Two red flags and several safety cars disrupted the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix, but they didn’t prevent Lewis Hamilton taking his ninth win of the season. His first victory in Brazil couldn’t have come at a better time as he prevented Nico Rosberg from wrapping up the championship.
Treacherous conditions greeted teams and drivers on Sunday and the FIA took the decision to start the race behind the safety car. Romain Grosjean became the first driver to get caught out by aquaplaning as he spun on his reconnaissance lap on the way to the grid. The race start was also delayed by ten minutes.
The race eventually concluded three hours after it started with Hamilton crossing the line 11 seconds clear of Rosberg. Max Verstappen was driver of the day as he recovered from a late spin to climb back up the order to third. Sergio Perez was fourth ahead of another spinner Sebastian Vettel. Carlos Sainz was sixth with Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo seventh and eighth.
Local driver Felipe Nasr started last on the grid but finished in ninth place ahead of Fernando Alonso in tenth. Alonso was another driver who spun during the race but recovered to score a point.
Valtteri Bottas was 11th ahead of Esteban Ocon, Daniil Kvyat, Kevin Magnussen and Pascal Wehrlein. Jenson Button struggled throughout the race with the handling of his McLaren and was the last of 16th classified finishers.
Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, and Marcus Ericsson joined Grosjean on the sidelines after getting caught out by the conditions – their cars being sent into spins by aquaplaning and into the barrier. Jolyon Palmer cited poor visibility for his race ending accident when he made contact with Kvyat who continued. Esteban Gutierrez retired with car problems.
It was a disappointing end to his last Grand Prix for Massa who retired during the race. He was clearly emotional as he climbed out of his car after hitting the barrier, raising the Brazilian flag above his head. There were extraordinary scenes in the pit-lane as Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams congregated outside their garages to give him a guard of honour while the race was still happening. Massa was greeted by his family as he walked down the pit-lane. He later described the moment as overwhelming but said the reaction from the fans made him proud.
Mercedes continued at the top of the times in all three practice sessions once again. Nico Rosberg went fastest in Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 3 while Lewis Hamilton was on top in Free Practice 2. Ferrari have been their nearest rivals so far this weekend with Kimi Raikkonen getting within four tenths of their fastest laps. Going into qualifying it looks like there could be a lot of close battles up and down the order.
Q1
Clouds closed in on the circuit just before the start of qualifying with a 60% chance of rain. Plenty of cars including both Mercedes, both Toro Rossos, and both McLarens took to the track early in the session to get some running in. The first lap-time of the session was a 1:47.214 from Roberto Merhi, taking part in his first F1 qualifying session. Max Verstappen quickly bettered this by over five seconds. Hamilton then topped the times going just a tenth clear of team-mate Rosberg. Will Stevens was forced to stay in the garage due to a fuel system problem and therefore did not set a lap-time. It will be at the stewards’ discretion whether or not he can race along with team-mate Merhi who was outside the 107%. There was a late flurry of times but neither McLaren could improve out of the drop-zone.
Lewis Hamilton 1:39.269
Nico Rosberg 1:39.374
Sebastian Vettel 1:39.814
Carlos Sainz 1:39.814
Valtteri Bottas 1:40.249
Romain Grosjean 1:40.303
Marcus Ericsson 1:40.340
Pastor Maldonado 1:40.361
Kimi Raikkonen 1:40.415
Daniel Ricciardo 1:40.504
Felipe Massa 1:40.543
Daniil Kvyat 1:40.546
Max Verstappen 1:40.793
Nico Hulkenberg 1:40.830
Sergio Perez 1:41.036
Felipe Nasr 1:41.308
Jenson Button 1:41.636
Fernando Alonso 1:41.746
Roberto Merhi 1:46.677
Will Stevens No Time Set
Q2
Drivers queued at the end of the pit-lane for the start of Q2 with the threat of rain in the air. Vettel was at the head of the queue and was instantly joined by all 14 other drivers through to the next round of qualifying. It wasn’t long until the rain arrived with drivers trying to find clear air to set a lap time before it got too heavy. With nine minutes remaining the rain came down heavily meaning there would be no improvements. Raikkonen, Maldonado, Hulkenberg, Perez and Sainz therefore dropped out having failed to set a fast enough lap time on their first run. Hamilton was heard complaining to his team that they hadn’t got him out on track in time. The team then revealed that they had problems getting the engine fired up. Hamilton had a power unit problem which compromised his running in FP1.
Nico Rosberg 1:39.377
Sebastian Vettel 1:39.632
Valtteri Bottas 1:40.650
Daniel Ricciardo 1:41.085
Romain Grosjean 1:41.209
Felipe Massa 1:41.230
Max Verstappen 1:41.430
Lewis Hamilton 1:41.517
Daniil Kvyat 1:41.665
Marcus Ericsson 1:41.748
Kimi Raikkonen 1:42.173
Pastor Maldonado 1:42.198
Nico Hulkenberg 1:43.023
Sergio Perez 1:43.469
Carlos Sainz 1:43.701
Q3
After a washout in Q2, the pole position shoot out was delayed by at least 15 minutes initially. It was then delayed by a further 15 minutes. Another queue formed at the end of the pit-lane for the start of the third and final qualifying session. Some drivers went out on full wets while others opted for intermediates. Vettel recorded the first flying lap which was a 1:51.178, quickly beaten by Rosberg and then Hamilton. Verstappen slotted himself into third place. Hamilton’s provisional pole time was enough to keep pole position although he was just 0.0074s ahead of Ferrari driver Vettel who will start between the two Mercedes. Ricciardo will line up fourth for Red Bull, ahead of team-mate Kvyat with Verstappen, Massa, Grosjean, Bottas and Ericsson rounding out the top ten.
Lewis Hamilton will start from pole position for the second race in a row after overcoming the adverse weather conditions and setting the fastest lap.
After a lengthy delay due to heavy rain, qualifying eventually got going with drivers on intermediate tyres. The McLaren duo opted to go out on full wets but were soon called back to the pits to switch to intermediates, which was the tyre to be on. There was drama for Marcus Ericsson who stalled in the queue to leave the pits at the start of qualifying but Caterham got him started and sent him out. It looked like Sebastian Vettel might have problems when he was called into the pits because of a ‘problem with the car’. It wasn’t anything major that hampered his session however as he was soon out on track again. McLaren looked like they may have been caught out by the conditions and going for the wrong tyres initially, but both cars made it through to Q2. Q1 was red flagged with 30 seconds left on the clock – not enough time for it to be restarted – after Ericsson compounded his problems by crashing, heavily damaging his car. Pastor Maldonado, Adrian Sutil, Jules Bianchi, Kamui Kobayashi, Max Chilton and Ericsson were the six drivers to drop out of qualifying. Up at the front Nico Rosberg was fastest from Hamilton with Vettel in third.
For Q2 it was Kimi Raikkonen who took a risk with the tyres – going for intermediates while everyone else put on the full wets. The session was quickly red flagged however after Fernando Alonso and Daniil Kvyat had a coming together. It left the former with broken front suspension which surprisingly, Ferrari were able to fix. In the incredibly wet conditions, Kvyat dived up the inside to avoid the slower Ferrari but in the difficult conditions they did not see each other. The stewards investigated the incident but chose to take no further action. There was a moment for Magnussen who aquaplaned off the track and into the gravel. He was able to keep moving and returned to the pits. At the end of Q2, the dropzone featured Kvyat, Esteban Gutierrez, Felipe Massa, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, and Romain Grosjean. Up at the front it was still Mercedes leading the way, this time with Hamilton.
Going into Q3 were Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, Alonso, Raikkonen, Button, Magnussen and Jean-Eric Vergne. Button took a gamble on intermediate tyres while everyone else was on wet tyres. It was a gamble which in the end did not work out but, had the rain eased he would have been in a prime position. After the first runs, it was Hamilton leading the way from Vettel. The rain continued to fall and there was little improvement. Rosberg did manage to improve to third but Vettel did not manage to make it over the line in time for another run. Hamilton went off the track on his final run due to poor visibility but his earlier lap was enough to see him claim his second pole in a row and his 33rd overall – matching Jim Clark’s British pole record. Valterri Bottas received a post-qualifying three place grid penalty for impeding Ricciardo in Q2.
Mercedes sent a commanding message to their rivals in the third and final free practice session in Malaysia by topping the times by over a second to their nearest rival.
Once again Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was the closest driver to the Mercedes duo but it was Nico Rosberg who topped the times, leading team-mate Lewis Hamilton by two tenths of a second. After Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel was the lead Red Bull driver ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo. Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, and Sergio Perez rounded out a top ten separated by two seconds. It was a troublesome session for McLaren who were struggling with sensor issues. Kevin Magnussen failed to set a lap-time while Jenson Button’s effort was 26 seconds off the pace. Lotus managed to get some running under their belts after a woeful Friday but ended the session in 15th and 16th.
Mercedes are looking strong going into qualifying but with the threat of rain looming it could give the order a shake-up.
Lewis Hamilton has qualified on pole position ahead of tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the season. The Mercedes driver denied Aussie Daniel Ricciardo a dream home pole position, who impressed on his Red Bull debut to qualify on the front row. Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg, who had set provisional pole, was pushed back to third place.
It was a dry start to qualifying for Q1 but with the threat of rain looming, all drivers looked to get out on track as soon as possible to get a lap on the board. Hamilton was first to do so, setting a 1:31.6 before being pipped by Williams driver Felipe Massa. Sebastian Vettel, who was one of the last drivers out of the pits, clipped the wall on his way round the track – an uncharacteristic error from the four time world champion, who had to wrestle his car around the track. Rain started to fall during the session, bringing an end to any real competitive running and certainly hampering any chance drivers in the drop zone had of getting through to Q2. It was a particularly dire session for Lotus in particular with Pastor Maldonado failing to keep the E22 on the track, and bumping through the gravel on numerous occasions. He ended the session in P22 with no time on the board. His team-mate Romain Grosjean did set a lap-time but only enough to just out-qualify Maldonado in P21. Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi sneaked through to Q2, with Max Chilton out-qualifying his team-mate. Esteban Gutierrez – who had had gearbox problems in FP3 – qualified behind both Marussia cars and will start the race last after incurring a five place grid drop for changing his gearbox. Up at the top Ricciardo led from Kevin Magnussen and Massa.
The rain persisted to fall between Q1 and Q2 and so cars took to the track with intermediate tyres as qualifying continued. Kamui Kobayashi decided to run with the full wet tyres on his Caterham. As expected the times started falling as the session progressed and the track started to dry, with Valtteri Bottas, Massa, Rosberg and Ricciardo knocking each other from the top spot. Kimi Raikkonen became the first major casualty of the weather as he lost the car and spun, ending up hitting the wall and bringing out yellow flags. In doing so, it compromised driver on a fast lap as they had to slow in the yellow sector. Drivers affected included Vettel whose lap time was not enough to get him through to the pole position shoot-out. Jenson Button looked to be through but after returning to the pits he was dropped out by an impressive lap from rookie Daniil Kvyat. Raikkonen’s crash means that tomorrow three world champions will start beside each other outside of the top ten. To add insult to injury, Ricciardo continued to demonstrate just what the RB10 is capable of by setting a lap-time just 0.03s slower than Rosberg. Sergio Perez had a torrid session, running across the gravel and struggling with the car and was out-qualified by former team-mate Kobayashi in the Caterham.
So going through to the pole position shoot out were Rosberg, Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso, Hamilton Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg, Jean-Eric Vergne, Bottas, Massa, and Kvyat. Everyone poured out of the pits on full tyres, apart from Alonso who decided to try his luck on the intermediates. After the initial runs, which saw Rosberg lead from Ricciardo, the track started to move towards intermediates, although some drivers opted to put on a new set of full wets. Provisional pole went to Rosberg, who knocked Hamilton from the top spot; however it was too late for the German to start another lap, while Hamilton was already on another flyer. Meanwhile Magnussen impressed to go third with his lap, but eventually dropped to fourth – an impressive job for the rookie who has so far emulated what Hamilton achieved on his rookie debut with McLaren. A mention should also be given to Kvyat who impressed on his debut as well, qualifying in the top ten (eighth) ahead of both Williams drivers. His team-mate Vergne qualified a career best sixth place. Ricciardo finished his last lap and snatched pole position from Rosberg – much to the delight of the crowds – but it was Hamilton who had the last word, finishing three tenths clear in pole position.
The grid lines up as follows for tomorrow’s race (following penalties):
Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes – 1:44.231
Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull – 1:44.548
Nico Rosberg – Mercedes – 1:44.595
Kevin Magnussen – McLaren – 1:45.745
Fernando Alonso – Ferrari – 1:45.819
Jean-Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso – 1:45.864
Nico Hulkenberg – Force India – 1:46.030
Daniil Kvyat – Toro Rosso – 1:47.368
Felipe Massa – Williams – 1:48.079
Jenson Button – McLaren – 1:44.437 (Q2)
Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari – 1:44.494 (Q2)
Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull – 1:44.668 (Q2)
Adrian Sutil – Sauber – 1:45.655 (Q2)
Kamui Kobayashi – Caterham – 1:45.867 (Q2)
Valterri Bottas* – Williams – 1:48.147
Sergio Perez – Force India – 1:47.293 (Q2)
Max Chilton – Marussia – 1:34.293 (Q1)
Jules Bianchi – Marussia – 1:34.794 (Q1)
Marcus Ericsson – Caterham – 1:45.157 (Q1)
Romain Grosjean – Lotus – 1:36.993 (Q1)
Pastor Maldonado** – Lotus – No Time Set
Esteban Gutierrez – Sauber – 1:35.117
* 5 place gearbox penalty
** allowed to race at stewards discretion
Riders on the grid at the Vauxhall International North West 200
Organisers of the Vauxhall International North West 200 have confirmed that next year’s event will take place on May 17th.
The 2014 North West 200 will be its 85th anniversary and race week will once again kick off on the Monday. There will be practice sessions on Tuesday 13th and Thursday 15th, with three races also being held on the Thursday evening. Saturday will host five races, including the North West 200 itself. Vauxhall have remained on board for the second year in a row.
Jamie Hamilton celebrates with team boss Ryan Farquhar
Alistair Seeley and Jeremy McWilliams were victorious on Thursday evening this year. Seeley won the first Superstock race, finishing ahead of Bruce Anstey and Gary Johnson, and also finished first in the first Supersport race beating Michael Dunlop and Guy Martin. There was success for KMR when McWilliams bettered his second place in 2012, to win the race ahead of James Hillier and KMR team-mate Jamie Hamilton, who picked up his maiden NW200 podium.
Michael Dunlop won a truncated second Supersport race on Saturday, after just two racing laps. It was going to be restarted but persistent and heavy rain put paid to that and Dunlop was awarded the win ahead of Anstey and Lee Johnston.
Riders start another lap at the NW200 in 2011
Following a three month public consultation about a possible amendment to the Road Closure Order, it looks like a new bill could be in place for 2014 which would grant organisers more flexibility in the scheduling of the event. Currently they are allowed a maximum of three days to close public roads for road racing events, but the new bill could see the allowing of a day being rescheduled if the weather forecast necessitates it. There were approximately 860 responses to the consultation and many respondents indicated that 24 hours notice would be necessary should a change be made. This would allow organisers of road races such as the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix to assess the weather forecasts for the week and adjust their schedules as needs be.
After a difficult start to Finals Day at Brands Hatch, the eBay Motors Team battled back to once again show their pace, as the 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season drew to a close.
Heading into the season finale, Colin Turkington had an outside chance of securing the championship lying fourth and 48 points behind Andrew Jordan, with 67 points up for grabs.
Turkington was the highest placed of the three eBay Motors Team drivers in qualifying, starting race one from sixth on the grid. Rob Collard lined up ninth with Nick Foster in 14th.
With heavy rain arriving for race day, race one turned into something of a lottery and would end in disappointing fashion for the team. An incident at turn one saw Turkington suffer a spin at Paddock Hill Bend and then was hit by Foster when he was left with nowhere to go.
The incident put both drivers out of the race and left Collard on his own to fly the flag for the team. He finished the race in a solid seventh place.
Misfortune would then hit Collard in race two when contact from the Airwaves Racing Ford of Aron Smith saw him spin at Surtees on the second lap. While he was able to rejoin the race, the time lost saw him cross the line down in 14th, two places behind Turkington who worked his way through to twelfth from the back of the grid. For Foster, the wet conditions were made even more challenging by the fact that his car started to steam up as the race progressed. This led him to being forced to pit to allow the team to clear the windscreen. He ended the race a lap down in 18th place.
The eBay Motors drivers on track at Brands Hatch
Persisting rain meant that conditions on track were as difficult as ever for the final race of the weekend, and season, but a fine performance from Turkington saw him rewarded with a fourth place finish. He ended the year fifth in the end of season standings and second amongst the Independents. All in all a successful year for the returning driver.
Collard secured his third points finish of the day in eighth having found himself stuck behind the Toyota of Adam Morgan as he tried to work his way through the pack. He ended up 13th in the championship and eighth in the Independents. Foster, meanwhile, showed his pace as he lapped quicker than a number of the top ten drivers, but fell just shy of picking up points in 16th place. He ended the year 15th in the championship and eleventh amongst the Independents.
As a team, eBay Motors ended its first season running its all-new NGTC-spec BMW 125i M-Sports in a highly impressive third place in the HiQ Teams’ Championship behind the works Honda and MG teams, both of whom were racing their current cars for a second year.
Here is what the drivers had to say:
Colin Turkington (R/12th/4th): “It’s been a really difficult way to end the year. I think we’d have been in better shape if it had been dry as the car was an unknown quantity round here in the wet, and the GP circuit is a real challenge in those conditions. It really took us until the third race to get the balance sorted in the car and that is the positive for us to take away from the weekend; that we found some strong performance in those conditions.
“Coming into the weekend, my aim was to try and wrap up third in the championship standings which sadly we weren’t able to achieve. However, to be fifth with a brand new car is still something we can be pleased with.”
Rob Collard (7th/14th/8th): “It’s been a hard way to end the year. Race one was where we expected to be in terms of the result, but to then be hit in race two was almost the story of my season; I’ve lost count of the number of times that something in the second race has put me on the back foot. When I was then stuck in traffic in race three, I couldn’t have got any higher.
“I knew at the start of the year that it wasn’t going to be easy this season with a new car and we’ve certainly had some challenges along the way. There is no doubt that it’s been tough, but the positive for me is that we’ve been on the pace and closer to the mix in the final rounds, which is promising for the future.”
Nick Foster (R/18th/16th): “I really enjoyed the final race and showed decent pace, but it’s just a shame about what happened in the first two races. There was nothing I could do with the incident in race one and then when the window steamed up in race two, I could see even less in the rain!
“Overall it’s been a hard season and while I’ve not managed to get what I wanted in terms of the end result, I’ve really enjoyed the challenge. I had to get used to a new car and the team has done a great job making improvements over the course of the year. I think there is still more to come from it in future.”
Andrew Jordan overcame a dramatic Finals Day to become British Touring Car champion for the first time. He also clinched the Independents title for a second day in the row. Five drivers went into the weekend with a chance of becoming driver, and they all had their fair share of drama. Jeff Smith sat out the weekend, allowing Pirtek to focus their attentions on Jordan. Shaun Hollamby made a return to the series to give the VW Golf its last outing. Tom Barley made his British Touring Car debut. Here is how the action unfolded at a wet Brands Hatch as the 2013 championship drew to a close.
Race 1
Jason Plato qualified on pole position for the first race of the day, with his team-mate Sam Tordoff alongside him. Andrew Jordan started in third place, with reigning champion Gordon Shedden fourth, Colin Turkington sixth and Matt Neal down in 16th after a qualifying crash. The race was delayed due to the rain but eventually got going, with all drivers on wet tyres. Turkington made another fast start in his rear-wheel drive BMW and was fighting close with his team-mate Rob Collard as they approached Paddock Hill Bend for the first time. The pair were racing in close quarters and a slight tap saw Turkington’s car slide. He could do nothing as he was sent into a spin and there was further drama for the eBay Motors Team when Nick Foster was left with no-where to go but right into the front of his team-mate’s car. This brought Turkington’s race – and title hopes – to an end.
Rob Austin was another driver who had difficulties in the wet conditions as his car went off and into the gravel, leading to a safety car being deployed. By the end of lap four, Neal was already up to eighth place. Racing was resumed on lap six with the race extended to 17 laps. Up at the front, Jordan had a slide and Tom Onslow-Cole took advantage to pass him. By the eighth lap, Neal had progressed to P6 while towards the back, the Jack Sears Trophy champion Lea Wood had an off after oversteer at the top of the hill. He slid off the track and onto the grass but managed to avoid the barrier. Aiden Moffat was another driver who left the track, and he did make contact with the barrier. At the front, Plato remained unchallenged and took his 81st career win. Shedden finished in second and Tordoff secured the final podium place. Jordan finished in fifth place with Neal just behind him in sixth.
Race one top fifteen
Jason Plato
Gordon Shedden
Sam Tordoff
Tom Onslow-Cole
Andrew Jordan
Matt Neal
Rob Collard
Adam Morgan
Mat Jackson
Aron Smith
Dave Newsham
Jack Goff
Daniel Welch
Jake Hill
Shaun Hollamby
Race 2
Five became four for race 2, with Turkington dropping out of contention. It was still wet when the racing got going. Neal and Shedden were bogged down at the start with Shedden having a dramatic slide – sliding left and right, but he managed to keep his car pointing the right way. Aron Smith, who had a huge crash on Saturday, found a way past Neal early on in the race as he overtook him up the inside. There was drama for the championship on lap three which resulted in retirement for Jordan. Collard went into a spin and as Jordan pulled across to avoid him, he made contact with Neal. This instantly broke his suspension and he started to drop down the order. He continued driving round and eventually brought his car back to the pits. It was Jordan’s first retirement of the year, and what a time to have it.
Elsewhere, Neal was able to continue circulating after a visit to the pits, albeit at the back. BTCC newcomer Tom Barley became the next driver to have an off while Frank Wrathall and Dan Welch fought each other for position. In the middle of the pack Shedden started to gain on Goff, after falling down the order due to his slide and poor start. He momentarily made a move stick on the Team HARD driver, but running wide allowed Goff back through. Goff then wasted no time in overtaking former Team HARD driver Tom Onslow-Cole. Shedden also found a way through. In the closing laps of the race, Austin was shown the mechanical flag and he retired his car. At the front Plato took win number two of the day ahead of Tordoff and Jackson. Neal became the next driver to drop out of contention after his contact with Jordan. To add insult to injury his car caught fire after he crossed the line a lap down. Marshals were on hand to put out the flames.
After 29 races and plenty of thrills and spills, it all came down to race three. Plato and Shedden were very much in contention, but it was Jordan who still had the points advantage. Alan Gow selected Shedden to start on pole. The reigning champion needed a race win to have any chance of beating Jordan, while Plato could finish on the podium and be champion if Jordan wasn’t picking up points. The rain continued to fall leading to another wet race. Plato started from sixth place on the reverse grid. At the start Tordoff went off while Goff made a good start to maintain his second place. Smith progressed to third. Shedden and Goff started to pull away from the rest of the pack while Jordan started overtaking people at the back.
By the fourth lap Jordan was up to 14th place and in the points. Goff was hustling Shedden for the lead – even flashing his lights at the Honda driver. With Shedden leading the race, even with fastest lap, it wouldn’t be enough to win the title with Jordan picking up points. If it had ended with Shedden winning, with two bonus points, and Jordan 14th they would have been tied on points, but Jordan would be champion on countback. Plato dropped down the order, with both MGs apparently struggling in the conditions. The race was relatively uneventful and in the end up Shedden held off Goff to win. Goff got his first British Touring Car podium and Mat Jackson finished in third again. Jordan finished in ninth place, and took fastest lap for good measure.
Race three top fifteen
Gordon Shedden
Jack Goff
Mat Jackson
Colin Turkington
Aron Smith
Dave Newsham
Adam Morgan
Rob Collard
Andrew Jordan
Jason Plato
Ollie Jackson
Sam Tordoff
Tom Onslow-Cole
Matt Neal
Jake Hill
The final standings in the championship:
Andrew Jordan 397
Gordon Shedden 390
Jason Plato 380
Matt Neal 356
Colin Turkington 347
Sam Tordoff 286
Adam Morgan 233
Mat Jackson 225
Aron Smith 201
Dave Newsham 176
Independent Championship:
Andrew Jordan 471
Colin Turkington 411
Adam Morgan 324
Mat Jackson 308
Aron Smith 288
Dave Newsham 260
Tom Onslow-Cole 243
Rob Collard 214
Rob Austin 200
Jeff Smith 200
Honda Yuasa Racing were victorious in the Teams championship while Pirtek took Independents glory.
Guy Martin has been crowned ‘Man of the Meeting’ at the Ulster Grand Prix. The Tyco Suzuki rider won three races on Saturday, including the feature Superbike race, as well as taking third in another. The results come after he signed a contract extension to stay with the team for 2014, which was announced on Friday to put an end to speculation. His wins see him move to fourth in the all-time list for wins at the Ulster, with 11 to his name. Michael and William Dunlop won one race apiece, with Ian Lougher and Ivan Lintin also victorious.
The day kicked off with a five lap practice session for the Superstock class after rain disrupted practice on Thursday. The first race of the day was the Barron Transport Services Supersport race, which Guy Martin had qualified on pole position for. He went on to win ahead of Bruce Anstey and Lee Johnston. This result ensured that New Zealander Anstey continued his impressive record of finishing on the podium at every North West 200, TT, and Ulster Grand Prix meeting in the past ten years. Michael Dunlop failed to finish the race after clutch problems, with Gary Johnson and Jamie Hamilton joining him on the sidelines.
After a damp start to the day, the sun came out and the track soon dried up. Next up for the riders was the Lisburn City Council Superstock race and, following his disappointment in race one, it was a successful outing for Michael Dunlop as he won ahead of Gary Johnson and Bruce Anstey. The Ultra-lightweight and Lightweight classes went out together and it proved to be a close race. It was red-flagged after Peter McKillop crashed out, and re-started as a three lap race. This allowed Jamie Hamilton, who had slid off at Leathemstown on the opening lap, to rejoin the pack and he went on to fight with Ivan Lintin right to the line. Lintin took his first International road race victory, but was just 0.048s clear of KMR Kawasaki rider Hamilton. Lee Johnston finished just a second back to take the third and final podium spot. Ian Lougher won the Ultra-lightweight class, on his last appearance at the Ulster GP, three tenths of a second ahead of Christian Elkin. Paul Jordan was a further 27 seconds down the field, but also finished on the podium.
The seven lap McKinstry Skip Hire Ulster Grand Prix was up next, the event’s main race. Michael Dunlop started on pole position but Guy Martin took the lead on the opening lap and stayed there for the duration of the race. He pulled out a comfortable lead but when they started to reach backmarkers, Dunlop was able to close the gap. It was a close run to the line but the Tyco Suzuki rider held on for the victory but just by under a tenth of a second. It was also a successful race for William Dunlop who finished on the podium. The second Supersport race came next, but the final race of the day was the second Superbike race. Michael Dunlop faced drama as he was wheeled off the grid before the race started. Guy Martin was again able to build up a comfortable lead initially ahead of Gary Johnson, who later retired from the race. William Dunlop also had problems, retiring on the penultimate lap, with his team-mate Conor Cummins going on to finish on the podium, just behind Bruce Anstey. There was a close battle within the top ten between Lee Johnston, Dean Harrison, Cameron Donald and Jamie Hamilton. Harrison, Donald and Hamilton swapped positions a few times, but ultimately Hamilton came out on top, securing a solid top five finish after his problems throughout the day.
The penultimate race of the meeting, however, provided the most thrilling moments of the day. The Ulster Grand Prix winner Guy Martin failed to start the race while Michael Dunlop had a disappointing race start. William Dunlop took the lead early on and finished the first lap ahead of Bruce Anstey and Connor Cummins. The leading duo pulled away and enjoyed a close battle that went right down to the wire. On the last lap it was Anstey who led but Dunlop was not letting him get away. Anstey ran wide, with Dunlop doing the same, allowing Anstey to get the run on him into the Quarries. However, the Milwaukee Yahama rider went round the outside at the final corner to win the race by 0.073s. Cummins held on to finish third.
After the Dundrod 150 races were cancelled by rain there were concerns that the Ulster Grand Prix could also be a washout. Earlier in the year the North West 200 was forced to cancel its races after adverse weather conditions. However, with the rain easing off for the start of the first race, it stayed away right until the end of the final race of the day and it proved to be a highly successful day. As well as the racing there were parade laps, with Bruce Anstey taking the legendary Britten V1000 for a lap around Dundrod.
A number of the riders who were present at the Ulster Grand Prix have headed straight to the Isle of Man in prepartion for the Manx Grand Prix and the inaugural Classic TT which are next up on the calendar.
The North West 200 came to a disappointing end on Saturday after persistent rain caused the race organisers to call off the event. Surface water and a lack of visibility due to spray left them with no choice but to draw the event to a close, with safety being of paramount importance. Of the eight races scheduled to take place, only three were completed in full when the first Supersport, Supertwin and Superstock races took place on Thursday evening. The second Supersport race, which was the first on Saturday, saw the lead group complete only two full laps and no more. Along with two victories for Alistair Seeley, and one apiece for Jeremy McWilliams and Michael Dunlop, there were podiums for Guy Martin, James Hillier, Jamie Hamilton, Gary Johnson, Bruce Anstey and Lee Johnston.
Guy Martin gets interviewed before practice
The action started on Tuesday with the newcomers getting accustomed to the track. This group included British Superbikes rider Josh Brookes who made his North West 200 debut for the Tyco Suzuki team, partnering Guy Martin. It was a damp start but as the morning progressed, the sun came out and the track dried up. Tuesday also saw riders set their first qualifying times which would help to determine their grid slots for the races on Thursday and Saturday. After qualifying on Thursday, which took place during the day, times were combined and each rider’s best time determined where they would start the race. In Supersport it was John McGuinness who secured pole position, with team-mate Bruce Anstey and Guy Martin filling up the front row. For the Supertwins it was Jeremy McWilliams who set the fastest time, putting him ahead of KMR Kawasaki team-mate Michael Rutter and William Davison. In Superstock Alistair Seeley qualified ahead of Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness.
Alistair Seeley is interviewed by BBC’s Stephen Watson after his second victory
After further qualifying on Thursday, the first three races took place on Thursday evening. First up was Supersport which saw Michael Dunlop pull away and lead comfortably from Guy Martin for the whole race. However Alistair Seeley, who started in the second group, won the race with corrected times – just a second faster than Michael Dunlop who was a more than comfortable 24 seconds ahead of Guy Martin. Following that, the Supertwins were up next and it was a great result for Ryan Farquhar’s KMR Kawasaki team as Jeremy McWilliams won with Jamie Hamilton taking his maiden North West 200 podium. James Hillier also took his first podium on the Triangle circuit. The top four were separated by just over three seconds with Ivan Linton narrowly missing out on a podium. The third and final race on Thursday evening saw Alistair Seeley again victorious, this time in Superstock, ahead of Bruce Anstey and Gary Johnson.
This result meant that Bruce Anstey has maintained his rather impressive record of finishing on the podium at least once every year since 2002.
Jamie Hamilton celebrates with team boss Ryan Farquhar
Following a rare day of glorious sunshine on Friday, Saturday was a stark contrast with persistent rain. John McGuinness and former North West 200 race winner Steve Plater took people out on parade laps before racing was due to commence. The second Supersport race eventually started but was red flagged after just two laps after four people came off, thankfully without serious injury, due to the adverse weather conditions. Initially the race was going to be restarted but it was continuously delayed until the race win was eventually awarded to Michael Dunlop with Bruce Anstey and Lee Johnston also on the podium. Jamie Hamilton entertained the crowds as he was wheeled around the grid in a trailer during the delay with oars, pretending he was rowing a boat. Around 3pm, Race Director Mervyn White announced that, due to the bad weather, the rest of the racing had been cancelled. The stewards had met to discuss the conditions, along with experienced riders such as Michael Rutter and John McGuinness.
John McGuinness waits to go on a parade lap on Saturday
After similar problems in 2011, when just one race was completed, questions have been raised about the future of North West 200 and how similar situations can be avoided. Obviously, it is impossible to control the weather, or know exactly what it is going to do. Currently roads are closed on Tuesday morning, Thursday morning and evening, and all day on Saturday. One possibility that has already been touted is an amendment of the Road Closing Orders. Mervyn White has revealed that currently they are allowed to close the roads for a maximum of three days, but this then leaves the event vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, as demonstrated last week. If they were allowed to close roads on an additional day, for example this year Friday was nice, then it could allow races to take place if forecasts were bad. In 2012 races were held on Thursday evening for the first time.
The 'H' Duct 