Category: India In F1

Silverstone, 6 August 2020: Public Health England have confirmed that Sergio Perez’s period of quarantine has been completed, a Racing Point release said.

In line with the FIA Code Of Conduct, Sergio requires a verified negative test result for COVID-19 before he can enter the paddock. The testing process is taking place today.

The team expects to make a decision on who is driving alongside Lance later today or first thing tomorrow morning.

Spielberg, 10 July 2020: Tsunoda topped the times in Round 1’s Free Practice, but was unable to translate this pace into Qualifying. He suffered no such trouble this week, dominating almost the entirety of the session, having gone fastest in FP this morning.

His Carlin teammate, Jehan Daruvala could only take P7 but is confident to do well in the race situation tomorrow. “P7 in qualifying today… It was a super close qualifying session , only 2ths off pole… Pace seems good and I can’t wait wait for the race tomorrow,” quipped the Mumbai-born Red Bull Junior driver, who is looking to make amends to a forgettable Round 1. Daruvala, among others is also supported by PAP and Winway.

The Carlin driver was the first of the bunch to set a fast lap in Qualifying, laying down the marker at 1:15.132. Zhou briefly usurped him, but Tsunoda upped his game and returned to the summit.

PREMA opted to remain in the pits at the start of the session, first appearing when the rest of the field returned for a tyre change and a freshen up. Robert Shwartzman was able to fire in a top five time, but Mick Schumacher – returning after an early crash in Free Practice – could only manage 12th.

A single second separated the top 19 cars as they headed back out on track, but the drivers struggled to improve on their existing times, with the final sector proving tricky.

Zhou had another attempt at bettering Tsunoda’s time, setting the fastest first sector but then getting stuck in traffic, which spoiled his lap. Thankfully, the UNI-Virtuosi man had enough time for a cool-down lap, before going again. His second attempt would be more successful, but it was still not good enough to beat the Carlin racer.

Jack Aitken was able to improve and jumped up the order to fifth, while Schumacher was another to set a better time and earn himself a P9 start.

Otherwise, the order remained pretty much unchanged at the chequered flag. Tsunoda led Zhou and Ilott, ahead of Luca Ghiotto and Aitken. Robert Shwartzman will start from sixth, ahead of Jehan Daruvala, Christian Lundgaard, Schumacher and last weekend’s Sprint Race winner Felipe Drugovich.

There was also an improvement from Marino Sato after a difficult first round, with the Trident man taking his highest F2 Qualifying finish, with 11th.

Tsunoda will be on the hunt for his first F2 win in the Feature Race tomorrow at 4.45pm (local time).

Mumbai, 28 June 2020: Mumbai’s rising racing star Aashi Hanspal has been shortlisted for FIA’s ambitious Girls on Track – Rising Stars Project,  FMSCI announced here on Sunday.

Thirteen-year-old Aashi has been selected along with 19 others in the age group of 12-16 out of 70 entries from five continents; as the first step, she will take part in the ‘Shoot Out’ at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France on October 12 and 13.

“Should you be successful, you will join our training camps, and potentially have the opportunity to become (Team Ferrari’s) first-ever female driver obtaining a partnership agreement with the Ferrari Driver Academy, including participation in an FIA Formula 4 racing season,” Michele Mouton, President of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, said in her letter to Aashi. The Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA), the world body for  motorsports, said that the training-cum-selection process would entail four legs: 
• Shoot Out – October 12-13, 2020, Paul Ricard, France  – To select Top 12

• Training Camp  1 (Karting) – Oct 14-15, Paul Ricard, France- To select Top 8
• Training Camp  2 (F4) – November 3-4, Paul Ricard, France – To select Final 4 .
• Ferrari Driver Academy Training Camp (F4) – November 9-13 (TBC), Maranello, Italy – To select the winner.

“This is a great moment for women in Indian Motorsport,” Sita Raina, Chairperson of FMSCI’s own Women in Motorsports Commission, said. “Aashi has shown her mettle during the last season and has the potential to become a future star,” she added.
Coached by 8-time national car racing champion Rayomand Banajee at the Rayo Racing Academy in Mumbai, Aashi recorded five podium finishes in her maiden national karting season last year and was conferred the Outstanding Women in Motorsports Award by FMSCI for her podium placings.
“The dates have been chosen to enable the shortlisted girls to travel from different parts of the world, despite the current travel restrictions due to the coronavirus crisis,” Michele Mouton said in her letter.

Progress is being made in order to have the World Superbike Championship restart under safe conditions this season

Paris, 29 May 2020: The 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is working hard on resuming racing action for the remainder of the season, amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Championship started in fine style at Phillip Island and now, Dorna WSBK Organization would like to issue an update on the plans to get racing back underway, with the initial racing plan taking place in the month of August once permission is approved.

The Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto should welcome the restart of the season on the 31^st July – 2^nd August, before going to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal a week later on the 7^th – 9^th August. The season should then follow our current provisional schedule, at the MotorLand Aragon venue on 28^th – 30^th. The health of everybody is at the forefront of decision making and these rounds within the Iberian Peninsula are planned to be held behind closed doors, in-line with social distancing measures and medical guidelines set by the Spanish and Portuguese governments. Nevertheless, the situation is evolving, and we will adapt our protocols to the situation of the time.

Furthermore, updates have been made to the following events: the British and Dutch Rounds held at Donington Park and TT Circuit Assen respectively, have been postponed. The Dutch round itself has already been rescheduled once, from the 17^th – 19th of April to the 21^st – 23rd of August. However, new plans are underway with the best interests in mind, given the current restrictions in place that affect major sporting events within both the UK and the Netherlands. Further updates for the end season calendar will be communicated soon in order to further clarify the calendar situation.

The FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization is evaluating the different scenarios and adapting to each situation in each of the countries we should visit on a day-by-day basis. Our gratitude once again goes to all parties involved within the WorldSBK fraternity for their continued support. However, whichever decision is reached will have the health and safety at the forefront and that is something simply uncompromisable during these challenging times.

Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK Executive Director, Sporting and Organization Departments, said: “We are very positive about the future, as all the signs are pointing in a good direction to start in Jerez. We are looking at all possible scenarios for all three classes to race, although we continue to work hard on finding the optimum scenario for all parties. A lot will depend on the measures that various governments will implement. As for Donington Park and Assen, we are working with the circuits and governments to establish the best possible outcome for all, with the intention to hold those rounds towards the end of the 2020 season.”

Any further updates will be communicated accordingly.

The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit played host to the official WorldSBK season opening ceremony

Phillip Island (Australia), 27 Feb 2020: The 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season got underway at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on Thursday with the traditional Official Media Conference set on the unique stage of WorldSBK Paddock Show.

Attending the 2020 Championship launch, WorldSBK stars Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC), Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati), Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha World Superbike Team), Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), and WorldSSP riders Randy Krummenacher (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team), who spoke about the new 2020 season and their expectations from the new season.

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit General Manager David Bennet and Yamaha Motor Finance Representative opened the ceremony, welcoming the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in Australia, as the Championship opens its curtains for the new season for the 12th consecutive time at the Australian venue.

Then it was the turn of Marc Saurina, WorldSBK Commercial, Marketing and Media, Executive Director to speak: “It is always a fantastic and highly anticipated moment for us and people around the world, but this year we are perhaps even more excited, as the Yamaha Finance Australian Round marks the start of a new and very exciting chapter for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship.”

Reigning WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing WorldSBK Team) also spoke about the new season: “I feel great. I spent a lot of time here so it’s really nice to be here. Also, it’s the nicest circuit on the calendar, it’s very unique, very fast and has lots of corners. We got to play with the elements, being so close to the sea because some days, the bike is working really well and you wake up the next day and it’s a little bit different. We had a really good test where I felt good with the bike. I’m looking forward to start with the year. So it’s nice to start with and get some points to the board.“

The FIM Supersport World Championship will kick off in Australia this weekend too. The new season will see a lot of competition and many riders aiming for the title, as reigning WorldSSP Champion Randy Krummenacher (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) also confirmed: “It’s a big challenge but I really love challenges. We had some good testing here. We tried a lot of things. Obviously, we still have lots to do but we’re already on the good speed. Of course, the other riders are strong as well so we’ll see what will happen. The goal here is to win again.”

Action will begin on Friday morning with WorldSBK Free Practice 1 at 10.30 local time (LT, GMT +11) before the first race of the 2019 season will take place on Saturday afternoon at 15.00 LT. The battle will continue into Sunday with the Tissot Superpole Race in WorldSBK history at 12:00 followed then by Race 2 again at 15.00LT

Phillip Island (Australia), 25 Feb 2020: The final pre-season test for the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has been completed with the action too close to call ahead of the first round of the season. The spectacular Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit brought in wet weather at stages, whilst numerous crashes and red flags occurred, including offs for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC). Despite the crash, it was Rea who pipped Independent sensation Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) to the top ahead of the first round.

Leading the way into the weekend, Jonathan Rea moved into top position and put in a strong lap time of 1’30.448, coming in the morning session. The Ulsterman used today for long runs, showcasing his ability to work well and return to first place. However, his day wasn’t without incident and was one of a handful of riders who crashed at Turn 4. He was OK and the bike was virtually undamaged. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) continued his switch to the KRT squad but was down in 12th and suffered a crash at Turn 6 in the morning, giving him plenty of work ahead of the racing weekend.  

Flying the flag for the Independent teams once again was Loris Baz as the Frenchman continued to be quick in the pre-season tests and finished second. What is impressive for Baz is that he hasn’t used the 2020 engine yet, so his pace is done purely on the 2019 engine; he expects a big step forward come Friday and his race pace is already looking strong. Other Independent revelations inside the top ten included Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) in eighth.

2013 WorldSBK Champion Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) led the BMW charge as he continued to shine at the sharp end. Having struggled with rear grip in the 2019 races, Sykes can now run comfortably for longer in the 1’31s. He’s been working on the balance of the bike, whilst also using a new rear shock, placing him third. Teammate Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed his swingarm and chassis work and is now focused on electronics and short runs. He finished ninth overall.

Having been flying high at the head of the field on day one, Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team’s day two was slightly different. Toprak Razgatlioglu couldn’t replicate his day one pace in the tricky conditions, but was focused on settling in a good race pace and not just setting a strong one-off lap time. However, his ability to set a strong one-off lap time with the Q tyre itself confirms the strides he has made over the pre-season at a time attack in Tissot Superpole style. Michael van der Mark crashed in the morning session at Turn 10 but was OK. The Dutchman didn’t put a fast time in on Monday but set 15 consecutive laps in the 1’31s, demonstrating a good race pace. Toprak was fourth whilst van der Mark was seventh.

‘Pocket Rocket’ Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was once again in the top six, making it all six manufacturers inside the top half dozen once again. His lap time of a 1’30.882 was right on his race pace from last year, so there’s plenty of promise from Honda and their new CBR1000RR-R already. On the other side of the garage, Alvaro Bautista wasn’t up at the sharp end and suffered a crash at Turn 4 during the morning. He was in the top ten however, which is an important step forward ahead of the weekend.

There was a vast improvement in lap time from Scott Redding, despite the more inconsistent weather at the start of the day. The WorldSBK rookie managed to get into the 1’30 bracket as he perfected the balance of his bike. Still learning the Q tyre, Redding is aiming to be on the pace come the start of the weekend. His teammate Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT  Racing – Ducati) struggled to keep pace with his rookie teammate but worked away nonetheless. Redding finished in sixth but with big gains, whilst Davies was 11th on combined times.

Sandro Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki – TPR) was just outside the top ten in 13th, 0.005s behind Lowes. Cortese was impressive, considering this was his first testing on the ZX-10RR. Behind Cortese in 14th was returning Spaniard Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), whilst Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) continued to impress in 15th. He was just ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) and his teammate Federico Caricasulo, whilst Leon Camier (Barni Racing Team) and Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Althea Honda Team) were just behind. In all, the top 17 were covered by just 1.5s.

#AUSWorldSBK at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit – Tuesday
Top six combined from day two below.

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’30.448
2. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.078
3. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.120
4. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team) +0.304
5. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) +0.434
6. Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.437

Monte Carlo, 18 Jan 2020: The 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship has accepted 16 entries for the opening round on Rally Sweden, representing a diverse selection of rallying’s next generation of superstars.

The 16 crews looking to be the next star of the FIA World Rally Championship represent 11 different countries across Europe and South America. Seven of 2019’s FIA Junior WRC crews return for 2020 including 2019 championship runner-up and Rookie Award winner, Tom Kristensson.

This year’s entrants will be vying for the biggest prize in rallying; the keys to an Ecoboost-powered M-Sport Fiesta R5 Mk II, 200 Pirelli tyres, free registration for WRC 3 in 2021 and five free WRC 3 entries in 2021. Should the 2020 champion go on to win the 2021 WRC 3 championship, they will then be awarded two drives with the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in 2022.

The prize package underlines FIA Junior WRC as a firm part M-Sport’s ‘Ladder of Opportunity’ that provides young and budding rally drivers a clear path to succeed in rallying on the world stage. Four of the 2020 FIA Junior WRC drivers come by way of M-Sport’s FIA Junior WRC scholarship, which sees talented junior drivers from national championships awarded a significant scholarship package for the 2020 season. This year’s M-Sport FIA Junior WRC scholarship drivers are: Ruairi Bell (Britain), Sami Pajari (Finland), Marco Pollara (Italy) and Ken Torn (Estonia). To emphasise the importance of the ‘Ladder of Opportunity’ to M-Sport, this year’s FIA Junior WRC livery has taken inspiration from the official livery of the M-Sport World Rally Team.

Of the nine new crews joining FIA Junior WRC for the first time in 2020, three of which will be making their WRC event debuts in Sweden, five will be eligible for the highly competitive Rookie Award. The Rookie Award will see the highest placed rookie in the 2020 championship collect a €15,000 prize to go towards their 2021 FIA Junior WRC campaign.

Fabio Andolfi IT / Savoia Stefano IT
Andolfi is by far the most experienced driver in the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship, with 33 WRC event starts. His career highlights include a WRC 2 victory on Tour de Corse and a podium spot on Rally Turkey in 2019 which led to him finishing fifth in the 2019 FIA WRC 2 Championship.

Jon Armstrong GB / Noel O’Sullivan IE
With an impressive rally esports career, 2018 WRC eSports champion Armstrong is no stranger to the real world of rallying with a strong resume heading into the 2020 season. He has experience on WRC events, proving himself as a competitive driver in two-wheel and four-wheel drive machinery thanks to a top ten finish in WRC 2 on Rally Spain in 2017 and two Drive D-Mack Fiesta Trophy victories in 2016.

Raul Badiu RO / Gabriel Lazar RO
Badiu enters his second full season of FIA Junior WRC in 2020, after a cameo appearance on Rally Turkey for the finale of the 2018 championship and competing in four rounds of the 2019 championship. The Romanian demonstrated raw speed on all three surfaces FIA Junior WRC competed on throughout 2019, posting top-three stage times and earning a career best of fourth on Rally d’Italia Sardegna.

Ruairi Bell GB / Darren Garrod GB
Bell might be used to the stop-start traffic of Central London, which is where he currently calls home, but that somehow worked to his benefit in 2019 after contesting a double championship campaign. He won the M-Sport Fiesta FIA Junior WRC scholarship in the British Rally Championship and also finished top RC4 driver on Rally de Portugal.

Tommaso Ciuffi IT / Nicolo Gonella IT
2019 saw Ciuffi produce an impressive set of results in the Italian national championship, finishing top two-wheel drive car on six occasions including Rally di Roma Capitale where he was first in the RC4 class. Ciuffi has three WRC event starts to his name, all on Rally d’Italia Sardegna between 2017 and 2019.

Lauri Joona FI / Ari Koponen FI*
Joona made his WRC debut in 2019 on Rally Finland and was able to demonstrate a competitive pace against the FIA Junior WRC field, classifying third among all RC4 class cars entered. In addition to having his first taste of a WRC event, Joona finished second in the 2019 Finnish Junior Rally Championship. Prior to his rallying career, Joona was a keen photographer on Finnish rallies.

Tom Kristensson SE / Joakim Sjöberg SE
Kristensson was a consistent FIA Junior WRC title contender in 2019 and led the championship for the majority of the season but ultimately finished second, winning the 2019 Rookie Award. He seized a total of 14 stage wins and proved his pace on all three surfaces that the championship competes on. His largest strength was consistency, taking two victories (Sweden and Finland) and was the only FIA Junior WRC driver to finish on the podium at every stop on the calendar.

Catie Munnings GB / TBC*
Munnings will make her WRC event debut on Rally Sweden after a total of 18 starts in the European Rally Championship between 2016 and 2019. She has a total of seven ERC Ladies victories as well as the 2016 ERC Ladies Championship.

Pontus Lönnström SE / Stefan Gustavsson SE*
Lonnstrom will make his FIA Junior WRC debut in 2020 after winning back to back Swedish Junior Rally Championships in 2018 and 2019. He already has two WRC events under his belt, most recently on Rally Spain in 2019 to help him gain WRC tarmac experience in preparation for his 2020 FIA Junior WRC campaign.

Marco Pollara IT /Maurizio Messina IT*
Pollara enters the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship as the 2019 Italian Junior Champion, taking four victories and a total of five podiums out of six rounds in 2019. His one and only WRC event start was on Rally d’Italia Sardegna in 2019 which was part of the 2019 Italian Junior championship in which he won his category.

Sami Pajari FI / Antti Haapala FI*
At just 18 years old Pajari is entering his first full season of FIA Junior WRC in 2020 after winning both parts of the 2019 AKK Flying Finn Future Star Award. Despite his young age, Pajari won back to back Finnish Rally Championships; U18 Champion in 2018 and Finnish Junior Champion in 2019. Pajari has one FIA Junior WRC start to his name already after entering Rally Finland in 2019 where he took two stage wins.

Enrico Oldrati IT / Elia de Guio IT
Oldrati will embark upon his third season in FIA Junior WRC in 2020, but it is also only his third season of rallying to date. His FIA Junior WRC highlight so far came on 2018 Rally de Portugal where he scored an impressive second place demonstrating extraordinary progress in such a short space of time. This season, Oldrati is focussed on improving his pace and securing top-five results.

Oscar Solberg NO / Jim Hjerpe SE 
The son of Henning Solberg and nephew to Petter Solberg, 2003 World Rally Champion, rallying is certainly a way of life for Oscar Solberg. He has seven previous WRC event starts, all in a Fiesta R2, and he finished third in the 2017 British Junior Rally Championship, picking up one victory and nine stage wins along the way.

Martins Sesks LV / Renars Francis LV
Sesks had a difficult rookie season in the 2019 FIA Junior WRC Championship, despite setting fastest stage times on two out of the four rounds he contested. He established himself as an early championship contender during Rally Sweden, taking the fight to hometown hero Dennis Radstrom, but his best result of the season came by way of fifth on Rally d’Italia Sardegna.

Ken Torn EE / Kauri Pannas EE
With a rallying career that began in the 2008 Estonian Youth Rally championship, Torn had an impressive debut FIA Junior WRC season in 2018, finishing fifth in the championship. 2018 saw him take victory on Rally Finland with stage wins on four out of five rallies. Torn’s 2019 campaign was short-lived, taking two stage wins on his way to tenth place on Rally Sweden and retiring from Tour de Corse before calling time on his 2019 FIA Junior WRC campaign.

Fabrizio Zaldivar PY / Fernando Mussano AR
2019 Rally Sweden was an event of many firsts for Zaldivar, he celebrated his eighteenth birthday just days before the start of the event and it was his first time driving on snow and ice. The Paraguayan improved his pace on every rally and by the last round of the season was able to secure fifth on Wales Rally GB, the best result of his FIA Junior WRC career to date.

*eligible for Rookie Award

Maciej Woda, FIA Junior WRC Team Director, said: “This amount of entries for the start of the season in Junior WRC speaks volumes about the success of the championship. With the biggest prize package in rallying for the 2020 champion, FIA Junior WRC is the perfect stepping stone for any driver wishing to establish themselves in the FIA World Rally Championship. With our key partners Ford, Pirelli and Wolf Lubricants all heavily engaged in rally activities throughout every level of the sport, FIA Junior WRC is the most accessible championship that gives a great introduction to all aspects of the WRC. We have a very impressive lineup of entries for the opening round of the season in Sweden that is also balanced in terms of returning and fresh faces. I am really excited about the championship fight ahead having followed all of the this year’s crews closely in previous years. I know what each driver is capable of which should make the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship fight the most competitive yet.”

Buriram, 6 Oct 2019: On a historic day, when champion rider Marc Marquez added an eighth world title to his kitty, including 6th in the premier MotoGP class, INDIAinF1 Photo Adviser and talented photo journalist Srinivasa Krishnan captured many moments for posterity.

In a thrilling last-corner overtake, Marquez not only made the move stand and won the 2019 title with many rounds to spare.

Here are some photos from SriKrish’s Album: