Motorsport News – July 17, 2019

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

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