Motorsports

	Loeb shines in Italy
	After a dismal performance in Portugal and Jordan, Sebastien Loeb put in a solid performance to win the Rally d’Italia Sardegna. It was the 64th win of his career, ensuring that he now leads the driver’s standing, seven points clear of Mikko Hirvonen. Piloting the Citroen DS3 WRC, Loeb started the final day with a lead of 28.3 seconds ahead of Mikko Hirvonen. Loeb was at a disadvantage as he started first and encountered loose gravel that slowed him and which allowed Hirvonen to close in and challenge him for the lead. However, an overshoot on a junction on the first Gallura stage meant that the Finnish driver would fall back only to recover when the organizers corrected a time error recorded on Stage10. The fight for the top spot was alive till the very end. With only the Power Stage to go, the margin between Loeb and Hirvonen was reduced to 14 seconds. But a superlative and error-free drive ensured that Loeb came out on top to record his second win of the season. Despite having issues with his damper setting, Petter Solberg put in a courageous drive to clock the fifth fastest time for the day and ended being third in the overall results. This was, by far, the best result of the season for the Norwegian. Winner of the previous two rallies, Sebastien Ogier started his quest 4.9 seconds ahead of Solberg but a broken rear suspension on Stage 17 dropped him down one place and he eventually finished the rally in fourth place, ahead of M-Sport Stobart driver Mads Ostberg. Making a comeback to the sport, the MINI, driven by Dani Sordo, did well to finish sixth overall despite a sensor issue on day two that hampered the team’s progress. Ott Tanak brought in his Ford Fiesta S2000 in seventh followed by Juho Hanninen who grabbed eighth place overall in his Skoda Fabia S2000. Matthew Wilson overcame brake and steering problems to finally secure ninth place just ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah’s to complete the top ten finish’s of the rally.
	Aditya comes good in Hockenheim
	Indian rookie Aditya Patel started his 2011 campaign in the Scirocco Cup on a positive note. He finished fourth in the opening round held recently at Hockenheim in Germany. He qualified fourth on the starting grid and jumped one place by overtaking Ola Nillson of Sweden to grab third place. Aditya was driving extremely well and was hunting Mateusz Lizowski and Daniel Lloyd who were running first and second respectively. On the penultimate lap of the race, though, a surprise overtaking move by Nicola Larini, relegated Aditya to fourth position.
	Sailesh Bolisetti, having arrived to the series as a debutant, too managed to impress and crossed the line in 18th position. The main aim for him was to gain as much track time and experience as possible on an international racing circuit.
	Casey Stoner Grabs First Victory in France
	88,400 fans were present on race day at the Le Mans race circuit. Stoner who started the race from his first ever pole position at the French Circuit, went on to claim his first victory in any class at the venue, after an early battle with his team mate Pedrosa. The Australian was able to pull away from the Spaniard and went on to finish over 14 seconds ahead of Dovizioso and take his second victory of the 2011 season, which pushed him back up to second place in the standings. Pedrosa however ran into some bad luck. He led the beginning of the race after one of his trademark lightning starts but was soon passed by Stoner on lap two. The Spaniard stayed in the hunt for the first half of the race but unfortunately he collided with Simoncelli and sustained a broken collarbone in the incident. Race direction deemed the manoeuvre from Simoncelli illegal and punished the Italian with a ride through penalty. The double 250cc champion has now dropped to third overall in the MotoGP standings after this non-finish, 17 points behind Lorenzo. Just two weeks earlier it was Pedrosa who raced to victory at the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal and with it, claimed his first win at the Estoril circuit in any class. Pedrosa finished just over three seconds ahead of the reigning MotoGP World Champion and closed the gap on Lorenzo’s lead in the standings to just four points. Pedrosa’s triumph also prevented the pole sitter clinching four successive victories at the Estoril circuit. Stoner had a lonely race in third and was over seven seconds behind his team mate who won the race. Jorge Lorenzo is still on top with 78 points, Casey Stoner is in second with 66 points and Dani Pedrosa is still in third with 61 points, however things aren’t looking to good for the Spaniard. The doctor, Valentino Rossi is in fifth place and Nicky Hayden is following close in sixth. Things are set to heat up again in the first week of June at the Circuit de Catalunya.