MotoGP

It's the San Marino Grand Prix (or Adriatic Grand Prix) or whatever else they call it this weekend, a race that every Italian in every class will want to do well in. Jorge Lorenzo, on the other hand, will be looking to consolidate his championship lead to keep ahead of the resurgent Dani Pedrosa and Honda. Valentino Rossi will also be hoping for a good result at home in front of his fans.

DTM

It's the Brand Hatch round of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft this weekend and I will be making my annual trek to see it with my brother. The big draw this year will be former Grand Prix star David Coulthard, who is racing for Mercedes this season in addition to his BBC duties. However, the real sharp end of the racing will be proved by Championship leader Bruno Spengler, McLaren test driver Gary Paffett and last years winner Paul DiResta.

I'll write a up a report of my weekend on Monday, telling you stories of sitting the back of the van waiting for practice to begin, fry-ups in the Octagon and the roar of those Mercedes and Audi's battling their way around the track. See you later!

                          

Sebastien Vettel has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons, crashing into Button and putting him out of the race, then getting involved in two further incidents. This has highlighted his often quoted lack of ability in overtaking, something that his main rivals seem to do so well (even in an age of aerodynamic over efficiency). He is superb when driving on the edge, blasting out fast lap after fast lap, yet when in close quarters with an opponent, contact often ensues leaving either himself or the other car left by the roadside.

Marc Webber's car stalled on the grid, always a potentially dangerous occurrence,  but managed to get his car into gear and claimed second place at the end of the race. Robert Kubica took full advantage of an excellent Renault, proving once more that the Pole is the real deal.

Michael Schumacher was also very impressive, showing glimpses of his old form as he worked his way up from the back of the grid to finish a fine seventh.  I think I'm not alone in saying that this is the type of racing we want to see from him, not the dangerous antics he undertook at the Hungaroring.

                          

As for Ducati, the added pressure of delivering a bike fit for the Doctor may have influenced their decision to leave WSBK. This is big news for followers of the series as the Italian marque has been an integral part of the series since it was initiated in 1988.

More news on these developments when I can get it.

                          

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.

                          

Instead I'm going to divert your attention to the fact that the silly season has started in earnest in MotoGP. For a start, the worst kept rumour in the sport has been proved right, Valentino Rossi IS going to Ducati next year. This is the key piece of the puzzle, as it means that Yamaha and Tech 3 can get on with signing riders and contracts etc. Ducati Corse will be using the rest of their savings account to pay for Nicky Hayden to stay on another year.  With Rossi gone, it is almost certain that Ben Spies will be moving up to the factory Yamaha team, with his place in Tech 3 being taken by the highly rated Englishman Cal Crutchlow (not confirmed at all as I write this). Where Colin Edwards is going is less clear, with murmurings of a return to WSB being mooted.

Over at Honda, we will probably find out shortly whether HRC will be fielding a three bike factory team next year or if Andrea Dovisioso will be taking his P45 to another team. What is certain is that Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa will be wearing the Repsol colours for Honda next year. The Gresini Honda squad also face a similar dilemma with Marco Simonchelli  and Marco Melandri, as it is said that Loris Capirossi maybe being lined up for a third seat.

So as you can see, the cards have been thrown into the air and we can only make an educated guess as to where they will land. However, expect them to hit the ground very soon now that Mr Rossi has done his deal.

                          

WSBK

It looks increasingly like the Roman Emperor, Max Biaggi, is about to take his first World Superbike title to add to his four 250cc World Championship's and numerous MotoGP victories. He has just signed on with Aprilia for another two years, much to the joy of the Italian race fan, enamoured with the sight of the Italian racer on an Italian bike with an Italian sponsor.

However, Max couldn't stop the highly rated Cal Crutchlow from taking two wins at the Silverstone round of the World Superbike Championship on Sunday. Clinching pole position on Saturday, Crutchlow also set the lap record on the revised Silverstone track.

Unfortunately, the World Supersport race was marred by this horrendous accident:

Championship leader Eugene Laverty accidentally triggered this accident by clipping Joan Lascorz. The rider was quite badly injured but should make a full recovery.

Caterham's

Reigning champ Jon Walker won the last round at Rockingham, winning both races by a healthy margin. If you're interested in taking part in the Caterham academy series next year, click here for the Caterham site.

British Sooooper Bike

Sorry, just doing my Jamie Whitham impression there. The championship really should be called British Northern Bikes, in my opinion. The current championship leader is Worx Crescent Suzuki rider, Tommy Hill, with Josh Brookes and Riuchi Kiyonari following up behind him. Kiyonari won the last round at Snetterton, with the next race being held on the mighty Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit this weekend. If you've got Eurosport, be sure to tune in!

Unfortunately, former Superbike World Champion, Neil Hodgson, has had to retire from the series and racing all together through injury.

Formula 3

Britain's traditional breeding ground for new talent is currently being led by Carlin driver, Jean-Eric Vergne, who took a hat-trick of wins from the last round at Spa-Franchorchamps (yes, I'm confused too). Brits Oli Webb and James Calado are second and third. Alex Brundle, son of former F1 driver/current F1 commentator, Martin Brundle is sixteenth.

The next round will be held at Thruxton this weekend. Get ready for some wheel banging and strops from boys who've only ever played with their toys.

And finally...

Just look at what happened in this Formula Superleague race at Brand Hatch last weekend. In a situation eerily similar to the Schumacher incident, driver Chris Van Der Drift was injured in a very serious accident at Demon's Drop. The New Zealander is expected to make a full recovery, but the incident highlights just how dangerous (and copied) Schumacher's style of ruthless driving can be...

                          

Hungary like the wolf

The Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday saw a real master-class by the head of the school, Michael Schumacher, firmly defending his position in front of the weak Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian dared to attempt an overtaking move and was firmly shown the pit wall by our illustrious founder. Take a look at the good, hard racing going on below:

It is fair to say that Barrichello was overreacting, as the sponginess of the pit wall would have cushioned his impact as Mr Schumacher drove imperiously onwards. Clearly a fine example of clean, defensive driving that young racers should all emulate.

That was our most up to date lesson, but we can now also look at some of our previous tutorials on the art of great racing:

Don't mika me do this

Here it is, the move that helped found the school, back in 1990. Wait until the last moment, cut your opponent up and send him crashing out of the race:

He must never overtake you at any cost. EVER!!!!

Drive it like a Reliant Robin

Even with just three wheels, we can still defend our position and ensure that our opponent doesn't win. Even if you really have no right to be driving your badly damaged car around the track. It's YOUR track, NOT theirs!

Hang him out to (Canada) dry!

Well not exactly, hang him out... Just drive into him! It was your piece of the road and he was trespassing on it. Hit him, no one's looking. What do you expect if you're driving in Spain anyway?

Join the school

If you're impressed by any of the driving you have seen here, then get in touch, as our head instructor Mr M. Schumacher will be happy to coach you through the fine art of firm, defensive driving, with a spot of pathological lying thrown in for good measure. You can also benefit from his apprentice Mr Vettel, who will be taking classes in belligerence and petulance as well.

                          

Dani Pedrosa led from the start once again but slung his Honda into the scenery on lap 11 after coming under pressure from his countryman Lorenzo. Casey Stoner continued his good form by finishing second on the Ducati. Nicky Hayden won his duel with fellow American Ben Spies to finish fifth and as the top American.

However, ride of the day really should go to the 'Doctor', I mean it's not like he's riding for the money, as he must have enough in his savings account. I think it's that need to be the best and of course, the speed. I imagine the others rider are worried already...

                          

Sebastien Vettel came third (and probably happy to be a bit part player after Silverstone), with Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button a distant fourth and fifth. Marc Webber, hamstrung by oil consumption problems, rounded out the top six. Oh, and Mercedes were awful. They'd have been better off using one their vans! The days of Schumacher dominating all he surveyed are now very distant.

Team orders are nothing new and were never seen to be wrong until that infamous day in 2002, when Ferrari management ordered Rubens Barrichello to let Michael Schumacher through to take the win on the last corner. Barrichello had been inspired all weekend bested his German team mate in the race, yet was expected to slow right down and let him through. It was such an obvious and cynical move that the FIA banned team orders.

Unfortunately that was a knee-jerk reaction and now stops team managers from being able to give orders to their drivers. A simple order to instruct the number two driver to keep his position behind the team leader to maximise their championship chances, is no longer allowed. So through the utter cynicism and disregard for sportsmanlike  behaviour, the Ferrari team got an important part of team management banned, therefore making it a underhand practice.

And yesterday it came back to bite them on the backside.

                          

The incident does appear to be one of those flukes of racing nature that could happen anywhere and at any time. It was lucky that the car did not hit the either the marshals or the ambulance van. Fortunately no one, including the driver, was badly injured.