Motorsport Roundup: MotoGP Stunner In Styria, New F1 Concorde Agreement Signed, Double Podiums For Kush Maini, Takuma Sato Wins Indy 500 And More

 MotoGP

The return to the Red Bull Ring for the Styrian Grand Prix saw yet another chaotic race with a battle for the lead that went right down to the wire. Tech 3 KTM rider Miguel Oliveira scored his maiden win in the premier class closed followed by Pragmac Ducati’s Jack Miller in second, with pole sitter and the factory KTM rider, Pol Espargaro rounding off the podium. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo’s struggle to 13th meant that the championship fight just got tighter with only three points separating Quartararo and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso in 2nd.  

In the background, it will be a long road to recovery for Marc Marquez as Honda Racing Corporation has ruled out the six-time premier class champion to return to racing action for at least another two months.

Formula One 

The week’s break for Formula One action was an important one, as all ten current F1 teams have agreed to the new Concorde Agreement. This agreement sets out the terms under which teams will compete in F1 until 2025. It was also the end of an era for Williams as a family-owned team as it has been acquired by American investment firm Dorilton Capital. That said, it will continue to be run under the Williams brand, with the chassis name remaining unchanged and no current plans to shift from its factory in Grove.

IndyCar

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Former F1 racer Takuma Sato shined in the 2020 edition of the Indianapolis 500 by taking his second win at the ‘Brickyard’ for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda. Scott Dixon who was leading the majority of the race crossed the line in second place for Chip Ganassi Honda with  Sato’s teammate Graham Rahal rounding off the podium. Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso had a difficult return to the Indy 500, finishing in 21st for Arrow Mclaren-SP partly due to clutch issues midway through the race.  

WRC

In the world of off-road motorsports, the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship sees Belgium added to the calendar in the form of the Ypres Rally. But it will replace Rally Japan as the season finale on November 19-22 due to border restrictions imposed by Japan in lieu of the coronavirus pandemic.

Formula E

With season 6 of Formula E now over, the talk has been full of driver transfers. And now, Alexander Sims will leave BMW Andretti and join Mahindra Racing for season 7 of the Formula E championship. He will take over Jerome D’ambrosio’s seat at Mahindra with the second seat yet to be confirmed. 

BRDC British F3

It was a positive week for Kush Maini, Arjun Maini’s younger brother as the Indian notch up two podiums for Hitech GP at the round five and round seven of the 2020 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship at Donington Park. Qualifying 4th for round five, the Indian driver took 3rd at the line with a 6th place finish at round six. The third and final round of the weekend saw Kush Maini start on pole by virtue of having the quickest second best qualifying lap time. Eventually he crossed the finish line in 3rd again. This consistent run of podiums keeps Maini 2nd overall in the driver’s standings, but still has to make up a 29-point deficit to Kaylen Frederick with another 20 rounds to go. 

French GT4

Akhil Rabindra’s stint with AGS Events Racing team in the French FFSA GT4 Championship kicked off with a top 10 finish  top-ten finish at the Circuit Paul Armagnac de Nogaro. Partnered with Gilles Vannelet in the Pro-am category, the duo qualified 11th overall and finished 7th in Race 1. The second race saw the duo drop down to 10th, but held on to the position in Race 3. The sister car of Nicolas Gomar and Mike Parisy took 3rd and the win in the second and third race.