The world of motorsports is running with all cylinders firing as the year's first-month ends. Formula E just had their second round in Diriyah and if you are a Jaguar TCS fan, there is some excellent news coming your way. From there, we shift our attention to WRC! A brilliant and beautiful start to the season with Rallye Monte Carlo! And guess what, Sebastien Ogier did not win this time, even though he was very close to taking the victory! That is not all, we have a lot more covered in this edition, so just scroll down and update yourself on the biggest news to come out from the world of motorsports!
1. Jaguar TCS Racing takes massive points in Diriyah while Mahindra Racing and Jehan Daruvala come out empty-handed
Jaguar TCS Racing has hit the ground running in the two races of Diriyah. Nick Cassidy managed to pick up two podium finishes, including a race win in both races, and now stands at the top of the leaderboard in the driver’s championship. The team was also helped by Mitch Evans who took up the valuable 11 points from the weekend.
It was Evan’s incorrect judgment of the braking zone that led him to lose the podium in the second race. However, Jaguar TCS Racing could not have hoped for a better start and will probably continue to keep this momentum up when they race at Sao Paulo!
Mahindra Racing has come out empty-handed from the weekend. They have struggled in both races and while they did manage to finish the race, all they can take away is the data that they have collected. The race pace was off from what the top 10 were setting but with Edoardo Mortara and championship winner Nyck De Vries, on their side, this team has every potential to turn the ship around.
Lastly, Jehan Daruvala has yet to find traction with Maserati MSG Racing and score points in the season. Even though he did start P5 for the second race in Diriyah, a brake failure caused him to retire from the race.
2. Thierry Neuville takes the victory from Ogier at Monte Carlo
Rallye Monte Carlo was always thought to be Ogier’s to win even before the championship started. A record nine victories is evidence enough to assume that. However, this time it was a three-way fight between Elfyn Evans, Thierry Neuville, and Sebastien Ogier, which went right down to the wire.
Till the end of Friday, it was Evans who was leading the charge, but come Saturday, it was just Neuville and Seb who were battling it out with 3.3 seconds differentiating the two. On Sunday Neuville pushed the pedal to the metal and managed to finish just 16 seconds ahead of Ogier, giving him the victory in the first round. Round 2 Rally Sweden starts on February 15!
3. Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc sign contract extensions
Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris are two of the hottest drivers in the F1 grid. They are young, fast, and have the capabilities to lead big manufacturers to victories. Not only that many on the grid have coined them as World Champion material. Due to all of these attributes, they have been given contract extension deals from both of their current teams which they have happily signed.
Charles has signed a four-year extension deal with Ferrari which would see him with the team till 2028. This is not the first multi-year deal that Ferrari has offered Charles and just like before, this also comes with a salary hike. Reports say that he has been offered $30 million a year.
Lando Norris also bagged a multi-year contract with McLaren and this couldn’t have come at a better time. Rumors were circling that Lando was in talks with RedBull and this would have taken McLaren’s preferred driver away. However, this deal will supposedly see Lando being with McLaren till the end of 2027. How will this shake the driver’s market? Only time will tell.
4. The Ceat Indian Supercross Racing League inaugurated with great traction
The Ceat Indian Supercross Racing League (ISRL) has made its debut at Pune’s Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex and boy was it a banger! This franchise-based sport is a great attempt to bring the crowd very close to the motorcycle sport. And it did! Nearly 10,000 people showed up to witness the first round of the event which made it a huge success. Six teams signed up for the opening season which included names like Gaurav Gill, CS Santosh, and Dhruv.
There are four categories in the event – International 450cc, International 250cc, 250cc Mix, and the Junior 85cc. Round 2 of the event will happen on February 11, at Ahmedabad’s EKA Arena. Tickets will be available on BookMyShow and the event will be streamed live on JioCinema and Sports 18.
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