Top 10 Motorsport Races of 2018

2018 has been another incredible motorsport year with so many moments that we will look back at in 20 years and think… “that was a classic.” It is so hard to choose just 10 races from so many different series and championships across the world so I have tried to give a wide range of motorsport categories. Obviously, I don’t watch every single motorsport championship in the world so I may have missed a race which was better than those in the list below. I have tried my best though so here it is…

10) F1 – US Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen hadn’t won an F1 race since the first round of the 2013 season, 2044 days prior to this year’s US Grand Prix. Having come so close to taking the win in Monza, a few rounds before, pretty much everyone wanted to see the Finn win one more time in his last season for Ferrari. He somehow held off the challenge of Lewis Hamilton (who was looking to win his 5th world championship on that day, which added to the tension) with some great defending and was not fazed when Max Verstappen pressured him at the end after the Dutchman started down in 18th. Personally, I feel it was the best F1 race of 2018.

9) WRC – Rally Italy

The 2018 season had seen an all-out war between Ford, Hyundai and Toyota – Sebastien Ogier, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak. The first 11 rounds saw just three winners and it was the few names I have already mentioned. Rally Italy was the 7th round of the year and it saw Neuville and Ogier go toe to toe over 20 stages. Neuville found himself 18.9 seconds down on Ogier but chipped away at it by winning all of Sunday’s stages to come out on top by 0.7 of a second after nearly 200 miles. It was the third closest finish in WRC history. Neuville never led the rally at any point until the very final stage.

8) DTM – Hockenheim Race 2

An insane battle between Britain’s Gary Paffett and Germany’s Timo Glock in the second half of race 2 at the season opener in Hockenheim in May saw the crowd on their feet every time they came round. The battle started after the pitstop phase as they began to trade places lap after lap, corner after corner through Hockenheim’s turn six hairpin all the way through the next 3-4 corners and back into the stadium section. They traded paint but gave each other the upmost respect in a classic touring car race. Glock prevailed and the racing was so hard that it allowed Joel Eriksson and Mike Rockenfeller to catch the leaders up, Glock would gap them as Paffett slipped to third.

7) Formula E – Punta Del Este

A titanic duel between two of Formula E’s best drivers, Jean Eric Vergne and Luca Di Grassi, in Punta Del Este (Uruguay) was just one of the many sensational ePrix last season. Unlike the DTM race above, there was no overtaking between these two but it was FE’s version of Michael Schumacher vs. Fernando Alonso at Imola in 2005. It was like there was a half metre piece of rope between the two drivers as Di Grassi pushed Vergne all the way to the line and was so close to that back of his car at one point that the camera just went black momentarily as we went onboard. Vergne took the win by less than half a second; it was by far his toughest win yet in Formula E.

6) NASCAR – Charlotte “Roval” Race

The Charlotte “Roval” race marked the first time that NASCAR would race on a circuit that is part oval and part road course (normal track) – a little bit like if they were to race at Rockingham in the UK. The event was hyped up and it lived up to the high expectations. It was a chaotic race to say the least; classic NASCAR if you ask me. With it being the first elimination race of the playoffs, much of the attention was on the 16 drivers in contention and which of the four would be knocked out, thus losing the chance of winning the championship.

Eight different drivers led the race and so much happened in the three hours of action, so I’ll jump straight to the chase. Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson were battling for the lead throughout most of the third stage (the final part of the race) until a restart with eight laps remaining. Keselowski outbraked himself and put himself and others out of contention for victory. A pile-up was caused as a consequence and a red flag had to be called. Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson were left to battle it out for the win as the stakes grew higher. On the last lap, on the last corner, Johnson locked up, spun round and collected Truex whilst he was spinning. It gifted Ryan Blaney the second win of his career in a dramatic race. I for one, want to see more “Roval” races.

5) BTCC – Snetterton Race 1

Treacherous, rainy conditions on the day of the “diamond double” race meant the BTCC was set for a thrilling day. Much focus was on that final race of the day which was double the distance, for double the points but it was the first race at Snetterton that I loved most. Ash Sutton is a master in the rain, as his Subaru Levorg made its way through the field having started 9th. On the last lap, Sutton caught race leader Jack Goff and as Goff slid the Honda Civic like a rally car through the final sector, Sutton bravely went all the way around the outside at the penultimate turn, a long right hander, to take the lead. They touched at the final corner, but Goff fought back and the lack of power in the Suabru’s TOCA engine meant that Goff was able to get alongside Sutton as they had a drag race towards the finish line. The use of the sidedraft from Goff meant he edged Sutton by 0.152.

The bravery showcased in that race by all of the drivers was something. There were so many epic BTCC races this year in what was an outstanding season. I could have filled this list simply with BTCC races to be honest.

4) V8 Supercars – Auckland Race 1

To New Zealand next, destination…Pukekohe Raceway. It was the penultimate event of the season and with the two championship contenders coming both coming from New Zealand (Shane Van Gisbergan and Scott McLaughlin) and with it being Holden vs. Ford and Red Bull vs. Penske, the atmosphere and intensity was off the scale. The racing was off the scale as well. Mclaughlin took pole position and led the opening laps until a big crash for Fabian Coulthard saw a safety car called. James Courtney would take the lead with McLaughlin and Van Gisbergan in behind. Van Gisbergan overtook McLaughlin on lap 22 but couldn’t overtake Courtney as Courtney couldn’t care less that SVG was a championship contender. After the final pitstop phase, McLaughlin retook the lead though the undercut (pitting earlier and making good use of fresh tyres).

Van Gisbergan had four seconds to catch and he caught his rival with around 13 laps to go. Van Gisbergan bumped McLaughlin hard at the turn eight hairpin and they then ran side by side through the high speed turns 9 and 10 with the Red Bull driver coming out on top. It was edge of your seat stuff. More drama followed as Van Gisbergan was given a 5 second time penalty for the whack that he gave McLaughlin so he set about on a mission by setting qualifying-esque laps. Both drivers were giving it absolutely everything but Van Gisbergan got the gap to 5.5 seconds, despite running out wide onto the grass at the final corner, the plus five second margin he needed. It was mega.

Unbelievably, more drama followed as SVG “parked in” McLaughlin so that he couldn’t get out if his car at the area where the podium drivers park. He said it was an “accident” but I reckon there was some gamesmanship going on. Then, Van Gisbergan was still under threat from an ongoing investigation for spinning his wheels during the pitstop. He was cleared of a potential breach after much discussion, including a protest from Team Penske.

3) MotoGP – Assen

I am no bikes fan at all. In fact, I don’t like Superbikes or MotoGP or anything with two wheels and an engine. But, even I can’t not include the Dutch TT in this Top 10. Marc Marquez would take the win, no surprise there, but to do so it took a clever, brave and astonishing ride. Jorge Lorenzo mugged everyone by going from 10th to 1st on the first lap and from then on it was just a bunch of 7-8 riders in a train with places changing every lap. From start to finish, the racing was so close and the aggression from the riders to lunge down the inside to somehow still hit the apex was extraordinary. Six different riders led the race and I don’t think I have seen that much action in any race between so many riders/drivers in motorsport.

The lead changed hands thirteen times in the space of six laps, with five changes of the lead on laps 21 and 22, Marquez somehow didn’t crash despite having a massive wobble when he made contact with an attacking Alex Rins. Beforehand, Lorenzo and Rossi made big contact and somehow neither of them went down at 160MPH. The skill, the fearlessness from the riders and the respect was as good as it gets. I urge you to watch this, even if you are not a bikes fan at all like myself. There were 175 overtakes, with more than half of them coming at the front of the field.

A crazy, epic, beautiful race.

2) BTCC – Brands Hatch Race 3

The final race of the 2018 BTCC saw some of the best racecraft you will ever see in motorsport. The BTCC might be thought bumper racing and a contact sport but Brands Hatch Race 3 saw the complete opposite – clean, hard, but fair, clever racing. Rob Austin led the opening laps in his Alfa Romeo with Josh Cook all over him in second. Cook would take the lad on lap 5 as Ash Sutton (yes it’s him again) picked drivers off one by one to chase down Cook for the lead from the midway point. The second half of the race saw a battle and a half between Cook and Sutton as the former defended hard with Sutton looking absolutely everywhere to get passed.

Cook was placing his car perfectly; it was a class act in defending, with both drivers keeping the racing fair. This race won our ‘Battle of the year’ and ‘Race of the year’ at the inaugural Motorsport Awards and it fully deserves it. Sutton made a hero move around the outside, to get alongside Cook and sidedraft his way down the main straight to win by 0.032 of a second, perhaps revenge from his loss at Snetterton. Sensational stuff!

I can’t wait for more of this in 2019.

1) Moto 3 – Phillip Island

Moto 3 + Phillip Island = the craziest racing you will ever see. I don’t think I have ever seen such a ridiculous race (in a good way). The lack of aerodynamics on the Moto 3 and small amount of power on a circuit which is just made for great bike racing means that the slipstream effect is huge and you just see a bunch of riders together like it’s the Peleton of the Tour De France. It was the kind of thing you could only dream of; it was almost funny. The timing screen was changing literally every second as the riders went 3-4 wide into the fast turn one every single lap.

So much happened that I simply cannot describe the final two laps. You do not get that kind of action in other motorsports. A Spanish rider, Albert Arenas took the win by basically timing his run to take the lead at the right moment. The top 14 finished within one second of each other which is mind-boggling. It was just unimaginable motorsport and like I said before, I am not a bike fan whatsoever, but even I know that Phillip Island produces stonking bike races (even in World Superbikes!)

Something all of these races have in common is a battle. Whether it’s between 2 drivers or 14 riders, a battle is what makes motorsport so good. To be doing more than twice the speed of what you can legally do on a motorway whilst just millimetres away from another car or bike takes a skill that very few of us have experienced and can imagine. I am so glad that we can witness stunning racing week in, week out from around the world and I am proud to be a motorsport fan.

Here’s to more of the same in 2019!