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Author: David Bodapati
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Red Bull Ace of Dirt event, a first in India: Red Bull athlete CS Santosh on show at Kolar
Red Bull athlete CS Santosh at the press conference in Bengaluru Wednesday. An INDIAinF1 image Bengaluru, 13 Nov 2019: Red Bull Ace of Dirt, a first of its kind race comes to India where different off-road disciplines come together to compete in an elimination format to be the last man standing. The city of Bengaluru will witness a never-seen-before bike race on November 14th at the Big Rock Dirtpark, a one of its kind, self-designed track by Red Bull Athlete CS Santosh. The winner of Red Bull Ace of Dirt will get a once in a lifetime opportunity to train with ace motorcyclist and Red Bull athlete, CS Santosh
32 selected riders will battle each other on a specially laid course which consists of Motocross, Dirt track and Enduro sections all put together to offer a unique challenge to make it to the final top 4 to compete for the win! But they must make it through the semi-finals round that will offer a unique challenge where all will compete on identical Hero Xpulse bikes which will eliminate any advantage or disadvantage their own machines would have had!
Commenting on the event, Red Bull athlete CS Santosh said, “I am excited to have this opportunity with energy drink giant Red Bull to dream up this event with this unique concept here in India on a new format of racing that we have not previously had. We are also delighted to have Hero MotoSports join hands for this event as part of their vision to promote Motor Sports and Off-Road biking culture in India. All these major partners coming together to offer a complete ecosystem for the event, is a great support to the event and motor sports in the country. Ultimately, this format will allow all different types of riders to compete together and develop good overall skills that will one day be a platform to transition into cross country rally racing and on day to the Dakar!
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Hungary could join the MotoGP calendar from 2022
A Memorandum of Understanding lays the foundations for a new country to join the calendar
Budapest, 13 Nov 2019: Dorna Sports is delighted to announce the signing of a preliminary agreement to bring Hungary onto the MotoGP calendar from 2022. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Hungarian government and Dorna Sports that would see five Grands Prix raced in the nation, from 2022 to 2026, subject to the Promoter’s Contract being signed before the end of February 2020.
Hungary has previously hosted World Championship Grand Prix Racing and has a passion for motorsport, as well as a tradition of competition on both two and four wheels, including Hungarian 125cc Grand Prix World Champion Gabor Talmacsi in 2007. The host venue for the Grand Prix event will be a new circuit, likely in the east of the country.
László Palkovics, Minister for Innovation and Technology, recently presented plans to the Hungarian Parliament and a final decision on the location for the new event and venue is expected early in 2020.
László Palkovics, Minister for Innovation and Technology: “I am very happy to announce MotoGP is set to return to Hungary. Soon, a strategy for the development of Hungarian motorsports will be submitted to the government; this strategy will include numerous objectives and measures, and – in addition to success in the sport and its impact on tourism – it is also needed because the industry has a dominant impact on the success of the Hungarian economy. The key areas of intervention are the development of Hungaroring and the domestic sports infrastructure, in which a new circuit and MotoGP event will play a key role.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “I am very proud to be able to announce negotiations for another addition to the future MotoGP calendar and continue to see our sport grow and develop across the world. A new race – and circuit – in Hungary is an exciting prospect for us all and brings MotoGP back to a country with a great tradition in racing in which we’re excited to see MotoGP play a key role going forward.”
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X1 league round 2 at MMRT on Dec 8
Chennai, 12 Nov 2019: About 30 top drivers, representing a city each, will take part in the inaugural edition of the motorsports league to be held at Delhi and Chennai this year.
The X1 Racing League will have about 30 drivers from across the world available for bidding by six franchises, before the league starts on November 30 and ends on December 1. The six franchises are from Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Delhi.
The X1 Racing League, a franchise-based motorsports competition will have six teams representing a city each. Son of legendary F1 driver Niki Lauda, Mathias was picked by the Delhi franchise (AD Racing) while India’s Arjun Maini and Gaurav Gill will race for Bengaluru (Bangalore Racing Stars) and Delhi teams respectively. The league is powered by JK Tyre Motorsports.
The league will be held between November 30-December 1 in New Delhi at the Buddh International Circuit and December 7-8 in Chennai at the Madras Motor Race Track. There will be four drivers and two cars in each team. Of the four drivers in each team there will be one international male, one international female, one India international and domestic racer. Of the two domestic racers picked in each team one will get to represent the franchise. Each race will last for 30 minutes and will have three unique team-based race formats per day.
Team Hyderabad (Blackbirds Hyderabad) was the first to pick in the draft which started off with India’s International racers in the first round, they chose Akhil Rabindra. The next to pick was Team Bengaluru who chose Arjun Maini after which Team Mumbai (Mumbai Falcons) went on to choose Arjun’s brother Khush Maini. The others picked in the round were Krishna Mahadik by Team Ahmedabad (DG Racing), Gill by Team Delhi and Chennai team (NK Racing) auto-picked their team owner Narain Karthikeyan.
In the male international racers draft, Bengaluru was the first pick and chose English racer Oliver James Webb. The other male international racers who were picked in the draft include Malaysian F1 driver Alex Yoong by Ahmedabad, Mathias joined Delhi franchise, China’s Frankie Cheng went to the Chennai team, former F1 racer Tonio Luizzi by Hyderabad and Danish racer Mikkel Jensen by Mumbai.
As both male and female drivers would be racing against each other, it was important for each franchise to make sure they had a strong female driver as well. The first female international racer to be picked was Denmark’s Michelle Gatting by Bengaluru. While, English racers Pippa Mann and Alice Powell joined Mumbai and Chennai respectively, Switzerland’s Rahel Frey went to Ahemedabad, Denmark’s Christina Neilsen to Delhi and Polish racer Gosia Rdest to Hyderabad.
The domestic racers who will be part of the action include Arjun Balu and Yash Aradhya for Chennai, Raghul Rangaswamy and Ashwin Datta for Delhi, Chittesh Mandody and Ameya Walavalkar for Ahmedabad, Sohil Shah and Karthik Tharanisingh for Mumbai, Nayan Chatterjee and Vishnu Prasad for Bengaluru and Arjun Narendran and Anindth Reddy for Hyderabad.
“All teams are equally balanced and look strong. As all the cars are of the same make, it will be up to the drivers to show their skills and win the race for their team. We hope that the best team wins the league. We are happy with how the draft concluded and the owners are also happy with their teams. We can’t wait for racing to begin,” said co-founder of X1 Racing, Armaan Ebrahim.
“Some of our domestic Indian drivers will get a chance to rub shoulders with the best of the best. This a chance for the domestic racers who were picked in the draft to make it to the next level and prove themselves against other established International driver. I hope they come out on top,” said co-founder of X1 Racing, Aditya Patel.
The X1 Racing League follows the X1 Racing eSports Racing season 1, a digital-simulator based racing competition that is currently being held in cities across India. The eSports competition was created by X1 Racing in a bid to tap out talent from different strata of the society and also increase the fan following for motorsport in the country.
Team Hyderabad: Akhil Rabindra, Tonio Luizzi, Gosia Rdest, Arjun Narendran, Anindth Reddy
Team Bengaluru: Arjun Maini, Oliver James Webb, Michelle Gatting, Nayan Chatterjee, Vishnu Prasad
Team Mumbai: Khush Maini, Mikkel Jensen, Pippa Mann, Sohil Shah, Karthik Tharanisingh
Team Ahmedabad: Krishna Mahadik, Alex Yoong, Rahel Frey, Chittesh Mandody, Ameya Walavalkar
Team Delhi: Gaurav Gill, Mathias Luada, Christina Neilsen, Raghul Rangaswamy, Ashwin Datta
Team Chennai: Narain Karthikeyan, Frankie Cheng, Alice Powell, Arjun Balu, Yash Aradhya
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Gaurav Gill to race for Delhi; Bengaluru picks up Arjun Maini: X1 Racing League set to begin Nov 30
From left: Zulfiquar Ghadiyali, CEO private office of sheik Tahnoon Al nahyan (AD Racing Delhi),Yohan Sethna (Team Principal, NK Racing Team), Dhaval Gada(promoter of DG Enterprises, owner DG Racing), Moid Tungrekar (CEO, Mumbai Falcons), Avi Jain (Co-owner, Bangalore Racing Stars), Akhil Reddy (owner, Blackbirds Hyderabad) during the racers draft of the inaugural edition of the X1 Racing League held in Mumbai. Mumbai, 11 Nov 2019: The much anticipated drivers draft for the inaugural edition of the X1 Racing League, a franchise based motorsports competition concluded here today as 30 international and domestic racers were drafted by six teams. Son of legendary F1 driver Niki Lauda, Mathias was picked by the Delhi franchise (AD Racing) while India’s Arjun Maini and Gaurav Gill will race for Bengaluru (Bangalore Racing Stars) and Delhi teams respectively. The league is powered by JK Tyre Motorsports.
The league which is to be held between November 30-December 1 in New Delhi at the Buddh International Circuit and December 7-8 in Chennai at the Madras Motor Race Track will have four drivers and two cars in each team. Of the four drivers in each team there will be one international male, one international female, one India international and domestic racer. Of the two domestic racers picked in each team one will get to represent the franchise. Each race will last for 30 minutes and will have three unique team-based race formats per day.
Team Hyderabad (Blackbirds Hyderabad) were the first to pick in the draft which started off with India’s International racers in the first round, they chose Akhil Rabindra. The next to pick were Team Bengaluru who chose Arjun Maini after which Team Mumbai (Mumbai Falcons) went on to choose Arjun’s brother Khush Maini. The others picked in the round were Krishna Mahadik by Team Ahmedabad (DG Racing), Gill by Team Delhi and Chennai team (NK Racing) auto-picked their team owner Narain Karthikeyan.
In the male international racers draft Bengaluru were the first pick and chose English racer Oliver James Webb. The other male international racers who were picked in the draft include Malaysian driver Alex Yoong by Ahmedabad, Mathias joined Delhi franchise, China’s Frankie Cheng went to the Chennai team, former F1 racer Tonio Luizzi by Hyderabad and Danish racer Mikkel Jensen by Mumbai.
As both male and female drivers would be racing against each other, it was important for each franchise to make sure they had a strong female driver as well. The first female international racer to be picked was Denmark’s Michelle Gatting by Bengaluru. While, English racers Pippa Mann and Alice Powell joined Mumbai and Chennai respectively, Switzerland’s Rahel Frey went to Ahemedabad, Denmark’s Christina Neilsen to Delhi and Polish racer Gosia Rdest to Hyderabad.
The domestic racers who will be part of the action include Arjun Balu and Yash Aradhya for Chennai, Raghul Rangaswamy and Ashwin Datta for Delhi, Chittesh Mandody and Ameya Walavalkar for Ahmedabad, Sohil Shah and Karthik Tharanisingh for Mumbai, Nayan Chatterjee and Vishnu Prasad for Bengaluru and Arjun Narendran and Anindth Reddy for Hyderabad.
“All teams are equally balanced and look strong. As all the cars are of the same make, it will be up to the drivers to show their skills and win the race for their team. We hope that the best team wins the league. We are happy with how the draft concluded and the owners are also happy with their teams. We can’t wait for racing to begin,” said co-founder of X1 Racing, Armaan Ebrahim.
“Some of our domestic Indian drivers will get a chance to rub shoulders with the best of the best. This a chance for the domestic racers who were picked in the draft to make it to the next level and prove themselves against other established International driver. I hope they come out on top,” said co-founder of X1 Racing, Aditya Patel.
The X1 Racing League follows the X1 Racing eSports Racing season 1, a digital-simulator based racing competition which is currently being held in cities across India. The eSports competition was created by X1 Racing in a bid to tap out talent from different strata of the society and also increase the fan following for motorsport in the country.
Team Hyderabad
Akhil Rabindra
Tonio Luizzi
Gosia Rdest
Arjun Narendran
Anindth ReddyTeam Bengaluru
Arjun Maini
Oliver James Webb
Michelle Gatting
Nayan Chatterjee
Vishnu PrasadTeam Mumbai
Khush Maini
Mikkel Jensen
Pippa Mann
Sohil Shah
Karthik TharanisinghTeam Ahmedabad
Krishna Mahadik
Alex Yoong
Rahel Frey
Chittesh Mandody
Ameya WalavalkarTeam Delhi
Gaurav Gill
Mathias Luada
Christina Neilsen
Raghul Rangaswamy
Ashwin DattaTeam Chennai
Narain Karthikeyan
Frankie Cheng
Alice Powell
Arjun Balu
Yash Aradhya -
Gaurav Gill all set for Rally of Australia: WRC
Gaurav Gill all set to resume rallying at WRC Australia leg. New Delhi, 11 Nov 2019: After the unfortunate incident in Jodhpur in September, during the third round of the INRC, India’s top rally driver Gaurav Gill will be back on familiar territory as he returns to the Rally of Australia, the final round of the prestigious FIA World Rally Championship this weekend.
Gill, a three-time APRC champion and recent Arjuna Awardee, had taken part in WRC2 of this rally last year too and had come up with an impressive performance.
The JK Tyre athlete in India, donning JK Racing colours internationally with Macneall Glenn as his co-driver, made his debut as a registered driver in the Rally of Turkey and looked set for a Top 5 finish in his category.
Gaurav Gill during the test run at Raleigh International Raceway ahead of Rally of Australia from Nov 14. Photo: JK Tyre. But mechanical problems hurt him on almost each of the four days, eventually depriving him of the opportunity to excel on the world stage. On the final day, with just 5 kms left to finish the rally, his R5 WRC2 car gave in after a gearbox failure.
He missed the Rally of Wales in between and is now set for the Kennards Hire Rally Australia from November 14 to 17.
“I have had very good testing here over the last few days. I have made a lot of changes to the chassis and the handling of the car and I have a good feeling about the new car. I can’t wait to start the rally, since I’ve been here and have had top times in the past I’m confident of a positive result too,” Gill said from New South Wales, shortly after a practice run.
“I’m loving all the support from rally fans in India as well as many well—wishers on social media,” he added.
“It’s great to see Gaurav Gill behind the wheel at one of his favourite terrains,” Sanjay Sharma, head of JK Tyre Motorsports, said. “We would like to see him drive in his usual aggressive self and make an impact,” he added.
Going by his last year’s performance and the field, Gaurav stands a very good chance of making the podium. He needs to make sure that he completes the rally to become the first Indian to achieve this feat.
The Rally of Australia, however, may be shortened due to the raging fire in the forest stages around the city of Coffs Coast, New South Wales.
The organisers announced that they were in consultation with emergency services, authorities and local community and would take a final call soon. They were confident of staging the WRC on all four days, even if it’s a shorter affair.
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Last stop Valencia: 2019 set to go out with a bang
The final fireworks of the season are just around the corner, with some top honours still very much on the line
Valencia, 11 Nov 2019: After 18 rounds, some of the greatest races in history and three new World Champions, it’s almost time to bring the curtain down on 2019. And that means it’s time for Valencia; a return to European turf and temperatures and the awesome atmosphere in the amphitheatre that is the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. From nearly every seat you can see nearly every square inch of track, making it quite the stage for a finale.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) arrives already part-way through his sixth term as the king of MotoGP™, but there’s still more than personal glory on the line. The team standings have Repsol Honda and Ducati facing off in the final round, and Marquez has already played a huge part in getting them there. Can he secure the title and therefore the triple crown? Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and teammate Danilo Petrucci will be gunning to stop him, with one already secure in second overall and the other looking to bounce back. And what of Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team)? It’s been a tough run for the five-time World Champion as he continues his recovery to full fitness and adaptation to the Honda, but this is turf he knows better than most – and has utterly dominated in the past.
It must be Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who arrives with the momentum, however. After outpacing Marquez in Australia but finding himself unable to outrace him, Malaysia saw the number 12 put in one of his best ever rides to cross the line in his own postcode out front. He’s got some good memories at Valencia too, most notably winning the 2013 Moto3™ Championship at the very last corner on the very last lap, so he’ll likely be top of the watch list for his rivals. And he has to be for one rival in particular: Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
Rins has had a tougher run of it since his incredible victory at Silverstone, and the Spaniard is now seven points behind Viñales in the fight for third overall. That means he’ll need to beat him and by a margin if he’s to end the season in the top three, so he’ll be pushing hard for that. But rookie teammate Joan Mir has been giving him something to think about of late too, and that battle seems set to only get closer…
The rookie on a roll was, is and likely will be someone else though: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). Race day at Sepang was tougher than Saturday, but he’d broken the lap record a handful of times by the time the lights went out – and outfoxed Marquez’ Q2 tactics. He’s got one more chance to win a race, and plenty more on the line: he’s just ahead of nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as we arrive, and that would be something for the CV in a debut year. Valencia hasn’t always proven the best track for ‘The Doctor’ either, so could it swing the Frenchman’s way?
There’s a bigger prize Quartararo is up for though: top Independent Team rider. With a healthy 23-point advantage over Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) – his only remaining rival for the title – it seems a formality in some ways, but never say never, especially with Jack Miller. In terms of top Independent Team rider in the race the two will likely have company from Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) too, and a good few gazes will also be watching Johann Zarco (LCR Honda Idemitsu) in his third ride on the Honda. Sepang ended early through no fault of his own – how will the season end?
12 months ago, meanwhile, the season ended on a serious high for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Pol Espargaro put in one of the rides of his career in the wet to take third place; his first premier class podium and KTM’s first too. The hard work continues for the Austrian factory but the good memories at the track will be a nice reminder that it’s already been paying off, sometimes in a big way. There’s no Miguel Oliveira at Red Bull KTM Tech 3 this weekend either, with Iker Lecuona debuting one race early as an injury replacement – so that’s something to watch out for too.
Finally, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini will be hoping for more of their Australia glory. It’s been a tougher season for the Noale factory but Valencia is another chance to equal those best yet results. For Aleix Espargaro it’s home turf, for Andrea Iannone it’s very well known turf. Can they make another assault on the top six?
Next season the counter will be hitting 20 as the paddock rolls back in to Valencia, and that season starts on Tuesday in the pre-season test. For many it will be a new era, for some simply chance to reset and start afresh with their plans to take over the world. But before then, the last 25 points await whoever dares to claim them, be it for pride or pivotal places in the standings.
Watch the final fireworks of the 2019 MotoGP™ season this weekend, with the lights out for the premier class at 14:00 (GMT +1) on Sunday.
MotoGP Championship Standings: (Marquez has sealed the World Championship)
1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) – 375
2 – Andrea Dovizioso (ITA – Ducati) – 240
3 – Alex Rins (SPA – Suzuki) – 183
4 – Maverick Viñales (SPA – Yamaha) – 176
5 – Danilo Petrucci (ITA – Ducati) – 169 -
Fernando Alonso achieves first-ever rally raid podium with Toyota Gazoo Racing
Fernando Alonso prepares well for the Dakar debut. Toyota Gazoo Racing images Al Ula Neom (Saudi Aradia), 10 Nov 2019: Fernando Alonso achieved his first-ever rally raid podium with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing after a solid performance at the 2019 Al Ula-Neom Cross-Country Rally in Saudi Arabia on November 5-9. In just their third rally raid competition together, Fernando and navigator, Marc Coma, took home the third-place trophy for the first time since the Spanish duo started their preparations towards the 2020 Dakar Rally just over two months ago.
The first two of four stages took place near the north-western city of Al Ula which featured two loops of approximately 220 kilometres each day on mixed terrain of open desert, sand and stone strewn sections, and rocky paths. For Fernando and Marc, this event represented a new challenge of competing on unfamiliar terrain against a field of local rally raid specialists.
Nevertheless, the Spanish duo brought their brand-new Toyota Hilux home in fourth place after the first stage after negotiating through the dust kicked up by frontrunners, trailing the leader by just 7min 24sec. As their Hilux had only 20 kilometres on the clock when they arrived in Saudi Arabia, Fernando and Marc elected to take a zero risk approach during the opening stage.
After a largely clean run on a route similar to that of the previous day and as Fernando and Marc pushed to reduce the overall gap, they picked up a puncture towards the closing part of the stage which was made up of rocky paths. The pair lost approximately 2min 30sec to replace the flat tyre, which resulted in an additional 7min 35sec deficit to the leader while maintaining a solid fourth place overall.
The final two stages of the event took place near the new city of Neom, on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea, approximately 460 kilometres north-west of Al Ula. This new and unfamiliar terrain and conditions included areas of tricky navigation which pushed competitors to their limits.
Despite the challenges, Fernando and Marc showed strong pace over the course of the penultimate stage to bring their Hilux back home third-fastest overall and losing just 17 seconds to the leader after some 180 kilometres of racing.
Fernanco Alonso and navigator Marc Coma, in only their third Rally Raid together earn a third place for Toyota Gazoo. The Spanish duo started the final day in third place overall following a late retirement overnight and securing the final podium spot with consistent pace throughout the day despite some time loss due to inaccurate road books and tricky navigation. Their split times showed excellent speed, a clear indication that Fernando and Marc have already reached a highly competitive level in rally raid despite their relative lack of experience as they transition into new motorsport disciplines.
The 2019 Al Ula-Neom Cross-Country Rally is the last of three rally raid competitions for Fernando and Marc in their intensive training programme to prepare for the 2020 Dakar Rally. The Spanish pairing first entered, what turned out to be, an eventful Lichtenburg 400 in South Africa before tackling the formidable Rally of Morocco, persevering through a wide variety of challenges and learning invaluable lessons along the way. With under two months to go before the Dakar Rally, Fernando and Marc will continue private testing before joining their TOYOTA GAZOO Racing teammates in Saudi Arabia in January, 2020 for the Dakar Rally.
2019 Al Ula-Neom Cross-Country Rally Results:
1st #201 Yazeed Al Rajhi/Konstantin Zhiltsov (Toyota Hilux, Privateer), 6hrs 35min 52sec
3rd #205 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma (Toyota Hilux, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing), 6hrs 52min 12sec (+16min 20sec)Glyn Hall, Team Principal: “Fernando and Marc showed great pace this week, and I’m happy that they are progressing according to our plan. We had a strategy for this race, and it worked out perfectly for them. They raced a brand-new car here, which is earmarked for the Dakar Rally, so they had to balance their pace with the need to preserve the car. In the end, they achieved a maiden podium against local crews who know the terrain very well, which bodes well for January’s Dakar Rally. It was also interesting for us to experience Saudi Arabia first-hand and gain some insight for the big race in the New Year.”
Fernando Alonso: “The final stage was a difficult one, full of rocks and difficult navigation. But we had no real issues, and we finished third on the stage and third overall, which is quite a good result for us. This is our first even podium in rally raid, and I’m very happy with that. Overall we had four good days in Saudi Arabia.”
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No fanfare, low-key debut, but TVS makes silent splash: MalaysianSBK
Jagan Kumar at the Malaysia Super Bikes Championship on Saturday. INDIAinF1 photo Sepang, 9 Nov 2019: One of India’s largest bike manufacturer, TVS, made a surprise low-key debut in the 2019 Malaysia Superbikes Championship (MSBK). There was little fanfare to accompany this late entry made under the name of Malaysian team, 31 Racing.
However, the Indian marquee did not stay low-key for long. Helmed by Thai rider Vorapong Malahuan, the TVS 310RR quickly made its mark on the first day of practice when Vorapong posted the fifth fastest time of the day. The team’s handpicked Indian riders, Jagan Kumar and KY Ahmed were 11th and 26th fastest respectively.
The three riders improved further in the qualifier. Vorapong was still fifth fastest but shaved a full second off his fastest time. He lined up on second row with a personal best of ‘2’31.667s. Jagan made it into the top-10 at the qualifier while KY Ahmed went from 26th to 13th quickest.
“We really had no idea what to expect in this first race. The team had worked hard on the bike, but our efforts were stymied by bad weather during the testing stage. Each time we booked a track for testing, the skies opened up and we could barely get anything done,” explained TVS’s lead developmental rider, Vorapong.
In spite of the handicap, the seasoned Thai campaigner proved to be a fierce competitor for TVS. He scored a double podium on the second day when he finished third in Race 1 and second in Race 2.
Following race regulations of the WSBK, the MSBK offers the 1000cc Superbike Championship and the 1000cc Superstock Championship for full-fledged production bikes. It also runs the Supersport Championship in accordance to race regulations of the 600cc World Series at the WSBK. As a multi-pronged series, the MSBK is also established as a platform to unearth new talents. Hence, it created series for the lower classes bikes like the Super 250, which it introduced last season.
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Battle on for Constructors’ title as WRC moves down under for its last leg
File photo by FIA The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship season reaches its conclusion on the gravel roads of Rally Australia (November 14-17), where the battle for the manufacturers’ title goes down to the wire.
Coffs Harbour (Australia), 8 Nov 2019: Previously based in Perth, Rally Australia moved to New South Wales ten years ago and has been now located in Coffs Harbour for most of this decade, since 2011. The surrounding area provides an exciting mix of gravel stages, combining rugged and dusty forest tracks in the bush with wider and faster roads through the open countryside.
After Ott Tänak and navigator Martin Järveoja claimed their maiden drivers’ and co-drivers’ title last time out on Rally de España, all eyes are now on the fight for the manufacturers’ crown. The battle will be raging between Hyundai, seeking to win its first FIA WRC title with an 18-point advantage, against the defending Champion, Toyota.
While the Japanese manufacturer relies on its regular trio of drivers featuring Tänak, Kris Meeke and Jari-Matti Latvala, the South-Korean squad has once again tweaked its line-up, with Thierry Neuville joined by Dani Sordo and Craig Breen, although 2016 Rally Australia winner Andreas Mikkelsen had been initially announced on the entry list. At M-Sport Ford, New Zealander Hayden Paddon enters with a third Ford Fiesta, alongside Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen, on an event on which he finished second in 2018 and third in 2017.
In the drivers’ competition, the fight for the runner-up spot remains alive between Rally Spain’s winner Neuville and six-time WRC Champion Ogier, separated by just 10 points in second and third respectively. There’s also a thrilling battle ahead between the drivers in fourth to ninth position, covered by only 13 points. With 30 points available in Australia, the top 10 could be looking very different at the end of WRC’s grand finale!
In the support championships, Škoda Motorsport has won it all in the FIA WRC 2 Pro category this season, by securing the drivers’ title with their factory crew of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Haltunnen on Rally GB, as well as the manufacturers’ title last time out in Spain. In Australia, the focus switches to the FIA WRC 2 class, where the champion is still to be decided between Pierre-Louis Loubet – the winner in Portugal and Italy earlier this year – and Benito Guerra, who started his campaign with a victory on home soil in Mexico in March. Both contenders will be driving a Škoda Fabia R5, with the Frenchman leading his Mexican rival by 16 points.
THE 2019 ROUTE
Changes for the 2019 event include an earlier start to the competitive action in the form of two runs over a revamped Super Special stage near the Coffs Harbour jetty on Thursday afternoon. On Friday, the crews will travel north for morning and afternoon loops of the familiar Coldwater and Sherwood tests and the new Kookaburra Road, blending sections from a number of previous stages, while two further passes of the super special will end the event’s longest leg. On Saturday, the action will head south to the flowing farmland tests of Northbank and Utungun, joined by the classic shire roads of the Argents Hill and Welshs Creek stages. Sunday’s repeated loop also features new stages in Mount Coramba and Lower Bucca, before a longer version of the popular Wedding Bells test, which will again serve as the Power Stage and scene for the final podium ceremony.
RALLY DATA
Total distance 1.084.00 km Stage distance: 324.53 km (30%) Number of stages: 25 -
Arjun to race back to back in Macau and Shanghai
File photo of Arjun Maini. INDIAinF1.com Bengaluru, 4 Nov 2019: Ace Indian driver Arjun Maini will be racing in Macau on the weekend from November 15 to 17 and in Shanghai from November 22 to 24.
Arjun, the JK-Tyre backed, Bengaluru-based driver, is returning to the 2019 FIA F3 Macau Grand Prix with Jenzer Motorsport. After two GP3 seasons in 2016 and 2017 with Jenzer where he won the Barcelona sprint race in 2017, Arjun moved up to F2 in 2018 and 2019, and also drove in the complete European Le Mans Series in 2019. He also competed in the 24-hours Le Mans. Arjun Maini, who drove in Macau in 2015 and 2016, is excited to take up this special challenge once more.
Andreas Jenzer said: “It’s fantastic to have our race winning driver back for our Macau campaign. We will all be working to achieve a top result!”
Maini said: “I am looking forward to racing in Macau again and to be back with Jenzer Motorsport. It is a challenging circuit especially now with the new generation cars as it will be a challenge for everyone to adapt quickly.”
RLR MSport, with whom Arjun raced the 24 hours of Lemans and also the ELMS season in LMP2, is set to expand its reach to China, South East Asia and Australia with an assault on the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Am Trophy, in a bid to secure a coveted entry to the 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Bolton team will field a sole ORECA 05 Nissan for European Le Mans Series (ELMS) regulars John Farano and Arjun Maini, and New Zealand’s LMP2 debutant Andy Higgins for the duration of the four-part season that takes in some of the greatest racetracks in the Asia-Pacific region.
RLR MSport welcomed Arjun Maini to the fold for its much-anticipated return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the ELMS’s LMP2 class in 2019.
The young Indian was impressive during his maiden season of endurance sportscar racing, transitioning seamlessly from Formula 2 single-seaters to Le Mans Prototypes, and he views the Asian Le Mans Series as an opportunity to continue his development through the winter.
“The idea behind racing in the Asian Le Mans Series is to get as much driving time as possible and to win the AM Trophy to earn an entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” said Maini. “It would be good to win for John (Farano), who has improved a lot throughout the year, and I feel the class will be fair for the Bronze drivers and give a good reflection of how they’re getting on relative to each other.
“I know the ORECA 05 is a little slower than the 07 we race in the ELMS, so we will have to get our heads around the speed and the grip levels, but I think we will all be fine with that. I’m looking forward to returning to Sepang, as I have experience of the circuit from GP3 and Formula BMW and I really like Malaysia as a country, although I’ve never been to Australia and The Bend looks mega, so I’m expecting that to be a highlight.”
Higgins, meanwhile, is a second-generation racer from Auckland and a stalwart of New Zealand’s historic motor racing scene.
Arjun Maini file photo The 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series commences at the Shanghai International Circuit in China (22-24 November) before moving on to The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia (10-12 January), and it concludes with back-to-back races at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit (14-15 February) and Thailand’s Chang International Circuit (21-23 February).
RLR MSport Director of Motorsport Operations, Nick Reynolds, said: “The Asian Le Mans Series is growing in size and stature every year, and we believe there’s a lot of value in an entry. It isn’t only the calibre of the field that makes the series attractive, but the fact it’s held during the European winter months makes it a fantastic platform for teams and drivers who wish to stay fresh all year round.
“For John (Farano) and Arjun (Maini), it’s an opportunity to continue developing their skills, albeit in slightly older LMP2 machinery, in a competitive environment with all the variables of a race weekend. Of course, it’s fantastic to have Andy (Higgins) on-board; while he is yet to sample modern LMP2 machinery, he will be an asset. The aim is simple – win the Asian Le Mans Series Am Trophy and secure that automatic entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and gather plenty of momentum for the 2020 season.”
