It’s Monday, November 27, 2023 and that is Racing Recap, your abstract of final weekend’s motorsports motion. Formula One ended its season in Abu Dhabi with yet one more Max Verstappen victory. Unlike F1, the MotoGP title combat went right down to the season-ending Valencian Grand Prix. Pecco Bagnaia sealed his championship protection as contender Jorge Martin put himself and Marc Marquez within the gravel.
Mercedes Beats Ferrari For 2nd In Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a coronation run for Max Verstappen. Red Bull’s world champion gained pole on Saturday, then led 52 laps of the 58-lap race en path to his nineteenth race win this season. Verstappen completed his 12 months with an unprecedented whole of 1,003 laps led, operating out entrance for 75.7 % of the time. No driver had surpassed the 70 % threshold since Jim Clark in 1963.
Much of the race’s actual intrigue was occurring behind Verstappen as Ferrari and Mercedes battled for second within the World Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was operating in second behind Verstappen, however the head-to-head battle was sophisticated by Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez. Ferrari wanted George Russell to complete decrease than third to beat Mercedes.
Perez was operating third on the monitor, however behind Russell with a five-second penalty utilized for colliding with McLaren’s Lando Norris. Leclerc determined it was in his workforce’s finest curiosity to offer the Red Bull driver a slipstream to try to draw back from the Mercedes. The ingenious tactic wasn’t sufficient, and Perez was categorized simply over a second behind Russell.
Race Results
1. – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +17.993 seconds
3. – George Russell (Mercedes) – +20.328 seconds
4. – Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – +21.453 seconds
5. – Lando Norris (McLaren) – +24.284 seconds
Jorge Martin Crashes Out In MotoGP Finale
With a 21-point lead, Francesco Bagnaia was in prime place to defend the MotoGP World Championship in Valencia, Spain. The Ducati driver simply wanted to have a mean race weekend, whereas his title rival Jorge Martin needed to be spectacular. Martin certified sixth however gained the dash race to claw the deficit right down to 14 factors.
Martin’s championship pursuit ended solely after 5 laps on Sunday. The Pramac rider ran huge in Turn 4 and crashed within the gravel entice. Martin additionally collected Marc Marquez in his farewell outing with Repsol Honda. Bagnaia finally gained each the race and championship.
Race Results
1. – Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. – Johann Zarco (Pramac) – +0.360 seconds
3. – Brad Binder (KTM) – +2.347 seconds
4. – Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini) – +3.176 seconds
5. – Raúl Fernández (RNF) – +4.636 seconds
Source: jalopnik.com