INDIA in F1

Author: INDIAinF1 Desk

  • Enea Bastianini masterclass at display in Austin: MotoGP

    Enea Bastianini masterclass at display in Austin: MotoGP

    Austin, 10 April 2022: Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) is now a two-time MotoGP race winner! The Beast delivered a Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas masterclass to retake the title lead heading to Europe, taking Ducati’s first win at the venue and staking his claim on a serious charge for the crown at the fourth round of the MotoGP World Championship here on Sunday.

    Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) scrapped it out on the last lap for second, with the Suzuki rider coming out on top with a late lunge – and thus securing Suzuki’s 500th podium. Miller, nevertheless, took his first rostrum of the season.

    Behind the fight for the win, there was also an almighty comeback ride from Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)…

    As the lights went out, Miller  got the best start of the leading Ducati trio on the front row and grabbed the holeshot ahead of Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), but thus began the drama for the number 93. The eight-time World Champion suffered an issue off the line, plummeting through the order to the very back of the field. He got going, and then the race was on.

    From left: Miller, Bastianini and Rins at the Podium celebrations on Sunday. A MotoGP image

    Up ahead, Bastianini got the better Bagnaia for P3 on Lap 1 as Martin lunged for the lead at the penultimate corner. Miller instantly retaliated though and it was the Australian who held the race lead baton on Lap 2. It was a Ducati 1-2-3-4-5, with Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) scrapping away with Pecco for P4, followed by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Rins and Joan Mir in P6, P7 and P8 behind the Desmosedici quintet.

    The fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship in Algarve, Portugal is on April 24.

    By Lap 5 meanwhile, Marc Marquez had climbed his way up to 13th. Lap 7 saw him pass teammate Pol Espargaro at Turn 12 and in doing so, the number 93 was inside the top 10 – 0.6s off Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) in eighth and just five seconds off the lead.

    Further up the road, Rins had pounced on Pecco and the Ducati stranglehold had been breached on Lap 6. Rins was an absolute demon on brakes into Turn 11 and the Spaniard picked off Zarco on Lap 9, crucially holding the Frenchman at bay coming out of Turn 12 too. Rins then latched himself onto the coattails of third place Bastianini, diving up the inside of the ‘Beast’ at Turn 11 on the next lap but Bastianini able to power back past.

    Meanwhile, Marc Marquez had picked off Aleix Espargaro and had Quartararo next on his list as the number 93 set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 11 of 20.

    Lap 12 saw Bastianini slice past Martin into second at Turn 1, and Rins followed Bestia through and into third. Up ahead, Miller had opened up a 0.7s lead as the Australian pushed on doing the leg work of leading, with Bagnaia, Mir and Zarco battling it out as the top nine riders down to Marc Marquez were split by five seconds – and the latter, once again, set the fastest lap of the race. 

    It was all happening. Lap 14 saw Quartararo push his way past countryman Zarco as the number 5 dropped backwards, and Marc Marquez then passed Quartararo on the back straight as, up ahead, both Mir and Pecco made their way through on Martin. Bastianini, in second, then set the best lap of the race as Miller’s lead was cut to 0.3s, the race for the win very much on. The top two also had 1.4s in hand to Rins, who in turn had 1.3s to teammate Mir. Could the Suzukis bridge the gap?

    With five laps to go, it looked like it was only a matter of time before Bastianini took the lead off Miller. Sure enough, ducking into the slipstream of the Australian, Bastianini then sliced up the inside of the number 43, hitting the front at Turn 12.

    How would Miller respond? Bastianini eked out about three tenths and with three laps to go, the gap was half a second. From there, it only grew – and Rins was closing in fast, too. The Suzuki was now 0.7s behind Miller, Mir was a further second down the road, Bagnaia 0.8s off Mir, and Marquez and Quartararo were getting their gloves off as they shoved Martin down to P8.

    Starting the final lap, Bastianini had 1.6s in his pocket and it seemed his to lose. Miller was now on defence duty against a charging Rins, with Mir not too far off the podium fight either. Bagnaia was in a lonelier fifth, and Marquez vs Quartararo was a sensation in the battle for sixth.

    For second, the fight started at Turn 11 as the Suzuki got by, but Miller got his Ducati hooked up on the straight and the Aussie was back into P2. Rins then got a great run out of Turn 18, and at Turn 19, the number 42 went for it and dived up the inside. Stopped and turned to perfection, there was no way back for Miller and that was that: Bastianini a MotoGP™ race winner once more, Rins taking second and making that history for Suzuki, and Miller forced to settle for third but still taking a first podium of the season.

    Mir’s podium attack didn’t quite come to fruition in the end but it’s a second consecutive P4 for the 2020 World Champion, with Bagnaia also taking a second successive result, his of fifth. And then came Marquez…

    From 24th to sixth was a truly stunning comeback, enough even without threatening the podium for it to be a serious warning shot for the rest. Quartararo gave it some elbows to try and deny the number 93 though, taking P7 in the end but the top Iwata machine by some margin.

    Martin slipped to P8 as the Pramac duo struggled in the second half of the race, with Zarco just behind in P9. Maverick Viñales got the better of Aprilia Racing teammate Aleix Espargaro as the Aprilias pick up P10 and P11 from P13 and P14 on the grid, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) coming home in P12 on a difficult weekend for KTM.

    A fatigued and under the weather Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) saw the chequered flag in P13, just ahead of Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) crossed the line in P15 but was demoted one place, handing Andrea Dovizioso (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team) the final point.

    Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) crashed out, the former headed to the medical centre for a check-up and was declared fit.

    What a way to celebrate 500 GPs of racing together, with Bastianini putting on a show to remember at the Circuit of the Americas. The Beast is back on top and in winning race #GP500, joins Cal Crutchlow (400th), Casey Stoner (300th), Valentino Rossi (200th), Kenny Roberts Jr (100th) and Mick Doohan, the first winner of the era back in 1992, with a nice little milestone.

    Now the stunning Autodromo Internacional do Algarve awaits, with a very different looking Championship table to the one on MotoGP™’s last visit. What will the rollercoaster bring? Find out in two weeks!

    MotoGP podium:
    1 Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) – Ducati – 41’23.111
    2 Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) – Suzuki – +2.058
    3 Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – +2.312

    Enea Bastianini: “Fantastic day! It has been really hard this race. The first part of the race Miller put a very fast pace, but then during the middle of the race when I saw Rins very close to me trying to overtake me many times I decided it was time to push for the front because also the temperature of the front tyre was too high. In the end I pushed like a bastard. It’s incredible to win here in America it’s a fantastic track, fantastic people and now it’s time to eat some hamburgers.!”

    FULL RESULTS

  • Mitch Evans bags a double to jump into title-contention: FormulaE

    Mitch Evans bags a double to jump into title-contention: FormulaE

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s Rome specialist does the double in the Italian capital to charge into the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship contention.

    Rome, 10 April 2022: Mitch Evans had just a solitary point to his name in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship arriving in Italy for this weekend’s Rome E-Prix double-header. Following a second consecutive victory today (10 April), the Jaguar TCS Racing star is now a bona fide title protagonist.

    Buoyed by the third triumph of his Formula E career yesterday, Evans began Sunday’s race from fourth place, but he did not stay there long. After despatching Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) and André Lotterer (TAG Heuer Porsche) in quick succession, the New Zealander set about chasing down Jean-Éric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) for the lead.

    Following a brief safety car period to allow for Antonio Giovinazzi’s Dragon / Penske Autosport car to be cleared away shortly after one-third distance, Evans made his move, sweeping around the outside of Vergne to seize the top spot.

    The 27-year-old thereafter looked to be in complete control, despite subsequently conceding ground to Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns and Lotterer as his rivals both deployed their single Attack Mode.

    When the safety car re-emerged with just 11 minutes left on the clock, however – to remove Alexander Sims’ stricken Mahindra Racing single-seater – Evans was the sole driver in the field yet to activate his own Attack Mode, evoking the possibility of a penalty for not using it in its entirety prior to the end of the race.

    Fortunately for the Jaguar driver, a rapid recovery operation and 5m15s of added time enabled him to continue his charge, immediately taking Attack Mode on the resumption of racing and only ceding a single position to Vergne. After swiftly reclaiming third place, he then made short work of Frijns and Lotterer before proceeding to stretch his legs.

    A third safety car intervention with two minutes remaining threatened another twist in the tale as it erased Evans’ advantage and set up a no-holds-barred single-lap shootout, but the leader boldly held his nerve and his reward was a third win around the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR in as many years – a success that has vaulted him firmly into championship contention, just nine points adrift of the summit of the standings.

    It is Vergne who now tops the table, after finishing second in the Italian capital. The Frenchman won in Rome last year, and he looked to be on-course to repeat the feat until Evans went on the offensive. He dropped to fifth when he entered Attack Mode, but utilised his extra power to battle back past Jaguar’s Sam Bird, Frijns and Lotterer to seal the runner-up spoils.

    From sixth on the grid, Frijns overhauled Bird and Dennis to advance to fourth, and was the first of the leading pack to activate Attack Mode. The Dutchman was another to enjoy a spell at the head of the order, ultimately getting the better of Lotterer in the duel for the final step on the podium – with a third rostrum appearance of the season elevating him to just two points shy of the championship lead.

    Following an energetic scrap with front row starter Dennis, Lotterer similarly led the E-Prix later on, and after yielding to Evans, Vergne and Frijns, the German held off Mercedes-EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne for fourth, the Belgian gaining three places from his grid slot.

    Mexico winner Pascal Wehrlein wound up sixth for Porsche at the end of a solid run, ahead of Oliver Turvey, who registered his first points for NIO 333 since Valencia almost 12 months ago. Former champions Lucas Di Grassi (ROKiT Venturi Racing) and Sébastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams) placed eighth and ninth, with NIO 333 rookie Dan Ticktum rounding out the top ten.

    Elsewhere, there were hard luck stories for a number of drivers, chief amongst whom were Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries. A DNF following contact with António Félix da Costa – and soon after the wall – saw the Venturi ace slip from first to fifth in the chase for the crown, while defending champion de Vries (Mercedes-EQ) failed to score for the second day in a row after picking up a ten-second penalty for causing a collision with Sérgio Sette Câmara (Dragon / Penske Autosport).

    The 2021/22 Formula E campaign will continue with round six in Monaco in three weeks’ time (30 April).

    MITCH EVANS, JAGUAR TCS RACING,  #9 said:

    “It feels like déjà vu.This is a result of pure graft, hard work. I just want to thank everyone at the team because the last eight weeks have been insane with the amount of work that has gone in. I didn’t know if we could manage two – double-headers are tricky to back up – but we showed good quality. The race was a carbon copy from yesterday, the car was working perfectly. It was trickier today because of the temperature and the longer ATTACK mode, I almost got caught out with that during the safety car, but a huge thanks to everyone on the team and hopefully this isn’t just a one-off but it feels good. It has been a big couple of days. It was what we wanted, you dream about that but to try and pull it off is usually quite unrealistic. We are back as a team, I am back towards the top, so it is good times.”

    JEAN-ÉRIC VERGNE, DS TECHEETAH, #25 said:

    “It was a chaotic race. I didn’t know what was happening in terms of our strategy, the Jaguar and Mitch were way too fast this weekend. I hope that is only going to be a one-off from their side, otherwise it might be difficult to beat them. Today it was impossible. I am fairly happy with second, it was the best I could do, but I am going to urge my team to do better if we want to fight for wins because every time there is someone stronger than us. It is not good enough so we need to work hard in Monaco to be the best. The Championship is still very long, consistency is key, and I think we were fairly consistent throughout the season, but if we want to win we need to have more pace. Leading the Championship at this race, everyone will have forgotten if you don’t win the Championship, so it is at the end that matters.”

    ROBIN FRIJNS, ENVISION RACING, #4 said:

    “It is a good weekend, it was a good race. It was very tricky in Turn 15, I didn’t know this at the beginning. I felt really comfortable and the team told me I had a bit more energy than the others around me, so my plan was to go a bit further into the top three, and I overtook Jake there. We both went wide, then I noticed the track was breaking up massively. I feel a bit sorry for Jake that we both went wide and he lost his position, that definitely wasn’t the plan, but at the end of the day we were fighting for podium positions which is a victory for us. We move on from here.”

  • Charles Leclerc beats Verstappen to Aussie GP pole

    Charles Leclerc beats Verstappen to Aussie GP pole

    Melbourne, 9 April 2022: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc beat Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by almost three tenths of a second to take his second pole position of the season in an Australian Grand Prix qualifying session that was disrupted by two red flag periods. Sergio Pérez qualified third but the Mexican driver was due to visit the stewards after the session to discuss a possible yellow flag infringement during Q2.

    Q1 began with both Ferraris heading out on track soon after the pit lane opened and Leclerc immediately moved to P1 with a lap of 1:19.391. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted into second just under four tenths off the Ferrari driver.

    Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz took over at the top with a lap of 1:19.791 as Verstappen and Pérez began their first flying laps. The Mexican’s effort, a 1:19.307, took him to P2, while Max moved to fourth place, a tenth off his team-mate.

    Leclerc was finding time on his second run, however, and he climbed back to the top of the order with the first sub 1m19s time as posted a lap of 1:18.881. Verstappen was also on another push lap and with a purple final sector he took second place 0.044s behind Leclerc. 

    Norris, meanwhile, improved to 1:19.280 to demote Pérez to fifth place and the Red Bull driver dropped another two positions when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas took fourth and fifth respectively. 

    With six minutes left Verstappen found more pace to claim P1 with a lap of 1:18.580. Pérez posted a lap of 1:18.834 to claim second place ahead of Leclerc. The top six then retired to the pit lane as the battle to escape the Q1 drop intensified.

    However, with two minutes remaining the session was halted when Nicholas Latifi collided with Lance Stroll. Latifi, on a slow lap, pulled over to let Stroll past, but his fellow Canadian was on a cool down lap. The Williams man went to pass the Aston Martin driver on the right on the run to Turn 5 but Stroll was already moving across the track and the pair tangled, with Latifi’s car wrecked in the heavy collision.

    The session was red-flagged for 15 minutes and the delay gave the Aston Martin mechanics enough time to complete repairs to Sebastian Vettel’s car which had been damaged in a crash in final practice. 

    The German pushed hard to post a solid time on a crowded track but in the end he could only find his way P18 and he was eliminated along with Williams’ Alex Albon and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in P16 and P17 respectively and the unfortunate Stroll and Latifi.

    In Q2 Verstappen was first out on track, with Pérez not far behind. Verstppen crossed the line in 1:18.611, marginally off his Q1 best, to take top spot, with his team-mate second. Alonso then split the Red Bulls as Leclerc made his way to fourth ahead of Norris. 

    On his second run Verstappen was unable to find more time, but Pérez did better and his 1:18.340 took him 0.271 clear of his team-mate at the top of the timesheet. The Mexican’s lap was under scrutiny, however, with stewards noting that he may not have slowed for yellow flags when Mercedes’ George Russell was forced to use the escape road at Turn 11. The incident was due for investigation after the session. 

    Sainz went for his final run of the segment and his lap of 1:18.739 boosted him to third place behind Verstappen. Leclerc then split the Red Bulls with a lap of 1:18.606. Sainz, though, improved again and when the flag fell he rose to second just over a tenth of a second behind Pérez and ahead of Leclerc and fourth-placed Verstappen.

    AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was the first man eliminated at the end of Q2 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda in the second AlphaTauri, Zhou Guanyu in the second Alfa Romeo and Haas’ Mick Schumacher. 

    Verstappen was again on track early in Q3 but the Dutchman’s opening run featured a small lock up in the penultimate corner and he crossed the line in 1:18.399. Pérez then took top spot just 0.001s behind his team-mate. Leclerc was running quickly though and his 1:18.239 was good enough for provisional pole.

    The session was then red-flagged when Alonso crashed at Turn 11. The Alpine driver reported that he had lost hydraulics and could not change gear as he went into the right-hander. The timing of the crash was not good for Sainz. The Ferrari driver caught the red flag just as he crossed the line and his first flyer of the top-10 shootout was lost.

    When the session resumed for the final runs, Pérez put in a good lap but he missed out on beating Leclerc’s first-run benchmark, again by 0.001s. Verstappen made a good gain took top spot with a lap of 1:18.254. Leclerc was one of the last on track, though, and the Ferrari driver was able to find more pace than all his rivals and he claimed his second pole position of the season with a lap of 1:17.868.

    Fourth place went to Norris. Lewis Hamilton took fifth for Mercedes, a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate George Russell and Daniel Ricciardo was seventh in the second McLaren. Esteban Ocon took eight place for Alpine but there was disappointment for Sainz who ran wide in Turn 6 on his final lap. The Spaniard finished the session in ninth place ahead of Alonso.

    2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:17.868 8 244.012
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:18.154 6 243.119
    3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:18.240 9 242.852
    4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:18.703 6 241.424
    5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:18.825 10 241.050
    6 George Russell Mercedes 1:18.933 9 240.720
    7 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:19.032 6 240.419
    8 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:19.061 6 240.330
    9 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:19.408 1.540 6 239.280
         Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault – 2
    11 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:19.226 8 239.830
    12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:19.410 8 239.274
    13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:19.424 7 239.232
    14 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:20.155 5 237.050
    15 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:20.465 8 236.137
    16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:20.135 11 237.109
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:20.254 11 236.758
    18 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:21.149 3 234.147
    19 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:21.372 8 233.505
         Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes – 2

  • Rea and Bautista split the spoils on opening day: WorldSBK

    Rea and Bautista split the spoils on opening day: WorldSBK

    Reigning WorldSBK Champion Razgatlioglu’s main rivals take the spotlight on Day 1

    Aragon, 8 March 2022: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) set the fastest lap on Friday at MotorLand Aragon with a 1’49.301 lap time claimed in Free Practice 1: “We focused on which tyre we could use for the race. We built up step by step, a longer run in the afternoon. We have to see what tomorrow brings because we are in a strange window. We could be fast with both tyres but tomorrow, depending on the temperature, we face during the race will determined our final tyre setup”.

    Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ended Day 1 in second place, despite having improved his morning lap time by two tenths in Free Practice 2 and led the second session; “We changed the setup of the bike this morning because after the test here we thought we could improve the feeling with the bike. But I didn’t feel so great with the new set up. In FP2, we switched back the same set up as the test, which gave me better feeling.I did almost a Superpole Race distance and the pace was not too bad.We made race distance with both tyres, and I’m quite happy.”

    Reigning WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was third at the end of Friday, 0.364s behind Jonathan Rea. “We used the SCX tyre, but we weren’t happy with it. This afternoon we tried a race simulation but after 10 laps, the front tyre dropped. We need to improve this tomorrow for the race. But the feeling with the rear was great.”

    Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished fourth overall. “I feel good. Conditions were a bit different today, but we were good at adapting.I feel confident that we can be up there fighting for a podium.”

    Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished inside the top five in the afternoon, finishing fifth on the combined times; “I’m quite happy about today, and with the race tyre we are pretty fast.”

    Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was sixth overall at the end of Friday; “My race pace and my consistency is not so bad. If I have a good qualifying, make a good start, if I can stay there for a few laps, I think the second part of the race I can be strong.”

    Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was the top BMW rider and just over a second off Rea’s top time but over three tenths quicker than the next BMW. As for Honda and Team HRC, it was tenth overall for rookie Iker Lecuona and 13th for teammate Xavi Vierge, although Lecuona could only place in 17th at the end of FP2. Seven tenths slower in FP2 than FP1, Lecuona will hope that the cooler temperatures in FP3 and Tissot Superpole allow him to improve once more. As for Vierge, he did improve his time in the afternoon session, putting him 11th in the session.

    WorldSBK Combined Results after FP2

    1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’49.301s
    2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.305s
    3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.364s
    4. Garrett Gerloff (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.599s
    5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.699s
    6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.709s

  • Charles Leclerc fastest in FP2: Australian GP

    Charles Leclerc fastest in FP2: Australian GP

    Melbourne, 8 March 2022: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went quickest in the second practice for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, beating early-season title rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing by more than two tenths of a second, with Carlos Sainz third in the other Ferrari. 

    The afternoon session got underway with a few drops of rain in the air but it had no effect on running and four minutes into the session McLaren’s Lando Norris set the early benchmark with a lap of 1:21.852. The Briton was soon bounced out of top spot by team-mate Ricciardo, who posted a lap of 1:21.793 to claim P1.

    The McLaren drivers’ private battle was then disrupted by Ferrari, with Leclerc going quickest with a lap of 1:20.898. The Monegasque driver’s team-mate Carlos Sainz might have beaten that but after going quickest in the middle sector he made a mistake in Turn 13 and hit traffic in the latter stages of the lap. With 11 minutes on the clock, Alfa Romeo’s Vallteri Bottas, a 2019 winner here with Mercedes, jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:20.432.

    The field began to make the move to soft tyres for performance runs as the first third of the session elapsed and Sainz vaulted to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 1:19.979. Leclerc slotted into second on 1m20.175s, with Bottas third thanks to his earlier time.

    Sainz went for another lap on the soft tyres, but was forced to abandon the effort when he came across the slow moving AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda. 

    Leclerc, though, managed a clean lap and he rose to P1 with a lap of 1:19.771. Sainz wasn’t done, however, and with purple times in the first and third sector, the Spaniard posted a time of 1:19.568 to reclaim top spot. 

    The tussle between the two Ferrari drivers looked like it might define the session, but just before the midpoint of the session, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso popped up with a lap of 1:19.537 to claim P1. 

    The Ferraris were on track again, however, and Sainz once again took first place with a time of 1:19.376, with Leclerc second a tenth behind. 

    Bahrain GP winner Leclerc was still finding lap time however and he logged an impressive lap of 1m18.978 to once again make his way to P1 – and there he would stay until the chequered flag fell. 

    Verstappen, meanwhile, was having a more difficult session. Early on he complained of not being able to get his RB18 turned in and later on he struggled to get a clean lap on soft tyres with one run being disrupted by traffic and another being scuppered by a mistake in the penultimate corners. Eventually, though, he found a good lap but even though he ran quickest in the middle sector, he missed out on top spot with a lap of 1:19.223 that left him second to Leclerc by 0.245.

    With the performance runs completed the field then moved back to harder compounds to explore longer runs in the time remaining. With 11 minutes remaining the red flags were briefly shown when part of Stroll’s front wing broke and came to rest on the track. 

    With Sainz third, Alonso was left with fourth place ahead of the second Red Bull of Pérez. Esteban Ocon took fifth in the second Alpine and Bottas ended the hour in P7. Norris finished eighth for McLaren with Pierre Gasly taking P9 for AlphaTauri ahead of the second McLaren of Ricciardo. 

    Further back, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, returning after sitting out the opening two events due to testing positive for COVID-19, also missed out on the second practice in Melbourne as his team couldn’t ready his car following the engine issue that had halted his progress late in the first practice session. 

    2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.978 27 240.583
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:19.223 0.245 22 239.839
    3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:19.376 0.398 27 239.377
    4 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:19.537 0.559 22 238.892
    5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:19.658 0.680 20 238.529
    6 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:19.842 0.864 25 237.980
    7 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:20.055 1.077 25 237.346
    8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.100 1.122 24 237.213
    9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:20.142 1.164 27 237.089
    10 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.203 1.225 24 236.908
    11 George Russell Mercedes 1:20.212 1.234 25 236.882
    12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:20.424 1.446 30 236.257
    13 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:20.521 1.543 23 235.973
    14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:20.611 1.633 28 235.709
    15 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:21.063 2.085 23 234.395
    16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:21.191 2.213 23 234.025
    17 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:21.912 2.934 28 231.966
    18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:21.974 2.996 22 231.790
    19 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:22.307 3.329 24 230.852
    20 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes –

  • “I can’t wait”: an intriguing rodeo lies ahead; MotoGP in US

    “I can’t wait”: an intriguing rodeo lies ahead; MotoGP in US

    Austin, United States, 8 April, 2022: Before track action at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas gets going on Friday morning, our latest race winner Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) team was joined in the pre-event Press Conference by Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and the returning eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to discuss what might lie ahead at the Circuit of The Americas.

    Indian fans can tune in to EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD to catch all the live action from the 2022 MotoGP championship, with the MotoGP 2022 – Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas Qualifying Race scheduled from 23:00 Hrs (11:00 pm IST on Sunday) onwards on Saturday, April 09, 2022. The main race is scheduled from 21:30 Hrs (9:30 pm IST on Monday) onwards on Sunday, April 10, 2022.

    Marc Marquez, the King of COTA, returns

    After his huge Indonesian GP crash in Warm Up, Marc Marquez has been sidelined – first with a concussion, then with a return of diplopia that occurred on the way home from Mandalika. Thankfully, the double vision issue isn’t as bad as it was at the end of 2021, and the number 93 is back in action at a circuit he’s won at seven times in the past.

    Marquez admitted that it was incredibly tough to be sat at home again with diplopia, but he’s back to race. And when Marc Marquez races, he races to win – like all of the riders.

    Marc Marquez: “Of course after Mandalika was really hard week, but lucky for me that the vision injury was less than last time. Even in Argentina I almost came but didn’t feel motivated to take that risk, and I didn’t want it. I spoke with the doctor and we decided to stay at home and relax and then train again in a good way. This week I had another doctor’s check and the vision was fixed. I tried a bike as well and let’s see. I’m not arriving in the best way here in Americas GP but we will try to do a great FP1 and start a great weekend.”

    Race winner, World Championship leader… a good week for Aleix Espargaro

    It was a fairy tale weekend in Argentina for Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia. That win was a long time coming for both parties but now, the focus is firmly on the Americas GP – a track they really struggled at in 2021.

    Aleix Espargaro: “Sounds good, sounds good. Feels strange for me to hear that but I’m very happy. These last few days have been fantastic, I feel happy but at the same time relaxed because I had the confidence I didn’t have in the past. In past I dreamed I could win, now I know I can. It’s not going to be easy weekend for me because last year we suffered a lot in this track, it was one of the most difficult, but this year is different. We have new asphalt, the bumps will be a lot better, the 2022 machine is a lot better than last year and we arrive in a completely different position. I can’t wait to go out on track and see how fast I can go.

    “I was very happy to win in Argentina but what made me happier is that we showed in the first three rounds that we are very competitive, I feel good with the new bike, the new bike is a lot better. The proof was that I was also able to over Jorge on the Ducati in the straight, so it means that overall the Aprilia has grown up a lot and this gives me a lot of positive energy for this round. I know it’s not going to be an easy one, I’m sure in Portimao and Jerez it will be easier for me and my bike but this is a challenge. This weekend is a big challenge for me, I love a challenge so I can’t wait.”

    500 GPs not out – a landmark occasion this weekend

    This weekend marks the 500th GP that Dorna, IRTA and the MSMA have been running MotoGP™. In the Press Conference, the riders were asked about what their earliest memories were of MotoGP™.

    Aleix Espargaro: “I remember many races but the one I remember further away was in Barcelona when I was following Alex Criville a lot and I remember he crashed at the first corner, and I was kid and I started to cry. In that moment I realised I had a passion for this sport so it’s an honour to be here for the 500 GP, and I think it arrived in a very cool moment because the competition is very high.”

    Fabio Quartararo: “For me it was 2005 in Jerez, the fight between Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau. This is one of the races that made me want to be a MotoGP rider.”

    Jorge Martin: “Yeah for me it was in 2006 in Valencia, it was the first time I went into the paddock. It was the Championship fight between Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi and I remember I saw Valentino and he touched my head, I didn’t clean my head for one week. This is the race I remember.”

    Marc Marquez: “I remember many races but the one I have most in my mind was Calalunya 2009 when Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi fought until the last corner of the GP. I remember more races but that one I can say what happened on every lap.”

  • Emotional Aleix Espargaro brings Aprilia its first win

    Emotional Aleix Espargaro brings Aprilia its first win

    History beckoned in Termas de Rio Hondo, and history was made. The Gran Premio Michelin de la Republica Argentina will go down in the record books as the first ever premier class win for Aprilia and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), so every manufacturer on the grid has now won a MotoGP race and every rider on the grid now has a Grand Prix victory.

    Aleix Espargaro: “I’m extremely happy about this weekend in Argentina. Overall in Qatar and Indonesia I also felt very strong. I felt competitive, I think we had a solid weekend. Honestly, the race was not easy. I expected it to be a bit easier as this morning I felt very strong. But I think I had a smart race, and finally after this long period with Aprilia we achieved the victory and we are leading the championship. This is like a dream. We keep our feet on the ground, but I think we truly deserve this!”

    The Argentina GP also marked Espargaro’s 200th premier class start, with the stage perfectly set to celebrate in style as the long road from 125s to 250s to MotoGP, back to Moto2, through the CRT era to MotoGP factory rider ended on the top step of the premier class podium.

    It didn’t come easy either, with Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin leading the way for much of the race and then battling it out, ultimately forced to settle for second but taking his first podium of the year. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) likewise took his first podium of 2022 and first since Silverstone last season, the Suzuki rider close to the duel ahead but not quite close enough to attack.

    For the first time since 2019, it was lights out in Argentina and Martin got away superbly from the middle of the front row for the holeshot. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) launched well to move up into P3 as well, just behind polesitter and older brother Aleix Espargaro as it got close but not full contact close at the front.

    The top two, Martin and Aleix Espargaro, soon started to stretch clear. The gap was up to a second pretty rapidly as Pol Espargaro and Rins battled past Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and a whole host of riders sat line astern. Reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), meanwhile, had dropped back to P13 from the second row, with Indonesian GP winner Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) behind him and the likes of Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) all making moves in the initial freight train.

    The gap at the front extended and extended fast. Martin and Aleix Espargaro soon had a buffer of two seconds to Rins and Pol Espargaro, with Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) into P5 ahead of Marini, who in turn had Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), Bagnaia and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) for close company.

    Lap 10 of 25 saw Aleix Espargaro run wide at Turn 1, losing 0.4s, and then the Aprilia man ran wide at Turn 5 – two mistakes in five corners costing the Spaniard 0.9s. That left Rins just a second in arrears as the Suzuki rider kept chipping away at the gap and Martin’s lead, with 15 laps to go, was up to just over a second. The response from Aleix Espargaro? The fastest lap of the Grand Prix – a 1:39.375, 0.4s quicker than Martin.

    After Zarco crashed out earlier, the next to suffer a crash was then Pol Espargaro, rider ok. That promoted Mir to P4, but the 2020 World Champion had two seconds to bridge if he wanted to fight his teammate Rins for the final podium spot.

    Up front meanwhile, Aleix Espargaro had regrouped and was now back to where he was before the double error – 0.3s behind Martin – and the first hint of a move came with eight laps to go. The Aprilia moved out the slipstream and was ahead, but it was only briefly. Hard on the anchors, Espargaro couldn’t get his RS-GP stopped at the apex and Martin was back through. 

    A lap later, it was copy/paste at Turn 5. Still no way through for Espargaro, who looked like he had a bit of pace in his pocket over Martin. But then, at the third attempt at Turn 5, the Aprilia was through.

    With four and a half laps to go, Aprilia and Espargaro were leading. With three to go, Martin hadn’t been dropped by Espargaro, and Rins was now 0.8s behind too. Two to go: 0.2s split the top two, and Rins was still just under a second in further arrears.

    Heading onto the last lap though, it looked like the stage was set. Espargaro had been able to give himself just over half a second of breathing space, and a monumentally huge lap was incoming for the number 41 and Aprilia – with just 4.8km of asphalt separating him from a dream debut victory. Turn 5 was safely negotiated. Turn 7 too. Three corners left quickly become two. Turn 13 was safely negotiated, no attack from Martin incoming, and finally, flicking his RS-GP left, Espargaro took the chequered flag in P1 for the very first time, handing Aprilia their first premier class victory and adding another entry into the record books.

    Just behind, Martin had no answer in the end for Espargaro but second place is crucial to kickstart his World Championship after two DNFs in Qatar and Indonesia, putting him on the board. Rins completed the podium for his first visit to the rostrum in 2022, and in the end, Mir was only 0.5s away from his teammate and podium finish. That has put Team Suzuki Ecstar top of the teams’ standings, with Ducati top in the consctructors’ thanks to Martin. Aleix Espargaro, meanwhile, leads the riders’ Championship for the first time.

    Bagnaia put in an impressive Sunday salvage to take P5, the Italian getting the better of Brad Binder. Viñales enjoyed by far his best weekend yet with Aprilia as he takes home P7, ahead of former teammate Quartararo. The reigning Champion took a lonely P8 in the end.

    Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) upped the rookie ante with an impressive ninth place as he takes over at the top in the fight for Rookie of the Year, and the Italian beat compatriots Bastianini and Marini to it too. The ‘Beast’ loses the points lead after a P10, with Marini slipping down the order to P11.

    Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) fended off Oliveira for P12, with Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) behind them as the Australian couldn’t make progress on Sunday afternoon and picked up a lowly P14. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) claimed the final point in P15.

    History made and party begun, that’s a wrap and we have some new winners in town as the paddock packs up and heads for Texas. What awaits in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas and, maybe crucially, who? The top step has only belonged to two, so tune in next week to see the next chapter in the story – with the sport also celebrating a very special milestone: 500 Grands Prix of the FIM, IRTA, MSMA and Dorna Racing together.

    MotoGP podium

    1 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – Aprilia – 41’36.198
    2 Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) – Ducati – +0.807
    3 Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) – Suzuki – +1.330

  • Bastianini, Oliveira, Quartararo and Zarco at the Pre-race Press Conference

    Bastianini, Oliveira, Quartararo and Zarco at the Pre-race Press Conference

    Santiago del Estero (Argentina), 31 March 2022 : After the announcement that Friday’s track action at the Gran Premio Michelin de la República Argentina would have to be rescheduled, the start of the pre-event Thursday Press Conference took a slightly different tone than usual as World Championship leader Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP), Indonesian GP winner Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), 2021 World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Mandalika podium finisher Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) discussed the challenges that lay ahead on Saturday and Sunday.

    Indian fans can tune in to EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD to catch all the live action from the 2022 MotoGP championship, with the MotoGP 2022 – Gran Premio Michelin De La República Argentina Qualifying Race scheduled from 23:00 Hrs (11:00 pm IST) onwards on Saturday, April 02, 2022.

    “It will be hard for all the mechanics” said Bastianini, as some teams still have none of their apparatus in Argentina to build the garages and get the bikes set up. But every cloud has a silver lining. Losing Friday’s running is disappointing, but once track activity gets underway on Saturday, we face a bumper, non-stop schedule of action that will be thrilling for fans. A challenge for the riders and teams, of course, but it should provide a compelling day that consists of both Free Practice and qualifying.

    “I have everything so we can start,” joked Quartararo, who picked up his first podium of the season last time out in Mandalika. “It’s a shame and we really cross our fingers that it arrives tomorrow.

    “Basically it will be a challenge, most of all the mechanics, because they will have a lot of work. Saturday will be a long day but on TV it will be nice, we will see if it’s great or not for us. At least we will have it all in one day and only missing one practice.

    ” The word “challenge” was also used by Oliveira and Zarco when describing what is coming up for the riders and teams on Saturday especially, as well as Sunday with the reduced track time.

    “I mean I think we need to be happy considering some teams have nothing and from my side we’re only missing one bike so it’s the least of the problems,” commented Oliveira. “We have to condense the activity for Saturday which will be different and a challenge, especially for mechanics so let’s see how that goes, but happy of course to do something.”

    Zarco echoed his rivals’ thoughts: “Tough for the teams that haven’t received anything. The work you usually do in 48 hours they will have only one night so it will be tough. Fortunately for Pramac we have everything, so we are ready.

    “Saturday will be a big day but enough practice to get used to the track and also clean the track because it’s been a long time since we raced here. As usual, we will have a slippery feeling and then it will get better so it will be a big day on Saturday. For myself, I like this track and the change in schedule I think it will still be good enough to hope for a good result.”

    Just before the quartet of riders sat down for questions, Dorna Sports CEO, Carmelo Ezpeleta, explained what the situation was in regards to some of the freight not yet arriving in Termas.

    “As you know we were in Lombok two weeks ago, everything was prepared well because there was a week in the middle. Last Wednesday we sent two different flights from Lombok to Argentina and one of the flights had a problem in Mombasa, in Africa, then we took the decision that the other flight that had already arrived in Argentina should go back to Lombok, bring the last things of the freight to bring here to Argentina. We did that but unfortunately this flight also has a technical problem, in Mombasa again, and it’s not been able to come.

    “In principle it was to take off yesterday to arrive later today, but the problem was bigger than we were aware. Apparently the problem is in a valve of one of the four engines. Two flights have gone to bring the valves to Mombasa. Theoretically the valves are arriving in Mombasa right now, or very soon, to be repaired this afternoon. If everything goes well, around 8 o’clock this evening, the flight will set off on time to do the new schedule prepared for Saturday.”

    Once the freight arrives and the teams are all set up, the track action in Argentina should be a belter.

  • Perez gets maiden career pole but Verstappen turns tables on Sunday

    Perez gets maiden career pole but Verstappen turns tables on Sunday

    Max Verstappen took his first victory of the season after an intense battel with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as Red Bull scored points for the first time in 2022. Carlos Sainz finished third, giving Ferrari a double podium for the second consecutive race while Polesitter Sergio Perez had to settle for P4.

    By Malhaar Khaladkar

    New Delhi, 28 March 2022: Sergio Perez outqualified his decorated teammate Max Verstappen only the second time in his Red Bull career, as the world champion had to settle for P4 on Saturday. Perez had his hands full with the two Ferrari’s close behind. Another shock on Saturday came from the 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who exited in Q1 for the first time since 2017, that too on pure pace.

    As the lights went out, the top 2, Perez and Leclerc maintained position. Meanwhile, Verstappen sneaked past Sainz for P3 on lap 1. Behind, Mercedes’ George Russell got past Esteban Ocon to run in P5 by lap 3 and teammate Hamilton recovered to P10 by lap 15.Laps 5-7 saw an enticing battle between Alpine teammates Ocon and Fernando Alonso for P6. With Ocon later being instructed by the team to hold position on Alonso.

    Sainz in P4 dropped back from the top three cars. The gap between Perez and Leclerc hovered around 3s as the pitstop window opened on around lap 13. Top 5 cars were on medium tyres. With there being a significant advantage of undercut, Ferrari called Leclerc saying, “box to overtake”. Essentially meaning whatever Perez does, do the opposite. Red Bull acted on this, to avoid getting undercut and pitted Perez on lap 15 for hard tyres. Lady luck was not on Perez’s side as Williams’ Nicholas Latifi crashed in the final corner, bringing out a virtual safety car and then the full safety car. With the race neutralised everyone took advantage and pitted bar Kevin Magnussen, Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg who started on the hard tyres.

    Oracle Red Bull drier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands celebrates after winning the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Corniche Street Circuit on March 27, 2022 Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull Content Pool

    Naturally Perez lost out to Leclerc and Verstappen who emerged in P1 and P2 respectively. While the Mexican did momentarily overtake Sainz, he had to give back the position at the restart as the Ferrari was ahead on the safety car line 1 while exiting form the pits. Safety car came in on lap 21 as racing got underway.

    By lap 25 Hamilton passed Magnussen for P6, both running on hard tyres still yet to make a pitstop. At the front Leclerc managed to keep Verstappen out of DRS range as the Ferrari was faster in sector 1 with all the high-speed corners while Red Bull used its straight-line speed advantage in sectors 2 and 3.

    Alonso in P7 reported loss of power as his car slowed down on lap 35. As Alonso slowed down, so did McLaren’s Ricciardo as he halted on the pit lane entrance. A VSC was deployed as Magnussen and Hulkenberg pitted to change their hard tyres and onto the mediums. Hamilton running in P6, just missed the pitlane and after it was closed for 3 laps to clear the cars halted on the pit entrance. Hamilton finally pitted on lap 40 for medium tyres and emerged in P12.

    The VSC ended on lap 41, with Verstappen closing the gap within a 1s to Leclerc as the Dutchman’s tyres were up to temperature. At the end of lap 41 Verstappen got past Leclerc before the final corner. Leclerc employing the same technique he did in Bahrain of letting Verstappen through then overtaking him on the next straight. On lap 43 both locked up going into the final corner vying for DRS onto the start finish straight. Leclerc was still able to maintain the lead.

    Verstappen continued his hunt for the lead as he closed up to Leclerc at the end of lap 46. Using DRS he overtook the Monegasque into turn 1. Leclerc did not lose touch as he was still within 1s of Verstappen, but the Red Bull was able to keep in front owing to better straight line speed.

    At the chequered flag Verstappen took his first victory of the season finishing just 0.549s ahead of Leclerc. Sainz achieved another podium with Perez finishing in P4. Mercedes’ Russell maximised his race by finishing in P5, ahead of Alpine’s Ocon who beat McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.107s at the finish line. P8 was Pierre Gasly for AlphaTauri and P9 was Magnussen for Haas. Hamilton could only finish P10 as safety car ruined his race strategy.

    Zhou Guanyu finished in P11 for Alfa Romeo ahead of the Aston Martin duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll in P12 and P13 respectively. Retirees from the race were Williams duo Alex Albon and Latifi, Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo and Alonso and Ricciardo. Yuki Tsunoda was unable to start his race due to an electrical issue with his AlphaTauri while Mick Schumacher’s car was not built by Haas after suffering a heavy crash in Saturday qualifying.

    Red Bull and Ferrari were closely matched on both race and qualifying pace. Both exhibited their advantage in different areas, Red bull were faster in the speed traps while Ferrari gained their time in the corners. Red Bull are still on the backfoot with their double DNF in the first round, but this championship has a long way to go. Mercedes were again third best, in no man’s land as described by Toto Wolff. Hamilton’s set up tweak meant the car became undrivable in qualifying, hence, the Britain’s exit in Q1. Russell maximised their performance in P5, while Mercedes still believes that porpoising is 99% responsible for their problems.

    Alpine showcased good pace as they headed the midfield in qualifying and the race. Reliability issues hampered them from achieving a double points finish. Alfa Romeo had question marks over how their car would perform in high speed corners and Jeddah gave encouraging answers. Bottas qualified in the top 10 and was running in the same before having to retire the car. Haas struggled compared to Bahrain but still showed positive signs with Q3 appearance and points in the race. They went into the race on a backfoot as Schumacher crashed his car on Saturday hence, not starting the race on Sunday.

    McLaren had an encouraging race weekend after having a dismal time in Bahrain. Although they were unable to make it to Q2, Norris finished P7 and possible they could have had a double points finish had it not for Ricciardo’s retirement from the race. The McLaren car lacks downforce compared to rivals but that weakness was not evident at a low-drag high speed circuit like Jeddah. It remains to be seen how they perform over the coming races. AlphaTauri were on a similar footing to Haas as one car made it to Q3 and points finish. Though the team admitted they need to fix their reliability issues if they want to maximise their results. They have had two retirements in two races now. Aston Martin struggled with porpoising and Williams struggled with balance issues throughout the weekend as both drivers struggled to get the car in its optimum window.

    Saturday Qualifying Results were:

    P1: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull)P2: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari)
    P3: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari)P4: Max Verstappen- 1 (Red Bull)
    P5: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine)P6: George Russell- 63 (Mercedes)
    P7: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine)P8: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Alfa Romeo)
    P9: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri)P10: Kevin Magnussen- 20 (Haas)
    P11: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren)P12: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren)
    P13: Zhou Guanyu- 24 (Alfa Romeo)P14 Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas)
    P15: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin)P16: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes)
    P17: Alex Albon- 23 (Williams)P18: Nico Hulkenberg- 27 (Aston Martin)
    P19: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams)P20: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri)

    Note – Ricciardo penalised 3 grid places for impeding another car during qualifying. Tsunoda failed to set a time within the Q1 107% requirement – races at stewards’ discretion. Schumacher withdrawn from the race following a qualifying accident.

  • Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández creates history for Team MRF Tyres

    Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández creates history for Team MRF Tyres

    Ponta Delgada (Azores), 27 March 2022: Team MRF Tyres, Efrén Llarena claimed a sensational victory at the Azores Rallye in Portugal to secure the maiden FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) win for Team MRF Tyres. The second round of the FIA ERC took place in unpredictable weather with Saturday having torrential rain and Sunday being run mostly in beautiful sunshine. The difficult conditions did not deter Team MRF Tyres as Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández created history by taking the historic win for the team.

    It was a thrilling finish with the Spanish duo needing to make up 6.1 seconds on the final stage to snatch victory in their Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. They had started the day in third place and soon moved up to second but had to make up more than 10 seconds to the leader. It demanded a huge effort from Team MRF Tyres. They clinched the top spot from hometown hero Ricardo Maura at the very last stage to win the rally.

    The other two drivers of Team MRF Tyres also finished the Azores Rallye in the top 10. Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton of Team MRF Tyres had to overcome a technical issue that saw them drop time in the morning loop. However, after the team effected repairs, the Italian duo were able to maintain their place to finish 7th while their teammates Norbert Herczig and Igor Bacigál also found pace through the day as they worked their way to finish 8th in the rally.

    In the ERC3 category Team MRF Tyres’ Igor Widlak and Daniel Dymurski finished second in the category.

    On winning the Azores Rallye, Efrén Llarena said, “It is amazing, I cannot describe the feeling of taking my first win at the European Rally Championship and the first for the Team MRF Tyres. We knew we had to push hard, and I knew if we pushed anything was possible. It is amazing how the MRF tyres performed. The tyres gave me confidence to push for the victory. I must thank everyone at Team MRF Tyres who made this possible. I am really proud to be able to bring this victory home.”

    After the second round of the 2022 FIA ERC, Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández sit second in the standings. The next round takes place on tarmac with the Rally Islas Canarias in May 2022.