OCTOBER 21, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015 at 08:06AM 
(MotoGP)
In one of the most dramatic, spectacular, fantastic - words don't do it justice - and flat-out exciting MotoGP races of all time, Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda) emerged triumphant from an incredible, race-long battle at the Pramac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island to record his 50th career GP victory and fifth of 2015, thus becoming the youngest rider ever to reach the milestone of 50 GP wins. Marquez passed Jorge Lorenzo (No. 99 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) to win by just 0.249s with Andrea Iannone (No. 29 Ducati Team GP15) completing the podium ahead of championship leader Valentino Rossi (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who had to settle for fourth. Marquez set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap as he timed his move past Lorenzo to perfection. To give you an idea of how close it was, just one second separated the four across the line. Lorenzo closed the gap in the standings to Rossi to just 11 points with two races remaining. For Iannone it was his third podium of the year and first since Mugello, while Rossi’s fourth was only the second time he has missed out on the podium this season. Watch some video highlights from Phillip Island here.
(Photo by John Harrelson/NKP ©2015, courtesy of Ford Racing)
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion) knocked Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Dollar General Toyota Camry) out of the way in Turn 1 after Kenseth blocked him - twice - with five laps to go and went on to win the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Express Toyota Camry) finished second and Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet SS) was third. Get more details here.
(Russell LaBounty/LAT Photo USA ©2015, courtesy of Toyota Racing)
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Express Toyota Camry) finished second in Kansas.
(Photo by Harold Hinson/HHP for GM/Chevrolet racing)
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe’s Chevrolet SS) finished third in Kansas, while Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS) finished back in sixteenth place, a lap down. Next up? Talladega Superspeedway, which almost guarantees carnage to cars and drivers' Chase hopes alike.
(BMW)
BMW defended its lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship in the 18th and final race of the 2015 DTM season at Hockenheim to claim the title for the third time in four years. The points secured by Maxime Martin (No. 36 Team RMG Samsung BMW M4 DTM) in sixth place, António Félix da Costa (No. 13 Team Schnitzer Red Bull BMW M4 DTM) in seventh, Bruno Spengler (No. 7 Team MTEK BMW Bank M4 DTM) in eighth, and Martin Tomczyk (No. 77 Team Schnitzer BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) in tenth sealed the deal for the manufacturer with 602 points. Audi ended the season as runner-up with 595 points after a one-two-three sweep in the final race of the season (see below).
(Audi)
Jamie Green (No. 53 Hoffmann Group Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi RS 5 DTM), Mattias Ekström (No. 5 Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM) and Edoardo Mortara (No. 48 Audi Sport Team Abt Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM) swept the top three positions in the 2015 DTM finale at Hockenheim but it wasn't enough to keep BMW from capturing the championship. Audi recorded ten victories, 21 podiums, ten fastest race laps and eight pole positions in the 18-race championship.
(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)
Norway’s Andreas Bakkerud (No. 13 Ford Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST Supercar) became the sixth different winner in the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy after triumphing at this weekend’s World RX of Italy. Johan Kristoffersson (No. 3 Volkswagen Team Sweden VW Polo R WRX) finished second, with points-leader Petter Solberg (No. 1 SDRX Citroën DS3) third. Team Peugeot-Hansen (Peugeot 208 WRX) has clinched the 2015 Team Championship with one round remaining – the Swedish team has a 63-point lead over Ford Olsbergs MSE.
(IndyCar)
Twenty-two-year-old Spencer Pigot, the 2015 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion, will compete in at least three rounds of the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Graham Rahal and Pigot will form an American lineup at RLL Racing, the team co-owned by Bobby Rahal, David Letterman and Mike Lanigan. Pigot’s initial schedule includes the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 13, the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 14 and the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 29. Both parties are working to extend the number of races, and sponsorship will be announced at a later date. “I'm very excited and honored to be starting my career in the Verizon IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Pigot, of Orlando, Fla. “It's always been my goal to be an IndyCar driver and be in the Indianapolis 500. I can't thank everyone at RLL and Andersen Promotions enough for this opportunity. “I think it's a great place for me to be as a rookie because of all the experience within the team. The team is coming off a great 2015 season and hopefully we can build on that success. The 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is going to be a very special moment for me and the highlight of my career so far. It's what I've been working towards ever since I started racing. It's the biggest race in the world and I can't wait to be a part of it.”
Editor's Note: Watch "Episode 2" of AutoextremistTV on YouTube here. -WG
