Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

A dominant one-two finish for Toyota Gazoo Racing in Sunday’s 6 Hours of Fuji ensured the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship title battle in the Hypercar class will go down to the wire in Bahrain.

The #8 Toyota of Sebastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley were seemingly in a class of their own in Japan and were untouchable once they took over the lead from the sister #7 car of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez just after the ninety minute mark.

In a trouble-free race for Toyota, the #8 closed out the victory by more than a minute, while the third placed #36 Alpine of Andre Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere was more than two laps down.

The combination of the result means the #8 Toyota and the #36 Alpine will go into the season finale in Bahrain level on one hundred and twenty-one points, while the #7 Toyota is twenty-six points further back in third.

Completing the Hypercar field in Japan were the Peugeot TotalEnergies team, although both the #93 of Paul di Resta, Mikkel Jensen and Jean-Eric Vergne and the #94 of Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes and James Rossiter had problematic races.

After an FIA Formula 1 World Championship debut at the Italian Grand Prix to remember for Nyck de Vries, Williams Racing’s Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson has heaped the praise on the Dutch driver stating that de Vries ‘drove an excellent race’ at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

Nyck de Vries was drafted in at last minute’s notice on Saturday to replace Alex Albon as the Thai driver had fallen ill with appendicitis, Albon has since recovered following surgery and was discharged from hospital on Tuesday.

The Dutch driver had seen his original qualifying position of thirteenth improved come race day and lined up on the fourth row of the grid in eighth place. Throughout the first eight laps, de Vries was able to hold onto his position but he would soon fall back a place on lap nine as Carlos Sainz Jr. made it past the stand-in Williams driver.

Williams and de Vries opted for an aggressive one-stop strategy which saw the Dutchmen start on the soft tyre and on lap twenty pit for a set of medium tyres to take him to the end of the race. The 2021 FIA Formula E champion rejoined the grid in fourteenth place and was able to work his way back into the points by the time of the late safety car.

Williams resisted the temptation to pit de Vries for a fresher set of soft tyres during the late safety-car period and with the race finishing under the safety car it had proved to be a wise decision by the team. De Vries went on to cross the finish line in ninth place to become the sixty-seventh driver in Formula 1 history to score points in their debut race.

BWT Alpine F1 Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer was dissatisfied to leave the Italian Grand Prix with no points to add to the tally, with Esteban Ocon finishing eleventh after starting fourteenth and Fernando Alonso retiring from sixth place on lap thirty-one with what is believed to be a water pressure issue. 

“We’re certainly disappointed not to have scored points at today’s Italian Grand Prix with Esteban narrowly missing out in eleventh and Fernando retiring from the race while in a competitive position.

“It looks like we lost water pressure on his car, which meant he had to stop, and we’ll do our normal investigations to find out the cause and the solution for the future.”

Szafnauer said that Ocon missed out on an opportunity to battle for a points position in the final laps with the race ending under safety car conditions, and hopes to see safety car procedures reviewed in order to avoid this in the future. 

“On Esteban’s side, he put himself into a strong position during his second stint – lapping one-second a lap quicker than those ahead – and would have been in contention for points before the final Safety Car at the end.

BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon finished just outside the points with an eleventh place finish at the Italian Grand Prix. He said that his A522 was working well, though traffic ended up hindering his ability to move forward during the race.

“It was a tricky race today and obviously it’s disappointing to finish just one position away from the points in the end. The car was performing well, and we had good race pace, which we weren’t able to show with traffic ahead. 

With the fast-paced European segment of the season complete, Ocon plans to take advantage of the two weekends off of racing to rest and get ready for the Singapore Grand Prix and the final stretch of the season.

“We’ll refocus and maximise everything for the remaining races from Singapore and onwards. I’m looking forward to a little break to recover from the triple header and fully prepare for the flyaway races where we’ll look to get both cars back into the points in our fight for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.”

“I was hoping we could see the chequered flag inside the points, but it wasn’t the case today” – Fernando Alonso

Team-mate Fernando Alonso had to retire from the race on lap thirty-one with what the team believed to be a water pressure leak. Having been running in sixth before he was brought back to the garage, he was disappointed to miss out on points for the team.

A lights-to-flag win at Knockhill kickstarted the second half of my season! Sometimes a win in Ginetta Juniors is a bit of luck being in the right place in the front pack to pick up the spoils from the fallout on the last lap. But this was one I took charge of and owned it. Knockhill in Dunfermline, Scotland, is by the far the furthest round on the calendar for myself and the team. Unlike last season, we didn’t go to a test there before race week. But I felt good about performing well as it is a driver’s circuit like Croft where I had shown winning pace and race craft.

We arrived on the Tuesday of race week for a test day. There was also a test the day before that we didn’t attend. We quickly adapted to the circuit and caught up and finished fifth quickest.

On the race weekend, we have 2 practice sessions on a Friday and I topped the timesheets in both sessions. I was aiming for nothing less than pole position Saturday morning. However having quickly caught up other cars, I hit traffic on the 3 qualifying laps that we are limited to and qualified second for race 1 and third for race 2. We can win from there.

In race 1 I was determined to get to the front given the pace I had shown, so on the first lap I made a bold move around the outside of the hairpin to take the lead. I have tried moves around the outside before, but it does run the risk of being taken out. But this time I chose a line that kept me out of harm’s way. I took the lead on lap one and started to pull away. Halfway through the race there was an incident that brought out the safety car which eroded the gap I had made. After the safety car pulled in I did a good restart and pulled a gap again. I couldn’t break the tow, which is difficult with the engine power in juniors, but I maintained the gap to the end to take my first win! All the pressure I had been through to prove what I know I am capable of, was lifted.

It felt really good for myself and for the team, to take mine and their first win of the season! It’s amazing how much the fans watch the juniors. The congratulations I received at the track and online were amazing! That was even before I posted the result myself. I really appreciate my sponsors for believing in me. Not forgetting Ginetta Cars for putting me on the grid last season with the scholarship and Fox Motorsport, running out of their stable. Thank you all. It was great to have Graham Marginson of Integrated Air Systems and Tom White of Trustic Motors up at Knockhill to celebrate it.

Brazilian driver Sérgio Sette Câmara has been confirmed as half of NIO 333 Formula E Team‘s driver line-up for Season Nine of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with Dan Ticktum expected to soon be announced as his team-mate for the start of Gen3.

Câmara makes the switch to NIO 333 having left the Dragon/Penske Autosport at the end of Season Eight, on the back of scoring his first ever point in the all-electric series at the penultimate round at the London E-Prix.

Whilst Câmara has often struggled during the races, the Brazilian’s pace is unquestionable, having featured in the Qualifying Duels (final eight) many times last season. Câmara is testing NIO 333’s ER9 challenger (their Gen3 car) at the Autodromo di Varano in Italy this week.

The Brazilian made his Formula E debut for Dragon back at the 2019/20 six-race Berlin season finale, before being awarded a full-time seat with the team the following season and last season.

Câmara is “very happy” to be joining the “NIO 333 family”, where his eyes are already set on the “new Gen3 car”.

Anton Marklund could seal his second FIA European Rallycross Championship title with a round to spare the Lusorecursos World RX of Portugal (17/18 September). The Swedish driver has a comfortable lead over his main rival, the luckless Janis Baumanis, who needs to outscore Marklund by at least 7 points to have a hope of winning the title.

If Marklund wins the event on Sunday 18 September, there is nothing his rivals will be able to do. The SET Promotion driver has been the dominant force this season, winning the first two rounds, and narrowly missing out on victory in the subsequent two. Crucially, neither of the other winners this year have been permanent entries in the championship. Norway’s Andreas Bakkerud secured a very popular home win in Hell in round three, and his compatriot Sondre Evjen produced a stunning display in the wet last time out in Latvia to secure a fantastic win. Having beaten Marklund off the line, he coped brilliantly with the pressure being heaped upon him by the Swede, keeping his cool and defending his position to claim the win.

These performances, while meaning he was beaten on the day, have meant that Marklund’s main rivals have been kept at bay. Belgium’s Enzo Ide has demonstrated stunning pace at times this year, frequently being in the mix for the top positions at various points over race weekends but ultimately failing to deliver when it mattered. Baumanis, driving for #YellowSquad, has had appalling luck and consequently has never really got his title campaign underway, despite being second in the championship.

In round four of the championship at the Biķernieki circuit in Latvia, Baumanis showed great pace throughout the weekend, but suffered a freak intercooler issue during the semi-final, meaning he did not progress to the final. Team manager Eric Färén expressed disappointment at this turn of events, saying “Until the technical issue happened in the lead of the semi-final, we had a very solid weekend. We struggled a little to find the last tiny bit of pace, but Janis had some very good race wins in the heats. The intercooler problem was just a freak thing, we have never seen that happen in all the years Hansen Motorsport has run this setup in World RX on the Peugeot 208, so it is just one of those things.”

While it may well be “just one of those things,” the simple fact is that Marklund has not suffered any major reliability issues so far this season. He has been able to deliver when it counts in a car that seems perfectly set up for him, and consistently scores a large number of points. For anyone to stop him taking the crown for the second time, there needs to be a major change of fortunes.

The 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship is heading back to where it all began. The second double-header event of the season takes place on 17/18 September with the Lusorecursos World RX of Portugal at Montalegre, where the drivers will be hoping to end the dominant reign of four-time world champion Johan Kristoffersson.

Montalegre hosted the first ever round of the World Rallycross Championship back in 2014. For those unacquainted with international rallycross circuits, it quickly became a firm favourite, situated as it is some 1,000m above sea level in the middle of the beautiful Vila Real mountains. It’s a circuit where getting into the flow of the undulating turns is crucial, as is the ability to adapt. The ever-changeable weather led to WorldRX’s first final in the snow back in 2018.

In 2014, the question was could anyone match the blistering pace of Petter Solberg. While the championship has changed dramatically since its inception, the question of trying to bring down a giant of the sport remains the same. Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson entered this year with an extraordinary track record, winning more races and championship titles than anyone else in the sport’s short history. He has certainly proved his dominance in the new RX1e all electric class at the pinnacle of the sport, having won every single event so far this year. And he has not had it all his own way either. In every case, he has had to fight to get his Volkswagen Polo RX1e to the front of the field, which begs the question of his rivals: how on Earth are they going to stop him?

Leading the fight back against the mighty Kristoffersson is the Hansen World RX Team fraternal pairing of Timmy and Kevin Hansen. Kevin was the driver to beat for the majority of Saturday last time out in Riga, and team principal Kenneth Hansen is certain there is more to be gained from the car. “It should have been so much more, especially on Sunday. We should have managed the tactics better in the final but we will learn from this,” Kenneth said, reporting on the action from Latvia. “We didn’t have the speed on Saturday but managed to get a good result in the end, then we put our heads together and tried some strange things with the cars. You need to risk things sometimes to be able to win and we managed to get the cars better.” With an improved set up and better tactical nous, maybe Portugal is where it will all come together for the family team.

However, they will have to contend with not one but three Kristoffersson Motorsport drivers. Ole Christian Veiby is now a regular sight on the WorldRX podium, learning the sport having spent seven years away from it. Another fast learner is the third driver, Swedish teenager Gustav Bergström who earned high praise from all quarters in Latvia, demonstrating incredible quick starts and beautiful tactical driving which undoubtedly helped Kristoffersson to victory.

In 2011, Richard Childress punched Kyle Busch and pit him in a headlock following a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas. Over a decade later, incidentally two days after the Cup Series event there, the two will join forces.

In one of—if not the biggest free agency signings in Cup Series history, Busch will depart Joe Gibbs Racing for Richard Childress Racing beginning with the 2023 Cup season. He will drive the #8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, marking a return to the manufacturer with whom he began his Cup career in 2004.

“The addition of Kyle Busch to the Richard Childress Racing lineup is significant, not only for our organisation, but for the sport as a whole,” stated team owner Richard Childress. “Kyle is a proven contender at the highest levels of the sport, and I believe that his experience and dedication to motorsports will elevate our race program across the board. I’ve always admired Kyle’s driving style and his ability to win and race for championships ever since he entered the sport. Who wouldn’t want a proven NASCAR Cup Series Champion driving their car?”

Busch entered the Cup Series in a Chevrolet with Hendrick Motorsports and spent five years there before joining Joe Gibbs Racing. Over the next fifteen seasons, he turned the JGR #18 M&M’s Toyota Camry into a household face with fifty-six wins and two championships.

However, M&M’s will end its longstanding sponsorship after 2022 at the same time that Busch’s contract with JGR expires. Unable to find sufficient sponsorship or agree to new terms, Busch was courted by teams like RCR and Kaulig Racing before making it official on Tuesday.

The FIA Formula 3 all-women testing will take place this weekend on the sixteenth and seventeenth of September at Magny-Cours in France, where four female drivers will get behind the wheel of the Formula 3 car.

On the first day of the test, Abi Pulling and Hamada Al Qubaisi will get the opportunity to drive the Formula 3 machinery.

Originally, Chloe Chambers and Tereza Babickova were to take to the track on the second day, however, due to an injury to Babickova, Nerea Marti will join Chambers at Magny-Cours.

Marti also had the opportunity to partake in a similar test last November, where she displayed excellent potential, warranting a second opportunity this Saturday.

“First of all, I hope Tereza has a speedy recovery and I look forward to seeing her back on track as soon as possible,” said Marti

In 2021, fresh off his third Dakar Rally Quad class victory, Ignacio Casale decided to switch to the much larger Trucks with Buggyra Racing. After two years of piloting a Tatra Phoenix for the team, he announced Monday that he has left the organisation. His 2023 plans were not immediately revealed.

“In this post I want to inform you that I no longer belong to the @buggyra_racing @tatratrucks team,” began Casale’s entry. “I want to thank the entire Buggyra team for these two fantastic 2 seasons that we lived together on my Tatra truck. Thank you for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to drive the spectacular Tatra. Thanks also to my boss, Martin Koloc, who became a great friend. I’m sure that just is a “see you soon”. Soon I will report on my future and Dakar 2023. I hug everyone.”

Casale made his Dakar début in the Trucks in 2010, where he shared an Atakama with his father Francisco and finished twenty-sixth. He moved to Bikes for just the following year before committing to the Quads. In eight tries, he took the Quad win in 2014, 2018, and 2020. He also entered the SSV category in 2019.

Seeking a new challenge, he returned to Truck racing with Buggyra in 2021 and finished ninth. His 2022 Rally saw a pair of stage retirements but ended on a strong note as he placed third in the last leg and classified twenty-seventh. While he was able to finish both tries, he struggled with mechanical issues throughout his Buggyra Dakar tenure. For example, Stage #5 of the 2022 race saw Casale arrive at the bivouac late due to major engine problems that knocked him out of the previous leg, and he was able to muster speed for a top-ten run before his Phoenix lost cylinders and its turbocharger.

Outside of Dakar, he primarily competes in domestic cross-country rallies in his native Chile such as last month’s Atacama Rally.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal of Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN is happy with the Italian Grand Prix weekend as Guanyu Zhou secures a tenth place finish – the team’s first point since the Canadian Grand Prix. Despite a grid penalty and an early race collision for Valtteri Bottas, Vasseur believes the performance over the weekend was strong, and hopes to earn more points in the upcoming races.

“We had a positive weekend as a team, and the point we brought home with Zhou is a good reward. We had pace from Friday onwards, including in Q1 where Zhou was in P6, but we still had to get the job done today. We fought well in the midfield, even though overtaking was hard, and didn’t really do mistakes with Zhou so we could maximise our returns from the race,” the Frenchman explained.

Bottas’ early-race collision was at the narrow Turn One chicane of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, where he hit the back of Kevin Magnussen, before being hit behind from Mick Schumacher in the other Haas F1 Team car. The Finn says that the car went into anti-stall, which cost him some places at the start, as well as the damage sustained to the front wing.

“Unfortunately, Valtteri’s day was compromised by the damage he suffered at the start, but the key takeaway here is our performance: if we carry it over to the next rounds, we can aim to bring home more points to our name,” Vasseur concluded.

The Italian Grand Prix was a good race for Guanyu Zhou, who scored his first points in seven races during a late-race battle with Mick Schumacher.

The middle of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season has been rather unfortunate for Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN‘s rookie, Guanyu Zhou. However, his fortunes may be changing as a tenth place finish at the Italian Grand Prix would mark the Chinese driver’s first points in seven races.

The number twenty-four driver explained that he is ‘really happy’ with the result, after a late-race scrap with Nick De Vries before the Safety Car was deployed:

“I am really happy with today’s result and with the work that has been done in the past few weeks; it’s been a tough journey since Montreal, because we were very strong at the beginning of the season and then our performances had a dip; but being back in the points today is an amazing feeling, a great result both for the team and for Alfa Romeo.

“We knew we had a chance today, our pace was good and it allowed us to be in the fight with the other teams. We have a couple of weeks off now, which will give us time to rest after the triple-header and, above all, to analyze what worked this weekend and what went wrong in the previous races, to come prepared and motivated ahead of the next ones.

As Formula 1 prepares to race in Singapore and Japan, Zhou says that he is looking forward to the seeing his fans.

Nicholas Latifi now appears to be under even more pressure after another disappointing result at the Italian Grand Prix, after enduring a difficult afternoon at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

The Canadian driver has failed to score a single point this season and sits twenty-first in the standings, behind Nyck de Vries, who finished in ninth on his Formula 1 debut in place of Alex Albon.

The pressure seems to be ever increasing on Latifi and he looks to have a tough challenge on his hands to keep his seat next season. Latifi started tenth on Sunday, but immediately dropped to fifteenth within a few laps, while his inexperienced interim team-mate was running in the top ten.

The Canadian will be hoping to rejuvenate his 2023 hopes in Singapore, but time looks to be running out.

“A very tough race. I was compromised at the start being sandwiched between a few cars and trying to avoid damage. A lot of cars cut the first corner without any penalties. Unfortunately, we had a slow pit-stop which left us with very little to play for in the race.

Williams Racing finished with a rare points finish thanks to Nyck de Vries in round sixteen of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, at the Italian Grand Prix.

Alex Albon was diagnosed with appendicitis on the day of qualifying, meaning that the former Formula 2 and Formula E World Champion had to finish the race weekend at very short notice.

De Vries out-qualified his team-mate and made it through to the second part of qualifying, but he started in the top ten due to grid penalties. Expectations were not too high pre-race given that it was his debut, but his performance has definitely helped him in his mission to secure a full-time Formula 1 racing seat.

The young driver found himself in a DRS train for most of the race, showing a great display of confidence and composure to finish the race in a point scoring position. At the end of the Grand Prix, the Dutchman was voted ‘Driver Of The Day after equalling Williams’ best finish of the season.

“I’m feeling really good about today and think it was crucial to get the start right and a clean run into lap one. I got into a DRS train which helped to stick with the pack, however I think the pace was really good and we made a good call on strategy and tyre management.