Rally New Zealand 2022 – Full rally report. Kalle makes history!

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.

Tom Sykes in the Donington Park Spotlight

British Superbikes Donington Park 2022 – Round 10

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.

RACE 1 Points Finishers

Sykes, O’Halloran, Hickman, Ray, G Irwin, Jackson, Ryde, Bridewell, Haslam, Vickers, Brookes, Buchan, Neave, Takahashi, Mizuno

RACE 2 Points Finishers

Sykes, Ray, G Irwin, A Irwin, Jackson, Bridewell, O’Halloran, Hickman, Brookes, Vickers, Ryde, Buchan, Nesbitt, Kent, Takahashi

RACE 3 Points Finishers

Ray, A Irwin, G Irwin, Bridewell, Buchan, Ryde, Jackson, Vickers, Kent, Haslam, Hickman, Stacey, Nesbit, Neave, Takahashi

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

 

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.

Thai Moto3 Grand Prix Preview

ayumu sasaki thai moto3 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

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.

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 5th 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 3rd 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 2nd 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?

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.

Hayden Paddon, Ashley Forest by Tayler Burke

“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 29th of September! Make sure that you pop back to check out my daily reports.

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:

  1. RXR  9:04.370
  2. Acciona Sainz  +6.439
  3. 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:

  1. X44  9:02.840 
  2. ABT Cupra  +3.519
  3. 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:

  1. McLaren  9:12.588
  2. JBXE  +15.042
  3. Xite Energy  +19.474
  4. 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:

  1. X44  8:59.728
  2. Acciona Sainz  +6.093
  3. ABT Cupra  +8.612
  4. Chip Ganassi  +10.159
  5. McLaren  +18.935

Overall Weekend Classification:

  1. X44 +25 Points
  2. Acciona Sainz +18 Points
  3. ABT Cupra +15 Points
  4. Chip Ganassi +12 Points
  5. McLaren +10 Points
  6. RXR +8 Points
  7. Andretti United +6 Points
  8. JBXE +4 Points
  9. Xite Energy +2 Points
  10. 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:

  1. RXR 83 Points
  2. X44 66 Points
  3. Acciona Sainz 60 Points
  4. Chip Ganassi 55 Points
  5. McLaren 34 Points
  6. Andretti United 33 Points
  7. Xite Energy 29 Points
  8. JBXE 25 Points
  9. ABT Cupra 21 Points
  10. Veloce 8 Points

 

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:

  1. Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati)
  3. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  4. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  5. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista – 394
  2. Razgatlioglu – 335
  3. Rea – 327

 

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