Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Kelvin van der Linde was arguably one of the unsung stars of the show at last weekend’s Diriyah E-Prix double-header, with the South African having made not only his debut in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship but in single-seater racing altogether.

It’s remarkable to think that van der Linde has never raced in a single-seater before; however, that’s the situation he found himself in ahead of the weekend at the Riyadh Street Circuit. Whilst he spent the entirety of the weekend effectively at the back of the field, his times consistently improved throughout the weekend, thanks to the ABT CUPRA Formula E Team having put their “trust” in the DTM driver.

After qualifying nineteenth for Race One, van der Linde finished his first-ever single-seater race in sixteenth, two-places better than he managed in Race Two. The South African is set to feature again at the Hyderabad E-Prix in place of Robin Frijns, who is set to be out injured for the vast majority of the season.

Reflecting on his debut, van der Linde thanked the entire team and left Saudi Arabia with some confidence, that he “can build” on what he learnt in India.

“I would like to thank the whole team for their trust and patience. Even if we don’t see any countable results, we have created a good basis for our next race weekend on which we can build.”

DS Penske‘s difficult start to the season continued at the Diriyah E-Prix double-header last weekend, as the team scored just six points across rounds two and three of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The season certainly hasn’t started how many were predicting it to, with the LA-based team having been the comfortable favourites heading into the Gen3 era. That’s certainly not what’s happened so far, with DS Penske having struggled now in Mexico City and in Diriyah, raising the question if they’ll even get close to the title fight?

Jean–Éric Vergne was the only DS Penske driver to score any points at the Riyadh Street Circuit, after finishing seventh in the first race of the weekend, whereas in Race Two he finished sixteenth. Qualifying was equally difficult for the Frenchman, who started the first race in thirteenth and the second in sixteenth, further suggesting that the team are really struggling to extract any real pace.

Speaking after the first race of the weekend, Vergne identified the team’s qualifying as an issue that needs to be fixed, given that he “can not do much” when starting towards the back.

“We had a clean race. I was able to gain positions and started to score points for this season. Race strategy was good but the real problem was that we did not have the pace in qualifying. We need to understand the origin of this issue and start from a better position on the grid. When starting from the back of the grid, we can not do much better.”

Mahindra Racing endured a “rollercoaster weekend” at the Diriyah E-Prix double-header, with the Riyadh Street Circuit having played host to rounds two and three of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

After claiming a podium at the season opener, there were hopes that the side could be amongst the points places in Diriyah, something they would’ve been in Race One had it not been for an unfortunate collision. Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Rowland both made it into the duels ahead of the first race of the weekend in Saudi Arabia, before both were involved in an opening lap collision. Both drivers had nowhere to go as everything got a little bit too tight at the opening corner, resulting in contact between the two drivers.

Rowland was forced to pit as a result of a puncture, with the Briton going on to finish nineteenth, whilst Di Grassi finished thirteenth. Race Two was remarkably even worse for the Banbury-based team, with Rowland having retired with suspension damage, whilst Di Grassi finished fifteenth. As a result of the point-less weekend, the team slipped to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship going into their home race.

Team Principal Frederic Bertrand admits that his side simply had “no luck” in the first race, and that the “disappointment and frustration” from Race One was carried into Race Two, where the outfit’s powertrain was “not at the level they should have been”.

“It was a rollercoaster weekend. We started with good feelings, and a strong first qualifying, with both cars making the duels. In the race we had no luck on the first lap, destroying the potential for a good result. Day two was a difficult one, with the team carrying some disappointment and frustration from the day before. In the race, the cars were not at the level they should have been.

It was a difficult Diriyah E-Prix double-header for Lucas di Grassi, with Mahindra Racing‘s powertrain having looked uncompetitive at rounds two and three of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

After claiming pole position and a podium at the season opener in Mexico City, many expected the former Formula E Champion to be amongst the points places at the Riyadh Street Circuit, a venue he finished on the podium at last season. Unfortunately for Di Grassi it was an incredibly “hard weekend”, with the Brazilian having failed to score points in either race.

Di Grassi did qualify well for the first race in Diriyah and made it into the duels, before being knocked out in the Quarter-Finals. His race started badly, though, after being hit by his team-mate at the start of the race, as a result of Mitch Evans causing a concertina effect of cars suddenly slowing down. He went on to finish Race One in Diriyah in thirteenth, whilst in Race Two he finished fifteenth after qualifying twentieth.

Overall, it was a trickly weekend for Di Grassi and the Indian team, with the team needing to “understand what went wrong” ahead of their home race in just under a fortnight.

“We had a hard weekend. I qualified well in the first race but I got hit at the start, although luckily I didn’t pick up any damage. We pushed as much as we could but we finished with no points, which is frustrating after a good day’s work. We didn’t manage to qualify well for the second race but we had good pace compared to the people around us. We started from further back and managed to gain some positions, finishing P15.

The 2023 Africa Eco Race might have been pushed to 2024, but race officials hope to maintain a presence during the ongoing calendar year. On Monday, the AER announced new partnership with the Carta Rallye, which is scheduled for 12–18 March.

Set for its seventh edition, the Carta Rallye is held in Morocco. The 2023 race is seven stages long and starts from the Plage Blanche near Guelmim before heading north towards the finish in Merzouga. Although the Eco Race is twice as long, its route also runs through Morocco, albeit in the opposite direction across (disputed) Western Sahara and into Senegal. Had it taken place, the AER would have clashed with the Carta Rallye thanks to its original dates of 11–26 March.

The Carta Rallye has been overseen by Chris Armelin since the inaugural running in 2014. Race director Sébastien Delaunay recently ran the Dakar Rally in early January as co-driver to Erik van Loon.

“Following the postponing of its 15th edition, the AFRICA ECO RACE wanted to offer an alternative to its competitors,” announced the Eco Race. “Thus, a natural collaboration was set up with the CARTA Rally for its 7th edition. This event, open to all categories, shares many common values with the AFRICA ECO RACE and takes place on similar dates, from 12 to 18 March 2023 between Guelmim and the dunes of Merzouga.”

As part of the partnership, competitors who were set to run the Eco Race are encouraged to sign up for the Carta Rallye. The rally is an amateur event open to all vehicles, and are separated into the Cross Country (a traditional time-based rally raid) and GPS Cup (navigation-based, much like the Dakar Classic). Serge Mogno, winner of the 2022 Dakar Classic and fifth-place finisher in 2023, is among those set to take part as is Eco Race regular Stefano Rossi, who will race a Nissan Patrol with a new hydrogen-based hybrid system.

NASCAR México regulars Max Gutiérrez and his younger brother Federico Gutiérrez were involved in a vehicle accident on Sunday, tragically resulting in the latter’s passing while the former sustained undisclosed injuries. The younger Gutiérrez was 17.

The accident occurred near Valle de Bravo when the brothers’ Porsche Boxster collided with a Ford Explorer driven by an 80-year-old man with his 65-year-old wife and a 41-year-old female passenger; other details of the occupants of the Explorer were not publicly revealed beyond being taken to nearly hospitals. Federico was pronounced dead at the scene.

Max, older by two years, competes in the México Series and finished seventh in the 2022 standings, while also dabbling in NASCAR events in the United States. In 2021, he ran the full ARCA Menards East season and placed fourth in points with a win in the season opener. 2022 saw him make his Truck Series début for AM Racing, scoring a top ten in his second career start when he finished eighth at Nashville; the effort came in a unique weekend for him as he followed up by returning to Mexico for the next day’s round at Trióvalo Internacional de Cajititlán.

“AM Racing extends our sincerest condolences to the Gutierrez family on their loss of their son, Federico,” reads a statement from the team. “Fico was an extended member of the AM Racing family, often joining his brother Max trackside last season and we will forever cherish those memories.

“Our thoughts and prayers are not only with the family, but also with Max during his recovery and grieving process.”

NIO 333 Racing are certainly on a path that is pointing in the right direction, with Dan Ticktum seemingly being the main man leading the way as it stands, with the British driver having claimed the team’s first point of the season at the Diriyah E-Prix double-header.

The second and third rounds of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship were an incredibly mixed affair for the Chinese team, who showed sensational pace over one-lap, whilst not so much over race distance. Ticktum demonstrated his one-lap pace at the Riyadh Street Circuit by topping Free Practice Two comfortably, before going on to lose in the Semi-Final stage of the duels ahead of Race One. Due to the team’s clear efficiency issues, the former Formula 2 driver couldn’t convert his second row start into points, and actually faded to fourteenth place.

Ticktum was again quick in qualifying ahead of Race Two in Saudi Arabia; however, a cat on the circuit caught the Brit’s eye, resulting in him bailing out of his lap. It turns out that this cat might have been responsible for blessing the NIO driver with good luck, as despite qualifying eleventh he managed to hold on to the top ten to claim a sole point for himself and the team.

For Sérgio Sette Câmara there was considerably less to celebrate, with the Brazilian driver having finished Race One in fifteenth and Race Two in seventeenth. The team’s Gen3 powertrain certainly has potential and is arguably one of the strongest packages over a single-lap; however, there is absolutely no doubt that their efficiency issues are costing them several points.

Given where the team were, though, during the entirety of Gen2, NIO are well and truly back amongst the pack, with Deputy Team Principal Russell O’Hagen having found it “really gratifying to consistently show our pace”. O’Hagen was also “really proud” of Ticktum qualifying fourth for Race One, with that having been the Silverstone-based outfit’s best qualifying performance since the Season Seven Valencia E-Prix.

Dan Ticktum enjoyed an overall successful weekend at the Diriyah E-Prix, with the British driver having secured his and NIO 333 Racing‘s first point of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, following a particularly successful second race at the Riyadh Street Circuit.

Last weekend’s Diriyah double-header was arguably Ticktum’s best performance in the all-electric series to-date, with the former Formula 2 driver having been blisteringly fast from the very first session. Ticktum remarkably topped Free Practice Two on the Friday, before making it to the Semi-Finals in qualifying ahead of the first race. Whilst he lost the Semi-Final and started the race from fourth, Ticktum still showed just how strong NIO’s Gen3 powertrain is over one-lap, with the team’s car arguably being one of the best when it comes to qualifying.

NIO’s current issue, though, is the races, with Ticktum having dropped like a fly as a result of efficiency issues. He remarkably dropped ten places during the first race and finished fourteenth, highlighting where the team’s issues are. Despite having been strong in qualifying again ahead of the second race, Ticktum failed to make it into the duels after a cat ran onto the circuit in-front of him, resulting in the Briton bailing out of his final lap. He ended up qualifying eleventh but miraculously held on to the top ten to snatch the final points position, at least giving him something to deliver to the team.

Reflecting on the weekend, Ticktum recognises that the team are incredibly strong in qualifying but that they are a “bit down on efficiency”, something that is costing them dearly in the races this season already.

“Our one-lap performance has been absolutely great. In Friday’s qualifying I pretty much nailed it, so I was quite proud of that. The team have done a really great job of dialling the car in and extracting as much as we can.

Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s Single Seater Director, has spoken on how Yuki Tsunoda’s rear wing incident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix led to an overreaction inside the FIA, in regards to their use of the black and orange flag across the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

While looking nailed on for a top-ten finish in Baku, Tsunoda’s rear wing split in half, forcing the FIA into presenting the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver with a black and orange flag. Tsunoda’s mechanics opted to mend the rear wing by duct-taping it back together to allow the Japanese driver to continue and finish the race, leaving many questioning the overall safety of Tsunoda’s ATO3 throughout the incident.

Following the incident, the use of the black and orange flag by the FIA certainly increased, with the Haas F1 Team falling foul on three separate occasions due to damaged front wing endplates, on all three occasions the American-owned team felt they were safe to continue without presenting a risk to the rest of the grid but were forced to pit by the mandate of the black and orange flag.

The former Scuderia Ferrari Chief Designer spoke on how the incident involving Tsunoda in Baku led to the FIA heading in a direction in which they were deeming cars unsafe, when in fact they could have potentially continued on with the damage.

“We had a situation in Baku where objectively a car was let to run with damage that really a car should not be running with,” he stated.

In 2022, Danilo Petrucci became the first MotoGP rider to win a stage at the Dakar Rally. But a former colleague achieving great things at the legendary rally raid does not move the needle for six-time champion Marc Márquez, at least not with the vehicle on which he made his career.

In an interview with Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) programme Teledeporte, Márquez said he is a big fan of the Dakar Rally who followed the 2023 edition from start to finish, and would be more than happy to give it a shot once his MotoGP career comes to a close. The only caveat, however, is that he would only do it on four wheels in an FIA category like a car or SSV.

“I will never race it on a motorcycle, I know myself and it would hurt me,” said Márquez with a laugh. “In motorsport, with the running and adrenaline, you’re signing up for a bombardment. The Dakar is a race that gives a lot of respect, it’s not just, ‘Come on, I’m going to go race Dakar.’

“There is prior preparation needed, you have to try to find your way. Another thing is that I am competitive, I don’t like to lose even in Parcheesi. When you go to a race, it is to do well and push, and there is a lot of pressure from the media.”

Márquez is one of the top riders in Grand Prix motocycle history with eight championships including six at the MotoGP level between 2013 and 2019. While he does not have rally raid experience, he also enjoys competing in non-pavement disciplines like motocross, which he has credited with helping him hone his riding style in MotoGP. His motocross dabbling allowed him to connect with fellow Spanish Honda rider Joan Barreda, who Márquez cheered for during the 2023 Rally until his crash and retirement in Stage #9.

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit will host the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at least through the year 2027, according to the race’s organisers.

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which was planned to be the grand prix’s temporary home before it moved to the newly constructed city of Qiddiya on the outskirts of Riyadh, staged Saudi Arabia’s first FIA Formula 1 World Championship event in 2021.However, with a lot of the temporary facilities at the track being converted to permanent ones, Jeddah is now anticipated to host the race for at least another four years as construction on the cutting-edge facility continues.

The move to keep Formula 1 in Jeddah for the foreseeable future will come with lots of controversy with many safety concerns over the race last season and many critising the excitement of the races held at the circuit so far with overtaking relatively limited around the circuit.

The CEO of the Saudi Motorsport Company, Martin Whitaker spoke on racing at Jeddah for the foreseeable future.

“It’s important that we future-proof the Jeddah track and for this reason we have again been working with the FIA and Formula 1 to ensure that we have a circuit that will allow us to stage the sport in Jeddah while work begins on the track in Qiddiya.

The managing partner of the Miami Grand Prix has announced a group of investments set to benefit the facilities on offer at the Miami International Autodrome ahead of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship‘s second visit to The Magic City.

The investments from the organisers will include a complete resurfacing of the track, while the paddock will be expanded into the Hard Rock Stadium with each team’s hospitality now set to be based inside the home of the Miami Dolphins and will be known as the “Team Village”.

The Miami Grand Prix Managing Partner Tom Garfinkel revealed they took the decision to repave the track in order to improve the racing on show at the Miami International Autodrome after he admitted to being disappointed in the amount of overtaking opportunities available at last year’s race.

“We could have just come back with the racetrack that we had last year,” Garfinkel stated. “The goal we set out was to have great racing, a lot of overtaking, side-by-side racing, and the track we had last year, I don’t remember the exact number of overtakes … but there were parts of the racetrack where there was one line where there should have been the possibility to overtake, and so we weren’t happy with that.

“We’re going to go through with the investment and expense to go ahead and repave it in an effort to get it where it races better. It raced well enough according to the teams and drivers but we want it to be as good as it can possibly be so that’s why we’re going to repave it.”

Following a hugely challenging weekend, Maserati MSG Racing Team Principal James Rossiter left the Diriyah E-Prix “immensely proud” of the entire Monte-Carlo-based team, with the mechanics in particular having turned into heroes to get both cars ready following heavy collisions at the Riyadh Street Circuit.

For many of the mechanics in the Maserati outfit, the second and third rounds of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship may well be remembered as the toughest of their career so far, after the team were given a colossal task following qualifying for the first race of the Diriyah double-header. Friday’s qualifying session is one the team nor either driver will remember particularly fondly, after both Maximilian Günther and Edoardo Mortara hit the wall.

Günther crashed first at Turn Seven in the opening minutes of qualifying, absolutely destroying the front-right of his car in the process, to the point where he was unable to take part in the first race of the weekend. Mortara, on the other hand, hit the barrier on the outside of Turn Seventeen after losing the rear on the dusty part of the circuit; however, he managed to return to the pits. Remarkably, the team managed to get Mortara’s car ready in time for the race, where they then suffered yet more bad luck.

The Swiss driver retired late on following a puncture, to the disappointment of himself and the whole side. Day Two was considerably better and, most importantly, cleaner for the famous manufacturer, with Günther’s car having been ready ahead of Saturday’s Free Practice session. Günther went on to qualify tenth and finish nineteenth, whilst Mortara managed to sneak into the duels, before going on to claim a well-deserved ninth-place finish, securing his and the team’s first points of the season and the Gen3 era.

Maserati certainly showed an incredibly amount of heart and grit in Diriyah, with “clear steps forward” having certainly been made when the cars were on the circuit. Overall, Rossiter has seen how well his side “pulled together” in times of adversity, giving him the confidence that “we can achieve the results I know we’re capable of”.

Edoardo Mortara fought valiantly at the Diriyah E-Prix double-header to claim his and Maserati MSG Racing‘s first points of the season, in what was an incredibly challenging weekend for the Monte-Carlo based team.

Mortara endured completely different fortunes in rounds two and three of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the first full day at the Riyadh Street Circuit having been one to forget. During qualifying ahead of race one in Saudi Arabia, Mortara went slightly wide on entry to Turn Seventeen, sending his Maserati Tipo Folgore onto the dusty part of the track. As a result, he lost the rear which made heavy contact with the wall on the outside of the corner, bringing his qualifying to an abrupt end.

It left the Maserati mechanics with a huge task on their hands, something they already had following a prior incident. Remarkably, the team managed to get Mortara’s car fixed before the first race; however, it ended in retirement for the Swiss driver following a late puncture. Spurred on by the team’s heroics ahead of Race One, Mortara performed considerably better on the Saturday, where he made it into the duels in qualifying. This put Mortara in an excellent position come the second race of the weekend to claim some points, something he did after finishing ninth.

It marked a positive end to what was an incredibly difficult weekend; however, after finally scoring points following back-to-back retirements, perhaps things are finally looking up for Mortara and Maserati.

“After a tough first race, I think we recovered quite well today and advancing to the qualifying duels put us in a good position to challenge for points. I had quite a bit of wheelspin at the start, but I was able to get into the top five by passing Seb [Buemi] and Jake [Dennis].

PKN Orlen is set to become Scuderia AlphaTauri’s principal sponsor going into the 2023 season. The announcement marks the end of the Central European oil and gas company’s partnership with Alfa Romeo Racing, who recently introduced their new title sponsor, Stake. 

Along with driver gear, Orlen’s logo will be featured on several areas of AT04, including its rear wing. The new branding will be revealed at AlphaTauri’s car launch on Saturday February 11. 

Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek looks to further foster brand recognition globally through the company’s partnership with AlphaTauri as they continue to invest in the “vast potential” of the ever-growing FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

“ORLEN Group is Central Europe’s most significant multi-utility concern, serving more than 100 million customers. Global brand recognition is essential to achieve our strategic goals. Nearly half of the Group’s revenues come from sales abroad. That is why we consistently focus on sport sponsorship, a cornerstone of our presence in the most prestigious racing series.

“With Formula 1’s exposure, we reach hundreds of millions of fans worldwide and have built a consistent marketing strategy in Poland and abroad for years. We will continue to leverage the vast potential of the sport with our new cooperation with Scuderia AlphaTauri.”