Mugello MotoGP, Le Mans test day, Detroit IndyCar
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MotoGP - Mugello: Pedrosa jumps to fourth, but Rossi is beaten by a load of late improvers and his last lap leaves him way down in 10th!
Checkered flag
MotoGP - Mugello - Q2 results:
1 Marquez
2 Iannone
3 Lorenzo
4 Pedrosa
5 P Espargaro
6 Crutchlow
7 Smith
8 Dovizioso
9 Bradl
10 Rossi
11 Bautista
12 A Espargaro
1 Marquez
2 Iannone
3 Lorenzo
4 Pedrosa
5 P Espargaro
6 Crutchlow
7 Smith
8 Dovizioso
9 Bradl
10 Rossi
11 Bautista
12 A Espargaro
Checkered flag
IndyCar - Detroit: The chequered flag waves for the first group. Castroneves, Hawksworth, Kanaan, Briscoe, Bourdais and Montoya will all progress to the next phase.
It's a lucky break for Montoya because he was initially seventh, but Pagenaud has been penalised for interference and docked his two best laps, which drops him out of the top six. Also eliminated were Saavedra, Sato, Wilson and Hunter-Reay, who was last and will start from the back of the grid. There's the first shock of the weekend.
It's a lucky break for Montoya because he was initially seventh, but Pagenaud has been penalised for interference and docked his two best laps, which drops him out of the top six. Also eliminated were Saavedra, Sato, Wilson and Hunter-Reay, who was last and will start from the back of the grid. There's the first shock of the weekend.
AutoGP - Monza: Teams making final preparations for race one here at Monza. Race start is 14.35 BST. Meanwhile it is 1994 revisited in the paddock as Taki Inoue chats with his old Formula 3000 team boss David Sears and team-mate Vincenzo Sospiri.
IndyCar - Detroit: The second group is preparing for its turn. Heading out this time will be Mike Conway, Will Power, Scott Dixon, James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal, Carlos Munoz, Josef Newgarden, Marco Andretti, Carlos Huertas, Charlie Kimball and Mikhai Aleshin.
IndyCar - Detroit: Halfway into the session Mike Conway is provisionally on top, but the Brit's time was set on the harder black tyres. Expect the times to tumble as soon as everyone switches to reds in the final couple of minutes.
FR3.5 - Spa: Not long now until the first Formula Renault 3.5 race of the weekend at Spa.
It's an all-Red Bull (protege) front row, with Carlos Sainz Jr leading Pierre Gasly.
Here's how the title battle looks after Monaco last weekend.
Championship standings after five of 17 rounds:
1 Carlos Sainz Jr 74
2 Oliver Rowland 59
3 Pierre Gasly 51
4 Will Stevens 44
5 Roberto Merhi 38
6 Nikolay Martsenko 36
(25 points for a win)
Full 2014 FR3.5 data on FORIX
It's an all-Red Bull (protege) front row, with Carlos Sainz Jr leading Pierre Gasly.
Here's how the title battle looks after Monaco last weekend.
Championship standings after five of 17 rounds:
1 Carlos Sainz Jr 74
2 Oliver Rowland 59
3 Pierre Gasly 51
4 Will Stevens 44
5 Roberto Merhi 38
6 Nikolay Martsenko 36
(25 points for a win)
Full 2014 FR3.5 data on FORIX
IndyCar - Detroit: OK, everyone is on reds now, and there are two minutes left on the clock. Huertas is the first to reap the benefit of the softer rubber, but he's only on top for about three seconds before he is knocked off by James Hinchcliffe.
IndyCar - Detroit: The session is just finishing, but Power is already back in the pits - which is a surprise, because he is well outside the top six. It looks like another frontrunner faces a long race.
FR3.5 - Spa: The cars have been released from the pits, so they are on their way to the grid with around 15 minutes until the off.
Quote
AutoGP - Monza: Tamas Pal Kiss sits second in the points at present but can make inroads on the absent Kimiya Sato this weekend.
"Free Practice started well yesterday but then I had a broken damper and also big problems with the brake bias. We only have the reconnaissance laps before the race to see if they have been cured.
"From fifth on the grid I can still get good points but will need some luck to win it."
"Free Practice started well yesterday but then I had a broken damper and also big problems with the brake bias. We only have the reconnaissance laps before the race to see if they have been cured.
"From fifth on the grid I can still get good points but will need some luck to win it."
Checkered flag
IndyCar - Detroit: Conway, Hinchcliffe, Munoz, Rahal, Dixon and Huertas will all progress.
Eliminated are Newgarden, Power, Andretti, Kimball and Aleshin.
Eliminated are Newgarden, Power, Andretti, Kimball and Aleshin.
Quote
IndyCar - Detroit: Tim Cindric says that Power's problem was pretty straightforward: "We just didn't have a good car."
Breaking news
MotoGP - Mugello: Here is our comprehensive report from today's qualifying session, with Marquez clinching his sixth pole of the season, ahead of an in-form Iannone:
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FR3.5 - Spa: This morning's qualifying session marked a sign of improvement from reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion Pierre Gasly, who has struggled up to now to get the most out of new tyres when it counts in qualifying.
He admitted that he feels like he has "made a step" in that area, and now he is "hoping to make a good start and have a nice fight with my mate Carlos".
That's Carlos Sainz Jr, of course - the championship leader and his fellow Red Bull-backed racer.
Sainz and Gasly have an opportunity to inflict some pain on their fellow title contender Oliver Rowland today - the Briton starts 10th for Fortec.
He admitted that he feels like he has "made a step" in that area, and now he is "hoping to make a good start and have a nice fight with my mate Carlos".
That's Carlos Sainz Jr, of course - the championship leader and his fellow Red Bull-backed racer.
Sainz and Gasly have an opportunity to inflict some pain on their fellow title contender Oliver Rowland today - the Briton starts 10th for Fortec.
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MotoGP - Mugello: Characteristic start to Iannone's interview in the post-qualifying press conference, the first time he's been to one of these since his Moto2 days: "Yes, yes, yes, yes. I am very happy."
MotoGP - Mugello: Iannone's been making great strides this year, his second season of MotoGP, and the soft tyres available to Open class riders like himself are certainly helping, but he's got his own explanation for his breakthrough second on the grid today:
"I want to thank Ducati because on the straight this bike is incredible - it's very, very, very, very fast."
Indeed poleman Marquez has already tipped Iannone to lead the opening laps and thinks he'll be pretty hard to pass.
"I want to thank Ducati because on the straight this bike is incredible - it's very, very, very, very fast."
Indeed poleman Marquez has already tipped Iannone to lead the opening laps and thinks he'll be pretty hard to pass.
IndyCar - Detroit: We've only finished the first phase of qualifying, and already Power, Hunter-Reay, Andretti, Pagenaud and Wilson are out of the running. We certainly didn't expect that.
The drivers who have progressed to phase two: Castroneves, Hawksworth, Kanaan, Briscoe Bourdais, Montoya, Conway, Hinchcliffe, Munoz, Rahal, Dixon and Huertas.
That's a good result for rookies Hawksworth, Munoz and Huertas, and also for Rahal, who has had a pretty awful year so far. Going into this weekend he was behind Oriol Servia and Kurt Busch in the points. Team-mate Servia is only doing a part-time programme, and Busch's only appearance has been the Indy 500.
The drivers who have progressed to phase two: Castroneves, Hawksworth, Kanaan, Briscoe Bourdais, Montoya, Conway, Hinchcliffe, Munoz, Rahal, Dixon and Huertas.
That's a good result for rookies Hawksworth, Munoz and Huertas, and also for Rahal, who has had a pretty awful year so far. Going into this weekend he was behind Oriol Servia and Kurt Busch in the points. Team-mate Servia is only doing a part-time programme, and Busch's only appearance has been the Indy 500.
Crash
Moto2 - Mugello: Moto2 qualifying is now underway, and there's bad news for a home star immediately as ex-MotoGP man Alex de Angelis has a big crash. He's unhurt. Jordi Torres is currently fastest.
Stopwatch
Moto2 - Mugello: Normal service here now as championship leader Tito Rabat goes half a second clear at the top, followed by Tom Luthi and Mattia Pasini.
Rabat's Marc VDS team-mate and main title rival Mika Kallio is only eighth right now, but qualifying isn't usually his ace card.
Rabat's Marc VDS team-mate and main title rival Mika Kallio is only eighth right now, but qualifying isn't usually his ace card.
AutoGP - Monza: The seventh round of the 2014 AutoGP series this afternoon will be the first race in its history that two female racers have competed. Michela Cerruti lines up 4th for Super Nova and Samin Gomez 13th for Zele.
Green flag
IndyCar - Detroit: Conway leads the group out to get phase two started. In pitlane, we can see Pagenaud talking to Derrick Walker, no doubt getting some clarification about the penalty that has led to his being a spectator for the remainder of the qualifying session.
FR3.5 - Spa: Weather watch (always critical here): it's pretty sunny, especially by Spa standards. There's a bit of a breeze (a tailwind heading up Eau Rouge towards Les Combes) but all-in-all conditions are decent. Just a couple of minutes until the start...
IndyCar - Detroit: Drive-through penalty for Castroneves for leaving his pitbox too early at the start of the session. That's potentially quite a blow, as it means he won't have much time to set a banker lap.
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MotoGP - Mugello: Interesting stuff from Jorge Lorenzo, he's qualified third and says he feels in better shape this weekend physically than of late. He's hinted at fitness issues regularly this year without going into too much detail.
"I'm happy about my physical condition - it's more or less the same as last year now, I can keep a consistent pace for more than a few laps.
"Let's see tomorrow, we've been on the first row more times than we've been on the podium this year..."
Indeed, Lorenzo's 2014 tally right now is three front rows, one podium, zero wins.
"I'm happy about my physical condition - it's more or less the same as last year now, I can keep a consistent pace for more than a few laps.
"Let's see tomorrow, we've been on the first row more times than we've been on the podium this year..."
Indeed, Lorenzo's 2014 tally right now is three front rows, one podium, zero wins.
FR3.5 - Spa: Formation lap is underway. Everyone is up and running cleanly, although a TV camera got a whack from the official waving the green flag at the front of the grid!
Quote
IndyCar - Detroit: Pagenaud is attempting to be diplomatic. Sort of.
"I don't know. I know what happened, but I don't understand the call. I was running as fast as I can to get the tyres up to temperature. It's not like I have time to dick around. Montoya was on newer tyres and came up on me, and that's fine - he was faster."
"I don't know. I know what happened, but I don't understand the call. I was running as fast as I can to get the tyres up to temperature. It's not like I have time to dick around. Montoya was on newer tyres and came up on me, and that's fine - he was faster."
IndyCar - Detroit: We briefly had two timing screens telling us different things. That was interesting. Right now Castroneves is P1, so that penalty didn't hurt much. Hawskworth is on the bubble; Kanaan and Dixon among those still outside the top six.
Yellow flag
FR3.5 - Spa: Start aborted. The cars have been sent around for a second formation lap. Not clear why yet.
Auto GP - Monza: Here's how the title battle looks as the pack tries to capitalise on Sato's absence:
Championship standings after six of 16 rounds:
1 Kimiya Sato 114
2 Tamas Pal Kiss 75
3 Markus Pommer 65
4 Kevin Giovesi 58
5 Andrea Roda 53
6 Sam Dejonghe 41
(25 points for a win)
Full 2014 Auto GP data on FORIX
Championship standings after six of 16 rounds:
1 Kimiya Sato 114
2 Tamas Pal Kiss 75
3 Markus Pommer 65
4 Kevin Giovesi 58
5 Andrea Roda 53
6 Sam Dejonghe 41
(25 points for a win)
Full 2014 Auto GP data on FORIX
Checkered flag
IndyCar - Detroit: The chequered flag waves, and all the cars have returned to the pits. Castroneves, Briscoe, Conway, Hinchcliffe, Montoya and Hawksworth have booked themselves a place in the Fast Six; Bourdais, Kanaan, Rahal, Dixon, Munoz and Huertas have been eliminated.
FR3.5 - Spa: The race clock has not started yet, so unlike in F1, this second formation lap does not count towards the race distance.
Sainz has strung the field out this time...
Sainz has strung the field out this time...
Red flag
FR3.5 - Spa: Even more bizarre, the cars are greeted by a red flag as they return to the grid.
Red flag
FR3.5 - Spa: Team personnel are being allowed back onto the grid. It's still not clear what has caused this.
FR3.5 - Spa: Race control says the next (third) formation lap will take place at 15:33 local time, so in around 3-4 minutes.
Quote
Scott Dixon
IndyCar - Detroit: It sounds like Dixon is in a similar boat to Power: "We're a little bit lost, and we don't know why yet."
FR3.5 - Spa: Confirmation now that the start was aborted due to a problem with the circuit's start system (including the lights).
That seems slightly odd, as all five red lights were on when the amber lights started flashing to signal that the start had been called off.
That seems slightly odd, as all five red lights were on when the amber lights started flashing to signal that the start had been called off.
IndyCar - Detroit: It's interesting that so many of the bigger names have been knocked out so soon. Conditions are much cooler than they were for practice (having qualifying at 8:30am will do that) so perhaps there were a few set-ups that didn't respond to the lower temperatures.
Green flag
FR3.5 - Spa: Formation lap #3 is underway. Someone has been left behind towards the back of the grid, but we didn't get a clear view of who it is.
Green flag
IndyCar - Detroit: Green flag for the Fast Six.
By: Matt Beer, Andrew van Leeuwen, Mark Glendenning, Glenn Freeman, Sam Smith, Dan Cross, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff, Charles Bradley
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