Explain how leaves are adapted to carry out photosynthesis

Marc Marquez has the entire world neatly in the palm of his hands, hanging off his every word as the saga around his future plans for 2024 seemingly nears its conclusion. The eight-time world champion has a contract with Honda in MotoGP for next season, a fact he has repeatedly stated as uncertainty over his future continues. That hasn’t stopped shock links to Gresini Ducati emerging and persisting. They persist, however, because Marquez wants them to. Insight: How Ducati could be the key to reviving Honda's fortunes with Marquez By now, his struggles on the RC213V this season are well documented. His rather glum first impressions of Honda’s 2024 prototype he tried at the Misano test last week did nothing to dispel thoughts among many that he will, in fact, break contract with Honda. Then he tells Spanish media the day after that “the commitment is this: to try to succeed with Honda, whether in one year, two or three”. At the Misano test he outlined his deadline for … [Read more...] about How one Marquez’s MotoGP switch can inspire another

For the first time in 2023, both factory Honda riders qualified inside the top six, with Mir fifth and Marc Marquez sixth. Marquez carried this form into Saturday’s sprint, scoring his second podium of the season in third, while in Sunday’s grand prix Mir ended his points drought with a ride to fifth as his team-mate recovered to ninth from an early crash. The stiffer rear tyre casing brought to the Buddh track by Michelin in theory should have hindered Honda, as it has done when used previously this season. But from the off both Mir and Marquez were competitive, maintaining this through every session despite the latter insisting Honda’s initial Friday pace was purely down to top riders adapting quicker to new tracks. Marquez believes Honda’s form at Buddh was strong because the layout is similar in nature to the Circuit of the Americas, where he has dominated at in the past and where Alex Rins secured HRC’s only win of the season in 2023. “Because it’s a very similar … [Read more...] about What caused Honda’s “mystery” India MotoGP weekend?

As Henry Ford is long quoted (or misquoted, depending on who you believe), “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses.’” But whether or not the old marketing chestnut is real, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz EQS and its available Drive Pilot Level 3 advanced driver assistance system prove that sometimes, customers have the right idea. Instead of faster horses, we’re on the cusp of horses that do the riding for us. That’s because Drive Pilot is the first-ever hands-off, eyes-off active traffic jam assistant , allowing the person behind the wheel to hand over the reins entirely to the car. Suddenly, that arduous slog through freeway gridlock can now be used to scroll YouTube, read a good book, or play road trip games with passengers. Taking your eyes off the road to watch the latest ASMR videos might feel counterintuitive and reckless at first, but as I learned in a 50-minute highway drive between Santa Monica and Mid-Wilshire – an eight-mile jaunt, … [Read more...] about Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot Level 3 First “Drive” Review: Horse Has The Reins

Months of uncertainty marred the build-up to MotoGP’s inaugural Indian adventure at the Buddh International Circuit, as requested track works had only recently been completed. Homologation was made official only on the Thursday of the grand prix, while the riders had already decided to unite if they felt the safety standards of the venue were not up to scratch. Thankfully, everything went off without too many problems and MotoGP’s first Indian GP was a truly memorable affair. VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi positioned himself as a genuine championship threat with a dominant grand prix victory, while Jorge Martin’s consistency continued. A mistake for championship leader Francesco Bagnaia in Sunday’s race wiped out his championship advantage, bringing to just 13 points as Martin fought through dehydration to finish second. Elsewhere, the Japanese manufacturers put on a strong showing as Fabio Quartararo scored his first grand prix podium since Austin, while Joan Mir ended … [Read more...] about 10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Indian Grand Prix

Will Dron’s hero is his dad. Paternal idealization isn’t a rare thing, sure, but Will’s admiration is well placed. Tony Dron was a racing driver, and the kind of chap who wouldn’t boast about it. To meet him you’d be blown away by how charming, kind, and humble he was. It’s only when you ask him about his adventures racing all over the world in all manner of cars (the Porsche 924 at Le Mans in 1980 was one of many special tales) would you realize he was a truly remarkable human being. “He didn’t have any family history of racing, or cars. He just took to them, and loved it. He went to watch Jim Clark at the Nürburgring with a friend of his from school, he watched him gliding through the forest in the back sections of the Nordschleife and thought: ‘My god, that is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. I have to do that,’” recalls Will, “He didn’t want to race… he had to race.” Tony passed away in 2021 after years of struggles with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease. A quick … [Read more...] about Pedal Cars At Goodwood, An Adorable Racing Legacy Continues

Adrian Newey believes he “completely messed up” the switch from active back to passive suspension in 1994, which made that year’s Williams “very, very difficult to drive.” The current Red Bull chief technical officer was going through another dominant patch in his career at Williams when heading up their design team in the early 1990s, but the 1994 season was struck with tragedy when three-time World Champion, Ayrton Senna lost his life at Imola after an accident at Tamburello, just a day after the death of Roland Ratzenberger at the same circuit. Almost 30 years on from that dark weekend, Newey admitted that the Williams that year was “aerodynamically unstable” after huge rule changes were made to try and reel in the sport’s dominant force at the time – though Senna’s control of the car was “quite extraordinary”. Adrian Newey describes ‘huge regret’ of 1994 Williams design Senna left his long-held relationship with McLaren to join Williams in a quest for a fourth title, with … [Read more...] about Adrian Newey opens up on ‘huge regret’ after death of Ayrton Senna