In total, 16 cars were caught up in the collision at Police bend – one of the tightest parts of the 3.8-mile circuit in Macau, one of China’s Special Administrative Regions.

The 4th place runner Daniel Juncadella was first to hit the wall towards the exit of the corner.The pursuing Raffaele Marciello was able to squeeze past the crashed Mercedes, but defending GT World Cup winner Laurens Vanthoor was unsighted and could not avoid Juncadella’s car. Vanthoor hit the right-rear corner of the Mercedes before pretty much every other car then ploughed into the giant snake of cars piled into one another.

The race was immediately red flagged, with cranes at the right-hander clearing quickly beginning a clear-up job.

The post Macau GT race suspended after multi-car crash! appeared first on Shiftndrive.

The 24-yearold Spanish rider Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) finished the race in 3rd and took his sixth world title and fourth MotoGP World Championship.

All this after what could be a devastating mistake when his front end slipped in Turn 1 causing him to practically drop the bike and run off track. After ran incredible save, he re-joined the race in 5th.

Title rival Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) suffered a similar fate but was unable to save it and crashed out of contention in the race, losing any hope of a Championship victory.

While all eyes were on the two riders leading the Moto GP Championship, we really must not forget the duel to the line between Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa and Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Johann Zarco. Frenchman put on an amazing race, leading almost to the end after Marc Marquez let him through in the beginning of the race. In the final lap however, Pedrosa rushed by, disabling any thought of retaliation. This brought the second rider at Honda, Dani Pedrosa, to secure his second victory of the year.

Dovizioso made a good start move up to 6th, then quickly sliding past Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) just to get stuck behind the Ducati of Jorge Lorenzo.

Even after multiple suggestions by the team (suggest mapping 8), to let Dovi pass, Lorenzo kept going hard, not allowing the rider to pass. With only a couple laps to go, Jorge Lorenzo crashed hard, but was unfortunately soon followed by Andrea Dovizioso as well.

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) put on a stunning show, landing him in 4th, ahead of Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) after the Doctor showed he had quite a few problems during the race.

Iannone dropped a few places after a run off at Turn 1 to take sixth, which is an amazing finish judging by the way his 2017 season went.

Another part of a great final race was put on by EG 0,0 Marc VDS for Jack Miller in 7th. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) moved up to 8th, while Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) made another great wildcard race finishing in 9th. Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) circled off the first 10 riders.

Therefore, this is the end of 2017 exciting finale, a season that proved to be packed with great surprises and even more exciting action.

In just a couple of days, this will all be history. On Tuesday the first 2018 tests begin in Valencia!

MotoGP Valencia race results

1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 46m 8.125s
2. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1)* 46m 8.462s
3. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 46m 18.986s
4. Alex Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 46m 21.692s
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 46m 21.942s
6. Andrea Iannone ITA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 46m 22.641s
7. Jack Miller AUS EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 46m 25.212s
8. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 46m 25.355s
9. Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Team (GP17) 46m 34.067s
10. Tito Rabat ESP EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 46m 35.145s
11. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 46m 38.960s
12. Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 46m 43.137s
13. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac (GP17) 46m 46.201s
14. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar (GP15) 46m 50.113s
15. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia (GP16) 46m 55.828s
16. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia (GP15) 46m 55.834s
17. Michael Van Der Mark NED Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 47m 0.259s
Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) DNF
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP17) DNF
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (GP17) DNF
Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* DNF
Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar (GP16) DNF
Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac (GP16) DNF
Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) DNF
Mika Kallio FIN Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) DNF

See you next week!

The post MotoGP Valencia: An Exciting 2017 Season Finale appeared first on Shiftndrive.

After early reports, it has now been confirmed, that he is in Urbino Hospital with an operation set to happen today (Friday) as soon as possible.

Accident happened when he was riding on a downhill section of an enduro trail.

Rossi’s father Graziano told ANSA:

“Valentino is not optimistic. To do the radiograph they had to cut the boot, and Valentino told me he feels very bad.”

Yamaha also issued the following statement:

“Following an enduro training accident on Thursday, August 31st, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP star Valentino Rossi was diagnosed with displaced fractures of the tibia and fibula of his right leg.

The 38-year-old Italian rider will undergo surgery as soon as possible.” 

How long will Rossi’s recovery take?

Recovery period for a displaced tibula and fibula fracture is approximately 12 weeks to full load bearing. Motorcycle racers however usually attempt to be fit enough to race in half that time.

But even a shortened schedule would mean Rossi missing Misano and Aragon, with a small chance of catching Motegi. 

This is a devastating blow to his dreams of taking the 10th world title after the MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi lead a fantastic race last Sunday in Silverstone. He was in the lead up to the last few laps and finished a strong third.

With Marc Marquez DNF due to engine failure, the positions in the championship rankings got a lot closer meaning, any of the top 5 riders could still win the 2017 MotoGP World Champion title.

With hopes high as ever during the weekend, it is sad to see them come crashing down just a few days later.

The post End of championship dreams for Rossi? appeared first on Shiftndrive.

Ferrari could not have responded more emphatically to their drubbing at Silverstone than they did with their dominant 1-2 at the Hungaroring. It was Ferrari’s first one-two in Hungary since 2004.

Mercedes were all but resigned to getting beaten this weekend, just as Ferrari were in Britain, in their track-specific championship fight. The Ferraris were just the better car round the twists and dips of the Hungaroring. Valtteri Bottas finished 3rd while his team mate Lewis Hamilton finished 4th.

Daniel Ricciardo was incensed when Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen took him off in the second corner on the opening lap. Verstappen finished 5th.

McLaren finally moved out of last place in the constructors’ table, with Fernando Alonso finishing an excellent 6th and remarkably setting fastest lap on the race! Stoffel Vandoorne surviving for 10th after a near-miss with the spinning Ricciardo on the opening lap, then a delay when he got his braking wrong during his pit stop. They now have 11 points to Sauber’s five.

Carlos Sainz’s brilliant start was the key to Toro Rosso’s race, which secured 7th position after a dogged fight with countryman Fernando Alonso.

Force India’s two drivers, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, once again brushed wheels for the third time this year, though this time it didn’t matter. The contact happened in the first corner after the start, and each damaged their car as Perez squeezed ahead of Ocon. They went on to finish 8th and 9th.

Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg shown great pace for most of the weekend – only dropping from ‘best of the rest’ 7th on the grid to 12th because of the many problems they had during the race. The German subsequently retired with gearbox problems.

These are the drivers world championship standings from the first half of the F1 2017 season:

Enjoy the race highlights from both the British and Hungarian Grand Prix!

The post Winners or losers, F1 heads into the summer break! appeared first on Shiftndrive.

It was a dramatic beginning to the race. As Bottas made a getaway so good the stewards investigated a potential jump start. Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat braked too late into Turn 1 and ran into the fast-starting Fernando Alonso, who collided with Verstappen. They both had sufficient damage that they were forced to retire from the race.

From there on, in many ways it was a rear-loaded race, with most of the action at the end. Bottas led easily from pole and dominated the first half, until the final laps when Vettel closed the gap with one lap left just six-tenths of a second apart. Similar scenario happened with Hamilton, who closed on third placed Ricciardo but without ever truly presenting a challenge.

Kimi Raikkonen took a distant fifth in the second Ferrari, with Romain Grosjean an excellent sixth for Haas. The Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon were seventh and eighth, while Williams staged an impressive recovery with Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll – who started 17th and 18th respectively – completing the top ten.

See full standings

Vettel now has a 20-point lead heading into the British Grand Prix weekend, with 171 points to Hamilton’s 151, the closing Bottas on 136 and 107 for Ricciardo.

Enjoy the highlights of the race:

The post Bottas holds off Vettel for superb Austrian Grand Prix win appeared first on Shiftndrive.

Which one would you drive first, left or right?

The post Which one would you drive first? appeared first on Shiftndrive.

The post Who recognize this car? appeared first on Shiftndrive.

Márquez maintained the lead from pole but was challenged throughout by Folger, who rapidly overhauled the fast-starting Jorge Lorenzo and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. Folger even managed to pass the Repsol Hondas of Márquez and Dani Pedrosa to sensationally lead the early stages of the race.

After intense battle with Márquez, Folger ran deep into Turn 1 with three laps remaining and Márquez rapidly increased his advantage. Folger, despite slipping back from Márquez during the final laps, held a substantial buffer back to third-placed Pedrosa to register his first podium in the premier class.

Maverick Viñales made a big progress from 11th on the grid and worked his way forward to capture fourth spot, ahead of Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi. Álvaro Bautista was another to improve on his grid position as he claimed sixth position, in front of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaró and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, who entered the weekend at the top of the standings.

Johann Zarco finished in ninth place, in front of Cal Crutchlow, while Lorenzo gradually slipped down the field after his charging start and classified 11th.

Championship standings are getting very intense. Márquez now takes over the world championship lead by 5 points heading into the summer break.

1. Marc Márquez – 129 points
2. Maverick Viñales – 124 points
3. Andrea Dovizioso – 123 points
4. Valentino Rossi – 119 points

The post Flying Folger’s first podium! appeared first on Shiftndrive.

 The second DTM race at the Norisring couldn’t be topped in terms of suspense. Maxime Martin drove his BMW M4 DTM to his first win of the season infront of Lucas Auer with the Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM. The battle for third place was only decided on the final meters. Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-AMG) came out on top in a photo finish with a margin of only two thousandths of a second against Mattias Ekström (Audi RS5 DTM). The latter, in turn, was just 25 thousandths of a second ahead of local hero Marco Wittmann (BMW) at the finish.. see it for yourself!

The post Who gets P3? Crazy photo finish at Norisring 2017 DTM race appeared first on Shiftndrive.

We count down the Top 10 moments across the F1 airwaves during the 2015 and 2016 season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOf6ZoNJfbc

From swearing rants, jokes and memorable quotes, there have been plenty more of great team radio exchanges not mentioned in the Top 10. My favorites are either from Kimi “This guy is a f***ing joke!” or Vettel “Honestly, what are we doing? Racing or ping-pong?”.

Whenever Vettel’s, Raikkonen’s or Alonso’s team radio icon comes up on screen, you know it’s going to be TV gold. Because it’ll either be moaning, whining, complaining, or swearing. Pretty much.

This year favorite so far is no doubt Kimi’s freaking out over the missing steering wheel from the Baku Grand Prix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjK_VDngUkQ

It’s just sooo funny.. 

The post F1 Top 10 team radio conversations of 2015 and 2016 season appeared first on Shiftndrive.