Motorsport update 1st March

Below is the latest news stories from the world of motorsport.

Formula E:

• Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team driver Nyck de Vries claimed his first Formula E career win by claiming victory in the first race of the season in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Mahindra Racing’s Alex Lynn and Jaguar Racing’s Sam Bird both collided early on in the race in what was to be the biggest moment of the first round.
• Jaguar Racing’s Sam Bird claimed victory in round 2 under the lights in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia after holding off a train of drivers. Round 2 was overshadowed by two horrifying crashes, the first one being with ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara crashing out in free practice before qualifying. Then during the race itself Mahindra’s Alex Lynn suffered a shunt during the race after running into the back of Nissan’s Sebastien Buemi. Jaguar’s Mitch Evans rushed to Lynn’s aid, the British driver was taken to hospital for precautionary checks. Lynn has been declared fit to race again in Rome next month.

Formula E top 3 drivers championship standings:

• 1st: Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team) (35 PTS)
• 2nd: Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing) (25 PTS)
• 3rd: Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing) (22 PTS)

BTCC:

• 2018 British GT champion, Rick Parfitt Jr (son of the late Status Quo musician Rick Parfitt) will be driving for Excelr8 Trade Price Cars for the 2021 BTCC season. Parfitt Jr will join Tom Ingram, Chris Smiley and Jack Butel at the outfit, the team will be fielding four Hyundai I30 Fastback N’s for the 2021 season.

F1:

More car launches will be happening this week with Mercedes launching their W12 on 2nd March 2021 followed by Aston Martin Racing launching their all new 2021 challenger on 3rd March. Sir Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will be present at the Mercedes launch, whilst Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will be present at the launch of Aston Martin’s F1 2021 challenger.

Dixie Voka 400:

William Byron won the 2021 edition of the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Miami, Flordia, after he started 31st on the grid. Tyler Reddick finished 2nd in a Chevrolet with 3rd place going the way of 2017 Nascar champion Martin Truex Jr in a Toyota Camry. The 2021 Nascar series has three winners in the first three races of the season so far, following Michael McDowell’s victory in the Daytona 500 and Christopher Bell’s victory in the O’Riley Auto Parts 253, both of these races took place in Daytona, Florida. The next race for the Nascar Cup Series is the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada on 7th March 2021.

For all the latest motorsport news, visit the Gateway 97.8 website and tune in every Monday on Daytime with Aston Avery on Gateway 97.8 to catch the update live on air.