Year: 2024

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Rally Croatia 2024 Preview – Return to Tarmac!

The championship moves onto the asphalt roads of Croatia, round four of this season. Of course, this round is likely to see the drivers once again remembering their former competitor Craig Breen.

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 04, Croatia Rally
18-21 April 2024
Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Atmosphere, Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Andreas Mikkelsen,Tortstein Eriksen, Cyril Abiteboul
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Twelve months on from his passing during a pre-event test ahead of the 2023 edition, the cars from Hyundai have continued to carry the tribute #ForCraig.

Last year’s round was won by Elfyn and Scott for Toyota after Thierry and Martijn in their i20 went off the road when in the lead and although they returned and finished the rally under the usual rally regulations, it was a lowly finish for their pair. They will want to win this weekend and continue their good start to the season.

Second on the road for Elfyn and Scott will be a good position for the pair, with the hope that the roads do not get too dirty from the cuts of the Belgian crew ahead. They took fifth on the road last year and made it second in the standings at the end of the first day before ultimately taking a well-deserved victory.

After a fantastic start to the year, Adrien and Alex come to this round third in the championship after two podiums. It has been great to see them up there for M-Sport Ford, having not put a wheel wrong in three tricky events so far.

Elsewhere in the teams, Andreas Mikkelsen and Seb Ogier return for their part seasons in the Hyundai and Toyota squads respectively.

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the stages as well.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Croatia is one of the most demanding tarmac rallies I have ever competed in. There are lots of blind corners, crests and jumps – something very unusual for a tarmac event. I like the challenge of Croatia; the profile of the stages and the speed combined with the wide and narrow stages creates a unique test. But the roads are very similar to Belgian roads when it’s raining, so that creates some familiarity for us. The car needs to have the perfect setup for both wet and dry conditions because of the unpredictability of the weather – if the setup is wrong, we lose confidence. I would like to finish on the podium in Croatia: finishing in the top three is crucial to maintaining the championship lead. Our biggest target is to push for a top-step finish.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 4,
Croatia Rally 2024, 18-21 April 2024
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Atmosphere during Croatia Rally 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Ott Tänak

“Croatia is a fun tarmac event. The grip is low, and the surface can get quite dirty, but at the same time there are a lot of vertical crests and jumps with blind corners. Tarmac is quite rare nowadays on our calendar, we only do a couple of events per year, so it’s special. We have already driven on tarmac in Monte-Carlo, and I would say the feeling there was not bad, and by the end of the rally we were getting quite close. We need to take that experience and get the balance right on the car to maximise the grip; if we do that we should have the package we need for Croatia. We definitely want to do well, so hopefully we get a good feeling from the start. We need a trouble-free event, and we are ultimately always fighting for the win.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I am feeling very positive after a solid start to the season in Monte-Carlo. It’s great to be returning to the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid for a WRC round, especially after contesting Rally Regione Piemonte. Croatia is a unique challenge, but we have many years of rallying experience that we can use to make good judgements on stage. With the grip and weather changing all the time, good pace notes are an essential to doing well there. Obviously, our road position at the start of the weekend will be a disadvantage, especially if there is rain, due to the amount of mud that gets pulled up. We are ultimately targeting a podium, but if conditions get tricky then a top-five finish is where we want to end up.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“The start of our season has been solid, and we’ve come away from each round with some decent points. We’ve had three quite unique events with very specific challenges and now we come to some more typical European asphalt and gravel rallies, we need to focus on trying to maximise these. Last year was good for us on asphalt, including Croatia, so it’s a rally we look forward to. We know this is a pretty tricky rally with the changeable grip levels and it’s very easy to make a mistake. So, we need to try and have a clean rally but, at the same time, we know that we’ll need to drive quickly to be fighting at the front.”

 

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m feeling more and more confident on asphalt after my performance on Rally Japan last year, and some stages of Monte-Carlo this year. However, Croatia is one of the trickiest rallies because of the amount of cutting and the number of surface changes. Being able to fully commit when the road is dirty is an area where I can still improve in my asphalt driving, and I want to take this event as an opportunity to continue making progress. It will not be an easy rally, especially with our starting position on Friday and even more so if it rains. So it could be important to have some patience in the beginning and then try to find the rhythm and a good balance to be able to push hard.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I’ve enjoyed my time off since Monte-Carlo and now I’m happy to get back into competition. My test last week was a good chance to get my feeling back in the car, with quite a demanding road: pretty fast with jumps and narrow sections. These are features of the rally as well, but we also know that the weather can be uncertain at this time of year. We don’t have the ideal starting position for an asphalt rally, so we’ll have to assess the conditions and see what we can do. My main motivation is always to reach the podium and fight for victory, but I’m also here to help the team, and with the new points system we can see that Sundays are also now more important than ever.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“Croatia is a really special event for me, it was my first time in a world rally car in the championship back in 2021, where I finished 5th. I really like the roads, with the really smooth Tarmac sections, but it’s also one of the most difficult Tarmac events of the season. Because the grip is so changeable, it’s not easy to know where the grip is and where it’s not, the kind of Tarmac changes so much. So we need a lot of precision because there are also a lot of cuts.

 

“It’s a big challenge for all the crews, but an enjoyable rally with all the spectators who come out to watch every year. I’m really looking forward to it, and after two podiums so far I’m hoping that we can continue in that way!”

Grégoire Munster

“I’m looking forward to Croatia and being back on Tarmac, which is the surface where I’m most comfortable. We had a very good pre-event test, where the feeling with the car was really encouraging, so we just want to be in Croatia already! The profile of the rally is a fast Tarmac event, but with a lot of crests, dips and cuts, and the roads can get a bit dirty, but I enjoy it when the conditions are tricky!”

William Creighton

“I’m looking forward to the event after gaining good experience of the Fiesta on Tarmac in the Irish and British championships. The rally is going to be a big challenge with the slippery Croatian tar and the level of competition within the WRC2 category. We will focus on having a good pre-event test and recce so that we can have an enjoyable rally and allow us to make improvements throughout the weekend.”

Summary of the stages.

This seasons Rally Croatia sees the crews tackle 283km’s over 20 stages. The longest day is Friday with 119km’s.

Croatia Rally commences on Thursday morning with Shakedown, followed by a Ceremonial Start at Zagreb’s National and University Library in the evening.

Friday is both the first and longest day of competitive action, boasting an overall stage distance of 119.74km.

Day One also contains no midday service, despite featuring two passes of the rally’s longest stage: Krašić – Sošice (23.63km).

After 108.76km of stages on Saturday, the event concludes on Sunday with four final tests, including the Power Stage of Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2 (14.24km).

The action starts on Thursday with shakedown on the 3.65 km Okić stage.

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Formula E Season 10 Round 7 Misano E-Prix: Wehrlein becomes the First Double Winner of Season 10

It is safe to say that Round 7 of the Formula E Season 10 had everything: drama, overtakes, last lap chaos and so much more! Here is the highlights:

 

Key Moments from Formula E Season 10 Round 7:

  • Hughes lead the pack away.
  • Frijns went into the gravel and called out the safety car on lap 7. At this point, Mueller was leading ahead of Wehrlein and Cassidy.
  • Da Costa started to fall down the grid on lap 11 due to a tyre smoking and his front wing going under the wheel.
  • Nato lost his front wing as well.
  • Hughes fell down a few places.
  • Bird had a little spin.
  • Rowland was leading on the final lap but he ran out of energy.
  • Wehrlein wins ahead of Dennis and Cassidy gets the final place of the podium by 0.05s!
  • Guenther finished P9 but he received a 5 second time penalty so dropped down to P12.

 

Formula E Season 10 Round 7 Misano E-Prix Results

Position Driver Team Points
1 Pascal Wehrlein(Fastest Lap) Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 26
2nd Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  18
3rd Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 15
4th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 12
5th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 10
6th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 8
7th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 6
8th Jake Hughes(Pole) Neom McLaren Formula E Team 7
9th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 2
10th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 1
11th Lucas Di Grassi  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
12th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 0
13th Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
14th Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 0
15th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
16th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
17th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 0
DNF Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 0
DNF Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
DNF Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 0
DNF Sebastian Buemi DS Penske 0
DNF Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0

Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 7

 

Position Driver Team Points
1. Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 89
2. Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 89
3. Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 80
4. Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 76
5. Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 63
6. Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 53
7. Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 52
8. Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 38
9. Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 25
10. Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 23
11. Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 22
12. Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
13.  Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
14. Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 20
15. Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 20
16. Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 18
17. Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
18. Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 11
19. Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 2
20. Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
21. Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
22. Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
Jehan Daruvala, Maserati MSG Racing, Maserati Tipo Folgore, locks up ahead of Dan Ticktum, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24

Most Impressive Race

The most impressive drive for me is Jehn Daruvala. Coming into this race, he was P21 in the standings and started P21 on the grid, just ahead of Da Costa. To make his way up to P10 on the road (P9 after a few penalties) is impressive. Yes, he has been beaten by his race winning teammate this year so far but getting your first points in a new championship and new series is always a high.

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Moto3: Alonso Annihilation In Austin!

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

Total dominance from the Colombian teenage sensation David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) this weekend in Austin, Texas. Quickest in practice, pole position and an easy race with Alonso leading every lap of it.

Alonso would have been unaware of the chaos and drama behind him, especially the terrific fight for the remaining podium places. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) finished the Grand Prix with a photo finish. Holgado finished 2nd and Piqueras just a bike wheel behind in 3rd. 

Holgado continued his great run of form and hasn’t finished outside of the top 3 so far this season. The championship lead cut down to just 2 points to Alonso as we head to Jerez in two week’s time.

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X
Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

AS IT HAPPENED

Unfortunately due to illness, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was unable to compete in today’s race despite the excellent qualifying session yesterday. This promoted everyone up the grid one slot and Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) up onto the front row.

After the antics in yesterday’s sessions, most of the field had a long lap penalty and some a triple long lap penalty to take during the Grand Prix.

A great start from pole position from Alonso and Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) went down on the first corner with several riders taking evasive action to avoid any collision. Farioli far too late on the brakes went into the back of Veijer and Veijer lucky to stay on the bike past turn 1.

Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) collided with Holgado into turn 8, luckily both riders stayed on their bikes. Alonso with the chaos behind him gained a half a second lead at the front on the opening lap.

Holgado into turn 12 went up the inside of Veijer and back up into 3rd. Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) and Stefano Nepa ( LEVELUP – MTA) crashed out with Ortola too keen to get by. Ortola confused in the melee almost re-joined the race on the wrong bike. Holgado after the incident with Kelso got by Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) and back up to 2nd place as we headed into lap 2.

 

Into lap 2 and Alonso pulled away at the front with Piqueras, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and Veijer all getting by and swapping places with Holgado.

With all of the field fighting behind, Alonso started lap 3 over 2 seconds clear at the front. Piqueras lead the chasing pack with Holgado 3rd and Furusato in 4th.

Yellow flags waved in sector 1 as Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) crashed out with 11 laps to go. Lunetta able to re-join but would end up finishing in last place. Alonso now had a 3.5 seconds lead at the front. The chasing pack of 6 riders lead by Holgado but Holgado was unable to break away from Piqueras and co. behind.

Holgado, Piqueras, Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) and Veijer all in a fantastic fight for the 2nd and 3rd podium places here in Austin. At the half way point of the race, it was Alonso’s to lose with a huge advantage of 4 seconds at the front. Kelso caught up to the chasing pack and now a group of 5 emerged to fight it out for the podium places.

5 laps to go and Holgado set the fastest lap of the race, reducing the gap to 3 seconds to Alonso ahead in the lead. Kelso crashed out at turn 1 to remount and was still in the top 10 as Kelso re-joined in 8th place.

Alonso’s gap shrunk by over a couple of seconds as Veijer went down in sector 1 through the fast twisty section with Yamanaka and Holgado narrowly missing Veijer and his bike. The crash handed breathing room for Piqueras and was on target for his first ever podium for Leopard Racing.

3 laps to go, Alonso lead with Piqueras 2nd and Yamanaka in 3rd. Holgado and  Yamanaka fought it out through the twisty section for 3rd place. Veijer retired on lap 12 after a more than eventful Grand Prix for the young dutchman. Hit multiple times from other rider’s before a high speed crash himself. Through turn 12 and up the inside of Yamanaka, Holgado moved back up into 3rd place.

2 laps to go and Holgado moved ahead of Piqueras into 2nd place late on the brakes up the hill into turn 1. Yamanaka and Piqueras both fighting for their first ever podiums in Moto3. Piqueras up the inside of Yamanaka and started the last lap of the race in 3rd place hunting down Holgado.

Onto the last lap and Piqueras was on the back wheel of Holgado and looked to take 2nd place away from the Red Bull GasGas rider. Down the long straight, Piqueras went up the inside of Holgado into 2nd. Holgado though patiently waited to attack and into turn 19 Holgado made his move. Up the inside of Piqueras and we had a photo finish on the line between the pair of them.  Holgado took 2nd place by just a bike wheel ahead of Piqueras who finished in 3rd.

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

With all of the carnage behind him, David Alonso kept his cool and cruised to victory in Austin. Alonso capped off a fantastic weekend today and was dominant in every session.

Race Classification 

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

Championship Standings

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

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Rally Hungary Heikklä Leads After Day Two

The second day of Rally Hungary has come to an end. Mikko Heikklä took the event lead after the days six stages.

SS2, HEGYESD 1

Mathieu Franceschi topped the opening stage of the day, with a time 1.2 seconds faster than Mikko Heikklä. Hayden Paddon finished third fastest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Franceschi and 1.3 seconds slower than Heikklä. Franceschi also managed to take the event lead after the stage. The Frenchman took a lead of 2.3 seconds over Hayden Paddon into SS3.

SS3, KISLÖTÉR 1

Simone Tempestini claimed the stage win on the third stage of Rally Hungary for his first of the weekend and season. Tempestini finished 1.3 seconds faster than Martin Sesks on the stage. Miko Marczyk set the third fastest time on the stage, 2.3 seconds slower than Tempestini and 1 second slower than Sesks. Mikko Heikklä moved into the event lead after the third stage. Heikklä led the event by 0.4 seconds over Martin Sesks after the stage. Simone Tempestini sat third overall after the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than Heikklä and 2.7 slower than Sesks.

SS4, VÁRPALOTA 1

Miklós Csomós topped the final stage of the morning loop at his home event. Csomós set a time 0.4 seconds faster than Simone Tempestini to claim the stage win. Mikko Heikklä and Martin Sesks tied for the third fastest time on the stage. With both drivers finishing 0.5 seconds slower than Csomós and 0.1 seconds slower than Tempestini. Heikklä was able to maintain the event lead heading into the afternoon service. Due to Heikklä and Sesks tying for third fastest on the fourth stage of the weekend Heikklä’s 0.4-second lead stayed the same. While Simone Tempestini was able to close the gap between himself and Sesks to 2.6 seconds.

SS5, HEGYESD 2

Mathieu Franceschi started the afternoon loop in the same fashion as the morning loop, by taking a stage win. Franceschi set a time 2.2 seconds faster than Martin Sesks to take his second stage win of the day. Hayden Paddon finished third fastest, 4.5 seconds slower than Franceschi and 2.3 seconds slower than Sesks. Martin Sesks was able to take the event lead after SS5. Sesks would take a lead of 2.7 seconds over Mikko Heikklä into the day’s penultimate stage. Simone Tempestini retained third overall after the stage, now sitting 8.8 seconds behind Sesks and 6.1 seconds behind Heikklä.

SS6, KISLÖTÉR 2

Martin Sesks was able to claim his first stage win of Rally Hungary on the penultimate stage of the day. Sesks would finish 1.1 seconds faster than Mikko Heikklä on the stage. Simone Tempestini was third fastest on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Sesks and 0.2 seconds slower than Heikklä. Sesks would remain in the event lead after winning SS6. With the Latvian now holding a 3.8-second lead over Mikko Heikklä heading into the day’s final stage. Simone Tempestini also remained in third, now 10.1 seconds behind Sesks and 6.3 seconds behind Heikkla.

SS7, VÁRPALOTA 2

Mathieu Franceschi capped off the second day of Rally Hungary with his third stage win of the weekend. Franceschi set a time 0.8 seconds faster than Miko Marczyk to claim the stage win. Simone Tempestini and Mikko Heikklä tied for the third fastest time on the stage. With both drivers finishing 2 seconds slower than Franceschi and 1.2 seconds slower than Marczyk. Mikko Heikklä was able to reclaim the event lead to cap off the day. Heikklä takes a 2.3-second lead over Martin Sesks into the final day. Simone Tempestini closed the gap between him and second overall, as Tempestini ended the day 4 seconds behind Sesks.

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Formula E Season 10 Milano E-Prix: Da Costa Loses Victory After Technical Infraction at Misano

Antonio Felix Da Costa managed to to make up positions in Milano after a disappointing qualifying to take the victory for Formula E’s first visit to Milano! However, disaster struck for the 2020 champion when he was disqualified  just to add to the chaos of this race. Rowland inherited the win BUT Porsche have announced an intention to appeal.

Key Moments Of The Race

 

  • Mitch Evans lead the field away from pole ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne in P2 and Pascal Wehrlein in P3.
  • This was a peneton style race from the early stages with Mitch Evans, Nick Cassidy, Jean-Eric Vergne and Oliver Rowland.
  • Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara were both near the back of the grid at the start.
  • Edoardo Mortara had to stop the car very early..
  • 6.5 seconds seperated the entire field at one point.
  • Multiple collisions, including Wehrlein receiving front wing damage.
  • Cassidy and Vergne collided, Cassidy pitted with Vergne receiving a 5 second time penalty.
  • Guenther went over the sausage kerbs and did a wheelie at one point.
  • Nato went over the Gravel
  • Multiple DNFs
  • Da Costa crossed the line first and was the provisional winner before being disqualified so Rowland wins, Dennis P2, Guenther P3.

Formula E Season 10 Round 6 Misano E-Prix Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Oliver Rowland(FL)

Nissan Formula E Team

 26
2nd Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  18
3rd  Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 15
4th Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 12
5th Mitch Evans(Pole) Jaguar TCS Racing 13
6th Jean-Eric Verge Pole DS Penske  18
7th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 6
8th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 4
9th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 2
10th Lucas Di Grassi  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
11th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
12th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0
13th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
14th Nyck De Veries Mahindra Racing 0
15th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
16th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 0
17th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
DNF Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
DNF Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
DNF Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 0
DNF Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
DSQ Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 0

Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 6

Position Driver Team Points
1. Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 80
2. Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 71
3. Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 63
4. Pascal Wehrlein Andretti Formula E 63
5. Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 61
6. Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 52
7. Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 47
8. Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 37
9. Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 23
10. Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 22
11. Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
12. Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
13. Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 20
14. Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 18
15. Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
16. Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 10
17. Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 6
18. Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 3
19. Lucas DiGrassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
20. Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
21. Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
22. Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
Dan Ticktum, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24, Jake Hughes, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, e-4ORCE 04, Nyck de Vries, Mahindra Racing, Mahindra M9Electro, and Sergio Sette Camara, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24, chase the pack at the start Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Most Impressive Race

My driver of the race has to be Antonio Felix Da Costa. Despite him losing his win due to outside circumstances, he still made incredible progress and took the victory for 5 hours.  He also managed to handle the energy perfectly.

Driver who needs to improve the most after this round

I think Vandoorne was a bit lackluster throughout the day. From qualifying out of position in comparison to his teammate to finishing P10 on the road (P9 after Da Costa’s DSQ), it was very underwhelming. While his teammate did finish a few places ahead of him due to receiving a 5 second penalty for causing a collision with Cassidy, qualifying was ulitimately Vandoorne’s downfall for this particular race.

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Moto2: Canet Capitalises Once More with Pole in the USA

Aron Canet takes his second pole in three races, beating out Fermin Aldeguer and Sergio Garcia for the best spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Local rider Joe Roberts was able to qualify in fifth.

Some riders who would have go to through qualifying one were Celestino Vietti, 2023 Moto3 Champion Jaume Masia and FIlip Salac. After the first fast laps, Vietti was the fastest rider on the circuit, even when he had to make his way around other riders who were slow on the track.

Darryn Binder caused a yellow flag at the end of the session and was unable to set a lap time. Because of the yellow flag, Zonta van der Goorbergh’s fastest lap time was deleted. The Dutch rider the fastest through sector one and without the yellow flag could have made it through to the second qualifying session.

The four riders who went through to Q2 were Vietti, Masia, Albert Arenas and Diogo Moreira.

The second qualifying session started, and all the riders went out within the first few minutes except Ai Ogura and Garcia. This was Jake Dixon’s first qualifying session of the season after the injury he sustained earlier in the season.

Canet’s first lap was cancelled due to exceeding track limits at turn one.

The early pace setter was Alonso Lopez who set a 2:08.231 on his Speed Up Racing Boscoscuro motorbike. This was slower than the time set by Vietti to progress from Q1 to Q2.

After the success of progressing to Q2, unfortunately Vietti crashed at turn four causing a yellow flag. Due to this, he was unable to set a lap time. There was also gravel on the track which the riders would need to avoid.

At the halfway point of the session, Canet was at the top of the timesheet from Barry Baltus, Marcos Ramirez and Dennis Foggia.

After finishing first in the second practice session, Arbolino was a lot of people’s choice for pole position, but he crashed at turn 15 causing a yellow flag in the third and fourth sectors. This led to some riders losing their lap times.

Garcia and Aldeguer were going quick following the removal of the yellow flag and at the end of the second sector, both were around two tenths under Canet’s time and went up to the top of the timesheets.

As the only American racer in the field, all eyes were on Roberts also and he set his fastest lap which put him in fourth place but was bumped down by a few riders. He improved on his following lap and jumped up to third place, eclipsing his American Racing teammate, Ramirez.

The checkered flag came out and Canet was on another fast lap that looked as though it would be good enough for pole position and it was. He set a 2:07.631 that was unable to be beaten by any of the other riders, namely Lopez and Ramirez who looked close to setting the fastest time of the session.

For tomorrow’s race, Canet will head up the field from Aldeguer and Garcia. Arenas, Roberts and Ramirez populate the second row ahead of Foggia, Lopez and Gonzalez. Bo Bendsneyder rounded out the top ten.

2024 Moto2 COTA  – Qualifying Results
Pos Rider Nat Team Time
1 Aron Canet SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 2m 07.631s
2 Fermin Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools Speed Up (Boscoscuro) 0.109s
3 Sergio Garcia SPA MT Helmets – MSI (Boscoscuro) 0.188s
4 Albert Arenas SPA QJMOTOR Gresini (Kalex) 0.234s
5 Joe Roberts USA OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) 0.237s
6 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) 0.280s
7 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 0.400s
8 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools Speed Up (Boscoscuro) 0.432s
9 Manuel Gonzalez SPA QJMOTOR Gresini (Kalex) 0.443s
10 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Team (Kalex) 0.481s
11 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing (Kalex) 0.496s
12 Barry Baltus BEL RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP (Kalex) 0.511s
13 Jeremy Alcoba SPA Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team (Kalex) 0.516s
14 Jake Dixon GBR CFMoto Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) 0.650s
15 Celestino Vietti ITA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 0.680s
16 Diogo Moreira BRA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 0.734s
17 Ai Ogura JPN MT Helmets – MSI (Boscoscuro) 0.830s
18 Jaume Masia SPA Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Team (Kalex) 0.881s
Q1
19 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 2m 08.479s
20 Filip Salac CZE Elf Marc VDS Racing (Kalex) 2m 08.599s
21 Deniz Oncu TUR Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 2m 08.601s
22 Senna Agius AUS Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 2m 08.617s
23 Izan Guevara SPA CFMoto Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) 2m 08.870s
24 Zonta van den Goorbergh NED RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP (Kalex) 2m 08.930s
25 Mario Aji INA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 2m 09.419s
26 Xavier Artigas SPA KLINT Forward Factory Team (Forward) 2m 10.408s
27 Xavi Cardelus AND Fantic Racing (Kalex) 2m 10.735s
28 Alex Escrig SPA KLINT Forward Factory Team (Forward) 2m 11.109s
29 Darryn Binder RSA Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) No Time

Feature Image Credit: Fantic Racing

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Moto3: First Pole for Alonso in Austin

Feature Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

After a brief break with the Argentinian race cancelled, everyone was raring to go here in Austin, Texas this weekend.

Championship leader and winner last time out in Portimão, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) continued his great run of form rounding off the front row of the grid qualifying in 3rd.

Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was close, had a lap cancelled and then had pole snatched away from him in Q2 this afternoon. Teenage Colombian wonderkid David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) took his first pole position in Moto3 and has looked unstoppable this weekend so far. 

With a front row of the top 3 title protagonists for 2024, it’s all set up to be a great battle in Texas tomorrow.

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X
Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Being in the leading group in the opening races of the season, we would certainly not of expected to see Riccardo Rossi (CIP Green Power) in this Q1 session.

David Almansa (Rivacold Snipers Team) went over the handle bars at turn 20, hopefully Almansa is ok after that as the first batch of flying lap times filtered through with just 8mins left of the session.

Leopard Racing’s Adrian Fernandez sat at the top of the timings after the first batch of flying laps were posted. The top 4 heading through to Q2 with 4mins of the session remaining were Fernandez, Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Aspar Team) and Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse).

Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets MSI) had a lap cancelled and only 2mins remained in Q1. Only one more attempt to salvage something from the session and progress to Q2 with a final flying lap.

The lap is 5.5km’s in distance and with a 15mins qualifying session and over 2mins per lap time, nobody in Moto3 can afford to make a mistake.

Yamanaka pulled up on the long straight as Roulstone lit up the sectors red at the half way point of the last flying lap. Both Rossi and Yamanaka had a day to forget not getting into the top 4 to progress to Q2,

The fastest and through to Q2 were Fernandez, Roulstone, Esteban and Lunetta

Qualifying 2

Could anyone stop the charging David Alonso in this Q2 session? Alonso has been flying this weekend and was on course in practice to set a new all time lap record but instead opted to cruise into the pits.

With long out laps completed, it was Rueda who got us started with flying laps with 12mins left of the session.

Rueda set the bench mark of a 2:15.063 and as the rest of the field filtered through Alonso moved back to the top a tenth of a second quicker than Rueda with a 2:14.907. Alonso on provisional pole after most of the field completed their first runs.

Holgado moved up to 5th with 8mins left of the session and teammate Roulstone went into 2nd. Superb from the young Australian rider.

Alonso on his next flying lap went quicker setting a new provisional pole lap time of 2:14.661. Roulstone and Rueda filled the rest of the front row with 4mins left of the session.

Rueda out of the pits and to the top of the timings with a new lap record but dipped his wheels into the green coming out of the last corner. Rueda would later have this lap cancelled with just 1 min left of the session.

Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) with the last sector of his career jumped onto pole as the chequered flagged waved. Rueda, Alonso and David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) though all on final flying laps lighting up the sectors red.

Rueda crossed the line but only had pole position for a few seconds as Alonso snatched it away to take pole position here in COTA.

Holgado managed to fight onto the front row just ahead of Veijer in 4th.

A first pole position for David Alonso in Moto3 and well deserved. Alonso will be hard to stop in tomorrow’s race.

Starting Grid

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

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Rally Hungary Cais Leads

The first day of Rally Hungary has come to a close. Erik Cais leads after the day’s lone stage. Find out more about the day and what’s to come below.

Qualifying

The qualifying stage opened Rally Hungary as it does every ERC event. This is used to determine the road order for the following day. Miko Marczyk topped the stage, with a time 0.5 seconds faster than Simone Tempestini. Marczyk will start 17th on the road tomorrow. Mathieu Franceschi finished third on the qualifying stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Tempestini. Behind Franceschi were Erik Cais and former Finnish Rally Champion Mikko Heikklä, who both finished 0.7 seconds slower than Franceschi.

SS1, Királyszentistván

The first round of the 2024 European Rally Championship season kicked off with a 2.05 km SuperSpecial stage. Erik Cais topped the stage with a time 0.1 seconds faster than Martin László. Reigning ERC champion Hayden Paddon was third fastest on the stage. Paddon finished 0.8 seconds slower than Cais and 0.7 seconds slower than László. Mathieu Franceschi set the fourth fastest time on the opening stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Paddon. Miklós Csomós rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.2 seconds slower than Cais and 0.5 seconds slower than Franceschi.

What To Expect From Rally Hungary Day Two

The second day of Rally Hungary will see drivers contest 104.25 km across six stages. Vladas Jurkevicius will be first on the road tomorrow. Hungarians Frigyes Turán and Martin László will be second and third on the road respectively. Reigning Champion Hayden Paddon will be eighth on the road. The first full day of action will likely go as expected. One driver will forge a lead and everyone else will try and catch up.

Østberg Out

Mads Ostberg has unfortunately withdrawn his entry to the opening round of the ERC season. The reason for the withdrawal is because Ostberg has fallen ill and has been in the hospital for the last few days. This decision wasn’t an easy one for the former WRC2 champion who has previously won Rally Hungary. Østberg has confirmed he will contest the second round of the season, Rally Islas Canaries next month.

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Verstappen takes pole ahead of Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen has taken pole ahead of tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix, with team-mate Sergio Perez making it Red Bull’s 27th front row lock-out.

It was perhaps closer than most were expecting between the duo, with just +0.066 separating them at the chequered flag. In comparison, the gap from Verstappen to P2 last year was over half a second.

Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

McLaren’s Lando Norris initially split the Red Bulls after the first runs in Q3, but Perez eeked out more of an improvement in the second runs to leapfrog the McLaren into second.

The top five was rounded out by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. The other Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, in contrast, missed out on advancing to Q2 by only +0.061 and will start tomorrow’s race down in P16.

Oscar Piastri will start P6 with Lewis Hamilton in P7, the Brit sounding more buoyant about the set-up of his Mercedes than he has in recent weeks.

Charles Leclerc ran out of sync with the rest of the top ten in Q3, setting his only lap of the session with the entire track to himself. His time initially put him P7, but with the rest of the field re-emerging a few minutes later for their second runs he slipped to P8 by the time the chequered flag was brought out.

George Russell qualified P9. He was released into the path of Piastri in the pits during Q1 but has escaped a grid drop, with Mercedes instead receiving a €5,000 fine for an unsafe release.

Home favourite Yuki Tsunoda rounds out the top ten.

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Formula E Season 10 Tokyo E-Prix: Guenther snatches win from Nissan and Rowland

Just 2 weeks after the sao paulo e-prix, we were presented with another race, this time in the home of Nissan: Japan! This introduction of the Tokyo E-Prix saw a different layout, sometimes a mixture of the Rome and London circuits. However, none of this could stop the Maserati MSG of Maximilian Guenther from clinching the win away from the pole sitter and majority of the race leader Oliver Rowland.

Key Moments During The Race

  • Oliver Rowland lead the field away from pole position ahead of Edoardo Mortara in P2 and Maximilian Guenther in P3.
  • Jaguar Drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy went to P11 and P18 respectfully after the start
  • The fastest lap was changing hands during lap 5 with Nato and Mueller touching
  • Jake Hughes crashed into the barrier at turn 15 on lap 6 due to a collision with Di Grassi. The British driver managed to get away on their own accord, however they fell to the back of the grid.
  • The Tag Hauer Porsche Team played the team game on lap 9 as Da Costa slowed up the grid behind them so Wehrlein could take attack mode.
  • A new race leader emerged on lap 13 as Oliver Rowland took attack mode with Maximilian Guenther inheriting P1.
  • Guenther fell down to P3 after taking attack mode.
  • Mitch Evans had front wing damage on lap 18 after contact.
  • The safety car was called out soon after to pick up debris. 
  • De Vries and Di Grassi have both retired at this point.
  • Nick Cassidy managed to make his way up to P11 by lap 25.
  • Maximilian Guether takes the lead on lap 25.
  • 2 additional laps were added near the end of the race due to the safety car.
  • Norman Nato and Robin Frijns made contact as Nato went off the racing line, received a 5 second penalty for this collision but it was later overturned.
  • Da Costa falls down to P4 after a three way battle for the podium positions.
  • Guenther wins, Rowland P2, Dennis P3.

 

Jake Hughes, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, e-4ORCE 04, leads Lucas di Grassi, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, M9Electro, and Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske, DS E-Tense FE23-Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Formula E Season 10 Round 5 Tokyo E-Prix Results

 

Position Driver Team Points
1st

Maximilian Guenther

(fastest lap)

Maserati MSG Racing

 26
2nd Oliver Rowland (pole) Nissan Formula E Team 21
3rd  Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  15
4th Antonio Felix Da Costa  Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 12
5th Pascal Wehrlein  Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 10
6th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E  8
7th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 6
8th Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 4
9th Robin Frijns  Envision Racing 2
10th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Racing 1
11th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0
12th Jean-Eric Verge  DS Penske  0
13th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0
14th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
15th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 0
16th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 0
17th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
18th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0
19th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
DNF Lucas Di Grassi  Mahindra Racing 0
DSQ Edoardo Mortara  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
DNF Nyck De Veries Mahindra Racing 0

 

Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 5

Position Driver Team Points
1. Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 63
2. Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 61
3. Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 54
4. Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 53
5. Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 48
6. Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 39
7. Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 39
8. Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 37
9. Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
10. Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
11. Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 20
12. Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 18
13. Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 18
14. Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 17
15. Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 8
16. Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 6
17. Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 3
18. Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
19. Lucas DiGrassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
20. Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
21. Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
22. Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0

Most Impressive Race

The most impressive race for me has to be from Oliver Rowland. Leaving the sport mid season last year, eyebrows were raised over whether he would return to the sport. Now, at his new team’s home race, getting pole position and being able to maintain his energy for the majority of the race until he had to fall back to P2 in order to conserve energy to make it to the end is seriously impressive.

 

Driver who needs to improve the most after Tokyo

Now that we have finished just under one third of the season, I think Mitch Evans really needs to improve the most. Yes, his teammate did manage to qualify near the back due to a lap time deletion in qualifying, Evans should have made up spots on the start to try and bridge the gap to his felle Kiwi but instead, Cassidy finished P8 after the DSQ from Mortara which still made Evans not get any points from the weekend. Evans needs to get his head into the right space 

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