Issue 6
28/05/2016
Verstappen Becomes Youngest Ever Race Winner In Formula One [Page 24 – 25]
Is It The Greatest Show On Earth? [Page 68 – 71]
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Contents Page 3 – Youth Energy Page 4 – Graphic Designer Kevin Rossi Page 5 – Grid Girls: Entertainment Or Exploitation Page 6 – 7 – The Latest From The WTCC Page 8 – 16- The Latest From NASCAR Page 17 – Petter Solberg Interview Page 18 – 19 – Interview With Liam Talbot Page 20 – Enaam Ahmed: British F3: Rockingham Page 21 – **COMPETITION** Page 22 – 45 – The Latest News And Features From Single Seater Racing Page 46 – 47 – A Recap Of The BTCC At Thruxton Page 48 – 49 – Jack Lang, Brands Hatch Page 50 – 54 – The Latest From The Motoring World Page 55 – 6 Hours Of Spa Page 56 – 64 – The Latest From The World Of Two Wheels Page 65 – 71 – The Latest From WRC And WRX
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Grid girls: entertainment or exploitation? Charlotte White - @CharlieEWhite
Motorsport has been and still is a male dominated sport. More and more women are slowly making an appearance in the industry, however some roles are being taken away from them... Grid girls have been an integral part of the entertainment sport that is motor racing giving spectators something else to look at. And that’s where the issues for some people start: Many people see grid girls as a sexist and discriminatory representation of women. Personally (as a woman) I have to disagree. When people look at a grid girl they’ll think ‘wow, she’s gorgeous’ or ‘that’s a degrading portrayal of women’. When I look at a grid girl I think ‘wow, how is she walking in those heels?!’ or ‘I wish I could look that good!’. What is forgotten is that the women choose to be in that role – it isn’t forced upon them. Could it be seen as exploiting women’s assets? Yes. But at the end of the day, it is one thing that a man cannot do in motorsport. Page | 5
Tom Gibson - @WA10Tom
The WTCC burst into Morocco on a brand new circuit Moulay El Hassan for round 4 of the series. Honda would start the weekend strong, with Honda bagging a 1-2-3 for the feature race, with Huff topping the session. James Thompson would start the first race from pole with Hugo Valente’s Lada alongside. Thompson managed to hold the lead into the first corner, but contact into turn 3 with Valente would see his race ended. Valente was handed a drive through, but later retired Two corners later Catsburg and Bjork came together sending both cars off. Catsburg was also handed a drive through but later retired with damage. That left Tom Coronel leading, being chased by the Citroens of Lopez and Muller. Over the course of the race, the Citroens tried everything to pass the Chevrolet, Lopez systematically attacking then dropping back. This tactic ended up hurting his team mate Muller, as it dropped him into the clutches of the trio of Hondas. Somehow Coronel managed to soak up the pressure from the Citroens to take his first win since 2013 with Lopez and Muller rounding out the podium, beating Monteiro’s Honda by just 0.307 seconds. For race two the rain came down, which would be the first time that the drivers would drive the track in the wet. Off the line, Huff managed to keep his position, while Michelisz and Monteiro managed to hold off the Citroens. However, Lopez managed to pass Monteiro to move onto the podium. The front 5 managed to pull a gap to the chasing pack, as they struggled in the wet conditions. Monteiro kept trying to get passed the Citroen of Lopez, but the Citroen defended hard. Under pressure, Lopez made a mistake under breaking which let Monteiro in to complete a Honda 12-3. Huff controlled his pace to take victory, with his team mates holding off Lopez to complete an all Honda podium, the first time a Citroen hasn’t been on the podium this season. In terms of the Championship, Lopez leads by 14 points on 138 to Tiago Monteiro, Huff now sits on 98 points in third 40 points behind the championship leader.
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Welcome To Hell: WTCC Germany Preview Tom Gibson - @WA10Tom
May 29th sees the World Touring Car championship venture to Germany for their fifth round. Supporting the Nuburgring 24 hours, the cars will fight it out over two races around the infamous Nordschleife. Each race will be just 3 laps, but with each lap being over 25km long, there will be plenty of action will be instore. There are also two new drivers. Rene Munnich is again absent due to his World Rally cross commitments, so the All-Inkle Chevrolet will be piloted by the queen of the ring and Top Gear presenter Sabine Schmitz. Zengo Motorsport also add a second car for the young Hungarian Daniel Nagy who will race alongside Ferenc Ficza. Another difference for the German round is seen in MAC3. Usually the post qualifying time trail is held over three laps, but due to the length of the circuit, it will be just one. There will also be a difference from the norm. The WTCC will be running on a split grid race with the European Touring Car Championship. With the European cars setting off 2 minutes after the World touring cars. This could be an issue for some of the slower drivers if they have problems, as the slower European cars could hold them up while they try to catch the pack. Looking back to last year, this circuit was a near perfect weekend for Citroen, taking both wins; One each for current drivers Lopez and Muller. The long straights and fast corners playing to the strengths of the highly engineered cars. This season, it might not be so easy. Yes, the Citroen has fantastic straight line speed, but they are still carrying 40kg more weight than the Hondas and Ladas, who have given the French cars a run for their money in the last few races. Morocco was the first time this season where a Citroen hasn’t won either race. Highlights will be shown on British Eurosport, if the previous rounds are anything to go by, its not going to be an event to miss. Page | 7
Breakout Stars of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season Jason Rodgers - @JR24GP
With the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season already a quarter of the way complete, the new lowdownforce aero package has led to one of the most exciting starts to a season in years, with six different winners, several close finishes, and plenty of overtaking. One particularly noticeable feature of the year so far has been the number of young drivers who have outperformed their equipment and shown maturity far beyond their years. Here are five standout young drivers who have impressed so far in 2016: Chase Elliott Taking the hot seat of four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and legend of the sport Jeff Gordon was always going to be a tough ask for anybody, let alone a twenty-year-old rookie. However, Elliott has settled into the Sprint Cup like a veteran, gaining respect from drivers up and down the paddock. 5 top 10 finishes in the first 9 races suggests that the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is going to be a contender for years to come in Chase’s hands. Austin Dillon When Austin Dillon entered the Sprint Cup full time in 2014 driving the fabled #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet famously raced by the late Dale Earnhardt, many wondered if the young North Carolina driver would cope with the pressure of such a ride. Lacklustre 20th and 21st place finishes in the championship in 2014 and 2015 respectively certainly supported this view. However, two top 5 finishes already in 2016 suggests that Dillon is turning a corner and a current standing of 12th in the points race leaves him in a good position to qualify for the Chase for the first time in his career. Page | 8
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came into the Sprint Cup Series in 2013 under big expectations following Nationwide Series championships in 2011 and 2012. However, whilst 2013 was relatively successful for the then rookie driver, 2014 and 2015 brought a combined total of only 8 top 10 finishes in 72 races. 2016 is a big year for Stenhouse, and so far, top 10 finishes in both Atlanta and California have been impressive, whilst only reliability problems prevented similar runs at both Texas and Richmond. Similar performances for the rest of the year may yet book Stenhouse a Chase place in September. Ryan Blaney Son of NASCAR cult hero, Dave Blaney, Ryan currently sits 2nd in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings behind Chase Elliott in the #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Blaney’s renowned smooth driving style has led to a very composed start to the 2016 season, with top 10 finishes in Las Vegas and Phoenix being the highlights of his season. Blaney’s ability to stay clear of wrecks and bring the car home should lead to him fulfilling his potential over the next few years. Matt DiBenedetto Driving the underfunded #83 BK Racing Toyota, Matt DiBenedetto has recently shot to fame with his outstanding 6th place finish in the Food City 500 at Bristol. In his second year of Sprint Cup racing, DiBenedetto has earned thousands of new fans for his passionate and emotional interview after his performance at the notorious short track. DiBenedetto recently pledged on a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) that he would change the name on his car from “Guido” to “DiBurrito” for the Sprint All-Star Race in May should he win the fan vote in order to take part in the million-dollar event. Page | 9
Keselowski Wins A Chaotic Race At Talladega Jason Rodgers - @JR24GP
In possibly the wildest ever race at Talladega Superspeedway; Brad Keselowski won the 9th round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season in the GEICO 500. It was the 32-year old’s second victory of the year, and his fourth Sprint Cup victory at Talladega, suggesting that he is perhaps becoming somewhat of a specialist at this racetrack. The 2.66-mile oval is known for its 200mph drafting and 3-wide racing, and the low-downforce aero package helped Talladega live up to its reputation and produce one of the most exciting restrictor plate races seen in the last few years. Keselowski’s #2 Penske Racing Ford was perhaps the only car left without damage at the end, with several huge crashes leaving many big names, including points leader Carl Edwards and 6 time champion Jimmie Johnson out of contention. Rookie Chase Elliott led the field to the green flag and was at the front for most of the first half of the race along with Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin. The threat of rain for the first 90 laps led to high intensity racing from the get go as drivers and teams feared a rain-shortened race, whoever that threat soon eased away, yet some very aggressive moves continued to be made. The first big crash of the day came on lap 96 when Chris Buescher took a wild ride, tumbling down the backstretch collecting a number of cars including Carl Edwards on his way through. Fortunately, Buescher was able to walk away from his destroyed race car with no injuries. This was soon followed by a heavy impact for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he collected Edwards’ out of control car, both having just re-entered the race following early problems for Jr when he broke loose and collected his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne.
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Trevor Bayne then had a long spell at the front, trying to break his duck of victories since the 2011 Daytona 500, his only Sprint Cup victory. For much of the second half of the race, the field was unable to make a move stick on Bayne, with Keselowski looking the most likely. But then with just 28 laps to go, the “Big One” struck as Kurt Busch got into the back of Jimmie Johnson and 17 cars were caught in the pileup that followed. Bayne’s car would never quite be as dominant after this, despite avoiding the crash, but a top 10 finish for him still allowed him to move into contention for a place in the Chase. The wreck left just 25 cars fighting for victory, and another 3 were eliminated on lap 181 when early race leader Matt Kenseth and the impressive Danica Patrick suffered a huge crash, again on the backstretch, collecting the unlucky Aric Almirola along the way. By this point, most drivers were just hoping to make it to the finish, and with Keselowski now out front, no one seemed able to stop him as the white flag came out. Keselowski led Kyle Busch home to victory, with Austin Dillon a strong 3rd, and Jamie McMurray 4th. Chase Elliott ran out the top 5, continuing an impressive rookie season, whilst few others even made the finish line. Another huge wreck, this time caused by Landon Cassill, took out Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr and others as they came to the flag. Ty Dillon, acting as a relief driver for the still recovering Tony Stewart finished an excellent 6th, after recovering from a lap down earlier in the race. Clint Bowyer will also be very happy with his 7th place finish, especially considering his current standing of 27th in the points race. Kevin Harvick’s 15th place finish was enough for him to take the points lead, with Kyle Busch moving up to 2nd place, and Carl Edwards falling to 3rd after his early troubles. However, with 17 races still to go until the Chase for the Sprint Cup, there’s still plenty of time for drivers to book their place in the playoffs. After the race, many drivers looked shaken up after several huge incidents. Whilst the race showed how significant the improvements to safety in NASCAR have been since Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001, Austin Dillon made it clear that if fans are cheering for crashes, then this is not a good thing, and some are speculating that perhaps restrictor plate racing is Page | 11 now too dangerous to continue under the current rules package.
Kyle Busch Breaks His Jinx At Kansas Jason Rodgers - @JR24GP
Despite having 22-lap older tires than the chasing pack during the closing stages of the GoBowling 400 at the 1.5 mile Kansas Speedway, defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch was able to hold off the challenges from Kevin Harvick, and his brother Kurt to finally win a race at a track in which he has failed to finish in his last 4 attempts. The dominant car of the day was the #78 Furniture Row Racing car of pole sitter Martin Truex Jr. However, despite him leading 172 of the 267 scheduled laps, bad luck would curse Truex again as a loose wheel on lap 215 put pay to a great chance to go to victory lane for the first time in 2016. A multi-car crash with just over 25 laps to go eliminated a further couple of victory contenders. Denny Hamlin made a bold move to go three-wide into turn 3 and in doing so caused himself and Brad Keselowski to break loose, and take Kyle Larson, who was having a strong run for Chip Ganassi Racing, and Joey Logano out of the race. With Harvick and Busch 2nd and 3rd respectively, rounding out the top 5 came 2003 Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth, and Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Blaney. Blaney’s former Sprint Cup driver father Dave, suffered a horrendous crash in a dirt track race on Friday, and no doubt his dad’s recovery was in Ryan’s thoughts as he came through for his first top 5 finish of the season. Kyle’s 3rd win of 2016 cemented his place in 2nd in the points standings, now just 4 points behind leader Kevin Harvick. Those two have opened up a gap to the pack behind them with Carl Edwards in 3rd now 23 points back from the lead after his 11th place finish on Saturday. With the non-championship All Star Race at Charlotte in a couple of weeks, many drivers who are not eligible for the race were aiming to win votes at Kansas. Blaney impressed fans with his strong race, whilst AJ Allmendinger and Chase Elliott both grabbed top 10 finishes in an attempt to convince people that they should be chosen to race for the $1+ million winning prize. The next race however is at the Monster Mile in Dover, where 6-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will be looking for an incredible 11th victory at the short track. Page | 12
Kenseth Wins A Thrilling Finish At The Monster Mile Jason Rodgers - @JR24GP
Matt Kenseth held off the young future stars of the Sprint Cup, 23-year-old Kyle Larson and 20-year-old Chase Elliott, to win his first race of the 2016 season in the AAA 400 at Dover. In another crash-filled race at the Monster Mile, Kevin Harvick appeared to have the dominant car in the early stages, leading almost all of the first 125 laps. However, a disappointing performance from his pit crew saw him fall back, so Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr, Brad Keselowski and the impressive Kyle Larson, who had been a lap down early on in the race, then took turns at the front of the field. The big turning point came with just under 50 laps to go when a gear shifting problem for Jimmie Johnson led to him being slow away from the restart at the front, causing chaos behind him, with 18 cars, including reigning champion Kyle Busch, getting caught up in the melee that followed. Carl Edwards and Kyle Larson were a couple of drivers who did get through the carnage, but when Edwards got loose off turn 2 from the following restart, Larson caught him in the rear leaving Edwards with a huge hit on the inside wall. Fortunately, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver would walk away from that impact uninjured. With few cars now running without damage, the race boiled down to a 35 lap shootout between leader Matt Kenseth, the aggressive Kyle Larson, and rookie Chase Elliott. Larson and Elliott would enjoy a mega battle for 2nd, and when Larson eventually broke clear, did everything he could to pass Kenseth, before eventually running out of laps. Behind the top 3, Kasey Kahne got a much needed 4th place finish, whilst rounding out the top 5 was Kurt Busch, who is enjoying a consistent season for Stewart-Haas Racing. Elsewhere, there were solid top 10 finishes for rookie Ryan Blaney and Trevor Bayne, who scored only his third top 10 of the season, whilst Denny Hamlin recovered from an early unscheduled pitstop to finish in 7th. Page | 13
In the points standings, Kyle Busch’s problems mean that despite only a 15th place finish, Kevin Harvick extended his points lead to 21 points, with Kurt Busch now up to 3rd place after his strong showing. In the battle for a place in the Chase, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Blaney are in the 15th and 16th positions at the moment, but of course wins for drivers 17th-30th in the points could see one or even both of these drivers slip out of the Chase unless they can win themselves, or move up in the points. After the race, Kenseth explained how he held Larson behind him for those intense final laps. "Kyle Larson is extremely talented and I knew if I was on the bottom, he was going to be on the top. We got so free, I started working that middle groove and I was able to get just far enough ahead. If he would have snuck outside of me, it would have been over. I had just enough momentum to stay in front of him.” It is fair to say that had Chase Elliott not joined the battle and perhaps disrupted the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s rhythm, then Kyle Larson may well have been celebrating his maiden win this weekend. Instead Larson had to settle for his 4th second place finish in his Sprint Cup career. "I was just trying to be patient," Larson said. "I knew I was better than (Kenseth) was. But when the 24 (of Chase Elliott) got to third, he was catching us pretty quick. I got side-byside with the 20 (of Kenseth) for a couple of laps and he was to my inside, but then we had to race (Elliott) really hard and then the 20 got away a little bit. "By the time I got back to second, he was just a little bit too far in front of me. I got another shot at him at the end there, but just came up a little bit short." Next weekend is the All-Star Race at Charlotte, and with Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson both currently sitting in the top 5 for the fan vote entry, this race will have done their chances of winning the vote no harm whatsoever. Even if they do not win the vote, you would expect them to challenge for victory in the Sprint Showdown for a place anyway. Page | 14
Logano Wins The All Star As Larson Lets It Slip Jason Rodgers - @JR24GP
Joey Logano moved past Kyle Larson with just two laps remaining in the Sprint All Star at Charlotte Motor Speedway to claim the million dollar plus winning prize. Larson had led almost all of the final segment of the race up until that point, but a slide up into the wall meant he would only finish 16th, just a week after he narrowly lost out to Matt Kenseth in Dover. The Sprint All Star exhibition race has been running since 1985 for drivers who’ve won during the previous Sprint Cup season and the beginning of the current season, as well as previous Sprint Cup Champions who raced during the last season. The race has undergone several format changes over the last few years. 2016’s format was to have two 50 lap segments including a mandatory pit stop with at least a 2 tire change, followed by a final 13 lap dash for victory where a random draw would decide whether the top 9, 10 or 11 drivers currently in the race would have to make a 4 tire pit stop, whilst the rest of the field stayed out. The new format was heavily criticised by both drivers and fans for being too complicated and not allowing some cars to remain in the battle for the win in the final segment, however the new ultra-low downforce package allowed for some thrilling racing, all be it with less cars involved in the race for victory than those attending would have wanted. In a dramatic final 13 laps, Brad Keselowski finished 2nd, making the All Star Race a Team Penske 1-2, fan favourite Dale Earnhardt Jr came home 3rd, whilst Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 5. The field of 20 cars for this non-championship event were made up of 15 who qualified through the standard criteria, whilst the other 5 places were decided by the earlier Sprint Showdown.
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3 places were won by race segment winners, segments of which two ended in photo finishes, where Kyle Larson and Trevor Bayne both would edge out Chase Elliott respectively. The other segment winner was Greg Biffle, however Elliott needn’t have worried about his place in the All Star as he would win the Fan Vote entry, with female star Danica Patrick taking the other fan voted spot, an extra spot in the race earned due to Jeff Gordon’s retirement in 2015 when he would have been eligible for entry. After the race, many drivers were furious at what they claimed was an unnecessarily gimmicky format. Tony Stewart, in his final All-Star before retirement, claimed it was “the most screwed up All-Star Race” whilst Denny Hamlin wrote on Twitter that none of the drivers were fans of the system. Problems were perhaps emphasised by a caution late in Segment 1 before Matt Kenseth had made his pit stop, meaning that very few cars were on the lead lap for Segment 2. This led to a disastrous start to the final segment, as only two drivers on the lead lap, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch, were forced to stay out whilst the field behind them, all on fresh tires, blitzed past them just seconds into the restart. Despite all this, one driver who left Charlotte Motor Speedway in high spirits, and a million dollars richer was Joey Logano. After the victory lane celebrations, Logano claimed it was an “awesome race, I thought it went great”. Teammate, and runner up Brad Keselowski echoed Logano’s thoughts, and seemed to suggest that drivers had no reason to complain. “I don't know how you can get much more compelling racing than what we saw today, so they need to get unconfused and enjoy the racing” It is clear though that this year’s All Star format was very much a one-off, and no doubt NASCAR will be under huge pressure now to find a format that promotes a thrilling race, whilst also giving every driver a fair chance of victory. With next week’s Coca Cola 600 also at Charlotte Motor Speedway being one of the crown jewel events, and the Sprint Cup’s longest race of the season, NASCAR is returning back to the current, slightly higher downforce package. However, with the exciting, albeit confusing, racing that the All Star Race provided, it is more than likely that we will see ultra-low downforce more often in 2017, perhaps even before the end of the Page | 16 current season.
Petter Solberg – Interview Chris Evans - @cptchris2010
Congratulations on your win in Portugal who do you feel will be your biggest rival this season in the WRX? Thank you! It was fantastic to get such a season start. I expect the main rivals for the title will be Sebastien Loeb, Mattias Ekström, Johan Kristoffersson, Topi Heikkinen, Timmy Hansen, Andreas Bakkerud. If you had the choice of a works contract in either WRC or WRX which would you choose? I would have chosen the one where I got the best package to win the title. That’s all that matters. Is there any other motorsport you would like to try? I would love to do Dakar. Maybe I’ll do it this year. Is there any truth in the rumours of you joining Toyota next year in the WRC? Nothing has been set for 2017. Of all the cars you have driven in the WRC and WRX which is your favourite? Subaru Impreza 2003-2004. What made you decide to change from WRC to WRX? The fact that Rallycross was about to become a World Championship. I wanted something new and different, and I want to fight for World Championship titles. Out of all the rallies you have won which has been your favourite and why? Rally GB. Nothing is better than the first win. Or… Well, four in a row was even better. Who is your favourite rally driver of all time? Colin McRae and Tommi Mäkinen. Do you have any plans of returning to the WRC? No plans beyond 2016. I have full focus on this season, then I’ll have to see what comes up. What are your plans for your future in any sport? My dream is to win World Championship titles for a manufacturer team run by myself! Page | 17
Liam Talbot – Interview Alex Lane - @AlexLane5
Hi Liam, thank you for taking the time out to talk to us here at L&T Motorsport. Looking ahead to this season, what are you most looking forward to? The fans, the atmosphere, the racing? I always enjoy my racing and find as each season starts I'm more excited than the next. What I enjoy most is that you start from zero each and every race and it doesn't matter how good you were previously you need to knuckle down, focus and give 100%. Having said that momentum is a big part of Motorsport and good results also help. What struggles have you had starting your racing career in the sense that you started it much later than others who will have been racing since the age of 8 in some cases? I've experience many struggles starting later in life with Motorsport. Firstly, funding is always difficult no matter what stage of your life. Also experience, in the beginning you have no experience and it's very humbling to race more experienced people. Your constantly learning new tracks, new cars, new situations, new engineers, new techniques on track and the list is pretty much endless. So far within your racing career, what have been your lowest points and how have you overcome them? For myself personally a low point was Bathurst 12 hour 2014. Seeing first hand my team mate crash was difficult as I have never experienced the downside to racing. We were going to drive the car for the year in Australia so we didn't have a car to race which added to this new experience. The main thing is our team mate wasn't injured and cars can always be repaired. Page | 18
What are your final career ambitions? Still to race and win at Le Mans? We turned this into a positive by actually opening our eyes to racing globally and how we could get one step closer to Le Mans. We eventually settled on more racing in Europe and now we are in our second year of Blancpain GT endurance series, arguably the most significant GT racing anywhere in the world. As discussed my ultimate goal is Le Man 24 hour in a prototype. I feel personally this would be an amazing achievement and story let alone getting a result. However, I don't compete to just make up the numbers I want to be in a strong position to win and achieve success. I'm yet to drive a P2 car so I'm eagerly waiting for the opportunity to present itself and I will grab it with both hands. You might need to pinch me so I know I'm not dreaming! What are your ambitions for this season in the Blancpain GT series? How far up the field can you finish the season? This year in Blancpain GT we have a really strong team of both crew and drivers. I feel that we have every chance of winning come seasons end. We had a poor result at Monza so this complicated our season but it will ensure our success is even sweeter as we battle our way through each race. Fingers crossed we can achieve our ultimate goal Finally, how different is the Ferrari GT3 car that you're driving this season compared to anything you've driven before? I'm driving the 458 Kessel Ferrari again this year. I have no complaints, this is an amazing car and most of all reliable. We know the car very well, crew and drivers so this gives us confidence in a long season of endurance racing. When you factor in variable weather conditions like rain at Spa we don't want to think about driving we just want it to be second nature in the car
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Enaam Ahmed British F3 - Rockingham Ian Cutting - @iancutting77
Round 7 Starting from the fourth row and in P7, Enaam made a good clean start and by the end of lap 1 he was in P6! It was a steady race from there and he made sure that there was a constant gap in order to keep Vaidyanathan behind him. The gap to P5 was fluctuating to start with, but ultimately the gap was too great as the flag fell. Enaam finished in P6, but with the reverse grid for race 2 being the top 8 reversed from race 1, he lines up P3. Round 8 Starting from P3 (thanks to the reverse grid) Enaam was poised to make one of his great starts and hopefully get back onto the podium. As the lights went out, Enaam indeed made one of his great starts and was soon in the lead! Behind, there was a huge crash for Bortoleto. His car was launched into scary flips after the nose dug into the grass following contact and ended up upside down in the gravel at Chapman Curve. The red flags were quickly dispatched and the race was halted. Thankfully, Bortoleto climbed out of the car and walked away, huge testament to the strength of the car! The grid re-formed up again for a re-start and Enaam lined back up in P3, hoping for another great start. Indeed, he made another one of his great starts and slotted in between Reddy and Vaidyanathan. Unfortunately, he lost his front wing and dropped back and had to pit for a new nose-cone. Now in clean air, Enaam set his sights on trying to get fastest lap in order to get a better grid position for race 3. He got the fourth fastest of the race, but with the grid being formed from fastest laps across both races, this means he lines up for race 3 in P6. Round 9 Enaam starts the final race of the weekend in P6. Unfortunately, it soon became P7 just before the safety car was deployed because of action ahead of him. Due to Vaidyanathan pitting (because of the incident ahead) it now became P6. As the racing got back underway again, Enaam was off and trying to close the gap on P5. A mistake by Enaam (running wide at Pif-Paf) saw him drop a place but it didn't take him long to chase Huovinen and in an excellent move round the outside going into Gracelands he was back up into P6! Again, Enaam set about chasing down P5 and not before long he was on the tail of Sowery. On the last lap, Enaam made his move and into P5 and crossed the line in 5th. Page | 20
GRAHAM AND LEIGH COMPETITION WINNER: OLIVER CASSIDY Congratulations Oliver, please check your email inbox to claim your prize
WIN a signed Max Coates t-shirt in a size of your choice Read below how to enter! How to enter? Go to the competitions section of our website http://ltmsport.weebly.com/competitions.html and fill the form out, once complete press submit and you will have been entered into our competition. The winner will be announced in next month’s magazine so make sure you watch out for that! Page | 21
Rosberg Dominates In Russia Alice Holloway - @Alice_Holloway_
Nico Rosberg dominated for the fourth race of the season to take his seventh win in a row. He has now won four of the four races in the 2016 season giving him a 43-point lead over reigning champion and teammate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg made the Russian Grand Prix look easy as he took the lead off the start and retained it throughout the race. It was Sebastian Vettel who was the biggest loser off the start as, after serving a five-place grid drop for changing his gearbox that saw him starting sixth, he ended up in the wall at turn four. Vettel had been attempting to overtake Daniel Ricciardo for fifth place when Daniil Kvyat collided into the rear of the Ferrari, snapping into the side of unsuspecting Ricciardo and forcing the Australian to cause Force India’s Sergio Perez a rear right puncture. But it was through turn four that Kvyat repeated the collision as Vettel lifted weary of potential damage to his Ferrari that caused the German to spin around and end his race in the tyre barrier at turn four. Kvyat was awarded a 10 second stop/go penalty for causing the collision. Also having started out of position off the start, Hamilton made a great recovery drive to get from tenth to second. He started tenth after another engine problem plagued his qualifying session meaning he could not take part in Q3. After avoiding the start carnage Hamilton had managed to get up to fifth on the grid as the safety car was deployed to clear up the debris on track from Vettel’s incident and the turn two crash that saw Esteban Gutierrez take Nico Hulkenberg out of the Grand Prix. The restart played directly into Hamilton’s hands which gifted him third after a few laps, having made quick work of overtaking fifth-placed Felipe Massa and then fourth-placed Kimi Räikkönen. The Brit had to wait for the pit stops to close on Valtteri Bottas, after which he made a daring move up the inside of turn two to demote the Finn down for net second. In clean air Hamilton was making strong advances on leading Rosberg. But the gap never got low enough for the championship leader to feel under pressure. With the gap down to 7.5 seconds after two thirds of the race had been complete Hamilton was warned of a potential water pressure problem that lead to him easing off on his attack as the Mercedes team checked it out. Soon enough Rosberg had the gap back up to 13 seconds, finishing with a huge margin of 25 seconds. Page | 22
Räikkönen, who used his one pit stop affectively to make the pass on William’s Bottas, took third place. The Williams driver had no answer for his fellow countryman and followed Räikkönen home to finish fourth. After the restart Massa held onto fifth comfortably, bring Williams a good haul of points for this round of the championship. Vettel’s second DNF of the season sees him drop to sixth in the driver’s standings whilst Mercedes pull away with an 81point lead in the constructors – over double the points the Scuderia has scored this season so far. Fernando Alonso had a surprisingly excellent start to the Russian Grand Prix, promoting himself to eighth from fourteenth off the start. After surviving the first lap incidents and capitalising on Max Verstappen retiring from the race with reported engine problems he brought his McLaren home for his first points of the season in sixth place. Teammate Jenson Button managed to give McLaren their first double points finish since Hungary 2015 by overtaking Carlos Sainz in the closing stages of the race for tenth place. It was positive for the McLaren team to see their cars fighting and holding the positions they had gained. Kevin Magnussen finished behind Alonso for a strong seventh place, with Romain Grosjean taking Haas’ third points finish of the season in eighth and Perez finishing the top ten ahead of Button. The day was not a good one for the Red Bull team as Ricciardo brought his battered car home for 12th, behind junior team driver Carlos Sainz Jr and ahead of Renault driver Jolyon Palmer. Kvyat’s recovery drive was not very strong as he pulled his car home for fifteenth behind Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. Felipe Nasr, Gutierrez and Pascal Wehrlein finished off the finishers with Verstappen, Vettel, Rio Haryanto and Nico Hulkenberg being the four retirees of the race. Page | 23
Think Kvyat Being Dropped Was Performance Related? Think Again… @TalkRacingMedia
If you are an F1 fan and have been living under a rock for the last 24 hours, you may not have heard of the latest drama. Just in case you haven’t heard what is happening, Danil Kvyat is being replaced by Max Verstappen at Red Bull for the remainder of the season. Verstappen will take over the RB12 in Spain whilst Kvyat will return to his old team Toro Rosso. You’ve got to love Red Bull for always giving us something to talk about. As always with statements, the exact answer is never given, It’s come about after two controversial weekends for the Russian driver. Firstly, in China, he quite rightly capitalised on the two Ferrari’s falling over one another at turn 1, Vettel opened a gap on the inside line, hit Raikkonen and Kvyat saw the opportunity dive under it all. Sebastian didn’t see it like that and after the race there was a rather vocal exchange between both drivers regarding the incident. Secondly, At Kvyat’s home race, Sebastian and Danil again came together at turn 2, with the Russian locking his brakes and rear ending Vettel. Sebastian subsequently ricocheted into Daniel Ricciardo causing damage that would ruin his race. Whilst going round the long left hander of turn 3, Vettel lifted off to check his car for damage and Kvyat failed to notice or react and once again Sebastian was hit, only this time he retired from the race. The blame was very much in Kvyat’s court. The incident ruined Red Bull's race and embarrassed the Russian president Vladimir Putin who was watching in the grandstands cheering on his fellow countryman, however nothing could have prepared the paddock for what was about to happen next. On Sunday evening after the Russian Grand Prix, a telephone conversation took place between Jos Verstappen and Helmut Marko. Jos informed Helmut that Max would be joining Ferrari for 2017 because he was frustrated at not being in a competitive car. Page | 24
A discussion took place with Marchionne in China and an agreement was reached. Helmut went into panic mode and immediately contacted Christian Horner to discuss the options of keeping Verstappen under the Red Bull wing. Kvyat had already felt the wrath of Marko a few hours earlier when Helmut tore into him regarding his performance in the RB12. It was decided that Danil would be put back into the Toro Rosso team thus promoting Max to Red Bull. Rumours first circulated on Tuesday night before Motorsport.com broke the news on Wednesday evening, It was merely a possibility then. By Thursday morning Red Bull released a statement confirming Max Verstappen would be replacing Danil Kvyat for the remainder of the season with immediate effect. On the face of it, the decision to demote Danil looked harsh at the very least. Kvyat scored the team's first podium of the season in China but Ricciardo finished 7 seconds behind him after ending up last with a puncture whilst leading. That was the Achilles heel of Kvyat, he couldn’t match or beat Daniel Ricciardo. Daniel consistently was quicker over last season, the only reason it wasn’t noted was because of the unreliability and power issues Red Bull suffered. Helmut Marko issued a warning to Danil at the start of this season that one of the drivers would be gone in 2016, no one expected it to be after just four races however. In fairness to Red Bull, Danil was only drafted into the senior team when Vettel surprised everyone with his announcement he was joining Ferrari. It was a rushed choice which in hindsight was probably not the best one to make. Having another driver jump ship to Ferrari was the last thing Red Bull wanted and were quick to act on it. Verstappen is a highly talented, sort after driver in the market. So it may come as no surprise to you that Ferrari had offered him a deal, but here’s the real sting in the tail. Verstappen had made no agreement with Ferrari. Sure, there were discussions but there were also discussions at Mercedes. Verstappen sensed an opportunity with the Red Bull team so fragile and it was grabbed with both hands. Now Max has to perform, Ricciardo is one of the best drivers on the grid. The Honey Badger destroyed Vettel in 2014 and although Max is highly rated, he will have his work cut out if he is going to succeed. Kvyat is now driving for his career, to me he no longer has a place in the Red Bull family. Let’s not forget the other Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz jr, another massively talented driver who has missed out on the top drive through no fault of his own. If Max fails to perform however, King Carlos is next in line for the Red Bull throne. Page | 25
Verstappen Becomes Youngest Grand Prix Winner Alice Holloway - @Alice_Holloway
Max Verstappen has become the youngest ever Formula One race winner as he has taken a surprise victory in the Spanish Grand Prix. After having been promoted up to Red Bull just before the start of the race weekend his win means there have been ten different winners to the last ten Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen also joins an exclusive list with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso as drivers to have won the Spanish Grand Prix from off the front row. In the first qualifying session since Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton did not encounter any issues that forced him to stop his car. He was running an upgraded MGU-H that was targeted at increasing the reliability and solving the issues that had been plaguing Hamilton’s running. He started the Spanish Grand Prix on pole with his teammate Nico Rosberg beside. Fernando Alonso made it into Q3 for the first time since McLaren reunited with Honda and started tenth. The two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen out qualified the Ferrari that had seemed to be struggling for pace through setup choices. An unpredictable start to the race saw the Mercedes duo both into the gravel at turn three. Nico Rosberg got the jump on Lewis Hamilton off the start, leading the Brit into Turn 1. But Hamilton was not ready to conceit the lead. Down through Turn 2 and into Turn 3 Hamilton grabbed the tow off his teammate and try to go up the inside to retake the position. But Rosberg blocked him off, squeezing the Brit off of the track. Hamilton lost control of the car and collected Rosberg’s rear wing as he spun into the gravel on the outside of Turn 3. The race was lead by Red Bull from the start to the finish, but it was Ricciardo who led his new teammate for the majority. A split strategy saw the Dutchman get the upper hand on his teammate and take the win, pulling off a two-stop race. Ricciardo had been chasing down Vettel for the last step on the podium when just two laps from the end he encountered a rear puncture. Luckily for Ricciardo the gap to Valtteri Bottas in fifth was large enough for him to be able to pit and get back out into fourth. Page | 26
It was a fantastic finish for Carlos Sainz Jr who ended his home race in sixth. After the restart Sainz found himself up in third position on the restart but his 2015 Ferrari engine was no match for the two chasing Ferraris behind. Sainz had a trouble-free race to hold onto sixth as the chequered flag dropped. Just after the first round of pit stops the Nico Hulkenberg’s car caught on fire at the rear. He radioed to the team mentioning the smoke and was instructed to pull over by a fire marshal. An oil leak caused a premature end to the German’s race. Sergio Perez, however, had a much better race, finished 18 seconds off of Sainz for P7. Twenty laps before the end of the race Alonso retired from the race. He stopped due to the power in his Honda engine cutting out. Jenson Button managed to climb from twelfth to ninth to bring McLaren home two points for this race. Felipe Massa also had an amazing recovery race as he moved from P18 to P8 to bring points home for Williams along with Bottas. He used to a three-stop strategy and the competitive pace of his Williams over the midfield runners to promote himself up the grid. In his first race racing back for Toro Rosso, Daniil Kvyat rounded off the top ten, taking one point back to his new team. Romain Grosjean was the only other retiree. The Renault duo tried a different strategy by putting both of their drivers onto the hard compound of tyre from the second stop but it did not pay off. Kevin Magnussen was handed a penalty after the race for causing a collision with his teammate as he tried to pass him on the last lap. His time penalty dropped him down behind Felipe Nasr – who was behind him – in the final order. Kvyat knocked Esteban Gutierrez out of his first point scoring position of the season in the closing stages of the race, leaving the Mexican to finish eleventh. He was followed over the line by Marcus Ericsson, Palmer, Felipe Nasr, Magnussen, Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto. Page | 27
Legends Of F1: Ayrton Senna Jack Haywood - @jackalala01
He will forever be remembered with legendary status, with parents telling their children of their memories of one of the sport's bests. Ayrton Senna has a place in Formula One folklore, as well as many fan's hearts. In the early 1970's the then young Senna was racing in karts, and in 1977 secured his first championship win, finishing top of the South American Kart Championship. He later went on to compete in the World Kart Championship, finishing second in both the 1979 and 1980 seasons. After a successful karting career, Senna moved to Formula Ford 2000, and subsequently won both the British and European titles in 1982. Ayrton Senna joined the Formula 1 world, testing with Williams, McLaren, Brabham and the team with which his career began, Toleman. He made his Debut at his home race in Rio De Janeiro, but retired after just 8 laps, due to a mechanical fault. After his time at Toleman, followed by a spell of 2 years at Lotus, Senna joined F1's dominant force, McLaren, and instantly made an impact, winning the 1988 World Championship. The Brazilian went on to win another two titles with McLaren, forming a legendary rivalry with teammate, Alain Prost in the process. Senna stayed at McLaren, after winning the 1988, 1990 and 1991 world titles, until 1993, where after he moved to Williams. Williams were a revolutionary team, but new rule changes banned active suspension and other aids developed by the team, hindering their progress. This loss of driver aids could be the cause of what happened on the weekend of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Qualifying was underway, and news came back to the pits that Simtek driver Roland Ratzenberger's crash at the 190mph Villenueve corner, was fatal. This shook the entire grid, Senna himself protested that the course wasn't sufficiently safe, but was shrugged off by the FIA and the race went ahead. Senna started on Pole and led up until lap 7, where he infamously failed to turn at the Tamburello corner. He left the track at 191mph, and was struck on the head by a flying wheel. It was clear from the lack of movement in his body, Senna was dead. Ayrton Senna was one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1's history. His death led to the safety standards being improved, which proved to be successful, as, up until Jules Bianchi's 2014 Japanese Grand Prix collision, no deaths had been recorded in the sport. Page | 28
F1 Nightmares – Forti Phil Martin - @PhilmartinGSY
Back in the 90’s, Formula 1 was engulfed with a mass of small budget outfits attempting to fight against the Goliath’s of the sport. Some did pretty well, Jordan being a fine example. However, for others, the valiant attempt met with a sad but inevitable conclusion. Take the Forti Formula 1 team as an example. This is the part where I will be brutally honest. The Forti Formula 1 team was truly terrible. Their performance was so dismal that the FIA eventually bought in the 107% rule. Now it is fact that Forti were actually a reasonably competitive outfit in Italian F3 and Formula 3000. Team owner Guido Forti operated with the intent that long term, he would enter Formula 1. Having established a business relationship with the Diniz family, a wealthy distribution group in Brazil, Forti decided that the framework he had was sufficient to take a place in the sport in 1995. Forti placed Pedro Diniz with the vastly experienced and all round nice guy Roberto Moreno. The car was fitted with a heavy, dated and underpowered Ford V8, together with a chassis which wouldn't have been competitive in 1990! The first few races were frankly an embarrassment, with both Diniz and Moreno lapping around 10 seconds per lap slower than the standard-bearing Benetton and Williams outfits. The dream of success was becoming a harsh reality check. The team did make minimal progress throughout 1995, thanks in part to a 60kg weight loss on the chassis, but never beat anyone other than the equally financially troubled Pacific Team. 1996 brought more trouble, as Diniz took his money to Ligier, and subsequently Forti signed up Italian pair Andrea Montermini and Luca Badoer. The difficulties in financing the team were obvious in Melbourne, where a revised 1995 car was provided to both drivers, and the introduction of the 107% rule put paid to the team racing that weekend. Little improvement was obvious, in Argentina Badoer was ironically barrel-rolled by Diniz, but the brand new car arrived and duly brought some gain. However, a takeover by the mystery Shannon Group would have appeared to turn the corner for the beleaguered outfit. Unfortunately, money never materialised and the end result was that after the German GP, the team was never seen on the grid again. Page | 29
Alex Booths Featured Driver – Roland Ratzenberger Alex Booth - @Alex_Booth_93
In the month of May, we remember Roland Ratzenberger who tragically crashed and died in only the third event of an F1 career it had taken him almost 34 years to begin. In a bitter irony, this little-known Austrian driver lost his life just one day before Ayrton Senna, one of the most famous racers of all time, who died in another crash just a few hundred metres from the scene of Ratzenberger’s death. Born on July 4th, 1960, in Salzburg, Ratzenberger’s racing career began in German Formula Ford in 1983. He achieved notable successes in the category, winning the Austrian and Central European championships in 1985, finishing second in the German championship, and finishing on the podium at the Brands Hatch Formula Ford Festival. He returned to the festival to win it in 1986. After Formula Ford he raced in British Formula Three and the World Touring Car Championship in 1987 for BMW, scoring two second place finishes. A brief stint in the British Formula 3000 championship followed finishing third overall with one victory. The Austrian then headed to Japan to advance his racing career at a time when numerous European and International racing drivers found their focus in the country, drivers like Eddie Irvine, Mika Salo, Jacques Villeneuve, Jeff Krosnoff and Anthony Reid. Ratzenberger competed in the Japanese Sports Prototype Championship in an SARD Toyota, winning one race in 1990 and another in 1991. He returned to single seaters in the Japanese F3000 championship in 1992. Initially he struggled at first in his Stellar team’s two-year-old chassis. But after upgrading to a current model he won two races in the series. An infamous incident occurred at a race at Fuji when he came to the assistance of fellow racer Anthony Reid, who had crashed so heavily the force of the impact ripped his crash helmet off. Ratzenberger was so appalled by the unhelpfulness of the marshals he helped a Japanese journalist write a magazine article about the deficiency in safety standards at the track. Page | 30
Along with his Japanese commitments Ratzenberger utilised his versatility as a driver by competing at Le Mans five times from 1989 to 1993, his best finish being fifth and a class victory in his final appearance in a Toyota 93 C-V with Mauro Martini and Naoki Nagasaka. 1992 saw the popular Austrian finish one place ahead of former SARD team mate and great friend Eddie Irvine. The Ulsterman would make his F1 debut at the end of 1993 with Jordan and Ratzenberger finally achieved his dream by joined motor sport’s elite the following year. Monaco-based sports manager Barbara Behlau helped him gain a seat in the all-new Simtek team for 1994 early in March, just days before the start of the season. At the time he only expected to be in the car for five Grands Prix unless he could find further funding. Ratzenberger failed to qualify for his first race in Brazil after being delayed by mechanical problems in practice, after which a rain storm during final qualifying prevented him from setting a competitive dry time. However, when the field headed to the new F1 venue at Aida in Japan, Ratzenberger’s Japanese Touring Car experience meant he was the only driver in the field with prior experience of the circuit. He qualified in 26th place and finished 11th, five laps down. Sadly, that was to be his only F1 start. During qualifying for the next race at Imola on Saturday 30th April Ratzenberger ran wide and off the road at the Acque Minerali chicane, apparently damaging the front of his car. On the following lap he approached the flat-out Villeneuve kink where his front wing failed, pitching the Simtek into an unyielding barrier at around 200mph, killing him instantly. He was 33 years old. In his memory, Simtek ran the rest of the season with “For Roland” painted on the car’s air box. Irvine was drafted into the SARD team he had been due to race for at Le Mans, but Ratzenberger’s name remained on the side of the car. The then FIA President Max Mosley memorably attended his funeral, "Roland had been forgotten. So I went to his funeral because everyone went to Senna's. I thought it was important that somebody went to his.” Page | 31
Brexit – The end of an era for British Drivers in F1? Sam Rideal - @essaarGP
Since 1950, we have seen 160 British drivers in F1. The UK is the most represented nation, with the USA in 2nd with 158 drivers, Italy 98, France 72, Germany 52 and Brazil with 31. In terms of World Champions, the UK boasts 10 drivers that have claimed the title. Finland and Brazil both have 3 Champions, along with the USA, Italy, Germany, Austria and Australia on 2. Total Championships also makes good reading for the UK with 16 Championships shared amongst those 10 drivers, Jackie Stewart and Lewis Hamilton have 3, along with Jim Clark and Graham Hill who were both double winners. The domination of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel ensures Germany have 11 Drivers Championships. Brazil follows closely behind on 8 with Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and Emerson Fittipaldi staying ahead of Juan Manual Fangio. Arguably the best driver that ever lived, Fangio flies the flag for Argentina having won 5 titles. Mike Hawthorn became the first British Driver to lift the title in 1958, spawning an era of dominance for British drivers. During a 14-year period between 1962 and 1976, the title only left Britain on 6 occasions. However, we should learn from history, as after 1976 the UK went 16 years before another World Champion when Nigel Mansell roared to the title in 1992. Damon Hill emulated his father in 1996, lifting another title for Williams. However, we then waited 12 years before Lewis Hamilton burst on to the scene, winning the Championship in 2008. Jenson Button, the most experienced British driver of all time with 288 race starts, won 6 of the first 7 races of the 2009 season to gain the Championship with Brawn GP. Since Button entered F1 in 2000, we have seen 8 British drivers on the grid, Hamilton being one of them. Allan McNish, Justin Wilson, Paul di Resta, Max Chilton, Will Stevens and Jolyon Palmer have all appeared, yet all have failed to win a race. Jenson’s seat in F1 is hanging on a thread and Lewis may decide his future lies outside of F1. So where’s the new British talent? Alex Lynn’s inclusion for Williams as a development driver may pave the way for future British talent, otherwise with the emergence Max Verstappen, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pascal Wehrlein could we see a race without a British driver on the grid? Page | 32
18 Things You Never Knew About The Monaco Grand Prix Rob Watts - @Robwattsf1
1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6.
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8. 9.
Monaco is the shortest track on the calendar at just 3.3km, and also the only Grand Prix that does not adhere to the FIA's mandated minimum race distance of 305 kilometres. The race is run on public roads that are shut down for the duration of the event. It takes six weeks to setup the circuit for Formula One, and a further three weeks to remove it. Turn 6, otherwise known as the Grand Hotel Hairpin, is the slowest turn on the whole Formula One calendar, and requires drivers to apply maximum steering lock at around 30 mph. Monaco played host to only the second ever Formula One race, back in 1950. That race is remembered for being the slowest in Monaco Grand Prix history at an average speed of 96.6 mph, and also for the joint-biggest ever winning margin at Monaco when Juan-Manuel Fangio won the race by one whole lap. The smallest winning margin at the Monaco Grand Prix came in 1992 when Ayrton Senna famously beat Nigel Mansell to the flag by just two-tenths of a second. Fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello holds the record for the most Monaco podium finishes without a win with five. Known throughout his career for having bad luck, Barrichello finished third in 2004 and second in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2009. Fernando Alonso is the only driver to have won the Monaco Grand Prix in consecutive years for different teams. He won for Renault during his championship year in 2006 and again one year later with McLaren. As well as being the only driver to win two years in a row with different teams, Alonso’s 2007 win was also the fastest in Monaco Grand Prix history at an average speed of 96.6 mph. Three drivers in Formula One history have followed in their father's footsteps in competing at the Monaco Grand Prix, but only one father-son pairing can boast of winning the Monaco Grand Prix. Keke Rosberg won for Williams in 1983, and 30 years later, his son Nico won for Mercedes.
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10. Nico Rosberg will be aiming to secure his fourth successive Monaco Grand Prix victory this year. Only Ayrton Senna has achieved more than four consecutive wins in Monaco with five - between 1989 and 1993. 11. Until the late eighties, Graham Hill was referred to as ‘Mr Monaco’ having won the race five times between 1963 and 1969, but in more recent times, this mantle has been passed to Ayrton Senna, who was victorious six times between 1987 and 1993. 12. To understand Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna’s dominance of Formula One during the eighties and early nineties, you only have to look at the list of Monaco Grand Prix winners through the years. Remarkably, no other driver won this race during a ten-year period between 1984 and 1993. 13. In his 152 race career, Brit John Watson only failed to qualify twice but remarkably, both occasions came at the Monaco Grand Prix. The first in 1980, and again in 1983. Even more remarkably, Watson's McLaren teammate Niki Lauda also failed to qualify for the 1983 race, the only time both McLarens have failed to qualify for a race. 14. Despite having a fairly major blip in 1983, McLaren are arguably the most successful team to have ever raced at Monaco, having won the race fifteen times. Ferrari are second on the all-time list with nine. 15. Strangely for a street race, pole position isn’t as important as you might think. In 62 running’s of the Monaco Grand Prix, only 45% of races have resulted in the pole-sitter winning the race. Although with modern Formula One cars becoming more reliable, this ratio has increased to 80% over the past ten years. 16. Frenchman Olivier Panis holds the record for winning the Monaco Grand Prix from the lowest starting position. Panis won the 1996 race from 14th on the grid. 17. That race will also be remembered for having the lowest number of cars running at the flag - just four. An all-time Formula One record, which is unlikely to ever be beaten. 18. Incidentally, Oliver Panis was one of three drivers whose one and only career win came at the Monaco Grand Prix. Fellow Frenchman Jean-Pierre Beltoise claimed his only victory at Monaco in 1972 as did Italian Jarno Trulli in 2004. Page | 34
Will Hamilton’s Luck Turn Soon? Neal Venter - @NealVenter
Hamilton has had an average season so far to put it lightly. With his most recent retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix, where he collided with his teammate, it doesn't look like it's getting any better for him either. Is it simply bad luck, or is Hamilton just not in his zone yet? At the 2015 United States Grand Prix, Hamilton secured his third World Championship with three races to go. At this point he switched off, and Rosberg won the remaining three races. At the start of the 2016 season, it seemed like Hamilton was still in holiday mode. Despite qualifying his Mercedes in pole position, he lost out to his teammate in the race and nearly fell victim to a determined Sebastian Vettel, who looked a lot hungrier for that second place than Hamilton did. Two weeks later at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton, yet again put his Mercedes on pole, but just like in Australia, he lost out, and finished the race in third. Next up was China, everyone knows that if Hamilton was going to perform anywhere in the world, it would be here. The Shanghai International Circuit, so many memories for Hamilton, the circuit that cost him a possible championship in 2007, but also the site of 4 victories, the most of any driver in China. It is without a doubt one of his favourite circuits on the calendar. Qualifying came along, and Hamilton reported an issue with his power unit. Failing to set a time, he was forced to start the race from the back of the grid whilst his teammate cruised into pole position. Hamilton fought back in the race, but only managed 7th place. The Chinese Grand Prix, which saw the most overtakes on record for an F1 race with 161, turned out to be disappointing for Hamilton, as his teammate extended his championship lead with yet another win, his 3rd in a row for the 2016 season. Hamilton's situation did not get any better in Russia, with another technical issue putting him out of Q3 for the Russian Grand Prix. However, he did match his best result for the season, finishing second for the second time in 2016.
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At the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton is set on getting some points back. His teammate, leading the championship comfortably, winning all 4 of the opening races of the 2016 season. Hamilton has only ever been beaten by his teammate once in his entire Formula 1 career, and that is by Jenson Button in 2011. He even beat his double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso in his rookie season. It is fair to say that Hamilton is not one that settles for second best, which is why he is not a very happy man at the moment. His frustration of being outperformed by his teammate in races was getting to him, and in Spain he set out to prove a point. Hamilton finally has no issues with his car, and yet again, he manages to put it on pole. On the first lap, he was overtaken by Rosberg, and determined to not let him get away with it again, Hamilton tried to make a move down the inside of turn three, which ended up in the two colliding. Hamilton was blamed for the incident by Niki Lauda, however, the race stewards saw it as a racing incident. It is understandable why Hamilton took such a risk, with frustration building race after race, he had to make something happen in Spain. Unfortunately, it did not pay off, and he committed the most dreadful sin you can commit in Formula 1, making contact with the car that's the same colour as yours. It's happened to the best of them, the likes of Vettel, Senna, and Prost have all collided with their teammates in the past, but it's still nothing to be proud of.
Hamilton has proven that he pace is there. He's had more pole positions than anyone else this season, but he's struggling to convert those into victories. The question is, will his luck turn now that he has hit what seems to be rock bottom, or, will his slump continue? Will he be able to catch the inform Rosberg? In my opinion, it's only a matter of time before Hamilton gathers himself, and Rosberg needs to be ready, and he needs to make the most of Hamilton's bad luck while he can, and he's got a serious chance of winning his first world championship. Page | 36
Does Electric Racing Have The Right Formula Charlotte Tolley - @charlieetolley
Formula E (FE) have successfully continued the championship into what's been a high drama, exciting and nail-biting Season 2 so far. The young, fresh outlook that the organisers seem to have, is working! From amazing opportunities for the fans to get close to the action and meet the drivers/teams, to even just the way that the sessions are scheduled, FE have nailed it. Practice sessions, Qualifying and the Race are all on one day. Meaning, if you've paid for a ticket (which probably didn't cost a lot in the first place) you have access to all the sessions the cars are out for, so you won't miss a minute of the action! (Or have to give up a few days of your life to try to stay up-to-date with it all) Not only do fans get access to watch all the sessions, but whilst there isn't anything on track, there is the 'eVillage'. This area is packed full of activities, refreshments and shows for the fans to enjoy. From stunt bikers to electric concept cars, there'll be something for everyone. The drivers involved in Formula E are exceptional, and constantly proving their abilities, not just in their performance in FE, but in their performances in other series they have the opportunity to compete in as well. StĂŠphane Sarrazin, Nicholas Prost, Nick Heidfeld, Bruno Senna, Sam Bird, Loic Duval, Adam Carroll, Lucas Di Grassi, Sebastien Buemi, Nelson Piquet Jr (Season 1 Driver Championship winner) and many others ex-FE drivers have all competed in WEC, and some have done exceedingly well. This proves that teams are taking the championship seriously, with currently competent drivers. Good schedule, check. Fan engagement, check. Great drivers, check. But what about the cars? The Formula E cars started as fully specified vehicles in Season 1, where the teams had very little opportunity to make any changes. This was an excellent way to start the championship, as it meant that, for the majority of the time, there was a full grid of cars. (Rather than cars failing because of the use of experimental technology). In Season 2, the teams have been able to change the powertrain systems, (E-motor and gearbox etc). This has allowed for the starting of the development in this technology, which is excellent news for the public, as this technology will inevitably filter down into use in our road cars! This new technology has caused issues for some teams, such as NEXT-EV China Racing. This team did very well in Season 1, with their driver Piquet Jr winning the driver's championship. However, it's all gone a bit pearshaped for them in Season 2, and the frustration showing in all of Nelson's interviews. This is inevitable with the implementation of new technology, but it's a chance for real research and real work to go into this technology. So why should you give FE a go? It's something different, it's an exciting and new take on Motorsport and it's action-packed! Enjoy! Page | 37
The Circus of Circuitry in Formula E Emma Upton - @zumester
For season 2 we have already seen some circuit changes compared to season 1, and FIA Formula E are looking ahead to add more iconic city venues to the season 3 calendar and beyond. Unquestionably the most glamourous and historic circuit on the Formula 1 calendar, Monaco hosted a shortened version for round 7 last season. It was a very short circuit at 1.7km and true to form, the race started with a high drama collision on lap 1, leaving a disgruntled Bruno Senna walking back to the pits having gone airborne. The corners really were tight for the Formula E cars and for Season 2 the race moved to Paris, which is a more fan friendly venue. Another interesting choice for last season was the inclusion of the Berlin ePrix at the design icon of the former Templehof airport (which was developed by the Nazi regime in anticipation of growing air traffic). In spite of its uber cool venue, that race was dropped for season 2 in favour of a new city centre race as part of FIA Formula E’s canny marketing strategy which evolves constantly. Last year, we had a race around the architectural glory of Moscow, and up until a few weeks ago that race was still on the calendar, yet has sadly been dropped due to issues with road closures (a downside to some of the venues for residents is the closing of core thoroughfares) cited as being a concern. Indian Formula E team Mahindra have been working with fans and Formula E to design a circuit for New Delhi and some of the designs were revealed in mid-May. There is still to be official confirmation as to whether there will be an Indian race but this would indicate that this is highly likely. With races in Europe, The Americas and Asia, one part of the world looking to host an ePrix is Australia. Potentially a sound choice, with Australia having a long eco-friendly history and plenty of sustainable transport in its major cities, and hosting an event in one of these – Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Adelaide- will ensure a firm following for the series. However, Australia is also known for being a nation of die-hard petrol heads (V8 supercars and the Mad Max stereotype) so it will be interesting to see whether this event comes to fruition. Page | 38
Buemi Reigns In Championship Leader Lucas DI Grassi After A Commanding Victory On The Streets Of Berlin.
Sebastien Buemi and E-Dams Renault reignite their championship campaign with a commanding victory in the eighth round of the season on the streets of Berlin. Buemi had a controlling lead early on in the race, starting on the first row and getting an early jump on pole sitter Jean Eric-Vergne. Buemi soon found himself pulling away from the chasing field in the early laps of the race but a late safety car in the race to recover the stranded Dragon Racing car of Loic Duval, due to the German driver losing control of the car and spinning in to the barrier. This late safety car added another late twist in to Buemi’s race but managed to fend of Abt on the re start to take the checkered flag for round 8 of the championship. Di Grassi fought his way back up from down in 8th place after a disappointing qualifying for the 2 time race winner, a late decision by the team to allow Di Grassi through to try to attack Sebastien Buemi but Daniel Abt ignored the orders to bring his car over the line in 2nd position with his team mate just behind in 3rd, consolidating a strong points finish for the Abt team on home turf on the streets of berlin. The Swiss driver aims to push Di Grassi all the way as only one point separates them heading into the last event of the season at the double race in London in July, which proposes high drama and excitement as we head to The season finale, a double-header, will take place at Battersea Park in London, UK on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 July. Jean Eric-Vergne showed hope of a maiden victory in the series as he took pole earlier in the day, but couldn’t hold on to Buemi’s stunning pace off the line and despite retaking the lead at the end of lap 1 but later was passed again by Buemi, Then found himself also dropping of the podium as he was later caught and passed by both Di Grassi and Abt to eventually finishing behind is fellow country man Nicolas Prost in 5th position after repeated contact with the Page | 39 barrier caused him to completely loose his front wing.
The British driver Sam Bird finished a troubled weekend in 11th place, concluding a frustrating race after contact in the early laps of the race and was forced to pit for a front wing changed which ultimately dropped him off the lead lap as he was soon caught by race leader Sebasiten Buemi and found himself tumbling down the order. Further Down the field Team Aguri completed a tough weekend as the Japanese based team couldn’t find a comfortable set up weekend as Ma Qing Hua struggled for pace in the race, eventually crossing the line in 14th place and Rene Rast was forced to retire due to a mechanical failure. The two rookie drivers struggled for pace all weekend as getting used to both team and car in only one days running severely compromised the team. The NEXTEV TCR team entered the race with high levels of optimism, off the back of their best qualifying performance of the season to date, Piquet Jr managed to place his car 5th on the grid with team mate Oliver Turvey not far behind in 7th. As the race played out both of the NEXTEV TCR drivers running well inside the top ten but forced to pit on lap 11 for a damaged nose from contact with the bollard at turn 1. Mike Conway, Simona de Silvestro and Stephane Sarrazin completed the points finishers, benefiting from mechanical failures from Rene Rast in the Team Aguri car and both NEXTEV TCR cars who were set for a double points finish but where told to pit for alleged mechanical failures, finally crossing the finish line in 12th and 13th position. After the conclusion of the Berlin ePrix both the DS Virgin team and the NEXTEV TCR team displayed their frustration at the decision by race officials to display the black and orange flag to both Oliver Turvey and Sam Bird, forcing both of them to pit for a front nose change, ultimately destroying both team’s races. Page | 40
A Stunning Start To The GP2 Season In Spain Daniel Herrick - @DanielHerrick
GP2 is back and the series has wasted no time in giving us dramatic racing. The season opener was held in Spain and kicked off on Friday, when Frenchman, Pierre Gasly sealed his third pole position in a row in a frantic qualifying session at the Circuit de Catalunya. The session began under sizzling Spanish sunshine, but was always under threat from gathering rain clouds overhead and a few drivers appeared to slide across the track before they had even set a time. However, the rain held and the times began to tumble with first Lynn, then Nato grabbing pole until flying Frenchman clocked a brilliant 1:27.807, stealing pole from his rivals at the last moment. So it was on to Saturday and the first feature race of the year. Gasly made a solid start, easing in front of Nato and holding off a blistering Sergey Sirotkin, who easily passed Lynn and Latifi into turn one. But we were soon on the go slow as a virtual safety car (VSC) was deployed for Luca Ghiotto's mishap at turn four and a lap later a full safety car was required. The race began again on lap 5 with Gasly comfortably holding onto his lead even after the first round of pit stops. The race was a bit of a slow burner until lap 23 when an eager Sirotkin spun out in turn two whilst hunting down Nato in second place. The Russian stalled his car, prompting another safety car and looked dejected to have made such a costly mistake. With the race now on time, the leaders were against the clock to see how their super softs would hold out. Artem Markelov was the first to make a move dispatching Jordan King and Lynn for P5 when the race went live again on lap 26. Whilst up front, Nato saw his countryman Gasly was struggling and made a superb move in the final turns to take the lead! With time ticking down, Latifi burst into action, making a wonderful move on Gasly driving right around him into second on lap 33. Markelov and Lynn then followed suit on Spaniard Canamasas’ behind. Page | 41
We were denied a big climax however, when Rafaelle Marciello was tapped into a spin by Antonio Giovinazzi, bringing out the safety car. The chequered flag was waved in confusion a lap earlier but the results were rolled backwards to reflect this. So Nato grabbed his maiden win on his Racing Engineering debut, with Latifi just behind for his first podium. Gasly was disappointed to come home third, but it was a fantastic result for PREMA Racing on their race debut. The Sunday morning saw the season’s first sprint race. Rafaelle Marciello made a good start from pole position, holding back King into the first corner. This however allowed Lynn to sneak past his fellow Brit into turn two, and he later romped into the lead showing great pace! The Italian was in free fall, falling down the grid, losing out to King and Gasly next time by, with the Frenchman and Red Bull tester also dispatching King for P2 on lap six and setting after his former teammate to battle for the win. The Russian Sergey Sirotkin and Italian Luca Ghiotto were also on the move, slicing through the field with ease, but with Lynn and Gasly pulling away, it was clear that it was now a two horse race for victory. Unfortunately, the fight was once again cut short, when once again Antonio Giovinazzi was involved in an incident, this time with Sean Gelael. The young Italian went over his rival's rear wheel collecting an innocent Arthur Pic on the way to the barriers, bringing out a safety car which would last for all but the final turn of the race. Lynn managed to hold on in the final drag race for his first win of 2016 ahead of Gasly, who leaves Spain with two podiums under his belt and leading the championship on 33 points, ahead of Norman Nato on 27, Lynn on 23 with Latifi and Markelov both on 20 points, while DAMS and Racing Engineering share the lead in the teams' title on 43 points ahead of debutants PREMA Racing on 35 and RUSSIAN TIME on 30 points as they all look towards the Page | 42 next round in Monaco just two weeks’ time.
GP3 Season Preview Joe Clark - @joe96clark
The 2016 season in GP3 brings the seventh year of this feeder series to the upper levels of motor racing, GP2 and Formula 1. Each young driver, rookie or experienced aim to progress to the next formula. This year looks to be one of the most exciting seasons yet with a range of new stars among returning favourites. The rookies and returners to GP3 will be able to debut their new cars in Barcelona this month. The third iteration of the car with its new bespoke Mechachrome engine, revised aerodynamics and the new look modified nose. Each team will be able to field four drivers in these new cars this season. The teams who have decided on using the four car option are Koiranen GP, ART Grand Prix and the Trident team. Meaning that we have a 24-man driver line up for lights out in Barcelona on Saturday 13 May. New drivers of note for this season include Giuliano Alesi, a familiar name of course as he is the son of former Formula One drive Jean Alesi. Racing runs in the blood of their family and he is very quick and is surely one of the drivers to look out for, when he makes his debut in GP3 for Trident aged just 16 years old. He joins returners Sandy Stuvik, Artur Janosz and Antonio Fuoco in a star studded line-up. The ever-successful ART Grand Prix team however field a team with an entirely new line-up. One that contains Charles Leclerc, a Ferrari protégé coming from their driver academy and graduating from the Formula 3 European Championship where he finished fourth overall in 2015. He is joined by Nerei Fukuzumi (graduating from the Japanese Formula 3 series), Alexander Albon (graduating from the Formula 3 European championship) and Nyck De Vries (graduating from Formula Renault 3.5 series). Of the 24 drivers we have 15 rookies with returners including Matt Parry of Koiranen, Palou of Campos and Antonio Fuoco of the Trident team. All of which will want to be pushing on this year to progress to the next stage of their career. However, with the exciting younger talent that have taken their seats for the 2016 season they will have to work for it over the nine rounds they take part in. L&T Motorsport’s top tip for this season’s championship winner this year will be the impressive Giuliano Alesi. Racing is in his blood and paired with the Trident team he could really take the fight to the likes of Charles Leclerc who will no doubt also be fighting it out for the GP3 crown, Page | 43 both in their rookie years.
The Junior Single Seater Ladder Is In A Mess Mark Donaghy - @mdd7
There is always a lot of talk about the ladder or path to F1, in the past there was a fairly standard path leading from F3 to F2 finishing up in F1 but where do you go as a young driver nowadays? There has been a big change in the landscape of the junior single seater scene in the past year. With Renault removing its support for formula 3.5, the rebranding of MSA formula as British F4, BRDC formula 4 being rebranded as BRDC Formula 3. So what does this all mean for a young driver and their sponsors? The FIA have been doing a lot of work recently to try and streamline the junior single seater ladder, with the introduction of the numerous national F4 series was seen as a step to replace not only the multiple national F3 series that have folded recently due to regulations put in place by the FIA around what specification of car needs to be used to be known as F3. In its final year British F3 only managed to attract only 4 full time drivers!! However, many people felt the cars were not fast enough prompting many people to make the step straight from karts to European F3, the biggest of these was current Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen. Verstappen is the odd one out, most people are not able to make the jump straight from karts to F3 to F1, so where should a junior driver go? The current situation seems to be for a driver to go from karts to F4 or Formula Renault 2.0, from there into either European F3 or GP3, then up to GP2 before hopefully getting their chance in F1. The problem with this route as with most motorsport is money talks. Page | 44
Recent GP3 race winner Alex Albon has been talking about his decision to make what many saw as a sideways step from European F3 into GP3 with ART stating that whilst it may been seen as sideways step he feels in the long term it will benefit him as in F3 it is dominated by a few big teams who are able to spend the money to go testing on a regular basis leading them to almost buy their way to the front of the grip, thus shutting out the drivers who don’t have the high levels of backing required to do the amount of testing required to hit the front. Where as in GP3 the playing field is much more level as shown by Luca Ghiotto taking the unfancied Trident team to within a whisker of the title last season. What can be done to try and help sort out this ladder? I fell there are two big changes that could help. The first would be to reintroduce the third driver into Formula 1 practice thus allowing drivers to show their talent in a formula 1 car without causing issues for the race drivers. A prime example of how this can help is Sebastian Vettel, he made his F1 debut with BMW as their third driver and impressed enough to be called up to the Toro Rosso squad after they fired Scott Speed. The second idea is the more contentious idea as it would require F1 to take a leaf out of Moto GP’s rule book. If F1 were to take some of their money and spread, it between GP2 and GP3 as prize money allowing the teams in these two championships operate as a money making business and limit their reliance on sponsorship as has been highlighted by Status GP failing to make the first round of the GP2 season in Barcelona. Alongside this increase in prize money they should increase the calendar to mirror that on F1 giving the drivers knowledge of all the tracks on the calendar, and they should remove the rules limiting drivers from continuing to compete in the series after they have won the championship or after they have completed a full season in F1. This would allow some drivers to fall back and rebuild their careers in a similar way to how Romain Grosjean managed after his disastrous first stint in F1 in 2009. Page | 45
BTCC Thruxton 7th/8th May Weekend Review Matt Gough - @goughieee6
A glorious and sunny Thruxton in Hampshire was the next stop on the British Touring Car Championship calendar, for rounds 7,8 and 9. An interesting qualifying beckoned as the two early morning free practice pace setters, Speedworks’ Tom Ingram and Motorbase’ Andrew Jordan, were early favourites to take the pole. Once the session got underway, it was Tom Ingram who looked the quickest but had his first two flying laps removed by the officials for exceeding the track limits. Amongst those demoted, were also Matt Neal in the Honda Yuasa Racing Civic Type R. As the session wore on it would be Neal who provisionally held pole, before the Speedworks youngster would snatch it from his grasp with a brilliant lap which also broke the lap record around the circuit. Neal had to eventually settle for third place due to another flying young gun in the shape of the Laser Tools Mercedes of Aiden Moffat. The MG’s of Josh Cook and Ashley Sutton, who produced a front row lockout last time out at Donington, would start the first of the three races from 4th and 5th respectively. Both of them were working together for much of the session, but it was Cook who came out on top, using his experience as an instructor round Thruxton to good advantage. The pace of the Mercedes A Class was confirmed when the Wix Racing Mercedes of Adam Morgan put in a time good enough for 6th. Race day arrived along with rising temperatures, glorious sunshine and blue skies. An already interesting day was made even more interesting when the BMR Subaru’s were pulled from the days racing over safety concerns with the Levorg’s and their high pressure fuel rails deemed unsafe. Race one was a breath-taking opener from the start as Ingram, Neal and Moffat made fairly equal starts. It was a slipstreaming battle down the first chicane as Neal dived down the inside of Ingram and at the same time, Moffat was trying around the outside. Moffat was forced into a spin which shuffled him down the order. Sutton tagged Ingram which put him into a spin and Page | 46 into the barrier a lap later.
Positions were changing at almost every corner on every lap in this thrilling race one encounter. As the race went on, Morgan made his move on Cook going into the final chicane and set about chasing after the ballast-laden Honda of Matt Neal, who he eventually passed a couple of laps later. Further down the order saw Jordan, Smith, Shedden and Tordoff all battling it out for the final places inside the top 10. The race came to dramatic end with absolute carnage at the final chicane as Matt Neal suffered a puncture and as he tried to go for pit entry, went into the path of the oncoming train of cars. Cook was tagged into a spin which was narrowly avoided by Jordan and the two Eurotech Honda’s. But Shedden was the unlucky one who was also tagged by the out of control MG, forcing him into the pit wall. So race one went to Adam Morgan, with the recovering Ingram and Andrew Jordan in second and third. Race two was a slightly better behaved affair, with pole man Morgan making a steady getaway followed by a fast starting Jordan getting the better of Ingram off the line. Ingram was unfortunate to be given a drive through penalty for jumping the start, this taking him out of contention. Jordan finally passed on lap 11, with Collard eventually muscling his way past the Mercedes. The top three would remain unchanged. This would be Jordan’s first win for almost two years, followed by Collard and Morgan. Shedden recovered well to finish 4th, with rookie Daniel Lloyd finishing 7th and taking Jack Sears Trophy honours. Rob Austin rounded out the top 10. The final race of the day was to be another interesting encounter, as the Proton of Dan Welch was on pole for the reverse grid draw. Mat Jackson made a blistering start and took the lead of line, as Tordoff and Welch went side by side into the first chicane. Tordoff then slid wide onto the grass and left Welch to fend off further attacks from the rest of the field. The proton was running well until a rumoured suspension failure, put him into the barriers on lap 5. Jackson eased to victory with a comfortable margin, while his team mate, Andrew Jordan was forced to retire with a puncture. Neal slipped past Morgan to take second place, while Morgan would hold on for another podium from the MG’s of Cook and Sutton. Goff and Shedden made contact down at the final chicane forcing the Honda man to retire with damage and Goff Page | 47 limping home in 18th.
Jack Lang - Brands Hatch Ian Cutting - @iancutting77
After a great qualifying, Jack lined up his Radical on pole position at Brands Hatch for race 1. It was indeed a very busy day with qualifying in the morning and 3 races throughout the day which included a 40-minute endurance race complete with a mandatory pit-stop. Race 1 and only 20 mins in length. After a long wait for the field to form up, the lights finally went out and Jack made a storming, but so did Cauldwell from P3 and they were side by side as they dropped down Paddock Hill Bend. The lead though was Jack's as they braked into Druids. After 3 laps, Jack was already just over a 1 second out in front! With 12 mins left, the safety was deployed to retrieve a couple of stricken Radicals that were scattered in the various gravel traps around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, this meant that the lead that Jack had built up was eroded. Only a few laps later, the safety car peeled into the pits and Jack made good his escape! The first lap after the safety car and the lead was already up to just under a second. With 4 mins left on the clock, Jack's lead had grown to over a second and a half and the lead kept get bigger as the clock ticked down. By the time they got to the last lap the lead was just under 2 seconds and that was despite lapping the back markers. At the flag, Jack got his maiden win in the Radicals! He already visited the podium at Snetterton in round 2, but this time it’s the top step. Talking on the podium, a beaming Jack said that he got “too much wheel spin off the start and lost some tyre temp” this is what allowed Cauldwell to be alongside at the start and at the restart once he knew the safety car was clear, he was “keeping tyres warm and floored it!” Race 2 and another 20 mins of racing. Jack buoyant from the win in the first race lines up in P2. A terrible start though as he stalled as the lights went out! Everyone surged past him as he tried to re-start his Radical, thankfully everyone avoided him. Page | 48
The safety car was soon out as a Radical was stationary at the bottom of Graham Hill Bend as it kicked off ahead of Jack on the first lap, which allowed him to close up on those cars ahead albeit from 22nd. On the restart he immediately made up a place and set about chasing those ahead of him. Another safety car for a stranded Radical stuck in the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend allowed Jack a quick breather in his progress up the field as he sat in P14. As the safety car came in, the was only one lap left indicated. A one lap showdown! But, it turned out there was an additional lap. As the flag fell, Jack ended up crossing the line in P12, a great drive through the field and a useful haul of points too! Race 3 and it’s the 40mins endurance race with a mandatory pit stop and this time it is a rolling start. Jack again lined up in P2. A great start meant that they were running three wide heading to Paddock Hill Bend and by the time they got to Druids, Jack was out in front and soon set about pulling out a lead. Jack got his head down to build out a lead as during the pit stop, he will have to be stationary for 50 secs. His lead after 7 laps had been increasing to around 5 secs from those chasing him. Ten mins into the race and Jack was leading by 3.8 secs because he was starting to lap the slower cars. The next couple of laps it increased to just over 5 secs! Because of the traffic, the gap was fluctuating between Jack in P1 and P2 of Burgess. When the pit lane opens, it will only be open for 8 mins only and Jack will be stationary for 50 secs, but the Radical of Burgess will have to sit there for 65 secs. As Jack made his stop, he was slightly held up as made his way down the pit lane. Once back on track, he got his head down and returned to the action in P5. Once those ahead took their pit stops, Jack was back in the lead but the lead had been reduced, on lap 22 the lead was 2.2 secs. Jack got his head down and the lead was starting to increase and with 10mins left, the lead was around 4 secs. Again, because of the traffic the gap to P2 was increasing and decreasing depending on where and when you hit the traffic. Into the last minute of the race and Jack's lead was 6 secs! At the flag Jack took his second win of the day! On the podium Jack beaming again said about his race “had a good start but had problems changing gear, and had a good pitstop”. When talking about the start Jack said that he tried “round outside of paddock but didn't work, so sent it Page | 49 down the inside”.
Audi TT RS Euan Campbell - @euancampbell3
Yep nowadays when Audi launch a new model, a top of the range RS usually follows suite. Here’s the new Audi TTRS and it punts out some eyebrow raising figures! But before I explain these impressive stats and comment on the aggressiveness, I’d just like to make a little rant about folk who still regard TT’s as “hairdresser’s cars”, Yes I agree probably half the folk that buy these are hairdressers but the new TT is a very good looking car! And this RS model should prove this car is designed for the enthusiasts in mind too! So can we please stop referring it as “hairdresser’s car” and move on please!? Fantastic, well meet the most powerful TT ever made! Because with 400bhp under the bonnet it packs some serious punch! The delivery is from an all-new 2.5litre 5 cylinder that catapults you from 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds!! Yes, you did just read that right! I’m talking 458, previous R8, SLS territory here! From a small 2 door coupe! You’ve got to love 2016 tech! Talking about technology the new TTRS is right up there. For starters it features OLED taillights a first for an Audi production car, it can be ordered with lightweight magnesium wheels, although I’ve heard it’s quite a pricey option, it off course features that amazing 12.3inch cockpit display which I can say first hand is amazing! Honestly if you haven’t seen this yet get down to your local Audi dealer and just ask for a test drive of the new TT, no matter what model you can experience first-hand the future of in car displays. It also features an all new Audi connect system that gives you a whole host of information and perks, like parking, travel or traffic information, can give you the weather for the day, news bulletins and even the latest fuel prices, which will come in handy especially for us brits! on board Wi-Fi with advanced smart phone connectivity (apple CarPlay) that mirrors your phone on the virtual cockpit! And from there you can tweet, update your Facebook status and read you text messages out loud, but I suggest you activate this with extreme caution! The car looks like the ordinary TT but here are the key factors in spotting one! The front side grills have been widened along with the main grill, the car sits much lower, it will have either carbon or aluminium mirror caps, the wheels will be the biggest in the TT range, the rear bumper will also be either aluminium or carbon, and last but certainly not least is duel oval tailpipes large enough to pass Alex from Car Throttle’s fist test! And now it’s the price of this beast, and when it goes on sale in a few months’ time it will start at an estimated £52,000, hmm a tad expensive eh? Page | 50
Maserati Enter The Ever Expanding World Of SUV’s Euan Campbell - @Euancampbell3
Remember when the only proper luxury SUV you could buy was the range rover? Nowadays and more recently it’s took a huge jump of all different kinds of car manufactures, ones that have even never made an SUV before! If you’re looking to buy a luxury SUV that you want to prance around oxford street in (because let’s be honest you aren’t exactly going to drive up Glencoe in one!), or something to provoke all the other plebs in your way, well you have plenty of weapons to choose from! Like now you have the German’s with the Porsche Cayenne, Mercedes ML, then there’s us with the jaguar F-Pace and the ridiculously named Bentley Bentayga! And now even the Italians have pitched in! So with that in mind meet the new Maserati Levante, Maserati’s first ever SUV. First impressions that it looks rather nice and aggressive, it looks like a proper Maserati unlike that continental on stilts! With that huge front grill with the famous trident embedded within it, the rear looks pretty similar to the Ghibli’s but it still has its own style to it, it feels like it has a sporty presence with the potential of becoming a full SUV. It has adjustable suspension that adjusts according to your driving style through the lavante’s 8speed ZF gearbox modes, “Normal”, “I.C.E”, “Sport” and “Off-road”. It does have some features to impress, they use lightweight materials and have managed to get a 50-50 weight distribution, also having the lowest centre of gravity in its class, which means it can probably out do a range rover sport at the Nurburgring! Especially since it’s been fitted with an aluminium “5-link double wishbones” with air springs and controlled electronic skyhook shock absorbers, coupled with an intelligent all-wheel drive and torque vectoring system makes for an SUV GT3 racer in the making! Page | 51
The engines then? Well it comes with two turbo petrol’s or an environmental friendly diesel version, and when I say “environmental friendly” I actually mean it’s quite decent for an oil burner, it might not be saving the polar bears but at least it’s putting them in a nice zoo! All are coupled with a twin turbo V6, the two petrol’s come with either 430bhp and 0-62 in 5.2 seconds or 350bhp and 0-62 in 6.0 seconds, the diesel comes with 275bhp and 0-62 in 6.9 seconds and does 39MPG! Wow that is actually quite impressive. The interior of the Levante looks pretty similar to both the Ghibli and quattroporte, although it does have a new infotainment system with an ear bleeding Bowers & Wilkins sound system with 1,280W at its disposal, all the usual techy stuff here like cruise control, lane assist, online services and the boot is fully automatic and comes with object intervention detection, which is just a fancy way of saying it stops when it detects somethings obstructing it. When it goes on sale at the end of summer it will come with an array of colours, wheels and interior combinations, and you will have the option of getting the “Zegna Edition” that combines your lushes cow hide with silk for you to really rub it in at the clay pigeon shooting! Prices will start at a respectable £54,000 for the base 3.0litre turbodiesel with around the £60K mark for the petrol versions. I just really hope it has as much promise as it said in the press release!
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Porsche 718 Cayman Euan Campbell - @Euancampbell3
Yes, the brand new 718 Cayman is here! Powered by that new 2.5litre flat 4! Is it any good? Well so far the first reviews from the 718 Boxster have been rather positive, but the Cayman adds weight to the mix and usually brings a whole new level for small engines. The figures are rather good however, 0-62 in 4.7 seconds and 4.2 seconds for the S version, but to get these figures you have to buy the optional sport Chrono package with the PDK gearbox. This new engine however is very smart indeed! With 300bhp for the ordinary version and 350bhp for the S, the new engine features variable turbine geometry (VTG) in the turbocharger first seen in the 911 Turbo, however unlike in the turbo the Cayman has a waste gate giving an extra 50Nm of torque through the crankshaft at engine speeds of 1,900 to 4,500rpm, meaning much better torque delivery in all engine speeds and hopefully no lack of reaction time from when you pound that accelerator. The handling has been improved also with new wheel tracking and lateral rigidity with a full retuned chassis and 10% more direct steering meaning your track time will be cut by a good few seconds! The car has also been lowered by 10mm on standard version and 20mm on the S version. It also comes with a brand new individual programme for the different settings of the cars key mechanical features such as, throttle response, steering accuracy, suspension setup etc. It replaces the usual “normal”, “sport”, “sport plus” settings, however it is part of the Chrono sport package and is a £1,416 option! So is it really worth it? Page | 53
It now comes with stronger stopping power with 330mm disks at the front and 299mm at the rear with 4 piston callipers and 6mm thicker disks at the front, which to be honest they grabbed from the current 911 Carrera. Not much has changed in the appearance of the Cayman but the main things to look for is brand new xenon headlights and LED taillights, wider grills on the side and front to give the engine more breath. The car looks wider at the rear at first glance due to the accent strip with the integrated Porsche badge, and yes it still comes with that variable retractable rear spoiler that I loved on the previous Cayman’s. The interior hasn’t changed at all really the only noticeable change is the new steering wheel taking from the 918 Spyder. The brand new infotainment system apparently has a very responsive touch screen and easy accessibility make for a “joy to use” one magazine quoted, with apple CarPlay and a £2,600 optional Burmester sound system with 821W and 12 individual speakers makes Taylor swift sound like she’s in the car with you! You can get connect plus system which gives you google earth and street view navigation, on board Wi-Fi, optimised voice quality calls and advanced traffic information that lets other Porsches around the area alert others of traffic and calculates how long the traffic will last for! The price for the new Cayman is actually starting cheaper than the last one, £39,878 for the standard model and £48,834 for the S model. Let’s hope the good reviews continue! Page | 54
6 Hours Of Spa Jonathan Earle - @Jon_Earle95
The Spa round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) was an incident packed 6 hours with Loic Duval, Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis coming out victorious in the #8 Audi. The #8 Audi eventually won the race by two clear laps from the #2 Porsche of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb who suffered from an early on ERS system failure which left them without hybrid power for almost the whole race. The overall podium was rounded off by the #13 Rebellion of Mathéo Tuscher, Dominik Karihamer and Alexandre Imperatori finishing one lap ahead of their sister car of Nicolas Prost, Nelson Piquet Jnr and Nick Heidfeld in fourth. The #7 Audi of Marcel Fassler, André Lotterer and Beniot Treluyer finished in fifth followed by the ByKolles car of Simon Trummer, Ollie Webb and James Rossiter in sixth. The #1 Porsche was classified in 27th due to two punctures and a whole front axle change left them just behind the #5 Toyota in 26th who suffered from an engine failure. The #6 Toyota failed to finish with engine problems limiting them to just 87 laps. In LMP2 the Signatech Alpine car took the spoils with Gustavo Menezes, Nicolas Lapierre and Stephane Richelmi at the wheel. The #31 Ligier of Ryan Dalziel, Luis Felipe Derani and Christopher Cumming claimed second spot in class. The LMP2 podium was rounded off by #45 Manor car of Matthew Rao, Richard Bradley and Reberto Merhi giving the team their first ever podium in the WEC. In GTE-Pro the Sam Bird and Davide Rigon #71 Ferrari 488 took the class win, followed by a remarkable second place by Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell in second. Giving the Ford GT its first ever WEC podium narrowly in front of the #97 Aston Martin of Richie Stanaway, Fernando Rees and Jonathan Adam. The GTE-AM class win was taken by the #98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda, second place was taken by the #83 Ferrari 458 of François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas. The Corvette C7 of Yutaka Yamagishi, Pierre Ragues and Paolo Ruberti rounded off the AM class podium. The main talking point of the race was a huge accident for the No. 66 Ford GT with Stefan Mucke at the wheel at Eau Rouge. The car went flying into the barriers and then into a series of spins. Mucke was taken to hospital for check but only suffered heavy bruising. Page | 55
Moto GP Grand Prix of France Matt Kew - @QKewQ
Jorge Lorenzo’s triumph at Le Mans saw him pass Marc Marquez to take top spot in the Championship standings. The Spaniard’s domineering efforts across the weekend also mark the 8th consecutive race where the race has been won from pole. But the French Grand Prix was far from formulaic. Lorenzo’s Saturday performance saw him achieve his 63rd pole position, but only his first at Le Man. Marc Marquez and Iannone would join alongside him on the front row of the grid. Pol Espargaro would start the race from 4th ahead of Dovizioso, Smith, Rossi and Viñales. A lightning get away for Lorenzo saw him unchallenged into the first corner of the 28 lap race. Dovi would be his closest challenger, followed by Iannone who forced his way into 3rd dropping Pol out wide and into a near miss with Marquez. Rossi was thwarted in his efforts to capitalise on this for 5th and then seemed to head in reverse as Aleix, now dropped by Suzuki for next season, and Bradley Smith slid through on his inside. But this is Valentino Rossi, a man never to be discounted and it proved to be so as he repassed Smith into the last corner of an exhilarating first lap. Through the 195mph Turn 1 Rossi regained 6th after passing Aleix. He then carried supreme levels speed through the chicane of Turns 3 and 4 to relegate Pol and then fended off any threatening cut back. It has been revealed that Iannone had a Ducati contract offer at the early part of the season, but this was since rescinded after drama of Argentina. But with 23 to go it seemed to have spurred the Italian on as this time he successfully passed Doviozi, without forcing them both to the floor. Iannone, in 2nd, looked to hold the key to the race. His pace had been obvious all weekend, so to start from P3 was a humble result after he fell in qualifying to deny him a front row start. But just as he started pinging in the lap times to close the gap to Lorenzo, Iannone’s run of disaster reared its ugly head. With 22 to go he was down in the gravel following a low side at Turn 8. The contract at Ducati now a distant missed opportunity. He did however manage to rejoin at the back of the field until 17 laps to. Crutchlow would be less lucky as his crash at Turn 11 spelt the immediate end of his afternoon efforts. Lorenzo by now was virtually Page | 56 unchallenged as he stretched out a 2.2 second lead.
It takes something special to overwhelm the sound of 21 of the fastest machines on earth, but the 99,000 strong French crowd managed to do just this. Their cheering was in honour of Rossi who tore up the inside of Marquez for 3rd with 16 to go. This followed a sequence of fast exit speeds and late braking from The Doctor. A lap later and Dovi has made his appointment with Valentino and was duly dispatched into Museum Corner. P2 marked a flying first half of the race from Rossi. Not to be over shadowed by the infamous Le Mans 24 hour, the Le Man GP throw up another bout of spectacular drama as Dovi and Marquez crashed out with 13 to go. With Rio 2016 only months away, they gave us a gold medal worthy performance of synchronised diving as they both low sided in total harmony. All of this promoted the Suzuki of Viñales to 3rd and Lorenzo to the top of the Championship standings. In like fashion to Argentina, Pedrosa’s sub optimal performance was flattered by the antics further up the field, gifting him precious positions and points. We were then left to compose ourselves from the drama for the remainder of the race which saw Lorenzo and Rossi complete Yamaha’s first successive 1-2 finishes since the 2009 Assen Grand Prix. Viñales’ 3rd place marked his first ever MotoGP podium and Suzuki’s first since returning to the sport. Pedrosa finished 4th ahead of the Espargaros with Pol pipping Aleix. With only 13 bikes finishing the race, points were returned to Petrucci in 7th ahead of Barbera, Bautista and Bradl. Ireland’s Eugene Laverty recorded another impressive points finish ahead of Baz and finally Marquez who nursed his Honda to the chequered flag. Smith, Miller, the two Ducatis, Rabat, Crutchlow, Hernandez and Redding made for a long list of ‘DNF’ers. Lorenzo now moves to the top of the Championship on 90 points with a 5-point cushion to Marquez. Viñales podium sees him climb to 5th and seal a deal to be Rossi’s teammate at Yamaha for 2017. That’s quite a return for the 21-year old’s first 5 races in the highest echelon of motorbike racing. But the attention will soon be back on Rossi as the next round at Italy’s Mugello circuit gives Valentino an opportunity for a home win. Page | 57
Moto GP - Grand Prix of Italy Matt Kew - @QKewQ
Round 6 of the MotoGP season saw Lorenzo take the Italian chequered flag by a scarcely believable 0.02 seconds. Home hero and 9x winner on Italian soil Valentino Rossi, retired in a cloud of engine smoke. Rossi would start in pole position with the best opportunity to bring the bike home in first. Viñales would be starting from a career high 2nd ahead of Iannone, his Suzuki replacement. Marquez lined up P4 ahead of his Spanish compatriots Lorenzo and Aleix Espargaro. Too the relief of the record high 100,000 fans in Tuscany, Rossi showed no signs of nerves off the start line as he hooked up his bike for the 23 lap race. But 4-time winner of Mugello, Lorenzo, gave us the best launch of the season and was level with Rossi come the 100m board into Turn 1. And he made it stick, down the inside of Rossi, hugging the apex and levelling out in P1. Lorenzo’s Warm Up engine blow had done nothing to dent his confidence. Bradley Smith, the highest qualifying independent rider was up into 4th behind Aleix, as fellow Suzuki rider Viñales bogged down off the start line disappearing down the rankings to 11th. He later blamed an electrical issue. Behind, Baz, Miller and Bautista came to early blows as they nestled in the first corner gravel trap. Rossi attempted a comeback as he maximised the slipstream from his teammate’s Yamaha to suck him alongside. But the accumulation of speed was too much to scrub off as he ran wide into the second gear Turn 1 and had to tuck back onto the racing line still in P2. Marquez then relieved Aleix of 3rd, as Rossi threatened to pass Lorenzo. He pushed his front tyre in line with the rear of Lorenzo’s, lap after lap continually rehearsing the move of the last of the late breakers. One lap later spelt disaster for Rossi on home soil. Following a mechanical failure on the Yamaha M1 he pulled off the racing line gesticulating at his motor. Another reliability issue for Yamaha’s engine as blue smoke spilled out of the rear of his bike. His helmet hung low in disappointment. The crowd fell silent and some headed for the exit. It was a devastating way to mark signing a 2-year contract extension with the team. Page | 58
With 7 laps of the 3.259-mile track remaining, Iannone caught Dovizioso’s tow down the home straight nudging 221mph. Then slowing his bike, he looked around the outside of his teammate. He then pulled his bike down, cut back across the racing line and crept through in to 3rd place. One circuit after, the motivation to take Ducati bragging rights saw Dovi replicate the move and regain P3. But the duelling was dropping the Italians into the clutches of Pedrosa. This meant Iannone had to seize his chance to take to pass Dovi in order to pull away and leave Pedrosa behind. Dovi was less successful as into Turn 1 his bike protested against the rider’s input during the heavy braking and Dovi was forced to run wide to keep the bike off the deck. Pedrosa then faced no fight for 4th. The duel for 1st began to tease us as Lorenzo and Marquez traded fastest laps. Coming through the final sector Marquez threw the Honda down the hill and passed Lorenzo. But the Honda, looking nothing but unwieldy, put Marquez out wide and Lorenzo was allowed to retain his position. With 2 spectacular laps to follow, Marquez, as you would gather by now, in the braking zone to Turn 1, saw an opportunity to take maximum points. However, the extra momentum was too much to lose and he ran wide again. So, as Lorenzo followed the apex, he passed Marquez who was well offline. As we ticked over to the last lap, Marquez made it work and took 1st from Lorenzo. The riders then deployed their elbows in a breath taking sequence of position swapping all the way through the last corner. As they exited onto the final stretch of tarmac, Lorenzo’s superior exit saw him close on Marquez. What a finish. Lorenzo snatched the victory across the line in a ‘blink and you miss it’ showdown. So Lorenzo gets the Italian Job done in unbelievable fashion, snatching victory from Marquez. The highest placed Italian was Iannone in 3rd. Pedrosa’s 250th Grand Prix saw him fail to make the podium upon his re-signing for Honda. Dovi crossed the line in 5th ahead of Viñales and Smith. 8th was the return for Petrucci, from Aleix Espargaro, Pirro, Crutchlow and Barbera. Laverty, Bradl, Pol Espargaro and Yonny Hernandez were classified 13th to 16th. Disaster struck for Rossi, Redding, Miller, Bautista and Baz as they failed to finish. There you have it. The latest thrill-a-minute chapter in the MotoGP tale. Lorenzo now with 115 points, takes lead of 10 over Page | 59 Marquez as we return to Spain for the race in Catalunya.
A Light Out Far Too Soon Andy Gray - @AndyGrayNI Photos – Andy Gray Photography
Malachi Mitchell-Thomas burst onto the road racing scene at the Manx Grand Prix during the 2014 season. John Burrows signed Mitchell-Thomas for the 2016 road racing season after being impressed by Mitchell-Thomas’ victory in the 2015 Senior Manx Grand Prix in September. Mitchell-Thomas had already begun to make an impact on Irish Road Racing scene despite his short time on the sport, taking a hat trick of victories at the Mid Antrim 150 event, before picking up another victory at the Cookstown 100. In his debut event at the North West, the Bolton man continued to make a strong impression on his peers. Picking up an 11th place in his rookie race, the Supersport race on the Thursday evening. He continued to improve during Saturday’s racing, taking 4th place in the Supersport race, and he was in podium contention in the Supertwins race before his fatal accident towards the end of lap 3. The 20-year-old was taking part in his first North West 200, and his father, Kevin, told BBC Sport, “He had taken to the roads, the crowds had taken to him. He was a petrol head and just wanted to go faster." Malachi’s personality and smile were infectious around the paddock, having a lasting effect on those he met. Driving past the crash site before writing, the marks from the accident are still visible on the pavement, with flowers and tributes covering the wall that claimed the life of the talented and popular young rider. The 2016 North West 200 will always be tarnished by Malachi Mitchell-Thomas’ passing, however Malachi will be remembered for his great personality, and a talent that enabled him to shine for such a short space of time. Mitchell-Thomas’ passing is the second death of an upcoming star in within a few weeks, with Billy Redmayne suffering fatal head injuries at Oliver’s Mount at the end of April. The 25-yearold was a serving member of the Parachute Regiment, with the regiment support Billy’s efforts in road racing. Redmayne was due to make his North West 200 and Isle of Man TT debuts this year, and our thoughts are with Hannah and the rest of the Redmayne family. At its best, Road Racing is one of the most exhilarating sports on the planet. However, it is a cruel sport. Malachi and Billy were two of the biggest prospects that the sport had, who will be sorely missed and will continue to be in the hearts and minds of the road racing community. Rest in peace. Page | 60
Tragedy Over Shadows Record Breaker Seeley Andy Gray - @AndyGrayNI Photos – Andy Gray Photography
The 2016 Vauxhall International North West 200 was indented to be a coronation for Alastair Seeley, as he attempted to draw clear of fellow Road Racing legend Robert Dunlop’s longstanding record of 15 victories on ‘The Triangle’ circuit. Instead, as has been so often the case in recent years, the headlines of the event were for all the wrong reasons. 20-year-old newcomer and rising star of the sport, Malachi Mitchell-Thomas, tragically lost his life during Saturday’s racing. Everyone at L&T Motorsport would like to send their condolences to Malachi’s family, and to John Burrows and his team. In the build-up to the event, the spotlight was firmly on Carrickfergus rider Alastair Seeley as he aimed to break Robert Dunlop’s victory record on the North Coast. Seeley managed to get the monkey off his back in the first race of event in the Thursday evening sunset. The 35-yearold led the pack off the line, however Lee Johnston and William Dunlop joined Seeley, with all three riders swapping the lead of the race before Seeley broke away to take the record for the most victories from the late Robert Dunlop. The first Supertwin race followed, and was interrupted by two incidents. Farquhar and Cooper swapped the lead of the race several times before the red flag came out for a fire at Station Corner, caused by some spectators with an out of control BBQ. At the restart, Farquhar and Cooper were fighting for the lead when Farquhar lost the front end of his Kawasaki approaching Black Hill. Cooper was left with nowhere to go, riding over Farquhar. Dan Cooper was discharged from hospital after dislocating both his shoulders, with Farquhar being airlifted to Belfast to have surgery. At the time of writing, he is expected to make a full recovery. The air ambulance was a new addition for this year’s North West, a legacy to “The Flying Doctor”, Dr John Hinds, who was killed in the Skerries 100 last July. The accident between Farquhar and Cooper, aided by the diminishing sunlight, ended racing for the evening. Page | 61
Saturday’s racing was opened with an entertaining Bet McLean Supersport race. Alastair Seeley was victorious again, checking out on the final lap of the race to win by 6 seconds ahead of Martin Jessop. Peter Hickman continued his strong week, picking up the final place on the podium after Lee Johnston picked up a ten second penalty for failing to stop when overshooting the Juniper chicane. Johnston’s penalty also gave Mitchell-Thomas his best result as he finished fourth when other, more experienced riders running into trouble. Ian Hutchinson was a popular winner in Saturday’s second race, the Spidi Superstock race. It was arguably the most entertaining race of the day, with the lead swapping several times throughout the five lap race. Hutchinson prevailed on the final lap, winning his first race since his 2010. The Yorkshire rider held off a strong challenge from Hickman, Seeley, Michael Rutter and Michael Dunlop. The top five riders were covered by just 1.6 seconds. The main event, the Superbike race, seen a popular winner in the form of Michael Dunlop. Dunlop pulled in a flying lap, breaking the tow of the riders behind to power ahead of his rivals before North West veteran Bruce Anstey slid off his bike just after Metropole, which brought out the red flags. Dunlop had a torrid 2015 event, and was relieved to finally be back on the top step. Hutchinson was five seconds behind, and Michael Rutter rounded out the podium. Ultimately, the second Supertwin race of the meeting will be remembered for the passing of young talent Mitchell-Thomas. The 21-year-old from Bolton was running in podium contention, before sliding off his bike of the Dhu Varen section of the circuit on the third lap of the race. Unfortunately, despite the attempts of the paramedics, Mitchell-Thomas succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The red flag crash aside, it was a masterful ride from Ivan Lintin, who dominated the race right from the lights, leading at the start from Martin Jessop and Mitchell-Thomas. Jeremy McWilliams followed, with the battle between James Page | 62 Cowton and Michael Sweeney providing most of the action in the race.
2016 Isle Of Man Stuart Jackson - @jacko251180
The 2016 ISLE OF MAN TT Races get underway from the 28 May until the 10 June. The Tourist Trophy or TT as it’s more commonly known as is a series of Races carried out on Public roads closed, The Mountain Circuit is a 37.7 Mile Lap. The races range from One lap for the Zero (Emissions) Bike’s and go up to Six for the Super Bikes. In total there are Six Categories of Bike that are raced during the Fortnight Event. Zero Emission Bikes which are run off Batteries and are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 115 MPH. Light Weight based on 2 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 650cc. Supersport based on 4 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 600cc or 3 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 675cc. Sidecars based on 4 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 600cc. Superstock based on 4 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 1000cc, 3 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 1000cc 2 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 1200cc. Superbike based on 4 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 1000cc, 3 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 1000cc or 2 cylinder 4 stroke bikes up to 1200cc, these differ significantly from the super stock machines which have very limited Modifications. For the fans who travel from all over the World to a small island in the Middle if the Irish Sea It’s a Two Wheeled Festival for everything Motorcycle related it is similar to the FIFA World Cup however the one advantage over the World Cup is the fact that anybody can go and ride the course after the races are completed, I couldn’t imagine all the Football fans having a Kick about after the World Cup Final on the Pitch. The first week of the Event compromises of Practice and Qualifying for the Races which are carried out over the second week. The races line up with 2x Supersport 2x Sidecar 1x Lightweight 1x Zero Bike 1x Superstock and 2X Superbike races Page | 63
The riders generally compete in all categories except for the Sidecar, the most successful rider ever at the TT is Joey Dunlop with 26 wins across the classes, Joey is the Uncle to William and Michael Dunlop who race the event now, their father Robert was also a successful Road racer. The man most people Look unto now is the Morecambe Missile John McGuiness with 23 wins to his Name, even though he is 44 he shows no signs of slowing down yet currently holding the outright Lap record with a time of 17:3.567 and an AVERAGE SPEED OF 132.701 MPH. Ask any rider if they could only win one race in a week which would it be? Almost every single rider would answer with the Senior which is run on the final Friday of the meeting on the Big Superbike, John McGuiness won Last Years to put him on 7 Senior wins and move him level with the Legend of Mike “The bike” Hailwood. The most famous name currently in Road Racing Guy Martin has opted out of the whole event this year and gone and entered the Tour Divide cycling event in America which is the same time. Ian Hutchinson to date is the only rider to win all Five Races in a week back in 2010, The journey ‘Hutchy” has been on since then is nothing short of remarkable. Suffering a career threatening injury in a BSB race at Silverstone later in 2010 he faced Amputation of his Left Leg after being hit a bike. He battled back after numerous Operations and returned to winning ways last year taking three TT wins in the week. People often ask what is the appeal with the event? Having Witnessed it myself in 2013 I can honestly say there is NOTHING that comes close to it. I remember waking up around Ten in the Morning after 3 hours sleep from the Over Night Ferry and walking Twenty yards to a grass verge, sitting down and seeing the bikes flying past feet away from me and the speed in which they did left me speechless, On the island there is a real spirit of everyone willing to help everyone out when needed as I found out on more than one occasion. If You ever get the chance to go make sure you grab it with both hands.
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YPF Rally Argentina Chris Evans - @cptchris2010
With the 4th round of the WRC staying in South America for rally Argentina where the water splashes are the most iconic part of the rally and Argentina is the only rally the world champion Ogier is yet to win but he was looking for the win this month. Let’s go back to day one with Ogier again first on the road due to championship regulations it was another rally of road sweeping and he was not happy about it but pushing through the first day with no issues he proves why he is the world champion with the road conditions and position against him but he keeps coming away with stage wins. Latvala took the lead going into stage 6 of the weekend and he was able to keep the lead for the rest of the day but closely followed by his team mate and non-other than the flying kiwi Hayden Paddon he was the leading Hyundai of the pack, with the top 3 having a seamless opening day there was no such luck for Mads Ostberg at the end of every stage he was happy with his stages until he was told how much time he had lost he could not work it out having not made any mistakes and loosing so much time was his fiesta struggling with the high altitudes. Day 2 was dominated by Latvala and Paddon fighting for the top but Latvala was leading the rally until ss14 where he hit a small patch of bedrock and made the suspension puncture the bonnet veering him off the road and into a tumble. Paddon was pushing hard to keep his new found rally lead going into the final day. Paddon went into day 3 with a lead over the world champion of more than half a minute but with an ever pushing Ogier breathing down his neck going into the power stage that time was cut down to just over 2 seconds, Paddon fearing he had lost his lead as Ogier is known for dominating power stages he pushed harder than he had ever pushed before and took the win for his first WRC win of his career, not realising he had beat the world champ by more than 11 Page | 66 seconds taking the full points and power stage points.
Vodafone Rally de Portugal Chris Evans - @cptchris2010
The days are warm, the mornings are foggy but the roads are dusty this must be rally Portugal. Round five took us to the north of the country to the city of Porto and that is where it was all to begin on the Thursday with the first super special in the rally cross stage with the early lead being taken by non-other than 2 times world champion Ogier. Day two was one of ups and downs the day was going well until stage 5 where Argentina winner crashed out after hitting a rut that was not in the pace notes caused by the earlier pass through the stage, With Haydon stuck in the bushes the hot exhaust caught fire and the half a millioneuro car was gone in minutes. Tanak crashed out in stage 5 next to the burning car of Paddon but with the help of marshals Paddon and the fans the stricken fiesta was moved out of danger with minor burns on the rear end. The rest of the day was dominated by Meeke becoming the rally leader. On the Saturday it was a day of just 6 stages but with the fight between Meeke Ogier and Mikkelsen but the lead stayed with the northern Irishman extending his lead close to a minute, the fight was between the 2 VW drivers at the top of the pack for the final 2 podium positions with Mikkelsen and Ogier fighting but with Ogier loosing time on the stages with his road sweeping position the second position was handed to Mikkelsen. The final day went with a bang with Meeke losing a bit of time to Mikkelsen he went on to beat Ogier to the second place on the podium with the final place going to Ogier. Meek has shown to all fans of the sport this weekend that Argentina last year was not a fluke and he can win rallies out right and this proved he has what it takes to win multiple rallies in the future. Going back before the rally this was the first time Meeke has driven competitively since Sweden in February and what a show he put on for everyone racking up a massive lead in the first half of the rally meant he could take it easy on the last 2 days and bring the car home safe. Page | 67
Is World Rally Cross The Best Motor Sport In The World? Matt Kew - @QKewQ
It’s got the drivers, the cars, the tracks, the jumps and now the backing of the FIA. So following a visit to the Circuit Jules Tacheny in Mettet, overlooking the once battlefields of Belgium it became clear that it is far from ‘All quiet on the Western Front’ anymore. The silence has been replaced with the backfiring 600BHP chorus of World Rally Cross. Following my first encounter with the sport, can we make an objective case for terming WRX the best motor sport in the world? Right, first for any motor sport fan, let’s take a look at the cars. 600BHP and 4-wheel drive ensure a sub 2 second 0-60mph time. That’s Formula 1 territory for a kick off. Similar to WRC, the Rally Cross field can find its roots in the car park of any supermarket. Ford Fiestas are the most common weapon of choice alongside the VW Polos and Peugeot 208s. But if you had to pick a favourite, the crackling exhaust note and fire spitting antics of the Audi S1s and Ford Focus WRX would have to take the crown, for me. A minor, but crucial part of what makes WRX so entertaining is the suspension set up for these cars. To keep all that power in contact with the gravel and tarmac for as long as possible means the cars run beautifully trick Öhlins remote reservoir dampers. To meet the punishing demands of wheel to wheel racing over rough terrain, the setup is on the softer side and leave the wheel huge room for travel. So unlike an F1 car that seems to follow a Scalectrix style trajectory, the joy of WRX is watching the cars pitch and dive under harsh accelerating and braking manoeuvres. A racing novice can be trackside, but instantly be able to follow the action as the driver’s inputs are amplified for all to see. This is something that would appear to be swamped amongst the speed and the jumps, but soon becomes an equally intoxicating aspect of the sport. The perfectly executed power slides, on the other hand, need no analysing. There are no driver aids to be found here and no excitement crushing requirements to ‘lift and coast’. Just short, thrilling, on the limit racing. Page | 68
Unlike Formula E, WRX has no plans for autonomous racing, so who are those names donning the back windows? Let’s try 9x World Rally Champion and the fastest man ever to grace the Pikes Peak Hill climb, Sébastien Loeb. Alternatively, there is 2003 World Rally Champion and defending WRX Champion Petter Solberg. Or, how about Ken Block. An internet sensation with 340 million views on Youtube, all round Hoonigan and owner of possibly the world’s biggest backlog of Monster energy drinks and DC trainers. The sport also offers a rich bloodline with the Hansen and Gronhölm family name returning to the conscience of the paddock. Perhaps these drivers attract the most column space, but as with any motorsport, there are those who have risen to the highest echelon through junior success and have equally sizeable trophy cabinets. The supporting RX Lites and Super 1600 formulas also ensure a flow of drivers into the sport and a busy track throughout your day. The third main component for motor sport has to be the tracks. Their location, layout and ability to create intense competition complete the basic recipe for spectacular racing. The main selling point of these tracks, for WRX, is their combination of tarmac and gravel at a ratio of 40:60. This creates half a lap of clean lines, perfected apexes and late braking to shave hundredths of a second off of a lap time. The other half is sideways, dusty and airborne. Oh yes, and did I mention the jumps? Whilst they make for some gratuitous scenes, they require equal attention as the most difficult of corners. Too fast and the car is jettisoned into the air for longer leaving less time and track space to land and correct your lines. What’s more the impact can cause some manner of terminal damage with 1300kg landing on the front springs. Too slow and, quite simply, you’ll haemorrhage time. Page | 69
It’s the perfect display of on the limit car control and multi-discipline talent satisfying circuit and rally fans alike. And this is true of all the venues whether it be at Hockenheim in Germany, Lydden Hill here in the UK, Latvia, and Canada or at the season finale in Argentina. They offer purpose built tracks, feature Grand Prix venues and give you a taste of everything from grass roots motor sport and above. It’s an overused cliché, but there really is ‘something for everyone’. My own experience at the Circuit Jules Tacheny in Belgium also threw up an added aspect of motorsport that always seems to go amiss. When at Silverstone or Donnington Park, I find myself dashing, in between the on track action, from grandstand to grandstand to try to see a new part of the circuit. Not in rally cross. The sub 40 second lap time means the circuits are confined to a small area. This all ensures that you can see every inch of track at all times meaning you never miss any of the action. Even at Rockingham Speedway, an oval track that lends itself to good visibility, there comes a point in the lap where the cars disappear from view as the infield sector takes them behind the pit garage. Again, no such issue to be found in WRX from my experience. Perhaps you’re still not convinced by my wax lyrical assessment of WRX. To you I sight the ‘Joker Lap’. The basic idea is that over the course of a 4 lap qualifying race, or a 6 six lap final, each driver must take the ‘Joker Lap’ at least once. It is an additional gravel section of the track that takes 2-3 seconds extra to complete. Bear with me on this one, but think of it like a pit stop in circuit racing. If you get a poor start and are stuck behind a slower car, dive for the joker lap, fall back a few seconds but run in clean air and start setting the fast laps. Then as the cars ahead take their joker lap a few laps later, you resume ahead of them. Or risk saving the time penalty until the end of the race and then resume the circuit just inches behind your teammate Johan Kristofferson, as was the case for Anton Marklund. Page | 70
Liken it to Formula E’s FanBoost or Formula 1’s DRS as an artificial element serving the interests of improving the on track action, but having seen all three, this seems to have the others licked. When cars are fighting for the same space of track then inevitably paint will be traded and bodywork broken. Like most forms of racing this is a no contact sport, but it seems to err more on the Matt Neal and Jason Plato ‘sporting rubbing’ side of the regulations. A quick word with Peugeot Hansen Academy driver Davy Jeanney revealed the acceptance, if not allowance, of side to side contact. And, within reason, we all have a disposition to enjoy some body contact. The cars are equipped with wing mirrors, albeit small ones, but the blinkers fitted to a racing drivers psyche make sure the team mechanics are scrabbling in between races to fix body work with lashings of livery coloured tape. For those who aren’t as fortunate, it’s a forklift ride back to the pits for you and a race against time to get the car race ready for the next heat. So there you have it. A breakdown of the key aspects to World Rally Cross. Could it be the best form of motor sport in the world? Well, think of it as a Long Island Ice Tea. You take all manner of ingredients, mix them together and end up with a fine product that you can’t help but enjoy. It doesn’t have the prestige of F1 or the same levels of innovation as Formula E but with FIA backing, WRX is here to stay, and we should rejoice at this. If this has served only to wet your appetite, then I urge you to seek some videos on the internet and see what it is that I am on about. As you may have clicked, I’m sold on the sport and have my ticket for the next round at Lydden Hill. In the meantime, I just need to resist the urge to go hunting for some country gravel lanes in my car before I realise, too late, that I’m not as good with my handbrake as they are. Page | 71