Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Online registration for the Baja 1000 closed on Wednesday (though on-site applications are permitted through Friday) with two weeks until race time. As teams pre-run and gear up to make the trip to Baja California, they are also in the closing stages of revealing their full driver lineups, which range from a few shuffling to new alliances.

Those teaming up in the Trophy Trucks include reigning winners Rob MacCachren and Luke McMillin renewing their partnership, as are Bryce Menzies and Andy McMillin. Tavo Vildósola and Alan Ampudia are joining up, while the latter’s brother Rodrigo is with defending Dakar Rally T4 winner Austin Jones in the Pro UTV FI class.

Cayden MacCachren, 18-year-old son of Rob, has been taking the desert racing world by storm since moving from UTVs to trucks as he won the inaugural California 300 and the Laughlin Desert Classic last week. The younger MacCachren made his SCORE driving début in the Baja 400 as a replacement for Christian Sourapas in the #219 Trophy Truck Spec while Sourapas is away on business, and the two will team up for the 1000.

“To be able to split the driving duties with a driver like Cayden makes me really confident in our chances this year,” said Sourapas. “2022 has presented a lot of adversity and challenges, but winning the 1000 would be an amazing way to honor the effort and support of all those involved with our team.”

Kaden Wells, who won the Pro UTV NA class twice in 2021 and finished runner-up in that year’s 1000, will partner with J.D. Marsh. Marsh won said class at the 2021 UTV World Championship and ran the NORRA 1000 in May alongside RJ Anderson, where they finished sixth overall.

Between Formula One seasons, Valtteri Bottas frequently dabbles in rallying in his native Finland, navigating through snow and icy surfaces. On 29/29 January 2023, he will bring what he picked up from the discipline to neighbouring Sweden when he competes at the Race of Champions for the first time. He will represent Finland alongside Mika Häkkinen.

Bottas was initially supposed to run the 2022 ROC alongside Häkkinen but ultimately could not make the trip, and Emma Kimiläinen took his place on Team Finland. In the Nations Cup, the Häkkinen/Kimiläinen defeated Great Britain before falling to the United States in the Semi-Final. Both were eliminated in the first round of the individual bracket.

“I’ve watched the event on TV for many years and I came so close to competing last year until I had to pull out at the last minute,” said Bottas. “It was tough watching everyone having so much fun throwing their cars around on the snow and ice in Sweden, so I’m glad I will now be joining them at Pite Havsbad in January.

“I have become good friends with Mika over the years, but it will be a special treat to be able to race alongside him. We’ve both taken part in the Arctic Rally a few times so hopefully that can help us beat our Nordic neighbours and everyone else. Then we’ll have to put our friendship aside again and try to beat each other in the individual Race of Champions. Whatever happens, I’m sure we will put on a great show for all the fans watching at the track and around the world.”

Bottas made his rally début at the 2019 Arctic Lapland Rally, where he finished fifth overall and won a class. Later that year, he won the Rallycircuit Côte d’Azur at Circuit Paul Ricard. Whenever F1 is in its offseason, Bottas continued returning to the Arctic Rally with two-time World Rally Champion Timo Rautiainen as co-driver. He finished ninth in the 2020 edition followed by sixth in 2021.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. might be NASCAR‘s biggest personality even in retirement, but even he still has the urge to race every once in a while. As part of JR Motorsports‘ expanded partnership with sponsor Bass Pro Shops, Earnhardt has added a second Xfinity Series race to his 2023 schedule to go with his annual start with Hellmann’s backing. Both entries will come in the #88 Chevrolet Camaro for JRM.

After winning the 1998 and 1999 Xfinity Series championships, Earnhardt moved up to the Cup Series full-time but occasionally returned for select runs. This trend continued after his retirement in 2017 as he began making one start each year save for two runs at Bristol and Richmond in 2017. His 2022 start came at Martinsville in April, where he finished eleventh. Of his twenty-four career Xfinity wins, eleven have come as a part-time racer with the msot recent being in 2016 at Richmond.

Earnhardt, ever the ambassador, has also been dabbling in late model racing. On 19 November, he will resume usage of his family’s iconic #3 for a late model race at Florence Motor Speedway.

“We’re excited for Bass Pro Shops to continue their partnership with JR Motorsports,” said Earnhardt. “We’ve had a lot of success together with Bass Pro Shops over the years, and that’s been a big part in seeing this partnership evolve. I can’t say enough about what it means to have Johnny (Morris, BPS owner) and Bass Pro involved on so many levels with us. The JRM Bass Pro Chevrolets will be at a lot of different race tracks in 2023, and I can’t wait to be part of it.”

A longtime supporter of the Earnhardt family, BPS will also sponsor JRM driver Josh Berry in eleven races in 2023, along with Carson Kvapil in regional competition.

To wrap up the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Young’s Motorsports‘ three-truck effort will have a pair of new names as Johnny Sauter and Armani Williams respectively take over the #02 and #20 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs.

The 2016 Truck champion, Sauter competed full-time from 2009 to 2021 before scaling back to a limited slate in 2022. However, what was supposed to be a part-time schedule with G2G Racing only resulted in him running the season opener at Daytona—where he retired after a wreck—before the team continued through a carousel of drivers and drama. He returned to ThorSport Racing, with whom he raced for the past three years and much of his Truck career, for four races at Martinsville (finished second), Gateway (fifth), IRP (twelfth), and Talladega (twenty-fifth).

Sauter has expressed interest in returning to full-time competition in the future, provided the ride is competitive. Indeed, his performances in his handful of ThorSport starts and his résumé back up his demands.

Williams has attempted four Truck races since 2021, all for Reaume Brothers Racing. He finished twenty-first at Gateway in his maiden start, followed by three races in 2022: a DNQ at Texas, thirty-first at Pocono, and thirty-fifth at Kansas. Prior to the Trucks, he competed in various regional tiers including the ARCA Menards Series, where he scored a top ten at Michigan in 2020, and the Pinty’s Series in Canada.

He is one of five black drivers to have run a national series race in 2022 alongside Rajah Caruth, Jesse Iwuji, Blake Lothian, and Bubba Wallace. Williams is also the first NASCAR driver openly diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

Following much anticipation, ABB FIA Formula E newcomers Maserati MSG Racing (taken over from ROKIT Venturi) have finally announced their Season Nine line-up, for the start of the highly exciting Gen3. 

The side’s announcement marks what is almost an end of the Formula E ‘silly season’ for another year, with McLaren’s new Formula E side being the only remaining team with a vacant seat for 2023.

Maserati’s Formula E entrance marks a return to motorsport for the famous manufacturer, with Team Principal James Rossiter setting “high expectations” for his side, who, of course, have a great foundation having taking over from Venturi. 

Venturi did come second in the Season Eight Constructors’ Championship, meaning the side will be expecting a lot in 2023. 

The side announced that it’ll be Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Gunther who’ll be leading the team’s charge next year, with Mortara having come agonisingly close to the title in Season Eight. Gunther, of course, replaces Scuderia AlphaTauri-bound Nyck de Vries, who was set to join the side if it weren’t for his move to Faenza.

The FIA Formula 2 championship has unveiled its schedule for the 2023 season, and like in 2022, it will see fourteen events, all in support of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The Circuit Paul Ricard in France has dropped off the schedule – Formula 1 also is not racing there next season – and it’s place on the calendar has been taken by the championships first-ever visit to Australia.

The championship begins with a trip to the Bahrain International Circuit on 3-5 March 2023, before heading to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia two weeks later.  Two weeks after that comes the inaugural trip to Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia.

The Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan hosts the fourth round at the end of April before a trip to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari across the weekend of 19-21 May, the first of a triple header that also includes visits to Monte Carlo and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

The Red Bull Ring in Austria will host round eight across the weekend of 30 June-2 July, a week before they head to Silverstone for the British leg of the championship, before another double header takes Formula 2 into the summer break with visits to the Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps.

The 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship with see the arrival in the Hypercar class of Ferrari, and last week, the Italian marque unveiled the 499P that will look to fight for overall honours in the championship as well as the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It is now fifty years since Ferrari were involved in endurance racing’s premier class, with their attention, at least during the current era of the World Endurance Championship, being in the GTE class where they’ve been a fighting force ever since the inception of the series in 2012.

Their partnership with AF Corse, which has covered their time in the GTE Pro class, will continue into the Hypercar class, with some of the drivers involved in the GTE class being linked to a move to the top class for 2023.

But now they have launched the 499P, which is Ferrari’s version of the Hypercar, which will go up against the likes of Toyota, Peugeot, Porsche and Cadillac for race wins, including at the Circuit de la Sarthe next June.

“The 499 P sees us return to compete for outright victory in the WEC series,” said John Elkann, the Executive Chairman at Ferrari.  

Sheldon Creed has endured a tumultuous NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie campaign filled with near-victories and bad luck. As he continues to find his footing, especially coming off a runner-up finish at Martinsville, Richard Childress Racing is eager to welcome him and sponsor Whelen Engineering back to the #2 Chevrolet Camaro for a second season in 2023.

“I’m proud to continue my relationship with Richard Childress Racing and Whelen Engineering and look forward to building on the foundation we laid together in 2022,” said Creed. “It’s been a dream come true to drive for a legendary car owner such as Richard Childress, and I truly appreciate my relationship with Peter and everyone at Whelen Engineering. My goal is to go out and win races and championships for RCR and Whelen, and to continue to showcase their American-made products to race fans throughout the country.”

Creed has twelve top tens and four top fives in 2022 and sits fourteenth in points. Despite a solid start as he recorded four top tens across the first six races, he has been plagued by mechanical failures and accidents that tanked his playoff hopes and left him in the shadow of team-mate and fellow rookie Austin Hill. Nevertheless, he has shown quick pace, nearly winning at Darlington with a wall-riding tactic since popularised by Ross Chastain and regularly running up front at the road courses.

He moved up to Xfinity in 2022 after spending the last three seasons in the Camping World Truck Series. Creed won eight races and the 2020 championship during his time in the division, and his one-off at COTA in March saw him win the pole before exiting with a drivetrain issue.

“RCR and Sheldon both share Whelen’s passion for technology and innovation, and we’ve been particularly impressed with Sheldon’s tenacity behind the wheel and relationship-building skills with our employees and key customers,” commented Whelen motorsports general manager Peter Tiezzi III. “We’re looking forward to continuing to build on our strong partnership.”

Klara Andersson made waves in her Extreme E début last month when she and ABT CUPRA XE team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah finished third in the Copper X Prix Final. With the team’s regular driver Jutta Kleinschmidt still recovering from her injuries sustained in practice at said race, Andersson has once again been tasked with piloting the #125 at the Energy X Prix on 26/27 November.

“It was great how the entire team pulled together and gave me such a warm welcome,” said Andersson. “The fact that we were on the podium forty-eight hours later was a great finish for everyone in the team and for me, of course. The organisers continue to develop all areas: the events are becoming more and more professional, and the technology of the cars has also improved significantly within one season.

“I’ve never been to Uruguay before, so even the whole journey is an adventure. We now can sort ourselves out in advance, clarify open questions and prepare in a structured way. Onsite, I’ve got the course walk to get to know the track and two Free Practice sessions to get used to everything before qualifying; a normal race weekend, in other words.

“I’m delighted that ABT and CUPRA have put their trust in me and that we will be competing in the final together. It’s a great challenge and I’m already a bit excited. We’re pushing together for a good end to the team’s season. We saw in Chile that we have the pace for this. We’ll build on that.”

Andersson began 2022 with XITE Energy Racing but tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before the season opener in Saudi Arabia, and an impressive showing by backup Tamara Molinaro resulted in the latter becoming the permanent driver. Molinaro and Andersson basically swapped roles from that point on as Andersson became the series’ Championship Driver and a reserve, the latter of which was activated upon Kleinschmidt’s Free Practice 2 crash in Chile.

Before becoming one of the top American SSV rally raiders, Austin Jones made his name as a Trophy Truck driver competing in SCORE International, winning the Baja 1000 in 2018 and 2019. On 15–20 November, he will return to the legendary desert race in the comfort of his primary discipline as he pilots the #2985 Can-Am in the Pro UTV Forced Induction class. Rodrigo Ampudia, a fellow Monster Energy racer, will be his team-mate for the race.

After supporting his father Jesse’s Trophy Truck programme, Austin won the 2018 Baja 1000 Trophy Truck Spec class alongside Bryce Swaim; the duo also claimed that year’s Baja 500 to secure the SCORE TT Spec overall title. The following year, Jones became the Driver of Record for his own TT Spec and won twice at the San Felipe 250 and Baja 1000.

Looking to expand his horizons, Jones entered global rally raid with Can-Am Factory South Racing. He made his Dakar Rally début in 2020, where he finished eighth in the SSV (T4) class. After winning two stages and placing runner-up at the 2021 edition, he went on to secure the final FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies T4 championship. Jones’ momentum carried over into 2022 as the World Cup was reformed into the World Rally-Raid Championship, becoming the second American to win the SSV category at Dakar and placing third in the W2RC T4 standings.

Despite his racing mostly being outside North America nowadays, he returned to SCORE for the Baja 400 in September but did not finish.

While Jones has been breaking out on the international stage, Ampudia has been a household name in SCORE Pro UTV FI as the class’ inaugural winner at the 2019 Baja 400. His 2022 began with a seventeenth in class at San Felipe before retiring from the 500, while he helped his younger brother Alan‘s #10 Trophy Truck entry at the 400. Alan will also form an alliance of his own for the 1000 as he shares his #10 TT with Tavo Vildósola.

A unique, new experience for Formula One fans is launching this month in London– F1 Arcade. Located at One New Change, St. Paul’s, the entertainment venue will feature sixty F1 racing simulators built within a competitive, social atmosphere.

Guests will have the opportunity to race against one another individually, as teams or against everyone at F1 Arcade, which ties in elements of traditional arcade gaming with a “digital ecosystem” that includes a currency that allows racers to earn prizes and a personal profile. 

The venue looks to accommodate several types of events, including corporate occasions and family outings, and plans to organize special experiences to occur in tandem with Grands Prix weekends. Food and beverage services will also be offered at F1 Arcade.

Formula 1 Managing Director of Commercial Brandon Snow looks forward to bringing the F1 experience to a wider audience and allowing fans to “get behind the wheel” themselves. 

“We are very excited to introduce F1 Arcade, a brand-new premium entertainment venue that everyone can enjoy. F1 Arcade is an ambitious project that will allow people to get even closer to the Formula 1 experience by giving guests the chance to get behind the wheel of bespoke racing simulators in stylish surroundings with a high-quality hospitality offering. Kindred Concepts and Formula 1 have worked tirelessly to ensure F1 Arcade will provide everyone who visits, fans and non-fans alike and regardless of age or ability, an incredible premium experience.”

After being a part-time journeyman for the last three years, Garrett Smithley has landed back on his feet. On Tuesday, B.J. McLeod Motorsports announced he will run the full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in 2023, driving the #78 Chevrolet Camaro.

“I’ve raced with Garrett for several years now, and respect his path, talent and passion,” said team owner B.J. McLeod. “I often tell people that he has ‘made it’, and most people do not understand what I mean by that. His story is truly one of hard work, passion and talent. The ability Garrett has shown behind the wheel for several years including racing around me is something that I wish more people had a front row seat like I have.

“Jessica (McLeod) and I are so honoured to have Garrett represent and drive for us. The future is bright.”

Smithley was an Xfinity regular from 2016 to 2019 for JD Motorsports, during which he recorded four top tens and a best points finish of eighteenth in his first year. He departed JDM after 2019 and entered the Cup Series on a more frequent basis, running a combined fifty-eight races over the next three seasons. He has made five Cup starts in 2022 with Rick Ware Racing, recording a best finish of twenty-first at Fontana.

After running the Charlotte Xfinity race in May for DGM Racing, he hooked up with BJMM at Kansas in September as a substitute in the #5 for the sick Matt Mills. He raced two more times in BJMM’s #78 at Texas and Las Vegas with a best run of twenty-fifth at the latter.

With the 2023 Dakar Rally two months away and registration formally closing on Monday, M-Sport and Neil Woolridge Motorsport have decided against entering their Ford Ranger T1+, though they will continue working on the truck. DirtFish reported the update on Tuesday.

While joint development of the vehicle has been productive, supply chain disruptions and the tight scheduling make it too difficult for the two teams to fathom a reasonable and competitive entry for 2023. The T1+ category only has two other makes: Prodrive, who fields the Hunter, and Toyota with the Hilux. Antanas Juknevičius, who backed out of the 2023 Rally as he could not afford a competitive T1+ vehicle, mentioned the global parts shortage brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and COVID-19 has made potential manufacturers wary of investing into the class.

“To be honest, I think we could make Dakar in January, but we’re not 100% sure we can do it the way it needs to be done,” M-Sport head Malcolm Wilson told DirtFish. “Like the rest of the world, we’re having some supply chain issues – we understood these would be a factor and that was why we didn’t make any firm commitments to Dakar.”

M-Sport, a longtime World Rally Championship outfit with Ford factory support, formed a partnership with NWM in April to race the Dakar Rally. NWM fields Rangers in the South African Rally Raid Championship‘s new T1+ class, where Neil Woolridge’s son Gareth sits fifth in points. The only other vehicle competing in T1+ besides the Ranger is the Hilux, and the top four in the standings all race Hiluxes for Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa.

The Raptor is a popular vehicle in off-road racing, with the Ranger Raptor being announced as a Baja 1000 entry on Monday while Martin Prokop races a Raptor variant in rally raid. The T1+ stands out from the T1 as it is larger and has more suspension travel.

The 2023 Championship Off-Road schedule will be mostly identical to the previous year as the series continues to establish itself as the top Midwestern short course championship. However, the season will bring the series outside its familiar confines as the finale will take place in Oklahoma for the first time.

The first six rounds will be same as in 2022, beginning at Antigo Lions Roaring Raceway on 10/11 June followed by the first of two races at Crandon International Raceway with the Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run two weeks later. ERX Motor Park and Dirt City Motorplex comprise the July races while Bark River International Raceway hosts the lone August event.

Labor Day weekend will see the series once again head to Crandon for the World Championship Off-Road Races, which is conducted in tandem with the Crandon-organised, non-championship Red Bull World Cup. This weekend will be the finale for the Sportsman divisions.

The Pro classes will end their season on 23–24 September at MidAmerica Outdoors in Jay, Oklahoma. Besides the eponymous track, MidAmerica Outdoors LLC is the owner of Ultra4 USA, which is also a part of the Crandon World Championship weekend. Ultra4 also has a partnership with the West Coast-based Great American Shortcourse.

An expansion beyond the Midwest has long been teased and discussed in off-road circles before being confirmed with Tuesday’s schedule reveal.

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team have announced that Stoffel Vandoorne will join the team’s driver roster for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, as it’s test and reserve driver.

Vandoorne will now join Felipe Dragovich at Aston Martin, where the two drivers will share the role between them across next season’s twenty-four race calendar. Both drivers are set to be based at the team’s Silverstone factory where they will “undertake an intensive simulation and development programme” for Aston Martin.

The thirty-year-old Belgian previously raced in Formula 1 for the McLaren F1 Team between 2017 and 2018, but after only scoring twenty-six World Championship points across both seasons, McLaren opted to part ways with Vandoorne at the end of the 2018 season.

Vandoorne has since been a part of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team family, where he became the team’s simulator driver in 2019, before then becoming one of the team’s reserve drivers in 2020.

The Belgian driver, who was crowned ABB FIA Formula E World Champion last season, racing for Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, will fit his new role with Aston Martin alongside continuing to race in Formula E for DS Penske in the upcoming Season Nine campaign.