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Hamilton fastest in pre-season test at Barcelona: Day 1
Barcelona, 19 Feb 2020: Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton went quickest on the opening day of pre-season Formula 1 testing in Barcelona, with the Briton beating Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by three tenths of a second. Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez was third fastest ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
With regulations largely stable for 2020 reliability was impressive and with no red flags or major technical issues hampering running, the grid’s 10 teams managed impressive mileage, with each passing the 100-lap barrier at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
It was Mercedes who managed the most, though, with Bottas getting through 79 laps in the morning to lead the standings at the lunch time mark before Hamilton added another 94 in the afternoon to bring the team’s total to 173. Hamilton’s table-topping time was set midway through the afternoon session on Pirelli’s C2 compound.
Sergio Pérez took third place for Racing Point, with the Mexican finishing just six hundredths of a second behind Bottas in the Silverstone team’s new RP20 car. Perez set his time on the C3 compound in the morning session. Lance Stroll took over in the afternoon and followed Pérez’s 58 laps with 52 of his own. The Canadian ended the session in P10, 1.3s off Hamilton’s pace.
Fourth place in the session went to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver posted the largest number of laps for a single driver, 168, and over the course of a marathon session he posted a C3-shod time of 1:17.516 to finish half a second behind Hamilton.
Daniil Kvyat was fifth quickest on day one for AlphaTauri, the squad formerly known as Toro Rosso. The Russian driver worked through 115 laps and finished seven tenths of a second off the pace.
Kvyat ended the day 0.144s clear of sixth-placed Carlos Sainz of McLaren, with afternoon Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo seventh, three hundredths of a second ahead of new team-mate Esteban Ocon who drove in the morning.
George Russell ended a solid first day of testing for Williams in ninth place, having completed 73 laps through the morning. New team-mate Nicholas Latifi then added a further 63 laps in the afternoon. It was a far brighter start for the team than last year when late delivery of its 2019 car led to it missing the first two days of pre-season testing.
With Stroll rounding out the4 top 10, Ferrari had to settle for P11 as Charles Leclerc opened the Italian squad’s pre-season account in place of the unwell Sebastian Vettel.
Leclerc got through an impressive 131 laps in a busy day that included a lengthy pause after lunch, with the team staying in the garage for more than an hour at the start of the afternoon session.
Robert Kubica took 13th place at the end of his first outing as Alfa Romeo’s reserve driver with the Pole finishing ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Alfa team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi.
2020 Formula 1 Pre-Season Test 1, Day 1
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.976s 94
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:17.313s +0.337s 79
3 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:17.375s +0.399s 58
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:17.516s +0.540s 168
5 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri 1:17.698s +0.722s 115
6 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:17.842s +0.866s 161
7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:17.873s +0.897s 54
8 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:18.004s +1.028s 62
9 George Russell Williams 1:18.168s +1.192s 73
10 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:18.282s +1.306s 50
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.289s +1.313s 131
12 Nicolas Latifi Williams 1:18.382s +1.406s 63
13 Robert Kubica Alfa Romeo 1:18.386s +1.410s 59
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:18.466s +1.490s 104
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:20.096s +3.120s 78 -
Double for Arjun Balu, Rithvik Thomas in saloon cars; Amendola wins MRF Challenge title
Yuven Sundaramoorthy, winner of Race-4 in MRF Challeng on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 16 Feb 2020: Belgium’s Michelangelo Amendola did not win any of the three races run today, but picked up sufficient points from two third-place finishes and a sixth, to emerge the new champion in the FIA-approved MRF Challenge which concluded at the MMRT, here today.
Earlier,16-year old Indian-American Yuven Sundaramoorthy, with family roots in Madurai, gave the crowd plenty to cheer about by winning one race while British teenager Louis Foster and Australia’s Dylan Young took the honours in the other two races of the day.
A third place finish in Race-5 today ensured the 18-year Amendola the title in his third attempt as he opened up an unassailable 34-point lead over his nearest rival Young, going into the last race of the day. Amendola finished with 247 points, including five wins over three rounds, to Young’s 223 (3 wins) while Britain’s Joshua Mason (176) was placed third in the championship.
Meanwhile, Race Concepts drivers, Arjun Balu from Coimbatore and Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas notched a double each in the Indian Touring Cars and the Super Stock categories, respectively, of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship (Round-1).
Rejoicing his championship success with his immediate family, Amendola, who had scored a double yesterday, said: “I am absolutely delighted that I finally won the MRF Challenge championship in my third season. Last season, I finished fourth in the championship and in 2017, I was sixth. So, I was determined to win the title this time. Now that I have won it, I am looking at a few options, but all depends on budgets and sponsorship. Motor racing is not very popular in Belgium, but I am hopeful.”
The day began with Foster capitalising on a Turn-2 incident on Lap-1 that led to a brief Safety Car period, moving from third to first. Foster then hung on to finish ahead of Sundaramoorthy with Amendola in third place. Young’s championship hopes virtually ended when he lost two spots to come in sixth.
In the next race, Sundaramoorthy, starting on pole on the reverse grid, was off to a good start and though he lost a bit going into Turn 10, he managed to hold off Jordanian Manaf Hijjawi for his second win of the season with Young trailing home in third place.
“It feels great to win here in Chennai, virtually my home race! But I made it difficult for myself by making a couple of mistakes early in the race, especially when I went in too hot in Turn-10, went sideways and lost a bunch of space. I am absolutely delighted to score my second win this season after Dubai,” said Sundaramoorthy who turns 17 on February 22.
Young, starting from reverse grid pole, also won the day’s last race untroubled, comfortably nursing his early lead to chalk up his third win of the season.
ARJUN BALU REIGNS SUPREME
Balu destroyed the combined 29-car saloon cars field for a grand double. The grid was a mix of ITC, Super Stock and the Volkswagen Ameo (support race) that took its final bow after three seasons to be replaced by the turbo-charged Polo in the next round this summer.
Balu, like in Race-1 yesterday, was simply unstoppable though he started today eighth on the combined reverse grid. Within two laps, he sliced his way past six cars and then pole-sitter D Vidyaprakash of Prime Racing (subsequently disqualified for “technical infringement”, to take the lead that kept stretching corner to corner.
“At the start, I was keen to get to the front and not get stuck in mid-grid. Once into the lead, I was able to extend the lead before I decided to ease off big time as there was no need to push any more. It was a fairly comfortable race for me, but again, thanks to Race Concepts for preparing such a great racing car,” said Balu.
The results:
MRF Challenge (all 15 laps unless mentioned) – Race-4: 1. Yuven Sundaramoorthy (USA) (22mins, 53.075secs); 2. Manaf Hijjawi (Jordan) (22:54.066); 3. Dylan Young (Australia) (23:03.255). Fastest Lap: Sundaramoorthy (01:30.323). Race-5: 1. Louis Foster (UK) (25:38.368); 2. Sundaramoorthy (25:41.064); 3. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (25:45.004). Fastest Lap: Foster (01:31.053). Race-6 (14 laps): 1. Young (21:33.558); 2. Valdemar Eriksen (Denmark) (21:34.874); 3. Amendola (21:36.464). Fastest Lap: Sundaramoorthy (01:31.080). Final Championship standings (top 3): 1. Amendola (247 points); 2. Young (223); 3. Joshua Mason (GBR, 176).
National Championship (12 laps) – Indian Touring Cars (Race-2): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (23:12.264); 2. Keith D’Souza (FB Motorsports) (23:28.371); 3. Sunil Ranjith (Race Concepts) (+1 lap).
Super Stock (Race-2): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (24:13.207); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (24:20.261); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Race Concepts) (24:51.419).
Support races – MRF F1600 (Race-2, 10 laps): 1. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (20:17.408); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (20:18.087); 3. Karthik Tharani (Chennai) (20:19.272). Race-3: 1. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (16:35.718); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (16:42.174); 3. Vishnu Prasad (16:42.437).
Volkswagen Ameo Super Race (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Anmol Singh Sahil (Ghaziabad) (23:19.588); 2. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (23:22.637); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (23:23.267).
ABOUT MRF TYRES
Motorsports in India is synonymous with MRF. In fact, the development and popularity of various forms of the sport could be directly attributed to the pioneering efforts of the company, be it racing, rallying, motocross or karting. To encourage motorsport enthusiasts MRF has spared no resources in offering World-class facilities. Being the largest promoters of motorsports in India, MRF has the added advantage of being able to use the racetrack to test the tyres. MRF also supplies tyres to various other championships in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
MRF is the only tyre company in India to have developed Formula car tyres, world- class rally tyres for tarmac and dirt, motocross tyres and also karting tyres. Today, the company caters to almost all segments of the tyre industry and is proud to be the manufacturer of the largest range of tyres. Heavy-duty truck and bus tyres, passenger car tyres, two-wheeler tyres and farm tyres are just some of the tyres that MRF manufactures.
The one thing that puts MRF head and shoulders above its competition is the fact that MRF is the only tyre company in India without any foreign technical collaboration. The company is where it is today, thanks mainly to its know-how and its ability to develop indigenous technology. With this technology, MRF now supplies original equipment tyres to multinational manufacturers such as Honda, Hyundai, Renault, Nissan, Mahindra, Tata, Volkswagen, Toyota, Suzuki and Ford. In total, MRF exports to more than 90 countries. MRF has been the undisputed leader in the tyre industry for more than three decades now, notwithstanding the competition from various multinational and Indian tyre brands.
Arjun Balu on way to a double in the ITC category on 16 Feb 2020 at MMRT, Chennai. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan for INDIAinF1 -
Grand double for Michelangelo Amendola; Manaf Hijjawi notches maiden single-seater win
Manaf Hijjawi (71), who scored his maiden win in the MRF Challenge on Saturday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan Chennai, 15 Feb 2020: Michelangelo Amendola, the 18-year old from Belgium, notched a fine double to consolidate his top position in the championship while Jordanian teenager Manaf Hijjawi scored the maiden single-seater win of his fledgling racing career as the MRF Challenge headed towards a grand climax at the MMRT, here today.
Amendola won the day’s first and third races to take his tally of wins to five from 12 starts while 18-year old Hijjawi, in just his first full season in single-seaters, took the honours in Race-2 to provide a twist to the championship stakes.
With three more races to be run tomorrow (Sunday) in this final round of India’s only FIA-approved international championship, Amendola leads the table with 209 points, followed by Australian Dylan Young (175) who had two podiums today, Britain’s Joshua Mason (160) and Hijjawi (130).
The Belgian youngster won both his races today from lights to flag, starting from pole, and dominated to leave the pack chasing his shadow. In the day’s first race, Amendola was off to a flier and after a couple of laps had none in his rear-view mirrors.
“It was a bit boring as there was nobody in front of me and none behind me, but the competition will get tougher with reverse grids and all that,” said Amendola. It was much the same in Race-3 that he won with over 10 seconds to spare. He was followed home by Young and Mason in Race-1, and Young and British teenager Louis Foster in Race-3.
For Hijjawi, it was a red-letter day as the Jordanian, having just graduated from karting, scored a significant win as a warm-up for his forthcoming full season in British Formula 3 championship. “It’s a great feeling to score my first-ever win in a single-seater. It was a tough race, but I managed to stay in front,” said an emotional Hajjawi who survived a close fight with a display of wonderful composure under pressure to shrug off challenge from Mason for a well-deserved win. Denmark’s Valdemar Eriksen completed the podium.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Earlier, Coimbatore’s Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) chalked up a fluent and emphatic win in the Indian Touring Cars class of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship (Round-1), not facing any worthwhile challenge through the 10-lap race. “I lost the boost in the very first lap and so, was very much off the pace compared to my qualifying timing. Fortunately, I managed to build sufficient lead and got home safely,” said Balu.
Balu’s team-mate from Bengaluru, Rithvik Thomas was placed first in the Super Stock class of the National championship.
Arjun Balu, winner of Saloon car race on 15 Feb 2020. Photo by Anand Philar The saloon car race had a combined 28-car grid of various categories – ITC, Super Stock and the support event Volkswagen Ameo Super Race. Thane’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay topped in the VW Ameo category.
The results (Provisional):
MRF Challenge (all 15 laps unless mentioned) – Race 1: 1. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (22mins, 58.236); 2. Dylan Young (Australia) (23:05.941); 3. Joshua Mason (GBR) (23:06.414). Fastest Lap: Amendola (01:31.071). Race-2: 1. Manaf Hajjawi (Jordan) (23:13.797); 2. Mason (23:14.474); 3. Valdemar Eriksen (Denmark) (23:17.576). Fastest Lap: Louis Foster (UK) (01:31.178). Race-3: 1. Amendola (22:57.347); 2. Young (23:07.540); 3. Louis Foster (UK) (23:07.958). Fastest Lap: Amendola (01:30.861).
National Championship (10 laps) – Indian Touring Cars (Race-1): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (19:18.024); 2. D Vidyaprakash (Prime Racing) (19:41.347); 3. Vishnu Prasad (Prime Racing) (19:55.112).
Super Stock (Race-1): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (20:11.569); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (20:19.452); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Race Concepts) (20:31.940).
Support races (10 laps) – MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram) (16:38.930); 2. Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) (16:40.163); 3. Sohil Shah (Bengaluru) (16:41.535).
Volkswagen Ameo Super Race (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Thane) (19:21.422); 2. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (19:22.578); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (19:25.566).
Michelangelo Amendola (right) and Manaf Hijjawi. Photo Anand Philar -
Pole for Michelangelo Amendola; Arjun Balu quickest in saloon category
Michelangelo Amendola who qualified for pole position in MRF Challenge on Friday. Photos by Srinivasa Krishnan Chennai, 14 Feb 2020: Belgium’s Michelangelo Amendola, the championship leader, picked up two crucial points by qualifying for pole position as the third and final round of the MRF Challenge got underway at the MMRT, here today. He saved his best for the last lap of the session when he posted his quickest timing.
The 17-year old Amendola, in his third MRF Challenge season, though felt that he could have gone even quicker, but was happy with the pole position which he secured with a timing of one minute, 30.856 seconds. Close behind him was Jordanian Manaf Hijjawi (01:31.128) while British teenager Joshua Mason was third quickest in 01:31.154. Behind the trio was Aussie veteran Dylan Young, who is second in the championship, trailing Amendola by 16 points, qualified fourth in 01:31.245.
Just one second covered the top seven, a clear indication of the closeness of the competition going into this weekend’s six races.
“It wasn’t the best qualifying session I had. But it was a long duration session (30 minutes), so we had the pace. Anyway, we got the pole position and that is two more points. But we still have a long way to go with three races tomorrow and three more on Sunday.
“There is still some work to be done on the car, we can be quicker, but we are halfway there. I did the Free Practice sessions on old tyres and also the first part of the qualifying. After switching to new tyres, I went quicker and took pole position on my last flying lap of the session,” said Amendola.
Arjun Balu, who qualified for pole position in the Indian Touring Cars class.Earlier, last year’s first runner-up Arjun Balu from Coimbatore, driving the Race Concepts-prepared Honda City Vtec, was in a league of his own while taking pole position in the Indian Touring Cars class of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship (Round-1), clocking one minute, 49.894 secs which was a considerable improvement on his last season’s best of 1:50.9.
Such was the veteran’s pace that he was over four seconds quicker than the next best in the ITC class, Goa’s Keith D’Souza (FB Motorsports) who piloted the Volkswagen Vento (01.54.001), while another Coimbatore veteran, the ageless Octagenarian D Vidyaprakash of Prime Racing (01:54.849) in an Esteem, was third fastest.
“I am absolutely ecstatic, though my car is still a work in progress. We were looking for improvement, but did not expect this (sub-1:50) to happen so quickly. Anyway, I am happy that we went quicker than last year when my best was a 1:50,” said Balu.
The results (Qualifying):
MRF F2000: 1. Michelangelo Amendola (Belgium) (01min, 30.856secs); 2. Mannaf Hijjawi (Jordan) (01:31.128); 3. Joshua Mason (GBR) (01:31.154).
National Championship – Indian Touring Cars: 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (01:49.894); 2. Keith D’Souza (FB Motorsports) (01:54.001); 3. D Vidyaprakash (Prime Racing) (01:54.849).
Super Stock: 1. A Balaprasath (Race Concepts) (01:59.220); 2. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (01:59.962); 3. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (02:00.338).
Support race: Volkswagen Ameo Super Race: 1. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Thane) (01:54.222); 2. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (01:54.536); 3. Avik Anwar (01:54.817).
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Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris unveil McLaren 2020 F1 car, MCL35
MCL35 was unveiled today. A McLaren image Woking, 13 Feb 2020: McLaren Racing today unveiled the team’s 2020 F1 car, the MCL35, live from the McLaren Technology Centre to a global audience. Drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, who both enter their second season with the team, proudly presented the car ahead of it taking to the track for the first time during pre-
season testing next week. McLaren set to work on the MCL35, which is powered by the Renault E-Tech 20, during 2019 as the team pursued the first phase of its performance recovery programme. The season saw the team climb to fourth in the FIA Formula 1 Constructors’ World
Championship and provided valuable insights for the development of the MCL35, in what will be an intensely competitive 2020 Formula 1 season. -
MRF Challenge set for exciting finish; MRF MMSC National car racing season begins
File photo of MRF Challenge in action. Photo by Anand Philar Chennai, 13 Feb 2020: A clutch of hungry teenagers from across the globe, besides a couple of veterans, will be again going head-to-head as the third and final round of FIA-approved MRF Challenge, organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club, gets underway at the MMRT here on Friday, February 14, with a card of six races.
The weekend racing bouquet also includes the first round of MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship for saloon cars (ITC, IJTC and Super Stock) besides two support events, the MRF F1600 and Volkswagen Ameo Super Race. In all, 12 races have been scheduled for this weekend.
The previous two rounds witnessed thrilling battles while throwing up some exciting young talent like championship leader Belgium’s 17-year old Michaelangelo Amendola, Britain’s Joshua Mason, and first-timers in MRF Challenge Indian-American Yuven Sunderamoorthy, 16, who chalked up a fine win in Dubai, and Japanese-American Reece Ushijima who clocked two fastest laps, also in Dubai.
A newcomer to the MRF Challenge is England’s 16-year old Louis Foster who enjoyed a tremendous run in the British F4 Championship last year to finish third overall with six wins and 13 podiums. In 2018, he emerged “Champion Rookie” in the Ginetta Junior Championship with nine wins.
MRF Tyres Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Arun Mammen said: “We have had some exciting races in the previous two rounds in Dubai and Bahrain. Now, with the championship still wide open, we expect more of close and thrilling competition up and down the grid, here in the final round at Chennai. Over the years, MRF Challenge, India’s only FIA-approved Formula racing championship which is also one of the best in Asia, has thrown up a clutch of talented youngsters who have utilized the MRF Challenge, run in the off-season winter months, as a platform to achieve their racing goals, and it has been no different this season too with drivers from the United States, Europe and Australia lining up. MRF Tyres’ commitment to motorsports is evident by our strong presence in various championships across the globe, be it racing or rally.”
After two rounds, Amendola, with three wins in Dubai, is well-placed at the top with 143 points. He is followed by Australia’s 30-year old Dylan Young (127) who notched his first and only win so far in seven MRF Challenge seasons. Behind the pair is Mason (115) who notched four podium finishes in the Dubai round.
The top three title contenders, however, have to watch out for Danish teenager Valdemar Eriksen and Jordanian Manaf Hijjawi, tied on 87 points, but well clear of Ushijima and Sunderamoorthy who have 70 apiece. Denmark’s Largim Ali (43) and the lone Indian in fray and Chennai native, Chetan Korada (19) close out the grid.
With six races to be run, there are plenty of points on offer and it puts premium on consistency given the close competition.
ABOUT MRF TYRES
Motorsports in India is synonymous with MRF. In fact, the development and popularity of various forms of the sport could be directly attributed to the pioneering efforts of the company, be it racing, rallying, motocross or karting. To encourage motorsport enthusiasts MRF has spared no resources in offering World-class facilities. Being the largest promoters of motorsports in India, MRF has the added advantage of being able to use the racetrack to test the tyres. MRF also supplies tyres to various other championships in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
MRF is the only tyre company in India to have developed Formula car tyres, world- class rally tyres for tarmac and dirt, motocross tyres and also karting tyres. Today, the company caters to almost all segments of the tyre industry and is proud to be the manufacturer of the largest range of tyres. Heavy-duty truck and bus tyres, passenger car tyres, two-wheeler tyres and farm tyres are just some of the tyres that MRF manufactures.
The one thing that puts MRF head and shoulders above its competition is the fact that MRF is the only tyre company in India without any foreign technical collaboration. The company is where it is today, thanks mainly to its know-how and its ability to develop indigenous technology. With this technology, MRF now supplies original equipment tyres to multinational manufacturers such as Honda, Hyundai, Renault, Nissan, Mahindra, Tata, Volkswagen, Toyota, Suzuki and Ford. In total, MRF exports to more than 90 countries. MRF has been the undisputed leader in the tyre industry for more than three decades now, notwithstanding the competition from various multinational and Indian tyre brands.
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Kush Maini to race with 3-time Formula Renault Eurocup Champions R-ace GP
File photo of Kush Maini: INDIAinF1 Bengaluru, 12 Feb 2020: Ace Indian driver Kush Maini will continue in Formula Renault EuroCup Series 2020 and has signed up with R-ace GP.
Backed by JK Racing, Kush finished 2nd in the Rookie standings in 2019 and was 6th overall. He is looking to make a strong come back in 2020. His team R-ace GP have consistently won this Championship for the last 3 years.
The 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup is a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship features drivers competing in 1.8 litre Formula Renault single seat race cars that conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2020 season is the 30th Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season organized by the Renault Sport. The series is run over 10 weekends at 10 different Formula 1 circuits including Monaco and Abu Dhabi making it a very important and Competitive F1 Feeder series.
With a reasonable amount of experience on single seater racing at Europe over the last 4 years, Kush now feels ready to fight at the front of Championship.
Kush is extremely excited to be part of the R-ace GP line up. “Really happy to announce that I will be racing with reigning champions R-ace GP in Formula Renault Eurocup in 2020. We have tested together in Abu Dhabi and in Europe and I am extremely comfortable and confident with the team. Very happy also to be continuing my partnership with JK Racing who have supported me for several years. Can’t wait to get started,” Maini said
Thibault De Merindol team principal of R-ace GP said: “I am extremely satisfied to be able to count on Kush’s performances to defend R-ace GP’s driver and team Formula Renault Eurocup titles. Respectively 6th and 2nd of the 2019 general and rookie classifications, Kush proved himself to be one of the men to watch in 2020. Already at work since November, I am pleased with Kush’s team integration and with our preparation in progress. I want to thank Kush and all his partners for their faith in R-ace GP and I am looking forward to a great season together.”
The car Kush Maini will be racing in 2020. -
Scuderia Ferrari launches SF1000 at a glittering ceremony
Ferrari launches SF1000 at Villa theatre on Tuesday. A Scuderia Ferrari image Maranello, 11 Feb 2020: Scuderia Ferrari became the first F1 team to launch its car this year as it launched SF1000, the Formula 1 car it will race this year at the historic Romolo Valli Municipal Theatre, in the city of Reggio Emilia on Tuesday. The curtain went up at 18.30 on Tuesday 11 February, while millions of fans followed the presentation live, as it streamed on the Scuderia’s digital platforms including Facebook. Both the Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc were present.
“We have chosen Reggio Emilia, because 223 years ago, this city was where the tricolour was born and later adopted as the flag of unified Italy. The Valli Theatre is therefore the perfect setting to reveal Scuderia Ferrari’s latest car,” a Ferrari statement said.
The car produced in Maranello, will make its official track debut in the hands of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc at the first pre-season test, in the week following the launch, at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit in Montmelo, Spain.
Vettel and Leclerc with Ferrari SF1000 at Villa theatre on Tuesday. A Scuderia Ferrari image -
FIA Junior WRC gets underway at Rally Sweden
File photo courtesy Jr WRC championship Torsby (Sweden), 11 Feb 2020: The 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship gets underway at this weekend’s Rally Sweden – with 16 of the sport’s most promising young talents going head-to-head for one of the biggest prizes in motorsport.
Since the junior series as we know it first started, only the 2011 FIA WRC Academy can boast more entries and it goes without saying that this year’s championship is expected to be extremely close-fought.
Taking to the wheel of identical EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta R2T19s equipped with Pirelli’s Sottozero ICE tyres, it all gets underway this weekend with the youngsters keen to showcase their skills on the FIA World Rally Championship’s only true winter rally.
Due to unseasonably mild weather impacting the rally route, a reduced schedule will see the crews tackle 180 competitive kilometres across 11 stages in Sweden and neighbouring Norway – and it has never been more important to be quick out of the box!
And with the potential for a relatively thin layer of ice, the crews will also have to pay close attention to their strategy, set-up and tyre management – especially when it comes to ensuring they retain as many studs as possible over the entire loop.
Rally Sweden has formed a part of the Junior WRC three times, and all three times there has been a Swedish winner – Per-Gunnar Andersson in 2006, Dennis Rådström in 2018 and Tom Kristensson in 2019.
So it goes without saying that all eyes will be on the Swedes once again this year – Kristensson looking to do the double against strong competition from last year’s Swedish Junior Rally Champion, Pontus Lönnström.
Fellow Scandinavians include Sami Pajari who was pushed all the way to last year’s Finnish SM3 Championship by compatriot Lauri Joona, as well as the latest in a long line of Norwegian Solbergs – son of Henning and nephew of Petter, Oscar Solberg.
Estonian’s Ken Torn and Latvia’s Mārtiņš Sesks are also no strangers when it comes to winter rallying and should not be discounted when it comes to challenging for the win.
Others may not be as used to snow and ice, but last year’s graduates – Raul Badiu, Fabrizio Zaldivar and Enrico Oldrati – will be able to draw on the experience they gained 12 months previously, and Ruairi Bell is no novice when it comes to the white stuff having rallied in Latvia since starting his career in 2016.
Fellow Brit Catie Munnings also got some recent experience of ice and snow when she took to the wheel of a specially modified Bentley Continental GT3 at Austria’s GP Ice Race earlier this month.
Returning to the rally car after being crowned the 2018 eSports Champion, Jon Armstrong will contest Rally Sweden for the first time in reality and it’s a similar story for Fabio Andolfi as the Italian looks to use his four-wheel-drive experience to his advantage.
Fellow Italians Tommasco Ciuffi and Marco Pollara will be making their world stage debut outside Rally Italia Sardegna, and all crews are keen to make a strong start to their 2020 seasons.
FIA Junior WRC Team Director, Maciej Woda, said: “Firstly, on behalf of the entire FIA Junior WRC Championship, I would like to extend our gratitude and thanks to Glenn Olsson [Rally Sweden CEO] and his team who have been working around the clock to ensure this event goes ahead. Rally Sweden is such an iconic round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and always provides fantastically close-fought competition – especially in the Junior WRC and I’m looking forward to more of that this year.
“It’s always great to start the season here in Sweden, and this year we have 16 highly talented and motivated youngsters all keen to show what they can do on the snow, gravel and asphalt of the FIA World Rally Championship. The Swedish stages offer a unique challenge and it will be interesting to see if anyone can topple the two locals this year. This will be a rally of strategy, and those who are quick out of the box and on the ball when it comes to tyre strategy could well come out on top.”
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Fabio Quartararo fastest again on Sunday: MotoGP
Sunday action at Sepang. MotoGP image Sepang, 9 Feb 2020: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) made it a full house at the Sepang Test as he topped the timesheets once again on Sunday, with the Frenchman putting in a 1:58.349 to end the session close to the fastest ever lap of the Malaysian venue. He had some close company, however, with LCR Honda Castrol’s Cal Crutchlow taking second place, 0.082 off, and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) taking third within 0.101 of the top. All manufacturers ended the test within 0.345.
The weather was on side again on Sunday, with only the last half hour or so affected by rain – but a few finished a little early whether by design or mishap. For Quartararo it was a shorter day than Saturday, as the Petronas Yamaha SRT rider put in 57 laps, setting his fastest on his 17th. Teammate Franco Morbidelli, on his “A-spec” machine, did 58 laps and ends the test in P13.
Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was actually the second fastest Yamaha rider on Sunday. His best was a 1:58.541 and that puts him in fifth after just over a half century of laps. Rossi’s teammate Maverick Viñales, meanwhile, was way down the timesheets yet positive about the test; his best a 1:59.169 in P18 – but after a whopping 83 laps and some impressive long run pace. On Saturday evening, the Spaniard was especially impressed by the top speed improvement from the new engine.
Test rider Jorge Lorenzo was out on track on Sunday too, with the Spaniard adding another 46 laps to the Iwata marque’s program and proving a key point of interest. But Yamaha had another slightly different talking point too – something that looks very much like a holeshot device, spotted on Viñales’, Rossi’s and test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga’s machinery.
Honda’s test program workhorse Cal Crutchlow kept them in the hunt for the top on Day 3. The Brit’s best was a 1:58.431 and, predictably, he was one of the most prolific on track, completing 69 laps. Reigning Champion Marc Marquez did 47 laps and was P12, his day ending in a mishap at Turn 15 – rider ok. The Spaniard also reported in his debrief that he’s more focused on getting the technical side of the new season sorted, rather than worried about his shoulder recovery.
His rookie teammate Alex Marquez was 16th and did 49 laps, ending the test less than half a tenth off getting into the 1:58s. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) did a best of a 1:59.860 a bit further back, completing 48 laps.
Alex Rins was back in charge of the Suzuki teammate battle for supremacy on Sunday. The number 42 almost made it three bikes in a tenth but for a single thousandth, and he did an apt 42 laps, downing tools a little early. Teammate Joan Mir was P10 after 32 laps, his best a 1:58.736 despite a crash at Turn 9. The positivity from the Hamamatsu factory seems positively brimming after the test, and some impressive long run pace in the mid 59s made for good reading too.
Ducati, meanwhile, saw their top position on the timesheets taken over by Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) as the Italian put in a 1:58.502 to secure P4 – only 0.052 off Rins. Ducati Team’s Danilo Petrucci was sixth with a 1:58.606, and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) eighth… but just 0.010 behind the Italian. Bagnaia and Miller both crashed at Turn 15, riders ok.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was a little further down in P14 with a best of 1:58.859, with every GP20 rider putting in around 50 laps each on Sunday. But Dovizioso sounded pretty satisfied, working on setup and feeling on the new tyre in the morning – and pointing out that both he and Miller set their best on the medium…
Johann Zarco (Reale Avintia Racing), meanwhile, continued his improvement on the GP19 and ends the test 15th on Day 3, getting down to a 1:58.951 after 42 laps. Teammate Tito Rabat did a best of 1:59.549.
Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finishes the Sepang test in a similar position to where he started it, in seventh, but the number 44 was nearly a second quicker on Day 2. He only put in 34 laps on Sunday, but was also at the shakedown with KTM. His teammate Brad Binder had a pretty solid Sunday too as he remained close to fellow rookie Alex Marquez on the timesheets; the South African shaving nearly a second and a half off his Day 1 best.
Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s Miguel Oliveira, meanwhile, impressed on Day 3, putting in a 1:58.764 as he returns from injury – and slotting into P11 just ahead of reigning World Champion Marc Marquez despite doing only 22 laps. Oliveira’s teammate Iker Lecuona put in just 23 laps as well, but the Austrian factory also fielded test rider Mika Kallio as the Finn took over from Day 2 hero Dani Pedrosa. Kallio suffered a crash at Turn 15, rider ok.
Aprilia also leave Sepang securely belonging in the top ten, having hit the ground very much running with the new RS-GP. Aleix Espargaro led the way for the Noale factory once again as he took ninth with a 1:58.694, putting in 45 laps – and saying there was also more to come from a single lap, which was proving a challenge to maximise. And that’s borne out in the awesome long run pace the number 41 laid down, with a host of mid 59s. Test rider Bradley Smith was also on duty once again, adding 61 laps for the Italian marque.
That’s it from Sepang, now it’s time to head for Qatar for the second – and final – pre-season test. That starts in a couple of weeks on the 22nd of February, with the grid now facing just three days of track time before the season begins in earnest. Keep up to date with everything on motogp.com in the meantime!
