INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Viñales snatches pole as drama erupts in Misano qualifying: MotoGP

    Viñales snatches pole as drama erupts in Misano qualifying: MotoGP

    Rossi and Marquez get dicey, KTM split two Yamahas on the front row 

    Maverick Vinyales takes pole. A MotoGP image

    Misano, 14 Sept 2019: Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) continued his phenomenal weekend at the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, taking his second pole position of the season and breaking some hearts at KTM as he knocked compatriot Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) off provisional P1 on his final flying lap. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completes the front row, but the headlines don’t end there. Some drama erupted behind the three men in Q2 as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) almost clashed at the final corner.

    Before all that, it wasn’t the start to Q2 Espargaro would have been looking for as his RC16 stopped at the end of pitlane but, luckily, he was able to get away fairly sharpish with a bit of help from a mechanic. Meanwhile on track, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) backed out of his first flying lap and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was the first to set a benchmark time. Just after that though, his rookie teammate Quartararo would go and set the quickest lap of the weekend despite a mistake in Sector 1 – the Frenchman slamming in a 1:32.686 to lead the way. Morbidelli responded to go just 0.024 off but Quartararo then improved to go over a tenth clear, with Marquez jumping up to third on his first quick lap soon thereafter.

    Heading back into the pits, the top four of Quartararo, Morbidelli, Marquez and Viñales were split by just 0.2 seconds. Home hero Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was sitting fifth ahead of Espargaro, with second in the Championship Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) only tenth. Viñales switched bikes quickly, in and out like a flash, and on his next flying lap took third off Marquez to make it an all-Yamaha front row with three minutes to go…but there was plenty yet to come.

    Morbidelli was setting red sectors before a huge slide coming into the third split ruined his lap, but what about provisional pole man Quartararo? He had Espargaro for company on his final lap but the Frenchman ran onto the green at the fast Turn 11 and voided his lap, leaving him unable to improve. Espargaro was still setting personal bests though, and as the KTM rider took the chequered flag it suddenly became apparent quite how stunning his lap was as he took provisional pole by 0.011. The fairytale wouldn’t quite prove perfect, but the performance remains superb.

    It wasn’t perfect for the Austrian factory because Viñales was coming. Red sector after red sector, one of the men who has been blisteringly fast all weekend crossed the line to go pole by nearly three tenths, and there were only two riders left to try and topple him: Marquez and Rossi.

    Marquez, shadowing Rossi, was also on for pole. However, after overtaking the number 46 into Turn 11, the Championship leader ran wide. And, as it turned out, Rossi had also already exceeded track limits. But it boiled up to a final corner almost-clash, with the Yamaha slicing up the inside of the Honda as the duo came close to touching at Turn 14. Neither improved and both were summoned to a hearing with the FIM MotoGP™ Stewards to discuss the incident but no further action was taken. Marquez will start fifth, Rossi seventh.

    That was that and the front row of Viñales-Espargaro-Quartararo was decided, with Franco Morbidelli taking his best grid position since Mugello and Catalunya to head up the second row. He’s just ahead of Marquez, with Dovizioso forced to settle for sixth on home turf. The Italian has, however, been a lightning starter of late…

    Joining Rossi on row three are the Suzuki duo of Alex Rins and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), with Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory) racing having been eighth fastest in qualifying but the Frenchman needing to serve his three-place grid penalty given at Silverstone.

    Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was P11 in qualifying but will start just ahead of Zarco, with Ducati test rider and wildcard Michele Pirro just behind the Frenchman on the grid in 12th. Further back, some big hitters will be starting down the order: Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) will launch from P14, with the Ducatis of Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) starting from 16th and 17th respectively.

    In addition, Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will miss the remainder of the weekend after hurting his shoulder in a crash.

    After a dramatic Saturday it’s now time for race day on the Riviera di Rimini. Viñales looks fast, a seventh front-row start for Quartararo sets him up for Sunday, and Pol Espargaro will be one to watch off the lap. Meanwhile Marquez, Dovizioso and Rossi are all looking to attack from the off…

    Tune in for the San Marino GP LIVE at 14:00 local time (GMT+2) on Sunday and get ready for a classic.

    Top 3 MotoGP Qualifying results:

    1 – Maverick Viñales (SPA – Yamaha) 1’32.265
    2 – Pol Espargaro (SPA – KTM) +0.295
    3 – Fabio Quartararo* (FRA – Yamaha) +0.306

    *Independent Team rider

  • We are still learning the car, says Gaurav Gill; Greensmith closes on the win: WRC2

    We are still learning the car, says Gaurav Gill; Greensmith closes on the win: WRC2

    Gaurav Gill in action on Saturday. Photo courtesy M-Sport

    M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Gus Greensmith and Elliott Edmondson are back in the lead of the FIA World Rally Championship’s premier support series – leading the way in the WRC 2 Pro category with their Ford Fiesta R5 Mk II.

    The new Fiesta secured its maiden victory in the hands of Anders Grøndal at Norway’s Rally Tron last weekend, and Greensmith continues to showcase the power and performance of M-Sport’s latest global rally car at this weekend’s Rally Turkey.

    Despite picking up a puncture through the early stages (SS3), the young Brit rebounded with stage-winning pace throughout the weekend – now holding more than a minute’s lead with just 38.59 competitive kilometres left to contest.

    In the WRC 2 category, Gaurav Gill and Glenn MacNeall were back in action and getting to grips with the notoriously challenging terrain. The pairing showed good speed, but their bad luck continued into the second day of competition with two punctures (SS10 and SS11) and a broken damper on the penultimate speed test (SS12).

    Gus Greensmith said: “It’s been a much better day for us today. We took a bit of a gamble this afternoon with only one spare and just pushed as much as we could which really paid off. We’ve jumped into a good lead in WRC 2 Pro now, and from where we were after the second stage on Friday [when we lost time having to stop and change a puncture] I’d say we’re doing pretty well.”

    Gaurav Gill said: “We were still learning the car in the first stage morning, but had some good speed in the next ones and I was happy with the confidence and the feeling of the car. We wanted to build on that over the second loop but unfortunately we had an issue with the damper which meant we had to cruise through the last stage and get the car back to service in one piece. I guess that’s the nature of this event and that these things can happen, but overall I think it’s been a positive day and we can be happy with the speed.”

  • Sebastian Ogier leads a 1-2 for Citroen: WRC Rally of Turkey

    Sebastian Ogier leads a 1-2 for Citroen: WRC Rally of Turkey

    Ogier takes lead. An FIA image

    Marmaris, 14 Sept 2019: Citroën’s Sébastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi were the class of the field on the second full day of Rally Turkey and managed their pace to preserve their tyres and secure a comfortable first and second in the overall standings after 13 special stages.

    Lappi started the day with a 17.7 second advantage over the six-time World Champion, but the Frenchman pulled off a brave and canny tyre choice for the longer stage at the start of the morning. The duo became embroiled in a fascinating tussle, until Ogier grabbed the lead in SS12 when Lappi stalled under braking for a downhill hairpin.

    Ogier takes a lead of just 0.2s into the night halt and is on course for a 47th career WRC win and a first since Mexico in early March.

    Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen delivered impressive stage times throughout the day and conserved his tyres to hold third overall, once his team-mate and Ogier’s title rival Thierry Neuville lost his way in the dust on the first stage of the morning, slid off the road and slipped down the rankings to eighth at the night halt. Mikkelsen now finds himself 1min17.1s behind the rally leader.

    In what developed into a dramatic morning on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, FIA WRC leader Ott Tänak suffered a ECU failure on the road section to SS9 and was sidelined, his demise throwing the title race wide open.

    M-Sport Ford’s Teemu Suninen finished the day in a strong fourth and closed the gap on Mikkelsen to just 9.8 seconds at the end of the leg.

    Spaniard Dani Sordo managed to fend off the challenge from the Toyotas of both Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke to reach the Asparan Service Park in fifth overall. Meeke survived a late scare when the Yaris snapped sideways due to a lack of grip and slid off the road to hand sixth position to his team-mate.

    Suninen’s team-mate Pontus Tidemand was classified in ninth and FIA WRC 2 front-runner Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounded off the Top 10.

    A flat tyre and then a second puncture on his Škoda Fabia R5 Evo cost long-standing FIA WRC 2 Pro leader Jan Kopecký crucial time and gifted the advantage England’s Gus Greensmith. The Ford Fiesta R5 driver reached the end of the leg with a lead of 1min00.07s. Series leader Kalle Rovanperä returned to action today after a series of punctures blighted his progress on Friday and held third.

    Behind the dominant Kajetanowicz from Poland, Bolivian driver Marco Bulacia and Italy’s Fabio Andolfi were second and third in FIA WRC 2.

    2019 Rally Turkey – Unofficial results after Section 5:

    1. Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Citroën C3 WRC 3hr 20min 12.0sec
    2. Esapekka Lappi (FIN) / Janne Ferm (FIN) Citroën C3 WRC 3hr 20min 12.2sec
    3. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) / Anders Jaeger-Amland (NOR) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 21min 29.1sec
    4. Teemu Suninen (FIN) / Marko Salminen (FIN) Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 21min 38.9sec
    5. Dani Sordo (SPA) / Carlos Del Barrio (SPA) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 22min 36.7sec
    6. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) / Mikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 23min 26.4sec
    7. Kris Meeke (GBR) / Sebastian Marshall (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 23min 41.5sec
    8. Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 24min 50.2sec
    9. Pontus Tidemand (SWE) / Ola Floene (NOR) Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 27min 07.8sec
    10. Kajetan Kajetanowicz (POL) / Maciej Szczepaniak (POL) Škoda Fabia R5 3hr 33min 04.5sec

  • Gaurav Gill bounces back in Rally of Turkey

    New Delhi, 14 Sept 2019: Seasoned Indian rallyist Gaurav Gill showed great grit and tenacity to bounce back from Day 2’s reverses to catapult to the sixth position in WRC2 by the end of Stage 12 in the Rally of Turkey on Saturday.
    Gaurav (along with co-driver Glenn Macneall), driving as a registered driver for JK Racing in the WRC 2 category of the World Rally Championship for the first time, was cruising on Friday too before a mechanical failure prompted him to withdraw for the day with two more stages to go.
    Taking advantage of the scratch time plus seven minutes penalty for three stages that he could not complete, the Arjuna Awardee drove with typical elan to emerge as one of the top drivers on Saturday. He finished the 12 stages so far in 3:51:39.2 hours to be poised for a podium finish in WRC2.
    In the overall scheme too, he is placed 17th despite driving a totally new car with barely any testing time in it. The Rally of Turkey is anyway rated among the toughest in the world, with long rough stretches and unrelenting terrains.
    Starting the day from the 10th position, Gaurav got off to a slow start, taking 27:33.5 minutes to finish the 33-km  long eighth stage. Hence finishing 5th fastest in wrc 2. Once he felt comfortable in the car, he began to push and took just 7.28.3 minutes in the ninth stage, posting the third fastest time.
    He was equally impressive in the 10th stage, once again finishing with the third best time of 7.51.6 minutes.
    As the day progressed, the three-time APRC champion seemed to be in his groove, coming up with yet another impressive performance in the 11th stage, setting the third fastest time (27.56.5 minutes) for the third consecutive time.
    In the 8.75-km long 12th stage, he took 8.49.5 minutes with a seized damper but the rhythm he displayed  today should position him for a top 5 finish.
  • Ashwin Datta crowned Formula LGB 1300 National Champion with a race to spare

    Ashwin Datta crowned Formula LGB 1300 National Champion with a race to spare


    Ashwin Datta who sealed the championship in the Formula LGB 1300 category on Saturday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 14 Sept 2019: A second-place finish saw Ashwin Datta of Momentum Motorsport emerge champion in the Formula LGB 1300 category with a race to spare in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    On a day of hectic scramble for points, Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy eked out a two-point lead over Bengaluru teenager Sohil Shah in the premier MRF F1600 category with a win and a fifth-place finish in the two races run today. Faridabad’s Manav Sharma was the other winner. With two more races to be run tomorrow, Rangasamy has 142 points to Shah’s 140 while Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee (121) is placed third.

    Likewise, in the popular Indian Touring Cars category, Dhruv Mohite (Rayo Racing), driving the Volkswagen factory-supported Vento, moved within four points of leader Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) who retired in today’s race due to a freak incident (tyre deflation) in the very first lap. Mohite went on to finish second behind Volkswagen guest driver Daniel Rowe (South Africa), but earned full quota of 25 points. Balu has 148 points as against Mohite’s 144 going into tomorrow’s final race which will be have a reverse-grid start.

    Pole-sitter Balu (Race Concepts) pulled out a good lead in the very first lap, but lost the power-steering by Turn-3 when the belt came off. Soon after, the power-steering pulley fell and hit the rim of the left rear tyre leading to deflation and retirement. Up ahead, Rowe and team-mate Mohite, and former National champion Arjun Narendran (Arka Motorsports), a non-registered driver, were involved in a three-way battle. The trio finished the race in that order.

    Datta, who turns 21 in November, needed just one point to seal the championship going into this weekend and he managed to come in second behind team-mate Deepak Ravikumar and ahead of Mohamed Ryan (M Sport) in the eight-lap race that was run behind a Safety Car in the mid phase due to on-track incidents involving three cars.

    The result took Datta’s tally to 163 points, well clear of Sohil Shah (M Sport, 95) who opted not to race in this category and concentrate on his races in the MRF F1600 class. Lying third in the championship is Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsport, 85).

    “It feels great to win the championship with one race to spare. I had a good race today, starting from 11th position as I could not post a time in the qualifying session due to some problems with my car. After about three laps, three cars in front of me, went off the track and later, myself and Mohit Aryan were dicing for first and second. However, both of us went off the track under late braking in the last lap. In the process, Deepak Ravikumar capitalised and won the race ahead of me,” said Datta.


    Manav Sharma (No.17), winner of Race-2 in the MRF Formula 1600 Class.

    Mumbai’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay, following a third-place finish behind two South African Guest drivers, Jeffrey Kruger and Tasmin Peper in the Volkswagen Ameo Class race, maintained his top spot on the leaderboard with 357 points, ahead of Pratik Sonawane (334) from Pune and Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabakh (328) with two more races to be run tomorrow.

    The results (Provisional, all 8 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (13mins, 29.135secs); 2. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (13:30.653); 3. Yash Aradhya (Bengaluru) (13:34.392).

    Race-2 (7 laps): 1.Manav Sharma (Faridabad) (14:48.254); 2. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (14:48.848); 3. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (14:48.857).

    Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Daniel Rowe (South Africa) (15:25.637); 2. Dhruv Shivaji Mohite (Kolhapur) (15:27.894); 3. Arjun Narendran (Coimbatore) (15:28.264).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Momentum Motorsport) (18:56.445); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motorsport) (18:57.279); 3. Mohamed Ryan (M Sport) (18:57.770).

    Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race-1): 1. Jeffrey Kruger (South Africa) (15:36.052); 2. Tasmin Peper (South Africa) (15:38.620); 3. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (15:39.554).

  • Esapekka Lappi continues to lead in Turkey over Sebastian Ogier: WRC

    Esapekka Lappi continues to lead in Turkey over Sebastian Ogier: WRC

    Action in Rally of Turkey on Friday. An FIA image

    Citroën’s Esapekka Lappi stunned his more illustrious FIA World Rally Championship rivals to snatch a lead of 17.7 seconds after six punishing gravel special stages of Rally Turkey on Friday.

    Abrasive stage surfaces, large rocks, critical tyre choices, heavy rain on one stage and the threat of the unknown forced every driver to err on the side of caution to protect their cars. But Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm guided their C3 WRC to a stage win and a useful overnight advantage over team-mate and six-time World Champion Sébastien Ogier.

    Like Ogier, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville kept his title hopes alive with a stage win and third overall, a useful tyre choice in the rain on the longest stage of the day helping the Belgian finish the leg just 0.7s behind his French title rival.

    M-Sport Ford’s Teemu Suninen stayed clear of serious trouble to hold fourth overall and joint overnight leader Andreas Mikkelsen rounded off the top five in the second works Hyundai.

    A fastest time on the last stage of the day enabled Dani Sordo to leap frog both Kris Meeke and Ott Tänak to snatch sixth place, the Spaniard having lost a lot of time with a flat tyre in SS2. A puncture proved costly for series leader Tänak as well and the Estonian now trails the overnight leader by 1min 37.4s.

    Meeke, likewise, had tyre issues and a broken jacking point on the Yaris, although he did claim a stage win.

    The Ulsterman’s Toyota team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala claimed two stage wins, but a puncture, a less advangeous tyre choice and little niggling issues cost the Finn the outright lead he held at the end of SS2. He held ninth place with M-Sport Ford’s Pontus Tidemand rounding off the top 10 on his return to the main factory team.

    Friday the 13th placed its curse on FIA WRC 2 Pro leader Kalle Rovanperä. The Finn sustained a puncture and a roll in his Škoda R5 on the opener and then two further flat tyres put him out of the running for the rest of the day.

    A flat tyre on the Ford Fiesta of his rival Gus Greensmith played into Rovanperä’s team-mate Jan Kopecky’s hands and the Czech headed to the night halt 1min 22.8s in front of the Brito, after erring on the side of caution towards the end.

    11th-placed Polish driver Kajetan Kajetanowicz dominated the FIA WRC 2 section and finished the day over three minutes ahead of young Bolivian Marco Bulacia after veteran Norwegian Henning Solberg lost a lot of time in the sixth stage. Italy’s Fabio Andolfi holds third place.

     

    2019 Rally Turkey – Unofficial results after Section 3:

    1. Esapekka Lappi (FIN) / Janne Ferm (FIN) Citroën C3 WRC 1hr 59min 53.7sec
    2. Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Citroën C3 WRC 2hr 00min 11.4sec
    3. Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr 00min 12.1sec
    4. Teemu Suninen (FIN) / Marko Salminen (FIN) Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr 00min 38.1sec
    5. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) / Anders Jaeger-Amland (NOR) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr 00min 57.8sec
    6. Dani Sordo (SPA) / Carlos Del Barrio (SPA) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr 01min 18.9sec
    7. Kris Meeke (GBR) / Sebastian Marshall (GBR) Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 01min 25.8sec
    8. Ott Tänak (EST) / Martin Järveoja (EST) Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 01min 31.1sec
    9. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) / Mikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr 01min 36.2sec
    10. Pontus Tidemand (SWE) / Ola Floene (NOR) Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr 03min 39.1sec
  • Gaurav Gill shows his class in Rally of Turkey before he suffers a puncture

    Gaurav Gill shows his class in Rally of Turkey before he suffers a puncture

    Gaurav Gill at Rally of Turkey on Day 1.

    Marmaris (Turkey), 13 Sept 2019: Ace Indianrallyist Gaurav Gill showcased his skill and speed in the Rally of Turkey by dazzling in the opening four stages on Friday but had a puncture in the evening and later suffered a suspension damage.

    Meanwhile, Jan Kopecky and Pavel Dresler (Cze.Cze) took the lead in the WRC2 Pro-category after Day 2 fo the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Turkey Driving for JK Racing, Gaurav, along with Glenn Macneall of Australia as co-driver, proved his mettle in one of the world’s toughest rallies and set the pace from the word `go’ in his new untested EcoBoost-powered R5 MkII Ford Fiesta, clocking  the fastest time in the shakedown on Thursday.

    Gaurav, who was recently bestowed with the Arjuna Award, the first motorsport person from India to achieve the feat did not have enough time to test his car as the vessel carrying the vehicle docked in late leaving him little time to have a test ride. And despite all the odds, he proved his worth behind the wheels and stayed in contention to finish on the podium, giving the WRC regulars a run for their money. He was in ominous form despite facing setbacks with his car and was poised for his maiden podium finish in the WRC 2 before a series of unfortunate incidents hit him.

    Gaurav Gill during the WRC2 run in Rally of Turkey. Photos M Sport

    He was on the threshold of making it a perfect start to his 2019 international campaign and at one stage, after SS2 in fact, he had moved up to the third position to put himself in line for a podium finish.

    In the first spectator friendly super special stage on Friday night, he got off the blocks a little slow but still posted a time of 2:12.1 minutes, the fifth fastest in his category. The second stage was replete with drama, with his car spinning mid-way through the run and also developing a puncture in the later part.

    Despite that, Gaurav managed to complete the 24.85 km long second stage in a mere 19:45.1 minutes to move up the ladder.

    Placed third after SS2, it looked like that the three-time APRC champion, driving as a registered driver in the WRC2 for the first time, would close the gap in the next stage but bad luck followed him again. He endured a flat tyre after he hit a hole and lost out on precious minutes to end the stage with a time of 33:03.5 minutes.

    He recovered brilliantly in the fourth stage, posting a time of 13:10.1 minutes to remain four minutes adrift of the leader and three minutes off the third place.

    With an eye to close the gap on the leaders, Gaurav started well in the fifth stage but with just 4.5 kilometres into SS5, he suffered a front-left suspension damage cutting short his day.

    “It was just bad luck. We had a mechanical failure and our lower arm joint under braking snapped. The car did not face any damage but we were lucky that the malfunction did not happen in the corner as that would have seen us slide down the hill,” Gaurav sighed after the fifth stage.

    The Rally of Turkey, considered one of the toughest rallies in the world, covers a total distance of 988.50 kms with 310.10 kms earmarked for 17 special stages. Most of the stages will be on gravel, with a few of them running on concrete tiles and tarmac too.

    The WRC2 has seen many major changes, with one category set aside for manufacturer-supported entries and the other for independent drivers. Gaurav is in the latter, having the option of the buying or hiring a car from a manufacturer and operating his own team.

    His best six scores count towards a driver’s championship, giving him a very good chance this year.

  • Viñales vs Quartararo keeps Marquez at bay: Day 1

    Misano is GO, with a Marquez amongst the Yamahas in the top five on Friday

    Misano, 13 Sept 2019: Friday at the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini belonged to two men: Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). Split by just 0.057 on the combined timesheets, the two topped a session each as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) ended the day in third and over three tenths down. It was a sunny first day on the Riviera di Rimini, and it was pretty sunny for Yamaha too as the Iwata marque had all four bikes in the top five. Home hero Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was just behind Marquez, with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) in fifth to leave the number 93 the sole non-Yamaha in the top five.

    After Quartararo kicked things off in FP1 to edge out the reigning Champion, it was Marquez who was the early leader in FP2 as the Championship leader got straight down to business, closing down the rookie’s FP1 advantage to just 0.018 on the combined timesheets to head the afternoon session by over four-tenths. The likes of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) had jumped into the overall top ten in the early stages of FP2, with Morbidelli and Rossi also improving on their FP1 times.

    The afternoon then went quiet in terms of personal best times, the riders getting some valuable work done on different tyres to see what their preference will be for Sunday’s race. But with just over ten minutes remaining – and after a couple of close front-end moments – Quartararo was yet to improve his FP1 time and so was Viñales. The traditional FP2 time attack was forthcoming, however, and with eight minutes to go, we had plenty of movement.

    Rossi moved into P3 overall on his first flying run on the soft rear, but teammate Viñales would move the goalposts at the top as a 1:32.775 saw the Spaniard leap over three tenths clear. Quartararo was on a personal best behind, but the rookie sensation wasn’t quite able to match Viñales’ time as the 20-year-old went a tenth off. The Ducati Team riders had a quiet morning but both Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso then found a way into the top ten., with Viñales looking like he had P1 in the bag as the flag dropped.

    Quartararo, however, was on a fast one. Personal best sectors were set by the Frenchman but at the line, it wasn’t quite enough as he ended the day 0.057 in arrears – barely anything splitting the two Yamahas. Marquez failed to improve and stayed P3, with Rossi and Morbidelli completing the top five.

    Sixth was a headline in itself as Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) impressed in P6 in both FP1 and FP2, ending the day ahead of Ducati Team’s Michele Pirro. The Italian slipped from P4 in FP1 to P7 at the end of play after failing to go quicker in FP2, but the test rider remains the fastest Ducati on track so far. Petrucci sits just behind him in P8, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) – P5 in FP1 – claiming P9 on Friday thanks to his morning time. Last year’s winner Dovizioso occupies the last provisional automatic Q2 place in P10 heading into Saturday – not an easy day for the man second in the Championship.

    It’s Silverstone winner Alex Rins and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) who just lost out on the top ten on Friday, but it’s just 0.6 that splits Dovi in P10 to Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) in P21. It’s all to play for in the fight for an automatic Q2 place in FP3, so make sure you tune in for that at 09:55 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday morning. Will Yamaha continue to reign at Misano on qualifying?
    Friday’s fastest:
    1 – Maverick Viñales (SPA – Yamaha) 1’32.775
    2 – Fabio Quartararo* (FRA – Yamaha) +0.057
    3 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) +0.396
    4 – Valentino Rossi (ITA – Yamaha) +0.695
    5 – Franco Morbidelli* (ITA – Yamaha) +0.749*Independent Team rider
  • Double for Raghul Rangasamy; Chirag Ghorpade, Saurav Bandyopadhyay grab pole

    Double for Raghul Rangasamy; Chirag Ghorpade, Saurav Bandyopadhyay grab pole


    Raghul Rangasamy celebrating his victory in the MRF F1600 category. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 13 Sept 2019: Defending champion Raghul Rangasamy, hailing from the nearby temple town of Mamallapuram, pulled off a grand double to put himself in contention for the title in the premier MRF F1600 category on the opening day of the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Rangasamy, 26, shrugged off an otherwise inconsistent season so far, and won two of the three races today that were carried over from the rain-affected Round 4, besides finishing second behind Bengaluru’s Yash Aradhya in the other outing to pick up as many as 68 points.

    Raghul Rangasamy, who scored a double in the MRF F1600 category on Friday.

    Rangasamy thus jumped five spots to move from seventh to second on the leaderboard. He lies just seven points behind championship leader 18-year old Sohil Shah from Bengaluru who drew blank in today’s Race-3 due to a drive-shaft problem after finishing second and third in the other two races.

    With four races of the final round to be run over the next two days and a maximum of 100 points to be won, the championship is finely poised. Shah (114 points), Rangasamy (107) and Nayan Chatterjee (97) occupy the top three spots. Behind the trio are Aradhya (86), Vishnu Prasad (85) from Chennai and Faridabad’s Manav Sharma (70).

    In the day’s first race, Aradhya scripted a lights-to-flag victory with seasoned Rangasamy in close attendance while Shah did well to finish third after starting eighth on the grid. Rangasamy then took charge of the remaining two races that he started from pole position, winning both quite comfortably.

    Yash Aradhya, winner of first race in MRF F1600 category.

    Meanwhile, Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) qualified for pole position in the Formula LGB 1300 category where Chennai-based Ashwin Datta has virtually clinched the title, enjoying a 50-point lead going into this weekend’s double header. Datta’s closest rival, Sohil Shah, opted out of the two races, preferring to focus on the MRF F1600 championship which he leads.

    Mumbai’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay took pole position in the Volkswagen Ameo Class ahead of two guest drivers from South Africa, Tasmin Peper and Jeffrey Kruger. Bandyopadhyay currently leads the championship in this category.

    The results (Provisional, all 8 laps unless mentioned):

    MRF F1600 (Carry Over from Round 4) (Race-2): 1. Yash Aradhya (Bengaluru) (13mins, 33.380secs); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (13:33.616); 3. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (13:39.154). Race-3: 1. Raghul Rangasamy (13:31.752); 2. Sohil Shah (13:33.747); 3. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (13:37.234). Race-4: Raghul Rangasamy (13:29.886); 3. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) (13:35.915); 3. Yash Aradhya (13:37.252).

  • Dakar veteran Marc Coma joins Fernando Alonso at Toyota Gazoo Racing

    Marc Coma, five-time Dakar Rally winner in the motorbike class and six-time FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion, has teamed up with Fernando Alonso as his navigator at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing as the pair continues with an intensive rally raid training programme in the Toyota Hilux.

    An experienced rally raid campaigner, Marc, 42, first competed in the Dakar Rally in 2002 when the event was still held in Africa. With nearly two decades in the sport, most recently as Sporting Director of the Dakar Rally, Marc is perfectly positioned to work closely with Fernando, two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner, reigning FIA World Endurance Championship title holder, two-time Formula 1 World Champion, and winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, as both motorsport veterans push their own limits and transition into a new motorsport discipline—Fernando in rally raid and Marc on four wheels.

    Following a series of successful trainings in Namibia and Poland, the multiple world championship winning Spanish duo demonstrated their determination and skills, advancing quickly through the team’s planned targets. As a result, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing decided to enter Fernando and Marc in the Lichtenburg 400, round five of the South African Cross Country Series, taking place in South Africa on September 13-14. Originally scheduled as a non-competitive outing, the crew will test their mettle in a rally raid competition environment for the first time.

    The Lichtenburg 400 route will comprise of an array of terrains including cornfields, undulating veld, dry river crossings, both technical and open sections. The start/finish is situated at the Lichtenburg Showgrounds from where the route will head south towards the town of Coligny before turning east towards Koster and finally turning north back to the showgrounds.

    Glyn Hall, Team Principal: “We are delighted to pair Marc with Fernando. Their combined winning motorsport experience is really impressive and we can clearly see the exciting progress they are making in the Hilux in such a short time. We always knew the training programme would be intensive, but Fernando and Marc have really demonstrated their ability to work together as a team, so much that they managed to double the planned mileage during last week’s test in Poland. In fact, we were so impressed by the crew’s performance during the shakedown yesterday, on sections of the Lichtenburg 400 course, we decided to enter them in Saturday’s competition. This will be the first time Fernando and Marc will take part in a rally raid competition so it’ll be a valuable opportunity for them to learn how to deal with the dust from other competitors.”

    Fernando Alonso: “Working with Marc has been fantastic. I’ve been able to learn so much from him about rally raid thanks to his wealth of knowledge and experience. In this type of motorsport, when you have to drive hundreds of kilometres every day, it’s very important to feel comfortable with the person in the car with you. Marc and I are getting along very well and we are working effectively as a unit. I’m looking forward to training in a competition environment for the first time which will be very different to our private tests, so it’ll be a good challenge and learning experience for me in the Hilux.”

    Marc Coma: “I’m really happy and proud to be part of this team and to be able to share my rally raid experience with Fernando. Even though I’ve been in this sport for a long time, this is still a new challenge for me. I never imagined that I would be in the navigator seat preparing for rally raid in a Hilux. Still, this new challenge really excites me because I’m confident I can bring something to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and I want to push my own limits to give my best. Fernando and I are working really well together and I can see that he is really methodical in his approach to rally raid. He is also adapting really well to driving the Hilux and we are seeing improvements not just day by day, but run after run.”