The racing weekend that was - Wk 34

In MotoGP at Brno:

In a race that saw Spain's Marc Marquez's total domination of the 2014 MotoGP season come to an end, fellow Honda rider and team-mate Dani Pedrosa rose to the occasion with a splendid performance to win in the Czech Republic GP.

Incredibly Marquez, who was also the pole sitter, struggled with tire issues and failed to make it onto the podium. The Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi made it a 2-3 finish, some 0.410 seconds behind Pedrosa. Although Lorenzo started to catch up in the closing stages, Lorenzo stayed in control managing the lead comfortably.

Jorge Lorenzo on winning: "It was very important to have the first victory of the year. The best moment was when I arrived in pace ferme and saw the faces of the mechanics. That happiness makes the race so special."

Rossi on Marc: "It looked like Marc today was not 100% with the setting of the bike - finally! Because of this happened to us many times, but Marc has always been able to be very strong in the race."

Marc Marquez on his first defeat in 2014: "In a way it's taken a weight off my shoulders, as now people won't be asking me if I can win every race anymore."

The top 5:
1. Dani Pedrosa
2. Jorge Lorenzo
3. Valentino Rossi
4. Marc Marquez
5. Andrea Iannone

The next race with be the British GP on August 31, 2014.


In PDRA, Under the Lights at Tulsa, Oklahoma:
At the inaugural "Under the Lights" event at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park, which drew the biggest crowd of the year for the PDRA, both the race organizers as the drag racers put on a hell of a show.

In the NAS Pro Extreme Category, Bubba Stanton in a 69 Camaro ran a 3.576 at 215.82 mph to beat Badir Ahli of Dubai in the finals. The foreigners made an impressive couple of runs during the weekend.

In Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous category, Jason Harris had to work very hard to get the win light over Tommy Franklin with in a 3.867 at 172.45 mph in his 68 Firebird. In the semis Harris outran a very fast Lizzy Musi, who performed extremely well on Saturday night. Both use Pat Musi power!

"I had my hands full. I about wrecked it, but you get in race mode and it makes you do dumb things sometimes," Harris comment after the finals against Franklin. "It got over the centerline there and I threw the chutes out and it saved, but I shouldn't have done that.

In the Pro Boost category, although Todd Tutterow was the favourite having qualified in the top spot with his Supercharged '69 Camaro, it was his teammate Kevin Rivenbark who walked away with the trophy. Rivenbark piloted his blown '67 Mustang past Tutterow in the finals with a 3.856 at 191.35 mph while Tutterow has traction issues.

In the Aruba Pro Stock category, John Pluchino in his '06 Escort ran a 4.108 at 175.52 mph in the finals against the guy who gave him a ride to the event, all the way from NY, and beat him. In what is often the case in drag racing, you race your friends, and when they need your help, you're there for them. John Montecalvo might have lost to Pluchino in the finals but in my book, he's all aces.

"I'm having trouble with my truck and trailer so we weren't even going to come here, but John Montecalvo, he offered to bring my car down here in his trailer and we worked out of a tent in the pits and we ended up running against him in the final," Pluchino explained. "But that's the best scenario that could be - especially since I won!"


The NitrOlympcs at the Hockenheimring:
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, fellow drag racers were having fun at the Hockenheimring, Germany. At this time I leave you only with a cool photo of Kirsten van Croonenborgh, but I will revisit this topic in the very near future. Just look at the jam packed stands. Wow.

Thanks for reading.

Source: Crash.net, Dragzine.com,

Photo credit: theage.com, Dragzine.com, Suzy Q Dragracing - fotoharry.de