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Zarco pips Quartararo to thrilling German GP pole by 0.011s
Hohenstein-Ernstthal (Germany), 19 June, 2021: An electric qualifying session for the MotoGP World Championship at the Sachsenring for the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland saw a frenetic battle for pole position, which saw Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) storm to pole position with a phenomenal lap with just two minutes remaining. Second place went to Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) to make it a French 1-2 in MotoGP, whilst it was a first MotoGP front row for Aprilia with Aleix Espargaro third, the first front row for the manufacturer in the premier class since Jeremy McWilliams at Phillip Island in 2000.
THE BATTLE FOR POLE
As the session got underway, it was immediately clear that Quartararo had a strong pace, as he dropped the pace to a 1’20.4, whilst the others were in behind. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was initially second ahead of Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), with this just being the start of what would be a heroic day for the Pramac Racing outfit. Strategy continued to be key in the battle for track position and there were plenty of tempers flaring around the 3.645km circuit – the shortest on the calendar.
As the closing stages of the session came onto the horizon, it looked like Fabio Quartararo had done enough, but it would prove to not be the case as Johann Zarco put in the lap of his life to take pole position and the top time. The charismatic double Moto2™ World Champion then went in pursuit of another hot lap time but had to fight his way through fellow countryman Quartararo on the exit of Turn 3. As Zarco tipped into Turn 5, he tucked the front and crashed out of contention, bringing out the yellow flags, spelling an end to his session and impacting those around him due to the yellow flags.
THE FRONT ROW
Despite the late drama, it would be enough for him to take pole ahead of Quartararo for Ducati’s first pole at the Sachsenring since 2008 with Casey Stoner, making it the first French 1-2 since Brno 2020, with it also being the same order. Completing the front row is Aleix Espargaro, taking his first front row since Assen in 2015 and giving Aprilia their first front row since MotoGP™ was introduced in 2002, a historic landmark for the Noale manufacturer. Espargaro is the fourth different rider to give Aprilia a front row in Grand Prix racing’s premier class, after Doriano Romboni, Tetsuya Harada and Jeremy McWilliams.
THE REST OF THE TOP 10
On row two for the German GP is Jack Miller, who was on course for pole position on numerous occasions, having perfected the first two sectors but failing to convert the final two. Behind Miller, the King of the Sachsenring, Marc Marquez. Having been eyeing up a front row place for the majority of the session, Marquez dropped to the middle of the second row, but it is his best qualifying position since his return. After a lot of cruising and looking for the ideal track position, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completed the second row.
In seventh place, Jorge Martin heads up row three and makes it three Ducatis inside the top seven, whilst eighth place went to Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), who was tracking Quartararo for the majority of the second half of the session. He’s joined by fellow Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) who completed the session in ninth but ended it in the gravel, with a fall at Turn 1 in the closing stages. Rounding out the top ten is Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), just more than half a second from Zarco’s pole time.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Having come through Q1, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was only 11th come the chequered flag, whilst 12th place went to Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol). However, all eyes will be on Johann Zarco, having not only topped qualifying but FP4 as well. Will we see the return of the backflip? Only time will tell in MotoGP™…
Top 10 combined:
1. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing)
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) +0.011
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Gresini Team) +0.211
4. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) +0.272
5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) +0.331
6. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +0.353
7. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +0.381
8. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) +0.423
9. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) +0.574
10. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) +0.575
Action from MotoGP- Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland – Main race will be LIVE on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD from 14:15 Hrs (2:15 pm IST) onwards on Sunday, 20th June, 2021.
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Team MRF Tyres wins in Finnish rally
(Finland), 19 June 2021: Team MRF Tyres has taken victory in the Ralli SM – the Finnish Rally Championship with Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen winning the Pohjanmaa Ralli in their Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. This was against strong competition from the global leaders Pirelli and Michelin.
The Pohjanmaa Ralli is the fourth round of the Finnish Championship and this win is the first for MRF Tyres in the Finnish Rally Championship and comes on the back of multiple podium finishes for Lindholm and Hämäläinen.
The Pohjanmaa Ralli challenged the crews to eight stages and 121.78km of fast gravel stages.
Over the first leg Lindhoom and Hämäläinen lay in fifth position. With 30km of stages completed, it was evident that the rally would be tight and fast.
The second leg would see three stages and over 48km of competitive action. These three stages were repeated in the third loop.
Lindholm and Hämäläinen were immediately on the pace for Team MRF Tyres.
They took the stage win on SS3 and SS5 and second on SS4 to rise through the ranks to second place.
A titanic battle would emerge between the MRF Tyres crew and Mikko Heikkilä / Topi Luhtinen.
On SS6, the 19.32km Hirvijärvi test, Lindholm set a time of 10:05.4, to take the stage win and move into the lead of the rally – by just 2.3 seconds.
He built on his lead in SS7, taking the second fastest stage time and increasing his lead by 1.1 seconds.
The pressure was on in the final stage. With no room for error, he took the stage win. On the 7.64 km Haasoja stage, he set a time of 4:14.9 to take the stage win and seal the victory.
MRF Tyres’ first win in the ultra-competitive Finnish Championship comes on the back of MRF Tyres first win in the Italian Gravel Championship.
It demonstrates the dedication and commitment of MRF Tyres to developing the next generation of tyres for top-line rally.
For Lindholm, it is his second year with MRF Tyres and has played a vital role in the development of the tyres.
The team will not rest and the development of the tyres will continue.
With two podiums and a victory in the Finnish Rally Championship this year, Team MRF Tyres are in the fight and has proven fast and reliable on different surfaces in tough competition.
For Team MRF Tyres, the team will be out in Italy next weekend for the San Marino Rally, the third round of the Italian Rally Championship – Gravel.
Next for Lindholm and Hämäläinen is the Oulu Ralli which takes place in September.
Quotes
Emil Lindholm, winner, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo
“It is amazing to win here in Pohjanmaa Ralli. This result shows the pace of development from the entire team at Team MRF Tyres and we should all be proud of our work.
“Coming into the weekend, I was aiming for a good result but never dreamt of a victory. But the car and the tyres felt great all weekend. This rally is very fast, with some stages having an average speed of more than 120km/h. Today, we took four stage wins and two-second places. It is a great result.”
“We have shown that the tyre is competitive in Finland and I am proud to take MRF Tyres first win here, in what is such a competitive championship. Though we will continue to push the development of the tyres to make sure we can win again in the future. Now we, and the whole team will celebrate this achievement.”
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Miguel Oliveira tops timesheets on Friday
Sashsenring, 18 June 2021:New week, same speed: Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) remains the fastest man in MotoGP only a few days after his Catalan GP win, with the Portuguese rider topping the timesheets on Day 1 of the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Around half a second off the outright lap record, Oliveira escaped Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) by a couple of tenths to take to the top, with Maverick Viñales making it two Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP machines in the top three on Friday as he ended FP2 within a tenth of his teammate.
FP1
The day started with a very familiar name at the top of the Sachsenring timesheets: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). The Spaniard is undefeated at the venue in the premier class plus a few years before that, and he was quick out the blocks before also stringing together a longer run of laps. Second was Quartararo, who also took a fast tumble – rider ok – at Turn 12 before moving back to within 0.168 off Marquez. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) started the event a tenth further back in third, ahead of another Honda: Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team). The number 44 also crashed at Turn 2, rider ok. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completed the top five, less than half a tenth in further arrears.The other crasher in FP1 was the first: Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing). The Spaniard went down at Turn 12, rider ok.
FP2
In the afternoon, everyone improved and Miguel Oliveira took over at the top. The Catalan GP winner went more than 1.6 seconds quicker than his morning best, and just under a second quicker than Marc Marquez’ FP1 fastest lap, to head the timesheets in the session. He had two tenths in hand over Quartararo, who was second once again, with Viñales moving up from tenth in FP1 to complete the top three.Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) stole some headlines in fourth, the Spaniard impressing despite his wrist injury sustained ahead of Barcelona, ending the day top Suzuki and just under four tenths off the top. Pol Espargaro, Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro also impressed again, taking fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Marc Marquez, meanwhile, was shuffled down to outside the top ten.
Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia) crashed first at Turn 13 and then at Turn 7, rider ok, and Pol Espargaro had his second crash of the day at Turn 4. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) also slid out; the ‘Doctor’ at Turn 1.
Combined timesheets
FP2 timesheets are the combined timesheets, so it’s Oliveira, Quartararo, Viñales, Rins, Pol Espargaro, Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro in the top seven. Next up is a Ducati duo as Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) pipped Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) to P8 by just 0.011, with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completing the top ten.Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing), who now has the updates seen on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machines of Oliveira and teammate Brad Binder, took P11 by the end of play and is the first man set to miss out on Q2 as it stands, with Marc Marquez ultimately ending the day in 12th by just 0.009. The eight-time World Champion said he’d expected to find himself in slightly better shape at the track but also didn’t push for a time attack.
Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) was even closer to the rider ahead – Marc Marquez – by the end of the day. Just 0.002 split the two as the younger Marquez slots into P13. With the track not featuring on the 2020 calendar, the day was the first taste of the Sachsenring in MotoGP™ for more than just the 2021 rookies. Alex Marquez was the fastest of those who haven’t raced the track before in the premier class.
Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) was a tenth further back in P14, with Brad Binder completing the fastest fifteen on Friday ahead of reigning Champion Joan Mir.
Rossi ended Friday in P21, with a compatriot for company just behind him: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). The number 63 was last on the timesheets and, although he didn’t push for a fast lap on soft tyres, will be looking for a lot more on Saturday morning as FP3 gets underway – as will the likes of Marc Marquez and Joan Mir.
That’s it from Day 1. FP3 starts at 9:55 (GMT +2) on Saturday to decide those going straight through to Q2, before qualifying begins at 14:10.
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Verstappen tops FP2 times
Paul Ricard (France), 18 June 2021: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen narrowly took top spot in second practice for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 French Grand Prix, beating Valtteri Bottas by eight hundredths of a second at Paul Ricard Circxuit. Bottas’ Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton finished third.
Bottas set the pace in the early stages of the afternoon session, setting a target of 1:32.880s on medium tyres. Hamilton and Verstappen took scond and third places respectively during this phase, with Hamilton four tenths off his team-mate, while Verstappen was a second down on the Finn’s P1 time.
In the morning session Bottas has clattered over the kerbs in Turn and damaging the front wing of his Mercedes. And in the opening half hour of the second session Verstappen suffered in a similar fashion. The Dutchmen went wide on entry, bounced across the yellow kerbs and snapped a section of front wing in the process. With two races in Austria coming in quick succession after France and with the Red Bull Ring’s kerbs known to be harsh on front wings, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner requested the the part be recovered from the track and returned to the team for repair.
With Bottas secure at the top of the order on medium tyres, the Finn was among the first to then make the move to soft tyres for performance runs around 20 minutes into the session.
However, for the Finn, the expected improvement on the softer tyre did not arrive and though he set a purple time in the opening sector of the lap, his soft tyres wilted as the lap wore on and he finished three tents of a second slower than his best time on mediums.
Hamilton found an improvement on the red-walled tyre but his best time of the session was still not good enough to move ahead of his team-mate’s medium-tyre time.
Verstappen was next to bolt on softs and thanks to purple times in the first and last sectors he managed to edge just ahead of Bottas thanks to a lap of 1:32.872.
It was a less successful session for Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Pérez. The Baku winner, who later admitted to taking a wrong turn on set-up, failed to significantly improve on soft tyres and finished in P12, a full second off his team-mate’s pace.
Fernando Alonso took fourth for Alpine, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon in the second Alpine. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly finished in seventh place with Carlos Sainz eighth for Ferrari ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
2021 FIA Fomrula 1 French Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 21 1:32.872
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 27 1:32.880 0.008
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 23 1:33.125 0.253
4 Fernando Alonso Alpine 25 1:33.340 0.468
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 23 1:33.550 0.678
6 Esteban Ocon Alpine 23 1:33.685 0.813
7 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 25 1:33.696 0.824
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 24 1:33.698 0.826
9 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 26 1:33.786 0.914
10 Lando Norris McLaren 24 1:33.822 0.950
11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 23 1:33.831 0.959
12 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 24 1:33.921 1.049
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 25 1:33.955 1.083
14 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 24 1:34.079 1.207
15 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 25 1:34.447 1.575
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 24 1:34.632 1.760
17 George Russell Williams 25 1:35.266 2.394
18 Nicholas Latifi Williams25 1:35.331 2.459
19 Mick Schumacher HaasHaas 24 1:35.512 2.640
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas Haas 23 1:35.551 2.679
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Akhil hopes to cash in on Circuit Zandvoort experience in the third round
Bengaluru, 18 June 2021: Akhil Rabindra the only Indian driver in the European GT4 Championship is back on the grid with a power paced round three race weekend at the Circuit Zandvoort in Netherland. Akhil, alongside his 19-Year-Old French teammate, Hugo Conde, will aim for a better finish this time given his previous experience on the track in 2019. The Europeans GT4 Championship’s third round will be held from June 18th-20th, 2021 and the race can be watched LIVE on the GT4 World YouTube Page. The 24-year-old Bengaluru born Akhil Rabindra also has enjoyed the rare distinction of not only being the only Indian on the European GT4 Championship Grid but he has also bagged a spot for the third straight year with the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy, inching closer towards realizing his dream of landing the coveted Academy Driver’s contract at the Aston Martin Racing Academy. Akhil also is the only Asian to have made it to the AMR Driver Academy since 2019.
Akhil will be racing for the second time at the Circuit Zandvoort. Earlier Akhil with his team mate David Griessner raced for PROSport Performance at the ADAC GT4 CHAMPIONSHIP in 2019. The duo finished at P4 in race one and were aiming for a P5 finish but due to a technical problem they finished at P21.
“We have raced at Circuit Zandvoort , but we had to face a technical glitch in our last outing at the circuit. We really want to make sure that we go a step better than the last time and again claim a better position. We will give our best, with competition getting higher a lot would be depending upon our driving. I am really looking forward to getting back on the racetrack with AGS Events Racing,” stated Akhil ahead of Round three of the European GT4 Championship.
Akhil finished at P13 and P14 in the Silver Category in round one (Monza) and two (Circuit Paul Ricard) respectively after retiring in race one of both the races due to technical glitch.
Circuit Zandvoort which is a 4.2252km long track consisting of 19 turning points and is a motorsport race track which has hosted a number of major races. Circuit Park Zandvoort played host to the first race in the 2006/07 of A1 Grand Prix. The circuit is known for its fast and sweeping corners. Akhil is currently supported by ASM Technologies, SmartFix and RV Forms and Gears.
For the complete schedule of the 2021 European GT4 Championship please visit: GT4 European Series | GT4 European Series (gt4series.com)
LIVE Streaming Time –
19th June 2021: GT4 European (Qualifying Race) – 21:35 Hrs (IST) Onwards
20th June 2021: GT4 European (Race 1) – 13:50 Hrs (IST) Onwards
20th June 2021: GT4 European (Race 2) – 20:35 Hrs (IST) Onwards
About European GT4 Championship:
The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.
GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.
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Breen and Campedelli ready for ERC challenge for Team MRF Tyres
Mikolajki (Poland), 18 June 2021: Team MRF Tyres is in Mikolajki for the opening round of the 2021 FIA European Rally Championship that will be held from 18-20 June.
Two cars will fly the Team MRF Tyres colours with Irish ace Craig Breen being joined by Paul Nagle in a Hyundai i20 Rally2 and Italian Simone Campedelli joined by Tania Canton in a Volkswagen Polo R5.
The crews will face fast and narrow gravel roads for this special version of Rally Poland. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first time the event was held, with six cars starting the original test in 1921.
Fast forward 100 years and the event offers a hugely competitive field with more than 40 Rally2 cars competing for the outright win.
There are 14 special stages that wait for the drivers, offering 202.76km of competitive action.
The first stage gets underway on Friday night, with a short 2.5km blast through the Mikołajki Arena. The bulk of the rally takes place on Saturday with 133.12km of action across seven stages.
The first look sees the 18.20km of Świętajno, 17.16km of Olecko and 28.70km of Wieliczki. This loop is repeated again in the afternoon but with the Mikołajki Arena ending the day. With such long stages between services, the drivers will have to balance speed with maintaining their car.
Sunday’s action gets underway early with 07:25 Mikołajki MAX stage of 9.34km getting underway at 7:50am. It is followed by the 15.55km gm. Mrągowo stage before the crews head back to service.
The afternoon loop sees these stages repeated before the crews take the long drive to Warsaw. On the way they will complete a 17.9km stage of Przasnysz before the rally takes a special ending.
For the 100th anniversary, a 1.96km stage will take place in Warsaw before the ceremonial finish is held in the Polish capital.
MRF Tyres will also be represented with eight crews from the Polish Championship who will be rallying in the national section of the rally..
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this rally will be held behind closed doors. For those following at home, the FIA ERC will free live radio of all the stages which can be found on their website at www.fiaerc.com and will live stream selected stages on their Facebook page.
You can follow Team MRF Tyres throughout the rally on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Quotes
Craig Breen, Hyundai i20 Rally2
“It has been a while since the European Rally Championship competed on gravel and I am looking forward to driving the MRF Tyres on gravel again.”“This rally will be very fast and the road conditions in some places will be quite rutted. We had a successful test day, where we were able to see how the car performed in the ruts and on a good surface. It will make for an exciting rally!”
Simone Campedelli, VW Polo R5
“I am excited to be starting in the ERC with MRF Tyres. I have been in the Italian Championship for many years but coming to Rally Poland, I will have to learn the roads. I am looking forward to the challenge.”“Team MRF Tyres have done a great job in developing the tyres and I am looking forward to continuing the development work with them. The aim is to get more tyre data so stage miles are important. Though I am looking forward to pushing on these fast Polish roads!”
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Ace Indian driver Arjun Maini confident of good show: DTM series
Monza (Italy), 16 June 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini is confident of a good season ahead of the opening round of the revamped 2021 DTM series, scheduled to take place at the Monza race circuit in Italy between June 18-20. When quizzed at a press conference today about the probable contenders for the championship, the 23-year-old Indian driver backed himself to be the surprise performance of the season.
The Bangalore-based racer, who is supported by JK Racing, has recorded a series of firsts for Indians racing abroad, and with his foray into DTM is set to become the first Indian to compete full-time in the series. His debut DTM season with Mercedes-AMG backed GetSpeed racing team will mark a new challenge in Maini’s career after his previous expeditions in the FIA Formula 2 championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category.
Speaking about his upcoming debut Maini commented, “I’m delighted to be back racing full-time after the lockdowns affected my 2020 season. I have been wanting to race in DTM since 2015, when I was still in Formula 3, so it feels a bit surreal to finally be able to make my debut. Competing in the series certainly won’t be easy but it’s the challenge that makes this experience so exciting for me.”
Talking about the season opener, Maini, highlighted the importance of tire management at Monza. “I personally love Monza as a circuit, and I think it’s always great for racing. However, the higher temperatures this weekend will result in tire degradation. So, it won’t be a flat-out sprint race, as tire management will be more important.”
Maini also extended thanks to his partners for their support, “As always I’d like to thank my partners for helping me tick another milestone off my bucket list. I wouldn’t have gotten here without the help of my longtime supporter J.K.Tyre who have been with me since my Formula 4 days. I would also like to welcome my latest partner Mumbai Falcons who I’m honored to say have supported my vision of becoming the first Indian to stand on a DTM podium.”
“Finally, I’d like to thank Mercedes-AMG and GetSpeed for giving me the opportunity to race one of these beasts. The Mercedes AMG GT3 race car is enthralling to drive, and I can’t wait to see what happens once the lights turn green on race day.”
DTM is Germany’s premier racing series, with pre-covid track attendance figures topping over 60 thousand on race day. An added dynamic to look out for this year is the championship’s technical overhaul, which now sees the introduction of the powerful and exciting GT3 class of racing cars.
This means that while the series will continue featuring the German triumvirate of Mercedes, BMW, and Audi, this year’s championship will now also welcome Italian stallions Ferrari and Lamborghini along with British stalwarts McLaren.
The 2021 DTM series will be broadcasted live in India at Autocar India’s YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/autocarindia1
Race Schedule – Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, June 19-20.Saturday
Qualifying: 14:00
Race 1: 17:00
Sunday
Qualifying: 13:40
Race 2: 17:00
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Giacomo Agostini, one of the greatest motorcycle riders: MotoGP
Bengaluru, 16 June 2021: On this day in 1942, he was born. 16 June 1942. He went on to become a great motorcycle rider and a MotoGP legend. Many of this generation may not know his exploits but he is one of the greatest-ever that displayed his wares in the World Championship with a stunning record that is unlikely to be broken. He is Giacomo Agostini. Simply, I say one of the best, because MotoGP has produced many legends and we cannot compare stars of different generations for different reasons. But having that said, Agostini is a great legend and a fearless rider who took umpteen risks day in and day out, with virtually safety aspects in primitive mode those days. He survived those obstacles is a tribute to his skills and courage!
He joined the Laureus Foundation in 2000. A write-up from the Foundation, for which this writer had the pleasure of being one of the first judges from the media to select the winners for the annual awards way back in 2004.
Giacomo Agostini
Sport: Motorcycling; Country: Italy; Born: 16 June 1942;
Over 17 remarkable years, the peerless Giacomo Agostini won 15 World Championships and 122 Grand Prix – still both records. He was motor cycling’s first superstar and is still acknowledged as the greatest.
In addition to dominating the Grand Prix circuits of the world throughout his career, he also won ten Isle of Man TT victories, when that race was regarded as one of the most difficult and dangerous challenges in the sport, requiring above all the quality of courage.Brought up in Lovere, near Bergamo, he competed in hill-climbs before being offered a place on Morini’s works team in 1964. He immediately began to impress and was soon given a World Championship ride by MV Agusta, as understudy to British racer Mike Hailwood, who became a mentor to him.Giacomo made his breakthrough in 1965, at the age of 23, when he rode a 350cc bike to victory in its first race, at the Nurburgring. He narrowly missed out on his first World Championship that year.Following the departure of Hailwood to Honda, he became MV’s No 1 rider and responded by winning his first 500cc World Championship in 1966. This was the first of seven successive 500cc titles which he won from 1966 to 1972. He also won the 350cc World Championship title seven times between 1968 and 1974.In 1967 he had a memorable battle with Hailwood in one of the most dramatic seasons ever seen in Grand Prix history. In the 500cc event, the contest went down to the last race in Canada after the two had swapped wins all season. Hailwood won in Canada to tie on points with Giacomo. Each rider had five wins, so it came down to second places, with Giacomo taking the title with three seconds to Hailwood’s two.In 1974 Giacomo surprised the racing world when he switched to Yamaha. In that year, in addition to winning the prestigious Daytona 200, the premier American motor cycle race, he also won his seventh 350cc World Championship, but injuries and mechanical problems hampered his 500cc challenge. However, he came back in 1975 to win the 500cc World Championship for the eighth time – his final world title. Fittingly, in 1976, his last career victory came at the Nurburgring, the German venue where he had won his very first Grand Prix back in 1965.A man of principle, Giacomo shook the motor cycle world when, after the death of his close friend Gilberto Parlotti at the 1972 Isle of Man TT, he announced he would never again race at the event because he considered it unsafe. At the time, the TT was the most prestigious race on the calendar. Other top riders joined his boycott and by 1976 it had been removed from the Grand Prix schedule.At the end of 1977, he moved to car racing, but this was not a happy time for him and in 1980 he retired. However he returned to racing in 1982 as team manager with Yamaha and immediately guided New Zealander Graeme Crosby to a world title. Under Giacomo, American Eddie Lawson won three 500cc World Championships in 1984, 1986 and 1988.
Read the Original article here.
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Good week-end for Jehan Daruvala: F2
Baku (Azerbaijan), 6 June 2021: Red Bull Racing Junior, Jehan Daruvala who drove a good and consistent race to secure his 2nd podium in the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship on Saturday, finished P7 in the feature race, for an overall good week-end with good points.
Jüri Vips took his second win in a row in the Baku Feature Race, beating PREMA Racing duo Oscar Piastri and Robert Shwartzman.
`”Some more points with P7 in the race today. I made some positions at the start but struggled to switch on the prime tyres after the pit stop for a couple of laps. Anyway, a good haul of points this weekend. See you back in Silverstone,” said Jehan after the race on social media.
The Indian racing sensation, in his first visit to the difficult street circuit, finished third in Race 2, at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend. Jehan now stands in 7th place with 53 points after three rounds of the eight rounds.
In Race 2 on Saturday, Jehan made an excellent start from seventh and gained two places into corner one. Into the second corner Jehan made another good overtake on Armstrong, to move up into fourth. Meanwhile behind him others crashed, bringing out the safety car allowing the cars to be cleared safely. The safety car restart saw Jehan take advantage and make an excellent move to overtake Juri Vips for third, but the Estonian got the place back after a few corners.
Jehan soon made up another place, overtaking Dutchman Bent Viscaal. Jehan then settled into a good rhythm in third. One more safety car period ensued, followed by a Virtual Safety Car. Jehan managed to keep his concentration and continued his consistent drive. Past the midway point, Bent Viscaal of the Netherlands in fourth, started piling the pressure on Jehan. The Indian was unfazed and kept his cool and soaked up the immense pressure lap after lap.
Vips won the 21 lap race ahead of Germany’s David Beckman. Jehan was a mere 6 tenths of a second behind to secure his second podium this year in F2, after his fantastic second place in Bahrain earlier this year.
“A decent weekend with good points. I was aggressive at the start of Race 2 and 3 and it paid off well. It was good to be back on the podium and I am confident of fighting for podiums and wins in the upcoming races.” said the 22 year old Indian.
Jehan earlier finished a strong fourth place in Race 1, while Race 3 saw Jehan make up two places from ninth, to finish seventh. Round 4 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship will be held at the famed Silverstone Circuit, as part of the British Grand Prix weekend in mid-July.
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Sergio Perez wins; Verstappen, Hamilton fail to score
Baku, 6 June 2021: Sergio Pérez took his first victory as a Red Bull Racing driver after team-mate Max Verstappen crashed out from the lead due to a puncture with just six laps left and Lewis Hamilton finished outside the points after locking up under braking on the re-start following the red flag for Verstappen’s crash.
At the race start pole sitter Charles Leclerc got away well and took the lead for Ferrari ahead of front-row starter Hamilton. Verstappen made a solid start from third on the grid to take up position behind the Mercedes driver.
Just behind the top three Pérez made a superb start from P6 and halfway through the opening lap he was past Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and had slotted into fourth place.
Hamilton then passed Leclerc on the long straight to taker the lead but with the Ferrari driver soon getting a DRS boost from the defending champion Verstappen was unable to immediately follow suit and pass the Monegasque driver.
But unable to match Hamilton’s pace, Leclerc lost DRS on lap six, however, and as the leaders crossed the line to start the next lap, Verstappen was power past the Ferrari to take P2. Pérez then repeated the overtake on the next lap to steal P3.
Hamilton headed for the pits at the end of lap 11 and moved to hard tyres, but the Mercedes driver was forced to wait on his marks for a few crucial moments as Gasly passed the Mercedes box.
Red Bull responded to the delay by pitting Verstappen at the end of the next lap. And after a quick 1.9s stop the Dutch driver rejoined ahead of Hamilton.
Pérez made his stop for hard tyres on the following lap, but the Mexican overshot his marks sligfhtly and his stop took a slow 4.3 seconds. Despite the delay he emerged ahead of Hamilton.
At the halfway mark, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll held fourth place having not made a pit stop to switch his starting hard tyres. But on lap 30 the Canadian’s left rear tyre suffered a puncture and he crashed into the wall near to the pit entry. The Safety Car was immediately deployed and the pit lane was closed.
After a short delay while Stroll’s car was recovered racing resumed. Verstappen controlled the re-start well and kept his lead ahead of Pérez and Hamilton. Behind them a ferocious tussle for fourth developed among Gasly, Leclerc and Vettel and it was the Aston Martin driver who profited most.
He made a good move past Leclerc to steal fifth after the re-start and soon after powered past Gasly to claim fourth place.
The race then settled again with Verstappen managing the gap to Pérez and with Mexican resisting constant pressure from Hamilton.
But the race took a dramatic turn on lap 46. As he crossed the line Verstappen RB16B slid sideways and he was pitched into the wall on the straight apparently due to an issue with his rear left tyre.
The race was quickly red-flagged and all cars returned to the pit lane. That allowed teams to change tyres ahead of a standing restart.
And when the lights went out it was Hamilton who made the best start. He pulled alongside pole sitter on the inside line as they powered towards Turn 1. But as they hit the brakes Hamilton locked up. Pérez swept through to claim the lead and Hamilton slid down the escape road. He would rejoin but finished in 15th place.
And two laps later Pérez claimed a deserved second career victory. Sebastian Vettel claimed an equally well worked second place for Aston Martin, with Pierre Gasly grabbing another podium for AlpahTauri. Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, while Yuki Tsunoda finished seventh to give AlphaTauri a double points finish. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished in eighth place ahead of McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and the final point was taken by Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Race
1 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 51 2:13’36.410
2 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 51 2:13’37.795 1.385
3 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 51 2:13’39.172 2.762
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 51 2:13’40.238 3.828
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 51 2:13’41.164 4.754
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 51 2:13’42.792 6.382
7 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 51 2:13’43.034 6.624
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 51 2:13’44.119 7.709
9 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 51 2:13’45.284 8.874
10 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 51 2:13’45.986 9.576
11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 51 2:13’46.664 10.254
12 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 51 2:13’47.674 11.264
13 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 51 2:13’50.651 14.24
14 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 51 2:13’50.725 14.315
15 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 51 2:13’54.078 17.668
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 51 2:14’18.789 42.379
17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 48 1:33’22.206 Not running
18 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 45 1:25’35.564 Tyre
Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 29 52’15.262 Tyre
Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 3 6’01.705 Power Unit
