Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

In May, Charlie Kimball‘s Indianapolis 500 hopes were dashed when he failed to qualify for what would have been his eleventh start in the race. Five months later, he will return to the seat of an IndyCar for the NTT IndyCar Series season finale at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, where he will once again drive the #11 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. It will be his second start of the season.

Prior to the 500, he finished twenty-second in the GMR Grand Prix with Foyt, whom he joined for the full 2020 season. After an eighteenth-place points finish, his schedule was scaled back to just the Month of May events, though he remained involved in the organisation and worked as a colour commentator for Indy Lights races.

“I cannot wait to get back behind the wheel of an A.J. Foyt IndyCar mostly because I love racing,” Kimball stated. “[…] Working with the team at A.J. Foyt Racing, both in and out of the cockpit, has been very rewarding and I look forward to continuing that work in Long Beach.”

Long Beach returns to the IndyCar calendar after being axed in 2020 due to COVID-19. The street course holds sentimental value for Kimball, who grew up in Camarillo, California, located approximately seventy miles away from Long Beach.

“Long Beach is my favorite event outside of the Indy 500,” added Kimball. “I spent my childhood coming to this race and dreaming about being on the other side of the fence. The chance to compete at this track, so close to my hometown, three and a half years since my last time behind the wheel there has been one of my biggest personal motivators.”

George Russell is excited to race this weekend in The Netherlands on the back of two consecutive top ten finishes, including his unexpected podium finish last weekend in Belgium.

The Williams Racing driver scored his first points for the team in the Hungarian Grand Prix just before the summer break, and he came back after the break to qualify an amazing second place at Spa-Francorchamps.  With rain preventing any green flag running, he ran second until the race was declared.

Russell says racing at the Circuit Zandvoort in a Formula 1 car will be very special, and everyone within the team are arriving in The Netherlands with confidence after two amazing results for Williams.

“I’m really excited for Zandvoort,” said Russell.  “I’ve raced there a few times before and it’s a fantastic circuit.

“It’s really undulating, fast and flowing and requires a huge amount of commitment. To experience that in a Formula 1 car will be very special.

The bank holiday weekend of 29 – 30 August 2021 saw the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy Presented by Cooper Tires liven up the Welsh countryside at Pembrey Circuit with some top-notch rallycross action. The Supercar class’ round three was spread over the two days, however, each of the support classes held their round three on Sunday and round four on bank holiday Monday.

The RX150 class gave us plenty of the high-speed action we all enjoy from these small buggies with Stephen Jones and Tommi Caldwell winning the qualifying races on Sunday, but it was Patrick O’Donovan who eventually overcame his technical issues to take his third straight win of the season. Caldwell pushed hard and closely followed O’Donovan over the finish line just 0.2 seconds behind him. In round four on Monday, Caldwell took the lead from O’Donovan who tried but failed to make the undercut work on his joker lap. O’Donovan, unfortunately, span his RX150 which gave Jones the lead he so desperately wanted and then Caldwell went on to take the round four win. 

In the Super Retro class, the Porsche 911 piloted by Barry Stewart totally dominated the qualifying races with the Ford Escort of Allan Tapscott hot on his tail. In their final race of round three, Tapscott attempted a great move but couldn’t follow it through allowing Vince Bristow‘s BMW E36 to get past and claim second place behind Stewart. In round four though, Ray Morgan‘s Ford Escort Mk3 BDA made up for his disappointing previous day by firing ahead to take the win after Stewart lost power coming out of the hairpin, dropping to third allowing Tapscott to claim second place.

Meanwhile, in the Retro class’ final of round three Tony Lynch span his Toyota MR2 leaving Steve Cozens to take the lead and eventual win in his Citreon AX. Terry Moore‘s tiny Austin Mini was quick to the mark and claimed second ahead of Lynch. Round three on Monday was the day that Lynch was able to take his MR2 to it’s first win after making a lightning-fast start leaving Cozens and the VW Polo Coupe GT of Paul Smith chasing him down all the way to the checkered flag.

The BMW Minis produced some fast-paced, dramatic racing with Drew Bellerby rolling her car while leading a semi-final in Sunday’s round three. Thankfully the new mum was unhurt with the car suffering a fair few dents. In the final, Stephen Brown and Tom Constantine battled hard for the lead before Constantine span his freshly rebuilt car allowing Brown the space he needed to cross the line first ahead of Darren Bleasdale and Ben Sayer. Round four saw a repeat performance from Brown ahead of Turner with Sayer racking up his second podium of the weekend. In the All4 Super Mini class, the 4 wheel-drive Mini’s had plenty of strong battles over the two rounds, with current BMW Mini Champion David Bell coming out on top on both days ahead of Martin Hawkes and Adrian Turner.

Lando Norris is looking to put behind him the disappointment of the Belgian Grand Prix when Formula 1 makes its race return to the Circuit Zandvoort in The Netherlands this weekend.

The McLaren F1 Team driver had looked to be the man to beat in the wet Qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps last Saturday, but a heavy crash in difficult conditions at Raidillon left him with a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change and outside of the top ten.

With the subsequent race being a wash out with only a couple of laps being run behind the safety car before being declared a result, Norris had no chance of moving up the order, and he ended up outside the points for the second consecutive race weekend.

But putting that behind him, Norris is excited to return to the track for the first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985 this weekend, with the Briton hoping to start the weekend strongly.

“After a disappointing weekend in Belgium, I’m looking forward to heading back to track this weekend and hopefully putting on more of a show for the fans,” said Norris.  “Zandvoort is a cool circuit and one that I’ve raced – and won – at before, back in 2017 in Formula 3.

Sebastian Vettel feels the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team has done everything they can to prepare for this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, the first Formula 1 race at Circuit Zandvoort since 1985.

Vettel, who took fifth in last weekend’s non-event in Belgium, says the team are ready to hit the track on Friday morning after using the simulator to experience it in preparation for the event.

The four-time World Champion says the narrow nature of the track will make it difficult to overtake, but the banking that has been applied to the final turn should give drivers the chance to keep close to those ahead to attempt an overtake into turn one.

“Like everyone, we have prepared as much as we can for the new Zandvoort circuit through simulation, so we’re ready to hit the track and experience it,” said Vettel.  “The new banking section at the final corner should be exciting for drivers and will hopefully help overtaking because it looks very narrow in places.

“Zandvoort has an incredible history in Formula 1, and the fans are very passionate, so I’m happy to see it have a place on the calendar.”

Max Verstappen will finally get the opportunity to race in front of his adoring Dutch fans this weekend at Circuit Zandvoort as Formula 1 returns to The Netherlands for the first time since 1985.

The race was initially planned to return to the calendar in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic ended the chance of fans being in attendance, and as a result the event was cancelled, much to the dismay of Verstappen and his loyal ‘Orange Army’ of fans.

The Red Bull Racing driver is expecting Qualifying to be an extremely important part of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend as overtaking is expected to be tricky around Zandvoort, but Verstappen is excited to be racing in front of his home fans in his home country for the first time in Formula 1.

“I’m really looking forward to the race at Zandvoort,” said Verstappen.  “It will be special to have a race in the Netherlands in front of my home crowd but also as a driver it’s a good challenge to go to a new circuit and find the limit in an F1 car.

“It was amazing to see so many fans supporting us in Austria and Belgium and I hope we can put on a good show for everyone in the grandstands this weekend. As for the track, it might be a little hard to overtake on but for single lap performance I think it’s going to be rewarding.

Toto Wolff still has a feeling of frustration that no racing was possible in last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, but he knows the conditions at Spa-Francorchamps were just not safe enough for the race to get underway.

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team lost ground in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in Belgium as Max Verstappen was handed the victory, despite the race being run completely behind the safety car.  The one saving grace was only half points were awarded, meaning Verstappen took only twelve and a half points as opposed to the usual twenty-five points.

Lewis Hamilton saw his Drivers’ Championship lead reduced to just three points, while Mercedes are now only seven points ahead of Red Bull Racing in the Constructors’ Championship.  Valtteri Bottas failed to score in Belgium after the grid penalty from Hungary relegated him outside the top ten at the start, and the lack of green flag running ended his chance of progression.

“There’s still a feeling of frustration that we couldn’t race in Belgium last weekend,” said Wolff, the Team Principal at Mercedes and the Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “We’ve never seen a situation like this, and the conditions were incredibly difficult out there, so it was just not safe to race.

“If the weather had eased up, I think we would have been in for an incredible race for all the passionate and dedicated fans who were waiting in the rain. So, it isn’t a satisfying feeling to leave Belgium with just a handful of laps behind the Safety Car, but it is what it is. We need to close that chapter and quickly move our focus to the next one.

Juncos Hollinger Racing are ready to start out their NTT IndyCar Series tenure with a bang, bringing in current Scuderia Ferrari test driver and Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN reserve driver Callum Ilott to make his IndyCar debut and drive their entry in the upcoming Grand Prix of Portland.

The 22-year-old British driver is the first driver to race for the new team and will get his first laps behind the wheel at a test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on 2 September. Ilott joins an ever-growing list of Formula drivers making appearances in IndyCar, including Christian Lundgaard, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen.

“I am pleased and excited to be announcing I will be racing with Juncos Hollinger Racing at Portland,” Ilott said in a press release.

“This will be my first time in the NTT IndyCar Series and running in the United States, which will be a bit of a change from running on the European side. I am looking forward to working with the team during this first phase of their development and proud to be a part of this opportunity to build into their future embarkment.”

Not only will this be Ilott’s first race in the series, it will be the team’s first as Juncos Hollinger Racing. Juncos Racing last raced in the 2019 Indianapolis 500, where they famously bumped McLaren Racing and Fernando Alonso out of the event.

Kimi Räikkönen has announced his retirement from Formula 1. The Finnish driver will continue the rest of the season with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN before having his final race at Abu Dhabi in December.

There has been plenty of speculation over the past couple of weeks as to whether the one-time World Champion would be continuing in the sport past 2021 and alas, he has decided to hang up his F1 racing boots.

In a statement released on his Instagram, Räikkönen confirmed he made the decision during the winter break after the 2020 season.

Räikkönen’s statement read: “This is it. This will be my last season in Formula 1. This is a decision I did during last winter. It was not an easy decision but after this season it is time for new things. 

“Even though the season is still on, I want to thank my family, all my teams, everyone involved in my racing career and especially all of you great fans that have been rooting for me all this time. 

Now onto his third team of the year, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have announced that Oliver Askew will drive the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda for the final three races of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season.

Askew will feature for the team in the Grand Prix of Portland, Firestone Grand Prix of Monterrey and Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach throughout the month of September, joining Santino Ferrucci and Christian Lundgaard as drivers of the car this season.

The 24-year-old American raced at Portland International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca en route to his 2019 Indy Lights championship, finishing on the podium in both races at Portland and finishing fourth and second at Laguna Seca to end the season. However, during his rookie IndyCar season in 2020, he was unable to go to any of these tracks due to COVID-19 cancellations, and has no experience on the Streets of Long Beach.

Askew tested with the team in July along with Lundgaard at Barber Motorsports Park, and spoke highly of his time with the team.

“It’s fantastic opportunity to run the final three races of the season with such a capable team in Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” Askew said.

Mario Isola says information provided by Formula 1 bosses and teams have given Pirelli Motorsport an idea of the challenge ahead this weekend in The Netherlands as the Dutch Grand Prix makes its return to the calendar for the first time since 1985.

Pirelli will bring the three hardest compounds available to them this weekend at the Circuit Zandvoort, with the white-walled C1 being the hard, the yellow-walled C2 the medium and the red-walled C3 the soft.  They opted for these compounds due to the forces that the tyres are expected to be put through this weekend.

Isola, the Head of F1 and Motorsport at Pirelli, says the free practice sessions this weekend will be essential for everyone to gather data about possible strategies, including the tyre manufacturer themselves as they look to work out how demanding the track will be on their tyres.

“The Dutch Grand Prix is obviously a new challenge but thanks to the data provided by Formula 1 and the teams, we have been able to come up with a tyre nomination and prescriptions that are closely aligned to what we can expect from this exciting new venue,” said Isola.

“Being a new track, the free practice sessions will also be essential when it comes to gathering real data and formulating the tyre strategy for the race. What’s for sure is that the circuit layout is going to place heavy demands on the tyres, as can be seen from the computer simulations that we have already carried out.

Scuderia Ferrari were one of only two teams to score points with both drivers during Sunday’s farcical Belgian Grand Prix, but Team Principal Mattia Binotto admits it was not the best of weekends for the Italian marque.

Ferrari appeared to struggle for performance throughout the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, and this was obvious when Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. were both eliminated in Q2 on Saturday afternoon.  Leclerc ultimately moved up to ninth after penalties for both Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris, while Sainz started eleventh.

When Sergio Pérez crashed on the way to the initial grid, both drivers moved up a further place, but without any green flag running and a very short race held purely behind the safety car, Leclerc ended eighth and Sainz tenth.  Leclerc scored two points for that, while Sainz scored only half a point as the race did not go to the minimum seventy-five per cent of the race distance to earn full points.

Binotto says it is important for Ferrari to fight back strongly this coming weekend at the Circuit Zandvoort as they look to reclaim third place in the Constructors’ Championship having lost the position to the McLaren F1 Team in Belgium.

“First of all, I’d like to thank all the spectators who stayed to the very end at the track, hoping to see what should have been an uncertain and spectacular race,” said Binotto.  “The Race Director did everything he could to try and get the Grand Prix underway, but conditions were never good enough to do so without jeopardising the safety of the drivers and those working trackside.

NASCAR Xfinity Series team Martins Motorsports will be getting an identity change for 2022. On Monday, the organisation announced it will rebrand to Alpha Prime Racing as part of a partnership between owner/driver Tommy Joe Martins and Caesar Bacarella. The two will share the #44 Chevrolet Camaro with Rajah Carruth, whose arrival will also mark his first foray into the Xfinity Series.

“I want to build something,” Bacarella said in a press release. “I love this sport. That’s why I do it. I’ve known Tommy and his dad since 2018, and when I saw the news about them going part time, I started asking questions. It led to a discussion about ownership, which is something I’d already been thinking about.”

Bacarella, the CEO of the Alpha Prime sports apparel brand, has competed part-time in the Xfinity Series since 2017. Currently driving for DGM Racing, his best finish in twenty career starts is twelfth in the 2021 season opener at Daytona. He mainly races in sports cars, particularly the Lamborghini Blancpain World Challenge America GT3 class, and he won the GT World Challenge America Am class championship in 2019 a year after claiming the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX GT Am title. Bacarella will continue his GT3 slate in addition to his NASCAR duties.

Martins and the family-owned Martins Motorsports first appeared in the Xfinity Series in 2014, though a lack of stable funding resulted in periods of dormancy before finally being able to compete full-time beginning in 2020. That year, he scored his first NASCAR national series top ten when he finished tenth at Texas.  After twenty-three races in 2021, he sits a career-best eighteenth in points with a best run of eleventh at Talladega.

In July, Martins told TobyChristie.com that he intended to scale back his driving schedule and allow for other drivers to pilot the #44. He asserted the decision does not indicate financial trouble for the team and rather the operation had “maxed out” its capabilities if Martins alone remained in the seat, and that the move would help elevate its performances. Nevertheless, his specific schedule for 2022 is contingent on sponsorship and tracks that he feels he excels at, and he is expected to run approximately ten to fifteen events.

Charles Leclerc admitted it was a strange end to the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, with only a handful of laps being completed behind the safety car being called as a race.

The Scuderia Ferrari driver finished eighth after profiting from Sergio Pérez’s misfortune before the start to move up one place, with the position enough to give him two points in the championship.

Leclerc says it was a good call not to race given the safety concerns at Spa-Francorchamps in wet conditions, and he admits it was a shame to the fans that stuck around expecting a race that no green flag running was possible.

“It’s a strange end to the weekend, not having had a proper race,” said Leclerc.  “Most of all, it’s a shame for all the fans who came out to see us race. I’d like to thank everyone who stayed in the grandstands hoping that the conditions will improve.

“It surely wasn’t easy and I have massive respect for every single person who stayed here with us. The track conditions weren’t that bad in terms of standing water, but in terms of visibility, it was a disaster.

Fernando Alonso says it was the right decision not to get the Belgian Grand Prix properly underway, but the veteran Spaniard has criticised the decision to award points to the top ten in what he did not class as a proper race.

The Alpine F1 Team driver finished outside the top ten in eleventh, but the fact that there were zero green flag laps meant it was impossible for him to move forward, and as a result zero points should have been awarded.

Alonso says everyone tried their best to get a race in, but the conditions were never good enough to go racing, and he praised the spectators for their patience as they waited for a race that never came.

“It was the correct decision to stop the race given the conditions,” said Alonso.  “But I think it’s strange that points are scored for this weekend. It was only ever a red flag situation out on track and we only drove laps under the Safety Car, so it wasn’t a race.

“Everyone involved tried their best, so it’s nobody’s fault, but it’s a shame. Despite all of this the spectators were amazing all weekend and it was good to see them back no matter the weather.”