Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Ross Chastain just can’t avoid drama.

The NASCAR Cup Series‘ Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway went from being a goodday for Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Larson, to a badday. The trio combined to lead all but 28 of 293 laps, only for Truex to crash while racing Chastain before the latter wrecked with Larson as they battled for first.

Truex won the pole and dominated the first half as he claimed the first stage and led 145 laps, only for his day to come to an end on the final lap of Stage #2. He had been pursuing Chastain for much of said lap before Truex got into his left-rear bumper in turn three. Chastain bounced off the wall and collided with Truex, causing the latter to spin down the track.

While he avoided damage, Truex never led again as he was forced to make up lost ground. He succeeded for the most part as he was running fifth with fourteen laps to go but was turned in turn one after driving up into Joey Logano on the ensuing restart and triggering an eight-car stack-up.

“There was plenty of room there, but he just came off the wall and hit me,” said Truex of Chastain. “Like I said, knocked the tow out in the right front. Pretty crappy from there and then on that restart I guess I just got real tight and I don’t even know who I squeezed into the wall, but I apologise to them. Probably my fault, just got real tight and couldn’t stay down the track.”

Nasser Al-Attiyah has accomplished much in his racing career as a five-time Dakar Rally winner, the reigning World Rally-Raid Champion, and sixteen Middle East Rally crowns. In the near future, he hopes to add another major title to his name as he intends to run for FIA President when the next election arrives. He revealed his plans in an interview with Al Sharq last Sunday.

“I am qualified for this global position because of my great experience in the field of cars,” said Al-Attiyah. “I am determined to do so, and I have the desire to achieve this dream of holding such a prestigious role. I am honoured to fulfill this dream for my dear country, Qatar, with the support of those responsible for sports and its development, and there will be special planning for this nomination.”

The presidency has a four-year term that can be renewed two more times. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who dominated the Middle East Rally Championship with fourteen titles before Al-Attiyah’s own breakout, was elected to the post in 2021. Thus, the next scheduled election will be in 2025 while Sulayem is permitted to run for re-election.

Al-Attiyah is by far the most decorated driver in Qatar’s motorsport history and one of the greatest in off-road racing as a whole. Besides the aforementioned MERC successes, he also won the Production World Rally Championship in 2006 and has a pair of WRC-2 titles. In rallying’s sister discipline rally raid, he boasts five FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cups including the final edition, and his momentum carried over into its successor World Rally-Raid Championship in 2022 as he claimed the inaugural trophy alongside his fourth Dakar.

His W2RC title defence has been strong so far as he dominated Dakar and won the most recent race at the Sonora Rally to hold the points lead; even his retirement at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge had seen him win every stage before crashing out. His 2023 has also seen him win in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.

Attrition and low visibility due to rain and mud were key issues in Sunday’s Hydro X Prix, but Veloce Racing was not fazed in the slightest as Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor won their second heat and led all four laps of the Grand Final to secure their second win of the Extreme E season. While it has only been four races, Veloce is already the first team in 2023 with multiple victories after taking the season opener.

In their new red livery, Veloce held off a late charge from McLaren XE, who had to settle for second in their first final of the season. Although they came up short of victory, runner-up was still a strong rebound for McLaren after being among the many victims of the heat races; during the first lap of Heat #1 in Qualifying #2, Emma Gilmour drifted into the hay bales while racing Timo Scheider who also crashed into them as did Klara Andersson while trying to avoid them.

“We had a tough weekend, much tougher than Saudi Arabia,” said Hansen. “We didn’t really have anything on our side yesterday, so to finally get into the Grand Final and have all our support on GridPlay really helped.

“It was nice after Friday, with our double P1s in Free Practice, to come back and actually get on top. It was a huge effort from the team to pull through in such difficult conditions. They gave me full rein for an hour before the Final and quick decisions on set-up and everything. It was really cool to pull it off.”

Chip Ganassi Racing joined Veloce and McLaren on the podium as the last finisher. ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team and Rosberg X Racing had wrecked together, with RXR’s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky describing the race as a “mud-blinded final with wipers out of action”.

Sara Price has raced nearly everything off-road, ranging from motocross bikes at the X Games to the Spark ODYSSEY 21 of Extreme E. In January 2024, she will add a Can-Am Maverick X3 at the Dakar Rally to that portfolio after clinching free admission to the race by winning the Sonora Rally‘s National Car/UTV class in late April.

While that alone is already an achievement, it was also the first race in a very busy two weeks for her in Mexican desert as she immediately followed with victory in her category at the NORRA Mexican 1000 and a runner-up at the Dos Mares 500. By the end of the stretch, she had run over three thousand miles (4,828 km) in the same X3 despite not having time to catch her breath or practice.

The Checkered Flag had the opportunity to speak with Price on Friday about her “triple duty” and qualifying for Dakar in just her first year as a Can-Am factory driver.

“It was crazy. It was 3,000 miles too, not kilometres, which is crazy. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, we went that far,'” Price remarked. “It’s been absolutely amazing and I leave on Monday again to go back down to Mexico to go do Trail of Missions with all the factory Can-Am racers, so I’m going to hop back in my race car that I just raced 3,000 miles in and we’re about to go do it all again just for fun this time, so no racing.”

Winning Sonora

She arrived at Sonora as one of nine UTV entries in National Car/UTV, which is separate from the FIA-sanctioned World Rally-Raid Championship that oversees such vehicles in T3 and T4. She began the rally on a strong note by winning the Prologue and went on be the category’s only multi-time stage victor as she also took Stages #2 and #3. Even in legs she did not win, she still finished second twice while the last leg was overshadowed by a thirty-two-minute penalty after otherwise setting the second-best time of the day.

The last time Kyle Larson raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway, he was in a thrilling finish as last-lap contact with Sheldon Creed allowed Noah Gragson to sneak by for the win. Eight months later, his duel with John Hunter Nemechek also caused the two to tangle coming to the finish; this time, however, as Nemechek slid into the inside wall, Larson pulled away to score the win.

The two were the class of the field as they combined to lead 103 of 147 laps and split the first two stage wins. Nemechek, who comprised 57 of those led circuits, held first for much of the final segment including the final restart with seven laps to go.

Larson closed in on Nemechek on the last lap before getting side by side on the backstretch. Slight contact between the two entering turn three caused Larson to brush the wall. Exiting the final corner, Larson was sandwiched between Nemechek and the barrier, and a bump with the latter caused him to ricochet back into Nemechek which shot him into the inside retaining wall.

After re-firing his damaged car, Nemechek crossed the line in fifth.

“Just disappointed a little bit from the standpoint of how that ended up there,” said Nemechek. “Overall, we gave it a shot and still had a shot to win off of turn four. Fast car, top five to show for it when it probably should have been Victory Lane or second.”

After falling short of the podium in both Desert X Prix races to begin their Extreme E championship defence, X44 was on the top step of the first Hydro X Prix Saturday.

Andretti XE led the way in the Grand Final for Race #1, but a switch bay violation in which Timmy Hansen traded off with Catie Munnings before the latter departed too early resulted in a fifteen-second penalty. With Andretti beating X44 to the finish by six seconds, the time docked was enough for X44 to leapfrog them for the win.

Even if circumstantial due to the infraction, Cristina Gutiérrez still enjoys her third career Extreme E win while Fraser McConnell notches his first.

“It just goes to show that prioritising opportunity and inclusivity doesn’t have to come at the cost of performance, and we’re proud to be showing what’s possible here in Extreme E,” said McConnell. “We didn’t have the best starting position—second from the outside—so I knew I was going to have to do something a little risky to get in front which I managed. I went a little wide and they got the better run, but that’s racing. We were able to stay close enough to capitalise on their penalty. A win is always a win and very happy to do this one for X44.”

Carl Cox Motorsport scored their maiden podium in just their second race weekend, taking advantage of Ganassi driver RJ Anderson‘s flat tyre. Rosberg X Racing failed to finish after Johan Kristoffersson rolled the car.

Snowmobile racer and entrepreneur Tim Marklund, who had started to dip his feet into the world of rally raid, died Saturday after being involved in an accident. According to a report from Piteå-Tidningen, he was killed at a crossing in Hortlax, Piteå. He was 32.

Marklund grew up in extreme sports, riding snowmobiles and dirt bikes in events like watercross and stunt performances. In 2013, he broke his back after a motocross crash ended with him landing flat on his body; despite initial fears of his career ending and losing the ability to walk, he was able to return to action after recovering for eight months.

In 2015, he founded Norrlands Industri och Konsult AB (Nikab), a consultation firm for industrial workers, and Maddecks AB, which builds sled decks for pickup trucks.

When the SxS Nordic Series was established by Mattias Ekström in late 2022, the Swede decided to enter the championship with fellow snowmobile veteran Oskar Andersson as navigator. Despite their inexperience, the duo finished runner-up in the inaugural championship to Pontus Fredricsson and third in the team standings.

Ekström and Marklund eventually teamed up for the World Rally-Raid Championship‘s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in late February and early March, where they drove Can-Am Mavericks in the T3 category for South Racing. Andersson had hoped to once again serve as Marklund’s co-driver but was snagged by visa problems and Dakar Rally veteran Alexey Kuzmich filled in.

With his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Alex Bowman recovering from a fractured vertebra, Kyle Larson will take his place in the #7 Chevrolet Silverado RST of Spire Motorsports for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on 20 May.

Besides serving in relief duty, the start is intended to provide Larson with some track experience before the Cup Series’ NASCAR All-Star Race the following day.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to run the Truck race at North Wilkesboro next weekend with Spire Motorsports,” said Larson. “It’s a shame that Alex won’t be able to compete. We wish him a speedy recovery so he can return to the track soon. Since I’ve never raced at North Wilkesboro, I think it could be beneficial to get some additional laps in at the track. I’m looking forward to double duty All-Star weekend.”

Larson will make his first Truck start since the 2021 Bristol Dirt Race, where he crashed out for Niece Motorsports. Unlike in the Xfinity and Cup Series, he has never run a full Truck schedule, making at most four starts as a 20-year-old prospect in 2012. He has two Truck wins at Rockingham in 2013 and Eldora three years later.

In his main series, Larson is currently eighth in points with a pair of wins at Richmond and Martinsville. His Hendrick team-mates have all made starts in Spire’s #7, with William Byron winning in his lone race with them at Martinsville in 2022.

Christian Eckes is the second driver to notch multiple NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins in 2023, though it took him having to sprint from the field and keep his distance multiple times as Friday’s race at Darlington Raceway was plagued by multiple wrecks in overtime.

Eckes set the tone early by winning Stage #1, and he and Corey Heim would dominate as they combined to lead all but ten laps. The former took the top spot on the ensuing restart on lap 132, from which he faced an onslaught of pressure from the likes of Stage #2 winner William Byron and Rajah Caruth.

As Byron tried to close in, Timmy Hill spun with two laps remaining to trigger overtime. Eckes’ McAnally-Hilgemann Racing team-mate Jake Garcia collided with Caruth on the first overtime attempt, setting up a second try.

Yet another accident occurred on take two when Grant Enfinger hit the wall in turn four, though the caution came out after Eckes had crossed the start/finish line to begin the final lap. As such, the race ended under yellow and Eckes secured his second win of 2023.

Interestingly, the victory also completes an unusual cycle of finishes for Eckes. In the five races between his win at Atlanta and the Darlington triumph, he alternated between crashing out and finishing thirtieth, or placing fifteenth.

There is absolutely no doubting that Nick Cassidy is the man of the moment in the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, following his stunning victory at the Monaco E-Prix. His win at the legendary Circuit de Monaco was not only emphatic but a sign of a driver who is now the title favourite, and comfortably so.

The images of Cassidy climbing out of the cockpit in Monaco, before standing on top of his Jaguar I-TYPE 6 will be replayed over and over again, with it being a power shot of how things have turned so dramatically for the Envision Racing driver this season. If recent Formula E history repeats itself then Cassidy will be the first ever Gen3 Formula E World Champion, with reigning World Champion Stoffel Vandoorne having won at the Principality last season before claiming his crown.

Cassidy’s performance in Monaco was the epitome of what is required to be a World Champion, with the Kiwi having timed his charge to the front to absolute perfection. For the second race in a row, the Envision driver demonstrated a stunning understanding of knowing when to hit the front, with it almost appearing like he’s figured out the formula to being an FE winner this season.

The racing this season has been like nothing ever seen before in FE, with the drivers having completed the first half of the races this year whilst lapping several seconds slower than usual, in a bid to preserve energy. Almost like in the Tour de France, the lead has been constantly changing at near enough every corner, in an attempt to sit in the slipstream of the driver ahead.

It’s caused excitement, hundreds of overtakes and more often than not this season complete carnage, but it’s ultimately what has made FE so thrilling this campaign. With the field often being so compact, broken front wings have become a common sight, with Monaco having been no exception. Cassidy, though, has been able to glide through the field and lead without needing to drop a place, due to his race management having been a step ahead of the rest.

It wasn’t an easy Miami Grand Prix for Carlos Sainz Jr. and Scuderia Ferrari, as they lacked the pace to compete for the podium places.

Sainz started on the front row alongside Sergio Pérez, but the Spaniard was unable to challenge the Mexican and the RB19 in the first stint. Sainz explained that the team tried to allow him to undercut Fernando Alonso, who started third, but unfortunately, he came out of the pits into traffic and that pushing cost him crucial time.

The Spaniard went on to admit that Ferrari struggled with their race pace and that was evident with Sainz dropping all the way down to fifth falling behind Max Verstappen, Alonso and even George Russell in the struggling Mercedes. The Ferrari driver was also awarded a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane.

“It was a tough race for us. My first stint on the Medium was good, but we tried to undercut Fernando early and I had to push the Hards too much immediately after coming out of the pits in order to get through the traffic. I think we paid the price for that a bit, but in general, we clearly struggle with race pace. It’s frustrating, but we’ll keep working on a solution and I’m confident that we can progress as a team for the next races.”

Charles Leclerc: “We have to understand why we are so competitive in qualifying and off the pace in the race”

Charles Leclerc failed to make an impression on the Miami GP finishing in seventh, the position he started the race in.

This weekend’s Hydro X Prix will take the Extreme E championship through 2.67 kilometres of the former Glenmuckloch coal mine in Scotland. The length is the shortest in series history, beating out the 2022 Energy X Prix‘s 2.9 km.

Despite the distance, Championship Driver Tamara Molinaro described it as “probably one of the most extreme courses we have ever had. It will be quite a challenge because in some places it is quite narrow so it is hard to overtake, and the drivers will have to use their creativity to get those overtaking opportunities.

“There are changes in the levels of grip, because there is grass, slimy gravel, and more rocky sections, forcing the drivers to change style at short notice. The weather is also going to be something that the drivers must really take into consideration. A lot of elevation changes will make it even more interesting, and I can’t wait to see what the course delivers this weekend.”

The course begins with a run into a righthand turn, from which the track runs through rock and water hazards. While the latter is evident via the race name, there is increased emphasis on water as the mine is intended to be converted into a green energy site powered by water and reservoirs.

The Continental Traction Challenge, or Super Sector, will run along a hairpin and include a jump. As usual, the team with the fastest combined time of their two drivers through the seciton will earn five points.

Honda will add a short course division to its Honda Talon programme in 2023, announcing Tuesday the formation of Team Raceco Honda. The new outfit will field the #65 Honda Talon 1000R for Dave Mason Jr. in Championship Off-Road‘s Pro Stock SxS category.

The Talon will be a newcomer to COR, whose side-by-side classes are usually filled with Can-Ams, Polarises, and Yamahas; the Yamaha of Brock Heger won the 2022 Pro Stock SxS title. Much of its racing takes place in deserts, with Zach Sizelove racing one for the Honda Factory Off-Road Racing in SCORE International and desert events like the Mint 400. In 2022, Sizelove won SCORE’s Pro UTV NA class at the Baja 500 in a Talon 1–2 finish. Honda has also sold Talon crate engines for racing customers since November.

Jamie Campbell, whose brother Johnny Campbell has won the Baja 1000 eleven times on a bike, will serve as team manager. The operation is headquarted in Mason’s shop in Crandon, Wisconsin, near the Crandon International Raceway.

“For my entire thirty-plus-year career, starting with racing off-road motorcycles for American Honda in the mid-’90s and then moving to four wheels soon after, I’ve wanted to launch a project like this,” Campbell stated. “It’s a pleasure to be working with top-tier partners like Honda, Yokohama Tire and the Mason family, and to have support from eBay Motors. I look forward to professionally representing our stakeholders, and to showcasing the capabilities of the Honda Talon at the highest level of racing.”

Mason has extensive short course experience, currently racing in both the Midwestern COR and West Coast-based Great American Shortcourse, while also racing UTVs and buggies in SCORE. Much of his short course competition has come in Pro 2 trucks, finishing ninth in the 2022 COR standings while winning the 2021 GAS title.

Manuel Lucchese had hoped to make his return to the Dakar Rally on a bike in 2024, but injuries he sustained in early April have forced him to set that aside.

“Surgeries are something you never get used to but having the right people around you really helps in these difficult moments,” wrote Lucchese. “My recovery will be very long meaning I won’t be able to race the next Dakar nor any other races until 2024. A summer of physiotherapy is in front of me to start walking again!”

Lucchese raced at Dakar on a bike four times in the 2010s starting in 2012. Mainly riding as a Malle Moto competitor, which entails racing without any assistance from crews, he finished forty-ninth overall in 2016 while his last start in 2017 saw a fifty-first overall and third in Malle Moto.

From 2018 onwards, he began focusing on being a co-driver in SSVs alongside Ahmed Alkuwari, whom he befriended after they collaborated on building rally raid bikes. After injuries and COVID-19 delayed the effort multiple times, the duo finally got to compete at Dakar together in 2023. Racing a Yamaha for X-raid Team in T3, they placed seventeenth in class with a best stage finish of seventh in the final leg.

He won the 2012 FIM Bajas World Cup for over 450cc bikes while also placing runner-up in his class in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. Two years later, the Italian claimed the domestic Bajas title. From 2021 through 2023, he was the team manager for Yamaha’s Ténéré World Raid Team.

Veloce Racing‘s #5 will sport a new look for this weekend’s Hydro X Prix as they trade in green for red. On Wednesday, the team revealed their new livery to reflect sponsor E.ON.

“We can’t wait for the Hydro X Prix in Scotland and the car, complete with its new look E.ON colours, looks absolutely mega,” said team CEO Daniel Bailey. “The opening weekend of the Extreme E season in Saudi Arabia was one we’ll never forget and we’re looking forward to challenging for honours again this weekend.”

Since their inaugural season in 2021, Veloce’s Spark ODYSSEY 21 had featured a black base with green trim as both are the brand’s colours. More green was added to the 2022 car, most notably in the form of a diagonal stripe along the doors. E.ON became a team sponsor for the second season.

While E.ON is headquartered in Germany, its British subsidiary is one of the largest electricity companies in the United Kingdom; the Hydro X Prix therefore serves as its home race, set to take place in Scotland. Veloce driver Kevin Hansen had visited the race site in Glenmuckloch in March as part of the track reveal.

“We are hugely excited about our ongoing relationship with Veloce Racing and the car looks absolutely fantastic ahead of the Hydro X Prix in Scotland,” commented E.ON UK CEO Scott Somerville. “By working with Veloce we’re able to reach a huge number of people and champion both organisations’ shared values around essential topics like fighting the climate crisis and making even more progress towards equality and meaningful diversity.”