Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

For twenty-five years, Yoshimasa Sugawara raced the legendary Paris–Dakar Rally as it began in Europe and finished in the Senegalese capital of Dakar; even when the race was moved to South America in 2009, he continued his streak at the event which culminated in his record thirty-six consecutive Dakars from 1983 to 2019. Although the Dakar Rally no longer goes through its original route, Sugawara will once again relive the journey when he takes part in the 2024 Africa Eco Race.

Sugawara made his Dakar début in 1983 on a bike, running two editions on two wheels but failing to finish either before switching to a Mitsubishi Pajero for the 1985 race. In 1992, he joined Hino whom he helped develop into one of the top truck marques at the Dakar; despite never winning the rally, he notched seven Truck podium finishes including six runner-ups. He retired after the 2019 edition, though his son Teruhito Sugawara has continued to lead Hino Team Sugawara as team director and driver. Besides his longevity, Sugawara is also tied with Giniel de Villiers for the most consecutive Dakars finished with twenty from 1989 to 2009.

“The Paris-Dakar was created by a person named (Thierry) Sabine, but it was cancelled several years later due to terrorism and it’s been going on elsewhere ever since,” recalled Sugawara. “I was racing trucks. I was in Portugal when it was cancelled. Then, I was told that South America was next, so I was thinking a lot about where in South America we would race it.

“At that time, there were two people, (Jean-Louis) Schlesser and René Metge, who said, ‘Next year, let’s start in Monaco and go to Dakar.’ I didn’t know about that.”

Although he retired from the Dakar after 2019, Sugawara remained in the driver’s seat for a final run in the 2020 Africa Eco Race. Driving a Yamaha YXZ1000R, he finished thirtieth overall and fifteenth among SSVs.

Scuderia Ferrari have become the first Formula 1 team to reveal when they’ll be unveiling their 2024 challenger to the world, after pencilling in February 13 2024 as their special day.

This goes against tradition for the Maranello-based side, who typically take the covers off their newest car on Valentine’s Day (February 14). Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur told media that the reasoning for this is that with pre-season testing in 2024 being earlier than it was this year, it’s been “quite a challenge” to schedule all their usual events.

“The launch will take place on the 13th of February, the day before the Valentine’s Day,” Vasseur revealed, as per Motorsport.com. “You will see the rest [of the details, including the car’s name] on that day.

“Why? Because we will have one day more before the [Bahrain pre-season] test,” he joked. “No, it’s quite tight, more seriously. We have the test a bit before [its 2023 slot] and it’s quite a challenge to put everything together.

“It means that we had no other option. I think also that some other teams are doing it on the 14th, but it’s quite challenging to be all ready for Bahrain.”

Oliver Bearman says Oscar Piastri showed that preparation is key ahead of joining the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, and he will need to do everything he can to be ready for when it is his time to join the grid.

Bearman was a multiple race winner in his rookie FIA Formula 2 season in 2023 with Prema Racing and was handed his first two free practice outings in Formula 1 machinery towards the end of the year with the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi.

The young Briton is also a member of the fable Ferrari Driver Academy, but it was the preparation done by current McLaren F1 Team driver Piastri that opened up Bearman’s eyes, and he knows that he will need to do everything he can in order to be ready.

Piastri completed lots of laps in a two-year-old BWT Alpine F1 Team car whilst he was part of their team as reserve driver, and Bearman knows that he would need to maximise his time behind the wheel of a car on track.

“He showed that preparation is really important,” Bearman is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com.  “Once you join F1 you’re going up against guys with a lot of races under their belt.

Matt Harman, the Technical Director of the BWT Alpine F1 Team, says that they ran out of time to develop their Renault power unit ahead of the engine freeze in 2022 and as such are running at a power disadvantage to their rivals.

A lot of talk was said prior to the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season about the focus of Renault’s development of their power unit, with performance being prioritised over reliability, but whilst improvements were made, they were still unable to catch up to the likes of Honda, Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz.

Harman says the team were ‘courageous’ with its engine development but it was just not quite enough, and whilst they have been able to solve their reliability concerns, they have not been able to improve their power unit, even going the way of appealing to the FIA and the other teams to allow some performance improvements in a bid to gain some extra horsepower.

Although the FIA were on their side, their requests were denied by the teams and as such, the engine department is now fully focused on developing a whole new power unit that will be first used when the new regulations take effect in 2026.

“I wouldn’t say frustrating,” Harman is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “I think we tried. I think it’s important that we try these things. In the end, we have the technology and the capability to put the power unit where we’d like it to be, we just ran out of time on the RE22.

Carlos Sainz Jr. says ‘only time will tell’ if Scuderia Ferrari can close the gap at the front of the field to Oracle Red Bull Racing in 2024, but he has confidence they can based on what the McLaren F1 Team were able to do during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Ferrari ended third in the Constructors’ Championship in 2023, with Sainz taking the one and only race win that Red Bull did not achieve in Singapore, while the team scored four hundred and six points, less than half of their championship winning rivals.

McLaren had a season of two distinct halves, with the opening part of the year seeing them struggle to score points.  However, updates brought to the car ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend turned around their fortunes and they were often Red Bull’s closest rivals in the second half of the season.

And it is that turnaround in form from his former team that gives Sainz the confidence that Ferrari can eat into the distinct performance gap between them and Red Bull.

“I think it has to be our realistic aim, yes,” Sainz is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com.  “Will we manage to do it? Only time will time.

Gautier Paulin knows his way around the dirt on two wheels, but will now see if his skills can translate to the sand on four when he makes his rally raid début in the 2024 Africa Eco Race, driving the Apache APH-01.

“Third chapter of my life, behind a steering wheel on four wheels,” said Paulin. “After making a career on a bike then on a motorcycle, racing on four wheels is now a reality. We will leave Monaco on 30 December and arrive in Dakar on 14 January, it will be a great adventure. We have trained a lot, but not on our usual terrain, so I’m looking forward to it.”

After spending his youth and teen years in BMX, Paulin competed in the FIM Motocross World Championship from 2007 to 2020. He finished third in the 2009 MX2 standings before graduating to the top-flight MXGP class as a factory rider for Honda and eventually Yamaha. In 2015, Paulin placed runner-up in MXGP points with three wins.

Paulin is one of the greatest riders to have raced in the Motocross des Nations. He and the French team won the event five years in a row from 2014 to 2018, the second longest winning streak by a single country. This stretch also allowed Paulin to be tied for the third most MXoN wins of all time by an individual competitor.

He retired from motocross after the 2020 season, ending his career with nine MXGP wins and a fifth-place championship finish. In 2023, Paulin was named the head coach of France’s MXoN team.

Two years after sustaining serious leg injuries when his support truck exploded with him inside prior to the 2022 Dakar Rally, Philippe Boutron will make his racing return at the 2024 edition. He will drive the #253 Sodicars BV2 in the Ultimate (formerly T1) class for Sodicars Racing with Franck Maldonado as his navigator.

The blast occurred outside a hotel in Jeddah where he and other competitors were staying before the start of the rally. Boutron was taken to a local military hospital before being flown back to France, and was in a coma for a week before awakening and continuing treatment at Hôpital d’instruction des armées Percy in Clamart. Despite fears that his legs would be amputated, it was ultimately not necessary and he subsequently underwent five months of rehabilitation. His injuries prevented him from racing the 2023 Dakar Rally, but his recovery since has ensured a 2024 start was possible; according to a report from MARCA, he currently only has a slight limp and is “very motivated and excited” to return to the Dakar.

While Saudi officials ruled out criminal activity as a potential cause after their initial investigation, French authorities and Sodicars Racing have concluded it to be a terrorist attack. Conducting their own probe, France’s General Directorate for Internal Security and National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office found traces of an improvised explosive device inside the cockpit, which went off directly below the driver’s seat that Boutron was sitting on. Boutron concurs with this view and suggested it was likely an “isolated act.”

The incident, along with a repeat the following day that claimed a support truck on Camelia Liparoti’s team, led to competitors staying in camps rather than hotels from 2023 onwards. Additional security concerns in the wake of increasing geopolitical strife have also prompted the Amaury Sport Organisation to forbid everyone from displaying national flags on their vehicles for 2024. Save for the aforementioned explosions, the Dakar has been relatively safe for drivers since its move to Saudi Arabia in 2020, though these increased measures were justified by the ASO since providing security for a massive rally in the open desert is already a difficult task.

While recovering, Boutron returned to work as the president of French Championnat National football club US Orléans.

Kade Tinkler-Walker has returned to Canada after spending nearly a month at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego undergoing treatment for a traumatic brain injury he sustained in a frightening crash at the Baja 1000. In an update on Friday, his family revealed his health has improved enough that he can be transferred back home to begin intensive therapy with the help of specialists like sports medicine and rehabilitation doctors as well as occupational and speech therapists.

Walker was placed in a medically induced coma following his accident 823 miles into the Baja 1000, which led to a protracted rescue and evacuation process that his SLR Honda team among others have harshly criticised. Despite initial expectations that his injury would keep him unconscious for up to sixty days, he awakened approximately two weeks later and was able to communicate via hand gestures. He also retained much of his memory, though his speech was fairly limited at the time; Walker’s friend and team member Ty Davis remarked after visiting him in early December that he “wants out of the hospital, as us racers hate hospitals, but I told him he is in the best one, if he has to be in one.”

Since he hails from Canada and was staying in an American medical centre, Walker does not have the proper health coverage to pay off his medical expenses. This, along with the support of the racing community, prompted SLR Honda and his family to set up a fundraiser withthe Road2Recovery Foundation to cover the costs until he is able to go back to Quebec. As of this article’s publication, the effort has raised USD$32,820 (€3,007.10).

“The decision to start Kade’s recovery in Canada was challenging but ultimately made in the best interest of Kade’s physical and financial well-being,” his family explained. “As a Canadian citizen, Kade will benefit from the healthcare system there, which is instrumental in facilitating his long-term rehabilitation. This move aligns with his ongoing medical needs. It ensures continuity in the high-quality care he requires, with the ultimate goal of coming back to Southern California to receive specialized therapy once medically approved.

“While we are optimistic about Kade’s progress, the road ahead remains long and requires substantial resources. The extensive nature and expected long-term needs of his therapy, coupled with the looming concerns regarding the final medical bill from his hospital stay in California, a figure that remains uncertain but is expected to be substantial, adds another layer of complexity and ultimately assists in making this difficult decision a bit easier.

Maximilian Loder and his brother Laurence Loder will make their Dakar Classic débuts in 2024 as the drivers of a Puch 280GE that has been heavily modified to resemble the G-Wagen that their father Josef Loder raced in the 1985 Paris–Dakar Rally.

While the G-Wagen (short for Geländewagen) is famously known as a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the line started life in 1979 as a military vehicle dubbed the Puch G and developed by Puch, an Austrian manufacturer that was part of Steyr-Daimler-Puch until the conglomerate’s demise in 2001 and operates today as Magna Steyr. It is one of three Puchs eligible for Dakar Classic competition alongside the the 4×4 and 6×6 models of the Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer.

In 1985, Josef was tasked by BMW to race a Puch 280GE as a support vehicle for their bike team BMW Motorrad led by that year’s winner Gaston Rahier. BMW refused to use a Mercedes car as a rival brand, so they opted for strictly the Puch G-Wagen which was identical save for the badging. Adorned with the familiar red and white trim of sponsor Marlboro along with sponsors like Playboy Magazine, the car was piloted by Josef and Herbert Wimmer to an overall finish of ninety-ninth. Nicknamed “Beppo”, Josef had previously raced a Suzuki LJ80 in the 1982 edition but was forced to retire.

Josef and his Maximilian run delta4x4, an aftermarket company specialising in off-road parts for 4×4 vehicles like the LJ80. The older Loder founded the business in 1980 in Odelzhausen. Laurence, who is twenty years younger than his brother, is an engineering student.

Maximilian and Laurence hoped to honour their father by racing the Dakar Classic, a side event to the main Dakar Rally for vehicles built before 1999. However, their 280GE is not even the same model that Josef raced: Josef’s G-Wagen was a two-door version with a long wheelbase, of which only 200 were ever produced, which prompted the duo to convert a four-door model. Their friend Achim Grauert, a former technician for BMW’s Formula One programme, led the project.

Since 2019, Yamaha Motor Europe has operated the YXZ1000R European Cup, a stock Yamaha YXZ1000R spec championship that races across six countries and culminates in the SuperFinale. For 2024, they hope to move the Cup’s competitors from the forests and mountains of Europe to the desert of Morocco with the creation of the Yamaha Desert Challenge, which will take place alongside the final four stages of the Carta Rallye.

The Carta Rallye, whose eighth edition is scheduled for 3–9 March, is an amateur rally raid in Morocco overseen by Dakar Rally co-driver Sébastien Delaunay. The Yamaha Desert Challenge runs on the fifth through ninth, which takes the rally from Merzouga to M’Hamid. Competitors will be split into Race and Raid classes; Race is for Yamahas that meet Carta regulations and can compete alongside the main rally, while Raid is open to all vehicles regardless of specs and runs easier routes for the experience rather than competition.

The YXZ1000R Cup takes place in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, with at least three races in each country. The top national drivers are then invited to race in the SuperFinale, which was held in Portugal alongside the Baja Portalegre 500 in October. Ex-formula racer William Buller won in the Stock class, which earned him a €15,000 scholarship to run three rounds in the 2024 FIA European Baja Cup.

“After an incredible year in 2023, which saw twenty-seven crews racing against each other in the YXZ1000R European Cup SuperFinale at the Baja Portalegre, it is time to expand our SSV program with this exclusive new event,” said Yamaha Motor Europe racing head and Dakar veteran Camelia Liparoti. “It feels like a natural progression. With the YXZ1000R European Cup giving drivers and co-drivers a chance to experience driving across the continent, the next logical step was to provide them with the opportunity to taste what it is like to compete in Africa and experience the spectacular Moroccan dunes.

“I am delighted to have the two categories because the Race class will allow our more experienced crews to judge their potential as they compete alongside the main Carta Rallye participants but within their own separate classification. In contrast, the Raid class gives us a chance to allow newer teams to gain experience of what it is like to take part in an African rally raid but in a structured, guided way and without any of the stress. Everyone who takes part will also benefit from the exclusive Yamaha Academy, with expert coaches helping them prepare for the challenge ahead, plus they will experience what it is like to be a part of the Yamaha Racing family with our own special area in the paddock and dedicated support.”

Layne Riggs will race for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year honours in 2024, driving the #38 Ford F-150 for Front Row Motorsports.

“I’m really thankful for this opportunity to compete full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with one of the best teams in the sport,” Riggs stated. “I’ve dedicated my life for an opportunity like this, and I’m incredibly appreciative of Bob (Jenkins) and everyone at Front Row for providing me the opportunity to take my next step in my racing career.”

Riggs ran six Truck races between 2022 and 2023, three apiece, for a variety of teams. He finished seventh in his series début at IRP in 2022, which he improved upon at the following year’s race with a third for Spire Motorsports.

While he started his Truck career in a Toyota, most of his NASCAR action since came with Chevrolet teams like Spire and Young’s Motorsports. He also entered three Xfinity Series events for Kaulig Racing, scoring a tenth at Las Vegas.

Prior to entering the national series, he won the 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series title.

2009 FIA Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button is set to make a triumphant return to the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2024, committing to a full season with Hertz Team JOTA. Behind the wheel of the Porsche 963, the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion will join forces with teammates Phil Hanson and Oliver Rasmussen in the No. 38 entry, aiming to conquer the Hypercar category.

The upcoming season promises intense competition, featuring a record-breaking 19 Hypercar entries from nine manufacturers, including Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Isotta Fraschini, Lamborghini, Peugeot, Porsche, and Toyota.

Button’s comeback to WEC follows his last appearance during the 2018/2019 Super Season with SMP Racing. Earlier this year, he ventured into NASCAR-backed Garage 56 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and got his first taste of the Porsche 963 machinery at IMSA’s Petit Le Mans in October under the JDC-Miller banner.

Expressing his excitement, Button stated to FIAWEC.com, “I’m excited to be racing with Hertz Team JOTA in the 2024 World Endurance Championship alongside my teammates Oliver Rasmussen and Phil Hanson. Both already have a lot of experience in endurance racing and that is key. Endurance racing is about teamwork and there is no better team than Hertz Team JOTA to be taking on the big manufacturers in Hypercars. I’m already looking forward to the first race in Qatar but also know there’s a lot of work to be done so that we arrive prepared.”

Frédéric Lequien, FIA WEC CEO, commented, “It’s an honour to have Jenson Button – a hugely successful driver across many racing disciplines – competing full-time in the WEC next year. With nine manufacturers in the Hypercar category next year including star names such as Jenson confirmed on the grid, everything is now in place for the WEC to have its most spectacular season yet.”

Following the successful completion of its second test at Circuit Of The Americas, Lamborghini Iron Lynx is gearing up for an exciting 2024 Hypercar debut with the cutting-edge Lamborghini SC63 race car. The team is delighted to announce the final additions to its driver roster, ready to represent Lamborghini Squadra Corse in a dual effort across the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

In the FIA WEC, the experienced duo of Mirko Bortolotti and former F1 star Daniil Kvyat will be joined by Edoardo Mortara, a Swiss-Italian racer known for his successful junior career and seven overall Macau wins. Expressing his pride, Mortara said, “I am super happy to be joining Lamborghini Squadra Corse, which is allowing me this incredible opportunity to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Endurance Championship, both of which I have wanted to take part in for a long time. It is a very proud moment for me, and I hope we can achieve some good results next season.”

Kvyatt added, “I think that the experience we had with LMP2 this year was a great way to learn the championship, so we will start with a solid base in 2024 to focus on the performance side straight away.”

In the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, Andrea Caldarelli, who recently announced his participation, will be paired with Matteo Cairoli and Romain Grosjean. Reflecting on the upcoming season, Caldarelli stated, “I am delighted to be racing in IMSA next year with our new Lamborghini SC63 GTP race car. IMSA has always been my favourite championship to race in, also in my past GT experiences, and I am very grateful for this opportunity given by Lamborghini to return to the series.”

Matteo Cairoli, making the step up to GTP, shared his excitement, saying, “First of all, I am really excited to be here in Austin for my second proper outing with the LMDh car. I am ready to give the best of myself next year; clearly, it’s a dream I have been chasing for a long time, and to do it with an Italian brand as an Italian driver has given me even more motivation. The aim is to learn as much as possible about the car for next year, but I am already pumped for the start of the season.”

In a bold declaration of intent, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) has lifted the curtain on the new livery set to adorn their entries in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) and FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) for the upcoming 2024 season.

The focus of attention is the all-new matte black livery designed for the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID and the GR010 HYBRID, the contenders in the demanding arenas of WRC and WEC. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing introduces two distinct concepts for this sleek livery.

The first concept, dubbed “Speed,” embodies the racing spirit of the team, encapsulating their unwavering commitment to excellence with the mantra of “Hate to lose.” This design symbolizes the team’s relentless pursuit of victory and the determination to overcome any challenge on the track.

The second concept, known as the “Prototype,” reflects the team’s dedication to crafting ever-better motorsports-bred cars. This design signifies the ongoing evolution and innovation that TOYOTA GAZOO Racing aims to achieve, pushing the boundaries of performance in motorsports.

Importantly, the new livery isn’t confined to just WRC and WEC; it will also feature prominently in various other competitions where TOYOTA GAZOO Racing participates, showcasing their distinctive presence across multiple racing platforms.

The Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival 2023 took centre stage at the Dubai Autodrome, offering a diverse display of classic motorsports. In the Le Mans 60s, Kyle Tilley and Nicolas Manassian secured victory in a 1965 Ford GT40 as night fell. Stuart Hall and Mike Cantillon engaged in competitive battles in the Formula 1 70s+, with Cantillon narrowly claiming Sunday’s win in the 1981 Williams FW07C.

Iconic Racing’s Porsche 962 claimed the top spot in the Le Mans 80s+ race, while Arthur Mathieu and Bernhard Van Orange-Nassau emerged victorious in the 1991 Cougar C28LM. F1 classics from the 1990s featured appearances by Sophia Flörsch in the Brabham BT60B and Stefan Johansson in the Leyton House 871.

Reflecting on the event, Thierry Boutsen, a three-time Formula One Grand Prix winner, shared his satisfaction: “The event is unbelievable. To be in such a nice atmosphere with friends is great; it’s how motorsport should be.”

The new Dubai Classics category showcased rare cars, including a Ferrari Dino 308 GT4, a 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS, and a 1993 Lamborghini Diablo. The Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival attracted over 16,000 attendees, indicating a growing interest in classic motor racing in the region.

Frédéric Fatien, Founder of GP Extreme, acknowledged the significance of the event: “This staging of the Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival has been a notable event.”