Rainy, damp conditions greeted the riders for their qualifying sessions on Saturday.
But, it was Ducati-man Jack Miller who took full advantage and secured pole, followed by Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi, making an all Ducati front-row. Second and third place were local-boys, hoping to shine bright at home.
The top two riders in the championship – Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) both qualified on the 3rd row.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) received a 3 place grid penalty which resulted in him starting in 5th, following on from slowing down on the racing line, after he assumed the chequered flag had been waved to end the session.
Race:
A wonderful tribute to the late Fausto Gresini would be done during the race, in the form of the Gresini Racing bikes having their livery changed to remember the 1987 125cc World Championship winning Garell bike that Gresini used. Whatever their outcome for the race, this was a wonderful surprise.
The livery! Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
The rain/ damp conditions had passed ready for Sunday with partly cloudy weather, the track temperature though had risen significantly to 43 degrees, come race time. Would this prove to be an issue?
It was finally lights out for the Moto GP race: Miller got a great start, as did Bagnaia. Miller led Bastianini and Bagnaia into the first corner. But behind it was disaster for; Johann Zarco (Ducati), Michele Pirro (Ducati) and Pol Espargaro (Honda), who all toppled out together. Hopefully, none were injured in the collision.
Crashing out. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
After the news this week, that Bastianini had been confirmed he was to be Bagnaia’s teammate next year, there didn’t seem to be any future team orders between the pair. Bastianini soon passed Bagnaia to take 2nd place. But on the second lap Miller unexpectedly fell from first (turn 4), leaving ‘The Beast’ to lead the race.
Bastianini led Marini (VR46) and Bagnaia (Marini had also managed to pass Bagnaia to take 2nd). While one VR46 rider fortunes were in his favour, teammate Bezzecchi’s fortunes were not – crashing out also on lap 2.
The new race leader also almost toppled from first moments later, but managed to recover.
The excitement was far from over though. Lap 3 saw Bagnaia and Vinales both pass Marini, pushing him back to 4th, another yellow flag waved but this time for both Frankie Morbidelli (Yamaha) and Fabio DiGiannantonio (Ducati), Bagnaia passed Bastianini for the lead and ‘Top Gun’ passed ‘The Beast’ for 2nd.
Bagnaia led Vinales, Bastianini and Marini with Quartararo and Espargaro close behind.
Bagnaia took fastest lap (lap 5) but had mounting pressure in the form of Vinales, who was looking menacing behind.
In 5th place on lap 7, Espargaro made a small error, which Quartararo needed no invitation and passed him to gain another place. Meanwhile in 3rd Bastianini was pushing hard and took fastest lap (1:32.560 seconds).
Now in 5th spot, could Quartararo close the gap on the front 4 riders, their gap had increased to 0.826 seconds, with 21 laps still to go? He knew he had to try. Next lap he took fastest lap. Could he be in for a shout of a podium finish?
Fastest lap soon went to Bagnaia, but was beaten seconds later by 6th place rider Espargaro. Fighting for the championship, alongside Fabio, could Aleix catch him to reduce the points between them? He certainly kept the momentum going – with 16 laps till the end, he secured another fastest lap.
Track limits warnings were coming thick and fast: Vinales was the first to receive one, then Martin then Quartararo. But, Vinales didn’t seem perturbed by his warning and soon took 2 fastest laps in a row, all the while, eyeing up a pass on Bagnaia.
With 12 laps to go, Bastianini went slightly wide, letting Marini take 3rd, but Bastianini wasn’t having any of it and re-took the position straight back. The gap between number 23 and 12 was 0.615 seconds. Could Bastianini manage to catch up and if so fight for the win?
Setting fastest lap with only 10 laps to go he had managed to claw the gap down between himself and Maverick to 0.471 seconds. With Vinales still trying to get the perfect spot to pass Bagnaia for the lead. But, he had waited too long to make his move and 2 laps later Bastianini attacked and took 2nd place on turn one. Bagnaia now led Bastianini, Vinales and Marini.
Following closely. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
The next track-limits warning went to Bastianini with 6 laps till the end.
But, more drama was about to unfold going onto the last lap:
Bastianini was all over the back of Bagnaia. Would he make a last lap lunge? Surely not – this would be his teammate next year and a championship contender this year. None of this was on his mind though as he went to make a move but had to abort it, in fear of crashing into Bagnaia, which in turn created a small gap between the pair. The gap was severely shrunk down on the start-finish line though making it a picture-finish. Bagnaia had the edge and claimed the victory (with only 0.034 seconds between them) and in the process made history: Being the first-time Ducati have won 4 races in a row!
Super close end. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
A great ride from Vinales saw him finish on the last spot of the podium.
Top 10 race finishers:
1st
F. Bagnaia
2nd
E. Bastianini
3rd
M. Vinales
4th
L. Marini
5th
F. Quartararo
6th
A. Espargaro
7th
A. Rins
8th
B. Binder
9th
J. Martin
10th
A. Marquez
Top 4 Championship Standings:
1st
F. Quartararo
211 points
2nd
F. Bagnaia
181 points
3rd
A. Espargaro
178 points
4th
E. Bastianini
138 points
As seen above, there are some changes to the championship table.
The race was brilliant and had everyone on the edge of their seats. BUT, we can’t end there.
For the last 21 years there has been a consistent rider, one who we have had the pleasure to watch come through the ranks: winning the 125 championship, coming close to winning the 250 championship and coming runner-up many times in the Moto GP class.
Ever a gentleman off track but with the heart of a lion on track, he gave us many exciting battles and has raced against many big names in the sport. He won his first-ever race at Misano and decided to end his Moto GP career his way, at the very same track. He has won many fans over the years and the paddock will not be the same without him.
Thank you for the memories Andrea Dovizioso and Ciao! We wish you all the best wherever your future takes you.
Max Verstappen secured his tenth victory of the season and his fourth in a row with victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, to move even closer to his second world championship.
A late Safety Car had the potential to mix up the order, but Lewis Hamilton was powerless to stop the Dutchman overtaking on the restart, with victory at Zandvoort putting Verstappen 109 points ahead in the championship with seven rounds remaining. George Russell took second place to secure his best finish of the season, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc coming home in third.
In the end, it was a fairly straightforward victory for Verstappen, but there was a real possibility that Mercedes could have taken their first win of the season, as Hamilton and Russell looked to make a one-stop work. However, a virtual safety car caused by the Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda made Verstappen a favourite for the win.
Hamilton leads Verstappen during the safety car period. Image courtesy of RedBull Content Pool
A safety car caused by Valtteri Bottas’ stricken Alfa Romeo looked like it might have brought Mercedes back into the fight for the win, as Hamilton and Russell both initially stayed out on their old mediums. Russell made the call to come in a lap later for a set of soft tyres, and this turned out to be crucial for the Brit. Hamilton stayed out on the mediums, with the seven-time champion fuming at the decision not to pit for fresh rubber.
At the start, Verstappen and Leclerc got away evenly, allowing the Dutchman to keep the lead into Turn One. Things were tighter behind as Carlos Sainz and Hamilton made slight contact at the apex, but both were able to continue. Further down the field, Kevin Magnussen made contact with the barrier on lap two, but the Haas was able to continue, albeit with a lot more paint on the sidewall on his rear-left tyre.
Most people expected the softs and the mediums to be the chosen race tyres, with a two-stop therefore being the only viable option. However, both Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris were able to make the white-walled tyres work to good effect opening up the possibility of a one-stop strategy. Mercedes took this gamble, and it looked as though it was going to be a fascinating end to the race, as Verstappen would have had to work his way past both Hamilton and Russell.
Ferrari not where they wanted to be today. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
Despite showing promising pace on Saturday and at the start of the race, Ferrari were clearly the third fastest car on race day, with Leclerc only taking third at the end thanks to the advantage of fresh soft tyres. His teammate had a much more eventful day, coming home eighth after being given a 5-second penalty for an unsafe release, forcing his compatriot Alonso to slam on the brakes. That wasn’t the only pit lane peril for Sainz, as he dropped back from third after Ferrari only had three tyres ready for his first stop, in yet another calamity for the Scuderia which will only add more pressure to beleaguered team boss Mattia Binotto. The Spaniard also came close to being penalised for overtaking under yellow flags, but it appeared he had already committed to the move on Esteban Ocon into Turn One before reaching the first yellow flag.
The main talking points of the race began on lap 46, as Yuki Tsunoda stopped at the side of the track, claiming his tyres weren’t fitted correctly. He was told to continue on, and the Japanese driver came back to the pits at a severely reduced pace, before having a long pit stop to seemingly refasten his seatbelts, which is certain to be investigated by the FIA. He was released on to the circuit only to stop a few corners later, bringing out the VSC which greatly benefitted Alpha Tauri’s sister team.
Verstappen’s victory was put in doubt by the later full safety car (due to Bottas’ retirement), but the speed and tyre advantage of the Red Bull meant Hamilton had no chance of stopping him. A furious Hamilton managed to hold on to finish in fourth place ahead of Sergio Perez, with whom he had had a fascinating battle in the middle of the race which got interrupted by Sebastian Vettel, who impeded the Brit and earned himself a five-second penalty in what was a weekend to forget for the Aston Martin driver.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton into turn 1 at the safety car restart. Image courtesy of RedBull Content Pool
Fernando Alonso came home in sixth ahead of Lando Norris, who looked for the majority of the race that he would finish best of the rest before losing out in the pitstops. Esteban Ocon was ninth, helping tighten Alpine’s grip on fourth in the championship, with Lance Stroll securing his fifth tenth place of the season to round out the points. Gasly, Albon, Schumacher, Vettel, Magnussen, Zhou, Ricciardo and Latifi were the rest of the finishers.
They say it’s not over until the fat lady sings, but her vocal cords must be warming up by now. It is surely a case of when, not if, Verstappen secures his second world championship, and in much less controversial circumstances than his first. The Italian GP at Monza is taking place next weekend, and you’d be a brave man to bet against the Dutchman spoiling Ferrari’s homecoming party.
Round 15 of the 2022 F1 World Championship sees the F1 circus return to Zandvoort for the Dutch GP, the home of World Champion and the Orange Army. After the summer break F1 returned to Spa in Belgium and the weekend was dominated by RedBull and Max Verstappen. This weekend is a completely different circuit and the field seems to be a lot closer after practice. Qualifying will be very important this weekend as overtaking is very difficult around the tight, twisty Zandvoort track.
As usual the 2 Haas cars enter the track first, all other teams seem happy to wait a little while before beginning their first runs. Magnussen was the quicker of the 2 Haas cars and they were followed by the 2 Williams of Albon and Latifi.
Russell making the most of the new found pace. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media
With 5 minutes of the session gone Max Verstappen left his garage to huge cheers from the Orange Army. If the crowd inspire him the way the British crowd used to inspire Nigel Mansell he could have pole by about 5 seconds today. His first timed lap is a 1.11.317, a second clear of his team mate in second. The two Ferraris then cross the line with Sainz in P2 nearly half a second behind and then Leclerc third over 0.8 seconds behind the Flying Dutchman. George Russell then puts his Mercedes into P2 with Lewis Hamilton right behind him in P3. The Mercedes seems to like the nature of the Dutch track with both drivers within a quarter of a second of the leading RedBull.
With 5 minutes remaining Leclerc puts the Ferrari into P2 just 0.126 from the fastest time so far. Only 3 cars are left on track as everyone pits for new fresh tyres and waits before they go out for their final run. Everyone crossing the line is improving with Tsunoda moving up to second in the Alpha Tauri just 0.110 behind Verstappen, he is then topped by Lewis Hamilton who is just 0.014 behind the RedBull. Out of Q1 are Bottas, Magnussen, Ricciardo, Vettel who went through the gravel on his quick lap and Latifi in the Williams.
As soon as Q2 begins the session is red flagged as a flare had been thrown onto the track. The race organisers had asked fans not to bring them into the circuit this weekend but obviously the free flowing Heinekken has got the better of one of the Orange Army.
Albon setting quick times again. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
As soon as the session resumes both RedBulls go out on track to get an early banker lap in. Verstappen does a 1.10.927, that’s 0.387 quicker than Perez in the sister RedBull. Lewis Hamilton then goes P2 with a time just 0.148 behind Verstappen. Russell is also in the top 4 with a time 3 tenths slower than his teammate. Alex Albon decides to start his final run earlier than everyone else and make use of a free track, he sets a time good enough for P10 currently.
With 2 and half minutes left everyone else decides now is the time to go out. 13 cars on track with just Albon and Verstappen staying in their garages. Charles Leclerc gets into the one-minute tens and moves to P2, once again most people are improving. Sainz moves to the top of the field with a 1.10.814 ahead of Russell by 0.010, they are followed by Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Perez, Stroll, Schumacher, and Tsunoda rounding out the top ten. Out after Q2 are Gasly, Ocon, Alonso who was complaining about traffic on his quick lap, Zhou and Albon.
And so to the shoot-out that is Q3, could we see a new pole sitter for this season, or does Max Verstappen have enough in hand to delight the home crowd? Verstappen is first out onto the circuit no doubt going for an early banker lap in case the session is interrupted by any incidents.
Norris going quickly. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
Verstappen sets a time of 1.10.515, Perez is half a second down on his teammate again but goes to P2. Norris in the McLaren goes P3 1.6 seconds behind the leading RedBull. Hamilton’s first timed lap is good enough for P2, just behind Verstappen, Leclerc then beats this in the Ferrari, 0.059 ahead of the RedBull. The top 10 after the first runs is Leclerc, Verstappen, Hamilton, Sainz, Perez, Russell, Norris, Tsunoda, Schumacher, and Stroll who is yet to set a time. The Canadian seems to have a technical issue with his Aston Martin and won’t be taking part in the rest of the session.
With exactly 3 minutes left the last runs are set to begin, Leclerc in his Ferrari first to the track. Another flare has been thrown onto the track but thankfully ran off the track so no delay to proceedings. As the drivers finish their laps, Verstappen moves to the top of the timings, Hamilton is on a quick lap but Perez has spun at the last corner but one and causes yellow flags meaning anyone behind on track won’t be able to improve. An anti-climax to the session end. The top ten was Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Perez, Russell, Norris, Scumacher, Tsunoda and Stroll.
The top 6 are a lot closer than last week so we could be in for a very close race tomorrow. The home crowed will be leaving the circuit tonight very happy and expecting a win from their hero tomorrow.
The summer break is over and F1 returns and where better to start the second half of the season than Spa Francorchamps, possibly the greatest track in the world.
The new technical directive regarding Flexi floors seems to have affected the RedBulls the least and sees them with the biggest advantage anyone has had all season. However, with a host of penalties throughout the field the grid is mixed up and should give us a great race, could we see Max Verstappen use that huge advantage and make his way through the field from 14th, or could we see a new winner this season with both Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton on the second row today. The weather looks good, almost the complete opposite from last year’s farcical “race” where not a single racing lap took place.
Hamilton fly’s after contact with Alonso. Image courtesy of Mercedes media
Lights out and Perez makes a poor start, Hamilton makes a move on Alonso into Les Combes and they touch sending the Mercedes into the air, he makes it through another couple of corners before coming to a halt with damage to the car. Into lap 2 and Latifi spins causing Bottas to spin in avoidance bringing out the safety car. Verstappen has already made it up to P8 with Leclerc right behind him. Sainz leads from Perez, Russell, and Alonso.
Leclerc pits under the safety car and puts on fresh mediums but drops to P17. Pit radio confirms a tear-off was stuck in his brake ducts but was removed at the stop. The safety car pulls in and we begin lap 5, Sainz leads the field away.
Alonso tries to overtake Russell but the Mercedes driver breaks later and keeps P3. Verstappen moves to P7 and has his sights on Ricciardo in the McLaren. At the chicane Verstappen makes it passed and is into P6 already. Albon also makes it passed the McLaren and gets his Williams into P7. Verstappen is flying on his soft tyres and is already up to the gearbox of Vettels Aston Martin. Once again into the chicane, he makes it up to P5, next up is Alonso in the Alpine.
Verstappen making it past the Alpine. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool
The World Champion simply drives passed the Alpine as if it was in reverse. Now up to fourth and only 5.5 seconds behind Sainz in the Ferrari in first position. One lap later he overtakes Russell, the straight-line speed of the RedBull is unstoppable. Meanwhile, Leclerc has made his way up to 14th but is 15 seconds behind Verstappen already. On lap 9 Lando Norris makes his way up to P11 overtaking Magnussen into Les Combes.
Up at the front and Sainz leads Perez by 1.3 seconds who is 0.6 ahead of his teammate. Sainz pits at the end of lap 11, as he pits Verstappen overtakes Perez and takes the lead. Sainz returns to the track in P6 behind the McLaren of Ricciardo, have Ferrari made another strategic error?
At the end of the next lap, Ricciardo and Ocon also pit. The RedBull’s are staying out pulling clear of the field. Russell pits from P3 and returns to the track in P7, he was matching the times of Perez in front of him. Verstappen has now pulled a gap of 3.7 seconds, Perez in second pits at the end of lap 14, he comes out ahead of Leclerc. Perez moves to defend into Les Combes and keeps the position.
Verstappen pits. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool
The leader pits at the end of lap 15, as he comes out Perez is behind him followed by Leclerc and Russel. Sainz now leads by 4.8 seconds. Russell moves ahead of Leclerc and into P4, Leclerc down to P5 ahead of Alonso, Tsunoda, Albon, Vettel, Ocon, Ricciardo, Gasly, Norris, Stroll, Zhou, Magnussen, Schumacher, and Latifi.
Verstappen closes the gap to less than a second at the start of lap 18. He retakes the lead with another move at Les Combes. It looks like he will just check out now as he is putting laps in that are over 2 seconds quicker than the Ferrari can manage.
At half distance Verstappen lead from Perez as the Mexican overtakes Sainz, The lead is 6.5 seconds, Sainz is already 1.5 behind Perez, Russell is a further 7.5 seconds behind the Ferrari and he is 9 seconds ahead of Leclerc who appears to be on the usual Ferrari Plan Z strategy. The field seems to have settled before the inevitable second round of pitstops.
The second round of stops begins with Sainz on lap 26, he is followed by his teammate Leclerc. Sainz on the hards and Leclerc on the mediums, surely Leclerc is going to run out of tyres before the end of the race. Albon and Stroll pit on lap 27, They are now at the back of the field along with Latifi.
Perez stops a lap later and returns still in front of the Ferrari of Sainz. His teammate has made it back up to P6 with a move on Ocon in the Alpine. Next up for Leclerc is Vettel who is 3 seconds up the road.
Russell pits in the Mercedes as we start lap 30. He is still in a comfortable P4 in yet another impressive display from the young British driver. Verstappen ends lap 30 by pitting, a fresh set of mediums fitted and he leads his teammate by 8 seconds. The dominance of the Redbulls this weekend has been scary, They have 13 laps now to cruise to an easy 1-2.
RedBull is clearly in a league of their own. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool
As we begin the last 10 laps Russell is catching the Ferrari of Sainz and the gap is down to 4.2 seconds. Could he keep up the run of Mercedes podiums? Ocon moves up to P7 with a great move on both Vettel and Gasly, using the double slipstream to great effect and then outbraking the Alpha Tauri driver.
The gap between 10th and 15th is now just 4 seconds, the leader of the DRS train is Albon, followed by Stroll, Norris, Zhou, Tsunoda, and Ricciardo.
With just 5 laps to go, back at the front, Verstappen leads by 16.7 seconds ahead of Perez who is a further 9.7 seconds ahead of Sainz who is being followed by Russell a further 2.3 seconds behind.
Leclerc pits on lap 43 to go for the fastest lap point but Alonso makes it passed the Ferrari dropping him down to 6th. If he doesn’t get back past the Alpine, Ferrari has just thrown more points away. The Ferrari driver uses DRS to make it passed the Alpine but will he be able to get the fastest lap? He does a 1.49.984 which is over half a second slower than Max Verstappen’s quickest.
Verstappen wins. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool
Verstappen wins by a huge 17.8 seconds ahead of his teammate who started from the front row, a dominant performance over the driver who is now his closest challenger almost 100 points behind him. Third is Sainz ahead of Russell, Leclerc, Alonso, Ocon, Vettel, Gasly, and Albon collecting the final point of the weekend. Next up was Stroll, Norris, Tsunoda, Zhou, Ricciardo, Magnussen, Schumacher, and Latifi, The only two retirees were Bottas and Hamilton.
As the podium interviews began it was announced that Leclerc had been given a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane for the pitstop that wasn’t needed which dropped him behind Alonso and down to P6.
It’s now just a matter of time before Verstappen wraps up the title for this season, after a display like this weekend it wouldn’t be surprising to see RedBull repeat 2013 where they dominated the season after the summer break.
In just 5 days’ time, the F1 circus will return to Holland for the Dutch GP, Verstappen’s home race, who would bet against him once again dominating?
The summer break is over, F1 is back and it returns with one of the greatest circuits in the world, Spa Francorchamps, and the Belgium GP.
This will be the first weekend that the car has to comply with the new technical directive regarding Flexi floors, could this shake up the pecking order? Practice results would suggest not and it even looked as though RedBull had gained quite a big advantage over the rest of the field. Qualifying would be the true test and provide us with a view of how the changes have made difference If any.
Mick Schumacher, is one of many to take grid penalties. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
As usual in the Hybrid era, teams have decided to take engine penalties to introduce new parts into the seasons pool so they have more choice later in the season. This would mean that after today’s qualifying session, at least Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Ocon, Schumacher, Zhou, and Bottas would all receive grid penalties.
With ten minutes to go until the start of the session, the temperature had dropped to just 16 degrees, something that would mean Mercedes might struggle with their season-long battle to try and get temperature into their tyres. The start of qualifying would be delayed due to repairs being needed to some of the armco barriers after a crash in the Porsche Supercup support race.
25 minutes after it was originally scheduled to start, qualifying finally got underway. First out on track was Latifi in the Williams who went straight back into the pits at the end of his first lap. The first driver to set a time was Mick Schumacher. The two Mercedes jumped ahead of the Haas but were immediately beaten by Perez in the RedBull, by almost a second.
After the first runs, the top four were the usual suspects of both RedBull and Ferraris, led by Verstappen and Sainz, they were followed by the two Alpines. The two Mercedes went for a second lap on the softs but still could only make it to 10th and 11th with Russell ahead of Hamilton. Everyone went for another run on fresh tyres apart from the top four. The Mercedes drivers improved to 5th and 7th.
At the other end of the field and out of qualifying were Vettel, Latifi, Magnussen, Tsunoda, and Bottas. At the top of the field was Max Verstappen with a time of 1.44.581.
Vettel out in Q1 again. Image courtesy of Aston Martin F1 Media
Q2 began, and the first driver to set a time was Lewis Hamilton. He was beaten by his teammate George Russell by 3 tenths of a second. Then came Max Verstappen beating the two Mercedes by a massive 1.5 seconds. The two Redbulls led the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz by almost three-quarters of a second. The Redbulls seemed to be in a league of their own this weekend. They were followed by Ocon, Norris, and Leclerc who had a scruffy lap and was complaining of handling issues. Then came Alonso, Russell, Gasly, and Hamilton rounding out the top ten. The final runs began with the two Alpines at the front of the queue.
Neither RedBull needed to go out again such was their dominance. Leclerc had a better run and topped the times with a 1.44.551 ahead of the two Redbulls, behind them was Sainz, Hamilton, Russell, Ocon, Alonso, Norris, and Albon. The outward-bound McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo was the first to be illuminated in 11th along with Gasly, Zhou, Stroll, and Schumacher.
Albon joined the top teams in Q3. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media
A strange start to Q3 knowing 3 of the drivers taking part would have grid penalties applied at the end of the session. Halfway around Leclerc’s first lap he realised he had the wrong tyres on the car, yet another Ferrari error. The team ended up telling him to do the lap anyway. At the end of the first runs Verstappen was again top of the times ahead of Sainz in the Ferrari, next came Perez, Leclerc, Ocon, Norris, Russell, Albon, Hamilton, and Alonso who chose to abort his lap.
Verstappen with his grid penalty decided not to do a final run, the same went for Norris, and Leclerc, however, he reappeared on track and gave his team mate a tow down the long straight. It didn’t really seem to help as the Spaniard had a scruffy lap, however thanks to Verstappen’s penalty, he would still be on pole for the race tomorrow. Third was Perez, with Leclerc next up, then came Ocon and Alonso. Next up was Hamilton and Russell ahead of Albon and Norris.
Once all the penalties have been given out the grid will look very different at the start of tomorrow’s race.
Will the weather gods play games like last year or could we get a dry race with a very mixed-up grid providing us with a great race at a great race track?
Whatever happens, the Belgium GP should be a classic.
The summer break is over and we are back in Belgium to find out if Ferrari can make a dent in RedBull’s championship charge, or if Mercedes can create a three-way fight to the end. The technical rule changes and driver market changes will certainly bring talking points throughout the weekend.
Technical changes
During the summer break, the FIA announced they had confirmed a few rule changes which are set to create waves in the paddock.
Lewis Hamilton at Baku where he suffered back pain from porpoising. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media
The first is in response to the porpoising or vertical oscillations which began to bring driver safety concerns at some circuits like Baku. The FIA has decided to step in and have outlined a new metric where porpoising is acceptable. Anything outside of these limits could now result in penalties for the teams.
The biggest change could be the rule changes to the floor by introducing flexibility tests. The FIA announced that they would make changes to redefine the stiffness requirements of plank and skids around the thickness measurement holes. This is to prevent any floor-related design which might navigate around the intention of the regulations. This potentially could have the biggest effect on performance so will be fascinating to see how it affects the cars.
Silly Season has begun
With the driver market causing chaos over the summer break, it is good to know where everyone stands heading into Belgium.
Vettel to retire at the end of 2022. Image courtesy of Aston Martin F1 Media
It all started with Sebastian Vettel announcing he was going to retire at the end of 2022 just before the Hungarian Grand Prix. The morning after the Hungarian GP Alonso announced he would replace Vettel at Aston Martin, which seemed to come as a shock to Alpine.
This is where it gets messy. Alpine then made an odd announcement that Oscar Piastri would be driving for them in 2023, but the statement had no quotes from the driver. Only a few hours later Piastri put out a statement saying he would not be driving for the French team, appearing to confirm rumours that he has been in talks with McLaren.
This would appear to make Daniel Ricciardo available to race next season, and with Haas, Williams, and Alfa Romeo yet to confirm their lineups they could secure themselves an experienced driver from McLaren. However, it has not been confirmed where Piastri is driving next season, so paddock talk will likely be all about the driver market.
A Three-way fight
Ferrari has hopefully used the summer break to re-focus and sort out their reliability and strategy issues. They will need an almost flawless second half of the season to stop RedBull and Max Verstappen from storming away with the championship.
However, Mercedes have been quietly making their way into the fight. They have been the most reliable car and have been consistently picking up podiums for the last seven rounds. They appear to have mostly got on top of the issues that plagued them at the beginning of the season and, with the possible performance changes with the new regulations, they could become a real contender towards the end of the season. For them, they can now focus on their pace which will need to improve to be with the teams ahead.
Mercedes double podium at the French GP. Image courtesy of Mercedes Media
Qualifying is on at 3pm BST and the race starts at 2pm BST.
The big news of the weekend was that the Austrian track had been changed. Turn 2 had now been split into two sections, a “flip-flop chicane”, now being re-named turns 2a and 2b. It caught some riders out over the weekend but, in the end would hopefully create some interesting overtaking opportunities.
Qualifying:
Cloudy conditions greeted the riders on Saturday, but they remained undeterred.
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) looked to be confident, taking an early provisional pole in Q2. Jack Miller (Ducati) was also on fine form and soon took the pole spot. The championship leader, Fabio Quartararo on the other hand seemed to be struggling getting to grips with his Yamaha.
The Ducati’s though were dominant at the Red Bull Ring as Enea Bastianini took his first Moto GP pole, with a flying lap time: 1:28.772, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Miller – an all Ducati front-row.
Happy with his pole – Bastianini celebrates. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Race:
The weather remained cloudy for Race Day, leaving many fans to wonder if it would indeed rain as the bikes lined up on the grid, ready for lights out:
Undulating track and foreboding clouds at Austria. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Bagnaia got a great start, leading Bastianini and Miller into the first corner and through the new chicane for the first time.
However, turn 4 saw Joan Mir (Suzuki) take an early tumble from the race. Seen holding his ankle in the gravel, (it was later confirmed that he had had medical checks and that he had broken his ankle. We wish him a speedy recovery).
Mir crashes lap 4. Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page.
On lap 4, Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) had managed to pass Quartararo for 5th place and the four front Ducati’s started to gain a lead ahead, with Jorge Martin in 4th taking the first fastest lap of the race, (1:30.364). Another pass came from Miller to take 2nd place from Bastianini, but ‘The Beast’ was having none of it and passed him right back.
By lap 5, A. Espargaro had taken fastest lap (1:29.979), while his teammate had been given a track limits warning and if that wasn’t bad enough, Maverick also got passed by 2 riders on the same lap (lap6), forcing him back to 8th place.
Back at the front, the four Ducati’s suddenly got broken up by the Yamaha of ‘El Diablo’, taking 4th spot from Bastianini. Seconds later, Bastianini appeared to have a technical fault and pulled out of the race. On the same lap it was Remy Gardener’s (KTM) turn to bow-out early as he crashed out – turn 4.
Bagnaia then led Miller, Martin and Quartararo onto lap 7.
With 22 laps to go Miller passed his teammate to briefly take the lead, but Bagnaia out-braked him, re-claiming his lead.
Fastest lap was soon taken by Martin – lap 9. Could he get close enough to the factory Dukes, with only a 1.023 second gap between them, to fight for the win? Further down the field Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) took to the gravel, finishing his race early.
Martin indeed managed to eat into the leading gap and soon got it down to 0.311 seconds. By lap 12 he was right on the back of Miller. Which Ducati would be dominant?
With 16 laps until the end, another track warning got issued, this time to Quartararo. Behind him Luca Marini (VR46) took 6th place from A. Espargaro and behind them Darryn Binder crashed out.
The next lap, Martin clipped the gravel forcing him to take evasive action and he took to the run-off section of the track, Fabio passed to take 4th place, but Martin also needed to make sure he wouldn’t incur a penalty so also gave back a second, but quick-thinking meant he also managed to keep his new position – 5th.
Two laps later and bad luck continued to keep hold of Vinales who got passed not just by Johann Zarco (Ducati) but also Suzuki-man Alex Rins.
10 laps to go – The front 3 riders had all managed to create gaps between each-other. Bagnaia still led Miller by 0.896 seconds. Quartararo continued to hunt down Miller with 0.515 seconds between them. A few places behind them Espargaro put up a great fight from the Italian – Marini, but in the end Marini passed him again on lap 21, this attempt the pass stuck.
Things were heating up, with only 4 laps until the finish line, a surprise move came from the Yamaha in 3rd – Quartararo passed Miller on the new turn 2b, to take 2nd place, leaving Miller in the clutches of Martin, who quickly seized the opportunity and passed Miller to take 3rd spot. Miller fought back though to re-take 3rd. Meanwhile, another yellow flag waved, this time for Yamaha rider Frankie Morbidelli, who crashed out turn 2.
Due to the on-going battles behind him, Bagnaia managed to extend his lead further to 1.554 seconds from the Championship leader.
Then it was Martin’s turn to receive a track-limits warning 2 laps later, as a result of his tussle with Miller.
Last lap – the clouds above still seemed dull and grey but the rain had stayed away.
Rain stayed away. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Turn one saw Martin try to overtake Miller once more, but this time resulted in him seeing the gravel instead. He managed to get back into the race and still finished in the top 10. This error meant that Miller could now finish comfortably on the podium.
Podium hopes fall from beneath him. Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page.
Bagnaia managed to remain in complete control of the entire race and passed the finish line to take his 3rd consecutive race win in a row ahead of Quartararo and Miller. Behind them in 4th was an elated Marini.
Celebrates with team. Courtesy of: Bagnaia’s official Twitter page.
Top 10 race finishers:
1st
F. Bagnaia
2nd
F. Quartararo
3rd
J. Miller
4th
L. Marini
5th
J. Zarco
6th
A. Espargaro
7th
B. Binder
8th
A. Rins
9th
M. Bezzechi
10th
J. Martin
Top four championship:
1st
F. Quartararo
200 points
2nd
A. Espargaro
168 points
3rd
F. Bagnaia
156 points
4th
J. Zarco
125 points
The racing was super exciting and had fans on the edge of their seats through-out.
Can Ducati continue their streak into the next round at Misano on 4th September? Or would Someone else step onto the top spot?
Featured image – Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page
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.
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.
