Weekend Motorsport Preview: The Season is Coming to a Close

Racing is clearly coming to a close for the year. Formula 1 is already decided and only has three races left. NASCAR is also down to three races, and there are just two more races for the WTCC. The Super GT comes to a close this weekend. 

Just because things are ending, does not mean there will be a lack of excitement. The drivers' championships in NASCAR and Super GT are still wide open, and it will be intriguing to see how Formula 1 unfolds now that Vettel is world champion. 

Formula 1

Formula One heads to the 5.554 km (3.451-mile) Yas Marina Circuit for the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi for the 17th of 19 rounds in the championship.

Both the qualifying and the race begin at 5:00pm local time on Saturday, November 2, and Sunday, November 3, respectively. The race will run 55 laps of the 21-corner track.

Romain Grosjean was fastest in the first practice session, but Lewis Hamilton was fast as well, 0.192 seconds slower than Grosjean. World champion Sebastian Vettel was third fastest in the session.

It might seem anticlimactic now that Vettel and Red Bull RacingRed BullAustria, 2004 > present12 models
1049 photos
3 videos
have officially taken the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. MercedesMercedes-BenzGermany, 1924 > present197 models
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, FerrariFerrariItaly, 1947 > present233 models
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and LotusLotusUnited Kingdom, 1952 > present68 models
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are all still fighting for second place, and 28-points separate the three of them. Just four points separate Mercedes and Ferrari.

In the drivers’ standings, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen are 24-points apart.

Vettel will still be the favorite in Abu Dhabi, despite already being world champion. He has won the last six races and won in Abu Dhabi in 2009 and 2010.

NASCAR

NASCAR goes into its 34th of 36 rounds on Sunday, November 3, at the 1.5-mile long Texas Motor Speedway for a 334-lap race. The race starts at 3:00pm Eastern Time.

Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are tied for the lead with 2,294 points each. Jeff Gordon is in a somewhat distant third with a 27-point deficit.

Super GT

The Japanese Super GT series heads into its final round of the year with a 53-lap race at the 4.8km (2.983-mile), 14-corner Twin Ring Motegi road course. The race starts at 1:30pm local time on Sunday, November 3.

With 20-points awarded for a race win, the championship is still wide open. The top eight cars in the GT500 class and top five in the GT300 class all still have a chance to win. Yuji Tachikawa and Kohei Hirate lead the GT500 class in a Lexus SC430Lexus SC 430Japan, 2010 > present3 photos
with 58 points, and Hideki Mutoh and Yuhki Nakayama lead the GT300 class in a Honda CR-ZHonda CR-ZJapan, 2010 > present21 versions
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with 70 points.

WTCC

The World Touring Car Championship moves to China at the Shanghai International Circuit for the 11th round of its 12-race championship. It will hold two 13-lap races on Sunday, November 13, at 3:20pm and 4:20pm local time respectively, and it will use the track’s 4.6km (2.86-mile), 16-corner layout, instead of the longer one used by Formula 1.

With 55-point possible from each race weekend, Yvan Muller’s 149-point lead in the championship makes him the guaranteed winner. However, the rest of the championship is still close because 31 points separate Gabriele Tarquini in second place and Michel Nykhaer in fifth place.