Frontstretch Newsletter: Lewis Hamilton Overcomes Penalties to Win In Sao Paolo

Published: Mon, 11/15/21

Frontstretch Newsletter: Nov. 15, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition CCVII

What to Watch: Monday

- There is a closed-doors NextGen test scheduled for this week at Charlotte Motor Speedway where new parts will be tested in order to alleviate the steering column issues that have been reported. Other teams will be back at their shops, continuing to prepare for the 2022 season.

- Formula 1 teams are having all of their equipment transported to Qatar for this weekend's first-ever Grand Prix of Qatar (added to the schedule to make up for the Asian rounds being cancelled). We'll have plenty of coverage of the Qatari action this weekend, plus any other news that breaks for you at Frontstretch.

TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: Nov. 12-14

- Legendary racer and racing school pioneer Bob Bondurant died Friday at the age of 88. Bondurant was one of the top racers in the United States in the 1960s, winning major sports car races in the pre-IMSA days before moving on to race in Europe. He made nine starts in Formula 1 with a best finish of fourth at Monaco in 1965.

Bondurant eventually returned to the United States to race in Can-Am competition. A career-ending crash at Watkins Glen in 1967. It was at that point that Bondurant decided to start his own racing school. That school, the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, opened in 1968 in Chandler, Ariz. The school, renamed the Radford Racing School in 2019 after it was purchased from the Bondurants, is still located at Wild Horse Pass Raceway Park to this day. We at Frontstretch send our condolences to the Bondurant family.

- USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racer Daison Pursley suffered a severe spinal cord injury Saturday night at Arizona Speedway in a wild heat race flip. At last update, Pursley underwent surgery on Sunday to fuse his C4 and C5 vertebra. We'll keep you updated as this story develops.

- Muehlner Motorsports America's Moritz Kranz and Ugo de Wilde dominated Friday morning to win the IMSA Prototype Challenge season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, winning by 3.191 seconds over Archangel Motorsports' Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman. MLT Motorsports' Dakota Dickerson and Josh Sarchet finished fifth and won the championship by a mere 10 points over Kranz.

- JrIII Racing announced that they will step up to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship full-time in 2022. Ari Balogh and Garret Grist will drive the No. 30 Ligier JS P320-Nissan in the LMP3 class. The team made two starts in 2021 (Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta) with a best finish of second Saturday night. Additional drivers for the endurance events were not announced.

- Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia won the season-ending Grand Prix of the Community of Valencia Sunday at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Jorge Martin was second, followed by Jack Miller, the first time that Ducati swept the podium. Joan Mir and Fabio Quartararo rounded out the top five. Valentino Rossi finished his career with a 10th-place finish.

- In NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series competition, champions were crowned Sunday in the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. In Top Fuel, Steve Torrence had already clinched the title entering the weekend, but decided to cap off his dominant season with his 11th victory of the year when he defeated Antron Brown in the final.

In Funny Car, Bob Tasca III defeated Alexis Dejoria in the final round to claim his third win of the year. Ron Capps was defeated in Round No. 2, but clinched the title when Matt Hagan was defeated in the Semifinals by Dejoria.

Pro Stock saw Greg Anderson clinch his fifth Pro Stock championship when he defeated Erica Enders-Stevens in the Semifinals. He then defeated teammate Kyle Koretsky in the Finals to take his 99th career victory.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith clinched his fifth championship by defeating Angelle Sampey in Round No. 2. From there, Smith continued on to beat Karen Stoffer to claim his 32nd career victory.

Today's Top News:

Lewis Hamilton Overcomes Penalty and Qualifying Disqualification to Win Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton charged up from the 10th starting spot and passed Max Verstappen to win Sunday at Interlagos. Verstappen was second, then Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.

David Starr, Carl Long & Other MBM Team Members Contract COVID-19

MBM Motorsports owner Carl Long revealed Saturday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that himself, David Starr and seven other team members each contracted COVID-19 on the way back from Championship Weekend in Phoenix.

Mazda Motorsports Recovers To Win Motul Petit Le Mans

Mazda's Harry Tincknell passed Action Express Racing's Felipe Nasr with 22 minutes to go and held on to win Saturday's Motul Petit Le Mans. A controversial move on the final lap allowed Nasr and Pipo Derani to win the DPi championship.

Patrick Long To Step Away From Full-Time Racing After 2021

Patrick Long announced Friday that he will no longer race on a full-time basis. He will take on two different roles with Porsche going forward while still racing intermittently.

BMW Team RLL to Field 2 BMW M LMDhs in 2023; M4 GT3s in 2022

BMW M Motorsport announced Saturday that Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will continue as the factory's representative in IMSA. They will field two M4 GT3s in the GTD Pro class in 2022, then run the new BMW LMDh car in 2023.

Wright Motorsports Wins FOX Factory 120; Jan Heylen Wins Championship

Wright Motorsports' Jan Heylen took the lead Friday when Murillo Racing's Eric Foss and Turner Motorsport's Bill Auberlen collided in the final half-hour. From there, Heylen held on to win the FOX Factory 120 for himself and teammate Ryan Hardwick. Heylen also claimed the Grand Sport championship.

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, LAT Images, IMSA and our own Phil Allaway.

Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip.

Today at Frontstretch:

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with Caleb Miller

This Week at Frontstretch:

With the NASCAR offseason truly underway, this week will see the beginning of season review content.

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