Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

McLaren F1 Team head into the Italian Grand Prix on the back foot in their battle with BWT Alpine F1 Team for fourth in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship Constructors Standings.

The team will be hoping for an increase in form as they look to head into the final part of the season with momentum. In Zandvoort, Daniel Ricciardo failed to score points, finishing seventeenth place after a poor qualifying, and teammate Lando Norris finished seventh place. Despite a decent score of points for Norris, Alpine still outscored the Surrey-based outfit.

Team Principal, Andreas Seidl is hoping for a good result and a chance to maximise points in the fight against Alpine. He also spoke about his excitement to be back in the place where Ricciardo led Norris in a 1-2 finish last season as it holds fond memories of the team’s first win in 12 years.

“It’s great to be back in Monza with the fantastic fans, and the site of our amazing 1-2 last year.“

Seidl is interested to see the potential of the new cars around this extremely high-speed and exciting circuit.

After Jonny Edgar was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease after the first round of FIA Formula 3 in Bahrain, the Brit missed the next two race weekends of the season in Imola and Barcelona. 

Edgar returned in round four at Silverstone, and subsequently picked up four points at the British grand prix. 

The Red Bull junior repeated this points tally in round five in Spielberg, however, Edgar failed to pick up any points in round six Budapest. 

In round seven in Spa-Francorchamps, Edgar picked up his best points tally of the season, scoring eighteen points. Going into the penultimate race weekend of the season, Edgar would look to take momentum from Spa and pick up a healthy tally of points once again.

The weekend started well for the eighteen year old as he managed to get a quality flying lap in before the session was red flagged, to qualify eighth and therefore started Saturday’s sprint race from fifth and Sunday’s feature race eighth on the grid.

This weekend the FIA Formula 1 World Championship heads to Italy for the Italian Grand Prix. McLaren F1 Team will be hoping for a successful Grand Prix, especially after losing even more ground to BWT Alpine F1 Team in the battle for fourth in the constructors’ standings.

Daniel Ricciardo knows the chances of a repeat of the 2021 Monza heroics will be near impossible but he will be hoping for a more successful weekend than the one he had at Zandvoort. The eight-time race winner is currently without an F1 seat after McLaren cut his contract short to hire last year’s F2 World Champion, Oscar Piastri. The Australian’s performances will have to improve if he is to stay in Formula 1 in 2023 and beyond.

Despite all the rumours and criticism surrounding Ricciardo, he is looking forward to returning to Monza for the first time since that McLaren 1-2 last season.

“Monza will always have a special place in my heart. Whilst another 1-2 isn’t really on the cards this time around, hopefully, we can still bring you a little bit of Italian magic. I’m excited for the track, the amazing fans and the incredible food – the key combination for a good weekend.  

“Zandvoort was a tough one for me but I’m keeping my head held high. I’ll keep pushing through and try to end the season on a high. We’ve had a good look at the data and had a deep dive into how we can play it for the upcoming weekend to hopefully get back up the pointy end.

Nyck de Vries will take part in the Free Practice 1 for the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team for this week’s FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

De Vries has already taken part in two practice sessions this season, with the 27-year-old Dutchman viewed as a potential candidate for an F1 seat in the coming seasons. His first session of the season came with Williams Racing, where he replaced Alex Albon in Spain. The other came with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, where he stepped in for seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton in France.

The 2020-21 FIA Formula E World Champion will step in for Sebastian Vettel and has taken extensive simulator work at Aston Martin’s Silverstone headquarters.

“I am really looking forward to driving for AMF1, particularly at such a legendary circuit as Monza. It will be my third FP1 session of the season, and in the third different Formula One chassis and these opportunities have given me a fantastic insight into how Formula One cars and teams function and operate.“

“I hope I can bring a fresh perspective to the AMF1 team and can undertake a run-programme that proves beneficial to us both.”

The FIA Formula 3 championship has announced a test in France planned for mid-September with four female drivers set to take part.

The test is part of a larger agenda for diversity across the FIA single-seater pyramid to give better access to more female drivers. This will be only the second time a female focus test will be run in a FIA Formula 3 car, with four drivers carrying out a similar test last year.

The session will consist of a full day of testing, with two cars on track each day. The hope is that this will help introduce women to the series and help them get used to the challenges of the Formula 3 car.

Abi Pulling, who finished the W series season in fourth, will take to the track on day one. Formula 4 and Formula regional driver Hamada Al Qubasi will join pulling on the first day of testing in France.

On the second day, American driver Chloe Chambers and Czech driver Tereza Babickova will get behind the wheel and undergo testing in the FIA Formula 3 car.

After losing his NASCAR Xfinity Series ride due to a lack of funding, Brett Moffitt has landed back in the Camping World Truck Series as he returns to AM Racing for Friday’s race at Kansas Speedway.

“AM Racing is proud to have Brett Moffitt back behind the wheel of our #22 Chevrolet Silverado at Kansas Speedway,” said team principal Kevin Cywinski. “Brett has been an asset to our organization in his two prior races with us and we know given his talent and track record at Kansas we will have an opportunity to contend for the win.”

The 2018 Truck Series champion ran Knoxville with AM in June, but crashed out and finished thirty-second. He also contested the 2021 Knoxville race with the team only to retire from that as well.

Moffitt had been running full-time in the Xfinity Series for Our Motorsports before departing the team after Indianapolis in July for sponsorship issues. Our has since replaced Moffitt with Truck driver Blaine Perkins for the rest of the year.

“I am really excited to get back behind the #22 Chevrolet Silverado RST for AM Racing at Kansas,” commented Moffitt. “We’ve had a fair amount of success at Kansas Speedway over the years in Trucks. Thanks to everyone at AM Racing for allowing me to get back in their truck for this race and all of the partners for their support throughout this year.”

Roy Nissany has become the third driver this season to be forced to sit out of a FIA Formula 2 race weekend due to penalty points on his licence after exceeding the maximum twelve allowed during the Feature race in the Netherlands on Sunday.

DAMS driver Nissany was given a ten-second time penalty during the race at the Circuit Zandvoort for contact with Van Amersfoort Racing’s David Beckmann as the two jostled for position behind Marino Sato as the safety car was deployed following an opening lap crash by Logan Sargeant.

The incident also gave Nissany two penalty points, meaning his total for the 2022 season now tallies at thirteen, putting him over the allowable limit and implementing the race ban.

“Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined that Car 16 (Nissany) and Car 24 (Beckmann) were driving side by side behind Car 4 (Sato),” read the statement from the FIA.

“Car 16 had decided that he was in front of Car 24 when the Safety Car was deployed so he pushed to stay in front.  

Felipe Drugovich put one hand onto the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship title on Sunday as he took victory at Circuit Zandvoort in a red-flag and safety car affected Feature race.

The Brazilian started from pole position and took his fourth Feature race victory of the season – his fifth win overall – to stretch his lead to sixty-nine points with just seventy-eight available.

Drugovich’s position was helped by main rival Théo Pourchaire enduring a difficult weekend that saw him score only two points, while Logan Sargeant and Jack Doohan both crashed out.

MP Motorsport’s Drugovich held onto the lead heading into turn one on lap one with Doohan slotting into second, but Sargeant ran wide and through the gravel trap at turn one, which put him towards the back of the field.  He would only get to turn seven, however, when the Carlin driver clipped the back of Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung and struck the barrier.

Initially the safety car was deployed, behind which David Beckmann and Roy Nissany found time to collide with each other, but soon the red flag was needed due to required repairs to the barriers where Sargeant crashed out.

It was no surprise that Ryan Unzicker was the car to beat during the ARCA Menards Series race at DuQuoin. Due to qualifying being canceled from inclement weather, Unzicker had to start from the 20th position, and when the first caution came out on lap four, Unzicker had already made it to the third position. He had a hard-fought battle with Jesse Love, but after taking the lead from him on lap 18, he would be unstoppable for the rest of the race.

The race would ultimately end on lap 78, due to periods of rain showers. Unzicker was in the lead at the time and was later declared the winner of the race. It was only his second career ARCA Menards Series win, his first one coming at the Springfield Mile in 2020. It was also a special win, as this was the final scheduled race for Unzicker’s team owner, Bill Hendren.

“Well, that’s how good he is,” Hendren said during an interview. “You know, the car was okay, but he’s so good. And, you know, we would of waited a long time ago if it wasn’t for Ryan, that’s just the kind of person he is.”

“It was a tough one,” Unzicker said after the race. “I had to really rely on my General Tires to get the grip on the restart. I knew I had to try to beat [Love] into [Turn] 1, and he got a good run. Coming off of [Turn] 2 I slipped up a little bit and went high because there was a little bit of rain back there. He was able to get underneath us down the backstretch. Somehow I got it pulled off there.”

Jesse Love started the race from the pole and would lead the first few laps, before getting past by Unzicker.

It’s been a busy summer with GCSE exams and racing but I thought I’d update everyone on how things have progressed since my last article.

Round three of the GB3 Championship at Donington Park proved a positive weekend with my first race win in race one, seventh place in race two and sixth place in the frenetic reverse-grid race. The race win was special as it was my first in GB3 and my first at Donington. I’m pleased we will be returning at the end of the season.

Snetterton at the end of June also proved productive, albeit not quite as good for points. I got my first pole position of the 2022 series, and, after a good start, I converted that to a lights-to-flag win in race one; a pretty much perfect Saturday! This was going to be difficult to match on Sunday and it proved to be, as I had a “moment” at turn one whilst I was running fifth in race two and unfortunately span out. The final reverse-grid race of the weekend was a case of damage limitation as I started at the back – the downside to pole position – and had to use old tyres, so it was always going to be tough to move forward under those conditions.

The GB3 series then moved to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium in July for its only foreign race. Although I really enjoyed the track I did struggle in qualifying, indeed so did the whole team, and finished mid-pack. Again, it was a question of maximising the points I could in races one and two and trying my best for the reverse-grid race. This I did coming over the line in first after the restart caused by a red flag for my third win of the year. Only afterwards, once all the teams had packed up and left – indeed we were halfway through France – did we discover the restart grid had been incorrectly set by the stewards and, as the restart, was deemed non-compliant. I was therefore relegated to second, my position one lap prior to the red flag. This was quite tough for all the drivers affected as there had been plenty of time to properly set the grid, but mistakes happen and I guess that’s motorsport!

A week later we were at Silverstone again and it proved successful with a double pole, two-second places and a fourth from the back of the grid. In some ways, fourth place in race three was the most rewarding as it allowed me to try some ambitious overtaking and score some good points.

The 2023 SCORE International World Desert Championship will see a new face competing as CFMOTO Puerto Rico intends to field an ATV for Javier Guerra in the Pro Quad Ironman class. Guerra will pilot the #86A CFORCE 1000 with factory support from CFMOTO.

CFMOTO is a Chinese manufacturer of motorcycles, UTVs, and ATVs with various global branches such as Puerto Rico and Mexico. Founded in 1989, the company began expanding into motorsport in the 2010s with programmes like Tourist Trophy road racing with British team WK Bikes. In 2018, the team partnered with KTM to dabble in grand prix motorcycle racing. Four years later, CFMOTO became the title sponsor of Moto3 team Prüstel GP, who rides KTM RC4 bikes re-badged with the CFMOTO brand.

In the off-road world, CFMOTO provides factory backing for many rally raid teams including the flagship CFMOTO Factory Racing Team. The team won the Fenix ​​Rally in Tunisia on a CFORCE 1000 in March, while CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team intends to take part in the World Rally-Raid Championship’s Andalucía Rally and 2023 Dakar Rally. The make’s Dakar programme will be led by Antanas Kanopkinas and Adomas Gančierius, the former being a back-to-back winner of the Autoaibė Lithuanian Baja Perimetras.

Guerra owns J. Guerra Turbo Shop, a fuel injector and muffler business in San Sebastián. He has enjoyed success in domestic competition in Puerto Rico, but has never contested events like SCORE’s Baja 1000, let alone on his own in the Ironman category.

To prepare for SCORE, the team will take part in the RECORD Off-Road Series‘ Race Ready 250 on 9–11 December. The 2023 SCORE season begins with the San Felipe 250 on 29 March.

Extreme E hopes to give aspiring engineers and mechanics a new opportunity in the series. On Monday, XE announced the formation of Racing for All, which allows teams to hire a sixth crew member provided they have less than a year of experience working in professional motorsport.

Currently, teams may only carry five mechanics and engineers to each race.

The idea for the programme arose from findings by The Hamilton Commission, a campaign set up by Team X44 owner Lewis Hamilton to help improve diversity in racing.

“We know from the findings of The Hamilton Commission that our industry is a tough place to break into, particularly for those from underrepresented backgrounds, which is why it’s so important that the Racing for All programme will be creating genuine opportunities for the next generation,” said Hamilton. “When I first discussed the idea of creating a programme with Alejandro (Agag) and the Extreme E team, we all agreed that it had to be something which led to real change, and I believe Racing for All does just that. I’m so excited to see this programme adopted across the paddock, and I can’t wait to see what the first group of Racing for All candidates goes on to achieve.”

Extreme E has long been open about improving the demographics of a sport long dominated by white men, most notably in requiring each team to have one male and one female driver. During the Island X Prix in July, XE invited four female students from the Student Ambassador programme to work in various positions with the series.

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Chief Engineer of Vehicle Performance, Claudio Balestri, has stated that they will leave the disappointing Dutch Grand Prix weekend behind them as the team move forward and focus on the upcoming race in Italy.

With both drivers failing to score points, AlphaTauri hoped for a stronger finish and aimed to finish inside the top ten. After moving on from the Zandvoort circuit the Italian F1 team are currently eighth in the Constructor’s Championship, just four points ahead of Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team.

In the opening lap, both drivers lost places to Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll which caused setbacks early on as Tsunoda sat in eleventh place and Gasly behind him in twelfth place, getting caught up in traffic for the first ten laps and losing another place to Fernando Alonso. After pitting for the hard tyre, Gasly still found himself trailing behind the other drivers despite the hard compound seeming competitive with the surrounding cars.

The late safety car deployed due to Alpha Romeo F1 Team ORLEN driver Valterri Bottas stopping at the end of the track on the main track gave the team the opportunity to stay out on track, unlap Gasly and then pit the lap after, switching to Options. Despite the chance the late safety car dangled in front of the AlphaTauri pit wall, Lance Stroll was running decent pace in the last corner, preventing Gasly from entering the points.

Claudio Balestri reflects on just narrowly missing out on points over the weekend, “Today the target was to score points and unfortunately, we didn’t manage that.

With Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen extending their point-less streak to six consecutive races in the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Dutch Grand Prix, Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur has stated that despite the team making good improvements throughout the weekend, it was simply not enough to contend in the midfield battle.

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu failed to make it past Q2 on Saturday, leaving both drivers with the improbable challenge of making up positions around a track which has proven to provide limited overtaking opportunities.

Both Alfa Romeo drivers opted for an aggressive strategy which would see the pair undertake their first two stints of the race on sets of soft tyres before attempting to see out the remainder of the race on a set of medium tyres.

By lap forty-three, Valtteri Bottas appeared to be on course for a challenge to the top ten but disaster would soon strike just ten laps later, as a suspected engine failure saw the Finn’s race come to an abrupt end.

The Alfa Romeo team attempted to take advantage of the safety car that ensued as a result of Bottas’ retirement but could only provide Zhou with a set of used tyres for the conclusion of the race. Zhou struggled to generate any performance from the used set of tyres and would eventually bring home his C42 car in seventeenth place.

The Road to Dakar programme is intended to give privateers with no prior experience in the race an avenue to take part should they be successful in select races. The Atacama Rally in Chile is one of said events, and Luis Díaz Soza‘s performance was able to clinch him a spot at Dakar for the first time.

Piloting the #409 UTV with Stanley Sherrington co-driving, Díaz topped the T4 category to qualify. The 38-year-old from Antofagasta works as an environmentalist when not racing while Sherrington is a civil engineer.

“Incredible emotions before, during and after, we made it. I can not be happier,” Sherrington posted on Instagram after the race. “Thanks to everyone who supported us, spread good vibes and encouraged us every day. It was difficult, it was dangerous and we made very good friends with a lot of people.”

Under the Road to Dakar’s rules, Díaz can use his Dakar eligibility for either the upcoming race in 2023 or the 2024 edition.

“I am really very happy to have won the pass to run the Dakar,” Díaz commented. “It’s like a dream. If I manage to travel with everything it entails, it will be fulfilling the dream. I’ve followed Dakar since I was a child and then when it came to South America. What’s coming won’t be easy, but I’ll work for it.”