Motorsport News

Ducati India had a memorable debut in the 21st edition of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) over the weekend. The Italian motorcycle maker was competing in two categories and swept with podium finishes over the weekend. Gurvinder Singh Matharu from Redline Racing and Chennai's Deepak Ravi Kumar bagged the first and third positions in the superbike category onboard the Ducati Panigale V4 S and Panigale V4. Both bikes were competing in the stock setup in the series.

The 21st edition of the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship concluded last weekend at the Buddh International Circuit with Chennai-bqsed drivers Karthik Tharani and Raghul Rangasamy claiming the titles in the Euro JK and LGB Formula 4 categories. The 2018 season finale saw over 35,000 fans at the F1 circuit near Delhi witnessing all the action across different races. Tharani was tied up with Mumbai's Nayan Chatterjee for the championship win with 89 points, bringing some nail biting action in the final laps.

A smashing and crash ridden finale to the 2018 MotoGP season, Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso won the Valencia Grand Prix turning out to be one of the few riders to actually complete the very wet race. The rain drenched track made for a spectacle at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, as the top riders were pulled out of contention after back-to-back crashes. The race was even stopped at half-point bringing with the red flag out, only to be started again for a 14 lap stint. Dovizioso ended the season just like he started it - with a win. However, the race was a game changed for KTM, which saw rider Pol Espargaro take his and the team's first ever podium in the sport. Suzuki's Alex Rins took his fifth podium of the season, finishing behind Dovizioso.

Earlier this week 2018 Formula 1 World Champion. Lewis Hamilton had stated in an interview about being conflicted to race in India, after seeing the poverty in the country. The statement has not gone down well with Indian fans and citizens alike, prompting a lot of backlash against the Mercedes driver. Following the criticism, Hamilton recently took to Twitter to clarify his stand on the issue. Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff also came out in support of the five time World Champion saying that his statement was misconstrued by the media. Hamilton was one of the drivers during the Indian Grand Prix that was held between 2011 and 2013.

World champion Lewis Hamilton has questioned Formula One's policy of organising races in new countries after this month's announcement of the Vietnam Grand Prix. Hamilton told the BBC that he would prefer to see more stops in countries with a genuine racing tradition, rather than expanding to new markets. On the racing side, I don't know how important it is to go to new countries as such," said Hamilton who sealed his fifth world title last month.

Verstappen looked in control of the race as he opened up a gap to Hamilton, but this elation was short lived as Force India's Esteban Ocon tried passing Verstappen down the inside at Turn 2 only to make contact with the race leader sending both the cars spinning.

In the final round, Shahan had to finish the races over the weekend, already leading the points table. Heat 1 saw the karting champion qualify third behind Suriya Varathan, while Heat 2 also saw the driver finish third leading up to the pre-final.

Adding a new venue to the calendar, Formula One has announced that the city of Hanoi in Vietnam will be hosting an F1 Grand Prix from April 2020. The Vietnamese Grand Prix is part of new F1 owners Liberty Media's commitment to the Asia region. The sport already hosts races in Singapore, China and Japan across the largest continent. The move is also expected to broaden the appeal of F1 and reach new audiences across the globe, the promoters said in a statement.