NASCAR – Pep Boys Auto 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway – Sun Oct 26

October 26, 2008 in NASCAR
Tags: earnhardt, hamlen, johnson, kenseth

What initially looked to be another win for the taking for points leader Jimmie Johnson quickly proved otherwise, but Atlanta proved that you should never count the Sprint Cup leader out of the running till the chequered flag flies.
Another rained-off qualifying – the 10th in the season, a NASCAR record – had put Jimmie Johnson [...]

MotoGP: Round 18 – Valencia, Spain – October 26

October 26, 2008 in MotoGP
Tags: hayden, melandri, pedrosa, rossi, stoner, toseland

And so the 2008 MotoGP season comes to an end. But even with all the key positions locked down, there was still plenty for riders to want to prove here: from the front to the back, the game was afoot.
Dani Pedrosa was determined to make it a clean sweep os Spanish races this year, and [...]

NASCAR – TUMS QuikPak 500, Martinsville Speedway VA – Sun Oct 19

October 19, 2008 in NASCAR
Tags: busch, earnhardt, edwards, johnson

Gorgeous weather – bright sunshine and brilliant blue skies – made it hard to believe that qualifying had been rained out. That meant starting positions were decided by Chase points standing – and gave Jimmie Johnson an invaluable and ultimately unbeatable edge.
Compared with the other tracks we visit in the NASCAR series, Martinsville is absurdly [...]

F1: Round 17 – Shanghai, China – Sun Oct 19

October 19, 2008 in F1
Tags: alonso, hamilton, massa, raikkonen

After the thrills, spills, high drama and controversy of Japan, what Lewis Hamilton and McLaren really needed this weekend was a calm, disciplined, error-free outing. In other words: no Shanghai surprises.
Hamilton has faced a barrage of criticism in the past week from media and fellow drivers alike, for his red mist moment at the start [...]

MotoGP: Round 17 – Sepang, Malaysia – Sun Oct 19

October 19, 2008 in MotoGP
Tags: hayden, rossi, stoner, valentino

With all the titles long-since decided, the Malaysian MotoGP was really “for fun”. Except that no one but a true sadist could really enjoy those stifling, ultra-humid conditions. Well – no one except for Valentino Rossi, naturally.
Rossi is like Michael Schumacher in that it doesn’t matter how many titles, how many races have been won [...]

NASCAR – Bank of America 500, Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Sat Oct 11

October 12, 2008 in NASCAR
Tags: biffle, burton, busch, earnhardt, johnson

Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers all dominated the race for long stints at various points and looked set to win the Bank of America 500 night race at Charlotte, but in the end it was a case of consistency and timing that won the day.
Johnson got off to a good start [...]

F1: Round 16 – Fuji, Japan – Sun Oct 12

October 12, 2008 in F1
Tags: alonso, hamilton, kubica, massa, piquet, raikkonen

Critical mistakes by the championship rivals opened up the Japanese Grand Prix and allowed Fernando Alonso to take one of the most unexpected back-to-back victories of the season – and of his entire career.
The mistakes by Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa both came on the first two laps. In Hamilton’s case it was a poor [...]

NASCAR – Amp Energy 500, Talladega Superspeedway – Sun Oct 5

October 6, 2008 in NASCAR
Tags: busch, earnhardt, johnson, stewart

Talladega always jumbles things up, and the starting line-up did the Chase favourites no favours. And then the race started and things got even more interesting, with not one but two major wrecks.
The early part of the race saw an assortment of leaders and constant side-by-side racing for 33 laps caution-free. There was the opportunity [...]

A1GP: Round 1 – Zandvoort, Netherlands – Sun Oct 5

October 5, 2008 in A1GP
Tags: Bleekemolen, Carroll, Duval, Jani, Zaugg

Oh dear. As much as you want to laud A1GP for embarking on a whole new level for the young series, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the organisers had bitten off more than could be chewed, and the season opener was in some respects a bit of a debacle and a damp squib [...]

MotoGP – Phillip Island, Australia – Sun Sep 28

October 5, 2008 in MotoGP
Tags: hayden, lorenzo, rossi, stoner, toseland, valentino

Casey Stoner put the disappointment of losing the title fight behind him, and delivered a perfect home victory leading form start to finish at Phillip Island.
Only Nicky Hayden was able to stay with him at the start, and the two raced off into the distance leaving everyone else far behind. Hayden’s always fast here, and [...]