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Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro says he “burned his hands” during a hot MotoGP race in Malaysia where he struggled to 13th place.

The Aprilia RS-GP is infamous for its overheating problems, with both Espargaro and team-mate Maverick Vinales having repeatedly expressed concerns about its adverse effects during some of the flyaway races in Asia.

According to Espargaro, the Noale brand has made no progress in this direction this year, which meant that he found it hard to even make it to the finish in last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

Withstanding the heat exuded from the bike for 19 laps in a crash-shortened race, the Spaniard came away with just three championship points as he benefited from incidents further up the pack.

Speaking afterwards, the 35-year-old revealed that the issues not only compromised his own performance at Sepang, but also meant that the bike was running down on power.

“It was very tough,” he described. “I knew that in these types of races [where] it is very very hot, it is extremely difficult for us. And even more if you start that far on the grid, it has been a real nightmare. 

“The engine was really slow, I couldn’t overtake anybody. The engine was very, very slow due to the heat. 

“I was [only] able to overtake Raul. Then I suffered a lot the last three laps where I almost couldn’t make it to the end, I couldn’t handle the handlebar. The heat was amazing.

“I burned my hands and had to open my visor. The heat is the Achilles heel of this bike.”

Espargaro wasn’t the only Aprilia rider to complain about heat issues on a hot and sunny day in Malaysia.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Photo by: Asif Zubairi

Riding a 2024 RS-GP with last year’s engine, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez also felt the effects of the bike in Malaysia as he desperately tried to get some air blown onto him on Sepang’s long straights.

“Super difficult to manage with the temperature on the bike. The last four laps I was done. I tried to end the race [out of] respect to the team, respect for all my mechanics.

“The last four laps I couldn’t live on the bike. All the straight I had my head out of the bike to take some air. It is very difficult especially when you have slipstream you don’t take air.

“I don’t feel the hand, I don’t feel the foot. I couldn’t take the air. It is safe but it is really difficult.”

Vinales wasn’t impacted as severely by an overheating bike as Espargaro and Fernandez, finishing a relatively strong seventh between the Yamahas of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.

But the 29-year-old spent most of the race in clean air, with Quartararo circulating several seconds ahead of him in sixth.

While the NASCAR playoff format has become a proverbial punching bag for people these days, and sometimes unfairly so, what happened last weekend at Martinsville is 100% a byproduct of it. The NASCAR playoffs are structured in a way so that title favorites like Kyle Larson can easily be knocked out of championship contention and drivers with so-so seasons like Joey Logano get to fight for the crown. And that’s not a knock against Logano, who has once again nailed this all or nothing format. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

And the game deserved plenty of hate after Martinsville. This wasn’t a teammate pushing another to the win at Talladega, but a blatant attempt to bend the outcome to one manufacturer or another’s will. The drivers involved weren’t even on the same team as the drivers who benefitted from shenanigans, but manufacturers have so much sway over the sport now, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon can’t even think about taking that position from William Byron, even though they’re racers — they want to finish as high as possible. Then there’s Bubba Wallace who claimed something was wrong with his car, but obviously, NASCAR saw that claim as race manipulation as well. 

These are two problems colliding at once — the ever-tightening alignment between teams of the same manufacturer, and NASCAR’s current championship format showing the uglier side of that.

None of what happened on that final lap was racing, and it was only happening because of this format. NASCAR’s latest format forces Game 7 moments leading to these situations where drivers are put in uncomfortable positions where they have to be more worried about the playoff drivers and what’s happening in their race than what’s happening in their own. And due to how tightly aligned teams are now through manufacturer loyalty, it’s like three super teams out there — Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota — on the track at this point of the season. 

Hey, if it was the No. 48 HMS Chevy of Alex Bowman behind Byron, I feel like I’d be less frustrated with all of this. Of course a teammate is going to help, just like Ryan Blaney played blocker for Logano in the 2022 title-decider instead of going for the win himself. But why should Dillon and Chastain have to worry about Byron? Because they all drive for the same car make and that supersedes everything else in 2024. People are mad at these drivers, but what choice did they have? 

#24: William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro, #3: Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro

Photo by: John K Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images

Remember how Parker Retzlaff faced criticism because he tried to win at Daytona earlier this year? He had to publicly explain why a young driver in a car that rarely contends for race wins attempted to win a race. And why? Because his late-race push to Harrison Burton cost fellow Chevy driver Kyle Busch a win — and an automatic playoff berth. Even fans were mad!

This madness has now bled into the fanbase, who fully expect manufacturer allegiances to trump everything else in these critical races. And what what happened at Martinsville won’t stop unless NASCAR puts a stop to it. These points penalties and fines and one-race suspensions for the bad actors are not going to stop this.  Like in 2022, when NASCAR issued a penalty to Stewart-Haas Racing for the same thing. If they wanted to make a real statement, they would have thrown the No. 24 and the No. 20 out of the Championship 4 on Sunday night. SpinGate in 2013 did not end with Clint Bowyer’s penalty. NASCAR took Martin Truex Jr. — who benefitted from the interference but had nothing to do with it — and removed him from the playoffs. 

This is more about the format itself but people were shocked when Chastain chose to race for the win last year at Phoenix instead of bowing to the Championship 4 drivers. If drivers can’t race for the win, why are the non-contenders even out there “competing?” Might as well just race with the title contenders and no one else like the 2006 Cars movie. 

Bob Pockrass

FOX NASCAR Insider

Joey Logano has never talked to crew chief Paul Wolfe about winning a title in 2024 in order to accomplish something only nine other NASCAR Cup Series drivers have achieved.

For the two-time Cup champion Logano, it just goes without saying. The goal every year is to win a championship, so the fact he will vie for his third Cup title Sunday at Phoenix Raceway doesn’t include the additional incentive for him to join the elite three-time champion club. 

“He hasn’t mentioned anything about it, honestly,” Wolfe said. “It hasn’t been discussed. Some guys have two, but to get three, obviously would put him in an elite group.”

Logano will look back at his career one day and see where he ranks among the all-time greats, but the only time talk of winning a third title enters the conversation is when someone mentions the Team Penske driver already has two, not what it would do for his legacy nor the company he would join.

“I can’t say I really thought of it that way,” Logano said. “My goal every year is the same — whether we’ve won one, none, five, doesn’t matter. The goal is to win the championship.

“So the conversation between me and Paul doesn’t have to happen. We know that. That’s just the end goal.”

If Logano wins his third title on Sunday, it will rank as his most unlikely. Having finished 15th in the regular-season standings, a win in the chaotic five-overtime Nashville race vaulted him into the playoffs. He then won the opening playoff race at the drafting-style Atlanta event and then used a fuel mileage strategy to win at Vegas in the semifinal round.

The Vegas victory gave him an automatic bid to race for the title at Phoenix, where the best finisher among Logano, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick (the entire 40-car field competes in the race itself) captures the title.

So Logano should feel a little pride. No driver since the elimination-style format started in 2014 has gone from 15th in the regular season to having a shot at the championship in the final race.

Logano, whose six Champ 4 appearances rank as the most since the inception of the elimination-style format in 2014, is sort of impressed to have another shot at the title.

“Making the Championship 4 is an accomplishment of itself,” Logano said. “Getting here is not easy. You have to have a regular season that helps set you up to get through the playoffs. And if you don’t, then you have to have a hell of a run through the playoffs and win the best races, the most important races.

“We didn’t have the best regular season. We figured out how to have a solid playoff, winning a couple of them and put ourselves in the Championship 4.”

So this is a big deal just to have a shot, right?

“It’s an accomplishment to make it, but nobody remembers who finished second last year,” Logano said. “I don’t. I don’t know who I don’t know who it was

“And so it’s all about winning is what that means. It’s great to make it, but it’s really all about winning at this point.”

Logano has made a name for himself as the driver who seems to perform the best when it matters the most. He has won in two of his five previous Champ 4 appearances, including the most recent in 2022.

“It’s about a team that never gives up, and knows that you’re never out of it,” Wolfe said. “This format, more than ever, allows for that to happen, It keeps you motivated and working hard every week because even though we’ve had a pretty up and down year and had our fair struggles, there’s still an opportunity.

“And ultimately, everyone on the team has been able to rise to that occasion and make it happen.”

If Logano and the team make it happen Sunday, not only will Logano own three titles, he’ll be just the third driver to have won three titles in the 2000s (Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart the others) and the 34-year-old will be just the fifth to accomplish it when under the age of 35.

“So I’ve got some years [to win more],” Logano said. 

Right now, the focus is just on Sunday to see if he can join Johnson, Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson and Lee Petty.

“There would pride in that absolutely,” Logano said. “I don’t know if that’s what drives me to do it, but it would be obviously a really cool piece of winning another championship.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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An unspecified number of European Formula 1 grands prix face the prospect of hosting races on a rotational basis sooner rather than later, according to series CEO Stefano Domenicali.

With a record-breaking 24 rounds already crammed onto the F1 calendar, the scope for adding new venues is now arguably smaller than ever.

Domenicali has previously suggested rotating European races would be an option but now he has said such a move is on the cards.

“We have some news to share very, very soon with regard to the possibility in the mid-term to have some rotational European Grand Prix and some other new options coming later,” Domenicali said on a Liberty Media investors call.

“This is something that, of course, we will clarify in the due course. It is true that we have a large demand of new possible venues that want to come in and our choice will always be balanced between the right economical benefits that we can have as a system and also to leverage the growth on the market that we can see potential that will be beneficial for us to grow even further our business.”

Speaking at a Globant event during the United States Grand Prix, Domenicali named Argentina as a venue where he would like to see F1 return.

Race start – George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, takes the lead over Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Including the Azerbaijan GP, there are currently 10 races in Europe, with Italy hosting two – Imola and Monza – and Madrid joining the calendar for 2026, while Barcelona’s contract expires at the end of that year. 

Recent reports claimed the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya would begin to share a spot on the calendar with the Dutch GP in Zandvoort, although the organisers of the race in the Netherlands distanced themselves from the idea.

One potential issue with Domenicali’s plan is the contracts already held by a lot of European circuits, while the financial future of some of those tracks is reliant on staging a round of the F1 season on an annual basis.

Silverstone, the Hungaroring and the Red Bull Ring have deals that run into the 2030s, for example, although Spa, Monza, Zandvoort and Imola are all up after next year. Monaco, too, is currently only signed on for 2025 but there is very little chance of one of F1’s most iconic races having to share its slot.

Conversely, with F1 currently riding high in terms of interest and revenue, plenty of venues are keen to get a slice of the action by getting their own race added to the calendar.

Eau Rouge track action

Photo by: Erik Junius

A second race in Saudi Arabia, at the Qiddiya Circuit currently under construction, a return to Africa with Rwanda mooted as a potential venue and the aforementioned potential Argentine GP comeback are just some of the locations that could be eyeing a spot if and when the European season is truncated.

The current Concorde Agreement, in place until the end of 2025, allows for 25 races a year in the F1 season – but Domenicali is happy with 24 for the time being

“We believe that the balance we have in terms of numbers is the right one, so 24 is the balanced number that we feel is right,” he added.

“I do believe that all the propositions that are coming on our table is just giving us the possibility to make even better choices for our future.

“So as always, we need to be balanced, knowing that we cannot follow only the pure direct financial proposition, because that is different from region to region, but it’s up to us to propose to our stakeholders the right choice.

“I think that we are in a good momentum to make sure that the strategy for the future is even stronger, and that’s why we are so confident about the fact that this will help to enhance our platform on the sport, on social and business perspective.”

David Beckmann set the fastest time on the third day of Formula E pre-season testing as reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein showcased Porsche’s strength by leading a 1-2 in the simulation race.

Wehrlein became the first driver to lap the Jarama Circuit just outside Madrid below the 1m28s barrier in the morning session on Thursday but was eventually pipped to the top spot by 0.008s.

Kiro’s Beckmann posted a 1m27.755s in the final hour to go fastest while also setting the quickest time of the test so far, with just Friday’s morning session remaining ahead of an all-female test in the afternoon.

The German, who is Porsche’s Formula E test and development driver, has yet to make his debut in the all-electric championship and has not been confirmed with Kiro for the upcoming season.

The second Porsche of Antonio Felix da Costa finished the morning session third, just 0.058s behind Beckmann’s time, as three Porsche-powered cars occupied the top three spots.

The Portuguese driver followed Wehrlein home in the 24-lap simulation race which was held at the start of the afternoon’s session and was the first chance for teams to see the new Gen3 Evo in close-quarters action.

Reigning teams’ champions Jaguar occupied the front row with the grid determined by a random draw, and Mitch Evans led for the opening segment of proceedings after a delayed start.

Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing

Photo by: Malcolm Griffiths / Motorsport Images

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This was due to Zane Maloney, who will make his Formula E debut this season, being unable to launch off the line in his Lola/Yamaha-powered Abt, and the driver from Barbados completed no laps.

Evans held the lead until lap nine before da Costa moved to the front, with DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne taking the lead on the following lap.

The Frenchman’s new team-mate Maximilian Guenther moved into first at the halfway point, as 11 drivers made a mandatory pitstop to receive a pit boost charge.

The concept, whereby drivers receive a 10% battery charge at 600kW which is achieved in approximately 30 seconds, has been under development for more than two years.

The simulation was the first time teams were able to run the procedure during a race, with a decision set to be made by the FIA and championship on whether it will be implemented at points this season.

With all drivers completing the mandatory stop by lap 15, Vergne resumed in the lead but just three laps later, and after a planned safety car test, Wehrlein hit the front and began to pull away.

Team-mate da Costa moved into second at Turn 3 on the penultimate lap at the expense of Nick Cassidy.

António Félix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team

Photo by: Andreas Beil

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Cassidy finished third ahead of Andretti’s Jake Dennis and team-mate Evans, with Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries completing the top six.

Normal running resumed for the remained of the afternoon, as Mahindra finished on top. De Vries posted a 1m28.010s which left him 0.451 clear of team-mate Edoardo Mortara in third, with Evans between the pair.

Formula E Race Test Result