RACE RAP: Tuesday, August 24
THE KIDS ARE WINNING
The next generation of racing youngsters dominated the results at Queensland Raceway as Jett Johnson, Nash ‘Flash’ Morris and Broc Feeney all bagged significant victories.
Johnson, the 16-year-old son of Steven and grandson of Dick, swept to four wins from four starts in the TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series driving a Ford Mustang.
On the same program, Feeney and Morris combined to win a 175-kilometre mini-enduro race for Hyundai Excels, as Tim Slade was second and Roland Dane – paired with Prince Jefri Ibrahim – trailed home in 17th.
JAPAN IS OUT OF F1
The Japanese Grand Prix has, like Australia, fallen victim to Covid-19 for the second straight year.
It’s the fourth event from the original 2021 calendar to be cancelled – Canada and Singapore are the others – as F1 officials scramble to reach their target of 23 races this season.
China is also likely to be lost, although it is currently only postponed, with a variety of contingency plans being developed that include a double-header at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.
MCLAUGHLIN GETS KUDOS FROM INDYCAR LEGEND
Fourth place in the IndyCar oval race at St.Louis was a big boost for Scott McLaughlin, as he stays on track for Rookie of the Year honours, but there was another accolade he cherished.
As he came into the pits after his qualifying run, McLaughlin was welcomed by his driving coach at Team Penske, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears, giving him the thumbs-up signal.
“Really happy with our race moving from 11th to 4th, kept it clean, played the long game and got rewarded,” says McLaughlin. “Onwards and upwards but excited to get a result for my hard working team.”
ALONSO INJECTS F1 INTO LE MANS WEEKEND
Fernando Alonso is a past winner of the Le Mans 24-Hour race with Toyota but he was driving something very different when he returned to the circuit this year.
Alonso uncorked an F1 car during an Alpine display in the lead-up to this year’s twice-around-the-clock classic, as an Alpine hypercar went on to take third place in the race.
It is the first time in recent history that a grand prix car has run a lap on the full 13.6-kilometre circuit.
MOLLY RALLY IN GREENLAND
Molly Taylor is heading to Greenland this weekend to continue her pursuit of the Inaugural Extreme E off-road series on a course that will combine rock shelves and sand dunes to challenge the battery-powered electric racers.
Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson lead the series for Nico Rosberg’s teams but the format for the racing has been tweaked for Greenland to increase the competition and the size of the line-up for the weekend finale.
While Taylor is focussed on Extreme E, she has also been doing side-by-side off-road racing in Europe and has a three-event program driving a Ford Fiesta for M-Sport in the World Rally Championship.
FORD BOSS FARLEY IS AN OLD-SCHOOL RACER
The future of the Ford Motor Company is electric but that does not stop the company’s CEO, Jim Farley, from racing with old-school combustion power.
Farley is a regular in historic racing, and a winner too, using his Ford Mustang and Cobra GT racers, as well as competing at Spa in Belgium with a Ford GT40.
Although he says the days of technology transfer from racing to the road are closing, Farley believes competing in NASCAR helps the blue-oval brand to sell more F-Series pick-ups and its other motorsport programs also polish the badge and bring followers to showrooms.
THE DOCTOR TO WELCOME A DAUGHTER
Valentino Rossi is already moving to the next stage of his life, announcing the impending arrival of his first child as he races through the final events of his MotoGP career.
“After a careful visit we can let you know that Franci is pregnant! We’re expecting a baby girl,” says 42-year-old Rossi.
The mother is his 27-year-old partner, Francesca Sofia Novello.
