Rosberg storms to Silverstone pole ahead of Vettel and Button

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Nico Rosberg has secured pole position for the British Grand Prix after taming the tricky conditions at Silverstone on Saturday afternoon, finishing ahead of compatriot Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Jenson Button.

In the dying moments of Q3, a number of drivers managed to improve their times, but home favorite Lewis Hamilton was not one of them. As a result, he will start the race from sixth place on the grid after aborting his lap due to the falling rain.

Following many showers overnight, qualifying began in damp conditions with more rain falling lightly, warranting intermediate tires for Q1. Hamilton was the early pace-setter in the session, and he even suggested to the team that slicks could work if the track dried slightly. However, with Sauber reporting that more rain was due, most got out early to post a lap time and avoid being caught out by the weather.

The expected rain did not arrive initially, and the teams were able to head out for their second runs on dry tires. Nico Rosberg eventually finished quickest for Mercedes, but the big shock was seeing both Ferrari drivers drop out in Q1 after more rain began to fall. Fernando Alonso spun on his final lap, whilst Kimi Raikkonen was simply on the wrong tires. The result marks the team’s worst qualifying result since the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Equally as surprising was Williams’ double elimination in Q1 as Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa also struggled in the rain. After the momentum gained in Austria, the British team came back down to earth with a bump on home soil.

For Q2, intermediates were put back on as the rain continued to fall, but once again the track began to dry after the first set of runs. Lewis Hamilton sat in P1 on the intermediate tire, only to dive into the pits for drys with five minutes remaining in the session.

Nico Rosberg had made the switch slightly earlier, and went up to first place with his lap until Jules Bianchi momentarily shot up into top spot for Marussia. Although neither of the minnow’s drivers made it through come the checkered flag, Bianchi and Max Chilton did qualify an incredible P12 and P13 on the grid. Chilton will drop back five places due to a grid penalty, but it still marks the team’s best ever qualifying result in Formula 1.

The rain caught out Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez when he spun into the wall with one minute remaining, following the example set by teammate Adrian Sutil in Q1. Pastor Maldonado had to stop his car due to a problem and was also eliminated alongside teammate Romain Grosjean.

With no more rain falling, the drivers were able to head out on dry tires for Q3 in pursuit of pole position. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg once again gapped the field by over a second on their first runs, but provisional pole lay with the Briton by two-tenths of a second. Sergio Perez’s first lap was good enough for third ahead of Ricciardo, whilst Vettel opted to wait for the final run to post a time.

The final set of runs saw more great improvements. Nico Hulkenberg and Sebastian Vettel briefly popped up into P1, but it was Nico Rosberg who topped them all to secure pole position. Lewis Hamilton failed to improve his final lap time though, and will start the race down in sixth place.

McLaren enjoyed a great qualifying on home soil with Jenson Button in third and Kevin Magnussen fifth. Hulkenberg’s time was good enough for P4, whilst Vettel found some time on his final lap to qualify second behind Rosberg.

However, the spoils went to Rosberg. The German driver will know that with victory tomorrow, he will deal another huge blow to Hamilton’s title chances. Once again, the Briton was caught out in qualifying, and will unquestionably be disappointed with the result.

You can watch the British Grand Prix live on CNBC and Live Extra from 7:30am ET tomorrow.

Vicki Golden and 805 Beer tell a unique story from an Inverted Perspective

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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.”