10 Things You Might Have Missed From Last Weekend's Motorsport Spectacular
It may not have been a Formula 1 race weekend, but all around the world there was plenty of motorsport action as well as juicy off-track stories too. Here's our round-up of of last weekend's action from on and off the track.
1. Jordan takes double BTCC win
Our favourite British tin-top series, the British Touring Car Championship, headed to the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire for the eighth round of the season and races 22, 23 and 24 of the year.
Rain was the word on everyone's lips but it stayed clear of the circuit for a jam-packed day of action. Andrew Jordan took the win in race one after moving from fourth to first on a frantic first lap. He led home Matt Jackson and Rob Austin.
It was Austin who starred in race two after a stunning start in his Audi from third on the grid. He took the lead into turn one and held off 2012 champion Gordon Shedden to take a popular first ever BTCC victory.
Jordan then took another strong victory in the third and final race of the day after starting on pole position. He extended his lead in the driver's standings with the commanding win, having to contend with a safety car period after a multi-car pile-up in the midfield on lap one.
Colin Turkington crossed the line in second place with race one pole-sitter Jason Plato taking his only podium of the weekend in third.
2.Farfus takes Oschersleben DTM win
Image source: BMW BlogAugusto Farfus kept himself in title contention following his dominant DTM victory for BMW around the 2.28-mile Oscherleben circuit.
The Brazilian started in second place but took the lead from pole-sitter Jamie Green into turn one. It was a commanding drive from the RBM star, with the battle for the podium positions being much closer.
Image source: BMW BlogChampionship leader Mike Rockenfeller started on the 'standard' tyre compound, unlike many of his rivals, and managed to close in on Farfus during the second stint. However, he dropped back into the clutches of Green, crossing the line in close formation.
3. Raikkonen followed to Ferrari by Beer
Image source: Lotus F1 TeamYes, head of aerodynamics at Lotus Dirk de Beer has followed Kimi Raikkonen to Ferrari for the 2014 season.
Beer is said to have been poached from Lotus by Ferrari and it is expected that he will work alongside the team's current head of aero Loic Bigois when his contract at Lotus runs out at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Lotus has reportedly got its own back on Ferrari by signing the Scuderia's chief aerodynamicist Nicolas Hennnel.
4. Montoya makes IndyCar switch
If you're a fan of cars and motorsport, you'll already know Juan Pablo Montoya. He's the feisty Columbian driver who raced in Formula 1 for Williams and McLaren between 2001 and 2006.
He was renowned for not only his race wins but for also forcing the sport's most successful driver, Michael Schumacher, off track on numerous occasions. He was also known for shouting and swearing a lot.
Since quitting F1 in an angry rage during the middle of 2006, he's been racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the past few years. However, he was dropped by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and was recently announced as a Team Penske driver for 2014 in the IndyCar series.
5. Muller and da Costa share Formula Renault 3.5 plaudits
The seventh round of the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 series took place last weekend at the Hungaroring. The first race of the weekend took place in wet conditions, with Swiss driver Nico Muller dominating to take the race win.
McLaren protégé Kevin Magnussen finished in second place after a storming drive from 16th on the grid, extending his championship lead. Sergey Sirotkin, who has hit the headlines recently for signing to drive for Sauber in F1 next season (at the tender age of just 18), finished in third place in what was a well-timed strong result.
Red Bull Junior Team driver Antonio Felix da Costa - who is in contention for Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso seat for 2014 - used strategy to his advantage and took a storming race win in a dry second race. He held third early on before the leading duo pitted for their mandatory stop.
The Portuguese driver stayed out and put in some very impressive lap times before taking to the pit lane for his own stop, emerging in the lead. He was attacked by Magnussen as he exited the pits but held him off to win by six seconds. Magnussen held on to second with fellow McLaren F1 protégé Stoffel Vandoorne finishing in third.
6. Raikkonen prefers night racing
Image source: wtf1Kimi Raikkonen said that he enjoys the usual Singapore schedule as he gets more sleep. Staying on European time for the 2013 season's only night race means the 'Iceman' doesn't have to get up early in the morning.
The gorilla-suit wearing (and Car Throttle favourite) driver said when looking ahead to this weekend's race: "I really like going to Singapore. It’s a great place to be, I love the local food, and I don’t mind the unusual times we run in the car as it means I don’t have to get up so early."
Image source: Lotus F1 TeamThe Finn believes that he has "unfinished business" at the Marina Bay Street Circuit after failing to finish on the podium at his last three visits.
7. Matt Kenseth claims NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase win in Chicagoland
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth claimed a strong race win in the heavily delayed Chicagoland round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase.
The race was originally scheduled to start at midday local time, but a rain delay prior to the start and a mid-race red flag meant that it finally concluded at 11pm, under floodlights.
The red flag period lasted a whopping five hours after just 109 of the 267 laps. Kenseth trailed team-mate Kyle Busch for the majority of the race's second half after battling through the field during the day time stint.
However he got a run on Busch at the final green flag restart with 20 laps to go, taking the lead and establishing a clear seven tenth advantage by the chequered flag.
8. Kubica hits rally stage on 3 wheels
It was the Polish round of the European Rally Championship over the weekend, with Kajetan Kajetanowicz taking his second ERC win after a trouble-free performance on home turf.
However, it was former F1 driver Robert Kubica who starred for his heroic attempt at finishing a stage of Rally Poland with just three wheels, running this co-driver's performance pretty close.
The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix race winner, who was most recently spotted deforesting parts of Finland, sustained the damage after hitting a rock during the first day. He was forced into retirement.
9. Barrichello: Massa will have life after Ferrari
Former Ferrari number two Rubens Barrichello has told Felipe Massa not to be too disheartened at losing his seat to Kimi Raikkonen.
Massa is now actively seeking a new team to join for 2014 and is said to be in talks with Lotus and McLaren.
Barrichello told Brazilian website Total Race: "I feel very sorry for Felipe but, on the other hand, I know very well that there is life after Ferrari. I am a proof of that because of Brawn and everything that happened
. Everything was really good, and some things were even better than at Ferrari."
10. Lorenzo secures second MotoGP win
Jorge Lorenzo took his second consecutive Moto GP win at the San Marino Grand Prix last weekend, held at the Misano circuit in Italy.
He took a commanding victory, which helped him to close the gap on championship leader Marc Marquez. The Spaniard finished three seconds down in second place after an intense battle with Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa.
'The Doctor' Valtentino Rossi finished in a rather quiet fourth place with Stefan Bradl and Cal Crutchlow finishing just two tenths apart in fifth and sixth.
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