenn passed Michael for the lead at Druids with three laps to go. Sensing a possible breakaway for Irwin, Haslam immediately followed him through at Graham Hill Bend.
Haslam and Laverty got close on the entrance to Druids on the penultimate lap, and that sent the Tyco BMW wide, and cost him a few tenths. It might not sound like much, but with 53-second lap times, three tenths is a pretty giant margin. As such, it was at this point that Laverty’s victory hopes ended.
At Surtees on lap 21, Haslam passed Irwin for the lead, but it was only momentary, as the Ducati re-appeared on the inside of the Kawasaki between McLaren’s and Clearways, and led as they entered the final lap.
Haslam obviously knew he had to try somewhere, but was not close enough into turn two or three. He was close enough into Surtees, as on the previous lap, and made the move in almost identical fashion, but this time covered off Irwin, meaning Leon was able to take his first win of the season. After missing the podium in two of the first three races, and knowing that his preferred tyre is at a severe disadvantage in the dry, it was quite a critical win for Leon. Furthermore, with Byrne and Ray missing the podium, he closed the difference in the all-important podium credits.
It was also a stunning ride from Irwin, who took his first podium of the season, and the same can be said for Michael Laverty who returned to the podium for the first time in over a season, which is an extremely positive sign for the future, and especially with respect to his Showdown hopes.
#67 Shane Shakey Byrne Sittingbourne Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team MCE British Superbikes
Byrne will be content with his safe fourth place. He missed out on podium credits, but he did not lose out on points, and didn’t suffer an injury.
Josh Brookes finished fifth, which is his best result of the season so far. It was an awful opening three races for the Australian, and he will hope that he can continue the season more in line with the experiences from Brands Indy race two.
After a promising start to the race, Christian Iddon could only manage sixth place, 13.570 seconds off the win, but with the likes of Dixon crashing, and with riders such as James Ellison down the order it was an okay result for the number 21.
Despite only managing seventh place in the race, Bradley Ray retains his championship lead ahead of round three at Oulton Park in a few weeks’ time. Of course, it was at Oulton that Ray took his first BSB podium last season and will be aiming to achieve a pair of results in a similar vein next time out.
Eighth went to Tommy Bridewell, who was just under half a tenth ahead of Tarran Mackenzie across the line. What a ride it was from Tarran too, in his fourth ever BSB race he took ninth place, and his first race in the wet, too. In fairness, it was a good weekend for Taz, as he scored in both races, and also made Q3 for the first time on Saturday. Also impressing was Carl Phillips on the Gearlink Kawasaki, who took tenth place in just his fourth BSB outing.
Eleventh place went to number eleven, James Ellison, whose race was a disaster as soon as the pit lane closed before the race start; he left he pit lane after it closed, and so had to start from the back of the grid. From that point it was pretty much a situation where he had to take what he could get, and in the end that was eleventh. The whole start to the season has been a bit of a disaster for Ellison. His lack of decent luck has been well documented over the last years, and so far this season there has been no turn around. Since his podium in the first race of the season, he has crashed (admittedly that was his fault), had a bad tyre, and had to start from last. This is presumably not the start to the season Ellison had envisaged for his final BSB year.
Danny Buchan claimed twelfth, which is probably a lot more than he thought he could achieve when he was stuck on the cement dust on the outside of turn one on the first lap before the red flag. He also beat Luke Mossey, who took thirteenth, which actually is probably where he would have ended up had it been a dry race, such was Skywalker’s lack of pace this year at Brands Indy. Peter Hickman was something of a disappointment in 14th place – he normally excels in tricky conditions. The final point was claimed by Taylore Mackenzie for Moto Rapido Ducati.
Jakub Smrz was sixteenth, Gino Rea 17th, Mason Law eighteenth, ahead of Sylvain Barrier and Kyle Ryde who rounded out the top twenty. Shaun Winfield was the final classified rider, in twenty-first.
There were only three retirements, the ones who departed from the front group (Dixon and Cooper), and O’Halloran, who as previously mentioned pulled into pit lane after he was lapped.
After four races in BSB, all six manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati, Kawasaki and BMW) have podiums. That is quite an impressive statistic and is indicative of the incredibly level playing field that has been created by the BSB rules. That makes it even more incredible that two riders appear to have an advantage over the rest of the field. They seem to be Ray and Byrne at the moment, but maybe at Oulton Park it will be a different story.
Daniel Ricciardo’s path to victory in Shanghai last Sunday was full of all the precise car placement and late-braking brilliance that F1 has come to expect from its smiling assassin.
But what was perhaps the most noticeable part of Ricciardo’s win was not the moves he made to achieve it, but who he beat along the way.
Wolfgang Wilhelm/Mercedes AMG F1
Fans and pundits alike were quick to point out that the two drivers who trailed Ricciardo onto the podium in China—Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen—also happened to be the same drivers under pressure from the Australian for a 2019 seat.
It was a coincidence sharp enough to be ominous—and judging by the two Finns’ downcast expressions in the post-race press conference, neither appreciated the irony in that result.
For Bottas, the timing of his defeat by Ricciardo could hardly have been less fortunate. It was only a week ago that the Finn was being criticised for a lack of aggression in his pursuit of Sebastian Vettel for the lead in Bahrain, and it will surely not have escaped his notice that one of those critics was Ricciardo himself.
After Bahrain, Ricciardo was quoted by Motorsport.com as saying he would have “at least tried” to overtake Vettel were he in Bottas’s position: “For me, the first opportunity you have to take. If it’s for a win, you just can’t [settle].”
To then have victory snatched away at the very next event, with a decisive move up the inside by the same man posturing to replace you? There’s misfortune, and then there’s misery.
Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
But what makes matters worse for Bottas is that he didn’t just lose out on victory for himself, he also let slip a victory for Mercedes.
With Lewis Hamilton struggling to get on the pace across the China weekend, the burden was on Bottas to lead Mercedes’ charge against Ferrari and secure their first win of the season.
And although the Finn’s chances of winning in Shanghai were ruined by the ill-timed safety car, it’s hard not to notice the similarities between this race and Bahrain. Both times Bottas was the lead Mercedes, both times a clever pit strategy put him in a winning position, and both times he finished only second.
Add that to the qualifying crash in Australia that left Bottas starting 15th on the grid, and Mercedes could be forgiven if their faith in the once-Flying Finn has become a little half-hearted this year.
And the danger there is that Hamilton, also out of contract this year, has hinted several times that the next deal he signs might well be his last. The driver decisions facing Mercedes this year will therefore be made with that post-Hamilton future in mind—their priority will be to lock in place the driver most capable of leading the team forward once Hamilton departs.
Given that’s something Ricciardo’s already shown he can do during his Red Bull tenure, Bottas will have a lot of work to do after his early season errors to prove to Mercedes that he is still their best option.
Steve Etherington/Mercedes AMG F1
There is still time for Bottas to turn his situation around—although that time is fast running out.
Ricciardo’s contract renewal talks with Red Bull were due to start this month, and if he decides early not to stay then the Australian could be meeting with Toto Wolff by the time F1 comes round to the European season in May. The uncertainty over Hamilton’s extension might hold up the talks for now—but alternatively, the fear of Ferrari poaching Ricciardo while Mercedes waits may well push Wolff into a swift decision.
Bottas will need to impress quickly, then, if he is to even remain in the running for his seat. But luckily for the Finn, the next race in Azerbaijan should be one of his stronger events—last year, he came from the back after a first lap crash to steal second from Lance Stroll across the line.
Another performance like that will go a long way to restoring Mercedes’ confidence in Bottas at this crucial time in the season—and if he can go one step further and take the Silver Arrows’ first 2018 win, then all the better.
But whatever results Bottas brings from Baku and beyond, he will have to up his game generally, and prove he is capable of taking the fight to Ferrari and Red Bull whenever Hamilton can’t.
Because as messages go, Ricciardo’s “lick the stamp and send it” jibe on the Shanghai podium couldn’t have been any clearer: if Mercedes wants a driver who will do more than settle for second, they know where to find one.
Two down already! You get the feeling this season is going to fly by; especially as this week links the first back to back race weekends of the campaign.
Sebastian Vettel, undoubtedly, will be eyeing his third straight win of the year, having beaten his Mercedes counterparts in both Australia and Bahrain; showcasing that Ferrari have the capabilities to outmuscle the Silver Arrows on two very different circuits.
Again, on Sunday, and the lead up prior, the Prancing Horse, as well as the other 19 cars on the grid, will be tested to their maximum as they scale the 5.4km, wasteland sitting grey ribbon of Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix.
A 16-turn circuit, which houses an equal number of right and left-handers, offers up one of the most challenging tests the drivers will face throughout the year.
Debuting in 2004, the teams soon learned that looking for time in the slower bends, of which there are many, cannot result in neglecting the high-speed straights.
Because of this, they attempt to utilise the downforce and natural mechanical grip during the tighter, more technical aspects of the track, while making sure their aero packages don’t hinder the car too much as the prime overtaking spots come into view.
The longest straight on the circuit, situated between turn 13 and 14, pips the 1km barrier; however, also provides one of the heaviest braking zones on the calendar – as drivers drop from over 320kph to a little over 60kph to tackle the almost 90-degree right-hander at the end of the DRS zone.
It’s also a tough afternoon for tyres, with the Chinese Grand Prix known for its degradation. So, it’s unlikely to see a repeat of Vettel’s heroics last weekend in the latter stages on Sunday, although, be prepared for a wild variation in strategies thanks to Pirelli’s tyre allocation.
“The new wider range of 2018 P Zero compounds have allowed us to come up with some nominations this year where there is a gap in the tyres selected: in the case of China, alongside the medium, we jump from soft to ultrasoft, leaving out the supersoft”, Mario Isola, Head of Car Racing at Pirelli told F1’s official website.
“There’s quite a big gap from medium to the softer compounds, which are quite close together (with the exception of the hypersoft). So, by missing out the supersoft in China, we end up with three choices that are quite evenly spaced out, which in turn opens up several different possibilities for strategy.“These strategy calculations have of course already begun, with teams selecting different quantities of the ultrasoft heading into the race, and we could also see some different approaches to qualifying as well.
“With China being an unpredictable race anyway, thanks to a number of different overtaking opportunities and notoriously variable weather, this tyre nomination introduces another parameter, which should hopefully contribute to an even better spectacle.”
And I for one cannot wait.
Be sure to keep up with all the action with PitCrewOnline via the website and social media channels! (@PitCrew_Online) Of course, as always, if you enjoyed this week’s edition of Joe’s Track Preview, feel free to shoot me (@jwpowens) a follow too.
IndyCar headed back to the street courses and did not disappoint with four caution periods and multiple incidents all of which shook up strategy however, one man stood firm amongst the ensuing chaos, that man was . The #27 Andretti driver led 71 out of a possible 85 laps to take his most convincing win yet.
Will Power with the runners’s trophy at Long Beach image courtesy of http://media.gm.com
Qualifying on pole normally doesn’t help you at Long Beach with the last conversion coming back in 2007 but Rossi changed that after getting pole and following it up with a win that never looked in doubt. The American got a good launch off the start but that small lead was soon negated by the first caution of the day, caused by Simon Pagenaud. This proved to be a common theme throughout the race with Rossi surviving four restarts, all of which he pulled a significant lead in. He lost a considerable amount of time behind the soon-to-be lapped car of Zachary Claman De Melo but after this he learnt to be more patient with the lapped traffic, therefore reducing the amount of lost time. Despite undercut attempts from both Will Power and Scott Dixon, Rossi retained the lead, taking his win tally up to three with the other two coming at Watkins Glen last year and of course the 2016 Indy 500.
Power came in behind Rossi on the road after most his challengers fell away via one means or another. He was initially fighting with teammate Josef Newgarden but, with Newgarden on a three-stopper, he was soon out of the picture, leaving Power to push and try to do the undercut on Rossi. With hindsight, Power probably stayed out a lap too long because both he and Dixon encountered a lot of traffic on their last lap out but that’s an easy thing to say looking back on it! After that, Power ended up in a sort of no-mans-land; he couldn’t challenge Rossi for the lead but was well clear of the drivers squabbling for third. On the final restart, Power tried to draw Rossi into using his Push-to-Pass but that backfired with Power being left behind by the eventual race winner.
Josef Newgarden at Long Beach Image courtesy of http://media.gm.com
We had some very impressive performances from some of the younger drivers in the IndyCar field, chief among which were last year’s Rookie of the Year Ed Jones and Andretti’s rookie Zach Veach who finished third and fourth respectively. Neither driver qualified very well but they got lucky with the cautions, especially with the last caution caused by Sebastien Bourdais, which enabled them to climb up the order with Veach scoring his career-best result and Jones equalling his best after his third at the Indy 500 last year.
Last week’s winner Newgarden didn’t have a simple afternoon with the cautions really going against his strategy. The Penske driver suffered as a result of Chevrolet’s higher fuel consumption and opted, fairly early on, to go onto the less favourable three-stop strategy. While the second caution played into Newgarden’s hands and bumped him up the order, both the third and fourth hurt him badly, leaving him fighting with Tony Kanaan for seventh – a battle which the Penske driver won with four laps to go.
Having said that, Newgarden was not the most unfortunate driver of the day, in fact, there were four fighting for that unwanted honour. First to fall was Simon Pagenaud whose race lasted all of about 10 seconds; the #22 driver was tapped by Graham Rahal at Turn 1, spinning the Frenchman and sending him into the wall – ending his race there and then.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was another ill-fated driver at Long Beach, after being clipped by Dixon at Turn 1, the Andretti driver was forced to change his front wing and from there, his race only went downhill. The mid-part of his race was fairly uneventful but just as it was all settling down, Hunter-Reay got caught up in Bourdais’ accident, caused by Jordan King. Hunter-Reay suffered suspension damage as a result which dropped him to near last in the order, eventually finishing four laps down. Hunter-Reay himself labelled his race as a “complete nightmare”.
Bourdais’ race was first undone by his teammate De Melo’s crash which brought out a caution and meant that he couldn’t be serviced when he came into the pits. Before this, Bourdais had pulled off what had to be the overtake of the race, passing both Dixon and Matheus Leist into Turn 1, though he did have to give the place back to Dixon because he crossed the pit exit line. The Frenchman was unfortunately clipped by King on Lap 72 which spun him around and dropped him down to thirteenth in the order.
The final driver to come to blows on the streets of Long Beach was the high-flying rookie Robert Wickens who was brought back down to earth with a bump after gearbox issues compromised his whole race; this was only made worse when he was caught up in the previously mentioned Bourdais accident.
That’s two out of the three races done for the April triple-header with IndyCar now heading to Barber Motorsports Park. Rossi leads the championship with a 22-point advantage over Newgarden who has a further 11-points over Rahal but, with only three races done, it is all still very much to play for.
Full Race Result:
Alexander Rossi
Will Power
Ed Jones
Zach Veach (R)
Graham Rahal
Marco Andretti
Josef Newgarden
Tony Kanaan
James Hinchcliffe
Charlie Kimball
Scott Dixon
Jack Harvey (R)
Sebastien Bourdais
Matheus Leist (R)
Spencer Pigot
Kyle Kaiser (R)
Max Chilton
Jordan King
Gabby Chaves
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Takuma Sato
Robert Wickens (R)
Zachary Claman De Melo (R) – DNF
Simon Pagenaud – DNF
Feature image: Alexandra Rossi courtesy of Henry Mineur via wikipedia
Starting from his first pole earned from qualifying, the pressure was on 20-year-old Bradley Ray to convert it to a third race win of the season.
It was a good start from the Buildbase Suzuki rider, and he got into Paddock Hill for the first time in the lead, with Byrne and Haslam in tow, whilst Michael Laverty maintained his grid position of fourth.
But already the race had started to go away from James Ellison. By the end of lap one he had dropped to eleventh. Perhaps a bad start? If so, he should have started to pull himself through the pack immediately, but instead he continued to fall backwards, and by the end was out of the points, blaming the quality of his Pirelli rear tyre for the issues, further worsening the standing of the Italian marque in the paddock after a concerning opening round in Donington. These BSB tyre issues go hand in hand with the issues they have suffered with their World Superbike tyres, and the quality control there. It is essential for Pirelli to deal with these issues because, as has been discussed with Michelin in MotoGP, it is only a matter of time before an anomalous tyre decides the championship.
Back to the race, and Leon Haslam had been dropped by the leading two, and had fallen back to Jason O’Halloran and Christian Iddon behind, who in turn had passed Michael Laverty and streaked away. After a few laps, Haslam made a mistake which allowed O’Halloran past, and it seemed the Australian might be able to escape with the final podium position; the level of threat to Jason’s third place being presumably determined by the speed of Iddon passing the apparently helpless Haslam.
But that was not the case, and Haslam got the magnets out on the JG Speedfit Kawasaki, and stuck with the pace set by O’Halloran, whilst maintaining fourth position ahead of Christian Iddon.
But it was still Bradley Ray leading Shane Byrne out front, and whilst there was a fair amount of change in the order behind, that of the leading pair was left unchanged until a mistake by Brad Ray on lap 29 of 30, when he ran very wide on the entry to Paddock Hill Bend. At the time it looked as though Byrne was becoming ready to make a pass anyway, but Ray but it beyond doubt.
After the race, Ray explained that he decided to let Byrne go after the mistake, and safely take the points for second place. Duly, Byrne took his first win of the season, and beating Brad Ray in a battle, especially after studying the Suzuki, will have eased any small doubts in Byrne’s mind about beating the youngster, and answered some questions about where the GSXR-1000 is strong and where it has weak points compared to the Ducati.
Perhaps it is worth considering that the two riders who fought at the front today might be the ones who fight for the championship until the end, maybe today was a sign of things to come.
Jason O’Halloran managed to hold Haslam off until the end, and so the Aussie took his first podium of the season, and an important one for the team after Dan Linfoot’s neck injury on Friday which ruled him out of the rest of the weekend. On that point, it was good to see Dan speaking to the Eurosport guys at the end of the race; it’s good to know he’s out of hospital and on the mend.
Christian Iddon seemed to be held up by back markers, a common thing at Brands Indy thanks to the shortness of the layout. Maybe he just lost the time in a more normal way, maybe a tyre drop, but either way the time he lost in the last five or so laps cost him a chance to pass Haslam for fourth and have a shot at the final shot at the podium, and so it was fifth for the ex-supermoto champion.
Jake Dixon took a while to get past Michael Laverty in the first half of the race, and that limited heavily his potential for the race, and could only manage sixth in the end. Glenn Irwin also managed to come through on Laverty, and finished seventh in the end, to continue his promising start to the season.
That left Laverty in eighth, ahead of Bridewell and Hickman who rounded out the top ten. It was promising to see Bridewell up there, considering his tricky preseason, and the assumption that the Halsall Suzuki will improve as the season goes on.
Tarran Mackenzie took eleventh place, which he might be disappointed with after qualifying ninth yesterday, but he showed good pace at the end of the race to come back through from fourteenth, and that is a good sign for the future. Danny Buchan was unable to repeat his race two heroics from two weeks ago, and finished twelfth on the FS-3 Kawasaki. Josh Brookes continued his dismal start to the season with a thirteenth place, but there is still the assumption that the Aussie will eventually find the sweet spot once more with the Yamaha, but there is only so long he can continue to finish outside the top ten before the Showdown becomes out of reach.
Jakub Smrz finished fourteenth whilst the double winner at Brands Indy from last year, in stark contrast to his decent pace in Donington, was only fifteenth, and that was Luke Mossey – a lot of work for Mossey to do before race two.
Thanks to his tyre issues, James Ellison was only able to manage 16th, ahead of Taylor Mackenzie, Mason Law, Gino Rea, Sylvain Barrier, Carl Phillips and Shaun Winfield. The only retirements were Kyle Ryde, who broke down on the first of the warm-up laps, and Richard Cooper who crashed at Graham Hill Bend.
So, an important win for Shane Byrne after a race-long dual with Bradley Ray set up the second BSB race sublimely, where we wait to see whether someone can intervene in the two home riders’ private battle.
2018 is turning out to be the an exciting season. For the first time in the hybrid era it has been three races since the Silver Arrows last jumped on the topstep. China tends to be a race with very few retirements but safety cars aplenty and it was a factor today.
Daniel Ricciardo – 10
He never wins a boring race, a stat that shows this is that he has never won a race from starting in the top three. ‘Sometimes you’ve got to lick the stamp and send it.’ That is what he said on the podium after his moves, especially on the divebomb from far back on Hamilton at turn 14. He was sixth at the restart, and through some great moves he finished first. Once he got through the field he pulled a gap and was never seen again. It is the first shooey of the season, some more to follow?
Valterri Bottas – 8
Flying the flag for Mercedes in the race, the Finn got a great start managing to jump one of the Ferrari’s. He kept it behind him and didn’t let the other get away. This allowed him to a great outlap to undercut the Ferrari to get the lead and control the race. His tyres lost him the lead but kept the other Finn behind him for a great second place considering had the second best car.
Kimi Raikkonen – 8
He got screwed by his team, Ferrari seem to be putting all their eggs in one basket with Vettel. It isn’t always going to work if they do. Kimi was a bit fortunate with the timing of the safety car after losing around 15 seconds to Hamilton after being left out there by the team. Had tyre age on his side to allow him to pull some passes off and finish on the podium. Spoilt today with a a few words on the podium too!
Lewis Hamilton – 7
It was a grumpy Lewis Hamilton day much like Bahrain, he was never happy. ‘Is it me or there a lot of cars with fresh tyres behind me’ was a quote in the race. This was a clear shot at the team as was left in no mans land. He was just behind the others all weekend, with everything happening around him he closes the gap on his championship rival. Two races though not on the podium for the Brit.
Max Verstappen – 6
Patience, that is what the Dutchman needs more of, we all know he has the speed. Twice in one race he made mistakes on overtaking. First, on the outside of Hamilton where he could of waited for the DRS rather than losing places to Ricciardo. The second being the half gap on the inside of Vettel for the following lap as time was on his side. He would of probably won the race if he kept it clean but instead fifth due to a penalty. Unlike Bahrain he admitted it was his fault, think a talk with himself tonight needs to be done.
Nico Hulkenburg – 9
Once more this German is so under rated, with contracts up in air at the end of this season surely teams have to take a note. He has never been on the podium but consistently in the points and keeps it clean unlike others. Another strong day for him that puts him firmly as the number one driver at Renault.
Fernando Alonso – 8
Ringing the neck out of his car, finding the pace which his team mate cannot. His racecraft that he has only helps him further from starting so far back in the field. Kept tyres in good condition and his nose clean to push on. Nice move on Vettel late on to get even more points, due to a higher result is sixth in the standings.
Sebastian Vettel – 8
Through no fault of his own the championship leader finished down in eigth. He started the race well and did his token fast first lap to break the DRS on second place. He managed the gap well to keep the field behind him which was brilliant. The team kept him out too long which as a result allowed Bottas to jump him, and then running wide at the hairpin gave the aggresive Verstappen a gap that he would attempt a pass causing a spin. He lit the rears up when trying to get back pointing in the right direction which hindered him for the remaining laps. Had the pace but others hurt him.
Carlos Sainz – 7
Very much in the shadows of his team mate currently, he needs a big display. Nearly got the stricken Ferrari at the end of the race but more points for him, albeit another finish far behind his team mate.
Kevin Magnussen – 7
Said he was lucky to just miss out on Q3. He qualified eleventh allowing him to have first choice of tyre. He went with the soft and slowly picked off the positions, undercuts pushed him back to further down the field though, more points for the American team.
Esteban Ocon – 6
An okay race for Ocon, he finished higher than he started which is something good to take for him. Hope for the team at Baku when they were strong last year but keep it clean!
Sergio Perez – 6
The Mexican well renowned for his skill to keep life in his tyres you’d have thought would thrive in these conditions. A result from probably being one of the ten to go through into Q3 he was not helped by starting on the ultra soft tyres. The damage was done as went long on second stint and had no pace throughout.
Stoffel Vandoorne – 6
The Belgian is in the same boat as Carlos Sainz, playing second fiddle to his team mate. Mclaren seem to be talking a lot of gas and air when it comes to the performance of their car, but Vandoorne isn’t getting what his team mate can out of it. This time drivers’ didn’t retire so finished out of the points.
Lance Stroll – 7
A great start for Stroll today, quite a few positions picked off at the 270 degree turn one. Williams had a bit more pace this weekend albeit being slower than last year in qualifying. Solid midfield finish, confidence can be built as we head into the European season.
Sergey Sirotkin – 6
Is growing into the seat but questions continue to be asked if signing him was the correct decision. Is learning the car well, and gaining confidence. Not much was said about him throughout the race.
Marcus Ericcson – 6
Good finish for Marcus, showing his rookie team mate that there is more potential in the Sauber Alfa Romeo. Peope saw him as a pay driver as they dropped the impressive Wehrlein over him but mixing it in the midfield and not always coming out second best.
Romain Grosjean – 5
Besides the few explicit words on the radio early on in the race when it seems the team said to let his team mate through Romain had a very quiet race. Getting into qualifying three seemed to hinder him. Forget and move on, but take confidence pace in the car is there.
Pierre Gasly – 5
It was the Frenchman’s eigth start and that showed, a bit of a yo-yo season thus far. Toro Rosso struggled with China very power concentrated track. He took out his team mate causing the safety car and ruined both races for the team. Gone back to Australia, want to keep the Bahrain-esque form up. Very silly, but he’ll learn from that.
Charles Leclerc – 6
For a driver that had never been to China he wasn’t adrift of the field, of course there are simulators that can be used but great display. The European season is when Leclerc will come to a next level.
Brendon Hartley – 5
The car wasn’t at the races today and was pretty much held back. The Kiwi was doing his own thing before being a passenger to a collision with his team mate. Had to retire late on due to damage.
Two things to conclude really, Verstappen, we rave how exciting he is to watch but he needs to learn. One of the late great Ayrton Senna’s quotes ‘If you no longer go for the gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver’ can be used to defend him. I don’t even think that he would of attempted that optimistic move.
Gave Ricciardo the driver of the day, but a big shout out to the Red Bull team for the whole of the weekend. A record breaking engine change in this era yesterday, and the two double stack pit stops really shows drive in the team to do the best they can at the track. Off track great tactics was decided in a few seconds when the safety car was called too. In a fortnight the Formula 1 circus is off to Baku, much earlier this year.
Bradley Ray took pole position at Brands Hatch for Buildbase Suzuki, with a stunning 44.997 second lap. It is the perfect way for Ray to continue after his debut double in Donington Park two weeks ago. The race tomorrow could be a different story, however, as almost all riders will be looking to run the soft compound Pirelli P Zero rear tyre, and Ray steamed to his success in Donington on a hard rear. Of course, we will not find out whether Ray will suffer with the soft rear until tomorrow, but for now it is safe to say that his performance in qualifying today was superb, and the pole position well deserved.
2018 British Superbike Championship, BSB Round 01 Donington Park, Derby, UK. 2nd April 2018. Bradley Ray, Lydd, Buildbase Suzuki wins his 2nd race of the weekend.
Shane Byrne lines up second for tomorrow’s first race. As he eluded in his post-qualifying interviews, it will be crucial for Shakey to avoid a repeat of his race one start, especially with overtaking points at a premium at the 1.2-mile Indy circuit at Brands. It was an uneventful session for the reigning champion, but in the final stages of Q3 he seemed to lack the rear grip to be able to mount a challenge for pole position.
A final lap from James Ellison sprung the number 11 Anvil Hire Tag Racing Yamaha onto the back of the front row for Sunday’s opening race, and he will be aiming to claim the win he should have had in race one last season before a crash at Druids. But once again today, Ellison claims the title of top Yamaha, one he will no doubt smugly enjoy after the doubts cast over his potential for this season thanks to moving to a privateer Yamaha team from the factory supported team.
Michael Laverty made a welcome return to the top positions as he claimed fourth in the Datatag Qualifying session today. There was a lot of questioning about whether Laverty deserved another shot in the Tyco BMW team this year, and so it is good to see him silence the critics with this performance, and hopefully for him he can make a good race tomorrow, which would build on the solid start to the season he had in Donington.
Leon Haslam is fifth for tomorrow, and is one who might be expected to struggle if he cannot make the soft tyre go the distance. This has been the case in the past two seasons, with Haslam regularly preferring the harder option Pirelli rear tyre for the race. Unfortunately for Haslam, the harder compound does not seem to be an option at the moment because the 2018 version has no grip. It seems Leon has a choice: suffer for grip all race long on a hard rear, or struggle to make a soft rear last the full thirty laps.
Tommy Bridewell will be the second Suzuki on the grid for race one tomorrow after he set the sixth fastest time in Q3 for Halsall Suzuki. This presents a good opportunity for Bridewell to make up for a difficult weekend in Donington.
Jake Dixon will line up seventh tomorrow and, as Bridewell, is looking to recover from a difficult opening round. Jason O’Halloran was eighth fastest in Q3, but was lucky to get out at all after a fall at Druids at the end of Q2 having already set a time sufficient for Q3 qualification. Nonetheless, the Honda Racing mechanics did a fantastic job to put the #22 CBR1000RR back together so that the Australian could get out with enough time to set a lap time. The pressure is on O’Halloran tomorrow – with teammate Linfoot out thanks to a cracked C6 vertebra all the team’s hopes lie with Jason. Tarran Mackenzie was extremely impressive in qualifying, and finally took ninth place for tomorrow’s first race grid.
Christian Iddon will be at the head of row four tomorrow, sharing it with Richard Cooper and Glenn Irwin. Meanwhile, row five consists of Luke Mossey’s Kawasaki, Peter Hickman’s BMW and the S1000RR of Jakub Smrz, whilst Taylor Mackenzie heads up row six from Danny Buchan and Kyle Ryde. Gino Rea was only 19th, but still ahead of Josh Brookes who had a nightmarish qualifying, and Mason law was 21st. 22nd went to Sylvain Barrier, whilst Shaun Winfield took 23rd from Carl Phillips who rounds out the grid for race one at Brands Hatch Indy.
“These strategy calculations have of course already begun, with teams selecting different quantities of the ultrasoft heading into the race, and we could also see some different approaches to qualifying as well.
