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Italian jewellery maker Tijey has maintained a partnership with the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series since 2020, designing the trophies for its series champions. During the 9/10 July NASCAR GP Italy at Autodromo Vallelunga, the parties revealed a modified trophy for the 2022 EuroNASCAR PRO and 2 champions.

Since Tijey’s arrival, the 6082 Aluminum Alloy 6082-T6 championship trophy has strongly resembled and is based on the NASCAR Cup Series‘ Bill France Trophy by Jostens, featuring a chalice design with the outlines of each track on the schedule along the top. The Tijey trophy is 700 mm tall with a 235 mm base and weighs 9.2 kg. A smaller version (390 mm x 140 mm and 6 kg) is available for the EuroNASCAR 2 champion that Tijey began handing out in 2021.

“The secret behind the trophy is that it’s inspired by racing car parts and race tracks,” commented Tijey’s Luca Saladino. “Our business is to build racing parts and our goal is to expand and widen our portfolio. This is a special trophy for a very special champion. It’s a trophy for eternity, indestructible and strong like the competition in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.”

For 2022, the trophy’s supports are coloured red. By contrast, the 2020 version was strictly silver before becoming blue in 2021.

“If you become the EuroNASCAR PRO champion, you have to get a really special trophy,” said Euro Series head Jérôme Galpin. “This is just a beautiful piece of industry and art. We are really proud about what Tijey created here for the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and its champion.”

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will see a Riggs compete for the first time in eight years as the family’s newest generation moves in. On Tuesday, Layne Riggs announced he will make his Truck début at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on 29 July, driving the #62 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Halmar Friesen Racing.

The 20-year-old is the son of Scott Riggs, a regular across all three NASCAR national series in the 2000s and perennial championship contender in the now-Xfinity and Truck Series with four and five wins, respectively. Scott, who finished fifth in the 2001 Truck championship, last ran a NASCAR race in 2014 when he made two Truck starts before stepping away due to a lack of funding and to support his son’s career.

HFR’s crew chief Trip Bruce served in the same capacity for Scott during said pair of 2014 Truck races at RBR Enterprises, and previously worked with him at Evernham Motorsports during the 2006 Xfinity season.

“I’m so thankful to get this opportunity,” said Riggs. “My dad and Trip Bruce were friends back in the day and Trip watched us the night we swept both races at Hickory Motor Speedway. It’s all about timing and hopefully I can make everyone proud.”

Layne is pursuing a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship and currently leads the Division I standings with thirteen race wins. Most of his regional starts have come at Hickory, Dominion Speedway, South Boston Speedway, and Wake County Speedway. He also competes in the CARS Late Model Tour, where he has six career wins and finished runner-up in the 2020 points.

Mick Schumacher heads into this weekend’s French Grand Prix on the back of his best result yet in Formula 1, after finishing in sixth-place at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Schumacher has turned a significant corner as of late, with his first-ever points finish at the British Grand Prix rejuvenating his confidence. The young German backed-up his points finish at Silverstone with a sixth-place finish at the Red Bull Ring, a points finish at the Circuit Paul Ricard is certainly on the cards for the in-form German.

Ahead of this weekend’s twelfth round of the championship, Schumacher has revealed that drivers also get confused at the circuit, which has become world-renowned for having coloured lines all over the run-off areas.

“For sure it’s a track where usually you have the opportunity to push quite hard just because you know that you can go over a certain limit sometimes. It’s one of those tracks where you can push harder than other tracks just because you know you have the run-off and the chances of you getting near a wall is quite slim.

“Obviously, if you do a mistake, it’s quite bad for the tyres so you obviously don’t want to do it in an important session, but definitely it’s a track that is quite interesting. It can be confusing at times due to all the different lines, so it’s not just viewers that get confused, it can also be the drivers too.

The Haas F1 Team go into this weekend’s French Grand Prix on the back of their most successful weekend in years, after finishing sixth and eighth at the recent Austrian Grand Prix.

Mick Schumacher claimed sixth-place for the team, in what was his best finish yet in his Formula 1 career. Kevin Magnussen finished eighth after also collecting two-points in the Austrian Sprint race.

Team Principal Guenther Steiner, believes it was “almost” the “perfect weekend” at the Red Bull Ring, and that it’s a culmination of all the hard work taking place at the American team.

“I’m very happy about it but I’m very happy about it for the team because I’ve told them that they need to believe in themselves because we’ve done it before and we will do it again, and we have so it’s a very good result.

“I think we have to be careful about getting too over enthusiastic for the next races, so we’re not thinking that this will keep continuing easily – this is very hard work from a lot of people. We will do the best we can and hopefully we can get some more points and have quite a relaxed summer break.

Best In The Desert‘s Vegas to Reno is set to begin with a different twist than usual: when the weekend starts on Thursday, 11 August, the field will duke it out for starting positions in a head-to-head time attack rather than the standard single-car format.

The new format will be held on a special three-mile (4.82 km) course split into multiple lanes. Entrants will begin next to each other before taking off, with whomever records the fastest time having the higher starting position for the next day’s Vegas to Reno. The event will be livestreamed on Ryde TV.

It was not immediately revealed if a bracket format will be used to set the grid or total times, or if the times will be for the overall starting position versus class. The former has been used in short course off-road racing such as Championship Off-Road‘s Duel of Champions at Antigo in June.

“[T]he sport’s most aggressive racers will line up side by side to individually battle against the clock for race day starting positions,” reads a press release from BITD. “With multi lane options, towering jumps and blistering high speed sections, this course will separate the brave from the timid.”

The format has been met with mixed reception from the competitors, many of whom fear any damage incurred from the duels could impact their V2R a day later. Some expressed skepticism at running a three-mile short course that does not reflect the 495-mile route that the V2R prides as making it the longest off-road race in the United States. As the session is set to begin at 9 AM before ending at 4 PM, critics also showed doubt about spending too long under the Nevada summer heat.

It is an understatement to describe Christopher Bell as being quite good at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He has scored top-ten finishes in all but one of his eight national series starts there, while also winning five times including Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event.

Bell and his Toyota allies dominated the Ambetter 301 as he, Martin Truex Jr., and Kurt Busch combined to lead 254 of 301 laps. Although Truex was the favourite throughout with 172 laps led and winning the first two stages, a late two-tyre pit stop ultimately dropped him barely out of top ten range and he spent the final 100 laps trying to climb back up the order, eventually settline for fourth.

“Just put on two tyres and got in a bad spot on the restart,” explained Truex. “I got put three-wide and the #22 (Joey Logano) didn’t get going and I was on the inside behind him. I tried to shove him to get him going and get us going and (Kevin) Harvick made it three-wide and put us in a bad spot. And just my car was terrible on two tires and couldn’t go anywhere. Just should have put four tyres on, I guess.”

With Truex out of the picture, Bell battled with Chase Elliott before taking the lead on lap 260 and holding it for the final forty-two circuits. The win is Bell’s second in the Cup Series and adds to an impressive Loudon résumé; he led 146 of 200 laps in last year’s Xfinity Series race at the track en route to the win, making him three-for-three in Xfinity victories there.

“That one was much needed right there,” Bell said in his post-race interview with NBC Sports. “That was a hell of a race from my viewpoint. That was so much fun racing with the #45 (Busch), the #22 (Logano), and the #9 (Elliott). We were all running different lines. That was a blast.

Ever want to race an Extreme E Spark ODYSSEY 21 in a video game? Forza Horizon 5 has you covered.

Forza developer Turn 10 Studios and Extreme E announced a new collaboration on Monday that will turn the studio into the Official Gaming Partner for the championship. As part of their deal, the ODYSSEY 21 will become playable vehicles in FH5‘s Series 10 update releasing on 19 July. All ten teams will be represented in the game with their liveries and gear.

“We are very pleased to be the Official Gaming Partner of Extreme E, the leader in off-road electric racing, and have been collaborating to bring unique content to Forza Horizon 5,” said Turn 10 partnership director Paavan Avadhanula. “We are always looking for, and excited to bring authentic and compelling new partnerships and experiences to our Forza community, and look forward to seeing how our players engage with these electric vehicles, race suits and championships.”

While Extreme E does not race in Mexico like the game, the country’s deserts are a metaphorical and literal hotbed for off-road racing such as SCORE International‘s World Desert Championship and legendary Baja 1000. The four rounds of the 2022 Extreme E calendar will also be represented in the form of Mexican cities, each of which is rotated on a weekly basis: the Island X Prix (which took place in Sardinia, Italy) is a coastal run in Playa Azul, the Energy X Prix (Punta del Este, Uruguay) is in Guanajuato, the Copper X Prix (Antofagasta, Chile) features a canyon run, and the Desert X Prix (NEOM, Saudi Arabia) is in Dunas Blancas.

Each car is unlocked through different means: Chip Ganassi Racing‘s can be purchased for 700,000 credits beginning 19 July; McLaren XE‘s opens two days later once the player earns eighty Festival Playlist credits; X44 requires clearing the Boardwalk danger sign PR stunt during the summer season; those who win the summer Island X Prix I seasonal championship get the XITE Energy Racing machine; Andretti United‘s becomes available on 28 July as part of the autumn season, where players have to complete the Bulevar speed trap stunt; Veloce Racing mandates winning the autumn Energy X Prix I championship; ACCIONA | Sainz stipulates beating the winter La Cruz stunt starting 4 August while JBXE opens upon taking the Copper X Prix I title; and 11 August will add Rosberg X Racing and ABT CUPRA, with the former urging to clear the Costa Rocosa stunt and the latter to win the Desert X Prix championship.

After a double-points finish at the Austrian Grand Prix, McLaren F1 Team Principal Andreas Seidl said that the team aims to continue their momentum with more points finishes in the coming race weekends as summer break approaches. 

“We’re now past the halfway point of the season and after a pleasing result in Austria with both drivers scoring points, everybody in the team is working hard to give us the best chance to continue positive results at the upcoming double-header in France and Hungary.”

The team found success at Circuit Paul Ricard last season, which has a wide, open layout with several demanding turns and fast straights. Seidl said that the track allows for close racing, which would allow the team the opportunity to battle it out for the points positions. 

“The French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard offers a number of opportunities for racing and last year’s results were good for the team with Lando and Daniel finishing P5 and P6 respectively.”

“The track is known for its long Mistral straight, but there are also some challenging corners around the track including Turns Eight and Nine which require a strong exit before heading into Turns 10 and 11.”

Coming off of a double-points finish at the Red Bull Ring, Lando Norris said that the team’s performance kept them in the running for fourth in the constructors’ championship, currently tied with BWT Alpine F1 Team ahead of the French Grand Prix.

“With the summer break fast approaching, it’s important we continue to build on our results this season as the midfield gets tighter. Finishing P7 and P9 in Austria was positive after a difficult start to the weekend and it’s great to remain in this battle for fourth in the constructor standings.”

With tight margins between the midfield teams, Norris said that the return to a typical race weekend with three practice sessions will give the team the time necessary to best prepare for race day at a track where they have found success previously, having finished fifth and sixth at last year’s French Grand Prix. 

“Going back to a standard race weekend format in France should give us the opportunity to improve over the free practice sessions, something we didn’t have available to us at Austria’s sprint. There is a lot of work to still do but we will continue to push hard on track and secure more points like we did as a team at Paul Ricard last year.”

“Small margins make a big difference and at this stage of the season” – Daniel Ricciardo

Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo is excited to race at Circuit Paul Ricard, where he finished sixth place in 2021. With two Grands Prix left before summer break, this race weekend will be important for the Australian driver, who will likely have something to prove to those doubting his future with the team as of recent.

For the first time since the Monaco E-Prix of 2021, António Félix da Costa stood on the top step of the podium in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship after taking victory in race two of the New York City E-Prix on Sunday.

The DS Techeetah driver started on pole position in New York despite losing to Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy in the final of the Qualifying duels thanks to the New Zealander taking penalties for an unscheduled gearbox change.

And after holding on to the lead at the start, Félix da Costa was in relative control of the E-Prix thereafter, and he took his seventh career Formula E win despite late race pressure from Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team’s Stoffel Vandoorne.

Félix da Costa admits it has been a very up and down year in Formula E, but he is pleased with the way his form has improved in recent races and seeing how happy his team were when he won the race was ‘priceless’.

“It’s been a funny year for me, we had difficult moments and we bounced back,” said Félix da Costa. “I’m busy every weekend, doing what I love, I’m now leading the WEC, winning there and now here, I’m just enjoying the wave.

Nick Cassidy took his maiden ABB FIA Formula E World Championship victory on Saturday in New York City despite ending his afternoon with a heavily damaged car after heavy rain caused aquaplaning heading towards turn six.

The Envision Racing driver had driven strongly having started from pole position and was at the front of the field when the rain began to fall with just over ten minutes remaining.  It then became heavier and caused a puddle midway down the straight heading into turn six, and Cassidy was the first of those to crash into the barriers due to aquaplaning off.

He was joined in the barriers by second placed Lucas di Grassi and fourth placed Stoffel Vandoorne, whilst others, including Edoardo Mortara, Sébastien Buemi and Pascal Wehrlein, also found themselves hitting the barriers or each other.

Initially, with seven and a half minutes on the clock remaining, it looked as though Cassidy would be denied his maiden victory, but requirements to repair to the barriers meant race control stated the race would not restart, with the results going back a lap to give the New Zealander the win.

“It is such a rollercoaster of emotions, I was pretty calm after everything happened (but) obviously very disappointed initially,” said Cassidy.  “It felt like I did everything right today, felt like it was in the bag with ten to go, then it started raining. I was initially very disappointed considering that, but – and I know I’m biased – I think it is the right decision.

Now in his third full-time season of racing in the FIA Formula 2 championship, Marcus Armstrong knows that this season is his final chance of a shot for competing in the Formula 1 World Championship.

A former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, the young Kiwi parted ways with the legendary Italian racing outfit at the start of the season in one final push for the F2 championship.

Currently sitting in sixth place in the drivers’ standings, it is Armstrong’s best campaign to date with a further two race wins in the Imola Sprint Race as well as the more recent Spielberg Sprint Race.

In the post-race press conference, Armstrong spoke of his relief when the chequered flag fell for his second win of the season, “It feels really good and it’s a relief, really. Obviously starting off pole in Austria is never the easiest, especially in F2.”

“Anything can happen and the DRS is strong. So to win this race I needed to have a pace advantage and I pushed hard at the beginning to try and break the DRS. And afterwards, it was quite smooth sailing, I think.”

António Félix da Costa took his and DS Techeetah’s first victory of the 2021-22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season in race two of the New York City E-Prix on Sunday.

After inheriting pole position thanks to Nick Cassidy’s penalties for unscheduled changes to his car following the big crash in Saturday’s opening race, Félix da Costa held onto the lead at the start and then had the race seemingly under control thereafter.

Late race yellow flags gave Félix da Costa a little respite as he conserved his energy levels, with Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team’s Stoffel Vandoorne closing in but running out of time to make a genuine challenge.

The yellow flags were caused by a collision at turn six that involved Jean-Éric Vergne, Oliver Askew and Lucas di Grassi – amongst others – with the latter two left stranded at the side of the track while Vergne recovered to the pits.  Vergne was on course for a top six finish when the collisions began, but his retirement was another big hit to his chances of a third Drivers’ Championship.

The stranded cars were in two sectors where overtaking was more prevalent, meaning Vandoorne was unable to launch an attack on Félix da Costa before the chequered flag.

In June, the FIM‘s Rally-Raid Championship Committee met with the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and team owners to discuss regulation changes for the World Rally-Raid Championship and sanctioned series like the Baja World Cup. Among the modifications were to better adhere with the FIA’s rally raid rulebook, which recently made its own edits with the same goal, introduce safety measures, and even limiting 2023 Dakar Rally eligibility to riders who meet specific qualifications.

Safety rules discussed include adding slow zones to the rider’s roadbook, a V-Max speed limit to the Rally GP and Rally 2 categories, and only permitting riders to install their roadbooks, replace their airbag vests, and re-supplying food and water while refuelling. Airbags are currently not required, but the FIM intends to strongly advise their usage for Rally GP in 2023 before mandating them the following year. Rally 2 competitors will also need the vests in 2024, while Rally 3 and Quad does so in 2025.

The baseline for helmets will also change as part of the FIM’s Racing Homologation Programme, which has the goal of reaching its second phase (FRHPhe-02) in Rally GP by 2024. Helmets with an Economic Community of Europe grade of 22.05 will be phased out as ECE 22.06 becomes the new minimum safety requirement. SNELL certification, set by the American Snell Memorial Foundation, has its floor at 2015 and 200 R/D, while the lowest allowed under the Japanese JIS standard is T8133:2015.

Should matters go awry for a rider, the FIM plans to open a Rallies Accident Database to monitor and analyse serious crashes. The FIA débuted the similar World Accident Database in 2016 for the same purpose.

Beyond safety, the meeting dived into the competition side by introducing an “Automatic [Time] Bonus” for the first five riders who start a given stage. Traditionally and regardless of vehicle, those who begin a desert race or rally raid late have the advantage of navigating a course already laid out by entrants who start first, which frequently leads to sandbagging to gain a “better” starting position deeper in the grid.

A list of drivers who have won a Superstar Racing Experience race on dirt: Tony Stewart. That’s it.

The longtime dirt star and series founder dominated Heat #2 and the feature, leading the entire distance from the pole in the latter, to score his second win of the 2022 season. He had to stave off early charges from Ernie Francis Jr. and a multitude of late restarts in the process that resulted in Marco Andretti chasing him down in the two-lap sprint to the finish.

Stewart swept the two dirt races at Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway in 2021, and the I-55 victory means he is now three-for-three on such surfaces.The 2022 season will end on another dirt track in Sharon Speedway, where he will seek to go for yet another clean sweep in his quest for a second straight title.

“This place is awesome,” said Stewart. “It’s always been good racing no matter what kind of car is in, but for our SRX series, it was a lot of fun tonight. The track crew did a great job reworking the race track before the race and made for some exciting racing.

“I love when we can run the dirt and run the top up by the wall. It’s a lot of fun, had a great time.”