Motorsport: Top Kiwis fly the flag

Mitch Evans' podium finish has moved him into ninth in the GP2 series at Monaco. Picture / Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service.

New Zealand racers in thick of the action around the globe

It was another bumper weekend for New Zealand drivers and riders with Mitch Evans in action in GP2 at the Monaco Formula One race, Earl Bamber in the Porsche Supercup and Scott Dixon under pressure in the Indianapolis 500.

Freestyle motocross rider Levi Sherwood got his second win on the 2014 Red Bull X-Fighters tour in Japan, while James Munro raced to another three victories in round three of the Formula Masters China series.

Dixon at the Indy 500

IndyCar driver Scott Dixon's pre-race form didn't help much on Monday morning at the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500. The 2008 winner's race was curtailed on lap 170 when he smashed into the wall on the exit of turn four. He'd been running inside the top five for most of the race but complained over the radio of a lack of speed to take on the frontrunners.

Dixon appeared to be uninjured as he was led to the medical centre.

He has now dropped to ninth in the series and heads to Detroit this weekend in need of a win.

Evans back on the podium

Aucklander Mitch Evans survived three safety-car interventions and a red flag stoppage to grab second behind Jolyon Palmer to visit the podium for the first time in a year at the GP2 race in Monaco. Evans started alongside Palmer on the front row and led the early laps.

Disruptions during the race and tyre management on the tight and twisty Monaco track left Evans fighting all the way to the flag.

"There were parts of the race where Jolyon was stronger and others where we were stronger. It was quite a mess. To come away with a podium, I'm happy," said Evans.

Race two was a much more subdued affair with Evans starting in seventh (reverse top eight grid) and coming home sixth to grab more points for the weekend.

"I couldn't do much in this one. It was a 'follow the leader' race," he said. "After a good result on Friday, I was happy to take another three points and call it a weekend."

He has now moved into ninth in the championship with his next race in Austria on June 20-22.

Munro wins in China

James Munro continues to put the entire field of the Formula Masters China Series to the sword and has now won all five races in the opening two rounds of the championship. Racing in Shanghai, he got his weekend off to a flying start by setting pole and never looked back in the opening race, despite the incursion of the safety car.

He also set the fastest lap, which put him on pole for race two.

"The second race was much less eventful, but there was a minor scare on the last lap when the engine started missing, which made me start to push again in case it got worse," said Munro.

Again starting from pole for Sunday's race, Munro held off a hard-charging Matt Solomon to win the third race of the weekend.

"It was nice to be able to win for Dad on his birthday," he said.

Bamber bags points

Earl Bamber couldn't emulate his success at the opening round of the Porsche Supercup in Spain when he took on the streets of Monaco over the weekend. He struggled through qualifying, only 10th fastest, and with nowhere to pass on the tight street circuit knew he would be hard pressed to get up to the leaders.

Bamber pounced on the opening lap to get past Klaus Bachler to sit ninth and held station until the chequered flag.

"Qualifying didn't quite work out but the race was good for us," said Bamber. "We made one position and got to ninth. The car had good speed but you just can't overtake here at Monaco."

Pole sitter Kuba Giermaziak didn't put a foot wrong and won from Philipp Eng and Michael Ammermller. Bamber has now dropped to fourth overall, just nine points behind Eng, and heads to the Hungaroring for the next round of the German Carrera Cup this weekend.

Sherwood on top

Red Bull X-Fighter Levi Sherwood has found the form he had when he won the world tour in 2012. Over the weekend he won his second event to lead the 2014 championship.

The 22-year-old has been unstoppable, winning the season opener in Mexico City and dominating the Osaka Castle event to win from Frenchman Rémi Bizouard and Spaniard Dany Torres. Sherwood's win makes him a record breaker in the history of the championship with eight round wins.