Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

With the Dakar Rally currently off limits for KAMAZ-master due to sanctions stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Kupriyanov is interested in taking the team back to the Africa Eco Race. While talking with Match TV, he was asked about the possibility of entering the AER, to which he explained it is “one of the questions that needs to be discussed” with the team.

“Personally, I would very much like to return to Africa someday,” said Kupriyanov. While KAMAZ is one of the top rally raid truck teams, he added “it doesn’t matter” if he wins or not.

“Africa just touches your heart, and it stays with you forever,” he continued. “It was in Africa that the rally marathons we know today were born. The Africa Eco Race has its own special atmosphere that you want to experience again.”

Kupriyanov finished second in the Truck category at the 2015 edition behind KAMAZ team-mate Anton Shibalov and third outright among all classes. He narrowly missed the podium over the next two years, but was the top-finishing hybrid in a gas/diesel hybrid truck. In 2019, he and his brother Alexander switched to an MD Optimus, and were running eighth when they crashed with overall leader Dominique Laure in Stage #8.

Outside of the AER, Kupriyanov regularly competes in the Russian Rally-Raid Championship for KAMAZ. He won the 2018 Rally Kazakhstan, part of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies (predecessor to the current World Rally-Raid Championship), in the Truck division.

The Morocco Desert Challenge might not be on the World Rally-Raid Championship, but that doesn’t take away from it being the second largest rally raid in the world behind the legendary Dakar Rally. As such, it was the perfect stage for new vehicles to shine.

Pol Tarrés led the way on his Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Rally, the first twin-cylinder adventure bike to win the MDC overall. A month after setting the world record for highest altitude climb by a motorcycle, he continued his hot spring by winning six of eight stages. He led a Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team 1-2 finish in the M1.2 subcategory for bikes with over 601cc in engine displacement ahead of Stephane Poulet, who replaced Tarres’ usual team-mate Alessandro Botturi while the latter was competing in the Italian Motorally Championship.

“It is my first rally victory in Africa and it means a lot to me,” said Tarrés. “My GYTR-kitted Ténéré 700 World Rally has been amazing all rally and never missed a beat. I could attack on most stages because I had such a great feeling with the bike. The Morocco Desert Challenge certainly lived up to its tough reputation, but we did it, and we won, and I am delighted. Not just for me but for the whole team who have worked tirelessly to get us here. I learned a lot during the rally and cannot wait for the next one.”

Morocco marked the first international rally for the Can-Am Maverick R, which had been enjoying success in its native America but has yet to be homologated for FIA rally raid competition. Erik Van Loon, driving for South Racing Can-Am, won the first three stages in the Maverick R before battling with the Maverick X3 of Mitchel van den Brink until a late mechanical issue knocked Van Loon out. Van den Brink, normally a Dakar Truck racer, notched his second consecutive SSV win.

While the Maverick R’s run was cut short, Century Racing‘s new CR7 T1+ car thrived. The CR7 had struggled at the Dakar Rally with parts shortages, but Mathieu Serradori, who enjoyed success in the CR6 4×2 machine, scored six stage victories on the Car/Buggy side for back-to-back wins. Like last year, the MD Optimus of Simon Vitse finished second.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. has raced and won in a variety of disciplines, ranging from the pavement of Formula DRIFT to the rocky terrain of Ultra4. Now, he can add the Nevada desert to his portfolio of successes.

Despite being new to desert racing and not being able to pre-run the course, Gittin won the Car/Truck overall in last Saturday’s Silver State 300. Racing a Ford Bronco nicknamed “Brocky”, his time of five hours, thirteen minutes, and nineteen seconds was 14:30 faster than the runner-up 6100 truck of David Ziegler.

“Brocky” usually sees action in Ultra4, a rock crawling series whose 4400 championship was won by Gittin in 2021. His team-mate Loren Healy, who has desert experience including the Baja 1000, retired with an engine problem.

“Super proud of our result, how I did. I drove just really flawless and clean,” said Gittin. “This endurance course of 264 miles was very rewarding to vehicle placement and my driving style. It was just super technical and tight and then technical and big and then just super fast. It was a lot of fun to use my entire skill set, everything I’ve learned in the drift cars and motocross and Ultra4, and apply it to this.”

The 43-year-old’s versatility has taken him from multiple disciplines even in 2024 alone. He finished sixth at King of the Hammers in February, then returned to California in mid-April for the Formula DRIFT season opener at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where the 2020 champion was eliminated by Nick Noback in the Round of 32. With the Silver State 300 out of the way, Gittin will return to Formula D next weekend in Atlanta.

The second round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) produced another great result for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the Hypercar class. The team, winners of the season opener at the Qatar 1812km, looked less dominant coming into the 6 Hours of Imola. However, thanks to a change in the weather and superb strategic decisions, the team secured another double podium finish.

Porsche Penske Motorsport qualified in 4th and 5th, very much looking second best to Ferrari AF Corse who had been enjoying a superb weekend up to that point. During the race, the German team battled against a resurgent Toyota Gazoo Racing, who had found pace and were flying. As the race settled into a rhythm, chaos began to reign as the rain began to fall. Ferrari stayed out too long in a strategic decision that ultimately cost them the race, allowing a battle to develop between Toyota and Porsche.

By the end of the race, Kévin Estre was right behind the winning #7 Toyota, while a superb drive from Matt Campbell allowed the team to delay their final refuelling stop, moving his #5 Porsche up to 3rd, the same position it finished in Qatar. Porsche remain the dominant force in the championship standings, with the #6 crew leading the drivers championship by 16 points and the team currently 9 points ahead of Toyota in the manufacturers championship.

Much like after Qatar, #6 driver Kévin Estre reflected on the challenges faced during the race. “The race itself was crazy: with wet tyres on a drying track, and the first lap back on slicks, that was awful” the Frenchman explained. “I had a bit more fuel than the Toyota and was therefore able to close the gap, but overtaking wasn’t possible at that stage. The team worked hard to put a competitive car on the track for us and to maximise everything. In the dry, we lacked the pace compared to Ferrari and Toyota. But with the right strategy and a clever tyre choice, we did a better job than most of the others.”

Matt Campbell, driver of the #5 Porsche and star of qualifying in Qatar, also commented on how tough it was managing the changing conditions. “Given the mixed weather conditions, my stint in this race was really difficult” the Australian said. “At times I struggled to keep the car on the track. Finding the right moment to change tyres was just as difficult. But the start of the season continues with good podium results for the team.”

Prema Racing, the Italy-based single-seater powerhouse, announced that it would be teaming with Chevrolet for two full-time IndyCar Series entries earlier this month. The move puts the potential car count for 2025 at 29, the largest amount of full-time entries in the modern era of American open-wheel racing. Prema is known for its entries into various European junior single-seater series, most notably FIA’s Formula 2 and Formula 3 feeder series. In 2022, the organization expanded into sports car territory with two entries into the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Now, the Italian outfit has expanded into North America for the first time in its four-decade history.

“It is a new challenge for us.” said team owner Rene Rosin. “We always looking to find new adventures, new possibilities to expand not only for our drivers but for mechanics, engineers. Given the opportunity to grow up within our structure and our business is something that we always look forward to.”

Rosin and the rest of the Prema team aren’t the only ones excited about the move. IndyCar president Jay Frye says the series can’t wait for a new, high-level team to join the field.

“One of the goals was to recruit new and elite race teams and owners, that type of thing. Obviously, 80 championships in 40 years, that’s pretty elite. We’re certainly thrilled to have them.” “We’ve been talking with them for the last six, eight months. We worked on the plan, let them see what it looks like going forward. We’re really excited to have them.”

The Ferrari AF Corse Hypercar drivers have reflected on what could have been after a disappointing result in their home race at the 6 Hours of Imola. The Italian team headed into the second round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with high hopes but ultimately left Imola empty handed.

The Scuderia started strong. They topped all three practise sessions before putting on a dominant display in qualifying, where all three Ferrari 499Ps locked out the top three positions on the grid. In the race, the pace was strong until the rain came. Ferrari ran a different strategy to Toyota Gazoo Racing, who pitted as soon as the rain came to switch to wet tyres. Ferrari continued on slicks, a seemingly masterful move as the rain wasn’t particularly heavy and confined to one area of the track. However, after a few laps, their courage failed and they switched to wets too late, handing the advantage to Toyota who ultimately went on to win the race.

One of the driver team in the #51 car, Alessandro Pier Guidi was understandably frustrated. “Unfortunately, we’re commenting on a final result that doesn’t reflect the potential of our cars” Pier Guidi said. “Finishing off the podium in front of the many fans who supported us here at Imola is disappointing. We made an excellent start and managed the first half of the race well. We understand the nature of motorsport, where joy can sometimes swiftly turn into disappointment. So, we leave Imola aware of our potential and recognise the need to continue improving. We’re already looking ahead to the next event at Spa in May, aiming to achieve a strong result.“

Nicklas Nielsen, one of the drivers for the pole-sitting #50 car, was equally disappointed, saying “The race showed promise at the start, with a strong pace in the opening hours. However, the weather changed, and we could not finish the 6 Hours of Imola as we’d liked. At the end of the day, we can’t be entirely satisfied. We’ll aim to gather valuable insights from this race to improve our performance and return determined to do our best as of the next race at Spa.”

The #50 car in the hands of Antonio Fuoco delivered a stellar performance after the pit strategy error played out. Fuoco managed to fight his way back up to 4th, delivering the fastest lap of the race on lap 203 out of 205. Unlike Toyota, who managed to secure victory despite not having the fastest car, Ferrari now need to work on maximising the potential and not throwing a result away due to strategic errors.

Ukrainian Trophy-Raid Championship regular Mykhailo Svirgun was kiled in action while serving with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Before the Russian invasion began in 2022, Svirgun competed in the series as a co-driver during the late 2010s. A Kharkiv native, he was part of the local Bilka off-road team and thus worked alongside drivers like fellow residents Serhiy Tarasov.

Tarasov and Svirgun mainly raced a Toyota Land Cruiser or a UAZ-469 in the TR2 class. Prior to the series’ pause by COVID-19 in 2020, the duo enjoyed podiums at rounds like the 2019 Polissya Trophy, the second race of the season held in Kyiv.

With Bilka, he was a popular face in the off-roading and Jeep community.

“Mykhailo Mykhailovych Svirgun, the navigator of the ‘star’ Kharkiv crew ‘Belka’, died defending Ukraine from the Russian-fascist invaders,” reads a statement from the Automobile Federation of Ukraine. “A wife and two children were left without a husband and father…

In a surprise announcement Wednesday, IndyCar announced that Team Penske has been assessed penalties following an issue with the team’s “Push to Pass” system discovered during morning warmup on Sunday in Long Beach. Winner Josef Newgarden and third-place finisher Scott McLaughlin are both disqualified from the season opener at St. Petersburg in March, with teammate Will Power promoted to second place but penalized 10 driver points. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who originally finished in second place, is now the official winner – his first win since Iowa in 2022.

Officials determined that all three cars used the “Push to Pass” system on race starts and restarts, which is not allowed under Rule 14.19.16 of the IndyCar Series rulebook. Investigation showed that Newgarden’s No. 2 and McLaughlin’s No. 3 gained a competitive advantage with the violation, whereas Power did not, resulting in the 2022 champion keeping his position.

Team Penske president Tim Cindric responded, saying it was a mistake related to recent hybrid testing, and that the team will not appeal:

In the top five, O’Ward and Power are joined by Colton Herta, Alex Palou, and Felix Rosenqvist. Newgarden, who previously led the championship standings, is now in 11th with McLaughlin down in 29th. Scott Dixon, who won in Long Beach, now leads the standings, followed by Herta, Palou, O’Ward, and Power.

Team principal and driver of the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing car, Kamui Kobayashi has paid tribute to the superb effort that was put in by the whole team to secure victory in the Hypercar class at the 6 Hours of Imola. After a tough race full of twists and turns, the #7 car triumphed in the second round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), propelling the drivers to 2nd in the championship and Toyota to second in the manufacturers’ championship.

“It was a very tough race and to win here is absolutely phenomenal. Our car was not the fastest this week but the team performed so well” Kobayashi admitted. He paid tribute to his fellow drivers, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries for getting them into contention from qualifying in 6th. “There was big pressure from the start of my stint; I was in the lead on slick tyres in the rain. We made the right call to switch tyres and build a gap, then we kept good pace on the wet tyres.“

Not only did the rain cause strategy headaches, so too did the fuel levels come the final stages of the race. “We were not sure about fuel so we started to save energy and I gave everything, it was very tough” explained Kobayashi. He was being hunted down by the very rapid #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport car while trying to save fuel simultaneously. Ever humble, Kobayashi played down his part in the victory, saying “the team did a great effort in terms of strategy and that gave us the chance to fight for the win. Thanks to the everyone for their fantastic work here.”

Mike Conway, driver of the #7 car for the opening stint of the race, was quick to praise his teammate. “It was really tense all the way to the end” the British driver said. “Kamui did a great job at the end to stay ahead whilst saving energy. As always the pressure doesn’t affect him; I think my heart rate in the garage was higher than his in the car!“

Reflecting on his own performance, Conway said “at the start I stayed out of trouble and tried to move forwards. I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed my first time racing here.” He also praised the team, saying “the crew did a great job in the pits and the strategy couldn’t have been any better. Congratulations to the whole team and everyone at Toyota.“

After last racing before COVID-19, Show Aikawa‘s FLEX SHOW AIKAWA Racing will make their return to the Asia Cross Country Rally in August. The team will field a Toyota Land Cruiser 150 Prado for himself and Masato Kawabata with Daychapong Toicharoen as co-driver.

Kawabata and Toicharoen currently compete in D1 Grand Prix, the former a three-time champion with titles in 2007, 2013, and 2015. Toicharoen hails from Thailand, where the AXCR takes place, but is fluent in Japanese. In 2023, Kawabata finished ninth in the top-level D1GP standings while Toicharoen raced a part-time schedule.

In 2019, Kawabata finished second overall in his AXCR début. AIKAWA Racing first appeared at the rally the year prior, finishing sixteenth with Aikawa, Kinya Miyamoto, and Takahiro Yasui.

Although they did not return to the AXCR after the onset of the pandemic, Aikawa kept the programme alive by competing in the XCR Sprint Cup and Rally Hokkaido, both of which Kawabata won in 2023. Aikawa himself also runs rallies in a Toyota Yaris from Toyota Gazoo Racing. Due to timing, the team will not be able to defend their Rally Hokkaido win, though Aikawa plans to field a second car in the future.

“It’s our first Asia Cross Country Rally in five years, so both Kawabata and I are very excited and looking forward to it,” said Aikawa. “We believe that we will make up for the humiliation of 2019 and win our class.”

Santag Racing has joined forces with GRallyTeam for the 2024 FIA European Baja Cup and Portuguese Cross-Country Championship, fielding the OT3 car in the Challenger class for Armindo Araújo and João Dias.

Founded in 2021, Santag Racing previously competed with a Can-Am Maverick in both the Challenger (T3) and SSV (T4) categories. They are the reigning European Baja Cup team champion, ironically beating GRallyTeam by ten points, while Dias won the T3 title over GRallyTeam’s Ghislain de Mévius in a tiebreaker. Santag also claimed the 2023 CPTT T4 championship with Rui Farinha.

As part of their new partnership, Santag will be the exclusive distributor for the OT3 on the Iberian Peninsula. The alliance comes weeks after the team entered the World Rally-Raid Championship‘s BP Ultimate Rally-Raid in Portugal and Spain: Dias and his Maverick led the Challenger overall early on before a burst gas pipe relegated him to eighth; Araújo finished second, losing by less than eight minutes.

With their successes in Europe, Santag plans to enter the Dakar Rally in 2025.

“These cars are highly competitive, bearing the hallmark of GRallyTeam, which continues to invest in the quality, evolution, and development of the OT3,” commented Santag manager David Vieira. “It provides us with promising indicators and expands our offerings to customers, solidifying our position and growth in this sport in both Portugal and Spain.”

The KTM 450 Rally Replica has received a facelift for 2025, which the manufacturer deemed its biggest since 2020 as changes are intended to make it closer resemble the factory counterpart used by those in the World Rally-Raid Championship‘s top-level RallyGP.

The 450cc fuel-injection engine is modelled after the one used in KTM’s motocross and enduro bikes and features a new single overhead camshaft. To improve its cooling, a second radiator has been added. The clutch and gearbox are also stronger to protect them from damage.

The frame, a departure from the steel trellis frame, is supported by a new aluminum swing arm to reduce weight while maintaining stiffness.

In total, the bike can carry 34.5 litres of fuel. A sixteen-litre fuel tank is situated at the back while nine- and 9.5-litre tanks are at the front, each of which have a fuel pump that the rider can operate independently.

The dashboard is lighter with more warning lights and an LED headlight system to help riders in dawn and at night. KTM regards the changes as “a major styling update, with a sharper, more aggressive profile.”

A month after parting with Monster Energy Honda Rally Team, José Ignacio Cornejo has signed with Hero MotoSports for the rest of the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship.

“I’m really excited to join Hero MotoSports, a team that’s making the waves for all the right reasons,” commented Cornejo. “I’ve known the team for years, and they’re all good friends from the circuit. I’m sure it will be great fun to embark on a journey with some of the best riders in rally raid, and create greater success stories for the team. In the past few years, Hero has shown exceptional growth, and I know the journey is only upwards from here.”

The Chilean raced for Honda from the 2018 Dakar Rally through the 2024 edition, finishing sixth in his final start with them in January with a career-best three stage wins. He ended his Honda tenure with ten total Dakar stage wins and a best finish of fourth in 2020, along with back-to-back sixths in the W2RC RallyGP points.

Honda skipped the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in February, and Cornejo left the team the following month. Without Cornejo or Dakar winner Ricky Brabec due to sponsorship obligations, Honda entered the recently concluded BP Ultimate Rally-Raid with just four riders but won anyway courtesy of Tosha Schareina ahead of Cornejo’s new team-mate Sebastian Bühler.

Cornejo joins Hero at an opportune time as the team is enjoying their best season to date so far. Although he did not win, Bühler’s runner-up in Portugal is the highest W2RC finish of his career. Ross Branch, Hero’s other full-time rider, currently leads the championship with a pair of seconds at Dakar and Abu Dhabi. Aaron Marè scored the marque’s maiden W2RC victory in Abu Dhabi as a substitute rider for Bühler. After three rounds, Hero leads Honda by three points in the manufacturer’s standings.

Shinya Fujiwara knows how to navigate obstacle courses on a motorcycle, but will now see if he can transfer those skills to the Saudi desert. At a press conference in Nagoya on Monday, he announced his goals of entering the Dakar Rally in 2026.

As he has no prior rally raid experience, he will run the Rallye du Maroc in October and the Africa Eco Race in January 2025 to get accustomed to the discipline. The former, held in Morocco, is the final round of the World Rally-Raid Championship while the AER follows the Dakar’s original route from Europe to Senegal. The Rallye du Maroc is on the Road to Dakar, a programme in which the best finisher who has never competed in the Dakar earns free registration.

“It has always been my dream to participate in the Dakar Rally. As the song by Mr. Children goes, ‘I feel great when I climb progressively higher walls,'” said Fujiwara. The song he quotes is “Owarinaki Tabi” (“Endless Journey”), one of the most popular works from the Japanese rock band. “By taking on a big challenge, I want to show the pride of being a Japanese person to the world.”

Nicknamed “Bussashi-sensei”, Fujiwara won the 2014 All-Japan Trial Championship in the International A category. He also competes in hard enduro events, winning the All Japan Hard Enduro Championship‘s selection tournament in 2021 and 2022, and contesting the legendary Red Bull Erzbergrodeo; he finished eighty-second overall at the latest edition in 2023. Fujiwara will return to the Erzbergrodeo in June before beginning his rally training.

Born on 6 January 1990 in Hyōgo Prefecture, he began riding when he was seven years old.

Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus hopes to be the first team to complete the daunting Baja 1000 with zero emissions, and plan to do so with the SCG 008 Hydrogen Fuel Cell (HFC) car.

Introduced in 2022, the SCG 008’s standard ICE form is a kit car (meaning it ships with most components but customers must acquire others like the engine themselves) that combines elements of the SCG Boot with the 004 sports car. The 004 has been used by the team in endurance races like the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, while the Boot—based on Steve McQueen’s car of the same name that raced in the 1960s—won Class 2 at the 2019 and 2020 Baja 1000s with Sonora Rally director Darren Skilton as driver.

Team owner Jim Glickenhaus described the 008 as being like a rallycross or rally raid version of the 004. Indeed, the design of the 008 is modelled after the 004 and both are three-seater vehicles with the driver’s seat in the centre. Otherwise, the 008’s bodywork is made from fibreglass rather than carbon fibre. It also uses a carbon steel chassis with independent rear suspension.

The HFC version will use 700-psi hydrogen tanks that can be swapped out within a “few minutes”, with an intended range of roughly 150 miles in the desert.

“We hope to prove that this can be done safely with quick safe refueling,” wrote Glickenhaus. “We are also developing a HFC pick up truck. We are also working on viable refueling stations and viable remote refueling solutions.