10 Things You Might Have Missed From Last Weekend’s Motorsport Action

It was another busy weekend of motorsport with MotoGP, DTM, V8 Supercars, ELMS and Nascar all in action, as well as qualifying for the Indy 500. Here are 10 things you might have missed:

1. Can anyone stop Marquez?

Marc Marquez’s incredible run of MotoGP victories continued at Le Mans, after the Spanish rider stormed to his fifth consecutive win. It wasn’t easy though, as a poor start saw him drop to 10th on the first lap.

However, he soon carved his way back through the field and took advantage of a rare error from Valentino Rossi to take the lead. His lead over Rossi was 1.5 seconds by the chequered flag, with Alvaro Bautista scoring his first podium since 2012.

2. Carpenter takes Indy 500 pole

Ed Carpenter stormed to his second consecutive Indy 500 pole position at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. After several days of practice and determining the running order and ‘fast nine’ on Saturday, the whole field was then given one chance to qualify on Sunday.

Carpenter averaged 231.067mph on his four-lap run, just beating James Hinchcliffe (230.839) – who missed several practice sessions after he was hit by debris during last weekend's Grand Prix of Indy and was diagnosed with concussion – and Will Power (230.697).

Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud, Marco Andretti, Carlos Munoz, Josef Newgarden, JR Hildebrand and Juan Pablo Montoya will complete the top 10 on the grid for the iconic race.

Kurt Busch qualified for the Indy 500 in 12th place but suffered a huge accident during Monday’s practice session, after a mid-corner slide that he couldn’t save. The car burst into flames as it spun across the circuit. Fortunately he was unharmed.

4. Vietoris victorious in DTM

Christian Vietoris scored his maiden victory in the DTM series at the weekend. The Mercedes-Benz driver pulled off the perfect strategy in wet conditions to rise from 16th on the grid to first by the chequered flag at Oschersleben.

The race didn’t reach the full distance due to several safety car periods and was stopped after 44 laps. Mike Rockenfeller finished just behind Vietoris, with fellow Audi driver Edoardo Mortara in third. Ex-F1 racer and series returnee Paul di Resta finished fourth.

5. When one door opens…

Timo Glock provided this hilarious moment during the DTM race. After a collision with Rockenfeller, the former F1 driver was forced to retire. As he went to shut the door of his BMW, it came off its hinges.

6. Hornish Jr. dominates at Iowa

Sam Hornish Jr. dominated the Nascar Nationwide Series race at the Iowa Speedway, leading 167 of the 250 laps.

It was a strong display from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in his second of seven scheduled starts in the championship this season. Ryan Blaney took the chequered flag in the runner-up spot, seven tenths behind, with Regan Smith in third.

7. McMurray wins All-Star Sprint Cup race

Jamie McMurray took the 30th Nascar Sprint Cup All-Star race victory on Saturday night at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the $1 million prize. The All-Star race is split into four 20-lap segments and one 10-lap run to the flag.

McMurray had a strong restart and took the lead at the beginning of the final sprint segment, pulling out a strong lead to win from Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth.

8. McLaughlin, Lowndes and Mostert share V8 Supercar wins

Perth's Barbagallo Raceway hosted the sixth race weekend of the 2014 V8 Supercar season. Scott McLaughlin scored Volvo’s first win in the series since 1986 in race one, with Craig Lowndes taking the win in race two.

Chaz Mostert became the 10th different winner in 16 races after taking the final victory of the weekend. It was a chaotic race that saw McLaughlin label fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen an “arsehole” following contact.

9. A late lead change

The number 43 Newblood by Morand Racing Morgan car of Christian Klien looked set to win the second 2014 European Le Mans Series race, but the Austrian driver was dramatically forced to retire with five minutes to go. The number 38 Jota Sport car of Simon Dolan, Filipe Albuquerque and Harry Tincknell was promoted to first place and took the victory by 30 seconds.

10. A fiery flip

The 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season got underway at the Top Gear Barbados Festival. Scott Speed won the final – his third victory in the series – but it was briefly red flagged following this big crash for Ken Block.

After losing a position, Block attempted to pass Joni Wiman on the inside at the final corner. However, he hit a kerb before colliding with his rival and flipping over. Fortunately he was uninjured.