Perez provisionally takes Singapore GP victory, with potential penalty looming

Sergio Perez survived a late-race onslaught from Charles Leclerc to provisionally take victory at the Singapore GP but finished under a cloud as he awaits the results of an investigation for an infringement under the Safety Car.

Perez got a good start off the line to be P1 into turn 1. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

The Mexican took the lead at the start of the race and was never headed, in a race where he and Leclerc were the class of the field, finishing well ahead of Carlos Sainz who came home third in the second Ferrari. With Max Verstappen only finishing in seventh after an eventful afternoon, the championship battle continues onto next week’s race at Suzuka.

The race start was delayed due to torrential rain at the start, meaning that the formation lap finally got underway 65 minutes later than originally planned, at 21:05 local time. The entire field started on intermediate tyres, with conditions much wetter than they were in qualifying on Saturday.

Those on the traditionally ‘dirtier’ side of the grid got the better start, with Perez comfortably ahead of Leclerc before they hit the brakes for turn one. Sainz was also able to get ahead of Lewis Hamilton but it was a lot less straightforward for the Spaniard, as he made contact with Hamilton’s Mercedes before finally staying ahead. This was the start of a frustrating race for Hamilton, as he spent the first half staring at the diffuser of Sainz’s Ferrari.

Verstappen fighting Magnussen after losing places at the start. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool.

It was a difficult start to the race for Max Verstappen, who bogged down at the start, dropping down to twelfth on the first lap. The reigning champion didn’t waste any time moving through the field, however, quickly dispatching Kevin Magnussen (after contact between the two which caused the Dane to pit) and Pierre Gasly to get back into the points.

It was an attritional race at the Marina Bay circuit, with multiple safety car and virtual safety car periods. The first safety car came after Nicholas Latifi squeezed Zhou Guanyu into the wall as the Alfa Romeo attempted an overtake, with the resulting damage causing both to retire. Latifi was given a five-place grid penalty for Suzuka after the incident.

The next three interruptions were all virtual safety cars. Fernando Alonso was doing a superb job of keeping Verstappen behind in his 350th race, before pulling off with power unit issues. Shortly after, Alex Albon made contact with the wall, leaving his front wing out on track before retiring in the pits. Esteban Ocon compounded a miserable day for Alpine when his engine failed spectacularly on lap 28, as the Enstone-based team failed to score points for the second race in a row.

In a carbon copy of yesterday, the track reminded slippery well after the rain had stopped, meaning drivers had to struggle around on their old intermediates. The first person to try something different was George Russell, who had been stuck in a train all race after starting from the pit lane. His medium tyres looked to be the wrong call, before finally coming into their own by lap 34, as he started setting purple sectors.

Russell on the mediums sooner than expected. Image courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media

This led to a glut of cars coming into the pitlane, including Hamilton, who had to change his front wing after making contact with the barriers at turn seven. McLaren stayed out longer than everyone else, and their gamble paid off when Yuki Tsunoda crashed into the wall at turn ten after hitting a wet patch, bringing out the race’s second full safety car. This allowed Norris to retain his fourth place after the pitstops and brought Daniel Ricciardo up into sixth, with Verstappen sandwiched in between.

The Red Bull got a superb run on Norris into turn seven on the restart, but locked up on the damp part of the circuit, dropping down to last after taking to the escape road. He was able to recover back to the pits and put on a fresh set of soft tyres, eventually recovering to seventh place after a fantastic battle in the final laps with Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton nearly another collision as he tried to overtake Vettel, with his front wing coming within inches of the Aston Martin’s rear tyre, as Lewis ran deep to allow Max through.

Sainz didn’t have the best race despite finishing P3. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

Out in front, Perez and Leclerc were quickly able to pull away from Sainz and traded fastest laps with each other for the first laps after the restart. Even after DRS was activated, however, the Ferrari was not able to get close enough to Perez when it really mattered, with a small mistake in the final sector from Leclerc dropping him out of DRS range, and giving Perez a clear path to on-track victory.

The late drama with the leaders came as the FIA announced that Perez’s alleged safety car infringement would be investigated after the race. Red Bull were wise to any potential penalties, quickly telling Perez to up the pace, as he finished 7.7s ahead of Leclerc in second. However, with Perez under investigation for both safety car restarts, it is possible that Leclerc may still be awarded the victory.

Both McLarens finished in the top five, as they jumped Alpine to take fourth in the constructor’s championship. Lance Stroll finished sixth, his best of the season, ahead of Verstappen, Vettel, Hamilton and Gasly. The double points finish for Aston Martin means they leap both Alpha Tauri and Haas in the constructor’s championship, with the Silverstone squad now three points ahead of Haas and Alpha Tauri in the battle for seventh.

Results today mean Perez and Leclerc still have a mathematical chance of claiming the world championship. A win for Verstappen with his two rivals failing to finish second would secure a second world championship for the Dutchman, who will be hoping for a much more straightforward race next weekend.

The race podium. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

1st October 2022

Leclerc secures Singapore GP pole in tricky conditions

Charles Leclerc mastered the conditions at the Marina Bay circuit to take his ninth pole position of the season, as championship leader Max Verstappen was forced to abort his final lap.

On a weekend where he can secure the championship, Verstappen will only start eighth, with the Dutch driver furious after being forced to abandon a potential pole lap due to a lack of fuel. His teammate, Sergio Perez, will start in second place, with Lewis Hamilton securing his best qualifying of the season in third.

Magnussen putting in good lap times despite a trip off track. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

The session started in damp conditions, with drivers using the intermediate tyres after a wet FP3. The majority of the track seemed to be dry, with turns 8 and 17 proving to be stubbornly wet throughout the session. Despite struggling with tyre warmup in practice, Mercedes were instantly on the pace, with Hamilton and Russell setting the fastest times early in the session. Unsurprisingly, there was a multitude of yellow flags early on, as Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc and the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher struggled with the greasy conditions.

On their second set of tyres, however, both Haas were able to briefly get inside the top 10 – showing how much the track was improving. In the end, Schumacher needed one final lap to get through to Q2, with Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon, Albon and Nicolas Latifi dropping out.

Despite hot temperatures in Singapore, the track was slow to dry thanks to the high humidity and the nighttime running. Times were improving in Q2, with Leclerc setting the early pace in this session. Aston Martin decided it was worth a gamble to put both cars onto the slick tyres, but both drivers found the conditions too tricky to handle, as both skated into the run-off at the Anderson Bridge. Lance Stroll qualified 12th, with Sebastian Vettel 14th at the track where he secured his last victory three years ago.

Zhou Guanyu struggled on slicks as well to qualify 15th, with fellow Singapore newbie Schumacher qualifying 12th. The big shock in this session was the loss of George Russell, with the Mercedes man never looking comfortable throughout the session, as he missed out on the top 10 for the first time since the Miami GP. The Brit will start tomorrow from 11th.

Russell was not able to make it out of Q2. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media

The majority of the field chose soft tyres in Q3, apart from Tsunoda and Magnussen who stuck with the intermediates. This briefly looked like the best call, as the majority of the slick-shod runners struggled to get their tyres up to temperature. All except Lewis Hamilton, who was two seconds faster than the next soft tyre runner after the first laps in qualifying. Staying out on the circuit to keep the temperature in the tyres was the best tactic, as Leclerc, Hamilton and Fernando Alonso traded times at the top of the order.

Leclerc managed to set a 1:49.412 on his penultimate run in qualifying, a time which would not be bettered. Perez and Hamilton both came close, but it was Verstappen who twice looked as though he was on the way to taking his fifth pole position of the season. Despite a lap which looked scruffy at times, he was nearly a second up on Leclerc’s time before being told by the team to box immediately, a decision which infuriated the championship leader. This was after he had backed off on a previous lap which would also have been good enough to challenge for the front two rows of the grid. It is likely that continuing on his final run would have led him to run out of fuel, meaning the Dutchman would have been unable to provide a fuel sample, thus starting from the back of the grid.

The top 3 for the race tomorrow. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

The end result of this qualifying session is that Verstappen needs a crazy race tomorrow if he is to secure the championship with five rounds to go, on what has been a difficult weekend for Red Bull as both themselves and Aston Martin have been accused of breaching cost cap regulations.

Verstappen has won from lower than eighth though in two of the last four races, however, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take his twelfth victory of the season and move one step closer to a second successive championship tomorrow.

30th September 2022

Thai Moto3 Grand Prix Preview

After securing his fifth win of the season in Japan, Izan Guevara has one hand on the Moto3 title, but with four rounds left and 100 points up for grabs, anything can happen.

The Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand hosts round 17 of the 2022 Moto3 championship this weekend (30 September – 2 October).

Like the previous round at Motegi, the Thai Grand Prix will be unknown territory for most of the Moto3 field, including championship leader Guevara. The GASGAS Aspar rider showed unstoppable pace last Sunday, extending his lead in the standings to 45 points.

Despite another dominant win, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Spaniard. A mediocre qualifying session in the wet followed a huge collision with John McPhee during the pre-race warm-up almost derailing his weekend. With adverse conditions anticipated in Thailand, it could be the trickiest event of the year.

The weather didn’t seem to faze British rookie Scott Ogden in Japan. The Visiontrack GP rider stunned the paddock with a sensational qualifying performance, earning him a spot on the front row of the grid. The 18-year-old heads to Buriram with no real expectations on his shoulders, and could spring a few more surprises if the rain falls as expected.

Ogden’s teammate, Josh Whatley will be hoping for better fortunes in Thailand. He has been taken out by other riders on the first lap in each of the last two races, and will be determined to go the full distance on Sunday.

With the season reaching it’s climax, Sergio Garcia is realistically the only challenger to Guevara’s title claim. The 19-year-old looked somewhat dejected after a spirited fourth place finish at Motegi. He struggled to keep up with the early pace at the front and was soon embroiled in a battle with the chasing pack. The young Spaniard has insisted that there is less pressure on him after losing the championship lead, but he’s still hungry to take the Moto3 crown.

Italian rider Dennis Foggia will be dreading the prospect of a wet weekend. He trails Guevara by 63 points and his record in the rain doesn’t bode well for his already slim title hopes. The Leopard Honda man did well to finish on the podium in Japan, and will have to do the same again in Thailand if he is to keep his championship dream alive.

One of the most in-form riders, at least in terms of pace, is Max Racing’s Ayumu Sasaki. The Japanese rider has had three podiums in the last four events and has raced in Thailand before. As is often the case, he is definitely one to watch this weekend.

To say the current weather forecast looks bleak would be a huge understatement. Thunderstorms are predicted for the entire event in Buriram for what will undoubtably be a very tricky race for the entire paddock. The race is scheduled to start at 12:00pm local time (06:00am GMT).

Feature Image: MotoGP

28th September 2022

F1 Weekend Preview: Singapore

After two weeks off we head to the streets of Singapore for a night race which we haven’t been to since 2019. There is the possibility that Verstappen could wrap up the championship while most of the talk in the paddock will be about the changes in the driver market.

2023 driver line-up is all change

Whilst there is still a gap at Alpine after the Alonso/Piastri incident, there have been extensions and exits from other teams along the grid.

Tsunoda has his contact extended for 2023. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool.

Zhou was confirmed at Alfa Romeo for 2023 as well as an extension announced for Tsunoda over at Alpha Tauri. The interest in the Alpa Tauri drivers is likely to continue because, despite an announcement earlier in the season saying Gasly is staying, there has been significant interest in his seat as there is increasing pace in the rumours behind Gasly’s move to Alpine, but there has been no official confirmation of this.

One of the other interesting and slightly more inevitable announcements was the exit of Latifi from Williams at the end of the 2022 season. This was a long await change as Latifi hasn’t been performing to the same level as his teammates, and since the takeover of the team by Dorilton, they no longer need his money.

However, the timing of the announcement would suggest that the weekend in Monza sealed his fate. After Albon, unfortunately, had appendicitis he had to miss out on the race weekend, allowing Nyck de Vries to step in. While the race itself ended in an anti-climax behind the safety car, de Vries was able to finish his first F1 race in P9, comfortably ahead of Latifi and therefore bringing plenty of questions before Williams announced his exit from the team.

Nyck de Vries putting in a solid performance in Monza. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

Can Verstappen round off the championship?

RedBull and Verstappen have had an incredible run of form recently, winning five races back to back and 11 races this season meaning Verstappen could wrap up the driver’s championship this weekend if the race goes in Verstappen’s favour.

The things to look out for is that if Verstappen wins without the fastest lap, Leclerc needs to finish P9 or lower and Perez needs to finish P5 or lower. If Verstappen wins with the fastest lap then Leclerc needs to be P8 or lower and Perez needs to be P4 or lower for Verstappen to win.

Considering the reliability and poor strategy calls of Ferrari, this situation is not out of the question. For Perez, RedBull will simply play the team game to make sure Verstappen secures the championship sooner rather than later.

28th September 2022

The Oulton Park Showdown Shocker!

I’ve written this intro something like 10 times. Deleted it and started again! Deleted it and started again! Deleted it and started again! Deleted it and started again! I’m struggling to find the words to describe what happened this weekend that you can follow in a logical pattern and order which will make sense by the end of this article. A roller coaster of action, emotion, shock, confusion, anger, deflation and a whole other host of feelings towards situations beyond our control. Huge amounts of disappointment for some, while others breath a huge sigh of relief, albeit with a concerned eye on the health of their racing colleagues but appreciating that one third of the Showdown battle is behind them.

Oulton Park in the Autumn of 2021 changed the season for two McAMS Yamaha riders. One rider’s fortunes were changed for the better, where the other lost a season’s worth of hard work in 2 days. Of course, I am referring to Tarran Mackenzie’s success and Jason O’Halloran’s disastrous ‘two crash weekend’ 1 year ago. Well it seems ‘The Curse of Oulton Park’ his struck again in 2022 for the same team, though it seems it has swept through the McAMS team like a case of the common cold! Take this in for a second… The McAMS Yamaha pairing of reigning champion, Tarran Mackenzie and [the man who up until Saturday inhabited second place in the championship standings] Jason O’Halloran have failed to finish a single race this weekend. 6 FULL RACES. GONE! The British Superbike Championship has been turned on its head.

Jason O’Halloran – Image courtessy of McAMS Yamaha

Race 1

A typical Oulton Park race, of which we have seen many over the years, where riders try to pass on the tight, twisty, undulating circuit but ultimately the attempts are short in supply and the laps tick off one by one in the countdown to the checkered flag. The first shock of Race 1 came when a charging Tarran Mackenzie crashed his Yamaha R1 on the entry to Shell Oil’s hairpin, trying to bridge the gap to the front group after his poor start from his qualifying position of 5^th on the grid. Oulton Park, 1 – Tarran Mackenzie, 0. The first mistake of the Showdown coming from the reigning champion. Before you know it, fans and teams alike looking at Bradley Ray entering the final lap with a 3.1 second lead over the following group of Tommy Bridewell in second place, followed by Jason O’Halloran, Peter Hickman and Leon Haslam. A group of three riders chasing Ray, but who will round out the podium on the final lap?

Now here’s the rub! After cresting Clay Hill and entering the Druid’s right-hand turn for the final time, there was contact between the motorcycles of Peter Hickman [FHO Racing BMW] and Jason O’Halloran [McAMS Yamaha] resulting in a crash for The O’Show. Hickman letting the brake off and moving for an inside line overtake, O’Halloran turns in and the end result is a trip to the gravel trap ending O’Halloran’s first race in the Showdown. A potential podium chance gone. Oulton Park, 1 – Jason O’Halloran, 0. Being it was the final lap, the incident was investigated after the race and resulted in Bennetts British Superbike Race Direction disqualifying Peter Hickman from the race, handing him 2 points on his racing license and a 3-place grid penalty for Race 2. Official BSB later released the onboard footage from Hickman’s BMW and Leon Haslam’s Kawasaki following behind.

Hickman was quick to defend his position, taking to Twitter to issue a statement. “Of course, I’m absolutely gutted that JO and McAMS Yamaha didn’t finish that race, that was never my intention and never would be. I’m just glad he’s ok. I am however shocked at Race Directions decision, don’t get me wrong they have a tough job to do but disqualification… 2 points on my race license and a 3 place grid penalty is absolutely way over the top. We are racing, not playing today [Hicky meant tiddly] winks! I stand by what I said on Eurosport after the race, there was a gap, he was weak in that area and I was strong, and I had a chance of a podium so… of course I had a go. It’s a huge shame that he tagged the back of my bike and went down, but we are racing on very small margins and sometimes it happens. As for comments about not having a go at passing someone because they’re in the showdown and lack of respect etc I… completely disagree, but each to their own eh! Thanks for the support from everyone as always, I’ll be on the grid again tomorrow and trying just as hard. Hicky.”

Jason O’Halloran took to his own social media outlets to post a picture of his accident damaged Yamaha in the McAMS garage and wrote “All my guys and I have worked so hard this year to put ourselves in a position to win this championship. A little bit of respect would go a long way.”

Race 1 Results – Ray, Bridewell, Haslam, Glenn Irwin, Buchan, Jackson, Iddon, Skinner, Ryde, Brookes, Sykes, Kent, Neave, Harrison, Rouse, Takahashi, Owens, Mizuno, Delves.

DNF – Mackenzie, O’Halloran, Andy Irwin, Jeacock, Vickers, Stacey.

Race 2 – Start 1

Unlike last year (which was shorts and a t-shirt) it was freezing cold on Sunday. Raining on and off and blowing a gale. Not the best weather for a British Superbike race. Declared a wet race, then after a slight delay and the rain abating, it was declared a dry race meaning any sudden rain would cause a red flag.

Dry Race – Image courtessy of Official BSB

LAP 1 Away from the lights it’s Brad Ray who gets the holeshot, followed closely by Jason O’Halloran and Tommy Bridewell. As we return to the scene of Saturday’s Race 1 incident at Druid’s corner, racing fans and teams look on in shock as Tommy Bridewell puts a move on Jason O’Halloran, that sends the McAMS Yamaha rider barreling through the same gravel trap as the previous day. Oulton Park, 2 – Jason O’Halloran, 0. Race direction investigates the incident as the race continues to circulate.

Oulton Park, Race 2 – Image Courtesy of Official BSB

Tommy Bridewell was ordered to perform a Long Lap Penalty (which is down at Hissy’s chicane while you perform the slalom between the barriers) but a lap later, while entering the Hislop Chicane Tarran Mackenzie slipped off his Yamaha R1 and slid into the path of Peter Hickman. In a split second, contact was made between Hicky’s BMW and Mackenzie’s lower body and legs. Oulton Park, 2 – Tarran Mackenie, 0. The race was then red flagged. The Mackenzie family and McAMS Yamaha later released a statement officially ending Tarran’s season due to a fractured femur, which after surgery leaves the Scottish / Derbyshire-man unfit for the remaining rounds in the 2022 season. While the medical team were dealing with Mackenzie on circuit, Bridewell gave an interview to Eurosport insinuating that he also thought O’Halloran was going too slow in the Clay Hill / Druid section and he thought the move was on.

Statement from McAMS Yamaha with reference to the Oulton Park Round.

Race 2 – Start 2

Shortened to a 14-lap race and Bridewell’s unserved long lap loop penalty was changed into a time equivalent, which effectively put him to the rear of the grid. Race 2 kicks off again for the second time, only for the race to be stopped again due to rider contact at Britten’s Chicane a few laps later. This time it was contact between Rory Skinner, Christian Iddon and a luckless Kyle Ryde. Iddon and Ryde both a victim of ‘wrong place, wrong time’. Entering the Britten Chicane, Iddon and Skinner had the same idea at the same time. Iddon lined up Ryde on the brakes into the left / right chicane and as he moved left to pull off the maneuver Skinner behind had lined Iddon up for the same move. All happening in a split second, with only a heartbeat to react Iddon realised the move wasn’t on and lined up to slide in behind Ryde but Skinner had already put his own move into action. The result was Skinners FS-3 Kawasaki crashing into the rear of Iddon’s Buildbase Suzuki, sending Skinners bike careering across the track to collect Ryde’s Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha from behind, bringing down the Yamaha rider.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of the crash for Skinner himself. He was scooped up between the rear wheel and subframe on the Suzuki GSXR of Iddon and dragged into the back wheel. This caused Iddon’s rear wheel to lock and dropped them both to the ground. Red Flag x 2. Iddon later confirmed he has a broken bone in his hand and has also been ruled out of the Donington Park round this weekend due to the sports concussion protocol. Skinner has also suffered multiple fractures in his hand and requires surgery. It is yet to be confirmed if Skinner will attend the Donington Park round or not.

Lee Jackson. Winner of Race 2 – Image Courtesy of FS-3 Racing

Race 2 – Start 3

A relatively tame version of events, barring poor Kyle Ryde’s Turn 1 slip off which can only be put down to cold tyres. In comparison to the first two attempts, the restart running to the finish was a welcome relief to everyone but the delay had affected the schedule for the remaining races of the day. After the two earlier versions, the surprise of the restart was Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha’s Bradley Ray seemingly not having an answer for the FS-3 Kawasaki of Lee Jackson or the Oxford Products Ducati of Tommy Bridewell who took the win and second place respectively after Bridewell had made up half the grid at the restart, before the red flag, to then make up the rest of the grid on the 3^rd restart. Lee Jackson returning to the winning step of the podium for the first time since his earlier win at Oulton Park back in the summer.

Race 2 Results – Jackson, Bridewell, Ray, Glenn Irwin, Buchan, Haslam, Sykes, Brookes, Andrew Irwin, Hickman, Stacey, Kent, Vickers, Takahashi, Mizuno, Jeacock, Delves.

DNF – O’Halloran, Mackenzie, Harrison, Rouse, Ryde, Neave, Owens, Iddon, Skinner.

Race 3

It was announced by McAMS Yamaha that a battered and bruised Jason O’Halloran would not take part in the remaining race of the day. Oulton Park, 3- Jason O’Halloran, 0. Race 3 turned out to be a very tame affair and the surprise came in the form of a battle for the win between Honda Racing UK’s Glenn Irwin and Oxford Products Tommy Bridewell, with Bridewell claiming the victory. Another great result for Race 3 was the addition of Tom Sykes and his MCE Ducati making it into the top 6, not more than a handful of seconds from the winners. In race three the temperature had dropped significantly and with the news that his closest rivals weren’t taking part in the remaining race, it seemed Brad Ray could also ensure he had a solid finish to a chaotic race meeting.

Race 3 Results – Bridewell, Glenn Irwin, Jackson, Buchan, Ray, Sykes, Hickman, Brookes, Ryde, Kent, Stacey, Andrew Irwin, Vickers, Haslam, Harrison, Takahashi, Rouse, Owens, Jeacock, Mizuno.

DNF – O’Halloran (Did not Start) Mackenzie (Did not start) Delves, Neave, Iddon (Did not start) Skinner (Did not start).

The overall championship has been turned on its head. McAMS Yamaha have dropped down the order to be replaced by Tommy Bridewell, Lee Jackson and Glenn Irwin, however Bradley Ray has extended his championship lead from the 13 points he had on O’Halloran coming into Oulton Park, to 40 points over Tommy Bridewell in 2^nd place overall.

Tommy Bridewell, Oxford Products Ducati – Image courtesy of Official BSB

Donington Park this weekend. Who will take the second round of the Showdown in their stride and come out on the other side leading the championship?

27th September 2022

Rally New Zealand 2022 Preview – Back to the famous roads!

We have just three rounds of this season’s championship left and a brilliant and long-awaited return to New Zealand.

The championship race remains firmly in the young Finns Kalle and Jonne’s grip as they come to this event 53 points ahead of their closest challengers 2019 champions Ott and Martin. Last time out Hyundai Motorsport took their first ever 1-2-3 as Thierry took victory from Ott and Dani in the classic Rally of Gods, Acropolis Rally.

In the Toyota camp, Seb Ogier returns to his GS Yaris to bolster the bid for the driver and manufacturers titles after the mishaps suffered by Kalle in the last two rallies. Seb competed at this event the last time it was part of the championship, when driving for Citroen in 2010.

M-Sport Ford come with just two cars for Craig and Gus as Adrien sits this one out. The car has shown great pace on the gravel, but perhaps with the lack of knowledge, this may hamper their ultimate pace.

Also competing this weekend are Hayden and John in their Paddon Sport run i20 Rally2 sponsored by Hyundai New Zealand. They are hoping to compete at the front of the WRC2 class, and who knows, maybe take a top ten finish to boot!

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

Rally New Zealand gets underway on Thursday evening with the Pukekawa Auckland Domain (1.78km) super special stage.

Friday’s itinerary is extensive, containing two loops of three stages that combine to a total of 158.56km, more than half of the overall rally distance.

Two passes each of Kaipara Hills (15.83km), Puhoi (22.50km) and Komokoriki (5.81km) make up Saturday’s schedule.

The rally concludes on Sunday with the crews twice taking on Whitford Forest – Te Maraunga Waiho (8.82km) and Jacks Ridge Haunui (6.77km), with the final pass of the latter acting as the rally’s Power Stage.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It will be really interesting to go to Rally New Zealand. I have only heard good things about the country and the rally and how nice the roads are. To prepare we have been watching whatever videos we can to get an overview of how the stages are and to understand what we might need from the car before we get there. Recent rallies have not been ideal for us but we know what we need to improve and we are working hard to have more pace and be more comfortable. Again we will be opening the road in New Zealand but hopefully we can have good speed, enjoy the event and finish with a good result.”

2022 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 08 / Rally Finland 2022 / 4th-7th August 2022 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s going to be exciting to finally have the chance to compete in New Zealand for the first time. I’ve heard many great things about the event and especially about the roads and how rewarding they are to drive. So, if what everybody says is true then I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of fun there and hopefully we can have a good rally. It’s never easy to prepare for a new event like this, particularly because we’re not able to test outside of Europe, but within the team we do at least have some previous experience from New Zealand, not least from Jari-Matti and Seb. We’ve also been having a look through the archives for old videos of the stages just to get an idea of what we’re likely to face.”

Sébastien Ogier

“After a nice break it’s exciting to be getting back in my GR YARIS for these three events to end the season. Rally New Zealand is one of the rallies I really wanted to do this year. I was there once before in 2010 and I have mostly good memories; it was a very close fight until the final corners when a spin handed the win to Jari-Matti. At the time it was hard to take but thankfully I could score my first WRC win just a few weeks later. The rally itself is beautiful with some of the best roads in the world. After this break it won’t be easy to get back in the rhythm right away, but like always I will try to compete for the victory and help the team to the best possible result.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak 

“I competed at Rally New Zealand ten years ago and I have good memories of the event, so I am looking forward to going back. I have been watching videos to refresh myself and the roads look fantastic; they have a lot of positive camber and seem as if they were made for rallying. As it is in a far corner of the world, we have not been able to test on similar roads, meaning getting the right set-up will be difficult. We will just have to do our best to learn from the shakedown and adjust as we go. Hopefully we can get 100% from the car and achieve a strong result.”

2022 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 08, Rally Finland
4-7 August 2022
Ott Tanak
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Thierry Neuville

“Rally New Zealand was an event I always dreamed of going to when I was a kid growing up watching guys like Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz on TV. For me it always looked like the rally with the most beautiful scenery in WRC. I was lucky enough to compete there in 2012 and it was an incredible event with very interesting and enjoyable stages. The roads are very loose on the first pass but grippy on the second pass, where you need to have a very precise and stable car. It is hard to prepare for such an event, but we will try our best to perform well.”

Oliver Solberg

“It is my first time going to Rally New Zealand, so I am very excited for this new adventure. The roads look amazing and the whole event seems to be very beautiful. Of course, we do not know what to expect from the stages, but hopefully we can get up to speed quickly and find a good balance and rhythm. The season has been a rollercoaster for us so far, but our last rally was a good one, coming fourth in Belgium. Our target for this event is to keep learning, keep pushing, and hopefully get a good result for the team.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Craig Breen

“Really excited to get to New Zealand, it’s a rally that I’ve read lots about, watched lots of videos and heard all of the stories, but never witnessed it myself. It’ll be my first time in New Zealand and doing the rally it seems like it’s going to be a really nice adventure with beautiful roads. I feel really lucky to be able to go there and experience it all. It should suit us, we’ll have a good road position starting the rally on Friday so we will try and make the most of it. Greece was good in some respects, our pace was nice, I’d like to try and make some progress towards the podium positions after a difficult couple of rallies.”

Gus Greensmith

“Really looking forward to New Zealand, it’s the one rally I’ve always wanted to compete in since starting my career so I feel like I finally get to tick that one off the bucket list. Incredibly excited, arriving early to adjust to the jet lag and we will see what we can do on the rally.”

Hyundai New Zealand

Hayden Paddon

“Seeing the WRC back in New Zealand is something I’m very proud of for the New Zealand rally community. I’m grateful for the work done by a great team of people to make this happen. I’m excited to tackle these awesome rallying roads again in our Hyundai Rally2 car with our own homegrown team.

“With the Rally2 and R5 cars competing in the same category, there’s going to be some great competition. Between Ben, Shane and Harry, I’m expecting there to be close competition which I’m looking forward to.

“Rally fans are in for a real treat as Rally New Zealand once again features on the world stage. The hybrid Rally1 cars and drivers are going to be a sight to behold on some of the most spectacular stages in the world. The Auckland Domain stage, with free public access on Thursday night, will be an amazing way to start the event.

Hayden Paddon John Kennard Rally Finland WRC2 by Timo Anis

“Our goal is simple, to win WRC2. There have been a lot of questions about the overall result, but the gap is now too big between Rally1 and Rally2 cars for us to even consider competing with them, but we will give it everything we’ve got!”

Summary

We are set for one of the most hotly anticipated rallies of the year. The roads in New Zealand are particularly iconic in the championship, and are loved by those that have had the opportunity to compete on them. We will now have a new generation of crews making their own history on them.

The action gets underway very soon with shakedown at 9:00pm on the 29^th of September! Make sure that you pop back to check out my daily reports.

26th September 2022

Extreme E: X44 Keep Championship Hopes Alive With Win In Chile

X44 are still in with a chance of winning the Extreme E team’s championship after winning in Chile.

The result sees them jump up to second in the championship, just 17 points behind leaders RXR. With 30 points available in the final round, it’s still all to play for.

Semi Final One:

Race day on Sunday started well for RXR, who looked on course for yet another round win.

They cruised through the first semi-final, beating Acciona Sainz and Andretti United.

It was Acciona Sainz who had got the better start and led coming into the switch zone. However, RXR’s efficient driver change in the switch zone saw them leapfrog into first place.

From there, they didn’t look back, guaranteeing their spot in the final. Second place was taken by Acciona Sainz, who just held on at the line.

Andretti United were awarded a 10 second time penalty for dropping a waypoint marker.

Semi Final One Classification:

RXR 9:04.370
Acciona Sainz +6.439
Andretti United +16.791

Semi Final Two:

X44’s semi final against ABT Cupra and Chip Ganassi was very sedate.

X44 took the lead into the first corner, ahead of Chip Ganassi. From there, the leaders were untroubled and crossed the line first to book their place in the final.

Further behind, ABT Cupra were piling the pressure on Chip Ganassi, the latter eventually making a mistake and ABT Cupra took the position.

ABT Cupra joined RXR, Acciona Sainz, and X44 in reaching the final.

Semi Final Two Classification:

X44 9:02.840
ABT Cupra +3.519
Chip Ganassi +6.314

SEPTEMBER 24: Sara Price (USA) / Kyle Leduc (USA), Chip Ganassi Racing Catie Munnings (GBR) / Timmy Hansen (SWE), Genesys Andretti United Extreme E Tamara Molinaro (ITA) / Timo Scheider (DEU), Xite Energy Racing Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky (SWE) / Johan Kristoffersson (SWE), Rosberg X Racing during the Antofagasta on September 24, 2022. (Photo by Sam Bagnall / LAT Images)

Crazy Race:

The last place in the final was contested between McLaren, Veloce, Xite Energy, and JBXE in the Crazy Race.

McLaren got the best start, leading JBXE after the first corner. Further behind, Xite Energy got a penalty for dropping a waypoint marker.

The battle for a place in the final was hard fought between JBXE and McLaren. Despite an initial early lead, McLaren lost the position to JBXE, who overtook on a jump. The two would remain close, however.

After each team had come into the switch zone to change drivers, the battle recommenced. Eventually, McLaren drew alongside JBXE and they were side by side going over a jump.

However, on landing, both teams lost control of the car and they steered into each other. Dust flew up everywhere and once it had settled it was clear to see that McLaren had retaken the lead, with Xite Energy now in second.

That would be how they crossed the line, with McLaren progressing through to the final. JBXE were promoted to second thanks to Xite Energy’s penalty.

Crazy Race Classification:

McLaren 9:12.588
JBXE +15.042
Xite Energy +19.474
Veloce +2:17.762

Final:

The first drama of the final – and there would be more to come – saw disaster for the championship leaders. Unfortunately for the German team they were unable to fix damage they sustained in the semi final and could not start the race. Chip Ganassi were given a lifeline.

As the lights went out, X44 and Chip Ganassi went side by side for the lead through the first few corners. X44 eventually managed to get ahead.

In more side by side battling, Chip Ganassi made contact with another car and lost control of their vehicle. The team span and dropped a waypoint marker.

Hitting waypoint markers would be theme of the final, as the McLaren team, who were by this point fighting with X44 for the lead, also dropped a flag.

X44 also hit a waypoint marker but, crucially, did not knock it over and did therefore not incur a penalty. McLaren then downed a second flag.

McLaren crossed the line in first position but with their penalties, they dropped down to fifth place. X44 won the race, giving their title hopes a boost. Acciona Sainz, who just looked to stay out of trouble, finished in second, with ABT Cupra rounding out the podium.

Final Classification:

X44 8:59.728
Acciona Sainz +6.093
ABT Cupra +8.612
Chip Ganassi +10.159
McLaren +18.935

Overall Weekend Classification:

X44 +25 Points
Acciona Sainz +18 Points
ABT Cupra +15 Points
Chip Ganassi +12 Points
McLaren +10 Points
RXR +8 Points
Andretti United +6 Points
JBXE +4 Points
Xite Energy +2 Points
Veloce +1 Point

McLaren also gained five points for achieving the weekend’s fastest time through the Continental Traction Challenge.

X44 move into second place in the championship and close the gap to RXR to 17 points.

Acciona Sainz and Chip Ganassi in third and fourth place respectively are also just about still in the championship battle.

Another poor weekend for Veloce sees them comfortable at the bottom of the table.

Championship Standings:

RXR 83 Points
X44 66 Points
Acciona Sainz 60 Points
Chip Ganassi 55 Points
McLaren 34 Points
Andretti United 33 Points
Xite Energy 29 Points
JBXE 25 Points
ABT Cupra 21 Points
Veloce 8 Points

26th September 2022

Round 8 WorldSBK, Catalunya, Spain, Race 2

The earlier Superpole race saw Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), claim his second win of the weekend, followed by the factory Kawasaki team mates of Rea, and Lowes respectively.

WSBK Round 8 25.09.2022 Picture courtesy of Pata Yamaha Brixx

Lights out for race 2, and it was Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by his team mate Rinaldi, Rea and Toprak (Pata Yamaha). Then early drama as first, Lowes had a high speed crash into turn 10, looking like he lost the front of his Kawasaki. Then Redding (BMW Motorrad), had a brutal looking crash into the last corner. They were both extremely quick corners, and both riders were lucky to walk away.

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Rea 4. Toprak 5. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) 6. Vierge (Honda HRC) 7. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha 8. Lecuona (Honda HRC).

With 18 laps to go, Bassani was looking aggressive early on, and cut up the inside of Toprak to take 4th. An amazing start from the young Italian who started from 13th on the grid. As in race 1, the ex MotoGP rider, Lecouna, was looking quick, and set a fastest lap in 8th position. Meanwhile Rea was desperately trying to maintain contact with the Ducati team mates leading the race.

Next lap and Rea decided to make his move on Rinaldi into turn 1, out braking the Italian initially, before Rinaldi snapped straight back to keep the position. Meanwhile at the front Bautista was finding his groove again, and set the new fastest lap of 1:42.405, and was quickly disappearing down the track. Drama then for Locatelli as he crashed out of the race into turn 10, his race was over.

With 16 laps to go Bassani out braked Rea into turn 1 to move into 3rd, Rea now demoted to 4th. Bautista had now extended the gap to his team mate in 2nd to 1.9s, and set a new fastest lap of 1:42.279 in the process. Meanwhile further back it was Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) 11th, Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad) 13th and Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) 14th.

With 14 laps remaining out of 21, the group of Rinaldi 2nd, Bassani 3rd, Rea 4th, and Toprak 5th, had pulled away from the rest of the field. Bassani continued his aggressive start and moved through on Rinaldi to take 2nd. Toprak held a gap of 1.6s to the group of Vierge behind in 6th.

With 12 laps to go, as in race 1, Bautista was showing no signs of slowing down, and increased his lead to 4.1s. Rea now in 4th was keen to get past Rinaldi, but with the Ducati’s acceleration it made pulling off a move difficult. Rea lined up the Ducati into turn 10, and made the move stick this time. Rinaldi then retook the lead down the long straight, and into turn 1, using the power of the Ducati to blow past the Kawasaki ZX 10-RR.

Just over half race distance, and Rea getting increasingly frustrated ran hot into turn 1, allowing Toprak to come through and take 4th. Rinaldi was finding extra pace in the second half of the race, and retook 2nd getting past Bassani, who himself seemed to be struggling with rear grip.

Next lap and after his podium in race 1, Gerloff went down into turn 2. Not having as good a performance, and his race was over. Further back positions were as follows: 6. Vierge 7. Lecuona 8. Oetll (GoEleven Ducati) 9. Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 10. Bernardi (Barni Racing).

With 8 laps to go Toprak was managing his tyre wear better, and cut under Bassani to take over 3rd. Then as Gerloff did in race 1, Rea pulled off an audacious move into turn 1 out braking both Bassani, and Toprak to move into 3rd. Rinaldi held a gap of 0.9s to Rea behind.

With only 5 laps remaining, tyre wear issues were a major factor for everyone. With both Rinaldi, and Bassani losing ground, Rinaldi in particular was now getting reeled in by Rea. Then big mistake for Rea as he ran hot into turn 7, and rejoined back in 5th. Positions at the front were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Toprak 4. Bassani 5. Rea.

With 3 laps to go Rinaldi had recovered well, and was maintaining a gap of 0.7s to Toprak behind in 3rd. Rea moved into 4th getting past Bassani who was still suffering with grip issues. Further back positions were as follows: 6. Vierge 7. Oetll 8. Lecuona. Bautista was completely dominating the race and was now an unassailable 10s ahead of everyone, and had the win in the bag, unless affected by a mechanical issue.

WSBK Round 8 25.09.2022 Picture courtesy of KRT_WorldSBK

Last lap, and Bautista crossed the line to take a hat trick of wins across the weekend, followed by his team mate in 2nd. And that result is also the first manufacturer 1/2 of the season. Toprak 3rd, Rea 4th, Bassani 5th, Vierge 6th, Oettl 7th, Lecuona 8th, Baz 9th.

A completely dominant set of results across the weekend for Bautista, and he had done serious damage to his title rivals hopes of catching him, with only 4 rounds left in the season.

Result top 5:

Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)
Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)

Championship top 3:

Bautista – 394
Razgatlioglu – 335
Rea – 327

25th September 2022

Both heartbreak and elation at Motegi.

Qualifying:

Heavy rain poured down in Japan for the start of the qualifying but by Q2 it had stopped, the track however was still drenched. The riders went out cautiously.

A surprise, but not a complete surprise, came from one rider – Marc Marquez. He showed he was still very much a champion and put his Honda back on pole position (his first pole since Motegi in 2019). Behind him Johann Zarco (Ducati) took second place and Brad Binder (KTM) took the last slot on front row.

Rainy conditions wouldn’t stop Marc Marquez. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) qualified 9th. 12^th was Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and in 6^th was Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) – the top championship contenders.

Race:

Clear skies graced the track on Sunday but that didn’t mean drama wasn’t just round the corner.

Aleix Espargaro had issues with his Aprilia from the start of the sighting lap, before the race had even begun, forcing him to return to pit lane, where he then literally dropped his bike to take his number 2 bike out. He managed to get out of the pit lane in time to join onto the back of the race.

Back on the grid – Marquez got a great start from pole, but Binder had an even better one and was soon leading, from Marquez and Martin. Martin, however, was quick to take 2^nd and by turn 3 had also managed to pass Binder to take the lead.

There was another man on a mission though in the form of Jack Miller (Ducati). He had managed to pass both Miguel Oliveria (KTM) and Marquez, in one swift move, to take 3^rd place.

Every championship point rang in their ears: – Quartararo was down in 8^th place, behind him in 11^th was Bagnaia and Espargaro had made it to 22^nd. What could any of them do?

Meanwhile Miller had passed next year’s teammate (Binder) to take another spot (2nd) on lap 3 of 24. While fastest lap went to Oliveira.

Up to second. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

With 22 laps to go Miller fought Martin for the lead – he won and with it took fastest lap. Miller seemed to be untouchable.

In 8^th place, Quartararo was under pressure by Luca Marini (Ducati) with 21 laps to go but so was Bagnaia from Bastianini. Enea managed to pass Pecco but Pecco took the position straight back. Meanwhile Marini had also passed Quartararo and managed to make it stick. There was only Pol Espargaro (Honda) between the top two of the championship.

Under pressure by Marini. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Zarco who had had a great qualifying session had fallen backwards throughout the race and perhaps had an issue with his bike. It was a gift for Quartararo who took 8^th spot and Bagnaia promoted himself to 10^th. Bastianini was still all over the Ducati rider though, waiting to attack.

With 17 laps to go gapping was being created – Miller’s gap between himself and Martin had grown to 1.046 seconds and Martin’s gap to Oliveira also had grown to 1.115 seconds. Bastianini managed to pass Bagnaia to take 10^th place from him. There certainly were no team orders from Ducati. Bagnaia then had to worry about Marco Bezzecchi (another Ducati) who was already very close behind.

Passing Bagnaia. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Bastianini soon had pulled away and had already closed the gap between himself and P. Espargaro, managing to pass him on lap 11 of 24. It turned out Bagnaia had nothing to worry about with Bezzecchi as Bagnaia also passed Pol, after Pol made a slight mistake. Now up to 10^th place, directly behind Bastianini once more.

Halfway through the race and Takuya Tsuda (who had stepped in for Mir at Suzuki) suddenly had his bike on fire beneath him, causing yellow flags to be waved at sector 2 (turn 5) and ultimately ending his home race.

In 7^th place Marini was looking menacing behind Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) and soon had passed him to claim 6^th spot and on the same lap (lap 14) Darryn Binder ended his race early sliding off into the gravel. He managed to re-join the race but retired a few laps later.

Back in front, Miller couldn’t put a foot wrong, with his metronomic lap times and a gap of 4.369 seconds ahead of Martin, the chequered flag was in reaching distance. Could he win his first race this year?

5 laps to go and Miller remained in command of the Japanese race, while his teammate also managed to dig deep and find some form, beginning to shrink the gap between himself and his future teammate. Into turn 12 he managed to pass Bastianini to take 9^th, now he had Quartararo in his sights.

Martin, who had remained in 2^nd place for quite some time, was under pressure from Binder. With only 3 laps until the end, who would take 2^nd?

Behind them Honda rider Marquez had managed to pass Oliveira to take 4^th with 2 laps left. Could he fight for the podium?

Last lap:

Miller continued to lead.

Behind him though, binder passed Martin to take 2nd –

Second-in-the-championship-man Bagnaia suddenly crashed out of 9^th, applauding himself for his mistake, while he walked away.

Marini passed Oliveira but couldn’t quite make it stick, crossing the line.

But nothing could stop Jack today – the Thriller was back!

Top Ten Finishers:

1st	J. Miller
2nd	B. Binder
3rd	J. Martin
4th	M. Marquez
5th	M. Oliveira
6th	L. Marini
7th	M. Vinales
8th	F. Quartararo
9th	E. Bastianini
10th	M. Bezzecchi

This is Bagnaia’s 5^th DNF this season and his teammate’s first Moto GP victory this year, it was both heartbreak and elation for Ducati.

Top 4 Championship Standings:

1st	F. Quartararo	219 points
2nd	F. Bagnaia	201 points
3rd	A. Espargaro	194 points
4th	E. Bastianini	170 points

None of the top championship riders could quite capitalize on today’s race, so the championship is still up for grabs with only 4 more races, who will be crowned World Champion?

(Featured image: Courtesy of Moto GP website).

25th September 202225th September 2022

Moto2: Stunning Home Win for Ai Ogura at the Japanese GP

Ai Ogura and his Honda Team Asia machine have taken a home win at the Japanese GP. He took the lead at the half-way point in the race and never looked back. Joining him on the podium was championship leader, Augusto Fernandez and early race leader Alonso Lopez.

The tears were flowing in the Honda Team Asia garage today as Ai Ogura took a stunning home victory at the Japanese Grand Prix. He is the first rider to do so since 2006 and was greeted like a hero in parc ferme.

Whilst his win felt dominant, it was hard fought as he made his way through the pack from 13th on the grid. He made a brilliant start, leaping up to 6th in the first few corners, and never looked back.

Our championship leader faced a similarly brilliant day, coming home in 2nd despite starting in 11th. However, Augusto Fernandez will be disappointed to have not been able to catch Ogura today. He certainly had the pace to do so, evidenced on his journey up through the field.

The final podium spot was taken by Alonso Lopez who enjoyed spending much of the first half of the race in 1st. The Spanish rider enjoyed a strong race today but his performance dropped off a little too much in the final laps for him to improve on 3rd.

It was a difficult day for both Aron Canet and Fermin Aldeguer who qualified in 1st and 2nd respectively. Firstly, Aldeguer crashed out on lap 3, with Canet facing a similar fate just one lap later. Both were visibly frustrated but today felt like Canet’s race to lose. He was enjoying a comfortable lead with 1.8s of clear track behind him when he hit the gravel.

AS IT HAPPENED

As the lights went out, it was Aldeguer who flew off the line and quickly took the lead away from pole-sitter Canet, coming out on top as they existed turn 1. Just behind them, Somkiat Chantra overtook Jake Dixon for 3rd. However, Chantra faced a moment in the early corners and this put plenty of clear air between himself and the two leading riders and the rest of the pack. By the end of the first lap this gap was up to 0.9s, giving Canet and Aldeguer a comfortable lead.

Other strong starts were enjoyed by Cameron Beaubier as he leapt from 8th to 4th, Ogura who flew from 13th to 6th and Acosta who jumped from 18th to 13th. Sadly, after losing 3rd to Chantra, Dixon was then swallowed even further by the grid and eventually ended up in 9th, having started in 3rd.

By the end of the first lap, Ogura continued to climb and was battling hard with Beaubier for 6th. As Ogura rose up the ranks, his title contender Fernandez was still stuck down in 12th and unable to make waves in the early laps.

As Chantra struggles to close up to the leading pair, Ogura overtakes Tony Arbolino to take 4th. In doing so, he also sets the fastest lap of the race so far.

At turn 5 of lap 3, Aldeguer crashes out of the race from 2nd place. The front wheel slides from under him and he is left clearly heartbroken, dejectedly leaning on the tire wall as the marshals remove his bike from the gravel. With Aldeguer out of the race, he gifts a 1.8s lead to Canet who goes on to set the fastest lap of the race so far.

As Canet continues to push, possibly pushing too hard, he then goes down himself and crashes at turn 9 of lap 4. He is able to rejoin the field but is way down at the back of the grid before eventually retiring after a second crash on lap 16.

Race leader down!! 💥

Aron Canet is out of the race and now possibly out of #Moto2 World Championship contention 🤯#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/DtZ3Thf5mv

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 25, 2022

As the riders complete the fourth lap of the race, Chantra is leading from Arbolino in 2nd and Lopez in 3rd. Arbolino seems to struggle on lap 5 as he loses 2nd place to Lopez and, a matter of corners later, then loses 3rd place to Ogura.

Fernandez, knowing his championship contender had made his way up to the podium places, was finally starting to make waves and manages to get himself up to 6th in response. He then tries a move on Dixon for 5th but the Brit rider aggressively fights back and firmly shuts the door on him.

On lap 7, whilst leading the race, Chantra has a moment and goes wide at turn 5. This allows Lopez and Ogura to overtake him and take 1st and 2nd respectively. As he recovers from the mistake, Chantra then loses 3rd to Arbolino, leaving him stuck down in 4th having lead the race just moments earlier.

Celestino Vietti, who led the Moto2 championship for much of the first half of the season, has struggled all weekend. He qualified in 18th and then crashes out of the race on lap 8. He tries to rejoin the field but retires two laps later.

At half distance, things seemed to have settled down a little with gaps forming in the leading group. Lopez was still leading, ahead of Ogura in 2nd, Arbolino in 3rd, Chantra in 4th, Fernandez in 5th and Dixon in 6th. On lap 11, Lopez seems to start to lose some pace and Ogura is quickly hot on his tail. The gap, which had been 0.4s on the previous lap, quickly reduced down to 0.1s.

The top two riders spend the next two laps battling for 1st and, eventually, on turn 11 of lap 13, Ogura snatches and retains the lead. At the same time, his title rival, Fernandez is fighting with Arbolino for 3rd and eventually comes out on top, besting the Italian rider.

On all 14, the gap begins to grow between Ogura and Lopez, causing Lopez to fall into the clutches of chasing Fernandez. The two Spanish riders remain close for all of lap 15 and are almost side-by-side as they cross the line to start lap 16. This pressure then causes Lopez to go wide at the start of lap 16, which finally allows Fernandez through. They continue to battle for the following few laps which allows Dixon, in 4th, to catch up to them.

Everything calms down again by lap 17 as Ogura pulls out a 1.8s lead over Fernandez. After their hot battle, Lopez in third drops back to 1.1s behind Fernandez and remains 0.9s ahead of Dixon in 4th. A further 2.6s behind him is Chantra, Arbolino and Acosta.

Aware that his title rival is just one place ahead of him, Fernandez now sets the fastest lap of the race. On the following lap, in reaction to this, Ogura shaves 0.4s off his lap time. Similarly, in response to Dixon’s chasing, Lopez cuts 0.6s off his lap time. With no one able to significantly close any gaps, the riders all keep their heads and cross the checkered flag in this same order.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

With just four races left of the 2022 season, everything is still to place for in the championship and a single error could be the difference between hero and zero.

After righting his way up to 2nd place today, Fernandez remains at the top of the standings. However, today’s race win has allowed Ogura to close to the gap to just two points!

After a DNF today, both Canet and Vietti’s title fights appear to be over. Canet is 57 points behind Fernandez and Vietti is an enormous 72 points away.