Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

In 2013, Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway in a short-lived revival of the track after a decade-long dormancy. On Saturday, he won the Truck race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in what NASCAR fans hope will be a longer stint back on the schedule.

Racing the #7 for Spire Motorsports in relief of his injured Cup Series team-mate Alex Bowman, Larson led 138 of 252 laps to notch his third career Truck victory. While a dominant outing, matters got dicey at the end as Chase Purdy and Christian Eckes‘ tangle with five laps remaining set up overtime, during which he had to hold off Ty Majeski and fellow Cup driver Bubba Wallace.

The victory is the second for Spire at the Truck level after William Byron, also a Cup colleague of Larson, won at another short track in Martinsville last year. Larson also recorded his third career Truck victory and first since Eldora in 2016, though he had only raced in the series three more times after that.

“It was a really fun track there, especially in the truck where you can use the apron and such at both ends,” Larson stated. “I had a good time. That was a lot of fun on the long runs.

“I wasn’t supposed to run. Unfortunately, Alex got hurt, and I got the opportunity to run this.”

Three-time BTCC champion, Ash Sutton continues to show his incredible pace in the Ford Focus ST for NAPA Racing UK securing pole position at Snetterton with a new qualifying record to boot.

It is a hat-trick of pole positions for the NAPA Racing UK squad with Dan Rowbottom and Dan Cammish sealing them in the last two meetings. But for Sutton, he set a new benchmark in his effort with a 1:54.526s clocking.

It was a disrupted session with Nick Halstead dropping oil onto the track and it fired a number of drivers off, Dan Cammish on the restart added a further red flag with the championship leader making contact with the barrier.

Many had their top efforts scrubbed due to track limits but not Sutton as he fired to the front joined by defending champion, Tom Ingram and Colin Turkington who had contact with the tyre barrier but still returned for a top three spot.

Jake Hill edged out Ricky Collard, while Adam Morgan and Josh Cook finished inside the top seven. Rory Butcher, Dan Rowbottom and Stephen Jelley finalise the top ten ahead of the first race tomorrow.

Ty Gibbs would not be born for another six years when North Wilkesboro Speedway held its final NASCAR Cup Series race. While it was not for a traditional race, Gibbs ended up the first Cup driver to stand in the track’s Victory Lane since 1996 when he and his #54 Joe Gibbs Racing crew won the Pit Crew Challenge, which will place him on the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Open.

Gibbs’ team recorded a four-tyre stop in 13.012 seconds, beating Daniel Suárez by less than three-tenths of a second. Via his 2022 Sonoma win, Suárez is already qualified for the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday and being the best locked-in car means he will start on the pole for Saturday’s first heat race. As Gibbs has yet to win in the Cup Series, he needs to finish in the top two in the Open or win the Fan Vote to make the All-Star.

By finishing third in the Pit Crew Challenge, Chris Buescher starts first for Heat #2.

“We put in a whole lot of work in the other choreography,” said Gibbs’ pit crew coach Brian Haaland. “When it hit perfect, it is still the fastest way to do a pit stop, but the reality of it is when you get to pit road, there is a lot of different obstacles that take place, and everything has to be perfect for you to be able to run as fast as that stop is capable of. I think we also had to take a look in the mirror and say fundamentally, we are not as good as we need to be, so taking a step back and running this traditional pit stop to work on getting a little bit better visually and fundamentally within the pit stop, and maybe when we start to master that on a consistent basis, it is something that we take a look at again.”

Nine drivers were busted for penalties, which added five seconds to their time for each infraction. The biggest loser was perhaps Brad Keselowski, who had a loose wheel that relegated him from second to twenty-sixth.

The Grand Prix National Championship is an annual motorcycle racing series held in various countries around the world. It features multiple classes and disciplines of motorcycle racing, including road racing, motocross, supercross, and more. The championship serves as a platform for professional riders to showcase their skills and compete for the title of national champion.

The specific details of the Grand Prix National Championship vary depending on the country and governing body overseeing the event. Each country typically has its own national championship series, with races held at different circuits or tracks throughout the season.

Here are a few examples of national motorcycle racing championships:

1. MotoGP (FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix): MotoGP is the premier class of road racing organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). It features highly skilled riders competing on purpose-built racing motorcycles. The championship consists of races held at various renowned circuits worldwide, including the United States, Spain, Italy, and more.

2. AMA Supercross Championship: The AMA Supercross Championship is a premier indoor motocross series held in the United States. It features riders competing on specially designed dirt tracks inside stadiums. The championship consists of multiple rounds held in different cities across the country, culminating in the crowning of the national champion.

It was confirmed on Wednesday by the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship that after four years, CEO Jamie Reigle would be stepping down from his position, with his replacement having already been announced.

Reigle has certainly had to deal with a lot in his four-year spell as CEO, with the Canadian having held the role during the Coronavirus pandemic, a time when motorsport across the world came to a halt. He’s also overseen the start of the Gen3 era as well as the all-electric championship’s new format, whilst working alongside Formula E Founder and Chairman, Alejandro Agag.

Replacing Reigle is Jeff Dodds, who joins Formula E from Virgin Media O2. Dodds has been their Chief Operating Officer for the past two years, whilst before that he was Virgin Media’s COO, Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer. Dodds has also previously been the CEO of telecoms business Tele2.

To ensure the transition of power is smooth, Reigle will take on an advisory role for the remainder of the 2022/23 season which concludes in London at the end of July. Agag is delighted to welcome Dodds to Formula E in what he labels as an “exciting phase” for the series, whilst he was quick to thank Reigle for his “leadership”.

“I am pleased to welcome Jeff Dodds as Chief Executive Officer ahead of an exciting phase for Formula E as we build upon the success of Season 9,” Agag said, as per Formula E.

It had been all but confirmed for about eight months, but Shane van Gisbergen is officially going NASCAR Cup Series racing. On Thursday, Trackhouse Racing Team announced the three-time and reigning Supercars Championship winner will make his stock car début at the Chicago Street Race on 2 July. He will drive the #91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Last September, Van Gisbergen revealed he was in talks with Trackhouse owner Justin Marks about racing in NASCAR on a date that did not clash with the Supercars calendar.

“I can honestly say I have dreamed about an opportunity in NASCAR, but really never thought it would become a reality,” van Gisbergen stated. “I can’t wait to get to the States to meet everyone and prepare for Chicago. It’s NASCAR’s first time on the streets of Chicago so in some ways everyone will be a rookie like me, but I don’t underestimate that it’s going to be a huge challenge.”

Van Gisbergen is the top driver in Supercars today with three titles including the last two. Nine races into the 2023 season, he sits third in points with three victories.

While Supercars has been his specialty for much of his career, the Kiwi has also started to dabble in other disciplines. Most notably, he has been competing in rallying in his free time which included the World Rally Championship’s Rally New Zealand in 2022, where he finished third in WRC-2.

Thursday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series penalty report brought some unwelcome news for G2G Racing and Young’s Motorsports as two of their trucks each have been docked twenty-five points in the driver and owner championships, interestingly for the same violation.

All four were docked for breaking clauses B and C of Section 14.2.3.3.1 in the rulebook, which states window nets must meet SFI 27.1 regulations; such standards are set by the SFI Foundation, with 27.1 specification tests requiring nets to prevent a steel ball of approximately three inches in diameter from passing through it and can withstand being hit by a 175-pound (79.37 kg) bag. Besides meeting specs, they must not be used two years after they were manufactured.

The #12 and #20 of Young’s Motorsports were penalised for the violation at Kansas Speedway, where Spencver Boyd and Nick Leitz respectively finished twenty-sixth and twenty-first. A week later at Darlington Raceway, both G2G Racing trucks of Dawson Cram and Brennan Poole were impacted; Cram finished thirty-fifth in the #47 while Poole was thirty-sixth and last in the #46, both with mechanical failure.

Crew chiefs Bradley Means (#12), Joe Lax (#20), Timothy Silva (#46), and Daniel Killius (#47) have all received fines of USD$5,000 (€4,640.30).

G2G intends to appeal the penalty.

Dan Fallows says the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team still have a fair way to go to catch up and compete with Oracle Red Bull Racing and fight for overall race victories.

Aston Martin have started the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season strongly, with Fernando Alonso scoring podium finishes in four of the opening five events of the year, the only exception being the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

However, Red Bull have been the dominant team across those opening events, with the wins shared between Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, and it is this domination that means Aston Martin have a lot of work to do to be genuine race win contenders.

“We do we need to sort of consider where we are relative to the Red Bull,” Aston Martin Technical Director Fallows is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “But I think there are areas we believe where we’re relatively strong.

“Also, we have to optimise our car for every particular circuit, which means that sometimes there may be aspects of whether it’s low-speed, high-speed corners, which aren’t quite as strong as some other competitors.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed Hill Climb is one of the most prestigious and popular mountain rally races held in the United Kingdom. Here's an overview of this iconic event:

1. Location: The Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place at the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, England. The hill climb course is set within the estate's grounds and features a challenging route with twists, turns, and varying elevations.

2. History: The Goodwood Festival of Speed was first held in 1993 and has since become a prominent event in the motorsport calendar. It attracts a wide range of participants, including racing drivers, historic vehicles, modern supercars, and motorcycles.

3. Hill Climb Course: The hill climb course at Goodwood is approximately 1.16 miles (1.87 kilometers) long. It starts at the bottom of the estate and winds its way through the scenic parkland, including stretches of open road and tight corners. The course offers spectators excellent vantage points to witness the thrilling action up close.

4. Participants: The event showcases a diverse range of vehicles and participants. You can expect to see iconic racing cars, classic cars, concept cars, supercars, and motorcycles from various eras of motorsport history. Renowned drivers, including Formula 1 champions, rally champions, and Le Mans winners, often participate in the event.

Jordan Taylor‘s NASCAR adventure takes him to the Xfinity Series where he will make his début at Portland International Raceway on 3 June, driving the #10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.

Taylor is a three-time IMSA champion and factory driver for Corvette, with whom he won the GTLM class at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona. Four rounds into the 2023 season, he and team-mate Antonio García sit fourth in the GTD Pro standings with a pair of runner-up finishes. He placed third in the 2022 points with a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

In March, Taylor entered the Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas as a replacement driver for the injured Chase Elliott. After qualifying an impressive fourth, he was spun on a late restart and relegated to twenty-fourth.

“I am really pumped to make my first Xfinity series start with Kaulig Racing, a team that has shown it can dominate at road courses,” said Taylor. “I’ve been fortunate in my racing career to compete at so many different tracks, and I’m looking forward to checking Portland off my list.”

Although COTA marked his first time racing in NASCAR, he has long been a favourite in the stock car world. Taylor also serves as the driver coach for NASCAR’s 24 Hours of Le Mans Garage 56 project, working alongside Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson, and Mike Rockenfeller as they prepare to race a modified Cup car there.

Despite being Australia’s most prestigious off-road event, the fate of the Finke Desert Race was left in the air amid a coroner’s investigation into the death of a spectator at the 2021 edition. After a lengthy deadlock, Motorsport Australia has agreed to provide a permit to allow four-wheel vehicles to take part provided safety protocols are improved.

Approximnately thirty-five kilometres before the finish line at the 2021 Finke Desert Race, Patrick Byrne‘s trophy truck went off course and hit a group of spectators who were standing within two metres of the track. 60-year-old Nigel Harris, who was photographing the event, was killed instantly while two others were injured including Byrne’s co-driver. The rest of the leg was cancelled for bikes.

A coronial inquest was launched last week amid assertions that FDR organisers had improper safety measures in place. Jodi Truman, the counsel assisting the coroner, also called the risk of spectator death under said conditions “extreme”, while a spectator being hit by a vehicle received a “high-risk rating” and overall safety was “medium risk”. A safety advisor for Motorsport Australia also noted in 2018 the lack of safety teams specifically for attendees.

The situation prompted Motorsport Australia, who sanctions the cars, to renege on approving a permit for the 2023 race to go ahead. On the other hand, Motorcycling Australia gave the green light for the bikes.

On Thursday, Motorsport Australia released a statement saying that “[d]iscussions relating to the required permit for the Auto (car) section of the 2023 Tatts Finke Desert Race are ongoing between the Finke Desert Race Committee and Motorsport Australia, with the support of the Northern Territory Government. The Finke Desert Race Committee hopes to reach a resolution soon. The outcome of the final decision will be communicated as soon as possible.”

The FIA Formula 1 World Championship announced on Wednesday afternoon that the 2023 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix would not go ahead, due to severe flooding in certain areas of Italy.

The statement explained that the decision was called “because it is not possible to safely hold the event for our fans, the teams and our personnel and it is the right and responsible thing to do given the situation faced by the towns and cities in the region.”

Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali and FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, have shared their sympathies amid the current disaster.

“It is such a tragedy to see what has happened to Imola and Emilia-Romagna, the town and region that I grew up in, and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the flooding and the families and communities affected,” says Domenicali.

“I want to express my gratitude and admiration for the incredible emergency services who are working tirelessly to help those who need help and alleviate the situation – they are heroes and the whole of Italy is proud of them.

On Wednesday 17th May 2023, the FIA Formula 1 World Championship released a statement explaining their decision behind the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Imola circuit that was scheduled for the weekend.

As the paddock prepared for the start of a triple header of races, recent weather conditions in Italy have caused concern for the fans and staff that would be attending the track. The decision to cancel the race altogether comes after severe flooding has been seen in the Emilia-Romagna regions, with several videos being shared online of streets being filled with water as high as the cars parked there.

“The Formula 1 community wants to send its thoughts to the people and communities affected by the recent events in the Emilia-Romagna region. We also want to pay tribute to the work of the emergency services who are doing everything they can to help those in need”, claimed the Formula 1 statement.

“Following discussions between Formula 1, the President of the FIA, the competent authorities including the relevant Ministers, the President of the Automobile Club of Italy, the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Mayor of the City and the promoter the decision has been taken not to proceed with the Grand Prix weekend in Imola.

“The decision has been taken because it is not possible to safely hold the event for our fans, the teams and our personnel and it is the right and responsible thing to do given the situation faced by the towns and cities in the region. It would not be right to put further pressure on the local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time.”

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, the Team Representative of Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, says everyone within the Hinwil-based squad have been working extremely hard to improve the performance of their C43-Ferrari ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas has not scored points since taking eighth place in the opening weekend of the season in Bahrain, whilst team-mate Zhou Guanyu has only scored two points thanks to a ninth-place finish in Australia.

Alunni Bravi says the team know they were lacking with performance with their car in the opening spell of the season, but they will be bringing some more updates to the car this weekend at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in a bid to turn around their fortunes and allow both Bottas and Zhou to battle for top ten finishes.

“We head to Imola looking forward to another step in terms of performance,” said Alunni Bravi.  

“Every one of us has been working hard in the time since Miami: the home team in Hinwil has invested considerable time and resources into getting some important upgrades ready in time for this race and it will be crucial to evaluate them and extract the most out of them to gain some competitiveness.”

Valtteri Bottas is hopeful Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake can turn around their fortunes this weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as he bids to score his first points since the opening weekend of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season in Bahrain.

Bottas has belief in his team that they can turn around their season and return to the battle for the top ten, and he has seen for himself the work the engineers and mechanics have been doing behind the scenes to improve the performance of the C43-Ferrari.

The Finn enjoyed his best weekend of the 2022 season at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, a result that proved pivotal as they battled for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship, and he hopes for an improved performance this weekend.

“I am really looking forward to getting back on track in Imola: the team has been flat out working on the car and we are bringing new parts for our car here – hopefully they’ll help us to make an improvement and get back in the fight for points,” said Bottas.

“It is also one of our two home races of the season, and to do well for ourselves and Alfa Romeo in front of our home crowd would be great. I have good memories from last year in Imola: it was our best result of 2022 and one that proved to be very important by the end of the season.