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BTCC Croft – King of Croft Turkington prevails with Shedden and Sutton in race-long fight

Colin Turkington secured a lights to flag win in the third and final race at Croft. The ‘King of Croft’ kept up his impressive record at the Yorkshire circuit with a win in the final race.

The story of the race was a handful of collisions, spins, and a titanic battle between two titans in Gordon Shedden and Ash Sutton.

The safety car came out on lap one as there was chaos further down the grid. Dan Lloyd ended up in the gravel trap, with Jack Mitchell spinning off after damaging his car in the melee. Jack Goff and Jade Edwards also involved picking up damage and seeing them retire from the race.

Racing returned on lap three with the restart, and the chaos continued as Jason Plato had an off at one of the fastest corners on the circuit. Miraculously he didn’t hit anything but he finished the race a lap down.

Adam Morgan and Stephen Jelley both had spins at the final complex on lap six. Other cars managed to avoid the pair as they were able to rejoin and continue.

Nick Halstead, deputising for Rick Parfitt Jr, had a moment going into the final corner as he ran wide and spun off. Again he kept it out of the tyre wall to keep his car going.

The main battle of the race was between Gordon Shedden and Ash Sutton. The pair, with five BTCC titles between them, it was a titanic battle between them with Sutton trying his hardest to make a move coming out of the final hairpin.

Colin Turkington cruised to the win, with Shedden managing to hang on with Sutton settling for third and extending his championship lead in the process.

Tom Ingram’s recovery from a poor qualifying was rewarded with another fourth place finish. Josh Cook and Aiden Moffat rounded off impressive weekends with fifth and sixth.

Jake Hill and Senna Proctor finished seventh and eighth with Dan Rowbottom and Tom Chilton rounding off the top ten in a frenetic but exciting race.

Pos Driver Car Team +/-
1 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR 23:19:784
2 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +3.500
3 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +3.716
4 Tom Ingram Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +7.282
5 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +7.896
6 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +16.730
7 Jake Hill Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport +18.360
8 Senna Proctor Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +18.979
9 Dan Rowbottom Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +20.363
10 Tom Chilton BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +20.810
11 Rory Butcher Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +21.279
12 Aron Taylor-Smith Cupra Leon Team HARD +22.409
13 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +22.600
14 Stephen Jelley BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +23.383
15 Carl Boardley Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +26.709
16 Sam Smelt Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +34.310
17 Adam Morgan BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +34.872
18 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST Motorbase +36.467
19 Jack Butel Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +36.939
20 Nicholas Hamilton Cupra Leon Team HARD +45.435
21 Nick Halstead Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +1 Lap
22 Sam Osborne Ford Focus ST Motorbase +1 Lap
23 Jason Plato Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +1 Lap
Retirements
DNF Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N Excelr8 Mechanical
DNF Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport Suspension
DNF Jade Edwards Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing Damage
DNF Jack Goff Cupra Leon Team HARD Damage
DNF Jack Mitchell Cupra Leon Team HARD Crash
DNF Dan  Lloyd Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed Crash

 

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BTCC Croft – Jake Hill boosts title credentials with dominant win

Jake Hill cruised to a dominant win in race two at Croft to take his second British Touring Car Championship win. The win also boosts his title credentials.

While Hill pulled away there was chaos behind him with around 20 cars all running close behind each other. Aiden Moffat defended incredibly well to take second with Josh Cook in third.

Cook was in the action from the off as he and Colin Turkington made contact into the high speed section, thankfully both drivers came out unscathed. The end of lap one saw Rory Butcher’s wretched luck continue as he was out after a collision.

Tom Oliphant also had another race to forget as he retired with suspension damage and the safety car was deployed to recover the two stricken cars.

Just before the safety car was deployed Hill managed to squeeze past Moffat to take the lead.

On lap six came the restart, Hill managed to get away well with Josh Cook all over the back of team mate Senna Proctor, looking to find a way past the local driver.

By la eight Hill was two seconds clear, with Moffat fighting to hold off the BTC Honda duo of Cook and Proctor with the maximum 75kg ballast in his Infiniti.

Cook finally managed to pass Proctor with a gutsy move down the inside into the Sunny corner.

While Hill was strolling to the win, the action was behind him as Moffat was still defending, but with a gaggle of cars behind him all exchanging places. Turkington the biggest loser as he dropped a handful of places after contact with Gordon Shedden into turn one.

Tom Ingram came out of nowhere to be fourth by the end of lap 15 from 12th on the grid.

Hill took the win, the second of his career, with Moffat showing some incredible racecraft and defensive driving to take second, with Cook third.

Ingram finished fourth with championship leader Ash Sutton fifth, Shedden was sixth with Turkington seventh. Proctor finished eighth with Chris Smiley ninth and Adam Morgan tenth.

Pos Driver Car Team +/-
1 Jake Hill Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport 27:31:374
2 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +5.508
3 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +6.849
4 Tom Ingram Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +7.512
5 Ash Sutton Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +7.749
6 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +7.999
7 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +10.087
8 Senna Proctor Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +11.254
9 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +11.916
10 Adam Morgan BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +12.262
11 Stephen Jelley BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +12.438
12 Jason Plato Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +12.771
13 Sam Osborne Ford Focus ST Motorbase +13.152
14 Ollie Jaclson Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport +13.370
15 Jack Goff Cupra Leon Team HARD +13.810
16 Dan Rowbottom Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +14.927
17 Tom Chilton BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +15.131
18 Dan Lloyd Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +15.330
19 Sam Smelt Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +16.011
20 Jack Mitchell Cupra Leon Team HARD +16.472
21 Jade Edwards Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +17.225
22 Aron Taylor-Smith Cupra Leon Team HARD +18.419
23 Carl Boardley Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +19.013
24 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST Motorbase +31.145
25 Nick Halstead Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +33.461
26 Jack Butel Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +1 Lap
Retirements
DNF Nicholas Hamilton Cupra Leon Team HARD Crash
DNF Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR Mechanical
DNF Rory Butcher Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo Crash

 

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BTCC Croft – Aiden Moffat fends off Jake Hill for brilliant win in race one

Aiden Moffat converted pole to victory in race one at Croft in the British Touring Car Championship. He fended off Jake Hill to take his fourth BTCC win of his career.

Having taken the first pole position of his career on Saturday, he led off the line with second placed qualifier Colin Turkington losing places to Hill and Senna Proctor to sit fourth. His BMW team mate Tom Oliphant had an off on lap one and finished 20th.

On lap three Ollie Jackson came off worst as Chris Smiley dove down the inside of Dan Rowbottom, the pair collided, and with Jackson on the outside of both, he was spun and retired with suspension damage.

The safety car was introduced on lap five as Dan Rowbottom was in the tyre wall as Aron Taylor-Smith clipped the Honda driver and it sent Rowbottom off into the wall.

The race restarted on lap nine and Hill was doing all he can to put the pressure on Moffat.  But the Infiniti driver was defending well and did all he could to hold off the Ford driver.

There weren’t many overtakes at the front with the drivers thinking of the bigger picture and the vital championship points on display. After the first lap the top five didn’t change order once.

Moffat took the chequered flag, with Hill and Proctor rounding off the podium with impressive drives. Turkington took fourth with Josh Cook fifth. He pulled off an incredible double overtake on lap one into the tight right hand hairpin.

Championship leader Ash Sutton was sixth with Smiley seventh, Adam Morgan, Dan Lloyd and Gordon Shedden rounded off the top ten.

Tom Ingram could only manage 12th place in his Hyundai as his title fight takes a hit.

Pos Driver Car Team +/-
1 Aiden Moffat Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools 23:26:297
2 Jake Hill Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport +0.520
3 Senna Proctor Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +1.888
4 Colin Turkington BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +2.269
5 Josh Cook Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +2.877
6 Ash Sutton Infinti Q50 Laser Tools +4.502
7 Chris Smiley Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +5.447
8 Adam Morgan BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +6.728
9 Dan Lloyd Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +7.337
10 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics +8.043
11 Tom Chilton BMW 330i M Sport Ciceley +8.808
12 Tom Ingram Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +9.776
13 Stephen Jelley BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +10.064
14 Aron Taylor-Smith Cupra Leon Team HARD +11.359
15 Carl Boardley Infiniti Q50 Laser Tools +11.970
16 Sam Osborne Ford Focus ST Motorbase +12.649
17 Jason Plato Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed +13.576
18 Jack Goff Cupra Leon Team HARD +14.276
19 Rory Butcher Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +14.941
20 Tom Oliphant BMW 330i M Sport Team WSR +15.167
21 Sam Smelt Toyota Corolla Toyota Gazoo +16.101
22 Jack Mitchell Cupra Leon Team HARD +17.614
23 Jack Butel Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +23.884
24 Andy Neate Ford Focus ST Motorbase +29.719
25 Nicholas Hamilton Cupra Leon Team HARD +30.118
26 Nick Halstead Hyundai i30N Excelr8 +34.270
27 Jade Edwards Honda Civic Type R BTC Racing +1 Lap
Retirements
DNF Dan Rowbottom Honda Civic Type R Team Dynamics Crash
DNF Ollie Jackson Ford Focus ST MB Motorsport Suspension
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Round 9 WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain, Race 1

It was Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad) who ended Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki KRT) dominance of superpoles by claiming his very own with a fastest lap of 1:40.408. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) getting 2nd with Rea in 3rd.

Catalunya Race 1 WorldSBK Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team – Provec Racing

The start of race one was declared wet with rain pelting down onto the track. No surprise then that the whole grid went with wet tyres. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) retired before the start, unfortunately crashing out on the sighting lap.

Lights out and it was Razgatlioglu with a great start in the tricky conditions, getting the hole shot into turn 1. Locatelli on the other Pata Yamaha was briefly in 2nd before Rea came through to claim the position. It was Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) in 3rd, Locatelli 4th and Bassani (Motocorsa Racing Ducati) in 5th from a grid position of 11th. However both Sykes and Redding (Aruba.it Ducati) had terrible starts and found themselves way down in 9th and 10th respectively.

By the start of lap 2, Rea had found a way past Razgatlioglu and was looking to get away, although the Turkish rider was having none of it and they swapped the lead several times. Bassani was now up to 3rd, looking confident in the difficult conditions and looking to join the battle up front.

Rea had put the hammer down on lap 3, posting a fastest lap of 1:57.362 and this pace was now putting a significant gap into Toprak behind who had to deal with Bassani who had closed right behind him. Further back the Honda team mates of Haslam and Bautista were in 9th and 14th respectively with Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 10th and Redding who had slipped further back to 11th.

Rinaldi and vd Mark (BMW Motorrad) were having a battle for 4th place. Both bikes came together with Rinaldi coming off the better and scraping through to take 4th. Meanwhile up front Razgatlioglu had his hands full keeping Bassani at bay with both riders giving the spectators a real treat, swapping positions several times. This was all playing into the Northern Irishman’s hands and he had now increased his gap at the front to 2.5 on lap 4.

Further back Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) had now moved into 5th, taking the position from vd Mark. Redding was 7.5 behind the leader in 10th and looking very unsure of his Ducati in the brutal conditions.

Razgatlioglu responded to the pace of Rea putting in a new fastest lap of 1:56.777. Meanwhile further back there was a three way battle for 8th, 9th and 10th between Sykes, Locatelli and Redding respectively, with the latter eventually moving through to take 8th.

With 15 laps to go, Bassani takes 2nd from Razgatlioglu, the Italian looking for his first ever WorldSBK win. No doubt Toprak was getting more frustrated as he saw his championship lead being cut.

Meanwhile Haslam had now caught the group of Rinaldi 4th, vd Mark 5th and Lowes 6th to make it a four way battle. At the front Razgatlioglu responds with another fastest lap of 1:56.544, desperate not to let Bassani get away.

With 12 laps to go, Redding had now made it onto the back of the Haslam group into 8th and was looking more confident into the tricky corners, but would there be enough laps for him to get any further?

Halfway stage of the race and Rea now appeared to be losing his advantage with both Bassani and Razgatlioglu less than a second behind. The Turkish rider setting a previous lap nearly a whole second quicker than Rea.

Catalunya Race 1 WorldSBK Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team – Provec Racing

With 9 laps left, Razgatlioglu had come through on Bassani and then drives his Yamaha around the outside of Rea to take over the lead. Bassani then uses all the grunt of the Ducati to power past Rea down the straight, Rea falling back like a stone now and would soon have vd Mark on him. Redding meanwhile, was in 6th and looking for a way past Rinaldi in 5th.

Then drama with 6 laps to go, disaster strikes for Razgatlioglu, his Yamaha losing all power and that spells the end of his race. Bassani could not believe his fortune and takes over the race lead.

With 5 laps to go, there was now a group of 5 riders all vying for the win. Rea continued to slip back and both Ducati team mates came through, Rinaldi in 2nd with Redding in 3rd, Rea now 4th and vd Mark in 5th.

Lap 18 and Redding was really in the groove and after getting by on his team mate, he had Bassani firmly in his crosshairs in the process setting a fastest lap of 1:56.166.

Into turn 5 and Redding makes a block pass on Bassani, taking over the lead. With only 3 laps to go could Bassani respond? Meanwhile Rea was desperately trying to hold off vd Mark in 4th.

Redding does not allow Bassani back into contention and takes an amazing win after only being in 10th on lap 1. Bassani comes over the line in 2nd, Rinaldi 3rd, Rea 4th and vd Mark 5th. Other notable places were Lowes in 6th, Haslam 7th, Sykes 8th and Bautista 9th.

The result meant Rea would again take over at the top of this quite breathtaking championship from Razgatlioglu.

Result top 5:

  1. Redding (aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Bassani (motocorsa racing Ducati)
  3. Rinaldi (aruba.it Ducati)
  4. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  5. vd Mark (BMW Motorrad)

Out: Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha), Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team)

Championship top 3:

  1. Rea 376 pts
  2. Razgatlioglu 370
  3. Redding 323

 

 

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Meet Inter Europol Competition LMP3 Team

Inter Europol Competition is based in Poland. The team started in 2010 racing in single-seater series, for 2016/2017 they moved direction and entered a single LMP3 car, in 2017/2018 they went on to enter 2 LMP3’s and 2 LMP2 cars with some success finishing runners up so for 2019 they entered the highly competitive Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) they did this with one aim to get an entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the same year 2019 which they did, finishing 16th in the championship but more significant they won 2 races and came 2nd twice in the LMP2 class plus they also became champions in the LMP3 class in 2020 they would return to both championships with the new Ligier and again enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans for that year finishing 17th for 2021 the team had there best result at the 24 hours where they came 5th in the very competitive LMP2 class and 10th overall.

The team are currently running in European Le Mans series in the LMP3 class with 2 cars (Ligier JS P320-Nissan) with six drivers, three in each team: –

Car 13

Aidan Read

Aidan is the latest star to come of Perth, Australia, has ambitions to compete at the highest level as an endurance racer. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and works as an engineer in Nascar.

 

Martin Hippe

Martin is from Germany, he is the ELMS vice-champion in 2018, 2019 and 2020, he as been with the team for 5 years and is a very experienced racing driver, he currently owns his own engineering company.

 

Ugo de Wilde

Ugo is a talented Belgian he joined the team this year from single seaters and now focuses on endurance racing, he is aiming to be professional for 2023 and wants to race at the 24 hours of le man on its 100th birthday as well as contesting in ELMS, he is also competing in this years Alpine Europa Cup.

 

Car 14

Nico Pino

Nico the 16-year-old from Santiago Chile, currently lives in Madrid Spain, after competing in Karts he raced in the F4 South East Asia championship in 2019, he competed in the first four rounds of the British F4 with good results finishing in the top ten seven times.

 

Mateusz Kaprzyk

Mateusz is the only Polish racing driver on the grid of the ELMS series in the LMP3 class, he comes from a karting background and is a very experienced single seater racer.

 

Mattia Pasini

Mattia is a former Moto GP rider and raced in Moto2, racing a Kalex for Italtrans Racing team, he was born in Rimini Italy, his first race for Inter Europol was at Monza.

 

The Team are currently 3rd in the LMP3 class heading into the penultimate round at Spa-Francochamps.

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European Le Man Series Calendar 2022

ELMS as today announced its calendar for 2022, with two major changes, one being the Italian round will move back to Imola the first time since 2016, this will take place in May and the other is the return of the Hungaroring, the series last went there in 2013 that will take place after the 24 hours of Le mans in July. The series will also return to Barcelona, Spa-Francorchamps and finish at Portimao, Portugal in October, the 6 race series will keep its format of each race being of 4 hours, the season will begin in April with the Official Test at Le Castellet.

 

11-12 April 2022 – Official Tests – Le Castellet

17 April 2022 – 4 Hours of Le Castellet

15 May 2022 – 4 Hours of Imola

03 July 2022 – 4 Hours of Hungaroring

28 August 2022 – 4 Hours of Barcelona

25 September 2022 – 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

16 October 2022 – 4 Hours of Portimão

 

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest

“The ELMS, the top continental series, is going to have a fantastic 2022 season. The six tracks chosen are among the most prestigious in the world and each offers the teams and drivers a unique challenge, as well as the very best facilities that European circuits have to offer. The return to Imola and Hungaroring will make the 2022 season even more interesting for the drivers, the fans and the Endurance world.”

 

Frédéric Lequien, Le Mans Endurance Management CEO

“We are very excited and proud to present this 2022 ELMS calendar, which includes Imola and the Hungaroring tracks once again. With six world-class venues, the competitors will be able to showcase their talents that make the ELMS such a great series. The popular six round, 4-hour race format has been retained, which will enable costs to be strictly controlled and ensure the competitors to get the best competition possible. We are looking forward to another great season of the European Le Mans Series in 2022.”

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‘Schumacher’ review – An incredible, bittersweet look at the man behind the legend

image courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari

I want to preface this review by simply stating that I am a big Michael Schumacher fan. My childhood coincided with the glory days of Michael and Ferrari, and so I had a lot of vested interest in this documentary. I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed.

‘Schumacher’ is a celebration of Michael’s career and an intimate look into his psyche, his will to win and his personal life from those who know him best. We get stories from his family, commentary on vital parts of his career from those in and around him at the time, and candid archive interviews from the man himself on topics such as life, death, and Formula One.

For those who watched during Michael’s heyday will know he was a ruthless competitor whose hard work, determination and desire to be the best made him come across as somewhat robotic at times. But this documentary humanizes him in a way that those not close to the superstar maybe wouldn’t have noticed.

There’s a section devoted to how he would stay late working on the car and really making an effort to talk to each and every mechanic, as well as ensuring everyone in the team was appreciated, even the cook.

Though perhaps one of the most pertinent parts of the two-hour doc is following the tragic 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, in which F1 legend Ayrton Senna passed away following a high speed accident. Michael spoke on how his analysis of a race circuit changed. He was driving around Silverstone thinking about how he could die at every corner. Michael rarely expressed fear during his career, and this shows he is in fact human.

Schumacher was no stranger to controversy though, and this movie doesn’t shy away from that. It shows the infamous incidents at Adelaide in 1994 and Jerez in 1997. Two title finales which involved collisions with Williams drivers. One working in Michael’s favour, and one not. While the footage was shown, you are given insight from Ferrari’s head honchos at the time; Jean Todt and Ross Brawn. Brawn even admitted that Michael could overstep the line sometimes in the pursuit of victory, and to have that insight from someone so vital in Michael’s success is truly fascinating.

The highlight of the documentary is without doubt the bittersweet ending, the ending focuses on his family, who are the real stars of the piece, his wife Corinna, daughter Gina, and son Mick. It shows beautiful footage of family holidays , having fun together as a family. Days which have sadly long gone since Michael’s tragic skiing accident in 2013. Since which Michael hasn’t been seen and news of his condition has been minute.

A line which as stuck with me is from Michael himself about how he started to regret his Formula One comeback in 2010, and how he should now be spending time with his family. Time which sadly, he didn’t really get to enjoy for obvious reasons.

But it’s his son’s words which cut the deepest with so many. He speaks of his regret that they can’t ‘speak the language of motorsport’ together, and that he would ‘give anything to be able to do that.’ Mick is now forging his own path in Formula One competing for the Haas team this season, and you just have to believe Michael is watching somewhere and is immensely proud of his son.

His family and management have come under scrutiny for the lack of information given about Michael’s current state. Unfortunately, this documentary won’t give you much more of an idea, but it’s clear to see why things have been sparse in the way of updates. Throughout his career he was shy, reserved, and liked to keep his family matters out of the limelight. He was reluctant to talk to press and this film illustrates that at various points.

It’s clear to see and understand why the family haven’t given us any information. Corinna says it best herself: ‘Michael protected us, and now we must protect Michael.’

Naturally this film is going to be compared to the also-excellent documentary on Ayrton Senna, someone Michael idolised. There are some parallels between the two, both giants of the sport, both incredibly quick drivers, but sadly, both of their legacies are shrouded in tragedy. Neither are present to tell their own stories.

The best sports documentary I’ve seen is The Last Dance, a look at basketball behemoth Michael Jordan and his dominance with the Chicago Bulls. In this Jordan is there to give hindsight into his actions and look back on his own career. Sadly, Senna nor Schumacher have been able to do that. While that doesn’t detract from ‘Schumacher’, it makes you upset and leaves you feeling empty that the great man isn’t who he once was.

I’m proud to admit I wept at the ending; this man resonated with me as a kid sat in front of the TV watching this amazing sport, his posters on my wall. He was a big part of my childhood and listening to glowing tributes from those who knew him best and even those who fought him hardest (Mika Hakkinen & Damon Hill for example), really leaves a catch in your throat and a tear in your eye.

Is this film better than Senna? In my opinion, yes. Even for people who do not enjoy Formula One, it is a must watch. For those who do, it’s a tear-jerking, bittersweet, rollercoaster of emotions and a celebration to Der regenmeister.

Keep Fighting Michael – wir sind alle bei dir.

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Mission H24 returns to the Track

The H24 prototype (MissionH24) which as been on hold for the last 12 to 18 months will return to the track at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, it will take part in the Free Practice sessions for the Michelin Le Mans Cup with the rest of the grid, the H24 as only completed in private testing a few hundred miles / kilometres, with its first public showing at the Le Mans 24 hours this August, the drivers taking the car through its development are Stephane Richelmi, Norman Nato and ex McLaren Formula One driver Stoffel Vandoorne, the car will be refuelled with Hydrogen at the circuit and it will be an accurate mechanical test for the car, testing will take place on Friday 17th September with two sessions one at 11:00 to 12:00 and the other at 16:55 to 17:55 (CEST).

Pierre Fillon President of the Le Mans Organiser of the Automobile Club de l’ Quest as explained with the new regulations it would be possible for the new Hydrogen fuel Cell cars to challenge for a win at the Le Mans in 2025, along-side the Hypercars & LMDh cars, he also revealed that 8 manufacturers are part of the group working with the new regulations to develop fuel cells and expects at least 3 of them to be on the grid for 2025.

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Acropolis Rally 2021, Rally of Gods – My thoughts

Well, what an incredible return of the Acropolis Rally to the calendar. It may not have been the rough event that it was in the past, but it was no less challenging.

Let’s take a look at the performances of each driver.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

With Kalle taking such a strong victory, his second at the of the year, it’s fair to say the promise that he showed when he made his debut last year is definitely starting to bear out in some amazing results. Eight stage wins from the fifteen stages in total show complete domination, the kind that we would expect from any of the top drivers. If these results continue, then he could finish second or third in the championship.

2021 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 09 / Acropolis Rally Greece / 09-12, September 2021 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Now Seb opened the road throughout Friday, and he did really well to stay close to the top positions, and was ready to swoop for second place if Ott had any problems. Three stage wins confirmed the pace that Toyota had and showed that the team had made the most of their pre-event test. With this drive, he and Julien have pretty much put one hand on this year’s championship.

Finally, Elfyn had a tough Saturday with his gearchange problems, but he kept his head in the right place and delivered a very good result with some top times. It was the first time since he joined the team that he’d experienced any technical problems with the Yaris, which is pretty impressive. He even nearly took his first Powerstage win for a long time, only to be denied by Kalle at the last moment.

 

Hyundai Motorsport

When Ott was at one with his car, he was really quick in the way that we have witnessed over the years. Three stage wins was a good reward for the Estonian’s, and their first podium since his third in the Safari Rally Kenya. Far too long for a driver of his quality. It seems at least that the team have got on top of their suspension problems.

2021 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 09, Acropolis Rally
09-12 September 2021
Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, WRC, Action during Day 3 of Acropolis Rally 2021
Photographer: Vincent Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Dani was kind of stuck in no-mans land, which was a surprise for the Spaniard. Still, it was a good start to the new partnership with Candido Carrera, and it will be interesting to see how things develop for the rest of this season.

Thierry took a single stage win, but just like Elfyn his pace was held back by technical problems, namely powersteering problems. He turned mechanic and fixed it, but had lost so much time with penalties and having to struggle with his car on the stages. He’s still in third place in the championship, but it probably fair to say that his championship hopes are over for this year. Now it will be all about where he can finish in the championship.

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Finally, Malcolm’s team showed some pace, taking a second fastest time with Adrien on the last day. The Frenchman also suffered a technical problem, with him having to change the sparkplugs on the road section. This gave him and Renaud some huge time penalties and not only dropped him behind Gus, but also Elfyn. Up to that point, he’d been the fastest M-Sport driver all weekend.

Gus had a good weekend again, but was not quite on the pace of his teammate. Still, it was another decent weekend for the Brit and consistent pace brought him a more points. He’ll almost certainly be part of the team next year, given that he’s been testing the Puma Rally1 car.

In the WRC2 there was a great battle between Andreas and Marco in their Toksport run Fabia Evo’s. The Bolivian led at the end of Friday and Saturday, only to lose the lead each day. Andreas increased his lead on the final day and took a well-deserved victory, and thus extended his championship lead.

Finally, in WRC3, Chris held the lead for a while, before dropping back behind Yohan and then Kajetan. It was his first drive of the year with Toksport, the team that he won the ERC title in 2019 and ultimately brought him a deserved podium. Sadly, for Yohan, he was excluded from the results as his car when weighed was found to be overweight. A real shame considering his performance over the weekend, and the problem that he overcame after damaging his steering on the final stage and making a fix that meant that he could get back to the service park. The Frenchman has appealed the exclusion and we will have to await the outcome of this in the next few weeks. Emil took the final podium spot in the category as a result of the Citroen drivers’ exclusion.

Who was your driver of the rally? Let us know!

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Injured Fernandez claims fifth victory of 2021

Spain’s Raul Fernandez took the fifth win of his rookie Moto2 season, despite undergoing surgery during the week for a broken bone in his right hand after a training incident.

2021 MVDS team during the 2021 Season of World Motorcycle Championship 2021 race 13 GP of Aragon in Motorland de Aragon, Alcaniz Spain © 2021 mirco lazzari mircolazzari@yahoo.it

Round 13 of the 2021 Moto2 season took us to the Motorland circuit in Aragon, and the weight of expectation sat firmly on the shoulders of Britain’s Sam Lowes. Holder of several Moto2 track records including most wins, most pole starts, best race lap and all time lap record, plus winning here in 2020, history seemed set to repeat itself after he qualified in pole position.

But it wasn’t meant to be. Fernandez, starting from 3rd place on the grid, passed his teammate Remy Gardner on the first lap to move up into 2nd and on lap 2 passed Lowes to take the lead. Doubts lingered over whether Raul would be able to maintain the blistering pace, but he held on to first place for the remainder of the race, with Lowes remaining comfortably in second until crashing out at turn 7 on lap 13. Fernandez crossed the finish line over 7 seconds ahead of 2nd place Gardner.

2021 MVDS team during the 2021 Season of World Motorcycle Championship 2021 race 13 GP of Aragon in Motorland de Aragon, Alcaniz Spain © 2021 mirco lazzari mircolazzari@yahoo.it

Tyre options for the weekend were medium or supersoft, with the vast majority of the field opting for the latter. Tyre preservation was a concern, and potentially a factor in the high rate of attrition, with crashes including Dalla Porta on lap 8, Lowes on lap 13, Bezzecchi on lap 10, Bulega on lap 18 and Chantra on lap 19, all fortunately escaping uninjured.

Gardner found himself in a battle for 3rd with Ai Ogura and Hector Garzo; on lap 5 he managed to gain and hold onto the place, with Garzo crashing out shortly after. Ogura dropped back to 7th place after being passed by Aron Canet and Marco Bezzecchi, and eventually finished 8th, even despite Bezzecchi crashing out on the corkscrew on lap 10.

The fight for third place then raged between Jorge Navarro, Aron Canet & Augusto Fernandez, swapping back and forth, with Augusto finally crossing the line 1.5 seconds behind second place Gardner.

2021 MVDS team during the 2021 Season of World Motorcycle Championship 2021 race 13 GP of Aragon in Motorland de Aragon, Alcaniz Spain © 2021 mirco lazzari mircolazzari@yahoo.it

Next weekend takes us to the San Marino Grand Prix, with Gardner maintaining his lead at the top of the championship with 251 points, 39 points ahead of second place Raul Fernandez. This weekend’s non-finishes for Bezzecchi and Lowes mean that the gap is widening between the Red Bull KTM Ajo teammates and the rest of the championship, but with five rounds still to go, what further surprises lie in store?

First fifteen riders:

1              Raul Fernandez SPA – Red Bull KTM Ajo – 25 points

2              Remy Gardner AUS – Red Bull KTM Ajo – 20

3              Augusto Fernandez SPA – Elf Marc VDS Racing Team – 16

4              Jorge Navarro SPA – Lightech Speed Up – 13

5              Aron Canet SPA – Aspar Team Moto2 – 11

6              Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA – Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 – 10

7              Fermín Aldeguer SPA – +Ego Speed Up – 9

8              Ai Ogura JPN – IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia – 8

9              Tony Arbolino ITA Liqui Moly Intact GP – 7

10           Simone Corsi ITA – MV Agusta Forward Racing – 6

11           Marcel Schrotter GER – Liqui Moly Intact GP – 5

12           Marcos Ramirez                SPA – American Racing – 4

13           Joe Roberts USA – Italtrans Racing Team                – 3

14           Cameron Beaubier USA – American Racing – 2

15           Celestino Vietti ITA – SKY Racing Team VR46 – 1

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