Motorsport update – 26th October

The final motorsport update for October promised plenty of great action. F1 headed to Texas for the US GP at COTA (Circuit Of The Americas), the BTCC hosted its season finale at Brands Hatch GP and the Nascar Cup Series visited Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400.

F1 US GP (Top 5 Drivers)

• 1st: Max Verstappen (Red Bull),
• 2nd: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes),
• 3rd: Sergio Perez (Red Bull),
• 4th: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari),
• 5th: Daniel Ricciardo (Mclaren),

Race Talking Points:

• Red Bull’s Max Verstappen increases his lead in the drivers standings to 12 points after holding of a late charge to win the US GP from Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton.
• The two Alpin’s of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly were the three who retired from the race.
• Williams’s Nicholas Latifi clipped the rear of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll into turn 1 after the Williams got sandwiched and as a result Latifi had to pit early on for a front wing change.
• Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi had a very close on track battle mid race as both drivers got very close for comfort at turn 12.
• McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo had a positive weekend with a 5th place finish and he also produced a brilliant overtake around the outside of turn’s 17 and 18 early on as passed Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari. (Could that move be a contender for overtake of the season?)

BTCC Brands Hatch Season Finale:

Race 1 Top 3 Drivers:

• 1st: Josh Cook (BTC Racing),
• 2nd: Senna Proctor (BTC Racing),
• 3rd: Gordon Shedden (Halfords with Cataclean Racing),

Race 2 Top 3:

• 1st: Josh Cook (BTC Racing),
• 2nd: Daniel Lloyd (Power Maxed Racing),
• 3rd: Gordon Shedden (Halfords with Cataclean Racing),

Race 3 Top 3:

• 1st: Ash Sutton (Laser Tools Racing),
• 2nd: Dan Rowbottom (Halfords with Cataclean Racing),
• 3rd: Tom Ingram (Excelr8 Trade Price Cars),

Highlights:

• Race 3 saw mayhem for WSR Team BMW’s Colin Turkington having a disastrous final race after early contact with Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Rory Butcher on lap 2 at Graham Hill Bend which spun the BMW 330i M-Sport around,
• Race 2 saw BTC Racing’s Senna Proctor go off at Druids after making contact with another driver,
• In Race 3, Jake Hill and Stephen Jelley both made contact as the MB Motorsport Ford Focus ST spun the WSR Team BMW 330i M-Sport around at Surtees.

Huge congratulations to Laser Tools Racing’s Ash Sutton after winning his third BTCC title and his second in a row.

Top 3 Drivers in the 2021 BTCC Drivers Standings:

• 1st: Ash Sutton (Laser Tools Racing) (357 Points)
• 2nd: Colin Turkington (WSR Team BMW) (306 Points)
• 3rd: Josh Cook (BTC Racing) (303 Points)

The BTCC will return on the 23rd/24th April 2022 at Donnington Park National as the new season will see the sport move to Hybrid Engines.

Nascar Cup Series:

Hollywood Casino 400 Top 5 Drivers:

• 1st: Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
• 2nd: Chase Elliot (Chevrolet)
• 3rd: Kevin Harvick (Ford)
• 4th: Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
• 5th: Denny Hamlin (Toyota)

Some Playoff Drivers hit trouble with Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr both making contact during the race and also Kyle Busch hit the wall at turn 2 whilst Ryan Blaney suffered a puncture on his right rear tyre.

W Series: Jamie Chadwick is the 2021 Champion.

Indycar:

• It has been announced that former Formula 2 and Formula 3 driver, Christian Lundgaard will drive in the 2022 NTT Indycar Series on a full time basis. Lundgaard will join Rahul Lannigian Racing for the 2022 season and will be driving the number 30 Car and signed a multi year deal with the team,
• Former F1 Driver Nico Hulkenberg has taken part in a drivers evaluation session at Barber Motorsport’s Park in Alabama. Could Nico Hulkenberg be joining the Indycar grid in 2022?

Key dates for motorsport events:

• F1 Mexican GP (5th November- 7th November 2021),
• Nascar Cup Series: Xfinity 500 At Martinsville Speedway (31st October 2021)

Tune in every Tuesday to listen live to the motorsport update on Gateway 97.8 on Daytime with Aston Avery from 10am.