Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Nick Leitz will run three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races in 2023, driving the #20 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Young’s Motorsports. The team announced the signing on Tuesday.

His first start will be at Kansas Speedway on Saturday. Additional races are planned for Nashville Superspeedway on 23 June and Homestead-Miami Speedway on 21 October.

“Young’s Motorsports is a great organisation with a Cup Series-like appearance and full of a great group of individuals,” said Leitz. “I am excited for Kansas and the opportunity to drive the #20 Precision Measurements Inc. Chevrolet. I like the mile-and-half tracks and am stoked to see what we can accomplish together.

“I am super grateful for not only the opportunity at Kansas Speedway but for a few other races this season too.”

Leitz first appeared in the Truck Series in 2022, running three races for Reaume Brothers Racing at Nashville, Richmond, and Homestead. He finished twenty-sixth in his series début before retiring from Richmond and placing twenty-eighth at Homestead.

The death of Laurent Lichtleuchter in a fiery crash during Stage #4 of the Morocco Desert Challenge sent shockwaves throughout the motorsport world. This was especially the case in Japan, where the Frenchman was a beloved member of Toyota’s Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body team.

Lichtleuchter joined TLC in 2015 with seven years of Dakar Rally experience and the 2015 Dakar Series championship to his name. He became Akira Miura‘s navigator in TLC’s Land Cruiser for the 2016 Dakar Rally, which they backed up by scoring a runner-up finish in the Silk Way Rally later in the year. Together, the duo won Dakar’s T2 category in 2018, 2021, and 2022.

Miura and Lichtleuchter also triumphed at the 2022 Rallye du Maroc, the penultimate leg of the inaugural World Rally-Raid Championship season.

“I still can’t believe I lost a very dear brother-like friend,” Miura wrote on social media. “The first time I met him was when we were both co-drivers. Maybe one day we’ll be on the same team! We were just chatting, but I never thought we would end up becoming a duo! It seems like it was just yesterday that I talked to him.

“We spent a lot of time together, and we shared painful scenes, fun scenes, and scenes where the chief mechanic scolded us. I remember a lot of things we talked about in eight years, and there were still things I wanted to accomplish in the future.

The NASCAR Cup Series‘ legendary #43 has used a variety of manufacturers in its history, and will add another one to that list in 2024 when Legacy Motor Club switches from Chevrolet to Toyota. The team will retain Erik Jones and Noah Gragson in the #43 and #42 Toyota Camrys, respectively, with factory support from Toyota Racing Development.

LMC was formed from a partnership between Petty GMS Motorsports, run by Richard Petty and Maury Gallagher, and seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Although Johnson has exclusively raced with Chevrolet since entering NASCAR and even in his off-road days, while Gallagher’s GMS Racing is also a Chevy outfit in the Craftsman Truck Series, the switch comes in an effort to stimulate the team amid a difficult 2023 campaign. Jones sits twenty-fourth in points while Gragson is a paltry thirty-second in his rookie year.

Jones and Gragson are former Toyota drivers, the former being one of the manufacturer’s top prospects as the 2015 Truck Series champion and spending four years at Joe Gibbs Racing before migrating to Petty. Gragson raced for Toyota in the Trucks before becoming a Chevrolet development driver in 2019.

“We admire and respect the level at which Toyota conducts their business in this sport and look forward to forging a new legacy for the future,” said Johnson. “I will always be appreciative to Chevrolet and everything we have accomplished together. I’m so thankful they took a chance on a kid from California so long ago and proud that the history books will forever memorialize our record-breaking success we shared.”

With the switch, the #43 will have raced with twelve different manufacturers come 2024. Prior to Toyota and Chevrolet, the team used Dodge and Ford as Richard Petty Motorsports. RPM’s predecessor Petty Enterprises had fielded the car as a Buick, Oldsmobile, and Plymouth.

NASCAR’s Dover Motor Speedway weekend was a family affair for the Truexs in their national series home track. Two days after Ryan Truex won the Xfinity Series event for his first NASCAR-sanctioned triumph since 2010, older brother Martin Truex Jr. snapped a 598-day Cup Series winless streak.

The older Truex, whose last victory came at Richmond in 2021, held off a dramatic charge from Ross Chastain on the final restart with seven laps to go for his third win at Dover. Interestingly, all three victories took place on a Monday due to rain forcing postponements.

Martin and Ryan are the sixth brothers to sweep a NASCAR national series weekend, joining Jeff and Ward Burton (2001 Darlington), Kurt and Kyle Busch (achieved six times), Mike and Rusty Wallace (thrice), and Darrell and Michael Waltrip (1992 Darlington). Unlike the aforementioned, the Truexs did so for the same team (Joe Gibbs Racing) and in the same manufacturer and number (#19 Toyota).

“It’s very special,” said Martin. “Happy my dad was here for that. Just really cool.

“Ryan has been through a lot. He’s really worked hard, and he’s gotten beat down and knocked down a lot and been through some tough times that he’s had to kind of persevere through. I was just really happy for him.

The 2023 Sonora Rally marked the first time that the World Rally-Raid Championship visited the Americas. The Checkered Flag provided in-depth, live coverage of all five stages (six including the Prologue) and other related stories on social media and in article form here.

Missed any reports? Take a look below!

Pre-race stories

Overall winners

Stage recaps

Fate, coincidences, and irony tend to work in mysterious ways. Yes, this also happens in rally raid.

The World Rally-Raid Championship took a surprising turn at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge when Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah crashed out of the third stage while leading, allowing Sébastien Loeb to maintain his points lead.

A month later, Loeb wrecked out at the Sonora Rally as the overall leader in Stage #3, which opened the door to Al-Attiyah to leapfrog him for the top spot in the standings.

Loeb looked to be in the catbird seat early on as he and his fellow Prodrive Hunters Guerlain Chicherit and series newcomers Marcos and Cristian Baumgart occupied much of the top five in Stage #2. The following leg, however, saw him crash into a dry river that he was following when its direction changed course while he was airbourne. The accident left a small fracture in co-driver Fabian Lurquin‘s right shoulder, ending their rally.

With Loeb out of the picture, the battle for the overall win came down to the Toyota Hiluxes of Al-Attiyah and Abu Dhabi victor Yazeed Al-Rajhi. Although Al-Rajhi won Stage #3, Al-Attiyah returned the favour the next day to increase his lead to 7:22 entering the fifth and final stage.

Mahindra Racing were left frustrated after the Berlin E-Prix, with the Indian manufacturer having scored just one-point across the double-header, despite having presented “good race pace”.

The 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has certainly been a challenge for Mahindra, with the side having struggled for outright pace for the bulk of the season so far. They slipped to eighth in the Constructors’ Championship in Berlin due to their lack of points scoring, with Lucas Di Grassi currently being on a seven-race run of zero points.

Life isn’t about to get any easier for the team, as this weekend sees the iconic Monaco E-Prix take place. Monaco is typically one of the most demanding rounds of the year given that every session takes place on the same day, something which hasn’t happened yet this year. Unlike at most rounds, Free Practice 1 won’t take place Friday afternoon, with every session being scheduled for Saturday.

With that in mind, Mahindra Team Principal Frederic Bertrand is aware that his side must “prepare for a very demanding” weekend at the Circuit de Monaco, in a bid to achieve their target of reaching the duels in qualifying.

“One point was scored in Berlin and in general we had good race pace but not sufficient to get our two cars in the points That is our goal and we need to work hard to prepare for a very demanding Monaco E-Prix. We need to be ready for this event, take the best out of the free practice sessions and focus on our qualifying performance. Reaching the duels stage is crucial to give ourselves the best chance in the race.”

Lucas Di Grassi is targeting a “competitive” weekend at the Monaco E-Prix after another disappointing couple of races in Berlin, where the Brazilian’s point-less run continued.

The Berlin double-header was far from a success for the former Formula E Champion, with the Mahindra Racing driver having finished eleventh and twelfth at the Tempelhof Airport Circuit. It means he’s now gone seven races in a row without a top ten finish, with his only points from the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship having come from his podium in Mexico City.

Di Grassi will be hoping to end his bad run in Monaco, a place he’s gone well at in the past. The Brazilian has finished on the podium before at the Circuit de Monaco but could only manage sixth last season, a result he’d likely take on Saturday.

Looking ahead to the ninth round of the season, the Formula E veteran is hopeful that his team can “learn quickly” during Free Practice, at what is somewhat of a home E-Prix for him.

“Monaco is my second home race of the season! It’s hopefully going to be a competitive run for us. The Monaco track is a classic and really nice but the track is very different to Berlin. I hope we learn quickly and have a successful weekend.”

Jaguar TCS Racing enter this weekend’s “iconic” Monaco E-Prix full of confidence, after the Coventry-based team claimed their first 1-2 in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship just over a week ago in Berlin.

The Berlin E-Prix was one that Team Principal James Barclay will never forget, with Mitch Evans having won the first race of the Berlin double-header, with Sam Bird in second. It was an incredibly emotional moment for Jaguar and for Barclay, who shared ahead of this weekend how “immensely proud” he was following Germany. Race Two wasn’t as strong for Jaguar with Evans having finished fourth with Bird in nineteenth; however, they still cut their deficit to TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team.

Ahead of this weekend in Monaco, Jaguar sit third in the Constructors’ Championship and are just thirty points behind the German manufacturer, who may be starting to look over their shoulder.

Barclay is expecting a “strategic affair” in Monaco given how “challenging” and legendary the venue is, with the team boss knowing that making the “right decisions at the right time” will be vital for a strong result.

“I am immensely proud of the team’s performance in Berlin. To achieve our first 1-2 was an amazing achievement and demonstrated the hard work that all of the team have been putting into driving forward our performance. Next onto Monaco; it’s undoubtedly one of the most iconic sporting venues in the world with a rich racing heritage so in my mind the perfect opportunity to showcase electric racing and the future of motorsport.

After claiming his second win of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship last time out in Berlin, Mitch Evans enters this weekend’s famous Monaco E-Prix feeling “so motivated”, with the New Zealander targeting his first win at The Principality.

Evans is certainly the most in-form driver ahead of the ninth round of the season, with the Jaguar TCS Racing driver having bounced back from his challenging start to the campaign. He managed to back-up his win in São Paulo with another win in Berlin, as well as a fourth-place finish in the second race at the German capital. As a result of his recent fine form, he’s risen from outside the top ten to fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, in the space of three races.

He enters this weekend twenty-four points behind Pascal Wehrlein and knowing that in the last two races at Monaco he’s finished third and second, is it going to be third-time lucky for the New Zealander?

“It is an amazing feeling racing in Monaco and it is even more special being able to call it a second home race for me – as there is no race in New Zealand. After success in São Paulo and Berlin, I am so motivated to deliver another incredible performance this weekend. It’s a track I’ve done well at in the past, finishing third in season seven and second in season eight so I’ll be giving it everything on Saturday.”  

“This is an exciting weekend for everyone” – Sam Bird

On the other side of the Jaguar garage, Sam Bird is targeting another solid weekend after also claiming a rostrum in Berlin. Bird was on-hand to finish second behind Evans in the first race of the weekend in Berlin, to secure the Coventry-based team’s first 1-2 in Formula E.

The World Rally-Raid Championship‘s T3 category is enjoying a streak of parity to begin 2023 as all three rounds have been won by a different driver, even if they’re all Red Bull team-mates.

The streak continued as Mitch Guthrie scored his maiden W2RC victory at the Sonora Rally, edging out Mattias Ekström by less than seven minutes. Guthrie, who is no stranger to the Mexican desert as the 2017 Baja 1000 UTV overall winner, remains third in the T3 standings behind fellow American Red Bull drivers Seth Quintero and Austin Jones, but the gap to the leader is cut in more than half from forty-six after Abu Dhabi to twenty.

Ekström, racing in T3 for the second straight race, had the early advantage as he won the first and third stages while the Red Bull factory racers squabbled amongst themselves. However, Guthrie hit his stride and won Stage #4 to take the overall lead while Ekström had an off-day and placed sixth. Guthrie entered the final day leading Ekström by 1:09, and the margin ended up growing to six-and-a-half minutes when the latter got stuck in traffic and suffered a tyre puncture.

“Super excited to take the overall win at the Sonora Rally,” wrote Guthrie. “Thanks to the whole team for all their hard work. It was a battle the entire rally and we’re stoked! This is a big win for us and see you on the next one.”

Settling for runner-up in the final stage meant Ekström was the lone driver to hold second overall in consecutive legs. The position traded hands multiple times starting with João Ferreira, who broke up the Can-Am party in his Yamaha after placing second to Guthrie in the Prologue before an electrical issue and water pump failure knocked him off the spot the following day. Francisco Lopéz Contardo won Stage #2 to assume second, only to lose it to a broken front axle thirty kilometres into the third leg. Cristina Gutiérrez moved up into second thanks to her top five run until Guthrie overtook Ekström in the penultimate stage.

Rokas Baciuška solidifed his World Rally-Raid Championship T4 points lead after a perfect outing at the Sonora Rally as he won all six stages including the Prologue.

Baciuška is one of three class winners to sweep the rally’s five main stages alongside Romain Dumontier in Rally2 and Massimo Camurri of Rally3. He and Camurri are the only ones to take it a step further as they also claimed the Prologue, whose shorter distance typically results in more parity as teams try to understand the environment. The win is the reigning champion’s second in a row after the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

“There was no shortage of sports or everyday adrenaline in Mexico, but it was nice to get to know another new culture, impressive nature,” said Baciuška. “Five days in a strict racing mode and here we are, already very close to the world champions title for the second year in a row.”

Eduard Pons provided the closest competition throughout the first half of the rally by finishing second across the first three stages, with the slimmest gap being just six and a half minutes in Stage #2, though Baciuška maintained distance thanks to Pons receiving penalties for speeding. However, Pons’ race was upended when his car broke down in the penultimate stage.

With Pons out of the picture, the only other two entries in T4, Rebecca Busi and Shinsuke Umeda, were assured rally podium finishes. They were already guaranteed such finishes in just the championship as they declared for points while Pons did not, though the latter plans to run the rest of the calendar to accumulate experience for the 2024 Dakar Rally.

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur felt that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a successful showing for the team, with Charles Leclerc taking third place and Carlos Sainz finishing fifth. 

“Overall, this has been a positive weekend for the team. We took two pole positions and one podium finish with Charles and our overall points total, thanks also to Carlos’ fifth place, is satisfactory.”

After a weekend devoid of points at the Australian Grand Prix, Vasseur felt that the team was finally able to showcase the improvements that they’ve made to the car.

“There were signs of progress in Melbourne, but they were overshadowed by the poor race result. In the four week break, we worked hard in Maranello and here in Baku we have made further progress which translated into a good result.”

Vasseur said that he was pleased with their one-lap pace during qualifying, but is aware that there is still much to be done in order to contend for race wins against Red Bull Racing. Nonetheless, he said it was great for the team to have their first podium on the books for 2023.  

Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crossed the line in third place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, unable to convert his pole position after struggling to defend against the dominant pace of Red Bull Racing on race day. 

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen were able to take control of the race after swiftly overtaking Leclerc within the first six laps. With this, Leclerc said that improving the race pace of SF-23 is a priority. 

“We are still not quite there in terms of race pace and we know that’s what we have to work on the most at the moment.”

Having taken pole position for both the sprint and Grand Prix and achieved his first podium of the season, Leclerc said he was happy with his results in Baku and the support of his team throughout the weekend. 

“We maximised every session throughout the weekend and couldn’t have done anything differently, so that’s something to be happy about and the team did a great job.”

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a purpose-built 5.5-kilometer (3.4-mile) racing circuit in Austin, Texas, USA. It was designed to host a range of motorsports events, including the Formula One United States Grand Prix.

The track features 20 turns and a challenging layout that includes a number of high-speed corners, elevation changes, and a long straightaway. The circuit is designed to promote overtaking, with wide run-off areas and multiple passing zones.

Since its debut on the F1 calendar in 2012, the Austin Grand Prix has become one of the most popular races on the schedule. The race typically takes place in late October or early November, and attracts a large crowd of enthusiastic fans from all over the world.

In addition to the F1 race, the Circuit of the Americas hosts a range of other motorsports events, including MotoGP, IMSA, and the World Endurance Championship. It also features a variety of entertainment and hospitality options, including a concert venue and a selection of restaurants and bars.