Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Tommi Hallman leads the way on the overnight leaderboard in the RX2e class of the 2023 FIA World Rallycross Championship. He leads fan favourite and 2022 champion Viktor Vranckx and Nils Andersson after a day of changeable conditions at Lydden Hill Race Circuit.

After uncertainty about whether the event would go ahead after the fire that destroyed Special ONE Racing team’s area, the crowd who did attend were certainly kept entertained by the racing that took place. While the 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship and the Rallycross Celebration Demo demonstrated where rallycross is at the moment and where it has come from, the RX2e class demonstrated the sheer pace of the all-electric classes of rallycross.

Finland’s Hallman was in surprisingly dominant form all day. While it was Andersson who ultimately went fastest in practice, Hallman was only 0.2 seconds of the pace, a deficit which he quickly made up. In the sunshine that bathed the track for the first heat, he held off a determined charge from Vranckx to take the heat win.

By the time heat 2 came around, the rain had turned distinctly British summertime: grey skies and constant rain. WIth the drivers having to be more cautious, particularly on the new banked first corner, Talledega, and an almighty water splash developing after the jump at the joker merge, it is not surprising that the times were significantly slower. Andersson recovered from a disappointing 6th in heat 1 to take his heat race win. Championship leader Isak Sjökvist also recovered from a below-par opening performance, finishing just behind Andersson in their race.

In the second race of heat 2, it was once again Hallman versus Vranckx. Hallman, driving for reigning Euro RX1 champions SET Promotion, managed to hold the reigning champion off once again. Despite the awful conditions, he finished nearly two seconds clear of Vranckx, who slotted into third position just behind Andersson in the overall timings for heat 2.

Lewis Hamilton secured his 104th and first pole position since 2021 at the Hungarian Grand Prix, ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

The debut of F1’s new Alternative Tyre Allocation system, which is being trialled over two weekends this season, caused plenty of shocks and surprises in the order. Drivers were forced to use hard tyres in Q1, mediums in Q2 and softs in Q3.

The weekend has had so many stories so far, with Daniel Ricciardo returning, rumours of teams breaking the cost cap and now Hamilton back on pole.

Q1 – Russell Out, Ricciardo Out-Qualifies Tsunoda

Q1 at the Hungaroring saw some excitement with track evolution playing a massive part in the new qualifying format, which means the drivers have to use hards in the first part of the session.

While all eyes were on the exits in Q1, many overlooked the fact that Zhou Guanyu topped the first session ahead of Verstappen, with the Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake cars looking really good on the hard compound tyre.

In the final hour of practice in Budapest, Lewis Hamilton set the pace ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen and his Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Pérez.

With only sixty minutes left in the weekend to fine-tune their setups for qualifying and Sunday’s race, the drivers headed out onto a much greener Hungaroring compared to the previous day due to heavy rain overnight.

Teams continued to adjust to Pirelli’s Alternative Tyre Allocation for the weekend, which mandated the use of hards in Q1, mediums in Q2, and softs in Q3. Some drivers opted to start the session on used slick tires. However, Verstappen, who was on a fresh set of mediums, quickly set the fastest time with 1:18.478s.

As the session progressed, drivers switched to brand-new soft tyres, and Hamilton climbed to the top of the timesheets with a time of 1:17.811s, putting him two and a half tenths ahead of Verstappen in second on the same tyre compound.

Perez continued his recovery from his crash in Free Practice One and a damaging lock-up in the second practice session, securing the third position. An impressive lap from Haas F1 Team driver Nico Hülkenberg, while Lando Norris rounded out the top five, intriguingly setting his best time on mediums.

Gates are open for fans at Lydden Hill Race Circuit. Despite there being no RX1e action today (Saturday 22 July) due to the fire that took place on Friday, there is plenty for fans to get their teeth into at the birthplace of rallycross.

The on track action is underway with Suzuki Swifts providing the first racing action of the day. Later on, British interest will be piqued by Catie Cummings taking part in the support RX2e category, and rising superstar Patrick O’Donovan, who is bringing his Euro RX1 class Peugeot 208 RX to the 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship. Donovan was on top form in heat 1, finishing over two seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

Further on track action will take place when the rallycross celebration demo of historic rallycross cars takes to the iconic track. Rallycross legends are assembling to take part, including Liam Doran in his father’s Ford RS200, Rob Gibson in his MG Metro 6R4, and track owner and Liam’s father Pat Doran in his Ford Escort, as well as a brace of Peugeot 205 GTIs, Audi Quattros, and more.

The revised timetable for Saturday can be found here. Currently it is unclear whether the top flight of the FIA World Rallycross Championship will take place on Sunday. However, the teams are all here setting up and looking eager and ready to race.

Jeb Burton‘s #27 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet Camaro will sport a special livery for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series round at Pocono Raceway as it will be coloured in grey with metallic pattern and United States Army Air Force markings, forming a tribute scheme to Medal of Honor recipient Major Thomas McGuire Jr.

McGuire flew a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, nicknamed “Pudgy” as a nod to his wife Marilynn, in the Second World War. He served in the Pacific theatre with distinction as he recorded the second most kills among American pilots in the conflict with thirty-eight. Five aircraft with the nickname would be flown by McGuire until he was killed in action in the Philippines in January 1945, though his P-38 in that fateful battle was dubbed “Eileen Ann”.

He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor with his citation reading as follows:

“He fought with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity over Luzon, Philippine Islands. Voluntarily, he led a squadron of 15 P-38’s as top cover for heavy bombers striking Mabalacat Airdrome, where his formation was attacked by 20 aggressive Japanese fighters. In the ensuing action he repeatedly flew to the aid of embattled comrades, driving off enemy assaults while himself under attack and at times outnumbered 3 to 1, and even after his guns jammed, continuing the fight by forcing a hostile plane into his wingman’s line of fire. Before he started back to his base he had shot down 3 Zeros. The next day he again volunteered to lead escort fighters on a mission to strongly defended Clark Field. During the resultant engagement he again exposed himself to attacks so that he might rescue a crippled bomber. In rapid succession he shot down 1 aircraft, parried the attack of 4 enemy fighters, 1 of which he shot down, single-handedly engaged 3 more Japanese, destroying 1, and then shot down still another, his 38th victory in aerial combat.

“On 7 January 1945, while leading a voluntary fighter sweep over Los Negros Island, he risked an extremely hazardous maneuver at low altitude in an attempt to save a fellow flyer from attack, crashed, and was reported missing in action. With gallant initiative, deep and unselfish concern for the safety of others, and heroic determination to destroy the enemy at all costs, Maj. McGuire set an inspiring example in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.”

The Audi RS Q e-tron programme might still have some gas left even after Audi ends their Dakar Rally division following the 2024 race. Speaking with SoyMotor.com, Sven Quandt “did not hesitate to answer ‘yes'” when asked if he would like to assume custody of the vehicles and field them under the Q Motorsport banner.

Q Motorsport, founded by Quandt alongside his sons Thomas and Tobias, serves as Audi’s factory team. Quandt also runs X-raid Team, which has a limited partnership with Mini to race in T1 and one with Yamaha for T3 competition.

In mid-July, Audi Motorsport head Rolf Michl confirmed the manufacturer would end multiple programmes including the Dakar arm and factory support for GT3 customer teams as they prepare to enter Formula One as an engine supplier in 2026. 2024 was already slated to be the end of a three-year contract to operate the team.

In Audi’s début season, Mattias Ekström, Stéphane Peterhansel, and Carlos Sainz all won a stage at the 2022 Dakar Rally. Peterhansel eventually claimed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to become the first electric car overall winner, while Sainz set the fastest overall time at the Rallye du Maroc.

However, 2023 has been a disaster by comparison as they struggled to keep pace with Toyota and Prodrive at Dakar before Peterhansel and Sainz crashed out. The debacle sparked some doubt on whether Audi would even return for 2024, but the team regrouped for testing in May before entering this weekend’s Baja España Aragón. Still, Audi’s difficulties continued in Spain as Peterhansel and Ekström both suffered electrical problems on the second and final day on Saturday.

Virtuosi’s Jack Doohan scored his first pole position of the 2023 FIA Formula 2 season at the Hungaroring, with an intense fight against Victor Martins, who came in second, followed by championship leader Frederik Vesti. The Australian driver set a time of 1:27.676, which was under threat by his Alpine Academy teammate but was ultimately unbeatable.

Vesti was the first to set the benchmark of 1:28.334 putting him on top for his competitors to fight for the lead. Doohan put himself behind the Dane very early into the session as Ayumu Iwasa made complaints of light rain in sector two, which sent the drivers out to get their positions before the rain hit them.

Doohan’s second place was beaten by Formula 3 champion Martins as he came behind the Dane, followed by his ART teammate Theo Pourchaire, whose lap time was deleted as he ran wide on turn 12. This put Doohan in seventh place.

The first red flag of the session was brought out by the trident of Roman Stanek with about 20 minutes left in the session as he spun into the barriers at turn 11, which brought all the cars into the pits.

Vesti still led the grid with a lap time of 1:27.767, but Martins fought for pole position, which was soon replaced by Doohan putting in the fastest lap of 1:27.676. Martins tried to get to the top, but as the chequered flag fell, his efforts were unsuccessful to outqualify Doohan, as the Australian took pole for Sunday’s feature race

Lydden Hill has confirmed that the British round of the 2023 FIA World Rallycross Championship will go ahead this weekend (22/23 July) despite a fire that broke out in the paddock on Friday. Unfortunately, while the investigation into the cause of the fire continues, the main RX1e category will not race on Saturday.

The fire broke out at the Special ONE Racing team area on the morning of Friday 21 July. Fire crews and on-site staff responded quickly and were able to extinguish the fire before it spread through the paddock. The venue was closed to the public throughout Friday and there was some concern that the event might not go ahead at all. However, thanks to the Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the on-site team, the event is due to still take place.

WRC Promotors released the following statement on Friday:

Following a fire in the service area of the Special ONE Racing team at Lydden Hill Race Circuit in Kent, England today (Friday, 21 July), the FIA World Rallycross Championship races scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday, 22 July) will not take place while investigations continue regarding the cause of the fire.

The fire began just before 08:45, with fire crews working hard to bring it under control and extinguish it as swiftly as possible. Regrettably, the entire Special ONE Racing area was burnt down, including both of their RX1e cars. There were no injuries and no other racing cars were affected.

The venue was not open to the public as there was no track action scheduled for the day.

This incident does not affect the FIA RX2e Championship or Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy, which will continue as planned. A decision regarding Sunday’s scheduled World RX races will be made on Saturday.

Regrettably, due to the incident, it will not be possible to broadcast Saturday’s racing on RX+. Broadcasting will resume on Sunday. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Lydden Hill Race Circuit said on its official social media:

After coming up short in last week’s Superstar Racing Experience season opener at Stafford Speedway, Ryan Newman finally broke through for his second SRX win there on Thursday.

Newman had chased down fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin in the first Stafford race, only for lightning to cut short his pursuit. This time, with no weather in play and Hamlin not taking part, Newman battled with another Cup peer in Daniel Suárez and took the lead with five laps remaining. He previously won at Stafford in 2022, making his average SRX finish at the Connecticut circuit an impressive 1.3.

The final restart came with eight to go after Tony Kanaan and Heat #2 winner Brad Keselowski crashed due to brake failures. Kanaan and Ryan Preece, a local star-turned-Cup regular, had been the top drivers throughout the main event before both retired, the latter also losing his brakes.

“We did it two years in a row. I don’t know how much of it was luck and how much of it was skill, but it doesn’t really matter,” said Newman. “The brakes were a challenge tonight.”

While the main saw plenty of brake problems, the two heats’ incidents were predominantly spins and contact. Greg Biffle did not even make it to double-digit laps in Heat #1 after contact with Suárez, while Paul Tracy‘s reign of terror claimed Ken Schrader, who ironically accused his colleagues of a lack of driving conduct following last week’s round.

Following a mixed morning practice session at the Hungaroring this morning, the FIA Formula 3 championship switched focus to qualifying this afternoon.

As the session got underway, the majority of the field gambled on slick tyres, apart from the Trident of Leonardo Fornaroli and Gabriele Bortoleto who chose wet tyres. However, the track was still damp, which was demonstrated when Max Esterson, spun coming out of Turn 2, after getting onto a damp patch and briefly causing a yellow flag at that sector until he started it back up and got going again.

Unfortunately for the Trident team, it was soon obvious that it was dry enough for slick tires; After two laps the drivers had worn through their tyres and pitted for slicks. The duo returned to track but were unable to set a lap time after Oliver Grey crashed at Turn 3 and broke his front wing and suspension bringing out the red flag.  

From this point on, it was a case of the track getting drier and grippier each time a car passed through, and in the end, it was Zak O Sullivan who mastered the tricky conditions to take pole position with a time of 1:31.091. Dino Beganovic was second quickest and Leonardo Fornaroli was third.

Championship leader Gabriele Bortoleto will line up in ninth place on the grid for Sunday’s Sprint race, while Gabriele Mini secured the reverse grid pole for tomorrow’s feature race.

It was a cloudy morning at the Hungaroring ahead of Friday’s practice session for the FIA Formula 3 Championship, with some areas of slight drizzle on the radar. With a dirty and green track, most of the drivers stayed in the pits for the first 20 minutes with 20 minutes remaining Luke Browning was leading the way, but at around that point, most of the leading players exited the pits and started their qualifying simulations. 

It was Beganovic who topped the times with eighteen Minutes remaining, ahead of O’Sullivan and Villagomez rounding out the top three. With six minutes to go Paul Aron on his fastest lap went to third place with a time of 1:33.180, but this was the last piece of the action when Rafael Villagomez crashed after the fast corner of Turn eleven and ripped off his front and rear wing after suffering oversteer.

Following this incident, the officials announced the session would not resume which left Zak O Sulivan fastest Mari Boya in second fastest, and Paul Aron in third fastest. 

Gabriele Mini had set some lap times but not within the confines of the racetrack and had all his competitive lap times deleted. And debutant Woohyun Shin had a competitive first outing only being 0.040 seconds behind Tommy Smith, despite stalling in traffic earlier in the session. 

Session Results

*Note Gabriele Mini had Lap time deleted for track limits. 

Ayumu Iwasa of DAMS was the fastest man in Hungary for the FIA Formula 3 championship practice session of the weekend; He put in a lap time of 1:28.882 to top the timesheets. Championship leader Frederik Vesti of Prema followed the Japanese driver; the Mercedes junior was 0.149 seconds behind the Red Bull junior. Victor Martins, the Silverstone feature race winner, came in third.

With a time of 1:30.839, Martins established the early pace, pulling ahead of Roman Stanek and Jack Doohan in the first 10 minutes. The practice session was led by Vesti for almost 20 minutes with a lap time of 1:29.360 before the Japanese driver put himself on top of the leaderboard. The Dane had his laptime deleted in the beginning for going over the track limits as Martins led the grid. The top three were juggled between Iwasa, Vesti, and Martins, with Iwasa ultimately leading the final 10 minutes of the session as the fastest driver.

Alpine Junior Jack Doohan, last year’s sprint race winner, had driven to a purple sector 2, but his efforts were unfortunately put out after a lockup in turn 12, which resulted in the Aussie going wide.

Kush Maini secured fourth place, followed by championship contender Theo Pourchaire, with Roman Stanek, Jehan Daruvala, Enzo Fittipaldi, Isack Hadjar, and Richard Verschoor rounding off the top ten.

Formula 2 is back in Mogyoród for its tenth round of the FIA Formula 2 championship. After Silverstone, the battle for the championship is even closer, with ART’s Theo Pourchaire just six points behind championship leader Fredrik Vesti of Prema.

The Story so far

With only four rounds to go, Fredrik Vesti still leads the championship battle, with Theo Pourchaire and Dams’ Ayumu Iwasa following him. The Dane had to retire from the Silverstone GP due to his contact with Dennis Hauger and Roman Stanek, whereas Pouchaire came in second, which put him closer in his chase for the championship. This race was where Victor Martins secured his maiden Formula 2 win with an amazing drive to nullify his 5-second penalty.

Oliver Bearman and Victor Martins have tied scores as the top rookies to fight for the championship; this could change as we step into Hungary as well as the position for the top spot in the championship.

What happened last year?

The Hungaroring has seen many memorable races throughout the years, including some unexpected and exhilarating events. The Hungarian Grand Prix is a prominent event on the Formula 1 calendar because of the hot and sometimes dry weather that makes it more difficult for teams and drivers to compete.

The 2022 race weekend saw Alpine Academy’s Jack Doohan top free practice and win the sprint race. Iwasa took the pole for the feature race, which was won by Pourchaire.

Michael Docherty might be in a hole points-wise after missing the last two rounds to injury, but his World Rally-Raid Championship campaign is back on as he prepares to enter the next race in Argentina.

Docherty dislocated his wrist in Stage #3 of the season-opening Dakar Rally, but it did not seem to hurt him too much at the time as he won three stages afterwards and finished third overall in Rally2 behind Romain Dumontier and Paolo Lucci. He scored four total stage wins including the Prologue, and consistently kept pace with riders in the top RallyGP class to the point where he finished second among all bikes in Stage #13.

Despite the impressive run, the wrist sidelined him for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge the following month as well as the Sonora Rally in April. His absence, coupled with Dumontier skipping Abu Dhabi, allowed Lucci to take the points lead. After three rounds, Lucci has a three-point edge over Dumontier who dominated Sonora. Jean-Loup Lepan, the highest finishing W2RC rider in class at Abu Dhabi, is third and twenty-one points back but did not run the Sonora Rally.

Meanwhile, Docherty fell from third in the Rally2 standings after Dakar to sixth and trails Lucci by forty-two. While mathematically not eliminated, he faces a Herculean task if he wants to get back into the championship fight even with Rally2 riders receiving a mulligan in the form of being allowed to drop their worst result or a skipped race from their final total.

He made his riding return with dune testing in late April.

Walker Evans, one of the most iconic names in off-road racing, has sold Walker Evans Enterprises and Walker Evans Racing to Polaris Inc.

The company produces shocks and wheels for UTVs and snowmobiles. While also catering to a multitude of manufacturers such as Can-Am, Honda, and Yamaha, they have worked alongside Polaris since 2000 when they built shocks for the factory snowcross team. Many teams in series such as SCORE International and AMSOIL Championship Snocross rely on shocks from the Evans shop.

Evans and his wife Phyllis overshaw the shop alongside general manager Randy Anderson. Anderson, a 2022 Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer, will join Polaris as part of the acquisition.

“Their passion for our brand and the off-road community aligns with ours, making Polaris the ideal organization to carry the Walker Evans legacy forward for the next generation of riders,” reads a joint statement from the trio.

“For decades, the off-roading world has been an integral part of our lives, whether on the track, in the crew pit, or as a shock manufacturer. While this bond will remain unshakable, we feel that it is time for Walker and Phyllis to embrace the next chapter and savor more precious moments with their beloved family and friends. Walker Evans Racing will continue to thrive under Polaris’ capable hands, and Randy will be joining Polaris to ensure a seamless transition of the business and to continue driving innovation through the Walker Evans portfolio of products from our trusted Riverside, California facilities.