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F1 |
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2008 Formula 1 contenders back on track
Many of the 2008 spec Formula 1 cars took to the track collectively for the first time at Valencia in Spain during the second last week of January. As expected, Ferrari and McLaren traded places at the top of the timesheets throughout the test. However, it was Ferrari that ended up on top with current champion Kimi Raikkonen setting the pace on the final day. Interestingly, it was new McLaren recruit, Heikki Kovalainen, who consistently outpaced teammate, and 2007 sensation, Lewis Hamilton – whose contract was recently extended by the team till 2012.
It's early days yet, but Williams appear to be best of the rest for the moment. While the Force India team, with Fischiella at the wheel, found itself in the middle of the pack – very encouraging before the official launch of their 2008 contender. |
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GP2 |
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A sign of things to come... |
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Karun takes
first podium of 2008 |
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Karun Chandok claimed a podium position in the opening round of the GP2 Asia series in Dubai with his new team – iSport International. He qualified in 4th position, not far off the pace of his highly regarded teammate, Bruno Senna nephew of legend Aryton Senna. However, it was Frenchman, Romain Grosjean, who set the pace all weekend and claimed both race wins.
Karun had a challenging weekend, battling the flu throughout. He spun out of contention in the first race and finished eighth. In the second race, he had a clutch problem getting off the line and dropped from second to seventh but fought his way up the field, and made a great pass around the outside of Japan's Yoshimoto to claim the final podium position. Another rising Indian star, Armaan Ebrahim, made his GP2 debut at Dubai but had limited running, and was forced to retire from both races – first with mechanical failure and then after being hit from behind. |
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WRC |
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5 times a charm for
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The 2008 season of the World Rally Championship got underway during the last weekend in January at the historic Monte Carlo rally. Sebastian Loeb began the season right where he left off last year, and for the last four years for that matter. In what is widely regarded as one of the toughest rallies of the year, Loeb made it look easy as he took the win with a massive margin – his fifth Monte Carlo win, making him the most successful driver in the rally's history. With another display of superhuman ability behind the wheel of his Citroen, Loeb's dominance of the sport only looks to be getting stronger. Ford factory driver and new team leader, Mikko Hirvonen, took second place over two and a half minutes adrift.
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The rally did throw up a fantastic battle between Subaru's Chris Atkinson and Loeb's former Citroen teammate, Francois Duval, in the Stobart Ford. The quality of these two young stars shone brightly as they battled it out right from the very first stage to the last. They went into the final super-special around the Monaco harbor just 1.1 seconds apart. Both clocked identical times on the final stage, leaving Atkinson to claim the third podium position.
Suzuki had a very convincing start to their first WRC challenge. Both Suzuki SX-4's of Toni Gardemeister and PG Andersson had teething troubles through the rally but were able to consistently set top-six times when everything worked according to plan. Andersson, who moved up with Suzuki into the WRC, claiming the JWRC (Junior World Rally Championship) title with the team in 2007 and 2004, ended up in a very credible points scoring eighth place. |
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