International Motorsport Roundup: F1/MotoGp Pre-season Testing, Rally Finland Route, WEC 6 Hrs Of COTA

The last seven days saw further pre-season testing action in F1 and MotoGP. It started off with Formula One’s first pre-season test in Spain, followed by MotoGp’s second pre-season test. In WRC, we see the return of a classic course for the Rally Finland route. The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) had the 6hrs of COTA take place in America:

Formula One

 

The main highlights of the 3-day test were Mercedes and Racing Point, with the former sporting a DAS (Dual-Axis Steering) system and the latter’s 2020 challenger looking near identical to the 2019 championship winning Mercedes W10. Aside from this, the two teams had a consistent presence at the sharp end of the timing sheets. However, this is testing where teams don’t reveal their true potential. Expect a better picture of the pecking order at the 2nd test that will commence on February 25. 

Formula One also hit another major social media milestone by becoming the most followed motor racing series on instagram. It beat MotoGP on February 23 to hold over 8.85 million followers. This is yet another accolade for Liberty Media after its takeover of the sport just three years ago in 2017.

MotoGP

MotoGP’s second pre-season test of 2020 kicked off at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.  As the third and final day is currently underway, the pecking order shuffled up a bit compared to Sepang. The last two days saw the two Suzuki’s of Alex Rins and Joan Mir top day 1 and Fabio Quartararo fastest in day 2 for the Petronas Yamaha SRT team. While the field remains relatively close, the struggles continue for reigning world champion Marc Marquez who is still recovering from his shoulder surgery. Post today’s test, MotoGP will return to Qatar for the season opener on March 8.  

WRC

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The 2020 World Rally Championship will feature 70 years of Rally Finland. To celebrate the occasion, the route will feature the return of classic stages. Some of them include the Laajavuori, Humalamäki and Ouninpohja returning with modern tweaks. However, there’s still time before we head there as it will take place from August 6 to 9. 

WEC

Rounding off the motorsport week is the FIA World Endurance Championship holding the fifth round of its 2019-2020 calendar with the 6hrs of COTA. Rebellion Racing took full advantage of the Equivalency of Technology rule and secured a dominating win in the R13 Gibson car driven by Gustavo Menezes (USA), Norman Nato (France) and Bruno Senna (Brazil). Toyota Gazoo Racing’s handicap left the No. 8 and No. 7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid cars taking second and third respectively. With this win, Rebellion is now 33 points behind Toyota in the overall championship standings.

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