Motorsport News

The 2019 Hong Kong ePrix ended amidst much drama as Virgin Racing's Sam Bird secured first place at the end of the race. Bird, however, is being investigated by the stewards for a late contact with long time leader Andre Lotterer of DS Techeetah. The incident pushed Lotterer down to 14th, while Edoardo Mortara of Team Venturi finished second. The last place on the podium was taken by team Abt's Lucas di Grassi. It was a disappointing day for the only Indian team Mahindra Racing as both its drivers saw an early retirement from the the fifth race of the 2018-19 Formula E championship.

Global lubricant giant Gulf Oil has announced its association with Aprilia Racing works team for the 2019 MotoGP season. This is the lubricant company's first association with MotoGP, having been associated with World Superbike Championship (WSBK) over the previous seasons. The association with Aprilia has been described as a multi-year partnership, which Gulf says strengthens the brand's diverse product portfolio. The 19 race MotoGP season all set to commence next month in Qatar on March 10, and will culminate in Valencia on November 20, 2019.

India's first franchise-based motorsport championship, Xtreme1 League or X1 Racing League has announced its new venture X1 eSports League (X1EL) in the country. The X1 eSports League is a virtual car racing championship and aims to find India's next big racer through the grassroot program. The eSports League is based on the same lines as the ones from Formula 1 and Formula E, and will present a platform to aspiring young racers to fulfill the dream of being a professional race car driver. X1 Racing is founded by international racers Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel and sanctioned by The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).

TVS Racing talent Aishwarya Pissay will be competing in the FIM Bajas World Cup 2019 that will be held between March 7 and 9, in Dubai. This is the Sherco TVS rider's second international rally having made her debut in the Baja Aragon rally last year. Aishwarya will undergo a few days of training in the sand dunes of Dubai, leading up to Bajas World Cup. The TVS Racing rider will be participating as a privateer entry, competing on a non-TVS bike at the event. This is because the manufacturer does not have presence in Dubai but will remain her principal sponsor.

Aruba Racing Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista made a dream debut in the World Superbike (WSBK) Championship in the opening race of the 2019 season. The Spaniard won the first race of the season at Phillip Island, Australia by a margin of 14.983s, beating reigning WSBK champion Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki Racing to the top spot. Bautista was astride the Ducati Panigale V4 R and maintained his momentum right after taking the lead on the opening lap. While the former MotoGP rider had shown impressive pace during the practice sessions, a victory and that too by such a huge margin was certainly unprecedented.

The Volkswagen Ameo Cup recently completed its drivers' selection programme for the 2019 season, and registered the highest-ever turnout for the championship. The series saw more than 1600 registration and over 125 appearances for the programme, of which 15 drivers were selected to compete in this year's championship. The shortlisted drivers will be tutored and trained by Volkswagen Motorsport India to compete in the one-make championship set to begin in June this year. The drivers' selection round was held on February 9-10, 2019 at the Indi Karting Track in Kharadi, Pune.

Lucas di Grassi secured an absolutely sensational win in the 2019 Formula E Mexico e-Prix as the Team Abt driver made a last-second pass over Mahindra's Pascal Wehrlein to take cross the chequered flag. It was a true heart stopping moment as the two drivers battled for the top spot with Wehrlein in the lead, who defended his position till the last corner despite his battery levels at one per cent. On the final straight, di Grassi passed Wehrlein yards before the finish line pushing the Mahindra driver in second place.

Scuderia Ferrari has now revealed the 2019 Formula 1 challenger - the SF90. The Ferrari SF90 was unveiled at a special event at the company's Fiorano test track, just outside of Maranello.