INTERNATIONAL WRAP: MOTOGP SILVERSTONE & AUSSIES OVERSEAS

Andrea Dovizioso won his fourth MotoGP race of the year – Photo: LAT

MOTOGP – BRITISHGP– ROUND 12

Andrea Dovizioso won his fourth race of the year at Silverstone, reclaiming the lead of the MotoGP championship in the process.

Ducati’s Dovizioso started the British GP from sixth on the grid, moving his way through the field to steal the lead of the race off Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) on Lap 18, who had lead from the start of the race after sensational start. Rossi would lose one more place to team mate Maverick Viñales (who finished second) before the end of the race to finish third.

An engine failure for previous championship leader, Marc Marquez, dropped the Honda rider out of the race on Lap 14. Leaving him with no points from the weekend.

“This is an important race, an important victory, leading the championship,” said Dovizioso after the race. “Really, thank you to the team.”

Aussie, Jack Miller, didn’t have a great race struggling at the back of the field to finish 16th.

INDYCAR – GATEWAY– ROUND 15

Josef Newgarden claimed the Indycar win Gateway Motorsports Park – Photo: LAT

Josef Newgarden won his fourth Indycar race win of the season to extend his championship lead.

Newgarden pulled a controversial move on team-mate Simon Pagenaud, bumping him out of the way to claim the race lead at Gateway. The move also allowed Newgarden’s championship rival Scott Dixon through to claim second, while Pagenaud recovered to finish third.

Tricky conditions saw the race start under caution after Tony Kanaan backed his car into the wall on the warm up lap. He would resume, but later retire with mechanical issues.

The race wasn’t much better for pole-sitter Will Power, who struck similar issues while battling team-mate Newgarden for the lead when the race finally got underway on Lap 6. The Aussie also backed his car into the wall before being collected by Takuma Sato and Ed Carpenter (see video). The race would finally get underway properly on Lap 19.

“It was just super slippery,” Power said crash.

“I wish I would’ve done a few more burnouts, might have got some temp in the rear. The front was very slippery too, and Josef took my air on the exit and I spun. Man, it just went, unfortunately.”

The win for Newgarden extended his championship lead to 31 points over Dixon with two races remaining this season.

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

Matt Campbell racing his way through the Porsche Supercup field at Spa in Belgium – Photo: Supplied

PORSCHE SUPERCUP

It was an up and down weekend for Matt Campbell in the Porsche Supercup race at Spa in Belgium.

Campbell qualified fourth, but tumbled down the order at the start of the opening 11 lap race. After the first lap he regrouped and then climbed his way back up the order to finish the race in sixth.

The second 11 lap race was action packed with a massive four car crash. Luckily for Campbell, he kept out of the trouble to finish fifth in the race.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

James Davison showed plenty of promise in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America. He dominate the opening segment of the race, but a pit lane speeding infringement sent him to the back of the grid during the caution period.

That didn’t hold Davison back, he charged his way up to seventh. Unfortunately for Davison, he caught up in an crash between Ross Chastain and Justin Marks. Having nowhere to go the Aussie got cleaned up ending his race.

MOTO2

Remy Gardner didn’t have a great weekend in the Moto2 races at Silverstone. After starting 19th, Gardner dropped back a few places during the middle of the race. He did manage to climb back up to 20th before the chequered flag.

PROMAZDA

Anthony Martin’s tight battle for the lead of the ProMazda series with Victor Franzoni continued at Gateway Motorsports Park. The Western Australian had upper hand early in the weekend, qualifying on pole. However, during the race his Brazilian rival took the win after a lengthy battle between the two for the lead of the race. Martin finished in second place.

“We were fighting really hard at the start. We struggled with the car a little bit during the race while Victor and the Juncos team had a really good car and really good race pace.” said Martin after the race.

The result dropped Martin to second in the championship standings, just two points behind Franzoni, with just two race left at Watkins Glen to round out the championship.

EUROPEAN LEMANS SERIES

James Allen finished sixth outright and in the leading LMP2 class in the European LeMans Series 4 hour race at Paul Riccard. The race wasn’t as good for fellow Aussie Ricky Capo, who finished 25th outright and eighth in the LMP3 class.

FORMULA RENAULT

Thomas Randle was the best of the Aussies in the Formula Renault races at Paul Riccard. He finished ninth in the first race, backing that up with the tenth in the second race.

Zane Goddard started the weekend off with a tenth, but in the second race he had issues, finishing the race in 28th two laps behind the leaders.

Thomas Maxwell ended the weekend with a 13th and 17th. Luis Leeds finished 18th in both races. A 25th was the best Alex Peroni could do in the first race, and he didn’t finish the second retiring on Lap 3.

BRITISH FORMULA 4

Two DNF’s with mechanical failures for Oscar Piastri, made for a tough weekend for the young Aussie in the British Formula 4 races at Rockingham. A fastest lap and a tenth place in the second race was the only highlight, as Piastri lost ground in his championship hunt. He now sits 45.5 points behind series leader Jamie Caroline.

FRD LMP3

Plenty of Australian’s were on track again for the third round of the FRD LMP3 series at the Shanghai Circuit.

James Winslow (along with team-mate Mathias Beche) was the best of the local contingent, winning the opening race and backing that up with the third in the main race. Fellow Aussie Josh Burdon (partnered with Junjin Pu) joined him on the podium a pair of second places.

Tim Macrow and Andre Heimgartner started the weekend with a 10th in the opening race, improving to fifth in the main race. Dean Koutsoumidis (partnered with Alex Tagliani) finished eighth and ninth in the two races. While Garnet Patterson recovered from a DNF to finish fourth in the main race.

SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX

Jason Doyle won two of his five heats and his semi-final to reclaim the lead of the lead of the Speedway Grand Prix championship during the weekends round in Gorzow, Poland.

For a more detailed analysis of the weekends international motorsport, pick up the next issue of Auto Action Magazine. In the mean time make sure you follow Auto Action on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates.