The racing weekend that was - Wk 21 updated

In Formula One, Monaco:

In what turned to be a very exciting race, a spectacular team order blunder gives the race to Nico Rosberg, though Lewis Hamilton had led from the start and had a 15 second lead. Despite the track known for tight racing quarters, the action was relatively good. What stood out for me were the passing maneuvers attempts and the drama of breaking under pressure!

Race highlights:
Rookie sensation Max Verstappen driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso, passes Pastor Maldonado in his Lotus for P8 but looses a lot of positions during a pit stop due to a problem with the right rear. After a good stint he switches to super softs and comes in p11 right behind third place driver Sebastian Vettel. Max decides to duck under the German's rear wing to make use of any blue flags given to Vettel. However, Romain Grosjean (Lotus) doesn't fall for the trick and quickly closes the door after letting Vettel pass. Hereafter Max exerts a great deal of pressure on the Lotus of Grosjean for the final points paying position (P10) and finally takes a gamble going into Ste Devote. The Dutchman went for a small opening but touched Grosjean's right rear tire breaking his own wing and suspension before vaulting  the Torro Rosso over the kerb into the barriers. This racing incident, though penalized by the race stewards, shows that the seventeen-year-old is not afraid to attack when he sees an opening. Good for F1!

Lewis at a loss for words

With the "virtual" safety car out for Verstappen's crash and with 14 laps to go, the Mercedes team decides to pit p1 driver Lewis Hamilton for supersoft. This was done before picking up the safety car and when Lewis resumes the race he realizes he has come behind team mate Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel and into third place. With ten laps to go Lewis' camp realizes they have gambled for no reason and lost it as well. Just 3-4 laps before the end of the race, Lewis radios in that it is impossible to pass Vettel.

Daniel Ricciardo made a aggressive move on Raikkonen going into Mirabeau. The Australian carefully nudged Kimi out of the way by clipping his right rear tire and sending him wide.
Kimi on team radio after the pass, "that was not nice". Really Kimi? I think Kimi's wings have been clipped for good.

Lewis Hamilton after the race: "The team has been amazing all year long - we win together and lose together."

To read the live commentaries on the race, please click here.

Top ten:
1. Nico Rosberg, GER, Mercedes-Mercedes,
2. Sebastian Vettel, GER, Ferrari-Ferrari,
3. Lewis Hamilton, GBR, Mercedes-Mercedes,
4. Daniil Kvyat, RUS, Red Bull-Renault,
5. Daniel Ricciardo, AUS, Red Bull-Renault,
6. Kimi Raikkonen, FIN, Ferrari-Ferrari,
7. Sergio Perez, MEX, Force India-Mercedes,
8. Jenson Button, GBR, McLaren-Honda,
9. Felipe Nasr, BRZ, Sauber-Ferrari
10. Carlos Sainz Jr, ESP, Toro Rosso-Ferrari.


NHRA at Topeka, Kansas:
On a race Sunday that had the NHRA Safety Safari working flat out trying to get the race in amidst the occasional rain showers, the e.t. God's were looking on and smiling. Whereas in the entire 2014 season 19 three-second runs were recorder, on Sunday a whopping 15 were set, with 5 of those going to the funny car winner. Chalk it all down to ideal air conditions...for the nitro cars.

In Top Fuel, Brittany Force ran pretty good and got all the way to the semi's where Crampton send her packing. He then laid down a 3.738 at 318.09 to hold off Larry Dixon.

In Funny Car, Jack Beckman used a pair of sub four second passes to outrun Courtney Force and John Hale in earlier rounds and then outran Del Worsham in a close semi. In the final Jack beat none other than 16-time world champ John Force by running a 3.984 at 316.45 mph. He also took the 250th victory for his boss Don Schumacher. Get well soon, Don!

Beckman on racing Force, "I have all the respect in the world for John Force. It makes a difference when you race him. You're getting a chance to play against babe Ruth. It's so unique in our sport, that a guy [who is] the best there has aver been in this sport, can still mix it up with us. I've said it before, I can't wait to tell my grandkids I got to compete against John Force. This throphy will be extra special because it was John Force we beat in the final."

In Pro Stock, the Chevy's were charging hard to the semi's. In the final round of eliminations, KB racing's Greg Anderson ran a 6.591 at 209.14 but it wasn't quick enough to beat the red Camaro of Erica Enders, who herself was the quickest all day long.

Next the NHRA series will head June 4-7 to Englishtown, New Jersey.


Source: Crash.net, Drag Illustrated, Wikipedia
Photo credit: Getty Images, Autosport.com, Drag Illustrated

The racing weekend that was - Wk 16

In Formula One, in Bahrain:
Though the Mercedes boys shined under the lights at Bahrain it was Ferrari that stole spotlight. Kimi Raikkonen's engineer gambled on an alternative tire strategy that ensured that the Fin could go much longer on one stint than the rest, and in doing so came in second on the podium. Had the race been a couple of laps longer he would have caught and passed Lewis Hamilton who along with his team mate suffered a failure of the brake-by-wire in the final laps. Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel was at the start of the race in second but struggled with his pace and was passed by Nico Rosberg on lap 8, and though he had a better pit strategy, his gains were short lived as he would run wide and damage his front wing whilst running across the gravel trap. Ferrari are knocking on the door and Sir Frank Williams' men are not far behind.

The top five:
1. Lewis Hamilton, GBR, Mercedes-Mercedes (pictured on the right)
2. Kimi Raikkonen, FIN, Ferrari-Ferrari
3. Nico Rosberg, GER, Mercedes-Mercedes
4. Valtteri Bottas, FIN, Williams-Mercedes
5. Sebastian Vettel, Ger, Ferrari-Ferrari

The next race will be the Spanish GP on May 8-10, at Jerez.


In MotoGP, in Argentina:
Nine time world champion Valentino Rossi (age 36) wins his second race of the season after dramatically hunting down race leader Marc Marquez. The pair clashed on the penultimate lap with Marquez going down. As dramatic was how Cal Crutchlow snatched the final podium place from Andrea Dovizioso at the last corner. What a race!

Rossi declared after the race that he knew they [Yamaha] had a chance to win when Marquez choose for the softer of the rear tires. Rossi, on the harder compound, knew that his pace in the second half of the race might be enough, and so it was. With 12 laps to go, the Italian started to eat into the lead of the Spaniard. At the start of the penultimate lap the Doctor (Rossi) attacked but was immediately re-passed. However, at the end of the back straight he made his move but the pair's riding lines crossed at the exit of the corner. Marquez's front tire touched Rossi's rear sending Marquez down.

the moment Marquez goes down

The pair's clash in Rossi's own words:

"I arrived to Marc [Marquez] and had six or seven tenths of advantage in the pace, but just two laps to go. So I tried to overtake him, but I think for sure now Marc will try something to stay in front."

"But as soon I thought about that, already he touched me in the center of the corner. He put his bike into me and I say "f*ck" straight away. I think you are aggressive but I don't expect so much." 

"Then when I opened the throttle to accelerate, because I want to take a small advantage before the next braking I hear another touch. But sincerely I don't know if it was on the right or left.....but when I passed to the line I saw the pit board [indicating Andrea in p2]."

The top five:

1. Valentino Rossi, ITA, Movistar Yamaha
2. Andrea Dovizioso, ITA, Ducati Team
3. Cal Crutchlow, GBR, LCR Honda
4, Andrea Iannone, ITA, Ducati Team
5, Jorge Lorenzo, ESP, Movistar Yamaha

Race director deems the Rosse/Marquez clash a racing incident.

The next race will be Gran Premio bwin de España, May 1-3, 2015.


IHRA at Bradenton:
In the Pro Mod category, second-generation racer hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Isaias Rojas not only secured the top qualifying spot but also scored their first win with their Mech-Tech 2006 Chevy Cobalt. On the road to the win light, he defeated Dina parise, Ken Ficus and Jimmy Keen in the final

In the pro stock category, fellow Aruban Trevor Eman drove his Ford Mustang to the final round but lost out to former IHRA series champion John Montecalvo who laid down a 6.288 sec at 222.82 mph. The final round is pictured on the right.


Source: Crash.net, Formula One, Competition Plus.
Photo credit: MotoGP, F1

The Racing weekend that was - Wk 11

F1, at the Australian GP:
The Britton Lewis Hamilton started 2015 like he finished 2014 on the top of the podium with an easy and commanding victory from lights to finish.

Felipe Nasr (Brazil)

Though the first race of the year was contested by only 15 cars, it did give us a glimpse of who did their home work over the off season. Mercedes kept their performance whilst McLaren seem to have taken a step backwards. Ferrari's Vettel fired a shot across the bow of the silver arrows with a strong third finish and believes that they can be reeled in. Let's see. The Williams outfit are pretty fast though Felipe Massa could not hold Vettel beck. The other Felipe, Felipe Nasr, in spite of some internal team issues regarding the drive of Giedo vd Garde, put down his head and drove an exceptional race, keeping none other than Daniel Ricciardo at bay, to finish fifth in his debut race. Dutchman Max Verstappen also had a great debut, at one point racing in fifth place, only to drop out with technical issues while running in eight. Both Lotus' cars would drop out after just the first lap of the race. Pastor Maldonado was hit from behind sending him into the wall while Romain Grosjean developed problems of the starting line.

The top 5:
1. Lewis Hamilton, GBR, Mercedes-Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, GER, Mercedes-Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, GER, Ferrari-Ferrari
4. Felipe Massa, BRZ, Williams-Mercedes
5. Felipe Nasr, BRZ, Sauber-Ferarri

The next F1 race will be the Petronas Malaysia GP on March 27-29.


MotoGP, at the final pre-season testing at Losail, Qatar:
The factory Ducati riders were amongst the fastest on Sunday. The Monday session was canceled due to rain.

The top 5 on the final day of testing:
1. Andrea Dovizioso (Right), ITA , Ducati
2. Marc marquez, ESP, Repsol Honda
3. Andrea Iannone, ITA, Ducati
4. Jorge Lorenzo, ESP, Movistar Yamaha
5. Valentino Rossi, ITA, Movistar Yamaha

The first race of the year will be held on March 26-29 at the Losail Circuit in Qatar.


NHRA, at the Gatornationals:
After witnessing a frightening crash during the first qualifying session on Saturday, in which the Top Fuel car of three time world champion Larry Dixon went airbourne, (to see the video click here) the rest of the competitors went about their business.

Spencer Massey drove his Top Fuel dragster to a holeshot victory over Tony Schumacher. Massey covered the 1,000 ft distance in 3.882 seconds at 320.74 mph.

Ron Capps, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car defeated John Hale, which went to his first ever final.

KB Racing's Greg Anderson claimed his 75th career victory when he defeated none other than his teammate Jason Line in the finals of the Pro Stock category. Greg clocked a 6.538 at 213.43 mph.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle it was a women who got the win light and the Wally. Karen Stoffer defeated three-time world champion Eddie Krawic by running a 6.900 at 195.11 on her Suzuki. She's pictured on the right.

The next race will be the 4 Wide Nationals at the zMax facility on March 27-29.


Source: Crash.net, Drag Illustrated.com.
Photo credit: Sports.yahoo.com, Formulapassion.it

McLaren 50th anniversary video

While doing research for McLaren's inclusion in FULTROT's F1 Top 10 best teams, I came across this video about the team's 50th anniversary (2013). Former McLaren team mates Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard reunited to drive some of their former team's classic cars. Luckily for us, the BBC was on hand to film for a special feature.

Hakkinen, pictured on the right, was reunited with the MP-13 he and DC obliterated the field with. Hakkinen would go on to win the 1998 world championship with in one. He also got to drive one of my favourite cars, a M23 similar to the one used by Emerson Fitipaldi and James Hunt to win the championships in 1974 and 1976. The M23 was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car.

Coulthard drove the MP4-23 of 2008, which was his last year in F1 with McLaren. That was also the same year in which his old team mate Lewis Hamilton won the driver's championship. Later on that glorious day, Coulthard got to drive McLaren's most successful car, the MP4-4. It won 15 out of 16 races in 1988.

Enjoy the video, by clicking here.

This Sunday: gunfight at Yas Marina - UPDATED

Heading towards Formula One's final race of 2014, which takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit, I thought it worthwhile to provide fans with a snapshot of what's going on in Abu Dhabi. By the way, the race is SOLD OUT.

The Formula 1 Etihad Aiways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix venue

The new points regulations will award double points for this, the season's final race, so it's crucial to have the best result.

The championship's points leader Nico Rosberg fired a warning shot at Lewis Hamilton saying his tea-mate can ensure it is a clean fight. From now until the race, mind-games and strategy will pass like a mini tornado through the paddock creating havoc!

Lewis Hamilton, second in points, is not afraid to make bold moves. In Belgium, the two collided and in Bahrain, Spain and Hungary team orders were ignored, setting the stage for a very tense race weekend. Hamilton knows that soon it will be "Hammertime".

Free practice on Friday

The championship will go to Nico if he wins the race and Hamilton finishes third or worse. Both race for Mercedes, who has already clinched the Constructor's World Championship.

It's confirmed that four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will join Ferrari on a three-year deal, replacing Fernando Alonso. The 27 year old describes the move as a dream come true.

Felipe Massa hopes to be able to put up a better fight than he did at Interlagos, where he ended in third place. Both Williams and Mercedes use the same W05 engines.

Kimi Raikkonen believes he and Sebastian Vettel can have fun in 2015, as both will be in Ferrari's. I guess that is enough for the Fin.

Will Stevens will make his race debut for Caterham after getting his FIA Super License. The follows the successful completion of important sponsorship deals.

McLaren delays their driver decision until after the race.

Be sure to watch the race on Sunday. And if you're lucky enough to be sitting in the grandstands for the very first time at the YAS, just relax and soak it all in. It is one of my favourite tracks, not particularly for the racing as it is very difficult to pass, but for the richness of the experience. And don't be alarmed when the Etihad commercial jet makes its fly-bye. I heard they have been practicing for days!

UPDATE:
Below a couple of pictures that underline how much fun one can have when attending the Abu Dhabi GP.

All kinds of toys are flown in

And the entertainment is just awesome

Source: Crash.net
Photo credit: Etihad/Ineke Blonden-Kooijman, Cosafarea.it, Jerome Cijntje

F1's driver nicknames

FIA's Formula One is known as the pinnacle of motorsports and everything related is held to very high standards. Even when it comes to driver's nicknames, unlike in other sports, they tell a tale of the driver's driving style, his personality, his habit of crashing, his services to a specific team or even about his looks.

Below some excerpts of Oliver Harden's article "Ranking F1's greatest driver nicknames":


Juan Manuel Fangio "El Maestro", as the 5 time World Champion was considered to be the master in his home country of Argentina, but in retrospect, around the world as well. From the 5 championships, four were with different teams, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati. He is pictured above, on the cover of the Italian Life magazine.

Sir Jack Brabham "Black Jack", as the 3 time World Champion was known for his tough, firm persona. Mr. Brabham is pictured on the right looking at the newly presented bust of himself.

Niki Lauda "The Rat", as the three-time World Champion's bucked teeth led the Austrian to be likened to a rodent. After winning the crown this changed to "King Rat".

Graham Hill "Mr. Monaco", on winning at the principality on five occasions in the sixties.

Nigel Mansell "The Lion", as the World Champion was called by the tifosi for his highly committed, aggressive, spectacular style he drove his Ferrari in 1989-1990.

Alain Prost "The Professor", as the four-time World Champion was referred to his extensive repertoire, consisting of tactics, politics, mind games and shear speed, to beat his faster but more naive rivals.

Mika Häkkinen "The Flying Finn", as the 2 time World Champion was referred to.

Arie Luijendijk "The Flying Dutchman, as the two-time Indy 500 winner (1990, 1997) was known to be fly around the 2.5 mile tri-oval.

Michael Schumacher "The Red Barron", because of the seven-time World Champion's red Ferrari and in reference to the German famous flying ace of WWI. Schumacher's nicknames also include "Rain Master.

Fernando Alonso "Teflonso", as the World Champion was involved in several controversies, but like Teflon, nothing stuck.

Kimi Räikkonen "Iceman", as the blunt, straightforward and monosyllabic style in interviews the World Champion carries himself.

Pastor Maldonado "Crashtor", as the Venezolean has the habit of crashing into everything in sight.

Nico Rosberg "Britney", as the fresh-faced appearance and blond locks reminded many of the famous pop singer. Coined in 2006, the nick name caught on in 2010 thanks to Hamilton and Button playing a practical joke on Rosberg's birthday.

Lewis Hamilton, "Hammertime", as the 2008 World Champion is known to be able to press hard and make the passes when it's necessary.


So when you hear a F1 driver's nickname mentioned, you know there is a great deal of truth to it. Unfortunately, as the corporate world has gotten a strange hold on the modern F1 era, nicknames are on the decline.

Source: Oliver Harden
Photo credit: Life Magazine (Italy)

The racing weekend that was - Wk 44

Formula One at Interlagos, Brazil:
In what turned out to be a race between team-mates, Nico Rosberg was yesterday quick enough to hold off the fast charging Lewis Hamilton. The latter's chassis was not as well set up as the German's and he had to struggle a great deal to catch Rosberg and to the detriment of his tires. Hamilton would radio in telling his engineer that when he pushed hard the tires would be completely shot in just one lap.

Though rain showers had been expected at the Interlagos Circuit, as is during most F1 races over the years, everybody struggled with the high temperatures. The drivers had to look out for severe tire degradation, flat spots and graining. Rosberg had the advantage though, as front runner his front spoilers insured for the adequate down force all the time.

Unfortunately, Hamilton's race slipped away from him when excessive tire wear caused him to make a mistake going into Turn 4 as he had the hammer down. The rear tires locked, and without rotation, caused the car to go into a lazy but length spin that took a lot out of his tires (see pict on the right). The spin cost him some 5 seconds and the Brit would end-up losing to his team-mate by 1-2 seconds.

"I think ultimately it did cost me the win", said Hamilton after the race. "I was much quicker up until that point and then on that lap I had gone a second quicker. I thought I was going to pit and the end of that lap so I had used up everything in the tires and on the next lap I had nothing left."

Felipe Massa had a great outing in front of his home crowd, and though he made two uncharacteristic mistakes, Sir Frank William's car was fast enough to get him on the podium in third place.

The top five:
1. Nico Rosberg, GER, Mercedes-Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, UK, Mercedes-Mercedes
3. Felipe Massa, BRA, Williams-Mercedes
4. Jenson Button, GB, McLaren-Mercedes
5. Sebastian Vettel, GER, Red Bull-Renault.
*The Interlagos Circuit is pictured on the right.

The next and final race is in two weeks at Abu Dhabi. Hamilton leads the championship by 17 points but the double points rule for the season finale, designed to maximize focus on the championship until the end of the campaign, may throw a monkey wrench into things. The double points rule is applicable to both the drivers' and constructors' championships.


MotoGP at Valencia, Spain:
A jubilant Marc Marques ended the season as it began, by winning the race, his 13th this year, and in front of his home crowd. The win propels the 21 year-old Spaniard to the rider with the most wins in a single season in MotoGP, eclipsing the great Mick Doohan (Australia) in 1997 with 12. What a phenom this Marques!

In the opening laps of the race, Iannone, Rossi and Marques made a break from the pack and by lap eight Marques started exerting pressure on Rossi. He made the move on the Italian going into Turn eight on lap ten and set his sights on Iannone, whom he passed a couple of laps later. Then came some light rain which caused the riders to ease the pace considerably, which allowed Rossi to briefly challenge Marques for the lead. But as the threat of rain passed, Marques was able to pull away. With ten laps to go, Jorge Lorenzo switched to his wet set-up expecting the rain to return. Unfortunately, his gamble didn't pay off and he had to pull out of the race. Iannone encountered technical issues on his Ducati on lap 16 which caused him to run off the track, but he would eventually finish 22nd.

The top five:
1. Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol Honda,
2. Valentino Rossi, Italy, Movistar Yamaha,
3. Dani Pedrosa, Span, Repsol Honda,
4. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy, Ducati,
5. Cal Crutchlow, Brittain, Ducati.

Summing up the 2014 season, Rossi (right) made the following statement ....jokingly:

"My bad luck is called Marc Marques, because without him I can win the championship and a lot of races. He did a fantastic job and won a lot of races. It's a great pleasure to fight with him, but we are not so far and we never give up and try to come closer".

What a great year of MotoGP racing. Today the 2015 season starts with testing at Valencia.

Source: Crash.net
Photo credit: Formula1.com

The racing weekend that was - wk 36

Formula One, at Monza:
In an exciting race that saw pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton bounce back from an error on the first lap to take the win, his teammate Nico Rosberg made some uncharacteristic error.....twice, such as running wide at Turn 1. Hereafter he could only consolidate his second place finish with the Brazilian Felipe Massa finishing in third place.

Ausie driver Daniel Ricciardo put on a good race, also recovering from a bad start. He put a brilliant move on Ferrari driver Raikkonen by tucking into the former's slipstream going at 215 mph and then passing him going hard into breaking.
Click here to watch the move's video.

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso laments the fact that they left the tifosi down, after a ERS failure sidelined him on lap 27. At the time he was running in 10th place and had just completed a pitstop.

Race's top five:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, Mercedes-Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes-Mercedes
3. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Williams-Mercedes
4. Valteri Bottas, Finland, Williams-Mercedes
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Red Bull-Renault

The next race will be the Singapore GP On September 21 next


Dragstock XI at The Rock, Rockingham Dragway, NC:
Unfortunately the event had to be canceled due to weather as heavy rain put an early end to the race Sunday afternoon. Qualifying and the opening round of eliminations for all PDRA classes were completed Saturday night. The PDRA has announced that the event will be completed in conjunction with the season finale at Virginia.

During qualifying Pro Nitrous racer David Campbell suffered a violent starting-line explosion caused by probably a dropped valve. As the car coasted to a stop near the 1/8 mile finish line, the car was engulfed in flames, and if it were not for the safety safari pulling David out of the inferno things might have ended tragically for the Oxford, NC, native. He had somehow become disoriented by the fumes as he tried to stop the car. Thank goodness for the safety gear he was wearing he walked away from this very scary incident. Kudos to the safety safari!

The PDRA will return to action October 10-11 with its Championship Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park.


Mirock Superbike Series, at Atco Raceway:
The Aruban duo Terrence Angela and Jerry Jones both made the headlines in the 45th Annual Orient Express Motorcycle US Nationals.

Angela finished in the runner up spot loosing to his teammate in the finals, but did make back-to-back 6 second passes. To watch the video, click here.

Basari Racing Aruba's Jerry Jones won the Street ET category. Congratulations to both riders!


FIA/FIM European Finals, Santa Pod:
FIA Top Fuel Dragster: Thomas Nataas
FIA Top Methanol Dragster: Timo Habermann
FIA Top Methanol Funny Car: Gareth Ellis
FIA Pro Mod: Mattias Wulcan
FIA Pro Stock: Jimmy Alund*
European Funny Car Series: Kevin Kent

Mr Alund substituted for Greg Anderson in NHRA's Pro Stock category and won the coveted Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, NC in April 2014, hereby becoming the first European NHRA winner.

In bizarre racing accident, Top Fuel Drag Bike rider Filippos Papafilippoe collided at almost 200mph with fellow competitor Steve Woollatt and was flung off his bike and landed onto the wheelie bar of Woollatt's bike. To watch the video of this incredible incident, click here.

Thanks for reading.


Photo credit: Foxsports.com.au. Drag Illustrated - Ian Torcher,

The racing weekend that was - Wk 29

In Formula One, at the German GP:

Lewis after the incident

With Nico Rosberg leading the point standings going into Hockenheim, teammate Lewis Hamilton knew he needed to push hard, especially in qualifying but lady luck would have it differently. The 2008 champion had suffered front right brake disc failure going into the Turn 13 hairpin and spun into the barriers going 110 mph. And following inspection the team decided that the gearbox had suffered damage and needed to be replaced, taking him even further down the starting grid. He would start from P20, instead of fifteenth. For more on the qualifying incident, click here.

Aggressive Magnussen causes Massa to flip

The race had a re-start after an accident between the front runners which left Felipe Massa's Williams sliding upside down in the run-off area. The second start was uneventful and as Rosberg started to pull away from the field after the start of the race, Lewis started his onslaught passing at times two cars simultaneously and soon found him self in the top ten. Daniel Ricciardo was also moving up impressively after loosing many positions in the first lap incident. Towards the end of the race, he had a great battle with Fernando Alonso who had just resumed on fresh super-softs and it took the Spaniard a lot of skill to finally make a pass stick.

However, in the end Valtteri Bottas held off the charging Hamilton for second place and Rosberg wins his fourth race of the year and extends his lead by 14 points. A disappointed Massa could only wish for better luck in the next race, whilst Vettel and Alonso made the best of their equipment.

"I am just grateful I was able to get close and up into the top. When you are starting next to last at the beginning of the race you can't imagine being on the podium. It is a great day otherwise", commented Lewis Hamilton after the race.

Top Five:
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes-Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Mercedes
4. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari-Ferrari

In a special tribute to the German National Soccer team winning the World Cup, Nico Rosberg wore a special commemorative helmet.

Next up is the Hungarian GP, July 25-27, 2014

In NHRA pro stock, at Denver:
The Bandimere Speedway is one of my favourite tracks on the NHRA circuit. Kinda cut into the side of a mountain, the main grandstand fans not only have a great view of the track but also of the surrounding mountain range. The Bandimere family always puts on a great show.

In Pro Stock, the Mopar guys make it again to the final as Allen Johnson (6.930 @198.61 wins over Jegg Coughlin who red lights (-.0004). Johnson has dominated at the mile high track. Two notables: Dave Connolly finally wins points leader Erica Enders-Stevens but looses to the eventual race winner in the semis. Jason Line wins over Steve Kalkowski and Vincent Nobile but looses to Jegg in the semis.

Thanks for reading.

Source: Crash.net, Dragracecentral.com
Photo credit: Motosport.com, Skysports.com, Autosport.com

The racing weekend that was - Wk 27

In Formula One, the British GP at Silverstone:
Finally, Lewis has the weekend he has been so desperately searching. He wins his home race slashing the championship gap to four points while championship leader and teammate Nico Rosberg retires with gearbox failure.

aftermath of Raikonnen's excursion

There was an incredible accident at the start of the race which caused the race to be temporarily red flagged. Ferrari's Kimi Raikonnen ran wide at Aintree but as he rejoined [with WOT] a little bump on the grass unsettled the car and sent the car fish-tailing into the Armco, collecting William's driver Felipe Massa in the process.

Though Rosberg had led from pole, around mid-race he suffered gearbox trouble and was forced to retire. Too bad for the spectators, for Hamilton was closing in fast and this could have turned out in another epic duel. The Fin Valtteri Bottas racing for Sir Frank Williams rose through the field from 14th on the grid to P2 for the second consecutive time, while Daniel Ricciardo finished P3 as he held of a charging Jenson Button.

Vettel-Alonso duel 

The best battle of the race was between Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull of Vettel was clearly quicker than the Ferrari and kept hustling the Spaniard, who instructed his team over the radio to launch a complaint to race officials accusing the reigning world champion of being over-aggressive. Though Alonso defended his position excellently, he could not hold off Vettel when he got his nose alongside out of Woodcote and after the pair ran inches apart towards Copse, Alonso had to yield to Vettel. Click here to see an analysis of the duel.

Bottas celebrating on the podium

Formula One standings are as follows:
1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes, 165 points,
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes, 161
3. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull, 98
4. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari, 87
5. Valtteri Bottas - Williams, 72

The next race is scheduled for July 20 and will be run at Hockenheim, Germany.


In NHRA, at Norwalk, Ohio:
After a long drought, Funny car legend John Force made it to the Funny car finals and had to race long time rival Ron Capps. But after getting to the final round, the old man wasn't going to go down without a fight. In a thrilling side-by-side drag race John Force collected his first Norwalk win and his 140th career win by running a 4.113 at 317.27 mph to Capps' losing 4.134.

"It was special for me," said John Force. "I've come to this track for decades......we raced some great kids: [Ron] Capps, Cruz [Pedregon], [Tim] Wilkerson, Chad Head."

In Top Fuel, a dominant Antron Brown racing for Don Schumacher racing (DSR) collected his 5th Wally of the season and second in a row by beating his team mate Tony Schumacher in the finals.

In Pro Stock, though it might come as a surprise to some to see women excel in this male dominated sport, current points leader Erica Enders-Stevens claimed her fourth victory of 2014 and the tenth of her career by beating her old crew chief Dave Connolly in the final round. Though I always root for our friend Dave, on Sunday he just didn't have the horsepower to beat the Rick Jones built Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro. This is becoming an all too familiar sight at many NHRA winner's circle, and the guys are not liking it, especially Summit racer Greg Anderson.

In Pro Stock bike, Matt Hines claimed his third win of the season by beating Hector Arana Sr. The Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson bikes are starting to come around.

The next race is on July 18-20 and marks the beginning of the Western Swing, which is a grueling period for NHRA drag racers. These are back-to-back races with almost no time to have parts and support material hauled in from the team's headquarters.  Always a very interesting period in the season.

Thanks for reading.

Source: Jalopnik
Photo credit: Skysports, Dailymail.co.uk, NHRA, Dragstory,

The racing weekend that was - Wk 21

Just saw my first F1 race of the season on TV and what a race it was. After Nico Rosberg managed to keep team mate Lewis Hamilton behind him after the first right hander of the first lap at Monaco, most of us knew that the race would be pretty uneventful, since the Monaco street circuit is known to be most difficult to pass on.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikonnen followed the Mercedes duo, whilst reigning world champion Sebastien Vettel had problems with his car's KERS. This forced him into the pits a couple of times and he eventually dropped out of the race. Raikonnen suffered from some bad luck and poor driving decisions and was penalized by the marshals, while his Ferrari  team mate Fernando Alonso ran a somewhat difficult race having also suffered from KERS problems in the opening lap, but he would still finish fourth.

Race winner and son of Keke Rosberg

The race's intensity decreased as the Mercedes duo created a big gap over the third place driver Ricardo, but shot up again when Hamilton radioed in he got something in his eye, as he was following the German too close for too long. This caused him to drop back into the clutches of Ricardo, who was reeling him in at more than a second a lap. However, he could not overtake the Brit who finished in second place behind last year's winner Nico Rosberg (right).

F1 insider Allan McNish

Whilst watching the race I subscribed to the Formula One "premium" app for my iPad. I strongly recommend this for those like me who do not get F1 TV coverage throughout the season. Not only do you get a very good sense of what is going on during the race through data reporting and live track race positions, but you get also live commentary by none other than "Le Mans" great Allan McNish!

Race results, the top 6:
1. Nico Rosberg GERMANY Mercedes-Mercedes,
2. Lewis Hamilton BRITAIN Mercedes- Mercedes,
3. Daniel Ricciardo AUSTRALIA Red Bull-Renault,
4. Fernando Alonso SPAIN Ferrari-Ferrari,
5. Nico Hulkenberg FERMANY Force India-Mercedes,
6. Jenson Button BRITAIN McLaren-Mercedes.

For more info on the race click here.


The INDY 500:
In the grand daddy of open wheel stadium racing that is the Indianapolis 500, its 98th running ended in the 2nd closest finish (see pict on right), as Ryan Hunter-Ray held of three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves by a hair raising margin on 0.06 seconds. In a race that is known for early cautions due to cars sliding into the wall as drivers struggle to come to grips with different track qualifying-race conditions, the race ran smooth well into the second half of the race.

Carpenter-Hinchcliff accident

On lap 149 (of of 200) Charlie Kimball made a pretty impressive save only kissing the outside retaining wall and sliding across the track into the inside wall. Luckily the safety crew were able to fire his car back up and he would finish 31st. Just twenty laps later, Scot Dixon also got loose and hit the wall hard. He was running in the top five at the time and would finish 29th. At the next restart, a gutsy move caused pole-sitter Ed Carpenter and James Hinchcliff to wreck. The race was red flagged for an hour for debris on the track. It would re-start with just six laps to go and Hunter-Reay and Castroneves would duel it out to the finish each passing each other a couple of times, but in the end Castroneves couldn't catch the American.

It should be noted that Hunter-Reay raced for Andretti Racing, and though Marco Andretti (third gen) finished third, no other Andretti has won Indy 500 since Mario in 1969 when "Man walked on the moon".

For more on the race, click here including a good recap video by Indycar/ABC.

Race results, the top 6:
1. Ryan Hunter-Reay
2. Helio Castroneves BRAZIL
3. Marco Andretti
4. Carlos Munoz
5. Juan Pablo Montoya
6. Kurt Busch (also racing in Coke 600)


The COCA COLA 600:

Race winner Jimmie Johnson

The longest NASCAR race was an eventful one with good racing that started late in the afternoon and lasted well into the night. Pole-sitter Jimmy Johnson went in what was considered as his house, namely the Charlotte Motor Speedway, from the drop of the green flag to the checkered in commanding fashion, when he passed Kevin Harvick with just 9 laps to go. He was the last to win the Coke 600 race from pole a decade ago. This was also his 1st win of the season.
For a complete recap of the race including different videos, click here.

Kurt Busch who also raced in the Indy 500 to finish a solid 6th, unfortunately had to drop out of the race due to a blown engine.

Race results, the top six:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Carl Edwards
5. Jamie McMurray
6. Brian Vickers



NHRA's Kansas Nationals:
On Saturday night I got the feeling that the "force" would be with the women of NHRA, after seeing the rebroadcast of qualifying. For the first time in history, two women (and sisters) qualified number one in their respective classes.  And as if this wasn't enough, Courtney Force out-qualified her father John. In an interview with John's wife Lori, after Courtney's run, she said, and I am paraphrasing here: John is probably riding around on his scooter trying to cool off.

Courtney Force, 100th female winner

And on race Sunday, Courtney kept her winning ways by outrunning Dale Creasy Jr., Jeff Arend and Tommy Johnson Jr. and, as if the final had been scripted in Hollywood, she would face none other that Cruz Pedregon in the finals. Well, she outran Cruz too and in doing so, achieves the milestone 100th female win in NHRA history. Courtney Force, 25, is the youngest daughter of 16-time world champ John Force. This win pretty much cements the fact that all three Force will be back in 2015.

The other winners were; Spencer Massey in Top Fuel and Allen Johnson in Pro Stock.

For more information about the race, click here.


Please check back for more updates

Thanks for reading.

Source: Formula1, Crash.net, USA Today, Fox Sports, NHRA,
Photo credit: Mike Young, USA Today, Indianapolis, NHRA

F1 qualifying update

some "F1 action" from the harbour

Qualifying for most races this weekend is almost over. In Formula One, Nico Rosberg pulled a "schumi" on his teammate Lewis Hamilton by purposefully going of track bringing out the yellow flag and causing Hamilton to abort his qualifying attempt. The incident is under review by the race marshals.

For more pictures out of Monaco, please click here for the Jalopnic website.

Photo credit: AP or Getty images

The racing weekend that was

In Formula One, at Sepang, Malaysia:

In only the second race of the season, the Formula One racing series is already engulfed in controversy.

Webber leading Vettel

Sebastian Vettel (RBR) who started from pole, fell back to second following the first round of pit stops, and trailed Mark Webber (RBR) until the late stages of the race, when he went mano-a-mano with his teammate Mark Webber. And even though team orders required Vettel to hold position, P2 that is, in a move that shows his total disregard for team orders he passed his teammate to take his 27th Grand Prix win, equaling three-time champion Jackie Stewart in the all-time list.

In a race which had many complaints about tire wear two teams stood out, and both had team orders passed out to its drivers. Interestingly enough, some listen better than others. For RBR instruction or code "multi21" means for its drivers to turn down their engines and hold station, which Vettel did not do.
As for the Mercedes, P4 driver Nico Rosberg tried in vain to get his team to let him pass his teammate Lewis Hamilton, driving in third place but at a much slower pace.
I guess the lesson to be learned here is that when you are a multiple world champion you don't have to follow rules.

Below I've posted an interview with RBR team principal.

And then, there is this story on Jalopnik, by Raphael Orlove, titled: An In-Depth Analysis of F1's Most Awkward/Amazing Podium. A must read for F1 enthusiasts. To view it click here.

Race results:

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull_Renault,

2. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault,

3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Mercedes,



Fastest lap: Sergio Perez, McLaren-Mercedes 1m 39.199s

Alonso drives with a damaged front wing

F1 Drivers' Championship (2 of 19):
1st. Sebastian Vettel 40 points, 2nd. Kimi Raikkonen 31 points, 3rd. Mark Webber 26 points, 4th. Lewis Hamilton 25 points, and in 5th. Felipe Massa 22 points.

The Spaniard Fernando Alonso explained that he was "very unlucky" to have to retire from the race, after contact with Sebastian Vettel on the first. The incident caused him to lose his front wing, when the Scuderia gambled on leaving him out instead of bringing him into the pits for a nose change.

In NASCAR, at Fontana, California:
For those of you who followed NASCAR during the past week, you know that what happened during the race could have been scripted in Hollywood, which is a stone's throw away from the track.

The intense rivalry between Joe Logano and Denny Hamlin which started in the previous race, two weekends ago, continued without missing a beat. The two cars were so evenly matched they were running close the entire race. On the final lap, it appeared as if Logano opted to settle scores rather than take the win, even telling reporters afterwards: "That's what he gets."

Below a short video on the final lap and the above mentioned race incident.

The eventual race winner, Kyle Busch, had won the Nationwide race the night before, and had started the Auto Club 400 race from fourth. Even so he lead the race for more than 125 laps (out of 200) and was running in third as the Logano-Hamlin duo fought it out for first. Eventually he got the sweep as he swept in front and won the race on the last lap. With this win, he breaks a 31-race winless streak stretching back to Richmond in April 2012.

Race results:
1. Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing), 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr, (Hendrick Motorsports), 3. Joey Logano (Penske Racing), 4. Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing), 5. Kurt Busch (Furniture Row Racing).

With Dale Earnhardt's second place finish he is now in the lead of the championship point standings, followed by Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson.

Thanks for reading.

Source: Formula One, Crash.net, NASCAR, Wikipedia

Photo credit: Totally Cool Pic.com