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

Last weekend was jam-packed with motorsport – including Formula 1, IndyCar, BTCC and Nascar. Here are 10 things for you to catch up on:

1. A few F1 fails

The Belgian Grand Prix at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit was another thrilling race, with Daniel Ricciardo benefitting from contact between the two Mercedes drivers on the second lap to secure his third F1 victory.

Before the race, however, there were a few fails that had fans chuckling. The first is Pastor Maldonado’s practice two crash, where he appeared to just drive off the track (it certainly didn’t help his reputation).

Then, an unfortunate marshal fell over at the end of practice three. Finally, Daniil Kvyat strangely spun at the end of Q2 in frustration after he just missed out on the top 10 shoot-out.

A number of F1 drivers and team members participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge – raising money and awareness for the ALS Association – over the weekend. Felipe Massa completed it earlier in the week, nominating Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso.

The Aussie and eventual Belgian Grand Prix winner did it on Thursday in the paddock, nominating Lewis Hamilton as well as Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner and Adrian Newey. Hamilton and Alonso completed it on Friday, with Horner and Newey joining in on Saturday.

Scott Dixon’s late charge at the Sonoma Raceway saw him secure his second win of the season. He took the lead of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma with three laps remaining, finishing ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud.

Championship leader Will Power led early on before dropping back. He lost more positions thanks to a spin and was eventually classified in 10th. He now has a 51-point lead over Helio Castroneves ahead of the final round at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

4. Three different winners at Knockhill

The Knockhill circuit in Scotland hosted last weekend’s British Touring Car Championship round. Matt Neal took his first victory of the season in the dramatic first race, fending off Rob Austin and his team-mate Gordon Shedden.

Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson took the race two win – his first in nearly two years – and Collard took the chequered flag in first place in the final event of the day.

Joey Logano notched up his third Nascar Sprint Cup victory in Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway, taking the lead from Matt Kenseth with 45 laps to go. He then held off a last-lap challenge from his team-mate Brad Keselowski to become the fifth driver of 2014 to win three races. Kenseth eventually finished third.

As always in Nascar, there were a fair few crashes during the Irwin Tools Night Race. Kyle Larson and Brian Vickers triggered a multi-car accident involving Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola after the pair collided.

Later in the race Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick made contact while battling for the lead, with the former being spun across the track. He hit the wall before sliding back across the circuit and collected Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was so furious that he threw his HANS device at Harvick as he drove past.

7. Marciello and Nasr take GP2 wins

Like F1, GP2 returned to the track at Spa-Francorchamps following the summer break. The feeder series produced some spectacular racing. Raffaele Marciello took the feature race victory in tricky conditions (a torrential rain shower even caused the race to be stopped for 15 minutes) after overtaking Stoffel Vandoorne late in the race.

The Ferrari Driver Academy member had a disastrous sprint race on Sunday morning. It was won by Williams F1 reserve driver Felipe Nasr, helping him to edge closer to championship leader Jolyon Palmer.

8. Brits dominate in GP3

GP3 was also in action over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, with Dean Stoneman locking out an all-British podium in Saturday’s rain-affected first race. He inherited the lead from Matheo Tuscher after the Jenzer Motorsport driver spun at Eau Rouge and retired.

Strangely, the race ended with a red flag as the chequered flag wasn’t waved on the right lap. Championship leader Alex Lynn then triumphed in Sunday’s race two, holding off Richie Stanaway and Alex Fontana.

9. Neuville claims first WRC victory

Despite destroying his car at a pre-event shakedown, Thierry Neuville went on to secure his first WRC victory at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. It was also Hyundai’s debut win, with Dani Sordo making it a one-two for the Korean manufacturer.

Championship leader Sebastien Ogier retired early after two trips off road, while his team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke both exited the race following big crashes on the final day, moving Neuville into the top spot.

10. Five winners out of six

Rhys Millen became the fifth different winner in six Red Bull Global Rallycross rounds this season after triumphing at the Daytona International Speedway. He finished ahead of Ken Block and Bucky Lasek, who rounded out the podium.

There was controversy after the race when Millen’s car was found to have equipment not permitted under section 14-9.1 (transmission sensors) of the regulations. He kept the win but lost 50 championship points and the team was given a $5,000 fine.