APRIL 6, 2016
(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet Turbo V6) steams into Turn 1 on his way to the win in the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix Verizon IndyCar race at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday night. The race marked the series' return to Phoenix International Raceway following an 11-year absence. It was the 39th career win for the 35-year-old New Zealander, tying him with four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser for fourth on the all-time Indy car victories list. The win also gave Dixon, a four-time IndyCar champion, a race win in twelve consecutive seasons, which is a new record. He was previously tied with Bobby Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi and Helio Castroneves for wins in eleven straight seasons. "It's mind-boggling, for sure," said Dixon. "For me, I feel very privileged to be racing, being an Indy car driver, being part of the Verizon IndyCar Series, and then being part of Team Target. All my wins except for one have been with this team. I hope we can continue to build on it and the numbers are great. It sounds a bit strange when you hear the names that we're amongst them fighting on the wins list." It was the first career win at PIR for Dixon and the first for the Ganassi team at PIR in any race series. It was also Ganassi's 101st Indy car win. "It was tough, definitely one of the toughest races on these short ovals," Dixon said. "The car was super-fast. I think we had the best car out there on strategies and pit stops."
(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske DeVilbiss Chevrolet Turbo V6) leads a group down the backstretch at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday night. Pagenaud finished second for the second consecutive race and took the lead in the Verizon IndyCar Series points standings for the first time in his career. Pagenaud has 83 points and leads Dixon by four. "That's good news," Pagenaud said. "That's exactly what we want to do. This is not our strong suit, short ovals, but if we can be strong, that's a good sign."
(Photo by Richard Dowdy/INDYCAR)
Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet Turbo V6) gets pit service at PIR Saturday night. Power, who missed the season opener three weeks ago at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with an inner ear infection, finished third in his Team Penske machine. "I'm really happy to finish third. Missing the first race and dealing with a few health issues, I was just happy to complete the race in a great position," Power said. "I got more energy as I went along."
(sky SPORTS)
Nico Rosberg (No. 6 AMG Petronas Mercedes W07) won the Bahrain GP on Sunday to go two-for-two in this young Formula 1 season. Kimi Raikkonen (No. 7 Scuderia Ferrari) finished second and Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 AMG Petronas Mercedes WO7) finished third after a first-corner collision (above) with Valtteri Bottas (No. 77 WIlliams Martini Racing). Rosberg overtook polesitter Hamilton at the start and was never headed from that point on. "I'm just taking it race-by-race, it is great to win two on the trot, but now it's onto the next race," said Rosberg on the podium as he celebrated his 16th career win. Rosberg has now opened up an early 17-point lead over Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship. Hamilton dropped to ninth after the collision, but he couldn't catch Raikkonen. "I lost a lot of performance from the car. It was just a racing incident," Hamilton commented. Sebastian Vettel's No. 5 Scuderia Ferrari blew an engine on the formation lap. Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3 Red Bull Racing) finished fourth and incredibly, Romain Grosjean (No. 8 Haas F1 Team) finished fifth, making it two points paying finishes in the team's first two races.
(Formula E)
Lucas DiGrassi (No. 11 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport/Michelin) won the FIA Formula E Faraday Future Long Beach ePrix on Saturday. Stéphane Sarrazin (No. 4 Venturi Formula E Team/Michelin) finished second and Daniel Abt (No. 66 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport/Michelin) was third. It was the first-ever double podium for the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport team.
(MotoGP)
Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team) dominated the Argentina GP MotoGP on Sunday. Valentino Rossi (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) inherited second when Andrea Dovizioso (No. 4 Ducati Team) was taken out by his teammate Andrea Iannone (No. 29 Ducati Team) in Turn 12 of the last lap. Dani Pedrosa (No. 26 Repsol Honda Team) took a surprise third-place finish. Determined to finish, Dovizioso pushed his Ducati across the line for 13th place.
(Photo by John Harrelson/LAT Photo USA ©2016, courtesy of Toyota Racing)
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&M's 75th Anniversary Toyota Camry) celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 500 in Martinsville, Virginia, completing a weekend sweep (he also won the truck race on Saturday). It was Busch's 35th win in NASCAR's premier series, and he's just 30-years-old. A. J. Allmendinger (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Kroger/Butterfinger/Coffeemate Chevrolet SS) finished second in a great run and Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet SS) finished third. Get more NASCAR info here.
Editor's Note: “The Decision” is the first of five video shorts from the Ford Motor Company about the development of the Ford GT. It features Bill Ford Jr., Raj Nair, Dave Pericak and Edsel B. Ford II, who attended the 1966 race with his father, Henry Ford II. The shorts will culminate in one long-form documentary that will follow the development of both the Street Car and Race Car version of the Ford GT from the decision to build the cars to the return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (The Autoextremist makes a cameo appearance as well.) Watch it here. -WG