Tag: #Seasonpreview

  • Extreme E Season 2: All You Need to Know

    With Extreme E’s second season kicking off in NEOM, Saudi Arabia this weekend, here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming season.

    Picture courtesy of Extreme.E

    A New Challenger:

    Car and racing giant McLaren has entered Extreme E for the championship’s second season. The Woking based team have become just the second car manufacturer to participate in the series, after ABT Cupra joined in Season 1.

    Speaking at the car launch, sporting director Mark Grain said: “This is about as different as it gets from other racing series, and it is going to be a huge learning experience in terms of the different terrains in which we race as well as the environmental challenges these parts of the world face.”

    Driver Musical Chairs:

    Over the off-season the teams have been busy signing up the drivers they believe can deliver them the title this coming season.

    One of the most notable swaps was at reigning champions Rosberg X Racing (RXR). The German team decided they did not want to keep their winning team and asked swede Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky to race for them this time around. Molly Taylor, who was previously at RXR, has done a direct swap and joined Ahlin-Kottulinsky’s former team JBXE.

    Previous Xite-Energy driver Christine GZ has replaced the out-going Jamie Chadwick at Veloce Racing, with GZ’s seat at Xite Energy being filled by new-comer Klara Andersson. Unfortunately, Andersson will have to wait for her debut after testing positive for Covid-19. Championship driver Tamara Molinaro will take her place for the Desert X-Prix this weekend.

    Joining GZ at Veloce will be Lance Woolridge. The South-African was Veloce’s reserve driver for much of last season but has been promoted after the team parted ways with Stephane Sarrazin.

    ABT Cupra’s Mattias Ekstrom has also left the series, with four time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah partnering Jutta Kleinschmidt instead.

    However, the driver pairing that drummed up the most excitement was McLaren Extreme E’s. Towards the end of last year the Woking team announced that New Zealander Emma Gilmour would partner American Tanner Foust. Foust has won multiple rally championships and also co-hosted the American Top Gear from 2010-2016. This was a major coup for the team.

    The full driver line-up is as follows:

    Veloce Racing – Christine GZ and Lance Woolridge

    RXR – Johan Kristofferson and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky

    JBXE – Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor

    Andretti United – Katie Munnings and Timmy Hansen

    X44 – Christina Gutierrez and Sebastian Loeb

    Acciona Sainz – Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz

    McLaren Extreme E – Emma Gilmour and Tanner Foust

    Chip Ganassi – Sara Price and Kyle Leduc

    ABT Cupra – Jutta Kleinschmidt and Nasser Al-Attiyah

    Xite Energy – Oliver Bennett and Klara Andersson (Klara Anderson will be replaced by Tamara Molinaro for the Desert X-Prix whilst she recovers from Covid-19).

    Calendar Shake-Up:

    The racing calendar has been switched up a little this year with a combination of returning locations as well as some new ones.

    The first race of the season stays in Saudi Arabia but has been moved from Al-Ula to NEOM. The Desert X-Prix, as it is to be called, will also take place a couple of months earlier this year than the last, meaning temperature won’t be as much of a factor.

    Following the Desert X-Prix, the Island X-Prix will take place in Sardinia, Italy on the 7th-8th May. Extreme E will return to Sardinia after it filled in for the cancelled Amazon X-Prix in 2021.

    The location of the third race of the season is still yet to be decided, with the two main candidates being a return trip to Senegal, or a new location in Scotland. At the time of writing it is due to take place on the 9th-10th July.

    The final two races of the season will be on an entirely new continent for Extreme E. Exploring South America, the all-electric racing series will go to Antofagasta, Chile on the 10th-11th September and Punta del Este, Uruguay on the 26th-27th November.

    The provisional race calendar is as follows:

    19th-20th February Desert X-Prix NEOM, Saudi Arabia
    7th-8th May Island X-Prix Sardinia, Italy
    9th-10th July TBC Scotland/Senegal
    10th-11th September Copper X-Prix Antofagasta, Chile
    26th-27th November Energy X-Prix Punta del Este, Uruguay

    Alternative Format:

    If you’d just got used to Extreme E’s weekend format from last year, they’ve changed it again!

    Qualifying has had a complete make-over for this season with the extra team on the grid causing a few headaches for the organisers.

    Now, qualifying position will be determined by races, with each team being put into one of two five-car heats.  Over the course of qualifying day each heat will run twice, once in each qualifying session. The grids for Qualifying 1 will be set by a lottery draw, whereas the grids in Qualifying 2 will be based on the finishing positions from the previous heats.

    Each heat offers intermediate points (points that do not count towards the championship) 5 through to 1 based on your finishing position of that heat.

    After both Qualifying sessions have been completed, the points are added up and the teams will be ordered from highest to lowest. Any ties on points will be separated by time through the continental traction challenge (which has a greatly diminished role this year).

    The teams placed in first, fourth and fifth will be put into semi final one, whilst teams second, third, and sixth will be placed into semi final two. The bottom four teams will compete in the Crazy Race.

    Finals day remains relatively unchanged, with the top two teams from each semi final and the winner of the crazy race progressing to the final.

    Here’s how championship points will be awarded on finals day:

    1st 25 Points Final 1st Place
    2nd 18 Points Final 2nd Place
    3rd 15 Points Final 3rd Place
    4th 12 Points Final 4th Place
    5th 10 Points Final 5th Place
    6th 8 Points Semi Final 1/2 3rd Place*
    7th 6 Points Semi Final 1/2 3rd Place*
    8th 4 Points Crazy Race 2nd Place
    9th 2 Points Crazy Race 3rd Place
    10th 1 Point Crazy Race 4th Place

    *6th position will be awarded to the semi final 3rd place team with the fastest time through the continental traction challenge.

    Desert X-Prix:

    This weekend sees Extreme E return to Saudi Arabia for its season opener. The different sand conditions at NEOM will provide a tough challenge for the drivers as they try to negotiate the rocks, dunes, and bushes.

    As always, Extreme E is committed to leaving a positive impact wherever it goes. For this race we will see a continuation of last year’s legacy programme, which was aimed at protecting the endangered turtle species.

    With the Ba’a Foundation they have taken on a five-year initiative to help conserve the endangered Green Turtle and the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle. The project hopes to: clean beaches of pollution, build fencing around the beach to protect nesting turtles, improve beach management, and import sand to raise the beach to an appropriate level for nesting. Over the years the levels have sand have decreased along the Red Sea Coast due to sea-level rise and dust storms.

    As with last year you can find out how and when to watch the Desert X-Prix by heading over to Extreme E’s official website. This is sure to be a weekend you won’t want to miss!

  • Moto GP 2022 Season Preview

    Moto GP 2022 Season Preview

    To anyone having withdrawal symptoms from lack of Moto GP.  The wait will soon be over as the new Moto GP season is fast approaching but what do we know about it so far?

    The 2022 championship calendar:

    Where

    Track

    Date

    Qatar

    Grand Prix of Qatar

    6th March 2022

    Indonesia

    GP of Indonesia

    20th March 2022

    Argentina

    Grand Prix Michelin de Republica Argentina

    3rd April 2022

    United States of America

    Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas

    10th April 2022

    Portugal

    Grand Prix of Portugal

    24th April 2022

    Spain

    Grand Prix Red Bull of Espania

    1st May 2022

    France

    Shark Helmets Grand Prix of France

    15th May 2022

    Italy

    Grand Prix d’Italia Oakley

    29th May 2022

    Spain

    Grand Prix Monster Energy de Catalunya

    5th June 2022

    Germany

    Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

    19th June 2022

    Netherlands

    Motul TT Assen

    26th June 2022

    Finland

    Grand Prix of Finland

    10th July 2022

    Great Britain

    Monster Energy British GP

    7th August 2022

    Austria

    Mottorrad GP Von Osterreich

    21st August 2022

    Italy

    Grand Prix di San Marino e delle Riviera di Rimini

    4th September 2022

    Spain

    Grand Prix de Aragon

    18th September 2022

    Japan

    Motul Grand Prix of Japan

    25th September 2022

    Thailand

    Thailand Grand Prix

    2nd October 2022

    Australia

    Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix

    16th October 2022

    Malaysia

    Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix

    23rd October 2022

    Spain

    Grand Prix Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana

    6th November 2022

    (Circuits, dates and names correct on date of writing but may be subject to change)

    The teams and riders:

    Team

    Riders

    Riders Numbers

    Yamaha

    Fabio Quartararo

    Franco Morbidelli

    20 (1)

    21

    Lenovo Ducati

    Francesco Bagnaia

    Jack Miller

    63

    43

    Repsol Honda

    Marc Marquez

    Pol Espargaro

    93

    44

    Suzuki

    Joan Mir

    Alex Rins

    36

    42

    Aprilia

    Aleix Espargaro

    Maverick Vinales

    41

    12

    Red Bull KTM

    Brad Binder

    Miguel Oliveira

    33

    88

    Pramac Ducati

    Johann Zarco

    Jorge Martin

    5

    89

    LCR Honda

    Takaaki Nakagami

    Alex Marquez

    30

    73

    Yamaha (With U)

    Andrea Dovizioso

    Darryn Binder

    04

    40

    Tech 3 KTM

    Remy Gardner

    Raul Fernandez

    87

    25

    VR46

    Luca Marini

    Marco Bezzecchi

    10

    72

    GR

    Enea Bastiannini

    Fabio De Giannantonio

    23

    49

    There are some new names listed above for the Moto GP 2022 championship:

    • The Moto 2 Champion – Remy Gardner will be riding for KTM as will Raul Fernandez.
    • Brad Binder’s brother – Darryn will be racing for (With U) Yamaha.
    Andrea Dovisioso and Darryn Binder’s bikes. Courtesy of Moto GP Twitter page.
    • Marco Bezzecchi will be the pilot for new team VR46.
    • Fabio De Giannantonio will be on the GR bike.
    Enea Bastiannini and Fabio De Giannantonioi. Image courtesy of: Moto GP Twitter page

    Some new teams are also listed above:

    VR46 (Valentino Rossi’s team), GR (Gresini Racing) and With U Yamaha (was Petronas Yamaha).

    Other news:

    Marc Marquez fans will be jumping for joy at the big announcement that he is finally fit enough to start testing (which has already started – 5th February). This means he should be back for the new season starting in Qatar. He has been cleared of Diplopia for the second time in his career and his shoulder/ arm should be healed as well. As of February, it was the first time he has ridden his Repsol Honda since October 2021.

    This year also marks the first year in 26 years that The Doctor won’t be present in a Moto GP race. However, his team VR46 will be racing, with Brother Marini and new rider Bezzecchi.

    One man may have left Yamaha but one man has remained – Cal Crutchlow has been confirmed to stay as their official test rider for 2022 and 2023.

    Something to keep an eye out for, will be Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller who will be racing in the iconic ‘Ducati Red’ for the first time in Moto GP.

    As for the tracks, Catalunya – turn 4 has a new run-off area and Circuit of the Americas is in the final stages of resurfacing, following on from negativity from the riders. Turns 2-10 and 12-16 are being ‘repaved and reinforced’.

    Moto GP will be returning to Indonesia for the first time since 1997, which will be a real treat for old and new fans alike. Riders have recently been testing at the circuit and have provided valuable feedback, which has resulted in surface issues being addressed.

    Beautiful views at the Indonesian circuit. Courtesy of Ducati Moto GP Twitter page.

    Audiences are sure up for some entertainment this year with the insurgence of new faces/ teams and tracks. Will we see Quartararo defend his title? Will we see Mir return to the top spot? Will Marquez be strong enough to fight for the title? Will Bagnaia be fighting again for the championship? Or will there be a new surprise?

    The countdown begins…

     

     

     

    (Featured image: Courtesy of Moto GP website)