Recap of the last round of WRC from this weekends Round 2 of Rally Sweden.
This weekends was the second round of the World Rally Championship at the Rally Sweden (24th-27th February) that was won by Kalle Rovanperä in his works Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
While, Thierry Neuville finished second in his works Hyundai i20 N Rally1. Neuville was twenty-two seconds behind Rovanperä at the end of the rally. Meanwhile, Esapekka Lappi finished third in the works Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, Lappi was thirty seconds behind Rovanperä at the end of the rally.
Meanwhile in WRC-2 class (Manufacturer entries competing in cars built to Rally2 specifications), that was won by Toksport WRT driver and Current WRC-2 Champion Andreas Mikkelsen in his Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo. Andreas Mikkelsen finished in seventh place overall, he was over seven minutes behind Rovanperä at the end of the rally.
While in WRC-3 class (Open to privately-entered cars; Rally3 spec cars), that was won by Lauri Joona in his own backed Ford Fiesta Rally3. Lauri Joona finished in fifteenth place overall, he was fourteen minutes behind Rovanperä at the end of the rally.
Next stop, Round Three of the 2021 WRC season for Croatia Rally in eight weeks time.
Peugeot announced yesterday (25/2/22) that it will not enter the first three rounds of the World Endurance Championship with its new Peugeot 9X8 which includes not his seasons 24 Hours of Le Mans, focusing on the rest of the season instead.
Peugeot will not race its Le Mans Hypercar at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as it is still focused on the testing and development schedule before the car can be homologated.
Once a Le Mans Hypercar is homologated, it will remain fixed until 2025. So Peugeot needed to make it right.
It stated that it will not be ready in time to contest the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Spa-Francorchamps for the six hour race.
The Spa round is a requirement established by the series to be allowed to race at Le Mans this season.
Lets hope new Peugeot sorts out their problems with the new 9X8 for the rest of 2022.
Review of Round One of the 2022 Extreme E Championship season was the Desert X-Prix, at Neom, Saudi Arabia.
In Qualifying, Team X44 lead qualifying with the team of Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez.
In the first Semi-Final race that was won by Team X44 with the team of Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez. Second was Rosberg X Racing with the team of Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, they were eight seconds behind the leaders in the end. While, third was Xite Energy Racing with the team of Oliver Bennett and Tamara Molinaroa, they were eighteen seconds behind the leaders in the end.
In the second Semi-Final race that was won by Chip Ganassi Racing with the team of Sara Price and Kyle LeDuc. Second was Acciona/Sainz XE Team with the team of Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz, they were seven seconds behind the leaders in the end. While, third was Genesys Andretti United Extreme E with the team of Catie Munnings and Timmy Hansen, they were a lap behind the leaders in the end.
In the Crazy Race that was won by McLaren XE with the team of Emma Gilmour and Tanner Foust. Second was Abt Cupra XE with the team of Jutta Kleinschmidt amd Nasser Al-Attiyah, they were three seconds behind the leaders in the end. While, third was JBXE with the team of Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor, they were twelve seconds behind the leaders in the end.
In the Final race, Rosberg X Racing took the race win with the team of Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky. Second was Acciona/Sainz XE Team with the team of Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz, were two and half seconds behind the leaders in the end. While, third was Team X44 with the team of Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez, they were six seconds behind the leaders in the end.
Next stop Island X-Prix at Sardinia, Italy for Round Two of the 2022 Extreme E Championship season in ten weeks time.
It was announced yesterday (15/2/2022) that Formula 1's 'sprint' races will return for this seasons Emilia Romagna, Austrian and São Paulo Grand Prix.
The F1 sprint race weekend will look like in 2022:
Qualifying will move to Friday, set the grid for the sprint race.
Sprint race will be shorter race around 100km/62 miles (around 21 laps for Imola, 24 laps for Red Bull Ring and São Paulo).
Points will be awarded to the top eight finishers this season (eight for first, seven for second, six for third, five for fourth, four for fifth, three for sixth, two for seventh, one for eighth).
Sprint race race results will set the grid for Sundays Grand Prix.
Overall, this format work well enough for 2021, it gives Friday meaning. My thought is this, the format will work if there is overtaking in those races (São Paulo race from 2021 worked well) or Sunday race had full of drama (Silverstone and Monza from 2021). I think it will work well at the Red Bull Ring and São Paulo, Imola is the odd one out for the choice this season I would have gone for a track like a returning Montreal or Baku would have been a better choice.
Review of Round Two of the 2021-22 Formula E season held on the shorter version of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit in Mexico City, Mexico.
The race was won by TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver Pascal Wehrlein in his Spark-Porsche. Second was TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver André Lotterer in his Spark-Porsche, he was three tenths of a second behind Wehrlein in the end. Meanwhile, third was DS Techeetah driver Jean-Éric Vergne in his Spark-DS, he was nine seconds behind Wehrlein in the end.
Highlights of the race below, enjoy.
Next stop, Round Three of the 2021-22 Formula E World Championship season in Rome, Italy for the Rome ePrix in eight weeks time.
After three years away. The 2022 Race of Champions took place over last weekend (5–6th February) at Pite Havsbad in Piteå, Sweden, 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle.
The 2022 Champion of Champions was won by former World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb, who beat Aston Martin F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, 3-1 in the final.
While in the Nations' Cup, Norway team of former World Rally Champion Petter Solberg and WRC driver Oliver Solberg took victory ahead of United States team of former Nascar Champion Jimmie Johnson and Indycar driver Colton Herta, in a closely fought 3-1 final.
