FIA Formula 3 returns this weekend for the second round of the season in Paul Ricard.
It’s a circuit that Prema will be very happy to return to. The last time F3 raced at Le Castellet, the Italian team dominated proceedings with a win apiece for Robert Shwartzman and Jehan Daruvala.
That past form bodes well for Prema considering they’ve also started this season with two wins out of the opening three races. But it’s an especially good omen for championship leader Dennis Hauger, who last time out took a near-perfect feature race win with pole and the fastest lap, and looked set to win the second sprint race too but for a collision with Matteo Nannini just three laps from the finish.
But while Hauger will enter the weekend as the early favourite, he’s not going to have it all his own way. His teammate Olli Caldwell, who inherited that second sprint race win from Hauger’s crash and sits just two points behind Hauger in the standings, will be looking for more podiums this weekend to establish his championship campaign.
Crucially, Caldwell has experience around Paul Ricard from his Formula 4 and Formula Regional European days while Hauger has never raced here before, so expect Caldwell to be a threat from the off.
Fresh start for Leclerc?
Arthur Leclerc, Prema (Courtesy of Prema Racing)
Speaking of Prema’s title protagonists, one name is conspicuously absent — Arthur Leclerc. The Monegasque had a torrid opening weekend in Barcelona. After qualifying just 15th for the feature race, Leclerc then had a puncture in race one, started from the back in race two, and finished 13th in the feature race itself.
He’ll be coming into Paul Ricard hoping to put that weekend behind him and reset his championship campaign with a solid result. Luckily for him, like Caldwell he’s also raced at Le Castellet before in previous categories, including two wins and a second place in his 2020 FREC season.
Leclerc will also know that this early in the season, he only needs a little reversal of fortune for himself and his Prema teammates and he’ll be right back in the game.
Novalak and Martins aiming for home glory
Victor Martins, MP Motorsport (Bryn Lennon, Getty Images / FIA F3)
Prema may be leading both championships, but their drivers are far from the only contenders for victory this weekend. And of their challengers, Clement Novalak and Victor Martins — third and fourth in the standings respectively — will have extra incentive to take up the fight as they come to their home race.
Martins burst onto the F3 scene in Barcelona with a superb third place in qualifying and a podium in the second sprint race. Expect to see him threaten the front in qualifying again, as one lap pace has been one of his strengths throughout his junior career so far.
Novalak meanwhile has shown some of the best race pace so far this season, and looks so at home with his new Trident team. Not that he’s any slouch in qualifying either, so he will be in the mix in any of the three races this weekend as he hunts his first F3 win.
Keep an eye out for Crawford
Jak Crawford, Hitech (Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool)
If experience is going to play any part in the results this weekend, then it’s hard to ignore Hitech’s Jak Crawford. The 18-year-old Red Bull junior had a respectable start to his rookie year with points in the second Barcelona sprint race, but it’s arguably his exploits outside of F3 that have marked him as a contender this time out.
Alongside F3, Crawford’s also doubling up a Euroformula Open campaign with Motopark. And at the last round at Paul Ricard, Crawford took pole position, scored the fastest lap across all three races, and came away with two wins and a second place.
Another Paul Ricard win might be a long shot for Crawford in F3, but at the very least look out for him running in the points or possibly challenging for a podium across the weekend.
The circuit Paul Ricard was originally designed as a test circuit, and has thus far proven to be a test of patience for Formula One fans sine its reintroduction to the calendar in 2018, but will it give us some joy as it makes its return to the calendar in 2021?
Well, to put in bluntly, at least the weather tends to be nice in le Castellet. Although, having said that, we did see a couple of excellent battles during the 2019 race, particularly through the chicane into Turn Seven. And what’s more, we might not expect to see Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton utterly dominate this one.
The silver Arrows looked decidedly average two weeks ago in Baku, which is extremely concerning given the powerful nature of a track where we typically expect the champions to thrive – they are perhaps being given their greatest challenge since the beginning of the hybrid era.
Mercedes failed to score any points for the first time since 2018 in Azerbaijan – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
And that challenge is coming from Red Bull who, crucially this time around, have both dogs (or bulls) firmly in the fight. Max Verstappen’s previous team mates, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly, were simply left unable to compete with the other frontrunning cars during their unsuccessful tenures with the team, but we have seen a momentum shift with Azerbaijan winner Sergio Perez. The Mexican took the gauntlet to win following Verstappen’s cruel tyre blowout. Part of the reason for the swing of the ultra-fast pendulum has been the form and misfortune of Finn Valtteri Bottas.
It was his turn to give a tow in Baku in qualifying last time, leaving him down in tenth, and he only fell backwards in an immensely disheartening race – he did however finish ahead of Hamilton after the world champion’s massive error on the safety car restart.
So all in all, this is a big race for Mercedes; they need a strong response to what has been a baffling and exasperating last couple of Grands Prix. The lead in the championship remains the same between Verstappen and Hamilton Hamilton coming into this weekend, so it actually may just be an enthralling few days of action with a lot to play for.
Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon enter their home race this weekend, both coming off the back of impressive performances at Baku, with Ocon’s efforts not yielding the results they deserved as he failed to finish after a mechanical failure. Gasly, meanwhile, picked up his third career podium.
Home hero this weekend Pierre Gasly (right) joined Sergio Perez (centre) and Sebastian Vettel on the podium in Baku – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
In fact, we have seen improvements from a lot of drivers in the midfield – even from Mick Schumacher’s Haas team mate, as drivers begin to settle into new teams.
Daniel Ricciardo, though is another that finds himself in need of a response to team mate Lando Norris’ supreme form. Should he find it this weekend, McLaren will find themselves with a wonderful opportunity to try and put the sword to Ferrari for third in the Constructors’ standings.
This circuit does not always give us the best racing, but with a lot to play for up and down the field, we may witness another cracker for round seven, as F1 returns to where motor racing all began.
Patricio O’Ward took advantage of a late cautionary period to claim victory over Josef Newgarden at the second race in Detroit.
With 12 laps remaining, Romain Grosjean stopped on track following a brake fire. The Mexican driver had started the race in 15th and had slowly but surely moved his way up the field to fifth, the most memorable of which was a move on Scott Dixon during a prior cautionary restart caused by Jimmie Johnson.
When the green flag fell, the Arrow McLaren was able to make some incredible moves on Graham Rahal and Alex Palou and Colton Herta would shortly follow, owed in part to getting heat into the harder primary ‘black’ tyres quickly and efficiently.
Josef Newgarden, Detroit Race 2. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski
With three laps remaining, Newgarden’s soft ‘red’ tyres began to lose performance and handed O’Ward an opportunity at Turn Seven. The Penske driver’s rear tyres were done as he struggled to get traction out of the corner.
The Mexican driver out-dragged Newgarden down the straight and lightly touched in the process. But it was O’Ward that braked the latest and seized the lead of the race with the end in sight. He would eventually take victory with a five-second advantage over the rest of his competitors.
O’Ward becomes the first repeat winner of the season and moves ahead of Alex Palou in the drivers’ standings – albeit by a single point. This also marks his second career victory after his success at Texas and caps off a magnificent weekend with a pole position and a podium in Race One.
It was heartbreak for Newgarden who had led 67 laps out of 70 from pole position, undone by the teams’ unfortunate contra strategy. He started on the primary ‘black’ compound tyres, while all of his closest competitors started the race on the alternate ‘red’ tyres. After the first caution, which came out on the opening lap when Max Chilton ran into James Hinchcliffe, Newgarden began to pull away from the field. By the time the two-time champion made his first pit stop on Lap 20 his lead over second-place Colton Herta was 13.5 seconds.
During his second stint, he replicated his earlier pace going to lap 46 on another set of primary ‘blacks’. However, Herta was able to close in on Newgarden during this period and had the advantage going into the final stint. Newgarden had to run his final stint on used ‘red’ tyres which are notable for high degradation while the likes of O’Ward, Herta, Palou, and Rahal chased him down on fresher primary ‘blacks’.
Herta would eventually relinquish third to Alex Palou, who rescues what could have been a disastrous weekend.
Graham Rahal sized fifth ahead of a resurgent Will Power who was able to make his way through the field from 20th on the grid, a consolation after losing the win in Race One due to an overheating ECU.
Dixon, Detroit Race 2. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski
Six-time champion Scott Dixon could not make many inroads after a lap one collision with Romain Grosjean and Alexander Rossi. After starting on the primary ‘black’ tyres, he could not make the final stint on the alternative ‘reds’ work.
Simon Pagenaud crossed the line in eighth ahead of Race One winner Marcus Ericsson with the Swede able to keep his car in the race after a clash with Rinus Veekay with the wall on Lap 15.
Santino Ferrucci was able to keep calm under pressure to finish 10th after his Rahal Letterman Lanigan team spent were forced to ready a backup car thanks to a heavy crash in qualifying. That is now three consecutive top-ten finishes after making his 2021 debut at the Indianapolis 500.
Oliver Askew retired from the race after replacing Arrow McLaren SP driver Felix Rosenqvist in what was a bittersweet weekend for the team. Many were still referencing the passing of McLaren shareholder Mansour Ojjeh who played a significant part under Ron Dennis’s regime.
It will now be a quick turnaround as IndyCar returns to Road America in a weeks time.
Tom Ingram took Excelr8’s first win in the British Touring Car Championship in a thrilling race three at Snetterton.
After taking the lead on lap five, Ingram strolled to the win to secure the Hyundai i30N’s first win too.
Stephen Jelley was on pole thanks to the reverse grid draw, and lead from the start. Carl Boardley was tapped coming out of Agostini and retired from the race.
Ingram managed to pass Jelley but he went back through to keep his lead. Tom Oliphant spun at Agostini and fell down the order with Ash Sutton fighting for another win as he was third by the end of lap two.
Ollie Jackson was next to retire as Gordon Shedden squeezed up the inside and tapped him. This caused damage to Jackson’s Ford Focus and he struggled to the pits.
Lap five saw Ingram take the lead as Jelley then had to fend off the trio of Sutton, Shedden, and Rory Butcher for second. Josh Cook was storming up from 14th with no ballast in his BTC Honda Civic and was fifth by the end of lap seven.
Sutton managed to pass Jelley on lap eight with Shedden getting past at Agostini after a clumsy tap from the Scotsman on Jelley. It was three places lost in as many corners as Cook passed him too.
Ingram strolled to the win as Shedden was fighting for second with Sutton, but he couldn’t quite pass with Sutton taking second and as a result moving into the championship lead leaving Snetterton.
Cook, Jelley and Butcher were next with Colin Turkington finishing seventh, Adam Morgan, Jack Goff and Dan Rowbottom rounded off the top ten.
Ash Sutton took his second win of the season after a blistering drive through the field in round five of the British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton.
He passed car after car on the quicker soft tyre, and hunted down race one winner Colin Turkington to take another win and bolster his championship defence.
Ollie Jackson had the best start flying into second place from fifth on the grid. Turkington led from the line. Glyn Geddie and Rick Parfitt collided coming onto the straight and Geddie retired with damage. Tom Chilton also retired with damage to the front of his Ciceley BMW.
By the end of lap two Sutton was sixth, passing Adam Morgan. Meanwhile Sutton’s team mate Aiden Moffat was given a five second penalty for a jump start.
Lap four and Sutton was fifth, squeezing down the inside of Stephen Jelley at the Wilson hairpin.
Next on his list was Hyundai’s Tom Ingram. The Excelr8 Hyundai was heavier than Sutton’s Infiniti and after a fierce battle Sutton boxed clever and passed Ingram.
The Wilson hairpin was again the scene of a Sutton overtake as he passed Jackson for second place.
Turkington was clear of the pack but had Sutton on the quicker tyre reeling him in.
Championship leader Jake Hill had a horror show, falling down the grid in the closing stages.
Lap nine saw Sutton finally pass Turkington into the Agostini hairpin, having been 1.3 seconds faster on the previous lap.
The battle for the final podium place was heating up in the final three laps. Ingram and Jackson fought hard, going side by side into Agostini as Ingram snuck past before losing it to Jackson again at the next corner.
Sutton took the win after a fantastic drive, with Turkington only half a second back. Jackson secured third with Ingram fourth and Rory Butcher fifth. Tom Oliphant and Stephen Jelley came home sixth and seventh respectively for Team WSR. Adam Morgan, Jack Goff and Aiden Moffat rounded off the top ten once Moffat’s penalty was applied.
Pos
Driver
Car
Team
1
Ash Sutton
Infiniti Q50
Laser Tools
23:49:604
2
Colin Turkington
BMW 330i M Sport
Team WSR
+0.451
3
Ollie Jackson
Ford Focus ST
MB Motorsport
+8.603
4
Tom Ingram
Hyundai i30N
Excelr8
+8.769
5
Rory Butcher
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Gazoo
+10.524
6
Tom Oliphant
BMW 330i M Sport
Team WSR
+10.859
7
Stephen Jelley
BMW 330i M Sport
Team WSR
+12.065
8
Adam Morgan
BMW 330i M Sport
Ciceley
+13.364
9
Jack Goff
Cupra Leon
Team HARD
+13.662
10
Aiden Moffat*
Infiniti Q50
Laser Tools
+16.204
11
Chris Smiley
Hyundai i30N
Excelr8
+16.228
12
Gordon Shedden
Honda Civic Type R
Team Dynamics
+16.577
13
Dan Lloyd
Vauxhall Astra
Power Maxed
+16.925
14
Senna Proctor
Honda Civic Type R
BTC Racing
+17.295
15
Josh Cook
Honda Civic Type R
BTC Racing
+18.605
16
Dan Rowbottom
Honda Civic Type R
Team Dynamics
+21.190
17
Carl Boardley
Infiniti Q50
Laser Tools
+22.534
18
Aron Taylor-Smith
Cupra Leon
Team HARD
+26.536
19
Sam Osborne
Ford Focus ST
Motorbase
+26.720
20
Jason Plato
Vauxhall Astra
Power Maxed
+39.770
21
Jessica Hawkins
Ford Focus ST
Motorbase
+42.017
22
Jack Butel
Hyundai i30N
Excelr8
+42.534
23
Jade Edwards
Honda Civic Type R
BTC Racing
+42.734
24
Jake Hill
Ford Focus ST
MB Motorsport
+44.681
25
Nicholas Hamilton
Cupra Leon
Team HARD
+47.417
26
Sam Smelt
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Gazoo
+48.429
27
Rick Parfitt Jr
Hyundai i30N
Excler8
+56.019
Retirements
RET
Tom Chilton
BMW 330i M Sport
Ciceley
Damage
RET
Glyn Geddie
Cupra Leon
Team HARD
Damage
*Aiden Moffat received a five second penalty for jumping the start.
Colin Turkington led from start to finish to take his 57th career win at Snetterton in round four of the British Touring Car Championship.
He took his eighth win at the Norfolk circuit, with Tom Ingram finishing second and Rory Butcher third.
Turkington led from the start, with the front wheel drive Hyundai of Ingram hot on his tail. The rear wheel drive BMW of Turkington took longer to heat up, giving Ingram chance to capitalise. At the Agostini hairpin Ingram made a move but couldn’t make it stick.
As Turkington got his car up to speed and pulled away his team mate Stephen Jelley made a good start, taking fourth before losing it to Ollie Jackson.
Gordon Shedden had pole position taken away from him after a rear wing infringement saw him disqualified from qualifying yesterday. He made a cracking start and was fighting Aiden Moffat with the pair tapping but no serious incident.
On lap seven Ingram set the fastest lap and appeared to be closing. Jake Hill started to lose ground due to him being championship leader he had maximum ballast onboard his Ford Focus ST. Tom Oliphant made his way through with Sutton trying the same. The reigning champion couldn’t get around the outside and lost a few places.
Jackson was the highest of the prime tyre runners, which was a slower tyre but longer lasting. Jelley retook his fourth place with Jackson then coming under pressure from Dan Lloyd.
On the penultimate lap Lloyd made a move on Jackson but it didn’t work and left him vulnerable to the BMW of Adam Morgan who swooped inside and took the place from him.
Jackson held on however in his slower Focus and held off the challenge of Morgan.
At the Wilson hairpin on the final lap Tom Chilton lost the backend and spun his BMW. He fell down the order and almost collected Jessica Hawkins in her Motorbase Ford.
Turkington took the win by nearly three seconds from Ingram and Butcher was seven seconds back in third. Jelley was fourth, with Jackson, Morgan, Lloyd and Oliphant coming next. Jake Hill finished ninth to retain his championship lead, with Chris Smiley finishing tenth.
Marcus Ericsson claimed his first career IndyCar victory amidst an incident plagued race in Detroit. His last win came during GP2, almost a decade ago. However, his victory came to the detriment of Will Power, who had led approximately half the race with six laps to go.
Power, who happened to be on the right strategy during the earlier red flag incident involving Felix Rosenqvist, effectively led the majority of the race immediately after. With 20 laps to go, Ericsson was unable to make the pass around him. That was until Romain Grosjean hit the wall with six laps to bringing out the final red flag of the race.
Cars were stranded in the pits for ten minutes, but when the field prepared to head back out, Power’s car would not start. Within a few moments, the Australian had gone from assured victory to abject despair. The race was effectively over.
Ericsson inherited the lead and was able to hold off a late-charging Rinus VeeKay and Patricio O’Ward to take his first win since the 2013 GP2 Series. The win came in his 37th career start and it marks just his second career podium in the series. His previous best, second, came at this track in his rookie season.
Rinus VeeKay and Patricio O’Ward rounded out the podium, two results that went from good to great when the vast majority of other championship contenders failed to finish in the top ten. Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon finished a respectable fifth and eighth, respectively, but every other driver in the top nine in standings finished tenth or worse.
Detroit GP. O’Ward leads the field to green. Courtesy of Joe Skibinski
Both O’Ward and Rossi had led off the start followed closely by Romain Grosjean but were hampered due to starting on the high degradation red tyres. An interesting strategy battle would ensue between Scott Dixon, who started on sticker blacks, and the rest.
That was, until Lap 27. A terrifying crash involving Felix Rosenqvist sent his Arrow McLaren SP into the barriers at Turn 6. The collision was strong enough to dislodge the concrete barrier and brought out the red flag.
There has been no exact diagnosis for Rosenqvist, but an IndyCar medical group representative indicated that his team saw no signs of significant injury while evaluating him. With the most serious concerns seemingly alleviated, he was taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
O’Ward had to do carry out some brave overtaking as late pitstop onto sticker blacks sent him tumbling down the order. Meanwhile, VeeKay had started in 12th, and benefitted by pitting early onto sticker blacks, jumping the likes of Romain Grosjean who had started third.
Takuma Sato finished in fourth, an almost perfect display but dampened by losing positions off the final restart and after being penalised in the pits after a dangerous maneuver on Rinus VeeKay.
Santino Ferrucci and Alexander Rossi finished in sixth and seventh while Ed Jones and Josef Newgarden rounded out the Top Ten. Jones had to settle for ninth after losing places on the final restart while Newgarden did so after losing his rear-left wheel following his first pitstop. He then put in a valiant drive to recover from the back.
In what is already an incredible IndyCar season, we have had seven different race winners in seven races. All of those are also from different nationalities. This is certainly one of the most entertaining and competitive field of drivers we have had in years.
Alex Palou still leads the championship with a 15 point lead over Patricio O’Ward. VeeKay now edges closer to Scott Dixon in third, only 11 points behind.
We now wait in anticipation for Race 2 at Detroit on Sunday which we hope delivers a similar level of entertainment as today.
Gordon Shedden took his first pole position since returning to the sport at Snetterton in an exciting qualifying session.
He stole pole position from Colin Turkington, who looked imperious throughout the two sessions, setting quick laps all the way through.
In the first of three special qualifying formats this season, there was a two-part aspect to it. A top ten shootout followed the first 20 minute session, with some notable names missing out on the final action. Ash Sutton, Josh Cook, Jason Plato, all missed out.
The track evolved over the original session and the times came down. Turkington went fastest originally with a 1:57.3. Sutton soon went quicker with a 1:56.7.
Plenty of drivers had times removed for track-limit infringements going wide on the exit of some corners.
Turkington regained top spot with a 1:55.2 and held on for the last ten minutes.
By the end of the session Dan Rowbottom missed out by just 88 thousandths of a second in his Team Dynamics Honda Civic.
In the final session, the ten fastest drivers go through into the shootout. Turkington reigned supreme for the majority of the session, his BMW setting fastest lap after fastest lap.
Power Maxed Racing’s Dan Lloyd fell a victim of track limits, losing two times, with one being the fastest of the session so far.
By the chequered flag, Shedden put in a 1:55:2 to steal pole position from the WSR driver, with Turkington having to settle for second, one and a half tenths down.
Tom Ingram was third, almost half a second down on Shedden, with Rory Butcher, Stephen Jelley, Adam Morgan, Ollie Jackson, Jake Hill, Dan Lloyd and Tom Oliphant rounding off the top ten.
This is the last of the blogs I wrote during TT 2013 and is a summary of the majority of Race Week. These blogs were never intended to report on the racing results – there are people out there much better at that than me. Instead, I realised that I was in an incredibly privileged position to have been in the heart of the paddock, at the side of the road, and right in with the action. For many, visiting the Isle of Man TT has not yet been possible, and many others who had visited previously couldn’t get back for whatever reason. So for them I decided it would be good to try and capture and describe the experience. It has been superb reliving these days as I edited these pieces, and I really hope we get racing back next year. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the final instalment…
IOM TT – Picture courtesy of Keith Quirk
It’s Saturday evening, and all the racing for TT2013 (and the Post TT at Billown) is over. It has been a beautiful day again, but all day I’ve had that feeling you get when you’ve been on a most fantastic holiday and never want to go home. I know a lot of my friends and fellow tweeters are feeling the same. This last fortnight was incredibly special in many ways – the emergence of a new pretender to the throne of the King of the Mountain title (has anybody called Michael Dunlop the Prince of the Mountain yet?!) with the current King of the Mountain claiming his 20th victory and 41st podium proving that he is not going to be deposed that easily just yet.
Although my blog was never intended to be about results and the technicalities of racing, McGuinness was so, so close to 21 – the end of the TT Zero race was about as thrilling as you can get. Believe me, I never ever thought I would use the words ‘thrilling’ and ‘TT Zero’ in the same sentence, but how close was it?? As I think I have already mentioned in one of my pieces I remember when it was an amazing feat for just one of the electric bikes to make it all the way around the course and now we are actually seeing close racing.
Wednesday was a stunning day, and me and my friends (one local, 2 old friends on their first TT visit) started off at Sulby, next to a snoring man who claimed he had seen all the bikes going past and that he was merely resting his eyes. He definitely woke up when Gary Johnson came through on the MV! After the Supersport had been won by Michael Dunlop, with Anstey second & McGuinness third, we picnicked in the sunshine, then headed up to Bungalow for the sidecars second race. It was absolutely packed, and the views as stunning as they could be on such a beautiful day. Sadly, our boys were forced to retire at Union Mills, but it really was something to see them over the Mountain.
There were a number of retirements in the race including Saturday’s winners Reeves & Sayle. The Birchall brothers had a fantastic start and eventually they took the win. Moly/Farrance came home in second place and Harrison/Aylott took third. We ended the day with Italian food and a few drinks, and already I could feel the sadness that there was only one day of racing left building inside me. Thursday was a rest day for me, to recover from late nights sat in the garden drinking with friends and to recoup some energy for the Senior.
IOM TT – Picture courtesy of Keith Quirk
In the evening we had the TTTweetmeet 2013 at the Creg. So great to meet up with people we see regularly on our timelines. Standing on the balcony I looked out to the views and I was reminded just how lucky I was (as if I weren’t already sure) – a real ‘I live here’ moment. It was also a fantastic effort on the charity front, with £1035 being raised for the Joey Dunlop Foundation which will help them to carry on doing their fantastic work with the property at Braddan.
Friday dawned – another superb day weather wise, and the anticipation for the Senior was palpable around the Island. Would Dunlop claim his fifth win? Would he take the lightweight and set a new record of 6? Would McGuinness come back strong? Would we see Gary Johnson, Cam Donald, Anstey or any of the others come and nick it? That is the beauty of these races – it really could be anyone. They all have the skill, they all have the experience, but would their machinery perform and keep them going over the 6 laps? Before we find that out, we had the Lightweight race to go. James Hillier won after close racing at the start which saw him increase his lead to over 30 seconds from
Dean Harrison had 35 seconds over our local lad Conor Cummins. Anyone who saw Conor’s accident will agree that to see him back to podium form is nothing short of amazing.
So finally, it was time for the Senior. The riders set off one by one but before everybody was out on the course, a red flag came out. News soon came over the radio that there had been an incident at Bray Hill and there it was again. That sick feeling in the pit of the stomach. The spectators sitting in the sunshine opposite me were subdued as we waited for more news. The next information that came out was that there had been an incident on Bray Hill, involving a rider, who was ok, but that some spectators had been hurt.
It is easy to get drawn into tweeting about what’s going on, and I shared a couple of tweets without really thinking. After realising that I could be doing more harm than good until we knew all the details I stopped. Sadly it was not the same for everyone – pictures were appearing on Twitter of the scene, which then were picked up by the mainstream media. The official ACU statement confirmed that 10 spectators were injured, with injuries ranging from minor to serious but not life threatening. It was also confirmed that the rider involved had sustained a fracture.
It was inevitable that there would be some kind of backlash in the media. They were quick to pick up on events, talking about how dangerous it is, and how many people get hurt. I would be surprised if anybody out there yesterday, or any of the other days, did not realise that it could be dangerous. There are signs all around the course warning of danger, as there is a warning in the Programme/guide. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that with bikes travelling at c.190 miles an hour in places, there is potential for something to go wrong. But then is that not part of the beauty of road racing? The option to sit so near to the action and feel the speed at close quarters is not like anything else in the world.
Again, there are calls for its banning. I wonder how many calls there have been to ban people from climbing Mount Everest? What about skiing? Rallying? Or Formula 1? There is nobody out on that course – rider or spectator – who does not know what the risks are, and who doesn’t love the sport any less because of it?
The number of visitors this year felt like the most there have been in years. Both weeks were buzzing, and thousands of people have enjoyed the spectacle that is the Isle of Man TT. It has been going for over 100 years, and I can’t see it going anywhere fast. Especially if we have anything to do with it. My thoughts are with those injured and I hope they all make a full & speedy recovery. It also seems appropriate to remember again Yoshinari Matsushita – RIP Yoshi.
And now it is all over…. the spectacular firework display last night in Douglas and the Post TT Races at Billown rounded off the fortnight in superb style. Every year I wonder if next year will be as good, and every year it proves it can stand up to the previous year. It has been the most amazing fortnight, full of new experiences, new friends, old friends, fast bikes, sunshine & fun. I miss it already.
IOM TT – Picture courtesy of Keith Quirk
The Island has already started its transformation back to a sleepy spot in the Irish Sea – it always amazes me how fast everybody disappears and how quickly the road falls silent. Living near a campsite means a steady stream of bikes up and down the main road near my flat. Today, it is noticeably quieter and I have really missed it!!
Monday and the return to work is all too close. But I have the Southern 100 in July and Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix in August lined up.
It’s been less than two weeks since Helio Castroneves joined the exclusive club only a few drivers share, that being a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner. But the 2021 IndyCar season continues on as the series graces the famous Belle Isle street circuit for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
This *double-header* weekend will be the seventh and eighth race of the year, and with six different winners from as many races, we may see another driver step up to the mark alongside those who have already triumphed this season. Can Will Power rescue what has been a torrid season? Will Josef Newgarden take his first win of the season to stamp his authority on the championship? Anything seems possible after some incredibly tumultuous and unpredictable races.
After the double points on offer at the 500′, IndyCar sophomore Alex Palou comes into this weekend as championship leader, thanks to a well-fought second-place. He has a comfortable 36 point lead over teammate Scott Dixon, who is separated by one point over third-place McLaren SP driver Patricio O’Ward.
Unfortunately for Palou, he will receive a six-place grid penalty for the first of the two races over the double-header due to an unregulated engine change that occurred prior to the Indianapolis 500. The highest Palou can start on Saturday is seventh.
Last time-out winner, Helio Castroneves, will not be taking part in this weekend’s action as the Meyer Shank Racing outfit returns to just the single entry with Britain’s Jack Harvey who will be hoping for an end to his recent run of bad luck.
The races at Belle Isle Park are generally considered unpredictable. Several winners have found their way to Victory Lane, even during the years Formula 1 raced at the circuit. Michele Alboreto managed to snatch victory in his largely uncompetitive Tyrrell Ford in 1983.
Detroit Grand Prix 1987 Poster. Courtesy of Indycar
The first Formula 1 race was held in 1982 but eventually moved on before 1989. The consequential gap was filled by what was known then as CART (later known as Champ Car/IndyCar). Despite a gap between ’02-’06, 09-’11, and ’20, the streets of Detroit have seen 30 races take place.
Both Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves hold the record for most wins at the Detroit Circuit (3) with Graham Rahal, Will Power, and Sebastien Bourdais tied in second (2).
Charlie Kimball and Juan Pablo Montoya, who both raced at the Indianapolis 500 will not be in action at all this weekend, and probably for the rest of the year. Santino Ferrucci gets a return to the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team after an impressive sixth place last time out.
Moreover, Tony Kanaan takes a step back from Chip Ganassi relinquishing his drive back to Jimmie Johnson. Romain Grosjean also returns in the Dayle Coyne with Rick Ware Racing entry, replacing Pietro Fittipaldi.
Conor Daly will, of course, take over from Ed Carpenter in the Ed Carpenter Racing outfit while Sage Karam and his Indianapolis 500 *only* entry, Dreyer and Reinbold Racing team, also miss out. It is quite strange that many of the drivers who did well at the famous 500-mile race will not be present at the following event.
All the usual suspects are hotly tipped to give a strong account of themselves this weekend. The young superstars: Palou, VeeKay, Herta, and O’Ward all seem to be delivering week-in, week-out. The Dutchman, in particular, will be disappointed to miss out on a stronger result at the 500′ and will be one to watch out for.
Can Grosjean replicate his stunning performance earlier this year at the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis? The Swiss-Frenchman seems to have taken extremely well to the street courses qualifying consistently well across the season. In fact, the Formula 1 veteran has expressed interest in competing at ovals in the not-too-distant future, an indicator that we may well see him competing in IndyCar for a number of years.
Simon Pagenaud sits in fourth in the driver standings and the highest-ranked Penske. He has flown largely under-the-radar with his numerous and consistent top-ten finishes. He has experience at the top step of the podium in Detroit and could continue his impressive form.
However, Scott Dixon will be a man-on-a-mission after a disappointing showing at Indy. The man has three Detroit wins and usually bounces back strongly after such a setback. Interestingly, Chevrolet got the better of Honda at the last street circuit, but narrowly trail Honda in the manufacturer’s championship.
It’s anyone’s guess as to who will come out on top this weekend!
You can watch IndyCar live this weekend on Sky Sports F1 – with ad-breaks filled with UK commentary from Tom Gaynor. The schedule is as follows:
