Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Rookie Sacha Fenestraz heads into this weekend’s Berlin E-Prix double-header having “spent plenty of time in the simulator”, with the Tempelhof Airport Circuit being one that is known incredibly well by the vast majority of the grid.

The Berlin E-Prix is regarded as a ‘FE classic’, with it this season hosting round seven and eight of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, meaning the season will have reached its halfway point following the conclusion of the weekend. Fenestraz has so far had a solid rookie campaign; however, he left the recent round in São Paulo disappointed, after retiring from the race.

Despite having shown lots of promise this season, the Frenchman has only finished in the points once this season, meaning he’ll be hoping for at least one race in the points at this weekend’s double-header.

“It’s the first double header since Diriyah, so it will be good to get plenty of time on track,” said Fenestraz. “It’s going to be my debut at the Berlin circuit, so I’m excited to compare my development to the rest of the field, as most drivers already know the track. I’m feeling very motivated, we’re coming off a difficult weekend in São Paulo and the whole team has been pushing since then.

“I’ve spent plenty of time in the simulator, the Tempelhof circuit looks really fun, with lots of overtaking opportunities. Qualifying will be crucial, as will energy management because there’s a lot of straights. The first part of the season has been positive, despite a lot of ups and downs, but we’ve been learning at each round so I’m looking forward to attacking the Berlin weekend.”

Jake Dennis enters this weekend’s Berlin E-Prix double-header “feeling refreshed”, after having a few weeks to get over what was yet another miserable race, this time in São Paulo.

São Paulo was massively disappointing for the Avalanche Andretti Formula E driver once again for reasons that weren’t his fault, with the Briton having been forced to retire after Dan Ticktum went into the back of him. After starting the season in sublime fashion, Dennis has now gone three races in a row without any points.

Bad luck has seemingly been his only type of luck since he claimed two second-place finishes in Diriyah, with the British driver having been hit in Hyderabad, before suffering from a technical fault in Cape Town, only to then be taken out in São Paulo. He’s certainly had to dig deep to get through the disastrous few rounds; however, returning to the familiar Tempelhof Street Circuit should hopefully calm the field down.

Remarkably, despite his run of bad luck, Dennis is still second in the Drivers’ Championship, although, he now finds himself twenty-four points behind Pascal Wehrlein. With this weekend marking the halfway point of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Dennis must have a strong weekend, otherwise he’ll begin to tumble down the order.

He heads to Berlin “excited”, with the Briton remaining positive ahead of the seventh and eighth round of the season.

The grid for the 2023 FIA World Rallycross Championship continues to take shape as Klara Andersson confirms she has secured her seat at CE Dealer Team.

Andersson impressed throughout the 2022 season, making it to the final of her debut event in Hell, Norway, and later taking a podium position, finishing third at Montalegre, Portugal, the first female driver ever to do so in World RX. Not only was this a great result for herself, but it cemented the team’s place as a force to be reckoned with, with her teammate Niclas Grönholm taking victory.

The team will be hoping that this partnership continues to be fruitful, as both drivers have now signed multi-year extensions to their contracts. Andersson certainly seems to be upbeat: “I’m very happy to keep racing with my team-mate Niclas – we work really well together. Now I’ve done my rookie year and I’ve learned so much, it’s time for the next step forward”.

Team Manager Jussi Pinomäki was naturally very impressed by the performance of his rookie signing. Reflecting on the 2022 season, he said “No matter who you are, your debut season in an FIA World Championship is a baptism of fire, but Klara handled it like a driver with considerably more experience than she has, taking leaps forward in her personal development throughout the year. We look forward to a thrilling journey ahead, challenging the boundaries and norms of motorsport together”.

Each team is working hard to develop their cars for the coming season. The CE Dealer Team PWR RX1e machines showed some amazing pace in 2022, and they will be hoping to carry this into the new season. However, with the grid full of former champions, event winners, and even a certain rallying legend, the season promises to be one of hard battles and thrilling races.

Add Cameron Waters to the growing list of Supercars Championship drivers interested in a NASCAR start. After attending the recently concluded Martinsville Speedway slate, he told Supercars.com that he would be open to trying it out himself.

“I’ve followed it for a long time but never had the chance to get over and see it in person,” said Waters. “I like racing different cars and series, so 100 percent I’d love to have a crack in one.

“NASCAR race weekends are a lot different to Supercars in some ways and similar in others. They race hard but fairly, and the formats of how their weekend is set up is very different.”

Waters sits fifth in the Supercars standings after six races, winning the season opener at Newcastle. The Tickford Racing driver was the 2022 championship runner-up with three victories, placing behind Shane van Gisbergen. His interest in American motorsport also extends to dirt track racing as he races sprint cars in Australia during his downtime.

Van Gisbergen, a three-time champion, said last September that he had talked with NASCAR Cup Series owner Justin Marks about potentially racing in the Cup Series in 2023. Marks’ Trackhouse Racing Team operates the PROJECT91 programme for international racing stars hoping to race in NASCAR, with Kimi Räikkönen making a pair of starts in the #91 Chevrolet.

After not having a ride to start 2023, Johnny Sauter will race the #04 Ford F-150 for Roper Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team announced his signing Wednesday.

The team posted on social media, “Johnny Sauter, former NASCAR Truck Series Champion, will be driving for the Roper Racing #04 Carquest Ford F-150 Craftsmen Truck Team!”

The 2016 series champion, Sauter has mostly been a journeyman since his full-time tenure with ThorSport Racing ended after 2021. He ran six races in 2022 for ThorSport, G2G Racing, and Young’s Motorsports with a pair of top fives in ThorSport’s #13 including a runner-up at Martinsville.

Although Sauter was supposed to return to G2G for 2023, he has yet to drive for them.

Sauter replaces Kaden Honeycutt, who was contracted for the first six races. His best finish was ninth at Bristol Dirt.

NASCAR‘s penalty drama continues for another week, once again involving a Chevrolet team.

On Wednesday, the sanctioning body handed down an L1-level penalty for Austin Dillon after his #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was found to have broken rules pertaining to the underwing assembly mounting and underwing stay assembly hardware after Sunday’s Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

Dillon has been docked sixty points in the driver’s and owner’s championships along with five playoff points, while his crew chief Keith Rodden is suspended two races and fined USD$75,000 (€68,452.50).

Due to the points deduction, Dillon falls from twenty-first in points to twenty-eighth. He had finished twelfth at Martinsville before his car was selected for further inspection at NASCAR’s Research & Development centre.

“We are disappointed in the penalty that NASCAR issued to Richard Childress Racing following the recent NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, and plan to go through the appeal process,” reads a team statement. The case will now be taken to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel.

The NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race will introduce a success ballast for the top three drivers in each of the three championships starting with the second round at Autódromo de Interlagos on 30 April.

The series is split into PRO, PROAM, and AM divisions, meaning nine drivers total will have their cars weighed down at each round. The points leader in each class will receive a thirty-kilogram ballast, while second gets twenty-five and third receives twenty.

Success ballasts are predominantly featured in sports and touring car racing to handicap the leaders to create a more level playing field. Super GT is perhaps the most notable user, though the FIA World Endurance Championship and British Touring Car Championship have also empoloyed it.

“The ballast will be a big novelty and we can’t say how much damage it will do, but I believe we can do a good job,” said Rômulo Molinari, who along with car-mate Brendon Zonta leads the AM points. “It can be overcome with a lot of dedication in training and wisdom at the time of the races.”

The following drivers will receive ballasts for Interlagos: Diogo Moscato (first), Vitor Genz and Rapha Teixeira (second), and Arthur Gama (third) in PRO; Léo Reis and Rafa Reis, Luan Lopes, and Lourenço Beirão and Giovani Girotto in PROAM; and Molinari and Zonta, Fernando Nakamura, and Léo Yoshii in AM.

Justin Haley can finally put his penalty saga to rest. On Tuesday, Final Appeals Officer Bill Mullis ruled to drop Haley’s 75-point L2-level penalty for a louver violation at Phoenix in March.

Haley’s #31 Kaulig Racing car and all four cars from ally Hendrick Motorsports were busted for modified louvers at Phoenix, resulting in all five teams receiving 100-point penalties, USD$100,000 fines, and their crew chiefs (Trent Owens for Haley) being suspended for four races. The two organisations appealed to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel in early April, and Hendrick was able to drop the points reductions while Kaulig was only able to get twenty-five points lopped off.

Due to both teams being penalised for the same infraction, many took issue to the inconsistency in their appeals results despite both being handed down by different panel members. Kaulig elected to take the case to Mullis, who holds the last say.

Owens’ suspension and the fine remain in effect.

“Kaulig Racing is pleased with the ruling of the Final Appeals Officer to amend the original L2 penalty issued by NASCAR following the confiscation of a louver at Phoenix Raceway,” released a team statement. “Regarding these unique circumstances, it means the world to us as an organisation that the sanctioning body is working hard to ensure fairness and consistency across the board within our sport. We are focused ahead on Talladega and look forward to getting our season back on track with Justin Haley.”

Florian Modlinger, Team Principal of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team has admitted that the German manufacturer are treating this weekend’s Berlin E-Prix double-header “like all the others”, despite it being an incredibly important home E-Prix for them.

Porsche have enjoyed an incredible start to the Gen3 era and the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the Germans currently dominating both championships. Pascal Wehrlein leads the Drivers’ Championship by twenty-four points, whilst the team boast a commanding forty-one point lead in the Constructors’. With the way things are going, both titles are becoming theirs to lose, especially given the fact that the Stuttgart-based team have won half of the races so far this season.

They head into their home E-Prix having finished fourth and seventh in São Paulo, with the weekend in Brazil having been messy by their 2023 standards. They still salvaged some very strong points, though, with the German giants now set to embark on what they hope will be an incredible weekend at home in Berlin.

“Of course, it’s nice to travel to our home races as the leaders in both world championship categories,” Modlinger said.

“We are particularly looking forward to it because some of our families, friends and colleagues from the Weissach Development Centre will be in the grandstands supporting us. We tackle these races like all the others. We prepare meticulously. However, a home race is something special, of course, especially set against the unique backdrop of the historic Tempelhof Airfield.”

Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein heads into his home E-Prix this weekend feeling “very confident” that he can remain in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, after an excellent first half of the season.

This weekend’s Berlin E-Prix double-header marks the halfway point of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with Wehrlein knowing that a good weekend in his home country will mean he’s halfway to becoming a Formula E World Champion. Whilst he’s been flawless all year so far, the Tempelhof Street Circuit hasn’t been his best venue in recent years, with his best result in Berlin being sixth.

Wehrlein heads into the weekend on the back of finishing seventh in São Paulo, an E-Prix which saw him superbly recover from eighteenth on the grid. His pace this season has been exceptional, with the home crowd likely to add to his confidence. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver has revealed how “terrific” it feels to be heading to his and the team’s home race; however, he is aware that the weekend will need to go “perfectly” for a strong result.

“Contesting races in Germany is always something special. It’s a terrific feeling to turn up for our fans as the most successful team so far this season. I’m looking forward to Berlin, to the city and the people. But it won’t be easy for us or any of the other teams. The asphalt on the old airfield in Tempelhof is totally different from the surface on other Formula E circuits.

“It requires a completely different setup for the cars and the tyres. We need to work this out in the shortest possible time during the practice sessions and then implement it as perfectly as possible in qualifying and the race. If we manage this, we can also be competitive in Berlin. I’m optimistic we can do this.”

Ian James, Team Principal of the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team has shared that the Woking-based outfit are “relishing the challenge” this season in the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the British team on the hunt for their second podium this weekend at the Berlin E-Prix double-header.

After three new venues in a row, Formula E returns to a familiar setting this weekend at the Tempelhof Street Circuit, a venue which is known as “one of the most iconic” on the calendar. Given how the track is “cemented” in Formula E history, the grid will likely be incredibly close this weekend, due to just how much data the teams have on the track.

Of course, with this season consisting of the Gen3 cars and new Hankook tyres, there will still be plenty of learning to do; however, it will likely be easier for the entire field in Berlin. McLaren enter René Rast‘s home E-Prix sixth in the Constructors’ Championship and just eight-points off the top five, something McLaren presumably have their eyes on.

Thanks to rookie Jake Hughes finishing eighth and Rast finishing ninth, McLaren claimed a positive double-points finish at the previous round in São Paulo, their fourth double-points finish of the season. McLaren have certainly proven to have one of the most consistently quick packages on the grid, with their current issue being energy management.

If they’ve managed to work on that over the recent break then McLaren could be a real podium contender this weekend, with James having admitted that the team are “itching to hit the track again”.

René Rast is targeting a strong weekend at the Berlin E-Prix double-header, with the “very special event” being his home race this season.

Rast’s return to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has gone very well so far this season, with the German having already claimed a podium this year. However, a podium or even a victory at his home event will mean an incredible amount, especially as the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team are still searching for their first win.

Rast heads into his home E-Prix on the back of having finished ninth in São Paulo, after making up two places during the race. His ninth-place finish in Brazil did see him drop to eighth in the Drivers’ Championship, although, a strong performance in Berlin would likely see him return to the top five.

Rast has finished on the podium before at the Tempelhof Street Circuit meaning he can certainly enter the weekend with some confidence, especially with McLaren having “been competitive on almost all tracks”.

“Being my home race, I’m excited for the Berlin E-Prix. It’s a very special event for me. It’s the race and track that I am most familiar with on the calendar, so I’m heading into the event feeling confident and am looking forward to it. Hopefully we can continue to build on the success we have had so far this season, we have been competitive on almost all tracks. I hope we can finish strongly in the points and even achieve a podium.”

Nico Hülkenberg feels there are a lot of positives to take from the start of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, particularly now that he has scored his first points of the year after seventh place in the Australian Grand Prix.

After three years away from full-time racing, Hülkenberg returned to Formula 1 in 2023 with the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and has already shown that he has lost none of his pace or appetite for the sport, and he says he has enjoyed getting integrated within the team, a team he feels are heading in the right direction.

“I take a lot of positives out of this race and [going] forward,” Hülkenberg is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “I feel a lot of good things happening still. I’m refreshed, I’ve got a good mindset, a very positive mindset, I’m feeling hungry.

“I really enjoy working with the team, exploiting the car, experimenting with the car, and we’ve got a very nice rhythm and momentum, and I think that’s what we want to preserve and keep now, and take that into the next couple of races.”

Hülkenberg says Haas’ start to the season has not been bad, with his seventh place in Australia coming two weeks after team-mate Kevin Magnussen scored a point for tenth place in Saudi Arabia.

Xevi Pujolar, the Head of Trackside Engineering at Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, feels Zhou Guanyu has made a step forward in performance so far during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season and is now more than a match for his team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Zhou had some impressive performances during his rookie season in 2022 but scored only six points along the way as Bottas led the team, but the two drivers are more evenly matched in 2023, the Chinese driver scoring his first points of the season last time out in Australia.

And Pujolar says Zhou’s improvements can only help Alfa Romeo as they battle it out amongst the ultra-tight midfield in 2023.

“I think Zhou is raising the game,” Pujolar is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com.  “And I would say now they are both quite even,” he said.

“That’s good for us. Qualifying [in Australia] was not ideal, but in the last two qualifying sessions they are close to Q3, both of them and that’s good for the team.”

American Outdoor Events has added to its growing portfolio of American off-road racing properties, acquiring Great American Shortcourse on Tuesday.

Débuting in 2022, GAS serves as the main short course off-road series on the West Coast of the United States as a spiritual successor of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. It was founded by former LOORRS race director Lee Perfect and Hammerking Productions owner Dave Cole, the latter’s company, with Perfect serving in the same role for GAS.

“We’re honoured that the Robinetts and the AOE family see the potential of this young series and are happy to have the opportunity to get to work with them,” Perfect stated. “They bring amazing enthusiasm and vision for the future of short course off-road racing and we’re eager to see the series grow under the AOE umbrella.”

The 2023 season began at King of the Hammers, which was formerly overseen by Hammerking Productions and now part of the AOE umbrella.

Besides KOH and now GAS, AOE is the parent company of MidAmerica Outdoors in Jay, Oklahoma, and the Ultra4 USA series. AOE acquired KOH and Ultra4 USA from Cole, who still operates the Ultra4 international divisions in Europe and Australia, in 2022. Other series in the AOE group include American Pro Rock Racing and American SxS Takeover.