Doohan caps big day for Aussie offspring

Jack Doohan has capped a huge day for the offspring of Australian motorsport royalty, winning his maiden Formula 3 race.

The son of five-time MotoGP world champion Mick Doohan came from fourth on the grid to secure his first race win at Le Castellet, France.

Putting on a brilliant display in wet conditions, Doohan chased down the leader Dennis Hauger in a tense final few laps.

The 18-year-old cut into Haugher’s 2.6 seconds advantage with five laps to go and under the urgings of his Trident team piled on the pressure and took over.

Haugher, who leads the championship standings, tried desperately to match Doohan but the Australian simply had too much grip and too much control.

“The conditions weren’t the easiest, but we managed them well and came out on top,” Doohan tweeted.

“I am very happy and I am now looking forward to the Red Bull Ring in just over a week.”

In a promising start to the 2021 Formula 3 season, Doohan’s maiden win moves him into third in the overall standings on 58 points, eight points behind Hauger.

Doohan’s father rates as one of the all-time greats of motorbike racing, winning five MotoGP titles.

The result completed a remarkable 24 hours for second-generation Australian racers after Remy Gardner and Oli Bayliss both had wins in separate motorbike categories on Sunday.

Bayliss, the son of three-time world superbike champion Troy, broke through for his victory in race three of the Australian Superbike Championship in Darwin.

Meanwhile at the Moto2 race at the Sachsenring in Germany, Gardner continued his red-hot form in the category to win his third race of the year.

The son of former world 500cc champion Wayne now holds a 36-point lead in the Moto2 championship standings from Spain’s Raul Fernandez.