#australian gp 1996

[vintagef1]

"Melbourne made its debut on the F1 race calendar #OnThisDay in 1996 🤩 It was also the day that Michael Schumacher raced in scarlet red for the first time ❤️ Swipe 👈 to see more of Albert Park where Damon Hill took the chequered flag and Martin Brundle walked away unscathed from a dramatic opening lap crash. We can't wait to go back Down Under again for round 3 of the 2024 season on March 22-24 🙃" - march 10, 2024 📷 @.f1 / instagram

[schumipng]

1996 Australian Grand Prix. (L-R) Irvine, Schumacher, Häkkinen, Coulthard Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

[coimbrabertone]

The Golden Age of Japanese Talent in Western Motorsports

So, the heavy rumor at this point in F1 is that Sergio Perez's position at Red Bull has become untenable. An expensive release clause and a lack of a clear alternative has protected Perez for awhile now, but a truly dismal end to the 2024 season has meant Red Bull is willing to pay the price to get rid of him.

Not unlike McLaren with Daniel Ricciardo in 2022.

So, who is getting the nod to Red Bull?

Liam Lawson, it seems. This has pissed off a lot of fans, who feel that Yuki Tsunoda has performed well enough and has spent enough time at Alpha Tauri/VCARB to earn a chance at Red Bull.

Red Bull feels otherwise, and it seems to be because Yuki Tsunoda is at RB as a favor to engine supplier Honda, and Red Bull does not see Tsunoda continuing with them once they switch to Ford.

This got me thinking about Japanese drivers in motorsports, western motorsports in particular. I know that sounds just a bit orientalist and I apologize for that, but a variety of cultural, linguistic, and geographic factors have created a lot of barriers for Japanese drivers to come over here.

Japanese talent instead seems to focus on domestic competitions: Super Formula, Super GT, the Suzuka 8 Hour, etc, etc.

Meanwhile, Japanese talent in the west is most often associated with a Japanese manufacturer. This is what I want to talk about today.

An early prominent example of this is Satoru Nakajima, who Honda tried to put in a Williams in 1986. Frank Williams refused, reasoning that Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell was a much stronger lineup. Thus, Honda went to their other customer team in Lotus, and Nakajima was put into the car in 1987, partnering Ayrton Senna.

Ayrton won two races and finished third in the standings.

Satoru...did not. His best result was a fourth place.

Nevertheless, Satoru continued with Lotus in 1988, now alongside Nelson Piquet. Now, nobody was touching McLaren that year and Lotus slipped to fourth in the constructors' championship, but Nakajima was actually closer to Piquet than he was to Senna. Granted, he only scored one point, but in terms of pace and performance, he was a lot closer.

Satoru Nakajima - nor Aguri Suzuki, who also appeared in F1 around this time - didn't accomplish much, but they did pave the way for the 1990s, which would turn out to be a golden age for Japanese drivers in western motorsports.

On the Formula One side of things, we had Nakajima, Suzuki, Naoki Hattori, Ukyo Katayama, Toshio Suzuki (no relation), Hideki Noda, Taki Inoue, Shinji Nakano, and Toranosuke Takagi all made appearances.

A number of these guys, most prominently Shinji Nakano and Tora Takagi, would also make appearances in CART, where Honda and Toyota were engine suppliers.

The racing series where Japanese talent shined brightest, however, was Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, now known as MotoGP. Here, Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki made sure that Japanese manufacturers were well represented, and the 1997 season is probably the best example of that.

Australian Mick Doohan was dominant, yes, but behind him...the Japanese were all over the series. Teammate Tadayuki Okada won the Indonesian Grand Prix and finished second in the championship, whilst Takuma Aoki on a Repsol Honda entered NSR500V - a cheaper V2 variant of the V4 NSR500, meant for customer teams - finished fifth with three podiums.

Takuma's brother, Nobuatsu Aoki was third on another V4 Honda, taking four podiums and managing to just barely finish ahead of Repsol's Alex Crivillé, who was hampered by a midseason injury.

It wasn't limited to just Honda either, as Yamaha had the famous Norifumi Abe, who won three races himself - the 1996 Japanese GP at Suzuki, the 1999 Rio de Janeiro GP at Jacarepaguá, and then the 2000 Japanese GP, also at Suzuka - but was more known for wild and aggressive performances.

Norifumi was so famous at this point that a young Valentino Rossi used Rossifumi as his first nickname.

Before there was the Doctor, there was Rossifumi.

So yeah, in 1997, there were four Japanese riders in the top ten of the championship, and while none of them could quite match Mick Doohan, neither could anyone else back then.

So, what happened to all this?

That's the difficult question really. My first thought was that maybe it was the switch from 500cc bikes to the 990cc bikes of the MotoGP era. Perhaps the increased cost and professionalization of the grid reduced the number of Japanese riders.

The problem is that it doesn't quite hold true. Daijiro Kato in 2002 was shaping up to be the best Japanese prospect perhaps ever, before his career was cut short by a tragic death at the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix.

Did that death kill the Japanese stomach for motorcycle racing? I mean, maybe, but it sure didn't in the moment.

Abe was still around, as were Tohru Ukawa and Noriyuki Haga, while Shinya Nakano spent the mid-2000s dragging his Kawasaki into contention whenever he could, and Makoto Tamada won at Rio and Motegi in 2004 on the Camel Honda, giving us the first multi-win season for a Japanese rider.

It more just seemed to fade out over the course of the 2000s.

By the 2010s, Japanese participation in MotoGP was reduced to one satellite Honda rider and then maybe a wildcard ride or two from the Yamaha or Suzuki test teams at Motegi.

By the 2020s, that rider was Taka Nakagami, but for 2025, that seems to be changing.

The Idemitsu LCR Honda - the Honda reserved for Asian talent - will go to Thai rider Somkiat Chantra. Surprisingly though, this does not mean the end to a Japanese rider on the grid, as Ai Ogura has been signed by Trackhouse to ride an Aprilia.

A Japanese rider on an American team running an Italian bike.

This is a big deal, because it marks the first time in twenty years that a Japanese rider was picked entirely on merit, having denied a chance to go to LCR Honda to stay in Moto2 and prove himself.

And prove himself he did, because Ai Ogura won three races and the Moto2 championship in 2024. These wins were at Catalunya, Assen, and Misano too, so these are classic European venues.

He's not just a Suzuka/Motegi specialist, he might just be the real deal.

P.S:

So yeah, I've been reading up on 90s and 2000s two-stroke era Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing and I noticed how prominent and successful Japanese riders were, so I wanted to write about it. I wasn't sure where exactly I'd go with the blogpost from there, but I actually like how this one went, let me know what you think!

P.P.S:

Oh, and Offtopic Offseason...I liked writing that blogpost a lot and I think I'll do some more of those. I was thinking about alternating weekly between an Offtopic Offseason post and a regular motorsports post, but I think I'm just gonna leave it open to whichever I decide to do on a given Monday. This week I had something motorsport-y to talk about, next week I might, or I might not, we'll see.

I'm going to label and number all of the Offtopic Offseason posts, so you'll know exactly what it is once you see it post. I hope that's alright with all you guys.

[kingofthering-two]

hi! I was wondering, does videopass have races from before 2003? there aren’t many on youtube, so I was wondering how complete the earlier seasons are? thanks for the help, hope you have a nice day ❤️

Hi, the older you go in videopass, the rarer the content is but I’ve compiled everything that was available before 2002, full races wise. Unless specified otherwise, these are all 500cc races.

From 2002 onward, you have all races available for all categories.

1992 :

Dutch GP

European GP

Donington

Italy

1993 :

Suzuka

Dutch GP

British GP

1994 :

British GP

Malaysian GP

Suzuka

1995 :

Japanese GP

Argentinian GP

Jerez

1996 :

Spanish GP

Imola

Czech Republic

Czech Republic (125cc) (first Vale win)

Suzuka

1997 :

Spanish GP

Donington

Czech Republic (125cc) (Vale championship)

Catalunya GP

Indonesia GP

1998 :

French GP

Czech Republic GP

Donington

Catalunya GP

Suzuka

1999 :

Rio

Catalan GP

Buenos Aires (125cc) (Alzamora championship)

Valencia

Italy

2000 :

Italian GP

Australian GP

British GP

Spanish GP

Rio

Donington

2001 :

Valencia

Phillip Island

Spanish GP

Japanese GP

Assen (250cc)

[scuderlia]

Eddie Irvine & Michael Schumacher, Australian GP (1996) © Alexander Hassenstein via Getty Images

mourning what we've lost (cunty Ferrari race suits)

[retromania4ever]

1996 Australian GP at Melbourne - Albert Park🇦🇺🏁

#classic #formula1

[crystalracing]

Video ideas

How bad was Max Verstappen's dad in F1?

The story of the Japanese Kimi Raikkonen (Tora Takagi)

Why Ocon & Gasly's rivalry means nothing (Peterson, de Angelis, Heidfeld & Fisichella)

How unlucky was Fernando Alonso's F3000 rival in F1 & Indycar? (Bruno junquiera)

How unlucky was Senna's local rival in F1 & Indycar? (Raul Boesel)

When did Fernando Alonso peak in F1?

How 2003 Australian Grand Prix changed F1 forever

How bad was Kevin Magnussen's dad in F1?

Why have Japanese & Asian drivers never won in F1?

How 1999 French GP nearly led to F1's greatest underdog champions (Frentzen & Jordan)

How Ronnie Peterson's death changed F1 safety forever

How Niki Lauda's crash changed F1 completely

How AJ Foyt vs Mario Andretti made Indy 500 America's most famous car race

How great was Audi in 1930s F1?

Why the greatest Italian driver would destroy today's F1 stars (Tazio Nuvolari)

How bad was Nelson Piquet Jr in F1?

How good was Johnny Herbert in F1?

How unlucky was Lewis Hamilton in 2012?

How a politician nearly became Argentina's 2nd F1 champion (Reutemann & FISA-FOCA war)

How Ferrari destroyed Vettel for good

How great was Kimi Raikkonen in F1?

How good was Kimi Raikkonen's hero in F1 (James Hunt)

How good were BAR-Honda in F1?

How good were BMW in F1?

How Ford Cosworth changed F1 forever

How Lotus & Colin Chapman changed F1 forever

How Ayrton Senna's death killed off independent F1 teams

Why Lewis Hamilton is wrong about diversity in F1 (Story of Prince Bira)

How McLaren redefined professionalism in F1 (Lauda, Prost & Ron Dennis)

Why Paul Tracy wrongly lost 2002 Indy 500 (CART vs IRL)

How Gilles Villeneuve’s death nearly ended Ferrari & F1 (FISA-FOCA war)

How Prost & Senna made F1 so popular (how the media reported on their rivalry)

Was Keke Rosberg lucky to win 1982 F1 championship?

How Nico Rosberg's 2016 championship win changed F1

How Toyota changed F1 for worse (and ruined independent teams)

From Jordan to Aston Martin: victory against all odds

The story of F1's forgotten Robocop (Alessandro Nannini)

What Fernando Alonso's success taught F1 about marketing (Spain)

How Daniel Ricciardo redefined marketing in F1

The story of how the Finnish Ayrton Senna (Kimi) became an internet meme

How the Japanese Lance Stroll heralded the rise of F1 pay drivers (Satoru Nakajima, Pedro Diniz, Montermini, Ghinzani, Tarquini, Schneider, Dalmas, Zunino & Rebaque)

How a Brazilian backmarker was sacrificed for Michael Schumacher (Roberto Moreno)

How good were Michael Schumacher's team-mates in F1?

How bad was Michael Schumacher at Mercedes?

Why Sergio Perez proves how midfielders are overrated in F1 (Fisichella, Johansson, Bottas)

How a Belgian prisoner handed Michael Schumacher his F1 break (Bertrand Gachot & Jean-Marc Bosman)

Why we will never see a race like 1996 Monaco GP again

How 1997 Canadian GP destroyed France's next superstar (Olivier Panis)

Why Juan Pablo Montoya was feared by Schumacher, Alonso & Kimi (old school)

How Jacques Villeneuve changed F1 social media without even trying

How Mansell & Piquet became tabloid heroes & villains in F1

How a fat Australian set Williams on the path to F1 glory (Alan Jones)

How 1984 Monaco GP redefined rookies in F1 (Senna & Bellof)

How Brazil's original Senna changed F1 & Indycar for better & worse (Emmo Fittipaldi, his team sucked & he became the first foreign Indycar champion)

How 1989 Ferrari reworked F1 car design

How Jenson Button made rookies hot property in F1

How 1998 Belgian GP lost Jordan another Schumacher (how Ralf left for Williams)

Who was better: Hakkinen or Raikkonen?

Who are Ferrari's true rivals in F1? (Clue: themselves)

Why the French Fernando Alonso should have won 7 F1 world titles (Prost)

How the death of Helmut Marko's friend changed F1 forever (Jochen Rindt)

How 1999 Malaysian GP changed F1 forever (new circuit, title fight, Schumi's return from injury)

Why F1 flopped in America before Liberty Media (DTS, poor tracks, 2005 Indygate, few American drivers, NASCAR & Indycar)

Why are there no more Fangios in F1 from Argentina nor South Africa?

How F1 contributed to the rise of Russia & Putin (Max Mosley, Life F1, Hungarian GP, China, Middle East & Marussia, Midland)

How an Australian farmer upset the odds in F1 (Jack Brabham)

How a fat Italian redefined F1 team management (Flavio Briatore)

How a motorcycle dealer made F1 popular (Bernie Ecclestone)

How Red Bull & F1 made each other BIGGER brands

Why F1, Ferrari & Mercedes are synonymous with each other

Aston Martin & Honda: A recipe for F1 disaster?!

Have Red Bull ruined their rookies' F1 careers? (Answer: No)

How Ferrari crushed the F1 career of their last Italian driver (Ivan Capelli)

Why Alfa Romeo failed in F1 again (50s & 80s, brand image and Ferrari)

How a Frenchman dominated Indycar & flopped at Red Bull F1's B team (Bourdais)

Why Silverstone, Monaco & Monza mean EVERYTHING to F1

He won Le Mans 6 times & Dakar, but never a F1 title (Jacky Ickx)

How sacking a Spanish backmarker helped Lewis Hamilton in F1 (de la Rosa)

How an American's tantrum led to Red Bull domination (Scott Speed)

How Jules Bianchi's death killed off the independent F1 teams forever

Why Lewis Hamilton DOMINATES F1 social media

How Max Verstappen became the antithesis to Lewis Hamilton in F1

How McLaren & Kimi Raikkonen nearly wrecked each other in F1

Why was Mika Hakkinen rated as Schumacher's greatest rival in F1?

How 2007 damaged Fernando Alonso's F1 career

Why did Mario Andretti's son fail in F1?

How Senna & Berger became the original F1 social media pals

How a lost diamond made Jaguar quit F1 (2004 Monaco)

How this Ferrari legend became a voice for disability (Clay Regazzoni)

The Damon Hill of WRC: the tragic tale of Richard Burns

[edwhattf]

•Name: Colette Jacques

•Car Number: 7

•Born: July 7, 1996

•Nationality: French (Nice, France)

•Drivers Championships:

2 (2021, 2022)

•First Race:

Australian GP, 2015 (Toro Rosso)

•First Points:

Malaysian GP, 2015 (Toro Rosso)

•First Podium:

Spanish GP, 2016 (Red Bull)

•First Pole:

Hungarian GP, 2019 (Red Bull)

•First Win:

Spanish GP, 2016 (Red Bull)

•First Championship Win:

Abu Dhabi, 2021 (Red Bull)

•Current Poles:

26

Current Podiums:

85

Current Wins:

43

•Current Championship Win:

Japan, 2022 (Red Bull)

•Current Team:

Red Bull Racing

•Current Status:

Active *Contract ends at 2028*

[f1]

Australia's last F1 world champion backs Oscar Piastri to win a title despite McLaren's issues

Australia’s last F1 world champion backs prodigious young gun Oscar Piastri to win a title despite McLaren's issues: ‘Everything he has ever put his bum in he has won' By Dan Cancian For Daily Mail Australia Published: 04:12 EDT, 26 March 2023 | Updated: 04:12 EDT, 26 March 2023 Formula 1 great Alan Jones has backed Oscar Piastri to become a world champion and believes the young rookie has already shown in his talent in a struggling McLaren. Since Jones claimed the world title in 1980 no other Australian has finished top of the drivers standings, but the 76-year-old is confident Piastri can emulate his triumph.  'I think he can go on to be world champion,' Jones said on Saturday. 'Every now and again someone comes along that has got an enormous amount of talent and I reckon he is one of those sorts of people.' A world champion in Formula 2 and Formula 3 in 2020 and 2021, Piastri has long been considered one of Formula 1's rising stars. Oscar Piastri has been backed to win a Formula 1 title by former world champion Alan Jones Piastri finished 15th in Saudi Arabia (above) after retiring in his debut in Bahrain  While success in junior series is hard to replicate in Formula 1, Jones noted Piastri's knack for winning races at every level he's competed means he will deliver results. 'Everything he has ever put his bum in, he has won and there are not too many people that can say that,' he said. 'He has certainly got the ability to go on and be a world champion.'  The 21-year-old replaced Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren after spending last season as the reserve driver for Alpine and was eager to keep expectations in check ahead of his debut season. His caution appears to have been justified, with the Woking team badly off the pace in the first two outings. Piastri was forced to retire in the season opener in Bahrain due to an electrical issue and finished 15th in Saudi Arabia, while teammate Lando Norris finished 17th in both races. Piastri and Norris are respectively second-last and bottom of the drivers' championship standings, but Jones believes his compatriot has already shown glimpses of his talent in a struggling car. 'He has had a little bit of bad luck, none of which was his doing,' Jones said. 'But he has certainly shown the sort of performances that we expected that he would, particularly the last one [the Saudi Arabia GP], I thought he drove particularly well. Alan Jones (left) and Damon Hill (right) have both been impressed with Piastri's debut Piastri is 19th in the drivers' standings after two races, with teammate Lando Norris (left) bottom of the table below him after finishing 17th in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia The McLaren has badly struggled for pace in the opening two races of the season  'He hasn’t driven anything for 12 months, so to come in after a 12 month lay-off and then go to Formula 1 and go to circuits he has never been to before, it’s a bit of a steep learning curve for him.' Former world champion Damon Hill echoed Jones' stance, insisting Piastri already looked at 'home' in Formula 1 just two races into his career. '[He has been] very solid, very professional and confident,' the 1996 world champion said. 'He does not look at all overawed by Formula 1. Oscar seems at home [in Formula 1], which is half the battle. He looks like he knows he should be there.' Share or comment on this article: Australia's last F1 world champion backs Oscar Piastri to win a title despite McLaren's issues via Formula One | Mail Online https://www.dailymail.co.uk?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

[dailyrugbytoday]

Queensland Reds 2023 Super Rugby Pacific Fixtures, Squad and Live streams

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/reds-super-rugby-games-fixtures-squad/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/reds-super-rugby-games-fixtures-squad/

Queensland Reds 2023 Super Rugby Pacific Fixtures, Squad and Live streams

Queensland Reds 2023 Super Rugby Pacific Fixtures, Squad and Live streams All Reds Super Rugby games in 2023 are streamed in Australia via Stan Sport, while one Saturday night game a week is broadcast on free to air on Channel 9.

The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere’s Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland.

The new competition is a 12-team tournament, with Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua added in place of South Africa and Argentina teams from the old Super Rugby format.

The teams will play 14 regular season matches made up of 11 round-robin matches and three derby/rivalry matches across 15 rounds, with each team afforded one bye.

The season’s 91 matches will be played across 18 weeks, which includes the three weeks of the playoff series.

All Reds Super Rugby games in 2023 are streamed in Australia via Stan Sport, while one Saturday night game a week is broadcast on free to air on Channel 9.

Please note that all times below are in Sydney/Melbourne time, and that “Broadcast” refers to the Australian broadcaster.

Read More: Super Rugby Pacific draw and fixtures 2023

Queensland Reds Super Rugby Pacific Squad

Queensland’s roster remains largely unchanged from last year’s campaign, with just three players from outside the 2022 program – Luke Jones, Connor Anderson and Phransis Sula-Siaosi – added to the 37-man squad.

Queensland Reds 2023 Squad (in alphabetical order)

Connor Anderson – Wests – Brisbane State High School – Everton Park Roosters

Richie Asiata – Easts – Anglican Church Grammar School

Floyd Aubrey – GPS – Marist College Ashgrove

George Blake – Bond University – The Southport School – Fasi Maufanga Eels, Tonga

Angus Blyth – Bond University – The Southport School – Casuarina Beach Rugby Club

Wilson Blyth – Bond University – The Southport School – Casuarina Beach Rugby Club

Jock Campbell – University of Queensland – The Southport School – Inverell Highlanders

Lawson Creighton – Brothers – Padua College

Filipo Daugunu – Wests – Dogotuki District School, Fjii

Sef Fa’agase – Sunnybank – Shailer Park State High School – Beaudesert Warriors

Matt Faessler – Brothers – Toowoomba Grammar School – USQ Saints

Lopeti Faifua – Wests – Saint Kentigern College, Auckland

Josh Flook – Brothers – St Joseph’s Nudgee College – Brothers

Mac Grealy – University of Queensland – Downlands College – Souths Toowoomba

Isaac Henry – Wests – Brisbane Boys College – Kenmore Bears

Harry Hoopert – Brothers – Toowoomba Grammar School – Dalby Wheatmen

Spencer Jeans – Bond University – The Southport School – Gold Coast Eagles

Luke Jones – Wests – St Pius X College – St Ives Rugby Club

Tom Lynagh – University of Queensland – Epsom College – Richmond Rugby Club

Tate McDermott – University of Queensland – Sunshine Coast Grammar School – Flinders Rugby Club

Fraser McReight – Brothers – Brisbane Grammar School – Albany Creek Brumbies

Josh Nasser – University of Queensland – St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace – Easts

Zane Nonggorr – Bond University – The Southport School – Gold Coast Eagles

James O’Connor – Brothers – St Joseph’s Nudgee College – Brothers

Hunter Paisami – Wests – Mangere College, Auckland

Jordan Petaia – Wests – Brisbane State High School

Ryan Smith – Brothers – St Patrick’s College Shorncliffe – Caboolture Snakes

Phransis Sula-Siaosi – Souths – St Joseph’s Nudgee College

Keynan Tauakipulu – Wests – Saint Kentigern College, Auckland – Kenmore Bears

Kalani Thomas – University of Queensland – Ipswich Grammar School – Souths

Taniela Tupou – Brothers – Tonga College Atele – Kalapu Hufangalupe, Tonga

Seru Uru – Wests – Ratu Kadavulevu School, Fiji – Namoli Rugby Club, Fiji

Connor Vest – University of Queensland – Grafton High School – Grafton Junior Rugby Club

Suliasi Vunivalu – Wests – Saint Kentigern College, Auckland

Harry Wilson – Brothers – St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace – Gunnedah Red Devils

Liam Wright – Easts – Anglican Church Grammar School – Easts

Dane Zander – University of Queensland – St Joseph’s Nudgee College – Albany Creek Brumbies

*Players’ senior club, high school and junior club are listed.

Queensland Reds 2023 Coaching Staff

Brad Thorn – Head Coach

Jim McKay – Assistant Coach

Phil Blake – Assistant Coach

Mick Heenan – Assistant Coach

Kane Hames – Assistant Coach

Queensland Reds Super Rugby Pacific 2022 Fixtures

Date Fixture Venue Kick-off Broadcast Saturday 25 February Reds v Hurricanes  Bank Stadium 7:45pm Stan/Nine

Sunday 5 March Force v Reds AAMI Park 4:30pm Stan

Saturday 11 March Brumbies v Reds GIO Stadium 7:45pm Stan/Nine

Sunday 19 March Reds v Fijian Drua Suncorp Stadium 4pm Stan

Saturday 25 March Rebels v Reds AAMI Park 7:45pm Stan/Nine

Friday 31 March Reds v Crusaders Suncorp Stadium 7:35pm Stan

Friday 7 April Reds v Brumbies Suncorp Stadium 7:35pm Stan

Friday 14 April Moana Pasifika v Reds Apia Park, Apia 5:05pm Stan

Saturday 29 April Reds v Force Suncorp Stadium 7:45pm Stan/Nine

Saturday 6 May Reds v Waratahs  Bank Stadium 7:45pm Stan/Nine

Friday 12 May Chiefs v Reds TBC 5:05pm Stan

Friday 19 May Reds v Blues Suncorp Stadium 7:35pm Stan

Friday 26 May Highlanders v Reds Forsyth Barr Stadium 5:05pm Stan

Saturday 3 June Fijian Drua v Reds Fiji 2:35pm Stan

[maranello]

MELBOURNE, 1996 — Michael Schumacher’s physical trainer, Balbir Singh.  

Balbir is a Punjab-born, German-based physiotherapist that Michael would go on to work with for ten years. They started working together in 1995 on a friend’s recommendation when Michael was testing for Ferrari. Balbir works out with Michael in a portable gym, monitors Michael’s diet, calms him down, and acts as a friend and confidant. “Balbir is one of the few men that I could and can trust 150 percent,” Michael once told Bild in an interview. 

(Photo by Ercole Colombo)

[a-la-rascasse]

Happy birthday JACQUES VILLENEUVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! (09/04/1971)⚡

I'm a racer at heart more than anything else, and that will be my priority : competing.

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu which is a small town in the French-speaking Canadian province of Québec. He's the son of the Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve and has a younger sister, Melanie; he was named after Gilles' younger brother, Jacques Sr, which he's a racing driver too. Jacques' mother, Joanne, was aware from when he was five that he wanted to race, in fact he often went go karting with his uncle in Canada, but after his father's fatal accident in 1982, he became less interested in motor racing, fearing the sport's dangers.

In 1983 he was sent to a Swiss private boarding school, but he slowly realised that he wanted to follow his father's steps, in fact he asked his mother if he could enter the world of motor racing, she agreed on one condition: he had to improve his academic performance in one of his weakest subjects, mathematics. In 1987,after leaving school, he took the decision to attend the Spenard-David Racing School in Shannonville, Ontario to hone his racing abilities.

His rise in the world of motorsport wasn't easy, he struggled a lot and often didn't have enough money to fund his career, and he saw himself many times forced to accept drastic contracts like it happened in 1992: he wanted to race in Formula 3000 but didn't have enough money, so he accepted a contract that allowed him to race but he had to relocate in Japan. After other experiences in the world of motorsport, in 1995 he took part in the Indianapolis 500 and the Indy Car, he won in both competitions.

Following Jacques' success, the Williams team became interested in him, and eventually, after some tests, offered him a seat in the team. He would make his debut in Formula 1 at the Australian GP in 1996, he claimed pole position on his debut race, and also became the first rookie to finish as a runner up for the Championship. The following year, despite a few disqualifications, he managed to win his first and only World Championship. After the 1998 season, which turned out to be unsuccessful, he signed up with British American Racing and then in 2003 he joyned Sauber and stayed with the team until 2006 before retiring from the sport.

Till to this day he remains Canada's first and only F1 World Champion.

[housewivesf1]

GODSIENAKE NONDEJU IT'S RACEWEEK⁣ ⁣ We're back!! What a long winterbreak it has been. It has been a busy winterbreak though. DAS, Drive to Survive, races cancelled, Lando not drinking milk anymore. ⁣ Australia last year brought Bottas 2.0. Will we get Bottas 3.0 this year? Will the "pink Mercedes" come anywhere near the real Mercedes? And what to make of Ferrari, with their legal investigations and lower number of staff present? ⁣ Some facts about the circuit below and for some fun facts about the Australian GP, watch this space😉 ⁣ First Grand Prix: 1928 (in Albert Park from 1996)⁣ Length: 5303 km⁣ Turns: 16⁣ Lap record: 1:24.125 (Michael Schumacher, 2004) ⁣ Most Wins: Lex Davison & Michael Schumacher (4) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9gopVth37p/?igshid=1gqa5vsklo45k

[speedyseastars]

Calling all MotoGP Fans

(and bored racing fans!!!)

MotoGP has given us free access to to a selection of 10 of the best MotoGP races of all time! Link

The races are; Dutch GP 2018, Australian GP 2017, Australian GP 2015, USA GP 2012, British GP 2000, Spanish GP 1996, Portuguese GP 2006, Catalan GP 2009, USA GP 2008, Catalan GP 2007

[diariespress]

Australian GP records highest attendance ever in Melbourne

Australian GP records highest attendance ever in Melbourne

Eclipses the previous record of 401,000, set at Melbourne’s first event in 1996 Highest all-time Friday and Saturday attendances in Melbourne Formula One’s 2022 Australian Grand Prix has set a new attendance record for an event held at Albert Park in Melbourne, with an estimated attendance of 419,114 over the four-day weekend. This gate for the race weekend, which saw Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc…

[k-racer]

Let’s rewrite F1 History: 1996 Round 1

So, after the preparations were complete, the 13 F1 teams flew down under for the season opener in Melbourne. I honestly have no clue what the pecking order would be because of the random nature of the changes that I made. So, let’s see who’s on top after qualifying, shall we.

Well, guess the AI really got it right this time, as F1 rookie Burt took the world by storm by scoring pole position in the Lamborghini powered Tsunami. Pay Driver Diniz made it a front row lockout for the newcomers. Benetton qualified 4th and 6th. McLaren only mustered 12th and 16th out of their drivers. The biggest surprise is that Olivier Panis in a Williams was outside of the 107% time by a full second. So, Frank Williams only has one car in the season opener. Collard for Footwork also missed out on the 107% time but by just a tenth of a second. So, let’s see what happens in the race itself.

Well, so much for only having one driver in the race itself, Damon Hill for Williams wins the Australian GP, with Coulthard 2nd and Herbert 3rd. Give a nod to Magnussen driving the Ligier, scoring a sole point for 6th. Unusually, the race didn’t have a high DNF rate, only three of the 23 cars DNF’ed. So, I guess reliability is better than expected? Anyways, the next race will be posted eventually. So, stay tuned for what else can happen during this journey!