International Motorsport Roundup: F1 To Abandon 2020 Tyres? New Aprilia Engine For 2020, Rebellion Wins WEC Shanghai

As the year nears its close, so does the motorsport season for many series around the globe. While there was some motorsport action with the World Endurance Championship in Shanghai, it was mostly a week centered around talks of future plans. It kicked off with F1 looking likely to abandon Pirelli’s 2020 spec tyres after some negative feedback while testing prototypes during practice at the US Grand Prix. Going more towards off-road in the form of WRC, the Rally of Australia could be under threat due to raging bush fires. And finally onto two-wheel motorsports, Aprilia is planning a new engine alongside an overhaul in the bike’s design for the 2020 season. Here’s all that happened this week in the world of motorsport in detail:

Formula One

With the 2019 drivers and constructors championships sealed, most of the attention now shifts to the future for 2020, as well as the 2021 regulation overhaul. Speaking of future plans, it was a mixed week for the sport heading into 2020. For those in anticipation for the proposed Miami GP for 2021, there’s good news as Mayor Carlos Gimenez has vetoed a resolution passed on October 29 that would have blocked the use of public roads amid concerns from residents. The intended track layout is likely to be around the Hard Rock Stadium in the Miami Gardens area as well as a half-mile section in 199th Street. This resolution could buy some time for the organisers to convince locals. 

 

While this is good news for the 2021 season, things aren’t all rosy heading into 2020 as Formula One could abandon the 2020 spec Pirelli tyres for the upcoming season. This is due to negative feedback received by the drivers and teams while testing prototypes of these tyres during Friday practice at the US Grand Prix last week. Comments ranged from unpredictability to lack of grip. These results could also arguably be down to the track not being in an optimal condition to have a proper gauge. There’s still another chance for the teams and Pirelli to further evaluate these tyres after the post-season test at Abu Dhabi.

MotoGP

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With the season finale at Valencia only a week away, the focus has been on 2020 with development of the 2020 bikes well underway. Aprilia is among those aiming for a major overhaul next season to get out of its current struggles of being last amongst the constructors. The CEO of its racing department, Massimo Rivola, has also revealed that the Italian manufacturer will also opt for a new engine design in 2020. Rivola added that the goal is to get the 2020-spec bikes ready in time for the pre-season test in February and have back-to-back comparisons with the 2019 bikes.

WRC

Heading off the beaten track, next week’s season finale in New South Wales, Australia, could be in  jeopardy due to concerns regarding bush-fires in the region. Currently, the roads that will be used for the season finale are closed to all traffic because of the fires. Time is ticking as the first deadline for the event comes on Tuesday, November 12, which is the first day of the two-day course route inspection. 

Others

While the season is ending for most series, the FIA World Endurance Championship held the third round of its 2019-2020 calendar with the 4hrs of Shanghai. The weekend turned out to be quite a surprise as Rebellion Racing scored victory ahead of Toyota in the LMP1 class, which is their first win since Silverstone the previous year. What’s important is that it is their first win on merit against the Toyotas. The crew of Bruno Senna, Gustavo Menezes and Norman Nato piloted the number 1 Rebellion to victory. 

More importantly, the circumstances for this win came down to seizing the opportunity created by Toyota suffering a massive handicap for this race under the Equivalency of Technology rule. This meant that all the Toyota machines carried a ballast penalty of up to 2.74 seconds, that led to the quickest Toyota being around 1.3 seconds off the pole sitter Rebellion. The quickest Toyota being the number 8 piloted by Sebastian Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley, finishing more than a minute behind in 2nd place. 

In the LMP2 class,  JOTA Sport dominated proceedings with the number 28 Orcea 37 piloted by Antonio Felix da Costa, Anthony Davidson and Roberto Gonzalez. In the GTE Pro class, Ferrari held off a close fight with Porsche to claim its first victory of the season piloted by Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado. 

Image Source 1- Formula One

Image Source 2- Motogp

Image Source 3- WRC

Image Source 4- WEC