Motorsport Roundup: Binders’s Shock Austrian GP Win, De Vries Crowned Formula E Champion, And A New Formula Championship In India

It was enough action to satiate your motorsport fix this past week, including a thrilling Austrian Grand Prix in MotoGP and the 2020/21 Formula E season reaching a dramatic conclusion. Also there was a big announcement for Indian motorsports by Mumbai Falcons. Here’s all about it:

MotoGP

The second MotoGP double-header race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria saw the rain gods serve up a dramatic conclusion to the race. Brad Binder’s gamble to stay on slick tyres (rather than switching to wets) paid off with a race win for KTM. Joining him on the podium was the Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia in second and the Pramac Ducati of Jorge Martin, both climbing through the field on wet tyres to secure the podium spots on the final lap. In the championship, however, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo extended his lead, and now stands 47 points clear of Bagnaia and Suzuki’s Joan Mir.   

Off track, Maverick Vinales already made headlines with a controversial suspension from the race weekend by Yamaha for deliberately damaging the bike. But now he has been confirmed to join Aprilia alongside Aleix Espargaro for the 2022 season. It’s yet to be known whether Vinales’ suspension will extend for the remainder of the season. 

Formula E

The final double-header of the 202/21 Formula E World Championship at Berlin served up a thrilling finale. In the final race, three championship contenders, Mitch Evans, Edoardo Mortara and Jake Dennis were all wiped out within minutes of the final race. That left Mercedes’ Nyck De Vries to cruise home to eighth place and clinch his maiden Formula E title. In the teams standings, Mercedes managed to leapfrog overJaguar Racing to clinch their maiden title as well.

Race success aside,  there could be a bombshell coming, as reports suggest reigning champions Mercedes will be leaving Formula E after this season. This would make it the third big factory team after Audi and BMW to leave the electric single-seater championship.

Indian Motorsport

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Big news for Indian motorsport has surfaced, as Mumbai Falcons have teased the Formula Regional Indian Championship. Certified by the FIA, it’ll consist of three different championships where drivers will race Formula 3 and Formula 4 cars. More details on India’s latest racing series will be revealed on August 19, 2021.

Next week will see the fourth round of the 2021 DTM season commence at the Nurburgring in Germany, and the 24 Hours of LeMans take place .