#but he was a motorsport guy and all i could think was 'yeah he probably barely went to high school'

[liamlawsonlesbian]

No the motorsport education system makes me sick as an educator. Like so many didnt finish high school and a lot barely even started (even ones you would think did like GR dropped out at 14)

it's horrific! like i think it's really easy for them to slip through the cracks because they move around so much and are absent so often, but that's not an excuse for the way things are

the analog I always think of for motorsport kids is child actors, but there have actually been protections for child actor education in place for a LONG time, at least in the US and the UK (not that they always work)

and like...you can say "it worked out fine for them" about the current grid all you want, but what about the kids who were on the same path but can't make a living from racing as an adult/get injured/etc?

[formulatrash]

from following you on twitter im absolutely certain you have (far more informed than mine) thoughts on whatever the fuck williams is doing. very interested in hearing them, if you’d care to share?

so like, from the off: I have always been a Logan Sargeant defender. people who didn't follow his junior career just saw an American, assumed he was a pay driver and didn't check any further. the guy had a better karting career than Oscar, was competitive with him the whole time they were in the same series - they were the George and Alex of their day.

sometimes those drivers fall off. Jack Aitken was, in fact, George's main rival up to F2 and then got mechachromed (or technically hewlanded) out of the running for more than a guest spot. but Logan didn't - he just ran out of money. that year in a Charouz (a backmarking F3 team struggling to score points) was when he really proved himself, especially on being solid at development and leading a team.

that was what convinced Carlin (at the time, not putting in the best showing in F2) he was worth it. and his time at Carlin was what convinced Williams. not money. Logan never had sponsors pulling the strings for him. he knew he might well not get to F1 so had already started experimenting with prototype racing, which he was good in. man was being pragmatic about how to have a career in Europe if things didn't all shake out right.

but they did (sort of) and he got the Williams seat. he was probably one of the least-prepared drivers for quite a long time, with close to zero F1 testing prior to, err, F1 preseason testing. the Williams driver academy, at the time he was in it, amounted to pretty much a gym membership. a pass for the factory canteen and some branded sweaters to wear rather than some structured programme and he'd only had one year in F2.

we know the Williams is not like, the best car. the team has had Some Issues and despite the investment from Dorilton, is still rebuilding pretty heavily. I mean remember it was (in 2023) five seasons previous that they turned up to testing like whoops, no car. our bad.

then in 2022 they had Jost Capito and FX Demaison living in a weird student flatshare while they tried to work out what the hell was going on in the team, only to both leave prior to 2023. at which point James Vowles turns up and goes my god you're running this whole team via a spreadsheet. truly, we (a team whose history includes the owner's wife, who was actually the owner, locking up the factory and telling the bailiffs to fuck off every other week for years) were so fucking back.

(if you want to read a really, really, really good book about F1 then Williams: A different kind of life is exceptional)

so yeah it's a bit of a Charouz of a seat but then Logan's flourished in that circumstance before. except you're going up against a guy whose only second-fiddle circumstance was against Max fucking Verstappen. you're an underprepared rookie and you're against someone who did at times hold his own against Max Verstappen, even as an underprepared rookie himself and he's been in the team for a year already, leading all the direction and development. fucking yikes. that's not a low-pressure seat where you're both just hoping things might work out.

saying all that because: I think Logan was given an incredibly tough gig. that doesn't mean he shouldn't or couldn't have risen to it. but that Williams seat wasn't an easy ride in his first year, where he showed he could improve when he gained momentum and confidence, something that's massively important. when things turn against you and keep turning against you, it's incredibly hard to reverse that in motorsport - just look at Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren.

and yes I know there's a lot of mad conspiracy theories that for some reason the team would want to lose points in the constructors' for the express reason of humiliating a driver they were paying an obscene amount but please let's be realistic: McL really badly wanted that one to work out. and Williams seemed to, too, in Logan's first year. they weren't babying him and he had clear targets and goals but there was a desire to see that work out for both of them.

this year that, uh. hasn't seemed to be there. I know, I absolutely know, why James Vowles felt taking Logan's car and giving it to Alex in Australia was the right thing to do. Alex had scored a point there the previous year, although it's historically not been a great track for him. that point could be the difference between 9th and 10th in the constructors - millions of dollars.

but if you want to absolutely implode your driver's brain and publicly announce you have no confidence in him then that's certainly a good way to go about it. and the thing is Australia is one race whereas Logan was supposed to be in that car for the rest of the season.

it's hard to underestimate just how much F1 teams are swayed by the media. Nyck de Vries is an incredible recent example: yes, he scored points in that Williams weekend but in the same year he was driving like absolute shit in Formula E. probably because he was so focussed on F1 but any FE journalist could have told you the guy was not, in fact, the second coming of Senna - extremely likeable, weird, idiosyncratic and actually fun to watch but far from performing at his own best let alone anyone else's.

so when he was hyped to high heaven as about to wipe the floor with Yuki there was widespread eyebrow-raising from a paddock no one in F1 cares to look at. but teams bought into it, fought over him. in a matter of races the media turned on him, shredded him and Red Bull shrugged, said they never liked him in the first place and binned him off after, realistically, exactly the performances you could have expected him to put in.

the media has never been very kind to Logan. he is a little shy, he is quite softly spoken, he doesn't go for bragadaccio and he's not particularly goofy. he doesn't insist on pointing out he's there on merit. he's quite careful with what he says, guarded. he does not like things to get weird and with the motorsport media, things so often do.

trepidation about his F2 record from people who barely tune into the races being broadcast in the media centre they're in raised questions before he was in F1. Williams' re-signing of him was deemed a bit controversial, perhaps proof the team was soft. yeeting him from his car was proof they were hard enough, in fact, that rending confidence from your driver like flesh torn off a bone is somehow a useful function of the sport, from people who a mildly critical comment would send into a 5-day spiral.

(I would know)

Logan has not performed poorly this year. he hasn't performed as well as Alex but Alex has been throwing together Lando-grade drives, as you'd probably expect given the pair of them have (close to) equal experience in F1 or at least the same number of years chewing through the gristle of it.

(why am I using so many visceral meat metaphors? perhaps 3am is not the time to write anything)

all things considered, the fact that Logan did not dissolve into a puddle of goo after Australia is commendable. he has also outqualified a fucking Red Bull multiple times. he has crashed a bit, yes, because that's what driving on the edge with an air of desperation starts to look like - when Charles did it (really a lot more) in 2020 no one thought it was because he had run out of talent.

Logan has not been driving the same car as Alex. Alex himself has confirmed this. that's, uhm, fucking dire if you're trying to fix things in the simulator because that will be correlated to the upgraded car, which is what the team is interested in. even if they load yours back in, the correlation will be steadily migrating away and they won't be too interested in what it's telling them because it's the old car.

to say that Williams lost interest in Logan early this season would be an understatement. they spent a huge amount of effort and got back a bunch of world champions to film an hour-long feature with Logan's sponsor and him. it got mentioned, like, twice? because it came out the same week Alex got re-signed.

I'm not saying re-signing Alex Albon isn't exciting. hell, I'd be very excited. but that was probably the moment I knew this was going to get horrendously messy.

James Vowles is a charming man who has lots of likeable qualities. he is first and foremost an engineer and looks for engineering solutions, something he was very able to translate to strategy. he is, however, not used to being a figurehead for an organisation.

do I think the public way JV conducted the search for Logan's replacement was fair on the team, any of the drivers involved or, especially, Logan? absolutely fucking not. made all of them look like they were taking turns in a fake taxi that instead turning into a sexy thing was a clown car with JV dressed as the Joker.

I don't honestly know how Logan kept turning up and driving through that. it's one thing to believe you can do something, anything, to prove yourself and another to know you just: can't. there's nothing left you can do. there are no other seats on the grid. time to start talking to teams in other series except if you do that someone will hear about it and then you'll be even more undermined.

I think that, when he looks back, James will realise he fucked this very badly. he obviously wants to do what's best for the team and is overruling quite a lot of sensible interpersonal stuff to do that and particularly how he should act with the media which, again, not something he's had such exposure to despite his long F1 career.

Logan Sargeant has, like his car last weekend, burned in a pyrrhic symbol of what Williams want to exorcise from their team. they want to stop losing.

but like James was saying at the start of the season, before the rush of chasing new drivers caught him up, the main problem is they need to fix the car. Franco Colapinto will not do that. he is a perfectly good stopgap replacement for someone who, yes, has probably now reached a mindset where it is perhaps kinder to not expect him to drive an F1 car.

but it will probably be more telling when Carlos Sainz Jnr is also just a driver, unless the team pulls miracles over the winter.

[kvaradonaa]

💕if you get this answer with three random facts about yourself and send this to the last seven blogs in your notifs. Anon or not doesn’t matter, get to know the person behind the blog.

Aww, thank you! I probably won't send it to anyone, because I already did (and not really to the last seven blogs, but a few I picked, but-). I'm always so scared to be a bother with those games 🙈

1. Despite being a football fan, I don't really follow my country's league. I think it's a common thing in Poland, unfortunately. There's something about Ekstraklasa and footballers being scared of confrontation, immediately passing to the keeper when pressed and that really fucking lazy style of play with no one bothering to push forward. Combined with straight up dangerous at times fanbase, it really puts people off 😭. My dad says that next season we might start going to a local club's games, because they're back in the city after having to move to another stadium, shockingly far away from here. It's not the biggest team in my city, but definitely one with less repulsive fanbase and more watchable style of play. It's embarrassing to say, but this is going to be my first time at the stadium since YEARS. My friends irl always assume I am a regular 🙈.

2. A very popular sport here that's not really popular in most of the world is motor speedway. My family is also big fans of our local team. In result, this is a "default" motorsport for me. I have no idea who all these F1 drivers you guys post about are (apart from Leclerc because I find him hot). My favourite motor speedway driver is probably Nicki Pedersen purely because he is a shithouse. I'm not sure he has a single bone in his body that has never been broken at this point.

3. I lived by the seaside for a couple of months. It really was a magical experience. The sea is probably the only thing worth remembering from my short spell in Gdańsk. I could see the waves from my bus stop. I would go on walks to the beach daily, read stuff for my classes sitting on the sand, smoke cigarettes (yeah, I still smoked back then). Literally no downsides. Well, maybe there would be downsides if I stayed until summer and had to deal with all the tourists. Surprisingly, the neighbourhood was really cheap and not "fancy" at all (quite the contrary).

[presdestigatto]

🏎️💨 THE FORMULA 1 TAG GAME! 🏎️💨:

tagged by @solaireverie thank u bestie 🫶🐈

1. Who or what got you into F1?

so in 2018 my brother got an xbox and in 2022 f122 (?) was added to the game pass, he developed motorsport brainrot and would not stop blabbing to me about it 😽 then he mansplained the SG grand prix to me, i surprisingly found it interesting, and here i am

i think also i saw Seb trending on here in late 2022 and that made me more ‘aware’ of f1, in the sense that Seb was one of the few drivers i did know before, so there was some weird attachment there. there was a period of time where i stopped tuning in to the SG races (busy + covid) so that got me paying attention again

2. Who was the very first F1 driver you supported? Do you support them now? Have your opinions on them differed or stayed the same since then?

Ohhhh Charles Leclerc 🎊🎶 pretty much the same, i find the narrative around his career very compelling, i like his driving and he’s a cool guy

someone once asked me “did you just choose the first guy you saw on the TV” and honestly, if i think about it. Yeah. he was the first driver i saw when we switched on the race broadcast.

3. Who’s your current favourite F1 driver?

Charles! if Seb makes a return then it’ll be him, but i’m assuming this means current drivers only.

4. Is there a driver pairing or pairings you support? What made you attracted to that pairing in the first place?

my roman empire Sebchal…

Charles was the driver i liked and Seb was the driver i knew from my childhood so i was curious about the connection. i’m a big fan of the maturity with which they handled their off-track relationship; tbh my opinions of them as teammates purely-racing wise are mixed, but they’re also my two all-time favourites so my fondness gets amplified when they’re together

5. Do your parents, siblings or relatives have a favourite driver?

Well. my brother is a Lewis fan, my uncle is also a Lewis fan. from 2025 we’ll be an all Ferrari family 😮‍💨

my uncle has Lewis and Valterri’s driver cards and art prints of Coulthard and Barichello’s helmets in his house haha

6. Do you have any favourite races? Are there any that stand out to you the most?

Hockenheim 2019 and Hungaroring 2015!

i think Turkey 2010 also stands out in my memory thanks to arguably one of the funniest crashes in Seb’s career and the subsequent w2w between Jenson and Lewis.

7. Do you have a favourite circuit? Can be from the past or from the current calendar

Sepang, the incline is cool i hope they bring it back

8. Have you ever been to an F1 race in real life? Feel free to tell us your experience going to one if you like.

no money 😚😚 i could attend the SG GP but i heard you can’t see much, and tbh, the sg races are kind of snoozefests…

9. Have you ever met an F1 driver in real life?

nope! the idea of it scares me honestly. i may cry if I see seb in the flesh

10. Do you have a favourite F1 car? If so, what is it?

rb6 my speedy but unreliable queen

11. Do you have a favourite one win wonder?

i probably haven’t been watching long enough to have one

12. Do you have any favourite quotes from the F1 world? This can either be inspirational or hilarious.

i’m kind of obsessed with everything seb has ever said, particularly these:

“you, asking what happened at the start? // you came in like a torpedo” (rip kyvat)

“we have to remember these days. because there is no guarantee that they will last forever.” ♥️

also quite fond of Charles’ “it’s like this”, but hope we hear it less in 2024 🤞

tagging @verstappenclerc @baiuzennsenn @leqclerc @norrisgp @monacodarling if yall haven’t done it already!! (if u have, sorry 🫡) ++ anyone who wants to

[soyouthinkucanwrite]

What did he say? - Daniel Ricciardo one shot

Update: I just realized it's Carlos' birthday TODAY! I'm so so sorry hahaha I feel like a jerk, but it's just play pretend ok?

Guys, this is based on a dream I had but listen, it’s so weird cause I KNOW this is not like Carlos AT ALL. He’s kind of the vilan in this one... Please don’t be mad if you’re a Carlos fan, it’s just for fun, I swear. I’ll even try to write something with him later to make it up to you guys! Also, I clearly don't know how vacuum works in racing, so again, just humor me and pretend I got it right, ok?

As always, please take the time to let me know what you think, means a lot to me (even if it’s constructive criticism)! And thank you so much to everyone that always does! 💕 Your lovely messages always motivate me to keep writing!

Warnings: angst, jealous Daniel, kind of a dick Carlos (again, sorry! I know he’d never)

.

I was in the “side stage” at the press room for the Austin GP, the first I ever went and of course, the first with Daniel, as his girlfriend. He was answering questions along with Pierre Gasly on stage. There were a few people besides me, including some of the drivers, waiting for their turn to face the press.

"Coco, ¿quién es?" I heard Carlos Sainz whispering to his cousin, nodding his head in my direction.

"No conozco. ¿Creo que es periodista?" his cousin answered looking at me. I just acted like I wasn't listening, or understanding, not sure why though.

"No, si fuera periodista estaría allá fuera, haciendo preguntas" Carlos continued.

"Sí, pero no me parece estar perdida" his cousin commented, they kept whispering but I could hear them very clearly.

"Qué pena, no me importaría darte direcciones" Carlos said with a smirk and I felt really uncomfortable at that, which only made me stay even more frozen in place and wish Daniel came back sooner.

"Si no te conociera, diría que acabas de romper una relación. Ni siquiera puedes ver a una chica alrededor" his cousin said hitting him playfully in the head.

"¿Y te parece esta una chica cualquier? Siempre debes andar con supermodelos, ¿no?" Carlos joked back.

"Vale, tienes razón" his cousin answered him and I was counting the seconds for Daniel to come back now.

"Pero sin duda es nueva aquí. Me recordaría de algo como eso. Tampoco pienso ser americana, ellas no tienen esta-" Just then someone called him.

"Sainz, you're up next" Daniel walked out, coming by my side. "Hey" he said to me and I smiled. "They just asked to wait 5 minutes, something about changing the batteries of the mics" he said looking back at Carlos, his cousin, and Kimi, who was going to be pairing with Carlos in the press conference and was just hanging in the corner by himself this whole time.

"Alright, thanks mate" Carlos answered.

"Hey, have you guys met (y/n)? Carlos, Carlos, (y/n)... (y/n), Carlos, Carlos" Daniel made the introductions grinning like a teenager, probably finding it super funny that they had the same first name.

"¡Hola! Mucho gusto en conocerlos, soy (y/n). ¿Como están?" I extended my hand to greet them, feeling much more confident now that I had a 5' 9" Australian by my side. They looked startled at me and then at each other.

“¿Hablas español?” Carlos asked me.

“Sí, y compreendo muy bien también” I told him and my tone made it clear I knew exactly what they were talking about earlier and didn’t like it a bit.

"Carlos, Kimi, they're ready for you" an assistant called.

"Good one kid" Kimi said to me when he walked past us, winking at Daniel. Carlos followed him to the stage and since I didn't want to just stand there in the remains of the awkward situation with Dan and Carlos’ cousin, I just walked in the opposite direction, outside the press room. Not too long after, Daniel walked after me.

"Hey, what was that about?" he asked, still smiling. Boy, he wouldn't be smiling for too long after I told him what that was about.

"What?" I asked, trying not to make a big deal. He reached for my hand, taking it in his.

"You know what. Come on, what happened back there? Did you guys know each other?"

"No!" I have to tell him now, or he'll think I have something to hide. I took a deep breath. "They were talking between themselves before you come out, in Spanish. And I don't think they thought I could understand" he looked at me confused but then it hit him and his expression changed from confusion to rage.

"What did they said?"

"Nothing, it's not a big deal ok? I just wanted to let them know I could understand, so I just said 'hello' in Spanish, that's all" I said, walking away from the place where we were standing and pulling his hand. God knows I didn't want to be there when Carlos walked out, or better, for Daniel to be there.

"I figured that much. But what did he said? Just tell me" Daniel looked at me.

"Let's just go? Please? It's not worth it. What are you going to do? Sucker punch him?"

"Do I need to sucker punch him? Is it that bad?"

"No! Dan, please, let's just go. This is not going to lead us anywhere"

"(y/n)"

"I'll tell you. Promise. Back at the trailer, okay?" I tried to negotiate.

"Fine"

When we stepped back inside his driver's room, Daniel closed the door and looked at me.

"Alright. Spill it"

"Promise me you won't do anything to him"

"Absolutely not. The longer you stall me, the more pissed off I get"

"Okay” I knew I had no choice and honestly, why should I protect him really? I’m just worried about how this might make Daniel feel. “They were wondering who I was, his cousin was teasing him saying he was only interested because he just ended a relationship"

"That's not all" he said and I didn't answer, just looked away, shaking my head. "Alright. I'm sorry you had to hear that. But you can tell me these things ok? I want to protect you baby" He said stepping closer to me and hugging me.

"I don't want you to cause trouble for something stupid"

"Hey!" he said pulling away a bit to look at me. "This is not stupid. Nothing about you is stupid. It's a big deal baby, that’s plain disrespectful. I want you here with me, always. And I want you to feel comfortable here, okay?"

"I feel comfortable now" I said hugging him closer. He smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"Fuckers" he whispered to himself.

"Promise me you won't confront him. He'll deny, or start a fight. Or both. And besides, it’s not so much what he said, it’s more like how they were eyeing me. And I don't want you to get involved in a scandal" I said pulling away and sitting down in a chair. Daniel leaned against the table, looking at me.

"A scandal?" he laughed.

"You do know gossip is the major product of motorsports, right?" I smirked at him.

"Fair enough" he agreed. "Fuck baby, the things I have to deal with for having a goddess as a girlfriend" he was joking now, so the mood seemed lighter, but knowing Daniel, I knew he hadn't completely let that go yet. I just rolled my eyes at him. Hopefully, the events of the weekend would be enough to get his mind out of it.

.

.

Friday and Saturday kept us busy enough so that we didn’t touch the subject anymore, but I could still catch Daniel staring at Carlos here and there. And I could definitely see Carlos staring at me too, which I tried to avoid at all costs, staying out of his visual field. If Daniel saw that, I don’t know if I’d be able to hold him back again.

On Sunday I’d be watching from the garage with Michael and Blake, which was super exciting, to see all the action from the front row. But I didn’t want to disturb Daniel’s routine, so I tried to stay back a little. Yet, he kept coming to steal kisses and joke around. He seemed really relaxed and confident. He was P5 and I took the care to see that Carlos was P8, so I knew they might race each other eventually but I also knew that Dan would be much more preoccupied doing what he does best and overtaking the 4 in front of him to even think about whoever was behind. Everything was going to be fine, no harm done.

“Alright. Time to go” he announced to me. “Kiss for good luck?”

“Good luck. Just go and do what you do best, okay? And try to come back in one piece” I smiled through the kiss and then watched him take his helmet from the table, wink at me, and turn to walk towards his Mclaren. My chest was tight but I could only pray and hope now.

The cars were already outside the garage for some reason, so Dan was walking out when Carlos passed in front of the orange crew. He stopped to greet some of them and that would be fine, except he was not paying any attention to the people he was talking to. He was looking inside the garage like he was looking for something, or rather someone, cause when he saw me he nodded like he was greeting me and checked me out, head to toes. Dan saw it and looked back inside just in time to see me step aside, behind Michael, clearly uncomfortable with the whole thing.

“Hey... man” Carlos greeted Daniel. And his tone made me sure that it wasn’t even about me anymore. Carlos knew how much it must be bothering Daniel and was clearly using it to try and get him pissed off and unfocused. The thing is, very few things were capable of getting Daniel out of his “all good all ways” vibe, but when they did, you definitely don’t want to be on his way. I’m actually a bit worried about the other drivers now, Carlos included, because Dan just turned back to his machine, like he knew exactly what he was going to do and nothing would stop him, getting inside the car a mere formality. He didn’t even bother to take a second look at Carlos.

“Oh boy” I commented.

“Yeah, I saw it” Michael said to me. “What was that about anyway? I thought they got along fine”. I don’t say anything else, and from that moment on my eyes are glued to the screen in front of us, following any micro movement Daniel makes.

They go for the warm-up lap, which feels like it takes forever, and then, finally, Grid formation. That sign must be broken cause the lights also took hours to change.

3, 2, 1... there they go. Thank god we’re wearing masks, otherwise, my nails and fingertips would be long gone.

The first turn is a sharp one and Daniel had an opening to overtake Perez, the first driver in front of him, we could see it clearly from the drone view, but he didn’t take it. What is he doing?

“What is he doing?” Somebody in the garage voiced my thoughts.

“You had an opening Daniel” the engineer said on the radio.

“All under control. I know what I’m doing. How far are the others behind me?” Daniel answered.

I hoped he wasn’t doing what I thought he was doing but I already knew he was. Being the risk-it-all-idiot he was, Dan was waiting for Carlos to catch up to him. Knowing him, I knew he wanted to race and beat him personally, which was crazy stupid, but wouldn’t take long since Carlos had already overtaken Gasly and Alonso, and was now only a few nanoseconds behind Daniel.

“Come on Dan” I said to myself.

“Come on Daniel” Blake practically yelled at the screen.

I feel like throwing up. He’s gonna get hurt and jeopardize all the work the team put into the weekend just to... to what? I don’t even know. If he gets out of this race alive, I’ll personally kill him.

The race’s still going, no major changes after the first turn. Then suddenly Daniel seems to remember he had a gas pedal, finally getting speed in the big straight and leaving Perez behind. Carlos followed him, seeming to use the vacuum in his favor. Everybody in the garage celebrates, but I’m too focused to cheer along. He’s so close to the podium now. Just keep it up, baby. Carlos is still on his tail.

“Good job mate” the engineer says on the radio. “Watch for Sainz on your right. Bottas’ next”

“Keep me posted on Sainz’s time” it’s all Daniel says.

A couple more laps go and he’s really trying to overtake Bottas, not playing games anymore. Carlos doesn’t seem to try to overtake him even once though, he’s too far behind still.

More laps go by and I can’t standstill. When they’re in the 19th lap, with Max and Hamilton battling each other and taking turns in the lead, Daniel’s voice comes on the radio.

“Let’s be the first to box” I’m not sure what he’s playing at, as it’s still too soon to box, but the team seems to agree.

“Copy that. I’ll let you know when. Let’s get a couple more laps in. Keep this up for now” his engineer answers.

“Understood” Daniel’s voice come through the radio. “How’s Sainz time?”

“At least 1.5 seconds behind you” the engineer informs him.

“Understood” Daniel says.

He’s planning something. Not sure what, and I don’t know if I even could, not knowing much about racing strategies, but it definitely has something to do with Carlos and what happened earlier.

“Ouch!” I hear Michael say and nod towards the screen, making me focus on the race again, and not only on Daniel. Max and Hamilton had touched tires. “They're really going at it, definitely using way more tires than necessary"

"If Dan box before them..." I begin to ask.

"He needs a fast box, gaining speed later and for their box to be slower, but yeah, that's his best shot at them" Michael explains to me.

"Come on baby" I whisper to myself.

Daniel seems to finally get close enough to Bottas, but the Finnish guy won't make it easy for him. Turn 11 on sector 2 will be his best shot now and it's getting closer.

The garage and the radio go silent. Feels like the whole world is holding their breaths while Daniel smoothly overtakes Bottas from his left. And then I almost go deaf with all the cheering around me, it's a podium for Daniel, for now.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to last too long, cause once he comes to the box all the other drivers will pass him. It's just so frustrating.

"Good job mate. Spectacular time. Box now" the engineer informs on the radio.

"Box confirmed. We need to ace this, boys" Daniels says.

Not even a full minute later, I hear his car and see it on the screen. I look outside to see the orange machine with the big 3 in front of it, but I don't even have time to try and take a look at him, cause 2.3 seconds later (or at least that's what the TV tells me) there he goes again. The good news is, only Bottas passed him. The bad news is he almost crashes into Carlos when he comes out of the Pit Lane.

Some of the crew were still celebrating the fast pit stop when they realized what happened. I let out a gasp. They touched tires but Carlos seemed to have managed to get away from Daniel, quickly returning to his side a moment later but struggling to keep it up. Dan, on the other side, seems unbothered. He keeps gaining speed, even though the pit exit is right on the first turn.

"Take it easy now mate, even if Sainz passes you, his time is not enough to stay in front" the engineer informs Daniel, clearly worried that the risk doesn't justify the ends.

"Understood" Daniel responds.

We're on lap 30 now and just as the engineer said, Carlos is a full 2 seconds behind Daniel. Bottas still in front of him (which is frustrating for me because he had just overtaken him before the pit stop), then Hamilton, and finally Max.

"Daniel" the engineer calls him. "How're the tires?"

"All good"

"Good. Ready to race, mate? Hamilton's going to box now"

"Before Bottas?"

"Yes, that's confirmed"

"Understood"

I listen to the conversation between Daniel and the engineer closely, but I can't say I know exactly what the implications are.

"Bottas' going to second, Daniel to third again. Let's hope for a slow pitstop for Hamilton, so when he comes out, he comes in third and races Daniel. That's the best-case scenario, so he needs to gain speed now" Blake explains to me.

"Got it" I confirm to him. "What about Bottas? He should box on the next lap right?"

"Yeah. If Daniel overtakes him still on this lap, the difference will be too big for him to recover after his pit stop. Hopefully" He tells me.

There's a lot of 'hopefullys' and 'best-case scenarios' in this conversation, but I'll take it. I start to silently pray right away, eyes glued to the screen to see exactly what Blake predicted unfold: Hamilton pit stops, Bottas and Daniel are the firsts to go up on the positions, then Carlos, Alonso, and Gasly. The first turn comes again and Dan seises the opportunity to overtake Bottas, who, to his credit, is fighting real hard, but Dan isn't letting him take back his position.

Dan is P2 now. Max is almost 3 seconds in front of him. Hamilton comes out of the pit lane behind Gasly, it should take him long to again his positions.

"Bottas to box on this lap mate" the engineer announces.

"Not worried about Bottas. What about Max?" Daniel answers. A few moments of silence follow.

"Box confirmed for Max on this lap as well. Just get closer to him" the engineer instructs.

"Understood" Daniel answers.

"Come on, baby" I cheer silently again.

"Fuck! He's gonna make it" Michael yells. "Come on Daniel!"

Bottas is 2 seconds behind Daniel, and on the big straight Daniel manages to shorten his time difference to Max to 1.8 seconds. The next thing I know, Max is coming down the pit lane, quickly followed by Bottas. Daniel is P1. I can't believe this. Carlos is P2, but he hasn't boxed yet. Surprisingly enough, Alonso is P3 and, not so surprisingly, Hamilton is already P4 and gaining speed.

"Alonso hasn't boxed yet" Blake comments. That's bad news if we were hoping for him to defend his position against Hamilton. I take a look on the TV and they're showing the conditions of his tires, which to me doesn't mean anything.

"Will he be able to hold him?" I ask Blake.

"Not sure, he's tough though and doesn't want Hamilton to win, that's for sure" Blake answers me.

Then we hear Max passing outside, had almost forgotten about him.

"That took him longer than normal" Michael comments and we look at the screen, his pit stop was 3.6 seconds long. An eternity for the Redbull team. But awesome news for us. Bottas had already left the pit lane, his pit stop was 2.4 seconds long.

The grid is now Daniel, Carlos, Alonso, Hamilton, Bottas, and then Max. Alonso is still holding Hamilton back. Normally, I'd guess Carlos would box soon and maybe even Alonso, but since I know Carlos has some personal motivation against Daniel, I feel like he's going to hold on the longer he can and the same goes for Alonso regarding Hamilton.

We're at the final 10 laps now and nothing has changed, except Carlos is dangerously closer to Daniel now. Alonso still hasn't let Hamilton go by him, repeating the Hungaroring events. I hear the signal of the radio, indicating we're about to hear some communication between Daniel and his engineer, and my chest tightens. It's Daniel's voice that comes on then.

"Something wrong. I'm losing power" Fuck. No.

"Sainz is at your tail. Can you hold on?" the engineer asks.

"I don't know. Fuck. It's just not working. How much's the difference?"

"Less than 1 second"

"Fuck. Why hasn't he boxed yet?"

"His tires are in real bad condition. But I don't think he's going to do it now"

"I'll put some pressure on him"

"Negative. Negative. Stay away"

"Not going to touch him. Pinky promise" Bastard. I can hear the smirk in his voice, even though this is extremely dangerous and insane pressure, Daniel's still having the time of his life.

9 laps to go.

8 laps to go.

Carlos almost overtakes Daniel.

"Engine's not good. Can you do something?" Daniel asks.

"Negative. 7 laps to go mate, just hold it"

"Understood"

On the big straight of the 51st lap, Carlos overtakes Daniel, but then on the next turn, Daniel takes back his position. The sequel of turns that follows is the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever seen in my life, they're so close to each other, and at such a high speed that if they simply touch tires they would fly off the track and everything would be lost to both of them, maybe even their lives.

"Hamilton passed Alonso, mate. Watch out" the engineer informs him, and I look at the screen. Fuck.

"Fuuuuck" Daniel says on the radio.

It's the 52nd lap now, only 4 more to go and Carlos doesn't even signal a pit stop. He's going to try to make the whole race without it.

"Ferrari is not happy with him" Michael laughs a dark laugh. I knew he had a history of being stubborn but this is too much.

"His tires are at less than 10% integrity. How is he still going?" I ask.

There's the big straight again and Carlos falls a bit behind Daniel, but I've watched enough to know that that doesn't necessarily mean a good thing. Just as I predicted, he tries to use Daniel's vacuum to gain more speed and overtake him, Daniel doesn't let him through and get in front of him, making him almost go off track. That would be a "normal" movement, except Hamilton was using Carlos' vacuum in his favor and, when Carlos is forced to change directions, Hamilton hits his back left tire, which makes it blows off and it's a mess from then on.

Daniel is far from the whole ordeal by now, safe and sound, thankfully. But Carlos spins in the track, taking Hamilton with him. They both go off track and Max flies by, followed by Bottas, Charles (where did he come from?), and then Alonso.

"Are they alright?" It's the first thing that comes up to me to ask.

"Fuck! That was crazy. Is everyone ok?" Daniel asks on the radio.

"Positive. Everyone's ok. Keep going, mate. 3 more laps to go" the engineer informs him.

"Who's behind me now? Bottas?" Daniel asks.

"Max. But he's at least 2 seconds behind, we should be fine" I hear the engineer say and it's like I can almost breathe again. Daniel's going to win this thing. He's so close now.

"It wasn't Daniel's fault, was it? Can they punish him in some way for the accident?" I ask Michael.

"Don't know. He was defending his position, but he's been closing in Carlos ever since the begging of the race. Depends on how Ferrari and Mercedes spin this, they'll try anything that favors them" Michael explains to me in a worried tone.

They're in the final lap and Daniel's been clearly losing speed. Something's wrong with the engine. But it's the final lap, just a few more moments, come on baby, you can do it. Max is so close to him though, I wouldn't be surprised if the winner was declared based on the replay of the finishing line. The big straight comes up and Dan has to stay out of Max's front, so as to not give him any advantages.

I can barely see it, but at the same time, I can't take my eyes off the screen.

"Full force now mate, final sector. You can win this" the engineer says on the radio but Daniel doesn't respond. Max is right by his side, he's going to pass him.

There's smoke coming out of his car, the whole thing is going to blow off any second now. Oh my god, please just a few more seconds.

5 turns to go.

4 turns to go.

3 turns to go. Max overtakes him. Shit.

2 turns to go. Daniel wins his place on the podium back.

Final turn. Daniel's in the front, barely. They cross the finish line and the whole garage explores with cheering. There are people running outside to wave at him. I can only smile and hold my own head like it would fall off otherwise. He did it. He fucking did it.

"Woo-hoo! Yes! Yes! Fuck yes!" I can hear Daniel on the radio, screaming his lungs out.

"Good job mate. Spectacular work. First-class, really! Well done!" the engineer cheers on.

The next thing I know, Michael is hugging me and lifting me from the ground just to puck me back down and Blake lift me up again. I can only laugh at their excitement. I'm so happy for Daniel I can barely grasp it!

"Let's go!" Blake puts me down and runs outside the garage. I follow him out, to the place where Daniel is stopping the car, a bunch of smoke coming out and some people with fire extinguishers around it.

He's got his fists up, celebrating. But is still inside the car. Then he takes off the steering wheel and handles it to one of the mechanics waiting outside. He gets out of the car and stands on top of it, smokes still coming out from behind. It's a nice picture. I just hoped he got away from that thing before it explodes, but it's a nice picture, can't deny it.

Then he jumps down and run towards the crew, jumping over them, helmet still on. Everybody is celebrating and cheering, I can only laugh and clap at the scene before me. So much joy and happiness going on, the energy is amazing! Then I can see Daniel looking around, but since his helmet is still on, I have no idea what he's doing. Somebody seems to understand though and they wave at me, calling me to come closer. I approach, but I'm still unsure, don't want to get in the middle of the team's celebration. But Daniel grabs me, pulling me closer and hugging me. I just laugh, can't barely see him with the suit and helmet still on. He's saying something, but I can't understand a thing.

"What?" I laugh at his attempts to communicating with me. He opens his helmet visor and repeats.

"I fucking won baby!" He yells laughing.

"I know! I know! You won Dan! I'm so proud! You're the best baby!"

"I need to get this thing off" he says struggling to get the helmet and the balaclava off, when he finally manages to do it, he jumps over the fence that was separating us and hugs me again, lifting me in the air and kissing me deeply, making everyone around us cheer even louder and I smile against his lips. I wrap my legs around him and he keeps kissing me, only after a few seconds do I pull away to breathe and he touches our foreheads. I laugh again, just enjoying the feeling of pure happiness for him.

"I'm so proud of you. You were so good. This is crazy" I whisper to him.

"Get used to it, cause there's more where it came from" he answers kissing me again.

[chal-lelerc]

ok so like. here’s my harry potter house thing. i’m ngl i tried to do this but then i deleted it bc it was getting too long and i didn’t have the attention span but. it kept sticking in my brain so i decided to pick it back up and as such, i’ve lost the original post but it was a quarantine activity (sort drivers into houses, assign quidditch positions, explain) posted by @verstappened​. houses done first, then positions, then explanations for both. i tried to make feasible teams, i.e making sure there arent too many of a single position per house, so this really screwed some of the sorting but oh well.

i did the houses first, then positions, then explanations in that order for the most part.

5/13/20: the sorting was mostly done before i heard all the differing opinions (of which there were many!)

5/19/20: alright so this is literally like 2 months old but i’ve just finished it lolol

Lewis Hamilton:

Slytherin: THE GLORY MAN. the aloof kind of superiority, confidence, is top dog, he’s simply the pinnacle of it all. kind of lethal and doesn’t do the whole ‘looking up to others’ things (outwardly, but he seems very soft on the inside tbh). very majestic and is almost a gryffindor, the kind of slytherin that Merlin is. hard-working, got here from incredibly humble beginnings, which kind of stands out from the rest, but he’s clearly now at the top level of society. still very protective of Others. scarily ambitious. Was originally a gryffindor but I wanted the brits to be in different houses for their quidditch positions to work. Could honestly go either way though.

Seeker: more glory. periodt. he stays winning and scoring the most points. clutch-man. Speedy boy, kind of in a different world than everyone else when competing (he’s always at the front lifetimes away from everyone else lmao. playing a diff game.)

Valtteri Bottas:

Hufflepuff: HE SEEMS. LIKE. A. BIG. CHILD. always relegated and brushed off but is literally God-Tier and no one can convince me otherwise. i consider him to be rather reliable (reflecting only the 2019 season at least lmao). a bit of a vindictive streak bc he knows what he’s Capable Of even when others underestimate him. has a very bright smile.

Beater: have u seen him. he’s a big boy even though he’s 5′8 and only an inch taller than lando norris he seems bigger than he is ok

Charles Leclerc:

Slytherin: this bitch. what a snake. hiss hiss.

Chaser: he wants what lewis hamilton has but chose the wrong position. still a star in his own right. pride and joy of his house, will be at the lead of every formation play unless told otherwise by his head of house, to which he will brood and complain ab but comply in the end bc he wants Team Success and loyalty to his Family. scores the most points on the team and people act like he carries even though he literally has a partner(s).

ok but fr my gut said charles is a slytherin (do i really need to explain why? very critical, doesn’t accept inferiority, somehow succeeds. just a feeling his brain seems to fit motorsport politics well), but i was seriously contemplating whether he’d be a gryffindor to max’s slytherin instead. but then i saw someone mention the whole lion schtick and i was like for all of max’s brattiness he is Gryffindor so sharl is snake. sorry don’t make the rules just follow them.

further edit: this was written before he started streaming (this is how old this draft is) and can u believe him he’s the epitome of the “not all slytherins r evil wenches” idea

Sebastian Vettel:

Ravenclaw: idk for all of Seb’s goofiness he just seems cerebral to me. Seems to know mildly irrelevant facts and is really quite smart however is hopeless in the modern age. Kind of that wise old(er he’s not that old) man knowledge. I’d trust him to give me all the life advice I need but also to write a 10 page essay on the nuances of the effect of emotion on verbal language (which we all know he is very experienced with).

Keeper: it’s the protective Dad Power.

Max Verstappen:

Gryffindor: WAS REALLY GONNA PUT HIM IN SLYTHERIN BC HE’S A NASTY LIL SHIT. TOTAL BRAT. GIVES FUCK ALL WHAT OTHERS SAY. BUT HE IS LION AND LION IS HE SO GRYFFINDOR IT IS. also just bc he needs to oppose sharl in every way possible it’s called Poetic Cinema. also his driving style is clearly the bravery and confidence to the point of recklessness that is prevalent among gryffindors.

Chaser: again, he must oppose Charles. so, not a seeker although he’s clearly singularly the most prized competitor. just like Charles, pride and joy of house, their star chaser. the comparisons never end. the competition never ends. the fighting never ends. one of the most interesting and dynamic performers to watch, is predictable in that he’s not predictable except that he will always be aggro to the max. will always be in trouble for getting rough bc that’s Not His Job but that’s just the gryffindor disregard for rules. master point scorer.

Alex Albon:

Gryffindor: was really a toss up btwn this and Hufflepuff but the ultimate deciding factor was the fact that I wanted all the British Boys to be seekers. he really just sticks it out as max’s teammate like a real one (nothing against max, everything against Helmet Merco) for the good of the team, still is sweet with max anyway. fitting that they’re in the same house too.

Seeker: he’s not the small boy that lando and lewis are but he is (thai/)British. very special boy (big ups on the promotion even tho it was Sad Times for Pear) deserves very special job. also he has a hot girlfriend (alex albon who i only know lily he’s boy toy) idk how that’s relevant but it seems fitting.

Carlos Sainz:

Ravenclaw: bc he’s a spaniard but is still better at english than Lando (i think everyone is tbh). Seems to be a quiet type of smart, sensible, but perhaps this is just the consequence of being compared to Lanno at all times LMAO (no hate all love bby Lannd). would be the type of ravenclaw to follow his friends on absolutely idiotic ventures but would step in to prevent near death or likely-legal-problem causing actions (and only then; otherwise it’s every man for themselves and everyone is free to make a fool of themselves and break some laws. carlos may dabble in such practices.)

Chaser: seems to be a go-getter, not going for points doesn’t even cross his mind. will always be the one driving up the pitch, the strategist of sorts bc he seems big(ger) brain (than lando lololol).

Edit: I wrote this part ab him long ago but this entire section of this post is now irrelevant and canceled.

Lando Norris:

Hufflepuff: you all know why. zero explanation needed. like, none.

also has a bit of an aggressive streak which tends to catch ppl off guard. is not afraid to confront u (hello pageNO) and at times defies the hufflepuff stereotype of being perpetually happy go-lucky (he has his bad days!). but when with His True Crew he is absolutely a hufflepuff ball of energy.

Seeker: small and speedy. energetic to the max. small. quirky and different from the rest, so he gets the special job. small. everyone would kill to protect him. small.

Daniel Ricciardo:

Gryffindor: AW I DIDN’T EVEN REALIZE THAT I PUT HIM AND MAX TOGETHER. LOOK I EVEN MADE THEM BOTH CHASERS. AH HOW BIGBRAIN MY MIND IS. everything ab dan is gold. golden skin, the colors in redbull and renault, his smile, just the vibes. he’s just got the enthusiasm and charisma and this intensity of a gryffindor. super aggressive, his late breaking (from his rbr at least) is legendary and maddening with how he pulls it off. is almost a hufflepuff but the gut said no.

Chaser: is Max’s teammate. so yeah. was obviously the star until younger max came to the show. a bit lost in limbo bc of it but they still work well together.

literally want to make him a hufflepuff so. bad. but i couldn’t split up maxiel. also his vibe is just different from other ‘puffs like stroll so.

Esteban Ocon:

Slytherin: ask max.

Chaser: being characterized off of their relationship with max seems to be a theme here. will go head to head with max w/ absolutely zero shits given. talented, but the rivalry with max is entirely secondary to charles imho. still yet to show his full potential but is still quietly a thorn in max’s side. many are interested to see what he is able to do in the immediate future.

Pierre Gasly:

Hufflepuff: GUYS HE WANTS TO OWN A PANDA

Chaser: constantly trying to prove himself and score big boy points. had a stint as seeker until lando came along. did not do as well as ppl had hoped, returned to chaser and proceeded to crush it from there. praticed a lot with charles as children (the friendship dynamic w/ their houses was definitely unforseen but is amazing).

Daniil Kvyat:

Hufflepuff: really wanted to make him a slytherin but the quidditch positions didn’t work out. firmly believe this works though. more of the rough and tumble type, definitely the kind that will sock u in the nose if u write off hufflepuffs as a joke. could honestly probably be a gryffindor too with how unapologetically aggressive he can be in the name of His Beliefs. gives me big dumb himbo vibes now that i think ab it tbh which is mostly the justification here. also he has a child omg.

Chaser: but the one that’s always headbutting bludgers out of the air (torpedo bitches). also had a stint as seeker before but it Was Not His Thing. he’d much rather be chasing and throwing things than seeking things. also he’s pierre’s mate :,) would’ve been a beater but romain and valtteri will not be anything else so daniil took the boot whoops.

Sergio Perez:

Slytherin: it’s just the vibe. knows his weaknesses and is able to make up for it with his confidence and talent in his strengths. very ambitious, plays the right cards at the right times to get the right results. something ab him puts me on edge, but like in a good way; i feel like there’s always a trump card up his sleeve, like when he gets to q3 out of fucking nowhere in a racing point.

Keeper: he gives me the same vibes as seb idk what it is. very dependable, backbone of his team.

Lance Stroll:

Hufflepuff: guys have u seen the guy. he’s just here to have a good time. may seem a bit airheaded at times but he means well 99% of the time. untapped potential. seems like a no thoughts head empty canadian hockey boy (and every one of these types is a hufflepuff don’t fight it); may or may not be the only accurate description of him.

Chaser: he’s just trying his best out here. i

KEEPER?: SO I DID A QUICK GOOGLE AND HE USED TO BE A HOCKEY

GOALIE?????

so scratch my initial thoughts (tbh i didn’t really know where to put him and i originally had romain as keeper but that’s an issue to fix later on now) BECAUSE LANCE STROLL IS A keeper GOALIE AND NO ONE CAN REFUTE THIS. ABSOLUTELY NO HUMAN OF THIS EARTH. WHAT GLORIOUS INFORMATION TO STUMBLE ACROSS.

Kimi Raikkonen:

Slytherin: guys i really don’t have an in depth analysis of this but i don’t think iceman needs one.

Beater: see above^. y’all must get the vibe.

tbh could also be a keeper tho similar energies to seb and checo, but honestly his no fucks given attitude is ultimately what swayed me

Antonio Giovinazzi:

Gryffindor: he just has that majestic quality (that could also fit a slytherin but i only see red when i see antonio). look at that lion’s mane. also he’s one of kimi’s to paddock friends? seems fitting that he’s a gryffindor to kimi’s slytherin.

Chaser: plays second fiddle to the duo that is max and daniel, often regulated to vibing on the side. but he’s there and he’s important and he has potential (i’ve been seeing ppl talking ab a ferrari move and i’m positively shaken). [edit: again, this post is old.]

im sorry its glaringly obvious idk much about him asdfjasldkd

Kevin Magnussen:

Slytherin: guys lots of these are just self explanatory sorry if i seem like im taking the cheap way out but it’s fact. brundle and crofty call him a great white shark for crying out loud.

Beater: unapologetically chaotic. lurking around the edges making people feel hunted. spends more time playing baseball in the middle of the matches than quidditch and sometimes it backfires but it’s good fun and it sometimes works.

Romain Grosjean:

Hufflepuff: y’all he’s such dad energy and he likes to cook. gets written off a lot but he actually cares (he’s a part of the grand prix drivers assoc.!). he seems so wholesome and he spends time with his kids and their school work when he can do u feel those water drops yeah those r my tears.

Beater: i really wanted to make him a slytherin beater to make him teammates with k-mag but he’s just. not a slytherin. but i kept the beater part. spends the majority of the hufflepuff v. slytherin matches sending bludgers kevin’s way even when he doesn’t mean to. it’s always reciprocated.

George Russell:

Ravenclaw: I’VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I’LL SAY IT AGAIN THIS KID. is so marvelously well spoken and he just has such a simple yet effective way with words. he knows what’s reasonable to expect but never fails to expect the most that he can given his circumstances. again, mentioned this before but a lot of it is his accent. the glottal stop is a historically stereotypically rural (i.e. “uneducated”) thing but I’m American and I Don’t Listen to the Rules, so the accent just makes him seem so sophisticated to me especially when he’s saying things like “horriiiiiiiific” and presenting his hefty powerpoints.

Seeker: my British Boys Are Seekers headcanon continues. definitely a Golden Boy of the team kind of guy (hello tragic dumpsterfire that is williams :/ ).

Nicholas Latifi:

Hufflepuff: same boat as lance. his twitch streams are so wholesome he’s just chilling man. twitter made me write him off as daft and unnecessary at first but like fuck twitter i’m all here for ninky latvia now.

Chaser: lowkey gives me keeper vibes as well? the sensible, level-headedness. but obvs that’s lance so chaser it is. still the level-headedness that helps him hold down the fort btwn pierre and daniil who can tend to get a bit imaginative, and also the energies of them + lando.

5/19/20: so it’s quite clear to me that i grew tired of brain functions the more time i took on this and the later ones are a bit lacking and for that i’m very sorry. that being said i’m still happy to see this finished bc the idea was VERY exciting for me.

[jyanadavega]

Now is your time. You knew mine and @artigas-am73's preferences. Could you rank the current grid from your favourite driver to your least favourite? You can mention other riders if you feel it.

1. Maverick Vinales : which could also be named "why I love to suffer". I litteraly started to support him because I was frustrated to see him always in third place at the end of last season. And without much sign this simple frustration became a bit of an obsession. The incident with Luca Marini did help but it's probably more a compilation of reason.

2. Iker Lecuona : he's cute and hard working. He's a little bit of what I thought of Fabio last year.

3. Takaaki Nagakami : same as Iker, seems like a really hard working guy. I'm happy that he starts to finally get the recognition he deserves.

4. Andrea Dovisiozo : I probably could have ranked him third in place of Nagakami but I think I have already started to make my mourning so I try to detach myself from him. Apart that I love the vibes he send, the fact that he has his head on his shoulders and that he does what he can to don't get involved in riders drama. And he's the only one which I would be as happy if he gets the championship than Maverick.

5. Alex Marquez : is my secret twin ❤️ he's the only one born the same year as me and we both have a brother named Marc. I have a bit of hard time at the beginning with him because I started watching Moto2 when he was winning and with the domination of his brother, it was a bit too much for me. But he's a lovely guy and he deserves way more than being in his brother shadow.

6. Joan Mir/Fabio Quartararo

This is complicated. Or my feeling with this two are complicated. If we start with Fabio, if you had ask me the question last year he would have been way higher. All I wanted was for him to win. And when he won... It was great but for some reason, it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I think that if Marc had been there this season, Fabio would have stay higher in my esteem. But now than Marc is not there anymore, it kind of make Fabio the direct rival of Maverick and like you there is a lot of position which can change in this ranking, but in my heart Mav is the absolute first. Also the fact that he is french and thus that the commentator are biased toward him doesn't help his case. And Joan has the opposite way in my heart as Fabio. Like I clearly mistrust him at the beginning, and I never really saw him as cute the same way I see Fabio and Iker. Like there really something in him which make me say this guy is really intelligent. But yeah he's starting to grown in my heart and I don't really know why.

8. Franco Morbidelli : he's a lovely guy, really smart as well, but yeah that's all for me.

9. Alex Rins : Kind of the same as Franco. Lost some point because Franco is also a bit engaged.

10. Miguel Oliveira : I would have ranked him higher before but I discovers recently that he has supported Ronaldo against the rape accusations just because he is also Portuguese and it make him lose sone place. But otherwise really smart guy, nice riding style, the dentist part is quite fascinating as well and I love the drama part of him that we saw at the beginning of the documentary on him.

11. Marc Marquez : if it was a list of who I was the most attracted to, he would be first. But this isn't this list. As talented and beautiful that Marc is, I tends to get bored when someone is too dominant in his sport. I love drama and suspense and the 2019 Marc was the opposite of that. I would probably love him better, had I started to watch him since his beginning but I didn't so here we are.

12. Pecco Bagnaia : he's okay. I feel sorry for all the trouble that he had this year. And I'm happy for him and the Ducati seat.

13. Danilo Petrucci : he just looks like a teddy bear and I want to be friends with him but that's all.

14. Valentino Rossi : he is a hypnotiser, when it's obvious that Marc is actively flirting with the audience, Vale just shines. He's overflowing with charisma. It's hard to not be fascinated by him and I would be really happy when he will end up winning a race. But also it makes it hard to trust him really.

15. Jack Miller : I generally found him funny and if have to compared to another Australian in Motorsport less exhausting than Daniel Ricciardo. I love the taxi mission it shows his friendship toward Rins and Mav (where everywhere else you mostly see Mav love and pride for him). His last comment did disappoint me so, and that's why he so low (also because I really like almost everyone so it quite tight between each position)

16. Brad Binder I like him better than in moto2. His beginning with KTM was quite exciting and I love the fact that his and Miguel fate seems to be linked.

17. Aleix Espargaro : he extremely frank and sometimes it is great and other time a bit less

18. Tito Rabat : I really don't know him enough. But the small stuff that I saw of him seems to go toward and really nice and funny guys.

19. Pol Espargaro : I find him less honest than Aleix and where I'm excited to see what he can do with an Honda, I don't like him much

20. Johan Zarco : I don't hate him, I see he mostly suck at communications and he probably suffers more from a past reputation than what he actually is today but yeah. Also I really don't liked the way he manage his time as KTM, sure enough the Moto wasn't as good as what he thought but still, you have to be a little bit professional and don't give up on the first day.

21. Cal Crutchlow : what I learn with the Asian fan really bumps me. Racism isn't a small matter.

I didn't put Bradley Smith because I forgot he exists most of the time, so it makes it hard for me to have any kind of judgement about him.

[formulatrash]

Is it difficult to build some sort of rapport with a driver? Like are there some who view people as 'Press Person A, Press Person B etc.' or do most of them attempt to view you as individual personalities that they're comfortable around to a certain extent? I suppose it probably varies from series to series where I guess Formula E feels like a smaller pond? Whereas F1 is a small fish in an ocean? Kind of vibe? This is worded so badly but hopefully you get the picture lol

Sometimes, yeah. I don’t have massive problems with it because, err, it is not hard to pick me out in a lineup of motorsport journalists. Exhibit A: my friend Luke’s photo of an F1 media centre. We are a bit better balanced/more diverse in Formula E but it’s still not hard to spot the bitch with purple hair or whatever:

(I’m in the yellow dress, the blonde woman is a translator and the one with green hair is my friend so y’know, here we are)

Anyway, diversity issues aside I generally seem to be ok with the drivers who everyone else says are moody - JEV in particular is usually quite keen to speak to me but some you just don’t gel with. I always get the impression Sam Bird would rather be like, anywhere other than speaking to me not because he’s a horrible man (he’s one of my favourites and he’s honestly the absolute sweetest) but just because he clearly hates it for some reason. 

Some of them are like… I hesitate to say ‘my friends’ or something cus I’m not like WhatsApping them quarantine memes or whatever but definitely you end up with the ones you get on well with in a professional context. There’s only one driver in I try to avoid interviewing if possible because he can be a real git.

But yeah, as with anything you have to get them to trust you a bit to go in for the difficult stuff. I think I could probably ask JEV basically anything but he’ll shut down if he doesn’t feel like answering not a question but the person asking it. It’s what we’d all do, to be fair. 

We discovered last year in New York that they gossip about us, which was an interesting experience. (one of them thought another journalist was my boyfriend which I was like ???? no???? and he was like o right wow ok we had all assumed because we saw you at this party together and I was like jesus christ guys get an AO3 account)

[crystalracing]

Kimi Räikkönen talks and laughs and talks. And laughs again. motorprofis.at experienced the most talkative and analytical Iceman of all times in a double interview with his Alfa Romeo team mate Antonio Giovinazzi. It’s exciting what the two of them have to say to each other and to us.

Source: motorprofis.at    Pictures: Alfa Romeo Racing, Gerald Enzinger

In the end Spielberg was worth a trip for everyone: for the Alfa Romeo Racing drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi because they both scored with a 9th (Kimi) and 10th (Giovinazzi) place – in the case of the Italian for the first time in his career. And for the selected journalists, who were invited to the roundtable with the two, even more so: in this interview session one experienced a brillantly cheerful and talkative Räikkönen. And first impressions of Giovinazzi, who once drove at eye level with Verstappen, Ocon and Auer in Formula 3.

Your team has always been known for its ability to work well with young people – as was the case with you, Kimi. What are your memories of your beginnings in Formula 1?

RÄIKKÖNEN: I wasn’t as young as others, I was 21, but I was still very inexperienced. I came straight from Formula Renault (which was the 4th level at the time, note), but it was of course a completely different world than the one I was familiar with. When I first drove a Formula 1 car it was – I wouldn’t say it was a shock now – but it was definitely anything else I had known up to that point. But the first day went by fast and then with every day it became easier and more normal in all areas.

How has Formula 1 changed in all these years?

RÄIKKÖNEN: In essence, it’s still the same. Over all these years the cars have changed a bit, the driving as such, the rules. But in principle, we as drivers still do the same thing as we did back then. Maybe now we do more PR work and sit more in meetings.

What is your goal for the rest of the season?

RÄIKKÖNEN: Hopefully we can fight regularly for the top 10 places and points. You don’t really have concrete goals, it’s just that you should always improve your car step by step. And if that works, then we can be in a good position – after a long way.

Question to both of you: As boring as Formula 1 usually seems to be, it must be fun to fight in midfield, where things are very tight and you have a lot of battles in every race.

RÄIKKÖNEN: Everyone tells me all the time: the races are so boring. But I think if you’re in the middle of it, it’s not boring. On some days you’re just defending, then there are phases where it’s always about attacking. From the outside it looks more boring than in the car, where things can get very hectic in the midfield. In this area it’s so tight, you might even see better racing than at the front.

GIOVINAZZI: I fully agree. It’s so close. In this area of the race you’re on the offensive and defensive at the same time, and your race goes both forward and backward. You have to have both in mind. But that makes pure racing more fun here. Honestly: it’s hard.

Kimi, your memories of the A1 Ring and the first years of the Red Bull Ring now?

RÄIKKÖNEN: I’ve always enjoyed being here – and it was a shame we lost this track for so many years. I think 2003 was the race back then. I have many positive memories. Fortunately, I’m old enough to have gotten to know some old race tracks – like the old Hockenheimring when it still had its long straights. Many tracks that are fun in their own way – Spa with the bus stop chicane, Hungary.

In Spielberg there are great sections, even if some things have changed in small details. But the first turn or the last two, they are a lot of fun. It’s always a great place to come here. And it’s probably also because of the whole scenery with all the mountains that the atmosphere here is always so relaxed. It’s a shame that we once didn’t have the track on the calendar – but it’s great that they got it back.

I think that you would have loved the old Österreichring with its long Flatschach straight, in whose braking zone, as Gerhard Berger puts it, you always looked death in the eye.

RÄIKKÖNEN: Yes, definitely! Everything I’ve seen about it looks pretty exciting. And of course there would be really good overtaking manoeuvres on such tracks. There are a lot of good corners where you can do something while braking. That’s the kind of track we want.

Antonio, what are your memories of the Red Bull Ring?

GIOVINAZZI: It’s certainly one of my favourite tracks and I have good memories of this place as well. Here I won my first race in Formula 3 and had a very good weekend in Formula 2. There are many high-speed corners. It’s not a long track, it’s more of a kart track. That’s why there are often good races. Here in Formula 1 we have three DRS zones, so a lot of action is possible. That fits well!

Kimi, you as a racer: What do you want from the Formula 1 of the future?

RÄIKKÖNEN: Holidays! (laughs).

In the long run, doesn’t concern me what’s going to happen. If I have no interest, I will definitely not turn on the TV and let myself be disturbed in my free time (laughs again).

But if you ask me, I’m sure I’d change a lot. For instance, remove all these data analyses if possible. If you wouldn’t setup the cars based on so much data, it would depend more on the feeling and certain qualities could make the difference.

What’s more fun: driving a Formula 1 car or a rally car?

RÄIKKÖNEN: Rally is so completely different. You’re not really driving against each other, but against time. If you see another car on the special stages during the rally, then something just went damn wrong for one of you. (grins)

But if you compare: I drove NASCAR once, you were allowed to use telemetry data during testing, but not during the race. That’s why you have to make your own experiences at a certain point. This makes oval races seem very simple, but in reality they are far away from simplicity. It’s a highly complex thing. That’s more pure racing. If you realize: Shit, I’m not fast enough – then you can talk to others. Then one person tells you that, and the other means that. In the end you have to draw your own conclusions. In Formula 1, on the other hand, the data is there and they tell you everything that needs to be changed. If you have to find your own setup and can’t look at the computer during set up, then that would be a completely different feeling.

Antonio, does Kimi help you, can you learn from him?

GIOVINAZZI: It’s like Kimi just said: Even if he wouldn’t tell me or if I don’t ask him, I can see all his data and draw my conclusions. There are no real secrets in the team when it comes to voting.

RÄIKKÖNEN: Now imagine how difficult it would be for you if you didn’t have access to my data. That would make a massive difference.

GIOVINAZZI: Yes, I agree. Without data it would be difficult – especially for me as a very young driver in the first season, who of course benefits from having such an exceptionally experienced teammate. That would be hard, but I’m lucky to be able to look at everything. And so it’s easier to improve session by session.

There are quite revolutionary ideas in the DTM: For example, that you can’t preheat the tyres or that radio communication is now very limited: Would such rules also be good for Formula 1?

RÄIKKÖNEN: Originally there was also a radio ban in Formula 1, for example in the warm-up lap. I’m that guy who doesn’t mind if nobody talks. (grins mischievously)

In other teams it is often the case that someone says that this driver is faster here or slower there. But what difference does it make? For me this information is no help. I think: if you ban radio, it won’t really change the races.

And as for your tyre question: If it’s as hot as in Spielberg, we’ll bring the tyres up to temperature even after a few laps, even without blankets. But if it’s cold, we’d drive like on ice without heating up. We would have zero grip, especially in the morning sessions. We would even fly off on the straight because we would have so little grip.

So if you ban the heating blankets, you would have to change the tyres completely at the same time. If the tyres are designed in such a way that they have to work without heated blankets – then it’s fine. But there are no plans. And it won’t change the game.

You’re a fan favourite, a real hero. What does that mean to you?

RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, that’s clearly a nice thing. It’s nice when they cheer for you! So some seem to like what I’m doing. Or maybe I’m just old and that makes them sentimental. (smiles)

Antonio, for you as an Italian, the day Kimi won Ferrari’s last World Championship title in 2007 must have been something very special. What are your memories like?

GIOVINAZZI: Of course I was a Ferrari fan! I saw the race at home on TV. And it was also special as three different pilots could still become World Champion – Alonso, Hamilton and Kimi.

RÄIKKÖNEN: (interrupts) But I strongly hope that you cheered me on.

GIOVINAZZI: Uh, sure. I made the point difference. (laughs)

RÄIKKÖNEN: How old were you back then?

GIOVINAZZI: 14! No – 12. I was driving a mini kart.

You are now factory drivers of Alfa Romeo, a big brand in motorsport. What do you associate with this name?

RÄIKKÖNEN: I’m too young to have experienced Alfa in Formula 1. But I know that they have a great history in this sport. They have won races, world championships. I think it’s great that they’re back in Formula 1.

Who was the last winner with an Alfa engine?

GIOVINAZZI: (answers immediately). Niki Lauda! (Note: Right, Anderstorp 1978, Brabham-Alfa.)

Privately you also drive Alfa: Kimi a Stelvio, Antonio a Giulia. Right?

RÄIKKÖNEN: Yes, in the Quadrifoglio version. It’s good for Switzerland and with the family. It’s fun.

GIOVINAZZI: The Giulia is a well-done car. I always enjoy driving it.

What is the biggest difference between a big team like Ferrari and a smaller one like Alfa, Kimi? My feeling tells me that this is a family size that you really like.

RÄIKKÖNEN: The pure work is not really different. The driving, the workflow, the meetings, it’s all very similar. The big difference is the stuff around it, I have less to do here. That was one reason why I wanted to do it that way.

But the passion, it’s the same, and usually the cars are very good. Only if you have a problem with the car it can take longer to fix it here – in such a case the size of the staff and the budget does make a difference.

What do you feel today when you are in Maranello?

RÄIKKÖNEN: I had good times there, even if the results weren’t always. But Ferrari is a big part of my heart, of my life. Not many can claim to have driven for this team and have won a drivers world championship title and the constructors’ championship twice. That connects and I still have contact with the people there. Of course.

How was it in 2007? The day on which you became world champion – and little Giovinazzi was excited in front of the TV?

RÄIKKÖNEN: Our only chance in the races was to be in the top two and then look: what are the McLaren doing? We had a lot of speed, but the World Championship was no longer in our hands. We had to bring our cars to 1 and 2. It worked. But it wasn’t just this one race. We had a phase of the season where we were struggling, but then we were really good.

Can Vettel still fight for the championship this year?

RÄIKKÖNEN: He can fight. Can he also win? That’s something different. He’s not in an easy position, but things often change fast. They will fight to the end.

GIOVINAZZI: I agree. Giving up is not an option for a team like Ferrari.

[ehyeh-joshua]

On disability.

As some of you guys know, my background is racing. And it shapes how I approach everything, to some extent.

And disability? Well, racing gets kind of difficult - I can do videogame racing for example, but people like me are banned from competition in the real world. (on safety grounds, with good reason; I’m not arguing with that)

But, a disability does not mean you cannot compete with able bodied people, and beat them at their own sports.

For example, let’s take a person born without legs, and get them to race.

That sounds like a career ended before it could even start - but the reality is, if you could find the one disabled, legless person with the raw talent of men like Fangio, Stewart (himself the only dyslexic world champion) Clark, Senna, Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton, all of them, and you built a car around their advantages, no able-bodied racer could beat them in a straight, clear race.

Two legs weighs, even at hyper-light F1 driver standards, around 20 kilograms. That alone is worth, speaking generally, a second a lap plus.

Next, where that weight is removed from - in an F1 car, you sit on the floor of the car, and your legs are raised up (this allows you to do stuff with the aero packaging that improves the performance massively) with them not even being present, it means you can revise your crash structures to make them lighter (as you have so much more space you can compress before driver safety is compromised) you can do more with the behind front wheel aero packaging (this is super-important - modern F1 cars sculpt the air itself to create a boundary between the bottom of the car and the sides, creating ground effect aero like the old F1 cars needed skirts and underfloor tunnels and stuff to do) you have the option of placing the ballast (or, in some cars, having ballast at all, as it is very hard to design an underweight car these days) exactly where you want it to get the handling right, and, when you adjust their controls to be finger based, they have more control as fingers are more sensitive (they don’t do this because you’d have to recalibrate how people drive, and that doesn���t work well; it’s the same with hub centre steering in motorcycles, the riders all grow up with telescopic forks and can’t swap to the superior engineering solution because of the lack of feel hub centre steering misses, but, raise a rider from childhood to ride hub centre steered bikes so that that problem is eliminated, and telescopic forks will never win again as they are an inferior design) and because the distance is shorter, their reaction times are quicker (the gap is tiny, but it is still amounting to a second or so over race distance, and in what is a quicker car anyway)

It is exactly the same process - every top driver has the team and car built around them.

It has never happened in history - while people without legs have raced, the ones who did it well were already racers, and through crashes lost their legs, and while they can still be competitive, see Alex Zanardi, one of my heroes (along with Jackie Stewart) they never quite recover it fully. Similar with Kubica - I would love to see Kubica back in F1; not with Williams, as well, their car design of late has gone backwards. But, really, he isn’t the same after his rallying crash.

And personally, I’d love to see it done...

That’s what I believe in, when it comes to “disability”. I hate the notion of “yeah, he/she is a great driver, for someone with no legs” - all that really means is you do not see them as a competitor. What use is that? It is frankly an insult.

It is like the running prosthetic legs - objectively, as a solution to the problem of running quick on track, the prosthetic leg is quicker than a normal leg. It’ll be even better once someone combines them with active suspension style improvements. (most of the debate has been because athletes with these have been having to prove they aren’t advantages, which speaks volumes about my whole point anyway - presuming that we’ll be nice, and therefore assume this is not discrimination on basis of disability as that is highly illegal these days, and it would be one of the easiest court cases going...)

As an engineer by training, disabled by His design, I would be thrilled to see someone build a team around the right disabled person, and going racing to be fastest of anyone - because I know once it happens, the advantages their “disability” gives them are such that they’d be dominant the way Schumacher was.

Am I disabled? Objectively, yes. Does it cause me problems? Yes. Is this the case for everybody? Yes; if nothing else, not everyone has the mindset of the sheer will to win that a racer must develop, which forces you to look at the advantages you have and then make it work.

Most people would rather dump a few bandaids and think “there, we’ve supported the disabled now”. No! It might objectively help, but the whole attitude is that disabled people are not fully human.

My entire philosophy as a racer, driver and engineer, is I will race as best I can; yes, my disabilities mean I won’t win, on either (I’m great at understanding the rulebook; the problem is that in motorsport, you design to what the rulebook doesn’t say rather than what is does, and therefore, in a competition with rules beyond “the driver must be able to survive whatever crash could be reasonably forseen” which is where I’m most comfortable given I design for myself now, I’ll lose) but, most importantly, the gauntlet is thrown down - come and have a go if you think you’re fast enough.

Take Stefan Bellof’s lap. Those of you who know, need no further comment to know what I think - if you don’t respect Bellof enough to treat him as competition, then you render his record worthless. Yes, a modern GT racing car could probably beat his laptime, but that’s not the point; Bellof’s time has been put on a pedestal, that you aren’t allowed to improve on. And I think it is sad; he went out, and he pushed his 956 to the utter limit. Really, as a racer, he deserves someone trying to beat him, and also the chance to reclaim it, even if circumstances mean that cannot happen. (he was killed at Spa in 1985, during an overtake that went very badly wrong at Eau Rouge)

Ok, I’m rambling again, so back to the point - disabled people deserve to be treated as fully human. Not as inferiors. And this notion, that having a disability makes anyone any less than human, needs to go back to the hell from which it came.

[marilynngmesalo]

Alex Zanardi’s problem-plagued Daytona return secondary to journey

Alex Zanardi’s problem-plagued Daytona return secondary to journey Alex Zanardi’s problem-plagued Daytona return secondary to journey http://bit.ly/2sM1ToQ

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Alex Zanardi’s Rolex 24 at Daytona was problem-plagued, perhaps even forgettable.

That was just fine for one of the most beloved figures in motorsports, who found the racing to be secondary to the adulation and affection he received in his return to North America.

“I’m proud of the quotes, the comments, the love,” Zanardi said after the race concluded Sunday. “It’s what I got from all the fans, all the people that stopped me and all the people who keep telling me how inspirational my story is.”

Zanardi lost both his legs in a 2001 crash during a CART race in Germany but built a remarkable career after the devastating injury. He designed his own prosthetic legs after studying the best options for optimal mobility. Then he took up touring cars and was able to race again.

Zanardi moved to hand cycling and won that division in the New York City Marathon. The Italian qualified for two Paralympics and won six medals, four of them gold. He’s completed Iron Man competitions by using a wheelchair for the running portion and his handcycle for the biking.

But he’d yet to race in North America, where he built a tremendous following during his two championship seasons in CART. He pulled off one of the greatest passes in motorsports history in the corkscrew at the Laguna Seca, Calif., road course, and invented the victory doughnut that NASCAR drivers do to this day.

It was the idea of longtime partner BMW to develop a steering wheel that would allow Zanardi to race without his prosthetics. The manufacturer assumed he’d want to use it in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but Zanardi instead chose Daytona International Speedway.

'WHERE ARE ALEX'S LEGS?': Witnesses recall Zanardi's horrific crash

The yearlong project with BMW culminated in a reunion between Zanardi and so many of his old friends, teammates and rivals. His plotline was the richest in a race full of superstars, even if it didn’t go as planned.

When Zanardi got in the car for his first driving stint Saturday the steering wheel that had been exhaustively tested suddenly wouldn’t make an electrical connection with the car. Neither did the backup.

Zanardi nearly got out of the car before he’d even left pit lane, but one final flip of the switches at least got the wheel to connect. The problems stretched into the next driver change and put the Bobby Rahal-owned team in a hole that took it out of contention for the GT Le Mans victory. The class win went to the second Rahal car, which reinforced Zanardi’s belief that he had a team capable of winning the race.

Alex Zanardi studies a data monitor in his pit stall during the IMSA 24 hour race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, in Daytona Beach, Fla.

“In the end of the day, I came here because I thought it was technically possible to do what we did together, and had I not believed it possible, I don’t think I would have come,” Zanardi said.

“But yeah, if someone can receive some type of inspiration from what I do, it fills my heart with pride. I’m just a very curious guy who has a lot of possibility. You say ‘Why do you do this?’ Why shouldn’t I? I’m having a lot of fun doing what I’m doing.”

Zanardi plans to resume training in hand cycling next in a bid to defend his Paralympic medals next year in Tokyo. He turns 53 later this year.

Other notable events from the Rolex:

CRAZY CONDITIONS

Teams spent the final third of the race complaining about treacherous conditions that had drivers concerned for their safety.

“It rained like hell,” Zanardi said. “It was really beyond any limit. I’ve never seen so much rain falling from the sky.”

The final eight hours were marred by numerous on-track incidents as IMSA waffled back and forth in its decision making. There were long yellow flag periods in which the drivers circled the sloppy track behind the pace car, the two stoppages, and many, many on-track mishaps.

“It’s probably the worst conditions I’ve ever driven in,” said AJ Allmendinger. “You are just trying to hang on and hope when you catch that puddle the wrong way you can save the car. It’s just so nasty out there.”

Richard Westbrook believed IMSA’s indecision over the weather cost Chip Ganassi Racing a third consecutive GTLM victory. Westbrook was leading and adamant it was too dangerous but IMSA picked a random time to stop the race for the second and final time.

The stoppage came after Westbrook had pitted from the lead for fuel.

“I just thought they had to stop the race, it was ridiculous,” Westbrook said. “But once we pitted, that’s when they pulled out the red flag, and it cost us the win. The conditions were incredibly bad during that last period and it didn’t matter if you were driving 30 mph or 130 mph, you couldn’t keep the car on the track.”

ALL-FEMALE TEAM

The Heinricher all women racing team, from left, Bia Figureirdo, of Brazil, Jackie Heinricher, Simone De Silvestro, of Switzerland, Katherine Legge, of Great Britain, and Christina Nielsen, of Denmark, sign autographs before the start of the IMSA 24 hour auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, in Daytona Beach, Fla.

A lineup of four female drivers was in contention for a podium finish until Katherine Legge slipped and spun her Acura in the rain with under four hours remaining. Legge was fourth when she spun.

The team, run through Meyer Shank Racing, featured Legge, Simona de Silvestro, Bia Figueiredo and Christina Nielsen. It was created by Jackie Heinricher, a racing enthusiast and scientist who wanted to promote female drivers, and landed sponsor Caterpillar to fund her vision.

The lineup remained on the lead lap for almost 20 hours and under normal weather conditions might have raced for the class victory.

“It’s disappointing to have a situation like this so close to the end of the race, but it’s super tricky conditions out there and it could happen to anyone,” Nielsen said. “If you’re playing tennis and you drop a ball, you just get a new one and try again. Here, if you make one mistake, there are high consequences.”

FITTIPALDI’S FINALE

Christian Fittipaldi reacts as he discusses his last auto race during a news conference at the IMSA 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Christian Fittipaldi needed several moments to compose himself after the final stint of his career. The Brazilian openly cried after completing his final Rolex 24.

A three-time Rolex winner and part of last year’s overall title, this race was the farewell party. The two-time IMSA champion is transitioning into a brand ambassador for Cadillac and the Action Express Racing team.

Fittipaldi debuted in Formula One in 1992 and has raced NASCAR, sports cars, and Indy cars since.

“I am sad, happy, relieved, but I think most of all at peace with myself and I think that’s most important,” he said.

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[sbknews]

New Post has been published on Superbike News

New Post has been published on http://superbike-news.co.uk/wordpress/toni-elias-perfect-in-motoamerica-season-finale/

Toni Elias Perfect In MotoAmerica Season Finale

The 2018 MotoAmerica Series ended on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park with a Motul Superbike race that was a fitting finale and one of the best of the season. When all was said and done, it was Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias taking his ninth win of the season but not without a frantic final two laps by Motul Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier, the three-time champ coming up just .333 of a second short at the finish.

The win was the 25th of Elias’ MotoAmerica Superbike career and he will start the 2019 season just three behind World and AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies, who is fifth on the all-time list.

“Honestly, I was thinking to open a gap, but at the end he (Beaubier) was there doing incredible lap times in the last part of the race,” Elias said. “Today was fun. It was fun because all of us,we didn’t think about anything – just go push over the limit. We show each other today was not any jokes. Some elbows, some hard-braking areas. Was fun. We enjoyed it. Finally, I won but also I could lose. But I’m lucky to finish the championship in this way. Yesterday I able to manage second position in the championship. Good job this year for Josh (Herrin). Incredible job for Cameron (Beaubier). He deserves the number one. This morning I was joking about this afternoon I want his number one out. I want to put that my number to start on Tuesday. I will be happy in two years with that number again. It’s been a nice year. Difficult. I learned a lot. My team, too. Thanks, because even in the difficult times, we are a family, we are a group. I feel all the time the support. They work like animals. That for me, win or lose, is the best. Thanks Roger Hayden for his career, but more to be a great human. He is an amazing teammate. We are friends. Now one day will be my time, but today arrive his time. Now time to go rest, to enjoy the family, create family, travel, as he said. I wish him all the best and Dana (Hayden’s wife). He comes from an amazing family. Nicky, Tommy, all the sisters. Amazing people. I’m very lucky to meet them. Thank you.”

Elias had his hands full for the duration with Attack Performance/Herrin Compound Yamaha’s Josh Herrin early, then Beaubier late as the three diced it up for the entire race. Beaubier made a mistake in turn five with two laps to go and it allowed Elias to pull out a lead. But the newly crowned champion put his head down and turned in two stellar laps to pull Elias back in. It was too little too late, however, and Beaubier was forced to settle for what was his 16th podium finish of the year.

“Yeah, absolutely. I would say so,” Beaubier said when asked if he surprised himself with his effort considering his heavy crash in yesterday’s race. “Yesterday was a pretty good off. Definitely the biggest one I had all year, probably in a couple years. I fell on my head pretty good. I wasn’t really too sore, honestly. My ribs were a little sore when I woke up this morning. Throughout the day I took some Advil and stuff like that. It wasn’t too bad. I feel like my confidence was a little low there at the beginning, going into that corner where I crashed, and also going into the last section with the water seeping up out of the seams. But my confidence kind of improved throughout the race. I knew Toni (Elias) was going to have really good pace there towards the end of the race after watching yesterday’s race. So hats off to both these guys. They rode so good all year. It’s been dog fights all year. A really fun, tough, rewarding year. Just getting beat up there at the beginning of the year and keep getting second places and third places to Toni and Josh (Herrin), it was tough, man. But we were able to fight back and went on a little winning streak and clinched that championship. Like I said on the podium, I can’t put into words how good it feels to bring this number one plate back to Yamaha. It’s been an amazing season. I gave it everything I had those last two laps. I was pushing the front. I was sliding the rear on the entries. I was just going for it. I had nothing to lose. I wanted to try to get up close to Toni and try to see if I could do something in the last section, but he had that last section dialed today. It was a really fun, rewarding season.”

At the end of the 21-lap race, Herrin was three seconds behind the lead duo but a comfortable third. It was the Georgian’s 12th podium of a season that included two victories.

“I got a massage yesterday at like 1:00 or something,” Herrin said of his back woes from Saturday. “I think it set it off. It was pretty deep in there. She got in there pretty hard. Maybe it just got me dehydrated or something, I’m not sure. It was really bad yesterday. Today I drank a lot more water last night. Stretched it out today. Put some Tiger Balm on it before the race. It helped a little bit more. It didn’t really flare up until the very end. It was a bummer, but I’m happy to finish the year on the podium, to finish the year with a bike that’s not smashed up. Like I said on the podium, I didn’t really think about it too much in the middle of the year, but now to be looking at it at the end of the year it’s pretty special, I think.”

Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz rode well to finish fourth, climbing to within a second of the top-three battle at the halfway mark but eventually finishing 9.5 seconds behind Herrin. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis was fifth, some 10 seconds behind Scholtz and some six seconds clear of Scheibe Racing BMW’s Danny Eslick.

Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda’s Bobby Fong ended his trying 2018 season with a seventh-place finish.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden ran off track on the opening lap of the final race of his career and spent the rest of the race making up for it. He ended up finishing eighth, honored on his final run down the front straight to the finish line with crews from every team lined up against the pit wall and cheering him on.

CCFOfficeSolutions.com’s Geoff May and Ben Young Racing’s Ben Young rounded out the top 10 on their BMWs.

Among the notable non-finishers were Fong’s teammate Cameron Petersen and Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff. Both riders crashed: Petersen crashed alone in turn one and Gerloff was taken down by Elias early in the race.

The final standings have Beaubier with 390 points, 51 more than Elias. Herrin ended the season third, 50 points clear of Scholtz. Gerloff rounded out the top five, just one point ahead of Lewis.

Supersport – Gillim, Again

In Supersport, Saturday’s winner Hayden Gillim won again on Sunday aboard his Rickdiculous Racing Yamaha, but it wasn’t easy. Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha’s JD Beach, the already crowned 2018 Supersport Champion, gave Gillim all he could handle, and the two even came together on the final lap, with Gillim getting the better of Beach to take the checkers for the second time this weekend. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise just beat Bryce Prince at the line for third.

“We had a really good battle,” Gillim said. “JD made some good passes on me, and I made some good passes on him. On the last lap, I had one place to go and that was it. Unfortunately, we came together. That wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s racing, like he said. We both came across the finish line. We’re both healthy. It was a good race weekend for us. To get the double was pretty incredible. It’s always fun racing with these boys and being at the front.”

Liqui Moly Junior Cup – Dumas’ Double

In Liqui Moly Junior Cup, it was yet another balanced podium as riders from three different brands were represented, with KTM Orange Brigade/JP43 Training’s Alex Dumas winning his second race of the weekend, and his 10th of his championship season. BARTCON Racing Kawasaki rider Damian Jigalov scored his second podium result of the season with a second-place finish, and MP13 Racing’s Cory Ventura completed a double-podium with a third after finishing second on Sunday.

“Today was good,” said Dumas. “I set some good pace in the front. Didn’t know what to expect. It’s a little bit colder than yesterday, so the tire felt better with the grip. I’m just excited to win. Next weekend I’m going to France and the last round of the World 300 Supersport class. I’m excited to go there and see how I’m going to do there.”

Stock 1000 – Lee Caps It Off

Already crowned 2018 Stock 1000 Champion Andrew Lee continued his winning ways when he notched his third victory of the season aboard his RiderzLaw Racing Kawasaki. Lewin Estates Yamaha rider Chad Lewis was second, and New Zealander Shane Richardson rode his Woolich Racing Kawasaki to third place for his third podium this season.

“Coming into this round, I knew I had already wrapped up the championship, so the goal was to get a win… to end the season with another win,” Lee said. “We had a slow start, just a string of seconds, but at the end of the day, it got me the championship so that’s what matters. Leading into the first round, we weren’t even too sure if we were going to make the first round. So doing my first full season as a pro, it’s fantastic. Couldn’t have asked for anything more. I want to thank RiderzLaw for getting behind me this year. Spidi, Arai, Graves Motorsports, everyone out there was just super-supportive of me this year, so thanks to everyone.”

Motul Superbike

Toni Elias (Suzuki)

Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)

Josh Herrin (Yamaha)

Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)

Jake Lewis (Suzuki)

Supersport

Hayden Gillim (Yamaha)

JD Beach (Yamaha)

Valentin Debise (Suzuki)

Bryce Prince (Yamaha)

Richie Escalante (Yamaha)

Liqui Moly Junior Cup

Alex Dumas (KTM)

Damian Jigalov (Kawasaki)

Cory Ventura (Yamaha)

Jay Newton (Yamaha)

Gavin Anthony (Yamaha)

Stock 1000

Andrew Lee (Kawasaki)

Chad Lewin (Yamaha)

Shane Richardson (Kawasaki)

Garrick Schneiderman (Yamaha)

Travis Wyman (BMW)

MotoAmerica

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[jesusvasser]

2017 Honda Civic Type R Four Seasons Update

We should be talking about trimming out the aero and going for that one brain-out qualifying lap at Indianapolis, or maybe how it felt to be the youngest-ever CART Indy-car winner or one of the three drivers to win in their IndyCar debut. Maybe the satisfaction of backing up that early promise with four IndyCar championships, a win in the Indianapolis 500, two overall sports car wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona—the list of accolades is stunning and still growing. There’s so much you could discuss when you have an exclusive audience with Scott Dixon.

That’s not the helmet famous to race fans, but Scott Dixon is as serious as always when it comes to driving quickly.

But none of that stuff is on the agenda. We’re at Willow Springs Raceway in California, shooting an “Ignition” episode with a Honda Civic Type R, and Dixon is our special guest. Within minutes the formalities are over and we’re talking about New Zealand and London, about our families, and, of course, about hooning around in front-wheel-drive cars of various flavors in our youth and learning about understeer and (more pertinently) lift-off oversteer the hard way. It’s great fun. Dixon is completely relaxed and in no hurry whatsoever to get the hell out of Rosamond, California, and back to his real life. This might be a PR obligation, but it doesn’t feel like it. He seems to be enjoying hanging out and giving the Type R a right old beating for the camera guys. My mission today is to get to know the car and to watch and learn. Any time you get to be in a car with one of the world’s best drivers is a rare privilege, and I intend to spend a lot of time just enjoying the experience and trying to absorb some of Dixon’s incredible talent via osmosis. Fat chance.

No easy production: Jethro Bovingdon and Scott Dixon ruminate on the Honda Civic Type R’s finer points during a break in the action.

Our radio crackles to life with a simple, “We’re ready. Aaaaand … action,” and Dixon rips through first and second as we approach Turn 3. This is the part of the day the director calls “corners.” Our crew moves from corner to corner, shooting every turn with three cameras and probably two or three times over. Fourteen turns make up the Streets of Willow, so the process is a bit long-winded. But it’s a huge amount of fun, and Dixon and the Civic get quicker and quicker every time we hear the “Action!” cue. It’s also incredibly tough on any car, yet the Type R seems almost impervious.

This Type R is identical in spec to the Automobile Four Seasons long-term loaner right down to the color, and the giant-killer reputation it’s forging is well deserved. The 2.0-liter turbo-four doesn’t zing with the top-end fury of an old VTEC engine, but it’s got so much midrange, not to mention there are still plenty of fireworks if you hang onto each gear until the redline. You certainly feel every bit of its 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. What’s better is that the Type R knows how to use it. There’s a mild bit of torque steer, but it adds to the sense of excitement; think of it as a trait rather than a fault. You never deviate off line. Rather, the car gently wanders just a degree or two around your chosen trajectory.

Understeer? Even on the track there’s not much to speak of, and the helical limited-slip differential is fantastic. If you’re too greedy on the way into a corner and find the front pushing, you need to fight your instinct to back off. Instead, do the opposite. Jump on the gas. The diff locks up, and the nose comes back into line.

Not that Dixon is ever too greedy on the way into the turns. His style is economical, laser-precise, and somehow effortless. He gets the Civic into turns quicker than I thought possible. The forces are brutal, but the inputs are silky, and he always manages the car’s mass beautifully. It barely seems to pitch or roll, and it’s obvious immediately that Dixon’s feel for the tires’ contact patches is uncanny. The best drivers seem to find grip where there should be none and create speed almost from thin air. Dixon does that. You might watch and understand the process he’s engaged in, but if you try to emulate it, you tend to descend into scrappy understeer or simply fly off the track. It’s at once impressive and depressing.

“I remember going up and up and thinking, ‘This is going to hurt.’”

Of course, I have to ask him: “So, erm, what about that crash, hey?” I try to sound casual, but obviously I’m a bit nervous about bringing it up. Cool as a cucumber, Dixon barely bats an eyelash. “Yeah, it was a big one,” he says. Seems he’s a master of understatement too.

Our ace contributing editor Jethro Bovingdon is also at the wheel of the shows “Ignition” and “Head 2 Head,” along with co-host Jonny Lieberman, exclusively on the Motor Trend channel at MotorTrend.com. There you can catch the episode with Scott Dixon and all of Jethro and Jonny’s other adventures with the newest and hottest cars on the market.

In case you haven’t seen it, Dixon had a monster shunt during the 2017 Indianapolis 500. Another driver, Jay Howard, ran wide and tagged the wall on the exit of Turn 1. With a broken front suspension, he had no control over his No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda and veered back down the track toward the infield. Dixon was just exiting Turn 1 and had nowhere to go. His Chip Ganassi Honda launched over the back of Howard’s car, the flight turning the car hard left so Dixon was hurtling backward through the air toward the inner guardrail. At the last second the car flipped onto its side and impacted the top of a concrete barrier with the right-hand side of the carbon-fiber monocoque before spinning and tumbling back out toward the racetrack.

“I remember going up and up and thinking, ‘This is going to hurt,’” Dixon recalls. “Then I had the first big impact and thought, ‘I should be OK,’ but then it just went on and on.”

Observers held their collective breath when Scott Dixon took flight during 
the 2017 Indianapolis 500. Upon landing, Dixon’s car’s impact with the Indy wall was violent, but the Honda-powered chassis protected its driver well.

As the whole watching world held its breath, the team would have been terrified, and God only knows how Dixon’s family coped in those split seconds. But he was just in the moment, figuring out if he was going to get out of this one without bad injuries. Somehow, miraculously, he did. But how do you deal with that sort of crash, mentally speaking? “It’s actually pretty easy,” Dixon says nonchalantly. “It’s worse if you have a big crash and it’s your fault. Maybe you don’t know why it happened. That’s tough. But you know what? I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s the risk we take, but it hasn’t played on my mind since. Not at all.”

And now he’s in a Civic Type R at Streets of Willow. Is he really having fun? “Ah mate, this is great,” Dixon says. “I’m lovin’ driving this thing. I can’t remember the last time I drove a front-wheel-drive car. Let me think, yeah, I’m pretty sure it was a Honda CRX. I think I was about 16 or 17. It’s been a while.” However long it’s been, Dixon’s muscle memory for front-wheel drivers seems well intact. “To be honest, this is nothing like those cars,” he adds. “Response is fantastic, the way you can arc the car around corners. What really surprises me is there’s no on-throttle understeer, or very little.”

Dixon trails the Type R into corners on the brakes, but the car’s tail doesn’t budge. I comment on how stable the rear end feels. “That’s one thing I remember from my teens,” he says with a smile. “But this doesn’t have the big, loose, high rear feeling of a front-drive car on trail brake. You can drive it in deep on the brakes. Back in my early teens, I was caught out a few times and maybe damaged a few cars. But this is rock solid.”

By now I know Dixon is my sort of guy. He drives cars for a living but also for fun, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a 700-hp single-seater doing 230 mph around Indy or a 306-hp, four-door hatchback tackling curves out in the desert. Even better, he sees the Civic’s manual gearbox as a source of joy rather than as tenths lost from a lap time. “Manual’s back, man! I swore as a teenager I’d never drive an automatic,” Dixon recalls. “It’s just so cool and takes me back to when I got into racing. Having that substance and that feel of being attached to this thing and shifting gears and even messing up, y’know?” You don’t have to convince me, brother. I’m a believer.

The crew is almost done, the Type R needs new tires, and there’s a light dusting of gravel where Dixon’s been cutting corners, using every inch of track and a few more. It’s been a blast.

Often these superstar drivers become almost faceless: just another list of stats and facts and numbers. But Dixon is a great guy: funny, relaxed, and full of wonderful stories. No ego, at least not in this setting, plenty of charm, and all smiles. And he’s a car enthusiast to the core. If I run into him again someday, somewhere, I probably won’t talk too much about his career and future aspirations. Sorry. But I bet we’ll chat about that day at Willow Springs in a Honda Civic Type R. Oh, and the Ford GT he couldn’t stop talking about. He should have that by now. Like I said, a proper car enthusiast. He’s won a few races in his time too.

Our 2017 Honda Civic Type R

MILES TO DATE 9,642 PRICE $34,775 
(base/as tested) ENGINE 2.0L turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4/306 hp @ 6,500 rpm, 295 lb-ft @ 2,500-4,000 rpm TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual LAYOUT 4-door, 4-passenger, front-engine, FWD hatchback EPA MILEAGE 22/28 mpg (city/hwy) L x W x H 179.4 x 73.9 x 56.5 in WHEELBASE 106.3 in WEIGHT 3,100 lb 0-60 MPH 5.4 sec TOP SPEED 168 mph

IFTTT

[eddiejpoplar]

2017 Honda Civic Type R Four Seasons Update

We should be talking about trimming out the aero and going for that one brain-out qualifying lap at Indianapolis, or maybe how it felt to be the youngest-ever CART Indy-car winner or one of the three drivers to win in their IndyCar debut. Maybe the satisfaction of backing up that early promise with four IndyCar championships, a win in the Indianapolis 500, two overall sports car wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona—the list of accolades is stunning and still growing. There’s so much you could discuss when you have an exclusive audience with Scott Dixon.

That’s not the helmet famous to race fans, but Scott Dixon is as serious as always when it comes to driving quickly.

But none of that stuff is on the agenda. We’re at Willow Springs Raceway in California, shooting an “Ignition” episode with a Honda Civic Type R, and Dixon is our special guest. Within minutes the formalities are over and we’re talking about New Zealand and London, about our families, and, of course, about hooning around in front-wheel-drive cars of various flavors in our youth and learning about understeer and (more pertinently) lift-off oversteer the hard way. It’s great fun. Dixon is completely relaxed and in no hurry whatsoever to get the hell out of Rosamond, California, and back to his real life. This might be a PR obligation, but it doesn’t feel like it. He seems to be enjoying hanging out and giving the Type R a right old beating for the camera guys. My mission today is to get to know the car and to watch and learn. Any time you get to be in a car with one of the world’s best drivers is a rare privilege, and I intend to spend a lot of time just enjoying the experience and trying to absorb some of Dixon’s incredible talent via osmosis. Fat chance.

No easy production: Jethro Bovingdon and Scott Dixon ruminate on the Honda Civic Type R’s finer points during a break in the action.

Our radio crackles to life with a simple, “We’re ready. Aaaaand … action,” and Dixon rips through first and second as we approach Turn 3. This is the part of the day the director calls “corners.” Our crew moves from corner to corner, shooting every turn with three cameras and probably two or three times over. Fourteen turns make up the Streets of Willow, so the process is a bit long-winded. But it’s a huge amount of fun, and Dixon and the Civic get quicker and quicker every time we hear the “Action!” cue. It’s also incredibly tough on any car, yet the Type R seems almost impervious.

This Type R is identical in spec to the Automobile Four Seasons long-term loaner right down to the color, and the giant-killer reputation it’s forging is well deserved. The 2.0-liter turbo-four doesn’t zing with the top-end fury of an old VTEC engine, but it’s got so much midrange, not to mention there are still plenty of fireworks if you hang onto each gear until the redline. You certainly feel every bit of its 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. What’s better is that the Type R knows how to use it. There’s a mild bit of torque steer, but it adds to the sense of excitement; think of it as a trait rather than a fault. You never deviate off line. Rather, the car gently wanders just a degree or two around your chosen trajectory.

Understeer? Even on the track there’s not much to speak of, and the helical limited-slip differential is fantastic. If you’re too greedy on the way into a corner and find the front pushing, you need to fight your instinct to back off. Instead, do the opposite. Jump on the gas. The diff locks up, and the nose comes back into line.

Not that Dixon is ever too greedy on the way into the turns. His style is economical, laser-precise, and somehow effortless. He gets the Civic into turns quicker than I thought possible. The forces are brutal, but the inputs are silky, and he always manages the car’s mass beautifully. It barely seems to pitch or roll, and it’s obvious immediately that Dixon’s feel for the tires’ contact patches is uncanny. The best drivers seem to find grip where there should be none and create speed almost from thin air. Dixon does that. You might watch and understand the process he’s engaged in, but if you try to emulate it, you tend to descend into scrappy understeer or simply fly off the track. It’s at once impressive and depressing.

“I remember going up and up and thinking, ‘This is going to hurt.’”

Of course, I have to ask him: “So, erm, what about that crash, hey?” I try to sound casual, but obviously I’m a bit nervous about bringing it up. Cool as a cucumber, Dixon barely bats an eyelash. “Yeah, it was a big one,” he says. Seems he’s a master of understatement too.

Our ace contributing editor Jethro Bovingdon is also at the wheel of the shows “Ignition” and “Head 2 Head,” along with co-host Jonny Lieberman, exclusively on the Motor Trend channel at MotorTrend.com. There you can catch the episode with Scott Dixon and all of Jethro and Jonny’s other adventures with the newest and hottest cars on the market.

In case you haven’t seen it, Dixon had a monster shunt during the 2017 Indianapolis 500. Another driver, Jay Howard, ran wide and tagged the wall on the exit of Turn 1. With a broken front suspension, he had no control over his No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda and veered back down the track toward the infield. Dixon was just exiting Turn 1 and had nowhere to go. His Chip Ganassi Honda launched over the back of Howard’s car, the flight turning the car hard left so Dixon was hurtling backward through the air toward the inner guardrail. At the last second the car flipped onto its side and impacted the top of a concrete barrier with the right-hand side of the carbon-fiber monocoque before spinning and tumbling back out toward the racetrack.

“I remember going up and up and thinking, ‘This is going to hurt,’” Dixon recalls. “Then I had the first big impact and thought, ‘I should be OK,’ but then it just went on and on.”

Observers held their collective breath when Scott Dixon took flight during 
the 2017 Indianapolis 500. Upon landing, Dixon’s car’s impact with the Indy wall was violent, but the Honda-powered chassis protected its driver well.

As the whole watching world held its breath, the team would have been terrified, and God only knows how Dixon’s family coped in those split seconds. But he was just in the moment, figuring out if he was going to get out of this one without bad injuries. Somehow, miraculously, he did. But how do you deal with that sort of crash, mentally speaking? “It’s actually pretty easy,” Dixon says nonchalantly. “It’s worse if you have a big crash and it’s your fault. Maybe you don’t know why it happened. That’s tough. But you know what? I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s the risk we take, but it hasn’t played on my mind since. Not at all.”

And now he’s in a Civic Type R at Streets of Willow. Is he really having fun? “Ah mate, this is great,” Dixon says. “I’m lovin’ driving this thing. I can’t remember the last time I drove a front-wheel-drive car. Let me think, yeah, I’m pretty sure it was a Honda CRX. I think I was about 16 or 17. It’s been a while.” However long it’s been, Dixon’s muscle memory for front-wheel drivers seems well intact. “To be honest, this is nothing like those cars,” he adds. “Response is fantastic, the way you can arc the car around corners. What really surprises me is there’s no on-throttle understeer, or very little.”

Dixon trails the Type R into corners on the brakes, but the car’s tail doesn’t budge. I comment on how stable the rear end feels. “That’s one thing I remember from my teens,” he says with a smile. “But this doesn’t have the big, loose, high rear feeling of a front-drive car on trail brake. You can drive it in deep on the brakes. Back in my early teens, I was caught out a few times and maybe damaged a few cars. But this is rock solid.”

By now I know Dixon is my sort of guy. He drives cars for a living but also for fun, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a 700-hp single-seater doing 230 mph around Indy or a 306-hp, four-door hatchback tackling curves out in the desert. Even better, he sees the Civic’s manual gearbox as a source of joy rather than as tenths lost from a lap time. “Manual’s back, man! I swore as a teenager I’d never drive an automatic,” Dixon recalls. “It’s just so cool and takes me back to when I got into racing. Having that substance and that feel of being attached to this thing and shifting gears and even messing up, y’know?” You don’t have to convince me, brother. I’m a believer.

The crew is almost done, the Type R needs new tires, and there’s a light dusting of gravel where Dixon’s been cutting corners, using every inch of track and a few more. It’s been a blast.

Often these superstar drivers become almost faceless: just another list of stats and facts and numbers. But Dixon is a great guy: funny, relaxed, and full of wonderful stories. No ego, at least not in this setting, plenty of charm, and all smiles. And he’s a car enthusiast to the core. If I run into him again someday, somewhere, I probably won’t talk too much about his career and future aspirations. Sorry. But I bet we’ll chat about that day at Willow Springs in a Honda Civic Type R. Oh, and the Ford GT he couldn’t stop talking about. He should have that by now. Like I said, a proper car enthusiast. He’s won a few races in his time too.

Our 2017 Honda Civic Type R

MILES TO DATE 9,642 PRICE $34,775 
(base/as tested) ENGINE 2.0L turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4/306 hp @ 6,500 rpm, 295 lb-ft @ 2,500-4,000 rpm TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual LAYOUT 4-door, 4-passenger, front-engine, FWD hatchback EPA MILEAGE 22/28 mpg (city/hwy) L x W x H 179.4 x 73.9 x 56.5 in WHEELBASE 106.3 in WEIGHT 3,100 lb 0-60 MPH 5.4 sec TOP SPEED 168 mph

IFTTT

[itsworn]

Homebrewed, Twin-Turbo 1971 Camaro Wins ECTA/HOT ROD Top Speed Challenge in Super Street – 227 MPH!

When Ray Brock and Ak Miller joined together to enter the 1954 La Carrera Pan Americana, their manta was “How backyard can we be?” while building the “Caballo de Hierro” Model T racer – and in that same vein, David and Michael Matyjasik have built one of the quickest homebrewed hot rods out there.  Their 1971 “Time Bomb” Camaro (a play on Freiburger’s F-Bomb Camaro) has been a mixture of trial and error driven by as much persistent creativity as it was by the racing family around them.

Before moving on to how the harshest, rainiest land speed races the Matyjasik brothers’ have ever seen resulted in the best mile-per-hour the car has ever ran, let’s discuss the path that led to Time Bomb.

Dave started, “Yeah, racing’s always been my thing. I remember going on bike rides for boy scouts and it was how fast can you go downhill, and I remember doing like 45 miles an hour on a little 24 inch mountain bike when I’m 10 years old!”

“Grocery shopping with my mom, she’d dropped us off at the magazine Rack and we’d read HOT ROD and Mustang Monthly, all those magazines,” Mike continued. “I did terrible in school and had horrible grades because the only thing I was reading were automotive magazines — I wouldn’t read anything for school, but you could drop me off at a magazine rack!”

Before flunking out too hard, they split time on the 1971 Chevy Malibu in high school that got their real start in drag racing at the local eighth-mile strip. The duo continued passing the blame as the conversation went on to the Camaro’s acquisition. “I can actually blame my parents, I had really wanted a 1997 Anniversary Edition Camaro Z/28 convertible, but they would not co-sign on it…” Dave said. “But they would co-sign on a $5,500 1971 Camaro with a black vinyl top. So I blame my mother because I would’ve never raced the convertible, but I could race this!”

At first glance, second-generation Camaros look like they’d do OK in the wind, but A2’s wind tunnel proved otherwise with an abysmal .497 coefficient of drag (Cd). This was Maxton, 2006.

This 1971 Camaro started life as a generic 307ci-powered coupe that quickly became Dave’s sandbox for performance. The brothers had already been splitting time on the Malibu at the drags, and in 2001 the Camaro took up the duty as a street terror. Eventually, Dave craved for a four-speed, but managed to shatter the M-20 and M-22 he’d dreamed of and converted the car back to a TH350. Around this time, they pulled together a nitrous setup for the Camaro, but that started a steep uphill battle climbing the learning curve.

“We went to the drag strip and proceeded to burn up a piston on the starting line,” Dave confessed. They had wired the nitrous to a full-throttle switch, but didn’t have a manual trigger – the pistons weren’t happy with the uncontrollable abuse and before he got a chance to even beat on it, Dave was back in the motor to finally fortify it with forged rods and pistons – and he added a nitrous button for the steering wheel. The car became a formidable 11-second street car, before the rise of the LS fourth-gen Camaros really wiped the street clean of conventional small-blocks.

It was around this time that Dave, while working at another performance shop, met Randy Brown. He was famous for his total sleeper of a 600hp 1994 Pontiac Firebird Formula (Apr. 2001), which churned 10-second time slips while bolting across an airbase at 168mph with the ECTA Maxton Mile. With his shop right behind Dave’s, it didn’t take long to pass the bug. The Camaro had been on hiatus as Dave went through his broke-college-kid phase, but the ECTA gave him a real reason to pull it out of the corner of the shop.

This is about the time they met Keith and Tonya Turk (who also help run Drag Week), along with Joe and Donna Timney, of Delaware Chassis Works. This was everything they needed to see, and the duo first picked up Michael’s 2004 Ford Mustang Mach 1 with the goal of grabbing all the seat time possible while building the Camaro.

Looking back, Michael told us: “I’m looking at all the time slips — 151, 150, 153, over and over — we probably got 20 or 30 passes in that thing. We ran that while the Camaro was being built.”

“We never broke 160,” Dave admitted. “But we beat the living hell out of that car getting seat time.”

Mike, on the left, helps Dave pack the ‘chutes after making their first speed-capped run.

In 2006, Time Bomb made its ECTA debut with a literal stack of nitrous plates feeding a 383 that was splitting gears with a stick again thanks to the TKO-600 five-speed. Naturally, the build came to a last-minute thrash with 20-hour days leading to a “beg for forgiveness” tech inspection, but the brothers managed to get Time Bomb through its first scrutiny and onto Maxton’s infamous runway surface. The course was notorious its kinked layout and bumpstop-checking surface, but the duo managed to pack a 176 mph record in their first time out.

The entire front end is sheet metal, built by Joe Timney of Delaware Chassis Works.

With more runs that season, they began to learn the practical limitations of the second-generation Camaro’s aerodynamics – above 190 mph, the machine became a liability according to Dave: “We had a 400-shot on a 383 that only made 400 hp, it wasted the rings every pass! But it would not go faster than 198 mph, I was hitting the nitrous button and it was blowing the tires off at 190 mph. I’m not a very religious guy, but Baby Jesus and I had a talk after that pass and decided we can’t keep doing that!” With a season full of destroyed pistons behind them trying to horsepower their way to the 200 mph barrier, the Matyjasik brothers decided to finally deal with the ’71 Camaro’s stock aero.

The duo joined Freiburger and Keith Turk at A2 Wind Tunnel to drop the car from a flying-brick-like .497 Cd to a svelte .292, trading horsepower for less drag in their 200 mph pursuit. Dave recalled that they found that the stock 1971 Camaro created 500 pounds of lift at the rear of the car, resulting in their traction issues. The result of their field trip with Keith and Freiburger? “It went from uncontrollable wheel spin to driving with one hand on the wheel and just pulling the shift lever when the light came on,” Dave said. The car now produced 250 pounds of downforce and freed up 400 aero-hp, the difference in power needed to hit their goals thanks to the slippier aero package. Despite that, they decided that the 383 was still out of its element, and a 401-inch, NASCAR SB2-based small-block was slammed together (and was still being dynoed while the race started) with a hearty 250 shot.

With a controversial, full-throttle-in-4-low start from their push truck, the new bullet sung to 212.986 mph – certifying Dave and Time Bomb with the “2 Club,” the short hand for the 200 mph club in land speed. It earned him a spot in HRM’s ECTA coverage (Aug. 07), and was all downhill, at high speeds, from there.

In Freiburger’s “W.O.T.’s Happening” story for the August 2007 issue, where Dave first broke 200 mph with Time Bomb. You can see the earlier front-end here, with the brothers fresh from their wind tunnel testing.

With more HRM tech articles in hand, they took their bootleg copy of CAD to create an enclosure for the carb to run boost. Legend has it even Dave’s wife, Shelby, approved funneling their tax returns into a pair of turbos for the endeavor. That 383 proved troublesome, but eventually race engine builder Steve Ashworth donated the brothers a Dart small-block with Buick-SBC heads. Mike built the 364ci, 9,000 rpm mill and they turned it loose at the 2013 HOT ROD Top Speed Challenge, earning Mike his 2 Club credentials. Despite its best efforts, the duo eventually retired the Buick-SBC, as by this point in its long career the heads were prone to cracking ports and leaking water.

By this point, Dave was ready for EFI, and those LS engines had been knocking on his door long enough. He off-loaded everything SBC and grabbed the first MS3 Pro and church van 5.3L he could. The tax return Power Master turbos were undusted, and the build began out of Mike’s new home shop in North Carolina. Paul Falcon of LS Excitement, the guy who sold Dave his first Muncies, supplied him with the factory 6.0L 317 cylinder heads, an LS1 intake manifold, and an 87mm throttle body to get the ball rolling on the cheap. Jason Youd at PAC Racing Springs spec’d them the right kit for their Stag 2 turbo cam from John Bewley, of Little John Motorsports, and a cheap CX Racing liquid-to-air intercooler setup was combined with a $17 ice chest to keep things cool under boost. Once a season of racing proved this little combo could out run their knife-edge Buick-SBC, they moved on to a 6.0L block with CP Bullet Pistons, a used LS3 crankshaft, the same old 317 heads with new PAC springs, and shaft-mount Jessels.

Glutens for punishment and performance, they allowed their car to be the guinea pig during a How to Tune class ran by Scott Clark, of Real Tuners. Working through the curriculum of bug-testing wiring and safely pushing the envelope with a new setup, the students were able to start creeping over 1,100 hp with a SuperFlow dyno. “They didn’t think too highly of my sloppy MIG welds, 8-year-old turbos, and Igloo intercooler tank,” Dave joked. “Then it made 950 hp on the first partial pull and the guys were losing their minds. In the end, the class collaboratively tuned my car to 1,113 hp.”

It’s ugly, but it goes like hell – Time Bomb runs an iron-block 6.0 that carries stock 317 heads stuffed with PAC valve springs. The Cam Motion bump stick carries a 253/266 duration with .670in of lift, and is spun by a used LS3 crank. CP Bullet pistons and second-hand Howard H-beam rods fill out the rotating assembly, and Chris Hall Performance Machine Works nipped and tucked every mating surface to fit. A pair of 70mm Master Power turbos feed the homebrewed concoction enough air for 1,100hp

And that leads us to a closed runway in the north east corner of Arkansas as Keith Turk stood with his arm outreached in the wind stream, gauging whether or not his trusty wind speed meter was going to give him an all-clear. As it turns out, the wind around us was having a land speed race of its own, perpendicular to the runway – and it was obvious even as we putted around the facility in a rental car that at two-bills the 15 to 20mph cross-winds were dangerous. Very few cars squeezed runs through on Saturday, but the pay day was Sunday for the Matyjasiks, and the final day of racing after the first day-and-a-half were written off due to those temperamental gusts and heavy rains. It was do-or-die for all of the racers, with most having jobs and families to trek back to before the work week wound up.

This meant that between gusts, Keith and ECTA’s starter Mike Morgan were hustling drivers through – the catch was that because it was a new course, every racer’s first run had to be a speed-restricted pass, not unlike a licensing pass. This was to ensure that drivers had a chance to see the surface, find their turn-outs after the finish line, and get a feel for things before falling into more primal habits with the throttle at full-bore. The Matyjasiks ran their shakedown and turned it right back around in the lanes for their full pass.

Keith Turk and Mike talk to Dave about the conditions, waiting for a calm in the gusts to make their pass.

After a fistful of limiter and a few gears, Time Bomb finally dug into the tarmac and surged through third. “I knew as soon as I cracked 7,000 rpm that I had beaten [Drag Weeker] Clark Rosenstengel’s 220 mph pass, my land speed ultimate goal,” Dave recalled. “7,200rpm clicked past just before hitting a wicked ump that shot concrete dust through the shift handle boot hole, and I crossed the line with 227.2mph of pure glory!” The run not only secured his win in the Super Street class of the ECTA/HOT ROD Top Speed Challenge, but the Matyjasik brothers had another personal goal: to break Keith and Freiburger’s 217 mph standing-mile top speed in their So-Al Camaro. And for a few minutes, they even held the weekend’s top speed, until Spring, Texas’ Rick Harden with his twin-turbo, big-block-powered ’92 Corvette blasted to a 229.5 mph peak.

What Time Bomb represents is more than just a 220 mph, street-legal science experiment. It’s proof that you can still go out and make a big splash in racing without a big budget. There’s not a penny added where there doesn’t need to be, and there’s more stock Camaro steel in the car than you’d think – that’s the point. With everything they could scrap, the Matyjasik brothers have not only accomplished their 200mph goal, but they also did so with the help of a racing community that can be found by anyone with enough tenacity to simply try. Failure was taken as a step forward, and the car evolved with them to its current form.

“I would estimate you could duplicate this Camaro for around $30,000 to $40,000 from scratch if you did the work yourself and carefully sourced your parts,” Dave figured. “In the age of $500,000 radial cars, it seems like a helluva deal. And I hope you try, and I hope you beat me, I challenge all of you to – I only ever borrow a record, I never own it. That’s what a wise man once said and I believe it.”

Tuner Scott Clark, Dave, and Mike alongside his wife Angie after securing the Top Speed Challenge at 227.2 mph.

  The post Homebrewed, Twin-Turbo 1971 Camaro Wins ECTA/HOT ROD Top Speed Challenge in Super Street – 227 MPH! appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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[junker-town]

2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series playoff preview

The storylines to follow, the drivers who will contend, and everything else you need to know as NASCAR begins its Cup Series playoffs.

Over the next 10 weeks, 16 drivers will vie for the Monster Energy Cup Series championship. NASCAR’s annual postseason knockout format will again see four drivers eliminated every three races, while a win automatically advances a participant to the next bracket, culminating in a one race best-finish-wins-the-championship finale Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

3 Pressing questions

Will Chevrolet and Ford be able to keep pace with Toyota?

Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing dominated the regular season by winning four races and leading the series in stage wins, points, top-10 finishes, and laps led. His quasi-teammates from Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, combined to win four of the past eight races.

This trio gives Toyota three legitimate championship contenders, and the advantage the manufacturer holds isn’t lost on the competition. Chevrolet- or Ford-supported drivers have struggled to keep pace on a week-to-week basis, with only Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson showing the capability of consistently outperforming Toyota’s triumvirate.

“At this moment, there’s really no reason for Toyota not to have all four spots going to Homestead,” said Brad Keselowski, driver of the Team Penske No. 2 Ford.

Toyota’s perceived advantage was apparent Friday in practice and qualifying for Sunday’s playoff-opener at Chicagoland Speedway -- Busch, Hamlin and Truex swept the top-three positions -- which compelled Keselowski to voice his displeasure that NASCAR hadn’t taken action to level the playing field.

“At the start of the year, we were at the top of the cycle,” Keselowski said. “And at this moment, we are not where we need to be. With respect to that, we were at the top and it seemed like there were a lot of rules changes us to slow us down and now you have cars that are so much faster than the field and the complete inaction by [NASCAR].”

Keselowski’s comments didn’t sit well with Busch, Hamlin and Truex’s crew chief, Cole Pearn, all of who offered rebukes. Busch and Hamlin were especially pointed in their responses, dismissing both Keselowski and the notion it had some unfair superiority over the competition.

“He’s an idiot anyways, we all know that,” Busch said. “You don’t hear anyone else complaining like he is -- it’s just one guy. We weren’t complaining when they were fast and they won the championship knowing what they were doing, we had to go to work and figure it out. It just seems like those things aren’t happening.”

The superiority is similar to a year ago when the manufacturer rolled into the playoffs on a tsunami of success with Truex, Busch, Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards winning 50 percent of the regular season races, leading some to believe Toyota might grab all four spots in the championship race.

But while Busch and Edwards did advance to the title round, the overwhelming dominance rescinded. And ultimately, it was Jimmie Johnson driving his No. 48 Chevrolet to the championship, with Ford’s Joey Logano second.

“It's tough to go into the playoffs the favorites,” Hamlin said. “We've been on both sides of it. When the expectations are high, you got a big lead like you see out there on that board, you tend to play defensive a little bit. I think the challenge is having the lead and keeping it.”

Can Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports again flip the switch?

Just as Toyota has assumed a similar role to the one played in the 2016 postseason, Hendrick Motorsports is doing the same as it again comes into the playoffs slumping and not at all resembling the powerhouse it’s supposed to be. Its four drivers have a combined four top-10 finishes and 24 laps led over the past six races. That considerable lack of speed gives the impression Johnson, Chase Elliott and Kasey Kahne won’t be serious factors. (Dale Earnhardt Jr. failed to qualify for the postseason.)

Except, of course, this was the widespread belief last year, then all Johnson did was win a playoff-best three races en route to win a seventh Cup championship, tying the all-time mark shared by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

So is the Hendrick summer swoon because the team fell behind, or a team prioritizing on being at its best during the 10 most important races of the year? The answer might be a bit of both.

“We have worked really hard to not let [another slump] happen in 2017, but dammit it did again,” Johnson said. “So, the one thing that is after the summer is the fall, and we always get hot in the fall. We are certainly hoping for more of the same.”

What is not in question is whether one should dismiss Johnson’s chances to win a record-breaking eighth title. As Johnson and mastermind crew chief Chad Knaus have continually demonstrated, they know how to rise to the occasion in the playoffs even when the No. 48 Hendrick team isn’t operating at its peak.

It cannot be stressed enough how well the 10-race playoffs set up for Johnson, whose four winningest tracks host races. He used that formula last year, winning a second round race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a third round race at Martinsville Speedway and the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Never count 'em out, nope,” Busch said. “I've had friends over the years that have worked for Hendrick and have worked with the 48 team, they always say, ‘Man, when the first Chase race comes, Jimmie's got a switch that he flips on, and it's on.’ So we'll see if he can do it again. He has before, right? So don't count him out.”

How will the new points system factor?

The format on how NASCAR goes about crowning its champion may be unchanged. However, the points system and how points are distributed within the knockout format is radically different and will have a significant impact.

The advent of stage-racing provided drivers opportunities to collect points that are added to their total in each round. In essence, regular season success for the first time is now awarded in the playoffs, which can factor heavily in who transfers to the next round and who misses out.

This gives Truex, who won four races and a series-best 18 stage wins along with the regular season points title, a sizeable advantage. The Furniture Row driver will start the playoffs 20 points up on second-place Larson, and Truex’s bonus point accumulation is such that barring a complete collapse he’s a near-lock to make it to the third round.

“Obviously, Truex is probably 80 percent chance of making Homestead,” Hamlin said. “I think only two detrimental races in one round could possibly knock him out, but he's liable to win the third one.”

Larson and Busch, the third seed, also are well positioned to go on deep playoff runs because of how they performed during the regular season. At least this is the conventional wisdom. Surely there will be aspects of the new system that will come to the forefront that weren’t realized before, and a driver buried in the standings can negate any deficit by winning and automatically advancing.

“I think it's going to be six or seven guys that are going to be very close to getting into that final four,” Hamlin said. “Which one? It's just which one has the right break, which one gets the caution at the right time that they need it to either take him in or take him out.”

Championship 4 favorites

Martin Truex Jr.

If he can execute anywhere close to what he did during the regular season, Truex should have little issue making it to South Florida with a shot at a first-ever championship.

Kyle Busch

After an uneven start to the season, Busch was excellent in the second with two wins and eight other finishes inside the top 10 over the past 13 races. Without a track in the playoffs where he’s not capable of winning, a second championship in three years is realistic.

Kyle Larson

Lacks consistency to outrun the Toyotas every week, and the fourth-year driver is still susceptible to the occasional mistake. Nonetheless, he’s fast and quite proficient on intermediate tracks, which make up half the playoff schedule including the finale at Homestead.

Jimmie Johnson

Yeah, he’s had a down year by his lofty standards with career-lows in top fives, top 10s, average finish and laps led. Still, never bet against the defending and seven-time champ. He’s more than earned the benefit of the doubt.

Playoff sleeper

Kurt Busch began the season with a bang, winning the Daytona 500 and having a victory lane celebration with Rob Gronkowski. Then, Busch largely underwhelmed with just a lone top-five in the subsequent 22 races. But the 2004 Cup champion closed out the regular finish with a flourish, posting three consecutive finishes of fifth or better. If he can continue that surge, a second title becomes a possibility.

Race to watch (besides the championship finale)

Talladega Superspeedway may no longer be the Round 2 elimination race, which diminishes drama to some degree. Still, the restrictor-plate track is the one venue in the postseason that gives every title-eligible participant a pit in their stomach due to its propensity for chaos, where drivers are often at the mercy of circumstances beyond their control.

How the Chase Works

Drivers: 16

Thirteen drivers qualified for the Chase by winning a race during the regular season:

Martin Truex Jr Kyle Larson Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski Jimmie Johnson Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Blaney Ryan Newman Kurt Busch Kasey Kahne Austin Dillon

The remaining three spots were determined off points:

Chase Elliott Matt Kenseth Jamie McMurray

Rounds: 4

The first three rounds are each comprised of three races. The final championship round is just a single race.

Elimination races: 3

Four drivers are eliminated from contention each round, based on having the four lowest points totals. Win a race to advance to the next round automatically.

Champions: 1

Whichever of the four drivers still in the Chase finishes highest at Homestead-Miami Speedway wins the championship.

Chase playoff schedule

Round 1 (16 drivers)

Sept. 17: Chicagoland Speedway, 3 p.m., NBCSN

Sept. 24: New Hampshire Speedway, 2 p.m., NBCSN

Oct. 1: Dover International Speedway, 2 p.m. NBCSN

Round 2 (12 drivers)

Oct. 18: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 2 p.m. NBC

Oct. 15: Talladega Superspeedway, 2 p.m. NBC

Oct. 22: Kansas Motor Speedway, 3 p.m. NBCSN

Round 3 (8 drivers)

Oct. 29: Martinsville Speedway, 3 p.m., NBCSN

Nov. 5: Texas Motor Speedway, 2 p.m., NBC

Nov. 12: Phoenix International Raceway, 2:30 p.m. NBC

Championship Race (4 drivers)

Nov. 19: Homestead-Miami Speedway, 2:30 p.m. NBC