Weekend preview (June 1-3): MotoGP and Daruvala
There may not be a Formula 1 race this weekend, but MotoGP and Jehan Daruvala’s participation in European F3 should keep motorsport fans in India to the edge of their seats.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marc Marquez heads to Italy with a mammoth 36 point lead in the championship. The Honda rider has been a class apart from the rest of the field so far, winning the last three races in dominant style.
It’s hard to imagine how someone will be able to end his streak of victories this weekend, but both Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso will enjoy home advantage at Mugello.
Rossi has been hamstrung by a sub-par Yamaha, the YZR-M1 lacking in grip and also struggling with control electronics.
Dovizioso, by contrast, is equipped with a far quicker bike, but hasn’t been able to exploit it to the fullest. In Spain, he was unlucky to be caught in a three-way accident with teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, but the blame firmly lies on him for his Le Mans crash.
With two retirements in as many races, Dovizioso has slipped to ninth in the championship, 49 points off Marquez.
Sony ESPN will provide live broadcast of the Italian GP from 5:30 pm on Sunday. The race will also be simulcast online on Sony LIV.
Jehan Daruvala will compete in the second round of European F3 championship this weekend in Hungary.
Daruvala picked up a podium finish in the season opener at Pau (France) last month, but could have fared even better had he not been impeded by a rival driver in qualifying.
With traffic less of an issue at the Hungaroring, expect him to qualify higher up on the grid and challenge for podium and victories in all three races of the weekend.
Anish Shetty and Rajiv Sethu will return to action this weekend on Asia Road Racing Championship’s annual visit to Japan.
Shetty, who made his ARRC debut this season in the Asia Production 250cc class, picked up his first ever points in Australia earlier this year.
Sethu, meanwhile, suffered a huge crash in practice which ruled him out for the rest of the weekend.
Both Honda Racing India team riders will be looking for a strong result at Suzuka, one of the most renowned race tracks in the world.
Two-time National Rally Champion Amittrajit Ghosh will make his European Rally Championship debut this weekend in Greece.
Ghosh, along with experienced co-driver Ashwin Naik, with drive a will drive a Ford Fiesta R2 in Acropolis Rally with technical support from Baltic Motorsport Promotion.
Ghosh competed in one round of Latvian Rally Championship last month in preparation for his ERC assault.
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