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  • Jehan Daruvala is raring to go ahead of F3’s third round

    The Stakes 
    With the dust barely settled on last weekend’s blistering action in France, the Red Bull Ring in Austria welcomes the F3 paddock for Round 3 of the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship and the Indian racer Jehan Daruvala, who is running second in the championship with a win and a podium in the last round is raring to go.
    PREMA Racing put in another mightily impressive display at Le Castellet, but they didn’t have everything their own way as Trident’s Niko Kari went fastest during Friday’s practice. The PREMA pair of Jehan Daruvala and Robert Shwartzman then thought they’d done enough to secure a front row lock-out during qualifying, only to be denied at the death by a fantastic last-ditch effort from HWA RACELAB’s Jake Hughes to snatch pole position. Ultimately, the Italian team were not to be denied however as Daruvala and Shwartzman finished first and second in an enthralling Race 1 with Pedro Piquet bringing home his Trident machine in third. The Brazilian went one step better in Race 2 after an impressive drive, finishing P2 to split Shwartzman and Daruvala who now have two wins each this season.
    Shwartzman (70 pts) leads Daruvala (58 pts) at the top of the Drivers’ standings, with fellow PREMA man Marcus Armstrong (35 pts) 23 points further back in third; PREMA are dominating the Teams’ Championship at this early stage with 163 points but there’s plenty of points still available. ART Grand Prix (50 pts) are in second, with third-placed Trident (41 pts) nine points behind.
    The Red Bull Ring plays host to F3 for the third round of the championship, with the drivers battling hard on the smooth Austrian surface. There weather is expected to be glorious and Pirelli are providing Soft compound tyres for the weekend. With no mandatory pit stops and 30 cars fighting wheel-to-wheel up, down and around the short, scenic track in the mountains, it’s sure to make for fantastic viewing once again!
    Warm Up // Fabio Scherer – Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    “For me it’s a lovely track. It’s up and downhill, so it’s quite nice. The difficult thing is to always get the exit right for the first three corners and then the track changes a bit with high-speed parts so you need to adapt quite well in one lap. The first three corners are also great places to overtake for sure. I guess, when it works, you can maybe overtake in front of Turn 6 as well. For a seven-corner track that’s quite a lot of overtaking opportunities!
    “It’s actually nice because you can race quite well, so it makes it interesting. There’s plenty of action and plenty of racing. Normally the races there are really good so I’m really looking forward to it. I think it will be fun!
    “Normally we don’t have to worry that much about tyre degradation because the surface is quite smooth tarmac. The tyres don’t tend to overheat too much and the good thing with the long straights is that the tyres can cool down if they do. That means that it should be a good track to push on as well.
    “I’ve had some good races there in the past, and a few bad moments too including one where I flipped the car, but the race pace and speed was always there.”
    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing
    “Austria presents a marked contrast to the last round at Paul Ricard a few days ago, but we can expect similarly warm, or perhaps even hotter conditions. Drivers will have to pay particular attention to thermal degradation. In F3, we’re using our third type of tyre in three races, so there will be plenty for the drivers to get used to at this spectacular venue.”
    Season Stats
    82 The total number of points PREMA Racing earned in Round 2, after taking 81 points from Round 1.
    7 The number of times (from a possible 12) a PREMA driver has stood on the podium.
    12 The points gap between Robert Shwartzman and teammate Jehan Daruvala at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.
    1 Jake Hughes grabbed HWA RACELAB’s first ever F3 pole position in France.
    Noteworthy
    Between them, PREMA Racing teammates Robert Shwartzman and Jehan Daruvala have won all four races of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, with each having a Race 1 and a Race 2 win
    Just 12 points separate Shwartzman and Daruvala at the top of the Driver’s Championship
    Daruvala has led more laps than any other driver in the championship so far with 34
    PREMA were the only team to see all three of their drivers score points in both races at Circuit Paul Ricard, and they are 113 points ahead of second-placed ART Grand Prix in the Teams’ Championship. Sauber Junior Team by Charouz are the only team yet to score a point
    13 different drivers scored points in Round 2 – Shwartzman, Daruvala and Marcus Armstrong of PREMA, Jüri Vips of Hitech Grand Prix, Pedro Piquet from Trident, ART’s David Beckmann, Bent Viscaal and Jake Hughes of HWA RACELAB, Alex Peroni of Campos Racing, Logan Sargeant of Carlin Buzz Racing, MP Motorsport’s Liam Lawson and Richard Verschoor and Jenzer Motorsport’s Yuki Tsunoda
    Argentina-born racer Giorgio Carrara will join Tsunoda and Andreas Estner to take the empty seat at Jenzer Motorsport vacated by Artem Petrov.

  • The Cathedral of Speed beckons, the race you don’t want to miss: MotoGP

    Assen, 26 June 2019: The headlines in Barcelona were dominated by one incident, but looking ahead to the Motul TT Assen round of the MotoGP World Motorcycle Racing Championship, they certainly shouldn’t remain that way. The script for the Catalan GP was written early but if there’s one venue where the plan always gets a shake up, it’s Assen. Whether it’s final chicane drama, the incredible close racing often created by the track or the risks that can arise from the weather, the Dutch GP is often as classic as the circuit around which it is raced. And the TT Circuit Assen truly is a classic – it’s the longest-serving venue on the calendar, with the first traces of the track already laid as the Championship was in its infancy. There’s no place like the Cathedral.

    For Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), it has a mix of good and not-so-good memories, but this season he now arrives 37 points clear as the dust settles after Round 7 and that’s worth more than a little spring in his step. He’s also now in the best position of power he’s been in all year, but that can fall both ways – attack and defend. Will he play it safer to protect that lead? Or will he feel free to go all-out and attack with less now at stake?

    Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) is the first man hoping Marquez will play the wrong hand. Looking good in the early stages after another stellar start, ‘DesmoDovi’ was the biggest casualty of The Incident in Barcelona in terms of the Championship and it’s now game on for the Italian. It’s no longer enough to keep more of an eye on the long game, he now has to go weapons free in a bid to close down that lead. Both he and teammate Danilo Petrucci have showed they can take on Marquez and win this season – but can they do that at Assen?

    One joker in the pack – in terms of what had increasingly become a Honda vs Ducati fight at the front, plus Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) – will likely be the Yamahas. Especially at Assen. Qualifying was a stellar day for the Iwata marque in Barcelona before race day saw big rewards for the man who finished, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), and pace was not what put the proverbial spanner in the works of his fellow M1 riders. First crash out the way earlier in the weekend, Quartararo rode a stunner to take his first podium and that could release the rookie from a few nerves at Assen – but in those first few laps it was Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) stealing the scene.

    After a litany of sluggish getaways – plus a jump start – Viñales in 2019 was the late race pace man (and the bad luck man, now crashed out through no fault of his own a few frustrating times). But in Barcelona he was out the gate more aggressively than we’ve just about ever seen from him, chopping his way through to the business end before his race was chopped short. Would that have continued all race? In Assen the number 12 will be an interesting one to watch, and he was a key player in the battle of Assen 2018. His teammate, however, will likely have even more eyes on him.

    Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) fills the stands wherever he goes, and the Dutch GP is no exception. But some circuits have seen him accrue better track records than others, and the TT Circuit Assen is one the number 46 has set alight time and again, winning ten times in total. If Saturday at Catalunya and the time preceding the crash set a precedent, Rossi is more than a podium threat. Controversy, chaos and control; the ‘Doctor’ has reigned through all.

    And then there’s Rins. Another tough qualifying in Barcelona was quickly leapfrogged by the Suzuki man on race day, and he was right in the battle for the podium – looking feistier than his normal serene style when the gloves came off against Danilo Petrucci. He was only just off the rostrum after the mother of all avoidance tactics set him back a few places when he overcooked it, but he had pace once again – and he was one of the standout performers in the all-out war for the Dutch GP last season. He’s another to add to the ever-increasing list of expected names battling it out at the front.

    Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) won his only premier class Grand Prix so far at Assen and he was back staying the distance at Catalunya, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) wants to regain his control over the Independent Team rider standings, and teammate Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemistu) wants to get in his way. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) wants to gain on Quartararo in the fight for Rookie of the Year, and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) wants to convert Saturday pace into Sunday points. Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) wants to replay his stellar start in Barcelona before it all went wrong, and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) wants to try and bounce back. His brother Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) just wants to keep raking in the rewards for an incredibly impressive season so far. The narratives, battles and stakes are endless.

    The TT Circuit Assen is more than a postcard or a slice of nostalgia. It earns its place in legend year after year, and 2019 will likely be no different. The standings got a shake up in Barcelona but this time last season the Dutch GP was shaking the foundations of MotoGP™ with one of the best races of all time. There’s no reason to believe the Cathedral will not bless us with another.

    Tune in on Sunday 30th June as the grid try to tame one of the best tracks on the calendar – you won’t be disappointed.

    MotoGP Championship standings:

    1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) – 140
    2 – Andrea Dovizioso (ITA – Ducati) – 103
    3 – Alex Rins (SPA – Suzuki) – 101
    4 – Danilo Petrucci (ITA – Ducati) – 98
    5 – Valentino Rossi (ITA – Yamaha) – 72

  • An in-depth look at the braking systems in Formula 1 at the Red Bull Ring: A Brembo view

    An in-depth look at the braking systems in Formula 1 at the Red Bull Ring: A Brembo view

    The 2019 Formula 1 Austrian GP according to Brembo

    The Formula 1 stay in the heart of Europe for the 9th event of the 2019 World Championship. The theater for the Austrian GP is the Red Bull Ring, inaugurated in May 2011 and situated near Spielberg, in Styria.

    Image by Brembo

    Although being more or less the same length as the Budapest and Montreal circuits (all 4.3 km, 2.67 miles give or take ten meters) the Austrian circuit is the only one in the World Championship where a lap takes less than 65 seconds. ​

    This is thanks to the high speeds achieved but also to the small number of bends, only 3 of which require the use of brakes for more than one second. The many undulations of the track complicate the drivers’ choice of timing braking: from the highest to the lowest point there is in fact a 65 meters (213 feet) difference in level. ​

    According to Brembo technicians, who have classified the 21 World Championship tracks, the Red Bull Ring falls into the category of circuits presenting medium difficulty for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 3 on the difficulty index.​

    The demand on the brakes during the GP

    During each lap brakes are used 7 times, for less than ten seconds in total, 8 tenths less than on the Monza track. From start to the checkered flag, braked are in action for a total of 11 and a half minutes, equal to 15 per cent of the whole race. ​

    Brakes are used even less in the second half of the track, from the Rauch curve (turn 6) onwards: if in fact in the first half drivers use the brakes for 6 and a half seconds, in the second part they use them for about 3 seconds. ​

    The maximum deceleration is also affected by this variation: from an average of 5.2 G in the first section to 2.3 G in the next. Consequently the average track deceleration is 3.5 G. ​

    The energy dissipated during braking in the whole GP from each single-seater is quite limited: 201 kWh. ​

    During the whole race, a driver uses his brakes a little less than 500 times, exerting a total load of 38.5 tons on the brake pedal.​

    The most demanding braking sections

    Of the 7 Red Bull Ring braking points 3 are classified as hard on the brakes and 4 are light. ​

    The most challenging for the braking system is the Remus bend (turn 3): the single-seaters approach at 328 km/h (204 mph) and in 2.59 seconds they decrease to 84 km/h (52 mph). To manage this, drivers must exert a pressure of 174 kg (384 lbs) on the braking pedals, and decelerate by 5.2 G. With the brake pressed the vehicles travel for 127 meters (417 feet). ​

    Drivers are subjected to a 5.2 G deceleration also on Schlossgold bend (turn 4) thanks to the 331 km/h (206 mph) that they reach on the preceding straight. The entrance speed on the bend is higher to the Remus bend: in the first one the single-seaters enter the bend at 120 km/h (75 mph). This last one requires the use of brakes for 2.57 seconds and pedal load of “only” 171 kg (377 lbs). ​

    You can find the Video here

    Brembo performance

    Single-seaters with Brembo brakes have won all the last 7 Austrian GPs.

    This is one of the few tracks in the world where Sebastian Vettel has not yet triumphed. Spielberg’s last Ferrari victory dates back to 2003 when the circuit was called A1-Ring.​

    Find the Brembo Animated Infographic here

     

    ends

  • Jehan Daruvala takes a fighting 3rd from 8th on the grid in F3 Sprint race

    Jehan Daruvala takes a fighting 3rd from 8th on the grid in F3 Sprint race

    Jehan Daruvala on way to podium in the Sprint race on Saturday. Rayo Racing images

    Le Castellet (France), 23 June 2019: Jehan Daruvala completed a hat-trick of podiums after he stormed up the grid from eighth to second, before settling for third. Jehan’s emphatic victory yesterday in the feature race, meant he had to start from eighth today, due to the regulations which dictate that the top eight finishers are reversed, for the start of the sprint race. This was the multiple International Karting Champion’s third consecutive podium in four races, in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, which runs as a support event to the main F1 Grand Prix.

    Jehan started well but fell to tenth on lap one, once the lights went out at the F1 circuit in Le Castellet. Jehan then battled hard with Logan Sargeant and Juri Vips before overtaking both racers. He was then much quicker than the racers ahead of him and began to pass them one by one, to steadily move up the order.

    Alex Peroni from Australia, meanwhile continued to lead the race, taking advantage of the battles behind him. Jehan was soon up to fifth, but faced quite a task, with a gap of over 2.4 seconds to the pack of cars ahead. He pushed hard and managed to successfully close the gap and move into fourth.

    Jehan Daruvala (right) on the podium.

    Jehan’s Prema Racing teammate Robert Shwartzman, had in the meantime grabbed the race lead, with Brazilian Pedro Piquet in second. Jehan had closed the gap, overtaking Red Bull Racing Junior, Yuki Tsunoda from Japan, to move up into third and soon made an excellent move to overtake Piquet for second. Not content with second Jehan tried to close the gap to Shwartzman, but in the process of pushing extremely hard right through the entire race and the numerous battles he had along the way, Jehan’s tyres were beginning to degrade. He lost a bit of pace and was re passed by Piquet, who was also able to use the DRS to his advantage.

    Jehan comfortably held onto third, crossing the finish line behind Shwartzman and Piquet and 5.4 seconds ahead of Verschoor, of MP Motorsport.

    “It’s been a good weekend for the team and for me as well. This race was fun actually. At the start, I was a bit surprised by how quick the lights went out and then I was playing it a bit too safe for the first couple of laps. We knew we had the pace and the race was long, but maybe I took a bit too much time. When I got up to P6 the leading group of five cars was quite a long way ahead, and maybe my mistake at that stage was to push too hard to catch them instead of just chipping away. I caught them and passed all of them except Robert. My main goal was to win the race and I was pushing a lot, but Robert was doing the same and I started to struggle with the tires. Pedro did well, he stayed with me using the DRS, and when I started to struggle he passed me for second place. Two podiums in one weekend are good, now we have to see where we can do better. For me, just the start and the first lap, while the car has been good all weekend. Hopefully, we will have the same result next weekend.” said Jehan after his hat-trick of podiums.

    Jehan’s continuing impressive performances in front of the Formula 1 teams at the Formula 1 support races ensures that he continues to lie second in the championship with 58 points. His next race will be at the RedBull Ring Circuit in Spielberg along with the Austrian Grand Prix the coming weekend.

    2019 FIA Formula 3 – Round 2 Race 2 classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    2
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    3
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    4
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    5
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    6
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    7
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    8
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    9
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    10
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    11
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    12
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    13
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    14
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    15
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    16
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    17
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    18
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    19
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    20
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    21
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    22
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    23
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    24
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Racing) – 1:52.171 on Lap 18
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Racing)

    ends

  • Hamilton takes easy pole-to-flag victory ahead of Valtteri Bottas: French GP

    La Castellet, 23 June 2019: Lewis Hamilton scored a dominant second consecutive win in the French Grand Prix, the 8th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championshp, finishing 18 seconds ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas as Mercedes sealed its sixth 1-2 finish in eight races here on Sunday. Charles Leclerc took third place for Ferrari ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

    Polesitter Hamilton made a good start to take P1 ahead of Bottas, Leclerc, and Verstappen. Further back, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz got away well to pass team-mate Lando Norris, but despite pulling alongside Verstappen early in the opening lap the Spaniard couldn’t steal the position.

    Over the first 10 laps Hamilton built a 2.6s gap back to Bottas, who in turn eked out a 3.8s advantage over Leclerc. Behind them, Sebastian Vettel was the man on the move in the early stages, with the German passing both McLarens to rise to fifth from his starting position of seventh to sit 7.3s behind Verstappen as the opening stint wore on.

    Verstappen was the first of the front runners to make a pit stop, with the Dutchman taking on white-banded hard compound tyres at the end of lap 20. Leclerc was next in, on the following lap, and when he rejoined, on the same compound, he was fourth, five seconds ahead of the Red Bull. Ahead, Hamilton now led Bottas by 7.5s with Vettel now third.

    Bottas made his sole tyre stop on lap 23 and the Finn was followed to the pit lane by race leader Hamilton. The Briton emerged just ahead of Vettel and after locking up on the next lap the German also pitted for hard tyres, at the end of lap 25. He emerged in P5, 4.5s behind Max.

    The order at the front now stabilised and over the next 15 laps Hamilton increased his lead over Bottas to 12.9 seconds, while Leclerc fell 7.2s behind the second Mercedes. Verstappen was now in a race of his own, with the Dutchman lying 6.7 seconds adrift of Leclerc and more than seven seconds clear of Vettel.

    With the gaps throughout the field looking relatively fixed the race the order looked like remaining static until the chequered flag. However, a handful of laps from the finish the grand prix came alive once more, first when Norris began to suffer hydraulic problems and then when Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon clipped a bollard that had to be recovered from the track.

    The Albon incident brought out the VSC, and the spell at lower speed left Bottas struggling to get heat into his tyres. Leclerc closed him down and prepared to attack.

    Behind them, Norris’ was caught by his rivals and on a combative final lap, he was passed by Ricciardo, Räikkönen, and Hulkenberg, though Ricciardo was then placed under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

    In the midst of it all, Hamilton took his 79thcareer win ahead of Bottas who denied Leclerc to claim P2 by just 0.9s. Verstappen followed to take his fifth fourth-place finish of the season. Vettel finished fifth and the German also took fastest lap after a late pit stop for soft tyres. Sixth place went to Sainz, crossing the line ahead of Ricciardo, Räikkönen, Hulkenberg and Norris.

    2019 FIA Formula One French Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 18.056
    3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 18.985
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 34.905
    5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:02.796
    6 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 1:35.462
    7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1 Lap
    8 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1 Lap
    9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 Lap
    10 Lando Norris McLaren 1 Lap
    11 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 1 Lap
    12 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1 Lap
    13 Lance Stroll Racing Point Racing Point 1 Lap
    14 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso 1 Lap
    15 Alex Albon Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso 1 Lap
    16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1 Lap
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 Lap
    18 Robert Kubica Williams 2 Laps
    19 George Russell Williams 2 Laps
    France Romain Grosjean Haas.

  • Rea conquerers his 75th WorldSBK victory as Bautista crashes early on

    Misano, 23 June 2019: With a 39-point advantage over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) had a comfortable margin ahead of Race 2 in WorldSBK, combined with a pole position start. The 34-year-old Spaniard looked set for another win but, for a second round, Bautista crashed out of the lead at the start of Lap 2 at Turn 4. This made for an incredible battle at the front as the championship catapulted into life in Italy.

    With the race underway, Bautista took the holeshot into Turn 1 as the pack filtered through as neat as possible. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) blasted through the order and was into third by Turn 1, challenging Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into Turn 4. At Turn 14, Jonathan Rea sliced under the Turkish rider for third place.

    Then, drama at Turn 4 on Lap 2 as Alvaro Bautista made another error, crashing out of the lead as the front end gave way. The Spaniard crashed out, leaving Leon Haslam in the lead ahead of teammate Rea, whilst Razgatlioglu was third ahead of Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Bautista re-joined but was at the back of the field.

    With 18 laps to go, it was Razgatlioglu who put a move on Rea at Turn 4, before leading at Turn 1 a lap later, ahead of Leon Haslam. At Turn 14 on the same lap, Rea lunged ahead of Haslam, as the five-time WorldSBK race winner began to fade away. The number 91 then suffered a collision with Marco Melandri as the Italian tried an audacious pass into Turn 2. Both stayed upright but it allowed Razgatlioglu and Rea to break away.

    It was another race to forget for Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), from a weekend that looked to show so much promise after Saturday. The German crashed once more but re-joined the race.

    With 12 laps left to go, the race was far from decided, with two separate battles: Razgatlioglu defended at the front from Jonathan Rea, whilst Leon Haslam held on to third ahead of Marco Melandri, as Alex Lowes began to claw time back on the battling duo ahead of him. Meanwhile, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) was lapping half-a-second a lap quicker than those ahead of him.

    Three laps to go and it was another disaster for the GRT Yamaha squad, as Marco Melandri crashed at Turn 8, as grip deteriorated with rising track temperatures. Melandri’s crash promoted Bautista into the points. A lap later, and the battle for the race win had calmed, as Rea made a mistake at Turn 10, momentarily letting Razgatlioglu off the hook.

    The final four laps was when Jonathan Rea made his move out front, taking the lead at Turn 1. It was a heart-in-mouth moment for Razgatlioglu at Turn 4 however, as he came within millimetres of hitting the rear of Rea, with his rear wheel in the air. The fight was far from done, as the 22-year-old Turkish rider stayed glued to the rear end of Rea.

    The final lap beckoned, and it was going to be a head-to-head between the young pretender and the four-time WorldSBK Champion. Razgatlioglu tried at Turn 4 but thought better of it, waiting until Turn 8 to make his move. Toprak ran wide, with Rea slicing back ahead and the gloves were really off. As the lap came to a close, Rea defended superbly and despite Razgatlioglu bouncing up the rear wheel of Rea at the final corner, he couldn’t get the better of the reigning-quadruple WorldSBK Champion. Rea took the win ahead of the Turkish star, to take a 75th WorldSBK win and become the highest point-scorer of all time. Third place went to Leon Haslam, ahead of Lowes and Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

    Sixth went to Tom Sykes ahead of Chaz Davies, whilst Michele Pirro (BARNI Racing Team), Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Goeleven) and Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) completed the top ten, in a frantic, feisty end to Race 2.

    The championship gap is down to 16 between Bautista and Rea at the top, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu moved into the top Independent slot in the championship, with his best ride of his WorldSBK career.
    P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

    “Toprak did an incredible job! Congratulation to him and his team I had to wait because I had to conserve the tyres and even with that, in the end, I was struggling a bit, and I could see that he was struggling as well on the front, trying to closing the lines. I’d just kept pushing because that 25 points were important but the conditions today compared to the rest of the weekend were difficult. It was very slippery out there, so I tried my best to minimize the risk and take the maximum. This was a really good race, and now I am looking forward to Donington”.

    P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing)

    “I started from the fourth position, and after a few laps, I found a good feeling with the bike. I try to take the lead, and when I got there I kept pushing all laps, and I saw that the gap was increasing, but on the final lap Jonny caught me, and we had I fought with him! It wasn’t easy. He took the lead, I tried again, but in the end, I couldn’t get back to first place. I am pleased especially after the big crash I had yesterday, and I want to dedicate this race to my crew! Thanks to them. I am happy because this has been my best race and I will try again in Donington!”

    P3 – Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

    “We definitely made a good step, but I felt we were struggling a bit in the race. I had a good battle with Alex Lowes for the third step of the podium so I can’t be too unhappy, but I felt I had to manage a few little issues. I think that everybody was in the same position. The temperature is high today. I enjoy the battle! My home race is next so I can’t wait for that one”.
    #RiminiWorldSBK at Misano World Circuit: Race 2
    1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) +0.381
    3. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.880
  • Double for Karthik Tharani as VW Ventos dominate; Sohil Shah, Jeet Jhabak too win a brace

    Double for Karthik Tharani as VW Ventos dominate; Sohil Shah, Jeet Jhabak too win a brace

    Sohil Shah (24), who won two races in action in the Formula LGB 1300 races on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Coimbatore, 23 June 2019: Piloting the turbo-charged VW Vento, Karthik Tharani authored a dream script for Volkswagen Motorsport’s sensational weekend with a grand double in the premium ITC category while Bengaluru school boy and defending champion Sohail Shah notched up a brace in the LGB 1300 class as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship concluded at the Kari Motor Speedway, here on Sunday.

    Also scoring a double were Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabak in the VW Ameo Class and Bengaluru schoolboy Sohil Shah (M Sport) in the Formula LGB 1300 category as he took the top honours in Race 1 and 3 while Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) won Race 2. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) won a close Super Stock race that went down to the wire.

    For the factory-supported VW Motorsport team, making their debut in the Indian Touring Cars category, it was a highly-successful weekend as they won all the three races. Incidentally, races in all categories, except VW Ameo Class, today were run on wet tyres in view of forecast of rains which, however, stayed away.

    The two ITC races highlighted the Sunday’s proceedings with extremely close contests and incidents in Race 3 bringing out the Safety Car. Having finished second behind team-mate, Kolhapur’s Dhruv Shivaji Mohite in the first of the ITC triple-header yesterday, Chennai-based Tharani led a 1-2-3 finish for VW Motorsport in Race 2 and followed it up with a thrilling win in Race 3 in the afternoon, ahead of Mohite and Arjun Balu (Race Concepts).

    In both the races today, Mohite finished second while team-mate Ishaan Dodhiwala took the third spot in Race 2, but spun off in the next outing that led to a Safety Car period, and where Balu came in a creditable third, his second of the weekend.

    While the podium finishers hogged the limelight, it was 77-year old D Vidyaprakash who stole the hearts with stirring drives that saw him finish fourth in both the races today. His defending the third spot in Race-2 until late in the last lap against Dodhiwala, 29, before letting the youngster pass, earned him high praise for clean racing. “I just can’t believe that someone at his age can drive like that. I couldn’t pass him until the last lap when he didn’t stop me from overtaking after I put the nose on the inside line,” gushed Dodhiwala after his third place finish.

    The Championship moves to the MMRT track, Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, where Round 3 will be held from July 19 to 21.

    The results (Provisional, all 10 laps unless mentioned):

    Indian Touring Cars (Race 2): 1. Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsports) (11mins, 55.229secs); 2. Dhruv Shivaji Mohite (VW Motorsports) (11:55.572); 3. Ishaan Dodhiwala (VW Motorsports) (12:06.826). Race 3: 1. Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsports) (15:31.576); 2. Dhruv Shivaji Mohite (VW Motorsports) (15:31.717); 3. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (15:32.087).

    Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race 2): Overall – 1. Avik Anwar (Bangladesh) (11:58.554); 2. Aiman Sadat (Bangladesh) (11:58.841); 3. Anmol Singh Sahil (Delhi) (11:59.304). Pro: 1. Anwar; 2. Sahil; 3. Siddharth Mehdiratta (Lucknow) (12:00.233). Junior: 1. Sadat; 2. Viraj Jairaj Jhala (Nashik) (12:05.775); 3. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (12:24.817). Race 3 (Overall and Pro): 1. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) (11:58.422); 2. Anmol Singh Sahil (Delhi) (12:00.219); 3. Pratik Sonawane (Pune) (12:02.872). Junior: 1. Aiman Sadat (Bangladesh) (12:09.235); 2. Kaushik Mohan Raja (12:10.360); Viraj Jairaj Jhala (Nashik) (12:18.809).

    Super Stock (Race 2): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (13:05.322); 2. R Rajashekar (Race Concepts) (13:05.926); 3. Prateek Benya (Race Concepts) (13:06.209).

    Formula LGB 1300 (Race 1): 1. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (10:43.682); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (10:50.180); 3. Kunal Maini (M Sport) (10:56.683). Race 2: 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) (14:16.398); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (14:16.661); 3. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (14:16.770). Race 3: 1. Sohil Shah (M Sport) (11:56.907); 2. Ashwin Datta (Momentum Motor Sports) (11:59.205); 3. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motor Sports) (12:07.927).

  • De Vries wins in Le Castellet to take Championship lead; Mahaveer Raghunathan 12th: F2

    Nyck De Vries made light work of a fourth place start to make it three race wins from four and take the FIA Formula 2 Championship lead in France. The ART Grand Prix man’s hot streak of form continued in Le Castellet as he rose to first when the lights went and retained the position at the chequered flag, to finish ahead of poleman Sérgio Sette Câmara and Jack Aitken.
    The Dutchman made a superb move off the line to fly around the right of Guanyu Zhou and Sette Câmara ahead of the first corner. Aitken made an identical move down the left, but came out just behind his Championship rival in second, with both moves sticking going into Turn 1.
    Sette Câmara and Zhou were denied an immediate chance to react as a red flag swiftly brought a halt to proceedings after Sean Gelael caught the curb on T1 and sent his PREMA teammate Mick Schumacher soaring into the air and flying across the chicane, ending both of their races. Meanwhile, Nikita Mazepin and Ralph Boschung came to blows as well and stopped on track, which ended in retirement for both drivers. In the same chaotic period, a fifth retirement came in the shape of Dorian Boccolacci, whose home race ended in heartbreak when he stopped on track.
    When racing resumed De Vries held onto his position and left the Campos man behind him to battle with Sette Câmara. The front seven were all on the option tyre and it was the duo in P2 and P3 who ducked into the pits first, leaving De Vries to build up a lead for one more lap.
    When the Dutchman did pit, he came out behind Aitken, but any fears his strategy could cost him were swiftly alleviated by a stunning overtake on the mistral chicane. On the opposite strategy, Luca Ghiotto was handed P1 but building up a big enough lead to make it stick would be a mammoth ask.
    With the Italian attempting to increase his gap at the front, De Vries and Aitken were making their assault back up the field and fast gaining momentum, having both swept past Mahaveer Raghunathan.
    Meanwhile, behind them Callum Ilott pulled off what was arguably the move of the race, when he swept past Nicholas Latifi around the chicane. His hard work was all undone shortly after as he attempted to claim another position from Nobuharu Matsushita: the Briton got side-by-side with the Japanese driver but was forced to pull away when he ran out of track, hit the curb, and spun onto the gravel.
    Further risky moves ensued elsewhere on the field as Sette Câmara attempted to pass Aitken and like Ilott, ran out of track – he was forced to run over the chicane and would have to wait for his chance.
    Race leader Ghiotto managed to build up a 19s gap, but with tyre degradation and De Vries gaining momentum, the Dutchman began to take chunks out of this time. The UNI-Virtuosi man pitted with eight laps to go and returned in fifth, leaving just Jordan King – also yet to pit – ahead of De Vries.
    King eventually handed over P1, but a lightning fast pit stop from his MP Motorsport team returned him in 7th, having begun the race in 16th – an overtake on Luca Ghiotto, who had recently been passed by Latifi, later gained him a further place in P6. Shortly after, there was further disappointment for the Italian when Juan Manuel Correa caught his right tyre and slung him off the track, resulting in a retirement.
    With the obstacle of King’s MP Motorsport machine out of the way, De Vries quickly went about stretching his lead and soon held a 7s advantage over his rivals, which left Aitken and Sette Câmara to jostle over second and third. Aitken suffered a momentary wobble on Turn 8 and managed to recover and cling onto P2, however, the Brazilian was merely biding his time. The opportunity arose on the following lap and he flew past the Campos driver on the pit straight in a DRS powered move.
    It remained the same as they crossed the line, with De Vries claiming another win and the Championship lead, ahead of Sette Câmara, Aitken, Zhou, Latifi, King, Correa, Anthoine Hubert and Matsushita. Giuliano Alesi completed the top ten to score his first point in F2.
    De Vries now leads the standings, with 121 points, 16 ahead of Latifi in second place. Aitken is in third with 77, followed by Sette Câmara on 74 and Ghiotto on 67 points. DAMS lead the teams’ standings with 179 points, 46 points ahead of UNI-Virtuosi racing. ART Grant Prix are third with 127, ahead of Campos Racing on 107 and Carlin on 62.
    There will be a Frenchman on reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race when Hubert lines up at the front of the pack tomorrow, at 11.25am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 – Round 5 Feature Race classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    2
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    3
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    4
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    5
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    6
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    7
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    8
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    9
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    10
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    11
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    12
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Campos Racing
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Nyck de Vries (ART Grand Prix) – 1:44.584 on Lap 30
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Nyck de Vries (ART Grand Prix)

  • Hamilton takes French GP pole ahead of Bottas

    Le Castellet (France), 22 June 2019: Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid for the sixth time this season as Lewis Hamilton beat team-mate Valterri Bottas to pole position by almost three tenths of a second for the French Grand Prix, the 8th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at Circuit Paul Ricard here on Saturday.

    Charles Leclerc was the dominant team’s closest rival, finishing more than six tenths of a second behind championship leader Hamilton.

    A happy Hamilton tweeted…

    Bottas was in control in the opening segment, the Finn setting a session-best time of 1:30.550 to edge Hamilton by 0.059s and when the chequered flag came out the Mercedes duo held the top spots ahead of Leclerc, while Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo jumped to P4 and P5 respectively after good final laps.

    At the bottom of the order, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, already facing a back-of-the-grid start due to PU penalties, was eliminated in P16 ahead of the Haas of Romain Grosjean, Racing Point’s Lance Stroll and the Williams duo of George Russell and Robert Kubica.

    With the soft compound Pirelli tyres suffering badly in track temperatures that topped 50˚C, a number of teams equipped their drivers with medium compound tyres, looking to start the race on the more durable compound.

    And when the flag fell this time, the top eight in the second session made it through to Q3 on the medium tyres. Bottas once again topped the timesheet with a lap of 1:29.437, though this time the Finn edged Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by five hundredths of a second. Hamilton was third ahead of Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris, while Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen slotted into P6 ahead of the second McLaren of Carlos Sainz.

    Both Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Pierre Gasly looked to struggling for grip in the conditions and Gasly was luck to jump from P13 to P10 and safety with a final flying lap just four hundredths of a second quicker than Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon. But while Gasly will be forced to start on worn soft tyres, Albon will get a free choice of starting rubber tomorrow.

    Albon was followed out of the session by Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

    Given Bottas’ hold on P1, which extended all the way back to FP2, he might have been expected to take his fourth pole position of the year. Hamilton, though, moved ahead early in Q3 on to claim provisional pole just over a tenth of a second clear of the Finn.

    And the Briton improved on his final run to set a time of 1:28.319, almost three tenths clear of Bottas and more than six tenths ahead of third-placed Leclerc and Verstappen.

    It was an excellent day for McLaren, with Norris sealing place fifth ahead of team-mate Sainz, but it was a disappointing final session for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel as the German slumped to P7, 1.4s off the pole pace and more than eight tenths of a second behind team-mate Leclerc.

    Vettel was followed by Daniel Ricciardo of Renault, the second Red Bull of Gasly and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi.

    2019 FIA Formula One French Grand Prix – Qualiyfing 
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.319
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:28.605 0.286
    3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.965 0.646
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:29.409 1.090
    5 Lando Norris McLaren 1:29.418 1.099
    6 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:29.522 1.203
    7 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:29.799 1.480
    8 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:29.918 1.599
    9 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 1:30.184 1.865
    10 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1:33.420 5.101
    11 Alex Albon Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:30.461 2.142
    12 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1:30.533 2.214
    13 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:30.544 2.225
    14 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:30.738 2.419
    15 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:31.440 3.121
    16 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:31.564 3.245
    17 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:31.626 3.307
    18 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:31.726 3.407
    19 George Russell Williams 1:32.789 4.470
    20 Robert Kubica Williams 1:33.205 4.886.

    ends

  • Wet Race 1 sees Rea victorious as Sykes and Bautista completes podium

    Misano, 22 June 2019: With the rain continuing to fall by the bucket-load, it was a delayed start to WorldSBK Race 1 at Misano, Italy. After a 20-minute delay, racing got underway in treacherous conditions but after just two full laps, the red flag was brought back out as the remain intensified. After the restart, drama unfolded all through the field, but it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who made hay whilst the sun certainly did not shine!

    With the race getting underway nearly 25 minutes late, it was a frantic opening few laps before the red flag was waved. Alex Lowes was the race leader ahead of Jonathan Rea, whilst Tom Sykes and Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) were right behind. After the red flag came out, positions for the new restart would be made up by the order of the riders at their most recent timing point.

    As the race got underway for a second time for a reduce 18-lap distance, it was another great start for Jonathan Rea, who had the lead ahead of Lowes again, with Sykes third and Chaz Davies up to fourth, ahead of Bautista. Haslam was sixth but one of the biggest improvers was Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK). Thunder and lightening certainly made the opening laps very frightening, but the WorldSBK warriors continued to battle.

    Conditions began to deteriorate and soon, riders began to drop back accordingly, with some eventually dropping out. Lowes began to close on rival Rea and at Turn 8 with 12 laps left to go. Behind the leading duo, it was Loris Baz who had got himself up into seventh place and was now beginning to close down Alvaro Bautista. One lap later, it was Bautista’s teammate Chaz Davies who went head-to-head with Leon Haslam.

    However, with ten laps left to run, it was drama out front at Turn 12, as Alex Lowes crashed out of the lead to complete a miserable set of races for the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team rider. Now, it was Jonathan Rea who had the lead back. Behind Rea, Michele Pirro (BARNI Racing Team) crashed at the same corner. Tom Sykes was now second, and Leon Haslam was third, with Davies and Bautista behind.

    It was drama with nine laps to go, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) crashing at Turn 13, completing a wretched day for the BARNI outfit. Then at Turn 8, more spills, this time with Leon Haslam at Turn 8. The British rider remounted but retired with too much damage done. Chaz Davies was now third, but a small error allowed Bautista through, whilst Loris Baz was now fifth and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) in sixth!

    A small error from Davies allowed Bautista through into third, whilst Baz eventually closed down Davies to get fourth and then, the Frenchman hunted down Bautista, albeit not being able to close him down enough to pass. The battle for sixth was raging, as Delbianco came under pressure from Melandri, with the veteran Italian getting ahead of his rookie compatriot on the front straight. Delbianco was then swallowed up at Turn 8, as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing), Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Yuki Takahashi (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) moved ahead.

    Out front, it was Rea who took the win, his 74th win and 10 years and one day after his first at the same track. Tom Sykes gave BMW their first podium since 2013 at Jerez and Alvaro Bautista salvaged a podium after an eventful first wet race. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) took the fourth place and was top Yamaha, ahead of Chaz Davies in fifth.

    Marco Melandri held on to sixth place from 13th on the grid, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered a huge crash in the final sector of the last lap. Cortese picked up seventh ahead of Yuki Takahashi, Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Goeleven) and Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) – the Argentine picking up his first top ten in almost a year. Delbianco was a career-best 11th at the flag.

    The championship gap is now down to 32 points as Jonathan Rea continues to make gains on Bautista. Tom Sykes, Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri were beneficiaries of Haslam’s crash, as they all close him down – Sykes moving up to eighth overall.
    P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

    “Today was so difficult to understand exactly the grip level. So I set my own rhythm at the beginning, which was pretty good, and Alex came past and he was on a different level! I wasn’t prepared to push that much to stay there but he was really unfortunate cause he went down and he was incredible at the beginning. That gave me the gap to the rest and I see my pit board and understood that I could minimize the risks and keep the lap time constant till the end. I am super happy and I want to thanks Kawasaki and all my team, our fans and all the people that were here today”.

    P2 – Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

    “Very happy! It is just credit to all the guys of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. We worked really hard and finally, we got the result which I feel we deserved! It has been a long time and a fantastic feeling to enjoy riding again in wet conditions. The bike is giving some fantastic feelings back today and what the best place to do it than here in Misano with these fantastic fans. We will try to keep that momentum together and try to get the result tomorrow. Thanks to all and we will try again.

    P3 – Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)

    “Conditions today were really tricky. After lining up on the grid we had to pull back into the garages, then we restarted and stopped again and keeping the concentration was difficult. It was my first race under the rain so I had a lot to understand. I used a lot of caution at the beginning and tried to understand the track conditions because there were times it was raining a lot and there was more water on track. Lap after lap I build up my confidence with the bike and the asphalt. I am happy because it was important to get some points and getting on the podium was really a good result for us today”.
    #RiminiWorldSBK at Misano World Circuit: Race 1
    1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    1. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +3.692
    3. Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +7.756