Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

This weekend’s season opener for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Bahrain International Circuit, represents Haas F1 Team’s chance to get back into the midfield, after spending the entirety of last season developing the VF-22.

The American team will be hoping that their decision to effectively sacrifice the 2021 season, will be rewarded this weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix, as the team look to start the season the best way possible, by finishing in the points.

Haas have been very busy as of late not only with pre-season testing, but also with replacing Nikita Mazepin. Popular Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, who spent four years driving for Haas before being replaced for 2021, makes his highly-anticipated return to the team this weekend, alongside Mick Schumacher.

Haas now have an experienced driver in the form of Magnussen alongside the youth of Schumacher, who is entering his second season in Formula 1. Haas Team Principal, Guenther Steiner believes that the Danish driver still has some youth left in him, but that his experience will enable him to be a leader for the team.

“I would say Kevin also has youth to him still, he’s not even 30. We’ve got one experienced young guy and one really young guy who needs a bit more experience. The strength of Kevin is he’s been through ups and downs in his career which has made him a lot tougher but he’s well prepared for this challenge. Mick is someone who wants success, whatever work it takes or how hard he needs to push himself to be as good as Kevin, and Kevin can be a good leader in the team because he’s more seasoned than Mick. I think we have a good pair at Haas now.”

After a year away from the sport, Kevin Magnussen makes his highly-anticipated return to Formula 1 this weekend, as the 2022 season kicks-off with the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Magnussen is a late arrival to this season’s grid, after being chosen to replace Nikita Mazepin at the Haas F1 Team, where Magnussen has spent four seasons. In only a year so much has changed for the Danish driver, the team has new faces, including a new team-mate for him in the form of Mick Schumacher, as well as a whole new generation of car to get used to.

Magnussen is overwhelmed with being back at the American team, as he and the entire camp are excited for the season ahead.

“Coming back to the team felt very natural. There are new faces in the team which is exciting and good to see as it shows that the team has been growing since I left. You can really feel that there is an upwards trend of growth in the team which is positive and just the atmosphere was super good. Everyone is excited for this new season.”

Due to the lateness of the decision, Magnussen has missed the vast majority of pre-season, theoretically putting him on the back foot ahead of this weekend. Magnussen is simply aiming to finish the race this weekend and to start the season on a positive note.

Kelly-Moss Road and Race‘s Kay van Berlo topped the opening practice session of the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup North America as the Florida sun gave way for rain overnight at Sebring International Raceway.

JDX Racing‘s Parker Thompson set the benchmark, recording the first timed lap van Berlo set the pace early in the session, fighting over the top of the time sheets with 311RS Motorsport‘s Leh Keen and MDK Motorsports Trenton Estep.

The Dutch driver finished the session with a time of 2:03.251, the damp track seeing drivers one second off of the pace they were setting in pre-season two-day test at Sebring.

“It was a good first Free Practice, it was only 30 minutes as it was red flagged early, we were the first session out on track after the rain last night, and it was a little bit damp in the beginning,” explained van Berlo to The Checkered Flag.

“I got a feel for the car and for the track for the first couple of laps, and then slowly started pushing to see where we were balance wise and what the general feeling was.

JDX Racing have renewed their contract with Parker Thompson to drive the #9 Byers Porsche / Shell TapUp / Sugere / Renier Construction Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the upcoming season of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, which gets underway at Sebring International Raceway this week.

Both Thompson and JDX Racing have been working hard over the off-season as they aim to build on their thirteen top-five finishes, including eight podium finishes and three race wins in 2021.

Prior to the Porsche Carrera Cup North America’s debut season, Thompson and JDX Racing participated in the Porsche GT3 Cup in 2019, collecting five podiums, including one race win, this was before he took a short hiatus from racing in America.

“I couldn’t be prouder to be coming back home to JDX Racing for 2022,” said Thompson. “It’s no secret that we ended 2021 with some unfinished business, so to have the opportunity to get the band back together and reignite what we built last year is really exciting for me.

“It’s also fantastic to welcome Shell Tap Up to the No. 9 car for 2022, along with Surgere, Byers Porsche, and Renier Construction all returning for our run at the Championship.”

Ahead of the 2022 season opener this weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit, both Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, are expecting an exceptionally tight battle this season between all the teams.

Four-Time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, has seen plenty of regulation changes during his long career in Formula 1, none however are likely to have been as different as the ones which have taken place ahead of this season. This weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, will give the German his first chance to race the brand-new generation of Formula 1 car.

With his wealth of experience, Vettel may adjust to racing the new cars better than some of the younger drivers, nevertheless he is very excited for the long season ahead.

“These new Formula One cars are so incredibly different to their predecessors. We’ve spent the past weeks learning as much about them as we can and I’m looking to racing a ground-effect car for the first time this weekend. Everything is new in Formula One and I think we’re looking at a very tight battle, and some very close gaps, between all the teams. There’s a lot to play for – and that’s F1 at its best.”

“This weekend is a real step into the unknown” – Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll like every other driver in the field, is entering somewhat of an unknown this weekend. A strong start to the season will be key for the Canadian, if he is wanting to push himself into the top ten of the Drivers’ Championship.

FIA World Endurance Championship‘s official fuel supplier TotalEnergies will debut its 100% renewable fuel at this weekend’s 1,000 Miles of Sebring.

Making their first stance in eco-friendly racing, the entire WEC field will run Excellium Racing 100. The biofuel is created without using any oil, but instead recycled residual biomass from the wine industry, showing that it is possible to create biofuels without using up more natural resources like plants. The greenhouse gas emissions savings of Excellium is at least 65% when compared to traditional fossil fuels, meeting the requirements of the FIA, car manufacturers and European directive on renewable energies.

TotalEnergies has been working on this biofuel for eighteen months to create this formula of wine residues, ETBE (Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) – itself a 100% renewable component – and a pack of additives from Excellium technology. The application of this 100% renewable fuel in a race series is a huge step in the right direction for eco-friendly racing and the ability to keep motorsport going whilst also doing its part to protect the planet.

“We are particularly proud to introduce this 100% renewable fuel in competition,” Pierre-Gautier Caloni, Vice President of TotalEnergies’ motorsport division said. “It is a major milestone in the partnership between TotalEnergies and the Automobile Club de L’Ouest, whose strategy of promoting sustainable development is in line with our Company’s ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, together with society.”

Frédéric Lequien, CEO of the WEC added: “We are delighted to be the first global motorsport championship in which every competitor will run on 100% renewable fuel. The new Excellium Racing 100 fuel from TotalEnergies will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of our series and our partnership with TotalEnergies allows us to be a pioneer in this field.”

The FIA World Endurance Championship safety cars will be based off of the Porsche 911 Turbo S and be seen on track for the first time at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

The modified 911s have a zero to 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 330 km/h, making them able to keep up with the Hypercars and provide enough speed in a safety car period not to be detrimental to the following cars. On board they will also be fitted with state of the art data and transmission technology, lighting signal system, two additional monitors in the cockpit and a specialised suspension system.

Pedro Couceiro and Yannick Dalmas remain on board as the official WEC safety car drivers.

Dressed in the familiar black and red Porsche livery, the new safety cars will be in attendace at every WEC race, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans where three cars will be stationed around the track. Due to the 13.6km race track, Le Mans has special rules that sees three safety cars deployed at the same time and three packs of cars created.

“Supplying the safety cars is one aspect of our trusting collaboration with the FIA WEC organisation and the Le Mans organisers ACO,” says Alexander Stehlig, Director of Factory Motorsport at the WEC. “We’re delighted that from this year we’ll witness the extremely powerful and fast 911 Turbo S in action for incidents out on the track.” 

After one of the best and most controversial seasons in the history of the sport, the new 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season is just days away and will begin with the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Bahrain International Circuit (which is sometimes referred to as “Sakhir” after the area where it is located), was constructed at a cost of $150m ahead of the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004 and became the first Middle Eastern track to host a Formula 1 race.

There are six layouts, including the 5.412km Grand Prix circuit that consists of 15 corners, that has been used for all but one of the 15 Bahrain Grand Prix races held to date. The exception was in 2010 when the race was staged on the 6.299km “Endurance” layout of the Circuit with 24 corners. The race was remembered for Fernando Alonso winning on his debut with Ferrari.

However In 2020, Formula 1 staged back to back races in Bahrain. The second race, known as the Sakhir Grand Prix, was run on the much shorter 3.543km circuit with just 11 turns to create more opportunities for overtaking. This race saw George Russell make his debut for Mercedes due to Lewis Hamilton testing positive for Covid 19. Russell looked on course to get his first win in Formula 1 but due to a pit lane mix up and a puncture, it ruined his chances of winning and Sergio Perez went on to claim his first win in the championship.

What happened over the three days of Testing at Bahrain?

Coming into testing at Bahrain, there were questions over whether the teams would make any significant changes to the looks and performance of their cars from testing in Barcelona.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB race winner Jamie Orton will join Seb Hopkins in the British GT Championship, competing in a brand-new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport with Team Parker Racing.

Orton has been a regular on the Carrera Cup grid for the last four seasons, claiming five victories in the Pro-Am class along with a third place finish in the class in 2018. Outside of Porsche’s he won the 2011 Caterham Superlight Championship and finished third in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup in 2015.

While the British GT season is still a month away, Orton and Hopkins have been busy testing the 718 Cayman GT RS Clubsport in Portugal in February.

“I’m really looking forward to being in the British GT Championship and driving the new GT4 Cayman with Team Parker Racing.” said Orton. “Seb is a nice guy and just getting started in his motorsport career.

“We’ve tested in Portugal recently, which was a good chance to get to know him and everyone at Team Parker Racing. I’ve spent many years racing against them, and they’ve had a lot of success in recent years, so it will be good to get a chance to race for them.

After arriving with a bang in 2021, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series returns for a second year, and this weekend will see 43 cars line up on the grid at Sebring International Raceway.

This season will see all drivers lining up in the identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars (Type 992), with a near even split of entrants across three classes, Pro, Pro-Am, and Am.

Ahead of the new year the series organisers have announced a number of changes, firstly seeing Deluxe Corporation joining the list of marketing partners, second the introduction of the Am class, and the third and final change seeing the length of each race changed to 40-minutes from 45-minutes.

The Am Class will beginning with Round 1 at Sebring, with the category restricted to drivers 56-years-old and older. The class provides older drivers the opportunity to contend against equally experienced drivers for race wins, podiums and the class championship. 

Sebring will see records broken for Porsche, as 43 entries to the one-make series from a single region is the largest ever seen. This is an increase of eight cars from the series debut at the circuit in March 2021. The split between the classes will see 17 Pro entries, 16 Pro-Am entries, and 10 Am class entries.

Kyle Busch has the most wins in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history by a wide margin with 61, but none of them have come on a road course. He hopes to change that on 26 March when he races at Circuit of the Americas in the #51 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Kyle Busch Motorsports. KBM announced his entry on Tuesday, shortly after Busch quipped on Twitter that he should drive a freshly wrapped #51 Safelite-sponsored truck. Safelite will sponsor both Busch’s #51 and Chandler Smith‘s #18.

COTA will be Busch’s first career Truck start on a road course. Such tracks were not on the Truck schedule during the formative years of his NASCAR national series career in the early 2000s; Watkins Glen International was the last Truck road race when it was removed after the 2000 season while Busch made his series début a year later. Road courses finally returned with Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2013, but its status as a standalone race in Canada and arrival well after Busch became a Cup Series regular meant he never raced there.

A Daytona Road Course race was added in 2020 to replace the COVID-cancelled Mosport event, but NASCAR restricted drivers to running in just one series for the weekend. Although the 2021 schedule had three road courses at Daytona, COTA, and Watkins Glen, he opted not to run Daytona while COTA and Watkins Glen were off-limits for Cup drivers as a Triple Truck Challenge round and regular season finale, respectively. The 2021 calendar also included a date at Mosport that was called off, though he would not have been eligible to take part as it was a playoff race.

While he never lugged a truck across left and right turns, Busch is more than familiar with doing so in Cup and Xfinity Series cars. He has four road course wins in the Cup Series with two apiece at Sonoma and Watkins Glen as well as four Xfinity victories. One of his Xfinity triumphs came in the inaugural NASCAR weekend at COTA in 2021, where he led all but eleven laps from the pole. The other trips to an Xfinity Victory Lane came at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Road America, and Watkins Glen.

As a Cup driver, Busch is only allowed to run five Truck races per year; he finished second in his first start of 2022 at Las Vegas to Smith. With the exceptions of two twenty-first-place finishes at Atlanta, Busch has not finished lower than second in his last twenty-two Truck starts dating back to Bristol 2017. As of now, he is not expected to run any Xfinity races, having surpassed 100 career wins there last year with 102 total, though he could return depending on sponsorship.

Paul Miller Racing will make their debut with BMW at this year’s Twelve Hours of Sebring with the all-new BMW M4 GT3 and a new third driver.

Paul Miller regulars Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers will be joined by co-driver Erik Johansson in the #1 BMW. The 25-year-old Swedish driver does not lack experience, having raced in the ADAC GT Masters Championship. This year he will compete with the Quartz Engine Oil Paul Miller Racing team in the Michelin Endurance Cup.

“I am massively looking forward to joining Paul Miller Racing for Sebring and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. The team has produced some very impressive results in the past and now,” Johansson said

“On a personal note, the 12 Hours of Sebring has always been a bucket list race for me, so to fight it out next week will be extra special! I think our goal for the race is quite clear within the team, and that is always to try and fight for the win.

“However, the car is still very new for all of us, so we’ll have to be realistic, but I strongly believe that we can compensate for a lot of that with the great experience of this crew.”

Dutch racer Loek Hartog is the latest driver to announce that he will be racing in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship support series the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as he signs with Ombra Racing.

Last season the young driver won the Rookie class in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland and this year he will be looking to continue building on that experience as he steps up to the Supercup, driving alongside Gianmarco Quaresmini.

Since 2019, Hartog has taken part in Porsche Carrera Cup France, Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland among other series and also driven in five Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup races, plus two races in the 2020 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition and the 2020 24H Le Mans Virtual – GTE class for Dempsey-Proton Racing.

“Loek represents the ideal choice for Ombra Racing’s debut in Mobil 1 Supercup: a young, talented driver with the desire to grow together with the team,” explained Davide Mazzoleni, Team Manager.

“We were immediately struck by his methodical and professional approach as well as by the performances shown on the track. I’m sure he will integrate in the best possible way and demonstrate our full potential on the track.”

The Twelve Hours of Sebring marks the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and is featured alongside the FIA WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring.

Tom Blomqvist will race the #60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-05 DPi alongside Oliver Jarvis and former Formula 1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne in the IMSA series.

Blomqvist and Vandoorne have lots of endurance experience together having raced the 2021 WEC season together in LMP2 with the #28 Jota. Together the two managed three second-place finishes, two pole positions, and a second overall class finish.

“Obviously we are carrying a lot of momentum from our win at Daytona,” said Blomqvist. “So we’d like to use that to our benefit heading to Sebring. It’s a completely different race and challenge.

“It’s probably one of the toughest tracks on the cars and us drivers that we will visit all year. We had a good two days of preparation for the event so we’re confident.”

The #11 Fear the TAFS/End ALZ/Chem Direct LMP2 entry is set for Twelve Hours of Sebring debut with drivers Steven Thomas, Jonathan Bomarito, and Josh Pierson.

The entire team is ready and hungry for a strong outing at the race this weekend with each driver having something to say about what they were excited for and wanted to see from the team.

Bomarito spoke about the physical demands and toughness that a track such as Sebring requires over a 12-hour race, “It truly is a track that tests both man and machine for twelve grueling hours. It’s going to be such an exciting race and I’m really thrilled to be back with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports along with Steven and Josh!”

Pierson is looking forward to getting back to racing action and implementing what the team learned after some struggles at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. “I’m really looking forward to getting started at Sebring,” Pierson stated.

“Coming off Daytona, I think we learned what needed to be worked on and we are ready to take on Sebring. Jonathan and Steven are ready and so am I. I can’t wait to get back in the car!”