Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

The Russian Rally-Raid Championship‘s Baja Sibirskiy Trakt does not start until Thursday, but KAMAZ-master already has some work to take care of. On their way to the race in Ulyanovsk, one of their trucks was involved in a road accident that resulted in damage to the grille. Nobody was injured.

The accident occurred on the highway just outside the village of Belaya Gora in Tatarstan leading to Chistopol. In an onboard camera released by the team, the car in front of the truck collided with another truck in the oncoming lane. The KAMAZ truck swerved right to avoid debris from the contact while the car drifted and spun into the grass on the side of the road.

A chunk from the car shot into the KAMAZ’s front radiator grille. The car itself suffered serious damage to its left front.

The team’s other vehicles stopped at the scene to attend to those involved, which included every competing truck.

KAMAZ-master eventually released a statement on Telegram along with the onboard that read, “Dear drivers, please be careful on the road! It was only by sheer luck that there were no injuries in this road incident.”

After a year away, Samuel Fremy is heading back to the Rallye du Maroc in October. He will race a KTM 450 Rally in the Rally2 category.

He finished forty-third overall among Rally2 riders in the 2021 Rallye du Maroc, and his performance, along with his background racing other Moroccan and Algerian cross-country rallies, qualified him for the 2022 Dakar Rally. Competing under Nomade Racing Assistance’s banner, Fremy placed eighty-ninth among all bikes with a best stage run of eighty-fourth in Stage #5.

Fremy grew up on bicycles and was already competing in rallies as a teengaer. After working for Yamaha Motor France for eight years under the tutelage of president Jean-Claude Olivier and Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel, he founded EXPLORCOM, a company that sells gear for motorcycle riders.

EXPLORCOM is prominently featured on Fremy’s bike. Other sponsors include KRIEGA and KLIM, both an motorcycle gear makers whose products are carried by EXPLOCOM.

The 2023 Rallye du Maroc is scheduled for 13–18 October. Unlike his last foray at the rally, the 2023 edition is under World Rally-Raid Championship sanction, thereby making it his W2RC début.

Pirelli nominated one of the most durable tyre ranges for the Japanese Grand Prix— the C1, C2 and C3—with Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola describing Suzuka International Racing Course as one of the most unique and “demanding” tracks on the calendar.

Isola said that Suzuka places heavy stress on the tyres due to the vertical and lateral loads they must undertake both throughout the lap and while cornering. These traits support the continued use of Pirelli’s second-hardest compound set at Suzuka, which now features the updated C1 tyre that débuted in 2023.

“The Japanese Grand Prix takes place on one of the most fascinating and demanding tracks in Formula 1 history: Suzuka, with its unique figure of eight layout. This historic venue is a drivers’ favourite, being absolutely thrilling to drive in today’s ultra-competitive single-seaters. With its very significant lateral and vertical loads, Suzuka is as demanding on tyres as it is on drivers. These demands are equally distributed across all four wheels, with 10 right-handers and eight left-handers throughout the six-kilometre lap.

“As a result of these challenging characteristics, we bring some of the hardest tyres in the 2023 range to Japan: C1, C2, and C3. This is only nominally the same as last year’s selection on account of the new C1 compound, which was introduced this season to slot in between the C2 and former C1 (now called C0).“

Tyre testing is on the agenda during Friday practice, which will see teams have the opportunity to test out Pirelli’s next iteration of the C2 compound. Isola said that Pirelli is aiming to incorporate the new tyre next season, which would provide drivers more grip than the current version.

Liam Lawson was happy to score his first points of his FIA Formula 1 World Championship career last weekend in Singapore and is excited to be heading to a track he has already competed on this weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The New Zealander continues to replace the recovering Daniel Ricciardo at Scuderia AlphaTauri for a fourth consecutive race this weekend at the Suzuka International Racing Course, a track on which he raced on earlier this year as part of his usual Super Formula season.

Lawson is ready for his first race in Formula 1 machinery around the circuit, knowing that the track offers little room for error, and he is keen to add to his experience and points tally on Sunday.

“I was really happy to pick up my first F1 points in Singapore and get a tough race distance under my belt,” said Lawson.  “Now I’m excited about Suzuka, which I know pretty well, as I’m racing in the Super Formula championship this year.

“It means I’ve tested and raced there quite a few times and I absolutely love it. Obviously being a Formula 1 track, when I first drove it, it was a pretty cool experience. It’s very iconic as well. More of an old-school style of circuit, with grass around the whole track and not much room for error.”

Monster Energy Honda Rally Team will be a five-man operation for the rest of the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship, 2024 Dakar Rally, and beyond. On Wednesday, the team announced Skyler Howes has joined the outfit where he will partner with fellow American Ricky Brabec, Adrien Van Beveren, José Ignacio Cornejo, and Pablo Quintanilla.

Howes departed Husqvarna Factory Racing in June, ending a two-and-a-half-year stint that saw him win the 2022 Rallye du Maroc. His last race with the team, the Sonora Rally in April, ended with a crash that resulted in shoulder injuries. Due to his recovery and free agency status, he did not run the Desafío Ruta 40 in late August.

He is no stranger to Honda, having raced a CRF450X in SCORE International, Best In The Desert, and other American desert racing championships before making the jump to rally raid. After being a privateer on a Yamaha and KTM, he finally connected with Husqvarna in 2021.

Although mathematically out of W2RC RallyGP contention due to his Sonora retirement and missing Argentina, Howes hopes to recapture his momentum from the season-opening Dakar Rally where he led much of the race despite not winning a stage and finished third overall. He was the fifth American to record a podium at Dakar, company that includes Brabec.

“Riding for the HRC Rally Team is a highlight of my life and career,” said Howes. “I learned how to ride on a XR75 when I was 3 years old and I began my rally effort on a CRF450X so my roots are deep with Honda. To also have the support of Monster Energy is huge for me and I’m super excited to see what the team and I can accomplish together. After a podium at the Dakar my focus remains the same, have as much fun as possible, and continue to reach for the top step of the podium.”

Toto Wolff says there were plenty of positives to take away from the Singapore Grand Prix for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, even though they fell short on their target of taking their first win of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton pitted for fresh tyres under a late race virtual safety car in a bid to use them to catch and pass Carlos Sainz Jr.. However, despite being able to pass Charles Leclerc, neither driver was able to pass Lando Norris in second, with Sainz out of reach in first.

Russell crashed out on the final lap to end his chance of a podium – something Wolff says he’ll recover and come back stronger from – but Hamilton was able to close out the weekend with a third-place finish.

“It was a thrilling Sunday night in Singapore,” said Wolff, the Team Principal at Mercedes.  “Although the result wasn’t quite what we were hoping for, there are plenty of positives we can take away.

“We were bold and aggressive with our strategy calls. The pace of the car all weekend was strong. We executed well as a team and gave it a real shot for victory as the racers we are.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake have confirmed their driver lineup for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season with both Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou staying with the team.

Zhou – who was the first and only Chinese driver to race in Formula 1 – will continue with Alfa Romeo for a third season alongside experienced Bottas, who was already contracted with the team for next year, but it has now been officially confirmed.

Zhou signed for the team in 2022, and scored points on his debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Chinese driver has enjoyed success this season, despite Alfa Romeo struggling for pace for much of the season, and is currently ahead of his teammate in the Drivers’ Championship. Bottas also signed for Alfa Romeo in 2022 – as the team replaced both Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Räikkönen – and has become a crucial part of the team with his experience playing a massive part in car development as well as choosing the right set-ups on Grand Prix weekends. The 10-time race winner had great success in the first half of 2022, but has remained an asset for Alfa Romeo both on and off the track.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Alfa Romeo Team Representative said, “The decision to continue our journey with our driver line-up unchanged is testament to the investment we have made in our project. Nothing in Formula One changes overnight, and we have taken a conscious decision to focus on stability and to keep building our team up together as we embark on an important period of transition.

“Valtteri and Zhou are drivers of known talent and skill and they work really well together: they are well-matched and can push each other. Valtteri has taken a real leader’s role within the team, pushing us all to give our best; Zhou has made impressive steps forward in the last two years and we expect him to continue on this trajectory in 2024. Now the baton is back to us – we have to give both drivers a good car and put them in the best conditions to perform.

Oscar Piastri has extended his contract with McLaren F1 Team after an impressive rookie season in Formula 1.

Piastri is currently eleventh in the Drivers’ Championship and has had some extremely impressive results, including a fourth place finish at the British Grand Prix and a podium finish at the Belgium Sprint Race. The Australian most recently finished seventh at the Singapore Grand Prix, recovering from seventeenth after a difficult qualifying session.

Although he’s only in his rookie season, Piastri has shown his capabilities and his performances have been rewarded with an extension to his current contract, meaning his future is secured with the team until 2026.

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown was delighted with the news, speaking ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, “I’m delighted to be continuing our partnership with Oscar through to the end of 2026. He’s an incredible talent and an asset to the team so it’s fantastic to be committing to each other in the long term.”

Team Principal Andrea Stella was equally delighted to secure the services of the Australian and hopes he can keep improving with the team, “It’s fantastic to confirm that Oscar has signed a multi-year extension with the team. It’s brilliant to have his vote of confidence as we push to win championships again in the future. I look forward to seeing him develop with us as we continue this journey together.”

Gaston Vazquez suffered spinal injuries and multiple fractured vertebrae in a frightening accident during Saturday’s Baja 400, necessitating an airlift to hospital and surgeries. As his recovery continues, his team has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to pay for his medical expenses.

Vazquez was competing on the #441X Pro Moto 40 team led by Alirio Amado when he crashed at the 350-mile mark. David Smith, a bike rider in the Pro Moto 30 category, and his #319X stable were the first to reach Vazquez and call for help; Smith got nineteen minutes and three seconds removed from his total time for helping a fellow competitor. Following Vazquez’s crash, Amado continued the race in tribute and finished third in class.

SCORE International summoned a helicopter to evacuate Vazquez, during which chase crews reported he had no movement below his neck but was “maintaining his own airway.” After being taken to a hospital in Ensenada, he was transferred to another facility to undergo emergency surgery for his spinal cord on Sunday, which was successfully completed. By Tuesday, he remains in the intensive care unit but is recovering.

Jim Jaros, one of his #441X team-mates, opened a GoFundMe on Tuesday night with the goal of generating USD$10,000 (€9,358.55).

“I thought there seems to be no better use of Gofundme than a situation such as this for such a good man that will have a long road to recovery,” wrote Jaros. “If you can find it in your heart to donate, every little bit counts and we all know there are times in life where we don’t WANT to ask for help but we need to. Gaston is not the type to ask so figured I would do it for him. Thank you in advance for any consideration given.”

On 8 September, Morocco was hit by the strongest recorded earthquake in its history when a magnitude 6.9 quake struck the Marrakesh-Safi region, killing nearly three thousand people. Although the Rallye du Maroc will not begin until over a month later on 13 October, the rally hopes to chip in some support.

The rally’s route was not affected by the earthquake as it runs south of Marrakesh-Safi in the Souss-Massa and Drâa-Tafilalet regions. Even if the route did go through the impacted areas, it is probable that the race could still proceed as scheduled due to the month-long period between the earthquake and the rally. Otherwise, its slot as the final round of the World Rally-Raid Championship also provides some leeway for postponement if necessary.

Previous iterations of the Rallye du Maroc have gone through Marrakesh.

“We are in for a very special edition of the Rallye du Maroc,” said race director David Castera. “In the aftermath of the disaster that hit it a few days ago, we will support the reconstruction of our host country through a series of initiatives launched in close consultation with the authorities. The original sports programme of the race remains in place.

“The Rallye du Maroc is cast in the same mould as its bigger counterpart, the Dakar (Rally), whose features and spirit it has always shared. Now as ever, Morocco is a vast arena for rally raids, with dirt tracks, sand, stones and dunes that open up possibilities in every register. It is also a sprawling desert riddled with navigational challenges. Not a single special will dip below 300 km. It is no exaggeration to say that the Rallye du Maroc is a miniature Dakar. The upcoming edition will stay true to this tradition, with an A to Z of what our sport has to offer. This is crystal clear to both the pros and the amateurs, which is why we already have 140 motorbikes on the start list. We also have a few surprises in store, such as Nani Roma’s first official outing with Ford in the car race and the reveal of a new Honda HRC in the motorbike competition.”

Marshall Méplon has competed in motocross, enduro, and sand races across France, but in October will head to Morocco to race in the World Rally-Raid Championship‘s Rallye du Maroc.

Méplon is a veteran of the Championnat de France des Sables (French Sand Racing Championship. He is currently twenty-third in points and finished as high as seventh in the 2019 standings. In February, he finished twenty-fourth at the Enduropale du Touquet, the top sand race and opening round of the inaugural FIM Sand Races World Cup. Various competitors in the event have also competed in rallies such as Dakar Rally riders Camille Chapelière and Mathieu Dovèze, while Sébastien Herbet and Maxime Pouponnot also intend to make their W2RC débuts at the Rallye du Maroc.

In May, he ran his first cross-country rally at the Hellas Rally Raid in Greece, finishing twenty-third overall and twelfth in the M3 category.

“After the Greek mountains of the Hellas Rally, I will be on a completely different type of playing field to participate in my first World Rally-Raid Championship in the Rally 2 category,” wrote Méplon in July. “So looking forward to it!”

Méplon also works as an instructor at the MMX School, a motocross academy in Campagne-lès-Hesdin, France.

Matt DiBenedetto was already set to depart Rackley WAR after the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, but will instead do so three races before it concludes. On Tuesday, the team announced they have “reached a decision to make a driver change” for the final races of the year.

Despite a solid two-year tenure in which he won his first national series race at Talladega in 2022 before making the 2023 playoffs, DiBenedetto announced in late August that he would test the free agency market at the end of the season. He was eliminated from playoff contention after the first round, and scored a tenth-place finish at Bristol on Thursday in his last race for the team.

Rackley WAR did not immediately reveal a replacement in the #25 Chevrolet Silverado RST, instead stating they “will release further details of the transaction once they are finalized.”

DiBenedetto’s departure marked the second time that Rackley WAR has parted ways with a full-time driver midseason. They signed Timothy Peters for their début campaign in 2021, but dropped him after a difficult first ten races in favour of a rotation that included Josh Berry, Brett Moffitt, and team co-owner Willie Allen. The team signed DiBenedetto, who was coming off a seven-year stint in the Cup Series, for 2022.

“No words can express the disappointment I’m feeling right now and also not being able to finish the season out,” tweeted DiBenedetto after the news broke. “I really want to thank my fans for always being there for me, it means the world to me and I’ll always be there for you. Thank you NASCAR and Craftsman for such an awesome series that I love competing in with all my heart! Working on 2024 and will update you all soon!”

Tobias Ebster secured his ticket to the 2024 Dakar Rally when he won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge‘s Rally2 category outright, even beating out those fighting for the World Rally-Raid Championship. Before heading to Saudi Arabia in January, he will have new ground to tackle when he enters the Rallye du Maroc in October.

After mostly competing in amateur rallies alongside his usual motocross and enduro events, Ebster made his début in an FIM cross-country world series at the 2022 FIM Bajas World Cup-ending Dubai International Baja. Two months later, he entered his maiden W2RC round at the ADDC; while not competing for points, he quickly set the tone by winning the Prologue among Rally2 bikes.

Paolo Lucci took the overall lead after taking the first three main stages, but Ebster kept close as he never finished worse than third during that stretch even after crashing and enduring clutch issues in Stage #1. Lucci’s own accident and injury in Stage #4 promoted Jean-Loup Lepan to the top spot with Ebster in tow before the latter scored the walk-off victory in the fifth and final leg.

His uncle Heinz Kinigadner won the inaugural ADDC bike overall in 1995. Kinigadner is currently a consultant for KTM Motorsport and W2RC RallyGP team Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.

As the overall winner, Ebster also defeated eight other riders for the Road to Dakar that earned him free admission to the Dakar Rally. The Road to Dakar is awarded at each W2RC event to the best bike and SSV competitor with no prior Dakar experience. Some of his fellow ADDC RtD riders are also competing at Dakar in 2024 such as Vincent Biau, Oran O’Kelly, and Modestas Siliunas.

Max Verstappen saw his ten-race winning streak come to an end in the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, although he rues the timing of the safety car that could have seen a better result than fifth place around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

In a rare off weekend for Oracle Red Bull Racing, Verstappen had found himself starting eleventh on the grid, and the Dutchman gambled on starting on the hard compound tyre, hoping to reap the benefits of running the medium compound later on.

However, the timing of the safety car was not on his side, and he was forced to take the restart on well used hard tyres, which meant he was a sitting duck to those who had made their stop. 

When he finally did stop for tyres of his own, the pace of the RB19 was evident to see as he was able to make some good overtaking manoeuvres, and he ended up fifth on the road, just a couple of tenths back on Charles Leclerc.

“I think we did the best we could today,” said Verstappen.  “We had good pace and we were just unfortunate with the timing of the safety car, if it weren’t for that, I really think that we would have been in a good place to fight up front.

Lewis Hamilton stood on the podium in Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, with the seven-time World Champion gambling on switching to fresh medium tyres when the virtual safety car was deployed late in the day at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team gambled on pit stops for both drivers, with George Russell and Hamilton then running fourth and fifth.  Both were able to clear Charles Leclerc, but although they had the tyre life advantage over Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. ahead of them, they were unable to advance any further.

When Russell crashed out on the final lap, Hamilton inherited the final spot on the podium, and he admitted it was a gamble to switch tyres under the virtual safety car, a gamble that ultimately paid off.

“We rolled the dice this weekend and went with an offset tyre strategy,” said Hamilton.  “I felt like the race was a two-stop today and the team did an amazing job to get us back up there.

“Having to give back the two positions from the first corner was a shame, but I kept my head down and kept pushing.”