The Week That Was: April 11, 2022
Image via Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
Didn’t get to watch all of the action motorsports on two and four wheels that made it to TV this week? We’ve got you covered! Here’s a quick summary of everything that went down over the past few days:
Newgarden Scores Second Straight IndyCar Win as Herta Takes DNF in Long Beach
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden brushed off pre-race suggestions that Colton Herta would “ride off into the sunset” at Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, scoring his second straight NTT IndyCar Series victory and taking over the series points lead. Newgarden beat Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou out of the pits under green flag pit stops late in the race, and withstood a challenge from Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean in the final green flag laps before an incident for Takuma Sato ended the race under caution.
Initially, Herta looked like the best bet to give Andretti Autosport its fourth straight Long Beach win, until he lost the top two spots to Newgarden and Palou under green flag pit stops. Contact with the wall on Lap 56, while still running third, would bring his race to an early conclusion. He would be joined on the DNF list by nine others, including Sato, Marcus Ericsson, and Jimmie Johnson, whose weekend to forget included a fractured right hand after a Friday practice crash.
Musquin, Hampshire Take Final Triple Crown Wins of 2022 Supercross Season in St. Louis
It’s been a few years since Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin has been challenging for the overall Monster Energy Supercross 450 title, but the French rider proved he’s still got what it takes to win after conquering Saturday night’s Triple Crown event in St. Louis. Musquin’s 2-1-2 output bested Honda rider Chase Sexton and Monster Energy Star Yamaha rider Eli Tomac, whose five-race win streak was snapped. Nonetheless, Tomac extended his 450 points lead to 56 over Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson.
In the 250SX East division, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider RJ Hampshire scored his long-awaited first class victory on the strength of three holeshots and a 2-2-1 night. Hampshire climbed to third in the standings, seven points back of the injured Cameron McAdoo. Honda’s Jett Lawrence won the first two races of the night but yielded the overall victory with a fifth place result in the finale; nonetheless, his advantage is now 34 points on McAdoo and 41 on Hampshire.
Leclerc Extends Formula 1 Points Lead With Australian Triumph
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc appears to be the man to beat for the 2022 Formula 1 title through three rounds after wrapping up his second win of the season in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix. Leclerc beat Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Mercedes’ George Russell handily for the victory, as F1 finally returned to Australia after having been in the country when COVID-19 lockdowns began two years ago and subsequently cancelling that event.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen suffered his second mechanical DNF in three rounds after once again challenging Leclerc for supremacy, but this time Perez wouldn’t fall out with him. Nonetheless, Verstappen’s DNF, combined with a fourth place finish for Lewis Hamilton, have kept Mercedes ahead of Red Bull in the constructor’s standings. Ferrari’s lead as a team is up to 39 despite Carlos Sainz taking an early DNF of his own, while Leclerc now leads Russell 71-37 in driver points.