(Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team)
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas), dealing with worn out tires and pressure from a relentless Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda), delivered a brilliant drive to win the Bahrain Grand Prix - the riveting opening race of the 2021 F1 season. Verstappen put four-wheels off of the racing surface in an attempt to pass Hamilton, which cost him any chance of getting by. "Wow, what a difficult race that was!" Hamilton said. "Definitely stopping early we knew it was going to be difficult, but we had to cover Max. They have had an amazing performance all weekend, so it was going to take something really special. We stopped for that last stint and trying to find the right balance between not pushing too much and having the tires at the end of the race. It was difficult and Max was all over me right at the end, but I just about managed to hold him off. It was one of the hardest races I've had for a while." Valterri Bottas (No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) was third, followed by Lando Norris (No. 4 McLaren F1 Team); Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing Honda) who dropped to dead last on the formation lap and came storming back; Charles Leclerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari); Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3 McLaren F1 Team); Carlos Sainz (No. 55 Scuderia Ferrari); Yuki Tsunoda (No. 22 Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda) in a scintillating F1 debut; and Lance Stroll (No. 18 Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team).
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas), dealing with worn out tires and pressure from a relentless Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda), delivered a brilliant drive to win the Bahrain Grand Prix - the riveting opening race of the 2021 F1 season. Verstappen put four-wheels off of the racing surface in an attempt to pass Hamilton, which cost him any chance of getting by. "Wow, what a difficult race that was!" Hamilton said. "Definitely stopping early we knew it was going to be difficult, but we had to cover Max. They have had an amazing performance all weekend, so it was going to take something really special. We stopped for that last stint and trying to find the right balance between not pushing too much and having the tires at the end of the race. It was difficult and Max was all over me right at the end, but I just about managed to hold him off. It was one of the hardest races I've had for a while." Valterri Bottas (No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) was third, followed by Lando Norris (No. 4 McLaren F1 Team); Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing Honda) who dropped to dead last on the formation lap and came storming back; Charles Leclerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari); Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3 McLaren F1 Team); Carlos Sainz (No. 55 Scuderia Ferrari); Yuki Tsunoda (No. 22 Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda) in a scintillating F1 debut; and Lance Stroll (No. 18 Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team).
(MotoGP)
Maverick Viñales (No. 12 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) delivered a stunning race to claim victory at the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar, as the 2021 MotoGP season kicked off in scintillating style in the desert. Viñales climbed his way through the pack to eventually beat second-place Johann Zarco (No. 5 Pramac Racing) by just over a second, as the Frenchman and Francesco Bagnaia (No. 63 Ducati Lenovo Team) beat reigning World Champion Joan Mir (No. 36 Team Suzuki Ecstar) on the run to the line to stand on the podium.
Maverick Viñales (No. 12 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) delivered a stunning race to claim victory at the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar, as the 2021 MotoGP season kicked off in scintillating style in the desert. Viñales climbed his way through the pack to eventually beat second-place Johann Zarco (No. 5 Pramac Racing) by just over a second, as the Frenchman and Francesco Bagnaia (No. 63 Ducati Lenovo Team) beat reigning World Champion Joan Mir (No. 36 Team Suzuki Ecstar) on the run to the line to stand on the podium.
(Trans Am Series presented By Pirelli)
Boris Said (No. 2 Weaver Racing Technologies/SRI Dodge Challenger) passed Ernie Francis Jr. (No. 98 Future Star Racing/Breathless Pro Racing Ford Mustang) on a drying track with seven laps remaining to win the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Atlanta SpeedTour at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Sunday. A deluge soaked the 2.54-mile circuit 30 minutes before the start. Francis took the lead on the ninth of 40 laps with the 23-year-old seven-time champion building up a seven-second lead despite the treacherous conditions. Undaunted, Said fought back, gradually cutting into the lead. Said caught Francis on lap 27, and then made his move on the 34th circuit. "The race was a lot of fun in the rain, I love the rain," commented Said, who recorded his 18th career Trans Am victory. "Ernie went by me quickly, in the beginning, he had a lot of speed. I was being careful because we can't afford to wreck. It's really fast here. I learned a little bit in the first half and then I started to catch up to him. By the end, I was flying. It was a riot flying around like that, it's more fun than you could ever have." Francis has now finished second in both 2021 races to take the lead in the championship. “The track started to dry out and we just ran out of rear traction,” Francis said. “It was really good in the wet but once it started drying out, we just didn’t have anything for him (Said). I did the best we could. It’s good points, and we will just go on to the next one." Justin Marks had a pair of off track slides in the No. 99 Coca-Cola/Ave Motorsports Corvette, but fought back to take third at the finish. David Pintaric placed fourth in the No. 57 Kryderacing Ford Mustang, holding off Chris Dyson (No. 20 CDR Plaid Ford Mustang), who came all the way from 23rd-starting position to finish fifth. (Thank you to Trans Am Series Media)
Boris Said (No. 2 Weaver Racing Technologies/SRI Dodge Challenger) passed Ernie Francis Jr. (No. 98 Future Star Racing/Breathless Pro Racing Ford Mustang) on a drying track with seven laps remaining to win the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Atlanta SpeedTour at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Sunday. A deluge soaked the 2.54-mile circuit 30 minutes before the start. Francis took the lead on the ninth of 40 laps with the 23-year-old seven-time champion building up a seven-second lead despite the treacherous conditions. Undaunted, Said fought back, gradually cutting into the lead. Said caught Francis on lap 27, and then made his move on the 34th circuit. "The race was a lot of fun in the rain, I love the rain," commented Said, who recorded his 18th career Trans Am victory. "Ernie went by me quickly, in the beginning, he had a lot of speed. I was being careful because we can't afford to wreck. It's really fast here. I learned a little bit in the first half and then I started to catch up to him. By the end, I was flying. It was a riot flying around like that, it's more fun than you could ever have." Francis has now finished second in both 2021 races to take the lead in the championship. “The track started to dry out and we just ran out of rear traction,” Francis said. “It was really good in the wet but once it started drying out, we just didn’t have anything for him (Said). I did the best we could. It’s good points, and we will just go on to the next one." Justin Marks had a pair of off track slides in the No. 99 Coca-Cola/Ave Motorsports Corvette, but fought back to take third at the finish. David Pintaric placed fourth in the No. 57 Kryderacing Ford Mustang, holding off Chris Dyson (No. 20 CDR Plaid Ford Mustang), who came all the way from 23rd-starting position to finish fifth. (Thank you to Trans Am Series Media)
(Team Penske)
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) held on for a historic victory Monday in the NASCAR Cup Series’ first race on dirt since 1970, pulling away in overtime at Bristol Motor Speedway. Logano led 61 of the 253 laps in the Food City Dirt Race, scoring a .554-second margin of victory at the checkered flag. It was Logano's first win of the season, his third at Bristol and the 27th of his Cup Series career. Logano’s win extended the series’ streak, making it seven different winners in seven races to start the season. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet) finished second, just ahead of Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota). The race was slowed by a handful of multi-car wrecks that thinned the field of contenders. A Lap 51 crash knocked dirt-track specialists Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell out of the running for the win early. Bell lost control of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the high line, collecting Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Ross Chastain’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy in its wake. Bell and Chastain were sidelined, and Larson continued off the pace with a damaged car. Watch the highlights here. The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action April 10 at Martinsville Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). (Thank you to Zack Albert/NASCAR.com)
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) held on for a historic victory Monday in the NASCAR Cup Series’ first race on dirt since 1970, pulling away in overtime at Bristol Motor Speedway. Logano led 61 of the 253 laps in the Food City Dirt Race, scoring a .554-second margin of victory at the checkered flag. It was Logano's first win of the season, his third at Bristol and the 27th of his Cup Series career. Logano’s win extended the series’ streak, making it seven different winners in seven races to start the season. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet) finished second, just ahead of Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota). The race was slowed by a handful of multi-car wrecks that thinned the field of contenders. A Lap 51 crash knocked dirt-track specialists Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell out of the running for the win early. Bell lost control of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the high line, collecting Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Ross Chastain’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy in its wake. Bell and Chastain were sidelined, and Larson continued off the pace with a damaged car. Watch the highlights here. The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action April 10 at Martinsville Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). (Thank you to Zack Albert/NASCAR.com)
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)