10 Things You Might Have Missed From Last Weekend's Motorsport Spectacular
There was plenty of action both on and off track over the weekend, with IndyCar and MotoGP rounds alongside several other high profile race meetings and lots of F1 gossip to digest as well...
1. Pile-up during American Le Mans
The IndyCar and American Le Mans Series visited Baltimore last weekend, a tight and tricky street circuit that is renowned for causing all kinds of chaos.
It was business as usual for the start of the ALMS race with the red flag being brought out just seconds after the race had started. A multi-car pile-up along the start/finish straight blocked the track, making it one of the shortest races in ALMS history thanks to the lengthy red flag period.
The crash was sparked by Scott Tucker being tipped into a spin by Anthony Lazzaro. This created a chain-reaction behind and left the GT car pack with nowhere to go.
2. Jorge Lorenzo wins MotoGP
Image source: BBCIt was a dramatic end to the British Grand Prix, held at the historic Silverstone circuit, with 2012 champion Jorge Lorenzo edging out Marc Marquez to take his first victory in six races.
Through the final few turns, Lorenzo swapped the lead three times with Marquez before he eventually moved ahead to cross the line in first place. It was a dramatic and thrilling race that saw Marquez take the fight to his rival despite suffering a dislocated shoulder three hours earlier in a warm-up crash.
Pedrosa finished third with 'The Doctor' Valentino Rossi ending Sunday's race in fourth place. Brit's Cal Crutchlow - who suffered several high-speed crashes over the weekend - and Bradley Smith finished in seventh and ninth respectively.
3. Maldonado doesn't care...
Image source: Sky Sports F1F1's pantomime vilan Pastor Maldonado has said that he doesn't care about his reputation as the sport's crash kid. The Venezuelan came under fire once again after taking Paul Di Resta out of last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.
He was the most penalised driver of 2012, but told ESPN he is unconcerned about his reputation: "I'm racing, this is racing. My reputation is another thing. I will race and if some people think something about me then they are free. I cannot say 'don't think that'."
Maldonado also feels that his 10 second stop-go penalty given to him at the Belgian Grand Prix was "obvious and clearly" unfair.
4. Pagenaud clears chaos to win Baltimore GP
It was a dramatic weekend of racing at the Grand Prix of Baltimore with the IndyCar series in action alongside the American Le Mans Series. It was Frenchman Simon Pagenaud who went on to win the 75-lap race, avoiding the pandemonium to cross the line in first place.
Young gun Josef Newgarden took the chequered flag in second place after starting from a career-best fifth on the grid. Sebastien Bourdais finished in third place despite a mid-race spin after contact at turn one.
The race was chaotic to say the least with six full course yellows and numerous chain-reaction pile-ups at the first corner. Championship leader Helio Castroneves extends his lead in the championship after finishing the race in ninth place.
5. Marshals make a run for it
Marshals positioned at Silverstone's Vale corner over the MotoGP weekend had a close shave while recovering Cal Crutchlow's bike during Sunday's warm-up.
The British rider emerged unscathed after crashing heavily on Sunday morning. However Crutchlow and several marshals were forced to sprint to safety after Marco Marquez crashed seconds later at the same corner.
The Spaniard's Honda slid into Crutchlow's Yamaha, creating a close call for both riders. Marquez dislocated his shoulder in the crash but remarkably raced to second place in the British Grand Prix three hours later. So I don't think these riders need to seek help, but perhaps these ones do.
6. Another Ferrari in flames
The FIA World Endurance Championship took to the Interlagos circuit for round four of the 2013 season. However, it was a rather abrupt end to six hour racing for AF Corse Ferrari driver Toni Vilander after his 458 Italia went up in smoke.
The spectacular fire completely destroyed the rear-end of the car, but fortunately the driver escaped unharmed. However the sister AF Corse car driven by former F1 drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni went on to win the LMGTE class. The Aston Martin Vantage of Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke followed close behind after a battle with the No.51 Ferrari.
7. Audi takes 1-2 in Brazil
Image source: motorsport.comIt was the No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driven by Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer that took victory in the LMP1 classification of the 6 Hours of Sau Paulo, their second win of the season.
Despite starting from pole position, it was the No.2 Audi of Allan McNish who took the lead into the first corner. A slow stop demoted the No.2 machine - winners of the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans - back into second place where it remained for the rest of the race. The only other LMP1 finisher was the privateer entry of Rebellion Racing, driven by Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche.
Toyota Racing's challenge took an early blow when the No.8 car of Stéphane Sarrazin suffered a high speed crash after contact with the No.32 Lotus just 35 minutes into the six-hour race.
G-Drive Racing's ORECA 03 Nissan of Roman Rusinov, Mike Conway and John Martin took a commanding win in LMP2.
8. Schumacher believes in Vettel
Image source: F1FanaticMichael Schumacher believes that Sebastian Vettel can match or even better his record of seven Formula 1 world titles.
The German told Belgium TV "He has the best package, and championships are usually won by the best. Records are there to be beaten. In a short time he has won three titles, so why couldn’t he win seven?"
Vettel is currently on course for his fourth consecutive world title, despite being just 26-years old. Schumacher was 32 when he clinched his fourth world title in 2001. However Vettel - who will be partnered by Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing in 2014 - disagreed saying: "Beating his record is not something that can happen in the next couple of years, so I don’t even think about it. I have had some very good years but it could change suddenly."
9. Karthikeyan wins something?
Image source: Paddock ScoutDonington Park hosted the penultimate round of the 2013 Auto GP championship, a European single-seater series whose previous champions include Romain "Bro, do you even lift?" Grosjean and GP2 drivers Kevin Ceccon and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.
Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. Former F1 backmarker Narain Karthikeyan has actually won a motor race, winning the second race of the Auto GP weekend in strong style after an early pit stop propelled him into the lead. The experienced Indian racer moved to the series after the closure of failed F1 team HRT (yes, that was its real name) at the end of 2012.
Vittorio Ghirelli, who is also racing in GP2 this season, cruised to race one victory earlier in the day.
10. 'I believe I can fly'
Yes, more shenanigans from the Grand Prix of Baltimore. It was a highly dramatic race weekend, partly down to the frankly ridiculous track layout. This includes a tight three-part chicane to slow cars down before they pass over railway tracks. Yes, actual railway tracks.
Now this has always created drama with the chicane proving tricky to master. During second practice for the Indy Lights race - the series directly below IndyCar - Peter Dempsey learned how to not take the chicane the hard way.
His car was thrown into the air after clipping the inside kerb and tyre barrier. Thankfully it didn't flip over - unlike this classic F1 car. Jack Hawksworth won the race on Sunday morning after several crashes eliminated his closest rivals.
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