INDIA in F1

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  • De Vries wins in Le Castellet to take Championship lead; Mahaveer Raghunathan 12th: F2

    Nyck De Vries made light work of a fourth place start to make it three race wins from four and take the FIA Formula 2 Championship lead in France. The ART Grand Prix man’s hot streak of form continued in Le Castellet as he rose to first when the lights went and retained the position at the chequered flag, to finish ahead of poleman Sérgio Sette Câmara and Jack Aitken.
    The Dutchman made a superb move off the line to fly around the right of Guanyu Zhou and Sette Câmara ahead of the first corner. Aitken made an identical move down the left, but came out just behind his Championship rival in second, with both moves sticking going into Turn 1.
    Sette Câmara and Zhou were denied an immediate chance to react as a red flag swiftly brought a halt to proceedings after Sean Gelael caught the curb on T1 and sent his PREMA teammate Mick Schumacher soaring into the air and flying across the chicane, ending both of their races. Meanwhile, Nikita Mazepin and Ralph Boschung came to blows as well and stopped on track, which ended in retirement for both drivers. In the same chaotic period, a fifth retirement came in the shape of Dorian Boccolacci, whose home race ended in heartbreak when he stopped on track.
    When racing resumed De Vries held onto his position and left the Campos man behind him to battle with Sette Câmara. The front seven were all on the option tyre and it was the duo in P2 and P3 who ducked into the pits first, leaving De Vries to build up a lead for one more lap.
    When the Dutchman did pit, he came out behind Aitken, but any fears his strategy could cost him were swiftly alleviated by a stunning overtake on the mistral chicane. On the opposite strategy, Luca Ghiotto was handed P1 but building up a big enough lead to make it stick would be a mammoth ask.
    With the Italian attempting to increase his gap at the front, De Vries and Aitken were making their assault back up the field and fast gaining momentum, having both swept past Mahaveer Raghunathan.
    Meanwhile, behind them Callum Ilott pulled off what was arguably the move of the race, when he swept past Nicholas Latifi around the chicane. His hard work was all undone shortly after as he attempted to claim another position from Nobuharu Matsushita: the Briton got side-by-side with the Japanese driver but was forced to pull away when he ran out of track, hit the curb, and spun onto the gravel.
    Further risky moves ensued elsewhere on the field as Sette Câmara attempted to pass Aitken and like Ilott, ran out of track – he was forced to run over the chicane and would have to wait for his chance.
    Race leader Ghiotto managed to build up a 19s gap, but with tyre degradation and De Vries gaining momentum, the Dutchman began to take chunks out of this time. The UNI-Virtuosi man pitted with eight laps to go and returned in fifth, leaving just Jordan King – also yet to pit – ahead of De Vries.
    King eventually handed over P1, but a lightning fast pit stop from his MP Motorsport team returned him in 7th, having begun the race in 16th – an overtake on Luca Ghiotto, who had recently been passed by Latifi, later gained him a further place in P6. Shortly after, there was further disappointment for the Italian when Juan Manuel Correa caught his right tyre and slung him off the track, resulting in a retirement.
    With the obstacle of King’s MP Motorsport machine out of the way, De Vries quickly went about stretching his lead and soon held a 7s advantage over his rivals, which left Aitken and Sette Câmara to jostle over second and third. Aitken suffered a momentary wobble on Turn 8 and managed to recover and cling onto P2, however, the Brazilian was merely biding his time. The opportunity arose on the following lap and he flew past the Campos driver on the pit straight in a DRS powered move.
    It remained the same as they crossed the line, with De Vries claiming another win and the Championship lead, ahead of Sette Câmara, Aitken, Zhou, Latifi, King, Correa, Anthoine Hubert and Matsushita. Giuliano Alesi completed the top ten to score his first point in F2.
    De Vries now leads the standings, with 121 points, 16 ahead of Latifi in second place. Aitken is in third with 77, followed by Sette Câmara on 74 and Ghiotto on 67 points. DAMS lead the teams’ standings with 179 points, 46 points ahead of UNI-Virtuosi racing. ART Grant Prix are third with 127, ahead of Campos Racing on 107 and Carlin on 62.
    There will be a Frenchman on reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race when Hubert lines up at the front of the pack tomorrow, at 11.25am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 – Round 5 Feature Race classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    2
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    3
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    4
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    5
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    6
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    7
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    8
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    9
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    10
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    11
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    12
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Campos Racing
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Nyck de Vries (ART Grand Prix) – 1:44.584 on Lap 30
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Nyck de Vries (ART Grand Prix)

  • Hamilton takes French GP pole ahead of Bottas

    Le Castellet (France), 22 June 2019: Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid for the sixth time this season as Lewis Hamilton beat team-mate Valterri Bottas to pole position by almost three tenths of a second for the French Grand Prix, the 8th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at Circuit Paul Ricard here on Saturday.

    Charles Leclerc was the dominant team’s closest rival, finishing more than six tenths of a second behind championship leader Hamilton.

    A happy Hamilton tweeted…

    Bottas was in control in the opening segment, the Finn setting a session-best time of 1:30.550 to edge Hamilton by 0.059s and when the chequered flag came out the Mercedes duo held the top spots ahead of Leclerc, while Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo jumped to P4 and P5 respectively after good final laps.

    At the bottom of the order, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, already facing a back-of-the-grid start due to PU penalties, was eliminated in P16 ahead of the Haas of Romain Grosjean, Racing Point’s Lance Stroll and the Williams duo of George Russell and Robert Kubica.

    With the soft compound Pirelli tyres suffering badly in track temperatures that topped 50˚C, a number of teams equipped their drivers with medium compound tyres, looking to start the race on the more durable compound.

    And when the flag fell this time, the top eight in the second session made it through to Q3 on the medium tyres. Bottas once again topped the timesheet with a lap of 1:29.437, though this time the Finn edged Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by five hundredths of a second. Hamilton was third ahead of Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris, while Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen slotted into P6 ahead of the second McLaren of Carlos Sainz.

    Both Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Pierre Gasly looked to struggling for grip in the conditions and Gasly was luck to jump from P13 to P10 and safety with a final flying lap just four hundredths of a second quicker than Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon. But while Gasly will be forced to start on worn soft tyres, Albon will get a free choice of starting rubber tomorrow.

    Albon was followed out of the session by Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

    Given Bottas’ hold on P1, which extended all the way back to FP2, he might have been expected to take his fourth pole position of the year. Hamilton, though, moved ahead early in Q3 on to claim provisional pole just over a tenth of a second clear of the Finn.

    And the Briton improved on his final run to set a time of 1:28.319, almost three tenths clear of Bottas and more than six tenths ahead of third-placed Leclerc and Verstappen.

    It was an excellent day for McLaren, with Norris sealing place fifth ahead of team-mate Sainz, but it was a disappointing final session for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel as the German slumped to P7, 1.4s off the pole pace and more than eight tenths of a second behind team-mate Leclerc.

    Vettel was followed by Daniel Ricciardo of Renault, the second Red Bull of Gasly and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi.

    2019 FIA Formula One French Grand Prix – Qualiyfing 
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.319
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:28.605 0.286
    3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.965 0.646
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:29.409 1.090
    5 Lando Norris McLaren 1:29.418 1.099
    6 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:29.522 1.203
    7 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:29.799 1.480
    8 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:29.918 1.599
    9 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 1:30.184 1.865
    10 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1:33.420 5.101
    11 Alex Albon Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:30.461 2.142
    12 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1:30.533 2.214
    13 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:30.544 2.225
    14 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:30.738 2.419
    15 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:31.440 3.121
    16 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:31.564 3.245
    17 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:31.626 3.307
    18 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:31.726 3.407
    19 George Russell Williams 1:32.789 4.470
    20 Robert Kubica Williams 1:33.205 4.886.

    ends

  • Wet Race 1 sees Rea victorious as Sykes and Bautista completes podium

    Misano, 22 June 2019: With the rain continuing to fall by the bucket-load, it was a delayed start to WorldSBK Race 1 at Misano, Italy. After a 20-minute delay, racing got underway in treacherous conditions but after just two full laps, the red flag was brought back out as the remain intensified. After the restart, drama unfolded all through the field, but it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who made hay whilst the sun certainly did not shine!

    With the race getting underway nearly 25 minutes late, it was a frantic opening few laps before the red flag was waved. Alex Lowes was the race leader ahead of Jonathan Rea, whilst Tom Sykes and Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) were right behind. After the red flag came out, positions for the new restart would be made up by the order of the riders at their most recent timing point.

    As the race got underway for a second time for a reduce 18-lap distance, it was another great start for Jonathan Rea, who had the lead ahead of Lowes again, with Sykes third and Chaz Davies up to fourth, ahead of Bautista. Haslam was sixth but one of the biggest improvers was Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK). Thunder and lightening certainly made the opening laps very frightening, but the WorldSBK warriors continued to battle.

    Conditions began to deteriorate and soon, riders began to drop back accordingly, with some eventually dropping out. Lowes began to close on rival Rea and at Turn 8 with 12 laps left to go. Behind the leading duo, it was Loris Baz who had got himself up into seventh place and was now beginning to close down Alvaro Bautista. One lap later, it was Bautista’s teammate Chaz Davies who went head-to-head with Leon Haslam.

    However, with ten laps left to run, it was drama out front at Turn 12, as Alex Lowes crashed out of the lead to complete a miserable set of races for the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team rider. Now, it was Jonathan Rea who had the lead back. Behind Rea, Michele Pirro (BARNI Racing Team) crashed at the same corner. Tom Sykes was now second, and Leon Haslam was third, with Davies and Bautista behind.

    It was drama with nine laps to go, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) crashing at Turn 13, completing a wretched day for the BARNI outfit. Then at Turn 8, more spills, this time with Leon Haslam at Turn 8. The British rider remounted but retired with too much damage done. Chaz Davies was now third, but a small error allowed Bautista through, whilst Loris Baz was now fifth and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) in sixth!

    A small error from Davies allowed Bautista through into third, whilst Baz eventually closed down Davies to get fourth and then, the Frenchman hunted down Bautista, albeit not being able to close him down enough to pass. The battle for sixth was raging, as Delbianco came under pressure from Melandri, with the veteran Italian getting ahead of his rookie compatriot on the front straight. Delbianco was then swallowed up at Turn 8, as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing), Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Yuki Takahashi (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) moved ahead.

    Out front, it was Rea who took the win, his 74th win and 10 years and one day after his first at the same track. Tom Sykes gave BMW their first podium since 2013 at Jerez and Alvaro Bautista salvaged a podium after an eventful first wet race. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) took the fourth place and was top Yamaha, ahead of Chaz Davies in fifth.

    Marco Melandri held on to sixth place from 13th on the grid, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered a huge crash in the final sector of the last lap. Cortese picked up seventh ahead of Yuki Takahashi, Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Goeleven) and Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) – the Argentine picking up his first top ten in almost a year. Delbianco was a career-best 11th at the flag.

    The championship gap is now down to 32 points as Jonathan Rea continues to make gains on Bautista. Tom Sykes, Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri were beneficiaries of Haslam’s crash, as they all close him down – Sykes moving up to eighth overall.
    P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

    “Today was so difficult to understand exactly the grip level. So I set my own rhythm at the beginning, which was pretty good, and Alex came past and he was on a different level! I wasn’t prepared to push that much to stay there but he was really unfortunate cause he went down and he was incredible at the beginning. That gave me the gap to the rest and I see my pit board and understood that I could minimize the risks and keep the lap time constant till the end. I am super happy and I want to thanks Kawasaki and all my team, our fans and all the people that were here today”.

    P2 – Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

    “Very happy! It is just credit to all the guys of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. We worked really hard and finally, we got the result which I feel we deserved! It has been a long time and a fantastic feeling to enjoy riding again in wet conditions. The bike is giving some fantastic feelings back today and what the best place to do it than here in Misano with these fantastic fans. We will try to keep that momentum together and try to get the result tomorrow. Thanks to all and we will try again.

    P3 – Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)

    “Conditions today were really tricky. After lining up on the grid we had to pull back into the garages, then we restarted and stopped again and keeping the concentration was difficult. It was my first race under the rain so I had a lot to understand. I used a lot of caution at the beginning and tried to understand the track conditions because there were times it was raining a lot and there was more water on track. Lap after lap I build up my confidence with the bike and the asphalt. I am happy because it was important to get some points and getting on the podium was really a good result for us today”.
    #RiminiWorldSBK at Misano World Circuit: Race 1
    1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    1. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +3.692
    3. Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +7.756
  • We have the pace and I’m confident to fight through the field from P8 tomorrow: Jehan

    We have the pace and I’m confident to fight through the field from P8 tomorrow: Jehan

    Jehan Daruvala (centre) at the FIA press meet after winning the F3 race 1, the support race at French GP 22jun19. An FIA image

    FIA Formula 3 post-race Press Conference transcript:

    Thoughts from Daruvala, Shwartzman and Piquet, the top-3 today:

    FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to today’s FIA Formula 3 press conference following Race 1 at Paul Ricard. Joining us today, are the top three finishers from the opening race, in third place Pedro Piquet from Trident, in second place Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing, and your race winner Jehan Daruvala of PREMA Racing. Jehan, back-to-back wins for you now in Formula 3 and a really good charge to the front after reeling in Jake Hughes at the beginning. Can you just talk us through that fight with Jake?

    Jehan Daruvala: Like I said yesterday, I was pretty happy with how the weekend started. The car’s been good all weekend, so the main aim was to get off the line which actually didn’t go to plan. I lost a position to Pedro and I think I almost hit the back of him in Turn 1, I just missed him so that was lucky. After that it was all about managing the race. The car felt pretty good from the start. I didn’t have to over-push, I just tried to stay in the DRS of Pedro because he was not in the DRS of Jake [Hughes]. That was a big help for me. I got the pass done straight away on the first lap with DRS so I could go hunting for Jake. To be fair in the first few laps I was just chipping away a bit, a couple of tenths here and there, but wasn’t really making too many inroads. I just tried to keep the same pace and not try to push too much and I could see that started to show a little bit, especially in Sector 3. I was quite strong there compared to him. I just tried to stay there in Sector 1 and 2, and when the gap got to 1.4 seconds I knew that if I did a good Sector 3 I could get within the DRS. That’s what happened and I managed to do him before the last corner and then have the DRS on the main straight as well so that went to plan. I tried to break the DRS as fast as possible and after that the car was as good as it could be and I was just managing the pace until the end of the race.

    FIA Formula 3: We saw lots of drivers keeping within that DRS range and a lot of wheel-to-wheel fights, but you were one of the few who seemed able to pull clear quite quickly. Did you feel the pressure easing as you pulled further and further ahead?

    Jehan: I think throughout the weekend so far I’ve been really strong in Sector 3, so I knew that if I just held him off until the chicane and really push for one final sector then I break the DRS. That went to plan, and after I was in the lead by about two seconds I was just trying to manage the gap just in case of a safety car or something, I still had tyres to go for the end.

    FIA Formula 3: Congratulations. Robert moving on to you. A decent recovery after a bit of a sluggish start. Could you talk us through your race?

    Robert Shwartzman: The start didn’t go well for me, I nearly stalled. It was a really risky moment there because I was really, really close to stalling. At the last second I managed to pull back the clutch and at least move from the position. I lost a lot of places, I’m not sure how many, but I think I was in about eighth or ninth position at that time. There was a big mess and fight coming into Turn 1 and 2 and there was quite a close situation, I don’t remember which driver, but I managed to survive that and gain a few positions in the first lap. I think was P6 if I’m not wrong. Then I caught [Bent] Viscaal, he made a mistake in Turn 5 so I used that to my advantage and overtook straight away so as not to lose any time. Basically then I was trying to catch up with the boys in front. I caught Pedro who was fighting with Marcus [Armstrong] and then at some point I got past Pedro and was behind Marcus, but at that time I started to feel the degradation was coming because I think I’d pushed a bit too much at the beginning. After that I was struggling quite a lot with the tyres and it was a really tough race, but I’m happy because we did quite a good recovery after. We had a good battle between me, Jake and Marcus. Unfortunately they collided right in front of me and then in the last laps Pedro was quite close to me, but I think we were all sliding quite a lot because of tyre degradation. I knew that he could make a move but I would have defended it and try to protect my position. At the end of the day we finished where we did. I’m quite happy, after a really bad start I had quite a good recovery, and generally I’m really happy with how the team worked. They gave me some good advice over the radio and also, even though I made a mistake with the tyre management, the car was still really good. That was really important.

    FIA Formula 3: That battle with Jake and Marcus was really exciting, and as you said the two collided. What was your reaction when you saw that happen? Did you feel quite lucky to have avoided being caught up in that?

    Robert: Yeah. I was really surprised because when I exited Turn 6 they were not really close to me. The DRS really works here a lot, and basically I started to defend from Jake because I saw him in my left mirror, so I started to protect my position. Then I saw Marcus round the outside so they basically both came past me side-by-side. Then they both braked really late because they knew I was there as well. I knew that three cars would not fit in that corner so I backed off to try to and regain the position later. Then I saw Jake locking up and I knew something was going to happen. When I saw them collide I just backed off, waited, got past them and that’s it.

    FIA Formula 3: Well done on your result. Pedro moving on to you now. Really quick start and very far up the order throughout the race. Could you talk us through your race today?

    Pedro Piquet: I had a really good start. We were P2 in the beginning, but we were struggling a bit to find the pace. The first few laps I was a bit slow. I tried to fight Jehan, but after that I knew that if I’d tried to defend from everybody I would have finished my tyres. I knew Robert was close, he was in DRS range, so I knew he was going to be a test. After he passed me the car started to improve a bit. I had really good pace throughout the middle of the race, but unfortunately there was always a train of cars and a car with DRS in front of me so it was hard to do something. I tried to do a bit of tyre saving in the middle when I saw all the guys fighting. After Jake and Marcus crashed I tried to follow Robert but the tyres were finished. From my view it was a good race. We were a bit down on the performance level to them, but we’ll work hard to improve the car for the next race and the next event.

    FIA Formula 3: You were running fifth before the clash between Marcus and Jake, to obviously then rise up on to the podium. What was your reaction when you saw that unfolding ahead of you?

    Pedro: It’s not nice for them. You never want to destroy someone’s race but of course you gain positions in the end. If it happens and it helps you it’s better [laughs]. I saw them spinning, braked early, and just tried to avoid them because I knew that maybe a car was going to have spun in the middle of the chicane. After that [Jüri] Vips was quite fast as well. I think he did the whole race in open air, which helps a lot because when you drive behind someone it’s much worse at the end of the race. You get a lot of dirty air. On the last lap I had to do some defending but in the end it was a pretty decent result.

    FIA Formula 3: Well done. Jehan moving back on to you now. We’ve seen lots of fights through the field so far this weekend, Robert proving that. Starting eighth tomorrow on the reverse grid, how are you feeling about your chances of fighting your way up the order?

    Jehan: I think the main thing is to get through the first lap and not to do anything stupid. If I have the same pace as today then I’m pretty confident that I can fight through the field, but I expect all the guys in the top eight still to be pretty quick. It’s not going to be easy but like I said, the main thing is to have a clean first lap and then I think if I have good pace it will be a good race just to have some fun as well. Like Pedro said it helped having clean air today so I could manage my tyres quite easily, but if you’re fighting through the field like Robert had to you get to a stage where you run out of tyres. I expect to have good pace but also not for it to be too easy.

     

  • Dhruv Mohite leads 1-2 for VW Motorsport in ITC race; Bengaluru racers sweep Super Stock podium

    Coimbatore, June 22: Kolhapur’s Dhruv Shivaji Mohite led a 1-2 grandstand finish for Volkswagen Motorsport as he scored a commanding win in the premium Indian Touring Cars class in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2019 at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Saturday.

    The day’s schedule was cut short due to heavy showers that led to the cancellation of Formula LGB 1300 races, just after Bengaluru-based Race Concepts team made a clean sweep in the Super Stock race with Rithvik Thomas, Prateek Benya and R Rajashekar finishing in that order. Incidentally, the three podium finishers are all from Bengaluru.

    Mohite, 21, who has graduated from Karting and winner of the Ameo Cup last year, marked his debut in the ITC category in the Volkswagen Vento with a comfortable start-to-finish win ahead of team-mate Karthik Tharani while veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) completed podium.

    While Mohite, starting from pole position, was quick off the blocks at the start of the 15-lap race, Balu, from second position, dropped two positions as he missed a gear when the lights went out. But the Coimbatore racer gathered himself to move into third after a couple of laps, easing past Dodhiwala. Thereafter, Mohite, Tharani and Balu were content to nurse their track positions to finish in that order.

    “This is my first season in the ITC and I am happy to win my debut race. I had a good start and after opening up a good lead, I held my position as I had a team-mate (Tharani) behind me rather than a competitor,” said Mohite.

    For Balu, who is expected to be a top contender for the championship, it was a disappointing outing. “I missed a gear at the start and in the latter half of the race, I didn’t have brakes and I had to use the handbrake. With a lot to make up and a good lead over Ishaan, it was pointless to push. My car is still a work in progress and we have to work on a bit to make it more competitive,” said Balu.

    Earlier, Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabakh chalked up a fluent lights-to-flag victory after starting from pole position, in the Volkswagen Ameo Class race, holding off Anmol Singh Sahil (Delhi) and Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai). The race was run in tricky conditions. A wet and slippery track following a drizzle besides strong winds, were not ideal for racing on slick tyres, but Jhabakh handled the situation with aplomb while behind him, Sahil, having started fourth on the grid, fought his way to second spot, pipping Bandyopadhyay.

    Bangladesh’s Aiman Sadat topped the Junior category ahead of Nashik’s Viraj Jairaj Jhala and Bengaluru’s Chetan Surineni.

    The results (Provisional – all 15 laps unless mentioned):

    Indian Touring Cars (Race 1): 1. Dhruv Shivaji Mohite (VW Motorsport) (17mins, 20.105secs); 2. Karthik Tharani (VW Motorsport) (17:27.062); 3. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (17:44.280).

    Volkswagen Ameo Class (Race 1): 1. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) (17:48.937); 2. Anmol Singh Sahil (Delhi) (17:52.579); 3. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (17:55.182). Junior: 1. Aiman Sadat (Bangladesh) (18:14.077); 2. Viraj Jairaj Jhala (Nashik) (18:15.882); 3. Chetan Surineni (Bengaluru) (18:04.139, 14 laps).

    Super Stock (Race 1): 1. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (22:21.408); 2. Prateek Benya (Race Concepts) (22:23.462); 3. R Rajashekar (Race Concepts) (22:24.390).

  • Daruvala seals back-to-back wins in France

    Daruvala seals back-to-back wins in France

    Jehan Daruvala gets back to back wins in France. An FIA image

    Jehan Daruvala made it back-to-back FIA Formula 3 race wins and three in a row for PREMA Racing, as he came from second to win in Le Castellet, France. There was heartbreak for polesitter Jake Hughes, who lost P1 to the Indian, before making contact with Marcus Armstrong whilst battling for position and dropping to the back of the grid. Robert Shwartzman took advantage of the turmoil to claim P2, with Pedro Piquet completing the podium.

    Hughes made the perfect getaway when the lights went out, standing firm in first and setting the fastest lap. Shwartzman suffered contrasting fortunes and dropped back to 6th, behind his PREMA teammates, as well as Piquet and Bent Viscaal.
    Daruvala had briefly lost second to Piquet with a slow start of his own, but soon reclaimed the position with a move that seemed to take an age. Armstrong and Shwartzman followed their teammate a lap later down the mistral straight, as the Brazilian’s strong start quickly unravelled. Further back, Jüri Vips had been optimistic with an overtake on Alex Peroni and looked to have moved too early, but he earned himself a second shot and made it count for P6.
    Daruvala’s slow start became a distant memory and he started pilling the pressure onto the experienced Brit in front of him, quickly coming into DRS range. The Indian made his pace advantage count and rattled past Hughes in an all too easy move when the Briton ached around a corner too slowly.
    With anger seeping through him, Hughes hurtled back onto the tail of the new race leader, but skidded off track and nearly lost second to Armstrong, who could see his opportunity opening. The Kiwi muscled his way past shortly after, through the tightest of gaps.
    As opposed to ending the battle between them, this only proved to intensify it. Hughes kept his emotions in check to shrewdly slide back into second a lap later, with the aid of DRS. Shwartzman added a third name to the bout as he closed in on the Kiwi, before the duo took advantage of an uncharacteristic wobble from the English driver and both surged past after he went wide.
    Now out of the podium places, the former poleman suffered a bout of red mist in his fury to recover. Shwartzman overtook Armstrong, and Hughes eyed an all too tight gap around the chicane. He attempted the manoeuvre, but lost the rear around Turn 8 and clipped the back of the New Zealand driver, sending them both into a spin. Armstrong managed to recover for fifth, but the HWA RACELAB man plummeted to the back of the grid and offered a heart-breaking apology to his team.
    With bedlam playing out behind him, Daruvala built up a steady 3s lead out in front and seemed assured of the race win heading towards the final lap. Now up to third, a three-way tussle between Shwartzman, Piquet and Vips commenced with little time left. The gap between them was microscopic, but with just a lap to go, there was little time to be gained and the trio retained their positions come the chequered flag.
    Daruvala was first through to secure his second win of the campaign, while Shwartzman followed for a PREMA one-two, with Piquet in third. Vips , Bent Viscaal, Armstrong, Yuki Tsunoda, Peroni, Liam Lawson and David Beckmann followed.
    Campos Racing’s Peroni will start Race 2 in reverse grid pole tomorrow as the F3 grid turn up in the heat in France, at 9.55am local time.
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    2
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    3
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    4
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    5
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    6
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    7
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    8
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    9
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    10
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    11
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    12
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    13
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    14
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    15
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    16
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    17
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    18
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    19
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    20
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    21
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Felipe Drugovich (Carlin Buzz Racing) – 1:52.358 on Lap 19
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Yuki Tsunoda (Jenzer Motorsport) – 1:53.134 on Lap 17
  • We have the pace to go for the win tomorrow, says Jehan Daruvala

    We have the pace to go for the win tomorrow, says Jehan Daruvala

    Jehan Daruvala (left) at the post-qualifying press conference on Friday. An FIA image

    FIA Formula 3 post qualyfying press conference transcript:

    FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to today’s FIA Formula 3 press conference following Qualifying here at Paul Ricard. Joining us today we have our top three drivers from that session. On pole position Jake Hughes of HWA RACELAB, in second place Jehan Daruvala of PREMA Racing and in third place Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing. Jake if we can start with you, HWA’s first pole position at this level and it was a really mighty final lap for you to grab pole position. Could you talk us through that lap?

    Jake Hughes: For sure the last lap was really good, without a mistake and as close to the limit as I felt like I could get away with. To be honest though I think we had a good car the whole session. The first lap on the last set was just a compromise because of a lot of traffic in the last corner. Sector 1 especially was just cold tyres. I think I found myself mid-pack after the first lap on the last set. We remained confident, the car was good for the whole session as I said, and I didn’t know I was on pole when I crossed the line. I knew after the first lap that the fastest lap was a .6, so I saw .5 on the dash and thought maybe I had a chance but it wasn’t until I was in Sector 3 that I found out. I’m really happy, and it’s only HWA’s second race in FIA F3 so to get their pole I’m really proud of them and so a big thank you.

    FIA Formula 3: And it’s a really positive way to bounce back from quite a difficult weekend in Barcelona at the start of the season. You must be delighted?

    Jake: Yeah we didn’t score any points. It was a big shame that we had the problem that we did in Qualifying in Barcelona. I think we were fighting for the top five there as well. Obviously we don’t expect to be on pole at every race but fighting for it at least, and it seemed like we could do that even through testing. I’m happy to confirm that let’s say.

    FIA Formula 3: Congratulations. Jehan moving on to you now. You led the majority of the session and had quite a big margin at one point. You didn’t manage to improve on the final lap but you must still be pretty pleased with P2 on the grid?

    Jehan Daruvala: Yeah. To be honest I’m pretty pleased with how the session went in general. Every lap I did I kept improving my driving, and the car was good the whole session. I’m pretty happy with my lap, Jake just did a better job. P2 is still a good place to start tomorrow. Like I said, the car’s strong. We have three cars in the top five clearly we have the pace to go for the win tomorrow.

    FIA Formula 3: It must be really good momentum for yourself as well, following on from the Sunday victory in Spain, to carry this on through to Paul Ricard, so you must be pleased?

    Jehan: I’m pleased. Also we had a decent qualifying session in Barcelona. In Race 1 I had a bad start but that got resolved in Race 2. My main goal tomorrow is to be good off the line and I think we have a good enough car to win the race.

    FIA Formula 3: Thank you. Robert, moving on to you now. Pole position in Spain, P3 here, did you feel that pole was within your reach today? You were always kind of in the mix at the front.

    Robert Shwartzman: Yeah we were quite close. There were a few things that we should have improved, especially me and my driving, but still we were always there. I’m quite happy with P3. It’s a position where we can fight for the win tomorrow. The main job should be tomorrow and we need to push. Big congratulations to Jake because he did a really good job, and also to Jehan. Tomorrow I hope is going to be fair and nice fighting for the win.

    FIA Formula 3: Picking up on what Jehan said about the team performance to start the season, how much of a boost is it for you to see so many PREMA cars so far up the order?

    Robert: It’s really, really good. For PREMA it’s the first year in this championship with this car. We are really competitive. The car feels really good and the team is working really well, so big thanks to them. I worked with them last year and I really enjoyed it, and I’m enjoying working with them even more this year. Everything is going like we’ve planned so we just need to improve a few things, but that’s it.

    FIA Formula 3: Well done. Jake back to you. What are your feelings going into tomorrow’s race and that run down to a quite complex first set of corners? How do you think you’re going to approach that?

    Jake: Well, have a good start obviously [laughs]. I was pretty confident with our starts through testing and in Barcelona, so hopefully that repeats itself. We have good tyres for the race tomorrow. We saved a set in practice so that should help – well, it’s not a disadvantage obviously though it’s not a certainty. The PREMA guys especially had a very good weekend in Barcelona with tyre life, so I’m not expecting an easy race for sure. Hopefully we lead into Turn 1 and, as Robert says, we have a clean fight from there.

  • Jehan Daruvala misses pole by a whisker: F3 qualifying session

    Jehan Daruvala misses pole by a whisker: F3 qualifying session

    Jehan Daruvala

    Le Castellet (France), 21 June 2019: Jake Hughes pulled off the ultimate final lap to steal pole position at the death in FIA Formula 3 qualifying here on Friday. Indian racer Jehan Daruvala thought he had sealed the spot, but the Briton seared around the track on his final attempt to leap up the grid and earn HWA RACELAB their first ever F3 pole, with Robert Shwartzman in third.

    Temperatures had cooled slightly since the morning session and Max Fewtrell was the first out onto the Circuit Paul Ricard, but it was PREMA who once again set the tone with Daruvala and Shwartzman topping the early timesheets.
    Niko Kari had led Free Practice this morning, but his first time was only good enough for seventh. His second shot was more fruitful and he joined the PREMA duo in third. Daruvala was proving stern in first place and Christian Lundgaard twice saw attempts on the position fail, forcing him to settle for second at the midway point.
    Shwartzman had a second attempt on his teammate’s time, as did Leonardo Pulcini, but once again the duo came up short behind the inspired Indian. Despite his domination out in front, it was proving incredibly tight further behind, with less than a second separating the top seventeen.
    Having improved upon his own lap, Daruvala appeared confident out in front when the chequered flag was waved, after his Russian teammate had once again failed to lap quicker. With most of the cars having already passed the line, Hughes quietly went about his business and achieved a feat the others had not, by beating the Indian in every sector to earn his first pole position of the season.
    Hughes and Daruvala finished ahead of Shwartzman, Pedro Piquet, Marcus Armstrong, Leonardo Pulcini, Jüri Vips, Bent Viscaal, Kari and Alex Peroni.
    2019 FIA Formula 3 – Round 2 Qualifying
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    1:49.519
    13
    2
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    1:49.606
    12
    3
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    1:49.758
    12
    4
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:49.944
    13
    5
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    1:50.066
    12
    6
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:50.095
    13
    7
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:50.128
    13
    8
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    1:50.192
    13
    9
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:50.253
    12
    10
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:50.316
    14
    11
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:50.345
    12
    12
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:50.378
    12
    13
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:50.451
    12
    14
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:50.456
    13
    15
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    1:50.468
    14
    16
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:50.491
    13
    17
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:50.510
    14
    18
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:50.549
    11
    19
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:50.566
    13
    20
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    1:50.585
    12
    21
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:50.673
    12
    22
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    1:50.716
    13
    23
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:50.749
    13
    24
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:50.791
    12
    25
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    1:51.068
    13
    26
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    1:51.272
    14
    27
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:51.987
    12
    28
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:52.066
    14
    29
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    1:54.226
    13
  • Kari Motor Speedway set for MRF MMSC fmsci Car Racing Nationals 2019

    Kari Motor Speedway set for MRF MMSC fmsci Car Racing Nationals 2019

    Action from the 2018 National Championship. File photo by Anand Philar.

    Coimbatore, 19 June 2019: The eagerly-awaited MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2019 resumes at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Friday, June 21, in a new avatar following a rejig of regulations designed to make racing more competitive and exciting than ever before. The weekend card will see 59 entrants, from across India, competing in 11 races.

    In a significant development, the Volkswagen Ameo Cup has received the status of National Championship and rechristened as the Ameo Class. The eventual winners (Pro and Rookie categories) after four rounds and 10 races spread across four race weekends, will be declared National champions. Volkswagen Motorsport India had launched their one-make series in 2010 through the Polo Cup before progressing to the Vento and now the Ameo.

    Apart from the Ameo Class races, the weekend will witness competitions in the popular and premium Indian Touring Cars (ITC), the Super Stock and the entry-level Formula LGB 1300 which has attracted the most number of entries of 19 young aspirants. However, the MRF 1600 races are expected to start only from the next round in Chennai.

    MMSC Vice-President and Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said: “At the outset, MMSC would like to acknowledge and appreciate MRF’s unstinted commitment and active involvement in the National Championship, be it two-wheeler or four-wheeler races. In fact, MRF has been the backbone of motorsport in India due to the support they have extended and continue to do so, for all formats of the sport. With MRF’s support, MMSC has been able to take racing a notch higher with every season. This year, we welcome Volkswagen Motorsport into our National Championship by way of the Ameo Class which we expect to be as competitive as before when it was called the Ameo Cup.”

    For the Super Stock and the Formula LGB 1300 categories, this weekend’s outing will be Round 2 after the season-opener in February at the MMRT, Chennai, when they were run on the same card as the MRF Challenge international series, while the other classes join the National Championship.

    There will be three races each for the ITC, Ameo Class and the Formula LGB categories, and two in the Super Stock class.

    The weekend action commences on Friday which is entirely devoted to Free Practice sessions, while qualifying and five races are scheduled for Saturday, followed by six more races on Sunday.

    About Madras Motor Sports Club

    Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved from Sholavaram to its present location in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites, and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.

  • Marquez wins, Quartararo soars and chaos reigns at Catalunya: MotoGP Round 7

    Marquez wins, Quartararo soars and chaos reigns at Catalunya: MotoGP Round 7

    The reigning Champion extends his lead, the rookie’s luck turns and a multiple-rider crash makes waves

    Marquez wins the Catalan GP on Sunday. A Michelin image

    Barcelona, 16 June 2019: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took an impressive win in the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, the 7th round of the MotoGP World Championship, on an expensive day for his key Championship rivals, with a dramatic multiple-rider crash near the start of the race creating some serious chaos. Marquez escaped that and in the aftermath it was Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who emerged as his closest challenger, with the polesitter and French rookie cutting down the gap in the latter laps as he seared away from those on the chase. His second place makes him the second-youngest podium finisher in the MotoGP™ era, behind only Marquez, and he managed to pull two seconds clear of Mugello winner Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) to do it.

    It was Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) who took the holeshot with another stunning start, this time from the second row, with Marquez pushed back into second and Quartararo then trying to send it around the outside of the reigning Champion. But he couldn’t quite make that stick and Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) capitalised to sweep through soon after. The number 12 then attacked Marquez to take over in second, with Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) making some serious ground up into fourth to fight for the podium.

    Marquez hit back against Viñales on Lap 2 and it was shaping up to be a serious fight at the front, but that’s when the drama hit. Lorenzo went to attack Viñales just as Marquez attacked Dovizioso, and the number 99 then lost the front as the space ahead diminished. That set off a huge incident as the number 99 took down Dovizioso, then Viñales, and then Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) got caught too – with all four out the race. Marquez was clear of it, with Petrucci the man left in second, escaping the drama after having been passed by Rossi at the best time for one of them and the worst for the other.

    Marquez was then able to pull the pin and extend the gap but the fight behind was on fire: Petrucci vs Alex Rins  (Team Suzuki Ecstar) vs Quartararo. First it was a duel behind the Italian before Rins then started looking for a way past Petrucci, attacking into Turn 1 and the Ducati defending to perfection in Turn 2. A couple of laps later it was a Rins and repeat, but the Suzuki man couldn’t make it stick.

    He kept trying, but the next attempt was more costly. Running on and left heading over the Long Lap Penalty after dropping anchor to avoid Petrucci in Turn 1, the number 42 lost out and rejoined in sixth, behind his rookie teammate Joan Mir. That left him fighting to try and get back through, and left Quartararo with only one man in between himself and Marquez’ trail.

    It didn’t take long; the Frenchman sliding up the inside of the Ducati to take over in second soon after. And then, he was in the same position as his fateful race in Jerez and wishing for more luck. Barcelona brought just that, with the number 20 then able to unleash his pace and push on after Marquez, immediately starting to cut the gap.

    In the end, there weren’t enough laps left for a charge at the win, but the Frenchman made a little history regardless and a first rostrum finish is good payback for his incredible pace so far. Petrucci was around two seconds behind him but scored big for Ducati once again, with Rins taking fourth after managing to pass first Mir and then Jack Miller (Pramac Racing).

    Miller was only two tenths behind him over the line, however, and the Australian’s P5 puts him back in the lead of the Independent Team standings. Behind them? Another small gap back to Joan Mir, who took sixth and his best rookie result yet, two better than his season opening P8 in Qatar.

    Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) continues his consistency in seventh and took more solid points, ahead of Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) took P9 and his best of 2019 so far, as Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) did the same and completed the top ten.

    Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Suzuki test rider Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar) were the remaining finishers in a serious race of attrition, with fallers outside the huge incident near the start including Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Francesco Bagnaia) and Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team), who made contact with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) on Lap 1 and both crashed out.

    It was a near-perfect day for Marquez’ Championship hopes in Montmelo, and the reigning Champion heads into the next race with a serious buffer of 37 points at the top of the table. Dovizioso remains second, Rins couldn’t capitalise too much in third…but next up it’s the Dutch TT, and that’s the perfect place for Yamaha, especially, to strike back. Rossi was back in the mix in Barcelona, Viñales had made an awesome start…what will the classic TT Circuit Assen bring? Don’t miss it as MotoGP™ gets back in action in two weeks.

    MotoGP Top-3 results:

    1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) 40’31.175
    2 – Fabio Quartararo* (FRA – Yamaha) +2.660
    2 – Danilo Petrucci (ITA – Ducati) +4.537

    *Independent Team rider

    Catalan Grand Prix Full Results

    Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
    1 MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA 25 Repsol Honda Team 40’31.175
    2 QUARTARARO Fabio 20 FRA 20 Petronas Yamaha SRT 2.660
    3 PETRUCCI Danilo 9 ITA 16 Mission Winnow Ducati 4.537
    4 RINS Alex 42 SPA 13 Team Suzuki Ecstar 6.602
    5 MILLER Jack 43 AUS 11 Pramac Racing 6.870
    6 MIR Joan 36 SPA 10 Team Suzuki Ecstar 7.040
    7 ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA 9 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 16.144
    8 NAKAGAMI Takaaki 30 JPN 8 LCR Honda 17.969
    9 RABAT Tito 53 SPA 7 Reale Avintia Racing 22.661
    10 ZARCO Johann 5 FRA 6 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 26.228
    11 IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA 5 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 32.036
    12 OLIVEIRA Miguel 88 POR 4 Red Bull KTM Tech 3 44.666
    13 GUINTOLI Sylvain 50 FRA 3 Team Suzuki Ecstar 51.363
    14 CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR 0 LCR Honda DNF
    15 MORBIDELLI Franco 21 ITA 0 Petronas Yamaha SRT DNF
    16 BAGNAIA Francesco 63 ITA 0 Pramac Racing DNF
    17 SYAHRIN Hafizh 55 MAL 0 Red Bull KTM Tech 3 DNF
    18 ROSSI Valentino 46