Thruxton is the fastest circuit that the British Superbike circus visits all year. So, to compliment the preview, I put together some fast facts for you guys to ponder over whilst the races are on.
Shane Byrne hasn’t won six consecutive races since 2003, on the Monstermob Ducati. If he wins both races this weekend, that could all change.
Josh Brookes and Shane Byrne are both looking for their third double victory at Thruxton this weekend.
Kawasaki haven’t won at Thruxton since Shane Byrne did the double in 2013.
Leon Haslam has never won at Thruxton. His last podium came in 2006.
Luke Mossey or Bradley Ray could become the first riders to win a 125cc race and a Superbike race at Thruxton if he wins on Sunday.
10 riders on the BSB grid have won at Thruxton previously.
Ducati’s last double at Thruxton came with Gregorio Lavilla in 2006.
Shane Byrne’s first win at Thruxton came in 2002.
For the past two seasons, one winner of the Thruxton round has gone on to become champion in the same year.
The last time the pole sitter of race two won at Thruxton was Leon Camier back in 2009.
Honda’s last win at Thruxton came with Ian Lowry in 2012.
The last time a Honda qualified on pole at Thruxton was 2013, with Alex Lowes.
Driving for Ferrari in Formula One is seen as more than just driving the car. You become an icon of an army of fans in Italy and indeed around the world. You become instantly recognised in Italy, and are hailed as a God.
Many drivers have endeared themselves to the Tifosi, even non-natives. Such examples include Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda and Jean Alesi. However one of the best drivers to race for Ferrari, was Nigel Mansell.
The 1992 world champion drove for the Prancing Horse in 1989 and 1990, with the Brit having the honour of being the last driver Enzo Ferrari signed before he passed away in 1988.
It didn’t take Mansell long to embed himself into the heart of the Tifosi. Affectionately named Il Leone, because of his fearless driving style, Mansell won his first race for the team in Brazil.
Though it seemed more likely Mansell would be leaving early. The team’s revolutionary semi-automatic gearbox was so high-risk, that Mansell retired from most of the sessions that weekend. There’s a paddock rumour that he booked an early flight home midway through the race as he was so confident his car wouldn’t see the finish!
However against all odds, and a steering wheel coming loose mid-race, Mansell took the win, in the hometown of perennial rival Nelson Piquet.
It was to be a trying season for Mansell and Maranello, as the car was in a constant flux of development for a title push in 1990. He retired from the next four races with various issues, such as a gearbox failure at Imola.
Source: deviantart.com
His form picked up midway through the season though, with podiums in France, Britain and Germany, but it was at the Hungaroring where ‘Il Leone’ showed his fighting spirit.
Qualifying 12th, Mansell made his way up to second behind Ayrton Senna’s McLaren with just 20 laps to go. Hungary is still a tough place to overtake, with it being known as ‘Monaco without the barriers’ but Mansell hunted down the legendary Brazilian with aplomb.
When Senna hesitated to lap Stefan Johansson, Mansell seized his chance. He swung to the outside and passed both of them, taking the lead and winning the race. In Mansell’s autobiography, Staying On Track, he describes it as one of his favourite overtaking manoeuvres.
The rest of the season didn’t quite pan out as Mansell was banned for the Spanish Grand Prix after colliding with Senna and being disqualified in Portugal the week before. However he finished fourth in the championship with 38 points.
1990 saw reigning world champion Alain Prost move to Maranello, and a year of turbulence was on the horizon.
The Tifosi adored Mansell, giving him various awards and accolades. As well as his nickname, he was given a golden helmet, a small lion statue, and when he left the team at the end of the 1990 season, he was sent a trophy with the words ‘Our World Champion of 1990’ inscribed on it.
Meanwhile Prost stayed at Ferrari until 1991 when he was sacked for criticising the car. “In Japan, the car was like a horrible truck to drive. No pleasure at all. I’ve underlined the defects of the Ferrari throughout the season, but no-one has listened to a word.” Prost was fired by Ferrari and paid off to not drive for 1992.
Source: deviantart.com
He was also partially the reason Mansell left the team. Prost was notorious for being very political, playing the gallery to suit his needs. Mansell was number one driver when Prost arrived, but that changed as the Frenchman was given preferential treatment.
At Silverstone, Mansell’s home race, Prost supposedly saw Mansell’s car was much better and ordered the team to switch their cars, meaning Prost now had the better car. This knocked the steam out of Mansell and so he saw the season as a ‘retirement year.’
However there was one incredible moment in the ’90 season. At Mexico, Nigel was approaching former team mate Gerhard Berger in the McLaren approaching the high speed Peraltada corner. After a few weaving moves down the straight, Mansell moved to the outside and passed Berger around the outside. It’s considered one of the best moves in Formula One history.
Mansell was ready to retire following his acrimonious year with Prost, until Frank Williams intervened and asked him to return to Williams, where he finally won the title in 1992 after over 10 years of trying.
Nigel is still revered by the Tifosi, and while many Brits have driven for the Prancing Horse, such as Tony Brooks, Mike Hawthorn and Eddie Irvine, none are more loved than ‘Il Leone’ or as we know him, ‘Our Nige.’
Here’s the story as to how Esapekka Lappi took his maiden WRC victory, on only his fourth top tier start!
We were treated to an amazing Finnish Rally this year. Just like last year, it will go down in history, but for very different reasons. It all started as usual with shakedown on Thursday morning and once more it was very close.
SHAKEDOWN STANDINGS
Meeke / Nagle (Citroën C3 WRC) 2:14.3
Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:14.4
Tänak / Jarveoja (Ford Fiesta WRC) 2:14.8
Latvala / Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:14.9
Sordo / Marti (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:15.2
Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) 2:15.3
Østberg / Floene (Ford Fiesta WRC) 2:15.6
Paddon / Marshall (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:15.6
Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) 2:15.8
Lappi / Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2:16.0
Moving onto the first stage that evening and Ott won the stage from Thierry and Seb. The top ten looked like this.
1 Tanak 1m44.1s
2 Neuville +1.1s
3 Ogier 1.5s
4 Breen +1.6s
5 Latvala +2.2s
6 Paddon +2.5s
7 Hänninen +2.7s
8 Meeke +3.0s
9 Evans +3.1s
10 Sordo +3.5s
13 Lappi +5.7s
This was the full schedule that the drivers could look forward to on Saturday then and the day dawned bright and sunny, although there were reports that rain would be making an appearance later in the day.
FRIDAY JULY 28
6.05am: Service A (Jyväskylä – 15 mins)
7.12am: SS2 – Halinen 1 (7.65km)
7.45am: SS3 – Urria 1 (12.75km)
8.48am: SS4 – Jukojärvi 1 (21.31km)
10.06am: SS5 – Halinen 2 (7.65km)
10.38am: SS6 – Urria 2 (12.75km)
11.42am: SS7 – Jukojärvi 2 (21.31 km)
1.37pm: Service B (Jyväskylä – 30 mins)
3.00pm: SS8 – Äänekoski-Valtra 1 (7.39km)
4.13pm: SS9 – Laukaa 1 (11.76km)
5.11pm: SS10 – Lankamaa (21.68km)
6.09pm: SS11 – Äänekoski-Valtra 2 (7.39km)
7.22pm: SS12 – Laukaa 2 (11.76km)
8.30pm: SS13 – Harju 2 (2.31km)
9.00pm: Flexi Service C (Jyväskylä – 45 mins)
Just a short one to start the day, and Teemu would come out on top, showing all the drivers the way. Kris was just behind with Hayden just a few more tenths adrift. Overall, Ott still led with Thierry tumbling down the order to tenth. At the point Esapekka was 8.2 from first place.
SS2 – Halinen 1 (7.65km)
1 Suninen 3:39.7 (140kph)
2️ Meeke +0.1
3 Paddon +0.3
The news from Ogier at the end of stage 3 was not good. After a heavy landing, he started getting trouble from his throttle response, meaning that he’d lose just under 5 seconds and drop to sixth overall. The driver on the move was Teemu, who had slotted his Fiesta WRC into fifth overall. It was a Jari-Matti stage win, with Lappi admitting at the end of stage 2 that he’d been too cautious and deciding to let himself relax more. Top three quickest were all Finns. Incredibly, it wasn’t yet 9am in Finland at this point, but we’d had those stages completed already!
SS3 – Urria 1 (12.75km)
1 Latvala 5:56.4 (144kph)
2 Lappi +0.1
3 Suninen +0.4
Coming into stage four Seb was in sixth place, but after a heavy landing from a very big jump, much further on in the stage would see the car slide off the road and hit a tree, tearing the nearside rear wheel from the Fiesta. They were out for the day and would both visit hospital to be checked out. With the other M-Sport car of Ott, he’d get to the end of the stage with a puncture. He’d run wide and believes he’d caught a rock at the edge of the road. Sadly, Hayden would hit the same rock, but the damage was far worse and the number 4 Hyundai was out for the day. Through all this drama, came new flying Finn Esapekka. He won the stage and moved from tenth overall into second! All this despite stalling on the line at the start! Craig Breen also had a fright, after a heavy landing something not feeling right at the front and he was left hoping that there was nothing wrong with the suspension at the front.
SS4 – Jukojärvi 1 (21.31km)
1 Lappi 10:06.3 (126kph)
2 Latvala +1.3
3 Ostberg +5.6
Stage five then and it was another to go Lappi’s way, with his teammate just a tenth off, keeping his overall lead at 5.2 seconds. Kris also gained a place, passing Juho for sixth. The other Citroen was going well, fourth quickest in the stage and keeping third overall.
SS5 – Halinen 2 (7.65km)
1 Lappi 3:36.5 (140kph)
2 Latvala +0.1
3 Ostberg +0.5
Lappi was now really into the groove and completed stage six a full three seconds faster than Jari-Matti. Now the gap was just 2.2 seconds. In addition to that, Mads was closing on both Teemu and Craig, reducing the gap to them both by a second. He wanted third place.
SS6 – Urria 2 (12.75km)
1 Lappi 5:49.7 (144kph)
2 Tanak +1.8
3 Ostberg +2.2
Stage seven, and it was another fastest time for Esapekka, three now in a row. The gap was now 1.6 seconds! Mads was also very quick moving from fifth into third overall with Craig now in fourth and Teemu in fifth. A service break followed this stage, allowing time for the drivers to work on their note for the afternoon loop.
SS7 – Jukojärvi 2 (21.31km)
1 Lappi 9:57.2 (140kph)
2 Latvala +0.6
3 Ostberg +3.9
When they arrived for the start of stage eight at three in the afternoon, the rain had started. Also, with Seb out, Thierry would be first on the road. Mads didn’t remain in third for long, as Teemu was 1.3 faster setting the quickest time and did a Mads, jumping from fifth to third! Jari-Matti and Esapekka set the same time, meaning the gap between them remained 1.6 seconds.
SS8 – Äänekoski-Valtra 1 (7.39km)
1 Suninen 3:27.4 (140kph)
2 Hanninen +0.2
3 Latvala +1.1
Esapekka reduced the gap once more by half a second to Jari-Matti. Just incredible driving from the young Finn. Craig was also on the move, passing Mads, who was now back down into fifth place.
SS9 – Laukaa 1 (11.76km)
1 Lappi 5:51.0 (132kph)
2 Latvala +0.5
3 Suninen +2.4
Lappi took the next stage as well, and after pushing really hard, emerged in the lead! Once more, it was a Finn 1-2-3-4, with Juho fourth fastest, despite damaging his suspension on a stray rock in the road. With that time, Juho had moved past Craig into fourth. Mads had a nightmare dropping to seventh overall. Elfyn in his Fiesta made a very good move, going sixth fastest and moving up from eighth into sixth overall.
SS10 – Lankamaa (21.68km)
1 Lappi 10:21.4 (126kph)
2 Suninen +0.7
3 Latvala +1.4
Esapekka increased his lead to 3.5 seconds over Jari-Matti in stage eleven, with Teemu and Ott just behind him. Jari-Matti could only manage eighth fastest. Thierry passed Kris for eighth overall, but really for him, it had been a very quiet day, barely troubling the drivers at the front.
SS11 – Äänekoski-Valtra 2 (7.39km)
1 Lappi 3:23.4 (140kph)
2 Suninen +0.4
3 Tanak +0.7
At the front of the leaderboard, not much changed in stage twelve, but further back, Mads passed Elfyn for sixth place. Craig Breen was also 4 seconds faster than Juho, thus moving back ahead of the Toyota driver into fourth.
SS12 – Laukaa 2 (11.76km)
1 Lappi 5:44.9 (132kph)
2 Latvala +1.1
3 Ostberg +2.9
The final stage of the day then and Thierry was fastest, with Tanak and Breen just a few tenths behind.
SS13 – Harju 2 (2.31km)
1 Neuville 1:46.9 (120kph)
2 Tanak +0.1
3️ Breen +0.3
Top ten at the end of Friday
1 Lappi 1:11:36.4
2 Latvala +4.4
3 Suninen +19.0
4️ Breen +33.0
5 Hanninen +39.1
6 Ostberg +45.0
7 Evans +45.1
8 Neuville +58.0
9️ Meeke +1:07.6
10 Tanak +1:50.2
Let’s hear from the drivers then.
Esapekka Lappi 1st said:
“I could never have imagined I would be leading Rally Finland. Just competing here in a World Rally Car has been a dream I have had since I was a small boy. That I am leading is hard to comprehend. But it’s been a really clean run so far with no mistakes and the car has been perfect. I’ve given it my all. I won’t force myself to fight against Jari-Matti if it means I will take too many risks. It feels to special to be leading this rally, the spectators are amazing, you just can’t feel that anywhere else.”
Esapekka Lappi, Toyota Yaris WRC, Rally Finland 2017
Jari-Matti Latvala 2nd said:
“Of course, Esapekka was always going to be fast, but I didn’t think he was going to be such a hurricane and that we would be the top two in this position after the first full day. The car is working well; I’m very happy with the balance and generally my driving has been good. When you have no other issues and a good car, you can just focus on the driving. There’s a little bit of a home advantage I think, as our car has been developed in Finland on roads like these. My confidence is high, but at the same time I’m trying to avoid taking any big risks.”
Teemu Suninen 3rd said:
“I’m very happy to be sitting in third place today. This is my home rally and only my second time in a world rally car so it is special for sure. The Finnish fans have been amazing as always and I want to thank all of them for their support.
“I think we have driven well today and shown good pace with no mistakes, but there are still things to improve. I need to be more consistent and more precise with the driving lines as that is what brings the good times here with these cars.
“I would say that my main strength is that I seem to be improving quite quickly. Hopefully we can continue that and someday be fighting for the victory myself. That is not the objective this weekend – I just want to focus on myself and forget about my Finnish friends ahead.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen 4th said:
“It’s been a good day, even if everything wasn’t perfect. This morning, after a bit of a ‘big’ landing over a jump, I had the feeling that there was something wrong with the handling and it was getting worse as we progressed. The team did their magic in service and the C3 WRC they handed me back was like new, but I had a few minor problems on the second loop. My pace notes weren’t always perfect and I was a little too careful in places. Every tenth you give away is hard to get back, but there’s still a long way to go – we haven’t even reached halfway as yet.”
Kris Meeke 9th said:
“Obviously, it wasn’t quite the day I was hoping for. I just couldn’t find the feeling that I had here last year when I won the rally. Despite our efforts and the work done in service, I couldn’t place the car like I wanted to and I was struggling to feel the grip. And clearly, it wasn’t ideal to contest the last few stages with the damaged steering.”
Khalid Al Qassimi 20th said:
“It was a tough day, during which I lost a lot of time. I was constantly looking for traction and struggled to keep the car on the right line. We made a lot of changes to the set-up – the differential, the throttle, the springs – but I think there is still a lot we can improve.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Juho Hänninen 5th said:
“The general feeling here has been really good. The car has been working well. It is handling really well even on the high-speed sections and the jumps. This morning I wasn’t fully confident because the grip was changing, but things improved this afternoon and the times were good. Then I hit a rock and damaged the suspension. We were lucky to be able to finish the day without losing too much time. Tomorrow we will continue from where we left off before.”
Jipocar WRT
Mads Østberg 6th said:
“This was really frustrating, but something electronic in the rear was playing up and started locking up the rear wheels and that is something you really don`t want on these fast roads. I was back up to speed on the last stages of the day, and gained back one position, but it is nearly impossible to regain 25-30 seconds from the leaders in a rally like this where the margins are so tight. Still I aim to fight for a possible podium position. It’s a long way to go and my speed is definitely there.”
“We have done a good job during testing before the rally, and I really hope that we can continue without technical issues tomorrow. This is my favourite rally and we are not too far away from the last podium position. Torstein has done a tremendous job. I can tell you, it`s really not simple to step into a car like this in the fastest rally of the season. Both Torstein and I are determined to push to the maximum tomorrow and Sunday.”
D-Mack WRT
Elfyn Evans 7th said:
“With no pre-event test, we’ve had to discover the optimum set-up out on the stages. I was struggling with understeer throughout much of the morning and that hampered our confidence. On these roads – and at these speeds – that confidence makes all the difference.
“That said, we’re in seventh position with some very close gaps ahead. There’s still a long way to go so let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
M-Sport WRT
Ott Tänak 10th said:
“The disappointment came early in the day so after that we just had to keep going. We ran slightly wide at the start of SS4 and picked up a puncture. We lost more than one and a half minutes which obviously ended our hopes of challenging for the victory. At these speeds, the gaps are so close, and it is very difficult to make up the time.
“Since then, we’ve just been focused on driving cleanly. There is still motivation as it’s important for the team that we score as many points as possible. But you know the motivation is different when you are not fighting for the win. There is still a long way to go and a lot can still happen in this rally, so we just need to continue as we are and see what happens.”
Sébastien Ogier said:
“There was a big jump about two kilometres before we crashed. The landing damaged the rear suspension and towards the end of the stage I got a bit distracted by it. I was too late on the brakes and we had an impact sideways into a tree.
“It’s a real shame because our pace was really good and now we have missed an opportunity to score some good points for the championship. We had already lost some seconds with a throttle problem that was coming and going, but without that we were fighting right at the front.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville 8th said:
“It has not been an easy day. We have been struggling to find the required rhythm for these incredibly fast stages. Following Ogier’s issue in the morning, we knew we had inherited an opportunity to close the gap in the Championship even further, but so far, we haven’t made as much progress as we’d have liked. We have been first on the road for much of the day, which is of course part of the game, but we have been losing a bit to the other guys. The Toyota’s are, as expected, much faster, but my focus now is on moving up the classification to the top-five, where a solid points haul will aid our Championship ambitions. This rally is not over yet, even if we are now on the back foot after a difficult Friday. There is plenty to play for.”
Dani Sordo 11th said:
“There is not a lot to say, at least nothing really positive. We have not found the confidence in the car to tackle the rally with full attack. In Finland, more than anywhere else, you need to have full commitment inside the car; the smallest of lifts can make a huge difference on the timesheets. We have been trying all we can to get the right feeling but the others just have more. We will look at the information we have with the engineers this evening to see what we can do to improve for the rest of the rally.”
Hayden Paddon said:
“There is no margin for error in Finland, and so that has proven today. We started well and showed some encouraging pace on the opening stages. Then, in SS4, we ran slightly wide on the same corner several other drivers did. Unfortunately, a rock hit back and we broke our suspension. It wasn’t a huge amount of damage but enough to end our day prematurely. Still, the speed of the car is good and we were competitive; when you go just a tiny bit too fast here in Finland, there can be a heavy price to pay. We’ll be back under Rally 2 on Saturday.”
Marcus Gronholm, Toyota service park, Rally Finland 2017
SATURDAY JULY 29
7.20am: Service D (Jyväskylä – 15 mins)
8.58am: SS14 – Pihlajakoski 1 (14.90km)
10.06am: SS15 – Päijälä 1 (22.68km)
10.49am: SS16 – Ouninpohja 1 (24.38km)
12.02pm: SS17 – Saalahti 1 (4.21km)
1.27pm: Service E (Jyväskylä – 30 mins)
2.55pm: SS18 – Saalahti 2 (4.21km)
4.08pm: SS19 – Ouninpohja 2 (24.38km)
5.16pm: SS20 – Pihlajakoski 2 (14.90km)
6.24pm: SS21 – Päijälä 2 (22.68km)
8.39pm: Flexi Service F (Jyväskylä – 45 mins)
Saturday dawned cloudy, but it wasn’t raining. The roads in the first stage of the day were not as dry as you might expect. Latvala won the stage and his teammate, Esapekka was 3.8 seconds slower meaning that the gap was now six tenths of a second. At stage end, Jari-Matti said he pushed really hard, using the whole road. He had grass sticking out of his radiator- Evidence of how hard he’d pushed. Lappi said he wasn’t going to fight with Latvala. Elfyn was on the move as well, passing Mads for sixth place.
SS14 – Pihlajakoski 1 (14.90km)
1 Latvala 6:53.9
2 Hanninen +2.7
3 Suninen +3.2
Watching the cars through stage 15 was amazing. They were sideways out of the corners and flying from the top of the crests on the road. Jari-Matti pushed like crazy, going through corners in fifth gear! The outcome of all of this this was he took the lead emphatically! Now with Elfyn’s time being as good as it was and the spin that Craig suffered at a junction, the Welsh wizard climbed another spot into fifth!
SS15 – Päijälä 1 (22.68km)
1 Latvala 10:55.5 (124.6kph)
2 Evans +3.7
3 Lappi +5.4
Now it was time for the big one. It’s an unbelievable stage, Ouninpohja…… Run in the opposite direction compared to last year as well. A real rollercoaster, cornering at 170kph- That’s over 100mph! This stage does not have any straights, every part is either a left or a right-hand corner. They are blind as well. Only the ones that really know it, can push that hard. Jari-Matti was quicker again in this, increasing his lead to 7.3 seconds over Lappi. It was a Toyota 1-2-3 in this as well with Juho third through the stage and moving ahead of Teemu as well into third overall. Sadly, Mads went off and broke his suspension which dropped him down the field to eleventh place.
SS16 – Ouninpohja 1 (24.38km)
1 Latvala 10:56.9 (133.6kph)
2 Lappi +2.5
3 Hanninen +11.5
Stage seventeen saw Jari-Matti increase his lead to 7.8 seconds, through the shorter 4km stage, which was run again after afternoon service. He won it in the afternoon as well.
SS17 – Saalahti 1 (4.21km)
1 Latvala 1:58.4 (128kph)
2 Lappi +0.5
3 Tanak +0.5
At the end of stage 18, Jari-Matti had a 8.5 lead over Lappi with Juho just ahead of Teemu.
SS18 – Saalahti 2 (4.21km)
1 Latvala 1:56.4 (130.2kph)
2 Lappi +0.7
3 Suninen +1.0
It was time to run the big one again and the speeds would be even higher this time. Mads jumped over fifty metres! There would be drama in the Toyota of Jari-Matti though. Mid-way through the stage the car just stopped and there was nothing the Finn could do about it. He thumped the steering wheel in frustration. The dream was over again for another year. Esapekka passed the stricken Yaris WRC in the stage. When he reached stage end he was told he led again, but he sounded glum. He was disappointed he’d taken the lead in this way. Thierry finally found some pace and with everything, moved up into sixth position.
SS19 – Ouninpohja 2 (24.38km)
1 Lappi 10:49.8 (135.1kph)
2 Hanninen +2.8
3 Neuville +5.5
Final stage of the day, and there would be drama for Kris. A rock would puncture his tyre and the resulting damage would rip the front near-side of the car apart. Teemu won the stage, with Elfyn and Mads, giving us a Fiesta 1-2-3! With that time, it meant that Teemu was now in second overall! Just astonishing in only his second outing in a WRC car.
SS20 – Pihlajakoski 2 (14.90km)
1 Suninen 6:49.0 (131.1kph)
2 Evans +1.3
3 Ostberg +1.8
Top ten overall
1 Lappi 2:02:13.2
2 Suninen +54.4
3 Hanninen +55.4
4 Evans +1:01.9
5️ Breen +1:17.4
6 Neuville +1:34.1
7️ Meeke +2:09.6
8 Tanak +2:14.1
9 Sordo +3:48.0
10 Ostberg +4:21.4
So, here’s the views of all the drivers.
Esapekka Lappi 1st said:
“It is amazing to be leading at this moment, although I have mixed emotions as I am disappointed for Jari-Matti. He was driving really well. I could not keep up with him without taking big risks, which I did not want to do. When I passed him I slowed down a little bit. I am used to leading with a gap as it happened last year and I know how to manage a lead. I must now concentrate and keep my mind clear. I will sleep well tonight.”
Teemu Suninen 2nd said:
“I’m feeling good today. When I had a good feeling on the stages the times have been really good, but it was a disappointment to have lost so much time on Ouninpohja this morning. We lost about 20 seconds at a chicane and that has a big effect now as the fight is really tight.
“Tomorrow, I think all of us will have to keep the same pace as today if not more. I’ll continue to focus on my own driving – on keeping a good rhythm and on not making any mistakes.”
Juho Hänninen 3rd said:
“This morning was very good. It was a clear run. The afternoon was not so easy. I was a little bit too careful in the last stage, which was very narrow at the end, and I could have been a bit more brave. We are still in a good position, but it is very close with the cars around us. I will try to get second place, that’s the goal for tomorrow.”
D-Mack WRT
Elfyn Evans 4th said:
“It will be an exciting day tomorrow. It’s fair to say that we were struggling yesterday, but it’s been a pretty positive day for us today.
“Everything seems to have come together and we’ve been happy with our performance on most of the stages.
“The conditions suited us a bit better today and we also found a better balance with the car which helped regain some of the confidence we had been lacking previously.
“It’s game on for tomorrow so let’s see what we can do.”
Elfyn Evans, Dan Barritt, D-Mack Fiesta WRC, Rally Finland 2017
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen 5th said:
“It’s been something of an up and down day, a bit like the roads here in Finland! I thought I could have been a bit faster in places, but I had a bit of trouble with the set-up we chose for the morning. It was better this afternoon, when there was more grip, but it still wasn’t perfect. I feel like we’re further away from the podium, but we’re still only thirty seconds off second place. If luck is on our side tomorrow, we might be able to move up the standings.”
Kris Meeke 8th said:
“Every year it’s the same. Ouninpohja is simply one of the best rally stages, an incredible piece of road. The level of grip was good this afternoon and I was able to push because I had a good feeling in the car. We changed quite a few things on the set-up during the mid-leg service and we got some interesting information for the future, so that was pretty positive. On the final stage, we picked up a puncture after hitting a stone. I wanted to keep pushing but the tyre exploded, causing some fairly serious-looking damage. But it wasn’t all that serious.”
Khalid Al Qassimi 17th said:
“It was another tough day. We worked constantly with the engineers, and yet the car remains very sensitive and tricky to drive on these ultra-fast roads. I had a few moments, especially on the final stage, when we went wide into a ditch and hit some rocks. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t too substantial and we are still in the race.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville 6th said:
“Another dissatisfying day for us, but we have gained a few places since yesterday thanks, unfortunately, to others experiencing trouble. We need to pick up as many points as we can, to try and close the gap to Sébastien. The car performed better in the afternoon loop, although it wasn’t without its difficulties. In the final stage, I hit a rock in the narrow section and bent the steering. I had to back off a bit. We know that we need to rely on some luck to make up any more positions on the final day, but we’ll see what happens.”
Dani Sordo 9th said:
“These stages are fantastic and it is a privilege to drive them. The two runs through Ouninpohja were incredible, like a circuit inside the forest. Overall, we had a better afternoon loop when the stages had more grip, but it is just difficult to find motivation and enjoyment when the times are not there. We have not been in a position to fight for anything meaningful so we are just focused on getting through each stage – it is not an ideal way to approach a rally but we can do no more.”
Hayden Paddon (Ret) said:
“There was nothing we could do about our retirement today. We were going through a blind left, into a right, when all of a sudden, I caught sight of a big football-sized rock in the road. In the split-second it took to see it, and I knew it would do damage. We could not avoid it and it broke the suspension arm. The real shame is the lack of mileage from this rally. We will be back out on Sunday to try and end this weekend on a high note.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 09, Rally Finland 27 – 30 July 2017 Hayden Paddon, Seb Marshall, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Sarah Vessely Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
M-Sport WRT
Ott Tänak 7th said:
“The Finns have been quite dominant this weekend, but I think it would have been possible to be in that fight. After yesterday’s time loss, there was no opportunity to see if we could do that and it’s difficult to find the same confidence when you are not fighting for the win.
“We’ve just been trying to improve the feeling without taking too many risks. That said, it’s still been a decent day and you can’t help but enjoy yourself on these Finnish roads.”
Jipocar WRT
Speaking about the spin on the first run through Ouninpohja-
Mads Østberg 10th said:
“It was nothing very dramatic, but we hit some rocks, was thrown off the road and damaged the suspension and brakes rear left on the car. We had to stop and check the damages and change a wheel, and continued on the stage without much effect from the brakes. That resulted in further time loss, and it really is quite scary to drive such a fast stage without brakes”.
“Yesterday I played with car, today I have had to fight with it. We have worked all day to improve the set-up, and it has been a little better, but not the same as Friday”.
The car still isn`t balanced as I would like, and we need a proper check-up during end of day service. We aim to go for some good stage times tomorrow and possibly some points on the “power stage”.
8.00am: Service G (Jyväskylä – 15 mins)
9.25am: SS21 – Lempää 1 (6.80km)
10.08am: SS22 – Oittila 1 (10.12km)
11.47am: SS23 – Lempää 2 (6.80km)
1.18pm: SS24 – Oittila 2 Power Stage (10.12km)
2.21pm: Service H (Jyväskylä – 10 mins)
3.00pm: Podium
Sunday morning, and Esapekka had a very healthy lead of nearly 50 seconds. It was bright and sunny. Who would complete the podium? We had Teemu, Juho and Elfyn covered by just seven seconds.
Esapekka Lappi, Toyota Yaris WRC, Rally Finland 2017
Stage 21 went to fourth placed Elfyn and with that, the gap came down. Further back Citroen pairing Khalid Al Qassimi and Kris Meeke both had damage, so they both returned to the service park.
SS21 – Päijälä 2 (22.68km)
1 Evans 10:42.3 (127.1kph)
2 Tanak + 0.6
3 Suninen +1.9
With the problem fixed on Jari-Matti’s Toyota, he returned to the top of the time sheets with a quickest time through stage 22. Incredibly, with Juho going through the stage faster than Teemu, they were both now on the same overall time, 49.4 seconds down from Lappi. Elfyn was also continuing his hunt for a podium finish.
SS22 – Lempää 1 (6.80km)
1 Latvala 3:08.4 (129.9kph)
2 Hanninen +1.1
3 Evans +1.8
Latvala was back in the groove and took the next stage, thus setting him up well for later, as this stage would be run again as the power-stage. Thierry didn’t do very well at all, after running wide twice and losing several seconds as a result. Evans was the one on the move however, passing Juho on the leaderboard and into third place. Juho had made a mistake, hitting something at the side of the road, losing time as a consequence.
SS23 – Oittila 1 (10.12km)
1 Latvala 4:52.1 (124.7kph)
2 Suninen +3.2
3 Evans +3.7
A combination of things happened in this stage that meant Juho would jump back into second overall. Firstly, he would set the same time as Jari-Matti and despite Elfyn being just 1.1 seconds slower than that, it was enough to put the Welsh wizard behind the Finn. The other thing was that Teemu dropped out of that battle completely after he spun in a very quick right-hander, which turned the car around and pulled the bumper into the hedge. Incredibly, Esapekka ran wide as well, damaging his rear wheel. Just shows how on the limit that they drive these cars.
SS24 – Lempää 2 (6.80km)
1 Hanninen 3:08.3 (130kph)
2 Latvala +0.0
3 Tanak +0.5
It was the last stage! The power-stage gives points for the top five best times. Jari-Matti wanted this one, and he had reason to be optimistic after being fastest earlier. However, his time would be beaten and he would ultimately be fourth quickest. Ott would win the stage and take max points from it. What would happen between Evans and Juho? Incredibly, with Juho only fifth fastest, 2.7 seconds slower, Elfyn was second fastest through the stage and it was enough to put him into second overall, just three tenths of a second faster after 25 stages! Just amazing.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Finland (FIN) – WRC 26/07/2017 to 31/07/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Esapekka had won the rally and what a result for him in only his fourth event at this level.
SS25 – Oittila 2 (Power Stage) (10.12km)
1 Tanak 4:48.6 (126.2kph)
2 Evans +1.5
3 Neuville +2.0
1 Lappi 2:29:26.9
2 Evans +36.0
3 Hanninen +36.3
4 Suninen +1:01.5
5️ Breen +1:22.6
6 Neuville +1:33.1
7 Tanak +1:53.6
8️ Meeke +3:12.6
9 Sordo +4:11.5
10 Ostberg +4:21.2
Let’s hear from the drivers at the end of this amazing historic event.
Rally Finland Podium 2017
Esapekka Lappi 1st said:
“I’m not normally an emotional person but this is amazing. What a rally. I could never have imagined that we could get a result like this, so it’s a very big surprise. I have to say a big thank you to the team because they have built such a great car in a very short period.”
Elfyn Evans 2nd said:
“We’re really chuffed to come away from Rally Finland with second place – especially as that wasn’t looking likely on Friday evening. We kept at it, kept pushing and managed to claw our way back up the leader board. It’s a really positive way to finish the weekend.
“Friday was a very difficult day for us. We started without a test and were really struggling with the balance of the car throughout that opening day. We made some changes which helped quite a lot and the longer stages and drier conditions helped too. We started making our way up the order and it all went from there.
“Going into this morning, it was a very difficult situation to be in. There was an element of wanting to push for the best result, but at the same time it was really important to secure good points for the team. It wasn’t an all-out attack, but it all worked out in the end.
“It’s not the win, but it’s still a strong weekend and we can be pleased with the job we have done this weekend.”
Juho Hänninen 3rd said:
“It’s been an amazing weekend and I’m very happy with this result. Of course, I tried to get second, but we made a few mistakes. I’m still very happy to be on the podium for the first time in my career. Thank you to the team and this fantastic car that made it possible.”
M-Sport WRT
Teemu Suninen 4th said:
“Of course, it’s disappointing to have lost out on a podium in the final stages, but we had to try. This is our last planned rally in a world rally car, so I had to try. Unfortunately, I just ran a little bit wide and had a high-speed spin which dropped us out of that battle.
“I’m disappointed right now, but in the morning, I think I will feel better – knowing that I was fighting for a podium on only my second time in this car.
“We had really good pace all weekend – honestly more than we had expected before the rally – and I am happy with that. A big thanks also to all of the fans and the team for their support which has been pushing me to do my best.”
Ott Tänak 7th said:
“The Finns have been quite dominant this weekend but I think we had the pace to be in the fight. Unfortunately, we will never know what would have been possible – our disappointment coming quite early in the rally.
“To score the top times here in Finland you need to be fully confident, and it’s hard to find that when you’re not fighting for the best positions. But it’s still been a fairly decent weekend. Driving in Finland is always a lot of fun and we showed our speed with the fastest time through the Power Stage.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen 5th said:
“It wasn’t our best day in terms of pure performance. I knew that I couldn’t make up the ground on the leaders in normal racing conditions so I just focused on containing Thierry Neuville. For sure, it’s a good run of fifth places but I’d like to get back onto the podium before the end of the season!”
Craig Breen, Scott Martin, Rally Finland 2017, Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT.
Kris Meeke 8th said:
“Although there weren’t many miles to cover, it was still a proper leg with some typically fast Finnish stages. As I had nothing to gain by taking risks and was low on confidence, I played it safely to bring the car home.”
Khalid Al Qassimi 16th said:
“Like yesterday, I was first on the road and that made my job a little more difficult. The roads were very slippery this morning and it wasn’t easy to read the level of grip. So I drove without any real feeling, but there wasn’t much else I could do.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville 6th said:
“We set out to score more than Ogier this weekend, and we were able to achieve that. We had a very difficult weekend so to salvage some points is crucial. The Power Stage was a key moment, as we scored three vital extra points to move to the top of the Championship. This levels the playing field with four events left of the season, so it has been an important result. We know everyone is pushing hard to keep us in contention, so we have to put this complicated rally behind us and look forward to Germany, the team’s home event, where we know from the past that we can perform well.”
Dani Sordo 9th said:
“I am relieved that this rally is over. I have never had the right feeling all weekend, and on these fast roads you need to be fully committed to perform at the highest level. It has been complicated, not only for me but also for the team, so we have to put this behind us and look forward to the next event. We cannot let this weekend affect us; we need to stay concentrated and push flat out for victory in Germany!”
Hayden Paddon said: “It has been one of those weekends for us. After our retirements on Friday and Saturday, we wanted to approach these final stages in a positive manner and to get some time behind the wheel. This rally has perfectly illustrated our season, where anything that can go wrong does go wrong. The Power Stage was another example, when the car unexpectedly went straight on at a third gear corner. Still, we got to the end of the rally and I am sure, one day in the future, we will look back and laugh at our bad luck this year. I am sure we could have fought for the podium this weekend, and that is the positive that we will take away.”
Jipocar WRT
Mads Østberg and co-driver Torstein finished Rally Finland in 10th place, after a challenging but also positive weekend on the superfast Finnish roads.
Mads 10th said:
“I`m not thinking so much on the end result, because this has actually been my best rally this season. Except for some bad luck with the off-road excursion yesterday, we have been genuinely competitive this weekend with many top-three stage times. Torstein has also done a fantastic job jumping into the co-drivers seat on relatively short notice. We will just have to work with the positive experiences from this rally, and therefore I am really positive before the rest of the season”.
Thinking of the coming weeks ahead, Mads continued,
“It’s really tough with two WRC-rallies and one ERC-event in only 17 days. But also, very interesting and challenging with the chance to evaluate three different codrivers. I am looking for a permanent codriver to partner me further on and Torstein, Patrick and Emil are all possible candidates for this job”.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Finland (FIN) – WRC 26/07/2017 to 31/07/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Well, the championship has just got very interesting indeed. With Seb not scoring any points at all and Thierry finishing in sixth place and scoring enough points to bring him level with Seb at the top. We have a four-event battle to look forward to for this year’s championship. It starts in two weeks in Rally Germany!
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 09, Rally Finland 27 – 30 July 2017 Thierry Neuville Photographer: Sarah Vessely Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
2017 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 9
1 T. Neuville 160
2 S. Ogier 160
3 O. Tanak 119
4 J.M Latvala 114
5 D. Sordo 84
6 E. Evans 79
7 C. Breen 53
8 H. Paddon 51
9 J. Hänninen 46
10 E. Lappi 45
2017 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
British Superbikes visits the fastest venue on the calendar this weekend, at the Thruxton circuit near Andover. Having taken the title lead at his home round two weeks ago, Shane Byrne comes to a circuit at which he has won at a total of eight times. However, Josh Brookes has done the double in the last two years he has been racing in BSB (2014 and 2015), and will be looking to achieve a repeat performance to give him and the Anvil Hire Tag Team their first race wins of the year. Leon Haslam and Luke Mossey will also be seeking a return to form, having not won a race since Oulton Park, back in May. Lap times from the past two seasons suggest that the pace could be even faster, with the perfect lap from last years qualifying sessions combined being a 1.13.836. If a 1.13 lap is achieved, it will be the fastest ever lap on two wheels around the Thruxton track.
Shane Byrne, after a dismal start to the year, retook the lead of the championship last time out. He sits on four consecutive race wins and has a 29 point advantage over nearest rival, Luke Mossey. Byrne has won a total of eight times around here and has a further seven podiums. Ducati as a manufacturer haven’t had a double victory at Thruxton since 2007 and Gregorio Lavilla. Byrne himself last achieved the double at the 2013 meeting. If Byrne was to do the double, it would be the first time since 2003 that he has won six races on the bounce. Will he rewrite records again?
Luke Mossey comes into the Thruxton meeting having not stood on the podium since race one at Knockhill, way back in June. The Bournemouth Kawasaki Team, run by Pete Extance, will hope that their form changes at Thruxton. Luke Mossey has won twice around Thruxton, albeit in the lower classes: in 2009 in the National Superstock 600 class on a Yamaha, and in 2008 on a 125cc Honda. Kawasaki’s last win came with Byrne in 2013 but Mossey achieved a third and fourth with the older version ZX10 in 2016.
Teammate Leon Haslam has a mountain to climb – and we aren’t even at Cadwell Park yet. The Factory Kawasaki employed rider was back on the podium at Brands Hatch with a third place in race one, however that was his first podium since his victory in race one at Oulton Park. He is now 10 podium points behind Shane Byrne, which could be crucial if he wants to take his first ever BSB title. However, the news for Haslam fans gets worse. He has never won at Thruxton and hasn’t been on the podium there since his Airwaves Ducati days of 2006, when he finished 2nd in both races. Will the Pocket Rocket surprise us?
The first of two Australians in the Showdown – so far – is Jason O’Halloran. The Honda Racing rider’s season came to an end at this very circuit two seasons ago, when he collided with Howie Mainwaring-Smart on the exit of Segrave Corner in qualifying. The tough Australian has fought back strong and is just 26 points off the rear end of Leon Haslam and 3rd in the championship. One of the most iconic recent memories of Thruxton involves O’Halloran, who drifted his 1000cc CBR Honda Superstock machine out of Church corner in 2014, setting blue smoke pouring off the rear end of his wayward bike. Since being in the Superbike class however, O’Halloran has had a sixth and a second. Can the Honda go one better and achieve his and the team’s first win of the year?
King of Thruxton and former BSB champion Josh Brookes sits pretty in fifth place in the championship heading into the round. Having had a relatively disappointing Brands Hatch in comparison to Snetterton, Brookes will be more fired up than ever to rack up his podium points tally. However, he currently looks like the only rider who can give Shane Byrne a proper challenge. Until he crashed in race two at Brands Hatch, Brookes was on lap record pace. Not only does he seem like the only rider to challenge ‘Shakey’, but he is also the lap record holder at this airfield circuit. Brookes and Byrne, with their recent history at Thruxton, could be set for a classic scrap and a revival of their fierce rivalry that was left unfinished at the end of the 2015 season. Rob Winfield and the Tag Racing Team will be hoping Josh can deliver their first ever victory in BSB.
The last man in the showdown at the moment is former plasterer Peter Hickman, who has taken his Smith’s BMW to new heights in 2017. Although he hasn’t had a podium yet this year, he – along with O’Halloran – has not crashed or suffered any form of DNF thus far. A pair of fourths at Brands Hatch did his championship a load of good but form shows that Hicky may be coming to a circuit which hasn’t been too kind to him in the past. A double-DNF in 2015 and a best of sixth last year suggest Hickman’s sixth place may be under threat by the likes of Christian Iddon or Jake Dixon.
The next few riders are Christian Iddon, who took his 2nd podium of the year at Brands and moves to just nine points behind Hickman and the all-important top six. Next up is double race winner at Knockhill, Jake Dixon. He endured a nightmare at Thruxton last year on the BMW, finishing outside the points in both races. James Ellison desperately needs points after his disastrous year so far, which has left him 9th in the championship. The ‘Factory’ Yamaha rider has been somewhat embarrassed by Josh Brookes, who effectively has the same Yamaha as Aaron Zanotti, with little manufacturer help. Ellison was 5th and 7th in the races last year and his last podium came in 2013, with third. Completing the top 10 is Dan Linfoot, who has found form of late aboard the all-new Fireblade. Although a showdown spot looks unlikely, the Honda rider could make a nuisance of himself as far as other riders are concerned. Linfoot sits 39 points back of Hickman with seven races left before the showdown six are set in stone.
Keep your eyes out for the sensation that is Bradley Ray, on board his Buildbase Suzuki. Ray finished second in the Supersport race last year. Tommy Bridewell is the only other rider (besides O’Halloran and Hickman) to finish every race in the points and goes well at Thruxton. Glenn Irwin achieved his first BSB podium at Thruxton last season and the 2017 North West 200 winner will be hoping to do the same again, to try and somehow make the top six cut. John Hopkins also goes well at Thruxton and was running upfront back in 2015. It is the MotoRapido Ducati Team’s home race.
Although the Superbike races aren’t until Sunday, the first racing action gets underway at 12.50 on Saturday, with the Sidecar race.
In other classes, Keith Farmer will be looking to hold onto his series lead in the Supersport series ahead of the likes of Jack Kennedy, Joe Francis and Andy Irwin.
In National Superstock 1000, Danny Buchan will be seeking a return to form after a winless Brands Hatch – although the Basildon Bullet has become a dad for the first time that same weekend. Richard Cooper will want to use his Superbike experience around the course to propel him to another win and close down former champion Buchan.
The National Superstock 600 class is always a treat, with the likes of the Neave brothers going well lately, with Dan Stamper and Brad Jones also getting in the mix. Keep your eyes peeled for young Ryan Vickers though, who has been testing at Brands Hatch lately, lapping under the lap record and with a mentor in former Grand Prix superstar Alan Carter, you’d be mad to discount him.
The MotoStar championship will see home-hero Jake Archer out for victory as he chases his title hopes on the City Lifting KTM, run by Ryan Saxelby.
Thanks to Gareth Davies of Full Factory Photography for the image.
With another Formula E season wrapped up, it’s time to look back over the last twelve races and assess the teams and drivers of the 2016–17 season.
N.B.: All team and driver scores are out of ten. We have included only those drivers who contested at least half of the 2016–17 season with their teams; one-off replacements Conway, Lynn and Gasly, as well as Techeetah’s Ma and Gutiérrez, are therefore not included.
Renault e.Dams (8): Sébastien Buemi (8), Nico Prost (8)
Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E
But for a few isolated slip-ups, Renault e.Dams might have enjoyed the perfect campaign in season three. With Sébastien Buemi’s six commanding wins, Nico Prost’s near-perfect run in the points and Pierre Gasly’s superb debut in New York, it was little surprise to see the French team take its third straight teams’ title at the end of the year.
However, with such highlights it’s impossible to ignore those occasions that held Renault back from another double crown this season. The team let itself down more than once with technical disqualifications in Berlin and Montréal, whilst Buemi’s ‘win-or-bust’ results proved his biggest obstacle to a second title; and with such a strong car beneath him, it will be sobering for Prost to finish the season without a single podium to his name. Even for such an all-conquering team, there is still much for Renault to improve upon in season four.
ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport (7): Lucas di Grassi (8), Daniel Abt (7)
Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E
For the ABT Schaeffler Audi team, this has largely been a season of two halves. On the one hand, Lucas di Grassi claimed his first Drivers’ Championship by way of two sensational wins, five further podiums and three pole positions, and an on-form Daniel Abt recorded no lower finish than seventh, helping the team close to within twenty points of title-winners Renault.
But on the other hand, the ABT FE02 clearly lacked the pace di Grassi needed to fight Buemi (not to mention Rosenqvist and Bird, too) all season long; in the hands of Daniel Abt, it also proved frustratingly unreliable. Hopes will be high that Audi’s full factory involvement next season will bring both the speed and consistency ABT needs to mount a true dual title campaign.
Mahindra Racing (9.5): Nick Heidfeld (7), Felix Rosenqvist (9)
Andrew Ferraro/LAT/Formula E
It should go without saying that Felix Rosenqvist was the standout star of season three, but we’ll say it again anyway. Four podiums, three pole positions, two fastest laps and one ePrix win would constitute a great season for any driver, but for a series rookie Rosenqvist’s results have been nothing short of remarkable. The Swede still has a few inconsistencies to iron out, but there’s no doubt that he’s a Formula E champion waiting to happen.
As for Nick Heidfeld, kudos must be given for his ability to keep up with his rapid young teammate despite being a veritable pensioner in driver’s years. With five podiums and plenty of points helping Mahindra to third in the teams’ championship, any calls for Quick Nick to retire have been conclusively put down this season.
DS Virgin Racing (7): Sam Bird (8), José María López (7)
Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E
After a promising pre-season it proved a slow start to season three for DS Virgin, as Sam Bird’s two early podiums were offset by multiple mechanical glitches and José María López took time to find his feet in single-seaters again after a long touring car career.
But in the latter half of the season the team really came together in the way testing promised. New York, with Bird’s double win and Alex Lynn’s pole on debut, was undoubtably their peak, and López’ development from unsettled rookie to double podium finisher proved his critics wrong. If the team can get on top of its technical issues, Bird and López will surely prove ones to watch in next season’s title battle.
Techeetah had a lot of promise coming into the season with Renault power behind them, but it took a while for the Chinese team to come good on that potential. Mechanical failures in Hong Kong and Paris and Jean-Éric Vergne’s terminal collision with Nelson Piquet in Monaco robbed the team of chances to challenge at the front, whilst regular changes to its driver lineup made it difficult for Techeetah to settle down and build on its foundations.
But once the team recruited Stéphane Sarrazin to partner Vergne for the final six rounds, things improved. Vergne finished each of the remaining races in the points and led Sarrazin to two double podiums in New York and Montréal, not to mention to his and Techeetah’s first ePrix win in the season finale—without doubt a superb end to what might have been a torrid campaign.
NextEV NIO (7): Nelson Piquet (7), Oliver Turvey (6)
Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E
Compared with last year’s bottom-of-the-table finish, season three was a vast improvement for NextEV. A front row lockout in Hong Kong, double points finish in Buenos Aires and fourth for Nelson Piquet in Monaco helped lift the Chinese team up to a comfortable sixth by season’s end; however, NextEV’s persistent problems with energy consumption in race trim—something with which Oliver Turvey seemed to have especial difficulty handling—robbed both drivers of valuable points on many occasions.
MS Amlin Andretti (5): António Félix da Costa (4), Robin Frijns (6)
Steven Tee/LAT/Formula E
Andretti would have been hoping for better than seventh place this season, having picked up two of the hottest properties on last year’s driver market and a technical alliance with BMW, but an uncompetitive ATEC-02 powertrain left Frijns’ and da Costa’s abilities untapped. Da Costa in particular struggled, logging just the one points finish with a clever pit strategy in Hong Kong; and while Frijns made it into the top ten five times, his seat is reportedly in jeopardy for season four.
Despite picking up Faraday Future backing and appearing rapid in pre-season testing, eighth place and a meagre 33 points proved all Dragon Racing could achieve in season three. The US outfit’s main problem lay with the pace of its new Penske powertrain, though matters were not helped by its drivers clashing on track and retiring from a total of six events. Loïc Duval seemed to come off the worst, even with a greater final points total than d’Ambrosio, and may be left looking for a drive elsewhere this summer.
Venturi (7): Maro Engel (8), Tom Dillmann (7)
Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E
On paper Venturi’s third season in Formula E looked like something of a backward slide, slumping from sixth to ninth in the standings with even low-key points finishes a rarity. But considering the Monegasque team’s reliability concerns in early testing, their progress this season tells a better story than their results. Maro Engel especially impressed, qualifying second in Mexico and finishing fifth in Monaco, whilst Tom Dillmann’s four points finishes from just seven starts says much about the Frenchman’s future potential.
Panasonic Jaguar Racing (7): Adam Carroll (5), Mitch Evans (7)
Steven Tee/LAT/Formula E
Jaguar was eager to play down expectations ahead of its maiden Formula E outing. Initially that modesty seemed well-founded, as the British marque started the season a long way off the points, but a strong push during the European leg brought Jaguar into regular midfield contention. Mitch Evans took the team’s best result with fourth in Mexico City and generally had the measure of his older teammate in both qualifying and race pace; with the driver market still wide open for season four, Adam Carroll may find his seat hard to hold on to from the bottom of the standings.
While it’s natural to remember Jules Bianchi around the Japanese Grand Prix, as Ferrari Week here at The Pit Crew Online falls near the second anniversary of his death it’s fitting to look back at the life and career of one of Maranello’s former rising stars.
Born in Nice in 1989, Bianchi arrived into a family that was already well-acquainted with motorsport. His grandfather Mauro raced GT cars in the 1960s and participated in three Grands Prix in 1961. His great-uncle Lucien drove in 19 Grands Prix between 1959 and 1968, scoring a handful of points, and achieved victory at Le Mans in 1968 alongside Pedro Rodriguez. Given his great-nephew’s affiliation with Ferrari, there’s a certain irony that Lucian’s Le Mans victory came behind the wheel of a Ford GT40, which broke Ferrari’s early 1960s string of Le Mans victories. Jules was not the first Bianchi to die in motorsport; Lucian was killed during testing at Le Mans in 1969. Jules’ father Philippe owned a karting circuit, providing a young Jules an early platform to begin honing his skills. At 15, Jules made the decision to pursue racing as a profession and at 17 signed a management contract with Nicolas Todt.
Looking back over Bianchi’s career, he seemed destined for Formula One. Having proved his skills in karting, placing first in multiple series in 2005 and 2006, Bianchi moved into the junior formulae. He made his single-seater debut in 2007, the final season of the French Formula Renault 2.0 series, driving for SG Formula. He secured a comfortable first place with 5 wins and 11 podiums, finishing 49 points ahead of the second place finisher Mathieu Arzeno.
2008 saw Bianchi move up to the Formula 3 Euro Series, driving for ART Grand Prix, where one of his teammates was Nico Hülkenberg. During his deubt season, he placed third overall with two wins and seven podiums for 47 points as well as placing first in the Masters of Formula 3. He continued competing with ART in 2009, his teammates including Valterri Bottas and Esteban Gutiérrez. That season Bianchi claimed the title, earning nine wins and twelve podiums and ending the season with 114 points.
2009 also saw the BBC and James Allen, among others, link Bianchi with a race seat at Ferrari due to Luca Badoer’s disappointing performance. Though this never materialized, December 2009 saw Bianchi become the first recruit to the Ferrari Driver Academy after the young drivers’ test at Jerez. Maranello clearly found Bianchi a worthy investment, and he was to remain a member until his death. The Ferrari Driver Academy still officially acknowledges that Jules was the most promising young driver that has participated in the program thus far.
Interviews during this period paint a picture of an affable young man, aggressive and ambitious on the track but aware that he’s still learning and maturing. He is quick to give credit to his influences, crediting his grandfather and manager for their help in his formation as a racing driver, as well as his fellow drivers for the self-management techniques he learned from them.
He progressed up the ladder to GP2 in 2010, again racing for ART Grand Prix. In his debut season Bianchi placed third in the championship with 52 points. Though he claimed three poles and was on the podium four times, he won no races this season.
FDA – Bianchi quarto in Gara 1
For 2011, despite remaining third overall he improved his record by claiming one win and six podiums. He totaled 53 points in the 2011 season. Significantly, 2011 also saw Bianchi debut as a Formula One test driver for Ferrari, coming closer to a coveted race seat.
In 2012 Bianchi competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, driving for Tech 1 Racing. He placed second in the championship, with three wins and eight podiums, and a total of 185 points. He continued his Formula One testing career, this time on loan to Sahara Force India from Ferrari. During his tenure as Force India’s test and reserve driver, he participated in 9 Friday free practice sessions, gaining valuable track time.
Bianchi’s big break arrived in 2013. Though Force India selected Adrian Sutil to replace Nico Hülkenberg upon his departure to Sauber, another seat opened when Marussia driver Luiz Razia’s sponsors failed to meet their financial commitments to the team. Jules had finally achieved his race seat, opposite Max Chilton. Though Marussia ran solidly at the back of the field and Bianchi retired in Monaco, Germany, and Japan, he nonetheless finished ahead of his teammate in every remaining race other than India and finished the drivers’ championship in 19th place, 4 places above Chilton. Marussia finished 10th in the 2013 Constructors Championship, securing much-needed prize money.
2014 saw Bianchi continue opposite Chilton with Marussia. Despite an inauspicious beginning to the season, failing to complete 90% of the race distance in Australia and retiring in Malaysia due to brake failure on lap 8, Bianchi continued to outperform his teammate. In a major step forward for the team he brought in both his own and Marussia’s first points at Monaco. While good fortune in the form of a number of retirements doubtless contributed to his 9th place finish, and his own illegal serving of a 5-second penalty under the Safety Car cost him 8th place, Bianchi and Marussia were justifiably pleased with the results. Though forced to retire when Chilton collided with him in Canada, he finished ahead of his teammate for most of the season other than a retirement late in the Belgian Grand Prix due to a gearbox failure.
And then came Suzuka.
The category four Typhoon Phanfone brought significant rain to the Suzuka Circuit on Sunday October 5th, but due to the Russian Grand Prix being scheduled for the following week freight concerns prevented organizers from delaying the Grand Prix until the next day. Charlie Whiting suggested that the race start time be changed, but both the circuit owners and FIA opposed changing the both to allow spectators to arrive at the circuit and due to television coverage concerns. The race began under the Safety Car and was suspended after two laps, then restarted under the Safety Car 20 minutes later. Conditions slowly improved, but there was still significant standing water on the track and heavy rain again began to fall in lap 36.
Adrian Sutil lost control of his Sauber and crashed at Dunlop Curve on lap 40. One lap later, Bianchi lost control at the same place and slid partway under the crane that was recovering Sutil’s Sauber. Striking the crane at 123 km/h, the impact was forceful enough to jolt the crane off the ground and cause the Sauber to drop back to the ground. In the crash, Bianchi’s Marussia sustained massive damage on its left side and its roll bar was destroyed. Later analysis determined that the impact generated a peak of 254 g. Bianchi was unresponsive, and was determined to have suffered significant head injuries.
As the medical helicopter was unable to land at the designated hospital, Mie Prefectural General Medical Center in nearby Yokkaichi, Jules was transported instead by ambulance, arriving 32 minutes later. He was rushed into surgery to reduce the severe bruising to his head. His first visitors included Graeme Lowdon, Marussia’s CEO, team principal John Booth, Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci, and Bianchi’s fellow driver Felipe Massa. Bianchi’s parents, siblings, and a close friend arrived over subsequent days.
Bianchi’s management team also visited Bianchi in hospital. FIA Medical Commission president Gerard Salliant was also present, and Ferrari continued to show its support for Jules by requesting that Sapienza University of Rome neurosurgeon professor Allesandro Frati travel to Japan. Ferrari’s outgoing president Luca di Montezemolo further told the media that Bianchi was to be the third Ferrari driver should the then-possible shift to three-car teams become a reality.
The Bianchi family publicly expressed appreciation for the support Jules had received thus far, as well as confirming that Bianchi had suffered a diffuse axonal injury in the crash. At this time, Bianchi was in critical but stable condition.
Though Marussia originally entered their reserve driver Alexander Rossi, the team elected to only run Chilton in the Russian Grand Prix. As a show of support, the team prepared and had Bianchi’s car scrutineered at Sochi, but did not race it. Perhaps Marussia’s fate would have been different had they raced Rossi. Perhaps Marussia’s financial backer Andrei Cheglakov would have continued to fund the team had Rossi turned in a respectable performance, but the tribute was fitting, expressing the hope that Bianchi would recover and rejoin the team.
The Formula One community, indeed the entire motorsport community, rallied in support of Bianchi. The day after the crash, Fellow Frenchman Jean-Éric Vergne arranged for all the drivers to wear stickers proclaiming “Tous avec Jules #17”, and the Marussia team added #JB17 to their livery. The successor Manor team continued this through the 2015 season. The hashtag #ForzaJules proliferated across social media, and along with #JB17 was even made into stickers in the physical world. Fans across the world used these stickers to visibly express their support for Jules. Moments of silence, race win dedications, and other tributes flowed from the community.
The FIA conducted an investigation into the incident, determining that while there were many contributing factors there was no single root cause of the crash. While Bianchi clearly hadn’t slowed enough under the double waved yellow, ‘enough’ wasn’t clearly defined. Bianchi lost control less than two minutes after Sutil, and the recovery crane had almost cleared the barriers, so the double waved yellow was considered enough under accepted practices. The crane’s presence itself wasn’t considered unusual, even though Martin Brundle nearly collided with a similar crane 20 years previously. The brake-by-wire system’s failure to cut off the throttle wasn’t definitively determined to have played a significant role, as Bianchi’s pressing the brake and throttle together may have been within acceptable parameters. Given the forces involved in the crash, no reasonable changes to the chassis could have helped.
Sadly, all the hope and support proved to be in vain. Though Bianchi was removed from an induced coma in November 2014 and able to breathe on his own, and was subsequently moved to Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, he did not regain consciousness. His supporters, his family chief among them, initially took hope from Michael Schumacher’s improvement after his skiing head injury, however slow, but over time this hope waned.
Just over two years ago, on 17 July 2015, Jules Bianchi died. He never regained consciousness. A moment of silence, with the Bianchi family present, was observed at the Hungarian Grand Prix on 26 July.
Bianchi’s legacy includes positive safety developments ranging from improved rules and procedures such as the Virtual Safety Car and changes to recovery procedures, to additional head protection, including informing the process that led to 2018’s Halo. With the support of Prince Albert of Monaco Jules’ father Philippe created the Jules Bianchi Foundation to provide funding for promising young drivers. The Jules Bianchi #17 Association was also created to support the Unité de Soins des Cérébro-Lésés(Unit for brain damage) at Hôpital l’Archet in Nice.
The Bianchi family additionally filed a lawsuit against the FIA, Marussia, and the Formula One Group in May 2016.
This July, we are left with the memory of a promising career cut short, and a young life extinguished before its time.
Ashley Sutton did his British Touring Car Championship aspirations no harm by taking two wins at Snetterton this weekend.
The Subaru driver closed in on title leader Gordon Shedden and proved his car has the potential to secure an unlikely title win.
It was Honda who took pole position with Eurotech backed driver Jack Goff taking the top spot. Colin Turkington in the BMW was second with Sutton taking third.
There was drama however as BTCC legend Matt Neal’s time was removed due to a failed ride height test. However due to some stipulations regarding the stewarding, his time was reinstated and he started fourth.
Turkington jumped Goff at the start and took the lead, with Sutton following behind in the Subaru. There were a few bumps and scrapes throughout the race as Ford’s Mat Jackson was almost spun round by Chevrolet driver Dave Newsham at Agostini.
The drama didn’t end there however as at the very same bend, Rob Austin dove down the inside of Tom Ingram, with the pair colliding and Austin’s Toyota suffering a puncture. He limped back to the pits but the damage was already done.
Back at the front Turkington lost the lead as he went off track, handing Goff the lead. Sutton was closing in on Goff, with the pair fighting hard, but on the exit of Agostini in to the following chicane, Sutton got past Goff and took yet another win in his Subaru. Goff took second with Neal rounding off the podium.
Race two was a much calmer affair after the opener, with Sutton taking a lights to flag win, pulling away from the chasing pack. The real fight was between BMW pair Turkington and Rob Collard. The pair were battling all race for second place, with Goff joining in the action.
Turkington managed to edge out Collard by just seven tenths, with Mat Jackson in the Shredded Wheat Ford in fourth and Goff in fifth.
Race three was unsolicited carnage, as the last race of the day burst into life, Ash Sutton, winner of the last two races, was hit off the track and suffered race ending damage, losing his hopes of a Snetterton hat trick.
Other notable crashes included Josh Cook in the MG being punted in the rear and retiring, as well as Matt Neal running wide and sliding into the wall.
Neal’s team mate Gordon Shedden took the win to preserve his title lead, with Collard and Turkington in second and third respectively. There was cause for celebration in the Power Maxed Racing garage as rookie Senna Proctor finished a career best ninth after starting 23rd.
With Shedden leading the championship lead by just two points from Rob Collard, and 11 points separating the top four, there will be a few twists and turns before the end of the season.
There are some partnerships in Formula One which are considered timeless. Senna and McLaren, Mansell and Williams, Clark and Lotus, but there’s arguably none more iconic than Ferrari and Michael Schumacher.
The legendary German spent ten years at Ferrari, and went on to win 72 races for the Prancing Horse, along with five consecutive world drivers championships.
He joined the team from Benetton in 1996 after winning the title in the two previous years. He was one of the hottest properties on the grid, and Ferrari tied him down to a long term contract. He showed early signs of the domination to come as he won the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix in the pouring rain, lapping everyone up to third place.
He also endeared himself to the ever-loyal Tifosi as he won at Monza, and ending the season in third place.
Williams were dominant in 1997, with Villeneuve leading at the midpoint of the season. Schumacher fought back and won five races, with it all going down to the finale at Jerez. With the Ferrari developing a coolant leak failure, it looked like the enigmatic German wouldn’t finish the race. As Villeneuve came up to pass him, Schumacher looked to cause a collision.
However it didn’t come off and Schumacher retired from the race with accident damage while Villeneuve won the title. Schumacher was punished by being excluded from the championship.
1998 saw Schumacher fight with new rival Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren. The mercurial Finn took the title after a strong fight with Schumacher. Controversially 1999 almost saw Schumacher join Hakkinen at McLaren, with Ron Dennis admitting he approached the German. However issues with sponsors and image rights meant Schumacher would remain at Ferrari.
It was at Silverstone where Schumacher’s title challenge ended. He crashed at Stowe, breaking his leg, putting him out for most of the season. Hakkinen won the title again.
2000 was the year it came together, with Schumacher and Hakkinen fighting again, with Rubens Barrichello joining him at the Scuderia. At the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher won his 41st race, equalling the record of Ayrton Senna, which saw Schumacher famously break down in tears in the press conference post race.
It all came down to Japan, and after a stunning pit-stop strategy, Schumacher got past Hakkinen and sealed Schumacher’s third title and Ferrari’s first since Jody Scheckter in 1979.
2001 was dominant for Schumacher as no one came close to him and the Prancing Horse. He sealed the title with four races to go, and at the Belgian Grand Prix he broke the record for most wins, surpassing Alain Prost’s 51 wins.
2002 was an incredible year for Schumacher and Ferrari. 11 wins in 17 races, with Ferrari winning 15. However it wasn’t without controversy. At the Austrian Grand Prix, Barrichello was leading and looked set for the win, before being asked to move aside for Schumacher to win in his bid for the title. He moved aside, but not until the finish line, with the incredibly unpopular decision falling into farce as Schumacher made Barrichello stand on the top of the podium.
He equalled Juan Manuel Fangio’s five title wins as the records continued to tumble. However his sixth would be one of his hardest to win. McLaren’s new Finn Kimi Raikkonen emerged as a title contender.
It all came down to the decider in Japan, with Raikkonen or Schumacher able to win the title. All Schumacher had to do was finish eighth and the title was his. He stumbled to eighth place, and took his sixth title, by a single point from Raikkonen.
2004 was again, dominant. Breaking his own records and winning 13 races that season, winning his seventh and final title of his career.
2005 saw Fernando Alonso and Renault surge to the title, and Schumacher’s only win came at the farcical US Grand Prix in which only six cars started due to a tyre dispute. He would fight Alonso in 2006, winning seven races, with his 91st and final win coming in China.
He was mooted to come back to Formula One in 2009 after a couple of years out for the injured Felipe Massa, but a motorbike accident earlier in the year put pay to the romantic rumours.
While Schumacher’s career with the Scuderia was incredible, it had its moments of controversy. His most controversial moment came in 2006 round the streets of Monaco. During qualifying he tried to stop Alonso from securing pole by ‘parking his car’ at the Rascasse corner. He was demoted to the back of the grid as punishment of the incident.
However his controversial moments were easily outweighed by his magical moments. His fights with Mika Hakkinen were stuff of legend, as he was involved in fights race after race. Hakkinen is known as one of the only drivers Schumacher truly respected and feared, which was quite the accolade.
Though while his achievements are plentiful, Ferrari’s own version of the fab four is what Schumacher should also be remembered by. As Schumacher, Ross Brawn, Jean Todt and Rory Byrne helped resurrect the Prancing Horse and return them to their rightful place at the top step of the podium.
The quartet put Ferrari back at the top, and sealed their place in history as one of the most successful partnerships in the history of Formula One. While we have dominance nowadays with Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, I feel it’ll be a long time before we see a driver of the quality of Schumacher again.
Thruxton is the fastest circuit that the British Superbike circus visits all year. So, to compliment the preview, I put together some fast facts for you guys to ponder over whilst the races are on.
British Superbikes visits the fastest venue on the calendar this weekend, at the Thruxton circuit near Andover. Having taken the title lead at his home round two weeks ago, Shane Byrne comes to a circuit at which he has won at a total of eight times. However, Josh Brookes has done the double in the last two years he has been racing in BSB (2014 and 2015), and will be looking to achieve a repeat performance to give him and the Anvil Hire Tag Team their first race wins of the year. Leon Haslam and Luke Mossey will also be seeking a return to form, having not won a race since Oulton Park, back in May. Lap times from the past two seasons suggest that the pace could be even faster, with the perfect lap from last years qualifying sessions combined being a 1.13.836. If a 1.13 lap is achieved, it will be the fastest ever lap on two wheels around the Thruxton track.
