Motorsport News 29/04/21

Sebastien Ogier apologised to Elfyn Evans after he beat him to victory on the Croatia Rally by 0.6 seconds last Sunday. Evans started the event-closing powerstage leading his Toyota team-mate by 3.9s. But he couldn’t hold on through the deciding 8.7 miles, taking 4.5s longer than Ogier to complete the test after he lost vital time running wide onto an earth bank with the flying finish just around the corner. “I said ‘sorry’to Elfyn because he’s done an amazing job,” Ogier said before admitting that he thought his “rally was over” after he was involved in collision with a motorist driving from service in Zagreb to the final leg’s opening stage. The incident left Frenchman Ogier with a battered Yaris WRC, £6000 in fines and a one-event ban, suspended for six months. But while…

For a discipline where success is generally measured in seconds rather than tenths, losing a round of the World Rally Championship by just 0.6s has to be a real kick in the proverbials. But that was the situation that Elfyn Evans had to swallow on Rally Croatia, and, even more galling than an error on the very stage turn of the contest, was the fact that his slip-up handed glory to the sister Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris WRC of Sebastien Ogier. Ogier himself was recovering after a road traffic accident on Sunday morning. The event certainly provided plenty of drama. So, on the face of it, this was a rally lost by Evans rather than won by Ogier. But there is plenty of cause for the Welshman to remain upbeat despite the heartbreak.…

British Touring Car Championship returnee Gordon Shedden topped the times at the category’s season launch test session at Silverstone last week for Team Dynamics. The Scotsman, a three-time title winner, is returning to the wheel of a BTCC Honda for the first time since 2017. He had tested the FK8 last season, but his outing at Silverstone last week was the first time he had gone up against rest of the pack. The 42-year-old said he was thrilled with his day’s work after the six hours of running. He said: “We worked diligently through our programme and I gained more and more confidence in the car as the day went on. You never know what everyone else is doing during season launch, but to finish atop the times is mega. I’m definitely…

Williams driver George Russell has apologised to rival Valtteri Bottas after the high-speed accident which eliminated them both from the recent Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The pair collided when approaching the first chicane at Imola and both machines were heavily damaged during the lap 31 accident. Russell initially vented at Bottas, declaring the incident to have been the Mercedes driver’s fault. However, the British driver has now recanted his comments post-race. He said: “Having had time to reflect on what happened afterwards, I know I should have handled the whole situation better... “I apologise to Valtteri, to my team and to anyone who felt let down by my actions. That’s not who I am and I expect more from myself “I knew it would be one of our best opportunities to score points…

Bosses of Formula E have confirmed the remaining races on the 2021 schedule, with the London ePrix confirmed for a layout at ExCeL in the Docklands at the end of July. The series delayed rubber-stamping the back end of the calendar while there was still uncertainty around travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, with the future races confirmed, it means that there will be a record-breaking 15 rounds. The two London races will join double header events at Puebla in Mexico, New York City and will conclude with a double header at the Tempelhof Airport on August 14-15. Series official Alberto Longo said: “It’s a massive achievement by all to release the full calendar. It includes the most races we’ve held and shows our commitment to create a schedule that fans…

Only nine drivers finished a much-interrupted Formula E opener at Valencia in Spain last weekend when a number of contenders ran out of useable energy. With five safety car periods in the race, which was held on a damp circuit, the teams were allocated less power with each caution. But most teams miscalculated the distance of the event and only 14 cars were running at the chequered flag. Further, five of the finishers were disqualified for energy overuse, including Briton Sam Bird and his countrymen Oliver Rowland, Alexander Sims andAlex Lynn. Mercedes man Nyck de Vries collected the win as long-time pacesetterAntonio Felix da Costa ran out of juice. AndrettiAutosport driver Jake Dennis took his maiden victory in the second race of the weekend in Spain as he dominated from pole position to…