ThePitcrewOnline

13th June 2019

Moto2: Marquez Makes it Two on the Spin

The sixth round of the 2019 Moto2 World Championship took place in Mugello, for the Italian Grand Prix, and saw Alex Marquez (EG 0,0) claim his second successive victory, and second of the season.

It was Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) who made the best start, leading from teammate Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) on the opening lap. Their gap over the rest of the field was increased thanks to a quite audacious move by Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) on Alex Marquez in the Sevelli corner. Marquez held his position but the gap to the Dynavolt duo was already quite large.

Tom Luthi and Marcel Schrotter at the Mugello Moto2 2019 GP. Image courtesy of Dynavolt Intact GP

Marquez had shown strong pace over the course of the weekend – the strongest, in fact – and he needed that pace to overhaul the advantage of the two leaders. When he arrived he had brought Marini with him, but the Spaniard was able to pass both Dynavolt bikes in quick succession and make a break in the lead before Marini could do the same.

In fact, it seemed like Marini had accepted that it was not going to be possible for him to catch Marquez even if he passed Luthi quickly, so the Italian observed the Swiss rider, before finally making his move on lap thirteen.

With championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) not far behind, it seemed that Luthi would struggle to make the podium, but once Marini passed him the #12 was able to rally, and he picked his pace back up to stick with the Italian.

In the final laps Baldassarri’s pace, after charging through the pack from down in fifteenth on the grid, started to slow and that ensured a podium position for Luthi, although he could do nothing about Marini in front.

No one, though, could begin to think about doing anything about Alex Marquez, who was completely dominant in winning his second race of 2019. Two wins in a row have brought him right into title contention, as the 2014 Moto3 World Champion heads to him home round at Montmelo just two points behind the championship leader, Baldassarri.

Luca Marini’s second place was the result of a complete turnaround in form from the previous European races. The start to the season had not gone to plan for Marini, especially the Spanish and French rounds which preceded Mugello, but after a positive test in Barcelona after the French Grand Prix , the Italian was able to be strong throughout his home Grand Prix weekend, and he will hope for this to continue as the series heads towards the halfway point.

Third place was an important result for Tom Luthi, who was previously without a podium since his win in Austin at round three. With Baldassarri’s poor weekend, it was always going to be important for the Swiss to make in-roads into the Italian’s championship advantage in Italy, and he did just that.
The strong comeback from Baldassarri, though, limited the damage he took.

Coming from fifteenth the Italian finished fourth, his first finish of the season off the top step. With the momentum swinging the way of Alex Marquez in recent races, the Catalan Grand Prix could prove a pivotal one in the course of this championship, and it will be important for Baldassarri to respond.
Just a couple of tenths behind Baldassarri was his teammate, Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40), who swapped places with Tom Luthi in that he missed the podium for the first time since the championship arrived in Europe as he finished fifth, owing to a bad start.

Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) was the top rookie in sixth place, having battled in the final laps with Fernandez for the top five, losing out by only 0.012 seconds. It seems that this season continues to improve for Bastiaini.

One second back from Bastianini was Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) who missed the podium for the first time since COTA as he finished seventh, ahead of Schrotter, Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up) who recovered from contact with Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) on lap one to score his first Moto2 top ten.

Mattia Pasini, once again replacing Khairul Idham Pawi at Petronas SRT, finished a disappointing eleventh, ahead of Vierge and Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who is still yet to show the form he displayed in the fly away races in Europe. Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completed the points, Binder being the top KTM rider in a lowly fifteenth.

Jorge Martin, Italian Moto2 race 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took sixteenth place, ahead of Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward), Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team), Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) who completed the points. Twenty-first went to Philipp Oettl (Red Bull KTM Tech3), ahead of Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP), Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Dimas Ekky (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who was the final finisher in twenty-fifth.

The contact between Xavi Vierge and Fabio Di Giannantonio on lap one at Poggio Seccho caused Diggia to collide with Iker Lecuona (American Racing). The Spaniard fell and his race was over before the first lap. Somkiat Chantra’s replacement at IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia, Teppei Nagoe, was the next to go on lap four, before Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) both crashed with fourteen laps to go. Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) was the next to go a lap later, before Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) fell eleven laps from the flag. Joe Roberts (American Racing) was the final retirement on lap sixteen.

Featured Image courtesy of David Goldman/Marc VDS.

13th June 2019

Moto3: Arbolino Seals Maiden Win

The Moto3 race in Mugello is always spectacular, the long straight meaning the group rarely gets an opportunity to split thanks to the slipstream. The 2019 edition was no exception to these trends.

The group was large from the start, with twenty or more bikes, but the group split slightly in the middle of the race, with the top ten fighting for first. Eventually, the group merges again, but not before one or two riders had identified themselves as the favourites entering the final stages.

Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) set pole position on Saturday by over six tenths, and had looked strong in the race despite falling back in the middle; whilst Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) had fought through from a poor grid position after getting his flying lap cancelled in Q2, and was seemingly able to pull away through most of the lap before the slipstream brought everyone back together. Similarly, although arguably to a larger extent than Suzuki, Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) seemed to have an advantage in the more technical part of the lap, especially from Casanova to Scarperia. On several occasions, Dalla Porta was able to make a significant gap throughout the lap, but on no occasion was that gap large enough to defend him from the slipstreaming behind, and he was swamped by the pack time and time again.

A divebomb from Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) at San Donato on the final lap sent him temporarily into the lead, but it also sent both himself and Dalla Porta wide, allowing Arbolino and almost Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) up the inside of the pair of them.

Masia, Dalla Porta, Arbolino, Moto3 race Italian MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Arbolino led to turn two at Luco, where Masia put another strong move, this time on the #14 to reclaim the lead, whilst Dalla Porta secured third place from Foggia and Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) took fifth place from John McPhee (Petronas SRT) who was now contending with Suzuki, whilst Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) was sat at the back of the group.
Whilst passing Foggia for third in Luco, Dalla Porta carried good enough speed to put him on the inside of Arbolino in Poggio Seccho, claiming third as the group headed for Materassi.

It took the Tuscan until Corentaio to be able to claim the lead from Masia, but the Honda had looked to have a speed advantage on the KTM throughout the race, so it seemed the #48 was safe. This safety was jeopardised by Arbolino’s move on Masia in Bucine, the final corner, and the #14 was able to slipstream past Dalla Porta to the line to win his first Grand Prix, at his home Grand Prix, by 0.029 seconds. Arbolino’s first win has been coming for a while, so for him to finally achieve it now could be an important moment for the future of his career. It will be interesting to see now how Arbolino’s season goes from here, whether he will push on and take many more podiums and wins and fight for the championship now that the pressure of trying to win his first GP is lifted.

Dalla Porta was not too disappointed after the finish to forget the similarity between his second place in Mugello and the one he took in Qatar at round one, and he noted it to Simon Crafar in the parc ferme interview. After returning the podium in Le Mans, Dalla Porta has now taken his third podium of the season, moving him to just three points behind the championship leader, Aron Canet who finished seventh in Italy. The championship momentum is again moving the way of the Leopard rider.

Jaume Masia, third place at the Moto3 race, Italian MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Jaume Masia returned to the podium after missing the top three since Austin where he was second. After COTA, Masia was level with Canet atop the standings, but leaving Mugello, despite his podium, the Spaniard is eighteen points behind his compatriot. However, that gap is not impossible to overcome, and the season is still very long.

Missing the podium in his home race by a whole 0.078 seconds was Niccolo Antonelli who, like teammate Suzuki, had to fight through from a lowly grid position after his flying lap was cancelled in Q2. Fourth for Antonelli leaves him thirteen points behind Canet as the series heads to Barcelona for round seven.

Dennis Foggia rounded out the top five after a strong race for the #7, of which the entirety was spent in the front group. John McPhee had a poor qualifying, but a good start, although he was not able to repeat his Le Mans win and finally finished sixth, ahead of the aforementioned Aron Canet, whilst Tatsuki Suzuki was at the back of the front group in eighth, a whole 0.595 seconds off the win.

One second back of Suzuki was Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46), the rookie continuing his 100% points record in 2019, with five of those six rides being inside the top ten. Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) spent some time in the front of the race, but ultimately rounded out the top ten.

Raul Fernandez, Italian Moto3 race 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) finished eleventh on his first visit to Mugello, ahead of Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) and Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) who completed the points finishers.

Ai Ogura’s replacement at Honda Team Asia, Gerry Salim, finished sixteenth, less than one tenth off the final point on his GP debut, and ahead of Estrella Galicia 0,0 wildcard Ryusei Yamanaka, as well as reigning Red Bull Rookies Cup champion Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77), Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) and Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) who was the twenty-first and final finisher in his first home Grand Prix.

Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) was the first rider to retire, before Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) fell at Materassi one lap later. Wildcard Kevin Zannoni (RGR TM Official Team) was the next to fall five laps later, as well as Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0). Next it was the turn of Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) to crash out, before Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) fell for the second race in succession. Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) then came together with Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) at Bucine with five to go, before Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) high sided on the exit of Poggio Seccho with four laps to go having been passed by Darryn Binder. The crash of Toba left Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) nowhere to go, and he went down as he hit his compatriot’s abandoned Honda.

11th June 201911th June 2019

Rally Italia Sardegna Preview 2019

We come to this event with a very close battle between Seb Ogier, Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville! Just ten points separate Seb on 142 and Thierry on 132. Now the French champion didn’t want to be leading the championship coming to this event, just because it is the hardest event of them all. The dust on the road makes everything so tricky.

Now, twelve months ago we were treated to an incredible final day when Thierry passed Seb in the final stage, winning by just seven tenths of a second! Could we see the same thing happen this year? We’ll see Ott Tanak fighting at the front as well. That is a dead cert. Who else will be there? Well, Jari-Matti and Kris will go well, although the Northern Irishman will likely be held back with the lack of knowledge, as he hasn’t competed in this event recently. Also there will be another car for Juho Hanninen run by Tommi Makinen Racing.

2018 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 07, Rally d’Italia, Sardegna / June 7-10, 2018 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC

In the M-Sport WRT team, Elfyn and Teemu will look to score good points for themselves and their team. Last year was not a great event as the drivers finished way down the standings. If they can keep it on the road, which they have this year, then certainly a top result is on the cards for them. A big change again for Teemu is that he has Jarmo Lehtinen replacing Marko in the number 33 Fiesta.

Over at Hyundai, alongside Thierry, Dani and Andreas will be competing. Which Andreas will turn up this weekend? He is capable of being very fast, but by not being in the car will affect the pace he can run at. We shall see. We know what Dani is capable of doing, and he had a good rally last time out, only for car troubles to dent his challenge.

Well, here are the stages awaiting the crews. There are 19 in total, totalling 310km! Saturday is the longest day, with 142km in total of competitive stages.

THURSDAY 13 JUNE

9.00am: Shakedown Olmedo (3,92 km)

4.00pm: Start (Alghero)

5.00pm: SS 1 – Ittiri Arena Show (2,00 km)

6.00pm: Parc ferme (Alghero)

FRIDAY 14 JUNE

6.00am: Start & service A (Alghero – 15 mins)

8.03am: SS 2 – Tula 1 (22,25 km)

9.20am: SS 3 – Castelsardo 1 (14,72 km)

10.09am: SS 4 – Tergu – Osilo 1 (14,14 km)

11.18am: SS 5 – Monte Baranta 1 (10,99 km)

12.14pm: Service B (Alghero – 40 mins)

2.42pm: SS 6 – Tula 2 (22,25 km)

3.59pm: SS 7 – Castelsardo 2 (14,72 km)

4.48pm: SS 8 – Tergu – Osilo 2 (14,14 km)

6.04pm: SS 9 – Monte Baranta 2 (10,99 km)

6.33pm: Flexi service C (Alghero – 45 mins)

SATURDAY 15 JUNE

5.20am: Start & service D (Alghero – 15 mins)

8.08am: SS 10 – Coiluna – Loelle 1 (14,97 km)

9.11am: SS 11 – Monti di Ala’ (28,21 km)

10.03am: SS 12 – Monte Lerno 1 (28,03 km)

12.55pm: Service E (Alghero – 40 mins)

4.08pm: SS 13 – Coiluna – Loelle 2 (14,97 km)

5.11pm: SS 14 – Monti di Ala’ 2 (28,21 km)

6.03pm: SS 15 – Monte Lerno 2 (28,03 km)

8.35pm: Flexi service F (Alghero – 45 mins)

SUNDAY 16 JUNE

7.15am: Start & service G (Alghero – 15 mins)

8.15am: SS 16 – Cala Flumini 1 (14,06 km)

9.08am: SS 17 – Sassari – Argentiera 1 (6,89 km)

11.15am: SS 18 – Cala Flumini 2 (14,06 km)

12.18pm: SS 19 – Sassari – Argentiera 2 Power Stage (6,89 km)

1.15pm: Service H (Alghero – 10 mins)

1.25pm: Finish

3.00pm: Podium

Let’s hear from the drivers!

Citroën Total WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“Running first on the road in Sardinia means we can more or less write off our chances of winning from the word go, given how much the stages clean here. It looks like we won’t be getting any help to upset the odds from the weather, with no forecast for a repeat of the rain that fell last year. So I’m expecting a tough weekend but as ever, I’ll be giving it my absolute maximum, regardless of the circumstances, and we’ll see how many points we have at the end of the weekend. The C3 WRC has clearly progressed recently and I had a good feeling in Portugal. Our performance on day one will once again largely determine our overall result.”

Seb and Julien have finished on every podium so far this year. Can they do the same here? Photo credit Citroen Racing.

Esapekka Lappi

“Obviously, we have learned the lessons from Portugal. As regards Sardinia, it’s a rally where you can’t push flat out all the time, especially on the second runs, because you have to think about taking care of the car and looking out for loose rocks. Given that we are starting in ninth position in the running order on day one, we should in any event have an advantage. It’s up to us to make the most of that. If we keep the same speed we had in Portugal and we don’t make any mistakes during the three days, we should secure a good result. I’m determined to produce a solid, consistent performance in all three legs. That really is my number one priority this weekend.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Sardinia is one of my favourite events. It suits perfectly to my driving style and to our pace notes system. Nicolas and I have always felt comfortable there and we have had lots of success in the past. I hope we will be able to add to that in this year’s event. The championship is heating up nicely, so it will be another close battle I am sure. We will have the pleasure of driving against some really beautiful landscapes with some nice, technical stages – exactly what we enjoy!”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I am excited to get back behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC after Thierry’s strong result in Portugal. Sardinia is a tricky rally, very technical with narrow roads that require precise pace notes and driving style. It’s important to have a predictable car for this event, one that gives you the confidence to push. Often there are rocks on the road and it becomes heavily rutted on the second pass. This puts extra focus on tyre management. Starting position is also a key factor with those running later benefitting from the cleaning effect. A tough but enjoyable rally awaits us.”

Dani Sordo

“We know that we missed an opportunity for a competitive result in Portugal but we have regrouped and our focus is now on Sardinia where our target is for a trouble-free, reliable weekend. It is, however, a difficult rally. The roads are narrow with stones on the side that can catch us unaware. The first pass is quite sandy so there is more grip on the repeat loop, which means we have to follow a clever tyre strategy. The hot conditions also make it a gruelling rally on the car, tyres and crew, so we have lots of things to monitor and manage over the whole weekend.”

M-Sport WRT

Elfyn Evans

“I think every driver remembers the first time they got behind the wheel of a world rally car, and for that reason Sardinia will always be a really special place for me. It’s not an easy rally, but once you’ve been there a few times you really learn to enjoy the challenging nature of the stages.

“We haven’t done a pre-event test for this event, but I did join the guys at Red Bull UK for ‘Red Bull Cut It’ – which is basically a lawnmower race! I’m not sure how much it will help me out on the stages this week, but it was a lot of fun and a good chance to catch up with all of the other Red Bull UK Athletes.

“Looking ahead to Sardinia, our aim has to be the podium. It won’t be easy as the competition is extremely strong at the moment, but if we can deliver a clever rally, I see no reason why we can’t be up there challenging for the top results.”

Elfyn and Scott will want to show improved pace this weekend. Photo credit, M-Sport

Teemu Suninen

“I’ll have a new co-driver next week as Jarmo Lehtinen joins me for the rest of the season. I want to thank Marko [Salminen] because we achieved a lot together over the first half of the year. We won stages and led our very first rally. But I am still learning, and having the experience of someone like Jarmo will be really important if I am to achieve my goals over the second half of the season.

“Rally Sardinia is quite familiar to me. This will be my fourth time there and I hope that helps as I get up to speed with Jarmo. With only a week since the previous event we haven’t had long to prepare, but if everything goes to plan, I’m confident I can show the same pace I had in Portugal.

“We’ll need to be really focused, not only because this is a new partnership but also because this is a really tough rally. The stages can be quite rough so we’ll have to be careful to mark every stone on the recce. And it’s also a really hot rally so we’ll need to make sure we’re drinking enough and eating properly to keep our energy levels high.”

Well, here we go! Who will win, and perhaps we shall see a change in the championship leader!?

10th June 2019

Canadian Grand Prix 2019: Was Vettel robbed?

What a mess. The 2019 season finally came to life in Canada, but perhaps not in the way we wanted it to.

Sebastian Vettel was pushing to protect his lead from Lewis Hamilton, who was displaying much better pace on the hard tyres than Vettel himself. In his attempts to break away, Vettel locked his rear tyres going into turn three. He ran over the grass, re-joined the track, lost the rear again, and very nearly made contact with Hamilton. He did manage to stay ahead though, with the gap between the two roughly the same as before.

Then came the real drama. The stewards decided that Vettel’s actions warranted a five-second penalty, added at the end of the race. In bizarre circumstances, Vettel crossed the line first, knowing that the win would be instead taken by a conflicted Lewis Hamilton, who stated that this was not the way he wanted to win.

A furious Vettel deliberated over whether he would attend the podium celebration, eventually deciding to join Hamilton and third-placed finisher Charles Leclerc, but not before switching the Parc Fermé boards around and declaring himself the deserved winner of the race.

Honourably, he discouraged the booing directed towards Lewis Hamilton by the fans and instead told them to aim their collective anger towards the stewards. But did the stewards do anything wrong? Are the rules wrong?

2019 Canadian Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images

Ultimately, you could say both. The penalty was put down to unsafely re-joining the track, which may have been fair, but cast your minds back to Monaco 2016 when Hamilton left the track trying to stay ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, re-joined and, in doing so, very nearly put the Australian in the wall. No penalty was given.

What this highlights is an abhorrent lack of consistency in the rule-enforcement, which simply should not happen in a professional sport. In this respect, the Canadian Grand Prix was a humiliating day for Formula One.

However, F1 is just the same as any other sport, in that it has massive talking points that we can debate long into the night, with everyone having their own opinions on every aspect. This will naturally lead to different stewards having different views on how the rules should be applied and enforced.

You could therefore say that the stewards did not make this decision malevolently towards Vettel. Instead, they were simply interpreting the rules made by the FIA.

But how the should the rule about drivers leaving the track and gaining an advantage have been judged?

Ferrari’s view is that Vettel made his mistake and re-joined the track, actually losing time in the process. Once he had made his error, Vettel was back on track and the incident was over, with the German ahead of Hamilton after the incident just as he had been before. He then got very close to Hamilton, but did not make contact.

Mercedes’ view, which was also adopted by the FIA, is that Vettel went off the track and gave Hamilton a chance to pass him for the lead. Vettel then effectively denied him this opportunity by re-joining the track in a hazardous manner and nearly pushing Hamilton into the wall.

The general consensus from viewers and pundits came from the classic racing perspective. An innocent mistake was made – things may have gotten close, but then racing is supposed to be close. No-one crashed as a result, so on we go without another word said.

This, nostalgically but comparatively speaking, was the attitude held in previous eras of racing. Perhaps we need to accept that this era is over and that you simply can’t re-join the track and close the door on another driver any more. This may be within reason, but it was all in the spirit of good close racing, which is danger of dying if the FIA continues to heftily punish on-track mistakes.

So is the rule wrong? Vettel, ultimately, had nowhere to go other than back onto the track once he had gone off. He couldn’t just vanish out of Hamilton’s way, and he couldn’t just stop. Creating more rules isn’t going to eliminate the basic human aspect that we all make mistakes. More specifically, Vettel was ahead of Hamilton both before and after the mistake, no-one crashed, and both drivers were able to continue.

However, Hamilton will feel as though Vettel illegally denied him a passing opportunity, and that had he not taken avoiding action then the consequences of Vettel’s mistake could have been more severe.

As a result, it becomes difficult to find a way through which we can properly establish fault using the sport’s law. Therefore, the stewards should be expected to interpret and apply laws through basic common sense which, if I may step off the fence for a second, did not seem to be present among the stewards in Canada.

GP CANADA F1/2019 – SABATO 08/06/2019
credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

These incidents are always subject to interpretation, and so we cannot expect consistency if the stewards are always different. The FIA cannot create a million laws for a million scenarios. The interpretation must be specific to each incident, which raises questions about the use of the different stewards at every race.

At a sport of this level, we simply cannot accept the unbelievable level of inconsistency from the FIA, who somehow do not seem to see the blatant issue that exists within F1.

These incidents, however, are not black and white, and there are always deeper layers to every story.

This next particular level, unfortunately, resembles a concerning pattern for Vettel. Ultimately, if Vettel had not made the error he did, none of this would have happened. By making the mistake and re-joining the track in front of Hamilton, Vettel gave the stewards something to consider, and this fell unfavourably for him.

This is not the first time he has made such an error. He was the architect of his own downfall last year, crashing from the lead in Germany, before spinning in Japan and the USA. The year before, Singapore effectively spelled the end of his title challenge, when a clumsy move across the track at the start saw him collide with Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen. That night perfectly highlighted the fact that Ferrari themselves have repeatedly ruined their attempts to secure championship glory.

Truth be told, Sebastian Vettel’s title hopes are probably dead in the water at this point. Even Valtteri Bottas, who made a sublime start to the season, is beginning to see his title aspirations wither at the ominous, constant, and unrelenting brilliance of Lewis Hamilton.

The shame is that the Canadian Grand Prix wasn’t decided by brilliance, but rather by a harsh stewarding decision that reflects badly on the sport and sets a dangerous precedent that hard racing cannot be permitted any more.

[Featured image – Scuderia Ferrari Press Office]

10th June 2019

WorldSBK: Van der Mark Takes First 2019 Win, Bautista Crashes

The second race in the sixth round of the 2019 Superbike World Championship was a lively one to begin with, with strong fighting in the opening laps, before the pack stretched out and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) proved a dominant winner for the first time in 2019.

It was Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) who made the holeshot but, as in the Saturday race, Bautista was through at turn five. It was expected at this point that, as per usual, Bautista would disappear. However, the Spaniard went on to make his first mistake in a race of the year, crashing out early on at turn one. He got the bike back to the pits and, eventually, back out into the race, but was unable to score points.

Alvaro Bautista crashing out of Race Two of WSBK Jerez 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

This presented a golden opportunity for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) to take some points out of the championship lead of Bautista, which was forty-three points before the weekend. Ordinarily, the absence of Bautista would see Rea win, but Michael van der Mark had other ideas. After struggling to pass Rea for a number of laps the Dutchman managed to secure a lead. Rea hung on for several laps, but with six to go van der Mark started to pull away from the reigning champion.

The race was then cut short by a red flag for a crash for Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team). The crash brought gravel onto the track, which was deemed to unsafe by race direction. Since there were only two laps to go, the result was declared, and van der Mark declared the winner. Although he was unable to be strong in Superpole on Saturday, van der Mark’s race pace was strong all weekend, second only to Bautista. The mistake from Bautista gave van der Mark the opportunity, which he took with a dominant performance.

The second place of Rea was an important one with the non-scoring ride of Bautista. Unusually, Rea was unable to fight for the victory in Bautista’s absence, but van der Mark was simply too fast. Anyway, the reigning champion ended the weekend two points closer to Bautista than where he began it, which seemed unlikely on Saturday.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) took his third career WorldSBK podium. He was with Rea and van der Mark when Bautista went down, but was unable to live with their pace when van der Mark started to push on. Nonetheless, it was a strong result for the Turk, and shows his rostrum in Imola was not a fluke.

It was a strong ride for Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing) who scored his best result in WorldSBK in fourth, ahead of Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who complered the top five. Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was sixth ahead of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK), Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing), Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) who took the first top ten since his return to WSBK, and Tommy Bridewell (Team Goeleven) who completed the top ten.

Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was eleventh, ahead of Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK), Yuki Takahashi (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) who scored his first WSBK points, and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) who was the final finisher in fourteenth, two laps down thanks to a crash on lap one at turn two.

Chaz Davis at Jerez WSBK 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) came to blows on lap five, when the Italian tried to use the superior mid-corner performance of the R1 to pass Davies in turn five. However, he didn’t get the move done, made contact with the Ducati rider and took them both down. Davies was out on the spot, whilst Melandri get his bike back to the pits, although he didn’t get back out. Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) saw his race end on lap seven, whilst Bautista was only able to complete nine laps despite getting back out on track after his crash. Ryuichi Kiyonari was okay after his turn eleven crash which caused the race-ending red flag.

Featured Image courtesy Yamaha Racing

10th June 2019

Vettel: ‘We deserved the win’ at Canadian Grand Prix

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel says he believes the team ‘deserved the win’ at the Canadian Grand Prix, after a controversial penalty demoted him to second place behind the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel had started on pole and led for much of the race, however on lap 48, with Hamilton breathing down his neck, he lost the rear of his car going into turn three and ran over the grass. He rejoined the track and did keep his lead, but the stewards deemed the manner in which he had rejoined to have been unsafe. The FIA said he had forced Hamilton off the track, and gave Vettel a five-second penalty to be added to his time at the end of the race.

Vettel took the chequered flag just over two and a half seconds ahead of Hamilton, meaning he was classified P2 once the penalty was applied.

“I think we had a great race,” Vettel said, “and the stewards’ decision is too harsh.

“In turn three, I lost control of my car and I had to run long onto the grass, rejoining at turn four ahead of Lewis. I couldn’t see where he was, as I was too busy trying to keep my car on track without crashing and I didn’t squeeze him on purpose.”

The penalty was met with almost universal condemnation, with many voicing their support for Vettel and Ferrari. Vettel himself expressed his regret that the penalty meant he was unable to repay the support of the fans at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with what would have been Ferrari’s best result of the season so far.

“I think given the way things wen this weekend and even though our rivals’ race pace was very strong, we deserved the win,” Vettel said. “I get the impression that lots of the spectators here today at the circuit agree with me.

“It’s always nice to race in Canada. I feel a lot of support from the people and it would have been wonderful to have given all our fans the first big result of the season.”

Ferrari’s Team Principal Mattia Binotto echoed Vettel’s sentiments, and spoke of the team’s decision to appeal the penalty.

“At the moment, we, as a team, are naturally disappointed, but most of all our thoughts are with Sebastian and the spectators,” he said. “As for Seb, I don’t think he could have done things differently, which is why we have decided to appeal the stewards’ decision.”

[Featured image – Ferrari Media]

10th June 201910th June 2019

WorldSBK: More Bautista Dominance, Rea From Last to Fourth in Jerez Superpole Race

The Superpole race from the sixth round of the 2019 Superbike World Championship saw Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) starting from pole position as retrospective penalties for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) after the first race of the weekend saw him start from last in the sprint race.

That meant there was a great race in prospect, with Rea fighting through from the back, whilst the riders starting from the front would be fighting hard for the crucial top nine positions for the race two grid.

Rea was quick to come through the pack, and was in the top ten from nineteenth after the first two laps, while Bautista had cleared off out the front after converting his pole position to a holeshot. At the same time, Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) made a good start, launching ahead of Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) off the line, and making good his case for a second top-three of the weekend, pulling away from the rest of the pack as they fought behind.

Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes at Jerez WSBK 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

One of those fights was between the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK riders of Lowes and Michael van der Mark, with the two exchanging positions on several occasions in the opening lap. Van der Mark was eventually able to establish himself in fourth place ahead of Lowes after the pair overcame Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK), and not long after the battle came to a close courtesy of a crash for the 2013 BSB champion.

Lowes’ crash promoted Rea to sixth place, which he soon turned to fifth by passing Sykes, and then fourth by overtaking his teammate, Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), just five corners later.

At the same time, van der Mark was closing on Melandri ahead in an all-Yamaha battle for second. Rea was no faster than either of the Yamaha riders ahead of him, so was in need of a battle between the Dutchman and the Italian.

Unfortunately for the reigning World Champion that battle never arose between Melandri and van der Mark, as the #33 was not able to retaliate when van der Mark made his move.

Once again, though, no one could touch Bautista out front, who won by 2.743 seconds over the ten laps. With Rea finishing in fourth, it was a six-point increase to Bautista’s championship advantage, which now stands at sixty-one points.

It was another strong performance from van der Mark to finish second, his second top two of the weekend. There were some strong moves from the Dutchman in the early laps, but once he smoothed himself out it was almost inevitable that he would end up second.

This is in spite of another strong ride by Marco Melandri, who continues his turnaround from the last few races where he has been seen to struggle a lot. Finishing ahead of Jonathan Rea on merit is testament to that.

Álvaro Bautista winner of Super pole at Jerez WSBK 2019, Michael van der Mark second and Marco Melandri Third Image courtesy of Ducati

For Rea himself, fourth place is perhaps as much as he could have hoped for, considering the strength of the Yamaha in Jerez this weekend, an it was another exceptional comeback from a lowly grid position for the four-times champion.

Tom Sykes’ gamble on the SCX tyre was enough to hold off Leon Haslam to round out the top five, whilst Haslam took sixth place ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing); Jordi Torres who is continuing his exceptional weekend for Team Pedercini Racing; Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) who completed the top ten despite making a step forward in morning warm up, in which he was fourth fastest.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing) took eleventh place, ahead of Tommy Bridewell (Team Goeleven) who made steps, like Davies, in warm up. It was Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in thirteenth, ahead of Yuki Takahashi (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) and Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) who completed the top fifteen. Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) was sixteenth ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) who was the last of the seventeen finishers.

Loris Baz (Ten Kata Racing – Yamaha) started from pit lane, and was out by the end of lap one, whilst Lowes crashed on lap four of the Superpole race, leaving his team some work to do before the second full length race of the weekend.

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

9th June 20199th June 2019

Controversial penalty costs victory for Vettel

Sebastian Vettel drove a storming lap in almost perfect conditions in qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montréal on Saturday, clocking a stunning lap time of 1:10.240. It was a new track record and the 56th pole position of the German’s career.

The rest of the grid shaped up with a few surprise results, including Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen who was knocked out in Q1 and started in P17. Kevin Magnussen suffered a crash at the infamous Wall of Champions, ruining the lap times of several other drivers in the final moments of Q2, including the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, who was forced to start in 11th place.

As a result of Magnussen’s crash, several repairs were required and the Haas team later announced that he would be starting the race from the pit lane, moving every driver up a place from P10 to P20.

The most surprising result of the day, was Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, who drove a stunning lap to secure fourth place, his highest qualifying spot with the Enstone-based team so far.

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Renault F1 Team RS19.
Canadian Grand Prix, Saturday 8th June 2019. Montreal, Canada.

With Vettel leading the pack for Ferrari, current championship leader Lewis Hamilton started alongside him, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Ricciardo on the second row. Both Leclerc and Ricciardo were seeking a strong result after experiencing some bad luck in the first six races of the season.

The race began under blue skies, with Vettel stretching out a 1.2 second lead after the first lap, with the top four retaining their initial positions. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen had an exciting scrap for P8, however by lap nine the McLaren driver had retired from the race, after the sweltering heat affected both his suspension and brakes.

Valtteri Bottas was threatened by Verstappen, with the Dutchman using DRS in an attempt to pass.

Antonio Giovinazzi was extremely lucky and miraculously avoided hitting the Wall of Champions as Hamilton closed the gap to Vettel. The Brit got very close, however he then locked up and lost a chunk of time.

Vettel became the first of the leaders to pit when he came in on lap 26. Mercedes, meanwhile, left Hamilton out on track, feeling there wasn’t a big enough gap between the pair for Hamilton to come out of his stop ahead of the Ferrari driver.

2019 Canadian Grand Prix, Saturday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

He would pit two laps later, with both Vettel and teammate Leclerc were told to switch to ‘plan B’ of their strategy. On lap 33, Leclerc pitted, however he found himself stuck in traffic alongside Verstappen in the Red Bull.

Other noticeable incidents saw Giovinazzi spin and Hülkenberg speak of his concerns over team radio regarding downshifts in the gearbox. His teammate Ricciardo brilliantly defended his position against Bottas as Leclerc passed Verstappen for third. Hamilton once again closed the gap to Vettel, and by lap 39 the leaders were less than a second apart.

Hamilton went too deep at the hairpin and lost some time, while Vettel went on to post the fastest lap of the race on lap 42.

Further down the field, Pierry Gasly struggled to pass Lance Stroll, who was still racing with the tyres he had started on.

Vettel voiced his concerns about the temperature of his brakes and, on lap 48, went wide on the grass, almost losing the lead of the race to Hamilton. Hamilton reported the incident to his team.

Verstappen passed both Renaults to take P5 and the stewards announced that they were investigating the incident between Hamilton and Vettel. This resulted in a five-second penalty being given to the Ferrari driver, due to unsafe re-entry and forcing another driver off track. This decision was met with much criticism from the German, stating that the stewards were stealing the victory from him.

With just five laps remaining in the Grand Prix, Toro Rosso’s Albon retired, his car having suffered damage during an early clash with Giovinazzi. Leclerc attempted to catch Hamilton, as Bottas dived into the pits in order to seal a bonus point for the fastest lap. Carlos Sainz lost two more places, to Racing Point driver Stroll and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat.

Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line first, however Lewis Hamilton ultimately inherited the victory after Vettel’s five-second penalty. Leclerc managed to close the gap and just missed out in taking second place from his teammate.

The final result also saw Bottas in fourth, Verstappen in fifth and a stellar performance from Daniel Ricciardo secured sixth, with his teammate Hülkenberg just behind. Gasly finished in eighth with Kvyat in tenth and Lance Stroll securing points in P9 at his home race.

Valtteri Bottas snatched the fastest lap of the race with a 1:13:078. Sebastian Vettel was voted driver of the day and in his frustration, after the race, switched the 1st and 2nd place signs in parc fermé. He would also receive two penalty points on his super license.

The 8th round of the 2019 Formula 1 season will begin with Free Practice on the 21st of June at Circuit Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix.

[Featured image – Scuderia Ferrari Press Office]

9th June 2019

British F3: Race Three – Simmons wins to complete a solid weekend

Chris Dittmann Racing’s Ayrton Simmons took his and his team’s first ever British F3 victory to crown a solid weekend at the office.

Simmons took the win to back up earlier finishes of third and fifth in the reverse-grid Race Two, while Johnathan Hoggard took second ahead of Kaylen Frederick and Kiern Jewiss in fourth.

It was Neil Verhagen and Clement Novalak that took the chequered flag in the top two on the road, but the pair were given five second time penalties

Hillspeed’s Sasakorn Chaimongkol was seventh ahead of Manuel Maldonado in eighth for Fortec. with Hampus Ericsson was ninth ahead of Race Two winner Benjamin Pedersen.

For Verhagen and Novalak, it was a case of trying to extend the gap to Simmons and Hoggard behind, it was always going to be an uphill task with the top five very evenly matched, Kaylen Frederick in particular keeping his counsel to maintain third.

Post race a 10 second penalty was issued by the Clerk of the Course to Nazim Azman for making contact with Lucas Petersson at Stowe, forcing Petersson to spin. Azman receives three penalty points.

9th June 2019

British GT – Loggie – That Silverstone victory was justice

Iain Loggie felt that his and Callum Macleod’s victory at the British GT’s Silverstone 500 even was justice after an unfortunate start to the season.

Loggie was taken out from the lead at Oulton Park after showing excellent pace all weekend, while he and Macleod did not compete at Snetterton after Loggie was injured in an horrific cycling accident.

The Scotsman feels that it was about time RAM had some luck.

“I thought after we went pole at Oulton it would be about getting out of the first two corners safely as we were seven or eight tenths clear so no one would be able to overtake you. So I think it is justice for that and even more justice as we didn’t compete at Snetterton.”

Loggie broke several bones in the accident that ruled him and Macleod out of the Snetterton event, but despite the severe injuries felt fine at the British GT series’ longest race.

“It’s been great, that was five weeks after a massive cycling crash, I broke my collarbone in two places and my wrist in half a dozen places. Five weeks ago I was on the operating table so to be back here at Silverstone and win is amazing, I am really pleased.

“I am all good, the second stint I was starting to feel my wrist a little bit but I am absolutely fine and I will be a thousand percent right for Donnington in a couple of weeks time. Hopefully we can do something there.”

Loggie had an early battle with the racey Shaun Balfe in the McLaren 720S as the two and Graham Davidson battled for the GT3 lead early in the race.

The 56-year-old was never worried about contact behind from behind, with the battle between two experienced Am drivers a very clean affair.

“To be honest we had noticed that the Balfe McLarens had been quick all weekend. I actually didn’t feel the pressure from the McLaren because I know the driver of that was very experienced and he wasn’t going to run into the back or hit you or do anything silly.

“I was happy and was able to concentrate on the track in front but at the same time knowing that I can’t make any mistakes, keep it clean and don’t get any penalties.”

And the Scotsman was full of praise for teammate Macleod and his final stint to take the lead late on, after rival Jonny Adam came to grief against the Ford Mustang GT4 entry of Chad McCumbee.

“Callum did a great job there, he was four seconds back to start with and within five laps it was five tenths. It was unfortunate for Jonny but that was nothing more than sheer pressure from Callum and it meant that the driver in front has got to make a move.”