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Formula E Season 10 Round 9 and 10: Cassidy and Da Costa Both take Victory in Berlin as Title Battle Heats Up

Berlin is an all time classic on the Formula E calendar. Round 9 and 10 were no different with dramatic races happening on both Saturday and Sunday!

Key Moments from Race 9

  • Edoardo Mortara started on pole ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne.
  • Sette Camara tried to take P3 away from Vergne
  • There were big battles for the final points paying positions from Ticktum,Evans, Cassidy, Rowland and Van Der Linde
  • Vandoorne, Vergne, Da Costa and Mortara were all battling for the lead into the tight double right turns of 6 and 7. 
  • Racing was brought to a halt when a full course yellow was brought out due to a stopped Envision on track of Joel Eriksson. This was an eventual safety car. 
  • The safety car came in on lap 17 and Vergne tried to hold the lead while Wehrlein went for the overtake in the double right turns before the hairpin and made it stick. 
  • Di Grassi spun due to contact with Sette Camara after the restart.
  • Guenther ended up in the wall after the restart and on lap 30, the safety car came out again.
  • The safety car came back in on lap 34 and at the restart, there was 4 wide for the lead.
  • Da Costa came out in the lead.
  • Lap 41 saw Wehrlein take the lead before more overtakes occuring to see Vergne lead and Cassidy holding his nerve.
  • Once Cassidy was in the lead, there was no looking back as he took victory!

 

The cars pull away at the start of the race Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Race 9 Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 26
2nd Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 18
3rd Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 15
4th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 12
5th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 10
6th Antonio Felix Da Costa  Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 8
7th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 6
8th Edordo Mortara Mahindra Racing 7
9th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 2
10th Taylor Barnard NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 1
11th Kelvin Van Der Linde Abt Cupra 0
12th Jordan King Mahindra Racing 0
13th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0
14th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0
15th Jake Hughes NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 0
16th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
17th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
18th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
DNF Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 0
DNF Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 0
DNF Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra 0
DNF Joel Eriksson Envision Racing 0

 

Key Moments from Race 10

  • Dennis started on pole but Cassidy lead the grid down to turn 1
  • Further on into the race it was a Porsche 1-2.
  • Guenther crashed early on in the race and brought out a safety car. He got going again but it was to retire the car.
  • On lap 18, Rowland had a damaged front wing and Mortara had not taken either attack mode.
  • Vandoorne went for a dive between lap 20 and 21 but got damage with his front wing going under his car.
  • He ended up losing control and put Fenestraz onto 2 wheels.
  • Da Costa had a large advantage by the beginning of the end of the race.
  • Nato and Fenestraz ended up in the wall with the Andretti driver managing to get away but the safety car was brought out.
  • By lap 27, we had Da Costa P1, Rowland P2 abd Evans P3.
  • When the safety car came in, there was big battles between Dennis and Wehrlein and Evans and Da Costa.
  • Nato ended up with a 10 second time penalty for his collision with Fenestraz.
  • We had 3 added laps while Barnard overtook his teammate and Dennis.
  • Cassidy overtook Rowland when we headed into added laps while Evans lost 2 places in 2 corners.
  • Da Costa took victory in Berlin with Cassidy P2 and Rowland P3.

Race 10 Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Antonio Felix Da Costa  Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 25
2nd Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 19
3rd Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 15
4th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 12
5th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 13
6th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 8
7th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 6
8th Taylor Barnard NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 4
9th Joel Eriksson Envision Racing 2
10th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 1
11th Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra 0
12th Jake Hughes NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 0
13th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
14th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0
15th Kelvin Van Der Linde Abt Cupra 0
16th Edo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
17th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0
18th Jordan King Mahindra Racing 0
19th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
20th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 0
DNF Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0
DNF Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 0
Antonio Felix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, leads Oliver Rowland, Nissan Formula E Team, Nissan e-4ORCE 04 Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Championship Standings After Round 10

Position Driver Team Points
1st Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 140
2nd Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 124
3rd Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 118
4th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 102
5th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 97
6th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 84
7th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 65
8th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 59
9th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 43
10th Sam Bird NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 38
11th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 26
12th Jake Hughes NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 25
13th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 24
14th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
15th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
16th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra 18
17th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
18th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 11
19th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 8
20th Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 7
21st Taylor Barnard NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 5
22nd Joel Eriksson Envision Racing 2
23rd Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra 1
24th Kelvin Van Der Linde Abt Cupra 0
25th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
26th Jordan King Mahindra Racing 0
27th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0

Driver of the Weekend

For me, the driver of the weekend is a very tough one. However, I think I will give it to Joel Eriksson. The rookies this weekend have been VERY surprising (and in a good way) which will probably give a lot of team principals headaches as after FULL 1 race weekend, 2 have  already stored in Taylor Barnard and Joel Eriksson. Even though I have have chosen a mix of about 5 drivers, Joel gets my pick. 

Driver with the most improvement needed

I think Norman Nato needs to pick up his pace in terms of racing after this weekend. While he can have some good moments like in qualifying and some bad luck, ultimately, his collision with Fenestraz was not a good light for the French driver, especially as there are only 6 races left and Andretti will more than likely be starting to think about the seat next to Jake Dennis for 2025 and beyond as we head into Gen3 EVO. With the rookie test happening tomorrow with Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford at the team too, the pressure is building on Nato. 

Prediction for Shanghai

The next 2 rounds of Formula E are at the Shanghai International Circuit. While a lot of the circuit is similar to the Formula 1 model, there are only 12 corners and cuts out the long right hander and long straight from the Formula 1 model. I have a feeling this could be a Jake Dennis win on either day. 

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Moto3: Alonso Tactical Masterclass at Le Mans!

Image Credit: MotoGP

David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) held his nerve and delivered a tactical masterclass for the Aspar Team to take his 7th Grand Prix victory here in Le Mans!

It was an epic battle from start to finish today in Moto3 and was anyone’s guess as to who would win right up until the finish. Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) just finished in 2nd place to Alonso with Dutchman Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) taking 3rd place. 

As we head to the next race at the Catalunya circuit, Holgado just has a 1 point lead in the championship to Alonso. 

AS IT HAPPENED

Alonso had a great start off the line but Holgado pounced heading into the Dunlop chicane to take the lead on the opening lap of the race. David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) was up 5 places up into 3rd, and ever aggressive blasted by Alonso into 2nd on the opening lap. A dream start for Munoz.

Munoz looked to go by Holgado into turn 1, but Holgado shut the door and held off the Spaniard. Holgado lead every lap of the 2023 race here at Le Mans and was hoping for a repeat over the next 19 laps. Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) into the final 2 right handers went by Alonso and up into 3rd.

Munoz tried a tighter line into turn 1 but again, Holgado shut the door on Munoz. Veijer was now into the mix and got by Alonso on lap 3 up into 3rd, as Fernandez took his long lap penalty. Fernandez was with a lot of pace tat this point and would have been keen to battle his way back through the pack. Fernandez back to 16th after serving the 1st of his 2 long lap penalties.

Fernandez’ Leopard teammate rookie Angel Piqueras set the fastest lap of the race on lap 3 and produced a stunning overtake past Ortola up into 5th. Charging on the Leopard Honda Piqueras then picked off Alonso and up into 5th but Alonso bit back and retook 4th place.

A quarter of the way through and Holgado still had the lead from Munoz on his back wheel in 2nd. The top 8 in Moto3 as they crossed the line were all covered by just a second. 16 laps to go and Fernandez served his 2nd long lap penalty and dropped way back to 21st. His teammate Piqueras however was still dicing and swapping places with Alonso as they started lap 6.

Another lap at the front banked for championship leader Holgado as they started lap 7. Still 8 riders in contention here for victory all dicing and fighting for positions behind Holgado. Riccardo Rossi (CIP Green Power) joined the party at the front up into 5th past Piqueras.

Under 2.5seconds covered the top 18 riders as they completed lap 7 to start lap 8 of 20 of this French Grand Prix. Veijer sat behind Holgado and was planning on how to get by in the 2nd half of the race.

Sector 4 up in yellow flags at turn 11 as Rossi went through on Munoz for Munoz to tap Rossi out of the race. Veijer was also through into the lead for the first time. Munoz went up the inside of Holgado only for Holgado to get back past Munoz as they crossed the line to complete lap 9.

Into the 2nd half of the race and Veijer lead from Holgado 2nd and Munoz in 3rd. Alonso was 4th in a lead group of a dozen riders all battling it out here at Le Mans. Munoz for the contact with Rossi earlier on lap 9 was handed a double long lap penalty. Munoz was shaking his head as he crossed the line clearly angry with the stewards decision. Munoz was still fighting with Veijer and Holgado at the front even though Munoz needed to serve his penalties.

Munoz surrendered the lead to Holgado and dropped back to 17th place after serving the 1st long lap penalty.

9 laps to go and Holgado lead from Veijer 2nd and Alonso in 3rd. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) picked his way through the field up into 5th at this stage past Piqueras. Fernandez battled his way back up into 8th place as Veijer took the lead from Holgado after Holgado ran wide.

Into the last 3rd of the race and Dutchman Veijer was leading a group of 4 with Holgado 2nd and Alonso in 3rd. Ortola still not giving up the fight on the back wheel of Alonso in 4th.

Into turn 1 on the fastest part of the circuit, Holgado moved ahead of Veijer with in the slipstream as Veijer tapped Holgado twice as Holgado took the lead.

5 laps to go and Munoz crashed out at turn 11 as Holgado still lead into the final part of the race. The race was shaping up to be decided on the last corner of the last lap. A great race so far in Moto3!

Ortola went up the inside of Alonso into the Dunlop chicane as Ortola moved up into the podium positions. The overtake on Alonso bunched up those behind handing a gap to leaders Holgado and Veijer ahead of them.

Alonso fought back and went up inside of Ortola into 3rd and Alonso geared up for an attack for victory in the final stages of the race. Into lap 18 of 20 and 8 tenths of a second separated the top 8 riders. It was still anyone’s guess as to who would go onto win this one.

Lap 18 and Holgado ran wide and Veijer needed no invitation to swoop into the lead with 3 laps to go. Alonso now into the lead with an epic overtake to get by Holgado and Veijer into the same corner. Holgado dicing with Alonso but Alonso crossed the line in the lead.

THE LAST LAP

Holgado lead across the line to start the final lap. Just 14 corners left to go and Alonso went back into the lead as they went into the Dunlop chicane.

Through turns 6 into 7 and Alonso still hung onto the lead, only a bike length  ahead of Holgado at this point.

Holgado now wheel to wheel with Alonso had to back out of a move to avoid a collision. Holgado would not give this up trying every angle and line to get by Alonso on the final lap.

Alonso though held his nerve into the final 2 right handers, and with everyone breathing down his neck, managed to fend off Holgado to take victory.

Victory number 7 for David Alonso and what a win from the Colombian whizz kid! Alonso’s tactics were incredible today and waited on the perfect moment to go on the attack  and hunt down Holgado for the win.

Race Classification 

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

Championship Standings

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

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Formula E Monaco E-Prix: Jaguar make it a 1-2 finish as Barnard replaces Bird due to injury

Formula E kicked off again this weekend at Monaco, the motorsport city of the world. It was  a race in which Pascal Wehrlein took the bragging rights and pole position, there was also two safety cars and a 1-2 for Jaguar!

  • Wehrlein held the lead at the start.
  • Mueller got a bad start and fell behind Barnard.
  • Nato lost his front wing and it went under his car.
  • Buemi and Da Costa crashed at the hotel hairpin.
  • Mortara went into the barrier on lap four and brought out the safety car.
  • Sette Camara hit Buemi and Da Costa got caught between them.
  • Vandoorne held the lead from Evans in P2 at the restart.
  • Dennis had to pit due to front wing damage.
  • Evans and Jaguar played the team game as both Evans and Cassidy held up the pack behind them so their teammates could take attack mode.
  • Frijns’ front wing then went under his car.
  • Nico Mueller went into the wall near the end of the race. 
  • Once the safety car came in again, Rowland got ahead of Da Costa.
  • Mitch Evans managed to win the Monaco E-Prix. Nick Cassidy made it a Jaguar1-2 with Vandoorne P3.

Formula E Season 10 Monaco E-Prix Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 25
2nd Nick Cassidy(FL) Jaguar TCS Racing 19
3rd  Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 15
4th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske  12
5th Pascal Wehrlein (Pole) Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 13
6th Oliver Rowland

Nissan Formula E Team

 8
7th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 6
8th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 4
9th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 2
10th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 1
11th Lucas Di Grassi  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
12th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
13th Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 0
14th Taylor Barnard Mahindra Racing 0
15th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0
16th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
17th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
18th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
19th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  0
20th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
DNF Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
DNF Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0

Formula E Season 10 Standings after Round 8

Position Driver Team Points
1st Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 102
2nd Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 95
3rd  Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  89
4th Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 88
5th Mitch Evans(Pole) Jaguar TCS Racing 77
6th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 65
7th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 65
8th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 28
9th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 27
10th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 26
11th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 25
12th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 24
13th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 24
14th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
15th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
16th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 18
17th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
18th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 11
19th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 2
20th Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
21st Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
22nd Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
Norman Nato, Andretti Global, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, leaves a trail of smoke as his damaged front wing rubs on his wheel

Most Impressive Race

The most impressive race has to be from Taylor Barnard. Now the youngest driver to start in Formula E, he jumped into Sam Bird’s car after Bird broke a bone in his hand during FP1. ,To go from P22 to P14 in his debut Formula E race is incredible.

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Formula E Season 10 Round 7 Misano E-Prix: Wehrlein becomes the First Double Winner of Season 10

It is safe to say that Round 7 of the Formula E Season 10 had everything: drama, overtakes, last lap chaos and so much more! Here is the highlights:

 

Key Moments from Formula E Season 10 Round 7:

  • Hughes lead the pack away.
  • Frijns went into the gravel and called out the safety car on lap 7. At this point, Mueller was leading ahead of Wehrlein and Cassidy.
  • Da Costa started to fall down the grid on lap 11 due to a tyre smoking and his front wing going under the wheel.
  • Nato lost his front wing as well.
  • Hughes fell down a few places.
  • Bird had a little spin.
  • Rowland was leading on the final lap but he ran out of energy.
  • Wehrlein wins ahead of Dennis and Cassidy gets the final place of the podium by 0.05s!
  • Guenther finished P9 but he received a 5 second time penalty so dropped down to P12.

 

Formula E Season 10 Round 7 Misano E-Prix Results

Position Driver Team Points
1 Pascal Wehrlein(Fastest Lap) Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 26
2nd Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  18
3rd Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 15
4th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 12
5th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 10
6th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 8
7th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 6
8th Jake Hughes(Pole) Neom McLaren Formula E Team 7
9th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 2
10th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 1
11th Lucas Di Grassi  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
12th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 0
13th Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
14th Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 0
15th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
16th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
17th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 0
DNF Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 0
DNF Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
DNF Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 0
DNF Sebastian Buemi DS Penske 0
DNF Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0

Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 7

 

Position Driver Team Points
1. Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 89
2. Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 89
3. Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 80
4. Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 76
5. Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 63
6. Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 53
7. Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 52
8. Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 38
9. Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 25
10. Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 23
11. Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 22
12. Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
13.  Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
14. Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 20
15. Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 20
16. Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 18
17. Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
18. Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 11
19. Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 2
20. Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
21. Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
22. Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
Jehan Daruvala, Maserati MSG Racing, Maserati Tipo Folgore, locks up ahead of Dan Ticktum, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24

Most Impressive Race

The most impressive drive for me is Jehn Daruvala. Coming into this race, he was P21 in the standings and started P21 on the grid, just ahead of Da Costa. To make his way up to P10 on the road (P9 after a few penalties) is impressive. Yes, he has been beaten by his race winning teammate this year so far but getting your first points in a new championship and new series is always a high.

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Formula E Season 10 Milano E-Prix: Da Costa Loses Victory After Technical Infraction at Misano

Antonio Felix Da Costa managed to to make up positions in Milano after a disappointing qualifying to take the victory for Formula E’s first visit to Milano! However, disaster struck for the 2020 champion when he was disqualified  just to add to the chaos of this race. Rowland inherited the win BUT Porsche have announced an intention to appeal.

Key Moments Of The Race

 

  • Mitch Evans lead the field away from pole ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne in P2 and Pascal Wehrlein in P3.
  • This was a peneton style race from the early stages with Mitch Evans, Nick Cassidy, Jean-Eric Vergne and Oliver Rowland.
  • Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara were both near the back of the grid at the start.
  • Edoardo Mortara had to stop the car very early..
  • 6.5 seconds seperated the entire field at one point.
  • Multiple collisions, including Wehrlein receiving front wing damage.
  • Cassidy and Vergne collided, Cassidy pitted with Vergne receiving a 5 second time penalty.
  • Guenther went over the sausage kerbs and did a wheelie at one point.
  • Nato went over the Gravel
  • Multiple DNFs
  • Da Costa crossed the line first and was the provisional winner before being disqualified so Rowland wins, Dennis P2, Guenther P3.

Formula E Season 10 Round 6 Misano E-Prix Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Oliver Rowland(FL)

Nissan Formula E Team

 26
2nd Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  18
3rd  Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 15
4th Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 12
5th Mitch Evans(Pole) Jaguar TCS Racing 13
6th Jean-Eric Verge Pole DS Penske  18
7th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 6
8th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 4
9th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 2
10th Lucas Di Grassi  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
11th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
12th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0
13th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
14th Nyck De Veries Mahindra Racing 0
15th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
16th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 0
17th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
DNF Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
DNF Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
DNF Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 0
DNF Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
DSQ Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 0

Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 6

Position Driver Team Points
1. Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 80
2. Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 71
3. Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 63
4. Pascal Wehrlein Andretti Formula E 63
5. Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 61
6. Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 52
7. Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 47
8. Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 37
9. Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 23
10. Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 22
11. Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
12. Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
13. Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 20
14. Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 18
15. Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
16. Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 10
17. Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 6
18. Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 3
19. Lucas DiGrassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
20. Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
21. Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
22. Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
Dan Ticktum, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24, Jake Hughes, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, e-4ORCE 04, Nyck de Vries, Mahindra Racing, Mahindra M9Electro, and Sergio Sette Camara, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24, chase the pack at the start Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Most Impressive Race

My driver of the race has to be Antonio Felix Da Costa. Despite him losing his win due to outside circumstances, he still made incredible progress and took the victory for 5 hours.  He also managed to handle the energy perfectly.

Driver who needs to improve the most after this round

I think Vandoorne was a bit lackluster throughout the day. From qualifying out of position in comparison to his teammate to finishing P10 on the road (P9 after Da Costa’s DSQ), it was very underwhelming. While his teammate did finish a few places ahead of him due to receiving a 5 second penalty for causing a collision with Cassidy, qualifying was ulitimately Vandoorne’s downfall for this particular race.

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Moto2: Canet Capitalises Once More with Pole in the USA

Aron Canet takes his second pole in three races, beating out Fermin Aldeguer and Sergio Garcia for the best spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Local rider Joe Roberts was able to qualify in fifth.

Some riders who would have go to through qualifying one were Celestino Vietti, 2023 Moto3 Champion Jaume Masia and FIlip Salac. After the first fast laps, Vietti was the fastest rider on the circuit, even when he had to make his way around other riders who were slow on the track.

Darryn Binder caused a yellow flag at the end of the session and was unable to set a lap time. Because of the yellow flag, Zonta van der Goorbergh’s fastest lap time was deleted. The Dutch rider the fastest through sector one and without the yellow flag could have made it through to the second qualifying session.

The four riders who went through to Q2 were Vietti, Masia, Albert Arenas and Diogo Moreira.

The second qualifying session started, and all the riders went out within the first few minutes except Ai Ogura and Garcia. This was Jake Dixon’s first qualifying session of the season after the injury he sustained earlier in the season.

Canet’s first lap was cancelled due to exceeding track limits at turn one.

The early pace setter was Alonso Lopez who set a 2:08.231 on his Speed Up Racing Boscoscuro motorbike. This was slower than the time set by Vietti to progress from Q1 to Q2.

After the success of progressing to Q2, unfortunately Vietti crashed at turn four causing a yellow flag. Due to this, he was unable to set a lap time. There was also gravel on the track which the riders would need to avoid.

At the halfway point of the session, Canet was at the top of the timesheet from Barry Baltus, Marcos Ramirez and Dennis Foggia.

After finishing first in the second practice session, Arbolino was a lot of people’s choice for pole position, but he crashed at turn 15 causing a yellow flag in the third and fourth sectors. This led to some riders losing their lap times.

Garcia and Aldeguer were going quick following the removal of the yellow flag and at the end of the second sector, both were around two tenths under Canet’s time and went up to the top of the timesheets.

As the only American racer in the field, all eyes were on Roberts also and he set his fastest lap which put him in fourth place but was bumped down by a few riders. He improved on his following lap and jumped up to third place, eclipsing his American Racing teammate, Ramirez.

The checkered flag came out and Canet was on another fast lap that looked as though it would be good enough for pole position and it was. He set a 2:07.631 that was unable to be beaten by any of the other riders, namely Lopez and Ramirez who looked close to setting the fastest time of the session.

For tomorrow’s race, Canet will head up the field from Aldeguer and Garcia. Arenas, Roberts and Ramirez populate the second row ahead of Foggia, Lopez and Gonzalez. Bo Bendsneyder rounded out the top ten.

2024 Moto2 COTA  – Qualifying Results
Pos Rider Nat Team Time
1 Aron Canet SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 2m 07.631s
2 Fermin Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools Speed Up (Boscoscuro) 0.109s
3 Sergio Garcia SPA MT Helmets – MSI (Boscoscuro) 0.188s
4 Albert Arenas SPA QJMOTOR Gresini (Kalex) 0.234s
5 Joe Roberts USA OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) 0.237s
6 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) 0.280s
7 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 0.400s
8 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools Speed Up (Boscoscuro) 0.432s
9 Manuel Gonzalez SPA QJMOTOR Gresini (Kalex) 0.443s
10 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Team (Kalex) 0.481s
11 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing (Kalex) 0.496s
12 Barry Baltus BEL RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP (Kalex) 0.511s
13 Jeremy Alcoba SPA Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team (Kalex) 0.516s
14 Jake Dixon GBR CFMoto Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) 0.650s
15 Celestino Vietti ITA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 0.680s
16 Diogo Moreira BRA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 0.734s
17 Ai Ogura JPN MT Helmets – MSI (Boscoscuro) 0.830s
18 Jaume Masia SPA Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Team (Kalex) 0.881s
Q1
19 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 2m 08.479s
20 Filip Salac CZE Elf Marc VDS Racing (Kalex) 2m 08.599s
21 Deniz Oncu TUR Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 2m 08.601s
22 Senna Agius AUS Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 2m 08.617s
23 Izan Guevara SPA CFMoto Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) 2m 08.870s
24 Zonta van den Goorbergh NED RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP (Kalex) 2m 08.930s
25 Mario Aji INA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 2m 09.419s
26 Xavier Artigas SPA KLINT Forward Factory Team (Forward) 2m 10.408s
27 Xavi Cardelus AND Fantic Racing (Kalex) 2m 10.735s
28 Alex Escrig SPA KLINT Forward Factory Team (Forward) 2m 11.109s
29 Darryn Binder RSA Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) No Time

Feature Image Credit: Fantic Racing

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Formula E Season 10 Tokyo E-Prix: Guenther snatches win from Nissan and Rowland

Just 2 weeks after the sao paulo e-prix, we were presented with another race, this time in the home of Nissan: Japan! This introduction of the Tokyo E-Prix saw a different layout, sometimes a mixture of the Rome and London circuits. However, none of this could stop the Maserati MSG of Maximilian Guenther from clinching the win away from the pole sitter and majority of the race leader Oliver Rowland.

Key Moments During The Race

  • Oliver Rowland lead the field away from pole position ahead of Edoardo Mortara in P2 and Maximilian Guenther in P3.
  • Jaguar Drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy went to P11 and P18 respectfully after the start
  • The fastest lap was changing hands during lap 5 with Nato and Mueller touching
  • Jake Hughes crashed into the barrier at turn 15 on lap 6 due to a collision with Di Grassi. The British driver managed to get away on their own accord, however they fell to the back of the grid.
  • The Tag Hauer Porsche Team played the team game on lap 9 as Da Costa slowed up the grid behind them so Wehrlein could take attack mode.
  • A new race leader emerged on lap 13 as Oliver Rowland took attack mode with Maximilian Guenther inheriting P1.
  • Guenther fell down to P3 after taking attack mode.
  • Mitch Evans had front wing damage on lap 18 after contact.
  • The safety car was called out soon after to pick up debris. 
  • De Vries and Di Grassi have both retired at this point.
  • Nick Cassidy managed to make his way up to P11 by lap 25.
  • Maximilian Guether takes the lead on lap 25.
  • 2 additional laps were added near the end of the race due to the safety car.
  • Norman Nato and Robin Frijns made contact as Nato went off the racing line, received a 5 second penalty for this collision but it was later overturned.
  • Da Costa falls down to P4 after a three way battle for the podium positions.
  • Guenther wins, Rowland P2, Dennis P3.

 

Jake Hughes, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, e-4ORCE 04, leads Lucas di Grassi, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, M9Electro, and Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske, DS E-Tense FE23-Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Formula E Season 10 Round 5 Tokyo E-Prix Results

 

Position Driver Team Points
1st

Maximilian Guenther

(fastest lap)

Maserati MSG Racing

 26
2nd Oliver Rowland (pole) Nissan Formula E Team 21
3rd  Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  15
4th Antonio Felix Da Costa  Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 12
5th Pascal Wehrlein  Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 10
6th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E  8
7th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 6
8th Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 4
9th Robin Frijns  Envision Racing 2
10th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Racing 1
11th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0
12th Jean-Eric Verge  DS Penske  0
13th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0
14th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
15th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 0
16th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 0
17th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
18th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0
19th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
DNF Lucas Di Grassi  Mahindra Racing 0
DSQ Edoardo Mortara  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
DNF Nyck De Veries Mahindra Racing 0

 

Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 5

Position Driver Team Points
1. Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 63
2. Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 61
3. Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 54
4. Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 53
5. Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 48
6. Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 39
7. Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 39
8. Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 37
9. Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
10. Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
11. Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 20
12. Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 18
13. Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 18
14. Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 17
15. Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 8
16. Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 6
17. Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 3
18. Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
19. Lucas DiGrassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
20. Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
21. Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
22. Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0

Most Impressive Race

The most impressive race for me has to be from Oliver Rowland. Leaving the sport mid season last year, eyebrows were raised over whether he would return to the sport. Now, at his new team’s home race, getting pole position and being able to maintain his energy for the majority of the race until he had to fall back to P2 in order to conserve energy to make it to the end is seriously impressive.

 

Driver who needs to improve the most after Tokyo

Now that we have finished just under one third of the season, I think Mitch Evans really needs to improve the most. Yes, his teammate did manage to qualify near the back due to a lap time deletion in qualifying, Evans should have made up spots on the start to try and bridge the gap to his felle Kiwi but instead, Cassidy finished P8 after the DSQ from Mortara which still made Evans not get any points from the weekend. Evans needs to get his head into the right space 

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Review of the Formula 1 Exhibition in Vienna.

Image copyright Julia Paradowska

This year on the 29th of February, I had a fantastic opportunity to visit the F1 exhibition in the beautiful capital city of Austria, Vienna. Despite the lack of crowds during my visit, which I attribute to the timing—midweek and midday—the experience was memorable. As a long-time Formula 1 enthusiast, I found the exhibition to be satisfying, and also an enjoyable introduction for my companion, who had recently begun following the sport. I spent around 2 hours and 30 minutes around the world of F1 (and in my opinion I could spent more). However, I have to admit that the absence of interactive elements, such as pit stop challenges or reaction tests, was a big disappointment, those elements could have enhanced the overall engagement.


The collection at the exhibition was indeed impressive. Among exhibits were numerous F1 drivers’ helmets, race-worn suits, and iconic cars. Notably, one of the F1 cars on display was borrowed from current Alpine driver Pierre Gasly (his winning AlphaTauri AT01from 2020 Italian Grand Prix)

The great number of exhibits offered visitors a glimpse into the rich history of Formula 1 and evolution of the sport, from ’50s to the modern era.Another fascinating element of the exhibition was the section dedicated to the evolution of F1 drivers’ positions in the racing cars throughout the decades. From the very beginning of the championship to the present day, visitors could spotted the shifts in positions, reflecting the dynamic technical changes in Formula 1 world.

One of the highlights of the exhibition was the algorithm that determined the favorite GOAT driver based on visitors’ opinions. This interactive feature not only added a layer of personalization but also sparked intriguing conversations among my company, as each person’s choice reflected their unique perspective on F1 and drivers’ strengths.

The section dedicated to the anatomy of an F1 car and its components was enlightening. Contrasting old engines to their modern counterparts deeply illustrated the technological progress made in the sport over the years. From aerodynamics to engine performance, visitors gained insight into the engineering innovations that propel F1 cars since decades. A big treasure trove for motorsport fans who love technological solutions.

What truly left a lasting impression of the exhibition was Romain Grosjean’s car, the one of his terrifying crash during the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2021. Witnessing the mangled wreckage reminders the inherent risks involved in this sport, as well as the incredible resilience and safety measures that enable drivers to walk away from such harrowing incidents or even (especially according to that crash) avoid death.

 

The exhibition provided a comprehensive overview of F1’s history and iconic moments. However, I have to admit that the absence of interactive elements, such as pit stop challenges or reaction tests, was lacking. Those elements could have increase the overall engagement. Also that kind of addition to the exhibition would have further enriched the experience, particularly for visitors seeking hands-on engagement with the sport, including younger fans who eager to experience the adrenaline-fueled atmosphere of an F1 race.​In conclusion, my trip to Vienna to see and experience the F1 exhibition was a fascinating journey through the decades of Formula 1 history. While the absence of interactive elements, the extensive collection of exhibits and displays offered a comprehensive overview of F1’s evolution and enduring legacy. With a few enhancements, the exhibition could engage visitors even more actively. I truly recommend visiting Vienna and seeing the F1 exhibition.

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Formula E Sao Paulo E Prix: Sam Bird takes McLaren’s Maiden Win in Formula E

After a 7 WEEK break, Formula E returned to our screens on March 15th and 16th with a lot of storylines heading into this race weekend, it is safe to say that we got our bang for our buck in terms of excitement!

Race Recap

The race started off with Pascal Wehrlein starting from pole after beating Stoffel Vandoorne in the Final Duel by 0.002 of a second! It was absolutely blockbuster content before we even went racing in Sao Paulo. Once we went racing, there was a lot of chaos. Wehrlein lead the field from Vandoorne in P2 and Micth Evans managed to jump up to P3 after overtaking Jean-Eric Vergne who started in P3. Wehrlein managed to stay in the lead throughout the early parts before the attack mode came in with Bird managing to make his way up to P6. Da Costa then managed to make his way up to P3 before Guenther had to take a 10 second stop and go penalty due to exceeding his allocated components. This meant he had a 20 place grid penalty AND the 10 second stop-and-go penalty. Dennis attempted to make his way up the field with Bird then managing to make his way up to P1. Once Bird took his attack modes, he stayed in P1. There was quite a lot od debris due to collisions which happened earlier in the race which then led to a safety car coming out. This spelt disaster in terms of attack mode for drivers including Bird, Buemi and Daruvala whereas Wehrlein, Vergne and Guenther were pleased. 

Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6, leads Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3-Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

At the safety car restart, Bird managed to retake the lead from Evans with Da Costa in P3 and his teammate of Wehrlein in P4. Several laps on, Nico Mueller managed to get a black and orange flag due to his front wing going under his car. Before Nico pitted, the entire grid was seperated by under 9 seconds! The Andretti driver of Norman Nato then receieved a 5 second penalty for causing a collision. Dennis managed to get up to P1 after many overtakes and attack modes before we saw a yellow flag for the championship leader of Nick Cassidy crashing out due to his front wing hitting his car. He was okay after the crash but it was a nasty hit against the wall. 

 

By the time we got to lap 17 out of 31, before added laps, Bird was leading ahead of his old teammate Mitch Evans in P2, Wehrlein in P3, Dennis, Da Costa and Vergne rounding out the top 6 with Rosland, Vandoorne, Guenther and Buemi occupying the final places of the field. Once we went green, Bird held onto the lead with everyone in the top 10 apart from Buemi having used both of the attack modes.  Drivers such as De Vries and Hughes had to take their second attack mode and, as a result, fell down the grid. 

Nico Mueller then stopped on track which brought out a yellow flag but he managed to get the car started again. Towards the end of the race, Evans managed to take the lead before it was announced that there would be 3 added laps. Rowland managed to make his way up to P5 ahead of Da Costa before the final lap. On the final lap, Bird was chasing Evans down for the win. Bird managed to make a move stick in the final sector of the track to take McLaren’s first win in Formula E! That was not where the drama ended however, as we had retirements from Hughes, Mueller and Cassidy, Sette Camara was disqualified due to an overuse of power! All of the results are down below!

 

 

Sao Paulo E-Prix Race Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 25
2nd Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 18
3rd  Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 15
4th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 12
5th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 10
6th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 8
7th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 6
8th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 4
9th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 2
10th SebastianBuemi Envision Racing 1
11th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0
12th Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
13th Lucas DiGrassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
14th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
15th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
16th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0
17th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
18th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
DNF Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
DNF Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 0
DNF Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
DSQ Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0

 

 

 

Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 4

Position Driver Team Points
1. Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 57
2. Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 53
3. Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 39
4. Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 39
5. Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 38
6. Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 37
7. Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 33
8. Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 22
9. Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
10. Robin Frijns Envision Racing 19
11. Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 18
12. Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 18
13. Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 9
14. Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E 8
15. Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 8
16. Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 2
17. Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
18. Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
19. Lucas DiGrassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
20. Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
21. Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
22. Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0

 

Most Impressive Race

I think there are a lot of candidates for this part of the article but I am going to go with Max Guenther. He started in P22, had a 10 second stop-and-go penalty and STILL managed to get 2 points in a competitive field. While yes, the safety cars caused by debris and Nick Cassidy did definately play to his advantage (apart from him using attack mode before the safety car came out), he still had to go through the field and battle many drivers.

Driver who needs to improve the most after Sao Paulo

After Sao Paulo, I feel like Norman Nato needs to step up a little bit. He had a few collisions which he was penalised for as well as starting further down the grid in comparison to his teammate. While his teammate may be a Formula E World Champion and embedded at that team, Norman needs to show that he can do his part to help the team and manufacturers in the championship, otherwise questions could be raised given the drivers who are not in as competitive machinery as the Frenchman. 

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Moto3: Alonso Lethal in Lusail!

Feature Image Credit: @PolarityPhoto on X

With a glorious sunset in Doha, the opening race of the season was upon us in Moto3. With both Jaume Masia and Deniz Oncu now in Moto2, only David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) remained from last year’s podium in today’s race. Alonso started from the middle of the 3rd row in 8th.

Pole sitter Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) who finished 9th here last season, was desperate to finish off a perfect weekend converting the pole position to victory this afternoon.

AS IT HAPPENED

David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) not allowed to start and told to get off the grid after stalling off the line. Disaster for Munoz and had to be moved to the pits before we got going.

A great start from Holgado off the line when we finally got under way. Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets MSI) and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) hot on the heels of Holgado as they went through the first sector. Rueda up the inside of Ortola into turn 10. Rueda looked to go further ahead and pass Holgado into turn 12 but Holgado managed to shut the door on the Spaniard.

Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) dived up the inside of Ortola as the riders completed the first lap. Into lap 2 and Fernandez was ready to fight today, dicing with Ortola in the first few corners.

Alonso up 4 places into 4th in the middle of lap 2 of 16 here in Doha. Alonso the pre season favourite by many will be keen to get to the front as quickly as possible. Rueda and Holgado already into an epic battle here switching places as Rueda headed into the final corner in the lead of the race to complete lap 2.

Sector 1 lit up in yellow as Rueda and Ortola collided at turn 1. 2 of the race favourites both crashing out of the race early on. Rueda looked to of lost the rear and went into Ortola. Clearly a racing incident and both riders ok. No further action was taken by the stewards.

Lap 4 of 16 and Alonso right up behind race leader Holgado into turn 1. Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) set the fastest lap of the race at this point and going well running in 11th having started the race in 19th.

We had a lead group of 11 riders at this early stage in the race and it was anyone’s guess as to who could take command of the Grand Prix. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) had a disaster in qualifying but not today, going from 18th to 7th in the race at this point.

Through the first 3rd of the race, Holgado lead from Alonso 2nd and Fernandez in 3rd. We still had a lead group of 11 riders all not letting Holgado pull away in this one. Holgado set the pace but with itchy riders behind it was shaping up to be another Moto3 classic. With the length of the start straight being a kilometre long it’s always difficult for a leader to pull away.

Both Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) went down at turn 13 with Farioli having a big high side in the incident. Farioli clearly hurt after that impact.

Furusato now up to 6th place with 11 laps to go and continued to climb to the front. Yellow flags in sector 3 and 4 would keep Furusato at bay at least for the next few corners.

Towards half race distance now and Furusato looked on another level and took the lead for the first time of the race from 18th on the grid. Holgado took back the lead from Furusato at turn 10 and Furusato lead the Grand Prix for just 4 corners. Into the final corner of lap 8, Riccardo Rossi (CIP Green Power) dove up the inside of Fernandez into the podium position only for Fernandez to get him back into turn 1.

7 laps to go and the battle was no where near finished as every rider behind the leader were fighting in an overtaking melee. We were all set for another Moto3 classic.

Furusato lost the rear and 2 places and dropped back to 4th. Swapped places with Fernandez and outside of the podium places as we headed into turn 1 with 5 laps to go.

3 laps to go and Holgado still lead from Alonso 2nd, Fernandez 3rd and Furusato in 4th. It was still anyone’s guess as to who was going to win this race. Furusato up the inside of both Alonso and Fernandez up into 2nd at turn 1.

With the slipstream not having much of an impact on the leader on the start straight, the race was all hanging on who would lead out of turn 16 on the last lap. At this stage we still had a lead group of 10 riders.

2 laps to go, Furusato and Alonso went by Holgado into turn 1, only for Holgado to squeeze through the pair of them into turn 2. As Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets MSI) crashed out in sector 2, Holgado hung onto the lead from Furusato 2nd and Alonso in 3rd.

Alonso towards the end of lap 15 went from 3rd to 6th with Rossi, Fernandez and Vicente Perez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) getting by the Columbian in the last sector of the lap.

THE LAST LAP

Into turn 1 and Holgado clung onto the lead with Furusato 2nd and Rossi in 3rd. Alonso started his charge back to the front moving up to 4th as disaster struck for Perez and Fernandez crashing out on the last lap of the race.

Turn 10 and Alonso picked his spot perfectly to get by Rossi. With the momentum into turn 11,  Alonso was in full attack mode blasting his way up the inside of Furusato. Alonso into 2nd now gunning for Holgado and the race victory.

Towards the final corner into turn 16, Alonso made his move and went by Holgado to take the first win of the 2024 season. Incredible from David Alonso and the Aspar team garage went bonkers and rightly so. To start the lap in 6th place and to go onto win it in the last corner was outstanding.

What a start to the 2024 Moto3 championship! What a win for David Alonso!

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

Race Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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