Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Pirelli Motorsport will go somewhat into the unknown this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas after being unable to do their usual pre-race analysis of a new track surface due to COVID-19 restrictions in the United States of America.

Formula 1 has not visited the track since 2019 having been forced to cancel the race last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and since they last raced there, around forty per cent of the track surface has been resurfaced in a bid to reduce the bumpiness of the venue.

Usually, Pirelli would send a team to analyse the new surface but in 2021 this was not possible, so they will do most of their learning this weekend alongside the teams.

“Although the teams have quite a lot of experience of Austin, this year they face a track that has changed a bit compared to 2019, when we last raced here,” said Isola, the Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli.  

“Around 40% of the track has been resurfaced but due to COVID-19 restrictions we were not able to send our personnel to analyse the new asphalt, so its characteristics are a question mark for everyone and we will only discover the final effects on tyres and car performance in general when we are there.

Toto Wolff says the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team arrive at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend on a high after two consecutive race victories in the Russian and Turkish Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas’ dominant display in Turkey was the two-hundredth victory for a Mercedes power unit since 1997, but the fact the Finn was able to back up Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Russia has given the works team some encouragement as they fight for both World Championships in 2021.

“It was encouraging to see our positive performance momentum continue last time out in Turkey,” said Wolff, the Team Principal at Mercedes.  “We haven’t scored back-to-back race wins in a little while, so naturally spirits have been high in the factories since we returned from Istanbul.

“That race win was also the 200th victory for Brixworth since they began their winning streak in 1997, which is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the passion and hard work of everyone at HPP.”

Wolff was delighted with the way Bottas performed and commanded the Turkish race, with conditions at Intercity Istanbul Park extremely tricky due to rain and a track that refused to dry out, and the Team Principal says the result will be a big boost to the Finn.

Nick Sanchez has joined B.J. McLeod Motorsports for his first foray into the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022. On Tuesday, BJMM announced Sanchez will drive for the team on a multi-race schedule, though specific dates were not immediately revealed.

Sanchez currently competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series for Rev Racing. After completing seventeen of nineteen races (he skipped the two dirt rounds), he is third in points with twelve top tens, eight top fives, and a best race finish of third three times. He first began racing in the series in 2020 with four starts. 2020 also saw him finish third in the ARCA Menards Series West standings.

“We are really excited to have Nick make his Xfinity Series début with us,” BJMM team owner B.J. McLeod stated. “We’re really looking forward to helping him grow in his personal and professional goals as he makes this next step in his career which we are so proud to be a part of.”

The Cuban-American is a member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity, which seeks to promote minority and female drivers; Rev Racing is closely connected to the D4D as a sort of works team for the programme. Sanchez is not the only D4D alumnus who will begin racing in the Xfinity Series in 2022 as Rajah Carruth will do the same for Alpha Prime Racing. Carruth celebrated Sanchez’s news by joking that the two will be equivalent to the friendships between Jack Harlow and Druski, and that of rappers Lil Baby and Lil Durk.

The D4D has also featured graduates like Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson, seven-time Trans-Am Series champion Ernie Francis Jr., 2016 Xfinity champion Daniel Suárez, and Cup race winner Bubba Wallace. Cup veteran Aric Almirola, who entered NASCAR through Joe Gibbs Racing’s own diversity programme, is like Sanchez in being of Cuban descent.

Dean Thompson is going trucking. On Monday, he announced he has joined Niece Motorsports for his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series début in the final race of the 2021 season at Phoenix Raceway on 5 November. He will also run the ARCA Menards Series finale at Kansas Speedway on 23 October.

Thompson currently competes in the ARCA Menards Series West for High Point Racing, who maintains a partnership with Sunrise Ford Racing. In six starts (he missed two races due to a positive COVID-19 test but has otherwise run every event), he recorded two top tens and a runner-up finish at his home track Irwindale, where he also won the pole. He notched a second pole in the season finale at All American Speedway. With one race left in the season, he is eleventh in points.

He posted on Twitter, “I’m so excited to announce that I am running the Reese’s 150 ARCA Menards Kansas race this weekend and the Lucas Oil 150 Camping World Truck race! So blessed to have this opportunity and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in the future!”

The Kansas race will be his first ARCA Menards Series standalone start as his maiden West race in the season opener at Phoenix in March was a combination event with the national Menards Series. Prior to ARCA and continuing to do so even after débuting, he competes in the SPEARS Southwest Series and won Rookie of the Year in 2020.

According to Thompson, Niece will field a fourth entry for him in the Truck Series. The team already has three full-time trucks, with one—the #45—being a multi-driver vehicle. Niece has also run the #44 for various names on a part-time basis in 2021, and it is likely that will be his truck for Phoenix. In ARCA, he will drive the #40; Niece ran the #50 in four ARCA races for Morgan Alexander, Carson Hocevar, and Jett Noland. The ARCA trio also races for Niece in the Trucks, with Hocevar being a full-time rookie and current playoff contender.

The Uralkali Haas F1 Team are preparing this weekend for their home grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), for the first American Grand Prix since 2019 and a first visit to the circuit for Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

It’s a big weekend for Haas as they look to celebrate their first home race since 2019 due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, however it looks set to be another challenging weekend for the team with both drivers being new to the venue.

Schumacher is excited not only for the team’s home race but also to get to experience the COTA track for his first time, in a country where Formula One is rapidly growing.

“It’s our home race so obviously I’m excited about that, but it’s much more than that. I like Austin and the US. It’s special and it’s something where Formula 1 isn’t as big just yet but we’re on the verge of becoming very big, especially due the ‘Drive to Survive’ series. I’m very much looking forward to it as it’s a great show, there’s always so much happening and frankly, I’m just super excited about going back to the states.”

“I think it’s a very special track. You have the first part which is super quick with tight corners and it’s very bumpy, so it’s definitely a challenge but also, it’s a racetrack where overtaking is definitely possible. Hopefully for us it will be a wet race as it will give us the most opportunities but if not, I’m just looking forward to racing out on that track. You say it’s had famous battles previously, and I’m sure we will be able to be a part of those one day.”

Formula One returns to The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) this weekend for the first time since 2019, as Williams Racing prepare for a better weekend than last time out in Turkey.

COTA is a real drivers favourite with it’s fast and flowing nature, for George Russell it is certainly a favoured track. The British driver will be hoping for not only better weather in Texas this weekend but also better fortunes, as the Williams driver aims at climbing back into the points come Sunday after a disappointing Turkish Grand Prix.

“The Circuit of the Americas is an incredible track and the weekend as a whole in Texas is an incredibly cool experience. Austin is definitely one of my favourites cities we visit on the calendar, so I am really excited to head back to the United States. As a circuit, COTA has lots of character and is so fast and flowing but also bumpy, which adds another challenge. All in all, I’m really looking forward to it.”

“This is the closest I have to a home race in 2021!” – Nicholas Latifi

For Nicholas Latifi this weekend represents the closest he will get to a home race this season, after the Canadian Grand Prix was cancelled earlier in the year due to the ongoing pandemic.

With the American Grand Prix cancelled in 2020, this weekend will be Latifi’s first venture around COTA. The Canadian driver is looking forward to experiencing the speed of the circuit at what is effectively his home race this season.

Kyle Larson is the first driver to clinch a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series‘ Championship Round. He led 257 of 334 laps in Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, the first race in the Round of 8, to secure his ticket to the finale for the first time.

Kyle Larson started on the pole ahead of Denny Hamlin. Multiple drivers including Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Garrett Smithley, David Starr, and Cody Ware were sent to the rear for failing pre-race inspection.

Stages #1 and 2

Until the competition caution on lap 26, Larson led every circuit while Joey Logano and defending Texas winner Kyle Busch followed. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports team-mate William Byron had a strong start as he climbed from twelfth to fifth. Busch suffered a speeding penalty on his stop.

The ensuing restart led to just two corners under green before multiple drivers were involved in a wreck on the backstretch: Bubba Wallace got loose and shot into the outside wall as did Ross Chastain, causing a pile-up that collected Bowman, Haley, Ware, Joey Gase, Ryan Newman, and Ryan Preece. Busch, Aric Almirola, and Michael McDowell also suffered minor damage.

The race resumed on lap 40 with Byron leading. Larson retook the top spot on lap 83 before joining the wave of pit stops under green ten laps later, which briefly cycled the position to Hamlin and Busch. Busch would take the stage win ahead of Ryan Blaney, Larson, Kurt Busch, Byron, Briscoe, Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Brad Keselowski. All but Kurt Busch, Byron, Briscoe, and Reddick were playoff drivers.

The Enduro Motorsport crew of Morgan Tillbrook and Marcus Clutton have claimed their maiden Intelligent Money British GT Championship race victory in the final round of the team’s debut season. The Donington Decider round of the series, which saw three of the eight available championships finalised, overshadowed the team’s achievement, besting factory drivers and seasoned campaigners alike to take the top spot.

Of course the main focus was on the championships still to be decided and Leo Machitski and Dennis Lind are celebrating their first overall British GT Championship titles. The Russian previously claimed the GT3 class title with Barwell Motorsport and Aston Martin in the era when GT1 was the series top class. The GT3 Pro/Am title was successfully defended by RAM Racing‘s Ian Loggie and Yelmer Buurman who fell just one place short of taking the overall title.

In GT4 the race victory went to the Academy Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4 of Matt Cowley and Will Moore. The victory confirmed second place in the overall GT4 title fight and represents their second victory of the year after their win in the sixth round of the championship; the second one hour race at Snetterton.

The only title left to decide in GT4 was the Pro/Am drivers title. Again its a story of maiden victories as the Britcar and GT Cup graduates Newbridge Motorsport claimed the title at their first attempt. Matt Topham and factory pro Darren Turner mated a second in class at the decider to three victories, another second and a fifth to seal the championship despite finishing behind their class rivals.

GT3: Tillbrook and Clutton Victorious, Machitski and Lind Title Winners.

With titles on the line the race for victory was always going to be overshadowed at Donington Park. From the off there was drama with title hopeful Michael Igoe leading from the start only to spin out of the lead and into a four lap deficit at Old Hairpin. The WPI Motorsport driver, sharing with Phil Keen who has been in contention for the overall title at five consecutive Donington Deciders plus last years COVID enforced Silverstone Showdown, ended their title hopes in the first lap of the race and left Keen with a seventh year of hope if he returns for 2022.

Mikkel Grundtvig took his second GB3 Championship win of the season at Donington Park, winning Race 3 in Leicestershire for the second time this season.

The Danish driver started on pole, ahead of Reema Juffali and Tommy Smith in the Douglas Motorsport cars.

Bryce Aron was squeezed out on the exit of Goddards, as Reece Ushijima pitted with a rear puncture at the end of the first lap to rule himself out of the fight for second place in the championship.

Christian Mansell ran wide on the exit of the Old Hairpin and just avoided Bart Horsten as he rejoined on Lap 3.

Roman Bilinski moved past Tommy Smith at the Melbourne Hairpin a lap later, with Ushijima setting the fastest lap on his return from the pits.

Zak O’Sullivan took his eighth win of his GB3 Championship-winning season at Donington Park on Sunday.

After taking pole on Saturday, he started third for Race 2 and was looking forward to racing with “no pressure”.

The Carlin driver reflected on a win which helped his team win the inaugural GB3 Teams’ Championship.

“I could make pretty risky moves early on, knowing others had more to lose so took advantage of that.

“I put a move on the grass on Bart [Horsten] and a pretty late lunge at the [Melbourne] Hairpin on Reece [Ushijima].”

Reece Ushijima took his second P2 finish of the GB3 Championship weekend at Donington Park in Race 2 on Sunday morning.

His weekend has gone much better than the series’ previous visit to Leicestershire, which brought two retirements after collisions with Hitech GP team-mate Bart Horsten in Race 2 and Zak O’Sullivan in Race 3.

When The Checkered Flag spoke to Reece in parc fermé after Race 1, he said he would prefer a dry race, but made the best of the sodden track conditions after starting on pole.

We caught up with him again after his second podium of the weekend, with the Japanese-American driver mired in a tight battle for second place in the Drivers’ Championship.

“I was a bit concerned at the start, I don’t have a lot of experience in the rain but I was glad to be able to get on the podium and collect good points,” he said.

Zak O’Sullivan took his seventh win of a his crowning season at a soaked Donington Park on Sunday, his second of the weekend in as many meetings at the Leicestershire circuit.

The race started behind the Safety Car due to extreme wet conditions.

The Hitech GP pairing of Reece Ushijima and Bart Horsten locked out the front row, ahead of new champion Zak O’Sullivan and the final Hitech of Sebastian Alvarez.

The race began in earnest on the third lap, as the safety car came in.

Horsten ran wide at the Old Hairpin, allowing O’Sullivan to move up the inside into second place.

John Hunter Nemechek might not be moving up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022, but that is not stopping the Camping World Truck Series points leader from winning in the second tier. Nemechek led the final twenty laps to win Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 at Texas Motor Speedway, throwing many playoff contenders’ hopes of advancing to the final round into flux.

Championship rivals A.J. Allmendinger and Austin Cindric started on the front row, and the former led the first thirteen laps before being passed by the latter. Cindric would lead to the stage win ahead of Noah Gragson, Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, Jeremy Clements, Brett Moffitt, and Brandon Brown. Three yellow flags were waved for a competition caution (lap 20), Landon Cassill suffering damage in contact with Sam Mayer (25), and J.J. Yeley‘s car stopping due to a broken crankshaft (39). Cassill would rejoin and re-exit the race multiple times as mechanical issues from the damage interfered with his day.

Daniel Hemric assumed the lead to start Stage #2. Ryan Sieg brought out the lone caution of the segment when he spun on lap 63. Hemric and Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Nemechek trade the lead but the latter would secure the lead and stage victory. Hemric, Mayer, Jeb Burton, Haley, Riley Herbst, Annett, Allgaier, Gragson, and Allmendinger rounded out the top ten.

Nemechek continued to lead to start the final stage. On lap 100, Dylan Lupton and Tanner Berryhill slammed into the turn two wall and collected Jade Buford. C.J. McLaughlin spun on lap 141 for another caution, and Hemric took the top spot for the restart. Harrison Burton, also a JGR driver, became the new leader following Brown’s wreck on lap 172, but was passed by Nemechek on lap 181.

Despite being penalised after the McLaughlin caution for having a crewman over the pit wall too soon, Nemechek was able to complete his drive from the back and hold off Hemric to win his second career Xfinity race and first since 2018 at Kansas.

The Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO of Michael Igoe and Phil Keen has claimed the final pole position of the 2021 Intelligent Money British GT Championship season. The WPI Motorsport crew put in a combined 2:53.808 in two laps of the Donington Park Grand Prix circuit to take the top spot by over 0.350 seconds over their nearest rivals. The qualifying session went perfectly for the pair who start tomorrow’s race in a potential championship winning position.

In GT4 most of the titles have already been decided but that didn’t stop a hotly contested battle for the front row of the grid. The winners in this fight? Steller Motorsport and the Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Richard Williams and Sennan Fielding whose 3:09.568 puts them almost 6 tenths clear of second place. It puts them five places ahead of the first of the championship protagonists and three places clear of the Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 which tied up the titles Steller were contesting at the last meeting at Oulton Park.

GT3: Igoe and Keen Claim Pole as Title Leader Shows Strain

WPI Motorsport are doing everything right to break Phill Keen’s curse at the final round of the championship. 2021 is the sixth consecutive year that Keen has entered the final round with a shot at the title and at least this year, he starts in a winning position.

Assuming championship leaders Leo Machitski and Dennis Lind only make up a single place in the race, the title could go to the perennial bridesmaid. Second and third places are filled by cars that are out of the title fight and given that the #6 machine, which is only two points ahead of the WPI Lamborghini, starts in 4th place things are looking hopeful for the #18.

On the downside, both the championship contenders ahead of the leader took podium spots in the second race at Oulton Park they come to the final round with success seconds to serve in the pit lane. Igoe and Keen must stay stationary for 20 seconds longer than the #63 from Barwell whilst Ian Loggie and Yelmer Buurman stay put for five additional seconds over the leaders.

Roman Bilinski took advantage of a strong start to get his seventh podium of the season in Race 1 as the GB3 Championship visited Donington Park for the season finale.

Reece Ushijima took second for Hitech GP, with Bilinski third.

The Checkered Flag spoke to the Arden Motorsport driver in parc fermé after a race which saw Zak O’Sullivan take the title.

“Getting podiums is a habit I’d like to keep!” he said.

“It was a tough race but I did it all at the start.