Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

While the FC1-X is a spec electric car, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be the first team to technically field a manufacturer-backed vehicle for the 2024/25 Nitrocross season. On Friday, the team announced a new alliance with Dodge in which Robin Larsson, Andreas Bakkerud, and Fraser McConnell will drive a trio of FC1-Xs badged as the Dodge Hornet R/T.

The car is simply the regular FC1-X with Hornet-style markings, but Dodge hopes to design custom bodywork in the future. It will be the first time Group E has OEM involvement.

“Dodge is well known as a performance brand, so to have them come on board to partner with us is the perfect fit,” commented DRR boss Dennis Reinbold. “We both love to go fast, so it’s like we share the same DNA. Such a great alignment for us to compete in Nitrocross as it continues to grow at a record-breaking pace. The level of excitement is growing throughout this series and Dodge has just cranked it up even more. You have to come out to see the power of these cars battling as they literally fly around the track.”

Dodge had been through tumultuous times since the Great Recession in the late aughts; it cycled through a litany of owners before Stellantis was formed from the merger of Fiat, who owned the marque, and PSA Group in 2021. As of late, the line has transitioned from its muscle car heritage to EVs or hybrids. The production Hornet is a hybrid crossover SUV, sold overseas as the Alfa Romeo Tonale, that was introduced in 2022 ad marked Dodge’s first time dabbling in such a vehicle since the Dodge Nitro a decade prior.

The rocky waters meant Dodge has not maintained much of a major motorsport presence in recent years. Its factory NASCAR programme ended after 2012 while the last stock cars competed in the Xfinity Series in 2018. Likewise, while it was successful in American road racing like IMSA, Dodge will probably not be back anytime soon as Stellantis prefers to use Peugeot.

Extreme E‘s final season will end differently from planned. On Friday, the series announced the last three rounds in Sardinia and Phoenix have been cancelled and new dates are currently being sought out.

XE officially described itself as “reworking its Season 4 calendar” rather than simply cutting the season short. In other words, the series intends to still finish out the year and Extreme E era with a race of some kind before débuting Extreme H in 2025.

“As we continue our transition to Extreme H, we are fully committed to becoming the world’s first hydrogen racing series,” said series boss Alejandro Agag. “The investment and progress in the innovations are in full flow. Excitement grows every day as the industry continues to turn its head towards the possibilities hydrogen presents.

“In this current year of evolution, we all want to find a conclusion to Extreme E, which enables us to finish what we started, whilst at the same time, allows us to commit maximum resource into our Extreme H developments.

“We thank the Automobile Club d’Italia, Regione Sardegna, and the Italian military along with our Phoenix team, for all their support and understanding in recent weeks, and keep the door open to future collaboration. We are working closely with our teams and stakeholders to find alternative solutions to fulfil Extreme E’s final season schedule.”

With the ten-year anniversary looming in 2025, the Morocco Desert Challenge will introduce a special category for vehicles built at least a decade before the inaugural rally.

On Thursday, race officials informally announced the creation of the Vintage class for cars of at least twenty years and older, meaning 2005 is the latest production year for the upcoming edition. The class will be separate from the main rally categories, though the tentative plan is to let them follow the same route as everyone else. Additional details will be revealed during the race presentation at QFF Eersel‘s shop on 19 September.

Historic rally raids are far from a new concept with events such as the RallyClassics Africa and Pionniers Classic. Some with modern vehicles incorporate vintage categories like NORRA’s Mexican 1000 and NORRA 500 in Baja California. The Africa Eco Race, which runs through Morocco along the Dakar Rally’s old route, débuted a Historic class in 2024 (then called Classic) for pre-2007 cars that alternated between navigation and regularity formats on each stage.

Even the Dakar Rally has a vintage division of its own with the Dakar Classic, a regularity event that runs in conjunction with the main rally. For 2025, the Classic increased its eligibility range to also permit cars built as late as 2005.

Carlos Santaolalla, who won the latest Dakar Classic, entered the Morocco Desert Challenge in April in his Toyota Land Cruiser KZJ95. As the Vintage class did not exist at the time, he was lumped into Cars and Buggies alongside state-of-the-art vehicles like the race-winning Century CR7 and Toyota Hilux Overdrive T1+ machines.

Zdeněk Kahánek, a Tatra employee who went on to race the Dakar Rally, passed away Thursday. He was 81 years old.

Growing up in the Tatra Mountains, Kahánek attended a mechanical engineering school in Kopřivnice. After completing his mandatory two-year service in the Czechoslovak military, he was hired by Tatra Trucks as a test driver in 1963 on trucks like the 813, 148, and 815.

In 1986, Tatra began selling trucks to foreign customers interested in running the Paris–Dakar Rally. Kahánek’s familiarity with the 815 prompted the manufacturer to enlist him as the driver of a factory-backed truck, and he made his debut that year in a 6×6 815 VE nicknamed “Ostrý-II”.

While Tatra coworker Karel Loprais often stole the show in the Truck category as the 1988 winner and eventual six-time champion, Kahánek had his moments as well. He defeated Loprais outright when he finished third in class at the 1990 race and thirty-third overall.

Kahánek continued to race the Dakar through 1994 but exited in his last start. He remained involved with the race by driving service trucks over the next two years before retiring for good in 2003.

The Palestinian Motor Sport & Motorcycle Federation has partnered with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, providing off-road vehicles that would transport food and medicine to civilians living in the West Bank amidst increasing Israeli military operations.

The first wave, which included vehicles like Jeep Wranglers with Red Crescent flags and markings, arrived on Wednesday in Tulkarm. Additional efforts to head to Jenin are currently in the works.

“With the help of Allah, 4×4 vehicles have successfully entered Tulkarm camp in collaboration with the Palestinian Red Crescent to distribute food and medicine and assist the sick,” reads a statement from the PMSMF. “Arrangements are now being made for entry into the city of Jenin and its camp.

“Over the past few hours, approval was granted for a handful of vehicles to enter, and we are awaiting coordination with the Red Crescent to increase the number for both Tulkarm and Jenin camps.”

The ongoing drive marks the federation’s largest collective humanitarian contribution during the war to date. The PMSMF, an FIA and FIM member club, is headquartered in Ramallah on the West Bank.

Hervé and Maxime Guillaume plan to enter the 2025 Dakar Rally in an SSV, though their entry will also come with a philanthropic angle. They will race under the Les Enfants du Dakar, or “Children of Dakar”, banner to raise awareness and support for children battling illness.

“The adventure begins! A father and son story,” reads a post made on Wednesday. “We are joining forces for a major challenge: participating in the 2025 Dakar. Beyond performance, our mission is to support sick children through ‘Les Enfants du Dakar.’ Follow us to discover this human and charitable adventure!”

The Guillaumes primarily compete in amateur rallies, but entered the World Rally-Raid Championship’s Rallye du Maroc last October. With Hervé as the driver and his son Maxime as navigator of a Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR for BTR-DriversPark, the two finished in their class as high as ninth in Stage #9 but retired on the final day.

In April, they finished runner-up in the SSV category at the Fenix Rally in Tunisia. The two have also run amateur races like the Morocco Desert Challenge and Carta Rallye.

Outside of racing, the elder Guillaume is the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Whisper Yachts, an environmentally friendly luxury yacht manufacturer.

The 2024 FIA World Rallycross Championship heads back to Montalegre, Portugal, the site of the very first world rallycross event a decade ago in 2014, for the fourth event weekend in the intriguing “Battle of Technologies” season, pitting internal combustion engine (ICE) cars versus their all-electric rivals.

Celebrating its 25 year anniversary in 2024, the Circuito Internacional de Montalegre has always been a firm favourite for rallycross drivers and fans alike. The fast, flowing gravel sections require precisely perfect off-road driving skills, and the longest straight on the calendar requires bravery and maximum attack to squeeze the most out the cars.

So far, four out of six races have been won by ICE cars, with all four of those victories going to six-time world champion Johan Kristoffersson. The KMS – HORSE Powertrain driver is in the enviable position of having his teammate, Ole Christian Veiby, as his closest rival in the championship. The Norwegian driver is a whopping 39 points behind Kristoffersson, and can act as a buffer between him and their electric rivals. However, it is widely thought that the nature of Montalegre should favour the electric cars. Knowing Kristoffersson, expect him to try everything to overthrow that conventional wisdom.

Hansen World RX Team are coming into Portugal having finally had a successful weekend this season. Kevin Hansen achieved back to back podiums at the double-header event in Mettet, Belgium, and now sits just four points behind Veiby. 2019 world champion Timmy Hansen is just one point behind his brother, having won his first event in almost two years on the Saturday thanks to some stunning on-track teamwork. The team believe that Montalegre offers the best chance of the year so far for their Peugeot 208 RX1e machines.

“The results in Belgium were just what the team needed” explained Timmy Hansen “and we’re going to be riding that momentum into these next rounds in Portugal. The track at Montalegre is one that both Kevin and I enjoy, and our family have had some success here before, so we’ll be channelling that and everything we have learned so far this season into this weekend’s races. The testing that we did after Hungary really paid off and the car is feeling so much better. Thanks to that and some amazing teamwork we are still in the fight and the team are feeling great. We will keep giving it everything we’ve got.”

Radovan Kazarka will make his Africa Eco Race début in 2025 behind the wheel of a Tatra 815 Puma.

He revealed the restored truck in late August at Automotodróm Slovakia Ring, where his sons Tomáš and Marko were racing in the Renault Clio Cup’s Clio Cup Bohemia. The Tatra itself was part of the OMV MaxxMotion Grand Prix of Slovakia, where the elder Kazarka did demonstration laps around the circuit.

“I’m glad that Slovakia Ring showed interest in me and my Tatra 815 Puma and that I had the opportunity to showcase it in action. Although, let’s be honest, the Puma very much prefers unpaved surfaces and isn’t too fond of asphalt,” Kazarka remarked. “I’m pleased to see such great interest in experiencing firsthand what it’s like to race in a Dakar special (stage).

“Our Puma will participate in the Africa Eco Race at the end of this year and the beginning of next year, whose tracks are identical to those of the former Dakar Rally when it was still held in Africa.”

Kazarka raced the Tatra at the Dakar Classic, an regularity-based rally for historic vehicles that is held adjacent to the Dakar Rally, in 2022 and 2023. He finished ninetieth overall and thirteenth in the H1T category for trucks at the 2022 edition before cracking the latter’s podium with a third in 2023 and thirty-sixth outright.

In November, Kamena Rally Team will tackle a slightly different Baja from what they’re used to when they make their SCORE International débuts at the legendary Baja 1000. Tomasz Białkowski and Dariusz Baśkiewicz will pilot a Can-Am Maverick X3.

“Participating in the Baja 1000 is the fulfillment of one of our biggest dreams,” said Białkowski on Tuesday. “Ever since we saw the Mexican competition live, taking part in this rally has been on our minds. It’s a very challenging and demanding race, but for us, nothing is impossible. We are ready and will give it our all.”

Kamena Rally Team competes in cross-country bajas, a discipline inspired by desert races in Baja California like the 1000 but are otherwise a different form of off-road racing. A Baja desert race is a point-to-point event that typically takes place in a single day, whereas a cross-country baja is basically a shorter rally raid.

Białkowski is currently fifth in the FIA European Baja Cup overall standings and second in the SSV points battle, having won his class in two of three starts at the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura and Hungarian Baja. In late August, Białkowski was the top SSV at the FIA World Baja Cup‘s Baja Poland in his home country.

The team is currently aiming to race the Dakar Rally after their 2024 entry was aborted because their Polaris did not meet FIA regulation. Kamena eventually switched to a Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR for the 2024 season.

A Porsche 550 Spyder built on an order from Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito will be in France come October to compete in the Tour de Corse Historique.

Designated chassis number 550A-0137, the Spyder was commissioned by Tito in 1957. The president-slash-marshal had been watching a news report on Filmske novosti (Yugoslav Newsreels) covering a rally where Yugoslav driver Milivoje Božić was struggling in his BMW 328; although the BMW had won him the Yugoslav national rally title in 1953, it was far too outdated to keep up with the field. Hoping to help, Tito placed an order to Porsche to buy a 550 Spyder for 25,000 Deutsche Marks, receiving a five thousand-mark discount via engineer Mihailo Borisavljević; since the government had bought it, the car was officially owned by the Automobile & Motorcycle Club of Yugoslavia.

550A-0137 was already behind the times when it arrived in Belgrade in February 1958 since Porsche had started producing the Porsche 718 RSK Spyder line. Although once again facing a performance disparity, Božić impressed by finishing third in class at the 1959 Supercortemaggiore Grand Prix in Monza with one set of tyres. The drive earned him factory support from Porsche, which he converted into another national title in 1959 followed by the 1960 European Hill Climb Championship.

Other victories for the car included the 1958 and 1960 Loibl Pass Yugoslavia, 1959 Opatija GP Abbazia, and 1960 GP Belgrade Yugoslavia. Božić’s achievements eventually qualified him for a Formula One Super Licence, though he never raced in the series.

He crashed the Spyder while practising for the 1961 European Hill Climb round in Geisberg, after which it received a spare chassis from Vienna and a new engine. Later that year, 550A-0137 was traded to an Italian collector working with the Prada fashion line in exchange for a Fiat 850. The car has remained in Prada’s inventory since, its value exceeding three million euros.

Ferrari AF Corse drivers have been reflecting on a historic day for Ferrari following their win at the Lone Star Le Mans, the 6th round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. Their victory means that the Italian marque won two world championship races on the same day for the first time in their history, following a superb victory for Charles Leclerc at Monza in the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.

The weekend started strong for the Scuderia, with all three of their Ferrari 499P race cars qualifying in the top 5 of the grid. The blemish on the weekend came for the pole position #51 car, which was forced to retire within the first two hours of the race following damage caused by contact as Antonio Giovinazzi attempted to lap two cars at the hairpin turn 12.

That left the factory #50 car and the privately run #83 AF Corse car to defend Ferrari’s honour and fight for victory. Following a fantastic battle with other competitors, such as the #2 Cadillac Racing car and the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing car. The Toyota had to serve a drive through penalty with 45 minutes remaining, giving the #83 Ferrari some breathing space at the front, giving them the opportunity to make it to the line on demonstrably worse tyres than an absolutely charging Toyota. In the end, the winning margin after six hours of racing was a mere 1.7 seconds.

This victory has been a long time coming for the #83 team. They have been extremely fast all season, particularly at the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. The distinctive yellow Ferrari was very competitive, indeed battling for the win, until disaster struck in the 20th hour of the mammoth endurance race. They pitted with smoke billowing from the car and they was forced to retire.

“I can’t describe what I am feeling” enthused an ecstatic Ye Yifei, part of the #83 driver squad. “We began the weekend in the best possible way with a strong qualifying performance, and the race itself was flawless, with no mistakes from the team or us drivers. They are proud to be part of this extraordinary day for Ferrari, which has won in the FIA WEC and Formula 1 here in America and Italy. We have finally gained payback after the unfortunate race at Le Mans. This win repays us for so much effort and gives us confidence heading into the season’s final two races.”

C.J. Greaves is unquestionably one of the greatest short course racers of all time, and he further cemented his legacy by tripling down on Championship Off-Road class titles on Saturday. Besides winning the Pro 4 championship for the fourth year in a row, he also notched a second consecutive Pro Stock SxS crown as well as his first in Pro SxS since the inaugural COR season in 2020. To top it all off, he added to his record for the most Red Bull Crandon World Cup victories with his fifth on Sunday.

With Keegan Kincaid unable to defend his World Cup win due to mechanical issues in the points race, Pro 4 trucks reigned supreme. Greaves and Pro 4 Saturday winner Cole Mamer, who battled it out for the win that day, were once again the classes of the field as they worked their ways through the armada of Pro 2 trucks before catching the leaders with four laps to go. By the end, Pro 4s swept the podium as Pro 2 points runner-up Ryan Beat was unable to get past Jimmy Henderson for the final step.

Greaves had also won the non-points Pro 4 race earlier Sunday. He ended his 2024 COR campaign with a combined fifteen points wins with seven in Pro Stock SxS, five in Pro 4, and three in Pro SxS. Pro Stock SxS title was also the closest points battle of the Pro categories as he beat Owen VanEperen by twenty-five points.

“We had a good truck and a really fast truck and we can put on a show for you guys,” Greaves said after clinching the title on Saturday. “I hope you guys enjoyed that. Cole and I were just running our hearts out of there, just throwing it in as one guy would throw it in harder the next lap and then you would chase and be like, ‘Well, I got to throw it in harder than he did if I’m going to stay there.’ So that’s what we did the whole race. We gave it our all, sucks that it ended that way, we couldn’t run it to the finish, but at the end of the day I think we both had a blast.”

World Rally-Raid Championship regular Seth Quintero was the best finisher of the World Cup guest drivers, narrowly missing the top ten in his first Pro 2 start. He notched a tenth in Saturday’s points race after overcoming an early spin. Former World Cup Pro Lite winner Brian Deegan finished nineteenth in his return to Crandon International Off-Road Raceway.

Red Bull Crandon World Cup results

Championship Off-Road

Race winners

Pro

Sportsman

Champions

Pro

Sportsman

The 2024 Rally dos Sertões was a battle of T1+ machines as the Moraes family’s Toyota GR DKR Hiluxes squared off with defending winner Marcelo Gastaldi‘s Century CR7. In the end, Toyota was on top with Lucas Moraes.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver won five of eight stages as well as the Prologue to secure his third win in Brazil’s largest rally raid; he previously claimed the 2019 and 2022 editions. Fellow Hilux driver Adroaldo Weisheimer briefly took the overall lead from Moraes by winning Stage #3 before rolling over the next day; Moraes stopped to attend to Weisheimer but still won the leg anyway.

Gastaldi prevented a full Hilux clean sweep by winning Stage #6, but still trailed Moraes by thirteen minutes. Moraes won the last two days to increase the gap to sixteen. While the last stage was the shortest, literal alarm bells went off when his Hilux lost “a bit of power” with twenty kilometres remaining, but the car was otherwise “perfect” and he reached the finish “without any worries.”

His father Marcos Moraes joined him on the overall podium ahead of Carlos Ambrosio‘s Century CR6.

“Today we just drove along, enjoyed ourselves and that’s it. Sending a kiss to my whole family who must be eager to watch,” Moraes said at the finish of the final stage. “Three-time champion, it’s really exciting.

The #83 AF Corse Ferrari has won the sixth round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The privateer Ferrari team secured a thoroughly well-earned victory, fighting off a storming charge by the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing car in the final stages of the race, with a winning margin after 6 hours of racing of just 1.780 seconds, the shortest winning racing margin in WEC history. The factory #50 Ferrari AF Corse car rounded off the podium in 3rd position.

In LMGT3, it was a lights to flag victory for the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR Vantage LMGT3, the American team looking imperious from start to finish. Championship leaders Manthey PureRxcing finished 2nd, 20.538 seconds behind, with Manthey EMA coming home in 3rd.

Driver Reaction

The winning #83 driver squad gave their thoughts immediately after the race. “For sure we can be happy” enthused Robert Kubica. “It wasn’t easy. We knew this race would be quite critical with tyres and traffic management, but the car worked super well. Actually, I think we had the best balance of the weekend during the race. It started well and finished even better! We couldn’t hope for a better Sunday.”

Robert Shwartzman, the man who brought the car home under immense pressure, admitted that “there was a lot of pressure, especially on the last laps as my tyres were going away completely and I was sliding all over the place. Any mistake could have cost us anything. I’m very happy I managed to keep it on the track! I want to thank Scuderia Ferrari and the people who work here. We pushed so hard to achieve this result and finally we got it.”

“I’m super grateful to my teammates” Ye Yifei added. “They absolutely delivered and Ferrari gave us a super car. It’s a great gift to the guys who have been working so hard this season. We delivered two Ferrari victories today, one in F1 and one in WEC, so it’s marvellous.”

Ferrari AF Corse have claimed their second pole position in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Antonio Giovinazzi charged to pole at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in the #51 Ferrari 499P with a fastest time of 1:50.390. In LMGT3, American team Heart of Racing secured a popular pole position in their home race, known as the Lone Star Le Mans, with a time of 2:05.587.

Hypercar

Giovinazzi’s stunning lap time is the first pole position for the #51 Ferrari, and the team’s 4th overall. The privately run #83 Ferrari was 2nd fastest, with Robert Kubica getting his yellow Ferrari on the front row just 0.277 seconds behind his factory run teammates.

The thundering V8 Cadillac Racing qualified in 3rd, sharing the 2nd row with the #35 Alpine Endurance Team car, piloted by Charles Milesi who secured an excellent surprise result just 0.361 seconds off the pace of the leading Ferrari. The #50 Ferrari came home 5th fastest with Antonio Fuoco at the wheel, providing the excellent result for the Scuderia of having all three cars in the top 5. The first of the Porsches lines up 6th, with Matt Campbell in the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport car squeezing the most out of the Porsche 963.

BMW M Team WRT share the 4th row of the grid, with Robin Frijns in the #20 car in 7th just 0.008 seconds behind Campbell, and Dries Vanthoor in 8th, just a whisker behind the sister car in a very promising qualifying for the German squad. Kamui Kobayashi came home 9th in the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing car, with Norman Nato rounding out the top 10 in the #12 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche.

The biggest surprise from qualifying is the absence of the championship leading #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport squad from the top 10. Kévin Estre, the man who secured pole position at the 2024 24 Hours Of Le Mans, found himself unable to hook up the car and put together a decent lap. As a result, the team find themselves in 14th, 1.250 seconds off the pace. However, the team found themselves at the very back of the Hypercar field in the 6 Hours of São Paulo following an early puncture and went on to finish 2nd overall, so do not discount the championship leaders until the chequered flag has fallen.