Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Algarve Pro Racing have confirmed their lineup of Jack Aitken, John Falb, and Sophia Flörsch, for the 90th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will take place 11-12 June at Circuit de la Sarthe, France.

The trio will take on the endurance classic driving the Oreca 07 – Gibson in the LMP2 class headed up by Aitken, who is classed as a gold driver this season.

The British-Korean driver has already been behind the wheel of the car at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, taking part in at two day test between 26-27 April. While mileage was limited due to heavy rain, the conditions improved enough for Aitken to complete a full programme of running.

Aitken heads into the event with some endurance experience under his belt, having raced a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the 2021 Spa 24 Hours, which unfortunately ended early with a multi-car accident that left him with a fractured collarbone and vertebrae.

2022 is proving to be a busy year for Aitken as he takes part in the European Le Mans Series, GT World Challenge Europe, ADAC GT Masters and now the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Dover International Speedway is a place that Josh Berry probably looks upon fondly. He made his NASCAR Cup Series début there in 2021, while the Xfinity Series‘ trip there on Saturday saw him score his first win of the season. Although JR Motorsports team-mate Justin Allgaier was the class of the field during the final stage, lapped traffic enabled Berry to overtake him with fifty-five laps remaining.

Brandon Jones started on the pole and led the first thirty laps—in the middle of which David Starr spun after contact with Kyle Weatherman—before Sam Mayer passed him. Mayer, also a JRM driver, won the stage ahead of allies Allgaier and Berry. A trio of Joe Gibbs Racing cars in Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs followed, while A.J. Allmendinger, fourth JRM driver Noah Gragson, Riley Herbst, and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top ten.

The second stage ran completely green before Mason Massey wrecked to end it under yellow. Although the segment was dominated by Jones and Gibbs, Allgaier took the lead ten laps before its conclusion to win. Jones, Allmendinger, Berry, Gibbs, Herbst, Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Creed, and Austin Hill tailed.

Allgaier dominated much of Stage #3, but lapped traffic hindered his progress and allowed Berry to catch up before making the overtake on lap 146. Two cautions occurred during the stage: the first came six laps after it began when Stefan Parsons spun, while the second was approximately ten laps following Berry claiming the lead for oil leaking from Bayley Currey‘s car after the driveshaft punctured the oil tank. A poor pit stop prior to the second restart dropped Allgaier back, but as Bery stormed off to his third career win, Allgaier rebounded to finish second.

“I went toe-to-toe with Justin Allgaier and he’s so freaking good here,” said Berry. “Gosh, I thought he was kind of out of it after that pit stop and then he was right back to second and I thought, ‘Here we go again.'”

Race results

With the always unpredictable Azerbaijan Grand Prix preparing to host Formula 1 on 10-12 July, the venue is looking set to ‘sell-out’ with fans to be in attendance for the first-time since 2019.

The 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw Sergio Pérez claim his maiden-victory for Oracle Red Bull Racing, after team-mate Max Verstappen experienced a high-speed tyre blowout down the main-straight. The 2021 race also saw Lance Stroll experience a high-speed blowout, with both Stroll and Verstappen crashing as a result. Lewis Hamilton also locked-up at Turn One at the race restart, following a red flag for Verstappen’s crash.

The Baku City Circuit has hosted five Grand Prix’s, with each race resulting in a different winner. The race has become a fan favourite due to how unpredictable races have been at the circuit over recent years.

Baku City Circuit Executive Director, Arif Rahimov, explained why he believes the circuit is one of the most exciting and popular on the ever-expanding calendar.

“One of the reasons this circuit produces such exciting races is that it has the right balance between a slow and twisty section and long, flat-out straights. We also have gradient and a variety of different corners which makes it difficult for teams and drivers to find the right setup. It might explain why we have had five different winners in the five races we have hosted so far. And I think we’re in for another new winner this year!

The newest edition of the Formula 1 video-game series has been announced by Electronic Arts and Codemasters, with the new game, titled F1 22, set for release on July 1.

The new game will include the Miami International Autodrome and track layout changes to a number of circuits, including the Yas Marina Circuit and Albert Park. Sprint races will also excitingly be included in the newest Formula 1 video-game, as will the new-era of Formula 1 cars. Possibly the most talked about feature in the new game, is that it will also include PC VR functionality via Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Another highly-talked game mode which will feature for the first-time, is F1 Life. In this mode players will get the opportunity to step into the highly-decorated world of Formula 1. Gamers will get a sense of the glamorous lifestyle of Formula 1, in the new F1 Life customisable hub, where players can purchase supercars, clothing and accessories. All of this can be earnt in game, through Podium Pass or the in-game store.

For those that Pre-Order the Champions Edition before May 16, they will get access to the game three-days before the July 1 release date. The Champions Edition will also give players a time-limited Miami-inspired content pack.

Lee Mather, F1 Senior Creative Director at Codemasters, is looking forward to players getting to grips with the newest edition of the popular Formula 1 video-game.

Ahead of the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez was sent on a sensational road trip, from New York to Florida. The Mexican driver became the first person to drive a Formula 1 car around the newly-built circuit ahead of the Grand Prix on May 6-8.

Red Bull are well-known for putting on incredible events for fans across the world, with Pérez distinctively remembering when Daniel Ricciardo drove a Formula 1 car across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The newest Red Bull road-trip, saw Pérez navigate his way from New York to Miami, with a little help from some sporting-guests along the way. These special guests included barefoot water-skier Parks Bonifay and Miami Dolphins player Byron Jones.

The ‘Race to Miami’ was Pérez’ first Red Bull road trip in the championship winning RB7, the Mexican loved every single second of his American adventure.

“I loved taking part in my first Red Bull road trip, I remember seeing the one of Daniel crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and never thought I would get the chance to be part of it. I think Miami is the perfect place for Formula One, it’s a very fun city and there’s a good energy there. The track is looking awesome and I can’t wait to see all the fans there. Austin always feels like a home race for me and I think Miami will be similar.”

Ahead of next weekend’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix, the Miami International Autodrome is nearing its completion with ninety-five percent of the venue ready for the event.

The building process on the 5.41km circuit only began in April last year, meaning the venue has been built in just over a year; the final layer of asphalt was only laid in March. The main work which remains to be built at the venue is to the temporary infrastructures, which represent the final piece of the puzzle before the venue is complete. As well as this, the finishing touches are being applied to other buildings, such as the Pit Building, Garages and Race Control Tower. All kerbs are being freshly painted and the temporary barriers are finally being fitted.

CEO of the Miami Grand Prix, Richard Cregan, is very pleased with how the whole building process has gone, he can’t wait for the drivers to get to experience the circuit.

“We’re in the final stages of this incredible circuit that will host the first-ever Formula 1 race in Miami. We are delighted with the progress we have made and it’s a huge credit to the hard work of the team here in Miami, in consultation with both Formula 1 and the FIA to get this circuit finished in a tight timeline. We have tried to create a track that drivers love to race on and a campus that offers unique, best-in-class fan experiences; and we can’t wait for the first weekend in May to be here.”

The circuit has been built in Miami Gardens, within the campus of the Hard Rock Stadium. The stadium is the home of NFL team, the Miami Dolphins. The circuit which consists of nineteen corners looks set to be a thrilling one, it will be another venue which has three DRS zones. These DRS zones will be found on the three straights at the venue, the longest being 1.28km in length.

Ed Carpenter Racing‘s Rinus Veekay will start from pole position for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, marking the second pole of the Dutchman’s young career, and the fourth different polesitter this season.

Veekay, who was fastest in practice this morning, was the last driver on track as time expired for the for the Fast Six session, denying Pato O’Ward the chance for back-to-back poles at Barber Motorsports Park.

“We knew we were in a good position, but to actually put it on pole is always an accomplishment,” Veekay said. “I think the whole team maximized everything. We made the right decisions with tyres, setup, everything, really a team effort.”

O’Ward’s starting spot on the outside of the front row is his best of the season, and after signing a new contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP confidence is high for the Mexican. AMSP had both their cars feature in the Fast Six, with Felix Rosenqvist starting fifth.

Many thought that this weekend would be Andretti Autosport‘s to dominate, especially after testing at the track in early April as well as littering the top of the charts in the first practice session, but unfortunate gambles in the Fast Twelve cost them a great deal of track position.

Stoffel Vandoorne says winning the Monaco E-Prix feels ‘fantastic’ as the Belgian took a superb victory at a track where his Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team has not been strong in the past.

The 2021 Monaco E-Prix was a struggle for everyone at Mercedes, but 2022 was a much different story, at least on Vandoorne’s side of the garage.  He qualified fourth having made it into the semi-finals of the duels, and he outpaced all his rivals to clinch his first victory of the 2021-22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season.

Vandoorne was full of praise of his team for giving him the car to be able to fight at the front of the field and enable him to stand on the top step of the podium in the principality for the second time in his career, having done so on his way to the GP2 Series title in 2015.

“It’s a fantastic feeling,” said Vandoorne.  “Monaco is one of those very special races that every driver wants to win.

“We had a tough weekend here last year but we really managed to turn things around this time. Our goal was to qualify well up the field, and after that, it was obvious to me that we could be top contenders as well. And that’s how it went.

Robin Frijns missed out on a podium finish in the Monaco E-Prix by less than two-tenths of a second on Saturday, but the Dutchman was pleased to score a good haul of points with fourth place.

The Envision Racing driver had started the race seventh after losing out to Stoffel Vandoorne in the quarter finals of the duels, but he was always in the hunt for the top three, although he ultimately fell short by just 0.174 seconds to DS Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne.

Frijns admitted falling short of the top three was disappointing, but after damaging his car around mid-distance in Monaco, he was just happy to see the chequered flag and score twelve points towards the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

“Overall it was not too bad,” said Frijns. “I think we could have got the podium, but I damaged the car halfway through the race, and for a while I thought my race was over.

“Pleased we managed to finish in fourth and take home some important points.”

Jean-Éric Vergne felt the timing of the full-course yellow during the Monaco E-Prix ruined his chance of chasing victory on Saturday, with the Frenchman having just activated his second attack mode when it was called by race direction.

The DS Techeetah driver was involved in the lead battle in Monaco all afternoon long, but Pascal Wehrlein’s untimely retirement prevented him from using his additional power from the attack mode as it ran out before the caution period was removed.

Nevertheless, Vergne says he is happy to come away from the event with a third podium of the season, although he fell behind Stoffel Vandoorne to second in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Drivers’ standings.

“I finished third and I’m quite happy with the race obviously,” said Vergne.  “I wanted to win it but I got unfortunate with the second attack mode, as when I activated it the full course yellow came out, which ruined my chance to win.

“I’m still happy with third, we scored strong points in the championships, and we are going to come back stronger in Berlin.”

Mitch Evans was unable to make it a hat trick of victories in Saturday’s Monaco E-Prix, but the New Zealander was still pleased to leave the principality with a pole position and a second-place finish.

Having won both races in the Rome E-Prix, the Jaguar TCS Racing driver stormed to pole position on Saturday, beating Pascal Wehrlein in the final of the Qualifying duels.  He led the early laps despite struggling with energy consumption and was involved in the lead battle throughout.

Evans admitted the struggles with his energy usage made it a much difficult race than he was hoping for, but he was still delighted with the podium that moves him up to second place in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Drivers’ standings.

“I really wanted to win today after starting on Pole position,” said Evans, who ended up just 1.285 seconds behind race winner Stoffel Vandoorne at the chequered flag.  “We had an incredibly efficient race car in Rome and I was hoping we’d replicate that here in Monaco.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t convert into a win today as we were struggling with energy but second is still really great points for me and for the team.”

Rinus Veekay went fastest during the red flag-riddled second practice session for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, a new face on top after Andretti Autosport dominated the first session at Barber Motorsports Park on Friday.

The Ed Carpenter Racing driver was the only driver to dip below a 1:06:000 lap time, with a best time of 1:59.9264 set on the Firestone red tyres.

“I knew we had potential yesterday, but we didn’t know we had the potential to be fastest right now,” Veekay said after the session. “The reds really give us what we need right now, I think there’s a little bit of time to be found on the blacks, but I’m happy.”

Some drivers who ran the red tyres didn’t seem to gain advantage they had hoped out of what is supposed to be the faster tyre, but the Dutchman disagreed.

“I felt like a half-second gain on the reds,” Veekay continued. “We just had to wait a little bit and we basically focused on a proper new tyre run when everyone was in pit lane. We did that well, got two new tyre runs in, one on blacks, one on reds, so I’m very happy. Being fast is enjoyable.”

Stoffel Vandoorne took over at the top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Drivers’ standings after winning the Monaco E-Prix on Saturday.

The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team driver started fourth and took advantage of the retirement of Pascal Wehrlein to take over at the front of the field having reached second after excellent usage of his first attack mode.

Polesitter Mitch Evans claimed second place for Jaguar TCS Racing, while Jean-Éric Vergne completed the podium for DS Techeetah after withstanding pressure in the final laps from Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns.

Evans held the lead into turn one at the start ahead of Wehrlein, with Vergne holding off Vandoorne for third. The early laps were all about energy saving, with the leading pack all bunched up together, with the first overtakes coming when drivers began using their attack modes.

Vergne was one of the first to take their attack modes and moved himself into position to take over the lead when Evans and Wehrlein took theirs.  Evans also fell behind Wehrlein and Vandoorne, before Wehrlein then attacked Vergne to take over the lead. 

Mitch Evans took a stunning pole position for the Monaco E-Prix on Saturday, with the in-form New Zealander beating Pascal Wehrlein in the final of the duels.

The Jaguar TCS Racing driver comes to Monaco on the back of a double victory in the Rome E-Prix, and Evans was in sublime form again to claim his first pole position of the 2021-22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season.

Group Stage

Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team’s Stoffel Vandoorne topped Group A in Qualifying in Monaco, the Belgian finishing just ahead of Tag Heuer Porsche FE Team’s Wehrlein, while championship leader Jean-Éric Vergne of DS Techeetah and Lucas di Grassi of ROKiT Venturi Racing also made it through.

Sam Bird missed out on the top four by just 0.013 seconds, with Nissan e.dams’ Maximilian Günther sixth, while Daniel Ticktum was an encouraging seventh for NIO 333 FE Team, although he was as high as second at one point during the session.

Perhaps surprisingly, Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara was only eighth in the session, with Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy down in ninth after a mistake saw him go off the track at turn one.  Rounding out Group A were Dragon/Penske Autosport’s Sérgio Sette Câmara and Nissan’s Sébastien Buemi.

It has been a difficult start to the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season for Andretti Autosport: across the first three races, Romain Grosjean was the only driver to score a podium finish when he placed runner-up at Long Beach, while Colton Herta won the pole for that race before hitting the wall. Seeking redemption, Andretti’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama weekend is off to a good start as Herta, Alexander Rossi, and Grosjean occupied three of the top four positions in Friday practice.

Herta set a time of 1:06.51 while Rossi and Grosjean respectively placed third and fourth. Breaking up the Andretti party in second was defending race winner Álex Palou, who was .05 slower than Herta. Palou had also topped the first practice for the 2021 race, while Rossi led the second.

“It was awesome to be back at a natural-terrain road course,” said Herta. “It feels great to be where we want to be at the end of the day. Gainbridge car was fast. We were lucky to be able to test here and found some good stuff.”

Palou commented, “The #10 American Legion car was really good. It was a short session as always. A little bit of work to do, but should be a good weekend for us.”

Josef Newgarden, who leads all drivers in wins at Barber Motorsports Park with three, struggled as he was eighteenth. Fellow Team Penske ally Will Power was just two spots ahead, but the team’s third driver Scott McLaughlin was the highest-running Chevrolet in fifth. Penske did not take part in the multi-team test at Barber in early April.