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Tag: featured
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New asphalt and layout awaits in Barcelona; three tyre options available
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with new layout. Source: MotoGP Barcelona, 13 June 2018: The Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya hosts the seventh round of the 2018 MotoGP™ season, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya having undergone a complete resurfacing, as well as modifications being made at Turn 13.
Michelin had initially planned to bring four tyre allocations to the Catalan GP, however the test that was completed here last month meant the Official MotoGP™ Class Tyre could narrow the options down to three.
The three front slick tyres in a soft, medium and hard compound will all be symmetric in design, whilst the three rear slicks – also in soft, medium and hard – will feature a harder right-hand-side, giving them an asymmetric performance to cope with the eight right turns that the track possesses, in contrast to just five left corners.
Source: MotoGP Piero Taramasso, Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager, said: “Catalunya was another track that we had little knowledge of what to expect when we made the plan for tyre allocation before the season had started. The recent test we had there – which featured almost the whole MotoGP field – has changed that and given us a clear plan, this has allowed us to make the decision of what tyres we need to bring to cope with the new surface and layout.
“It was a very positive test and the riders gave some good feedback, which has enabled us to choose the specific compounds which are ideally matched to the new asphalt. The times were very fast, even though we were comparing them to the older layout, so we expect some very quick laps this weekend. This is always one of the best events of the season and the track gives some thrilling racing, so we hope we can play a big part in that excitement by supplying the riders with the optimum tyres to give them the best performance possible.”
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Spanish teenager Andreas Perez succumbs to injuries following a crash
Andrea Perez. Photo: Twitter Andreas Perez, a 14-year old Spanish rider, succumbed to injuries he suffered in an incident during the fourth round of the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Andrea Perez in action. Photo: Twitter A statement by MotoGP said: “It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Andreas Perez Manresa. The incident happened in the second race of the day for the Moto3™ category, with the Red Flag shown immediately. The rider received medical attention at the side of the track before then being transferred to the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau by helicopter.
Despite the best efforts of the circuit medical staff and those at the hospital, Perez sadly succumbed to his injuries on the morning of June 11th.
Perez was a standout performer in the 2017 European Talent Cup, taking two wins and a number of further podiums during the season to end the year in fourth. For 2018, he had moved up to the Moto3™ Junior World Championship, competing with the Reale Avintia Academy team.
The FIM, Dorna, the RFME and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya wish to pass on their condolences to the family, friends and team of Perez.” Nothing could console them with their terrible loss of the wonderful rider. His family must be awarded proper compensation as support for them. By approaching the Las Vegas injury law firm, they will make sure that the best amount as compensation is received. But this amount couldn’t bring back their son’s life but this would be useful to repay their debts and look for a better option to live by carrying their son’s memories in their hearts.
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Canadian GP: Early sparks, but no fire as Vettel puts Ferrari ahead of Mercedes
Seb Vettel….in a league of his own in Montreal. Photo: Nico Marchand Montreal, 11 June 2018: Formula 1 suffered a back to back embarrassment with the Canadian GP failing to produce an iota of excitement
and followed in the footsteps of the Monaco chapter two weeks ago. The character of the circuits had nothing in common to cause this feeling of ennui.Team Scuderia Ferrari bulldozed it’s title contender Mercedes comprehensively with Vettel taking the lead authoritatively and never having to look in his mirrors all the way to the premature checkered flag at the 68th. That was about the only sense of excitement if at all.
Other than a sporadic clash for positions 12th downward, there wasn’t much to excite the enthusiastic spectators who arrived in full strength to witness an epic battle amongst the likes of the three – Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. The DRS system took the day off and wasn’t summoned since no driver came within striking distance to put it to use and it basked in the fabulous weather that made it worth the while to watch the F1 train go round and round the famous Giles Villeneuve circuit!
The race had a promising start with Hartley and local hero Lance Stroll coming together spectacularly on lap 1 causing the safety car to control the proceedings for the initial 6 laps while the marshals and the wreckage retrieval crew cleaned up the mess . Once the SC exited the fans were buckling themselves for a ride of their lives that wasn’t to be sadly. Vettel’s domination was so emphatic that all Bottas could offer was a weak challenge whilst being threatened somewhat by Max Verstappen who thankfully decided to finish the event rather tamely for a change!
Huge crowds at the Giles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal. Photo: Nico Marchand Lewis Hamilton had a bad day at work with his engine malfunctioning and also having to employ incorrect tires which was a consequence of a choice made earlier on in the championship. That cost Mercedes dearly since this wiped out their name from the leader board in one event while handing over their arch-rivals Ferrari a slender one point lead at the end of it all. Anyway, it’s great for F1 to have a see-saw battle to keep the excitement however contrived it may be! When the behemoths eventually get their act together as the F1 juggernaut moves to Europe, the two back-to-back blah events will be consigned to history hopefully.
Sahara Force India didn’t have a great outing with Perez straying into the kitty litter thus pushing him down to 14th place from which he never recovered. Ocon was all set to put in another sterling drive until a messy pit stop put paid to his potentially top six finish but he yet picked up valuable points for his 9th place effort.
Rumours were flying thick and fast about the potential sale of his team to Rich Energy. These were denied vehemently by the team boss Mallya, but vaguely confirmed by a few in the know. We know that there is never smoke without a fire. Currently, the team is fairly valuable and time to cash in would be now! But Mallya’s passion for F1 may delay or deny the process for a while. After all he did build it to be a team to reckon with from a rather scrappy outfit that he inherited a decade ago.
Ricciardo should be content with his 4th place considering that his Renault engine was not putting out its best. Kimi had another pedestrian day at work. How long will be able to hang on to his precious seat is anyone’s guess! Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz played it sensibly and earned themselves some valuable points for their attempt with their 7th and 8th finishes for Renault . Alonso 300th race was done with an exhaust med problem . He must easily the most frustrated man in the paddock. After the top 6 finishers, the rest of the best finished over a lap down. Something’s don’t change, do they ?!!!!
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Kush Maini impresses again with his 7th podium of the year; also sets lap record
Kush Maini on the podium at Silverstone Silverstone, 11 June 2018: Kush Maini’s rich vein of form continued with yet another couple of podiums on the race weekend, this time at the historic Silverstone track, making it 7 podiums in four rounds of the BRDC British F3 championship. The JK Racing-supported driver finished P2 in a tight Race 1, and ended the weekend with a strong P3 finish in Race 3, solidifying his third place in the driver’s standings with 227 points.
Maini started the weekend on a high, with a strong qualifying session where he was on top for the most part only to be pushed down to P2 with five minutes to go, he ended up behind Lundqvist in the session, just 0.051s off pole.
Race 1 began with Lundqvist and Kush making good starts off the line, and saw Lundqvist pull away after the first lap. Kush closed the gap on the race leader with some quick laps, one if which saw him create a new BRDC British F3 lap record around the newly resurfaced Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in the process. He finished just 0.392s off the P1, making this his sixth podium of the championship.
Race 2 saw Kush start at the back of the pack from P16, owing to the reverse grid format of the F3. An early incident in the race meant he had to recover and fight back to gain a couple of places and finish the race in P14.
Race 3 however saw Kush start from pole, on account of his record breaking lap in Race 1. A strong start for Tom Gamble, meant Kush lost one place off the line and while trying to regain this position, Kush veered off course, dropping to P3 by the end of lap 1. Some exciting but disciplined driving ensured that he finished on the podium yet again, keeping him in the hunt for the driver’s championship.
Talking about his weekend, Kush Maini said: “The first race was good for us with promising speed. The second race was tricky, we got a good start but three into one corner doesn’t go, but it was a racing incident. We put that behind us and started on pole for race three because of the fastest lap. I didn’t get off the line well and then had a bit of a tussle through Maggots and Becketts but we can only take the positives from this weekend, we’re still third in the championship with a bit of a margin, but I think we can keep pushing and I’m going to give it my all every race, and that’s all I can do.”
The next round of BRDC F3 Championship will take place at the legendary Spa circuit towards the end of July.
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Vettel wins from lights to flag: Canadian Grand Prix
Vettel afterCanadian GP winc. An FIA image Montreal, 10 June 2018: Sebastian Vettel drove a textbook Canadian Grand Prix, leading every lap of the race to secure his 50th career grand prix win ahead of Mercedes Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
When the lights went out polesitter Vettel held his advantage into Turn 1. Behind, Verstappen made a good start and attacked Bottas, pulling alongside the Mercedes. Bottas held firm, however, and managed to stay in second position ahead of the Red Bull driver. Hamilton kept fourth but Daniel Ricciardo made his way past Kimi Räikkönen to take fifth place.
Further back, Williams’ Lance Stroll lost control in Turn 5 and slid into Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley pushing the New Zealander into the wall. The collision was a big one and debris was scattered across the track as they slid towards the run-off area at Turn 6. The Safety Car was immediately deployed. Both drivers were taken to the medical centre, with Hartley then being sent to hospital for further checks.
When action resumed at the end of lap four, the order at the front remained the same as Vettel controlled the situation well, but further back there was content between Force India’s Sergio Perez and Renault’s Carlos Sainz.
Perez slid across the run-off are and back on track but there was no further contact, though the Mexican quickly dropped to P14.
Vettel then began to put in fastest laps and the gap to Bottas widened to four seconds by lap 13. Behind him a number of drivers who had started on hypersoft tyres began to pit, moving to supersoft tyres as the pink-banded compound quickly faded. The Red Bulls, though, stayed on the softest of the weekend’s compounds as they nursed their starting rubber.
By lap 16 Ricciardo was catching Hamilton and the gap between the two had dropped to 0.7s. With Hamilton visibly struggling for pace, Mercedes took the option to pit the Briton on lap 16. Red Bull pitted Verstappen simultaneously, with both taking supersofts.
Ricciardo stayed out, however, and after a superbly quick in-lap pitted at the end of lap 17, taking on supersofts in overcut to emerge ahead of Hamilton.
Vettel continued on and by lap 23 he was 4.8s ahead of Bottas. Räikkönen was now third, though he too needed to pit, 12.9s behind his fellow Finn and 13.8 clear of Verstappen.
The race then settled until Räikkönen made his pit stop, emerging in P6 behind Hamilton. Bottas pitted soon after, holding P2 ahead of Verstappen and Ricciardo. Ferrari then covered the Mercedes stop and rejoined some 8s clear of the Finn.
The race settled again, with the gaps spreading at the front of the pack. On lap 50 Vettel had 6.0s in hand over Bottas, while the Mercedes man was 5.9s ahead of Verstappen. Ricciardo was fourth, seven seconds behind his team-mate and the Australian had just over a second in hand over Hamilton.
And so it remained until the closing laps when Hamilton began to hunt down Ricciardo as the pair met traffic. The Briton closed to within DRS as Ricciardo cleared Force India’s Esteban Ocon. However he lost out slightly when Ricciardo easily got past Sainz and Hamilton lost grip momentarily.
The battle ebbed and flowed as the pair threaded their way through the traffic but then three laps from the end Ricciardo found clear air and stretched his legs. Verstappen, meanwhile, was pushing for a final attack on Bottas who was having to fuel save in the closing stages.
There was a moment’s confusion as the chequered flag was waved a lap early but seconds later the German crossed the line to take his 50th career F1 victory and Ferrari’s first win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 14 years ahead of Bottas who nursed his Mercedes home ahead of Verstappen and Ricciardo. Hamilton finished fifth, with Raikkonen sixth ahead of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz and Force India’s Esteban Ocon. The final point went to Sauber’s Charles Leclerc.
2018 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix – Race
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari –
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 6.496
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 7.702
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 19.625
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 21.408
6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 27.308
7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 lap
8 Carlos Sainz Renault 1 lap
9 Esteban Ocon Force India 1 lap
10 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1 lap
11 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1 lap
12 Romain Grosjean Haas 1 lap
13 Sergio Perez Force India 1 lap
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 lap
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 2 laps
16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 2 laps
17 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 2 laps
Fernando Alonso McLaren
Lance Stroll Williams
Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso -
MRF, Gaurav Gill pleased with performance of tyres on WRC debut in Rally Italia Sardegna
Gaurav Gill in action during the Rall Italia Sardegna where he and MRF Tyres made their WRC debut. Alghero, 10 June 2018: It was a successful debut in the World Rally Championship (WRC) for MRF Tyres in the Rally Italia Sardegna held over the weekend. MRF Tyres joined the current World Rally Champions M-Sport outfit to run a Fiesta R5 car on the Italian roads with Indian Gaurav Gill behind the wheel. His co-driver, Australian Glenn Macneall has a long history in the WRC and brought valuable experience to the team.
Gill and Macneall put in a string of fast stage times, finishing inside the top 10 of their class across all the Saturday and Sunday stages.
“It was a tough event – this is the toughest of the WRC events across the season and the MRF Tyres performed well on the rough roads,” Gill said. “I am very happy with where we sit after our first event. We took fourth in our category on stage 13 and today we continued to set very good times. The conditions today were very hot, much warmer than over the rest of the weekend but the roads were a little smoother. It is great to make it to this point and I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the MRF Tyres Ford Fiesta R5 at our next WRC event.”
The MRF Tyres team was happy with the progress with the rally showing development opportunities while showing the tyres are strong and consistent.
“Our tyres were able to withstand the tough demand of the WRC – the toughest motorsport competition in the world. The MRF Tyres were able to withstand rocks, ruts and boulders without a single issue,” he added.
With the data and confidence that MRF Tyres and Gaurav Gill with Glenn Macneall gained from Rally Italia Sardegna, the team are looking forward to future events.
This is the first of four events for MRF Tyres in the WRC this year as the team aims to gain more data, experience and speed for the 2019 season.
MRF Tyres Press Release
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Neuville snatches dramatic win over Ogier to extend WRC title lead
Thierry Neuville reacts after scoring a sensational win over Sebastien Ogier in the Rally Italia Sardegna. Photo: WRC Alghero, 10 June 2018: Thierry Neuville snatched a thrilling Rally Italia Sardegna victory on Sunday afternoon after edging WRC title rival Sebastien Ogier in an electrifying shootout in the final speed test. He trailed Ogier by 0.8sec ahead of the 6.96 kms test, but delivered a daredevil drive in his Hyundai i20 to overhaul the Frenchman and claim his third win of the season by 0.7sec. Neuville extended his championship lead over Ogier to 27 points.
Esapekka Lappi finished third in a Toyota Yaris, a further 1min 51.3sec behind. The results remain provisional after a bizarre incident at the finish of the penultimate stage when Ogier hurriedly departed in his Ford Fiesta without collecting his time card. It was later delivered to him by Ott Tänak. It was a breach of regulations which prohibit the crew receiving items from a third party.After investigating the issue, stewards removed the 22 points Ogier and Ingrassia gained from the rally and the 18 earned by their M-Sport Ford team. The penalty was suspended, meaning it will only be applied if the pair repeat the offence before the end of the season. They were also fined 10,000 Euros. The decision means Ogier remains 27 points adrift of Neuville with six rounds remaining.
Ingrassia admitted his mistake at the hearing. He said they left the stage finish without checking the time card had been returned by marshals and when he realised the error, it was too late to return to the finish line by car or on foot. Stewards accepted it was a genuine mistake which had no effect on the performance of their Ford Fiesta.Neuville won the final live TV Power Stage to claim five bonus points. Ogier took four points for second with Ott Tänak scoring three in third in a Yaris. Andreas Mikkelsen and Elfyn Evans took two and one point respectively.
It was the third smallest winning margin in the WRC’s 45-year history, matching Neuville’s dramatic success in Argentina last year when he performed a similar snatch and grab on Elfyn Evans.
The Belgian started the sun-kissed short final leg along Sardinia’s north-west coast 3.9sec adrift of Ogier. He won the opening three tests before both drivers threw caution to the wind in the finale. Both made mistakes on the dusty, rocky tracks but Neuville emerged on top.
“I gave it everything, it was a really great fight and such a small difference at the end,” he said. “We needed to make a decision at the start of the last stage and our decision was to go for the win. We believed strongly and pushed hard.”
Ogier was far from downhearted. “We lost one battle but definitely not the war. It’s not the time to panic. I tried everything I could today but I was always losing a few tenths here and there,” he said.
Kopecky takes third WRC 2 win of the season
Jan Kopecky on a high after enjoying a comfortable win in WRC 2, his third of the season. Photo: WRC A clean run through the final day of the rally enabled Jan Kopecky to seal his third WRC 2 win of the year by more than three minutes. After Stéphane Lefebvre’s retirement on Saturday, the Skoda Motorsport driver knew all he had to do was clear Sunday’s four stages cleanly to claim victory, and that is exactly what he did. He kept his Fabia R5 out of trouble on the rocky and rutted roads to win by 3m 02.6sec.
Twenty-five points for victory keeps Kopecky second in the drivers’ standings, behind team-mate Pontus Tidemand. But with the Swede not participating in Italy, the gap between them slims to 18 points.
“The feeling is really nice because the Czech fans are everywhere here,” Kopecký explained. “The rally didn’t start completely perfect, but we’ve been fast the rest of the weekend and there were no mistakes.”
Ole Christian Veiby…..brilliant run. Photo: WRC Ole Christian Veiby secured runner-up spot in the second Skoda Motorsport Fabia R5. The Norwegian claimed a hat-trick of stage wins to add to his six from Saturday as he overhauled Hyundai i20 driver Nicolas Ciamin on the rally’s penultimate stage.
Ciamin claimed the final podium spot, deciding to focus on bringing the car home in one piece as the gravel tracks got rougher on the second run and rocks were pulled onto the racing line.
Pierre-Louis Loubet was one of the drivers caught out by the rough conditions in his i20 R5, he lost more than two minutes on the second run of the 14.06km Cala Flumini stage. That dropped him from fourth to sixth as Fabio Andolfi and Lukasz Pieniazek both squeezed their Skodas into the top five, despite a stall for the latter on the same stage.
Loubet’s woes were compounded when he was forced to retire at final control. That promoted Benito Guerra to sixth after his retirement yesterday. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Lefebvre rounded out the finishers – the Frenchman showing strong pace in his Citroën C3 R5 by claiming fastest WRC 2 time in the Sassari-Argentiera Live TV Power Stage.
Toyota development driver Takamoto Katsuta retired on SS17 with a broken driveshaft in his Ford Fiesta R5, while Simone Tempestini was unable to restart after mechanical issues with his Citroën on Saturday.
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Alex Lowes of Pata Yamaha takes his debut win in style around Brno
WSBK 2nd race winner Alex lowes at brno on Sunday. A WorldSBK image. Brno (Czech Republic), 10 June 2018: Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) took his first ever MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race win at the Acerbis Czech Round, in an astonishing Race two which saw championship leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crash out early on. The thousands of Czech fans present at the Automotodrom Brno witnessed a wild, unpredictable affair, ending in a Yamaha one two and a sixth race winner in 2018.
The front row all kept their positions at the start, with van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) holding off his teammate through the first corners. Lowes would make his move into the race lead the following lap however, gaining the inside line through the first corner. Meanwhile, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) climbed all the way from eighth on the grid to third by lap two, and past van der Mark a few corners later.
The next couple of laps saw three dramatic, almost unbelievable twists. First, championship leader Jonathan Rea went down at turn 12, apparently after coming in contact with teammate Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). The Northern Irish rider couldn’t make it back on track, retiring for the first time this season. If yesterday his lead seemed almost unsurmountable, after Sunday there was more than a glimmer of hope.
Next, Marco Melandri, having just passed Lowes for the race lead, lost control of his Ducati and rode through the gravel, immediately dropping the Italian to the back of the field and denying Melandri a return to the top of the rostrum when he was the fastest man on track. And then Sykes slipped in lap 6, leaving all of yesterday’s podium men off the rostrum in Race two. In four seasons together, never had both British KRT riders left a race empty-handed. Melandri was able to salvage a point, putting him in 15th.
With a dozen laps left, the stage was thus set for a Yamaha battle to the end, as Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), in third, was unable to match the pair’s pace. But this time, unlike when he led at Donington, Lowes’ YZF-R1 did not drop off in the final third: a smart, consistent and overall flawless ride by the Brit kept him ahead of his Dutch teammate all the way to the checkered flag with two seconds to spare. The man from Lincolnshire made his debut at Brno in 2011 – seven years on, he can finally call himself a WorldSBK winner.
With van der Mark claiming another podium finish in second, the Dutchman moves into third in the championship standings, above Sykes; while for Davies, who took an excellent third at Brno considering the issues that have plagued his weekend on the Panigale, cut Rea’s lead to 65 points.
Behind the rostrum riders, Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) took fourth, his best result of the season, with his teammate Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) also a season-best in fifth. Brno welcomed more good results for the Italian manufacturer, adding their bikes to the long list of podium contenders this season.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) had a career-best of sixth at Brno, rising from eleventh on the grid in just his tenth WorldSBK race. He finishes above Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), in seventh. Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) returned to the top-ten in eighth, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in ninth, and Roman Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki) tenth.
WorldSBK is back in two weeks from Laguna Seca, a special circuit with some of the best sections of the championship. Join us there on Saturday 23rd of June.
P1 – Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
“It’s amazing, I don’t want to talk too much because I’ll get upset. But honestly, its fantastic, thank you to the team and hopefully we can get a few more now!”P2 – Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
“I’m really happy with this result, I changed the front tyre compared to yesterday and Alex was so fast. I knew he had a really good pace so I tried to catch him and stay calm but in the end he was stronger, but anyway I am really happy with this podium, Alex’s first win is something he deserves and its a really great day for the Yamaha team.”P3 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“Its been such a tough weekend, probably one of the most difficult weekends that I’ve endured as a Ducati rider in recent memory, after some harsh words last night we regrouped and came back with a bike that was able to fight for the podium. I think we got a little bit lucky today but we made a step forward and that was important and it’s fantastic. Thanks to everybody involved because it’s been a really tough weekend.”#CzechWorldSBK at Automotodrom Brno: Race 2
1. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
2. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) +2.167
3. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +7.649 -
KY Ahamed, Anish Shetty bag a double: Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship Round 1
Anish Shetty (44) in action on Sunday, 10 June 2018. Photos by Anand Philar Coimbatore, 10 June 2018: Chennai youngster KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) and Anish Damodar Shetty (Honda Ten10 Racing) from Hubballi, Karnataka, scored a double apiece in their respective classes on Sunday as the Rolon Round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2018 concluded at the Kari Motor Speedway here.
Ahamed, the 20-year old who made his debut in this class in 2015, rode another fine race to notch his maiden double even as reigning National champion and team-mate Jagan Kumar, who had finished second in the first race of the double-header yesterday, crashed following a front tyre deflationon the 10th lap and limped home sixth despite clocking the fastest lap of the race.
Finishing second behind Ahamed was team-mate Deepak Ravikumar as TVS Racing completed their second 1-2 finish of the weekend. Honda Ten10 Racing’s Mathana Kumar was a disappointing third after leading in the opening two laps before dropping down to third as Ahamed and Jagan overtook him. After Jagan crashed, Mathana had a moment with a backmarker and saw Ravikumar move past him in the closing stages of the 15-lap race.
“I am very happy with the double. It was a tough race, but I managed to hang on to my first place, especially after Jagan crashed,” said Ahamed.
KY Ahamed (No,.33) easing past Mathana Kumar (46) en route winning the Super Sport Indian (165cc) race on 10 June at Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore. Emulating Ahamed was 23-year old Bengaluru-based techie Anish Shetty in the Pro-Stock 165cc class who had to work hard for his victory as through the 15 laps, he was hotly chased by Kevin Kannan (Rockers Racing) and Mithun Kumar (Honda Ten10 Racing). The trio finished in that order after an entertaining battle.
Sparks Racing had a profitable outing in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class as Aditya Rao and Karthik Mateti delivered the team a 1-2 finish from a 32-rider grid that was arrived at after two heats. Akshay Murali (Apex Racing) completed the podium.
There was more cheer for Sparks Racing as Ann Jennifer won the National championship girls race ahead of Nivetha Kumar (First 1 Racing) and Czimkhy RV from Trivandrum. The girls did well to hold their never as the eight-lap race was run in spells of sharp showers.
The results (Provisional):
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – Super Sport Indian 165cc (Race 2,15 laps): 1. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (18mins, 23.078secs); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (18:23.550); 3. Mathana Kumar (Honda Ten10 Racing) (18:24.464).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 2, 15 laps): 1. Anish Shetty (Honda Ten10 Racing) (19:28.918); 2. Kevin Kannan (Rockers Racing) (19:29.420); 3. Mithun Kumar (Honda Ten10 Racing) (19:31.426).
Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 2, 15 laps): 1. Amarnath Menon (Gusto Racing) (18:22.762); 2. Satyanarayana Raju (Gusto Racing) (18:25.077); 3. Antony Peter (Vortex Racing) (18:39.130).
Stock 165cc (Novice, 10 laps):1. Aditya Rao (Sparks Racing) (13:28.042); 2. Karthik Mateti (Sparks Racing) (13:28.457); 3. Akshay V Murali (Apex Racing Academy) (13:37.568).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 8 laps): 1. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) (11:55.766); 2. Nivetha Kumar (First 1 Racing) (12:01.280); 3. Czimkhy RV (Pvt) (12:11.675).
One-Make Championship: Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup 2018 organised by MMSC – Race 2 (CBR 250, 15 laps): 1. Senthil Kumar (19:40.847); 2. Anish Damodara Shetty (Hubballi) (19:40.950); 3. Abhishek Vasudev (Bengaluru) (19:41.128).
TVS – Open (Apache RR 310 R2)10 laps: 1. Yashas RL (Bengaluru) (13:16.475); 2. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (13:20.907); 3. PedduSriharsha (Hyderabad) (13:21.068). Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (19:30.812); 2. S Sivanesan (Chennai) (19:40.844); 3. PedduSriharsha (Hyderabad) (19:47.759). Novice (Apache RTR 200) Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Karthik Mateti (Hyderabad) (14:10.019); 2. Anand R (Chennai) (14:25.680); 3. AS Alexander (Chennai) (14:32.877).
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Sebastian Vettel takes pole: Canadian Grand Prix
Vettel takes pole at the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday. An FIA image Montreal, 9 June 2018: Sebastian Vettel took his 54th career pole position, beating Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in a tight qualifying session the Canadian Grand Prix that saw the top three drivers separated by less than two tenths of a second.
Ferrari set the pace in the opening session with Vettel going quickest. The German swapped times with team-mate Kimi Räikkönen before he settled into P1 with a lap of 1:11.710. Hamilton slotted into third despite a nervous moment at, with the Briton finishing just over a tenth of a second behind Vettel. His Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished the session fourth ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
At the bottom of the order, only four drivers from the session would drop out after Haas’ Romain Grosjean exited the session right at the start. The Frenchman left his team’s garage soon after the green light had gone on to signal the start of Q1. But as he applied some power in pit lane, a huge plume of smoke erupted from the rear of his car and he was immediately told to stop his car. He would play no further part in the session.
Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson hit trouble as well early on, with the Swede smacking the wall on the exit of Turn 9 and damaging the car. He thus sank to the bottom of the order as the session developed.
Ahead of the final runs Fernando Alonso slipped into the drop zone in P16 but the McLaren driver found more pace in his final run and jumped to P14 ahead of team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne. That meant that Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly was eliminated in P16 ahead of Williams’ Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin, with Ericsson in P19. Gasly’s prospects had been hurt by having to revert to an older spec Honda engine ahead of the session after a problem was detected on his upgrade power unit in FP3.
At the start of Q2 both Mercedes and Ferrari opted to run with ultrasoft tyres at the start and Valtteri Bottas set the initial pace with a time of 1:11.514. The put him ahead of Vettel and Räikkönen. Hamilton sat behind after locking up on his lap. Verstappen though took hypersofts and set the quickest time of the first runs with a lap of 1:11.472.
In the second runs the Mercedes and Ferraris went back out on hypersofts. Vettel, though, abandoned his lap, but not due to wanting to settle on ultrasofts. The German felt he was severely hampered by drivers on slower laps and so steered back to the garage. In the end all the Ferrari and Mercedes settled on their ultrasoft times.
Ricciardo, who had been off the pace of his team-mate throughout practice, suddenly seemed to find a sweet spot with his RB14 and on his second run he jumped ahead of Verstappen to claim top spot with a lap of 1:11.434. Verstappen settled on his opening time and took P2.
Eliminated at this stage were Haas’ Kevin Magnussen who finished in P11 ahead of Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc and the McLarens of Alonso and Vandoorne.
In the first runs of Q3 Hamilton was first onto the timesheet with a time of 1:11.227, but team-mate BOT blasted past that with a good lap of 1:10.857. Räikkönen then slotted into P2 with a lap of 1:11.095.
Vettel, though, went even quicker and he took provision pole with a time of 1:10.776. Verstappen then jumped ahead of Hamilton to sit fourth at the end of the first runs, just 0.001s behind Räikkönen.
And there was no halting the German in the final runs. Räikkönen was the first to crack, running wide in the first sector and ruining his chances. Hamilton then made a mistake at the hairpin to exclude himself from the battle for pole. And when Bottas failed to improve Vettel’s 54th pole position was secure.
Max Verstappen might have had a say in it after setting the quickest first sector time of the session on his final run. But the Red Bull driver lost time in the following two sector and ended the third ahead of Hamilton, Räikkönen and Ricciardo. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was seventh ahead of Force India’s Esteban Ocon, the second Renault of Carlos Sainz and the second Force India of Sergio Pérez.
2018 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:10.764
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:10.857 0.093
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:10.937 0.173
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:10.996 0.232
5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:11.095 0.331
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:11.116 0.352
7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:11.973 1.209
8 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:12.084 1.320
9 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:12.168 1.404
10 Sergio Perez Force India 1:12.671 1.907
11 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:12.606 1.842
12 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:12.635 1.871
13 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:12.661 1.897
14 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:12.856 2.092
15 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:12.865 2.101
16 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:13.047 2.283
17 Lance Stroll Williams 1:13.590 2.826
18 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:13.643 2.879
19 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:14.593 3.829|
20 Romain Grosjean Haas.
and followed in the footsteps of the Monaco chapter two weeks ago. The character of the circuits had nothing in common to cause this feeling of ennui.
Esapekka Lappi finished third in a Toyota Yaris, a further 1min 51.3sec behind. The results remain provisional after a bizarre incident at the finish of the penultimate stage when Ogier hurriedly departed in his Ford Fiesta without collecting his time card. It was later delivered to him by Ott Tänak. It was a breach of regulations which prohibit the crew receiving items from a third party.
Ingrassia admitted his mistake at the hearing. He said they left the stage finish without checking the time card had been returned by marshals and when he realised the error, it was too late to return to the finish line by car or on foot. Stewards accepted it was a genuine mistake which had no effect on the performance of their Ford Fiesta.
