Massa wins in Valencia
Phillipe Massa did a Ralf Schumacher on Sunday and won the European Grand Prix from Pole Position. I say this, because this was type of situation that both drivers excel in, leading from the front in perfect conditions. Although it has to be said, unlike Ralf, Massa is quite handy at overtaking to gain position.
In fact, the only thing that marred Massa's weekend was the stewards enquiry into his actions in the pit lane during his stop. The Ferrari lollipop man let the Ferrari out too early, which meant that he almost ran into the back of Adrian Sutil's Force India. However, as he drives for Ferrari, he was given an official reprimand and a 10,000 euro fine (makes you wonder what would have happened if it was a car from another team).
Other people did not have such a good weekend, with the Red Bull's being outqualified by the Toro Rosso's and local hero, Fernando Alonso, retiring early on in the race. Alonso, who is having a bit of a dismal season driving a dog of a car, was hit up the bum by Kasuki Nakajima's Williams early on in the race. Unfortunately for the Spainard and the thousands of people who came to watch him, the damage to his car was too great for him to carry on. He must be hoping for a new car and a new engine, preferably in a new team!
As for the circuit, it was quite nice to see F1 on a street track, even if it wasn't a proper one. I mean where were the road markings, manhole covers and changing surfaces? As David Coulthard commented, it's just a track built in a city. I must admit the circuit wasn't too bad, with a good mix of quick and slow corners.
Shame that the race was duller than a night out with John Major.
Stoner gifts Rossi Czech Victory
Casey Stoner did his chances of retaining his MotoGP World Championship no good at all, after crashing out of Sunday's Czech Grand Prix. The Australian was in the lead by a second from Rossi, when he skidded off into the gravel on lap six. The Ducati was too badly damaged for him to carry on, leaving Rossi to cruise to victory, giving himself a fifty point lead ahead of Stoner.
As for the remaining two podium places, Spain's Tony Elias and the Italian veteran Loris Capirossi came second and third respectively. Anthony West surely saved his MotoGP career by coming home in fifth and this seasons serial underachiever Marco Melandri salvaged some face for Ducati by finishing seventh.
Tyres played a major role with Michelin proving to be very uncompetitive at Brno. The re-surface appeared to knock those supplied by the French manufacturer right out of contention, including Pedrosa, Edwards and Toseland. All three managed to finish at the back of the field. In fact, at one point there was some tlak of the Michelin shod teams refusing to race. Sounds like a US Grand Prix I watched once...
With six races left to go and all the challengers slowly dropping out of the picture, the Doctor could have a clear run to the title. However, before we make any rash statements, lets wait until the fat lady breaks into song eh?
Other news
Peugeot took a one-two at the Nurburgring 100kms, with the car of Stephanie Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy leading home team mates Marc Gene and Nicholas Minassian. The Audi sportscar could not compete with the diesel powered French prototype and could only manage third and fourth. Nothing to be ashamed of at all, but are we seeing a tip in the balance of power in the Le Mans series?
Showdown at Brno?
The Czech Grand Prix at Brno kicks off the second part of the 2008 MotoGP season this Sunday. The championship is still close and Casey Stoner is probably itching to get his own back after being beaten by Valentino Rossi at Laguna Seca. He's got a 25 point gap to make up on his Italian rival and Dani Pedrosa, but with both Pedrosa and Lorenzo hindered by injury, the championship looks like it will be a two way battle for supremacy.
The Brno track is a fine modern autodrome with plenty of elevations changes, and a challenging mixture of fast and slow corners. It was originally built in 1987 to replace the ultra-demanding Masaryk road circuit, in the hope of attracting the Formula 1 circus, which has never materialised. The circuit has been completely resurfaced for this years race, which adds a pinch of the unknown into the mix. How the teams and riders will cope with the resurfacing remains to be seen.
As for the old Masaryk track, the garages, race control tower and pitlane still stand, housing ghosts of bike and sports car racers who used to sling their machines round those super-fast corners. Take a look at the great Jarno Saarinen at Brno in 1972 here, or see highlights of the 1982 250 and 350cc races here. If anyone has any footage of the European Touring Car races there, I'd love to see it!
The end of ITV-F1
I've been looking at the ITV-F1 website today, viewing the Hungarian Grand Prix practice session and it set me wondering. If this is the last year that ITV will be covering the F1 races, why are they offering features such as this on their site? Their website was never anything to write home about (apart from Martin Brundle's column), but recently the boat has been well and truly pushed out. Interviews, race highlights, live streaming practice sessions, whats going on here?
Is it because they want to show the BBC a thing or two before handing over? Or is it (the most likely explanation) that before the start of the season, the team had implemented many new features for the website and the TV, yet the exec's had decided not to put up much of a fight when it came to renewing the contract. What do you lot think?