World motorsport is still dawdling along, with only a few series underway at present. But in just a few short weeks, we’ll hear the roar of Formula 1, MotoGP and LMP1 cars very soon.
In the meantime, we take a look at the first real action on the NASCAR Sprint Cup calendar, we recap the events of the second round of the WRC in Sweden, and finally, a bit more mundane news with the launch of Honda’s new MotoGP bike.
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So strap yourselves in and hit that launch control button: it’s the motorsport roundup.
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Chase Elliott captures Daytona 500 pole driving Gordon’s car
It’s a bit of a fairy take, but one of the youngest drivers in the NASCAR field has taken pole position at one of the most famed races in the world wearing one of the most legendary numbers at that. 20-year-old Chase Elliott secured his first pole when he lapped the famous tri-oval in under 45.9 seconds.
He’s the youngest ever Daytona 500 pole sitter, and perhaps the most fitting of all, takes the first major honour of the season with Jeff Gordon’s former car after the legend retired at the end of last season.
Matt Kenseth will start second, while the rest of the field will be decided by a Duel format, pitting competitors against one another on the track in a race. Yeah, because that’s a great idea.
WRC: They should just give Ogier the Championship trophy already
Two events, two wins for Sebastien Ogier. The other legendary French rally driver named Sebastien outlasted the field and braved the tough conditions in Sweden to take another victory ahead of Hayden Patton in the Hyundai i20 and Mads Ostberg in the Ford Focus M-Sport.
Ogier now leads the Championship by 23 points from Andreas Mikkelsen and Ostberg.
MotoGP: Honda unveils its new 2016 bike in Indonesia
While Yamaha launched its 2016 contender a few weeks ago, Honda waited until after the Malaysian test to out their machine.
It will be called the Honda RC213V and will hopefully solve the engine power delivery issues that plagued the team in the aforementioned test earlier this month.
“I’m confident the HRC engineers and my team will come up with more improvements as we get used to the new software,” Marquez said to Autosport.
Feature image: Jonathan Ferrey/NASCAR via Getty Images
