Monday Motorsports: Red Bull Scores One-Two Finish in Korea

Yonhap, via Associated Press Mark Webber, left, and Sebastian Vettel perform the “Gangnam Style” dance popularized by South Korean rapper Psy, center, on Sunday before the Korean Grand Prix.

On the Formula One race circuit, it's beginning to look a lot like 2011.

Sebastian Vettel, seeking his third consecutive drivers' title for Red Bull, made a deft early pass on Mark Webber, his teammate, to secure a lead he would not relinquish at the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday. It was Vettel's third consecutive victory, the most command ing string for any driver this year.

The win put Vettel six points ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who finished third behind Webber, with four races left on the calendar. Felipe Massa, Alonso's teammate, finished fourth, his second consecutive strong showing in what had otherwise been an undistinguished season for the driver.

The one-two finish by Red Bull was the first by any team this year. The series moves to New Delhi for the second annual Indian Grand Prix on Oct. 28. (The New York Times)

Here are other motorsports news items from the weekend:

- Clint Bowyer managed his fuel on Sunday better than the frontrunners for the Nascar Sprint Cup championship, outlasting Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin for the win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was Bowyer's third win of 2012 in the Sprint Cup. Johnson, finishing in third, is seven points behind Keselowski for the overall points lead. Hamlin is ranked third after finishing second to Bowyer in Charlotte. (ESPN)

- Dani Pedrosa continued his domination of the second half of the 2012 MotoGP race calendar, closing to within 28 points of Jorge Lorenzo, the series leader, with a win on Sunday in Japan. Lorenzo has been the more consistent finisher this season, however, and would only need to finish in third place in the last three races of the year to secure the championship. In his return to competition after having surgery on his ankle, Casey Stoner, the 2011 champion, finished in fifth place. (BBC)

- BMW Group announced on Friday it would not field a Mini factory team in the World Rally Championship in 2013. Started in 2011 in partnership with Prodrive, the British rally company that had success in W.R.C. with the Subaru Impreza, the Mini rally effort was based on the Countryman platform. In a statement, Kay Segler, senior vice president of the Mini brand, said a “very difficult commercial environment” contributed to its decision to withdraw support for a factory team. Dr. Segler still expected the W.R.C. Countryman to be available to privateer teams. (Autosport)