Latest Motogp News and Views
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
April Two 2018 • R19.00 (incl.) SOUTH AFRICAN and WORLD racing NEWS and VIEWS Motocross SACCS FORMULA 1 Photo: ww.zcmc.co.za Photo: Nadia Jordaan Photo: Red Bull Content Pool See Page 10 See Page 5 See Page 8 SPONSORS WANT F1 GRID GIRLS BACK Latest MotoGP See page 13 news and views See Page 6 Photo: Michelin To get the latest motorsport news go to www.motorsportworld.co.za Advertising Tel: 082 570 2995 Motorsport World • 19 April 2018 • 3 Ricciardo Must Stay on Lewis Hamilton after his team mate Max Verstappen went off FORMULA 1 while trying to pass the Mercedes. Red Bull team principal “He’s got that balance of Christian Horner says Daniel experience and pace. He’s one of Ricciardo would be best off the best overtakers in the business. staying at the team in 2019 And his judgement is impeccable in providing they can continue to terms of judging a gap, getting the give him a competitive car. car stopped and getting it rotated. Ricciardo’s contract expires at I really feel that he’s in a different the end of this season and rumours part of his career to where Max is have connected him to rival teams at the moment who’s very young such as Ferrari. and fresh and going through that Asked after Ricciardo’s experience.” Chinese Grand Prix victory about the importance of keeping him at Picture: Red Bull Content Pool the team next year, Horner said: “I think Daniel’s happy in this environment. If we can provide a GOING?: Ricciardo’s contract car like we did today why would he expires at the end of this want to be anywhere else?” season and rumours have Horner praised Ricciardo’s pass connected him to rival teams such as Ferrari. F1 TV Launch Streaming launch in May, ahead of the 2018 desktop, followed by mobile access features live races and all 20 driver and qualifying races will be Spanish Grand Prix, which runs with Apple, Android, and Amazon cameras. Premium tier subscribers available for live viewing, FORMULA 1 May 11-13. For the time being, F1 Fire. Amazon Fire TV, Android also get side-by-side live race along with press conferences After some delay, Formula 1 will continue its closed beta run TV, and Apple TV users will have viewing and more exclusive feeds. and interviews. Later in the racing is finally getting its own of the service for testing during access by summer. Viewers can also personzalize season, the FIA Formula 2 streaming service. the Chinese Grand Prix and the Race fans will have two service the way they watch a race, Championship, GP3 Series, and The motorsport organization Azerbaijan Grand Prix. options with different price points. controlling what they want Porsche Supercup will be added announced that F1 TV will F1 TV will first be available on At the top is F1 TV Pro, which to see and when. All practice to the service. Hamilton Chinese Disaster Hamilton admitted that it was a FORMULA 1 case of underperforming on his side of the Mercedes garage, and Lewis Hamilton admits that that a solution needs to be found his side of the Mercedes quickly if he’s going to fight for a garage is underperforming, fifth title. based on what he’s described “I was in no man’s land. I had as a “disaster” of a Chinese no pace. I was just trying to hold on Grand Prix. for whatever I had,” said Hamilton. The world champion dropped “Obviously we’ve got a tough several spots with a sluggish battle ahead of us, particularly opening lap, before spending on my side. I’ll say my side, but the first stint of the race battling also us as a team, we’ve been to hold on to the back of Kimi underperforming.”Yesterday and Raikkonen in fifth position. today have been a disaster on He struggled to make much my side, so I’ve got to try and headway from there, ultimately rectify that and get myself back being passed by both Red Bulls on into normal performance mode. fresher rubber in the late stages of Otherwise more valuable points the race, and only finishing fourth will be lost. thanks to the clash between Max Picture: Pirelli Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. NO PACE: The world champion dropped several spots with a sluggish opening lap, before Reflecting on the performance, spending the first stint of the race battling to hold on to the back of Kimi Raikkonen EDITOR IN CHIEF PUBLISHER Robbyn Ramsay - [email protected] RamCom Publishing (Pty) Ltd - Phone: 082 570 2995 MANAGING EDITOR DESIGN Craig Ramsay - [email protected] Blankpage Design & Advertising LETTERS PRINT [email protected] Paarlcoldset WEBSITE DISTRIBUTION www.motorsportworld.co.za Allied Distributers MARKETING MANAGER SALE OUTLETS Stewart Ramsay - 082 570 2995 - [email protected] Spar, Garage Shops, Airports, Pick ‘n Pay Got A Story? Mail Craig - [email protected] 4 • 19 April 2018 • Motorsport World Advertising Tel: 082 570 2995 Ekstrom Winning Comeback for victory, but when he exited the RALLY CROSS joker, Ekstrom retook the lead and defended the racing line to keep Mattias Ekstrom made a Kristoffersson at bay. comeback to win the opening Bakkerud finished fourth, while round of the World Rallycross Niclas Gronholm made his second Championship in Barcelona as career World RX final on the debut polesitter Petter Solberg was of the GRX team’s Hyundai i20 forced out of contention at the and was fifth. Solberg completed first corner. the race in sixth. Ekstrom had been fifth on lap Timmy Hansen had dominated one of semi-final two, the Swede semi-final two and was set for a jinking his Audi S1 wide on the victory that would have put him on entry to Turn 1 in a bid for an the front row of the final alongside outside move, but lost out to the Solberg, but suffered an electrical chasing gaggle of cars. problem that slowed his Peugeot He fought back to be second 208, before being spun as the pack in the latter stages of the race behind forced its way passed. and when Timmy Hansen’s race- leading Peugeot slowed, Ekstrom Picture: Jaanus Ree/Red Bull took the lead and the victory. Content Pool Kristoffersson pushed hard on PACE SETTER: Mattias Ekstrom made a comeback to win the opening round of the World the last lap in a bid to jump Ekstrom Rallycross Championship in Barcelona. was 100 percent legal because we had so much trouble this year – including my underwear – that we had to make sure that everything Di Grassi Candid Camera is legal. “They asked me to go Rome ePrix. each FE driver’s second car for the was re-examined and Audi gave there and did some questions and FORMULA E It was announced towards the first time at the Rome event had a demonstration of its procedure, in the end it was very clear that end of the race, won by DS Virgin detected a potential issue. which cleared both team and driver it was [OK]. They have a camera Reigning Formula E champion Racing’s Sam Bird, that Audi driver This was to do with the of any infraction. on each car for the pitstop and Lucas di Grassi was the first di Grassi was under investigation placement of di Grassi’s belts and “They wanted a clarification on the question came because of driver investigated over a for a possible problem during his his mechanics hands as he climbed our pitstop procedure,” di Grassi, the video. possible pitstop infringement mid-race car swap. into his second machine, which who finished second behind Bird, due to the presence of new One of the FIA-mandated the stewards asked the driver and told Motorsport.com. cameras during the inaugural cameras that were installed above his team to explain. The video “Before going there I knew it Davies Up – Fores Down corner to take the lead. The order of the top three did WSBK not change for the rest of the race, Chaz Davies won the second with Rea even running off-track on World Superbike race in Aragon the final lap. from Jonathan Rea and Marco However, despite losing a Melandri after Xavi Fores second due to his mistake, the crashed from first place. Kawasaki rider still secured second Fores passed early leader Marco place, with Melandri having an Melandri on Lap 5, but the local even slower final lap. rider only held first place for three Ducati junior rider and WSBK laps before he went down at Turn debutant Michael Ruben Rinaldi 16, at the end of the back straight. held fourth for a long time before His crash promoted Rea into the losing pace during the late stages of lead, and the Northern Irishman, the race, and dropping to seventh. along with the Ducati factory duo Yamaha duo Alex Lowes and of Melandri and Davies, was part Michael van der Mark completed of the leading group for the rest of the top five, the former making a the race. move on the latter on the final lap. ON TOP: Chaz Davies won the Davies made a forceful move Tom Sykes was only ninth on settled for sixth. Behind Rinaldi, completed the top 10. on his teammate at Turn 4 and also the opening lap despite starting second World Superbike race MV Agusta’s Jordi Torres, Toprak in Aragon from Jonathan Rea outmanoeuvred Rea two laps later third and, after spending the entire Razgatlioglu (Puccetti Kawasaki) Picture: WorldSBK.com on the outside line of the same race in the second half of the top 10, and Marco Melandri after Xavi and Aprilia rider Lorenzo Savadori Fores crashed.