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Alan Permane says it was important to give Pierre Gasly some time driving the BWT Alpine F1 Team’s A522 during the post-season Pirelli tyre test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Gasly will join Alpine to race alongside Esteban Ocon during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season after the Frenchman left Scuderia AlphaTauri after Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and he was able to complete one hundred and thirty laps of the Yas Marina Circuit.

Permane, the Sporting Director at Alpine, says giving Gasly the chance to integrate himself into the team was important, particularly with only three days of testing ahead of next season, and he did a ‘good job’ to familiarise himself with the way the team worked.

“It was great to have Pierre in the car for the first time today as it’s very important for him to get up to speed quickly in order to hit the ground running in 2023,” said Permane.

“We have just three days of pre-season testing next season, so today’s test is particularly useful for us to complete some of the small but important tasks on any new driver checklist.

Jack Doohan was again thankful to the BWT Alpine F1 Team for giving him an opportunity to run in their 2022 A522 during the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, with the Australian completing an impressive one hundred and eleven laps on Tuesday.

FIA Formula 2 race winner Doohan participated in two FIA Formula 1 World Championship free practice sessions with Alpine in Mexico City and in Abu Dhabi, but Tuesday’s running at the Yas Marina Circuit gave him a full-day’s running behind the wheel of the A522 rather than just the hour allowed on race weekends.

Doohan is expected to combine testing duties with Alpine with a second season in Formula 2 in 2023, the Australian having taken over the reserve driver role from the McLaren F1 Team-bound Oscar Piastri.

Although lap times were not important throughout the day, Doohan was how his day progressed, feeling he was able to learn a lot in a ‘less pressured environment’ than it was in either of the practice sessions ahead of the Mexico City and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“It’s been another good experience driving a Formula 1 car today and I’m very grateful to Alpine for this opportunity,” said Doohan.  “It’s been a busy day, plenty of laps, and a lot of new things to take on board, and I’m pretty pleased with how it’s progressed.

Pierre Gasly took to the track for the first time as a BWT Alpine F1 Team driver during Tuesday’s post-season Pirelli tyre test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

The Frenchman, who left Scuderia AlphaTauri at the end of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, drove Alpine’s A522 on Tuesday morning and racked up one hundred and thirty laps.

Gasly said his main objectives on Tuesday was to get used to his new surroundings and new team, as well as learning about the car, which was completely different to the one he had been driving with AlphaTauri throughout 2022.

“Firstly, thanks to the entire team for making me feel so welcome over the last two days and I’m feeling ready to begin this next chapter in my career,” said Gasly.  “It was a fantastic feeling to drive the A522 for the first time, and, I must say, it’s an impressive car.

“The objectives for me today were all about getting used to my new surroundings, working closely with the engineers and, generally, building up my learning in the car and getting an understanding for its characteristics.

Save for the COVID-wracked 2020, the Stadium Super Trucks have raced at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach every year since the series’ inaugural season in 2013. As the lone track from that first year that is still on the calendar, Long Beach will be the first to hit double digits in rounds when the trucks return on 14–16 April 2023 to support the NTT IndyCar Series.

“We have put together another exciting event on the track for 2023,” said Grand Prix Association of Long Beach head Jim Michaelian. “After returning to our traditional April date this year, we had an extremely successful event and we are looking forward to building on that momentum to bring even more excitement and family fun back to the streets of Long Beach. It’s going to be a beach party full of activity for the entire family.”

2022 saw a Gordon family sweep as Max Gordon scored his maiden win in Race #1 ahead of his father Robby Gordon, who claimed the second race. The weekend saw the SST début of popular YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland, who nearly won Race #2 before spinning just moments before crossing the finish and has been one of the series’ biggest supporters since.

The older Gordon holds the most SST wins at Long Beach with prior victories in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2021. Matt Brabham holds the second most with three (2017 through 2019), and Sheldon Creed is the only other driver with multiple wins as he swept the 2016 weekend. Single-time victors include Justin Lofton (2013), E.J. Viso (2015), and Jerett Brooks (2021).

After hosting a single race annually from 2013 to 2015, Long Beach elevated to an SST doubleheader—one on Saturday and another on Sunday—in 2016.

Heels on Wheels, a Czech team hoping to be the first fully consisting of women amateurs to compete at the Dakar Rally, has pushed back their plans a year to 2024. The team had hoped to enter a Can-Am Maverick at the 2023 Rally in the T4 category with Lenka Hlavatá and Gabriela Budínová as driver and co-driver, respectively.

“Whether it’s personal plans, business or any project, you always need a little bit of luck to go along with determination and hard work. And our drop of luck was needed elsewhere more this year,” said Hlavatá. “Until the last moment, we believed that our dream would come true. Literally at the last minute, together with Gabi, we decided not to participate in the current edition of the Dakar Rally.”

A myriad of factors affected the decision to back out for 2023, with one of the biggest being budget. According to Hlavatá, much but not all of the finances had been accounted for, and racing without fully making up the budget “would mean compromising the quality of the experience for our fans and partners, which we didn’t want.

“The example we want to set is primarily about an honest and responsible approach. The fulfillment of dreams should bring joy, not that it will happen ‘at any cost’, at the expense of something or someone else.”

The team has been established in 2020 but was unable to get off the ground due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to gear up for 2023 were hindered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite the challenges, they conducted various tests throughout the year.

Although Christine GZ is not finishing out the 2022 Extreme E season as a racer, she will still be involved with the series at this weekend’s Energy X Prix as the Championship Driver alongside Timo Scheider.

“Well, we are back Uruguay with a different ‘job’ this time… Thankful for this,” GZ posted on social media. “And pretty cool teammate too!”

GZ was Veloce Racing‘s permanent driver alongside Lance Woolridge for 2022, taking part in all four rounds leading up to the finale though she missed the season-opening Desert X Prix due to injury sustained in qualifying. However, she and Woolridge were replaced by Molly Taylor and Kevin Hansen for the Energy X Prix and 2023 season. While Woolridge is now focusing on rally raid, GZ has been tasked with being an advisor and substitute driver.

The female Championship Driver role was previously held by Hedda Hosås, who filled in for GZ in Saudi Arabia before becoming a permanent driver for JBXE. This cycled the slot to Klara Andersson before she replaced an injured Jutta Kleinschmidt at ABT CUPRA XE for the final two races.

Although not racing herself barring injury, the Championship Driver job means GZ remains one of ten drivers who have been present at every Extreme E round since the inaugural event in 2021.

Energy X Prix Free Practice #1 did not quite go as McLaren XE hoped when Emma Gilmour rolled, yet the team was still able to repair the car in time for the second session and she and Tanner Foust rebounded to finish fourth.

“Just lost it under braking in quite a high-speed section, spun off the track and as I was coming to a stop, it dug in and it rolled over,” explained Gilmour.

While McLaren might have had the biggest story of Friday’s activities, Andretti United XE had the best times. Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings recorded the fastest overall time of the two sessions with a 10:07.248 in the second ahead of X44 Vida Carbon Racing, though X44’s Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez topped the first. Andretti was second in FP1 despite receiving a thirty-second time penalty for speeding in the slow-speed zone established between the seventh and eighth waypoints.

Although Andretti is too far back to fight for the championship, the team hopes to build upon Friday and wrap the season on a high note.

“The whole team is hoping to end the season with a good result,” said Hansen. “We’ve had strong pace this year but unfortunately, have missed out a few times in the Semi-Finals which has ultimately resulted in us not getting the results we have been aiming for.

T1+ is the premier category for T1 cars at the Dakar Rally, and this unsurprisingly makes it a very attractive division for drivers hoping to go for the overall victory. Tomáš Ouředníček is the newest addition to the list drivers making the upgrade to T1+ vehicles as he and his Ultimate Dakar team will race a Toyota Hilux GR T1+ at the 2024 Rally. David Křípal will serve as his co-driver.

To prepare him for the start, he will run select FIA World Wally-Raid Championship and World and European Cups for Cross-Country Bajas races in 2023.

“We worked hard for a long time to get the opportunity to sit in a factory car. It is a great reward for our performance and perseverance,” said Ouředníček. “Our team motto ‘Never give up’, which we still resolutely fulfill, certainly helped us.”

Ouředníček made his Dakar début in 2009 as a co-driver to Miroslav Zapletal, and the duo finished seventh overall to be the highest placing Czechs at Dakar until Martin Prokop claimed the top spot by one position in 2019. He entered the race as a driver for the first time in 2016 and finished forty-sixth, which he improved upon in 2018 and 2019 with runs of thirty-third and seventeenth, respectively.

Although already racing a Hilux T1 in the T1.1 subclass, interest in switching to the T1+ developed in 2022 with the hope of entering the 2023 Rally. However, the approval process for the Hilux T1+, which has factory support from Toyota as it is prepared by Toyota Gazoo Racing, took too long to complete and forced him to delay the plan by a year.

Five years after his last Dakar Rally, Hélder Rodrigues will return to the race in 2023, albeit with twice as many wheels as usual. For the 2023 race, the longtime Bike rider will switch to a Light Prototype and compete in the T3 category, racing the #319 Can-Am with Gonçalo Reis as his co-driver.

Rodrigues competed at Dakar from 2006 to 2017 in the Bike class, scoring his first stage win in 2007 en route to an overall finish of fifth. He scored back-to-back third-place finishes in 2011 and 2012. The following year, he joined Honda’s factory programme and finished seventh. His most recent race in 2017 ended with a ninth, and he has nine total stage victories.

He halted his riding career in 2018 to become a manager at Honda Racing Corporation, who fields a rally raid programme under the Monster Energy Honda Racing Team name. Under his watch, Honda won the 2020 Dakar Rally with Ricky Brabec, marking the Japanese manufacturer’s first victory in the event since 1989. Kevin Benavides continued Honda’s winning ways by taking the 2021 edition ahead of Brabec, while Pablo Quintanilla finished second in 2022.

In 2022, Rodrigues joined South Racing Can-Am to begin racing UTVs. In October, he ran the Rallye du Maroc, scoring a runner-up finish in Stage #1B before placing thirty-sixth overall and tenth in T3.

“This is my first Dakar on four wheels after eleven Dakars in Moto and four as Sport Manager of Honda HRC,” said Rodrigues. “Now, it’s time to come back and compete and fight for our dreams.”

A new era at Veloce Racing‘s Extreme E arm begins this weekend with new drivers and even a new manager. As Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor prepare for their first race as Veloce drivers, the team has also appointed Luc Alphand as manager ahead of the Energy X Prix.

“Looking towards the future,” said Alphand in an Instagram post on Thursday. “Happy to join Veloce Racing as team manager. Let’s rock.”

Alphand is a decorated athlete in both alpine skiing and motorsport. He represented France at the 1988, 1992, and 1994 Winter Olympics, and is a four-time FIS Alpine World Ski Champion with titles in 1985, 1993, 1996, and 1997. 1997, his final year before retirement, also saw him claim the overall Alpine Skiing World Cup. He also won the World Cups in Downhill skiing from 1995 to 1997 and Super G in 1997.

After exiting skiing, he entered racing and quickly enjoyed success there in GT cars and rally raid. He made his Dakar Rally début in 1998, and from 2005 to 2007 finished no worse than second and even won the overall in 2006. That year proved to be the high point of his career as he also finished third in the G1 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Alphand retired from regular racing in 2010 for medical reasons but remained involved with the sport. He has returned to the driver’s seat on occasion such as taking part in the 2018 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. In 2021, he became the Sporting Director of the Silk Way Rally after spending five years as an advisor to Race Director Vladimir Chagin, though his current role with the event is unknown following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The 2022 Extreme E season will end with back-to-back races on the shortest tracks for the series to date. After racing the 3.05-km Copper X Prix in September, this weekend’s Energy X Prix tops that with a layout measuring just 2.9 kilometres.

Located in Uruguay, the course begins with a downward slope leading into the first corner on grass. As Extreme E cars typically navigate through sand and dirt, the grass presents new and rather unfamiliar terrain.

“This will affect the driving lines and affect the cars significantly in terms of grip, so the drivers are going to have to work hard to manage that,” explained Championship Driver Timo Scheider, who helped design the course. “The first sector is the fastest, so there we will see who can adapt quickest to the track conditions in that area. I expect plenty of track evolution as the drivers run lines into the course and form ruts, so they will have to hit the line perfectly otherwise they will have to fight hard to recover. I also expect next to the line it will remain very slippery so we will likely see the cars sliding all over the place.”

A pair of kinks leads into the Continental Traction Challenge zone that begins with a long straightaway, which presents a prime opportunity to utilise the ENOWA Hyperdrive boost. After moving through a chicane, there is a chicane sandwiched between two jumps. The final jump leads to the switch bay and the start/finish line.

Due to the short length, racing will be four laps long with drivers getting two apiece. Doubling up on the lap count also occurred at the Copper X Prix.

As the premier rally raid, it goes without saying that making the Dakar Rally is a tall order for many. However, the Amaury Sport Organisation wants to see as many new faces, even if amateurs or racers without factory backing, as possible competing alongside the mainstays—provided they are qualified to race, of course.

This is exemplified with the Road to Dakar, a programme that grants free admission to the Dakar Rally for privateers with no prior experience in the race if they stand out at select events. Such a prize is a major boon for amateur competitors who would otherwise have to pay for the entry fee. Limitations are implemented such as barring those who have finished in the top ten in any FIM championship standings, FIA priority-classified drivers, and factory racers from winning the invite even if they never raced at Dakar.

Although the free access is the defining feature of the Road to Dakar, the programme also allows rookies to earn their places by qualifying with their finishes. This means those who previously raced at Dakar in other classes can also be recognised as Road to Dakar recipients, such as Toomas Triisa entering the 2017 Dakar Rally in Malle Moto but earning the ticket for the 2023 Rally in the T4 class. Entrants who receive the invitation may use it on the upcoming Rally or wait until next year’s edition, a method employed by James Hillier after qualifying at the 2021 Andalucía Rally but electing to run the Dakar Rally in 2023.

For 2023, all four rounds of the World Rally-Raid Championship after the season-opening Dakar Rally are Road to Dakar legs: the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on 26 February to 3 March, the Sonora Rally on 24–28 April, Desafío Ruta 40 on 26 August to 1 September, and Rallye du Maroc on 12–18 October. The TGRSA 1000 Desert Race returns as an eligible race despite not being on the W2RC calendar, instead serving as the premier round of the South Africa Rally-Raid Championship.

The Atacama Rally and Andalucía Rally have been dropped from the programme. The latter’s disappearance is in conjunction with its removal from the W2RC schedule.

Cole Custer‘s time with #41 did not go as hoped, but he already has a track record with #00 that he will rekindle in 2023 when he returns to the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Stewart-Haas Racing revealed his number on Wednesday.

Despite winning Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 2020 and his father Joe being SHR’s president, Custer was dropped from SHR’s Cup programme after the 2022 season due to declining performance and the emergence of reserve driver Ryan Preece. After scoring a win at Kentucky and making the playoffs as a rookie, Custer finished twenty-sixth and twenty-fifth in points over the next two years with just five top tens combined.

Although a demotion is typically a low point in a driver’s career, Custer will get a chance to rediscover his winning ways in a series where he was a perennial contender. He won nine times as a full-time Xfinity driver in the #00 from 2017 to 2019, including a seven-win campaign during the final year, with back-to-back runner-up points finishes in 2018 and 2019. He made sporadic Xfinity starts after moving up to the Cup Series, and returned to Victory Lane in February at Fontana when he recorded SS-Green Light Racing‘s maiden triumph.

The #00 was shuttered after Custer’s graduation, and SHR only kept the #98 for Riley Herbst. The latter number was acquired via partnership with Biagi-DenBeste Racing, while #00 is a longtime brand of SHR co-owner Gene Haas. Due to his father’s ties to Haas, it has also become synonymous with Custer’s ascent through the NASCAR ladder, having used it in the regional tiers and Truck Series.

The Dakar Rally and Baja 1000 are among the largest off-road races in the world. Miguel Ángel Arranz Lopez has already conquered the latter, and now wants to do the same at the former.

In 2023, Arranz will begin preparing for the 2024 Dakar Rally by running three major events beginning with the Morocco Desert Challenge on 21–30 April. He will return to Morocco for the Rallye du Maroc on 12–18 October, followed by the Baja 1000 on 13–18 November.

“2023 will be an intense year of preparation to reach December 31, 2024,” posted Lopez on social media. “Four big goals will mark this year. We hope our sponsors trust in this great project. Now it’s time for a lot of preparation and hard work to be ready.”

Arranz won the Pro Quad Ironman class at the 2021 Baja 1000; as the name suggests, those competing in Ironman categories do so on their own without a team-mate to replace them for the entire duration. He previously completed the 1000 in the Sportsman Quads in 2017, where he finished eleventh in class.

Prior to Baja, Arranz had been competing on a Quad since 2001 in his native Spain. In 2012, he won the Baja España Aragón. However, according to an interview with Heraldo de Aragón following his Baja victory, he stopped domestic competition as he wished for a greater challenge.

Haas F1 Team Director of Engineering Ayao Komatsu reflected on a successful day of testing at the Abu Dhabi post-season test, where Nico Hülkenberg and Pietro Fittipaldi took the wheel of Haas’ 2022 cars to test Pirelli’s 2023 tyre.

Komatsu said that Hülkenberg, who will drive for Haas alongside Kevin Magnussen in 2023, had a solid test for the team, although they suffered some power unit problems that hindered his early running. 

“So, we had a pretty good day today with Nico. We had a bit of PU trouble in the morning, but in the end he completed 110 laps.”

Komatsu was impressed by Hülkenberg’s effort on Tuesday, considering his time out of F1. As well, he said that the team were able to gain some important knowledge from the test that will aid in development going into the 2023 season. 

“For a first time back in the car for a while, I’d say he’s done a really good job. We tested quite a lot of stuff which will be useful for next year.”