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  • Advait Deodhar shunted out in the very first lap, retires

    Advait Deodhar shunted out in the very first lap, retires

    Most (Czech Republic), 28 August 2021: Ace Indian driver Advait Deodhar who won a silver in the Euro Whelen Series NASCAR2 races on Saturday was bumped out of the race on the very first lapl and was forced to the go to the back of the pack and ended a successful weekend in disappointment at the Autodrom Most here on Sunday.

    “I started Race 2 on P3 and in the very first lap, I fired it down the inside of a corner, and was clearly alongside but unfortunately car # 27 (Pierluigi Veronesi of Italy) didn’t see me and just turned in. My # 56 suffered too much damage to continue… It was a real shame as the car had the pace and we were gunning for gold,” said the London-based Mumbaiker supported by TJS Yachts. Veronesi unwittingly forced both the cars virtually out of reckoning.

    A Press Release adds:

    Earlier, it was a perfect weekend for Tobias Dauenhauer: the German scored a dominant win in EuroNASCAR 2 Round 6 at the wheel of the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang. The 23-year-old led all 14 laps of an action-packed race at Autodrom Most. After a perfect start Dauenhauer pulled away from his competitors while several hot battles in the midfield delighted the fans.

    With his third win of the season, Dauenhauer extended his Championship lead and kept the red Whelen banner on the #50 Mustang. With three wins, six top-5 results and two poles, the German made a statement on his way to win the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship at the halfway point of the 2021 season. With three events to go, the Hendriks Motorsport driver still needs to stay focused as the other competitors are hungry to enter the battle for the title and anything can happen in the second part of the season.

    “I’m very happy at the moment and it was just a perfect weekend”, smiled the Most double winner. “As a team we showed such a great performance the whole weekend long – in the dry and in the wet. The car was just perfect, the Hendriks Motorsport team did a phenomenal job. I just gave my best and I have no words left to say but that it was a perfect weekend.”

    Francesco Garisto said before the race that he wanted to stay out of trouble and that proved to be the best strategy on his way to second place. The 42 Racing driver avoided chaos in a wild opening portion of the race to settle in second and finish on the podium for the first time in the 2021 NWES season.

    “I didn’t expect to step on the podium in this race,” said after the race Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport’s Vladimiros Tziortzis, who was third under the checkered flag with another solid performance.

    DF1 Racing’s Justin Kunz followed in fourth place after an exciting race for the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series veteran. The German was right in the battle for fourth, when Tziortzis and Paolo Valeri got together. While Tziortzis and Kunz continued, Valeri spun and collected Naveh Talor and both were shuffled down the order, while Tziortzis took over third and Kunz fourth.

    EuroNASCAR 2 returnee Gil Linster also avoided any contact when the Italian and the Israeli spun ahead of him to take over fifth and score a strong top-5 finish for DF1 Racing. Talor recovered and limited the damage by ending up sixth. DF1 Racing’s Ian Eric Waden crossed the finish line in seventh and won the Legend Trophy ahead of CAAL Racing’s Max Lanza.

    Marko Stipp Motorsport driver Miguel Gomes not only scored his first ever top-10 but also won the Rookie Trophy for the first time and ended up third on the Legend Trophy podium. CAAL Racing driver Arianna Casoli rounded out the top-10 edging Alina Loibnegger, who spun on lap 6 but came back on her #12 Solaris Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro to finish eleventh.

    Several top drivers were involved in incidents during the 14-lap race: Lanza lost almost half of his bodywork but made it to the finish. Local hero Martin Doubek had to retire due to a broken axle, while Pierluigi Veronesi and Advait Deodhar made contact that forced both to stop their cars early. Thomas Krasonis went from 20th to tenth in 4 laps but also had to park his car. Yevgen Sokolovskiy missed the braking point and collected Panebianco and almost his teammate Gomes. The Ukrainian also had to retire.

  • Czech dream ends early for Team MRF Tyres: ERC

    Czech dream ends early for Team MRF Tyres: ERC

    Zlin (Czech Republic), 29 August 2021: Team MRF Tyres’ visit to the FIA European Rally Championship’s  Barum Czech Rally Zlin ended early after showing good pace.

    The rally got to a good start for Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka in the Team MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5 by taking fifth spot in the qualifying session.

    The duo would take the fifth starting position and drove safely through the first night stage in the streets of Zlin.

    The event was able to welcome spectators to both the stages and the service park, providing a carnival atmosphere.

    Saturday’s stages started well, with the tyre development program front of mind. The potential of the tyres was shown through top six stage times.

    However, the rally came to an end on Stage 7, the 18.86 Hošťálková stage. An off damaged the rear side on the driver’s side. It also damaged the engine, and that was too great to repair onsite within the timeframe allowed.

    Team MRF Tyres will be back in action in the FIA European Rally Championship with the Azores Rallye from September 16-18.

    Quote
    Jari Huttunen, Driver, Hyundai i20 R5
    “We were enjoying the Barum Czech Rally Zlin for Team MRF Tyres. We were going through our plan to get more data for the tyre. Unfortunately, we crashed on SS7 and the damage was too great to repair on site and we have to retire. Both Mikko and I are ok and want to get back behind the wheel. I feel bad for the team. The MRF Tyre was performing well to that point.”

  • Stunning drive gets Advait Deodhar a silver: NASCAR2

    Stunning drive gets Advait Deodhar a silver: NASCAR2

    Czech Republic, 28 August 2021: Indian racing maestro Advait Deodhar of CAAL Racing team looks to have found his wonted form and indulged himself in another stunning drive in wet conditions to take Silver after starting from a disadvantage of a P5, but had a good get away and kept his calm displaying his driving skills to take another podium and valuable points in the Round 5 of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Nascar2 class here on Saturday. He clocked 21min, 01.214sec for the 14 laps of 4.2 km Autodrom Most, just 7.2 sec behind leader Tobias Dauenhauer.

    The London-based Indian’s journey from a Yachtsman to NASCAR racing brings pride to India on the eve of the National Sports Day, which celerates the legendary hockey wizard Dhyan Chand’s birth anniversary. The ace Indian racing star jumped to third in the rankings with 159 points behind Tobias and Doubek Martin and has one gold, one silver among his four points finish in top-10. Advait dedicated his trophy to his brother Akshay Deodhar, a sportsman mad about F1 and MotoGP and used to take part in Regatta races of Yachting Association of India in Mumbai. Unfortunately, I lost him last month,'' said the Mumbaikar talking to INDIAinF1.com after the race about his 36-year old elder brother. “Racing for you, my beautiful brother. This one is for you big bro. I could sense you by my side in the car,” Advait’s words after he put his TJB SuperYachts-sponsored Mustang #56 in second place for a silver. In this bereavement, all his fans are with him as he races along to bring more laurels for the country. Ace Indian rally co-driver Musa Sherif, who was nominated for Arjuna Award by the Indian Federatin this year, is the first to congratulate Advaith and by Motoport Seena, who circulated his live video links to thousands of motorsports fans in Bengaluru on Friday.

    After graduating as an Automobile Designer from Turin, Italy, Advait Deodhar took part in domestic races at MMRT Chennai winning the Formula LGB 4 National Championship as a rookie in 2012 and became the vice-champion of Formula Ford 1600 Indian National Championship in 2015. Inbetween, he won a round of the Toyota Etios Cup as a guest driver and also got a drive in the MRF Challenge in Bahrain among other races. Then he says, “I took a one-way ticket to London in 2015 to take my motorsport career forward,” the late-starter, at age 22, is a quick bloomer though, winning the European NASCAR Elite Club Championship in his debut year 2018. Last month, he got his first major career victory at the prestigeous NASCAR2 at the coveted Brands Hatch circuit.

    Rain was falling before the start of EuroNASCAR 2 Round 5 so all drivers had rain tires mounted for the race. At the end of the 14 scheduled laps, Tobias Dauenhauer scored his second win of the season after he already visited Victory Lane at Brands Hatch. Making it two in a row, the German led from flag to flag at the wheel of his #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang and extended his Championship lead.

    It was far from an easy race for Dauenhauer though. He went off track at the first chican, but managed to recover and keep the lead despite the incident. Afterwards, he opened the gap on Advait Deodhar, who settled in second after a wild start. Dauenhauer never allowed the other competitors to catch up on him and therefore he grabbed the win in dominant fashion.

    Racing for you my beautiful brother, says Advait, who lost his brother Akshay last month.
    London based Mumbaikar, Advait Deodhar (2nd) gets a podium again and makes sure that Indian flag flies high on Saturday. A NASCAR Whelen Euro series image.

    “The conditions were pretty difficult out there and it was quite slippery”, said the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship leader. “I made a small mistake in the beginning but I managed to open the gap on the second placed car. I’m very happy and really want to thank the Hendriks team for such a great car. It was tons of fun and I’m really looking forward to racing again tomorrow.”

    Deodhar was coming from fifth on the grid but took over second place in the very first lap. The Indian, who scored his first NASCAR Whelen Euro Series win at Brands Hatch, was put under pressure by local hero Martin Doubek, who was trying his best to take over second place. Deodhar defended his position and crossed the finish line in second, while Doubek completed the overall EuroNASCAR 2 podium.

    DF1 Racing rookie Leevi Lintukantu had an amazing run at the wheel of the #23 Iceboys Chevrolet Camaro and stormed to victory in the Rookie Trophy classification in fourth. His teammate Simon Pilate rounded out the overall top-5 after falling through the order from 2nd on the grid. Francesco Garisto was sixth ahead of Max Lanza, who topped the Legend Trophy classification at the wheel of his #88 Caal Racing Camaro.

    His fierce Legend Trophy competitor Yevgen Sokolovskiy finished right behind him in eighth claiming second place in the special classification. Paolo Valeri ended up ninth – and second in the Rookie Trophy standings as well as third in the Legend Trophy classification. Alberto Panebianco not only closed the top-10 but also completed the Rookie Trophy podium. Solaris Motorsport’s Alina Loibnegger edged Arianna Casoli in the battle for the Lady Trophy win.

    Due to the difficult conditions, several drivers were involved in incidents at the 4.1 kilometer long track. On lap 1, DF1 Racing drivers Justin Kunz and Ian Eric Waden spun out. On lap 3, Naveh Talor, who started from 5th, collected heavy damage to his front bumper, while Vladimiros Tziortzis first spun and then had to retire early.

    EuroNASCAR 2 will be back in action on Sunday: EuroNASCAR 2 Round 6 will start at 1:55 pm IST. All races will be broadcasted live on EuroNASCAR’s platforms – YouTube, NWES App, Facebook, Twitch – and Motorsport.tv.

    EURONASCAR 2 ROUND 05 RESULTS

  • Espargaro heads a front row covered by just 0.036

    Espargaro heads a front row covered by just 0.036

    The Repsol Honda rider pips Bagnaia and Quartararo as hundredths split the top three over nearly 6km of Silverstone
    Silverstone, 28 August 2021:     Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) is back in business! After a tougher time of late, the Spaniard has hooked it up so far at Silverstone and in Q2, the number 44 hit a landmark run to take his first pole position since joining the Repsol Honda Team. It was incredibly close at the top, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) just 0.022 back and Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) locking out a top three split by just 0.036. Over a near 6km lap, it could hardly be any closer.

    Q1
    Q1 had a few fast faces looking to move through, not least of all 2019 Silverstone winner Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). But after the first runs it was Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) leading the way, with a couple of tenths in hand over Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing).

    The key drama then also came from Bastianini as the Italian, on another hot lap, lost the rear but somehow didn’t quite highside, nevertheless sliding out and that bringing out the Yellow Flags – cancelling the laps of Rins and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol). Bastianini was up and ok and the track went green again, leaving one final push for those behind to try and oust the Italian.

    Zarco and Rins did just that, the Suzuki taking over on top first before the Pramac rider pipped him, both leapfrogging Bastianini’s best to deny him a place in Q2. 

    Q2
    After the first runs, Quartararo led Bagnaia led Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), but there was some drama left in the tank. The first rider setting red sectors was Pol Espargaro and he took over on top, but Martin was on an absolute stunner – and shaved nine tenths off the number 44’s best in one fell swoop. But gaining over a second in one sector seemed a lot, even for the rookie sensation, and it turned out to be too much: Martin had cut the track, and the laptime was cancelled. So Pol Espargaro completed his impressive weekend so far with a first pole position at Repsol Honda, bouncing back in style from a difficult two weekends in Austria to pip ‘Pecco’ by just 0.022.

    Bagnaia was bumped back up to second as Martin’s lap was cancelled, with Quartararo completing the front row after losing a little ground on Run 2, not able to find the grip he was expecting but still within an infinitesimal 0.036 of pole. Martin, nevertheless, takes fourth – and is therefore also top Independent Team rider. 

    The Grid 
    Pol Espargaro, Bagnaia and Championship leader Quartararo head up the grid, putting ‘Pecco’, the closest challenger, in a good position to try and deny El Diablo on Sunday. Martin heads up Row 2 ahead of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), the eight-time World Champion beaten to it by just 0.012. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completes the third row.

    Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a tougher qualifying to line up seventh, 0.479 off the top, and the Aussie will be looking to make gains on Sunday. He’s joined by Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) as the Doctor continues a good vein of form at Silverstone, taking P8, with Johann Zarco forced to settle for ninth.

    That leaves Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins and Joan Mir down in P10 and P11, respectively, with the 2019 Silverstone winner and the reigning Champion looking for a classic quick comeback into the podium fight tomorrow. Austrian GP winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KM Factory Racing) is P12.

    Then come Bastianini, Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) in 15th.

    FULL RESULTS

    That’s all she wrote on Saturday at Silverstone, all that’s left to do now is race. Tune in at the earlier time of 13:00 (GMT +1) on Sunday as MotoGP™ does battle in the Monster Energy British Grand Prix. Is it Quartararo’s to lose? Or does someone have something more up their sleeve?
    MotoGP™ front row
    1 Pol Espargaro – Repsol Honda Team – Honda – 1:58.889    
    2 Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – +0.022
    3 Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – +0.036

    Top Independent Team rider
    4 Jorge Martin – Pramac Racing – Ducati – +0.185
  • Max Verstappen on pole; Hami p3 at Spa

    Max Verstappen on pole; Hami p3 at Spa

    Spa Francorchamps, 28 August 2021: Max Verstappen claimed his ninth career pole position in a rain-affected Belgain Grand qualifying session ahead of surprise front-row starter George Russell of Williams and third-placed Lewis Hamilton. Sergio Pérez will meanwhile start from seventh on the grid.

    After a short delay due to heavy rain in the run-up to Qualifying, Q1 got underway on a wet track and most teams sent their drivers out on full wet Pirelli tyres. The exception was Williams which sent George Russell and Nicholas Latifi out on intermediate tyres.

    Initially the times set on the two compounds were comparable but when Verstappen took P1 with a time of 2:07.574 and was quickly beaten by Russell to the tune of five full seconds it became clear that intermediates were the right choice. Drivers immediately returned to the pits to switch to the green-banded tyres and with the conditions improving but rain forecast, the session then became one of endurance as drivers stayed out to try to catch the best of the conditions.

    In the end it was Lando Norris who made the most of the intermediate tyres in Q1. The McLaren driver crossed the line after the chequered flag to take top spot with a lap of 1:58.301. Verstappen eased through to Q2 in second place with a lap of 1:58.717.

    Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was the first driver eliminated, in P16, and the Italian was followed out of the session by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Haas’ Mick Schumacher, the second Alfa of Kimi Räikkönen and the second Haas of Nikita Mazepin.

    Though rain was forecast for Q2, the track stayed dry and the remaining drivers took to the track on inters. That meant progress was relatively straightforward for the Bulls, with Max posting a lap of 1:56.559 to secure fifth place at the flag. Checo, meanwhile, went through in seventh place.

    Mercedes made heavy work of claiming Q3 berths, however. The team sent Hamilton and Bottas out on old intermediates but neither driver could make them work and they abandoned their runs to pit for new green-banded tyres. Again both struggled and a final set was called for.

    In the drop zone in the closing moments Hamilton and Bottas needed big laps to jump to safety and both delivered. Hamilton jumped to P2 with a lap of 1:56.229 and Bottas erased any worries in the Mercedes camp by claiming P3 with a tour of 1:56.295.

    The final moments weren’t as kind to Ferrari, however. Charles Leclerc was eliminated in P11, with team-mate Carlos Sainz exiting in P13. The man in the Ferrari sandwich was Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, while Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was ruled out in P14 ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

    The expected rain began to fall in the minutes leading up to the start of Q3 and by the time the lights went green conditions had substantially deteriorated. The risk became clear when Norris lost control of his McLaren at the start of his first push lap of the segment and crashed heavily at Raidillon. The red flags were immediately displayed.

    A long delay followed and when the final eight minutes of the session got underway rain was still falling. Red Bull opted for intermediate tyres and after his first lap Verstappen was in P2 but a second off provisional pole sitter Hamilton.

    The conditions were improving rapidly, however, as evidenced by Russell suddenly putting in purple sector times. The Williams driver’s timing was good and his final lap was enough to put him ahead of Lewis Hamilton by 0.013s.

    Verstappen’s timing was marginally better, however, and when the Dutch driver crossed the line he was the only man to dip below the two-minute mark with a lap of 1:59.765 that secured him his ninth career pole and Red Bull’s first at this circuit since 2011.

    Behind the top three McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo will start fourth ahead of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel. Pierre Gasly quaklified sixth and Checo secured seventh place on the grid. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas placed eighth but will take a five-place grid penalty tomorrow. Esteban Ocon qualified ninth for Alpine with Norris tenth after failing to set a time.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:59.765  6 210.532
    2 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 2:00.086 0.321 0.268 7 209.969
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2:00.099 0.334 0.279 6 209.946
    4 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 2:00.864 1.099 0.918 6 208.617
    5 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 2:00.935 1.170 0.977 7 208.495
    6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 2:01.164 1.399 1.168 6 208.101
    7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 2:02.112 2.347 1.960 6 206.485
    8 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2:02.502 2.737 2.285 6 205.828
    9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 2:03.513 3.748 3.129 7 204.143
    – 4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes  2
    11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:57.721 1.696 1.462 8 214.187
    12 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:58.056 2.031 1.750 8 213.579
    13 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:58.137 2.112 1.820 7 213.433
    14 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:58.205 2.180 1.879 8 213.310
    15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:58.231 2.206 1.901 7 213.263
    16 Antionio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 2:02.306 4.005 3.385 9 206.158
    17 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 2:02.413 4.112 3.476 9 205.978
    18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 2:03.973 5.672 4.795 9 203.386
    19 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 2:04.452 6.151 5.199 9 202.603
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 2:04.939 6.638 5.611 8 201.813

  • Ruhaan, Rohaan, Nikhilesh continue their exploits

    Ruhaan, Rohaan, Nikhilesh continue their exploits

    Bengaluru, 27 August 2021: Talented Bengaluru teenage pilot Ruhaan Alva once again dominated the proceedings with complete authority to take overall honours as ‘fastest driver’ in Round 2 winning all the four races on the menu in the Senior class of the Meco FMSCI National Karting Championship NC Racing MSport IAME X30 India races at the 1.2-km Meco Kartopia, about 20 km from here on Friday.

    In the Junior section, Rohaan Madesh stamped his class once again dominating with controlled aggression to bag three victories after a surprise loss in Race 1 where Guwahati karter Jaden R Pariat won to take 31 points from this round for a total of 50 points and is now 2nd on the leaderboard. Rohaan Madesh, with 65 points (32+33) is the deserving leader with another round of 4 races scheduled for Saturday. Younger of the two Madesh brothers, Ishaan, the reigning Cadet champion, fetched 23 points to add to the 20 (Round 1) for a total 43 points is in third place after two rounds. The third of the five rounds will be held on Saturday.

    Nikhilesh Raju, the 11-year 6th Class student of Vibgyor School, Bengaluru won the Round 2 in Cadet Class winning three of the four Round 2 races to garner 34 points to add to the 34 from Round 1. He is leading the championship table with 64 points. Arafath Sheikh, the baby of the grid at 10 years, a 4th class student of Bishop School in Pune, won Race 2 to bag 31 valuable points (to add to the 26 from Round 1) and jumped to second place in the standings with 57 points. Local rookie, a 12-year 7th Standard girl, Zarah Mishra, who has managed 23 points is third in the championship with a total of 39 points from two rounds. Three newcomers from Gujarat Shrili Manish Mistry (19 points), Hrydan S Patel (16) and Ateev Khandelval (11) helped retain the 6-kart grid as Aditya Suresh Kamat and Vedha Vishnu from Chennai did not turn up for this round.

    Ruhaan, the 15-year-old champion performed a classic act once again conquering everything that came his way taking four victories, four fastest laps, best qualifying and second best qualifying times for pole and became the fastest man on the grid with a best lap time of 56.530 in Round 2 qualifying session. Earlier on August 1, he won three races in Round 1 and is currently leading the championship. He also clocked a best race time of 14min, 22.799seconds in Race 3 over 15 laps of 1.2 km Meco Kartopia tarmac run clockwise.

    Former champion Ameya Bafna, who made a surprise visit in Round 1, failed to turn up for the two rounds this weekend, thus reducing whatever competition Alva had. Another Bengaluru karter, Nigel Abraham Thomas, took full advantage of the depleted grid to showcase his talent, taking three silver after his bronze in the first race behind former champion from Chennai Nirmal Umashankar. After his second in the first race, Nirmal could not beat Nigel and had to be satisfied with three bronze in the rest of the three races.

    Raaj Bakhru from Mumbai was consistent, after he overcame a bad first race which he `Did Not Finish’ (DNF) to improve steadily in the next three races. He came 5th in Race 2, 4th in Race 3 before finally taking a bronze in the final race. Another rookie from Garden City, Sawan Sathyarayan, finished 4th in the first two races.

    Cadets will have two races on Saturday and two more on Sunday to complete Round 3 while Juniors will complete all four races of Round 3 on Saturday.

    Round 2 Final (provisional) classification :

    Seniors (15 laps) Friday Grid: 6

    Race 1: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:29.122); 2. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14:31.631); 3. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengluru) (14:34.483); 4.  #31 Sawan Sathyanarayan (Bengaluru) (14:45.525); 5.  #30 Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (15:17.922); DNF Lap 1 #32 Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (1:11.022). Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 56.892. Best Speed: 75.9 kmph. Margin of win: 2.509sec.

    Race 2: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:37.013); 2. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (14:38.755); 3. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14:39.737); 4.  #31 Sawan Sathyanarayan (Bengaluru) (14:43.322); 5. #32 Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (14:43.636); 6. #30 Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (14:54.725); Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 57.174. Best Speed: 75.5 kmph. Margin of win: 1.742sec.

    Race 3: 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (14:22.799); 2. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (14:25.169); 3. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (14:28.438); 4.  #32 Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (14:32.912); 5. #31 Sawan Sathyanarayan (Bengaluru) (14:45.760); 6. #30 Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (14:48.863); Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 57.131 Best Speed: 75.616 kmph. Margin of win: 2.370sec.

    Race 4 (Restart): 1. #27 Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru) (18:57.927); 2. #28 Nigel Abraham Thomas (Bengaluru) (19:09.296); 3. #32 Raaj Bakhru (Mumbai) (19:41.131); 4. #25 Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai) (19:53.111); 5. #31 Sawan Sathyanarayan (Bengaluru) (19:20.087 – 14laps); 6. #30 Vidyali Reddy (Bengaluru) (19:42.753 -14laps); Best lap: Ruhaan Alva 1:14.544 Best Speed: 57.952 kmph. Margin of win: 11.369sec.

    Friday’s Juniors and Cadet results of Ro2 to be updated!

  • Quartararo bounces back to dominate at Silverstone

    Quartararo bounces back to dominate at Silverstone

    Silverstone, 27 August 2021: Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) shot out the blocks at Silverstone, the Championship leader ending Day 1 of the Monster Energy British Grand Prix over half a second clear despite an FP2 crash. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) was second quickest, with Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) also bouncing back, in his case from an FP1 tumble, to take third on first contact with Silverstone on MotoGP™ machinery.

    FP1
    Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) stole all the headlines in the morning. The eight-time World Champion was the fastest, and the only rider under the 2-minute barrier, but he also brought out the Red Flag for a fast crash through Maggots and Becketts. It was a lowside but a 270km/h lowside, leaving rider and bike sliding over the grass and gravel. The result was rider ok, bike not so much, and the Red Flag came out.

    0.250 behind Marc Marquez was Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) as the Spaniard slotted into second, pipping Quartararo by 0.110. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), who had a grandstand seat for teammate Marquez’ slide in the closing stages, took fourth by just 0.035, with Miller closing out the top five within less than a tenth.

    Jake Dixon (Petronas Yamaha SRT) made a solid first impression, ending FP1 on a 2:03.939 and only seven tenths off Luca Marini (Avintia VR46).

    Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) crashed and Martin also went down, both at Turn 12 and both riders ok.

    FP2
    There was another headline-grabbing crash in the afternoon, this time for Quartararo. The Frenchman went down at Turn 8, avoiding a highside by letting go early, and was initially holding his ankle and appeared in some pain. He was able to walk away and head back to the garage, however, as well as heading back out on track and going… even faster. So he was quickest, with a whopping 0.512 in hand over Miller.

    Graphic courtesy Twitter Chequered Flag @CFmagIndia

    Martin bounced back from his FP1 crash to leap up into third late in FP2, with Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez completing the top five as they retained some good speed. Marc Marquez later explained he did have some sand in his eye from the crash though, causing irritation and affecting his FP2 running. Heading to the hospital for the ok, the number 93 says it should be fine for Saturday.

    Alex Marquez was the other crasher in the afternoon, after Quartararo.

    Combined timesheets
    FP2 timesheets are the combined timesheets as everyone improved, leaving Quartararo dominant after Day 1 ahead of Miller, Martin, Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez.

    Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was sixth quickest, just ahead of Aleix Espargaro. Austrian GP winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) impressed with one of his best Fridays of the season so far, riding at the track for the first time in the premier class, as he took eighth.

    2019 Silverstone winner Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was ninth, with Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completing the top ten on Day 1 after a solid day at the office for the ‘Doctor’ as he makes his last call at the British GP.

    Reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), riding at the track for the first time in MotoGP™ after having missed the 2019 edition through injury, was 13th.

    Dixon shaved another 1.3 seconds off his best lap in the afternoon, getting to within around 1.2 of Alex Marquez and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) ahead of him.

    That’s a wrap on Friday, come back for more on Saturday as the grid gets decided from 14:10 (GMT +1)!

    FULL RESULTS

    1 Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – 1:59.317
    2 Jack Miller – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – +0.512
    3 Jorge Martin* – Pramac Racing – Ducati – +0.622
    4 Pol Espargaro – Repsol Honda Team – Honda – +0.718
    5 Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda – +0.734

    *Independent Team rider

  • Advait Deodhar in top-2 in both practice sessions

    Advait Deodhar in top-2 in both practice sessions

    Autodrom Most (Czech Republic), 27 August 2021: 2020 runner-up Tobias Dauenhauer is leading the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship after scoring his first win of the season at Brands Hatch. The German Hendriks Motorsport driver sits 9 points ahead of Most’s local hero Martin Doubek, who dominated the season opener at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia with two wins. Will the German and the Czech be battling for the overall lead or will there be a surprise winner like Advait Deodhar in the UK?

    The ace Indian driver of CAAL Racing team clocked the second fastest time in the Final Practice today putting in 13 laps, the highest than anyone else in FP2. He clocked 2:00.020 for the 4.212-km Autodrom Most here in his #56 Ford Mustang. Tobias Dauenhauer clocked the best time of 1:58.298, 1.722 better than Advait who did averagespeeds of over 126km better than all of the 13 of them except the leader. One can discard the surprise winner of July round at their own cost and all the Indians are behind him cheering in every available channel. Earlier, in FP1 Deodhar clocked 1min 53.046, just 0.240sec behind Lanza Massimiliano of Cheverolet Camaro Caal Racing team.

    The Indian in a relaxed mood with Anish Gohil on Friday. Photos Stephane Azemard

    Wet track for Nascar2 FP2

    While the best times were almost equally split between sessions 1 and 2 in EuroNASCAR PRO, the best lap times in EuroNASCAR 2 were driven in Free Practice 1. The second session was declared wet after moderate rainfall in the preceding EuroNASCAR PRO session. In the end, Max Lanza clocked the fastest lap of the day with a 1:52.806.

    Brands Hatch race winner Advait Deodhar closed the day in second, 0.240 seconds shy of the Italian in first place. Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport’s Vladimiros Tziortzis followed in third, while Valencia double race winner Martin Doubek finished fourth. Tobias Dauenhauer, who topped the standings in Free Practice 2 on a soaked race track, completed the top-5.

    Read Thursday’s Preview article below

    Not Only Motorsport’s Alberto Panebianco was the fastest Rookie Trophy contender in sixth, while DF1 Tiger Justin Kunz was classified in seventh. Leevi Lintukantu was among the fastest rookies on the grid in eighth. Legend Trophy leader Yevgen Sokolovskiy, who’s piloting the #48 Marko Stipp Motorsport Camaro, ended up ninth ahead of Paolo Valeri.

    One of those possible first time winners could be Vladimiros Tziortis at the wheel of the #1 Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport Ford Mustang. With three top-5 and four top-10 results so far, the Cypriot is only 15 points shy of the Championship leader. Brands Hatch winner Deodhar follows in fourth with a 20-point deficit. Double V Racing’s Pierluigi Veronesi is fifth, only 1 point behind the Indian in the CAAL Racing colors.

    You can’t push me out, I will bounce back, Advait seems to be sending out a loud message with P2 in both practice sessions on Friday.

    Israel’s Naveh Talor is another dark horse for the NASCAR GP Czech Republic. The Not Only Motorsport driver shone with one top-5 and three top-10 results so far and is eager to score his first EuroNASCAR 2 win. Simon Pilate and Alberto Panebianco will make their Most debuts at the upcoming weekend, while Justin Kunz from Germany has scored one top-5 and two top-10’s at Most in the 2019 season. Youngster Francesco Garisto rounds out the top-10 of the overall standings.

    The NASCAR GP Czech Republic at Autodrom Most takes place on August 28-29. Qualifying and all races will be broadcasted live on the EuroNASCAR social media platforms – YouTube, NWES App, Facebook and Twitch – as well as on Motorsport.tv.

    IST Qulaifying time for NASCAR2 for Advait Deodhar: 1.30 pm IST

    Saturday Race 1 of Round 5: 5.30pm IST

    Sunday race: Round 6 race: 1.35 pm IST

    Watch Live on YouTube here

  • Pragathi Gowda beats `big boys’ to bag fastest-driver tag

    Pragathi Gowda beats `big boys’ to bag fastest-driver tag

    Bengaluru, 22 August 2021: Pragathi Gowda of Bengaluru claimed overall honours bagging the fastest driver tag powering her Volkswagen Polo to a stunning time of 2 min, 22.268 seconds over two-laps of the 1-km United Off-road track in the 2021 Time Attack organised by Chetan Shivram Motorsports, a two-day FMSCI-licensed event that concluded here on Sunday.

    Ashwin Reddy, Abhin R Rai and Syed Salman bagged a double each in the professional class on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Moin Pasha, Sahil Khan and Asad Pasha also won their classes in the pro section. The event supported by Eco-Life, Anvitha Estates, DC Motorsports and Unite Motorsports received overwhelming response with 176 entries which were divided into professional and amateur sections. Trophies were provided by 6T9th.com and Starttline Motorsports manned the timing equipment that gave one by thousandth of a second times for every driver.

    You can watch the Time Attack on Unite Motorsport YouTube here!

    Beating many top male drivers in the 13-car start list of the feature event, the 2nd year MBA student who is just three caps in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), slided the corners and attacked the straights to top the time-sheets in Race 1 to beat Ashwin Reddy to second and Moin Pasha to third place. Pragathi eased off on Day 2 due to the slippery track where rookie Syed  Salman, proved his mastery on the slushy terrain to beat Asad Pasha and star driver Dhruva Chandrasekhar who was not in his elements on the day due to technical issues with his car.

    Pragathi Gowda, who bagged the Overall honours in the Chetan Shivram Motorsports Time Attack at Unite Off Park in Bengaluru on 21 August 2021.

    “It’s always a good feeling to improve times and Time Attack provided me the right stage as the terrain is very technical and it helped me sharpen my skills to be ready for the INRC. Beating the big boys is a bonus,” added the Bengalurean, who made pundits take notice with her speed in a rally-prep INRC3 spec, in her debut at Itanagar last December.

    Jayanth Samynathan won Race 1 in the Rally Cars class beating Reddy brothers Ashwin and Tarun while in Race 2 on Sunday, Syed Salman took the honours with Ashwin Reddy taking a second again and Asad Pasha completing the podium.

    Ruthuparna Vivek, Amrut Shekar and Mohammad Uzair won the Amateur races on Day 1 while Ruthuparna Vevek got a double gold on Day 2 in 1600cc and 2000cc even as Arvind won the 1400cc and Mohammed Shabaz bagged 1100cc class.

    Naresh of Bro Racing won the Tuner class with veteran INRC tuner Yusuf of Snap Racing taking second and Amju of Ideal Racing came third.

    “Since a lot of newcomers including first-timers are there. We wanted to provide a platform where they would not be fighting with the veterans which is very de-motivating. So we had separate class for modified cars driven by professionals,” explained Chetan Shivram, the Clerk of the Course. Shivram, the 2019 Indian National Rally Champion, is a top motorsports mentor training every month scores of rally drivers to excel and was recently roped in by the INRC Promoters to conduct a Driver school to train over two dozen lady drivers ready for INRC. “I thank Nikhil of Unite Off-track for preparing and providing the beautiful track,” added the man behind the show.

     “We conducted the event in a bio-bubble following all the COVID protocols of the government as safety is always a top-priority in motorsports. With virtually no events for drivers to get their seat time, Time Attack is a great op for them to brush up their skills for the National rallies and gain some practice in a competitive environment,” said Sanjeev P Shah, the Chief Steward and Secretary of Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC).

    Final (Provisional) Results:

    Professional Race 1 (2 laps):

    Pro United Off-road Open Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02 min, 22.268 seconds); 2. D Ashwin Reddy (02:23.665); 3. Moin Pasha (02:24.242).

    Pro Upto 1100cc: 1. Moin Pasha (02:30.027);2. Abhisek Gowda (02:32.517); 3.Prakash R (02:34.459).

    Pro Upto 1400cc: 1.Abhin R Rai (02:27.936); 2.Sahil (02:29.277); 3. Moin Pasha (02:29.516);

    Pro Upto 1600cc: 1. D Ashwin Reddy (02:24.567); 2. D Tarun Reddy (02:25.160); 3. Sahil (02:26.295).

    Pro Upto 2000cc: 1. D Ashwin Reddy(02:27.808);2. Dhruva Chandrasekhar (02:28.423); 3. Sahil (2:28.471).

    Pro Rally-tuned cars: 1. Jayanth Samynathan (02:31.352);2. D Ashwin Reddy (02:32.004); 3. D Tarun Reddy (02:34.349).

    Esteem: 1. Abhin R Rai (02:31.543); 2. Jayanth Samynathan (02:32.193); 3. Arvind (02:37.280).

    Ladies Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02:40.718); 2. Tarushi Vikram (03:07.681).

    Professional Race 2 (2 laps):

    Pro United Off-road Open Class: 1. Syed Salman (02:37.315); 2. Asad Pasha (02:38.029); 3. Dhruva Chandrasekhar (02:38.803).

    Rally-tuned Cars: 1. Syed Salman (02:34.858); 2. Ashwin Reddy (02:39.594); 3. Asad Pasha (02:39.947);

    Race 2 (2 laps) Upto 1100cc: 1. Sahil Khan (02:30.521); 2. Mohan Raj (02:33.592);3. Mohin Pasha (02:34.171).

    Race 2 (2 laps) Upto 1400cc: 1. Asad Pasha (2:29.207); 2. Mohin Pasha (02:30.336); 3. Sahil (02:30.852).

    Esteem Class: 1. Abin R Rai (02:38.745); 2. Jayanth Samynathan (02:41.746); 3. Mohan (02:50.228).

    Ladies Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02:40.567); 2. Tarushi Vikram (03:20.593);

    Pro Tuner Class: 1. Naresh (Bro Racing) 2: 53.780; 2. Yusuf (Snap Racing) 2:55.513; ; 3. Amju (Ideal Racing) 2:57.946.

    Diesel: 1. Dheeraj Manae (03:12.696); 2. Kiran (03:18.420).

    Gypsy: 1. Ravi Kumar (02:54.534).

    Amateur Race 1 (2 laps):

    Upto 1100cc: 1. Mohammad Uzair (2:37.150); 2. Mohammed Kaisan (02:38.687); 3. Syed Imran (02:41.670).

    Upto 1400cc: 1. Amrut Shekar (02:37.446); 2. Yuvaraj M (02:43.020); 3. Humayun Pasha (02:44.342).

    Upto 1600cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:35.347); 2. TS Rekha Niranjan (02:59.701); 3. Rituraj Das  (03:01.861).

    Ladies Class: 1. TS Rekha Niranjan (02:52.6551); 2. Tarushi Vikram (02:56.566).

    Amateur Race 2 (2 laps):

    Upto 1100cc: 1. Mohammad Shabaz (2:43.579); 2. Manu (02:52.338); 3. Syed Imran (02:52.358).

    Upto 1400cc: 1. Arvind (02:38.155); 2. Amrith (02:44.359); 3. Yuvaraj (02:48.107).

    Upto 1600cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:37.782); 2. Nidhi (02:53.035); 3. Agasthya (02:58.240).

    Upto 2000cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:35.654); 2. Arvind (02:36.205); 3. Nidhi (02:40.946).

    Ladies Class: 1. Tarushi Vikram (03:05.334); 2. Rekha Niranjan (03:13.305).

  • Max Verstappen tops FP2 at Spa: F1 Round 12

    Max Verstappen tops FP2 at Spa: F1 Round 12

    Spa-Francorchamps, 27 August 2021: Max Verstappen set the pace in the second practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, narrowly beating Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton by less than a hundredth of a second, but the Red Bull driver’s session ended in disappointment when he crashed out in the final moments of the session at Spa-Francorchamps in the Round 12 of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Friday.

    Verstappen lost the back end of his RB16B as he went into the Les Combes sequence at the end of the long Kemmel straight and he spun into the barriers on the left side of the circuit, causing substantial damage to the rear right of his Red Bull.

    As with the morning session, the afternoon running got off to a slow start as drivers gingerly tested the damp conditions. Once the conditions proved suitable for dry tyres, McLaren’s Lando Norris got running properly underway with a lap of 1:48.219 on hard tyres. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi then took turns at the top as the track improved before Bottas then took a significant step forward with a lap of 1:44.513 on medium tyres.

    Verstappen then took P2 before Hamilton went just 0.031 slower than his teammate to establish a Mercedes one-two.

    The Mercedes pair were then among the first to make the switch to soft tyres though neither was able to improve on the red-banded Pirelli rubber. Verstappen, however, did make gains and he claimed top spot with a lap of 1:44.472, 0.041 ahead of Bottas.

    However, his good work was then undone in the final moments when he lost the rear end of his car in Les Combes.

    At the flag, Fernando Alonso set the fourth fastest time for Alpine, ahead of AlhaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Ocon finished in seventh ahead of the seodnde Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Pérez, newly confirmed for another year at Red Bull Racing, completed the top 10 order.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2

    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:44.472 12 241.350
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:44.513 0.041 14 241.256
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:44.544 0.072 13 241.184
    4 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:44.953 0.481 15 240.244
    5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:44.965 0.493 17 240.217
    6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:45.180 0.708 14 239.726
    7 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:45.302 0.830 15 239.448
    8 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:45.336 0.864 16 239.371
    9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:45.386 0.914 18 239.257
    10 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:45.404 0.932 13 239.216
    11 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:45.517 1.045 14 238.960
    12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:45.758 1.286 17 238.416
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:45.789 1.317 16 238.346
    14 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:45.967 1.495 18 237.945
    15 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:46.118 1.646 14 237.607
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:46.198 1.726 17 237.428
    17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:46.665 2.193 14 236.388
    18 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:46.836 2.364 13 236.010
    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:47.335 2.863 14 234.913
    20 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:47.529 3.057 15 234.489