MotoGP Championship wide open after Lorenzo’s Australian victory

Jorge Lorenzo has kept the 2013 title hunt going, taking a controversial win at Phillip Island in Australia.

Jorge Lorenzo (left) and Marc Marquez (right) battling for the championship in Australia. Image: Darren Staples/ABC News

Jorge Lorenzo has kept the title chase alive, taking the win in today’s Australian Grand Prix at the Phillip Island circuit.

The Spaniard started on pole position ahead of his championship rival Marc Marquez, with Marquez unable to wrap-up the title in Australia.

With the Phillip Island circuit recently resurfaced, this caused major tyre degradation, with Bridgestone ruling a mandatory bike swap in the middle of the race, causing a major change in the outcome of the race.

Lorenzo had a great battle with the Repsol Honda team of Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, holding the pair off going into the mandatory bike swap pit-stop.

Pedrosa pitted first from the winning trio, but later had to drop a position when he was caught exceeding 60km/h in pit-lane.

Lorenzo and Marquez stayed out when Pedrosa was pitting, with the pair set to pit at the same time, but a communication error saw Marquez hold out an extra lap, therefore missing the pit window of Lap 10.

Marquez was then penalised by being black flagged from the grand prix, resulting in a DNF for the 20-year-old.

The battle was then between Lorenzo and Pedrosa, but the Yamaha factory rider was too strong, taking the win and crawling back an 18-points gap for the MotoGP title.

Pedrosa finished second, with Valentino Rossi making the podium in third place.

Only two rounds remain in the MotoGP 2013 season, with the next round held at Suzuka next weekend.

Written by Loren Hazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/motogp-championship-wide-open-after-lorenzos-australian-victory/#sthash.U0xeRZ9M.dpuf

Whincup takes pole in thrilling shootout

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports

Redbull Racing’s Jamie Whincup has taken pole position for today’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

Whincup/Dumbrell will start first for today’s big race. Photo: Getty Images/The Daily Telegraph

Holden’s Jamie Whincup has taken his maiden pole position at Mount Panorama in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, with a time of 2:07.88.

Whincup started last in the shootout with his previous pole position in qualifying the day before, taking first by only 0.2 to Ford rival Mark Winterbottom.

The Redbull Racing Australia driver was the only driver in the session to get into the 2:07s, with Winterbottom only just shy with a time of 2:08.07.

A shootout held later in the day than normal, the sun came out and the track became quicker and quicker throughout the session, giving an advantage to those qualifying quicker the day before.

Jason Bright set the third quickest time, just edging out Shane van Gisbergen who set a strong lap holding over James Courtney.

29 cars will start the race today, racing around Mount Panorama for 161 laps over 6 and a half hours.

Final Top 10 Shootout Results

1	Red Bull Racing Australia	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	02:07.88
2	Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG	02:08.08	00:00.19
3	Team BOC	Jason Bright	Holden Commodore VF	02:08.28	00:00.39
4	TEKNO Team VIP Petfoods	Shane Van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	02:08.28	00:00.40
5	Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	02:08.83	00:00.95
6	Red Bull Racing Australia	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	02:08.96	00:01.08
7	Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford	Will Davison	Ford Falcon FG	02:09.00	00:01.12
8	Fujitsu Racing GRM	Scott McLaughlin	Holden Commodore VF	02:09.19	00:01.31
9	The Bottle-O FPR Ford	David Reynolds	Ford Falcon FG	02:09.24	00:01.36
10	Fujitsu Racing GRM	Alexandre Premat	Holden Commodore VF	02:10.41	00:02.53

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/whincup-takes-pole-in-thrilling-shootout/#sthash.Go2KtL5o.dpuf

How To Punt This Bathurst

Australian V8 Supercars, Spultured

Can’t decide how to bet at Mount Panorama this year? We’ve got you covered.

At the moment, Sandown 500 winners and reigning Bathurst champions Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell are sitting at $3.00, with their teammates for the great race Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff at $4.33. Red Bull’s season has not been as dominant as previous years, but they still continue to lead this year’s championship.

Next up is Ford Performance Racing. Mark Winterbottom is partnering up with Steven Richards, with ‘Frosty‘ looking for his first win at the mountain ($7.50). Teammate Will Davison has previously won Bathurst with the Holden Racing Team, with Davison partnering up with Steve Owen ($8.00). Ford has shown great pace this year, but unfortunate pit stops have cost them the championship lead.

Holden Racing Team, this year have James Courtney joining Greg Murphy to make a fiery duo and are currently priced at $9.00. Keep an eye out also for Garth Tander and Nick Percat who are at $13.

Brad Jones Racing present a dark horse, with victories coming their way throughout this year’s V8 Championship. Jason Bright will be teaming up with Andrew Jones, and at $18 they offer a bit of value, as do Fabian Coulthard and Luke Youlden.

A great car to put money on would be David Reynolds and Dean Canto, with the duo finishing a close second to Whincup and Dumbrell last year. The Bottle-O Falcon currently stands at $26. A real smokey however are young guns Scott McLaughlin and Jack Perkins. McLaughlin this year took the record for being the youngest driver ever to win a V8 Supercars race, with Jack Perkins bringing a wealth of knowledge to the pair. This duo, running for Gary Rogers, currently sit at $26.

So there you have it – there’s plenty of value around, even if you are having a punt just to make laps 1-140 that bit more interesting. Either way, Bathurst is definitely not something you want to miss this Sunday.

Vettel takes pole for Korean Grand Prix

Fiasco Sports, Formula 1

Reigning Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel has claimed pole position for the 2013 Korean Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel takes his sixth pole for the season. Photo: Getty Images/The Daily Telegraph

Sebastian Vettel has taken his sixth consecutive pole position for the 2013 Formula 1 Championship, setting a great first lap in Q3 with a time of 1:37.202.

The German was quick throughout all the qualifying sessions, feeling threatened by the Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was quickest in practice yesterday, qualifying second.

Australian Redbull racer Mark Webber qualified in third, but will unfortunately will take a 10-spot penalty for tomorrow’s race due to an incident from the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean took fourth spot on the grid, while his teammate Kimi Raikkonen qualified tenth.

Next in line on the grid are the Ferrari team, with Fernando Alonso qualifying sixth and Felipe Massa starting from seventh.

The Sauber-Ferrari had a strong run in qualifying, with Nico Hulkenberg taking eighth and Esteban Gutierrez placing ninth.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo just missed out on the top ten, starting from 13th for tomorrow’s race.

Despite no one having ever won the Korean Grand Prix from pole before, Vettel is confident he can back up his win from last year and extend his championship lead.

Full qualifying results

Pos	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3
1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:38.683	1:37.569	1:37.202
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:38.574	1:37.824	1:37.420
3	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:39.138	1:37.840	1:37.464
4	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1:39.065	1:38.076	1:37.531
5	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:38.418	1:38.031	1:37.679
6	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:38.520	1:37.978	1:38.038
7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:38.884	1:38.295	1:38.223
8	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber-Ferrari	1:38.427	1:37.913	1:38.237
9	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	1:38.725	1:38.327	1:38.405
10	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault	1:38.341	1:38.181	1:38.822
11	Sergio Perez	McLaren-Mercedes	1:39.049	1:38.362
12	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1:38.882	1:38.365
13	Daniel Ricciardo	STR-Ferrari	1:38.525	1:38.417
14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1:38.988	1:38.431
15	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	1:39.185	1:38.718
16	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Ferrari	1:39.075	1:38.781
17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Renault	1:39.470
18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	1:39.987
19	Charles Pic	Caterham-Renault	1:40.864
20	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham-Renault	1:40.871
21	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Cosworth	1:41.169

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/vettel-takes-pole-for-korean-grand-prix/#sthash.uAXztfYR.dpuf

What A Bloody Rush

Film and TV, Formula 1, Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Spultured

Ladies and Gentleman, fasten your seatbelts because Rush is by far one of the most inspiring yet adrenalin pumping movies you could ever watch. Whether you’re a racing fanatic or know nothing about those things that move on four wheels, this movie is a winner.

Directed by Academy Award Winner Ron Howard and written by Peter Morgan, Rush is based on the true story of Niki Lauder and James Hunt’s rivalry in Formula 1 back in the late 70’s, entering a world that most Formula 1 fans would have never discovered.

The movie is rather long, but definitely worth the time. It starts off with Lauder and Hunt’s rivalry back in the Formula 3 days, showing straight from the start how different the two characters were and how they progressed to the pinnacle of open wheel racing leading in two different directions.

If you aren’t familiar with the rivalry between these two amazing drivers and the 1976 Formula 1 season, I’d strongly suggest you Google it before watching the movie. The way Howard conducts the life of these two drivers is impeccable, with Australian actor Chris Hemsworth (James Hunt) and Daniel Brühl (Niki Lauder) turning in outstanding performances as these Formula 1 champions.

This movie shows the audience just how dedicated you have to be to race in Formula 1, especially when it’s life or death. Rush will definitely keep you on the edge throughout, making you wonder just how those two drivers survived racing all those years ago.

If you loved Senna and World’s Fastest Indian, I’d strongly suggest you go see this when it hits cinemas (October 3). Rush follows a similar storyline to the World’s Fastest Indian, yet draws you in on the true story just like Senna. Motorsport fan or not, this movie is a must see.

Keep your eyes peeled and go feel the rush – everyone’s driven by something.

Second Place for Hazelwood at Phillip Island

Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Todd Hazelwood Racing

Todd racing at Phillip Island

17-YEAR-OLD Todd Hazelwood has finished second in the Forpark National class in a thrilling finale at Phillip Island for the sixth round of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship.

The South Australian had previously raced at the Phillip Island circuit last year in Formula Ford; the first time in this year’s championship Hazelwood had previous experience at a circuit.

Qualifying saw Hazelwood set the third fastest time in the Forpark National class, enduring a close battle with his teammate throughout the session and also lapping the original track record.

The teenager finished third in the first 9-lap race, second in race 2 and had a fantastic battle with his teammate in the final feature 14-lap race to finish second for the round.

“I had a great battle with my teammate in the final race,” said Hazelwood.

“Going side by side through turn 1 and also the last three corners certainly got the heart rate racing!”

Once again Hazelwood continued to show his pace and his place in the Forpark National championship, currently running in second.

“This weekend has once again been very consistent and successful, but it wasn’t strong enough,” said Hazelwood.

“I felt this weekend was my best opportunity to close the gap to the Forpark National class championship leader, but unfortunately the gap has slightly increased.

“I really enjoyed racing at Phillip Island, previously having great success in the past and it was great to continue my strong form at this exciting circuit.”

The South Australian will be working super hard in preparation to ensure he finishes the year off with a good result and to thank everyone involved who has made this year in Formula 3 happen.

The final round of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship will be held at Sandown Raceway on November 15-17.

Shannons Supercar Showdown Season Three

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports, Film and TV, Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Sprint Karting, Todd Hazelwood Racing

The Shannons Supercar Showdown is back for series three this year, unveiling a new team and a new prize.

Season 3 with Ford Performance Racing. Source: FPR

Eight young rookies this year will battle it out in a series of challenges to claim the number one prize of winning the Shannons Supercar Showdown.

The series is back for it’s third season, this year under Ford Performance Racing and also with a brand new prize, a 2014 testing contract with Ford Performance Racing and a race at Homebush this year in a Dunlop Development Series car.

Professional V8 Supercar drivers Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom will be the driver coaches this year, with brand new host motor racing reporter Briony Ingerson.

The rookies confirmed include two British drivers of Adrian Campfield and Dan Cammish, Formula Ford’s Macauley Jones, Chelsea Angelo and James Golding, Formula 3 stars Tim Macrow and Todd Hazelwood and current V8 Ute driver Craig Dontas.

This year’s rookies will split into teams of four, either belonging to Team Davison or Team Winterbottom.

They will compete in teams to earn points, testing their mental and psychical ability, race on simulators and compete in motorkhanas, Formula Ford, Sprint Karts and of course, V8 Supercars.

The team coach will then allocate a certain amount of points to the winner, with whoever having the most points earning themselves a place in the final four.

There is also a captain’s choice option, so if the contestant doesn’t earn many points, they may still have a place in the final four.

Unlike the two previous series, there are no eliminations this year.

The series will air over eight episodes on Australian channel 7mate Saturday evenings, online at: http://www.shannons.com.au/supercarshowdown/videos

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/shannons-supercar-showdown-season-three/#sthash.Dz8lrvjB.dpuf

Todd Hazelwood More Than Ready for Phillip Island

Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Todd Hazelwood Racing

Todd ready to race. Picture: Coopers Photography

PREVIOUSLY RACING Formula Ford at the Phillip Island circuit last year, Todd Hazelwood is more than ready to attack the island in his Fujitsu Racing/R-Tek Dallara for the sixth round of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship.

Currently second in the Forpark National Formula 3 Championship, the 17-year-old is more than confident in closing the championship gap, for the first time this year having previous experience at a circuit on the Formula 3 calendar.

Since having a few weeks break since Queensland, the South Australian has been busy competing on season three of the Shannons Supercar Showdown show, keeping Hazelwood more than ready for this weekend.

“The championship so far has been really close, and racing at Phillip Island this weekend will make the title chase closer than ever,” said Hazelwood.

“I haven’t raced on the track since it’s been resurfaced, so I’m looking forward to going out on the track for practice tomorrow to see what elements of the circuit have changed.

“I have had good success in the past at Phillip Island, hopefully we can continue that form and put it towards our championship.”

Todd Hazelwood will hit the track tomorrow for two practice sessions, commencing at 10:45 local time. To follow Todd’s progress throughout the weekend, like his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter.

Shannons Nationals Schedule: Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship

Friday
10:45 Practice 1 – 25 minutes
13:50 Practice 2 – 25 minutes

Saturday
10:25 Qualifying 1 – 20 minutes
14:30 Race 1 – 9 laps

Sunday
10:35 Race 2 – 9 laps
14:05 Race 3 – 14 laps

Whincup and Dumbrell take the first endurance win

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports

After an eventful start to the V8 Supercar endurance calendar, Red Bull Racing have come through to finish 1-2 at the Sandown 500.

Whincup and Dumbrell celebrating their win. Picture: Getty Images/Adelaide Now

Red Bull Racing pair Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell have taken the first endurance win for the season, alongside their teammates Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff.

A win that looked doubtful from the halfway mark after receiving a penalty from spinning the wheels in pitlane, the Whincup/Dumbrell duo fell back to 25th, but were able to claw their way back to first.

Teammates Lowndes/Luff were looking strong for the win, but their tyres were fading away allowing the Whincup/Dumbrell duo to make the overtake for the win with 10 laps to go.

Lowndes/Luff finished in front of the Ford Performance Racing pair of Will Davison and Steve Owen, despite having fluid leaking from the transaxle of their Falcon.

Ford Performance Racing were looking strong for the win after putting the Davison/Owen car on pole on Saturday, but were held up in pit lane after the other Falcon of Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards were re-fuelling.

Winterbottom and Richards had hold of the race lead in front of the Red Bull Racing team, until a slow wheel change put the Ford team back in last place.

Erebus Motorsport pair Lee Holdsworth and Craig Baird drove the Mercedes AMG to their career best position since entering the category, finishing in fourth place.

James Courtney and Greg Murphy worked a hard-fought battle to finish in fifth, after receiving two black flags at the start of the race due to loose body work.

Winterbottom and Richards managed to climb their way back to sixth place after their pit lane drama.

Ashley Walsh caused the first safety car on Lap 35, spearing into the fence at high speeds from the back straight, walking away with no injuries.

eKol Racing pair Scott Pye and Paul Morris also did not finish the 500km race, suffering from broken steering.

Whincup now leads the V8 Supercar championship by 96 points, second is teammate Lowndes, with Ford Performance Racing’s Davison third and Winterbottom fourth.

The next round of the championship will be at Bathurst for the Supercheap 1000 10-13 October.

Race results for Sandown 500

1	J.Whincup/P.Dumbrell	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:22:54.62
2	C.Lowndes/W.Luff	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:23:02.81
3	W.Davison/S.Owen	Ford Falcon FG	161	03:23:12.56
4	L.Holdsworth/C.Baird	Mercedes E63 AMG	161	03:23:13.53
5	J.Courtney/G.Murphy	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:23:20.77
6	M.Winterbottom/S.Richards	Ford Falcon FG	161	03:23:21.14
7	F.Coulthard/L.Youlden	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:23:25.87
8	S.McLaughlin/J.Perkins	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:23:27.93
9	R.Ingall/R.Briscoe	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:23:33.15
10	A.Premat/G.Ritter	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:23:44.50
11	T.Kelly/D.Russell	Nissan Altima	161	03:23:46.43
12	S.Van Gisbergen/J.Bleekemolen	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:23:54.26
13	J.Webb/M.Lieb	Holden Commodore VF	161	03:23:55.18
14	C.Mostert/D.Wood	Ford Falcon FG	161	03:24:04.30
15	A.Davison/J.McIntyre	Ford Falcon FG	160	03:22:56.45
16	R.Kelly/K.Reindler	Nissan Altima	160	03:23:03.85
17	D.Reynolds/D.Canto	Ford Falcon FG	160	03:23:03.97
18	D.Fiore/M.Halliday	Holden Commodore VF	160	03:23:06.06
19	D.Wall/C.Pither	Holden Commodore VF	160	03:23:07.02
20	M.Caruso/D.Gaunt	Nissan Altima	160	03:23:10.18
21	T.Slade/A.Thompson	Mercedes E63 AMG	159	03:23:17.33
22	G.Tander/N.Percat	Holden Commodore VF	152	03:23:33.77
23	T.D’Alberto/J.Reid	Holden Commodore VF	152	03:23:58.16
24	J.Bright/A.Jones	Holden Commodore VF	147	03:23:19.98
25	M.Engel/S.Johnson	Mercedes E63 AMG	143	03:23:37.57
26	J.Moffat/T.Douglas	Nissan Altima	123	03:23:17.08
DNF	S.Pye/P.Morris	Holden Commodore VF	135	02:56:03.57
DNF	Ashley Walsh	Ford Falcon FG	33	42:25.70

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/whincup-and-dumbrell-take-the-first-endurance-win/#sthash.OX3z8zgV.dpuf

Why Car of the Future is Good

Australian V8 Supercars, Spultured

I’m sure all us motorsport fans have thought it. V8 Supercars is built around the support of bogans and you’re either a Ford or Holden fan. So much speculation was built up across the 2012 season with Nissan and Mercedes-AMG barging their way through the series, but it’s been the best thing yet for the sport.

I have personally followed the V8 Supercar series my whole life. I remember watching the greats like Dick Johnson and Peter Brock battle it out for all of us Holden and Ford fans. I honestly was a sceptic a year ago and I thought this Car of the Future thing wouldn’t work – well, how wrong was I!

Unfortunately for Ford fans, the Falcon is dying in the series, with only six from the blue oval on the grid for this season. Although this hasn’t stopped the blue army from winning races – with three Ford drivers taking wins this season.

Championship wise, you could say it is the tightest battle in the history of the sport and heading into the Enduro season it will definitely be a race to the finish line for the championship at Sandown, Bathurst and on the Gold Coast.

Jame Whincup, who dominated the series last year with his teammate Craig Lowndes alongside him at Triple Eight has endured an interesting season, not winning nearly every race. In fact, Whincup hasn’t won that many at all, as there have been 12 different race winners to date this year (and it’s only just passed halfway through the season).

Not only are more people taking the cake on race wins, there are some top-notch rookies hitting the scene this year. For instance, Scott McLaughlin has won three races this season and also broke the record for being the youngest driver in V8 history to win a race at 19. Then came along young Chaz Mostert, who won Dick Johnson Racing’s first race in two years at Queensland Raceway a few weekends ago.

With more young rookies running in the Dunlop Development Series this year, who knows how next year’s season will go, especially now that two rookies to the series have taken race wins.

Volvo will also join the V8 category next year, so it will only spice up the category for what is to come. Rumours have circulated for what other manufacturers will join the category next year, but of course they won’t tell you until it unfolds!

At this stage of the competition, I definitely wouldn’t be placing bets on who wins the championship this season, so hold on race fans for what is to come!

Media by Loren Hazelwood

Motor sport media, marketing and content specialist

Author: Loren Hazelwood