(Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas/Pirelli) won the F1 Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring on Sunday. The victory equaled Michael Schumacher's record of 91 Grand Prix wins, and Schumacher's son - Mick - presented Hamilton with one of his father's helmets in honor of his momentous win after the race (above). “Like all of us I grew up watching Michael win all those grands prix and I couldn’t even have fathomed equaling him. Getting to F1 was the first step of the dream, emulating Ayrton [Senna], but Michael was so far ahead. It’s beyond my wildest dreams to be here today and I feel really humbled by the moment and the opportunity I was given when I was 13, by Mercedes to join this team, I feel proud to have joined them and brought this record to Mercedes, hope we have more records to break and make – they know it’s a good investment hopefully!” After his 70th win for the German marque, and this one on German soil, you’d imagine so. Max Verstappen (No. 33 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda/Pirelli) was second and Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3 Renault DP World F1 Team/Pirelli) finished third. (Thank you to Chris Medland/MotorSport)
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas/Pirelli) won the F1 Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring on Sunday. The victory equaled Michael Schumacher's record of 91 Grand Prix wins, and Schumacher's son - Mick - presented Hamilton with one of his father's helmets in honor of his momentous win after the race (above). “Like all of us I grew up watching Michael win all those grands prix and I couldn’t even have fathomed equaling him. Getting to F1 was the first step of the dream, emulating Ayrton [Senna], but Michael was so far ahead. It’s beyond my wildest dreams to be here today and I feel really humbled by the moment and the opportunity I was given when I was 13, by Mercedes to join this team, I feel proud to have joined them and brought this record to Mercedes, hope we have more records to break and make – they know it’s a good investment hopefully!” After his 70th win for the German marque, and this one on German soil, you’d imagine so. Max Verstappen (No. 33 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda/Pirelli) was second and Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3 Renault DP World F1 Team/Pirelli) finished third. (Thank you to Chris Medland/MotorSport)
(crash.net)
Danilo Petrucci (No. 9 Ducati Team) delivered a spectacular victory - in the rain - in the French MotoGP at Le Mans on Sunday. Petrucci is the sixth different race winner in nine races this season and allows him to depart Ducati on a high note ahead of his move to Tech 3 KTM in 2021. As good as Petrucci's performance was, it was bettered by Alex Marquez (No. 73 Repsol Honda Team), who put his wet weather riding skills on display and charged from 18th on the grid all the way to second, in turn bringing Honda its first podium of the season. Pol Espargaro (No. 44 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished third. (Thanks to crash.net)
(Photos by Richard Prince for Corvette Racing)
Danilo Petrucci (No. 9 Ducati Team) delivered a spectacular victory - in the rain - in the French MotoGP at Le Mans on Sunday. Petrucci is the sixth different race winner in nine races this season and allows him to depart Ducati on a high note ahead of his move to Tech 3 KTM in 2021. As good as Petrucci's performance was, it was bettered by Alex Marquez (No. 73 Repsol Honda Team), who put his wet weather riding skills on display and charged from 18th on the grid all the way to second, in turn bringing Honda its first podium of the season. Pol Espargaro (No. 44 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished third. (Thanks to crash.net)
(Photos by Richard Prince for Corvette Racing)Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C8.R/Michelin) powered into the lead with 24 minutes to go Saturday night in the MSA WeatherTech SportsCar ChampionshipMOTUL 100% Synthetic Grand Prix and rolled on to the fifth win of 2020. The victory under rainy, slick conditions at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL was the fourth in the past five GT Le Mans (GTLM) races for Garcia and co-driver Jordan Taylor, helping them move closer to clinching the class championship. Garcia crossed the finish line 1.474 seconds ahead of John Edwards (No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE/Michelin) at the conclusion of the 100-minute race. The race marked IMSA’s return to the Charlotte road course after a 20-year absence but its first event on the 2.32-mile, 10-turn ROVAL layout that includes chicanes on both oval straights. “That’s a perfect, magnificent car out there,” Garcia said of the mid-engine Corvette C8.R that debuted in competition this year, “and I’m glad to be driving for the best team out there – and winning.” Bruno Spengler and Connor De Phillippi (No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE/Michelin) finished third. All four WeatherTech Championship classes – GTLM, GT Daytona, Daytona Prototype international and Le Mans Prototype 2 – return to action in the week ahead at the 23rd annual Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The 10-hour endurance race airs live in combination on NBCSN and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 17. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service)
(BMW)
John Edwards and Jesse Krohn (No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE/Michelin) led 42 laps before finishing second to the Corvette at the conclusion of the 100-minute race.
(BMW)
John Edwards and Jesse Krohn (No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE/Michelin) led 42 laps before finishing second to the Corvette at the conclusion of the 100-minute race.
(BMW)It didn’t look easy to start with, but for the second half of Saturday night’s MOTUL 100% Synthetic Grand Prix on a rainy Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3/Michelin and driver Bill Auberlen were in control of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) race. Auberlen’s co-driver, Robby Foley, started the race from second on the class grid, but the No. 96 fell victim to the treacherous conditions on the opening lap, when Foley tangled on the front stretch chicane with the spinning GTLM-class BMW driven by Bruno Spengler. It dropped Foley to second-to-last in the running order, but the No. 96 was plenty fast and he began carving his way forward throughout his stint before turning the car over to Auberlen just over 30 minutes into the 100-minute race. “It was pretty much a flawless race until the very end, a yellow comes out,” Auberlen said. “And I just couldn’t believe it. It’s like your heart falls. We knew we had a good car, and I knew the guy behind me was Pat Long. I’ve raced against him for many years. And he is not afraid to put a tire on your car to get to the front. I’ve had him do it many times. I was hoping he was going to be fairly nice.” The race was restarted with six minutes to go. Long made one attempt in Turn 1 just after the green flag flew, but Auberlen kept him at bay and crossed the finish line 1.497 seconds ahead. It was the second WeatherTech Championship win of the season for Auberlen and Foley – the duo also won the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR in August – and was Auberlen’s 62nd IMSA win, adding to his all-time record total. Long and co-driver Ryan Hardwick finished a season-best second in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R/Michelin. It was their third consecutive podium finish after back-to-back third-place outings. Ian James – who along with Auberlen were the only drivers to compete in IMSA’s last Charlotte Motor Speedway appearance back in 2000 – combined with WeatherTech Championship rookie Roman De Angelis to score a season-best third-place result in the No. 23 Heart Of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3/Michelin. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service)
(Matthew Thacker/Motorsport Images)
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) won the Bank of America 400 NASCAR Cup race on the Charlotte Roval on Sunday. It was his fourth straight road course win, his third win of the season and his ninth career Cup win. Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) was second and Erik Jones (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) finished third.
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) won the Bank of America 400 NASCAR Cup race on the Charlotte Roval on Sunday. It was his fourth straight road course win, his third win of the season and his ninth career Cup win. Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) was second and Erik Jones (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) finished third.
Editor-In-Chief's Note: My friend Dr. Charles Jenckes - you can read about him here - is an old friend of Doc Bundy, who was a road racing star in the 80s and 90s here in the U.S. Dr. Jenckes passed along the following about his friend:
I have a great story you may be interested in. Doc Bundy, who was a road racing star of the 80s, 90s and on, recently fell on hard times. He had heart issues this spring and while in the hospital contracted COVID-19. At 75-years-old, Doc beat heart disease and COVID and this weekend at Road Atlanta he won both races in the HSR Class 3 Event driving a 1964 Lotus 23 B. One race was in the dry and Doc led wire-to-wire. The second race was run completely in the wet. Just as Doc was reaching turn one from the pole a torrent of rain swept over the track. Doc spun on the exit of turn one while leading. He kept his head and was able to restart the race in fifth place. Doc charged back to the front and won the race with a second to spare over a very good Porsche 914/6.
I have been fortunate enough to know Doc since 1976 when I worked for him at Holbert Racing. I crewed his first professional race in the Porsche 934 that he drove with George Follmer. I crewed his 1980 SCCA D Production national championship car and now I am his race engineer once again (when I have a free weekend). - Dr. Charles Jenckes