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Yellow flag
FR3.5 - Spa: Just 16 cars still running behind the safety car, and race control confirms that the crash at the top of the hill will be investigated after the race.
The contact between Merhi and Stanaway as they turned into the right/left looked pretty innocuous - just two cars contesting the same piece of asphalt on the opening lap.
It was a tiny touch that triggered quite a lot of consequences. So will the officials judge the incident itself, or the mayhem that it caused?
The contact between Merhi and Stanaway as they turned into the right/left looked pretty innocuous - just two cars contesting the same piece of asphalt on the opening lap.
It was a tiny touch that triggered quite a lot of consequences. So will the officials judge the incident itself, or the mayhem that it caused?
Twitter
MotoGP - Mugello: MotoGP's top Brits are engaging in social media banter that can basically be summarised as Crutchlow having suggested Smith 'smells'.
But Smith reassures him: "@calcrutchlow dont worry, shower problem has been solved. Just needed to turn on the valve for the boiler. Good ride this afternoon."
But Smith reassures him: "@calcrutchlow dont worry, shower problem has been solved. Just needed to turn on the valve for the boiler. Good ride this afternoon."
IndyCar - Detroit: Montoya has been roused back into action. Hawksworth improves to P2 with 10s left on the clock.
Lights out
AutoGP - Monza: 17 laps is underway as Pommer leads Giovesi in to the Rettifilo chicane. Poor start from second on grid von Grunigen.
IndyCar - Detroit: Montoya put in a banker right at the start of the session and has been in the pits ever since, presumably saving his tyres for a final attempt right at the end. Everyone is on track, and the times are dropping. Current P1: Castroneves. (We think - the timing screens are disagreeing again).
Moto2 - Mugello: Lowes jumps back to second behind Rabat. Title contender Mika Kallio is down in 10th. Seven minutes to go.
Yellow flag
FR3.5 - Spa: The order behind the safety car is Sainz, Gasly, Laine, Fantin, Nato, Sorensen. The last two named there started on row seven!
Moto2 - Mugello: Britain's World Supersport champion Sam Lowes just vaulted onto the front row at Mugello, but he didn't stay there long as improvements from Sandro Cortese, Jordi Torres and Jonas Folger just knocked him back...
...but now Lowes is beating provisional poleman Rabat's mark on his next lap.
...but now Lowes is beating provisional poleman Rabat's mark on his next lap.
AutoGP - Monza: One minute board is held aloft. Last minute drama for polesitter Markus Pommer as the Super Nova team frenetically work on something in the cockpit right up until the grid is cleared. But he leads the 13 car field away on the formation lap.
Crash
FR3.5 - Spa: The safety car is out following a multi-car crash at Les Combes on lap one. Merhi and Stanaway collided battling for fifth place, and they collected Sirotkin. The Russian hit the wall hard, but he's out of the car.
Amberg was also caught up in the aftermath, while title contender Rowland had to stop to avoid getting collected as well.
Amberg was also caught up in the aftermath, while title contender Rowland had to stop to avoid getting collected as well.
Lights out
FR3.5 - Spa: Sainz and Gasly get away well, while Sirotkin and Stanaway make slow starts from row two. Laine and Fantin are up to P3-4.
Twitter
IndyCar - Detroit: The Schmidt team is clearly still seething about Pagenaud's penalty if this tweet from team GM Rob Edwards is any guide:
"Can't say what I want to say but hope that someone will say what needs to be said! @IndyCar #unbelievable #change"
"Can't say what I want to say but hope that someone will say what needs to be said! @IndyCar #unbelievable #change"
Green flag
IndyCar - Detroit: Green flag for the Fast Six.
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.
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.
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.
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: Race control says the next (third) formation lap will take place at 15:33 local time, so in around 3-4 minutes.
Red flag
FR3.5 - Spa: Team personnel are being allowed back onto the grid. It's still not clear what has caused this.
Red flag
FR3.5 - Spa: Even more bizarre, the cars are greeted by a red flag as they return to the grid.
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...
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.
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
Yellow flag
FR3.5 - Spa: Start aborted. The cars have been sent around for a second formation lap. Not clear why yet.
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.
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."
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
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Quote
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."
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.
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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IndyCar - Detroit: Tim Cindric says that Power's problem was pretty straightforward: "We just didn't have a good car."
By: Matt Beer, Andrew van Leeuwen, Mark Glendenning, Glenn Freeman, Sam Smith, Dan Cross, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff, Charles Bradley
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