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Belgian GP: Perez pips Verstappen to top FP3 after late lap
A late quick lap from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez put him on top in FP3 of F1 Belgian GP from Max Verstappen, as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third.
The weather continued to remain cloudy at Spa-Franorchamps for FP3 of F1 Belgian GP which was smooth for most part until the end when a moment for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in mid-corner led him onto the gravel and into the barrier.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a major hit on the barrier and he was bale to get going with minor damage, but the FIA had already red-flagged the session fearing of him getting beached. The Monegasque did not have a great fast lap either to be sixth.
His F1 title rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m45.184s) set the pace mostly in FP3 of Belgian GP but teammate Sergio Perez (1m45.047s) pipped him to top spot right at the end of the session, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m45.824s) dropping to third as a result.
The Dutchman escaped any reprimand or penalty for failing to slow enough under yellow flag as the FIA stewards were okay with what he did. from McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m45.965s), who continued his fine run at Spa-Franchorchamps thus far.
A late lap from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m46.061s) put him in fifth with Mercedes’ George Russell (1m46.071s) in sixth from Leclerc (1m46.120s). There was another late improvement from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m46.166s) to be eighth, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m46.601s) ninth and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m46.604s) 10th.
The improvements from several drivers left McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton outside Top 10 in 11th and 12th as the Williams pair of Nicholas Latifi and Alexander Albon were 13th and 14th, where the former had the fastest Sector 1.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was 15th with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 16th, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen 17th, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda 18th and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guany 19th as Haas’ Mick Schumacher was 20th but did not set a quick lap due to repairs.
There were more grid penalties for drivers after the FIA released new document about changes. It was for Leclerc, Guanyu and Schumacher where the former took his fifth ICE, while the latter two took their fourth to incur a penalty.
The trio took the same on TC and MGU-H side, while Schumacher was the only one to take a fourth MGU-K. Likewise, Verstappen took his third ES to incur a penalty, while the Dutchman and Guanyu took their third CE. The Chinese driver and teammate Bottas added another penalty for a new gearbox.
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Belgian GP: Verstappen fastest in FP2 as late rain hampers running again
The FP2 session saw rain interruption as well with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leading in F1 Belgian GP from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The weather remained cloudy for FP2 of F1 Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps, with spits of rain towards the end of the session. There was a lot of lock-ups and minor offs for several drivers throughout the session, whether in dry or greasy conditions.
But no major incident took place despite the wet conditions, with only a gravel run for Haas’ Mick Schumacher. The pace was eventually set by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with a 1m45.507s lap from Ferrari’s Leclerc (1m46.369s) and McLaren’s Norris (1m46.589s).
Aston Martin continued its Friday show with another Top 5 finish where Lance Stroll (1m46.365s) was fourth from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m46.649s), with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m46.893s) slotting in sixth. His teammate George Russell (1m47.02s) was eighth.
He ended up behind Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m46.975s), who had a better FP2, with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m47.255s) ninth and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m47.346s) in 10th. The Mexican did not have a fine run again, following on from the first session.
At the same time, Williams’ Alexander Albon enjoyed his run in 11th with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Gunayu 12th from the AlphaTauri pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, who returned to the cockpit after giving up his car to Liam Lawson.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was 15th from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who had a difficult run again along with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in 17th. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas managed to get some laps under his belt but was only 18th.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was 19th and Haas’ Schumacher 20th, as the FIA noted a practice start infringement with regards to Verstappen at the end of the session.
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Belgian GP: Sainz faster from Leclerc in FP1 as several take grid penalty
The Ferrari pair set the pace in FP1 of Belgian GP with Carlos Sainz leading Charles Leclerc, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third.
It was a cloudy weather all-through the FP1 of Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps as F1 started the second half of the 2022 season. It was mostly dry until the final part of the session where it started to rain quite heavily at some corners allowing some wet running.
The red flag period for Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, who stopped due to a mechanical issue, hampered the running, leaving the Ferrari pair on top in FP1 of Belgian GP where Sainz was fastest by 0.069s from Leclerc.
F1 points leader Verstappen was third with Mercedes’ George Russell slotting in fourth from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll as Williams’ Alexander Albon was sixth and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in seventh.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was eighth who had a sliding moment earlier in the session, as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was ninth on the medium tyres with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez rounding the Top 10 on the hard compound.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was just outside 11th. The lead Alfa Romeo driver was Zhou Guanyu in 12th with McLaren’s Lando Norris 13th from lead Alpine driver Fernando Alonso in 14th from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, who set his pace on the medium tyres.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 16th from Haas pair of Magnussen and Mick Schumacher, with AlphaTauri’s Liam Lawson 19th, who got his first FP1 chance in place of Pierre Gasly. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas did not set a time after facing technical issue.
Aside the session situation, the FIA released details of power unit elements seeing multiple drivers incurring a penalty for the F1 Belgian GP. In terms of the ICE list, the likes of Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Norris, Ocon, Stroll, Vettel, Albon, Latifi and Bottas took a new one for the grand prix.
Among them, Verstappen, Norris and Ocon took their fourth resulting in a penalty, while Bottas took his fifth with the rest on their third. The TC side has Russell, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Norris, Ocon Stroll, Vettel, Albon, Latifi and Bottas taking a new one.
Among them, Verstappen, Norris and Ocon took their fourth incurring a penalty, with Bottas taking his sixth and the rest on their third. The same drivers had it with the MGU-H too, while the MGU-K side saw Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Ocon, Stroll, Albon and Latifi taking a new one.
Among them, Verstappen and Ocon took their fourth, while Leclerc took his fifth to incur a penalty and rest on their third. Moving on to ES, Verstappen, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Norris and Ocon took a new part where Leclerc and Ocon took their third to incur a penalty.
And finally, the CE list saw Verstappen, Ricciardo, Norris, Ocon and Schumacher taking a new one where Ocon and Schumacher took their third to incur a penalty, while the rest for both the elements took their second.
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MRF Tyres are the 2022 European Rally Champions
Chennai, 24 August 2022: Team MRF Tyres with Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández are the new 2022 FIA European Rally Champions. Team MRF Tyres secures the championship with two rounds to spare of the eight round 2022 FIA ERC Championship, demonstrating the high performance and success the team has demonstrated throughout the ERC. The team will take part in the Barum Czech Rally this week-end.
It is the first FIA ERC title for MRF Tyres, having only come to the Championship in 2020, to take on, compete and then beat the world’s best.
This victory comes close on heels of the success that Team MRF Tyres has enjoyed with victories in the Finnish Rally Championship and Italian Rally Championship in 2021. The FIA ERC title is the result of the immense effort the team has put in over the last three years.
The year 2022 has been equally rewarding for Team MRF Tyres with wins in the Azores Rallye, and podiums in Rally Islas Canarias and Liepaja Rally for Llarena and Fernández. A further win for Mārtiņš Sesks and Renars Francis followed in Latvia, winning every stage of the event. Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton took second place at Rally di Roma Capitale.
Mr. Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, MRF Tyres said, ““It is a very happy and momentous occasion to capture this first European Rally Championship for us at MRF Tyres. It is a testament to the work put in by our entire team to come up with Championship winning tyres which have performed at the top most level in European rallying thereby showcasing our superior technical capabilities. I would like to congratulate Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández for achieving this feat, and our other drivers who have supported our Team in achieving this historic effort. It is indeed a very prestigious and proud moment for us to be crowned European Rally Champions 2022.”
The outstanding and consistent performance with the team, allowed them to take the Championship with two rounds remaining. The team of Llarena and Fernández has been a successful one for the team. They have proven equal to the challenge of competing with the world’s best and have been strong and consistent throughout the championship.
Efrén Llarena, FIA European Rally Championship, Driver’s Champion, Team MRF Tyres said, ““I can’t stop smiling! I would like to thank everyone at Team MRF Tyres. The commitment and work from the entire team over the last seasons has made this possible. We have worked hard this year and I am very proud to take the title with MRF Tyres. This is the result over the year of work. For us, and for MRF Tyres to be able to win a Championship at European level is a great achievement. To win it with the two rounds to spare demonstrates what a great product MRF Tyres has given us.
I am now looking forward to the rest of the season and we will continue to push for more great results!”
Sara Fernández, FIA European Rally Championship, Co-Driver’s Champion, Team MRF Tyres said, “I am really happy. This is my second co-driver’s title but this one is better because I can share it with Efrén and the entire team at MRF Tyres. “I would like to thank everyone at MRF Tyres. They gave us the most important opportunity of our life and they gave us an amazing tyre to rally on. We would not be in this position without the hard work and dedication from the team. “From our win in the Azores and our podiums this year, we have a great year, and I am looking forward to more success with MRF Tyres.”
Mr. Iain Campbell, FIA European Rally Championship Manager said, “On behalf of WRC Promoter and the FIA ERC, I’d like to pass on my congratulations to Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández on becoming our 2022 champions. They have performed exceptionally all season. Furthermore, I also want to congratulate Team MRF Tyres on making history with this breakthrough win.”
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FIA ropes in Mumbai Falcons for World Karting meet
The FIA announces an official partnership with Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited to support the FIA Karting World Championships in 2022
Le Mans, 24 August 2022: Mumbai Falcons becomes the official partner of FIA CIK Karting World Championship, FIA announced on Wednesday.
The Le Mans event will feature over 300 drivers competing in categories including the KZ World Championship, the KZ2 World Cup, the KZ2 Masters Super Cup, the Academy Trophy and demonstrations runs in the Historic Super Cup.
Mumbai Falcons plan to develop a world-class racing and karting facility in India which will serve as a hub for motorsport. Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited was founded in 2019 by the Gadhoke Group with the objective of developing a next-generation, sustainable motorsport team and to accelerate growth in the Indian motorsport landscape.
The team is part of Racing Promotion Private Limited, the promoter and organiser of the newly-created Formula Regional Indian Championship and the Formula 4 Indian Championship, due to launch at the end of 2022. Both championships are certified by the FIA.
Mumbai Falcons will be an official partner for the 2022 FIA Karting World Championship events at Le Mans, France from September 1-4 and Sarno, Italy from September 15-18. The agreement also includes official partner status for two World and four European Championship events in 2023.
FIA Karting Commission President, Akbar Ebrahim said: “Guided by the new Presidential team at the FIA, one of the missions is to double motorsport participation and cultivate awareness and engagement in under-developed and developing territories. It is my goal as President of the FIA Karting Commission to harness the passion and enthusiasm among youngsters and guide them on the pathway to a career in motorsport with karting as the first step on that journey.
The collaboration with Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited is central to that mission, particularly in a country like India, where the capacity for growth is enormous. We are seeking to provide cost-effective entry points and offer training, operational and technical support in order to expand the FIA Karting footprint globally in alignment with the FIA’s over-arching commitment to expansion.”
Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited CEO, Moid Tungekar said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity of partnering with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile for the 2022 and 2023 FIA World Karting Championship. Karting is the first essential step when entering into motorsport and is responsible for teaching drivers and teams race craft.
“We at MFRL are focusing on developing international standard infrastructure and providing world class facilities to facilitate the growth of motorsport within our nation. The Gadhoke Group founder, Ameet Gadhoke, has an ambitious vision to create a world champion Indian driver in the near future and to make India a destination for motorsport developmental activities. We thank the FIA for their trust, support, guidance and look forward to a long and prosperous partnership.”
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Bagnaia holds off charging Quartararo in a tense finish
Three in a row makes perfect reading for Pecco, but Quartararo takes Yamaha’s best Spielberg finish after a stunning charge to second
Spielberg (Austira), 21 August 2022: For the first time in his career, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is a hat-trick hero after leading from start to finish in a tense CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. But that was far from the full story as World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) put in a stunning charge to take second and Yamaha’s best result at the Red Bull Ring, putting in one of his performances of the season. On a day made for convincing rides, the two key title rivals both more than delivered. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) likewise impressed, completing the podium for another big and increasingly consistent haul of points.
In front of over 90,000 jubilant fans the lights went out for the MotoGP™ race and Bagnaia grabbed the holeshot from Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Miller slotted into P3 and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) held station in P4. Quartararo got a decent start but at the end of the first lap, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) passed the Frenchman to demote the Championship leader to P6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), meanwhile, didn’t get a good getaway after his holeshot device didn’t engage but the number 41 recovered to P7 by the beginning of the second lap.
Elsewhere, Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) crashed out at Turn 4 on Lap 1 and it was later confirmed the 2020 World Champion suffered ligament damage in his foot, declared unfit.
Back at the front, the leading Ducati quartet quickly pulled themselves over a second clear of Viñales, who, in turn, had stretched his advantage over Quartararo to half a second. It wasn’t line astern in the lead group though. Miller overtook Bastianini at Turn 3 and Martin then had a successful bite at the cherry, only for Bastianini to snap back at Turn 1 on Lap 5. Viñales then made a mistake down at Turn 4, the Spaniard dropped behind Aleix Espargaro and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) before drama unfolded further up the road.
Bastianini looked like he had a problem going into Turn 3, and Zarco did an excellent job of taking avoiding action as the Italian slowed right down through no fault of his own. The polesitter then ran straight into the gravel a few seconds later at Turn 4, and later headed back into pitlane as Bastianini was forced to retire.
That saw Bagnaia and Miller open a one second advantage over Martin, and Quartararo was a further 1.3s away in P4 with Espargaro and Viñales P5 and P6. Martin was digging deep and on Lap 11 of 28, the Spaniard was right with his Ducati stablemates. Quartararo was still 1.4s behind the third of the GP22s and had main title rival Espargaro 1.1s adrift, as Bagnaia set a personal best lap to gain a 0.6s lead over Miller.
On Lap 14, Quartararo set his personal best lap of the race and the reigning Champion was now 0.6s behind Martin. The latter then made a mistake at the chicane with 12 laps to go and was forced to give the position up to Quartararo, but did Martin then have a problem? He raised his hand coming out of Turn 4 to signal he might have but he was back at full speed soon enough.
The situation with eight laps to go was this: Bagnaia boasted a 0.9s lead over teammate Miller, who was now hearing Quartararo’s YZR-M1 swarming all over the back of his GP22. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) had picked off Aleix Espargaro for P5, and Espargaro was coming under pressure from Zarco and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). Martin was still in P4, 0.6s away from Quartararo. That 0.6s gap soon became 0.3s though, with Martin now the fastest rider on track.
With four laps to go, a sensational move at Turn 2B saw Quartararo carve his way past Miller up into P2. Miller just held off Martin for P3 as Quartararo saw Bagnaia 1.5s up the road at the beginning of Lap 26 of 28. Starting Lap 27, Quartararo had clawed 0.2s back and by the last lap, it was under a second as the Yamaha rider homed in.
Martin, up the inside of Miller, then suddenly crashed unhurt at Turn 1, giving Miller an easy ride home to P3. But could Quartararo do anything to stop Bagnaia from winning? Not quite, but he wasn’t far away. Pecco took victory but by just 0.4s to make it a hat-trick and reduce the gap to the Frenchman to 44 points, although Quartararo’s ride was a headline-maker in itself.
Fourth place for Marini is the Italian’s best result in the premier class to date, and he eventually held off Zarco in fifth by less than half a second. 2.4s further behind was Aleix Espargaro who sees his disadvantage to Quartararo grow to 32 points heading to Misano, but on a tough weekend for the Spaniard, it could have been worse from P9 on the grid.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) gave KTM a P7 on their home patch and it was another solid Sunday ride for the South African, as he and Rins were separated by a tenth on the line. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) claimed P9 ahead of Martin in 10th, the latter able to remount after his last lap tumble at Turn 1.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Viñales, Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) and Andrea Dovizioso (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team) rounded out the points positions at the Red Bull Ring.
The title race momentum was definitely swinging towards Bagnaia and arguably still is, and coming up next is the Italian’s home race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli – a track he knows like the back of his hand and a track where Quartararo has serious form too. With what was expected to be one of the toughest tracks of the season for Yamaha seeing El Diablo cede only five points and Quartararo, Espargaro, and Bagnaia now split by just 44, it’s very much game on in San Marino…
MotoGP podium:
1 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – 40’10.260
2 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) – Yamaha – +0.492
3 Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – +2.163Francesco Bagnaia: “It was long, very long, it was a long race. To be calmer and careful, we chose to use the soft front, but it wasn’t the correct choice for me at the finish of the race, but I’m very happy, very happy. I made too many mistakes in the first part of the year so it was the time to be smarter. When I looked at the gap, I tried to be very constant with the lap times, because I was sure my pace was good enough to open this gap. In the last two laps, I just tried to be as calm as possible because the front tyre was closing everywhere. So, I’m very happy. Again, this weekend we have done an incredible job, so I’m very, very happy with my team; they have done an incredible job yesterday, so I’m very happy. We move on to Misano and I’m really looking forward to being there again.”
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MotoGP: Bagnaia eases to win Austrian GP from Quartararo
Francesco Bagnaia eased to win his third MotoGP race in a row in Austrian GP from Fabio Quartararo and Jack Miller.
Despite the clouds hovering at Red Bull Ring, pole-sitter Enea Bastianini dropped a place behind in his Gresini Ducati as factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia took the MotoGP Austrian GP lead, with Jack Miller slotting in third.
Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin was on the tail of the Top 3, with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo in fifth from Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales. VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini made up good amount of places to be seventh from slow starter Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.
Pramac’s Johann Zarco was ninth from Suzuki’s Alex Rins in the Top 10. His teammate Joan Mir had an early crash to retire from the race, as at the front, Miller made a move on Bastianini to be second. The Italian then came under pressure from Martin.
The duo passed each other for couple of times but a problem for Bastainini ended his race. He slowed at Turn 3 which affected Zarco as he dropped some places. Just before that, Vinales had a wide moment to drop to eighth and behind this pack.
Joining the retirement list were Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner and LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagmi after their respective crashes. Meanwhile, at the front, once Miller passed Bastianini, he started to chase down Ducati teammate Bagnaia.
The two went wheel-to-wheel couple of times but Bagnaia stayed ahead of Miller, with Martin not far behind in this battle. Quartararo was fourth from Espargaro, who moved himself up to fifth. Teammate Vinales was sixth from Marini and Zarco.
Rins was ninth from KTM’s Brad Binder, as the sole Gresini of Fabio di Giannantonio was 11th from VR6’s Marco Bezzecchi. Having run in the points early on after starting from far back, RNF Yamaha’s Darryn Binder ended up in the gravel to retire.
The fight at the front got interesting when Quartararo joined the fray in the chase of Bagnaia who had Miller and Martin not far behind. A wide moment from Martin allowed Quartararo to sneak past him for third as he dropped behind the Frenchman.
Espargaro ran fifth from Marini, who passed Vinales for sixth, with Zarco, Rins and Binder still in the Top 10. There were changes in places at the fag end, with Vinales losing out to Zarco, Rins and Binder to be 10th from di Giannantonio.
With only few laps remaining, Bagnaia had a comfortable lead but Miller started to come under pressure from Quartararo and Martin. They came close to each other and the Frenchman made a bold move on the inside to take second.
Miller almost lost to Martin in the next few corners but managed to stay ahead for third. Marini passed Espargaro for fifth with Zarco getting through him too, when he came under pressure from Rins and Binder in the fight for track position.
At the front, Bagnaia eased to win his third MotoGP race in a row in Austrian GP with Quartararo in second. Martin tried a late move on Miller but skidded off to drop to 10th after he managed to get back up and re-join the grand prix.
This allowed Marini to be fourth from Zarco, Espargaro, Binder, Rins, Bezzecchi and Martin in the Top 10. Di Giannantonio ended up 11th from KTM’s Miguel Oliveira, Vinales, LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez and RNF’s Andrea Dovizioso in the Top 15.
It was a miss of points for both the Honda riders with Pol Espargaro only 16th and Stefan Bradl just behind him. Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez was 18th from Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori, as Tech 3’s Gardner re-joined the race to be classified in 20th.
DNF: Franco Morbidelli, Binder, Nakagami, Bastianini, Mir
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MotoGP: Bastianini takes first pole in Austrian GP from Ducati pair
Pramac’s Enea Bastianini took his first MotoGP pole in Austrian GP from Ducati pair of Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller.
Q1:
The first part in MotoGP qualifying in Austrian GP at Red Bull Ring saw the Espargaro brothers lead the way at the halfway mark where Aprilia’s Aleix was on top with a 1m29.430s lap from Honda’s Pol, who was only 0.045s behind.
VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini wasn’t too far ahead in third with Gresini Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio and LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami making it a Top 5. The second running from the riders saw a crash for two riders at the same Turn 3 corner.
LCR’s Alex Marquez and VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi were the ones to crash out, as they then rushed back to the pitlane to try and hop onto the second bike. Aprilia’s Espargaro upped his pace to a 1m29.231s to make it into Q2 at ease in a good show.
Gresini’s di Giannantonio pushed out the other Espargaro to be second and into Q2 with a 1m29.350s lap. The Honda rider ended up fifth to start 15th behind VR46’s Marini and LCR’s Nakagami, as Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli was 16th.
KTM’s Miguel Oliveira only managed 17th from Honda’s Stefan Bradl, with Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner in 19th and RNF Yamaha’s Andrea Dovisioso 20th. Having crashed out, Bezzecchi couldn’t manage to set a new lap to be 21st.
RNF’s Darryn Binder was 22nd from Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez, Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori and LCR’s Marquez, who was the another one to not get a quick lap time after a crash.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Austrian GP saw Ducati’s Jack Miller set the pace early on with a 1m28.898s lap as he headed Gresini’s Enea Bastianini and Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco in the Top 3, with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo only sixth.
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia was out of sequence in the order due to work on his bike. He slotted in second after his first lap as other riders started their second run at that moment. Out of nowhere, Bastianini set a solid lap of 1m28.772s to take MotoGP pole in Austrian GP.
Bagnaia remained in second as he leapfrogged Miller in the process, while Pramc’s Jorge Martin made it a Ducati 1-2-3-4. Yamaha’s Quartararo ended up fifth from Pramac’s Zarco, with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales ending up seventh to beat his teammate.
Espargaro slotted in ninth behind Suzuki’s Joan Mir, after the former’s lap was deleted due to track limits. Gresini’s di Giannantonio was 10th from Suzuki’s Alex Rins and KTM’s Brad Binder.
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TVS’ Rajendra wins K1000; Sarath Mohan, top privateer
Bengaluru, 14 Aug 2022: Former National champion Rajendra RE of Petronas TVS Racing notched up a hard-fought second consecutive victory beating teammate and defending champion Abdul Wahid Tanveer in the K1000 2-wheeler rally, the fourth round of the GodSpeed Racing fmsci MRF Mogrip National 2w Rally Championship 2022 organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club here at the Tribal Adventure Cafe on Sunday.
While Tanveer began the season with a victory at Chikmagaluru, Rajendra bounced back with a fine victory at Coimbatore in Round 3, and with this K1000 win, he took a narrow 1-point lead on the championship table with two rounds to go. All the TVS riders missed Round 2 due to new technical regulations.
Rajendra, the Shivamogga talent, started cautiously as some parts of the Special Stages remained slushy but still clocked the fastest times in all the six Special Stages. However, despite having about 8-second lead, he threw caution to winds and clocked a blistering 7min, 12.207sec in the final Special Stage to make over 12 seconds that left Tanveer clueless. Nataraj, finished a distant third. Samuel Jacob and Imran Pasha (SS 260cc) completed the top-5 sweep for TVS.
Sarath Mohan and Naresh VS are the only riders who have won all the four rounds, thus far, and are well on their way to National Championship honours.
All-win streak continues: Sarath Mohan sweeps all rounds in Superbike Expert class Kerala’s Sarath Mohan, astride a Husqvarna FE450, became the top privateer, taking sixth place in the overall standings, behind Petronas TVS Racing team, who once again made a clean sweep of all the top five places. Sarath, the 25-year talent from Mallapuram, won the Superbike Expert Class 1A beating state mate Sinan Francis (KTM 450) of Kochi by a huge margin. In fact, his big lead helped him overcome the time he lost going off-route due to a missing ‘bunting’ in the stages and a road penalty later. Still he was fastest in all the stages. “I missed the route and lost about two minutes in the Banana farms. But I am quite happy to continue my winning streak,” said the talented rider, who aims to shift to longer cross-country rallies abroad by 2024. Mithun Gopal of Thiruvananthapuram, on a Suzuki RM450, won the bronze to make the class an all-Kerala affair.
Bengaluru’s Naresh VS conquered the Royal Enfield Class 6 astride a Himalayan. Naresh was fastest in all the six stages taking a healthy five-minute lead before his nearest rival Mahesh Kumar suffered a 1min, 40-sec road penalty. Sajeer Ismail from Ernakulam came third.
Bengaluru’s Aishwarya Pissay, the 2019 World Cup Baja winner, took back the championship lead in the Ladies class with a facile victory. With Aishwarya missing Round 2, Fazeela of Ernakulam, took the title lead after Round 3, but today she lost over six minutes in the very first Special STage and had to be content with a fourth place. Bengaluru’s Sameera Dahiya came second on an Impulse and Deeksha Shrivasta, the reigning Sprint champion, finished third.
Imran Pasha of Mysore won the Supersport 260cc Group B class comfortably despite easing off in the last stages where teammate Banteilang Jyrwa clocked the fastest times. However, the TVS talent and former champion did a creditable job taking the overall fifth position on his RTR200 punching above his weight to beat more powerful bikes. Mangalore’s Adnaan Ahmed who won Round 2 at home, finished third.
Bengaluru’s Anoop Manjappa on a Stunner defeated Chalass Bose (Kottayam) despite a 1min 10sec penalty in the Supersport 130cc class. Chikkamagaluru rider Sudarshan B on a Gladiator finished third. However, Bose, the Kottayam rider, leads the table by a narrow six-points by virtue of his two wins and two second places while Anoop, has two wins and a second and could only finish fourth in Coimbatore, losing precious points.
But Gidyun Benjamin, who clocked fastest times in all the six stages, lost to Sasi Kumar K in the Supersport 165cc Group B class due to a road penalty of 2min 50seconds. Varun Kumar came third. Sasi Kumar, breathes easy as he now tops the table with 83 points as, Francis PV, the table topper going into Round 4, had a terrible crash and suffered a leg fracture.
Mumbai’s Russel Jossy on a KTM 390 clocked fastest times on all the stages except SS4 but his nearest rival Amog Nag lost over 4min Liaison penalty and just managed to beat veteran Venu Ramesh Kumar by about 11 seconds. Coimbatore’s Venu, a regular in the rally scene for over a decade bagged another podium and still leads the Supersport 400cc Group B championship standings going into the final two rounds. Assam’s Hansraj Saikia, who came fifth, is second behind Venu in the standings.
Sanjay Somasekhar won the Superstock Group D upto 450cc class beating Naveen Somasekhar, also of Bengaluru while C Pradeep took the third place.
Pinkesh Thakkar of Aprilia JB Racing topped the standings winning the Scooter class while BK Pawan won the Star of K1000 title.
Of the 87 entries, a total of 76 bikes finished the rally while 10 “Did Not Finish” (DNF) and one rider Harish Eranty could not take the start on time.
Provisional Results (Ro 4 K1000):
Class 1: Superbike Pro-Expert:
1. Rajendra RE (Petronas TVS Racing; Shimoga) RTR 450; 51:21.156;
2. Abdul Waheed Tanveer (Petronas TVS Racing; Bengaluru) RTR 450; 51:41.457;
3. R Nataraj (Petronas TVS Racing; Mysore) RTR 450; 53:00.815;
4. Samuel Jacob (Petronas TVS Racing; Udupi) RTR 200; 53:04.462;
5. Imran Pasha (Petronas TVS Racing – Mysore) RTR 200; 55:55:636;
6. Sarath Mohan (Pvt- Mallapuram) Husqvarna; 57: 03.707;
Class 1A:
1. Sarath Mohan (Pvt- Mallapuram) Husqvarna; 57: 03.707;
2. Sinan Francis (Pvt- Vennala/Kerala) KTM 450; 01:00:36.723;
3. Mithun Gopal (Pvt- Trivandrum ) Suzuki RM450; 01:13:42.547;
Class 2:
1. Anoop Manjappa (Pvt – Bengaluru) Stunner; 01:06:44.802; (including 1min, 10sec penalty);
2. Chalass K Bose (Pvt – Kottayam) Stunner; 01:07:21.388;
2. Sudharshan B (Pvt. Chikkamagaluru) Gladiator 01:09: 01.048; (including 1min, 20sec Penalty);
Class 3:
1. Sasi Kumar (Pvt -Coimbatore) Impulse; 01:00:11:700;
2. Gidyun Benjamin (Pvt – ) 01:01:02. 528; (including 2min, 50sec penalty);
3. Varun Kumar (Pvt. – Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:02:47:117;
Class 4:
1. Imran Pasha (Petronas TVS Racing – Mysore) RTR 200; 55:55:636;
2. Banteilang Jerwa (TVS -Shillong) Xpulse; 57:51.299;
3. Adnan Ahmed (Pvt -Mangaluru) Xpulse; 58:34.018; (incl. 1.30sec penalty)
Class 5:
1. Russel Jossy (Pvt – Mumbai) KTM390; 01:02: 06.696; (20sec penalty);
2. Amogh Nag (Pvt – Bengaluru) KTM390; 01:07:28.620; (4min, 10sec penalty);
3. Venu Ramesh Kumar (Pvt – Coimbatore) KTM390; 01:07:39.403;
Class 6:
1. Naresh VS (Pvt – Bengaluru) Royal Enfield; 01:02:32.481;
2. Mahesh Kumar (Pvt – Kochi) Royal Enfield; 01:09:26.454;
3. Shajeer Ishmail (Pvt – Ernakulam) Royal Enfield; 01:10:14.099;
Class 7:
1. Aishwarya Pissay (Petronas TVS Racing – Bengaluru) RTR 200; 01:07:24.068;
2. Sameera Dahiya (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:24:17.364;
3. Deeksha Srivastava (Pvt – Pune) Impulse; 01:31:13.909;
4. Fazeela (Pvt – Ernakulam) Impulse; 01:45:09.443;
Class 8:
1. Pinkesh Thakkar (Aprilia JB Racing)Aprilia; 01:06:27:709;
2. Karthik Naidu (Petronas TVS Racing –Bengaluru) NTorq; 01:06:29:973;
3. Subramanya T (Pvt – Bhopal) NTorq; 01:06:46:747;
Class 9
1. Sanjay Somashekar (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:00:25:746;
2. Naveen Somashekar (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:06:14:891;
3. C Pradeep (PRN Motorsports – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:06:37:032;
Class 10: Star of K1000
1. BK Pawan (Pvt.- Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:03:47.017;
2. Gowtham Rao R (Pvt. Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:04:02.918;
3. L Bharath (Pvt. Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:10:27.572.
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Abdul Tanveer, Rajendra renew battles; Aishwarya, Sarath raring to go
Bengaluru, 12 August 2022: Defending champion Abdul Wahid Tanveer, who is leading the table will renew his battle with Petronas TVS Racing teammate Rajendra RE, in the iconic K1000 rally, the fourth round of the fmsci MRF MoGrip National Rally Championship for two-wheelers which begins at Tribal Adventure Cafe, near Devanahalli, near here on Saturday.
With the championship throwing three different winners from the first three rounds, Tanveer has taken the Overall lead with 43 points followed by 2019 champion Rajendra on 37 points while Samuel Jacob of Mangalore, also from TVS is in third position with 33 points. Sarath Mohan is leading the Superbikes Expert class while Aishwarya Pissay, also from TVS, is way ahead in the Ladies class and is gunning for her sixth straight National title.
Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC), with the support of sponsors MRF, have made sure that all arrangements are in place, including a technically-challenging terrain. Promoted by GodSpeed Racing, the premier two-wheeler round of the Indian Rally Nationals, has attracted 87 entries from all over the country. “KMSC is the oldest motorsports club in India hosting the Indian National Rally Championship for over 45 years and we are glad to bring back its more popular cousin, the K1000 two-wheeler National rally. All the safety protocols are in place and KMSC wishes the very best to all the riders for a safe and successful rally. We have also re-introduced the Star of Karnataka for the benefit of local riders,” said Gautham, President of KMSC.
“Due to rains, the terrain has become more challenging and with the season at the mid-way stage the competition is at its peak and we are expecting a thrilling rally,” said 7-time National champion, Shyam Kothari of GodSpeed Racing, the Promoters.
Petronas TVS Factory Racing team have dominated all the classes they have taken part and two of its leading lights former champion Rajendra RE of Shivamogga and defending champion Abdul Wahid Tanveer of Mysore will be the strong contenders for overall lead along with Mangaluru privateer Adnaan Ahmed. With no time to fix the fuel pumps as per new regulations, TVS opted out of the back-to-back second round in Mangaluru, which was won by Adnaan Ahmed.
Kerala privateer Sarath Mohan has dominated the Superbikes Expert class. The Mallapuram rider who missed the last year’s title due to an injury, is back with a bang winning all the rounds. Chalass K Bose, Imran Pasha, Naresh VS, Pinkesh Thakkar and veteran Venu Ramesh are the other riders to watch in their classes.
Sarath Mohan, who is leading the Superbikes Expert class after three rounds. Meanwhile, the star attraction of the event will be the only World Cup winner from India in motorsports, Aishwarya Pissay, who is on a quest for sixth consecutive National title in Ladies class. The 2019 FIM WC Bajas winner, is fresh from her exploits in Baja Aragon Spain. Talented Fazeela of Kochi, who is leading the table, will be another lady rider to watch out for.
On Sunday, the riders will cover a total distance of 154 kms which includes six Special Stages comprising 57 kms of competitive rally distance on dirt tracks at the Tribal Adventure Cafe, near Devanahalli. The ceremonial flag-off will be on Saturday. The Championship will conclude with two back-to-back rounds in Pune and Nashik in November.
The results are being presented Live by Zeitmesser India. Watch the race through live results here:
