Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Alex Albon is aiming for more points this weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix, after finishing ninth last time out in Miami. The Williams Racing driver drove superbly at the Miami International Autodrome, to clinch another points finish.

Albon like most drivers, is interested to see the performance difference of his car this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, compared to when they visited the circuit for the official shakedown test.

This weekend’s venue is one that all the drivers have done a number of laps of, something which the Thai driver believes will “work in my favour”. Albon won’t be getting into the car until Free Practice 2 in Spain, as Nyck de Vries will be mandating one of the two young drivers sessions for this season.

“It will good to head back to Barcelona; I’m interested to see how much the car has improved since we were last there for pre-season testing. It’s a good track, and one that every driver has done countless laps around, more so than any other circuit. That familiarity will work in my favour this weekend and help me get up to speed more quickly after sitting out FP1 whilst Nyck is in the car. We’re hungry for more points after Miami, so that’s what we’ll continue to push for.”

“We all feel we’ve gained a much better understanding of the car” – Nicholas Latifi

Nicholas Latifi is in desperate need of a good result, as speculation of his future with Williams continues to grow. The Canadian driver had yet another disappointing weekend in Miami, meaning that a strong result this weekend is almost essential.

Thirteen-year-old Stadium Super Trucks driver Max Gordon normally races against drivers old enough to be his father (including his own dad Robby), but 1–3 July’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course weekend will see the arrival of someone within his range as Ben Maier makes his début in the #67 with sponsorship from Honda Marine, Holiday Rambler, and Boe Marine & RV. He intends to run the rest of the 2022 season.

Maier, who is six months younger than Gordon, tested a stadium truck in March but had to wait two months before finalising an entry as he searched for sponsorship. He has competed in a vast array of disciplines on pavement and dirt, ranging from karting and Legends cars to single-make Spec Miata. He has won eleven racing titles, including five in the World Karting Association while others have come in SKUSA and Rotax Grand National.

While SST is a far cry from karts and short tracks, he isn’t unfamiliar with off-road vehicles as he owns a Polaris RZR SXS. A fan of off-roader-turned-NASCAR great and IndyCar driver Jimmie Johnson, Maier has received coaching from fellow Maryland native and rally star Travis Pastrana. Although all four rounds on the 2022 SST calendar are street circuits, the trucks’ off-road lineage and setup demand such a driving style regardless of surface.

In conjunction with the SST news, Maier joined the Spire Sports + Entertainment agency with representation from Vice President of Athlete Management Phillip Smalley. The company currently fields a NASCAR Cup Series team and clients include a litany of drivers like Cup race winners Ross Chastain and Justin Haley.

“Ben has secured funding and support from some major sponsors to run the remaining 3 rounds of the 2022 Stadium Super Trucks series,” reads a statement from his team. “Now the fun begins, designing the livery, and working with sponsors to make the most of this opportunity. To any other young drivers out there with big dreams, keep banging on doors and don’t let those ‘No’s’ discourage you. This is a breakout moment for Ben that will have him racing in front of hundreds of thousands of fans.”

This weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix looks set to be an important weekend for the McLaren F1 Team, as Andreas Seidl announced that the team will be “bringing some upgrades” to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Upgrades is exactly what the team need following the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, where Lando Norris retired and Daniel Ricciardo finished thirteenth. Norris was hit late on by Pierre Gasly, immediately ending the British driver’s race.

McLaren do go into this weekend with some data on how the new cars will perform at the Spanish venue, as Barcelona hosted the official shakedown test back in February.

The McLaren Team Principal is hoping the upgrades will be effective, especially as Formula 1 now enters a double-header.

“Whilst the race result in Miami wasn’t what we wanted it to be, the team are fully focused on the Barcelona weekend and the European double-header ahead of us. Spain is a great all-rounder track, with a nice mixture of high and low speed corners, plus areas that are more technically difficult. We’ve had some solid results there over the last few years with good points scored, which we’re looking to continue this year.  

Lando Norris is hoping to bounce back this weekend, after retiring at the recent Miami Grand Prix. The McLaren F1 Team driver is a fan of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which will as always host this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Norris’ inaugural race in Miami was brought to an abrupt end towards the end of the race, after colliding with Pierre Gasly. The Scuderia AlphaTauri driver hit the rear-right of Norris on the exit of Turn 7, sending the British driver spinning several times before coming to a halt alongside the tyre wall.

Going into this weekend, McLaren do already have some data which they can use, after completing the shakedown test in Barcelona.

Norris is excited to be returning to Catalunya where he “got some good running” in February.

“I’m excited to be heading back to Europe and racing in Barcelona this weekend. I like the circuit in Spain as it has some nice features, a mixture of challenges and speeds, and a great crowd. I’ve put the retirement in Miami behind me and I’m fully focused on the race ahead.  

It was today announced that Lamborghini would be joining both the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2024.

After flirting with joining the top tier of sports car racing late last year, Scuderia Corse confirmed that they would be joining both series with a single car entry. The ability to join both series comes from an agreement at the FIA World Motor Sport Council earlier this year when the LMDh regulations come into effect (compared to the LMH regulations that came into the WEC this year). This will allow entrants of the Hypercar class to take part in both race series including prestigious races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona.

“I am absolutely delighted that Lamborghini will be taking the next step in our motorsport journey, the step into LMDh and the top level of sports car racing.” Giorgio Sanna, Lamborghini Head of Motorsport, said. “LMDh will play a special role in Lamborghini’s Motorsports strategy, giving us the unique opportunity to expand our customer racing activities to new platforms and enforce our long-term partnership with customer teams and drivers.”

The LMDh program will not affect the current GT racing commitments of the brand and they still plan to run their customer GT3 teams and Super Trofeo. The racing team have celebrated more that 40 titles since starting competitively racing in 2015 including triple GTD class wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2018-20). The achievement also marked the first time a single manufacturer had won three times in a row.

“This step up into the highest echelon of sports car racing marks an important milestone for our company,” stated Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini Chairman and CEO. “We will be measuring ourselves against the very best, on the most demanding proving grounds.

ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minnesota, is a popular spot in the region for snowmobile and off-road racing, the latter of which includes annual stops by Championship Off-Road and Nitro Rallycross. However, complaints have hampered hopes of expanding the facility and potentially placed its existence on the line. The Elk River City Council held a meeting on Monday to discuss whether to grant changes to the track’s conditional use permit (CUP), though debate has delayed a decision until the COR race weekend on 15/16 July.

Much of the resistance concerns noise or upgraded facilities encroaching on private property, both of which are not uncommon reasons for race tracks in populated residential areas failing to see much further development and/or the arrival of larger racing championships, a concept that is commonly dubbed NIMBYism (“Not In My Back Yard”). Perhaps the most notable example in recent American motorsport comes at the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where NASCAR‘s efforts to revitalise it for potential national series competition are hamstrung by residential opposition.

Although generally liked by the community and regarded as a boon to the local economy, ERX does not possess the benefit of extensive history like Nashville, having opened in 2008. The track began life as a snocross circuit before expanding to host short course off-road events. COR and Nitro RX held races at ERX during their inaugural seasons (track co-owner Andrew Carlson competed in both), and the latter is listed on ERX’s website as returning for the 2022/23 season on 1/2 October. Non-racing events include Day of the Dozer, which teaches families about construction safety, and concerts.

Prior to Monday, a petition circulated with calls to shut down the track. The meeting’s ERX discussion lasted approximately three hours and focused on whether a conditional use permit should be approved. As it is legally regarded as “Extreme Commercial Recreation”, a CUP is required to operate.

Track officials hoped to implement an amendment to the existing CUP which would allow for ERX to be expanded. Such renovations included a slight course modification in the northeastern area, and the construciton of new facilities like semi-permanent viewing decks, storage sheds, and a two-floor building housing announcers and concessions. A larger copy sign to complement two smaller ones was also included in the track’s proposal. If the CUP is granted, ERX needs a platted exemption in order to legally attain land for the expansion.

With the third round of the 2022 FIA European Rally Championship taking place at Rally Islas Canarias this weekend, the Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli will debut a brand-new asphalt spec tire and will be on offer for the Pirelli equipped rally drivers.

The new hard compound tire P Zero RA5A is an evolution of the old RA5 model, which has been used with success for the past three years.

The tire is designed for dry and abrasive asphalt and has been modfied with a renewed tread compound and a new construction. With asphalt rallies being run on difficult conditions with sometimes high temperatures, Pirelli is aiming to prodive better performance, less wear and reliability with the new RA5A tire.

“After three years of success, the reliable P Zero RA5 is replaced by the RA5A which, thanks to the new technologies developed by our research and development team, will offer greater performance and less wear.” Terenzio Testoni, Pirelli’s rally activity manager, said.

“The experience we have also gained in the WRC has been invaluable for the evolution of our asphalt rubber, with conditions that are generally more extreme than in the European and national championships, with longer specials and more aggressive surfaces.”

The Korean premium car manufacturer Genesis has now signed an extended partnership with United Kingdom’s most popular motorsport and automotive event, the Goodwood Festival of Speed with the new partnership, Genesis will continue with being the official partner for the coming three years.

The announcement follows on Genesis’ successful debut in 2021 at Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the Korean manufacturer unveiled the new Genesis G70 Shooting Brake model for the public for the first time. In 2021 it also marked the launch of the Genesis brand on the European market.

For this year’s edition of the event, which will be held between 23-26 June, the brand will debut two new models at the festival and display some cars on offering from their range of cars, including models like G70, G70 Shooting Brake, GV70 SUV, G80, GV80 SUV and the brand’s first all-electric car, the GV60. All of the cars will do demonstration runs up the hill climb throughout the four days event.

“We are delighted to announce our ongoing official partnership at Goodwood Festival of Speed, a world renowned event with an unrivalled reputation.” Dominique Boesch, Managing Director for Genesis Motor Europe, said.

“Our electrification journey will continue at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with two exciting product debuts and we’re looking forward to sharing these moments and the continuing Genesis story with the Goodwood visitors”.

The 2019 FIA Junior World Rally Champion Jan Solans from Spain, who is the younger brother of the FIA European Rally Championship star Nil Solans, will be starting the 2022 WRC2 campaign at Rally de Portugal this weekend.

Solans announced his plans and livery on Wednesday evening and the young rising talent will be teaming up with Rallye Team Spain for a bet in the new WRC2 Junior category. He will be doing selected rallies over this season but he hasn’t got the budget to do the whole season remainder. It’s still unknown what rounds he will be doing beside Portugal and the upcoming Rally Italia Sardegna in June.

He will be joined this year again by his fellow Spanish co-driver Rodrigo Sanjuan, the partnership started last year after the long-term co-driver Mauro Barreiro and Solans partered away at the end of 2020.

The Citroën C3 Rally2 the duo is using will be fielded by the Spanish outfit Sports & You with support from Citroën Racing.

“I would like to fight for another Junior World title, but at the moment I don’t have enough budget to make all of the WRC2 Junior season.” Solans told The Checkered Flag.

The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team driver Gus Greensmith has stated he will be targeting his maiden FIA World Rally Championship podium next weekend at Rallye de Portugal.

The Briton says “I want to get on the podium,” as he will be entering his seventh Rallye de Portugal event. Greensmith has never been on the podium in the top class before but he’s determined to score a better finish this time; “For me, that’s the only goal. I’m going to give it everything and go flat out from the start.”

Greensmith’s best finish so far is a fourth place at the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya and at the two-first rounds of this season he has scored two fifth place finishes but in Croatia he faced several punctures which made him to end the rally in a disappointing way.

“Croatia was a little bit frustrating last time out. I think we had the pace to be top-five again without the punctures. But that’s behind us now and I’m looking forward to Portugal.”

However, Greensmith is not eligible to score any manufacturer points in Portugal and he is entered outside of the M-Sport team in one of the five Ford Puma Rally1 cars. Sébastien Loeb, Craig Breen and Adrien Fourmaux will be competing for points meanwhile Greensmith and Pierre-Louis Loubet are additional drivers.

Earlier in March this year, the New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon announced a two-year entry in the WRC2 class on his route to a possible FIA World Rally Championship comeback and now his journey towards that will start with a local Italian rally at the end of June.

Paddon will be doing three WRC2 rounds this season in a privately owned Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car and he has planned to do the Rally Estonia and the Rally Finland at the end of the summer alongside his home rally in New Zealand as the rally makes it’s comeback to the WRC schedule this year before taking on a full-season in WRC2 in 2023.

Paddon has now announced he and his co-driver John Kennard will be doing the Italian Rally di Alba as a warm-up for the upcoming WRC2 campaign, they will be competing for the Hyundai Motorsport Italia team in a Hyundai i20 R5, a team he was involved with at the 2015 edition of Rally Legend in San Marino.

Paddon competed last time in WRC2 for M-Sport Ford at the 2019 Wales Rally GB where he came fourth in class and since then Paddon has developed an all-electric Hyundai Kona rally car that he has competed in some local events with.

The reigning FIA Junior World Rally Champion Sami Pajari from Finland will make his WRC2 debut with Toksport WRT in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo at Rally Italia Sardegna in June.

The 20-year-old Finn will take part his second ever outing in a Rally2 car as he steps up to the class in Italy two weeks after his Portugal JWRC start. His first Rally2 outting was earlier this year in Finland where he contested the Riihimäki Ralli and finished fourth.

“It’s a big rally in a powerful car, I’m really looking forward to my first Rally2 event at world championship level. I don’t set performance goals for the competition, but of course I’d love to see the pace and experience increase during the competition and hopefully have some good times.” Pajari said.

After winning the 2021 title Pajari was given the choice to either run a Ford Fiesta Rally3 or a Ford Fiesta Rally2 from M-Sport Poland for this season as part of his prize for winning in JWRC.

Pajari choosed to take less powerful Rally3 car and remained to defend his JWRC title. The JWRC series previously used the front-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta Rally4 cars but have now switched over to the four-wheel-drive Rally3 machines. Pajari became the last driver to win a title in a two-wheel-drive car in the series.

The reigning FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier will be returning behind the wheel of the Toyota GR Yaris1 this weekend at the Rallye de Portugal but he is doubting his performance level after the pre-event testing.

The eight-time champion is running a part-time program this season and he hasn’t sat in the Yaris since his second place finish at the Rallye Monte-Carlo in January but Ogier stated the car has evolved since that.

For the 2022 season, Ogier is sharing the third car with Esapekka Lappi in the Japanese manufacturer’s team as Ogier is also doing a LMP2 program in the FIA World Endurance Championship this year.

The Frenchman also shares the most wins in Portugal together with the Finn Markku Alén, both of them have five wins to date but Ogier is keen to make it a sixth next weekend.

Ogier has spoken to WRC.com after his test with Toyota Gazoo Racing as he tested the car on gravel in Portugal last week ahead of round four of the 2022 campaign.

At the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship next weekend at Rallye de Portugal, the largest gathering of world rally champions, co-drivers, teams and also cars, will celebrate the championship’s 50th anniversary with a large festival in Matosinhos, Portugal.

The former WRC champions of Sébastien Loeb, Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier will be presented at the festival but they are also competing in the main event. Joining alongside those three are other iconic names such as Walter Röhrl, Ari Vatanen, Miki Biasion, Carlos Sainz, Marcus Grönholm and Petter Solberg.

The co-drivers presented at the event are familiar names such as Robert Reid, who is the FIA deputy president for sport, Luis Moya, Christian Geistdörfer, Tiziano Siviero, Timo Rautiainen, Derek Ringer, David Richards and Martin Järveoja.

Also many female drivers and co-drivers from the FIA Ladies’ Cup will be there, such as Michèle Mouton and Fabrizia Pons, which are the only female pairing to win a WRC round, Louise-Aitken-Walker and Isolde Holderied, including their co-drivers Tina Thörner, and Christine Driano.

Other guests that will be presented are the current FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who himself is a old rally driver, WRC Promoter managing director Jona Siebel and the president of Automóvel Club de Portugal Carlos Barbosa.

After the decision to return to the two-race weekend format for the 2022 FIA Formula 2 championship, many of the drivers have expressed how much they prefer it to the three-race format we saw for the 2021 championship.

Current championship leader Théo Pourchaire was among them, stating after the first qualifying session of the season in Sakhir, “I think it’s a lot better. Last year was just too much and nobody understood the rules, I mean it was too complicated.”

“Now we are back to something really nice and the sprint race winner will only score ten points which is normal because it was tenth in Qualy.”

The two-race format is something that had been part of Formula 2’s regulations since it’s rebrand from GP2 in 2017 but was changed to the three-race format for the 2021 season as part of cost-cutting measures introduced by the FIA.

The measures were designed to help the teams that were competing in both F2 and the FIA Formula 3 championship by allowing them to rotate staff between each championship and alleviate some of the pressure.