Up To Speed: 9 – 10 April
With an exciting list of events happening over the course of the weekend; from the British Sporting Trials and Welsh Rally Championships, to Formula 1 and Formula E, there is plenty to be getting up to speed with this weekend.
British Sporting Trials:
This weekend sees the British Sporting Trials Championship head north for rounds seven and eight, the Penrith double header of the Stuart Butterfield and Stone Trough trials.Thomas Bricknell will be looking to repeat his success on the previous round, Southsea Motor Club’s President Sporting trial.
Peter Fensom and Richard Sharp will also be fighting for victory after finishing second and third respectively in the last round.
Follow all of the action from throughout the weekend on Facebook.
Welsh Rally Championship:
The Welsh Rally Championship returns for round two, with Saturday’s Rallynuts Stages Rally. Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear will be looking for another win, after their success on Rally North Wales just a few weeks ago. Lookout for Welshmen Dylan Davies and Tom Llewellin battling for their first wins of the season after finishing second and third, respectively, in round one.
Returning to its traditional April date, the popular event has attracted a strong historic entry with three-times British Rally Champion Matt Edwards competing behind the wheel of a Fiat 131, alongside co-driver Hamish Campbell. Formula 1 pundit Tony Jardine is also out this weekend aboard a Hillman Avenger.
Over 140 competitors will take on 45 stage miles across six classic Welsh stages, including Myherin, Sweet Lamb and Hafren.
Enjoy live coverage throughout the event at facebook.com/RallynutsStagesRally .
Formula 1:
For the first time in two years, we return Down Under for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix. Due to the strict rules in place during the pandemic, Formula 1 has not been back to Melbourne since 2020, and has not raced at Albert Park since 2019, making it three years since Aussie legend Daniel Ricciardo has been able to race in front of his home crowd.
With the World Championship well under way, expect close racing from championshipcontenders Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Any one of them are capable of leading this weekend atop the championship standings. Sainz will be attempting to win his first race for the Scuderia in Melbourne, as teammate currently leads the standings on 45 points, ahead of Carlos Sainz in second with 33 points and reigning World Champion, Max Verstappen in third with 25 points.
Sebastian Vettel has finally made his first appearance of the year after testing positive for Covid-19 and being unable to race in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia. Mercedes teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have both struggled to make it to the front row with their W13 contender and after finishing FP1 with Hamilton in P7 and Russell in P12, they ended they day in P13 and P11 respectively with the aim to get to the mid-field in qualifying.
The race will begin on Sunday at 06:00 BST and can be watched live on Sky Sports F1 and highlights will be shown on Channel 4.
Formula E:
The Formula E World Championship returns for a double-header weekend in the Eternal City with the Rome E-Prix. Locals will be cheering on Italian Formula E rookie and 2021 Formula 1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi who is currently sat in last position in the driver standings.
The previous round in Mexico City saw Pascal Wehrlein take first place with TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E teammate – Andre Lotterer in second and DS TECHEETAH driver Jean-Eric Vergne in third. The current driver standings have ROKiT Venturi Racing driver Edoardo Mortara taking the lead in the standings with Mercedes-EQ Formula E team driver and reigning World Champion Nick De Vres in second and Pascal Wehrlein in third overall.
Avalanche Andretti Formula E driver Jack Dennis will be looking to claim more point in Rome after finishing 10th in the previous round. Mahindra Racing driver Oliver Rowland finished 16th at Mexico City with teammate Alexander Sims finishing with a DNF. NIO 333 Formula E drivers Oliver Turvey and Dan Ticktum finished the last round 14th and 18th respectively so will both be looking to claim points during the double-header in the Eternal City, with Sam Bird from Jaguar Racing TCS – who finished 15th in the last grand prix – also looking to claim points.
The Rome E-Prix will be available to watch on Eurosport 2 and Eurosport Player.
Photo by: Ross Otway / 90Right.com