Reverse on the Left: 2019-10-06

Friday, October 11, 2019

Dope Vid. #259

Video courtesy ILBTV.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

What to watch this Petit Le Mans Weekend (Oct 10th - Oct 16th)

Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Practice 1. Thursday @ 8:55pm - 10:30pm (ESPNNEWS) live
Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Practice 2. Friday @ 12:55am - 2:30am (ESPN2) live
Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Practice 3. Friday @ 10:55pm - 12am (ESPNU) live
Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Qualifying. Saturday @ 1:55am - 3am (ESPN2) live
WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Petit Le Mans, from Road Atlanta. Saturday @ 5:30pm - 11pm (NBCSN) live
Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Race. Sunday @ 1:05am - 3:05am (ESPN) live
Garage Squad. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replay
Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
Wheeler Dealers. Tuesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new
Bitchin Rides. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new
Garage Squad. Season 6 Ep 8. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

We're loaded this weekend with the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship race season finale at Road Atlanta this weekend, the Petit Le Mans, and the first of six remaining races in the F1 season. The last race in Russia shows you why Merc has a strangle hold on the Manufacturers and Driver's Championships this year -- consistent, even-keeled, strong performances. A signature Mercedes 1-2 finish, again, after Ferrari took pole (Leclerc's 4th) and looked to have even or better race pace during simulations. Ferrari had some bad luck with what appeared to be a kinetic component failure, on Vettel's car, while he was in the net lead of the gp. Leclerc's strategy was a little off when Vettel's DNF brought the virtual safety car out, Ferrari choosing to play the new tire game rather than sticking with track position given the low deg of the circuit. This turned out to be a 3rd place strategy as Merc, while not as fast as Ferrari, are fast enough to stay ahead of a Ferrari. Leclerc also learned what Webber learned back at Red Bull in terms of Vettel's mean streak, as he has a rich history of not sticking to team orders when it doesn't serve his own interests -- something just about every winning racing driver has, but the real issue is this occurring between teammates, at Ferrari, while Ferrari is trying to continue building momentum late this season after resolving its aerodynamic correlation issues. Leclerc seems to adjust to every challenge Plenty of DNFs this race, it wasn't just Seb (wishing the N/A V12s was the F1 powerplant again), it was also both Williams (albeit Russell with a front axel failure), Grosjean/Haas and Ricciardo/Renault. Meanwhile in the top ten, McLaren continues to be at the front of the mid-field with another double points finish, Hulkenberg takes the final point in 10th, Perez performs well again taking 7th and Albon comes from the last spot to finish behind Vertstappen in 5th, earning his keep after putting his car in a wall during Q1. With the race over the current driver standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-73), Leclerc (-107), Verstappen (-110), Vettel (-128), Gasly (-253). Notables here are Leclerc taking over third (well ahead of Vettel) and Gasly still hanging on to 6th -- Albon or Sainz will likely take 6th sooner than later. This weekend the very technical Suzuka circuit should be another great showcase for where things have progressed across the field.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.