The last time the F1 paddock went racing, we were treated with a dominant run of performance. The only difference was this that this time it was not Max Verstappen at the head of it. Lando Norris had a fantastic run of performance and became the measuring scale of performance. This week, at the Monza GP, we are expecting nothing less. What are all the expected news and what has happened since the last race weekend, catch it all in this F1 Race weekend preview.
TITLE FIGHT
The most significant change that has been seen in the second part of the season is how much the Championship fight has changed.
credits: @F1 on X
Max Verstappen currently sits at P1 with 295 points to his name, 70 points ahead of his nearest rival Norris. This looks a big gap for F1 standards but when you consider the massive development that Mclaren has undergone lately, its game on. On the Teams side of things, its close as ever. Redbull Racing are leading with just a 30 point buffer to Mclaren Racing, truly hinting at a fight incoming.
Ferrari in new colors
The crowd favourite for the weekend, Scuderia Ferrari, have revealed new suits and a tweaked livery for the Monza GP.
The Tifosi, as the Ferrari fans proudly call themselves, show up in huge numbers to suport their team every time. On the performance side, Ferrari have been doing better lately with Leclerc scoring a podium at the last race. They are currently sitting in P3, 34 points away from second placed Mclaren. Emotions are also up for Carlos Sainz, who is attending his last Monza GP in Ferrari colors.
Mercedes second seat about to be announced
Many sources have been hinting at a potential announcement of Mercedes protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli for the second seat at Mercedes F1.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli (L) Toto Wolff (R); credits: Jiri Krenek
In other news, Kimi is also going to take a go in FP1 in Russell’s car. All this seat time will help him get familiar with the know-how of F1. Both the current Mercedes drivers have been full of praise for the Italian, with Hamilton saying he’s excited to see the youngster progress.
Renault personnel to protest at Monza GP
Renault employees are about to protest against the plans of the administration to shut down its F1 operations.
🚨 | NEWS: Renault employees at the F1 base at Viry-Chatillon will go on strike on Friday in protest at plans to close the F1 engine programme after next year.
There will also be a protest at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza from employees in the grandstand.
There is also about to be a peaceful protest in the grandstands of the Monza GP. These protests are coming up as the rumors of Alpine switching to Mercedes engines is floating. Also, there has been many personnel changes in the Alpine administration, with most recent change being the stepping down of Bruno Famin, the Team prinicipal of Alpine.
Williams make the change, Sargeant out of F1
Perhaps the biggest bombshell that has dropped this weekend is Williams dropping Logan Sargeant for the rest of the season with immediate effect.
🚨| BREAKING: Williams Racing announce that Franco Colapinto will race with the team for the remainder of the 2024 season.
He is being replaced by William Driver academy driver Franco Colapinto. Colapinto was participating in F2 till yet and is P6 in the F2 Championship. With Carlos Sainz set to join Williams for the next season, this news surprised us fans as Colapinto is being given the seat just for a period of 9 races. One person that will be elated will be Colapinto himself, ofcourse. After Sargeant, he has got the perfect opportunity to settle and prove himself at the world stage. Now whether he manages to make full use of this opportnity will be a wait-and-watch affair.
When and Where to watch
All the sessions will streamed on F1TV and Fancode in India.
Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo to never miss a motorsport update.
The last time we were in Motorland Aragón, the year was still 2022 and Francescco Bagnaia was yet to win a Moto GP championship. Fast forward to 2024 and Bagnaia is the rider to beat this weekend as he leads Championship. All you need to know about the race weekend and what news has dropped since the last race, read it all in the weekend preview report from DRC.
5 points in it: The Title battle
Last time out at Austrian GP, it was a blockbuster show by the World Champion.
Francesco Bagnaia won both Race and Sprint at the Austrian GP; credits: Moto GP
After entering the weekend just behind Martin and a point to prove, Pecco put on a masterclass and won both the Sprint and Race. Now leading the Champion, Bagnaia still can’t rest as his nearest rival is just five points away. Bagnaia is also en-route to shatter his own record of most wins in a season. He is currently sitting at 7 wins which is equal to his record. Hence a win here will be one for the history books.
However, Bagnaia will not be the only one gathering eyes this weekend.
Jorge Martin; credits: Moto GP
Jorge Martin has proved time and again this season that he’s a force to be reckoned with. We have seen a number of times this season how the Championship leader gets changed after every other Race weekend. And with Martin just trailing to Bagnaia by 5 points, it is very likely to happen again.
Marquez in desperate need of a come-back at Aragón
Marc Marquez is not having the best of form lately. After crashing out at the Silverstone Sprint, Marquez entered Austria with determination to do himself one better.
Marc Marquez; credits: Moto GP
However, his Silverstone form was yet to leave him. He was running in P2 in Sprint after Martin had to serve his Long Lap penalty but he fell off his bike, throwing away a well points paying position. In the race, Marquez fell down the owing to a crash with Franco Morbidelli, but eventually did well enough damage limitation and finished fourth.
Marquez currently sits 4th in the championship, 83 points away from the table-topper Bagnaia. This gap is not impossible to claw back, however, Marquez will need to improve his Qualifying pace and rectify his mistakes in races to still have a chance at the Championship.
Driver signings, Private tests and more
The most recent signing in the Moto GP paddock is of Fermin Aldeguer to Gresini Racing.
Fermin Aldeguer; credits: Moto GP
He was signed by Ducati back in March and now gets the seat of the outgoing Marc Marquez. Currently sitting in P5 in the Moto 2 Championship, the Spaniard impressed the Ducati squad after finishing P3 in Moto2 in 2023 season. He has been signed for a period of 2 years.
In other news, Yamaha are coming into this weekend after conducting a private test last week at Misano. For the same, Andrea Dovizioso stepped up as a replacement for the recovering Cal Crutchlow.
credits:Moto GP
The tests seem to have brought some positivity into Japanese team. Fabio Quartaro exclaimed-
“We had the opportunity to try some new things at the private Misano test. At the test we noticed that the new items give us a small improvement. This weekend we’ll have another chance to try these items, but this time in a race-weekend setting.“
With continued push by the Japanese team, Yamaha riders look in a better place to finally aim for better positions at the Motorland Aragón.
When and Where to watch
All the sessions from Motorland Aragón will be streamed on Eurosport (TV) and JioCinema (Web Broadcast).
The Schedule is as follows:
Friday
14:15-15:00 – Free Practice Nr. 1
18:30-19:30 – Practice
Saturday
13:40-14:10 – Free Practice Nr. 2
14:20-15:00 – Qualifying
18:30 – Sprint
Sunday
17:30 – Race
Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo to keep up with Moto GP at Motorland Aragón.
Moto GP has shown time and again the closest racing action. And this time around for the Austrian GP, we fans are expecting nothing less. What are the news since the last time we went racing and who are the favourites for this week, read it all in the weekend preview from DRC.
Title fight: Bagnaia’s turn to fight
At the start of the British GP last time around, Bagnaia was leading the championship by 10 points over Martin. However, as we came out of Britain, Martin was back at the top of the leaderboard.
Francesco Bagnaia after crashing in the British GP Sprint; credits- Moto GP
Overall, Martin looked like the better rider of the two that weekend. However, Bagnaia is no slouch. With Martin having only a marginal difference of 3 points to Bagnaia, the championship is highly volatile. Bagnaia has had massive success at this track. From winning both Sprint and the Race last year, this track is considered strong for the World Champion. A double win at the Ring could very well mean we could be watching a different championship leader yet again, come the end of the weekend.
The other protagonist in the Championship has also changed after British GP. Enea Bastianini has had an absolute spectacular run of performance at the British GP.
Enea Bastianini after winning at the British GP; credits-Moto GP
After trailing Marquez for P3 by 11 points, Bastianini put up a fight and now sits 13 points ahead of Marc. This makes him just 49 points afar from the table-topper Martin. This difference might look huge but when a total of 37 points are on offer every race weekend, Bastianini is very well into the title contention.
KTM, Honda and Aprilia debut a ‘Wildcard’ entry
In a bid to gather more data, the teams of KTM, Honda and Aprilia have decided to debut their test riders this weekend.
Brad Binder; credits: @KTM_Racing on X
KTM have won twice around this venue. Hence, coming into this weekend, they have a lot to do to put up a show for their home fans. Following this, they have decided to debut Pol Espargaro as a wildcard entry for Redbull KTM Factory Racing. The team has had a fantastic roster of drivers, as we saw at the last race when Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta had a close battle.
Click here to read the review from the last round.
Hence, KTM Factory racing will be looking to gather more data to put together the final pieces for their development.
Aprilia Racing are debuting Lorenzo Savadori, their test rider, this weekend with a lab bike.
Maverick Vinales; credits: aprilia.com
After getting pole, Aprilia Racing rider Aleix Espargaro had to settle for a Sprint podium and P6 in race. And he was the better of the two riders. Aprilia hasn’t had a good result in Spielberg as of yet. The best result the Noale outfit has managed here is a P6. Hence, a good haul of points or a pole position will be huge.
The Honda team is another outfit that is deploying a wildcard this weekend. Their test rider Stefan Bradl will be out with the HRC test team bike.
Luca Marini; credits: @HRC_MotoGP on X
With Luca Marini and Joan Mir confirmed as riders of the factory team, their pairing remains unchanged. It’s their satellite team that is expected to drop the news this weekend. In an interview to DAZN, LCR Honda’s Team Principal, Lucio Cecchinello has revealed that Moto2’s Ai Ogura, Somkiat Chantra and their current rider Takaaki Nakagami are the names that are being looked at. He even went as far as confirming that an announcement could be made by this weekend.
The track in use this weekend will be the famous Redbull Ring. This track consists of 10 turns, with a stop-go style, different to the usual fast and flowing tracks of Moto GP.
When and Where to watch
All the sessions will be streamed on JioCinema (Web Broadcast) and Eurosport (TV coverage).
The schedule is as follows:
Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo. to never miss a motorsport update.
DTM, 7. + 8. Rennen Norisring 2024 - Foto: Gruppe C Photography
DTM is coming back after the summer break with the Nürburgring GP this weekend. In true DTM fashion, we already have 7 different winners in the 8 races conducted so far. And this weekend is predicted to be no less exciting! Read DRC’s preview for the weekend in the Eifel.
Championship fight continues
The 2024 DTM championship is currently lead by Mirko Bortolotti. However, he himself is yet to win a race this season.
#92 Mirko Bortolotti; credits: Gruppe C Photography
The SSR Performance driver has had a good record at this track. In 2023, Bortolotti had a lights to flag victory in Race 1. This season, he has visited the podium thrice, with his best position being a P2. However, being at the top wouldn’t be a cakewalk for the Italian.
#3 Kelvin Van Der Linde; credits: Gruppe C Photography
Kelvin Van Der Linde sits in P2, just six points adrift Bortolotti. He has been finishing every race in the points so far this season. He also has managed to finish in the top 6 in five races so far, which is another feat. However, Kelvin cannot rest for now as he has got another Nürburgring master on his tail.
#33 René Rast; credits: Gruppe C Photography
René Rast (Schubert Motorsport) has had an excellent record at this track. He is a three-time winner at this track, winning with Audi. Now with BMW, he has amassed 65 points in just the last 4 races, winning most recently in Race 1 at Norisring. He now sits in third in the championship, 11 points away from the lead.
Now whether the three time world champion is able to recreate his Nürburgring magic will be a wait-and-watch affair.
Home advantage coming in clutch?
Two teams on the grid are based just near the track. Manthey EMA are headquartered in Meuspath, just beside the track.
#91 Thomas Preining; credits: Gruppe C Photography
Thomas Preining, piloting the no. 91 Manthey EMA, will be hoping for a strong performance to improve his position from 6th in the standings.
Another team with home advantage is Mercedes-AMG Team HRT. Located in Drees, the team has Luco Stolz and our very own Arjun Maini as its drivers.
#36 Arjun Maini; credits: Gruppe C Photography
Maini has been driving a spectacular season so far. Finishing in P4 at the last race, Maini is well ahead of his teammate in the standings. With 76 points under his belt, Maini is sitting in P5. However, he is slowly falling behind the top 4, who are engaged in the title fight. Maini will need to claw some essential points this weekend to get back into the title fight.
Track safari at the Nürburgring GP
Another sight to see this weekend will be the track safari being conducted. Fans will be allowed to board coaches on Friday and go on the track at the same time as the powerful GT3s, making for an unforgettable experience.
Photo: Gruppe C Photography
Track information
The track in use this weekend will be the Nürburgring sprint circuit. With just 3.6 kilometers of length, fans will be treated with frequent racing action. The weather in the Eifel region is already famous for being unpredictable enough to change the pitting strategy within a lap. All this makes up for a very interesting race weekend for us fans to watch.
Nürburgring GP sprint circuit; credits: gt engine
When and Where to watch
All the sessions will be streamed on Fancode in India.
The schedule is as follows:
Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo. on Instagram to never miss a Motorsport update.
The weekend in Chennai was expected to be a close competition between youngsters. And with marginal differences between winners and second-finishers, we were not disappointed. Read about the National 2W Racing Championship Round 3 in our weekend review.
Friday – The fight for positions
Friday marked the first day of on track action. For the qualifying session, it was close fight between Saarthak Chavan and Chiranth Vishwanath.
Saarthak Chavan; credits-Anand Philar
In the Pro Stock (301-400cc) category, Saarthak snatched the pole position from Chiranth by a tenth of a second. A new name at the top of the leaderboard was of Alwin Sundar (KTM Gusto Racing). He had the provisional pole in this category until the final 2 minutes of the session, before Saarthak and Chiranth finished their final laps. He ultimately finished P3 in the qualifying, still a noteworthy feat.
For the Pro Stock 165cc category, the top 2 were reversed. Chiranth took pole from Sarthak by 1.4 seconds! Chennai’s KY Ahamed completed the front row.
Abdul Basim qualified on pole in Novice 301-400cc class; credits-Anand Philar
In the Stock Novice 165 cc category, Abdul Basim took P1 honors while in the Novice 301-400cc class, Kaushik Subbaiah Ganesan was P1. In the Girls Stock 165cc, Ann Jennifer will be starting from pole.
For the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, Mohsin Paramban from Malappuram was P1. Meanwhile in the TVS One-Make Championship, Senthilkumar topped the RR310 Open grid while Saimah Ajaz Baig was atop the Girls RTR 200 leaderboard.
Saturday – first day of racing action
Saturday marked the first day of racing action and it was nail-biting. Starting from the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, Sarthak and Chiranth got good starts and soon broke away from the field. They both maitained status quo until the last lap. Chiranth and Sarthak both exchanged leads within a space of two corners. However, when this scrap was over, Sarthak was the leader of the two. Desperate to win, Chiranth sent it around the outside in the last right hander. Unfortunately, he lost his bike and Sarthak crossed the line to win.
Sarthak Chavan won Race 1 in Pro Stock 301-400cc class; credits-Anand Philar
The podium was completed by Rahil Pillarisetty (KTM Gusto Racing India), ahead of team-mate Alwin Sundar. Chiranth did manage to get up and crossed the line in P10.
In the Pro-Stock 165cc class, it was redemption for Chiranth Vishwanath as he managed to win the race. However, it was not without a fight. Starting with a wounded leg from the morning’s 301-400cc race’s crash, Chiranth got into contact with Sarthak. This time, it was Sarthak who went down. However, this meant that Vishwanath had fallen behind Jagan Kumar and KY Ahamed. Still, Chiranth made easy work of the two and finished the race to take his maiden win of the 2024 season of National 2W Racing Championship. Sarthak recovered from the fall to finish fifth.
Elsewhere, Abdul Basim went ahead and won again in the Novice Stock 165cc category. Meanwhile in the Girls Stock 165cc category, we had a new winner in the form of Ryhana Bee.
Ryhana Bee got her maiden win in Girls Stock 165cc category; credits-Anand Philar
In the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R), Mohsin Paramban converted his pole position into a win. The podium was completed by Kolhapur’s Siddesh Sawant and Prakash Kamath from Bengaluru.
For the TVS One-Make Championship, Manoj Yesuadiyan crossed the finish line first in the Open (RR310) class, while in Rookie (Apache RTR 200) class, Harshith Bogar crossed the finish line first. In the Girls (Apache RTR 200) category, Saimah Baig scored her second win.
Sunday – Final day of racing
As almost by force of habit, Chiranth and Sarthak were again at it. Starting from P10 in Race 2 of Pro Stock 301-400cc class, Chiranth passed multiple time National Champion, Rajini Krishnan and many more. He even passed 6 riders in the first lap itself. He would later go on to win this race from Rajini Krishnan and Alwin Sundar. Sarthak, meanwhile, stalled his bike in the first lap and finally finished in 8th.
Chiranth Vishwanath; credits-Anand Philar
In the Pro Stock 165cc race, Sarthak came home in P1 after starting from P5. This was his second win of the season in this class. Chiranth was starting on pole in this class, but after leading for few laps, he was overtaken by Jagan Kumar and KY Ahamed, and soon by Sarthak as well. Finishing on the podium was Jagan Kumar and Chiranth Vishwanath, who put up a late fight.
17 Year-old Abdul Basim and 15 year old Rakshitha Dave topped the classes of Stock 165cc (Novice) and Girls (Stock 165cc) races, respectively. Meanwhile, there was a new winner in the Stock 301-400cc class. Bengaluru’s Savion Sabu won that race with a dominating performance.
Savion Sabu; credits-Anand Philar
In the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, Siddesh Sawant scored his maiden win. Savion Sabu and Beedani Rajendar completed the podium.
For the TVS One-Make Championship, Senthilkumar C won his fourth race in this season in Open RR310 class. Meanwhile, CS Kedarnath recorded his first victory in RTR 200 category.
This marked the end of National 2W Racing Championship Round 3. The series will be back from 6th-8th September.
Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo. to never miss an update.
The 3 day action at the Silverstone GP gave us fans plenty to talk about. From 110% performance from Bastianini to heartbreaks for others, we had everything. Read it all in DRC’s review of the weekend.
Bastianini delivers double victory for Ducati
Enea Bastianini; credits-Moto GP
We are quite familiar with Ducati bikes dominating entire weekends in Moto GP this year. However, this time at the British GP, it was not Jorge Martin or Francesco Bagnaia that achieved this feat. But it was Enea Bastianini. He showed exceptional pace on Saturday and Sunday causing his fellow riders to play the catching game.
He started his British weekend slow. Finishing FP1 in 6th position, he was nearly 4 tenths back on the table topper Martin. However, he still was the lead Factory Ducati. In the second competetive session, Enea placed 5th, that saw him safely sail through to Q2.
The final qualifying session was curtailed as Maverick Vinales dropped his bike in Turn 2. Bastianini, however, posted a time well enough for P3 while his rivals Pecco and Martin started in P2 and P4 respectively.
The next session of Sprint, however, was where the points would be awarded. And Bastianini let all his pace out of the bag. As the dust settled and some laps passed, it was Bastianini fast on the tail of Martin for the lead. Another bomb that dropped in this sprint was Pecco crashing at Lap 5, turn 4. This meant that if Martin wins, he would be leading the championship. However, he still had Bastianini to contend with. In an ongoing scrap, Bastianini shot into the lead at Lap 6 and started opening up the gap. And with the final lap remaining, Bastianini extended his lead to a second, and secured his first trip to the Sprint podium in style.
Enea Bastianini; credits-Moto GP
The Race
With a spectacular performance on Saturday, Bastianini was looked upon by many as the top contender for the win. As the race started, Bagnaia got the best start out of the front runners. Overall, the top trio of Bagnaia, Bastianini and Martin, all passed Espargaro at the start. Martin was determined to do one better than Sprint and soon passed Bastianini for 2nd. He was passed by Espargaro too. As the race progressed, however, Bastianini passed Aleix to get back into the podium places and back on the attack.
‘The Beast’ wasn’t done here. He soon pounced on a mistake by Bagnaia and began applying pressure on Martin. With six laps to go, Bastianini closed the gap tenth by tenth. Finally with just 2 laps left, Enea was right at the tail of Martin. The #23 bike surely looked intimidating for Jorge as he slid wide twice, with Enea passing him at the second time.
Just within the final lap, Bastianini pulled out a gap of nearly 2 seconds on Martin. Just another way to flex on your opponents.
Enea Bastianini; credits-Moto GP
This superb weekend has resulted in Enea replacing Marquez from the P3 spot in championship. He now leads over Marquez by 13 points.
The Championship table changes once again
Throughout the first part of the weekend, Jorge Martin looked determined to take his championship lead back. He capitalized on every mistake that his rivals made.
Jorge Martin; credits-Moto GP
When we entered into this weekend, Jorge Martin trailed the world champion by 10 points. However, as the weekend progressed we saw how determined he was to get back into the lead. Out of the top 2, Martin looked more dialed in this weekend. Going into the sprint, he was the most probable winner on everyone’s cards. Even as Francesco Bagnaia fell off his bike in sprint, Martin kept his cool and eventually finished in 2nd. This made him just one point short of the lead in Championship.
Francesco Bagnaia fell off in Sprint; credits-Moto GP
Even in the race, Martin was the better of the two as he finished nearly 4 seconds ahead of Bagnaia. Bagnaia even exclaimed that he risked crashing in the race if he tried catching up to Martin.
Another change in the championship is Marc Marquez being replaced by Enea Bastianini for P3. Marquez had a subpar weekend by his own standards. He qualified in 7th for the sprint and the race. In the closing stages of the sprint, he lost his bike which didn’t help his case either.
Marquez crashed in the Sprint on Saturday; credits-Moto GP
In the race, Marquez was part of the top 5 that broke away from the rest of the field. Come the end, he was on track to catch Pecco for third but ultimately ran out of laps. He finished P4 on track. But with Bastianini finishing first, Marquez conceded his championship position to Bastianini.
Aprilias unable to deliver
The bikes of Aprilia Racing were looking quite fast as the weekend started. Both the factory Aprilias were fast in FP1, scoring a P2,P3. In the practice session, Aleix Espargaro posted a time for P2, missing P1 by 0.045 seconds. This difference was vanished, however, in the qualifying session.
Aleix Espargaro secured pole position; credits-Moto GP
Aleix Espargaro secured pole position over Francesco Bagnaia by 2 tenths. However, a large part of that difference is down to the qualifying session being interrupted. Maverick Vinales in the other Aprilia crashed at Turn 2, which brought out the yellow flags. Hence his performance was not on full display. He qualified P8 on the grid.
This was as good Aprilia’s weekend would get however. Aleix Espargaro was unfortunately unable to capitalize on his pole position in both Sprint and the Race. In the Sprint, he scored a P3 but was far from the leading 2. Vinales was at the tail-end of points scoring postions as he came home in P8.
On the Race day, Espargaro was again unable to get a good start as he dropped to P4. However, he was able to keep up with the top riders, and even had some fights himself. But ultimately, he crossed the finish line in 6th. He was passed by VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio who had a superb comeback drive from 10th to 5th. Vinales, meanwhile, finshed the race down in P13.
Miguel Oliveira (#88) and Raul Fernandes (#25); credits-Moto GP
It was not a smooth Sunday for their satellite team as well. Raul Fernandes had recieved RS-GP 24 from this weekend. But he wasn’t able to put it to full use as both Trackhouse bikes retired on first lap. This mishap happened as Raul lost his bike at Turn 6 on the first lap and took out Miguel as well.
KTM – GASGAS battle
Perhaps the biggest battle of the weekend apart from the top riders was between the bikes of Brad Binder(Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3). Both the KTM riders and future teammates were fighting tooth and nail in sprint for 5th place at the moment.
In a fiery scrap that ensued, Acosta and Binder came too close for comfort, even shattering their winglets. Marquez was able to get past both of them, but Acosta swept back past the spaniard.
With these two soon to be team-mates at KTM, such fights might be the new normal from 2026.
Championship standings
After the British GP, here is how the championship looks like:
Here we wrap up our review from the weekend. Moto GP will return after a week’s break. The next round will hosted at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, from 16-18 Aug. Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo. on X to never miss a motorsport update.
This weekend for us fans is lined up with two wheeler action. From Moto GP on international stage to National Motorcycle Racing Championship in India, we have plenty to look forward to this weekend. Read DRC’s preview of the weekend.
The rivalry continues-Saarthak VS Chiranth
One duo that has been the center of the media’s talks is Saarthak Chavan and Chiranth Vishwanath, and for good reasons.
#93 Chiranth Vishwanath; credits- Anand Philar
The two of them have been fighting tooth and nail in the Pro Stock categories (165cc and 301-400 cc). At the last event from 5-7 July, Saarthak took the pole from Vishwanath by just 0.043 seconds in 301-400cc category. Meanwhile in the 165cc, Vishwanath edged out Chavan by a mere 0.093 seconds. This statistic shows the fierceness of the competition.
However, Chiranth has had his fair share of bad luck in the races. During the last event, Chiranth had a issue with his bike during the Pro Stock 165cc race 1. This meant he dropped down to P7 at the finish. While in Sunday’s Pro Stock 301-400cc race, Chiranth missed a gear on the last lap, handing over the win to Sarthak.
These two will surely be unmissable on Saturday and Sunday.
Competetive young riders make up the headlines
All throughout the categories of the National 2W Racing Championship, one thing that is common is the young leading the pack.
One prime example is Abdul Basim, 17 year old young gun from Chennai.
Abdul Basim has won 4 out 4 races in the Novice Stock 165cc category; credits-Anand Philar
He is racing in the Novice 165cc category and he’s doing it in spectacular fashion. At the last event, he took pole by 2.5 seconds! Not only this, he has won every race this season in the Novice Stock 165cc category. he will be the one to watch this weekend.
In the girls categories, Rakshitha Dave (15) and Jagathishree Kumaresan (20) are in the limelight as they both have won two races this season in the Stock 165cc category.
This will be also be true for the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R) and TVS One-Make Championship as they too have showed nail biting action from young, talented riders
Over 100 entries for National 2W Racing Championship Round 3
This weekend at the Madras International Circuit will have plenty of action as mentioned in the points above. Another massive figure is the total number of entries registered for the weekend. Over 100 riders will be taking part in the Round 3 of the National 2W Racing Championship over 19 races scheduled.
Kaushik Subaiah Ganesan(#25) has dominated in the Stock Novice 301-400cc category; credits-Anand Philar
One of these categories is the Novice Stock 301-400cc categories which has gathered 30 entries. We fans will have to keep our eyes peeled for the competetion in this category. As of now, Kaushik Subaiah Ganesan has dominated here with 3 wins out of 4 races.
The Moto GP paddock returns to us fans after a break of nearly 4 weeks. What has happened within this time frame and what new storylines to look forward to? Read it all in DRC’s preview for the weekend.
Championship fight: Predator becomes the Prey
For most of the season this year, Jorge Martin has been leading the Rider’s Championship. However in the last race before the summer break, the Championship flipped on it’s head.
Francesco Bagnaia won in the German GP; credits-Moto GP
Going into the weekend in Germany, Martin was 10 points ahead of his rival Pecco. However, as we left Germany, Pecco had gained a total of 20 points over Martin and now he leads the Championship. The rivalry between these two is expected to continue this weekend as well.
Silverstone has been tagged as one of the stronger circuits of Francesco Bagnaia. With such high expectations, Pecco will be looking for a strong result to extend his lead.
The other protagonist of this fight, Marc Marquez has started to trail from the top 2. He’s sitting in P3, 56 adrift the top position.
Marc Marquez scored a P2 in the German GP; credits-Moto GP
Although Maruez’ season has been one to witness, he still hasn’t won a race atop a Ducati. His only win on this track has come back in 2014, on a Honda. A win this weekend could very well mean he will be back in the fight with the top 2. Marquez will also need to keep his eyes peeled for Enea Bastianini, who sitting in P4, is just 11 points behind him. A mistake form the Spaniard could mean he would slip back in P4.
All eyes on Aprilia
Apart from the top teams, Aprilia Racing are the one team that are looked upon for a strong result. Their rider roster has had previous success at this track, with Aliex Espargaro winning last time around.
Aleix Espargaro won at the British GP in 2023; credits-TheRace
Aliex Espargaro will be retuurning to Moto GP after missing the last round to recover from his injury in Assen GP. A podium or a win would make his weekend the ultimate comeback story.
On the other side of the garage, Maverick Vinales, also boasts a good resume of results at Silverstone. He’s had a win and two P2s thus far. He sits in P5 in the riders championship, 30 points away from fourth place Bastianini.
Yamaha: Rins back as Gardner enters as a wildcard
After missing the last round in Germany due to injury, Alex Rins will be back on his bike for the British GP. Yamaha have continued to work on their bike with private testing going on. This trend is continuing this weekend as well, as Remy Gardner will be entering as a wildcard from Yamaha.
ANNOUNCEMENT 📣 @calcrutchlow will be unable to ride as a wild card at the #BritishGP due to a hand injury. Crutchlow will be replaced by @GardnerRemy, who already gained some experience at the German GP when he filled in for @Rins42. Rins will ride in Silverstone. pic.twitter.com/dz4Brh5Djb
— Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP (@YamahaMotoGP) July 15, 2024
Yamaha’s lineup is still incomplete for 2025. Alex Rins is yet to be signed by the Japanese marque for next year but he is positive that it will soon happen. With Yamaha’s future satellite team Prima Pramac Racing’s seats still empty, this wildcard entry of Remy Gardner could also possibly mean he would be looked upon by the Yamaha bosses as a contender.
The Rider market puzzle comes together
Another domino has fallen in the Rider Market during the summer break. Honda has has extended Joan Mir’s contract for two more seasons.
Joan Mir; credits-Moto GP
This signing has meant that Repsol Honda’s lineup remains unchanged for 2025 season. Another massive news related to Honda is Aleix Espargaro joing them as a test driver from 2025. In their satellite team, Johann Zarco is too signed up for next season while Takaki Nakagami still awaits confirmation about his future.
In other news, Aprilia’s satellite team, Trackhouse Racing has confirmed Raul Fernandes as their driver for 2025 and 2026 seasons. His performances have been massive, with a front row start in Germany. This means that Trackhouse’s other seat is still in the air as Miguel Olivera is still unconfirmed for 2025.
Miguel Olivera; credits-Moto GP
Trackhouse racing are also set to recieve the 2024 spec Aprilias from Silverstone onwards. With these top spec bikes, Trackhouse will be hoping for even better results and consistency from its riders.
When and Where to watch
Moto GP teams are set to run one-off retro style liveries on Sunday. The reveal by the teams will be done on youtube at 6:30 pm on 1st August.
Jiocinema and Eurosport will stream all the sessions.
Going into the Belgian GP, we had Mclaren or Redbull as the probable team for the win. But as unpredictable is the the 2024 season, it was a win for the Brackley outfit of Mercedes. How did the race unfold and what were the storylines to come out of Spa? All these question will be answered in the DRC’s weekend report.
Lukewarm Belgian GP for Mercedes
George Russell crossed the line first but was later disqualified; credits-Mercedes gallery
As the car no. 63 of George Russell crossed the finish line, the Mercedes garage was ecstatic. They had just scored a strong 1-2 with Lewis Hamilton coming in second. However some hours later, it was found out that George Russell’s car was 1.5 kg lighter than the minimum limit. Hence, he was given a ‘DSQ’ for the Belgian GP. This meant that a superb weekend for the Brackley outfit was reduced to a ‘Lukewarm’ one.
However this strategic error from Mercedes doesn’t take away the glamour of Russell’s one stop drive. He qualified P6 for the race and pitted on Lap 10 to switch to Hard tyres. This performance saw him nurse his tyres to an on-track win just half a second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who started in P3.
credits-Mercedes
He went on a 2-stop race and come the end of the race, he was P2 from Russell. With Russell having to manage his tyres, Hamilton was catching him quickly. However, his efforts couldn’t fetch him a win on-track. Russell crossed the line first just 0.526 ahead.
Mclaren on the podium as Piastri scores a P2
Oscar Piastri came home in P2 , and as the better of the two Mclaren drivers. Throughout the weekend, Mclaren were looking quick as Piastri scored P2 in all the Practice sessions and Lando Norris topped FP2.
credits-@MclarenF1 on X
At the starting grid, Norris and Piastri lined up in P4 and P5 respectively. At the start, Norris made a mistake as he dipped a wheel in gravel at T-1 hairpin which meant he dropped to P7. From then on his race was highly compromised as he couldn’t get past Max Verstappen sitting in P5, who himself was on a comeback drive from 11th. Ultimately, Norris crossed the line in P6, which later got upgraded to P5 as Russell was penalised.
The case of Piastri was relatively more positive than Norris. He started the race behind Norris, but got the better start of the two. From then on, he continued his forward trajectory as he passed Leclerc and Perez for positions. His pace clearly shone when he found a free track and clean air ahead of him.
However, as he came for his second stop he commited a mistake as he overshot his pitbox. This meant he had a slow stop of 4.4 seconds.
However, this would be as far as he would go on track. He crossed the line in P3, 1.1 seconds off the leader. He later got upgraded to a P2.
Ferrari: Leclerc unsatisfied as Sainz’ future finally confirmed
The Belgian GP awarded Leclerc with a P3 trophy, but he was left unsatisfied. Leclerc had inherited pole position off Max Verstappen, with Dutchman having a 10-place penalty.
Charles Leclerc; credits-Ferrari
At the start, Charles got a pretty good start and shot into the distance. However his lead was short lived as a fast charging Lewis Hamiton passed him on the Kemmel Straight.
Leclerc was the only driver starting on the Hard tyres. He came in the pits for his first pit stop at Lap 12, a move he later said could’ve been delayed. In the later stages of the race, Piastri passed him for P3 but in the end he managed to keep Verstappen behind in P5.
In a race where Russell managed to make a one-stop strategy work, it was a case of ‘what could’ve been’ for Leclerc.
Sainz didn’t have as much of an glamorous points haul as Leclerc. After starting from P7, he even led the race at some points during the race.
credits-Ferrari content pool
However, following the same 2-stop strategy as others, he soon was shuffled back. From what place he was in, risking a one-stop was still possible. This thought was resonated by the Spaniard in the post-race interviews. He eventually came across the chequered flag in P6.
An off-track news that surfaced after the race weekend was the transfer of Carlos Sainz to Williams Racing for 2025 and beyond.
Williams have now managed to secure two top class drivers in the form of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. Whether they are able to provide them good enough cars will be the final piece of puzzle in the Williams resurgence.
A subpar Belgian GP as per Redbull standards
Right from the start of the Belgian weekend, Redbull were going to be the center of attraction. Max Verstappen was set to take a 10-place grid penalty as he had taken more engine components than allowed. Sergio Perez was another driver who was in for a tough weekend as the decision on his seat was imminent after this race.
credits-Redbull Racing on X
After Saturday’s Qualifying, Redbull were looking strong as both drivers gave strong performances. Max took P1 while Perez posted a time good for a P3. Verstappen penalty meant he would be starting from 11th while Checo moved up to P2.
Race
At the Start, Perez had a slower start than Hamilton and hence he conceded his position to the Briton. From then on, he was battling with Piastri for P3. After the first round of pitstops, Piastri was looking quick on the track as he passed Russell and Perez one by one. It was still not over for the mexican as Russell too overtook him for 4th place. Perez made an early second stop for Hard tyres after this.
Perez drove in P7 for majority of the race after his visit to the pits, until the last few laps, when Sainz overtook him. He eventually finished in 8th position. After starting in 2nd position, Perez would not be happy with a P8.
credits-Redbull Racing on X
On the other side of the garage, Max Verstappen was being looked as a potential race winner. With his antiques of winning from lowly positions on the grid, we fans were hopeful of some racing action. As the race started, Max Verstappen was already making moves. By lap 2, he was in P8, catching Norris. As confirmed by the drivers later, track position was very important in this race. Sainz sitting in 6th position was slowing down both Norris and Verstappen. The Dutchman, unable to pass, came into the pits at Lap 10. He put on hard tyres and rejoined the track in P14.
As more and more drivers pitted, the order reshuffled. Verstappen was now in P7, stuck behind Russell. Interestingly, Russell was getting DRS from Perez ahead of him. Soon Russell passed Perez, who later pitted. Further racing action for Verstappen came in the form a fast charging Norris. However, the Mclaren driver made a mistake on the bus-stop chicane and the gap opened up.
In the final stages of the race, a fight for 4th position took place between Leclerc, Verstappen and Norris. However, this would be the order in which the trio finished. Verstappen eventually got upraded to P4.
What’s Next?
The Belgian GP was the last race before the summer break of the F1 calendar. Teams like Mercedes will be going into their vacations with a positive mindset, while teams like Redbull have some homework to do. We also expect many driver and team personnel announcements throughout the summer break. With how the season has turned on it’s head, it would be impossible to predict how the rest of 2024 unfolds.
Howsoever it changes, follow Desi Racing Co. to keep yourself up to date with Motorsport news and much more.
Over the past few race weekends, we F1 fans have been in for a treat. With no single driver winning more than 2 races in a row, every Sunday has delivered a nail-biting result. And with Verstappen set to take a power unit penalty this weekend, we might be in for another overtaking masterclass. Read this story and much more in this Belgian GP preview from DRC.
Championship fight brewing?
Max Verstappen and Redbull have both been performing so well in the last couple of seasons that the prospect of a Championship fight almost feels alien. But now, McLaren and Mercedes are catching up. Mclaren’s 1-2 in the Hungaroring is proof of this change.
Oscar Piastri after winning in Hungary; credits-@MclarenF1 on X
Mclaren driver Lando Norris is just 76 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers Championship. With a total of 11 rounds to go, Norris might be in for a fight with the Dutchman.
Lando’s case will be helped by Redbull opting to take an excess power unit for Max this weekend, as reported by motorsport.com. However, Max has shown in the past seasons that he can win at this venue from as low as 14th (2022), albeit in a more dominant car than now. Whether he can repeat this feat will be a thing to witness.
In the Constructors championship, the competition has been even tighter. Mclaren is P2 from Redbull by only 51 points, while Ferrari holds P3 only 67 points away from P1. A couple of good weekends would mean that McLaren or Ferrari would be well within contention for that constructor’s trophy.
Mercedes betting on the weather for a good weekend
credits-Mercedes content pool
In the last race in Hungary, Mercedes scored a P3 courtesy of Lewis Hamilton, while George Russell came home in P8. These results may look good but when you compare it with the 2 consecutive wins Mercedes had in Austria (George Russell) and Silverstone (Lewis Hamilton), it does look like Mercedes dropped off at the Hungaroring. As per their team boss, Toto Wolff, this result was down to the heat they experienced in Hungary, as he exclaimed, “These conditions are not for us.” Hence for the race in the Ardennes forest, Mercedes will be hoping for much colder temperatures over the weekend. They currently sit at P4 in the constructors, 81 points adrift of Ferrari in P3.
Alpine decide to switch it up for Spa while a Mercedes engine deal looks imminent
Following the release of the movie Deadpool X Wolverine this week, Alpine has unveiled a special promotional livery adorning the colours of the franchise.
credits-F1
Their on-track performances in Hungary were quite disappointing, however. Esteban Ocon finished in P18, a lap down, after starting from P19 while Gasly had a DNF after 33 laps due to a hydraulics issue. An off-track news that has been floating around is that Alpine is set to become a Mercedes customer team starting as early as 2025. Big steps are being taken for the Alpine-Mercedes deal, as reported by multiple sources like The Race and Motorsport.com. However, an announcement is not expected until after the summer break.
Sources have also reported that the Alpine-Mercedes partnership will be like the one Aston Martin has. This means that Alpine will be using Mercedes’ gearbox, rear suspension and the engine.
However, whether the bosses at Mercedes and Alpine agree to a deal or not, is still unknown.
Driver Market up in the air
A hot topic going into the Spa weekend is the second seat at Redbull and the Driver market complications. Team Boss Christian Horner praised Perez in post-race interviews in Hungary, but he too exclaimed that Perez’s consistency needs to improve.
credits-Redbull content pool
Helmut Marko, advisor to Redbull has also been claiming that they will hold meetings on the topic of the second Redbull seat, after the race weekend. This means that come the end of the summer break, the driver dilemma at Redbull could be sorted.
Apart from Redbull, the other news that came out of the last race weekend was the departure of Kevin Magnussen from Haas for 2025. Rumours are that Esteban Ocon could get that second Haas seat alongside Ollie Bearman for 2025.
At Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli is been looked upon for that second seat. He was asked how he looks at his promotion to F1, to which he gave an honest answer-“I don’t know if I would be ready, to be honest because I still am learning a lot in F2,”. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been full of praise for the Italian and is seeing more than just the leaderboard for making the decision.
Weather and Track information
Spa-Francorchampsis one of the most famous tracks in the calendar, and the favourite of many drivers as well.
The 7 km long track through the Ardennes forest makes up for a very exciting race to watch every time. The majority of the track is long straights and fast-flowing corners. Hence setting up the cars for this track will be quite a challenge.
The weather for the weekend looks interesting as well. Rain is expected on both Friday and Saturday, while Sunday looks sunny.
Where to watch
All of the sessions will be available at F1TV and Fancode in India.
