L&T Motorsport - June Edition - Issue 7

Issue 6

28/05/2016

Heartbreak for Toyota At The 24 Hours Of Le Mans And A Le Mans Recap [Page 16 – 26]

Subaru Levorg Takes Maiden BTCC Win [Page 76 – 77]

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Contents Page 3 – Youth Energy Page 4 – Go Cable Ties Page 5 – Jack Youhill – Rockingham Recap Page 6 – 7 – Morgan Jones Silverstone and Rockingham Review Page 8 – 10 – Daniel Rowbottom Interview Page 11 – 14 – Enaam Ahmed Oulton Park and Silverstone Review Page 15 – Jack Lang Rockingham Review Page 16 – 26 – Le Mans Review Page 27 – **COMPETITION** Page 28 – 32 – The Latest from The Motoring World Page 33 – 66 – The Latest News and Features from Single Seaters Page 67 – 71 – Luis Salom Tribute and Moto GP News Page 72 – 75 – The Latest from NASCAR Page 76 – 92 – The Latest News from The Touring Car World Page 93 – Cultura Hillclimb Page 94 – 95 – Rally Italy

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One Small Step For Championship, One Giant Leap For Jack And The 93R Motorsport Team @93RMOTORSPORT Image: Jack Youhill

May saw the 93R team and driver Jack Youhill at the famous Rockingham circuit for the 3rd round of the BRSCC Quaife fiesta championship. Unfortunately for the team brake issues where found on Saturday’s shake down before qualifying. The team and driver all pulled together getting the car track safe in time however track safe it seems was the best they could do as a disappointing 8th place qualifying time was posted.

Work continued throughout the weekend desperately trying to resolve the mystery brake issue. Finishing 6th in race 1 saw Youhill in a better position on the grid for race 2 however with brakes getting worse more work was to be done and as the pack assembled for race two the 93R Motorsport car was still in the garage forcing Jack to start from the pit lane for the last race of the day.

With great determination to improve the team returned to Snetterton in June for the midway point in the championship. With a brake upgrade on the car fitted and Jack feeling confident in a set of new front tires he managed to qualify just a second and a half behind 1st place seeing him an impressive 4th on the grid for race 1. The race became great spectating from the seat of Jack’s fiesta as he kept within arm’s reach of the top 3 battling for the lead from lights out to flag! Finishing 4th in race 1 Youhill had his sights set firmly on that first chance at a podium finish for the second race.

Race 2 started with a bang as Jack got tangled in the aftermath of a first corner accident.

With damage to the car and a near spin Jack lost sign quickly of the leading trio and spent the remainder of the race battling with fellow Daniels motorsport supported driver John Cooper. After conceding 4th Jack brought the car home in 5th. Youhill finished the day with two solid results but more valuable still a trouble free weekend has allowed Jack to show what he’s capable of behind the wheel in which is still his rookie season!

“A big thanks to my team helping me improve race on race!” Jack Youhill Page | 5

MINI Challenge – Morgan Jones – Silverstone 28/29 May @CharlieEWhite Image: Mini Challenge

What's the best way to celebrate a 17th birthday? Going motor racing, of course.

That's exactly what Morgan Jones Racing did! Morgan's 2nd round in the Mini Challenge with Coastal Racing had a lot in store for the up and coming racing driver. Saturday saw Morgan qualify 6th in class, with the team hoping for another successful weekend. Jones went out in race 1 with good pace and maintained the gap with the cars ahead of him. The race did not end as expected with Morgan getting involved in a racing incident leaving him without the result he had hoped for.

But it was still all to play for on Sunday...

Due to the racing incident the previous day, Jones was starting from the back of the grid.

Thankfully this did not phase the young driver who had a fantastic start to race 2 seeing him overtake a staggering 8 cars in the first lap of Silverstone's National Circuit. Morgan battled with his fellow competitors throughout the race but once again was involved in an incident which forced Morgan off the circuit. With a suspected front left puncture, Morgan brought the car into the pits. Thankfully there wasn't a puncture but did leave Jones having to drive hard for the rest of race 2 in order to try and regain his position. Morgan regained a respectable 14th position.

Race 3 saw Morgan start in 14th once again. He battled with the cars around him, but unfortunately Jones got caught up in an incident which saw him ending up in the grass.

With a few bumps to the car, Morgan safely put the car back on track and saw him showcase some fantastic driving in order to close the gap with the cars in front. The last few laps saw Jones showing everyone what he was made of, holding off the car behind like a seasoned racer. Morgan finished 13th in class and 21st overall.

The results weren't what the team had hoped for but this season for Morgan is more about finding his racing style and getting to grips with his fellow competitors and the circuits he will be racing at. Silverstone is the home of British Motorsport so it wasn't going to let him off easily. Morgan has a lot to learn but is growing in confidence each time he is out on the tarmac.

Once again, L&T Motorsport wish Morgan a very Happy 17th Birthday! Now to get your driving licence!

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Morgan Jones – Rockingham Motor Speedway – 18th/19th June 2016 @CharlieEWhite Image: Mini Challenge

Having had a troubled weekend at Silverstone, Morgan was looking for a better weekend at Rockingham. With a positive day of testing at the circuit, Jones was on course for some good results.

Qualifying didn’t quite go to plan with the car having a few issues leading to Morgan spinning off track and losing his front bumper. Having set some very promising lap times, Jones qualified 18th on the grid and 13th in class.

Race 1 looked promising with Morgan slowly climbing up the ranks getting more confident with each lap. Unfortunately race 1 didn’t end as expected with a problem with the engine on Morgan’s MINI meaning he had to retire the car from the race.

But he didn’t stop there! Morgan’s team at Coastal Racing were able to resolve the issues with the car meaning Morgan was back out for races 2 and 3. Race 2 for the MINI Coopers meant Morgan was starting from the back of the grid as a result of his DNF. Jones battled hard in the race maintaining the pace with the other competitors and was running 10th in class when another competitor spilt il on the track resulting in a red flag. Due to the spill and the completed laps, Morgan finished 12th in class.

Race 3 had more to offer for Jones seeing him once again racing hard against the other drivers, Morgan went from P12 to P8 but couldn’t progress any further due to a lack of time and some very defensive driving from the driver in P7.

As frustrating as the weekend was for Jones, it goes to show that Morgan has a strong team behind him. It also goes to show how Morgan has grown in a short space of time – going from a complete novice to the sport, to acting like seasoned professional by being able to keep a cool head and focussing on the task in hand – racing.

Morgan’s next round is at Brands Hatch on the 17th and 18th July.

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Daniel Rowbottom Interview @danielrowbottom

Hi Daniel, thanks for taking the time out to have an interview with L&T Motorsport, can you tell us a bit about why you decided to make the step up to Clio’s from the Lotus Cup? Well, this can be a long story... I started racing when I was 6 years old in karts and my last season in 2005 I was 16. We had much success winning 3 British Kart Championships as well as a European Championship and the Renault Super Libre Championship. I also won a Formula BMW scholarship however we were unable to meet the funding criteria so we lost that deal. We then did Radical Biduro for a couple of seasons winning many races and having lots of lap record laps, finally we moved to Seat Cupra up in 2008 as a plan to get to BTCC but unfortunately SCC Died that year due to TOCA contracts so it put the stops on that plus we lost shed loads of money. Until 2015 I didn’t race due to budget, and we decided on Lotus Cup as a good value category to go and play in – little did we know it was the platform that brought myself and Ecomotive together into what looks to be a long term commercial partnership with big things planned for the future.

What kind of adaptations have you had to make to driving Clio’s compared to anything you've driven before?

It is a similar deal to the Seat. FWD Turbocharged and Paddle Shift transmission, with an awesome LSD. That said at heart I am a RWD guy, always have been so the transition has been and still is a hard one. The Clio is weird in the sense that it is SO easy to overdrive, the minute to go too far it punishes you completely. However, if you don’t get the thing wound up it doesn’t work very well either. It’s hard to find the balance. I am enjoying it and at our most recent event at Oulton Park, I personally made a big step forward in technique so I hope to build on that for the rest of the season. Podiums are sure coming, but I won’t be happy until we are winning.

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Looking back to the opening weekend of the season at Brands Hatch, how much of a confidence boost was it coming back in your second ever race in the Clio’s to finish 7th after a DNF in Race 1?

Well Brands was a mixed bag of emotions. We got Pole for our first ever event, which I believe is a record in the UK Clio Cup both as a driver and team, and then to crash on turn one was super deflating – hero to zero in about 150 meters... We took on a lot of damage due to another car getting caught up and my team which consists of my Dad as head engineer and Ben Nixon as my Number one worked through the night to get it ready. To finish 7th in race two with a car that wasn’t perfectly straight was great, and a brilliant example to all that a small team can hack it in the TOCA paddock, however I have to be hard on our results as we are not there for 7th place, we want to win, right through the team’s core. We are up against some big boys; of whom I have utmost respect for but we are definitely getting close to upsetting the apple cart.

How long are you looking to stay in the Renault Clio Cup? Would BTCC be the next step up?

Initially I wanted it to be a one-year deal – get in and get out – however I underestimated the finer details of Clio Racing. Make no mistake this is hard – harder than anything I have done before with serious competition, drivers like Paul Rivett who is the Clio God Father, Mike Bushell Ex BTCC driver and Clio Champion, Ant Whorton Eales, who just blows me away with his car control and race craft, as well as up and coming guys like Senna Proctor, Josh Price, Max Coates, Paul Streather the list goes on. I am also seriously enjoying UK Clio Cup, so our presence will probably extend into a two-year deal. Obviously if the championship becomes unobtainable this season then so be it, but we are here to win – so I will be out there for maximum race wins and no less. BTCC has been my aim since I was about 19 years old, we will get there, but only when I can put the correct commercial package together to make it viable to be competitive and viable as a branding and business package.

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If you were to go into the BTCC which team would you enter with, or would you want to make a new team?

My dream scenario given time and money would be to create our own TEAM Ecomotive BTCC outfit, but that takes time and the right people as well as bags of money, so if none of these factors could be met I’d want to hit the ground running with a team that can provide the package to do that, we all know who they are, the bigger names in the business.

How would you say your weekend at Oulton Park went?

Again, for me as a driver not great, an 8th and 6th doesn’t get my heart racing, however with a sensible head we made good progress. I made Massive steps forward in my Clio technique and we ended up with a car that has very quick race pace – our times in the racing were almost the quickest in race one and two. I need to improve our qualifying pace to get to the front row and then I think the podiums are almost certain, and we can challenge for race wins. We also found at Oulton park that we were ever so slightly down on power, which doesn’t help. Around 8 percent so enough to make a difference to our overtaking opportunities. We have now traced it to a boost leak so hopefully its fixable with relatively small cost involved. I can't wait for Croft next weekend now, and I get married on the Thursday before testing so it’s all go at Team Ecomotive from now until then. We are definitely podium hunting now.

Thank you for taking the time out talking to us here at L&T Motorsport and we wish you the best for he rests of the season.

My Pleasure and I look forward to working together in the future.

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Enaam Ahmed British F3 – Oulton Park @iancutting77 Photos: Joe D’Arcy

Qualifying After finishing his GCSE English exam on Friday, the next challenge was qualifying for round 10 in the championship at Oulton Park. In a session that was red-flagged towards the end because of an accident involving Sisa Ngebulana at Druids, Enaam lines up for the first race in P8.

Race 1 A sunny day greeted the drivers for the round 10 of the British F3 championship. Starting from the fourth row and in P8, Enaam set about trying to make up positions. On lap 7 the race was red-flagged. This was because of a huge crash involving Vaidyanathan.

Ngebulana was slow as he exited Old Hall Corner and Vaidyanathan slipped by as they raced towards Dentons and Cascades.

Unfortunately, there was contact between Vaidyanathan and Ngebulana as they took that right-hand kink. Vaidyanathan's rear left and Ngebulana front right touched sending Vaidyanathan into huge airborne accident. After flipping several times, he finally came to a rest at the bottom of Cascades. Thankfully, the medical staff were on the scene quickly and were able to extract him. A quick assessment at the medical centre, he was released with no injury! Due to the incident happening on lap 7, there was a slight chance that the race maybe restarted later in the day. As time was against them, there wasn't time to restart and the race was declared a result. This meant Enaam finished the first race in P8.

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Race 2 Starting from pole (thanks to the reverse grid), Enaam made a clean getaway. Toby Sowery also made a good start but couldn't hassle Enaam for the lead. As they completed the first lap, Enaam had already opened up a half-second lead. Going through Cascades on lap 2, Enaam got it all a bit crossed up. This allowed Sowery to get closer to Enaam. Heading along the Lakeside straight Sowery made a move on Enaam. Sowery moved to the left, then jinked to the right. Unfortunately, contact was made between the pair as Sowery's front-right tyre and Enaam's rear left sent Sowery momentarily into the air. Fortunately for Sowery he was able to continue. Enaam continued in the lead and gradually build up a commanding lead. With two laps left, his lead was over 5 seconds! At the flag Enaam had won his second race. After the race though, Enaam was handed a six second penalty for “driving in a manner incompatible with general safety”. He was demoted to second place.

Speaking after the race Enaam said “...the race went pretty good for me but I made a mistake defending my position which led to the penalty. I respect the stewards’ decision and I will learn from it so I am sure it won’t happen again. The positive thing is that I set some good lap times and I won on the road by a good margin. I think that showed how much quicker I was than anyone else.”

Race 3 Enaam starts the final race of the weekend in P4. A good start for Enaam sees him challenging for 3rd but Herta held on to the position. The top three then started to pull away from Enaam. Just over half distance Enaam was being hounded by Leist. He tries to pull a move by going round the outside of Enaam into Old Hall but couldn't make it so Enaam remains in 4th. A quiet race compared to previous ones today and at the flag, Enaam finished in that 4th place. In the championship Enaam is currently in fifth place.

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Enaam Ahmed British F3 – Silverstone @iancutting77 Images: BRDC British F3 Championship

Race 1 After qualifying Enaam lined up in P7 for 10 laps around the Silverstone Grand Prix track.

Dark clouds and a few spots of rain developed as the cars lined up for the race. As the lights went out everybody including Enaam made good their escape except Bortoleto. He stalled and was hit by Mahadik who was unsighted and went straight into the back of Bortoleto. Both drivers got out and the safety car was sent out so Bortoleto could receive medical attention. Just as soon as the safety car was out so too were the red flags.

A restart in the original grid order meant it was another chance for Enaam to attack. This time race distance was only over 6 laps. After a good couple of laps and one of his fellow competitors off in the tyre barrier Enaam is up to P5 by lap 3 of the now shorter race 1.

The following lap Enaam is now one of a trio of drivers fighting for that final podium position. The last lap and Enaam couldn't overcome the two cars fighting for that final podium and crosses the line in P5.

Race 2 Rain from the morning had made the Silverstone track slick but more showers fell and got increasingly heavier as Enaam gathered in the assembly area ready for the 20min race. A decision to start on wets was the right call. Starting from P4 Enaam had 2 green-flag laps as the previous race was run in dry conditions and this was certainly wasn't dry!

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As the light went out off went Enaam. It wasn't long before he was already up into P6.

Enaam continued a steady drive in the wet conditions while up ahead a couple were clashing around each other and the safety car was sent out so they could retrieve the stricken F3 car of Lall out of the gravel. While running around behind the safety car the rain was getting heavier and because of the time, the race ended behind the safety car.

The conditions were bad enough that it caught out Ngebulana and he spun promoting everyone behind him and that included Enaam! This meant that Enaam now finished the race in P5!

Round 15 Enaam was meant to be starting the final race of the day from P8 but due to the weather conditions the race was abandoned. Just before the start of the race a huge storm passed over and there was standing water across the circuit. Even though the safety car inspected the Grand Prix layout, the conditions got worse and worse and the decision was made to abandon.

Currently Enaam is in P5 with 222 points, 76 points behind the leader.

The next race is at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps on 8th - 9th July.

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Jack Lang – Radical – Rounds 7 – 9, Rockingham @iancutting77

After another great qualifying (following from a great outing last time at Brands Hatch, Jack lined up his Radical on the second row for the Radical's visit to Rockingham. 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 (20 minutes in length).

A clean start by Jack, but by the end of lap 1 he was running around the mixture of fast sweeping banked curves and twisty in-field section of Rockingham in P3. On lap 7 car no 66 driven by Caudwell retired promoting Jack up into P2. Unfortunately, Jack couldn't Jack couldn't close the gap enough to challenge for the lead. As the flag fell, Jack finished in P2.

Race 2 (20 minutes of racing).

Jack lined up for the next race of the day in P3, and after the result in the first race hopeful of another podium finish.

After getting into the lead, the throttle cable snapped on his Radical race car. To make matters worse, the red flag had just come out, but Jack wasn't running at the time and was a non-classified runner.

Race 3 and a 40-minute endurance race with a mandatory pit stop and this time it is a rolling start.

Jack started this race in P4. A great first lap by Jack saw him come past the start/finish line in P1. A strong race out in front, Jack was keeping the pace up and a decent gap behind.

Unfortunately, lady luck wasn't on Jack's side again and this time gearbox issues on lap 10 meant another retirement.

The next race take place at Oulton Park on 16th July.

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Le Mans Review: LMP1 @Jon_Earle95 Images: AdrenalMedia.com

To say the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours in the LMP1 class was dramatic would be an understatement. The action packed race will go down in the history books.

The race started under the safety car after a torrential rain downpour just before the start.

The race proper started just under the hour mark when the safety car finally came in to release the cars with the No. 6 Toyota leading the way. Early on Toyota were controlling the famous race with their German rivals struggling to match their pace.

Porsche lead the race for a while during the second hour as Toyota pitted later than their rivals for slick tyres. In the second hour the No. 7 Audi crew’s bad weekend continued as they lost time pitting to change their turbo, eventually re-joining the race six laps down and effectively ending their challenge.

Porsche’s No. 1 car dominated the fourth hour as they extended their lead over the No. 6 Toyota. However, Toyota held the advantage of being able to gap longer between their pit stops.

It was within the seventh hour of the race when the No. 6 Toyota really took control building up a 77 second lead. The eighth hour brought a change for second as the No.2 Porsche leap frogged their sister car.

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First place changed numerous times throughout the night with the Porsche’s and Toyota’s trading positions. As dawn broke the No. 6 Toyota emerged in the lead and continued to lead throughout most of the day. At hour 17 Toyota were on for a famous 1-2 and the first win for the Japanese brand before the No. 6 car fell behind the No.2 Porsche. In the 21st hour it was the No. 5 Toyota that held the lead ahead of the No. 2 Porsche, it stayed this way deep into the last hour.

With 10 minutes of the race remaining the No. 5 car held a lead of 1 and half minutes.

With 5 minutes to go heart break struck with Nakajima reporting loss of power and eventually coming to a halt on the pit straight coming onto the last lap. This handed the win to the No. 2 Porsche car for the teams second win in two years. Second was claimed by the No.6 Toyota but this didn’t soften the blow of losing the race in the final minutes.

The No. 8 Audi rounded off the podium, which was a silver lining on a difficult weekend for the German brand.

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Le Mans Review: LMP1 @Jon_Earle95 Images: AdrenalMedia.com

Le Mans top class of prototypes weren’t the only ones who had an action packed race, as the LMP2 field did not disappoint.

After hour one the Signatech Alpine lead the race as the G-Drive racing pole sitter pitted under the safety car on lap two of the race.

Then a perfectly timed pit stop early in the second hour for Manor’s Roberto Merhi for intermediate tyres put them into the class lead and they continued to build a sizable lead over the TDS Racing machine of Beche in second.

During the third hour the Manor team and Merhi continued to build their lead to around 30 seconds over Rene Rast in the G-Drive Ligier. But an unscheduled stop for the G-Drive crew left them over 2 minutes behind at the end of the hour. The British squad continued their domination in the fourth hour as Matt Rao took over the car and at the end of the hour was still around 30 seconds ahead.

During the fifth hour Manor lost the lead of the class, Rao’s pace was no match for the closing field and pushing too hard he span the car at the first corner losing heaps of time.

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This presented the lead to the TDS Racing squad at the end of the hour and they continued their domination throughout the sixth hour and seventh hour, however the Signatech Alpine car was closing in on the TDS car. Problems starting the car in the pits left the Manor squad eight laps down.

As night fell TDS Racing extended their lead at the end of the eighth hour to over one minute. A well-timed safety car in the ninth hour extended the TDS Racing squad’s lead to over three minutes to continue their domination.

During the tenth hour a four-minute pit stop for the TDS Racing team handed the lead to the Signatech Alpine squad. They continued to build on their lead throughout the night and as dawn broke numerous crashes for their challengers left the French squad over a lap in the lead. The Signatech team continued their domination into the 20th hour holding their lap advantage over the G-Drive Racing entry.

From the 20th hour onwards it was a coast to the flag for the Signatech Alpine team as they took their first ever Le Mans 24hrs class victory. The G-Drive team finished in second with SMP Racing team rounding off the podium. A honourable mention has to go to Manor Racing who were on the pace bar a few silly mistakes and reliability issues.

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GTE Pro: Don’t Call It A Comeback @Johnnyp303 Images: AdrenalMedia.com

1966 was a memorable year for Ford, who finally won their first Le Mans with the legendary GT40. To mark the 50th anniversary of their achievement, Ford brought the GT brand back to Le Mans in 2016 and shocked many by winning the GTE Pro class on their return. However, Ford didn’t have things all their own way, with Risi Competizione’s Ferrari 488 proving to be a worthy rival. Other teams were less successful, with AF Corse and Porsche’s own factory team suffering terminal failures with both of their cars.

Ford Performance: Ford GT 1st No. 68 (HAND, MÜLLER, BOURDAIS) 340 laps 3rd No. 69 (BRISCOE, WESTBROOK, DIXON) 340 laps (+1:24.794) 4th No. 66 (PLA, MÜCKE, JOHNSON) 339 laps 9th No. 67 (RANCHITTI, PRIAULX, TINCKNELL) 306 laps The Ford GT was one of two new cars - along with the Ferrari 488 - built to 2016 GTE regulations and despite the ACO pegging back the GT with balance of performance (BoP) tweaks following a dominant qualifying session, the GT was arguably the class of the field, taking pole position and 2 spots on the podium including the Pro win. Ford also managed to get all 4 of their cars to the finish, despite the 67 car falling back due to early mechanical issues. A massive achievement for Ford, especially since this was only their third race and first win with the new GT. Risi Competizione: Ferrari 488 GTE 2nd No. 82 (FISICHELLA, VILANDER, MALUCELLI) 340 laps (+1:00. 2) The American Ferrari team led the race for long periods and finished only a minute behind the class winners. A late spin put paid to their chances of a win, but the 488’s first Le Mans showing - for Risi at least - was a huge success. The 488 was also subject to negative BoP tweaks following qualification, although these appear to have made little difference to the Page | 20 (new for 2016) car’s impressive performance.

Aston Martin Racing: Aston Martin Vantage 5th No. 95 (THIIM, SØRENSEN, TURNER) 338 laps 6th No. 97 (STANAWAY, REES, ADAM) 337 laps Unlike the new cars of Ford and Ferrari, the Aston Martin Vantage has been around - in one form or another - since 2008. Still, AMR proved to be the “best of the rest” with impressive 5th and 6th position finishes. A right rear puncture in the 20th hour of the race for the 95 car almost certainly cost Aston one place and arguably a spot on the podium.

However, double points and the demise of AF Corse ensured that AMR now lead the WEC GTE Pro standings.

Corvette Racing: Corvette C7.R 7th No. 63 (MAGNUSSEN, GARCIA, TAYLOR) 336 laps DNF No. 64 (GAVIN, MILNER, TAYLOR) 219 laps Corvette wasn’t able to replicate the form that took them to last year’s Le Mans GT Pro victory. Despite some positive BoP changes following qualifying, the 63 car finished 4 laps down in 7th position having qualified in last position in the class. With just over 8 hours to go, the 64 car with Tommy Milner at the wheel lost control and slammed into the tyre barrier at entry to the Dunlop Chicane, the violent impact ending their race on the spot.

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Dempsey-Proton Racing: Porsche 911 RSR 8th No.77 (LIETZ, CHRISTENSEN, PENG) 329 laps The only Porsche to have a full season GTE entry and also the only Porsche to see the chequered flag in GTE Pro, the Dempsey-Proton 911 RSR had a steady race, although they suffered a drive shaft failure in the later stages, which left them finishing 11 laps down on the winning Ford.

AF Corse: Ferrari 488 GTE DNF No. 51 (BRUNI, CALADO, PIER GUIDI) 179 laps DNF No. 71 (RIGON, BIRD, BERTOLINI) 143 laps Despite winning both previous WEC rounds, luck was not with the Italian Ferrari factory team and both cars retired due to mechanical failures less than half way through the race.

The disappointment was compounded by Risi’s performance, showing the 488 to be a car more than capable of winning at the Circuit de la Sarthe. One to forget for AF Corse.

Porsche Motorsport: Porche 911 RSR DNF No. 92 (MAKOWIECKI, BAMBER, BERGMEISTER) 140 laps DNF No. 91 (PILET, ESTRE, TANDY) 135 laps Although Porsche celebrated victory in the WEC GTE Pro class for both drivers and constructers in 2015, they decided against a full season entry in 2016, opting to run 2 (upgraded to 2016 regulations) 911 RSRs at Le Mans and forgoing the rest of the season.

Although strong in the early wet conditions, both cars succumbed to mechanical failures and neither made it as far as half distance. A disappointing race for Porsche’s GT program, although promise of a brand new car in 2017 and the LMP1 class win surely softened the Page | 22 blow for the German manufacturer.

GT AM: Gentlemen, Start Your Engines @Johnnyp303 Images: AdrenalMedia.com

GT AM: no flashy product launches, no technical controversy, just good honest racing. It’s fair to say that some of the drivers spend more time in a boardroom than they do on the track and the cars are built to an older spec than the GT Pros, but professional drivers such as Pat Long and Leh Keen and talented amateurs including Andrew Howard make sure that this class is as hard-fought and exciting to watch as any other.

1st 62 Scuderia Corse 458 (SWEEDLER, BELL, SEGAL) Ferrari 458 (331 laps) This highly successful American team’s résumé is already impressive; a class win at Sebring in 2016, a podium at last years Le Mans, IMSA GTD champions in 2015 and 2013 Grand AM GT Champs. The 62 Ferrari led most of the last half of race and kept out of trouble to take the chequered flag first in class, adding to their already well-stocked trophy cabinet.

2nd 83 AF Corse (PERRODO, COLLARD, AGUAS) Ferrari 458 (+2.54.897) The new GT AM WEC points leaders battled with the 88 Porsche late on in the race and despite spending some time in the gravel at Mulsanne Corner, still managed to finish in an impressive second place.

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3rd 88 Abu Dhabi_Proton Racing (AL QUBAISI, HEINEMEIER HANSSON, LONG) Porsche 911 RSR (+1 lap) Porsche’s best-placed GT car led early in the race but suffered some technical issues during the night, which caused the 88 to lose a lap. Battled back up to second but was just pipped by the 83 AF Corse Ferrari.

4th 61 Clearwater Racing (MOK, SAWA, BELL) Ferrari 458 (+2 laps) The pole sitting AF Corse run car suffered with a bad tyre choice for the start of the race and a misfire that pegged the car back during the night, but fought back to a hard earned 4th place.

5th 86 Gulf Racing (WAINWRIGHT, CARROLL, BARKER) Porsche 911 RSR (+3 laps) Stopped out on track with 5 hours on the clock but got going again and had a solid run to 5th.

6th 60 Formula Racing (LAURSEN, MAC, NIELSEN) Ferrari 458 (+12 laps) Another AF Corse run team. The 60 car lost a wheel early on, spent some time in the gravel and had a drive through penalty or refuelling with the engine running, but managed a Page | 24 respectable 6th place finish.

7th 99 Beechdean Aston Martin Racing (HOWARD, GRIFFIN, HIRSCH) Aston Martin Vantage GTE (+13 laps) A 1st GT AM class Le Mans appearance for the double British GT championship winning team saw the Vantage spending time in a gravel trap and catching fire during a pit stop, but still emerged as the top placed Aston Martin in AM. 8th 50 Labre Competition (YAMAGISHI, RAGUES, BELLOC) Corvette C7.R (+15 laps) A high-speed shunt at the Porsche Curves with 5 ½ hours to go didn’t end the Corvette’s race, but it did leave them 15 laps down, which was good enough for 8th.

9th 57 Team AAI (O'CONNEL, BRYANT, PATTERSON) Corvette C7.R (+25 laps) A few spins and some time in the gravel put the 57 car down 25 laps, but they still managed to get to the finish in 9th place.

10th 78 KCMG (RIED, HENZLER, CAMATHIAS) Porsche 911 RSR (+31 laps) An early leader, the KCMG Porsche suffered electrical issues, which caused 2 lengthy stints in the garage and a spin into the gravel, which dropped them down the order by 31 laps by the end.

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11th 55 AF Corse (CAMERON, GRIFFIN, SCOTT) Ferrari 458 (+42 laps) The Ferrari 458 ran near the front early on, but brake and exhaust manifold issues, as well as a stop and go penalty, meant 11th and a 42 lap deficit to the leader by the finish.

12th 98 Aston Martin Racing (DALLA LANA, LAMY, LAUDA) Aston Martin Vantage GTE (+50 laps).

Another leader early on, but contact with the barriers at the Porsche Curves and a gearbox failure late in the race spoiled the 98’s day, although the Vantage GTE still made it to the end of the race.

13th 89 Proton Racing (MACNEIL, KEEN, MILLER) Porsche 911 RSR (DNF) The only GT AM car not to finish was dogged with issues before the race even started, with Cooper MacNeil becoming ill and being unable to race. Miller and Keen doggedly raced on, but spilt coolant from one of the factory 911 Pro cars caught Miller out at the entry to the Dunlop Chicane, which pitched the Weathertech Porsche 911 into the barriers and out of the race.

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MAX COATES COMPETITION WINNER: RUSSELL COOK Congratulations Russell, please check your email inbox to claim your prize

WIN a Strakka Racing Cap WIN Two Strakka Racing Stickers 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! (image: AdrenalMedia.com)

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Ferrari’s Last Ever Naturally Aspirated V8? @EuanCampbell3 Image: Top Gear

Ferrari have decided to build a one off special of the 458 called the MM Speciale. It looks more like a speciale 488 with the same LED Taillights and rear bumper. Although it may look like a 488 its defiantly not one underneath! Yes, with the same 3.8litre naturally aspirated V8 engine we all loved it pumps out around the same horsepower as the speciale, although no official figures have been disclosed.

It looks gorgeous and a possible outlook on the next race 488GTB?? Perhaps but with beautiful styling done by Ferrari’s in house design team and the lucky client that bought it. If you squint hard enough you can see snippets of the 1984 GTO especially in that “visor” windscreen, the client wanted a much meaner, sportier 458 speciale.

Well looks like they have succeeded in that accord! Painted in Bianco Italia (White) with green and red strips down the middle to complete that Italian flag look. The main changes being the cars appearance instead of performance, with that new carbon fibre front bumper and rear diffuser, improved aerodynamics and some interior upgrades such as a new infotainment screen with AppleCar play and audio system.

The car was unveiled as the car was put under its paces with chief test driver Dario Benuzzi and the owner. It’s just another case of how the 1% role!

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The New Audi A5/S5 @EuanCampbell3 Images: carmagazine.co.uk

The eagerly awaited A5 coupe is finally here! And it’s about bloody time Audi! Yep it’s all new everything you see! New chassis, new wheels, new headlights, new suspension! and the list goes on. It looks really nice actually, with a lower meaner stance, bonnet streaks and much wider lower grills make for a very good looking coupe indeed! The rear looks like it’s had a bit of Botox done on the lower bumper, especially the S5, it also looks like it turning it’s nose at you as if its looking down on the lower class cars behind as it overtakes you.

The power terrain then? Well in the A5 range there’s plenty to get your posh little hands on! With 5 engine choices from launch, 2 petrol and three diesels with the power outputs increased dramatically range from 190hp-286hp. Compared with the last model these engines produce on average 17% more power while using 22% less fuel! That is some achievement!

The pinnacle new engine has to be the 3.0litre turbocharged V6 in the S5, producing 354bhp (21hp more) whilst still being very efficient and obtaining the 0-62mph sprint in 4.7 seconds!! The originally Audi R8 would struggle to keep up with this! And that whilst returning 35mpg! Just shows you how efficient manufactures can make them these days!

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The body of the car is all brand new forged from aluminium keeping the car light while maintaining its rigidity, the new drivetrain features the Quattro with ultra-technology, it’s basically a fancy way of saying its efficient, makes for super smooth gear changes with rev matching for the manuals. Audi also offer the “dynamic suspension system” as an option, it’s basically an intelligent suspension system that monitors the road ahead and adjusts its suspension according the road surface to give you the most comfortable ride in the harshest of pothole roads here in the UK. It also features electromechanical power steering, a first for Audi, this adapts to the A5’s current speed to give very precise feedback.

The interior of the new A5 is much improved with a longer wheelbase and increase dimensions meaning headroom and legroom is relatively generous for your rear passengers, this also means the boot is larger too meaning you might actually get two sets of golf clubs in! It now comes with that stunning cockpit display which is also co-inside with a 7 inch MMI screen that will mainly be viewed by the passenger.

With AppleCar play and now apple TV as well! Meaning you can watch apple conferences straight from your car! Plus, with advanced smartphone connectivity as standard meaning you can unlock/lock the doors check your fuel and other statuses, all from your smartphone! It also features a wireless charger in the central tunnel and as an option you can have a 3D sound Bang & Olufsen system to get your ear drums on high alert! The new A5 will go on sale from fall this year for most of Europe and later on for Asia and the USA. Page | 30

The New Clio! Sort Of? @EuanCampbell3 Image: NetCarShow.com

Yes, it’s been 2 years now since the new totally revised Clio was launched and now Renault think it’s time for a little tweak and upgrade. And this is the result, yeah it looks exactly the same Euan! Yes, it does but I said “tweak” remember so don’t expect a totally new car! So how do you spot the new 2017 Renault Clio? Here are my top tips!

The headlights are the biggest giveaway with new full LED C-shaped signature lights as well as brand new LED Taillights, the new diamond Renault badge has been slightly redesigned and the lower grill which is much wider now. There a four brand new colours, Intense Red, Pearlescent White, Titanium Grey and Iron Blue, also luxurious finish materials have been added that are usually reserved for Renaults higher vehicles, such as chrome and matt finishes as well as wood!? In a Clio?

It’s not a Rolls Royce Renault! New alloys have also been added and the fine tuning for 2017 continues inside too! A new infotainment system now comes with, yes you guessed it, apple and android carplay!

Two new engine choices to a new 1.5dci and 1.4TCe petrol engine too, a new Bose speaker system is also available to impress your mates ear drums or destroy them. The new Clio now can be optioned with that annoying but hopefully improved duel clutch gearbox from the Clio RS, no idea why but anyway it will be available at the beginning of next year and might make the Clio much improved!

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Has Vauxhall Nailed The MPV? @EuanCampbell3 Image: Auto Express

This is the new Vauxhall Zafira and it actually looks rather nice! It’s one of the first MPV’s I can say is relatively good looking, with sharp curves and sweeping arches makes for an MPV that looks sporty and defiantly not the usual boring dull styling from other MPV’s. As usual with the Zafira it’s got tons of versatile options such as the split fold 5,6 or 7 seat system, the pull out bike carrier and the double layer luggage space, meaning 710 litres of boot space with 5 seats and a massive 1,860 litres with the seats down!

It even has adaptive damping for the suspension system, making the ride less sick orientated for kids than ever before! The new Zafira is also heading towards the more luxurious side with tons of leather seat options with heated, ventilated and even massaging! Technology has improved also with Vauxhall’s OnStar system coming as standard, this includes apple or android CarPlay, 4G or Wi-Fi hotspots and an emergency automated call out system.

This means your kids will be more engrossed in their technology than before! Which is a good thing? On one hand there will be no more “are we there yet” call out’s as they will be to focused on completing the next angry birds level or watching Iron Man and Captain America beating the crap out of each other! But on the other hand this could be the end of the classic car journey game like the shop game, guess who or the infamous eye spy!

The tech doesn’t stop there however; it now comes with adaptive LED headlights which are really smart! No really smart!!! It contains numerous light sensors that adapts to any condition and has nine different light patterns for example town light, country light, cornering function, backing up, a stop mode light and a tourist mode? It also has that really smart cruise control system that the Mercedes S-class has! It off course comes with lane assist, speed limit display, forward collision detection and more airbags than any other car in existence!

Honestly if you crash your almost guaranteed to A. be alive and B. the car will be a write off! Yes, with airbags into the mid twenty’s it will defiantly be getting the 5-star N-CAP rating! The new Zafira will launch in Germany first before getting launched to the rest of Europe in late summer of this year, so expect the usual range of diesels and petrol’s that Vauxhall usually cook up! But as an MPV, I think you’ll struggle to find anything better!

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Hamilton Takes His First Win of 2016 in Monaco @Alice_Holloway_ Images: Sutton Photography

Lewis Hamilton has won the Monaco Grand Prix to take his first victory of the 2016 season.

The race had been Daniel Ricciardo’s to lose as he started on pole but he finished second.

Sergio Perez finished off the podium for Force India, taking their first podium of the season. Rain hit the track to start the race under the safety car, which lasted seven laps.

No one was a threat to Daniel Ricciardo who pulled away from the chasing pack to build up a decent lead.

Nico Rosberg had an early brakes issue, struggling in the opening stages of the race.

Mercedes put out a team order for Rosberg to let Hamilton passed. The Briton inherited the lead as he decided to stay out on full wets whilst everyone else pitted for the intermediate tyre.

Kimi Räikkönen’s race ended early as he went wide at the Lowes hairpin. The Finn locked the rears and went wide, tapping his front wing against the barrier. Going slow on the exit of the hairpin as he tried to get back to the pits, he blocked Massa and Grosjean, nearly taking the Frenchman out of the race. He made it through the tunnel before going straight on and retiring the car. Ricciardo had the pace advantage and closed down on Hamilton to take away the lead gap the Briton had after the Australian pitted for intermediates. It meant that Ricciardo retook the lead when Hamilton pitted for the slick tyres.

Ricciardo pitted the following lap but an error from Red Bull meant that the tyres were not ready for Ricciardo when he pitted. The blunder saw Hamilton just get ahead of Ricciardo as the Australian left the pit exit just after Sainte Devote. Ricciardo, annoyed, chased Hamilton round the lap. Under pressure, Hamilton went straight over the chicane, but he squeezed Ricciardo towards the barrier at Tabac, causing the Australian to back off. The stewards investigated the incident but no further action was taken. Ricciardo could not find a way passed the Brit on a track before the chequered flag.

Perez made good use of the pit stops, performing the undercut on both Vettel and Rosberg who pitted a lap after him. This promoted the Mexican up to third where he was unchallenged, taking his sixth podium of his Formula One career.

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Fernando Alonso had a brilliant race to finish fifth on the 50th anniversary of McLaren starting Grand Prix racing. He managed to hold off Rosberg for around forty laps to have his best finish of 2016.

Nico Hulkenberg had been right behind Rosberg for the duration of the dry section of the race. On the final corner he closed the gap to put him in a position to beat Rosberg the chequered flag. He took sixth off him by two tenths of a second. Carlos Sainz Jr finished eighth with Jenson Button and Felipe Massa finishing off the top ten.

Only fifteen drivers finished the Monaco Grand Prix. Jolyon Palmer was the first to fall when he lost the rear of his Renault in the wet conditions down the start/finish straight and careered into the tyre barrier at Sainte Devote.

Daniil Kvyat had had a torrid start to the race as he encountered an electrical issue. He fell a lap down before the safety car had come in pitting for repairs. The Russian tried a move through Rascasse on Kevin Magnussen but there was not enough room. Instead the Toro Rosso went into the side of the Renault, bouncing into the barrier. Extensive damage to his front left steering column saw the end of the poor race for Kvyat.

Magnussen made it out of that incident fairly unscathed but it was through Mirabeau where the Dane locked up and went straight into the barrier, ending his race.

Max Verstappen ended his race prematurely as he hit the barrier through Massenet taking a heavy hit to the Armco. He had been making good progress as he had gotten from the pits to the points before he crashed out of the race.

The Sauber team had asked Felipe Nasr to let Marcus Ericsson through as he was faster, which Nasr refused. The two collided, as Ericsson made a senseless move through Rascasse, spinning round forcing the pair of them retiring from the race through damage.

Bottas finished just out of the points behind his teammate Massa for eleventh, with Page | 34 Gutierrez, Grosjean, Wehrlein and Haryanto finishing off the list of finishers.

Mercedes Must Be Praised For Lewis Hamilton’s Monaco Win @BenIssatt Images: Sutton Photography

Twelve months ago fans were angry as poor decision making cost Lewis Hamilton victory in F1's most famous race.

A late pit-stop under safety car conditions dropped the world champion from first to third and the notoriously tight streets of Monte Carlo leaving him with no chance to repair the damage. Fast forward to 2016, however, and a sense of payback can be felt as the Briton claimed a smart victory at the Monaco Grand Prix.

In what is perhaps the most challenging scenario the sport can produce, Hamilton and Mercedes got it right as rain turned the Principality into a skating rink and beat Daniel Ricciardo to kick start his season.

For what was just the second time in the V6 era, Mercedes didn't have the best package on the grid. After seeing a new team-mate come in and win his first race in Spain, a pumped-up Australian and his vastly improved Red Bull looked set to conquer the mighty Silver Arrows. But perhaps a little ring rust - after two years of struggles - saw the Milton Keynes-based outfit buckle under the pressure and allow the pit-bull Hamilton to steal one from under their noses.

It wouldn't have happened however, if it wasn't for some careful engineering on the Mercedes pit wall. With Ricciardo storming off into an early lead in the wettest race conditions seen in Monaco in two decades, a struggling Nico Rosberg was clearly holding up his team-mate unable to find a way by. While the willingness of Rosberg to obey a team order given to let Hamilton past could be argued over, given their championship battle, the German's compliance did release the last winner of a wet Monaco Grand Prix to set off after the Red Bull.

With the gap now contained and slightly decreasing, the uniqueness of Monte Carlo was about to be on show as the track very quickly dried out. Usually going from the extreme or full wet tyres, as they are more often called, to the slick dry tyres necessitates a period on the intermediate rubber as the deep grooves of the full wets are unable to cope with the drying surface.

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However, as the field made that switch to the intermediates, Hamilton stayed out along with Ricciardo and this is where Red Bull's first error occurred.

They pitted first fitting intermediates to the Australian's car despite having the most important thing you can have in a race around Monaco, track position. Add to that a clear dry line appearing around the circuit and no real threat from anyone other than Hamilton to lose that track position would be a vital turning point.

This was where Mercedes and Lewis' smart thinking came into effect again. Realising the usual massive time loss by staying out on the wrong tyres wasn't an issue in Monaco, they were able to hold off Ricciardo and wait to make a rare switch from full wets to slicks. This not only saved them a pit-stop over the field but quickly forced Red Bull's hand again to pit Ricciardo and ultimately ended with the Aussie sat in his box with no tyres waiting for him.

The rest, as they say, is history with Hamilton able to produce a stellar performance combining tyre conversation with defense as frustration became Daniel's downfall and mistakes damaging his front tyres. So while most see Sunday as a race Red Bull threw away, the argument for Mercedes grabbing it is just as strong and it’s a success that comes at a key moment in the season.

As a team it puts away the ghost of Spain where the two drivers took each other out on the opening lap, and for Hamilton it marked his first win of the season after a trying first five races.

It was revealed brake warm up issues held Rosberg back but the championship leader endured his worst race since Austin as last lap rain saw him drop to a lowly seventh place finish. His lead in the Drivers' championship was almost halved with 24 points now separating him from Lewis Hamilton. The swing also comes ahead of one of the Briton's strongest circuits of the year in Montreal, a place Lewis has won at four times in his career, and also where the challenge from Red Bull may ease thanks to its long straights.

But for now Hamilton can sit back and reminisce over a win that combined everything that it takes to be successful: a great driver, a great team and yes a little bit of luck.

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Silly Season Starts Early @SteveCampF1 Images: Sutton Photography

The ever revolving door that is the Formula One driver market has kicked into gear very early on this season; Why is this you may ask? Numerous high profile drivers have their contracts expiring at the end of the year and with so many young prospective up and coming talents on the F1 grid and other series, there will be a lot of eyes on those seats becoming available. No matter who it is or where they could be going, the now commonly dubbed 'Silly Season' has well and truly got underway.

Animosity Versus Availability While being close to being out of contract will always tempt other teams to come in for other drivers, sometimes not being out of contract doesn't stop this from happening. We saw examples of this when Fernando Alonso left McLaren in 2007 after only serving one of his three contracted years, or when Sebastian Vettel left Red Bull for Ferrari in 2014 with one year still on his contract.

For example, there is a lot of talk as to whether Daniel Ricciardo will leave Red Bull after the calamities of the Spanish and Monaco Grand Prix' where prospective victories looked very much on the cards. Nico Rosberg with the all the action going on at Mercedes is rumoured to be talking to Ferrari albeit this has been played down by the Mercedes management who are in talks about a possible new deal. Just remember, they don't always have to be out of contract to be on the move.

Who Is Being Talked About?

Plenty of drivers are having their seats spoken about, so let's start with who is out of contract. Jenson Button, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and possibly Nico Rosberg.

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That's plenty of top seats in Formula One that a lot of younger drivers might be having their eyes on. We all know that Stoffel Vandoorne is waiting in the wings at McLaren, but with the other three seats looking to be up for grabs, there will be no doubt plenty of drivers looking to put in those special performances that may get them noticed.

With so many that are on the edge, there isn't any one driver that stands out being the key to the market, but my money would be on Kimi Raikkonen. If Ferrari decide to take up another year for the Finn, it would block off any possible move for anyone else especially Nico Rosberg considering the talk among the paddock, but also with Daniel Ricciardo putting in stunning performances and having a half Italian nationality; would that be a tempting option for the Scuderia?

Why Is It Important?

There are a few reasons to this, the first and most important is the 2017 rule changes.

With the technical regulations having their third big overhaul since 2009, anyone moving teams would be taking a massive gamble, could moving teams prove costly or advantageous? Lewis Hamilton was criticised for his move to leave McLaren and jump to Mercedes back in 2013, but now with two more world championships to his name, he proved he made the right move at the right time.

Could another driver make the right move for 2017? Whether it's staying or going, the decision made could make or break a career.

A further reason this is important is now that we have so many veteran drivers on the grid and a swelling of young talent bursting to come through, team principals have a massive decision to make, do they take on the experienced champions and race winners to help develop their packages for the future or take on the massive amount of young drivers on that are out there in many of the junior formula.

This is one of the most important seasons for a very long time in where the driver market will not only change the names on their overalls, but it could very well define their careers in the sport. We will be keeping a very close eye on who could be making those all important decisions.

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What Next For Daniil Kvyat? @BenIssatt Images: Sutton Photography

A lot can change in just a few months, just ask Daniil Kvyat.

After claiming the second podium of F1 career in China back in April, he was being hailed for his driving and received support in a feud with the man he replaced Sebastian Vettel following a bold move at the first corner. Now here we are and the Russian appears directionless after being demoted back at Toro Rosso, lacking any ounce of confidence and not really sure where his future lies.

How can it have gone so wrong? Ultimately it was the perfect storm. An overambitious attempt at the start of the race following his podium in Shanghai, in his homeland at Sochi, saw him hit Vettel, yes him again, not once but twice within a few hundred meters sending the Ferrari driver into the barriers. Still likely aggrieved for what happened in China, Vettel went for a quiet word with his former boss Christian Horner and the rest, as they say, is history.

What impact Vettel’s word in the ear had, we’ll likely never know, but Red Bull used the incidents to make a key switch for their future. Max Verstappen, the company’s young protégé, had been linked with possible moves to Ferrari or Mercedes. But before any lights began shining in the Dutchman’s eyes Dr. Helmut Marko made a deal to keep the 18-yearold strictly a Red Bull man. That meant that as Verstappen went up, Kvyat was sent back down to Toro Rosso and in the space of just two weeks he’d gone from hero to absolute zero.

Verstappen justified his move by holding off Kimi Raikkonen for victory in his first race for the Red Bull team in Spain, while Kvyat was still keen to prove he had what it takes. The Russian set the fastest lap of the race in the STR11, as if to prove a point after having to hold station behind a battle between former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and Vettel, yes him again! In Monaco, however, things went downhill as Kvyat returned to Sochi-mode causing a pointless crash with Kevin Magnussen at Rasscasse that would earn him a threeplace penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix.

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Just putting yourself in the 22-year-old’s shoes gives you a sense of his desperation. He out-scored a man seen as one of the best on the grid in Daniel Ricciardo, in his first year at the senior team. Yet now he realizes that the company that backed him for so long, doesn’t particularly want him, so now he has to look elsewhere.

But is that elsewhere in F1 or elsewhere in motorsport?

The good thing on Kvyat’s side is that he is still only 22. His best years are still very much ahead of him and therefore offers the chance for an established team to take him onboard, use his Red Bull experience and provide him the platform to tell Helmut Marko ‘I told you so’.

Would McLaren consider him alongside Stoffel Vandoorne? Certainly two young up and coming drivers in its cars would go against the policy that the Woking team use. However, in replacing Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, Ron Dennis needs to take a longer term view when sorting his options.

What about Renault? They already know about Kvyat thanks to their former partnership with Red Bull, while they would look to use their own young driver program, could the Russian provide a mix of experience, youth and speed?

If the answer to the Russian’s future is to stay in F1, then my ideal destination for him would be Williams. The story would be very similar to McLaren, but for Kvyat, Williams would be a top team without quite the same pressure as for example Red Bull or McLaren.

Sure the Grove-based team has very high expectations of its drivers, but the atmosphere feels more conducive to allow Daniil to thrive.

What about outside F1? Alexander Rossi proved what a perceived lesser driver in F1 circles can achieve in IndyCar, after winning the Indy 500, while, if he wishes to stay in Europe, he still has time to develop a WEC career even if it meant starting in LMP2.

Formula E would likely be a last resort at this time but whatever Daniil Kvyat does after 2016, you can be sure we will still hear his name for at least the next decade to come.

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Alex Booths Featured Driver – Tom Pryce @Alex_Booth_93 Images: taringa.net and gp-live.hu

In the 1970s tragedy struck three young British drivers who were seen to have the potential to reach the very top. They have since become known as the “Lost Generation”.

They were Roger Williamson, who died in an awful crash in 1973. Tony Brise who lost his life along with Graham Hill in 1975. And the third driver and perhaps the most talented of the three, was Welshman Tom Pryce.

Born in Ruthin, North Wales in 1949, Tom Pryce developed an interest in cars at an early age and idolised Jim Clark. He began his racing career in 1969 racing old Formula Ford cars.

After becoming a winner right from the word go, Pryce won a new Formula Ford as a prize which he would go on to race. By 1972, Pryce reached Formula Three. He won the support race for that year’s Race of Champions, beating the aforementioned Williamson and also one James Hunt. The Welshman also took part in the Formula Super Vee championship, winning the series. A venture into Formula Atlantic again resulted in success for the talented youngster.

In 1973, he moved from Formula Atlantic to Formula Two before reaching the big stage in 1974. His first Grand Prix came at the Belgian round of the World Championship for Token Racing. After just one outing for that team, Pryce moved to the outfit where he would remain for the rest of his F1 career, Shadow. In only his second race for the team at the French Grand Prix, Pryce qualified in third place. Despite some collisions, Pryce ended the season having scored a single point at the Nurburgring.

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This had been enough to attract the attention of Lotus, the team who just three years earlier had taken Emerson Fittipaldi to the World Championship. A deal looked set for Pryce to swap seats with the hugely talented Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson but it never happened and Pryce remained with Shadow for 1975. That year he became the first Welshman to win a Formula One race, although not part of the championship he was victorious in the Race of Champions. At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone he qualified on pole position, although he crashed out of the race he would pick up his first podium finish at the Austrian Grand Prix. The 26-year-old ended the year 10th in the World Championship and was seen as one of Formula One’s brightest stars.

In 1976, Pryce got off to a great start with his second podium coming at the season opener in Brazil. The Shadow DN5 would lose its competitiveness as the season progressed but Pryce was much more consistent, finishing 12 of the 16 races. The Shadow DN8 made its debut at Zandvoort and Pryce qualified the new car third, he would finish the race in fourth position and brought his points haul for 1976 to 10, the highest amount he would end up scoring in one season.

The end of season momentum gave hope for 1977 and Pryce remained for a fourth year with the Shadow team. The first two races were marred by mechanical failures, though the Welshman was running in second place in Brazil when his engine let go. Then came South Africa.

After a poor start which saw him fall to last place, Pryce had clawed his way back to 13th place when on lap 22 his team mate Renzo Zorzi pulled off at the side of the track. When the Italian’s car caught fire at the back two fire marshals proceeded to run across the track despite the blind brow on the straight. Pryce was battling Hans-Joachim Stuck when he came across the two marshals in front of him, at 170mph he was helpless and his car struck 19-year-old Jansen van Vurren. The fire extinguisher van Vurren was carrying hit Pryce hit the head, killing him instantly. His car continued down the track hitting Jacques Laffite’s Ligier, with Pryce’s lifeless body still at the wheel. It was one of the most gruesome accidents in Formula One history.

Tom Pryce raced in 42 Grands Prix but he had made an impact on the F1 community, few doubted his talent and many questioned what he could have gone onto achieve. Sadly, he is remembered as one of F1’s many lost talents.

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MANOR: Focusing On The Now @rebeccathms Image: Sutton Photography

Manor is refusing to give up on this year's Formula 1 car before turning its attention to the clean slate available for the radically different 2017 model.

Manor has made progress this season following the arrival of a Mercedes power unit and Williams transmission, but continues to languish at the back of the grid. It would be a correct assessment to that the majority of Manor's deficiencies lay with its chassis.

With results like 14th and 15th (the last finishes, and two and four laps down) in Monaco, it is clear that the cars cannot keep up with the others on the track.

Manor have starting working towards their 2017 cars, as surely all teams have, but they are still mainly focusing on the car they have right now.

We need to extract what we can out of it for this year. We owe it to our drivers to give them the best car we can, and none of us just want to sit around and say 'That's it', pack up and wait around for next year. If you do that then you end up nowhere."

Dave Ryan, Manor chief, says. He is adamant that they are still learning about the car and believes it can make improvements before turning full attention to 2017.

Wehrlein and Haryanto have the potential to be great drivers but unfortunately their cars will not allow them to be proper contenders. Hopefully this will improve before the season is over and fingers crossed for 2017.

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Hamilton Takes 5th Canadian Grand Prix Win @Alice_Holloway_ Images: Sutton Photography

Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix saw the return of a Mercedes lockout on the front row. But the competition was much tighter than it normally is. Sebastian Vettel was only a tenth off the pace of pole-sitting Lewis Hamilton, and the Red Bull duo wrapped off the top five with Daniel Ricciardo only three tenths off Hamilton’s pace. Nico Rosberg had been set to challenge the Briton after he failed to improve in his second run but a mistake going into Turn 1 saw him abandon the lap before it had even started. Nico Hulkenberg out qualified his teammate to make it into the top ten and started the Grand Prix ninth, whilst Fernando Alonso made his third consecutive Q3 appearance and rounded off the top ten.

Kevin Magnussen did not partake in qualifying as the result of excessive damage to his Renault after a crash into the wall following the chicane at Turn 6/7. After hitting the Wall of Champions at the beginning of Q2, Carlos Sainz Jr was forced to take on a new gearbox, getting him a five-place drop and starting him from 20th on the grid.

The race start showed that Mercedes are still having clutch issues as Vettel raced passed them both to steal the lead. Getting a better start that Hamilton, Rosberg tried to overtake, but was forced off at Turn 1 by his teammate as he tried to overtake and dropped to tenth. For Hamilton and Vettel, it became a game of strategies, with Vettel taking on a two-stop strategy and Hamilton completing a one-stop. Ultimately Hamilton’s one stop strategy was the better option but Vettel was still a potential threat for the lead until around ten laps before the end.

Valtteri Bottas finished off the podium in a surprising turn of events. Williams had not showed any impressive pace over the weekend and after qualifying it looked like it would be a three team battle between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. But Red Bull’s pace was not as strong as it was expected to become race day and Bottas took the opportunity to get Williams’ first podium of the season.

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After a late-in-the-race slow puncture Rosberg was forced to pit for new tyres. He was overtaking through the field impressively and looked to have the pace and the laps left to get onto the podium. But Max Verstappen, who had raced a quiet race in fourth, managed to hold the Championship leader back. In a desperate attempt to get passed the young Dutchman Rosberg looked to the outside of the final chicane, but lost the car under braking and spun around. Luckily he did not lose any more positions due to his advantage over sixth-placed Kimi Räikkönen.

Räikkönen finished sixth ahead of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg, who had a strong race to finish eight. The Force India driver was hoping for a top six finish but with the cool track temperatures it was difficult for anyone to get the tyres working at optimum and so there was little more Hulkenberg could have done.

The star of the race was Sainz as he managed to impressively gain eleven places through the race to get to ninth. It was a fairly quiet race for the young Spaniard but he stayed out of trouble and brought the car to the chequered flag in one piece.

Sergio Perez rounded off the top ten after pitting late and having a flying stint in the closing stages of the race. Alonso was the only driver out of the top ten to complete a one-stop race. He finished on 50 plus lap old soft tyres and had wanted to stop for fresh tyres at the end of the race to “have some fun”.

Jenson Button was the first retiree of the race, completing less than ten laps before his McLaren-Honda stop and brought out the only Safety Car of the race, in the form of a Virtual Safety Car. It was a gearbox failure that led to Button’s early finish. Jolyon Palmer was the second, with a water leak forcing his Renault back into the garage. The last car to retire from the race was Felipe Massa who suffered an engine failure.

Only two races ago Rosberg’s championship lead was about 43 points. Two races later it is down to just nine separating the Mercedes pair. Has Rosberg lost his touch or has Hamilton returned to form?

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F1 vs Le Mans: Why Did The FIA Let It Happen? @BenIssatt Images: Sutton Photography and Gabi Tomescu

As I write this, fans are gearing up for the final race that makes up Motorsport’s ‘triple crown’ this weekend, the Le Mans 24 Hours.

After the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 wrote their 2016 chapters just a few weeks ago, with Lewis Hamilton and Alexander Rossi taking the respective victories, we wait to see if Porsche can make it a second successive win on the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Thing is, while time zones mean F1 and IndyCar needn’t worry about sharing the airwaves for their two flagship events, when the flag drops at the WEC’s most iconic race, fans will have to decide between the usual early jockeying in the first hour at Le Mans or qualifying for the European F1 race at Baku.

Of course the next 23 hours it will have Eurosport all to itself, but the fact Bernie Ecclestone purposely put his series’ newest race on the same weekend speaks volumes to the threat he sees from Le Mans.

It was only 12 months ago a driver from his series used a free weekend to try something new, that man was Nico Hulkenberg and he stepped into a Porsche alongside Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber and won the damn 24-hour race.

Usually that would be seen as great coverage for F1, putting the argument across that it really does have the best drivers in the world but not in Ecclestone’s eyes. Instead Hulkenberg, who has struggled to show his potential in F1, made his series look inferior and therefore he had to ensure no-one could do it again, at least this year.

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The fact it was something of a logistical nightmare to get all F1’s haulage from North America to Eurasia in just two days when the race probably could have likely been held a week later points to how the scheduling of the race was surely done to coincide with Le Mans.

Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso and Hulkenberg himself admitted a desire to race at or return to Le Mans but their wishes were very much scuppered.

Whether I am speculating or not, the question has to be how could the FIA, the almighty governing body of motorsport, allow it to happen?

The ACO, the organizers of the Le Mans 24 hours, rightly complained about the scheduling clash, but Jean Todt, as he has proven in many ways during his time as President, was too weak to stand up to Ecclestone and demand Baku be moved.

We understand that F1 is still considered the ‘pinnacle’ of motorsport, but a race with the stature of Le Mans really does deserve the chance to have a spotlight, instead now it will be the ‘other race on that weekend’.

There should be nothing to stop F1 drivers taking up the opportunity for a one-off appearance in another historic motor race and hopefully the noises that say the clash will not be allowed to happen again from 2017 will be followed through.

Formula 1 can enjoy its place at the top, despite coming under an increased threat from WEC, Formula E and others, but it has to realize that it is not the only attractive motorsport in the world.

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Rosberg Back On Top Of European Grand Prix @Alice_Holloway_ Images: Sutton Photography

Formula One took itself to Azerbaijan for the first time for the eighth round of the 2016 Championship to race the streets of Baku. For the first time since the Russian Grand Prix it was Nico Rosberg who took the top step of the podium, with Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez rounding off the top three. But it was not the most exciting race. The long back straight proved the perfect place to make the move as the excessive tow that could be picked up there was enough to get a driver passed without the aid of DRS. Mercedes, Ferraris, Red Bulls and Williams all got through to the top ten with Perez and a surprise Daniil Kvyat. Traffic held up a lot of drivers and saw McLaren fail to put either driver into Q3 for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix. After having such a dominant start to the weekend it all went wrong for Lewis Hamilton as he crashed into the wall during Q3 and pulled out the red flag. He was unable to compete in the session which left him tenth, whilst his teammate went on to take pole position ahead of Perez and Ricciardo. However, due to a gearbox change that the Mexican had to take after crashing in a practice session he lost his P2 start and was dropped to seventh, promoting Vettel to third on the grid.

Rosberg took an unchallenged lead off the start line and built up a massive buffer that left his lead unchanged for the entire Grand Prix. Starting third, Vettel took advantage of the struggling pace of the Red Bull to take second, but there was nothing he could do to close in on his countryman. After his win and Hamilton finishing down in fifth the Championship lead for Rosberg is back up to 24 points.

Hamilton was making good progress through the field before his car was hit with a lower than maximum electrical deployment. Mercedes could not explain to Hamilton how to fix the problem due to the radio restrictions. The Briton suffered most of the race with this problem and was vocally frustrated with the unhelpfulness of his team. He managed to fix the problem in the end but there was not enough of the race left to make even a small challenge on Rosberg’s mighty lead.

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Perez also had a brilliant recovery drive, taking his second podium of the season. He passed Kimi Räikkönen for third on the final lap, but it was a move that was not necessary to happen. The Finn had picked up a five-second time penalty for crossing the white line on pit entry earlier on in the race and could not find the pace to pull out the needed gap to not be demoted by the Mexican. Räikkönen held onto his fourth place to help bring Ferrari 30 points home from the weekend.

Valtteri Bottas had a lonely and uneventful race to finish sixth ahead of Ricciardo and Max Verstappen who demoted Nico Hulkenberg two places in the closing stages of the race.

The Red Bulls pulled off a two-stop strategy whist Hulkenberg completed a one-stop, giving the Milton-Keynes team the advantage of having fresh rubber at the end of the race. Felipe Massa finished off the top ten, making Canada the only race the Brazilian has failed to score points.

Jenson Button finished just outside of the points in eleventh. In a race where Honda had suspected to struggle quite a lot eleventh was a good result for the Woking team. But Fernando Alonso was unable to replicate as the team told him to pit and retire due to a gearbox failure with just seven laps to go.

Felipe Nasr had a good race, scoring his best result of the season by finishing 12th ahead of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, who started from the pits. Pascal Wehrlein, whilst running a competitive race, was forced to retire with a brake failure. This is the first time Wehrlein has retired from a race and the first time he has failed to finish a Grand Prix in his Formula One career. Both Toro Rossos were the only other retirements as they both suffered suspension issues. It was a shame for Kvyat who had his best start position since rejoining Toro Rosso and had been looking to finally remind everyone of his racing talents.

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First Impressions Of Baku @robwattsf1 Images: Sutton Photography

Baku - the capital and largest city in Azerbaijan – is the latest country to play host to Formula One’s ‘European’ Grand Prix, but does it have a long-term future in the sport, or will it be cast aside along with other recent failures such as Korea and India? Eyebrows were raised when Baku was announced as the latest addition to the expanding Grand Prix calendar, not just because Azerbaijan has little in the way of motorsport heritage, but also because many people don’t consider it to be part of Europe at all.

Baku lies on the eastern side of Azerbaijan - a former Soviet republic, bounded by the Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains which span both Asia and Europe. The Grand Prix is Azerbaijan’s latest vanity project in an attempt to boost its profile and establish itself as a modern European city, following on from their staging of the 2015 European Games and sponsorship of Spanish football team Atletico Madrid. The country’s President attended the inaugural Grand Prix as guest of Bernie Ecclestone and race promoter Arif Rahimov was vocal about Baku’s prospects of establishing itself on the Formula One calendar.

“I think for next year we did the biggest marketing we could, which was hosting a great race – as the shots were beautiful. “I think next year more people will want to come to see the race. The same for locals. There were a lot of people who never went to a Grand Prix and didn't know what to expect. "Now they understand the magnitude of the event, that it's a huge international event, and a very high quality event as well. I hope that will change some people's minds and bring the fans in.”

Unfortunately, the same enthusiasm didn’t appear to be on show from the locals with TV images showing half-empty grandstands - a regular occurrence throughout the weekend. In the run up to the event, some of the drivers had expressed safety concerns with Jenson Button stating his belief that Formula One had gone "backwards" by staging a Grand Prix on the streets of Baku.

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One of the main concerns was the narrow section between turns eight and ten which takes a sharp left and then right past the old castle. At just 7.6m wide, it is by far the narrowest part of any track on the Formula One calendar. Despite the drivers’ concerns, no one actually crashed at that particular corner all weekend, but almost all drivers experienced an off-track moment at some point during Friday’s practice sessions. After a number of incidents during the GP2 races, the Grand Prix itself was surprisingly low-key with no safety cars periods and only four retirements in total.

Based on the events of one weekend, it is too early to judge whether Baku will become an established Grand Prix venue. Being the second part of a double-header with Canada was not ideal this year, and the clash with the Le Mans 24 Hour race will have played a role in the lower than expected attendance. Plans to turn the event into a night race have been mentioned, but Rahimov expressed his reservations at the idea. “Having a night race adds quite a bit of complication. The lighting that you need for broadcast is very complicated.

Obviously it needs to be installed and dismantled every year, like they do it in Singapore.

"It's around €20m – that's what I heard from other promoters, that's around the right figure – and its additional power.

“In Singapore they wanted this unique selling point. I think we have enough in this city to sell it. Maybe some time down the line, when people get used to this track and they conceive it as just another race to go to – if they do – we'll try to stir things up and introduce a new element to it. "I think at the moment for the next five or six years it's going to be a must-go-to event, and what we have is enough.” Despite their optimism, Azerbaijan’s economy is suffering since the fall in oil prices, and many believe that Baku is unlikely to see out its 10-year contract.

Whilst Baku’s debut event will likely be seen as a success, the organizers will hope for a more memorable race next year to help establish the race and grow attendances.

For the time being, Baku looks to be a welcome addition to the calendar.

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The Ever Changing Face Of Formula One @jackalala01 Images: Speed

We all look back on Formula 1 with rose tinted spectacles. Whether it’s because we remember growing up watching Fangio, Senna or Schumacher, we all have childhood idols.

I, for one, remember Ferrari’s dominance with Michael Schumacher and Barrichello at the wheel. This is partially shown by the fact I can recite the Italian national anthem just as readily as the British, and partially by the now faded posters and drawings from my early years, all depicting cars of one colour… Rosso.

Formula 1 has come a long way since it’s early days, in the 1950’s, circuits were lined with hay bales, and were nothing more than a few wealthy playboys congregating on a Sunday afternoon during the summer. Once the world championship gained popularity, the purpose built facilities we all know and love today began to take shape. Silverstone, Monza, Spa, all once were nothing more than strips of asphalt with a few primitive barriers keeping spectators away from the action.

The sport grew exponentially. The 1970’s saw Lauda and Hunt’s famous rivalry, as well as the ever growing calendar growing to 15 races. The circuits were more substantial now.

Some had stands as large as the ones we see today. However, the safety standards were still poor. From 1970 to 1979, there were 12 fatalities. Death was a real part of 1970’s Formula 1, along with numerous non-fatal crashes, most famously Nicki Lauda’s Nürburgring crash, which left him with burns covering almost all of his body. Some will say that this was when Formula 1 was at it’s best. James Hunt once said ‘The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel’.

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The next big era in F1 was the rise of Ayrton Senna and his rivalry with his eventual teammate Alain Prost. Senna will always have a legendary status, and many will regard him as the greatest of all time. It wasn’t just Senna’s exceptional talent for driving, but it was the impact his legacy left on the sport. His success was inspirational towards his home country. Brazil was a country in disrepair, and Ayrton managed to give them a sense of hope and gave them a piece of positivity in their lives. It was Senna’s death in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, just a day after we lost Roland Ratzenberger, that inspired the FIA to put stricter regulations in place, to prevent such an eventuality occurring again.

My memories of Formula 1 begin with a prancing horse. It wasn’t just the domination of Michael Schumacher in the early 2000’s that gave him legendary status, but the nature of Ferrari’s execution of a Grand Prix weekend. During these years, Ferrari’s engineers and statisticians were absolute masterminds. Their tactical genius gave the two drivers an advantage before they’d even started the race. During the 2000’s, Formula 1 became close to how we know it. The development of 1000 horsepower monsters that screamed like banshees gave us nothing short of audible perfection. This era’s cars were all about performance, and, and nothing else.

Recent times in F1 have been turbulent. The change from V8 cars to the hybrid systems we know today has divided many fans. Hybridisation is the future of motorsport, the efficiency given by the smaller engines coupled with the extra power supplied by the energy recovery system has to be admired, but the lack of sound from the smaller engines has upset some purist fans, but we must all accept, that for Formula 1 to move with modern times, economy and efficiency must be just as big a deal as the power output by the engines.

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British Grand Prix Preview @robwattsf1 Images: Barneshaw Images

British Grand Prix Preview The British Grand Prix marks the halfway point in the 2016 Formula One season and Lewis Hamilton will be aiming for a third straight win on home soil. Hamilton will be favourite to take a fourth British Grand Prix victory, but he’ll face tough competition from Ferrari and the resurgent Red Bulls. Williams will also fancy their chances of a strong result and the fast flowing Silverstone circuit should suit their car.

Hamilton will be one of three British drivers on the grid this year. McLaren's Jenson Button will make his 16th appearance at this home Grand Prix, and will be chasing a first ever podium finish at Silverstone. Renault's Jolyon Palmer will make his British Grand Prix debut at this year's race and he'll be targeting points at a track he knows well from his GP2 days.

What happened last year?

Hamilton won the race from pole position last year, but only after a late switch to the intermediate tyre proved the right move as the rain began to fall. Starting from pole, Hamilton was passed by both Williams drivers who ran first and second until the first round of pit stops.

As the rain came with around 15 laps to go, the Williams pair struggled to match Mercedes’ pace and Rosberg was able to pass them both in the space of two laps. With Rosberg still on slicks and lapping quickly, Hamilton took a gamble and pitted for the intermediate tyre.

The timing of his pit stop proved to be crucial as the rain began to intensify almost as soon as Hamilton exited the pits. As the rain continued, Rosberg was left with no choice but to pit himself leaving Hamilton with a straight run to the flag for a comfortable win.

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Who tends to go well here?

Of the current grid, Lewis Hamilton has the best record here with three wins and three pole positions. From eight starts, Hamilton has five podium finishes and will be a safe bet to continue that record this year. Fernando Alonso can boast two British Grand Prix victories to his name and has finished on the podium here six times during his career. He's unlikely to add to either of those records this year but a solid points finish is a realistic target.

Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg have each won the British Grand Prix once before, with Rosberg the most recent to do so back in 2013. Raikkonen has been arguably the most consistent performer at this track, with 9 points finishes and five podiums since his debut back in 2001. Disappointingly or British fans, Jenson Button has never won the British Grand Prix or even managed to finish on the podium here. His best result to date here is fourth, where he has finished three times in 2004, 2010 and 2014.

Tell me something interesting about Silverstone...

This will year will mark the 50th Grand Prix held at Silverstone. Only Monza and Monaco have hosted more in the history of Formula One. Silverstone hosted the first ever World Championship Grand Prix back in 1950; a race won by Italian Giuseppe Farina. Despite winning three of the first four Grands Prix at Silverstone, no Italian drivers have won here since.

British drivers have historically performed very well at Silverstone, winning 18 of the previous 49 races, more than any other nationality. Jim Clark is tied with Alain Prost for the most number of British Grand Prix wins with five, but he holds the record for most number of laps lead with 365. Ferrari are the most successful team in British Grand Prix history with 15 wins, followed by McLaren and Williams who have 14 and 10 wins respectively.

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Could This Be The Most Unpredictable GP2 Championship Ever? @Olliebluebirds Images: GP2 Series – Zak Mauger/Sam Bloxham

After witnessing four great opening races with four different winners from four different teams, could this be the greatest season GP2 has ever witnessed?

After a couple of years of dominance from 2015 with Stoffel Vandoorne and 2014 with Jolyon Palmer, no one knows how many twists and turns this championship will take but if it's going to go like the first 2 rounds, then we are going to be in for a thrilling season. In 2014 and 2015, Palmer and Vandoorne were the GP2 champions because they consistently won races throughout the season and they showed their pace at the start of the season consistently getting wins and podiums. However, this season is different because we have the championship favourites before the season started getting poor results and drivers such as Norman Nato and Artem Markelov showing championship winning pace but 2 drivers no one thought would be up there so this season will be an interesting one due to drivers such as Pierre Gasly and Sergey Sirotkin fighting back towards the front and trying to take the title away from the underdogs.

The first 4 race winners are: Spain Race 1: Norman Nato Spain Race 2: Alex Lynn Monaco Race 1: Artem Markelov Monaco Race 2: Nobuharu Matsushita Even though it is the early season and it is quite hard to make judgements on who is going to win the title especially in such an unpredictable season we have got this year but there are 4 drivers in particular who have caught my eye and I think that they ultimately will be the guys fighting for this championship.

My 4 Driver Predictions Pierre Gasly - PREMA I think that when the Frenchman gets his first win, he will be full of confidence and I believe he has what he takes to become the GP2 drivers champion. It is just when that first win will come because if he wants to become GP2 champion, then I think that this will need to come in Baku or at the latest Austria otherwise he will be too far back from the championship leaders.

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However, he has been very unlucky in the first 2 rounds with the safety car ruining his race in Catalunya which he was controlling and he then missed the weighbridge in Monaco which resulted him from starting at the back of the grid and still overtook a lot of cars around Monte Carlo so he has the talent to win this GP2 championship and Gasly is still my favourite for the title.

Alex Lynn - DAMS I think that the Englishman has as good of a chance of winning the title as much as Pierre Gasly does but Gasly looks just that bit more comfortable in the car than Lynn but I think this will be incredibly close as we saw last year when they were teammates at DAMS, they could not be separated and Gasly had to make the big gamble to move from DAMS to PREMA looks to have paid off. However, Lynn has scored points in every round of the championship so far and has a gap of 8 points between him and Gasly so the battle between these two throughout the whole of the season is going to be immense!

Norman Nato - Racing Engineering Before the start of the season no one would really consider the Frenchman for the title but he showed his class both around Spain and Monte Carlo winning the feature race in Spain and grabbing second in Monte Carlo even though it looked like Nato had the race win in the bag after holding off huge pressure from Oliver Rowland but the Virtual Safety Car came at the right time for Artem Markelov and stole the win away from Nato.

However, the Spaniard is at the top of the championship as we head into round 3 at Baku and will want to get a big haul of points in to prove that his pace is genuine.

Sergey Sirotkin - ART Even though the Russian has had a terrible start to the GP2 season losing the rear end in Spain resulting in retirement which resulted in 0 points for him and then in Monaco, he crashes into the barriers from 2nd place looking so strong putting race leader Norman Nato under a lot of pressure but ultimately has only got 4 points (for his pole position in Monte Carlo) compared to championship leader Norman Nato's 49 points. It is a big task for Sirotkin but he is a big talent and we still have 18 more races which is more than enough time to gain a big haul of points so don't rule the Russian out at all.

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Alex Lynn’s Championship Chances Megan Mallory Photo: GP2 Series

After a successful rookie season in 2015, Alex Lynn is seen as one of the title contenders for the 2016 GP2 championship. Lynn chose to stay with DAMS for a second season while his 2015 teammate opted for a change in the form of a new team, Prema Powerteam.2016 will be a new challenge for Alex Lynn with Stoffel Vandoorne and Alex Rossi both racing in other series, he now has a chance to fight for the championship. He showed pace and skill throughout the 2015 campaign with 2 wins in Austria and Spain and 4 podiums.

DAMS racing have shown they are ready to compete for another championship after impressive pace during testing finishing in the top 5 multiple times. The team are looking to provide a car to drive Alex to victory again.

After the first round in Spain, Lynn had already scored a win in the sprint race. It only took three laps for Alex to take the lead with himself and Pierre Gasly pulling away. After a safety car accident from the crash with Antonio Giovanazzi and Sean Geleal which lasted until almost the end of the race allowing Lynn victory ahead of Gasly.

With a successful weekend in Barcelona, the tricky twists and turns of Monaco was next on the GP2 calendar. Unfortunately, Alex wasn’t on the podium in Monaco but still had a strong weekend with a P4 and P5 finish.

So far Alex has been competing at the front of the grid this season, when asked about his hopes for the 2016 season Alex said “My aim for this season is to win the championship, and the 2016 season started really well for me when I won the sprint race in Barcelona.

While I wasn’t on the podium in Monaco this weekend I was still able to take some vital points putting me just eight points off the title lead. It’s a really competitive series and there are quite a few guys who could take the title which is certainly making for some interesting racing.” Hopefully Alex’s season will be even more successful that 2015 with more wins and possibly the championship. In a few years’ time we could be seeing another Briton on the F1 grid in the form of Alex Lynn.

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GP3 Champions Where Are They Now? Part One @mdd7 Images: GP3 Media Service

Since its inception in 2010 GP3 has produced numerous drivers who have progressed to the pinnacle of the motorsport ladder, this includes 8 F1 race drivers, 7 IndyCar drivers and multiple others in GT, LMP and Formula E. So in the 2 month break between the first race weekend of the season in Barcelona and the second race weekend at the Red Bull Ring we will take a look at where the champions are now.

2010 The inaugural GP3 champion was Esteban Gutiérrez, after claiming the 2010 championship from Robert Wickens in dominate fashion Esteban moved to the GP2 series for the 2011 championship. He spent a 2-year stint in GP2 with ART but he failed to live up to the dominating form he showed in GP3. In the 48 races he contested between GP2 and GP2 Asia he managed to notch up 4 wins and a best championship position of 3rd in his second season in 2012 where he was 71 points behind eventual champion Davide Valsecchi. Whilst less than stellar results it was enough for him to be picked up by Sauber in F1 to replace the McLaren bound Sergio Perez.

Esteban spent the 2013 and 2014 season with the Sauber F1 team following on from an outing as a test driver for Sauber during the Indian F1 round in 2012. During 2013 Esteban managed 1 points scoring showing during the Japanese round of the season with a 7th place finish, he was however completed outshined by team mate Nico Hülkenberg who scored 51 points to Esteban’s 6. With Nico returning to Force India for 2014 Sauber kept Esteban on in the team for a second season which unfortunately would end up being Sauber’s worst season in its history when both drivers failed to score points.

For the 2015 season Esteban was dropped as a race driver for the Sauber team but he was handed a lifeline when he was picked up as the Ferrari test and reserve driver. This laid the foundations for Esteban to get the race drive with the new for 2016 team HAAS. Page | 59

2011 The second championship was a much closer fight with Valtteri Bottas claiming the championship with just the final sprint race to go as his gap to the eventual 2nd place finisher (and hi team mate) James Calado was 7 points, the maximum awarded at the time for a sprint race win allowing Bottas to claim the championship with the greater number of wins.

Following his championship winning year in GP3 in 2011 Bottas sat out racing in 2012 where he spent the year working with the Williams F1 team where he participated in 15 of the 20 FP1 sessions in preparation for his formula 1 debut in 2013. In 2013 Williams had their worst season since their creation, this led them to have just 2 points scoring races, one for each driver. Bottas finished the season in 17th in the championship 1 place ahead of his more experienced team mate Pastor Maldonado.

Following his difficult debut season Bottas was finally given podium contending machinery in 2014 and a new team mate in the form of former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. In 2014 Bottas finished the championship in 4th place claiming 6 podiums along the way and finishing ahead of his team mate again. In 2015 there were less podiums (only 2 this time) but he still managed to finish ahead of his highly rated team mate for the second year running having dropped to 5th in the final standings. In 2016 he has continued with his partnership with both Williams and Massa.

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2012 Of the 6 GP3 champions Mitch Evans is the champion who has been completely over looked by F1. Since winning the championship in a spectacular final race of 2012 where either Evens or Daniel Abt could have emerged as champion, following an incredible slipstreaming race Daniel Abt came up 2 points and 1 place short of beating Evens to the championship.

Following his championship win Evans moved on to GP2 where he has just entered his 4th year in the series. In 2013 Evans had a very inconsistent debut in GP2 with the Arden team where he scored 4 podiums but only scored points in 3 other races leading to a 14th place finished. For 2014 Mitch moved to the 2013 team’s champions Russian time where he was expecting to challenge for the title. Things didn’t go to plan however as Mitch again didn’t have the consistency of his title rivals and ended the season 4th 102 points adrift of the eventual champion Jolyon Palmer.

For 2015 Mitch stayed with the Russian time team and again was expected to challenge for the championship, what he (and everyone else) wasn’t prepared for was the sheer dominance of Stoffel Vandoorne. Mitch finished the year in 5th place with 135points and 7 podiums to Stoffel’s 341.5 points and 16 podiums. At the end of the year Mitch announced his plans to leave the series and follow a career in sports cars following his debut at Le Mans in 2015 where he finished second in the LMP2 class aboard the Jota sport car. He was persuaded to return to the GP2 series to drive for Campos where he is mentoring Sean Gelael.

We shall look at the final 3 champions in part 2 next month Page | 61

Farewell Battersea Park @zumester Images: FIA Formula E

The long-awaited finale of the 2015/ 2016 Formula E season takes place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd July in London’s Battersea park. Last year’s event was packed with the kind of unpredictability we have come to love in Formula E, leaving the championship decided right on the wire, and providing a fantastic spectator experience. Sadly, this is the last time the event will take place in its current format in London and for 2016/17 there is no UK race on the provisional calendar.

Last season’s finale was unique in that it provided a double header of racing, with championship rounds 10 and 11 taking place on the Saturday and Sunday. The venue was also unique in that the track is located within the parklands of Battersea, whereas all the other venues had been pure street circuits with the exception of the Berlin ePrix held at Templehof Airport. This year the season has also been cut by one race due to the last minute removal of Moscow from the calendar so the London event is round 9 and 10.

The championship last year was available to one of about 6 different takers, who could mathematically take the title. There had been 7 different race winners, 7 different polesitters and 9 different drivers setting fastest lap. Nelson Piquet Jr started the weekend 17 points ahead of countryman Lucas di Grassi, with Sebastien Buemi, Nico Prost, Jerome D’Ambrosio and Sam Bird all still in the running. The Saturday race in retrospect reads like most of the current season, with Buemi claiming pole position and winning from D’Ambrosio and Di Grassi, thus claiming 28 points. This meant that heading into the Sunday Buemi had moved into second spot in the drivers race ahead of Di Grassi and just 5 points behind Piquet Jr. Events in qualifying on the Sunday would prove critical, as the drivers claiming the top grid spots were in the first draw (Sarrazin, D’Ambrosio, Duval, Bird and Senna) where they benefitted from a dry track. Then it started to rain; which is not great for electric racing; and this left Buemi in 6th spot, Di Grassi in 11th and Piquet Jr in a disastrous 16th. Grid positions were to prove critically on this very tight track and Sarrazin and Bird put on a great display, and with a home advantage and a drying track Sam Bird fought to take first spot but could not pass the Frenchman.

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Eventually Sarrazin finished on 0% energy so was disqualified leaving Bird to claim victory.

He was joined on the podium D’Ambrosio and Loic Duval. The last lap saw great excitement in the second half, with Buemi desperately trying to get pass Bruno Senna who was not going to let his highest ever placing go, and following Sarrazin’s disqualification the Swiss driver finished in 5th spot, followed by Di Grassi and Piquet Jr. Buemi vented his feelings towards Senna on track, clearly realising that he had lost the title. It was arguably a brilliant piece of defensive, and possibly nationalistic, driving from Senna. In contrast, Senna’s countryman Piquet Jr crossed the finish line clueless and it was communicated him during the live interview with race commentator that he had become champion.

Heading into this double header event, this year the championship race really has been about two drivers who have dominated this year. Comparing the stats to last year, things have definitely been a lot tighter across the board with just 4 different race winners (Buemi, Di Grassi, Bird, D’Ambrosio), 4 different pole-sitters (Buemi, D’Ambrosio, Bird and Vergne), and 5 different fastest lap-takers from just 3 constructors (Buemi and Prost – Renault eDams; D’Ambrosio – Dragon; and Heidfeld/Senna – Mahindra). Di Grassi now leads Buemi by just one point, always an exciting end to the season (thinking of some legendary F1 title fights). Both drivers have won 3 races each, but Buemi has claimed points from fastest laps and poles which Di Grassi has not done, but the Brazilian has finished strong in races he hasn’t won. Sam Bird is sitting in 3rd spot but the only way he can win the title is by claiming both poles/fastest laps and winning both races with Di Grassi/Buemi scoring 0.

It’s tight at the top of the constructors’ title, with Renault eDams lead now cut to just 11 points from Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport, then a bit of a gap sees DS Virgin just ahead of Dragon Racing. It’s going to be a brilliant event!

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2016/17 Proposed Calendar John Robinson Image: FIA Formula E

A completely revised schedule for the Formula e in season 3 sees the season finale in Battersea park, London wiped from the calendar. Other key changes include a doubleheader in New York and Montreal all add up to the heavily-revised calendar proposal ahead of season 3 of the championship.

Marrakesh is among one of a few new venues rumored to make an appearance on the calendar in the 2016/17 season of the championship. This addition to the calendar will play host to the 2nd round of the championship on the 12th of November, it will be following on from the season opener in Hong Kong on the 9th of October.

Following on from a two month wait Formula e then heads of to the Americas, beginning with the Mexico e-Prix on January the 28th before heading to Buenos Aires and finally heading to the Long Beach. Singapore then plays host to the 6th round of the championship before the Formula e championship roles into Europe.

Monaco makes a return to the championship for season 3, the event will be held on the 13th of May and signals the start of the European season, which leads the championship through Paris for the 8th round of the championship, following on then it travels to Belgium for the first time, visiting the capital city Brussels before returning to Berlin for the Berlin e-Prix on the 24th June.

The final 4 rounds of the 2016/17 season see formula e face two double headers starting off with Montreal on the 15th- 16th of July. Then the season concludes with the final two rounds being held in New York city on the 29th – 30th of July, Concluding an action packed year of racing for the Formula E Championship.

Despite the removal of London from the 2016/17, things are looking hopeful for a return to the streets of London, however it will be in a revised location and may find the championship racing around some of London’s most iconic attractions.

Moscow was rumoured to make a return to Moscow as it was abandoned due to a lack of access to the track. As it is not on the provisional calendar it is looking unlikely to feature on the 2016/17 calendar but may feature on future schedules as of 2017/18 season.

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Formula E’s Constant Innovation Into Renewable Technologies Has Got Major Manufactories Hot On Its Heel John Robinson Image: FIA Formula E

Formula e’s innovation into renewable technologies has got major manufacturers looking with interest at potential partnerships and entries into the rapidly expanding sport. The interest of key manufacturers is crucial in order for Formula e to grow and expand at its current rate in perusing new technologies.

Now the sights are already set on season three for most of the formula e paddock. Making clear that they won’t compete for testing, or to run around at the back of the field, they want to win. they have signed several key engineers from Williams and Williams Advanced Engineering, the technology company that builds and provides the Formula E battery.

Strong rumours suggest that another manufacturer will be joining and apart from that, there are several others in the manufacturer board overlooking how things are progressing. They are there, waiting for their opportunity.

Germany is regarded as one of the most influential countries in the world in motoring highlighting the importance of the Berlin ePrix in raising the interest of new manufactures and partners into the sport, within manufacturers are keen to explore new renewable technologies to help develop a whole array of electrical road cars.

Dr Wolfgang Durheimer from the board of management at Volkswagen and also the chairman and the chief executive was also present on the grid among others to show support for their represented companies to clearly display serious interest for the sport.

Since the Official announcement of the entrance of Jaguar into the sport as a constructor, the team has been busy testing at the Mallory Park circuit in the UK ahead of Season three of the championship. The team are entitled to 15 days testing ahead of next season preseason tests at Donnington park to develop their 2016/17 powertrain.

The jaguar racing team took over the dismantled Trulli team who left the series in the early stages of this season. Following the takeover jaguar announced that they would be running their own powertrain, after enrolling the help of Williams advanced engineering to develop their season tree car. Following the success of the launch of the team the Jaguar Racing team will officially debut their season three car at the final event of this season, in next month’s Visa London ePrix.

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Champ Car – Forgotten Memories @PhilmartinGSY Image: alchetron

When I was young I used to love two forms of Motorsport. Formula 1 being the default love, but there was an American series not too far away that stole my heart. In its many guises, Champ Car, or CART, or Indycar (before the breakaway Indy Racing League formed) entertained millions with close racing, sheer speed and an array of talented drivers. My main memories of the series stem from the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Drivers like Alex Zanardi, the champion of 1997 and 1998, and who found asylum away from the rigors of Formula 1, along with the likes of Michael Andretti, frequently battled away, in turbocharged V8 powered cars built by Reynard and Lola (with the exception of Penske, who built their own chassis). The racing was close, especially on ovals, and the speeds were insane.

On the super speedways of Michigan and Fontana, the cars would exceed 240 miles per hour. Indeed, Gil de Ferran still holds the closed circuit speed records, an average speed on a lap at just over 241mph was astonishing. The speeds did unfortunately create huge accidents at times, not least the tragic death of Greg Moore at the age of 24 in Fontana in 1999. Moore was being closely monitored by McLaren and no doubt would have succeeded in Formula 1. Having wanted a driver’s perspective, I spoke with Adrian Fernandez, a multiple race winner in the series, and he had some fascinating views: L&T: CART was obviously really popular in the 90's and early 2000's. How enjoyable was it to go racing back then?

AF: Very, the sport was living its best moments back then, and us the drivers too, with strong teams, and the races were always full of fans.

L&T: The cars were extremely quick; do you think we will ever see oval speeds as fast ever again?

AF: I don’t think so. We were fast but it also very dangerous so that is why I don't think we will go back to those speeds.

L&T: Who was the best driver you raced against in CART? There are a few: Juan Pablo Montoya, Gil De Ferran, Alex Zanardi, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Dario Franchitti, and Greg Moore to name a few.

L&T: Why do you think CART ultimately stopped?

AF: Because the owners of the Teams had their own agenda and personal interest and never got into the same line pro series. They thought the end would never happen and it did.

L&T: What was your best moment in CART? AF: My best moment was winning the first two events of the Motegi round in Japan Page | 66 (1998/1999).

Luis Salom 1991 – 2016 @jackwi_ Images: puig and portalsportszone

Luis Jaime Salom Horrach was born on the Spanish island of Mallorca in August 1991.

Salom was your typical child when he was growing up, except for one thing, his first-class speed on a motorbike. Starting from the age of just 8, Salom showed his exceptional skills on the bike by winning the 50cc Balearic Supermotard Championship. Salom continued his progression through the various categories when he moved up to the 125cc Balearic class in 2005 where he continued to impress by taking the championship two seasons running.

The two championship triumphs saw Salom earn his spot in the national championship, CEV Buckler in 2007. He made a big impression in his rookie year in the national championship, finishing a majestic seventh in the final standings with a notable podium finish at Catalunya. The Spaniard also competed in the inaugural season of the Red Bull Rookies Cup in the same year with a victory at Assen and a second place finish at Jerez to cement a fourth-place finish in the championship. Salom continued in the Red Bull Rookies Cup the following season and put in a worthy champions performance. An unbelievable opening half to the season saw Salom take victories in 4 of the first 5 rounds.

Salom struggled to keep his incredible early season form up in the latter half of the season, only picking up 32 points in the final five rounds. He would agonisingly lose the championship by four points after retirements in the final rounds. He also competed in his second season of the CEV Buckler in 2008 where he would suffer the same fate. The strong performance in the 2008 campaign saw Salom appear as a wildcard in 2009 in the 125cc World Championship (now known as Moto3). The first wildcard appearance was at the Spanish Grand Prix where he finished 23rd.

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Another wildcard appearance at Catalunya saw Salom earn a permanent spot in the series with WRB. A steady first full season saw the WRB rider finish with 21 points, a sixth place finish the highlight of the season. For the 2010 season, Salom moved to the Lambretta team. Struggling to find any speed with his new team and only managing 1 point, Salom switched to Stipa-Molenaar Racing for the remainder of the season. The switch of teams prompted a string of improved performances that allowed Salom to rack up 72 points.

Season by season in the 125cc World Championship, Salom continued to make good progress and 2011 was no different.

Salom, still racing with WRB, recorded his first podiums in the category. Assen was the scene of a thrilling battle for the final two podium positions. Salom came out on top of a enthralling battle to claim his first podium. 2012 saw changes to the engines run in the category. 250cc engines replaced 125cc engines and the series name was changed to Moto3. The rule changes appeared to have benefitted Salom as he took four podiums in the first eight races. Round 10 would be Salom’s finest hour. 43 races after starting his Moto3 career, Salom would finally stand on the top step of the podium. Starting fourth on the grid, Salom would have an epic dual throughout the race with German pole sitter Sandro Cortese.

Salom would just edge out his German rival by 0.056. He would also take his second win at Aragon in similar fashion. Salom finished the season second in the championship standings. The 2013 season witnessed Salom go the distance for the Moto3 title. Starting off in the perfect way with victory in Qatar, Salom would go on to stand on the podium a further eleven times. He would lead the championship from Catalunya until the final round, where crashes in the final two races would ultimately cost him the title. Salom eventually got his deserved promotion to Moto2 in 2014 signing for Pons Racing.

It took just three races for him to make his mark in Moto2, achieving a third place finish at Argentina; he also took second in Italy. Salom looked to build upon a solid first year in Moto2. Salom struggled to make the same impression in his second year with a thirteenth place finish. 2016 saw signs of the form from the 2014 campaign return with a podium finish in the season opener at Qatar. Several mediocre results followed. On June 3rd 2016 in Free Practice 2, Luis Salom suffered a devastating crash at Turn 12 around the Catalunya circuit. Salom was rushed to Hospital General de Catalunya, where in surgery he sadly passed away as a result of the injuries suffered from his fatal crash.

From everyone here at L&T Motorsport, we send our condolences to the family and friends of Luis Salom at this difficult time.

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Moto GP – Grand Prix Of Catalunya @QKewQ Images: Michelin

Following the tragic Friday Free Practice in which 24-year-old Moto2 rider Luis Salom was killed on home soil, the paddock came together to create a spectacular race in his honour.

After 25 frenetic laps, Rossi crossed the line first in order to take his first Catalunya victory since 2009 in a race that shifts the battle for the Championship into its highest gear.

Marquez’s return for being fastest on the Saturday was his 3rd pole position of the year.

Lorenzo was in P2 ahead of Pedrosa, this marking the 1st Honda front row start of the season. Hector Barbera headed up Row 2 putting his independent Ducati ahead of the factory thoroughbreds. Rossi and Viñales rounded out the fastest 6. Britain’s Cal Crutchlow lined up 7th from Iannone, Petrucci and Dovizioso.

A start line reshuffle may have played a part in Marquez’s slow reaction to the changing of the lights. This unfolded with Lorenzo leading into the first corner where he would remain unchallenged. The long home straight revealed a drag race between Rossi and Viñales for P5. However, in the braking zone for Turn 1 on Lap 2, both riders, pushing the laws of late braking, reeled in Iannone. This lead to racing scenes that were brilliantly reminiscent of Mika Häkkinen’s pass on Michael Schumacher at Spa in 2000. Similarly, as Mika and Michael both faced the slower Ricardo Zonta on the approach to Les Combes, Iannone was flanked on both sides into the first corner. This shifted Rossi into 4th ahead of Viñales as Iannone was promptly demoted to 6th.

With 23 laps of the 2.8-mile circuit remaining, Rossi seized his to bank 3rd. In the heavy braking zone on the approach to Turn 10, Rossi passed Pedrosa leaving the Repsol Honda vulnerable to the chasing Suzuki piloted by Viñales. Their battle extended through the F1 chicane adopted in light of Salom’s crash. This created a tussle for position as the track snaked right and left in turn changing the inside and outside line. But as the grey ribbon straightened out onto the pit straight, Pedrosa’s more powerful Honda kept Viñales at bay. The traditionally compliant Suzuki looked likely to use Turn 10 to make a lasting challenge for P4, but Viñales massive overshot the apex putting pay to that battle.

However, this was not before the close competition allowed Rossi to break away from the duel and a succession of rapid sectors placed him right on the rear of Marquez.

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With 100,000 Spaniards lining the grandstands on race day, you would forgive them for wanting to see a Spanish 1-2, but the cheers for Rossi’s promotion to second place ahead of Marquez soon dispelled any notion of this. The lap counter read 19 to go, but Rossi was in no frame to bide his time. As the two Yamaha’s sprinted it out down the home straight, Rossi slowed his bike into Turn 1, pulled it down to the apex and then lead through the first complex. This capped off his efforts in setting lap times 6 tenths of a second faster than his teammate. Marquez too would see off Lorenzo through the first half of the lap as he split the Yamahas for P2.

The dictionary definition of ‘Annus horribilis’ can seemingly be replaced with the name Andrea Iannone. With his new employers, Suzuki, watching on, braking into Turn 10 Iannone committed to passing Lorenzo on the inside of the corner, but as the bike chewed up its rider, both men were on the floor. Andrea’s front wheel speared into the World Champions’ rear leaving Jorge as a mere passenger in another one of Iannone’s nightmares. You would have to imagine that Ducati are glad to be relieved of his services for the following season and that Jorge has been spared him as a teammate.

5 laps left to run and Marquez finished his lap-after-lap observation of Rossi and tried to make his move. However, Rossi, fully expecting the Spanish Inquisition, fended off from the Honda charge. Despite Marquez taking the lead, the tighter sections of the tracked demonstrated just how stubborn the Honda is. With 2 laps remaining, Rossi stamped his authority on P1 to take maximum points on enemy territory. It would be a week in which Rossi would happily share the title of the ‘Greatest Of All Time’ alongside the heroic Muhammad Ali. Marquez and Pedrosa gave some scope for Spanish celebration in P2 and 3, respectively.

Viñales was P4 from Pol Espargaro, Crutchlow and Dovizioso. 8th for Bautista followed by Petrucci, Barbera, Miller and Bradl. Ireland’s Eugene Laverty was classified in 13th ahead of Rabat, Pirro, Redding and Hernandez. Aleix Espargaro, Lorenzo, Iannone and Smith all failed to reach the chequered flag. Following a race build up shrouded in sadness, politics and unanswered questions, MotoGP resumed normal service following a stunning race.

The on track action and off track implications provided a brilliant display that paid a fitting Page | 70 tribute to the late Luis Salom. Rest in peace.

Lorenzo To Ducati Megan Mallory Image: biketrader

The week before the Spanish Grand Prix three-time world champion, Jorge Lorenzo, confirmed his move from Yamaha to Ducati for the 2017 season.

After 9 seasons with Yamaha and 99 podiums, 41 of these being wins, Lorenzo decided to take a leap into the unknown and sign for Ducati. The change will be the first for Yamaha since 2013. Throughout the MotoGP paddock there has been a sense of unpredictability surrounding Lorenzo’s move as Ducati has not won a MotoGP race since October 2010.

A rider of Lorenzo’s ability is unlikely to just be moving for the money. Lorenzo must be able to see the future potential in the team and believe that he can improve it. The Ducati’s have shown that they have more corner speed and better electronics than many other teams on the grid this season but they seem to be lacking the straight line speed. Could Lorenzo’s experience and expertise be the key to Ducati winning the championship? It seems that the team bosses and Lorenzo himself believe he can move the team forward.

The challenge of a different teammate after years with Valentino Rossi could have been an appeal to Lorenzo. Current Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone having shown that they are extremely competitive as they have been competing with bikes like the Hondas and Yamahas. The current 2017 line up for Ducati will be Lorenzo and Dovizioso leaving Ianonne without a seat. This leaves Ducatis future very clear and their future expectations looking very high.

2017 will certainly be a challenge for Lorenzo as he won’t have the safety and comfort of Yamaha’s winning bikes anymore. His challenge to win with another bike will need skill and motivation both of which Lorenzo has proved he has. Now the question that’s on everyone’s mind is will we see another championship for Jorge Lorenzo?

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Truex Jr Breaks Records In Charlotte @JR24GP Image: Chuck Burton

In the fastest Coca Cola 600 in history, Martin Truex Jr led a race record 392 out of 400 laps in one of the most dominant NASCAR Sprint Cup performances in years.

No one could get close to the Furniture Row Racing driver, who finally won his first race of 2016, and the fourth of his career, following a season of bad luck and mishaps whilst being in winning positions. Truex Jr has now in fact led the most laps out of anyone this year, and on this performance alone has to be a serious contender to win the Chase and the championship come November.

In a race with just five caution periods, Jimmie Johnson was Truex Jr’s closest challenger for much of the evening, but a late pass by championship leader Kevin Harvick saw the Stewart-Haas Racing driver finish 2nd, with Johnson having to settle for 3rd. Denny Hamlin came home in 4th, whilst Brad Keselowski picked up another top 5 finish for Team Penske in 5th.

One driver who did have trouble was defending series champion Kyle Busch who smacked the wall in turn 2 with just 7 laps to go, meaning he would end up finishing 33rd. This meant that Kevin Harvick was able to extend his lead in the points race, now a full 36 points ahead of Kurt Busch, having a quietly solid season in 2nd, and 48 points clear of Jimmie Johnson in 3rd.

After the race, Truex Jr spoke of how his girlfriend Sherry Pollex (who appeared in public without a wig for the first time since chemotherapy for ovarian cancer in January) and his team inspired him to victory. “We just keep fighting. We never give up. We never quit. We always keep digging."

Jimmie Johnson echoed this, and claimed that the #78 car was just unbeatable in Charlotte.

"I kind of felt like he was playing with us," Johnson said. "He was so fast. I would flat-foot (turns) 1 and 2 and have a nose on him and we would drive right back by me into turn 3."

On an emotional night for Truex Jr, his season has now kick-started in some style. The next race in Pocono was a race he won in 2015, his last Sprint Cup victory, so he now has some real momentum to go for two in a row at the Tricky Triangle.

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Kurt Busch Stretches The Fuel At Pocono @JR24GP Image: foxsports.com

Round 14 of 36 of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season came from the Tricky Triangle in Pocono for the Axalta 400. The race, postponed to Monday due to persistent rain and storms on Sunday, was led off by an all Team Penske front row, with teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano setting the pace in qualifying.

Logano took the lead from the start, and him and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth would dominate the early stages of the race. However, both Penske cars would suffer problems, with Logano being involved in an altercation with Ryan Newman, leaving him with minor rear end damage, whilst Brad Keselowski would receive a pit road penalty following an unapproved body modification.

Rookie Chase Elliott would control a middle section of the race plagued with caution flags, one of which involved Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick, Stewart having a good top 10 run up until that point. Defending champion Kyle Busch would also hit the wall and finished outside the top 30 for the 3rd race in a row.

The key caution flag came when Austin Dillon slammed the wall with 43 laps to go, right on the edge of the final fuel window of the race. Among the leaders, Earnhardt Jr won the race off pit road, ahead of Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch. On the second restart (the caution flag would wave with 38 to go when six-time champion Jimmie Johnson hit the inside wall), Elliott made an aggressive move for the lead but couldn’t complete the pass, allowing Busch to move past both Hendrick Motorsports cars for the lead with 31 to go.

From there, the race became a battle of fuel mileage. Busch was told he was 2 laps short, Earnhardt Jr was marginal, Elliott was 2-3 laps short, whilst Keselowski, who had recovered from his earlier penalty in 4th, was good on fuel and could charge after the coasting leaders.

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As it turned out, Elliott was able to fend off Keselowski for long enough so to delay the Penske Ford from catching the two leaders at the end. Kurt Busch managed some incredible fuel saving to take the chequered flag with plenty in hand, and wipe a 34 race winless streak in the process. Earnhardt Jr held off Keselowski for 2nd, Elliott saved enough to finish 4th, whilst Joey Logano also recovered well to take 5th.

Elsewhere, there were strong top 10 finishes for Kasey Kahne in 6th, whilst rookie Ryan Blaney continued an excellent season in 10th. Matt Kenseth had faded to 7th by the end of the race, whilst Charlotte winner Martin Truex Jr was disappointed to be 19th after he had a flat tire following a strategy gamble that would have given him the lead for the final section of the race.

Kurt Busch’s victory was made all the more impressive by the fact that his usual crew chief Tony Gibson had been suspended by NASCAR for the race as a result of a lug nut violation.

Stand in crew chief Johnny Klausmeier helped guide the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to victory, and Busch was quick to thank his team’s efforts after the race. “Everybody pulls harder. Everybody digs in a little bit deeper, and not having Tony Gibson here today, I know everybody gave that much more.”

Chase Elliott led a race high 51 laps, and claimed a rookie mistake from himself cost him the victory on Monday. "Obviously, I made a big mistake there behind Dale (Earnhardt Jr) in the tunnel after that restart. I wish I had been a little more patient and given ourselves a better chance, but you live and you learn."

Meanwhile Earnhardt Jr himself was delighted with the second place finish, which he felt flattered the handling of his race car. "We certainly finished better than we should have," he said. "Our car wasn't quite a second-place car. We started off really tight and really slow, probably about a 15th-place car.

In the points race, Kevin Harvick now leads Kurt Busch by 25 points, with Brad Keselowski now 48 points off the lead in 3rd. Busch has now qualified for the Chase following his first victory of the season, and will head to Michigan on Sunday, knowing that it is a track that he was able to find victory at last year. The low-downforce package should allow for thrilling 200+ mph racing at the 2-mile oval.

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Logano Gets It Done In Michigan @Jr24gp Image: GettyImages

Joey Logano, the driver with the most wins in 2015, finally won his first race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, holding off the challenge of rookie Chase Elliott to take home the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Logano controlled the race for much of the afternoon, leading well over 100 of the 200 scheduled laps at the 2mile speedway where cars reach speeds of over 215 mph under the new ultra-low downforce package. This was trialled for the first time this season in the Sprint Cup, following its debut in the All Star Race a few weeks ago (a race also won by Logano).

The only true threat to Logano’s victory came from Elliott, who once again impressed in the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, leading much of the third quarter of the race before having to settle for second after some fuel saving following a final pitstop where his pit crew failed to get all of the fuel into the car for the final 50 lap stint.

Elsewhere, Kyle Larson gave his fading Chase prospects a boost with a strong run to 3rd, ahead of Brad Keselowski and points leader Kevin Harvick rounding out the top 5. 3 time champion Tony Stewart showed a strong return to form, running in the top 10 for most of the day before eventually finishing 7th. Meanwhile, for the fourth race in succession, 2015 champion Kyle Busch ran into problems, suffering an engine failure early in the race, whilst Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Chase place is still in the balance following a crash after being hit by rookie Chris Buescher.

Harvick’s lead in the points has now risen to 30 points over Kurt Busch after his strong showing, whilst Brad Keselowski closed in slightly, now sitting 46 points back.

After the race, Logano praised the work of Team Penske in helping him get back to winning ways, as well as acknowledging the new young talent becoming a force in the sport.

"Everyone at Team Penske did a great job of understanding what this package was going to do, and they put together a great race car…For me, it's a lot of fun racing guys like Chase (Elliott) there at the end, and Larson," Logano said.

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BTCC Oulton Park 4/5th June Weekend Review @goughieee6 Image: Official BTCC

The picturesque Oulton Park in Cheshire played host to the fourth meeting of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Saturday practice saw the pace set by the Speedworks Toyota of Tom Ingram as he looked to be up the sharp end for the second weekend in succession. But in qualifying it was to be a different story.

This weekend saw the return of the Subaru Levorgs after pulling out of Thruxton with mechanical issues. They returned having had valuable test time and with a new inlet manifold.

Colin Turkington in the first of the Subaru’s had set the pace early on with team mate Jason Plato close behind and eventually taking the top spot for a brief moment before Turkington got it back a lap or two later. His time proved good enough for a historic first pole position in the BTCC for Subaru but it was the other places behind that were yet to be decided.

WSR’s Sam Tordoff in his BMW looked to have secured second before a flying Eurotech Honda of Dan Lloyd snatched it away from him, demoting him to third on the grid. Ingram and then the Dynamics Honda of Gordon Shedden completed the top five with Plato eventually finishing sixth fastest. Incredibly the top 10 were separated by just three tenths of a second!

A huge turnout filled the banks of the circuit for race day to see three action packed races in the sunshine. In the first race, it was Turkington who made a strong getaway from the BMW of Sam Tordoff who managed to jump Dan Lloyd at the start. The two would stay fairly close but Tordoff was unable to mount a proper challenge, as Turkington, on the soft tyre, managed to stretch his lead in the latter stages and was proving that the soft tyre was lasting longer than what drivers were expecting in the heat. Colin Turkington came home to take what was Subaru’s first ever win in the BTCC with Sam Tordoff in second.

Further back it was Jason Plato in the second of the BMR Subaru’s who was proving that the Levorgs were back in business by passing a stubborn Gordon Shedden in the closing stages.

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Image: Joe D’Arcy

Front row man Dan Lloyd would fall back to sixth, which was still a good mature finish for the rookie, with Tom just in front in fifth. Josh Cook, Aron Smith, Matt Neal and Andrew Jordon rounded out the top ten.

In race two it would be a slightly similar story, but this time it was the BMW of Tordoff who managed to get past Colin Turkington at the start and the BMW never looked back.

In what would be a fairly straight forward race for Tordoff, meant that the battle for the remaining positions needed to be settled. Shedden would threaten Plato for the final podium spot, but Plato held on with Turkington just up ahead in what was another brace of podiums for the Subaru’s. There was drama further back as a charging BMW of Rob Collard caught the back of the top ten train but then suffered a puncture and all his hard work was undone. Cook, Neal and Jordan again finished inside the top ten with the recovering Jack Goff and Mat Jackson joining them inside the top ten.

After the reverse grid draw for the final encounter, it was Matt Neal who started on pole with the MG of Josh Cook alongside. Neal got a very clean getaway and gapped Cook off the start. The MG had to defend early on from Neal’s teammate Shedden and the Toyota of Ingram going into cascades. Shedden got the better of Ingram and settled into third.

The Honda then made a robust move on Cook at the end of lap one to claim second. As the race progressed, the two Honda’s would sail into a comfortable lead with the battle for third hotly contested by a huge number of drivers in a train stretching as far back as tenth. As the race came to a close, Shedden suffered an unfortunate puncture. Sam Tordoff managed to find a way past a number of cars in front of him that were squabbling to take second place with the maximum ballast. Cook and Ingram battled it out which eventually benefited the Subaru of Jason Plato and the young pair would make contact going towards the final turn which then left a gap around the outside for Plato to nick the last podium place on the line. Another recovery drive from Collard brought him sixth place, meanwhile the train settled down and Colin Turkington, Andrew Jordan, Jake Hill and Adam Morgan rounded out the final places inside the top ten.

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Being a VIP is a HARD Thing @markbeastall Images: Oliver Jones

A shout of "all non-team personnel please clear Jakes half of the garage and make room for the mechanics" rings out across the small garage at Donington park as the mechanics are Rushing round Jake Hills car, following another shunt in Race 2 caused by, what can only be described as, Alex Martin's over exuberance in defending his position on the Leicestershire circuit.

As the Team beaver away with the clock ticking down, with just seconds to go Jake’s Chief Engineer Ian Benson signalled to push the car out of the garage and onto the grid for Race 3 of the day. Just in the Nick of time and right in front of my very eyes, a rather second hand looking Toyota Avensis rumbles down the pit lane and into the sunshine of Donington park. It was at this point I had a moment and pinched myself, how does a random Bloke get to be this close to the action, it's not as if I have I have any discernible skills in the motorsport industry.

This however is just part of the experience with Team Hard and their astonishing VIP experience days. For less than the price of an F1 Sunday ticket, you get to experience more in a day than you could ever imagine.

Let me take you back to the beginning of the day so you can understand what kind of an experience you are getting. Following a quick phone call to our contact David Boor upon arrival at the circuit, we are swiftly picked up and driven on a motorized buggy to our hospitality area and given our VIP lanyards for the day, so we are instantly recognized as guests of Team Hard and also grants us access to the hospitality tent and garage areas.

As we enter the Hospitality tent we are greeted by the lovely Andrea and being the childish excitable individuals we are, we immediately got giddy and started flirting and joshing poor Andrea, even this wasn't enough to put her off her stride as she took it all in good humour and explained the format of the day.

The banter doesn't stop there as you sit at a table full of strangers who have one common interest, Motorsport. Very quickly as you scoff your way through a full English and a coffee that is laid on for you, the conversation flows and you find that everyone is equally as excited for the day as you are and are thinking it's already worth the asking price.

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But now down to the nitty gritty and in steps Simon Hill to explain what to expect from the day. For those of you who don't know, Simon was (in his own words) an OK race driver and a commentator on the BTCC circuit for a number of years with ITV. What he doesn't know about motorsport at this level is not worth knowing about.

He quickly reels off the team that make it possible to be here today and explains the format of the day including the support races and timetables, sticks in a few innuendos and anecdotes for good measure, but in short explains that we are in for a cracking day It goes a little something like this. We are free to roam about the hospitality area and garage, as long as we don't get in the way and move where and when told to do so, we are free to watch the races from the monitors in the garage and experience the race with every ooh and aargh from the Team Perspective and if you watched the race at Donington you will understand that there was a lot of oohs and aarghs (amongst over expletives) radiating from the garage, the experience of this is one to savour.

We also get a meet and greet including Q&A and photo opportunities with all the drivers and grid girls, again the guys are not backwards in coming forwards if you ask them the right kind of questions. My question was how long does it take to Bring the rear tyres in (as Jake spun the car on the warm up lap) which prompted a lot of ribbing from the other drivers.

We also get a bit of fun including a prize draw and an opportunity to be part of a unique mosaic picture brought to you by a great bunch of guys and talented photographers along with other sponsor based prizes. But just as you think the itinerary is packed enough the Team Hard experience just gets better.

I have just two words for you - "Grid Access�, which leads me back to where I started.

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Whilst waiting to go out to the Grid for the 3rd and final Touring Car race of the day Jake Hill's car had taken a battering and the guys had been put under an immense amount of time pressure to get the car back out. Finally, the car was pushed out and the Team Hard VIP's are led out through the garage, up the pit lane and onto the Grid.

I couldn't believe it, I was stood inches away from the cars and Drivers I have watched from the sofa for years. As I snapped away with my camera at all the cars as they rumbled into their grid slots, I caught a glimpse of people trying to get as close as they could trackside to get a better view and thought to myself, how lucky and privileged I was to be given this opportunity. This was such a spectacle, the sights, the noise of the engines, the smell of the fuel and rubber, it all makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, still to this very day. What a great feeling to be this close to the action.

As we walk back off the grid and back to the garage to watch the race, the feeling amongst all the VIP's is that the experience of what has happened today is immense. All the guys at Team Hard will have our support for the season ahead and we will all be looking to book again either next year or at another race meeting down the line.

The greatest thing about these VIP days is that they are accessible, if a bloke with a Facebook account in the Midlands can book one, what's stopping you? This is run by Motorsport fans and can be found by searching Team Hard VIP or David Boor on Page | 80 Facebook.

What Makes The BTCC So Special? @goughieee6

Ever since 1958 when it was first called the British Saloon Car Championship (BSCC), it has been appealing to many motoring manufacturers. Back when it first started, drivers would be going up against each other in Austin Mini Coopers, Ford Cortina’s and Austin A105’s.

In that first year, it was Jack Sears who took the inaugural title and since then it’s never looked back.

Going into the 60’s and 70s, American cars would join the scene as cars from Chevrolet and Ford would go into battle. Moving even further forward, more and more manufacturers saw the BTCC as a perfect place to have their newest cars race in front of thousands of people all across the country. And over the years, just like a good old soap opera, the BTCC has had its fair share of rivalries. From Cleland and Soper, Menu and Thompson and all the way to its current affair, Neal and Plato.

We’ve seen many manufacturers grace the championship including: Nissan, Volvo, Renault, Volkswagen, Honda, Peugeot, BMW, Toyota, Audi, Mercedes, MG, Proton, Subaru and many more. But that’s enough for the history bits, let’s talk about the here and now. What exactly makes the championship so popular and so exciting every year?

One of things that was apparent back in the day, that is still relevant now, is that all cars in the championship are no different to the cars seen on British roads. They are just stripped out versions with a bit more upmh!

So once the days of the “Super touring days” were over, people would wonder how the championship would keep people coming through the gates and watching on TV. Firstly, the way the organizers plan the race layouts have certainly helped over the years. There are now 10 events over the course of the year. Fans are able to see not just one, but three top quality races on the Sunday with a traditional 30-minute qualifying session on the Saturday beforehand. The first two races are standard but the third race is a little different. Positions 6 to 10 from the previous race have the opportunity to sit on pole for the final encounter. This is one of the reasons why the BTCC is so unique. It doesn’t just favour the “big boys” towards the front. Literally anyone has the opportunity to start on the front row and take the fight to them.

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Couple this together with the different tyre compounds and the rules that go with them.

Everyone has a set of soft tyres that they must use at some point during race day. So the soft tyre would produce good grip and performance early on, but would start to fade away in the closing stages. Whereas the medium compound would go the race distance but would give a consistent performance throughout. This is all before we take into account, that the cars now have to have “ballast” fitted. If a driver is leading the championship, they have to carry the maximum which is 75kg. All these rules and regulations are to ensure the championship is kept at a level playing field. Which means its hugely exciting for the fans.

The fan interaction is also a massive part of the BTCC. As a spectator you’d be able to get even closer as the paddock is completely open and the drivers are on hand to have pictures and sign autographs. Touring Car drivers are the sort of people you’d like to go for a pint with.

The BTCC doesn’t shy away from its roots which is important, as it puts the fans first. It’s the little things that can go along way with this championship.

A fantastic television package with current broadcaster ITV, means that the BTCC is now shown to millions all over the country and with uninterrupted coverage, means you’ll never miss a beat. In 2016 we have a full record capacity grid of 32 cars, all qualifying within seconds of each other, something which you don’t get in other championships.

The BTCC is quite simply a breath-taking, no holds barred, door bashing, paint swapping adrenaline fuelled rollercoaster that really does sort out the men from the boys.

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Will the BMR Subaru Team hold the key to the 2016 BTCC titles destiny? @tim_farmer Images: Barneshaw Images

After literally a baptism of fire into the 2016 British Touring Car Championship the Silver line Subaru Team run by Warren Scott's BMR outfit went to Oulton Park on the back of a full withdrawal of the teams four cars at Thruxton following fuel line issues and safety concerns which caused James Coles Levorg to catch fire at Donington Park back in April.

Always playing catch up after the deal came about only weeks before the season's launch day, Warren along with Jason Plato, Colin Turkington and James Cole have always had the belief that as they rolled into the North West circuit at the beginning of June that they would then be on the pace. However, not many expected the weekend to go as well as it did for the team who scored their first ever victory in their new machinery and put themselves back in the mix of this year's British Touring Car Championship.

After convincingly putting his Subaru Levorg on pole position after qualifying, Colin Turkington transformed his superior grid position into the first victory for a Subaru model in the history of the championship as he took first race of the weekend around the atmospheric Cheshire circuit. The 2009 / 2014 champion backed that up with a second place finish in race two, showing the car can also handle the added weight. Colin's team mate, Jason Plato, also showed it wasn't just the RWD maestro's master stroke as he claimed consecutive third place finishes around the 2.2-mile circuit.

After putting in many hours of development and testing over the weeks between rounds three and four of the series that progression means that the team are now back in the thick of this action as the championship swings seemingly between the Honda and BMW garages.

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“The true potential of the Subaru Levorg finally came to the fore and it was a weekend none of us will forget in a hurry. I’m so pleased for everyone involved and I hope in some small way this repays the incredible efforts over the past five months.� said Turkington.

Turkington and Plato's resurgence instantly lifted them to 13th and 14th respectively in the overall championship standings and begs the question could one of the pair really challenge for this year's title?

As the team head to North Yorkshire's Croft Circuit on 18-19th June, twelve of the seasons thirty races have now been run, with nine different drivers in six different makes of car taking to the honors so far, with a further three more drivers having been on the podium.

With a further eighteen races left to be run in which the near perfect competitor could yield nearly 400 points the respective gaps between Turkington and Plato to championship leader Sam Tordoff of 82 and 90 points seems to be the challenge set to the double champions. With many a rear wheel drive and power circuits remaining and the added benefit of no added ballast the pair can certainly mix it up with the Honda's, BMW's, Ford's and MG's if not mount an outright challenge.

To dismiss a challenge by the pair at this point of the season would be ludicrous as they could yet be the pivotal pair in the direction of the 2016 BTCC drivers title when they roll into Brands Hatch for the finale in October.

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Max Coates Earns BTCC Test @samhallsport Image: Jakob Ebrey Photography

The L&T Motorsport backed Renault Clio Cup driver, Max Coates, has been rewarded for his early success in 2016 with a post season test in Adam Morgan’s Mercedes A-Class.

Coates has rapidly improved since his introduction to the championship – taking pole at Donington and a maiden podium finish last time out at Oulton Park.

Ciceley racing are contesting the Clio Cup for the first time after several seasons of progression in the British Touring Car Championship and have a plethora of young driving talent including Coates, Dan Zelos and Ollie Pidgley – all of whom will be trying out the race winning A-Class.

For Coates this will see him step into a BTCC car for the first time since his one off appearance at Croft for the Infiniti Support Our Para’s team in the Q50 at Croft.

Team Principal and BTCC driver Morgan said, “We feel each of our drivers after a season in the UK Clio Cup deserves a run in the touring car,” continued Morgan.

“We put great pride into nurturing our young drivers and really believe this adds significant value to what we can offer those joining our team in future.”

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WTCC Mid-Season Report @WA10Tom Images: WTCC

The Russian Round of the WTCC marked the half way point of the season. Here are some of the thrills and spills of the current season.

MAC3 The new format introduced for 2016 where each manufacture fields 3 cars to take part in an Olympic style time trial has proven a great success. The first round saw all the manufactures covered by less than 3 seconds. Including a mistake from one of the Hondas causing them to drop time. Honda have won 4 times. The closest so finish so far was at round 2, were both Honda and Citroen scored exactly the same time, to the thousandth of a second, just showing how close the cars in the WTCC really are.

Volvo’s Return Volvo has had a tough return to the championship. While both cars have finished in the top 10, with each driver securing a 4th place finish in Hungary, the car still hasn’t had much testing in the wet. This became a problem in Russia where torrential rain fell just before the start of the first race. Add to that a double exclusion for Thed Bjork in Slovakia due to an air restrictor fault. The team has done well in the cut throat world of touring car racing, but the true pace of the S60 and the Cyan Racing team remains to be seen.

Coronel’s popular win Morocco saw Tom Coronel take his first win in the WTCC during the TC1 era. The Dutchman profited after Brit James Thompson was shovelled off by Hugo Valente’s Lada on the first lap. Valente got a drive through which handed Coronel the lead. He then held off double champion Lopez for over 15 laps as the Argentine tried everything to get passed the ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet Cruze. It was the first time a Chevrolet has won in the TC1 era and hopefully won’t be the last.

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Honda’s Exclusion The season didn’t start well for the Japanese manufacture with their developed Civic calling into question its legality. The cars were first called into question during the Hungarian round, where it was suspected that the Civic’s flat floor didn’t conform to the regulations. An investigation after that round cleared the cars and the results in Hungary.

The cars ran in the same specification in Morocco and Germany. But a new investigation found that he floor was in breach of the regulations. All 4 Hondas, including the privately run Zengo car were excluded from both the Moroccan and Hungarian rounds. Honda protested which lead to the Hungary results being reinstated.

Lada’s rain dance The Ladas have had an up and down season. However, their young gun Nicky Catsburg has put on a fantastic show in the wet on Lada’s home soil. Taking a double podium and helping Gabrielle Tarquini take a pair of 1-2 finishes for the Russian manufactures. The Ladas seemed to find pace where the rest of the field couldn’t. With heavy rain falling in qualifying where they managed to bag their first 1-2-3, and just before the races where they would storm to double wins. Catsburg also made the podium in Hungary when similar conditions saw Tarquini and Catsburg in the top 5. The Lada lacks out right pace in the dry, having visited the podium once in during the dry.

Lopez leads by a country mile At the midpoint of the season, Jose Maria Lopez leads the championship on 223 points.

His nearest challenger is the Sebastien Loeb racing car of Mehdi Bennani on 118 points.

That means Lopez holds a 105-point advantage with 6 rounds to go. There is a total of 330 points on offer, so hauling the Citroen in is still very possible. Third sits the Lada of Nicky Catsburg after a stunning run in Russia which netted him a cool 48 points to bump him up from 8th to 3rd. Tiago Monteiro is the highest placed Honda in fourth with 112 points. Yvan Page | 87 Muller in the second Citroen is sitting 5th on 109 points.

STCC Goes TCR @WA10Tom Image: TCR International Series

After months of speculation, the organisers of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship confirmed they will be going to the TCR regulations from next season. This will see the current silhouette cars which have run since 2012 outlawed. It will also force some manufactures out of the series.

Firstly, will be Dacia. The budget car brand has run in the championship since 2013. The silhouette regulations standardised the chassis and allowed Dacia to bring in a Renault engine while running a custom body kit. Dacia currently don’t have a car in their line-up which could suit the TCR platform. Their parent company have the Meganne which could be built into a TCR car, but there are no plans for that at present.

The second will be Volvo. The Swedish giant has already said it could leave if the TCR regulations are adopted, having categorically stated that they will not build a car to meet the regulations. The only car they have to suit the regulations is the V40 a model that is soon to be replaced in 2018. This will mean that the former champions will not be on the grid in 2017. The Saab brand will disappear from the championship as well after the company stopped building cars back in 2014.

However, a new manufacture could enter into the TCR world. Flash Engineering recently changed to run Nissan cars. Nissan currently doesn’t have a TCR car, however the Pulsar could be a good fit. Nissan teased a Nismo version back at the Paris Motor show back in 2014. While the regulations call for a 2 litre turbocharged engine, Peugeot and Alfa Romeo run with a 1.6 and a 1.75 litre engine respectively. Nissan could use the Juke’s 1.6 turbo could be used.

It would see the return of Alfa Romeo, Volkswagen and Honda to the STCC. These marques ran back in the S2000 era of the STCC with VW running a factory team back in 2012 taking the title that year. One issue could be supply of cars, as currently the orders are flooding in faster than JAS, Seat and Opel can build cars, while the Subaru, Alfa and Ford are still in development phases.

Either way TCR is coming to Scandinavia, how successful it will be compared to the 10 car Page | 88 silhouette grids of recent years remains to be seen.

DTM Norisring – Mortara Wins As Rivals Crash @mattwhiteracing Images: DTM

Italian Edo Mortara became the first man to win two DTM races in 2016 as he took victory for Audi at the Norisring on Saturday; keeping his head on the city streets while others were losing theirs.

Christian Vietoris started on pole in his Mercedes for the 40-minute sprint race ahead of Mattias Ekström, “Mr Norisring" Jamie Green and championship leader Robert Wickens on row two. Vietoris held off Ekström at the start and lead from the Red Bull Audi, Wickens was up to third ahead of the fast starting Mortara, up from sixth, Green and Di Resta rounded out the top six.

Ekström shadowed the race leader for the early laps but on lap eight he made an error under braking for turn one trying to go around the outside, leaving enough room for Wickens to sneak his way through into second.

The race settled down into it rhythm for a while but it came to life again on lap twenty.

At the Grundig hairpin Ekström lunged at second place Wickens under braking, got alongside but was helpless to avoid race leader Vietoris as he was turned into the corner.

The Mucke Mercedes was pointing in the wrong direction as Mortara slipped through to take the lead from fourth. Vietoris recovered to seventh, Ekström continued with big damage to his car in third behind Green but Wickens was forced to retire. The Safety car was called to remove the Wickens car from the turn one run off area. Ekström was forced to retire his car with the damage.

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Mortara had a close call at the restart, hitting the barrier at the exit of the Scholler S but no damage was done. He kept Green and Paul Di Resta at bay for the final 18 minutes to take victory.

An ecstatic race winner said post-race “It was a difficult race with these hot conditions but also with the pressure of leading for such a long time but I’m over the moon right now.”

Vietoris was struggling after the restart with an ill Mercedes. He battled with a brake issue late on but still came home to take a point.

Mortara now leads the points by two over Marco Wittman after he took fourth place, passing Bruno Spengler late on.

Outside the top ten there was plenty of action as well. In trouble early on was Mike Rockenfeller, his A5 tapped into a spin on lap six at the hairpin by Audi stable mate Nico Muller, dropping him to the back of the field. Mueller was slapped with a drive through penalty which ruined his race as well as Rockenfeller’s.

Gary Paffett was hurt by a lowly start position and his day was to get no better. A bump and run from Adrien Tambay cost him a place on lap 11. Late on he was involved in a side to side battle with Timo Glock but the BMW prevailed.

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Mueller Takes First Career Win At The Norisring @mattwhiteracing Images: DTM

Nico Mueller took victory on Sunday at the Norisring for Audi to complete the clean sweep for the four rings.

BMW’s Tom Blomqvist lead away from pole position from the fast starting Nico Mueller, up from third place. Paul Di Resta starting second was hit by Mattias Ekström in the braking zone for turn one. Ekström, who had been fastest in qualifying before being given a penalty of 3 grid places after yesterday’s incident with Wickens and Vietoris, damaged his radiator with the contact forcing him into retirement for the second day running. Also out on the first lap was Augusto Farfus who was squeezed into the outside wall on the exit of the first corner, breaking his right front suspension. With the track covered in carbon fibre the safety car was called.

After the restart Blomqvist built up a lead from Mueller but the Audi man chipped away at his advantage as the pit stop phased loomed. Di Resta stopped at the earliest opportunity from third, releasing Lucas Auer into the clean air. On Lap 33 as Auer caught the front pair, Mueller had a lunge at turn one was unable to slow the car down, ran wide and allowed Blomqvist back into the lead.

Blomqvist pitted to lap 36 as Audi ran Mueller longer. The clear track for Mueller was the undoing of the BMW of Blomqvist as the Audi crew processed their man on lap 43 to put him into the lead.

The late race safety car was unable to aid Blomqvist in his attempt to take back the lead as Mueller pulled clear again to take is first career win and Audi’s second of the weekend.

Post-race Mueller said “Yesterday was a dark day for myself, we didn’t give up and had a competitive car, the pit stop was key so I’m happy for them. This feels amazing to be up here and know that you’ve achieved something you’ve been working for a long time is great” Page | 91

Auer’s hard work was undone when a slow stop cost him a place to Martin as well as Di Resta who he would have cleared without a time lost with a slow left rear change. Martin later passed Di Resta and pulled away to a safe third place.

New point leader Marco Wittmann was then the man on the move; he passed Wickens and Mortara and set about the Di Resta/Auer fight. Wickens was forced to make a second stop after contact with Mortara punctured a tyre on his Mercedes. Wittmann now leads the points over Mortara by 2 points.

Antonio Felix Da Costa was first hit by Christian Vietoris, Vietoris handed a drive through for the contact, then by Jamie Green, Green having to pit with damage. The Portuguese was then hit again, this time by Daniel Juncadella at turn one which left the track covered in debris, the safety car was called with only eight minutes to go as both cars headed for retirement.

Gary Paffett had a bad day in his Mercedes. A crash in morning qualifying left him starting from the rear of the grid but at times he was the fastest man on track. After leading the middle stint of the race he dropped into twelfth place but would later retire.

The championship moves to Zandvoort in the Netherlands in three weeks’ time.

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Festival Of Motorsport At The Cultra Hillclimb @AndyGrayNI Image: Andy Gray Photography

The world’s oldest active hillclimb, based at Cultra Manor, took place last weekend and the event proved to be as popular as ever, with the Hillclimb attracting over 2000 visitors spanning 10 countries to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

The Cultra Hillclimb has been running since 1905 in County Down, and the 2016 edition was a celebration of its 111th year. There was the largest collection of pre-war MG Midget cars in Ulster since the heyday of the Ards TT. On top of that, there was also a display commemorating the centenary of the birth of German manufacturer BMW. There were over a hundred cars present at the historic event, with cars from 1929 to 2016 represented in a festival which celebrates the variety of the automotive industry. The Cultra Hillclimb was also well supported across the country, with competitors from England, Scotland and even as far as Australia on show, turning a successful local event into a global affair. The event was won by Jaye Nevin. The Coleraine driver beat the 100 car field, completing the 650 metre climb in an impressive 32.58 seconds. Nevin, who was competing in a 1999 Reynard Formula Vauxhall Lotus, finished just tenths of a second ahead of Northern Irish Hillclimb Championship Leader, Chris Houston.

There were demonstration runs from British Touring Car driver, Chris Smiley, and Porsche Carrera Cup driver, Charlie Eastwood. Both drivers are rising stars in their respective categories, and enjoyed the experience of driving up the historic course. Smiley, who was driving a Lexus GS-F, was delighted to have been invited to participate at the event, “It is an honour to have been asked to come down and take part, the Cultra Hillclimb is an event that has a lot of history. Thanks to Charles Hurst Lexus for giving us a car to put on show today!”

“It has been a great day,” said the 24-year-old Carrickfergus driver, “it has only rained a wee bit and the weather has been kind. It is an excellent event and great to see all the fans!”

President of the Thoroughbred Sports Car Club, William Heaney, who organizes the event said, “This was by far our most ambitious Cultra so far, but once again the small TSCC Team, supported by our colleagues in the British Motorsports Marshals Club and other local motor clubs, delivered an event of which they can all be immensely proud."

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Rally Italia Sardegna @cptchris2010 Images: Rally Italia Sardegna and Sportal

Sun Sand e rally auto , questo è Rally di Sardegna But in english this is sun sand and rally cars this is rally Sardinia For the 6th round of the FIA World Rally Championship we headed over to mediterainian island of sardinia.

Before we get into rally Italy talk lets take a short reminder of numbers so far There has been 5 rounds of the WRC so far and there has been 4 different winners theese include Ogier wining 2 rounds Latvala, Meeke and paddon all winning once. There has also been 3 different manifactures taking the points but only 2 of them registered for championship points this season.

Rally italy is one of the hottest and dustiest in the championship with the sand riddled roads and with every passing car there allways ends in ruts in the roads, This in turn makes it harder for the following cars and the second passes of the stages.

Lets take a look going into the event with 2 teams under pressure from the scruteneering prcoccess one being hyundai motorsport for having un registered windows and leading privateer Martin Prokop for a damaged seal on his gear box he was awarded with e 5 min penalty before the event even took place but hyundai was to find out theire fate at the end of the event.

The event got under way with the belgiun neuville taking the early lead beating Latvala to the top spot. The lead changed hands on every rough road speed test as the pair fought tooth and nail in intense heat. Neuville eventually eased ahead in late afternoon to eke out an 11.1sec advantage in his Hyundai i20 as Latvala fought handling issues.

Neuville [above] scored points only twice in the opening five WRC rounds, but he and Latvala were aided by good grip on roads cleaned of slippery dry gravel by those ahead in the start order. Hayden Paddon rolled heavily down a hillside into retirement, Eric Camilli dropped several minutes with a broken rear differential and Kevin Abbring struggled all morning in two-wheel drive when the prop shaft broke on his Hyundai i20 before the opening stage Page | 94

Day 2 was again one of many ups and downs Latvala reduced Neuville’s Friday night lead to less than three seconds this morning as handling issues hindered the Hyundai i20 driver. But the Belgian won two of this afternoon’s three speed tests to rebuild his lead and end 16.1sec clear. Championship leader Sébastien Ogier was 58.9sec adrift of Latvala in third. As road opener he endured the worst of the conditions, cleaning the dry gravel off the surface to leave better grip for those behind.

Sordo survived a sticking throttle to head Ott Tänak by 2min 31.4sec. The Estonian had tyre problems in the high temperatures but showed his pace by winning the day’s second test.

Henning Solberg completed the top six ahead of Eric Camilli, who produced the best gravel performance of his career with top three times in all three morning tests.

On day 3 The Belgian banished memories of a torrid start to the 2016 season by claiming his second career victory in a Hyundai i20. He headed Jari-Matti Latvala’s Volkswagen Polo R by 24.8sec after four-days of rough gravel speed tests on the Mediterranean island.

Championship leader Sébastien Ogier extended his points advantage by finishing third in another Polo R, a further 1min 13.0sec behind.

Despite overshooting a hairpin bend, Ogier won the final live TV Power Stage to claim three bonus points. Dutchman Kevin Abbring took two points for second in an i20, while Latvala claimed the final point in third The next round we head up to Poland this marks the mid-season event a will we see a different winner also will we see more of Mr smiles Henning Solberg and Martin Prokop in this event all I say is I hope so and after that event there will be a mid-season review taking a look at all the numbers wins and crashes in the WRC so far Page | 95