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Ott Tanak-Martin Jarveoja claim first victory of 2021: WRC
Rovaniemi (Finland), 28 Feb 2021: Hyundai Motorsport has claimed its first victory of the 2021 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with an assured performance from start to finish in Arctic Rally Finland, the second round of the season.
Estonian crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja concluded the ten-stage event confidently to win by 17.5-seconds from Kalle Rovanperä with team-mates Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe in third.
The double podium finish for Hyundai Motorsport marks its first-ever top-three result in a Finland-based WRC event and sees the team hold second in the manufacturers’ championship on 77 points, 11 behind the leaders after two rounds.
Tänak took the rally lead on the opening stage on Friday afternoon and never relinquished his authority of the event. With five stage wins out of ten and a measured approach to the final morning, he secured his second-ever win in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC (his first was at his home rally in Estonia last season).
Crews had just one stage to negotiate on the final day, the 22.47km Aittajärvi test, which was run twice. The second pass was held as the rally-concluding Power Stage with extra points available for the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.
Neuville and Wydaeghe, in just their second WRC event as a crew, picked up their second consecutive podium result after another solid weekend performance. They continued to work on their communication and collaboration, using the high-speed rally to make another important step forward in their partnership. A dominant stage win on Saturday evening was a sign of their progress.
Craig Breen and Paul Nagle, in their first WRC event of 2021, ensured all three Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC cars made it safely to the finish, taking fourth. The Irish crew started Sunday with a new gearbox after impressively fast work by the team’s mechanics in the 15-minute morning service and rewarded them for their efforts with the second fastest time in the Power Stage.
For Hyundai Motorsport, the result cemented the team’s 18th victory, and also its 18th double podium in WRC. Neuville, meanwhile, has moved up to second in the drivers’ classification, just four points behind leader Rovanperä, while Tänak opened his 2021 points account in style to jump up to fifth.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)- Second victory for Hyundai Motorsport after a dominant weekend
- Secured the win by 17.5 seconds and added valuable Power Stage points
Tänak said: “This victory is very important and allows us to take away good points for the championship. We came to Finland – the home country of one of our closest rivals – so the pressure was on for sure. We knew it would be complicated to take on the fight but, in the end, we did a very good weekend. The pre-event test was held in very different conditions, so we didn’t really know what to expect. I was pushing the engineers quite a lot, but their hard work really paid off. We tried some new things in shakedown, and it all worked out nicely. This has been an amazing place to come for a rally, definitely one of the best for a winter event; there’s no place where you can have more snow and the characteristics of the road have been very special. Big praise to the organisers – it’s more than a worthy addition to the world championship.”
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Ott Tanak extends lead: Arctic Rally Finland
27 Feb 2021: Ott Tänak mastered Saturday’s second leg of Arctic Rally Finland to carry a substantial lead into Sunday’s finale.
The Estonian won three of the six superfast snow and ice speed tests in his Hyundai i20 to add to Friday’s opening leg double. He heads Kalle Rovanperä by 24.1sec with two more remaining at this second round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
His joy was in contrast to the disappointment suffered by World Champion Sébastien Ogier. The championship leader buried his Toyota Yaris into a snowbank 200 metres from the end of the closing test and plunged off the leaderboard as he battled for 20min to dig it out.
Tänak stretched his advantage to 23.6sec after winning two of this morning’s three stages in perfect winter conditions in Lapland’s forests. He held the Finnish youngster and a fast-closing Thierry Neuville at bay this afternoon to put himself in a strong position.
Despite overnight set-up changes to his Yaris, Rovanperä remained frustrated with his car’s balance. He yielded a few seconds after swiping a snowbank and after winning the penultimate stage, he came under fierce pressure from a charging Neuville in the final test.
The Belgian’s tyre strategy worked to perfection and he was quickest by more than 12sec to slash Rovanpera’s advantage to 1.8sec. It was a better afternoon for Neuville who earlier struggled to hear co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe’s pace notes above his i20’s engine noise.
Team-mate Craig Breen found tyre management more tricky as conditions worsened this afternoon. With frozen gravel poking through the ice and loose snow on the surface, the Irishman fell back to fourth, almost 30sec adrift of Neuville.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans broke Tänak’s run of stage wins this morning but the Welshman also struggled to manage his tyres and admitted he was often too cautious. He was 10.1sec behind Breen.
Oliver Solberg surpassed all expectations on his FIA WRC World Rally Car debut. The 19-year-old was a stunning third in the opening stage and returned to the Rovaniemi base in sixth – despite losing his glasses ahead of the final stage!
Takamoto Katsuta finished 7.6sec behind after a daylong scrap with Solberg and Ogier, with Ford Fiesta duo Teemu Suninen and Gus Greensmith next up. FIA WRC2 leader Esapekka Lappi completed the leaderboard in a Skoda Fabia.
Lorenzo Bertelli retired his Fiesta after plunging into a snowbank in the opening stage, while Pierre-Louis Loubet exited with technical troubles after doing the same later on.
In FIA WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen, driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2 for Toksport, pushed hard to stay on Lappi’s tail. The Norwegian admitted he was already driving on the limit and didn’t have much more to give. Nikolay Gryazin is 36.0sec behind Mikkelsen in third.
In the FIA WRC3 class, home hero Teemu Asunmaa still leads the way, 12.5sec ahead of Estonia’s Egon Kaur and with a comfortable advantage of 1min and 18sec over another fellow Finn, Eerik Pietarinen.
Sunday’s finale comprises two runs of the 22.47km Aittajärvi test, south of Rovaniemi. The second pass forms the live TV Wolf Power Stage, with bonus points up for grabs for the top five drivers and manufacturers.
The provisionnal classification can be consulted here.
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India to conduct 11 Nationals in different motorsports disciplines in 2021
Bengaluru, 27 Feb 2021: The Indian Federation which runs the motorsports in the country, FMSCI, has announced that 11 National championships would be held in the year 2021. The major difference would be the dropping of the Indian National Drag Championshipo for four wheelers, which was not held in 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic.
The addition would be Indian National Gymkhana Championship which the current President Mr Akbar Ebrahim promised in 2018 during his last stint as the chief of the Indian body which is the ASN of FIA. The X30 Karting Nationals too have disappeared from the National Championship list and the Indian National Autocross Championship regains its place after a haitus of a few years.
FMSCI, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, is the governing body for running motorsports in the country and are recognised by the Ministry of Sports but are not in the priority list of sports nor are funded by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), an arm of the Ministry.
It is interesting to note that Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) the rights holder for the National Racing Championship for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers have also announced the Calendar for 2022 in both the disciplines. MMSC is the promoter for the two events, along with the Drag Nationals for three years from 2019 to 2021, but due to the COVID pandemic, the Federation has granted an extended fourth year for all the promoters.
Following are the Nationals to be run in 2021:
1. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship
2. JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship
3. FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship
4. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship
5. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Supercross Championship
6. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Rally Championship 2W
7. MMS FMSCI National Karting Championship
8. FMSCI Indian National Autocross Championship
9. MMSC FMSCI Indian National 2W Drag Championship
10. FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2021
11. FMSCI Indian National Gymkhana Championship – 2021
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Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow presents its 2021 colours
Maranello 27 Feb 2021: Today, Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow presented the 2021 team in an on-line event which involved not only team partners and the media but also over 300 fans fans linked up from all over the world to see Charles Leclerc’s and Carlos Sainz’s first official appearance of the year in Scuderia colours.
From Maranello to the world. The event began with a short film presenting this season’s driver pairing, as they chatted away. There was obvious chemistry between them, as had already been seen after the Fiorano test a few weeks back, when they drove a 2018 F1 car. After the film, Charles, Carlos and Team Principal Mattia Binotto were seen in a studio setting in the Ferrari Museum in Maranello.
A year for redemption. Binotto was the first to speak, explaining that “2021 will be a particularly challenging year. After a difficult season last year, we know that we have to come good in this championship and it will be important to demonstrate our will to win, even though we know this will be a transition year, partly because the regulations do not allow us to substantially change the car and we will simply bring an evolution to the track. We have identified what were the problems with the SF1000 and we have improved the car in all the areas allowed by the regulations. We have a new engine, revised aerodynamics and a modified rear end. We want to do well and can’t wait to take to the track and go up against our competition, to check how good a job we have done.”
Every detail counts. Mattia Binotto also tackled the topic of the reorganisation of the technical department, which was recently updated. “We are aware that in seasons like the one that lies ahead, the slightest detail can make a difference and so we have worked on every front,” he said. “The changes made in the technical department also have this in mind, because we believe that defining the roles and responsibilities in the best way possible means everyone in the team can give their best. That will be even more important this year when we also have to work on the 2022 car, which required a clean sheet of paper in terms of its design, since there will be radical changes to the regulations.”
Drivers. The Team Principal also spoke about the new driver pairing. “They are young and similar in certain respects and I think they are very strong,” he stated. “I know they can’t wait to go head to head on track, but I know they are both aware that, first and foremost comes Ferrari and its interests and so there is no hierarchy. If we were to be clever enough to become the dominant force in Formula 1, then maybe we can start to make certain assessments. But for the moment, there is no room for this sort of discussion. First we need to catch up with our competitors.”
Tifosi. While the majority of questions from the media were aimed at Binotto, when it was the turn of the fans to link up to the studio discussion, Charles and Carlos were centre stage. Naturally, enough, the Monegasque confirmed he is impatient to go racing, while also saying that despite everything he was proud of how he had performed in 2020. “Having gone through a difficult season like the last one, it has made me more patient and above all, has made me understand how much small details can make a difference,” he affirmed. “I improved my tyre management and worked on the quality of feedback I gave to the engineers and that will also prove useful this season.”
Honour and responsibility. Carlos Sainz was the newcomer today. “I am now counting the hours until I drive the SF21 for the first time,” said the Spaniard. “Being part of the team with the most history and most wins in Formula 1 is a great source of pride for me but it also brings with it a responsibility. I have already spent two months in Maranello, I have got to know the team, their faces and their names. During this time, I realised how important Ferrari is and how being a driver for this team also means being a global ambassador for Italy. I am really looking forward to entertaining our fans.”
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Nyck de Vries sprints to victory: Formula E
Diriyah, 26 Feb 2021: Just as he did in both free practice sessions, and just as he did in qualifying, Nyck de Vries left his competitors eating his desert dust in this evening’s opening leg of the Diriyah E-Prix, sprinting to the first victory of his ABB FIA Formula E World Championship career as Mercedes-EQ picked up from where it had left off in Berlin last summer – on the top step of the rostrum.
From his maiden Formula E pole position, de Vries made a textbook launch when the lights went out, as fellow front row sitter Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) found himself grappling with wheelspin and a Turn One lock-up that not only forced him to fight off the attentions of countryman René Rast behind, but also gifted de Vries a solid early lead.
By the time Wehrlein had composed himself to consolidate second place, de Vries was up the road, and whilst the German went on to close the gap and briefly apply some pressure, it was not long before his Dutch rival began stretching his legs again.
Even two safety car interruptions could not disrupt de Vries’ impressive rhythm, as the 26-year-old maturely handled the neutralisations in his stride, going on to take the chequered flag more than four seconds clear of his closest pursuer.
The battle for the runner-up spoils was ultimately settled in favour of Edoardo Mortara, who kept his powder dry in the initial stages before pulling off a supremely committed pass on the main straight to thread the needle between Mitch Evans and Wehrlein and spectacularly steal two positions in a single manoeuvre. The ROKiT Venturi Racing ace then took full advantage of the race’s second safety car intervention to outfox Rast for second.
Jaguar Racing’s Evans was another to demote Rast in the closing laps, pinching the final podium position from his Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler adversary and relegating the German to fourth in the final reckoning.
Wehrlein ultimately faded to fifth, struggling increasingly to maintain pace and energy on his return to Formula E, with Nissan e.dams’ Oliver Rowland following him home in sixth after trying every which way to prise open the door late on. The Briton made the best of the first group conditions in qualifying to snare a top ten grid berth, before making further progress during the race.
Former Diriyah winner Alexander Sims wound up seventh for Mahindra Racing, with de Vries’ Mercedes-EQ stablemate Stoffel Vandoorne gaining seven spots from his starting position to cross the finish line in eighth.
Lucas Di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) was another big mover – the 2016/17 title-holder advancing from 16th to ninth – with Oliver Turvey claiming the final point on offer in tenth, getting NIO 333 immediately off the mark following a scoreless 2019/20 campaign.
Defending champion António Félix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) could manage no better than 11th from his lowly 18thstarting slot, with fellow title-winners Sébastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams) and Jean-Éric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) similarly missing out on points in 13th and 15th respectively.
There was disappointment, too, for Jaguar Racing’s Sam Bird and Mahindra Racing’s Alex Lynn, whose spirited scrap for sixth just before mid-distance ended in tears and a collision – forcing both into retirement and prompting the race’s first neutralisation. Maximilian Günther (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) was the only other non-finisher after side-swiping the wall in an incident that brought out the second safety car.
Happily for all three, they immediately have a chance to make amends in round two of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season tomorrow (Saturday, 20:00 local time) – but on today’s evidence, the biggest question would appear to be if anybody can beat the dominant de Vries…
Nyck de Vries, Mercedes-EQ
“My first victory in Formula E! What a fantastic result and a perfect start to our second season. I don’t know why, but I was quite calm after the race despite the pleasure of winning. It’s been a great weekend for me so far, setting the fastest time in every session and then winning the E-Prix itself. That’s obviously a very nice feeling, but it was by no means an easy race. There were so many safety car deployments, and it was difficult to always select the right energy management. It took a lot of communication with the team, but it’s great that I was able to come home with the win in the end. Many thanks to the whole team. I know it sounds like a cliché, but everyone in our team has worked very hard over the winter to get us up here on the podium today. So again, a huge thank you to the whole squad for their tireless work. You’ve earned this victory.”
Edoardo Mortara, ROKiT Venturi Racing
“It’s good to be back on the podium, apart from the races in Berlin, last season wasn’t too bad for us. We are a small team and it isn’t easy to get good results against big manufacturers with a lot more resources than us. These results are a victory for us. We were really competitive and hopefully it is going to be the same tomorrow. It was crucial to overtake Pascal, he overconsumed after taking Attack Mode. There wasn’t much space to overtake but I went for it and was lucky. Very happy with our result today.”
Mitch Evans, Jaguar Racing
“I felt like I knew what Edoardo was going to do. I wasn’t going to be able to defend so it was an easy pass for him. I was more worried about Pascal but I managed to pass him at the same time. At that point it was good to keep the momentum going. The pace was quite strong and I had a very strong rhythm before the first safety car. The first safety car affected us and made us burn an Attack Mode but overall the pace was really good. Huge congratulations to Nyck and Edoardo but especially my team.”
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Tanak dominates Day 1 on Arctic Rally Finland
Rovaniemi (Finland), 26 Feb 2021: Ott Tänak threw down the gauntlet in Lapland’s frozen forests by winning the opening two speed tests to build a dominant lead at Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox on Friday night.
The Estonian was the class of the field in the first of three days of Arctic action. He was fastest in the first 31.05km Sarriojärvi test by 3.6sec before crushing his rivals by almost 10sec in the repeat run in darkness.
Tänak returned to the overnight halt in Rovaniemi with a 16.2sec advantage over Hyundai i20 team-mate Craig Breen, with home hero Kalle Rovanperä 20.4sec adrift in a Toyota Yaris in third.
Pirelli’s tyres provided amazing grip as the tungsten-tipped studded rubber bit into the snow and ice-covered roads. Tänak was one of the few frontrunners to gamble on just one spare tyre for the pair of stages.
Breen, returning to the FIA World Rally Championship after a four-rally absence, was quickly back in the groove. Top three times on both stages put the Irishman ahead of the eager 20-year-old Rovanperä.
The Finn’s first stage split times were quicker than Tänak, but a mistake after the midpoint slowed his progress. On roads littered with tricky blind crests, he recorded the top speed, clocking a remarkable 204.8kph in the second pass.
Thierry Neuville put a third i20 into the top four. The Belgian was 9.4sec behind Rovanperä and complained of understeer in the second run, but he had 2.2sec in hand over Elfyn Evans’ Toyota Yaris in fifth.
Teemu Suninen was sixth in a Ford Fiesta, with Takamoto Katsuta 4.3sec back in seventh in another Yaris.
Oliver Solberg was a remarkable eighth on his championship World Rally Car debut. The teenager made a minor mistake in the opening stage in his i20, but was fourth in the second pass, despite being guided by stand-in co-driver Seb Marshall for the first time.
Championship leader Sébastien Ogier was almost 50sec off the lead in ninth in his Yaris. Road conditions improved progressively so first in the order proved a tough task for the Frenchman, especially as snow flurries left loose powder on the surface for the second pass.
Gus Greensmith completed the leaderboard in a Fiesta but Pierre-Louis Loubet’s hopes took a setback in the second run when he lost more than 3min 30sec after changing a flat tyre.
In FIA WRC2, local hero and 2020 WRC contender Esapekka Lappi tops the provisional leaderboard with a Movisport-entered Volkswagen Polo GTI with a lead of 13.6s over his team-mate Nicolay Gryazin and Toksport’s championship leader Andreas Mikkelsen in a Škoda Fabian Evo.
In FIA WRC3, Finland’s Emil Lindholm is 10.9s ahead of national champion Teemu Asunmaa. Estonia’s Egon Kaur is third the overnight standings; another 10.4s behind.
The bulk of the rally takes place in Saturday’s second leg. A compact clockwise route south-east of Rovaniemi is driven twice, with service in between. The final stage runs in darkness and the six tests add up to 144.04km of action.
Classification after Day One
1 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 31:50.7 2 C. Breen P. Nagle Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +16.2 3 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC +20.4 4 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +29.8 5 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota Yaris WRC +32.0 6 T. Suninen M. Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC +34.5 7 T. Katsuta D. Barritt Toyota Yaris WRC +38.8 8 O. Solberg S. Marshall Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +45.9 9 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC +49.8 10 G. Greensmith E. Edmondson Ford Fiesta WRC +1:05.8 The provisional results can be consulted here.
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Joan Mir, the profile of a champion: MotoGP 2020 winner
The year 2020 has been a difficult year, not just for sport, but in every sphere, for every country, and for every sport and MotoGP is not an exception. But like Formula 1, MotoGP too put together a season and had successfully completed the year conducting the races in a bio-bubble.
And beating all odds, it is one man who conquered all the glory. The 23-year old Joan Mir!
“A string of solid results culminated in a superb win at the European GP in Valencia and just one week later, at the same circuit, Joan took his first MotoGP crown in style. Becoming Suzuki’s first champion for 20 years.”
Born on 1st September, 1997, Joan Mir Mayrata (Palma de Mallorca, 1997) has not had the archetypal career path into MotoGP. In fact, his beginnings in motorcycling came much later than that of his rivals in the road racing championships. His first motorcycle was a Polini when he was 6-years old, until he received a small Honda QR as a gift one year later. But unusually, his family didn’t have an excessive fervour for bikes – everyone around him was more into off-road riding than on track, and most were enthusiastic about other sports. His father Joan, in fact, owns a skating shop in Mallorca, so little Joan grew up surrounded by skateboard decks.
It was not until he saw his cousin Joan Perelló, who was in the Stop & Go team in the World Championship, that he became fascinated with speed. An admirer of his countryman Rafael Nadal, Joan admitted in an interview that “like Rossi, I do not look-up to anyone”. And yet, paradoxically, his first experience of racing at the track arrived at Chicho Lorenzo’s school, where he remained for a year. From there, he moved to the Balearic Motorcycling Federation’s school in 2009. There someone discovered that Joan had more to offer than just his enthusiastic smile. It’s also where he met Daniel Vadillo, who advises him and has accompanied him to each race since then. “We saw that he had something different,” said Dani.
EARLY VICTORIES
He then started the adventure of the Bankia Cup in the XL 160 category, in 2011. The Mallorcan won the crown with two races left before the championship came to a permanent close. Then came the MotoGP Pre-GP 125 Cup, the next step in the arduous climb to the World Championship, and Joan did not hold back, securing another title. In 2012, Joan headed to the Red Bull Rookies Cup where he completed two seasons; 2013- 2014. During the first year of adaptation, the Balearic rider finished 9th in the general standings while in the second year he finished runner-up after a very close battle with Spaniard Jorge Martín.
FIGHTING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY
A somewhat turbulent 2015 arrived, in which some challenging circumstances arose. Joan, already prepared to start his career in the FIM CEV Championship, was left out because the Leopard Racing team cancelled the project at the last moment. Joan and his entourage got in touch with rider manager Paco Sánchez, and he helped the youngster to complete the CEV championship with a Ioda bike in the Team Machado but finally supported by Leopard Racing team. Then, just as the season was reaching its end and Joan was on vacation, he received a call from Leopard Racing team again, they wanted him to replace Japan’s Hiroki Ono, injured, at the Australian Grand Prix. A wild card appearance that was worth its weight in gold. After a low key debut Joan, who was 15th on the grid at Phillip Island, got a rocket start and placed himself in the lead group, but crashed out whilst in 4th. He had nevertheless left his mark. Leopard recognised his achievement and recruited him for the 2016 season.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPOT AND TITLE
And so it was that the World Championship officially welcomed Joan Mir in 2016. And he quickly proved his worth; in Austria Joan surprised everyone with a superb race that gave him his first victory and his debut podium in the category. He finished the championship in fifth position, as Rookie of the Year, after getting three podiums, one pole, and two fastest laps. It turned out to be the perfect warm up for the 2017 season – 10 wins, 13 podiums, and a dominant title campaign. His strength and talent were clear and the Mallorcan won the Moto3 crown. An ideal way to graduate to Moto2…
MOTO 2
He entered Moto2 with Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS. Adapting quickly, Joan seemed competitive from the beginning and onlookers sensed a podium was coming. He did indeed secure his first Moto2 podium in France, and soon after in Italy. However, his promising start fizzled out a little for various reasons. All in all, Joan finished the season in 6th position and was awarded as Rookie of the Year just one day before testing in Valencia – his first experience riding the GSXRR with the Team SUZUKI ECSTAR.
MOTOGP CLIMB
Joan’s debut season in MotoGP in 2019 saw him adapting quickly to the Suzuki way of working, and he said his introduction to the team was like “finding a second family”. At his first race, in Qatar, he achieved a great 8th place. He went on to score a further nine Top 10 finishes, despite a debilitating mid-season injury which saw him miss two rounds. Joan returned to secure his best result, an impressive 5th place, in Thailand, he then backed this up with two further 5th place finishes in the last two races of the season in Malaysia and Spain. He completed his rookie season 12th in the Championship standings. With his focus on adjusting his riding style to better suit the GSX-RR’s own strengths, the youngster was ambitious and aiming high for the 2020 season.
100 YEARS CHAMPION
In a unique and strange season deeply marked by the threat of Covid-19, Team Suzuki Ecstar and Joan Mir kept their focus on racing. 2020 also marked Suzuki’s 100th anniversary and 60 years in competition. Despite the season getting off to a tricky start with a couple of DNFs, Joan bounced back quickly and continued to learn the traits of his GSX-RR with maturity and determination. A 2nd place finish at the fourth round in Austria set the tone for the remainder of the season, and before long the young rider from Mallorca found himself in title contention. A string of solid results culminated in a superb win at the European GP in Valencia and just one week later, at the same circuit, Joan took his first MotoGP crown in style. Becoming Suzuki’s first champion for 20 years.
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Mir, Quartararo, Miller rev up ahead of Qatar test
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya plays host as a few familiar faces blast away the winter cobwebs
Barcelona, 24 Feb 2021: With the Qatar Test fast approaching, the time is now to start getting bike and race ready. On Wednesday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, a few familiar faces were thinking the same as a host of MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 riders took to the track on road bikes to start warming up for the 2021 season. On the agenda? Getting back in the groove – and checking out the new Turn 10.
2021 is a year that sees a huge amount of changes, not least the man beginning the year as the reigning World Champion: Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). He was a headline presence, joined by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), his teammate Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) from the premier class.
There were a good number of Moto2 and Moto3 riders present too. Remy Gardner and Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Raul Fernandez were in attendance, as were Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing) and reigning Moto3 World Champion Albert Arenas (Aspar Team Moto2) as he gets ready for 2021 as a Moto2 rookie. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) repped for Moto3 as he gears up to settle into his new team, with the likes of FIM Enel MotoE World Cup rider Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) also joining the ranks.
Joan Mir: “I feel great on the bike, I’m happy because I was able to do a lot of laps today and try the new corner, it was important to understand how to do it and find the correct line to have an idea when we come back in future with the MotoGP bike. A productive day, I’m happy about that and I’m ready for Qatar.
“I’m preparing in the same way as before, training hard and trying to be healthy, working every day on what I want. To be a better rider, to be more complete. I’m happy about the preseason we’re doing!”
Fabio Quartararo: “Since Portimao I haven’t been on a racetrack, so I was feeling good, everything was standard so it’s quite easy to ride. I’m happy, just to get back the muscle on a road bike.
“The turn layout is quite different, but it feels good. It’s between the old one and the F1 layout. I like it, and I’m happy to be back, one step closer to Qatar.
“For the first two races it will be fine after less days of testing, the problem will be when we arrive in Portimao which is a totally different track and was quite difficult last year with the M1. For Qatar I’m not stressed, but it’s more about Portimao to see how the bike is working and everything. Let’s see but first of all we need to enjoy these moments, I’m happy to ride today and can’t wait to be in Qatar for the first test!”
Jack Miller: “It’s like an official test here! It’s really nice to get out here, the Montmelo circuit is fantastic and to have similar like the old layout is fantastic at Turn 10, you can carry the speed a lot, the asphalt has a lot of grip so 10/10 job for them. It’s great to be on track with all of these great riders again and super excited to do it all again in a couple of weeks in Qatar.
“I feel excited, Qatar has normally been a track I enjoy a lot although I haven’t had the best of luck there. But I feel confident leading into the Grand Prix, lots of work to do in a short amount of time but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Pol Espargaro: “It was cool, coming back from a long time… seeing rivals, Moto2 and Moto3 riders fighting each other! It’s nice to start feeling that racing spirit already before Qatar. All winters are long but this one has been especially long, waiting for that moment. I’m really looking forward to jumping on the bike to see what I can achieve where a lot of riders have struggled. I have the opportunity to wear these colours and for me it’s a big responsibility but a moment in my career I’ve dreamed a lot about. I feel like now is my time and I’m going to try and make it happen.
“This winter I’ve been pushing a lot on dirt bikes, motocross, I was flat out. For months, maybe a month and a half just riding the bike, and I really enjoy it. I’ve never ridden so much motocross. Every year I try and put in something different to be a better Pol and a better rider, and I think this year was the time to push with motocross more than other years and I’ve been training a lot.”Riders observe a minute of silence in honour of Fausto Gresini, paying their respects to the legendary Italian -
Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team signs SentinelOne as Cybersecurity Partner
SentinelOne, the autonomous cybersecurity platform company, is announced today as the Official Cybersecurity Partner of Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, as Aston Martin makes its return to Formula One after an absence of 61 years.
SentinelOne’s new partnership with Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team complements the leading cybersecurity company’s ongoing partnership with Aston Martin Lagonda. In 2018, following an exhaustive competitive tender process, Aston Martin Lagonda selected SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR platform to revolutionise its approach to cybersecurity and protect every Aston Martin endpoint, IoT device, and cloud workload with AI-powered technology that prevents and adapts to cyber attacks at machine speed. Now, Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team will be protected in the same way.
In addition to the mission-critical services that SentinelOne will provide, the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team has acquired equity in SentinelOne, in a highly innovative and ground-breaking deal that binds the two companies together in a way that will facilitate an exceptional and game-changing level of technical co-operation.Tomer Weingarten, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, SentinelOne, said: “The parallels between Aston Martin and SentinelOne are strong, and it is an honour to support the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team’s much-anticipated return to the top tier of global motorsport. We both share a relentless passion for innovation and desire to disrupt the status quo and an appreciation of the significance of speed. These core principles are at the soul of this partnership and represent the power of Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team and SentinelOne.” SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR platform continuously evolves to proactively secure global enterprises and Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team against advanced threats. Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team handles huge amounts of data across a very complex infrastructure. In order to stay competitive, all of that information must be fully secured. As Official Cybersecurity Partner, SentinelOne empowers Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team with adaptive cybersecurity that blocks threats in real time. In so doing, SentinelOne is protecting the team – both on and off of track – from every attack at every stage of the threat life cycle. Lawrence Stroll, Chairman, Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, said: “I am delighted that SentinelOne will be one of Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team’s key partners as we take Aston Martin back where it belongs, the top table of international motorsport, namely Formula One. Tomer Weingarten [Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, SentinelOne] and I have enjoyed our discussions, and it is clear that our two companies have much in common. Ours will be a very real partnership, delivering genuine performance enhancements to the safe and smooth running of our team.” Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Executive Officer and Team Principal, Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, said: “Since 2018 SentinelOne has demonstrated compelling attributes in securing Aston Martin Lagonda against an ever-evolving threat landscape. Now that the AI-powered cybersecurity leader is also partnered with Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team, those same compelling attributes will make a very real contribution to three vital on-track ‘esses’: safety, security and success. In a nutshell, SentinelOne will provide us with an AI platform that facilitates a situation wherein human beings are freer to make the right decisions; the corollary of that is that it will help prevent human error. That is going to be a game-changer for us. A Formula One team is a highly technical operation, handling literally millions of data points, engaging in split-second decision making, and introducing design and performance improvements on a 24-7 basis. State-of-the-art cybersecurity is crucial to that: it allows a Formula One team and its drivers to push the limits of performance, knowing that they are protected by the most advanced systems.” Jefferson Slack, Managing Director – Commercial and Marketing, Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, said: “This year is a pivotal moment in Aston Martin’s glorious history, as we return to the pinnacle of global motorsport, and SentinelOne is the ideal cybersecurity partner to help us achieve our goals. The two companies also share many of the same brand values: driven by technology, motivated by competition, and inspired by the desire to win. SentinelOne joins an already impressive roster of Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team partners, with more to come very soon. Watch this space.” About SentinelOne SentinelOne is the only cybersecurity solution encompassing AI-powered prevention, detection, response and hunting across endpoints, containers, cloud workloads, and IoT devices in a single autonomous XDR platform. With SentinelOne, organisations gain full transparency into everything happening across the network at machine speed – to defeat every attack, at every stage of the threat lifecycle. To learn more, visit www.sentinelone.com or follow us at @SentinelOne, on LinkedIn or Facebook. About Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team After more than 60 years away from Formula One, Aston Martin returns to Grand Prix racing in 2021. With one of the most iconic emblems in the world emblazoned above the garages and a team of over 450 passionate men and women at its heart, this is a team with both a rich heritage and a fresh perspective – bringing new energy to the sport with a determination to shake up the order and compete at the sharp end.
A growing family, where like-minded people from all walks of life are encouraged to be a part of our journey and given a platform to thrive, our mission is to use the global platform of motorsport to engage a new wave of fans – showcasing the technology and innovation which live at our core while representing the values that resonate with the changing world in which we live. -
Two-time champ Fausto Gresini is no more
MotoGP and Dorna Sports are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Fausto Gresini. A two-time World Champion in the 125cc class and a key figure in the paddock as founder of the Gresini Team thereafter, the legendary Italian will be deeply missed.
Gresini began competing in the 125cc World Championship in 1983 and took his debut win the following season. The year after that he took more wins and podiums on his way to taking the crown for the first time as he won the 1985 125cc World Championship. Runner up in 1986, the Italian fought back to take 10 wins on his way to reclaiming the crown in 1987, cementing his place in Grand Prix history.
Gresini competed until 1994 and accrued 21 wins overall, becoming one of the most successful riders of his era in the 125cc class. After hanging up his leathers, he then found equal and impressive success as he began a career on the other side of the pit wall.
His journey as Team Manager began in 1997, and the Gresini team took a World Championship for the first time in 2001 with Japanese rider Daijiro Kato as the two dominated the 250cc class together. Further Championships came in 2010 in Moto2 with Toni Elias and 2018 in Moto3 with Jorge Martin, as well as 2019 as the team won the inaugural FIM Enel MotoE World Cup with Matteo Ferrari. The teams that bear his name compete across all three classes of the FIM MotoGP World Championship in 2021, from MotoGP to Moto3, as well as MotoE, and will race on in his honour.
Gresini’s memory will live on both in his achievements on track and his legacy as team founder and manager. MotoGP and Dorna Sports extend their deepest condolences to all those the legendary Italian leaves behind; his family, friends, colleagues, teams and more, at this most difficult time.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “I’m deeply saddened by the loss of Fausto. He was a very good friend and I liked him a lot. I have been following the news on his condition closely and I was lucky enough to be able to speak to him even as he was in hospital. I am so very sorry to suffer a loss like this in the paddock and I want to send my deepest condolences to his family, friends and the members of his team.”
