INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • This year we are more aggressive (with tyres) says, Mario Isola of Pirelli: Friday Press Meet

    Baku, 27 April 2018: The traditional FIA Friday press conference with team representatives saw Paul Monaghan of Red Bull, James Allison of Mercedes and Mario Isola of Pirelli take part in the interaction with the media at the Round 6 of the Formula One World Championship here on today.

    Transcript of the interview:

    Q: Paul, if we could start with you and deal with the here and now, Max Verstappen had a crash in that FP1 session. What can you tell us about the state of your car?
    Paul Monaghan: It’s not survived unscathed, so we’ve got a front-left corner to change, we’re underway with that. There’s a little bit of bodywork repair to do on the left-hand side, change the floor, rear wing, that sort of thing. It’s time-consuming but recoverable. So, with a following wind we’ll get him out in P2.

    Q: Have you spoken to Max, do you know what caused the accident? 
    PM: It’s difficult to know what caused it to swap ends under braking. Nothing’s broken, nothing’s gone wrong. I think he’s braked pretty much in the same point so we’re having a hunt through to see what may lie underneath that but I don’t think there’s anything sinister in it and he’ll be out in P2 – and he’ll be quick, don’t worry.

    Q: Max’s problems aside, the team has hit the ground running this year with RB14, fastest lap in two of the opening three races and, of course, that terrific victory last time out in China. Just how much can you achieve with that car this year?
    PM: We ought to have that chat in Abu Dhabi really, and then we can put facts to it. It really comes down to what the gentleman to my left does and what other competitors do. We will develop at the best pace we can, we’ll try to operate the car in the most competitive way we can and, actually, we’re judged by our opposition, aren’t we? We’ll do what’s in our control, get to the end of the year, be as quick as we can and if we’re in the hunt, we’re in the hung.

    Q: And what can you tell us about updates? Have you got stuff coming in Barcelona? Is there a big chassis upgrade there?
    PM: I don’t think there’s a race where we don’t have any updates. The magnitude of the updates varies race to race, as I’m sure it does for other people as well. There might be a few more changes in Spain – you’ll have to wait and see.

    Q: Mario, if we could come to you now. You gapped the tyre compounds in China, leap-frogging the supersoft tyre. How successful was that approach? What feedback have you had from the teams?
    Mario Isola: I feel it was successful but obviously, the Safety Car changed a little bit the situation. So, we had a two-stop race but mainly due to the Safety Car – but it’s interesting to see that the top teams – Ferrari, Mercedes – decided to qualify in Q2 with a soft compound in order to have this opportunity to start the race with a different tyre. So, we created a bit of difference in strategies also at the beginning of the race. It was the same in Bahrain where all the three compounds were suitable for the race and all the teams used different combinations, different strategies. This is the target we can achieve.

    Q: The desire pre-season was for two pitstops in each grand prix – but one stop has been possible at all of the races. What have you got to do to achieve those two stops?
    MI: If I look at the target that we have, it’s to have different strategies with different numbers of pitstops possible. Obviously if a team is able to control degradation, they always try to maximise the one-stop strategy – or to use the one-stop strategy. So, what we do when we select the compounds is to try to have a two-stop strategy that is the quickest – but obviously, we have a three-stop and a one-stop that is close to the two-stop but with a delta lap time, a total race time, that is sometimes a few seconds. So, depending on team choice and how they manage the pace, they can change and go towards the one-stop strategy that is always, let’s say, less risky, because you don’t go back in traffic – and we know how difficult sometimes it is to overtake another car – you don’t take the risk to have another pitstop, so to make a mistake in that pitstop, and so on. That’s why when you have strategies that are all very close, all the teams are trying to go in the one-stop direction. But, if we have different cars with different strategies, I think we had a couple of good races with a good show. So, we should continue in this direction.

    Q: You announced yesterday your compound choices up to and including the Austrian Grand Prix. Is there a little bit of evidence of a more aggressive compound choice from Pirelli going forwards?
    MI: In general, this year we are more aggressive with at least one step. Here in Baku we are two steps softer than last year. This is the direction. To make the right decisions, we need to collect more data. We started the season, for example, the nomination for Baku was 15 weeks ago and had available only the numbers coming from the Abu Dhabi test, end of last season, so we are collecting new numbers, we put the new numbers in our system to generate strategies, and, if it is possible, – we don’t just consider the numbers but also other elements – but if it is possible, we want to move on the softer side in order to have more interesting races.

    Q: James, Mercedes are leading the Constructors’ Championship but this is the first time in the hybrid era that you’ve got three races without a victory – so what is the mood in the camp at the moment?
    James Allison: Well, hungry to get that first victory, obviously! And hungry to follow it up with more. We’d had our chances. We’ve squandered some of them and we would like, dearly, to have a race weekend where we do everything right and get a race win.

    Q: Is there any evidence that Lewis is struggling with this car more than Valtteri?
    JA: No, I wouldn’t say so. No, I don’t think so. If you look at pre-season, Melbourne and Bahrain as well where he was hampered by a gearbox penalty, but he’s been going well.

    Q: How do you assess the pecking order so far this year?
    JA: It’s tough to do, honestly. We were clearly quickest in Melbourne; it was really close between us and Ferrari in Bahrain and all three teams had a fair shout in China. Probably Ferrari had the edge overall but we looked like we were going to rob them with a bit of a burglary job in an undercut and then Paul had us over at the Safety Car. So it’s terribly tight – which makes for a great spectacle, gives us a real challenge and is anxiety-inducing and exhilarating in equal measure for us and the teams.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: A question for both Paul and James. From next season we will have an increase in the fuel limit in Formula 1. I just wanted to get your thoughts on the potential this has to change the competitive order. Do you think there is enough of a difference in the fuel efficiency of the different engine manufacturers to make a bit of a difference?
    PM: Honestly, I can’t answer your question, because I can’t tell you how fuel efficient the Ferrari or the Mercedes is, not from their measured sheets, we can make an estimate. Will it change the competitive order, I don’t believe it will, no. What you’ll find is… let’s take the ideal scenario, by which the Red Bull is the quickest car next year. We’ll get first and second on the grid, other people will be behind us and then in the race you’ll have 110kg of fuel to burn. If we all need to lift off a certain amount at the beginning of the race then you’re not going to change the order very much. What will happen is, let’s say if our engine is less fuel efficient, then we won’t be lifting off but we will go off the line slightly heavier. If anything, what we will avoid is all the people lifting off the straights to try and save the fuel, which I think will be better for the overall spectacle.

    James, anything to add?
    JA: No, very similar. I don’t think it will change the order one iota, but people don’t really like the lift-and-coast spectacle and it will reduce that somewhat at the very heavily fuel-limited tracks. However, not all the tracks are heavily fuel-limited and there it will make no difference at all.

    Q:  To Paul and James: after the Ferrari report of their incident in Bahrain was shared with the teams, have you in way changed your pit stop procedures and operations?
    JA: No, is the answer.
    PM: We’re the same; we’ve not changed anything

    Q:  To Paul and James: just a quick question about the rule change on the ability to fit mirrors on the Halo. I just wondered if teams had looked into that at all yet and if it’s something we will see in the future?
    PM: Now there is some clarity, I guess we know that we can now put mirrors on Halos, so if someone wants to go down that route and try to fulfill the other requirements in the TD, which are not trivial to observe, then yes, we will see it in a few races’ time. Whether or not you actually can make it work I think is more tricky.
    JA: Yeah, it’s not a rule change, it’s a clarification of the existing rules and it is tough. It is tough to attach to attach a mirror and not make it wobble around and satisfy all the criteria of the TD that clarifies what you can and can’t do.

    Q:  Again to the two technical delegates on the stage. If we look at the post-2020 regulations, where they’re talking about doing away with some of the heat energy recovery systems and increasing rev limits and fuel flow and whatever. Could we see a return to pit stops with refueling or are we just going to go to the line with cars weighing 50 or 60 kilos more than they do at the moment?
    JA: Well, there would need to be a change that would allow refueling back into the sport for that to happen. If refueling was allowed it’s quicker to do a race that way, but I’m not sure that’s part of the package of things that is currently on offer for 2021. Does that answer your question?

    Q: Then the weight is going to go up drastically?
    JA: Well, the weight will be whatever the fuel allowance is, won’t it?

    Paul?
    PM: It’s difficult to answer your question Dieter, because we haven’t been presented with a set of technical regulation proposals for 2021. You could up the fuel flow rate to the engine and not give us any more fuel flow for the race, in which case your off-the-line weight doesn’t actually change but will never attain the qualifying fuel flow rate. So, as James had said, we don’t have refueling at the moment, we could, but if that’s not in then you are correct in that the potential is for the car weight to go up off the line.

    Would you like to see a return of refueling? 
    PM: No idea, actually. We looked at it a while ago and from memory of the simulation work done within Red Bull, I suspect all the teams’ strategies would converge on the same thing, because you no longer have an ever-decreasing car weight, you reset every time. You‘ll pick the quickest way to do the race, the pit stops get a little bit longer, and if we all sit there doing the same thing then what we have done is to put a big valve in the side of the car.
    JA: It’s to be assessed carefully but the refueling strategies are more predictable and allow less variation in the race and less surprise in the race than non-refuelling strategies, because once you put a chunk of fuel in your car, you have to stop on the lap where you run out, or a lap or two before and everyone knows when that is going and it just stops the surprise undercut or the chance overcut that comes with the current regs.

    Q: James, last season Mercedes faced a sustained challenger from Ferrari, which mean that you were having to react to having an extra car or two in the competitive picture from the beginning. This year it looks like Red Bull is in the mix too. Apart from simply adding two more cars to the equation, how much more difficult has that made Mercedes’ life and how have you responded to that challenge.
    JA: Well, time will how we respond to it. Hopefully we respond to it by being nicely competitive and at the front of the pack. But that will be very difficult, because these are two very strong competitors. Having six cars that can have a claim on the top step of the podium makes it a headache for all six that are doing that. All we can do is try to make our car as quick as it can be, with the developments we bring in the factory and then have a weekend, every time we come out here, where we make no mistakes, and hopefully other blink, and others maybe don’t develop quite so strongly. But these are three very strong teams, so it makes for an exciting prospect.

    Q:  Question for Mario: have you had any feedback on the ultrasoft performance from the first session, because we heard Seb’s radio message where he said these tyres are toast and we know that Kimi’s only got one set of supers? Has there been any feedback?
    MI: I think we have a lot of track evolution, which is typical of street circuits like this one. The circuit was with a lot of dust and so we need to wait for FP2 to understand the real performance of the three compounds. It’s not a surprise that the level of grip in general is very low so we will see. There is also the wind that sometimes affects the performance or changes the braking points and so on, so let’s wait and see what happens in FP2.

    Q:  Mario, several teams including Mercedes have found it harder to find the sweet spot with the 2018 Pirelli tyres. Have you been surprised by that? And to Paul and James, how has been the tyres’ measurement from your own perspective? 
    MI: No, I’m not surprised because when we have a working range, we give an interval of temperature where the tyres are working but there is always a peak and when you have three teams with the cars so close, they are looking for any hundredth of a second to find the best performance in the tyre. That means that it’s very difficult to find the sweet spot, even if you have a working range that is wider. To develop new compounds, especially the softer compounds we started from the soft from last year – that was the one with the wider working range, so the approach was this one, trying to increase the working range but as I said, it’s not flat performance from eighty to 110 degrees, you always have a peak and if a car is able to stay in that position, they have a performance advantage.
    JA: Well, we have generally got it right in the race, so we’ve generally had the tyre working very nicely in the races, pre-season and in these opening rounds but we have not always got it right in qualifying, to make the tyre wake up and play on the single lap and that’s our job to do. It’s eminently do-able and it’s going to be fun when we get it right every time.
    PM: To answer your question, I don’t think it’s any more difficult than it’s been the past few years. Once you’ve identified what you want to try and do with it, if the drivers and teams get it right then we can find it. I think it’s an evolution of what we’ve learned for the last few years.

    Q: To the two technical delegates: there’s been this talk about the $150m budget cap which applies predominantly to technical issues and race operation issues because marketing etc are excluded. James, specifically your team, which is one of the biggest budgets on the grid and also to Paul, is it actually realistic to expect a team to cut back to $150m in two years’ time? 
    JA: Well, I think the answer to that is probably a little above my pay grade. You want to probably pitch that towards Toto but what I would know is that this is the opening point of what will be a fair amount of discussion between the teams and Liberty over the coming weeks and months, and I’m sure that a position will eventually be agreed that works for all parties.
    PM: I would agree with what James has said. We will see where the discussion goes and we’ll set the team up to suit the rules as they evolve and become clearer.

    Q: Another question for James and Paul: over the last few months, there’s been plenty of discussion over FIA personnel leaving and joining different teams on the grid; in fact one of those is starting his first Grand Prix weekend here with Renault. One of the suggestions has been that that could lead to a bit of mistrust from teams about what they can and can’t present to the FIA for fear of it eventually being taken elsewhere. Has there been any evidence of that so far and do you think that is a serious issue going forward? 
    PM: It is a serious issue. It has been discussed in other forums, shall we say. I believe that there is now a non-disclosure agreement between the FIA, F1 and all the teams, so our data is at least protected. People move between the teams, so knowledge is transferred in that respect. I suppose someone in a governing body with access to all the teams’ areas could be a prize catch and I believe that there are changes afoot to limit how… what a gardening period and after that it’s a process that we are all at risk to, I guess.
    JA: I think your question was whether there had been any evidence of that? No, the FIA have always treated our data with unimpeachable fairness and discretion and there’s no evidence at all that there’s been anything other than that, even with a couple of people leaving so no.

  • Gaurav Gill odds-on favourite to win MRF South India Rally: INRC Round 1

    Gaurav Gill odds-on favourite to win MRF South India Rally: INRC Round 1

    Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif of Mahindra Adventure, all set to defend their Indian National Rally Championship crown. The 2018 INRC season commences in Chennai this weekend.  Photos: Anand Philar.​

    Chennai, 27 April 2018: Reigning champion Gaurav Gill, driving the Mahindra Adventure’s XUV 500, heads a 31-car field as the MRF South India Rally which kicks off the 2018 FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship season here this weekend.

    Organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club, the event which commences with a ceremonial flag-off at the GRT Hotel here on Friday, will see the participants tackling 106.6 Kms of Special Stages over the following two days.

    The two physical Stages are located at the iconic MMRT racing circuit where a 10.15 Kms of dirt track has been specially prepared, and the 13.85 Kms AAVISA, about 24 Kms away from MMRT, off Chennai-Bengaluru National highway.

    Much of the attention will be on 36-year old Delhi-based Gill who will be making his entry into the World Rally Championship 2 category later this year, backed by MRF Tyres who had supported him through 10 seasons in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship that he won thrice.

    Ahead of the season-opener, there are plenty of expectations. For one, Gill is the overwhelming favourite to retain the National title with the seasoned Musa Sherif in the co-driver’s seat.

    The top-end INRC 1 class has six entries, besides Gill. His team-mate Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) will be in the second XUV 500 vehicle while the field also includes two Toyota Liva entries representing Team Thums, and Arjun Rao (Satish Rajagopal) of Falcon Motorsports in a VW Polo R2.

    Creating a big buzz in the INRC circles is 61-year old Vicky Chandhok who is making a comeback of sorts after a gap of 18 years. He is partnered by the highly rated co-driver M Chandramouli. Former FMSCI president Chandhok who is also the president of the FIA APRC, will be driving a factory-supported VW Polo R2 in the INRC 1 class.

    “It feels great to get back into a rally car and drive it with anger. I hope to do well. The last rally I drove was in 2000 in the same event in a Mitsubishi Lancer. But the R2 is a whole lot different package, but fun to drive,” said Chandhok, looking far trimmer after a month’s absence from his favourite whisky! “I haven’t touched a drop in the past one month, but will enjoy my drink on Sunday after the rally,” he added.

    The competition in the INRC 2 and INRC 3 classes appears wide open. Both categories showcase a lot of experience and youth besides talent. Rahul Kanthraj and his co-driver Vivek Bhatt (Arka Motorsports) head the INRC 2 field and will be seeking a winning start in their bid to retain the crown in this class. The duo will be starting their 19th season together and form one of the most enduring partnerships in the National championship.

    Kanthraj will have to keep a sharp eye on his talented team-mate Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai) who is among the most talented rally drivers in the country, but has never quite been able to match his potential. For the South India Rally, Kadur’s big issue is his brand new VW Polo whose engine is still to be run-in, and as such, face overheating problem that cropped during the test session yesterday. So, Kadur will have his fingers crossed.

    In INRC 3, young Mangalorean Dean Mascarenhas and co-driver Shrupta Padiwal in Falcon Motorsports livery are the odds-on favourites, having won the championship in this class last year. However, they can expect stiff competition from rookie Fabid Arakkal (co-driver Fayaz Arakkal) from Kerala who is being spoken of highly by the connoisseurs.

    Also in INRC 3 is the experienced Bengaluru pair of Chetan Shivram and co-driver Rupesh Kholay who have moved up a class after winning the 2-Wheel Drive Cup last season.

    `Champions’ from Coorg raring to go!

    Meanwhile, a new team called “Team Champions”, hailing from Kodagu district in Karnataka, will be making a debut in the INRC with a two-car entry in the INRC 3 class.

    The two non-championship categories, 2-Wheel Drive Cup and 4-Wheel Drive Cup, complete the grid with the former having seven entries and the latter, just one, a Maruti Gypsy, driven by Nikhil J, which a few years ago was phased out from the championship.

    After this morning’s recce run, the competitors were unanimous in their praise of both the two Special Stages which are likely to see very high speeds. A few jumps over crests will no doubt add spice to the proceedings. The AAVISA Special Stage was said to be quite fast despite the many tight corners. The track stage which was specially prepared for this event and which will serve as a training / practice circuit, should see plenty more action with several high-speed jumps that should be a photographer’s delight. Overall, MMSC have put in a lot of effort to provide excellent Stages that in more ways one are “driver’s delight”.

     

     

  • The highs and lows of sport can bring you a lot of emotions, happy emotions too: Ricciardo

    Baku, 26 April 2018: The following drivers took part in the FIA Thursday press conference of the Formula One World Championship here: Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Nico Hulkenberg (Renault), Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Daniel, if we could start with you, last time you were in the press conference room you were very emotional after winning in China. Having had two weeks to reflect on it, why did that win mean so much to you?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I haven’t had many, I guess, so they still feel very special. The wins. I guess it had been a fairly long time since Baku. A pretty long time between drinks, the last win and the whole race, I guess the weekend in Bahrain, the kind of… I just feel that the biggest disappointment in racing is being out of the race at the beginning, y’know, before it’s really started. You’re out of the race on the first lap or something, it’s tough – because you’ve worked all weekend to get to the Sunday and then it’s over like that. After Bahrain, I was obviously relieved to have a race the weekend after and have a chance to back it up. Well, to try again. And then yeah, the whole weekend, Saturday, FP3, another kinda head-down moment, but then to get out for qualifying and how the race turned out. It was cool. I guess just a lot emotion, happy emotions for sure. Yeah. The highs and lows of the sport can do that to you.

    Q: Have you seen enough from Red Bull Racing to think about the Championship this year?

    DR: Probably haven’t seen enough from everyone yet! So, I’m not thinking about the Championship in that sense. Obviously, I want to think about being there. But yeah, naturally because we won everyone’s asking can we fight for the championship now? It’s still early – but I think we’ve proved, if we’re there, we can do a lot with it. That’s the plan: to continue to be there for the next few races.

    Q: Nico, coming on to you, you’ve qualifying seventh at every race since Mexico last year. You’ve only been out-qualified by a team-mate once in the last 27 races. It’s an impressive stat, so let’s start by talking about qualifying. Have you made a step in this area?

    Nico HÜLKENBERG: I think I’ve just managed to… yeah… to hit it on the head each time. I quite enjoy qualifying, I like getting out there where it counts and putting a lap together. I feel also the last 20 or so races I also had a car that allows me to do that and gives me the support that a driver needs also. Since last year, with this generation of cars, when you have the downforce, you’ve got more grip to work with. It’s just been a bit more fun and probably helps the way I drive also, a little bit.

    Q: Let’s talk about where Renault are battling in the Championship. It looks, at the minute, a tight fight between yourselves, Haas and McLaren for fourth. Is this where you see yourself destined this year – or do you think you can start to challenge the guy on your left?

    NH: No, I think for now it’s more, like you say, about Haas and McLaren, these kind of teams, to try to keep them at bay but it’s very tight. Each weekend will be a bit different depending on the tyre compounds, different tracks and layouts. What favours one car more than another one. But for sure it’s a big development race in the midfield also. But yeah, we’re trying to get ahead but still got a lot of areas to work on to catch all the three guys ahead.

    Q: Kevin, coming on to you. While we’re talking about this battle for fourth place, perhaps we could ask you about Haas. Do you think they can maintain their current level of competitiveness, going forwards?

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: It’s not going to be easy for sure. We’ve started with a good car and done a good job over the winter. I think we’re in this situation and we haven’t had a perfect start to the year so I think there’s more in it if we can get through the races and clear out any mistakes. Then I think we’re in good shape. Whether it will stay like that for the whole year, I think it depends a lot on how the other teams do: obviously, Renault and McLaren. Last year, consistency wasn’t our biggest strength, so I think that’s an area we have improved, it seems. Our car this year is a little easier to work with and seems like it has a broader window for its performance. I’m hoping that we can at least be much more competitive thought the whole season than last year – but whether we can keep up to those big guys, it’s not going to be easy but we’ll do our best.

    Q: You mentioned consistency, and one area where you have been very consistent is qualifying. You appear to have made a big step since last year. Can you explain how that’s come about?

    KM: It’s only been three races but I think the car is obviously better than last year. It’s performing, as I said, it has a broader window for its performance and it’s easier. You can set it up for what you prefer as a driver, in your driving style and it will still work. It’s just a little easier to drive. A little more forgiving, more predictable and it obviously has more grip. In terms of aero it’s more consistent. I prefer a consistent car, especially on the rear, a rear that I can trust and depend on and predict. This car has a good consistency in that regard. I think that helps – but generally just being more competitive makes things easier.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: Question for Daniel. You won in China from sixth place. Only one of the previous 72 races, there has been a driver starting outside the top five who also won. That was you, here in Baku. What is your secret? Is it patience? Can you tell me something about it?

    DR: I’d like to qualify on the front row. It’s not always the case. I don’t know. Obviously the race is the race and qualifying is super-important in the sport but you can also have a different car on Sunday. You can take more opportunities and more opportunities can present themselves in the race – and that’s ultimately what we get to the weekend for, is the Sunday. The race obviously had the mid-race safety car in China and bunched everyone up and gave me a second chance to attack. I sensed an opportunity and made sure I capitalised on that. I think that’s something I really demand from myself and, I guess, expect from myself. A bit like Baku last year. Mid-race we were at the back but it was kinda just… you see a car in front and you try to pass them, you see the next car, you try to pass them, you see the next car and try to pass them. Obviously, I knew Seb was going to have the penalty, Lewis had the headrest thing. It was crazy – but again I sensed an opportunity and knew the restart was super-important to try to pass the Williams in front and in the end, for me that was the race-winning move, so I think yeah, just being aware of what’s available. Because we’re not winning every weekend, when you have a sniff of a victory, that’s all the motivation and the hunger I need. It’s enjoyable when you can see it in front of you.

    Q: Question for you Daniel, you have a big decision to make at some point over what you do for next season, which team you’ll be driving for. Red Bull is an environment you know extremely well, it will be a big change of scenery if you did go to another team. Lewis was in a similar situation a few years ago, left McLaren for Mercedes. How curious are you to find out if the grass is greener somewhere else?

    DR: It’s a good way of putting it. I don’t know. The curiosity will not overcome the facts, I guess, in terms of what options I will have, I guess and then which car is ultimately the fastest I can be with. Obviously that’s really top of my list. So yeah, I wouldn’t just… to answer that differently, I wouldn’t just go somewhere else just for a change. If I did move on obviously I’d want to make sure it was something I feel would potentially be better. That’s all really.

    Q: As a follow-up to that, do you feel a loyalty to Red Bull?

    DR: There will always be a bit of that, for sure. It’s kind of like, the start of it, 2008, it’s ten years since I was in the Red Bull Junior Team. So it’s a long time and they really set it up for me, to make all this happen. There will always be that. At some point you’ve got to weigh-up what does what but regardless, there will always be something and I’d always show love, I think, nonetheless.

    Q: Daniel, you said you can go to one place potentially better. After watching the last race, we saw Kimi competing for Sebastian, not for himself, and he was faster than Sebastian all the weekend, except in qualifying. Aren’t you worried that eventually, if you consider the possibility of Ferrari, that people you ask the same function as Kimi, to work just for another driver and not for himself, being a world champion like him?

    DR: These are certainly things that I would… wherever I may be, or go, I would always make sure that there was some clarity. I wouldn’t want to go somewhere where I didn’t feel I had a chance. At the moment that’s what I’m chasing is to try and be world champion. That’s my goal, my dream, something I really believe I’m capable of, so yeah, if someone said ‘we’ll let here but you can’t do this’, that’s not an attraction option to me. Is that the case somewhere? I don’t know. I honestly don’t know what’s going on with other teams. At Red Bull there’s always been really good clarity and I would say fairness, since 2014, since I’ve been there. That’s been certainly a nice environment and I would expect that environment everywhere.

    Q: A question for Nico, Kevin and Daniel. How surprised are you that Mercedes didn’t win yet and do you think it might change this weekend? Is it good for the sport?

    NH: I think there have always been some circumstances that stopped them from winning. In Melbourne it was a safety car, in Shanghai as well, in Bahrain I don’t remember. I tend not to look at their race so much. I think they will get a shot at it pretty soon. Again, I think they have one of the best packages, so it’s just a matter of time.

    Kevin?

    KM: Nothing to add to that.

    Are you surprised?

    KM: Oh yeah, very surprised.

    Daniel?

    DR: They’re still very competitive and probably for circumstances and maybe not executing the perfect race yet are perhaps why. I think it is a matter of time. It is good for the sport, I think, to have that little bit of a change for now, but I don’t think it’s going to be necessarily a trend. As Nico said, I think it is a matter of time. They do have a fast car. They do have certainly a good package. We’ll try to keep holding them out as long as we can. But for sure, I expect them to be strong every weekend.

    Q: Daniel, to what extent have you had any talks with Ferrari or Mercedes or Red Bull about next year, and how would you feel going side by side with Lewis?

    DR: So, I’ve only had talks with Red Bull. Even already last year, we’ve been pretty open with each other, and through the media as well, I think everyone is aware they’re interested in keeping me. We’ve had some talks regarding that obviously. I’m aware of other reports, but there hasn’t been anything else. They’re not true, at least up until now certainly not. Lewis: I would love to be challenged against the best and Lewis is arguably up there, so for sure that would be a good challenge. I’ve got a good challenge now obviously with Max and I had Seb, so I don’t want to say it’s just Lewis I’m looking for, but that would be a good challenge.

    Q: Daniel, to date Red Bull have managed your career, so you’ve driven for them and they’ve also been your managers. Now at the end of this year you’re on your own. What sort of infrastructure do you have? Do you honestly believe you could negotiate a crucial contract for your future and concentrate on delivering your best on track this year? Do you have a manager? Do you have some advisers? What do you have?

    DR: Yeah, I’ve got a small little group, a network, around me and as far as the real negotiations go. I’ve got a guy doing that for me. Look, I’m obviously super aware and invested in what I want and where I see myself I guess, but as far as the real in-depth talks and all that, I think it’s best for me not to really focus on that too much. I’ve been getting asked the same questions since Austin, since Max re-signed. I think it was in Austin. So, it’s been probably been more than six months now, and it hasn’t got me. I don’t overcomplicate it. I guess with the people around me I keep it pretty small and I’m happy with that.

    Q: Daniel, as a follow-up to the earlier question. Could you specifically rule out that you have any kind of pre-arrangement with Ferrari, because that’s what the reports have been in Italy?

    DR: No, that’s not true. Yeah, I can say that.

    Q:  The question goes to Daniel…

    DR: I’m going to buy these guys a drink… Jeez!

    Q:  You’re brave driver, I expect now a brave answer. Do you think you would have won the race in Bahrain with the Mercedes in this situation?

    DR: Oh, I answered this question in Shanghai. I know you weren’t in Shanghai. All I said is that I would have tried. I don’t want to say tried like… I would have had a look in Turn 1. If it worked, I don’t know, I don’t want to say it, because I wasn’t in the race and it’s probably not fair, and it’s probably a bit disrespectful when I wasn’t in Seb or Valtteri’s shoes. But I would see myself having a lunge for sure, so that’s the way I would answer it.

    Q: Daniel, Baku was the only race you won last year, and how do you feel now when you are again here and does it give you more confidence before the current race?

    DR: Well done, Baku. I’ve been waiting to say that. Felt good! Obviously some good memories. I think when you come back to a track that you’ve had success on, I don’t think it necessarily changes your confidence. I think every race you go to you come prepared and that gives you confidence. So I’m not coming here thinking I’m going to be better than I was last week or anything like that, but there is a good feeling. There’s a nice feeling coming back, some good memories, so there are happy thoughts, I guess, and that’s nice. But the approach to the on-track stuff and the way I’ll approach the weekend, that doesn’t change.

    Daniel, you’ve had fastest lap in two of the opening three races. Are you favourite this weekend?

    DR: I wouldn’t go that far! Maybe a fan favourite, is that what you’re saying? I hope we’re close, but I think it’s too early to say we’re favourites. I think we have a good race car for sure. I think one-lap pace we’ve still got to show a bit more. At least for Saturday I think we’ll probably not be there but Sunday, who knows, that can turn around.

    Q: I was going to ask you Daniel, but the question fits all three drivers: the three of you have had a better start to the season than last year and I know the season is still long but does this give an amount of confidence, a boost?

    KM: Yeah, definitely, it’s a much better season, getting off better at the start of the season so yeah, I would say the answer is yes, it’s a nice feeling and it’s more and enjoyable and easier to look forward to the races when you know you’ve got a good car and can fight for points.

    NH: Yeah, for sure. It’s definitely fun if you have a good couple of races and straightaway you get a couple of points and good results on the board. For sure that helps yourself, you know, but also the whole team, all the people are working hard; back in the factory, it puts a spring in their step and helps to create a good atmosphere and motivation inside the team.

    Q: And Nico, how are you enjoying the intra-team battle with Carlos Sainz this year?

    NH: I enjoy it, it’s good so far.

    DR: Yeah, I think the team one’s a big one. For sure it’s getting a good start like that it’s… there’s a lot of people back at the factory and for them to have that kind of motivation and that drive, it’s a long season and to get that kick-started early with some results is really important. I definitely feel that and believe that so that’s cool and I think from a personal point of view I think it’s just nice to get the season started well, because there’s a long break, obviously, between the… the off-season, then you do your training and you obviously prepare as well as you can so when that then corelates to good results on track that’s also a little bit rewarding.

    Q: Bahrain was only two races ago for you guys, are you worried about reliability?

    DR: I don’t want to use the word worried because, at least from my point of view, I’ve just got to drive the car. In a way it’s out of my control so I’m not going to drive around worried. You’re going too fast and too focused to be worried, but yeah, right now I’m not really in the short term. Maybe once we get later in the season it’s likely we’ll come across some penalties or whatever but right now… baseline chill.

    Q: We know now that next season Formula One is going to raise the fuel limit slightly. From your perspective, do you feel a bit too forced to manage your races at the moment and do you think this is going to make a significant difference in terms of flat-out racing next year?

    NH: Yeah, it will definitely help the fuel saving situation and not really having to worry about that too much, on that front, definitely allows you to push to the limit. Obviously it’s not always just about fuel sometimes, it’s linked in with what the tyres are doing, how they behave. Weekend for weekend that’s quite different. There might be some of that left still but for sure it’s a positive thing I think and in the right direction.

    DR: Yup, I don’t see any real loss for the… Like races like Melbourne, that’s quite a high fuel demand circuit – there’s probably a better word but you know what I mean. So there’s a lot of lifting during the race, a lot of fuel management I guess. We all do it, part of us, like now, we’re all used to doing it but for sure it’s going to be better if we can race with real intentions for every lap.

    KM: Yeah, I think it’s good that it’s been raised. There are some races during the year that can be really really tricky like Russia for example, it can be almost ridiculous there. So it’s nice to see that going up so you can push a bit more. I don’t mind a little bit of fuel saving…  sometimes even before you had these limitations, like five years ago they were doing some management because they would start the race with an anticipation of safety cars or whatever. A little bit is fine but sometimes it’s too much. I think it’s a good change.

    Q: Daniel, what exactly are you looking for in your next contract? You’ve been reported as saying you don’t want anything longer than two years because Formula One’s going to be changing post-2020. The other top teams have all got somebody established in there already. What are you actually looking for? You’ve said you’ve got key requirements that you want, what are they, please?

    DR: Did I say key requirements, Dieter Rencken? I don’t really know how to answer any more contract questions. I don’t know if I’m getting bored of it but no, look, the real requirement obviously is to try and put myself in a position to win a World title. As I said, it doesn’t mean where I am currently is not that place but I think that’s why I’m trying to take my time with it because it’s still too early. Obviously we won the last race, that was great but realistically we need to win more than just once in the season to fight for a title so that’s why I’m going to take my time, but that’s the priority for sure and I guess the financials and all that are definitely behind that.

    Q: Daniel, how concerned are you about the regulations post-2020?

    DR: I guess I haven’t thought about it too much. We’re aware of it but I don’t know if I’m concerned about it. I don’t know. I feel like every year something changes, as in like life changes, things change, so looking beyond, like two years after this, seems like a long way away so that’s more for that but for the sport itself, I think all us drivers will do what we can to make it – any change – to make it for the better, we will, for the racing, for the atmosphere, for all of that. We are, let’s say, investing some time in those discussions, amongst us drivers, but I’m not necessarily concerned about the sport or where it’s going. But yeah, for me personally, I think just thinking about 2021 now seems like a long time away.

    Q:  Daniel, my last question about your future, for the moment: you said you didn’t speak with Ferrari or Mercedes at the moment, only with Red Bull. But are you patient enough to wait, that people come to you or do you have a deadline maybe in summertime and nobody, apart from Red Bull, was talking to you? Would you then go to the people from Mercedes or Ferrari, to ask what’s going on? Or would you just wait until they come to you?

    DR: I guess it’s not a bad question. For sure, like the summer seems fine. I guess I don’t really fear not having a seat next year so I don’t feel that I need to sign something tomorrow or I will have nothing, so I guess for that reason I feel like I can see until the summer what’s happening. If nothing has happened since then, then yeah, I guess I think of Plan B or whatever that is and if it’s only then Red Bull, then that’s where I am at so yeah, but I don’t really feel that I need to push anything until then.

    Q: All of you drive cars with power units that have won races this year: Ferrari and Renault. Mercedes out of first place until now. Can you comment what improvements your partner took for Renault to win the races and also Ferrari?

    Q: Your thoughts on the Ferrari power unit this year, Kevin, compared to last year?

    KM: Yeah, it’s a step forward, not only in power – a little step in power but in reliability. We need to see a little further to be sure that the reliability is there completely but it seems like it is. No complaints about the power unit. It’s not the power unit’s fault that we’re not winning, for sure.

    NH: Yeah, I think for us at Renault it’s the step in reliability that we’ve managed to fix. Obviously the second half of last year we had a lot of problems, lost a lot of points and results and I think they’ve managed to cure and fix a lot of the issues there. On top of that, also worked on a lot of the installation things. Powerwise, I think we’ve made a step too so they’ve done a very good job on the Renault power unit over the winter. Doesn’t mean that there’s not more work to do but I think we’ve done some good improvements.

    DR: I think, in race trim, I think on Sundays… I guess it’s no secret we don’t have as much power available on a Saturday as Ferrari and Merc power units but I think on Sunday, when everything kind of settles down and you run a race mode-type of engine, I think we’ve closed the gap on Sundays so yeah, following the quicker cars in China, for example, even Kimi in Melbourne, from what I remember last year, it felt like we were certainly losing out a lot less in those conditions so that was nice, that was positive, for sure.

     

  • Commanding Tom Sykes storms to Assen win to break Jonathan Rea’s Dutch streak: WorldSBK

    Assen, 22 April 2018: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) put in the most dominant performance in the 2018 season of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship so far, recording fastest lap after fastest lap to score his first win of the campaign, ending Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)’s Assen winning streak in the process. Behind the KRT riders, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) recorded his second successive podium in front of his home crowd.

    Since Sylvain Guintoli in Race 1 of 2014, nobody had managed to question Rea’s authority at the Cathedral. That streak, eight successive wins here including Race 1 yesterday, was finally closed by Rea’s teammate, the only other rider on the grid who had previously won here (2013, Race 1).

    Yesterday Sykes stressed how fast his bike could be, with his issues only coming whenever he needed to overtake his rivals, particularly the Ducatis. This wasn’t a problem here: Sykes started from pole, didn’t allow Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) to squeeze forward at the start, and then pushed hard until opening a 5-6 gap with his closest pursuers, consistently riding two to three tenths of a second faster than Rea and van der Mark.

    The pair held an exciting duel yesterday for the win, and from the start they were paired together again: eighth and ninth on the grid, third and fourth after Lap 1, and competing for second for the latter two thirds of the race. Eventually, Rea managed to open a gap with his Yamaha rival, completing the first KRT one-two since Laguna Seca/R2 2017. He now leads the championship by 30 points, and despite not beating Carl Fogarty’s historic 12 Assen wins, the reigning champion will be pleased to have opened a gap here in the Netherlands.

    Van der Mark couldn’t fight for the win today, but pleased the home fans with a third place, his fifth Assen podium finish, and moves into fourth in the championship standings. The man he overtakes this weekend, Xavi Fores, came in just behind in fourth position, the first Ducati rider and, as in most races so far this season, the best independent rider.

    The Ducatis, in fact, struggled under the Assen heat, with both Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) encountering trouble at the start and moving back to 8th and 10threspectively. Eventually, Davies fought back to fifth, but will be frustrated at not being able to get closer to the podium.

    Melandri suffered more, however, falling back and never really escaping from the middle pack of five riders that closed the top-10 positions. He finishes seventh, behind the MV Agusta of Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) – best personal finish of the season – and only just ahead of Loris Baz (GULF Althea BMW World Superbike Team) in eighth, his second successive top-ten finish. That group was closed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in ninth, followed by Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) in tenth.
    P1 – Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    “It feels incredible, I had a struggle and I’ve jsut got to say thanks to my team. I’m really happy for this win, the old Sykes is back. I got to the front and listened to what the Pirelli tyres were saying, the guys gave me a great set up. We had the bike fit for the win, it was nice controlling the race with my pit board. What a feeling, I’ve got that one off my back and it feels great.”P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    “I felt good, I enjoyed the race and felt good, what ruined the race for us was our track position, Tom got away and I was stuck in traffic. When I arrived I could keep the pace similar but I had used so much tyre, so second was the best I could do today, Tom did an incredible job and it’s great for the team, a 1-2 for Kawasaki is a great job.”

    P3 – Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK)
    “I am really happy with the double podium, I didn’t feel like I had the full pace today but I could follow Jonny and I had a feeling I could attack in the last few laps, but I had a problem as I couldn’t back shift. But I’m so happy, its been a great weekend with perfect weather, amazing fans and a double podium.”

    #DutchWorldSBK at TT Circuit Assen: Race 2
    1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.445
    3. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) +7.507

  • Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas – A Sunday Guide for you

    MotoGP
    Maverick Viñales starts from pole position for the sixth time in the premier class, becoming the first non-Honda rider to start from pole in the USA since Jorge Lorenzo in Laguna Seca back in 2012. He crashed out of the race on the second lap last year at Austin.

    In second place on the grid is Andrea Iannone, who starts from the front row for the first time since he was third on the grid at Valencia in 2017. This is also the best qualifying result for Suzuki in the USA since Chris Vermeulen was on pole in Laguna Seca back in 2007.

    In third place is Johann Zarco, who starts from the front row for the seventh successive time since Japan last year. He is the highest-placed Independent Team rider on the grid.

    After being given a penalty of three grid positions, Marc Márquez won’t start from pole position for the sixth successive year at the Grand Prix of the Americas. He is still aiming to take his sixth successive win at this track, however, which would be his 10th successive win in the MotoGP™ class in the USA. Marquez has not stood on the top step of the podium since Australia last year.

    Valentino Rossi starts from the middle of the second row, his best qualifying result since he was fourth in Sepang last year, which was also the last time there were three Yamahas within the top five. He will be aiming to take his first win in the USA since Indianapolis in 2008.

    As it was last year, the top Ducati rider on the grid at Austin is Jorge Lorenzo in sixth place.

    Heading the third row is Cal Crutchlow who will be aiming to become the first British rider to win back-to-back races in the premier class since Barry Sheene back in 1977 (Belgium/Sweden) and the first Independent Team rider to do so since Marco Melandri in 2005.

    In eighth place on the grid is Andrea Dovizioso, who has been the first Ducati rider across the line four times since the Circuit of the Americas joined the calendar five years ago, including two podium finishes in 2014 and 2015.

    Injured Dani Pedrosa, who has been on the podium on three of his four visits in Austin, starts from ninth on the grid.

    Álex Rins starts from 11th on the grid. He has won the Moto3™ race in 2013 and the Moto2™ race two years ago at Austin but he missed the MotoGP™ race last year due to a left wrist injury sustained in FP3.

    Takaaki Nakagami will complete the fourth row as the top rookie on the grid, which is his best qualifying result in the MotoGP™ class.

    The last twelve MotoGP™ races have been won by either Ducati or Honda riders. The last non-Honda or Ducati rider to win a MotoGP™ race was Valentino Rossi in Assen last year.

    Moto2
    Álex Márquez is on pole position for the fifth time in the Moto2™ class, equalling Mattia Pasini, Takaaki Nakagami and Andrea Iannone. He will be aiming to win his first race since Japan last year and his fourth in the class.

    Sam Lowes qualified in second place on the grid, his third front row start in the Moto2™ class at Austin. On the two previous occasions, he went on to finish on the podium – he was second in 2016 and won in 2015, which was his first Grand Prix victory.

    Championship leader Mattia Pasini starts from third on the grid, his first front row start since he was also in third in Valencia last year. He will be aiming to win back-to-back races for the first time since 2007 in 125cc.

    Heading the second row of the grid is Francesco Bagnaia, who finished 16th last year at Austin as a rookie.

    Joan Mir starts from fifth as the top rookie on the grid; also his best qualifying result on what is his third race in the Moto2™ class.

    Taking the final place on the second row is Luca Marini in his best qualifying result since he was fifth in Silverstone last year. He will be aiming for a first podium finish of his Grand Prix career.

    In 15th place on the grid, Romano Fenati is scheduled to make his 100th Grand Prix start at Austin. He won last two Moto3™ races at this track.

    Moto3
    Jorge Martín qualified on pole position for the first time this season and the 10th time in his Grand Prix career. After Losail this year, he will be aiming to win his third race and equal Arón Canet and Niccolò Antonelli’s number of victories.

    Championship Leader Arón Canet, who started from pole position last year at Austin, is on the front row for the first time since he was third on the grid in Japan last year. He fought for the lead in 2017 before crashing out. Canet is the only rider across the three classes to have stood on the podium at opening two races of the season.

    The highest placed KTM rider on the grid is John McPhee in third place, which is his first front row start since he was also third fastest back in Malaysia last year. For the fourth successive time, there will be at least one KTM rider on the front row.

    Heading the second row is Tatsuki Suzuki, equalling his best qualifying result from Valencia last year.

    In fifth place on the grid is Fabio Di Giannantonio, his best qualifying result since he was fourth in Misano last year. Alongside teammate Jorge Martín, he is the only rider on the grid who has been on the podium at Austin. He’s aiming to win his first race in what is his 40th Grand Prix.

    Taking the final place on the second row is Enea Bastianini, who has finished fourth at COTA twice – in 2015 and last year.

    Gabriel Rodrigo starts from 12th place on the grid, the first time he has failed to qualify on the front row since he was fifth in Malaysia last year.

  • Jonathan Rea makes history with an eighth consecutive TT Assen win: WorldSBK

    Jonathan Rea makes history with an eighth consecutive TT Assen win: WorldSBK

    Jonathan Rea hold off the chasing pack to win Race 1 at Assen on Saturday. A WorldSBK image

    Assen, 21 April 2018: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) stormed to his third win of the season with a quintessential Assen performance, nailing his eighth consecutive Dutch win and twelfth in total, equalling Carl Fogarty’s historic dozen Assen triumphs along the way. It didn’t come easy for the Northern Irishman, however, forced to fend off strong attacks from Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), second and third respectively.

    The grid hinted towards a fascinating start, with five teams holding the first five positions. Rea made the move over poleman Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) at the first corner, although it was Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) who took the early lead with a flying start at the lights. However, by the end of Sector 1, it was Rea back on top. Behind him, van der Mark began his climb right off the bat, jumping from seventh to fourth.

    The crowd was ecstatic by the end of lap 8, as local boy van der Mark, astonishingly quick throughout the race, picked off Rea at the chicane and made his way into first. However, the championship leader took over two laps later, the same spot, the same move.

    By then Chaz Davies had quietly made his way to the top, once again making up for a poor Superpole with a scintillating race. A three-way battle ensued, with Davies merely centimeters off of Rea but unable to just quite make it past. With van der Mark and Davies then battling for second behind, Rea put some space between him and his pursuers for the final laps, although never more than a second.

    Behind the front three, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) showed the Kawasaki’s pace here after a poor weekend at MotorLand Aragon, coming in fourth and a mere two tenths off a first podium finish since Phillip Park Race 1.

    Xavi Fores, again the first independent rider, made it through the checkered flag in fifth, drifting off the front pace through the final laps. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made it to the line in sixth, untroubled but also unable to stay close to the lead.

    Loriz Baz (GULF Althea BMW Racing Team) followed in seventh place, with Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in eighth, season-best finishes for both riders. Top ten was closed by Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in ninth and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in tenth.

    Lowes, scoring his maiden WorldSBK pole just two hours earlier, had a nightmare race, falling quickly down the field after the early laps and just scraping in in twelfth, 33 seconds off the lead. Ditto for Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), heading row 2 at the start but just making it to the line in fifteenth.
    P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 
    “It was a really fun race when Mikey came through I could see he had the pace where I didn’t and I tried to keep smooth out on the track. There was a point in the race when I wasn’t sure how to manage the pace. But then with a couple of laps to go squeezed back into low 36.s and I took the win. But it was difficult, this morning we looked good on paper but the rest stepped up, so we need to work tomorrow, but thanks to the team for giving me a great bike.”P2 – Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) 
    “It was an amazing race, I had a good start and managed to stay calm in the beginning and made my way to the front. When I saw Jonny, he was not pushing as hard as I thought he would, and then I got to the fight for the front. I tried to stay as close as I could, in the end, I was able to catch Chaz, but wasn’t able to get Jonny, but I’m really happy with second place.”

    P3 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 
    “It was a good battle all race long, Mikey was breathing down my neck all race long and he eventually got past me. I thought about having a go straight back at him but then I thought he might have a better pace than me, so I’ll let him chase Jonny but in the end. I’m really happy, yesterday was really tough, in qualifying, we were better and in the race, I think we did a really good job so pretty happy. We’ll take that and make some improvements for tomorrow.”

    #DutchWorldSBK at TT Circuit Assen: Race 1
    1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    2. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) +0.981
    3.  Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.282

  • Van der Mark stuns home fans as he squeezes ahead of Melandri and Rinaldi: FP3

    Assen, 20 April 2018: Michael van der Mark of Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team, started out in his home country return in style with the best lap on Friday, as the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship warms up for a thrilling weekend of racing at the legendary TT Assen Circuit.

    The Dutch rider has made it clear that he is at Assen to win, and the Free Practice 3 was a good start to that promise. After a promising FP1, van der Mark didn’t improve on his best lap all through FP2 and best part of the third session. But with less than three minutes to go he recorded a scintillating run, a quarter of a second faster than Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who slowly progressed his positions throughout the day before finishing second.

    Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) roared straight into his first Superpole 2 in only his second WorldSBK round, with the third best lap of the combined sessions. Rinaldi overcame a weaker first sector to record the then-best time of the day over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who had previously dominated both early sessions and most of the third.

    Rea, who rode more laps than anyone today on the Assen track, came in fourth, unable to improve on his best lap from FP2. His teammate Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), second in FP2, also had to settle for his time from the second session, ending the day in sixth. Between the two was Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK), in fifth.

    Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) overcame his retirement in Aragon with a controlled final practice session, with the seventh best time overall. Just behind him was Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), out of the Superpole 2 positions for long stretches of FP3 but who ended up qualifying comfortably with the eighth fastest lap.

    The fight for the final two positions in tomorrow’s Superpole 2 was fierce, with Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) making use of the Aprilia’s pace to creep in ninth, as the final rider under 1’36. The battle for tenth was won by Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), who, while unable to run faster in FP3, made good use of his FP2 time (fifth-best in that session), just ahead of Loris Baz (GULF Althea BMW Racing Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).

    Jake Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), the sole Red Bull rider this weekend following Leon Camier’s (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) accident last week, did not make it out in FP3 after his FP2 crash, but was declared fit and should run in tomorrow’s Superpole 1.

    #DutchWorldSBK at TT Circuit Assen: Friday 
    1. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) 1:35:156
    2. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.243
    3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) +0.362

    ends

  • Miracle in the garage and strategic pit-stop contributed to my victory: Dainel Ricciardo

    Miracle in the garage and strategic pit-stop contributed to my victory: Dainel Ricciardo

    Daniel Ricciardo exults after winning the trophy. Photo: FIA

    Shanghai, 15 April 2018: Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was obviously over the moon following his spectacular victory in the China Grand Prix here today, and first up, thanked his team for performing a miracle of sorts that helped him start the qualifying session after a blown engine in the third Free Practice earlier in the day.

    The Aussie, speaking at the post-race podium interview, also acknowledged that the pit-stop during the Safety Car period paid rich dividends as also his brilliant overtaking moves that put him ahead of the chasing pack in the latter part of the race.

    Excerpts from the Podium interviews conducted by Martin Brundle:

    Martin Brundle: Daniel, what an absolute star. What a race! Your sixth victory, but is that the sweetest one?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I don’t know what it is, I don’t seem to win boring races, they’re all pretty fun. That was unexpected. Put ourselves 24 hours ago and I thought we’d maybe be starting at the back of the grid. Firstly, thanks to the boys yesterday. I thanked them after qualifying but today is the real reward for that work. So thank you to everyone at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, the mechanics worked their butts off, so…

    MB: And the team had their brain in gear didn’t they, under the safety car, getting you in the pit lane. Double stacked the car twice, so the pit crew was on it as well?

    DR: It was hectic. I heard ‘safety car’ in Turn 14, and they said ‘we’re going to double stop, come, come, in the box’. It happened very quickly but very decisive moves, winning moves also from the team, so thanks a lot. Yeah, fat lip and all I got the win.

    MB: Just take us through one of the great overtakes – maybe on Lewis? That came out of nowhere down to the Turn 14 hairpin.

    DR: Yeah, sometimes you’ve just got to lick the stamp and send it. So, there we go. I enjoyed it very much.

    MB: You still made the apex somehow, extraordinary?

    DR: Yeah, obviously we had the soft tyre, so I knew I could get a little bit more out of the braking than them. A lot of the time you get one chance to try, so I made the most of every opportunity.

    MB: You were a little closer to Valtteri when you passed him than you are now, but Valtteri, kind of bittersweet. Your 100th start but the safety car didn’t play into your hands and left you on some slightly older tyres and struggling a little bit.

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, you know, the race was going pretty well for us and we were looking strong all the way, until the guys, during the safety car, stopped and we were in trouble then with Daniel and nearly with Kimi in the end. It is disappointing. We were giving everything we had and it kind of felt like we deserved victory… but not today.

    MB: Without the safety car, do you think you had enough grip and pace to keep Sebastian behind you and take victory?

    VB: It felt like everything was under control so far. I had no major drop-off in the end, so I think we could have done it, but this is racing, these things happen.

    MB: Kimi, wow, it looked like you were a bit out of position. It looked like you were struggling a bit. They kept you out a long time before the pit stop. Then the safety car played into your hands and you had great speed and you got yourself back onto the podium.

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I think we made a good start and then got, unfortunately, blocked a bit and passed in the first corners. I struggled a little bit following people in the beginning. On my own I wasn’t too bad, but far from ideal at the start of the race and then obviously we stayed very long out. A little bit of luck with the safety car. I had good speed on the mediums but in the end we would have needed the soft tyres to really go for it. But I think I was kind of OK in the end, but once I got close I had much more speed than Valtteri but once you get close it’s so difficult to follow people, to get a good run you need much better tyres to get that proper run and you can kind of offset yourself. But I’ll take what I got, because at one point it didn’t look good at all.

    MB: Daniel, I just want to go through the other overtake, when you passed Valtteri into Turn 6, because that looked a little bit touch and go.

    DR: It was close. I think it was hard but fair. I saw him defend, so I wanted to go shallower, but then he came a bit more… I thought about pulling out. No, I’m just kidding! I knew there would always be enough room and the tyres had pretty good grip, so worst case I went wide and I’d have another crack somewhere else.

    POST-RACE FIA PRESS CONFERENCE:

    Q: Daniel, many congratulations. In winter testing, if someone had said to you “Red Bull will win a race this year before Mercedes,” what would have been your reaction?

    DR: Good job. Yeah, pretty cool. Holy Testicle Tuesday! I don’t know. I’m sitting here, reciting everything in my head what just happened. Yeah, awesome. Even after yesterday. I’ve only got six, it’s not a whole lot but the wins seem to come under always some circumstances. Baku, and this one now where we really thought we were going to start the race at the back. We didn’t think we were going to get out in qualifying and, just over 24 hours later, now to be here, it’s… this sport’s crazy. A week ago I was with my head down after two laps on Sunday. Yeah, frustrated at the sport, frustrated at all the variables that are involved in the sport. Sometimes I question why I chose this sport because there’s so many other things out of your control and it does get you down a lot – but then when you have a day like this it’s worth fifty of those bad ones.

    Q: Valtteri, coming on to you. A lot was made yesterday after qualifying about the team having set the cars up for the warmer temperatures that we had today in the grand prix. How was the balance of the car?

    VB: I think the balance was OK. Like actually it felt OK yesterday, we were just not quite quick enough with the ultrasoft, so yeah, today we only used soft and medium and I think on the soft it was next to nothing, the difference to Ferrari. We were as competitive as them. I think with the medium it was pretty much the same case. So, for sure, starting the race from the second row makes it more difficult. It’s a shame what happened in the end because we really took the opportunities in the beginning of the race start, during the pitstop. After the pitstop everything was going fine. And then with the Safety Car we just got a little bit unlucky – but that happens sometimes. It’s difficult to accept that quickly, after the race – but that’s F1.

    Q: Talk us through the undercut. Were you surprised to come out ahead of Vettel?

    VB: No. We knew that it is possible with this kind of gap, if you get everything perfect, coming in, in the box, into the pitlane and all that. If you can switch on the tyres quickly, it’s possible. That’s why we stopped at this point. It was perfect timing from the team. I think it felt it was my quickest stop I’ve had with the team. So, everything just went really well. Good out-lap. So, we knew it was possible.

    Q: Kimi, can we get your thoughts on the pecking order now. Because Ferrari were so quick in qualifying yesterday, yet here you are in third place.

    KR: It’s very hard to say. I think if you ask anybody, it’s a bit tricky to give you an answer. I think today a lot of the end results depended on whether you had better tyres than others, when you could offset yourself to the others. Obviously, it’s part of the game. A big part of the game. And here it made a big difference. And the safety car playing in there. So, like pure speed, with everybody on the same tyres… it’s difficult, very difficult to say in a race. I think it’s nice like that, for everybody to watch, because nobody really knows, everybody would love to know, nobody really has because it changes from race to race. And such a small difference makes a big difference in the end results. I think you just have to wait and see. I think it might change from race to race and who runs what tyres.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: Daniel, you’ve pulled off a lot of spectacular overtakes already in your Formula One career, not just to win races. Where does the overtake on Valtteri today rank and can you just talk us through what was going on in the car and going on in your head at the beginning of that process, through the overtake and afterwards?

    DR: Yeah. Opportunity be knocking! That’s what I would say. I could tell that obviously we had the advantage coming in at the safety car and having those softs. Yeah, I sensed the opportunity. Initially it was ‘OK, maybe now we can fight for the podium’ and at the rate that we were going through the field, and I could feel the tyres were holding on well, then it was obviously fully set on the win. Yeah, I don’t know. Obviously I had pace over all the guys that I got ahead of but you still don’t want to sit behind for too long. I saw Valtteri defend but I was kind of committed already from turn three that I was going to try. It was cool, it was close but I would say close but fair and it’s cool when you go wheel-to-wheel and I think it’s fun for drivers and it’s good TV so I enjoyed it. It makes it a bit sweeter than just maybe cruising past on the straight so that was a lot of fun.

    Q: And Valtteri can we just have your take on that overtaking manoeuvre?

    VB: Well, yeah. I was defending, obviously I saw him very close in turns one, two, three. He got a decent exit as well. He was closing lap after lap with pretty big gains. Yeah, from my side there was not much to do. I tried to defend but ultimately, with the better tyres, he could really brake quite a lot later and got inside. Like he said, it was all fair and like this. I think it was just a matter of time, with the pace he was going.

    Q: Daniel, why didn’t you share your shoey with Valtteri and Kimi?

    DR: To be honest, actually I don’t know if I’ve ever offered it to Kimi but to be honest I sprayed most of the champagne so I didn’t have that much more and obviously I saw my number one mechanic Genty (Chris Gent) and he was the priority at the time. There wasn’t enough to go round today unfortunately. Hopefully there’s plenty more opportunities.

     

    Q: Daniel, you kept your cool throughout the race. What was in your mind when you saw that Max had made a mistake and you overtook him?

    DR: I could see it coming a few corners before. Obviously I saw he was close to Lewis out of ‘three’. I wasn’t close enough to be involved at that moment so yeah, I was just watching, I guess and obviously if there is some contact, I’ve got to then position myself and try and be prepared. Yeah, then I saw he was trying on the outside of ‘seven’ and I could see them both drift wide and I could see that one car was probably not going to make it, so the difficult thing was then when Max went off track I wasn’t sure if he was going to slide back across, hold the line, so that was quite tricky initially, but then I could see he was coming on with quite a bit of speed so then it was quite easy in my mind to cut across the inside to let him go. But yeah, even those things, they happen so fast and you’re still in the heat of the battle so it’s quite hard to always pick the right move. Fortunately I didn’t really lose any time with that and yeah, it was pretty close, so I don’t know what the viewers thought but it seemed like it was a pretty close battle.

  • Davies dazzles field with seventh Aragon win: WorldSBK

    Aragon, 15 April 2018: There are a very few certainties in the WorldSBK calendar – but a Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) battle at MotorLand Aragon seems as close as you can get. In a repeat of last year’s Aragon Round, the two leading riders of the championship clashed sensationally in the final laps, with the Welshman avoiding a first Rea double of the season and taking his second win of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, and a record seventh around the Aragon bends.

    Davies now moves into second place in the Championship standings, just 12 points away from Rea. Behind them, Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) completes Aruba.it Racing – Ducati pursuit on 96 points, after taking third in the Spanish Race 2.

    The race start was similar to yesterday’s affair. Again, it was Rea sticking amongst the Ducatis at the front, with the Panigale R showing incredible pace at the Alcañiz circuit. This time it was Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) and Melandri heading the early laps, with a calculating Rea waiting behind.

    Just one mistake is enough for the reigning champion to pounce, and as it happened there were two. First, a wobble from Melandri (who has had some worrying difficulties controlling the bike throughout the weekend, despite showing very good rhythm) allowed Rea to move up to second. Fores, looking for his first win in front of his passionate local fans, held his provisional lead well under Rea’s pressure – until Lap 9, when his front-end gave in and left the Spaniard on the floor, leaving the way for what seemed to be becoming a trademark Rea double.

    But, with one Ducati rider leaving the leading group, in came another. Chaz Davies didn’t have the amazing start he did in Race 1, but quietly he benefitted from the action at the front to creep up to Rea and Melandri, picking off the Yamahas along the way. He was too far back to greatly trouble Rea in yesterday’s Race 1, his Superpole 2 slip a disadvantage too large to overcome. But on Sunday, with five laps to go and having already overcome his teammate, he got past the Northern Irishman. With the pair coming in close into the final lap and ready for a photo finish, Rea went wide in the middle sector, handing Davies a phenomenal win.

    Behind them, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) came in fourth and fifth, respectively, the Dutchman unable to take advantage of his front row start despite leading in Lap 1.

    Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) suffered a nightmare race off the grid, falling from third to eighth at the first turn, with Davies in ninth passing him shortly after. The Brit fought back to sixth at the checkered flag, but will be disappointed at his results throughout the weekend after two front-row starts.

    Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) came in one better after his debut yesterday, finishing seventh and as the lead independent rider. Behind him Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) came back strongly from yesterday’s crash with Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), ending the race eighth and pleasing the home fans. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Savadori completed the top ten, in ninth and tenth respectively, with the other local rider Roman Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki) finishing eleventh.
    P1 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
    “Lucky no.7! It was a good fight for it as well, really I dug in, I didn’t feel great in the early laps, I was trying to learn the bike. There was a lot going through my mind, I wanted to stake my time and stay patient. I had to force a lot of the passes, I am so glad to pull it off, lucky no.7 and roll on Assen.”

    P2 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    “It was a really fun race, Chaz was really strong and it was all I could to today. They were making a lot of mistakes but if they were making the mistakes they were fine, but if I was making a mistake I couldn’t make the time back up. I was sing the first to sectors as my strongest pints, I’m really happy with this weekend and to come out of here extending the lead is nice so thanks to my KRT team.”

    P3 – Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
    “It was very difficult, the speed is there but every time I tried to pass someone the bike is shaking so bad. On the last lap I tried to pass but the rear brake went down so I settled for third. Its a shame because I know I have the speed to fight for the win.”

    #AragonWorldSBK at MotorLand Aragon: Race 2
    1. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
    2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +1.184
    3. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.584
  • Brilliant Ricciardo wins Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Bottas; Vettel finishes eighth

    Brilliant Ricciardo wins Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Bottas; Vettel finishes eighth

    Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull celebrates after winning the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday in Shanghai. Photo: FIA

    Shanghai, 15 April 2018: Daniel Ricciardo took a thrilling victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the Formula One World Championship, here on Sunday. While Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari who won the first two races of 2018, could only finish eighth, reigning World champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth. Both Force India cars finished just outside points with Esteban Ocon taking 11th ahead of Sergio Perez in 12th.

    Benefiting from a mid-race safety car to rise from sixth to first in a handful of laps, thanks to fresh tyres and brilliant passing moves, Daniel Ricciardo, was at his best and did not hesitate to do his `shoey’ drinking from the winning shoe, once again.

    Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas finished second ahead of Kimi Raikkonen as pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel dropped to eighth place following a collision with the second Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

    At the start, Vettel made a slightly slow getaway and as Räikkönen got away well, the German moved right to cover his team-mate. That allowed Bottas to go around the outside of the Finn and steal second place.

    Behind them Verstappen made an excellent start from fifth place and was quickly past Hamilton through Turn 1 as the Briton tried to attack Räikkönen. Verstappen then closed on the Ferrari driver and made a good move past the Finn to take third by the end of the first lap.

    The first stint saw Vettel etch out a lead of more than four seconds over Bottas, who in turn built up a five-second gap back to Verstappen, with Räikkönen fourth and comfortably ahead of Hamilton. The race then settled until the first round of pit stops.

    Verstappen was the first of the front-runners to stop, arrowing into the pit lane at the end of lap 17 to take a set of medium tyres. Seconds later he was followed by sixth-placed team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who also moved to mediums as Red Bull enacted an impressive double stop on the same lap.

    The move was designed to give both drivers an opportunity to attack the Mercedes driver in front of them but when Hamilton pitted he was able to rejoin ahead of Ricciardo. It was a similar story for Verstappen whose stop failed to dent the advantage enjoyed by Bottas, who was able to pit and rejoin ahead of the Dutchman

    Vettel was next in and as the German moved to medium tyres Mercedes told Bottas that he had to push as hard as possible. The Finn obliged and Vettel exited the pit lane to see Bottas sweeping past him.

    The race was now led by Räikkönen who had yet to pit. As the Finn’s pace ebbed on fading tyres, Ferrari tried to use him as a bulwark, backing Bottas towards Vettel. The Mercedes driver was alive to the threat, however, and attacked, passing Räikkönen on lap 27 in the slow ‘Snail’ section of the circuit.

    The complexion of the race changed moments later when the two Toro Rosso drivers collided at the hairpin, with Pierre Gasly running into the back of Brendon Hartley, scattering debris across the track.

    The Safety Car was deployed and Red Bull took the decision to again double stop its drivers, this time for soft tyres. With the other front runners staying sticking with their medium tyres, it proved a decisive move.

    Verstappen rejoined in fourth place behind Hamilton and Ricciardo sat in sixth behind Räikkönen, but their tyres soon gave them a pace advantage and on lap 37 Ricciardo muscled his way past Räikkönen to claim fifth. Ahead, Verstappen was pressuring Hamilton and attempted a move. Hamilton was not for moving, however, and the Red Bull driver was forced off track as the Mercedes man tightly held the racing line.

    That allowed Ricciardo to move past his team-mate and take up the fight. The Australian was more decisive and dived down the inside of Hamilton into the hairpin to claim third place.

    Ricciardo was now in full flight and after dismissing Vettel with relative ease he closed on leader Bottas. The Finn tried to defend as the Red Bull driver again attacked at the hairpin, but despite the gap narrowing, Ricciardo somehow slotted through and then kept control on exit to take the lead.

    Behind him Verstappen was also lining up a move at the hairpin to pass Vettel. Again though it didn’t work and the pair collided, with Verstappen dropping to fifth and Vettel to seventh.

    The Red Bull driver made it back to fourth past Hamilton but then was handed a 10-second time penalty by stewards for causing a collision.

    In the final laps Ricciardo stretched his lead over Bottas to eight seconds, who slowly fell back towards Räikkönen. The Ferrari driver made several attempts to get past but couldn’t find a way and the flag fell with Ricciardo claiming his sixth career win ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen. Hamilton was fourth ahead of Verstappen with Hulkenberg fifth.

    Vettel had held seventh until the closing stages but on the penultimate lap he was passed by Alonso in bold move that left the Ferrari driver complaining that the move was illegal. The stewards, however, ruled the pass to be a fair one. Behind the German the final points positions were taken by Sainz and Magnussen.

    2018 Chinese Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing –
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 8.894
    3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 9.637
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 16.985
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 20.436
    6 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 21.052
    7 Fernando Alonso McLaren 30.639
    8 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 35.286
    9 Carlos Sainz Renault 35.763
    10 Kevin Magnussen Haas 39.594
    11 Esteban Ocon Force India 44.05
    12 Sergio Perez Force India 44.725
    13 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 49.373
    14 Lance Stroll Williams 55.490
    15 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 58.241
    16 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1’02.604
    17 Romain Grosjean Haas 1’05.296
    18 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1’06.330
    19 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1’22.575
    20 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 5 laps.