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
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Showing posts with label GP3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GP3. Show all posts
Friday, November 23, 2018
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
Friday, November 25, 2016
Friday Four: Another Persian Night
The final weekend of November sees four championships wrap up their 2016 seasons and all will take place in the Persian Gulf, most of the races occurring under the lights. Three championships will be decided and a theme of the weekend is battle between teammates for top honors.
Formula One
The 21st and final round of the longest Formula One season takes place at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The Mercedes teammates enter with Nico Rosberg looking for his first title and to join his father Keke among the few drivers to win the World Drivers' Championship. Lewis Hamilton looks to ascend to another atmosphere with his fourth championship.
Rosberg has 367 points from 20 races with Hamilton sitting on 355 points. Rosberg clinches the title with a podium finish. The teammates cannot finish tied on points if Hamilton wins the race. If Hamilton finishes second and Rosberg finishes seventh, Hamilton would win on tiebreaker based on third-place finishes. Each driver would have nine victories and four runner-up finishes while Hamilton would have four third-place finishes to Rosberg's two. The only other possibility for a tie would be Hamilton finishing fourth and Rosberg finishing outside the points and Rosberg would win on that tiebreaker with four runner-up finishes to Hamilton's three.
Rosberg won last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Hamilton finishing second. Hamilton has won at Yas Marina twice, in 2011 and 2014 with the latter clinching him his second world title. Rosberg has started on pole position the last two years at Yas Marina. Hamilton has started on pole position twice at Yas Marina but he has retired from both of those races. Hamilton has finished ahead of his teammate in the world championship in eight of his previous nine seasons. The lone exception was 2011 where Jenson Button finished second and Hamilton finished fifth.
Daniel Ricciardo is locked to finish third in the championship but the battle is for fourth with Sebastian Vettel five points ahead of Ricciardo's Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. Kimi Räikkönen could finish ahead of Verstappen but he is 14 points behind the Dutchman. Sergio Pérez is seventh in the championship on 97 points, 12 ahead of Valterri Bottas. Nico Hülkenberg sits in ninth on 66 points. Fernando Alonso rounds out the top ten on 55 points.
Felipe Massa heads to his final Formula One race sitting 11th in the championship on 51 points. This will be 252nd grand prix entry and he will be trying to start his 250th grand prix. Five points behind Massa is Carlos Sainz, Jr., who has finished sixth in two of the last three races. Romain Grosjean sits on 29 points and is four points ahead of Daniil Kyvat.
Jenson Button heads to his final grand prix before take a sabbatical from Formula One in 2017. This will be Button's 308th grand prix entry and he will attempt to make his 305th start. Button will tie Michael Schumacher for second all-time in entries but will be one behind the German in the starts column. Kevin Magnussen has seven points. Felipe Nasr sits on two points after a ninth-place finish at his home race in Brazil finally got Sauber on the scoreboard. Jolyon Palmer, Pascal Wehrlein and McLaren-reserve Stoffel Vandoorne are tied on one point. Esteban Gutiérrez, Marcus Ericsson and Esteban Ocon all have one final shot to get points this season.
The 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be held at 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday November 27th.
GP2
Three drivers could leave Yas Marina as GP2 champion.
Prema Racing teammates Antonio Giovinazzi and Pierre Gasly are 1-2 in the championship with the Italian holding a seven-points advantage with 197 points to 190 points after a victory and fourth-place finished at Sepang while Gasly finished outside the points in the first race that weekend and finished third in the sprint race. Giovinazzi has won three of the last six races and has four podium finishes in that time frame while Gasly has a victory, a second and a third in the last six races.
Giovinazzi started the season with five finishes outside the points in the first seven races but the two races he did score were at Baku where he won both races. Gasly started the season with four finishes outside the points in the first seven races but had two runner-up finishes and a third-place finish.
Russian Time's Raffaele Marciello trails his fellow Italian by 39 points. He has not won a race this season but has two runner-up finishes and four third-place finishes. For Marciello to win this title, he will have to win a race. The most points he could score without a victory is 38 points.
ART Grand Prix's Sergey Sirotkin sits fourth in the championship with 135 points and won twice this year. Racing Engineering's Jordan King and Norman Nato are tied on 122 points and each driver has won twice. Trident Racing's Luca Ghiotto is coming off his first career GP2 victory and has 111 points and he is four points ahead of MP Motorsport Oliver Rowland. DAMS Alex Lynn has 105 points and has two victories. Campos Racing's Mitch Evans rounds out the top ten with 89 points and has won once.
Race one for GP2 will be at 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday November 26th with the final race of 2016 scheduled for 5:20 a.m. on Sunday November 27th.
GP3
Like GP2, three drivers are fighting for the championship in the GP3 finale.
ART Grand Prix drivers Charles Leclerc and Alexander Albon are 1-2 in the championship with the Monegasque leading the Thai driver by 29 points. Leclerc has won three times but not since the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps six races ago. Albon has four victories but Leclerc has an average finish of 2.875 in feature races to Albon's 4.5. Trident Racing's Antonio Fuoco trails Leclerc by 45 points and the only way he can win the championship is by winning the feature race, finish in the top two of the sprint race and score all the bonus points for pole position and fastest laps and Leclerc scores fewer than three points. The fewest points Leclerc has scored in a race weekend this year is 16 points.
Arden International drivers Jake Dennis and Jack Aitken are fourth and fifth in the championship on 121 points and 119 points respectively. Dennis has won two of the last five races while Aitken has finished on the podium in four of the last five. ART Grand Prix's Nyck de Vries has 108 points and he won the sprint race at Monza three races ago. Koiranen GP's Matt Parry sits on 82 points, nine ahead of ART Grand Prix's Nirei Fukuzumi. DAMS Jakes Hughes and Jenzer Motorsport Arjan Maini round out the top ten on 69 points and 50 points respectively.
American Santino Ferrucci sits 12th in the championship on 34 points driving for DAMS and is 14 points behind Ralph Boschung, who will not compete this weekend. Ferrucci's best finish this season was third in the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps but has only scored in five of 16 races and has not finished in the points in the last four races.
GP3 will race at 3:25 a.m. ET on Saturday November 26th and at 4:00 a.m. ET on Sunday November 27th.
World Touring Car Championship
José María López has already locked up the World Touring Car Championship but the final round of the 2016 season from the Losail International Circuit marks the final round of his WTCC career as he will focus on Formula E and joins Toyota's FIA WEC program. The Argentine driver has won three consecutive championships and has won 29 of 69 starts, leaving him second all-time in WTCC in victories behind only his Citroën teammate Yvan Muller's 48 victories.
Muller is second in the championship on 235 points but has only one victory this season. He is 31 points ahead of Honda's Tiago Monteiro, who has won twice this season. Honda's Norbert Michelisz is fourth in the championship on 190 points, ten ahead of another Honda driver in Robert Huff. Mehdi Bennani is four points behind Huff with Lada's Nicky Catsburg five points behind the Moroccan. Tom Chilton has 145 points and is in eighth with Gabriele Tarquini and Tom Coronel rounding out the top ten on 116 point and 109 points respectively.
The final races of the WTCC will take place at 1:20 p.m. ET and 2:35 p.m. ET on Friday November 25th.
Over/Unders
1. Over or Under: 6.5 cars within a minute of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner?
2. Over or Under: 5.5 retirements during the GP2 weekend?
3. Over or Under: 4.5 points scored by Santino Ferrucci?
4. Over or Under: 399.5 points being José María López's final total for the 2016 season?
Last Week's Over/Unders
1. Under: Three laps separated the GTE-Pro winning #95 Aston Martin and the GTE-Am winning #88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche.
2. Under: There were seven cautions in the Cup race at Homestead.
3. Under: Only two championship ineligible drivers finished in the top five of the Xfinity Series race.
4. Over: GMS Racing led 76 laps in the Truck race and Kyle Larson led all 76 laps.
5. Over: Hyundai drivers scored 40 points in Rally Australia.
Predictions
1. One of the top six in the championship retire from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
2. At least one GP2 race features two drivers from the same country on the podium.
3. Charles Leclerc wins one of the GP3 races this weekend.
4. Citroën puts two cars on the podium in each race from Qatar.
Last Week's Predictions
1. All point leaders entering Bahrain leave Bahrain as champions (Correct. The #2 Porsche, #95 Aston Martin and #83 AF Corse Ferrari all left as champions).
2. We get our seventh different winner in the last seven Homestead Cup races (Correct. Jimmie Johnson won at Homestead for the first time in his career).
3. There is caution in the final ten laps of the Xfinity Series race (Correct. The final caution came with ten laps to go).
4. Two of the four Truck championship eligible drivers finish outside the top five (Correct. Actually, three finished outside the top five; Matt Crafton in seventh, Christopher Bell in eighth and Timothy Peters in ninth).
5. Jari-Matti Latvala gets his first podium finish since Rally Finland (Wrong. Latvala finished ninth in his final rally with Volkswagen).
Last Week: 4/5 Overall: 25/45
Formula One
The 21st and final round of the longest Formula One season takes place at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The Mercedes teammates enter with Nico Rosberg looking for his first title and to join his father Keke among the few drivers to win the World Drivers' Championship. Lewis Hamilton looks to ascend to another atmosphere with his fourth championship.
Rosberg has 367 points from 20 races with Hamilton sitting on 355 points. Rosberg clinches the title with a podium finish. The teammates cannot finish tied on points if Hamilton wins the race. If Hamilton finishes second and Rosberg finishes seventh, Hamilton would win on tiebreaker based on third-place finishes. Each driver would have nine victories and four runner-up finishes while Hamilton would have four third-place finishes to Rosberg's two. The only other possibility for a tie would be Hamilton finishing fourth and Rosberg finishing outside the points and Rosberg would win on that tiebreaker with four runner-up finishes to Hamilton's three.
Rosberg won last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Hamilton finishing second. Hamilton has won at Yas Marina twice, in 2011 and 2014 with the latter clinching him his second world title. Rosberg has started on pole position the last two years at Yas Marina. Hamilton has started on pole position twice at Yas Marina but he has retired from both of those races. Hamilton has finished ahead of his teammate in the world championship in eight of his previous nine seasons. The lone exception was 2011 where Jenson Button finished second and Hamilton finished fifth.
Daniel Ricciardo is locked to finish third in the championship but the battle is for fourth with Sebastian Vettel five points ahead of Ricciardo's Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. Kimi Räikkönen could finish ahead of Verstappen but he is 14 points behind the Dutchman. Sergio Pérez is seventh in the championship on 97 points, 12 ahead of Valterri Bottas. Nico Hülkenberg sits in ninth on 66 points. Fernando Alonso rounds out the top ten on 55 points.
Felipe Massa heads to his final Formula One race sitting 11th in the championship on 51 points. This will be 252nd grand prix entry and he will be trying to start his 250th grand prix. Five points behind Massa is Carlos Sainz, Jr., who has finished sixth in two of the last three races. Romain Grosjean sits on 29 points and is four points ahead of Daniil Kyvat.
Jenson Button heads to his final grand prix before take a sabbatical from Formula One in 2017. This will be Button's 308th grand prix entry and he will attempt to make his 305th start. Button will tie Michael Schumacher for second all-time in entries but will be one behind the German in the starts column. Kevin Magnussen has seven points. Felipe Nasr sits on two points after a ninth-place finish at his home race in Brazil finally got Sauber on the scoreboard. Jolyon Palmer, Pascal Wehrlein and McLaren-reserve Stoffel Vandoorne are tied on one point. Esteban Gutiérrez, Marcus Ericsson and Esteban Ocon all have one final shot to get points this season.
The 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be held at 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday November 27th.
GP2
Three drivers could leave Yas Marina as GP2 champion.
Prema Racing teammates Antonio Giovinazzi and Pierre Gasly are 1-2 in the championship with the Italian holding a seven-points advantage with 197 points to 190 points after a victory and fourth-place finished at Sepang while Gasly finished outside the points in the first race that weekend and finished third in the sprint race. Giovinazzi has won three of the last six races and has four podium finishes in that time frame while Gasly has a victory, a second and a third in the last six races.
Giovinazzi started the season with five finishes outside the points in the first seven races but the two races he did score were at Baku where he won both races. Gasly started the season with four finishes outside the points in the first seven races but had two runner-up finishes and a third-place finish.
Russian Time's Raffaele Marciello trails his fellow Italian by 39 points. He has not won a race this season but has two runner-up finishes and four third-place finishes. For Marciello to win this title, he will have to win a race. The most points he could score without a victory is 38 points.
ART Grand Prix's Sergey Sirotkin sits fourth in the championship with 135 points and won twice this year. Racing Engineering's Jordan King and Norman Nato are tied on 122 points and each driver has won twice. Trident Racing's Luca Ghiotto is coming off his first career GP2 victory and has 111 points and he is four points ahead of MP Motorsport Oliver Rowland. DAMS Alex Lynn has 105 points and has two victories. Campos Racing's Mitch Evans rounds out the top ten with 89 points and has won once.
Race one for GP2 will be at 9:40 a.m. ET on Saturday November 26th with the final race of 2016 scheduled for 5:20 a.m. on Sunday November 27th.
GP3
Like GP2, three drivers are fighting for the championship in the GP3 finale.
ART Grand Prix drivers Charles Leclerc and Alexander Albon are 1-2 in the championship with the Monegasque leading the Thai driver by 29 points. Leclerc has won three times but not since the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps six races ago. Albon has four victories but Leclerc has an average finish of 2.875 in feature races to Albon's 4.5. Trident Racing's Antonio Fuoco trails Leclerc by 45 points and the only way he can win the championship is by winning the feature race, finish in the top two of the sprint race and score all the bonus points for pole position and fastest laps and Leclerc scores fewer than three points. The fewest points Leclerc has scored in a race weekend this year is 16 points.
Arden International drivers Jake Dennis and Jack Aitken are fourth and fifth in the championship on 121 points and 119 points respectively. Dennis has won two of the last five races while Aitken has finished on the podium in four of the last five. ART Grand Prix's Nyck de Vries has 108 points and he won the sprint race at Monza three races ago. Koiranen GP's Matt Parry sits on 82 points, nine ahead of ART Grand Prix's Nirei Fukuzumi. DAMS Jakes Hughes and Jenzer Motorsport Arjan Maini round out the top ten on 69 points and 50 points respectively.
American Santino Ferrucci sits 12th in the championship on 34 points driving for DAMS and is 14 points behind Ralph Boschung, who will not compete this weekend. Ferrucci's best finish this season was third in the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps but has only scored in five of 16 races and has not finished in the points in the last four races.
GP3 will race at 3:25 a.m. ET on Saturday November 26th and at 4:00 a.m. ET on Sunday November 27th.
World Touring Car Championship
José María López has already locked up the World Touring Car Championship but the final round of the 2016 season from the Losail International Circuit marks the final round of his WTCC career as he will focus on Formula E and joins Toyota's FIA WEC program. The Argentine driver has won three consecutive championships and has won 29 of 69 starts, leaving him second all-time in WTCC in victories behind only his Citroën teammate Yvan Muller's 48 victories.
Muller is second in the championship on 235 points but has only one victory this season. He is 31 points ahead of Honda's Tiago Monteiro, who has won twice this season. Honda's Norbert Michelisz is fourth in the championship on 190 points, ten ahead of another Honda driver in Robert Huff. Mehdi Bennani is four points behind Huff with Lada's Nicky Catsburg five points behind the Moroccan. Tom Chilton has 145 points and is in eighth with Gabriele Tarquini and Tom Coronel rounding out the top ten on 116 point and 109 points respectively.
The final races of the WTCC will take place at 1:20 p.m. ET and 2:35 p.m. ET on Friday November 25th.
Over/Unders
1. Over or Under: 6.5 cars within a minute of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner?
2. Over or Under: 5.5 retirements during the GP2 weekend?
3. Over or Under: 4.5 points scored by Santino Ferrucci?
4. Over or Under: 399.5 points being José María López's final total for the 2016 season?
Last Week's Over/Unders
1. Under: Three laps separated the GTE-Pro winning #95 Aston Martin and the GTE-Am winning #88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche.
2. Under: There were seven cautions in the Cup race at Homestead.
3. Under: Only two championship ineligible drivers finished in the top five of the Xfinity Series race.
4. Over: GMS Racing led 76 laps in the Truck race and Kyle Larson led all 76 laps.
5. Over: Hyundai drivers scored 40 points in Rally Australia.
Predictions
1. One of the top six in the championship retire from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
2. At least one GP2 race features two drivers from the same country on the podium.
3. Charles Leclerc wins one of the GP3 races this weekend.
4. Citroën puts two cars on the podium in each race from Qatar.
Last Week's Predictions
1. All point leaders entering Bahrain leave Bahrain as champions (Correct. The #2 Porsche, #95 Aston Martin and #83 AF Corse Ferrari all left as champions).
2. We get our seventh different winner in the last seven Homestead Cup races (Correct. Jimmie Johnson won at Homestead for the first time in his career).
3. There is caution in the final ten laps of the Xfinity Series race (Correct. The final caution came with ten laps to go).
4. Two of the four Truck championship eligible drivers finish outside the top five (Correct. Actually, three finished outside the top five; Matt Crafton in seventh, Christopher Bell in eighth and Timothy Peters in ninth).
5. Jari-Matti Latvala gets his first podium finish since Rally Finland (Wrong. Latvala finished ninth in his final rally with Volkswagen).
Last Week: 4/5 Overall: 25/45
Monday, December 14, 2015
Musings From the Weekend: IndyCar Needs to Exploit Gaps in European System
This is the final Musings From the Weekend of 2015. I know. I am sad to. But there will be plenty posted over the final two weeks of the year. Keep an eye out for some fun stuff over the next two weeks as you put up Christmas decorations, wait for Stars War to be released and order Chinese food. However, this weekend featured a few red flags and some rain. Stéphane Ratel makes it difficult to be a GT3 fan in the United States and Canada thanks to geo-blocking. Off the track, a few drivers announced their plans to participate in IndyCar in 2016. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
IndyCar Needs to Exploit Gaps in European System
Esteban Ocon is in a dilemma. The GP3 champion is 19 years old and his career path is at a crossroads. It would seem obvious that Ocon should just move up to GP2 like four of the five previous GP3 champions but it's not that simple. The Mercedes development driver wants to go to Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters next year and Mercedes-Benz shouldn't have a problem finding a place for the Frenchman.
The GP2/GP3 system does not allow a champion to return and defend their title and that makes sense on paper. It's a development series and once you win it, you are kicked out of the nest and have to make it on your own. The only problem is there aren't always seats available at the next level and GP2 champions Giorgio Pantano, Davide Valsecchi, Fabio Leimer and Jolyon Palmer have failed to get a Formula One race seat the year after their titles and it appears you can add Stoffel Vandoorne's name to that list. Ocon doesn't turn 20 years old until September 17, 2016 and while he wouldn't necessarily be a shoe-in for the GP2 title, if he were to win it, Ocon would likely find himself adding his name to that list above. He could go to Formula 3.5 V8 (formerly Formula Renault 3.5) but that isn't a series Mercedes has used for development drivers.
The GP2/GP3 system is made to keep drivers flowing through but currently there is a logjam of drivers trying to get to Formula One but with no alternative that will keep them in the eyes of Formula One team owners. Ocon could be 20 years old with nowhere to go. As long as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are winning races and getting along, there will be no room for Ocon at Mercedes and let's not forget to mention DTM champion and Mercedes development driver Pascal Wehrlein is also trying to make it to Formula One and tested a GP2 car last week.
DTM makes all the sense in the world for Ocon. He could run two years there before moving to GP2 or straight to Formula One. The FIA Super License points could become an issue though. Ocon sits on 65 Super License points and is set to drop five points from third in the 2013 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. However, Ocon is set to drop 30 points for second in the 2014 European Formula Three champion after the 2017 season and that could put the Frenchman in jeopardy of not being qualified for a Super License. The DTM champion only gets 15 points. DTM would be a butterfly bandage to a wound that needs a suture.
However, there is an alternative. The United States and the Road to Indy system. Indy Lights is also a butterfly bandage but IndyCar is Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte to the more expensive, harder to find croquembouche that is GP2. Both champions get 40 Super License points, second in GP2 also gets 40 points and IndyCar only gets 30. There are fewer races in IndyCar but everyone agrees there should be more. But, unlike GP2, the IndyCar champion can stay as long as they like.
IndyCar needs to promote this one difference to Formula One teams and turn their series into a semester-abroad option for development drivers and a chance for Formula One teams to get a firmer hold in the American market. Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Williams and McLaren all have development drivers that could one day make it to Formula One. By sending one or two to the United States creates the opportunity for these names to build up a following stateside and if they were to make it to Formula One, it would be a name American fans could recognize and tune in to watch. It could also increase viewership of IndyCar in Europe and around the globe, as fans would have a chance to tune in and see highly touted drivers with Formula One in their future.
The stretch would be for IndyCar to turn their U.S. campus also into a series that the likes of Mercedes and FIAT invest in and develop engines for. IndyCar needs more engine manufactures. Honda and Chevrolet are strained and growth in the series has been stunted because of it. But if Mercedes could partner with a team or two (say... KV and Carlin) and FIAT could partner with a team (say... Andretti and Racing Engineering, who are evaluating expanding to IndyCar) all of a sudden the pressure is off Honda and Chevrolet, IndyCar has two more partners in the series and hopefully the grid would grow by 4-6 entries.
It's a pie-in-the-sky idea but IndyCar can't just be selling IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500 to manufactures. While many of you are angry that this sounds like IndyCar taking a backseat to Formula One, let's face it that IndyCar and Formula One aren't even in the same car. If IndyCar can benefit by turning itself into an American promotional and development arm for Formula One teams and manufactures, then why not do it? Of course, don't put all your eggs in that basket and still buddy up with Super Formula but IndyCar needs to be open to whatever it takes to raise the quality of the series and grow, not just in the United States but also around the globe.
IndyCar Needs to Embrace Electric Power
With the news coming out of Paris that countries from around the world will govern the reduction of carbon dioxide emission, I start thinking about the future of motorsports. While any motorsports series from around the world evolving into an all-electric series won't be the cure for the environment issues of the world, it is worth considering slowly adapting and weaning off fuel.
I think about IndyCar's place in the motorsports landscape and I think about Formula E. Formula E isn't lighting the world on fire but it has people's attention and most importantly, it has the attention of manufactures.
What if the 101st Indianapolis 500 was all-electric? It's not going to happen but let's play a hypothetical. Speeds would be much slower but the problem is how motorsports fans view electric motorsports. Fans hold electric motorsports to the standards of over a century of development when in reality electric motorsports are in year two. Back at the turn of the 20th century, when it was gas-powered engines vs. steam-powered, the speeds were comparable to what Formula E is running at today.
If anything, instead of pooh-poohing electric motorsports for not being equal to cars running on ethanol, gasoline or diesel, we should celebrate the milestones. We should celebrate the first 100-mph average lap and same for 150-mph and 200-mph and so on in electric equipment. The men and/or women who become the first to break those milestones should be celebrated in the same way René Thomas, Parnelli Jones and Tom Sneva were.
When I look at Formula E, I see a very narrow path being paved for electric motorsports. It seems the ball will only go in the direction that series is going and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is if it doesn't embrace the current motorsports infrastructure. Formula E has from the start been about racing on street circuits in city centers around the world and while that sounds nice, I only wonder what it means for places such as Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone, Bathurst and Indianapolis? I think about oval racing in general. There is no reason why Formula E couldn't run an oval race or two. The series is too young to say oval racing is against their tradition. The series should be open to being different and not being all-street circuits.
However, while Formula E shows no interest in bringing their product to ovals, maybe another sanctioning body should partner with Formula E to further the development of electric motorsports and maybe that series should be IndyCar. IndyCar needs support races at oval races and an electric championship could be it.
My expanded idea:
An American-based electric series run in partnership with Formula E and IndyCar as a support-series to IndyCar events.
Run at all the ovals, three road courses and three street circuits.
The goal would to further develop the electric technology in hopes to one day become the formula for IndyCar.
There are a lot of questions I still have about how it would work. How long would races be? What is the practical length for a race around a place such as Indianapolis or Pocono? What road courses would be run? I'd love to see Road America be attempted because some day an electric car is going to have to tackle the over four-mile course. And these questions are a good thing. They lay the foundation for what needs to be explored. If I had to choose the three road courses, I'd select the IMS road course, Road America and Sonoma. As for the street circuits, I would select St. Petersburg, Toronto and Boston.
How many cars would there be? Would all these teams be run by IndyCar teams? IndyCar teams barely have enough to run IndyCar programs. There could be some crossover but Bryan Herta Autosport, Dale Coyne Racing and AJ Foyt Racing would be unlikely to compete. I think 18 cars would be good for a start. Andretti could run a car or two, same for Dragon Racing. Maybe Penske or Ganassi would consider joining the series. Maybe the likes of e.dams and Abt would expand to the United States. As for the drivers, I would have as many IndyCar/Road to Indy drivers as possible involved. They would already be at the race tracks and it would be good for both series as it would give current IndyCar fans drivers to watch for and it would give new fans drivers they could follow to IndyCar if they gave it at shot. It would be a win-win for each series.
As for a name for this pie-in-the-sky electric series, I was thinking IndyE but I think the terms "Indy" or "IndyCar" should be as far away from the name of this series name. I then came up with United States Electric Championship (USEC) but it sounds too similar to USAC. Considering there would be a race in Canada, I thought it should be the North American Electric Championship but NAEC is already claimed by IMSA for their North American Endurance Championship. What about the Can-Am All-Electric Championship? The CAAEC. It's not worth coming up with acronyms and names for something that currently doesn't exist but I have already wasted my time doing it.
One day there will have to be an all-electric race on an oval and it mind as well be sooner rather than later and IndyCar mind as well jump on the opportunity now and not let the ball pass them by.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about the Gulf 12 Hours but did you know...
The #17 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT of Laurens Vanthoor, Stéphane Ortelli and Stuart Leonard won the Sepang 12 Hours.
The #23 Top Speed Racing Lamborghini Super Trofeo Huracán of Yuan Bo, James Munro, Mohamad Afiq Ikhwan Bin Mohamad Yaz and Martin Rump won in the GTC class in the Sepang 12 Hours. The #86 Wing Hin Motorsports Toyota GT86 of Kenny Lee Wan Yuen, Ho Wil Liam and Wong Yew Choong won in the TC class.
Coming Up This Weekend
The final major race of the calendar year: Formula E heads to Punta del Este, Uruguay.
IndyCar Needs to Exploit Gaps in European System
Esteban Ocon is in a dilemma. The GP3 champion is 19 years old and his career path is at a crossroads. It would seem obvious that Ocon should just move up to GP2 like four of the five previous GP3 champions but it's not that simple. The Mercedes development driver wants to go to Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters next year and Mercedes-Benz shouldn't have a problem finding a place for the Frenchman.
The GP2/GP3 system does not allow a champion to return and defend their title and that makes sense on paper. It's a development series and once you win it, you are kicked out of the nest and have to make it on your own. The only problem is there aren't always seats available at the next level and GP2 champions Giorgio Pantano, Davide Valsecchi, Fabio Leimer and Jolyon Palmer have failed to get a Formula One race seat the year after their titles and it appears you can add Stoffel Vandoorne's name to that list. Ocon doesn't turn 20 years old until September 17, 2016 and while he wouldn't necessarily be a shoe-in for the GP2 title, if he were to win it, Ocon would likely find himself adding his name to that list above. He could go to Formula 3.5 V8 (formerly Formula Renault 3.5) but that isn't a series Mercedes has used for development drivers.
The GP2/GP3 system is made to keep drivers flowing through but currently there is a logjam of drivers trying to get to Formula One but with no alternative that will keep them in the eyes of Formula One team owners. Ocon could be 20 years old with nowhere to go. As long as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are winning races and getting along, there will be no room for Ocon at Mercedes and let's not forget to mention DTM champion and Mercedes development driver Pascal Wehrlein is also trying to make it to Formula One and tested a GP2 car last week.
DTM makes all the sense in the world for Ocon. He could run two years there before moving to GP2 or straight to Formula One. The FIA Super License points could become an issue though. Ocon sits on 65 Super License points and is set to drop five points from third in the 2013 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. However, Ocon is set to drop 30 points for second in the 2014 European Formula Three champion after the 2017 season and that could put the Frenchman in jeopardy of not being qualified for a Super License. The DTM champion only gets 15 points. DTM would be a butterfly bandage to a wound that needs a suture.
However, there is an alternative. The United States and the Road to Indy system. Indy Lights is also a butterfly bandage but IndyCar is Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte to the more expensive, harder to find croquembouche that is GP2. Both champions get 40 Super License points, second in GP2 also gets 40 points and IndyCar only gets 30. There are fewer races in IndyCar but everyone agrees there should be more. But, unlike GP2, the IndyCar champion can stay as long as they like.
IndyCar needs to promote this one difference to Formula One teams and turn their series into a semester-abroad option for development drivers and a chance for Formula One teams to get a firmer hold in the American market. Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Williams and McLaren all have development drivers that could one day make it to Formula One. By sending one or two to the United States creates the opportunity for these names to build up a following stateside and if they were to make it to Formula One, it would be a name American fans could recognize and tune in to watch. It could also increase viewership of IndyCar in Europe and around the globe, as fans would have a chance to tune in and see highly touted drivers with Formula One in their future.
The stretch would be for IndyCar to turn their U.S. campus also into a series that the likes of Mercedes and FIAT invest in and develop engines for. IndyCar needs more engine manufactures. Honda and Chevrolet are strained and growth in the series has been stunted because of it. But if Mercedes could partner with a team or two (say... KV and Carlin) and FIAT could partner with a team (say... Andretti and Racing Engineering, who are evaluating expanding to IndyCar) all of a sudden the pressure is off Honda and Chevrolet, IndyCar has two more partners in the series and hopefully the grid would grow by 4-6 entries.
It's a pie-in-the-sky idea but IndyCar can't just be selling IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500 to manufactures. While many of you are angry that this sounds like IndyCar taking a backseat to Formula One, let's face it that IndyCar and Formula One aren't even in the same car. If IndyCar can benefit by turning itself into an American promotional and development arm for Formula One teams and manufactures, then why not do it? Of course, don't put all your eggs in that basket and still buddy up with Super Formula but IndyCar needs to be open to whatever it takes to raise the quality of the series and grow, not just in the United States but also around the globe.
IndyCar Needs to Embrace Electric Power
With the news coming out of Paris that countries from around the world will govern the reduction of carbon dioxide emission, I start thinking about the future of motorsports. While any motorsports series from around the world evolving into an all-electric series won't be the cure for the environment issues of the world, it is worth considering slowly adapting and weaning off fuel.
I think about IndyCar's place in the motorsports landscape and I think about Formula E. Formula E isn't lighting the world on fire but it has people's attention and most importantly, it has the attention of manufactures.
What if the 101st Indianapolis 500 was all-electric? It's not going to happen but let's play a hypothetical. Speeds would be much slower but the problem is how motorsports fans view electric motorsports. Fans hold electric motorsports to the standards of over a century of development when in reality electric motorsports are in year two. Back at the turn of the 20th century, when it was gas-powered engines vs. steam-powered, the speeds were comparable to what Formula E is running at today.
If anything, instead of pooh-poohing electric motorsports for not being equal to cars running on ethanol, gasoline or diesel, we should celebrate the milestones. We should celebrate the first 100-mph average lap and same for 150-mph and 200-mph and so on in electric equipment. The men and/or women who become the first to break those milestones should be celebrated in the same way René Thomas, Parnelli Jones and Tom Sneva were.
When I look at Formula E, I see a very narrow path being paved for electric motorsports. It seems the ball will only go in the direction that series is going and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is if it doesn't embrace the current motorsports infrastructure. Formula E has from the start been about racing on street circuits in city centers around the world and while that sounds nice, I only wonder what it means for places such as Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone, Bathurst and Indianapolis? I think about oval racing in general. There is no reason why Formula E couldn't run an oval race or two. The series is too young to say oval racing is against their tradition. The series should be open to being different and not being all-street circuits.
However, while Formula E shows no interest in bringing their product to ovals, maybe another sanctioning body should partner with Formula E to further the development of electric motorsports and maybe that series should be IndyCar. IndyCar needs support races at oval races and an electric championship could be it.
My expanded idea:
An American-based electric series run in partnership with Formula E and IndyCar as a support-series to IndyCar events.
Run at all the ovals, three road courses and three street circuits.
The goal would to further develop the electric technology in hopes to one day become the formula for IndyCar.
There are a lot of questions I still have about how it would work. How long would races be? What is the practical length for a race around a place such as Indianapolis or Pocono? What road courses would be run? I'd love to see Road America be attempted because some day an electric car is going to have to tackle the over four-mile course. And these questions are a good thing. They lay the foundation for what needs to be explored. If I had to choose the three road courses, I'd select the IMS road course, Road America and Sonoma. As for the street circuits, I would select St. Petersburg, Toronto and Boston.
How many cars would there be? Would all these teams be run by IndyCar teams? IndyCar teams barely have enough to run IndyCar programs. There could be some crossover but Bryan Herta Autosport, Dale Coyne Racing and AJ Foyt Racing would be unlikely to compete. I think 18 cars would be good for a start. Andretti could run a car or two, same for Dragon Racing. Maybe Penske or Ganassi would consider joining the series. Maybe the likes of e.dams and Abt would expand to the United States. As for the drivers, I would have as many IndyCar/Road to Indy drivers as possible involved. They would already be at the race tracks and it would be good for both series as it would give current IndyCar fans drivers to watch for and it would give new fans drivers they could follow to IndyCar if they gave it at shot. It would be a win-win for each series.
As for a name for this pie-in-the-sky electric series, I was thinking IndyE but I think the terms "Indy" or "IndyCar" should be as far away from the name of this series name. I then came up with United States Electric Championship (USEC) but it sounds too similar to USAC. Considering there would be a race in Canada, I thought it should be the North American Electric Championship but NAEC is already claimed by IMSA for their North American Endurance Championship. What about the Can-Am All-Electric Championship? The CAAEC. It's not worth coming up with acronyms and names for something that currently doesn't exist but I have already wasted my time doing it.
One day there will have to be an all-electric race on an oval and it mind as well be sooner rather than later and IndyCar mind as well jump on the opportunity now and not let the ball pass them by.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about the Gulf 12 Hours but did you know...
The #17 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT of Laurens Vanthoor, Stéphane Ortelli and Stuart Leonard won the Sepang 12 Hours.
The #23 Top Speed Racing Lamborghini Super Trofeo Huracán of Yuan Bo, James Munro, Mohamad Afiq Ikhwan Bin Mohamad Yaz and Martin Rump won in the GTC class in the Sepang 12 Hours. The #86 Wing Hin Motorsports Toyota GT86 of Kenny Lee Wan Yuen, Ho Wil Liam and Wong Yew Choong won in the TC class.
Coming Up This Weekend
The final major race of the calendar year: Formula E heads to Punta del Este, Uruguay.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Friday Four: Persian Nights
Four championships come to a close and they all end in a Persian Gulf country. Three are dead rubbers. Two race take place on Friday. One championship is up for grabs between an Italian and Frenchman, who has lived on the podium in 2015. Normally I go biggest to smallest but today I am starting with the title that is still undecided.
GP3
The final weekend of the GP3 Series season occurs during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend and two points separate two drivers for the title.
Italian Ghiotto leads Frenchman Estaban Ocon 227-225 entering the final weekend of the season. The Trident Racing driver Ghiotto has won five races, stood on the podium eight times and has scored points in every race but has finished in the points in only 15 of 16 races. He started on pole on the first race from Monza, which earned him four points but that is his lone retirement this season. He won the most recent race in the series last weekend at Bahrain as a support race to the FIA World Endurance Championship season.
Ocon has not won since the first race of the season at Barcelona in May. However, Ocon has 11 consecutive podium finishes, ten of which are runner-up finishes. The ART Grand Prix driver Ocon, like Ghiotto, has finished in the points in 15 of 16 races with a disqualification from the second race in Austria being the lone blemish on his résumé. He finished third but was booted for an illegal undertray.
Both drivers are in their first GP3 season. Ghiotto ran four races last year for Trident and won pole on debut at Spa-Francorchamps but failed to finish in the points in any of the races. Ocon won last year's FIA European Formula Three Championship over current Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen (who finished third) and current DTM drivers Tom Blomqvist (second) and Lucas Auer (fourth).
A few GP3 drivers would could spoil the party the weekend are German Marvin Kirchöfer and Briton Emil Bernstorff. They are third and fourth in the championship and one point separates the two drivers. Kirchöfer is Ocon's teammate and has won four races, including the first race last weekend at Bahrain. Bernstorff drivers for Arden International and he has two victories. The only other drivers to win this season in GP3 are Jimmy Eriksson of Koiranen GP, Kevin Ceccon of Arden International and Óscar Tunjo, formerly of Trident Racing. Tunjo won in Austria but was replaced after the following round.
Formula One
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the final of Formula One's three dead rubbers to end the 2015 season but there are many battles for final position in the championship still to be decided.
Lewis Hamilton has locked up to world championship and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg has locked up second in the world championship with Sebastian Vettel locked in third but the battle is for fourth. Valtteri Bottas is one point ahead of fellow Finn Kimi Räikkönen, 136-135. Bottas finished fourth last year in the world championship and a podium in last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix caused the Finn to jump Vettel and Fernando Alonso in the championship. Bottas finished third in Mexico two races ago. Räikkönen has finished on the podium in both night races this season. He finished second in Bahrain and third in Singapore.
Felipe Massa has an outside shot to finish in the top five of the championship. The Brazilian has 117 points and would need to win or finish second and have Räikkönen fail to score points. Daniil Kvyat has an outside shot to jump Massa but the Russian would have to win and have Massa not score points. Kvyat is ten points ahead of his Red Bull teammate with 94 points. Behind the Red Bull drivers are the Force India drivers with Sergio Pérez on 68 points and Nico Hülkenberg on 52.
Romain Grosjean and Max Verstappen are tied for tenth in the world championship on 49 points. The tiebreaker is held by Grosjean, who finished third in the Belgian Grand Prix. Felipe Nasr and Pastor Maldonado are tied on 27 points. Nasr hold the tiebreaker with a fifth in the Australian Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz, Jr. has 18 points, two ahead of Jenson Button and seven ahead of Fernando Alonso. Marcus Ericsson has nine points. Both Manor drivers, Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi, look for their first points in 2015.
In the Constructors' Championship, the top five appear to be set. Mercedes has clinched the title and it will likely finish Ferrari, Williams, Red Bull and Force India, second to fifth. Sixth-ninth is still up the air. Either Lotus or Toro Rosso will finish sixth. Lotus has 76 points to Toro Rosso's 67 while Sauber has 36 points to McLaren's 27 points.
GP2
Stoffel Vandoorne has clinched the title but the battle in GP2 is for second.
Alexander Rossi enters with 169.5 points, 30.5 points ahead of Sergey Sirotkin and 37.5 points ahead of Rio Haryanto. The American had a chance to clinch second last week in Bahrain but had a poor performance in qualifying and failed to score any points over the weekend. Mitch Evans rounds out the top five on 120 points and could still finish third in the championship but could also finished as far down as eighth. Evans won the second race of the weekend last weekend in Bahrain. Alex Lynn is on 106 points with his DAMS teammate Pierre Gasly ten points back. Raffaele Marciello is four points behind Gasly. Vandoorne's ART Grand Prix teammate Nobuharu Matsushita is ninth on 68.5 points. Richie Stanaway and Arthur Pic are tied for tenth on 60 points but Stanaway will not be competing in Abu Dhabi. Oliver Rowland replaced the New Zealander at Bahrain and will run this weekend as well.
Jordan King is 12th on 52 points. Artem Markelov has 48 points. Julián Leal has 38 points but he will not be competing this weekend. Sergio Canamasas rounds out the top fifteen with 27 points and Nathanäel Berthon is three points back. Robert Visoiu and Norman Nato are tied on 20 points but Visoiu will not be competing.
Vandoorne does have a chance to become the all-time leader in GP2 race victories if he wins one race this weekend. The Belgian is tied on ten victories with Pastor Maldonado on ten victories.
WTCC
The final round of the World Touring Car Championship occurs on Friday in Qatar to avoid going head-to-head to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
That championship has already been decided. José María López clinched the title in Thailand. His Citroën teammates Sébastien Loeb and Yvan Muller will battle for second. Loeb had 329 points to Muller's 324 points. This will be Loeb's final race for Citroën as the manufacture will drop him after this round. Loeb will be competing for Peugeot in the Dakar Rally next year. Ma Qing Hua is fourth on 213 points with Gabriele Tarquini fifth on 189 points.
One point separates Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro, 172-171. Rob Huff is eight on 103 points. Two points covers ninth to eleventh. Tom Chilton has 96 points while Hugo Valente and Mehdi Bennani are tied on 95.
Update (6:01 p.m. ET):
José María López and Yvan Muller split the WTCC races from Qatar.
GP3
The final weekend of the GP3 Series season occurs during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend and two points separate two drivers for the title.
Italian Ghiotto leads Frenchman Estaban Ocon 227-225 entering the final weekend of the season. The Trident Racing driver Ghiotto has won five races, stood on the podium eight times and has scored points in every race but has finished in the points in only 15 of 16 races. He started on pole on the first race from Monza, which earned him four points but that is his lone retirement this season. He won the most recent race in the series last weekend at Bahrain as a support race to the FIA World Endurance Championship season.
Ocon has not won since the first race of the season at Barcelona in May. However, Ocon has 11 consecutive podium finishes, ten of which are runner-up finishes. The ART Grand Prix driver Ocon, like Ghiotto, has finished in the points in 15 of 16 races with a disqualification from the second race in Austria being the lone blemish on his résumé. He finished third but was booted for an illegal undertray.
Both drivers are in their first GP3 season. Ghiotto ran four races last year for Trident and won pole on debut at Spa-Francorchamps but failed to finish in the points in any of the races. Ocon won last year's FIA European Formula Three Championship over current Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen (who finished third) and current DTM drivers Tom Blomqvist (second) and Lucas Auer (fourth).
A few GP3 drivers would could spoil the party the weekend are German Marvin Kirchöfer and Briton Emil Bernstorff. They are third and fourth in the championship and one point separates the two drivers. Kirchöfer is Ocon's teammate and has won four races, including the first race last weekend at Bahrain. Bernstorff drivers for Arden International and he has two victories. The only other drivers to win this season in GP3 are Jimmy Eriksson of Koiranen GP, Kevin Ceccon of Arden International and Óscar Tunjo, formerly of Trident Racing. Tunjo won in Austria but was replaced after the following round.
Formula One
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the final of Formula One's three dead rubbers to end the 2015 season but there are many battles for final position in the championship still to be decided.
Lewis Hamilton has locked up to world championship and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg has locked up second in the world championship with Sebastian Vettel locked in third but the battle is for fourth. Valtteri Bottas is one point ahead of fellow Finn Kimi Räikkönen, 136-135. Bottas finished fourth last year in the world championship and a podium in last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix caused the Finn to jump Vettel and Fernando Alonso in the championship. Bottas finished third in Mexico two races ago. Räikkönen has finished on the podium in both night races this season. He finished second in Bahrain and third in Singapore.
Felipe Massa has an outside shot to finish in the top five of the championship. The Brazilian has 117 points and would need to win or finish second and have Räikkönen fail to score points. Daniil Kvyat has an outside shot to jump Massa but the Russian would have to win and have Massa not score points. Kvyat is ten points ahead of his Red Bull teammate with 94 points. Behind the Red Bull drivers are the Force India drivers with Sergio Pérez on 68 points and Nico Hülkenberg on 52.
Romain Grosjean and Max Verstappen are tied for tenth in the world championship on 49 points. The tiebreaker is held by Grosjean, who finished third in the Belgian Grand Prix. Felipe Nasr and Pastor Maldonado are tied on 27 points. Nasr hold the tiebreaker with a fifth in the Australian Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz, Jr. has 18 points, two ahead of Jenson Button and seven ahead of Fernando Alonso. Marcus Ericsson has nine points. Both Manor drivers, Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi, look for their first points in 2015.
In the Constructors' Championship, the top five appear to be set. Mercedes has clinched the title and it will likely finish Ferrari, Williams, Red Bull and Force India, second to fifth. Sixth-ninth is still up the air. Either Lotus or Toro Rosso will finish sixth. Lotus has 76 points to Toro Rosso's 67 while Sauber has 36 points to McLaren's 27 points.
GP2
Stoffel Vandoorne has clinched the title but the battle in GP2 is for second.
Alexander Rossi enters with 169.5 points, 30.5 points ahead of Sergey Sirotkin and 37.5 points ahead of Rio Haryanto. The American had a chance to clinch second last week in Bahrain but had a poor performance in qualifying and failed to score any points over the weekend. Mitch Evans rounds out the top five on 120 points and could still finish third in the championship but could also finished as far down as eighth. Evans won the second race of the weekend last weekend in Bahrain. Alex Lynn is on 106 points with his DAMS teammate Pierre Gasly ten points back. Raffaele Marciello is four points behind Gasly. Vandoorne's ART Grand Prix teammate Nobuharu Matsushita is ninth on 68.5 points. Richie Stanaway and Arthur Pic are tied for tenth on 60 points but Stanaway will not be competing in Abu Dhabi. Oliver Rowland replaced the New Zealander at Bahrain and will run this weekend as well.
Jordan King is 12th on 52 points. Artem Markelov has 48 points. Julián Leal has 38 points but he will not be competing this weekend. Sergio Canamasas rounds out the top fifteen with 27 points and Nathanäel Berthon is three points back. Robert Visoiu and Norman Nato are tied on 20 points but Visoiu will not be competing.
Vandoorne does have a chance to become the all-time leader in GP2 race victories if he wins one race this weekend. The Belgian is tied on ten victories with Pastor Maldonado on ten victories.
WTCC
The final round of the World Touring Car Championship occurs on Friday in Qatar to avoid going head-to-head to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
That championship has already been decided. José María López clinched the title in Thailand. His Citroën teammates Sébastien Loeb and Yvan Muller will battle for second. Loeb had 329 points to Muller's 324 points. This will be Loeb's final race for Citroën as the manufacture will drop him after this round. Loeb will be competing for Peugeot in the Dakar Rally next year. Ma Qing Hua is fourth on 213 points with Gabriele Tarquini fifth on 189 points.
One point separates Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro, 172-171. Rob Huff is eight on 103 points. Two points covers ninth to eleventh. Tom Chilton has 96 points while Hugo Valente and Mehdi Bennani are tied on 95.
Update (6:01 p.m. ET):
José María López and Yvan Muller split the WTCC races from Qatar.
Over/Unders
1. Over or Under: 6.5 points being the margin between first and second in GP3 championship standings?
2. Over or Under: 1.5 South Americans finished in the points in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
3. Over or Under: 0.5 victories for Stoffel Vandoorne this week?
4. Over or Under: 0.5 podiums for manufactures not named Citroën?
Last Week's Over/Unders
Thursday:
1. Under: Two championship eligible drivers finished in the top five in the Cup race.
2. Over: Two Grand National Series championship eligible drivers finished in the top five.
3. Over: There were 14 lead changes in the Truck finale.
Friday:
1. Under: Two cars finished on the lead lap in the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
2. Under: Two Ligiers finished on the LMP2 podium.
3. Under: Four (France, Italy, Finland, UK) were represented on the GTE-Pro podium.
4. Under: Three laps separated the GTE-Pro and GTE-am winners.
5. Over: David Coulthard and Alex Buncombe made the semifinals in the Champion of Champions.
Predictions
1. Esteban Ocon takes the GP3 championship and wins a race this weekend.
2. There are at least two changes in championship position after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
3. Stoffel Vandoorne leaves Bahrain as the sole all-time leader in GP2 victories.
4. Mehdi Bennani finishes in the top ten of the WTCC standings.
Last Week's Predictions
Thursday:
1. A championship eligible driver will not win the Cup race (Wrong. Kyle Busch won).
2. Chris Buescher wins the title but finishes behind two of his championship rivals (Correct. He finished behind all three actually).
3. One Truck championship eligible drivers finishes outside the top ten (Wrong. They all finished in the top ten).
2. Both Extreme Speed Motorsports cars finish and one finishes in the top half of LMP2 (Wrong. The ESM cars were the bottom two in class).
3. One of the FIA WEC teams with a streak of five consecutive podiums or more ends at Bahrain (Correct. The #17 Porsche finished 5th in class and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari finished 4th).
4. Aston Martin wins in GTE-Am (Correct. The #98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda won).
5. The Nations' Cup has a first-time winner (Correct. England won the Nations' Cup).
Overall: 5/8 Running Tally: 33/63
1. Over or Under: 6.5 points being the margin between first and second in GP3 championship standings?
2. Over or Under: 1.5 South Americans finished in the points in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
3. Over or Under: 0.5 victories for Stoffel Vandoorne this week?
4. Over or Under: 0.5 podiums for manufactures not named Citroën?
Last Week's Over/Unders
Thursday:
1. Under: Two championship eligible drivers finished in the top five in the Cup race.
2. Over: Two Grand National Series championship eligible drivers finished in the top five.
3. Over: There were 14 lead changes in the Truck finale.
Friday:
1. Under: Two cars finished on the lead lap in the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
2. Under: Two Ligiers finished on the LMP2 podium.
3. Under: Four (France, Italy, Finland, UK) were represented on the GTE-Pro podium.
4. Under: Three laps separated the GTE-Pro and GTE-am winners.
5. Over: David Coulthard and Alex Buncombe made the semifinals in the Champion of Champions.
Predictions
1. Esteban Ocon takes the GP3 championship and wins a race this weekend.
2. There are at least two changes in championship position after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
3. Stoffel Vandoorne leaves Bahrain as the sole all-time leader in GP2 victories.
4. Mehdi Bennani finishes in the top ten of the WTCC standings.
Last Week's Predictions
Thursday:
1. A championship eligible driver will not win the Cup race (Wrong. Kyle Busch won).
2. Chris Buescher wins the title but finishes behind two of his championship rivals (Correct. He finished behind all three actually).
3. One Truck championship eligible drivers finishes outside the top ten (Wrong. They all finished in the top ten).
Friday:
1. All three privateer LMP1 entries finish the race (Correct. All 32 cars in the 6 Hours of Bahrain finished).2. Both Extreme Speed Motorsports cars finish and one finishes in the top half of LMP2 (Wrong. The ESM cars were the bottom two in class).
3. One of the FIA WEC teams with a streak of five consecutive podiums or more ends at Bahrain (Correct. The #17 Porsche finished 5th in class and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari finished 4th).
4. Aston Martin wins in GTE-Am (Correct. The #98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda won).
5. The Nations' Cup has a first-time winner (Correct. England won the Nations' Cup).
Overall: 5/8 Running Tally: 33/63
Thursday, October 22, 2015
1000 Things
Back when I completed my 700th post, I decided I wanted to do something special for #1000. I didn't know what to do. I guess one night after probably a Trackside episode or reading articles when things were just negative I realized I was tired of it. It is tiring being angry. It is not good for your health either.
That's when I decided to start a list of all the things I love about motorsports. From past races to drivers. Race tracks to specific corners. From specific memories to concrete objects. It took about a year to get to from thinking about post #1000 to actually posting. The first three hundred came quickly. The rest took a lot of time. There would be binges where drivers, racetracks, past races, etc. were added and then there would go a month without looking at the list.
After reading over the list a few times, I am calm. My blood pressure is down. My head no longer aches. I am at ease. Perhaps this is something we should all do. When times get difficult and you just feel like throwing in the towel, you just need to list all the things you love. You don't need to hit 1000 but I am sure you could hit 100 if you gave yourself a day or two to think about it and go through your memory bank or your Twitter feed or old photo albums.
I hope this list can make you feel relaxed just like it made me. (Note: For time and convenience I screenshot the list into twelve parts).
That's when I decided to start a list of all the things I love about motorsports. From past races to drivers. Race tracks to specific corners. From specific memories to concrete objects. It took about a year to get to from thinking about post #1000 to actually posting. The first three hundred came quickly. The rest took a lot of time. There would be binges where drivers, racetracks, past races, etc. were added and then there would go a month without looking at the list.
After reading over the list a few times, I am calm. My blood pressure is down. My head no longer aches. I am at ease. Perhaps this is something we should all do. When times get difficult and you just feel like throwing in the towel, you just need to list all the things you love. You don't need to hit 1000 but I am sure you could hit 100 if you gave yourself a day or two to think about it and go through your memory bank or your Twitter feed or old photo albums.
I hope this list can make you feel relaxed just like it made me. (Note: For time and convenience I screenshot the list into twelve parts).
This isn't all that I love about motorsports and this isn't in order from what I love the most to what I love the least. This is just a list of 1000 thing I love. There are plenty of people, cars, races, sights, sounds and moments I forgot. I am only human. I can only remember so much.
1000 posts down. Here is to 1000 more.
Monday, December 15, 2014
2014 For the Love of Indy Awards
Another year of motorsports has come to a close and it is now time to reflect on all that has happened. We saw first time champions as well as familiar faces add records amount of silverware to their trophy case. We saw titles go down to the final lap and title clinched with ease. We saw dominant performances as well as race slip from finger tips. For every hair-raising moments there was a jaw-dropping spectacles.
Legends have decided 2014 will be their final season but as they leave another batch of young drivers will step up to leave their mark. Here is where we honor those he made the deepest impression on the 2014 motorsports season.
Racer of the Year
Description: Given to the best racer over the course of 2014.
And the Nominees are:
Marc Márquez
André Lotterer
Lewis Hamilton
Sébastien Ogier
Jaime Whincup
And the winner is... Marc Márquez
For the second consecutive year Marc Márquez comes out on top. No one else came close to Márquez and no one else controlled a championship like he did in 2012. Remember prior to the season opener at Qatar when he said it would have been foolish to pick him to win that race because he was recovering from a broken leg just six weeks prior? It would have been foolish to pick anyone but Márquez to win each of the eighteen rounds of the MotoGP season.
He didn't only prove himself wrong in the first race but in the following nine. He won the first six races from pole position. He scored fastest lap in eight of the first ten. He would fool us on starts, dropping from pole back to sixth, by the end of the first sector and sometimes as far back as tenth but the end of lap one, only to always find a way back to the point. Sometimes he was challenged but most of the time he would retake the lead and never look back as he won ten consecutive races for the sixth time in the history of 500cc/MotoGP.
Eventually Márquez was defeated but at that point it didn't matter. The championship was his for the taking. He could take risks. He could have won Aragón if he stopped for rain tires sooner but he decided to push the limit on slicks. Along with Aragón, he could have won at Phillip Island if he doesn't fall while in a commanding lead. He won a single-season record setting 13th victory at the season finale at Valencia but Márquez could have put records further out of reach for challengers to come. It very well could have been 15 had it not been for two falls.
Along with his 13 victories, Márquez had 13 pole positions, 12 fastest laps and led 214 of 449 laps. Did I forget to mention that he is only 21? His second title showed he was no fluke and a third consecutive title will have him squeezing in at the table with the all-time greats.
On the other nominees: André Lotterer's 2014 season featured the most diversity of success with the German picking up his third Le Mans victory as he and teammates Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler finished second in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Lotterer finished third in the Super Formula championship with two victories and he became the first Le Mans winner since Johnny Herbert in 1991 to make a Formula One start. Sure, Lotterer's Formula One career was destined to be brief as he was given the opportunity by Caterham and the car let him down after one lap around Spa. However, diversity in motorsports during this age of specialization should be acknowledged and if offered, many of us would take Lotterer's season.
Lewis Hamilton won his second world championship with 11 victories, 16 podiums, seven pole positions and seven fastest laps from nineteen races. Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's battle for the title will be one we will remanence about when they are calling an end to their Formula One careers. Mercedes produced the best car but they let their drivers race each other. There was no number one. It was comparable to Ayrton Senna vs. Alain Prost or Mario Andretti vs. Ronnie Peterson or Phil Hill vs. Wolfgang von Tripps. You never knew who was going to come out on top at each race.
Sébastien Ogier won his second consecutive world championship in dominating fashion, winning seven rounds and finishing on the podium in nine of thirteen rallies. Ogier won the power stage at six rallies. Like Mercedes in Formula One, Volkswagen was the class of the field but Ogier had the edge over his teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen. Other than in Germany and France, the Frenchman very rarely put a wheel wrong.
Jamie Whincup won a record sixth V8 Supercars championship but about halfway through the season that appeared in doubt. Mark Winterbottom appeared to be his main challenger but Whincup turned it on as his challengers faltered. He won 14 of 38 races with 21 podiums and 10 pole positions. He clinched the title with a round to go. It was his fourth consecutive title and all of Whincup's six have come in the last seven seasons. At only 31 years old, Whincup has plenty of time to pad his records and climb the ranks as one of the greatest racers from Australia.
Past Winners
2012: Kyle Larson
Legends have decided 2014 will be their final season but as they leave another batch of young drivers will step up to leave their mark. Here is where we honor those he made the deepest impression on the 2014 motorsports season.
Racer of the Year
Description: Given to the best racer over the course of 2014.
And the Nominees are:
Marc Márquez
André Lotterer
Lewis Hamilton
Sébastien Ogier
Jaime Whincup
And the winner is... Marc Márquez
For the second consecutive year Marc Márquez comes out on top. No one else came close to Márquez and no one else controlled a championship like he did in 2012. Remember prior to the season opener at Qatar when he said it would have been foolish to pick him to win that race because he was recovering from a broken leg just six weeks prior? It would have been foolish to pick anyone but Márquez to win each of the eighteen rounds of the MotoGP season.
He didn't only prove himself wrong in the first race but in the following nine. He won the first six races from pole position. He scored fastest lap in eight of the first ten. He would fool us on starts, dropping from pole back to sixth, by the end of the first sector and sometimes as far back as tenth but the end of lap one, only to always find a way back to the point. Sometimes he was challenged but most of the time he would retake the lead and never look back as he won ten consecutive races for the sixth time in the history of 500cc/MotoGP.
Eventually Márquez was defeated but at that point it didn't matter. The championship was his for the taking. He could take risks. He could have won Aragón if he stopped for rain tires sooner but he decided to push the limit on slicks. Along with Aragón, he could have won at Phillip Island if he doesn't fall while in a commanding lead. He won a single-season record setting 13th victory at the season finale at Valencia but Márquez could have put records further out of reach for challengers to come. It very well could have been 15 had it not been for two falls.
Along with his 13 victories, Márquez had 13 pole positions, 12 fastest laps and led 214 of 449 laps. Did I forget to mention that he is only 21? His second title showed he was no fluke and a third consecutive title will have him squeezing in at the table with the all-time greats.
On the other nominees: André Lotterer's 2014 season featured the most diversity of success with the German picking up his third Le Mans victory as he and teammates Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler finished second in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Lotterer finished third in the Super Formula championship with two victories and he became the first Le Mans winner since Johnny Herbert in 1991 to make a Formula One start. Sure, Lotterer's Formula One career was destined to be brief as he was given the opportunity by Caterham and the car let him down after one lap around Spa. However, diversity in motorsports during this age of specialization should be acknowledged and if offered, many of us would take Lotterer's season.
Lewis Hamilton won his second world championship with 11 victories, 16 podiums, seven pole positions and seven fastest laps from nineteen races. Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's battle for the title will be one we will remanence about when they are calling an end to their Formula One careers. Mercedes produced the best car but they let their drivers race each other. There was no number one. It was comparable to Ayrton Senna vs. Alain Prost or Mario Andretti vs. Ronnie Peterson or Phil Hill vs. Wolfgang von Tripps. You never knew who was going to come out on top at each race.
Sébastien Ogier won his second consecutive world championship in dominating fashion, winning seven rounds and finishing on the podium in nine of thirteen rallies. Ogier won the power stage at six rallies. Like Mercedes in Formula One, Volkswagen was the class of the field but Ogier had the edge over his teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen. Other than in Germany and France, the Frenchman very rarely put a wheel wrong.
Jamie Whincup won a record sixth V8 Supercars championship but about halfway through the season that appeared in doubt. Mark Winterbottom appeared to be his main challenger but Whincup turned it on as his challengers faltered. He won 14 of 38 races with 21 podiums and 10 pole positions. He clinched the title with a round to go. It was his fourth consecutive title and all of Whincup's six have come in the last seven seasons. At only 31 years old, Whincup has plenty of time to pad his records and climb the ranks as one of the greatest racers from Australia.
Past Winners
2012: Kyle Larson
2013: Marc Márquez
Race of the Year
Description: Best Race of 2014.
And the Nominees are:
Indianapolis 500
Aragón motorcycle Grand Prix
Pro Mazda race 2 from Sonoma
Bathurst 1000
Canadian Grand Prix
And the winner is... Bathurst 1000
Despite red flags for pavement issues, 1000 kilometers have never held my attention more than this race. Jamie Whincup had to start 23rd but was up to fifth in thirteen laps but as if that hill wasn't high enough to overcome, an accident and penalty for unsafe release in the pit lane put Whincup and co-driver Paul Dumbrell a lap down. The battle at the front was mostly between the #33 Volvo of Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Prémat and the #97 Holden of Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb but McLaughlin hit the wall and Van Gisbergen had the start motor fail him on the final pit stop with 10 laps to go.
Whincup had worked his way back on to the lead lap and found himself in contention with teammate Craig Lowndes, Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert, who started in 25th, last on the grid after his time was disallowed for passing under red flag conditions in qualifying. Whincup was stretching his fuel mileage as Lowndes and Winterbottom got together, ending both their hopes. Mostert chased down Whincup as he tried to nurse it home. Ultimately, Whincup didn't have enough and Mostert passed him on the exit of Forest's Elbow, heading down The Chase one final time. Mostert and co-driver Paul Morris won the most famous race in the southern hemisphere from last on the grid and only led one lap, the final lap. Between them, Mostert and Morris has three combined victories and Morris' lone victory came at Calder Park a track that is being reclaimed by nature in 2001. It was Mostert's second Bathurst start. Whincup coasted fifth as the #360 Nissan of James Moffat and Taz Douglas, #22 Holden of Nick Percat and Oliver Gavin and #9 Mercedes of Will and Alex Davison would pass Whincup.
To top it all off, on the podium Mostert gave us motorsport's quote of the year when commenting on his pursuit of Whincup: "I kept screaming on the radio in the cockpit – cough you bastard, cough!"
On the other nominees... For another year the Indianapolis 500 provided a thrill for 200 consecutive laps. The first three-quarters of the race went without a caution as Ryan Hunter-Reay worked his way to the front from 19th on the grid and took the lead by halfway. Lead changes were nearly half from the year prior but the action was still fierce. Going into the final 25 laps, at least eight drivers had a shot of victory but they thinned out quickly as Ed Carpenter and James Hinchcliffe got together and Townsend Bell had an accident. The final seven laps were a duel between Hunter-Reay and Hélio Castroneves, who was looking for his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. They traded positions a few times before Hunter-Reay took the lead once and for all on the inside of turn three with four laps to go as he held off the Brazilian by 0.060 seconds, the second-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.
Aragón was as unpredictable as they come. Andrea Iannone started third and was up to second but was out after a second lap accident. Valentino Rossi fell from fourth on lap four. The battle was between Márquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa as rain bared down. When the rain arrived, it was a matter of who was going to blink first. Neither of the three immediately dove in to switch bikes even as the condition clearly became more than they could handle on slicks. Lorenzo blinked with four to go and Pedrosa fell in turn one while Márquez continue. You would have thought Honda and Márquez would have been smart enough to pit immediately after Pedrosa fell but they weren't and Márquez was down the next lap. Both were able to continue but the race was handed to Lorenzo while Aleix Espargaró benefitted from being one of the first to switch to come home second, holding off a hard charging Cal Crutchlow. Márquez and Pedrosa were able to limp home, 13th and 14th respectively, each having gone one lap too long on slicks.
Not often does a junior formula race break into the conversation of best of the year but the Pro Mazda season finale begs to differ. After losing the championship lead in race one the previous day, Spencer Pigot had to chase down Scott Hargrove for the title. Hargrove was on pole with Pigot second and Pigot's championship hopes were nearly dashed in the first few corners as Neil Alberico (Hargrove's teammate) got into Pigot and his teammate Kyle Kaiser. Pigot dropped outside the top fifteen as Hargrove continued to lead. Pigot picked off one driver after another as he tried to resurrect his championship hopes but it appeared he had run out of steam once he reached seventh with six to go. With four to go, Kaiser caused a caution, bunching up the field for one final restart with three laps to go. Hargrove had lead every lap until a mechanical failure ended his day, handing the lead to Pigot's other teammate, Jose Gutierrez. Hargrove retired and Pigot brought the car home in fifth, more than enough to take the title.
Just when it appeared Mercedes was going to go undefeated in Formula One, it all came crashing down at Montreal. Rosberg and Hamilton pushed each other to the limit at every turn and Hamilton's brakes went, ending the Brits day. After leading the first 413 laps of the Formula One season, Mercedes conceded the race lead to Felipe Massa but he had to pit and Rosberg, Sergio Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel would go on by. Pérez rode Rosberg's coat tails but fell back as his brakes started to go. Ricciardo was able to pass the Mexican and chase down Rosberg, taking the lead with three to go. The battle was then for third as Pérez was holding on as Vettel and Massa were all over him. Heading into turn one on the final lap, Vettel passed the Mexican and Massa made a move but Pérez made contact with the Williams and both went sliding off into the barriers. The safety car was deployed and Ricciardo ended up victorious, the first of his Formula One career.
Past Winners
2012: Indianapolis 500
2013: British motorcycle Grand Prix
Achievement of the Year
Description: Best success by a driver, team, manufacture, etc.
And the Nominees are:
Marc Márquez: Winning ten consecutive race.
Marc Márquez: Setting the record for most wins in a premier class season with thirteen.
Lewis Hamilton: Becoming the all-time winningest British driver in Formula One history.
Jamie Whincup: Winning a record-breaking sixth V8 Supercars championship.
Max Verstappen: Landing a Formula One Ride at 17 years old.
And the winner is... Marc Márquez: Setting the record for most wins in a premier class season.
Of all the records Marc Márquez has set, this one might stand for the longest. To win the most races ever in a season shows the strength of a racer from the time the lights first go out until the final checkered flag. To break a record that was held by a legend such as Mick Doohan is setting Márquez up to be in the conversation as one of the all-time greats many years from now. For someone to better that mark, they will need to string to results with next to no problems. Just one or two bad results could separate a rider from breaking this record and not. Think about how close Márquez was to not breaking this record? As close as this record could have been 15 victories, it very well could have been 9 victories.
On the other nominees... Márquez won ten consecutive races, the sixth time that happened in 500cc/MotoGP history and there were a few races in which that streak could have been halted. What if Jorge Lorenzo doesn't have an accident on lap one at Qatar? What if Lorenzo doesn't jump the start at Austin? What if Lorenzo holds on and doesn't allow Márquez by on the final lap at Mugello? With a streak such as Márquez's, fortune is going to have to break your way a few times and Márquez was no different.
Think about all the great British drivers to have race in Formula One. Lewis Hamilton has won more Grand Prix than all of them. Granted this is a different era. Jim Clark never had a 19 races schedule. The most he ran in a season was 11 and he left this earth at aged 32. He could have done another two or three seasons had he not gotten in that accident on that fateful day in Hockenheim. Even more amazing is Hamilton reached this mark in 2014. He started the year tied with Damon Hill for 13th all-time in victories with 22. He was third amongst active drivers in victories, only two ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. He ends 2014 with 33 victories, fifth all-time, second amongst active drivers, one ahead of Fernando Alonso and six behind Sebastian Vettel. If Mercedes repeats their dominance in 2015, Hamilton without a question will pass Vettel and Hamilton could pass his idol, Ayrton Senna for third all-time in victories.
When you consider the history of V8 Supercars and it's roots back to Australian Touring Cars, Jamie Whincup setting the record for most championships is comparable to Jimmie Johnson winning an eighth NASCAR Cup Series title. He broke a record held with Ian Geoghegan, who won all his titles between 1964-1969, similar to Whincup who has won all of titles since 2008, second all-time in race victories and six-time Bathurst 1000 winner Mark Skaife and Dick Johnson, a long-time presence in the series who continues to be involved as a team owner. Whincup is young enough to completely rewrite the record books and he doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.
Say what you want with Red Bull's driver development system, to get a Formula One team to put you in a car with only one season of experience in a race car and to do it without bringing any money is impressive. Max Verstappen didn't even win the FIA European Formula Three championship yet the 17-year old will be on the Formula One grid in 2015 while the champion Esteban Ocon and runner-up Tom Blomqvist will have to continue in junior formulas. What were you doing when you were 17? I was working two part-time jobs while trying to balance my junior year of high school and start figuring out what universities to apply to. That is a hell of a long way from the Formula One grid.
Past Winners
2012: DeltaWing
2013: Sebastian Vettel for winning nine consecutive races on his way to a fourth consecutive title
Moment of the Year
Description: The Most Memorable Moment in the World of Racing during the 2014 season.
And the Nominees are:
U.S. F2000 and Pro Mazda Sonoma Weekend.
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton making contact at Spa-Francorchamps.
Post races at the Charlotte and Texas Chase races.
Sebastien Vettel Leaving Red Bull.
Formula E makes it's debut from Beijing
And the winner is... Post race at the Charlotte and Texas Chase races.
The skirmishes between Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth and Keselowski and Jeff Gordon got NASCAR the attention it wanted it. It was leading off SportsCenter in the United States during American football season. To give a comparison, imagine something usurping the Germany national team's run at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on the German equivalent to SportsCenter. Don't get me wrong, this wins Moment of the Year for all the wrong reasons. No one cared about who won the race. It was all about the extracurriculars. NASCAR got it's attention but not because of the product being something that drew in viewers and kept them glued to the screen, rather needing it's drivers to go to schoolboy antics to get anyone to notice.
On the other nominees... We covered the Pro Mazda championship battle but U.S. F2000 championship was just as crazy. R.C. Enerson entered the final race with the championship lead after Florian Latorre retired from race one. Enerson had led the most laps in race two and had a comfortable lead over Latorre before Enerson went off course and Latorre swept on by and in doing so won the race and the championship just a day after it appeared he had lost it.
The contact on lap two of the Belgian Grand Prix between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg changed the entire flow of the 2014 World Drivers' Championship. Hamilton retired from the race while Rosberg went on to win. The German held a 29-point lead but Hamilton felt he had been done dirty by his teammate and that just might have set a fire under the Brit. Hamilton would win the next five races and six of the final seven. Mechanical issues found Rosberg, bitting him at Singapore, ending his night after 13 laps and once again at Abu Dhabi where all he could do was manage to limb home while Hamilton took the crown that appeared to be Rosberg's just three months earlier.
When the press release came at Suzuka saying Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat would be Red Bull Racing's 2015 drivers, a sense of shock came across the motorsports world. After one bad year, one year where the world title was not going to be returning to Milton Keynes, one year in which his teammate was better, Sebastian Vettel was leaving the team he built. Red Bull is nothing without Vettel. The German made an energy drink company the best race team in the world, better than Ferrari, better than McLaren and better than Mercedes. It is a divorce that ten months earlier no one would believe we would ever see happen and then it did and it set off the Formula One silly season dominoes that have just finished falling.
Formula E might not be fast, it might be different from what we are use to be I liken the series to the early automobile races. To the 10-mile AAA-sanctioned races held at horse racing tracks here in the United States or the early grands prix on public roads creating a circuit over 20 miles in length. These were the building blocks for the foundation of what Formula One is today and what IndyCar is today. A century from now that race in Beijing with an average speed just over 60 MPH could be looked upon as a building block for whatever motorsports series is leading the way.
Past Winners
2012: Alex Zanardi
2013: 24 Hours of Le Mans
Pass of the Year
Description: Best pass of 2014.
And the Nominees are:
Scott McLaughlin on Jaime Whincup in the last corner at Adelaide.
Ryan Blaney on Germán Quiroga for the victory in the final corner at Mosport
Ryan Hunter-Reay on Hélio Castroneves on the inside of turn three, ultimately the Indianapolis 500 winning pass.
Gianmaria Bruni from 4th to 2nd in turn one at Bahrain.
And the winner is... Ryan Blaney on Germán Quiroga
As dirty as road course racing can be in NASCAR, the Ryan Blaney-Germán Quiroga showed how great a race can be when two drivers treat each other with respect. Quiroga could have pushed Blaney off course. Blane could have spun Quiroga. Neither did that. They gave each other room and Quiroga took advantage when Blaney left an opening and Blaney capitalized when Quiroga left the door open and Blaney came out on top. NASCAR road course races don't have to be sloppy affairs where track limits don't exist and drivers treat each other more like they are in bumper cars and not sophisticated race cars. Blaney and Quiroga showed what a NASCAR road course race can be when drivers respect one another.
On the other nominees... The entire final lap battle between Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup was fantastic. Like Blaney-Quiroga, McLaughlin and Whincup respected one another. Whincup could have put McLaughlin in the barrier and easily cruised to a second place finish but he didn't. He gave McLaughlin just enough room for both to continue. Just when you though Whincup had McLaughlin beat for second, the Kiwi dove on the inside as Whincup went wide and beat Whincup to the line.
No one had made a passing on the inside going into turn three before Ryan Hunter-Reay overtook Hélio Castroneves with four to go. At least no one went as low as Hunter-Reay did. He couldn't have gotten any closer to the grass. It was the type of move he had to make to catch Castroneves slightly off guard. If Hunter-Reay was willing to make a move that nuts, what else would he be willing to try? It ultimately was enough as Hunter-Reay would lead the final four laps to take his first Indianapolis 500 victory.
This is why Gianmaria Bruni is a back-to-back World Cup for GT Drivers champion. He stalked the Porsche of Patrick Pilet and Aston Martin of Darren Turner and just when it looked like Turner would get the position, Bruni used the draft to swoop by both on the inside as he and Toni Vilander would go on to win their fourth race of the year and clinch the GT world title.
Past Winners
2012: Simon Pagenaud at Baltimore
2013: Robert Wickens at Nürburgring and Peter Dempsey in the Freedom 100
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:
Martin Truex, Jr.: Losing his ride at Michael Waltrip Racing because he lost his sponsor because Clint Bowyer decided to "take a dive" and ending 2014 with five top tens, a third of his 2013 total.
Romain Grosjean: For 7th to 14th in Formula One, scoring four points in 2014, 128 less than 2013, a year in which he ended on the verge of his first victory.
Matt Griffin: For losing a possible second consecutive ELMS GTE title after lap one contact and the #72 SMP Racing Ferrari of Andrea Bertolini, Sergey Zlobin and Viktor Shaitar winning the final race, which they had to do to have any hope of winning the title.
Tom Sykes: For losing a possible second consecutive World Superbike title in the final race.
Alexander Rossi: For having seat after seat ripped out from underneath him and with nowhere to go.
And the winner is... Alexander Rossi
Alexander Rossi could have gotten any closer to making his Formula One debut in 2014 and not made it. First it was Caterham where he got a few Friday drives but ultimately the California left when the team was sold by Tony Fernandes. He landed at Marussia in a reserve role but it appeared Rossi was going to make a breakthrough. It was an announced Rossi would have a race seat for the Belgian Grand Prix only to have that taken from him between first and second practice. After the Jules Bianchi accident it appeared Rossi was set to make his debut at Austin after the team didn't not run Bianchi's car at Sochi. However, Marussia went into administration prior to Austin and the team never made it back on the Formula One grid. Rossi's career is now up in the air and it is likely that he will never start a Formula One Grand Prix despite being so close at Spa.
On the other nominees: Martin Truex, Jr. couldn't have been screwed over anymore by Michael Waltrip Racing. Actions done by Clint Bowyer cost Truex his ride. It is despicable how that entire situation was handled and Truex deserved better. The good news is he was getting better results toward the end of 2014 and Furniture Row Racing is a decent team that has made the Chase before and with making the Chase being as easy as winning a race, it is very possible Truex could qualify next season.
Romain Grosjean got caught in a situation where the car was dreadful and he did the best he could with a turd. Hopefully the switch to Mercedes engines in 2015 puts the Frenchman and Lotusback in contention for race victories like he was at the end of 2013.
A perfect storm kept Matt Griffin from winning back-to-back ELMS GTE titles. First was the accident but that wasn't the end of the world as the #72 SMP Racing Ferrari had to win to take the championship. Of course, that is exactly how it played out as the Russian team came from almost out of nowhere to take the title.
Tom Sykes didn't lose the World Superbike title as much as Sylvain Guintoli won it. The Frenchman won three of the final four races and didn't finish worse than second in the final eight races. Sykes had one retirement all season. As easy as it would be to pin the championship on that one retirement from Sepang, Sykes has nothing to hang his head about. Guintoli was just a little bit better.
Past Winners
2012: Ben Spies
2013: Sam Hornish, Jr.
Comeback of the Year
Description: The Best Comeback in the 2014 season.
And the Nominees are:
Williams F1
Dean Stoneman to full-time single-seater racing
Juan Pablo Montoya to IndyCar
Lewis Hamilton at Germany and Hungary
Alex Tagliani at Road America
And the winner is... Juan Pablo Montoya to IndyCar
Nearly fourteen years after last being in an IndyCar and seven years since being in an open-wheel car, Juan Pablo Montoya returned to the series that jump started his career and made it look like he never left. He did struggle to get his footing in the first few races but by the time Indianapolis 500 rolled around, Montoya was challenging for victories. He stretched fuel mileage longer than anyone else and had it not been for a pit lane speeding penalty, the Colombian would have been in contention for his second Indianapolis 500 victory in his second start in the famed race.
Victory would come his way, at Pocono where Montoya won from pole position, the first driver to win from pole in the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Montoya scored 342 points in the six IndyCar oval races, more than any other driver. He finished fourth in the championship with 586 points. He led 167 laps, only Will Power, Tony Kanaan, Hélio Castroneves and Ryan Hunter-Reay led more. Montoya has room for improvement in 2015 but he certainly raised a few eye brows in 2014.
On the other nominees... What else can you say about Williams F1? Getting the Mercedes engine certainly played into their favor but that wasn't an automatic guarantee for success. You still need to build a car capable of competing at the front and it had been sometime since Williams produced a car of this caliber. Since BMW left the team after the 2005 season, Williams had three podiums over eight season. The team scored nine podiums in 2014. After only scoring 5 points in 2013 and finishing ninth in the Constructors' Championship, Williams scored 320 points behind only Mercedes and Red Bull and ahead of Ferrari, McLaren and Force India, teams that had trounced Williams in recent seasons. Valterri Bottas came of age and Felipe Massa resuscitated his career. The Finn scored in 17 of 19 races and Massa won pole position at Austria, the only pole position that wasn't snagged by a Mercedes driver. Massa challenged for the victory at Abu Dhabi but came home second with Bottas in third, the first time both Williams finished on the podiums since the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix when Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber finished second and third respectively. They might not have won in 2014 but don't rule them out in 2015.
If you don't know the story of Dean Stoneman, it is as uplifting as they come. In 2010, Stoneman won the Formula Two championship over Jolyon Palmer and secured a test with Williams F1 for the end of that year. He was set to move to Formula Renault 3.5 in 2011 but Stoneman was diagnosed with severe testicular cancer forcing him out of the car. He nearly lost his legs and had he not gotten treatment when he did, he would not be here today. He didn't race at all in 2011 or 2012. He returned to competition in Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain in 2013 and swept his first race weekend at Brands Hatch. After finishing fifth in that series, Stoneman got a ride in the 2013 GP3 season finale at Abu Dhabi where he finished sixth and second in his first races in a single-seater since winning the 2010 F2 title. He got a full-time GP3 ride in 2014 and won a series-leading five races and finished second in the championship. Now Stoneman looks toward moving up the European ladder or coming to the United States and IndyCar. Stoneman is as uplifting of a story and we can only hope he continues to find success wherever he goes in 2015.
Lewis Hamilton had to start from 20th at Hockenheim and from the pit lane at Hungaroring. In both races, Hamilton put together calculated drives to the front and those very well could have decided the championship. Had Hamilton not gone from 20th to 3rd at Hockenheim and from the pit lane to 3rd at Hungaroring, Nico Rosberg could have been world champion. They were drives that defined Hamilton's season despite him not ending up on the top step of the podium.
Alex Tagliani ran out of fuel while leading the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Road America under caution with five laps to go and dropped him to 23rd for the final restart. Tagliani switched to slick tires as the track was drying as the field prepared for a green-white-checkered finish. Tagliani picked apart the field as he went from 23rd to second in two laps and finished second to Brendan Gaughan by only 0.820 seconds. It was as impressive as you can get as Tagliani made the field appear amateur as he nearly pulled off what arguably would have been the greatest green-white-checkered comeback in it's recent history of use in NASCAR.
Past Winners
2013: Michael Shank Racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona
Most Improved
Description: Racer Who Improved The Most from 2013 to 2014.
And the Nominees are:
Aleix Espargaró: From 11th to 7th in MotoGP, scoring 33 points more than 2013, while picking up his first career pole position and podium.
Chaz Mostert: From 17th to 7th, scoring 1003 points more than 2013 and winning two races including the Bathurst 1000.
Daniel Ricciardo: From 14th to 3rd in Formula One, scoring 218 points more than 2013, winning three races and scoring eight podiums.
Edoardo Mortara: From 21st to 5th in DTM, scoring 65 more points than 2013 and two podiums after his best finish was ninth in 2013.
Valtteri Bottas: From 17th to 4th in Formula One, scoring 182 points more than 2013 and finished with six podiums
And the winner is... Chaz Mostert
Besides his Bathurst victory, Chaz Mostert was a feature at the front of many V8SC races and Mostert ended up finishing ahead of many more veteran V8SC drivers including former champion Garth Tander as well as Fabian Coulthard, Will Davison and Jason Bright. He was the second best Ford driver, finishing only behind his Ford Performance Racing teammate Mark Winterbottom. Look for Mostert to challenge his teammate a little more in 2015.
On the other nominees... Aleix Espargaró did a lot considering he was on an "Open" class bike. His one podium at Aragón came in the wet and he took pole position at Assen. He moves to the factory Suzuki team in 2015 and could become an even bigger threat for getting more podiums possible victories.
Daniel Ricciardo did improve as he moved to Red Bull from Toro Rosso. He was not intimidated by his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel and beat the German in almost every statistic category. He has become the clear number one as he looks to challenge Mercedes even more in 2015.
The Italian Edoardo Mortara has had a roller coaster of a career in DTM. After winning two races and finishing fifth in his second season in the series in 2012, he scored only three points all of 2013 but turned it around in 2014 where he got two podiums and finished in the points in six of ten races.
We already touched on Valterri Bottas a little bit but when you considered he scored two fewer points than Esteban Gutiérrez in 2013 and finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in 2014, he had a big turn around. Sure the car and engine had something to do with it but you still have to go out and get the results. The Finn proved his worth and he finished fourth in the world championship in his second season in Formula One.
Past Winners
2012: Esteban Guerrieri
2013: Marco Andretti
That will do it for the 2014 For the Love of Indy Awards. Congratulations to all those on a wonderful 2014 season. The 2015 season is just around the corner. Soon we will be talking about the Dakar Rally and the next round of the Formula E championship. Testing will pick up for the 24 Hours of Daytona and other endurances races such as the Dubai 24 Hours and Bathurst 12 Hour give us our fix. While we will miss motorsports, we need this down time. We need this time to be with families and reflect on the year. Everyone needs a break and while it will feel long, it is much shorter than we realize. Eventually the cycle will start all over and we will be back into a rhythm in no time at all.
Description: Best Race of 2014.
And the Nominees are:
Indianapolis 500
Aragón motorcycle Grand Prix
Pro Mazda race 2 from Sonoma
Bathurst 1000
Canadian Grand Prix
And the winner is... Bathurst 1000
Despite red flags for pavement issues, 1000 kilometers have never held my attention more than this race. Jamie Whincup had to start 23rd but was up to fifth in thirteen laps but as if that hill wasn't high enough to overcome, an accident and penalty for unsafe release in the pit lane put Whincup and co-driver Paul Dumbrell a lap down. The battle at the front was mostly between the #33 Volvo of Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Prémat and the #97 Holden of Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb but McLaughlin hit the wall and Van Gisbergen had the start motor fail him on the final pit stop with 10 laps to go.
Whincup had worked his way back on to the lead lap and found himself in contention with teammate Craig Lowndes, Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert, who started in 25th, last on the grid after his time was disallowed for passing under red flag conditions in qualifying. Whincup was stretching his fuel mileage as Lowndes and Winterbottom got together, ending both their hopes. Mostert chased down Whincup as he tried to nurse it home. Ultimately, Whincup didn't have enough and Mostert passed him on the exit of Forest's Elbow, heading down The Chase one final time. Mostert and co-driver Paul Morris won the most famous race in the southern hemisphere from last on the grid and only led one lap, the final lap. Between them, Mostert and Morris has three combined victories and Morris' lone victory came at Calder Park a track that is being reclaimed by nature in 2001. It was Mostert's second Bathurst start. Whincup coasted fifth as the #360 Nissan of James Moffat and Taz Douglas, #22 Holden of Nick Percat and Oliver Gavin and #9 Mercedes of Will and Alex Davison would pass Whincup.
To top it all off, on the podium Mostert gave us motorsport's quote of the year when commenting on his pursuit of Whincup: "I kept screaming on the radio in the cockpit – cough you bastard, cough!"
On the other nominees... For another year the Indianapolis 500 provided a thrill for 200 consecutive laps. The first three-quarters of the race went without a caution as Ryan Hunter-Reay worked his way to the front from 19th on the grid and took the lead by halfway. Lead changes were nearly half from the year prior but the action was still fierce. Going into the final 25 laps, at least eight drivers had a shot of victory but they thinned out quickly as Ed Carpenter and James Hinchcliffe got together and Townsend Bell had an accident. The final seven laps were a duel between Hunter-Reay and Hélio Castroneves, who was looking for his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. They traded positions a few times before Hunter-Reay took the lead once and for all on the inside of turn three with four laps to go as he held off the Brazilian by 0.060 seconds, the second-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.
Aragón was as unpredictable as they come. Andrea Iannone started third and was up to second but was out after a second lap accident. Valentino Rossi fell from fourth on lap four. The battle was between Márquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa as rain bared down. When the rain arrived, it was a matter of who was going to blink first. Neither of the three immediately dove in to switch bikes even as the condition clearly became more than they could handle on slicks. Lorenzo blinked with four to go and Pedrosa fell in turn one while Márquez continue. You would have thought Honda and Márquez would have been smart enough to pit immediately after Pedrosa fell but they weren't and Márquez was down the next lap. Both were able to continue but the race was handed to Lorenzo while Aleix Espargaró benefitted from being one of the first to switch to come home second, holding off a hard charging Cal Crutchlow. Márquez and Pedrosa were able to limp home, 13th and 14th respectively, each having gone one lap too long on slicks.
Not often does a junior formula race break into the conversation of best of the year but the Pro Mazda season finale begs to differ. After losing the championship lead in race one the previous day, Spencer Pigot had to chase down Scott Hargrove for the title. Hargrove was on pole with Pigot second and Pigot's championship hopes were nearly dashed in the first few corners as Neil Alberico (Hargrove's teammate) got into Pigot and his teammate Kyle Kaiser. Pigot dropped outside the top fifteen as Hargrove continued to lead. Pigot picked off one driver after another as he tried to resurrect his championship hopes but it appeared he had run out of steam once he reached seventh with six to go. With four to go, Kaiser caused a caution, bunching up the field for one final restart with three laps to go. Hargrove had lead every lap until a mechanical failure ended his day, handing the lead to Pigot's other teammate, Jose Gutierrez. Hargrove retired and Pigot brought the car home in fifth, more than enough to take the title.
Just when it appeared Mercedes was going to go undefeated in Formula One, it all came crashing down at Montreal. Rosberg and Hamilton pushed each other to the limit at every turn and Hamilton's brakes went, ending the Brits day. After leading the first 413 laps of the Formula One season, Mercedes conceded the race lead to Felipe Massa but he had to pit and Rosberg, Sergio Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel would go on by. Pérez rode Rosberg's coat tails but fell back as his brakes started to go. Ricciardo was able to pass the Mexican and chase down Rosberg, taking the lead with three to go. The battle was then for third as Pérez was holding on as Vettel and Massa were all over him. Heading into turn one on the final lap, Vettel passed the Mexican and Massa made a move but Pérez made contact with the Williams and both went sliding off into the barriers. The safety car was deployed and Ricciardo ended up victorious, the first of his Formula One career.
Past Winners
2012: Indianapolis 500
2013: British motorcycle Grand Prix
Achievement of the Year
Description: Best success by a driver, team, manufacture, etc.
And the Nominees are:
Marc Márquez: Winning ten consecutive race.
Marc Márquez: Setting the record for most wins in a premier class season with thirteen.
Lewis Hamilton: Becoming the all-time winningest British driver in Formula One history.
Jamie Whincup: Winning a record-breaking sixth V8 Supercars championship.
Max Verstappen: Landing a Formula One Ride at 17 years old.
And the winner is... Marc Márquez: Setting the record for most wins in a premier class season.
Of all the records Marc Márquez has set, this one might stand for the longest. To win the most races ever in a season shows the strength of a racer from the time the lights first go out until the final checkered flag. To break a record that was held by a legend such as Mick Doohan is setting Márquez up to be in the conversation as one of the all-time greats many years from now. For someone to better that mark, they will need to string to results with next to no problems. Just one or two bad results could separate a rider from breaking this record and not. Think about how close Márquez was to not breaking this record? As close as this record could have been 15 victories, it very well could have been 9 victories.
On the other nominees... Márquez won ten consecutive races, the sixth time that happened in 500cc/MotoGP history and there were a few races in which that streak could have been halted. What if Jorge Lorenzo doesn't have an accident on lap one at Qatar? What if Lorenzo doesn't jump the start at Austin? What if Lorenzo holds on and doesn't allow Márquez by on the final lap at Mugello? With a streak such as Márquez's, fortune is going to have to break your way a few times and Márquez was no different.
Think about all the great British drivers to have race in Formula One. Lewis Hamilton has won more Grand Prix than all of them. Granted this is a different era. Jim Clark never had a 19 races schedule. The most he ran in a season was 11 and he left this earth at aged 32. He could have done another two or three seasons had he not gotten in that accident on that fateful day in Hockenheim. Even more amazing is Hamilton reached this mark in 2014. He started the year tied with Damon Hill for 13th all-time in victories with 22. He was third amongst active drivers in victories, only two ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. He ends 2014 with 33 victories, fifth all-time, second amongst active drivers, one ahead of Fernando Alonso and six behind Sebastian Vettel. If Mercedes repeats their dominance in 2015, Hamilton without a question will pass Vettel and Hamilton could pass his idol, Ayrton Senna for third all-time in victories.
When you consider the history of V8 Supercars and it's roots back to Australian Touring Cars, Jamie Whincup setting the record for most championships is comparable to Jimmie Johnson winning an eighth NASCAR Cup Series title. He broke a record held with Ian Geoghegan, who won all his titles between 1964-1969, similar to Whincup who has won all of titles since 2008, second all-time in race victories and six-time Bathurst 1000 winner Mark Skaife and Dick Johnson, a long-time presence in the series who continues to be involved as a team owner. Whincup is young enough to completely rewrite the record books and he doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.
Say what you want with Red Bull's driver development system, to get a Formula One team to put you in a car with only one season of experience in a race car and to do it without bringing any money is impressive. Max Verstappen didn't even win the FIA European Formula Three championship yet the 17-year old will be on the Formula One grid in 2015 while the champion Esteban Ocon and runner-up Tom Blomqvist will have to continue in junior formulas. What were you doing when you were 17? I was working two part-time jobs while trying to balance my junior year of high school and start figuring out what universities to apply to. That is a hell of a long way from the Formula One grid.
Past Winners
2012: DeltaWing
2013: Sebastian Vettel for winning nine consecutive races on his way to a fourth consecutive title
Moment of the Year
Description: The Most Memorable Moment in the World of Racing during the 2014 season.
And the Nominees are:
U.S. F2000 and Pro Mazda Sonoma Weekend.
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton making contact at Spa-Francorchamps.
Post races at the Charlotte and Texas Chase races.
Sebastien Vettel Leaving Red Bull.
Formula E makes it's debut from Beijing
And the winner is... Post race at the Charlotte and Texas Chase races.
The skirmishes between Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth and Keselowski and Jeff Gordon got NASCAR the attention it wanted it. It was leading off SportsCenter in the United States during American football season. To give a comparison, imagine something usurping the Germany national team's run at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on the German equivalent to SportsCenter. Don't get me wrong, this wins Moment of the Year for all the wrong reasons. No one cared about who won the race. It was all about the extracurriculars. NASCAR got it's attention but not because of the product being something that drew in viewers and kept them glued to the screen, rather needing it's drivers to go to schoolboy antics to get anyone to notice.
On the other nominees... We covered the Pro Mazda championship battle but U.S. F2000 championship was just as crazy. R.C. Enerson entered the final race with the championship lead after Florian Latorre retired from race one. Enerson had led the most laps in race two and had a comfortable lead over Latorre before Enerson went off course and Latorre swept on by and in doing so won the race and the championship just a day after it appeared he had lost it.
The contact on lap two of the Belgian Grand Prix between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg changed the entire flow of the 2014 World Drivers' Championship. Hamilton retired from the race while Rosberg went on to win. The German held a 29-point lead but Hamilton felt he had been done dirty by his teammate and that just might have set a fire under the Brit. Hamilton would win the next five races and six of the final seven. Mechanical issues found Rosberg, bitting him at Singapore, ending his night after 13 laps and once again at Abu Dhabi where all he could do was manage to limb home while Hamilton took the crown that appeared to be Rosberg's just three months earlier.
When the press release came at Suzuka saying Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat would be Red Bull Racing's 2015 drivers, a sense of shock came across the motorsports world. After one bad year, one year where the world title was not going to be returning to Milton Keynes, one year in which his teammate was better, Sebastian Vettel was leaving the team he built. Red Bull is nothing without Vettel. The German made an energy drink company the best race team in the world, better than Ferrari, better than McLaren and better than Mercedes. It is a divorce that ten months earlier no one would believe we would ever see happen and then it did and it set off the Formula One silly season dominoes that have just finished falling.
Formula E might not be fast, it might be different from what we are use to be I liken the series to the early automobile races. To the 10-mile AAA-sanctioned races held at horse racing tracks here in the United States or the early grands prix on public roads creating a circuit over 20 miles in length. These were the building blocks for the foundation of what Formula One is today and what IndyCar is today. A century from now that race in Beijing with an average speed just over 60 MPH could be looked upon as a building block for whatever motorsports series is leading the way.
Past Winners
2012: Alex Zanardi
2013: 24 Hours of Le Mans
Pass of the Year
Description: Best pass of 2014.
And the Nominees are:
Scott McLaughlin on Jaime Whincup in the last corner at Adelaide.
Ryan Blaney on Germán Quiroga for the victory in the final corner at Mosport
Ryan Hunter-Reay on Hélio Castroneves on the inside of turn three, ultimately the Indianapolis 500 winning pass.
Gianmaria Bruni from 4th to 2nd in turn one at Bahrain.
And the winner is... Ryan Blaney on Germán Quiroga
As dirty as road course racing can be in NASCAR, the Ryan Blaney-Germán Quiroga showed how great a race can be when two drivers treat each other with respect. Quiroga could have pushed Blaney off course. Blane could have spun Quiroga. Neither did that. They gave each other room and Quiroga took advantage when Blaney left an opening and Blaney capitalized when Quiroga left the door open and Blaney came out on top. NASCAR road course races don't have to be sloppy affairs where track limits don't exist and drivers treat each other more like they are in bumper cars and not sophisticated race cars. Blaney and Quiroga showed what a NASCAR road course race can be when drivers respect one another.
On the other nominees... The entire final lap battle between Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup was fantastic. Like Blaney-Quiroga, McLaughlin and Whincup respected one another. Whincup could have put McLaughlin in the barrier and easily cruised to a second place finish but he didn't. He gave McLaughlin just enough room for both to continue. Just when you though Whincup had McLaughlin beat for second, the Kiwi dove on the inside as Whincup went wide and beat Whincup to the line.
No one had made a passing on the inside going into turn three before Ryan Hunter-Reay overtook Hélio Castroneves with four to go. At least no one went as low as Hunter-Reay did. He couldn't have gotten any closer to the grass. It was the type of move he had to make to catch Castroneves slightly off guard. If Hunter-Reay was willing to make a move that nuts, what else would he be willing to try? It ultimately was enough as Hunter-Reay would lead the final four laps to take his first Indianapolis 500 victory.
This is why Gianmaria Bruni is a back-to-back World Cup for GT Drivers champion. He stalked the Porsche of Patrick Pilet and Aston Martin of Darren Turner and just when it looked like Turner would get the position, Bruni used the draft to swoop by both on the inside as he and Toni Vilander would go on to win their fourth race of the year and clinch the GT world title.
Past Winners
2012: Simon Pagenaud at Baltimore
2013: Robert Wickens at Nürburgring and Peter Dempsey in the Freedom 100
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:
Martin Truex, Jr.: Losing his ride at Michael Waltrip Racing because he lost his sponsor because Clint Bowyer decided to "take a dive" and ending 2014 with five top tens, a third of his 2013 total.
Romain Grosjean: For 7th to 14th in Formula One, scoring four points in 2014, 128 less than 2013, a year in which he ended on the verge of his first victory.
Matt Griffin: For losing a possible second consecutive ELMS GTE title after lap one contact and the #72 SMP Racing Ferrari of Andrea Bertolini, Sergey Zlobin and Viktor Shaitar winning the final race, which they had to do to have any hope of winning the title.
Tom Sykes: For losing a possible second consecutive World Superbike title in the final race.
Alexander Rossi: For having seat after seat ripped out from underneath him and with nowhere to go.
And the winner is... Alexander Rossi
Alexander Rossi could have gotten any closer to making his Formula One debut in 2014 and not made it. First it was Caterham where he got a few Friday drives but ultimately the California left when the team was sold by Tony Fernandes. He landed at Marussia in a reserve role but it appeared Rossi was going to make a breakthrough. It was an announced Rossi would have a race seat for the Belgian Grand Prix only to have that taken from him between first and second practice. After the Jules Bianchi accident it appeared Rossi was set to make his debut at Austin after the team didn't not run Bianchi's car at Sochi. However, Marussia went into administration prior to Austin and the team never made it back on the Formula One grid. Rossi's career is now up in the air and it is likely that he will never start a Formula One Grand Prix despite being so close at Spa.
On the other nominees: Martin Truex, Jr. couldn't have been screwed over anymore by Michael Waltrip Racing. Actions done by Clint Bowyer cost Truex his ride. It is despicable how that entire situation was handled and Truex deserved better. The good news is he was getting better results toward the end of 2014 and Furniture Row Racing is a decent team that has made the Chase before and with making the Chase being as easy as winning a race, it is very possible Truex could qualify next season.
Romain Grosjean got caught in a situation where the car was dreadful and he did the best he could with a turd. Hopefully the switch to Mercedes engines in 2015 puts the Frenchman and Lotusback in contention for race victories like he was at the end of 2013.
A perfect storm kept Matt Griffin from winning back-to-back ELMS GTE titles. First was the accident but that wasn't the end of the world as the #72 SMP Racing Ferrari had to win to take the championship. Of course, that is exactly how it played out as the Russian team came from almost out of nowhere to take the title.
Tom Sykes didn't lose the World Superbike title as much as Sylvain Guintoli won it. The Frenchman won three of the final four races and didn't finish worse than second in the final eight races. Sykes had one retirement all season. As easy as it would be to pin the championship on that one retirement from Sepang, Sykes has nothing to hang his head about. Guintoli was just a little bit better.
Past Winners
2012: Ben Spies
2013: Sam Hornish, Jr.
Comeback of the Year
Description: The Best Comeback in the 2014 season.
And the Nominees are:
Williams F1
Dean Stoneman to full-time single-seater racing
Juan Pablo Montoya to IndyCar
Lewis Hamilton at Germany and Hungary
Alex Tagliani at Road America
And the winner is... Juan Pablo Montoya to IndyCar
Nearly fourteen years after last being in an IndyCar and seven years since being in an open-wheel car, Juan Pablo Montoya returned to the series that jump started his career and made it look like he never left. He did struggle to get his footing in the first few races but by the time Indianapolis 500 rolled around, Montoya was challenging for victories. He stretched fuel mileage longer than anyone else and had it not been for a pit lane speeding penalty, the Colombian would have been in contention for his second Indianapolis 500 victory in his second start in the famed race.
Victory would come his way, at Pocono where Montoya won from pole position, the first driver to win from pole in the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Montoya scored 342 points in the six IndyCar oval races, more than any other driver. He finished fourth in the championship with 586 points. He led 167 laps, only Will Power, Tony Kanaan, Hélio Castroneves and Ryan Hunter-Reay led more. Montoya has room for improvement in 2015 but he certainly raised a few eye brows in 2014.
On the other nominees... What else can you say about Williams F1? Getting the Mercedes engine certainly played into their favor but that wasn't an automatic guarantee for success. You still need to build a car capable of competing at the front and it had been sometime since Williams produced a car of this caliber. Since BMW left the team after the 2005 season, Williams had three podiums over eight season. The team scored nine podiums in 2014. After only scoring 5 points in 2013 and finishing ninth in the Constructors' Championship, Williams scored 320 points behind only Mercedes and Red Bull and ahead of Ferrari, McLaren and Force India, teams that had trounced Williams in recent seasons. Valterri Bottas came of age and Felipe Massa resuscitated his career. The Finn scored in 17 of 19 races and Massa won pole position at Austria, the only pole position that wasn't snagged by a Mercedes driver. Massa challenged for the victory at Abu Dhabi but came home second with Bottas in third, the first time both Williams finished on the podiums since the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix when Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber finished second and third respectively. They might not have won in 2014 but don't rule them out in 2015.
If you don't know the story of Dean Stoneman, it is as uplifting as they come. In 2010, Stoneman won the Formula Two championship over Jolyon Palmer and secured a test with Williams F1 for the end of that year. He was set to move to Formula Renault 3.5 in 2011 but Stoneman was diagnosed with severe testicular cancer forcing him out of the car. He nearly lost his legs and had he not gotten treatment when he did, he would not be here today. He didn't race at all in 2011 or 2012. He returned to competition in Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain in 2013 and swept his first race weekend at Brands Hatch. After finishing fifth in that series, Stoneman got a ride in the 2013 GP3 season finale at Abu Dhabi where he finished sixth and second in his first races in a single-seater since winning the 2010 F2 title. He got a full-time GP3 ride in 2014 and won a series-leading five races and finished second in the championship. Now Stoneman looks toward moving up the European ladder or coming to the United States and IndyCar. Stoneman is as uplifting of a story and we can only hope he continues to find success wherever he goes in 2015.
Lewis Hamilton had to start from 20th at Hockenheim and from the pit lane at Hungaroring. In both races, Hamilton put together calculated drives to the front and those very well could have decided the championship. Had Hamilton not gone from 20th to 3rd at Hockenheim and from the pit lane to 3rd at Hungaroring, Nico Rosberg could have been world champion. They were drives that defined Hamilton's season despite him not ending up on the top step of the podium.
Alex Tagliani ran out of fuel while leading the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Road America under caution with five laps to go and dropped him to 23rd for the final restart. Tagliani switched to slick tires as the track was drying as the field prepared for a green-white-checkered finish. Tagliani picked apart the field as he went from 23rd to second in two laps and finished second to Brendan Gaughan by only 0.820 seconds. It was as impressive as you can get as Tagliani made the field appear amateur as he nearly pulled off what arguably would have been the greatest green-white-checkered comeback in it's recent history of use in NASCAR.
Past Winners
2013: Michael Shank Racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona
Most Improved
Description: Racer Who Improved The Most from 2013 to 2014.
And the Nominees are:
Aleix Espargaró: From 11th to 7th in MotoGP, scoring 33 points more than 2013, while picking up his first career pole position and podium.
Chaz Mostert: From 17th to 7th, scoring 1003 points more than 2013 and winning two races including the Bathurst 1000.
Daniel Ricciardo: From 14th to 3rd in Formula One, scoring 218 points more than 2013, winning three races and scoring eight podiums.
Edoardo Mortara: From 21st to 5th in DTM, scoring 65 more points than 2013 and two podiums after his best finish was ninth in 2013.
Valtteri Bottas: From 17th to 4th in Formula One, scoring 182 points more than 2013 and finished with six podiums
And the winner is... Chaz Mostert
Besides his Bathurst victory, Chaz Mostert was a feature at the front of many V8SC races and Mostert ended up finishing ahead of many more veteran V8SC drivers including former champion Garth Tander as well as Fabian Coulthard, Will Davison and Jason Bright. He was the second best Ford driver, finishing only behind his Ford Performance Racing teammate Mark Winterbottom. Look for Mostert to challenge his teammate a little more in 2015.
On the other nominees... Aleix Espargaró did a lot considering he was on an "Open" class bike. His one podium at Aragón came in the wet and he took pole position at Assen. He moves to the factory Suzuki team in 2015 and could become an even bigger threat for getting more podiums possible victories.
Daniel Ricciardo did improve as he moved to Red Bull from Toro Rosso. He was not intimidated by his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel and beat the German in almost every statistic category. He has become the clear number one as he looks to challenge Mercedes even more in 2015.
The Italian Edoardo Mortara has had a roller coaster of a career in DTM. After winning two races and finishing fifth in his second season in the series in 2012, he scored only three points all of 2013 but turned it around in 2014 where he got two podiums and finished in the points in six of ten races.
We already touched on Valterri Bottas a little bit but when you considered he scored two fewer points than Esteban Gutiérrez in 2013 and finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in 2014, he had a big turn around. Sure the car and engine had something to do with it but you still have to go out and get the results. The Finn proved his worth and he finished fourth in the world championship in his second season in Formula One.
Past Winners
2012: Esteban Guerrieri
2013: Marco Andretti
That will do it for the 2014 For the Love of Indy Awards. Congratulations to all those on a wonderful 2014 season. The 2015 season is just around the corner. Soon we will be talking about the Dakar Rally and the next round of the Formula E championship. Testing will pick up for the 24 Hours of Daytona and other endurances races such as the Dubai 24 Hours and Bathurst 12 Hour give us our fix. While we will miss motorsports, we need this down time. We need this time to be with families and reflect on the year. Everyone needs a break and while it will feel long, it is much shorter than we realize. Eventually the cycle will start all over and we will be back into a rhythm in no time at all.
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