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Ducati rider Jack Miller tops timesheets on Friday
Aragon (Spain), 10 Sept. 2021: Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) topped Day 1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, the Ducati rider putting in a late lunge as the final few minutes decided the combined timesheets. He enjoys nearly three tenths of breathing space at the top by the end of play, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) next up at a venue he and his machine have enjoyed some good success at – carrying that momentum from Silverstone. Third went the way of Cal Crutchlow (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as the Brit pulled a seriously fast one to complete the top three on Day 1, and the number 35 was top Yamaha to boot. The top 17 were covered by nine tenths on Friday, and from second to 21st it’s just a single second in the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, the 12th of the 19-round MotoGP World Championship here on Friday.
FP1
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) started the day with a statement. The eight-time World Champion laid down a 1:48.048, putting him a whopping 0.971 clear of reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). However, Mir did get within almost half a second on his final flying lap before that was cancelled, so the Suzuki rider seemed to have a little more in the locker initially…Over a second off the number 93, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was a consistent presence near the top as he ended the session in third, with Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) taking fourth with a late move up the timesheets to within 0.013 of the Italian. Thick and fast thereafter came Miller, Aleix Espargaro, Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), with gaps ranging from 0.008 between the latter two and up to a maximum of 0.079 between Zarco and Quartararo. Close? Very. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) completed the top ten, 0.130 off Nakagami.
On Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) watch, the Spaniard did 21 laps and got down to a 1:50.187 in his first official session with the Noale factory – about a second off Bagnaia in third.
Iker Lecuona (Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing) crashed early in the session, rider ok, before Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took a tumble in the latter stages at Turn 5, rider also ok.
FP2
Fortunes changed as Marc Marquez grabbed more headlines but this time for a crash, with number 93 sliding out from behind Alex Marquez. Rider ok but frustrated, and he didn’t improve so ended up in P20 on the FP2 timesheets… just ahead of Joan Mir in a real reversal of FP1 for the two.That was despite the number 93 still leading the combined times with five minutes to go too, but a final flurry of activity in the afternoon saw everything change. Aleix Espargaro and Lecuona charged, then Miller set down his serious marker to beat Marc Marquez’ FP1 best by a margin. Aleix Espargaro did that next, before Crutchlow put in a stunner to slot into second.
Quartararo pipped the FP1 marker next, with Bagnaia – who also crashed earlier in the session – then pipping the Frenchman too and slotting into fourth. Next came Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), before his teammate Johann Zarco was the final mover and shaker. Almost literally, as the Frenchman leapt up more than ten places despite a serious front end moment on his final lap.
Combined timesheets
After the mad dash to the top, the combined timesheets saw everyone improve in the afternoon minus Marc Marquez. So Miller reigns with 0.273 in hand over Aleix Espargaro, with Crutchlow ending the day just 0.011 further back as top Yamaha, seriously impressing as his stand-in duty continues.Zarco takes fourth ahead of Martin and Bagnaia – that’s four Ducatis in the top six as they show early promise of having moved forward a lot since our last visit to Aragon – and the margins remain tiny. Quartararo is P7, 0.002 off Bagnaia.
Eighth is where Marc Marquez’ FP1 chart-toppper fits in, 0.014 slower than El Diablo’s best from the afternoon, with Nakagami in ninth and Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) completing an impressive day in tenth overall – and therefore the last rider currently on to take a place in Q2.
That leaves Pol Espargaro out as it stands, down in P11, with last year’s Aragon winner Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in P12. The comes Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with a new chassis for the Austrian factory to explore too.
Mir ends the day in P21, Rossi in P19 and Viñales splits the two, although on a slightly different mission to those around him. The number 12 ended the day 1.142 off Miller after his first two official sessions with Aprilia.
That’s a wrap on Friday, with plenty to talk about and surely even more to come on Saturday. The final push in FP3 gears us up for qualifying, which starts from 14:10 (GMT +2)… so make sure to tune in!
MotoGP top-5 on Friday:
1 Jack Miller – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – 1:47.613
2 Aleix Espargaro* – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia – +0.273
3 Cal Crutchlow – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – +0.284
4 Johann Zarco* – Pramac Racing – Ducati – +0.375
5 Jorge Martin* – Pramac Racing – Ducati – +0.410*Independent Team rider
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Stunning lap by Indian ace Jehan Daruvala gets him P2; misses pole by 0.041sec
Monza (Italy), 10 Sept 2021: A stunning lap by ace Indian racer Jehan Daruvala could get him only P2 as he missed the pole by a whisker, the closest margin this season as Championship leader Oscar Piastri became the first repeat polesitter of the season in Monza, finishing first in Qualifying for the second round in a row to add four more points to his title advantage. His main rival, Guanyu Zhou, was only 0.051s off pole but had to settle for third with Jehan Daruvala claiming his first front-row start of the season, missing out on pole by just 0.041s in the FIA Formula 2 Championship held along with Formula 1 World Championship at the famed track here on Friday.
The Mumbai-born Indian potential for F1 said: :It is an amazing car, thanks to Carlin Racing. It is also one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season so far. P2 it is and a front row start for the Feature Race on Sunday. I am really happy with my lap.”
Théo Pourchaire led the field out onto the Monza tarmac, hoping to make the most of the clean air, but the Frenchman was down in 10th after the first lot of runs, despite a positive Sector 1.
It was Ralph Boschung, from the back of the pack, who slotted into first place at the end of that run, the Swiss driver punching in 1:32.609 to put his Campos at the front.
Championship leader Piastri – who was on pole last time out at Silverstone – found his bearings on the next tour, stealing first from Boschung by two tenths. Meanwhile, Free Practice’s fastest man, Dan Ticktum, had taken third.
After losing the Championship lead to Piastri in Silverstone, Zhou needed a big weekend in Italy, but the UNI-Virtuosi racer was lagging behind in P8 with 12 minutes to go. Heading to the pits for a fresh pair of Pirellis, Zhou managed to improve five places to third when he returned, but was still unable to challenge his main rival in P1.
Enough life remained in his tyres for a final attempt with two minutes to go and this time, Zhou did manage to beat Piastri. However, the Australian was just a few places further back in a slipstream fuelled train and managed to beat him by 0.051s, retaking his position at the top of the timesheet.
Daruvala benefitted from a slipstream himself to dive into second place and bump Zhou down to third, by a mere 0.016s. Only 0.202s separated the top five, with Liam Lawson in fourth and Felipe Drugovich fifth. Meanwhile, Boschung equalled his best Qualifying result at this level with sixth, ahead of Pourchaire and Ticktum.
Finishing 10th overall, David Beckmann will start ahead of Jüri Vips in Saturday’s reverse grid Sprint Race 1, which takes place at 8.50am local time.
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Alwin Sundar takes pole position in Novice category
Chennai, September 9: Local collegian Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports) grabbed pole position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship commenced at the MMRT, here on Friday.
Sundar, who leads the championship after his double in the previous round last month, clocked a best of 02 minutes, 07.596 seconds, followed by two riders from Thrissur, Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing) (02:08.911) with Anfal A (Rockstar Racing) (02:09.069). The trio will head a 38-bike grid for the first race tomorrow.
Earlier, Bengaluru-based Anish Damodar Shetty (Race Concepts), who is placed second in the championship astride a KTM RC 390, topped the practice session in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, clocking a best lap of 01:53.332, ahead of Hyderabad’s Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing, 01:53.469), also on a KTM, and Soorya PM (Rockers Racing, 01:53.876) on a Yamaha.
Championship leader, Rajini Krishnan (RACR, 01:54.126), who won both the races in Round-1 last month, was slightly off the pace in fifth position on his Yamaha R3, behind Jagadeesh N (Sparks Racing, 01:53.968).
In the other premier category, the Pro-Stock 165cc, Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Rajiv Sethu (01:56.899) was the quickest in the practice session, with two TVS Racing riders, defending champion and arch-rival Jagan Kumar (01:57.132) and Deepak Ravikumar (01:57.773) trailing in second and third spots.
The qualifying session for both the Pro-Stock category will be held tomorrow followed by first of the two races.
The Girls (Stock 165cc) too warmed up for tomorrow’s qualifying session with title holder Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) emerging quickest in practice run with a 02:10.097, followed by Round-1 race winner Ryhana Bee (RACR, 02:10.277) and Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing, 02:10.578).
In the One-Make Championships organized by the Madras Motor Sports Club, Navaneeth Kumar from Puducherry (TVS Open), Hyderabad’s Baddam Deepika Reddy (TVS Girls) and Prakash Kamath from Bokaro Steel City (Idemistu Honda CBR 150) qualified for pole positions in their respective categories.
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UAE-based Indian Anshul Gandhi to race in Spanish F4
By David Bodapati
Bengaluru, 8 Sept 2021: Jodhpur-born Indian racing teen, Anshul Gandhi, all of sweet 16, has joined GRS Team and is scheduled to make his single-seater debut in the Round 5 of Formula 4 Spanish Championship, which takes place from September 18 to 19 in Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia, just a few kilometres away from his new team’s base, the GRS team said today.
The Rajasthani currently living in UAE, had earlier qualified for the IAME X30 one-make karting World Juniors, after winning the 2019-20 UAE IAME X30 Junior championship, which unfortunately were cancelled due to the world-wide COVID travel restrictions.
This year he made it to the two Karting World Finals winning 2020-21 UAE Rotax Max Challenge DD2 Championship and as a runner-up in UAE IAME X 30 Senior Championship. World finals are scheduled later in the year in October for IAME in Italy, and in December for Rotax in Bahrain.
Anshul recently took part in Rotax Max Challenge International Trophy at Le Mans, France and was the only Indian among 216 drivers from 30 countries, making sure that the Tri-colour was on display at the venue along with other major motorsporting giants.
The GRS team in a statement on Wednesday said: “It is with great pleasure for GRS Team to announce the arrival of Indian driver Anshul Gandhi to the team. The young driver will make his single-seater debut in the Formula 4 Spanish Championship season at Ricardo Tormo Circuit, in Valencia”. His teammate at the F4 Spanish event will be Ryabov.
“Throughout the year, Gandhi has participated in testing sessions with GRS Team, allowing him to know team and to prepare his racing debut. The job done so far has been satisfactory and the team is looking forward to welcoming Gandhi in Valencia and to offering him the best service on his maiden formula race,” the team added.
Anshul Gandhi with team GRS. Photo courtesy Twitter @GRSteam_ “I have been testing with GRS for the last few months and the progress has been really promising. The team’s support and guidance really helped me smoothly transition from Karting to single seater. I am really excited and looking forward to my debut race in Formula 4 at Valencia in the ongoing Spanish F4 Championship. I would like to take this opportunity to thank GRS Team Principal, Josep, his team and my coach, Álvaro Barba for their continued support and guidance,” said Anshul Gandhi.
Eldest of the two Barba Lopez brothers, the former Spanish F3 race winner is an accomplished racing driver with high credentials and experience in high-performance coaching required at this level and the Indian, who moved to UAE looking for better pastures in Motorsports, is expected to shift gears and move up to competition in Europe, generally considered as a breeding ground for budding `speed’ aspirants.
Josep Trinidad, CEO & Team Principal said: “We are very excited to receive and welcome Anshul into the team. Having two cars on track will help us to improve the overall performance. The relationship and the job done with Gandhi have been positive since Day, so we are convinced we will perform really well in Valencia”.
GRS will face the next round of Formula 4 Spanish Championship with two cars on track, something that will definitely be helpful for both competitors. The team is evolving and improving at a fantastic rate throughout the season and the presence of a new driver proves that a good job is being done.
You can follow Anshul on Instagram at @anshul_g18 and Twitter @anshulg_18
or at INDIAinF1.com, your website for all Indian motorsports activities.
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India’s top racers vie for top honours in MMSC 2w Nationals: Round 2
Chennai, 8 Sept 2021: If the action-packed lung-opener a fortnight back is any guide, then more fireworks are in the offing in the second round of the MRF MMSC fmscil Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021, commencing on Friday, September 10, at the MMRT circuit behind closed doors due to the ongoing Covid-19 related restrictions.
There is much to enthuse about the National championship whose growing popularity is reflected in the 100-plus entries across all categories. The National championship comprises Pro-Stock 301-400cc, Pro-Stock 165cc, Novice (Stock 165cc) and Girls (Stock 165cc) classes with all bikes running on MRF tyres which have received thumbs up from the competitors.
The 18-race card also includes TVS and Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-Make Championships organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club. TVS are showcasing their Apache machines in the Open (RR 310), Rookie (Under-19 age group) and Girls (both RTR 200) categories, all of which have attracted sizeable entries.
In the first round last month, Honda introduced the Hornet 2.0 via a double-header as a support event to their top-end NSF 250R which is of World Championship Moto3 spec, and the CBR 150.
KTM and Yamaha too have sizeable presence while offering support in a variety of ways to some 17 teams that are in the fray across all categories. Thus, the championship is a confluence of leading manufacturers and the best of Indian racing talent.
MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “The response to the championship this year has been quite extraordinary considering the challenging times we are in due to the Covid-19 situation and consequent restrictions. One notable feature is that the riders are not only getting more competitive, but also younger with the numbers growing steadily year-on-year. As always we are grateful to our title sponsors MRF Tyres while we also acknowledge the significant contributions by the two-wheeler manufacturers who are leaving no stone unturned to spot and nurture young talent from grassroot level up.”
The competition in Round 2 is expected to be even more sharper with front-runners looking to add to their tally of points. Veterans Rajini Krishnan (RACR) and Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) put on brilliant exhibition of their undoubted riding skills with a double apiece in the premier Pro-Stock classes, 301-400cc and 165cc, respectively. The duo will again be the cynosure this weekend.
The Novice category has been an eye-opener with entries filling up well ahead of the deadline for submission. As such, the double-header last month boasted of a 39-bike grid, the biggest in the championship with Alwin Sundar winning both the races. The Girls category, an initiative launched by MMSC a few seasons ago, has improved in quality with lap times going down with Ryhana Bee (RACR) winning the race last month.
About Madras Motor Sports Club
Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the MMRT circuit in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC purchased Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
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WRC star Dani Sordo teams up with MRF Tyres
Sao Miguel (Portugal), 7 Sept 2021: Team MRF Tyres will continue the aggressive development push at next round of the FIA European Rally Championship at the Azores Rallye that takes place on the Portuguese archipelago.
For the Azores Rallye, Spanish ace and multiple World Rally Championship winner, Dani Sordo joins the team to drive the MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5.
Sordo is the third driver to compete in the Team MRF Tyres Hyundai i29 R5 in 2021 after Craig Breen started the year, taking a podium in Rally Liepaja, and Jari Huttunen competed in the Barum Czech Rally Zlin.
The development program now has a rotational roster of drivers, with the cooperation of Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing.
After two rallies in a row on tarmac, the FIA European Rally Championships starts the second half of the season on gravel with the 55th Azores Rallye.
Sordo and Team MRF Tyres will compete over 13 stages and 201.94km of competitive action.
For many rally fans, Sordo needs no introduction. A WRC veteran with 174 starts to his name, he has taken three overall wins, two with the Hyundai World Rally Team. Additionally, he has won the Junior World Rally Championship and the Spanish Rally Championship in 2005.
He has made just one appearance in the European Rally Championship. In 2018 he started the Barum Czech Rally Zlin a Hyundai i20 R5, taking third place.
His mission for MRF Tyres will follow the strategy that the team has been following for the past two seasons – that is data gathering and tyre development for the next generation of MRF rally tyres.
MRF Tyres is taking advantage of its unique position to access multiple drivers from the Hyundai stable to help provide additional experiences to its development program.
In addition, MRF Tyres have engaged the services of Paolo Andreucci, Simone Campedelli, Tamara Molinaro and Emil Lindholm in testing and competition to help gather data for the development of the tyres.
Round five of the FIA European Rally Championship, the Azores Rallye will take place from 16-18 September and you can follow the progress of Team MRF Tyres on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.Quotes
Dani Sordo, Driver, Hyundai i20 R5
“I am really excited to do the Azores Rallye with Team MRF Tyres and the Hyundai i20 R5. The Azores Rallye is an amazing rally to drive. I will give a lot of information for the tyres. We will use this rally as a test for the development of MRF Tyres.”“We will be there to get more information, to get a good result and to work with the MRF Tyres.”
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Thrilling home win is 7th of the season for Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen took home victory at the first Dutch Grand Prix held at Zandvoort in 36 years as title rival Lewis Hamilton finished second and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas completed the podium in P3.
New Delhi, 7 September 2021: Home favorite Max Verstappen took his 7th victory of the season as Lewis Hamilton finished P2, unable to challenge for victory but taking the fastest lap as a consolation. Valtteri Bottas took his seventh podium of the season achieving P3. Pierre Gasly maintained his qualifying position by finishing P4 in race. Fernando Alonso finished in P6 sandwiched by the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc in P5 and Carlos Sainz in P7. Sergio Perez managed to finish P8 after a dismal qualifying, second Alpine of Esteban Ocon crossed the line in P9 and Lando Norris rounded out the top 10.
McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo missed out on points, finishing P11 ahead of Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel in P12 and P13 respectively. Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was unable to convert his high qualifying position into points as he finished P14, one position ahead of stand in teammate Robert Kubica replacing Kimi Raikkonen due to the Finn being in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. Nicholas Latifi was classified P16 and teammate George Russel though classified in P17, DNF’d with two laps to go. Mick Schumacher of Haas was the last finisher in P18. AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and second Haas of Nikita Mazepin did not finish the race.
The title protagonists started from the front row with the Dutchman on pole. Both got an equal start as the race got underway and Hamilton settled himself behind Verstappen with the gap hovering around 3s. Bottas maintained his position in P3. Meanwhile, Gasly too maintained P4 ahead of both the Ferrari cars, although the three of them lost touch to the top three cars.
Hamilton was the first car to pit of the top 10 runners to undercut Verstappen. It wasn’t the smoothest pitstop from the world champions as Verstappen pitted a lap later and emerged just less than 2s ahead. Both pitting for the medium tyres. Bottas in the lead was kept out in a bid to try and hold up Verstappen and let Hamilton closeupbehind. Both caught Bottas by lap 30 who yet to make a stop. Bottas was able to hold up Verstappen for only one lap as the dutchman made use of fresh tyres and passed the Finn. Bottas let past his teammate a corner later.
In the midfield Gasly pitted on lap 24, whilst everyone else pitted lap 30 onwards either for the medium or the hard tyres. The running order midway was Verstappen and Hamilton, who were a pitstop ahead of the rest of the field. After Bottas came Gasly, Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Perez- who had recovered till P8 now but was yet to make another pitstop, Alonso and Ocon.
With Hamilton hovering around 3s behind Verstappen, Mercedes brought him in for a second stop on another set of mediums. Verstappen followed suit a lap later albeit on the hard tyres as Red Bull did not have a set of medium tyres left. Hamilton was unable to close in the gap as he encountered traffic and remained 3-4s behind his Dutch rival.
Ultimately Hamilton was unable to fight for victory as he pitted for soft tyres with just two laps to go and set the lap record around Zandvoort. Verstappen cruised home to victory in front of his loyal supporters- the orange army as they are called, with Bottas in 3rd. Alonso fought back from P9 to P6, overtaking fellow countryman Sainz at a track where it was difficult to overtake while Perez completed his comeback from pitlane to P8.
Red Bull had a faster car and Verstappen extracted full performance out of it. They lost out in the constructor’s championship to Mercedes due to Perez being unable to advance to Q2 even. Mercedes were close behind in second as they lost out to pole position by just 0.03s to Verstappen. Mercedes and Hamilton put it down to missing FP2- due to an engine problem, as they were unable to optimise their car. Also, Mercedes struggled on the banked T3 corner as the W12 lost two-tenths there compared to the RB16B.
AlphaTauri showed great pace and were best of the rest in the hands of Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman was able to maintain his qualifying position in the race with no real challenge from the Ferrari’s as he finished in P4. Tsunoda struggled with pace the entire weekend as he barely made it to Q2 and was outqualified by Williams cars. Ferrari showed decent performance but expected better results as this was a track that suited their car with higher downforce characteristics. Sainz particularly was disappointed as he felt ‘slow’ in his own words, as he was overtaken by his childhood hero Alonso. Alpine showed decent race pace but lacked qualifying pace to challenge for higher positions. With all the cars so close it was difficult for the French cars to make progress, still Alonso maximizing the result in P6.
McLaren had an uncharacteristically dismal weekend, with both drivers calling it ‘abnormal’. They lacked the pace in qualifying as Norris was unable to make Q3 for the first time this season and Ricciardo could only manage P10. In the race they managed just a solitary point in P10, courtesy of Norris as they were unable to challenge the cars ahead of them. Aston Martin were in a no man’s land position as they were faster than the cars behind them, but traffic and superior pace of cars ahead prevented them from getting points. It was not helped by the fact that Vettel spun in the second half of the race dropping him out of contention for points.
Alfa Romeo showed impressive qualifying performance as Giovinazzi made it to Q3 and qualified P7. The Swiss based Italian team lacked race pace as well as a puncture prevented Giovinazzi from achieving points finish.Williams’ on paper result looks worse than it actually was with both drivers showing impressive qualifying performance but losing it in the barrier in Q2. The FW43B is a wind sensitive car, compounded with overdriving it meant they were unable to enter Q3 with Russell or Latifi. Russell showed impressive race pace as he maintained P11-P12 through the whole race before retiring on lap 70. Haas’ season story remains the same as Nikita Mazepin failed to finish while Mick Schumacher finished last, 3 laps down from the leader.
Saturday Qualifying results were:
P1: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull) P2: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes) P3: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes) P4: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri) P5: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari) P6: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari) P7: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo) P8: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine) P9: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine) P10: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren) P11: George Russell- 63 (Williams) P12: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin) P13: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren) P14: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams) P15: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri) P16: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull) P17: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin) P18: Robert Kubica- 88 (Alfa Romeo) P19: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas) P20: Nikita Mazepin- 9 (Haas) Note – Latifi penalised five grid places for an unscheduled gearbox change; required to start from the pit lane, as car modified whilst under Parc Ferme conditions. Perez demoted to the back of the grid for use of additional power unit elements; required to start from the pit lane, as car modified whilst under Parc Ferme conditions.
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Can Marc Marquez take centre stage at MotorLand?
Teruel (Spain), 6 Sept 2021: There’s plenty to talk about after the British GP, and now saddles up to head back south to Spain and the stunning MotorLand Aragon, the 12th round of the 19 round the FIM MotoGP World Championship. The modern classic nestles like an outpost of speed in an otherwise rural, striking and arid landscape, inviting man and machine to make their mark. And, even more pertinent to previewing the weekend ahead, it’s also an anti-clockwise circuit… and that usually means one thing: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).
The 5,077m (3.155 miles) anti-clockwise circuit has an interesting and complex layout featuring 10 left- and 7 right-hand corners, along with a longest straight measuring 968m (.601 miles). With a mixture of corners from hairpins to fast flowing turns, the front MICHELIN Power Slicks have been designed to meet these demands and give the riders the confidence they need through the variety of bends. To complement the fronts, the rear slicks have been designed to give high-speed stability and effectively put the power down onto the asphalt, attributes equally important to setting that all-important fast and consistent lap time.
Circuit Info courtesy: MichelinWatch the unseen footage from British MotoGP courtesy MotoGP.com here.
The eight-time World Champion didn’t cover himself with glory at Silverstone after an early crash that collected Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), but there was no harm done for either party and the number 93 was quick to apologise. But momentum didn’t mean much for Marc Marquez when the paddock arrived in Germany, another anti-clockwise venue he’s made absolutely his own, with the Honda rider putting his foot down to take that history-making win and get back on the top step regardless. He’s traditionally the fastest man at MotorLand and the progress keeps coming in speed at least… so can he pull another stunner out of the bag despite a slightly tougher run of late than likely expected?
The good news – to add to his record there – is also the form seen from his fellow Honda riders at Silverstone. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was ill on race day but teammate Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) had one of his best Sundays of the year so far, and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) most definitely had his best weekend on the whole since joining Honda. Starting from pole, leading for a good while and then coming home in fifth, it was a big step forward for the number 44. And at Aragon? More good reading: Alex Marquez also took his first dry weather podium – and second overall, as a rookie – at MotorLand last season, and Nakagami took a pole, so Honda will be feeling optimistic of a high-scoring weekend in Aragon.
That’s also true of Aprilia. After a season of knocking on the door week-in, week-out, Silverstone finally saw that milestone reached: a first MotoGP™ era podium. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) has impressed for much of the year but his British GP – and last lap battle to hold off Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) – were another impressive performance to underline some serious progress. He also took his previous premier class podium at Aragon, as well as more top finishes as the number 41 always seems to shine at the venue. And this weekend, there’s a headline in the other side of the garage too: Maverick Viñales.
After a rollercoaster few weeks, the Spaniard returns in black and red to take on a new challenge on the RS-GP, debuting early after already having signed for the Noale factory to race there in 2022. And on his test debut at Misano, the laptimes made for very exciting reading. Viñales already has podiums with two manufacturers, and wins… can he start adding more with Aprilia? And where will he slot back into the pack on his RS-GP debut?
Yamaha, meanwhile, remain on the front foot in the title fight. A stunning race from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) at Silverstone as issues hit for his closest rivals sees him coming into the weekend a whopping 65 points clear, although the Alcañiz venue has never been the best for Yamaha. That may change who stands on the top step, but it can’t change who leads the standings. Quartararo could sit out the next two weekends and still lead the Championship by a minimum of 15 points, so he has some room to ride clever and focus on damage limitation if he needs to. That said, he himself pointed out the huge step forward taken by the Iwata marque in Austria, another track that’s traditionally tougher, so can he flip the form book? Former teammate Franco Morbidelli did do that on one visit to MotorLand last year too…
Cal Crutchlow returns to partner Quartararo at Monster Energy Yamaha and will be looking to keep making progress and taking data, and Jake Dixon will also get another ride out on the Petronas Yamaha SRT machine. After a solid debut at Silverstone, can he build on that? His teammate, Valentino Rossi, also made a good start and after having gone straight to Q2 at Silverstone before late race grip issues saw him drop down the order. Can the Doctor keep that form rolling on his last visit to MotorLand?
Similar happened for Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) at Suzuki, as the reigning World Champion ran out of steam – for steam, read grip – later in the British GP and came home in ninth, staying ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 Factory Racing) by a whisker. But with Quartararo winning, ninth is what’s left him 65 down on the top – and he’ll be gunning hard to take the opportunity at MotorLand to hit back.
Teammate Alex Rins, meanwhile, had no such trouble. The 2019 winner couldn’t quite stage a repeat but he did take his first podium of the season at Silverstone in second, and guess who won last year on our first visit to MotorLand? The number 42 was sublime and he’ll be heading in on that injection of confidence. In fact, Suzuki will likely be feeling pretty confident all round at Aragon, as they’re the only two riders who were on the podium in both visits to the track last season.
And what of Ducati? At Silverstone it was a more muted run for the Borgo Panigale factory. Miller fought for the podium, Martin fell victim to Marc Marquez’ crash, and both Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a tougher race to fade to outside the top ten. Bagnaia conceded it made a chance of the crown an even longer shot too, but until grip trouble hit he’d been fast as ever. And Miller got back in the mix. Can they do so again at a track that’s been traditionally tougher hunting ground? And can Zarco move forward to the postcode he was in for much of the first half of the season?
Last year, we saw KTM have a more difficult first weekend at Aragon followed by a big step forward – with the top Austrian machine beating the top Ducati too, so there’s reason to expect them to fight for more top finishes. At Silverstone Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) put on another stunning Sunday charge to go from 12th to 6th too – and complete the statistic of six factories in the top six for the first time since 1972 – and there were also standouts from Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) and Petrucci as both stormed into the top ten. Will experience from last season help to maintain that now? Binder and Lecuona have now raced at MotorLand twice in MotoGP™, which is something that couldn’t be said of Silverstone.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will be looking for a lot more from MotorLand too. The Portuguese rider was on an absolute charge earlier this season, but since Assen he’s not scored points. With proven talent, speed and smarts, the Portuguese rider will more definitely reappear at the front, but will it be sooner rather than a little later?
This time it’s one assault on Aragon for MotoGP, and there’s plenty to watch out for. Can Marc Marquez make a stand on home turf? Will Suzuki be the team to beat? Or can Yamaha keep that form book flipped in 2021? Tune in at Eurosport in India at 5.30 pm IST (local race time at Aragon 14:00 -GMT +2) for the MotoGP race on Sunday as the lights go out for the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon! Moto3 race is at 2.30pm in India followed by Moto2 at 3.50pm. The telecast in India is on EuroSport channel and Discovery + app.
MotoGP Championship top five: 1 Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – 206
2 Joan Mir – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki – 141
3 Johann Zarco* – Pramac Racing – Ducati – 137
4 Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – 136
5 Jack Miller – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – 118
*Independent Team rider -
Arjun Maini finishes best-ever 6th at DTM races
Styria (Austria), 6 Sept 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini scored his best-ever finish in the DTM championship with the Indian finishing a career-best sixth and seventh in the two races held at the Red Bull Ring circuit.
The Omega Seiki and J.K.Tyre backed driver claimed a double points finish by claiming sixth and seventh over the course of the two races held at the Austrian race circuit. The result means the rookie has now had his most productive DTM weekend to date, with his GetSpeed racing team, who are also new to the series, now slowly making their way up the standings.
Maini’s pace was on display for all to see from the get-go with the Mercedes-AMG driver finishing the first practice session in fourth. An engine issue meant that the Indian driver had to miss the second practice session entirely but despite his limited running, Maini managed to qualify for Race1 in third.
The sole Indian on the grid made a strong getaway during the first race of the weekend though a botched pit stop saw him tumble down the order, which ultimately cost Maini his shot at a first podium in the ultra-competitive German racing championship. The Indian was locked in an intense battle with former Formula 1 star Alex Albon for a large section of the race and eventually missed out on a top-five finish by a whisker.
Race 2 saw Maini qualify tenth, though a shrewd pit call meant he was able to fight through the pack and ultimately end the race in seventh place.
“It’s been a great weekend for me personally,” Maini stated.
“The misfortune from the earlier races is now firmly behind me and I’m starting to get a proper feel of what it’s like to race GT cars. Obviously, the first half of the season was a learning experience for me and I now feel more confident heading into the races and the results reflect the same.
“GetSpeed too have done a fantastic job of adapting to the DTM and I believe we are well-positioned to end the championship strongly. The target for the remainder of the season has to be a podium, and I believe the team and I are capable of meeting this goal.”
Maini’s progress over the course of the year has been noticeable and appreciated. The weekend in Austria was a much better indicator of Maini’s pace in the series and he will now look to end the season strongly with three race weekends remaining.
The next round of the championship is scheduled to take place at the Assen race circuit in Holland in a fortnight’s time, September 18-20. -
Verstappen claims popular home victory; beats Hami
Zandvoort (The Netherlands) 5 Sept 2021: Max Verstappen delivered a faultless drive in front of a packaged Zandvoort to take a hugely popular home victory in the Dutch Grand Prix, the 13th of the 22-round FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday. He beat title Lewis Hamilton by more than 20 seconds after the Mercedes driver made a late pit stop to salvage the point for fastest lap. Third place went to Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes.
At the start of the race, pole sitter Verstappen made a superb getaway to take the lead. Hamilton also made a good start but as he and Bottas jostled for position through the first two corners Verstappen was allowed to power ahead and by the end of the opening lap the Dutch drivers has established a 1.7s gap to Hamilton.
Behind the top three, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly got away well to hold fourth place ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. At the back of the field Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull was forced to start from the pit lane after an overnight engine change but as he passed the Haas of Nikita Mazepin in the early laps he flat-spotted a tyres and had to pit for an early switch to medium tyres. It was the start of an impressively long first stint for the Mexican driver as he launched a recovery drive.
At the front the order was stable, with Verstappen holding a 3.5s lead over Hamilton. Bottas began to drift off the front pair, however, and by lap 18 he was more than seven seconds adrift of his team-mate.
Then, at the end of lap 20, Hamilton dived for the pits and made the switch to medium tyres. Red Bull responded by pitting Versatppen on the next lap and he saw off the undercut to rejoin two seconds ahead of Hamilton.
Pérez, meanwhile, was making stealthy progress through the pack and by lap 25 he was up to 14th place. His progress picked up two laps later when Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Williams’ George Russell and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi pitted ahead of him. He rose to P11 and began to hunt down McLaren’s Lando Norris. He swiftly closed up to the McLaren, but having started on medium tyres, Norris was going long and he was able to match the Red Bull driver’s times.
As the race passed half distance Verstappen was once again told to push as it became clear that Mercedes were plotting a second attempt at undercutting the Dutchman. Hamilton pitted at the end of lap 39 for a set of medium tyres but thanks to a set of potent laps Verstappen was able to make his own pit stop, for hartd tyres, of lap 40 and once againm he emerged with a clear gap to his championship rival.
Further back, Norris finally made his sole stop for tyres on lap 43 and Pérez could race into clear air.
The Mexican made his sole visit to the pit lane at the end of lap 48 and took on a set of soft tyres. He rejoined in P12 and quickly passed Russell to relaunch his assault on the points positions. He soon began to exert pressure on McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and on lap 56 passed the Australian to claim P9.
His next target was the Australian’s team-mate, Norris, and over the next 10 laps he turned a sizeable deficit into a gap of just half a second before again passing on the around the outside of Turn 1. His final mission was to get past Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and in the final laps the Red Bull driver passed the Frenchman to claim eighth place.
In those closing stages Hamilton closed to within 1.5 seconds of the lead RBR16B but with his tyres fading and Max expertly managing the gap, the Mercedes driver eventually abandoned his pursuit of victory and pitted for soft tyres.
Hamilton took the fastest lap point on the final tour of Zandvoort, but Verstappen’s seventh win of the season puts him back on top of the Drivers’ Championship standings with 224.5 points to Hamilton’s 221.5. In the Constructors’ Championship Mercedes still top the standings with 244.5 points, 12 ahead of Red Bull Racing.
With Bottas third at the flag, fourth place went to AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly. The French driver also put in an impressive drive to finish ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the Alpine of Fernando Alonso. Seventh place went to Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari and with Checo in P8 the final two points places went to Ocon and Norris.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 72 1:30’05.395
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 72 1:30’26.327 20.932
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 72 1:31’01.855 56.460
4 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 71 1:30’17.183 1 lap /11.788
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 71 1:30’22.175 1 lap /16.780
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 71 1:30’50.864 1 lap /45.469
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 71 1:30’52.896 1 lap /47.501
8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 71 1:30’53.479 1 lap /48.084
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 71 1:30’54.465 1 lap /49.070
10 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 71 1:30’57.725 1 lap /52.330
11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 71 1:31’10.322 1 lap /1’04.927
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:30’22.717 2 laps /17.322
13 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:30’24.941 2 laps /19.546
14 Anotnio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 70 1:30’33.172 2 laps /27.777
15 Robert Kubica Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 70 1:31’05.853 2 laps /1’00.458
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 70 1:31’07.745 2 laps /1’02.350
17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 69 1:29’55.249 3 laps
18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 69 1:31’08.196 3 laps /1’02.801
Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 48 1:02’36.678 Transmission
Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 41 54’07.352 Hydraulics
