Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

The 2024 Desafío Ruta 40 YPF INFINIA will be a bit shorter than originally revealed in March, though the general route design remains.

The updated regulations now list the race as spanning 3,067 kilometres with 1,792 km in Selective Sections as opposed to the original 3,213 km total with 2,085 being timed. With the greatly reduced distance, all but two legs are shorter than what they initially were; the exceptions are the Prologue (one kilometre longer) and Stage #5 (eleven km longer).

Córdoba is still the main hub for the rally, hosting the Prologue, Stage #1, the start of Stage #2, and the finish of the final leg. The first stage was originally 466 km long in SS while the second was 497 km. Stage #4, from San Juan to La Rioja, loses the most SS kilometrage as it goes from 509 km to just 412. Half of its liaison section will serve as transfer sections.

Most of the rally, especially in Córdoba, will be conducted on gravel terrain, though chotts will play increased roles during Stages #2 and #3 in San Juan. Stage #4 will see a blend of gravel, asphalt, chotts, and even dunes.

While the same cities will host each start and finish, there are slight nuances in the course design. Most notably, Stages #2 will briefly take competitors into the neighbouring province of Mendoza on their way to San Juan.

While probably not a discipline he envisioned himself in one year ago, Carlos Tatay is officially back in action.

Less than a year after a severe spinal cord injury forced him out of pavement motorcycle racing, he made his rally raid début at last weekend’s Baja Lorca – Ciudad del Sol, the fourth round of the Spanish Cross-Country Rally Championship (CERTT). Driving a Polaris RZR Pro R for TH-Trucks Team with owner Alberto Herrero as his navigator, Tatay finished eleventh and last in the T4 category following a transmission failure during the first stage.

After a fifth in class in the Prologue, Tatay was running as high as third in SS1 until a spring in the transmission’s variator broke off. This relegated him to the bottom of the order and out of contention for the overall, but as it was his first rally, he intended on using the second and final leg to simply gain more experience in the side-by-side vehicle. He finished fifth again in Stage #2 to close out the rally.

“We came here with the plan of doing as many kilometres in competition, which is what matters the most and what I need right now in terms of training. It has gone quite well,” said Tatay at the finish. “I was too nervous the Prologue stage; it was my first start, I was too tense even though the times were not bad. The first and second stages were incredible, they were very good. If it wasn’t for that mechanical, we would have enjoyed it a little more and it would have taken us less time, but it was still very cool.”

He originally planned his début for the Baja España Aragón in late July, but pushed it up by two months after successful testing. His ailment, which requires him to use a wheelchair, would have allowed him to enter the non-competition ParaBaja Step by Step category for those with reduced mobility though he opted to run the main rally instead.

The solstice typically marks the beginning of summer unless you’re a desert racer, in which case the Baja 500 will do that. The 56th edition, once again the second round of the SCORE International World Desert Championship, kicks off Thursday with qualifying followed by race day on Saturday.

Bryce Menzies and Arturo Salas Jr. enter as the defending four- and two-wheel winners, respectively.

The Course

Once again, the race will be a single loop starting and ending in Ensenada. At 483.06 miles (464.64 of which is timed), it is ten miles longer than the course used in 2023 but maintains a similar design.

Two physical checkpoints will be located at Race Miles 245.64 and 354.71 that mandate speed limits of 37 and 65 mph, respectively.

The Sportsman course will be 456.91 miles (438.49 mi timed) with bypasses RMm 76.59 and 275.42. Pro Moto Adventure, a new class for rally raid bikes, will take both shortcuts as well.

The Formula 1 season is well underway and after Round 8 at the Monaco Grand Prix, we will be reviewing every team and drivers’ start to the 2024 World Championship.

The start to 2024 has been thrilling, with Max Verstappen and Oracle Red Bull Racing starting the campaign in a dominant manner but later being challenged by a number of other teams. In the eight rounds of 2024, there has been four different winners including a driver picking up their first victory.

Oracle Red Bull Racing

Constructors Championship: 1st (276 points)

Drivers Championship: Max Verstappen 1st (169 points), Sergio Pérez 5th (107 points)

Red Bull are currently leading in both F1 Championships. Early season drama surrounding team boss Christian Horner stole the headlines, with senior figures such as Verstappen and advisor Helmut Marko potential candidates to leave the team. Despite all of that surrounding the team, they managed to start the season in the best way possible, taking maximum points away from Bahrain with Verstappen leading Sergio Pérez.

Sylvio de Barros, an entrepreneur who has competed and won on both pavement and off-road, died Monday at the age of 57 after slipping and hitting his head on a rock while at a waterfall in Jardinópolis.

Barros was the founder of the Brazilian online car marketplaces WebMotors and iCarros. The former was the first of its kind in the country, launching in 1995 shortly after he departed General Motors; as WebMotors took off, it attracted investors like JP Morgan before being acquired by Santander, and is now under majority control by Carsales after being sold in 2023. iCarros was created in 2007 with the help of the bank Banco Itaú Unibanco, who currently runs it. His most recent project was electric car platform zMatch, founded in 2021.

In 1995, he won the Rally dos Sertões in the Production bike category before switching to four-wheeled competition, finishing second in 2018. Barros and a group of investors acquired the rally’s organiser Dunas Race the year after. His last Sertões Rally in 2023 was cut short when water got into his Toyota Hilux T1+’s engine during the penultimate stage.

His cross-country rally successes prompted him to enter the Dakar Rally in 2007 on a KTM bike, but retired. He hoped to try again the following year until the race was cancelled, and he would have to wait nine more years before getting another shot. Piloting a Mini All4 Racing for X-raid Team, he and fellow Brazilian Rafael Capoani finished eighteenth in the 2017 edition.

In February, Barros and Ramon Sacilotti won the South American Rally Race overall in his Hilux.

Kim Vatanen, who oversaw the careers of drivers like Sébastien Ogier and Toomas Heikkinen, died Monday at the age of 51 after battling cancer.

The eldest son of 1981 World Rally Champion and four-time Dakar Rally winner Ari Vatanen, he raced alongside his father in the French Gravel and European Rally Championships in the early 1990s. He later became a professional golfer, competing on the Challenge Tour when it visited his native Finland for the Finnish Challenge and Finnish Open at the turn of the millennium.

After rekindling his interest in racing, he became a manager and agent for rally drivers as the co-head of V&V Sport Management alongside Atte Varsta. Ogier, who idolised the older Vatanen, began working with Kim in 2008 before becoming one of the greatest drivers in WRC history. Other V&V clients included Heikkinen, the late Craig Breen, Vatanen’s younger brother Max Vatanen, Hayden Paddon, Jari Ketomaa, Aki Sahila, and Ralfs Sirmacis.

Outside of motorsport, he was the founder of Vatanen Experience, which organises fishing trips and winter events in Lapland.

He is survived by his wife Minna Helle, the first woman to serve as Finland’s National Conciliator.

Kim Vatanen: 13 September 1972 – 27 May 2024

Akira Miura seems to be comfortable in a Toyota Hilux already. Although he entered the Baja Greece with the goal of getting used to his new ride, he ended up winning the premier Ultimate class altogether.

After driving a Toyota Land Cruiser for a decade and winning four Dakar Rallies in the Stock category, Miura joined Overdrive Racing for a two-round FIA World Baja Cup schedule in the Hilux starting at Greece. Overdrive team-mate Yazeed Al-Rajhi was the early favourite as he beat Miura by fourteen seconds in the Prologue, but his brakes failed shortly after starting the first Selective Section; forced to race conservatively, Al-Rajhi ended up being the last finisher in the class. Miura beat Miroslav Zapletal for the Stage #1 win.

Al-Rajhi rebounded to win Stage #2 by seven minutes over Miura, but the previous day’s issue left him nearly an hour behind in the overall.

“I am very happy to have won my first Ultimate class race with the help of the team’s excellent work,” said Miura. His next race in the Hilux will be the Qatar International Baja in early November. “This race is the beginning for me and the OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R, which we developed for this car, and we want to work hard together and improve so that we race even better.”

Miura’s overall time was good for third outright among all FIA entrants, trailing the Challenger caries of Eduard Pons and Lionel Baud. Pons took the overall lead after surviving Stage #1, clearing Miura by fifteen minutes while having a four-minute edge on Baud. To preserve his lead, Pons opted for a safer strategy during the final day to seal the win by thirteen minutes over Baud and seventeen ahead of Miura. Both Challenger drivers enjoyed their best career finishes in a cross-country rally.

The second edition of the revived Desafío Ruta 40 will have a triple-digit grid in Argentina as 29 FIA cars, 54 FIM bikes and quads, 17 Open teams, and 15 Desafío Ansenuza navigation-based competitors take the stage.

Nasser Al-Attiyah will seek to defend his 2023 win as one of nine Ultimate entries. Every entrant is a T1+ regulation car, all the big three of Toyota, Prodrive, or Mini.

Conversely, Mitch Guthrie is not entered in Challenger, meaning the class will see a new winner with Rokas Baciuška headlining the twelve. Nicolás Cavigliasso, set to overtake the absent Austin Jones for second in points, hopes to close the World Rally-Raid Championship gap to Baciuška at his home event.

Ricardo Ramilo was the highest finishing W2RC driver in SSV at the 2023 edition and hopes to do the same among the seven.

Eleven bikes comprise RallyGP as full-timers Hero MotoSports and Monster Energy Honda Rally Team finally have more company, with two of Pierer Mobility Group’s W2RC marques GasGas and Husqvarna set to return led by reigning champion Luciano Benavides; the two brands have not appeared in the series since the season-opening Dakar Rally in January. His brother Kevin would have represented KTM in Argentina but got hurt while training in early May. Besides their usual duo of Ross Branch and Sebastian Bühler, Hero has added José Ignacio Cornejo to their roster; the team will also make their début in Rally2 with new test rider Ramiro Barco Oliva.

Charles Leclerc took victory around the streets of Monaco on Sunday, from Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jr, allowing Scuderia Ferrari to close the gap at the top of the constructors standings to Oracle Red Bull Racing.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for many, with seven of the ten teams scoring points around the Principality. Pierre Gasly scored his first points of the season, as did Williams Racing with Alex Albon ending the day in ninth, just behind the Visa Cash App RB of Yuki Tsunoda.

Read what the team principals had to say after the race, including Fred Vasseur and Christian Horner:

Fred Vasseur — Team Principal — Scuderia Ferrari HP 

“It was the perfect weekend and one to remember for Charles, having had a couple of tough races in the past here in Monaco. He was flying from lap 1 in FP1 and he did the perfect job. The race itself was a bit strange because after the red flag, we had to manage 77 laps on the same set of tyres. 

Only four times in the 108-year history of the Indy 500 has the race been decided with a pass for the lead on the final lap.

After Sunday’s stop-and-start, delayed-four-hours race, two of those wins belong to Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden.

Dueling with Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren, the Nashville native found himself behind the young Mexican driver with just two turns to go on Lap 200. As O’Ward started “snaking” down the backstretch, Newgarden gained momentum and pulled alongside the five-time IndyCar race winner. In Turn 3, it looked like two would careen into the outer wall together, but Newgarden found grip, and pulled ahead in one of the most daring moves you’ll ever see at the Indianapolis.

“I don’t think it works unless you’re racing someone like Pato,” said Newgarden. “It’s not that Pato didn’t race me hard, he just raced me clean. That move doesn’t work unless you’re racing someone like that. It just doesn’t. It’s very easy that that doesn’t work out.“

Charles Leclerc took his first victory around the famous streets of Monaco, as both Scuderia Ferrari cars finished on the podium at Round 8 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The race was largely uneventful after a lap one red flag that saw four cars out of the race, including Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Pérez.

Read what the drivers made of the weekend and the race:

Charles Leclerc — Scuderia Ferrari — 1st

“I can’t really explain how I feel. The race seemed to go on for ever, but maybe that made it even nicer. Winning here means so much to me, because it’s the race that made me dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver when I was little. So I want to thank the people of Monaco, on the lap of honour I saw so many people on the balconies and I thank all of them for their incredible support.

Charles Leclerc finally took victory around the famous streets of Monaco on Sunday, converting his third pole position at his home race to the win ahead of Oscar Piastri and his Scuderia Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr.

The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix was a race that lacked overtaking action, although there was plenty of drama on lap one, with a red flag coming out and delaying proceedings for almost an hour. Many of the drivers completed the race on the tyres they started with on lap three after the red flag, including the top four runners.

What happened during the race?

Leclerc got a great launch on the front row to fend off Piastri alongside him. Sainz in the other Ferrari also got a good start bringing him alongside the McLaren on the front row. The Spaniard moved alongside the Australian but some contact gave Sainz a puncture, causing him to fall down the order. 

Further back there was a massive crash, bringing out the red flag. Sergio Pérez was squeezed up Beau Rivage by the two Haas F1 Team drivers, but Kevin Magnussen in particular. The Dane spun round Pérez after getting too close to the former Monaco Grand Prix winner. Nico Hülkenberg was caught up in the accident too, getting spun round. The incident left all three drivers out of the race.

The two BWT Alpine F1 Team drivers also came together on lap one at Portier. Esteban Ocon tried to pass his teammate, Pierre Gasly on the inside but the room wasn’t there causing Gasly to lift his teammates car onto three wheels and up in the air. Gasly, who secured Alpine’s first Q3 and top ten start on Saturday, wasn’t pleased with his teammate at all as the red flag came out for the accident involved the two Haas cars and Pérez. Team boss Bruno Famin wasn’t pleased with Ocon when speaking on French TV.

It’s race day for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, and approximately 345,000 fans are expected to fill the grandstands and infield at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Scott McLaughlin will lead the field to green (scheduled for 12:45 p.m. local time), followed by Team Penske teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden.

Storms are expected to hit the Indianapolis area around 1:00, which could delay the start of the race and some pre-race festivities. IMS president Doug Boles said that his team will continue to monitor the storms in the hours leading up to the start of the race. The showers, according to some estimates could leave the area by 2-3 p.m., with more rain potentially returning around 8:00. During practice for this year’s race, IMS crews dried the track in 77 minutes after a bout of rain. Crews have Air Titan jet dryers at their disposal, renting them from NASCAR for today’s events.

Stay tuned here for updates throughout the day, including exclusive live trackside updates for everything before, during, and after the race.

LAP 80/200 – McLaughlin leads Herta, Newgarden

Robb and Daly have cycled out of the top 10, and now the top three goes McLaughlin-Herta-Newgarden.

Best Bet: Santino Ferrucci, +210 for Top 5 Finish

When it comes to this race, it is hard to bet against someone who has never finished outside of the top 10 in five starts at Indianapolis. A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci nearly won the Indy 500 a year ago, leading a few late laps before finishing in third. The Connecticut native did suffer from a few issues throughout this month’s practice sessions, but a sixth-place starting position should give bettors confidence for a top 5 finish, given that Ferrucci has improved on his starting position in each start of his career at IMS.

Sleeper: Felix Rosenqvist, +3000 to Win

Felix Rosenqvist looks like he’s found a new life with Meyer Shank Racing after departing from Arrow McLaren after the 2023 season. The 32-year-old Swede has been a qualifying ace with an average starting position of 4.5. Rosenqvist still hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 this season, and his qualifying position on the outside of the third row today should give him a good chance to keep that up. He’ll also be looking to avenge his late-race crash that ended his chances at an Indy 500 win a year ago.

Long Shot: Kyffin Simpson, +8000 to Win

While Kyffin Simpson is a name not many will immediately recognize, the Chip Ganassi Racing rookie is the highest-starting first-year driver not named Kyle Larson. While big results haven’t come yet for the Caymanian 19-year-old, the consistency has. With finishes of 12th and 15th this season, and a starting position of 18th later today, bettors should keep an eye out for the No. 4 car should rain shorten or delay the race later today

All odds courtesy of DraftKings as of 7:00 a.m. EST on race day.

TCF does not endorse or condone gambling or betting of any kind. TCF earns no commission from any betting-related articles

Once a year, for three weeks, a small enclave of Indianapolis known as Speedway turns into the capital of the racing world. There sits the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5-mile oval that has hosted the Indianapolis 500 since 1911. While the stands are packed on race day and during practice and qualifying sessions during the preceding weeks, the true off-track center of life is the infield.

The inside part of the Speedway spans 253 acres – big enough to hold four holes of the adjacent Brickyard Crossing Golf Course. On race day, approximately 100,000 fans file into the infield, and chaos ensues.

Some are race fans, some haven’t been to a race in their lives, and some just like to drink. The one thing in common?

A shared sense of community with hundreds of thousands of others.

No truer will that sense of community be on Sunday than with Indiana native Nate Spangle. He’ll be hosting what he says is the first ever Indiana-only tailgate at the 500 this year. For his purposes, Indiana-only means every product at the tailgate will have Hoosier ties. That goes all the way down to the 1986 Dodge W250 truck he bought for this specific purpose – it was purchased off of Facebook Marketplace in the small town of Akron, Indiana.