Year: 2021

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A new champion is crowned!

Qualifying:

Poor weather conditions resulted in championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) qualifying in an unusual position of 15th on the grid.

Second-place-man in the championship Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) took another pole. Team-mate Jack Miller was second and it was a surprise last place on the front row, for fellow Ducati rider, Luca Marini getting his best qualifying result.

You can’t miss him! Luca Marini sported a new livery, in honour of his brother who celebrated his last race in Italy. Courtesy of: Sky Racing Team VR46 – Twitter Page.

Race:

If the weather was dramatic in qualifying, it certainly wasn’t for the race. However, the drama was there to stay:

The two factory Ducati’s gained a great start from the front and remained in first and second from Marc Marquez (Honda) who quickly got himself to third. Quartararo however, went backwards from 15th to 17th.

Straight away Miller became the perfect team player and took the defensive line against Marquez, keeping him at bay, to let Bagnaia get away. Bagnaia responded and quickly started to create a gap.

Ducati’s lead from the start. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Meanwhile, down in 17th, Fabio started ticking people from his list and by lap 3 was up to 12th position, on the same lap unfortunately, last years champion Joan Mir (Suzuki) was told he had a jump start and was given a long-lap penalty, but soon after that he crashed out alongside Birthday-Boy Danilo Petrucci (Ducati) on turn 2.

Marquez was pushing himself and soon claimed fastest lap. Could he keep this form up and fight for a podium spot? With his fellow Repsol Honda rider behind him he only had to focus on the two Ducati’s ahead.

But there was drama unfolding on the track and with 24 laps to go the first part played out. Jack Miller crashed from second on turn 15, trying to defend for Pecco – leaving him alone to fight for first.

Marquez took his opportunity and closed up on Bagnaia, piling on the pressure. It appeared he was able to turn his Honda better than the Ducati, his arm problems seemingly a thing of the past. Or was it due to the Michelin tyre choice between the two? Bagnaia chose to race with a hard front and medium rear, while Marquez chose a medium front and soft rear. Which set of tyres were going to prevail?

Also piling on pressure was Fabio, now up to 10th place, passing fellow Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati).

Crashing on the same lap however was Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) but he managed to rejoin, albeit in last place.

Continuing his hunt, Fabio was soon up to 9th place behind a group of riders, ready to pick them off one-by-one.

A technical issue resulted in Alex Marquez (Honda) having to retire early on lap 11 and Iker Lecuona (KTM) also retired early due to a crash on turn 1.

The tension meanwhile between first and second continued to build with Marc still looking like he was going to pounce at any moment on Pecco.

Quartararo started to pick off the riders in the pack and soon passed into 8th place, with 14 laps until the end. Whilst Fabio was riding high, disaster struck for another Ducati rider – Jorge Martin, who crashed out turn 1, lap 13.

The group in-front of El Diablo started to have mini battles for positions, bringing him into the fray. He soon passed team-mate Franko Morbidelli and number 10 rider – Marini, taking 7th place. With only 12 laps to go, could he progress any further? Any questions were answered when on lap 18 he also passed Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) for 5th position. He only had KTM rider Miguel Oliveria and Honda rider Pol Espargaro in-front for a podium spot. Could he do it?

Fighting through the pack. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Meanwhile, Bagnaia was responding to Marquez’s pressure and pushed for the fastest lap, trying to break away from the Spaniard.

But, the Ducati drama was not over and with only 5 crucial laps until the end, Bagnaia suddenly slid from first position into the gravel and alongside that his championship hopes. Ducati held their heads in their hands along with multiple fans who couldn’t believe what they had seen. Leaving Marquez to claim first and lead the race all the way to the chequered flag. Quartararo was also granted another position, but Enea Bastianini (Ducati), who had come from 16th place on the grid, had other ideas for Fabio and with only 2 laps until the end, looked like he might fight for 3rd.

The edge-of-your-seat drama continued on the last lap and Bastianini did indeed pass Quartararo for the last spot on the podium.

There was too many things happening all at once – Marquez crossed the line, proving all the doubters wrong with regards to his arm health. Bastianini passed Quartararo on the last lap. Fabio claimed the World Championship and local Hero Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) finished in 10th at his last home race.

Team-mates congratulate each other. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Never gets old – Rossi celebrates with fans. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

It was history in the making! Fabio Quartararo became the first Frenchman to ever claim the Moto GP World Championship title and along with it the first championship win for Yamaha since 2015.

It was also the first podium for Pol, racing for his new team and a second podium for rookie Bastianini in the Premier Class.

Fabio celebrated in style, walking down a red carpet to receive a golden helmet, alongside celebrations which included pyrotechnics and a live DJ.

Celebrations! Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Top 10 race results:

1st

M. Marquez

2nd

P. Espargaro

3rd

E. Bastianini

4th

F. Quartararo

5th

J. Zarco

6th

A. Rins

7th

A. Espargaro

8th

M. Vinales

9th

L. Marini

10th

V. Rossi

Top Four Championship results:

1st

F. Quartararo

267 points

2nd

F. Bagnaia

202 points

3rd

J. Mir

175 points

4th

J. Zarco

152 points

With only 2 races left for the season, will there be another new race winner? A third in a row win for Marquez? Or will El Diablo want to go out with an even bigger bang?

 

 

(Featured image: Courtesy of Moto GP website).

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Extreme E: RXR Have One Hand On The Title | Race Report

Image courtesy of ExtremeE

Sara Price (USA)/Kyle Leduc (USA), Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing

Rosberg X Racing have edged ever closer to the championship title following their third race win of the season at the Island X Prix.

Semi-Final 1:

It was to be a day of attrition as top qualifiers, X44, Chip Ganassi, and Andretti United all prepared to face off for two spots in the weekend’s final.

Having qualified slowest of the three teams, Andretti United had the worst line leading off from the start. As the lights went out, the American team’s Timmy Hansen looked to get the jump on the teams ahead of him. He did manage to gain a slight lead ahead of Chip Ganassi’s Sara Price, but in trying to get onto a quicker line, he cut across the front of his rival. The contact caused him to temporarily lose control of his vehicle and he punted into X44’s Christine Gutierrez. This caused something to break at the back of the Spaniard’s car and she was unable to prevent it from slamming into a rock. The X44 team were out of the race.

Following the contact with the X44 car, Hansen in the Andretti United machine also had to pull over; as the damage he sustained was too much to continue on with. Chip Ganassi appeared to have shaken off their bad luck as they sailed through to the final in first place.

Initially, Andretti United were also set to be through to the final, given that they made it round more of the lap than the X44 team. However, the stewards judged Hansen to be wholly at fault for the two retirements and the team were demoted to the back of the grid. Miraculously, X44 were through to the final, if only they could get the car fixed in time!

Semi-Final 1 Classification:

  1. Chip Ganassi
  2. X44
  3. Andretti United

Semi-Final 2:

With the craziness of the first semi-final, it would be easy to forget that we had a second coming up: and I don’t think RXR, ABT Cupra, or Acciona Sainz would forgive you if you did!

It was RXR’s Johan Kristofferson who took an early lead for the championship hopefuls. ABT Cupra also got a good start but the poor visibility caused by the dust meant that Ekstrom had to back off a little. As all the cars merged into one path, RXR lead Acciona Sainz, who led ABT Cupra.

This would not be for long however, as the course claimed another victim. At some point towards the start of the race, the steering column on the Sainz car broke, and he had to crawl around for the rest of the lap.

With one car all but officially out of the race, the two remaining teams took it slow as they tried to ensure their car remained in one piece before the final.

Semi-Final 2 Classification:

  1. RXR
  2. ABT Cupra
  3. Acciona Sainz

Crazy Race:

The final three teams to face off for the final spot in the Island XPrix final were Veloce, JBXE, and Xite Energy.

JBXE got off the line well and led into the first turn. Xite Energy were also just able to get ahead of Veloce. Towards the end of the first lap Veloce looked to put some pressure on the Xite Energy team. Ultimately the teams entered the switch zone in the order they had been for most of the lap.

Following the driver switch, Veloce’s Stephane Sarrazin hoped to apply even more pressure to the Xite Energy team. This looked to have paid off as the course claimed one more victim when Xite Energy’s steering broke. Sarrazin was through and he pushed hard to close down JBXE.

It would not be, however, as the Frenchman pushed too hard and he rolled the car; having one of the biggest crashes of the season so far. Slightly misjudging his speed as he went over a crest, the back end of the car flew into the air. The nose then dug into the ground and the car ended up doing a couple of barrel-rolls; tearing off one of the wheels and a lot of bodywork in the process. Thankfully Stephane was okay, but the crash meant JBXE eased into the fifth and final spot in the final.

Crazy Race Classification: 

  1. JBXE
  2. Veloce
  3. Xite Energy

Final:

The weekend’s action had all come down to this race and we were all set for a crucial 15 minutes. With the rain coming down hard in between sessions, the teams and drivers had new challenges in which they would need to negotiate.

As the lights went out it was Chip Ganassi’s Kyle Leduc who took a commanding lead. X44, sitting in second place off the start, looked to hunt him down. However, disaster struck as a slow puncture caused the team to retire, losing them vital points in their championship battle with RXR.

As Leduc handed over to Sara Price, it appeared as if the bad luck of the previous races was behind them. They lead the race by over 40 seconds. The fairy tale was not to be, however, as once again the steering on the car snapped. RXR capitalised on their misfortune and took the lead of the race.

So the final finished, RXR taking their third win from four races as they put one hand on the title. A little further behind, ABT Cupra finished in second despite a stall off the start line and JBXE rounded out the podium.

Weekend Classification:

  1. RXR
  2. ABT Cupra
  3. JBXE
  4. Chip Ganassi
  5. X44
  6. Andretti United
  7. Acciona Sainz
  8. Veloce
  9. Xite Energy

Another strong weekend for Nico Rosberg’s team means they now extend their lead at the top of the table. X44 were, however, able to limit the weekend’s points deficit somewhat as Loeb’s incredible qualifying run meant they took 5 points for being the fastest in the Continental Traction Zone (formerly the Super Sector). Elsewhere Chip Ganassi were able to lift themselves off the bottom of the table, despite their misfortunes.

Championship Standings:

  1. RXR 129 Points
  2. X44 113 Points
  3. Andretti United 93 Points
  4. JBXE 92 Points
  5. ABT Cupra 83 Points
  6. Acciona Sainz 78 Points
  7. Chip Ganassi 63 Points
  8. Veloce 60 Points
  9. Xite Energy 55 Points

We head off to the south coast of England next for the final round of the Extreme E season. It’s still (mathematically) all to play for as we look to crown the first ever Extreme E Champions. Make sure you join us on the 18th and 19th of December!

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BTCC Brands Hatch – Sutton celebrates title with win in final round

Ash Sutton celebrated his title win by cruising to his fifth race win of the year in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch.

He burst through from fourth on the grid to stroll to the win in his Infiniti. Dan Rowbottom and Tom Ingram rounded off the podium after a race-long battle between the pair.

Rory Butcher had a poor start which allowed Sutton to fly into third. He was soon past Chilton into second, with Rowbottom into third as he passed Chilton on lap two.

Sutton’s team mate Carl Boardley spun off and his season ended early at Graham Hill bend.  As did Colin Turkington’s, with his title challenge over, he had a moment coming out of Graham Hill bend and pulled into the pits.

Lap three and Sutton made his move for the lead past Stephen Jelley into Paddock Hill bend.

Jack Mitchell went off in his Cupra Leon to bring out the final Safety Car of the season. While this neutralised the race, Sutton still had everything under control.

He pulled away into the distance and left Rowbottom and Ingram to squabble for second place. The Hyundai driver couldn’t quite get the better of the Team Dynamics Honda and Rowbottom took second in an impressive debut season having replaced Matt Neal.

Jake Hill finished fourth with Josh Cook having to settle for third in the championship and couldn’t capitalise on Turkington’s retirement having won the first two races of the season.

Tom Chilton recorded his best finish of the season in sixth. Shedden finished seventh with Jack Goff, Butcher and Jason Plato rounding off the top ten.

The title went to Sutton, who won his third title and his second successive championship.

Pos Driver Car Team +/-
1 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools 30:22:671
2 Dan Rowbottom Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +1.369
3 Tom Ingram Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +1.502
4 Jake Hill Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport +3.274
5 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +8.001
6 Tom Chilton BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +8.960
7 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +9.682
8 Jack Goff Cupra Leon Team HARD +10.043
9 Rory Butcher Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +11.992
10 Jason Plato Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +13.002
11 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport +14.806
12 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +15.345
13 Dan Lloyd Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +15.962
14 Aron Taylor-Smith Cupra Leon Team HARD +17.214
15 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +17.461
16 Adam Morgan BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +17.697
17 Sam Osborne Ford Focus ST Motorbase +19.176
18 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +19.397
19 Senna Proctor Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +20.545
20 Jade Edwards Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +21.143
21 Sam Smelt Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +21.462
22 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST Motorbase +31.965
23 Nicholas Hamilton Cupra Leon Team HARD +32.503
24 Stephen Jelley BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +42.127
25 Andy Wilmot Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +1 Lap
Retirements
DNF Jack Mitchell Cupra Leon Team HARD Crash
DNF Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR Damage
DNF Carl Boardley Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools Crash
DNS Rick Parfitt Hyundai i30N Excelr8 Mechanical

 

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W Series: Chadwick seals second title with crushing win in COTA finale

Jamie Chadwick completed her W Series title defence by dominating the final race at Circuit of the Americas, converting pole position into victory while her title rival Alice Powell was stuck in the midfield.

Chadwick got a near-perfect launch from pole to see off any challenge from Abbi Pulling on the front row. Pulling slotted into second place, while Beitske Visser jumped Sarah Moore for third, Emma Kimilainen went from sixth to fourth, and Powell overtook Jess Hawkins to take seventh.

Visser had to take a defensive line into the first corner to see off Kimilainen, who was just too far back to make it three places gained at the start. But Kimilainen kept up the offensive through the opening lap and within a few corners had taken third place from Visser.

By the end of the first lap Chadwick had already pulled out a second in hand over Pulling, who was struggling to get clear of Kimilainen. The Finn lapped within a few tenths of Pulling in the early laps, but Pulling eventually settled into the groove and started to inch clear instead.

As Chadwick kept opening up her lead at the front, Powell was running in seventh behind Belen Garcia and unable to find any way past the Scuderia W car. To deny Chadwick the title Powell needed to outscore her by 10 points, but by lap 7 there were already 12 seconds separating the two of them on track.

 

After running three tenths behind Garcia, Powell saw an opportunity to take sixth place at the start of lap 9 but braked too late into Turn 1 and let Garcia back through. She tried the same inside move at the start of the following lap, but was too far back to pull alongside Garcia.

Powell eventually got the move done on lap 12 by taking an aggressive entry to Turn 1 and squeezing Garcia to the edge of the track. But by this point there were only five minutes left on the clock, and Chadwick was almost five seconds ahead of Pulling and the rest of the field up front.

Chadwick eventually crossed the line with that five second gap to take the title. Pulling claimed her first W Series podium in second, which left her with enough points to earn eighth in the standings and a guaranteed place in the 2022 championship. Kimilainen finished third, where she also ended in the standings.

Moore recovered after dropping back at the start to take fourth place ahead of Visser and Powell, and Belen Garcia finished seventh. Sabré Cook had been running in eighth place and was on course for her first points of the season, until she came together with Jess Hawkins with six minutes to go. That allowed Nerea Marti, Ayla Agren and Caitlin Wood through to take the final three points positions.

Chadwick, Powell and Kimilainen end the season as the top three in the standings. Marti was fourth in her rookie season, and Moore, Fabienne Wohlwend, Pulling and Visser have secured places on next year’s grid by completing the top eight in the championship.

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BTCC Brands Hatch – Ash Sutton crowned 2021 champion as Josh Cook dominates race two

Josh Cook won in race two at Brands Hatch in the BTCC but it was Ash Sutton who stole the headlines as he sealed his third BTCC title.

The Infiniti driver finished sixth meaning he had enough of a gap over Colin Turkington to seal his second successive title win.

There was chaos on the opening lap when Senna Proctor went off at the Druids hairpin. Further into the lap Ollie Jackson was spun around, and collected Tom Oliphant and Adam Morgan too. Inevitably the Safety Car was deployed.

On the restart Cook pulled away under some initial pressure from Dan Lloyd. On lap seven Rory Butcher was nudged onto the grass going into Druids in a tussle with Aiden Moffat. Moffat collected damage and spun going into Graham Hill bend.

Sutton was doing what he needed to seal the win but another Safety Car was deployed on lap 13 when Nicholas Hamilton went off into the gravel trap.

There was little action following the restart and Cook cruised to his fifth win of the season from Lloyd and Gordon Shedden who rounded off the podium.

Turkington was fourth with Dan Rowbottom fifth, Sutton finished sixth and was overcome with emotion on the slow down lap as it sunk in that he’d won his third title, the youngest driver to ever do so.

Butcher, Stephen Jelley, Jake Hill and Jack Goff rounded out the top ten,

Pos Driver Car Team +/-
1 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing 30:55:544
2 Dan Lloyd Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +0.587
3 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +1.432
4 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +1.745
5 Dan Rowbottom Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +2.352
6 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +3.169
7 Rory Butcher Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +4.073
8 Tom Chilton BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +4.333
9 Stephen Jelley BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +4.805
10 Jake Hill Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport +5.706
11 Jack Goff Cupra Leon Team HARD +6.809
12 Tom Ingram Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +6.924
13 Sam Smelt Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +7.358
14 Sam Osborne Ford Focus ST Motorbase +7.903
15 Carl Boardley Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +8.533
16 Jade Edwards Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +11.243
17 Jack Mitchell Cupra Leon Team HARD +12.094
18 Jason Plato Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +12.246
19 Andy Wilmot Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +15.083
20 Aron Taylor-Smith Cupra Leon Team HARD +59.263
21 Rick Parfitt Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +1 Lap
22 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +1 Lap
Retirements
DNF Nicholas Hamilton Cupra Leon Team HARD Spin
DNF Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N Excelr8 Damage
DNF Andy Neate Ford Focus ST Motorbase Damage
DNF Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR Crash
DNF Adam Morgan BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley Crash
DNF Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport Crash
DNF Senna Proctor Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing Crash
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US GP: Verstappen takes pole in a front row lockout with Hamilton

image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

Red Bull and Verstappen reigned supreme at the circuit of the Americas on Saturday as the Dutch driver beat Hamilton to pole by two tenths of a second, setting up a front row lock out with his championship rival. Verstappen’s teammate Perez will start the race at P3 after a strong qualifying, which could come in handy for Verstappen in his fight for the title.

Mercedes struggled to match the Redbulls for pace in qualifying until Hamilton pulled out a decent lap in the last run of Q3. Unfortunately it was only emough to get the better of one Redbull and it was not his rival Verstappen. The Englishman has it all to do in the race on Sunday to try and beat Verstappen.

Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes will be starting P9 on the grid after yet another engine change which means a grid penalty. This could be a blow for Mercedes in a scenario where they would require Bottas to play the team game in order to try and push for the driver’s title.

Ferrari looked fast over the course of the weekend in free practice sessions but even with that, their pace was no match to that of Redbull and Mercedes. They will be starting P4 and P5 on the grid with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz respectively and crucially ahead of both the McLarens who are their closest rival in the constructors championship.

A nice battle is now shaping up for third place in the constructors championship between McLaren and Ferrari with only 7.5 points between them and both the McLaren drivers will be starting at P6 with Daniel Ricciardo and Norris at P7 respectively. With both the Ferraris ahead of them, they will have their work cut out from lights out if they want to maintain 3rd in the constructors championship.

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda in the AlphaTauris completed the last remaining spots in the top 10 after qualifying P9 and P10 respectively. The 5th row on the grid will however change tomorrow as Bottas’ penalty relegates him to P9 while Gasly moves a place ahead to P8. Both the drivers for the Italian team managed to put in clean laps which was not the case for many other drivers on Saturday.

Esteban Ocon in the Alpine qualified at P11 after a little help from his teammate Fernando Alonso . The Spaniard who has taken a new engine this weekend will be starting from the back of the grid but showed that he was a true team player by providing Ocon a tow on the back straight in Q2. It was however not good enough for the Frenchman to make it all the way to Q3.

Sebastian Vettel and George Russell will be joining Alonso at the back of the grid after taking new engine components and incurring grid penalties. This however did not stop them from making it to Q2 and setting times. With Vettel’s time being faster than Alonso’s and Russell’s he will be starting P18, while Alonso will be starting P19 followed by Russell at P20.

Giovinazzi made it to yet another Q2 continuing his decent qualifying form and will be starting the race from P12 which gives him a good chance to grab some world championship points. Unfortunately for his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, it was an unstable Q1 after having lap times deleted and the Finnish driver will be starting from P15 on the grid.

Russell’s teammate Latifi in the Williams will be starting from P14 on the grid after qualifying P17 and both the Haas cars will be starting at P16 and P17 respectively, a bit higher than the usual. Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin will be starting P13 despite getting knocked out in Q1, where he looked quite off the pace compared to his teammate.

The battle for the driver’s championship is waiting for yet another chapter to be written in its tale as Verstappen and Hamilton go into the race with a front row start. With the way that the battle has shaped up so far this season, it is set to be yet another exhilarating start to the United States Grandprix, which will makes its return after two years and is on the verge of delivering a classic race.

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Extreme E: X44 Continue Saturday Streak | Qualifying Report

image courtesy of ExtremeE

Lewis Hamilton’s team, X44, qualified fastest for the fourth race in a row this weekend in Sardinia; putting in a dominant display over their championship rivals.

Qualifying 1:

Championship leaders Rosberg X Racing (RXR) kicked off the Island X Prix qualifying, with the German team coming into the weekend mathematically able to win the title. Johan Kristofferson showed some strong early pace but that was to be undone as teammate Molly Taylor had an off. The RXR car stepped out as she was going over a blind crest and it rolled as the tires dug into the dust. Fortunately for the team, the car landed upright and Molly was able to finish her lap, setting a respectable time of 11:37.557.

Chip Ganassi’s Sara Price was next to take to the track as the team hoped they had put all their bad luck behind them. It was not to be, however, as the suspension broke within the first minute. Christine GZ also suffered from mechanical problems on her lap, which meant both Chip Ganassi and Xite Energy recorded a DNF.

X44 followed Xite Energy as they looked to continue their hot run of qualifying form. Christine Gutierrez was first out and barring a minor spin, set a solid foundation for Loeb to build upon. And build upon it he did! Loeb flew round the course to comfortably set the fastest time of the session so far with a 11:05.105.

Andretti United’s Timmy Hansen had the unfortunate job of trying to follow that run and a loss of power steering certainly didn’t help the cause. He limped the car to the pits and the issue was fixed as Katie Munnings jumped in. She had a steady lap and the American outfit posted a time 1:18.79 off of X44’s benchmark.

The final four teams all had quick runs, but none were able to match the pace of the X44 team, who finished Q1 top of the pile and took maximum qualifying points from the opening session.

Qualifying 1 Classification:

  1. X44 11:05.105 (9 Points)
  2. Acciona Sainz +12.28 (8 Points)
  3. Veloce +18.07 (7 Points)
  4. ABT Cupra +19.69 (6 Points)
  5. JBXE +22.90 (5 Points)
  6. RXR +32.45 (4 Points)
  7. Andretti United +1:18.79 (3 Points)
  8. Xite Energy +1 Lap (2 Points)
  9. Chip Ganassi +2 Laps (1 Point)

Qualifying 2:

Christine GZ kicked off Qualifying 2 for Xite Energy. Fortunately for them, she and teammate Oliver Bennett were able to finish their run and set a decent time of 11:33.636. Not so fortunately, the team received a 10 second time penalty after Bennett missed a waypoint flag.

Current Qualifying leaders X44 were next onto the track and they set a blistering run to smash their Q1 time and go provisionally to the top of the standings with a time of 10:55.401. They were to be the only team to go under 11 minutes.

Andretti United’s Katie Munnings followed as the team looked to just get round the course without a repeat of the issues from Q1. They did so, just 18.72s off of X44’s time.

It was disaster for Acciona Sainz and Veloce though, with both teams suffering from mechanical faults. The Sainz team had an issue with the steering which saw them finish some two minutes off the back of the pack, whilst Stephane Sarrazin’s suspension broke completely and he was unable to complete a lap.

The remaining four teams all had fast and uneventful runs to put themselves right up the order. None, however, were able to get near X44, who had taken maximum qualifying points.

Qualifying 2 Classification:

  1. X44 10:45.401 (9 Points)
  2. Chip Ganassi +17.20 (8 Points)
  3. RXR +18.37 (7 Points)
  4. Andretti United +18.72 (6 Points)
  5. ABT Cupra +47.16 (5 Points)
  6. JBXE +48.75 (4 Points)
  7. Xite Energy +58.23 (3 Points)
  8. Acciona Sainz +2:32.54 (2 Points)
  9. Veloce +2 Laps (1 Points)

Overall Qualifying Classification:

  1. X44 18 Points
  2. RXR 11 Points
  3. ABT Cupra 11 Points
  4. Acciona Sainz 10 Points
  5. Chip Ganassi 9 Points
  6. Andretti United 9 Points
  7. JBXE 9 Points
  8. Veloce 8 Points
  9. Xite Energy 5 Points

Teams on the same number of qualifying points were separated by the fastest traction zone (formerly super sector) times. Qualifying points do not count towards the championship, the points for which were distributed 12-4 through the field.

It will be X44 racing against Chip Ganassi and Andretti United in the first semi final, as the teams battle it out for their spot in the final. RXR, ABT Cupra, and Acciona Sainz will compete in semi final 2, whilst JBXE, Veloce, and Xite Energy will face off in the crazy race.

RXR’s championship lead shrunk (albeit ever so slightly) today as X44 look to chase them down. Chip Ganassi, who sit at the bottom of the table, were also able to close in on the team above them (Xite Energy).

Championship Standings:

  1. RXR 104 Points
  2. X44 96 Points
  3. Andretti United 83 Points
  4. JBXE 74 Points
  5. Acciona Sainz 70 Points
  6. ABT Cupra 64 Points
  7. Veloce 54 Points
  8. Xite Energy 51 Points
  9. Chip Ganassi 48 Points
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Quartararo remains cautious, Bagnaia going for the win in Misano

Quartararo

The two championship rivals, Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia, have both gave differing opinions on how they will approach this weekend.

Heading into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Quartararo holds a 52-point lead in the Riders’ Standings.

With just two rounds remaining after this weekend, which means just 50 more points will be up for grabs, this is the first ‘match point’ the Frenchman has at claiming the title.

Fabio Quartararo, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

But the Yamaha rider has said his mindset has changed since his second place result last time out in Austin and will be smart about how he rides this weekend.

“Austin was really tough but rewarding,” he said in a Yamaha press release.

“That second place was great for the championship, especially because we only have three GPs left.

“For this final part of the competition my mindset has changed a little. The last time we were in Misano, I was racing for the win and not thinking about the championship at all.

“Of course I will still do my best as always to get the best result possible this weekend, because that’s what I enjoy most, but I will try to be smart about it.”

When the MotoGP paddock headed to Misano just over a month ago for Round 14, Quartararo was beaten to the line by championship rival Pecco Bagnaia.

The Italian rider will need to be on the same form this weekend if he is to have any chance of winning this year’s championship.

The aim of the VR|46 Academy is to produce a premier class champion. Francesco Bagnaia Credit: Ducati Corse

Bagnaia has said the objective is clear this weekend, to win the race and keep the fight going to Portimao.

“To be back racing at Misano after the stunning victory that I took here in front of my home crowd a month ago is definitely very exciting,” he said.

“That weekend everything was perfect, and the two days of post-race testing were very positive for us. Nevertheless, we have to stay focused: our rivals will come to this Grand Prix much better prepared, and the track conditions will be different, with lower track temperatures than a month ago.

“It will be essential to work well from the first sessions. The objective will be to fight for the win and keep the Championship open until the end.”

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W Series Preview: Double-header in Texas

W Series has made its way to the circuit of the Americas in Texas for the last 2 rounds of the season. Due to some logistical issues the finale to the 2021 season has been moved to this Sunday making it a double header after a 7 week break.

COTA is a 3.4km circuit with a 11% gradient on the run up to turn 1. Only 2 of the 18 drivers have driven around the track. American driver Sabre Cook has previously raced 3 times there and Ayla Agren moved to Houston, Texas in 2012 so lives only 150 miles from the circuit and has driven around it but never competed there.

Sabré Cook at Misano W Series Media)

For the month of October W Series has gone pink highlighting Breast Cancer Awareness month. The cars will have updated liveries and the drivers will were pink gloves and pink racing boots to support the campaign. It’s a great way for the series to make a statement for their first races outside of Europe.

The final countdown

Going into the finale it is all tied up at the top with both Alice Powell and Jamie Chadwick both on 109 points. Emma Kimiläinen is still in the race for the top because she is only 34 points behind with 50 points available over the weekend. The prize for winning the series is $500,000 and 15 FIA super license points.

For Powell and Chadwick this has been a battle all season and whoever is the most consistent over the weekend will most likely take the 2021 championship. Alice Powell currently sits on top having won 3 races compared to Chadwick’s 2 this season. This has been an exciting battle all the way through the season.

Jamie Chadwick, Veloce (Courtesy of W Series Racing)

There will be fighting all the way through the field though with the top 8 getting an automatic place in the 2022 W Series season. This will be a chance for all the drivers as only 22 points separates 8th to last in the championship. Irina Sidorkova is currently 7th in the standings but unfortunately will not be able to defend her position due to travel restriction so Caitlin Wood will be taking her seat to get her opportunity to get into the top 8.

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Extreme E: Island X Prix Preview

image courtesy of ExtremeE

Extreme E returns this weekend with its penultimate round of the inaugural season. The all-electric off-road series heads to Sardinia for the Island X Prix.

Taking place at Capo Teulada in Sulcis-Igelsiente, Sardinia, the track is set to provide a unique set of challenges for the teams and drivers. Italy has just come off the back of a long, hot summer, meaning the ground will be much harder than the soft sands they’ve previously raced on. The course will also include a number of interesting features including fast, downhill sections; water splashes; and natural obstacles such as trees and bushes.

For the first time this season, the sporting format remains unchanged! Qualifying points will be awarded (9-1) for both sessions and the combined total sets the grid. The first, fifth, and sixth fastest qualifiers will face off in the first semi-final, whilst the second, third, and fourth, fastest will race in the second semi-final. Finishing in the top two of either of these races will see you joined by the winner of the crazy race (qualifiers seven, eight, and nine) in the final.

Rosberg X Racing go into the penultimate round leading the championship on 93 points and able to seal the very first championship title. However, X44 (84 points) and Andretti United (76 points), along with the other six teams, will be looking to ensure that the title battle goes to the final race in December.

But Extreme E is about more than just racing. This weekend the series looks to highlight the issues surrounding green carbon (carbon stored on land) and blue carbon (carbon stored at sea). Speaking ahead of the weekend, Extreme E CEO and founder Alejandro Agag said: “The island has been suffering at the hands of the climate crisis, and I’m really pleased our legacy programmes here will be two-fold, focussing both on the land, and the ocean, through reforestation in areas affected by wildfires, and blue carbon through seagrass restoration and conservation.”

Extreme E will work alongside the Mediterranean Sea and Coast Foundation (MEDSEA) on two projects. The first one will look to reforest some of the 20,000 hectares that have been damaged by vicious wildfires. In July 2021, there were 13,000 more wildfires in Italy than had ever been recorded before, killing animals (around 13 million bees among them) and doing significant damage to local economies that rely on agriculture. The second project will focus on the restoration and conservation of seagrass.

This second project is particularly exciting as, not only is seagrass up to 35 times faster at capturing carbon than tropical rainforests (according to WWF), the Smithsonian Institute believes that just one hectare can produce around 100,000 litres of oxygen a day, meaning it’s great for the overall ecosystem. Safe to say seagrass is a really useful tool in combatting climate change.

We’re all set for an exciting and informative weekend as Extreme E heads to Sardinia for the penultimate round of the season. You won’t want to miss it!

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