Australians were on show in motorsport across the globe, with the highly anticipated Indy 500 one of the headline acts of another busy weekend of motorsport.
Contrasting weekends for Indy Aussies
The 104th edition of the Indy 500 has ended in flames for Australian James Davison as the Victorian could only manage six laps in the prestigious race.
Behind the wheel of the Rick Ware Racing Honda and starting from the ninth row in P27, Davison had high hopes for his sixth Indy 500, but they were over as quick as the race began after his front right tyre caught fire early in the race.
With the brake overheating at the start of the sixth lap, Davison tried to make his way to the pit to try and salvage the race, but it wasn’t long before the whole tyre was on fire and his race was over.
“I’m very disappointed,” Davison said post-race.
“It’s incredible to go out of the Indy 500 in the first couple of laps in those circumstances. I can’t remember whenever something like that has happened. Such craziness, but then again, it’s still 2020.”
Davison’s Australian compatriot Will Power enjoyed a better weekend in the race he won two years ago, finishing a solid 14th outright.
After a tough qualifying session where Power’s efforts landed him just one row ahead of Davison in P22, the Queenslander fought hard to overcome his car’s lack of speed and finished eight places higher.
Getting to as high as third during the race, it was the combination of smart strategy and solid pitstops from Team Penske, as well as Power’s good driving, which helped him progress up the field.
The Indycar Series returns this weekend with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois on 29-30 August.
Mansell builds rookie lead
Christian Mansell continued his good form in the F4 British Championship - powered by Ford EcoBoost, with the 15-year-old extending his lead at the top of the rookie standings.
Mansell had a slow start to the weekend, qualifying in 12th outright but bounced back in style in the opening race of the race to climb up to eighth outright.
An unfortunate mistake in the second race undid the New South Wales born driver’s good work, as he was on track for a sixth place finish before a spin saw him drop back down the order where he eventually crossed in 12th.
Mansell finished the weekend’s final race as he did in the opener, working his way back up the field from P12 to eighth, only this time he had the added bonus of claiming the rookie class race win.
While the Rookie Cup leader moved up to 38 points ahead of the weekend’s other class winner Frederick Lubin, his outright results saw him drop two places after starting the weekend in fifth.
Like Indycar, it’s back-to-back weekends for the British F4 Championship with competition heading to Knockhill Racing Circuit on 28-30 August