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Colton Herta wins wild rain-soaked Indy Grand Prix

Colton Herta thundered to the front from 14th place after pitting early for slick tyres on a drying race track, to go on to lead the majority of the race in changing weather conditions to win his first Indy Grand Prix. Herta had to keep the likes of Pato O’Ward and Simon Pagenaud behind and fight to stay on the soaked race track in the final laps as the heavens opened once again.

Colton Herta (left) and Pato O’Ward (right) racing in the Indy Grand Prix (Photo by Lisa Hurley/IndyCar Media)

The race saw numerous crashes and spins including under the safety car as the track began to get wetter with only 13 of 27 cars on the lead lap at one point in the race.

Herta started off his race by power-drifting round turn eight in an unbelievable save as he attempted to warm up his alternate Firestone red tyres on a damp race track and close down Pato O’Ward for what would be the race lead. Herta would get past O’Ward on the next lap before taking the overall lead of the race before 10 laps were complete.

O’Ward would keep Herta honest for the next 20 laps before they dived for the pits once again for Firestone reds but more rain was reported to be less than 15 minutes away. Herta would go wheel to wheel with O’Ward’s McLaren SP teammate Felix Rosenqvist but Rosenqvist being on cold tyres would lose out to taking the lead away from Herta.

Colton Herta ahead of Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)

Due to several full course yellows, the race became a timed event. With less than 20 minutes to go, after multiple pit stops and strategy calls including Herta being the first of the drivers on the wet tyres in fourth a few laps earlier, he would get by O’Ward who was still on the dry tyre, again in turn one on a restart to retake the lead for the final time.

On a late race restart with the track getting soaked by arrival of the rain, Herta would now pull a six second gap over now second place Simon Pagenaud. This would be halved after Herta went wide at turn 12 and took to the grass to make the corner but would then maintain a healthy gap over Pagenaud until a full course yellow came out with less than two laps to go to end the race.

Simon Pagenaud racing in the wet (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)

Over the team radio Herta said that this was his favourite win yet and did a burnout in the rain to celebrate.

Talking to NBC’s Marty Snider in victory lane, Herta said: “That was the hardest race I have ever done.”

Colton Herta celebrating in victory lane (Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar Media)

A dramatic turning point was over 50 laps into the race, with the belief that the race might end early due to a severe weather threat, for the next few laps, the race strategies went wild with the entire field flip flopping on their tyre choice due to the changing weather.

The worsening weather conditions on the front straightaway (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)

After Jimmie Johnson brought out a full course yellow after spinning and stalling in turns nine and 10 due to the tricky weather conditions, nearly everyone dived for the pits but only to take another set of the dry Firestone alternate tyres due to the belief that the track was not wet enough despite it continuing to rain. Scott McLaughlin, who had been running second on the track at this point won the race off pit road beating Herta.

It then began to rain harder under caution, causing Rinus VeeKay to spin out. Dixon, who had just taken the wave around was the first along with Rossi to dive for the pits for a set of wet tyres. The following lap saw the majority of the pack do the same including Herta.

McLaughlin, O’Ward and Romain Grosjean were now the top three, all deciding not to pit and stay out on the alternate tyre. Grosjean then spun under caution in turn two and fell to sixth.

More chaos ensued as race leader McLaughlin spun around just before coming back to green in turn 10 forcing IndyCar to halt the restart.

Scott McLaughlin (front) racing in the Indy Grand Prix (Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar Media)

With O’Ward being the only one left at the front on the dry alternate tyre, he would get overtaken immediately on the restart by Herta into turn one. McLaughlin would bring out the next full course yellow after spinning again on the alternate tyre.

O’Ward would fall to fourth under that caution after spinning before bringing the car down pit road for a set of wet tyres as Herta brought the field back to green. O’Ward would finish 19th one lap down.

The opening 50 laps of the race were also highly entertaining. With all drivers starting the race on the wet tyre, it would be five time Indy GP winner Will Power who would take the green flag but on the backstretch on lap one, Álex Palou would come sailing past before O’Ward would do the same to Palou entering turn 12. Rosenqvist would make it a Arrow McLaren SP one-two again, just like in Friday’s Firestone fast six after completing their banker laps, by getting past Palou. Power would remain in the top 10 for most of the race and had a strong final stint in the wet to come home third.

Will Power leads the field into turn one at the start of the race (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)

Palou’s day would turn into a disaster after pitting for the alternate tyre a few laps in, as he would spin and stall his car in turn 11 after having gone off in the grass and would go a lap down. Palou would finish 18th.

A few laps later, 2022 two-time winner Josef Newgarden’s race would turn into an even worse disaster after he spun wildly across the track in turn 11 after being sandwiched between Alexander Rossi and Jack Harvey, who were fighting over sixth place. Harvey failed to make an evasive manoeuvre when Rossi pulled down the race track slightly and instead clipped Newgarden’s left rear tyre sending him around.

Newgarden would pull up on the track with two flat rear tyres and significant damage that saw him go straight to the garage. Later on, IndyCar allowed him to rejoin the race but was now many laps down. He had joined in last place but due to crashes later on, he would finish 25th, 15 laps down.

The GMR Safety Team attending to Josef Newgarden following the wild spin (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)

On lap 20, Devlin DeFrancesco was unable to avoid a spinning VeeKay who had just re-entered the track after getting knocked off by rookie Callum Ilott in turn two, bringing out another full course yellow.

After 30 laps, Takuma Sato had powered his way up to fourth place while Power had fallen down to fifth. Sato would finish the race in seventh.

Takuma Sato racing in the Indy Grand Prix (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)

On the second round of pit stops, Scott Dixon would limp to pit road after uncharacteristically running out of fuel, but would be able to get refuelled and continue, only losing a lap to the leaders.

On lap 34, Dalton Kellett would bring out the fourth full course yellow and end his day on the back straightaway after going off in the grass after coming out of the turn six chicane and parking next to the barrier.

Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood would now run one-two under yellow due to not having pitted for a second time. Kirkwood had spun off in turn 10 earlier in the race and had found himself at the back of the pack as a result. Unfortunately, Kirkwood would have more incidents and would finish 26th after retiring.

On the next restart, the two Arrow McLaren SP teammates of O’Ward and Rosenqvist would crash into each other in turn one after O’Ward had spun around on his own leaving Rosenqvist behind nowhere to go and would drive into a backwards facing O’Ward, braking his front wing and bringing out the yellow. Rosenqvist would recover in the second half of the race to finish sixth.

Felix Rosenqvist missing his front wing after crashing into Pato O’Ward (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)

Rossi was also the first to take wet tyres before the heavy rain came but did so when the track was still too dry and burned up his tyres forcing him to pit for dry tyres again laps later.

On the lap 46 restart, Ericsson would lead the pack back to green on much older tyres before both Dixon who put himself back on the lead lap, and Herta would get by him in turn four. A few laps later Dixon would be put back down a lap by now race leader Herta. Ericsson would plummet down the order to 12th but would make a late race charge on the wet tyres to finish an impressive fourth place while Dixon would finish 10th on the lead lap.

Marcus Ericsson (right) ahead of Colton Herta (left) in turn two (Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar Media)

A few laps into the run saw Harvey take out Grosjean in turn seven by knocking him off into the grass before scrambling back onto the track in 12th position.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly had started the race in fifth but in the first stint would drop back to 15th on a fuel saving strategy. Once it was clear the race would not end early, the strategy was scrapped and Daly would return to finish the race in fifth.

At the end of the race, Arrow McLaren SP’s Juan Pablo Montoya would bring out the race ending full course yellow after receiving heavy damage after losing control in turn 11. He had been running 7th after starting the race in 24th. This was some warm up for the Colombian’s Month of May and his third Indy 500 win attempt.

Juan Pablo Montoya (left) battling with Felix Rosenqvist (right) in the rain (Photo by Karl Zemlin)

Fellow Colombian Tatiana Calderón would finish in a record 15th place in what appeared to be a quiet race for the AJ Foyt Enterprises’s rookie.

The rookies of Ilott and Christian Lundgaard finished eighth and ninth but Lundgaard, on the soaking wet race track, managed to crash his race car after the race was over on the front straightaway.

Tatiana Calderón (left) battling with Christian Lundgaard (right) into turn one (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)

Full race results: (1st) Colton Herta, (2nd) Simon Pagenaud, (3rd) Will Power, (4th) Marcus Ericsson, (5th) Conor Daly, (6th) Felix Rosenqvist, (7th) Takuma Sato, (8th) Callum Ilott, (9th) Christian Lundgaard, (10th) Scott Dixon, (11th) Alexander Rossi, (12th) David Malukas, (13th) Jack Harvey, (14th) Hélio Castroneves, (15th) Tatiana Calderón, (16th) Graham Rahal, (17th) Romain Grosjean, (18th) Álex Palou, (19th) Pato O’Ward, (20th) Scott McLaughlin, (21st) Devlin DeFrancesco, (22nd) Jimmie Johnson, (23rd) Rinus VeeKay, (24th) Juan Pablo Montoya, (25th) Josef Newgarden, (26th) Kyle Kirkwood, (27th) Dalton Kellett.

Top 10 in points standings: 1st Will Power (170), 2nd Álex Palou (156), 3rd Scott McLaughlin (152), 4th Josef Newgarden (140), 5th Scott Dixon (133), 6th Colton Herta (132), 7th Pato O’Ward (126), 8th Marcus Ericsson (117), Romain Grosjean (114), 10th Rinus VeeKay (113).

Featured Image: Colton Herta takes the checkered flag under yellow to win the 2022 Indy Grand Prix (Photo by Travis Hinkle/IndyCar Media)

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BTCC Round Six – Turkington leads BMW 1-2 with Thompson’s first ever podium

Colin Turkington took victory in Round Six of the British Touring Car Chamoionship. Team mate Jake Hill finished second for a BMW one-two with Bobby Thompson securing his first ever podium finishing third in his Team HARD Cupra Leon.

An incredible start from Jake Hill from sixth saw him fighting for the lead into Paddock Hill Bend. The Safety Car was deployed when Jason Plato locked up into Druids and put his Honda Civic into the tyre wall.

Lap six saw the restart and Tom Chilton remained in the lead with Colin Turkington hunting him down. On the end of lap seven Turkington got the better exit out of Clearways and down the pit straight they ran side by side. Going into the first corner at Paddock Turkington went around the outside and took the lead of the race.

Chilton started falling down the order, Jake Hill and Bobby Thompson passed him before he pitted on lap 16 with a mechanical issue. Lap 18 saw the end of Chilton’s race as he gambled with slick tyres. He went off at Druids and brought out a second safety car.

The race restarted on lap 23 and the BMW pair of Turkington and Hill sped away from Bobby Thompson in third place. This was how the top three would finish. Turkington took the win with Hill second. Thompson was third in his Cupra to secure his first ever podium finish.

Tom Ingram finished fourth to preserve his championship lead with Rory Butcher, Ash Sutton and George Gamble behind him. Double race winner Josh Cook was eighth with Dan Lloyd and Dan Cammish rounding off the top ten.

Pos Driver Car Team
1 Colin Turkington BMW 330e Team WSR 26:45:566
2 Jake Hill BMW330e Team WSR +1.181
3 Bobby Thompson Cupra Leon Team HARD +5.198
4 Tom Ingram Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +5.808
5 Rory Butcher Toyota Corolla Speedworks +6.186
6 Ash Sutton Ford Focus Motorbase +6.488
7 George Gamble BMW 330e Ciceley +7.031
8 Josh Cook Honda Civic FK8 BTC Racing +8.256
9 Dan Lloyd Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +9.062
10 Dan Cammish Ford Focus Motorbase +9.543
11 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic FK8 Team Dynamics +11.783
12 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus Motorbase +12.012
13 Stephen Jelley BMW 330e Team WSR +12.276
14 Adam Morgan BMW 330e Ciceley +12.336
15 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +14.014
16 Aron Taylor- Smith Cupra Leon Team HARD +14.777
17 Jade Edwards Honda Civic FK8 BTC Racing +15.000
18 Sam Osborne Ford Focus Motorbase +15.927
19 Jack Butel Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +16.152
20 Ricky Collard Toyota Corolla Speedworks +17.075
21 Ash Hand Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +17.940
22 Dan Rowbottom Honda Civic FK8 Team Dynamics +18.645
23 Dexter Patterson Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +21.977
24 Nicholas Hamilton Cupra Leon Team HARD +25.229
25 Will Powell Cupra Leon Team HARD +1 Lap
DNF Tom Chilton Hyundai i30N Excelr8 Crash
DNF Rick Parfitt Infiniti Q50 Team HARD Mechanical
DNF Jason Plato Honda Civic FK8 BTC Racing Crash
DNS Michael Crees Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed Damage
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BTCC Round Five – Cook secures double win despite multiple challenges

Josh Cook secured his second win of the day in Round Five of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

It’s the first double win of the season as he held off charges from Jake Hill and then Dan Cammish to take the chequered flag.

The start saw the BMW pair of Hill and Colin Tarkington shoot off the second row of the grid to pressurise Cook.

Tom Ingram started falling down the order with Gordon Shedden, Tarkington and Ash Sutton all fighting for position, going three wide down the pit straight.

Hill was the one taking the fight to Cook up front. The BMW man was using his rear wheel drive speed to fight Cook’s front wheel drive Honda. But the Civic driver is an expert in defensive driving.

While one BMW was excelling, Tarkington in the other was falling down the order and couldn’t cope with the front wheel drive cars behind him.

As the leading pair fought, Cammish in his Ford Focus was closing in on the pair. Making it a three way fight for the win.

On the penultimate lap Hill went for a move at the Druids hairpin. But he lost the rear end and spun his BMW, letting in Cammish who took the fight to Cook for the final lap and a half.

Cook held off Cammish for another win, with Cammish and Rory Butcher finished third in his Toyota. Ash Sutton was fourth in the second Ford Focus while championship leader Tom Ingram finished fifth.

Gordon Shedden was sixth while Hill recovered to finish seventh after a spin. Dan Lloyd was eighth with George Gamble ninth and Turkington rounded off the top ten.

Pos Driver Car Team
1 Josh Cook Honda Civic FK 8 BTC Racing 21:48:632
2 Dan Cammish Ford Focus Motorbase +0.253
3 Rory  Butcher Toyota Corolla Speedworks +0.932
4 Ash Sutton Ford Focus  Motorbase +4.381
5 Tom Ingram Hyundai I30N Excelr8 +7.185
6 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic FK8 Team Dynamics +10.086
7 Jake Hill BMW 330e Team WSR +10.384
8 Dan Lloyd Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +10.889
9 George Gamble BMW 330e Ciceley +11.965
10 Colin Turkington BMW 330e Team WSR +12.666
11 Bobby Thompson Cupra Leon Team HARD +13.032
12 Tom Chilton Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +13.558
13 Jason Plato Honda Civic FK8 BTC Racing +17.570
14 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus Motorbase +18.143
15 Jade Edwards Honda Ciivc FK8 BTC Racing +18.316
16 Aron Taylor-Smith Cupra Leon Team HARD +22.026
17 Ricky Collard Toyota Corolla Speedworks +23.999
18 Stephen Jelley BMW 330e Team WSR +24.900
19 Jack Butel Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +25.117
20 Sam Osborne Ford Focus Motorbase +31.305
21 Nicholas Hamilton Cupra Leon Team HARD +38.800
22 Rick Parfitt Infiniti Q50 Team HARD +39.506
23 Will Powell Cupra Leon Team HARD +1 Lap
24 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +3 Laps
DNF Michael Crees Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed Mechanical
DNF Dan Rowbottom Honda Civic FK8 Team Dynamics Damage
DNF Ash Hand Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed Damage
DNF Dexter Patterson Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools Damage
DNS Adam Morgan BMW 330e Ciceley Mechanical
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BTCC Round Four – Cook takes win in thrilling wet-dry race

Josh Cook took victory in Round Four of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch in a wet-dry race.

it was front wheel drive cars that locked out the podium with Tom Ingram in the Hyundai second and Dan Cammish third in his Ford. The WSR BMW trio that qualified first, second and third fell away throughout a compelling race.

The track conditions were greasy, with a mix of wet and dry portions of the Kent circuit. Rory Butcher the only driver to gamble on slicks. He went off on the formation lap down the Cooper straight but recovered to start ninth.

Jake Hill made the best start from second but Colin Tarkington retained his lead on the opening lap. Dan Lloyd went wide at Clearways as the conditions were tricky at best.

Cook in his BTC Racing Honda Civic was making his way through the order, moving into third on lap seven to break the BMW stronghold.

Halfway through the race on lap 12 Butcher’s dry tyre gamble started to pay off. He’d fallen to 26th and 24.6 seconds off the lead.

Cook took second from Hill at Paddock bend on lap 13 with a dive down the inside before replicating the move on lap 17 on Turkington to lead the race.

The BMW’s faded away, while Butcher was scything his way through the order. Making his way into the points and cutting the gap to the leaders.

 

Cook strolled to the win with Ingram second and Cammish third. Hill finished fourth with team mate Turkington fifth. Adam Morgan was sixth with Butcher’s incredible recovery drive ending in seventh place. Gordon Shedden was eighth in his Honda with reigning champion Ash Sutton ninth. Dan Rowbottom rounded off the top ten.

Pos Driver Car Team
1 Josh Cook Honda Civic FK8 BTC Racing 21:44:124
2 Tom Ingram Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +0.802
3 Dan Cammish Ford Focus Motorbase +4.209
4 Jake Hill BMW 330e Team WSR +5.037
5 Colin Turkington BMW 330e Team WSR +7.691
6 Adam Morgan BMW 330e Ciceley +10.120
7 Rory Butcher Toyota Corolla Speedworks +10.848
8 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic FK8 Team Dynamics +11.670
9 Ash Sutton Ford Focus Motorbase +12.509
10 Dan Rowbottom Honda Civic FK8 Team Dynamics +14.385
11 Ash Hand Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +15.034
12 Michael Crees Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +15.344
13 Tom Chilton Hyundai i30 N Excelr8 +15.459
14 George Gamble BMW 330e Ciceley +16.222
15 Dan Lloyd Hyundai i30 N Excelr8 +17.661
16 Bobby Thompson Cupra Leon Team HARD +19.664
17 Jason Plato Honda Civic FK8 BTC Racing +20.553
18 Jade Edwards Honda Civic FK8 BTC Racing +28,181
19 Jack Butel Hyundai I30N Excelr8 +28.884
20 Stephen Jelley BMW 330e Team WSR +29.631
21 Aron Taylor-Smith Cupra Leon Team HARD +34.740
22 Aidan Moffat Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +35.759
23 Ollie Jackson Ford Focus Motorbase +35.985
24 Sam Osborne Ford Focus Motorbase +36.219
25 Dexter Patterson Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +36.748
26 Ricky Collard Toyota Corolla Speedworks +40.999
27 Nicholas Hamilton Cupra Leon Team HARD +47.763
28 Rick Parfitt Infiniti Q50 Team HARD +48.505
29 Will Powell Cupra Leon Team HARD +1 Lap
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Mortara claims first blood in Berlin: Race 1 Report

It was a Saturday of success for Mercedes power this weekend at their home race as Formula E returned to Berlin, a fixture on the calendar since the inaugural season. Stoffel Vandoorne headed into Saturday as the championship leader, and held the lead over his rivals but a few drivers managed to break ground and close the gap to reignite the battle at the forefront of the championship.

Edo Mortara claimed a dominant pole position in the German capital, the first of his career, beating Alexander Sims by two tenths. It was the Mahindra man’s first outing in the new qualifying format, after a bizarre situation in the semi-finals in which he and Jean-Eric Vergne posted the same identical laptime. By virtue of posting the time first, Sims claimed the spot in the final. Vergne was relegated to fourth, lining up alongside his teammate Antonio Felix Da Costa who sat in P3. Porsche teammates Andre Lotterer and Pascal Wehrlein rounded out the top six, another consistent display from the German outfit.

Credit: Sam Bloxham

Mortara got away well at the front as the chaos unfurled behind him, the two Techeetahs of Vergne and Da Costa prowled, picking off Sims and the Porsche of Lotterer also looked dangerous. The four behind Mortara continued to swap positions during the opening stages of the race. Sims slipped down the order as Wehrlein was the first man in the top six to activate his attack mode. After a poor start from the opening lap, Mercedes’ man Stoffel Vandoorne began an extraordinary climb up the order, finding himself on the fringes of the podium battle. However, the Belgian had to settle for P3 ultimately, as Vergne demonstrated a defensive masterclass to hold off the Mercedes for the second step of the podium. However, it was Mortara who took the spoils in the first round, converting his long-awaited maiden pole into a win.

Lotterer took fourth in his home race, having looked menacing at the start of the race but fell back as energy consumption began to bite. It was also an excellent day at the office for the Jaguar team – double Rome winner Mitch Evans stayed quiet in the opening stages before slowly making his way up the order to capture a healthy glut of points for his championship challenge, finishing in fifth position ahead of Wehrlein. His teammate Sam Bird also climbed through the order, finishing nine places up from his starting position, a stark contrast to the problems that plagued Jaguar in Berlin last year to finish in P7.

Credit: Sam Bloxham

Da Costa started well from his second row start and looked in the battle for the podium positions but he failed to keep the pace in the latter stages of the race, finishing in eighth spot. Likewise, Sims had a strong start from the front row but lacked the pace to go with the frontrunners, finishing a tenth behind Da Costa in ninth position as Nyck De Vries rounded out the top ten with the current world champion collecting the final point.

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Moto2: Maiden Pole for Acosta at Le Mans

Having previously never started a Moto2 race from the front row, rookie Pedro Acosta will have the honours of leading the field off the line for tomorrow’s race as he clinched his maiden pole. He will be joined on the front row by Jake Dion and Augusto Fernandez, as Sam Lowes and Ai Ogura both crash out.

Before the 2022 Moto2 season had begun, many had their sights set on rookie rider Pedro Acosta and predicted he would be a title contender. However as the season kicked off Acosta was nowhere to be seen, unable to qualify higher than 10th or finish a race higher than seventh.

With the sun shining down on the Le Mans circuit, it seemed that today would be Acosta’s day. He hit the top of the timing sheets with over three minutes remaining in Q2, with a time of 1:35.803 that no one was able to challenge.

Joining him on the front row will be Jake Dixon, who was able to put together a brilliant lap despite seeming to struggle to find his flow all weekend, and Augusto Fernandez.

Lining up in sixth for tomorrow’s race will be new boy, Alonso Lopez, who is replacing Romano Fenati. On his first step up from Moto3, he laid down an impressive performance to secure a second row start for tomorrow.

It was a much trickier day for Sam Lowes and the two Honda Team Asia riders, Ai Ogura and Somkiat Chantra, as all three riders crashed during Q2. However, thanks to some early banker laps, they will start tomorrow’s race from fourth, eighth and 11th respectively.

Our championship leader, Celestino Vietti, has struggled for pace all weekend, forcing him to join the Q1 group. These woes continued throughout the session as he failed to sit within the top three even once in the session. He was unable to progress to Q2 and will start tomorrow’s race from the lowly 19th spot on the grid.

Image Credit: MotoGP
QUALIFYING 1

As everyone completed their first flying laps of the session, it was Manuel Gonzalez who jumped to the top of the timing sheets first. He set an initial benchmark of 1:36.645. Behind him was Lorenzo Dalla Porta in second, Jorge Navarro third and Vietti in fourth – all had provisionally booked a place in to Q2.

With eight minutes left on the clock, Alessandro Zaccone crashed at Turn 8, bringing out yellow flags in Sector 3. Less than a minute later, Sean Dylan Kelly crashed at Turn 14 to bring out yet more yellow flags, this time in at Sector 4. The biggest looser from they yellow flags seemed to be Joe Roberts who was just appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

With just less than five minutes of the session remaining, Niccolo Antonelli became the next victim of the tricky Le Mans circuit, as he crashed at Turn 8. Lucky he was unscathed as he returned to action following surgery for arm pump earlier in the week.

At this point in the session, Dalla Porta was at the top of the timing sheet with Fermin Aldeguer, Bo Bendsneyder and Navarro just behind him. There was just 0.04s covering there top four riders and everything was still to play form.

Sitting just outside the top four was Vietti who returned to tack for some final flying laps with four minutes left in the session. He had just enough time to complete three flying laps and, whilst each was an improvement on the last, he still wasn’t able to break in to that elusive leading group. Whilst his lap times were fastest that most in sectors one and two, he was loosing out considerably in sectors three and four.

The checkered flag fell and with no one able to improve on their lap times or challenge the top four, it was Dalla Porta, Aldeguer, Bendsneyder and Navarro who progressed to Q2.

QUALIFYING 2

The first flying lap of Q2 was set by Lowes on the Elf Marc VDS machine. He then improved on his early banker lap with a 1:36.071. In hindsight, this lap would prove vital as with nine minutes left on the clock, he suffered a horrible highside at Turn 8. The rear of the bike stepped out as he exited the corner, causing a highside which threw him down on to his shoulder before the bike hit him in the back.

Just moments before this incident, Ogura also crashed at Turn 8 – in an uncharacteristic move, the bike slid from underneath him as he touched the throttle to exit the corner. This combination of incidents resulted in yellow flags waving across both Sector 2 and 3.

As the session continued, and with just seven minute remaining, a number of riders seemed to pick up the pace – this included Acosta and Dixon who were setting flying sector times. As Acosta jumped up to third, the provisional grid was lead by Lowes, Albert Arenas and Acosta. Lopez, on his first Moto2 outing, was in provisional fourth ahead of Ogura in fifth.

With three minutes to go, Fernandez leapt to the top of the timings, only to have provisional pole snatches away moment later, as Acosta crossed the line. The next bike across the line was Dixon, who split the leading pair to take second. Lowes had now been shuffled off the front row and had no way to fight back as he sat in the garage.

As the checkered flag fell, no one looked to be able to improve on their times or challenge the leading pair. The final nail in the coffin came when Chantra suffered a fast front end crash at Turn 10 bringing out the yellow flag at sectors 3 and 4 and halting anyone from challenging Acosta.

Further down the grid, Aron Canet took seventh after a quiet and difficult weekend. Bo Bendsneyder was the best Q1 progressor in ninth, just ahead of Tony Arbolino in tenth.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Mercedes AMGF1 – Decision Time

5 races into the 2022 F1 World Championship and the defending Constructors Champions are without a pole position or a win, In fact they have just 2 podiums to their name and Sir Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are 6th and 4th in the drivers standings with the team 3rd a staggering 62 points behind Ferrari.

Clearly the dominant force of the hybrid era haven’t forgotten how to design and build a racing car but after practically giving up on developing their 2021 car to concentrate on this season they will be massively disappointed in what has happened so far this season.

No sidepod Merc on day 3 of the Bahrain testing. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media

When they rolled out their revolutionary zero sidepod car at the second test in Bahrain the F1 world were already saying if it dominated and the rival teams wanted to protest it, then the rule makers could decide that the car wasn’t in line with the spirit of the new regulations and would make the team change the car. Even though the car set disappointing lap times most experts thought the team were sandbagging and come the first race would dominate as usual.

The first race in Bahrain confirmed that not only were they not sandbagging but that they were almost a second a lap slower in the race. The major cause of the gap seemed to be the porpoising that the car suffered, although most teams this season are suffering from this it seems Mercedes suffer from it the worst no matter how they try to solve it.  How could they have got it so wrong ?

This performance deficit has continued throughout the first few races but at the fifth race in Miami the team brought the first big upgrades of the season. A new front wing, rear wing and beam wing were fitted to the car in the hope it would not only cure the issues the car had, but also reduce drag allowing the car to be quicker on the long straights of the Miami circuit.

Lewis Hamilton enjoying the faster car on Friday in Miami. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media

During the first practice sessions on Friday it seemed that the upgrades not only worked but returned the team to the front of the field with Russell going quickest in FP2. The porpoising had also gone but watching every other car they had also cured the issue. Or was it just a characteristic of the circuit and the need for a low downforce setup.

On Saturday the porpoising had returned maybe because the team had been in search of a few more tenths thinking they were in the hunt for pole position. Qualifying was disappointing by the teams high standards and they ended up 6th and 12th. The closest Lewis Hamilton could get the fastest time was again almost a second down.

Once again it wasn’t a good race for the team, even with the upgrades they were just under a second a lap slower than the top 2 teams. After the race team principle Toto Wolff seemed bemused and confused. Although he was pleased that they had been quickest on Friday, Toto couldn’t explain why the car had been so good or why it had suddenly become so bad again for the rest of the weekend.

After another disappointing weekend what will the team do now? Obviously they will bring a big upgrade to Spain as most teams will. Even if they bring an upgrade that cures the problems and makes the car significantly quicker, it would be a surprise if both Ferrari and RedBull don’t do the same so they will have an even bigger gap to close than the one they have had all season long.

Fighting to get higher up the grid. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media

Its clear that the car can be quick but does it have such a small window in which it needs to be set up that it will be almost impossible to mount a challenge for wins, let alone a title shot if it stays so temperamental. The Spanish race will probably decide what the team does for the rest of the season, continue development of the current car or write off 2022 and start concentrating on next year already and use the rest of the season as an extended test session.

If they do manage to bring an upgrade package that puts them back in the hunt we could be about to see one of the greatest F1 seasons ever, so soon after the great (albeit tarnished 2021 season) 3 teams fighting at the front for the first time in years would be great.

By the end of the race in Spain we should know how the rest of the season will pan out in terms of who will be in the fight for the title. Perhaps more importantly we will know what decision Mercedes have made in their fight to tame the Silver space Hopper.

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Logano bump and runs his way to first Darlington victory!

Joey Logano bumped William Byron out of the way to take his first victory at Darlington Raceway in NASCAR’s Goodyear 400 on Sunday. With Byron getting ready to take the white flag heading into turn three, a faster Logano gave him a sizable shot in the rear shooting him up the race track and into the wall resulting in Logano flying past to take the win. Byron finished 13th.

With 26 to go, Byron had fended off Logano for the lead by squeezing him into the wall coming off turn two forcing Logano to lift off the gas.

Joey Logano (left), the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, and William Byron (right), the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, battling for the lead (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Facing a hostile crowd, Logano explained to FOX’s Regan Smith that the move was retaliation for it saying “You’re not going to put me in the wall and not get anything back, that’s how that works.”

Joey Logano facing the crowd at the start finish line and celebrating his first Darlington Cup win (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Logano ends his 40 winless streak in terms of championship points paying races, last winning the 2021 inaugural Bristol Dirt Race. The polesitter had either led or been at the front of the pack for the entire race, leading over 100 laps and had won stage one.

Logano was sporting a 1995 throwback paint scheme to his original quarter midget that had got him racing as a kid. In victory lane Logano said “This is the car where it all started for me back in ’95 in a quarter midget. Really, honestly, all the young kids racing out there right now, this could be you.”

Joey Logano celebrating in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Byron was upset with Logano’s driving saying to FOX’s Jamie Little: “He’s just an idiot. He slammed me so hard he knocked the whole right side off the car, and I couldn’t even make the corner. He didn’t even make it a contest. He’s just a moron.”

William Byron storms down pit road after a frustrating end to the race (Photo by Alejandro Alvarez/NASCAR Digital Media)

In honour of NASCAR’s annual throwback weekend for the race, Byron was sporting a Jeff Gordon 2007 Axalta paint scheme. The incident with Logano saw Jeff Gordon himself shaking his head in disbelief on pit road.

Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (left) comforts William Byron (right) post-race on pit road (Photo by Jennifer Fisher/NASCAR Digital Media)

Tyler Reddick came up one place short of a win for a second time this season, but was under a second behind Logano when they crossed the finish line. With 15 to go, Reddick was attempting to make a late race charge for the win but was unable to find a way past Logano before Logano pulled away and began to close down Byron inside of five to go.

Tyler Reddick, the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, racing in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Reddick had been one of few drivers who had broken the final stage up into thirds, instead of in half. Due to pitting early on in the final stage and being on fresher rubber for a while when everybody else had made their first pit stop, he cycled to the front of the pack to lead for a few laps. He would get overtaken on pit road by Logano under caution which had come out for Alex Bowman, who’s car was on fire that had to be put out on pit road.

Justin Haley earned an impressive first top-five of the season with a third place finish for him and Kaulig Racing. Haley’s strong performances at Talladega, Dover and now Darlington is making him quite the feel-good story of 2022.

Justin Haley climbing out of his No. 31 Chevrolet on pit road after his third place finish (Photo by Alejandro Alvarez/NASCAR Digital Media)

Kevin Harvick would finish fourth and grow his consecutive top-10 finishes at Darlington to 13, beating Bill Elliott’s record who was commentating in the FOX booth for the final part of the race. Harvick ran a special Rheem Chasing a Cure paint scheme for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Kevin Harvick, the No. 4 Rheem Chasing a Cure Ford, racing in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Chase Elliott who started from the rear, came home to finish a well earned fifth place after battling hard with Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Erik Jones throughout much of the final part of the race.

The race proved to be one of attrition with race contenders Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. all falling out of contention or out of the race due to crashing during stage’s two and three.

Kyle Busch got collected by an out of control Brad Keselowski in the closing laps of stage two. Keselowski had wrecked after colliding with the turn two wall before coming back down the race track and spinning back across into Kyle Busch who was trying to keep out of his way running next to the backstretch wall. The impact buckled Kyle Busch’s wheel and suspension forcing him to retire. Busch had led laps in stage one after wrestling the lead away from Logano after a two lap duel. He had remained in the top five for much of the first half of the race.

Kyle Busch, the No.18 M&M’s Toyota, racing in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Ross Chastain had been upfront for the first half of the race and had won stage two before spinning out by himself on the next restart after getting loose under Denny Hamlin for the lead coming out of turn two and consequently collided with the inside wall, ending his day.

Ross Chastain, the No. 1 Coca-Cola Chevrolet limps back to the garage area after heavy contact with the wall (Photo by Zack Albert/NASCAR Digital Media)

On lap 260 of 293, Martin Truex Jr. was the cause of a big multi-car crash on a restart involving eight cars including Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, Cole Custer, Erik Jones and Hamlin, after getting loose in the middle of three wide in turn two and backing up the field as he spun sideways across the track.

Hamlin, who restarted stage two with the lead and had recently retaken the lead of the race in stage three after getting by Logano before falling back into the field after a mistake on pit road, piled into the back of Jones who was caught up in the accident, ending his day.

Denny Hamlin, the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, racing in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

On lap 112, reigning champion Kyle Larson, who started second, had to retire due to an engine failure.

Full finishing order: (1st) Joey Logano, (2nd) Tyler Reddick, (3rd) Justin Haley, (4th) Kevin Harvick, (5th) Chase Elliott, (6th) Christopher Bell, (7th) Michael McDowell, (8th) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., (9th) Austin Dillon, (10th) Daniel Suárez, (11th) Aric Almirola, (12th) Ty Dillon, (13th) William Byron, (14th) Harrison Burton, (15th) Todd Gilliland, (16th) Chris Buescher, (17th) Ryan Blaney, (18th) Austin Cindric, (19th) Cody Ware, (20th) Chase Briscoe, (21st) Denny Hamlin, (22nd) Landon Cassill, (23rd) JJ Yeley, (24th) Martin Truex Jr., (25th) Erik Jones, (26th) Cole Custer, (27th) Bubba Wallace, (28th) Kurt Busch, (29th) Alex Bowman, (30th) Ross Chastain, (31st) Daniel Hemric, (32nd) BJ McLeod, (33rd) Kyle Busch, (34th) Brad Keselowski, (35th) Corey Lajoie, (36th) Kyle Larson.

Top 10 in points standings: 1st Chase Elliott (453), 2nd William Byron (388), 3rd Ryan Blaney (388), 4th Joey Logano (374), 5th Ross Chastain (364), 6th Kyle Busch (364), 7th Martin Truex Jr. (364), 8th Alex Bowman (357), 9th Kyle Larson (336), 10th Christopher Bell (327).

Featured Image: Joey Logano, the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

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Dominant Verstappen beats Leclerc to Miami GP victory

Max Verstappen took victory with a commanding performance at the Miami Grand Prix after passing polesitter Charles Leclerc early on.

A crash and a hydraulic issue had limited Verstappen’s running in practice before he qualified third behind Ferrari, who qualified first and second for the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix of 2019, 48 races prior after they both capitalised on a mistake by the reigning champion in qualifying.

Due to an issue heating the fuel up, Aston Martin’s promising looking qualifying was undone as both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll were forced to start from the pit lane.

Verstappen with a great start. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

Off the start, Leclerc kept the lead through the first corner as Max Verstappen got round Carlos Sainz at Turn Two, splitting the Ferraris and giving Red Bull a near perfect start.

The Monegasque opened out a second advantage to the reigning champion after the first two tours of the circuit, setting the fastest lap as both of the leaders began to drop Sainz.

Having made a poor start from sixth, Sir Lewis Hamilton was passed by both Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso, with the Briton claiming that Alonso had hit him, but he streamed back ahead of the double world champion shortly after.

The seven-time champion then got back ahead of Gasly, regaining sixth and putting him just over two seconds behind former Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda then engaged in an entertaining battle for 11th as the German got past, while Verstappen was beginning to close on Leclerc as Zhou Guanyu brought his Alfa Romeo back into the garage to retire.

Yuki Tsunoda fighting Mick Schumacher. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

He was told of significant graining on the Ferrari driver’s front left tyre, and he duly took full advantage by getting to within a second and passing his fellow 24-year-old into Turn One, and Leclerc then began to fall away while Sainz began to fall into the clutches of Sergio Perez.

The first stops of the race arrived on lap 13 as Tsunoda and then Kevin Magnussen came in for Hard tyres, followed by Schumacher, with the lack of longevity of the Pirelli rubber this weekend being confirmed.

Alonso’s stop was intended to gain the undercut on Gasly, but an issue on the front right delayed his getaway, and cost him time to the Frenchman.

Vettel would then engage in an entertaining battle with Williams’ Nicholas Latifi after Stroll had cleared the Canadian, with the German and then Magnussen making their way past, as Gasly’s came back out of the pits comfortably clear of Alonso as Alpine’s misfortune this season continued.

Vettel then narrowly cleared Norris as the Briton exited the pits, before Magnussen followed him through past the McLaren after a slow stop, and Perez began to lose power in his Red Bull, causing him to fall back towards Bottas, but his lap times began to improve as he returned to the pace.

Magnussen had a go at clearing Vettel at Turn 11, but he ran out of table on the outside as the 34-year-old defended well.

A great stop for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media

Hamilton came in on Lap 23 and was given a splendid stop by the Mercedes crew, and he re-joined behind George Russell after the 24-year-old’s P12 in qualifying left him out of position.

Leclerc then began using the rest of his residual grip on the Mediums as he set the fastest lap, indicative of an imminent stop, but the gap to Verstappen had risen to 4.5 seconds.

Despite his pace, he told his team that the car was “so difficult to drive,” and he was shortly thereafter brought into the pits for a set of Mediums.

Red Bull waited a couple of laps to bring Verstappen in as he got a super stop from his mechanics, and came back out ahead of Perez, who had yet to make a stop, with Sainz in the lead for the same reason.

Sainz pitted on lap 27, but had a slow stop as the crew struggled with the front left, but owing to Perez’s earlier issues, was able to re-join in front of the Mexican, before Hamilton reported to his team that he was beginning to suffer from overheating tyres.

Lance Stroll battles Magnussen. Image courtesy of Aston Martin Media

Magnussen, having finally cleared Vettel, now had a face full of Stroll’s Aston Martin, and Norris was behind the train involving Schumacher as his slow stop continued to cost him time.

As Vettel’s attempt to get back past Magnussen failed, Schumacher gladly took the opportunity to get ahead of the Aston Martin.

That left the Banbury-made cars to battle between themselves as the 29-year-old endeavoured to defend from his younger team-mate.

Schumacher was eventually allowed to get past the Dane, before a Vettel mistake at Turn Seven opened the door for Norris to gain the position.

Russell, meanwhile, had been completing a remarkably good stint, and he told his team he was more than happy to stay out in anticipation of a Safety Car or some rain as Christian Horner began to look nervously at the sky.

Gasly and Alonso made contacted as they continued their squabble as the Spaniard went for an ambitious move down the inside, and the subsequent time loss cost the 25-year-old a place to Stroll, who had yet to pit in another miserable day for Aston Martin.

Contact then ensued between Norris and Gasly, causing a puncture and a spin out of the race for the McLaren and extracting the Virtual Safety Car – an ideal opportunity for Russell to make his stop.

Gasly had been slowing after going off at Turn Eight and, as he re-joined, he turned into the back of the Briton, and the departure of his tyre followed by his stricken car lying out on track brought eventually brought out a full Safety Car.

The subsequent stops put Russell into seventh, while Aston Martin were brought back into the picture, and Esteban Ocon, having started last after being unable to contest qualifying due to an FP3 crash, was placed onto Softs.

Alonso was also given a five-second penalty for the collision with Gasly, who then came in for Softs of his own.

Most importantly though, Perez had put on fresh Mediums, leaving the Ferraris vulnerable to him for when the race restarted, and a neglect on Hamilton’s side of the garage to pit him also looked set to leave him at the mercy of Russell.

Sergio Perez in for his vital stop. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

Sainz was immediately forced to fend off Perez on the restart, but Verstappen negotiated it perfectly, remaining ahead of Leclerc as everyone kept it clean on lap 47.

Schumacher managed to clear Ocon for ninth place as he chased his first points finish, and Perez continued to attack the second Ferrari.

Russell tried to make a move stick on Hamilton, but the 37-year-old defended well before a mistake from Bottas allowed both of them to clear the Alfa Romeo, which had made contact with the barrier.

Russell did then manage to clear his Mercedes team-mate after a boisterous battle of the Britons, and Leclerc was sticking within a second of Verstappen as he chased the win.

A highly audacious attempt from Perez into Turn One, and the subsequent lock-up allowed Sainz to get back in front.

Schumacher would then dive down the inside of his friend and mentor Vettel, hitting hi and spinning him at Turn One, allowing Ocon to climb into the points, as well as Alex Albon.

Verstappen opened out the gap to a comfortable margin, and as he crossed the line on the final lap, claimed the 23rd win of his career.

It leaves him 19 points behind Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship, while Ferrari’s lead over Red Bull has been cut to six points.

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W Series Miami Race 2: Chadwicks makes it a Double

Chadwick puts in a dominant performance to win the second race in Miami. In contrast to yesterdays race it was a clean session but still had the last lap which W Series is becoming known for.

The second fastest times in qualifying set the grid for this race. This meant Chadwick started on pole with Marti in P2, Kimiläinen in P3 and Powell in P4. Both Kimiläinen and Powell were looking to improve on their results from race 1.

Lights out and everyone gets away clean. Chadwick with a good start kept the lead into turn 1 while Kimiläinen behind her had a great start. She was alongside Marti heading towards turn 1 but gets stuck behind Chadwick and stayed in P3.

Through sector one kimiläinen stayed close to Marti which meant by the time they got to turn 11 she was lining up a move on Marti. She goes too deep just like the restart of race 1 and undoes all the hard work she had done. Next time around, on lap 2 she had another go and this time made it stick.

While this was happening Marta Garcia was making up places which is important for her after receiving a penalty after the race yesterday for colliding with Kimiläinen in the closing stages of race 1.

Powell was also wanting to improve on race 1 and was closing the gap on Marti after Kimiläinen’s move. She kept searching for a passing position but couldn’t find the right opportunity to make a move.

The pressure from Powell pushed Marti closer to Kimiläinen, and with 20 minutes to go Marti was in the slipstream of the team Puma driver. Kimiläinen made a mistake in turn 17 and Marti took back P2.

This battle was far from over though. Down the main straight Kimiläinen had more speed and takes the inside line into turn 1. Just when she thought the battle was won though, Marti gave Kimiläinen one final battle into turn 11. Marti out braked Kimiläinen and came out on top.

Trying to get in on the action, Powell makes a lunge into turn 1 on Kimiläinen. She went too deep though and couldn’t make it stick, leaving Kimiläinen to great a gap to Powell. This opened the door for Belen Garcia, but Powell was able to keep her behind.

Moore chasing down Visser before her overtake. Image courtesy of W Series Media

Further back and Moore was putting in fastest laps in an attempt to catch Visser. With 14 minutes to go Moore had caught Visser, making a great move into turn 1. This pace wasn’t too last forever though as Abbi Pulling was on the charge behind her.

Having taken fastest lap, Pulling was following Moore and passed Visser in a great move around the outside of turn 11. It wasn’t long before she was only half a second behind Moore with only 5 minutes left of the race.

Moore was holding Pulling off until the pressure seemed to get to her, and she locked up, going deep into turn 11. Pulling took advantage and made it up to P7. It only got worse for Moore as Visser got past as well in the last minute of the race.

In the final few minutes of the race Powell had closed up on Kimiläinen in P3. On the final lap after the 30 minute time Powell looked to make a move on kimiläinen. Going into turn 17 kimiläinen was pushing hard to keep Powell behind but the back end stepped out causing her to spin round. This caused some damage to Powell’s front wing, but she was able to carry on to the end.

So heartbreak again for kimiläinen but Jamie Chadwick made it a double win in Miami to start her 2022 season. Nerea Marti and a damaged Alice Powell joined her on the podium. A second W Series podium for Marti and an important points haul for Powell after yesterday’s disappointment.

All smiles from Marti, Chadwick and Powell on the podium. Image courtesy of W Series Media

Next up is Barcelona where we only have 1 race on Saturday the 21st of May.

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