Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Maserati MSG Racing looked like the real deal in pre-season testing, with many expecting the Italian manufacturer to be towards the front this weekend at the season-opening race of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is hosting the first race of Season Nine and the Gen3 era of the all-electric series, with Maserati Team Principal James Rossiter hopeful that his side can “deliver a strong result”, after looking incredibly strong during pre-season testing. This weekend’s Mexico City E-Prix will give the entire paddock a real idea of who are the teams to beat, with many expecting Maserati to be one of those.

If pre-season testing is anything to go by, then the Monte-Carlo based outfit should be a team to keep an eye on this weekend, after Maximilian Günther and Edoardo Mortara produced strong lap-times at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia. Günther is a driver in particular who many are expecting to be quick this weekend, after the German topped five of the seven sessions during pre-season testing.

With this weekend being the first race of the new era of Formula E, though, anything can happen, with reliability gremlins expected to play a huge part across the weekend.

Whilst pre-season testing was very “promising” for Maserati, Rossiter knows that what happened in Valencia “counts for nothing”, with “race performance” being the be-all and end-all.

Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther enter the first round of the ninth season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on the back of an incredible pre-season; however, Mortara has warned that it’s vital for Maserati MSG Racing to “focus on ourselves”.

Maserati looked very impressive during pre-season testing at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, with many expecting the Monte-Carlo-based team to be towards the front this weekend at the Mexico City E-Prix, as the Gen3 challengers are fully released. Focusing on Mortara, the 2022 third-place finisher enjoyed a solid week in Valencia and ended the test as the ninth quickest driver, although, his package was capable of much better.

The Swiss driver enters the new era of the sport having remained with the team during their off-season rebranding from ROKIT Venturi Racing to Maserati MSG Racing, with the side looking incredibly stylish with the famous trident on the nose of the Maserati Tipo Folgore.

Mortara will be hoping to start the new season in the best way possible, with the thirty-six year old being “confident” that a “strong result” can be achieved at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Saturday.

“I’m really looking forward to Mexico City and starting my sixth season in Formula E. Last year, we took a big step forward in performance as a team, and with the Gen3 car, we’re at a new stage of discovery in electric vehicle technology and we’re nearly starting from scratch. It’s very different to drive, and the increased power under braking and acceleration makes for an enjoyable challenge behind the wheel.
 
“We were fortunate to have a solid pre-season test in Valencia, but the real work will begin in Mexico City. In Formula E, the margins are super tight, and it will be very hard to identify who will be the team to beat at this stage. Because of this, it’s important for us to focus on ourselves and make sure that our technical package is the best it possibly can be. If we stay grounded, work hard and focus on our own performance, I’m confident that we can go on to achieve strong results.”

Excitement ran high for the start of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season as 4/5 March was to see the inaugural Arctic Ice Race in Rovaniemi, Finland. However, supply chain woes have forced it to be indefinitely postponed, the series announced Tuesday.

“It is really unfortunate and we feel sorry for all the NASCAR fans eagerly waiting for this event to take place,” said series head Jérôme Galpin, who is currently in Saudi Arabia competing in the Dakar Classic. “With the current situation, it is difficult to get every component we need to prepare the cars for this kind of event. As we do for all the events of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, we want to deliver with the Ice Race the best possible experience for everyone at the track and at home, so we prefer to take the time to have optimal conditions. This event should be the highlight of a new concept and we want it to be perfect.”

Galpin tested a EuroNASCAR FJ car in Val Thorens, France, in March 2021 to see if the vehicle is capable of racing on snow and ice. The test proved to be a success and the race was initially planned as a postseason exhibition in 2022 before being delayed to the start of 2023.

Had the exhibition race taken place as planned, it would have featured a unique format that borrows pages from rallycross such as heat races and a knockout time-based bracket. The series also hoped to change the track layout with each day.

Shortages have wreaked havoc on the worldwide supply chain since 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since the Euro Series competes on pavement, the situation presented too many problems with building the cars for the icy environment.

Stage #9 of the Dakar Rally was overshadowed by tragedy when a spectator died of injuries sustained in an accident. Race overseer Amaury Sport Organisation confirmed the news following the stage on Tuesday. Further details were not immediately disclosed.

“A spectator of Italian origin who was behind a dune had an accident on the rally course,” reads a statement from the ASO. “He was evacuated by helicopter for medical assistance but unfortunately died during the transfer.”

The accident marked the fifth death at Dakar since its move to Saudi Arabia in 2020, with at least one having occurred every year. Competitors Paulo Gonçalves (cardiac arrest) and Edwin Straver (neck injuries sustained in a crash) died in 2020, followed by Pierre Cherpin for head trauma following a wreck in 2021. Last year, Dakar Classic mechanic Quentin Lavallée was killed in an accident during the liaison phase on the final day of the race.

76 in total are known to have died in various incidents since the Dakar Rally’s inaugural edition in 1979. Race founder Thierry Sabine passed away in a helicopter crash during the 1986 race.

It has been a roller coaster of a Dakar Rally for the Prodrive Hunters as their four drivers seemed to bounce between contending for the stage win and being plagued by vehicle problems, plateauing in the second stage when everyone suffered tyre punctures followed by Orlando Terranova‘s retirement two legs later. However, these did not discourage Sébastien Loeb and his fellow remaining Hunters as he, Vaidotas Žala, and Guerlain Chicherit swept the T1 podium in Stage #9.

The trio finished within 2:08 of each other as Loeb scored his third win of 2023 and second in a row. Chicherit passed Mattias Ekström in the final 100 kilometres to join his peers in the top three.

The 1–2–3 for the Hunters was a reversal of fortunes for the two top manufacturers in the Cars as Toyota’s Hiluxes experienced a bit of an off day by comparison. Romain Dumas was the highest finishing Hilux in fifth while overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah placed eighth. Al-Attiyah’s Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Henk Lategan, who followed him in the general ranking entering the stage, suffered a mechanical failure on the eighteenth kilometre that forced fellow Hilux Yazeed Al-Rajhi to stop and lend him support; Al-Rajhi was then plagued by suspension problems that ended his stage. Lionel Baud‘s Hilux caught fire after completing six kilometres.

Ironically, despite the rough performance for the Hiluxes, Al-Attiyah’s lead in the overall grew from 1:03:46 to 1:21:57. Hilux racer Lucas Moraes moved up to second with Loeb in tow while Lategan’s problems relegated him to fourth.

Ekström was over five minutes back of Loeb, but making the finish despite falling short of the podium was still a satisfactory result. On the other hand, his Audi team-mate Carlos Sainz rolled after overshooting his landing on a dune after just five kilometres, hurting his torso. Although Sainz was airlifted for treatment, he requested to be flown back to rejoin the race which is permitted twice for FIA Gold and Platinum drivers; Sainz had used the first after crashing in Stage #6.

Yesterday (Monday) M-Sport Ford WRT did their last pre-event testing before Rallye Monte-Carlo next weekend and from today (Tuesday) towards the end of the week Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT and Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT are carrying out their tests in preparation for the season-opener.

Hyundai has already revealed the 2023 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car which sees a new rear wing but Toyota will also come with new upgrades for the season. The defending manufacturer and driver champions have been spotted today testing a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 without the large rear air intake. a more slick design with new rear fenders and a new rear wing as well.

The team has not yet officially revealed the 2023 car to the public but they are expected to do so this week, same goes for the British outfit over at M-Sport.

Toyota technical director Tom Fowler has spoken with the American publication DirtFish.com about the new upgrades for the car: “The main thing since Japan is an aerodynamic update which we’ve made to the rear fenders which is quite significant in looks, those fighter jet inlets have now disappeared so we have a smooth-sided vehicle with much less pronounced hybrid inlets which is a cooling change basically for the hybrid system but also then of course a help in terms of improving the overall aerodynamics of the car.” he said.

Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT has today revealed the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 for 2023, the livery will remain unchanged from last season but some aerodynamics have been spotted on the renders.

In December, the team was spotted testing out a new rear wing for the car in Finland and now when the car was revealed, you can see the wing is different from the last season.

This year, Thierry Neuville will celebrate his 10th anniversary driving for the South Korean manufacturer and will continue to be the lead driver within the team but for this season he has got a new full-time teammate as Ott Tänak left to join M-Sport Ford WRT at the end of last year.

Taking over Tänak’s seat will be Esapekka Lappi who left Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT to join Hyundai, the two will be the only full-time drivers taking on the 13 round calendar in 2023. Joining beside them will be Dani Sordo who is sharing the third car with Craig Breen and he has returned to the team after being with M-Sport for one season last year.

So far it is known Sordo will race the opening round next weekend in Rallye Monte-Carlo and he will contest a total of seven rounds while Breen is going for six. The team has not yet announced a new team principal, it is rumored the former Renault Formula 1 team principal Cyril Abiteboul will take over the charge from the current deputy team principal Julien Moncet.

Renault Sport expect the FIA to be ‘a bit stronger’ when it comes to requests to change power unit components across the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

The power units are currently in the middle of a development freeze up until the end of the 2025 Formula 1 season, with only fixes to improve reliability issues being allowed.  Anything designed purely to improve performance is currently outlawed until the new regulations come into play in 2026.

Bruno Famin, the Executive Director of Renault’s engine department that powers the BWT Alpine F1 Team, says the FIA will likely look closely at any request made by any of the engine manufacturers to ensure any changed aimed at improving reliability does not offer a performance gain at the same time.

“I think the process in 2022 with the FIA and the other manufacturers has been quite good,” Famin is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. It has been transparent at least, so everybody was aware of the request of the others, and this is very good. It has been well managed by the FIA, I think.

“It has been quite tolerant in 2022. I think it was quite normal because everybody was affected by reliability issues: not only us, clearly, because I think we had 30/40/50/60/70 requests from different manufacturers, so everybody was affected by this kind of problem.

Zak Brown has called for the technical regulations in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship to be less regulated now that the sport is being run under a cost cap.

The CEO of the McLaren F1 Team believes the current regulations are too restrictive, and with a budget cap in place, it would be better to allow certain areas of development to be opened up so some cars could look different to the others.

Brown has called for the FIA to allow more technical freedom within Formula 1, with the American insisting designers will need to be clever to deliver different designs within the cost cap limitations.

“I think we are over-regulated while under the cost cap,” Brown is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “If you’ve got the cost cap, I’d almost go the other way: which is: do what you want. If you want to have six wheels, have six wheels. But this is how much you have to spend.

“I don’t know why the regulations have to be as tight as they are.  I think if you’ve got a cost cap, then there should actually be some more technical freedom within the cost cap as you are governed.

Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez has set his sights on a driver’s championship victory in 2023 with hopes that greater consistency across the season will allow him to challenge his dominant team-mate Max Verstappen. 

Perez discussed how his form hinged on his comfort level with the car throughout the year, which contributed to the highs and lows he faced, and felt that he was performing “at his best” at the season’s end. He hopes that he can carry this momentum into next year in order to tackle new goals. 

“I’m constantly working on it. I think it really depends on how comfortable I am at the start of the season with the car, as I was in the beginning of the season, then it slipped away.

“I think as Formula 1 drivers, we are constantly working for new challenges all the time. But I do feel, at this time, I’m pretty much at my best. I really want to carry it on and start next year on a very high [level].”

In spite of the team’s technical problems, Perez had a successful start to the season and kept his points gap to Verstappen quite narrow. It was after two retirements at the Canadian Grand Prix and Austrian Grand Prix that Perez began to slip out of the running points-wise, leaving Verstappen to take off with the lead until the end.

This weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez marks the start of a new chapter for Mahindra Racing, and the beginning of the third era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the Banbury-based outfit ready to make the most of the “great opportunity”.

Mahindra enter the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix on the back of a solid pre-season, with new signing Lucas Di Grassi having been impressed by the M9Electro’s reliability. The Anglo-Indian team appear to have a reliable and somewhat quick package for Season Nine, with Oliver Rowland having been a regular figure towards the top of the timesheets during pre-season testing.

The team enter the new era of the sport having finished eighth in the Season Eight Constructors’ Championship, after having suffered twelve retirements during the final campaign of the Gen2 era of the sport. Gen3 gives Mahindra the chance to turn the page on their woeful 2022 performance, with 2023 looking potentially more promising. The team are, of course, a power unit supplier for Gen3, with the team supplying the ABT CUPRA Formula E Team with powertrains for the upcoming season.

As well as a new driver, the team also have a new CEO following the departure of Dilbagh Gill, with Frederic Bertrand taking on the role. Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Bertrand is aware that the side will face “obstacles” during the season; however, he’s hopeful that the team have what it takes to “work together to overcome” any future issue.

“We have a great opportunity at the start of a new era of Formula E, with the Gen3 car. It is a unique year for the team as we move forward with a new car, a new team spirit and a new common ambition to perform and win. Of course, there will be obstacles, but we will work together to overcome these as best we can.

Lucas Di Grassi is ready to put his “really hard” work from the off-season into use, as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returns this weekend for Season Nine, and the highly anticipated start of Gen3.

With Di Grassi being a Formula E veteran and a former Champion of the sport, he is one of a few drivers to have actually driven all three generations of Formula E machinery. With that in mind, himself and a small group of drivers will become the first to have raced all three, with the Mexico City E-Prix being the host of the first Gen3 race.

The Brazilian driver has a strong track record at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and is a two-time race winner at the event, with his wins coming in Season Three and Season Five. It does mean that Di Grassi has won in Mexico City in both Gen1 and Gen2 machinery, could he add Gen3 to that list this weekend? Whilst he is likely to be an outsider for victory, given the strength of the DS-powered cars, Mahindra Racing have looked like a very tidy team for Season Nine.

Di Grassi has switched from ROKIT Venturi Racing (known now as Maserati MSG Racing) to Mahindra for Gen3, with the Brazilian so far enjoying life at the Banbury-based outfit.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Di Grassi is in the right frame of mind for the “new challenge” that is Gen3, with the Brazilian simply hoping that “everything goes smoothly” in Mexico City.

This weekend marks the start of a new era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with Season Nine of the all-electric series kicking-off in Mexico City, with Jaguar TCS Racing ready to “fight” for either title.

Anything could happen at this weekend’s season-opening Mexico City E-Prix, with technical issues having plagued several teams during pre-season. Jaguar were one of the teams to experience some issues; however, the outright pace of their Gen3 challenger, the I-TYPE 6, does look promising. Qualifying let the British team down in Season Eight, with Mitch Evans having performed wonders during the races to seal second in the Drivers’ Championship.

The team also claimed their highest total of points in the Constructors’ Championship last season, with Team Principal James Barclay revealing that this, plus the fact that Evans came so close to the title, has “given the team even more motivation”. For Jaguar and every team on the grid, the initial priority this weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is to simply finish the race, with the expectation being that many won’t given the countless technical issues some teams endured in pre-season.

It will create an “exciting season”, though, with so much being unknown heading into the new season. One thing that is for certain, is that Sam Bird‘s and Evans’ experience will be crucial if the Coventry-based outfit want a good year, with Barclay being aware that there is “so much to learn” about the plethora of changes taking place.

“We had a very positive year in 2022 with some real highlights but we did just miss out on the top spot. This has given the team even more motivation to be in a position to fight for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Team and Driver titles this season.

The start of a brand new season and a brand new era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is just a matter of days away, with both Mitch Evans and Sam Bird hoping to start the year on the front foot at the Mexico City E-Prix.

This weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is going to be an incredible spectacle, as Gen3 of the all-electric championship will finally get underway. Evans will be keen to start the new era of the sport in similar fashion to how he ended Season Eight and Gen2, by being a frontrunning driver. The 2022 Vice-Champion was a regular figure at the front of the field; however, there is no guarantee that he’ll be amongst the front with so much being unknown.

Pre-season testing was mixed for Evans, with the New Zealander having shown some good pace, whilst having also suffered some technical issues. Technical issues were a theme throughout the field in pre-season, with Jaguar TCS Racing simply being no exception. Despite that, the team do boast an incredible line-up, with Evans having won in Mexico back in 2020.

With that in mind, Evans has “fond memories” of his Mexico City win from a few years ago and is eager to make a “strong start” the Season Nine.

 “Last season was my most successful in Formula E, so I’m using that momentum to kick start this season and focus on achieving a positive result in the first round. I have fond memories of winning in Mexico City in 2020, so I’m feeling ready for a strong start to the season.”  

After one season in the Trucks, Blaine Perkins will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a full-time basis in 2023 when he drives the #07 for SS-Green Light Racing. Kelly Crandall of RACER reported the news on Monday after speaking with Perkins, who along with SSGLR subsequently confirmed the story.

The 2020 ARCA Menards Series West runner-up, Perkins made his Xfinity début in 2021 on an eight-race slate for Our Motorsports with a best finish of thirteenth at Talladega. He moved to the Truck Series with CR7 Motorsports for the full 2022 season and finished nineteenth in points with his highest run and lone top twenty being eighteenth at Nashville. He was CR7’s first full-time driver.

He returned to Our in the second half of 2022 after Brett Moffitt was released from the #02, making five starts. At Martinsville, he scored his first top ten in tenth.

“He’s a really good person,” said Perkins about SSGLR owner Bobby Dotter. “I want to be around the right people, and he’s been in the sport a long time and has a great reputation. Being able to drive for him will be good for me and hopefully good for his race team.”

Perkins replaces Joe Graf Jr., who left the team in December.