Weekend Motorsports Preview: the Pressure is on Ferrari in Japan

This is going to be a very exciting weekend of racing, especially if you are in the western hemisphere where most of the big events are taking place. The Asian Le Mans Series has its third round of the season, and Formula 1 head to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix. The V8 Supercars have the biggest race of its season with the Bathurst 1000.

Asian Le Mans Series

The Asian Le Mans Series has the third of its four-race calendar with the 3 Hours of Zhuhai. It will be held at the 4.32km-long (2.684-mile), 10-corner Zhuhai Circuit. On Sunday, October 13, at 3:00pm local time. Qualifying will be held from 12:10pm to 12:40pm local time on Saturday, October 12.

There are eight entries for the race with two in LMP2, one in GTE and five in GTC. 

Formula 1

Formula 1 will remain in Asia this week, and a week after the Korean Grand Prix is the Japanese Grand Prix at the 18-corner, 5.807km (3.6083-mile) Suzuka circuit. The 53-lap race will start at 3:00pm local time on October 13, and qualifying will be at 2:00pm local time on October 12.

The pressure is on Fernando Alonso in the Japanese race. To have a shot at the championship, Alonso must finish in eighth or better if Vettel wins. The one relief that Alonso has is that he has a 28-point lead over Kimi Raikkonen in third, which means Alonso’s second place in the championship is safe no matter what happens. Six points separate Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth in the standings.

Red Bull RacingRed BullAustria, 2004 > present12 models
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has a commanding, 118-point lead in the constructors’ championship over FerrariFerrariItaly, 1947 > present233 models
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, and there is only one point separating Ferrari and Mercedes in the championship. Ferrari will be the team to watch in Japan.

NASCAR

NASCAR is off to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a 334-lap race around the 1.5-mile (2.4km) racecourse at 6:30pm on October 12.

With six races to go, Matt Kenseth has a three-point lead over Jimmie Johnson, and Kevin Harvick is in third with a 25-point deficit to Kenseth.

V8 Supercars

The V8 Supercars has its biggest race of the year with the Bathurst 1,000 at the Mount Panorama course. The 161-lap race around the 6.213km (3.86-mile), 23-corner track starts at 10:30am local time on October 13. Qualifying will be on Friday, October 11 at 3:00pm local time, and the top-10 shootout to determine the top drivers will be on Saturday at 5:00pm local time.

Jamie Whincup has a 96-point lead in the championship over Craig Lowndes, and Will Davison is just one point down on Lowndes with four races to go.