MOTOGPTM: QATAR GLORY FOR ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (MISSION WINNOW DUCATI) / ANDREA DOVIZIOSO S’IMPOSE AU QATAR

IN A REPEAT TO THE START OF LAST SEASON’S CAMPAIGN, ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (MISSION WINNOW DUCATI) WON THE OPENING ROUND OF THE 2019 MOTOGPTM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AT LOSAIL, QATAR. THE NIGHT-TIME RACE KEPT FANS ENTHRALLED FROM START TO FINISH AND THE ITALIAN’S MARGIN AT THE FLAG WAS A MERE 23-THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND OVER DEFENDING CHAMPION MARC MÁRQUEZ (REPSOL HONDA TEAM). CAL CRUTCHLOW (LCR HONDA) WAS THIRD.

 

The 2019 season’s opener lived up every bit to its promise and the outcome was only settled on the last lap, with five riders completing the distance in close formation.

Dovizioso pounced from second on the grid to emerge in front after Turn 1, chased by Márquez and Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR). The latter managed to appear in first place several times in the course of the evening but failed to make his advantage stick for a whole lap at a time.

At the race’s halfway point, Dovizioso – who had chosen medium MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear – was back in command, ahead of a pack comprising Márquez, Rins and Crutchlow, but he failed to pull out any real gap.

Two laps from home, Márquez, who had gone for the same tyre choice, found a way past but the Ducati star recovered first place at the start of the final lap which, as in 2018, produced a thrilling showdown between the two men. And this time again, it played out in Dovizioso’s favour.

Crutchlow managed to pass Rins on the last lap to celebrate his first outing since last year’s Rally Australia with the first podium of his career and the status of best-placed independent team rider.

Rins ended up fourth, closely tailed by Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who had fought his way back from 14th on the grid to collect fifth place.

Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) was sixth, ahead of pole-winner Maverik Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who got away to a poor start. That relegated him to seventh place after Lap 1 and he never looked like being able to catch the leading group after that.

The best-placed rookie Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR), Takaaki Nakegami (LCR Honda) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) rounded out the top 10.

French 19-year old Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) qualified fifth on the grid for his maiden MotoGPTM appearance but was forced to start from the pit lane following a technical problem at the start of the formation lap. He was accredited with the fastest race lap and took the flag in 17th place overall.

Four of the six possible Michelin tyre combinations were used, although the majority opted for medium-compound MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear. No riders chose for the hard option.

COMME EN 2018, ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (MISSION WINNOW DUCATI) A REMPORTÉ L’ÉPREUVE D’OUVERTURE DU CHAMPIONNAT DU MONDE MOTOGPTM 2019 SOUS LES PROJECTEURS DU CIRCUIT DE LOSAIL AU QATAR. A L’ISSUE D’UNE COURSE PALPITANTE, L’ITALIEN S’EST IMPOSÉ POUR 23 MILLIÈMES DEVANT LE CHAMPION DU MONDE EN TITRE, MARC MÁRQUEZ (REPSOL HONDA TEAM). CAL CRUTCHLOW (LCR HONDA) A COMPLÉTÉ LE PODIUM.

La première course de la saison a tenu toutes ses promesses. La victoire s’est dessinée dans l’ultime tour où cinq prétendants étaient roue dans roue pour la première marche du podium.

Deuxième sur la grille, Andrea Dovizioso a signé le holeshot, poursuivi dans les premiers tours par Marc Márquez et Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR). Le pilote Suzuki a pris la tête de la course à plusieurs reprises sans jamais toutefois réussir à la conserver un tour complet.

A mi-course, Dovizioso s’est emparé, à nouveau, de la première position, talonné par un groupe de pilotes composé de Marc Márquez, Alex Rins, Cal Crutchlow notamment. Le pilote Ducati, chaussé de MICHELIN Power Slick Medium à l’avant comme à l’arrière, n’a jamais réussi à creuser l’écart.

A deux tours du drapeau à damier, Marc Márquez, ayant opté pour le même choix pneumatique, a trouvé l’ouverture mais Andrea Dovizioso a repris l’avantage au début du dernier tour. On a assisté alors à une véritable passe d’armes entre les deux pilotes, un remake de l’édition 2018 où la victoire est revenue pour la deuxième année consécutive à Andrea Dovizioso.

Cal Crutchlow a pris le meilleur sur Alex Rins dans le dernier tour pour s’offrir son premier podium pour son retour à la compétition depuis le Grand -Prix d’Australie. Il s’est classé premier pilote Indépendant.

Alex Rins a terminé quatrième alors que Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), seulement 14ème au départ, a effectué une superbe remontée pour finir cinquième.

Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) est sixième devant le poleman Maverik Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). L’Espagnol a complétement raté son départ et a bouclé le premier tour à la septième place. Il n’a jamais été en mesure de revenir dans le peloton de tête pour jouer la victoire.

Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR), premier rookie, Takaaki Nakegami (LCR honda) et Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) ont complété le Top 10.

Le Français Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), qualifié en cinquième position pour sa première course en catégorie reine à 19 ans, a dû s’élancer depuis la voie des stands suite à un problème technique lors du départ du tour d’installation. Crédité du meilleur tour en course, il a fini 17ème.

Coté pneumatique, quatre des six solutions apportées par Michelin ont été utilisées. La majorité des pilotes a opté pour du MICHELIN Power Slick Medium à l’avant et à l’arrière. Seule la solution Hard n’a pas été retenue.

VisitQatar GRAND PRIX

MotoGP Race Classification 2019

Doha, Sunday, March 10, 2019

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Mission Winnow Ducati	Ducati	166.6	42'36.902
2	20	93	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	166.6	+0.023
3	16	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	LCR Honda CASTROL	Honda	166.6	+0.320
4	13	42	Alex RINS	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	166.6	+0.457
5	11	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	166.6	+0.600
6	10	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Mission Winnow Ducati	Ducati	166.4	+2.320
7	9	12	Maverick VIÑALES	SPA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	166.4	+2.481
8	8	36	Joan MIR	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	166.3	+5.088
9	7	30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	JPN	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	Honda	166.1	+7.406
10	6	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	166.0	+9.636
11	5	21	Franco MORBIDELLI	ITA	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	166.0	+9.647
12	4	44	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	165.8	+12.774
13	3	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	165.7	+14.307
14	2	29	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	165.7	+14.349
15	1	5	Johann ZARCO	FRA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	165.6	+15.093
16		20	Fabio QUARTARARO	FRA	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	165.6	+15.905
17		88	Miguel OLIVEIRA	POR	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	165.5	+16.377
18		17	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	165.1	+22.972
19		53	Tito RABAT	SPA	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	165.1	+23.039
20		55	Hafizh SYAHRIN	MAL	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	163.8	+43.242

Next round: Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina, Argentina (Match 29-31).

via .michelinmotorsport.com

FIA FORMULA E : MORTARA WINS 50TH FORMULA E RACE WITH MICHELIN / EDOARDO MORTARA REMPORTE LE 50E E-PRIX

FORMULA E’S 50TH E-PRIX SINCE THE CHAMPIONSHIP’S CREATION IN 2014 WAS WON BY EDOARDO MORTARA (VENTURI FORMULA E TEAM/MICHELIN). SAM BIRD (ENVISION VIRGIN RACING/MICHELIN) WAS FIRST PAST THE FLAG IN HONG KONG BUT FELL BACK TO SIXTH AFTER BEING HANDED A POST-FINISH, FIVE-SECOND PENALTY. SECOND AND THIRD WERE LUCAS DI GRASSI (AUDI SPORT ABT SCHAEFFLER/MICHELIN) AND ROBIN FRIJNS (ENVISION VIRGIN RACING).

 

Formula E celebrated its 50th e-prix in Hong Kong where Belgium’s Stoffel Vandoorne and HWA Racelab/Michelin claimed their first ever pole position after a particularly wet Super Pole qualifying shootout.

The track was drying for the start of the race but painted road markings made the surface very slippery in places as the varied, shifting track conditions provided further evidence of the versatility of the Michelin Pilot Sport, the championship’s single, all-weather tyre.

Bird got away to a first class start but Alexander Sims (BMW I Andretti Motorsport) and Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) went straight on at Turn 1, while Mahindra Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein and Jérôme d’Ambrosio both slammed into Felipe Nasr’s stricken car on Lap 2. The incident dropped the Indian outfit from the top of the Drivers’ and Teams’ standings.

It was a sorry weekend, too, for Nissan e.dams who lost Sébastien Buemi and Oliver Rowland, with the Briton retiring with a late crash.

With 33 minutes remaining, Bird relinquished first place with a ‘straight on’. His place was snapped up by André Lotterer (DS Techeetah) and the ensuing scrap between the two drivers saw them pull some seven seconds clear of the rest of the field.

There were three laps to go after the final safety car appearance (to clear the cars of Vandoorne and Rowland) but Lotterer’s rear-right tyre was caught and damaged by Bird’s front wing during a particularly late braking manoeuvre by the latter.

Although the Briton was first over the line, a six-second penalty dished out after the finish relegated the Envision Virgin Racing driver to sixth in the official standings.

Victor Mortara was joined on the podium by di Grassi and Frijns while, Daniel Abt (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler), Felipe Massa (Venturi Formula E Team) rounded out the day’s top five.

Defending champion Vergne finished 13th.

Teams will stay in China for Round 6 of the 2019 ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Sanya on March 23.

DANS LES RUES DE HONG KONG, EDOARDO MORTARA (VENTURI FORMULA E TEAM) A REMPORTÉ SON PREMIER E-PRIX ET LA 50E COURSE DE FORMULA E ORGANISÉE DEPUIS 2014. LUCAS DI GRASSI (AUDI SPORT ABT SCHAEFFLER/MICHELIN) ET ROBIN FRIJNS (ENVISION VIRGIN RACING/MICHELIN) MONTENT ÉGALEMENT SUR LE PODIUM. VAINQUEUR SUR LA PISTE, SAM BIRD A ÉTÉ PÉNALISÉ DE CINQ SECONDES APRÈS L’ARRIVÉE.

Le 50e E-Prix de l’histoire de la Formula E fut particulièrement animé dans les rues de Hong Kong, avant, pendant et après la course.

Sur une piste détrempée, le Belge Stoffel Vandoorne et l’équipe HWA Racelab/Michelin avaient signé leur 1ère pole position en Formula E. Le départ a quant à lui été donné sur une piste humide-séchante, avec des zones rendues très glissantes par la signalisation routière peinte au sol. Des conditions d’adhérence variées et changeantes qui ont permis de mettre en évidence la polyvalence du pneu Michelin Pilot Sport. Le règlement du championnat de Formula E impose en effet un pneu unique pour toute la saison, toutes les conditions.

Le Britannique Sam Bird a pris un excellent départ, alors qu’Alexander Sims (BMW I Andretti Motorsport) et Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) partaient en tout-droit au 1er tour. Ce fut pire encore pour les deux pilotes Mahindra Racing au 2e tour, Pascal Wehrlein et Jérôme d’Ambrosio, qui n’ont pu éviter l’accrochage à cause de la voiture de Nasr qui obstruait la piste devant eux. L’équipe indienne Mahindra Racing a donc perdu les rênes des championnat Pilotes et Teams dans ce virage.

Week-end noir aussi pour le team Nissan e.dams avec le double abandon de Sébastien Buemi et d’Oliver Rowland. En tête au restart du 1ersafety-car, le Britannique était signalé au ralenti suite à un très léger contact. Il a fini par abandonner sur sortie de piste en fin de course. Un E-Prix à oublier aussi pour le champion en titre Jean-Eric Vergne, seulement 13e à l’arrivée.

A 33 minutes du drapeau à damier, le nouveau leader Sam Bird a effectué un tout-droit et l’Allemand André Lotterer (DS Techeetah) en a profité pour s’installer en tête. Bird et Lotterer se sont alors lancés dans un superbe duel pour la victoire, creusant un écart de sept secondes sur le reste du peloton.

Deux autres safety-cars sont venus perturber la fin de course (après l’immobilisation sur la piste de Vandoorne et de Rowland), et il restait trois tours à boucler au dernier restart. Malheureusement pour Lotterer, l’aileron avant de la monoplace de Bird est venu entailler son pneu arrière droit lors d’un freinage un peu trop tardif du Britannique.

Sam Bird a coupé la ligne d’arrivée en tête, remportant son 9e E-Prix et prenant les rênes du championnat Pilotes. Mais il a écopé de cinq secondes de pénalité pour ce freinage trop tardif derrière Lotterer. La victoire est revenue à Edoardo Mortara, grand spécialiste du Grand Prix de Macao tout près de Hong Kong, qui remporte son 1er succès en Formula E. Le Brésilien Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaffler) et Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing) montent sur le podium, devant Daniel Abt (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) et Felipe Massa (Venturi Formula E Team) qui signe son meilleur résultat en Formula E. Sam Bird prend la 6e place.

La Formula E reste en Chine pour la 6e manche (23 mars) dans les rues de Sanya.

 

Final positions – 2019 Hong Kong E-Prix:

1. Edoardo Mortara (Venturi Formula E Team/Michelin), 36 tours

2. Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler/Michelin), +0.988s

3. Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing/Michelin), +1.536s

4. Daniel Abt (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler/Michelin), +1.985s

5. Felipe Massa (Venturi Formula E Team/Michelin), +3.258s

6. Sam Bird (Envision Virgin Racing/Michelin), +3.306s

7. Mitch Evans (Panasonic Jaguar Racing/Michelin), +4.017s

8. Gary Paffett (HWA Racelab/Michelin), +4.368s

9. Oliver Turvey (NIO Formula E Team/Michelin), +5.624s

10. Antonio Felix da Costa (BMW I Andretti Motorsport/Michelin), +6.492s

Etc.

Ghost of lost 1907 Peking Paris 3 wheel Contal back to life

Mototri Contal jolted into life at Dutch test track ready for second P2P (2019) assault 112 years later.

 The first Peking Paris in 1907 comprised five competitors, just one of them didn’t make it to Paris 112 years ago, a French trike. Now Belgian architect Anton Gonnissen has revived a 1906 Contal, determined to complete the event Auguste Pons failed to finish when his three wheeled motorcycle ran out of fuel in the Gobi desert. The original Contal is still there, somewhere. After a long and sympathetic rebuild, involving one of the world’s leading experts on antique cycle cars, the legendary Contal Mototri three-wheeler, was finally taken from the workshop to the test track, for a thorough shakedown, in late February 2019.

A full day had been given over for the trial at the EuroCircuit in Valkenswaard, the venue which has previously hosted Dakar machines and Rallycross events. Over the course of the session, the crew comprising Anton Gonnissen (58) from Sint-Martens-Latem and novice navigator Herman Gelan (46), an interior architect from Ghent, drove the machine hard. They tested across a selection of surfaces including rough and loose gravel, wet sand and sticky mud then smooth tarmac.
The idea was to recreate in one day, authentic representations of the sort of terrain likely to be encountered along the route of the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge. Be that the rugged wilderness of the Gobi Desert, the potholed Siberian lorry routes or a well surfaced European highway. To add an extra dose of reality, the Contal was also fully loaded with the equipment which the crew would be carrying with them during their incredible journey to see how this extra weight affected the balance and cornering of the vehicle. As soon as the trike had been rolled from its trailer, it started first time and throughout the day, with Anton and Herman on board, it lapped the track relentlessly. Their task was to expose any weakness which could to be rectified while there was still a workshop at hand. There was some hard braking, plenty of sharp turns and some rapid acceleration. The overall fuel consumption was closely monitored and the engine fluid levels checked at regular intervals.

This is no racing machine however, so Anton was respectful of its capabilities. “There will be three of us on this rally, there’s Herman, there’s me and there’s the machine. And, it’s the machine that we have to take care of if we want it to take care of us - and deliver us safely”. With a little input from the crew therefore, some tweaks to the steering were made during the lunch break and there was some debate about the best tyre pressures to use but, overall the maiden voyage was an ‘out of the box’ success. In truth it had to be however as a mere three days later the Contal was to be packed away into a shipping container for the long sea journey to Beijing. Sitting in the pits at the end of this long hard day, Anton, the driver and driving force behind the project declared himself “absolutely delighted” with his machine.

His softly sprung Harley Davidson saddle, the only form of suspension for the driver was pronounced a total success whilst his brave and unflappable - and first time navigator - Herman Gelan, noted that his position on the so called ‘suicide seat’, with a trip meter and GPS close to hand, was the ideal platform for him to keep them on the right course and “was nowhere near as bad as it looked”. After just one day of riding it though, does the thought of spending 36 days aboard the Contal worry either of them? “Not in the least” they retort in unison. “It’s proved to be comfortable, capable and having seen what it can do, we’re even more convinced that we’ve built something which will deliver us to Paris”. Anton, a Peking to Paris veteran already, went further and offered that “it will mean the world to me to get to Paris. If I don’t, I will have failed in my mission to honour the memory of Auguste Pons and we will go down in history as the second team not have made it to the finish aboard a Contal. We most definitely want to be the first”.

For further information, or to set up interviews with Anton Gonnissen or Herman Gelan, please contact: Tony Jardine. Tony@heroevents.eu +44 (0) 7989 408736

follow Anton Gonnissen’s blog here: www.p2p19contal.com


Notes to media: The Peking Paris Motor Challenge dates back to 1907 when the French newspaper Le Matin challenged the European auto makers to show that modern cars could be more than just a novelty for the rich. They were challenged to drive from Beijing to Paris on a route with barely any roads. People thought the race was impossible and only five vehicles registered; A Dutch Spyker, two French Dion Boutons, and Italian Itala plus a three wheeled Mototri Contal with the bravest driver of them all, Auguste Pons in the saddle. Distance from Peking to Paris, 13,840 kms. In 2019 teams aim to finish in 36 days.

https://www.endurorally.com/news/

Planlos in Hohenfichte 2019

j'adore l'ambiance !! 

I love the atmosphere

via Ronny Hoffmann et https://www.facebook.com/russenschmiede/

13 janvier ·