MotoGP title decider, Phoenix NASCAR, Valais ERC
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Moto3 - Valencia: If you thought Alex Marquez was going to feature in this qualifying session (as we thought the Motegi winner might), then you were mistaken.
He's currently seventh, but a second behind Rins and showing no sign of finding that sort of time in the dying moments of qualifying.
He's currently seventh, but a second behind Rins and showing no sign of finding that sort of time in the dying moments of qualifying.
Moto3 - Valencia: Vinales' last lap was a personal best, but he still trails the lead duo by 0.3s.
Outside of "title top three watch", Folger's right on Vinales' tail for third as he holds the best of the rest position.
Outside of "title top three watch", Folger's right on Vinales' tail for third as he holds the best of the rest position.
Moto3 - Valencia: Big move from Salom, who takes a huge chunk of time out of his previous best to split Rins and Vinales.
A 1m39.492s gets him just 0.033s behind Rins with five minutes to go!
A 1m39.492s gets him just 0.033s behind Rins with five minutes to go!
Nicky Hayden
MotoGP - Valencia: Crutchlow will be replacing Nicky Hayden at Ducati, as the American is released after five seasons.
Hayden's Ducati crew showed their love for the 2006 champion by wearing masks of his face...
Quote
MotoGP - Valencia: It's farewell weekend for several team/rider combinations at Valencia, including Cal Crutchlow and Tech 3.
Asked if he was sad about leaving Herve Poncharal's squad, Crutchlow replied:
"I can't wait to leave. I've had enough of French. They've given me a hard time over these last three years - they made me work in the cafe all weekend and it's difficult to do two jobs..."
(He was joking).
Asked if he was sad about leaving Herve Poncharal's squad, Crutchlow replied:
"I can't wait to leave. I've had enough of French. They've given me a hard time over these last three years - they made me work in the cafe all weekend and it's difficult to do two jobs..."
(He was joking).
Stopwatch
Moto3 - Valencia: And Rins carries that form throughout the lap to nudge himself a further tenth out of reach. 1m39.459s the new benchmark.
Moto3 - Valencia: Looks like Rins isn't settling for that time with 15 minutes remaining. He's set a personal best in the first sector.
Stopwatch
Moto3 - Valencia: Vinales goes quickest! 1m39.867s, shading Rins by 0.114s.
But then Rins fires right back with a superb 1m39.564s. He's 0.303s clear now. Great lap.
But then Rins fires right back with a superb 1m39.564s. He's 0.303s clear now. Great lap.
Crash
ERC - Valais: Big drama in Switzerland. Second-placed Andreas Aigner had a big crash early on the final stage of the morning and it had to be stopped.
Thankfully news has now come through to the service park that the crew are OK.
We're waiting for the times to reset fully to find out how big Lappi's lead now is. Breen's recovery drive has had a boost too with Ancian delayed again by a puncture.
Thankfully news has now come through to the service park that the crew are OK.
We're waiting for the times to reset fully to find out how big Lappi's lead now is. Breen's recovery drive has had a boost too with Ancian delayed again by a puncture.
Moto3 - Valencia: Now it gets closer. Vinales improves his time and is now just 0.114s behind Rins.
Ah, and there's Salom - he moves to third, 0.2s off pole.
Ah, and there's Salom - he moves to third, 0.2s off pole.
Moto3 - Valencia: 25 minutes remaining and that early time for Rins still stands. He's 0.293s quicker than Vinales, with Salom improving his time fractionally down in seventh.
Stopwatch
Moto3 - Valencia: Rins is the first rider to dip under 1m40s in the session, as he improves his own best to a 1m39.981s.
Green flag
Moto3 - Valencia: After the first efforts, Rins leads Vinales by 0.201s. Salom's fifth, 1.2s back, but that's unlikely to stay the same by the end of the session.
Moto3 - Valencia: Lest we forget, there is an absolutely titanic Moto3 title fight concluding this weekend.
After a dramatic Motegi race, and almost by stealth, Maverick Vinales has recovered from almost nowhere to move three points ahead of Alex Rins and to just two points behind championship leader Luis Salom.
Alex Marquez became the only rider other than Salom, Vinales and Rins (who non-scored in the last race, while Salom retired) to win this season. Will he have a say in qualifying, or even the decider tomorrow?
We're underway for qualifying, so we'll soon know the answer to the former.
ERC - Valais: Burri's through in second, but he's not even close to troubling Breen. 40.3s down is the Fiesta driver, though of course he's still comfortably clear of any of the runners so far overall.
Breaking news
Sebastien Loeb - Macau: Yes, you're reading that right. In case you weren't aware, the legend that is Loeb is competing in Macau this weekend - no, he's not preparing for a surprise F3 Grand Prix outing. He's racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.
It has been a good start for the rally superstar (or, sadly, should that be ex-rally superstar) who was third fastest in practice and third again in qualifying out of 22 cars.
The only downside we can see is he was nearly a full second behind the pole-setting Keita Sawa.
It has been a good start for the rally superstar (or, sadly, should that be ex-rally superstar) who was third fastest in practice and third again in qualifying out of 22 cars.
The only downside we can see is he was nearly a full second behind the pole-setting Keita Sawa.
ERC - Valais: What news from Switzerland? Plenty. Six drivers have made it to the other side, with Breen quickest of the lot so far.
The Peugeot man's 24m10.8s run was a whopping 53.9s faster than Gryazin, who now holds just a 16.8s lead over the rapid Breen.
The Peugeot man's 24m10.8s run was a whopping 53.9s faster than Gryazin, who now holds just a 16.8s lead over the rapid Breen.
Breaking news
WEC - Shanghai: Congratulations are due to Audi on two fronts: Shanghai WEC victory, and overall title glory.
What's more, it is split between the marque's two lead cars.
As Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler stormed to a commanding win, team-mates Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Loic Duval claimed the 2013 World Endurance Championship with a conservative run to third place.
Want to know more? AUTOSPORT's sportscar guru Gary Watkins has the story of how the race unfolded.
One Audi wins, the other takes the title
Breaking news
MotoGP - Valencia: Amid title showdown fever, you might have missed a couple of news stories emerging from Spain - though we seriously doubt the first one will have escaped your attention.
Valentino Rossi will part company with his crew chief Jerry Burgess after the finale. The two have worked together throughout the legendary Italian's career, with Burgess at the centre of his seven titles.
Having overcome the disastrous two-year stint at Ducati, Burgess remained with Rossi for his return to Yamaha - which has yielded one win, at Assen - but says he was "blindsided" by The Doctor's decision.
The other story concerns top CRT rider Aleix Espargaro - who has finally secured his switch to Forward Racing for 2014. Espargaro, who has dominated CRT with Aspar's Aprilias, will team up with Colin Edwards aboard a Yamaha.
MotoGP - Valencia: We're back on top of bike action in about half an hour with Moto3 qualifying, which is only serving to ramp up the tension ahead of what could be a crucial qualifying session for the big boys.
Just to add further emphasis to how epic the fight between the rookie and the reigning champion promises to be, AUTOSPORT's Toby Moody has previewed tomorrow's showdown, and has used all his experience to come up with a concrete conclusion.
He has no idea who will win.
Marquez vs Lorenzo: down to the wire
NASCAR - Phoenix: If you’re following in Europe, you might have missed qualifying for the penultimate round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Phoenix.
That was topped by points leader Jimmie Johnson, and the good news didn’t stop there for Five Time: title rival Matt Kenseth was a lowly 13th.
You can read the qualifying report, and see the line-up for Sunday’s race, here.
That was topped by points leader Jimmie Johnson, and the good news didn’t stop there for Five Time: title rival Matt Kenseth was a lowly 13th.
You can read the qualifying report, and see the line-up for Sunday’s race, here.
MotoGP - Valencia: As aforementioned, Marquez is ensuring he goes into qualifying for tomorrow's showdown in supreme confidence.
Having edged Lorenzo in first practice, he then narrowly beat Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa to top spot in FP2
Then came the record-setting FP3 pace, which served to highlight just what Marquez meant before the weekend's action started.
He's not rattled. He's inspired.
ERC - Valais: SS14, the 37.13km trek across Les Cols, is under way. It might be a while before we have an update.
The perfect time, then, to bring you properly up-to-date with the MotoGP title decider...
The perfect time, then, to bring you properly up-to-date with the MotoGP title decider...
Checkered flag
ERC - Valais - SS13 results: 1 Ancian; 2 Breen +2.4s; 3 Lappi +6.0s; 4 Burri +11.1s; 5 Aigner +17.0s; 6 Gryazin +21.2s.
Overall: 1 Lappi; 2 Aigner +46.7s; 3 Burri 1m26.8s; 4 Gryazin +2m21.1s; 5 Ancian +3m21.0s; 6 Althaus +3m28.7s.
Overall: 1 Lappi; 2 Aigner +46.7s; 3 Burri 1m26.8s; 4 Gryazin +2m21.1s; 5 Ancian +3m21.0s; 6 Althaus +3m28.7s.
Breaking news
MotoGP - Valencia: The big question this weekend is quite simple: Can Marc Marquez land the title, or will Yamaha's champion Jorge Lorenzo deny the rookie sensation?
We will not know the answer until tomorrow, but here's a potential hint: Marquez, yet again, topped the times in FP3.
Marquez sets record practice three pace
We will not know the answer until tomorrow, but here's a potential hint: Marquez, yet again, topped the times in FP3.
Marquez sets record practice three pace
ERC - Valais: Ancian flies to top of the pile! Without his penalties he'd be leading this rally. As it is, Lappi extends his overall lead in third place. Aigner slips to fourth, 17s behind Ancian and losing 11s to the rally leader.
ERC - Valais: But now Breen completes SS13 to better Orsak by 21.1s. That also moves him to just 3.1s behind Althaus, having taken a massive 47.7s out of him on that one run.
ERC - Valais: Orsak and Althaus are through, and into first and fourth respectively. Orsak's new benchmark for the stage stands at 11m26.0s.
ERC - Valais: After the first Bruson run, we're now onto the Verber equivalent - a slightly shorter blast but still challenging at 15.52km.
Gonon and Peroud are through. The former leads by 22s having completed the stage in 11m29.2s.
Gonon and Peroud are through. The former leads by 22s having completed the stage in 11m29.2s.
Checkered flag
ERC - Valais - SS12 results: 1 Breen; 2 Ancian +4.2s; 3 Aigner +4.9s; 4 Lappi +17.4s; 5 Burri +18.1s; 6 Orsak +23.5s.
Overall: 1 Lappi; 2 Aigner +35.7s; 3 Burri +1m21.7s; 4 Gryazin +2m05.9s; 5 Althaus +2m44.6s; 6 Ancian +3m27.0s.
Overall: 1 Lappi; 2 Aigner +35.7s; 3 Burri +1m21.7s; 4 Gryazin +2m05.9s; 5 Althaus +2m44.6s; 6 Ancian +3m27.0s.
ERC - Valais: Now, that could be important. Lappi drops 12.5s to Aigner on SS12 and is now just 35.7s clear.
Ancian comes through second (good, but less significant). Both he and Breen leapfrogged Orsak because of their one-two in that stage.
Ancian comes through second (good, but less significant). Both he and Breen leapfrogged Orsak because of their one-two in that stage.
ERC - Valais: Aigner is through, but he can't quite match Breen. He's 4.9s behind, but 13.2s quicker than Burri - who is now 46.0s in arrears overall.
ERC - Valais: Breen is through, and jumps straight to the top of the (now five-man) leaderboard. 14m16.6s puts 23.5s between him and next-best Orsak.
ERC - Valais: We have our first couple of times for the 16.96km SS12. Gonon is quickest, completing the stage in 14m49.1s. That's 10.4s faster than Perroud managed.
MotoGP - Valencia - Free Practice 3 results:
1 Marquez; 2 Lorenzo; 3 Rossi; 4 Pedrosa; 5 Crutchlow; 6 Bautista; 7 Bradl; 8 Hayden; 9 Dovizioso; 10 Smith.
1 Marquez; 2 Lorenzo; 3 Rossi; 4 Pedrosa; 5 Crutchlow; 6 Bautista; 7 Bradl; 8 Hayden; 9 Dovizioso; 10 Smith.
Checkered flag
MotoGP - Valencia: Chequered flag, and Marquez tops the pile once again, from Lorenzo, Rossi and Pedrosa.
Stopwatch
MotoGP - Valencia: Remarkably, Marquez has gone quicker still and has beaten Pedrosa's record time of 1m30.844s with a 1m30.803s!
ERC - Valais: SS12 is the next challenge Lappi has to face to continue his charge to victory. The last stage, if you were wondering, was won by Craig Breen - but he remains almost four minutes in arrears after his early power steering issues.
Stopwatch
MotoGP - Valencia: And Marquez has gone quickest with less than three minutes remaining. The standings leader has set the fastest time of the weekend - 1m31.013s
MotoGP - Valencia: Marquez comes back out with less than seven minutes remaining. The championship leader goes against the grain and runs with the harder front tyre.
By: Dan Cross, Matt Beer, Scott Mitchell
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