Your basket is currently empty!
Blog
-
Jorge Lorenzo named MotoGP Legend
Jerez, 30 April 2022: Five-time World Champion Jorge Lorenzo is now a MotoGP Legend! The Spaniard was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto – where the final corner also bears his name – in a special ceremony on Saturday, honouring a long and successful career.
Lorenzo made his 125cc World Championship debut at Jerez in 2002, and from there the rise began. For 2005 he moved into the 250cc class and then won his first World Championships with back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, taking more than half the victories on offer across the two seasons. He moved up to MotoGP for 2008, partnering Valentino Rossi at Yamaha, and took his first MotoGP victory only third time out.
In 2009, he was runner up and the season also staged one of the races of the century as Rossi vs Lorenzo at the Catalan Grand Prix became one of the most memorable duels in MotoGP. In 2010, however, Lorenzo’s time had come and it was a near-perfect season as he was crowned MotoGP World Champion for the first time. 2011 went to key rival Casey Stoner before 2012 saw Lorenzo take the crown once more. 2013 and 2014 went to new rival Marc Marquez, before Lorenzo was crowned Champion again in 2015 after another Rossi vs Lorenzo showdown.
Lorenzo 2002 2016 was a final year with Yamaha before moving to Ducati for 2017, and after a first season with a few podiums, Lorenzo took three sublime victories for the Borgo Panigale factory in 2018. The season was then curtailed by injury and he switched to Repsol Honda for 2019. After a tougher year and more injury struggles, the five-time World Champion hung up his leathers at the end of the season.
Over an incredible career, Lorenzo won 68 races and stood on the podium an incredible 152 times. He won two 250cc World Championships and was crowned MotoGP World Champion three times, as well as winning premier class races with two factories. Now, he is officially a MotoGP Legend!
Lorenzo 2007 Lorenzo joins a long list of greats that have been made MotoGP Legends that includes Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini, Mick Doohan, Geoff Duke, Wayne Gardner, Mike Hailwood, Daijiro Kato, Eddie Lawson, Anton Mang, Angel Nieto, Wayne Rainey, Phil Read, Jim Redman, Kenny Roberts, Kenny Roberts Jr, Jarno Saarinen, Kevin Schwantz, Barry Sheene, Marco Simoncelli, Freddie Spencer, Casey Stoner, John Surtees, Carlo Ubbiali, Alex Crivillé, Franco Uncini, Marco Lucchinelli, Randy Mamola, Kork Ballington, Dani Pedrosa, Stefan Dörflinger, Jorge ‘Aspar’ Martinez, and the late Nicky Hayden.
Jorge Lorenzo: “I arrived here 20 years ago at this track to make my debut and I was still 14 on Friday. So, I went to watch at a few corners with a scooter and I saw the likes of Cecchinello, Ueda, Vincent, Pedrosa, Poggiali all riding. For me, they were heroes. And I saw them riding so aggressively and so fast, that I was wondering if someday I could arrive at that level.
“Now, I’m given the honour of becoming a MotoGP Legend from Dorna, from Carmelo, that have always treated me so well, and this means even more than the Championships I won. Because all of the MotoGP Legends are great Champions, but not all Champions can be named as Legends, so I’m very proud to be part of this amazing group, these names. I’m so lucky, so grateful to have the life I have thanks to MotoGP.”
Lorenzo wins his first premier class in 2010 after finishing second in 2009. Title No.1. Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “Jorge has been something special for MotoGP. In my opinion, Jorge, first of all, is a fantastic person. He’s very emotional, he’s a friend, he’s a person who tried to do the maximum every time he did something, and he’s an incredible rider. For us, Jorge has been, in this generation, very, very special, who has allowed us to grow as we are growing. It’s a special moment for MotoGP and personally for me to say thanks to Jorge and to induct the 33rd Legend of MotoGP. He’s part of the most important riders in the history of MotoGP and I’m very proud to give him this award. Thank you, Jorge.”
-
Stoffel Vandoorne claims first win of the season
Monte Carlo, 30 April 2022: Stoffel Vandoorne mastered the unforgiving streets of Monte-Carlo today (30 April) to claim his first victory of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship campaign with Mercedes-EQ – storming to the summit of the drivers’ standings in the process.
Vandoorne began the Monaco E-Prix from fourth on the grid and maintained that position throughout the opening half of the race in the glamorous Principality, behind pole-sitter Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing), TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and two-time champion Jean-Éric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH), before the leading quartet began trading places as Attack Mode activations came into play.
The Belgian’s first move was to sweep around the outside of Evans for third at the chicane approaching mid-distance, going on to gain another spot when Wehrlein suddenly slowed. After boxing clever and biding his time early on, the German looked to have pulled off a masterstroke as he catapulted himself to the head of the order following the initial round of Attack Modes, only for misfortune to strike.
Vandoorne then seized the lead when Vergne became the first of the front-runners to deploy his second Attack Mode, the DS TECHEETAH driver dropping to third and losing much of the benefit of his extra power to a Full Course Yellow, prompted by Wehrlein’s car stopping on-track.
When the action resumed, Mercedes man Vandoorne had a 3.5-second advantage over closest rival Evans. Whilst, like Vergne, he was unable to fully exploit his second Attack Mode – due to a safety car intervention for a collision between Mahindra Racing’s Oliver Rowland and André Lotterer that left the Porsche buried in the Ste Dévote barriers – he would not subsequently be challenged.
A new fastest lap enabled Vandoorne to put some breathing space between himself and his pursuers, and the Monaco resident went on to take the chequered flag just over a second to the good to cement a popular ‘home’ triumph – a result that made him the first driver ever to win the race from lower than pole position, and which leaves him six points clear at the top of the title table.
After rebuffing Wehrlein’s advances to lead the opening stages of the race, Evans – Formula E’s form driver following his double top in Rome three weeks ago – subsequently struggled with energy management but ultimately rallied to clinch the runner-up spoils as he fought his way grittily back past Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns and Vergne.
The Frenchman – who had arrived in Monte-Carlo leading the championship – adopted an aggressive strategy that at one point looked like reaping rewards, but the unfortunate timing of his second Attack Mode would prove costly and in the end, he was powerless to defend against a resurgent Evans in Attack Mode and was forced to settle for third.
Right on Vergne’s heels at the flag was Frijns, who lost ground early on but drove an intelligent race to climb to fourth position and keep his own title aspirations very much alive. The Dutchman wound up sandwiched between the DS TECHEETAHs, with practice pace-setter and last year’s Monaco winner António Félix da Costa hauling himself into contention as he charged through to fifth from down in ninth on the grid.
Sixth-placed Lucas Di Grassi was in the front-running group throughout for ROKiT Venturi Racing, on a day when his team-mate – erstwhile championship leader Edoardo Mortara – failed to score.
Nick Cassidy crossed the line seventh for Envision Racing – an improvement of 11 positions on his starting position – with double title-winner Sébastien Buemi recreating some of the magic that saw him win the first two editions of the Monaco E-Prix as he scythed through from the very back of the pack to finish eighth.
Jake Dennis made up significant early ground for Avalanche Andretti on his way to ninth, with Vandoorne’s Mercedes stablemate, defending champion Nyck de Vries, a subdued tenth.
The 2021/22 Formula E season will continue with rounds seven and eight on Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit in a fortnight’s time (14/15 May).
STOFFEL VANDOORNE, MERCEDES-EQ FORMULA E TEAM, #5 said:
“It is an amazing feeling, I mean Monaco is always a special race to win as a driver. Last year we had a tough time here, this year we managed to turn it around. The target was to qualify at the front and then I knew we would be in the mix, and that is exactly how the race panned out. We were flying today, massive well done to the team for giving me a strong car. It has not been an easy start to the season, but it shows the consistency we have. I am extremely happy.
“I feel like I have been fighting at the front all season already, I have had a few pole positions and have not quite been able to convert them into victories. This weekend I decided not to qualify on pole and get the victory instead.”
MITCH EVANS, JAGUAR TCS RACING, #9 said:
“It was a confusing race because I felt we were looking really good on the energy, obviously off the back of Rome but also approaching the race. We thought we were pretty conservative, so were not expecting to use much energy, but it was the complete opposite. This is something to look into, maybe we just got things a bit wrong today – but we were quite lucky to get second, so I will take that. I really wanted to win today off the back of pole and the wins for us at the last race, but Stoffel and the other guys were really quick. So I will take these good points and move on for the next race.”
JEAN-ÉRIC VERGNE, DS TECHEETAH, #25 said:
“It was a good race but I was unlucky on the second attack mode, I had a struggle with full course yellow so it was a waste. Obviously I would rather fight for the win today but I am going to take those points. I’ll keep pushing hard, I’ll keep hard working and move forward.”
-
MotoGP: Bagnaia beats Quartararo to take pole in Spanish GP
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia beats Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo to MotoGP Spanish GP pole, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro in third.
Q1:
The first part of MotoGP qualifying in Spanish GP at Jerez saw Suzuki’s Alex Rins lead the way provisionally from Honda’s Pol Espargaro but the latter came back to take the lead as KTM’s Brad Binder stood third for most part of the session.
The second run saw VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi take the top spot before falling down. He looked all set to take it away but for the late charge from Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco who set a 1m37.003s lap to set the pace and make it into Q2.
Despite his fall, Bezzecchi’s 1m37.135s lap was enough for a Q2 spot as Honda’s Espargaro missed out in third by 0.003s. He is to start the Spanish MotoGP race from 13th ahead of Suzuki’s Rins with Binder in 15th after one of his laps was deleted due to track limits.
Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli slotted in 16th from Gresini Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio as Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner ended up 18th even though he crashed at Turn 5. VR46’s Luca Marini was 19th from Honda’s wildcard entrant Stefan Bradl.
Late run from KTM’s Miguel Oliveira saw him only 21st with LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez in 22nd, RNF Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso 23rd, Aprilia wildcard entrant Lorenzo Savadori 24th and RNF’s Darryn Binder in 25th.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Spanish GP saw early crash for Pramac’s Jorge Martin, who had to rush into the pits to switch onto the second bike. On track, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo set the pace provisionally from Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro slotted in third from Ducati’s Jack Miller and Honda’s Marc Marquez before they all ventured out for their final run. As they set out, Suzuki’s Joan Mir and Gresini’s Enea Bastianini both had separate crashes at different corners.
That certainly ruled them out of contention as Bagnaia went quickest with a 1m36.170s lap which was enough to hand him MotoGP pole in Spanish GP as Quartararo couldn’t improve on his final attempt to be second, with Espargaro regaining third in his final attempt.
Miller and Marquez stayed fourth and fifth as Zarco slotted in sixth from LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami, Bezzecchi, Mir, Martin, Bastianini and Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales in the Top 12.
-
Quartararo fends off Ducati for top honours on Friday
The reigning Champion tops Day 1 at one of his signature tracks despite a crash, with Bastianini, Bagnaia and Martin on the chase
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 29 April, 2022: Reigning Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) is the rider to beat so far at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España! The Championship leader pulled two tenths clear on Friday to hold off the hard-charging Ducati trio of Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), with the Frenchman finding a late 1:37.071 in FP2 to sit top of the pile despite a crash earlier in the day.
FP1
2020 Champion Joan MIr (Team Suzuki Ecstar) topped FP1, the Spaniard’s penultimate lap good enough to hold off a last lap charge from teammate Alex Rins, who ended up just 0.025 behind in second. LCR Castrol’s Honda’s Alex Marquez slotted into third, but there was some headline stealing from Quartararo in a different way to start the day.The Frenchman was sitting pretty at the top of the timesheets before a wet patch caught him out at the final corner, and the crash left him wincing as the rear wheel of his Yamaha flicked him in the groin. No harm done once he’d had a few minutes to recover, but there were two further moments as well: The first came under braking at Turn 9, before he was then forced to straight line it through the gravel trap at Turn 5. Despite all of that, the number 20 closed out the opening session in fifth, just behind Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing).
FP2
Quartararo was able to pull out those two tenths to take back to the top, but he had competition from Ducati. Looking at the opening day of action, it’s the Bologna factory who may well be his closest challengers on Sunday after Bastianini, Bagnaia and Martin all impressed. The ‘Beast’ jumped ahead of his factory counterpart with the chequered flag out to take second spot late on, but after Bagnaia had earlier led the session too. The number 63 appeared to be back to his brilliant best as he threw in a handful of fast laps, with his best placing him third overall and a quarter of a second adrift of his 2021 title rival.Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), meanwhile, suffered two crashes. The first off was at Turn 6, before quickly picking up the bike and rejoining. Whilst heading back to the pitlane, however, the eight-time World Champion was cruising off the racing line at Turn 9 and touched a damp patch that remained from Thursday’s rain. Down went the Spaniard again but former teammate and now KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa was on hand for a taxi back.
Provisional Q2 places
Behind the Quartararo-Ducati caravan in the top four then, it’s Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) who ends Friday as top Honda in fifth. It was close though, the Japanese rider edging out Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by just 0.004, and the gap didn’t get much bigger thereafter either, with Repsol Honda’s Pol Espargaro in seventh and only another 0.005 off.Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins was eighth and the only rider in the top ten from FP1’s top three, and Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales finished Friday in ninth. 2021 winner Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) is currently the last set to move through, the Australian in P10 on Day 1.
That leaves the likes of Marquez, Aleix Espargaro and Mir looking for more on Saturday morning, with FP3 underway at 9:55 (GMT +2). Then, it’s time to decide the grid for another stunning Gran Premio Red Bull de España, so make sure to tune in for qualifying – on track from 14:10!
-
Target acquired: Quartararo singled out as the man to beat
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 28 April, 2022: There’s one man on everybody’s lips at the Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain: Fabio Quartararo. And it’s easy to see why. Fresh from a first MotoGP™ win of the season in spectacular fashion, Monster Energy Yamaha’s reigning World Champion arrives at a circuit he’s dominated at in the past two years. With back-to-back wins in 2020, before his hopes of a hat-trick were dashed in 2021 by arm pump, on his Jerez resume, there’s no doubting he’s the man to beat. His nearest title rivals though, whilst speaking at Thursday’s Press Conference, said they’re expecting a close fight.
Indian fans can tune in to EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD to catch all the live action from the 2022 MotoGP championship, with the MotoGP 2022 – Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain Qualifying Race scheduled from 16:00 Hrs (04:00 pm IST) onwards on Saturday, April 30, 2022.
THE CHAMPION
Quartararo was untouchable in Jerez in 2020 and 2021. He won both races two years ago by a combined margin of 10.1 seconds, and he was already edging towards being two seconds clear of Jack Miller before arm pump struck last season. So does he feel he has some unfinished business to deliver this weekend?
“Payback? I will say no,” started the defending World Champion. “Because basically, it was not an issue with the bike, it was an issue from my side. I would say that I am arriving much more prepared. The surgery I had last year was perfect, so, of course, I feel we can go super-fast but we need to work on a normal weekend. I feel we have the potential to fight for the victory but we need to do it step-by-step, first Friday and then we will see our speed.
“It was an important moment,” replied Quartararo when asked about his first premier class victory since Silverstone last year. “Straight away I was able to be fast. In the race to make a 39.4 on Lap 3 was quite important. Of course, to fight for the victory after the tough start to the season is always great, and it’s even greater when you have back-to-back races, and I am at one of my favourite tracks.”
THE CHALLENGERS
Arguably the two men most likely to stop the factory Yamaha rider from going back-to-back are Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing). The pair are breathing down Quartararo’s neck in the title chase and are hoping to sneak clear of the Frenchman at what they believe will be an incredibly close and competitive Spanish Grand Prix.
“We are at a track that I really like,” said Rins, now tied on points with Quartararo in the World Championship. “Last year, we had a small crash at Turn 6, so I did the race with just one wing. The pace was not that bad, so let’s see. Let’s see what awaits us this weekend and let’s try to do the same as last weekend. This is one of the tracks that a lot of riders will be fast at. It’s the first Spanish GP, so it will be difficult. Also, the level that we have in MotoGP is high this year.”
Espargaro is equally determined, especially as we arrive at a circuit where he was able to finish just five seconds away from the eventual race winner in 2021. At that time, it was the closest Aprilia have ever been to a MotoGP™ race winner meaning, given the increased performance from this year’s RS-GP, the 32-year-old is brimming with confidence.
“Last season here was very good for us, we were quite close to the podium and the victory, so I hope with this year’s bike, that’s improved quite a lot, we can be even more competitive. This year things have changed a lot for us, but also for the rest of the riders on the grid. The level is very high, and we know how tough this category is.
“I remember that in FP3 here last season, there were just three or four tenths covering 15 riders, so it’s going to be difficult, and it’s going to be very important to be focused from FP1. With the system of having the first three sessions to be in the top 10, we know it’s very important, and every session will count.”
THE CHANGE?
Following what seemed like a positive pre-season, many predictions ahead of Qatar pointed toward Honda finding some of their former glory. However, the Repsol Honda Team has struggled in the opening five rounds of the year with Marc Marquez stating the need for change. The new RC213V was aimed at giving HRC’s riders the rear grip it has badly lacked over recent years. But that design change has, as a result, taken away Marquez’s biggest strength: braking. Now unable to attack corners in a ‘V’ shape, Marquez is missing some magic.
The Spaniard opened up about Honda’s issues in Thursday’s Press Conference: “It’s true that it’s a bike that in big circuits it’s working really well like we saw in pre-season in Malaysia and then in Qatar. But as soon as we arrive at a small circuit and you need to turn in a short time, that is where we struggle a lot. That’s where we need to understand some more. The solution is close or far? We don’t know, we don’t know. The potential is there. I believe the potential is there. But we need to find a way how to take profit from that potential.”
Will we see the eight-time World Champion back at his best this weekend? Or will it require Monday’s crucial Official Test to find the breakthrough they so desperately need to ignite the number 93’s title tilt? We’ll find out this weekend at the Red Bull Spanish Grand Prix.
About Eurosport India:
Eurosport India is the go-to destination for passionate sports fans in India. Unlocking the power of sport through world-class content from the world’s greatest sporting events, Eurosport India provides the Indian audience with an unrivalled premium sports offering. As the Home of the Olympic Games in Europe, Discovery is bringing Eurosport to discovery+, the real-life direct-to-consumer streaming service, starting in a range of international markets during 2021. Firmly established as the number one sport destination in Europe and the Home of Cycling, Grand Slam Tennis and Winter Sport, Eurosport channels – Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 – reach 246 million cumulative subscribers across 75 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Eurosport Events specializes in the management and promotion of international sporting events. More information is available by visiting corporate.eurosport.com.
-
Rovanpera wins WRC Croatia Rally ahead of Hyundai duo
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera did enough to win WRC Croatia Rally from Hyundai pair of Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville.
Friday:
Kalle Rovanpera demolished his opponents in Friday’s treacherous opening leg of the WRC Croatia Rally to build a convincing lead of more than a minute. Despite rain, mud and mist in the hills west of capital Zagreb, he won six of the eight asphalt speed tests in a Toyota GR Yaris to head a resilient Thierry Neuville by 1min 04.0sec.
FIA World Rally Championship leader Rovanpera thrived in the tricky conditions. He won three of the morning’s four special stages to lead by 47.5sec and stretched it during an equally dominant afternoon. Having missed valuable experience when he crashed in the opening kilometres of Croatia’s WRC debut 12 months ago, the Finn expected to be at a disadvantage.
But first in the start order helped as conditions progressively worsened as each car dragged mud onto the road. Neuville endured a topsy-turvy day. The Belgian completed the opening quartet of tests 12.5sec adrift, but a broken alternator belt in his Hyundai i20 N’s engine twice stopped the car en route to service. Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe pushed the car the final 800m.
The exhausted pair fell to the floor as they arrived four minutes late and a 40sec penalty demoted them to fourth. A spirited afternoon, including fastest time in the final stage, propelled them back to second. They had 19.3sec in hand over team-mate Ott Tanak. The Estonian’s low start position hindered him, along with a penultimate stage puncture, but Tanak was content with third.
Despite overshooting a corner and narrowly missing a water hydrant, Craig Breen was fourth on his first time aboard a Ford Puma in the wet. The Irishman overnighted 11.9sec back. Oliver Solberg was delayed by a spin and was fortunate to survive an impact in a water-filled corner en route to fifth in his i20 N. He was more than a minute adrift of Breen and 10.6sec clear of Evans, who denied Rovanperä a clean sweep of morning stage wins.
That was the Welshman’s only joy as two punctures on his GR Yaris cost valuable time. He was almost 40sec clear of the similar car of a low-on-confidence Takamoto Katsuta. In worse trouble was Esapekka Lappi who retired his GR Yaris in the first stage after clipping a boulder and wrecking the front right corner.
Aside from Breen’s efforts it was a disappointing day for M-Sport Ford. Adrien Fourmaux went out after sliding his Puma through a hedge into a roadside garden, while both Pierre-Louis Loubet and Gus Greensmith exited when three punctures left them with no more usuable tyres onboard. WRC2 leader Yohan Rossel was eighth with Nikolay Gryazin and Eric Camilli completing the leaderboard.
Saturday:
Kalle Rovanpera’s commanding WRC Croatia Rally lead came under threat from Ott Tanak during Saturday’s absorbing second leg. FIA World Rally Championship leader Rovanpera began the second day of three in the hills near Zagreb with a seemingly impregnable lead of almost 90sec over the Estonian in his Toyota GR Yaris.
He ended with that advantage slashed to just 19.9sec after a puncture and Tanak’s persistence set up an exciting Sunday finale. Tanak had already trimmed Rovanperä’s lead when the Finn punctured his front left tyre on the morning’s penultimate speed test amid heavy rain and thick fog at the Platak ski resort above the Adriatic coast.
The pair were the only frontrunners who had the advantage of Pirelli’s wet weather tyres on all four corners of their cars. While Tanak pushed on through the gloom to win the stage in his Hyundai i20 N, Rovanpera conceded nearly 55sec. Tanak sniffed the opportunity of a first victory for more than a year and nibbled back more time, despite an afternoon gearchange problem. But Rovanpera sent a clear message in the final test, setting fastest time to regain 5.1sec.
Tanak admitted the Platak test was an eye opener. While conditions on the other stages were drier than yesterday, the weather deteriorated in Platak and the afternoon’s repeat pass was cancelled. Craig Breen and Thierry Neuville were blanketed by 4.9sec for the final podium place, almost a minute behind Tänak. Breen overshot a hairpin in his Ford Puma while Neuville’s torrid weekend took yet more twists.
He received a one-minute penalty overnight for speeding on Friday which relegated him from second to fourth. His i20 N had to be pushed into service this morning and another 10sec penalty came for leaving a minute late. Neuville clawed back almost 40sec from Breen to end hot on the Irishman’s heels and 49.9sec clear of Elfyn Evans. The Welshman won the opening test in a GR Yaris but was reluctant to take risks when on course for his first points finish of the year.
Takamoto Katsuta rounded off the top six. The Japanese pilot dropped time with a puncture and an overshoot and was almost 3min 40sec adrift of Evans. WRC2 leader Yohan Rossel was seventh, with fellow support category contenders Nikolay Gryazin, Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Emil Lindholm completing the top 10.
Oliver Solberg crashed his i20 N out of fifth in the opening stage, which was cancelled as rescue vehicles attended a fire at the rear of the car. Esapekka Lappi returned after hitting a rock and retiring his GR Yaris yesterday. The Finn benefited from opening the roads and scored three fastest times.
Sunday:
Kalle Rovanpera snatched an extraordinary WRC Croatia Rally victory on Sunday afternoon as a downpour turned the event on its head in the final kilometres. The Finn led from the start of the three-day rally in the hills around Zagreb in his Toyota GR Yaris, only for a storm in the penultimate speed test to wipe out his hard-earned advantage.
A resurgent Ott Tanak, whose gamble on softer Pirelli tyres gave his Hyundai i20 N a performance edge on the streaming asphalt, grabbed a 1.4sec lead. The pendulum swung back towards Rovanpera as drier roads in the closing Wolf Power Stage offered hope, but the odds remained firmly in Tanak’s favour as mud and dirt littered the final 14.09km.
Rovanpera threw caution to the wind and remarkably overturned the deficit to claim back-to-back FIA World Rally Championship wins by 4.3sec. Victory extended his points lead to 29 after three rounds of the 13-event season. He had dominated the early stages of the event and was almost 90sec clear until falling into Tanak’s clutches following a puncture on Saturday morning. He rebuilt his lead to half a minute until the deluge set up a breathtaking finale.
It was a disappointing outcome for Tanak, whose victory drought dates back to February 2021. The Estonian finished 2min 16.7sec clear of team-mate Thierry Neuville. The Belgian overhauled Craig Breen on the final morning to claim a podium despite a torrid weekend which would have forced many to give up.
He and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe were on the point of collapse after pushing their car for 800 metres into service on Friday after stopping with alternator problems. Time penalties and speeding fines knocked them further back and they almost gave up a podium with sight of the finish after hitting a bank and almost rolling.
Breen survived an overshoot and a spin to take fourth in a Ford Puma. The Irishman fended off a closing Elfyn Evans, whose fifth place marked a first points finish of the year for the GR Yaris driver. Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta was a distant sixth in another Yaris.
The tricky asphalt, allied with heavy rain and fog, proved highly attritional and the remainder of the leaderboard was filled by drivers from the WRC2 support category. Yohan Rossel secured seventh ahead of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Emil Lindholm. A poor tyre choice cost Nikolay Gryazin valuable time across the closing stages and he dropped two places to 10th.
Here’s WRC Croatia Rally: https://www.wrc.com/en/wrcplus/live-timing/
[Note: The above is per press release with no edits made]
-
MotoGP: Quartararo dominates Portuguese GP; late crash for Miller/Mir
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo takes dominant Portuguese GP win in MotoGP from Pramac’s Johann Zarco and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.
The MotoGP Portuguese GP started off well for Suzuki’s Joan Mir who immediately took the lead from Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and Ducati’s Jack Miller, as pole-sitter Johann Zarco onboard his Pramac Ducati dropped to fourth from LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez.
KTM’s Miguel Oliveira made up ground to sixth as Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro dropped to seventh from brother Pol on his Honda. Pramac’s Jorge Martin was ninth from Suzuki’s Alex Rins who climbed from 23rd to 10th in the opening couple of laps.
As Mir led the way, Quartararo started to press on the Suzuki rider and eventually passed him at Turn 1 to take the lead in MotoGP Portuguese GP. Zarco passed Miller to third as Marquez stood fifth from Espargaro, Oliveira and Rins in the Top 8.
There was a gap then to the group of Espargaro, Marquez, Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini and KTM’s Brad Binder in the fight for ninth. Marquez won the battle for the time being from Espargaro, Bastianini and Binder with LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami a bit off in 13th.
Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales made his way to 14th from Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in the Top 15. The Italian had a slow start due to his qualifying crash, but slowly got into a rhythm to claw his way up, although not at the same pace as Rins was doing.
He got into a tussle against Marquez, Espargaro and Oliveira for fifth. He got through them at one point but Espargaro got fifth to keep him behind where Marquez dropped to eighth behind Olivera. While Zarco started to press Mir, teammate Martin crashed out.
Another to crash was MotoGP points leader Bastianini, with Nakagami clouting the back of Binder to fall but managed to continue. Amid all this, Quartararo led the way from Mir who regained second after a brief attack from Zarco as Miller was stagnant in fourth.
Espargaro was fifth from Rins with Oliveira seventh ahead of A Marquez, M Marquez and P Espargaro in the Top 10. Binder was 11th from Bagnaia with Vinales 13th, VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini 14th and Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli 15th.
At the front, Quartararo checked himself out with the fight on between Mir, Zarco and Miller. The Frenchman tried couple of times but made it stick on Mir to take second as the Suzuki rider then came under pressure from Miller, Espargaro and Rins.
The drama only intensified when Miller crashed out taking Mir with him at Turn 1. The Australian tried to take the inside line but slipped taking the Suzuki rider with him. Zarco got a breathing space in second but Espargaro and Rins started to press him on.
Oliveira moved to fifth after his teammate Binder crashed out, with A Marquez sixth ahead of M Marquez as Espargaro was eighth from Bagnaia and Vinales in the Top 10. There was another retirement with Gresini’s Fabio di Giannantonio shutting shop due to an issue.
At the front, Quartararo dominated once in lead to win MotoGP Portuguese GP as Zarco made it French 1-2 as Espargaro completed the podium from Rins and Oliveria in the Top 5. M Marquez won the fight against his brother Alex in a solid fight for sixth.
Bagnaia got eighth from Espargaro on the line with Vinales in 10th from RNF Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso, Marini, Morbidelli, Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner and VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi in the Top 15 and points position.
Nakagami recovered to 16th from RNF’s Darryn Binder and Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori who was the last classified finisher where Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez did not start after his Warm-Up crash. DNF: Di Giananntonio, Mir, Miller, Binder, Bastianini, Martin.
-
Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 in Emilia Romagna GP after misery for Leclerc
Red Bull ended up 1-2 with Max Verstappen winning F1 Emilia Romagna GP from Sergio Perez as McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded the podium in third.
The pre-race rain made it an intermediate start for all in F1 Emilia Romagna GP as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen got a good start to lead from teammate Sergio Perez after an average getaway for both the Ferrari cars with McLaren’s Lando Norris moving to third.
Charles Leclerc dropped to fourth as teammate Carlos Sainz spun out after being tagged by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in Turn 3-4 area. The Spaniard suffered another retirement as the Australian pitted to drop back in the order with the safety car deployed.
Replays showed Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas also hitting the back of Ricciardo in that moment, while separately Haas’ Mick Schumacher spun on a wet patch when his rear wing touched the sidepod of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso which shed itself later on.
The re-start worked well for Verstappen as he led Perez, Norris and Leclerc in the Top 4, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in fifth from Mercedes’ George Russell who climbed up five places to be sixth ahead of Bottas, Alonso in the Top 10.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was ninth from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, as up ahead Leclerc challenged Norris for third to take it. Behind him, Magnussen was being pressured on by Russell and Bottas where the Brit tried to get by the Dane.
He did it once but lost out. He hustled again and got through him for fifth as Bottas followed suit on the next lap to take sixth with Magnussen dropping to seventh. Vettel slowly started to catch him with Tsunoda a bit far off in ninth.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the battle for 10th as Alonso was forced to retire after part of his sidepod came lose. The drivers started to slip and slide more on a drying track in the wait of rain to pit.
With no rain in the horizon, drivers started to pit after Ricciardo started the chain. There was some chaos with slow stops for Hamilton and Bottas. The Brit had to avoid Ocon who was released on his way with the stewards putting it under investigation.
Ocon was handed a 5s time penalty for unsafe release, as Verstappen led the way in the front. Teammate Perez had Leclerc all on his back in the fight for second with Norris remaining in third from Russell and Bottas who retained sixth despite the slow stop.
Vettel gained on Magnussen to be seventh with Tsunoda ninth from Stroll in the Top 10. Ocon was 11th from Williams’ Alexander Albon, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Hamilton, who dropped to 14th after the slow stop from his team.
The race steadied itself as drivers had to get through the race on the same set of tyres. The biggest moment for the camera crew was Verstappen lapping Hamilton towards the end of the race when the Brit was trying to get through Gasly.
While things were stable ahead, Tsunoda passed Magnussen for eighth as outside the Top 10, Albon continued to trouble Gasly and Hamilton in the fight for 12th. In a twist, Ferrari called in Leclerc for soft tyres with Red Bull doing the same with Perez and Verstappen.
Leclerc came out behind Norris but he got back the place and hurried Perez. In doing so, the Monegasque spun but managed to continue on. He was forced to pit for the front wing and dropped to ninth but regained eighth from Magnussen.
At the front, Norris gained a place to third while Russell in fourth had Bottas on his tail in the closing stages. Tsunoda was long way off in sixth from Vettel who had a charging Leclerc on his tail. He eventually passed him in his pursuit of Tsunoda.
His title challenger Verstappen dominated to win F1 Emilia Romagna GP in a Red Bull 1-2 with Perez second from Norris in the Top 3. The Dutchman also scored the fastest lap, as Russell held off Bottas to finish fourth by 0.675s.
Leclerc ended up sixth from Tsunoda, Vettel, Magnussen and Stroll in the Top 10 where Aston Martin scored double points to open their account in 2022. Ocon was 11th despite his penalty as Albon eventually held off Gasly and Hamilton for 12th.
Zhou was 15th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi with Schumacher 17th and Ricciardo 18th. Everyone from Stroll until the Australian ended up a lap down. DNF: Alonso, Sainz.
-
Zarco secures Portuguese GP pole in late attempt from Mir, Espargaro
Pramac’s Johann Zarco came through to secure MotoGP pole in Portuguese GP from Suzuki’s Joan Mir and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.
Q1:
It was tricky start to first part of MotoGP qualifying in Portuguese GP as riders had to decide whether to go on the slick tyres or stick to wet. Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner had a high side on the dry weather tyres with Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia following suit.
Among others, Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, Suzuki’s Alex Rins, Gresini Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio and VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini also used the dry tyres early on as LCR Honda duo of Alex Marquez and Takakaaki Nakagami led the way on wet tyres.
It was mixed strategy but towards the end, the slick tyres started to come alive. It eventually helped LCR’s Alex Marquez (1m46.316s) through to Q2 after he switched to dry tyres with Marini making it in too with a 1m47.199s lap.
Despite the late push, Martin missed out in third to start 13th in MotoGP Potuguese GP, with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales 14th from di Ginannantonio, RNF Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso and Nakagami in 17th as points leader Enea Bastianini was only 18th.
The Gresini rider had a late high side to crash out, as Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli was 19th from Gardner who managed to return after his crash unlike Bagnaia who couldn’t set any time. Aprilia wildcard Lorenzo Savadori was 21st from RNF’s Darryn Binder.
Suzuki’s Rins was only 23rd in the end after his lap was cancelled as Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez ended up 24th after his high side on the slick tyres.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Portuguese GP saw everyone use the slick tyres as the times at the front continued to change for multiple riders. Even the lead changed hands multiple times along with the front row order with many having a go at it.
The fight for pole went until the final lap after the chequered flag, as Ducati’s Jack Miller went from first to fourth after late improvements from three riders. It would have been more damage if not for the lap cancellation for Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo.
The crash for Honda’s Pol Espargaro caused yellow flags which hurt his teammate Marquez and also Yamaha’s Quartararo – both of whom took top spot from the laps they did. With the flags taken away, three MotoGP riders were on-course to improve their times.
Suzuki’s Joan Mir went fastest with a 1m42.198s lap but Pramac’s Johann Zarco set a 1m42.003s lap to take MotoGP pole in Portuguese GP as Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro ended up third with a 1m42.235s lap after a late improvement from his side.
Miller was fourth from Quartararo, with VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi in sixth from LCR’s Marquez who crashed after chequered flag. Marini ended up eighth from Honda’s Marquez who dropped to ninth from Espargaro and KTM’s Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder.
-
Jehan misses victory but moves to third in title-hunt
Imola, 23 April 2022: India’s Jehan Daruvala only just missed out on victory on Saturday, with the Red Bull-backed racer coming away with a second-placed finish in the Sprint race of the Formula 2 championship’s Imola round.
The 23-year-old, who started third, rocketed off the line to slot into second behind Marcus Armstrong, who took the lead.
Jehan kept the position through an early safety car and then a subsequent Virtual Safety Car period before unleashing his pace.
Overtaking proved to be tricky on the narrow Imola track, Jehan crossed the line 1.4 seconds behind the Hitech driver. His Prema team mate Dennis Hauger was third, completing a double podium for the Italian team on home soil.
His second-place in Imola was Jehan’s third podium from as many rounds this season and 10th overall in Formula 2. It also lifted him to third in the overall drivers’ standings.
Jehan said about Race 1, “Firstly, I got off the line better than the guys at the front but because I had to avoid Logan I lost some momentum and couldn’t get Marcus. But after that the race wasn’t easy. I was trying to put him under a lot of pressure early on in the race but it was really hard to follow especially in the middle sector. I had DRS but I was never quite close enough to mount an attack. I tried to cool down and give it a go at the end but again when I got closer I really struggled to follow. All in all we had great pace but couldn’t really use it much.”
Jehan followed up his podium with a points-paying finish in the Feature race, with the Red Bull-backed racer showing blistering pace to bounce back from an ill-timed safety car. Despite the safety car misfortune, Jehan remained unfazed and proved he had the pace to win.
Having started eighth, Jehan moved into the lead on lap 9, reeling off a series of consecutive fastest laps. He stayed in the lead for more than half the race and charged back up to ninth, after his pitstop had dropped him down to 14th. He also had the fastest lap of the race.
Jehan is the only driver to have to have finished on the podium in every round this season, and is also the lead Red Bull Junior in the standings.
The fourth round of the Formula 2 championship will be held at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from May 20th to May 22nd, alongside the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.
About Jehan Daruvala
Jehan Daruvala is a racing driver from Mumbai, India. He began karting at the age of 10 in 2009. Two years later, he was picked as one of the three winners of Force India’s ‘One From a Billion’ talent hunt. In 2013, he became the first Asian to win the British KF3 karting championship. A proven winner, Jehan has won in every category he has competed in. He is currently racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, which is a feeder series to Formula 1 and takes place on the same weekends. Already a multiple winner in the category, Jehan’s goal for the 2022 season is to claim the title which would boost his chances of becoming only the third Indian on the Formula One grid.
Picture credits – Prema Racing
