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England 35-3 Tonga: Eddie Jones' side battle to opening World Cup win

Published in Rugby

Sunday, 22 September 2019 05:45

England's World Cup campaign got off to a spluttering but winning start as they fought their way past unfancied Tonga.

Two first-half tries from the buccaneering Manu Tuilagi and a second-half rumble from Jamie George off a driving maul opened a gap, Owen Farrell landing three penalties and two conversions.

Replacement hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie grabbed the bonus-point fourth try late on but the expected avalanche of points never materialised.

Tonga had shipped 14 tries to New Zealand earlier this month and had won only one of their last seven coming into this tournament.

But they kept England frustrated for long periods, and despite a solid defensive display coach Eddie Jones will want much more from his side as they look to win the Webb-Ellis trophy for only the second time in their history.

Tuilagi shows his worth as Tonga bring the power

In the early exchanges Tonga had more than matched England, the men in white shipping five penalties in the first 24 minutes and Sonatane Takulua landing one from 30 metres to level up Farrell's early effort.

Jones' fury was visible in the stands but it was Tuilagi who stampeded to the rescue with a brace of tries that illustrated why he is so critical to England's World Cup hopes.

He fought and twisted through three tackles to wrestle the ball over the line for his first and then took an inside pass from Jonny May after Elliot Daly had put the winger away down the left to run away for the second.

Farrell landed another penalty after a series of drives from close in almost led to a third try, but England had paid a price for their 18-3 half-time lead.

Ben Youngs and Anthony Watson were both crunched in huge challenges but it was Zane Kapeli's hit on Billy Vunipola that topped them all, England's number eight knocked backwards by the open-side's tackle.

Handling errors leave room for improvement

Although Farrell stretched that lead with his third successful penalty the precision was still not there, England's handling errors mounting despite conditions under the roof being almost perfect.

Jones threw Ellis Genge on for Joe Marler and then Henry Slade at full-back with Daly taking May's place on the left wing.

With George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam and Willi Heinz also coming on England went back to basics, setting up a driving maul from 15 metres out that ended with George touching down.

Still the fluidity did not come, the vast open spaces under the curving roof sucking in the noise from the large English support and the game becoming increasingly disjointed.

Slade, in his first competitive outing since the Premiership final after an injury to his left knee, limped away from another big tackle, a concern for Jones after the role the Exeter centre played during the Six Nations.

When Farrell switched to 10 with Jonathan Joseph at outside centre another promising move ended with a knock-on from Maro Itoje, one of 14 handing errors in the 80 minutes.

But Joseph then made a lovely outside break to ghost into space, drawing the last man before slipping Cowan-Dickie in on his right.

With the USA in Kobe on Thursday England's next game they have time to hit their straps before the tougher challenges of Argentina and France.

And Jones will demand more after an opening weekend when the All Blacks and Ireland both produced far more impressive performances.

Man of the match - Manu Tuilagi

Analysis - 'England won't be happy with that'

England World Cup winner Matt Dawson on Radio 5 Live: "England won't be happy with that. Ten penalties I made it, numerous handling errors. That's unacceptable for the standards that Owen Farrell and Eddie Jones have set. They're the sorts of things that you can fix and work on but I'm hoping they don't flog them to death.

"One thing that did stand out that was that England looked a little bit leggy. We didn't see much of Billy Vunipola or Maro Itoje or Kyle Sinckler crashing forward. There wasn't much fizz."

Pool C standings and stats

Teams

England: Daly, Watson, Tuilagi, Farrell (c), May, Ford, Youngs; Marler, George, Sinckler, Lawes, Itoje, Curry, Underhill, Vunipola.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Genge, Cole, Kruis, Ludlam, Heinz, Slade, Joseph.

Tonga: Halaifonua, Pakalani, Piutau (c), Vuna, Lolohea, Morath, Takulua; Fisiihoi, Sakalia, Tameifuna, Lousi, Fifita, Kalamafoni, Kapeli, Vaipulu.

Replacements: Maile, Talakai, Fia, Faleafa, Manu, Fukofuka, Faiva, Tu'itavake

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World Cup excitement and Japanese culture - Parkes column

Published in Rugby

Saturday, 21 September 2019 23:35

In his latest BBC Sport column, centre Hadleigh Parkes looks forward to Wales' World Cup opener against Georgia on Monday and reveals how he and his team-mates have been enjoying the culture in Japan.

Everyone's so excited for our World Cup campaign to start. Now that we're here in Japan, we just want to get stuck in.

We've been building towards this for a very long time, not just pre-season but the last two years, building a lot of strength in depth and training hard.

We watched the opening game on Friday and we just can't wait to get started with our first game against Georgia on Monday.

We're some of the last teams to get started in the tournament, so it will be nice to kick off, and then it's all about building momentum so we're here for as long as possible.

That's why we're here, to have a successful World Cup, but it's also been great to take in the culture of Japan.

I was looking forward to trying some Japanese food before coming here, and it's been amazing to finally sample it for real.

There's a stat doing the rounds that Foxy, Jonathan Davies, and I are the centre partnership who've played the most games together in international rugby since I made my Test debut two years ago.

We've got a great relationship on the pitch and, luckily, it's a pretty good one off it too.

Culture trip with Foxy

Foxy's great at finding good places to eat and, like me, he's always keen to learn about the traditions and cultures of different countries.

On one of our days off during our training camp in Kitakyushu, a group of us - Foxy, Dan Biggar, Wyn Jones, Tomas Francis and me - caught a bullet train and went to Hiroshima for the day.

I enjoy looking into the culture and history of places, and that was a place I really wanted to visit.

We got there and had a look at some of the remnants of the atom bomb which went off there, and then we went to the museum as well.

It was very interesting but very intense. It was all very humbling.

Having a look around and thinking about what all those people went through, it was a really powerful experience.

Afterwards we decided to take a look at the city of Hiroshima, and it's a really nice place.

While we were there, Foxy found a traditional Japanese restaurant which served okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake which can be layered with an omelette or pancake, noodles, meat, veg - everything!

It was really tasty and it was great to eat the Japanese way, gathered around a little bar, sat in front of the food as it was being cooked, and the restaurant was really bustling, full of people coming in for a meal after work.

Japan turning red for Wales

It was like we were back in Wales when we were in Kitakyushu because of all the flags and Welsh messages around.

The Welsh Rugby Union did some fantastic work over the past couple of years setting up that relationship between Kitakyushu and Wales, and we could really see the benefits of it.

Everywhere we went, people were stopping us in the street and shouting "rugby players! Wales!" to us.

The people here have been so nice. They're so respectful, always bowing - it almost throws you.

It was pretty amazing to be in that city as they really embraced Wales and Welsh rugby.

The open training session was incredible - I don't think I've ever been involved in anything like it before.

That crowd of 15,000 people was bigger than a lot of the crowds we get in the Pro14, and that's not taking anything away from the Pro14, it was just an amazing reception.

Everyone's away from home so a lot of the boys have been getting homesick, but I'm used to living away from home.

I went to boarding school and moved away from my parents at quite a young age, so I'm a bit more used to it than others.

It is a long time for people to be away from their children, wives, girlfriends, parents.

People do actually say "you love touring, don't you, so you know where to go for nice food", and I do, and luckily I've got Foxy as well who's very good at that.

He's taken the lead on that so far, so it's been nice to take a back seat sometimes.

Hadleigh Parkes was speaking to BBC Sport Wales' Dafydd Pritchard.

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Rugby World Cup: Watch the best moments as England, Ireland and Italy win on day three

Published in Rugby

Sunday, 22 September 2019 09:21

Watch three of the best moments from day three of the Rugby World Cup as England beat Tonga, Ireland dismiss Scotland and Italy cruise past Namibia.

MATCH REPORT: England 35-3 Tonga

MATCH REPORT: Ireland 27-3 Scotland

MATCH REPORT: Italy 47-22 Namibia

Listen to every match of the Rugby World Cup on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.

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Ireland 27-3 Scotland: Iain Henderson says Rory Best 'silenced critics' in World Cup win

Published in Rugby

Sunday, 22 September 2019 06:15

Ireland lock Iain Henderson says captain Rory Best "silenced a lot of critics" in his side's opening 27-3 World Cup win over Scotland.

Best, 37, played the full 80 minutes and scored his side's second try in an impressive display in Yokohama.

"It was class, I was loving sitting on the bench watching Rory out there," said Henderson, who also starred before being replaced after 56 minutes.

"I thought he was absolutely unbelievable today."

Ireland's emphatic victory over the side ranked next highest in Pool A was delivered with their best performance of 2019.

A 100% line-out success rate will have been particularly pleasing for head coach Joe Schmidt after weeks of being asked about his side's ability to dominate the set-piece without experienced line-out caller Devin Toner.

After a heavy defeat at Twickenham last month Best, who will retire at the end of the tournament, came in for heavy criticism as Ireland's line-out crumbled.

However his performance in Yokohama will put to bed doubts over his continuing effectiveness at the highest level.

"I've said it before, it's almost impossible to say what he does until you're in a squad with him and you feel what he adds in a squad," said Henderson.

"A lot of people who have never played in a squad with him saw today what he adds."

'Self-evaluation' followed Twickenham trouncing

After Sunday's victory, Best put Ireland's recent improvement down to honest self-evaluation following the humbling defeat by England.

"There were questions about us externally," added the Ireland skipper.

"We knew we had a lot more to give. I think we didn't put enough pressure on ourselves to be in the position we needed to be and to execute the plan we were given.

"I think sometimes you need to draw a bit of a line in the sand.

"We were pleased with the two [warm-up] games against Wales and again today."

Ireland next meet tournament hosts Japan, who began their campaign with a bonus-point victory over Russia on Friday.

A win in Shizuoka would set Ireland well on their way to a World Cup quarter-final where, if they top the group, they are likely to face South Africa.

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'We’ve not stood up and we’ve been battered' - Hogg hurting after Ireland defeat

Published in Rugby

Sunday, 22 September 2019 11:01

Scotland were "battered" by Ireland in their Rugby World Cup opener despite "spot-on" preparations, says full-back Stuart Hogg.

Gregor Townsend's team delivered a tame display in Sunday's 27-3 Pool A hammering in Yokohama.

The inaccurate Scots were overpowered by an Ireland side that pounced on their errors and scored four tries.

"I've never been involved in a Scotland camp that the preparation has been as spot-on," Hogg, 27, told BBC Scotland.

"Unfortunately we've just not stood up and we've been battered."

Scotland found themselves three tries and 16 points down after just 25 minutes, with James Ryan, Rory Best and Tadhg Furlong all crossing, Greig Laidlaw's penalty their only riposte. Much of Ireland's attacking success stemmed from Scottish mistakes.

Andrew Conway killed the contest early in the second half after Ryan Wilson spilled a high ball and Jack Carty clipped over a late penalty to complete a miserable day for Townsend and his men.

The heavy defeat consigns Scotland to bottom spot in Pool A, behind Russia on points difference. They tackle Samoa next Monday, before facing the Russians and concluding the group phase with a potentially decisive showdown with host nation Japan.

"We talked a lot during the week about not beating ourselves and we coughed up the ball a few times and gave away silly penalties," added Hogg, who won his 70th cap on Sunday.

"We were on the receiving end of five-metre maul line-outs and when Ireland get rumbling, they're very, very difficult to stop.

"We'll learn and be better for this experience but in Test-match rugby you can't afford to let opportunities slip and unfortunately that one's just slipped past us.

"We've got the quality within the squad to bounce back now. It's all about reviewing this in a positive light and making sure we learn from our mistakes."

In the first of four World Cup warm-up matches, Scotland were dealt a similar beating by France in Nice, delivering a desperate performance in a 32-3 defeat.

Lock Grant Gilchrist admitted Sunday's showing bore hallmarks of that awful display.

"We moved on from Nice and had three much better performances and thought we were in a much better place," he said.

"To have certain aspects of our game that were similar was bitterly disappointing but we can also look at that and the way we reacted. We beat France the week after and then had two more positive results [heavy wins over Georgia].

"We have to do exactly the same as we did then. We take our medicine, we look at how we can get better and we have to be for the next three games."

'Big questions for Townsend' - analysis

Former Scotland prop Peter Wright on BBC Radio Scotland

If I was a Scotland player, I'd be embarrassed by that performance. And I'd stay away from social media as there are former internationals on there giving it laldy with the criticism of the team.

What matters now is how the players react in the game against Samoa.

Former Scotland captain Rory Lawson

This is a two-out-of-10 performance at best from Scotland. Big questions will be asked of Gregor Townsend.

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KNUTSON: Red Bull’s Revolving Door

Published in Racing

Sunday, 22 September 2019 10:25

Dan Knutson

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Red Bull is ruthless when it comes to its young driver program and with the drivers who graduate to Formula One.

Just ask Scott Speed, the last U.S. driver to compete full time in F-1. Driving for Red Bull’s junior team Scuderia Toro Rosso, he took part in 28 F-1 races from 2006 into ’07 before being released from his contract midway through his second season. He is one of many to not be retained by Red Bull.

Red Bull’s backing can help a driver win many races and F-1 world championships, plus millions of dollars. Just ask Sebastian Vettel, who replaced Speed at Toro Rosso and won four world titles with the senior Red Bull team.

Red Bull sometimes gives drivers second or even third chances. Daniil Kvyat, who drove for Toro Rosso in 2014, was moved up to Red Bull in 2015 and stayed with the team for the first four races of 2016 before being sent back to Toro Rosso for the rest of the season. It was none other than Max Verstappen who replaced Kvyat at Red Bull and promptly won his first race, in Spain, with the team.

Kvyat stayed at Toro Rosso for most of 2017 but was dropped with four races to go and replaced by Pierre Gasly. After he spent 2018 working as a Ferrari simulator driver, Kvyat was hired again by Toro Rosso for the 2019 season.

Gasly is the latest driver to not meet Red Bull’s expectations. After 12 races this season, Red Bull officials decided Gasly was not performing well enough at the senior team and demoted him back to Toro Rosso. Alexander Albon, a rookie with just 12 starts, was promoted from Toro Rosso to Red Bull.

It’s significant that Red Bull chose Albon over the more experienced Kvyat, but that does not mean the latter might not get yet another chance.

“Red Bull is in the unique position of having four talented F-1 drivers under contract who can be rotated between the (main) team and Toro Rosso,” the team said in a statement. “The team will use the next nine races to evaluate Alex’s performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max in 2020.”

If Albon struggles, Kvyat could replace him. Albon has shown a lot of potential this year, but it is going to be a huge challenge for him to go up against the talented and very fast Verstappen as a teammate.

“Good luck to Alex; he’s arrived in F-1 in great style but will need every tool and trick in the F-1 drivers’ repertoire to survive in Max’s lair with the star maker/grim reaper forensically observing his data,” former F-1 driver turned TV commentator Martin Brundle said. “Commiserations to Pierre, but he rides again and is still in the game.”

Verstappen won two of the first 12 races this season. He had two thirds, a second, five fourth places and 181 points. Gasly’s best finish was fourth and he had just 63 points. That certainly is not up to Red Bull standards, but can Albon do anything better having been thrown in to the deep end?

For Red Bull’s racing programs, it is a case of many are called, some get to stay and even fewer get to win.

The star, of course, is Vettel who won those four titles before moving to Ferrari in 2015. The other race winners are Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen.

Red Bull was all set to have the latter two proven race winners on the team for the 2019 and ’20 seasons. But Ricciardo made the surprise decision in August of last year to switch to Renault. That left Red Bull in its current scramble to find a replacement for Ricciardo.

As for the rejects, Red Bull’s racing adviser Dr. Helmut Marko estimates about 90 percent of them end up with other rides in everything from F-1 to IndyCar, sports car racing, Germany’s DTM, Formula E and other series.

So being dropped from Red Bull’s F-1 program is certainly not the end of the racing road. After Speed left Toro Rosso in 2007, he moved on to NASCAR, driving for Team Red Bull, Whitney Motorsports and Leavine Family Racing. Then, competing in Global Rallycross with Andretti Autosport where he won titles in 2015, ’16 and ’17.

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Hitachi Renews Pact With Penske & Newgarden

Published in Racing

Sunday, 22 September 2019 11:21

MONTEREY, Calif. – Team Penske and Hitachi Group will continue their sponsorship agreement during the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season.

Building on a relationship that first began in 2012, Hitachi and Team Penske have agreed to an extension that ensures the global technology, electronics and automotive company will remain a key collaborator with the team.

Under the new agreement, the black and white Hitachi branding will continue to adorn the No. 2 Dallara/Chevrolet IndyCar driven by 2017 series champion Josef Newgarden. Hitachi will be the primary sponsor on the No. 2 Chevy for eight races in 2020, while the company will once again be featured as an associate sponsor on all Team Penske cars competing in the IndyCar Series.

“We are proud to continue our partnership with Hitachi and build on the success we have enjoyed together over the last eight seasons,” said Roger Penske. “Hitachi has been such an important partner for our IndyCar program and we also utilize their technology and services across many of our Penske Corporation businesses away from the track.”

Newgarden has produced three of his four wins this season while driving the Hitachi-sponsored Chevrolet.

“We’ve had a great season with Hitachi and everyone at Team Penske is looking forward to finishing the year strong with them on Sunday,” said Newgarden. “The support Hitachi provides to our team is so valuable and we see that in the results on race weekend. We can’t wait to build on that momentum with Hitachi in 2020.”

After joining forces with Chevrolet to provide the direct fuel injection systems for the Chevy IndyCar engines, Hitachi first began competing with Team Penske during the 2012 IndyCar Series. The following season, Hitachi expanded its presence to become a primary sponsor with the team.

Hitachi experienced its first series win as a primary sponsor in 2014 when Helio Castroneves drove the Hitachi Chevy to victory lane in Detroit. The company has been a part of numerous wins, Indianapolis 500 victories and series championships as a valued Team Penske partner.

“Hitachi is thrilled to announce the continuation of our partnership with Team Penske for the 2020 IndyCar Series season,” said Toshiaki Higashihara, President & CEO, Hitachi, Ltd. “Hitachi and Penske Corporation envision this partnership to be a catalyst for innovation within the transportation industry. By combining Penske’s world-class industrial expertise with Hitachi’s industry-leading IoT and data analytics solutions, we can advance this sector in a way that will generate value for both our customers and society at large.”

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Hezemans Keeps Rolling In ELITE 1 Class

Published in Racing

Sunday, 22 September 2019 11:42

HOCKENHEIM, Germany – Loris Hezemans will be the man to beat on Oct. 5-6 in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Finals at Belgium’s Circuit Zolder.

The Hendriks Motorsport driver grabbed his fourth consecutive ELITE 1 win of the year Sunday at the Hockenheimring in an exciting dash to the checkered flag that saw him beat Nicolo Rocca by .203 seconds.

The Dutchman also stretched the championship lead he took over after Saturday’s race to 21 points over Rocca, making it a perfect weekend for Hendriks Motorsport. The team took three wins out of four races at the NASCAR GP Germany.

When polesitter and race leader Alon Day was sidelined by a technical problem in his No. 54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS on lap three, his teammate Thomas Ferrando was the quickest to take advantage of the moment and grabbed the lead. Hezemans was too strong for the Frenchman, and moved past the No. 27 CAAL Racing Mustang two laps later. He then fended off every attack from a charging Rocca brought in the remaining 15 laps until the checkered flag dropped.

Rocca fought hard to catch Hezemans, but had to settle for second when a couple of door-to-door battles were not enough for the PK Carsport driver to pass the Flying Dutchman.

“It’s been a great feeling to win the second race here at the Hockenheimring,” said Hezemans. “It wasn’t easy as Alon was driving very well until his car broke down. Hopefully he can compensate that at Zolder. When Alon slowed down Rocca and I were a little bit surprised, but then we saw Ferrando take the lead and I was thinking: ‘Wow, we gotta go!’ The team did a great job and we find a great way to have a fast car. In Zolder it’s all about bringing the car home and win the championship.”

Racers Motorsport’s Gianmarco Ercoli carved his way up to third after an intense battle against Racing Engineering’s Romain Iannetta and RDV Competition’s Frederic Gabillon, who closed the top-five.

Ioannis Smyrlis won the Challenger Trophy in the first NASCAR Whelen Euro Series weekend of his career. The Marko Stipp DF1 Racing driver edged Kenko Miura and Henri Tuomaala in the championship for bronze and silver drivers of the ELITE 1 Division.

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Arciero Tames Inaugural SCORE Baja 400

Published in Racing

Sunday, 22 September 2019 12:14

ENSENADA, Mexico – Running a relatively conservative pace over a rugged, dusty, tight and twisty race course, third-generation veteran SoCal desert racing champion Ryan Arciero roared to the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck race victory Saturday in the inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400.

The race on a characteristically challenging, intensely rugged 390-mile course started and finished in front of the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada.

Arciero, 46, recorded a hard-fought penalty-free winning time 8 hours, 26 minutes and 32 seconds while averaging 46.20 mph in his No. 32 Levi Arciero Racing Ford F-150 built by Herbst-Smith Fabrication.

It was Arciero’s fourth SCORE Trophy Truck race win and first since 2004, when he won the SCORE Baja 500 with Mark Miller.

When the final checkered flag waved, a total of 189 vehicles left the start line early Saturday morning with racers from 25 U.S. States and eight countries. When the course closed at 3:58 a.m. PT on Sunday, there were 146 official finishers for an unusually high 77.25 finishing percentage, especially considering the difficulty of the race course.

The results were made official following complete data tracking review of the devices on each vehicle in the event late Sunday morning.

“It was a great race for us,” said Arciero. “We started in the middle of the Trophy Truck field and I knew Andy McMillin was just two trucks in front of us. I used Andy as a guide for most of the race. Everything was smooth for us today and the new Joe Gibbs Racing motor was sensational. Great power and we have NASCAR guys in off-road which is a super crossover in the sport. We didn’t quite know where we stood overall with so many trucks bunched up and running very close.”

“The dust made it tougher for the SCORE Trophy Trucks and we just had to work our way through the field as best we could. I’m excited that my dad (Frank Arciero Jr.) could make it down to this race too. He got me started in the sport and it’s fun to celebrate an overall win with him. We knew we needed a good finish for the starting position in the upcoming SCORE Baja 1,000. And we couldn’t have done better than taking the victory today.”

Joining Arciero on the podium were San Diego’s Andy McMillin, who won the first two races of the 2019 SCORE World Desert Racing Championship, and Mexico’s Gustavo Vildosola Jr.

Besides podium finishers Arciero, McMillin and Vildosola, all of the top 19 overall four-wheel vehicle finishers were SCORE Trophy Trucks.

SCORE Trophy Truck had a race-high 36 vehicles, including seven in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50, start the race.

All among the top 19 overall four-wheel vehicle finishers after penalties were assessed, fourth in SCORE Trophy Truck was Robby Gordon, fifth was brothers Alan, Aaron and Rodrigo Ampudia, sixth was Justin Lofton, seventh was Cameron Steele and eighth in class was Las Vegas’ B.J. Baldwin.

Finishing ninth in SCORE Trophy Truck and overall four-wheel vehicle was Chris Miller and 10th was Ricky Johnson.

Riding the No. 1x Honda CRF450X, Justin Morgan, and his three-rider team raced to the overall motorcycle victory for his seventh consecutive overall motorcycle win in the SCORE World Desert Championship.

The trio crossed the finish line in 8:32:30 with an average speed of 45.66 mph. Morgan split the riding with Mark Samuels and Ricky Dietrich.

Defeating 20 starters in his class and 34 total UTVs to win the overall UTV win title in this year’s race was veteran racer Wes Miller with a winning time of 10:00:50 in his No. 2975 Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo. He also won his Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class.

Second generation SCORE desert racer Cody Parkhouse captured the unlimited Class 1 victory while finishing 21st overall among four-wheel vehicles in the No. 127 Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car. His winning effort was completed in a penalty-free 9:12:02 (42.39 mph). He defeated 10 starters in his class.

After three races, there remain three unbeaten racers in their respective classes for this season. Leading the group is the Morgan team (Pro Moto Unlimited). The other three-time 2019 two-wheel class winner is Giovanni Spinali in Pro Moto 50. Spinali’s teammates were Earl Roberts, Troy Pearce and John Griffin.

Pro Quad San winner Said Sanchez won again to remain unbeaten in the SCORE World Desert Championship this season.

Driving as a substitute driver for Clyde Stacy, former SCORE Class 8 season point champion Nick Vanderwey won SCORE TT Legends class for SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50 years old for the second straight race.

In a class with 25 starters, winning the Trophy Truck Spec class for the first time was Jorge Sampietro, Ensenada, Mexico in the No. 298 Mason-Chevy. He finished the race with a class-winning time 9:30:24 (41.02 mph).

Besides Stacy/Vanderwey in SCORE TT Legend, winning for the second time in three races in the SCORE World Desert Championship were: Kaden Wells (Pro UTV NA), Freddie Willert (SCORE Lites), Edward Muncey (Baja Challenge), Marco Pena (Pro Moto Limited) and Jason Trubey (Pro Moto 40).

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VeeKay Completes Laguna Seca Sweep

Published in Racing

Sunday, 22 September 2019 12:22

MONTEREY, Calif. – Rinus VeeKay might not have won this year’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship, but he certainly demonstrated his class this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

VeeKay claimed a weekend sweep at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, securing two pole positions, two race wins and two fastest race laps, and on Sunday he again led all 30 laps en route to an emphatic victory for Juncos Racing.

After tying up the championship Saturday for Andretti Autosport, Oliver Askew finished second in Sunday’s 18th and final round. Toby Sowery completed an impressive final phase of the season by finishing third for HMD Motorsports/Team Pelfrey.

Significantly cooler conditions this morning made not a lot of difference to VeeKay, who capitalized on his pole position to take the lead as the field headed uphill past the pits and then downhill into the heaviest braking area of the track at turn two, the Mario Andretti Hairpin. A good start by Sowery from third on the grid briefly elevated him to second place, but Askew was having none of it and promptly drove around the outside at turn two, keeping his nerve and then sneaking back into second place at turn three.

VeeKay and Askew traded fastest laps during the first seven laps before VeeKay turned the best lap of the race at 1:16.4032, an average speed of 105.451 mph on Lap Seven. He then carded another 1:06.51 on his next time around the 2.238-mile road course to finally eke out a significant margin for the first time.

A series of consistently fast laps enabled VeeKay to stretch his advantage to over three seconds by lap 20, by which time the game was clearly up for Askew, who settled for second place and eventually took the checkered flag almost six seconds behind his rival.

The victory was VeeKay’s sixth of the season and his 15th in total on the Road to Indy in the span of just three years.

“The Juncos team gave me a great car and I had a good start, though Oliver was good with the push-to-pass,” said VeeKay. “I’ve learned a lot about tire management and that really came into play today. It was great to win the little battle with Oliver today, to end up with more Road to Indy wins than he has. But the Road to Indy has taught me so much. Everything I’ve learned is what I will take to IndyCar, and I can show them what the Road to Indy means to drivers. I’m so happy, it is the best way to end the Road to Indy for me. I knew the championship was not to be this weekend so to take both wins means a lot. It shows the IndyCar teams what I can do.”

The finish:

Rinus VeeKay, Oliver Askew, Toby Sowery, Robert Megennis, Ryan Norman, Dalton Kellett, David Malukas, Lucas Kohl.

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