Home Off beat oi-Athul By Athul Published: Saturday, September 23, 2023, 11:17 [IST] Electric buses have been touted as the future of public transportation in India. Moreover, Indian bus manufacturers are investing heavily in developing long-distance electric buses that will suit Indian conditions. While a few Indian bus operators have started to understand the benefits of electric buses, a recent incident near Chennai involving an electric bus is likely to have an impact on the acceptance of electric buses by private operators. Speaking about the incident, an electric bus catches fire on its way to Bengaluru from Chennai on Friday morning. Thankfully, 10 passengers onboard the electric bus escaped without any type of injuries. Looking into the details of the incident, the electric bus travelling to Bengaluru from Chennai picked up its passengers from Koyambedu. However, when the electric bus neared Queensland … [Read more...] about Chennai To Bengaluru Electric Bus Catches Fire – Passengers Escape Unhurt
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DTM Red Bull Ring: Van der Linde takes first win of 2023 in wet-dry contest
The Abt Audi driver recorded his first triumph since 2021, finishing almost two seconds clear of Laurin Heinrich , who led the first phase of the race from pole position. Van der Linde's team-mate Ricardo Feller prevailed in a thrilling late scrap with Rene Rast to take the final podium spot, while championship leader Mirko Bortolotti came home in ninth. The race started on a damp track, with most of the field opting for wet-weather tyres. Team 75 Motorsport Porsche driver Heinrich converted a maiden pole into the lead at turn one, but then was challenged on the climb to turn three by van der Linde. Heinrich managed to prevail in that battle, with van der Linde slipping to fifth after running wide and then getting swamped on the run to turn four by Heinrich's team-mate Ayhancan Guven, Mercedes-AMG driver Maro Engel and championship contender Thomas Preining . Heinrich pulled out a three-second advantage over Engel in the early stages, while van der Linde recovered … [Read more...] about DTM Red Bull Ring: Van der Linde takes first win of 2023 in wet-dry contest
MotoGP Indian GP: Martin dominates chaotic sprint, Marquez third
Following a long delay to help dry up the starting grid, the 11-lap sprint got underway just after 5pm local time at the Buddh International Circuit, with VR46's Marco Bezzecchi starting from pole ahead of Pramac's Martin and team-mate Luca Marini . Martin got the best launch of the trio and immediately grabbed the lead, while Bezzecchi was trying to consolidate second when his team-mate Marini got the braking wrong for the tricky Turn 1, slamming into the back of his Ducati and sending him off the track. This gave Martin some clear air as he navigated the opening right-hander, with championship leader Francesco Bagnaia moving to second on the factory Ducati ahead of factory Honda duo Joan Mir and Marc Marquez . Martin was already a second clear of the chasing pack by the end of lap 2, with his Pramac-run Ducati clearly quicker than the works-entered GP22 of Bagnaia. Martin would pull out a lead of nearly three seconds by the middle part of the race but eased off … [Read more...] about MotoGP Indian GP: Martin dominates chaotic sprint, Marquez third
Are Red Bull and Ferrari on back foot for potential Japanese GP tyre wrecker?
The iconic figure-of-eight track has always been punishing on its rubber, but things could well be a bit more extreme this time around. Race day is expected to be another scorcher, and complaints that George Russell mentioned on Friday about a "strange" sliding have been caused by a track surface that has had a 15% drop in macro roughness (so effective grip) compared to 12 months ago. As Ferrari's Charles Leclerc said: "Especially with the very warm temperatures this year, the overheating is really, really bad. So, I expect that it [the race] will be all about the tyre management and the strategy." A two-stopper looks nailed on then, but it comes with not all teams having the luxury of what appears to be the ideal tyre allocation to get them through without much drama. F1 tyre supplier Pirelli thinks the best approach to the race is to start on the soft, run through until laps 12-18, and then split the rest of the grand prix up into two hard stints. But that is … [Read more...] about Are Red Bull and Ferrari on back foot for potential Japanese GP tyre wrecker?
Max Verstappen bites back as Mercedes crisis continues – F1 news roundup
Qualifying day at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka brought yet another fast-paced day of F1 news and views. Max Verstappen claimed his latest inevitable pole position and then had a message for the people who assumed Red Bull had been found out by the Singapore GP technical directive, while Mercedes were once again plunged into crisis with Lewis Hamilton airing his frustrations. Just another standard F1 2023 day, then. Here’s today’s roundup… Max Verstappen’s ‘to whom it may concern’ moment As bite backs go, Verstappen’s message to his doubters wasn’t quite on the level of Valtteri Bottas’s famous Australia 2019 radio call, but it was a juicy one nonetheless. There were more than a few who wanted to believe Red Bull had finally been found out in Singapore last weekend, but pole position by sixth tenths at Suzuka was an emphatic response. So what exactly was Max’s message to those people? “Go suck on an egg.” He went on to explain how the reaction to Red Bull’s poor … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen bites back as Mercedes crisis continues – F1 news roundup
George Russell ‘shocked’ after seeing gap to Red Bull after qualifying
George Russell believes Mercedes are facing a tough race on Sunday at Suzuka, admitting it’s not the best circuit for the W14. The British driver qualified in eighth place for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, just behind Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton – the swooping and flowing Suzuka circuit not playing to the strengths of the W14. Having been amongst the star performers at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the contrast from weekend to weekend – particularly with Red Bull resuming their usual position at the front of the field – had George Russell shocked after the qualifying session ended as he was 1.3 seconds slower than Verstappen’s pole time. George Russell: The drop down the field is a shock to the system Speaking to media after claiming his eighth place grid slot in what was a subdued qualifying session from Mercedes, Russell said that their final positions sum up where the car is in the pecking order at a track demanding huge aerodynamic efficiency. “I’d say it’s a … [Read more...] about George Russell ‘shocked’ after seeing gap to Red Bull after qualifying
Sainz blames late set-up change for qualifying performance at Japanese GP
Carlos Sainz Jnr believes a late change to his car’s set-up compromised his qualifying result for the Japanese Grand Prix. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Ferrari driver who took pole position for the last two rounds qualified sixth at Suzuka. His Q3 lap time was almost a second slower than that of pole winner Max Verstappen . After finishing Friday’s practice sessions second and fourth, Sainz attempted a different set-up for Saturday which affected his preparation on a circuit where he expected Ferrari would struggle. “We knew before coming here that this track would expose us a bit more with the high-speed characteristics,” said Sainz. “It was never going to be easy. I took the approach yesterday and this morning to try different things on the car. “By quali I saw it was not quite working, and we had to go back to a more basic set-up which in the end probably ended up compromising my quali preparation and my weekend in general.” Sainz was … [Read more...] about Sainz blames late set-up change for qualifying performance at Japanese GP
The “big step” AlphaTauri saw from Tsunoda which earned him a new deal
As Red Bull’s junior team, it’s unusual for AlphaTauri to give a new driver four consecutive seasons to prove themselves. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Whether in their current guise or previously as Toro Rosso, drivers either found themselves propelled upwards to Red Bull within a few seasons – as in the case of Max Verstappen , Sebastian Vettel and others – or quickly replaced, as Nyck de Vries discovered after less than half a season this year. The team has kept the faith with Yuki Tsunoda , however. This is despite a downward trend in his points-scoring which, of course, has more to do with the team’s decline in competitiveness than the quality of his efforts. Having scored 32 points on his debut in 2021 he took just 12 last year as the team fell behind several of its rivals in the first year knew technical regulations were introduced. That downward trajectory has continued so far this season, and Tsunoda has only scored three points from the … [Read more...] about The “big step” AlphaTauri saw from Tsunoda which earned him a new deal
Logan Sargeant hit with 10-second penalty after Williams breach ‘third car’ regulations
Preparing their spare chassis “to more than an assembly comprising a survival cell”, Logan Sargeant has a 10-second penalty even before the first lap of the Japanese Grand Prix for Williams breaching third car rules. Sargeant suffered a big crash in Saturday’s Q1 at the Suzuka circuit when a snap of oversteer through the final corner put him onto the grass. Unable to control the car, he crashed into the barrier causing a significant amount of damage to the left side of his FW45. Williams forced into making extensive changes to get Logan Sargeant into the race He’ll now line up in the pit lane on Sunday as Williams have opted to make set-up changes while he also has a new chassis, gearbox, engine, wings, and suspensions. The changes are extensive, so extensive there was talk of this being a “third car”. The FIA confirmed this with Technical Delegate Jo Bauer saying: “Last night the Williams Racing team worked on car number 02, chassis 03, two hours after the chequered flag … [Read more...] about Logan Sargeant hit with 10-second penalty after Williams breach ‘third car’ regulations