Motorsport News

TVS Racing's R Nataraj has been crowned as the 2018 Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) after a spectacular finish. The team won the championship in four out of five categories, dominating with its performance throughout the season. The final round of INRC took place in Puttur, Mangalore and saw the team's R Nataraj take the top spot in the Super Bike Pro Experts category. Meanwhile, Aishwarya Pissay, who made her comeback post an injury during Baja World Rally, won the Group B Ladies Class in the final round, sealing the championship title for the second consecutive year.

Having announced his retirement from MotoGP at the end of this season, Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa has announced he will be joining KTM as a test rider in 2019. The 31-time MotoGP race winner has signed a two-year deal with the Austrian manufacturer, which his first move outside Honda, having spent his entire career with the Japanese team. Pedrosa retired from the sport after spending 13 years and becoming one of the most respected riders across the grid.

The Mercedes driver, who equalled the five titles of late 1950s Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio with only seven times champion Michael Schumacher above them, finished fourth while Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel was second.

In a massive boost to both Yamaha and Maverick Vinales, the young rider took a dominant win in the 2018 Australian MotoGP Grand Prix at Phillip Island, ending the team's 25-race winless streak in the premier class. Vinales took a comfortable win over Suzuki's Andrea Iannone, by a margin of 1.5s, while runner-up contender Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati finished third. Fresh off his championship victory celebrations at Motegi last week, Marc Marquez of Honda had a nasty crash with Johann Zarco at almost 300 kmph. Fortunately, both riders escaped the incident unhurt.

India's young karting racer Shahan Ali Mohsin dominated the third and fourth rounds of the Meco Motorsports FMSCI National Rotax Max that were held in Bangalore last weekend. The Agra-based driver extended his lead in the championship in the Junior category and the Senior class at the Meco Kartopia Circuit. The young racer was back immediately after the 2018 IAME X30 Karting Championship Finals at Le Mans, France, becoming the first Indian to represent the country at the global event.

Sunday after the Mercedes driver finished only third in a U.S. Grand Prix won by Ferrari veteran Kimi Raikkonen. The victory was the 21st of the 39-year-old Finn's career and first since the Australian Grand Prix of March 2013, a gap of 113 races dating back to when he was racing for now-defunct Lotus. Red Bull's Dutch youngster Max Verstappen took a surprise second after starting 18th in a thrilling finale with the top three cars running nose-to-tail and separated by just 2.1 seconds at the chequered flag. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton's only title rival, spun down to 15th on the opening lap but fought back to finish fourth -- a result that means the championship remains mathematically open going into Mexico next weekend.

Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez has been crowned as the 2018 MotoGP World Champion after a nail biting finish in the Japanese Grand Prix. The Honda rider won the fourth last race of the season fighting against Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso.

If there's one thing that MotoGP never fails to provide is the quintessential wheel-to-wheel action. The past races of the season have been extremely fun with the winners uncertain until the final corner. That's the kind of thrill that spectators thrive on and that's exactly what we expect from the 2018 Japanese GP at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan this weekend. However, as far as the points standings go, Honda's Marc Marquez clearly has the edge over his rivals for this season and the Japanese Grand Prix just might the championship decider for the Spanish rider, doing so on what is Honda's home turf.