Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

The season finale at the Seoul E-Prix represented Sébastian Buemi‘s last race for Nissan E.DAMS, with the Swiss driver having competed for E.DAMS since the very beginning of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The side who were originally known as Renault E.DAMS, claimed the Constructors’ Championship in all of the first three years of the all-electric series. Buemi went on to win his only Formula E Drivers’ Championship in Season Two, where the title went down to the wire at the season finale London E-Prix. Buemi and title rival that year Lucas Di Grassi famously both crashed at the first corner of the first lap.

Since Gen2 where the team became known as Nissan E.DAMS, success has been harder to come by for both E.DAMS and Buemi, with his departure from the team who he’s competed ninety-eight Formula E races for seemingly coming at the right time.

Buemi’s move to Envision Racing is an exciting one, with the side having produced strong results consistently with Robin Frijns especially. Buemi will be lining-up alongside Nick Cassidy at the team, with Frijns moving elsewhere.

The Swiss driver wrote a goodbye message to Nissan E.DAMS on social media, which can be seen below:

Longtime Team Penske member Ryan Blaney will not be going anywhere soon. On Wednesday, the team announced a “long-term agreement” has been reached to keep Blaney in the #12 Ford beyond the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Blaney has driven for Penske since 2012 in the now-Xfinity Series along with allies Wood Brothers Racing and Brad Keselowski Racing in the Cup and Camping World Truck Series. He made his Cup début in 2014 for Penske before joining WBR for a limited Cup slate in 2015, the latter coming after finishing runner-up in the Truck standings with BKR. In the Xfinity and Truck Series, he has eleven combined wins.

He was elevated to a full Cup slate for WBR in 2016 and won his maiden Cup race the following year en route to a ninth-place points finish. Penske created a permanent #12 car for Blaney to join in 2018, and he has made the playoffs every year since with six wins. Twenty-four races into the 2022 season, he is second in points; although he has yet to win a points race, he scored the All-Star Race victory in May.

“Team Penske has been family to me for ten years, so I’m incredibly excited to continue with this family for the future,” said Blaney. “Roger Penske is a legend in our sport, and I’ve always said getting to drive for him is something everyone dreams of doing.

“[…] I look forward to continuing to win for Team Penske, Roger and all of our partners, as we work towards our goal of winning a Cup Series championship.”

With Season Eight of the ABB Formula E World Championship having drawn to a close last weekend, ROKIT Venturi Racing CEO Susie Wolff has announced that she’ll be vacating her role at the team, who are set to become Maserati next season.

Wolff has done wonders since joining the Monaco-based team, having taken them from backmarkers to title contenders. She joined the team as Team Principal in 2018, before becoming CEO in 2021. She oversaw Venturi’s most successful season yet in the all-electric series, after they came second in the Constructors’ Championship, and Edoardo Mortara came third in the Drivers’ Standings this year.

The former DTM and Williams Racing test driver will leave a huge hole to fill at the side, who will be powered by Maserati for Season Nine.

The wife of Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team boss Toto Wolff released a heartfelt series of posts on social media announcing her departure, where she said the following:

“As the most successful season in Venturi FE’s history comes to an end, so does my personal journey with the team and Formula E. I leave with immense pride in the solid foundations we have built together, as the team begins a new chapter with Maserati. When I joined Venturi FE, my goal was to build a team that was not just successful on track, but stood for a greater purpose.

A parent competing alongside their child in any sport is an rare story for obvious reasons as the former would usually be retired by the time their kid makes it to the big leagues. In NASCAR, however, the longevity of careers makes such a prospect more likely, as evidenced with Xfinity Series team Sam Hunt Racing preparing to field two cars at Daytona International Speedway for Joe Nemechek and his son John Hunter Nemechek. Joe will drive the #24 Toyota GR Supra while John Hunter pilots the #26.

The older Nemechek won the 1992 Xfinity championship, five years before his son’s birth. As Joe entered the tail end of his driving days in the 2010s, his NEMCO Motorsports operation transitioned into providing a launch pad for John Hunter’s own career. John Hunter and Joe shared the NEMCO truck during the former’s part-time competition in the Camping World Truck Series before a second entry was opened in 2017 when John Hunter was a full-time driver.

Joe’s most recent NASCAR attempt came in the 2021 Truck opener at Daytona, where he drove the #8 for NEMCO but failed to qualify. Said race marked John Hunter’s first back in the Truck Series after competing in the upper divisions, and the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver would go on to win the regular season championship.

While Joe continued to watch his son’s career, John Hunter joined SHR for a limited Xfinity slate. In four races with the team in 2022, he has a pair of top fives. He also finished runner-up at Richmond for SHR ally Joe Gibbs Racing, for whom he won at Texas last year.

“Running multiple cars at Daytona is always special, but even more so now having a father and son combo driving for us as team-mates,” said team owner Sam Hunt. “John Hunter has been a big part of SHR’s growth, and to now have Joe join us at the tail end of his accomplished career is something I’ll cherish for a long time. At the end of the day, family is everything to me. I’m honoured to be a part of this memorable moment for the Nemechek family and hope they both take the time to enjoy the weekend.”

With Season Eight of the ABB Formula E World Championship done and dusted, silly season has well and truly kicked-off with the start of the brand-new season just a few months away. Following on from Lucas Di Grassi announcing that he’ll be moving to Mahindra Racing, Season Six champion António Félix da Costa has announced that he’ll be competing for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in 2023.

Da Costa is joining Porsche after spending three years with DS Techeetah, with the Portuguese driver set to line-up alongside Pascal Wehrlein. Da Costa has raced in the championship since 2014, and has claimed seven victories during his time in the all-electric series. Da Costa will replace André Lotterer at the German manufacturer, with the German driver leaving Formula E to take up a seat at Porsche’s LMDh sportscar programme.

Joining the German giants is a “dream” for Da Costa, who is looking forward to helping the side enjoy a “successful start” to Gen3.

“It’s like a dream come true. I’m really looking forward to cracking on and winning races for this team, I’ve been beaten by a Porsche many times in my career, and not only in Formula E, so I know that Porsche does everything to win. It’s in the brand’s DNA. I share the same ambition and can hardly wait to bond with the team and work together to ensure a successful start to the Gen3 era.”

Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport is “delighted” to have the 2020 Formula E Champion onboard with their Gen3 adventure, with Laudencach holding Da Costa in “high regard”.

Popular Brazilian driver Lucas Di Grassi has announced that he’ll be joining Mahindra Racing for the ninth season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, after becoming the first driver in the series to have scored a thousand points.

The ex-Formula 1 driver and 2016 Formula E champion became the first driver in the series to complete one-hundred races and surpass a thousand points, both of which he achieved at the Seoul E-Prix last weekend. Di Grassi is arguably ‘Mr Formula E’, with the Brazilian having taken part in every Formula E race in the championship’s history, as well as being the first ever winner of the series.

He’ll be joining Mahindra for the 2023 campaign where he’ll be tackling the team’s Gen3 car, with the sport’s regulations completely changing for next year. He joins the Indian team after spending a year with ROKIT Venturi Racing, who are going to be taken-over by Maserati‘s new Formula E entrant next season.

Di Grassi will be replacing Alexander Sims at the team, with the British driver having decided to leave the series; Di Grassi will therefore be alongside Oliver Rowland at the side.

It’s exciting times to be part of Mahindra for Di Grassi, with the side set to have the returning ABT Sportsline as their customer team. Di Grassi spent seven years with ABT, giving him a “good springboard”.

The FIA have made moves to remove ‘aerodynamic porpoising’ from the FIA Formula 1 World Championship once and for all with regulation changes to be implemented, some from the Belgian Grand Prix after the summer break.

There has been an outcry from some drivers and Team Principals throughout the 2022 season due to the excessive bouncing down the straights that has been seen, with many reckoning it is bordering on dangerous for the drivers.

Some Team Principals such as Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner have said it is up to the teams to address the issues, but the FIA have interjected themselves into the conversation and have made plans to eliminate it from the sport once and for all.

From the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of the month, the FIA will be measuring how much ‘porpoising’ affects each car on the grid, and the sports governing body will be looking for teams to ensure their cars are running safely.

There will also be extra scrutiny on the Central Floor Flexibility, with teams being informed of a re-defining of the stiffness requirements of planks and skids around the thickness measurement holes.

After what feels like an age since discussions began, the FIA has finally ratified the engine regulations for the next era of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, starting in 2026.

The current V6, 1.6-litre layout will remain with the same RPM levels, however the MGU-H element will be removed, while the fuel flow rate will also be reduced with an aim of a power output of around 400kW.

There will also be a lot of ‘standardisation’ and ‘simplification’ measures implemented, including the removal of variable trumpets and their actuation and control systems, as well as the extension of standardising of certain components and/or their design features.  This includes the likes of injectors, knock sensors, ignition coils and some sensors such as torque, temperature and pressure sensors.

As well as these changes, the exhaust systems and ancillaries must be designed to extend to a full Power Unit life, saving teams a significant amount of money in the process.

Fully sustainable fuel will also be introduced, meaning the end of fossil fuels within Formula 1, with the futures fuels coming from either, non-food-bio derived, genuine municipal waste or sustainable carbon captures.

In July, Brad Pérez‘s hopes of making his NASCAR Xfinity Series début fell short when he failed to qualify at Indianapolis. On Saturday, he will get another chance at Watkins Glen International as he drives the #35 Toyota Supra GR for Emerling-Gase Motorsports.

EGR provides a much better, if not assured chance of Pérez starting an Xfinity race for the first time. His Indianapolis entry came in MBM Motorsports‘ #13, one of the weaker teams in owner points, while the EGR #35 is a full-time entry with some cushion in the standings.

“surprise! we back at it again,” began an Instagram post by Pérez. “thanks to [Emerling-Gase Motorsports] for the opportunity to drive this badass GR Supra this weekend at [Watkins Glen].

“wouldn’t be possible without these amazing small businesses coming on board. [Mountain View Property Management], Weiss Sand & Clay, Dusty Pete’s thank you all! 2 local NY businesses and 1 local TX business

“let’s go racing in beautiful upstate NY”

Otmar Szafnauer has no concerns about the focus of Fernando Alonso in his final nine races with the BWT Alpine F1 Team before he makes the switch to the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team in 2023.

Alonso made the surprise move from Alpine to Aston Martin, the Spaniard taking the place that will be vacated by the retiring Sebastian Vettel, and it has sparked a wild mid-season silly season of rumours that involves Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo and the McLaren F1 Team, amongst others.

Szafnauer, the Team Principal at Alpine, says he sees no reason why Alonso will not give it his all between now and the end of the season, believing the two-time World Champion still shares the same goals as the rest of the team, which involve beating McLaren to fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

“I have absolutely no worries about the rest of the season,” Szafnauer is quoted as saying by Autosport.com.  “Our goals are pretty clear. We want to finish at least fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. I think third is a step too far.

“Fernando realises that too. He’s a professional. He’s a competitor. Once he puts that helmet on, you know as well as I do he wants to do the best he can, if not win.

After a two-year absence, Stanton Barrett will hope to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series return at Watkins Glen International on Saturday. He is scheduled to drive the #47 Chevrolet Camaro for Mike Harmon Racing.

Barrett’s last Xfinity appearance came at Watkins Glen in 2019, where he finished twenty-third for MBM Motorsports. He has competed in the series since 1992, at the age of nineteen, with seven top tens and a best finish of fifth (1996 Atlanta) in 204 career starts. His best run at Watkins Glen in five tries is eighteenth in 2014.

The 2019 WGI start came after another multi-year hiatus as his last Xfinity race prior came in 2016. During that stretch, he did one-offs in the Cup Series for Rick Ware Racing and Spire Motorsports at the Charlotte Roval (fortieth in 2018), Talladega (thirty-fifth in 2019), and the Daytona Road Course (thirty-eighth in 2020); even that Cup stint occurred after a decade away from the series. However, his time in the Cup Series has been exclusively in inferior equipment as he never finished higher than thirtieth.

While his NASCAR résumé has mostly been limited to sporadic starts, he makes his living as a Hollywood stuntman. Recent productions for which he lent his services include the television shows NCIS, Star Trek: Picard, and Stranger Things, as well as movies like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Captain Marvel, Logan, and John Wick: Chapter 3. Barrett made his début as a film director with Navy Seals vs. Zombies in 2015, and it served as his sponsor for his first and only career Camping World Truck Series start at Talladega that year.

Since 2021, Barett’s racing has mainly come in the ARCA Menards Series and Stadium Super Trucks. He ran the Mid-Ohio ARCA races in 2021 and 2022 for Fast Track Racing, whose owner Andy Hillenburg is also closely involved with the film industry, with top tens in both including a sixth in 2022. Barrett recently contested the SST round at the Music City Grand Prix in the #F26 truck (intended to honour the late dirt racer Mark Fields), his second career weekend, finishing seventh and fourth in two races.

Saber Porto‘s Dakar Desert Rally, the first video game covering the Dakar Rally since Dakar 18, will be released on 4 October for PC, PlayStations 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X and S. Pre-orders opened on Tuesday, and those who do so will unlock the Audi RS Q e-tron, the first electric vehicle to win a rally raid’s overall.

The Audi RS Q e-tron won four stages and finished ninth in its competition début at the 2022 Dakar Rally with Mattias Ekström. In March, Stéphane Peterhansel won the overall in the car at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

Part of Saber Interactive, Saber Porto developed Dakar 18 as Bigmoon Entertainment (who previously helped work on games for MotoGP and WRC) before being acquired and renamed by their new parent the following year. It was only the third official Dakar Rally game after Paris-Dakar Rally in 2001 and Dakar 2: The World’s Ultimate Rally in 2003, both of which were by Acclaim Entertainment. Dakar 18 received mixed reviews as it struggled with physics problems and overcomplexity for casual players but was widely praised for its realism.

Following the four-year dormancy, Dakar Desert Rally shifts from the South American setting of its predecessor to the current Rally’s home of Saudi Arabia. The reveal trailer had been released in December 2021.

With the official licence from race overseer Amaury Sport Organisation, over 150 vehicles that raced in the three most recent Dakar Rallies (when the event was moved to its current location) will appear, stretching across five categories (Cars, Bikes, Quads, SSVs, Trucks). Gameplay features touted by the developers include dynamic weather across all four seasons and a day/night transition, the ability to assist fellow competitors in moments of trouble and vice versa, and authentic roadbooks based on those used since the 2020 race.

If you told any Formula 1 fan at the end of 2021 that Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team would be winless by the mid-point of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, they would likely not believe you. With an on-going record of eight consecutive Constructors’ Championship titles, Mercedes have secured their status as one of the greatest ever teams to compete in Formula 1. However, a difficult W13 car has seen the British-based manufacturer struggle to keep up with their rivals so far in the 2022 season, much to the disbelief of the entire paddock.

What went wrong?

The 2022 Formula 1 season is the first of the new era, where regulation changes have been implemented in an attempt to bring the field closer together and overcome the overtaking difficulty that was caused by turbulent air.

The new generation of F1 car features simplified front and rear wings as the most notable change, as well as some floor changes, larger tyres, wheel covers and over-wheel winglets that will lower the amount of turbulent air that is sent in the direction of a following car. These changes have worked very well so far, as we often see closer racing, and drivers consistently following around half-a-second behind another driver for most of a lap – something that was uncommon in the previous generation.

While these changes have brought a lot of good to the quality of racing, a side-effect of these regulations is a phenomenon the paddock calls ‘porpoising’ – where the car violently bounces on the straight as a result of the new aerodynamic regulations on the floor of the cars. Some teams were able to fix their porpoising issues relatively quickly, while other teams took a bit longer to overcome the issue – and one of those teams is Mercedes.

The silver arrows were finding themselves to be several tenths of a second behind Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari as a result of the bouncing. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton even suffered back pains when climbing out of his car due to the car’s violent bouncing at high speeds. Mercedes’ performance got so bad to the point where Toto Wolff described the car as a “s**t box”.

Ott Tänak says the win in Rally Finland last time out is cetainly a good morale boost for the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team after struggeling a lot this season with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car and now the Estonian is looking forward to head to Ypres Rally in Belgium this weekend after moving up to second in the championship leaderboard.

Tänak is explaining the Belgian tarmac rally is quite challenging and demanding as the drivers need to have a lot of confidence in the cars on the narrow roads. Tänak had not the greatest rally last season when he struggeled with setup of the Hyundai i20 WRC car, he ended the rally in sixth place with over 3 minutes down on the event winner and Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville.

“We head to Belgium on the back of our Finland victory, which was certainly a good morale boost for the team. Ypres is a unique tarmac rally, one that looks quite simple on paper – lots of straights and junctions, and not so many types of corners.”

“In reality, it is actually quite tricky because the junctions and cuts are different and it can be very demanding, especially if the weather is mixed. You need a lot of confidence in the cuts and a stable car. Power will also be really important with acceleration from slow speed. We’ll try to keep the momentum from Finland, even if it’s a very different type of rally.”

Thierry Neuville: “We will need to make sure everything is on point if we are going to be competitive“

Teammate Neuville however hasn´t had the greatest season so far this year after having a lot of issues with the car over the past couple of rallies and had a dissapointing rally in Finland last time out.

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team´s deputy team principal Julien Moncet says the Rally Finland win last time out is a boost of confidence for the team and it proved the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car is reliable, speaking ahead of the weekend as the team is heading for round nine of the FIA World Rally Championship in Belgium.

The team enjoyed great success at Ypres Rally last season too with the local home hero Thierry Neuville clinching the win in the old WRC spec Hyundai i20 WRC car. The team have had issues with the setup and reliability throughout the season and only had two wins so far with Ott Tänak winning in Italy and now last time out in Finland.

Hyundai has also proved the pace on tarmac rallies can be strong, the only tarmac rally so far this season is the Rally Croatia and there the team also made some progress but are falling more behind when it comes to setting up the cars for gravel rallies.

For this rally the team will have its usual line-up of Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja. Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe and Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson.

“Although it is a short turnaround from the last event, we take a lot of confidence with us to Belgium. The victory at Rally Finland showed that the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 is reliable, competitive, and certainly capable of winning rallies. We also performed well at Ypres last year, with Thierry and Martijn leading an excellent 1-2 finish at their home event. Our pace on tarmac during Croatia Rally was strong, so we hope to reproduce that same speed next weekend on a similar surface.”