Motorsport: Soft-tyre gamble pays off

Mitch Evans takes the lead in the wet. Photo / GP2 Media

Mitch Evans rockets from No15 on the grid to first place, writes Eric Thompson

Some of New Zealand's best and brightest motor racing talent were going about their business on four and two wheels over the weekend. There were some standout performances mixed with some bad luck but overall everyone was in the points at some stage.

Evans win again

GP2 driver Mitch Evans was one of the Kiwi racers who experienced a mixed bag over the weekend. Showing maturity and determination, Evans put a broken front roll bar during qualifying behind him to take another win in the feature race at the German round of his championship.

With nothing to lose starting from 15th on the grid, Evans gambled on starting on soft tyres and monstered his way through the field to jump into first place towards the end of the race. Holding off the rest of field he took the win from Stoffel Vandoorne and Jolyon Palmer.

Race two started out well with Evans starting eighth and swiftly moving into second and then taking the lead before slipping back through the field in the wet conditions to finish 10th. His points haul keeps him in touch with the leaders in fifth with his next race this weekend in Hungary.

Stanaway stutters in Germany

Early practice form looked good for another couple of top-three finishes for Richie Stanaway, but it wasn't to be. He struggled in qualifying and could only manage eighth for race one. He was unable to make any impression during the opening laps and lost ground to finish 13th.

Stanaway didn't fare much better in race two but did manage to salvage two points in coming home eighth. Missing out on a decent points tally has seen the Kiwi drop to fifth on the championship table. He does, however, have a chance to make inroads on the leaders this weekend in Hungary.

Bamber on podium again

Porsche driver Earl Bamber continues to impress in the one-make international Porsche Supercup series, taking another podium finish in second behind defending champion Nicki Thiim.

The Kiwi was fast straight away at the Hockenheim track, qualifying fourth. He made short work of three cars in front but just couldn't get past Thiim in a tight, tough but clean battle.

After five of 10 rounds in the series, Kuba Giermaziak retains the lead with 76 points, trailed by Bamber (71) and Michael Ammermuller (52). The next round is at Budapest this weekend.

Sherwood retains lead

Former X Fighter rider Levi Sherwood was in action at the penultimate round of the series in Germany over the weekend.

The high-flying Kiwi is enjoying a great season, having won the opening two rounds in Mexico and Japan, but could only manage a third this time out.

However he still leads the championship heading to the last round in Pretoria, South Africa, on August 23.

Dixon still in touch

Defending IndyCar champion Scott Dixon continues to just stay in touch with series leaders by claiming a fifth and a seventh at the double header in Toronto, Canada.

Although the Kiwi's season hasn't managed to fire on all cylinders in 2014, he's still hanging tough and has scrabbled himself into sixth place in the championship.

Dixon is fast running out of race weekends and with just four to go (next is at Mid-Ohio, August 3), any chance of defending his title has gone but there's enough track time left for him to get a least one win this season.