Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

After a well-earned three week break, the NTT IndyCar Series returns this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Marcus Ericsson enjoyed his vacation time at the top of the points standings on 293 points, with a 27 point gap to Will Power in second. Josef Newgarden jumps to third after his win at the Sonsio Grand Prix on 261 points, five points behind his teammate Power. Fourth is Pato O’Ward with 248 points, while defending champion Alex Palou rounds out the top five with 246 points.

As the points standings show, this year has been dominated by Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. The two teams occupy six of the top ten spots in the points standings, and won six of the eight races run so far this season, five of which were won by Penske.

Now at the halfway point of the season, championship aspirations are going to be kicked into high gear, and it starts at the ultra-physical Mid-Ohio circuit.

Will drivers carry their momentum through the summer break? Will anyone be able to catch up to Penske and Ganassi? Will there be a new name in the fight for the Astor Cup? Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

The Stadium Super Trucks were a fan favourite at Honda Indy Toronto but have not crossed the border since 2019 due to COVID-19. Although the race has returned for 2022, the series will not join the weekend. Due to a combination of factors stemming from Robby Gordon leaving the United States to oversee business matters regarding his developing SPEED UTV brand, SST had to drop Toronto from the calendar.

SST raced at Toronto in support of the NTT IndyCar Series from the inaugural season in 2013 to 2016. After a two-year absence, the trucks returned for the 2019 weekend which saw Cole Potts win a lightning-shortened Race #1 before Gavin Harlien took Race #2. Travel restrictions imposed by the City of Toronto and Ontario in the wake of COVID-19 forced the 2020 and 2021 editions to be called off.

The race is now set to return on 15–17 July. It was initially the third race of the 2022 SST season after Long Beach and Mid-Ohio, the latter of which is taking place this weekend. However, Gordon’s unavailability as he visits overseas SPEED UTV partners coupled with Mid-Ohio and Toronto being just two weeks apart made the turnaround too challenging to overcome. Gordon’s racing schedule has significantly decreased in 2022 as he focuses on his UTV company, including not running the SCORE International Baja 500 in early June and skipping Mid-Ohio; the latter is his first missed SST race weekend since Detroit in 2018.

“With Robby out of the country, it made it difficult to do the race so soon after Mid-Ohio,” series officials told The Checkered Flag.

Only seven drivers are entered for SST at Mid-Ohio, with many opting to run other series or being on Independence Day holiday. While Gordon is out, his son Max is among those racing Mid-Ohio; the father/son duo swept the Long Beach weekend.

Following on from racially abusing Lewis Hamilton on a podcast last November, the BRDC have released a statement regarding Nelson Piquet Sr. A clip of a Brazilian podcast recorded in 2021 has resurfaced recently, where Piquet referred to the seven-time World Champion as the n-word.

The clip has caused anger throughout the Formula 1 paddock, with a number of teams and drivers jumping in to demonstrate their support for Hamilton. Ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, the BRDC have had their say on the situation. Piquet is an Honorary Member of the BRDC, however, this is set to be revoked.

An official statement from the BRDC said:

“The BRDC Board of Directors has noted that, in a Brazilian podcast last November, Nelson Piquet Senior, an Honorary Member of the BRDC, described Lewis Hamilton using a racially offensive expression in Portuguese. The apology issued yesterday by Mr Piquet Sr has also been noted.
 
“In view of the BRDC’s zero-tolerance policy towards any act involving or suggesting racism, the BRDC Board has concluded that Mr Piquet Sr’s use of racially offensive language to describe a fellow BRDC member (and 7-times World Champion) is unacceptable and represents conduct that is wholly inappropriate for an Honorary Member of the BRDC, notwithstanding his subsequent apology.  

“Accordingly, we have advised Mr Piquet Sr that his membership has been suspended with immediate effect.  Following the Club’s due process, it is anticipated that the Board will terminate Mr Piquet Sr’s membership at a board meeting to be held after the required 7-day notice period.”

After a three-year absence, Davey Hamilton Jr. had hoped to make a run for the 2022 Stadium Super Trucks championship. However, those plans have been abandoned when he discovered he had reaggravated a T4 spinal fracture in the season-opening Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, an injury he sustained in a 2017 King of the Wing sprint car crash at Irwindale Speedway.

“I really did not want to have to do this post but as the next race is nearing, I have to explain why I will not be racing Stadium Super Trucks any further,” begins a statement by Hamilton.

“This is super sad and unfortunate as we were expecting to run the entire season. But I have to do what’s best for my future. In 2017 I encountered a fracture in my t4 due to a major sprintcar wreck. Although it healed, the first stadium super truck race this year in Long Beach I ended up re breaking my t4 again in the same spot and after multiple doctor appointments and working with the medical team for Indycar, it has been decided that I can no longer take huge compression forces in my spine like that otherwise I am risking career ending injuries. I have a lot of plans in my racing career and it’s important to not jeopardize them.”

Hamilton ran ten races between 2017 and 2018 while also focusing on pavement sprint cars and dirt track racing. He took a hiatus to address personal troubles over the next three years before restarting his career in sprint cars in late 2021. He eventually signed with SST to run the full 2022 schedule.

At Long Beach, his first SST starts since the 2018 season finale in Mexico City, saw him finish eighth in both races. He livestreamed each event from an onboard camera. After the opener, sponsor Go Fast Take Chances increased its commitment to cover his entire SST season.

As two-wheeled master Laia Sanz continues her transition into four-wheel competition, she plans to use rallycross to her advantage. On Wednesday, she announced plans to run multiple races in the FIA World Rallycross RX2e category with the aim of developing her four-wheel skills for her Extreme E championship pursuit.

A full itinerary was not immediately revealed, though she had hoped to début in the season-opening World RX of Sweden in Höljes, which was to take place a week before Extreme E’s Island X Prix in Sardinia before being cancelled due to logistical issues. None of the six dates on the revised World RX calendar interfere with Extreme E, leaving her with plenty of options depending on her personal schedule.

Sanz first dabbled in RX2e at the 2021 World RX of Benelux in Spa-Francorchamps. She was one of three women racing in the event alongside Christine GZ and Klara Andersson, both of whom are also Extreme E colleagues. Catie Munnings, another female Extreme E competitor, intends to race in the 2022 RX2e season.

Crossovers between Extreme E and World RX also come on the male side such as stars Timmy and Kevin Hansen, XE championship leader Johan Kristoffersson, and Andersson’s XE team-mate Oliver Bennett.

“I enjoyed a lot of last year’s race I did at Benelux World RX of Spa-Francorchamps,” said Sanz. “It was so fun and provided me a good lesson, especially because I’m no used to fight with other cars and side-by-side.

Luke Browning leads the GB3 Championship at the halfway stage after an impressive weekend at Snetterton 300 in which he just had the edge on title rival Joel Granfors.

The Hitech GP driver leads the Drivers’ Standings by 11 points as the Championship heads to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to kick off the second half of the season.

The Checkered Flag looks back at the key stories from GB3’s only visit to the Norfolk circuit this season.

Granfors loses ground in title fight despite double podium

Joel Granfors led the Drivers’ Standings after the third meeting at Donington Park, albeit by a single point.

He and Browning have been in a class of their own for much of the season so far, but only shared the podium in Race 2 in Leicestershire after a Lap 1 crash in Race 1 took both out of the running, Browning hitting the barriers while trying to avoid Granfors’ spinning Fortec Motorsports car.

For better or worse, NEOM is here to stay in the Extreme E world. Two days after becoming the title sponsor of McLaren‘s XE and Formula E teams and four months since the 2022 season opener took place there, its ENOWA energy division signed a multi-year deal with Extreme E itself to become the series’ “Official Green Hydrogen Power Partner”. The new partnership also paves the way for ENOWA to have increased involvement when Extreme E launches the Extreme H hydrogen championship in 2024.

NEOM is a megaproject billed as a Saudi “eco-city” that hopes to expand the country’s public sector and improve it environmental record through futuristic and environmentally friendly living spaces. ENOWA was formed in March to provide water and energy to NEOM’s residents and infrastructure such as OXAGON, a port and development complex with a research campus housing McLaren XE’s Accelerator programme, to the point where all aspects of NEOM are fully powered by renewable resources.

“This partnership with ENOWA marks a further step in our mission for a more sustainable future,” said Extreme E head Alejandro Agag. “The work undertaken by ENOWA is extremely ambitious and an exciting prospect. NEOM, much like ourselves, pushes the boundaries of environmental sustainability and we are delighted to be partnering with ENOWA to go even further in our objective to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

“ENOWA plans to lead the development of world-class, sustainable energy, water and hydrogen systems which I am sure will become a reference point in the future, and our series will also benefit from this greater focus on technology and innovation.”

When NEOM completes the early phases of construction by 2025, among the developments is the world’s largest green hydrogen production plant, ownership of which will be split three ways between ENOWA, ACWA Power, and Air Products. Other green hydrogen plants are also planned.

Ryan Vargas‘ plan of running the full 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in the #6 for JD Motorsports has been upended twice as the team opted to place someone else in the car for the road course races at Portland and Road America, but he has a fallback plan to remain a weekly driver in Mike Harmon Racing. Ty Dillon will drive the #6 at Road America on Saturday, while Vargas heads back to MHR’s #47.

Vargas initially joined MHR for Portland, incidentally when MHR driver Gray Gaulding took over the #6.

“Once again, this was a business decision, and I will always understand that,” reads a statement posted by Vargas on Monday. “I am working as hard as I can to make sure I can secure funding to compete and lock down any remaining races.

“With that all said, I am pleased to share with you all that I will be returning to the #47 Mike Harmon Racing Chevy this weekend! I appreciate Mike and his team opening their doors for me and allowing me to pilot their racecar!

“I wish the best of luck to JD Motorsports this weekend, I look forward to returning to the 6 at Atlanta.”

After nearly three months since the opener in Long Beach, the Stadium Super Trucks return to action at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the second straight season and third year overall, doing so in support of the NTT IndyCar Series. Only seven drivers are present for the weekend, the smallest grid since six contested the 2021 Boost Mobile Super Trucks kickoff in Tasmania and the fewest for an American round since the same amount was at that year’s Mid-Ohio NASCAR weekend.

This limited number is attributed to Independence Day as most elect to spend the weekend with families or compete in other series. For example, three-time Mid-Ohio winner Matt Brabham is at the track as part of his full-time Indy Lights campaign; he told The Checkered Flag in March that his main series’ demands mean he cannot do both on the same weekend. Davey Hamilton Jr., who was initially planning to race the entire SST schedule, is unavailable due to King of the Wing at Colorado National Speedway.

Most notably, series head Robby Gordon will skip Mid-Ohio for overseas business obligations with SPEED UTV; it will be his first missed SST races since the 2018 Detroit Grand Prix, which he opted out in favour of contesting the Baja 500. Ryan Arciero, Jerett Brooks, and Cleetus McFarland also do not return from Long Beach.

Gavin Harlien is the only driver of the seven with a victory at Mid-Ohio, having won during the IndyCar weekend in 2019.

Series mainstay Bill Hynes drew media attention during the 2021 Mid-Ohio IndyCar weekend when he got into a post-race fight with Bo LeMastus. With LeMastus not entered, Hynes will hope he doesn’t have to throw another helmet or steering wheel. He has finished either seventh or eighth in all six of his SST Mid-Ohio starts. During their first Mid-Ohio runs in 2021, fellow regulars Max Gordon and Robert Stout also seemed to have a trend of placing in the same positions as the former alternated between seventh and fifth while the latter was always fourth or fifth.

The “Magic Weekend” of rallycross at the legendary Höljes Motorstadion takes place this weekend as the 2022 FIA European Rallycross Championship heads to the track many would argue is its spiritual home. The event is already casting its spell, as the 25-strong entry list is a veritable “who’s who” of rallycross talent as former champions, rising stars, and the greatest World Rallycross driver of all time are enticed back into action.

Set in the north of the Värmland region of Sweden, Höljes is one of the towns most impacted by motorsport in the whole world. The town’s population is only around 140 people, but the “Magic Weekend” (always the first weekend in July) can entice over 40,000 people to come visiting. The atmosphere for the fans is always something truly special. Happy Street, which links the paddock to the Velodrome corner, returns after an enforced two-year absence, and will feature live bands, pop-up discos, and thousands of enthusiastic rallycross fans. And that’s before we even get to the stellar entry list.

Double European Champion Anton Marklund proved himself to be a force to be reckoned with at the season opener in Nyirád. A superb weekend of driving, setting the pace in the heats, winning his Progression Race, semi-final, and ultimately the final, saw the Swede take the top spot as he made his debut with SET Promotion. Another driver who impressed was #YellowSquad racer Jānis Baumanis, who, despite having never raced at the Red Cauldron before, managed to challenge Marklund’s pace for much of the weekend before a technical issue dropped him to fourth in the final. Speaking afterwards, Baumanis said “For sure if there is a race next year here I would be able to push from the first practice, because I know all the small details and tricks you need to know here – that is so important.” As Höljes is a track at which he has a lot of experience, expectations of the Latvian driver will be high.

However, all of the Euro RX1 regulars will have to be on the top of their game in Sweden, as some true rallycross titans are coming back to fight for victory, including four-time World Rallycross Champion – Johan Kristoffersson. The Swede is bringing his all-conquering Volkswagen Polo GTi to Höljes, and his aim is crystal clear: “If you compete a lot, you will be good at competing. If you win a lot, you will be good at winning…expect the hunt for another victory to continue at Höljes.” It would be a brave person who bets against Kristoffersson this weekend.

Reigning Euro RX1 champion Andreas Bakkerud also makes a comeback this weekend in the same EKS Audi S1 that took him oh so close to World Championship success in 2019, tying on points with champion Timmy Hansen who won on countback. He will be partnering Belgium’s Enzo Ide who continues to impress, having scored a magnificent second place last time out in Hungary.

The first round of the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship will not take place as planned this weekend (02/03 July). The launch of the all-new all-electric era of World RX was scheduled to be part of the ‘Magic Weekend’ at Höljes in Sweden. The season opener will now take place nearly a month later than planned at the legendary Nurbürgring in Germany.

The announcement was made on the FIA website following the second meeting in 2022 of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris. According to the FIA website, the reason cited for the delay is “the long lead time for the delivery of certain components to assemble the cars” as the sport switches over from internal combustion into the new RX1e category. The new cars will produce the equivalent of 680bhp and will achieve 0-60mph in 1.8 seconds. However, fans will have to wait for almost a month before they get chance to see these new beasts in action.

An additional round has been added to the championship to keep the total number of rounds at six. The season finale will now take place at the end of October at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The ‘Magic Weekend’ will still go ahead this weekend as a round of the hotly contested FIA European Rallycross Championship, where championship leader Anton Marklund will take on reigning champion Andreas Bakkerud and four-time World RX Champion Johan Kristoffersson. While fans will be disappointed by the no-show from World RX, they can still be sure of a very competitive and entertaining weekend of rallycross, with racing in the Euro RX1, RX3, and RX2e series all taking place.

DH denotes double-header

Chris Dyson has been one of the top American sports car drivers in the twenty-first century, seeing success in the American Le Mans Series and Trans-Am Series. On Saturday, the defending Trans-Am champion will see if he can translate his run to stock cars as he enters the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America, driving the #35 Toyota GR Supra for Emerling-Gase Motorsports. It will be a loaded Saturday for Dyson as he is also running the Trans-Am race there later in the afternoon.

“It’s not just that I love racing at Road America because we’ve been successful there: it’s just a great driver’s track,” stated Dyson. “It’s fast and very challenging in any car you drive there. I’ve been coming to Elkhart since I was very young to watch my dad race. It’s a place that really sparked my imagination. I’m excited every day I get to spend at Road America, and I know I’m not alone in that respect.”

As smaller teams tend to employ road course specialists for such races, Dyson’s lone NASCAR start came in the 2019 Xfinity season with DGM Racing at Mid-Ohio, where he finished thirty-fourth after a wreck.

“I was able to run in the top ten until we got crashed out on a late-race restart,” he recalled. “It was a good learning experience and since then I’ve had three more seasons of relevant Trans-Am experience.”

Dyson won the Trans-Am TA class championship in 2021 with victories in all but three races, a strong conclusion after coming up short in the standings in the previous three years. He did not run the 2021 season finale at COTA for personal reasons, but he had already clinched the title by that point and substitute driver Matt Brabham ultimately took the victory.

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine now in its fourth month and the 2023 Dakar Rally six away, Russian teams hoping to take part in the legendary rally raid are likely fearing otherwise. In spite of the doubt, SNAG Racing owner Sergei Kariakin is optimistic about fielding two entries in the race, reaffirming his intent to compete under his nation’s flag.

On his team’s Telegram channel, a fan inquired about sponsorship and if SNAG would show up with just one team, to which another speculated about the likelihood of even being permitted to race. When a third pointed out host country Saudi Arabia’s ties to Russia—the former did not condemn the invasion and instead maintains economic friendliness as a fellow oil industry superpower—might give the outfit a chance, Kariakin vouched for them and stressed the desire to compete with his Russian nationality rather than a neutral flag, a penalty imposed by the FIA and FIM following the invasion. He also noted that if allowed at Dakar, the team only plans to run said race and not the full World Rally-Raid Championship.

“[W]e hope that it will be possible to take part in Dakar this year under the flag of Russia, but as part of only Dakar and not the World Cup,” reads a translation of one of Kariakin’s comments (“World Cup” is the name of the W2RC’s predecessor World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies but has been used colloquially to describe the current championship).

A user asked, “And if you can’t race under the Russian flag, will you go anyway?”

Kariakin: “Haven’t discussed this yet.”

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff looks forward to the team’s home race weekend at the British Grand Prix, where he hopes they will be able to continue their forward momentum. 

“Silverstone is next, and it’s always a highlight of the year. The fans are so passionate and knowledgeable. It’s also our local event, with Brackley and Brixworth close by. Our team members will be trackside on Friday watching from the stands and seeing the results of their hard work in action, which is incredibly exciting!”

Mercedes is coming off a successful round at the Canadian Grand Prix, where Hamilton made his first podium appearance since the season opener with a third place finish, and Russell finished just behind in fourth. Wolff said that the car showed great potential in Montréal, but maintains that there is still a way to go until they can compete at the top. 

“Canada was our fifth podium of the season, and we were happy to collect solid points. While we can be pleased with the flashes of speed that the W13 showed, there’s still a mountain to climb. A lot of work is needed to get to the front, but we have a clearer direction now. We’re focused on finding more and more performance as the season progresses.”

The team has gotten into a rhythm of high-scoring finishes– with Russell finishing in the top five every race this season– and is yet to suffer a retirement. As a result, Mercedes is solidly third in the constructor’s standings, currently forty points behind Scuderia Ferrari. Wolff is optimistic about the team’s ability to find further success in Silverstone and move closer to the frontrunners.

Scuderia Ferrari head into this weekend’s British Grand Prix looking to return to the top step of the podium, having not won a race since the Australian Grand Prix. The Italian team have come close on a number of occasions, including, the recent Canadian Grand Prix where Carlos Sainz Jr narrowly lost out to Max Verstappen.

Ferrari will be full of hope and optimism this weekend, as Charles Leclerc has been fitted with a new power unit. The Monegasque driver has suffered a number of PU failures as of late, resulting in his back of the grid start at the recent round in Canada.

Leclerc has a new PU at his disposal ahead of four races within the next five weeks, as the summer break edges ever closer. The number sixteen driver came close to winning at the Silverstone International Circuit last season, but was overtaken very late on by a charging Lewis Hamilton.

Ferrari’s Race Strategist, Ravin Jain, explained the characteristics of Silverstone ahead of the weekend.

“Silverstone is a very technical and high-speed circuit characterised by quick changes of direction, such as the famous Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence of corners which are some of the fastest on the F1 calendar. This fast-flowing nature with a lack of many slow speed corners means it is one of the least demanding circuits for brakes.