Mugello MotoGP, Le Mans test day, Detroit IndyCar
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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
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."
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.
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.
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.
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: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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: The chequered flag is out, and Marquez isn't improving on his early 1m47.270s. In fact everyone up front is pretty static, so all eyes on the likes of Rossi and Pedrosa further back.
MotoGP - Mugello: Rossi and Pedrosa are only seventh and eighth. The Yamaha is now improving but the Honda isn't.
IndyCar - Detroit: OK, we could do without the timing screen doing weird things here. Kanaan was briefly shown as P1, although the system has now decided that it was lying and restored Castroneves to P1.
MotoGP - Mugello: Smith's lap fades, but it's still enough to bring him up to sixth behind fellow Brit Crutchlow.
MotoGP - Mugello: Crutchlow jumps from eighth to fifth, that would be his best Ducati qualifying yet.
Now Smith is setting the best sector one time of anyone so far. He's currently eighth.
Now Smith is setting the best sector one time of anyone so far. He's currently eighth.
IndyCar - Detroit: Almost everyone started the session on the harder black tyres, although about half have now switched to the softer reds. Castroneves is P1 with a 1m17.2597s.
MotoGP - Mugello: Lorenzo improves but can't knock Iannone out of second.
And now Marquez is blitzing the sector times again on his next run.
And now Marquez is blitzing the sector times again on his next run.
MotoGP - Mugello: Iannone sets the best sector one time so far, and Lorenzo is improving too.
Formula Renault Eurocup - Spa: On the Formula Renault 3.5 support bill in Belgium today, McLaren F1 junior Nyck de Vries has suffered his first defeat of the season in the FR Eurocup.
De Vries led the field away from pole, but he was swallowed up by three cars on the run to Les Combes, and could only battle back to second behind winner Dennis Olsen.
The FR3.5 cars are in action in just over half an hour, with Red Bull juniors Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly sharing the front row for DAMS and Arden.
De Vries led the field away from pole, but he was swallowed up by three cars on the run to Les Combes, and could only battle back to second behind winner Dennis Olsen.
The FR3.5 cars are in action in just over half an hour, with Red Bull juniors Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly sharing the front row for DAMS and Arden.
IndyCar - Detroit: Holy ... Pagenaud just went through a right-hander with the car pretty much at a 45-degree angle to the direction of the track, and bouncing like mad over the bumps to boot. How he kept it off the wall will forever remain a mystery - if his right-rear missed it, it can't have been by more than an inch. He pits for a set of new tyres and, quite possibly a set of new undergarments as well.
MotoGP - Mugello: Here's the Q2 order with six minutes left and everyone having completed their first runs:
1 Marquez; 2 Iannone; 3 Lorenzo; 4 P Espargaro; 5 Rossi; 6 Pedrosa; 7 Smith; 8 Crutchlow; 9 Dovizioso; 10 Bradl; 11 A Espargaro; 12 Bautista.
1 Marquez; 2 Iannone; 3 Lorenzo; 4 P Espargaro; 5 Rossi; 6 Pedrosa; 7 Smith; 8 Crutchlow; 9 Dovizioso; 10 Bradl; 11 A Espargaro; 12 Bautista.
MotoGP - Mugello: As has become his habit of late, Marquez is now going to hop onto his second bike for his next attempt.
Stopwatch
MotoGP - Mugello: Marquez improves to 1m47.270s on his next lap, putting him on pole by 0.180s for now as everyone pits to prepare for their next shots.
Pedrosa has improved, but only to sixth.
Pedrosa has improved, but only to sixth.
MotoGP - Mugello: Iannone jumps to second ahead of Lorenzo, using the soft tyre on that 'non-Factory' Ducati well.
Green flag
Simon Pagenaud
IndyCar - Detroit: The green flag waves, and Pagenaud - carrying a rather cool orange and black livery this weekend - leads the queue out of pitlane.
Stopwatch
MotoGP - Mugello: Now Marquez deposes Lorenzo with a 1m47.438s, 0.167s up on the Yamaha.
Pedrosa is only 10th with his first lap.
Pedrosa is only 10th with his first lap.
Stopwatch
MotoGP - Mugello: Lorenzo goes top early with a 1m47.605s, still waiting for the Hondas.
MotoGP - Mugello: Rossi admits himself that qualifying isn't his strength (he's got a mere 49 poles compared to his 80 wins), and he hasn't topped a grid since Le Mans 2010, just over four years ago.
So if he doesn't fly in the next quarter of an hour, that doesn't mean he's not a contender for tomorrow.
So if he doesn't fly in the next quarter of an hour, that doesn't mean he's not a contender for tomorrow.
IndyCar - Detroit: The drivers are being strapped in for the first of this weekend's two qualifying sessions. Going out in this first group: Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunte-Reay, Takuma Sato, Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan, Sebastian Saavedra, Justin Wilson, Jack Hawksworth, Juan Pablo Montoya and Sebastien Bourdais.
Green flag
MotoGP - Mugello: Few stats to bear in mind for Q2's Ducati contingent on the team's all-important home ground... Dovizioso is chasing a second straight front row start after Le Mans, Crutchlow hasn't yet qualified higher than seventh on a Ducati, and Iannone's previous MotoGP career best grid slot is eighth.
The green light is on and we've got 15 minutes to decide the top 12 grid positions.
The green light is on and we've got 15 minutes to decide the top 12 grid positions.
MotoGP - Mugello: Q2 is three minutes away. So far in 2014 it's five grands prix and five poles for Marquez...
Checkered flag
MotoGP - Mugello - Q1 results:
1 Alvaro Bautista
2 Aleix Espargaro
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3 Yonny Hernandez
4 Scott Redding
5 Michele Pirro
6 Karel Abraham
7 Hiroshi Aoyama
8 Colin Edwards
9 Hector Barbera
10 Michael Laverty
Fabrizio was slowest, 4.8s off the pace, but fair enough, the bloke's even less well-prepared for this than AUTOSPORT assistant editor SCOTT MITCHELL is for his car racing debut at Silverstone this afternoon (more of that later).
1 Alvaro Bautista
2 Aleix Espargaro
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3 Yonny Hernandez
4 Scott Redding
5 Michele Pirro
6 Karel Abraham
7 Hiroshi Aoyama
8 Colin Edwards
9 Hector Barbera
10 Michael Laverty
Fabrizio was slowest, 4.8s off the pace, but fair enough, the bloke's even less well-prepared for this than AUTOSPORT assistant editor SCOTT MITCHELL is for his car racing debut at Silverstone this afternoon (more of that later).
MotoGP - Mugello: A few nerve-jangles for Espargaro and Forward as Pirro puts in a better lap, but it's only fifth for the Italian, so Bautista and Espargaro are safely through to Q2.
Sometimes Q1 is a time for pitlane celebrations as it thrusts an underdog into the Q2 limelight. Sometimes it's just a case of people who've made a mess of practice going 'phew!' because they've salvaged the Q2 spot they should've always had. Today is one of the latter.
Sometimes Q1 is a time for pitlane celebrations as it thrusts an underdog into the Q2 limelight. Sometimes it's just a case of people who've made a mess of practice going 'phew!' because they've salvaged the Q2 spot they should've always had. Today is one of the latter.
Stopwatch
MotoGP - Mugello: Bautista takes the Q1 top spot away from Espargaro but Hernandez is only third by the end of his lap.
MotoGP - Mugello: Bautista and Hernandez are both improving, but Espargaro is sat in the garage, having thought he was safely through...
MotoGP - Mugello: It could've been only 12 bikes in Q1, but Ioda managed to rustle up a stand-in rider in the shape of World Superbike man Michel Fabrizio.
Fabrizio was only brought in this morning, and is making his first MotoGP appearance since August 2009, when he replaced Mika Kallio at Pramac Ducati (pictured) following the Finn's call to stand in for the unwell Casey Stoner in the factory squad.
Fabrizio's Brno 2009 one-off proved unsuccessful, and it was then-250cc rider Espargaro who was brought in by Pramac for the rest of Kallio's absence.
It's been a nightmare month for Ioda after regular rider Danilo Petrucci injured his arm in the Jerez warm-up. Planned replacement Luca Scassa damaged his leg in a testing crash before Le Mans, and then Petrucci fell short unexpectedly in his race to be fit for this weekend.
Michel Fabrizio
Fabrizio was only brought in this morning, and is making his first MotoGP appearance since August 2009, when he replaced Mika Kallio at Pramac Ducati (pictured) following the Finn's call to stand in for the unwell Casey Stoner in the factory squad.
Fabrizio's Brno 2009 one-off proved unsuccessful, and it was then-250cc rider Espargaro who was brought in by Pramac for the rest of Kallio's absence.
It's been a nightmare month for Ioda after regular rider Danilo Petrucci injured his arm in the Jerez warm-up. Planned replacement Luca Scassa damaged his leg in a testing crash before Le Mans, and then Petrucci fell short unexpectedly in his race to be fit for this weekend.
Breaking news
MotoGP - Mugello: Only 13 bikes in this session rather than the usual 14, as Nicky Hayden admitted defeat this morning and withdrew from the event as his wrist pain continues.
He'll have surgery on the old wound next week, and in the meantime his Aspar Honda sits idle. Team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama is currently seventh in this session.
He'll have surgery on the old wound next week, and in the meantime his Aspar Honda sits idle. Team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama is currently seventh in this session.
Stopwatch
MotoGP - Mugello: Now Espargaro gets going and takes the Q1 top spot, with Bautista second, 0.078s behind. Over to Hernandez to respond.
By: Matt Beer, Andrew van Leeuwen, Mark Glendenning, Glenn Freeman, Sam Smith, Dan Cross, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff, Charles Bradley
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