Race Rap: Monday, May 26
More Kiwi influence. Historic Ruapuna Raceway near Christchurch has won the race for the second New Zealand leg of the 2026 Supercars championship. The circuit beat out the Tony Quinn-owned Highlands Park, and Hampton Downs near Auckland, as Supercars head to the south island for the first time.
Marquez loses. No sprint win and only third in the British Grand Prix for Marc Marquez, as Marco Bezzecchi scored a wonderful win for Aprilia. Both of the Marquez brothers fell at Silverstone so Francesco Bagnaia was left to claim second for Ducati, although the Marc master was able to re-mount and finish third after a red-flagged stoppage.
Wild in the west. Hayden Paddon and John Kennard scored the first win of their Australian Rally Championship campaign for Hyundai in Western Australia, taking top points ahead of Harry Bates-Coral Taylor in a Toyota Yaris and Tom Kristensson-Andreas Johansson from Sweden in a Skoda. It was an up-and-down weekend for Paddon's rivals, as Harry Bates lost time on Saturday with a mechanical glitch and speedy Scott Pedder was delayed with a minor crash in his Skoda.
McLaren 1-3 in Monaco. They finished as they started in Monte Carlo, as Lando Norris won the crown jewel of Formula One ahead of local hero Charles Leclerc and his team-mate Oscar Piastri. The result trims Piastri's championship lead to three points as the F1 circus moves on to Spain next weekend.
Palou takes Indy 500. Alex Palou added an emphatic Indianapolis 500 win to his three IndyCar championship crowns in the 2025 running of the classic contest at The Brickyard. He became the first Spanish winner at the 500 as he led home Marcus Ericsson and David Malukas. More to come from Dale Rodgers in Indianapolis.
Sanders three-peats. Off-road ace Daniel Sanders has won again, this time in South Africa, as he dominates the World Rally Raid championship. He now holds a clear lead heading into the final two rounds later in the year, leading up to the Dakar Rally 2026.
Out before the start. Scott McLaughlin was gutted after crashing on the warm-up lap ahead of the Indianapolis 500. "I truly don’t know what happened. Just touched the throttle and around we went. I’m absolutely gutted for my crew ... and all of our fans. We’ll be back stronger next year. I’m sorry," he said on social media.
Sam in Monte Carlo. Charles Leclerc photo-bombed his Porsche and then Sam Shahin scored the best result of his Supercup season with 16th place in a crash-fest in Monaco. There were only four racing laps after a giant first-corner pile-up and Shahin's job was made easier when eight cars failed to front for a four-lap re-start.
