Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Maserati will become the first Italian manufacturer entrant to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship when they join the grid in 2023.

The famous marque has announced it will join the grid for season nine of Formula E as part of its latest motorsport strategy decisions, with the series aligning to Maserati’s own innovations when it comes to electric cars.

Maserati have a line of one-hundred per cent electric cars either on the road or imminently being released including the Maserati Grecale, Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio and the Maserati MC20 super sportscar. 2023 will see the welcome return of Maserati to world motorsport, and the first time in over sixty years they will race in single seaters!

“We are very proud to be back where we belong as protagonists in the world of racing,” said Davide Grasso, the CEO of Maserati.  “We are powered by passion and innovative by nature.

“We have a long history of world-class excellence in competition and we are ready to drive performance in the future. In the race for more performance, luxury, and innovation, Folgore is irresistible and it is the purest expression of Maserati.

French outfit ART Grand Prix have confirmed that Théo Pourchaire will remain with the team for the 2022 FIA Formula 2 season, and the Sauber Driver Academy star is aiming for the title.

Pourchaire has been a shining light in junior formulae in recent years and became the youngest Formula 2 race winner when he dominated in Monaco last year, and it comes with little surprise that ART Grand Prix have retained his services for another year.

It will be Pourchaire’s third year with ART Grand Prix after he pushed Oscar Piastri close in FIA Formula 3 in 2020, but the French racer is looking to make another step forward in 2022 and fight at the front.

“I am proud to be continuing in F2 with ART Grand in 2022,” said Pourchaire.  “It’s an honour for me to work with such a great team. This will be our third year together and it has become like family to me.

“To continue with them in the pre-cursor to F1 is very exciting. I would like to thank the Sauber Academy for accompanying me once again. It will be a busy year and I want to have fun and gain experience for my future.

Arthur Leclerc will remain with Prema Racing for the 2022 season and will look to fight for the FIA Formula 3 title with the Italian outfit.

The Ferrari Driver Academy driver and the younger brother of current Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will remain with Prema for a third consecutive year, and this will be his second season in Formula 3 after stepping up to the championship in 2021 after a year in Formula Regional European Championship.

The twenty-one-year-old will be looking to build on his performances from 2021 that saw him end tenth in the final standings with two wins – the first at the Circuit Paul Ricard and the second at Circuit Zandvoort – and a second-place finish to his name, and he has one eye on the title this season.

“I am extremely happy to continue the work we started with PREMA Racing in the 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship,” said Leclerc.  “I think we did a good job last year, and 2022 will be a good opportunity to put together everything we have learned so far.

“I cannot wait for the season to start.”

The NTT IndyCar Series‘ Month of May will see another former winner participating. On Tuesday, Arrow McLaren SP announced Juan Pablo Montoya will return to the team for the second year, running the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and 106th Indianapolis 500. Mission Foods will sponsor his #6 Chevrolet.

Montoya, who won the 2000 Indy 500, joined McLaren for the 2021 GP and 500, where he respectively finished twenty-first and ninth. Both starts marked his first in IndyCar since 2017, when he had the same itinerary for Team Penske after spending the previous three years competing for the championship. His Penske stint was capped off by a strong 2015 season in which he won the 500 for a second time and finished runner-up for the title on a tiebreaker.

“I’m excited to return to Indianapolis with Arrow McLaren SP and Mission, to once again compete in a race that holds a special place in my heart – the Indianapolis 500,” commented Montoya. “I had a great experience with the team last year and look forward to building on the progress we made in 2021. I think we have a real shot at competing at the front of the field and challenging for the win.”

While 2021 was the first time Montoya was with McLaren in IndyCar, the two parties previously worked together in Formula One in 2005 and 2006. The combination won three races and finished fourth in points in 2005.

“Juan Pablo is an institution in motorsport, with two Indianapolis 500 victories and an impressive Formula One career with multiple wins for McLaren,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “He adds experience that really benefits our team, giving us another driver with the potential to win anytime he steps into the car.”

So much for the longer course experiment.

After two races using the full track configuration featuring the Carousel, Sonoma Raceway has elected for NASCAR to revert to the pre-2019 track layout that bypasses the sector to form what is called the Chute.

The Carousel, located after turn four, is featured in Sonoma’s usual configuration that many other series such as the NTT IndyCar Series have used; with the Carousel, the track is 2.52 miles (4.056 km) long with twelve corners. Although NASCAR originally used it too when it began racing there in 1989, the track added the Chute which connects turns four and seven in 1998 for NASCAR events, shortening the distance to 1.949 mi (3.137 km). Turn four was tweaked three years later to accommodate the change, adjusting the track length up to 1.990 mi (3.203 km).

To celebrate the track’s fifty-year anniversary in 2019, NASCAR began reusing the Carousel course, resulting in the Chute only being used for track days and club events. While the change made for a longer track length, it received mixed reception from fans who felt it eliminated a passing zone.

“It will be more exciting for the fans just because those are a couple of wild corners with some new hairy passing zones,” commented defending Cup Series champion and Sonoma winner Kyle Larson. Martin Truex Jr. is the other driver to win on the Carousel layout in 2019 (the 2020 race was cancelled due to COVID-19). “Mistakes can be made in those corners when you’re bouncing over curves so the cars will be moving around a lot. It will be exciting. It will be pretty wild because you can go all the way to exit of Turn 4 on the other side of the curve and barely miss the wall.”

Josh Bilicki might not be running the full NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2022 like he did last year, but he will still see plenty of action. On Monday, Spire Motorsports announced Bilicki will enter “most” of the 2022 Cup slate in the #77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. His first start will come at Auto Club Speedway on 27 February.

“Spire Motorsports is thrilled to add a young, talented and resourceful racer like Josh Bilicki to our stable,” team co-owner T.J. Puchyr stated. “Josh is cut from the same cloth as the people who make up our team. He’s a grinder. He finds a way, goes out and gets it done. He’s going to be a great compliment to Corey LaJoie in our #7 car. We’re proud to welcome Josh to the Spire family.”

While 2022 will be his second season with substantial starts in Cup, Bilicki is no stranger to Spire. In 2020, he ran the Kentucky race and season finale at Phoenix in the team’s #77, finishing thirty-second and thirty-fifth. The two starts were just another chapter in his series of part-time Cup entries from 2017 to that year, which he mainly spent with Rick Ware Racing.

For 2021, he ran every race with RWR. While he switched to Xfinity Series points late in the year in order to run that series’ playoff rounds, he scored his first career top ten in any NASCAR division when he finished tenth in the Daytona fall Cup race. Bilicki ran four Xfinity road course races for SS-Green Light Racing, who maintained an alliance with RWR. Much of Bilicki’s NASCAR starts prior to committing to stock cars for good were on road courses as a ringer due to his background in sports cars.

“I couldn’t be more eager to start this new chapter of my career and join Spire Motorsports for the 2022 season,” said Bilicki. “I learned a great amount last year during my first full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, on and off the track and I feel that experience will help me make this transition to a new team. Spire Motorsports has taken big leaps over the last few years, and we feel the platform of the new Next Gen car will improve our performance all around.”

Aric Almirola has been in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2007. Once the 2022 season ends, so will his career.

On Monday, Almirola announced he will retire upon concluding the upcoming slate, citing his wishes to spend more time with family. 2022 will be his fifth season in the #10 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing.

“I truly enjoy driving race cars and I’m excited to race my heart out in 2022 for Smithfield (Foods, sponsor) and Stewart-Haas Racing, but to be the best in this business, you’ve got to be selfish, and for the last 37 years my life has always revolved around me and what I needed to do,” said Almirola. “I want to be present. I want to be the best husband and father, and that to me means more than being a race car driver.

“It’s one more year where I’m all in on racing, where we’ll do whatever it takes to compete at the highest level. When the season is over, I’ll be ready to wave goodbye. I’ve loved every minute of it, but it’s time for the next chapter of my life.

“(Wife) Janice and I have spent many nights talking about it and the questions are the same as anyone else would have when you’re going to stop doing something. Can I afford it? The answer I kept coming up with is that I can’t afford not to. Will I regret it? I think I’ll regret it if I don’t.

From 2012 to 2015, Matt Brabham appeared to be the next big thing in American open-wheel racing as he breezed through the Road to Indy. However, his progress was halted after slightly over one season in Indy Lights due to financial troubles. Seven years after his last start in the series, Brabham has another chance to pursue his IndyCar dreams as he will make his Indy Lights return in 2022 with Andretti Autosport, where he fills the seat vacated by champion Kyle Kirkwood, in the #83. Brabham had tested with the team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October as part of the Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test.

“I’m extremely grateful to Michael (Andretti, CEO), J.F. (Thormann, President) and everyone who is a part of Andretti Autosport,” Brabham stated. “They have given me many great opportunities over the years, including this one. We have accomplished amazing results together. We have won a total of fourteen races and a championship in the past. I’m absolutely ecstatic to be back racing full time in a proper open-wheel car again with a top team. I feel it’s where I’ve always belonged. I’m willing to give everything I have at this and more to follow my dream of getting back into the IndyCar Series.”

The third-generation racer from the legendary Brabham family quickly took the Road to Indy ladder by storm when he won the 2012 U.S. F2000 National Championship with Cape Motorsports in a four-win season. He advanced to the Pro Mazda Championship (now Indy Pro 2000) a year later for Andretti, where he completely dominated as he won all but three races in the sixteen-race schedule en route to another championship; the thirteen victories are a series record. However, his graduation to Indy Lights in 2014 meant his third different series in as many years, and the inexperience ultimately bit him in his lone full season as he finished fourth in points with just four podiums and a win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield road course. His struggles were also attributed to his difficulty in adapting to cars that had recently switched from Firestone to Cooper Tires; his USF2000 and Pro Mazda cars, as well as his Lights preseason test car, exclusively used Firestone.

Brabham was to run a second Indy Lights campaign in 2015, but only lasted three races before a lack of funding forced him out. Across his four seasons in the Road to Indy, he won eighteen of forty-seven races (approximately 38.3%), the second highest victory percentage in RTI history behind Kirkwood’s 62.5% (thirty in forty-eight). Despite his ladder ascent being cut short, he made his IndyCar Series début at the 2016 Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Indianapolis 500 for Australian outfit PIRTEK Team Murray. Both races are his only starts at the top level to date as he finished sixteenth and twenty-second.

Although racing options in the open-wheel realm dried up, Brabham remained involved as a driving coach at IndyCar race weekends and pilot of the two-seater IndyCar. In 2015, his presence in the IndyCar paddock became a new opportunity when he began racing in the Stadium Super Trucks, a popular IndyCar support class. Brabham elevated to full-time SST competition in 2016 and established himself as one of, if not the top driver in the series with twenty-three race wins and three straight championships. He dominated the 2021 season with podium finishes in every race and a pair of victories en route to a third title. His wins rank third all time and he is the only driver with three series crowns.

We made it through the season and ended on a real high! I’ll start with the climax at the end of the season and then go back to what we had to overcome to get there.

The scholarship season ended with the last round of the championship in October at Brands Hatch on the GP layout. Thanks again Ginetta for the scholarship to launch my circuit racing career. We then decided to do the Winter Series in November. It was a really tough decision because we would have to fund the Winter Series ourselves as it’s not part of the Scholarship season and so the costs will impact on the funds that we need to build to be on the grid next season.

The Winter Series is a one shot weekend at Brands Hatch on the Indy circuit consisting of qualifying and 2 races on the Saturday and then another qualifying and 2 races on the Sunday. The motivation behind doing the Winter Series is that it would play an important role in my preparation for next season with lots of race seat time. We announced our intention to do the Winter Series and Integrated Air Systems parachuted in and covered the entry fee. Thank you Graham Marginson!

The end of the Ginetta Scholarship also marked the end of the scholarship livery and so the Winter Series was the launch of my new livery and the renewed support of my sponsors who have all enjoyed the journey and have all pledged support for next season with increased input! Thank you Integrated Air Systems, Trustic Motors and Mammoth Insulation Services. We could not do it without you. We are seeking more sponsors to come onboard to replace the scholarship funding, to help with pre-season preparation and running in the 2022 championship. My car will also be running a logo in to show appreciation for donations, both private and public, as these contributions are a crucial part of my pre-season preparation budget. Please get in touch via https://mauricehenry.com/contact.

After racing at all the circuits, I had chosen Brands Indy as my favourite circuit. That proved to be the case as I qualified 3rd on both days! On Saturday, my 2nd best qualifying time was 7th, for the race 2 grid slot and on Sunday my second best qualifying time was 5th, for the race 4 grid slot. To put myself on the second row both days was a huge step forwards in my development. I knew the racing would be tough as it would be my first time racing up the front, which is a different type of racing than in the mid-pack, but I held my own.

With the 2024 Dakar Rally set to introduce an alternative fuel category, GCK Motorsport is already prepared with its challenger. During the 2022 race’s rest day on Saturday, GCK unveiled the physical prototype for the e-Blast H2, an SUV powered by an integrated hydrogen fuel cell.

Aligning with the shift in production cars, many motorsport operations have eyed different fuel sources for their vehicles across many disciplines. In the case of hydrogen, FCEVs (fuel cell electric vehicle) powered by the element are especially appealing as hydrogen fuel can be generated using just water and solar power, both plentiful and renewable resources. Extreme E cars use hydrogen generators, while Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus revealed last month its Hydrogen Fuel Cell Boot that intends to compete in November’s SCORE International Baja 1000.

GCK, the racing arm of French company Green Corp Konnection, first dabbled in alternative rally vehicles with the e-Blast 1. The e-Blast 1, which appeared at the 2021 Dakar Rally, is a hybrid powered by electric and hydrogen energy. As the letter and increased number in its name suggests, the e-Blast H2 is intended to take things a step further as a fully hydrogen-based vehicle. For the 2022 race, the team is fielding a biofuel car, the GCK Thunder driven by owner Guerlain Chicherit.

“We are very proud to be presenting the first ever hydrogen cross-country competition car with an integrated fuel cell,” stated GCK CEO Eric Boudot. “GCK Motorsport’s involvement in some of the most gruelling and varied motorsport events globally provides an ideal platform and innovation lab for Green Corp Konnection to further develop and create industry-leading greener technological solutions.”

The H2 was built with the help of German electric powertrain maker FEV. Throughout 2021, FEV focused on developing and installing the fuel cell system while GCK emphasised testing. A render of the H2 was released in September.

Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team announced during the week, that Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer had left his role and the team itself with immediate effect.

Szafnauer who had been with the team for twelve years, formerly known as Force India and then most recently Racing Point, leaves after a somewhat mixed season. Aston Martin revelled in some extraordinary moments during the 2021 season, such as Sebastian Vettel’s podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The team languished however to a seventh place finish in the Constructors’ Standings, not even close to where they had envisaged.

The Silverstone-based team released the following statement:

“Otmar Szafnauer has left the Company and his role at Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team will be managed within the leadership team until a replacement is appointed.  We would like to thank him for the service provided to the team over the past 12 years and wish him well for the future as he will undoubtedly take on new challenges.

“Fortunately, we are led and managed by a strong group of individuals, and we are comfortable to take a little time to explore options before announcing a new team structure. The focus of the team is currently on preparing the most competitive car possible for the start of the 2022 season.”

Stewart-Haas Racing‘s sphere of influence continues to grow in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. On Friday, SS-Green Light Racing announced a switch from Chevrolet to Ford and the formation of a partnership with SHR. Joe Graf Jr. will return for his third season with the team, while SHR’s Cup Series pilots Chase Briscoe and Cole Custer will make sporadic Xfinity starts in the team’s other car.

“We are thrilled to be part of this new relationship with SS-Green Light Racing,” stated SHR executive Joe Custer, father of Cole. “The team is very eager to raise their competitiveness to the next level and with this technical arrangement, they are going to be in a great position to accomplish all of their goals and more next season, as well as position themselves for future growth.”

In 2021, SSGLR allied with Rick Ware Racing to field the #17 for a litany of drivers with ties to RWR’s Cup programme. Custer, who made his Cup début with RWR in 2018, piloted the #17 to a seventh-place finish at Circuit of the Americas in his lone Xfinity start of 2021. Graf ran much of the schedule save for six rounds, and scored his maiden NASCAR top ten when he finished tenth at the fall Talladega event. He finished his sophomore season twenty-eighth in the standings.

“I am so stoked for the new opportunities in 2022,” commented Graf. “Our new relationship with Stewart-Haas Racing and Ford will allow us to continue to grow and improve as a team and hopefully give us the opportunity to showcase our ability in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at our highest level yet.”

Briscoe, the 2020 Xfinity regular season champion and 2021 Cup Rookie of the Year, returned to the second tier for two starts this past season with B.J. McLeod Motorsports, who fielded the #99 with SHR support. After finishing sixth at Charlotte, he placed nineteenth at Daytona.

A pair of drivers entered the free agent market on Friday when Alpha Prime Racing and Mike Harmon Racing respectively announced Andy Lally and Kyle Weatherman will not drive for them in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Lally, a sports car veteran in IMSA, joined Alpha Prime Racing‘s #44 as a road course ringer for the six such races on the 2022 Xfinity calendar. Owing to his background, all of his NASCAR starts since being named the 2011 Cup Series Rookie of the Year have come at road circuits (he officially recorded seven DNQs on ovals in 2021, though he was merely a placeholder name on Our Motorsports’ #03 while that entry was being locked out of races without qualifying). In eighteen career Xfinity starts, he has nine top tens with a best finish of fifth on four occasions.

“I owe a massive thank you to Alpha Prime Racing, specifically to Caesar Bacarella and Tommy Joe Martins for allowing me to jump on a unique opportunity,” read a statement from Lally. “I can’t say enough about how gracious they were in both understanding my position, as well as encouraging me to take the step that may help my future the most. It was a great show of friendship, sportsmanship, and a great testament to their character.

“I was very much looking forward to the chance to run with the 44 crew and I believe they have a great program filled with a ton of potential in 2022 and beyond. I wish them luck!

“I will be able to share details of my new opportunity shortly. Beyond opportunities to race, I will also be working with the team in capacities beyond the cockpit, and it is an opportunity simply too good to miss. I’m extremely excited for the future.”

Spencer Boyd will rock a new number for the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. On Friday, Young’s Motorsports announced Boyd will move from the #20 to the #12 Chevrolet Silverado.

After a brief mercenary stint and running the full 2018 Xfinity Series calendar, Boyd joined Young’s for much of the 2019 Truck season. That year, he scored his and Young’s first NASCAR victory at Talladega. In 2021, he ran all but the Knoxville race and finished twenty-fourth in points with a single top ten at Talladega. Boyd also has experience in the Cup Series.

“I’m excited every year to get back to the track and this year is no exception,” commented Boyd. “My schedule last season was jammed packed with seat time so I could get some different perspectives on my driving style. Pickle (crew chief Ryan London) and I are going to take what was learned in those laps and build on them with this #12 team. They work their butts off each week and I’m going to make them proud.”

The #12 was previously piloted by Tate Fogleman, who has signed with On Point Motorsports for 2022. Coincidentally, Fogleman’s maiden NASCAR triumph also came at Talladega in October.

“Spencer has earned the #12 ride, plain and simple,” team head Tyler Young said. “He works harder than any driver out there and I said last year that he is part of our growth strategy, so it’s great to be able to make that step with him.”

Danilo Petrucci might not be racing in MotoGP in 2022 and have his eyes on a switch to MotoAmerica, but he can probably add rally raiding to his list of series to consider for the future. A penalty levied on Toby Price enabled Petrucci to win the fifth stage of the Dakar Rally, making him the first MotoGP alumnus to win a stage in the legendary event.

Riding the #90 for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, Petrucci recorded a time of three hours, twenty-three minutes, and forty-six seconds in Stage #5, which was cut short as active medical aircraft were in the area. Fellow KTM rider Price completed the stage ahead of him by four minutes and fourteen seconds, but the two-time Rally winner was slapped with a six-minute time penalty after speeding in disallowed areas. This consequently relegated Price to fourth at 3:25:32.

Petrucci is contesting his maiden Dakar Rally. It has been a tumultuous effort for the Italian, who broke his ankle a month before the race and nearly tested positive for COVID-19 the night before the opening stage until it turned out to be a false positive. After finishing with the thirteenth-fastest time in the first stage and running in the top five for much of the second, an electrical issue ended his Stage #2 after 114 km; unable to contact his team after losing his cell phone and passport, he had to use a flare to signal for an airlift out. He was able to continue after using the “joker”, a waiver that allows retired competitors to rejoin the race, though it effectively eliminated him from overall contention as it came with an eleven-hour penalty.

In spite of the setback, Petrucci rebounded to complete the third and fourth stages in twenty-second and fifteenth, respectively.

“I started crying and I cannot believe it,” said an emotional Petrucci. “My father used to give me a present, video tapes from MotoGP and from Dakar, and every day, when I was coming back from school, I was looking always at these video tapes rolling, rolling, rolling. When I grew up, maybe too much for MotoGP, then I started to believe that maybe Dakar. I wanted to race in MotoGP, then when my body (was) not possible anymore to be competitve, I said, ‘Okay, we’ll try the Dakar.’