INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Kush Maini finishes a creditable 3rd in Race 2, consolidates third position in the championship

    Kush Maini finishes a creditable 3rd in Race 2, consolidates third position in the championship

    Kush Maini in action at Brands Hatch where took a third place on Sunday. Images: Maini team

    Brands Hatch, 6 Aug 2018: Up and coming Indian racer Kush Maini of Lanan Racing, the junior of the Maini brothers, finished third in Race 2 to consolidate his third place in the championship standings after a strong display at the Round 6 of the BRDC F3 Championship at the renowned Brands Hatch here on Sunday.

    The 17-year old Bangalore-born racer came back strongly after a bad outing at Spa in the last round, He managed two exciting results, finishing sixth in the Race 1 and Race 3, to bag enough points and packed it with an impressive third-place drive to the podium in Race 2.

    By claiming 56 points in this round, the Junior Maini has 321 points in the driver’s championship, 19 points ahead of fourth-placed Gamble.

    Despite not having much track time in the car, Maini started the weekend with a good qualifying session taking P6 for Race 1 after only a 20-minute practice session. He P6 time was just 0.379s off pole. Then, Maini drove a steady race and managed to finish sixth, the position he started on the grid in Race 1.

    Kush Maini with his trophy at Brands Hatch after his third place in Race 2 on Sunday.

    Race 2 saw a reverse-grid start, and Maini was forced to start from P10. Despite a bad start, Maini recovered in the first lap itself, as he managed to avoid the clash in front and sneaked in to move up. “There was chaos at the front and I just kept my nose clean and looked for the opportunities,” he said about the initial laps in Race 2. He had a busy race thereafter and with some gritty driving, he avoided the `frantic’ action on the second lap to surge past the cars ahead of him into the fifth position. Then a safety-car was deployed that did not help as he dropped a position after the restart. But the youngster, who grew up watching his father Gautam Maini and elder brother Arjun Maini racing cars, from childhood managed to go up into fourth place by Lap 9. A podium place was in the waiting as the third-placed finisher Ravishankar had to take a penalty for an infringement.

    Kush started the final race of the weekend from P8 on the grid. He carried on some of the great form, from his previous race and ensured another P6 comfortably overtaking a couple of cars and then widened the gap to Maldonado, who was trailing him in seventh. He had a lead of over 10-seconds to the Maldonado.

    Talking about his race, Kush Maini said, “It’s my eighth podium of the year and so I’m happy, But we’ve had a few tough races, so it’s good to be back here. We will be pushing harder to get back on the top step. There were plenty of battles raging and I thought there was going to be a bit of contact so I took different lines and got people on the exits, and I’m really happy with how I raced my race.”

    ends/db

  • Dovizioso wins a thriller: A Michelin’s view as it battles the heat

    Dovizioso wins a thriller: A Michelin’s view as it battles the heat

    Dovizioso wins at Brno. on Sunday. A Michelin image

    Brno (Czech Republic) 5 Aug 2018: Michelin faced excessive track temperatures all weekend at Brno during round 10 of the MotoGP™ World Championship before a cooling of the surface today saw the Monster Energy Grand Prix České Republiky produce another exciting race with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) taking a stunning victory.

    This weekend saw asphalt temperatures rise to above 50°C – which is the highest it has been for MotoGP at the 5,403m Brno circuit this century – and the MICHELIN Power Slick tyres had to contend with this as well as the complexities of this technically demanding circuit. With its heavy-braking downhill sections and hard acceleration zones, all of which were magnified with the extreme heat, the riders and teams worked unstintingly with their respective Michelin Technicians to get the optimum performance for their respective machines in preparation for the race.

    Today saw a drop in temperature as the clouds cooled things down and the track thermometer read just 38°C and this change caused many teams to rethink their plans and alter the choice of tyres as the race approached. When the lights went out to signal the start of today’s main event, the front medium and hard compounds and the rear soft and hard versions were all that were favoured by the 25 riders that lined up on the grid for the 21-lap race.

    Dovizioso was on pole, but he was beaten to the first corner by Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), before the Ducati man regained the lead to head the field at the end of Lap 1 The initial stages of the race were a guarded affair as no rider wanted to show their hand and chose to preserve their Michelin tyres for the long race ahead. As the laps ticked by lap-times improved and a battle started to form at the front. Dovizioso and Rossi were joined by Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team). These five swapped places numerous times as the race drew to a close, with some impressive overtaking as the top riders in the world put their faith in the performance of the rubber and pushed their Michelin tyres to the limit. The latter part of the race gave the 84,678 fans at trackside, and the millions more watching on TV around the globe, huge excitement as Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Marquez fought for the podium positions. As the flag dropped Dovizioso took victory on his Ducati, Lorenzo followed him home with Marquez third, as this trio also set the three fastest laps of the race on the last circulation, demonstrating the durability of the MICHELIN Power Slicks over such a demanding race. Rossi finished in fourth, with Crutchlow taking fifth and the position of First Independent Rider. Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) was sixth, with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) securing the seventh place. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) was eighth, Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) on his 150th MotoGP start taking ninth and Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) rounding out the top-ten.

    Michelin will now remain at Brno for a one-day official test, before travelling straight to the Red Bull Ring at Spielberg in Austria for round 11 of the championship, which will be held next Sunday.

    Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team:

    “The front worked really well and I’m very happy with its performance today, especially on this track where there are a lot of bumps and it is normally very difficult. We are very focused on the rear because on our bike we are always trying to preserve the tyres for the end of the race. Overall this weekend it has been very good as we had an advantage with our bike with acceleration, so we always have a chance to fight right until the end. We are still trying to adapt the bike to the tyres and get the very best performance and that is something we will continue to work on.”

    Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager:

    “This has been a real complex weekend for us. We did not anticipate the extreme track temperatures we would face and the working range that the tyres would have to contend with. Due to how we have progressed during our three seasons in MotoGP the operating windows are now much larger and this was highlighted as every rear compound was a raceable option today. The durability of the tyres was a very important issue, but we knew that the tyres could withstand the 21 tough laps around here no matter what the temperature and that was proved as Jorge, Marc and Andrea set the three fastest laps respectively on the very last lap. This has been a very positive weekend for Michelin and we will now stay for the test where we have a new tyre to evaluate, before we head to Austria and another tough examination at a very unique track.”

    ends/db

     

  • Grand double for Aussie star Anthony West

    Grand double for Aussie star Anthony West

    Anthony West on way to scoring a double in the ARRC at MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 5 Aug 2018: Anthony West’s hot form continued as he scored a lights-to-flag victory, his second of the weekend, while destroying the premier SuperSport 600cc field to stamp his class and authority on the fourth round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship which concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday.

    Such was 37-year old West’s supremacy today that he won by over seven seconds while recording his fourth win of the season which put him in line for his maiden ARRC title. While West cruised to victory untroubled and unchallenged on his Yamaha, behind him Tomoyoshi Koyoma (MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda), a former MotoGP rider, won a thrilling scrap with fellow-Japanese, the 19-year old Taiga Hada (Idemitsu Honda Racing India), to grab the second spot. For Hada, who became an instant favourite with the large crowd, it was his second podium of the weekend.

    Rafid Topan Sucipto (Yamaha) and Andy Muhammad Fadly (Kawasaki) delivered a 1-2 for Indonesia in the Asia Production 250cc race ahead of Thailand’s Anupab Sarmoon (Yamaha) in a near photo-finish with barely three-tenth of a second separating the trio.

    The two Indian riders in this category, Rajiv Sethu and Anish Damodara Shetty, it was a disappointing finish as they rode in 16th and 19th, thus out of points.

    Among the most notable podium finishers of the day was 14-year old Australian boy Travis Hall who fought his way to third place, his first podium of the season, in the second race of the highly competitive Underbone 150cc class while Malaysians Ahmad Fazli Sham and Md. Helmi Azman took the top two positions. Incidentally, championship leader in this category Indonesian Rheza Danica Ahrens, who had notched five wins in a row, finished a distant 17th following a crash early in the race.

    Bengaluru’s Abhishek Vasudev and Aravind Balasubramaniam (Chennai) shared the honours in the two Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup races. However, in the championship stakes, Coimbatore’s Senthil Kumar, with two second-place finishes, moved to the top of the leaderboard with 99 points, ahead of Vasudev (88) and Anish Shetty (86) who sat out both the races due to injury.

    The TVS One-Make Championship (Apache RR310) double-header dished out close races as Vivek Pillai and PM Soorya, both from Chennai, won one apiece. The victory helped Pillai (94 points) close in on championship leader Deepak Ravikumar (98), who finished second and fifth in the two races, Soorya managed to move up to mid-table with a tally of 33.

    The results:

    SuperSport 600cc (Race-2, 16 laps): 1. Anthony West (Australia, Webike Kazuchi Racing, Yamaha) (27mins, 10.157secs); 2. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Japan, Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing) (27:17.240); 3. Taiga Hada (Japan, Idemitsu Honda Racing India) (27:17.568).

    Asia Production 250cc (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Rafid Topan Sucipto (Indonesia, Yamalube KYT TJM WR Super Battery) (22:00:544); 2. Andy Muhammad Fadly (Indonesia, Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing) (22:00.686); 3. Anupab Sarmoon (Thailand, Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) (22:00.830).

    Underbone 150cc (Race-2): 1. Ahmad Fazli Sham (Malaysia, Onexox TKKR Racing) (18:59.247); 2. Md. Helmi Azman (Malaysia, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing) (18:59.355); 3. Travis Hall (Australia, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team) (19:03.008).

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (CBR 250) organised by MMSC (Race-1, 6 laps): 1. Abhishek Vasudev (Bengaluru) (12:18.230); 2. Senthil Kumar (Coimbatore) (12:18.792); 3. Aravind Balasubramaniam (Chennai) (12:18.891). Race 2 (8 laps): Aravind Balasubramaniam (Chennai) (16:31.817); 2. Senthil Kumar (Coimbatore) (16:32.049); 3. Amit Richard Topno (Ranchi) (16:33.190).

    TVS One-Make Championship (Apache RR310) – Race 1 (6 laps): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (13:04.471); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (13:06.967); 3. Peddu Sriharsha (Hyderabad) (13:06.968). Race 2 (8 laps): 1. PM Soorya (Chennai) (16:17.261); 2. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (16:17.821); 3. Yashas RL (Bengaluru) (16:17.926).

  • Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif notch up a comfortable win

    Coimbatore, 5 August 2018: Indian speed king Gaurav Gill, along with his trusted co-driver Musa Sherif, romped home to a thumping victory in the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Indian national Rally Championship (INRC) as he swept all the special stages winning with ease at the Kethanur windmill farms here on Sunday. He clocked 1:14:30.1 to complete the five Special Stages and won with a clean margin of 1 min 1.1 second.

    His teammate Amittrajit (with co-driver Ashwin Naik) has to be content with the second place all through the rally as he appeared to be no match to the leader, but managed to keep his second position. He was off the pace with Gill trailing by 10 to 15 seconds all along and was no threat to Gill at any stage.

    The President of the Federation, Akbar Ebrahim claimed the third position in the INRC 1 category, reminding fans and drivers that he has not lost his touch even after nearly 25 years of active rallying.

    The 2016 INRC champion, Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil V Pai, had to settle for the overall third position as all his efforts to upstage the leaders proved to futile. He managed to claim the INRC 2 category though, making it a 1-2 for Team Arka Motorsports.

    His teammate Rahul Kanthraj along with co-driver Vivek Y Bhatt took the second place while Phalghuna Urs and Srikanth Gowda of Snap Racing claimed the third place.

    The INRC 3 category too didn’t see any change on the leaderboard with Aroor Vikram Rao and co-driver Anand Somayya of Falkon Motorsports taking a facile win.

    Suhem Kabeer and co-driver Jeevarathinam of Team Champions finished second relegating Chetan Shivram and co-driver Rupesh Kholay to the third position on the podium.

    Results:

    INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:14:30.1); 2. Amittrajit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:15:31.2); 3. Karna Kadur/Nikhil V Pai (Arka Motorsports; 01:16:24.8).

    INRC 2: 1. Karna Kadur/Nikhil V Pai; 2. Rahul Kanthraj/Vivek Y Bhatt (Arka Motorsports; 01:17:36.9); 3. Phalghuna Urs/Srikanth Gowda; Snap Racing; 01:17:40.7).

    INRC 3: 1. Aroor Vikram Rao/Anand Somayya (Falkon Motorsports; 01:17:11.8); 2. Suhem Kabeer/Jeevarathinam (Team Champions; 01:17:48.8); 3. Chetan Shivram/Rupesh Kholay (01:17:58.4)

    FMSCI 2WD: 1. Adith KC/Suraj K; 2. Suraj Thomas/Sob George; 3. Lokesh Gowda V | Venu Ramesh Kumar.

    eom/david

  • MotoGP Sunday guide: Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky

    MotoGP™
    Andrea Dovizioso starts his 100th Grand Prix race with Ducati from pole position. This is his 6th pole position in the premier class, his first since Sepang back in 2016 and his first in dry weather conditions since Qatar in 2015.

    Andrea Dovizioso’s pole position is his fifth with Ducati and the 39th for the Italian manufacturer in the MotoGP™ class since 2002. From his five previous appearances on a Ducati at Brno, Dovizioso has never finished higher than sixth.

    Valentino Rossi, who won his first ever Grand Prix race in Brno back in 1996, starts from second on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole position at his home round in Mugello earlier this year.

    Valentino Rossi (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc and 4 x MotoGP™) is the most successful rider of the current grid at the Brno circuit with 7 wins. He will be aiming to finish inside the top ten to become the first rider in history to reach the milestone of 6000 points scored in Grand Prix racing.

    Yamaha riders have not won since Assen last year with Valentino Rossi (19 successive races). The last time Yamaha had a winless streak of more than 19 races was the 22-race sequence including the 15 races of 1997 and the opening seven races of 1998.

    The winner last year at the Czech GP, Marc Márquez completes the front row of the grid. It’s the 78th time he has qualified inside the top three on what is his 100th Grand Prix race in the premier class.

    Heading the second row on the grid is Jorge Lorenzo who will be aiming to win for the third time at the Czech GP in the premier class after 2010 and 2015, which was also the last victory for a Yamaha rider at this track.

    Cal Crutchlow, who won his first Grand Prix race in 2016 at Brno from tenth on the grid, has qualified in fifth as the highest-placed Independent Team rider, which is his best qualifying result since he was second at the Dutch TT earlier this year.

    Danilo Petrucci starts from sixth, which is the sixth time this year he has qualified on the first two rows on the grid.

    Johann Zarco, who won the Moto2™ race at the Czech GP in 2015, heads the third row on the grid as the third Independent Team rider, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole at the French GP earlier this year.

    Andrea Iannone has qualified in eighth for the second successive time, which is the best qualifying result for Suzuki at Brno since Aleix Espargaró was fourth in 2016. He will be aiming to become the first Suzuki rider to stand on the podium at the track since Loris Capirossi back in 2008.

    Dani Pedrosa, who won in both 2012 and 2014 in MotoGP™ at the Brno circuit, starts from tenth on the grid for the second successive time.

    Maverick Viñales, who crossed the line in third last year in Brno, has qualified in 12th, equalling his worst qualifying result this year so far along with Qatar.

    Alvaro Bautista, who makes his 150th Grand Prix start in the premier class, starts from 14th on the grid. He will be aiming for top five finish in back-to-back races for the first time since 2013.

    Moto2™
    Luca Marini starts from pole position for the first time – his third successive front row start – on what is the 46th Grand Prix race of his Grand Prix career, 22 years later after his half-brother Valentino Rossi won his first race at this same track.

    Luca Marini became the ninth Italian rider to start from pole position since the introduction of the Moto2™ class back in 2010.

    Álex Márquez has qualified in second on the grid, which is his sixth front row of the year and the first since the Catalunya GP. He will be aiming to win for the first time since Japan last season.

    Mattia Pasini completes the front row, which is his first back-to-back front row start since last year. He started from pole position last year in Brno, but he crashed out on the first lap of the restarted race.

    Heading the second row on the grid is Miguel Oliveira as the highest-placed KTM rider, equalling his best qualifying result from Qatar this year.

    Marcel Schrötter has qualified in fifth for his 149th Grand Prix race, which is his best qualifying result since he was second in Assen earlier this year. He will be aiming to stand on the podium for the first time of his career.

    Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia starts from sixth on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result since he was the 15th fastest qualifier in Argentina earlier this year.

    The winner of the German GP, Brad Binder, has qualified seventh on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since fifth in Barcelona this year.

    Moto3™
    Jakub Kornfeil has qualified on pole position for the first time in what is 155th Grand Prix race, becoming the first Czech rider to qualify on pole position since Lukas Pesek in San Marino in 2007. This is the fourth overall pole position of a Czech rider in Grand Prix racing  (Since pole positions are officially recorded in 1974).

    This is the first pole position for a KTM rider since Nicolò Bulega in Japan last year and the first in dry weather conditions since Gabriel Rodrigo in Austria also last year.

    Third at the Sachsenring before the summer break, John McPhee has qualified in second on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole in Mugello last year. The Scotsman won his only Grand Prix race so far in Brno two years ago.

    Marcos Ramírez has qualified in third place on the grid, which is his second successive front row start. He will be aiming to stand on the podium for the third time of 2018.

    Heading the second row is Philipp Öttl, which is his best qualifying result since he was second in Jerez earlier this year on his way to win his first Grand Prix race.

    With Kornfeil, McPhee, Ramírez and Öttl, this is the first time that four KTM riders have qualified within the top four since Japan back in 2013 when Friday free practice sessions were cancelled due to the weather.

    Fabio Di Giannantonio has qualified fifth as the highest-placed Honda rider, which is his best qualifying result since he was third in Jerez earlier this year. He will be aiming to win for the first time on what is his 47th Grand Prix race in the Moto3™ class.

    Nakarin Atiratphuvapat starts from eighth on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was the fourth fastest qualifier last year in Assen in wet weather conditions.

    Second in the Championship behind injured Jorge Martín, Marco Bezzecchi has qualified in 14th, which is his worst qualifying result since he was 28th last year in Valencia.

    ends/db

  • Rajiv Sethu finishes 13th; Anish Shetty crashes out in AP 250cc outing

      • Aussie ace Anthony West triumphs in SuperSport 600cc race

    Chennai, August 08: Veteran Australian Anthony West plotted his way to a brilliant victory, his third in the premier SuperSport 600cc this season to consolidate his top position on FIM Asia Road Racing Championship leaderboard at the MMRT, here on Saturday.

    The 37-year old with a decade’s experience in the World Championship behind him, rode a waiting race over 16 laps on his Yamaha, content to lie in third position after dropping two spots from his pole position start. West, who earlier in the day set a record for fastest qualifying lap of 01:40.585 for pole position, made his move with about two laps from the finish to take the flag ahead of Malaysian Md Zaqhwan Zaidi and 19-year old rising Japanese star Taiga Hada who was representing the Idemitsu Honda Racing India team.

    The Idemitsu Honda Racing India team had another reason to cheer as their rider in the Asia Production 250cc class, Rajiv Sethu, 20, finished 13th in a grid of 24 for his first points this season. However, compatriot and team-mate Anish Shetty, 20, crashed in the eighth of the 12-lap race that Indonesia’s Rheza Danica Ahrens won for his fifth consecutive success in this category.

    In a thrilling finish in the Underbone 150cc race, Ahmed Fazli Sham led a 1-2 for Malaysia as he snatched a dramatic, last-gasp win over Md Helmi Azman with Thailand’s Peerapong Luiboonpeng completing the podium.

    The spotlight no doubt was on the SuperSport 600cc race that boasted of a quality grid with a mix of World championship riders and young guns, but ultimately, it was West’s craftiness and cool that won the day in tricky conditions due to light showers in some sections of the track

    “It was a very difficult race. It took me a few laps to get used to the conditions due to the drizzle before we started. But as the race progressed, I was able to generate more power and then took my opportunities to pass the riders in front,” said West after the victory on his first visit to MMRT.

    Earlier, in the Asia Production 250cc race, Shetty crashed in the eighth lap when he high-sided. “There was an issue regarding the suspension and also my being too aggressive on the throttle which led to the crash. I damaged the left toe which is swollen, but I should be fine for tomorrow’s second race,” said Shetty who is in his maiden ARRC season.

    Sethu said: “I had a bad start, but I gave my best, but other riders too were aggressive and better. However, today, I clocked my best ever time (01:50.555) on this track. Hopefully, I will perform better tomorrow.”

    The other two races scheduled for the day – the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (CBR 250) organised by MMSC and TVS One-Make Championship (Apache RR310) – could not be run today following a heavy downpour soon after the 600cc race.

    The results (Provisional):

    SuperSport 600 (Race-1, 16 laps): 1. Anthony West (Australia, Webike Ikazuchi, Yamaha) (27mins, 35.304secs); 2. Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (Malaysia, Musashi Boon Siew Honda) (27:35.629); 3. Taiga Hada (Japan, Idemitsu Honda Racing India) (27:36.885).

    Asia Production 250 (Race-1, 12 laps): 1. Rheza Danica Ahrens (Indonesia, Astra Honda) (21:53.4); 2. Mario Suryo Aji (Indonesia, Astra Honda) (21:53.5); 3. Reynaldo Chrisantho (Indonesia, ONEXOX TKK Yamaha) (22:01.9).

    Underbone 150 (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Ahmed Fazli Sham (Onexox TKKR Racing Team, Malaysia) (19:02.205); 2. Md. Helmi Azman (SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing team, Malaysia) (19:02.460); 3. Peerapong Luiboonpeng (Team One For All, Thailand) (19:02.502).

  • Zaqhwan Zaidi quickest rider on Friday: ARRC Practice

    Zaqhwan Zaidi quickest rider on Friday: ARRC Practice

    Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (Malaysia), quickest in the SuperSport 600cc class on Friday.

    Chennai, 3 Aug 2018: A long stint racing astride the 1000cc machine has obviously not affected Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi’s ability to finesse the 600cc bike. Fresh from a stint in the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Race, the Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rider charged on to Chennai, India, where the Madras Motor Race Track played host to Round 4 of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship here on Friday.

    After the first day of free practices, Zaqhwan led a mixed bag of competitors by posting the fastest time of 1’41.306s. Just off Zaqhwan’s pace, championship leader Anthony West clocked second fastest with 1’41.388s in his first official run on the 3.74km race track.

    The most impressive rider of the day was team Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rookie Azroy Hakeem Anuar. Azroy, who has been recording increasingly impressive performances in each successive round of the ARRC, stands third fastest with 1’41.677s. Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider Ratthapong Wilairot and Taiga Hada representing home team Idemitsu Honda Racing India by T.Pro Ten10, rounded up the top five. Defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman continues to struggle with balance issues and just managed to clock within the top 10.

    FREE PRACTICE: TOP 5 OVERALL

    1. Zaqhwan Zaidi MAS Honda 1’41.306s;
    2. Anthony West AUS Yamaha 1’41.388s;
    3. Azroy Hakeem Anuar MAS Honda 1’41.677s;
    4. Ratthapong Wilairot THA Yamaha 1’41.828s;
    5. Taiga Hada JPN Honda 1’41.838s;

    ASIA PRODUCTION 250cc: DOUBLE 4-HR CHAMP ANUPAB OUT TO END RHEZA’S DOMINATION

    Anupab Sarmoon’s recent success at the 41st Suzuka 4 Hour Endurance Road Race has given the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider the additional impetus he needed to try to bring an end to Rheza Danica Ahren’s domination in the Asia Production 250cc class.

    Just a week ago, Anupab successfully defended his Suzuka 4 Hour title with the help of his team mate, Peerapong Boonlert. As the AP250 riders went out on track for the first day of practice in Round 4, Anupab has been able to equal speedy Rheza’s pace at the top of the timesheets. Although the Astra Honda Racing Team rider emerged as the fastest rider of the day with 1’48.030s, Anupab was able to lap within the same parameters, coming home second fastest with 1’48.252s.

    With the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship now entering the second half of its 2018 season, Anupab, currently third overall in the AP250 standings, is under pressure to bring home more podium finishes and race wins. As Rheza took the win in round after round, Anupab’s last victory was taken in Round 1, and he has only managed two podium finishes so far.

    As always, Anupab will be facing a field of top Indonesian aces in the AP250 class. The Astra Honda Racing Team’s latest wonderkid, Mario Suryo Aji, posted third fastest with 1’48.775. Rey Ratukore, ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team’s latest recruit, was fourth fastest with 1’48.853s. Andy Muhammad Fadly from Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing, ended the free practices fifth fastest with 1’49.510s

    FREE PRACTICE: TOP 5 OVERALL

    1. Rheza Danica Ahrens INA Honda 1’48.030s
    2. Anupab Sarmoon THA Yamaha 1’48.252s
    3. Mario Suryo Aji INA Honda 1’48.775s
    4. Rey Ratukore INA Yamaha 1’48.853s
    5. Andy Md Fadly INA Kawasaki 1’49.510s

    UNDERBONE 150cc: RECORD BREAKING DAY IN THE UNDERBONE CLASS

    The Underbone 150cc riders kicked off a record-breaking day as Round 4 of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship officially got underway at the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai, India. With most of the

    Underbone riders having had some experience at the challenging South Indian race track, the class is now competing on a whole different level.

    At the end of Free Practice 2, the top seven riders in the class have managed to break the 2017 1’53.944s lap record held by Mohd Akid Aziz. As of Practice 2, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team duo Mohd Helmi Azman and Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam have emerged as the provisional leaders of the class, clocking 1’53.169s and 1’53.178s respectively.

    Defending champion Mohd Akid Aziz was third fastest with 1’53.225s followed by Mohd Adib Rosley from the YY Pang camp. Filipino wonderkid, McKinley Kyle Paz, again riding wildcard for the UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team was impressive on his first run out on the Madras Motor Race Track. He posted fifth in the class with 1’54.252s.

    However, Akid came out with guns blazing in the 30-minute qualifying session. The UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team rider beat his own fastest time by two whole seconds and clocked the fastest time in the class with 1’51.970s. Half a second off Akid’s pace, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team duo Mohd Helmi Azman and Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam logged the second and third fastest times with 1’52.524 and 1’53.325s respectively.

    QUALIFYING: TOP 5 OVERALL

    1. Mohd Akid Aziz MAS Yamaha 1’51.970s
    2. Mohd Helmi Azman MAS Honda 1’52.524s
    3. Fakhrusy Syakirin MAS Honda 1’53.325s
    4. Mohd Affendi Rosli MAS Yamaha 1’53.387s
    5. Mohd Adib Rosley MAS Yamaha 1’53.795s

    eom/db

  • Indians Rajiv Sethu, Anish Shetty aim to finish in top-10: ARRC

    Indians Rajiv Sethu, Anish Shetty aim to finish in top-10: ARRC

    Anish Shetty in action in the AP250cc Practice I at the MMRT on Friday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 3 Aug 2018: Home riders, Chennai’s Rajiv Sethu and Bengaluru-based Anish Damodara Shetty, enjoyed a fairly satisfactory outings during the three practice sessions but with plenty of scope for improvement as the fourth round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship got underway at the MMRT, here on Friday.

    Competing in the Asia Production 250cc class, the Idemitsu Honda Racing India team-mates Sethu, 20, and Shetty,23, though off the pace by about three seconds, did generate hopes of strong results over the next two days when they go through the qualifying session followed by two races.

    Shetty, in his debut season in the championship, was quicker than Sethu in two of the three sessions with a best of 01:51.2, while the Chennai youngster finished the day clocking 01:51.5.

    Sethu, who is still seeking his first points this season, said: “The three practice sessions went quite ok, though I still need to pull out better timings tomorrow for the qualifying. I had a good second session and my immediate goal for this weekend is to try and finish in top 10.”

    Rajiv Sethu in action in the AP250cc practice session in the Asian Road Racing Cham;ionship that began at MMRT on Friday.

    For Shetty, it has been a case of hitting the ground running and still managed to earn two points in the second round in Australia. “It has been a steep learning curve for me. There has been so much to learn in such a short time! I have never ridden such a powerful bike which is much more powerful than the Honda CBR 250 which I ride in the National championship. The AP 250s are twin cylinder machines and much quicker than the CBR250,” said the techie from Bengaluru.

    On his practice sessions today, Shetty said: “I had some issues with the suspension early on, but after some changes, I had a good second session when I posted my best timing for today of 1:51 (one minute, 51.2 seconds). We made some changes ahead of the third session and I had to get used to them. For tomorrow, I hope I can go quicker.

    The quickest rider in the AP 250cc class was championship leader Rheza Danica Ahrens (Indonesia), winner of four the six races over three rounds so far and whose best over three sessions was a 01:48.03.

    Meanwhile, the premier SuperSport 600cc class dished out exciting action with promise of more to come over the next two days. Twice champion (2014 and 2016) Md Zaqhwan Zaidi, the 23-year old Malaysian, posted the quickest timing of the day with a blistering 01:41.306 on his Honda, ahead of championship leader Anthony West (Australia), riding the Yamaha at the MMRT for the first time, who posted his best lap of 01:41.388.

    In the other practice sessions, Aravind Balasubramaniam topped the time sheets in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup organised by MMSC (CBR250), clocking 02:02.205, while Yashas RL was the quickest in the TVS RR310 One-Make Championship with 02:02.4.

    Malaysian Md Akid Aziz on a Yamaha took the top spot in the Underbone 150 qualifying with a 01:51.970.

    eom/db

  • Marquez, Rossi, Viñales and more sit down before the second half – and Zarco & co head for the surf

    BRNO (Czech Republic) 3 Aug 2018: The second half of the season is ready to kick off at the Automotodrom Brno for the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky, but before track action on Friday it was time to talk…and surf?

    First on the Thursday agenda it was a chance for some of the paddock to go JetSurfing – fast becoming a Brno classic of sorts. This time it was the turn of Redox Pruestel GP’s Jakub Kornfeil – a former World Champion in the discipline – to take on Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP), Fabio Quartararo (Boost-Speed Up Racing) and John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) on a Brno layout on the water.

    Then it was time for the traditional pre-event Press Conference, with Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) – who’s starting his 100th MotoGP™ race – joined by closest challenger Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), his teammate Maverick Viñales, Alma Pramac Racing’s Danilo Petrucci and Angel Nieto Team riders Alvaro Bautista and Karel Abraham, local hero. As is to be expected after the break, talk centered on the second half of the season just before kick off.

    “Summer break has been good like always,” begins Marquez. “Time to relax and analyse the first part of the season, which has been good but there are a few mistakes we can improve. Now it’s time to get back to the office and find that same mentality again because it was the right one. I hope we can start in a good way, get the feeling and achieve the same results.”

    Those same results have given him a 46-point lead, but as well as wanting to keep them coming, Marquez reiterated the importance of keeping his mentality.

    “It’s good we start the second half on top with the advantage but the season is long and we need to keep the same mentality, they’re improving every race. We need the same speed and concentration, there will be some circuits that are more difficult but we’ll try to manage it – what we did in the first half.”

    ‘They’ is referring to the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team of Rossi and Viñales, who sit second and third in the standings. For his part, Rossi debriefed the first part of the season and spoke of the work that remains ahead – as well as recognising the great memories that Brno brings, having staged – amongst others – the rider from Tavullia’s first ever GP win, in 1996 in the 125 World Championship.

    “I’m happy in some ways,” says Rossi of the season so far. “Five times on the podium in nine races isn’t bad, and second in the Championship is quite good. But the problem is that I wasn’t strong enough in the first half to try to win. The disadvantage to Marc is already big so we need to work. In the first half of the season the entire team have been able to improve the balance and we’re a bit more competitive but we still need to understand the way to go faster.

    And for Monday’s test? “We have something but not a lot, they are still working a lot at Yamaha but maybe we need a bit more time. We have something for Monday but we have to concentrate on the weekend. Last year it was a good weekend apart from the final result because I was strong in qualifying and the race but with the flag to flag I stopped a lap late and lost the chance at the podium. But I can fight, this track is fantastic with great memories in my career.”

    Teammate Viñales agrees there’s work to do, but he also agrees there has been progress. In addition, the Spaniard says he thinks both he and Rossi are riding the Yamaha at the maximum.

    “It’s important to understand the bike, race by race I feel better every time. And I can start pushing on the limit. There’s a lot to still improve but we have a good bike and if we manage it we can be very competitive.

    “We’re riding our bike at the best level, we just need to make another step. I’m very happy with the last two races and in the box, and we need to continue like that.”

    For Danilo Petrucci it’s a bit different coming into Brno – with a lot less experience of the track in the dry. And this season is also different in a good way, and his best so far.

    “I had no expectations at the beginning of the Championship, I just always hope the next one is the best one,” says the Italian, before looking back a little. “In Assen we lost some points, the only 0 of my season at the moment. At the Sachsenring I recovered some points but I lost the podium with two laps to go…and it’s the second time that’s happened this year. It’s not a good feeling! But we’ve showed our speed and that’s good. We have to continue and to finish the Championship in the top five and be top Independent Team rider could be good. We’re close to Zarco.

    “I don’t know what to expect from this track because for the last two years it’s been half wet and half dry, but I think the target is just to constantly be with the top guys and try to score points.”

    Next up was Alvaro Bautista, who had a very tough start to the year – but is now on a top ten roll and took his best result of the season so far just before the summer break with a top five in Germany. He explained their struggles.

    “In winter we started to work with a setup other Ducati riders used last season but for me it was no good,” says the Spaniard. “So in Jerez we decided to radically change the set up. I started to feel better and race y by race we’ve made small adjustments and I feel much better with the bike, although we’ve not reached our full level yet.”

    There could be more to come, then. And his teammate Karel Abraham will be hoping for a little more this weekend after a difficult year – but he’s got the thrill of racing at home to buoy spirits.

    “I’m a bit confused,” says Abraham of their season, “because last year everything went so well and we were scoring points in almost every Grand Prix, even some top tens. Then this year it’s the other way around and I don’t feel comfortable and we’re not scoring. It feels like there’s some gap we can’t breach at the moment. It’s always nice to have fans and ride at home, so hopefully that helps a bit and I’m looking forward to it. But the technical side is the technical side and it could be tough…”

    The competition will certainly prove so in Brno, with more races this season having broken the record for closest finishes and the Championship a long, long way from over. How will the second half go? Find out when track action starts on Friday 3rd August, before the race on Sunday at 14:00 (GMT +2).

  • Formula 4, an FIA event comes to Madras Motor Sports Race Track  

    Formula 4, an FIA event comes to Madras Motor Sports Race Track  

    F4 Chairman and CEO Peter Thomson. INDIAinF1 Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan

    By Vivek Phadnis

    Bengaluru, 1 Aug 2018: Indian motorsport is definitely on the upward path. Come September, the Madras Motor Race Track will host two weekends of the FIA Formula 4 South East Asian Championship.

    Coming close on the heels of the Asian Road Racing Championship this weekend, what makes the event special is that it is an event that is sanctioned by the International Automobile Federation (FIA). After Formula 1, this is the biggest FIA track racing event that India will be hosting.

    The event is being conducted by the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) and is a stepping stone for teenage drivers who aim to move to the top echelons of track racing like GT or even the pinnacle that is Formula 1. This championship provides the perfect platform for karters to move to single-seater racing.

    The championship began with two consecutive weekends at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, while MMRT will host the second round. The dates for the Chennai round are September 1 and 2 and the following weekend on 8 and 9. With the MMRT, an FIA Grade 2 track, having upgraded the pit and garage facilities, it promises to be an event to remember.

    India’s first Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan had won the F4 championship way back in 1996. Haas Formula One Team development driver and one of India’s best talents, Arjun Maini, has raced in this championship.

    The remaining races will be held in Thailand at the Buriram International circuit and will return to Sepang for the final two weekends. Each weekend will see three action-packed races as the drivers battle it out for the championship.

    The service and engineering for the cars are being provided by Meritus GP. “The cars are powered by FIA-homologated two-litre Renault engines that produce about 160 bhp, while the monocoque chassis is also FIA-homologated. FIA safety standards apply to this championship,” said Peter Thompson, CEO of F4, talking to INDIAinF1.

    In the first weekend in Sepang on July 7 and 8, Thai driver Kane Shepherd came out on top and ended the weekend with 55 points, Presley Martono (Indonesia) finished just two points behind. Frenchman Alessandro Ghiretti finished third with 51 points. Ghiretti was the topper in the Rookie class.

    In the following weekend, again in Sepang on July 13 and 14, Shepherd comfortably took the top spot with 67 points, while Belgian Antoine Potty was second with 45 points. Ghiretti and Malaysian Muizz Musyaffa were on 43 points each. Potty topped the Rookie class.

    ends/db