Jorge Lorenzo is applying bike braking elements and dynamics that he used at Ducati to his Honda MotoGP bike in order to improve his feeling and close the gap to the fastest riders. Regardless of the changes that he considers necessary to the ergonomics of the RC213V that he will carry out this week in
Month: June 2019
The World Rally Championship will not be any less competitive or cost effective when it moves into its hybrid era in 2022, insists FIA rally director Yves Matton. Further details of the next generation of World Rally Cars will be revealed following next week’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council. Costs were a key
McLaren Formula 1 team boss Andreas Seidl says knowing the shape of the 2021 regulations is important for knowing how to adjust the structure of his squad. Most discussion of the timing of the release of the regulations has revolved around whether an early start on R&D for 2021 would favour the established top teams,
Carlin driver Max Chilton has stepped away from driving duties for the remaining oval races on this year’s IndyCar schedule. The former Marussia Formula 1 driver joined IndyCar for 2016 and has started all but one race held since then, after failing to qualify for this year’s Indianapolis 500. He also scored his best IndyCar
Petronas SRT rider Fabio Quartararo has undergone surgery for arm-pump in Barcelona and is expected to be fit for the Catalan MotoGP Grand Prix next weekend. Quartararo, who finished last week’s Mugello race a distant 10th having started from second, blamed his inability to rise through the order on an overheating front tyre. The SRT
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says a shift in car philosophy away from pure straightline-speed performance has been a key factor in maintaining its status as Formula 1’s lead outfit. Mercedes’ engine held a substantial power advantage in the opening years of the V6 turbo hybrid era, but over recent seasons the manufacturers have gradually converged.
Ferrari’s Formula 1 performance this season is being hindered by the main challenge of Pirelli’s 2019 tyres being the opposite of last year’s rubber. Pirelli opted to reduce the tread thickness of all its compounds by 0.4mm after successfully running thinner-gauge tyres at three races in 2018. The objective of this change is to protect
Andrea Dovizioso says his Ducati team-mate Danilo Petrucci lacked self-belief earlier in his MotoGP career, and feels Petrucci has made a breakthrough since understanding his strengths. Petrucci was signed by Ducati on an initial one-year deal after a long stint as a MotoGP privateer, and took his maiden win at Mugello last Sunday, beating Marc
Fernando Alonso has no plans to contest the full IndyCar season next year as part of his on-going bid to complete the unofficial triple crown of motorsport. The two-time Formula 1 world champion has revealed that if he returns to the Indy 500 in 2020, after his failure to qualify this year with McLaren, it
Renault will bring a “substantial” revamp of its Formula 1 car to the French Grand Prix after managing to clear a backlog of new parts that had stalled its early-season development. The manufacturer has been hampered by engine reliability problems caused by a conrod failure and it has had further problems caused by being unable
Formula 1’s final 2021 car regulations will be “nowhere near” what is expected to be signed off this month, according to Red Bull boss Christian Horner. The negotiations about the championship’s next rules overhaul are close to completion and, despite some teams pushing for their sign off to be delayed until October, Horner said earlier
Jack Miller says MotoGP rival Alex Rins “scared the s*** out of me” during the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, as the Australian was caught out by the Suzuki’s cornering ability. The fast-turning GSX-RR of Rins charged from 13th on the grid to run behind fourth-placed Miller after just two laps, and Rins then fired
Kyle Larson says he must be “smarter” when he has a car capable of strong NASCAR Cup Series results, after winning two stages but falling to 26th at Pocono. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver started seventh but managed to cycle to the front as various strategies around him played out. He won both of the
Ferrari does not expect to be able to improve its 2019 Formula 1 car in any “significant” way “for the time being”. The team has gone from setting the pre-season testing pace to failing to win any of the year’s first six grands prix, leaving it 118 points behind Mercedes already. Ferrari brought aerodynamic upgrades
Ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson says he did not expect his IndyCar learning curve to be as steep as it has been, after securing his first podium at Detroit. Ericsson finished second in the Detroit finale after timing his three-stop strategy around the various caution periods that arose during the race. A late red flag
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville has defended his team using a tactical approach during the World Rally Championship’s Rally Portugal, but did not comment on Sebastien Ogier’s accusations. The Hyundai squad ordered Dani Sordo and Sebastien Loeb to check in late ahead of stages so that it would sweep the road and benefit Neuville in his fight
Valentino Rossi called his home MotoGP race at Mugello “one of the worst for a long time” for him after crashing from 21st place. Rossi struggled throughout the Italian Grand Prix weekend, with a mistake in Saturday morning practice leaving him in Q1 – where he only qualified 18th. He made little progress in the
IndyCar champion Scott Dixon says his first victory of 2019 in the Detroit finale was “redemption” after “feeling a bit of an idiot” for his first race crash. Dixon failed to finish his race since Texas in 2017 and his crash in the Detroit opener meant it was the first time he had not reached
McLaren says it is starting to see hints in its team of the qualities that have made Mercedes so dominant in Formula 1. Following a major restructuring, which has included the recent arrival of Andreas Seidl as team principal, McLaren has currently established itself in fourth place in the F1 constructors’ standings. McLaren CEO Zak
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon bounced back from an opening race error to win a crash-strewn Detroit finale, as ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson took a first IndyCar podium. Dixon, who crashed out of Saturday’s wet/dry encounter, cycled to the front in an attrition-filled 70-lap race on Sunday to propel himself back into title contention.
Kyle Busch dominated the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono to score his fourth victory of the 2019 season. Busch, who started second in the #18 Toyota Camry took the lead of the race soon after the second 50 lap stage started. He was relatively untroubled from then on, only relinquishing
Jorge Lorenzo is travelling to Japan on Monday in a bid to improve his feeling on Honda’s MotoGP bike after another disappointing result at Mugello. Three-time premier class champion Lorenzo’s troubled 2019 campaign continued in the Italian Grand Prix, which was the scene of his first victory as a Ducati rider 12 months ago. But
World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Ogier has accused Hyundai team principal Andrea Adamo of taking a tactical approach too far on Rally of Portugal. After fuel-related problems on the opening day left Hyundai drivers Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo down the order, Adamo used the regulations to manipulate those cars into a starting position which
Penske’s Josef Newgarden and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi continued to dominate IndyCar’s Detroit Grand Prix weekend by again locking out the front row, with the former sealing pole position. Newgarden had to overcome group two qualifying, which was red-flagged after rainwater from the tyre barrier and tarpaulin at Turn 6 suddenly spilt across the track
Marc Marquez claims he did not try a last-lap winning move in the Italian Grand Prix because he was thinking of the MotoGP title race with Andrea Dovizioso. Marquez was fighting with factory Ducati pair Petrucci and Dovizioso for the victory at Mugello, with Alex Rins in close pursuit behind the trio. Petrucci led late
Italian Grand Prix winner Danilo Petrucci says he is “so sorry” to Andrea Dovizioso for his last-lap move that his team-mate described as “very aggressive”. Petrucci picked up his maiden MotoGP win after a scintillating three-way scrap against Dovizioso and Honda rider Marc Marquez that featured the three bikes running side-by-side into Turn 1 on
Volkswagen Motorsport is working with fire analysis experts to help identify the cause of the fires which have claimed five Polo GTI R5s. Three Polos have caught fire this weekend, with two during the World Rally Championship’s Rally of Portugal and one on the Chablais Rally in Switzerland. The cars have caught fire on a
Lewis Hamilton believes he can “definitely” race for another five years in Formula 1, as he fears he would “squander” the opportunity to improve his record if he stopped earlier. Hamilton was speaking to US chat show host David Letterman before the start of the 2019 season during an episode of the second season of
Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci secured his maiden MotoGP victory on home soil at Mugello after edging out Marc Marquez at the conclusion of a thrilling Italian Grand Prix. Petrucci held on in a tense showdown, beating Honda rider Marquez by only 0.043 seconds on the drag to the finish line, with Andrea Dovizioso making it
Toyota’s Ott Tanak won his second successive World Rally Championship round with victory on Rally Portugal ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, as team-mate Kris Meeke retired on the final stage. Meeke was running third heading into the powerstage, but clipped an object on the inside of a right-hander that instantly broke the front-right corner of