Formula 2 will take to the streets of Monaco this weekend, as the second round of the 2021 championship gets underway.
This weekend, the action will run from Thursday to Saturday rather than Friday to Sunday. Instead of both sprint races taking place on Saturday, the first will be at midday local time on Friday and the second at 8:20am on Saturday, with the feature race then at 17:15 on Saturday evening.
Alpine vs Red Bull
Guanyu Zhou, UNI-Virtuosi (Clive Mason, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA Formula 2)
The opening round of the season left us with a fascinating picture of the Alpine and Red Bull junior stables battling it out at the top of the standings.
Alpine came away with the upper hand, with Oscar Piastri and Guanyu Zhou taking two of the three wins in Bahrain and Zhou leading the championship.
But Red Bull’s juniors aren’t far behind, as Liam Lawson sits just 11 points behind Zhou with a sprint race win and a third place under his belt already. And then there’s Jehan Daruvala, who was rapid across the Bahrain weekend and is 7 points clear of Piastri in third despite not taking a victory last time out.
Monaco presents a great chance for Zhou to make up some ground on his less-experienced rivals. As one of only three drivers on this weekend’s grid to have raced in Monaco in F2 before, Zhou has some crucial experience around the tricky track — not only that, but he scored a third place on his last outing at the principality.
Inconsistency has been the bane of Zhou’s campaigns in the past. So if he can notch up more big points and top three finishes in Monte Carlo, he’ll be well on the way to turning a strong start into a strong year.
Second chance at a first impression
Juri Vips, Hitech (Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool)
While Lawson, Piastri and Zhou left Bahrain with winners’ trophies, their teammates ended the first round of the season with some regrouping to do.
Robert Shwartzman, the championship favourite before the season, only sits five points behind Piastri in the standings, but he seemed a long way off the Australian’s pace throughout the Bahrain weekend. Meanwhile, Felipe Drugovich managed only 2 points to Zhou’s 41, and Lawson’s Hitech teammate Juri Vips had a torrid weekend of penalties and points-free finishes.
But with Bahrain almost two months in the rearview mirror now, those three have had plenty of time to pick themselves up and look to Monaco as a second chance to start off their season well.
And as Monaco is such a difficult circuit to master, Shwartzman, Vips and Drugovich will know that all it takes is one error for their teammates while they score decent points themselves, and Bahrain will just be a minor blip rather than an omen for the season.
Return of the Jack
Jack Aitken (Courtesy of Williams Media)
Together with Zhou and Ralph Boschung, one other driver will head to Monaco with F2 experience of the principality: Jack Aitken. He’ll be returning to F2 this weekend and at Baku with HWA, replacing Matteo Nannini who’s left the series after sponsorship trouble to focus on his Formula 3 campaign.
Aitken hasn’t had the best history at Monaco, with a highest finish of 7th in the 2018 feature race. But he does bring a wealth of experience at this level to help HWA move forward, and his record as a multiple F2 winner and audacious overtaker will make him someone for the rest of the field to beware.
Three-time World Champion Jason Crump marked his returned to speedway with a win as the Ipswich Witches took bragging rights in the East Anglian derby with a 47-43 away win over the King’s Lynn Stars.
Crump, riding after an absence of nearly a decade, returned to competitive action with two falls and seven points on eventful evening for the 45-year-old Australian.
Track conditions were difficult at the start of the meeting after a heavy shower at the Adrian Flux Arena forced a delay of nearly an hour, and the Suffolk side adapted to the conditions better than their Norfolk hosts.
Man-of-the-match Anders Rowe scored 12 points paid 14 for the visitors, backed up nicely by captain Daniel King on 12 and Crump.
King’s Lynn consoled themselves with stopping Ipswich leaving with all four away points, with three 5-1 heat advantages cutting the gap from 16 to four points at the end of the meeting.
Craig Cook top scored for the hosts with 11 points, and three successive victories after a nervy start by his own admission.
Meanwhile in the other match on Monday night, Sheffield Tigers star Jack Holder dropped just two points from seven rides on Monday night as the Premiership newcomers took a consolation point from defeat at Belle Vue on Monday night.
The Owlerton outfit went down 47-43, with an away defeat by less than six points earning teams in the Premiership a losing bonus point.
25-year-old Holder, also riding in Poland for Torun, scored 19 points in the absence of Adam Ellis, who was missing after Covid regulations in Poland barred him from flying back this week.
Two early 5-1 heat advantages for the visitors saw them lead 29-25 at Heat Nine before they were pegged back by Richie Worrall and Brady Kurtz, with home reserve Jye Etheridge also a constant threat.
Belle Vue began to kick on and but for an unlikely 5-1 in Heat 14 from Holder and Justin Sedgmen, it looked like the Tigers may fail to build on that early start.
But Kurtz and Dan Bewley got Belle Vue over the line on a 4-2 in the final heat to seal the victory in the end for the Aces.
*The PitCrewOnline is aware that this is an old image, and we are working to secure the best, latest images from the sport*
After missing out on the roads in Portugal last year, round four sees the first of four gravel events in a row and will have a big say in the destination of this season’s crown. When this event last ran in 2019 Ott took a good win from Thierry, whilst Seb was third with Citroen at the time.
FIA World Rally Championship 2019 / Round 07 / Rally Portugal / 30th May – 2nd June, 2019 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC
Now here are the details of the stages.
After shakedown on Thursday, the 2021 Rally de Portugal will open with a ceremonial start in Coimbra.
Friday features two loops of Lousã (12.35km), Góis (19.51km) and Arganil (18.82km), separated by a tyre fitting zone, followed by Mortágua (18.16km) and the Lousada super special (3.36km).
Saturday features over 165km of rally action. Crews will complete two passes of Vieira do Minho (20.64km), Cabeceiras de Basto (22.37km) and Amarante (37.92km) – the longest individual stage of the rally – before the Porto Foz super special (3.30km).
The Sunday comprises five stages: two runs of Felguieras (9.18km) and Fafe (11.18km) with just a single pass of Montim (8.75km).
FIA World Rally Championship 2019 / Round 07 / Rally Portugal / 30th May – 2nd June, 2019 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“It’s great to be going back to Portugal. It’s one of the most special rallies for me personally: It was where I achieved my first WRC victory in 2010, and we have had several wins since then as well. Portugal is also a country where there is a huge passion for motorsport and especially rallying, and we always have fantastic support there. This time, we know we will probably have to face tough conditions opening the road, but Portugal is a place where we can have rain at this time of year, and that is always what you hope for in this situation. We actually had pretty wet conditions during my pre-event test day. It means I haven’t yet driven the new Pirelli gravel tyres so much in dry conditions, and we know that being clever with the tyre choice and managing them as well as possible is going to be an important part of this rally.”
Elfyn Evans
“Portugal is always a nice event and I’m looking forward to going back there for the first gravel rally of the year. We have had four very different events to start the season and almost four different surfaces to contend with. As on the previous rounds, we will again be getting used to the new tyres in Portugal. Everything felt good in the pre-event test, but one consideration is that we won’t have as many soft tyres to use during the rally as in previous years, and that could affect how we make our tyre choices over the weekend. It’s been quite a while since the last gravel rally in Sardinia last year, so it’s hard to predict how it will go, but we’ll be there to give it our best shot like always.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“After our retirement in Croatia it was nice to be back in the car just a few days later for our pre-event test in Portugal. It actually took some time to get back into the feeling – just because it had been so long since I had last driven on gravel. Overall, though I left with a good feeling from the car and from the new gravel tyres. I am excited to go to Portugal and compete on gravel again. I think it is an event that can suit me quite well, and I enjoyed it last time I was there in 2019 and we won our category. After Croatia, I think my approach will be a bit more sensible, but hopefully we can find a good speed straight away and fight for a good result.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“Rally de Portugal has always been a highlight in the WRC calendar, especially its atmosphere. We usually have hundreds of thousands of spectators on the stages as well as the famous Fafe stage on Sunday. Obviously, this year the situation could be different, but the stages are still looking great. It is going to be challenging and long rally. There is a lot of mileage to do and at the end there will be only one winner, so we have to be on top form to put ourselves in contention for victory.”
2019 FIA World Rally Championship Round 07 Rally de Portugal 30 may – 02 June 2019 Portrait, Day 2, Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Fabien Dufour Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Ott Tänak
“We have been busy preparing for our first gravel event of the season. Our aim is to bounce back after a tricky and unrepresentative weekend in Croatia. Portugal generally has soft and sandy roads; it can get quite rough on the second loop as the gravel becomes increasingly disturbed as each car passes through. The Fafe stage on Sunday is very specific and demanding, but it is one of the stages we all look forward to. Altogether, it is a tricky event, but we are more than ready to tackle it head-on.”
Dani Sordo
“Portugal is always special for me because it is so close to Spain. I really like the roads and the ambience. In previous years, I have always enjoyed an extra boost from the many spectators lining the stages. It is unlikely to be quite the same this year, due to the circumstances, but I am pleased we have the chance to compete in any case. I am excited to return to Portugal. I like the stages; they have a little bit more grip, although Fafe is quite slippery. We are set for an exciting weekend.”
Ole Christian Veiby
“I’ve always enjoyed Rally de Portugal, it’s both fast and rough, and the atmosphere is normally incredible. I have many good memories from the rally, and I have been quick there before. Winning at Rali Terras d’Aboboreira was a great start for the preparations ahead of Rally de Portugal. It’s been nearly eight months since we last time competed on gravel, so it was good to get some mileage on stages similar to what we will have for the rally. It’s always helpful to get a feeling of the speed, to find the pace. I’m looking forward to compete together with Oliver for the first time – it’s good to finally have him onboard with us!”
Oliver Solberg
“Rally de Portugal will be very exciting. It’s a really cool event, one I’ve always dreamed about doing. It’s a classic and a big part of the history of WRC. It has many famous stages and the Fafe jump is very special. It’s fantastic that we might have some spectators back and get some proper emotions and atmosphere on the stages. It will be my first time with the Hyundai i20 R5 on gravel as well as our first event for WRC 2, which will hopefully be a lot of fun.”
“Being in the WRC2 race is something else which is cool for this event. I watched the fight on the last few events and it’s really close with some incredible drivers in there. Like I said, it’s my first time driving the Hyundai i20 R5 on gravel, so let’s see what we can do.
M-Sport Ford WRT
Gus Greensmith
“When I look at this rally, I think more to how I enjoy being behind the wheel rather than how tough the rally actually is. It’s pretty cool to come to a country that loves rallying so much and it’s the event of the season that I look forward to the most because of this.
“It’s the first event I’ve done before in a WRC car so it’s the first event I can draw experience from. You want a car that can generate the grip and find the traction on the first pass, which tends to be quite loose, but then also has the stability on the second pass when the base of the road becomes quite hard and rough.
“I always set myself targets and a top five is realistic. We would have finished fifth in Croatia until the unfortunate technical issue meant we lost time. But it was a good step forward and I want to make the same step again in Portugal, particularly following the co-driver change, which was a positive from Croatia. But to achieve a top five at this level everything has to be done right and I can’t be making any mistakes, so that’s the focus.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“I’m just really happy and really excited to start, like I have been since Rich told me I would be doing this rally. I was here as a spectator in 2019 but this will be my first time competing on this rally and I know it will be a big challenge. But I hope to have a good pace and enjoy all the week, like I did in Croatia.
“I have no big expectations, it’s the same goal as Croatia. The top six or top seven with good pace on some stages and some top-five times would be a good result for me. I am quite confident for this, but I am still learning. My favourite surface is gravel and I have done some good rallies on gravel, including Rally GB in 2019 when I finished second in WRC2.
“For my preparation I have been watching a lot of videos from the last few years on WRC Plus. It looks quite rough in some places with a lot of rocks on the road for the second pass. The first pass looks sandy on some stages, really soft gravel. But everything looks amazing and I’m sure it’s going to be a really nice rally. And, of course, the jump of Fafe is one of the most famous jumps of the season for sure.”
Teemu Suninen
“It’s quite a tricky rally and on the rough side. If it’s really warm and we are running further back on the starting list, we might see quite a lot of aggressive bedrock, which is hard for the tyres and something we have to manage. Still, it’s not too rough for the cars, so basically, we have to go flat out but keeping in mind the tyres.
“My memories of Portugal are good. I started my first world championship rally not in Finland in Portugal and it’s always been one of my favourite rallies, where I have some good results.
“If we have good pace I am going to go for the win if there is any chance. The main thing is to bring good results for the car and try to get more podiums for the team and for me. WRC2 is very competitive this season with a lot of good drivers and I am really looking forward to the challenge. I can beat these drivers and have beaten them, but everything is possible. We just need to have really, really good rally to get a podium.”
Summary
We are set then for a very challenging rally, with the top drivers in the world. Road position will be key to the chances of the likely winner, which means that we need to look at Hyundai teammates Thierry and Ott as possible winners given their positions in the standings. Thierry will want to be comfortable in his i20 so that he can express the speed that we know that he has. If Ott can also get the car to how he wants it, then he will also be on the pace, and we know what that means. Both have their new contracts with the team, which gives them stability for the future.
At Toyota, Elfyn will hope that his position in the championship standings will give him the opportunity to push for a podium finish and perhaps even victory. Although Seb will be opening the road, he’ll have an eye on a good finishing position in the points and power stage points on Sunday. Kalle will want to get a finish after his early exit in Croatia last time out.
The two youngsters at M-Sport will be looking to gain good experience for the future. They will want to show good pace when they are comfortable, and it will be interesting to see which of them comes out ahead, whilst Teemu will be competing in the WRC2 category and biding his time till he gets to compete at the top level again.
Elsewhere there are other drivers competing, with Chris Ingram continuing his WRC3 program with Rally Warrior, and Esapekka Lappi also competing in a Skoda Fabia WRC2. Well worth keeping an eye out for their progress.
You can follow all the live action on WRC Plus and pop back for my full stage by stage review in the week following the event for anything that you might miss. Enjoy!
749 races, nine Constructors’ titles, and seven world champions after Williams F1 team entered Formula One in 1975, the British team arrive in Monaco for their 750th World Championship Grand Prix this weekend.
It is a milestone that gloriously coincides with a return to Monaco, following a two-year absence that has felt like an eternity. F1 returning to one of its spiritual homes feels like the beginning of a return to normality, and a glimpse at the vivid light at the end of the tunnel during this Coronavirus pandemic.
Within that, we had to watch as the Williams family said a teary goodbye to their creation, but Williams and racing fans around the globe enter this weekend knowing that, spiritually at least, this is Claire and Frank’s team reaching a tremendous milestone.
Claire Williams departed the team last year, but along with her father Frank, remains synonymous with the team – Courtesy of Williams Media
McLaren are also feeling the occasion, bringing the iconic Gulf livery to the first race in the Principality since 2019, but what we really care about is how the spectacle will look.
McLaren have gone with a retro Gulf look for this weekend – Courtesy of McLaren Racing
Well it is worth mentioning that just two seconds covered first and twentieth in the opening qualifying session in Spain two weeks ago, and we arrive at a much more condensed 3.3 kilometre circuit this weekend. This makes the need for a good qualifying all the more important, but also making the gaps in the midfield ever more enticing. Williams in particular will therefore be relishing the prospect of closing the gap to some of the teams in front, as they seek points or the first time this campaign.
And as Monaco tends to be rain’s twin as a great equaliser in this weird and wonderful sport, it will provide the opportunity for Aston Martin, Alpha Tauri and, to an extent, Alpine, to recover from a tough start to 2021.
Fernando Alonso finished 17th in his home race in Spain in what has been a difficult start at Alpine – Courtesy of Renault Sport Media
At the front, there have been some developments since Spain. A prohibition on Red Bull’s “bendy wing” opens an intriguing debate as to whether the alteration to the rear wing will adversely affect the Milton Keynes-based outfit, but previous form makes them the favourite in a season that has seen them push Mercedes to the limit thus far.
But Lewis Hamilton’s three wins in Monaco since his arrival into F1 14 years ago make the seven-time champion a stallion that cannot for a second be ruled out of this race, as he goes hunting for his third victory on the bounce in 2021.
Lewis Hamilton narrowly beat Max Verstappen to victory in Monaco two years ago – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
McLaren look snazzy, Williams are making history, and the wings this weekend will not be bendy. It is great to see Formula One back in Monaco.
Belgium squad WRT with Louis Delatraz, Yifei Ye and ex F1 driver Robert Kubica in car 41 dominated at the Red Bull Ring and made it 2 from 2 following there win in Barcelona in April.
41 cars from 3 different classes took the start at the sunny & dry Austrian circuit, all cars got away well but that wouldn’t last long, has on lap 2 a huge accident involving 3 cars at turn 3, car 22 spun and took out car’s 3 & 18 this would be the end of there race and bring the first safety car period while the marshal’s cleared the debris, after a 20 minute delay in proceedings, it was back to green racing with Car 26 (G-Drive Racing) leading in LMP2, car 4 (DKR Engineering) and car 88 the Ferrari (AF Corse) . It was nose to tail in all classes with the lead changes plus with the pit stop cycle it made for a very interesting race, at the halfway point car 26 (G-Drive Racing) still leading while in LMP3 car 07 (Neilsen Racing) took over at the front and in LMGTE (Iron Lynx) Ferrari Car 80 would now lead in class.
Image courtesy of ELMS
The 2nd part of the 4 hour race would change dramatically with the heavens opening and heavy rain starting to fall, most teams opted to stay out on slicks this would turn out to be the wrong option has cars spun on different parts of the circuit, it was now clear, wets would be the best tyre to use, so there was a sudden rush to the pits, has the weather got worse and the rain heavier track conditions deteriorated with cars spinning off, so race director (Eduardo Freitas) had no option but to bring out the 2nd safety car period of the race, the rain was still heavy and cars where still spinning even behind the safety car, has the race went into its final hour and still under caution, the lead had changed in LMP2 with car 41 (Team WRT) car 02 (United Autosports) in LMP3 and car 80 (Iron Lynx) still leading in LMGTE.
With just 55 minutes remaining the race finally went back to green and the rain slowly stopping, the track was still damp / tricky the battle was on for the overall lead in LMP2, after 3 and half hours of racing and 134 laps covered, car 26 (G-Drive Racing) and (Team WRT) car 41 are neck and neck, the pressure pays off with 15 minutes to go, the (G-Drive Racing) car 26 makes a tiny error at turn , this allows car 41 (Team WRT) a slight advantage, he snicks through to lead the race and take the chequered flag, in LMP3 (Cool Racing) car 19 takes the its first win of 2021 while in LMGTE Ferrari took the top 3 spots with car 88 (AF Corse) taking the class win.
All eyes were on the weather this weekend at Le Mans, with the 2.6 mile Bugatti circuit plagued by changeable conditions during qualifying. Saturday saw plenty of yellow flags, with damp patches catching out many. However, the weather improved enough overnight for Sunday to be declared a dry race.
At the start of the weekend only 6 points separated the top 3 in the championship, with Remy Gardner leading on 69 points, and Sam Lowes second with 66. Raul Fernandez, in his rookie season in Moto2, rounded out the top 3 on 63 points, after gaining victory in the third race of the season in Portugal.
Lowes went into the weekend having won the first two races of the season, at Qatar and Doha, and race 4 in Spain saw Fabio Di Giannantonio on the top step of the podium.
Another one to watch this weekend was the Brit Jake Dixon, who came so close to winning at Le Mans last year only to crash out four laps from the finish.
Sam Lowes started strong, setting the fastest lap in FP2 on the Friday, with just over a 10th off the outright lap record but it was Raul Fernandez who emerged victorious in qualifying, setting the fastest qualifying lap at 1’50.135 to gain his maiden pole in Moto2.
Bezzecchi, whose fastest lap was only 0.240 behind Fernandez, lined up second on the grid, and third was Joe Roberts, who had started from pole at Le Mans in 2020.
Lowes was nudged further down the order, starting from the fourth row of the grid in 10th place, and Jake Dixon was way back in 26th.
Bezzecchi made the best start off the line and led from the outset, R Fernandez taking second, and the American Joe Roberts in third.
Aron Canet, starting 4th, briefly moved up into 2nd, before crashing out at the Chemin ux Boeufs esses.
Lowes went out on the fifth lap, attempting to overtake into turn 8, catching a damp spot and collecting Vierge, resulting in Lowes retiring, unable to restart his machine.
Joe Roberts also left the race on lap 5, losing the front end at turn 9 and heading into the gravel.
Meanwhile at the front, Fernandez caught Bezzecchi and moved up into the lead, remaining there for the rest of the race.
Having dropped down the order early on, Remy Gardner worked his way back up, putting in the fastest lap of the race at 1’36.893.
By lap 16, Gardner was back up into 3rd and starting to close the gap. Bezzecchi runs slightly deep and onto the green paint beyond the track limits, and Gardner seized his chance to move up into 2nd.
Again, as on Saturday, the dark clouds started to gather, raising the possibility of the race being cut short, but the rain held off long enough to complete the full race distance.
Gardner can’t quite catch his teammate, with Fernandez maintaining nearly a one second lead to win the second Moto2 race in his rookie season. Gardner finishes a comfortable second, resulting in a team Red Bull KTM Ajo one-two on the podium. Bezzecchi takes the third spot, with Arbolino less than 3 seconds behind him in fourth.
Fabio Di Giannantonio, winner of the previous Moto2 race two weeks ago in Spain, finishes 8th and Jake Dixon is well off the pace, finishing 19th.
The weekend comes to an end with the championship even closer – Remy Gardner holds onto his lead with 89 points, but Fernandez is breathing down his neck with 88, and Marco Bezzecchi moves up into third with 72. Sam Lowes, his 66 points unchanged after a difficult weekend, moves down to fourth.
This leaves Lowes with plenty of work to do going into the 6th round at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello in 2 weeks time. All eyes will be on the rookie Raul Fernandez, with Gardner facing a battle on his hands to keep hold of that top spot in the championship.
First fifteen riders:
1 Raul Fernandez SPA – Red Bull Ajo KTM – 25 points
2 Remy Gardner AUS – Red Bull Ajo KTM – 20
3 Marco Bezzecchi ITA – Sky Racing Team VR46 – 16
4 Tony Arbolino ITA – Liqui Moly Intact GP – 13
5 Bo Bendsneyer NED – Pertamina SAG – 11
6 Marcel Schrotter GER – Liqui Moly Intact – 10
7 Ai Ogura JPN – IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia – 9
8 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA – Federal Oil Gresini – 8
9 Simone Corsi ITA – MV Agusta Forward Racing – 7
10 Jorge Navarro SPA – MB Conveyors Speed Up – 6
11 Lorenzo Dalla Porta ITA – Italtrans Racing Team – 5
12 Somkiat Chantra THA – IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia – 4
Ever changing track conditions at Le Mans caused for some spectacular qualifying. For a few moments it looked as if Marc Marquez (Honda) was going to grab his first pole since 2019! But local boy – Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) had other ideas and snatched it away. Leading from Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) and Jack Miller (Ducati) on the front row. Marquez started 6th place on the grid.
Courtesy of: Superbike-news
Uncharacteristically, the championship leader – Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) qualified low down the grid in 16th place.
Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha), looked in good form and had a flying lap, which would have taken him to front row, but an almost high-side in the last corner, removed those hopes. He slotted into 9th place.
The unpredictable track conditions had meant that Sunday’s race had been declared a flag-to-flag race. The first one in four years – meaning some of the riders had never experienced this before.
This was going to be interesting:
Race:
Le Mans had it all – rain, sun, bike swaps, crashes, penalties! As the drama unfolded in-front of us, one thing was for sure – Miller gave yet another ‘Thriller’ race!
As the riders lined up on the grid, the dark grey clouds loomed overhead. Weather forecasts predicted the rain wouldn’t emerge during the race. Just in-case though it had been declared a flag-to-flag event, meaning the riders had their spare bikes ready with wet tyres on, should the rain interfere with the proceedings.
Miller got a lighting start and led the pack into lap one, from Vinales and Quartararo. But it was Pol Espargaro (Aprilia), that had a ‘moment’, rejoining in the middle of team-mates Rossi and Frankie Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha), Morbidelli had to take evasive action, leaving him holding his knee in the gravel. Already having hurt it during a freak pit-lane accident in qualifying. (He was able to later rejoin, but finished outside the points).
Miller takes the lead. Courtesy of: Motorsport.com
Vinales soon took first and started to slowly break-away. Were we seeing Maverick finally not letting the weather conditions mess with his head? M. Marquez was fighting for 4th place with Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Takaaki Nakagami (Honda)
All to quickly though, bustling started to happen in the pit lane, as the pit crews started to get the second bikes ready for the inevitable change over. Marshals were waving the red and white flags track-side and the riders now had the option to come in and switch bikes. The rain had come earlier than expected!
Quartararo took full advantage to the change of weather conditions and swept through to first place. Vinales, sadly couldn’t help but react negatively to the wet weather and immediately went backwards.
Jack wasn’t prepared to just let Fabio have first place though and soon they were battling for first.
The rain continued to pour, getting heavier by the second. Miller went into the gravel but saved himself and with 23 laps to go he and all the riders decided to enter the pit lane to swap their bikes. M. Marquez made a swift exit from pit lane securing first place. The reigning champion Joan Mir (Suzuki) however, accidently fell upon entering the pit lane.
Pitlane pandemonium. Courtesy of: Moto GP website
Then turn four, saw his team-mate Alex crash. Both Suzuki’s were having a race they would want to forget.
Then seemingly disaster for the Ducati boys! Both Bagnaia and Miller got a double long-lap penalty for exceeding pit-lane speed limits. The speed limit is 60km/h but both were recorded as over it.
With Miller in third place, being led by Quartararo and Marquez, he didn’t want to give up any places, but he took his first long-lap the next lap (lap 9) and then his second on lap 10. Getting them out the way with quick.
Marc Marquez looked like his old self again and even pulled away from Fabio leading with 1.380 seconds and then by 1.973 seconds. He had said that these weather conditions could fall into his hands on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Rins had managed to return to the race with his second bike.
All hearts leapt in unison though as on lap 8, Marquez took a high-side from first position, on the final corner! Launching himself from his bike and rolling through the gravel. He managed to also re-join the race (using the same bike, albeit missing some of its wings).
With Miller taking his second penalty, Quartararo set about extending his lead. Little did he know that he too had collected a penalty. Never having raced a flag-to-flag race he had gone into the pit-lane to swap over his Yamaha’s just to ride into Vinales’s pit box. This was seen as a safety risk which meant he too had to take a long-lap soon. He decided to take it lap 12.
Cutting quickly through the pack, aware that this was his best chance at getting any points this race, Marquez was now the fastest man on track. Ignoring his pain and the rain.
An issue with Lorenzo Savadori’s Aprilia saw him retire from the race. On the same lap Miguel Oliveira (KTM) slid off on the nefarious turn 3. It soon took Rins as well, now his second time seeing the gravel during the race.
Meanwhile Marquez was still slicing through his competitors and with 13 laps to go was in 15th place. His younger brother Alex Marquez (Honda), it is worth noting, was having a brilliant race, from 19th on the grid to 5th by lap 15. By lap 17 M. Marquez had clawed back to 12th place.
Nakagami had his position taken away from him by one of the local boys – Zarco, who was picking up speed – quick. He was now in 3rd place with fellow country-man Quartararo in his sights and the leader – Miller not far away either. Could Le Mans finally have a French winner?
With 11 laps until the end, Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia malfunctioned, leaving the team with DNF’s for both bikes.
Conditions changed again – the track had dried up and the rain ceased. All riders were on their second bike with wet tyres. They could return to the pits again and swap a second time for slick tyres but none of them wanted to be the first to juggle with fate.
Then absolute heartbreak – Marc Marquez crashed out again – turn 6, lap 18, from 11th place. This time he was unable to pick the bike up and return.
Courtesy of: Moto GP website
Miller had a 5.475 second lead over Quartararo, who had a 3.763 second gap to Zarco. But this was decreasing quick! Zarco had both medium wet tyres, where Miller and Quartararo had one soft and one medium tyre each. With the track getting drier each lap, the gap between the two Frenchmen rapidly shrunk. On lap 21 of 27 the gap was 0.696 seconds.
Johann passed Fabio with relative ease with 6 laps to go. Could he catch Miller?
Last lap – the track was completely dry – the riders were all still on wet tyres – there were two Frenchmen hunting down the Australian in first. But it was a Thriller performance from Miller who was in complete control, taking back-to-back victories! His first ever time doing this in the premier class and only his 3rd ever win in Moto GP. He is the first Australian to win back-to-back races since Stoner (Ducati) in 2012.
It was like a win for Fabio (who had never finished on the podium in wet conditions before) and Johann who rounded off the podium in France.
Top 10 race results:
First
Miller
Second
Zarco
Third
Quartararo
Fourth
Bagnaia
Fifth
Petrucci
Sixth
A. Marquez
Seventh
Nakagami
Eigth
P. Espargaro
Ninth
Lecuona
Tenth
Vinales
Championship Standings:
First
Quartararo
80 Points
Second
Bagnaia
79 points
Third
Zarco
68 points
Fourth
Miller
64 points
It was a rollercoaster ride for Miller who said “…they’re gonna red flag this for sure…” aren’t we all glad that they didn’t?
Miller and Quartararo in Parc Ferme – Le Mans. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Mugello (30th May) is the next round of the championship and is notably a Ducati track. Can the Dukes keep up this dominating pace? Or will Yamaha fight back and claim the top spot once more?
When Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crossed the line at Monza back in 2019 to join the likes of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso as first-time winners for the Scuderia in front of the Tifosi, I was absolutely elated for him. However the following year came and Ferrari were heavily hampered by amendments to rules regarding the engine. They plummeted from second in the constructors’ championship in 2019 with three wins, to sixth in 2020 with a best of a second place finish courtesy of Leclerc at the season opener in Austria.
Charles Leclerc’s P2 at the Austrian Grand Prix last year was the best result in a dire season for Ferrari – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari Media
After spending a lot of time prior to the delayed 2020 opener on the F1 game with Leclerc, Lando Norris was asked during the season if he felt sorry for the Monegasque and he answered that he did not. On the surface, it might seem as if Lando is being very callous in his response but when you actually take the time to understand what he’s saying, it does make sense.
Norris pointed out that Leclerc had been in a position to win races in 2019, winning two and coming close to winning many more. You have to consider yourself very fortunate to find yourself in such a position; not every driver is able to be in racing-winning machinery and as a wiser person than me once said, you have to savour the good days because they don’t always last.
The reason I bring this up is because Lando repeated this comment in relation to his new teammate at McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie found himself in a race-winning position many times during his tenure at Red Bull between 2014 and 2018, before making a move to Renault and now McLaren for this season.
Daniel Ricciardo claimed seven wins with Red Bull, the last of which coming in Monaco in 2018 – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
Ricciardo hasn’t had the smoothest of starts to his time with the Woking-based outfit, so far only out-racing Norris in the most recent race at Spain, with Lando having moved over for him, repaying the favour that Daniel did for him at Imola which resulted in the Brit scoring a podium finish.
When Norris was asked about his teammate’s struggles, he was again brutally honest. He pointed out that adapting to a new car and overcoming these issues are part and parcel of this cutthroat business of Formula One. He also said that he has no doubt that Daniel will get the hang of it eventually.
But even then, success is not guaranteed or handed to you on a plate. Even if you’re Sebastian Vettel, who is the only non-Alfa Romeo, Williams or Haas driver to have failed to score a point so far this year, you can’t use the excuse “But he’s a four-time champion”.
When the announcement of Ricciardo and Norris becoming teammates at McLaren happened, a lot of people began making mountains out of molehills claiming Lando was scared, that there’s tension between them and that they’ll be glad when Ricciardo ends Lando’s career.
Who needs Netflix to do it for Drive To Survive when we already are creating this needless and petulant drama?
But my point is, Lando clearly isn’t saying any of this with malice. There may come a point when Lando is in a position where he is winning races and contending for championships; I would hope that is soon. But if after that, things aren’t going his way, you shouldn’t pity him. That’s the way life is when you’re in a sport that is as competitive as Formula One.
People are reading way too much into his comments believing he’s immensely arrogant, rude and doesn’t even have the results to justify his demeanor. First of all, even if you’re as successful as Lewis Hamilton, it still doesn’t mean you get to treat people terribly. But that’s besides the point.
Primarily though, Norris is mature enough to understand that success isn’t guaranteed and you need to overcome your difficulties in your own way. He’s said some regrettable stuff and has acknowledged that, impressing many of us with how self-aware he is.
In the end, people will create conflict where there is none and the people who are successful will have earned it, in spite of what they’ve achieved before. Think of it this way: Lando Norris was the best placed driver outside of Mercedes and Red Bull in the first three races, with that streak broken in Spain. Do we feel sorry for him for that? No.
There are plenty of people who said he underperformed last year. Whether you agree with that or not, that’s up to you. I don’t believe so personally, finishing only eight points behind his vastly more experienced teammate Carlos Sainz, and winning the intra-team qualifying battle in both seasons together. Yes there will have been some elements skewing those numbers but that’s part and parcel of life.
But do we feel sorry for him that he didn’t get more points or wasn’t more successful? No. You just have to take what comes at you in this sport and hope brighter days are only ahead, and even if not, there’s nothing you can do about it.
It’s not like Lando is smugly reveling in the misfortunes of others. He’ll face highs and lows like many of the drivers; the highs will have come from hard work and the lows will require effort to be overcome. We can all learn a thing or two from Norris’ approach – of course not everything can be overcome with hard work but the last thing any of us needs is to be wallowing in pity.
Norris has competed exceptionally alongside more experience team mate Ricciardo this year – Courtesy of McLaren Media
In the cases of the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc, I can see things are definitely improving already and it’s very likely they will be contending for regular podiums throughout the season. So don’t read into Lando’s comments and assume he’s saying it with hostility. It’s ridiculous.
A miraculous display of race-craft saw Rinus VeeKay take his first IndyCar career victory at the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He crossed the line five seconds ahead of pole-sitter Romain Grosjean who also was in contention for his first win in the series.
The 20-year-old Dutchman became the fifth winner in five IndyCar races, three of those all being first-time winners in 2021. The win also saw Ed Carpenter Racing in victory lane for the first time since Iowa 2016, won by two-time champion Josef Newgarden
VeeKay becomes the fourth winner 24 or younger to win in 2021 alongside Colton Herta, Patricio O’Ward, and Alex Palou in what seems like a significant changing of the guard.
Romain Grosjean takes 2nd at the GMR Grand Prix. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski.
Romain Grosjean led off the start, building a four-second gap on closest rival Jack Harvey in second. The Frenchman spent 44 laps in the lead but came undone after the second pit stop window. VeeKay, who had managed to undercut Grosjean by seven laps sliced his way through the field pulling off a marvelous three-wide overtake on Jimmie Johnson and Alex Palou in the process.
Meanwhile, Grosjean lost time against the backmarker of Takuma Sato who tried his best to keep himself on the lead-lap. After Grosjean emerged from the pits VeeKay was under a second behind and eventually pulled off the overtake on Lap 49. Stringing together three incredible stints on the red soft compound tyres, VeeKay never looked back, claiming his first career victory, the first Dutchman to do so since Robert Doornbos in Canada 2007.
This also marks Romain Grosjean’s first podium since the 2015 Belgium Grand Prix in what is a miraculous comeback after his near-fatal crash at Bahrain.
Alex Palou at the GMR Grand Prix. Photo Courtesy of Matt Fraver.
Alex Palou continues his strong form bringing home his second podium of the season. After O’Ward’s 15th place finish, the young Spaniard retakes second place in the points standings.
Newgarden did well to recover after losing his place off the start to Britain’s Jack Harvey. The American diced with Palou for the majority of the race, but it well could have been a slow pit-stop which resulted in him taking home fourth, in what is now four out of four races finishing in the top-six. Since retiring in the first race of the season at Barber, he has recovered to third in the points standings.
It was a superb display of strategy which saw Graham Rahal take home fifth place. After getting caught up in a first-lap melee involving Conor Daly, the Rahal Letterman driver made a stop under caution, opting for a two-stop strategy.
Simon Pagenaud led a largely anonymous race, but the speed of his Penske helped move him up the order from tenth to sixth at the end of the race.
Alexander Rossi had to get his elbows out and deal with potential engine issues to move from 14th on the grid to cross the line in seventh ahead of rookie Scott McLaughlin who picked up another top ten finish.
Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson climbed up from their disappointing qualifying positions to round out the top ten.
O’Ward tried to follow Scott Dixon with an early pit stop on Lap Four under caution. But the Arrow McLaren SP driver returned to the pits after struggling on that compound, ruining his race and finishing in 15th.
Britain’s Jack Harvey fell out of contention for the win after stalling during a slow pit stop. After coming out of the pits he suffered what seemed to be a puncture and had to return to the pits immediately, dropping him to twenty third.
However, it is still Scott Dixon who leaves as championship leader going into the Indianapolis 500 at the end of May.
Romain Grosjean defied all odds to take his first career IndyCar pole position at the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The rookie edged out two-time champion Josef Newgarden in only his third weekend with Dayle Coyne Racing. This marks the Frenchman’s first single-seater pole since his GP2 days in 2011.
It is also the first pole position for Dayle Coyne Racing since 2018, when compatriot Sebastian Bourdais topped qualifying in Pheonix.
Penske’s Newgarden lost out by only 0.128s but starts in a promising position for the race tomorrow. Seven out of the last eight here have been won by Penske, will they add to that tally?
GMR Grand Prix, Scott McLaughlin. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski.
Scott McLaughlin was arguably just as impressive, sneaking into the Fast Six for the first time in his career and starting in fifth position after his incredible weekend at Texas Motor Speedway behind Meyer Shank’s Jack Harvey in third and Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou in fourth. Ed Carpenter’s Conor Daly rounded out the Fast Six.
Grosjean only just barely made it through Round two, following a surprise exit from Indianapolis Road Course expert Will Power. The Australian spun on the penultimate corner and was prevented from restarting with a clutch issue. He had previously made it into the Fast Six on eight of the last nine attempts at this circuit. The four-time IMS winner will have some work to do starting tomorrow’s race in twelfth.
Colton Herta, who today signed a new multi-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport, missed out on the Fast Six in seventh, while Rinus VeeKay starts just behind in eighth.
Ed Jones made it two Dayle Coyne Racing cars in the Top Ten, outpacing Penske’s Simon Pagenaud in tenth, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal eleventh.
GMR Grand Prix. O’Ward. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski,
Free Practice pace-setter Alexander Rossi will start fourteenth after just missing out on Round Two, ahead of reigning champion Scott Dixon, who starts two places further back in a disappointing sixteenth. Second-place driver in the championship, Pato O’Ward starts a further two places back 18th.
Jimmie Johnson was slowest in his qualifying group but will start twenty-third ahead of Dalton Kellett and IndyCar returnee Arrow McLaren SP’s Juan Pablo Montoya, who had his two quickest laps deleted for holding up Alex Palou.
At the start of the weekend only 6 points separated the top 3 in the championship, with Remy Gardner leading on 69 points, and Sam Lowes second with 66. Raul Fernandez, in his rookie season in Moto2, rounded out the top 3 on 63 points, after gaining victory in the third race of the season in Portugal.
Lowes was nudged further down the order, starting from the fourth row of the grid in 10th place, and Jake Dixon was way back in 26th.
The weekend comes to an end with the championship even closer – Remy Gardner holds onto his lead with 89 points, but Fernandez is breathing down his neck with 88, and Marco Bezzecchi moves up into third with 72. Sam Lowes, his 66 points unchanged after a difficult weekend, moves down to fourth.
