The MotoGP and Formula 1 races for the 2013 season may have been completed but there are changes that will have long-term consequences in both sports. A MotoGP racer has had his results voided as if he never raced while in F1 there have been two very big changes to the way points can be accumulated by the racers and teams in the second half of the season along with budget restrictions placed on teams which will make the racing even more competitive.
Doubling of Formula 1 Points Value for Final Race Will Enhance Appeal of Last Race of Year For All Drivers and Fans
On Monday, December 9, 2013, at the Formula 1 Sports Strategy and Commission meeting in Paris, France the World Motor Sport Council decided to make the final race more competitive than usual. In recent years the Formula1 Leader in points was so far ahead that they were able to race without fear of being displaced for the point value championship because there were not enough points available for anyone to challenge the eventual winner. To enhance the competitiveness of the final race the council has doubled the points for the top 10 position places. Thus, those drivers who would have earned 15 points for a third place finish in the first half of the season now will earn 30 points for the same place finish at the last race of the season.
This ruling will force the drivers to be more aggressive in how they race because a good race can change their season ending positions. If this point value system had been in place in 2008 it would have resulted in Lewis Hamilton losing his point’s championship to Felipe Massa in the final race of the season. The same situation would have occurred in 2012 as superstar Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel would have been pushed back into the second position behind Fernando Alonso. This points value system has been put into place for both the Drivers Division and the Constructors Division so no individual can relax and not race aggressively in the season finale race because a team or driver could easily lose a high placed position that had taken an entire season to achieve with one race in which they do not accumulate any points.
18 Months’ Worth of Anthony West’s MotoGP Racing Results Disappear with 2012 Positive Drug Test
Anthony West, a MotoGP racer, tested positive for mehtylhexaneamine in October 2012 at the French Grand Prix. The positive test led to him being disqualified from the race, his seventh place finish voided and the FIM prohibiting him for racing for one month which resulted in him missing the end of season race at Valencia. One would have anticipated that this would be severe enough punishment but on November 28, 2013, Mr. West was punished even more. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favour of the World Anti-Doping Agency on appeal that his ban should have been for two years. As a result his ban was applied retroactively and resulted in all his results from May 20, 2012, to October 19, 2013, being voided from the records. This is significant because it causes him to lose his second place finishes at the Malaysian and Australian Grand Prix races. A severe punishment for a racer who lost his position as rider with the prominent Kawasaki team in part due to this scandal and now if that were not enough he loses his place on the podium for races that occurred a year later.
2015 Budget Restraints Will Make Formula1 More Competitive
As of 2015 the winner of Formula1 will not be influenced by who has the deepest pockets but more by which team has the best technology and driver. The Formula1 teams have agreed on a budget cap because several teams are encountering severe financial challenges that were threatening to prevent them from continuing to provide sports car for their racers. By agreeing to a budget cap for the teams Formula1 will become even more competitive because now all the teams will be constrained by the same financial limits and the racing winners will be determined not by who can afford the best equipment but who can make the best car and have it driven to maximum efficiency by the most skilled driver.
If you want to become one day become a legendary MotoGP bike racer or Formula1 race driver your first step is to obtain your provisional driving licence. Once you have acquired this licence you will then be able to start pursuing your dream of becoming a great Moto GP bike racer similar to the great Marc Marquez or Formula 1 race car driver Lewis Hamilton.
