Motorsports
Pole Position Power: Norris Leads McLaren 1-2 at Spa
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Lando Norris will start Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix from pole position after clocking the fastest time in Saturday’s qualifying at Spa. Lining up right beside him on the front row is none other than his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, marking a dominant one-two for the British team.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start behind them on the second row, setting up an exciting grid for race day.
Norris, who has now taken his 13th career pole, enters the weekend just nine points behind Piastri in the driver standings. With back-to-back wins under his belt, the momentum is clearly on his side.
“I was confident coming into today, so it’s nice to be on pole,” said Norris. “Oscar has been doing a good job all weekend and we’ve been pushing each other a lot. It’s a tough but healthy battle.”
Piastri echoed the sentiment, noting the benefit—and the challenge—of their strong teammate dynamic. “We’re a good team-mate pairing and we learn a lot from each other. That’s what makes us a strong team but also makes it hard when we’re fighting each other.”
Saturday’s sprint race saw Verstappen take the win ahead of both McLaren drivers, but it’s clear McLaren holds the edge going into Sunday’s main event, with their 68th front row lockout a testament to the team’s resurgence.
Spielberg, Austria | Marc Marquez returned from MotoGP’s mid-season break showing no signs of slowing down, setting the pace in Friday’s practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring.
The six-time MotoGP champion, who has already racked up five straight victories this season, is chasing more than just another win. Marquez has never triumphed in Austria, a rare blank spot in his decorated career.
“I’ve been super close here many years,” Marquez said. “I always lose against the red bikes—but now I’m on the red bike, so let’s see if we can finally do it.”
Now riding for Ducati’s factory team, Marquez has looked nearly untouchable, completing five consecutive weekends with both sprint and race wins. He leads the championship by a commanding 120 points over his younger brother Alex Marquez, who races with Ducati’s Gresini satellite outfit.
Alex sits second in the standings, holding a 48-point cushion over Francesco Bagnaia, last year’s champion and a specialist in Austria with three consecutive wins at Spielberg. But the younger Marquez faces an uphill task this Sunday after being handed a long-lap penalty for his collision with Honda’s Joan Mir in Brno.
“The challenge will be to do a perfect weekend and lose the least time on the long lap,” Alex admitted. “We need to qualify well and try to make up ground before the penalty.”
Friday’s action confirmed Marc’s dominance, topping the morning session by three-tenths of a second over Bagnaia, and edging KTM’s Pedro Acosta by two-tenths in the afternoon. Qualifying takes place Saturday, followed by a 14-lap sprint. The main 28-lap race happens Sunday.
Meanwhile, Honda LCR’s Somkiat Chantra will sit out both Austria and Hungary. The Thai rider underwent surgery for ligament damage in his right knee, an injury sustained during training after the Dutch round. He has already missed races in Germany and Brno.
“Imagine a scooter faster than your car—160 km/h on EDSA. Would you ride it, or would you run from it?”
If this hits our roads, it’s either the coolest thing you’ll see this year… or the quickest way to trend on Facebook for all the wrong reasons.
UK-based Bo is building the Bo M Turbo, an electric scooter aiming to break the world speed record at over 160 km/h. That’s faster than most cars in Metro Manila traffic—if you can even reach full throttle before hitting a jeepney.
The Turbo packs a 24kW dual-motor system, a 1.8kWh battery, Formula 1-inspired cooling, and quad-piston disc brakes. It even has a power-to-weight ratio higher than a Bugatti Veyron.
Bo’s team includes former Formula 1 and Bloodhound Land Speed Record engineers. They’re taking the Turbo to Bonneville Speed Week in Utah to prove it’s the fastest scooter in the world.
Built for Speed, Priced for the Rich
- Top speed: 160+ km/h
- Range: Up to 241 km at cruising speed (28 km/h)
- Price: Around $29,500 (~₱1.7M)
Not exactly a GrabBike replacement—this is for someone with a Mercedes-AMG in the garage who wants a smaller toy.
The Cheaper Option
Bo also sells the Model M for about ₱94,000, with a 35 km/h top speed and 48 km range. Good for city commutes without scaring pedestrians.
Would you ride a 160 km/h scooter in Manila, or should it stay on the race track?
Spain’s Alex Palou clinched his third consecutive IndyCar season title — and fourth in five years — after finishing third at the Portland Grand Prix on Sunday. The race win went to Australia’s Will Power, with Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard in second.
Palou joins Ted Horn, Sébastien Bourdais, and Dario Franchitti as the only drivers in series history to win three straight championships. The 28-year-old now sits third on the all-time title list, behind A.J. Foyt’s 10 and Scott Dixon’s six.
“This has been an amazing season, an amazing five years with Chip Ganassi Racing,” Palou said. “I couldn’t be happier. I tried everything to overtake Lundgaard but couldn’t make it today.”
With 626 points — 151 clear of Pato O’Ward — Palou secured the title with two races left. O’Ward’s hopes ended early after an electrical failure on lap 21 left him eight laps down, forcing him to settle for 25th place, his worst finish of the season.
Palou’s 2025 campaign has delivered eight wins, including the Indianapolis 500, and he still has a chance to match the single-season record of 10 victories with Milwaukee and Nashville remaining.
Power’s triumph was his second straight and 45th career win. “It’s a big win for the team. We’ve had a rough year, but this one was hard-fought,” he said.
