Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

17-year-old race driver Bianca Bustamante has announced her signing with IGY6 Motorsports where she will race in the USF Junior Championship, a series which is a pre-step up to Road to Indy ladder series. Across the United States, USF Juniors will be staged at famous tracks with two weekends being supported by Indy Car.

Bustamante will race this weekend on the 23/24 April 2022 for the race opener at the Ozarks International Raceway in Missouri for championship’s first ever season. The race comes just two weeks before Bustamante will make her W Series debut at the Miami International Autodrome on 6-8 May 2022.

She will gain invaluable experience in USF Juniors as this will be her first-ever formula car race weekend. Bustamante will take part in four out of the championship’s six races, missing the final two due to schedule clashes.

The Filipino driver impressed W Series’ Race Director Dave Ryan earlier this year with how quickly she was able to adapt to the cars during pre-season tests in Barcelona and Arizona. Bustamante has gained experience driving formula cars however is yet to compete in them against others during race weekends.

As well as completing W Series pre-season tests, the 17-year-old partook in the USF Juniors Official Test in Barber Motorsports Park at the end of March 2022, where she drove for IGY6 Motorsports again proving her ability to adapt and deliver results.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB race winner Matty Graham returns to the series for the 2022 season after being forced to sit out a full campaign in 2021, once again teaming up with Team Redline Racing for his second full season in the championship.

Graham made an impressive impact in the 2020 season, finishing the year in third place in the championship with a victory, one second-place and three third-place finishes. 2021 saw the 25-year-old on the sidelines for all except one outing at Silverstone, where he collected two fifth-place finishes.

“We’re delighted to be able to go racing full-time with Matty again this season. He showed us across the 2020 season just how much of a talented driver he is, with some brilliant performances led by his fantastic victory at Knockhill,” said Team Redline Racing Managing director Simon Leonard.

“It was a huge shame to see him spend most of last year on the sidelines, so it’s great that his hard work has paid off and got him on track again. He’s adapted well to the new car so far in testing and we’re confident he’ll be a leading contender in the championship again this year.”

Matty Graham added, “It still doesn’t feel real that I’m racing the full season in the Carrera Cup GB. We’ve worked hard to get this deal together and I certainly don’t take these things for granted.

”My main concern was that I wouldn’t have much time in the new car, but that concern has been put to rest at the Silverstone media day. I found the car quite comfortable to drive and our lap times were promising.

The FIA Formula 1 World Championship is approaching the fourth race of the 2022 season, once again returning to the famous Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in Italy; and Pierre Gasly is hoping to take a step forward with Scuderia AlphaTauri in the upcoming race weekend, at a circuit he really enjoys.

“It was a little bit of a long trip to Australia just for a few days there, but it was worth it, as I scored points again,” said Gasly. “It was a weekend that finished well despite complications early on and was certainly less straightforward than the first two rounds in terms of pure speed.

“But in the end, we remained concentrated and got a result, although I was unlucky to have pitted just before the Safety Car, which cost me five places. But I put my head down and, in the end, we managed to pick up two more points. That’s not a lot but it’s important to be in the points whenever possible.”

The Frenchman still has faith in his team that they can close up to their competitors, especially after McLaren F1 Team and BWT Alpine F1 Team saw a leap in performance at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Street Circuit.

“We know we still have work to do, we must bring more performance to the package and that’s the plan for Imola this week. Then, looking at the other teams, we saw that McLaren and Alpine were very quick so that with the three top teams out in front, we found ourselves 11th in Qualifying. It’s very close in the midfield, but we don’t need to find much performance to be able to improve.”

27-year-old Jessica Hawkins claimed her maiden win at Oulton Park in TCR UK on Monday 18 April 2022. Hawkins drove with Area Motorsport with FASTR, starting behind her teammate Jamie Tonks. The W Series driver started second but claimed first position from the first corner and managed to hold off pressure from Max Hart until the end of the race.

Hawkins, who will race for Click2Drive Bristol Street Motors team in W Series’ third season, is the first British woman to take victory in the TCR U.K competition. She becomes the third female to compete in TCR U.K since 2018 when Jessica Bäckman took part.

As well as her 2022 competitions, Hawkins is well known for being a stunt driver with Fast and the Furious Live and James Bond movie ‘No Time to Die’. She further remains a driver ambassador for Aston Martin Formula One Team where she joined in May 2021.

The next round of TCR UK will see drivers compete at Donington Park on 28/29 May 2022. Before this, Hawkins will race at W Series season opener at Miami International Autodrome for the first of 10 races supported by eight Formula One Grand Prix weekends.

Team Redline Racing have announced that they will be continuing their long-term partnership with Nigel Rice for the upcoming Porsche Carrera Cup GB season, with the experienced racer returning to the series after more than a decade away.

Rice took part in 100 Carrera Cup GB races between 2004 and 2008 with Redline, including a championship title in 2007 when he secured the Pro Am category in dominant form.

With the launch of the Porsche Sprint Challenge GB in 2020, Rice reunited with the team, collecting eighteen podium finishes over the last two seasons in the Am class.

With the announcement of Rice, Team Redline Racing head in to the 2022 season with five cars, Adam Smalley, Oliver White, Micah Stanley and Nathan Harrison will join Rice on the grid this weekend at Donington Park.

“We couldn’t be happier to have Nigel continuing with the team into 2022. He’s been a loyal member of the team for many years and it will be great to see him back racing a Porsche 911 Cup car,” said Simon Leonard, Team Redline Racing Managing Director.

“Nigel did a fantastic job in the Sprint Challenge GB over the last couple of years, picking up a lot of trophies along the way. Hopefully it will be more of the same this season and it’s been a promising start with his pace in pre-season testing.”

The winter break in car racing is much longer than in karting where there is the opportunity to be on track all year round. Still, the break is welcome and needed to prepare for the next season, both physically and financially.

So, the winter wasn’t spent doing nothing. I worked hard on my physical and mental fitness. I also spent a lot of time on iRacing. That’s where you will find me when I am not at the track. There’s a good community of drivers from various racing categories.

Meanwhile, Dad worked on planning the year ahead in terms of the testing programme and attracting the funding for the season. This season, without the Ginetta Junior Scholarship funding it’s a very different order of magnitude!

This year we intend to be as prepared as we can be for my final year in junior racing before going senior in 2023. The primary target is to cover the costs of running in the championship which is championship entry fees, race team fees, insurance and championship running expenses (tyres, fuel, car maintenance etc).

Then the next priority is pre-season and in-testing. Every test day with the Fox Motorsport team is very analytical and productive. I also have a schedule of training in the simulator at SIMTrack Driver Performance; the guys there have become an important part of my development.

Looking ahead to this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, McLaren F1 Team Principal Andreas Seidl aims to put both cars in the points for the second year in a row at the Imola venue. He said the team will need to be prepared to take advantage of opportunities that arise, particularly with the additional factor of this weekend’s sprint format. 

“We have a good track record in Imola since it returned to the calendar in 2020, with double points for the team at both races. We aim for the same this year, but a track like Imola often creates opportunities and the addition of the sprint format for this weekend means we’ll need to be operationally sharp and ready to capitalise. 

Seidl looks forward to seeing the new regulation cars in Imola, and predicts that there will be a lot of action on track as a result of the cars’ enhanced overtaking ability paired with the new sprint points system, which awards eight points for first place down to one point for eighth. 

“Imola is a great, historic track and it will be interesting to see how the improved overtaking from these new cars will impact racing. With the grid for Sunday determined by the Sprint, there is bound to be plenty of exciting racing for the fans, now with the added incentive of points for the top eight on Saturday.”

Having achieved a season-high finish in Australia, Seidl is motivated to continue the progress made since the beginning of the season and focus on extracting results in Imola. 

The 2022 season for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will mark the thirtieth year for the series that plays a supporting role in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, as drivers do battle in identical cars across the grid.

This weekend the new season will get under way with the Formula 1 Rolex Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell’emilia-Romagna 2022 at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (also known as Imola) as thirty-three drivers take to the iconic Italian circuit.

Reigning champion Larry ten Voorde is back, but will be going up against three-time champion Michael Ammermüller this season. Joining the regular drivers this weekend is three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo.

What happened last time Porsche Supercup visited Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari?

While Formula 1 has visited the circuit in 2020 and 2021, this season will mark the first time the Porsche Supercup has returned to Imola since the 2006 season. That year the the series had already visited Bahrain for the opening round of the season, which was won by Uwe Alzen with Richard Westbrook in second place and David Saelens in third place.

For round 2, eventual champion Richard Westbrook, driving for Dutch team Morellato Racing Team PZ Essen, would qualify in pole position and go on to take victory, ahead of Christian Menzel (who is now driver coach for Porsche Juniors), and Belgian driver Geoffroy Horion, who achieved his best result of his Supercup career.

Williams Racing enjoyed their best race of the season last time out in Australia, after Alex Albon claimed a brilliant tenth-place finish at the Albert Park Circuit. This weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix presents the team with a new challenge though, as the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari Circuit will play host to the first Sprint race of the season.

Williams’ Head of Vehicle Performance, Dave Robson, is looking forward to the weekend and is interested to see how the Sprint weekend will go at the historic venue

“We have enjoyed our recent trips to this great circuit for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and we are looking forward to another good weekend this year, especially off the back of an encouraging result in Melbourne. The unusual two-day format here in 2020 gives us some understanding of how the Sprint event will work this weekend; getting the setup right in a single free practice session before going straight into Qualifying is not easy, but it is a great challenge and opportunity.“

Imola is one of the most historic and challenging circuit’s on the calendar, with no-tarmaced run-off areas. When describing the venue, Robson called it a “Daunting and thrilling race circuit”.

“The circuit retains many of the elements that previously made it such a daunting and thrilling race circuit, including the overall fast-flowing nature and unusual anti-clockwise direction. The famous corners at Piratella, Acque Minerali and Rivazza are all as demanding as they ever were and the run from the second part of Rivazza to the chicane at Tamburello is now flat-out as it passes the new pit complex. There have been some minor changes to the DRS zone for 2022, which may affect the racing.“

Alex Albon goes into this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, on the back of an amazing Grand Prix in Australia where the Thai-driver scored his, and the Williams F1 Team’s first points of the season.

Albon is presented with a new challenge this weekend though, as the Williams driver prepares for his first-ever Sprint weekend. This will see Qualifying take place on Friday, a Sprint race on Saturday and then the traditional Race on Sunday at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

Albon is looking forward to experiencing the different weekend format, and is determined to make the most of any opportunities it presents.

“It’s my first time competing in the Sprint event format, so I’m looking forward to the slightly different approach to the weekend and both the challenges and opportunities it will bring. Historically the team have gone quite well at Imola, so we’ll get our heads down and see what we can do. We had a great race out in Melbourne and the team did an incredible job with the strategy, so hopefully we can use that momentum to keep pushing this weekend.”

Sprint race “Provides an additional challenge for the teams” – Nicholas Latifi

Nicholas Latifi will be hoping to score his own-first points of the season this weekend, as the championship begins it’s European-leg. It hasn’t been the best start to the year for the Canadian, meaning a good weekend in Imola would be very handy!

Coming off of an impressive fifth place finish in Australia, Lando Norris is looking forward to being back in Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Last year’s race brought success for the British driver, who finished third at the venue. As Formula 1 returns to the Italian track this weekend, he hopes to see the team continue to build on the progress they’ve made so far this season.

“I’m excited to be back in Imola! It was a great race for me last year, scoring my first podium of 2021. We’re not back fighting for podiums just yet, but hopefully we can keep moving forward and get the most out of this weekend.

“Australia was a more positive weekend for us, but we know we still have a lot of work to do to get where we want to be. Let’s keep improving, keep learning more about the car and be ready to take advantage of any opportunities that come up.” 

Imola will host the season’s first sprint weekend, in turn featuring the revised sprint points system for 2022. Norris is interested to see the action the sprint will bring, at a track he is particularly excited to run in the new regulation cars. 

“The circuit is fast, with some iconic features which should be interesting to tackle in the new cars. The Sprint always adds an extra bit of excitement for the fans so I’m looking forward to seeing how the weekend plays out.”

Sebastian Vettel goes into this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on the back of a disastrous Australian Grand Prix, the German will be hoping to kickstart the European-leg of the season in much better fashion.

Vettel goes into this weekend having retired last-time out at the Albert Park Circuit, finishing the race will be the minimum that the Four-Time World Champion will be looking to achieve at Imola. Imola will also play host to the first Sprint race of the season, adding an extra element of excitement to the weekend.

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is both a fan and driver favourite, Vettel explained how the venue is both a test for “driver and machine”.

“Imola is a real test of driver and machine, and that’s what every F1 circuit should be. It’s hard to imagine we’d ever be racing around Imola in ground-effect cars – that’s really something special, and a bit of a throwback to the 1980s, which is cool. I’m looking forward to getting back into the car and getting up to speed. Imola has never hosted a Sprint race before, so I’m also excited to see how that plays out.”

“Few circuits are more old-school” – Lance Stroll

It’s been a miserable start to the season for Lance Stroll, who’ll be hoping to put the opening rounds behind him and achieve a points finish at the first European race of the 2022 season.

The 2022 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine season gets underway this weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, and with a large field full of talented drivers, it could be the start of a fantastic year for the category.

2022 marks the second season of the championship following the merger of Formula Regional European Championship with Formula Renault Eurocup, after a great 2021 where Swiss racer Grégoire Saucy took the crown, this year has all the markings of a competitive year.

High-profile Returning Drivers!

Saucy, as well as the likes of previous race winners David Vidales, Isack Hadjar, Zane Maloney and Franco Colapinto, have all departed Formula Regional in 2022 to race in FIA Formula 3, but last year’s series runner-up, Hadrien David, is amongst a host of names returning for another crack at the title.

David, who became an affiliate driver of the BWT Alpine F1 Team in the off-season, stays with the R-ace GP team that took him to two race victories last year, but he is not the only previous winner to be coming back.

Paul Aron, a member of the Mercedes-Benz junior team, also stays with the same team as he raced for last year in Prema Racing, while Michael Belov, a race winner with G4 Racing in 2021, moves to MP Motorsport for a full campaign having raced only a partial campaign last year.

After another interesting weekend, Bristol Motor Speedway‘s dirt experiment will continue for another season. On Tuesday, track president and general manager Jerry Caldwell confirmed the NASCAR Cup Series‘ Food City Dirt Race will return for 2023.

Introduced in 2021 for the Cup and Camping World Truck Series, the dirt weekend has drawn mixed reception from fans and media, with detractors arguing the half-mile short track is too iconic with two asphalt rounds and that NASCAR should visit an actual dirt track if it wished to run such races. Both editions were also marred by bizarre circumstances: the 2021 weekend was plagued by rain before the Cup event saw double-file restarts be shifted to a single line due to visibility problems as dirt kicked up into drivers’ windshields (itself a hot-button topic as those like dirt star and reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson denounced their usage); the 2022 Cup race suffered from rain, mud, and a scoring controversy.

Despite its issues, both races enjoyed high ticket sales and television ratings. Saturday’s Truck race was the highest-viewed Bristol race in series history while the parent CUp Series had 4.007 million viewers, the most at Bristol since 2016. The Bristol Dirt Nationals, featuring actual dirt cars, has also been a popular event.

“I’m so thankful for our owners, Bruton and Marcus Smith, for allowing our Bristol Motor Speedway team to put on an amazing Easter celebration and NASCAR race weekend that exceeded our expectations with strong ticket sales and primetime viewership on FOX,” Caldwell stated. “Bristol Motor Speedway will prepare for a spring night race on dirt in 2023, giving the fans two great NASCAR shows on different surfaces. The dates for our NASCAR events will not be available until later this year. To guarantee the best seats for more amazing dirt racing next year, guests may contact the ticket office or visit our website at BristolMotorSpeedway.com to renew their tickets today.”

Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race ended with a dramatic finish in which Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick made contact while fighting for the win, which allowed Kyle Busch to steal the victory. The previous day’s Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt saw Ben Rhodes pass Carson Hocevar for the win with four laps to go.

With no avenues to return to Formula One at the moment, Nikita Mazepin might be turning his attention to rally raid, having expressed interest in competing in events like the legendary Dakar Rally, the Silk Way Rally, and domestic races.

After just one year, Mazepin was booted from his seat at Haas F1 Team prior to the 2022 season in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although he is legally permitted by the FIA to race under a neutral flag, many motoring authorities like Motorsport UK have forbidden Russian and Belarusian drivers from competing in their countries. International penalties against Russian oligarchs and assets have also included the European Union imposing sanctions on Mazepin and his father Dmitry in early March.

Decrying the sanctions as the classic and widely misused “cancel culture”, Mazepin launched the “We Compete As One” foundation to provide support for Russian athletes who would be unable to participate in their respective sports for “political reasons.” Such bans extend beyond motorsport, such as Monday’s Boston Marathon having forbidden Russian and Belarusian citizens from running and Russia being ejected from the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in favour of Ukraine (a matter of coincidence, as Ukraine was the next highest team that did not previously qualify).

With major racing options in 2022 and the immediate future running out, Mazepin seems to be looking at rally raid as a possible route.

“My career is on pause for now,” Mazepin told Russian news agency RIA Novosti. “I’ve been in motorsport for eighteen years and I’m not going to give it up. I keep myself in shape. I hope that I will return to Formula One. If it doesn’t work out, I will consider other options for racing on four wheels. Am I interested in racing in “Dakar”? Yes, it’s possible. Like the Silk Way Rally.