Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Alex Bowman will continue to miss time due to the concussion he sustained at Texas Motor Speedway in late September. On Wednesday, he announced he will skip the next three NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway as he continues his treatment. He did not rule out the season finale at his home track Phoenix Raceway.

Noah Gragson replaced him in the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval, where he respectively finished nineteenth and twenty-third. Hendrick stated he will remain in the car for the next three races, though he had already been slated to run Las Vegas for Kaulig Racing in the #16 and revealed his sponsorship for said race on Wednesday.

“As much as I hoped to be back in the #48 Ally Chevrolet this weekend, I will not be returning to competition for the next three NASCAR Cup Series races,” reads a statement from Bowman. “I am continuing to focus my efforts on getting my health back to 100% so that I can return racing as soon as possible. I know that Noah will continue to do a great job representing the #48 and I’ll be cheering him and the entire Ally Racing team on every lap.

“Thank you again to everyone for the support I’ve received. It means so much to me.”

Bowman was evaluated by Dr. Michael Collins of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program, who ruled him unfit to return to competition.

Christopher Bell was in a dangerous spot entering the NASCAR Cup Series‘ Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval race. He was forty-five points below the cut line and needed to win to advance to the playoffs’ Round of 8. It took a frantic overtime restart, but he got the job done.

A caution for debris and Ty Dillon‘s spin with two laps remaining set up overtime, from which Bell faced non-playoff driver Kevin Harvick. As many drivers behind them overshot the first corner, Bell was able to clear Harvick and scoot away for his third career win, second of 2022, and second on a road course; incidentally, the first was also on an oval’s infield RC configuration (Daytona in 2021).

“The whole race went green flag, I thought we were just kind of buying our time, getting to the end of the race,” said Bell. “I think I was running seventh or eighth. A couple guys were closing on me. ‘Man, I hope I can get out of here with a top ten, focus on trying to race for fifth in the points.’

“(Then) the tides changed.”

While Bell was pulling away with the win, the mad dash for the final Round of 8 spots came down to Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Kyle Larson. Cindric knocked himself out when he spun in the backstretch chicane while running one point below the cut line, which left Briscoe to square off with the defending champion Larson.

After being dropped from the Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT line-up for the 2023 season due to not renewing the contract, the 21-year-old Swede Oliver Solberg is now without a drive for the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship but in an article published by Motorsport.com, Solberg has revealed he is in talks with the British outfit M-Sport Ford WRT for a possible seat.

Solberg had a two-year deal with the Korean manufacturer that began with a split WRC and WRC2 drive in 2021 and jumped into the team´s third car for this year that he has shared with the Spaniard Dani Sordo. He is still determined to remain in the WRC for next season and M-Sport is now looking to be the most suitable option for the son of the 2003 world champion Petter Solberg.

The Solberg family has some history with the British team, Malcolm Wilson who is the founder of M-Sport gave Petter his first works drive in the WRC in 1999.

“It is difficult to say at the moment, there is nothing really open. Hyundai have made it very clear what they want, so I’m not going back there. Toyota has everything they need and have good drivers, the best car and the best team. For sure, it is very difficult to get in there. At M-Sport, I think they need drivers, whether that is an option or not I’m not sure. I will never give up. The hope is to be in a WRC car in Monte Carlo.” Solberg told Motorsport.com.

“Any seat would be fantastic. M-Sport is a dream team and it is a perfect place to be, to learn as a young driver, they know how to do it. Malcolm has so much experience in dealing with young drivers, including my father. Malcolm asked me two years ago, but then I went to Hyundai. M-Sport is one of the best teams you can be in. The car looks very fast and for sure they need a little bit of development to keep up, but I think they have one of the best cars and are one of the best teams. I think it could be a very interesting option.“

The current FIA World Rally Championship points leader in the WRC2 class Andreas Mikkelsen from Norway has been given the role to debut the all-new Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 car for Skoda Motorsport in November at the German Lausitz-Rallye.

The reason for the start is Skoda´s launch of the new Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, the car received International homologation in September but no cars have yet come out for competitors, the reason being a lack of components.

The car however has been run as a course car at several rallies, but now it’s time to show the car in true action. The order book has been filled and cars are being built in the Czech factory, but with a lack of spare parts the company has still held up the deliveries, they simply want to secure access for customers before deliveries take place.

Nor is the car expected to premiere at the Rally Spain, or at the season-finale of Rally Japan, but it will be in smaller local rallies during the autumn under the factory’s own flag. For the Rallye Monte-Carlo, however, Skoda’s factory team is expected to be on the starting line with the new car.

Estonian Minister of Culture Piret Hartman has confirmed that next summer’s Rally Estonia which is set to be featured on the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship schedule, will receive a slice of 1.5 million euros from the state budget. However, the FIA has not yet confirmed next year’s calendar, but Estonia can be found in the preliminary schedule.

First Estonia was able to participate in the WRC during the “corona season” 2020. Around Tartu, the rally was also featured on this year´s calendar and last year’s as well. The state has been strongly behind the Estonian round, in 2020 and 2021, the event received financial backing a total of 2.5 million euros altogether and less next year but the amount is still significant.

“It is a great recognition of the work done by the race organization that we once again get the opportunity to organize the Rally Estonia as a part of the [FIA} World [Rally] Championship. This is good news not only for rally fans but also for the whole of Estonia. I am satisfied that we reached such a result. Without state support, the event would probably not take place.” Hartman told the Estonian publication Delfi in an interview.

It is known that the Rally Estonia will also be held in July of the 2023 season and the FIA ​​is expected to confirm the 2023 schedule next week.

Both Fernando Alonso and George Russell have backed Pierre Gasly after the Frenchman was handed a time penalty and two penalty points to his Superlicence for speeding under a red flag during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri driver was off the back of the pack behind the safety car after being forced to pit for a new front wing after making contact with an advertising board on lap one, and he was clocked to have exceeded 250 kilometres per hour on the back straight.

BWT Alpine F1 Team driver Alonso, who Gasly will replace at the Enstone-based team in 2023, said the drivers know when they are in control of their car, and the Frenchman was not really doing anything wrong as he attempted to catch back up to the rest of the field.

“Totally supporting Pierre,” Alonso is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “We are in the car, we know the speed we are doing, we know when we are in control.

“What we don’t expect is to see a tractor on the circuit, so that’s something that nothing to blame Pierre.”

Guillaume Dezoteux, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Scuderia AlphaTauri, was disappointed to see the team fail to score points during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, with circumstances appearing to go against the team at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

Pierre Gasly’s race was compromised early by picking up damage after hitting an advertising board that had been brought onto the track after Carlos Sainz Jr. crashed. AlphaTauri gambled on pitting the Frenchman a second time to try and benefit from fresh intermediate tyres, but he ended down in seventeenth at the chequered flag, which became eighteenth when he was handed a time penalty post-race for speeding under the early red flag.

AlphaTauri also pitted Yuki Tsunoda for a second time to try and use better tyres to clear the traffic that had built up behind Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi, but the Japanese driver ran out of time to make the strategy work and ended only thirteenth.

Dezoteux hopes AlphaTauri can have better races across the remainder of the season, with the next race coming at the Circuit of the Americas in two weeks’ time.

“It’s been a difficult Sunday for us, and we didn’t manage to get points today in Suzuka,” said Dezoteux.  “Starting from the pitlane, Pierre was able to catch the pack immediately, but got hit by a panel that was broken during the crash of Carlos. This broke his front wing and front wheel winglet, however we were able to repair this during the red flag period.

Yuki Tsunoda admitted to being disappointed not to have been able to score points in his first home Grand Prix, but he felt he did the best he could throughout the race at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

Heavy rain and aquaplaning meant a long red flag period during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, but on the restart, the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver was unable to find the pace necessary to fight for a place inside the top ten, and he was forced to settle for thirteenth at the chequered flag.

Nevertheless, Tsunoda said it was an ‘exciting’ weekend in his homeland, and he thanked everyone who came to the track and stuck it out during the red flag and in the rain.

“It’s been a difficult afternoon,” said Tsunoda.  “I obviously wanted to finish in the points, so it’s a real shame that I wasn’t able to make it today.

“I think that I did the best I could today and extracted the most from the car, but the pace just wasn’t there.

Nicholas Latifi says that Williams Racing’s decision to not extend his contract with them into the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season would not have changed despite his first top ten finish of the 2022 campaign last weekend in Japan.

The Canadian secured ninth place at the Suzuka International Racing Course to finally secure his first points of the year, but his performance amid difficult weather conditions in Japan would not have made any difference had Williams not already made the decision to show him the exit door.

Latifi says his lack of consistency has cost him at Williams, but despite knowing his time with the team is coming to an end next month, he was pleased to break into the top ten and give him a much-need confidence boost as he considers the next stage of his career.

“It’s nice to get some points for sure,” Latifi told Formula1.com. “But in the end, even if a decision hadn’t been made yet about my future, a race like this wouldn’t have really changed much.

“I’ve always said it was about consistency across results, not one good result. So it’s obviously a nice personal boost for me for sure.

The McLaren F1 Team conceded points to the BWT Alpine F1 Team during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, with the two teams again switching places in the Constructors’ Championship as they battle over fourth place.

With Esteban Ocon finishing fourth and Fernando Alonso seventh at the Suzuka International Racing Course, Alpine regained the fourth place they lost just seven days previously in Singapore, with McLaren scoring only one point thanks to Lando Norris taking tenth place.

Andreas Seidl, the Team Principal at McLaren, says Norris was unfortunate to lose several positions at the initial start which left him on the back foot in his bid for the top ten, while the team were too conservative when it came to the call to switch Daniel Ricciardo from the full wet to intermediate tyre on the restart.

This meant the two drivers were left fighting through the pack rather than for places deep inside the top ten, and it left the team thirteen points behind Alpine heading into the final four races of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

“It was a disappointing Sunday afternoon for us,” said Seidl.  “On Daniel’s side, despite moving up some positions at the initial start we were too conservative at the restart, staying out for too long which resulted in losing positions and dropping out of the points.

Lando Norris was happy to recover from a poor start to score a point in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, with the Briton claiming tenth despite the poor conditions at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

Having started inside the top ten, the McLaren F1 Team driver slipped to thirteenth at the start, but an early switch to intermediate tyres brought him back into contention for the top ten.

He did not have the pace to catch Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi in the second half of the rain-shortened race, but despite this he was content to score a point in conditions that did not suit McLaren in Japan.

“Firstly, I’m glad we got a race today,” said Norris.  “The Japanese fans have been amazing here all weekend, and they waited in the rain for ages, so I’m glad we could give them that.

“Of course as drivers we always want to race. The race itself was a tricky one. I lost a lot of positions in the first start which was unfortunate, but then made up for it with the pit-stop, and it was good to come away with a point.

Williams Racing scored two points during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix thanks to Nicholas Latifi, and Dave Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance, praised the Canadian for performing an ‘excellent job’ in difficult conditions.

Latifi was one of the first drivers to switch to the intermediate tyres following the restart of the race, and by doing this, he was able to jump a number of places to run inside the top ten.

He may have lost a position to the recovering George Russell late in the day, but he had enough pace to maintain a good gap to the chasing Lando Norris, and he ended several seconds clear of the McLaren F1 Team driver in ninth place at the chequered flag to score his first points of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Team-mate Alexander Albon was less fortunate, with the Thai driver retiring on lap one of the initial start after contact with Kevin Magnussen damaged his radiator, meaning he was forced to stop at the side of the track in the second sector.

Robson said it was an enjoyable race at the Suzuka International Racing Course once conditions allowed the cars to properly race, and it was pleasing to see the team score points for only the fourth time in 2022.

Nicholas Latifi felt his ninth place finish in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix was a ‘nice morale boost’ both for him and his team as he scored his first points of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season amid tricky weather conditions at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

The Williams Racing driver was one of two drivers – the other being Sebastian Vettel – to pit immediately at the end of the safety car period to switch from the full wet tyre to the intermediate compound, and he gained many positions on track as a result of this.

He may have lost a place to the recovering George Russell and Fernando Alonso late in the day, but he was comfortably able to maintain a gap to Lando Norris behind him to finish ninth and score two points.

“The beginning was quite tricky with the red flag and the delays,” said Latifi.  “We made the right decision to pit straight away for the Inters which was critical in jumping the cars ahead of us.

“I struggled at the end with the front tyres but I’m extremely happy to hold on and get my first points of the season. Overall, I’m really happy for the team and it’s a nice morale boost.”

While Kees Koolen celebrated becoming the first World Rally-Raid Championship class winner in an FIA category (T5) at the Rallye du Maroc, Mason Klein got to do so on the FIM side as his overall win in the rally secured the Rally2 title with one round remaining.

Klein has dominated Rally2 all season with BAS World KTM Racing Team, winning his class in his Dakar Rally début followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. At last week’s Rallye du Maroc, he finished third in the prologue before winning Stage #1B to take the overall lead and never relinquished it for the rest of the event; he ended the rally with three leg victories (including Stages #3 and #4) and a forty-minute, twenty-five-second advantage over team-mate Bradley Cox.

Having gone three-for-three in W2RC events, Klein has eighty-eight total points. Romain Dumontier, who has finished on the overall podium in each round, is twenty points back in second. While the season does not end until the Andalucía Rally on 18–23 October, the overall winner can only receive twenty-five points at most.

His success adds to a growing list of American achievements in rally raid bike racing. While Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes steal the show with their Dakar success, the former winning the Bike overall in 2020, the twenty-year-old Klein is leading the new generation of riders. The 2023 Dakar Rally is set to feature at least ten American riders, the most of their kind, including The Checkered Flag interviewee Ace Nilson. Like many of his peers, Klein cut his teeth in North American desert racing before heading abroad, having raced in Best In The Desert and the AMA National Hare and Hound championship.

Despite his accomplishments, Klein has had to rely on crowdfunding to make it to races like Dakar. Nilson, a fellow privateer, told TCF that those without factory funding have to pay a multitude of fees such as but not limited to registration, bike rental, lodging, and training. With how quickly these costs can add up, many independent competitors turn to donations to afford the trip.

Ed Robinson, founder of the Valley Off Road Racing Association and 2018 inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, passed away Monday.

“The end of an era…Yesterday, the legendary Ed Robinson passed away,” began a post from VORRA president Laura Butcher. “Ed & Jenny Robinson began Valley Off Road Racing Association in 1975. Together with their family & friends, Ed & Jenny successfully ran VORRA for 25 years.

“Beyond a race promoter, Ed was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a friend, and a leader. Ed Robinson was adored by many, who will continue to hold him in their hearts throughout life’s many races.

“BJ (Butcher, Race Director) & I were lucky enough to have Ed & Jenny meet with us as we transitioned into VORRA promoters. Even luckier to have the Robinson’s attend our first desert race, the 2019 Fallon 250. Having Ed drop the green flag on that race will remain a cherished memory and symbol of the torch passing for years to come.

“God speed, Ed”.