The Dakar Rally starts today and for the second year running Peugeot has assembled a dream team. They have the 2 most successful Dakar competitors of all time, the most successful WRC driver of all time, and the driver who used to hold that record. It’s worth noting 3 of them hit trouble last year and the 4th had his victory protested by rivals so the mega line-up is no guarantee of success.
Laurens Vanthoor had a spectacular weekend in Macau winning the 2016 FIA GT World cup after flipping onto his roof. Vanthoor’s frightening high speed accident brought out the red flags and, since the race as not restarted, the result was taken from the previous lap. Vanthoor was declared the winner which created an unusual situation that guaranteed him plenty of attention.
In case you missed it, here’s Vanthoor’s lucky escape. He travelled an awful long distance on his roof.
Stefano Comini also had an eventful time in Macau. It was the final round of the 2016 TCR International Series and Comini had an outside chance of winning the championship if something went horribly wrong for his main rival, James Nash. Incredibly, that’s exactly what happened. Nash was caught up in a collision with another driver which took him out of the first race and forced him to start the second near the back. Comini (whose hipster beard is now so long it sticks out of his balaclava) took full advantage and scored enough points to claim a surprise championship victory.
Comini had earlier put on a show during practice and qualifying by taking an unusual line through the tight Melco hairpin.
Stefano’s slide into Melco wasn’t a one off in the wet. He tried the same tactic in the dry as well.
Comini certainly isn’t the first to take the Melco hairpin with a handbrake, and perhaps he took some inspiration from Sebastien Loeb’s efforts a few years back.
Some claim Melco is the tightest corner international motorsport so whilst it lends itself to handbrake turns it’s also a great place to stick a 360 degree spherical camera. Here’s a rather unusual interactive view from right on the apex.
Macau is a brilliant circuit and although this last video isn’t from 2016 it’s a great illustration of how crazy the place can be. Enjoy a lap onboard with Peter Hickman’s 999cc BMW.
Jamie Whincup hit Shane van Gisbergen in the latest Supercars round which continues a fine motorsport tradition of Red Bull teammates crashing into each other.
Stephane Peterhansel has won the Dakar more than anybody else in history but this year found himself fighting for victory with Sebastien Loeb, the most successful rally driver the world has ever seen. The biggest name in the event claimed victory after fighting with the biggest name in the sport, and their battle was a straight fight in equal machinery. Fantastic.
This is fantastic – Peugeot has unveiled the team it will take to the Dakar Rally in 2016 and it’s one of the best driver line-ups in motorsport history. It’s the rally equivalent of the 1992 US Olympic Basketball team and it’s amazing how the careers of these legends have overlapped enough for them to race in the same team at the same time.
Craig Lowndes took his 100th V8 Supercar race victory today, and although it’s like comparing apples to oranges, it’s interesting to see how that stacks up against record winners from other categories around the world. It’s a brilliant achievement.
No driver has ever won two different FIA sanctioned World Championships. As discussed in an earlier post, Sebastien Loeb could be the first to achieve this distinction in 2014 with his competitive showings in the WTCC.
However, Petter Solberg (2003 World Rally Champion) might beat Loeb to it. Solberg scored a decisive victory in the first World Rallycross event of the year in Portugal and has marked himself out as a championship contender. The competition between Loeb and Solberg to become the first ‘cross-category’ champion will add an extra twist to their racing.
Sebastien Loeb lies second in the WTCC title race but despite his impressive raw pace he will find it hard to beat his more consistent teammate, Jose Maria Lopez. Petter Solberg was a little bit lucky in Portugal (his main rival was baulked during the semis and therefore missed the final) but probably has a better chance of winning the World RX title than Loeb does of winning the WTCC. It will be interesting to see if either can make history in 2014.
Sebastien Loeb’s performance in the third race of the WTCC season was quite spectacular. After taking pole position he was sent to the back of the grid for a technical infringement, but in wet conditions Loeb stormed from 17th to 3rd in just seven laps and ended up with the championship lead. He is a genuine contender for the 2014 title and if Loeb is successful it will be something incredible that all motorsport fans can celebrate.
Loeb is best known for winning nine WRC titles in a row (a mind-blowing achievement that is put into context here on EnterF1.com) but he has also won Carrera Cup races, FIA GT races, the X Games, the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, and also finished second outright at Le Mans. If he can add the WTCC title to that list it will give him the very unusual distinction of being a World Champion in two different disciplines – something that hasn’t been achieved in this modern era of global motorsport.
That would be an amazing piece of racing history and, given his current speed and racecraft, it’s not totally out of the question.
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