Rally Finland 2023, Day Three Report, Sunday

The final day then with Elfyn and Scott leading the event by 32.1 seconds over Thierry and Martijn. There was a battle to the finish between Takamoto and Teemu for the final podium spot. I should correct myself following yesterday’s report. Takamoto has already taken three podiums at the top level, so could this be his fourth at the top level?

There remained 51km’s over four stages to decide the 2023 edition of this truly classic rally. Once again Pierre-Louis would open the road throughout the final day.

Into SS19 Moksi – Sahloinen 1 – 16.56 km and Elfyn was fastest from Teemu and Takamoto. The Finn had closed the gap to third placed Takamoto, just 4.5 seconds between them. Elfyn’s pace had increased his lead to 36.6 seconds. Meanwhile in WRC2 the top three fastest were Emil, Roope and Andreas, whilst the top three overall remained Sami, Adrien and Nikolay.

Next up was SS20 Himos – Jämsä 1 – 9.26 km and Takamoto won the stage from Thierry and Teemu. The Finn had a wild moment on the top of the hill as he came down the hill. In WRC2 Nikolay was fastest from Emil and Andreas whilst the top three in the category remained the same.

Into the penultimate stage then, SS21 Moksi – Sahloinen 2 – 16.56 km and Elfyn was again fastest from Thierry and Teemu. In WRC2 Emil was fastest from Nikolay and Sami who remained firmly in charge of the category. He and Enni were on their way to a likely first category win.

It was time for the final stage and early pace setter Pierre-Louis’s time was eclipsed by Jari-Matti as the Finnish legend completed his 210 WRC event. Thierry came through to set the fastest time. The big question was now could or would Elfyn push to take the stage win and all five points to go with it? Well, he was up on every single split and won the stage by nine tenths of a second. What a drive from the Welsh wizard, taking his second Finnish win. In WRC2 Sami and Enni took their first victory, this coming after their first podium in the category last time out in Estonia.

Let’s take a look at the top ten.

Final Overall Classification –Rally Finland

1 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 2:33:11.3
2 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +39.1
3 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:36.7
4 T. Suninen M. Markkula Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:41.0
5 J. M. Latvala J. Hänninen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +4:09.4
6 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +9:33.6
7 S. Pajari E. Mälkönen Škoda Fabia RS +10:03.7
8 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Fiesta Mk II +10:37.5
9 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS +11:11.5
10 A. Mikkelsen T. Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS +11:35.2

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans 1st Overall

“It’s been a great weekend for us, and it feels pretty special to win this rally for the second time. It’s one of my favourites and a home rally for the team with the factory being based in Jyväskylä. It also feels really special to win with Akio here this weekend and to share the podium with him and with Taka as well. It’s been fantastic to drive this car on these roads and it’s been a joy to be behind the wheel. We had a really nice feeling almost from the beginning. We were sorry to lose Kalle from the fight on Friday but then we could make a few little steps with the setup for Saturday which really boosted my confidence. Things really clicked and the stage times came naturally. It’s a positive weekend in terms of the championship as well and we’re now a bit closer to Kalle than we were before.”

Takamoto Katsuta 3rd Overall

“I’m very happy to be on the podium at Rally Finland, my second home rally. It’s a really big thing for me and the team and also for Akio-san. He was giving me extra energy and motivation which was helping in the really intense battle that we had with Teemu. He was doing a really good job so it was not so easy, but we managed to make some gap on Saturday evening when the conditions were tricky, and this made the final day a bit less stressful. After Rally Estonia we worked really hard together with the team’s engineers to analyse where I could improve, and this was why I could perform well already from Friday morning. I must also say thanks to Kalle who was giving me advice during our tests for driving these Finnish roads.”

Jari-Matti Latvala 5th Overall

“It has been an amazing and fun feeling all weekend, I really enjoyed the driving in this car. Thank you to Akio and the team for giving me this great opportunity. It’s been something really phenomenal that I will remember for the rest of the life. It was extraordinary to be able to drive relaxed without having to think about the results. When the conditions were difficult, we could just drive with our own rhythm and to end up fifth overall and even score in the Power Stage, it’s just fantastic. It is also really special to see Elfyn on the top step of the podium and Takamoto in third and I’m really happy for both of them.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville 2nd Overall

“It is a big relief to be back on the Rally Finland podium after ten years of what I would say was a struggle. It shows that the team and the changes that are ongoing are heading in the right direction. I think it’s clearly a sign that we have to carry on. I’m happy we have a bit of a break as this weekend was quite exhausting, but we have done the job. Thank you to the team.”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 9, Rally Finland
3 – 6 August 2023
Thierry Neuville
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Teemu Suninen 4th Overall

“I would say the result itself is quite good even if there is some disappointment to miss out the podium. There is a lot to process after these two rallies that will help prepare the next one and come back stronger. It has been a pleasure working with the Hyundai Motorsport team, they are really supporting me and giving me everything they can. I’m really looking forward to the next rally together.”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 09, Rally Finland
02-05 August 2023
Teemu Suninen, Mikko Markkula, Hyundai i20 N Rally 1
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux, 2nd in WRC2, 7th Overall

“I have to say that the team has been working really well and we had a great result here in Finland. We had no issues at all on the car, it was a perfect weekend for us, we had all the info we needed in the stages. We are really happy; it wasn’t in the plan to be here and finishing this rally on the podium in second position is a great consolation for everybody and for us. I was really happy to be fighting with the Finnish drivers on these roads, it was quite special.”

WRC – World Rally Championship 2023

Grégoire Munster, 9th in WRC2, 15th Overall

“It was a good rally for us, we learned quite a lot. The pace was improving steadily stage by stage, even though on some stages we had difficult weather conditions. We had to try different things with the set up and so that was also a very nice learning experience.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet, 46th Overall

“I am quite disappointed about the weekend, we tried to be on the pace, but unfortunately, I hit a tree and had to restart. We did a good day on Saturday, but today it was difficult to maintain a high pace as we were nursing a small issue with the engine that meant we lost some power. We tried our best during the power stage to score more points.

“Greece is next, we had some strong pace there last year and I hope everything goes well there. I think even though not everything is going in the right direction with results, the progress is there, and we just need to keep pushing.”

WRC – World Rally Championship 2023

Ott Tänak, Retired Friday

“Of course, we are disappointed, after Estonia this isn’t how we wanted this week to go. It’s a shame we can’t continue but the car is too damaged for us to carry on.

“Now it’s time to have a break after a busy few months, then we will focus fully on Greece in September.”

 

Toksport

Oliver Solberg

“I am so happy,” he said. “When we came here, we came after two really bad results in Finland [in 2021 and 2022]. I really wanted to make experience on these roads. “On Friday, I was taking a little bit more time. It was my first time in roads like Myhinpää – a really big and classic stage in Finland. I didn’t want to make any mistakes and I was driving with some margin and not taking anything like the ultimate risks.

“I wanted to feel my way into Finland, to take the confidence I’d been missing for the last two years. I didn’t change anything through Estonia and here in Finland, the set-up was working so well – and I could push and take time. “Everybody knows the local drivers are strong in Finland, so to come here and beat them all is something incredible for me. The fight with the Finns was so cool and this rally is so cool – always you’re battling for seconds and tenths of seconds on these amazing roads. “Today was more about managing things and driving at a decent pace to get to the finish with the win.”

Summary

Well, what a fantastic victory for Elfyn and Scott. Their second win on these fast roads again confirm they should never be written off. Their second win of this season and seventh overall win for Elfyn, six for Scott has brought them into the fight for this year’s championship, now just 25 points away from their teammates, Kalle and Jonne.

Thierry and Martijn scored their best result as a crew on this event since they started together in 2021. It was also Thierry’s best result on this event for ten years, his last podium coming in 2013 when he had Nicolas co-driving and they were at M-Sport.

Finally, Takamoto and Aaron had a brilliant drive to a fourth ever podium taking some good stage wins on each day and this was their third podium as a crew.

Next rally is the Acropolis Rally from the 7th to the 10th of September. The teams will enjoy a good break and come back to complete this year’s championship.

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 9

1 K. Rovanperä 170
2 E. Evans 145
3 T. Neuville 134
4 O. Tänak 104
5 S. Ogier 98
6 E. Lappi 87
7 T. Katsuta 58
8 D. Sordo 46
9 T. Suninen 34
10 P.L Loubet 28

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 9

1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 378
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 311
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 205

MotoGP: Espargaro Wins Stunning British Grand Prix

There were times when it felt like we were watching a Moto3 race today at Silverstone – there was drama up and down the grid and 5 riders all in contention for the win when we reached the final lap.

Aleix Espargaro has won the British grand prix at Silverstone in stunning fashion. Despite starting the race in 12th, he quietly made his way up the field, capitalised on others crashing, and then found himself in the leading group of four. There was plenty of tussling and battling but he kept his eyes on race leader Pecco Bagnaia to then make a move on the final lap of the race.

Bagnaia ended the day in 2nd, despite looking pretty untouchable and dominant for much of the race.

In the early stages, the reigning champion had been battling with title rival, Marco Bezzecchi. However, the VR46 rider made a crucial error when chasing down Bagnaia and crashed out at turn 15 of lap 6.

The final podium position was taken by Brad Binder, who mastered the tricky weather conditions and used them to his advantage. As others tiptoed round the circuit, making cautious moves, he threw his KTM machine around on his way up to 3rd.

Binder enjoyed a lot of battles with Miguel Oliveira, who is back this weekend after taking some time out due to an injury. He was very close to the final podium spot as well as Maverick Vinales. The pair eventually came home 4th and 5th respectively.

As is becoming so normal now on race day, Jack Miller flew off the start line and was an early leader. However, he began to drop back a little bit and then, on lap 3, Vinales made an aggressive move up the inside as the pair were fighting for 4th. This move pushed Miller out wide and dropped him back to 14th. He eventually finished the day in 8th.

Rain started to fall on lap 13 of 20. Four riders opted to change bike and run the wet tires, including Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli. However, the gamble didn’t pay off and they all finished at the back of the grid.

Joining them at the back as the checkered flag fell was Fabio Quartararo. But his day wasn’t as bad as it seemed. The Frenchman started the race from last on the grid and worked hard to get himself up to 8th. Whilst fighting with Luca Marini for 7th, the pair collided and he went down at turn 4. He lost much of the carbon fibre off the front of the bike but was able to keep going. He came in to the pits to change his bike and then ended the day 15th. A disappointing result for the Yamaha rider, but he did show glimpses of the old Fabio today.

There were further DNFs for Alex Marquez who retired with a technical failure on lap 5. It looked as though his gear linkage was broken as he limped his way back to the garage.

His brother, Marc Marquez, also failed to meet the checkered flag. He was battling with Enea Bastianini at Maggotts and Becketts when the two collided and both went down – it seems they were just making moves that were too risky when the track was greasy and wet.

Full Results
1st Aleix Espargaro Aprilia
2nd Pecco Bagnaia Ducati
3rd Brad Binder KTM
4th Miguel Oliveira CryptoDATA RNF
5th Maverick Vinales Aprilia
6th Jorge Martin Prima Pramac
7th Luca Marini Mooney VR46
8th Jack Miller KTM
9th Johann Zarco Prima Pramac
10th Raul Fernandez CryptoDATA RNF
11th Augusto Fernandez GASGASG Tech3
12th Pol Espargaro GASGASG Tech3
13th Fabio Di Giannantonio Gresini
14th Franco Morbidelli Yamaha
15th Fabio Quartararo Yamaha
16th Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda
17th Icer Lecuona LCR Honda

DNFs = Joan Mir (Repsol Honda), Alex Marquez (Gresini), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Enea Bastianini (Ducati)

Championship Standings
1st Pecco Bagnaia 214 Points
2nd Jorge Martin 173 Points
3rd Marco Bezzecchi 167 Points
4th Brad Binder 131 Points
5th Johann Zarco 122 Point

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

Rally Finland 2023, Day Two Report, Saturday.

The second day of action from Finland dawned with Elfyn holding the lead from Thierry, the gap sitting at 6.9 seconds between the top two. The crews faced eight stages and a total of 160 of competitive kilometres.

Pierre-Louis Loubet returned for M-Sport and would open the road throughout Saturday’s stages. There was news that surprised many though with Kalle and Jonne not restarting at all. The damage to the 69 GR Yaris was too high and the world champions would not be returning.

The action started with SS11 Västilä 1 – 18.94 km and Elfyn was quick out of the blocks, going 4.6 seconds faster than Thierry, thus increasing his lead to 11.5 seconds. Teemu was third fastest, taking 8 tenths of a seconds from Takamoto’s lead as the pair fought over third overall. In WRC2, Sami was fastest from Marco and Mikko, whilst the category was led by Jari from Sami and Adrien who moved up into third overall.

Next up was SS12 Päijälä 1 – 20.19 km and Elfyn was fastest again by 4 tenths of a second over Thierry. Takamoto had a spin in this one and fell behind Teemu, the Finn taking third overall. Top three remained the same in WRC2.

Elfyn maintained the great pace out there in SS13 Rapsula 1 – 20.56 km winning again by 3.4 seconds from Thierry and Takamoto was third, who closed the gap a little to Teemu who remained in third overall. Gus drove well in this one, setting the best time in WRC2 with Sami matching the Brit’s time and Roope third fastest. Meanwhile Jari remained in charge of the category leading from Sami and Adrien.

Elfyn made it four out of four in the final morning stage, with Thierry second and Takamoto third and reduced the gap even further to just a second to Teemu who remained third overall. The Welshman had increased his lead over Thierry to 17.7 seconds and was firmly in charge.

Into the afternoon stages with the rerun of SS15 Västilä 2 – 18.94 km and Elfyn was really fast in this one, with Thierry second but 7.8 slower than the leader. Meanwhile Takamoto regained third overall moving ahead of Teemu by just eight tenths of a second. Meanwhile it was all change in WRC2 with Jari suffering an engine problem and falling down from the lead. Sami moved into the lead from Adrien and Andreas.

Next up was SS16 Päijälä 2 – 20.19 km and Elfyn was again fastest from Thierry by another good margin of 4.5 seconds. Teemu moved back past Takamoto as their battle for third place continued, moving ahead by just three tenths of a second.

Just two stages left and Elfyn won SS17 Rapsula 2 – 20.56 km from Thierry and Takamoto. Just a tenth of a second separated Teemu and Takamoto in their fight for third place. Sami also remained in charge of WRC2 with a similar lead to Elfyn’s over Thierry.

The final stage then of the day, SS18 Vekkula 2 – 20.65 km and it was a clean sweep for the Toyota squad as Takamoto won the final stage of the day from Thierry and Elfyn. The Japanese stars pace and also a problem for Teemu with the loss of his front splitter meant he’d retaken third overall. In WRC2 Adrien was fastest from Sami and Emil. There was a change for third though in the category as Andreas suffered a tyre off the rim and dropped almost 11.8 seconds and one place. Benefitting from this was Nikolay, going back into third place.

WRC – World Rally Championship 2023

Let’s check the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

1 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 2:08:07.0
2 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +32.1
3 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:27.8
4 T. Suninen M. Markkula Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:34.2
5 J. M. Latvala J. Hänninen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +3:39.5

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“The feeling’s been good today and the car has been working well. We’ve had the confidence to push and also been able to focus on driving cleanly where necessary. Conditions were difficult at times, especially in the last stage, but we seemed to have everything under control and we’re obviously happy to be in this position tonight. We had some incredible stages today, some of the best in the world, and to have a car that’s working as we want in those conditions has been mega and reminds me of the feeling, we had here in 2021. But there is still some distance to go tomorrow, and we’re focused on what we need to do to bring the car home in this position.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“This morning was tricky as it was still raining quite a lot. In the first stage I was struggling to judge the grip, and then in the second one I was trying to drive better but I made a small mistake that cost us a lot of time. After that, I was trying to fight back but the time gaps were very close, and we were only gaining a few tenths of a second on each stage. But we knew the last stage could have difficult conditions so I decided to push as much as I can. Of course, there was risk, but I knew it could put us in a better position for tomorrow if we could make some time, and luckily we could. Tomorrow will still be a big challenge, but I will try my best.”

Jari-Matti Latvala

“It has been good fun again today. It’s always nice to go to these stages around Jämsä which are wide, fast and flowing with usually a lot of people spectating, and the atmosphere was really nice. The conditions were a bit challenging with a lot of rain, but it was still enjoyable most of the time. The last stage of the day was more like Safari, with big ruts full of water and a lot of mud coming to the windscreen. But it has been great to see so many people cheering for us on the stages and telling us that we’re doing well. The boost I’m getting from them is giving me an amazing feeling and I hope to carry that until the finish tomorrow.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“It wasn’t the day we were hoping for, but still it was a good one. We had some speed this morning, but it was trickier this afternoon. Challenging weather conditions made it difficult for us to keep the car on the road. We tried to push hard but, in the end, we had to settle provisionally for second behind a very quick Elfyn. We’re satisfied though, we weren’t expecting to be in this position in Finland. We’ve done a good job and the car was working fine. The championship hasn’t been easy up until now, but our hope isn’t lost, so let’s see how many points we can maximise from this event.”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 9, Rally Finland
3 – 6 August 2023
Thierry Neuville
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Teemu Suninen

“It’s been a good day for us until the last stage. Generally, throughout the day we have been able to catch Takamoto, then pass him and have a proper fight, but we lost time on the final stage. The ruts were full of water, so it was difficult to adjust the speed and assess the grip level in the muddy places. It would be great to get the podium, especially in only my second rally in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid but it is a tricky, long day ahead – still we have a good chance, so we have to go for it.”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 9, Rally Finland
3 – 6 August 2023
Teemu Suninen, HMDP
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Summary

Well, what a brilliant day for Elfyn and Scott. We have seen this kind of drive before from them at many rallies over the last few years and the way he gapped Thierry and Martijn on these incredible stages was fantastic. They utterly deserve to win tomorrow, and it will be a case of bringing it home.

Thierry and Martijn just did not have an answer to the Toyota crew today, but this has been one of the best performances at this rally for over a decade.

Takamoto could take a third career podium in his adopted home land, let’s see if he can hold off Teemu tomorrow.

MotoGP: Alex Marquez takes Magnificent Maiden Win at Silverstone Sprint Race

In typical British fashion, all we could talk about for most of today’s sprint race was the weather. It was unpredictable and difficult to master. But one man came out on top – and for the first time in his premier class career!

It was Alex Marquez who came out on top for today’s sprint race at the British GP. He started the race in 3rd, took the lead on lap 2, and never looked back. He faced a late charge from Marco Bezzecchi, who came home in 2nd, but he lead easily and took the checkered flag in dominant fashion.

The final podium spot was taken by Maverick Vinales, who was thrilled to squeeze a podium out of his Aprilia machine which, typically, doesn’t like these damp conditions.

Early race leaders, Jorge Martin and Jack Miller eventually came home in 6th and 7th respectively.

Further down the pack, it was a difficult day for reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia – he came home in 14th and scored no points, meaning his championship lead over Bezzecchi has been cut to 27 points.

It was an even tougher day for Marc Marquez, coming home in 18th and seemingly facing yet more issues on his Honda, and Fabio Quartararo who made no waves in the race at all – the Frenchman started the race last, in 22nd, and was only able to make up one place across the entire sprint race. A day to forget for both former champions.

The sprint races format, which is new for 2023 in this new era of MotoGP, has now given us 5 different winners across 9 different race weekends. The forecast for tomorrow’s main race is looking dry – can Alex Marquez replicate his win under those normal conditions?

As it happened

After a saturated free practice and qualifying session earlier in the day, the track was beginning to dry as the riders took to the grid for today’s sprint race. That left a lot of questions around tire selection and mid-race bike changes. As it turned out, every rider opted for medium wet tires and this seemed to be the ideal option as the rain would start falling before the race ended.

As the lights went out, Jack Miller and his KTM machine took an unsurprising early lead. He flew off the line and quickly got past polesitter Marco Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi put up an early fight but it was the Aussie who was clearly out in the lead by the end of the first few corners.

Further back down the pack, Pecco Bagnaia had a wobble and fell back from his starting position of 4th and in to a pack of squabbling riders. He was now back down in 12th after losing 8 places. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini clashed in the opening few corners, causing a large gap to form right in the middle of the pack.

Miller wasn’t able to keep hold of the lead for long – after getting past Augusto Fernandez to take 3rd, Jorge Martin flew up the inside of both Bezzecchi in 2nd and Miller in 1st to steal the lead of the race at Stowe corner. It didn’t last for long though and the Prima Pramac rider soon lost out to Bezzecchi and Miller again.

It was on lap 2 that Alex Marquez took the lead. He first shoved his way up the inside of Bezzecchi and then, a few corners later, flew past Miller and into the lead. By the end of lap 3, Marquez had a 0.5 second lead over the rest of the pack.

On lap 4, Maverick iInales and Aleix Espargaro make their way past Martin, who has now been shuffled back to 6th. On the following lap, Vinales was now battling with Miller for the final podium position.

At the halfway point, with his brother leading the pack by 0.8 seconds, Marc Marquez was still struggling down in 14th and he could be seen looking over his shoulder, suggesting there might have been an issue with his bike.

The grid then began to settle in to the race and everything seemed to calm down. Aleix Espargaro took 4th away from Miller, and shortly after we had Martin closing in on the Aussie too. Further back down the grid and Fabio Giannantonio took 12th away from Bagnaia, before Bastianini followed suit.

On lap 8, we had spots of rain appearing at various points on the circuit and, on lap 9, Bezzecchi was squeezing everything out of his Mooney VR46 machine as he went on the hunt for Marquez and the race win. By the start of the final lap, the gap has dropped from just over a second down to 0.8 seconds. Then, in the first sector of the final lap, Bezzecchi took another 0.3 seconds off this gap. Sadly, in the end, Bezzecchi just ran out of road and came home 0.366s behind maiden premier class winner Alex Marquez.

Full Results
1st Alex Marquez Gresini
2nd Marco Bezzecchi Mooney VR46
3rd Maverick Vinales Aprilia
4th Johan Zarco Prima Pramac
5th Aleix Espargaro Aprilia
6th Jorge Martin Prima Parmac
7th Jack Miller Red Bull KTM
8th Augusto Fernandez GASGAS Tech3
9th Brad Binder Red Bull KTM
10th Miguel Oliveira CryptoDATA RNF
11th Luca Marini Mooney VR46
12th Fabio Di Giannantonio Gresini
13th Enea Bastianini Ducati
14th Pecco Bagnaia Ducati
15th Franco Morbidelli Yamaha
16th Pol Espargaro GASGAS Tech3
17th Joan Mir Repsol Honda
18th Marc Marquez Repsol Honda
19th Raul Fernandez CryptoDATA RNF
20th Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda
21st Fabio Quartararo Yamaha
22nd Icer Lecuona LCR Honda
Championship Standings
1st Pecco Bagnaia 194 points
2nd Marco Bezzecchi 167 points
3rd Jorge Martin 163 points
4th Johann Zarco 115 points
5th Brad Binder 115 points

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP on Twitter

MotoGP: Bezzecchi On Pole Despite British Downpour

During a typical summer’s day at the British Grand Prix, the rain poured at Silverstone for our first qualifying after the summer break. The conditions were difficult to master, with many riders falling, but one man was able to secure pole.

Marco Bezzecchi mastered the awful conditions on track today to bring his bike home in pole – his second consecutive pole position. However, his bike wasn’t unscathed. Bezzecchi went down in the dying minutes of Q2 whilst trying to improve on his time. His bike looked very much like it was ready for the scrap heap as the Italian rider walked to parc ferme. He will be joined on the front row by Jack Miller and Alex Marquez who also mastered the conditions.

As It Happens

Qualifying 1

The first rider to fall victim to the conditions was Fabio DiGiantonio. He faced a highside going into Abbey corner with 9 minutes remaining on the clock. It was a disappointing early end to the session for the rider was was fastest in practice and was sitting at the top of the timing sheets so far in qualifying.

A few minutes later, Fabio Quartararo aquaplanes at turn 16 – he is able to keep the bike upright and gets it going again to rejoin the session.

Franco Morbidelli is next to top the timing sheets and continues to beat his own time on his way to a Q2 spot.

Enea Bastianini was looking set to join Morbidelli in Q2, sitting comfortably in 2nd for much of the session. However, he was bested by Augusto Fernandez in the dying moments, as the Spanish rider set a 2:16.885.

It was a hugely difficult day for Quartararo who wasn’t able to find his rhythm again after the mid-session incident. He will start both of this weekend’s races from the back of the grid.

Qualifying 2

The first rider to top the timing sheets was Jack Miller who set a blistering lap time of 2:15.629 – it seemed to come out of nowhere as the Aussie left everything on the track whilst others were tip-toeing around.

With 6 and a half minutes left on the clock, Pecco Bagnaia had a fast crash after locking the breaks. He went down at turn 6 and despite hitching a lift on a moped, he wasn’t able to get back to the garage with enough time to get back on track for a hot lap. Luckily for the reigning champion, he had already laid down a fast lap and will still the race from 4th.

With the rain continuing to pour, more and more riders were falling, with turn 1 looking especially tricky. That included Alex Marquez and Luca Marini. The multiple yellow flags that were out for the final 3 minutes meant that no riders were able to improve on their lap times.

The final rider to fall in qualifying was provisional pole sitter, Marco Bezzecchi. His bike ended up looking like scrap but, again due to the resulting yellow flags, no one was able to beat his pole lap time of 2:15.359.

Feature Image Credit: Mooney VR46 on Twitter

Rally Finland 2023 – Day One Report, Friday

The first full day of action saw some real drama on the quick stages of Finland. The world champion would open the road throughout the day, courtesy of being the championship leader. The crews faced 108km’s over nine stages in total with the usual four stages being rerun in the afternoon and the second run of Harju which was the opener yesterday evening. The early top three from Thursday evening stage, was Ott, Thierry and Kalle.

First up then, SS2 Laukaa 1 – 11.78 km and Takamoto was fastest from Elfyn and Kalle. What a great stage from the Japanese star! There were a few changes in the leaderboard with Kalle moving into the lead from Ott, just four tenths of a second between the top two, with Elfyn on the same overall time as the Estonian. It was Thierry who fell a couple of places and was just half a second ahead of Takamoto as they fought for fourth overall.

The next one, SS3 Lankamaa 1 – 14.21 km was where we saw the first bit of drama with Ott exiting the stage after an impact to the bottom of the engine and this saw the Puma lose power, The Estonian pair were out not only for the day, but it was later confirmed that they would not be re-joining for the remaining two days. It was a double whammy for M-Sport as well, with Pierre-Louis taking a wheel off his Puma. What a shame for the Cumbrian based team. Everyone gained a place apart from the two leaders Kalle and Elfyn who were separated by just 2.2 seconds. In WRC2 Sami was holding the lead from Jari, the gap even closer at 1.5 seconds.

WRC – World Rally Championship 2023

The top three in SS4 Myhinpää 1 – 15.51 km was Kalle, Elfyn and Esapekka. The two top Hyundai crews were beginning to fight for the final spot on the podium, just 0.3 separating them at the end of this one. In WRC2 Sami was fastest from Emil and Adrien and there was a change in the top two, with Emil moving ahead into second, Jari dropping one place to third.

The final stage of the morning loop then, SS5 Halttula 1 – 9.14 km and Kalle was fastest again, but his teammate Elfyn was just three tenths down from the Finnish driver. Unfortunately, we lost EP in this one. The Finn ran wide and ended up hitting some trees, heavily damaging his i20. In WRC2 Andreas was fastest from Jari and Georg. Sami continued to lead the category from Jari who’d moved back into second pushing Emil back to third.

After the lunchtime service, SS6 Laukaa 2 – 11.78 km was won by Kalle from Takamoto and Teemu. Takamoto and Thierry now held third overall, 16 seconds from the lead. The returning Jari-Matti was learning a lot in his first drive of the GR Yaris Rally1 and having a lot of fun to boot! Sami continued to lead in WRC2 from Jari and Emil.

The second run of SS7 Lankamaa 2 – 14.21 km and again Kalle was fastest from Elfyn, just three tenths between them, and Takamoto third again. The Japanese star moved ahead of Thierry and into third overall. Jari was fastest in the WRC2 category from Sami and Nikolay who moved up into third in the category.

Into SS8 Myhinpää 2 – 15.51 km and there was drama for the world champions as Kalle and Jonne rolled their GR Yaris! Thierry won the stage from Elfyn and Takamoto with the result that the Belgian moved into second overall. Elfyn deserved to lead the rally after the exit of his teammate, the gap between him and Thierry now 10.9 seconds. Sami was still the leader of WRC2 from Jari and Nikolay.

2023 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 9, Rally Finland
3 – 6 August 2023
Thierry Neuville
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

The penultimate stage of the day, the final proper stage of Friday and Thierry was fastest from Takamoto and Elfyn, the Toyota teammates setting the same time. Elfyn’s lead remained a very strong 9.7 seconds. There was a change in WRC2 though with Jari moving into the lead of the category and Sami dropping down to second place.

The final stage then of the day, SS10 Harju 2 – 3.48 km and Takamoto set the early pace before Thierry and then Elfyn came through and went first and second fastest. It is well known the Belgian likes the small super special stages and Elfyn not so much. The gap was trimmed a little to 6.9 seconds between the top two.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

1 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 51:34.4
2 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +6.9
3 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +16.4
4 T. Suninen M. Marrkula Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +28.8
5 J. M. Latvala J. Hänninen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:23.7

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“We had a good start this morning, quite clean with no big mistakes. It was pretty fast-paced out there and there were a few small places where we could have been better, which can be frustrating when the gaps are only a few tenths of a second on each stage. It was quite wet on and off during the day and grip was not so high, but I generally enjoyed it in the car. The conditions caught a few people out, and unfortunately Kalle was also one of those. He was doing a great job and I was sorry to see him go out that way. There’s still a long way to go, and although tomorrow should be a drier day, we could still be in for some slippery conditions.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“We started very well this morning with the stage win in Laukaa. I like that stage, but the beginning section was new, so I was not sure how the time would be. But I felt very good with the car and we had a good run. Then in the following stages I was a bit too careful and losing quite a bit of time. The conditions this afternoon especially were very tricky and changing a lot. But overall, I’m quite happy as we’re still pretty close to the top positions. Hopefully we can continue like this tomorrow and try to push a bit more, but it will be a big day and a big challenge.”

Jari-Matti Latvala

“It’s been a great day in the car. I could never have imagined that we could be fifth overall after Friday. We haven’t been so fast, but I tried to keep everything under control and have a good rhythm. We have been about six tenths of a second per kilometre from the fastest guys, which is better than I expected, so I’m really happy with that. It’s an amazing feeling driving this car. Some of the stages have been really nice, and some of the conditions have been really difficult. We’ve not had this kind of Rally Finland with such variable conditions for a very long time. Hopefully tomorrow we can continue having a really nice experience.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“The day was going well. We had a good morning loop as the first car on the road, and it was a nice fight with Elfyn. We could be a little bit quicker without over pushing. The way we crashed was quite unfortunate and I feel like I couldn’t have done much more in this corner. Under braking, the speed felt fine, but as first car in the mud we had a big slide. Even with full lock steering I couldn’t straighten the car, and in the ditch, we hit something hard which sent us flying. It’s definitely a pity for the team and for the fans that we are out of the fight like this. Hopefully the car is OK, and we can get back out there tomorrow.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Now we have no choice; Kalle, one of our main contenders, is out, and Elfyn is also in front of us in the championship. We are fighting for a victory, and we are going to go for it. The day was good; I don’t think I have been in a position to fight for a win in Finland before. It was very challenging, lots of grip changes but we kept it all under control. We worked a bit on the car to find more speed, but we could see the Toyotas were faster. We had to keep our rhythm and make no mistakes. Tomorrow, we’re going to push even harder.”

Teemu Suninen

“I’m quite happy with today; it’s been super tricky conditions with the rain and the grip changes, but I have been comfortable with the car and managed to stay close to the front. I’ve been missing a little bit of pace, but I think if we can push to the limit then we can find it. This afternoon I was nearly flat out on the first two stages and set some good times; step by step I am improving my driving. The dream to get a podium is still alive but I need to have a good day tomorrow.”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 09, Rally Finland
02-05 August 2023
Teemu Suninen, Mikko Markkula, Hyundai i20 N Rally 1
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Esapekka Lappi

“Physically, everything is ok; a swollen ankle for me but no broken bones. The accident was a pace note mistake, I was too optimistic for the right-hand corner, we were too fast, and we went into the trees. The information from my side was wrong when we did the recce. To be honest, I wanted to be closer to the lead of the rally, so I wasn’t overly satisfied with how our day was going. It is a shame we are unable to re-join the rally for the rest of the event, but the main thing is both Janne and myself, are fine. I am really sorry for the team and the Finnish fans as this was the rally, I was most looking forward to and I was eager get a strong result. We now look forward to Greece and hopefully return to the good feeling we had earlier in the season.”

Summary

Well, what an amazing first day. Lots of drama out there. What does Saturday hold? Well, there are 160km’s over eight stages. Elfyn will want to hit the ground running and look to build on his lead. Can Thierry fight back and take the lead? It will be interesting to watch and find out.

Rally Finland 2023 Preview – The Rally of a 1000 Lakes!

The championship continues with the ninth round of this season. Kalle and Jonne lead the race for the title and have a 55-point lead over their teammates Elfyn and Scott. This will be the 72nd time that this event is run.

In terms of the challenge facing the crews this year there are 320km’s over 22 stages. The longest day is Saturday with 160km’s over eight stages. The action starts on Friday with the short 3.5km Harju stage.

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

After shakedown on Thursday morning, Rally Finland begins with the fan-favourite 3.48km Harju 1 Super Special Stage.

Friday’s nine-stage itinerary opens with the 11.78km Laukaa stage and closes with the second attempt of the Harju super special stage.

Saturday features fewer stages yet the longest competitive distance, totalling 160.68km across two loops of Västilä, Päijälä, Rapsula and Vekkula.

Sunday will round up the rally with 54.61km and four stages, with the second run of Himos-Jämsä acting as the event’s Power Stage.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“Our home rally always feels a bit different to every other rally, especially because it’s in our hometown and because it’s a home rally for the team as well. So, there’s always more excitement and huge support from all the fans and I want to try my best to win it if we can. At the same time, we have to be clever with the championship in mind, not to waste the lead that we’ve built. Starting first on the road in Finland, it’s never easy to match the speed of the quick drivers starting behind us or catch up the time afterwards: last year we lost around 20 seconds on Friday and gained almost 15 seconds back over the rest of the rally. But let’s see what we can do this year.”

Elfyn Evans

“Rally Finland is certainly a highlight of the season, especially for the local drivers but also for myself. I always enjoy the event and I’m looking forward to it. There’s no feeling quite like driving on the Finnish rally roads, and if you can be at one with your car then I think nothing can match that in terms of enjoyment behind the wheel. I wasn’t completely satisfied in Estonia but Finland is not exactly the same: there are some different characteristics and a different setup can be required. Our testing in Finland this week is giving us a good chance to prepare and make sure we start the rally with the right setup, which is crucial.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Rally Finland is a very special rally and one that I always look forward to. I think of it like my second home rally as I pretty much grew up as a rally driver on Finnish roads. The speeds are similar to Estonia, but the feeling is totally different, because the grip from the road is usually very high. I want to improve on my speed from the last rally, and I could use my test day this week to try and understand what didn’t work for me in Estonia and to find a good car setup for the Finnish roads. I will try to enjoy the rally and push as much as I can. It’s important to get a good result for the team, for myself and my family who will be there watching too.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)

“Rally Finland is always a special occasion for our team. For me it’s going to be an extra-special feeling this year to get back behind the wheel on a WRC event, and my aim as a driver will be first and foremost to enjoy that experience. The team’s target as always is to win and the focus for that is with our regular crews. There will be fantastic support for Kalle and Jonne as world champions and championship leaders, and the victory in Estonia gives them a good boost. I think Rally Finland could be a bigger challenge, with different grip levels and returning stages like Myhinpää that Kalle hasn’t driven before. Elfyn meanwhile knows what it takes to win in Finland, and we hope that he can challenge again, and also that Taka can drive with confidence on roads he usually enjoys. We can expect a close-fought rally and the team has been working hard in testing this week to give our drivers the best car possible.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Fighting for the podium in Finland will be important in terms of the championship, but it’s going to be tough. Finland is always difficult to predict; during the recce, you never really know what the actual speed will be when you arrive at certain points in your rally car, but my experience over the past years will help. Tyre choice here is very easy: only the soft tyre works, even when the temperatures are higher, because the wear isn’t that high here. You need lots of precision and protection in the car for all of the landings. The competition will be fierce. Most of them are Scandinavian drivers, so they will be hard to beat, but we are feeling confident in ourselves and the car following our podium in Estonia.”

Esapekka Lappi

“I would love to win this weekend in Finland. Regardless of the result, the atmosphere is exactly what you want to have in front of your home crowd – it’s very special. Rally Finland is an event with a lot of crests and jumps and normally quite high grip, and it is famous for the incredible speed. To prepare for the rally we have to do some endurance training, but we also need some muscle to keep our spines alive because the landings are really hard on some jumps! We had some good fights in Estonia with our competitors, and I hope we can be in the mix again – hopefully in front of them – in Finland next weekend.”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 8, Rally Estonia
20 – 23 July 2023
Teemu Suninen
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Teemu Suninen

“Rally Finland is probably my favourite rally and this year it’s going to be really interesting for us. I will take the good experience from Estonia to help prepare for Rally Finland. Almost all of the corners are over crests at least, if not jumps, and it’s an amazing feeling when the car feels like it is flying every second corner. Maintaining focus will be a bit challenging because there is always something happening, so we basically have double pace notes. It’s a lot of information coming from the co-driver as we have to be really focused and precise. I was really happy with what we achieved in Estonia, which has given me confidence we can continue to progress in Finland and make a step towards my teammates.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“Finland generally is much more demanding event than Estonia. I’ve enjoyed driving there in the past and we have had some great performances in Finland before. Estonia was very tough, and we couldn’t score points we needed from there unfortunately, but we still produced some good pace.

“Our focus is to find best possible feeling from Rally Finland shakedown and then we just push for the best possible result over the weekend!”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I am happy to continue on to my third rally in three weeks, it’s been a busy July! But it’s given me a lot of driving time and I think we are well prepared for Finland. We drove in very hard conditions at the weekend in Tampere, and we are ready to take on Rally Finland. The target is to do a bit better than in Estonia, stay a bit closer to Ott in terms of pace and continue our progress in the car.”

WRC2 Category

Oliver Solberg

“This rally is a special one for everybody,” said Oliver. “It’s really special for our family – I grew up watching my dad’s record-breaking run through Ouninpohja, it’s still one of the coolest places to go on YouTube!

“It’s the kind of event which goes beyond the stages; rallying is kind of a way of life in Finland and especially in Jyväskylä. Anybody who knows me knows that rallying is my way of life – so you can imagine I’m really excited about this week.

“It’s fair to say my first two attempts at this event haven’t gone completely to plan,” he said. “I didn’t finish the stages and that’s what I need to do this time. I need to get through the rally and understand more about things like the evolution of the road from the first to the second pass.

“It would be nice to win more stages this week, but the main thing is to leave with a really good understanding of Rally Finland. It’s an event which demands specific things from the car – for example you need good lateral grip as much as you need commitment and perfect pacenotes. That’s what me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] are working on this week.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Finland is a very fast, soft gravel rally, the stages are beautiful and it’s really nice to drive. It’s a nice surprise for me to be here, it wasn’t originally on my programme, so I’m taking it as a nice gift after a good start to the season! I really want to enjoy this rally and the experience of being in Finland again.

“Our BRC outings are really helping with our confidence as well as development of the car, which is all good for the WRC2 campaign. The goal for Finland is to take this experience and try to be in the fight for the podium, so we’ll see where we can be. It’ll be my first time in Finland in the Rally2, so it will be interesting and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Grégoire Munster

“Our victory in Estonia in JWRC will be a big help to us in Finland, the roads are quite similar and quite fast. It was good preparation to get in the rhythm for roads that we aren’t so familiar with. There is a really strong competitor field in Finland, with lots of local, specialist drivers. It will be challenging but we’re aiming for a good result, hopefully we can show some good speed against those guys who know these roads so well.”

Summary

Well, what an iconic rally that we are awaiting the start for. The question is, who will fight at the front? It’s hard to look past the Finns that will be competing. 2017 winner, Esapekka will certainly be on the pace and given his starting position as well, will be winning stages. However, Thierry who showed really surprising pace in Estonia and led early on. Can he and Martijn show the same pace that they did in Estonia? Of course, Hyundai won this rally last year with Ott and Martin when they were there.

However, Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport team will hope that having former Rally Finland winners Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja in one of their Puma Rally1 cars will lead to a great result. They certainly showed great pace in Estonia last time out and will be on the pace, I am sure! With their teammates, Pierre-Louis and Nicolas Gilsoul, the young Frenchman will be looking to show great pace and understand the unique nature of these stages.

Finally at Toyota, Jari-Matti will sit in an extra car, whilst Kalle, Elfyn and Takamoto go for the top times. The Welshman only has to think back three years to this rally when he and Scott took a brilliant result. They could repeat that result this weekend, and I know a certain group of fans that would be really happy with that. Takamoto could get a really good result here. It is well known that he has lived in Finland for some years and could deliver a really good performance.

Subaru Motorsports USA Unveil New Open Class Rally Car

Earlier today Subaru Motorsports USA and Vermont Sportscar unveiled the new VT23r chassis for competition in the American Rally Association.

What Is The New Chassis?

© Matthew Stryker, subaru.com/motorsports 2023

The VT23r is the newest iteration of a Vermont Sportscar built open class rally car. Subaru Motorsports USA and Vermont Sportscar would say farewell to the VA chassis of cars yesterday. Unveiling the new VB chassis today (VT23r). The new chassis sports a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder boxer engine producing 320hp and 380 lb-ft of torque. The engine also includes the ARA-mandated 33mm restrictor plate and a 22 psi boost limit. The VT23r will sport the iconic Blue and Gold Subaru livery, made iconic by drivers such as Petter Solberg, Richard Burns and Colin McRae. 

Driver Quotes

Both Pastrana and Semenuk would comment on the new VT23r chassis. Pastrana would say “So excited about the 2024 ARA rally championship. The new Subaru platform is amazing and the chance to bagle again with two-time and defending champion Brandon Semenuk is going to be so much fun. When Brandon joined the team, I was the veteran. But the tables have turned and I’m looking forward to learning a lot and hopefully getting back to the top. I’ve only been away from the sport for a year but a lot has changed and I’m ready for the new challenge.” 

2023 champion Brandon Semenuk would say “The release of the new car will bring an exciting future along with it. This platform has been completely reengineered and the car looks and feels more dynamic, which will translate to an even better show for the fans! We will also have Travis coming back to the championship next season, which I’m looking forward to. Not only is it more fun having a teammate, but you learn so much more with a two-car team and this will be important for the ongoing development of the platform.”

Debuting Soon

© Matthew Stryker, subaru.com/motorsports 2023

Subaru Motorsports USA would also confirm the new VT23r will debut at the ARA’s seventh round the Ojibwe Forests Rally later this month. The car will debut with 2022 and 2023 ARA Champion Brandon Semenuk behind the wheel. The Ojibwe Forests Rally takes place on the 25th and 26th of August. You can follow along with what should be another dominant rally by Brandon Semenuk right here on the Pitcrew Online. 

Surprise (Sort Of)

Along with announcing the new VT23r chassis, Vermont Sportscar and Subaru Motorsports USA would confirm that 6-time American Rally Champion Travis Pastrana will return to competition in a new VT23r in 2024. Pastrana would take the 2023 season off to focus on other things. This came after Pastrana failed to win a rally during the entire 2022 season. To be fair to Travis he was injured and Ken Block and Brandon Semenuk were blistering quick. Pastrana should be able to give Semenuk the competition he’s been missing this season next season. As Travis Pastrana is the only driver to beat 10-time champion David Higgins for a championship. 

Formula E London E-Prix Round 15 and 16 Race Report: Dennis Appears the Home Hero with Title Win

Round 15 and 16 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship drew to a close in the British capital of London. The track certainly delivered as Jake Dennis became world champion, the first British world champion and the first world champion to win it at their home track. At the finale, it was Envision that picked up the prize, sealing the teams championship.

In the first race, it was an Envision front row lockout in the first lap with Nick Cassidy leading the way from Sebastien Buemi. Championship hopeful Dennis informed his team early on of his issues with contact in the opening laps, dropping down the pack. Mitch Evans battled Rene Rast after his 5 place grid penalty but the McLaren driver held position. The NIO 333 of Dan Ticktum had a home race to forget as he lost positions in the early stages,  allowing Rast and Pascal Wehrlein past him.  In the early stages, drivers began to take their attack mode as Dennis closed up on the rear wing of Buemi. Race leader Cassidy proceeded to take his first attack mode and remained in the lead as Buemi held off Dennis. Mortara and Vandoorne collided with one another, which brought out a yellow flag but no penalty was given to either driver.

Everything seemed to be going the way of Jake Dennis to claim his first championship title. But then…disaster struck for the championship leader. He started to fall down down the grid, with championship rival Evans overtaking him. Di Grassi and Frijns found themselves under investigation for their collision with the Abt Cupra driver pitting for a new front wing.  Things continued to get worse for Dennis as he missed one of the activation zones, and wasn’t able to take attack mode when prompted.  A yellow flag was brought out for a slippery surface with Vergne having to pit too as Evans held the lead from Buemi in P2 and Cassidy in P3.

As the time ticked on, Dennis overtook Cassidy for P4 with Rast fighting his way into the final podium position, then into second place as attack mode began to be taken with Evans still maintaining the lead.  Drama unfolded as Cassidy, who was hoping to fight for the title, picked up damage on his front wing after contact with his teammate, leaving the Kiwi furious. Cassidy had to pit for a new front wing as a safety car came out. Evans still continued to lead ahead of Buemi and Rast. Wehrlein was holding off a visibly frustrated Dennis for P4, a position he required to keep hold of his championship.

Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6, leads Sebastien Buemi, Envision Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6 Credit: Formula E’s Media

At the start,  Evans BOLTED away. Dennis and Wehrlein had not taken ANY attack mode and as it stood at that moment, Dennis was only 5 points ahead of Mitch Evans in the championship standings. Dennis attempted to take his attack mode again but missed again, with the Brit complaining to his team that it didn’t work, leaving the Andretti man in P5 as Sam Bird took over the lead of the race.  Cassidy never recovered from his damage, having to retire from the race due to his collision with Buemi, leaving his championship hopes in tatters.  Lotterer  received a 5 second penalty for causing a collision as a safety car was brought out for Fenestraz who collided into the barriers due to a break failure going into turn 16. Wehrlein hit the barrier before the safety car and dropped down to P13. Race Control brought out a red flag for barrier repairs as Rast, who was in P3, had to drop to the back of the field due to breaking parc ferme conditions.

The race restarted with Evans holding the lead ahead of Buemi and Da Costa. Dennis held P4, but required P3 to seal the title. Shortly after the race resumed however, Hughes called it to a stop, going into the barriers before a red flag was called with a multi car pileup after turn 16. Nato went for a lunge on a flagging Buemi, causing a collision with Bird and Sette Camara caught in the crossfire. The cars were called back to the pits with Scot Elkins instructing all cars except the top three of Evans, Da Costa and Dennis to do an extra lap. With two laps to go, the racing resumed with Dennis  closing in on Da Costa for P2. However, as the time ticked down, it was declared that Da Costa had a 3 MINUTE time penalty for a technical infringement, allowing Dennis to seal P2 and subsquently, the title. Jake Dennis was crownd the ABB FIA Formula E World Champion of season 9, finishing P2 with title rival Evans winning the race.

Round 16

The final race of ABB FIA Formula E Season 9 started behind a safety car due to the amount of rain on the track. Three laps were performed behind the car before a red flag was declared by race control.  Drivers then got into their cars at 5:45pm London time before doing two more laps behind the safety car before another red flag was declared. The race then got underway at 6:30pm London time before having two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.

Norman Nato, Nissan Formula E Team, Nissan e-4ORCE 04 Image Credit: Formula E’s Media Bank

There was a huge amount of less grip on the track today due to the rain and many drivers immediately went for attack mode. By lap 10, Cassidy and Evans had a gap of over 2 seconds to champion Dennis in P3. As the time ticked down, Cassidy held the lead and took attack mode with Dennis following him close behind. At the half way point before added laps, Wehrlein and Rast both had 1 attack mode remaining. Fenestraz and Vergne were fighting with Fenestraz getting ahead of the DS Penske. The gaps began to open up in the latter half of the race, as Cassidy held a two second lead over Evans. The top two kept trading the fastest lap point as they battled for the teams championship.

Bird tried to attack Buemi but Buemi held onto the position. Ticktum also tried to get past Muller for the teams championship between NIO 333 and Mahindra. 4 added laps was added onto the race. Frijns had managed to get ahead of Di Grassi as we entered the final lap of the season. Cassidy managed to take victory over the rest of the field to seal the team championship for Envision.  with  Evans finished P2 and  Dennis P3. Norman Nato finished P4, ahead of Vandoorne and Buemi, Bird took a P7 in his final race with Jaguar with Muller in P8 and Ticktum and Wehrlein rounding out the top ten.

The top 10 in the championship were:

1st – Jake Dennis (Champion) (Andretti)
2nd – Nick Cassidy (Envision)
3rd – Mitch Evans (Jaguar)
4th – Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche)
5th – Jean-Eric Vergne (Penske)
6th – Sebastian Buemi (Envision)
7th – Maximilian Guenther (Maserati)
8th – Sam Bird (Jaguar)
9th – Antonio Felix-Da Costa (Porsche)
10th – Norman Nato (Nissan)

The Teams Championship went as follows:

1st – Envision Racing (Champions)
2nd – Jaguar TCS Racing
3rd – Avalanche Andretti Formula E
4th – Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
5th – DS Penske
6th – Maserati MSG Racing
7th – Nissan Formula E Team
8th – Neom McLaren Formula E Team
9th – Nio 333 Racing
10th – Mahindra Racing
11th – Abt Cupra Formula E Team

F1 – Where do Alpine go next after boardroom chaos?

“I always say, you can’t get nine women pregnant and hope you have a baby in a month.”

That was the bizarre quote from the now former Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, with the American removed from the team following a bruising 12-month period.

He leaves alongside stalwart Alan Permane, with Sporting Director also out after 34 years and numerous roles with the team.

Alpine’s new motorsport director, Bruno Famin, will be acting team principal during this period, and is assessing the team’s F1 operations.

Famin said at the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday that the moves had been made with “the aim of reaching faster the level of performance we are waiting for” with Szafnauer and Permane being “not on the same line on the timeline” and that “we have a different view of the way of doing it”.

The duo’s departure was hastily announced on the Saturday of the Belgian Grand Prix, and all seems rather sudden in keeping with an often messy period for Alpine and Renault’s most recent F1 project

Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry also departs, to take a similar with Williams from November, although this is unrelated to the departures of Permane and Szafnauer.

All of this comes two weeks after the Team’s CEO Laurent Rossi, a divisive and fiery character, was moved on to work on other “special projects” with Alpine and parent company Renault.

That leaves the team needing to fill its four most senior positions at the same time.

Why did Alpine hire Szafnauer?

Szafnauer was poached from Racing Point for the 2021 season following the sacking of Cyril Abiteboul, with the passionate Frenchman ditched after heading the Renault factory programme following their return as a team in 2016.

Abiteboul had overseen genuine progress from an awful 2016 after the French marque had re-bought the ailing Lotus team after selling up in 2010, with the team on the podium twice in 2020.

He had a habit of getting into public spats, most notably with the equally spiky Christian Horner at Red Bull following Renault’s still unsolved engine woes and the signing of Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull for 2019. That Ricciardo saw fit to ditch the Renault project after one year signalled the beginning of the end and a search for a new Team Principal.

Having worked with BAR and later the Honda F1 team for ten years from 1998 before a 12-year stint at Racing Point in its various guises from 2009, Szafnauer was seen as an experienced and shrewd operator.

He oversaw the rise of the Silverstone team from perennial back markers through to solid midfield runners and occasional podium finishers, culminating in Sergio Perez’s Sakhir GP win, garnering great respect as the team consistently punched above its weight.

He was ultimately tasked at Renault with implementing their “100 race plan” to get back to the front, a plan which save for Esteban Ocon’s shock – and fortuitous – win in Hungary that year – looks as far away as ever as the Enstone outfit languish in sixth, over 100 points behind a stated aim of fourth.

A chastening 12 months

Cracks in Alpine’s leadership can be traced back to the Hungarian Grand Prix last year.

Alpine were playing hardball with Fernando Alonso when negotiating a new contract beyond 2021, the team mistakenly believed that the Spaniard, who won two World Drivers’ Championships with the team in their mid-noughties heyday between 2005-06, had no other options.

Alonso’s move to Aston Martin announced the Monday after a race that saw him clash with Ocon came as a surprise right up to raceday in Budapest, and to rub salt into the wound has worked out for him.

He was for the first third of the season the only driver to even resemble a challenge to Red Bull and still lies third in the standings despite Aston Martin’s recent lull, the team having made great progress since a dreadful start to 2022.

Alpine then rushed to announce then junior driver Oscar Piastri as his replacement with a press release issued that day, curiously with no quotes from their supposed new driver.

Piastri would then issue a humiliating rebuke later that evening as he was in talks with McLaren, and the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board found against Alpine – criticising the team in the process.

Alpine went on to sign Pierre Gasly, who has done well for a team not operating at the level in previous years, but the damage to Alpine’s reputation, and particularly those of Rossi and Szafnauer, following the saga was significant.

Pierre Gasly’s third place in the Belgian Sprint race was a rare high in 2023 – Image: Pirelli F1

A poor start of 2022 was brought to a head by Rossi’s scathing criticism of the team’s performance, accusing it of “a performance deficit and an execution deficit” before stating, that it was “not worthy of of our resources” and going to accuse the team of “dilettantism (amatuerishness)” after a poor Bahrain Grand Prix where Ocon served three penalties, one for not serving an initial penalty correctly.

 

 

The one high point prior to Spa was an excellent podium for Ocon in Monaco and an excellent showing overall, and Gasly’s podium in the Belgian sprint ensured a positive weekend for the team.

They are currently sixth in the Constructors’ Championship on 57 points, as close to a rejuvenated McLaren in fifth as they are Williams in seventh.

What next?

The question of what next is impossible to answer with any certainty.

To fill one role at short notice is difficult but Alpine at least have the summer break to begin the process of filling those four roles, with the next race not until the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort at the end of August.

Famin is for now the interim team principal while Julian Rouse, head of the team’s young driver academy, temporarily fills the void left by Permane as interim sporting director.

Famin’s time will likely be taken up with  conducting an audit of the team’s Formula 1 operations but he cannot afford to dither.

At present the team are rudderless and with a lack of immediate options, may have to promote from within.

The team have faced accusations from former Renault driver and senior advisor Alain Prost, of a variety of faults ranging from corporate interference, a lack of structure and in the case of Rossi arrogance.

The four-time World Champion drew comparisons with Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda with Lewis Hamilton,  and Christian Horner, Adrian Newey with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

Prost, who left the team in 2021, then highlighted that the team’s only successful period this century was with Flavio Briatore and Fernando Alonso as a partnership with the point being that works teams perform better if the team is separate from the company.

The team have a lot of issues to fix from arguably their lowest ebb since that 2016 nadir. They have shown in the past that they can turn things around but the job, and pressure, is bigger now.

Whether Alpine take Prost’s advice remains to be seen, at the most critical point in the team’s journey since a return to factory status.

 

Images courtesy of Pirelli F1

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