Was it ever in doubt? Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) became the first rider since the late Daijiro Kato in 2001 to win the opening three races in the intermediate class of the MotoGP world championship, a hugely impressive feat. This shows what a talent the Italian is and you’d have to be a very brave man to bet against him to take the 2017 Moto2 championship. He also became the first Italian to win the opening three races of the year in the intermediate class since Luca Cadalora in 1992 and when you think of the amount of top Italians who have come through that class (Capirossi, Biaggi, Melandri, Rossi, Simoncelli, Pasini and Iannone to name all but a few) then you realise just how incredible he is.
Morbidelli was able to control the race from the front throughout, despite team mate Alex Marquez main title rival Thomas Luthi (CarXpert Interwetten), Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) challenging the series leader in the opening stages. The 22 year old was able to break the chasing group mid-way through the race, with Luthi remaining his closest challenger. Pasini, on for his best result of the season, then crashed out at turn one leaving the birthday boy Marquez and Nakagami to fight it out for the final position on the podium.
The 30 year old Swiss looked to be reeling Franco in at the front, but the former European Superstock 600 champion upped the pace to consolidate his lead and eventually took the flag by 2.6 seconds. 2nd place Luthi earned his 50th Grand Prix podium, whilst Nakagami was able to fend off Marquez to grab his second podium of the campaign.
Elsewhere in the race, there was a huge shunt at the first corner after Stefano Manzi (Sky Racing Team VR46) clattered into Julian Simon (Tech 3 Racing), taking both riders out of the race before completing a corner. The decision to put Manzi into the VR46 Moto2 team is looking increasingly like a mistake, with the young Italian failing to pick up any points in the opening three rounds. Another crash, this time at the end of the back straight saw Yonny Hernandez (AGR Team) make contact with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Racing Team) and Jesko Raffin (Garage Plus Interwetten). The Colombian proving just how difficult it is to ride a Moto2 machine and be competitive, despite being used to much quicker MotoGP bikes.
Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) crossed the line in a brilliant 5th place to get his and Suter’s best finish of the season. Not such good news on the other side of the garage though as Danny Kent announced he was leaving the team due to “irreconcilable differences.” A huge shame for the 2015 Moto3 world champion, the first British rider to win a Grand Prix world championship since Barry Sheene. Kent took to Twitter to express his feelings: “I’m still hungry & determined & believe I can be competitive in Moto2. I wish Kiefer Racing the best for the future.” It is believed that Kent’s management are looking for an alternative ride for the rest of the season, so let’s hope he can jump on a competitive bike and prove that he can mix it in the intermediate class.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) continued his and KTM’s impressive start to the season, bringing home a solid 6th to put the Portuguese star 3rd in the championship to leave him 32 points behind Morbidelli. Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing) claimed seventh on a track that has often been a good one for the Speed Up chassis, with the last non Kalex win coming at COTA in 2015 with Sam Lowes on board. Corsi finished ahead of Marcel Schrötter (Intact Dynavolt GP) whilst Tech 3 Racing’s Xavi Vierge continues to massively impress on the out-of-favour chassis, he now lies 5th in the championship.
The battle for the top 10 saw Luca Marini (Forward Racing Team) beat Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia), with Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP 40) staging an impressive comeback in the latter half of the race into P12, finishing as top rookie once again.
Xavier Simeon (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) led Brad Binder’s injury replacement Ricky Cardus (Red Bull KTM Ajo) home in P13, with Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completing the point’s scorers after a late mistake saw him drop positions, despite some impressive pace on board Sam Lowes’ old bike.
The field now head to Europe, as the ever popular Circuit de Jerez hosts the fourth round of the Moto2 world championship. Can anyone put a stop Morbidelli’s relentless title surge? For sure the Spaniards will be looking to claw back some of the deficit on home soil as it
promises to be another fascinating weekend of two wheeled racing.
Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17. Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 17th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain.
Nico Hülkenberg has said he is feeling confident that he and the Renault team can secure a good result in this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, following a fruitful outing at the last race in Bahrain.
Hülkenberg claimed his and Renault’s first points of 2017 at the Sakhir International Circuit two weeks ago, finishing in ninth place after another strong qualifying performance saw him start from seventh for the second race in succession.
He then went on to record the sixth-fastest time at the post-race Bahrain test, just a few tenths off the Williams of Felipe Massa as Renault evaluated new updates to the RS17.
“I have quite a bit of optimism,” Hülkenberg said, regarding the forthcoming Russian Grand Prix. “I think we made good progress to enable us to improve our race pace when testing in Bahrain and we have some new bits for the car to facilitate this too.
“Of course, the Sochi Autodrom is a completely different circuit [to Sakhir], so we can’t accurately predict our performance until we get there, but I’m feeling positive.”
Expanding on the work Renault conducted in Bahrain, Hülkenberg added: “We want more downforce and to improve the car aerodynamically and to use the tyres better in the race. The car is basically good, it’s just a number of details we need to improve.”
His teammate Jolyon Palmer has also praised the development of the RS17, despite settling for a “frustrating” thirteenth-place finish in Bahrain, saying “There’s definitely been progress, but there’s certainly more to come.
“Getting into the top ten in qualifying for the first time in Bahrain was particularly satisfying,” the Briton reflected. “I’d struggled a lot in the FP3 session, so myself and my engineer, Chris Richards, sat down and we changed the set-up of the car so it worked far better.
“The real positive is that the team is taking a step forward at every race so we’re hopeful that Sochi continues in this vein.”
Jolyon Palmer (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17. Bahrain Grand Prix, Friday 14th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain.
It was the worst-kept secret in the MotoGP paddock last year: Triple premier class champion, Jorge Lorenzo, was leaving the all conquering Yamaha factory outfit for Ducati in 2017. Signed to deliver the red bike’s first World Championship since Casey Stoner exactly a decade ago.
It has not gone as planned. Lorenzo’s results from the three opening fly-away races read thus:
Qatar: P11 (Started P12), 5 points
Argentina: DNF (Started P16)
USA: P9 (Started P6), 7 points
The warning signs had been evident for any rider joining Ducati: Just a few seasons after winning his title, Stoner became disillusioned with the team and defected to see out his racing days with Honda. Furthermore, since Stoner left in 2010, the Italian team have achieved victory in a grand total of two grands prix (Andreas Iannone and Dovizioso at Austria and Malaysia last season, respectively). Not even Valentino Rossi, with nine world titles to his name, could tame the Desmosedici-RR. The latter’s failure was perhaps Lorenzo’s real motivation for signing. Succeed where his arch rival could not.
Winter testing was a disaster for both team and rider. Although it is always difficult to judge the real performance of riders and teams, as we are not privy to details such as fuel loads and tyre choice, Lorenzo was constantly in the bottom half of the timesheets throughout most of the sessions. This was also because of Ducati discovering that they had lost some ground on their rivals now that the winglets had been banned. The lack of such aerodynamic aids has undoubtedly hurt the cornering performance of the Bologna-based outfit. With this in mind, the Spaniard was clearly always going to be struggling to adapt from the start.
However, in Ducati’s defence, their bike has always been much more physically demanding to ride than others. Therein lies the crux of all problems for the man known to his fans as ‘The Spartan’. Whilst the M1 has garnered the reputation of being arguably the most well balanced grand-prix bike to ever be built, the Ducati is the polar opposite. Designed around maximum straight line speed, the rider must be prepared to haul himself and the bike around every corner, combating the extreme levels of ‘chatter’ through the suspension, as the machine fights against every directional change. It takes an extraordinary rider to tame the beast. There is no place for finesse and smooth trajectories, which Lorenzo has built his career upon to date.
As a result, perhaps it should not have surprised us that the early stages of Lorenzo’s relationship with his new employers have been rocky. Both team and rider have had a stark reality check since joining forces. Ducati almost certainly won’t be able to win the championship this season, and Lorenzo has discovered how much he underestimated the challenge of riding the Ducati would be.
Poorer than expected results, and a completely disconsolate Lorenzo after Argentina, led certain media outlets into speculating how quickly he might part ways with his team. It was telling that it was Lorenzo who moved first to clarify his situation before last weekend’s American Grand Prix: “I don’t want to think about what has happened. In the team we are all optimistic. We’re working well together and this difficult moment will be over soon.”
Whilst ninth place will not bring home any accolades, it is proof that both the rider and team are improving. Lorenzo was understandably more buoyant speaking after the race. Additionally, there was more of a hint of the old bullish Jorge when on top form: “Today I was faster than ever on race pace. For sure we cannot be satisfied with our final position because our target is certainly much higher. We’re here to fight with Yamaha and Honda. But the positive is we’re much closer than before.”
Now that does not sound like a man who’s giving up just yet.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico Friday 31 March 2017. Photo: Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _J6I5979
Venturi has confirmed that Tom Dillmann will make his Formula E race debut standing in for Maro Engel at the Paris ePrix, as their regular driver contests a clashing DTM round at the Lausitzring.
This follows Dillmann, the reigning Formula V8 3.5 champion, getting his first taste of Formula E machinery during the Mexico City ePrix weekend, when he deputised in shakedown for Stephane Sarrazin whilst the latter attended the WEC Prologue.
Furthermore, Venturi will continue Dillmann’s acclimatisation to Formula E ahead of his race debut by running him in one of the team’s in-season filming days.
Speaking about the announcement to Motorsport.com, Dillmann called his ePrix debut a “great opportunity…to race on the streets of my capital city.
“After I was in contact with Venturi the first step was getting some running at Mexico although it was very short. But really in Mexico I learnt more from seeing how things operate in the race and how a race is run, this was really useful to experience.”
Dillmann also acknowledged that it will be difficult making his debut against “drivers [with] two full seasons’ racing” in the series, but added “for me the aim is to do a good job for the team” and “look towards season four because I want to race full-time in the championship then”.
Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Sunday 16 April 2017. World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _31I3281
Two wins in the first three races have moved the Ferrari in the first place on the championship board, not far from Mercedes which is just three points behind.
Sebastian Vettel has found his lost personality and leads the Scuderia to one of the most thrilling seasons. Two chequered flags, a second position in China and 68 points for the four-time world champion so far in this season. Whilst his main title contender, Lewis Hamilton, won one race and finished two times in the second place.
It’s still too early to judge, but I strongly believe that it will be a very close battle between two of the best drivers on the grid. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have the ability to get the 100% of their car and fight wheel to wheel for the title. Lewis Hamilton looks satisfied because finally Ferrari is competitive and Sebastian Vettel is a respected opponent in his eyes. From the other side, Vettel wants to return to the top and win his fifth title in his Formula One career and fulfill one of his childhood dreams.
In China the safety car gave an advantage on Lewis to lead the race, as Ferrari called Vettel into the pits earlier, when the virtual safety car was deployed, but in Bahrain the safety car was in Ferrari’s favour, and a five seconds time penalty which Hamilton received might cost him the race or at least a battle between him and Vettel for the chequered flag.
The only ‘disappointing’ so far is that Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen are not as fast as their team-mates. The Finns, are struggling to follow Hamilton’s and Vettel’s pace, Valtteri showed some of his skills by taking the pole position in Bahrain, but that was not enough to secure him a good race on the following day. But it is not fair to judge Bottas, as he moved from Williams to Mercedes only a few months ago and he is still trying to find an ideal set-up for him.
From the other hand, Kimi Raikkonen is far away from his good side, the Finn is looking lost and unable to help Ferrari at that moment. Kimi finished fourth in Australia and Bahrain, and fifth in China, so far he has scored 34 points in the championship, half the points which Vettel have scored.
Raikkonen had a good season last year, hence everyone was expecting something good from him this year, but he failed to satisfy his fans. He is a very experienced driver, and I hope that he will improve his performance and will manage to fight for a place on the podium and for a victory in the following races.
The new regulations have improved the quality of the sport. Faster cars, wheel to wheel battles and very impressive overtakes make the 2017 season the best season of the last years.
It was obvious from last year that Ferrari wanted to take advantage of these changes and make a reliable and fast car, the risk paid off for the reds until now and Tifosi are dreaming a tittle after almost nine years.
I cannot predict the winner of the 2017 season, but I certainly can say that this year will make us to hold our breath until the final chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.
Is it the desire of McLaren to win their first Indy 500 since 1976 (Johnny Rutherford) or the desire of Fernando Alonso to complete the ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’? That is the question of many questions.
There are two current drivers who can achieve the Triple Crown. The only person to grab hold of this elusive title is Graham Hill.
That fact is quite historic.
The ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’ to those who know better includes the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, not the F1 World Championship. There is a thought that it is the F1 World Championship instead of the Monaco Grand Prix, but that is just a modern way of thinking (in the eyes of this writer and many other motor racing fans).
Base the theory on the Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 and Le Mans and this year two drivers go head-to-head as the only two people in the world who can achieve this feat.
Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya.
The only man to complete the Triple Crown (in real terms) is Graham Hill.
Alonso has won the F1 Monaco Grand Prix in 2006 and 2007. Montoya has won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2003 and the Indy 500 in 2000. Montoya has one more race to complete the set, whereas Alonso has the Indy and Le Mans.
Now, we all know Alonso wants to race Le Mans, we also know that Montoya is gearing himself up for Le Mans and this, aside from any racing fan-ship, poses a fantastic option.
Which of these two, if any of them, will grab it?
McLaren in association with Andretti Motorsport have recently announced their inclusion for the Indianapolis 500 with Fernando Alonso. That, in itself, should raise some interest in the motor racing family. Some may look back and comment and think it slightly strange.
Take stock for one moment what I said before, there is only one other driver in the history of motorsport who has completed this task, Graham Hill. Now wonder at the thought that there are two drivers who could do this, now in our modern time right in front of our eyes.
McLaren, as a team, last entered the Indy 500 in 1979, their last win was 1976 when Johnny Rutherford won, having won in 1974 and the team finishing second in 1975. A great era.
But what of now?
McLaren in Formula One aren’t doing so well, they want to do better as do their fans, but they aren’t.
Is this some kind of PR stunt? Maybe.
Is it a platform for Fernando Alonso to complete the near impossible at the end of his career? I think it might be.
It is not a hidden fact that Alonso is not the happiest bunny in the world when it comes to the Formula One World Championship, but can McLaren be competitive at the Indy 500?
Can McLaren be competitive at the Indy 500 when they can’t compete at the top in Formula One? Different series, different regulations and different rules.
If Alonso is, and it is strange to say this about the double world champion, as a rookie could win the Indy 500, he would then be on par with Juan Pablo Montoya.
The records:
Juan Pablo Montoya won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2003, he also won the Indy 500 in 2000. He has won two of the Triple Crowns.
Fernando Alonso has won the Monaco Grand Prix twice in 2006 and 2007 but is yet to win an Indy 500 and like Montoya, a Le Mans.
They are both yet to win the toughest race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Both men want to race Le Mans but only Montoya is in a place at this time to achieve this. Are McLaren putting all their eggs in one basket and putting Alonso out there?
It is no secret that Zak Brown loves Le Mans and the Indy 500 and if Honda in Formula One are not delivering and their ageing, experienced and still talented driver in Alonso is delivering then why not look at another series or race? To see a McLaren team at the Indy 500 is an amazing sight and, if they intimate, to see them at Le Mans would be fantastic.
Zak Brown loves his Formula One history, he is American, he has pedigree in sportscar racing and he likes to make a difference. Based on this information it is not beyond the impossible that Fernando Alonso winning the Indy 500 and then competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That is not fantasy, that is fact.
I put Juan Pablo Montoya into the equation. He has two of the titles and is readily experienced to win the third, the toughest and the hardest to get. The 24 Hours. He is testing cars for this.
Make no mistake, it does not matter whether you are an IndyCar groupie, a WEC fan, a Le Mans veteran, a Formula One addict or a racing fan in general. The battle in mainstream racing is not F1 and Ferrari vs Mercedes or Vettel vs Hamilton, this year or next it is whether the Triple Crown can be equalled and there are only two drivers who can currently achieve this. But who and when? That are the questions.
Montoya and Alonso.
So…..when it comes to the 500 this year, it just got a little more interesting for Alonso and McLaren and for Montoya….well, we all know that pout and that bravado of the man that is Montoya and he will think, ‘All I need to do is win Le Mans”. Alonso will readily accept the 500 challenge and look ahead.
Are McLaren going for the Triple Crown or will Montoya beat them to it?
It won’t be answered this year, but it does pose many other questions, among those, are McLaren moving over to sportscars again?
That is for another article.
For now, where would your money go, Montoya or Alonso?
But what if Alonso won the 500 this year, one of the most difficult races to win? What then?
If Alonso and McLaren win the 500 then it is just Le Mans to win and then THAT is driver vs driver…..Alonso vs Montoya…..Manufacturer vs Manufacturer and a sponsors absolute dream.
McLaren fans will obviously be willing Alonso on, IndyCar and NASCAR fans will be courting Montoya, but proper racing fans and neutrals will be hoping Alonso wins the 500.
Why?
Because if Alonso wins the Indy 500 then the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans just got a whole lot more interesting and the only other drive aside Montoya and apart from Graham Hill, would be in contention to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
Whether you are a Formula One, IndyCar or Le Mans fan I can only offer one piece of advice. Grab your favourite beverage and snack…sit back and watch. You may well watch history in the making. You may not, but you never know.
Alonso vs Montoya. Pick your seat.
And on that…..I will see you at the chequered flag.
This year’s Tour de Corse is a tale of two halves. The Citroen team had done some serious hard work before, to try and get a handle on the car’s behaviour on asphalt after the disappointment in Monte Carlo.
Shakedown suggested that there would be little in it.
1 Ogier 3:50.7
2 Paddon 3:51.3
3 Meeke 3:51.6
4 Latvala 3:51.8
5 Neuville 3:51.8
6 Tanak 3:52.0
7 Sordo 3:52.2
8 Breen 3:52.7
9 Lefebvre 3:54.0
10 Evans 3:55.0
All of the teams have experienced reliability problems this year and this is what would happen here too.
So, the first day’s action would be played over these stages, without a midday service. Should anything happen, then the crews would have to solve it as best as they could.
8.30pm: Flexi Service A (Bastia airport – 45 mins)
At the end of that first stage, Kris and Paul in their C4 would be the only crew to dip below 20 minutes! It was a bit damp under the trees and when Seb got to the end, he explained that he didn’t like the feel of the bumps in the Fiesta in the middle of the stage. Both Jari-Matti and Ott talked about the damp patches in the stage, making it very tricky to be fully confident, so holding back a bit. Thierry talked about the bumps as well and suffering a bit with understeer, so not able to push as hard as he wanted. Kris was very happy though.
1. Meeke – 19:56,5 (93,9kph)
2. Ogier +0:05,7
3. Neuville +0:11,0
It set a marker that the C4 was very capable on this surface now.
Stage two and Kris won this as well, with Seb remaining his closest challenger, just a few seconds slower at the end of the 29,12km stage. Seb adjusted his suspension a little, and combined with the smoother stage, was a little closer to Kris. Thierry also would struggle to be quicker, just lacking his rhythm and in the tree covered roads, seeing where the grip was.
1. Meeke – 18:22,3 (95,1kph)
2. Ogier +0:03,2
3. Neuville +0:06,2
Onto stage three then and this would be where we would we would see the first name fall. Ott would go off a couple of km’s into the stage. They were fine, but the car wasn’t coming out easily. Hayden and John in their i20 would start to have a problem with the rear of the car stepping out, and this would see the car slide out on a right hander and hit a rock face, leading to a little damage to the rear left, but at least it was cosmetic, rather than anything serious. Kris’ lead was now eight seconds over Seb.
1. Ogier – 19:52,1 (94,2kph)
2. Meeke +0:00,8
3. Neuville +0:06,2
Last stage of the day then and Kris would take this as well, thus making his lead a pretty good 10.3 seconds.
1. Meeke – 18:20,4 (95,3kph)
2. Ogier +0:02,2
3. Neuville +0:03,2
Let’s hear then from the top three at the end of the first day.
1st
Kris Meeke said:
“I really enjoyed driving the Citroën C3 WRC on these roads. The rally is far from over, but today’s good result is just rewards for the hard work done by the team, especially during pre-event testing. We managed our day well, particularly in the afternoon when we had to cope with more dirt and gravel pulled onto the racing line and higher tyre wear. I feel good but I have to be wary because I only have a very narrow lead.”
2nd
Sébastien Ogier said:
“We tried as much as we could today. I have to say that I’m pretty happy with my drive, but we also know that we’re still missing a little performance.
“We tried a few things stage after stage and the feeling did get better as the day went on. It’s still not perfect, but we have some ideas for tomorrow that will hopefully help us gain some more speed. It’s all about the set-up and we have to try to improve the feeling in the car so that we can get the most out of it.
“Tomorrow we will continue to push and try our best. It’s only 10 seconds, and there are still plenty of kilometres to come. Of course, it would have been better to have had a 10 second advantage ourselves, but at the moment we are behind and we need to keep the pressure on and continue to push.”
3rd
Thierry Neuville commented: “Everyone seems to be on strong pace here this weekend, which will make it a nice fight. The first stage this morning went OK from my point of view. We had a few things to improve on the car, with understeer in some corners affecting the confidence a bit. Although we had no lunchtime service, we made some adjustments on the ride height to improve the grip at the front axle, which we hoped would give us better steering and turn-in performance. We tried to push in the afternoon loop but the gap to the front was still too big. We were certainly on the limit, so we’ll have to see what improvements we can make overnight to help us reduce the gap to Meeke and Ogier, who have both been quick today.”
The rest of the drivers.
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen 4th
“It’s been a good day, especially as we’re not a million miles away from the podium. On the advice of the engineers, I’ve changed my tarmac driving style completely to try and be less aggressive on the brakes. It seems to be working but I feel that there’s definitely room for improvement. I was also trying to adjust the settings of the diff maps on the stages and I think it seems to be better. Everything is going well, the C3 WRC is really nice to drive in conditions like these.”
Stephane Lefebvre 8th
“The main thing is that we have had a clean, consistent day, in line with the target we had set ourselves. Obviously, I’m suffering from my lack of knowledge on this rally. It was only on the first seven kilometres of Pietrosella, which are new for everyone, where I was able to compete with the leading guys. It’s not easy to get the right level of aggression. If you push too hard, you get more understeer and that’s not what we’re looking for either!”
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo 5th said:
“It’s been a relatively trouble-free day for us, but we are missing some speed and performance compared to our rivals. It’s difficult to put our finger on what is exactly missing because the car feels quick and I have felt very comfortable with my driving. We tried a few things today, also adapting my driving style, to try and extract some more pace, but there wasn’t any big change. We have to discuss things with the team this evening; I am sure there are more things we can try.”
Hayden Paddon 7th said: “The first stage this morning was not the ideal way to start the rally. It was tricky with some damp patches that did nothing whatsoever for the confidence. The second stage went better but the times were still not there. We couldn’t do much over lunch with just a tyre fitting zone so we persevered for the afternoon loop. In SS3, we had a good first half but we then lost the rear towards the end, which created a few moments. Once you lose the rear, you are a passenger really. The final stage felt fine but we know we can do a better job. The gap is bigger than I would like but we have this evening to work out how we can turn things around for the rest of the event.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 04, Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 06-09 April 2017 Hayden Paddon, John Kennard, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Sarah Vessely Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala 6th said:
“Today has been OK, but really I’m not too happy with my driving. I think I’m being a bit too cautious, especially in the places where it is damp or slippery. But I’m not so worried about it as I know that these conditions don’t really suit me. Where I think, I am losing time is under braking and acceleration; it’s also a question of getting used to the active central differential with the extra power this year. We’ve had a great start to the season and so the expectation is high but it’s also important to remember that we have a lot of testing and learning to do, so this is a realistic position that we are in at the moment. The car has plenty of potential, so of course we hope to improve tomorrow.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Tour de Corse (FRA) – WRC 06/04/2017 to 09/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Juho Hänninen (retired)
“It was disappointing for me obviously: there was a slight surface change before a bridge close to the end of the first stage and I just lost the car under braking, which meant that we arrived at the corner much too quickly and went wide. The right-rear of the car hit the bridge parapet, and that caused a fire soon afterwards from the damper oil. We were able to put the fire out and continue to the end of the stage, but the problem was that we had also damaged the front and rear tyres, and like everyone else we had just one spare wheel. So, we had to stop to save the car. It’s not been a good day for us, but at least we have the chance to come back tomorrow.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Tour de Corse (FRA) – WRC 06/04/2017 to 09/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
M-Sport WRT
Ott Tänak (Rally 2 / 23rd) said:
“There was a long corner and a bit more gravel than we were expecting. We understeered wide and the road was quite narrow. We were on the edge for some time and in the end we just missed that little bit of luck to keep us on the stage.
“There was very little damage to the car but we got stuck on a steep bank and it was quite difficult for the tow truck to get us out so we had no chance on our own!
“It’s a big shame because the car felt really nice. I’ve always struggled with this rally but this year I had been really enjoying it. We had a good test in the lead-up and we worked really hard with the notes to get everything perfect.
“I can say that it’s a bit of an empty feeling right now. The times this morning were good and close to the ‘Tarmac experts’ so of course it’s disappointing. But that’s life, and sometimes it’s tough. Now, we just need to have a good sleep and get back out there tomorrow.”
D-Mack WRT
Elfyn Evans (18th) said:
“We had a problem with the hydraulics early on in the second stage so it’s been a long day trying to manage the issue. Obviously, it’s been a bit frustrating as this is one of the strongest events on the calendar for us. It’s disappointing, but we have plenty to learn and plenty of purpose to keep fighting for the rest of the rally.”
End of day one:
1 Meeke/Nagle 1h16m32.1s
2 Ogier/Ingrassia +10.3s
3 Neuville/Gilsoul +25.8s
4 Breen/Martin +52.4s
5 Sordo/Marti +53.8s
6 Latvala/Anttila +1m00.2s
7 Paddon/Kennard +1m18.8s
8 Lefebvre/Moreau +2m07.6s
9 Mikkelsen/Jaeger +2m57.3s
10 Sarrazin/Renucci +16m09.4s
Saturday dawned dry and warm, with four stages again in front of the crews.
8:40am SS5 La Porta-Valle Di Rostino 1 (48,71 KM)
10:17am SS6 Novella 1 (17,27 KM)
1:03pm Service C
2:28pm SS7 La Porta-Valle Di Rostino 2 (48,71 KM)
4:08pm SS8 Novella 2 (17,27 KM)
So, stage five and Thierry pushed hard and he mentioned that the conditions were very tricky, with a lot of dust on the road. Seb said that the road was very bumpy and that he didn’t feel comfortable to push hard. Could Kris take advantage and increase his lead? Well, he didn’t win the stage, but he was quicker by almost 9 seconds. He said at the end, very very dirty compared to last year. He was happy though.
SS5 – La Porta – Valle di Rostino 1 (48,71km)
1. Neuville – 32:19,6 (90,4kph)
2. MEEKE +0:08,8
3. Ogier +0:14,9
Stage six would see the demise of Elfyn Evans. He would go off the road on a left-hander and there was no way back on under their own steam. Craig Breen was in a battle with Dani Sordo, but it would go a bit pear-shaped for the C4 crew. They’d lost their intercom and Craig had had to drive blind with hand signals from Scott. He was furious! Thierry would drive a great stage and move ahead of Seb after going through almost nine seconds quicker than the Fiesta pilot! He said the stage was good and that he’d had to back out a little in some places after the sump guard bottomed out on the road! Seb was very unhappy though. He couldn’t explain why he was so slow. Unfortunately, it was the end for Kris and Paul…. Engine let go, one km from the end of the stage. He said the car was incredible, but they were out.
SS6 – Novella 1 (17,27km)
1. Neuville – 11:13,1 (92,4kph)
2. Sordo +0:02,2
3. Hanninen +0:03,3
Stage seven would see Seb finally win a stage on Saturday! However, it took a spin for Thierry in a hairpin where he just lost the rear. Seb had a much better handling car, as well after making some changes in service.
SS7 La Porta- Valle di Rostino 2 (90,6kph)
1. Ogier 32:15.9
2. Latvala +0:05.0
3. Neuville +0:06.0
One more stage then on this afternoon of drama. Stage eight… Well, it would be Seb that would hit trouble! The paddle shift for the gear change would completely fail. He’d have to use the gear shift. How much time would he lose? Well, the answer was loads! He was only eighth quickest and 36.7 seconds slower than Thierry. Dani had driven well too and steered his car into a solid third place.
SS8 Novella 2 (17,27km)
1. Neuville 11:17.7 (91,7kph)
2. Sordo 0:03.2
3. Latvala 0:03.6
Well, we had a new leader and Thierry found himself benefitting from his rivals’ misfortunes. Let’s hear from the top three then.
Thierry Neuville 1st commented:
“A fantastic day for us, and a real turnaround from Friday’s stages. The team worked really hard to improve the set-up of the car for today’s loops, and the handling was much better. I felt more confident to push and could carry more speed through the corners. To score two stage wins on the first loop was very pleasing and we finished strongly with another fastest time this afternoon. Aside from a small spin in SS7, we’ve had nearly the perfect day. We won’t take anything for granted even with a 39-second advantage over Ogier. We have one very long stage to start Sunday, so this rally is far from over! To be leading at the end of the penultimate day, though, is an important step closer to our target.”
Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:
“It was quite a disappointing day – especially as the fight with Thierry was shaping up to be a really enjoyable battle. A situation with a technical issue is never one that you want to be in, but this is motorsport and it happens.
“This morning we didn’t have a lot of confidence and Thierry was able to get ahead of us. This afternoon we had no option but to try and react, and it was good to see that we were able to do that. We got the lead down to just two seconds, but unfortunately that’s where the fight ended for us.
“I’m happy that we at least saved our second place which means good points for the championship – and that’s the only target remaining for us now. If we manage to finish like this and collect some points in the Power Stage it will be a very good weekend for us.
“It would mean increasing our lead in the championship and every weekend that we’re able to do that is a good weekend. I will be happy with that even if tonight I am a little disappointed. I would have preferred to fight until the very last stage as that would have been exciting for us and for the fans as well.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Tour de Corse (FRA) – WRC 06/04/2017 to 09/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Dani Sordo 3rd said:
“We started this morning feeling more confident and we were setting better stage times. The team worked hard last night on the differentials, suspension and general set-up of the car. I was much happier and we could immediately notice the improvement. The afternoon wasn’t as good. I pushed as hard as I could but the times were not as fast as this morning. Still, we are in third place and involved in a close fight, so we have to work hard in the final two stages tomorrow to defend our position – and hopefully score my first podium of the season.”
The rest of the drivers
Jari-Matti Latvala 4th said:
“The car was actually transformed after some of the changes that we made at midday service. In the two stages this afternoon I really enjoyed driving it: I was able to push and it was a big pleasure. Obviously, there was a lot of mud and dirt on the road during the second run, so we had to be careful, but we still made a very big improvement compared to the morning. On the first two stages today I didn’t have a good feeling under braking in particular, but we improved this as well during service. Now I think we’re in a strong position for tomorrow, so we’re aiming for a solid finish.”
Craig Breen 5th said:
“The Tour de Corse is undoubtedly the worst place in the world to lose the intercom! We nonetheless managed not to lose too much time on SS6. This afternoon, there was a bit more pressure on my shoulders after Kris and Stéphane’s retirements. I kept out of trouble and I’m still within striking distance of Jari-Matti Latvala. We’ll see tomorrow if we are able to go after fourth place.”
Hayden Paddon 6th said: “We have made steady progress today, trying to close on the top-five. To be honest, we’re in a bit of a no man’s land on the classification, a bit too far away to pose any threat to Breen. After yesterday, we wanted to try a few things to improve our feeling in the car, and the morning loop allowed us to do that. There was a bit more gravel pulled out on the stages in the afternoon loop but the route note crew did a great job to report that back to us. I have enjoyed driving these stages today and we are closer to the front than we were here six months ago, so it’s not all bad. Our focus is now on bringing the car home. Anything could happen yet.”
Ott Tänak (16th) said:
“Overall, it’s not been such a bad day. Yesterday we were pushing quite hard, but today the main priority was to get through the stages and secure some valuable points for the manufacturers’ championship.
“During the second loop the stages were quite dirty and really challenging so we didn’t take any big risks. We might not have been flat-out, but we had a good rhythm and a good feeling with the car. We continued to learn and improved the balance for tomorrow so hopefully we can continue that through the final stages.”
Finally, those that didn’t make it to the end of the second day.
Kris Meeke (DNF) said:
“Obviously, this is not the outcome I was hoping for, but it’s part and parcel of the sport. In order for a car to go as fast as possible, there are tens of people who work on thousands of parts… and sometimes, it doesn’t work quite as it should. In any event, this weekend has given me a huge confidence boost for the future. It was really special to lead this rally, which I think is the most difficult tarmac event. We know that our C3 WRC can win on all surfaces and that’s what we’ll try to do in Argentina, and then in Portugal and everywhere else.”
Stéphane Lefebvre (Rally2) said:
“We didn’t hit the wall that hard, but hard enough to break part of the suspension. We tried to repair it so we could keep driving in the afternoon and pick up more experience. Unfortunately, we arrived at the time control after the maximum thirty-minute limit and were therefore excluded. We’ll be back under Rally2 rules tomorrow. I’ll try to restart at a good pace in order to leave Corsica on a positive note.”
Elfyn Evans (Rally 2 / 26th) said:
“This hasn’t been the Tour de Corse as we have known it in previous years. Luck has definitely not been on our side this time and it was really disappointing to end today’s action so early. It was just a very small and unfortunate mistake. Hopefully we can get the car back out on the stages tomorrow and get some more mileage under our belts.”
Top ten at the end of day two.
1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul 2:44:10.2
2 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +38.9
3 D. Sordo M. Martí +57.7
4 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +1:09.4
5 C. Breen S. Martin +1:12.2
6 H. Paddon J. Kennard +1:43.8
7 A. Mikkelsen A. Jaeger +6:21.7
8 T. Suninen M. Markkula +7:29.6
9 S. Sarrazin J. J. Renucci +7:46.8
10 Y. Rossel B. Fulcrand +9:56.5
Sunday morning then and two stages to decide this year’s winner!
7.15am: Service E (Bastia airport – 15 mins)
8.58am: SS9 – Antisanti – Poggio di Nazza (53.78km)
First up was the longest stage of the whole weekend. A great decision by the organisers to have it first thing on the last day. All the crews choose to go with hard tyres. The stage was identical to last year, so it would be interesting to compare the times.
There was a good battle between Craig and Jari-Matti for fourth overall and by the end of the stage, Jari-Matti was five seconds slower than the young Irishman. Seb ran wide on a left-handed hairpin, losing more time. He was pretty unhappy and didn’t say what was causing all the problems for him.
Thierry and Nicolas was twenty seconds quicker than the champion and Dani had moved into second overall, just a couple of seconds ahead of Ogier.
SS9 – Antisanti – Poggio di Nazza (53.78km)
1. Neuville 32:34,6 (99,1kph)
2. Sordo +0:00,1
3. Breen +0:01,8
Just one stage left then…. Could Jari-Matti get back in front of Craig and could Seb get back into second? Ah, the power stage and Hayden was first in. It wasn’t to be though. He slid into a driveway, under braking for a left hander. No damage to the car, and he finished the stage trailing spectator tape, just like Kris in Mexico.
Jari-Matti, winner two years ago and he was fully committed! He’d lowered the car to make it quicker. It worked! Craig and Scott would be only 1 tenth slower at the end meaning that Jari-Matti had just got ahead into fourth! He also had won the power stage.
At last Thierry had taken his first victory of this new season. The Hyundai team had started slowly on Friday, but had closed the gap to the front through Saturday, into a position to capitalise on Kris’ misfortune with his engine crying enough.
1. Neuville / Gilsoul 3:22:53.4
2. Ogier / Ingrassia +54.7
3. Sordo / Marti +56.0
4. Latvala / Anttila +1:09.6
5. Breen / Martin +1:09.7
6. Paddon / Kennard +2:16.3
7. Mikkelsen / Jaeger +8:10.7
8. Suninen / Markkula +9:17.0
9. Sarrazin / Renucci +9:23.6
10. Rossel / Fulcrand +12:57.1
Let’s hear from the top three then.
Thierry Neuville 1st commented:
“It’s an amazing feeling to take the win here in Corsica this weekend. I am sure there are many people who share in this celebration with us, not least the whole of the Hyundai Motorsport team. They have been so supportive of me since Monte Carlo and Sweden, and I’m really happy. This win is ours! It was a tough start to the rally with some struggles on Friday, but we worked through that methodically to return stronger. With Dani finishing third, we’ve picked up a healthy score of points which helps to get us back firmly into the title fight. An incredible weekend for us.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 04, Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 06-09 April 2017 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Sarah Vessely Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:
“It has definitely been a roller coaster weekend for us! We’ve had lots of highs and lows, but I’m happy to say that we finished on a high with some really good points for the championship.
“We’re happy with the pace that we had and things are definitely moving in the right direction. We struggled with the set-up at times, but honestly the car is not too bad and I think we have some performance in the tank.
“We had the pace to challenge Thierry for the win – only two seconds behind him before the technical problems – but of course we have some work to do to ensure we don’t repeat this stressful weekend.”
Dani Sordo 3rd said:
“We knew it would be hard to hold onto second place after we inherited it from Sébastien in the first stage this morning. We pushed as hard as we could and I am still very happy we have finished on the podium this weekend. It has been a strange event and almost a lottery at times with our feeling in the car not matching the times set on the stages. Our target for today was to defend our third place, which we did, so from that point of view it is mission accomplished. This is a great result for the team, and we can now try to build on that in the next gravel rounds.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala 4th said:
“The power stage was completely maximum attack: I was totally focussed on my driving. I knew that if I wanted to have fourth place I needed to have a perfect run and I nearly achieved that: there were a couple of places where we arrived too fast and had some understeer, and also one jump where we arrived completely sideways. I could see people running away, so I’m sorry if I gave them a fright, but in any case, it was all under control, even though it looked spectacular! We’ve taken 17 points with fourth place and the Power Stage win, so this is a really fantastic result for our first rally on asphalt.”
Juho Hänninen (DNF) said:
“About five kilometres from the end of the first stage this morning I just missed a right-hand corner. I think it was maybe a problem with my pace notes, which perhaps were not clear, but in any case, I went straight off the road and there was no chance to come back, so my rally finished there. It’s disappointing because we showed plenty of speed on this rally and came so close to the finish, but of course I am happy for the team as Jari-Matti achieved a very good result here.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Craig Breen 5th said:
“This morning, the conditions were ideal once again, with beautiful weather and magnificent roads. Obviously, it’s very frustrating to lose a position by only a tenth of a second, but that’s also why we love rallying! I have no regrets, because I tried my best on the Power Stage. I have to be pleased with the weekend. We didn’t make a single mistake and we held our own when fighting with drivers with a lot more experience than us. That bodes well for the future.”
Stephane Lefebvre said:
“We completed today’s final two speed tests looking to increase our knowledge of the car and the Corsican stages. We really enjoyed it and that helped to increase our confidence. We won’t be racing in Argentina, so I can’t wait for Rally de Portugal to come around. Last year, I really enjoyed competing at this event.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Hayden Paddon 6th said: “Our focus on this final morning was simply on bringing the car home and scoring a few more points. It’s been a learning weekend for us, but we have to find the positives. Even if the end result doesn’t show it, we have been competing closer to the front this weekend and shown an improvement from last year’s Tour de Corse. There’s obviously still plenty to learn but we’re making progress. We must now look ahead to the next rally, the start of a run of five on gravel. We should have a good road position for Argentina so I’m looking to feature more prominently in the next events. Congratulations to Thierry and Nicolas – and everyone back at Alzenau – for the victory.”
M-Sport WRT
Ott Tänak (Rally 2 / 11th) said:
“It’s been a rally of highs and lows. This has always been one of my least favourite events so it was really good to see that we had good speed through the opening stages. We were on pace with the Tarmac specialists and, for the first time, I was really enjoying these twisty roads.
“That made it really hard when we slid off the road – it was an empty feeling to be honest – but we have to look to the positives. We’ve learnt a lot and my pace has been so much stronger than it had been in previous years.
“The result wasn’t what we wanted, but the pace was good and we’ll come back stronger – all focus now on a proper push at Rally Argentina!”
D-Mack WRT
Elfyn Evans (Rally 2 / 21st) said:
“This has always been one of my favourite events so it’s disappointing not to have been in a position to have challenged for a strong result. What with the problems on the opening day, and the mistake yesterday, it’s just not been our rally.
“But it’s not been a wasted weekend by all means. We’ve learnt a lot and collected a lot of information that we can use to be stronger at the next asphalt event. Now, all focus is on Argentina – and it’ll be all guns blazing there!”
So, what a great rally! Our fourth different winner this year and this year, a trend I hope will continue! The next event is in Argentina and we will see who will come out on top there.
2017 FIA World Rally Championship, Round 04, Rallye de France 06-09 April 2017, Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo, Nicolas Gilsoul, Marc Martí, Photographer: RaceEmotion, Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
2017 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 4
1 S. Ogier 88
2 J.M Latvala 75
3 T. Neuville 54
4 O. Tanak 48
5 D. Sordo 47
6 C. Breen 33
7 K. Meeke 27
8 H. Paddon 25
9 E. Evans 20
10 A. Mikkelsen 12
11 S. Lefebvre 10
12 J. Hänninen 9
2017 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
The Circuit of the Americas plays host to the third round of the Moto3 world championship, with three men dominating the opening two rounds. Joan Mir (Leopard Racing), after two expert victories in Qatar and Argentina, sits on top of the leader board with a perfect 50 points. The Mallorcan will be looking to become the second youngest rider to win three successive Moto3 races since MotoGP series leader Maverick Vinales managed it back in 2012.
Hot on the heels of Mir is the most experienced man in the class, Britain’s John McPhee. The 22 year old, now racing with the newly formed British Talent Team with the favoured Honda package underneath him, has started the season fine form with two second place finishes. 2016 was a mixed year for the young Scot, despite picking up his maiden win in the monsoon like conditions in the Czech Republic. McPhee looks stronger than ever before in 2017, with factory backing from Honda and guidance from former MotoGP pilot Jeremy McWilliams, a genuine title challenge looks to be on the cards. His best result at Austin came in 2015 where he powered through from 15th on the grid to finish 6th, so if McPhee can replicate his Argentine pole, there’s no reason why we can’t see the determined Scotsman pick up his first win of the season.
It has been a great year for the initials ‘J.M’ so far in 2017 as joining Mir and McPhee on the Moto3 podium on both occasions has been Del Conca Gresini Moto3’s Jorge Martin. His third place in Argentina has taken his overall podium tally to three, however his recent record at COTA has been disappointing, crashing out in his previous two visits to the circuit. We can expect the 20 year old to be fighting for the podium places once again, despite the KTM machines occupying four of the top five places in last year’s race.
The J.M’s were the first riders to stand on the podium in the first two lightweight class races, in the same order, since 1972. (couldn’t find when it was last done in 3 races).
However, there are a whole host of young, hungry and determined youngsters ready to end Mir’s domination. The returning Romano Fenati is the only rider on the grid to have picked up podium finishes in the previous four years in Austin. The Italian sits 5th in the championship and will be looking to add to his 5th and 7th place finishes in the states. Andrea Migno, the highest placed KTM rider in 4th will be hoping to break the Honda stranglehold. German Phillip Oettl is the next placed KTM in championship, lying in 8th position. The Südmetall Schedl GP Racing rider finished 4th in the USA in 2016, so expect him to be right up there this weekend.
Pre-season favourites Enea Bastianini, Niccolo Antonelli and Nicolo Bulega will be hoping to kick start their seasons after a disappointing opening two rounds.
It certainly promises to be another fairing-bashing race, with the big question being can anyone stop Mir and the Honda’s? Let’s hope McPhee can spoil the Spaniards party and carry on his title charge, whilst KTM will be looking to pick up their first rostrum of the season.
After two eventful opening races of the season, the MotoGP circus parades up to Texas, for the Americas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Although having only been on the calendar since 2013, the premier class has been dominated by Marc Marquez – however, the five-time champion languishes in the championship, with just a 4th to his name so far. Can all that be changed in the states?
Although we normally start our previews with the championship leader, we have to start this one with Captain America himself. Marc Marquez has won at COTA ever since it joined the calendar in 2013. He dominated proceedings last season whilst in 2015, he did have to scrap a bit with Rossi and Dovizioso. The stop-start hard breaking and tight turning obviously suits his style but unfortunately, that may not suit the Honda’s style. Marc’s form is a little bit left to be desired in 2017. A 4th and a crash out of the lead is not what he had in mind to start his title defence but he will be hoping to continue his domination around what has become his territory on the MotoGP calendar.
Maverick Vinales will be looking to become the first Yamaha rider since Kenny Roberts Snr in 1980 to win the opening three races of the year and the first Yamaha rider to win at the new venue. Vinales hasn’t finished outside the top 10 since coming to the track with the premier class, with 4th last year and 9th the year before. In 2014, he won his first Moto2 race and was 2nd in the first ever Moto3 race in 2013. Now he is on a winning bike and in good form, it may well be time to break Marc Marquez’ stranglehold on the circuit and take the honours for Yamaha. If he or Rossi take a victory at COTA, it will be Yamaha’s 500th in Grand Prix.
Valentino Rossi comes to the United States of America in the same championship position as last year. 2nd in the world currently, the nine time champion will be looking to settle a score with what is statistically his worst circuit on the calendar. No win and just one podium hardly make for a Valentino Rossi love story in Austin. The scene was the start of his championship title unravelling last season when he crashed out and in 2014, 8th was all he could manage. Valentino hasn’t won in America since Indianapolis in 2008. There was a hurricane that day and I certainly wouldn’t put it past The Doctor causing a storm on Sunday. He’s come through the field twice already this year, so can it be lucky number three?
Despite being wiped out in Argentina for the second consecutive season, Andrea Dovizioso comes into the Americas GP in third. The Ducati rider struggled in Argentina, finding himself in 13th on the grid. He was in 8th before he was unceremoniously helped to the floor by Aleix Espargaro. The Italian may not be looking forward to COTA given recent experiences. He was taken out at the first turn by Dani Pedrosa last year, although the season before, he was 2nd and in 2014, he was 3rd. With a 30 point gap to series leader Vinales, a win would be needed for the Ducati team, who have done anything but shine this season. Ducati haven’t won in America since Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca in 2007 and that is one drought that the team will want to end.
In 4th position, Britain’s Scott Redding will be hoping for another top 10 finish. The Ducati rider has finished every race since Catalunya last year, although three of them were 0-point finishes. Redding was 6th in the Americas Grand Prix last year, meaning it was the first time that he had finished in the points at the track. There is also a psychological advantage to Redding, who is beating his teammate Petrucci, despite the Italian being on the Factory bike. The 24-year-old Brit will be hoping for his momentum to continue in the USA.
Completing the top five is fellow Brit and double winner from 2016, Cal Crutchlow. The Brit took a stunning third place in Argentina to kick-start his season following a point-less Qatar. Crutchlow’s form in the Americas GP has been mixed, with 17th last year after a crash but a 7th in 2015 remains his best result on the Honda. However, it was 2013 where Cal got his best result at the track, with 4th. In 2014, he crashed at the fast turn two, suffering horrible hand injuries which hampered him for the first part of the season. Cal sits as top Honda in the championship and will be gunning for a top five at the very least. Who’s to say a podium would be too much to ask?
Rookie Jonas Folger is the rider who occupies 6th place in the championship. The Tech 3 Yamaha rider has rode well so far in 2017, with two top-10 placings from his first two races. Folger’s best result at COTA remains a 4th in 2013 on a Kalex KTM, although last year he was 5th in Moto2. With a Tech 3 Yamaha that is obviously handling very sweetly, Folger may well be able to gel with the track on a big 1000cc bike. The last German rider to get a podium was Stefan Bradl in 2013 at Laguna Seca. Can the drought be ended in Texas?
Jack Miller is 7th in the championship and the 2nd Honda. The Australian winner from last season has had a consistent start to 2017, with an 8th and 9th in Qatar and Argentina respectively. He didn’t start in the race last year but was 14th in 2015 and won the Moto3 race in 2014. The last Australian to win in the USA was Casey Stoner in 2007 at Laguna Seca, something that Miller will want to put right, even if the odds may not be in his favour. Don’t put it past him to put in another sterling effort for a top-10 finish.
Keep your eyes on Alvaro Bautista this weekend, after an incredible ride in Argentina to finish 4th. The Spaniard has some tricky form at the track, with an 11th and 15th in 2016 and 2015 respectively, both on the Aprilia. He crashed in 2014 but was 8th when the paddock came for the first time. His 4th place in Argentina was the first time since Le Mans in 2014 that he had a top five result. He hasn’t had back to back top five finishes since Motegi and Valencia in 2013 and he has never had back to back 4th place finishes. Will he continue this stunning run of good form?
Other names include Andrea Iannone, who was somewhat unfairly penalised for apparently causing Jorge Lorenzo to crash at Argentina. Anyone blessed with eyesight could tell you that Lorenzo most certainly rode up the back of the Italian. Jorge Lorenzo is another big name who is languishing in the championship, in 18th with just five points to his name. A track he has never won at and with just two podiums to his name at COTA, it’s hardly likely we will see Jorge shine this weekend. But give him time.
Johann Zarco got points on the board in Argentina, finishing a solid 5th. The Frenchman is 11th in the championship, behind Dani Pedrosa, who also sits on 11 points. Aleix Espargaro will be hoping to bounce back from his Argentina mistake with another top six. Danilo Petrucci missed the Americas GP last year but will be hungry to return to the track and get more points on the table after finishing 7th in Argentina.
Loris Baz and Hector Barbera will be hoping for some big improvements to come their way to challenge for the top 10 once more, whilst fellow Ducati rider Karel Abraham is going to be hoping to be upset the front runners again, with another solid qualifying position – like in Argentina.
The other two rookies – Sam Lowes and Alex Rins – are going to be looking to challenge for the points again. Rins’ fractured ankle will not be making his life pleasant whilst Lowes will be in search of his first points in the premier class at COTA, a track he has won at in Moto2.
Both KTMs scored points at Termas and if they can do the same again in Texas then we know that they have got massive potential for the rest of the season. Tito Rabat’s double point scoring rides in the opening two races will be propelling the Spaniard in his challenge for a top 10.
Starting Grid: Pole – James Ellison, P2 – Luke Mossey, P3 – Leon Haslam
As the lights went out it was Leon Haslam (JG-Speedfit Kawasaki) who got the holeshot into Paddock Hill Bend off the line, but any hopes of an early lead were short lived by polesitter Ellison, who forced his way back on the final corner, and began to pull clear. With Ellison (McAms-Yamaha) clear early on, a chase group consisting of the JG duo of Mossey, Haslam and Tyco-BMW’s Christian Iddon formed to battle behind.
However, it wasn’t to be glory for the leader Ellison when, on Lap 13, he lost the front wheel on entry to the Druids hairpin and came to rest unceremoniously in the gravel trap. With the Cumbrian out of contention, it was Mossey who inherited the lead and did not surrender.
It was though a poor start to the race from 2016 champion, Shane Byrne. The BeWiser-Ducati ace dropped from his starting grid position of fourth on the opening lap, losing out to several places and had to fight his way through the mid-field. However, this only fuelled his fire as he carved his way back up into the top ten, and managing to close in on the race leaders in the latter stages.
Terrific scrap over second and third place ensued when Byrne closed up to Haslam and Iddon. The trio swapping track position countless times during the exchange. Eventually it was 2016 runner-up Haslam who emerged victorious of the three, with Iddon producing a brilliant rearguard effort to fend off the Ducati on the last lap for the final place on the podium.
Further down the field there were duels to be found across the track. One of the most entertaining of these was between Avil-TAG Yamaha’s Josh Brookes and Smith’s-Racing BMW’s Peter Hickman over ninth and tenth. With neither bike capable of keeping pace with the front group, the two competed in what can probably best be described as tag-team slipstreaming, as the pair towed each other away from the mid-field pack, before scrapping it out in the final laps.
But the race belonged to Luke Mossey who claimed his first ever BSB race win. The 24-year old rode superbly, always having the measure of his more illustrious team-mate, Haslam, and took full advantage of Ellison’s misfortune to give JG-Speedfit Kawasaki their third straight win of the season.
Race Results: 1 – Luke Mossey, 2 – Leon Haslam, 3 – Christian Iddon
There was drama even before the lights went out on the grid, as polesitter James Ellison suffered yet more misery. Visibly struggling on the warm up laps, he pulled into the pitlane and retired with what was reported to be a serious steering issue, thought to have stemmed from his crash in race one.
Tyco-BMW’s Christian Iddon continued his solid weekend, forcing his way past Haslam’s JG-Speedfit Kawasaki for P2. The former British Supermoto champion backed up his impressive displays at Donington Park, earlier in the month, with back-to-back podium finishes here at Brands Hatch. The feat made all the more remarkable when one considers that the BMW machine has struggled to match the competitiveness of the likes of Kawasaki and Ducati in recent seasons. A testament to the riding talent of the Stockport ace.
Shane Byrne, who had been struggling with a lack of traction on the BeWiser-Ducati in the first race, appeared to be having a much smoother ride second time out. Having made setup changes to compromise a little straight line speed for more corner stability, the 5 times British champion was finally able to compete at the front end of the field. Fighting Honda’s Jason O’Halloran for P4. However, disaster struck in the closing stages for the home favourite when, fighting for third with Haslam, he lost the front end at clearways, and finishing with a slide into the gravel trap.
Behind the leading pack. TAG-Avil Yamaha’s Josh Brookes fought his way through the field and, following the carnage up the road, was rewarded with a fourth place finish. The Australian was pushed to the limit again to secure his finishing position, finishing ahead of Honda’s Jason O’Halloran by just 0.1 seconds.
Perhaps the most spectacular ride was from Bradley Ray. He made two passes from a long way back at Graham Hill Bend, showing his class in his first year in the Superbike class. The crowd were rooting for him too. He really is a star of tomorrow!
As with the opening race, it was JG-Speedfit Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey who claimed the top step of the podium. Back-to-back wins for the popular Cambridge man. Any doubts from spectators that he could hold race winning pace were obliterated.
Race Result: 1) Luke Mossey, 2) Christian Iddon, 3) Leon Haslam
