Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Upon his appointment as FIA President in 2021, among Mohammed Ben Sulayem‘s goals were to restructure the organisation such as adding a new position for Chief Executive Officer. This was realised on Thursday with the addition of Natalie Robyn, an American who most recently served as the CEO of Volvo Car Switzerland.

“The appointment of Natalie Robyn as our first ever CEO is a transformative moment for our Federation,” said Sulayem. “Her extensive experience and leadership will be crucial to improving our finances, governance and operations. She has a proven track record of delivering diversification and growth, as well as developing executive leadership capabilities which will be an extremely valuable asset to the FIA and our members and I welcome her to the team.”

After working for Bank of America and Delphi, Robyn entered the automotive industry with DaimlerChrysler in 2005 as an international management associate. She remained with the company (which eventually became Daimler AG, now Mercedes-Benz Group) through 2012, with her last role being as a senior manager of sales operation in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

She relocated to Switzerland to become the regional director of sales for Nissan in 2012. Three years later, she was named the International Vice President of Volvo’s EMEA department.

In January 2017, she was elevated to CEO of Volvo’s Swiss branch.

Heading into the final weekend of the FIA Formula 3 season, Oliver Bearman was fourth in the drivers’ standings, and despite picking up zero points in Zandvoort, the young Brit remained confident that the title was still in reach.

The weekend began fairly positively for the PREMA man, securing sixth place in qualifying, leaving him with every opportunity to fight his way to the front of the grid and overturn the deficit to Victor Martins in the lead of the championship.

Saturday’s sprint race once again reaped a significant reward for Bearman, as he made his way up to fifth after three laps, having started from seventh.

Bearman eventually made it up to fourth after safety car mayhem occurred during the race, and with two laps remaining he pulled off a stunning move to overtake Franco Colapinto and Jonny Edgar to claim second place and add another podium to his collection.

“I was getting ready to attack for the lead, but because of a hard-to-hear radio message, I didn’t realise that it was the final lap and I was taking the chequered flag just as I was thinking of attacking,” explained Bearman.

In the wake of Russia invading Ukraine, the FIA stipulated Russian and Belarusian drivers and teams could not compete under their respective countries’ flags and required them to sign a formal commitment condemning the war and affirming solidarity with Ukraine.

While some agreed to the terms like Formula One test driver Robert Shwartzman and Formula 3 competitor Alexander Smolyar, who respectively switched to Israeli and neutral FIA licences, others elected to pull out of their championships entirely (ironically including Smolyar’s team SMP Racing).

With the 2023 Dakar Rally looming and the war’s conclusion nowhere in sight, Russian and Belarusian teams have offered varying comments on whether they can get in. Vladimir Chagin, head of top Truck team KAMAZ-master, was recently in discussions with race organisers about permitting them to take part, though such is complicated by their parent company KAMAZ providing vehicles for the Russian military. Sergey Vyazovich of Belarusian Truck outfit MAZ-SPORTauto commented Wednesday there is a “99.9% chance” his team would not be able to enter due to ongoing sanctions on MAZ that preceded the invasion; said sanctions prevented the team from travelling to the 2022 Rally.

Meanwhile, Konstantin Zhiltsov secured his spot on the Dakar grid by acquiring an Israeli licence. His team-mate and driver Denis Krotov also intends to follow suit, though he has not specified his second licensor. Krotov and Zhiltsov finished twenty-eighth in the 2022 Cars category for X-raid Team, which marked the former’s fourth career Dakar, before winning the Silk Way Rally T1 class in July.

Taking part in Dakar since 2006, Zhiltsov scored a Cars podium in the 2013 edition with Leonid Novitskiy. While he mainly works with fellow Russian drivers, he attempted the 2020 race with FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas points leader Yazeed Al-Rajhi of Saudi Arabia.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series schedules will mostly be the same, but the few changes mark radically different turns for the sanctioning body set to enter its seventy-fifth year.

“As we prepare to celebrate our 75th anniversary season, we are committed to delivering a schedule that acknowledges the deep history and tradition of our sport while establishing a bold future that brings the best racing in the world to new markets and new fans,” said NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Development and Strategy Ben Kennedy. “The 2023 schedules are a product of continued collaboration across our industry and partners. We are incredibly proud of what our sport will have to offer fans next season, and excited to celebrate this milestone season with the most diverse compilation of tracks in motorsports.”

The season begins with Kennedy’s brainchild, a return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the exhibition Busch Light Clash after a successful inaugural run in 2021. The rest of the Cup schedule is mostly alike to the previous year, save for two massive changes as the All-Star Race on 21 May will take place at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway while the series visits a street circuit in Chicago on 2 July.

North Wilkesboro last hosted a Cup race in 1996 and had fallen into disrepair over the next two decades before restoration projects began earlier this year. The Truck Series will support the All-Star Race with its own event there, and previously ran a pair of races at the track in 1995 and 1996. The North Carolina speedway, whose location also places it in close proximity to sister track Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the following week’s Coca-Cola 600, takes over the exhibition from the much maligned Texas Motor Speedway, who will only host one Cup race for the first time since 2004.

Chicago will host the Cup and Xfinity Series in the first national series street races, giving the area a new event after losing Chicagoland Speedway. It will be one of eight Xfinity road course races including a new date at Sonoma Raceway to support the Cup Series, taking the slot filled by the Trucks.

The 2022 Race of Champions marked a stark shift from previous editions as it took place exclusively on ice and snow in Pite Havsbad, Sweden. The setup will return for the 2023 event on 28/29 January, retaining the traditional Nations Cup and individual Race of Champions knockout formats.

“I can’t think of a better place for my first race after I retire from Formula One than the Race of Champions,” said Sebastian Vettel, a seven-time Nations Cup winner. “This will be my eleventh appearance, and I keep coming back because it’s a special event, and so much fun. I don’t have much experience of racing on snow and ice so it made for a steep learning curve in Sweden earlier this year, and a very pleasant surprise to reach the individual final against Sébastien Loeb. I can’t wait to come back and give ROC-style ice racing another try and hopefully help Team Germany win another ROC Nations Cup title.”

While Vettel is more known for his circuit racing achievements, the snow/ice layout of ROC 2022 was a significant departure for him. Nevertheless, after finishing runner-up in the individual tournament, he expressed interest in trying off-road in the future which prompted Travis Pastrana, who was due to compete in the event before getting injured, to extend him a Nitro Rallycross invite.

While some such as Loeb and Johan Kristoffersson hail from off-roading backgrounds, many of the other drivers involved were more familiar with pavement versus snow and ice. This marked a stark change of pace for those like Vettel’s Team Germany partner Mick Schumacher, American IndyCar veteran Colton Herta, and Finland’s Mika Häkkinen.

True to the surface, Nitro Rallycross’ new FC1-X car was among the vehicles used at ROC 2022 alongside the FIA World Rallycross Championship’s RX2e and Polaris RZR, though the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport also appeared.

After claiming his second FIA Formula 3 victory of the 2022 season in the final round of the season in Monza, Franco Colapinto finished his F3 rookie season ninth in the overall standings.

The Argentinian picked up five podiums over the course of the season, which contributed greatly to his final total of seventy-six points.

Colapinto’s efforts made up eighty-four per cent of Van Amersfoort Racing’s points tally this season, as the Dutch outfit finished sixth in the teams’ championship in their first ever season.

Colapinto commented on his 2022 Formula 3 season and those who supported him throughout as he said:

“What a year it was! Entering our first season in FIA F3 with VAR I didn’t know what to expect. To finish it with two wins and 5 podiums is an absolute dream. I am thankful to everyone at Van Amersfoort Racing for their hard work and dedication. 

It seemed like a no-brainer decision to permanently keep Timo Scheider and Tamara Molinaro in the #42 XITE Energy Racing entry for the final two rounds of the 2022 Extreme E season in Antofagasta and Punta del Este, and that is exactly what the team did.

“I am thrilled to be racing the final two races of Extreme E Season #2 with XITE Energy Racing,” said Scheider. “I feel extremely passionate about this championship and cannot wait to get behind the wheel again in Chile.

“For Tamara and I to bag a podium in our first race together was amazing and I look forward to us and the team building on that momentum in South America.”

Molinaro and Scheider were previously Championship Drivers for Extreme E, meaning they served as advisors and reserves in the event of a regular driver being sidelined. The former would get her chance from the 2022 season’s start when she filled in for Klara Andersson at XITE for the Desert X Prix due to COVID-19, finishing sixth alongside team owner Oliver Bennett.

The duo were entrusted with the XITE #42 for the Island X Prix doubleheader in July as Andersson took over Molinaro’s slot as the female Championship Driver while Bennett was focusing on Nitro Rallycross. They immediately showed out by making the Final for the first race and finishing third before penalties promoted them to second and solidifying the team’s maiden podium. While the second round did not go as planned as they were classified last due to crash damage, their performance impressed enough to remain involved for the final two races.

The Prodrive Hunter T1+ might be the flagship vehicle of Bahrain Raid Xtreme, but the 2023 Dakar Rally will also see a pair of privateers piloting one. Less than a month after Vaidotas Žala announced he will drive a Hunter, Guerlain Chicherit did the same on Wednesday as part of a two-year agreement between his GCK Motorsport and Prodrive.

Chicherit’s first race with the Hunter will be the Rallye du Maroc on 1–6 October. After running the 2023 Dakar Rally on 31 December 2022 – 15 January 2023, he will run every race of that year’s World Rally-Raid Championship with the car.

The Frenchman ran the 2022 Rally in the GCK Thunder, a two-wheel-drive car powered by biofuel that used the Peugeot 3008 as a platform. Despite running as high as eighth, he dropped out after the eleventh stage.

“I was happy to be back at the Dakar earlier this year,” said Chicherit. “Unfortunately, we were made only too aware of the handicap two-wheel drive cars like our GCK Thunder have to deal with. So this time, we’ve opted for AWD.

“Competition is stiff. At least ten cars are capable of winning. But I think we are in with a chance of being out in front, especially as the course is difficult, very sandy, which is what I like, so I hope that we can clinch it. Whatever happens, the Prodrive programme will be beneficial to GCK Motorsport because it is part of a learning curve. The team needs to build up the confidence to take a hydrogen car to the top in the future.”

In 2021, Luke McMillin missed out on the Baja 400 pole by just .051 of a second to Bryce Menzies. Fast forward a year later and he was able to return the favour by over seven seconds.

McMillin topped Wednesday’s qualifying with a time of 6:37.153 ahead of Menzies in the Trophy Truck class. The two also traded blows at the SCORE International 2022 season opener in San Felipe, where Menzies won the pole but finished runner-up to McMillin.

While coming up short, Menzies is the defending 400 winner. He will hope to turn his fortune around after suffering an engine failure in the Baja 500.

“We had a really good run. It was a lot of fun,” said McMillin. “We got going, took out of the hole really good. This truck just has so many things I want to say but I can’t say. I don’t want to tell everyone what I felt too much, but there’s just a couple characteristics about this truck that are just unbelievable.”

In contrast to his younger brother, Dan McMillin suffered a blown tyre during his lap and finished last of the twenty-six Trophy Trucks. Toby Price qualified seventh in Team Australia‘s first race.

Despite only being twenty-five years of age, Jesse Little will hang up his driving helmet following Thursday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“I want to thank each fan, friend, partner, and family member that has helped me pursue my dream of being a race car driver,” Little posted on social media. “Thank you for all the shared smiles and successes. The relationships I’ve built with people in the industry will last forever. As well as all the memories made in and around the track. When I was a kid, I would have never imagined living this life, and I want to thank you all for helping me do so.

“I’m excited to begin a new career after this weekend’s race at Bristol. And while I won’t be climbing in race cars anymore, I’ll still be at the track, and I look forward to seeing you all there.”

Son of former driver Chad Little, he grew up in short track racing before entering the now-ARCA Menards Series East in 2012. In 2014, he won his maiden race and finished sixth in East points before moving up to the Truck Series with his family team.

Little spent the next five years competing part-time with various Truck teams, during which he notched seven top tens. In 2018, he ran a pair of Cup Series races at Kentucky and Bristol, finishing thirty-fifth in both.

Brandon Jones will return to the manufacturer with whom he began his NASCAR career as he rejoins Chevrolet with JR Motorsports for the 2023 Xfinity Series season. He will drive the #9 Camaro set to be vacated by the Cup Series-bound Noah Gragson.

Jones’ father JR Jones is the CEO of Rheem, a longtime Chevrolet team sponsor in the early 2010s which allowed him to begin racing with the make in NASCAR’s regional tiers. He spent three years with Richard Childress Racing from 2015 to 2017 before joining Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota from 2018 onwards. With JGR, he has scored five victories and made the playoffs every year, and is currently seventh in points with a win at Martinsville.

He has also raced for JGR’s ARCA Menards Series programme in 2022, winning three of his four starts at Charlotte, Iowa, and Watkins Glen. The exception was a third at Pocono.

“Brandon’s been a tough competitor over the years, and he’s a talented addition to JR Motorsports,” said JRM co-owner and general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller. “He’s a series veteran that brings a lot of experience, and we’re going to see big things from Brandon and the #9 team in 2023.”

Jones’ departure continues a trend of exits for JGR after 2022, most notably Kyle Busch announcing he would also head to Chevrolet with RCR. Amusingly, Jones and Busch’s new numbers are the same as their JGR counterparts except they drop the ‘1’ digit.

A frustrating Sunday afternoon for Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team saw both, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll retire from the race due to mechanical issues. Having started the race in eleventh and twelfth; an ERS issue would put Vettel out of the race as early as lap eleven; while Stroll was asked to pit on lap forty to retire the car.

Mike Krack, Team Principal at Aston Martin, says that the decision to retire the Canadian from the race was a “precaution” in order to save the power unit from unnecessary mileage, which lowers the risk of needing to take an engine penalty in the final six races.

“Lance battled hard in the early laps, running as high as tenth, but we did not quite have the pace on this track layout and, as the race progressed, it became clear that points were out of reach. With 14 laps to go, we retired Lance’s car as a precaution to save engine mileage.

“Sebastian’s race was relatively short when he was forced to retire on lap 11 with a suspected ERS issue. He was losing power before smoke appeared and we asked him to stop the car.

“The focus now moves to Singapore at the end of this month – a circuit where we expect a more completive showing,” the Team Principal concluded.

Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix certainly didn’t go to plan for Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team, who were forced to retire both, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, from the race as a result of mechanical issues.

Having started the race from eleventh and twelfth respectively, there was certainly an opportunity for the Aston Martin pair to score some points, especially with the numerous penalties that were taken from faster cars. However, the first failure of the race would happen to the four-time champion, Vettel, on lap twelve of the race. The German reports that an ERS issue caused a loss of power, prior to him stopping on track and causing a Virtual Safety Car.

“Unfortunately, we had an issue with the ERS and we had to stop the car. I noticed a drop in power beforehand, and then I was told to pull off the circuit. Overall, this was just a tough weekend for us,” the number five driver explained.

“I was hopeful for a decent race, but we struggled for pace and then had the problem that forced our retirement. The atmosphere was fantastic, however, so a huge thank you to the fans for their support this weekend.”

“I think we will be more competitive in Singapore” – says Stroll

Following the race around Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Stroll has revealed that the reason behind his late race retirement was an agreed decision to save the power unit for future events. While the Canadian didn’t open up on the exact issues he suffered with his British racing green-coloured car, he remains optimistic for the Singapore Grand Prix in three Sundays’ time.

Leland Honeyman Jr. will enter the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the first time this Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway. He will drive the #20 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Young’s Motorsports.

The 17-year-old sits third in the ARCA Mneards Series East points entering the final race of the season, scheduled to take place hours before the Truck event. Two of the starts at Iowa and Milwaukee were combination races with the national ARCA Menards Series.

Save for an eleventh in the Milwaukee joint race, he recorded top tens in the first five rounds including a runner-up at Five Flags Speedway.

“I am really excited to get back into the seat knowing that I am going to be racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series along with the ARCA Menards Series on the same night,” said Honeyman. “Bristol is such an amazing track. I have been preparing myself by spending a lot of time on the simulator this week and I hope that will pay off for both races on Thursday night.

“I’d love to take a good run from the ARCA race and apply it towards a successful top-twenty finish in the Truck Series.”

Jeremy Clements locked himself into the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs with his win at Daytona, then lost his eligibility, then regained it.

On Tuesday, Jeremy Clements Racing announced their appeal of the L2-level penalty for an intake manifold violation has been overturned, restoring the Daytona win and playoff spot.

“Our small, family-owned team works hard to bring a safe, legal and competitive car to the racetrack every week and are pleased that the previous ruling was overturned,” reads a JCR statement. “We remain focused on competing for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and appreciate the continued support of our fans and sponsors.”

Albeit aided by multiple overtime crashes, Clements’ Daytona win was a massive underdog moment for a team whose first and last win came exactly five years prior. Despite passing post-race inspection, the #51 car was taken to NASCAR’s Research & Development Center where it was found to have violated Sections 14.6.12 K and U of the NASCAR rulebook concerning the intake manifold.

The penalty revoked his playoff eligibility but allowed him to keep the win, though the former meant he needed to win again which he struggled to do with twenty-first-place finishes across the next two races at Darlington and Kansas. However, the restored playoff position locks him back in with one race remaining.