This post is all about the new 2015 GP2 and GP3 champions.
Stoffel Vandoorne won the GP2 series championship at last months Sochi Autodrom with five races to spare ahead of both Alexander Rossi and Sergey Sirotkin in the standings. So where going to see Stoffel Vandoorne next season? A McLaren test-driver for next season unless a Manor drive happens which is highly unlikely.
Meanwhile at at Yas Marina Circuit from last weekend, Esteban Ocon won this years GP3 series championship ahead of both Luca Ghiotto and Marvin Kirchhöfer in the standings. We will possibly see Esteban Ocon in a top GP2 team or a top Formula 3.5 V8 Series team next season. While Ocon will be a development driver for Mercedes next season with a possibility with a Manor drive happens which is likely due to Mercedes are supplying the team next season.
So, contractions to the new champions. Bring on 2016.
Review of the final round of the 2015 World Touring Car Championship season was the Race of Qatar, at Losail International Circuit, north of Doha, Qatar for WTCC first ever night race.
In the first race, Citroën Total WTCC driver and current WTCC Champion José María López took the race win in his C-Elysée WTCC. Second was Sébastien Loeb Racing driver Mehdi Bennani in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC and also took Independents class win, he was eight seconds behind López in the end. While third place was Campos Racing driver Hugo Valente in his Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1, he was twelve seconds behind López in the end.
While in the second race, Citroën Total WTCC driver Yvan Muller took the race win in his C-Elysée WTCC. Second was Citroën Total WTCC driver Ma Qing Hua in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC, he was five seconds behind Muller in the end. While third place was Zengő Motorsport driver Norbert Michelisz in his Honda Civic WTCC and also took Independents class win, he was six seconds behind Muller in the end.
And so this years champions in WTCC, WTCC Drivers' Champion: José María López. WTCC Manufacturers' Championship: Citroën. Yokohama Drivers' Trophy Champion: Norbert Michelisz. And Yokohama Teams' Trophy Champions: ROAL Motorsport.
2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix review of round nineteen and the final round of the 2015 F1 season at Yas Marina Circuit, and thoughts on the race as well.
Once again, another dominating race weekend from Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes, fastest in practice, pole position on Saturday, dominate the race on Sunday, lead most of the laps, to conclude with Nico Rosberg taking a race win at this seasons Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for his sixth race win of the season.
While, Rosberg's team-mate and current current F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton finished second place in the Mercedes to give the team its twelfth one-two finish of the season, Hamilton was eight seconds behind Rosberg at the end.
Meanwhile, Kimi Räikkönen finished in third place in the Ferrari to complete the podium, Räikkönen was nineteen seconds behind Rosberg at the end of the fifty-five lap race.
Rate the Teams and Drivers
Mercedes - 9
Lewis Hamilton - 8 (finished second and fastest lap)
Nico Rosberg - 10 (pole and race win)
Red Bull Racing - 7
Daniel Ricciardo - 8 (finished sixth)
Daniil Kvyat - 7 (finished tenth)
Williams - 6
Valtteri Bottas - 5 (finished thirteenth, lap down)
Felipe Massa - 7 (finished eighth)
Ferrari - 8
Sebastian Vettel - 8 (finished fourth)
Kimi Räikkönen - 9 (finished third)
McLaren - 6
Jenson Button - 7 (finished twelfth, lap down)
Fernando Alonso - 5 (finished seventeenth, two laps down)
Force India - 8
Nico Hülkenberg - 8 (finished seventh)
Sergio Pérez - 9 (finished fifth)
Toro Rosso - 5
Carlos Sainz Jr. - 7 (finished eleventh)
Max Verstappen - 4 (finished sixteenth, lap down)
Lotus - 6
Romain Grosjean - 8 (finished ninth)
Pastor Maldonado - 5 (DNF, Collision with Fernando Alonso)
Manor - 6
Will Stevens - 7 (finished eighteenth, two laps down)
Roberto Merhi - 6 (finished nineteenth, two laps down)
Sauber - 5
Marcus Ericsson - 5 (finished fourteenth, lap down)
Felipe Nasr - 5 (finished fifteenth, lap down)
Now bring on 2016, for another season of Formula 1. Only three and a half months to go.
The name remains the same, but the car underneath is all new with brand new technology with the 2016 Audi R18 e-tron quattro despite the whole of the car, the front expressively looks very ugly in my opinion.
The new updates to the new R18 e-tron includes a much more developed 4 litre V6 turbo-diesel underneath. The new R18 e-tron quattro will upper the hybrid technology with Audi abandoning the flywheel energy storage that holds four megajoules before, in favour for a lithium-ion battery, the same technology that uses by Porsche with the 919 Hybrid that now produces six megajoules.
The new R18 e-tron once again pushes the limits on aerodynamics, as can be seen from the first images it looks more narrower than previous R18 etron's.
But, the question for Audi is can the new R18 e-tron quattro be fast enough to beat the likes of Porsche and Toyota next season in the World Endurance Championship? time will tell as we haven't seen what Porsche and Toyota have shown yet for 2016.
This season Sauber F1 Team scored 36 points and currently sits eighth in the Constructors' Championship this year with a round to spare, compared from last season the team didn't scored any points and finished in tenth place in the Constructors' last season. So this post is the top six worse Sauber F1 cars ever! Starting with number 6:
Number 6: 2005 Sauber C24
Story: Sauber C24 was designed by Willy Rampf, the Sauber C24 had the 3 litre Petronas (Ferrari) V10 engine underneath. Sauber C24 took two top four finishes in that season with Jacques Villeneuve and Felipe Massa each taking a fourth place finish. The team only managed 20 points to take eighth place in the Constructors' Championship. The next season BMW bought the Sauber team from Peter Sauber.
Number 5: 2000 Sauber C19
Story: Sauber C19 was designed by Leo Ress, the Sauber C19 had the 3 litre Petronas (Ferrari) V10 engine underneath. Sauber C19 took two top five finishes in that season with Mika Salo. The team only managed 6 points to take eighth place in the Constructors' Championship.
Number 4: 1996 Sauber C15
Story: Sauber C15 was designed by Leo Ress, the Sauber C15 had the 3 litre Ford Zetec-R V10 engine underneath. Sauber C15 took only one podium finish in that season with Johnny Herbert taking a third place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. The team only managed 11 points to take seventh place in the Constructors' Championship.
Number 3: 1999 Sauber C18
Story: Sauber C18 was designed by Leo Ress, the Sauber C18 had the 3 litre Petronas (Ferrari) V10 engine underneath. Sauber C18 took five top six finishes in that season with Jean Alesi and Pedro Diniz. The team only managed 5 points to take eighth place in the Constructors' Championship. The car wasn't fast, but the car was a very unreliable car altogether then its processor.
Number 2: 2009 BMW Sauber F1.09
Story: BMW Sauber F1.09 was designed by Willy Rampf, the BMW Sauber F1.09 had the 2.4 litre BMW V8 engine underneath. BMW Sauber F1.09 took two top two finishes in that season with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld each taking a second place finish. The team only managed 36 points to take sixth place in the Constructors' Championship. However, the damage had been done, and BMW announced that 2009 would be their last season in Formula One. Peter Sauber bought back the Sauber team.
Number 1: 2014 Sauber C33
Story: Sauber C33 was designed by Eric Gandelin, the Sauber C33 had the 1.6 litre Ferrari Turbo V6 power unit underneath. To give Sauber 0 points that season with their best result with two eleventh place finishes with Adrian Sutil, and only tenth place in the constructors championship that season (the worse constructors championship position in their history). The car wasn't fast, but the car was reliable nonetheless. To give this 2014 Sauber C33 the worse Sauber F1 car ever!
Review of the final round of the 2015 TCR International Series season was at the Guia Street Circuit, in Macau.
In the first race, WestCoast Racing driver Rob Huff took the race win in his Honda Civic TCR. Second was Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver Jordi Gené in his SEAT León Cup Racer, he was eight seconds behind Huff in the end. While, third place was Target Competition driver Stefano Comini in his SEAT León Cup Racer, he was nine seconds behind Huff in the end.
While in the second race, Target Competition driver Stefano Comini took the race win in his SEAT León Cup Racer. That was enough for Stefano Comini to be 2015 TCR International Series Drivers' Champion to beat Pepe Oriola by thirty points in the last round of the year. Contractions to Stefano Comini for winning this years title.
Second was Target Competition driver Andrea Belicchi in his SEAT León Cup Racer, he was two seconds behind Comini in the end. Whild, third place was Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver Mikhail Grachev in his Volkswagen Golf TCR, he was twenty-six seconds behind Comini in the end.
And so this years champions in TCR International Series, TCR International Series Drivers' Champion: Stefano Comini. TCR International Series Teams' Championship: Target Competition. And OMP Trophy: Stefano Comini.
It was confirmed yesterday (23/11/15) that Ducati has signed former MotoGP Champion Casey Stoner for 2016 in the role of brand ambassador and test rider, when he officially leaves Honda at the end of 2015.
Stoner won his first MotoGP world title with Ducati back in 2007, before switching to Honda for 2011 and adding a second championship that season.
Stoner retired from MotoGP in 2012 but continued with Honda in a test role, and made his competitive racing return at this year's Suzuka 8 Hours, which was cut short by a violent crash. Also, he was in the frame to replace the injured Dani Pedrosa for two rounds earlier in the season. However, Honda decided against using Stoner because they did not have a motorcycle specifically set-up for Stoner.
Stoner, who won 23 MotoGP wins for Ducati between 2007-2010, will "take part in a selected number of MotoGP tests" for the brand next year, while the potential for a race return through wild card appearances has also been mooted.
Don't be at all surprise if Stoner returns to full MotoGP ride with Ducati in 2017. In my opinion I think it might just happen.
Predictions for this weekends Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit outside of Abu Dhabi for the final round of the 2015 Formula 1 season.
So predictions for the race itself, Nico Rosberg for the win in the Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton second in the other Mercedes. And Sebastian Vettel third in the Ferrari. Don't forget Kimi Raikkonen, the two Williams drivers, the two Red Bull drivers, the two Force India drivers either for a podium place.
The 2015 Race of Champions took place over last weekend (20th-21st November) at the Olympic Stadium in London.
The England 1 team of former WTCC Champion and current BTCC driver Andy Priaulx and former BTCC Champion and current BTCC driver Jason Plato took their first Nations Cup victory ahead of Germany team of Force India's F1 driver Nico Hülkenberg and former F1 Champion and Ferrari F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, 2-1 in a closely fought final.
While in the 2015 Champion of Champions was won by former F1 Champion and Ferrari F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, who beat Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen, 2–0 in the final.
Review of the final Round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship was held at Bahrain International Circuit, in Sakhir, Bahrain.
Porsche Team team won the race overall and WEC LMP1 class too of Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani in their Porsche 919 Hybrid. While, second was the Audi Sport Team Joest team of André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler in their Audi R18 e-tron quattro, they were eighty-five seconds behind the leaders at the end of the race. Meanwhile, third place was the Toyota Racing team of Alexander Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Mike Conway in their Toyota TS030 Hybrid, they were three laps behind the leaders at the end of the race.
While, the other Porsche Team car finishing only fifth in Bahrain and nine laps behind the leaders with throttle actuator problem throughout the race, despite all that, drivers Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley are crowned 2015 World Endurance Drivers' Champions. Congratulations to team and drivers for wining this seasons title.
In LMP2 class, the G-Drive Racing team of Roman Rusinov, Julien Canal and Sam Bird in their Ligier JS P2 with a Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 engine won in LMP2 class. They finish in seventh place overall and they were sixteen laps behind the leaders at the end of the race
While in GTE Pro class, was won by Porsche Team Manthey team of Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet won in their Porsche 911 RSR. They finish in eighteenth place overall and they were twenty-six laps behind the leaders at the end of the race.
While in GTE Am class, was won by Aston Martin Racing team of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda in their Aston Martin Vantage GTE. They finish in twenty-sixth place overall and they were twenty-nine laps behind the leaders at the end of the race.
Highlights of the 6 Hours of Bahrain below, enjoy.
And so this years Champions, in the Drivers Championships, Porsche Team drivers of Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley won this years World Drivers' Championship in in their Porsche 919 Hybrid.
Porsche Team Manthey driver Richard Lietz won Endurance Cup for GT Drivers title in his Porsche 911 RSR. Rebellion Racing drivers of Mathias Beche and Nicolas Prost won the LMP1 Private Teams Drivers' Trophy in their Rebellion R-One, AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6. G-Drive Racing drivers Roman Rusinov, Julien Canal and Sam Bird won the Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers in their Ligier JS P2, Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8. SMP Racing drivers Viktor Shaitar, Aleksey Basov and Andrea Bertolini took the Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers in their Ferrari 458 Italia GT2.
While in this seasons Manufacturers Championships, Porsche won the World Manufacturers' Championship. World Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers was won by Porsche.
While in this seasons Teams Championships, the Endurance Trophy for Private LMP1 Teams was won by Rebellion Racing in their Rebellion R-One, AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6. G-Drive Racing won the Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams in their Ligier JS P2, Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8. Porsche Team Manthey won the Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams in their Porsche 911 RSR. SMP Racing won the Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams in their Ferrari 458 Italia GT2.
Congratulations for the champions of each class in WEC this season.
Citroën will withdraw from next year's World Rally Championship, taking a season out to develop its all-new 2017 World Rally Car it was confirmed yesterday (19/11/15). They also confirmed, they will withdraw from the World Touring Car Championship at the end of the 2016 season as-well.
In a major shake-up announced by Citroën's CEO Linda Jackson, the French manufacturer has outlined its plans for the next two seasons and will pull out its WRC team in WRC for 2016 to give the team 12 months to focus on developing a new rally car ahead of major regulation changes for the 2017 season.
While, Citroën WTCC Team will leave the World Touring Car Championship at the end of the 2016 season, during which they will reduce their programme to just two cars for José María López and Yvan Muller for 2016, with former nine time WRC Champion Sébastien Loeb switching to Peugeot’s Cross-Country Rally Team for 2016 as-well as competing in next years Dakar Rally.
This is not the first time that Citroën have sited out a WRC season. Back in 2006, the works Citroën team sited out the season to develop the new C4 WRC, while Kronos Racing took the old Citroën Xsara WRC with Sébastien Loeb and took his third Drivers' title for Citroën thanks to Kronos that season.
However, this won't be repeated next season. But, it is likely that a satellite team can run the 2015 Citroën DS3 WRC on selected rallies next season with significant input from Citroën.
Right decision from Citroën, time will tell if they done the right decision in the long term.
Recap of the last round of WRC from last weekends Round thirteen of Wales Rally GB.
Last weekend was the thirteenth round and final round of the 2015 World Rally Championship at Wales Rally GB (13th-15th November) was won by current WRC champion Sébastien Ogier to win the rally overall in the works Volkswagen Polo R WRC.
While, Kris Meeke finished second in the works Citroën DS3 WRC, Meeke was 26 seconds behind Ogier at the end. Meanwhile, Andreas Mikkelsen finished in third place in the works Volkswagen Polo R WRC. Mikkelsen was 36 seconds behind Ogier at the end of the rally.
Meanwhile in WRC-2 class (Group R5, R4, Super 2000 and Group N4 spec cars), that was won by TGS Worldwide driver Teemu Suninen in his Škoda Fabia S2000. Teemu Suninen finished in eleventh place overall, he was 12 minutes behind Ogier at the end of the rally.
While in WRC-3 class (Group R1, R2 and R3 cars) that was won by Printsport driver Ole Christian Veiby in his Citroën DS3 R3T. Ole Christian Veiby finished in thirty-fourth place overall, he was over 32 minutes behind Ogier at the end of the rally.
And so this years champions, WRC champions: Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, WRC Manufacturers' Champions: Volkswagen. WRC-2 Champions: Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel, WRC-2 for Teams Champions: Škoda Motorsport, WRC-2 for Production Car Champions: Gianluca Linari and Nicola Arena. WRC-3 Champions: Quentin Gilbert and Thomas Renaud Jamoul, WRC-3 for Teams Champions: Printsport. J-WRC Champions: Quentin Gilbert and Thomas Renaud Jamoul, and J-WRC Championship for Nations: France.
It was confirmed last Friday (13/11/15) that Manor F1 Team Principal John Booth and Manor F1 Sporting Director Graeme Lowdon they will be leaving the team at the end of the 2015 Formula 1 season.
It was reported before the Mexican Grand Prix that John Booth and Graeme Lowdon will be leaving the team at the end of the season and was later confirmed during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. With rumours that both men are leaving due to citing differences with team owner Stephen Fitzpatrick.
While on Saturday (14/11/15), it was confirmed that former McLaren Sporting Director Dave Ryan has joined Manor F1 Team in a new role of Racing Director.
Ryan spent 34 years at McLaren, latterly in the role of Sporting Director, but departed in the wake of the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, when the team was deemed to have lied to race stewards.
Ryan has since formed his own sportscar squad called Von Ryan Racing which races McLaren 650S GT's in the Blancpain Endurance Series and will join Manor F1 Team with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, there are rumours from the BBC Sport's website that Manor F1 Team want former Williams driver Alexander Wurz to be their new team principal for next season. But, has reportedly decline the offer.
But will tell who will be the new Team Principal at manor next season.
2015 Brazilian Grand Prix review of round eighteen of the F1 season at of the F1 season at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos on the outskirts of São Paulo, and thoughts on the race as well.
Just like last years Brazilian Grand Prix, a dominating race weekend from Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes, fastest in practice, pole postion on Saturday, dominate the race on Sunday, lead most of the laps, to conclude with Nico Rosberg taking a race win at this seasons Brazilian Grand Prix for his fifth race win of the season.
While, Rosberg's team-mate and current current F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton finished second place in the Mercedes to give the team its eleventh one-two finish of the season, Hamilton was eight seconds behind Rosberg at the end.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel finished in third place in the Ferrari to complete the podium, Vettel was fourteen seconds behind Rosberg at the end of the seventy-one lap race.
Rate the Teams and Drivers
Mercedes - 8
Lewis Hamilton - 8 (finished second and fastest lap)
Nico Rosberg - 9 (pole and race win)
Red Bull Racing - 6
Daniel Ricciardo - 6 (finished eleventh, lap down)
Daniil Kvyat - 7 (finished seventh, lap down)
Williams - 6
Valtteri Bottas - 7 (finished fifth, lap down)
Felipe Massa - 5 (originally finished in eighth, but later excluded from the race after his right-rear tyre did not comply with the maximum tread temperature when it was tested on the grid prior to the race)
Ferrari - 7
Sebastian Vettel - 8 (finished third)
Kimi Räikkönen - 7 (finished fourth)
McLaren - 6
Jenson Button - 6 (finished fourteenth, lap down)
Fernando Alonso - 6 (finished fifteenth, lap down)
Force India - 7
Nico Hülkenberg - 9 (finished sixth, lap down)
Sergio Pérez - 5 (finished twelfth, lap down)
Toro Rosso - 6
Carlos Sainz Jr. - 5 (DNF, Electronics Failure)
Max Verstappen - 8 (finished ninth, lap down)
Lotus - 6
Romain Grosjean - 7 (finished eighth, lap down)
Pastor Maldonado - 6 (finished tenth, lap down)
Manor - 6
Will Stevens - 7 (finished seventeenth, four laps down)
Alexander Rossi - 6 (finished eighteenth, four laps down)
Sauber - 5
Marcus Ericsson - 5 (finished sixteenth, two laps down)
Felipe Nasr - 6 (finished thirteenth, lap down)
Next stop Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi in two weeks time for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the last round of the 2015 Formula 1 zeason.
Two-times 24 Hour of Le Mans winner and former Williams F1 Driver Alexander Wurz has announced yesterday (10/11/15) his retirement from racing.
Wurz who is currently 41, who races with the Toyota Racing in World Endurance Championship will now compete in his final race in Bahrain at next weekends seasons finale of the WEC.
Wurz explained that 'feel the time is right to call it a day and bring my career as a racing driver to a close'. That means he will not be part of Toyota's 2016 WEC campaign.
He has called time on his career that includes two victories in the 24 Hours Le Mans wins with Peugeot and TWR Porsche.
Included a famous outright win with TWR-Porsche at his first attempt at Le Mans in 1996.
As-well, as a Formula 1 career which include three and half seasons at Benetton till the end of 2000. Includes a third place finish at the 1997 British Grand Prix in his third race where he replace Gerhard Berger for a few races due to Berger illness that season and then took over his drive for 1998.
Then moved to McLaren in 2001 as a test-driver, which included one Grand Prix outing at the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix, Wurz replaced an injured Juan Pablo Montoya and finished in third place in that race.
Then moved to Williams in 2006 as a test-driver then promoted as a full time driver in 2007 which include another third place finish at that seasons Canadian Grand Prix, then retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2007 season focusing on with endurance racing with Peugeot in 2008. Then moving to Toyota in 2012.
In my opinion, this was a shock decision to hear, I thought he would do a few more seasons at least. But, a decision is a decision from Alexander Wurz and have to respect his decision from his long career in Motorsport. Good luck in retirement for Alexander Wurz, he will be highly missed.
Predictions for this weekends Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos, São Paulo.
So predictions for the race itself, Lewis Hamilton for the win in the Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel second in the Ferrari, and Felipe Massa third in the Williams. Don't forget Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, the two Red Bull drivers, the two Force India drivers either for a podium place.
Review of Round Two of the 2015-16 Formula E season held at the Putrajaya Street Circuit in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The race was won by ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver Lucas di Grassi in his Spark-Abt Sportsline. Second was DS Virgin Racing Formula E Team driver Sam Bird in his Spark-Citroën, he was fourteen seconds behind di Grassi in the end. Meanwhile, third was Amlin Andretti Formula E driver Robin Frijns in his Spark-McLaren, he was thirty seconds behind di Grassi in the end.
Highlights of the race bellow, enjoy.
Next stop, Round Three of the 2015-16 Formula E season in Punta del Este, Uruguay for the Punta del Este ePrix in six weeks time.
Review of round eighteen and the final round of the 2015 MotoGP season at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia for the Valencia GP.
In the MotoGP race (V-twin, V4, or Inline-four 1000cc four stroke class), that was won by Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo on his works Yamaha YZR-M1.
With Jorge Lorenzo winning the race and team-mate Valentino Rossi finishing in fourth place, it was enough for Jorge Lorenzo to win this seasons MotoGP title and his third title in the premier class. Contracts to Jorge Lorenzo for winning this years MotoGP championship.
Second place was Repsol Honda Team rider and outgoing MotoGP Champion Marc Márquez on his works Honda RC213V, he was two tenths of a second behind Lorenzo. While, third was the other Repsol Honda Team rider Dani Pedrosa on his works Honda RC213V, he was seven tenths of a second behind Pedrosa at the end.
In Open class (Full control ECU system, hardware and software), Avintia Racing rider Héctor Barberá won Open class and finished sixteenth place overall on his open spec Ducati Desmosedici GP14, he was fifty-seven seconds behind Lorenzo at the end. And enough for Héctor Barberá to take this seasons Open Class this season in the premier class, contracts to Héctor Barberá.
In the Moto2 race (Inline-four 600 cc four-stroke class), that race was won by Estrella Galicia Marc VDS rider and outgoing Moto2 champion Esteve Rabat on the Kalex. Second was Paginas Amarillas HP 40 rider Álex Rins on the Kalex, he was three tenths of a second behind Rabat at the end. While, third was Interwetten Paddock Moto2 rider Thomas Lüthi on the Suter, he was three seconds behind Rabat at the end of the race.
While in the Moto3 race (single-cylinder 250 cc four-stroke class), that race was won by Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Miguel Oliveira on the KTM. Second was Estrella Galicia rider Jorge Navarro on the Honda, he was two tenths of a second behind Oliveira at the end. While, third was DRIVE M7 SIC rider Jakub Kornfeil on the KTM, he was two seconds behind Oliveira at the end of the race.
Meanwhile, Leopard Racing rider Danny Kent finished ninth on the Honda, he was ten seconds behind Oliveira at the end of the race. Ninth place was enough to give Danny Kent 2015 Moto3 title, Danny Kent was 6 points ahead of Miguel Oliveira in the standings. Kent becomes the first British motorcycling Grand Prix champion for 38 years since Barry Sheene winning the 500cc championship back in 1977. Contracts to Danny Kent for winning this seasons Moto3 championship.
And so who won what in which class, MotoGP Champion: Jorge Lorenzo, Open Class Champion: Héctor Barberá, MotoGP Manufacturers' Champion: Yamaha, MotoGP Teams' Champion: Movistar Yamaha MotoGP. Moto 2 Champion: Johann Zarco, Moto2 Manufacturers' Champion: Kalex. Moto 3 Champion: Danny Kent, and Moto3 Manufacturers' Champion: Honda.
Review of Round Eleven of the 2015 World Touring Car Championship season was the Race of Thailand, at the Chang International Circuit, on the outskirts of Buriram, Thailand.
In the first race, Citroën Total WTCC driver and current WTCC Champion José María López took the race win in his C-Elysée WTCC. And the win was enough to give José María López his second WTCC drivers’ title to win the 2015 title. Contractions to José María López for winning this years title.
Second was Citroën Total WTCC driver Sébastien Loeb in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC, he was a second behind López in the end. While third place was Citroën Total WTCC driver Ma Qing Hua in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC to complete Citroën podium whitewash finish, he was six seconds behind López in the end.
Meanwhile in the Independent Class, was won by Sébastien Loeb Racing driver Mehdi Bennani in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC. He finished in fourth place overall and seven seconds behind López in the end.
While in the second race, Honda Racing Team JAS driver Tiago Monteiro took the race win in his Honda Civic WTCC. But he was later was excluded from race two due to a failing a post-race ride height check.
So therefore, Citroën Total WTCC driver Sébastien Loeb took the race win in his C-Elysée WTCC. Second was Citroën Total WTCC driver Ma Qing Hua in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC, he was six seconds behind Loeb in the end. While third place was Citroën Total WTCC driver and current WTCC Champion José María López in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC to complete another Citroën podium whitewash finish, he was ten seconds behind Loeb in the end.
Meanwhile in the Independent Class, was won by ROAL Motorsport driver Tom Chilton in his Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1. He finished in fourth place overall and twelve seconds behind Loeb in the end.
Next stop Race of Qatar at Losail International Circuit for WTCC first ever night race, for Round Twelve and the final round of the 2015 World Touring Car Championship season in four weeks time.
This is post 1000 on my blog, that's my little celebration on this blog if you may. Review of the seventeenth round of the 2015 F1 season at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the centre of Mexico City for the Mexican Grand Prix.
Overall, I thought it was a good race to watch and a dominating race weekend for Nico Rosberg. Pole on Saturday. On Sunday, Rosberg started better than this team-mate Lewis Hamilton, dominate the race, lead most of the laps, fastest lap, to conclude with a race win at this seasons Mexican Grand Prix for his fourth race win of the season.
While, Rosberg's team-mate and current current F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton finished second place in the Mercedes to give the team its tenth one-two finish of the season, Hamilton was two seconds behind Rosberg at the end.
Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas finished in third place in the Williams to complete the podium, Vettel was fourteen seconds behind Rosberg at the end of the seventy-one lap race.
Rate the Teams and Drivers
Mercedes - 9
Lewis Hamilton - 8 (finished second)
Nico Rosberg - 10 (pole, race win, fastest lap)
Red Bull Racing - 8
Daniel Ricciardo - 8 (finished fifth)
Daniil Kvyat - 9 (finished fourth)
Williams - 8
Valtteri Bottas - 9 (finished third)
Felipe Massa - 8 (finished sixth)
Ferrari - 6
Sebastian Vettel - 7 (DNF, Accident)
Kimi Räikkönen - 5 (DNF, Collision with Valtteri Bottas)
McLaren - 6
Jenson Button - 6 (finished fourteenth)
Fernando Alonso - 6 (DNF, Power unit Failure)
Force India - 7
Nico Hülkenberg - 7 (finished seventh)
Sergio Pérez - 7 (finished eighth)
Toro Rosso - 7
Carlos Sainz Jr. - 6 (finished thirteenth)
Max Verstappen - 8 (finished ninth)
Review of Round seven of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship at 6 Hours of Shanghai held at Shanghai International Circuit on the outskirts of Shanghai, China.
The Porsche Team won the race overall and the LMP1 class too of Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley in their Porsche 919 Hybrid.While, second was the Porsche Team of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb in their Porsche 919 Hybrid, they were twenty-six seconds behind the leaders at the end of the race. Meanwhile, third place was the Audi Sport Team Joest team of André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler in their Audi R18 e-tron quattro, they were thirty seconds behind the leaders at the end of the race.
In LMP2 class, the Signatech Alpine team of Nelson Panciatici, Paul-Loup Chatin and Tom Dillmann in their Alpine A450b with a Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 engine won in LMP2 class. They finish in ninth place overall and they were fifteen laps behind the leaders at the end of the race.
While in GTE Pro class, was won by Porsche Team Manthey team of Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen won in their Porsche 911 RSR. They finish in fourteenth place overall and they were eighteen laps behind the leaders at the end of the race.
While in GTE Am class, was won by AF Corse team of François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Águas in their Ferrari 458 Italia GT2. They finish in twenty-first place overall and they were twenty-three laps behind the leaders at the end of the race.
Highlights of the 6 Hours of Shanghai below, enjoy.
Next Stop 6 Hours of Bahrain in three weeks time for round eight and final round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship.
It was confirmed on Friday afternoon (1/11/15) that Ferrari test-driver and former Sauber driver Esteban Gutiérrez will race with the all new Haas F1 Team as their second driver alongside Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, during a press conference in Mexico City before this weekends Mexican Grand Prix.
Gutiérrez, enjoyed two-years racing with Sauber from 2013-2014. Gutiérrez took on a test and reserve role with Ferrari for this season after losing his driver at Sauber.
Gutiérrez will return to the grid to the new Haas F1 Team, which holds a technical partnership with Ferrari next season and Gutiérrez will bring in sponsorship from Mexico.
In my opinion, this is not a big surprise this news happen. It has been strongly rumoured since the Belgium Grand Prix that Gutiérrez has signed a deal with Haas. Also, it would be a second chance in Formula 1 for Gutiérrez after two fruitless years at Sauber before.
A new challenge ahead for Esteban Gutiérrez in 2016.
