The Cassar crusade continued unabated after the pitstops were concluded, the three-way resumed between Phiroze Bilimoria, Russell Hird and Adam Brown, who were all passed during the pitstops by James Slater in his Honda Civic by about eight seconds. Biliomoria was given a 30 second penalty for an unsafe release during his pitstop, which then put Peugeot specialist Carl Chambers into the contention for class win, however his bright yellow 208 GTI was to visit the pits another couple of times with a suspicious engine noise. The crew couldn’t see anything out of place in the pit lane, but Chambers didn’t risk pushing the car too far, and decided to retire.
Tom Oatley in his turbo Renault Clio was battling with Andrew Marson, one of the three Marson Fiat Abarths in the race, and the former Smart car races Simon Horrobin & James Palmer shared Ford Fiesta ST180. Husband and wife pairing of Toby Harris & Lisa Selby were next to fall, as their Ford Fiesta turbo was struggling in with low oil pressure, so Toby took the wise decision and cut his stint short to save the engine from detonating.
Battles and potential battles were difficult to read due to numerous groups of cars not all being on the same lap, but a group that were similar in pace in the closing stages of the race was James Joannus Renault Clio turbo, Richard Marsons Abarth, Adrian Matthews in his new and unusual toy, a Volvo C30, and long time Peugeot racer James Wilson. Another duel that formed in the closing stages was the newly recoloured BMW Mini R56 of John Wyatt, and CSCC newcomer Mark Carey in his Honda Integra Type R. Whilst they may not have been battling for class position, as Mark is in Tin Tops, whereas John is in Turbo Tin Tops, this doesn’t affect how close their fight was and hard hard they would make it for each other.
The flag fell after 17 laps, Danny Cassar would claim the win by over a minute from the Turbo Tin-Tops victor Phiroze Bilimoreia, who was chased home by Russell Hird. Sadly for Slater, he was hit with a post-race penalty which denied him 2nd place. Only seven cars were on the lead lap, such was the colossal performance of Cassar. Winner of the Puma Cup, sadly away from the limelight somewhat with so many cars and battles on track, was the Alain Menu Super Touring Mondeo coloured car of Luke Johnson, finishing in 28th place overall, just shy of 50 seconds ahead of the next Puma of Jon Glover.
With the pit stops done, the field had only lost two of its BMWs, the Sapra & Bransom car, and Klaas Kooiker had pulled off early in the race with more smoke than was healthily emanating from the car. After 10 laps, Tommy Grouts E36 had decided that enough was enough, having run as high as third at one point, adding the third BMW to the list of retirees. Despite this, there was still plenty of action to be enjoyed out on track, Dave Harvey’s incredible progress was incredible, Dominic Malone was back into 2nd place, now being kept honest by relative newcomer Chris Murphy in his M3 E46, over a minute behind the leader.
Other battles through the field included the thunder from down under Dave Griffin in his E90 trying to get past the pink accented E36 Evo of Mark Smith, with another pair of Amspeed prepared cars behind them of Ashley Muldoon and Alex Heynes, and the Petch family Ginetta arguing with the Interceptor racing E92 of Mark Wyatt & Russell Humphrey. Joining the Heynes & Muldoon dance was racing veteran Nigel Greensall, having taken over the E46 from racing debutant James Collins by lap 12. A lap later, another addition to the now Greensall-led parade was one of several CSCC new entrants, that of Mark Lee in his Ginetta G55.
As the closing stages of the race began, almost all the aforementioned battles were still raging on. Greensall had (some would say inevitably) broken away from his pursuers, and trouble was to befall the Tom Gannon-built “Gannon Cannon” Honda Civic of Manoj Patel. He won the Tin Tops race on the previous visit to the Silverstone GP circuit in 2021, but alas the car was to experience trouble and retired from the race. He didn’t have long to fix the issue, as the Honda was due out in the very next race.
The next victim was the green Petch family Ginetta. Petch senior Chris has been with the CSCC since 2005 in a Triumph TR5, and his boys Harry & Max often share the big G50, but this time the car simply lost drive. Chris was able to limp the car back to the garage for the team to work on before the final race of the day, in which the Ginetta was due to reappear.
Motorsport, at all levels, can provide many memorable moments, both of joy and despair, and the final non-finisher of the race was about to remind the spectators of exactly this, as on the final lap, the pole sitter Malone was found stationary at the side of the track. From pole and fastest lap, looking set to secure second place, but sadly the renowned German engineering of the BMW failed him this time. Like the Petch crew, Malone had time before the car was on parade again to get the E90 back on song.
David Harvey and his lunar Lotus 340R would not be denied the top honours of the day, winning by over 30 seconds, even with a post-race 20-second penalty applied for the Code 60 infringement. Chris Murphy secured second, with Dylan Popovic bringing his snarling Ginetta home in third, all three of the podium sitters from the Open Series category. As for New Millennium, the winner of that category was Mark Smith, very narrowly from Dave Griffin, and the Collins & Greensall shared car in third.
The second race of the day was the WOSP New Millennium and Verum Builders Open series. CSCC welcomes Luke Wos’ performance tuning business, which has taken the title sponsorship role for the New Millennium category, catering for post-2000 production cars and their racing variants, as well as Rob Hardys Wiltshire-based Verum Builders company continued support of the Open series, which provides a home for all production saloon, hatchback, sports & GT cars of any age, as well as some kit cars.
In contrast to race 1 which focused on the Lotus 7-inspired design, this combination attracted 33 entrants to take to qualifying, of which 30 made it to the grid. No less than 10 marques were represented through the field, with neither the New Millennium nor Open series holding dominion over the other, as the first three rows had one representative of each category.
A familiar face secured pole position, that of bath-based dentist Dominic Malone in his BMW M3 E90, previously raced by Sir Andy Priaulx MBE. Right next to him was the lead Open Series car of Dave Harvey in his moon buggy-esque Lotus 340R, reportedly the only one racing in the UK. Throughout the grid were some amazing driving talent, along with debutants, such as James Collins who was taking part in his first-ever race, partnered up with racing veteran Nigel Greensall in a BMW M3 E46.
With Malone & Harvey leading to the field to the green light for the first 40-minute race of the year, the various roars and screams of the hugely varied engine notes kicked in and the race began. As the lights went out, so did Malone’s momentum as Harvey stole the lead through Copse. Behind them was a superb start from Bosnian-born Dylan Popovic in his Chevrolet-powered Ginetta G50, demoting Malone to 3rd. It wasn’t long though before the race was neutralised, this time by a code 60, caused by Warren Tattersall who had buried his Seat Leon TCR into the gravel trap at Copse. He was recovered by the ever-hardworking marshalls and was allowed to continue, but a lap down from the rest of the field.
As the code 60 concluded, curiously Harvey was nearly a minute ahead of Popovic, who in turn was about 12 seconds ahead of Malone, after which point there was a flood of competitors, a 5-way BMW battle going on for 4th, a 3-way fight for 9th that was led by the first non-BMW outside of the podium contenders, and various clusters of cars all arguing for their own segment of Northampton real estate.
The first pit stop of the year belonged to the BMW owned by the class champion in the Kumho BMW championship Jasver Sapra, whom this time was sharing the car with usual playmate Bryan Bransom. It was Bransom who brought the car in, and there they remained for what felt like an eternity for them as the new paddle shift system was being checked over, this being the first race the car has had with this system in place, however a lap later, Sapra brought the car back in and into retirement. The pitlane was a hive of activity as the next few laps progressed. Mark Smith, whose son runs the Amspeed outfit that looks after a number of the BMWs seen on the CSCC grid, stalled trying to get going from his stop, requiring a push start to get himself going again.
The Classic Sports Car Club celebrates their 20th year of racing in 2023, which brings with it additional excitement and anticipation of a new year of racing. On the 26th of February, the club went to Silverstone to begin the racing season. Five categories took part in six races across the day, with the days racing beginning with the Gold Arts Magnificent 7s. This class consists of anything based on the original Lotus 7 design, and whilst Caterham is the most populous marque in this category, there is usually a sprinkling of Locost, Spire and Westfield to name a few.
On the sunny (and VERY cold) Sunday in Northampton, the Mag 7 grid was a little diminished from the usually expected turnout, due in part to the very early start in the year for the club, and also due to drivers not wanting to drive at over 100mph through sub 10 degree C air temperatures in open cars, but 17 cars took the start of their first of two races of the day. The top three cars were prepared by Caterham powerhouse BOSS racing, with the pole belonging to long-time Caterham racer Johnny Pittard. Pittard is no stranger to the front of a Caterham field, but he was joined by Team Leos boss Luke Stevens. The turbo-charged CSR at his command was the car that Luke won the national championship with in 2005, which is commonly driven by David Holroyd these days. Jonathan Edwards (not the former Olympic triple jumper) qualified 4th in his maiden voyage with the CSCC, with fellow debutants Chris Mayhew starting 6th, Jonathan Constable 12th and Stephen Trinder starting at the back.
As the rolling start drew to its conclusion, Pittard and Stevens led the field over the National start line, and the dulcet Duratec tones roared into life as the race began, the first race of the year, the fighting into the first corner…… sadly led to the first safety car of the year as three cars were not going to see the conclusion of the lap. Tim Woodman and Richard Green had come together, scattering several pieces of their cars around Copse corner, and the sole non-Caterham in the field of Michael Jacobs and Rob Olley would also be caught up in the incident, reducing the field to 14 cars.
Once the ever-vigilant Silverstone marshalls had worked their magic and the safety car signalled to the field that it was time to resume, less than nine of the starting 20 minutes remained, however even with a smaller field and a shorter race, what a spectacle the drivers put on. Pittard and Stevens enjoyed a very tense duel for the overall win, supercharged 2.3 litres for Pittard against turbo-charged 1.6 litres for Stevens, both drivers giving everything they and their cars had to put on an incredible show.
Whilst the lead pair ran off into the distance, the fighting was no less intense for numerous cars behind them. CSR Superlight pilot Bruce Wilson, who has had several top 10 Mag 7 finishes at Silverstone since he began racing the car in 2015, was locked in his own duel with Nick Starkey in his C400, with another trio battling further down the road behind them, consisting of Joshua Gollin, the Lanyon brothers’ Superlight R, and the 420R of Jolyon Kemp.
In the end, it was Pittard from Stevens for the top spot, separated by less than the time it takes to blink, Edwards scoring the best of the newcomers in 4th place, Starkey overhauled Mayhew for 5th at the flag with Wilson right behind, the Lanyons broke free of Kemp & Gollin for 8th, with Constable hot on their heels and the late-charging Martin Dolan / Gary Boon shared car at the tail of the conga line, Surhid Chatterjee a distant 13th, and Trinder in his somewhat outgunned Academy car the last finisher in 14th.
This evening, I caught up with British Superbike Championship contender Christian Iddon to see how he’s feeling as the countdown to Testing and Round 1 looms ever closer.
Iddon joins the Oxford Products Ducati team ran by Steve Moore’s Moto Rapido Racing outfit as they challenge for British Superbike Championship glory in 2023.
Christian Iddon – Image Oxford Products Racing Ducati
“I’m really excited for the season ahead. Back to the Ducati which I know really well and I’ve had success on in the past. I have really high expectations, that is clear! I really want to put everything that happened last year behind me. I just had one of those year where I feel I didn’t get the most out of the package and things just didn’t work out.”
“In 2022, I struggled with an injury and things just never fell my way. It’s not an excuse as the bike, although it wasn’t the best on the grid, it certainly had more potential than what I showed. I wish I’d been able to do that, but I wasn’t.”
Christian Iddon Buildbase Suzuki, Hawk Racing Team Picture courtesy of Christian Iddon
“So we start a fresh and go again! I am really positive about the year that’s coming up. We have some really exciting riders coming in to BSB and a few have left and I wouldn’t be racing if I didn’t think I could do a particular job, and that’s the job in hand, the one I am aiming to do but it’s the same one I’ve been doing the whole time I’ve been racing.”
“This year I definitely believe I have the tools to do the job required. Although we’ve not been out yet, so far the Moto Rapido squad from what they have shown me, what I have seen of them is beyond impressive really. They’re probably one of the most technically advanced teams I’ve ever worked with, in any part of my racing career. That’s really exciting for me. I feel like I’m cut from a similar cloth, though I am clearly not as technically advanced as the team members but I’m on that trajectory shall we say? I’m on that similar wavelength, so I am really looking forward to that. It’s a slightly different way of working but it’s one that I think will suit me.”
Christian Iddon – Image Vision Track Ducati 2020-2021
“I just want to get the first test out of the way and spin those first few laps. It’s been a long time since I raced, or since I cocked a leg over a tarmac based bike anyway so I’m looking forward to getting out. I have high expectations but you never know, there’s a massively stacked field this year and I can only control the ‘controlables’ which is to just work on myself, as I always do and what will be, will be more or less. There are a lot of strong riders and packages out there this year, and hopefully we are the best of them. I guess we will find out at the end of the season.”
Christian had a year in the doldrums on the Buildbase Suzuki in 2022 and would be the first to say he didn’t live up to his own expectations with the Hawk squad. 2023 is about getting back to winning ways and returning home with even more silverware for the trophy cabinet. Christian seems determined that this year, nothing but the championship is expected! I for one wish him the very best of luck! #Lightning
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Race 4 saw the return of the Gold Arts Magnificent 7s for their second 20 minute blast around the home of British motorsport. Of the 17 qualifiers, only 13 were seen on the second race for the Magnificent 7s, the absences being the three retirees of the first race, but also Johnny Pittard’s duelling partner up front Luke Stephens was nowhere to be found, which was a shame as a resumption of the lead battle would have been amazing to see. The three retired cars from race one, we can understand, but the reason for Stevens no reappearing was somewhat unusual. No damage to the car, no electrical fault of any kind, he had found a buyer for the car. The days racing was being used to demonstrate how competitive the car still was, and the tactic worked a treat. Whether the sale was completed trackside, only Luke knows.
The grid was formed from the finishing positions of the previous race, with a 10-place grid penalty for Pittard as the winner of the race, and with Stevens’ absence, Richard Carter had the front row to himself. Having had a comparatively lonely race 1st time around, Carter could well have faced a more challenging prospect this time.
As the yellow number 42 of Carter led the field over the line, this time the safety car would not be called up as the field swarmed through the first lap without incident, Pittard with his 2.4 litre supercharged monster was 2.5 seconds into the lead from 11th on the grid by the end of lap 1, and there he remained unchallenged until the flag, but behind him, the battles raged on. Bruce Wilson and Chris Mayhew resumed their duel from the first race, with the trio of Joshua Gollin, the Lanyon brothers and Jolyon Kemp reforming their conga line. Wilson and Mayhew swapped their positions several times in the quest for 4th, but a mistake from Kemp on lap 4 saw his conga spot taken by Johnathan Constable.
By the final flag, Pittard had secured both wins of the day, the second by over 30 seconds from Carter, who was nearly 14 seconds ahead of another superb (if a little lonely) outing by Johnathan Edwards, Wilson just managed to fend off the determined newcomer Mayhew, Lanyon was the conga champion in 6th place from Constable and Ben Salmon, Gollin had made a late mistake dropping him to 9th, with the Martin Dolan & Gary Boon car, Surheed Chatterjee and Stephen Trinder finishing a lap behind.
Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 saw Kyle Busch outrun Chase Elliott’s late race charge to win NASCAR’s final Cup race at Auto Club Speedway in its two-mile superspeedway format before being taken off the schedule to be reconfigured most likely into a short track of one mile or less.
Kyle Busch’s first win of the 2023 Cup Series season, in just his second points paying race with Richard Childress Racing, sees him go above Richard Petty for the most consecutive seasons with at least one win, making it 19-consecutive seasons, starting in 2005.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
Busch mirrored his previous triumph here when he won the 2005 Auto Club Cup race, his first Cup win, in just his fourth start for Hendrick Motorsports.
In 2005, @KyleBusch won his first Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway. Busch and Rick Hendrick both donated their winnings to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. pic.twitter.com/OSZjIytjlt
Talking on the frontstretch after the race Busch said: “I death gripped that wheel throughout the second half of that race, we held on man, we got it today.”
The four-time Fontana winner teared back through the field in what seemed like a handful of laps, after being penalised and sent to the rear for speeding on pit road on lap 43 under caution, after running inside the top 10.
Busch took the lead of the race for the first time with 63 laps to go, then again with 36 laps to go after passing Chastain through the green flag pit cycle and then again following green flag pit stops on lap 180 of the 200-lap race where he would stay.
Busch added: “I’ve worked with a lot of great people who’ve given me a lot of great opportunities in my career. It’s awesome to be able to reward them.”
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
It was Busch’s 61st Cup career win, ninth-all time.
The track proved to entertain much like last year with drivers using all five lanes to race and search for clean air, but this time without any sudden tyre failures.
It was Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain that spent the most time upfront, winning both stages convincingly, leading the most laps with 91 and coming home third. He has won three of the four stages this year, including winning stage two of last week’s Daytona 500.
Chastain’s teammate Daniel Suarez showed speed, racing in the top 10, and was looking for a way past Chastain for the lead on the opening laps of a stage one restart. Suarez finished fourth.
Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
Chase Elliott was in the mix during the second half of the race, slowly working his way through the top 10 until he got past Chastain for second with 21 laps to go and narrowed the gap to Busch down to 3.4 seconds before the gap levelled out. Elliott finished 2.998-seconds behind Busch.
Joey Logano had been a contender for most of the race, taking the lead multiple times from Chastain and Hamlin, until the final stint following green flag pit stops with under 40 laps to go, where he dropped back throughout the final run to finish 10th.
It had been the Chastain-Logano-Busch show previous to final green flag pit stops. With 55 laps to go, Chastain threw an aggressive block on Logano when he and Busch got stalled out side-by-side for the lead, but Logano swept down to the apron and cleared both going into turn one.
Rest of race recap
Saturday’s qualifying was cancelled due to a historic weather event that swept the racetrack including blizzard-like conditions of snow, sleet and wind, hitting Fontana and the surrounding LA area Friday and Saturday.
A five-wide salute was shown to the sell-out crowd on the warm-up laps in appreciation of their continued support and love given to Auto Club Speedway.
Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Sirius XM Toyota, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, driver of the #47 Ralphs/Tree Top Chevrolet, Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Southern California Ford, Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Pala Casino Ford, in a five-wide salute to the fans prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway on February 26, 2023 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
It was Bakersfield, California’s Kevin Harvick 750th straight Cup start, only behind Jeff Gordon and Ricky Rudd for all-time.
JGR’s Christopher Bell led from the off after being awarded the pole due to having the best fastest lap speed and finishing position combination from last week’s Daytona 500.
Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Sirius XM Toyota, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr, driver of the #47 Ralphs/Tree Top Chevrolet, lead the field to start the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway on February 26, 2023 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Alex Bowman, who finished eighth, took the lead on lap two going into turn one and went straight to the top groove while the rest of the field searched all over the race track for grip.
A lack of rubber being laid down prior to the race due to the weather, saw everyone run the top groove following Bowman but before long drivers throughout the field were diving to the middle and bottom lanes again to find extra speed and clean air while the top was still preferred.
A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway on February 26, 2023 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
On lap 13, Kyle Larson, last year’s Fontana winner, came down pit road and went to the garage to fix an electrical problem. Larson did go back out but was not operating under full power. The Cali kid finished 29th, 15 laps down.
Chastain took over the lead on pit road during the competition caution period on lap 17.
Team Penske’s Logano and Ryan Blaney traded the lead after surpassing Chastain before Brad Keselowski was sent spinning down the back straightaway after Corey LaJoie tagged his left rear on lap 42.
Keselowski was running 13th place at the time and came back to finish seventh, in what was a solid day for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing with teammate Chris Buescher running inside the top 10 throughout the race before finishing 13th.
Blaney and Suarez kept Chastain honest at the end of the first stage but it wasn’t enough to beat the eighth-generation watermelon farmer to the finish line.
Denny Hamlin passed Chastain for the lead on lap 72 before he threw an aggressive block three-laps later on Logano, much like Chastain would later on in the race, but Logano dived to the inside to take the lead on the frontstretch.
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 AAA Southern California Ford, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
Austin Dillon and Noah Gragson briefly led during stage two after staying out on older tyres before Logano seized back the lead.
Corey LaJoie continued to find himself in trouble. On lap 76, he clipped AJ Allmendinger trying to avoid Blaney and Stenhouse Jr. in front, sending the Californian skidding into the inside wall on the backstretch.
LaJoie became the victim of the next caution several laps later when Tyler Reddick ran into the back of him sending him into the infield grass.
The biggest incident of the day was yet to come. On the lap 86 restart a 10-car crash occurred when the field stacked up sending Ty Dillon spinning into the grass, and Bell, Reddick, Preece, and Almirola crashing into the pack among others.
All four except Ty Dillon would retire from the race, only for Dillon to retire later with 61 laps to go due to engine trouble. Blaney received heavy damage from the crash and had to settle for 26th.
Kyle Busch would take second away from former teammate Hamlin on lap 93 while Chastain led. Busch was filling Chastain’s mirrors inside of 20 to go in stage two; a blanket could be thrown over second to sixth place in the closing laps. Chastain won stage two with a six second lead over Busch.
Kevin Harvick, in his final season before retiring, got the lead on pit road during the stage break before Kyle Busch took the lead for the first time on lap 138.
Michael McDowell led for a handful of laps during the final green flag run as he held out for a caution compared to most of the field pitting 10+ laps earlier. On fresher tyres following his final pit stop, McDowell managed to finish 18th.
Bubba Wallace spent the first half of the race inside the top 15, often inside the top 10, but overheating issues would force him out of the race on lap 172.
The third race of the season sees the Cup Series go to the 1.5 mile speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday, Kyle Busch’s home track, for the Pennzoil 400 with the race starting at 3:30pm ET.
Full race results
Kyle Busch, 200
Chase Elliott, 200
Ross Chastain, 200
Daniel Suarez, 200
Kevin Harvick, 200
Denny Hamlin, 200
Brad Keselowski, 200
Alex Bowman, 200
Austin Dillon, 200
Joey Logano, 200
Martin Truex Jr., 200
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 200
Chris Buescher, 200
Corey LaJoie, 200
Harrison Burton, 200
Ty Gibbs, 200
Todd Gilliland, 200
Michael McDowell, 200
Erik Jones, 200
Chase Briscoe, 200
Justin Haley, 199
Noah Gragson, 199
JJ Yeley, 199
BJ McLeod, 199
William Byron, 198
Ryan Blaney, 196
Cody Ware, 195
Austin Cindric, 194
Kyle Larson, 185
Bubba Wallace, Engine, 172
Ty Dillon, Engine, 140
Christopher Bell, Accident, 88
Ryan Preece, Accident, 87
Tyler Reddick, Accident, 87
Aric Almirola, Accident, 86
AJ Allmendinger, Accident, 75
Stage 1
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr.
Chase Elliott
Stage 2
Ross Chastain
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Daniel Suarez
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Alex Bowman
Brad Keselowski
Corey LaJoie
Points standings
Ross Chastain – 92
Joey Logano – 91
Alex Bowman – 80
Kevin Harvick – 79
Daniel Suarez – 77
Chris Buescher – 74
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* – 73
Kyle Busch* – 67
Denny Hamlin – 64
Brad Keselowski – 64
Martin Truex Jr. – 60
Ryan Blaney – 57
Corey LaJoie – 51
Chase Elliott – 49
Christopher Bell – 49
Michael McDowell – 40
Ty Gibbs – 38
Austin Cindric – 38
AJ Allmendinger – 35
Harrison Burton – 35
Todd Gilliland – 35
Cody Ware – 33
Austin Dillon – 32
Kyle Larson – 32
Aric Almirola – 31
Bubba Wallace – 28
Noah Gragson – 28
Travis Pastrana – 26
William Byron – 25
Justin Haley – 21
BJ McLeod – 20
Erik Jones – 19
Chase Briscoe – 19
Ryan Preece – 15
J.J. Yeley – 14
Jimmie Johnson – 10
Ty Dillon – 7
Tyler Reddick – 4
Featured Image: Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
Just a few months after the 2022 season finished with a victory for Max Verstappen and his RedBull team in both championships in what was their most dominant season ever, the F1 family arrived in Bahrain ready for just 3 days of testing before the new season would begin at the same circuit.
It was a very busy 3 days with the teams trying to get a grip on their new cars and hoping to see improvements from last year.
Testing times are always difficult to read with differing fuel loads, not knowing which engine modes are being used and teams even hiding their hands to not give too much away. However, you can always tell which teams are happy with their winter’s work and which ones are confused and wondering where they have gone wrong.
With no big rule changes this year, most cars would just be an evolution of last year’s car. The main rule change was the floor being lifted by 15mm, this would mean a loss of downforce but most teams would have recovered this already by the time the test ended. In fact, during the first morning of testing the cars were already beating last year’s times.
The quickest times from each day were ;
Day 1 – Max Verstappen – 1.32.837
Day 2 – Zhou Guanyu – 1.31.610
Day 3 – Sergio Perez – 1.30.305
Obviously, this time next week, times will be critical but as this is testing they are not the most important thing to look for. How many laps the teams do, reliability issues, how easily they switch each compound of tyre on, and how easily the balance can be changed are among the things teams will be looking at. With that in mind a summary of each team shows the following.
Max Verstappen testing the RB19 on day one. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
The World Champions may not have completed the most laps but they had seemingly no problems during the three days, in fact, the biggest drama seemed to be when the car fell off the jack in the pitlane during one of the sessions. For the rest of the field, it looks ominous as they ran through 3 days of programmes without any issues and were quick on each compound of the tyre. It was very reminiscent of the early Hybrid era days when Mercedes used to pound round tracks for fun and be fastest even without trying for performance. In fact, Verstappen only used the C3 tyre for the whole test not feeling the need to use any of the softer compounds, yet looking quick at all times and having what looked the easiest car to control. 2023 could be yet another year of domination for the reigning champions.
Ferrari – 416 laps (Leclerc – 1.31.024 – Sainz – 1.31.036)
Last year’s runners-up started testing with the hope that stopping the development of last year’s car early to concentrate on this year would bring big rewards. To be fair Ferrari are one of the hardest teams to judge following testing. It seemed as if they didn’t go for performance runs at all but it also looked as if they took a few wrong directions with different setups during their race runs. There are no real reliability issues over the three days and no stand-out moments during the runs. The car looks fast but have they done enough to catch RedBull up or are they even further away at the start of the new season?
Both drivers seemed happy after the test so only time will tell.
Mercedes – 398 laps (Hamilton – 1.30.664 – Russell – 1.31.442)
Russell taking the W14 for a spin. Image courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media
The 8 times World Champions had by their standards a shocking season in 2022 with their striking zero sidepod cars failing to live up to expectations. Going into this test the team have stuck with this concept hoping they have all the data to make the concept work. although the team did set some very competitive times the car looked very much on the edge and it seemed they were pushing harder than any other of the top teams. The test was by no means a disaster for them and they are definitely looking better than at this time last year but from this test, it looks as though they are further behind than at the end of last season when they looked to have clawed a lot of the deficit to RedBull and Ferrari back. If they are not in the top three next week they will be pinning all their hopes on a big upgrade already which is not how they would have wanted to start this season.
The French Alpine team came to the test boasting of an improved engine and a much-improved car. Although the car looked the most twitchy of all on track and seemed to still be suffering from the dreaded porpoising the team sounded confident and most observers seemed impressed with them and the fact they didn’t seem to show their hand too much. This season could see them jump free from the midfield and with two very hungry drivers could be a surprise package this year.
Piastri trying to get to grips with the car. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
McLaren had another poor test which seems to be the norm for the once-great team. With Piastri joining Norris this season the team had hoped they could move forward after a slightly disappointing 2022. Things didn’t start well when the front wheel winglets came loose and the team had to strengthen them before any more running could be done. The team confirmed they hadn’t hit their targets in the test and look to be starting the season on the backfoot already. Could they already be hoping a big upgrade coming early in the season would save their blushes?
This time last year Alfa Romeo was suffering from reliability issues and was not looking good. Fast forward a year and although they had one major issue causing Bottas to stop on track and cause a red flag they look to be in good shape. Consistent running on all three days and even setting the fastest time on day 2 means the team could be looking at a very impressive start to the season with points a definite possibility at the early races.
Aston Martin – 387 laps (Alonso – 1.31.450 – Drugovich – 1.32.075)
The new and improved Aston Martin at the hands of Alonso. Image courtesy of AMF1 Media
Possibly the biggest talking point of the test was Aston Martin, Just before the test it was announced Lance Stroll would not be taking part thanks to an injury caused by a cycling accident whilst training. The team haven’t announced his injuries, but he could miss not only the first race but also a few after that. This would leave the majority of testing to new driver Fernando Alonso with reserve driver Felipe Drugovich also taking part. The missing Stroll didn’t seem to stop the team as they look to have made a massive step forward with a revolutionary new car. Not only could they set quick one-off lap times but in fact on Alonso’s race run on the final day not only did he have little tyre degradation but his times made him the third-quickest driver over a race distance. The team look to be in a very good place and even with the doubts over Stroll, they must be looking forward to a very competitive start to the season.
In 2022 Haas made a very competitive start to the season and although they slipped back down the order through the season they moved away from the back end of the field that they had made their own in previous seasons. During this test, the team looked to have maintained their speed with a car performing well with Magnussen and the returning Nico Hulkenberg at the wheel. They will be hoping they can score some early points before teams on the back foot bring upgrades and NPC doubt overhaul them.
Alpha Tauri – 456 laps (De Vries – 1.32.222 – Tsunoda – 1.31.261)
The team that completed the most laps of the three days. Setting some decent times, they clearly used their 2 drivers to test different setups each day which was showed by the difference in their times each day. Obviously, they have a reliable car which was proven by the number of laps they completed. Another team with a new pairing this season but the fact they have 2 drivers who need to outshine each other to move their careers forwards should help the team have some very competitive outings this season. With rumours in the paddock that the team might be sold this season they will be looking to put on an impressive start to the season.
Williams – 439 laps (Albon – 1.32.793 – Sargeant – 1.32.549)
The last few years for Williams have seen them become the team at the back more often than not. This season could see them move forward, Probably not into the midfield but at the very least clinging to their coat tales. They ran reliably over the 3 days which is always a good starting point and Alex Albon has a proven quick driver who is more than capable of solid results. They will need Logan Sergeant to be up to speed immediately if they are to move forward. All in all, it looks like Williams could finally be moving away from the back of the grid this season.
Williams appeared to make the most gains from last season’s testing. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
With the first race of the season being held at the same track in a week’s time the paddock didn’t have the usual rush to pack everything away so will no doubt spend the next week going over all the data and looking where they can find more speed for next weekend and also where to start looking for development.
The longest season ever is ahead of them, so the teams will know they have time to work through developments and make sure they go in the right direction for the season.
With RedBull looking not only quick but reliable, they will be the happiest of all the teams. Ferrari will be hoping to keep them honest and Mercedes could still be in the hunt from the first race. 2023 promises more surprises and entertainment and in just a week’s time, we will know who has got it right and who needs to go back to the drawing board.
Antonio Felix DaCosta brought home the victory for Porsche after a day to remember for the inaugeral Cape Town ePrix.
Qualifying:
Qualifying in Group A saw Sacha Fenestraz, Nick Cassidy, Pascal Wehrlein and Jean-Eric Vergne advance into the duels.
Group B saw Rene Rast, Mitch Evans, Sebastian Buemi and Max Guenther advance to the duels after the Maserati of Eduardo Mortara crashed into the wall, no yellow flags being brought out and then the Jaguar of Mitch Evans colliding with the same wall and hitting Mortara. This led to a clean up and Evans being ruled out of the race.
Absent from qualifying, however, were both the ABT Cupra and Mahindra cars. This is due to the fact that there were safety concerns with the suspensions of the cars and the teams withdrew them from the race. This brought the amount of cars on the grid down to 16.
Within the Duel Quarter Finals, Wehrlein took on Cassidy and Cassidy was able to beat the championship leader by 0.152seconds. Next up saw the rookie of Fenestraz take on the two time champion of Vergne. The rookie beat the champion to progress further in the duels. Buemi took on Evans in the next duel and Buemi was ahead by a few thousands of a second but overcooked it and hut the barrier which cost him a shot at moving further. Evans then progressed. The final quarter final saw Maximilian Guenther take on Rene Rast with Guenther claiming victory.
The Duel Semi Finals saw Fenestraz take on Cassidy for a shot at the final and Fenestraz managed to beat the Envision driver to earn his first shot at pole and a guaranteed spot on the front row. Guenther took on Evans and while Evans was ahead as Guenther crossed the line, Evans made a mistake which saw Guenther through to the final.
With both Fenestraz and Guenther through to the final,this guaranteed Formula E a new pole sitter. It was very close around the lap but Fenestraz managed to pull a gap of over 4 tenths by the time they reached the line and managed to get his first pole position in Formula E. Along with this, the lap by Fenestraz was the fastest lap ever in the history of Formula E.
Race:
The start of the race saw Fenestraz keeping the lead and Cassidy challenging Guenther on the first lap for P2. It was a clean lap 1 until the championship leader Pascal Wehrlein hit the back of Sebastian Buemi. This led to the championship leader retiring from the race and a safety car being deployed on lap 2. Just as the safety car was came out, Guenther overtook Fenestraz for the lead of the race. Eduardo Mortara also had to retire from the race.
The safety car went into the pits on lap 5. By lap 8, Vandoorne, Dennis, Lotterer, Buemi and Sette Camara had all used one of their attack mode. Vergne was close on the tail of Rene Rast. Fenestraz and Evans both took attack mode on lap 10. Guenther took his attack mode 1 lap later and managed to stay ahead of Fenestraz. Cassidy lead the race but he still had to take both of his attack mode. Evans, meanwhile, receieved a drive through penalty for an overuse of power.
Cassidy and Guenther took attack mode on lap 13 but Cassidy managed to keep the lead while Guenther came out in 3rd place.
Formule E’s Nick Cassidy leading the Cape Town E Prix. Image Credit to Formula E.
Vergne took attack mode on lap 16 which saw Antonio Felix Da Costa take P4 as lap 17 arrived. Fenestraz was keeping on the back of Cassidy. Lap 19, the driver who was P2 in the championship, Jake Dennis received a drive through penalty for not respecting mimumum tyre pressure. Dennis’ teammate Andre Lotterer was also under investigation for a safety car infringement.
On lap 21, the driver who started P2 Max Guenther crashed into the wall and had to pull over to retiring from the race. Lap 22 saw a full course yellow which was right after Fenestraz and Cassidy took their second attack mode. This led for the majoirty their attack modes to be wasted. Cassidy maintained first but Fenestraz dropped down to P4.
As lap 23 occured, Lottrer was given a 5 second time penalty for a safety car procedure. Cassidy lead the race from Da Costa in P2 and Vergne in P3 but Da Costa had another attack mode to take. On the next lap, he took a risk going to the lead which paid off and he took first from Cassidy. Vergne then took P2 form Cassidy. Lap 26, Da Costa tried to take attack mode but he missed one of the sections where he must enter in order to obtain it. Vergne managed to keep near Da Costa so when Da Costa did take it, Vergne would take the lead of the race.
The final 4 laps of the race saw Da Costa racing after Vergne. On lap 30, Fenestraz managed to overtake Cassidy for third place. However, there was 2 added laps due to the laps while under the safety car.
On the second last lap, Da Costa went for a move that not seen before and mnaaged to take the lead of the race from Vergne. Fenestraz hit the wall on the last lap. Da Costa took the victory ahead of Vergne and Cassidy in P2 and P3. Rene Rast finished P4 and Buemi in P5. Ticktum, Vandoorne and Nato finished in P6, P7 and P8 with Lotterer and Hughes finishing off the top 10.
The earlier Superpole race saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) claim his second win of the weekend, followed by team mate Rinaldi, and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team).
WorldSBK Philip Island Round 1 Race 2 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK
Conditions were thankfully dry for the start of race 2, with an air temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, and track temperatures in the mid 30’s, with the sun shining down on the track.
Lights out then for race 2 and it was Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by team mate Rinaldi, and the Yamahas of Locatelli and Toprak, with Bassani in 5th. Rea was again looking to make early in roads from his disappointing 7th place grid position, knowing that allowing Bautista any distance at the front would surely spell danger.
Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) 4. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) 5. Rea 6. Toprak 7. Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 8. Lecuona (Honda HRC) 9. Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) 10. Oettl (Team GoEleven Ducati).
With 19 laps of 22 remaining, Bautista wasn’t in the mood to hang around, and was already working on extending his lead at the front. He now held a gap of 0.7s, with a group of 8 riders forming behind, the racing was much closer in the dry conditions.
Next lap, and it was first Rea to move through on Bassani into Doohan’s, followed by Toprak, the racing was heating up. Meanwhile out in front the two Ducatis were looking quick. Locatelli, 3rd, held a gap of 1.6s to Rea behind in 4th, while Lecuona, 8th, held a gap of 1.6s to Petrucci in 9th.
Next lap and rookie Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), who had been looking aggressive all weekend, tried to force a move up the inside of Petrucci into MG corner. However the Italian snapped back to hold his position.
With 15 laps remaining, Lowes got good drive down the straight and blasted past Toprak to take 5th. The Kawasaki team mates were now 4th and 5th. However disappointment again on the other Kawasaki for Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who initially went into the pits, and then returned on track only to crash a few moments later. Not the return to racing that Sykes would have wanted.
Next lap and things were heating up with a 5 way battle for 4th between Rea, Lowes, Toprak, Bassani and Lecuona. Bassani in particular was looking aggressive, and made contact with Lecuona, tearing his wing off the fairing in the process.
With 13 laps to go, Lowes decided to make a move on his team mate, and dived through on Rea, holding the position. Meanwhile it was getting spicy between Bassani and Lecuona who once again collided, and this time gave Oetll the opportunity to come through into 7th, which he took with open arms.
Next lap, and at the front Bautista held a gap of 1.9s, and as he had all weekend, was looking comfortable. Meanwhile Toprak had come through on Lowes briefly, and Lowes returned the favour to retake 5th. Positions were now changing almost every corner, and it was reminiscent of a Moto3 race. Current positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Locatelli 4. Rea 5. Lowes 6. Toprak 7. Bassani 8. Oetll 9. Lecuona 10. Petrucci.
WorldSBK Philip Island Round 1 Race 2 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK
With just over half race distance covered, Lowes again made a move on Rea into turn 1, powering up the inside and making the move stick. Meanwhile the constant battling of riders behind, had allowed the leading three riders to pull clear of the rest. Locatelli now held a gap of 3.4s to Lowes behind in 4th.
With 9 laps to go, Bassani used the top end speed of his Ducati to blast past Toprak down the straight and into turn 1 to take 6th. Meanwhile Rea had fought back to retake 4th ahead of his team mate, Lowes who dropped back into 5th. Further back, Aegerter again tried the same move on Petrucci into MG corner, and again the experienced Italian was able to defend his position. Further ahead Lowes wouldn’t be put off, and again passed Rea to retake 4th.
With 7 laps remaining it was quickly becoming a blow for blow scrap between Kawasaki team mates, Lowes and Rea and it was the former who would retake 4th, with Lowes back in 5th. Meanwhile further back there was a 3 way battle for 13th between Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad) and Redding (BMW Motorrad).
Next lap and Bassani was showing good late race pace, and had got past both Kawasakis to end up 4th, Rea was in 5th. Then huge drama as Lowes lost the front end of his bike braking into turn 4, collecting an unsuspecting Toprak in the process, and sending them both down and out of the race. Toprak was clearly upset about that incident, which he obviously had no control of.
With 4 laps of 22 remaining, the three at the front would not be caught unless there was some incident. Positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Locatelli 4. Bassani 5. Rea 6. Oettl 7. Lecuona 8. Aegerter 9. Petrucci.
Next lap and Oetll had now passed Rea to take 5th, the German was having a fantastic weekend. Rea however was suffering from rear tyre grip, and was trying to hold off Lecuona who was now right behind him. The Honda has better drive out of turn 12, and it allowed Lecuona to blast past Rea into 6th. In front Bassani held a gap of 0.2s to Oettl in 5th. Meanwhile further back Gardner moved up into 11th, holding off the BMW factory team mates of Redding, and Vd Mark.
Last lap and Bautista made no mistake, crossing the line to take his 3rd win of the weekend, a clean sweep of wins. Rinaldi 2nd, Locatelli 3rd, Bassani 4th, Oettl 5th, Lecuona 6th, Aegerter 7th, Rea 8th, Petrucci 9th, Vierge 10th.
