Daniel Holgado took victory in the Moto3 French Grand Prix with a well-executed ride and handed Tech3 Racing their first ever victory on home soil.
With that, the Spaniard increased his lead in the championship to 21 points and added a second victory to his tally for 2023.
Ayumu Sasaki put in a very strong qualifying performance to start from pole position, with Diogo Moreira and Holgado completing the front row.
But Sasaki couldn’t hold onto his lead at the start, quickly losing out to Holgado who made a nice move down the inside at the first braking zone of the Le Mans track.
The Japanese rider tried to conjure up a reaction as the first lap went on but couldn’t make anything stick for the time being.
Credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull
Meanwhile behind the top two it was Deniz Oncu who settled into third as he got the better of Moreira on the opening lap.
Moreira then lost another position on lap seven as Ivan Ortola moved his way into fourth with a nice move at Turn 3.
The battle at the front then stabilised for the following few laps as the riders settled into the race.
But it all began to unfold at the halfway point however, as Moreira crashed out at Turn 12 – the Brazilian had continued to drop back as the race progressed and was in seventh at the time of the incident.
Sasaki then pulled the pin and made his move back into the lead with a pass on Holgado along the pit straight, but Holgado quickly responded at Turn 3 to hang on to first place.
Elsewhere Jaume Masia moved up into third with six laps to go after taking advantage of Oncu running slightly wide at Turn 8.
The Spaniard then attacked Sasaki for second place and the pair were engaged in a back-and-forth battle – which allowed Holgado to sit comfortably out in front as those behind him jostled for position.
Sasaki was able to retake second at Turn 3 with three laps remaining, and quickly tried to shake off Masia in an attempt to chase down the leader ahead.
But ultimately it was to no avail – despite closing the gap to just 0.150 seconds Sasaki had to settle for second as Holgado took victory after a very strong race to hold off the pressure.
Speaking after the race, Holgado said it was a good ending to an event where he’d showed strong pace throughout the three days.
“The feeling is amazing. I am so happy because this Grand Prix was very important for my team as it was their home race, and winning it for them is just incredible,” he said.
“I was fast all weekend, and today we were just really strong and confident. What a weekend, thank you to my team.”
Masia ended the race in third but had to fight for it as Ortola piled on the pressure in the final two laps.
Oncu went from being third to ending up sixth in the final few laps of the race, finishing behind Ryusei Yamanaka.
Credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull
Xavier Artigas finished in seventh, with David Alonso and Jose Rueda some distance behind in eighth and ninth.
Stefano Nepa managed to get the better of Joel Kelso, Kaito Toba and Tatsuki Suzuki in what was a close fought battle for 10th.
David Salvador and Collin Veijer rounded out the points finishers.
Among the other fallers, Syarifuddin Azman was the first victim to crash in the race on the third lap at Turn 12 – a disappointing end to what was a strong weekend for the Malaysian where he qualified 10th.
Andrea Migno also fell at Turn 12 a few laps later and was shortly followed by Scott Ogden at Turn 7, as well as Taiyo Furusato who fell on the last lap at Turn 9.
The final day, and not a short day either with 55km’s over four stages. Two of the stages would also only be run once as well giving an extra dimension to the final day.
There was overnight drama for two of the drivers. Firstly, Thierry had drama coming back to the service park, with smoke coming out of the car. It was a turbocharger failure for the Belgian. Then Oliver who had a large lead was given a one-minute penalty for celebrating after the flying finish in the final Lousada stage with some donuts. Gus therefore was now leading the WRC2 category.
Into the first stage then, SS16 Paredes – 11.05 km was won by Takamoto from Kalle and Dani. Thierry’s problems with a lack of power were also clearly not solved and was 1 minute 26 seconds slower than the Japanese driver. In WRC2 Oliver was really quick setting a time that was just 11 seconds from the fastest driver and bringing the gap down to just 22 seconds from the category leader and fellow Toksport teammate.
Next up then, SS17 Fafe 1 – 11.18 km, the dress rehearsal for the Power Stage and Kalle was fastest from EP by just 2 tenths of a second and Ott third. Kalle now had a lead of close to one a minute. Oliver had also reduced the gap to Gus to just 15 seconds! He really wanted the win!
There was another stage win for Ott in SS18 Cabeceiras de Basto – 22.01 km from Dani and Takamoto. Oliver also was going well, setting the fourth fastest time, although there was a lot of tyre saving going on. The young Swede had now reduced the gap to just 8.7 seconds!
Well, it was time for the final stage, SS19 Fafe 2[Power Stage] – 11.18 km. Ott set the early pace, but Kalle came through and eclipsed his time, going seven tenths faster. EP was third and Takamoto and Dani rounded out the top five fastest in the stage and took the points. In WRC2, there was a really close finish with Oliver going fastest from Nikolay and Andreas taking the final point for third. Gus hung on for the category win by just 1.2 seconds from the charging Swede!
Let’s take a look at the final standings and hear from the drivers.
Final Overall Classification –Rally de Portugal
1
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
3:35:11.7
2
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+54.7
3
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+1:20.3
4
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+2:04.1
5
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+8:22.5
6
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Škoda Fabia RS
+9:43.4
7
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Škoda Fabia RS
+9:44.6
8
A. Mikkelsen
T. Eriksen
Škoda Fabia RS
+10:26.4
9
Y. Rossell
A. Dunand
Citroën C3
+11:33.2
10
T. Suninen
M. Markkula
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
+12:16.3
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 5, Rally de Portugal 11 – 14 Mai 2023 Dani Sordo – Esapekka Lappi Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“This win has been a long time coming. There have been some difficult weekends but all the time I knew that when we can have a clean weekend and a good drive, we are right in the game. It’s nice to win here in Portugal again and to finally be back on the top. A big thanks to Jonne and to the team, who have been pushing forwards all the time. This weekend we had a good feeling with the car, and we were able to push hard. In the Power Stage I wanted to take as many points as we could because I knew we would likely have to open the road on the next event anyway. It was not a perfect stage, but it was enough, so I’m happy. Sardinia will be more difficult, but we will definitely try to continue like this.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It has been a challenging weekend after the issue that we had on Friday. I was expecting a lot for this rally, so I was really disappointed, but sometimes this happens. After that I just had to try and get more experience and learn something for the future. It was not so easy cleaning the road, but the car felt fantastic, so the team and the engineers did a great job. On the Power Stage there were narrower ruts from the cars ahead, so I still had to open the line a bit, yet the time was pretty OK. It’s good to finish the rally and get some points for the team: huge thank you to them and big congratulations to Kalle and Jonne.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo
“I’m really happy to get the podium but in particular our performance yesterday was really satisfying for us. In the morning we weren’t really on it but in the afternoon, we found our pace, and it was the best feeling. This is for you, Craig. I think we drove very well, so I have to say thanks to him. He was with me all rally long and he was pushing me to the limits. I want to give this podium to his mum and dad, because I promised them, I would wear this helmet for him. Thank you very much to them. The fans have been amazing as always here in Portugal, you can absolutely feel their support in the car. I remember called Craig after Sweden and told him he was so fast, and he said ‘hell, now you have the pressure!’. Well Craig, I am back.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 5, Rally de Portugal 2023, 11-14 May 2023 Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 3 of WRC Rally de Portugal 2023 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi
“A little too much action on the final day for our team in terms of technical issues, both for Thierry and then myself right at the end. Two kilometres from the end of the last stage, we picked up a problem with our turbo as well. Overall, we had a good weekend. It was a strong consistent drive with no other problems, and it is a good result for the team to be second and third. We’ve scored important manufacturers’ points today. I’m sure the team will carefully investigate the issues so they don’t happen again, and we can be better in the next rounds.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 5, Rally de Portugal 2023, 11-14 May 2023 Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 3 of WRC Rally de Portugal 2023 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“In short, this is what rallying is all about – full of ups and downs. It is one of the most cruel motorsports, if not sports, in the world. We have to face situations like this sometimes, but it is never easy. Martijn and I put a lot of energy and effort in, but we go home with very little points and not the result we were looking for, so we’re very disappointed about that. Rallying is never over until it’s over, and we paid the price today. I want to give a round of applause to the organisers, they have done an incredible job, and to the spectators as well. They were just perfect, so at the very least we enjoyed that. A weekend to forget; let’s see what we can do in Sardinia.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tänak
“Overall, a demanding weekend for sure. We have been struggling quite a lot, it’s just about understanding how we can go on from here. It’s my second gravel rally in the car now, in Mexico I wasn’t feeling completely confident, and it has been hard to figure out what’s been missing, but I would say this weekend has given us a lot more understanding and now I think we have enough information to move forward.”
Pierre-Louis Loubet
“Our performance, in terms of pace, I think is strong already. On Friday and Saturday, the pace was there which is good, we went back to the set-up we had last year, and I feel better in the car. We were able to set a best time and fight for the top-three, but unfortunately the small mistake on Saturday had big consequences for us. It’s a shame but part of the rally unfortunately. I’m sure with the pace we have then the right results will come.”
WRC2
Oliver Solberg – Toksport
“So close! We gave it absolutely everything, we left it all out on the stages. Of course, it’s hard when we get so close to the win, but we couldn’t do more today. First, I want to say how much I love to drive here. This rally is fantastic. And the fans are amazing. It’s frustrating, we didn’t make such good choices with the tyres and with the set-up, but we still built a good lead, and we had this rally ready to win.
“The good news for us is that we came to this rally 10 points behind in the championship, we leave one point behind. That’s positive, that’s progress.
“For the penalty, of course we accept the stewards’ decision. I was just trying to give something back to the fans, so many of them were standing, waving and cheering – like everywhere on this rally, the people were amazing, and I wanted to be happy with them. I understand this was the wrong thing to do and rules have to be abided by.
“For the team, thank you. Toksport gave me and Elliott a great car again. We were able to win seven stages and I feel we had this rally under control. To leave this event like this is a tough one, but OK, it is what it is. We move on.
“Before I go, I want to say, one more time, thank you to all the fans in Portugal. This country and these people are just fantastic. This place is the heart of the World Rally Championship. I love this event and can’t wait to be back here again next year.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“We didn’t have issues other than the punctures, otherwise it’s been very good, and we were doing well leading up to stage four. I think it’s been a strong performance this weekend, it’s a shame about the punctures but that’s part of the game. On Sunday we were focusing on the power stage, and in the end, we scored two points so that’s a real positive.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 5
1
K. Rovanperä
98
2
O. Tänak
81
3
S. Ogier
69
4
E. Evans
69
5
T. Neuville
68
6
E. Lappi
49
7
D. Sordo
36
8
T. Katsuta
20
2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 5
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
201
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
169
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
134
Summary
Well, what an impressive drive from the world champion crew! Kalle and Jonne made the most of their road position and built a lead which was unassailable. It’s fair to say that they were back to the supreme best from last year, looking really comfortable on the stages.
Dani and Candido came out on top of the trio of battling Hyundai crews that saw EP and Janne fight with Thierry and Martijn, swapping positions before the final problem that caused the Hyundai crewed by the Belgian crew to lose power. A double podium for the Hyundai crews though is a real bonus and shows the car has good performance.
It was a case of what might have been for the two M-Sport crews. Both Ott and Martin and Pierre-Louis and Nicolas challenged at the front, winning stages and setting times good enough to take a possible podium. With the Estonian crew, their challenge was ended by the puncture, whist the French and Belgian crew saw a small mistake have big consequences. The positive is that the car does have pace and they are both capable of taking a great result in the remaining rallies.
Next rally is on the first weekend of June as the championship moves to the Island of Sardegna. Pop back just before or follow myself on Twitter to await my preview.
Veloce won Round 4 of the Extreme E championship to take the lead in the title race. Here’s how the day’s action unfolded.
Qualifying 1:
No sign of the fog that cancelled Saturday’s Qualifying 1 session, as the teams looked to start the final day of the Hydro XPrix on the front font.
In the first heat, contested between Chip Ganassi, Carl Cox, ABT Cupra, X44, and RXR, Chip Ganassi took an early lead.
As they entered the switch zone, the front four teams were neck and neck, with Carl Cox some way behind.
After the teams had switched drivers, X44 closed in on the ABT Cupra car. Eventually, the two teams made contact, and X44 went through. Race Control, however, took a dim view of the contact that aided the pass, and swapped the positions back again.
Chip Ganassi crossed the line to win the first heat of the day, with RXR in second. ABT came in third, X44 behind them, and Carl Cox Motorsport propped up the results.
The remaining five cars competed against each other in Qualifying 1 Heat 2. Acciona Sainz led off the start line, and would not lose the lead for the entirety of the race.
Meanwhile, further behind them, a spin for Timmy Hansen in the Andretti car saw them drop to the back. McLaren also passed Veloce before the switch zone.
The second half of the race was a sedate affair, though Veloce picked up a 10s penalty for downing a flag.
Acciona Sainz win their heat, with McLaren in P2. Veloce finished P3, and JBXE and Andretti rounded off the first part of qualifying.
Qualifying 2:
The Scottish weather Gods, who had been kind enough to allow Qualifying 1 to go ahead today, decided they wanted to spice things up between the two sessions.
Heavy rain made for a particularly tricky track, which would cause many problems for the drivers for the rest of the day.
As the drivers hit they hay to get Qualifying 2 Heat 1 underway, three drivers, quite literally, Hit The Hay.
First the McLaren, who had made the best start, spun the car and collided with the hay bales at the side of the track. They were, however, able to continue.
Behind the McLaren, the Carl Cox and ABT Cupra machines weren’t so lucky. Unsighted by the mud on their windscreens, they drove straight into the hay bales and were both forced to retire.
After a brief red flag, the race resumed, though JBXE had issues getting away from the line. A slow-zone had been put in place where the initial carnage occurred and McLaren were caught out, as they over-sped on entry.
Though McLaren would cross the line first, a 30s penalty for that over-speeding dropped them into second, behind Chip Ganassi. JBXE finished third whilst the two retires never resumed after the red flag.
More carnage in the final Qualifying heat as Acciona Sainz and RXR made contact on the run down to the first corner. Acciona Sainz spun out, and the RXR car was sent careering over the crest of the first turn and smashed into X44. Amazingly, only RXR were forced to retire.
Another red flag came and went, though there was some confusion as to whether Acciona Sainz would be allowed to start. Marshals told them they couldn’t as they made their way to the grid, despite a broken suspension.
Veloce took the win, as Andretti passed X44 for second place.
Qualifying Classification:
The win in both heats saw Chip Ganassi top qualifying, with Veloce, McLaren, RXR, and Acciona Sainz making it through to the final with them.
Chip Ganassi – 20 Points
Veloce – 16 Points
McLaren – 16 Points
RXR – 12 Points
Acciona Sainz – 12 Points
X44 – 10 Points
JBXE – 10 Points
Andretti – 10 Points
ABT Cupra – 8 Points
Carl Cox Motorsport – 6 Points
Redemption Race:
Only four of the five cars due to compete in the Redemption Race took the start, as issues for the Carl Cox team compounded a miserable day.
Extreme E’s newest driver, Andreas Bakkerud, took an early lead in the JBXE car, which the team would not lose.
Further behind, X44 were unsighted by the mud and slammed into the back of the ABT Cupra machine. The damage sustained by the X44 was too great to continue.
Apart from that incident, it was a rather sedate affair as teams struggled for visibility in the mud. JBXE won the redemption race and earned some crucial championship points.
Andretti began closing in on JBXE in the final lap, but they would ultimately finish second, ahead of the ABT Cupra.
Final:
The five top qualifiers competed for a spot on the podium in the final race of the weekend.
Veloce led off the start line, though they were side-by-side with another team going into the slow-zone – a legacy of the crash in Qualifying 2 Heat 1.
Veloce would come out of the slow-zone in the lead, though behind them Tanner Foust in the McLaren pulled off a brilliant move around the outside of the Acciona Sainz for P2.
After the switch-zone the drivers’ poor visibility really came to a head. RXR had closed in on the Acciona Sainz car, but as they looked to overtake, the two cars made contact and spun round.
Unsighted, the two teams drove head-on into each other as they looked to get going again. Thankfully, it was a slow-speed collision and both drivers were okay, though the RXR car could not continue the race.
In all of that mayhem, Chip Ganassi snook past the two of them, and would seal a solid 3rd place for the American team.
Veloce went on to win the race, putting the back in charge of the title race. McLaren finished second.
Round 4 Classification:
Veloce
McLaren
Chip Ganassi
Acciona Sainz
RXR
JBXE
Andretti
ABT Cupra
X44
Carl Cox Motorsport
Championship Standings:
Veloce’s win see them move into first in the standings, leapfrogging Acciona Sainz who drop into second.
A close battle for third sees three teams separated by just two points, whilst JBXE continue to prop up the leaderboard.
Veloce – 80 Points
Acciona Sainz – 69 Points
RXR – 52 Points
X44 – 51 Points
Chip Ganassi – 50 Points
McLaren – 36 Points
Andretti – 29 Points
Carl Cox Motorsport – 23 Points
ABT Cupra – 20 Points
JBXE – 15 Points
The fifth and sixth rounds of the championship see us return to an Extreme E favourite – Sardinia, Italy – on the 8th-9th July. With the season now in full swing, you would be a fool to miss it.
A crash-filled French GP saw only 13 riders meet the chequered flag. There were hard-fought battles up and down the field and plenty of podium celebrations for our top three riders.
Marco Bezzecchi has taken his second race win of the season, celebrating MotoGP’s 1,000th race from the top step of the podium. He was in a class of his own today, starting from 7th before hitting the front at the mid-point of the race and eventually coming home over 4 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.
He was joined on the podium by both Prima Pramac riders, with Jorge Martin 2nd and Johann Zarco in 3rd, much to the delight of his home crowd.
Zarco was able to capitalise on the drama and the crashes around him, keeping his nose clean and quietly making his way up the field to 3rd. The moment he stepped on to the podium, the French crowd erupted as they showed support for their home hero.
It was a harder race for the other home hero, Fabio Quatararo, who started 13th and eventually finished the day in 7th. He was able to keep his nose clean but didn’t make significant enough strides to truly battle with those ahead of him.
The race was full of drama, from start to finish, with nail-biting battles taking place for most of the race. None more so than lap 5 which gave us two enormous crashes between four riders running in the top 10.
Firstly, it was pole-sitter Pecco Bagnaia and Maverick Vinales who found themselves in the gravel. The pair were fighting for the same piece of tarmac and, as Vinales returned to the racing line, the pair bumped into each other. This caused Vinales to lose control of the bike and as his machine was wobbling, he clattered into the side of Bagnaia again and the pair went down. Both were able to walk away from the crash but, in the heat of the moment, they began scrapping and fighting in the gravel.
Then, moments later, Luca Marini lost the front of the bike when he hit a kerb. Alex Marquez then ran into the back of the VR46 machine and they both went down dramatically. This incident left Marquez in the middle of the track but he was thankfully able to move and avoid the on-coming traffic.
It was an equally difficult day for Jack Miller. He started the race in 4th and, in typical Miller style, he flew off the line past pole-sitter Bagnaia and was quickly fighting with Marquez for the lead. He made a brave, aggressive move around the outside of Museum Corner – the same corner where he crashed out of Saturday’s sprint race – and was able to claim the lead on the second lap of the race.
Miller enjoyed the clean air for much of the race, until lap 11 when he began to slide backwards down the field. He eventually ended up back in 9th before sliding out of the race at turn 4 of lap 25. It appeared that he was struggling with a bike issue but this is yet to be confirmed.
It was a dream day for rookie Augusto Fernandez who enjoyed his best result of his MotoGP career so far. He was battling hard with the likes of Aleix Espargaro and Brad Binder before crossing the line in 4th. He received a hero’s welcome in the pit lane, his team clearly delighted with his mature and impressive performance today.
😂 @Tech3Racing boss Herve is so ecstatic he's taking over presenting duties!
Espgararo ended the day in 5th, just ahead of Binder in 6th. The South African would have been hoping for more today after his exceptional 2nd place finish in yesterday’s sprint race. However, he was forced out wide by Alex Marquez at the start of the race. This shuffled him down to 16th and ultimately ruined his chance of a podium or win.
The top 10 was rounded out by Quatararo in 7th, Fabio Di Giannantonio in 8th followed by Takaaki Nakagami and Franco Morbidelli in 9th and 10th respectively.
We now have a 3-week break before the grid is back in action in Mugello. That’s 3 weeks for today’s winners to revel in their success and our losers to dwell on their difficult weekend.
Full Results
1st
Marco Bezzecchi
Mooney VR46
–
2nd
Jorge Martin
Prima Pramac
+4.256s
3rd
Johann Zarco
Prima Pramac
+4.795s
4th
Augusto Fernandez
GASGAS Tech3
+6.281s
5th
Aleix Espargaro
Aprilia
+6.726s
6th
Brad Binder
Red bull KTM
+13.638s
7th
Fabio Quartararo
Monster Energy Yamaha
+15.023s
8th
Fabio Di Giannantonio
Gresini
+15.826s
9th
Takaaki Nakagami
LCR Honda
+16.370s
10th
Franco Morbidelli
Monster Energy Yamaha
+17.828s
11th
Danilo Petrucci
Ducati Lenovo
+29.735s
12th
Lorenzo Savadori
CrytoDATA RNF
+36.135s
13th
Jonas Folger
GASGAS Tech3
+49.808s
DNFs = Marc Marquez, Jack Miller, Alex Rins, Joan Mir, Alex Marquez, Luca Marini, Maverick Vinales, Pecco Bagnaia
The second day of this seasons visit to Portugal saw a battle develop between the three Hyundai crews for the remaining spots on the podium. Here’s the story from the longest day of the rally. The start list looked like this – Katsuta, Tänak, Neuville, Loubet, Lappi, Sordo, Rovanperä.
Kalle won the first stage of the day, SS9 Vieira do Minho 1 – 26.61 km from Esapekka and Dani. EP moved back ahead of Thierry and into third overall. Meanwhile in WRC2 Adrien was fastest from Gus and Sami. However, Oliver remained firmly in the lead of the category with a 40 second lead over Gus.
Kalle also won SS10 Amarante 1 – 37.24 km from Ott and Esapekka. The Finnish world champion was building a very big lead over second placed Dani. The gap between the three Hyundai crews remained really close, just a little over six seconds between them. Unfortunately, Pierre-Louis had a little error with large consequences, hitting a tree at the side of the stage and then a bank on the opposite side. This led to his front suspension and steering breaking, and he was out for the rest of the day. In WRC2 top fastest runners were Adrien, Teemu and Andreas, whilst Oliver, Gus and Yohan remained the top three.
Into SS11 Felgueiras 1 – 8.81 km and Kalle took his third stage win of the day from Thierry and Dani. The Belgian’s pace brought him to just 9 tenths of a second from third place. In WRC2, there was no change in the leaders with Oliver still leading from Gus and Yohan.
After the service break Kalle also won SS12 Vieira do Minho 2 – 26.61 km from Dani and EP. Esapekka opened up the gap a little from Thierry who could only manage fourth best time and almost five seconds slower. In WRC2, there was a change for third place as Andreas moved into that position with Yohan who was struggling for pace dropping behind.
The second run of SS13 Amarante 2 – 37.24 km saw Dani set the fastest time bringing an end to Kalle’s run, the Finn setting the second fastest time and Thierry third. The Belgian moved ahead of EP and into third overall. The top three in WRC2 was Andreas, Teemu and Gus. Teemu’s pace brought him back into the top ten as well.
Just two stages left and next up was SS14 Felgueiras 2 – 8.81 km. Kalle won this from Esapekka and Thierry. Oliver was still holding the lead of WRC2 and actually set the sixth fastest time in the stage.
The final stage of the day, SS15 SSS Lousada – 3.36 km was a double run around the Superspecial track. Dani was fastest from Takamoto, and Thierry third.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Three
1
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:59:48.6
2
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+57.5
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+1:08.6
4
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+1:10.9
5
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+2:21.8
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has been a really nice day. After yesterday we changed some small things on the car and the feeling was even better than before, so now we have just been enjoying the driving. The first stage this morning actually felt quite tricky with the grip changing a lot, but I knew that I had a good feeling in the car and I just kept pushing quite hard; I knew I could take some time if everything goes right. After that I just carried on with the good feeling. This afternoon I tried to keep up the pace when the conditions were good, and when it was rough we backed off and I think we did quite well to save the car and the tyres. We can feel quite comfortable now, and tomorrow we will aim to have a clean morning and then try something on the Power Stage also.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Today I knew it was going to be a big challenge opening the road, but it was still nice to get experience of how to manage these kinds of conditions. This morning it was very slippery and sandy, like it is every year on the Saturday stages here; a lot of loose gravel on top of the surface which is making traction difficult. The conditions were much rougher this afternoon, more than I had expected. There was still lots of cleaning too after the smaller cars had driven the stages with ruts and lines that are completely different. Tomorrow, I need to bring the car back to the finish but let’s see how it’s going in the morning, especially in the first pass of Fafe. If I’m feeling comfortable, I’ll try to push in the Power Stage to get extra points for the team.”
Elfyn Evans
“Yesterday was a difficult day. We knew that it would be tough with the cleaning effect, but we also struggled a little bit with the confidence and feeling in the car. Things were working better, and I definitely had a better feeling in the Mortágua stage, but I just got caught out in a tricky place. It was a pretty fast section with a couple of left-handers together; the second one was a bit more sandy and slippery, and we just slid ever so slightly wide into the bank, which pitched the car into an aggressive roll. Scott and I are both perfectly fine, so the car has done its job really well in protecting us, and I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel in Sardinia.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo
“I was really pushing to remain in the fight. I was concerned at times of wearing-out the tyres, but I tried to keep a good rhythm in the stages. I’m really enjoying being back in the car; today there was much more grip, so it felt more natural than yesterday. I was taking some risks, but I didn’t have any big moments. We have two new stages, which will be really demanding – it will be a long day, but hopefully a good one.”
Thierry Neuville
“The battle today was fun, even if I was struggling a bit out there! It was a bit better than yesterday, but things were not quite working as I would like them to. We are all very close, and tomorrow it is important for me to take maximum points for the drivers’ championship, as well as for the manufacturers’ standings. It will be crucial to have a strong Power Stage; I think if we are clever, we won’t push too hard in the first stages so we have good tyres for Fafe and we can end the weekend in a solid position.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 5, Rally de Portugal 11 – 14 Mai 2023 Thierry Neuville Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi
“It was really warm out there today, I could really feel the heat on my face. We stayed out of trouble and had no punctures or drama, and the speed has been ok. It’s been a consistent day. There are four stages tomorrow, so I think we are going to do take the same approach as today. The first person you compare yourself to is your team-mate, so it is good that we were able to match Thierry and Dani here, but it is frustrating that Kalle is pulling ahead.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“No issue, generally our nominated suspension, so we can’t do anything with the road rougher than the morning we can’t do anything and struggled quite a lot, let’s see what the future brings.”
Sunday
The final day sees two new stages run just once each, with the double run of the famous Fafe stage! Who will take the final spot on the podium. I’m sure that the fight between EP and Thierry will go down to the final stage.
X44 have won their first race of the season at Saturday’s Hydro XPrix after Andretti received a time penalty. Here’s how the day unfolded.
Qualifying 1:
There isn’t much that can stop an Extreme E car from racing – but if anything could it’s the Scottish weather.
The boffins at Extreme E thought it would be a good idea to hold the first qualifying at 6am local time – and the Scottish weather gods made them pay.
Thick fog coated the track, meaning the medical helicopter could not take off if it had needed to. For the safety of the drivers – Qualifying 1 was cancelled.
Qualifying 2:
With the fog cleared, Qualifying 2 Heat 1 got underway as X44, JBXE, Acciona Sainz, Andretti, and Chip Ganassi knew they just needed to finish in the top 2 to be guaranteed a Final sport.
X44 got the best get-away with Chip Ganassi not far behind them. Though the field was very close, very little overtaking meant X44 took the chequered flag followed by Chip Ganassi – who both made it through to the final. Third placed Andretti would have to wait until the second heat to see if they had also made it to the final.
The remaining five teams would compete for the remaining Final spots in the second heat. RXR got the best start, but chaos ensued behind as ABT Cupra’s Klara Andersson rolled the car.
After contact off the start-line, Andersson hit the hay-bales that lined the track. The car rolled and sustained heavy damage against the gravel and rocky track. Veloce also had a drive-shaft issue, forcing them to retire.
A brief red flag came and went and the reaming teams resumed with RXR leading, Carl Cox in second and McLaren in third.
McLaren did get past Extreme E’s newest team, Carl Cox. but a five-second time penalty for a switch-zone infringement meant they finished in third.
RXR and Carl Cox progressed to the final, alongside Andretti, after McLaren’s super sector was slower than the American outfit’s.
Overall Qualifying Classification:
X44 – 10 Points
RXR – 10 Points
Chip Ganassi – 8 Points
Carl Cox Motorsport – 8 Points
Andretti – 6 Points
McLaren – 6 Points
Acciona Sainz – 4 Points
Veloce – 4 Points
JBXE – 2 Points
ABT Cupra – 2 Points
Redemption Race:
The bottom five qualifying teams were up in the Redemption Race, with the teams trying to salvage as many championship points as possible from the day’s action.
ABT Cupra, who were involved in the heavy crash in Qualifying 2, did not make the start as there was too much damage.
Of the four cars that started the race, Acciona Sainz got the best get-away, and they led from start to finish. Veloce were not far behind in second as the teams entered the switch zone.
Ultimately they would be little-to-no overtaking in the race and Acciona Sainz won the race. Veloce came home in second with McLaren a fair way back in third. JBXE rounded up the grid.
Final:
Undoubtedly the best action of the day came in the Final, as each team looked to take their first victory of the season.
RXR’s Johann Kristofferson looked to get the best start but X44 used their hyper-drive to perfection to power their way around the outside of everyone and into first.
But, McConnell in the X44 machine took too much speed into a corner and Andretti forced their way up the inside. As X44 were hung out to dry, RXR went side-by-side with them.
Then, all of a sudden, the RXR car veered the left and rolled over the rocky edge of the circuit. Kristofferson was okay, but the team could not continue.
Andretti led the way coming into the switch-zone, but they were too quick in the change-over, and they were given a post-race penalty of 15.3s.
Unknown to the drivers at the time, X44 harried the Andretti team, but were not able to complete the overtake.
Andretti United crossed the line first but were demoted to second after the penalty, giving X44 the victory. Problems for Carl Cox and Chip Ganassi saw them too far back to take advantage of Andretti’s penalty. Carl Cox rounded out the podium.
Overall Round Classification:
X44
Andretti
Carl Cox Motorsport
Chip Ganassi
RXR
Acciona Sainz
Veloce
McLaren
JBXE
ABT Cupra
Championship Standings:
Acciona Sainz took the lead of the championship standings, despite not making it to the final, as they gained two extra points for being fastest through the continental traction challenge.
Another tough weekend for JBXE sees them prop up the table.
Acciona Sainz – 56 Points
Veloce – 52 Points
X44 – 49 Points
RXR – 42 Points
Chip Ganassi – 33 Points
Carl Cox Motorsport – 23 Points
Andretti – 23 Points
McLaren – 18 Points
ABT Cupra – 16 Points
JBXE – 7 Points
JBXE and ABT Cupra will have another chance on Sunday to properly get their season going, whilst Andretti will look to build on their new-found momentum.
Le Mans has given us another action-packed sprint race, with breathtaking battles from start to finish. Our winner, Jorge Martin was simply peerless today, whilst Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez, who is back to his old ways after 3 races away, jostled for the majority of the race.
Jorge Martin was in a league of his own on his way to win the sprint race at the French GP in Le Mans. Having started the race in 5th, he enjoyed a brilliant start and was up to 2nd before the exit of turn 1. It was then lap 4 when he finally took the lead and he never looked back, quickly building a gap between himself and his nearest competitors. As the chequered flag fell, he wheelied across the line to take a dominant victory.
Brad Binder took a well-deserved 2nd place today, taking advantage of a race-long battle between Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia. As the pair were fighting, he snuck up the inside to claim second place and, much like our race winner, was able to quickly put clear air behind him. However, that gap ahead was always just slightly too big and he couldn’t find a way to take the fight to Martin.
Championship leader and today’s pole sitter, Bagnaia, came home in 3rd after that race-long battle with Marquez. The pair were jostling for most of the race, closely on each other’s tail and making aggressive moves to try and best each other. It looked as though it might end in disaster multiple times but, eventually, it was the Italian who eventually came out on top.
After 7 breathtaking laps of fighting and overtaking, it was on lap 10 of 13 that he finally made his way past Marquez and made sure to quickly shut the door to avoid any counter-attacks. The nail-biting fight was then quickly over as Bagnaia pulled ahead of Marquez to put clean air between the pair.
Marquez, who is back on the grid after missing the previous 3 races, eventually ended the day in 5th. It seemed that he may have started to fatigue at the same time as Bagnaia’s tyres came into their sweet spot – a bad combination but he will have plenty of positives to take away from his performance today, ahead of tomorrow’s main race.
It looked like this potential fatiguing then made Marquez a bit of a sitting duck for Luca Marini, who was able to make his way up to 4th on lap 11. Marini has enjoyed a fantastic day, progressing from Q1 to then secure 3rd in Q2. He lost a few places at the start of the spring race but more than made up for this with his performance towards the end of the race.
It was a tougher day for Jack Miller and home hero Fabio Quatararo, who both failed to meet the chequered flag.
Miller enjoyed a brilliant start, flying off the line to steal 3rd from Marini early on. The Aussie, who has previously enjoyed a lot of success in sprint races, couldn’t emulate that success today as he went down in the middle of Museum Corner on the second lap. He was visibly frustrated to make an error that ended his race so prematurely.
Then, on lap 10, Quartararo went down at the same corner. The bike just folded underneath him as he helplessly slid into the gravel. The home crowd were clearly disappointed as a stunned silence fell over the grandstands. Today has been a difficult day for the Frenchman – a day that has gone from bad to worse after his inability to progress out of Q1.
The final points-scoring positions were filled by Johann Zarco, Marco Bezzecchi, Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales in 6th to 9th respectively. Vinales had a terrible qualifying session where a bike issue hampered his second run whilst he was sat in provisional pole – it is certainly a day of “what if’s” for the Spaniard.
The main race will take place at 2pm local time on Sunday. If the sprint race is anything to go by, it should be a race filled with action and drama!
After leading the way yesterday, Sam Lowes set the fastest-ever lap around the Le Mans circuit on a Moto2 bike on his way to claiming pole position. He will be joined on the front row of the grid tomorrow by Alonso Lopez and Tony Arbolino.
As expected in Q1, no rider was certain to make it through to the second round of qualifying, but Jeremy Alcoba, Dennis Foggia and Fermin Aldeguer hoped they could secure a top-four position in Q1 to get them onto the front six rows of the grid. Few riders were able to test out the track with slick tyres this morning due to the track conditions.
Lukas Tulovic set the early pace with a 1.36.539 and this remained the top time until the final moments of the session when Fermin Aldeguer went 0.1s faster around the Le Mans circuit. Along with the Speed Up Racing and Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP riders, Barry Baltus and Bo Bendsneyder made it through the second round of qualifying.
In the second part of qualifying, Filip Salac and Celestino Vietti were topping the time sheets early on with a 1:36.135 and 1:36.178 respectively. Pedro Acosta struggled with the bike towards the start of the session, slotting into sixth place just over two-tenths off the pace set by Salac.
With just under eight minutes to go, Bendsneyder went down in the fourth sector. This cancelled the laps of multiple riders but also allowed them to regroup and plan their attacks for the rest of the session.
Arbolino, Jake Dixon and Lowes were following each other on the track with five and a half minutes to go, setting fastest sector after fastest sector. The tow provided by the two riders in front of Lowes, allowed the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team rider to set the fastest lap around the circuit on a Moto2 bike with a 1:35.791.
Tulovic and Dixon went down at the same time at turns nine and seven respectively causing yellow flags in sectors two, three and four with just over two minutes left on the clock. Luckily, these flags were cleared quickly.
With five seconds left, Lopez crossed the line to go second fastest with a 1:36.036. He was about to start his final flying lap before Aron Canet crashed and caused a red flag. The red flag was due to Canet’s bike being in the middle of the track.
Following the red flag, the session did not restart as there were only a few seconds left on the clock. This means that, for the second race in a row, Lowes will start with no other rider in front of him. Championship leader Acosta starts the race from the middle of the second row with Salac ahead of him and Vietti behind.
2023 FRENCH MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, LE MANS – QUALIFYING RESULTS
It was a session full of surprises today that included highs for our leading championing as well as a returning favourite but also heartache and disaster for a home hero.
After a challenging weekend in which he hasn’t shown a huge amount of pace, reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia came from nowhere to steal pole position in the dying moments of the session. He crossed the line and instantly punched the air, showing he knew just how good his lap time of 1:30.705.
— MotoGP on BT Sport (@btsportmotogp) May 13, 2023
He will be joined on the front row by Marc Marquez, who is returning to the action after missing the last 3 races thanks to breaking a metacarpal at the Portuguese GP. He took provisional pole with 1 minute remaining on the clock, setting, at that time, the fastest lap of the weekend so far. He clearly gave this lap everything he had as he ran out of fuel shortly after, delaying his return to the paddock to meet the media!
Having fought his way through from Q1, Luca Marini was able to snatch 3rd place away from Jack Miller shortly after the chequered flag fell, bumping the Australian down to 4th. On his final lap, Miller was following Augusto Fernandez as a marker but was sadly too close to him and this ended up slowing him down. He was unable to improve on his time and was forced to settle for 4th – a disappointing result given his impressive ride in Friday’s P1 and P2.
Maverick Vinales was an early leader in Q2 and spent time in provisional pole. This was until he left the garage for his second run, with 6 minutes remaining on the clock. He faced issues on the pit exit – the onboard shot seemed to suggest the bike was stuck on the pit limiter. He was twisting the throttle but nothing happened. He was met in the pit lane by Moto3 rider, Riccardo Rossi, who gave him a helpful push back to the garage whilst the team rushed to prepare the spare bike for him. He will line up in 7th for the sprint and main races.
What's happened here?! 😱
Provisional pole man Maverick runs into trouble at the end of pit lane! 🤯
As Vinales waited for his second bike to be readied, his teammate Aleix Espargaro had a huge off at the high-speed turn 1. He lost the front of the bike and slid, which some speed, out into the gravel trap. Thankfully, he was able to walk away and he will line up 11th on the grid.
Home hero, Fabio Quartararo had a disastrous session as he was unable to progress up from Q1. This means he will line up in gut-wrenching 13th place for his home sprint race later today and the main race tomorrow. The record-breaking crowds will undoubtedly be willing him on as the lights go out later today.
The first full day of action from Portugal had lots of drama. Here’s the report of what happened throughout Friday’s eight stages. The crews started in championship order, and this is how the start list looked – Evans, Rovanperä, Tänak, Neuville, Lappi, Katsuta, Sordo, Loubet.
First up was SS1 Lousã 1 – 12.03 km and clearly the conditions suited the later runners as Pierre-Louis came through fastest from Dani, with Ott also right there, making the best of his position as third into the stage. Championship leader, Elfyn was almost eight seconds slower, just because on having to sweep the road. In the WRC2 category, Teemu led Adrien with Yohan third. Great to see three different makes of car holding those positions.
Into SS2 Góis 1 – 19.33 km, and Ott hit the mark with his fastest time, jumping two places into the lead, with Dani remaining in second and Pierre-Louis dropping to third overall, as the Frenchman could only manage the fifth best time. It was all change also in WRC2 as Adrien took the top spot in the category from Oliver who leapt up three places and Teemu fell to third.
The final stage of the morning loop saw Kalle go fastest from Ott and Elfyn. At this point only 3.6 seconds covered the top three as well, those drivers being Ott, Kalle and Dani. Elfyn’s time was really good to see, the Welshman jumping three positions and into fifth overall, just 18 seconds from the leader. There was some drama for Takamoto, who sadly retired with a mechanical problem. There was some drama for Pierre-Louis though who went past the stop line as there was smoke in his Puma. Meanwhile in WRC2, Adrien continued to set the pace leading new second placed Andreas who gained four positions and was now ahead of Oliver who was now third in the category.
A tyre fitting zone followed the morning stages and after that it was straight back into the action with SS4 Lousã 2 – 12.03 km. Esapekka set a great time to go fastest, from Dani and Pierre-Louis. Dani now led, after Ott suffered a puncture and lost almost a minute. The Estonian was now in seventh place. In WRC2 Andreas also had a puncture, dropping out of second place, which meant that Oliver and Teemu were now into second and third from category leader Adrien.
Next up was SS5 Góis 2 – 19.33 km and Kalle was revelling in the better handling of his Yaris GR, going fastest from Thierry and Dani. The Finnish world champion moved into the lead from Dani, who remained really close, just eight tenths of a second between them. There was a change for the WRC2 lead as well as Adrien was the next to suffer a puncture and Oliver benefitted, moving into the lead from Teemu and Yohan.
Kalle was on a roll now, winning SS6 Arganil 2 – 18.72 km from Dani and Pierre-Louis. The young Frenchman was certainly going well in his Puma, but Kalle was the one now building a lead, the gap now almost three seconds to Dani. Showing how much opening the road does to hurt your pace, Elfyn was now 46 seconds from the lead, but holding sixth place. There was more change in WRC2 with Oliver still in the lead, but now Yohan was in second from Marco third. Teemu sadly suffered a puncture and dropped out of second in the category.
The last proper stage of the day then, SS7 Mortágua – 18.15 km with just the super special to come, and unfortunately Elfyn rolled his Yaris GR out at 13.8km’s. The car briefly caught fire, but this was extinguished quickly. Meanwhile Esapekka was fastest from Kalle and Ott, whilst Kalle maintained his lead from Dani, despite the Spaniard going straight on at a junction. Esapekka’s pace brought him up two places and into third overall, whilst Pierre-Louis remained ahead of Thierry, the Belgian dropping from third to fifth place. In WRC2 Oliver was still leading and now Gus was now second, Yohan in third.
The final stage then, SS8 SSS Figueira da Foz – 2.94 km which was two circuits on full tarmac roads and a car park, lined with plastic barriers and Dani was fastest from Ott and Thierry third. The Belgian benefitted from EP only going fifth fastest swapping places around Pierre-Louis who remained fourth.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
1
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
1:22:27.7
2
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+10.8
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+26.0
4
P. L. Loubet
N. Gilsoul
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+26.9
5
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+27.3
6
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+1:04.7
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has been a really good day for us. This morning was not perfect, but we changed a few things on the car to give ourselves a bit more precision on the fast roads, and after this the feeling got better and the afternoon went well. I think the stages were even rougher than expected; it has clearly been very dry here in the lead up to the rally so there were a lot of stones and rough places. But we managed it quite well, I think we did a clever drive. It’s nice to be leading after starting second on the road today and to be in the fight for the win. Tomorrow our starting place should be much better and hopefully we can keep it up.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“This morning the car felt good, and I was enjoying the driving. We had to manage an issue from the end of the first stage but still the times were good even though I wasn’t pushing at all, as I was feeling very happy with the setup and the balance. We tried to continue as best as we could but going to the third stage, everything shut down and we could not restart again, so we had to end our day there. This was a pity but we still have the chance to drive the remaining two days on these great stages. It will be difficult starting first on the road tomorrow, but we will try to enjoy it and learn something for the future.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo
“Today was a really nice day – a long one, but I felt very comfortable the car. I made a small mistake in the hairpin of the final stage and locked my tyres, but I just tried to do my best as I have done all day and enjoy it. I am really happy; Kalle is the world champion, and we are up there fighting with him at the front. It’s nice to be able to do that, so let’s see what we can achieve tomorrow. All in all, we have had a good day. The plan is to try to maintain second place and to continue the fight.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 5, Rally de Portugal 11 – 14 Mai 2023 Dani Sordo Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“A really tough, long day. I couldn’t find the confidence to go full attack. I was quite happy with the car, but something was missing, so tomorrow we will make some small changes which will hopefully help us to push a bit more. I had two very worn tyres, so I had to finish the loop with what I had left, which wasn’t easy. A lot of small things came together to make the day really challenging. The result isn’t so satisfying, we expected better, and now we have to find the confidence to do, or we won’t be in the fight. It is a different profile of stages tomorrow; we’re expecting it to be smoother, so hopefully everything is working a bit better tomorrow.”
Esapekka Lappi
“This morning was a struggle and clearly, we made a mistake with my tyres, but on the other hand we only have a limited amount, of hard tyres so it is not an easy decision to make. The afternoon was strong; we had the right tyres, and the attack was good. Our puncture on SS6 slowed us down a little bit, but then we did a good job on SS7. We pushed hard and we managed to gain two places, which was really important for securing a good road order for tomorrow. It was so rough on some of the stages, but you still have to drive as fast as you can. If you try to minimise the speed then you will hit every rock, so you have to keep going.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“More less how we expected it, not so bad. The first loop was quite nice and the second loop we got the puncture, we didn’t expect too much roughness on that one, it came out of the blue, and in the same stage we got some other damage on another tyre, so went the whole afternoon without any spare. It was difficult to survive, and somehow, we managed to bring the car home with tyre wear and punctures. Roads tomorrow should have more hard base.”
Saturday
The second full day of competition will see the crews tackle the longest day with 148km’s over seven stages including the longest stage of the rally, Amarante. It’s a long day, with the action starting before eight am UK time and the final stage starting at just after seven pm. We’ll have to wait and see if Elfyn and Scott return tomorrow.
Veloce won Round 4 of the Extreme E championship to take the lead in the title race. Here’s how the day’s action unfolded.
X44 have won their first race of the season at Saturday’s Hydro XPrix after Andretti received a time penalty. Here’s how the day unfolded.
