McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton did everything but win the title in Shanghai on Sunday, as he scored his fifth victory of the season in a pluperfect style that left championship rival Felipe Massa floundering in his wake.
The Brazilian ran third for much of the race, astern of Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen as they struggled vainly to keep the McLaren in sight. Then on lap 49 the Finn conceded second place, so that Massa left China with 87 points to Hamilton’s 94 - and with his admittedly fading championship aspirations still alive.
Raikkonen stayed clear of a closing Fernando Alonso, who pushed hard all the way through for Renault, and Nick Heidfeld led BMW Sauber team mate Robert Kubica home as the Pole saw his own title hopes die. His three points leave him on 75, too far behind Hamilton.
The race started with a bang. Hamilton easily beat the Ferraris into the first corner and Alonso finally got the better of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen as they duelled over fourth. Further back, however, Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais tipped Jarno Trulli’s Toyota into a spin. The Frenchman was badly delayed; the Italian made one pit stop at the end of the lap and another a lap later, to retire.
Adrian Sutil and Kovalainen were the only other non-finishers. The Force India stopped on the entry to the pits on lap 13, and Kovalainen, whose McLaren had been smoking on the grid, fell from fifth place to the tail of the field on lap 35 when its right front Bridgestone tyre failed. Later he parked the car in the garage with a mechanical problem.
A one-stop strategy worked well for Timo Glock as he brought the second Toyota home seventh ahead of Nelson Piquet, who had a strong run in the other Renault. There were no points for Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso as they finished ninth, ahead of Red Bull’s David Coulthard and an aggressive Rubens Barrichello who was on good form for Honda. Kazuki Nakajima was another one-stopper, finishing 12th ahead of Bourdais, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Williams team mate Nico Rosberg, Honda’s Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Force India.
The race did not, in the end, clinch the title for Hamilton, but it did exorcise the ghost of Fuji and it leaves him needing only four points in Brazil. That means he can let the Ferraris and Alonso do what they like, as fifth place will do the job whatever Massa achieves.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Rossi romps to victory in Malaysia
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Valentino Rossi took his 2008 win tally up to nine with a triumph in Sepang.
Valentino Rossi took victory number nine of his 2008 season in the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, escaping from the clutches of Dani Pedrosa in the final third of an exciting race at the Sepang circuit.
The 2008 MotoGP World Champion had started from second on the grid, but held onto the tail of Pedrosa´s Repsol Honda RC212V as his rival attempted to make an early breakaway. After taking the lead from the Spaniard on lap ten Rossi set about creating an advantage of his own, and as the race entered the final third the biggest problem for the Italian was the threat of rain.
With the option open to come in and change bikes, the Fiat Yamaha man -and indeed all the other riders so used to the changeable nature of conditions in Sepang- elected to stick out the light rainfall, a decision vindicated when the rain passed and the high temperatures quickly dried up any residual wetness.
With his latest podium finish Rossi extends his run of rostrum placings to eight consecutive Grands Prix, with a chance of win number ten in Valencia at next weekend´s season finale.
Pedrosa placed inside the top three in Sepang for the third time in as many premier class visits to the Malaysian track, although it was not enough to keep the battle for the runner-up spot in the 2008 World Championship standings alive. Nonetheless, the Spaniard recorded his best race result on Bridgestone tyres, after taking his first pole for the Japanese manufacturer on Saturday afternoon.
With just one race left in his maiden MotoGP season, Andrea Dovizioso finally achieved a first premier class podium after a tooth-and-nail battle with Nicky Hayden. The JiR Team Scot rider also moved further into contention for the Rookie of the Year honour as his result combined with a crash from rival Jorge Lorenzo.
San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Shinya Nakano showed that he was also up for a battle, eventually keeping the fifth spot despite the best attempts of 2007 Sepang racewinner Casey Stoner. Sixth place was enough for Stoner to confirm second in the season´s overall classification.
Loris Capirossi, Colin Edwards, Chris Vermeulen and Randy de Puniet rounded off the first ten past the chequered flag in the 21-lap race.
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