Vettel strikes back by finishing FP2 quickest - MotorSportsTalk

Sebastian Vettel has answered Mercedes’ sensational pace in FP1 by finishing the second practice session quickest ahead of Nico Rosberg and Red Bull teammate Mark Webber.

The defending world champion posted a fastest time of 1:30.416 which saw him finish two-tenths clear of Rosberg and almost nine-tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton who could only finish P8 after topping FP1. Lotus and Ferrari were also showing signs of improvement, albeit off the pace set by the leading two teams.

FP2 began with a flurry of activity after most of the installation and setup work had been completed earlier this morning. Jules Bianchi returned for Marussia after Rodolfo Gonzalez ran for the team in FP1, but it was Max Chilton who was the first driver to set a time. His lap of 1:36.542 remained P1 for a matter of seconds as Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg both surpassed the Marussia. Esteban Gutierrez and Lewis Hamilton both had lock ups into the first corner, with the Sauber repeating this trick just a few minutes later and forcing Kimi Raikkonen to take evasive action. Hamilton moved up into P2 but Mark Webber’s appearance soon saw the one-time German GP winner hit the front followed by teammate Sebastian Vettel, who slotted into P3. As most of the teams decided to pit, Mercedes continued but could not find a way to beat Webber’s time whilst Fernando Alonso racked up the laps to make up for the lack of running this morning.

The second set of runs began with Max Chilton taking on the yellow-ringed soft tire, an example soon followed by the rest of the field. Nico Hulkenberg made another mistake similar to that of his teammate, suggesting that the C32 car could be uncompetitive this weekend, unlike Red Bull and Mercedes. Once again, they turned the timesheets purple with some blistering lap times as Webber enjoyed a 1.1 second advantage at one point. His potential replacement, Daniel Ricciardo, was also impressive, running as high as P2 before Vettel, Rosberg and Hamilton rallied. Ultimately, the two German drivers went quickest, with Vettel leading the field with half of the session to go.

Ferrari looked to bounce back from their disappointing Silverstone pace by impressing during the session, and both Alonso and Massa did show signs of improvement by running as high as P4 and P5, still six-tenths back from the frontrunners though. Also hitting back was Kimi Raikkonen, thought to be running with the ‘device’ that aids straight line speed, and the Finn rose to P4 only for teammate Romain Grosjean to directly displace him. As the heavy fuel runs began, Marussia confirmed that they had ended Jules Bianchi’s programme early due to an upset stomach.

As the drivers focused on putting in consistent lap times and managing their tires, Vettel was not threatened at the top of the timesheets, giving the baying crowd a home hero to cheer on in P1. With Rosberg P2, the chances of a German driver winning his home race for the first time since 2006 look increasingly great.

Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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