Monday Motorsport Round-Up: 29 October 2018

Here is your Monday motorsport round-up of the top categories of world motor racing.

MotoGP

Maverick Viñales (Yamaha) took victory in the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island. Viñales took the lead on lap-eight and didn’t look back. His victory sealed Yamaha’s first win in MotoGP since June 2017. Iannone (Suzuki) and Dovizioso (Ducati) shared the podium with Viñales.

A high-speed collision between Marquez and Johann Zarco saw the champion retire and the Frenchman crash out. You can watch that incident by clicking here.

Maverick Viñales: “This is honestly the best track to be back on top at. The whole team did a great job and it was the time to do it, because we could not finish the year without a victory, so doing it here at Michelin’s race was unbelievable!”

Even better news for South African fans was Brad Binder’s win in the Moto2 series. The local lad was part of a five-bike lead pack. With two laps to go, he broke away and remained unchallenged to the flag.

Said Binder after the race: “It was a crazy race, I thought I was in Moto3! There were a few scares involving other riders; it was a little crazy, as there were people everywhere. I had planned to take the lead when there were two laps left and I pushed with everything I had. I was able to have a good race and take another victory, so I’m very happy. I hope that things remain the same in Malaysia.”

World Rally Championship (WRC)

Multiple WRC champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena returned to the international stage at Rally Catalunya and promptly took victory. The Citroen-mounted pair claimed the seventy-ninth victory of their incredible WRC careers.

Said Loeb: ” I’d be tempted to say it’s perhaps my greatest win and I’m delighted to secure what is a richly-deserved result for the team.”

Formula One

Formula One visited Mexico this weekend for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing), led from the front row and never looked back as he claimed his fifth career victory. He shared the podium with Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, respectively.

Despite finishing 4th, Lewis Hamilton has amassed enough points for an unassailable points lead and is crowned the 2018 F1 Driver’s Champion.

Battle recommences in Brazil in two weeks.