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Edoardo Mortara heads into the fifth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship having found some consistency in recent rounds, with the Swiss driver entering the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix having claimed two consecutive points finishes.

Whilst his points finishes have only been ninth and tenth, he is showing “progress”, something he’s hoping for more of this weekend in South Africa. Mortara was unfortunate in Hyderabad last time out to not get more than a single point, after having entered the pits for a new front wing at the end of the second lap, after hitting Nick Cassidy accidently at Turn Three.

Given that he was last, then, as the third lap started, his recovery was exceptional; however, more than tenth was certainly on the cards had the collision not happened.

Despite this, the car’s pace was better, giving Mortara some confidence that further improvements can be made this weekend in Cape Town.

“Cape Town is our second new city of Season 9, and I’m looking forward to racing somewhere completely new and experiencing a new city and culture. In Hyderabad we demonstrated a little more pace over one lap so I’m hoping for more of the same progress this weekend.”

The NEOM McLaren Formula E Team are targeting a strong performance at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix this weekend, with South Africa playing host to the fifth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The Woking-based outfit are in need of a good result at the only round in Africa this weekend, after both Jake Hughes and René Rast retired at the recent round in Hyderabad, India. Whilst Hughes’ retirement was unavoidable following a bizarre fault, Rast’s race ended after hitting Jake Dennis, something he’ll be looking to avoid in South Africa.

McLaren have looked fast all season so far and will be keen to move back into the top three of the Constructors’ Championship, having slipped to fourth following the race in India.

Team Principal Ian James is confident that McLaren have “done our homework” ahead of the fastest circuit on the calendar this season and will “grow” from the disappointment they faced in India, with there being little time to focus on the past.

“Race week is upon us again and we’re heading to the second new race location on the calendar for this season: Cape Town. We are all very excited to come to this amazing place, seeing us visit yet another continent in 2023. It’s great for the Championship, it’s stakeholders and the fans to be able to race here this weekend. 
 
“Our most recent outing, in Hyderabad, wasn’t what we wanted it to be from a results perspective. Despite the performance of the package being strong for the majority of the weekend, we lost a lot of valuable points through a combination of mistakes and misfortune. 
 
“We’re confident we have done our homework, and in the past I have seen this team learn and grow from their mistakes, so there is no doubt in my mind that the team will perform to the best of its abilities this weekend. I’m super excited and looking forward to the opportunity to set things right in Cape Town.”

Rookie Jake Hughes is hoping to bounce back this weekend at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, after retiring in Hyderabad last time out in bizarre fashion. A strong result at the fifth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will do his season no harm at all, with the Brit having dropped to seventh in the Drivers’ Championship in India.

Hughes crashed out of the race in Hyderabad after his wing mirror somehow got caught on his steering wheel, resulting in him suddenly turning right into the wall. The incident was by no means his fault and was just a case of cruel bad luck, something he didn’t deserve given how well he’s started the season. Heading into the recent round, Hughes was one of five drivers to have finished every race in the points, a streak that ended, of course.

Looking ahead to this weekend, though, and Hughes is “excited” to be visiting Cape Town, a city he’s “always wanted to visit”. Being another new venue will give the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team driver a great opportunity to score big points, with him being on a level playing field.

The Briton heads into South Africa with “confidence” given his strong pace throughout the season so far, filling him with hope that points can be scored come Saturday.

“I’m really looking forward to racing in Cape Town, it’s one of the races that I’ve been most excited for since the calendar was announced. I’ve always wanted to visit the city, so to have a race there on the coastline and around the stadium will make for a fantastic event. For Formula E, to have another race in Africa is crucial and very exciting.

Rosberg X Racing‘s all-Swedish duo of Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky were easily the most dominant team in the 2022 Extreme E season, but came up short in the championship battle after a series of late missteps. On Tuesday, RXR announced they will run it back with the tandem to avenge their second-place points finish.

“I’m super happy that Mikaela and Johan have signed for another season,” said team owner Nico Rosberg. “With the experience and track record of both drivers, we will be prepared for the battle and hopefully make for some exciting action on track. Last year, we sadly didn’t take home the championship trophy, but this year we plan on giving it our all.”

RXR won the inaugural Extreme E title in 2021 with Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor before signing Åhlin-Kottulinsky to take the latter’s place for the 2022 season. The new pairing immediately hit it off by winning the opener in Saudi Arabia, and would have swept the Island X Prix doubleheader had they received a retroactive penalty for Kristoffersson wrecking Carlos Sainz in the first race that demoted them from the win to fifth. Despite being the only team to win multiple finals, RXR was hit by a mechanical problem at the Copper X Prix that allowed X44 to close the gap in the points.

A disastrous season-ending Energy X Prix provided the death blow when they crashed in qualifying and were disqualified for a wreck in the Crazy Race. RXR was forced to watch from the sidelines as X44 clinched the championship by five points.

“I am confident that we can build on our experience and come back stronger than ever,” Kristoffersson stated. “Having Mikaela on my side for another season is an extra motivation. She’s a great person on and off the track and and she has really impressed me with her development and her will to work.”

2023 could not have begun any better for Eryk Goczał when the eighteen-year-old held off reigning World Rally-Raid Champion Rokas Baciuška to win the T4 class at the Dakar Rally. Although the victory makes him the T4 points leader entering the next W2RC round in Abu Dhabi, he is still a teenager with his own aspirations and academics.

With this in mind, he has dropped his plans of pursuing the W2RC in 2023 as he prepares to finish secondary school and earn his International Baccalaureate diploma before entering university. Graduation from the former clashes with the Sonora Rally, which is the third round of the W2RC, in April. He was accepted into EHL Hospitality Business School, a hotel management academy in Switzerland, in February.

“Winning Dakar Rally means we with Oriol (Mena) are the leaders of the World Rally-Raid Championship in T4 category. I always set myself the highest goals and the fight for the title of World Champion is definitely one of them. It’s another dream to come true, but I’m also a realist and I know what I should focus on right now,” posted Goczał on social media.

“As you know, I have my graduation ahead (whose date coincides with one of the rounds of the World Championships), as well as the start of my dream studies. This is an investment in my future and I intend to make the most of this time.”

“I’d like and will do my best to compete in the higher class next year. I know this year’s winning was just the beginning, I will fight to success even more in the future, achieve many goals at an increasingly higher level. Everything has its time.”

The past week was one of the busiest that Travis Pastrana experienced, but it is one that he will never forget as he got to compete on dirt and make his NASCAR Cup Series début in the Daytona 500. Despite a pit penalty and being caught in a wreck on the final lap, he nearly finished in the top ten in eleventh in what he plans to be his only Cup start.

“We weren’t in the hunt for the win, but to be in the top ten on that last restart, this exceeded all my expectations,” said Pastrana after the race. “Obviously, it’s disappointing now because you want to do the best you can. I was really trying not to crash and unfortunately when things got tight in there, I wasn’t able to control it on the top with the push.”

The wreck occurred in turn two when Pastrana, who was running ninth, got loose off a bump from Aric Almirola, sending him down into Kyle Larson. Larson was turned up the banking and hit the outside wall, with Pastrana being sandwiched between Almirola and the RFK Racing cars of Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski. Pastrana was among nine cars involved including his 23XI Racing team-mate Bubba Wallace, but was able to bring his car to the finish.

“It’s tough just because you can’t really see what’s going on in front of you so when the two cars in front of you connect, they really take off quick, but when you’re pushing them, you’re worried about having happen what happened to me where you kind of spin the guy in front of you,” he explained. “My car had been pretty tight even off of (turn) four so I was super surprised that it got as loose as it did and we’d been a little loose on the top and we were all the way up on the top. Just disappointing.

“The car is not a complete write off, so the kids’ college fund is intact. It was a win, and it was awesome.”

Mahindra Racing Team Principal Frederic Bertrand is hopeful that the Indian outfit can get “both our cars in the points” this weekend at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, playing host to round five of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

It’s been a very mixed start to the season for Mahindra, with Lucas di Grassi having failed to score any points since he claimed pole position and a podium at the season opener in Mexico City. Oliver Rowland on the other hand, failed to scored points at the first three races of the season, but ended his drought at the recent Hyderabad E-Prix, by finishing sixth at the team’s home race. Had he not been awarded a time penalty for exceeding track limits, then the British driver would’ve claimed third, something which would’ve gone down incredibly well amongst the team.

The team’s odd start to the season has resulted in them being positioned firmly in the midfield, with the side currently boasting seventh in the Constructors’ Championship. To make further progress this weekend in South Africa the team will need to score some big points, something which is certainly possible given that this weekend’s host is another new venue.

Each team enters the weekend with next to no knowledge of the venue, something which could present Mahindra with an excellent opportunity come Saturday.

With that in mind, Bertrand is “looking forward” to the weekend ahead and is hopeful that the team can “build” on Rowland’s points from India.

With the launch of BWT Alpine F1 Team’s 2023 contender, A523, CEO Laurent Rossi described the excitement of beginning a new season and seeing the team progress and move forward through the years. 

Since Alpine made its FIA Formula 1 World Championship debut in 2021, the team has solidified itself as a force in the midfield, achieving a fifth place result in the 2021 standings and moving up to fourth place in the 2022 season after a tight battle with McLaren F1 Team. 

“It’s always a feeling of immense pride when we officially unveil our car for the upcoming season. Since Alpine joined the Formula 1 grid in 2021, I’ve been eager to see continued progress and tick off each season and each milestone as they come.

“Ultimately, we at Alpine are driven by a natural desire to race and that is etched in the company’s heritage and will remain at the heart of our motorsport projects for many years to come.”

Rossi praised the team’s work at Alpine’s factories in Enstone and Viry in producing this year’s car, which will don a special pink livery for the first three races of the season. 

After succeeding in their mission to finish in the top four in 2022, BWT Alpine F1 Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer has defined the team’s objectives for the much-anticipated 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season. 

Szafnauer said that last year’s result was a major “milestone” in Alpine’s 100-race-long project to find themselves as consistent podium finishers by 2024, a plan set in place by Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.

“This time of the year is often filled with both excitement and anticipation ahead of a new Formula 1 season. It was a fantastic feeling to reach our objectives in 2022 by finishing in a well-deserved fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship; a healthy and significant milestone on our 100-race plan as outlined by Laurent at the beginning of the season.”

Alpine spent much of the 2022 season neck-and-neck with McLaren F1 Team in the fight for fourth, and ended up taking the place by just fourteen points.The next step for the team, Szafnauer explained, is to finish at least fourth once again, but by a clearer margin than that of 2022. 

“We have just under 80 races left on this mission and I’m proud to lead the team on this journey. For 2023, the aim is simple: at a minimum, we must finish in fourth and in a much more convincing fashion.”

Oliver Rowland enters round five of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship having finally claimed a points finish, with the British driver having endured some woeful luck so far in Season Nine.

The Mahindra Racing driver finished sixth at the team’s home race in Hyderabad, yet would’ve had a podium had he not been demoted places for exceeding track limits. Nevertheless, it gives him something to build on this weekend at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, with him having the belief that the team “have the pace to battle at the front”.

It’s been an odd start to the season for Mahindra, with the car having looked strong in Mexico City before falling towards the back in Diriyah; however, they certainly made amends at their home event.

Given that he missed out on a podium due to a time penalty, Rowland enters this weekend in South Africa with “unfinished business”, giving him something to “aim” for.

“I really want to keep the momentum going in Cape Town after a successful weekend in Hyderabad. It was good to finally get some points on the board, but I still feel like there’s unfinished business as getting pinged for track limits meant I lost out on the possibility of a podium in India. At least we know we have the pace to battle at the front, which is something we aim to do this weekend. We usually go well at new circuits so that’s something that stands in our favour.”

Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal James Barclay is incredibly excited for the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix this weekend, with the Jaguar boss being from South Africa, meaning this weekend is an incredibly “proud moment” for him.

After an inaugural FIA Formula E World Championship race in India just over a week ago, the all-electric series moves onto another new venue, in the beautiful Cape Town for round five. Whilst the weekend will be incredibly memorable for Barclay, there is no hiding the fact that the team need a massive performance, after both Sam Bird and Mitch Evans retired in Hyderabad.

The duo retired after Bird accidentally crashed into the New Zealander, who was running in third at the time after claiming pole. It meant the side left India empty handed, despite having shown such impressive pace. Leaving South Africa without any points simply can’t happen, with the side having lost significant ground on the Porsche-powered teams in the Constructors’ Championship.

Despite their Hyderabad disaster, Jaguar can enter this weekend feeling somewhat confident, with their powertrain having shown great pace at every venue so far this season.

Barclay recognises that his side have a “fast and highly competitive car”, and is hopeful that “points and podiums” will be on the cards come the race.

Sam Bird enters this weekend’s inaugural Cape Town E-Prix in need of a huge result, should he wish to keep his title hopes alive, after crashing out in Hyderabad in emphatic fashion at the previous round.

Remarkably, this weekend’s trip to South Africa is the fifth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and an equally important one for Bird, who retired in Hyderabad after crashing into his team-mate. The Brit looked fast in India but ultimately ran too deep at Turn Three, resulting in the Jaguar TCS Racing driver ploughing into several drivers like skittles. In true Bird fashion, he immediately apologised for causing the mess, before switching his focus to this weekend.

His second retirement of the season resulted in the Brit dropping to sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, further emphasising that he needs to start closing the gap.

Looking ahead to the second consecutive new venue of the season, Bird is “particularly excited” to be heading to South Africa, with the veteran “confident” that his side are “as prepared as possible” to push for a podium.

“As Formula E racing drivers, we are incredibly lucky to travel to new destinations and Cape Town is one that I’m particularly excited about. We’ve focussed on getting to grips with the new track, our second so far this season, and being as prepared as possible. I’m confident that our team and the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 have the performance available to achieve points and podiums in Cape Town.” 

It was poised to be one of the quicker Daytona 500s in recent memory, but instead turned into the longest. A series of late wrecks including one on the final lap (completing a dubious weekend sweep of all three NASCAR national series races at Daytona ending with a last-lap crash) along with a late Chevrolet rally propelled Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to his first Cup Series win in over five years.

Daniel Suárez‘s spin through the grass with three laps remaining set up overtime and broke up what would have been a battle between RFK Racing and Richard Childress Racing for the win. RCR, a Chevrolet outfit, held the early advantage as overtime began before Duel #1 winner Joey Logano, with a push from Stenhouse, moved ahead until a thirteen-car crash resulted in another restart. Stenhouse and Logano duelled over the next lap and a half before another multi-car pile-up occurred behind them, sparking a caution.

Upon review (for the second straight night), Stenhouse was found to be ahead of Logano for the lead when the yellow flag came out, declaring him the winner. It is his third career win, all of which have come on superspeedways, with the last being 2,060 days ago on 1 July 2017 at the second Daytona race. His JTG Daugherty Racing team also enjoyed their second win and first since A.J. Allmendinger at Watkins Glen in 2014.

Stenhouse had to rebound from a late speeding penalty, and received help from his fellow Chevrolet drivers William Byron and RCR’s Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon; Busch had been the leader prior to overtime. The quartet got by RFK’s Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher before Stenhouse squared off with Logano.

“Once we sped on pit road, kind of thought our race was over, but felt like the good Lord was watching out for us. I was serving the penalty, and then all of a sudden, had a big wreck right there kind of where we were running, getting in turn one,” said Stenhouse. “That gave us a second chance. Tuesday’s meeting was not going to be very good because we preached all off-season about not beating ourselves, and there I went speeding on pit road, really wasn’t trying to get everything out of it, but got a little too much.

Ahead of the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix it has been confirmed that rookie Kelvin van der Linde will once again replace Robin Frijns at the ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, with the Dutchman still not in the right condition to make his return to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Van der Linde has replaced Frijns since the second round of the season in Diriyah, after Frijns fractured his hand and wrist in a crash on the opening lap of the race in Mexico City. It was certainly the worst possible start to the season for the experienced driver; however, he has recovered incredibly quickly given that it had been speculated that he’d miss the bulk of the season.

For him to have even considered racing in South Africa is remarkable, given that his crash took place just over a month ago. With him having been in with a shot of returning in Cape Town, it’s likely that Frijns will be seen at the sixth round of the 2022/23 season in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with it not taking place until the end of March. Frijns therefore has another month to recover before the inaugural race in Brazil, meaning that this coming weekend might be the last we see of van der Linde for the time being.

Considering that the Diriyah E-Prix was both his first race in the all-electric series and his first race ever in a single-seater, van der Linde has represented himself superbly. The South African has been very impressive since taking Frijns’ spot, given his unmissable lack of single-seater experience. He finished sixteenth and eighteenth in Saudi Arabia before retiring at the recent round in Hyderabad; however, his weekend was ridiculed by reliability issues.

He’ll be hoping for a smooth weekend at what will be his first home E-Prix, marking a special way to make what could be his final appearance in Formula E. The sport’s first South African will give those in attendance in Cape Town a home-hero to cheer on, as ABT CUPRA continue to push for their first points of the season.

Austin Hill probably had a feeling of déjà vu when he stood in Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway to begin the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Not only was it his second straight win in the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300, but it came following a dramatic flip on the final lap.

Unlike in 2022, Hill was directly involved in the crash this time when Sam Mayer spun off Hill’s front bumper on the backstretch while fighting for the lead and flipped onto his roof. As Mayer slid across the pavement, Hill ran three-abreast with John Hunter Nemechek and Justin Allgaier as the caution came out, with Hill being named the winner as the leader at the moment of the yellow flag following a lengthy review. Complicating matters was Nemechek going below the double-yellow line, which is forbidden at superspeedways unless to avoid a wreck.

“When I turned across my nose, I just figured caution is out, race is over,” said Hill. “But as soon as he turned across my nose, it allowed whoever was behind me—the #31 (Parker Retzlaff), #38 (Ryan Sieg), whoever the car was, I don’t know who it was—it allowed them to get to my bumper, and they just never lifted and they gave me a really big shot and they started pushing me down the back.

“I’m sitting there looking at the green light and looking at the #7 (Allgaier) beside me to see when the yellow light is going to come up, and as soon as I saw the yellow light I looked left, and it looked like I was ahead of the #7, but then I didn’t realise the #20 (Nemechek) is below the double yellow line. I’m like, ‘If they let that go, that’s going to be close between us.’ I was actually just thinking I’m racing the #7. I thought the #20 would get a penalty for going below the yellow, but I’m guessing the reason they let that slide was probably because the wreck happened and it made it to where he was probably trying to miss the wreck type thing.”

Hill won the pole and the first stage, while Allgaier claimed the second. The former has established himself as one of the top superspeedway racers in NASCAR’s national tiers, having also won at the superspeedway-like Atlanta in 2022 while his first Truck Series victory was at Daytona three years prior.