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Arbolino takes maiden Moto2 victory in Austin; Vietti and Canet crash out
Austin, 10 April 2022: Amidst a series of crashes, drama hits the early season title contenders, and a thrilling race saw the emergence of Tony Arbolino as the triumphant leader as he won the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, the Round 4 of the Moto2 World Championship here on Sunday. Ogura won back-to, Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas-back podiums and Dixon finally got that rostrum finish which is his first in Grand Prix racing.
Tony Arbolino of Elf Marc VDS Racing Team, kept his calm under severe pressure but the Italian pulled clear to take his first Moto2 win in style. Ai Ogura of Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, charged through to second for his first back-to-back Moto2 podiums, with another first in third too. Jake Dixon of Shimoko GASGAS Aspar Team got his first rostrum finish in Grand Prix racing, battling Ogura and eventually taking P3.
Tony Arbolino: “I want to show my eyes to prove the words are real. I worked a lot man, I worked a lot. Since Moto3 I was already feeling I could do the first year the Championship in the Moto2 class. Honestly, I worked so hard. I didn’t sleep during the night because I was thinking of this moment, this is what brought me here. I swear on my life, this is an incredible feeling. I want to keep going, keep having fun. I have an amazing team, amazing crew, amazing people that work during the night for me so it’s incredible. This is a win man!”
Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), who retains that moniker, crashed out early, and then his closest rival at the time, Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) also crashed out in a dramatic Americas GP.
Polemen Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) got off the line well but was denied the holeshot by a Vietti divebomb, and Canet and Arbolino then pushed the hometown hero back to P4 as the podium battle began to take shape. There was drama elsewhere early on too, first with a multi-rider crash involving, amongst others, Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) as he made contact with Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), before Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors Speed Up) also headed into Turn 12 too hot. Gabriel Rodrigo (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW Racing GP) were both caught up, riders all ok. Chantra was given a Long Lap for Portugal for the incident.
The drama continued through to Lap 2, with Canet losing and then taking P2 back from Arbolino, before the Spaniard began to set his sights on the lead. The deficit between first and second had narrowed to just a couple tenths and the lead soon changed hands at Turn 9, with Canet taking charge of the race and Vietti slipping to second. Then, just a couple of corners later at 11, a Beaubier error allowed a host of riders through as he dropped to eighth.
The American wasn’t the only rider struggling to keep himself upright at COTA, with Simone Corsi (MV Augusta Forward Racing) the next rider to crash out at Turn 14, before Pedro Acosta’s (Red Bull KTM Ajo excellent race start, P10 to P5, was in vain, as he slid out of the race and the top five at Turn 6 – riders OK.
Turn 6 then claimed another victim, this time in the form of Championship leader and race contender Vietti. It meant Arbolino and Dixon moved into the top three, and handed a comfortable advantage to new race leader Canet, but it didn’t last long. The Flexbox HP40 rider seemed to be cruising to a win before disaster struck on the eighth lap, losing the front end of his Kalex at Turn 7 to throw another twist in the tale of a fascinating Moto2™ race in Texas. As a result, three riders were thrust into victory contention, Arbolino leading Dixon and Ogura, but a classy performance from a cool and composed Tiger Tony ensured he opened up an unassailable lead over the next few laps.
Lap 12 then saw the order of the podium decided, with Ogura taking over from Dixon at Turn 12. Luckily for the Briton, he had built up enough of an advantage over Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) and Beaubier that he just had to keep it steady to claim his first-ever Grand Prix podium.
Arblolino crossed the line in some clear air for an impressive first Moto2™ win, extending the advantage lap by lap to taste Prosecco in the intermediate class for the first time. Ogura kept second despite a late nibble from Dixon on the penultimate lap, with the number 96 choosing calm and that first ever Grand Prix finish.
For poleman Beaubier, what started out as a dream home race then sadly turned into a nightmare, as he cost himself a P4 finish and 13 valuable Championship points on the final lap, sliding out and handing Schrötter a first top four finish since the Valencia GP in 2020.
Jorge Navarro recovered from a Long Lap Penalty to take a top five finish while Jeremy Alcoba made it two Liqui Moly intact riders inside the top six for his best rookie results so far. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) were next up, Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) going from P18 to P9.
A fine ride from Barry Baltus (RW Racing GP) saw him round out the top 10 ahead of Albert Arenas (Shimoko GASGAS Aspar Team) and Marcos Ramirez (MV Augusta Forward Racing). Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2™) and Romano Fenati (MB Conveyors Speed Up) complete the points finishers.
The Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas certainly delivered Moto2 drama by the bucketload in Austin, and next up for the intermediate class is a date at the Autodromo do Algarve in two weeks’ time. Join us then for more.
Moto2 Podium:
1 Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) – Kalex – 39’06.552
2 Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) – Kalex – +3.439
3 Jake Dixon (Shimoko GASGAS Aspar Team) – Kalex – +4.787 -
Mitch Evans bags a double to jump into title-contention: FormulaE
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Rome specialist does the double in the Italian capital to charge into the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship contention.
Rome, 10 April 2022: Mitch Evans had just a solitary point to his name in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship arriving in Italy for this weekend’s Rome E-Prix double-header. Following a second consecutive victory today (10 April), the Jaguar TCS Racing star is now a bona fide title protagonist.
Buoyed by the third triumph of his Formula E career yesterday, Evans began Sunday’s race from fourth place, but he did not stay there long. After despatching Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) and André Lotterer (TAG Heuer Porsche) in quick succession, the New Zealander set about chasing down Jean-Éric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) for the lead.
Following a brief safety car period to allow for Antonio Giovinazzi’s Dragon / Penske Autosport car to be cleared away shortly after one-third distance, Evans made his move, sweeping around the outside of Vergne to seize the top spot.
The 27-year-old thereafter looked to be in complete control, despite subsequently conceding ground to Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns and Lotterer as his rivals both deployed their single Attack Mode.
When the safety car re-emerged with just 11 minutes left on the clock, however – to remove Alexander Sims’ stricken Mahindra Racing single-seater – Evans was the sole driver in the field yet to activate his own Attack Mode, evoking the possibility of a penalty for not using it in its entirety prior to the end of the race.
Fortunately for the Jaguar driver, a rapid recovery operation and 5m15s of added time enabled him to continue his charge, immediately taking Attack Mode on the resumption of racing and only ceding a single position to Vergne. After swiftly reclaiming third place, he then made short work of Frijns and Lotterer before proceeding to stretch his legs.
A third safety car intervention with two minutes remaining threatened another twist in the tale as it erased Evans’ advantage and set up a no-holds-barred single-lap shootout, but the leader boldly held his nerve and his reward was a third win around the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR in as many years – a success that has vaulted him firmly into championship contention, just nine points adrift of the summit of the standings.
It is Vergne who now tops the table, after finishing second in the Italian capital. The Frenchman won in Rome last year, and he looked to be on-course to repeat the feat until Evans went on the offensive. He dropped to fifth when he entered Attack Mode, but utilised his extra power to battle back past Jaguar’s Sam Bird, Frijns and Lotterer to seal the runner-up spoils.
From sixth on the grid, Frijns overhauled Bird and Dennis to advance to fourth, and was the first of the leading pack to activate Attack Mode. The Dutchman was another to enjoy a spell at the head of the order, ultimately getting the better of Lotterer in the duel for the final step on the podium – with a third rostrum appearance of the season elevating him to just two points shy of the championship lead.
Following an energetic scrap with front row starter Dennis, Lotterer similarly led the E-Prix later on, and after yielding to Evans, Vergne and Frijns, the German held off Mercedes-EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne for fourth, the Belgian gaining three places from his grid slot.
Mexico winner Pascal Wehrlein wound up sixth for Porsche at the end of a solid run, ahead of Oliver Turvey, who registered his first points for NIO 333 since Valencia almost 12 months ago. Former champions Lucas Di Grassi (ROKiT Venturi Racing) and Sébastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams) placed eighth and ninth, with NIO 333 rookie Dan Ticktum rounding out the top ten.
Elsewhere, there were hard luck stories for a number of drivers, chief amongst whom were Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries. A DNF following contact with António Félix da Costa – and soon after the wall – saw the Venturi ace slip from first to fifth in the chase for the crown, while defending champion de Vries (Mercedes-EQ) failed to score for the second day in a row after picking up a ten-second penalty for causing a collision with Sérgio Sette Câmara (Dragon / Penske Autosport).
The 2021/22 Formula E campaign will continue with round six in Monaco in three weeks’ time (30 April).
MITCH EVANS, JAGUAR TCS RACING, #9 said:
“It feels like déjà vu.This is a result of pure graft, hard work. I just want to thank everyone at the team because the last eight weeks have been insane with the amount of work that has gone in. I didn’t know if we could manage two – double-headers are tricky to back up – but we showed good quality. The race was a carbon copy from yesterday, the car was working perfectly. It was trickier today because of the temperature and the longer ATTACK mode, I almost got caught out with that during the safety car, but a huge thanks to everyone on the team and hopefully this isn’t just a one-off but it feels good. It has been a big couple of days. It was what we wanted, you dream about that but to try and pull it off is usually quite unrealistic. We are back as a team, I am back towards the top, so it is good times.”
JEAN-ÉRIC VERGNE, DS TECHEETAH, #25 said:
“It was a chaotic race. I didn’t know what was happening in terms of our strategy, the Jaguar and Mitch were way too fast this weekend. I hope that is only going to be a one-off from their side, otherwise it might be difficult to beat them. Today it was impossible. I am fairly happy with second, it was the best I could do, but I am going to urge my team to do better if we want to fight for wins because every time there is someone stronger than us. It is not good enough so we need to work hard in Monaco to be the best. The Championship is still very long, consistency is key, and I think we were fairly consistent throughout the season, but if we want to win we need to have more pace. Leading the Championship at this race, everyone will have forgotten if you don’t win the Championship, so it is at the end that matters.”
ROBIN FRIJNS, ENVISION RACING, #4 said:
“It is a good weekend, it was a good race. It was very tricky in Turn 15, I didn’t know this at the beginning. I felt really comfortable and the team told me I had a bit more energy than the others around me, so my plan was to go a bit further into the top three, and I overtook Jake there. We both went wide, then I noticed the track was breaking up massively. I feel a bit sorry for Jake that we both went wide and he lost his position, that definitely wasn’t the plan, but at the end of the day we were fighting for podium positions which is a victory for us. We move on from here.”
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Charles Leclerc in F1 Championship lead with emphatic victory
Melbourne, 10 April 2022: Charles Leclerc did not sweat a bit as he took an easy and commanding victory to lead the Formula 1 (F1) World championship in the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix amidst greenish celebration as podium winners celebrated with champagne at Albert Park on Sunday. Russel got the first podium for Mercedes taking third behind Sergio Perez, who salvaged a second place for Red Bull.
F1 returns to Melbourne for the first time since 2019, and is proving a brilliantly fun location, with the fans out in force and it was nice to see packed stands and the crowds flocking to the podium ceremony reminding the good old pre-Covid days. The crowd favourite and son of the soil Daniel Ricciardo finished his McLaren in sixth but the sportive crowd cheered every good move and soaked in the atmosphere.
Charles Marc Perceval Leclerc is a Monégasque racing driver, and is the current hero making the Prancing horse dance once again in Formula One as he brought his Scuderia Ferrari to the chequeuered flag over 20 seconds clear of Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez and the third-placed Mercedes of George Russell who finished ahead of his teammate, the 7-time champion, Lewis Hamilton.
Meanwhile, the defending World Champion Max Verstappen, exited the race soon after the half way point with a mechanical problem, as he slowly steered his way out of the track and parked the car. Soon a small fire broke out and he guided the Marshals to put it out and the care was taken out later.
When the lights went out at the start, polesitter Leclerc got away well, with Verstappen just behind, but it was Pérez who got the best getaway and as they powered towards Turn 1 the Mexican moved to the left to put pressure on his team-mate. Verstappen held his line and as he moved left for the first corner Pérez was forced to back off. That allowed fast-starting Lewis Hamilton to slip through to third place.
Behind the top four, George Russell had also made a good start in the second Mercedes and he passed McLaren’s Lando Norris to claim fifth place, with Ricciardo seventh ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly.
Worst affected by the start was Carlos Sainz. On hard tyres, the second Ferrari driver struggled for grip when the lights went out and he was swamped by rivals and dropped to 14th. His struggles ended on lap two. Sainz passed Haas’ Mick Schumacher on the run to Turn 9, but he went too deep, and as he tried to turn he lost the rear of the Ferrari and spun into the gravel trap. Beached in the run off area, he had no option but to retire from the race.
The Safety Car was released and when racing got underway again on lap seven Leclerc managed the restart well and the order at the front remained unchanged. The Ferrari driver began to carve out a gap to Verstappen and by lap nine he was 1.4 seconds ahead of the lead Red Bull. Pérez, meanwhile, was beginning to put pressure on Hamilton and on lap 10 he went around the outside of the Mercedes in Turns 3 and 4 to reclaim third place.
As the first stint evolved Leclerc’s pace increased and by lap 16 the race leader was just over eight seconds clear of Verstappen, with Pérez four seconds further back in third. Verstappen was suffering with front-left graining and at the end of lap 18 he dived for the pits. In a 2.9 stop he moved to the hard tyre and emerged behind the McLarens in P7. Pérez pitted at the end of lap 20 and after a 2.5s switch to hard tyres he rejoined in P9.
Leclerc made his first stop at the end of lap 21 and after taking on hard tyres he resumed in the lead, though Verstappen’s undercut had halved the gap between the front pair. Hamilton also pitted at the end of lap 21 and after fitting hard tyres he was able to rejoin ahead of Pérez in fifth place. However, the Mexican quickly closed in and on lap 23 he powered past the Mercedes.
On lap 24 though the Safety Car was again deployed when Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel crashed on the exit of Turn 4. Mercedes reacted quickly and pitted Russell. He took on hard tyres and rejoined in third place, ahead of Fernando Alonso, who was still on his starting hard tyres. Pérez was now fifth ahead of Hamilton, while Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, also on his starting hard tyres, was now seventh ahead of Norris and Ricciardo.
The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 26 and once again Leclerc managed the restart well to keep Verstappen at bay. Behind them, Pérez was losing ground behind Alonso as the wily Alpine driver was proving hard to clear. However, when DRS was enabled, the Red Bull driver was able to close up to the Spaniard at the start of lap 30 and on the run to Turn 3 he powered past the Alpine to take fourth place. He was now just over a second behind Russell.
The Mexican continued to harry the Mercedes driver and Russell’s engineer was soon on the radio telling his driver to prioritise tyre management over position. The Briton relented and on lap 27 Pérez swept past to take third.
At the front, though, the pattern from the first stint was repeating and by lap 38 Leclerc was over five seconds clear of the lead Red Bull. And then, at the start of the following tour, disaster struck for Verstappen. He crossed the line to start the lap but almost immediately he lost drive and was forced to pull over at the side of the track at the exit of Turn 1 to retire from the race.
After a brief Virtual Safety Car period, racing resumed and Leclerc now led Pérez by 11 seconds. The lone Red Bull was now four seconds ahead of Russell and Hamilton was fourth ahead of Norris and Ricciardo. In seventh place, having profited from the earlier Safety Car was Alex Albon, though the Williams driver was still on starting hard tyres. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon held eighth place ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly.
Stroll was under heavy pressure from Gasly and was warned (and handed a five-second penalty), for weaving on the track in defence of ninth place. However, despite the pressure building behind him the Canadian continued to resist. Ahead the obstacle of the slow Aston Martin benefited Albon and Ocon and on lap 49 the pair were nine seconds clear of the Stroll train. Gasly was growing increasingly frustrated, but on lap 50 he eventually saw an opportunity and he muscled his way past Stroll into Turn 1 to take P9.
At the front, and with five laps remaining, Leclerc was a whopping 20 seconds clear of Pérez as the Mexican throttle back to ensure P2. Russell was now three seconds behind the Red Bull, with Hamilton fourth ahead of Norris and Ricciardo. Albon at last pitted at the end of the penultimate lap and after bolting on soft tyres he emerged in 10thplace.
And at the end of 58 laps, having led from start to finish, Leclerc crossed the line to take his second victory of the season and the point for fastest lap. Twenty seconds later Pérez took the flag for his first podium finish of the season and Russell took his first podium of the campaign in third.
Behind the top three, Hamilton finished fourth ahead of Norris and Ricciardo and Ocon took seventh ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas. Gasly was ninth and after starting from the back of the grid having been disqualified from qualifying due to a fuel irregularity, Albon took the final point on offer with a well-worked 10th place.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Race
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 58 1:27’46.5482 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 58 1:28’07.072 20.524
3 George Russell Mercedes 58 1:28’12.141 25.593
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 58 1:28’15.091 28.543
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 58 1:28’39.851 53.303
6 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 58 1:28’40.285 53.737
7 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 58 1:28’48.231 1’01.683
8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 58 1:28’54.987 1’08.439
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 58 1:29’02.769 1’16.221
10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 58 1:29’05.930 1’19.382
11 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 58 1:29’08.243 1’21.695
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 58 1:29’15.146 1’28.598
13 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 57 – 1 lap
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 57 – 1 lap
15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 57 – 1 lap
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 57 – 1 lap
17 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 57 – 1 lap
Max Verstappen Red Bull 38 – Retirement
Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 22 – Spun off
Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1 – Spun off -
Ducati domination: Martin grabs last gasp pole from Miller
A 1-2-3-4-5 in qualifying makes some history for the Bologna factory, with Marquez ninth on Saturday
Austin (USA), 9 April 2022 (IST10th morn): Jorge Martin’s (Pramac Racing) stunning Saturday afternoon form continued at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, with the Spaniard coming through Q1 to claim a sensational second pole position of the season. It’s four front row starts in a row for Martin too, with the Spaniard beating Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) by just 0.003s this time around. The 2:02.039 the Pramac rider set is also a new all-time lap record.
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 The Americas Main Race scheduled from 21:30 Hrs (09:30 pm IST) onwards on Sunday, April 10, 2022.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) claimed P3 to make it a Ducati triple threat on the front row and, just behind, two more Ducatis line up P4 and P5… making it the first ever front five lockout for the factory, and the first for a single manufacturer since Honda in 2003 at Motegi.
Q1
Q1 was – as we’re used to seeing given the sheer competitiveness of the class – a star-studded affair. World Championship leader Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia Racing teammate Maverick Viñales fancied their chances of progressing, but so did Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Martin and Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™).Rins was the early pacesetter, the Suzuki rider putting in a 2:02.723 as the benchmark. Martin soon took over at the summit with eight minutes to go though, which saw Aleix Espargaro kicked out of the all-important top two. Then, chasing a time on his second run, the number 41 was down. Hopes of a Q2 place were gone for the Spaniard and the best he could hope for was a P13 grid slot. Luckily, P3 in the session and P13 on the grid was where he stayed, as Martin and Rins progressed and no one else could leapfrog.
Darryn Binder (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team), chasing big brother Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), crashed at Turn 3 unhurt in the early stages.
Q2
Q2 then got underway and it was Miller who was the early pacesetter, with fellow Ducati rider Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) off to a tougher start as he crashed at Turn 15. The Italian was able to pick his GP21 straight back up though, and immediately set off chasing a pole position lap time – no damage done.Then, another crash. This time it was Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) at the penultimate corner. Rider ok and 100m Olympic sprint mode activated, but it was now a race against time for the Frenchman who was provisional P7.
After that and at the end of the first set of runs, Miller was leading Bagnaia by 0.008s, with Martin and Bastianini making it a Ducati 1-2-3-4. Quartararo managed to make his way back to the garage with just over four minutes to go though and straight away, the number 20 was back on track on his second YZR-M1.
Pecco came out of the blocks flying on his second fresh soft rear tyre. 0.140s was his advantage through the third split and by the line, the number 63 went top by 0.160s over teammate Miller. The latter, though, was also setting red sector times. Through the third split, Miller was 0.236s up on Pecco’s effort and sure enough, the Australian returned to P1.
Then, there was another Ducati rider lighting up the timing screens – Martin. The qualifying specialist lost time in the third split but a wonderful fourth sector saw Martin pip Miller by the slimmest of margins: just 0.003s. Was there anyone else challenging? Not by the looks of it. Quartararo was struggling to respond, seven-time Texas winner Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) had a quiet session pushed down to P9 and Rins and 2020 Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) jumped up to P7 and P8.
In the end, Martin’s 0.003s advantage was enough to take it, with Miler and Pecco joining him on the front row. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) and Bastianini, in P4 and P5, made it a historic Ducati demolition on Saturday in Texas.
The Grid
Behind the five Ducatis is Quartararo lining up in P6. How much did that crash affect the reigning World Champion’s pole position hunt? He’ll want more on Sunday.Rins and Mir head up the third row ahead of Marc Marquez, the eight-time World Champion under the radar so far. Fellow Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) rounded out the top 10 to equal his best of the season so far, with Argentina front row hero Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and an under the weather Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) just behind, set to launch from P11 and P12 respectively.
It was a frantic and ferocious pair of qualifying sessions in Austin, and we now turn our attention to race day. Can anyone stop Ducati from claiming victory in Texas? And what can the World Championship leader muster up from P13? Time will tell. So tune in at 13:00 local time (GMT-5) to find out!
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Charles Leclerc beats Verstappen to Aussie GP pole
Melbourne, 9 April 2022: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc beat Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by almost three tenths of a second to take his second pole position of the season in an Australian Grand Prix qualifying session that was disrupted by two red flag periods. Sergio Pérez qualified third but the Mexican driver was due to visit the stewards after the session to discuss a possible yellow flag infringement during Q2.
Q1 began with both Ferraris heading out on track soon after the pit lane opened and Leclerc immediately moved to P1 with a lap of 1:19.391. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted into second just under four tenths off the Ferrari driver.
Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz took over at the top with a lap of 1:19.791 as Verstappen and Pérez began their first flying laps. The Mexican’s effort, a 1:19.307, took him to P2, while Max moved to fourth place, a tenth off his team-mate.
Leclerc was finding time on his second run, however, and he climbed back to the top of the order with the first sub 1m19s time as posted a lap of 1:18.881. Verstappen was also on another push lap and with a purple final sector he took second place 0.044s behind Leclerc.
Norris, meanwhile, improved to 1:19.280 to demote Pérez to fifth place and the Red Bull driver dropped another two positions when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas took fourth and fifth respectively.
With six minutes left Verstappen found more pace to claim P1 with a lap of 1:18.580. Pérez posted a lap of 1:18.834 to claim second place ahead of Leclerc. The top six then retired to the pit lane as the battle to escape the Q1 drop intensified.
However, with two minutes remaining the session was halted when Nicholas Latifi collided with Lance Stroll. Latifi, on a slow lap, pulled over to let Stroll past, but his fellow Canadian was on a cool down lap. The Williams man went to pass the Aston Martin driver on the right on the run to Turn 5 but Stroll was already moving across the track and the pair tangled, with Latifi’s car wrecked in the heavy collision.
The session was red-flagged for 15 minutes and the delay gave the Aston Martin mechanics enough time to complete repairs to Sebastian Vettel’s car which had been damaged in a crash in final practice.
The German pushed hard to post a solid time on a crowded track but in the end he could only find his way P18 and he was eliminated along with Williams’ Alex Albon and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in P16 and P17 respectively and the unfortunate Stroll and Latifi.
In Q2 Verstappen was first out on track, with Pérez not far behind. Verstppen crossed the line in 1:18.611, marginally off his Q1 best, to take top spot, with his team-mate second. Alonso then split the Red Bulls as Leclerc made his way to fourth ahead of Norris.
On his second run Verstappen was unable to find more time, but Pérez did better and his 1:18.340 took him 0.271 clear of his team-mate at the top of the timesheet. The Mexican’s lap was under scrutiny, however, with stewards noting that he may not have slowed for yellow flags when Mercedes’ George Russell was forced to use the escape road at Turn 11. The incident was due for investigation after the session.
Sainz went for his final run of the segment and his lap of 1:18.739 boosted him to third place behind Verstappen. Leclerc then split the Red Bulls with a lap of 1:18.606. Sainz, though, improved again and when the flag fell he rose to second just over a tenth of a second behind Pérez and ahead of Leclerc and fourth-placed Verstappen.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was the first man eliminated at the end of Q2 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda in the second AlphaTauri, Zhou Guanyu in the second Alfa Romeo and Haas’ Mick Schumacher.
Verstappen was again on track early in Q3 but the Dutchman’s opening run featured a small lock up in the penultimate corner and he crossed the line in 1:18.399. Pérez then took top spot just 0.001s behind his team-mate. Leclerc was running quickly though and his 1:18.239 was good enough for provisional pole.
The session was then red-flagged when Alonso crashed at Turn 11. The Alpine driver reported that he had lost hydraulics and could not change gear as he went into the right-hander. The timing of the crash was not good for Sainz. The Ferrari driver caught the red flag just as he crossed the line and his first flyer of the top-10 shootout was lost.
When the session resumed for the final runs, Pérez put in a good lap but he missed out on beating Leclerc’s first-run benchmark, again by 0.001s. Verstappen made a good gain took top spot with a lap of 1:18.254. Leclerc was one of the last on track, though, and the Ferrari driver was able to find more pace than all his rivals and he claimed his second pole position of the season with a lap of 1:17.868.
Fourth place went to Norris. Lewis Hamilton took fifth for Mercedes, a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate George Russell and Daniel Ricciardo was seventh in the second McLaren. Esteban Ocon took eight place for Alpine but there was disappointment for Sainz who ran wide in Turn 6 on his final lap. The Spaniard finished the session in ninth place ahead of Alonso.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:17.868 8 244.012
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:18.154 6 243.119
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:18.240 9 242.852
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:18.703 6 241.424
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:18.825 10 241.050
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:18.933 9 240.720
7 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:19.032 6 240.419
8 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:19.061 6 240.330
9 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:19.408 1.540 6 239.280
Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault – 2
11 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:19.226 8 239.830
12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:19.410 8 239.274
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:19.424 7 239.232
14 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:20.155 5 237.050
15 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:20.465 8 236.137
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:20.135 11 237.109
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:20.254 11 236.758
18 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:21.149 3 234.147
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:21.372 8 233.505
Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes – 2 -
Rea and Bautista split the spoils on opening day: WorldSBK
Reigning WorldSBK Champion Razgatlioglu’s main rivals take the spotlight on Day 1
Aragon, 8 March 2022: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) set the fastest lap on Friday at MotorLand Aragon with a 1’49.301 lap time claimed in Free Practice 1: “We focused on which tyre we could use for the race. We built up step by step, a longer run in the afternoon. We have to see what tomorrow brings because we are in a strange window. We could be fast with both tyres but tomorrow, depending on the temperature, we face during the race will determined our final tyre setup”.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ended Day 1 in second place, despite having improved his morning lap time by two tenths in Free Practice 2 and led the second session; “We changed the setup of the bike this morning because after the test here we thought we could improve the feeling with the bike. But I didn’t feel so great with the new set up. In FP2, we switched back the same set up as the test, which gave me better feeling.I did almost a Superpole Race distance and the pace was not too bad.We made race distance with both tyres, and I’m quite happy.”
Reigning WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was third at the end of Friday, 0.364s behind Jonathan Rea. “We used the SCX tyre, but we weren’t happy with it. This afternoon we tried a race simulation but after 10 laps, the front tyre dropped. We need to improve this tomorrow for the race. But the feeling with the rear was great.”
Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished fourth overall. “I feel good. Conditions were a bit different today, but we were good at adapting.I feel confident that we can be up there fighting for a podium.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished inside the top five in the afternoon, finishing fifth on the combined times; “I’m quite happy about today, and with the race tyre we are pretty fast.”
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was sixth overall at the end of Friday; “My race pace and my consistency is not so bad. If I have a good qualifying, make a good start, if I can stay there for a few laps, I think the second part of the race I can be strong.”
Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was the top BMW rider and just over a second off Rea’s top time but over three tenths quicker than the next BMW. As for Honda and Team HRC, it was tenth overall for rookie Iker Lecuona and 13th for teammate Xavi Vierge, although Lecuona could only place in 17th at the end of FP2. Seven tenths slower in FP2 than FP1, Lecuona will hope that the cooler temperatures in FP3 and Tissot Superpole allow him to improve once more. As for Vierge, he did improve his time in the afternoon session, putting him 11th in the session.
WorldSBK Combined Results after FP2
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’49.301s
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.305s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.364s
4. Garrett Gerloff (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.599s
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.699s
6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.709s -
Charles Leclerc fastest in FP2: Australian GP
Melbourne, 8 March 2022: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went quickest in the second practice for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, beating early-season title rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing by more than two tenths of a second, with Carlos Sainz third in the other Ferrari.
The afternoon session got underway with a few drops of rain in the air but it had no effect on running and four minutes into the session McLaren’s Lando Norris set the early benchmark with a lap of 1:21.852. The Briton was soon bounced out of top spot by team-mate Ricciardo, who posted a lap of 1:21.793 to claim P1.
The McLaren drivers’ private battle was then disrupted by Ferrari, with Leclerc going quickest with a lap of 1:20.898. The Monegasque driver’s team-mate Carlos Sainz might have beaten that but after going quickest in the middle sector he made a mistake in Turn 13 and hit traffic in the latter stages of the lap. With 11 minutes on the clock, Alfa Romeo’s Vallteri Bottas, a 2019 winner here with Mercedes, jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:20.432.
The field began to make the move to soft tyres for performance runs as the first third of the session elapsed and Sainz vaulted to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 1:19.979. Leclerc slotted into second on 1m20.175s, with Bottas third thanks to his earlier time.
Sainz went for another lap on the soft tyres, but was forced to abandon the effort when he came across the slow moving AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda.
Leclerc, though, managed a clean lap and he rose to P1 with a lap of 1:19.771. Sainz wasn’t done, however, and with purple times in the first and third sector, the Spaniard posted a time of 1:19.568 to reclaim top spot.
The tussle between the two Ferrari drivers looked like it might define the session, but just before the midpoint of the session, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso popped up with a lap of 1:19.537 to claim P1.
The Ferraris were on track again, however, and Sainz once again took first place with a time of 1:19.376, with Leclerc second a tenth behind.
Bahrain GP winner Leclerc was still finding lap time however and he logged an impressive lap of 1m18.978 to once again make his way to P1 – and there he would stay until the chequered flag fell.
Verstappen, meanwhile, was having a more difficult session. Early on he complained of not being able to get his RB18 turned in and later on he struggled to get a clean lap on soft tyres with one run being disrupted by traffic and another being scuppered by a mistake in the penultimate corners. Eventually, though, he found a good lap but even though he ran quickest in the middle sector, he missed out on top spot with a lap of 1:19.223 that left him second to Leclerc by 0.245.
With the performance runs completed the field then moved back to harder compounds to explore longer runs in the time remaining. With 11 minutes remaining the red flags were briefly shown when part of Stroll’s front wing broke and came to rest on the track.
With Sainz third, Alonso was left with fourth place ahead of the second Red Bull of Pérez. Esteban Ocon took fifth in the second Alpine and Bottas ended the hour in P7. Norris finished eighth for McLaren with Pierre Gasly taking P9 for AlphaTauri ahead of the second McLaren of Ricciardo.
Further back, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, returning after sitting out the opening two events due to testing positive for COVID-19, also missed out on the second practice in Melbourne as his team couldn’t ready his car following the engine issue that had halted his progress late in the first practice session.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.978 27 240.583
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:19.223 0.245 22 239.839
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:19.376 0.398 27 239.377
4 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:19.537 0.559 22 238.892
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:19.658 0.680 20 238.529
6 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:19.842 0.864 25 237.980
7 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:20.055 1.077 25 237.346
8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.100 1.122 24 237.213
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:20.142 1.164 27 237.089
10 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.203 1.225 24 236.908
11 George Russell Mercedes 1:20.212 1.234 25 236.882
12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:20.424 1.446 30 236.257
13 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:20.521 1.543 23 235.973
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:20.611 1.633 28 235.709
15 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:21.063 2.085 23 234.395
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:21.191 2.213 23 234.025
17 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:21.912 2.934 28 231.966
18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:21.974 2.996 22 231.790
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:22.307 3.329 24 230.852
20 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes – -
“I can’t wait”: an intriguing rodeo lies ahead; MotoGP in US
Austin, United States, 8 April, 2022: Before track action at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas gets going on Friday morning, our latest race winner Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) team was joined in the pre-event Press Conference by Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and the returning eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to discuss what might lie ahead at the Circuit of The Americas.
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 The Americas Qualifying Race scheduled from 23:00 Hrs (11:00 pm IST on Sunday) onwards on Saturday, April 09, 2022. The main race is scheduled from 21:30 Hrs (9:30 pm IST on Monday) onwards on Sunday, April 10, 2022.
Marc Marquez, the King of COTA, returns
After his huge Indonesian GP crash in Warm Up, Marc Marquez has been sidelined – first with a concussion, then with a return of diplopia that occurred on the way home from Mandalika. Thankfully, the double vision issue isn’t as bad as it was at the end of 2021, and the number 93 is back in action at a circuit he’s won at seven times in the past.
Marquez admitted that it was incredibly tough to be sat at home again with diplopia, but he’s back to race. And when Marc Marquez races, he races to win – like all of the riders.
Marc Marquez: “Of course after Mandalika was really hard week, but lucky for me that the vision injury was less than last time. Even in Argentina I almost came but didn’t feel motivated to take that risk, and I didn’t want it. I spoke with the doctor and we decided to stay at home and relax and then train again in a good way. This week I had another doctor’s check and the vision was fixed. I tried a bike as well and let’s see. I’m not arriving in the best way here in Americas GP but we will try to do a great FP1 and start a great weekend.”
Race winner, World Championship leader… a good week for Aleix Espargaro
It was a fairy tale weekend in Argentina for Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia. That win was a long time coming for both parties but now, the focus is firmly on the Americas GP – a track they really struggled at in 2021.
Aleix Espargaro: “Sounds good, sounds good. Feels strange for me to hear that but I’m very happy. These last few days have been fantastic, I feel happy but at the same time relaxed because I had the confidence I didn’t have in the past. In past I dreamed I could win, now I know I can. It’s not going to be easy weekend for me because last year we suffered a lot in this track, it was one of the most difficult, but this year is different. We have new asphalt, the bumps will be a lot better, the 2022 machine is a lot better than last year and we arrive in a completely different position. I can’t wait to go out on track and see how fast I can go.
“I was very happy to win in Argentina but what made me happier is that we showed in the first three rounds that we are very competitive, I feel good with the new bike, the new bike is a lot better. The proof was that I was also able to over Jorge on the Ducati in the straight, so it means that overall the Aprilia has grown up a lot and this gives me a lot of positive energy for this round. I know it’s not going to be an easy one, I’m sure in Portimao and Jerez it will be easier for me and my bike but this is a challenge. This weekend is a big challenge for me, I love a challenge so I can’t wait.”
500 GPs not out – a landmark occasion this weekend
This weekend marks the 500th GP that Dorna, IRTA and the MSMA have been running MotoGP™. In the Press Conference, the riders were asked about what their earliest memories were of MotoGP™.
Aleix Espargaro: “I remember many races but the one I remember further away was in Barcelona when I was following Alex Criville a lot and I remember he crashed at the first corner, and I was kid and I started to cry. In that moment I realised I had a passion for this sport so it’s an honour to be here for the 500 GP, and I think it arrived in a very cool moment because the competition is very high.”
Fabio Quartararo: “For me it was 2005 in Jerez, the fight between Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau. This is one of the races that made me want to be a MotoGP rider.”
Jorge Martin: “Yeah for me it was in 2006 in Valencia, it was the first time I went into the paddock. It was the Championship fight between Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi and I remember I saw Valentino and he touched my head, I didn’t clean my head for one week. This is the race I remember.”
Marc Marquez: “I remember many races but the one I have most in my mind was Calalunya 2009 when Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi fought until the last corner of the GP. I remember more races but that one I can say what happened on every lap.”
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Double podium for Akhil Rabindra: GT 4 Euro Series
By Darshan Chokhani
Imola, 5 April, 2022: Akhil Rabindra, the Bengaluru born 25-year-old Aston Martin Driver Academy product and the only Asian to be racing at the European GT4 Championship this year, has started his 2022 calendar on a positive note by securing a double podium finish in the season opener round of the European GT4 Series with his new team, Racing Spirit of Leman. Akhil and his team mate Tom Canning finished both the races of Round 1 at the Imola Circuit grabbing a P3 position in the Silver Cup category.
Akhil’s Journey at the Imola circuit started on a positive note after he finished 4th overall in the qualifying race 2. Thereafter, Akhil along with his teammate T.Canning made an impressive start to Race1, as the #19 pair earned a P3finish in the Silver Cup Race 1 after gaining a place due to the disqualification of #13 pair of P Chovet& J Scheier for technical infringement.
In Race 2 Rabindra and Canning again grabbed a P3 finish in the Silver Cup with their Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
A happy Akhil Rabindra commented post the podium celebrations, “It has been a good start to the 2022 season. I am in a new team this year and have a new teammate who is doing agreat job and I look forward to carry forward this momentum to the next race in France.”
Akhil will now move on to France, for Round 2 of GT 4 European Series at Paul Richard circuit from 3-5 June.
About European GT4 Championship:
The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.
GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.
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Arjun Maini starts with a podium in Gold Cup
By Darshan Chokhani
Imola, 5 April 2022: Arjun Maini started his 2022 GT World Challenge Europe series’ Endurance Cup campaign for Haupt Racing Team alongside teammates Hubert Haupt and Florian Scholze. The first round in Imola was held last weekend, withthe Indian racing in the Gold Cup class where the trio are driving the #5 Mercedes-AMG GT3 machine.
In a large field of 52 cars competing in the Endurance Cup championship, Maini and co, kick-started their week-end finishing 22nd and 46th overall in the two practice sessions which put them third and 10th respectively, in the Gold Cup category.
Moving on to Qualifying, each driver had 15 minutes time in Q1, Q2 and Q3. The final race start position is then calculated on the basis of the average of their best times. The Q1 session saw them finish 41st overall and ninth in category, whereas in Q2 they were 31st overall and sixth.
Finally in Q3, they ended up 18th overall and fifth in category. The average of the three sessions’ times saw them finish 32nd overall and seventh in their category for the first race. The Sunday’s three hour race saw a steady start from the HRT outfit to be 30th overall in the first half hour.
They stayed away from the melee and crucially jumped to fourth in the Gold Cup class. Even though they dropped by two places overall in the next one hour, they managed to claw back in the next hour to enter the last half hour in 22nd overall with Maini driving.
All this while, the trio kept their nose clean as Maini was involved in a close fight for the final place in the Gold Cup class podium. Despite losing a place in the overall rankings to be 23rd, the team eventually ended up third in the Gold Cup category to secure a podium finish to open the 2022 season.
“I think overall it was a good weekend for us, with strong points” said Maini. “In qualifying, we had traffic and so we couldn’t optimise it, so I am glad we made it up in the race. But still, as a team we want more and we worked really hard towards it. So, yeah, we can definitely be championship contenders and onward to Paul Ricard where we can fight for the win. I am looking forward to it after a great start to the season.”
With only the first round in the books, therefore Haupt Racing Team sits third in the Gold Cup category’s teams’ standings with 15 points. Likewise, the trio of Maini, Haupt and Scholze are third in the drivers’ standings. The next Endurance Cup event will be held in Paul Ricard on June 3-5 weekend, but before that Maini will be in action in DTM with HRT on April 28-30 weekend.
