One-stop victory for Hamilton
THE MOTORSPORT LAP/ It was a busy weekend of motorsport for fans from around the globe
The Spanish Formula One Grand Prix took place this past weekend where championship leader Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG) claimed victory in what looked like a fairly easy race for the Brit having led form start to finish.
Team-mate Valtteri Bottas came second, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished third.
Sadly, things were not to be for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who started the race in third behind Bottas and managed to quickly move to second by the first corner. Mercedes’ one-stop pit strategy played a pivotal role in the team’s success, relegating Vettel to fourth. Hamilton now leads the championship on 95 points, while Vettel is on 78 and Bottas is on 58 going into the next race in Monaco on May 27.
Meanwhile, the 24-hours of Nurburgring also took place this past weekend, which saw the team of Tandy, Lietz, Pilet and Mkowiecki (Porsche 911 GT3 R) taking overall victory. The team of Engel, Muller, Christodoulou and Metzger (Mercedes-AMG GT3) managed a credible second position, while Jager, Stolz, Buurman and Seyffarth (Mercedes-AMG GT3) clinched the third podium spot. South African brothers and team-mates Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde (Audi R8 LMS) finished sixth overall.
Moving across to Belgium, Sebastien Loeb scored an emphatic victory at the wheel of Team Peugeot Total’s Peugeot 208 WRX in the Coyote World RX of Belgium, round three of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. PSRX Volkswagen Sweden’s Petter Solberg finished runner-up in his Volkswagen Polo R Supercar, while Timmy Hansen made it a double podium for Team Peugeot Total by taking the third podium spot.
The third round of the Extreme Festival took place at Zwartkops Raceway where the opening race for G&H Transport Extreme Supercars brought the spectators a huge bonus, when Charl Arangies romped his Aston Martin Vantage GT3 around the 2.4km circuit in a time of 59.89 seconds. It is the first official sub-minute lap time in a race car at the circuit.
He won the race ahead of Charl Joubert (Lotus Elise Honda Turbo) and Tato Carello (Daytona McLaren 650 GT). Arangies also won the second race ahead of Carello and Dawie Olivier (G&H Transport Baby Beemer).
Engen Audi drivers Michael Stephen and Simon Moss dominated the first Sasol GTC (Global Touring Car) race, ahead of Gennaro Bonafede (Sasol BMW). Daniel Rowe (Volkswagen Jetta) won the second race ahead of Bonafede and Stephen.
Meanwhile, Bradley Liebenberg (Ferodo Mini JCW) won the first Sasol GTC2 race, ahead of Keagan Masters (VW Motorsport Golf Gti) and Charl Smalberger (Sabertek Golf GTI). Masters won the second race.
In the Engen Polo Cup, Tasmin Pepper (Electric Life Polo) won both races of the day.
The fourth round of the 2018 Extreme Festival series will be held at the East London Grand Prix circuit on June 3.