Hulkenberg finally sees checkered flag in Oz with sixth-place result - MotorSportsTalk

For the first time in his Formula One career, Nico Hulkenberg made it to the end of an Australian Grand Prix last weekend, claiming a sixth-place finish as part of a double points day for Sahara Force India.

The talented German, who migrated to Vijay Mallya’s squad over the winter from Sauber, originally placed seventh but moved up one position after Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo lost his runner-up result and was disqualified for a fuel flow irregularity.

Prior to Saturday night, Albert Park had not been a very kind place to Hulkenberg.

In the 2010 and 2012 Aussie GPs, he was victimized each time by a first-lap incident and last year with Sauber, he was unable to start at all due to a hydraulic problem on his car.

So, if Hulkenberg was heard going ‘Whew!’ after his race Saturday night, it would have been most understandable.

Hulkenberg rose as high as fourth in the early going, holding Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Jenson Button at bay for a time until he lost out to both of them in the pits.

Late in the going, he was unable to keep back a hard charging Valtteri Bottas and eventually settled for P7 – at least, until Ricciardo’s DQ.

“I made a strong start and enjoyed good track position for the first two stints when I was running up in fourth,” Hulkenberg said. “The only real issue I had was some front left graining on the soft tires, which never really cleared up and that compromised my first two stints.

“It was a shame to lose two positions at my second stop [to Button and Alonso] but it looks like some of the cars around us have a bit more pace at the moment.”

Still, he said “it’s nice to reward everyone with some points at the first race.”

New teammate Sergio Perez also made progress in his Force India debut before finishing P11. But the aforementioned issue with Ricciardo enabled Perez to move up one spot to 10th in the race results and, more importantly, earn one world championship point to start the year.

Perez suffered a first-lap puncture following contact with Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and was forced to pit, but caught a break when a Safety Car appearance allowed him to catch up with the field.

After that, Perez moved up the scoring pylon but was unable to get past Adrian Sutil on track. He would eventually do so in the pits but by that point, catching Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat for P10 had become too tall an order.

“It’s positive to finish the race, because it gives the team lots of information and hopefully that will make us stronger for Malaysia,” Perez said before being elevated into the points, which helped Force India take home nine points altogether from Australia.

Not the biggest of hauls, but certainly a welcome one.

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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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