Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

GB3 title contender Joel Granfors will be joining the Carlin team for the upcoming three-day FIA Formula 3 test session, which will take place at Jerez, Spain from Wednesday.

The Swedish driver is currently second place in the GB3 championship, just 16.5 points behind leader Luke Browning with three races remaining.

Granfors is looking to make the most of the test as he looks to move up the feeder series ladder, with the ultimate goal of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
 
“Getting the chance to drive an FIA F3 car for the first time will be exciting,” said Joel Granfors. “I’m really looking forward to trying it out this week at Jerez and to work with Carlin, one of the most legendary teams in motorsport.

The 17-year-old is looking forward to driving the 380-bhp Dallara-built F3 car, a step up from the Tatuus MSV-022 GB3 car that produces 250-bhp

“It will be a case of simply learning the car and getting a feel for the championship, and hopefully we can have a productive three days together.”  

JD Motorsports will return to fielding three cars for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the team announced Tuesday. A full lineup was not immediately revealed, though the team frequently fields multiple drivers, outside of Bayley Currey who returns to the #4 full-time.

“We’re very excited about how 2023 looks,” said team owner Johnny Davis. “I’ve been around this series for a long time, and the schedule looks to be the best it’s ever been. We’re going to be all over the country with our cars, and we’re going to have some great opportunities for partners to come on board and race with us.”

After running the #0, #4, #6, and #15 in 2021, JDM dropped to just the #4 and #6 for 2022; a perk of the reduction came in the team forming an alliance with upstart Jesse Iwuji Motorsports, who operates out of JDM’s shop. While Currey has run every race in the #4, Ryan Vargas is doing the bulk of the schedule in the #6 but has increasingly been pushed aside for other names due to sponsorship and performance issues. Others who have driven the #6 include Ty Dillon, Gray Gaulding, Bobby McCarty, and Spencer Pumpelly, while Brennan Poole will attempt the playoff races at Texas, Homestead, and Phoenix.

Currey, currently in his third straight year of regular Xfinity competition, is twenty-first in points with a best finish of tenth at New Hampshire. He nearly scored another top ten in the regular season finale at Bristol.

“We’ve had strong cars all this season and some good finishes,” Davis added. “We were especially excited about Bayley Currey’s eleventh-place finish at Bristol in the #4 Alka-Seltzer car. Bristol is one of the toughest tracks on the schedule. To finish every lap there is quite an achievement, and for one of our cars to come home eleventh shows where this team is headed.”

The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar was released to the public following approval by the World Motor Sport Council. The schedule features twenty-four Grands Prix, the most race weekends in an F1 season to date. 

Key additions include the much-anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix, which will be held on 18 November as the penultimate race of the season, as well as the return of the Chinese Grand Prix and the Qatar Grand Prix. China was last held in 2019, while Qatar first appeared in 2021 and will return for the 2023 season and beyond. 

The historic Monaco Grand Prix remains on the calendar for 2023 after much debate regarding its inclusion moving forward, while the fan-favorite Belgian Grand Prix moves to 30 July, the date when the 24 Hours of Spa is traditionally hosted. Vacating the season’s European leg, the French Grand Prix will not be returning next year. 

The season opening Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled for 5 March, and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will close out the season on 26 November.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said that the expanded calendar is representative of the series’ increased global reach and ever-growing fan-base. 

Formula 1 will continue to race in Monaco until 2025, after a new three-year deal was agreed with the Automobile Club of Monaco.

The current contract was due to expire this year and there were doubts across the sport that Formula 1’s most famous race wouldn’t return. Also known as the ‘Crown Jewel’ of the season, it has now been officially confirmed that it will remain, following the release of the 2023 Calendar. Monaco will continue it’s run of appearances on the schedule since 1955, which excludes the Grand Prix of 2020 that was cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

The Grand Prix officially became part of the calendar in 1950. It is known as one of the trickiest circuits of the year, with the drivers having their patience, precision and talent tested for all seventy-eight laps of the race. The track has been questioned recently due to the size of the cars and the lack of apparent overtaking opportunities, with only one overtake having been completed in the 2021 Grand Prix.

However, the track still remains popular with the sport’s drivers and fans. The Monaco Grand Prix has seen some classic races in recent times, with the most recent being Daniel Ricciardo’s triumph in 2018, with the Australian racing to the line with only half of his power.

The track has seen some of the greats, with three-time world champion Ayrton Senna topping the charts with six wins at the circuit, followed by Graham Hill, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost. Lewis Hamilton has the most wins on the circuit out of the current driver grid, with three to his name and his most recent one coming in the 2019 Grand Prix, where he beat Ricciardo.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro-Am front-runner Will Aspin is targeting a strong finish to the season as the series heads to Silverstone this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2022 championship.

The teenager has had a mixed year in the series, after a strong start to the year, including a victory at Brands Hatch, he has suffered a run of bad luck that has seen him drop out of championship contention. Despite this Aspin has continued to push and bounced back with a podium finish at Thruxton last time out.

“I think it will be a good weekend. We learned a lot at Thruxton, focusing on what we can do and how to do it. We didn’t show it in qualifying, but I think being in the car every week in August was really beneficial for me and the team, so we can work together and make the whole package stronger and stronger,” explained Aspin.

Looking ahead the eighteen-year-old is attacking the race weekend with renewed focus after being behind the wheel for three of the last four weekends, including a maiden race in Europe in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux at Assen, “For Silverstone, we’ll go into the weekend and extract every bit of performance out of me and the car. Having all this time off over the break has helped me think about things, realise what I wasn’t doing well, and help me calm down a bit.

“I’ve got a test on Wednesday and I’m looking forward to getting back in the car as four weeks without being in it gets quite boring!

This weekend Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline driver Oliver White returns to Silverstone, the place where tasted success in the Walter Hayes Trophy, but this time as part of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB series.

White has scored points on his last three race weekends in the series and will be hoping to build on his experience in his first full season of sports car racing.

“I’m looking forward to Silverstone. This is a track that I’ve had a lot of success out in the past and I won the Walter Hayes Trophy there a few years ago. It’s quite a technical track, so it won’t be that easy to learn in the Porsche, but the advantage is it’s a short lap which means you get plenty of laps in testing and hopefully, I’ll get up to speed fairly quickly.

The 29-year-old is hoping to repeat the form that saw him have one of his best race weekends of the year with the upcoming test session at Silverstone on Wednesday.
 
“I think the last time I did a Wednesday test was Knockhill and in terms of competitiveness, it’s probably the best event I’ve had this year. Hopefully, I can do something similar, use the Wednesday to get properly up to speed and get amongst the front runners.“

While the Silverstone National circuit looks easy at first glance, its simplicity of it means there is more chance of a small error that could cost dearly.

Adam Smalley heads into the penultimate weekend of the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup GB season at Silverstone just twelve points behind championship leader Kiern Jewiss.

Last time out at Thruxton, the Lancashire-based driver collected a second and third place finish, this weekend he will be looking to make the most of his form and hit the front of the pack to add to his seven podium finishes, including one victory, so far this season.

“We had a great weekend last time out at Thruxton, one of our strongest so far, which has boosted our confidence going into Silverstone. We showed some great pace, we had a very strong car, and I’m confident that we can take that into this one,” said the Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline driver.
 
“The 992 style 911 GT3 Cup car is great around any track, and Silverstone is a tricky little circuit with only four or five corners. The whole field is going to be very tight, and it’ll be interesting to see how everyone compares.
 
“Qualifying has been crucial this season. It’s very difficult if you’re not in that top five, so it’ll be important that we do all our hard work in the official Wednesday test and carry that through, finesse it on Friday, and do the job on Saturday and Sunday. I’m currently lying third in the championship standings, and we closed in on the lead last time.

“I just need to keep focusing on myself. We’re getting stronger each time we go out so fingers crossed I can have a strong showing.”

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Following the announcement that Fortec Motorsport will be returning to the final two race weekends of the ROKiT British F4 Championship certified by FIA with James Higgins, the Daventry-based team will be adding a second car to the upcoming meeting at Silverstone, with Marcos Flack in the driver’s seat.

Flack previously raced in the series in 2021 as he made his move from karting to single-seaters, he quickly proved himself as a frontrunner, taking podiums at Snetterton, Croft and Silverstone.

Since then the 16-year-old Australian has been busy racing in a part-season of GB3 Championship, including a breakthrough win at Silverstone, along with appearances in the Indy Pro 2000 series and the Italian, Spanish, and German F4 championships

“I’m looking forward to being back in ROKiT British F4, and to partner up with Fortec Motorsport,” said Flack.

“It’s a championship that I learnt a lot in last season, and I’ve got experience with the new Gen-2 car from racing in Italy and Germany this year. Fortec are a great team, and I’ve always run well at Silverstone, so the ingredients are there for us to have a good weekend.”

I’m very much looking forward to racing again this coming weekend after an enforced break – and certainly it’ll feel different as I’m now a very proud father to George, my first child.

More details on that later after I’ve brought you up to date on my racing activities since my last column – although that won’t take long.

My last races were on “home” soil when I recorded two eleventh place finishes in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Knockhill at the end of July – but that only tells half a miserable story racing back in Scotland.

I suffered a couple of scary barrel rolls in testing on the eve of the event after being hit up the rear. It severely damaged my Toro Verde GT entered 911 to the extent it was not repairable at the track.

I was totally blameless for the incident but thankfully was only shaken up and bruised. I was being supported at Knockhill by Dumfriesshire sponsors, PyroDry and Carronbridge Sawmills plus I’d got a lot of partners, prospects and guests attending the weekend’s action in attendance, the majority from around Scotland, but with some coming from as far away as Denmark.

As Kyle Larson pursues back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series championships, Hendrick Motorsports is keen to keep him involved for the forseeable future. The team announced Friday that Larson has signed a contract extension to keep him in the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the 2026 season.

“When Kyle joined our team, the expectations were sky high from both inside and outside the organisation. To say he’s exceeded them would be an understatement,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “Not only has Kyle proven himself as a champion driver, he’s performed at a championship level outside of the race car. We’re proud to continue our relationship and to see him represent our team and our brands in such positive ways. The years to come are very bright.”

Since joining Hendrick in 2021, Larson has become one of the Cup Series’ top drivers, leading the series in wins in his first year with ten en route to the championship. While his win total has dropped to two so far in 2022 at Las Vegas and Watkins Glen, he is fourth in points and a regular threat. He also notched an Xfinity Series win for satellite team JR Motorsports at The Glen.

HendrickCars.com, the online division of Hendrick Automotive Group, will continue as his primary sponsor. Although Larson’s successes have garnered outside interest, the Hendrick Automotive Group—which has its own autonomy separate from Hendrick Motorsports despite both being owned by Rick Hendrick—wanted to commit to him full-time. The only other company sponsoring him in 2022 is Valvoline, who has a team-wide partnership, for three races.

“I can’t explain how much this opportunity means,” commented Larson. “The chance to compete for the top team and best sponsors in racing is something every driver dreams about. I’m humbled to have incredible people in my corner and amazing support from so many fans. Thanks to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group for believing in me, Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) and our team. Even though we’ve done some great things so far, I truly believe our best is ahead of us.”

After abruptly retiring from the Baja 500, Bryce Menzies was able to turn around his SCORE International fortunes at the Baja 400 when he took the overall four-wheeler lead from Luke McMillin and never looked back. It is Menzies’ second straight 400 win and places him on the pole for the Baja 1000 in November.

McMillin beat Menzies in qualifying, but a flat tyre allowed Menzies to overtake him. Both drivers’ Trophy Trucks lost four-wheel drive during their runs, forcing them to re-adjust, while Menzies would also have a tyre go down though co-driver Oren Anderson quickly rectified the matter in just fifty seconds.

“It’ll take me fifty seconds just to get out and in (of the truck),” quipped Menzies.

“This race is so much fun. It’s very technical, very tight, but we had an awesome time. We only had one tyre go down all day. I had to go from learning to drive a four-wheel-drive to a two-wheel-drive so it made me have some fun today.”

The 500 marked a reversal of the San Felipe 250, where Menzies won the pole but finished second to McMillin; the duo also finished 1–2 at the 2021 400. McMillin’s older brother Dan joined him on the overall podium.

Red Bull Powertrains announced earlier this week that they are to partner with American tool manufacturer Snap-on, as it continues to develop capability at its state of the art Formula 1 powertrain facility, which is housed at the Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes, UK.

Red Bull have recently fired up their very first 2026 prototype power unit (without ERS), as the Austrian side prepare for the distinct possibility that they may need to supply their own power units when the new engine regulations are introduced in 2026. Porsche had been in talks to supply Red Bull with powertrains, but any potential partnership broke down.

The new agreement means Snap-on will be providing hand and power tools for use at the facility, and in the testing labs that will help contribute to the short and long term success of the Red Bull Powertrains operation. On top of that Red Bull will use Snap-on’s Level Five Automated Tool Control (ATC) solution.

CEO and Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing Team and CEO of Red Bull Powertrains Christian Horner, is excited about the potential success that the partnership may bring.

“The creation of Red Bull Powertrains is one of the most ambitious projects we have ever undertaken at Red Bull and requires partnership with the highest achievers in every area of development. As a global innovator in the field of tool manufacture, Snap-on meets that criterion perfectly.

Oracle Red Bull Racing have announced that from 2023, their team will be wearing clothing made by premium sportswear brand Castore, to ensure that they can “perform no matter what they encounter”.

The partnership will see Castore supply the team with their clothing; however, in an exciting announcement for Red Bull fans, they too will be able to purchase the same high-performance clothing worn by the Austrian team’s colleagues next season.

Red Bull are a great sporting company for Castore to add to their impressive roster, which includes elite sporting sides from the Premier League, European football, international cricket and so many more. The Red Bull and Castore partnership makes so much sense given the way the two work.

Both Red Bull and Castore are known to push the limits on what is possible in their respected fields, with the premium sportswear brand having used sports science, unique technical fabrics and rigorous testing to deliver products capable of allowing athletes to perform to the highest standard in any environment.

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner recognises that this factor will be massively beneficial to his team, who work in varying environments and temperatures throughout the season. Horner is aware that “comfort” is a “crucial component” to being successful in the pinnacle of motorsport.

2022 F4 British Championship certified by FIA championship leader Alex Dunne has been selected as one of four drivers being evaluated by the Ferrari Driver Academy, working in partnership with the ACI (Automobile Club d’Italia).

Dunne is joined by son of the former F1 driver Luca Badoer, Brando Badoer, who is currently racing in the Italian and German Formula 4 championships, along with Kart racers James Egozi, and Sebastiano Pavan.

The Irish youngster has had a stellar year, currently leading the British F4 championship by 41 points having collected eleven wins along the way; and with two race weekends remaining he is definitely the driver to beat. Alongside this the 16-year-old is running a dual campaign competing in the Italian F4 championship, running third in the standings with three victories to his name.

“It’s obviously a great honour and a privilege to be selected for one of the Ferrari Driver Academy scouting camps,” says Dunne.

“It’s been a strong season for me on track, leading the British F4 championship and running up at the front in Italy. I’ve learned a lot, and gained some really valuable experience, which I’m sure will put me in a good place for the assessments.

The first round of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs came to a close Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, but none of the sixteen playoff drivers sniffed in it. After Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace played spoiler at Darlington and Kansas, Chris Buescher added to the chaos theory in a banner day for him and RFK Racing team-mate Brad Keselowski at Bristol.

Keselowski won Stage #1 before fading back, while Buescher ascended from his midfield starting position to take the lead when Christopher Bell spun with sixty laps remaining. Despite facing pressure from playoff contenders Chase Elliott and William Byron, Buescher kept them at bay to secure his second career win and first since the fog-shortened 2016 Pocono 400 2,238 days prior. The victory was also the first for RFK Racing under their current identity, with co-owner Jack Roush‘s last Cup win being 1,904 days ago with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the 2017 Coke Zero 400.

“This has been number one on my list for a really long time,” said Buescher. “I actually love this race track. It’s my favorite place, we come on concrete. […] This is one I’ve had circled for a really long time and if there was gonna be one this year to get, this is it.

“I don’t even know what that count is for the year now. I think that we knew we’ve had a ton of different winners this year and we’ve been really close and fighting hard to get here. We’ve had a great summer. A little bad luck, but we didn’t have any of that tonight. We had some good fortune and some good execution and a fast race car and got to park in Victory Lane.”

While RFK celebrated, many were reeling, especially after suffering power steering failures that resulted in retirements like pole winner Aric Almirola and his Stewart-Haas Racing ally Chase Briscoe. The Toyota camp was especially affected by the issue with Martin Truex Jr. finishing last due to power steering fluid being blown over his right-front tyre, and both of his 23XI Racing technical allies Wallace and Ty Gibbs also suffered the same fate. The Next Gen car has drawn increasing driver scrutiny as mechanical failures seem to follow trends, and Truex added to the chorus of negative comments by recalling Kevin Harvick‘s mention of “crappy parts.”