The earlier Superpole saw Rea (Kawasaki KRT) claim top spot with an unbeaten lap time of 1:39.610, followed by Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), and Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) in 2nd, and 3rd respectively.
An earlier red flagged incident in the SSP300 race, forced race direction to delay the start of race 1, and subsequently cut the laps down to 14. This was going to be a short and sharp shootout, reminiscent of a Superpole race.
WSBK 08.10.2022 Portimao, Alex Lowes picture courtesy of KRT Kawasaki
Lights out then for the delayed start to Race 1, and it was Rea with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Lowes, Toprak, and Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati).
Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Lowes 4. Bassani 5. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) 6. Redding (BMW Motorrad) 7. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha). Further back it was Lecuona (Honda HRC) 11th, Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) 12th, and Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) in 15th.
With 12 laps to go Rea was making the most of his good start, and was extending his lead over the reigning champion in 2nd, putting in the fastest lap of the race with a 1:40.604, and held a gap of 0.6s. After initially making a good start, Lowes now found himself down in 4th, after first Toprak, then Bassani and Bautista overtook him.
Next lap and Toprak had cut the gap to Rea down to 0.4s, and set the new fastest lap of the race in the process with a 1:40.328. Bautista was now in 4th, after coming through on Lowes, but he would have work to do if he intended on catching his title rivals out in the lead.
With 10 laps to go Rea only held a gap of 0.1s to Toprak, who in turn held a gap of 0.5s to Bassani behind in 3rd.
Next lap and Toprak makes an aggressive move on Rea into turn 1, the R1 getting out of shape and Toprak slammed under Rea, while the rear of the R1 was sideways. No love lost between the pair!
With 7 laps to go, Bautista, as was a familiar scenario this season, was finding good late race pace and passed Bassani to take over 3rd. This group of 5 riders had pulled out a significant gap to the rest of the field. Further back it was Locatelli in 6th, and Redding in 7th. Rea held a gap of 0.7s to Bautista behind.
With 5 laps to go Bautista had cut the gap to Rea down to 0.2s, and was soon going to be all over the back of the ZX10-RR.
Next lap and Bautista, after getting good traction out of turn 15, blasted past Rea down the straight and briefly into 2nd, although he over cooked it into the corner, and subsequently ran out wide, allowing Rea to retake the position. The intention from the Spaniard was clear however. Meanwhile further back it was Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) in 8th, Vierge (Honda HRC) 9th, and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) 10th.
With 3 laps to go Bautista lined up Rea, and this time made the pass stick, moving into 2nd. Toprak was clear out in the lead, and held a gap of 1.5s, which you felt was enough to see him take the win. Meanwhile Lowes had found a bit extra, and was all over the back of Bassani looking for a pass.
Next lap and Lowes lined up Bassani, and made a pass, but the Italian snapped straight back into turn 5 to retake the lead.
Last lap and Toprak crossed the line to claim the win, followed by Bautista in 2nd, and Rea in 3rd. Bassani 4th, Lowes 5th, Locatelli 6th, Rinaldi 7th, Vierge 8th, Baz 9th, Gerloff 10th. Drama for Scott Redding, who went down into turn 5, was able to pick up the bike and eventually crossed the line down in 18th.
Max Verstappen took his first Japanese Grand Prix pole position on Saturday after a tremendously close battle between Red Bull and Ferrari.
We started the day off with the news that Pierre Gasly will be joining Esteban Ocon at Alpine next season, while Yuki Tsunoda is set to be partnered by Nyck de Vries, who was so impressive in his appearance at the Italian Grand Prix with Williams.
Despite brake issues, Yuki Tsunoda made it into the second phase of qualifying 12th time this season at his home race, while Kevin Magnussen, who shone during Friday practice, was disappointingly eliminated in Q1.
Alex Albon almost squeezed out of the bottom five, but he was denied by a good lap from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.
The Thai-Briton was joined in the drop zone by Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi, whose five-place grid penalty picked up in Singapore is now immaterial.
Max Verstappen had set the early pace for Red Bull, and he led Charles Leclerc at the end of Q2, as Lando Norris faced a battle to make it into the top 10.
The Briton climbed up to fifth as team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, failed to make the final session having been pushed out by George Russell’s late heroics.
Sebastian Vettel’s exceptional effort saw him make it through, maintaining his record of starting in the top 10 every time he has raced at Suzuka.
Home hero Tsunoda was eliminated too, along with Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher.
Sergio Perez snatched the fastest lap time, while a fine run by Fernando Alonso lifted him to second, setting up an intriguing top 10 shootout.
Verstappen set the early pace in Q3, with three tenths separating him and Carlos Sainz in third, either side of Leclerc.
The reigning champion got caught up in a slight incident with Norris on the out-lap ahead of the first run. The McLaren driver sent it through 130R while Verstappen was crawling, and Norris had to take to the grass to avoid him following a kick of oversteer.
The Dutchman found Norris on his way back to the pits, and appeared to offer a hand of apology. The stewards are now investigating the precarious moment.
Try as they might, neither Leclerc nor Sainz could improve, so Verstappen kept pole despite setting a slower second run, before Esteban Ocon climbed to a brilliant fifth.
Hamilton split the two Alpines as Fernando Alonso took seventh, ahead of George Russell, Vettel and Norris.
With half a tenth separating the top three, we are set for an incredible race on Sunday.
Verstappen’s pole is still pending the stewards’ investigation.
Adding to the list of tracks we haven’t been to since 2019, we are back in Japan this weekend to take on the famous corners of Suzuka. All the drama surrounding the 2021 budget cap still hasn’t been resolved while Verstappen has another attempt at wrapping up the 2022 championship.
Cost Cap D-day
Aston Martin appearing to go under the radar in the 2021 cost cap discussion. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media.
In Singapore, the main topic on everyone’s lips was the alleged breaking of the 2021 budget cap by a couple of teams, Aston Martin and most notably, RedBull. After months of investigation, the official certificates of who was found to have gone over budget will now not be released until Monday the 10th.
The original date was set for today, however, the FIA has said that it’s “a long and complex process” but this won’t stop the speculation in the paddock due to the nature of the potential punishments for those teams found guilty. These include points deductions from constructors and/or drivers’ championships, limitations on aerodynamic or other testing and a further reduction on the overall cost cap going forward.
For RedBull, the date change means that they can carry the Honda name, added to the car for the Japanese GP, without confirmation of any wrongdoing. Despite this, all the questions Horner will be facing will be on these accusations as the media and the fans try to piece together what might happen if they are found guilty.
Horner celebrating Verstappen’s championship win in 2021. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool.
Verstappen taking the championship 2.0
As it stands Verstappen is 104 points ahead of Leclerc meaning that the reigning champion needs to outscore the Ferrari driver by 8 points to clinch his second title in Japan. Another way of putting it is that if Verstappen wins with the fastest lap he will win the championship regardless of where Leclerc finishes. However, if Verstappen wins without the fastest lap and Leclerc finishes second the fight will carry over to the next race.
Some are suggesting that Verstappen may have pints deducted from this year’s season based on the findings of the 2021 budget review. However, this is a rumour and going into the race weekend at Suzuka the 2022 championship could be decided by the end of the weekend.
Verstappen started in P8 in Singapore and finished P7 meaning he couldn’t wrap up the championship. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool.
You can watch qualifying on Saturday at 7 am BST and the race on Sunday at 6 am BST.
Dennis Foggia took a dominant win on the Thai GP making it his third in the past six races, leaving a glimmer of hope that his fight for the championship is still on.
While his championship rivals struggled in qualifying, with Izan Guevara 11th and Sergio Garcia further down in 20th, Foggia lined up on Sunday’s grid with clear track ahead on pole position.
The start couldn’t have gone any better for the Italian, holding his lead and having a clean getaway as Stefano Nepa moved his way up to second after a good start from fourth.
Meanwhile there was drama almost straight away as the first lap came to a close, when championship contender Garcia found himself on the ground after a collision with Adrian Fernandez.
There was a couple of other crashes as the race unfolded, Kaito Toba and John McPhee fell down in separate incidents which brought both of their races to an early close.
Back at the front it was still Foggia out in first as a group of six riders formed in the lead pack. This number slowly began to fall as Jaume Masia, Diogo Moreira and David Muñoz dropped back down the field.
Garcia’s day continued to get worse as he went a lap down at the beginning of lap 12, there was nothing he could do as he let rival Foggia by when the blue flags waved.
Garcia eventually retired to the pits shortly after the halfway point in the race, with the opportunity to score any points well and truly gone.
Credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool
There was little standing in Foggia’s way as the race went on, leading quite comfortably throughout the entire race bar one slight mistake at the end of lap 13 which allowed Ayumu Sasaki into the lead, albeit very briefly as the Italian quickly moved back ahead two corners later.
With a few laps to go and with Foggia pulling away, Sasaki and Riccardo Rossi battled it out for second place which went on right until the final corner on the last lap as Rossi made a last effort move up the inside on his Japanese rival, but had to settle for third after running wide.
But out front there was no stopping Foggia, his win putting on stamp on what was a strong performance at Buriram, winning the race by over 1.5s from second placed Sasaki.
A tense fight for fourth place ended with Nepa taking the position at the line, ahead of championship leader Guevara who took a good haul of points despite a tough weekend.
Three rounds remain and there’s 49 points separating the top two in the championship, but anything can happen as Moto3 heads to Australia in less than two weeks’ time.
But it wasn’t the only return this weekend. Danilo Petrucci also returned to the paddock, taking Joan Mir’s spot at Suzuki, who was still unable to ride.
Glorious sunny conditions graced the track, which had a nice surprise in store for everyone – 2022 rookie – Marco Bezzecchi (VR46) flew into pole position, ahead of Jorge Martin (Ducati) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), who took last spot on the front row.
Race:
The weather was turned on its head for Sunday. Big black clouds loomed large overhead and with them came torrential rain, which managed to hamper the start of the race, delaying it so far that audiences weren’t sure it was even going to go ahead.
Some riders protested against the start of the race while others wanted to go racing. The crowd at the circuit however were determined to not let the weather get them down and they remained in fantastically high spirits.
The race was later declared a wet race and with that, a decision to remove one lap from the race, taking it from 26 laps to 25 in total.
The green lights eventually went out and the race began:
Martin immediately went wide into turn one as did Bezzecchi, but he managed to remain in the lead ahead of Bagnaia and Jack Miller (Ducati).
Start of the race. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Championship leader – Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) made a mistake also early on, on the first lap taking him from 11th to 17th place. The championship points changing right before our eyes.
There was heavy spray coming from all the riders, making visibility poor, but one rider who was not perturbed by this was Alex Marquez (Honda), who had the best start, claiming 10 places and was up to 10th position. What could he achieve further into the race?
Lap 2 saw Bezzecchi be told he needed to give a position back due to exceeding track limits (when he went wide) on the 1st lap. Meanwhile, behind him, Miller made a move on his teammate to take him into 2nd. He was in prime spot to take the lead when Bezzecchi would eventually have to let him pass.
Alex Marquez wasn’t finished making up places and soon passed Enea Bastianini (Ducati) to take 9th spot on lap 3. On the same lap – Bezzecchi moved out of the racing-line to let Miller pass. Miller then led Bezzecchi, Bagnaia and Miguel Oliveira (KTM). In 6th place, Luca Marini crashed out, but he did manage to later re-join the race.
Sensing he needed to start to break away and gain a lead, Miller soon took fastest lap but it was quickly surpassed by Oliveira. Miguel also managed to pass Bezzecchi to claim another spot and Bagnaia followed, taking his opportunity too.
Miller led Oliveira, Bagnaia and Bezzecchi by lap 6 of 25.
Oliveira threw down the gauntlet for fastest lap, putting in an impressive lap time of 1:39.920. Could he fight for the victory?
Hunting Miller. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Meanwhile a mini battle for 7th place had started with A. Marquez passing Zarco, only for Zarco to pass straight back.
While that battle raged on, Miller and Oliveira started to create a gap at the front. A. Espargaro (Aprilia) on the other hand was having a bad weekend and was given a long-lap penalty for dangerous riding earlier on in the race. Would this result change the championship standings?
Still on the move – Alex Marquez managed to pass a further 2 riders, placing him behind his brother in 5th place. On the same lap Bagnaia picked up the fastest lap gauntlet and with it threw down a lap time of: 1:39.566. This was a great achievement by Bagnaia as he struggled last weekend in the wet conditions during qualifying. He later claimed that his teammate gave him a ‘pep-talk’ before this weekend’s race, which helped him this round.
The black clouds still gathered above but with them came the thunder. Would there be any further drama during the race?
Dark clouds above. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
14 laps until the end, Miller still led Oliveira and Bagnaia, with championship leader – Quartararo remaining in 18th place (out of the points). Could Fabio find something extra and manage to gain any valuable points?
2 laps later Oliveira set up a pass on Miller and took the lead. Miller tried to fight back but went wide. He decided to wait until the start-finish straight to use the full power of the Ducati to pass him back but, it came to no avail. Oliveira remained in 1st place.
It was then the turn of Frenchman Johann Zarco to take fastest lap, in 5th place. Not only did he manage it twice in a row but with 7 laps to go he managed to claim it a 3rd time (1:39.185). Could he fight for a podium position?
Only 5 laps until the chequered flag and M. Marquez made a move on Bagnaia for 3rd but couldn’t make it stick. In making the move, Marquez helped bring Zarco into the mix, who was looking menacing behind the number 93.
It only took until the next lap for Zarco to pass Marquez to claim 4th position. The podium was now in his sights.
Nothing in Thailand was going to dampen the drama unfolding on track, not even further black clouds and louder claps of thunder.
With 2 laps to go the KTM still led the 3 Ducati’s with Marquez’s Honda in 5th spot.
Last lap-
Bastianini managed to find some late race pace and managed to get up to 6th, behind Marquez, but he couldn’t quite make any move on him.
Oliveira passed the finish line to take the win, with Miller taking 2nd and Bagnaia bagging 3rd. The championship leader remained out of the points. A completely different story from round 16.
The championship still remains open for grabs.
Top Ten Finishers:
1st
M. Oliveira
2nd
J. Miller
3rd
F. Bagnaia
4th
J. Zarco
5th
M. Marquez
6th
E. Bastianini
7th
M. Vinales
8th
A. Marquez
9th
J. Martin
10th
B. Binder
Top Four Championship Standings:
1st
F. Quartararo
219 points
2nd
F. Bagnaia
217 points
3rd
A. Espargaro
199 points
4th
E. Bastianini
180 points
Such exciting racing and close positions in the championship – there is now only 2 points between Fabio and Pecco! So, be sure not to miss the Australian round in 2 weeks’ time!
(Featured image – Jump for Joy. Courtesy of: Moto GP website).
Well, what an amazing return this event has made to the world championship. We were treated to a spectacular rally on the Northern Island of New Zealand.
Friday’s action.
The first full day of the rally would see almost 160km’s of stages and with just a tyre fitting zone in the middle of the day, it would be an important day to make it to the end with no problems. We already had a top ten after the stage run on the Thursday and Ott Tanak held the early lead for Hyundai, with Craig Breen second and Thierry Neuville holding third.
The startlist looked like this – Rovanperä, Tänak, Neuville, Evans, Katsuta, Breen, Greensmith, Ogier, Solberg, Bertelli.
The first proper stage then, SS2 Whaanga Coast 1 – 29.27 km, and after opening the stage, championship leader Kalle was only sixth fastest, 6.5 slower than Gus Greensmith who was fastest from Seb and Craig. These good times from the M-Sport Ford crews meant that they leapt up the overall leaderboard into the top two spots, whilst overnight leader Ott dropped down three spots to fourth. The top placed Toyota was Seb holding third place behind the two Puma crews.
The little bit longer stage, SS3 Te Akau South 1 – 31.48 km followed of course and there were a few crews on the move. Elfyn won the stage from Ott and Craig who set the same time!! Craig remained in the lead, whilst Ott and Elfyn moved up into the top three at the expense of Gus and Seb. Meanwhile, Hayden held ten overall and also the WRC2 lead by 34 seconds from Kajetan. It was going well for the Kiwi driver and his longstanding co-driver John. Keeping things very interesting was the rain that had so far affected both stages so far, and there were a few drivers that spun in the same spot, including Thierry, Takamoto and Harry Bates, who was another driver competing in the WRC2 category.
The shortest stage of the day, SS4 Te Akau North 1 – 18.53 km was a quick one as well, and Ott was fastest from Kalle and Elfyn. The Welshman’s pace lifted him up into second overall, but he and Craig were on the same overall time. The battle between Kajetan and Hayden was on, with the Pole driver winning the WRC2 category, but the gap between the local favourite and the second placed driver was over 30 seconds.
After the tyre fitting zone, the second run of SS5 Whaanga Coast 2 – 29.27 km was won by Seb from Elfyn and Gus. Kalle was only sixth fastest, but gained one place, moving into fifth overall pushing Thierry down one place. Meanwhile, Seb’s pace lifted him four positions and into the overall lead, whilst Ott dropped two into third. The top placed M-Sport driver was Gus holding fourth, but there was huge disappointment for his teammate Craig, who slid off the road at the so called Mcrae corner, the same corner the Scottish driver slid off twenty years ago.
SS6 Te Akau South 2 – 31.48 km was next and Kalle hit the top of the timesheets with Ott second and Seb third. Seb remained in the lead from Elfyn, whilst Kalle’s pace had brought him up into fourth overall. Meanwhile Hayden continued his great run in the WRC2 category, holding the lead by over a minute from Kajetan and was also ahead of Lorenzo Bertelli.
The final stage of the day then, SS7 Te Akau North 2 – 18.53 km and Ott was fastest from Elfyn and Kalle, and this pace lifted the Estonian into the lead, with Elfyn holding second and Seb dropping down to third. Kajetan set the pace in the WRC2 category, four seconds faster than Hayden and Shane van Gisbergen was third. The super car V8 and GT racer was going really well with his co-driver Glen Weston and having a lot of fun out there.
Let’s take a look at the standings and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
1
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
1:36:48.6
2
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+0.2
3
S. Ogier
B. Veillas
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+6.7
4
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+7.2
5
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Ford Puma Rally1
+43.8
6
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+45.6
7
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:28.3
8
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:42.0
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak (1st)
“It’s been a very long day with an early morning and a late evening finish. In a way, it’s been quite a consistent day; the conditions were not so bad for us, although some stages were worse than others. This afternoon, we had some heavy rain but aside from that it’s been OK. The roads here are really fun to drive, but it is just difficult to get into the right rhythm. You need confidence in the car to get into a good flow, and we definitely need to look for more to improve in this area. It seems that the weather is coming in quite strong tomorrow, so these tenths-of-a-second lead don’t really mean anything – we’ll have to see what happens.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 11, Rally New Zealand 2022, 29 September-02 October 2022 Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai i20 N Rally1, Action during Day 1 of WRC Rally New Zealand 2022 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville (6th)
“The day kicked off with a bit of a struggle in the first three stages, which were tough. We set some good split times but were fighting with the rear of the car and got spun around a couple of times. We were able to react at the midday tyre fitting zone; we worked on the diffs to find a better feeling. We just went too stiff on the settings immediately this morning and were then too careful during the day to make bigger changes to get more grip. With the weather conditions, somehow, I see a chance for us to get more into the fight tomorrow. Anything can happen and we’ve not got much to lose so we going to try and gain some positions.”
Oliver Solberg (7th)
“It has been fantastic to drive these roads and it is great experience. It has been a tough and tricky day out there, but we have been improving with the car and building our speed. We worked hard in the morning but struggled to get the proper feeling, along with some power and transmission issues. We had only a short regroup and tyre fitting zone to refresh and refocus ourselves for the afternoon. We were very unlucky with the weather, it seemed to start raining every time I was on the stage, but with our road order for tomorrow I’ll be hoping for more of that! We’re just taking it steady and building step by step.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Elfyn Evans (2nd)
“I’m fairly happy overall with our day. It’s been a full-on day with a lot of long stages but also a lot of fun. The conditions have been challenging in some places but in others it’s felt like we’ve had quite a lot of grip, so it’s been changing quite a lot. It’s been a bit up-and-down with the conditions favouring different positions on the road and we got caught in the rain ourselves at one point but to finish the day right in the fight is positive. We’re expecting heavy rain tonight and tomorrow, and those stages are usually a bit faster, so it should be a challenging day but I’m looking forward to it.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 11 / Rally New Zealand 2022 / 29th September – 2nd October 2022// Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier (3rd)
“Overall, it’s been a good day. It’s been fun to drive and I think we’ve had decent pace returning on such a fast rally where you need the commitment and the confidence. I had quite a good rhythm already on the first stage this morning, and the afternoon started really well in Whaanga Coast. In the next stage we got the rain quite heavily, I knew we had to take risks to not lose too much compared to the others and we went a bit wide. Unfortunately, we damaged the rear wing on some branches, and the last stage without that was quite difficult. But I’m happy to still be in the fight for the win.”
Kalle Rovanperä (4th)
“It’s been a long day and it’s nice to get through it in quite a good position tonight. It was good to get some rain this morning but there was still a bit of loose gravel in the first stage especially. Then on the other two we had a bit more grip and could enjoy the driving more. In the afternoon, Whaanga Coast was drying up so there was plenty of cleaning for us even on the second pass. On the next one there was a lot of rain and mud, I tried to push in the tricky conditions and we managed to get some time back. We’re still fairly close to the lead so we have to be happy. The weather was helping us a bit and hopefully we can enjoy it again tomorrow.”
Saturday’s action
The second full day then of this rally and the startlist looked like this – Breen, Bertelli, Katsuta, Solberg, Neuville, Greensmith, Rovanperä, Ogier, Evans, Tänak.
There were penalties for some of the crews due to hybrid over boost. Ott, Thierry and Kalle all received 5 second penalties, and this meant Elfyn would now be the leader at the end of the next stage. The rain had been really heavy overnight and was continuing to fall on the stages. It was a lot heavier than Friday, and would have a big impact on the day’s results.
First up was SS8 Kaipara Hills 1 – 15.83 km and showing great pace and also that the conditions in the stage were getting worse, Craig was fastest from Kalle and Ott. Kalle moved up one place into third at the expense of Seb. Elfyn held the lead from Ott, but the gap was just 2.9 seconds. Hayden continued to increase his lead over Kajetan, that gap now over I minute and 20 seconds.
Elfyn’s lead was sadly short lived as the Toyota driver lost control of his car in SS9 Puhoi 1 – 22.50 km spinning into a bank on the inside of a right-hander at high speed and causing a high-speed roll. The car landed on its wheels and the Welshman finished the stage. He and Scott drove away in electric mode, and were hoping to make some repairs to the radiators on the front of their car, so that they could stop the leaking and stop any overheating. The car had lost its rear tailgate as well. We had a new leader with Kalle winning the stage from Craig and Seb. Meanwhile Thierry was suffering with gearbox problems, having lost third gear.
Into SS10 Komokoriki 1 – 5.81 km and there was only one car that completed the stage, Craig. Gus and Jonas slid wide on a left hander into a ditch and rolled their Puma. The car ended up on the road and the stage was then red flagged after Kalle had been released into the stage. The Finn stopped alongside the stricken Puma as per the rules to check that Gus and Jonas were okay and got the thumbs up from Gus. The cars headed back to the service park for mid-day service. Sadly, once Elfyn and Scott got their car back, it was discovered that elements of the roll cage were damaged and the pair were now out of the rally.
The re-run of SS11 Kaipara Hills 2 – 15.83 km and Kalle was fastest from Seb and Thierry whose car now had a new gearbox and the Belgian could enjoy a full set of gears. However, things were not good in the Hyundai camp as all three of their drivers gained 10 second penalties due to more hybrid over boost. Ott was now in third behind Kalle and Seb. The loss of Elfyn meant that everyone moved up one place, and Hayden was now in seventh overall and a full two minutes ahead of Kajetan, whilst Harry Bates had set the best time in the WRC2 category.
Photo Credit, Tayler Burke
Next up was SS12 Puhoi 2 – 22.50 km and Kalle was fastest, showing great pace in the very tricky conditions. Seb and Ott were second and third, and continued to hold these two positions on the overall leaderboard. Sadly, we lost Takamoto in this one, as the Japanese driver slid off the road. Meanwhile Oliver was suffering his own technical problem, with his engine lapsing sometimes onto three cylinders, but he was finding that if he revved it more, then the problem would clear.
The final stage then of the day, SS13 Komokoriki 2 – 5.81 km and Craig was fastest from Kalle and Thierry. The gaps between the top cars remained high, with Kalle holding a 29 second lead over Seb and Ott a further 17.4 seconds behind. With the demise of Takamoto, Hayden was now into sixth overall.
Let’s look at the standings and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:28:26.3
2
S. Ogier
B. Veillas
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+29.0
3
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+46.4
4
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:41.4
5
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+3:34.9
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä (1st)
“It has been a really tricky day but it was actually quite enjoyable in the car and I think we managed the conditions really well. It was a big challenge but I saw that as an opportunity more than anything and I think we took that opportunity and used it quite well. I was happy with the car and I was pushing really hard to gain some time. Now we are leading and can be pleased with the gap we have built. We will try to prepare for tomorrow like any other day. It’s not a long day but there’s still four stages to go and they could be tricky ones, so we just need to try and do a good job and see where we are at the end.”
Sébastien Ogier (2nd)
“We had really challenging conditions today and I’m happy that we could bring the car to the end of the day because there were some very tricky places. But it was still a lot of fun in the car. This afternoon when there was even more heavy rain and more water on the road, Kalle did an amazing job. Hats off to him, because doing this speed in these conditions was again very impressive. After what unfortunately happened to Elfyn this morning I knew it was important to be there for the team. Nothing is decided yet but I would be very happy if we can secure this result tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans (DNF)
“All went OK in the first stage this morning but then in the second stage in a downhill braking we were a bit too fast and lost control of the rear of the car. There was no chance to recover it with the throttle and we touched the bank on the inside and rolled the car. Thankfully we landed on our wheels and were able to carry on. Cosmetically the car didn’t look so good but it was still driving remarkably well. There was a small leak which we managed to plug so that we could bring the car back to service, but unfortunately there was some rollcage damage detected and we had to retire.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak (3rd)
“Certainly not one of the best days we’ve had this season, and in fact it’s been very demanding at times. We have picked up some time penalties, as well as having other trouble, but we’ve made it to the end of the day. We’re still here in third place, so it’s not all so bad. We lack a bit in the package to find any confidence in these conditions. If it’s good, consistent grip then we can drive OK, but this afternoon when we’ve had stages full of water and mud, it’s much more difficult.”
Thierry Neuville (4th)
“It has been a challenging day but there’s not been much more we could do. We have been driving on our rhythm and trying to make it through. We are in a bit of no man’s land. We tried to do well this morning, but we had a problem with third gear. Conditions this afternoon were a bit more like we expected, but we couldn’t match the pace of the guys in front, so we have to be satisfied with fourth place. With two spins on Friday, and losing 15 seconds through time penalties, when you start a rally in that way, you can’t fight for victory. Tomorrow is one of the shortest days we’ve had for a while, so we’re going to try and end it in a good position.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 11, Rally New Zealand 29 September – 2 October 2022 Thierry Neuville Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Oliver Solberg (5th)
“We started this morning’s opening stage not so badly but on the second one I struggled with the car in a few areas, which knocked my confidence, so I backed off to avoid making any mistakes. We wanted to try and improve in the afternoon loop but we had an engine misfire and only had three cylinders. It’s a shame because we had quite a good feeling and the stages are fun in these tough conditions. I have enjoyed myself and it’s been a really cool experience. I’ve not made any mistakes, so hopefully we can find something overnight to have clean final day and to secure our fifth place.”
Sunday’s action
The final day then and with just 31km’s of action over two stages run twice, what would happen? The startlist looked like this – Breen, Bertelli, Solberg, Neuville, Tänak, Ogier, Rovanperä. The day dawned dry on the stages, but rain would arrive after the first two were run.
The first stage then, SS14 Whitford Forest – Te Maraunga Waiho 1 – 8.82 km and the top three was the same as the overall top three. Ott reported that he nearly crashed in this one, whilst Kalle was just stroking it home and was very comfortable.
Onwards to SS15 Jacks Ridge 1 – 6.77 km, the stage built with a nod to some famous stages around the world. This was taken by Ott, with Kalle second fastest and Seb third. Oliver was really spectacular over one of the jumps in this one landing so hard that his visor in his helmet came down! Hayden and Kajetan continued to fight it out for stage wins in the WRC2 category, with the Kiwi just pipping the Pole by 1 tenth of a second.
The afternoon stages began with the second run of SS16 Whitford Forest – Te Maraunga Waiho 2 – 8.82 km and Seb was fastest from Kalle and Ott third fastest. Harry Bates set the fastest time in the WRC2 category by 1 tenth of a second over Hayden.
To the final stage then, SS17 Jacks Ridge 2 [Power Stage] – 6.77 km and Hayden set the early pace in his Hyundai before the top cars came through. Ott set the best time, but then Kalle came through a full 6 tenths quicker than the Estonian and that was it. The young Finns, Kalle and Jonne had won their first world championship, with their sixth victory of the season and with it became the youngest ever world champions, taking the honour from Colin Mcrae who won it aged 27 in 1995.
Let’s take a look at the final result and hear from the drivers.
Final Overall Classification –Rally New Zealand
1
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:48:01.4
2
S. Ogier
B. Veillas
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+34.6
3
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+48.5
4
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:58.8
5
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+3:55.3
6
H. Paddon
J. Kennard
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
+10:03.7
7
L. Bertelli
L. Granai
Ford Puma Rally1
+10:39.0
8
K. Kajetanowicz
M. Szczepaniak
Škoda Fabia Evo
+12:36.8
9
S. Van Gisbergen
G. Weston
Škoda Fabia Evo
+13:28.8
10
H. Bates
J. McCarthy
Škoda Fabia Evo
+16:51.6
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä (1st)
“The biggest feeling right now is that it’s quite a big relief. We have had such a good season, then a few difficult rallies and now finally we could do it. I want to say a big thanks to the team who made such a fast and reliable car for this season which meant we could just enjoy the driving. Also, in the more difficult moments they were always believing in us and supporting us. I don’t think about the age too much but it’s still special to know we could achieve this. It means a lot, to become champion is the only goal we ever had in this sport. I was actually a bit more nervous on Friday than I was today: Then we needed to push hard to stay in the fight, but today we could just enjoy it.”
Sébastien Ogier (2nd)
“Today we have witnessed history. It’s fantastic for Kalle, Jonne and for the whole team. It’s been an amazing season from him and it was only a matter of time. He did it in style this weekend and I think that’s the mark of a great champion. I can take a lot of satisfaction from this weekend. It was a nice comeback after three months away, on a challenging rally with faster roads than those I’ve driven this season and with really tricky conditions. Kalle was untouchable in those difficult conditions like he has been many times this season. I realised it was not the moment to take crazy risks as I’m here to help the team, and we are also getting very close to the manufacturers’ championship.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 11 / Rally New Zealand 2022 / 29th September – 2nd October 2022// Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Takamoto Katsuta (DNF)
“This was my first time here in New Zealand and it was a big challenge but one that I enjoyed quite a lot. The conditions were difficult but the roads were nice and fun to drive. On Friday the rain was affecting the grip level and when the grip was consistent, I was quite comfortable and confident, but when it was inconsistent, I was not committed enough. On Saturday there was more rain and more mud, and the stages were also more technical. I was still missing a bit of pace but it was getting better in the afternoon. I felt very good in the first stage of the loop and then I tried to push in the second one. Unfortunately, in a high-speed right-hand corner I went too fast and couldn’t slow down for the tight left-hander that came straight afterwards and we rolled. It was not good to end our rally early, but I was still able to learn a lot about how to improve for the future.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak (3rd)
“Altogether, Rally New Zealand has been a difficult weekend for us, but it’s been a great place to be, on amazing roads and fun to drive. We have not been up to the pace to fight for the win but we’re still on the podium with a good finish to add points onto the board. Since the beginning of the year, we’ve not been in the drivers’ championship fight, even if something was coming back in the middle of the season. Fair play to Toyota, and especially to Kalle, who has beaten everyone fair and square. Congratulations to them.”
Thierry Neuville (4th)
“Fourth place was about the maximum we could do this weekend with all the time penalties and the two spins we had on Friday. It was a bit of a harsh start to the event, so we really couldn’t do much more. We were just in a waiting position today, with our only chance to gain positions dependent on those in front of us. We need to work on the car in these conditions; I just don’t feel comfortable, and it’s been a bit of a struggle for me to drive and go fast. We’re getting there slowly but we’re going to carry on working on it. It has been nice to come back to this rally, which is a very special event, far from home, even if it didn’t go as we wanted.”
Oliver Solberg (5th)
“It has not been a perfect weekend for sure, so to come away with a fifth-place finish is a real positive. We’ve had a lot of small things occurring that prevented us from getting into a good rhythm. I tried to push a bit in the Power Stage but, again, it wasn’t great. At least we gave it a go. We have gained a whole lot of experience and learnings, for both us and for the car in the future. Thanks to the team for all their preparations for this long-haul event, and to the mechanics for sorting the car after all our issues this weekend.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 10, Rally New-Zealand 29 September – 02 October 2022 Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Hyundai New Zealand
Hayden Paddon (6th Overall, 1st WRC2)
“We ticked all the boxes with this event, thanks to a big team effort, to win WRC2 and the NZRC titles. Having built up a lead on Friday morning, from then on there’s a huge amount of pressure to make no mistakes until the end. I’m pleased that part of it is over, to be honest, as I don’t really enjoy that kind of pressure when you’ve got everything to lose.
“The conditions were tricky throughout the weekend which is quite typical of Rally New Zealand and gives it a bit of character.
“The result does lead into our goal of putting together a full campaign for next year in WRC2. We don’t yet have the budget so that’s the first thing to work on. We’d love to not only do the full WRC2 season next year but also aim to do some one-off rallies in a Rally1 car.
Photo Credit, Tayler Burke
“It’s a massive achievement to secure the NZRC manufacturers and team’s championships this weekend as well. It truly reflects all the work that everyone’s put in all year. I’m really proud to represent Hyundai New Zealand.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’
After Round Eleven
1
K. Rovanperä
237
2
O. Tänak
173
3
T. Neuville
144
4
E. Evans
116
5
T. Katsuta
100
6
C. Breen
77
7
E. Lappi
58
8
S. Ogier
55
9
D. Sordo
49
10
G. Greensmith
36
11
S. Loeb
35
12
O. Solberg
33
2022 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’
After Round Eleven
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
455
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
374
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
224
4
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team NG
112
Well, next up is Rally Spain in around 17 days’ time. The teams will have a very busy time, travelling back from New Zealand and then preparing their cars to then go back out into Europe. Look out for my preview in the days before.
Bradley Ray of Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha has one hand on the 2022 British Superbike trophy. He also has his feet, a space on the mantlepiece, the Brasso polish ready and has fitted the single spotlight on the ceiling in readiness for the grand unveiling. (I’m joking but you get the drift). Barring a disaster beyond his control, it’s hard to see anyone else winning this year’s championship, although considering the BSB action of late, we shouldn’t count our chickens before they have hatched.
A solid 4th , 2nd and 1st over the three races at Donington Park has all but sealed the deal for Ray going into Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time. Ray currently leads 2nd place in the championship Glenn Irwin, HRC Honda Racing and Tommy Bridewell, Oxford Products Ducati in 3rd by 66 and 67 points respectively, with only 75 points available over the Brands Hatch weekend. Mathematically, it is now only Ray, Irwin and Bridewell who can lift the championship trophy in 2022. Fourth place in the standings is Lee Jackson, FS-3 Kawasaki, who sits 76 points behind Ray overall leaving him out of contention for 2022 glory along with the remaining riders who originally entered as the Showdown 8.
Bradley Ray – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
The star of the show?
In most people’s eyes at Donington came in the form of MCE Ducati rider, Tom Sykes. The popular Yorkshireman found a setup that suited his Ducati, on a track he has a lot of experience at which was enough to power home to two race victories. After a season long struggle to find his feet in the British Superbikes, Sykes has crossed the line between ‘also ran’ and ‘winner’. Sykes’ first stint in BSB was between 2007 and 2008 (also a wild card appearance in 2010) which bagged him 18 podiums, 5 of which were wins, but since returning to the series after over a decade on the world stage, Sykes has struggled to find the form that himself and the Paul Bird team expected.
Alongside that of his teammate, Josh Brookes, many came to expect 2022 to be a year that didn’t bear fruit for the Panigale V4 after both riders failed to make the Championship Showdown. An emotional Paul Bird could be seen after the race on Saturday being congratulated by many in the pitlane after what is widely considered a torrid year for the Cumbrian outfit. Sykes was also in top form for Race 3 but an incident involving Jason O’Halloran wrote off a potential 3rd podium of the weekend when the McAMS Yamaha rider collided with the rear of Sykes’ Ducati under braking for the Melbourne Loop hairpin. Sykes is heavily rumored to be returning to World Superbikes in 2023 in partnership with Puccetti Kawasaki. Personally, I wish Tom had decided to stick with British Superbikes for 2023, as this weekend has proven that on the right day, he has the skills to succeed in this paddock. I firmly believe there are/could have been British Superbike Championships on the table for Tom had he chosen to stick around a little longer and I can’t help feeling the warmer climates, GP Circuits, familiar motorcycle packages and world stage have dragged one of BSB’s headline acts away from us. Perhaps next year we will see the reasoning behind it all if the rumors are proven to be true and Sykes does depart from whence he came. For now, Brands Hatch awaits Sykes and hopefully his recent run of form could be the ignition his gunpowder needed to go out with a bang at the series finale.
Tom Sykes – Picture Courtesy of Official BSB
Another decent race weekend for Glenn Irwin has seen the popular Honda Racing UK rider climb to second in the championship standings. Perhaps the gap is a little too much for Glenn to bridge, but certainly finishing runner up for 2022 is something Glenn has firmly got the scent of in the nostrils, despite losing his left foot peg late on in race three, Glenn was able to fight for the podium against Synetiq BMW (and Brother) Andy Irwin and Rich Energy OMG Yamaha’s Bradley Ray. The joke around the paddock would see Glenn line up at Brands Hatch with no foot pegs on and win all three races.
Glenn Irwin – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
A strong weekend for Glenn Irwin has come at the cost to Tommy Bridewell. With an 8th, 6th and 4th place finish in the weekend’s three races, the Oxford Products Ducati rider has seen his place in the overall standings slip to 3rd, be it by only a single point, but with Brad Ray finishing all three races in front of him, Tommy along with Glenn, has nothing but an almost vertical uphill climb now to win the British Championship. Silly Season rumors in the paddock have Tommy Bridewell riding again for Ducati in the 2023 British Superbike Championship but perhaps in a different shade of grey….and by grey, I mean RED… but as it stands, all rumors are yet to be confirmed.
Special mentions of the weekend: –
Kyle Ryde. The Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha “Youth” had a couple of top 10 finishes which will go a long way to settling the nerves of the last few rounds and go hand in hand with some confidence building chest bumps which he fully deserves after being re-signed for 2023 in the same team. Consistency is the key and Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha clearly think there is a lot of untapped potential in the young rider and his future. Well done Kyle.
Kyle Ryde – Image Courtesy of Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha
Andrew Irwin. The Synetiq BMW rider has form for success at Donington Park in recent years. Notably his dust up with brother Glenn, when both rode the Honda Racing UK bike in 2020 to take race wins. Electrical gremlins hampered Irwin in Race 1 on Saturday but in Races 2 & 3 on Sunday, Andrew Irwin was able to fight for a 4th place and 2nd place finish proving he has the talent for this game, but perhaps not the tools. Danny Buchan has also had an up/down year on the M1000R BMW which has proven to be difficult to ride for all the entrants, including FHO Racing’s Peter Hickman and Ryan Vickers. Great to see Andy up there again. There’s no better spectacle in BSB in my eyes than watching the Irwin Bothers go at it at the front of the pack.
Charlie Nesbitt. Drafted in to replace Christian Iddon, who fell foul of BSB’s Concussion Protocol, Nesbitt found himself on the Buildbase Suzuki Superbike for the weekend after running for the team in the National Superstock during 2022. Rumored to have already signed a deal for the Buildbase team for 2023, though not yet announced, it looks like this was Nesbitt’s early shot at a little testing and ride out on a Superbike, albeit a little earlier than expected. With a 19th, 13th and 13th finishing all three races and some scalps to his name, including current 2022 rider for Buildbase Danny Kent, Charlie has done himself a world of good at Donington. Well done.
Another special mention is to our beloved mate, and friend of the Motorcycling world, Chrissy Rouse.
Chrissy slipped off his motorcycle at the Goddard’s hairpin and sustained serious head injuries via contact with a following motorcycle. Chrissy was transferred to Nottingham hospital where he had a neurological procedure upon arrival and is currently in a serious condition in Intensive Care. I met Chrissy a few months ago and he was a proper good lad. Understanding the process of building an online following and podcast, he was very helpful in his advice and was the first rider to allow me to hone my interviewing skills late at night after a full day’s work and an evening run. I met him again at the Oulton Park round and he took the time to talk to me when he didn’t have to, all of which brought me firmly onto team Rouse. Our industry has grown to love Chrissy via his own podcast, Chasin’ the Racin’ hosted by himself and Road Racing colleague Dominic Herbertson and I know when I speak for the entire motorcycle community when I say, “Come on Chrissy, we are all praying for you!” We are all feeling this one and I hope that Chrissy Rouse makes a full and fast recovery.
Chrissy Rouse – Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane
The 2022 British Superbikes Championship concludes in 2 weeks time at Brands Hatch. A circuit famous for some of the best title fights in the last 20 years. I hope for a good show at Brands, but I fear it won’t be the exciting title fight finale we would want. Perhaps we can have a weekend long battle for the race wins, even if we aren’t going to get one for the championship.
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
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.
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).
Bradley Ray – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
Tom Sykes – Picture Courtesy of Official BSB
Glenn Irwin – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
Kyle Ryde – Image Courtesy of Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha
