'Super Sic'

This weekend saw another Motorsport tragedy. After a weekend filled with a worrying amount of accidents and injuries to riders in all MotoGP classes, during the Malaysian GP Marco Simoncelli suffered a fatal accident. 

I can't say i was his biggest fan because otherwise i would be lying but i can say i respected him and was happy for his success this season. At the start of the season, yes i was a little harsh on him but throughout the season i think he's the rider that's grown and learnt the most. He tasted his first drop of success in the MotoGP class when he came 3rd in Brno, his celebrations that day were lovely to watch, him struggling to get and keep his Bridgestone cap on was entertaining, the wild hair jokes kept on coming. 
His progress from there on has been brilliant, he kept it solid and full focus and i think he even got a trim (sorry :) hah) 
Last week, 7 days ago, he got the sweet taste of champagne again, he stood on the podium, this time in second, his best result yet. Everyone was waiting for him to win a Grand Prix, that was only a matter of time. 

Earlier this morning i was excited for the race and also worried, serious accidents took place in Moto2 (luckily everyone is ok) and this weekend has seen a lot of crashes and injured riders, which i hate to see but this made me slightly nervous, after everything  that happened last weekend.
The first lap i forgot everything and was enjoying watching Marco and Alvaro Bautista battling it out, in a way it was fitting that they were only showing the battle between them for the first two laps before the accident but as soon as i saw the crash, my heart sunk. 

Some people don't understand that every rider or driver in the sport you love becomes like family, you follow them every race if you can, every move they make in their career, celebrating good results with them, supporting them, even if they aren't your favourite, you still care about them, hope they stay safe.

I can't imagine what his family/girlfriend are going through or any of his friends thoughts are with them, everyone in the MotoGP paddock and to Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi who were involved. It is like a family and no matter what's happened in the past everyone pulls together to support each other, fans and riders alike. 

Race in peace Marco, hope Shoya Tomizawa and all the other greats are racing with you.

#58 

Dan Wheldon

If your a Motorsport fan (or have watched the news today) then you'll know that the world lost a Motorsport legend yesterday at the Las Vegas Indy300.  Dan Wheldon passed away after the most horrific 15 car crash at the speedway.
I don't watch every Indy, in fact the last Indy race i watched was the 500 earlier this year where Dan took the win making him a double Indy500 Champion but i saw some tweets about the Vegas race and i thought i'd watch it, i tuned in on Lap 11 and at that time i wasn't expecting to witness one of the worst crashes i've ever seen. As soon as it happened i felt sick to the stomach and was worried for everyone involved, two hours of waiting and the news hit home, it was devastating. 

Dan was a true racer, a winner, a champion, a dad, a husband, a brother, a son and an amazing person. He died so young, with a future that looked so bright. 
A race that was supposed to end in celebration, the last race of the season, and it ended in the worst possible way. 
He has helped develop the 2012 chasis, to help make Indy safer to compete in. One race too late. 

Thought are with his family, friends, and everyone who was at the track, i can't even begin to imagine what they all are going through.

Dan, you'll be missed very much.

"Many people ask me why I always sign off, ‘till me meet again’. Because goodbye is always so final. Goodbye Dan Wheldon." Marty Reid, ABC - Commentator of the Indy300 at Las Vegas.

Bittersweet

I'm not going to be writing about the F1/MotoGP this weekend, it seems so irrelevant right now. 
So a small update:

Congratulations Casey Stoner on being 2011 MotoGP world Champion!



And to Red Bull Racing on the Constructors Championship

Wishing a speedy and successful recovery for Jorge Lorenzo after his surgery to repair his very severely injured finger went well. He won't be racing in Malaysia and Valencia is in doubt but as long as he recovers and can continue riding is the most important thing for him right now. 

Ben Spies should be back after fracturing his rib and recovering from a hit to the head after crashing in qualifying and unable to race in Australia. 
This coming weekend will be the MotoGP race at Sepang, Malaysia.

From one champion to another

Another two Champion's were crowned on Sunday...

Marussia Virgin Racing reserve driver, Robert Wickens was a no-show in Japan because he had a little commitment... becoming Formula Renault 3.5 World Champion, no big! It was a battle against his Carlin team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne. 

[Robert Wickens]

Wickens was out of the race early on and the championship was out of his hands, it was looking as if he hadn't won it until JEV also crashed out the race meaning the championship was handed to Wickens! Congratulations and i'm sure we'll see you in F1 very soon in the mean time, team-mate Vergne, who's on the Red Bull young drivers programme, will be in the Toro Rosso for Friday practise for all but 1 of the remaining races. See you both F1 trackside!

Another Champion was in the British Superbike, an amazing fight to the very end between John Hopkins and Tommy Hill.

This is just brilliant racing:

Congrats Tommy Hill and then team! We'll see John Hopkins in MotoGP in a few weeks time, let's hope he does better then last time and compete in the race - no injuries!

2011 Champion!

We all knew it was going to happen at Suzuka and it did! Congratulations Sebastian Vettel - youngest double World Champion!!
I think whether you like him as a person/driver or not, you can't deny he deserves the championship, on the podium every race except once this season. The Red Bull has been one to beat which only Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso have been able to manage on very few occasions.

With a clip into the barrier in practise on Friday, Vettel took pole on Saturday much to McLaren's annoyance as they topped the practise sessions however were able to maintain the pace in race and Jenson Button led his McLaren to victory at the Japanese GP, an emotional one at that. Fernando Alonso took 2nd with Sebastian crossing the finish line in 3rd and became a back-to-back World Champion!!

Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa got together... again. Finishing in 5th, it's been disappointing season for Hamilton who needs some good results for the final few races of the season and a strong return in 2012.
Only one retirement from the race - Sebastien Buemi who's tyre didn't stay on after pitting and he went off to beach the TR Bull in the gravel trap.

Home grown Kamui Kobayashi finished the race in 13th, a 'could have been better, could have been worse' scenario however i'm sure the crowd were pleased to see him racing.

Fastest Lap: Jenson Button: 1:36.568

[The podium: Motorsport.com]

[Race winner Jenson Button]

 [2011 World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing Team]

Once again, a big congratulation to Sebastian and the whole of the RBR team, well deserved!

Korea is only days away and for those of you who are still feeling the affects of staying up last weekend, you ready to do it again? Yes!

From Ferrari, with love.

“This afternoon at the Scuderia Ferrari pit garage, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa met a family who lost everything in the Tsunami that followed on from the devastating earthquake that hit Japan back on 11 March this year. Thanks to a Ferrari Japan initiative aimed at helping victims of the terrible disaster, the biggest ever in Japan, the entire family, father, mother and two children, were able to realise their dream of visiting the garage and meeting the Scuderia race drivers. Also aimed at supporting victims of the tragedy, on Tuesday night, Ferrari Japan will auction a nose of one of the cars used at the Australian Grand Prix, which at the time carried the Japanese flag and the motto “Forza Giappone” as a sign of Ferrari’s gesture of solidarity. Proceeds from the auction, which will coincide with the launch of the 458 Spider will go to help rebuild a school at Ishinomaki, one of the cities most severely affected by the devastation. Held at the Zojoii temple, the most important Buddhist temple in Japan, a special prayer will also be said for all the victims of the tsunami.”


- Ferrari.com

A very small consolation for what they've been through, heart breaking but maybe this weekend their lives will be a little brighter.


Stay strong Japan!

What went on in Motegi...

[Japan in photo's]

With all MotoGP riders and the majority of the crew, Japan weekend went ahead. They done a brilliant job fixing up the track in time after the devastating Earthquake and Tsunami that hit earlier in the year, despite the country still recovering the Japanese were all smiles for the Grand Prix and they were in for a treat.

In 125's, after almost clenching his first win at Misano but missing out to Nicolas Terol, Johann Zarco won his first Grand Prix! Congratulations Johann!!

Moto2 kicked up another exciting race, Stefan Bradl had a disappointing qualifying, unable to turn it around in the race  for a podium, Marc Marquez took full advantage and is now 1 point ahead of Bradl in the Championship hunt, with a few more races to go this may go down to the wire, each deserving but there can only be one champ!

MotoGP saw Valentino Rossi out on the first lap, in a Yamaha sandwich he collided with Ben Spies (a racing incident) and although Rossi had to reitre with [at the time] no suspected injuries the Texan Terror Ben Spies was able to rejoin, after a rocky weekend suffering with severe food poisoning Spies finished the race in 6th.

[Valentino Rossi going down - he has a fractured little finger but should be fit for Australia]

Casey Stoner fell back on Lap 5 after being late on the brakes and taking an excursion through the gravel trap but later made his way up to 3rd - he was unable to catch Jorge Lorenzo for 2nd.

THREE riders got penalised for jump starts, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Simoncelli and Cal Crutchlow were all given drive through's.

Alvaro Bautista had a cracking start to the race, climbing to third before Stoner over took however Bautista later lost control after the tunnel and crashed the Suzuki.

[Proberly thinking "What happened there?"]

Other retirements from the race were Hector Barbera (who's suffered a broken collarbone and  has had an operation in Barcelona), Toni Elias, Damian Cudlin- who was a replacement for Loris Capirossi who has a broken collarbone. Along with Rossi and Bautista.

With Stoner able to take the title at his home race in a weeks time, he has to win the race, he needs to claim 10 more points than Lorenzo to become a double world Champion after winning his first in 2007.

[Dani Pedrosa after crossing the line] 

[Podium: Jorge Lorenzo (2nd) Dani Pedrosa (1st) and Casey Stoner (3rd)]

Next up Philip Island, Australia!