INDIA in F1

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  • Matsushita claims first F2 Feature Race win; Arjun Maini 15th

    Red Bull Ring, 29 June 2019: Nobuharu Matsushita claimed his first ever Feature Race win in FIA Formula 2, surging past Championship leader Nyck De Vries during a tantalizing final few laps at the Red Bull Ring. The Carlin driver hailed the victory as the best of his career over team radio, as he earned last season’s dominant force their maiden win of the campaign.
    On his return to F2, Indian racing talent Arjun Maini of Campos Racing finished 15th.
    The Japanese driver finished ahead of UNI-Virtuosi ace Luca Ghiotto, who followed him past De Vries. The Dutchman lost a further place to Sérgio Sette Câmara, but ended up on the podium when the DAMS’ driver was dropped to fifth after a five second time penalty was added.
    The race began in calmer circumstances with De Vries making a smooth start off the line to retain first place ahead of Anthoine Hubert. Guanyu Zhou quickly made an attempt on the Frenchman’s position, but ran out of track and swerved wide allowing Matsushita through to third.
    The Japanese racer was up to second a lap later with a successful assault on Hubert, but he then switched his attention to building a gap between himself and those behind him, ahead of his pit stop when he would switch the prime tyre.
    Tensions threatened to boil over further back when Sette Câmara’s attempts to pass teammate Nicholas Latifi ended with the Canadian getting thumped from behind and swung full circle. When he recovered, he had been dropped to P19 and the Brazilian was handed a five second time penalty for causing the collision.
    Those on the option tyres went for Soft rubber on lap 7, leaving Sean Gelael in first, with front five De Vries, Matsushita, Ghiotto, Zhou and Hubert amongst the drivers making the change. Zhou suffered a gearbox glitch upon his return and dropped down to 15th before he was able to get back up to speed.
    Seventeen seconds separated De Vries and the PREMA man out in front and the Dutchman’s charge began with an overtake on Ryan Tveter. Matsushita followed him through a lap later. Gelael was told to push harder over team radio, but by then the ART and Carlin men had already made their way past Patricio O’Ward and Tatiana Calderon for fourth and fifth, and were fast honing in.
    With Gelael unable to form a gap out in front, Nikita Mazepin took a stab at the race lead and passed the Indonesian. The PREMA man was then overtaken by De Vries, who had also just passed Arjun Maini. Gelael pitted and a slow stop saw him fall further down the grid.
    De Vries was joined by Matsushita and Ghiotto in the chase for first and was closing in on his teammate at the front of the field. The Russian still required a pit stop, but the Championship leader refused to wait and retook his place at the top of the pile. However, De Vries’ tyres had already taken a battering as the race headed into its final five laps.
    Sensing this, the duo behind him pounced at Turn 1 and the Championship leader was dragged back to third in dramatic circumstances, after both Matsushita and Ghiotto made their moves on him stick in one clean sweep.
    Having suffered earlier in the race, Zhou showed no slowdown in pace from the earlier issues, charging back through the pack to P6 thanks to a gritty recovery. Latifi also managed to dice his way through the field and re-enter to the points’ paying positions, but narrowly missed out on reverse grid pole as he finished in ninth behind the impressive Jordan King – who had started the race as far back as 15th.
    There was one final course of action when Sette Câmara endeavoured to make the most of his race, with the knowledge of an incoming five-second penalty. The Brazilian set the fastest lap with just one tour of the circuit to go and managed to slide past former race leader De Vries, who was still struggling with tyre degradation. De Vries reclaimed the position upon the chequered flag as Sette Câmara’s penalty saw him drop to fifth.
    Matsushita crossed the line in first, ahead of Ghiotto, who achieved his best finish since Barcelona. De Vries ran home in third, ahead of Hubert, with Sette Câmara in fifth, followed by Zhou, Louis Delétraz, King, Latifi and Jack Aitken.
    De Vries stretched his lead at the top of the standings to 140 points, 29 ahead of Latifi in second place. Sette Câmara climbs to third on 92 points ahead of Aitken on 86 and Ghiotto on 85. DAMS’ retain their position at the top of the Teams’ Championship on 203 points, 34 ahead of UNI-Virtuosi. ART Grand Prix are third with 146, ahead of Campos Racing on 116 and Carlin on 97.
    King will attempt to claim the top honours in tomorrow’s Sprint Race when he starts on reverse grid pole ahead of Louis Delétraz at 11am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Feature Race Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    3
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    4
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    5
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    6
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    7
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    8
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    9
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    10
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    11
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    12
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    13
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    14
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    15
    Arjun Maini
    Campos Racing
    16
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    17
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    18
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    19
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    20
    Patricio O’Ward
    MP Motorsport
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Sergio Sette Camara (DAMS) – 1:18.209 on Lap 34
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Sergio Sette Camara (DAMS)

  • Vips claims first F3 race win in Spielberg; Jehan Daruvala finishes P4

    Jüri Vips achieved his first FIA Formula 3 win in style in today’s Race 1 at the Red Bull Ring, leaping two positons from third to become the first non-PREMA winner of the campaign. The Hitech Grand Prix racer finished ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Max Fewtrell and PREMA Racing’s Marcus Armstrong, muscling his way past the both of them in the early stages.
    The Estonian overcame a frantic start and clung onto P3 despite an initial overtake attempt from Indian racing star Jehan Daruvala when the lights went out. Armstrong also came under threat at the start and initially lost first to Fewtrell who was quick off the line from P2. The Brit dashed in-front of the Kiwi and took the racing line, but Armstrong fought back and reclaimed the position down the inside of Turn 2.
    Having seen such a promising start unravel, Fewtrell was soon fighting off Vips’ Hitech machine, who was having to attack and defend simultaneously thanks to Daruvala’s pace in-behind. The Estonian came out on top of the three-man dice and left Fewtrell to battle off the PREMA man racing in-front, fast catching Armstrong.
    Vips followed up his move on the ART driver with a searing sweep on the Kiwi racer, soaring down the inside of Turn 3 and into the lead. Fewtrell took a tow and followed him, as the former race leader lost two positions in one move. The poleman looked to react, but a poor exit on Turn 2 gave Fewtrell breathing space and broke up the brawl.
    Further back, a three-man tussle between Jake Hughes, Pedro Piquet and Robert Shwartzman had begun, with the latter making his way from ninth on the grid showing that there was no hangover from Friday when he had suffered technical issues in Qualifying.
    The Russian driver further emphasised this with the race’s fastest lap, but couldn’t capitalise on a mistake from Piquet, who had temporarily lost his back end at Turn 1. The Brazilian reacted by setting a new fastest lap himself and confidently took fifth from Hughes who thus dropped to sixth.
    The Briton battled back and reclaimed fifth at the corner, but soon faced another jaunt on the place as Shwartzman went three-wide with the two drivers and emerged ahead of them both at Turn 3.
    The race entered its final lap and Daruvala was becoming frustrated with him inability to pass teammate Armstrong for the final podium place. Sensing a now-or-never moment, he took a stab down the inside of the Kiwi on Turn 4, but got too close and intelligently backed off as the duo came within an inch of Fewtrell’s rear wing.
    Richard Verschoor managed to squeeze into the final points’ paying position ahead of Bent Viscaal prior to the chequered flag, while Lirim Zendelli snuck ahead of Leonardo Pulcini to give the order one final shake up.
    Leaving those behind him to battle, Vips ran through the chequered flag in first, with Fewtrell second and Armstrong holding onto third. Daruvala and Shwartzman settled for fourth and fifth, followed by Piquet, Hughes, Zendeli, Pulcini and Verschoor.
    The top two in the drivers’ standings remains unchanged, with Shwartzman leading Daruvala by 10 points. Vips holds third on 59 points, ahead of Armstrong and Piquet. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA Racing lead the way with 204 points, ahead of ART Grand Prix on 68. Hitech Grand Prix are third on 61 points, Trident fourth on 49 and HWA RACELAB fifth on 22.
    Zendeli will start on reverse grid pole in Race 2 ahead of the experienced Hughes, as the teams’ look to continue their charge down of PREMA tomorrow at 9.35am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 3 – Round 3 Race 1 Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    2
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    3
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    4
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    5
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    6
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    7
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    8
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    9
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    10
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    11
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    12
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    13
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    14
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    15
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    16
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    17
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    18
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    19
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    20
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    21
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    22
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    23
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    24
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    25
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    26
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    27
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    28
    Giorgio Carrara
    Jenzer Motorsport
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Juri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix) – 1:21.042 on Lap 23
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Juri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix)

  • Gaurav Gill bids for seventh INRC title in new avatar

    Chennai, 28 June 2019: The all-new Champions Yacht Club-FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2019 got off to an explosive start here on Friday, with a record number of cars led by the country’s most celebrated driver Gaurav Gill squaring up for an epic faceoff.
     
    As many as 51 top rallyists from across the country, fielded by five major teams, including 19 by Team Champions, and many privateers, took off  in front of a big crowd to set the tone for an exciting season. The clashes began with a first-of-its-kind Super Special Stage at the MMRT, giving spectators a rare glimpse of all the action from close proximity.
     
    It’s a new beginning for three-time APRC and six-time INRC champion Gill too as he made the shift from MRF to JK Tyre in the hope of conquering new frontiers. The Mahindra Adventure driver, with Musa Sherif by his side, will be competing in a new car, the XUV300, adding a new dimension to the competition.
     
    “I am looking forward to this season as I will not only be in a new car but also on new tyres,” Gill said, at the press conference, a few hours before the opening stage. “I have tested the car and it’s the best in the class. I am sure it’s going to suit my style of driving,” he added.
     
    The South India Rally, Round 1 of the INRC powered by MRF, will see the teams fight it out over a total distance of 298.70 kms, with as many as 117.33 kms earmarked for 11 special stages on gravel and dirt tracks. After the SSS on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 will see five stages each, providing the drivers as well as the spectators ample fun.
     
    “This is a perfect start to the championship,” promoter Vamsi Merla said. “We have already had the most number of entries and the biggest crowd at an INRC, making it that much more thrilling for all of us,” he added.
     
    Like always, Team Mahindra will have a second car in fray too, with former racing and rallying champion Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) making it a formidable duo for them in the INRC 1 category. They will, however face stiff competition from another INRC champion Karna Kadur (Nikhil V Pai) of Arka Motorsports, who was brimming with confidence.
     
    The INRC 2 category also looked highly competitive, with Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padivel) and Race Concept’s Younus Ilyas (Harish Gowda) pitted against each other. Both are supported by JK, making it that much more interesting.
     
    INRC 3 has as many as 22 contenders, with Arjun Rao, Chetan Shivram  and Daraius N Shroff among the favourites. Two ladies will also be seen in action, Shivani Pruthvi and Garima Avtar (INRC 4) as they aim to prove their mettle. A total of eight drivers will also feature in the junior INRC category.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MotoGP Championship standings:

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

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

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

    The 2019 Formula 1 Austrian GP according to Brembo

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

    Image by Brembo

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

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

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

    The demand on the brakes during the GP

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

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

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

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

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

    The most demanding braking sections

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

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

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

    You can find the Video here

    Brembo performance

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

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

    Find the Brembo Animated Infographic here

     

    ends

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Jehan Daruvala (right) on the podium.

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

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

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

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

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

    ends

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing)

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

    P3 – Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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