Vergnewasdesperate
forraceonesafetycar
The long straights at Macau would perfectly suit DRS F3 cars
Vergnehas
toservetime
Drag reduction tipped for a Macau debut
DRS could be used for the
first time at the Formula 3
Macau Grand Prix this
year, pending the final FIA
track homologation.
The GP3 Series and European
Formula 3 merged to form
the new FIA Formula 3
Championship for this year,
which has a new single-make
formula car that has also been
adopted by Macau – announced
last month.
The previous homologation
of the track expired at the end
of last year and, owing to the
higher power-to-w eight ratio of
the new F3 car, changes will be
made to the Macau street track
- including to Lisboa corner –
to upgrade its homologation.
Changes to the circuit had
been discussed to improve
safety anyway, after the
high-speed crash of Sophia
Florsch in last year’s Macau
Grand Prix.
When asked by Motorsport
News whether DRS would be
implemented for the event, a
spokesperson for FIA F3 –
of which Macau is a non-
championship round – said:
“This information is pending
the final track homologation
by the FIA.”
By Tom Errington
Jean-Eric Vergne has
been handed one day of
community service for
unsportsmanlike behaviour
in the first Formula E race in
New York due to comments
made over his team radio.
The punishment does not
impact on his 2018/19 FIA FE
championship win or his results
in New York last weekend.
Motorsport News has heard
Vergne’s team radio following
his involvement in the first pile-
up in the opening New York
race, which also involved his
DS Techeetah team-mate
Andre Lotterer.
With both Techeetah cars
damaged, Vergne twice asked
his team to tell Lotterer to stop
on track in order to cause a
safety car.
He then asked if the team had
heard him andTecheetahtold
him that it had
It is unclear
the race the m
were made by
who pitted du
puncture on th
of the crash w
Lotterer conti
On the next l
Lotterer crashed at the second
corner with his front wing
trapped under his car, although
he continued and returned to
the pits for repairs.
Regarding the penalty, Vergne
toldMotorsportNews:“Yeah, if
river in F
ey would
me.
ou see
ne lap
en, front
he wall,
mal
e would
he same.
s not like
e was
running for position with the
car fine.
“I asked to put it [the car] in
the wall like something in the
past that has happened.”
The decision to give Vergne
community service is related
to Article 12.3.1c of the FIA’s
sporting code.
The governing body can hand
out this sanction at its discretion.
It is why Max Verstappen
attended the Marrakech FE race
in January after shoving Esteban
Ocon following Formula 1’s 2018
Brazilian Grand Prix.
It is not yet clear how Vergne
will serve his community
service, but he must serve it
within the next six months.
‘Hondahas yet tosparkintolife
WeratetheBTCCatthehalfwaypoint,p
Frenchman lifts FormulaE title but comes under firefor communication
NEW CHAMP VERGNE IN HOT
WATER OVER RADIO MESSAGE
M
anyarethosewho
thinktheenergy
drinkmarketis easy
money,eyeingup
thesuccessof Red
Bullandthinking
“I coulddothat– howhardcouldit be?”
Thecuriouscaseof RichEnergyhas
providedampleproofthatit’strickierthan
youmightexpect.
Marketingis oneof thekeysto establishing
a brandsuchas this- well,thatandactually
havingproductto sell,butwe’llcomeback
to that.Forsometimenow,RichEnergy’s
approachto marketingandPRhasbeen
baffling.Whenthisbrandpoppedup
seeminglyoutof nowherein themiddleof last
year,initiallypositioningitselfas a buyerforthe
troubledForceIndiateam,I (alongwithmany
others)diligentlyrummagedthroughthe
companyrecordsin CompaniesHouse.
TheserevealedthatRichEnergywashardly
rollingin it, certainlynotin thesumsrequired
to buya Formula1 team.Still,thoseaccounts
werefrom2016,soit wasquiteplausiblefor
a start-upthat’sreceivedoutsideinvestment
morerecentlyto bein thisposition.When
HaasannouncedRichas a titlesponsor
aheadof thisseason,youhadto assumethe
teamhaddoneduediligence.Surelynow
it wasa caseof sittingbackandwaitingfor
theproductto appearontheshelves.
Well,we’restillwaiting.
In theinterim,RichEnergy’smarketing
strategyhastakenontheaspectof a car
crash,particularlyonsocialmedia.Its Twitter
presenceappearsto beoperatedbyits hirsute
CEO,WilliamStorey,andfaithfullyobeysall
thetropesof theDonaldTrumpplaybook:
Tweetingincontinentlyat all hoursof theday
andnight,oftenin anunnecessarilybellicose
fashionandnotfollowingthenicetiesof
correctspellingandpunctuation.
Matterscameto a headlastweekwhen
theaccount– presumablyStorey– parped
thatRichEnergywasterminatingits contract
withHaasbecauseof theteam’spoor
performance.Theteamfiredbackwitha
statementfromRichEnergyshareholders
attributingthisto a “rogueindividual”who
wasbeingremovedfromexecutivepower.
Perhapstheshareholdersshouldhave
changedtheTwitterpasswordfirstbecause
theaccountthenstartedto thumbits noseat
themoverthecourseof severalincreasingly
unhingedcommuniques.It signedoffby
boasting,“inlightof thetreacherousconduct
of minoritystakeholderstheexclusiverightsto
distributeRichEnergyhavebeentransferred
to anothercompany.MrStoreyretains
completeownership.”
Ofwhat,though?I stilldon’tseeanycans
ontheshelves.Andtherearemorepressing
mattersat hand.July11,whenthisspatkicked
off,wasalsothedeadlinesetbytheHigh
CourtforStorey,RichEnergyandStaxoweb
- thecompanythatdesignedRich’slogo– to
pay£35,000in legalcostsforthetrademark
infringementcasetheylostlastMay.
Perhapsthecompanyproprietorwouldbe
betterservedgettinghischequebookout
thanexercisinghisthumbsonTwitter...
F1RACING EXECUTIVEEDITOR
“I haven’t seen any
Rich Energy cans
on the shelves”
AGREE/DISAGREE?
[email protected]
SimonPagenaudnarrowly
defeated Scott Dixon to claim
his third IndyCar victory of the
year in Toronto. The Indianapolis
500 winner had led the whole
race from pole but fell victim
to traffic in the final stages,
allowing Dixon, despite racing
with an arm injury, to close in.
Meanwhile Robert Wickens,
who was left with spinal cord
injuries last year after a crash
at Pocono, drove again for the
first time on a parade lap in an
adaptedHonda Acura NSX...
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch
clinched his first victory of the
2019 NASCAR Cup Series season,
beating his brother Kyle Busch in a
thrilling overtime finish at Kentucky.
The two brothers battled side-by-
side after a caution period caused
by Joey Logano, with Kurt later
describing how the on-track sibling
rivalry made him “proud”... Both
Rebellion and Ginetta will
each run two cars at this
month’s World Endurance
Championship pre-season
test despite not committing to
field both their entries in the
full series. The two Rebellion-
Gibson R-13s and the pair of
Ginetta-AER G60-LT-P1s on the
original entry for the 2019/
WEC announced last month
are listed to take part in the
prologue test at Barcelona
on July 23-24... KCMG’s Tiago
Monteiro claimed an emotional home
victory in the final World Touring Car
Cup race at Vila Real earlier this
month, beating the Cyan Racing Lynk
& Co 03s of Yvan Muller and Yann
Ehrlacher. The win marked his fir st
since victory since his comeback
from a serious injury in a testing crash
at Barcelona in September 2017...
Marino Sato continued his
impressive run of form in
Euroformula Open, taking
both wins at the Red Bull Ring
last weekend. It extended his
winning-streak to six races
and has given him a 108-point
lead over Lukas Dunner.
OUICK LAPS THE FASTEST NEWS ROUND-UP
Photos: LAT
Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110 motorsport-news.co.uk JULY 17 2019 9
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