HHC Motorsport made a dream start to life with McLaren by winning their first race as a partnership courtesy of Dean MacDonald and Callum Pointon.
The duo were a feature at the front for the entire race having managed to split the leading Multimatic Racing Ford Mustangs of Jade Buford and Scott Maxwell, the Mustangs having been dominant on Saturday during qualifying.
Maxwell and teammate Seb Priaulx would go on to have dramas that would drop the fast Ford back through the order during the second stint as Maxwell went through the gravel after contact and Priaulx spun into the wall while on a comeback trail.
Buford and Chad McCumbee also dropped back as Mustang dominance on Saturday gave way to all-conquering McLarens in Race One on Monday morning.
The Tolman McLaren of James Dorlin and Lewis Smith took second place after an eventful run that included contact with the sister car of Jordan Collard. Collard and Lewis Proctor would retire from second on the penultimate lap after catching fire while challenging for the lead.
The second HHC McLaren of Luke Williams and Tom Jackson was third ahead of McCumbee and Butford, while Josh Price and Patrick Kibble of TF Sport were the highest placed Aston Martin in fifth position.
Matt George and Steve McCulley were the Pro/Am category winners in the Invictus Racing Jaguar ahead of Martin Plowman and Kelvin Fletcher, the former passing Plowman’s Beechdean Aston Martin late on to steal victory in class.
Rick Parfitt Junior and Seb Morris took a popular victory in the opening round of the season after an eventful start to the race on JRM’s British GT debut.
Phil Keen and Adam Balon were second as the lead two cars were in a class of their own, before Bradley Ellis and Ollie Wilkinson held off Jonny Cocker and Sam De Haan.
The two Century Motorsport BMWs driven Ben Green/Dominic Paul and Jack Mitchell/Adrian Willmott were next ahead of Jonny Adam/Graham Davidson and Adam Christodoulou/Richard Neary.
Rounding out the GT3 finishers were Marco Sorensen/Andrew Howard and Nicki Thiim/Mark Farmer, the latter spinning early on and unable to make inroads thereafter.
Drama found the British GT series as early as the second lap when Ryan Ratcliffe’s optimistic move on polesitter Iain Loggie had predictable consequences, the Scotsman spun around and both drivers left out of the race after just two minutes.
A lengthy clean up operation saw the Safety Car out for over ten minutes, and Parfitt was able to capitalise on his inherited lead having passed Sam De Haan at the start.
Parfitt was able to pull out a lead of over four seconds over De Haan, who had the attentions of both Century Motorsport BMWs of Paul and Willmott to contend with for much of the opening stint.
While almost all of the GT3 competitors pitted as soon as possible, Parfitt allowed an extra lap to avoid traffic in a tight Oulton Park pit lane. De Haan found out to his cost how tight the pit lane can be, as he lost several positions when handing over to teammate Cocker.
Cocker would pressurise the Aston Martin of Bradley Ellis for the duration of their second stint for third place to little avail at a narrow and twisty Oulton Park, with third place through to ninth covered by five seconds.
With live coverage finally in our neck of the woods, available on YouTube rather than a suspect stream, there’s every reason to be watching Super Formula this season. And if today’s first round at Suzuka, one of the all-time great Grand Prix circuits, was anything to go by, with Nick Cassidy storming through the field to win and attrition aplenty, it’ll be worth getting into.
The race started with Tadasuke Makino, formerly of F2, cementing his lead ahead of the battling Alex Palou. The opening laps remained fairly static, with few successful moves until Lap 7, when Cassidy, who qualified 12th, pitted for soft tyres. This would turn out to be a masterstroke, as only a few laps later, both 18 year old debutant Tristan Charpentier and stalwart Ryo Hirakawa went off at 130R and into the barriers, bringing out the first safety car.
This was where the madness kicked in. Palou, who had been straining to get past Makino at the start, was slapped with a drive-through penalty and served it just before the Safety Car was deployed, but the field bunching up did alleviate some of the damage. Dan Ticktum was slow to get into his pit box due to his Mugen team double-stacking, and a mechanic even acrobatically jumped over Cassidy’s car to change the wheels as quickly as possible.
The famous Super Formula pitstop…watch the front tyre changer closely.
Yuhi Sekiguchi’s car appeared to momentarily stop in the pitlane before he was able to get it going, but a lap later he pulled back into the pits and became the third of what would turn out to be a long list of retirees. Meanwhile, Cassidy was on the charge, his perfectly-timed pitstop jumping him up into 5th before he dispatched first Makino then Yuji Kunimoto to place himself 3rd. Shortly after, the safety car was out again: Kazuki Nakajima beached his TOM’S Toyota into the Degner 1 gravel, with a distracted Harrison Newey then following him into retirement at Degner 2.
Five retirements within 15 laps just signals the frantic drama Super Formula is good for, and a second safety car three laps later when Hiroaki Ishiura pulled into the pits and Palou’s machine gave up on him only furthered that point. From then on, Cassidy was into a prime position to win a race which looked for all the world yesterday evening to be an exercise in damage limitation. Kamui Kobayashi, the on-track leader, would have to pit again to use a different compound.
A third safety car was brought out this time by Makino, who’s car suffered a right-rear wheel nut failure and sent him into the gravel beside the run up to 130R. Makino would prove, finally, to be the last of the retirements, but there were still twists and turns up the road with Kobayashi trying to find the perfect slot to pit in, Cassidy managing to keep within arms’ reach, and the others jostling for podium/lower positions. Ticktum began to fall down the field, his airbox lighting glowing red (this signals a lack of attack mode – versus green for full, and blue for halfway used) and tyres appearing to be spent.
The final laps proved to be the killer for Kobayashi’s hopes of a strong finish. The late Safety Cars prevented the ex-Sauber F1 driver from banking a good result on a happy hunting ground for him, finishing tenth. Cassidy took the on-track lead on the final lap, and Kenta Yamashita was kept at bay in the end by Naoki Yamamoto, last season’s title winner. Cassidy lost that title by a point, but already, he’s taken first blood and cemented a troubling marker for his rivals.
image courtesy of Ferrari F1 Team – Photogallery – Bahrain Grand Prix 2019
Sebastian Vettel topped the FP2 timesheets under the Bahrain lights, leading his Scuderia teammate Charles Leclerc by less than a tenth of a second. Mercedes found themselves six tenths away, while Renault impressed, Red Bull held back and Williams showed signs of improvement.
After the smokescreen of disappointment Ferrari waded through in Melbourne, the evening rays of Bahrain gave light to a much better scenario for them – almost a second separated them from the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, the man who had his hands on the trophy they so expected to collect.
They topped the initial runs during FP1, with the new boy Charles Leclerc leading his established teammate Sebastian Vettel by +0.407. The Toro Rosso duo of Daniil Kvyat, development driver for the Scuderia a year ago, and Alexander Albon were able to show their pace, giving hope a similar result to Pierre Gasly’s miracle 4th place last year may not be so far away.
Kimi Raikkonen was the first of a handful of drivers to be caught out at Turn 2 on cold tyres, losing grip and entering the dreaded pirouette while trying to plant the power needed for the straight ahead. When he was able to get in a lap, Kimi found himself only three tenths away from the ‘best of the rest’ before steadily dropping down the times as the other midfield teams got up to speed.
Pierre Gasly’s nightmare Australian GP weekend is behind him, but FP2 suggested he still has a way to go before the RB15 package is dialled up to his liking. He was 7 tenths away from Max Verstappen, who found himself bested by the Renault. Red Bull’s pace could prove to be misleading come Saturday but there is certainly still work to do.
Renault put out a real warning to the other teams challenging for 4th, challenging Haas with impressive single timed laps and longer runs. Nico Hulkenberg found himself leading Daniel Ricciardo by 1.2 seconds for most of the session, getting within two tenths of Bottas and further demonstrating the ever-shortening gap between the top teams and challengers in F1 2019.
The Williams, while still slowest, did look to have made improvements compared to their sobering experience in Albert Park, George Russell able to get within just a tenth of Giovinazzi on a 1:31:904. Robert Kubica continued to lag behind his teammate, to the tune of a second, but was not using DRS during his laps for an unknown reason.
Vettel would go on to get ahead of his Monegasque teammate, before following his old teammate Raikkonen’s lead in spinning at Turn 2, overloading the rear tyres but able to continue. Ferrari’s ominous Friday pace serves as a stark warning to the Mercedes team, and Toto Wolff’s nervousness about their predicament, so often mocked by the paddock and fans, could well prove to be genuine.
Formula One is back with a bang, and Albert Park’s two days of running have culminated in a scattergun grid, topped by Lewis Hamilton.image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports.
The five time World Champion picked up his stellar form from 2018’s end, landing his sixth consecutive pole in Melbourne and, surprisingly, scorching the tipped favourites Ferrari on one lap pace.
The session started with a twist – 1st to 18th were separated by just a second, and when Red Bull newbie Pierre Gasly didn’t show in the final minutes, he surfed down the order to 17th.
Lance Stroll joined him in the Q1 dropzone, as did an unlucky Carlos Sainz, who found his final sector to be compromised by a limping Robert Kubica who had moments ago brushed the wall and picked up a puncture. Kubica and his teammate George Russell endured a nightmare, their Williams over a second away from the nearest car.
Q2 saw many new, and returning, faces still in the hunt. Daniil Kvyat’s impressive return to the frontline ultimately earned him 15th place, while his teammate Alexander Albon placed his Toro Rosso a more than respectable 13th on his first qualifying outing.
The home boy, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, didn’t have the session he had hoped for: general consensus was that the Renault is the 4th quickest package, but neither he nor Nico Hulkenberg were able to extract it and line up 11th and 12th, the German getting first blood.
The two extremes of the F1 grid, 19 year old Lando Norris and 39 year old Kimi Raikkonen both stole the show in the midfield, to earn a McLaren and Sauber representation in Q3.
Norris ended the final session in eighth place, marking an admirable U-turn from the dismal form McLaren had the season prior, while Raikkonen achieved a solid 9th. Sergio Perez brought up the rear, while once again the Haas package looks strong around Albert Park, with Romain Grosjean 6th and Kevin Magnussen 7th.
But it was Hamilton who ultimately stole the show – while Valtteri Bottas had the initial time to beat, he came back with a splendid lap on the edge that showed while the Mercedes might be a nervy car to drive, the pace is there in abundance.
Bottas lines up second on the grid, with Sebastian Vettel behind in 3rd and an opportunistic Max Verstappen completing the second row, ahead of Charles Leclerc.
We’re all familiar with the greats of the sport, but which countries can boast the best record on the track? Select Car Leasing analysed how many drivers from each country have taken part in F1 and WRC and compared that total to each nation’s population size, per every 1m citizens. The stats revealed some big surprises.
Select Car Leasing
Key Findings
– The UK loves the track…with the second-best F1 participation rate, behind only Switzerland
– Just 5 nations have won a title in both F1 and WRC… which includes the UK, Finland, Italy, Spain and France
– The UK and US represent almost half of the total motorsport participants since 1950… featuring a combined total of 418 drivers
– The F1 bug hasn’t yet reached China and India… Despite a combined population of 2.7 billion citizens, they’ve had just two professional drivers
– Where Winter bites WRC is popular… Estonia, Sweden, Norway and Finland lead the line for participation
– Estonia falling at the final hurdle… despite huge participation, the country is yet to win a professional WRC title.
When thinking about which drivers and countries dominate motorsport, some of the first people to come to mind are Germany’s Michael Schumacher, the UK’s Lewis Hamilton and France’s Alain Prost. However, while these drivers have helped establish significant interest in their countries, there are several smaller nations that continue to contribute to the Formula 1 (F1) and World Rally Championship (WRC) circuit. These have made a massive impact on both sports and created huge excitement in some of the world’s lesser-known provinces. At Select Car Leasing, we wanted to make sure the little guys aren’t forgotten.
Which Nations Dominate F1?
Select Car Leasing
*All population data is from 2017 except Rhodesia (1978) and East Germany (1990).
The UK, US and Italy have dominated the circuit since F1’s inaugural year in 1950, featuring a combined total of 418 drivers. That figure is nearly half of the overall total of drivers that have taken part in the competition, which currently stands at 853. This perhaps isn’t surprising given the size and the relative popularity of F1 in these countries. However, when looking at participation rate compared to population the true hotbeds of the sport are revealed, with Switzerland steaming ahead of the competition, having had 2.9 drivers for every 1m citizens.
Europe enjoys huge dominance for participation, with eight of the top ten nations from the region, demonstrating that F1 still has some way to go before becoming a truly global sport. The United Kingdom isn’t far behind the Swiss with 2.4 drivers for every 1m citizens and they’re followed by Belgium and New Zealand Monaco has a very large participation rate in F1 with a total of 5 drivers competing in its history, despite only having a population size of 39,000 people. China and India have a combined population of 2.7 billion citizens but have remarkably managed just two professional drivers in F1 between them.
Out of a total of 40 nations that have competed in the sport, only 13 of these countries are home to a Driver’s Championship winner. The undeniable Kings of F1 are the UK and Germany, with a combined total of 32 wins out of a possible 69. There has also never been a nation of under 5.5m citizens that has won a Championship. Finland remains the smallest country to have produced a driver which has claimed this coveted prize.
Which Nations are the most Successful in F1?
Select Car Leasing
Which Nations Dominate WRC?
Select Car Leasing
*All population data is from 2017 except Soviet Union (1991), West Germany (1990), East Germany (1990) and Yugoslavia (1991).
Since it was formed in 1973, the WRC has had 1,056 drivers take part in the competition. In terms of participation rate compared to population, Estonia comes out on top with 15.2 WRC drivers throughout its history, per 1m citizens, while Argentina has had the most drivers in total but is eclipsed by the Estonians due to its vastly superior population size
Understandably, WRC is very popular with Scandinavian countries and any nation which endures harsh winters. Finland, Sweden and Norway all feature in the top 10 of participants. The alpine slopes and harsh conditions in these countries make them excellent proving grounds for rally drivers.
Select Car LeasingSelect Car Leasing
After only winning one WRC Championship in their history, France has now won the previous 15 in a sport largely dominated by Finland. Although France now has 16 victories compared to Finland’s 14, Finland is still streets ahead of the competition in terms of win rate by population, with one victory for every 400,000 citizens. In the UK, interest is perhaps directly reflected by skill level in F1 and WRC, with the former enjoying much better coverage and support across the British Isles. As a result, one in 5.5m people in the UK has won an F1 title, in comparison to a staggering one in 33m for WRC. Since being reunified in 1990, Germany has not had a winner of WRC despite West Germany winning twice in 1980.
Which Countries Dominate Both Motorsports?
Intriguingly, the overlap between F1 and WRC seems relatively minimal. Only 5 nations have won a title in both; the UK, Finland, Italy, Spain and France. While F1 and WRC draw many similarities and often similar audiences, it’s clear that the sports enjoy markedly different support bases across the world.
And participation rate doesn’t always quite match up with wins, Estonia and Switzerland lead the way in the respective sports but, shockingly, neither has ever claimed a championship victory.
If you would like to know more about the influence of certain nations in motorsport, Select Car Leasing have you covered. Our previous piece focused on the contribution of Finland to motorsport and showed how they are consistently punching above their weight for their population size. It’s available to view here.
[Select Car Leasing’s original article can be found here: https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk/news/which-nations-dominate-f1-wrc.html]
The 2019 F1 season is almost upon us, with winter testing starting in a couple of weeks and the Australian Grand Prix commencing next month. It’s the perfect time for five early predictions, some of which are pretty long shots.
1. Charles Leclerc will take three wins
Ferrari has a new kid on the block. Charles Leclerc spent his rookie season at Sauber, but from 2019 it’s time for his dream to come true. That could prove to be immensely stressful for the young Monegasque, but he may rise to the occasion and even take some wins. If Ferrari is at least on the same level as it was in 2018, then Leclerc could be able to snatch one, two, or even threewins in his first season with a big team, cementing his position at Maranello and proving his talent once again.
2. Nico Hulkenberg will take his first podium
It’s something of a mystery how Nico Hulkenberg, a driver who has been in teams with podium potential, has never finished in the top three. But, with Renault constantly improving and with a bit of luck (after all, it is needed as well), the Hulk could finally take that podium finish he truly deserves.
Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Renault Sport F1 Team on the grid. German Grand Prix, Sunday 22nd July 2018. Hockenheim, Germany.
3. Red Bull-Honda will not be in the top three
The all-new collaboration between Red Bull and Honda is one of the hottest topics ahead of the new season, and rightfully so. Honda has proven to be a bit of a ‘wild one’, especially on the reliability front, and Red Bull could be its next victim. Everyone acknowledges the fact that Red Bull is great in designing an aerodymanically efficient car (Adrian Newey is still the best out there), but this could not be enough for them to stay in the top three. Maybe Renault could step up…
4. Alfa Romeo Racing will be in the top five
The Alfa Romeo-Sauber collaboration worked out perfectly for both sides during the 2018 campaign, with the team finishing seventh in the final standings. Now, with the all-new Alfa Romeo branding, Kimi Raikkonen on board and excellent technical staff, the prospect of them finishing in the top five is not such an absurd thought. After all, the backing from ‘sister’ team Ferrari is certain and could prove vital.
Charles Leclerc, Alfa Romeo Sauber C37 at Formula One World Championship, Rd20, Brazilian Grand Prix, Race, Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday 11 November 2018.
5. Mercedes will not be champions
Finally, the most bold of these predictions sees Mercedes not taking its sixth world championship in a row as a constryctor. Maybe Lewis Hamilton will be the drivers’ champion, but his team may be hurt by Valtteri Bottas’ incompetence. Ferrari has, on paper at least, a strong line-up, and so does Red Bull and Renault (if we count the French team as a real threat), so Mercedes is really on the ropes on this one.
Less than 40 days remain until the season opener in Albert Park, and the nine-month journey around the world begins for the F1 circus.
With their two drivers occupying the two spots in the race, BMW i Andretti seemed set for another dominant victory in Marrakesh. Despite not taking pole, Antonio Felix da Costa and Alexander Sims swept through the field, taking advantage of Sam Bird and Jean-Eric Vergne’s opening lap clash. However, seven minutes from the chequered flag, the two BMWs collided into one another, sending Da Costa out of the race and Sims limping out of the podium positions. Mahindra’s Jerome D’Ambrosio took advantage of the clash to claim his third win of Formula E, and his first that did not involve disqualification.
Da Costa took first blood in the first qualifying group with an impressive 1.17.950, narrowly beating out Vergne. Lotterer also looked set to challenge the BMW, but a mistake in turn 7 left him in a lowly P5. As track conditions improved, Nissan’s Sebastien Buemi snatched the top spot away, forcing his way comfortably into superpole. Audi looked competitive initially, but both drivers made crucial mistakes in the final sector, leaving them out of the top six spots.
In contrast, their customer team Virgin Racing continued with their impressive form throughout the weekend as Sam Bird claimed P1 and Robin Frijns edged into P6. However, there was further drama in the pitlane as the NIO of Tom Dillmann ended up clattering into both Virgin cars, causing damage to their diffusers. The final group did little to trouble Bird and Buemi, with the exception of Sims who scored his first superpole appearance to the expense of Pascal Wehrlein on his maiden race with Mahindra.
Vergne managed to post the fastest time of qualifying so far in superpole, his time of 1.17.535 was enough to dispatch Mitch Evans from the top spot. Da Costa ended up less than a tenth of a second behind Vergne, with his teammate Sims performing well to slot in behind the championship leader. However, it was Sam Bird who clinched the all-important top spot and the valuable three points to kickstart his season.
Credit: Alastair Staley / LAT Images
The chaos started early as Vergne collided with Bird at the start as the pair duelled for the lead. The contact sent Vergne’s Techeetah to the back of the grid, forcing the current champion to force his way back through the pack. In the fracas of the opening lap, Buemi dropped from third back to thirteenth, whilst Sims was able to pick up second place, just behind his teammate da Costa who had started sixth after a penalty for energy overuse. Lotterer, who was also suffering from a penalty that relegated him to the back, slowly climbed the ranks as did the Audi of di Grassi, but not before collecting Wehrlein and sending the German out of the race. HWA’s bad luck also continued as Paffett and Vandoorne both collided in the opening lap, sending the former out of the race with a puncture.
Da Costa soon dispatched of Sims before snatching the lead away from a struggling Bird on the tenth lap. Sims followed his teammate through and the pair began to pull away from the chasing Virgin cars and the lone Mahindra of D’Ambrosio who managed to bypass a sleeping di Grassi and Bird shortly afterwards. The Techeetah cars of Vergne and Lotterer too began to gain ground, with the pair occupying P8 and P9 with under twenty minutes left on the clock.
Credit: Sam Bloxham/ LAT Images
The lead that the two leading BMWs built up soon disappeared as many cars began to use up their mandatory attack modes, and on lap 25, Sims decided to attempt to snatch the lead away from his teammate. However, team principal Mark Preston could only look on in horror as the two banged wheels, colliding and sending Da Costa into the barriers, along with the chance of the team’s first ever 1-2. Sims climbed back into P4 as D’Ambrosio inherited the lead ahead of the Virgin cars of Frijns and Bird. Da Costa’s stricken car summoned the only safety car of the entire race. Like in Ad Diriyah, the drivers with one attack mode remaining seemed to be at an advantage, including the two Techeetahs of Vergne and Lotterer, and the lone BMW of Sims sitting behind the podium positions, who all hoped to use their last line of attack to climb the standings.
However, Da Costa’s car remained on the track as the clock ticked down and only one lap remained when the safety car period ended. Despite most of the cars running out of their attack mode whilst following the safety car, D’Ambrosio and Frijns engaged in a thrilling duel until the finish line with the Dutchman finishing only 0.143s behind D’Ambrosio, who continued in his excellent form, propelling him to the top of the championship. Bird finished in the final podium position, followed by Sims who managed to hold off the dual attack of Vergne and Lotterer.
W Series ambassador David Coulthard wants the all-female championship to be a springboard into a professional racing career for more women.
The six-round series will support the DTM across Europe this season and will see 18-20 drivers, who will be selected based on their racing record, competing for a $1.5m prize fund, with the winner earning $500,000.
Coulthard, who won 13 Formula One Grands Prix, feels the championship can help women progress further up the motorsport ladder.
“If we create a platform that puts more professional women into motorsport, being paid to compete at whatever level that happens to be, then this will have played its part.
“Hopefully this will create more of that aspirational route where women can look at it and say “If I can get to W Series level, show my skills and win the championship, I’m not paying for this and getting a prize fund, a $500,000 cheque for the winner, and go on to the next level.”
The series launched in the autumn of last year and Coulthard hopes that the attention received from the media and the general public can change the perception that motorsports is not for women.
“Motorsport’s always been open to boys and girls at karting level to men and women so hopefully this series will with the help of media like yourself, put more of a spotlight on that. There will inevitably be a big interest in the six races in the championship, a big interest in the winner and hopefully that creates more of a focus and an opportunity for the general public to say “it isn’t largely about men, it’s largely about everyone.” If we can do that and have more professional female racing drivers, I think that’s great.”
The 47-year-old Scotsman says the series had in mind female drivers that had struggled to secure sponsorship and clearing the route to professional careers for women.
“Obviously there are questions over whether it’s segregation in as much that there’s only women in the championship, I can understand that question, but we see this as a platform and an opportunity on an aspirational level for families trying to make that decision where there has been a much clearer route from amateur to professional for boys and men compared to for girls and women.
“For sure the existing route has only allowed a few women to come through and make professional careers, and some of them have come from quite fortunate backgrounds. Money in motorsport has often spoken. We want to neutralize the need for families to be wealthy because you don’t pay to enter W, you enter on the basis of incredible talent and being selected.”
Coulthard, who drove for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull in a 14-year Formula One career, was prepared for a mixed reaction but feels critics should accept the series provides an opportunity for others.
“In life people have opinions, I’m prepared for that every day of my life. I take a view that I don’t agree with everyone does in life but as long as they’re not breaking the law, I admire people who have the courage of their convictions and a goal and they work towards that goal. What I always find a little disappointing, with the reaction to W Series and everything else in life, where someone says “That’s not how I would have done it, therefore I don’t believe in that way of doing it and I don’t think anyone should do that,” because they haven’t done it that way, they think that nobody should do it that way.
“When you take that into other areas of the world we live in, that becomes quite dangerous in some ways. The reality is, for those who have come up a different route and don’t see this as an aspirational route, I respect their point of view, but please allow others the opportunity that they may not have been afforded before, to explore this route into professional racing. Time will tell whether this is a credible and sustainable route to bringing more women into motorsport.”
Can Oncu, Moto3. Photo curtesy of Red Bull KTM Ajo
After a whirlwind last Moto3 race of 2018 in Valencia, Can Oncu solidified his place on the grid with an impressive debut and a record-breaking win. The 15-year-old Turk became the youngest GP winner and the first Turkish winner of a GP, smashing many more records along the way. Winner of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (with his twin brother Deniz securing second place) and finishing 24th(out of 36) in the Moto3 standings after only one race – the trophy cabinet will be well stocked in the Oncu household after this year. Oncu’s 2018 might have ended in spectacular style, but his 2019 season will continue with Red Bull KTM Ajo as he races for the Finnish team in Moto3 and chases down even more podium finishes. A new flurry of Moto3 riders will be filling the grid in 2019, as Jorge Martin, Fabio di Giannantonio, Marco Bezzecchi, Nicolo Bulega and Enea Bastianini all head for debut Moto2 seasons. However, the Turk will have competition from Aron Canet, Gabriel Rodrigo and Lorenzo Dalla Porta, as well as newer riders like Celestino Vietti. Jade du Preez put some questions to the youngster, to find out how you celebrate such a historic win, and what’s next for the rookie to accomplish.
Jade du Preez: How do you feel after your first win?
Can Oncu: I really wanted race with Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi before they went to Moto2. I was lucky and my wish was fulfilled. Martin was my favourite all year long. That I can get involved in the front I spotted FP2 and FP3 and after qualification it was clear. Martin and Bezzecchi brought a very good performance all year. I was very surprised that I won. When I heard after the race that I had broken some records I could not believe it – the youngest Moto3 rider of all time, the youngest Moto3 rider to win a race, and more. Everyone from the paddock congratulated me. Except from the north pole and south pole, congratulations were sent to me from all over the world. The feeling of happiness is really indescribable. I thank everyone who supports me.
JdP: What are your goals for 2019 since you’ve already won a race?
CO: I know that I am not perfect, that I still have much to learn and I try hard to do so. Aki Ajo and my race team help me and my brother. I will try to be in the top 10 at the end of the year.
JdP: How did you celebrate your win in Valencia? Did you cheat on your diet, hangout with friends, etc.?
CO: I was celebrating with my entire team and eating delicious food in Valencia. I do not like alcohol, I like fruit juices. When I arrived at home in Alanya I was immediately visited by many friends and suddenly we had a party.
