Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series‘ long-awaited snow/ice race now has a date and location: Rovaniemi on 4/5 March. The 2023 schedule was released Tuesday, consisting of six points-paying rounds along with two exhibitions, the latter of which includes the Arctic Ice Race at Rovaniemi.

The Ice Race has long been anticipated since the series conducted a test on such a surface in March 2021 in Val Thorens, France. The test, held on a track typically used by the Andros Trophy, proved to be such a hit that the series included an exhibition on the 2022 calendar, though the lack of further details suggests it became the 2023 event.

Located in Finland, Rovaniemi hosts the Arctic Rally Finland (not to be confused with the Rally Finland in Jyväskylä). While normally a stop in domestic rally competition, Arctic Rally Finland hosted the World Rally Championship in 2021 as a replacement for the COVID-cancelled Rally Sweden.

After the Ice Race opens the 2023 season, the first points race will be at Circuit Ricardo Tormo on 6/7 May, marking the third straight year that the Valencia course begins the year.

Brands Hatch and Autodromo di Vallelunga will welcome the series over the summer. The former, held on 17/18 June, will be used to celebrate the American NASCAR Cup Series bringing a Next Gen car to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France as well as the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

After finishing second in the ARCA Menards Series championship battle, Daniel Dye will move up to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2023. Like in ARCA, he will pilot the #43 for GMS Racing.

Following a successful part-time campaign in 2021 where he won at Berlin, he contested the full 2022 slate with GMS. Despite failing to win a race, he scored top tens in all but three races and placed runner-up to Nick Sanchez in the final standings. He also won Rookie of the Year honours.

“I am really thankful for the opportunity to drive the #43 Chevrolet Silverado RST for GMS Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2023,” said Dye. “GMS Racing, their partners and staff, are the best in the business, and to drive their Chevy trucks next season is something that I’ve dreamed of for a long time.”

Dye is a member of Drivers Edge Development, a Chevrolet driver development initiative co-run by GMS and Xfinity Series team JR Motorsports.

“It has truly been a pleasure watching Daniel progress so far in his relatively short time spent with the team,” commented GMS president Mike Beam. “Since we signed him to our programme, his dedication to learning the ins and outs of the sport has been top-notch. Early on, it was made clear to everyone that he has the talent to move up to the next level of competition. Now, with a full year of ARCA racing under his belt, the time has come to make that move. We are excited to be a part of his journey along with our partners at GM (General Motors) and Chevrolet, and look forward to seeing what he can do during his rookie year competing in the Craftsman Truck Series.”

Antanas Juknevičius has taken part in the Dakar Rally annually since 2003 and as a driver since 2014. However, the longtime racing dilemmas of equipment disparity and money have prompted him to sit out the 2023 edition.

Juknevičius particularly took issue with the T1+ category, a new World Rally-Raid Championship class for 2022 that consists of 4×4 prototype vehicles larger and more powerful than a standard T1, and the lack of affordable yet competitive options for aspiring entries.

Driving a 2016 Toyota Hilux IRS Overdrive in the T1 class, Juknevičius finished forty-ninth at the 2022 race. While his Kreda team’s vehicles are outdated, they elected to continue with the older truck in the meantime until T1+ equipment became available. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine have resulted in parts shortages across the racing world. Juknevičius pointed out the crises also scare potential manufacturers off from investing into T1+ programmes; Prodrive and Toyota are the only makes in the class with the Hunter and Hilux, respectively.

With only two companies building T1+ cars, prices for them begin in the range of €800 thousand. Although some privateers like Guerlain Chicherit and fellow Lithuanian Vaidotas Žala can afford the switch and will race with Hunters, others are not as fortunate. 2022 Dakar and W2RC T1 champion Nasser Al-Attiyah races with a Hilux T1+, while runner-up Sébastien Loeb and the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team utilise Hunters.

“I have no intention of participating in [Dakar] just to finish or achieve the average result,” Juknevičius explained in a Tuesday social media post. “The team’s ambitions are to fight for a spot in the top 10, and a competitive car is the only T1+ class car that appeared this year in Dakar. Currently the demand for cars of this class is very high and the supply is minimal. Only two manufacturers are producing this racing equipment, and new manufacturers are not in a hurry to enter the market, because the ongoing pandemic and Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February will cause a lot of trouble with broken supply chains. These circumstances determine record high T1+ class car prices – they start at 800 thousand euros.

Despite a ninth-place finish for Yuki Tsunoda at the United States Grand Prix, Jody Egginton, the Technical Director of Scuderia AlphaTauri, has admitted the team ‘missed an opportunity’ in Austin to take home a bigger points haul.

AlphaTauri’s failure to take home a bigger points tally from the Circuit of the Americas has now allowed Haas F1 Team to build a two-point advantage over AlphaTauri in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship Constructors’ Standing’s.

The strong race pace on show from the AT03 had appeared to set up AlphaTauri for a strong day, as by lap thirty-two the team had both Pierre Gasly and Tsunoda in seventh and eighth-place respectively.

Gasly’s race would soon come undone as the stewards had deemed the Frenchmen to be more than ten car lengths behind the car in-front during the second safety car of the race. Gasly was handed a five-second time penalty for his exploits and would serve the penalty during his second pit-stop of the race.

It would soon go from bad to worse for the Frenchmen, as the stewards had found that Gasly had not correctly served his time penalty before his mechanics started the pit-stop and was subsequently handed a ten-second time penalty which would be applied to his finishing time. The Frenchman showed great resiliency but was ultimately left with too much to do and would come home for an eleventh-place finish which would soon become a thirteenth-place finish with his time penalty added on to his finishing time.

After securing just his fourth points finish of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the United States Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda has dedicated his tenth-place finish at the Circuit of the Americas to the memory of Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, after the Austrian passed away from a long-term illness on Saturday.

After making Qualifying Two and originally qualifying in fifteenth-place, a new gearbox installed on his ATO3 overnight would see the Japanese driver handed a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Now starting on the back row of the grid in nineteenth-place, Tsunoda was able to quickly put his grid penalty behind him as an impressive opening lap from the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver, saw him running in fourteenth-place by the end of the lap.

Tsunoda and AlphaTauri opted for a two-stop strategy which saw the Japanese driver head in for his first pit-stop onto another set of medium tyres on lap ten. After rejoining the grid in sixteenth-place, Tsunoda was able to enjoy a strong second stint of the race and was running in seventh-place by the time of his second and final pit-stop of the race. 

Switching onto the hard compound of tyre, Tsunoda’s strong race pace around the Circuit of the Americas was once again on show as the twenty-two year old driver was able to steadily rise up the grid.

Haas F1 Team Principal Günther Steiner praised the team for a “fantastic” effort at the United States Grand Prix, as Kevin Magnussen was able to bring home points after pulling off a risky one-stop strategy at Circuit of the Americas.

“After two difficult days, a good result. The whole team did a fantastic job, you cannot ask for more as the car was fast and Kevin was sure he could get to the end with his tires. I wouldn’t say we took a gamble, we took a chance, but we had a back-up strategy to go onto the soft tires and we brought home some points.”

Steiner was displeased that drivers such as Fernando Alonso were not given a black and orange flag to return to the pits for repair after sustaining damage. Alonso was, however, given a thirty second post-race time penalty after the concern was brought to the FIA. A hearing will take place on Thursday to determine the validity of the penalty, which may once again shift points earnings.

“I’m not really happy about what happened out there with the other cars that are losing bits and pieces and don’t get called in like we normally do, so we will follow-up on that one.”

Finishing in fourteenth after Alonso’s penalty was applied, Mick Schumacher had solid pace up until he picked up debris from an incident later in the race, which saw him lose considerable downforce. Steiner said that it seemed that the diffuser sustained damage, which kept him from pulling the same times on fresh tyres in the race’s final stages. 

Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen scored key points at the United States Grand Prix with a ninth place finish. He was, however, boosted to eighth after Fernando Alonso’s post-race time penalty was applied. This penalty is currently being appealed by BWT Alpine F1 Team, so this result remains subject to change after Thursday’s hearing. 

Magnussen was happy to have been able to secure a points finish at Haas’ home Grand Prix, also aligning with the announcement of a significant sponsorship with MoneyGram. 

“I’m super happy. For us as a team, it’s very important to get these points at our home race in the US – and it’s very big on the weekend that we announce a great title sponsor with MoneyGram – it couldn’t come at a better time.”

Magnussen came within inches of gaining one more position, having fought wheel-to-wheel with Sebastian Vettel through the final turns of the last lap in what was one of the race’s most intense battles. Nonetheless, Magnussen praised Vettel’s fierce driving.

“Of course, I’m gutted to lose a position to Sebastian. I have to say it was some driving from him, that’s when you realize why he’s a four-time World Champion.”

Mike Krack admitted that the result of the United States Grand Prix was somewhat disappointing for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, particularly as Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel were both running inside the top five at the end of the opening lap.

Stroll’s race ended early after suffering heavy damage following a collision with BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Fernando Alonso – ironically the Canadian’s team-mate next season – while Vettel fell away from a near-certain top six finish when he suffered an extremely slow pit stop.

Vettel did make a late race charge to climb from thirteenth to finish on the road, including passing Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen for that position at the penultimate corner on the final lap of the race, and was then promoted to seventh when Alonso was handed a post-race penalty by the stewards.

Krack, the Team Principal at Aston Martin, was pleased with Vettel’s recovery drive at the Circuit of the Americas, but it could and should have been a better scoring day for the team than what transpired.

“Having been third and fifth on lap one, clearly we are disappointed to have come away with only a DNF and a P8,” Krack said prior to Vettel’s promotion to seventh.  “But that is racing.

Sebastian Vettel admitted his adrenaline was pumping hard in the closing stages of Sunday’s United States Grand Prix as he climbed back through the field after a slow pit stop cost him a certain sixth place finish.

The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team driver led a handful of laps at the Circuit of the Americas as strategies played out, but a slow pit stop left him outside of the top ten and forced him to start a fight back through the field.

He passed a number of cars to get back into the points and then was involved in a last lap battle with Kevin Magnussen over eighth place, which he won by diving down the inside of the Haas F1 Team driver at the penultimate corner.  A penalty post-race for Fernando Alonso then promoted him to seventh place and six FIA Formula 1 World Championship points.

“In the end it was a good recovery drive to score four points today,” Vettel said prior to being promoted to seventh.  “I really enjoyed the last few laps, especially the final-lap fight with Kevin [Magnussen]. When I crossed the finish line, the adrenaline was really pumping.

“Without the slow stop, I think we had sixth place easily in the bag so we should focus on the positives of our competitive car pace today.

Like Team Principal Toto Wolff, Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin believes that the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team is making significant progress after the team introduced a final upgrade package of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season at the Circuit of Americas.

After coming within touching distance of a win at Austin, Shovlin is confident more than ever that the team are approaching where they want to be. Despite the team being aware of the extra work they have ahead of them, Shovlin is glad that their hard work is contributing to the team’s performance.

Lewis Hamilton and team-mate George Russell were both showing decent pace, with Hamilton leading the race from lap forty-one to forty-nine, but the car seemed to be a handful for both drivers thanks to the strong winds in Austin and an unfortunate racing incident off of turn one that compromised Russell’s balance and downforce.

Shovlin felt that the team now understand the car a bit better, and the struggles encountered by both drivers, he intends to take away as positives that will allow the team to better understand what they need to work on in order to come back stronger for the following 2023 season.

After the sad news of Dietrich Mateschitz’s passing, Shovlin congratulated the Oracle Red Bull Racing team on their Constructor’s Championship win.

McLaren F1 Team had a successful weekend in Austin, as they outscored BWT Alpine F1 Team at the United States Grand Prix.

While Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon scored just one point for the French outfit, McLaren’s Lando Norris drove home for an impressive sixth-place finish with an extremely impressive driver after having bad luck with pitstops and safety cars.

However, it wasn’t all positive for McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo failed to score points again and made next to no impact on the race after a poor qualifying on Saturday.

Andreas Seidl praised Norris’ race and was happy with the points gained on Alpine.

“An eventful race here at the Circuit of the Americas, in front of this enormous crowd. The team made some good strategy calls, executed great pit-stops coupled with a stellar drive from Lando, including some great overtaking in the final stage of the race, which secured us an encouraging P6 and gave us good points in our Constructors’ Championship battle.“

Toto Wolff felt that the United States Grand Prix was a much-needed step forward for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team after the seven-time world Champion Lewis Hamilton narrowly missed out on a first race victory of the season as he came home in the second position, with team-mate George Russell recovering from an unfortunate race start and securing the fifth position.

The win was in sight for Mercedes driver Hamilton after a problematic eleven-second pit-stop cost Max Verstappen the lead of the race, allowing Lewis to take the lead during laps forty-one to forty-nine. After introducing the final upgrade of the season, hopes for a race win were high amongst the team as Hamilton’s performance showed that Mercedes are still offering an exciting and competitive car this season.

Team Principal Toto Wolff, was pleased with Hamilton’s performance and felt that the team have made considerable progress at the Circuit of the Americas, where Oracle Red Bull Racing clinched the Constructor’s World Championship, following Verstappen’s comeback win.

“First, congratulations to Red Bull and to Honda for winning the Constructors’ Championship; given the sad news yesterday about Dietrich Mateschitz, it was fitting that they should secure the title today. From our side, this weekend was a step forward for us and we showed encouraging performance.

“No doubt, Red Bull are still ahead of us, but I think we’re getting closer to them and Ferrari – and that’s a positive outcome for us. We brought an upgrade to Austin and we’ve seen that reflected in terms of car performance.“

Formula 1 made a welcome return to Austin this weekend for the United States Grand Prix and it was a good day for McLaren F1 Team, which saw them move closer towards BWT Alpine F1 Team in the Constructors Championship.

Lando Norris’ drive was simply remarkable with the British driver losing out on the pit stops and the safety car calls throughout the race. He also took damage driving through the debris of the crash between Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, which made driving a lot more difficult. But despite having no luck, he managed to get his McLaren into sixth place.

He was picking off other midfield cars with ease and outscored his Alpine rivals, Alonso and Esteban Ocon making it an extremely successful weekend for both him and the team.

“A good race! Races like these are more enjoyable compared to just being on your own, even though it’s a lot tougher. It was very enjoyable, especially the race with Fernando.

“I had a tricky start, getting caught behind an incident ahead. We also picked up damage halfway through the race, so I’m very happy to have finished P6 today. We came away with the best result possible and picked up some decent points.” 

Mattia Binotto says there were mixed emotions for Scuderia Ferrari following Sunday’s United States Grand Prix, with good feelings about Charles Leclerc’s climb from twelfth on the grid to the podium being offset by Carlos Sainz Jr.’s first lap retirement.

Sainz had started the race at the Circuit of the Americas from pole position but found his afternoon all but over at turn one after being turned around by Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s George Russell, with the damage to his car too much for him to continue.

Leclerc had started outside the top ten after taking a ten-place grid penalty for engine component changes earlier in the weekend, but a rapid start and well-timed safety car intervention put him into contention for the top three.

Binotto, the Team Principal at Ferrari, admits Oracle Red Bull Racing have an advantage over them at this stage of the season, and it will be up to them to prepare a better car for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship so Leclerc and Sainz can have a better chance of competing for the title.

Red Bull clinched the Constructors’ Championship at the Circuit of the Americas, which Binotto says honoured Dietrich Mateschitz, who passed away across the weekend, in the best way possible, but he says Ferrari will be trying to make it difficult for their rivals across the final three race weekends of 2022.

Charles Leclerc admitted he enjoyed the United States Grand Prix on Sunday as he climbed from twelfth on the grid to finish on the podium in third place.

A grid penalty had relegated the Scuderia Ferrari driver from the front row to the sixth row at the Circuit of the Americas, but Leclerc made early gains to run inside the top ten, and then took advantage of a well-timed safety car to move into contention for the top three.

He even took second place away from Max Verstappen when the Dutchman suffered a slow pit stop, but the pace of the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver was too much for him to keep him behind, and he felt back to third.

Although he suffered with tyre degradation in the closing laps, he had done enough to take the final step on the podium, and even withstood a late charge from the second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez to ensure he moved ahead of the Mexican and back into second place in the Drivers’ Championship.

“It was a fun race and I really enjoyed the battles with Max (Verstappen) and Checo (Pérez) on track today,” said Leclerc.  “I had a solid start and after that, the first few laps were all about practicing patience.