The racing weekend that was - Wk 20 UPDATED

In MotoGP at Le Mans:

The always fun loving Italian on the podium

Le Mans turned out to be a sensational race, with loads of passing, bumping and falling. Though Vale put on a great ride, he could not reel in team mate Jorge Lorenzo who led from start to finish. This was the Spaniard's second race win in a row. And though phenom Marc Marquez did not do well at the start, by overshooting more than once, he did manage to save his race by separating the Ducati riders, in spite of a valiant effort by Iannone at the end.

The race marked Dani Pedrosa's (Honda) return to action after mission three events due to arm pump surgery. Towards the mid point he went down but manage to get back on the RC213V and finished the race in 16th place.

Fifth place finisher Andrea Iannone dislocated his left shoulder in a Tuesday testing fall at Mugello but come race day dug deep down to still ride a great race.

Jorge at Tertre Rouge

Lorenzo on winning: "...But you know myself, Marc, Valentino, we have talent and we have to wait for all the circumstances to be on the right way and Marc is going to come back. He is going to win races and be competitive in the future. Obviously we have to try to keep this [championship] points advantage."

However, Andrea Dovizioso thinks differently from Jorge Lorenzo regarding Marc's pace.

"It is always difficult to understand details if you are not on the bike, but my opinion is that the talent of Marc hides some limit of the Honda. Because he is the only one who is able to go fast. Also last year and especially this year. So I believe Honda at the moment does not have the right balance."

Top five:
1. Jorge Lorenzo, ESP, Movistar Yamaha
2. Valentino Rossi, ITA, Movistar Yamaha,
3. Andrea Dovizioso, ITA, Ducati
4. Marc Marquez, ESP, Repsol Honda
5. Andrea Iannone, ITA, Ducati

Next MotoGP will head to the Gran Premio d'Italia, at Mugello on May 29-31


V8 Supercar from Winton Raceway, Australia:
One of the editions of arguably the most thrilling racing series South of the equator was run last Sunday down under. If you haven't seen a race yet, be sure to look one up.
Chaz Mostert led most of the race after having started from pole. However, towards the end his team mate Winterbottom took over first place when Mostert slammed his Falcon FG X rearwards into the tire wall. For more on the race, including a short video, please click here.

Top five:
1. Mark Winterbottom, Prodrive Racing, Ford Falcon,
2. Fabian Coulthard, Freightliner Racing, Holden Commodore,
3. Craig Lowndes, Red Bull Racing, Holden Commodore,
4. Michael Caruso, Nissan Motorsports, Nissan Altima,
5. Garth Tander, Holden Racing Team, Holden Commodore

Next V8 Supercar race, SKYCITY Triple Crown in Darwin, June 19-21


NHRA at Atlanta for the Summit Race.
A bit late with our review for I just finished watching it delayed coverage. It turned out to be a great race for a couple of racers, namely Leah Pritchett, Tim Wilkerson, Hector Sr. and Greg Anderson.

In Top Fuel, Leah Pritchett (pictured on the right) qualified in the number three spot (her best ever) and later went all the way to the finals. In doing so she won over "The Greek", J.R. Todd and none other than Larry Dixon. Unfortunately Antron Brown got the better of her. Still, an outstanding performance by the Dote racing Team Gumout Dragster. Brown's winning time was a 3.887 at 310.48 mph.

In Funny Car, Tim Wilkerson kept focusing on his rounds and made it all the way to the finals. He kept his cool and outran Ron Capps with a 4.318 at 260.31 mph, and in doing so made it to the winner's circle for the first time since 2011 (Seattle). This was Wilkerson's 18th career win and his first at Atlanta. Great job Tim and crew!

In Pro Stock, Summit Chevy racer Greg Anderson experienced a stuck WOT during the burnout of the first round of elimination. Thinking he must have hurt the engine he immediately moved the car out of the groove. But when his crew chief Rob Downing radioed him that all seemed ok, they hurriedly pushed the car back to the starting line. Forced to stage right away they barely got the wheelie bars adjusted. Funny thing is that his opponent had to lift off early and had to watch Anderson make a good pass and earn the win. Moral of the story is to "never give up".
Anderson would meet his team mate Jason Line in the final who took home the "Wally" for the Summit KB Racing Team.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, the four women rode good but kept loosing by red lighting. In the end, it was Hector Arana Sr. who got a emotional win. This was his first win since 2009 and seventh overall.

Arana on his final round at Atlanta: "I knew I could keep winning, but I had to believe in myself. In the final, the bike jumped like a Bronco. It pulled to the right, but I was not going to give up unless he  [Eddie Krawic] was way in front of me. As long as I had control of the bike, I was staying with it."

The next race is the 27th Annual NHRA Kansas Nationals, on May 22-24.


Source: Crash.net, V8Supercars.com, MotoGP, NHRA

Photo credit: V8 Supercars, MotoGP, Leah Pritchett

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 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

Vale's back to winning form

You can always identify the passionate sport followers by the intensity of their conversations during events that would have any other person watching closely. I can relate to this and our enthusiasm stems from the fact that when it's necessary, these drivers and riders have the ability to do sub-human things.

Take for example MotoGP, which is arguably one of the most exciting motor sports to watch. In my opinion the best motorcycle rider of all times must be the Italian Valentino Rossi. Sure the Spaniards are good with Marc Marquez being crowned 2014 World Champion earlier this month, but one of the characteristics of the "baddest of all time" must be longevity. And for Vale to trail the youthful front runners so close during 2014 and finally win at Misano, Italy, and last weekend again at Phillip Island, Australia, just reiterates how good he really is.

Valentino Rossi celebrating in front of his fans

At Misano:
The nine time World Champion Valentino Rossi took the lead in the early laps after passing pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo and swiftly dismissing Marc Marques. Rossi kept the hammer down to finish 1.578 seconds ahead of Lorenzo. With the win Rossi reached a milestone of 5000 Grand Prix points. This is also his 107th victory. To watch MotoGP's recap of the race, click here. It's pretty good.

At Phillip Island:
Though Marc Marques looked as if he would equal Mick Doohan's all-time record of 12 wins in a season, he lost the front of his Repsol Honda under braking and went sliding off into the grass. This opened the door for the Yamaha riders to battle for the win, as there were only ten laps to go. But Rossi was able to break away from Lorenzo, after the pair had exchanged the lead a couple of times, to win the Australian MotoGP. His last win here was in 2005. To watch the race's recap, click here.

I am so glad for Rossi that he was able to get a win in front of his home crowd at Misano and then again at Phillip Island. Both wins meant a lot to him, especially at this stage in the World Championship, for he now has a firm grip on the second place position in the standings.

We all know how much he's wanted it, how long the drought has been, and that though the others have the vitality of youth on their side, but Rossi has the determination that only comes from experience and wisdom. Second place in the World Championship would be pretty good indeed.

Go Vale!

Picture credit: owner unknown.

The racing weekend that was

In MotoGP, at Qatar:

Vale leading Marc - epic Yamaha vs Honda

The season opener got off with a bang yesterday with Valentino Rossi and rookie Marc Marquez providing loads of entertainment, whilst fighting for second place. First went to reigning double world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who's long sessions of winter testing paid off handsomely.

"Half an hour before he race I felt nervous. I had to concentrate a lot to relax on the grid because I knew the start was important," explained Lorenzo after the race. "I knew it would be hard to open up a gap but I had to try. I made a good start, pushed more than 100 per cent."

The Factory Yamaha star not only retained his pole position after the start, but also pounded out consistent hot laps to wear down the competition. By the midway point, he had opened up a four second gap which grew to almost six seconds in the end. Dani Pedrosa had ried to keep up with Lorenzo but after six laps could not keep up with the champion's relentless pace.

A familiar sight

After two difficult years racing for Ducatti, multiple world champion Valentino Rossi returned to Yamaha to secure his first podium position right of the bat.

After the race, a very happy Rossi commented: "I am so happy because my target was to arrive on the podium in the first race. After the warm-up I knew I had a good chance. However, I needed to do a good start and risk a bit to overtake the bikes in front that were a bit slower than me.....then when I had some free track I had a great pace and got closer and closer. At the end it was a great battle all three - but especially Marc, until the last lap. I was maybe a little faster but we were very close."

Congrats Vale and happy to see you back on a competitive bike!


NASCAR, at Martinsville:
Basically in control for 347 laps out of the 500, Jimmie Johnson drove to another win at Martinsville Speedway, his eight win at the .526-mile short track. At no point during the race was his position higher that fifth on the track.

The first repeat winner through six 2013 Cup races, Johnson now regains the points lead over defending champion Brad Keselowski.

On lap 487, the race got red flagged when Kurt Busch's brakes failed and sent the car hard into the Turn 1 wall. As the car slid along the fence fire spew from underneath the hood, but when the car came to a standstill Busch triggered the onboard fire extinguisher before exiting the car. Cool, calm and collected, that's how race car drivers do it.

Jr. after being bumped by Patrick #10

Dale Earnhardt Jr got bumped by the No 10 who got a push from No 55. Trading paint even after the checkered dropped were Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers. Things are definitely heating up in NASCAR!


More to follow soon. Thanks for reading.

Source: MotoGP, Crashnet
Photo credit: Crashnet