Audi victorious at WEC Silverstone opener as Porsche cracks - MotorSportsTalk

Audi ended an 11-month win drought in the FIA World Endurance Championship by emerging victorious from a frantic 6 Hours of Silverstone on Sunday, defeating defending champions Porsche in the season-opener.

After taking an unlikely pole position on Saturday, the no. 7 car of Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer followed it up with an equally unexpected victory in Sunday’s race as the trio kept its cool while all about it lost theirs.

Porsche enjoyed the early edge at Silverstone in the race as the defending champion 919 Hybrid car of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard surged into the lead in the opening stages after starting third on the grid.

However, the no. 1 crashed out in spectacular fashion when Hartley tried to pass GTE Am entry Gulf Racing’s Porsche 911 RSR around the outside of Farm, only for the two to make contact.

Hartley’s 919 Hybrid narrowly avoided righting itself before coming to rest in the gravel, and thankfully both drivers were able to walk away from the incident unharmed – even if the same could not be said of their cars.

Audi lost one of its cars almost simultaneously when the no. 8 R18 piloted by Lucas di Grassi at the time stopped out on track before filling with smoke, leaving both of the German marques with just one car in contention at the front of the pack.

The no. 2 Porsche and no. 7 Audi enjoyed a spirited battle for the lead through the middle stages of the race before Treluyer took the lead in the latter car with with three hours remaining.

Porsche’s sole remaining car soon hit trouble after dropping to second place. Marc Lieb was hit by one of the Ford GTs in GTE Pro, dropping him back before handing over to Neel Jani who was forced into an extra pit stop by a puncture in the final hour.

Just seven seconds separated the two cars in the closing stages, only for Jani to require a late pit stop that sealed the race for Audi’s no. 7 crew.

Fassler crossed the line 46 seconds clear of the field in P1, marking Audi’s first WEC victory since the 6 Hours of Spa almost one year ago.

Toyota completed the podium with its no. 6 TS050 Hybrid car shared by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Stephane Sarrazin, having seen the sister no. 5 entry drop back mid-race due to bodywork damage caused by a puncture.

This allowed Rebellion Racing to enjoy one of the strongest races for a privateer LMP1 team in the recent history of the WEC, finishing fourth and fifth.

LMP2 saw the RGR Sport by Morand team pick up a debut class victory, becoming the first Mexican outfit to win in the WEC. The no. 43 Ligier of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricardo Gonzalez and Bruno Senna finished half a minute clear of the no. 31 ESM entry, while defending champions G-Drive Racing completed the podium.

GTE Pro proved to be a bloodbath for AF Corse as the new Ferrari 488 GTE made an impact on debut, taking no. 71 drivers Davide Rigon and Sam Bird to a lights to flag victory. Despite taking a three minute penalty for an engine change early in the race, Gianmaria Bruni and James Calado fought back in the sister no. 51 Ferrari to secure a one-two for AF Corse, the podium being completed by the no. 95 Aston Martin Vantage V8.

Ferrari also led from Aston Martin in GTE Am courtesy of the no. 83 AF Corse entry as Manu Collard, Francois Perrodo and Rui Aguas finished a lap ahead of the no. 98 V8 Vantage of Pedro Lamy, Paul Dalla Lana and Mathias Lauda. Abu Dhabi Proton Racing had led for much of the race with its no. 88 Porsche 911 RSR, only for issues to drop the car to fifth come the checkered flag.

The FIA WEC returns in three weeks’ time with the 6 Hours of Spa in Belgium.

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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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