Formula 2 Sprint Race:
The Formula 2 Weekend got underway with the sprint race in Monaco, 1 month after the Azerbaijan weekend. It was a clean getaway for every driver until we got up to the chicane after the tunnel. Stanek and Maini got spun around with 4 drivers getting caught upon the incident. This brought out a VSC which lead into a full safety car. Whitch came in on lap 6 but Hadjar got an issue at the restart and had to retire. Iwasa managed to inherit the lead which brought every driver up by 1 place from the retsrta apart from Nissany and Boshung who had to retire. Leclerc and Maini were battling for P16 but due to the insignificant advantage of DRS. Fittipaldi managed to get cordeel on lap 22. After that. Cordeel crashed before the hairpin and brought out another safety car. Correa and Cordeel collided. The safety car came in lap 24 and Iwasa decided to go early. Bearman had to pit at the restart. Iwasa managed to pull a gap of over 6 seconds to lead the pack to the win and take home a win at Monaco. Daruvala finished P2 and Crawford P3.
Formula 2 Feature Race:
The Feature Race in Monaco kicked off with a clean start for most of the drivers. Dennis Hauger managed to cut turn 1 and ended up getting a 5 second time penalty. Cordeel started to fall back the field as the racers entered lap 2. Cordeel then picked up damage and retired but Hauger was then noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. With Formula 2, there is a rule which states that the drivers cannot complete their mandatory pitstop until the end of lap 6. So Benevides and Boschung decided to pit at the end of lap 8 which was a surprise. Arthur Leclerc got struck by a curse thats his brother also has as he DNFed from the race on lap 9. Further on in the race Nissany, Daruvala, Correa, Crawford, Fittipaldi, Iwasa, Hadjar, Bearman and Benevides all pitted. Nissany and Novalak battled through the tunnel section with a VSC having to be deployed due to Enzo Fittipaldi having an engine issue. Dennis Hauger received a 5 second time penalty on lap 20 for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Jack Doohan ended up crashing on lap 22. The car caught on fire but he was all safe. However, the track was slippery and a red flag was called in order to repair the barrier. Vesti, Pourchaire and Martins all pitted before the red flag was called. We went racing again on lap 27 which was a steady start. It then emerged that Victor Martins did not slow down for the collision and ended up receiving a drive through penalty. Vesti managed to convert his pole to victory around the streets of Monaco. Theo Pourchaire finished P2 and Zane Maloney finished the podium positions.
Featured Image Credit to Prema Racing Photos and Videos.
X44 have won their first race of the season at Saturday’s Hydro XPrix after Andretti received a time penalty. Here’s how the day unfolded.
Qualifying 1:
There isn’t much that can stop an Extreme E car from racing – but if anything could it’s the Scottish weather.
The boffins at Extreme E thought it would be a good idea to hold the first qualifying at 6am local time – and the Scottish weather gods made them pay.
Thick fog coated the track, meaning the medical helicopter could not take off if it had needed to. For the safety of the drivers – Qualifying 1 was cancelled.
Qualifying 2:
With the fog cleared, Qualifying 2 Heat 1 got underway as X44, JBXE, Acciona Sainz, Andretti, and Chip Ganassi knew they just needed to finish in the top 2 to be guaranteed a Final sport.
X44 got the best get-away with Chip Ganassi not far behind them. Though the field was very close, very little overtaking meant X44 took the chequered flag followed by Chip Ganassi – who both made it through to the final. Third placed Andretti would have to wait until the second heat to see if they had also made it to the final.
The remaining five teams would compete for the remaining Final spots in the second heat. RXR got the best start, but chaos ensued behind as ABT Cupra’s Klara Andersson rolled the car.
After contact off the start-line, Andersson hit the hay-bales that lined the track. The car rolled and sustained heavy damage against the gravel and rocky track. Veloce also had a drive-shaft issue, forcing them to retire.
A brief red flag came and went and the reaming teams resumed with RXR leading, Carl Cox in second and McLaren in third.
McLaren did get past Extreme E’s newest team, Carl Cox. but a five-second time penalty for a switch-zone infringement meant they finished in third.
RXR and Carl Cox progressed to the final, alongside Andretti, after McLaren’s super sector was slower than the American outfit’s.
Overall Qualifying Classification:
X44 – 10 Points
RXR – 10 Points
Chip Ganassi – 8 Points
Carl Cox Motorsport – 8 Points
Andretti – 6 Points
McLaren – 6 Points
Acciona Sainz – 4 Points
Veloce – 4 Points
JBXE – 2 Points
ABT Cupra – 2 Points
Redemption Race:
The bottom five qualifying teams were up in the Redemption Race, with the teams trying to salvage as many championship points as possible from the day’s action.
ABT Cupra, who were involved in the heavy crash in Qualifying 2, did not make the start as there was too much damage.
Of the four cars that started the race, Acciona Sainz got the best get-away, and they led from start to finish. Veloce were not far behind in second as the teams entered the switch zone.
Ultimately they would be little-to-no overtaking in the race and Acciona Sainz won the race. Veloce came home in second with McLaren a fair way back in third. JBXE rounded up the grid.
Final:
Undoubtedly the best action of the day came in the Final, as each team looked to take their first victory of the season.
RXR’s Johann Kristofferson looked to get the best start but X44 used their hyper-drive to perfection to power their way around the outside of everyone and into first.
But, McConnell in the X44 machine took too much speed into a corner and Andretti forced their way up the inside. As X44 were hung out to dry, RXR went side-by-side with them.
Then, all of a sudden, the RXR car veered the left and rolled over the rocky edge of the circuit. Kristofferson was okay, but the team could not continue.
Andretti led the way coming into the switch-zone, but they were too quick in the change-over, and they were given a post-race penalty of 15.3s.
Unknown to the drivers at the time, X44 harried the Andretti team, but were not able to complete the overtake.
Andretti United crossed the line first but were demoted to second after the penalty, giving X44 the victory. Problems for Carl Cox and Chip Ganassi saw them too far back to take advantage of Andretti’s penalty. Carl Cox rounded out the podium.
Overall Round Classification:
X44
Andretti
Carl Cox Motorsport
Chip Ganassi
RXR
Acciona Sainz
Veloce
McLaren
JBXE
ABT Cupra
Championship Standings:
Acciona Sainz took the lead of the championship standings, despite not making it to the final, as they gained two extra points for being fastest through the continental traction challenge.
Another tough weekend for JBXE sees them prop up the table.
Acciona Sainz – 56 Points
Veloce – 52 Points
X44 – 49 Points
RXR – 42 Points
Chip Ganassi – 33 Points
Carl Cox Motorsport – 23 Points
Andretti – 23 Points
McLaren – 18 Points
ABT Cupra – 16 Points
JBXE – 7 Points
JBXE and ABT Cupra will have another chance on Sunday to properly get their season going, whilst Andretti will look to build on their new-found momentum.
Le Mans has given us another action-packed sprint race, with breathtaking battles from start to finish. Our winner, Jorge Martin was simply peerless today, whilst Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez, who is back to his old ways after 3 races away, jostled for the majority of the race.
Jorge Martin was in a league of his own on his way to win the sprint race at the French GP in Le Mans. Having started the race in 5th, he enjoyed a brilliant start and was up to 2nd before the exit of turn 1. It was then lap 4 when he finally took the lead and he never looked back, quickly building a gap between himself and his nearest competitors. As the chequered flag fell, he wheelied across the line to take a dominant victory.
Brad Binder took a well-deserved 2nd place today, taking advantage of a race-long battle between Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia. As the pair were fighting, he snuck up the inside to claim second place and, much like our race winner, was able to quickly put clear air behind him. However, that gap ahead was always just slightly too big and he couldn’t find a way to take the fight to Martin.
Championship leader and today’s pole sitter, Bagnaia, came home in 3rd after that race-long battle with Marquez. The pair were jostling for most of the race, closely on each other’s tail and making aggressive moves to try and best each other. It looked as though it might end in disaster multiple times but, eventually, it was the Italian who eventually came out on top.
After 7 breathtaking laps of fighting and overtaking, it was on lap 10 of 13 that he finally made his way past Marquez and made sure to quickly shut the door to avoid any counter-attacks. The nail-biting fight was then quickly over as Bagnaia pulled ahead of Marquez to put clean air between the pair.
Marquez, who is back on the grid after missing the previous 3 races, eventually ended the day in 5th. It seemed that he may have started to fatigue at the same time as Bagnaia’s tyres came into their sweet spot – a bad combination but he will have plenty of positives to take away from his performance today, ahead of tomorrow’s main race.
It looked like this potential fatiguing then made Marquez a bit of a sitting duck for Luca Marini, who was able to make his way up to 4th on lap 11. Marini has enjoyed a fantastic day, progressing from Q1 to then secure 3rd in Q2. He lost a few places at the start of the spring race but more than made up for this with his performance towards the end of the race.
It was a tougher day for Jack Miller and home hero Fabio Quatararo, who both failed to meet the chequered flag.
Miller enjoyed a brilliant start, flying off the line to steal 3rd from Marini early on. The Aussie, who has previously enjoyed a lot of success in sprint races, couldn’t emulate that success today as he went down in the middle of Museum Corner on the second lap. He was visibly frustrated to make an error that ended his race so prematurely.
Then, on lap 10, Quartararo went down at the same corner. The bike just folded underneath him as he helplessly slid into the gravel. The home crowd were clearly disappointed as a stunned silence fell over the grandstands. Today has been a difficult day for the Frenchman – a day that has gone from bad to worse after his inability to progress out of Q1.
The final points-scoring positions were filled by Johann Zarco, Marco Bezzecchi, Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales in 6th to 9th respectively. Vinales had a terrible qualifying session where a bike issue hampered his second run whilst he was sat in provisional pole – it is certainly a day of “what if’s” for the Spaniard.
The main race will take place at 2pm local time on Sunday. If the sprint race is anything to go by, it should be a race filled with action and drama!
After leading the way yesterday, Sam Lowes set the fastest-ever lap around the Le Mans circuit on a Moto2 bike on his way to claiming pole position. He will be joined on the front row of the grid tomorrow by Alonso Lopez and Tony Arbolino.
As expected in Q1, no rider was certain to make it through to the second round of qualifying, but Jeremy Alcoba, Dennis Foggia and Fermin Aldeguer hoped they could secure a top-four position in Q1 to get them onto the front six rows of the grid. Few riders were able to test out the track with slick tyres this morning due to the track conditions.
Lukas Tulovic set the early pace with a 1.36.539 and this remained the top time until the final moments of the session when Fermin Aldeguer went 0.1s faster around the Le Mans circuit. Along with the Speed Up Racing and Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP riders, Barry Baltus and Bo Bendsneyder made it through the second round of qualifying.
In the second part of qualifying, Filip Salac and Celestino Vietti were topping the time sheets early on with a 1:36.135 and 1:36.178 respectively. Pedro Acosta struggled with the bike towards the start of the session, slotting into sixth place just over two-tenths off the pace set by Salac.
With just under eight minutes to go, Bendsneyder went down in the fourth sector. This cancelled the laps of multiple riders but also allowed them to regroup and plan their attacks for the rest of the session.
Arbolino, Jake Dixon and Lowes were following each other on the track with five and a half minutes to go, setting fastest sector after fastest sector. The tow provided by the two riders in front of Lowes, allowed the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team rider to set the fastest lap around the circuit on a Moto2 bike with a 1:35.791.
Tulovic and Dixon went down at the same time at turns nine and seven respectively causing yellow flags in sectors two, three and four with just over two minutes left on the clock. Luckily, these flags were cleared quickly.
With five seconds left, Lopez crossed the line to go second fastest with a 1:36.036. He was about to start his final flying lap before Aron Canet crashed and caused a red flag. The red flag was due to Canet’s bike being in the middle of the track.
Following the red flag, the session did not restart as there were only a few seconds left on the clock. This means that, for the second race in a row, Lowes will start with no other rider in front of him. Championship leader Acosta starts the race from the middle of the second row with Salac ahead of him and Vietti behind.
2023 FRENCH MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, LE MANS – QUALIFYING RESULTS
The earlier Superpole race saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) claim yet another win, and make it 2/3 wins across the weekend so far. Could anyone break this Ducati dominance?
WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain, Round 4, Race 2. Picture courtesy of Honda Racing Corporation.
During the sighting lap rain began to fall, playing on the minds of the riders. Although it wasn’t enough to be declared a wet race.
Lights out then for race 2, and once again you guessed correct, it was Bautista with the holeshot into turn 1. Toprak (Pata Prometeon Yamaha WorldSBK) was in no mood to witness the Ducatis clear off into the distance again, and quickly launched an attack on both of them, getting through on Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati), before passing Bautista into turn 5 to briefly take the lead. It was now the factory Ducatis 2nd and 3rd, with Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) in 4th, and Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha WorldSBK) in 5th.
Next lap of the 20 lap race, and Bautista blasted past Toprak down the long straight and back into the lead. The Yamaha R1 had no answer to the power of the Ducati V4. Next was Rinaldi to pass Toprak and retake 2nd. Positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Lowes 4. Toprak 5. Locatelli 6. Vierge (Honda HRC) 7. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) 8. Lecuona (Honda HRC) 9. Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 10. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati). Drama for a deflated Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) yet again, who crashed out of the race alongside Malaysian rider Syahrin (Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team). Both their races were over.
Next lap and Alex Lowes, who had an impressive start to the race made a great pass on Rinaldi to take 2nd. Meanwhile Kawasaki team mate Jonny Rea, who had only started in 10th after a DNF in the Superpole race, moved through on Vierge to take 6th. The light rain had cleared off, and the race was perfectly dry.
With 17 laps remaining Bautista had a gap of 0.3s to Lowes in 2nd. Rinaldi was in 3rd. Swiss rider Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was up to 10th after getting through on Bassani, who had opted for a harder SC0 front tyre which did not seem to be paying off. Further back Scott Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) was also struggling and was down in 13th.
Next lap and Rinaldi blasted past Lowes down the straight to retake 2nd. Both Lowes and Rinaldi were having much better rides compared to race 1. Meanwhile Bautista extended his lead to 1.2s. Further back Rea was looking to catch the leaders, and was sizing up Locatelli ahead of him for a pass.
With 14 laps to go Toprak out braked Lowes into turn 1 to move into 3rd. Both of the Ducatis were now clearing off into the distance, with Bautista holding a gap of 1.5s to his team mate. Positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Toprak 4. Lowes 5. Locatelli 6. Rea 7. Vierge 8. Lecuona 9. Gerloff 10. Aegerter.
With 12 laps remaining Bautista had now extended his lead to 2.3s. Rinaldi held a gap of 2.5s to Toprak in 3rd. Meanwhile Isaac Vinales (Team Perdercini) retires due to a mechanical issue. BSB current champion, Brad Ray (MotoxRacing Yamaha), was in 17th.
At half race distance there was a 4 way battle for 8th between Lecuona 8th, Aegerter 9th, Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) 10th, and Gerloff 11th. Meanwhile at the front Bautista had extended his lead to 3.9s, while Rinaldi had a gap of 3.5s. Lowes held a gap of 1.0s to Locatelli in 5th.
With 7 laps remaining, Bautista was once again clear into the distance, out in front with an unassailable lead. Rea finally made his move on Locatelli to move into 5th. The day got worse for Scott Redding, as he was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue. Locatelli hadn’t given up his place lying down, and the young Italian was trying to put pressure back on Rea.
Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Toprak 4. Lowes 5. Rea 6. Locatelli 7. Vierge 8. Lecuona 9. Aegerter 10. Gerloff.
With 4 laps left Bautista now had a commanding lead of 6.7s, while Rinaldi in 2nd had a gap of 3.2s.
WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain, Round 4, Race 2. Picture courtesy of Honda Racing Corporation.
Penultimate lap and Aegerter was all over the back of Vierge, and looking for a pass into 7th place. Further back Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was in a disappointing 13th, after a good race 1 yesterday.
Last lap and it was Vierge who got through on Locatelli into 6th. Meanwhile Bautista crossed the line to make it 3/3 wins across the weekend, as well as his second clean sweep of wins in Catalunya. Toprak pipped Rinaldi to the line to take 2nd, driving up the inside of the last corner with much better traction, Rinaldi had lost massive time on the last lap, and his tyres were cooked. The race finished: 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Rinaldi 4. Lowes 5. Rea 6. Vierge 7. Locatelli 8. Aegerter 9. Lecuona 10. Gerloff.
Qualifying was first up and Group A saw Nato, Fenestraz, Ticktum and Evans all through to the duels. The DS Penske duo of Vandoorne and Vergne both lost their lap times due to a technical infraction which dropped them to the back of the grid.
Gunther, Hughes, Mortara and Sette Camara all went through to the final from Group B. Fenestraz appeared victorious over Dan Ticktum for the first session of quarter finals, Nato beat Evans in the second quarter final, Hughes beat Mortara and Sette Camara beat Gunther in the 3rd and 4th quarter finals respectfully. However, Sette Camara got his best lap time deleted so Gunther took his place in the duel. Before their duel however, it was a nissan quarter final with Nato vs Fenestraz and Fenestraz won that battle. Hughes took victory over Gunther in the second semi final so it was Hughes against Fenestraz for the battle for pole.
It was a tight battle which saw Fenestraz snatch the position from Hughes after Hughes made an error. Fenestraz, however, used more power than he was meant to and got the pole snatched away!
Race:
The 29 lap race started by Hughes leading the race with Cassidy trying to make a lot of places up. Cassidy went up to P7 by the end of lap 1. Jake Hughes held the lead from the two Nissans and from Ticktum and Gunther in P5. Dennis managed to get Cassidy on lap 2. Rowland who started P13 is up to P7. By lap 3 rowland managed to make up to P6. A yellow flag then came out on lap 3 due to lotterer and retiring. Rowland took his first attack mode on lap 3. Evans and Gunther were battling on the final sector of lap 3 which Gunther managed to win. Nick Cassidy made a big move on lap 5 to make up 2 places at once. Cassidy made HUGE moves to go up to P2 after Hughes took attack mode! Hughes went down to P4 just ahead of Ticktum. Evans managed to make his way up to P5 after a lunge in the hairpin. Cassidy and Nato took their attack mode together which allowed Ticktum to make his way up to P1. ahead of Evans and Fenestraz. Fenestraz and Cassidy attack their way up the hull after turn 1 and Fenestraz manages to keep the position over the New Zealander.
An image from the ABB FIA Formula E Monaco EPrix. Credit to Formula E.
Lap 13 saw Cassidy lead the race from Evans and Fenestraz who are 2nd and 3rd. Lap 14 saw a titanic battle between Evans and Dennis coming out of the tunnel to battle for position. Gunther had a big moment in the swimming pool section of the track on lap 15but he managed to keep it goether. Evans took the lead of the race at the start of lap 16 . While ths was going on, Vergne and Vandoorne managed to make their way up to P13 and P14 after starting at the back of the grid. Bird and Nato collided after the tunnel and Da Costa suffered a puncture and fell to the back of the grid. Both Maseratis took attack mode on lap 17 and fell to P7 and P8 with Gunther leading the way. Cassidy managed to get the lead of the race on lap 18. Dennis tried to get ahead of Evans into the hairpin but he didn’t manage to make it stick. Hughes and Ricktum Kept switching positions on lap 18 too with Ticktum taking the position. Fenestraz tried to get Dennis into the hairpin but didn’t manage to get him. Ticktum tried to squeeze Vergne into the wall down into the hairpin but Vergne managed to make it out. Mortara appeared to lose his front wing. Ticktum had an issue after he collided with another driver. Nato had to slow down and Gunther stopped on track which resulted on a safety car on lap 22/29.
The safety car came in on lap 25 and Cassidy and Evans went battling for the win with Dennis not far behind. Bird went for attack mode but he managed to miss it! There was no added laps to the race. Muller collided with Bird on lap 28 which resulted in Muller stopping on lap and the safety car being deployed which ended this race. Nick Cassidy won the Monaco EPrix and takes the lead of the championship. Mitch Evans finished P2 and Jake Dennis finished P3. The front row finished P4 and P5 with Fenestraz finishing ahead of Hughes. Ticktum managed to hold onto P6 with Vergne going from p22 to P7. Buemi finished P8 with Vandoorne finishing P9 and Evan’s teammate Sam Bird collecting the final point position. Sam Bird later received a penalty so Pascal Wehrlein picked up P10.
The concludes Formula E for 1 month where we head to Jakara for a double header!
Early May here in Barcelona, and already the temperatures were scorching, nearing 30 degrees Celsius air temperature, and 50 degrees on track.
WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain Round 4. Picture courtesy of WorldSBK
With news earlier in the week that reigning champion, Alvaro Bautista would be extending his contact with Aruba Ducati for at least another season, it all meant there would be no easing off of the gas. His rivals would need to step up the game if they had eyes on his world championship crown, or indeed stopping him in Catalunya this weekend.
Lights out then for Race 1, and it was Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by his team mate Rinaldi behind in 2nd. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 3rd, Toprak (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 4th, and Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) in 5th.
Next lap and with Toprak mounting pressure on his team mate Locatelli, he did eventually make the move into turn 3, moving into 4th. Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had been penalised grid positions for irresponsible riding and had to start from 16th, although he had made a great start and was now up to 11th. Drama for Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing Movisio) who went down into turn 4, and his race was over. At the front Bautista had a gap of 0.5s to Rinaldi behind in 2nd.
Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Rea 4. Toprak 5. Locatelli 6. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 7. Aegerter 8. Vierge (Honda HRC) 9. Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) 10. Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).
Then, with 17 laps remaining, the race is red flagged due to a crash by Eric Granado (Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team) into turn 12. He was conscious as they stretchered him off the track and taken to the medical centre. The race would be restarted with 17 laps still remaining.
Lights out then for the second time, and once again it was Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Rinaldi 2nd, Bassani 3rd, Rea 4th, Locatelli 5th, and Toprak in 6th. Drama then for Redding as he seemed to slam into the back of Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) into turn 10, both riders plunged into the gravel with bits of fairing everywhere, and their respective races were over. Meanwhile at the front, things were getting spicy between fellow Italians, Rinaldi and Bassani in the battle for 2nd, with Rea behind in 4th.
Next lap and Rinaldi barged up the inside of Bassani after the latter had briefly taken 2nd to retake the position, gloves were definitely off at this stage. As the ‘red mist’ descended, Bassani then stuffed it up the inside of Rinaldi into turn 10, although he caught the back of the Ducati in the process sending a helpless Rinaldi flying off into the gravel. Rinaldi was not at all happy, giving a sarcastic ’round of applause’ to his fellow countryman after that incident. Positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Bassani 3. Rea 4. Toprak 5. Locatelli 6. Aegerter 7. Lowes 8. Vierge 9. Lecuona 10. Gardner.
With 14 laps left Bautista put in the new fastest lap, a 1:41.747, and held a gap of 1.8s to Bassani.
WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain Round 4. Picture courtesy of WorldSBK
Next lap and Bautista extended his lead to 2.3s. Meanwhile further behind Toprak was right on the back of Rea, and you sensed a pass was coming. The Kawasaki had previously struggled in very hot conditions. Meanwhile Bassani was given a long lap penalty for his contact with Rinaldi, which he immediately took and rejoined in 5th.
With 12 laps to go Bautista had now extended his lead to 4.1s to Rea who was now in 2nd, with Toprak behind in 3rd who had a gap of 1.2s to his team mate behind in 4th, Locatelli. Meanwhile further back it was, Aegerter 6th, Lowes 7th, Vierge 8th, Gardner 9th, Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) 10th, and Brad Ray (MotoxRacing Yamaha) 15th.
With just over half race distance covered, Bassani got back through on Locatelli into turn 10 to take 4th. Meanwhile further back there was a battle for 7th between Lecuona and Lowes. Further back again and there was a 3 way battle for 9th between Vierge 9th, Gardner 10th, and Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 11th. The young Aussie, Gardner, then got through on Vierge to take 9th.
With 7 laps to go, Vinales crashed out into turn 10 his race was over. Meanwhile at the front and clear out in the lead, Bautista had now ramped his lead up to 8.6s, and looked comfortable, and was nearly out of sight of the chasers behind. Toprak was still right on the back of Rea, although the Kawasaki was looking much better in the hot conditions, and Rea was holding his own. Disappointment then for Lowes who went down into the downhill turn 7 losing the front end, he had been looking good up until that point. Toprak held a gap of 1.9s to Bassani behind in 4th.
With only 5 laps remaining Bautista now extended his lead to 9.5s and was making it look easy. Rea continued to hold off Toprak and held a gap of 0.3s.
Next lap and Locatelli retook 4th, getting through on Bassani. Bassani paying for his earlier fight with Rinaldi no doubt, as he was struggling with grip. Bassani was 5th, Aegerter 6th, Lecuona 7th, Vierge 8th, Gardner 9th, Gerloff 10th, with British rider Brad Ray in 14th.
With 3 laps to go, Aegerter was having a great race for a rookie, and took 5th getting through on Bassani, with a nice clean move up the inside of the Ducati. Meanwhile out of sight in the lead, Bautista was entering turn 1, as Rea and Toprak were entering the final corner onto the straight, such was his sizeable lead of 11s. Further back Petrucci was battling Gardner for 10th.
Last lap and Toprak eventually made his move on Rea down the straight and into turn 1, out braking the Kawasaki and getting his bike stopped as only Toprak can do, Rea had no answer and dropped into 3rd.
WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain Round 4. Picture courtesy of WorldSBK
Taking his first win of the weekend, and making an ominous statement with the dominance of it, Bautista crossed the line in 1st, followed by Toprak in 2nd, Rea 3rd, Locatelli 4th, Aegerter 5th, Lecuona 6th, Bassani 7th, Vierge 8th, Gerloff 9th, Petrucci 10th.
Ollie Bearman Sprint and Feature race winner at Baku 2023. Image courtesy of Ferrari
The Ferrari Junior Driver had his best weekend in Formula 2 yet with the 17 year old finishing every single session across round 4 of the FIA Formula 2 World Championship around the streets of Baku.
Bearman first of all topped the one and only Free Practice Session of the weekend with a 1:54.063. Hadjar and Maini followed behind in second and third respectfully. Qualifying was very tight with the 17 year old setting a lap time just 0.012 ahead of Red Bull Junior Enzo Fittipaldi.
Sprint Race:
The sprint race got underway in Baku with the ART of Victor Martins immediatel cutting across the Red Bull Junior of Zane Maloney. The reverse pole sitter Richard Verschoor nearly lost the rear end, tapped the wall and got both front and rear damage. Maloney lead from Hauger and Martins in P3. The Boy from Barbados Maloney got a puncture and went from 1st to last on lap 1 of the sprint. Boschung tapped the wall by the castle section and had to retire which brought out the safety car. We went 2 laps under the SC and when the safety car was brought in, Hauger lead the way from Martins and daruvala. Bearman managed to make a chagre up to P4 by lap 11 out of 21.
The PHM of Roy Nissany then crashed on lap 14 which brought out a safety car and saw the pack bunch up again. The drivers spent 5 laps under the safety car and from then, a 3 lap shootout for the win resulted in a huge crash into turn 1. Hauger and Martins locked up and went into the wall, Daruvala hit Martins due to him also locking up and Leclerc and Pourchaire tapped the wall and the engine stalled. Vesti and Martins were then battling for the lead which saw Bearman take the lead just before the safety car was deployed and the race was then over due to the amount of cleanup required. Bearman took home his first victory of his F2 career ahead of Vesti and Crawford finishing the top 3. Maini, Fittipaldi, Correa and Novalak finished off the top 7. Hadjar did finish P8 but got a penalty post race so Stanek got the final points position.
The Formula 2 2023 Baku Sprint Podium with a Prema 1-2 and Crawford in P3. Image Credit: Prema Racing Photos and Videos
Feature Race:
The feature race saw a very clean getaway from everyone and a clean first lap from everyone. Pourchaire got up to P2 on Lap 2 after overtaking Fittipaldi but he wasn’t finished there. Pourchaire got past bearman on lap 3 for the lead of the race and both Premas of Vesti and Bearman were attacking Fittipaldi and Pourchaire respectfully. Bearman wasn’t finished as he got up to P1 on lap 4 with the assist of the DRS system. Hauger and Crawford went wheel to wheel with Hauger getting the advantage. the top 2 pitted on lap 9 due to yellow flags and Bearman managed to hold the lead ahead of Pourchaire.
Brad Benevides stopped on an escape road after a touch with the barriers and brought out a VSC as he was recovered. Daruvala ried to get past Maloney on lap 14 but ended up getting a 10s time penalty for rejoining unsafely. Fittipaldi was challenging Pourchaire on lap 24 for P2 and he eventually got the moce done in turn 3. Bearman crossed the line to take the feature race victory in Baku and make it a perfect weekend. Fittipaldi finished P2 and Pourchaire in P3. Martins was P4 but got disqualified due to a technical infringement. This pushed Vest, Maini, Hauger, Hadjer, Verschoor, Crawford and Leclerc up to P4-P10 respectfully after Daruvala’s penalty pushed him down to P13, originally P14.
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Race winner Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates after the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202304300912 // Usage for editorial use only //
Sergio Perez took yet another street circuit win in Baku on Sunday afternoon after an excellent drive to beat his world champion teammate. A timely safety car ensured that Perez took the lead in the early stages of the race and the Mexican driver did not have to look back for the rest of the race.
Charles Leclerc started the race on pole after setting the fastest lap on Friday qualifying in the new format that kicked off this weekend. The pace of the Ferrari was simply no match for the Redbulls as both Verstappen and Perez picked off Leclerc one after the other once DRS was activated at the beginning of lap 3. The fight for victory from here on was largely between the Redbulls as they left the rest of the pack behind very swiftly.
Verstappen was just ahead of Perez around lap 8 when Nick De Vries crashed, bringing about a Safety Car. The Redbull pitwall called in Verstappen ahead of Perez while there was no safety car yet but the safety car was called in moments after Verstappen completed his pitstop and Perez gained full advantage of this. Verstappen was relegated to P3 in the aftermath and spent the rest of the race catching up to his teammate.
Ferrari had a decent outing with Leclerc getting his first podium of the season, albeit not after huge pressure from Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, who was chasing Leclerc until the finish line. Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari had to fend off Lewis Hamilton to scramble to a P5 finish.
For Mercedes, it was yet another weekend of being too far away from the top while struggling to be in the battle for the 2nd best team on the grid. Hamilton tried his best after an untimely pitstop before the safety car and ended up P6 while his teammate George Russell spent the large part of the race behind Lance Stroll in the Aston martin. Although, a late pitstop at the end meant that the Englishman had the point in the bag for the fastest lap.
McLaren’s upgrades meant that Norris was in the running for the points throughout the race and the English driver finished P9 while his teammate just missed out after finishing at P11. It was a fantastic effort from the Australian despite battling illness throughout the weekend to achieve a high finish, especially after losing around 3kg in weight as informed by Mark Webber.
It was a mixed day for Alpha Tauri after Yuki Tsunoda finished in the last of the points position while his teammate Nick DeVries crashed out in the opening stages of the race. Alfa Romeo had both the cars finish out of the top 10 with Bottas at P12 and Zhou at P15, with Bottas being involved in a first lap incident and pitting three times during the course of the race.
Hulkenberg in the Haas and Ocon in the Alpine went on a bold strategy as they started the race from the pitlane. The drivers put on a set of hard tyres and drove almost until the end of the race and only pitted at the end to avoid disqualification. It was not without an incident of course when during Ocon’s pitstop on the last lap of the race, the pit lane was swarming with photographers and mechanics. The safety protocols were grossly thrown out of the window and a massive disaster was narrowly avoided and thankfully no one was hurt. Hulkenberg finished P17 while his teammate Magnussen in the other Haas finished P13. Ocon finished P15 after the whole fiasco while his teammate Gasly in the other Alpine finished P14.
The Williams of Alexander Albon finished P12 while his teammate Sargeant finished P16. They will be hoping for a change of fortunes come the Miami GP which is going to be the second one in the triple header we have going on.
Sergio Perez yet again proved that he is the king of the streets as he fended off an in form world champion teammate to take win and close the gap to 6 points to him. The Mexican driver will be fancying his chances again next Sunday as it is another street circuit with a marina in Miami.
Sergio Perez is posing for a picture in Milton Keynes on February 24th, 2021 // Markus Berger / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202110180128 // Usage for editorial use only //
Sergio Perez has won the first sprint race of the season, winning by almost four and a half seconds from Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen completed the podium in the second RedBull. It was a dominant performance from the Mexican who overtook pole sitter Leclerc as soon as the DRS was activated and never looked back from then on.
The action started straight from lights out with Max Verstappen and George Russell battering for the first four corners with the young Brit coming out on top.
At the front it was Leclerc leading from Perez, At the end of lap one Tsunoda lost his right rear tyre after a brush with the wall causing a Virtual Safety Car. The Alpha Tauri driver seemed to just understeer straight into the wall. After 2 laps of VSC a full safety car was needed to clear the debris. Strangely the team sent Tsunoda back out with the right rear suspension broken and left him to crab round for a whole lap before retiring the car.
At the restart both Mercedes drivers lost positions falling to 4th and 7th. Verstappen getting back ahead of Russell and Alonso moving un front of Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc again lead away from Perez and Verstappen.
At the start of lap 8 Perez used the DRS to cruise past Leclerc and take the lead. Behind them Verstappen was stalking the pair with Russell, Sainz and Hamilton all falling back from the leaders.
Further back in the field Oscar Piastri overtook his team mate Lando Norris to move up to P10. McLaren had fitted Norris with soft tyres, a gamble that didn’t seem to work with Norris struggling at just over half distance and having to pit, In a sprint race that’s a disaster.
With 5 laps left Charles Leclerc was wringing the neck of his Ferrari and making a fight of the sprint race, getting back within DRS range of the lead RedBull. As soon as he did this Perez suddenly upped his pace and increased his lead to 2 seconds with just 3 laps remaining.
The rest of the field looked fairly settled as usually happens in the sprint races.
In fact the last 3 laps went by with very little action. Perez took the chequered flag after 17 laps of the Sprint Race. Leclerc was second with Max Verstappen third. Behind them was Russell who after his first lap battle had a quiet race, then came Sainz, Alonso, Hamilton, Stroll, Albon and Piastri finishing off the top ten.
The Grand Prix takes place tomorrow and hopefully will bring the usual Baku style craziness.
X44 have won their first race of the season at Saturday’s Hydro XPrix after Andretti received a time penalty. Here’s how the day unfolded.
