Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

The Silk Way Rally is officially expanding outside Russia for the first time since 2019 as the 2024 edition will start in Tomsk before going to Mongolia and finishing in China. Revealed on Wednesday, the 2024 route will stretch roughly 5,500 kilometres with 2,500 in timed Selective Sections.

Tomsk, located in Siberia, will host the start of the race on 5 July before heading south to Barnaul and Gorno-Altaysk, the capital of the Altai Republic. Kosh-Agach, straddling the border with Mongolia, will be the final town for the rally’s Russian leg before crossing over and making a beeline for Khovd. Eventually, the rally goes west into China’s Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture and finishes on 15 July in Khorgos, next to China’s border by Kazakhstan.

Course reconnaisance was completed in late October.

“During the reconaissance, we visited the luxurious landscapes of Russia, and entered the territory of Mongolia, with its extraordinary landscapes, which we wanted to show to participants in 2021,” said Viktor Sokolov, the deputy head of the Silk Way Rally Association. “We were able to combine various types of road surfaces and different climatic conditions in one route. We drive from the taiga into permafrost areas, climb mountains to an altitude of more than 2,500 meters above sea level, we drive along dunes that stretch for fifty to sixtyh kilometres. Such diversity can probably put this Silk Way in first place among those we have run. Participants need to remember this slogan: ‘Mountains, stones, sand.'”

The rally first added legs beyond Russia with the inaugural race in 2009, before resuming the practice in 2016 with the addition of China and Kazakhstan. Mongolia was included in 2019 as the middle stages before the race ended in China. After COVID-19 cancelled the 2020 race, the resumption in 2021 was exclusively in Russia. Organisers considered a gigantic route for 2022 that began in Qatar, ran across seven other countries, and finished in Syria, though it was subsequently shelved in favour of another Russia-only course.

Championship Off-Road can breathe a little easier in 2024 as its new rival, the tentatively named AOE Pro Series, has delayed the inaugural season.

“After serious consideration, discussion, and additional research, American Outdoor Events has decided to not move forward with the 2024 National Short Course series announced earlier this year,” reads a statement from AOE owner Jason Robinett. “The original focus and purpose of AOE and MidAmerica Outdoors was a family focused outdoors park that impacts the Northeast Oklahoma area. AOE will refocus their energy more closely to home and more in alignment with the original vision of the founders.

“There are many details that still need to be communicated, but we wanted to allow drivers and marketing partners to know as soon as possible out of respect for their 2024 planning and budgeting processes. Short course is a healthy and vibrant segment of American Motorsports and there are many other strong organisations that will still be carrying the mission forward. Additional details will be communicated over the next few weeks regarding the other racing series owned and operated by AOE as the team re-evaluates our racing programmes individually in context of our primary goals and vision.

“We look forward to producing even bigger and better events at MidAmerica Outdoors in 2024 as we narrow our scope, expand our impact on the local community, and strive for excellence in all that we do. Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. We look forward to an amazing 2024 as a team and as a park!”

The Pro Series was created in September by American Outdoor Events shortly after the 2023 COR season concluded at AOE-owned MidAmerica Outdoors. It quickly gained the backing of prominent names and tracks including the legendary Crandon International Raceway, SPEED SPORT, and a decorated Board of Directors with IMSA president Scott Atherton and NASCAR team boss Cal Wells. AOE, which operates multiple off-road racing properties, later introduced an umbrella for regional short course series like its West Coast-based Great American Shortcourse, MAO, and COR-aligned Midwest Off Road Racing.

CHK Racing is no more. Long live Mike Harmon Racing.

After just one year as CHK Racing to reflect a partnership between Mike Harmon, Gary Keller, and Michael Clayton Sr., Harmon has reverted the team name back to Mike Harmon Racing for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. In a statement released Thursday, Harmon explained one of his partners whose identity he did not disclose did not provide the necessary resources to be competitive.

The team’s #74 struggled mightily in 2023 as it finished forty-seventh in owner points and qualified for just seven races while missing fifteen that it entered. Ryan Vargas, who joined CHK as a consultant, failed to qualify for the first three races before the team’s revolving door of drivers brought in names like Casey Carden, Dawson Cram, Kaden Honeycutt, Devin Jones, Baltazar Leguizamón, and Brad Pérez.

Only Cram and Honeycutt successfully qualified for races, the former making six with a best finish of twenty-first at Texas.

“Last year was not what I had envisioned,” said Harmon. “We were sold a bunch of goods from a so-called ‘partner’ who said they’d help move our programme forward, both with financial investment and help getting us marketing partners. We didn’t get what was promised to us. The only thing we got was abandoned and an attempt to ruin our reputation.

The 2024 Dakar Rally will be the fifth in Saudi Arabia, though sixty percent of the route will proceed through ground not previously visited. The full route was revealed Monday, spanning 7,891 kilometres with 4,727 km in Selective Sections.

The route is shorter than the 8,549 of the 2023 race, though it has more Selective Sections-the actual part of each stage where competitors are timed-than last year’s 4,704. However, the 4,727 km still falls just short of the highest Saudi SS of 4,767 in 2021.

Al-‘Ula will kick off the rally on 5 January with a 27-km loop, serving as its start and finish. The race “formally” begins with Stage #1 heading to Al Hinakiyah followed by Dawadmi the day after.

Marathon rules, which prohibit crews from assisting drivers and bikes, apply in Stages #3 and #4. Both will serve as a warm-up of sorts for the bigger Chrono Stage that will run for forty-eight hours in Stage #6, taking competitors to and from Shubaytah in the easternmost part of the country. Once it is 4 PM on 11 January, teams must report to the nearest rest area, of which six are available, where they camp through the night before resuming the Chrono Stage the next morning. Once they complete the stage, they head to Riyadh for the rest day on 13 January as they did in 2023.

The second half of the rally, a trip westward, commences on the 14th with the longest total stage back to Dawadmi at 873 kilometres. A stop in Ḥa’il is followed by a return to Al-‘Ula. Yanbu will host the twelfth and final stage on 19 January with another loop.

Astara Team will field two 02 Concept cars at the 2024 Dakar Rally, both with female drivers in Laia Sanz and Patricia Pita Gago. Maurizio Gerini and Paolo Boggioni will respectively serve as co-drivers.

Sanz will run her third Dakar in a car after being the top female bike rider at the race in the 2010s. She and Gerini joined Astara for the 2023 race, where they were set back by early wrecks that relegated them to sixty-fifth overall. The duo finished twenty-third in an X-raid Mini at the 2022 race.

Since Dakar, Sanz has been focusing on the Extreme E Championship for ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team. Entering December’s season finale in Chile, she and fellow Dakar competitor Mattias Ekström are leading the team championship with two wins; ACCIONA | Sainz is co-owned by Ekstrom’s Dakar team-mate Carlos Sainz.

“It is an honor to race for the second year with the Astara Team,” Sanz commented. “The vehicle’s evolution is a significant step forward. It is 100% emissions-neutral, lighter, and has better performance. With effort and persistence, we will achieve what we set out to do.”

Pita made her Dakar début in 2023 after enjoying success in South American rallies. Racing a Can-Am Maverick in the T3 class for Proracing Competition, she finished thirty-sixth. By joining Astara, she will move up to the Ultimate (formerly T1) category.

Vaidotas Žala will once again drive a Mini John Cooper Works at the Dakar Rally in 2024, though this time it will be an upgraded model in the T1+ subcategory. He revealed his Arijus X-raid programme on Sunday, which will be fielded with support from X-raid Team. Paulo Fiuza will remain his navigator for the fourth year in a row.

Žala raced a Mini at Dakar from 2020 through 2022, winning a stage in 2020 followed by just missing out on a top ten at the 2022 edition with a career-best eleventh. He switched to a Prodrive Hunter for 2023, where he was plagued by inconsistent results as he either finished top ten each day or retired with a mechanical issue. As a result, he ran as high as second in Stage #9 but failed to finish when his gearbox failed two days later.

To make matters worse, his title sponsor Teltonika withdrew their backing in late January, ending at two-year partnership. After facing doubts as to whether he could return for a ninth Dakar in 2024, Arijus Ramonas‘ logistics company Arijus Group stepped up to become his new sponsor in October.

“Last Dakar was one of the toughest in my career. We had plenty of technical issues, and during analysis we were surprised how many things went wrong in a single race,” said Žala. “Upon returning, we also lost a major part of funding. It was a dark moment, which tested to the limit our motivation to continue with the project.

“In such situations, it is important to have an answer as to why are we doing this. The answer to our question was simple: speed. We finished in the top ten in every stage without problems, and also came as close as fifty-eight seconds to a stage win. It would be disrespectful to long-term team partners, fans, family, and also ourselves to ditch the project without proper results.”

The FIM Bajas World Cup was turned upside down at the season-ending Dubai International Baja as the points leader in nearly every class, including the premier 450cc category, left the finale without the championship.

David Megre entered Dubai with a six-point lead in the 450cc standings over Mohammed Al-Balooshi, and needed to finish fourth to be guaranteed the title regardless of Al-Balooshi’s performance. Although Megre won the Prologue, he struggled over the next two days and finished just one spot short in fifth, with Makis Rees-Stavros edging him out for fourth by less than four minutes.

Despite a bizarre final day in which he received a penalty that was subsequently rescinded, Al-Balooshi scored the win in his home Baja and overtook Megre by just two points.

“This is the seventh round for me and doing it on the last day in my country is icing on the cake,” said Al-Balooshi. “I’m really happy for that.”

The Quad class was a three-way battle between Kevin Giroud, Haitham Al-Tuwayjiri, and Hani Al-Noumesi, the former two being tied for the points lead going into the finale while Al-Noumesi was eight points back. However, after claiming the Prologue, Al-Tuwayjiri’s title hopes were dashed by a mechanical failure in SS2 that forced him to retire. Al-Noumesi received a speeding penalty the same day that knocked him out of contention.

It started with a challenge from a friend. It ended with him becoming a legend.

Wouter-jan Van Dijk, a Dutchman who lives in Australia, was talking with his buddy Shane Moss about racing the 2023 Baja 1000 when Moss, who ran the 2019 edition, suggested to try it solo in the Pro Moto Ironman class. Despite having no prior SCORE International experience, Van Dijk took him up on the offer. Over forty-eight hours of traversing the Baja California desert and other misadventures, he finally completed the race just past midnight on Saturday in easily the biggest story of the week.

“My mate’s done it before in 2019. We were planning to do it again and maybe doing it with a team, then he said, ‘Why don’t you do it Ironman if you can? You reckon you can?’,” recalled Van Dijk. “I was like, ‘I guess I can.’ That started the ball rolling. I think that was six months ago. Just trying to make it happened and planned it—sort of, not too much, and it worked out in the end.”

How it all transpired was a series of events that exemplified classic desert racing. Van Dijk primarily hails from an enduro background, competing in events like Red Bull Romaniacs, and had never raced in Baja when he accepted the gauntlet thrown down by Moss. A month before the 1000, he reached out on social media to parties like the Pro Moto Baja Racing Facebook group inquiring about shipping tyres to La Paz, where the race was to begin, writing that he will “be doing the trip down slowly on a bike and then prep the bike while I’m down there. Anyone that comes trough San Diego might be useful. It shouldn’t be much stuff just a set of tires probably and [mousses].”

After arriving in San Diego, he purchased a used and unbadged KTM EXC 500 bike off Craiglist, upon which he scrawled his number #741X on the front and side by hand. Van Dijk and Moss brought the bike across the border into Mexico and to the southern tip of Baja California, carrying with them the bare necessities to race in saddle bags. Although the bike was intact while in San Diego, they discovered the subframe broke on the way to La Paz, which he surmised occurred due to the weight of their luggage. SCORE required him to make the necessary repairs along with other safety changes before the bike could pass contingency, which he achieved with the help of friends and contacts he made there.

The 2023 Baja 1000 was the second longest in race history as competitors raced an unprecedented course starting in La Paz and went north to Ensenada for 1,310 miles. Despite its daunting nature, those who dared to challenge the race and survived became legends.

Bryce Menzies, joined by his longtime team-mate Andy McMillin and Tavo Vildósola, dominated the Trophy Truck class from start to finish. The first Four-Wheeler on track thanks to Menzies’ Baja 400 victory in September, the #7 never lost the lead throughout the entire race as it completed the race in 22:35:33 for Menzies’ maiden Baja 1000 win, Vildósola’s second after 2010, and McMillin’s sixth. The lattermost ties Rob MacCachren for the most overall victories at the 1000.

MacCachren and Andy’s cousin Luke McMillin, who were riding a two-race win streak at the 1000, chased down the #7 but lost by just forty-two seconds; had they pulled it off, McMillin would have claimed his record-setting fourth 1000 victory in a row. McMillin has been Menzies’ main championship rival in recent years, winning the 2022 title and the 2023 season-opening San Felipe 250 before Menzies claimed the Baja 500 and 400. The two entered the 1000 with Menzies leading the championship by nine points, meaning a win virtually guaranteed the victor the title. Dan McMillin, Luke’s brother, was among the retirements after Justin Lofton rolled their truck.

“Whenever Luke’s racing, you always know he’s going to be up there so we could battle it out all year long from San Felipe to the 500 to the 400 to the 1000,” said Menzies, who bounces back from back-to-back years of mechanical failures. “If it’s not him, it’s me. It’s pretty cool to have that rivalry going on and we’re also really good friends. Cool to race such a good family and I’m glad to be here, glad to get my first Baja 1000 win.”

Vildósola’s father Gus Vildósola also had reason to celebrate as he won the Trophy Truck Legends class for the second year in a row. Likewise, although coming up short, the MacCachren name still added a trophy in the form of his son Cayden MacCachren being the highest performing UTV; the younger MacCachren was joined by Justin Morgan, who won the 2022 race on a bike, and the great Rhys Millen. The UTV finished twentieth overall, beating every Class 10 car for the first time in SCORE International history; Jose Ruvalcaba was the closest Class 10 as he placed two spots back.

Rodolfo Guillioli is looking to race on four wheels in 2024, albeit in a slightly different vehicle from what he is used to. After finishing runner-up in the World Rally-Raid Championship for Quads, the Guatemalan plans to become a co-driver for an FIA class starting with the 2024 Dakar Rally and continuing the rest of the championship.

“As I finished the World Championship in 2023 with a runner-up position in the W2RC title, I am looking forward to continuing being part of the rally-raid family,” Guillioli told Cross-Country Rally News. “I did not plan of participating in the Dakar 2024 in quads, but I am looking to be part of the T2/T3/T4 categories as a co-driver, sharing my experience in navigation (two years of continuous navigation with the electronic tablet RB) and my mechanical skills.”

Guillioli is no stranger to being a driver or co-driver, doing so for South American rallies before switching to racing a quad including competing in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship (predecessor to the W2RC) and at the Dakar Rally when it ran through South America. He returned to the championship in 2021 only for it to be cut short at the season opener by injury, and has been a regular in the W2RC since that included a podium at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

After skipping the 2023 Dakar Rally, he entered the remainder of the calendar. He finished fourth overall at Abu Dhabi before stringing together runner-up finishes among W2RC points-earning riders at each of the final three rounds. Including non-championship competitors, he was sixth in class at the Desafío Ruta 40 and third at the Rallye du Maroc. The Sonora Rally only had two Quad entrants as he and Laisvydas Kancius traded blows, the latter winning the race before going on to claim the championship by nine points over Guillioli.

It is not uncommon for bike and quad riders to switch to racing cars later in their careers. Toby Price, the runner-up in the RallyGP class, is also envisioning a switch to four wheels in the future.

Green Power Race will enter an electric bike into the 2024 Dakar Rally‘s Mission 1000 category for vehicles using hybrid, electric, or other alternative power sources. Fran Pallas will pilot the bike.

Pallas is an enduro and motocross veteran who won the Galician Motocross Championship twice as a teenager before becoming a regular in the Spanish series. He also competed at the Enduropale du Touquet in France, the world’s largest sand race, in 2000, which inspired him to consider racing the Dakar. Later that year, he made his Dakar début and finished eighty-eighth overall for bikes despite a broken toe.

Additional starts came in 2003 and from 2005 to 2009, finishing twice in 2006 and 2009. His most recent effort came in 2018, a race he also completed.

Eventually, he developed an interest in electric motorcycles but high costs prevented him from pursuing it further until the Mission 1000 was introduced for 2024. He eventually tested with Green Power Race before the programme was formally unveiled last Saturday at the Freestyle de A Coruña.

“The organisation (Amaury Sport) is very interested in us going,” Pallas told DxT Campeón. “In fact, I don’t know if we are a bit to blame for making this category, but we have been talking for a long time with David Castera, who is the head of the organisation, and they were very interested in bringing together as many drivers as possible.”

Following an accident in Morocco, Jean-Pascal Besson will have to skip the 2024 Dakar Rally. It would have been his twelfth time running the race.

The accident resulted in three fractures in his arm and a radial head fracture of the elbow.

“Following my recent accident, I suffered several fractures and I will not have recovered from my injuries by January 5, 2024,” wrote Besson on social media. “I leave my co-pilot, my 3 mechanics and the truck driver at the disposal of a serious team who could hire them for this edition.”

Besson has raced at Dakar since 2007, finishing nineteenth in the T3 category at his eleventh start in January. The start came in a Can-Am provided by MMP Compétition, and provided a rebound after a rollover resulted in both him and co-driver Patrice Roissac getting hurt. Delphine Delfino took over as his navigator for the 2023 race.

After Dakar, Besson has participated in various desert events in Morocco such as the M’Hamid Express and Raid Méhari 2 CV of Morocco. The latter was organised by Besson for Citroën Méhari owners.

While DGM Racing provided him with capable equipment, Josh Williams is stepping into the best ride of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career in 2024 as he will pilot the #11 Chevrolet Camaro of Kaulig Racing.

As a DGM driver since 2017, his second year in the Xfinity Series, Williams’ points finish is generally within the teens including a best run of fifteenth in 2020. In 2023, he finished twenty-first with three top tens and a best run of eighth at Loudon. The year also saw him attract national attention when he deliberately parked his car on the start/finish line at Atlanta to protest NASCAR’s decision to stop scoring him due to crash damage, resulting in a one-race suspension.

“Josh Williams has fought tooth and nail for everything in his racing career, and we’re really excited to have him race for us,” commented Kaulig president Chris Rice. “We love his energy and passion at the track, and we think his personality and drive will fit right in with the Kaulig Racing culture.”

In 186 career Xfinity races since 2016, he has eleven top tens with a best finish of sixth at Kansas in 2020. Besides his highest points placement, that season saw him record a career-high six top tens.

Williams has also dabbled in the Cup and Craftsman Truck Series, though the Xfinity Series serves as his home. Prior to Xfinity, he was an ARCA Menards Series championship contender who scored back-to-back top-five points finishes before graduating to the national tiers.

Jake Garcia will race for ThorSport Racing for his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series sophomore season, the team announced Wednesday.

“To have the chance to race for a championship organisation like ThorSport Racing is huge for me,” said Garcia. “I’m extremely excited for this opportunity and cannot wait to get the 2024 season started.”

Garcia is coming off his rookie season in the Truck Series. Racing for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, he finished thirteenth in points with nine top tens, three top fives, and a best run of second in his final start with MHR at Phoenix. He first entered the series in 2022 on a six-race calendar.

Prior to the Trucks, he was a late model racer who won the 2021 Southern Super Series title.

While 2024 will be his second full-time season, it will be the first in which he runs every race as he missed the 2023 season opener at Daytona due to age restrictions. Now eighteen years old, he is eligible for all twenty-three races.

Ken Squier, a face and voice NASCAR fans grew up with when watching races on television, passed away Wednesday from complications of an intestinal blockage. He had been moved to hospice care the day before his death. He was 88 years old.

Squier was the lap-by-lap announcer for NASCAR Cup Series broadcasts on CBS from 1979 to 1997, making his début with the legendary Daytona 500 that helped launch the sport into the national spotlight. With him in the booth, NASCAR continued to grow to new heights in the 1990s, also calling telecasts for TBS. Fellow icon Mike Joy became CBS’ new commentator for CBS in 1998, though Squier continued to call races for TBS before retiring in 1999.

Although not a weekly face, he remained involved in the studio. Squier returned to the booth for the 2015 Southern 500 at Darlington, as part of its new Throwback Weekend tradition where he was joined by Ned and Dale Jarrett.

“Though he never sat behind the wheel of a stock car, Ken Squier contributed to the growth of NASCAR as much as any competitor,” said NASCAR chairman Jim France. “Ken was a superb storyteller and his unmistakable voice is the soundtrack to many of NASCAR’s greatest moments. His calls on TV and radio brought fans closer to the sport, and for that he was a fan favorite. Ken knew no strangers, and he will be missed by all. On behalf of the France family and all of NASCAR, I offer my condolences to the family and friends of Ken Squier.”

Squier co-founded Motor Racing Network, one of NASCAR’s two major radio broadcasters. Other projects in his portfolio included creating the American Canadian Tour and the Thunder Road International Speedbowl in his home state of Vermont.