Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

With just a week to go until the first ever ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race in India, it has been announced that Greenko, a leading Indian renewable energy company will be the title sponsor of the Hyderabad E-Prix.

It looks set to be an incredible weekend in Hyderabad, with it being Mahinda Racing‘s first ever home race, as well as somewhat of a home race for Jaguar TCS Racing, who’s title partner is Indian multinational information technology company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

The Greenko Group were founded back in 2006 and have gone on to become a world leader in decarbonisation and energy transition, to the extent where they will fully power the entire E-Prix with renewable energy. In doing so, they’ll be supporting Formula E’s net zero carbon strategy and RE100 commitment to achieve one-hundred percent renewable energy for the series.

Greenko Group Founder Anil Chalamalasetty is “delighted” that the company are partnering with the all-electric series for what will be an “iconic” weekend, at one of the “world’s greenest cities”.

“We are delighted to be partnering with an iconic race, India’s first ever Formula E World Championship in association with the Govt of Telangana and FIA, with support from the Govt of India. We are committed to combat climate change and lead the way for global decarbonisation. Greenko will be powering the entire 2023 Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix event with renewable energy, making it first of its kind Net Zero event in the world on this scale.

The Russian Rally-Raid Championship is open to all who want to take part, but those who are neither Russian nor holders of a Russian Automobile Federation licence will not be able to win it. Ahead of the 2023 season, the Russian Rally-Raid Committee outlined new regulations that prevent foreign competitors from receiving points, though they can still run races and remain eligible for the adjacent Eurasian Cup.

The rule change is outlined in Section 9.3 of the 2023 regulations concerning points-eligible drivers. Originally, an amendment passed on 4 January 2022 codified the ability for foreign racers to earn points with those from Belarus and the FIA Eurasia Zone (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) being allowed to enter without needing outside documentation. The new policy, however, states that “Russians are awarded (points) on the condition that they are declared by the Applicant with a licence issued by the RAF and are holders of a pilot’s licence issued by the RAF. Otherwise, both pilots of the crew, which includes a foreign athlete who does not have a RAF license, do not receive points in the Russian Championship.”

Foreign athletes are otherwise permitted to race under Section 5.2.3 as “citizens of other countries who have a valid international or higher national licence of any ASN (National Sporting Authority, such as ACCUS for the United States)”, though a revision adds they will do so “without accrual of points in the Championship/Russia Cup.”

The Eurasian Cup has its own schedule but generally runs in conjunction with the Russian Rally-Raid Championship. The rulebook specifically mentions participating countries include Russia plus the aforementioned Belarus and much of the Eurasia Zone (all but Armenia and Azerbaijan), but also adds those not from the five can enter at their request.

The ban came down from the RAF Sports Council, following the direction of the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation. The regulations were submitted for approval in mid-January before being finalised at the end of the month.

Barring a sudden change of heart, the Pala Casino 400 on 26 February will be the final NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in its two-mile configuration. As the track prepares for its long awaited redevelopment into a half-mile short track, speedway president Dave Allen said Saturday that he does not expect it to appear on the 2024 calendar due to construction.

“Even with the most aggressive timeline, we will not race in 2024 on the new track,” Allen said. “The timeline beyond that still has yet to be determined. There are just milestones we need to get through, not the least of which is the design of the race track. We’re still working on that. There are a lot of iterations we’re still designing, both on track and off track.”

Although Fontana is one of the fastest tracks on the schedule, declining attendance since the early 2010s and the aging track surface prompted NASCAR, who owns the track via International Speedway Corporation, to initiate renovation talks. NASCAR also hopes to sell off the surrounding area formerly part of the larger oval to outside interests like businesses to stimulate the local economy.

While Fontana’s temporary removal means Southern California loses a points race, there have been musings about the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is hosting the Busch Light Clash exhibition this weekend, being upgraded to a points-paying event in its place.

“I think NASCAR whatever deems is important to them. I’m sure having a race in this area is very important with the talk of the two-mile oval in Fontana, you would have no more and they may be taking a year off while it rebuilds,” said Cup driver Denny Hamlin on Saturday. “Certainly, I think they’re going to be open to options and maybe this does fall in that slot or we go somewhere else.”

Championship Off-Road drivers will have to re-orient themselves when the 2023 season begins at Antigo Lions Roaring Raceway in June. The Wisconsin-based track will have a face-lift overseen by Pro 4 driver Kyle LeDuc that flips the direction in which racers will go. A graphic by Brian Rocky Alsteen of Airhead Designs of the new layout was revealed during last weekend’s 2022 COR awards banquet.

Alsteen posted, “Antigo race track will be wild to race at this year !!! Going in opposite direction!! Thanks Zach Zagar and Kyle Leduc for letting me do the artwork for the track layout !!”

Unlike in the past, the track now goes in a clockwise direction. Although it retains the same infield layout of a large hairpin, much of the differences come in dirt jumps featured. For example, while the frontstretch still features a pair of ramps and the tabletops at the infield’s mouth and exit remain, the backstretch’s two wide-sweeping jumps have been replaced by a series of triple doubles. The hairpin, now a sharp left due to the orientation flip, has a high roller jump.

LeDuc wrote in response to 1600 Light Buggy racer Jeff Wolfe‘s post about the track, “I’ll make sure it’s legit!!” The course designer finished runner-up in the 2022 COR Pro 4 championship battle to C.J. Greaves, who won both races in the Antigo opener. That weekend also saw the series experiment with the Yokohama Duel of Champions, a head-to-head tournament between Pro 2 drivers with the winner Jerett Brooks receiving $10,000.

Other pro class winners at the Antigo weekend included Mickey Thomas and Ricky Gutierrez (Pro 2), Brock Heger (swept both Pro Lite and Pro Turbo SxS), Gray Leadbetter and Nick Visser (Pro SPEC), and Rodney VanEperen and Kyle Chaney (Pro Turbo SxS). Among the sportsman category victors were Michael Meister and Mark Stenhardt (Super Buggy), Logan Christensen and Tyler Remmereid (Pro Am SxS), Chase Braun and Ethan Dresel (570 SxS), Trent Peetz and Matt Vanderheyden (Sportsman SxS), Joe Maciosek and Ben Holtger (Super Stock Truck), John Fitzgerald (1600 Single Buggy), Porter Inglese (Mod Kart), Wyatt Olson and Ashton Dreher (170 SxS), Finley Holtger (Short Course Kart), Brian Peot and Cory Holtger (Stock Truck), and Greg Stingle and Connor Schulz (1600 Light Buggy).

Carlos Llibre hopes to compete in the 2024 Dakar Rally, leading an amateur effort that goes beyond making his and his team’s dreams come true. He will also check off a bucket list item of his twin brother Álex, who passed away in 2017 at the age of twenty-six in a motorcycle accident.

Álex had multiple goals on his 101-item list yet to be completed that included various marathons and triathlons, with #5 on the list being “Dakar en Moto” (“Dakar on Moto”). Carlos founded ALL1 Dakar, “ALL1” symbolising “All as One”, in November 2017 to work towards the latter, and was joined by six friends: Javi Amat, Álvaro Andreu, Fernando Condo, Pepe Martí, Josep Pedró, and Xavi Pes. The project has since garnered support from many including Dakar veterans like bike racers Adrien van Beveren and Luciano Benavides, as well as fellow Spaniards Cristina Gutiérrez, Carlos Sainz, and Laia Sanz.

Amateur riders hoping to run the Dakar Rally undergo a rigorous selection process by submitting a questionnaire and dossier of their qualifications to the ASO and FIM. Even if rejected at first glance, they can still be accepted via the Road to Dakar programme, which consists of select races where those with no prior Dakar experience can receive free admission by performing well. All four World Rally-Raid Championship legs are part of the 2023 Road to Dakar, as well as the TGRSA 1000 Desert Race.

ALL1 elected to run the Rallye du Maroc, a Road to Dakar race, in October, though Llibre crashed in the fourth stage and broke his collarbone. Nevertheless, the team’s resolve continues into 2023.

“Nobody told us that we were going to do something so big, nobody told us that so many people would resonate with us, nobody told us the script would go off-hand, nor that the greatest hits would have such a point of rawness,” said the team after Morocco. “What we did know is that we would be an unconditional team, sharing a big dream and that we would become more confident than ever. A dream that is now also of you all. We have a long and beautiful way to enjoy and learn with you from here to January 2024. Because to Dakar we all go.

G2G Racing will return for the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season with the #46 and #47 Toyota Tundra TRD Pros, once again piloted by multiple drivers. In an exclusive with Toby Christie, team owner Tim Viens outlined his plans for the upcoming season which is expected to begin with him and Johnny Sauter in the opener at Daytona International Speedway.

The #47 will serve as the full-time truck while the #46 will run the first four races (Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and COTA) before making a decision on whether to continue running. Sauter will be in the #47 for Daytona while Viens plans to drive the #46.

Sauter, the 2016 champion, first worked with G2G at the 2022 Daytona opener where he finished thirty-fourth after retiring for an electrical issue. He ran five races with ThorSport Racing and Young’s Motorsports later in the year, recording a pair of top fives for the former.

After Daytona, Viens hopes to have Brennan Poole and B.J. McLeod for Las Vegas and Atlanta. Poole, who is set to run the full Xfinity schedule for JD Motorsports, ran five Truck races in 2022 for G2G with a best finish of twenty-third at Texas. McLeod’s last Truck race came in 2021.

The team will also help two drivers make their series débuts at Circuit of the Americas in Memphis Villarreal and Dale Quarterley. Villarreal is a dirt track racer from Texas while Quarterley competes in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East with six career wins during the prime of his career from 1998 to 2004. Quarterley also has experience in the Cup and Xfinity Series, the Whelen Euro Series, and motorcycle racing.

After entering the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022, Connor Mosack will be back for more in 2023 as he will run three races along with six in the ARCA Menards Series.

“I made my Xfinity Series début with JGR last June at Portland and from the moment I made my first lap in their race car, I realized why they’ve been so successful,” commented Mosack. “Their equipment was second to none and the resources they had in terms of people and their knowledge was incredible.”

Mosack is already scheduled to enter twenty races for Sam Hunt Racing in the #24 Toyota GR Supra. With Thursday’s announcement, he will pilot JGR’s #19 at the Chicago Street Race on 1 July, Pocono Raceway on 22 July, and Road America on 29 July.

His ARCA season begins with the opener at Daytona International Speedway on 18 February. Additional starts will come at Kansas Speedway (6 May), Charlotte Motor Speedway (26 May), Pocono (21 July), Michigan International Speedway (4 August), and the finale at Kansas (8 September).

He will also continue racing in the Trans-Am Series and late models, the former consisting of a one-off at Sebring Raceway on 26 February for TeamSLR and the latter being the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway on 10–18 February for Jamie Yelton. As a late model racer, he won CARS Tour Rookie of the Year in 2020. Mosack finished third and fourth in the 2021 and 2022 Trans-Am TA2 standings.

Beard Motorsports has made a slight tweak to their 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. While they will continue to run the superspeedways with Austin Hill, their road course start at the Chicago Street Course has been moved to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on 8 October. A reason for the swap was not given, though Charlotte is where most teams are headquartered.

Hill will also race the #62 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the two Daytona International Speedway rounds (the Daytona 500 on 19 February and 26 August), both Talladega Superspeedway events on 23 April and 1 October, and Michigan International Speedway on 6 August. As superspeedways, Daytona and Talladega are popular stops for smaller teams hoping to be competitive, while Michigan is the home track for Beard Motorsports. Hill also made his Cup début at Michigan in 2022 where he finished eighteenth.

“Honouring my dad’s legacy and his passion for the sport of auto racing is the driving force behind Beard Motorsports,” commented team executive vice president Amie Beard. “I’ve said it before but he was very much a ‘Go big or go home’ kind of person. I know he would be so proud to see how we have carried on the tradition that he started and increasing our presence in the NASCAR garage with the races in Michigan this summer and at the Charlotte road course this fall.”

Prior to 2023, Beard Motorsports raced exclusively at Daytona and Talladega with Brendan Gaughan, Noah Gragson, and Justin Allgaier. Gaughan also ran the team’s first and then-only road course race on the Daytona infield in 2020.

Hill is preparing for his second full season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after winning Rookie of the Year. His sponsor Bennett Family of Companies hails from Georgia like him.

Kaulig Racing‘s multi-driver #10 car will be piloted by NASCAR Cup Series regulars in back-to-back races o begin the 2023 Xfinity Series season. On Friday, the team announced Austin Dillon will drive the #10 at Auto Club Speedway on 25 February.

The team posted on social media, “We’re excited to announce Austin Dillon will jump behind the wheel of our No. 10 Chevy for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway! This will be his SIXTH start in our No. 10 car, with the previous five coming between the 2018 and 2019 seasons!”

The 2013 Xfinity champion, Dillon has sporadically returned to the series since his graduation to the Cup Series the following year. Despite originally racing for the family-run Richard Childress Racing, he has branched out to ally operations since 2018, with Kaulig being his first stop when he finished eighth in that year’s Indianapolis race. He made four more starts for Kaulig in 2019 with a pair of top tens and a fourth at Las Vegas.

In 2022, he ran the Charlotte and Indianapolis races for Big Machine Racing Team and Brandonbilt Motorsports, respectively finishing thirty-first and twenty-sixth. In his main series, he is coming off an eleventh-place points finish with a win at Daytona.

Dillon won at Fontana in the Xfinity Series in 2016. He has top fives in all but one of his tries there, with the exception being an engine failure in 2015. At the Cup level, Dillon has three top tens, finished runner-up in 2022, and two poles.

Taylor Gray is supposed to be the driver of the #17 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, but his rookie year would have seen him run every race only if he had been born about a month and a half early. As Gray is still seventeen years old, he is ineligible to run the first three races at Daytona International Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

On Friday, TRICON announced Sammy Smith will fill in for Daytona, making his first race in the series. Drivers for Las Vegas and Atlanta were not immediately revealed.

The eighteen-year-old Smith is Toyota’s top development drivers, having won the ARCA Menards Series East championship in back-to-back years and finished fourth in the ARCA national championship with six wins despite not running the full schedule. He is set for his Xfinity Series rookie campaign with Joe Gibbs Racing after running nine races in 2022 with three top tens.

Besides being a substitute for Gray, the Daytona Truck race will provide additional track experience for Smith. Due to his age, he never raced at Daytona in ARCA or the Xfinity Series.

In fifteen career ARCA East starts, he won eight times. His 2022 championship run saw him win all but two races, with the exceptions being a fifth at Dover and second at Iowa.

Three years after winning the ARCA Menards Series championship, Bret Holmes will chase the same as well as Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. On Friday, he announced he will race the #32 Chevrolet Silverado RST for the full 2023 season.

Holmes and his Bret Holmes Racing team won the 2020 ARCA championship by just twelve points ahead of Michael Self before moving up to the Truck Series on a limited schedule. While Holmes entered eight races, the #32 was also driven by Sam Mayer and Ty Dillon, with the former scoring top tens in three of his four starts.

The #32 continues its part-time slate in 2022 with Holmes and Conor Mosack respectively attempting eight and two races. Despite failing to qualify at Nashville, Holmes scored his first top ten at Las Vegas by placing eighth, followed by nearly winning at Talladega when he beat Matt DiBenedetto to the finish line but the caution flag had flown moments before Holmes took the lead; he was classified third.

“It’s a blessing and a dream to be competing for a championship in one of NASCAR’s top three series,” said Holmes. “This is a huge chance and opportunity that I’m ready to capitalise on. It’s been what feels like forever since we’ve been full-time racing which was back in 2020 in the ARCA Menards Series. Since then, we’ve been building up our inventory, experience, and notebook. All of that has ultimately led to this season, and I can’t wait to show what we’ve got. We’ve done really well on superspeedways, and I think we can start the year off strong there.”

Jerry Baxter will serve as Holmes’ crew chief, migrating from what is now TRICON Garage. Baxter has experience across all three national series including sixteen Truck Series victories and three third-place championship finishes. The team also named foreman A.J. Heister as general manager.

João Ferreira has formally thrown his hat into the ring for the T3 World Rally-Raid Championship. He was already eligible for the championship but confirmed his involvement for the rest of the schedule on Wednesday, continuing to race for X-raid Team with Filipe Palmeiro as co-driver.

The reigning FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas champion, Ferreira’s 2023 began on a high note when he won Stage #8 at the Dakar Rally; he was the first racer to win an FIA class for Yamaha at Dakar. Ferreira also recorded podiums in Stages #4 and #11. Howver, his Dakar début was also plagued by various stage exits, which dropped him to thirty-seventh in the T3 overall by the end of the Rally. Nevertheless, he sits sixth in the T3 standings.

Ferreira wrote on social media, “After a positive participation in @dakarrally, where among those registered in @officialw2rc we achieved a 6th place, we decided to go on to the next adventure! We will participate, full time, in the World Rally-Raid Championship, driving the X-RAID YXZ1000R TURBO PROTOTYPE SXS always with the support of the X-Raid Yamaha Supported Team.”

Stage #11 was a watershed moment for X-raid Team as they swept the T3 podium with Ricardo Porém ahead of Ferreira and Ignacio Casale. Ferreira eventually skipped the next day’s race due to repairs that required the help of his team, which was not available for Stages #11 and #12 as marathon legs, but his team-mates made up for him as Casale finished tenth in class overall and Porém twelfth.

Despite their strong runs, Casale and Porém did not declare for the W2RC. X-raid’s other Yamahas, including fellow finishers Ahmed Alkuwari Fahad (seventeenth overall) and Camelia Liparoti (thirty-fifth), are also Dakar-only entries.

The 2022 ARCA Menards Series West runner-up, Tanner Reif, will be getting a new ride for the upcoming season.

On Thursday, Reif announced that he will join Bill McAnally Racing for the 2023 ARCA West season, driving the No. 16 car for a full schedule.

“We’re excited to have Tanner join the NAPA Auto Care team after the season he put together last year and showing his talent,” stated team owner, Bill McAnally. “We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of great young drivers be a part of our team in the ARCA Menards Series West that graduated on to the NASCAR national series, and I think Tanner has what it takes to compete for a championship this year and be a threat to win each week.”

BMR also announced that Cole Moore will return to the team with a part-time schedule, driving the No. 19 car. He will share the ride with Eric Johnson Jr., who has worked as a mechanic and spotter for the team in the past. Both drivers will compete for the owners championship.

“I’m excited to have Cole return after winning at Roseville last fall and provide an opportunity for Eric to get experience. Both of them are going to make a great combination to go after the owners’ points championship and hopefully, this gives them a chance to continue their development together throughout the season,” stated McAnally.

ORACLE Red Bull Racing became the second team to reveal their new livery for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship after the RB19 was unveiled in an explosive launch earlier today.

The Austrian team were the last to announce a date for their 2023 launch, and today the team assembled for an exclusive first-look launch in New York in which the team not only revealed the RB19, but also announced a significant new engine partnership with Ford from 2026. This partnership will see Ford return to Formula 1 after some 20 years away from the sport. Team Principal Christan Horner presented the car, whilst full-time drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez stood by to overlook proceedings along with the third driver Daniel Ricciardo.

The RB19 is set to look fairly similar to the RB18, with the car sporting the traditional Red Bull navy blue, yellow and red scheme that captures Red Bull core colours. However, Horner announced that Red Bull will stage a first-time competition where fans get the chance to design an exclusive Red Bull livery for all three American races with Miami and Austin being joined by Las Vegas.

Red Bull head into the new year looking to retain both titles after a record-breaking season for them in 2022 added a tally to Verstappen’s World Champion titles, storming to a 17-race win under the 2022 rules reset, the team hopes to extend their record wins into the upcoming season.

Team Principal Christian Horner spoke candidly: “At Oracle Red Bull Racing we always strive to do things first and do things differently. This first time we have launched our season outside of the UK and the first time any F1 Team has launched in the USA.

EA Sports have formally announced their partnership with two time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen as we head into the upcoming 2023 Formula 1 season.

A division of Electronic Arts, EA Sports, a leader in interactive sports entertainment will sponsor the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver throughout 2023, with the EA Sports logo being branded on Verstappen’s race helmet for the upcoming campaign.

The Dutchman will have a key part to play in EA Sports content across their portfolio with the company pleased to have Verstappen on board as one of the leading athletes now representing their brand.

Andrea Hopelain, SVP of Brand for EA SPORTS & Racing spoke on Verstappen becoming apart of the EA Sports family.

“Max is a tenacious competitor and true champion who shares a deep love of games and play. As he races into Formula 1 history, we are excited to collaborate with him as one of the best athletes in the world to bring more fans together through our EA SPORTS experiences.”