RACE RAP: Monday, March 3

SvG falls at the end. Shane Van Gisbergen was a contender again when the NASCAR circus hit the road course at the Circuit of the Americas. The quick Kiwi qualified sixth and ran in front from the get-go in Texas, but got shuffled back in the pack after the final pitstops and a caution to fall to sixth at the chequered flag.

IndyCar champ still on top. Three-time and defending series champion Alex Palou swept to victory in the IndyCar season opener on the St. Petersburg street course. He finished ahead of his veteran Scott Dixon from Chip Ganassi Racing and Josef Newgarden from Team Penske, as Scott McLaughlin managed fourth and Will Power was eliminated by contact on the first lap.

MotoGP mastery by Marc. Proving he is back to his best after being promoted to a full factory Ducati, six-times world champion Marc Marquez did the triple at the first round of the MotoGP world championship in Thailand. He took pole position, the Sprint win and then the GP victory ahead of his brother Alex and Pecco Bagnaia. Aussie Jack Miller was best of the Yamaha riders, but only 11th.

Ferrari sweeps Qatar. A landmark 1-2-3 result for the Ferrari 299P gave the Italian brand the early advantage in the World Endurance Championship for 2025. Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen shared the winning car as BMW was best-placed non-Ferrari in fourth, ahead of a pair of Toyotas.

Dacia in the desert. After a speedy debut and a near-miss at the Dakar Rally, Dacia has claimed its first success in the second round of the FIA and FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship. The winner in Abu Dhabi was desert dune specialist Nasser Al-Attiyah in his Dacia Sandrider.

Sanders does it again. Australia's Daniel Sanders has continued his unbeaten off-road run in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. After taking top spot in the Dakar Rally with KTM he led for most of the way in Abu Dhabi.

Xiberras gets a christmas tree. Supercars team owner Peter Xiberras cleaned up in Top Fuel at the Westernats at the Perth Motorplex. He qualified second-quickest and elimianted  Phil Lamattina and Phil Read before taking the final with a 3.854-second pass at 502.36km/h defeat of defending champion Damien Harris. 

Vettel back to Australia. His grand prix days are done, but four-time Formula One world champion is returning to Australia this week to compete in the Race of Champions in Sydney. The all-star field includes fellow F1 racers David Coulthard and Valterri Bottas – as well as Australian champions Jamie Whincup, Will Brown, Toby Price and Molly Taylor – for a two-day event on a special course at Accor Stadium in Sydney.