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Author: David Bodapati
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Argentina confirmed on the MotoGP calendar until 2025
A three-year extension sees Termas de Rio Hondo remain the home of MotoGP in Latin America from 2023-2025
Santiago del Estero, 29 Sept 2021: Dorna Sports is delighted to announce a contract extension that will see Argentina remain on the FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar until 2025. Already confirmed until 2022 due to the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new three-year contract will now see the Autódromo Termas de Rio Hondo, in the province of Santiago del Estero, continue to host MotoGP in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Termas de Rio Hondo first hosted MotoGP in 2014, creating a new home for the world’s fastest motorcycle racing Championship in Latin America. This new agreement between Dorna Sports, the Argentinean Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the National Institute of Tourism Promotion in Argentina (Inprotur), and the Government of Santiago del Estero province, as well as the OSD Group as local promoter, was announced today in a special presentation in Termas de Rio Hondo, confirming the future of one of the most vibrant race weekends on the MotoGP™ calendar and extending the collaboration beyond the milestone of a decade.
Matías Lammens, Tourism and Sports Minister: “Few provinces reflect the synergy between tourism and sport as Santiago del Estero does. That’s why it fills us with pride to continue hosting MotoGP, an event with international prestige that will also play an important role in the economic redevelopment of the region. I want to congratulate the governor for making tourism and sport key policies. The national government reaffirms our commitment to accompany this venture that generates both employment and local development.”
Gerardo Zamora, Governor of Santiago del Estero: “The city of Termas de Rio Hondo and the province of Santiago del Estero will remain positioned on the international stage thanks to this event, the work that has been carried out over these seven years along these lines. MotoGP creates truly superlative economic impact in the north of Argentina. The competition takes place at a top level circuit and the riders, the organisation and the fans know and enjoy the destination. The Republic of Argentina also gains visibility through the hundreds of thousands of homes around the world via the official broadcasts. The Government of the Province, together with Dorna, Inprotur and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, join together in their efforts so that these achievements may long continue.”
Orlando Terranova, CEO OSD Group: “We’re very satisfied and happy to renew our agreement with Dorna Sports to continue organising the Grand Prix of Argentina, which we’ve done since 2014. The effort is enormous, but we are able to make it happen thanks to an incredible team headed by Minister Lammens and Governor Zamora. MotoGP is an event that allows us to take our place on the world stage, show our strengths and be a point of reference in global elite sport. We celebrate all this and redouble our efforts so that each new edition is even better than ever before, creating an amazing experience for the fans who attend. Termas de Rio Hondo will receive us looking better than ever, the circuit will be perfect and even more improved. We continue moving forward in order to remain a point of reference in this part of the world.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “The three-year contract renewal for the Grand Prix of Argentina is fantastic news for MotoGP, showing once again the incredible level of interest in our sport across the territory. The impressive crowds who flock to the event, and from many different countries, added to the great feedback from the riders, proves how vital our presence in Argentina and Latin America truly is.”Top photo: Jack Miller and Franco Morbidelli on track on one of MotoGP’s previous visits to Argentina -
Shahan Ali Mohsin stars as Teen Brigade storms MMRT
Chennai, 27 Sept, 2021: A host of teenagers stormed the `Racing Capital’ of India, the new-look Madras Motorsports Race Track owned by Madras Motor Sports Club. With the ‘`Golden Oldies’ from Coimbatore missing in action, a depleted Indian Touring Cars’ Class saw the burden fall on evergreen hero, Arjun Balu, who duly won the first race, but it was the Formula cars that stole the limelight during the first round at Irungattukottai, near here. Shahan Ali clocked the fastest lap of Round 1 as he became the ‘Driver of the Day’ on all three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He is the only driver to clock a sub-1min 40sec time in the entire week-end, posting a 1:39.557 in the afternoon Practice Session on Friday despite hot track temparatures.
The track record for Formula cars stands in the name of Yuven Sundaramoorhty in a MRF2000 car as he clocked 1min 30.323sec. With the new FIA regulations Halo Cockpit Protection becomes mandatory and hence, the MRF Challenge 2020 is likely to be last race of the series. “The MRF Formula 2000 is a single seater formula car with 2.0 litre Mountune Engine engine having a Carbon chassis from Dallara, Italy. It is similar to F3 car in performance. Carbon chassis is tested to FIA F3 Safety standards.”
Whereas, the F1600s are much below the F2000s. “The MRF Formula 1600 is a single seater formula car having a Van Diemen designed chassis with a 1.6 litre Ford Duratec Engine. The chassis is a multi- tubular chromoly space frame, which is bronze braced and tig welded in the cockpit and foot well areas, says J Anand, the man behind the machine, and one of the fastest Indians on track in yesteryears.
Meanwhile, the Formula LGB 1300 saw a huge grid of 26 cars and the MRF Formula 1600 also left many aspirant disappointed as there were only 12 cars ready to race. Even then, there was stiff competition among the ‘Teen Brigade’` with Shahan Ali Mohsin taking overall honours. The 17-year Agra talent clocked some fastest laps in Round 1 on the 3.717-km clock-wise tarmac to emerge with a brace. Bengaluru driver Ruhaan Alva, who won the X30 Karting Senior Nationals recently, made his debut in the National Racing Championship, lost a hard-fought “win” as he logged a penalty in the Formula LGB 1300 Race 1, but bagged the Rookie driver award.
Chirag Ghorpade, another Bengalurean, Coimbatore’s Suriya Varathan, Chennai’s Ahwin Datta, Rajiv Rishon, Amir Sayed, Mohit Aryan, Tijil Rao, Kolkata’s Arya Singh, local lad Dhillon Zachariah (debut podium) and Andhra’s Chetan Surineni all in their teens, are the other youngsters who caught the eye during the weekend. The 1300s too saw many newcomers from Kerala, Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Jaden R Pariat from Guwahati, the vice-champion of X30 Junior Karting Nationals too impressed with some quick laps in FLGB1300.
Many of the drivers were coming after a long lay-off due to the COVID-19 pandemic which halted racing in all of India and also parts of the world for the last year. The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship returned for the 2021 season, with Madras Motor Race Track sporting a new 500-seat grand stand.
Shahan Ali Mohsin gets a double in the MRF F1600 races at the MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Shameem Fahath Having made his debut in the MRF F1600 championship back in 2019 as a 14-year-old racer, Shahan holds the record of being the youngest to compete in the history of the series, Shahan returned to racing action, now as a 17-year-old in the famed Indian single-seater championship, ably organised by the dedicated team of the Madras Motor Sports Club.
Shahan started off the weekend in style by topping both the practice sessions in the field of 12 cars, setting a time of 1m40.396s in the first Free Practice (FP1) and 1m40.673s in FP2 in his #11 machine. He followed it up, securing his maiden pole for Race 1, clocking a 1m 40.148s lap, his best of the weekend.
He ended up second taking the second best time of the session, only beaten by 0.064s margin. The Race 1 was not ideal for Shahan where a clutch overheat resulted in a jump start and eventual positions drop. A drive-through penalty further hampered his race as he finished seventh eventually.
This helped him to a second-place start in Race 2 where Top-8 from Race 1 were set-up in reverse order. It was a clean start this time and he got into the lead on Lap 1 itself. It was then a straightforward race to secure his maiden victory in single-seater competition by over four seconds, that is over half the straight.
He made the double in Race 3, where he started on the front-row in P2, and secured the race lead on Lap 1 itself. This time he had over seven seconds gap, a lead of over 200metres, to the second-placed runner to round off a solid first weekend in the MRF F1600 Championship, where he was racing after a year’s gap.
“Having been away from racing for so long due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it felt like first-time racing when the weekend kicked-off,” reflected Shahan. “The adrenaline rush you get is next level and this was certainly missing. It is definitely good to be back amid increased safety measures as the pandemic is still ongoing.
“Looking at the weekend, it was a good run and I felt comfortable from the start itself. Except for Race 1 where my clutch got overheated and I lost places in the start, it was, as I said, a fantastic race weekend for me. Being fast from free practice sessions to securing my first single-seater pole and also taking two wins from threeraces in the field of 12 racers was amazing. I hope to carry on with this momentum in the coming rounds too.”
A big thank you to the Almighty. Photo by Shajahan. All other photos by Shameem Fahath Top 3 after Race 3 Race 2 podium After a double… Leading the bunch…
Shahan in jubilant mood after winning two MRF F1600 races after initial clutch hiccups! -
Hamilton’s century feat at Drama-filled Sochi autodrome
Lewis Hamilton achieved his 100th Formula 1 career victory at a drama filled Sochi autodrome- a feat that no driver has achieved before, as Max Verstappen finished P2 from starting last and Carlos Sainz completed the podium. Lando Norris who had lead majority of the race finished in P7 after a strategic error.
London, 26 Sept. 2021: Lewis Hamilton won a formula 1 race for the record 100th time as he continued Mercedes’ dominance of never being beaten at the Russian Grand Prix since 1913. Max Verstappen finished P2 as he limited his points damage to Hamilton after starting last due to an engine penalty, and former Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz finished in P3, his third podium this season with Ferrari. McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo was classified in P4 ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas in P5 and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in P6- the Spaniard finishing in the same position he started the race. Lando Norris who looked favorite for McLaren’s consecutive race win eventually finished P7 after the weather interfered and a wrong strategy call to sit out on slick tyres. Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen finished in P8, his best finish of the season as he returned from Covid-19 illness. The second Red Bull of Sergio Perez looked on for a podium but had to settle for P9 after rain came into play. George Russell has scored points in last four out of five races for Williams as he crossed the line in P10.
Lance Stroll finished P11 as he had a coming together with Aston Martin teammate Sebastian Vettel and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, earning himself a 10-second time penalty for his troubles. Vettel finished in P12 and Gasly in P13. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished in P14 ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in P15, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi in P16 and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in P17. Haas’ Nikita Mazepin was last of the finishers in P18. Williams driver Nicholas Latifi and Haas rookie Mick Schumacher were two retirees from the race.
News broke before the race that Bottas would be starting P16 after taking another engine penalty with Leclerc and Verstappen already starting P19 and P20 respectively due to taking new engines outside of their allocation. There was a 70% chance of rain during the start of the race, but it did not materialise.
Norris starting from pole got good start, but Sainz caught the McLaren’s slipstream and was ahead at braking zone of turn 2. Behind Hamilton lost positions as he fell to P7 from P4. Russell maintained his position in P3. Stroll had an amazing start leapfrogging to P4 from P7. At the back of the grid Verstappen made up a couple of positions, as did Bottas while Leclerc jumped from P19 to P12.
Hamilton dispatched Alonso but got stuck behind the Mercedes powered DRS train of Russell, Stroll and Ricciardo. Behind, Verstappen passed Bottas for P14 with the Finn barely putting up a defense. Sainz was leading with Norris chasing the Ferrari and both were pulling away from Russell. Hamilton who had been the favorite before the start was losing time to the leaders and his chances of victory slimming lap by lap.
The tyres were graining and subsequently losing grip in cold conditions. Aston Martin decided to trigger the undercut with Stroll on lap 12 as he pitted from P4 for a set of hard tyres. Norris caught up to Sainz and passed him for the lead on the inside of turn 12. Russell and Sainz followed suit at the end of lap 13 and 14 respectively. Meanwhile, Hamilton was still held up behind Ricciardo unable to overtake him as the McLaren runs the Mercedes power unit too.
Ricciardo pitted on lap 22 for hard tyres, releasing Hamilton into free air who was around 12 seconds behind Norris. After consecutive fastest laps by the Mercedes driver, the team decided to pull in Hamilton for a set of medium tyres and capitalise on Ricciardo’s slow pit stop. Hamilton emerged behind Stroll and Gasly, dispatching them quickly by lap 31. Meanwhile Norris responded to Hamilton and pitted on lap 28, emerging in P4 behind yet to pit Leclerc, Alonso and Perez. Verstappen had pitted on the same lap as his championship rival, albeit for medium tyres but was stuck behind Ricciardo.
Leclerc pitted on lap 35 with Alonso and Perez following him in on lap 37. This meant that Norris lead the race with Hamilton some 8 seconds behind and rapidly catching. The tension built up as Hamilton was around a second behind Norris for consecutive laps. With five laps remaining the heavens opened up, andumbrellas and raincoats came out with the majority of rain focused around turn 5 and 7. Both Norris and Hamilton stayed out resisting the call to pit for intermediate tyres. As the rain worsened Mercedes were adamant to pit Hamilton and the Briton listened, pitting on lap 49. He was now around 25 seconds behind Norris but the gap shrinking rapidly has the track was properly wet. It was heartbreak for Norris as he decided to stay out on slick tyres on a wet track and slid off of it on the penultimate lap with Hamilton taking the lead. Norris limped back to pits for inters as he could only manage P7 in the end.
It was gutting for the young Briton, Norris as he almost controlled the race from start to finishonly to lose the lead on the penultimate lap. But the headlines belonged to Hamilton who became the first driver to reach a century of victories and with that retaking the championship lead as Mercedes extended their constructors championship lead too.
Mercedes once again had the fastest car of the grid in Russian but failed to capitalise in qualifying due to weather and partly driver error. Eventually they managed to win thanks to a good strategy call in the dynamic conditions. Even Bottas who was running in P14 before rain arrived, managed to gain nine positions and finish in P5. The German squad are currently leading both championships. Red Bull chose to bite the bullet for Verstappen and take an engine penalty. He achieved the best possible result of P2 with Hamilton winning to limit the damage. It is difficult to judge Red Bull’s pace this weekend due to Verstappen not taking part in qualifying and both cars running in traffic in the race.
McLaren were the best of the rest as Norris managed to pass Sainz’s Ferrari with ease. They even had the pace to hold up both Mercedes and Red Bull behind owing to their straight-line speed and evident by Hamilton being unable to pass Ricciardo and Norris, and Verstappen being caught behind Ricciardo. Strategy error meant they lost the chance to win a second consecutive race. Ferrari showed decent pace as they held a podium position with Sainz before the late rain drama begin. Even with the conditions changing the Italian team kept a cool head and Sainz achieved his fourth podium of the season. Both Alpine and Aston Martin showed good race pace to hold high top 10 positions but ultimately failed to capitalise due to the interference of weather. Only Alonso being able to finish in P6 as both Aston Martin cars and Ocon failed to score points.
AlphaTauri had a mediocre race as both cars finished outside of points. Gasly had a chance to finish in points as the conditions changed but entanglement with Stroll meant that his chances were all but over of scoring points. Alfa Romeo capitalised on the weather as they got the season’s best finish of P8 with Raikkonen. Williams and Russell scoredpoints in four races out of five. Arguable the Grove squad should have scored higher points as Russell started from P3 but a wrong strategy call meant he was stuck in traffic after the first round of pitstops. Both Haas cars had their highest starting positions of the season owing to a lot of grid penalties but were unable to challenge for points.
Saturday’s Qualifying results were:
P1: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren) P2: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari) P3: George Russell- 63 (Williams) P4: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes) P5: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren) P6: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine) P7: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes) P8: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin) P9: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull) P10: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine) P11: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin) P12: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri) P13: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri) P14: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams) P15: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari) P16: Kimi Raikkonen- 7 (Alfa Romeo) P17: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas) P18: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo) P19: Nikita Mazepin- 9 (Haas) P20: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull) Note – Verstappen penalised 3 grid places for causing a collision at the previous round. Leclerc, Verstappen and Latifi required to start from the back of the grid for use of additional power unit elements. Bottas penalised 15 grid places for use of additional power unit elements. Giovinazzi penalised 5 grid places for an unscheduled gearbox change.
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Bagnaia. Quartararo. Marquez? MotoGP saddles up stateside
It’s getting close to crunch time in the title fight, but Texas may welcome a certain eight-time World Champion back to the front…
Austin, 27 Sept. 2021: A lot has changed since the last time MotoGP raced at the Circuit of the Americas, not least of all the winner in the last two races: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who went from maiden victory to back-to-back hero in a week. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) remains the points leader, the Frenchman only just defeated at Misano, and this time as we saddle up in Austin there are only three races left thereafter in the MotoGP World Championship.
But despite the very different landscape and the drama of the last year and a half for eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), there surely remains one lone star to be expected in Texas. So can he do it?
One thing we can probably guarantee is that he’ll try. It’s not, however, going to be easy. Where before the MM93xCOTA collab seemed more unstoppable force and immovable object all in one, this season is different after a tougher return than many expected for the history-making Spaniard. There has been some solid progress and some good results since those first emotional laps back on a MotoGP™ machine though, and even earlier in the year when everything was far from going right, Marquez showed he remained the king of going left. His win at the Sachsenring was an emotional one, for him and Honda, and it also unearthed a self-confessed margin. The risk that day was worth the reward, and life remains a little easier going anti-clockwise: it allows for a little more to be unleashed…
Fast forward to Aragon and another anti-clockwise hunting ground of choice, and again the number 93 was straight back at the front. This time, though, it wasn’t on the top step – but it wasn’t through lack of trying. Marquez was the only rider able to stay in Bagnaia’s postcode on Sunday and the two staged a truly spectacular duel, the existence and outcome of which make two different points.
The existence underlines that Marquez should not be counted out at COTA, that he retains a splash of magic even as he fights back to fitness, and that left is still not only his speciality but also an extra help in that tussle back to the top. And the outcome? That says Bagnaia is probably a little less overawed by the record books in Texas, something that could prove powerful unto itself: unflappable in the face of Marquez is no mean feat.
There was also a time when a Ducati track meant one thing, but those days are over. The number 63’s poetry for Borgo Panigale, added to clear improvements in their previously ‘weaker’ areas, make one serious package of man and machine. So there’s no reason to expect a serious drop of form in Texas, and that puts a little more pressure on Quartararo than the Frenchman likely expected a few races ago. Because COTA has also never been Yamaha‘sfavourite territory either…
The Iwata marque have, however, had some good results, and Quartararo praised some good improvements at the Red Bull Ring, which had also previously been a tougher one. So is it an assault on the win, an exercise in damage limitation, or simply a numbers game? 48 points of advantage at the top allows for each of those options.
Behind the Championship top two and the Marquez narrative though, there’s another for Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) too. 67 points off the top, and 75 left on the table after Austin, make it a long shot for the reigning Champion to defend his crown. But that also takes some pressure off, and it was a Suzuki on top at COTA on the single occasion Marquez faltered. Then it was Mir’s teammate Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Estar), who crashed out at Misano, but can the Hamamatsu factory find that frontrunning form again? There was also some high praise from both riders following the Misano test, so the grid were warned.
Texas is also now serious crunch time for the riders just behind Mir in the standings: Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team). The former arrives from arm pump surgery so is likely expecting to move back forward, but the latter also praised the two days of testing on the Riviera di Rimini and is only one point further back. What can they do? Miller was also on the podium last time we saddled up in Texas.
Then, he was ahead of an intriguing Yamaha-Ducati lock out from second down to seventh. Valentino Rossi, now at Petronas Yamaha SRT, was the lead Yamaha only half a second off the win, and he’ll want to go out swinging in the States as he races there for the final time. Quartararo will take heart from that too as we return. Then came Miller, and then came Andrea Dovizioso, who is now taking it on on a Yamaha – the same Petronas Yamaha that in 2019 came home behind him in the hands of Franco Morbidelli, now at Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP. With the state of play looking pretty different in 2021 as every one of that group arrives in a different seat, track records don’t tell the future but the shuffle continues to create some interesting stories as some return, some prepare to depart and others fight back.
Speaking of, Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) will want to do just that at COTA as the rookie race winner now finds himself under a little more pressure in the fight for Rookie of the Year. He’d pulled well clear despite his injury struggles earlier in the season, but a first premier class podium for Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) at Misano – with race-winning pace – means it’s now just ten points the Italian trails the Spaniard, so it’s game on in that showdown too.
There will also be plenty to watch out for at KTM and Aprilia, with both factories gearing up with pretty different machines as we return stateside for the first time since early 2019. Then, KTM hadn’t won a race and they’ve now won five. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is also sixth in the Championship, only 16 points off Miller, and the South African has continued his Sunday charges to varying degrees in the last few races. Where will KTM shuffle into the pack in Texas?
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), meanwhile, is the rider on Binder’s heels and the Noale factory will want more than what they got at a slightly muted Misano. Maverick Viñales scored his first few points with the marque last time out though, so that narrative keeps retaining headlines. How will the all-new RS-GP fare at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas?
Bagnaia arrives on the crest of a wave, Quartararo retains his advantage in the points, and Marquez is six for seven in Texas. What awaits as MotoGP™ saddles up stateside in 2021? The only thing we can guarantee is another fantastic horsepower rodeo, so tune in for more at 14:00 (GMT -5) on Sunday the 3rd of October.
Before the track action begins, there are some other events to keep an eye out for too. On Wednesday, Marc Marquez faces down against Jett Lawrence as the eight-time World Champion and 2021 MX 250 AMA Champion test their skills against each other, riding Honda NSF100’s on COTA’s karting track in a high stakes time trial challenge and only one can win.
In addition, the competition may be over for the 2021 FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup, but the electric presence continues in the paddock! There’s a parade planned at COTA for Saturday as Energica continues to take centre stage, this time stateside, with bikes on track from 11:50 local time.
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Team MRF Tyres Champions in Finnish Rally Championship 2021
Kokkola (Finland) 26 Sept. 2021: Team MRF Tyres has taken victory in the Finnish Rally Championship (Ralli SM) and the SM KokUA 60-v Juhlaralli this weekend.
Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen dominated the final round of the season in Finland, with Lindholm and Team MRF Tyres taking a hard-fought championship.
Going into the final round, it was a winner-take-all scenario with the top three drivers separated by seven points, meaning it was going to be a great fight between Lindholm, Mikko Heikkilä and Teemu Asunmaa.
Team MRF Tyres was on the pace from the first of the ten-stage competition with Lindholm winning the Skriko stage.
It was a lead that he would build on through the first day to end the Saturday action in first place but with a lead of just 2.9 seconds.
The pressure was intense for the four Sunday stages, which featured 74km of action. The long stages meant that drivers would have to push and keep their concentration over a long period of time.
Ending the rally was a 22.88km Markby test meaning that the rally was wide open to the end.
Lindholm was supreme never relinquishing his lead in his quest to win the Championship.The Team MRF Tyres Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo was exceptional with the entire team operating without mistakes.
The 2021 Finnish Rally Championship was the first full season for Team MRF Tyres in Finland, one of the most competitive Championships in the world. Having to consider that Finland and rallying are almost synonymous and the best of the best compete here.
After starting the European Rally Championship in 2020, the team has expanded to rally in Finland and in Italy with great success.
To be able to rally at the front, winning rallies and now Championship’s against the best drivers, teams and suppliers in the world is a testament to the hard work and dedication of every member of Team MRF Tyres.
The Team has worked tirelessly to develop the tyres and create a product that can compete at the front day in-day out. This Championship success was made possible by that effort.
While Lindholm celebrates his Championship success, Team MRF Tyres will be back on stage next weekend in the FIA European Rally Championship’s Rally Serras de Fafe e Felgueiras with Dani Sordo and Simone Campedelli at the wheel.
Quotes
Emil Lindholm, Driver, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo (Champion)“It is a great feeling. We’ve been waiting for this. I’m smiling all the time! It is a great reward for the work at Team MRF Tyres.”
“This year I’ve better understood what it takes as a rally sport. Knowing how to drive basic times is just not enough. After all, rally is also a tactical sport. Every result and stage time doesn’t just affect your drive but also the performance of others. I’ve learned to think of rally as a whole.”
“The Finnish Championship is the most respected one in the world of national rally series. In order to survive in Finland, a tyre manufacturer is required to know-how from a quite wide area: snow, ice and composition from different gravel roads. Tyres need to work in Finland in different circumstances. I have to say a big thanks and a big congratulations to Team MRF Tyres. I can say that MRF Tyres did great in meeting challenges.” -
100th Victory for Lewis Hamilton; Late rain spoils Lando Norris dreams
Sochi, 26 Sept. 2021: Lewis Hamilton took a record 100th Formula 1 victory in a Russia Grand Prix that ended in dramatic fashion as rain in the final laps saw McLaren’s Lando Norris slide out of the race lead and out of contention for his maiden F1 win and which allowed Max Verstappen to rise to second place after starting the race in last place on the grid. The final podium position was taken by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
At the race start Norris got away well from pole position, but behind him Sainz got the benefit of a strong slipstream on the long run towards the first two corners and as they went through the complex the Ferrari driver powered past the McLaren man to take the lead as third-on-the-grid George Russell held third place.
Hamilton made a solid start from fourth place but got boxed in on the inside as the field went into Turn 1 and he was passed by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and soon after by Daniel Ricciardo in the second McLaren.
At the rear of the field Verstappen made a good start and quickly began to work his way through the pack. By the end of lap five he was up to 15th place and was closing in on Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas who had taken an overnight 15-place penalty for changing power unit elements and started from P16. Verstappen soon made his way past the Finn on lap six, powering down the inside of the Mercedes into Turn 13 to steal P14. He then caught Pierre Gasly and two laps later employed the same move to push past the AlphaTauri driver.
There was a nervous moment for the Red Bull driver soon after, though. Ahead of him Charles Leclerc was attacking Sebastian Vettel. And seeking to profit from the battle Verstappen dived to the right of the Ferrari driver. But fighting for position, Leclerc was unsighted and almost pushed the Dutch driver into the wall. Verstappen escaped and when Leclerc outbraked himself into the next corner, he pounced to claim P12. Vettel was next in his sights and once again the Red Bull driver made the move into Turn 13 .
At the front, Norris was closing up to Sainz and on lap 13 he tucked into the slipstream and powered past the Ferrari driver on the run to Turn 13 to claim the lead.
Versatppen was on a march and as Sainz, Stroll and Russell pitted ahead of him he rose to sixth place behind Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and found himself just four seconds behind third-placed Hamilton.
Hamilton and Verstappen made their sole visit to the pit lane at the end of lap 22. Hamilton rejoined in P9 on hard tyres with his title rival in 12th place. Hamilton began to make his way through the pack and by lap 30 he was back up to P5 as Verstappen laboured more behind Ricciardo in P10.
At the front, Sergio Perez, still running on his starting hard tyres, now led the Russian Grand Prix. Behind him, Alonso was in P2 ahead of Leclerc, who also needed to pit. Norris was now fourth ahead of Hamilton, Gasly and Sainz.
Leclerc pitted on lap 35 but a slow stop dropped him down the order. Perez then pitted from the lead at the end of lap 36 but the switch to medium tyres was hampered by a stuck rear left wheel and when he rejoined the action he was behind Ricciardo who was now fourth behind Sainz, Hamilton and race leader Norris.
Verstappen’s progress had halted, however. The Red Bull driver’s medium tyres were beginning to fade and he dropped to seventh behind Alonso. Ahead Perez managed to get past Ricciardo to sit in fourth place and as the race entered the final 10 laps and gaps appeared secure it looked like the order might solidify.
However, on lap 46 rain began to fall and as the umbrellas went up in the grandstands the race was suddenly thrown into chaos.
With rain predominantly falling just in the final two sectors, both Norris and Hamilton initially elected to remain on track on slicks. And for a lap it looked like both had made the right choice. But after a brief lull the rain suddenly intensified and Hamilton dived for the pit lane for intermediate tyres, matching a call being made throughout the order. With just four laps left Norris gambled on slicks.
It proved to be the wrong call. Hamilton quickly chased down the McLaren driver and when Norris slid wide in the final sector, Hamilton flew past to take his 100th career F1 win.
Verstappen though, read the conditions just right. The Dutchman made the switch to intermediate tyres at the right time and after emerging from the pit lane he scythed through the field to claim second place when Norris eventually pitted for inters.
Behind him Sainz took third place, with Ricciardo claiming fourth. Fifth place went to Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, despite the Finn spending the bulk of the race outside the points. Alonso took sixth, while Norris was left with seventh place. Eighth place at the flag went to Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Perez, who had also chosen to stay on slick tyres for too long, finished ninth. The final point on offer went to Williams’ George Russell.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 1:30’41.001
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 53 1:31’34.272 53.271
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 53 1:31’43.476 1’02.475
4 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 53 1:31’46.608 1’05.607
5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 53 1:31’48.534 1’07.533
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 53 1:32’02.322 1’21.321
7 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 53 1:32’08.225 1’27.224
8 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 53 1:32’09.956 1’28.955
9 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 53 1:32’11.077 1’30.076
10 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 53 1:32’21.552 1’40.551
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 53 1:32’27.199 1’46.198
12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 52 1 lap
13 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 52 1 lap
14 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 52 1 lap
15 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 52 1 lap
16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 52 1 lap
17 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 52 1 lap
18 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 51 2 laps
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 47 Not running
Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 32 Retirement -
Shahan Ali Mohsin dominates MRF F1600 with a double
Chennai, 26 Sept 2021: On an incident-filled day, 17-year old Shahan Ali Mohsin from Agra notched a fine double in the MRF Formula1600 category that headlined the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2021 which concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday.
Also achieving a double was Chennai’s seasoned campaigner 34-year old Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing) in the Super Stock class of the Saloon Cars category while defending champion Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) from Coimbatore and Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy (Rayo Racing) split the honours in the Indian Touring cars class.
The day’s other winners included 18-year old Suriya Varathan (Coimbatore) who topped the first of the three MRF F1600 races, Chennai’s Mohit Aryan (Quest Motorsport) in the Formula LGB 1300 category (race-2), Charan Chandran (Coimbatore) and Bengalurean Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class.
Agra teenager Shahan Ali Mohsin, who won a double in the MRF F1600 category on 26 Sept 2021 at MMRT. Photo by Anand Philar The day’s first race for MRF F1600, was run on grooved tyres as a precaution on a drying track with a few wet spots following overnight rains. Suriya Varathan won comfortably after starting from P3, but in the next outing, it was Shahan Ali Mohsin, a multiple National karting champion with an Asian title to boot, who took the chequered flag from a P2 start (reverse grid) with a command performance. Shahan went on to dominate Race-3, again starting from P2 for a well-deserved double.
“In the morning’s first race, I started from pole position, but lost positions due to overheating clutch. It was tough outing. In the next two races, both of which I started from P2, it was fairly comfortable,” said Shahan.
Mohit Aryan (centre), winner of Race-2 in the Formula LGB 1300 category flanked by second-placed Chirag Ghorpade (left) and third-placed Tijil Rao (Sept 26) In the Super Stock class, 34-year old Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing), the busiest competitor this weekend, participating in three different categories, completed a grand double while Charan Chandran, a private entrant from Coimbatore, and Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) shared the honours in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class. Anekar had actually won the first race, but was disqualified following a post-race scrutiny on a technical infringement pushing Chandran to the top step of the podium, but the Bengalurean shrugged off the disappointment by easily winning the second race.
Mohit Aryan (Quest Motorsport) from Chennai was declared winner in the Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2) category after Ruhaan Alva (MSport), the 15-year old from Bengaluru, who had finished first, was docked 20 seconds for overtaking under yellow flag which dropped him to fifth.
In a race marked by as many as eight retirements due to on-track incidents, Ruhaan kept his wits about him to move from P9 to the front and win, only to suffer a time penalty. Finishing second behind Aryan was Kolkata’s Arya Singh (DTS Racing) while Bengaluru’s Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsport), only 18, completed the podium. Race-1 winner, Deepak Ravikumar (Momentum Motorsport) also suffered the same fate as Ruhaan and finished ninth.
The results (Provisional – all 8 laps unless mentioned):
MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. K Suriya Varathan (Coimbatore) (14mins, 25.983secs); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (14:33.571); 3. Dillon Zachariah (Chennai) (14:37.196). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Shahan Ali Mohsin (Agra) (17:03.129); 2. Chirag Ghorpade (Bengaluru) (17:08.117); 3. Rishon Rajiv (Bengaluru) (17:10.117). Race-3: 1. Shahan Ali Mohsin (13:40.878); 2. Ashwin Dutta (Chennai) (13:47.046); 3. Chirag Ghorpade (13:47.567).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race-2, 9 laps): 1. Mohit Aryan (Quest Motorsport, Chennai) (17:36.308); 2. Arya Singh (DTS Racing, Kolkata) (17:36.822); 3. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsport, Bengaluru) (17:42.901). Best Rookie: Ruhaan Alva (MSport, Bengaluru).
Saloon Cars – Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts, Coimbatore) (15:10.042); 2. Anindith Reddy (Rayo Racing, Hyderabad) (15:14.040); 3. Jeet Jhabakh (Rayo Racing, Hyderabad) (15:18.511). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (22:46.971); 2. Jeet Jhabakh (22:47.931); 3. Arjun Balu (22:56.702).
Super Stock – Race-1: 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Performance Racing, Chennai) (16:06.931); 2. RP Raja Rajan (Performance Racing, Chennai) (16:07.189); 3. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts, Bengaluru) (16:12.150). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (23:43.580); 2. Divy Nandan (Race Concepts, Bengaluru) (24:01.372); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Race Concepts, Chennai) (24:04.515).
Indian Junior Touring Cars – Race-1: 1. Charan Chandran (Pvt., Coimbatore) (16:53.207); 2. Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala (Performance Racing, Chennai). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts, Bengaluru) (23:30.019); 2. K Srinivas Teja (Performance Racing, Chennai) (23:59.409); 3. Charan Chandran ((23:59.737).
Volkswagen Polo – Race-1: 1. Aditya Swaminathan (Bengaluru) (14:00.605); 2. Anmol Singh Sahil (Ghaziabad) (14:01.650); 3. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Thane) (14:03.285). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (19:46.949); 2. Ritesh Rai (Chennai) (19:48.035); 3. Sidharth Mehdiratta (Lucknow) (19:48.806).
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Razgatlioglu does the double in Jerez after fierce Redding battle, Rea fifth
The battle for victory in Race 2 at Jerez went down to the wire between Toprak Razgatlioglu and Scott Redding.
Jerez (Spain), 26 Sept. 2021: A familiar story to Race 1, with the same outcome but a different opponent for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) as he claimed his second MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship victory of the day at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for the Motul Spanish Round after a late-race battle with Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
Repeating his start from Race 1, Razgatlioglu got a good start to lead into Turn 1 from Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and, while Rea was able to challenge into Turn 6 on Lap 1, the Turkish star was able to hold on to extend his lead over Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who made a great start to move into podium contention and passed Rea in the opening laps of the 20-lap race.
While Razgatlioglu was able to keep his lead and briefly extend his lead, both Rinaldi and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) were closing in. On Lap 6, Rinaldi ran wide at Turn 6 which almost allowed Redding through, but Rinaldi was able to hold on to second place until Turn 13, when Redding made the move for second.
While Redding was putting pressure on, Razgatlioglu held on until Lap 17 when Redding passed Razgatlioglu for the lead but just one lap later Razgatlioglu made a move into Turn 13 to take the lead onto the penultimate lap. Redding kept the pressure on Razgatlioglu throughout the final two laps, but the Turkish star held on to claim his second victory of the day in Jerez, and his tenth of the season while Redding claimed his 30th WorldSBK podium. -
Yamaha claim fifth consecutive Manufacturers’ Championship in Jerez
The Japanese Manufacturer have dominated the 2021 season with two of their riders battling it out for Riders’ Championship honours.
Jerez, 26 Sept. 2021: After nine rounds of the 2021 FIM Supersport World Championship calendar, the Japanese manufacturer claimed the Manufacturers’ Championship, their ninth title. With a strong 2021 line-up, Yamaha have won all 17 races so far in 2021 with Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) and Randy Krummenacher (CM Racing) all clinching victories throughout the season in the category.
With a 168-point advantage over Kawasaki, Yamaha secured the Manufacturers’ title at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto. The Japanese manufacturer and their riders have dominated the 2021 season and have been able to achieve their fifth consecutive title.Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe, Road Racing Manager:“We are very proud of this important achievement, winning the Supersport title for a fifth time in a row really means a lot. For sure, it proves the competitiveness and reliability of our Yamaha R6, but even more the hard work done by our teams and riders. So, thanks to all of them for this fantastic result, as well as everyone at Yamaha who have worked so hard for this. We wish them good luck for the remaining races of the 2021 season.”
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Jehan Daruvala gets another podium in Sochi: F2 Feature
Sochi (Russia) 26 Sept. 2021: Ace Indian racing star Jehan Daruvala bagged his fourth podium of the season taking the 3rd place in a tricky Sochi Feature race won by Oscar Piastri who extended his lead in the Drivers’ standings with a commanding drive at the Sochi Autodrom. The Australian headed Théo Pourchaire across the line, with the Indian occupying the final spot on the podium.
“I am quite happy with the P3 in the Feature race. It was pretty tricky starting on the inside but we had good pace to get the podium in the end. Now another looong break before we go to Jeddah in December,” said the Mumbai-born Red Bull Junior driver.
Starting from pole position, Piastri retained his position at the head of the field at the start of the race, while Pourchaire moved ahead of Daruvala for second place at Turn 2. A fast-starting Ralph Boschung progressed into the top three, while championship-contending Guanyu Zhou slipped from fourth to eighth.
Piastri and Pourchaire slowly pulled away from the rest of the pack throughout the 28 laps, with Pourchaire briefly moving ahead of Piastri when he pitted one lap later than the PREMA driver. However, with his hot tyres, Piastri regained the net lead, which he did not concede for the remainder of the event.
Late drama for Boschung saw him retire, after being in contention for the podium for much of the race. With Daruvala third, local favourite Robert Shwartzman was fourth, ahead of Saturday’s Sprint Race victor Dan Ticktum.
AS IT HAPPENED
21 cars lined up on the starting grid, with Felipe Drugovich ruled unfit to participate following his crash prior to the commencement of Saturday’s race. At the front, Zhou endured a difficult start and dropped four positions, while Daruvala slipped from second to fourth having been overtaken by Pourchaire and Daruvala.
Further back, Bent Viscaal was forced to retire for the second race in a row following contact with Roy Nissany – Nissany would later receive a five-second time penalty for the incident.
A brief Virtual Safety Car was deployed, with Lirim Zendeli peeling into the pits to replace his front wing, which had been stripped from his car on the opening lap.
When the action resumed, Marcus Armstrong and Liam Lawson battled for 12th, with the latter attempting the alternate strategy by starting on the medium tyres compared to those on the Super Softs around him.
Pourchaire sat just over one second behind Piastri in the fight for the lead, but was unable to make a push into DRS range. Jüri Vips became the second driver to retire as his car slowed on Lap 6 – he returned to the pits, but was forced to park up his car due to an issue.
Boschung became the first of the front-runners to pit for medium tyres, while Jake Hughes, who starred for HWA RACELAB on Saturday, began to struggle. He dropped behind Christian Lundgaard and Ticktum and would eventually finish at the back of the pack following a spin later in the race.
Prior to his one and only pit stop of the race, Ticktum displayed strong speed on his worn Super Softs, overtaking Lundgaard and Zhou in consecutive laps before pitting.
Back up at the front, Piastri opted to come in for a tyre change on Lap 9, while Pourchaire stayed out for an extra lap. The ART Grand Prix driver was called in on the following lap and emerged back onto the track ahead of Piastri – it appeared as though the team’s overcut attempt had been successful.
However, with tyres that were already up to temperature, Piastri drew alongside Pourchaire and got back ahead into Turn 5, taking the net lead. There were a handful of cars ahead of the duo, however they were all running the alternative strategy and yet to pit.
Over the following seven laps, Piastri and Pourchaire navigated their way through those who had yet to make a move into their pit boxes, with Piastri managing to stay out in front all the way to the chequered flag. Behind them, a battle was underway for the final position on the podium.
Boschung held third but was under pressure from Daruvala. In the Turn 13 braking zone on lap 22, Boschung had a sizeable lock-up and ran deep into the corner, allowing Daruvala to sweep through to take his fourth podium of the 2021 season.
Shwartzman also passed Boschung with relative ease after the Campos Racing driver’s error, as Ticktum, Zhou and Lawson closed in from behind. Boschung’s race was soon run, as his lock-up proved to be too much for the front left tyre. He suffered a puncture on the run into Turn 2 and was left with no choice but to park his car trackside and retire.
Shwartzman couldn’t close in on Daruvala in time to challenge for a podium position and settled for fourth, ahead of Ticktum and Zhou.
Lawson was the highest placed driver on the alternate strategy in seventh with the fastest lap, while MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor finished in eighth place for the second time this weekend.
Lundgaard was ninth for ART, while David Beckmann benefited from Boschung’s late retirement to move up into 10th and secure the final point on offer.
READ MORE: Zendeli hoping for Sunday rain following strong Sprint Race surge
KEY QUOTE – OSCAR PIASTRI (PREMA Racing)
“
Another Feature Race win – two in a row! I am very happy with that, it was a very tough race with no Safety Cars. Théo (Pourchaire) was pushing me the whole way.
“I’m glad I could hold on, I could keep the gap at one and a half, two seconds. I was pushing the whole way. I’m very happy I could pull that one off after a bit of a disappointing day yesterday.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP VIEW
Piastri extends his championship lead and sits on 178 points, ahead of Zhou who has 142 to his name. Shwartzman is third on 135, with Ticktum and Pourchaire in fourth and fifth with 129 and 120 points respectively.
In the Teams’ fight, PREMA sits out in front on 313 points, leading Carlin with 225. Third in the order with 201 points is UNI-Virtuosi, while Hitech Grand Prix is fourth on 182 with ART Grand Prix fifth with 163 points.
