INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • V for… virtual! Alex Marquez wins the first ever MotoGP Virtual Race

    V for… virtual! Alex Marquez wins the first ever MotoGP Virtual Race

    The Repsol Honda rider takes the spoils as drama hits early for Quartararo and Viñales

    Paris, 29 March 2020: Repsol Honda Team’s Alex Marquez managed to avoid the chaos around him to clinch an impressive victory on his MotoGP™ debut in Sunday’s first ever Virtual MotoGP™ Race. The inaugural #StayAtHomeGP was filled with thrills and spills as ten MotoGP™ riders put on a show to bring a little light relief and entertainment to a tougher time for many MotoGP™ fans around the world – with more than twenty households connected up behind-the-scenes to make it a reality.

    Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Fabio Quartararo started the race from familiar territory after the Frenchman stormed to pole position in the five-minute qualifying session that preceded the race, a quarter of a second clear of Pramac Racing’s Francesco Bagnaia and over half a second clear of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales, who completed the front row.

    A virtual MotoGP scene, image by MotoGP

    It was then drama from the off as the lights went out, with polesitter Quartararo alongside Viñales, Alex Marquez and Bagnaia on the run into San Donato and the holeshot anyon’e guess. It was Quartararo who ultimately emerged ahead but he was clearly too late on the brakes when the front-end of his Yamaha M1 washed out from beneath him, incredibly and unfortunately taking out 2021 teammate Viñales in the process.

    Alex Marquez and Bagnaia avoided the incident and were able to break clear, with reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) settling into third place after an attempted lunge up the inside by Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir. Further back, Quartararo was fighting back through the field after his spill, up to fifth after getting the better of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and the rookie highsiding in spectacular style whilst trying to get back ahead of the Frenchman…

    As the leading two crossed the start-finish line at the end of the opening lap there was absolutely nothing between them, having already swapped places, and paint, a good few times. Bagnaia would once again dive past Alex Marquez into Turn 1, but the Spaniard responded immediately after as the Italian ran wide.

    Meanwhile, chaos was breaking out behind the leading two. Mir was the first to crash out after getting an almighty shunt from his teammate Rins, of all people, and Quartararo wasn’t too far behind, tucking the front at Turn 1 for the second lap in a row. However, the Frenchman respawned on track… before Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) then rode straight into him and the pair crashed out, dropping the polesitter even further down the order.

    Onto Lap 3 and Alex Marquez was beginning to edge further and further clear of Bagnaia at the front, with the gap starting to stretch to over half a second. The Pramac rider wasn’t throwing in the towel just yet, however. Just behind them, Viñales was recovering well from his earlier incident and had Marc Marquez in his sights after taking advantage of a mistake from Rins to take fourth.

    Alas, Viñales then crashed out after braking too late into Correntaio and running into the gravel trap, the factory Yamaha rider visibly annoyed at himself as he slapped his controller in fury. Seconds later though, Marc Marquez would have a crash of his own, allowing Viñales to blast back ahead of the Repsol Honda and into the final podium place.

    As the pack filtered through to start the penultimate lap, the podium looked decided but there a battle heating up between Marc Marquez and Quartararo for fourth place. The first MM93 vs FQ20 fight of 2020 would unfold with the Frenchman coming out on top thanks to a move at Casanova-Savelli, despite Marquez throwing everything he had into Arrabbiata 1 as he tried to stop the Yamaha man breaking clear…

    Back at the front, Alex Marquez kept his nerve on the final lap to take victory by over seven seconds, joined on the podium by Bagnaia and Viñales. Quartararo ended up fourth, despite setting the fastest lap of the race with his final lap, with Marc Marquez completing the top five. Rins came out on top in the battle of the Suzuki teammates after he took sixth, ahead of Mir in seventh, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Lecuona and Espargaro completing the top ten.

    An incredible and historic #StayAtHomeGP had pretty much everything: crashes, clashes and a rookie taking the victory! The good news is we don’t have to wait long for the next Virtual MotoGP™ installment either, with a handful of other premier class stars getting their chance to shine in the coming weeks…

  • 7 UK-based F1 teams start Project Pitlane, to make ventilators

    7 UK-based F1 teams start Project Pitlane, to make ventilators

    Silverstone, 27 March 2020: As confirmed on Friday by The UK Government, during the past two weeks a collective of seven UK-based Formula 1 teams,* their respective technology arms and Formula 1 has made significant progress in defining and coordinating its response to the UK Government’s call for assistance with the manufacture of medical devices to help in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
    The seven teams’ combined efforts, termed ‘Project Pitlane’, are part of a UK industry-wide effort to manufacture and deliver respiratory devices to support the national need.
    Following decisions taken this week by the UK Government, Project Pitlane is focussed on three workstreams. These workstreams vary in scope from reverse engineering existing medical devices, to support in scaling the production of existing ventilator designs as part of the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, to the rapid design and prototype manufacture of a new device for certification and subsequent production.
    In each instance, Project Pitlane will pool the resources and capabilities of its member teams to greatest effect, focusing on the core skills of the F1 industry: rapid design, prototype manufacture, test and skilled assembly. F1’s unique ability to rapidly respond to engineering and technological challenges allows the group to add value to the wider engineering industry’s response.
    The focus of Project Pitlane will now be on coordinating and answering the clear challenges that have been set. The seven teams remain ready to support in other areas requiring rapid, innovative technology responses to the unique challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    F1 teams to support Covid supplies through Project Pitlane. A Sahara Force India image for representative purpose only
  • BWT Racing Point F1 Team Update from Otmar Szafnauer

    BWT Racing Point F1 Team Update from Otmar Szafnauer

    Silverstone, 26 March 2020: In an unprecedented time for the sport, Otmar Szafnauer provides an update on Racing Point F1 team’s current state of play
    Otmar, it’s been a difficult few weeks – not just for motorsport, but communities across the globe. How is morale in the team?
    “Our first concern at a time like this is the physical and mental wellbeing of our team-mates, their families and friends. We have everybody back home in the UK now and adjusting to this new reality – but it’s certainly not easy for anybody. We’re obviously disappointed not to be able to race for the foreseeable future but, ultimately, we all understand the significance of the situation. The challenges the world is currently facing are unlike anything I’ve known in my lifetime and clearly transcend the sport, so the decisions that have been made are the correct ones.”
    Is the factory still operational at this point?
    “In light of the latest guidance from the UK Government we shut down on Wednesday evening, our doors will be closed for at least three weeks. As things currently stand – and it’s important to stress that this is a constantly evolving situation – we’ll be returning to work on Thursday 16 April. We’ve also worked extremely hard over the last few weeks to ensure that all staff who can work from home have the equipment they need to set up home offices.”
    Racing Point F1 team image
    How will this affect preparations for 2021?
    “This is an unprecedented situation – one that is changing by the day. Right now, we simply cannot say with any degree of certainty when we’ll be back to normal. There are so many factors that are not under our control. With that in mind, another decision taken between the teams and the FIA has been to delay the introduction of the new regulations until 2022. From both a logistical and a cost perspective, this makes absolute sense. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can afford to take it easy when we return to work. When we do eventually get back on track, we need to be in a position to compete – whatever the regulations. There’s still plenty of work ahead and we’ll be ready to tackle it when the time comes.”
    What message do you have for the fans of the team and the sport?
    “On behalf of everybody in the team, I’d like to thank our fans for their support at this challenging time. I’d also like to recognise the commitment and positivity of our commercial partners. As soon as it is safe to do so, we will get back to the racing. In the meantime, there are some excellent efforts going on with F1 Esports and our drivers will be involved in those online events in the weeks ahead. My final thought is to reinforce the government’s advice to stay at home and act responsibly; the more we all follow the guidelines, the quicker we will be back racing.  It’s important we all stay united through these unusual times and stay safe and healthy.”
  • MotoGP class scrutineering carried out remotely

    MotoGP class scrutineering carried out remotely

    Manufacturers supply sample engines and digital drawings of their aero-body in order to complete homologation

    Paris, 23 March 2020: There are a number of questions that the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and subsequent delay in competition raises for the MotoGP™ World Championship, and one of those is the technical homologation. In the MotoGP™ class, the engine must be the same specification for the whole season – the only exemptions being for factories qualifying for concessions – and each rider also has the limit of two aero-body versions per season and per rider that they are allowed to homologate.

    Normally, the engine specification for the season is homologated on the Thursday of the first Grand Prix, as is the first of the two aero-fairings. Due to the cancellation of the MotoGP™ class at Losail, that wasn’t possible for every factory. However, the QNB Grand Prix of Qatar remains the official starting point of the season and the point at which the rules for homologation begin being enforced.

    MotoGP File photo: Marc Marquez in action in 2019 at Phillip Island.

    Like every year, the 2020 engine specifications (except KTM and Aprilia machines as they qualify for concessions) must remain the same during the whole season and each rider has to homologate the first aero-fairing.

    The FIM, IRTA, MSMA and Dorna all agree that for reasons of equality and fairness the homologation must therefore be carried out remotely and digitally as soon as possible.

    Under normal circumstances, factories have two options. Either they can supply a list of sample engine parts to the organisation, providing a means of comparison with engines used throughout the season to verify no changes have been made, or they can supply digital drawings. Normally, each factory chooses to supply either a full sample engine or a sample for all the parts that the engine contains.

    This means that if a manufacturer has riders using different engine specifications, like for example an Independent Team rider using an engine design from a past season, they must supply every sample.

    Honda are the exception, as they were the only manufacturer that did supply all their sample engine parts at Qatar. The rest of the factories were not able to do so this year due to the extenuating circumstances, and have instead sent their sample engines to the organisation, which must match those in the machines at the first 2020 event.

    Digital drawings of each rider’s first aero-body must also be supplied and these must likewise be homologated if they are within the technical restrictions provided in the rulebook.

    The FIM, IRTA, MSMA and Dorna make every effort to focus on simplicity for both the manufacturers and the enforcement of the rules. MotoGP™ has never considered a shutdown period in which all factories must cease any and all development for a set period of time, at any time of year, primarily due to the difficulty of policing such a regulation.

    Development on any other part of the machine not subject to homologation may therefore continue, as is the case during any season.

  • Dutch, Spanish, Monaco GPs postponed; F2, F3 too – due to Corona

    Dutch, Spanish, Monaco GPs postponed; F2, F3 too – due to Corona

    London, 19 March 2020: In view of the continued global spread of COVID-19 and after ongoing discussions with the FIA and the three promoters it has today been confirmed that the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2020, Formula 1 Gran Premio De España 2020 and Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco 2020 will be postponed.
    Due to the ongoing and fluid nature of the COVID-19 situation globally, Formula 1, the FIA and the three promoters have taken these decisions in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans, which remains our primary concern.
    Formula 1 and the FIA continue to work closely with affected promoters and local authorities to monitor the situation and take the appropriate amount of time to study the viability of potential alternative dates for each Grand Prix later in the year should the situation improve.
    Formula 1 and the FIA expect to begin the 2020 Championship season as soon as it’s safe to do so after May and will continue to regularly monitor the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

    F2, F3 too put-off:

    Following the announcement that the Dutch, Spanish and Monaco Formula 1 Grands Prix have been postponed, the rounds of the FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 Championships which run alongside F1 at the same venues will consequently be postponed as well.
    F2 and F3 CEO Bruno Michel said: “Together with the FIA and Formula 1, we’re closely monitoring the situation and we are studying possible new dates should the situation improve.
    “For the time being, all F2 and F3 track activities are on hold. This of course includes our April testing in Barcelona (F2) and in Budapest (F3), along with a two-day test in Barcelona at the end of May (also for F3).
    “Until we can get back on track we wish our teams, drivers, partners and all our fans well.”

    F1 teams have to wait till the Corona Epidemic subsides. A Racing Point image for representational purpose only

  • Merzouga Rally cancelled due to Corona epidemic

    Merzouga Rally cancelled due to Corona epidemic

    Morocco, 18 March 2020: Following the decision by the Moroccan authorities to suspend all events until further notice in order to combat the propagation of the Coronavirus (COVID19) epidemic, the organisers of the Merzouga Rally are regretfully obliged to cancel the next edition of the rally, which was scheduled to take place from 25 to 29 May 2020, as its organisation could no longer be guaranteed.

    Although we are still several weeks away from the event dates, the great investments made by the competitors in their preparation will be partly lost if the situation does not improve and we do not want our participants to run this risk.

    Bearing in mind the numerous events postponed until September and October, added to existing events on the Moroccan sports calendar, the Merzouga Rally cannot be postponed, unfortunately.

    “For those competitors who wish to validate their participation in the next Dakar Rally, we will reflect on an alternative solution. Details will be notified shortly.,” the organisers said.

    File photo of Merzouga Rally action. Courtesy Merzouga Rally

    For those competitors who wish to validate their participation in the next Dakar Rally, we will reflect on an alternative solution. Details will be notified shortly.

    In the meantime, we invite all rally-raid enthusiasts to get ready for a new edition of the Merzouga Rally from 14 to 18 May 2021.

  • Sebastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia win Rally Mexico; it’s Ogier’s 6th

    Sebastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia win Rally Mexico; it’s Ogier’s 6th

    Mexico City, 15 March 2020: Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed the win at the end of Saturday on Rally México after the decision was taken to stop the event in the face of fast-changing travel restrictions connected with the global COVID-19 virus outbreak. Ott Tänak piped Teemu Suninen to second place in a thrilling afternoon finale.

    Rally officials, the WRC Promoter and FIA reached a decision to halt the event after SS21. Enough stage distance had been covered to ensure that the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship was eligible for full championship points – with the exception of points for the cancelled Power Stage – and it gave team personnel and members of the international media additional time to return to their countries before any further restrictions were put in place on air travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
    Ogier guided his Toyota Yaris WRC to four stage wins on his way to a 27.8-second victory over defending World Champion Ott Tänak. The success was the Frenchman’s 48th WRC career win, a feat surpassed only by Loeb’s remarkable 79 successes. It also moved Ogier and co-driver, Julien Ingrassia, to the top of the World Championship standings and enabled Toyota to increase its lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship. It was the factory Toyota team’s first success on the event and marked the fourth manufacturer with whom the Frenchman has won the rally.

    Rally Mexico podium on Saturday as it ends early due to Corona fears. An FIA image

    M-Sport Ford’s Teemu Suninen fought gallantly to fend off a fierce afternoon challenge from Tänak in his defence of second place, but the young Finn came up just short as the Estonian moved up to fifth in the Drivers’ Championship behind Ogier, Evans, Neuville, and Rovanperä. Tänak won six of the 20 special stages after fighting back from an accident that damaged the rear of the car on Friday morning.

    Elfyn Evans came into the weekend as the series leader but it was never going to be easy for the Welshman to finish on the podium from his first day starting position. Fourth overall enabled the Toyota driver to stay on the coattails of his team-mate in the title race. Young Kalle Rovanperä finished fifth in the third of the Yaris WRCs.

    Sixth-placed Pontus Tidemand wrapped up his third victory in the FIA WRC2 category in Léon with a dominant performance in a Toksport Škoda Fabia Evo. The Swede erred on the side of caution over the final day and eased to victory over Rally Mexico debutant Nicolay Gryazin by 1min 57.7sec, the gap exacerbated by a late drive shaft issue for the Russian.

    Gryazin’s Hyundai team-mate Ole-Christian Veiby ran off a string of stage wins over the final leg, but brake issues had cost the Norwegian too much time on Friday. He finished in 10th place.
     
    Gus Greensmith reached the finish in ninth. He lost out on a top six finish in the second of the Ford Fiesta WRCs after a time-consuming battery issue on the second stage of the day and recovered strongly to gain an extra pace on the closing super specials.
     
    Young Bolivian driver Marco Bulacia had missed out on a FIA WRC2 category win on the event in 2019, but the talented Škoda Fabia driver dominated the newly-named FIA WRC3 section, finished eighth overall and 4min 11.1sec in front of the Citroën C3 of Chilean runner-up Emilio Fernández. Ricardo Triviño was the leading Mexican driver in 12th overall, third in WRC3 and winner of the NACAM category after an impressive drive.

    2020 Rally Mexico – Final official results:

    1. Sébastien Ogier (FRA)/Julien Ingrassia (FRA)Toyota Yaris WRC     2hr 47min 47.6sec
    2. Ott Tänak (EST)/Martin Järveoja (EST)          Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC2hr 48min 15.4sec
    3. Teemu Suninen (FIN)/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN)                  Ford Fiesta WRC2hr 48min 25.5sec
    4. Elfyn Evans (GBR)/Scott Martin (GBR)     Toyota Yaris WRC          2hr 49min 01.0sec
    5. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN)/Jonne Halttunen (FIN)Toyota Yaris WRC2hr 50min 08.1sec
    6. Pontus Tidemand (SWE)/Patrick Barth (SWE)                 Škoda Fabia Evo2hr 58min 16.9sec
    7. Nicolay Gryazin (RUS)/Yaroslav Fedorov (RUS)Hyundai NG i20 3hr 00min 14.6sec
    8. Marco Bulacia (BOL)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA)                  Citroën C33hr 01min 25.1sec
    9. Gus Greensmith (GBR)/Elliott Edmondson (GBR)      Ford Fiesta WRC     3hr 01min 44.1sec
    10. Ole-Christian Veiby (NOR)/Jonas Andersson (SWE) Hyundai NG i203hr 03min 19.8sec
  • South India Rally postponed to June 21

    South India Rally postponed to June 21

    Chennai, 15 March 2020: Organisers the Madras Motor Sports Club announced on Sunday that the South India Rally, scheduled for March 20 to 22 is postponed to June 19 to 21 in view of the escalation in the COVID-19 virus situation across the country, according to the Chairman of the event, Vicky Chandhok.

    The South India Rally also doubles up as a round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and the first round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (4-wheelers). Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) has advised all concerned to take note of the government advisory and put off events till May-end.

    Chandhok, who is also the president of Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) Working Group, said: “After much discussion internally, and following the lockdown in various States and territories across India, besides travel advisories and restrictions on public assembly, we have decided to postpone South India Rally to June 19-21.

    Chikmagalur Coffee Day INRC rally run along with APRC. A file photo of 2017 by Anand Philar

    “We were confident of running the event on schedule as we had put in place all measures and infrastructure complying with Government of India’s health advisories to provide a safe environment to all the stakeholders. However, developments in the past couple of days forced us to rethink and decide on postponing South India Rally,” said Chandhok in a statement.

  • Ban on Prithviraj illegal and unjust, says Appellate panel

    Ban on Prithviraj illegal and unjust, says Appellate panel

    Bengaluru, 15 March 2020: The Indian Motor Sports Appellate Committee of FMSCI consisting of Justice KP Sivasubramaniam (Retd.), Mr S Silambanan (Advocate) and Mrs. Lita Srinivasan (Advocate) gave a clean chit to Mr J Prithvi Raj, the President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and dismissed the ban imposed on him by the FMSCI Council on 21 November 2019. The Committee said that the Council does not have the power to ban either through the Sporting Code or through the Articles of Association and “…the action per se is improper and illegal.”

    The Appeal was upheld and the ban was dismissed on 11th March 2020.

    In a 6-page verdict signed by all the three members, it also said that the 3-year ban and the demotion as DCoC thereafter for a year, “is clearly illegal and cannot stand any test of reasonable conduct.”

    J Prithviraj

    Prithvi Raj was the Clerk of the Course for the Maxperience Rally, Jodhpur, a round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) that was held in September 2019. The rally was organised by Max Experience Private Limited and co-organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC). In the opening stage, three died in an accident and the rally was cancelled.

    After a review meeting on 26 Sept 2019 by FMSCI, its Rally Commission on Oct 4 constituted a committee to inquire into the incident and suggest measures to prevent any such mishaps in the future. On Nov 5, the panel imposed a ban for three years and thereafter a one-year mandatory DCoC period on Prithvi Raj and also fined CASC for Rs.5 lakh.

  • Ogier takes lead as Hyundai pair suffers setbacks: WRC

    Ogier takes lead as Hyundai pair suffers setbacks: WRC

    Mexico City, 13 March 2020: Toyota driver Sébastien Ogier has made a strong start to his bid for a sixth Rally Mexico victory, leading at the end of Friday morning as Hyundai drivers Ott Tänak and Dani Sordo both suffered early setbacks.

    After two street stages through Guanajuato city on Thursday evening, the drivers faced the first true gravel action of the season with a trio of stages in the surrounding mountains, plus a new short test in Parque Bicentenario.

    In his first appearance of 2020, Sordo was expected to be a strong contender with a favourable road position, but he was forced to stop in the morning’s first stage – El Chocolate – after a radiator pipe came loose, causing him to drop over five minutes.

    Team-mate Ott Tänak – running sixth on the road as he plays catch-up in the championship following his crash on Rallye Monte-Carlo – set an impressive pace in El Chocolate, completing the 31.45 kilometres of stage 10.3 seconds faster than anyone else.

    However, the reigning world champion then lost 45.9s to Ogier in SS4 Ortega due to damage at the rear of his car. He and co-driver Martin Järveoja were able to make repairs on the road section, but ended the morning loop in seventh.

    With Tänak’s issues, Ogier claimed the lead with the fastest time in Ortega, and took a lead of 9.7 seconds back to León for the midday service.

    Sebastian Ogier of Toyota Yaris takes lead on Friday. An FIA image
    Sebastian Ogier of Toyota Yaris takes lead on Friday. An FIA image

    Teemu Suninen has made an impressive start in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta to sit in second place, but Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is on his heels just 0.6s behind after setting the fastest time in Parque Bicentenario.

    Suninen’s team-mate Esapekka Lappi is fourth in front of championship leader Elfyn Evans, who is running first on the road on a Friday for the first time. His fellow Toyota driver Kalle Rovanperä occupies sixth place, forced to take caution through much of the morning following a slow puncture in SS3.

    Behind Tänak sits the third M-Sport driver Gus Greensmith, while Pontus Tidemand leads FIA WRC2 in ninth, 23.4s in front of category rival Nikolay Gryazin. Marco Bulacia is just eight seconds further back in 11th and leading FIA WRC3.