Welcome to a new edition of Motorsport Weekend, our own feature where we talk about the most exciting motorsport events from the last three days.
This weekend, we were treated with quite a few interesting races. First off, the Formula 1 Hungarian GP was held at the Hungaroring track. Then the WRC Rally of Finland was organized in the Scandinavian country, while Nascar‘s Sprint Cup had the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 take place at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
So, curious to see how Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Mikko Hirvonen or Greg Biffle faired in their own races? Then hit the jump and find out.
First off, the Formula 1 Hungarian GP was set up to be another plain race, with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber set to start in the first line. Luckily, things got extremely hectic in the first half of the race, after a crash led to debris on the track.
The safety car went in, prompting almost all of the drivers to head to the pits. This caused extreme havoc, with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg exiting the pit with a loose wheel. It came off before he could do anything, and hit one of the mechanics from Williams. Renault’s Robert Kubica was signaled to exit the pit area right when Force India’s Adrian Sutil passed, causing them to touch.
Meanwhile, on the track, Vettel, who came out in second, behind Mark Webber, was penalized for not respecting Safety Car regulations, and charged with a drive-through. The upset German blasted race officials, eventually coming out behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
The finish saw this exact formation, with Webber extremely pleased about the win, especially as the former overall leader, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, was forced to retire early due a gearbox failure.
Overall, Webber leads with 161, followed by Hamilton, with 157, and Vettel, with 151. We shouldn’t forget McLaren’s Jenson Button with 147, nor Alonso, with 141. Team standings see Red Bull in the lead, with 312 points, followed by McLaren, 304, and Ferrari, 238.
Moving on, the WRC Rally of Finland was eagerly awaited by fans, as the combination between massive jumps, tough Scandinavian gravel and tight, twisty courses meant thrills were guaranteed. The rally delivered early on, as local Mikko Hirvonen crashed his Ford Focus WRC after one of the jumps destabilized the car. We already shared a video of the spectacular crash earlier today.
The rest of the drivers were engaged in heavy fighting, but, in the end, it was still a native Finn, Jari-Matti Latvala. The Ford driver managed to keep Citroen works drivers Sebastien Ogier and Loeb off his back for the majority of the race, even though the lead was held, for a few stages, by Citroen privateer Petter Solberg.
Standings still show Loeb in the lead, with 166 points, followed by Ogier, 118, and Latvala, 105.
Moving on to the Nascar Sprint Cup, which saw the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 take place at the Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.
The even was dramatic for Roush Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle, who hit the wall right in the first turn of the race. This meant he was helpless against leaders like Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon. Luckily, the final pit strategy, when he opted for just two tires as opposed to rivals who took on four, meant Biffle returned to the track in second position.
He then proceeded to overtake Sam Hornish Jr., and won the Pocono race with a 3.5 second lead. Runner up was Tony Stewart, followed by Carl Edwards.
Overall Sprint Cup standings show Kevin Harvick still in the lead, followed by Jeff Gordon, 189 points behind, and Denny Hamlin, 260 points behind.
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