Thanksgiving is behind us and a handful of season finales are in front of us this weekend. Two championships are still to be decided and two have already been claimed. Meanwhile, one series is about to get started.
Newcastle 500
This weekend marks the final round of the Supercars season and it is a two-horse, all-New Zealander battle between DJR Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin and Triple Eight Race Engineering's Shane Van Gisbergen.
McLaughlin enters with a 14-point lead over Van Gisbergen. The drivers split the most recent round at Pukekohe and each driver had a second-place finish in their home country. McLaughlin has eight victories to Van Gisbergen's seven and McLaughlin holds the advantage in podium finishes with 19 to Van Gisbergen's 17.
This is the second Newcastle round. In last year's inaugural race, McLaughlin took the race victory and championship lead from Jamie Whincup after Whincup finished 13 laps down in 21st. In the second race, McLaughlin would be handed three penalties and finish 18th while Whincup won the race and the victory vaulted him back to the top and Whincup's final margin in the championship being 21 points. Van Gisbergen finished 16th in the first race last year from Newcastle but he bounced back in race two and was runner-up to Whincup.
McLaughlin is attempt to get DJR Team Penske its eighth drivers' championship and its first since 2010 with James Courtney and it would only be the second drivers' title to a Ford driver since 2010. He would also be the 25th different champion in series history and he could be the fourth New Zealander champion. Van Gisbergen could become the 13th driver with multiple Supercars championships and he could join Jim Richards as the only New Zealanders with multiple championships. It would be Triple Eight Race Engineering's ninth drivers' title and all coming since 2008.
Whincup is back and he is third in the championship and 58 points ahead of teammate Craig Lowndes. This will be Lowndes' final round as a full-time driver. The 44-year-old driver won three championships while he has made 650 starts, with 107 victories. David Reynolds rounds out the top five of the championship ahead of Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard.
The 30th race of the Supercars season will be held at 11:45 p.m. ET on Friday November 23rd and the finale is scheduled for 11:0 p.m. ET on Saturday November 24th.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton will look to close his world championship season with his 11th victory of the season. He and 2018 vice-champion Sebastian Vettel are the only drivers with multiple victories at Abu Dhabi with each having won three of the previous nine editions of this race. Hamilton is one podium finish away from matching his single season high of 17. Vettel is looking for his sixth victory of the season. The only other times Vettel has won more than five races in a season was when he won 11 races in 2011 and 13 races in 2013.
Kimi Räikkönen's three consecutive podium finishes have him third in the championship on 251 points and 14 points ahead of Valterri Bottas. Bottas has finished fifth in three consecutive races. Bottas is the defending Abu Dhabi race winner. He won from pole position and scored fastest lap while leading 52 of 55 laps.
Max Verstappen's fourth consecutive podium finishes has him three points behind Bottas for fourth in the world championship. If he finishes fourth in the world championship it would be Verstappen's best championship result. Regardless of what happens Sunday, Daniel Ricciardo will finish sixth in the championship. This will be Ricciardo's 100th and final grand prix with Red Bull Racing.
Nico Hülkenberg sits on 69 points, 11 points ahead of Sergio Pérez and 14 points ahead of Kevin Magnussen. Fernando Alonso rounds on the top ten on 50 points with Esteban Ocon one point outside the top ten. Carlos Sainz, Jr. is on 45 points, ten ahead of Romain Grosjean and 12 ahead of Charles Leclerc. Pierre Gasly is 15th on 29 points.
Stoffel Vandoorne and Marcus Ericsson enter their final grand prix with 12 points and nine points respectively. Lance Stroll is on four points, Brendon Hartley on two points and Sergey Sirotkin will enter his final grand prix on one point.
Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull will finish first, second and third in the World Constructors' Championship. Renault has 114 points and a 24-point cushion over Haas. McLaren is on 62 points. Force India sits on 48 points and has a six-point gap over Sauber. Toro Rosso sits on 33 points with Williams on seven points.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will take place at 8:05 a.m. ET on Sunday November 25th.
Formula Two at Yas Marina
This is the final round of the Formula Two season takes place this weekend.
Future Williams F1 driver George Russell has clinched the championship and he has won six races this season. The ART Grand Prix driver has won six races this year. DAMS driver Alexander Albon is second in the championship and he has a 14-point gap over Carlin and future McLaren driver Lando Norris. Albon has won four races but Norris has not won since the first race of the season. Albania has been linked to Toro Rosso for 2019.
Nyck De Vries is fourth on 184 points and he is 18 points ahead of Artem Markelov and Sérgio Sette Câmara is two points behind Markelov. Antonio Fuoco is on 120 points with Luca Ghiotto on 94 points and Nicholas Latifi on 91 points. Jake Aitken and Louis Delétraz are tied on 62 points.
In the Teams' Championship, the Carlin duo of Norris and Câmara are on top with 361 points with ART Grand Prix's Russell and Aitken on 310 points and DAMS drivers Albon and Latifi have combined for 302 points.
The first race will take place at 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday November 24th and the final race of the season will be at 4:35 a.m. ET on Sunday November 25th.
GP3 Series at Yas Marina
The GP3 Series championship is still up for grabs but it is in the hands of ART Grand Prix's Anthoine Hubert.
The Frenchman has scored 199 points and he has a 32-point lead over teammate Nikita Mazepin with 48 points left on the table. Hubert has won twice and he has ten podium finishes while Mazepin has three victories and seven podium finishes. Callum Ilott makes it three Carlin drivers in the top three with 147 points. Ilott has won twice but has not scored points in the last three races. Leonardo Pulcini is fourth on 131 points and David Beckmann rounds out the top five on 119 points.
Pedro Piquet sits on 106 points with Giuliano Alesi on 92 points. Jakes Hughes has scored 67 points and American Ryan Tveter is ninth on 61 points.
The GP3 races will take place at 3:30 a.m. ET on Saturday November 24th and 3:10 a.m. ET on Sunday November 25th.
4 Hours of Shanghai
While four series are closing out, one is starting this weekend with the Asian Le Mans Series back in business for the first of four rounds this season. Eight cars are entered in LMP2 with ten LMP3 entries and nine GT entries.
Harrison Newey is back to defend his championship in LMP2 but he has moved to Algarve Pro Racing and he will drive a Ligier-Judd with Ate de Jong and Andrea Pizzitola. Algarve Pro Racing will have a Ligier-Nissan entered for Mark Patterson, Anders Fjordbach and Chris McMurry. Jackie Chan Racing x Jota is back as the defending championship winning team and it will run its all-Malaysian World Endurance Championship lineup of Jazeman Jaafar, Nabil Jeffri and Weiron Tan in a Oreca-Nissan.
United Autosports has two Ligier-Nissans entered with one drive lineup featuring Patrick Byrne, Guy Cosmo and Salih Yoluç and the other will be an all-British lineup with Phil Hanson and Paul di Resta.
Pipo Derani leads an effort for Spirit of Race in a Ligier-Nissan with Côme Ledogar and Alexander West.
United Autosports has two Ligiers entered in LMP3. Matt Bell, Jim McGuire and Kay Van Berlo will be in one car with Garett Grist, Wayne Boyd and Chris Buncombe in the other. Jackie Chan DC Racing x Jota has one LMP3 entry with Hugo de Sadeleer, Josh Burdon and Neric Wei. Ecurie Ecosse/Nielsen Racing has two entries. Colin Noble and Anthony Wells will be in one car and Nick Adcok will share the second car with Christian Stubbe Olsen. Inter Europol will have Jakub Smiechowski and Martin Hippe in its entry.
Spirit of Race will have a Ferrari for Alessandro Pier Guidi, Oswaldo Negri and Francesco Piovanetti and James Calado will drive a Ferrari for CarGuy Racing with Kei Cozzolino and Takeshi Kimura. Two Audis have been entered with Dries Vanthoor leading one effort with Chinese drivers Chen David Weian and Dennis Zhang and Rob Huff will lead the other with Max Wiser and Xu Wei. TF Sport have entered an Aston Martin with Johnny Mowlem and Bonamy Grimes.
The race will start at midnight on Sunday November 25th.
Over or Under?
1. Over or Under: 6.5 average finish for Craig Lowndes at Newcastle?
2. Over or Under: 49.5 laps led by the winner of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
3. Over or Under: 1.5 podium finishes for non-European drivers in Formula Two?
4. Over or Under: 3.5 drivers ending the season with more than 150 points?
5. Over or Under: 2.5 British drivers winning a class at Shanghai?
Last Thursday's Over/Unders
1. Over or Under: 4.5 average finish at the end of the stages for champion? (Under: Logano's average finish after the stages was 2.667).
2. Over or Under: 301 miles completed at the time of the checkered flag? (Under: 300 miles were completed).
3. Over or Under: 144.5 combined age of the top five finishers? (Under: The combined age was 135).
Last Week's Over/Unders
1. Over or Under: 188.5 laps completed by the 6 Hours of Shanghai overall winner? (Under: 113 laps were completed).
2. Over or Under: 3.5 riders in the top ten of the championship improving their championship position after Sunday's race? (Under: Only Jorge Lorenzo improved a championship position).
3. Over or Under: 15.5 points for Brad Binder this weekend? (Under: Binder retired).
4. Over or Under: 3.5 seconds covering the top five of the Moto3 race? (Over: 14.375 seconds covered the top five finishers).
5. Over or Under: 0.5 Australians scoring points in Rally Australia? (Over: Steve Glenney finished ninth).
6. Over or Under: 2.5 total championships between WTCC/TCR for this year's World Touring Car Cup champion after Sunday? (Under: This was Gabriele Tarquini's second WTCC/WTCR/TCR title).
7. Over or Under: 1.5 teams on the podium of the Macau Grand Prix? (Over: Motopark and Carlin had podium finishers).
8. Over or Under: 1.5 manufactures on the podium of the FIA GT World Cup? (Over: BMW and Mercedes-AMG had podium finishers).
Last Week: 7 Unders; 4 Overs. Overall: Unders 33; Overs 25
Predictions
1. At least one of the championship contenders finishes behind a teammate in one of the two Newcastle races.
2. Lewis Hamilton finishes at least four positions better than his starting position.
3. No driver has two podium finishes this weekend in Formula Two.
4. There is a first time winner this weekend in GP3.
5. Three different teams finish on the overall podium at Shanghai.
Last Thursday's Predictions
1. There is one caution that involves one of the championship-eligible drivers (Wrong! There were no such cautions).
2. Cole Custer does not win the championship and leads fewer than 75 laps (Half-Correct! Custer was not champion but led over 75 laps).
3. The champion wins the Truck race (Correct! Brett Moffitt won the race and championship).
Last Week's Predictions
1. Nothing controversial, such as a disqualification from a session, happens to a Toyota entry (Correct! The Toyotas had a 1-2 finish).
2. Jorge Lorenzo gains at least one position in the championship (Correct! Jorge Lorenzo moved up to ninth in the championship).
3. A ride that is not heading to MotoGP in 2019 wins the Moto2 race (Wrong! Miguel Oliveira won the Moto2 race).
4. An Italian wins the Moto3 race (Wrong! Turkish rider Can Oncu won the race).
5. The WRC champion does not win Rally Australia (Correct! Jari-Matti Latvala won the race and Sébastien Ogier won the championship).
6. Rob Huff wins a race but only one race from Macau (Wrong! Huff did not win a race).
7. Dan Ticktum does not repeat in the Macau Grand Prix but he finishes in the top five (Wrong! Ticktum did repeat).
8. A new manufacture wins the FIA GT World Cup (Correct! BMW's Augusto Farfus won there race).
Last Week: 5.5/11. Overall: 30/53
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Showing posts with label Formula Two. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Formula Two. Show all posts
Friday, November 23, 2018
Monday, December 18, 2017
2017 For The Love of Indy Awards
Another year is close to over and it is time to reflect and honor all that happened in 2017. It was another sensational year and it was a year with stories taking over the globe. Drivers left their comfort zones and took on monumental tasks that were once common quest of drivers from the 1960s. We had first time champions and modern legends add to their lore. We had smiles and we had tears. Let's get started.
Racer of the Year
Description: Given to the best racer over the course of 2017.
And the Nominees are:
Brendon Hartley
Jonathan Rea
Jordan Taylor
Lewis Hamilton
Martin Truex, Jr.
Sébastien Buemi
And the winner is... Brendon Hartley
The man started the year by winning the Dubai 24 Hour with Herberth Motorsport. Hartley would then go on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Timo Bernhard and Earl Bamber in the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid and that team would go on to win the three races after Le Mans as well. Then he won Petit Le Mans in the #2 Extreme Speed Motorsport Nissan with Ryan Dalziel and Scott Sharp. Then he was linked and likely had signed a deal to become Chip Ganassi Racing's second driver for the 2018 IndyCar season until Scuderia Toro Rosso came knocking and put him in its car for the prematurely departing Carlos Sainz, Jr. In-between Formula One starts, Hartley clinched the World Endurance Drivers' Championship with Bernhard and Bamber.
Anyone else come closing to matching Hartley for most diverse 2017? The man drove everything and was linked to everything but a NASCAR Cup ride. He won endurance races in three entirely different machines. He got to drive a Formula One car and he was competitive considering the lack of seat time. If Hartley didn't have so many grid penalties and gotten a morsel of reliable from Renault he could have scored at least a point.
Hartley took the long road to Formula One and collected some precious silverware along the way. What can he do now that he has hit the big time?
On the other nominees:
Jonathan Rea is the competitor we are talking the least about and we should be talking about him more. The man has dominated the World Superbike Championship for three consecutive seasons and he might have had his best season yet in 2017. He won 16 races, the second-most all-time in a single-season; he stood on the podium 24 times, a single-season record; he set 14 fastest laps; matching a single-season record. He is tied for second all-time in World Superbike titles and he is second all-time in World Superbike victories. He will likely be the most successful rider in WSBK history after 2018.
Jordan Taylor won the IMSA Prototype championship, the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX GT championship, the 24 Hours of Daytona overall, the 12 Hours of Sebring overall and he finished third in GTE-Pro at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and if it wasn't for a flat tire on the final lap he would have won that bloody race too.
Lewis Hamilton proved to once again be one of the best drivers alive. In a year where Mercedes was equally matched, if not bested by Ferrari, Hamilton found a way to win his fourth World Drivers' Championship. He won nine races, picked up 11 pole positions, sits on 62 career victories and 72 career pole positions, second all-time and first all-time in each respective category.
Martin Truex, Jr., had a dominant NASCAR Cup season. He won eight races, seven on 1.5-mile ovals, a record for most victories on that discipline in one season. He should have locked up the championship with two races to go but despite the format, he still went on to win the finale and take his first Cup championship.
The only non-champion nominated is Sébastien Buemi and it is because the Swiss driver did everything to win a title. He won five FIA World Endurance Championship races in the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid with Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima, more than Hartley and the #2 Porsche. Besides his success in the FIA WEC, Buemi won four Formula E races in the calendar year but finished second in each championship.
Past Winners
2012: Kyle Larson
Race of the Year
Description: Best Race of 2017.
And the Nominees are:
ABC Supply 500 from Pocono Raceway
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
All three races at the World Superbike/World Supersport weekend at Phillip Island
Ford EcoBoost 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway
Supercross 450cc Main Event from Phoenix
And the winner is... All races at the World Superbike/World Supersport weekend at Phillip Island
It was late-February and you could not ask for three better races to occur in two days that is why they are being grouped together. Marco Melandri led the first lap of the WSBK season and the first race played out to be a Kawasaki vs. Ducati battle. Jonathan Rea took the lead before Melandri retook the point a few laps later. Tom Sykes led a lap and Yamaha's Alex Lowes even got in the fight. Melandri fell off his bike and the battle continued. Rea led before Sykes jumped to the top. It became a Rea vs. Chaz Davies battle for the final three laps. Davies was on the Northern Irishman's back wheel exiting the final corner but he could not get alongside Rea and finished 0.042 seconds back.
World Supersport took the stage early on Sunday and a red flag forced a shortened race. Jules Cluzel led most of the race but any one of seven bikes could have won the race as the top seven were covered by 0.860 seconds at the start of the final lap. Roberto Rolfo made move to the outside entering the second corner to go from third to first. Cluzel's charge to the front ended with an accident with Federico Caricasulo and that left Rolfo one-on-one with Lucas Mahias. The two were side-by-side coming to the line and right when it appeared Mahias had him, Rolfo came back and the result was too close to call at the line with timing and scoring jumping between the two riders on who was the winner. The result was investigate and Rolfo was ruled the winner by 0.001 seconds.
If that wasn't close enough for you, World Superbike returned to the track to see if it could match the show it put on in the first race of the season. It took six laps for Rea to get to the lead and Davies took the lead on lap eight. Davies led for a good portion of the race before Melandri got to the front and led four laps. Rea led with two laps to go and Davies retook the lead at the start of the final lap but Rea took the lead back in the first corner. Davies sat behind Rea and had a great run in the middle of the final corner but Rea was better on exit. Davies looked to the outside and then swung back to the inside but fell 0.025 seconds short. The top two were covered by less than a tenth of a second at the completion of each of the final four laps.
On the other nominees:
IndyCar has put on some of the best 500-mile races in the DW12-era and Pocono proved to be a stellar race with a Pocono record 42 lead change and a famous 12-lap battle where Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal swapped the lead constantly. However, the end saw a Will Power-Josef Newgarden-Alexander Rossi battle with the Australian holding off the American drivers after Power was forced to change front wings and go on a different fuel strategy.
Azerbaijan is the race that shaped the World Drivers' Championship. Sebastian Vettel hit Lewis Hamilton. He was penalized. Hamilton had a headrest come loose and force him to pit. The Force Indias ran into each other when it appeared one of them could steal the race. This allowed Daniel Ricciardo to take the victory with Valtteri Bottas beating Lance Stroll in a drag race to the line for second.
I think we need to do a separate category for four-wheel race of the year and two-wheel race of the year and possibly another category for Phillip Island race of the year because MotoGP had a race there that rivaled the three February race. It felt more like a Moto3 race with the riders at the front constantly rotating. However, Marc Márquez took control of the race with seven laps to go and never looked back.
Say what you want about the NASCAR Chase format but it allowed for an exciting season finale. Martin Truex, Jr., and Kyle Busch ran at ten-tenths for 400 miles and Kyle Larson, with nothing to lose ran them down while Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski were good but not good enough. The top three of Truex, Jr., Busch and Larson were all within sight of each other until the final lap.
Eli Tomac dominated the Supercross main event at Phoenix but from second to tenth the battle was tremendous. Chad Reed flexed his muscle and beat Ryan Dungey and Cole Seely for second after those had there own back and forth battle.
Past Winners
2012: Indianapolis 500
2013: British motorcycle Grand Prix
2014: Bathurst 1000
2015: Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
2016: Spanish Grand Prix
Achievement of the Year
Description: Best success by a driver, team, manufacture, etc.
And the Nominees are:
Christopher Bell: For becoming the second driver to win the Chili Bowl and Turkey Night Grand Prix in the same year.
James French and Pato O'Ward: For winning seven of right Prototype Challenge races in ISMA.
Jonathan Rea: For becoming the first rider to win three consecutive World Superbike championships.
Lewis Hamilton: For breaking the record for most Formula One pole positions.
Martin Truex, Jr.: Lowest average finish on 1.5-mile ovals in NASCAR Cup Series History and record seven victories on 1.5-mile ovals.
And the winner is... Jonathan Rea: For becoming the first rider to win three consecutive World Superbike championships.
I kind of said it all above. Rea had a dominant season and he has had a dominant three seasons. He has won 40 of 78 races over his three championship seasons. He has stood on the podium for 70 of those races. He has retired from five races over the last three seasons but his worst finish in three seasons is fourth. If there is one gripe it is that Rea has only won 14 pole positions in those three seasons.
On the other nominees:
Christopher Bell might be underrated. He seemed to be forgotten when teammates with William Byron in the Truck series as Byron was pegged as a future star. Besides winning the Truck Series championship this year, Bell won the two most prestigious midget car races in the United States. The Oklahoman won his home race for the first time in his career and he picked up his second Turkey Night Grand Prix victory. The only other driver to accomplish this feat was Billy Boat in 1997.
I know the final year of the Prototype Challenge class wasn't the most exciting bit of racing ever and most races only featured three cars but going 7-for-8 is something. James French and Pato O'Ward are two drivers to watch out for in sports cars and possibly even open wheel racing. It is a shame they missed out on the perfect season in the final race.
What else can't be said about Lewis Hamilton that has been said already? The man put himself at the top of the list when it comes to pole positions and in the same sentimental way Michael Schumacher did it. Schumacher broke Ayrton Senna's at Imola. Hamilton broke Schumacher's record at Monza. He sits on 72 pole positions, four above Schumacher and 22 ahead of Sebastian Vettel, the closest active driver.
Say what you want about mile-and-a-half racetracks in NASCAR. There may be too many but if you succeed on those you are going to have a great season. Martin Truex, Jr., did just that. His average finish was 2.454, a record. His worst finish all season in 1.5-mile oval races was eighth. Every time NASCAR went to a 1.5-mile racetrack it seems like you could count on Truex, Jr., to lead at least a third of the race.
Past Winners
2012: DeltaWing
2013: Sebastian Vettel for winning nine consecutive races on his way to a fourth consecutive title
2014: Marc Márquez: Setting the record for most wins in a premier class season.
2015: Justin Wilson Memorial Family Auction
2016: Jimmie Johnson for his seventh NASCAR Cup championship
Fernando Alonso Memorial Moment of the Year
Description: The Most Memorable Moment in the World of Racing from Fernando Alonso during the 2017 season.
And the Nominees are:
Fernando Alonso announcing his Indianapolis 500 ride
Fernando Alonso's press conference at Barber Motorsports Park
Fernando Alonso killing two birds at once during this first test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Fernando Alonso stealing the moment before Formula One's summer break at Hungary
Fernando Alonso at Monza wanting to know where Jolyon Palmer was after an incident between the two
And the winner is... Fernando Alonso announcing his Indianapolis 500 ride
This event turned the world on its ear for all of 2017. Forget the race. We will be asking ourselves where were we on April 12, 2017, when the Spaniard made the stunning decision to head to Indianapolis instead of Monaco for the final weekend in May.
A lot of people have been throwing his name around as the best racer or driver of the year because of what he did at Indianapolis and what he did with a horrendous car in Formula One but let's be realistic. You need results to be either of those two things but Alonso does deserve recognition for doing what many would never fathom trying in stepping away from Formula One for one race to race another discipline. If he doesn't do this we would have had less excitement in 2017 and two of the four other nominees wouldn't exist.
The man stole the spotlight in 2017 and he didn't even win a race but he made us realize how great motorsports can be when a driver branches out.
On the other nominees:
The press conference was the United States' first taste of the Spaniard after his announcement and he came off relaxed despite being in such a structured situation. He even left us with a few zingers, such as when asked about what the reaction from the other Formula One drivers had been, his response "we don't talk much."
There is something about watching a race car shred wild life to bits. I love animals but let's face it. Humans are on top and Fernando Alonso put two points on the scoreboard for mankind. Humans 2, Animals 0.
The man is a good sport. In honor of his famous sunbathing session in a beach chair after his car broke down during practice at Interlagos, a mural was made featuring the Spaniard reclined at a beach to signify the start of the Formula One summer break. To go along with the artwork, Alonso came out and reclined in a beach chair while Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas celebrated on the podium. He stole the show once again and not only did he steal the show from the drivers on the podium but from himself as well. Alonso finished sixth in the race and it was his best finish of the season. How many didn't realize that?
Monza saw Alonso lose a position to Palmer after the Renault driver cut the second chicane. The British driver did not give the position back but Palmer was handed a five-second penalty. This irked the Spaniard. However, Palmer was forced to retired. Alonso then asked where he was and told that the Brit had dropped out of the race. His response was another gem: "Karma."
Past Winners
2012: Alex Zanardi
2013: 24 Hours of Le Mans
2014: Post-race at the Charlotte and Texas Chase races.
2015: Matt Kenseth vs. Joey Logano
2016: Toyota Slows at Le Mans
Pass of the Year
Description: Best pass of 2017.
And the Nominees are:
Roberto Rolfe: From third to first on the final lap in World Supersport at Phillip Island.
Jamie McMurray: From fifth to second at Talladega.
Hélio Castroneves: From third to first at Toronto.
Renger van der Zande: From second to first on Dane Cameron at Laguna Seca.
Chalrles Leclerc: From second to first on Alexander Albon at Yas Marina.
And the winner is... Renger van der Zande: From second to first on Dane Cameron at Laguna Seca
When you have Alex Zanardi's approval of a pass in the corkscrew you know it was a damn good pass.
The Dutchman threw it up in the inside of the American's Cadillac in the closing laps and the two went side-by-side into the corkscrew with van der Zande coming out ahead. It was a no mercy, hold your breath move and it paid off. Van der Zande then ran away with it and won comfortably over Cameron.
On the other nominees:
Rolfe had never won a World Supersport race and on the final lap he made his move to the outside of Yamaha riders Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricacsulo entering turn two. It was a gutsy move and despite the move coming so early the Italian held on for the victory.
The restrictor plate races are a crapshoot and most of the time it is out of a driver's control but on the final lap in the May Talladega race, McMurray made an audacious move to go from the bottom pass Kasey Kahne and split Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson to get to second. He was on Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.'s rear but didn't have enough momentum. It was still a hell of a move to get to second.
The first corner at most IndyCar street races are hair-raising and any daring move up the inside could leave at least one but possibly two guys pissed off. Hélio Castroneves went from side-by-side with Graham Rahal to the inside of Simon Pagenaud and into the lead by turn two with no contact to boot. It was flawless.
Abu Dhabi may have two passing zones but Charles Leclerc used all the straightaway into turn eight to pass Alexander Albon in what was a side-by-side battle that seemed to last an eternity. The Monegasque driver has been proving he is something special all season and in the Formula Two finale he may have put the cherry on top of the sundae.
Past Winners
2012: Simon Pagenaud at Baltimore
2013: Robert Wickens at Nürburgring and Peter Dempsey in the Freedom 100
2014: Ryan Blaney on Germán Quiroga
2015: Laurens Vanthoor from 4th to 2nd on the outside in the Bathurst 12 Hour
2016: Scott McLaughlin on Mark Winterbottom at Surfers Paradise
The Eric Idle Award
Description: "When You're Chewing on Life's Gristle, Don't Grumble, Give a Whistle, And This'll Help Things Turn Out For The Best, and... Always Look On The Bright Side of Life."
And the Nominees are:
Pierre Gasly: For having his Super Formula title hopes ended by a typhoon and missing a Formula One race as well.
Jolyon Palmer: For a rough time at Renault.
Kyle Larson: For his engine failure at Kansas and four bad races dropping him to eighth in the championship when he was really the third-best driver all season.
Chase Elliott: For five runner-up finishes and still looking for his first career Cup victory.
Nick Heidfeld: For going 18 years and counting since his most recent single-seater victory.
And the winner is... Nick Heidfeld
This is a lifetime achievement award... or more a lifetime of under achievement award. Let's get this straight. I like Nick Heidfeld and I want him to win a race in single-seaters before he calls it quits but it is astonishing how close he has been. This isn't a guy who has just hung around and never been close. He is the all-time leader for most podium finishes without a victory in both Formula One and Formula E! And if he wants to beat the piss out of Nicolas Prost no one would blame him.
His last single-seater victory was at what is now the Red Bull Ring in International Formula 3000 on July 24, 1999. He went on to win the championship that season. He has made 221 single-seater starts since his most recent single-seater victory. He did win the 2013 Petit Le Mans but that is his only victory in anything since that Austrian victory in the 20th century. Although, he technically won the two-car LMP1-L class at Le Mans in 2014 but come on man! It was a two-car class; it wasn't even a class. It was a subclass. I am getting off topic.
His next shot at victory in a single-seater will be in Formula E at Marrakech on January 13, 2018. It will have been 6,748 days since he won at Spielberg or 18 years, five months and 20 days. Soon he will be racing against drivers who were not even alive the last time he won in a single-seater.
On the other nominees:
Pierre Gasly was between a rock and a hard place in deciding whether to go for the Super Formula championship, which he trailed by a half point entering the final round, a doubleheader at Suzuka, or run the United States Grand Prix for Scuderia Toro Rosso. He chose (or Honda chose) the former and he was starting eighth, four positions behind title rival Hiroaki Ishiura in race one but he was going to start sixth, three positions ahead of Ishiura, in race two. We will never know if he could have won the championship on the track.
Say what you want about Jolyon Palmer but you don't win the GP2 championship on accident and Palmer had his share of bad luck in mechanical failures. Not to forget mentioning he had three 11th-place finishes in the first half of the season. He picked up a sixth-place finish at Singapore in a good showing in the wet. However, when Renault picked up Carlos Sainz, Jr., Palmer was soon out the door.
Had Larson's engine not gone sour at Kansas, he could have won the NASCAR Cup championship. He entered Kansas third in points and his race was over in the first stage. Even worse was the result was followed by three more retirements and because of the championship system he dropped to eighth in the final championship results despite scoring the fourth-most points all season.
Chase Elliott couldn't buy a victory and he is in a must-win situation. Besides his five runner-up finishes, he had near victories in the Daytona 500, the spring Phoenix race, the autumn Talladega race and the autumn Martinsville race. Now people are questioning his ability. He just turned 22 years old. He is fine but many worry that this son of a champion stud will end up like another son of a champion that just departed.
Past Winners
2012: Ben Spies
2013: Sam Hornish, Jr.
2014: Alexander Rossi
2015: McLaren
2016: Toyota
Comeback of the Year
Description: The Best Comeback in the 2017 season.
And the Nominees are:
Sébastien Bourdais: Returning to IndyCar after missing nine races due to injuries suffered in Indianapolis 500 qualifying.
Max Verstappen: From 16th to fourth at Austin.
Robert Kubica: Testing a Formula One car at Hungary
Johann Zarco: Running out of fuel and pushing bike to 15th place finish at Misano
Kelvin van der Linde: From third to first after a botched pit stop in the final 20 minutes of the 24 Hours Nürburgring
And the winner is... Kelvin van der Linde: From third to first after a botched pit stop in the final 20 minutes in the 24 Hours Nürburgring
It appeared all was lost for Land-Motorsport. The team didn't get the fuel cap closed on the final stop and they struggled to get the situation fixed. The race was over... but then it started raining and the team had the chance to put rain tires on. The team did and van der Linde went on a drive for the ages, picking off slower traffic stuck on slick tires in the wet and even using the grass when he needed to. He ran down the #98 ROWE Racing and the #9 WRT Audi and took the victory in an astonishing fashion.
On the other nominees:
There should almost be two lists because it is hard to compare what Sébastien Bourdais did to what van der Linde did. Bourdais was ruled out in the hours after his accident. His recovery was remarkable and he made it back probably two races earlier than expected and he returned at Gateway and finished tenth. He followed that up with a ninth place finish at Sonoma.
Verstappen had to start 16th after a grid penalty. The Dutchman went on a drive, picking through the field. He made a daring pass on Valtteri Bottas to get to fourth and he chased down for Kimi Räikkönen for third. He cut the course to get third and ultimately were handed a five-second penalty demote him to fourth but it was still an impressive drive.
Robert Kubica had been out of a Formula One car for almost seven years prior to his test with Williams at Hungary. He has been in the conversation for the Williams seat in 2018 but he likely will not get it. The fact he got back into a Formula One after all these years and did respectably well is an accomplishment in of itself.
It technically wasn't a comeback but Johann Zarco could have quit. He could have laid the bike down and conceded a point on the final lap but he rounded the final corner at Misano and give it his all pushing the bike. It was enough for 15th and one championship point. Zarco ended up finished ahead of Jorge Lorenzo in the championship by 37 points so he didn't need it but it was a great showing of not giving up despite a bad break.
Past Winners
2013: Michael Shank Racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona
2014: Juan Pablo Montoya to IndyCar
2015: Kyle Busch
2016: Max Verstappen from 15th to 3rd in the final 18 laps in the wet in the Brazilian Grand Prix
Most Improved
Description: Racer, Team or Manufacture Who Improved The Most from 2016 to 2017.
And the Nominees are:
DJR Team Penske: From three podium finishes and fifth in the Supercars Teams' Championship to 12 victories and first in the Teams' Championship.
Ott Tänak: From eighth on 88 points to third on 191 points with two victories and seventh podium finishes in the World Rally Championship.
Takuma Sato: From 17th to 8th in the IndyCar championship with a victory (in the Indianapolis 500 nonetheless), four top fives and two pole positions.
Dale Coyne Racing: From one podium finishes and six top ten finishes to a victory, three podium finishes and ten top ten finishes.
BMW Team RLL: From fifth in the GT Le Mans Championship and zero victories and three podium finishes to second in the GTLM Championship with four victories.
And the winner is... DJR Team Penske
The joke was Team Penske was on its way to world domination and it nearly got Australia. In partnership with Dick Johnson Racing, this team made great strides with Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard. No team won more races in Supercars in 2017 and the McLaughlin and Coulthard finished second and third in the Drivers' Championship. McLaughlin was one move away from being champion. Perhaps 2018 will be the year Penske takes over Australia and start its way up the Asia-Pacific.
On the other nominees:
Ott Tänak and the M-Sport World Rally Team made a great leap forward with Sébastien Ogier joining the team. The Estonian had a few good opportunities in 2016 but Ford was behind Volkswagen and Hyundai. This year it was best and Tänak gave his teammate a run for his money. He moves to Toyota in 2018 and he could be the favorite for the championship.
Takuma Sato had never finished in the top ten of the championship in his IndyCar career. He hadn't finished in the top ten of any championship since he finished eighth in the 2004 World Drivers' Championship. This was the first year Sato consistently brought the car home and had the speed to compete at the front. It was comforting to see him finally have one good year.
Dale Coyne Racing didn't put up massive numbers but when you consider the lead driver was taken out before the halfway point of the season and a rookie led the team from then on it was a really good year. Not to forget mentioning the team made a massive step forward on ovals. The team was quick at Indianapolis and got a third place finish with Ed Jones. It was the team's first top ten on an oval since Justin Wilson finished seventh at Pocono in 2013. It was the team's first top five finish on an oval since Wilson finished fifth at Indianapolis in 2013.
BMW Team RLL was lost in 2016 and it was a title contender in 2017. Alexander Sims was a stud and Bill Auberlen showed he still got it. Martin Tomczyk and John Edwards had a rough season but even they had their races and won at Laguna Seca. Now BMW brings in the M8 GTE to replace the M6 GTLM. Can it take the next step and beat Corvette?
Past Winners
2012: Esteban Guerrieri
2013: Marco Andretti
2014: Chaz Mostert
2015: Graham Rahal
2016: Simon Pagenaud
And there you have it. Congratulations to all the champions, race winners and all the competitors from around the globe. This is the sixth year of doing this and I plan on continuing for much longer than six more years. Thank you to all the readers and those who enjoy and share this with others. I look forward to more of it 2018. Keep an eye out for 2018 predictions coming in the final days of December.
Racer of the Year
Description: Given to the best racer over the course of 2017.
And the Nominees are:
Brendon Hartley
Jonathan Rea
Jordan Taylor
Lewis Hamilton
Martin Truex, Jr.
Sébastien Buemi
And the winner is... Brendon Hartley
The man started the year by winning the Dubai 24 Hour with Herberth Motorsport. Hartley would then go on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Timo Bernhard and Earl Bamber in the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid and that team would go on to win the three races after Le Mans as well. Then he won Petit Le Mans in the #2 Extreme Speed Motorsport Nissan with Ryan Dalziel and Scott Sharp. Then he was linked and likely had signed a deal to become Chip Ganassi Racing's second driver for the 2018 IndyCar season until Scuderia Toro Rosso came knocking and put him in its car for the prematurely departing Carlos Sainz, Jr. In-between Formula One starts, Hartley clinched the World Endurance Drivers' Championship with Bernhard and Bamber.
Anyone else come closing to matching Hartley for most diverse 2017? The man drove everything and was linked to everything but a NASCAR Cup ride. He won endurance races in three entirely different machines. He got to drive a Formula One car and he was competitive considering the lack of seat time. If Hartley didn't have so many grid penalties and gotten a morsel of reliable from Renault he could have scored at least a point.
Hartley took the long road to Formula One and collected some precious silverware along the way. What can he do now that he has hit the big time?
On the other nominees:
Jonathan Rea is the competitor we are talking the least about and we should be talking about him more. The man has dominated the World Superbike Championship for three consecutive seasons and he might have had his best season yet in 2017. He won 16 races, the second-most all-time in a single-season; he stood on the podium 24 times, a single-season record; he set 14 fastest laps; matching a single-season record. He is tied for second all-time in World Superbike titles and he is second all-time in World Superbike victories. He will likely be the most successful rider in WSBK history after 2018.
Jordan Taylor won the IMSA Prototype championship, the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX GT championship, the 24 Hours of Daytona overall, the 12 Hours of Sebring overall and he finished third in GTE-Pro at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and if it wasn't for a flat tire on the final lap he would have won that bloody race too.
Lewis Hamilton proved to once again be one of the best drivers alive. In a year where Mercedes was equally matched, if not bested by Ferrari, Hamilton found a way to win his fourth World Drivers' Championship. He won nine races, picked up 11 pole positions, sits on 62 career victories and 72 career pole positions, second all-time and first all-time in each respective category.
Martin Truex, Jr., had a dominant NASCAR Cup season. He won eight races, seven on 1.5-mile ovals, a record for most victories on that discipline in one season. He should have locked up the championship with two races to go but despite the format, he still went on to win the finale and take his first Cup championship.
The only non-champion nominated is Sébastien Buemi and it is because the Swiss driver did everything to win a title. He won five FIA World Endurance Championship races in the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid with Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima, more than Hartley and the #2 Porsche. Besides his success in the FIA WEC, Buemi won four Formula E races in the calendar year but finished second in each championship.
Past Winners
2012: Kyle Larson
2013: Marc Márquez
2014: Marc Márquez
2015: Nick Tandy
2016: Shane van Gisbergen
2014: Marc Márquez
2015: Nick Tandy
2016: Shane van Gisbergen
Race of the Year
Description: Best Race of 2017.
And the Nominees are:
ABC Supply 500 from Pocono Raceway
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
All three races at the World Superbike/World Supersport weekend at Phillip Island
Ford EcoBoost 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway
Supercross 450cc Main Event from Phoenix
And the winner is... All races at the World Superbike/World Supersport weekend at Phillip Island
It was late-February and you could not ask for three better races to occur in two days that is why they are being grouped together. Marco Melandri led the first lap of the WSBK season and the first race played out to be a Kawasaki vs. Ducati battle. Jonathan Rea took the lead before Melandri retook the point a few laps later. Tom Sykes led a lap and Yamaha's Alex Lowes even got in the fight. Melandri fell off his bike and the battle continued. Rea led before Sykes jumped to the top. It became a Rea vs. Chaz Davies battle for the final three laps. Davies was on the Northern Irishman's back wheel exiting the final corner but he could not get alongside Rea and finished 0.042 seconds back.
World Supersport took the stage early on Sunday and a red flag forced a shortened race. Jules Cluzel led most of the race but any one of seven bikes could have won the race as the top seven were covered by 0.860 seconds at the start of the final lap. Roberto Rolfo made move to the outside entering the second corner to go from third to first. Cluzel's charge to the front ended with an accident with Federico Caricasulo and that left Rolfo one-on-one with Lucas Mahias. The two were side-by-side coming to the line and right when it appeared Mahias had him, Rolfo came back and the result was too close to call at the line with timing and scoring jumping between the two riders on who was the winner. The result was investigate and Rolfo was ruled the winner by 0.001 seconds.
If that wasn't close enough for you, World Superbike returned to the track to see if it could match the show it put on in the first race of the season. It took six laps for Rea to get to the lead and Davies took the lead on lap eight. Davies led for a good portion of the race before Melandri got to the front and led four laps. Rea led with two laps to go and Davies retook the lead at the start of the final lap but Rea took the lead back in the first corner. Davies sat behind Rea and had a great run in the middle of the final corner but Rea was better on exit. Davies looked to the outside and then swung back to the inside but fell 0.025 seconds short. The top two were covered by less than a tenth of a second at the completion of each of the final four laps.
On the other nominees:
IndyCar has put on some of the best 500-mile races in the DW12-era and Pocono proved to be a stellar race with a Pocono record 42 lead change and a famous 12-lap battle where Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal swapped the lead constantly. However, the end saw a Will Power-Josef Newgarden-Alexander Rossi battle with the Australian holding off the American drivers after Power was forced to change front wings and go on a different fuel strategy.
Azerbaijan is the race that shaped the World Drivers' Championship. Sebastian Vettel hit Lewis Hamilton. He was penalized. Hamilton had a headrest come loose and force him to pit. The Force Indias ran into each other when it appeared one of them could steal the race. This allowed Daniel Ricciardo to take the victory with Valtteri Bottas beating Lance Stroll in a drag race to the line for second.
I think we need to do a separate category for four-wheel race of the year and two-wheel race of the year and possibly another category for Phillip Island race of the year because MotoGP had a race there that rivaled the three February race. It felt more like a Moto3 race with the riders at the front constantly rotating. However, Marc Márquez took control of the race with seven laps to go and never looked back.
Say what you want about the NASCAR Chase format but it allowed for an exciting season finale. Martin Truex, Jr., and Kyle Busch ran at ten-tenths for 400 miles and Kyle Larson, with nothing to lose ran them down while Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski were good but not good enough. The top three of Truex, Jr., Busch and Larson were all within sight of each other until the final lap.
Eli Tomac dominated the Supercross main event at Phoenix but from second to tenth the battle was tremendous. Chad Reed flexed his muscle and beat Ryan Dungey and Cole Seely for second after those had there own back and forth battle.
Past Winners
2012: Indianapolis 500
2013: British motorcycle Grand Prix
2014: Bathurst 1000
2015: Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
2016: Spanish Grand Prix
Achievement of the Year
Description: Best success by a driver, team, manufacture, etc.
And the Nominees are:
Christopher Bell: For becoming the second driver to win the Chili Bowl and Turkey Night Grand Prix in the same year.
James French and Pato O'Ward: For winning seven of right Prototype Challenge races in ISMA.
Jonathan Rea: For becoming the first rider to win three consecutive World Superbike championships.
Lewis Hamilton: For breaking the record for most Formula One pole positions.
Martin Truex, Jr.: Lowest average finish on 1.5-mile ovals in NASCAR Cup Series History and record seven victories on 1.5-mile ovals.
And the winner is... Jonathan Rea: For becoming the first rider to win three consecutive World Superbike championships.
I kind of said it all above. Rea had a dominant season and he has had a dominant three seasons. He has won 40 of 78 races over his three championship seasons. He has stood on the podium for 70 of those races. He has retired from five races over the last three seasons but his worst finish in three seasons is fourth. If there is one gripe it is that Rea has only won 14 pole positions in those three seasons.
On the other nominees:
Christopher Bell might be underrated. He seemed to be forgotten when teammates with William Byron in the Truck series as Byron was pegged as a future star. Besides winning the Truck Series championship this year, Bell won the two most prestigious midget car races in the United States. The Oklahoman won his home race for the first time in his career and he picked up his second Turkey Night Grand Prix victory. The only other driver to accomplish this feat was Billy Boat in 1997.
I know the final year of the Prototype Challenge class wasn't the most exciting bit of racing ever and most races only featured three cars but going 7-for-8 is something. James French and Pato O'Ward are two drivers to watch out for in sports cars and possibly even open wheel racing. It is a shame they missed out on the perfect season in the final race.
What else can't be said about Lewis Hamilton that has been said already? The man put himself at the top of the list when it comes to pole positions and in the same sentimental way Michael Schumacher did it. Schumacher broke Ayrton Senna's at Imola. Hamilton broke Schumacher's record at Monza. He sits on 72 pole positions, four above Schumacher and 22 ahead of Sebastian Vettel, the closest active driver.
Say what you want about mile-and-a-half racetracks in NASCAR. There may be too many but if you succeed on those you are going to have a great season. Martin Truex, Jr., did just that. His average finish was 2.454, a record. His worst finish all season in 1.5-mile oval races was eighth. Every time NASCAR went to a 1.5-mile racetrack it seems like you could count on Truex, Jr., to lead at least a third of the race.
Past Winners
2012: DeltaWing
2013: Sebastian Vettel for winning nine consecutive races on his way to a fourth consecutive title
2014: Marc Márquez: Setting the record for most wins in a premier class season.
2015: Justin Wilson Memorial Family Auction
2016: Jimmie Johnson for his seventh NASCAR Cup championship
Fernando Alonso Memorial Moment of the Year
Description: The Most Memorable Moment in the World of Racing from Fernando Alonso during the 2017 season.
And the Nominees are:
Fernando Alonso announcing his Indianapolis 500 ride
Fernando Alonso's press conference at Barber Motorsports Park
Fernando Alonso killing two birds at once during this first test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Fernando Alonso stealing the moment before Formula One's summer break at Hungary
Fernando Alonso at Monza wanting to know where Jolyon Palmer was after an incident between the two
And the winner is... Fernando Alonso announcing his Indianapolis 500 ride
This event turned the world on its ear for all of 2017. Forget the race. We will be asking ourselves where were we on April 12, 2017, when the Spaniard made the stunning decision to head to Indianapolis instead of Monaco for the final weekend in May.
A lot of people have been throwing his name around as the best racer or driver of the year because of what he did at Indianapolis and what he did with a horrendous car in Formula One but let's be realistic. You need results to be either of those two things but Alonso does deserve recognition for doing what many would never fathom trying in stepping away from Formula One for one race to race another discipline. If he doesn't do this we would have had less excitement in 2017 and two of the four other nominees wouldn't exist.
The man stole the spotlight in 2017 and he didn't even win a race but he made us realize how great motorsports can be when a driver branches out.
On the other nominees:
The press conference was the United States' first taste of the Spaniard after his announcement and he came off relaxed despite being in such a structured situation. He even left us with a few zingers, such as when asked about what the reaction from the other Formula One drivers had been, his response "we don't talk much."
There is something about watching a race car shred wild life to bits. I love animals but let's face it. Humans are on top and Fernando Alonso put two points on the scoreboard for mankind. Humans 2, Animals 0.
The man is a good sport. In honor of his famous sunbathing session in a beach chair after his car broke down during practice at Interlagos, a mural was made featuring the Spaniard reclined at a beach to signify the start of the Formula One summer break. To go along with the artwork, Alonso came out and reclined in a beach chair while Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas celebrated on the podium. He stole the show once again and not only did he steal the show from the drivers on the podium but from himself as well. Alonso finished sixth in the race and it was his best finish of the season. How many didn't realize that?
Monza saw Alonso lose a position to Palmer after the Renault driver cut the second chicane. The British driver did not give the position back but Palmer was handed a five-second penalty. This irked the Spaniard. However, Palmer was forced to retired. Alonso then asked where he was and told that the Brit had dropped out of the race. His response was another gem: "Karma."
Past Winners
2012: Alex Zanardi
2013: 24 Hours of Le Mans
2014: Post-race at the Charlotte and Texas Chase races.
2015: Matt Kenseth vs. Joey Logano
2016: Toyota Slows at Le Mans
Pass of the Year
Description: Best pass of 2017.
And the Nominees are:
Roberto Rolfe: From third to first on the final lap in World Supersport at Phillip Island.
Jamie McMurray: From fifth to second at Talladega.
Hélio Castroneves: From third to first at Toronto.
Renger van der Zande: From second to first on Dane Cameron at Laguna Seca.
Chalrles Leclerc: From second to first on Alexander Albon at Yas Marina.
And the winner is... Renger van der Zande: From second to first on Dane Cameron at Laguna Seca
When you have Alex Zanardi's approval of a pass in the corkscrew you know it was a damn good pass.
The Dutchman threw it up in the inside of the American's Cadillac in the closing laps and the two went side-by-side into the corkscrew with van der Zande coming out ahead. It was a no mercy, hold your breath move and it paid off. Van der Zande then ran away with it and won comfortably over Cameron.
On the other nominees:
Rolfe had never won a World Supersport race and on the final lap he made his move to the outside of Yamaha riders Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricacsulo entering turn two. It was a gutsy move and despite the move coming so early the Italian held on for the victory.
The restrictor plate races are a crapshoot and most of the time it is out of a driver's control but on the final lap in the May Talladega race, McMurray made an audacious move to go from the bottom pass Kasey Kahne and split Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson to get to second. He was on Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.'s rear but didn't have enough momentum. It was still a hell of a move to get to second.
The first corner at most IndyCar street races are hair-raising and any daring move up the inside could leave at least one but possibly two guys pissed off. Hélio Castroneves went from side-by-side with Graham Rahal to the inside of Simon Pagenaud and into the lead by turn two with no contact to boot. It was flawless.
Abu Dhabi may have two passing zones but Charles Leclerc used all the straightaway into turn eight to pass Alexander Albon in what was a side-by-side battle that seemed to last an eternity. The Monegasque driver has been proving he is something special all season and in the Formula Two finale he may have put the cherry on top of the sundae.
Past Winners
2012: Simon Pagenaud at Baltimore
2013: Robert Wickens at Nürburgring and Peter Dempsey in the Freedom 100
2014: Ryan Blaney on Germán Quiroga
2015: Laurens Vanthoor from 4th to 2nd on the outside in the Bathurst 12 Hour
2016: Scott McLaughlin on Mark Winterbottom at Surfers Paradise
The Eric Idle Award
Description: "When You're Chewing on Life's Gristle, Don't Grumble, Give a Whistle, And This'll Help Things Turn Out For The Best, and... Always Look On The Bright Side of Life."
And the Nominees are:
Pierre Gasly: For having his Super Formula title hopes ended by a typhoon and missing a Formula One race as well.
Jolyon Palmer: For a rough time at Renault.
Kyle Larson: For his engine failure at Kansas and four bad races dropping him to eighth in the championship when he was really the third-best driver all season.
Chase Elliott: For five runner-up finishes and still looking for his first career Cup victory.
Nick Heidfeld: For going 18 years and counting since his most recent single-seater victory.
And the winner is... Nick Heidfeld
This is a lifetime achievement award... or more a lifetime of under achievement award. Let's get this straight. I like Nick Heidfeld and I want him to win a race in single-seaters before he calls it quits but it is astonishing how close he has been. This isn't a guy who has just hung around and never been close. He is the all-time leader for most podium finishes without a victory in both Formula One and Formula E! And if he wants to beat the piss out of Nicolas Prost no one would blame him.
His last single-seater victory was at what is now the Red Bull Ring in International Formula 3000 on July 24, 1999. He went on to win the championship that season. He has made 221 single-seater starts since his most recent single-seater victory. He did win the 2013 Petit Le Mans but that is his only victory in anything since that Austrian victory in the 20th century. Although, he technically won the two-car LMP1-L class at Le Mans in 2014 but come on man! It was a two-car class; it wasn't even a class. It was a subclass. I am getting off topic.
His next shot at victory in a single-seater will be in Formula E at Marrakech on January 13, 2018. It will have been 6,748 days since he won at Spielberg or 18 years, five months and 20 days. Soon he will be racing against drivers who were not even alive the last time he won in a single-seater.
On the other nominees:
Pierre Gasly was between a rock and a hard place in deciding whether to go for the Super Formula championship, which he trailed by a half point entering the final round, a doubleheader at Suzuka, or run the United States Grand Prix for Scuderia Toro Rosso. He chose (or Honda chose) the former and he was starting eighth, four positions behind title rival Hiroaki Ishiura in race one but he was going to start sixth, three positions ahead of Ishiura, in race two. We will never know if he could have won the championship on the track.
Say what you want about Jolyon Palmer but you don't win the GP2 championship on accident and Palmer had his share of bad luck in mechanical failures. Not to forget mentioning he had three 11th-place finishes in the first half of the season. He picked up a sixth-place finish at Singapore in a good showing in the wet. However, when Renault picked up Carlos Sainz, Jr., Palmer was soon out the door.
Had Larson's engine not gone sour at Kansas, he could have won the NASCAR Cup championship. He entered Kansas third in points and his race was over in the first stage. Even worse was the result was followed by three more retirements and because of the championship system he dropped to eighth in the final championship results despite scoring the fourth-most points all season.
Chase Elliott couldn't buy a victory and he is in a must-win situation. Besides his five runner-up finishes, he had near victories in the Daytona 500, the spring Phoenix race, the autumn Talladega race and the autumn Martinsville race. Now people are questioning his ability. He just turned 22 years old. He is fine but many worry that this son of a champion stud will end up like another son of a champion that just departed.
Past Winners
2012: Ben Spies
2013: Sam Hornish, Jr.
2014: Alexander Rossi
2015: McLaren
2016: Toyota
Comeback of the Year
Description: The Best Comeback in the 2017 season.
And the Nominees are:
Sébastien Bourdais: Returning to IndyCar after missing nine races due to injuries suffered in Indianapolis 500 qualifying.
Max Verstappen: From 16th to fourth at Austin.
Robert Kubica: Testing a Formula One car at Hungary
Johann Zarco: Running out of fuel and pushing bike to 15th place finish at Misano
Kelvin van der Linde: From third to first after a botched pit stop in the final 20 minutes of the 24 Hours Nürburgring
And the winner is... Kelvin van der Linde: From third to first after a botched pit stop in the final 20 minutes in the 24 Hours Nürburgring
It appeared all was lost for Land-Motorsport. The team didn't get the fuel cap closed on the final stop and they struggled to get the situation fixed. The race was over... but then it started raining and the team had the chance to put rain tires on. The team did and van der Linde went on a drive for the ages, picking off slower traffic stuck on slick tires in the wet and even using the grass when he needed to. He ran down the #98 ROWE Racing and the #9 WRT Audi and took the victory in an astonishing fashion.
On the other nominees:
There should almost be two lists because it is hard to compare what Sébastien Bourdais did to what van der Linde did. Bourdais was ruled out in the hours after his accident. His recovery was remarkable and he made it back probably two races earlier than expected and he returned at Gateway and finished tenth. He followed that up with a ninth place finish at Sonoma.
Verstappen had to start 16th after a grid penalty. The Dutchman went on a drive, picking through the field. He made a daring pass on Valtteri Bottas to get to fourth and he chased down for Kimi Räikkönen for third. He cut the course to get third and ultimately were handed a five-second penalty demote him to fourth but it was still an impressive drive.
Robert Kubica had been out of a Formula One car for almost seven years prior to his test with Williams at Hungary. He has been in the conversation for the Williams seat in 2018 but he likely will not get it. The fact he got back into a Formula One after all these years and did respectably well is an accomplishment in of itself.
It technically wasn't a comeback but Johann Zarco could have quit. He could have laid the bike down and conceded a point on the final lap but he rounded the final corner at Misano and give it his all pushing the bike. It was enough for 15th and one championship point. Zarco ended up finished ahead of Jorge Lorenzo in the championship by 37 points so he didn't need it but it was a great showing of not giving up despite a bad break.
Past Winners
2013: Michael Shank Racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona
2014: Juan Pablo Montoya to IndyCar
2015: Kyle Busch
2016: Max Verstappen from 15th to 3rd in the final 18 laps in the wet in the Brazilian Grand Prix
Most Improved
Description: Racer, Team or Manufacture Who Improved The Most from 2016 to 2017.
And the Nominees are:
DJR Team Penske: From three podium finishes and fifth in the Supercars Teams' Championship to 12 victories and first in the Teams' Championship.
Ott Tänak: From eighth on 88 points to third on 191 points with two victories and seventh podium finishes in the World Rally Championship.
Takuma Sato: From 17th to 8th in the IndyCar championship with a victory (in the Indianapolis 500 nonetheless), four top fives and two pole positions.
Dale Coyne Racing: From one podium finishes and six top ten finishes to a victory, three podium finishes and ten top ten finishes.
BMW Team RLL: From fifth in the GT Le Mans Championship and zero victories and three podium finishes to second in the GTLM Championship with four victories.
And the winner is... DJR Team Penske
The joke was Team Penske was on its way to world domination and it nearly got Australia. In partnership with Dick Johnson Racing, this team made great strides with Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard. No team won more races in Supercars in 2017 and the McLaughlin and Coulthard finished second and third in the Drivers' Championship. McLaughlin was one move away from being champion. Perhaps 2018 will be the year Penske takes over Australia and start its way up the Asia-Pacific.
On the other nominees:
Ott Tänak and the M-Sport World Rally Team made a great leap forward with Sébastien Ogier joining the team. The Estonian had a few good opportunities in 2016 but Ford was behind Volkswagen and Hyundai. This year it was best and Tänak gave his teammate a run for his money. He moves to Toyota in 2018 and he could be the favorite for the championship.
Takuma Sato had never finished in the top ten of the championship in his IndyCar career. He hadn't finished in the top ten of any championship since he finished eighth in the 2004 World Drivers' Championship. This was the first year Sato consistently brought the car home and had the speed to compete at the front. It was comforting to see him finally have one good year.
Dale Coyne Racing didn't put up massive numbers but when you consider the lead driver was taken out before the halfway point of the season and a rookie led the team from then on it was a really good year. Not to forget mentioning the team made a massive step forward on ovals. The team was quick at Indianapolis and got a third place finish with Ed Jones. It was the team's first top ten on an oval since Justin Wilson finished seventh at Pocono in 2013. It was the team's first top five finish on an oval since Wilson finished fifth at Indianapolis in 2013.
BMW Team RLL was lost in 2016 and it was a title contender in 2017. Alexander Sims was a stud and Bill Auberlen showed he still got it. Martin Tomczyk and John Edwards had a rough season but even they had their races and won at Laguna Seca. Now BMW brings in the M8 GTE to replace the M6 GTLM. Can it take the next step and beat Corvette?
Past Winners
2012: Esteban Guerrieri
2013: Marco Andretti
2014: Chaz Mostert
2015: Graham Rahal
2016: Simon Pagenaud
And there you have it. Congratulations to all the champions, race winners and all the competitors from around the globe. This is the sixth year of doing this and I plan on continuing for much longer than six more years. Thank you to all the readers and those who enjoy and share this with others. I look forward to more of it 2018. Keep an eye out for 2018 predictions coming in the final days of December.
Friday, November 24, 2017
Friday Four: Newcastle and Abu Dhabi
We have reached the final weekend of November and we have reached the final Friday preview of the year. Four seasons end this weekend but unfortunately three are dead rubbers and the champions have already had plenty of time to celebrate. The good news is there is one championship to be decided this weekend and five drivers could head home with an early Christmas present in some silverware.
Newcastle 500
The final round of the 2017 Supercars Championship is the inaugural Newcastle 500 on the Newcastle Street Circuit. The course is 1.647 miles with 14 turns and runs along the waterfront.
Jamie Whincup enters the final round as the championship leader. The six-time champion has amassed 2,850 points and the Red Bull Racing Australia Holden driver won the most recent race at Pukekohe Park Raceway. It was Whincup's third victory of the season. Whincup leads DJR Team Penske Ford driver Scott McLaughlin by 30 points. McLaughlin has seven victories this season, the most in Supercars and he has 15 podium finishes from 24 races, including in the last three races. The New Zealander has also won 14 pole positions this season.
McLaughlin's teammate and fellow countryman Fabian Coulthard is third in the championship, 176 points behind Whincup. Coulthard has one podium finish in the last five races and he has only three podium finishes in the last 12 races. Rod Nash Racing driver Chaz Mostert is the third Ford driver with a shot at the title. Mostert is 264 points back in fourth and he has three victories, his most recent being the first race at Surfers Paradise. Shane Van Gisbergen has a slim shot at successfully defending his title. Van Gisbergen trails his teammate Whincup by 276 points with 300 points left on the table. Van Gisbergen has five victories this season, including the first race at Symmons Plain Raceway, which did not award points due to the race being shortened to four laps due to rain and an accident.
Whincup could earn his record extending seventh championship while Van Gisbergen could join Jim Richards as the only New Zealanders to win multiple Supercars championship. McLaughlin, Coulthard and Mostert could all be the 25th different champion in Supercars history. McLaughlin or Coulthard could become the fourth New Zealander to win the championship joining Richards, Van Gisbergen and Robbie Francevic.
Both Red Bull Racing Australia and DJR Team Penske are going for their eighth championship. Red Bull Racing Australia has won seven of the last nine championships with DJR Team Penske's most recent title coming in 2010. Rod Nash Racing is going for its first championship.
Both Newcastle races will be 95 laps in length. Race one will be at 11:45 p.m. ET on Friday November 24th. The final race of the Supercars season will be at 11:40 p.m. ET on Saturday November 25th.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The 20th and final round of the 2017 Formula One season is the ninth edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton won last year's race at Yas Marina, his third Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory and he matched Sebastian Vettel for most Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victories. Hamilton has not finished on the podium in the last two races and Hamilton has not failed to finish on the podium in three consecutive races since he did not finish on the podium in the final eight races of the 2013 season and the 2014 season opener. Vettel picked up his fifth victory of the season at Interlagos. Vettel has not won consecutive races since he won nine consecutive races to close the 2013 season.
Vettel is 22 points ahead of Valtteri Bottas for second in the championship meaning the Finn needs to win and have Vettel finish ninth or worse for Mercedes to sweep the top two in the World Drivers' Championship. Bottas has finished in the top five in 17 of 19 races with the exceptions being sixth at China and a retirement at Barcelona. Daniel Ricciardo holds a seven-point edge over Kimi Räikkönen for fourth in the championships. Räikkönen is the only other Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner on the grid and he has finished third in the last three races. Max Verstappen will finish sixth in the championship regardless of what happens at Yas Marina.
Sergio Pérez increased his gap over Force India teammate Esteban Ocon to seven points as the Mexican driver finished ninth at Brazil and Ocon suffered his first retirement in his Formula One career and his first retirement in single-seater competition since the third race of the Formula 3 Euro Series weekend at the Nürburgring on August 17, 2014. Carlos Sainz, Jr., is 40 points behind Pérez on 54 points while Felipe Massa jumped back into the top ten with a seventh place finish at Brazil and Massa holds a two-point lead over his teammate Lance Stroll, who is 11th on 40 points.
The tight championship battle for sixth in the Constructors' Championship saw very little change at Brazil. Toro Rosso remained sixth on 53 points as neither Pierre Gasly nor Brandon Hartley scored any points. Renault moved to 49 points as Sainz, Jr., finished tenth at Interlagos. Haas also did not score any points at Brazil and the team remains on 47 points.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will take place at 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday November 26th.
Formula Two at Yas Marina Circuit
The 11th and final round of the Formula Two season joins Formula One bill and like Formula One, this championship has already been decided.
Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc locked up the title at Jerez with a victory and a seventh-place finish and he has six victories this season, five of which have been feature races. He has won eight pole positions from the first ten rounds. Leclerc did not score points in either of his two GP3 starts at the track last year.
Oliver Rowland holds second position in the championship with 189 points, 60 behind Leclerc. Rowland has ten podium finishes this season, two more than Leclerc. Rowland made three starts at Yas Marina in GP3 and did not score points in any of the three races. Artem Markelov won the sprint races and Jerez and he is 12 points behind Rowland. Markelov has four victories this season. The Russian's previous best championship finish in GP2/Formula Two was tenth. Markelov's teammate Luca Ghiotto is 13 points back and Canadian Nicholas Latifi rounds out the top five on 156 points. Ghiotto's only victory was the Monza sprint race while Latifi won the Silverstone sprint race.
American Santino Ferrucci will run his fifth round for Trident Racing. After finishing ninth in his first two feature races, the Nutmegger has not scored points in the last five races. Ferrucci is responsible for four of Trident's nine points this season with Sergio Canamasas scoring three points and Nabil Jeffri picking up two points in the Jerez feature race.
The feature race will be at 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday November 25th and the sprint race will be at 5:10 a.m. ET on Sunday November 26th.
GP3 Series at Yas Marina Circuit
Like Formula One and Formula Two, the GP3 championship has already been wrapped up.
Mercedes development driver George Russell clinched the championship with 190 points at Jerez. Russell has won four races this season, all feature races. The only races Russell did not score points in were both Hungary races after he did not start the first race and finished 11th in race two.
Behind Russell are his three ART Grand Prix teammates. Fellow Brit Jack Aitken is second, 50 points back. Aitken's only victory was the first race at Hungary and he has finished on the podium in five of seven of the first races of a race weekend this season. Japanese driver Nirei Fukuzumi is six points behind Aitken. Both of Fukuzumi's victories were first races in Spain as he won at Barcelona and Jerez. Russell, Aitken and Fukuzumi all have six podium finishes this season. Anthione Hubert sits on 117 points. He has yet to win a race this season and he has four podium finishes.
ART Grand Prix has swept the podium in five races this season and all five have been the first race of a weekend, including the last four consecutive rounds.
Giuliano Alesi rounds out the top five in the championship with 99 points. Alesi has won three races this season. Alessio Lorandi won the most recent race of the season at Jerez and he has 82 points and he is ten points ahead of Dorian Boccolacci, who finished second to Lorandi. American Ryan Tveter is eighth on 62 points. Tveter finished second at Hungary and third at Spa-Francorchamps.
Race one will be at 3:25 a.m. ET on Saturday November 25th and race two will be at 3:50 a.m. ET on Sunday November 26th.
Newcastle 500
The final round of the 2017 Supercars Championship is the inaugural Newcastle 500 on the Newcastle Street Circuit. The course is 1.647 miles with 14 turns and runs along the waterfront.
Jamie Whincup enters the final round as the championship leader. The six-time champion has amassed 2,850 points and the Red Bull Racing Australia Holden driver won the most recent race at Pukekohe Park Raceway. It was Whincup's third victory of the season. Whincup leads DJR Team Penske Ford driver Scott McLaughlin by 30 points. McLaughlin has seven victories this season, the most in Supercars and he has 15 podium finishes from 24 races, including in the last three races. The New Zealander has also won 14 pole positions this season.
McLaughlin's teammate and fellow countryman Fabian Coulthard is third in the championship, 176 points behind Whincup. Coulthard has one podium finish in the last five races and he has only three podium finishes in the last 12 races. Rod Nash Racing driver Chaz Mostert is the third Ford driver with a shot at the title. Mostert is 264 points back in fourth and he has three victories, his most recent being the first race at Surfers Paradise. Shane Van Gisbergen has a slim shot at successfully defending his title. Van Gisbergen trails his teammate Whincup by 276 points with 300 points left on the table. Van Gisbergen has five victories this season, including the first race at Symmons Plain Raceway, which did not award points due to the race being shortened to four laps due to rain and an accident.
Whincup could earn his record extending seventh championship while Van Gisbergen could join Jim Richards as the only New Zealanders to win multiple Supercars championship. McLaughlin, Coulthard and Mostert could all be the 25th different champion in Supercars history. McLaughlin or Coulthard could become the fourth New Zealander to win the championship joining Richards, Van Gisbergen and Robbie Francevic.
Both Red Bull Racing Australia and DJR Team Penske are going for their eighth championship. Red Bull Racing Australia has won seven of the last nine championships with DJR Team Penske's most recent title coming in 2010. Rod Nash Racing is going for its first championship.
Both Newcastle races will be 95 laps in length. Race one will be at 11:45 p.m. ET on Friday November 24th. The final race of the Supercars season will be at 11:40 p.m. ET on Saturday November 25th.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The 20th and final round of the 2017 Formula One season is the ninth edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton won last year's race at Yas Marina, his third Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory and he matched Sebastian Vettel for most Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victories. Hamilton has not finished on the podium in the last two races and Hamilton has not failed to finish on the podium in three consecutive races since he did not finish on the podium in the final eight races of the 2013 season and the 2014 season opener. Vettel picked up his fifth victory of the season at Interlagos. Vettel has not won consecutive races since he won nine consecutive races to close the 2013 season.
Vettel is 22 points ahead of Valtteri Bottas for second in the championship meaning the Finn needs to win and have Vettel finish ninth or worse for Mercedes to sweep the top two in the World Drivers' Championship. Bottas has finished in the top five in 17 of 19 races with the exceptions being sixth at China and a retirement at Barcelona. Daniel Ricciardo holds a seven-point edge over Kimi Räikkönen for fourth in the championships. Räikkönen is the only other Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner on the grid and he has finished third in the last three races. Max Verstappen will finish sixth in the championship regardless of what happens at Yas Marina.
Sergio Pérez increased his gap over Force India teammate Esteban Ocon to seven points as the Mexican driver finished ninth at Brazil and Ocon suffered his first retirement in his Formula One career and his first retirement in single-seater competition since the third race of the Formula 3 Euro Series weekend at the Nürburgring on August 17, 2014. Carlos Sainz, Jr., is 40 points behind Pérez on 54 points while Felipe Massa jumped back into the top ten with a seventh place finish at Brazil and Massa holds a two-point lead over his teammate Lance Stroll, who is 11th on 40 points.
The tight championship battle for sixth in the Constructors' Championship saw very little change at Brazil. Toro Rosso remained sixth on 53 points as neither Pierre Gasly nor Brandon Hartley scored any points. Renault moved to 49 points as Sainz, Jr., finished tenth at Interlagos. Haas also did not score any points at Brazil and the team remains on 47 points.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will take place at 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday November 26th.
Formula Two at Yas Marina Circuit
The 11th and final round of the Formula Two season joins Formula One bill and like Formula One, this championship has already been decided.
Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc locked up the title at Jerez with a victory and a seventh-place finish and he has six victories this season, five of which have been feature races. He has won eight pole positions from the first ten rounds. Leclerc did not score points in either of his two GP3 starts at the track last year.
Oliver Rowland holds second position in the championship with 189 points, 60 behind Leclerc. Rowland has ten podium finishes this season, two more than Leclerc. Rowland made three starts at Yas Marina in GP3 and did not score points in any of the three races. Artem Markelov won the sprint races and Jerez and he is 12 points behind Rowland. Markelov has four victories this season. The Russian's previous best championship finish in GP2/Formula Two was tenth. Markelov's teammate Luca Ghiotto is 13 points back and Canadian Nicholas Latifi rounds out the top five on 156 points. Ghiotto's only victory was the Monza sprint race while Latifi won the Silverstone sprint race.
American Santino Ferrucci will run his fifth round for Trident Racing. After finishing ninth in his first two feature races, the Nutmegger has not scored points in the last five races. Ferrucci is responsible for four of Trident's nine points this season with Sergio Canamasas scoring three points and Nabil Jeffri picking up two points in the Jerez feature race.
The feature race will be at 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday November 25th and the sprint race will be at 5:10 a.m. ET on Sunday November 26th.
GP3 Series at Yas Marina Circuit
Like Formula One and Formula Two, the GP3 championship has already been wrapped up.
Mercedes development driver George Russell clinched the championship with 190 points at Jerez. Russell has won four races this season, all feature races. The only races Russell did not score points in were both Hungary races after he did not start the first race and finished 11th in race two.
Behind Russell are his three ART Grand Prix teammates. Fellow Brit Jack Aitken is second, 50 points back. Aitken's only victory was the first race at Hungary and he has finished on the podium in five of seven of the first races of a race weekend this season. Japanese driver Nirei Fukuzumi is six points behind Aitken. Both of Fukuzumi's victories were first races in Spain as he won at Barcelona and Jerez. Russell, Aitken and Fukuzumi all have six podium finishes this season. Anthione Hubert sits on 117 points. He has yet to win a race this season and he has four podium finishes.
ART Grand Prix has swept the podium in five races this season and all five have been the first race of a weekend, including the last four consecutive rounds.
Giuliano Alesi rounds out the top five in the championship with 99 points. Alesi has won three races this season. Alessio Lorandi won the most recent race of the season at Jerez and he has 82 points and he is ten points ahead of Dorian Boccolacci, who finished second to Lorandi. American Ryan Tveter is eighth on 62 points. Tveter finished second at Hungary and third at Spa-Francorchamps.
Race one will be at 3:25 a.m. ET on Saturday November 25th and race two will be at 3:50 a.m. ET on Sunday November 26th.
Over or Under?
1. Over or Under: 229.5 scored by Scott McLaughlin this weekend?
2. Over or Under: 999.5 total laps completed in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
3. Over or Under: 3.5 points-paying finishes for Prema Powerteam?
4. Over or Under: 8.5 championship place finish for Ryan Tveter?
Last Week's Over/Unders
1. Under: Martin Truex, Jr., led 78 laps at Homestead.
2. Under: None of the four drivers fight for the Xfinity Series title led a lap at Homestead.
3. Under: Austin Cindric finished fifth in the Truck series race.
4. Over: 25 cars were classified in the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
5. Over: Hayden Paddon scored 15 points in Rally Australia.
6. Over: The top nine in the Macau Grand Prix were covered by ten seconds.
7. Under: There were zero flips in the FIA GT World Cup races.
8. Over: Two Non-European drivers finished on the podium in the two WTCC races.
6. Over: The top nine in the Macau Grand Prix were covered by ten seconds.
7. Under: There were zero flips in the FIA GT World Cup races.
8. Over: Two Non-European drivers finished on the podium in the two WTCC races.
Predictions
1. There will be at least one change in the top five of the championship after Newcastle.
2. There will be fewer than two retirements for Renault-powered cars due to mechanical issues.
3. At least eight Formula Two teams score points this weekend.
4. ART Grand Prix does not sweep a podium at Abu Dhabi.
Last Week's Predictions
1. The NASCAR Cup champion will not have exactly five victories this season (Correct! Martin Truex, Jr., ended with eight victories.
2. Sam Hornish, Jr., finishes ahead of at least two of the four championship eligible drivers (Correct! Sam Hornish, Jr., finished second, ahead of all four championship drivers).
3. The winner of the Truck race does not lead the most laps (Wrong! Chase Briscoe won and led the most laps).
4. The #98 Aston Martin holds on and wins the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-Am Drivers (Correct! And the #98 Aston Martin won the finale to boot).
5. Sébastien Ogier gets his third rally victory of the season (Wrong! Ogier finished fourth).
6. Mick Schumacher retires from at least one of the two races (Wrong! He finished both races).
7. A past Macau Grand Prix winner does not win the FIA GT World Cup (Wrong! Edoardo Mortara won).
8. Rob Huff wins one of the two WTCC races (Correct! He won race two).
6. Mick Schumacher retires from at least one of the two races (Wrong! He finished both races).
7. A past Macau Grand Prix winner does not win the FIA GT World Cup (Wrong! Edoardo Mortara won).
8. Rob Huff wins one of the two WTCC races (Correct! He won race two).
Last Week: 4/8 Overall: 27.5/50
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