The second half of the 2022 Moto3 season began in style with a thrilling British Grand Prix barely a fortnight ago. Now that the dust has settled, our attention turns to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for Round 13 of the championship this coming weekend (19/20/21 August).
Moto3 Sergio Garcia Picture courtesy of Aspar Team
The GASGAS Aspar duo of Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara were unstoppable during the first half of the season, they sit first and second in the championship standings respectively, despite both crashing out in the latter stages at Silverstone. The chequered flag was taken by title rival Dennis Foggia, who masterfully guided his Leopard Racing Honda to victory, capitalising on the Spanish riders misfortune. The Italian is now just 42 points behind Garcia in the race for the Moto3 crown.
Perhaps the biggest talking point ahead of the Austrian GP is the new chicane which has been installed to reduce speeds on the approach to turn 3. The alteration was prompted after an incident in the 2020 MotoGP race, where Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco came together at high speed, nearly collecting the Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales in the process.
The revised layout has divided opinions, with some riders suggesting that the new chicane itself is dangerous. How the racing will be affected remains to be seen, but the hope of course is that the changes will lead to more overtaking as well as improved safety.
Moto3 Izan Guevara Picture courtesy of Aspar Team
As is often the case in this class, there are a number of contenders for victory. Last year’s podium finishers will all be in the hunt this weekend. 2021’s race was won by the aforementioned Garcia, with 3 wins already this season, he is probably the favourite. Turkish rider Deniz Öncü is still searching for his maiden Moto3 win, he was last year’s runner up and has the added motivation of Austria being both KTM and Red Bull’s home race. Foggia, who was third, has shown steady improvements in his results of late, though he knows as well as anyone that more victories will be required if he is to win the championship.
British fan’s hopes will once again rest upon the shoulders of Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max rider, John McPhee. The Scotsman rode well at Silverstone and almost led at one stage, though a chaotic final lap saw him shuffled back to 7th place. Visiontrack Racing Team’s Scott Ogden made progress through the field after a poor showing in qualifying, finishing 12th. He and teammate Josh Whatley will be hoping for better fortunes this weekend.
Moto3 Dennis Foggia Picture courtesy of Le0pard Racing
Weather was an infamous factor at the Red Bull Ring in 2021, and the forecast suggests it will be again this year. Thunderstorms are predicted for Friday, with showers anticipated on both Saturday and Sunday. The race is scheduled to start at 11:00am local time (10:00am GMT).
Following the speed fest that was Rally Finland that Ott and Martin took victory in, we head to the fast tarmac roads of Belgium in the Ypres region. This was the scene of the Thierry and Martijn win last year, and they will hope that they can repeat this again this year. There will a number of drivers that will want to take victory though.
At Toyota, Kalle and Elfyn will know that their car has the pace on tarmac, whilst at M-Sport Ford, they know that their car is also on the pace, and with Craig and Paul taking a podium on this rally last year when at Hyundai the Irish crew will fancy their chances.
The stages will be tricky on the second pass once the tarmac is covered in dirt from the big cuts in the corners, and this will make road position very important during the morning stages on Friday.
Let’s take a look at the stages and hear from the drivers. This year there are 281km’s over 20 stages.
Ypres Rally Belgium begins on Friday with two passes of four stages: Vletern (11.97km), Westouter-Boeschepe (19.60km), Mesen-Middelhoek (7.99km) and Langemark (8.95km).
Saturday is the longest day of the event, with the itinerary consisting of eight tests that have a combined distance of 133.82km.
Two runs each of Watou (12.36km) and Kemmelberg (13.31km) bring the rally to a close on Sunday.
The second pass of Kemmelberg (13.31km) will be the event’s Power Stage, which offers additional points to both the crews and manufacturers.
You’ll notice that there is an absence of the stages run into and around the Spa-Francorchamps track this year, with some proper stages run on the final day instead.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“I’m feeling good about going to Belgium. Last year we had quite a good rally there overall, I enjoyed the challenge of a new event and hopefully we can do a good result again this time. The style of the roads are tricky, with really big cuts and a lot of mud and gravel on the road. It could depend on the weather conditions: If it’s dry then we saw last year that it can be a bit dusty for the first cars, but if it’s wet then it should be perfect for us to be the first on the road. We had a good test a couple of weeks ago and between us I think we improved the car quite a lot.”
Elfyn Evans
“Ypres is a unique event, and completely different to our recent rallies. Even compared to the last asphalt round in Croatia, the demands are quite different. There’s a lot of long straights and junctions, which sounds straightforward on paper but in reality, it’s far from it. There’s a lot of surface changes, the roads are often very narrow and bumpy in places, and the braking from very high speed into the junctions is critical. Those who had previous experience showed the value of that last year, and this year we went into our pre-event test knowing a bit more what to expect and what we need from the car. So, I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
Esapekka Lappi
“Ypres will certainly be a tough challenge. I’ve been there once, eight years ago in the European championship, and the speed was OK until we crashed out. But I’m actually really looking forward to going back there. I enjoy this car on asphalt a lot. In Croatia we didn’t get the result we wanted but I was really satisfied with how good the car was to drive, and that’s why I’m feeling pretty confident going to Belgium. I don’t have the experience that the others have from last year, but I still think we can be competitive and fight for a good position.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“We head to Belgium on the back of our Finland victory, which was certainly a good morale boost for the team. Ypres is a unique tarmac rally, one that looks quite simple on paper – lots of straights and junctions, and not so many types of corners. In reality, it is actually quite tricky because the junctions and cuts are different and it can be very demanding, especially if the weather is mixed. You need a lot of confidence in the cuts and a stable car. Power will also be really important with acceleration from slow speed. We’ll try to keep the momentum from Finland, even if it’s a very different type of rally.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 03, Croatia Rally 21-24 April 2022 Thierry Neuville Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“Ypres Rally Belgium, our home rally, is probably the event that we’re looking forward to the most in the season. I’ve got good memories from last year, and in fact previous visits when the event was part of the IRC. I can’t wait to get back. We’re finally heading to tarmac again after a run of tricky gravel rallies. We hope to return to winning ways in front of the local spectators, fans, supporters, and family members; we’ll certainly be motivated and ready to do our best. There is only one goal: to repeat our victory from last year. It won’t be easy, as the competition is so tough. We will need to make sure everything is on point if we are going to be competitive.”
Oliver Solberg
“The disappointment from Rally Finland was huge, so I am determined to bounce back from that quickly. It was, at the same time, great to see all the smiles and celebrations after the team’s victory. The girls and guys in Alzenau are working so hard for this. Ypres is next and it’s a very specific event on the calendar, lots of cuts and mud make it one of the trickiest tarmac events. I have great memories from last year when I was leading WRC2. Of course, this year, I will be in the Rally1 car which will be a new challenge, but I will try to go fast. You need a precise car to suit the narrow roads, and an easy car to drive with all the cuts. Most importantly, we don’t want any surprises.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Craig Breen
“It’ll be nice to go back to Ypres, it’s always a rally I like. I’ve been now quite a number of times and last year went extremely well; we were fighting for the win the whole way through, and I had some good speed. We also won the event in 2019, before it was in the world championship, so we have some good memories there.
“We’re looking forward to the rally, hopefully we can get a good result and show the car’s speed, it’s shown its pace on Tarmac right from the start, so let’s see what we can do.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“I’m happy to be back in Ypres and back on Tarmac on what is a really technical rally. There are a lot of different grip levels here, and plenty of junctions where we need to be fast and efficient. There are a lot of really fast sections that are quite narrow with low grip into the entry, so we need to keep a lot of focus there.
It’s the closest rally to home of the season for me, less than an hour from my house, so I hope to see a lot of fans and to really enjoy the moment. My goal this week is just to get some confidence back on Tarmac and finish the rally in a decent position.”
Gus Greensmith
“Ypres is a very difficult and unique rally because there’s very little room for error with ditches lining every single road, and the roads themselves being very narrow. It’s a tricky rally to compete on, even though it seems very simple on paper.
“We’ve had a good car on Tarmac all year, so we’re hoping to put that to good use and go for a good result.”
Jari Huttunen
“Finland was a very exciting event for me and a really big challenge, but it will be nice to get back into the Rally2 on this event. We had a strong performance last year here in Belgium and the format is going to be more or less the same, so we are hoping to build on our knowledge to get another good result.
“We’ll need to take some time to re-adjust to the car first, but then we’ll see what happens.”
Summary
Well, we are set for a very fun and quick rally later this week. Can Kalle and Jonne take another victory this and look to put their hands onto this season’s world championship? They hold a huge 94-point lead over their closest competitors, Ott and Martin, whilst Thierry and Martijn are just one point back in third.
Could Elfyn and Scott get in the mix for the victory though? We know that they have pace on tarmac and have fought for wins over the last few sealed surface rallies. They will be a crew to definitely watch.
Finally, Craig and Paul have to be considered as potential winners. We know that the Puma has pace on the tarmac and so let’s see if they can go one better and take victory. The M-Sport team would love to see that happen, so let’s wait and see how it all comes together for them.
Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his first Formula E title at the finale staged in South Korea’s capital Seoul this weekend. The Belgian scooped another podium to cement victory, with Mercedes also claiming the spoils in the constructor’s championship, a perfect swan song for the departing manufacturer. The Mercedes man held off a late charge from title rival Mitch Evans who won the race yesterday to take the championship as the curtain fell on the Gen 2 era. Vandoorne started the race from P4, with Evans in an insurmountable P15, but it was Edo Mortara who claimed victory in the final race of the Gen 2 era, a stark difference to the day before where his Venturi stopped on track. Jake Dennis continued his incredible form and shrugged off a five second time penalty to round out the podium.
Credit: Sam Bloxham
Da Costa took a dominant pole position, the departing Techeetah man looking impressive through qualifying. He made light work of Robin Frijns in the opening duel but Dennis was a more difficult challenge, the Portuguese man scoring a place in the final by a mere two tenths. Mortara, another dominant force throughout the new qualifying format had to settle for lining up in second position as Da Costa delivered an all but perfect pole lap, a fitting end to this generation as the Portuguese driver was the first to secure a pole position in the Gen 2 era. London ePrix winner Dennis also looked impressive in qualifying, but he just fell short having to settle for P3. Behind Vandoorne, Frijns and Lucas di Grassi rounded out the top six. Evans struggled as the clock ticked down and a brief impact with the wall left the Kiwi out of the duels as Dan Ticktum surged up the rankings at the last moment in a surprise inclusion, Nio’s first appearance in the duels. The Brit started the race in a respectable seventh position.
Da Costa held the lead at the start of the race, however, he soon came under pressure from Mortara. The Venturi man, hungry to shrug off the disappointment of his race ending from mechanical failure the previous day, surged past Da Costa on the third lap and after that, he never looked back. Mortara continued to manage his energy to seal victory in Formula E’s 100th race – fittingly, Mortara also won the 50th race of the electric series. On the other side of the garage, it was a race to forget for London podium winner Di Grassi as he was forced out of a points-paying position due to a puncture which all but handed victory in the team’s championship to Mercedes for the second year running. Former world champion Nyck de Vries was also forced out early on after a tangle with Pascal Wehrlein put both of them out of the race.
Credit: Andrew Ferraro
As the time ticked down, the leaders settled into a rhythm until the dying stages when Max Gunther’s Nissan stopped on track, forcing a late safety car. However, despite the squeeze, Mortara held firm against the pressure whilst Dennis and Da Costa tangled together, which sent the Portuguese driver to the back of the pack after he was forced wide. The incident handed Dennis a five second time penalty, with the Brit looking like he would lose his hard fought podium, but the Brit managed to hold off Robin Frijns, who rounded out the season in P4. Oliver Askew had a relatively quiet race, finishing in P5 ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne. Title hopeful Evans could only manage P7, with Nick Cassidy getting a few points to add to his tally in P8. Sebastien Buemi monopolised on other’s failure taking P9 and Da Costa rounded out the top ten, taking the final point.
Originally built and used as RAF Thruxton back in WW2, Thruxton Racing Circuit is a typical British “Airfield” circuit. Flat, fast and frightening. It has been a motor racing venue since the 1950’s in both 2 and 4 wheeled variants. Wide, sweeping corners create fast paced, high action races with plenty of battles up and down the grid. 2.35 miles of multiple racing lines, adrenaline fuelled, tyre smoking petrol headed madness. With fast bikes turning right at for what feels like an eternity, the circuit is as intimidating as short circuit’s come.
BSB Jason O’Halloran Picture courtesy of McAMS Yamaha
Based in Andover in the south of England, 30 or so miles from Southampton and the English Channel, Thruxton is known for extremes of high temperature sunny days or howling cross winds and hard rain due to the lack of undulation and level change. A “thinkers” circuit which requires an action plan that gets you to the chequered flag before your bike, tyres or even skill cry “enough”.
2021 was the year of O’Show. “Jason O’Halloran from Wollongong, New South Wales” (a little nod to dearly loved Jack Burnicle) dominated the 2021 visit to Thruxton with a hat-trick of 1st places with the remaining podium positions shared out between Christian Iddon, Tarran Mackenzie, Glenn Irwin, Peter Hickman, Danny Buchan and Danny Kent. 2021 is a perfect example of what can happen at Thurxton with Saturday’s Race 1 and Sunday morning’s Race 2 running in dry race conditions and slick tyres. Rain set in afterwards and ensured that Race 3 (Sunday’s second race) ran as a wet race after a downpour in the afternoon.
Both Christian Iddon and Chrissy Rouse have said recently the circuit is an unknown when riders turn up there. It can throw up crazy results out of nowhere and have a huge effect on you, both positively or negatively.
Notably, a lot of the riders look forward to the coming to Thruxton due to its fast nature. With the current crop of superbikes running in the region of 200BHP, it’s becoming a rare thing to see the riders opening the throttle and keeping the bike running up to full speed on our small, thin, undulating and twisty British circuits whereas Thruxton (like Silverstone and Snetterton) offers exactly that. With an average speed in the region of 120mph, only this low thanks to its chicanes, it is certainly a thrilling track to ride.
Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane
Due to planning restrictions, the circuit can only run a limited number of motorsport events per year, of which British Superbikes takes a front row position on the calendar. The weather this weekend is set to be a scorcher, forecasting Friday 33°, Saturday 33° and Sunday 31°c which means the Thruxton round of British Superbikes is on course for being a cracker.
Thruxton is set to be an important round as we start the run up to the showdown. Just 3 rounds remain until the final 8 finalists are declared and the showdown kicks on and we move our concentration to who will lift the 2022 championship trophy.
Will Tarran Mackenzie continue his run of form and climb higher into the showdown? Will Jason O’Halloran return to the circuit for a clean sweep of wins? Will we see a resurgence of the form Glenn Irwin showed at the opening round of the year at Silverstone? Could Rory Skinner, fresh from his Moto2 wildcard at Silverstone MotoGP, be fired up and have a point to prove to cement himself in the window for 2023? Or will we see results that would have you winning £1000 from a £5 bet? Who knows? All I do know is the race is going to be a belter and I for one cannot wait for those red lights to go out and see them round turn 1.
Good luck to all the teams and riders attending at the weekend.
Christian Iddon lined up on the grid at the start of the 2022 British Superbike season onboard the Buildbase Suzuki ran by Stuart Hicken’s Hawk Racing Team after landing a ride at the 11th hour. It was confirmed to Christian he wouldn’t be retained by the Paul Bird Motorsport team, and effectively being replaced by incoming rider to the championship Tom Sykes.
Christian Iddon Buildbase Suzuki, Hawk Racing Team Picture courtesy of Christian Iddon
There were lots of rumours surrounding the team at the end of 2021 about 3 rider teams and Iddon wasn’t under the impression Sykes was brought in as a replacement, especially after Paul told trackside commentators he had retained both Christian and Josh for 2022, but Paul Bird himself says the team weren’t sure they would run by the end of the year after losing the title sponsorship of Vision Track after they moved over to Moto3 with Michael Laverty and also providing sponsorship to Lee Hardy Racing with Leon Haslam.
PBM’s decision to go with Brookes and Sykes left Iddon staring down the barrel of not having a deal in place for 2022 when the music stopped due to the late nature of the situation. All this after challenging for the British Superbike title throughout 2021 and finishing 4th overall in the standings.
Christian found himself signing with Hawk Racing as late as Feb 2022, a handful of months prior to the start of the season when it was announced the team needed a rider when Gino Rea decided to take up an option to race in the World Endurance championship. (At the time of writing this, Gino is injured after a crash at the Suzuki 8hr Endurance race and I stand with the racing community as a whole in praying for his recovery and hoping for some positive news as soon as it’s available).
Racing Armchair sat down with Christian Iddon to discuss our thoughts on the season so far and how it looks moving forward.
Racing Armchair – After a strong start on the GSXR1000, with regular points finishes, how did you feel when you first rode the Suzuki and how have you settled into the team?
Christian Iddon – Well I wouldn’t call it a strong start for sure. Regular points aren’t what I’m about when over the last 2 years I have gone into the last round with a chance to win the championship. My expectations have been far higher than what we have currently achieved. It’s been a weird season so far. In round 1 I didn’t feel fully prepared. I hadn’t quite gelled with the bike by the time we got to round 1 but we had made massive headway by the time we got to Oulton. With the double summer break, it has been a strange one. We planned to do quite a lot of riding but in the first part of the summer break the team went off to do the road races and so we planned to do our testing in the second part of the summer break but then I injured myself at Knockhill and after that I wasn’t able to do any riding, so I feel like the season has been really disjointed up to now. We are about to head into the crux of it and it’s all going to go very quickly from here. So yes, I’m less than impressed with my performance up to now.
Racing Armchair – I can understand why you say that Christian due to the two very strong years on the Ducati. I would imagine you’ve had to extend your trophy cabinet massively over the last couple of years?
Christian Iddon – Yes! Exactly! You sort of get to a point where you get fed up of getting them. Well not fed up of getting them but it becomes very hard to find somewhere to store them. I’d do anything for another one right now though. It’s just been one of them really. We have had a few technical issues and I made an error, a big error at Knockhill which has cost us. I’m pretty confident had we not had all the things we’ve had, we would be in the showdown positions. At the moment we aren’t out of contention, but we would have been within that fight had it not been for a few things. The Suzuki GSXR1000 is completely different to the Panigale V4, but that’s obvious as it’s a completely different concept of motorcycle. The Suzuki is a great “all-rounder” and I do believe it can win races. The championship at the moment is being dominated by one bike and those bikes are stretching the field quite a lot. I still think I’ve got more to extract from the Suzuki, and I think a lot of that will come from being more comfortable on it. The disjointed nature of the season and the lack of bike time is what has hindered that process, I feel.
Racing Armchair – And how have you settled into the team? The people, management and your teammate etc?
Christian Iddon – Yes, all good. At this point in my career, I have been in a lot of different teams and every single one does something better than the rest while every single one also does something worse than the rest. If you could pick and choose all the different points, you could put something incredible together, but it never really works like that. The Hawk Racing team has been around since the beginning of time in terms of BSB. It’s probably the longest standing team in the championship. [It was founded in 1996] They’re a no-frills set up which is fine by me coming from my own off-road background. That was the one thing I struggled to get used to when I first came to short circuits. All the bumpf and the bits that surround it. I’m a grassy field type of person so their setup suits me well and I’ve got confidence in my crew around me. As a racer that is the main thing really.
Racing Armchair – Suzuki have announced their withdrawal from MotoGP and World Endurance. Would this have any bearing on the Suzuki brand within the British Superbikes? Do you get factory support from Suzuki etc? Or is it a case of Hawk buy the bikes and that’s where Suzuki’s involvement stops?
Christian Iddon – I don’t actually know if it has bearing as I don’t know what deals the team has. I’m pretty sure the deal is with Suzuki GB so any worldwide withdrawal from motorsport shouldn’t affect us. If anything, it could free up some budget but that’s something else to be seen. I think it was more of a shock when Suzuki pulled out of World Endurance because that’s to do with the road bikes which are very different to the prototype bikes. The endurance project is based around something they sell, so them withdrawing from that is more of a concern in my eyes. Again, in terms of the support Hawk receive, I don’t know the full extent of it. The team work quite closely with Yoshimura, who are a big technical partner, not exactly interlinked with Suzuki but they’re pretty knowledgeable with the brand. They swap information quite a lot and work closely together. Suzuki withdrawing caught mine and the team’s attention quite strongly, but with BSB the products/info any team receives from a manufacturer, there’s nothing there that any team cannot obtain. There are no factory teams as such, that have access to something that is unobtainable from somewhere else apart from there might be some things that are obtainable earlier if you are the ‘official team’ but there’s nothing I am aware of that one team could purchase that another team cannot. If you’ve got the money and start a privateer team, you can buy the same bike that I’m riding. You could also go and buy the same bike that Paul Bird runs or FS3 for example. That’s pretty much the way BSB works and that’s also why all the teams can start at a good level because there’s nothing super special to one team.
Racing Armchair – You’ve touched on the broken arm at Knockhill. There was no footage on the TV of what happened. Can you walk us through it?
Christian Iddon – It was a real weird one. It was on the sighting lap, not even the warm up lap. As you go round from the pits to the grid I came towards the hairpin, not at race pace but not a million miles off it. I could see Josh Owens up ahead of me, which was no problem. As I came into the brake zone and started to brake, I thought he was going a bit slow but it was still no problem. I got nearer to him where he was occupying the racing line over to the left-hand side of the track and I started to think of get out clauses. First option for me was to do a ‘fly by’ down the outside as it’s always the safest option, but it wasn’t available because Josh was far over to the left-hand side. I didn’t want to go down his inside at that point because if he had tipped in, it would have been a big crash, which I definitely wouldn’t want to do. So I decided to stay on the same heading, behind him. I was pretty convinced he was going to tip into the corner before I got to him, but then I got really close to him and I realised now he was doing almost no speed whatsoever and he never tipped in. I tried to take avoiding action at the very last moment and didn’t quite manage it and took Josh down with me. It was a pretty big crash to be fair. It was just one of them moments where you just cannot believe what has gone on, in the gravel wondering if it’s just some kind of bad dream. It’s never happened to me before and I don’t want it to ever happen to me again. So I picked the bike up, which was in a bit of a state and managed to get it back to the pits for the team to fix it. I started the race from the back of the grid but there was no strength in my arm. Not that the pain was too much, I just had no strength. So I pulled in and retired from the race.
Racing Armchair – And so off to hospital for an X-Ray and that was that?
Christian Iddon – Yes. I had broken the top of my Humerus. Not across it but vertically up it as the ligament has pulled a section of bone off the main bone, basically like a chunk has come off at the top. That’s why I had no strength because the top of my arm wasn’t attached to my shoulder. Even now I still can’t lift my arm over shoulder height, and it’s taken a lot longer to heal up than I would have hoped. I’m still in a lot of discomfort from it and it’s still bothering me. It’s just a huge frustration. I have to hold my hands up to it as I rode into the back of Josh [Owens]. Josh did come over and apologise for riding so slowly, which he is well within his rights to do so as it’s only the sighting lap and it’s on me not to run into the back of someone. I don’t think I would ever be going that slow on the racing line because I would always be nervous of someone coming out of the previous corner, unsighted. He wasn’t unsighted to me, it just caught me absolutely unawares that he was going so slowly. It caught me completely off guard. I don’t think I have ever come across anyone going that slow on a track.
Christian Iddon Buildbase Suzuki, Hawk Racing Team Picture courtesy of Christian Iddon
Racing Armchair – I’m getting an image in my head of travelling 70mph on the motorway and suddenly happening on someone doing 10mph?
Christian Iddon – Pretty much that. When I came across him, it felt like he was at walking pace. He obviously wasn’t but the speed differential made it feel like that. I was trying to scrub off a head of speed and there was just no way! You only have a split second to make your decision. If I had gone down the inside, then I’d have missed him completely and run wide and nothing would have happened. At the time though, my thought process was if he does tip in, then I’m going to collect him and hurt him, which I really didn’t want to do. I took the flyby option hoping he would tip in and I could go straight past but that didn’t happen either. Option three happened and it didn’t work out too well. A real frustration for me as I don’t mind having a crash when you’re pushing on. These things happen, crashing race bikes and injuring yourself, but to do both things and lose three races worth of points in a such a way, that was just a disaster. We lost all three races at Knockhill. We have had two mechanicals that, although haven’t pulled me out of the race, they did severely hinder my point scoring opportunities in those races, which makes five and a daft crash at Brands Hatch so that’s six races where I have had issues.
Racing Armchair – Speaking of Brands Hatch… I noticed the crash in free practice and DNF in Race 2. Were those crashes a result of the arm or not related?
Christian Iddon – Unrelated. Just one of them things. Although the crash I had in FP2 (turn 10 left hander at Stirlings) the lap earlier a thought had gone through my head along the lines of “My arm feels much better now, it’s loosened up”. FP1 had been difficult and then FP2 I was on a really good lap, my best of the whole weekend which looked good enough for top four and I lost the front on the exit of the corner. Stirlings isn’t a corner you would normally crash at, and I hit the barrier hard and really hurt my arm again. After that FP3 was just a case of getting through it. I think it finished something like 22nd. That FP3 crash meant going from feeling good, to not feeling good at all, but the funny thing is I didn’t have the feeling with the bike that I wanted in FP2. I trusted that it would stick [racing terminology that the bike wouldn’t slide out and crash] but after that I didn’t trust it. It’s amazing how one tip off can turn your weekend around. I only qualified 15th as a result which made Race 1 difficult and finished 7th which was pretty good. From there I started to rebuild the weekend and then Race 2 coming into the same corner I didn’t get my backshift. I knew it hadn’t backshifted! I had a quick look down at the dash and it said 3rd. I thought “don’t try and shift down at the wrong moment” as even going from 3rd to 2nd can unsettle the bike. So just roll round the corner in 3rd and then take the backshift to get back on the gas. As I took the backshift after the corner, the back end just rolled round on me. I had absolutely no idea what had gone on. When we checked the data, the bike had dropped into neutral, meaning when I took the backshift it dropped into first, not second gear. Due to only doing one flying lap, I started the next race in 24th on the grid with no hope of doing anything from there.
Racing Armchair – How did that affect the confidence going into Race 3?
Christian Iddon – Confidence wasn’t knocked at all really. That 2nd race crash was just ridiculous. It was caused by the bike saying it was in one gear when it wasn’t. It was my mistake but the information I had at the time was telling me different to the reality. If the bike had said neutral, I’d have done something different with it.
Racing Armchair – I think you’re being hard on yourself there. I’d say that’s a mechanical error rather than your mistake. You’ve just said, you only have a split second to make decisions. I wouldn’t think at those speeds you’re sat staring down at the dash mid-corner?
Christian Iddon – It’s just one of those things, but we need to not be having them things. It didn’t knock my confidence, but it was pure frustration which had already been building for a while because I am not where I expect to be in the season. The trouble being you don’t ride well when you’re frustrated anyway. Race 3 wasn’t too bad considering. Up to 9th but really dropped off towards the end with my arm and finished 11th from 24th. A good effort in such a field. I need to start shaping up though and scoring some better results.
Racing Armchair – How’s the fitness/recovery going now? Were you set back by Brands?
Christian Iddon – It definitely set me back. The longer this goes on, I might have to have some work done after the season is finished. We are absolutely in the thick of it now, so there’s no chance that’s going to be done before the end of the year. For now, I have just got to get on with it and worry about that at a later date. I can ride through pain more or less but it’s the weakness that could be a struggle at the moment. Just have to look forward now and make the most of it. I am not one for giving in. I have no plans to do that, so we will do the best we can.
Racing Armchair – Three rounds left before the showdown, and only 26 points from Taz in 8th covering you, Haslam, Brookes, Buchan and Hickman, to me that means you are in a good position with nothing to lose?
Christian Iddon – We definitely have nothing to lose now. Until one round ago Taz wasn’t even in the showdown. He wasn’t until Brands that he had and all of a sudden, he’s looking great. If there’s anyone I think might not make it in, it would be Tommy Bridewell based on the Ducati not being an out and out race winner at the moment. When I look at the points, I am not looking at Taz in 8th as its highly likely he will climb the standings. It’s Tommy I am looking at in 7th. At the moment, the thought process hasn’t changed from the last few years. Race as hard as you can and the points take care of themselves and what will be, will be. I try my best at every round. It’s only when you feel safe, you might have a few rounds where you take a safe finish. We aren’t in that scenario. For us it’s go and race as hard as you can and take as many points as you can.
Racing Armchair – In the hands of fate now. Hoping for some good luck and perhaps hoping to gain some advantage from someone else’s misfortune further up the grid?
Christian Iddon – Yes I suppose. Look, I’ve given you my story for the year but I’m sure every rider you interview up and down the grid will give you a tale of woe. We all have ‘ifs, buts and maybes’ but in motorsport, any of those riders can have a mechanical issue or a crash or something that could lose them quite a lot of points. The main thing for me is to be scoring top finishes, podiums and not be far off the podium.
Racing Armchair – Thruxton next. A good round for you? Last year a podium, DNF with Lee Jackson taking you out and a top 10 in the wet. Are you looking forward to it?
Christian Iddon – It’s the biggest unknown for everyone in the series. Anyone coming there aims to make the tyres last. For me it’s the least important track to go fast at so it’s definitely the most interesting one in terms of being an unknown. I think it will suit the Suzuki pretty well and Danny Kent had a podium there last year so I’m looking forward to it.
Racing Armchair – The run-up to the showdown also includes Snetterton and Cadwell Park. How do you feel about those circuits?
Christian Iddon – I was at Cadwell the other day on a track day but it was hard to get some free track time. That considered we still did a pretty good lap time. Snetterton has been good to me for the last couple of years. It’s more about trying to understand my bike around these circuits and maximise what we have. There isn’t really a track I look forward to more than any of the others. They all have their good points etc. Generally you’re a fan of any circuit when things go well and you hate them when things go bad. I hated Snetterton and then I got my first win there, so all of a sudden I was like “Oh, I quite like this place” so it can change pretty quick. Somewhere as technical as Cadwell Park can be like that. It’s horrendous there if you’re not flowing with your bike but if you are flowing, it’s probably the best place EVER. You don’t really know though until you turn up on the weekend which way it’s going to go or how it’s going to feel.
Racing Armchair – Can that differ from year to year on the same brand of motorcycle? For example two years on the Ducati.
Christian Iddon – Not really. If it does, then you know it’s down to you that’s for sure.
Racing Armchair – Is it too early to be looking at contracts for next year? I would imagine you don’t want a repeat of last year, waiting for the finalisation of the PBM Ducati team?
Christian Iddon – To be fair it’s impossible to have a repeat of last year because he didn’t keep me waiting. We were done. We had the same handshake that we’d had the year before. In my mind we were done. It’s not about having a repeat of that. The only way we can have a repeat of that is if someone does what he [Paul Bird] did to me. It’s a situation that I wish hadn’t happened. I get on with all them boys in the PBM team, it’s just the fact he dropped me so late on and the timing was a problem. Thankfully the Hawk team were on hand to take me on. I think it’s going to filter down once Rory Skinner and Tarran Mackenzie decide what they’re doing as it all goes from the top down and the house of cards comes into play.
Racing Armchair – I think with Tarran wanting to go to World Superbikes last year, he found out exactly how much it was going to cost and how much he needed to find from his sponsors, and he’s used this year to raise the funds. The rumours are Tarran is adamant he wants to go to World Superbikes next year, so that would leave a seat at McCAMS up for grabs and there are a lot of people saying Rory is nailed on for Moto2 next year, so there’s another bike in the mix to shake things up.
Christian Iddon – Exactly. Last year we all waited to see what Taz and Jason O’Halloran did and like I said, it usually goes from the top down.
Racing Armchair – Thanks Christian.
Christian Iddon currently sits 13th in the championship only 26 points off from the showdown positions with 3 rounds to go. 225 points are available between now and the chequered flag at Cadwell Park at the end of August after the three superbike races per weekend. Christian not only needs points to reach the showdown but will want podium credits too, so as not to start the showdown in 8th place. I wish Christian the best of luck to remain injury free for the year and hope to see his season turn around in the run up to the Showdown.
With the long Summer break finally over, all riders have returned fresh and ready for battle. The championship was left with very little space between the top two riders, but what will happen now?
A fantastic historical venue to start the second part of the season: Silverstone – it surely won’t disappoint.
Qualifying:
Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
The news of the weekend was that Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) would have to complete a long-lap penalty (due to irresponsible riding at the Dutch GP, taking Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) with him into the gravel).
Following on from his strong performance in Assen, Espargaro is still on a high and knowing that Fabio has to complete this penalty, could he maximize on this?
It seemed maybe this would be a tall-order to do, as during the qualifying session he had a massive high-side, being thrown from his Aprilia and hurting his ankles. He didn’t let this deter him too much as he then went on to take provisional pole, but it was taken away seconds later by first Jack Miller (Ducati) and then from nowhere Johann Zarco (Ducati). A further surprise saw Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) swoop in to take 2nd.
Zarco made a new all-time lap record – 1:57.767 for his pole position – could this be his moment?Could he finally win a Moto GP race? Vinales lined up beside him and taking the last spot on the front row was Miller.
Race:
Glorious sunshine dowsed the former RAF track for race-day, but it wasn’t just the weather that was heating up. Soon the race would be underway:
Zarco got a great start and kept his lead from Fabio, who instantly took two places. The two factory Ducati’s remained close behind. Vinales didn’t seem to have the same luck and went backwards to 6th. He soon took 5th place back though from Alex Rins (Suzuki).
The second lap – Quartararo was told he must take his penalty – he had 3 laps to complete it by. He pushed hard to try and create space between himself and the following Ducati’s but Miller in 3rd took fastest lap, hampering any advances.
By lap 3 Rins managed to claim 4th place (pretty impressive start considering he started 11th on the grid). Where could the Suzuki-man get to?
Leaving it until his 4th lap, El Diablo decided he must take his long-lap penalty – he does it flawlessly and re-joined the race in-front of Vinales, slotting into 5th.
At the front – Zarco lead Miller and Rins, with the fastest lap going to Rins, he was clearly pushing hard. When suddenly Zarco threw his lead away, slipping into the gravel – the dream win, yet again falling away from him, turn 8, lap 5. Leaving Miller to lead from Rins and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).
Rins wasn’t sitting around in 2nd for very long though and the next lap saw him overtake Miller to become the new leader of the race. Making up ten places in just six laps. Slightly further back Jorge Martin (Ducati) passed Vinales for 5th.
Rins seemed to be on top-form and with 14 laps to go had created a buffer (0.794 seconds) between himself and Bagnaia, who had passed his teammate for 2nd place. If Miller wasn’t having a bad enough time with Bagnaia passing him, another fellow Ducati passed him also – Martin, to take 3rd. Miller re-took it though when Martin made a mistake, forcing him to go wide.
Meanwhile the championship leader seemed like he might be in trouble as Vinales looked like he was setting up to pass him. But it was Vinales’ teammate that got overtook first by Joan Mir (Suzuki) just behind. It didn’t take long for Vinales to pass Fabio though and was soon through to take 5th. The Aprilia power proving to much for the Yamaha.
Aiming to pass. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Only ten laps to go and Bagnaia had eaten into Rin’s lead, already down to 0.274 seconds, could the Ducati make it two wins in a row? Who had conserved their tyres better?
Two laps later saw Bagnaia charge past Rins, leaving him to deal with Miller in 3rd. But Bagnaia wasn’t the only Ducati on the move, Enea Bastianini in 10th place took fastest lap. Always a late charger, what could Enea do?
Barely any time separating all top ten riders – Vinales decided to make yet another move forwards, this time claiming fourth from Martin, with seven laps to go.
The tyres played a massive part this late on in the race and it was unfortunately Alex Rins who struggled the most, after doing so well. The Suzuki went wide on a couple of corners, making it an easy pass for not only Miller but Vinales as well.
Meanwhile, Bastianini had moved up to 7th place, passing Espargaro and Mir. Moments later Mir took to the gravel behind him, trying to keep up.
Audiences were on the edge of their seats, as they watched yet another pass by Martin, re-taking 4th place from Vinales. Bastianini and Quartararo also tussled for 6th.
The battle continued between Maverick and Jorge with Maverick coming out on top this time. Eventually Bastianini also won his fight with the current champ, leaving him to deal with Miguel Oliveira (KTM), who was gaining fast.
Fresh from claiming a new place from Martin, Vinales soon took a further position from Rins. Martin also took his opportunity to take yet another position from the Suzuki, forcing him to fifth spot – lap eighteen.
With all this action happening behind him, Bagnaia managed to create a small gap from Miller, Vinales and Martin.
Close racing. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
The racing wasn’t done yet though. With 2 laps until the end, “Top Gun” passed “Thriller” to take second place. The Aprilia was working wonderfully around Silverstone. What more could he do?
Falling into the clutches of Bastianini, Rins lost yet another place, as did Quartararo to Oliveira. But it was all eyes at the front as Vinales became the 5th leader of the British Grand Prix. Bagnaia was not going down without a fight though and re-took the lead.
Last lap – Seemingly anything could happen:
The Ducati power of Bagnaia was just enough and it took him to the finish line, but behind him it was Oliveira that passed Rins, Bastianini who passed Martin and Esparagaro took Quartararo (but his maneuver didn’t stick).
Meaning it was back-to-back victories for Bagnaia, with Vinales taking second (his best finish so far for Aprilia) and Miller in third.
Winning. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Top 10 Finishers:
1st
F. Bagnaia
2nd
M. Vinales
3rd
J. Miller
4th
E. Bastianini
5th
J. Martin
6th
M. Oliveira
7th
A. Rins
8th
F. Quartararo
9th
A. Espargaro
10th
M. Bezzechi
All smiles. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
With the top two in the championship collecting less points than thought going into the race, the championship has bubbled up yet again:
Top 4 Championship Standings:
1st
F. Quartararo
180 points
2nd
A. Espargaro
158 points
3rd
F. Bagnaia
131 points
4th
E. Bastianini
118 points
All the action during this superb race meant that it was the second closest ever top-ten finish (all within six seconds of eachother). No wonder fans were screaming and cheering and the atmosphere was electric.
What a great start to the second half of the 2022 season, with action right from the start to the very end. What can we expect from the next round?
Alexander Rossi led the second half of the Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, after race leader and teammate Colton Herta had to retire the car on lap 42 after losing power, to go on to end his 49 race winless streak and win the Gallagher Grand Prix.
Alexander Rossi taking the checkered flag to win the Gallagher GP (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Rossi started the race on the front row alongside polesitter Felix Rosenqvist but just eight laps into the grand prix saw Herta move up from ninth place to take the lead away from Rosenqvist. Rossi would keep Herta honest for the first half of the race keeping the gap hovering around the two second mark.
Colton Herta leading the field down the back straightaway (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Once Rossi inherited the lead he never looked back, maintaining a healthy four second gap to second place rookie Christian Lundgaard for most of the remainder of the race.
Rossi, who is joining Arrow McLaren SP in 2023 after seven seasons with Andretti Autosport, said in victory lane to NBC’s Dillon Welch, “It’s a relief man, I do feel for Colton, but I’m happy. There’s been so much belief for so long, it’s nice to finally accomplish it. It was the 27’s turn.”
Alexander Rossi racing in the Gallagher GP (Photo by Tim Holle/Penske Entertainment)
Rossi led 44 of the 85 laps to claim his eighth win, last winning at Road America in June 2019. Rossi’s first win also came at the IMS when he won the 2016 Indy 500 in his rookie and first season with Andretti Autosport.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie Christian Lundgaard had a career breakout race coming home second after qualifying sixth. After the first stint thirty laps in, Lundgaard had worked his way up to third behind Rossi where he would remain after Herta’s retirement, securing him the runner-up spot and his first ever podium finish.
Christian Lundgaard racing in the Gallagher GP (Photo by Dana Garrett/Penske Entertainment)
Lundgaard’s best finish in IndyCar was eighth place in the Toronto GP last month and better’s his debut race which came at the IMS Road Course last year where he finished ninth after qualifying fourth. Lundgaard leads the rookie points battle and is also the highest finishing rookie this season.
After a wild and bumpy start, Will Power came home third and has taken over the championship lead from Marcus Ericsson by nine points. In turn two on the opening lap, Power got pushed into Pato O’Ward by Herta, sending O’Ward spinning in front of Power, forcing him to lose a bunch of places before a few laps later Castroneves would send it ambitiously down the middle of a sandwich in turn eight with Power on the outside and made contact with Power.
Will Power running third in the Gallagher GP with Scott McLaughlin behind him (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
After plummeting down the order, Power would pit on lap five after a yellow had come out a for a stalled Dalton Kellett in turn seven where Power would get a fresh set of alternate red tyres and then would go long on them giving him the lead while others pitted until Power just pitted prior to another caution coming out on lap 35 for a stopped Pagenaud who ran out of fuel that saw him cycle through to fourth place.
Power would remain in third for the rest of the race following Herta’s retirement. Speaking to NBC, Power said: “You can never expect a normal day in IndyCar.”
A happy Will Power after finishing third (Photo by Matt Fraver/Penske Entertainment)
Marcus Ericsson had been the championship leader going into the weekend but due to an engine issue in qualifying, Ericsson would start in 25th place. Ericsson’s race pace was strong enough to see him work his way through the field to come home to finish in a respectable ninth place.
Marcus Ericsson racing in the Gallagher Grand Prix (Photo by Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment)
The race itself saw the red alternate tyre be both the quicker and more durable tyre with all drivers ending up opting for the three stop strategy, and all using the primary black tyre for the shortest stint.
The rest of Team Penske would also have a strong day at the boss’s own race facility, with Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden coming home fourth and fifth after putting pressure on Power in the closing laps.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly had a strong start to the race running inside the top 10, but a stall and lengthy delay on pit road after the first stint saw Daly go to the back where he would only recover to a 17th place. His teammate Rinus VeeKay had good race pace and would finish 6th.
Conor Daly getting serviced (Photo by Walt Kuhn/Penske Entertainment)
Castroneves would have more contact during the race and got sent to the back of the field for avoidable contact on lap 49 after spinning Kyle Kirkwood out when he got into his rear.
Race 14 of the NTT IndyCar Series is the Big Machine Music Grand Prix on the Nashville Street Course on 7th August. The green flag flies at 3pm ET.
UPDATE: Alexander Rossi was docked 20 points after it was found that the team had used the weight of a water bottle to make the car meet minimum weight in post-race inspection. Rossi would still hold onto the win.
Full race results: 1st Alexander Rossi, 2nd Christian Lundgaard, 3rd Will Power, 4th Scott McLaughlin, 5th Josef Newgarden, 6th Rinus VeeKay, 7th Graham Rahal, 8th Scott Dixon, 9th Felix Rosenqvist, 10th Álex Palou, 11th Marcus Ericsson, 12th Pato O’Ward, 13th David Malukas, 14th Callum Ilott, 15th Takuma Sato, 16th Romain Grosjean, 17th Conor Daly, 18th Devlin DeFrancesco, 19th Hélio Castroneves, 20th Jack Harvey, 21st Dalton Kellett, 22nd Jimmie Johnson, 23rd Kyle Kirkwood, 24th Colton Herta, 25th Simon Pagenaud.
Top 10 in points standings: 1st Will Power (431), 2nd Marcus Ericsson (422), 3rd Josef Newgarden (399), 4th Scott Dixon (393), 5th Pato O’Ward (385), 6th Álex Palou (379), 7th Scott McLaughlin (350), 8th Felix Rosenqvist (299), 9th Alexander Rossi (298), 10th Colton Herta (285).
Featured Image: Alexander Rossi celebrating Gallagher GP win in victory lane (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Racing Armchair sits down with Chrissy Rouse of Crowe Performance BMW in an exclusive interview to discuss his route to Superbikes, and the game plan for the upcoming weekend at Thruxton and beyond.
Chrissy Rouse has made his full-time debut in the British Superbike Category in 2022 in partnership with Crowe Performance BMW. Having previously dipped his toe into Superbikes back in 2018 with the Halsall Racing team, riding a Suzuki at the time, Chrissy has this year made a full time move into the series to compete and complete the 2022 season.
Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane
Chrissy has previously ridden under the Crowe Performance banner when he took the 2020 Superstock 1000 Championship and hopes a return to the familiar infrastructure Phil Crowe provides will be a successful combination and one that ultimately pays off for both rider and team.
Racing Armchair spoke with Chrissy in an exclusive interview recently to discuss how the season came to be, how it’s going and what his aspirations are.
Racing Armchair – First and foremost Chrissy, you’ve made some career changes over the last few months. We all know you as the Motorcycle Racing math teacher. Why the career direction change?
Chrissy Rouse – So I decided to make some changes back in April. With entering the British Superbikes this year as a fully fledged privateer team, I’ve had a lot to organize. All the things in between rounds, getting to the races, setting up in the paddock etc. All these things wouldn’t have been possible had I remained in the teaching role. I needed something more flexible. In fairness I wasn’t “Just a teacher” working Monday to Friday. I was teaching 3 days a week, but I was also doing the Podcast, some commentary work for Eurosport and some other things but I found the teaching role really restrictive. I had to be in the classroom Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. As it stands, that isn’t going to work for me, so I had to make a choice and leave that behind for now. As a replacement for that role, I now work for the BSA brand of Motorcycles as a Franchise Manager in Coventry.
Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane
Racing Armchair – Is that in the line of a Sales Representative / Business Development Manager type of role? Approaching distributors and forging relationships and finding motorcycle outlets willing to stock and sell the motorcycles?
Chrissy Rouse – Absolutely. We have announced 7 dealerships and are currently in the process of building the dealer network. Once the dealership network is up and running, then the role is more of a “go-between” for the dealerships and the main brand.
Racing Armchair – Ok cool. Thanks for that. I’m sure all your fans wish you all the best in the role. Now touching on the Crowe deal, you obviously won the National Superstock 1000 Championship with Crowe Performance back in 2020, but for 2021 you signed with GR Motorsport on the ZX-10? Why was that?
Chrissy Rouse – In 2020, I was self-financing the running costs of going racing and as part of that, I had to take financial responsibility for the bike. So I was always riding knowing that if I crashed the bike, it was going to cost me a lot of money. Now obviously as a part time schoolteacher, I didn’t have that kind of money. It was a lot of money to be playing with. I was offered the GR Motorsport ride [for 2021] and it was financially a much better position and therefore a much better decision for me. There was also a route to Superbikes as well. I had won the championship with Crowe Performance [in 2020] and there were no offers from teams and no available rides in the Superbike Championship but I thought if I rode for a Superstock team and defended the championship, that would maybe open the door for a Superbike ride. In hindsight it was a bad move on my behalf. In 2020 I was averaging 18 points a race and in 2021 I averaged 9 points a race.
Racing Armchair – Do you have any specific reasoning behind why that was?
Chrissy Rouse – In 2020 I felt like I was getting the best out of the BMW S1000 but the following season, on the ZX10, I was pushing just as hard but for some reason I just wasn’t as competitive. The year that I won the championship, Tom Neave was 2nd on the Honda and Billy McConnel finished 4th in the standings on the BMW. The following season, Tom and Billy were 1st and 2nd in the championship and I was 7th. It’s not like there were riders that just came in and beat us. So looking back, it was a bad move for me with GR Motorsport.
Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane
Racing Armchair – Well looking forward to 2022, you again have teamed up with Crowe Performance BMW. Can you tell me how that came about?
Chrissy Rouse – At the end of 2021, I didn’t have any solid offers for a Superbike ride, and I really wanted to step up to the class. I won the championship with Crowe Performance and I feel very at home with the team as it’s like a proper family team unit. The first thing was to try and finance it. We had a few meetings towards the end of the year, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to raise the required funds to cover it but I worked for months and months with my current sponsors. I picked up new sponsors. I worked as hard as I could to secure the finances and we decided to go for it.
Racing Armchair – Is there a magic number for the finances you had to find? Are you allowed to talk about the pound note value?
Chrissy Rouse – Yes absolutely but it isn’t a set cost. Things change and move around. You have to account for things like crash damage and there are lots of things that need taking into consideration. I’ve budgeted myself for something like £10,000 a weekend. Well, £110,000 is what I have had to raise.
Racing Armchair – JESUS! So without £100,000 as a privateer, you are wasting your time trying to put a full season together?
Chrissy Rouse – No. That doesn’t account for buying the bike, the truck and loads of other things. So if you were literally starting from scratch, you’d need way more than that. I’d say at least £200,000 to just get on the grid for every race. Just to clarify though, the team own the bike in my case. Crowe Performance own the BMW but I pay for and towards the running costs.
Racing Armchair – Now that you’re a full-time rider, on the grid, is it harder than you thought it was going to be? I heard on your podcast that you mentioned you’d even surprised yourself with some of the people you’ve been lapping and racing with.
Chrissy Rouse – No I wouldn’t say I am surprised. I would say, at times I am not doing as well as I could be and I don’t feel like I have exceeded any of my own expectations yet.
Racing Armchair – Is that down to good old human nature though and being a driven person? Piling the pressure on yourself?
Chrissy Rouse – For me it’s a very careful balance because I am wanting to learn and progress on the superbike but I have to be careful in my performance. I cannot be throwing the bike at the scenery every week. I would say I am riding within my limits all the time but for me the most important thing is steady progression and learning as much as I can.
Racing Armchair – I think you are progressing massively. After a somewhat difficult start to the year with a few DNF’s here and there, it seems you are finding your feet and your points finishes are coming.
Chrissy Rouse – Well the first race of the year, my engine blew up. The second race, Tom Sykes fell off right in front of me and left me nowhere to go but to crash and I fully knocked myself out in that one, which really blew my chances early doors. So that was Race 1, 2 and 3 done. Then I missed the test at Oulton Park, so that ruined Oulton for me, including a DNF in race 3 where my clutch went. Donington Park was the first full and proper round I got. I feel my season started at Donington if I am honest. Brands weekend I also had a clutch go in race 1, so another mechanical DNF there too. That also meant I had to start at the back of the grid for race 2. We have had a few little gremlins and it hasn’t been all plain sailing but the main thing is I have been staying on the bike and progressing.
Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane
Racing Armchair – Again, I can see that. At Knockhill you were racing around with Sykes and Taz. At Brands you finished race 2 not far back from Danny Buchan and in race 3, I think you had something like 4/6 seconds between you and Andy Irwin / Danny Buchan.
Chrissy Rouse – If you compare against the other BMW’s then look at Donington. I was very close to the Factory BMW’s and managed to finish in front of them in one race. If you are looking at what was my best round, Donington were my best races. Another thing to mention though is at Brands Hatch, I didn’t have my crew chief with me. I had my mechanics etc but I didn’t have my crew chief.
Racing Armchair – So when you come back into the garage thinking the bike needs a click here or a turn there, how did you manage that situation?
Chrissy Rouse – I’m good mates with Steve Brogan. He helped out. He wasn’t working for us over the weekend but he was at Brands, so Steve was coming into the garage during the sessions to help me with bike setup. Now he doesn’t know anything about the way we had the bike set up, he has no experience with our bike on those tyres etc, but it was more for moral support. In fairness though, between sessions I do pester other teams now and then to get some help or a little guidance. FHO are really helpful. They help us out all the time. For example, before the next round I will speak to them and get some advice on what to do with the bike. I’m not just wheeling the bike out and riding it.
Racing Armchair – Is this like paddock lifestyle where other teams don’t like to see people struggling when they can help?
Chrissy Rouse – Exactly, yes!
Racing Armchair – Is there a plan moving forward? I work on the assumption that any rider would have aspirations to move up the pecking order with more established teams, when perhaps their riders aren’t performing as well as you?
Chrissy Rouse – I see what you’re saying but I don’t have a particular plan as such. Obviously a good option moving forward would be mainly to attract a bigger sponsor. I have everything I need to run a team. I have a truck, I have the garage equipment, I have some GREAT people and I really love my team. If I could get the financial backing to run my own team, I would absolutely love that. Failing that if there was an interest from a more established team, then that’s something I would have to look at. I haven’t got anything firmly fixed for next year just yet but I am open to suggestions.
Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane
Racing Armchair – I guess if any established team rang any rider to have a chat, put the feelers out for next year, would I be right in assuming that every single rider on the grid would at least entertain having a conversation about it?
Chrissy Rouse – 100%. Yes!
Racing Armchair – OK, thoughts moving forward to Thruxton? You’ve had podium finishes there last year, although we didn’t attend the circuit in 2020, in your championship winning year, how do you feel about the circuit?
Chrissy Rouse – To be honest, before ANY round I am always really excited. The whole weekend is what I live for, so I am never ‘not’ excited for a race weekend. Thruxton is a track that often throws up some anomalous results. It can work in your favor, or it can go the opposite way as well. I’m an optimist! I’m going to optimistically hopeful that there will be an anomalous result and I’ll maybe get a bit higher up than usual, but obviously we will just go and try to do our best and I’m looking forward to the challenge. Trying to get the best out of the bike, and the tyres and hopefully be there at the end of the race to pick up some more points. That’s the aim!
Racing Armchair – There isn’t much in it now between you and the riders above you. It’s a handful of points in between yourself and established names in the series.
Chrissy Rouse – If you look at the championship, the 3 riders above me are Ryan Vickers, Storm Stacey and Tom Neave. Now Storm and Tom are only 1 point ahead of us. Now considering what a s**t run I have had, mechanical DNF’s and missing races, I think to be 1 point behind them when they’re in proper established Superbike teams, with proper support, and for both riders it’s their actual job/career, for me to be anywhere near them is a massive win in my eyes. If I can beat them on track, that is also a massive win for me.
Chrissy Rouse Picture courtesy of Bonnie Lane
Racing Armchair – Chrissy, thanks for your time and good luck at the next round and moving forward in the championship this year.
To keep up with the latest information from Chrissy, you can visit www.chrissyrouse.com or follow him on his social media pages. Chrissy also hosts the Chasin’ the Racing podcast with road racer Dominic Herbertson, which can be found on YouTube and all other podcasting platforms.
Although Sebastian Vettel’s retirement announcement on Thursday was a surprise to many, it wasn’t wholly unexpected. Few, however, could have predicted the events that have transpired since.
Aston Martin admitted to being caught unaware by Vettel’s retirement, with team principal Mike Krack talking only weeks ago about retaining the four-time world champion for another season. The rumours seemed to suggest that they would be replacing one German with another, with Mick Schumacher and current Aston Martin reserve Nico Hulkenberg being the main names touted for the seat.
It’s safe to say, therefore, that Monday’s announcement that Fernando Alonso would be extending his record-breaking career in green, rather than the blue and pink of Alpine, came almost out of nowhere. There had been mumblings that the Spaniard was considering a move out of Enstone for a third time, but many thought that a one-year extension for Alonso was a done deal. Even the 41-year-old said it would only take ’10 minutes’ to sort out a new contract with the French squad, but there was clearly some stumbling block in the background to force Fernando to go for a change.
Oscar Piastri testing for Alpine at the end of 2021. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
If Aston were surprised by Vettel’s announcement, Alonso’s left Alpine astounded. Team principal Otmar Szafnauer found out at the same time as everyone else, which is likely to lead to a very awkward meeting once the summer break is over. Once crumb of comfort for Otmar however, would have come with the fact that this freed up the seat for their junior driver Oscar Piastri, and it was announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he would be driving alongside Ocon in 2023.
As soon as the announcement was posted, however, questions started to be asked. There were no quotes from Piastri in the announcement. The tweet only spoke about how he was being ‘promoted’ into a race seat, not that he had signed any formal contract. And sure enough, just short of two hours later, the reigning F2 champion announced that he had not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023, and would not be driving for them next year. But how did Alpine get themselves into this mess?
I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.
Midway through last season, Esteban Ocon signed a contract for 2024 with the Enstone-based team. The plan seemed simple, keep Piastri in F2 for two seasons, and promote him once Alonso retired at the end of 2022. Problem one came when Piastri won the F2 championship, rendering him ineligible for the series this year. Problem two came with the fact that Alonso had no intention of leaving the sport just yet. Both are nice problems to have, but three into two doesn’t go, and frustrations were building in the background.
It looks like these frustrations have boiled over in the past week, and the lid will not be going back on this pot any time soon. Alonso feels his performances deserve more than a one-year contract, but as Alpine wanted to keep Piastri, this is all he was going to get. Other teams have picked up on this dilly-dallying from Alpine, with McLaren (who had the option to use Piastri as a reserve this season) allegedly swooping in to sign the highly rated 21-year-old for 2023, as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo winning in Monza in 2021. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
This isn’t the only contract shenanigans that McLaren finds themselves in at the moment. Over in IndyCar, reigning champion Alex Palou is being sued by his current team Chip Ganassi Racing, after they announced that he would be driving for them, prompting him to announce that he would be driving McLaren. If Palou and Piastri both end up in papaya next season, this gives them a glut of talent across IndyCar and F1, with their lineup for Formula E next season also yet to be announced.
It is possible then, that Alpine will have an Australian driving for them next season, just not the one they expected. Daniel Ricciardo did a stellar job in the yellow of Renault in 2020, and apart from a win in Monza last season has not looked close to the driver he was during his two-year spell with the French marque. The 33-year-old has made it clear he wants to stay in F1 next year, and this may well be his only opportunity.
Aston Martin fighting amongst themselves for the last points position in Hungary 2022. Image courtesy of Aston Martin Media
But let’s go back to how this all started. Sebastian Vettel clearly didn’t see enough progress at Aston Martin to convince him to stay in Formula One. His father said that the decision was made in Austria, where he qualified last and was involved in incidents in both races, which is enough to make anyone question their motivation. So if he’s not seen any positives, what has made Alonso take one last (presuming he does retire at the end of 2024) throw of the dice?
Next year’s Aston will be the first car to have the fingerprint of Dan Fallows on it. As a member of the aerodynamics department at Red Bull (and eventually the head of aero), Fallows was involved in the Milton Keynes-based team’s dominant run in the early noughties, as well as their recent resurgence. Joining Aston at the start of the season meant he was never able to have a massive impact on the 2022 car, although the new rear wing shown off at Hungary suggests he has some radical ideas to move the team up from the lower end of the order. Being ninth in the championship also means Aston Martin will get more wind tunnel time than nearly all their rivals, invaluable at any time but especially in this modern era of Formula One.
Vettel’s retirement brings to an end one of the most successful careers of all time, with only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher securing more wins than Sebastian. He will certainly be missed in the F1 paddock, and it is ironic that for a man who doesn’t like the spotlight away from the track, his departure has delivered plenty of drama for fans to discuss over the summer break.
Max Verstappen wins from P10 with Hamilton finishing P2 from 7th and Russell rounding out the podium after getting pole in qualifying. Ferrari had another disastrous strategy resulting in them finishing off the podium in P4 and P6.
The weather looked like it could have played a part when it began to spit before the start of the race. Several cars locked up into turn 2 with the strong tailwind that was being created and could have affected them during the race.
Russell is ahead at the start of the GP. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media
Lights out and George Russell gets a great start from pole but behind him, Sainz has kept up with him going side by side with Carlos on the outside of into turn 1. Russell closes the door and manages to stay ahead of both Ferraris. Leclerc got a slow start meaning Norris could pressure for P3 but with no success. Hamilton was the main mover at the start, making it to P5 before turn 1.
Bottas got a slow start so both RedBulls were able to jump ahead of him and begin to chase down the Alpines. On lap 7, with a much faster car, Verstappen was able to make a move down the inside of turn 1 and move past Alonso before chasing after and passing Ocon. Perez was not far behind and took both Alpines just the next lap.
Hamilton lining up a move on Norris. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
By lap 12 Verstappen had closed down the gap to Hamilton in P5 who was battling Norris for P4. Just as Verstappen reached within the DRS range of the Mercedes, Hamilton made a DRS move on Norris down the inside of turn 1. Verstappen took advantage of this as Norris went slightly wide to have a drag race into turn 2. Verstappen, still with DRS, was able to go around the outside of Norris meaning the McLaren lost two places within two corners.
Just before the first pitstops, Leclerc began to complain that he was faster than Sainz in front of him. To solve this they brought Sainz in leaving Leclerc out for a longer stint. However, this benefited Leclerc who came in for his stop on lap 22 and then came out behind Russell but ahead of his teammate.
With fresher tyres, Leclerc didn’t take long to catch and overtake the Mercedes for the lead. On lap 30 Leclerc used DRS down the main straight to make a move around the outside of turn 1 which this time he made stick. Sainz was not far behind so this was Ferrari’s race to control.
Russell made a move on Leclerc. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media
10 laps later it was time for stop number two for Leclerc and Russell. In a bold move Ferrari but on the hard tyres, which no one had been able to make work in the cooler conditions. The pitstop hadn’t worked for Mercedes as Russell came out behind both RedBulls, with Leclerc out just in front of them.
The hard tyres would prove to be Leclerc’s undoing though. As he couldn’t get them to warm up and find pace, just one lap later Verstappen had DRS and passed him down the inside of turn 1. Just when we thought Verstappen had made the move stick for the net lead, he went for a spin, losing the back end of the car coming out of the penultimate corner.
This had a domino effect on Perez, who got caught up behind his teammate and now had to defend from Russell going down the main straight. Side by side, the Mercedes was able to make it around the outside of Perez in turn 1, nearly making it past the other RedBull before having to yield.
It wasn’t long before Verstappen caught up to Leclerc and overtook him in a similar fashion to before. This time though he was able to make it stick and create a gap to the Ferrari, which still had the hard tyres on.
On lap 54 Russell had now closed the gap on Leclerc as well and looked on for a move. Leclerc defended the inside of turn 1 but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep the Mercedes behind him. Moving Russell back into P2. Ferrari then decided enough was enough and pitted Leclerc for mediums one lap later. It was too late though as he came out behind Perez, who had struggled but was finding some good pace towards the end of the race.
At this point, Hamilton was back on a charge having made a late stop for soft tyres. Putting in fastest lap after fastest lap, he was able to make his way up to the podium places with ease. When he came across his teammate 5 laps from the end there appeared to be no team orders and they were allowed to race. However, Hamilton was just faster and after a clean battle, he did a switch back coming out of turn 1 on his teammate to take P2.
Verstappen took the chequered flag to win his 50th Grand Prix and be 80 points ahead in the drivers’ championship heading into the summer break. Mercedes got a second consecutive double podium, and it looks like they are on pace to compete for race wins if it weren’t for issues in qualifying. However, with the technical directive coming into play in Spa, this could affect the race pace of the top teams. Either way, Ferrari needs a flawless second half of the season to get back in the championship hunt.
