Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur was encouraged by the team’s performance at the Belgian Grand Prix, where the field was put to the test in various conditions across the Sprint weekend. 

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc captured nine points during the Saturday Sprint race, and Leclerc secured his third podium of the season with a third place finish from pole. It was an unfortunate end to the weekend for Sainz, however, retiring due to damage stemming from a collision with Oscar Piastri at turn one of the opening lap.

Vasseur said that they delayed retiring Sainz until lap twenty-three in hopes that a red flag may come up due to the mid-race rain, allowing the team time to repair the car. As this possibility faded, the decision was made to bring him in. 

“We are happy with Charles’ podium, it was well deserved and it’s a nice way to head into the summer break. Apart from that, I’d say the weekend in Belgium had several other positives. The pace was good all weekend, on rain tyres and slicks, both the Medium and Soft. 

“We made the right strategy calls and all the pit stops went well. Overall therefore, I think we have made a step forward and we must start off from this point when we are back on track, because only with this attitude can we aim to beat our closest rivals.

Belgian Grand Prix Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc said that he expected to finish behind the Red Bull Racing cars at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, considering their dominant package. With this, Leclerc felt that his third place result was realistically the best outcome for his race. 

“Third was the best result we could have achieved today. We knew that the Red Bulls would be quicker than us, so our target was to maximise points with the package we have, and we did that.”

Rather than focusing on the Red Bulls, Leclerc said that Scuderia Ferrari had their eye on third-place starter Lewis Hamilton when it came to tyre strategy. As it happened, Red Bull also had to respond by replicating their two-stop plan.

“We had to base our strategy on Lewis’ (Hamilton). He had a good pace and we had to make sure we kept him behind us. The Red Bulls in front then had to react to our moves, so we were all on the same strategy.

“In terms of tyre management, we didn’t have too much degradation and we have been doing a good job in that area for the past few races.”

Casey Stoner

Casey Stoner is an Australian motorcycle racer and one of the most talented riders in the history of MotoGP. He was born on October 16, 1985, in Southport, Queensland, Australia. Stoner's racing career was marked by exceptional speed, natural talent, and a fearless approach on the track.

Key Points About Casey Stoner's Career:

1. MotoGP World Championships: Stoner won the MotoGP World Championship twice during his career. He clinched his first title in 2007 while riding for the Ducati team, becoming the first Australian to win the premier class championship since Wayne Gardner in 1987. He then secured his second championship in 2011 while racing for Repsol Honda.

2. Aggressive Riding Style: Stoner was known for his aggressive and fearless riding style. He was not afraid to push the limits of his bike and take daring overtaking maneuvers, earning him the nickname "The Stalker."

The Stadium Super Trucks will be fourteen strong for the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, tying the 2018 Grand Prix of Long Beach for the series’ largest grid at a street circuit and the most since thirteen at the 2021 Long Beach round.

Max and Robby Gordon, Gavin Harlien, Bill Hynes, and Robert Stout comprise the longtime faces. Like in 2021, Robby Gordon’s #7 will be sponsored by Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, a local honky-tonk bar outside of which SST has hosted exhibitions when in town; he did not enter the 2022 round as he was focusing on SPEED UTV. Harlien is the defending winner after claiming Race #2 while Gordon and Stout split the 2021 Nashville races.

Matt Brabham will try for his third win in a row after sweeping Long Beach in April. He recently returned to Indy NXT with a strong outing at Iowa and is second in the Trans-Am Series’ TA points. The three-time SST champion won the first Nashville race in 2022.

Myles Cheek impressed at Long Beach when he dominated Race #2 before Brabham passed him with two laps remaining, and he hopes to continue his momentum in his first action at Nashville. Long Beach was his first SST start since 2017.

After their débuts in Long Beach, David Bernstein and Trey Hernquist are back for more. Bernstein finished twelfth and ninth at Long Beach while Hernquist was the best performing rookie in Race #2 when he placed seventh.

As her driver Javier Burillo remains hospitalised following a rollover in July’s Baja España Aragón, navigator Sonia Ledesma was livid after another team did not answer the distress call sent out. She spoke out about the race and the incident for the first time in a social media post on Monday, explaining it “took me more than a week to have the strength to write this.”

Burillo and Ledesma flipped their #652 Mitsubishi Pajero fifty-four kilometres into the first stage on Friday, 21 July in what the latter called a “slight rollover with serious consequences.” Alongside emergency services and nearby spectators, the #653 team of Jorge Rivera and Daniel Rivera and the #656 of Ángel Giménez and Maria Pilar Benages arrived on the scene to provide assistance, which Ledesma commended as the teams putting “aside their careers to save two lives, you are angels on Earth.”

While Ledesma gave her gratitude for those who stopped to help, she also recalled seeing one car continue to race. After the accident, she activated the SOS signal on her car’s Stella tracking system, which sends a notification to race control who in turn relays the message to competitors in the accident’s vicinity. Ledesma noted they failed to respond when the SOS call was still active and as others on site flagged them down for help.

She did not name the offending team but said she knew “perfectly well who you are and that I also know the race went quite well” for them. Denouncing them as “people who should be stripped of the title of human being,” Ledesma stated she is “glad” they had a strong finish “because now, in addition to having a plot of Hell reserved for you, you have a plastic trophy in your house that will remind you every day of your lives that you are a piece of shit.”

Burillo was taken to hospital shortly after being extracted from the car.

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner reflected on what was a nearly perfect first half of the season after the team earned a one-two finish at the final race before Summer shutdown, the Belgian Grand Prix. 

“We could never have dreamt of getting to summer break unbeaten, that’s never been achieved before. It’s all about teamwork and everybody doing their bit and that’s what has happened through the first 12 races of the year. 

Horner was proud of the team’s overall performance on race day, with Max Verstappen winning from a starting position of sixth due to a grid penalty and Sergio Pérez taking second place after a strong performance that saw him best pole-sitter Charles Leclerc on the opening lap.

“For Max it’s another masterful win. He managed the race after making his way from P6 to take the lead in the second stint. Checo also had a brilliant first lap, taking the lead of the race and in the end bringing home our fifth 1-2 of the season.”

Horner expressed his appreciation for the work being done by the team behind the scenes at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory, and said that much of their dominance this year can be credited to their efforts. 

After starting from sixth place due to a grid penalty for a gearbox replacement, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen reclaimed the lead of the Belgian Grand Prix quickly and went on to win his eighth consecutive race. 

Verstappen was confident in how RB19 would perform at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, allowing his to secure victory by about twenty-two seconds over team-mate Sergio Pérez. 

“I knew that the car was going to be quick today, and this is one of the best tracks to drive when you have a good car.”

The race brought some memorable radio messages between Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambaise, with Lambaise suggesting the two-time champion “use his head” and conserve his tyres in the race’s late stages. Verstappen said that their blunt conversations over the radio was not cause for concern, and rather just how they “operate” together. 

“GP and I were just having a laugh today, we’re honest with each other and that’s how we operate, there’s no need to worry.”

After over five years, Conor Daly will make his return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in a very familiar location when he enters the Pennzoil 150 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 12 August, driving the #44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing.

Daly ran his first and only Xfinity race in 2018 at Road America, where he retired with a suspension failure and was classified thirty-first for what is now RFK Racing. The start was also his début in NASCAR, but he would not return to stock cars until 2020 as a part-timer in the Truck Series. Since 2022, Daly has raced sporadically in the Cup Series which included making the 2023 Daytona 500 and finishing eighteenth in the Truck race at Mid-Ohio in July.

Indianapolis is Daly’s home track and one on which he has extensive experience in the NTT IndyCar Series, having made ten starts at the Indianapolis 500. In May, a fortnight before the 500, he finished nineteenth on the infield road course layout at the GMR Grand Prix.

Prior to the Daytona 500, Daly told The Checkered Flag he envisioned running both IndyCar and NASCAR when the series joined forces for the August weekend on the road course, with IndyCar racing the Gallagher Grand Prix on Saturday and the Cup Series racing the Verizon 200 on Sunday. However, he abruptly lost his IndyCar ride with Ed Carpenter Racing in June. Since then, Daly has been a substitute driver for the injured Simon Pagenaud at Meyer Shank Racing, though reigning Indy NXT champion Linus Lundqvist will fill in for Nashville on Sunday and the latter’s recovery timetable for Indy is uncertain.

If Daly was still a full-time IndyCar driver, it is unlikely he would run the Pennzoil 150 as it takes place immediately after the Gallagher Grand Prix. COTA in March also ended up being his final scheduled Cup start of 2023, where he finished thirty-sixth with a transmission problem.

Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as Circuit de Valencia, is a renowned motorsport race track located in Cheste, Valencia, Spain. Named after Spanish motorcycle racer Ricardo Tormo, the circuit has a rich history and has hosted various prestigious motorsport events, including MotoGP, World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), and Superbike World Championship (WSBK). Here are some key highlights about Circuit Ricardo Tormo:

1. Layout and Configuration: The track has a length of 4.005 kilometers (2.489 miles) and features a total of 14 turns. It is a medium-speed circuit with a mix of tight corners and long straights, providing a good balance of technical challenges and opportunities for overtaking.

2. MotoGP Grand Prix: Circuit Ricardo Tormo is best known for hosting the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix of the MotoGP championship. As the final race of the season, it often plays a crucial role in determining the MotoGP World Champion.

3. MotoGP Circuit Record: The circuit's lap record in MotoGP was set by Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha in 2016, with an astonishing lap time of around 1 minute and 29 seconds.

4. Facilities: The circuit offers modern and well-equipped facilities, including grandstands, hospitality suites, media centers, and a paddock area. Its spectator-friendly design allows fans to have excellent views of the action from various vantage points.

Reigning Dakar Rally winner Kevin Benavides will miss his second World Rally-Raid Championship race of the season after suffering a broken lunate bone and ligament damage in his right wrist while testing with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in the United States on Sunday. While surgery was successful, the injury sidelines him for the Desafío Ruta 40 in his home country of Argentina, which begins on 28 August.

Benavides has endured a difficult 2023 campaign since his Dakar victory. He missed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in February when he broke his femur during shakedown just days before the race. His return at the Sonora Rally in April was mainly to help him re-adjust to riding again, meaning simply finishing was his priority which he achieved as he placed twelfth in RallyGP of fifteen riders (eleventh among W2RC riders as runner-up Tosha Schareina is not racing for points).

He is currently fourth in the RallyGP standings with 43 points, 19 behind leader and KTM team-mate Toby Price. Such a gap would have been difficult to close but doable with two rounds remaining, but missing as many races virtually eliminates Benavides from contention.

“This is a terrible setback for both Kevin and the whole team, especially coming so soon after he worked incredibly hard to return to full fitness after breaking his femur back in February,” said team manager Norbert Stadlbauer. “Thankfully, it looks like the surgery to his wrist went well and Kevin is already on the road to recovery. Although, like with any injury, it’s difficult to predict when we’ll see Kevin back aboard his KTM 450 Rally, the team are of course 100 percent behind him and wish him a fast and complete recovery.”

The team has not provided a timetable for his recovery. The Rallye du Maroc, the final race of the W2RC season, is in October.

TH-Trucks Rally Team and CAP 4 Racing plan to build five Polaris RZR Pro R cars that will compete in the Dakar Rally‘s T4 category in 2024. The joint venture made its racing début at last week’s Baja España Aragón with Domingo Román driving the #634 and Óscar Bravo as navigator.

As their name suggests, TH-Trucks mainly specialises in fielding trucks. In the 2023 Dakar Rally, the team brought a pair of Scania trucks for Rafael Tibau Maynou and Alberto Herrero that raced in the T5 category; they also prepared Toyota Land Cruisers that raced in the Dakar Classic, with Dirk van Rompuy being the highest overall finisher there in sixth. CAP 4 Racing oversaw the EBRO electric car project that ran Dakar in 2022 and has designed cars capable of competing in the T3.U class for prototype electric SSVs.

Although Roman did not complete the Baja Aragon, the project found the car’s performance satisfactory, describing it as displaying “excellent results in the first kilometres of the race” while Roman and Bravo were “extremely satisfied with the easy driving and quick adaptation” to driving it. Herrero, who drove his truck in Aragon, tested the car on Monday.

The car is an upgraded 2022 Polaris RZR Pro R. It features a redesigned chassis, is lighter than the standard model by 100 kilograms, and boasts a larger fuel tank. The changes also decrease the likelihood of the vehicle rolling. Donerre Suspension, Braid Wheels, Berpellet, and OMFB IBERTEC are among the companies involved with the project.

The effort has not revealed who else will race the car at Dakar.

In 2022, John Holtger began his Championship Off-Road Pro 2 career with a bang as he won in his very first try at Bark River International Raceway. Fast forward a year later and he hopes to recapture that magic when he makes his Pro 4 début on 12/13 August, also at Bark River.

He showcased his new truck on Friday and Saturday at the downtown Lena parade and Dirt City Motorplex.

Holtger began making the move up to Pro 2 while competing in Pro Lite and Pro Turbo SxS in 2022. Ironically, he finished the Pro Lite season with as many wins as he did in a Pro 2 as he won at ERX, his lone podium that year, and placed seventh in points.

A month later, in his maiden Pro 2 race, he capitalised on a field invert to quickly take the lead and pulled away to win. Holtger was the lone non-full-time driver to win a race in the class that year.

He continued his double duty in 2023, racing in both Pro 2 and Pro Lite. After four rounds, he sits fifth in Pro 2 points after winning at ERX while he is sixth in Pro Lite.

Circuit Zandvoort: A Historic Racetrack

1. Circuit Layout: The track has a length of approximately 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) and features a challenging and diverse layout with a mix of fast straights, tight corners, and elevation changes. It runs through sand dunes and offers a scenic and unique racing experience.

2. Historic Venue: Circuit Zandvoort has a rich history, with its first races dating back to the 1930s. Over the years, it has been a favorite among drivers and fans alike, earning a reputation for providing exciting and competitive racing.

3. Dutch Grand Prix: Circuit Zandvoort has been a regular host of the Dutch Grand Prix in Formula 1, and it returned to the Formula 1 calendar in 2021 after a long absence. The Dutch Grand Prix attracts a large number of spectators and is known for its passionate and enthusiastic fans.

4. Banking: One of the distinctive features of Circuit Zandvoort is the presence of high-banked corners, which adds to the challenge and excitement for drivers.

Nitrocross will return to its home venue at Utah Motorsports Campus in Salt Lake City for the second and third rounds of the 2023-2024 season. 

The series last came to the massive venue in 2021 for its inaugural season which saw Timmy Hansen take the win with his brother Kevin Hansen and Steve Arpin closing the podium. The track has seen three total races and minor changes to the track to accommodate the Supercars that were then run from 2019 through 2021 for the Nitro World Games.

Now with its return to Salt Lake City, Nitrocross will introduce the FC1-X to the rollercoaster track featuring a 100ft gap jump and banked turns that have now become commonplace in the series. Along with the FC1-X, Baja Bugs and NEXT class return to support the series along with the Nitro Circus Van Prix as an exhibition race.

The roster includes all of this season’s standard drivers with the addition of some new drivers to be announced closer to the race. Fraser McConnell leads the championship going into rounds two and three with teammate Robin Larsson following in second and Kevin Eriksson third in the standings. 

The racing is set to kick off Friday, August 18th and 19th in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kyle Greaves‘ Championship Off-Road weekend at the Dirt City Motorplex looked to have abruptly ended in disaster, but it instead finished with him atop the podium. In what he called a “roller coaster of emotions,” Greaves bounced back from a massive roll on Saturday to win the Pro Lite race on Sunday.

His Race #1 was cut short after being squeezed into the tractor tyre barrier while approaching a jump three-abreast with Madix Bailey and Jacob Rosales; Greaves’ truck fell to the ground roof first before rolling multiple times and resting on its wheels. The damage was so substantial that his team brought it back to the shop for repairs while cousin C.J. Greaves was on injury standby. Despite the odds, they were able to fix it in less than a day and rejoin in time for Sunday.

Greaves cruised to the easy Race #2 win as Saturday winner Brody Eggleston was left trying to fend off Trey Gibbs and the rest of the field.

“Yesterday, we just struggled all day with just our setup. It just wasn’t on. I just kept making mistakes and falling back and I went through that wicked crash,” said the defending Pro Lite champion.

“Afterwards, I definitely didn’t think I was hopping back in but I woke up this morning, my team took the truck to the shop and cut it apart, and I got there and welded it together. This is all for them. That was a rough one to come back from, but without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I know I scared the hell out of my fiancée and my mom; they didn’t want me to get back in here but I was too determined to not be back in it.”