Mid season catch-up Pt2
I just thought I'd finish my update on what else is afoot in the wonderful world of motorsport.
Sportscars
Nigel Mansell will be racing at the Silverstone 100kms on the 11th September. He will once again be driving with his sons Leo and Greg. Let's hope that 'Red 5' doesn't have another crash like he had at Le Mans. Audi driver Allan McNish will be at the sharp end of things along with Andy Wallace. Ex-F1 drivers Giancarlo Fischella and Anthony Davidson will also be taking part, with the latter racing for title contenders Peugeot.
125cc
Mark Marquez is now running away with the 125cc World Championship. The 17 year old Derbi rider has won five races on the trot and not even a dislocated shoulder suffered in a practice accident at Brno could stop him from scoring a seventh place finish. Taking a leaf out of, well, a great many champions of the past, the Spaniard took the points as he had no chance of finishing at the sharp end. Definitely a rider to keep an eye on.
Nicolas Terol and Pol Espargo are playing catch-up with 'Our Bradley' Smith in perpetual fourth.
Moto2
Despite my worries, Moto2 has proved to be a very entertaining spectacle this year. In complete contrast to the MotoGP grid, the sight of all those bikes flying into the first corner gives the impression that you're going to see a real race, not a show procession of a small number of bikes. Unfortunately due to the intensive and expenditure heavy 800cc formula in MotoGP, only the big boys can play, meaning that privateers without factory connections and big current accounts can't get a place on the grid.
Tony Elias and the Gresini team are leading the championship after their win at Brno. However, they are going to have to watch themselves as the team were caught red-handed testing out of regulations at Misano. According to the rules, no team is allowed to test at a track that hasn't hosted a Grand Prix so far this season. Naughty boys!
For your viewing pleasure...
A Dutch international race from 1981 at Hengelo. The track is a good example of the road tracks that the Dutch used (and still sometimes use) at the time. Houses, trees and ditches all line the track, which despite it's flat nature (hey, it is in Holland!), looks fast and challenging. From doing a bit of research, I found out that this track is still used for the Dutch Superbike championship. Look out for the Dutch Grand Prix stars of the 70's/80's Wil Hartog, Boet Van Dulmen and 'Jumping' Jack Middelburg in the film.
