Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

It has been a roller coaster of a Dakar Rally for the Prodrive Hunters as their four drivers seemed to bounce between contending for the stage win and being plagued by vehicle problems, plateauing in the second stage when everyone suffered tyre punctures followed by Orlando Terranova‘s retirement two legs later. However, these did not discourage Sébastien Loeb and his fellow remaining Hunters as he, Vaidotas Žala, and Guerlain Chicherit swept the T1 podium in Stage #9.

The trio finished within 2:08 of each other as Loeb scored his third win of 2023 and second in a row. Chicherit passed Mattias Ekström in the final 100 kilometres to join his peers in the top three.

The 1–2–3 for the Hunters was a reversal of fortunes for the two top manufacturers in the Cars as Toyota’s Hiluxes experienced a bit of an off day by comparison. Romain Dumas was the highest finishing Hilux in fifth while overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah placed eighth. Al-Attiyah’s Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Henk Lategan, who followed him in the general ranking entering the stage, suffered a mechanical failure on the eighteenth kilometre that forced fellow Hilux Yazeed Al-Rajhi to stop and lend him support; Al-Rajhi was then plagued by suspension problems that ended his stage. Lionel Baud‘s Hilux caught fire after completing six kilometres.

Ironically, despite the rough performance for the Hiluxes, Al-Attiyah’s lead in the overall grew from 1:03:46 to 1:21:57. Hilux racer Lucas Moraes moved up to second with Loeb in tow while Lategan’s problems relegated him to fourth.

Ekström was over five minutes back of Loeb, but making the finish despite falling short of the podium was still a satisfactory result. On the other hand, his Audi team-mate Carlos Sainz rolled after overshooting his landing on a dune after just five kilometres, hurting his torso. Although Sainz was airlifted for treatment, he requested to be flown back to rejoin the race which is permitted twice for FIA Gold and Platinum drivers; Sainz had used the first after crashing in Stage #6.

Yesterday (Monday) M-Sport Ford WRT did their last pre-event testing before Rallye Monte-Carlo next weekend and from today (Tuesday) towards the end of the week Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT and Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT are carrying out their tests in preparation for the season-opener.

Hyundai has already revealed the 2023 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car which sees a new rear wing but Toyota will also come with new upgrades for the season. The defending manufacturer and driver champions have been spotted today testing a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 without the large rear air intake. a more slick design with new rear fenders and a new rear wing as well.

The team has not yet officially revealed the 2023 car to the public but they are expected to do so this week, same goes for the British outfit over at M-Sport.

Toyota technical director Tom Fowler has spoken with the American publication DirtFish.com about the new upgrades for the car: “The main thing since Japan is an aerodynamic update which we’ve made to the rear fenders which is quite significant in looks, those fighter jet inlets have now disappeared so we have a smooth-sided vehicle with much less pronounced hybrid inlets which is a cooling change basically for the hybrid system but also then of course a help in terms of improving the overall aerodynamics of the car.” he said.

Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT has today revealed the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 for 2023, the livery will remain unchanged from last season but some aerodynamics have been spotted on the renders.

In December, the team was spotted testing out a new rear wing for the car in Finland and now when the car was revealed, you can see the wing is different from the last season.

This year, Thierry Neuville will celebrate his 10th anniversary driving for the South Korean manufacturer and will continue to be the lead driver within the team but for this season he has got a new full-time teammate as Ott Tänak left to join M-Sport Ford WRT at the end of last year.

Taking over Tänak’s seat will be Esapekka Lappi who left Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT to join Hyundai, the two will be the only full-time drivers taking on the 13 round calendar in 2023. Joining beside them will be Dani Sordo who is sharing the third car with Craig Breen and he has returned to the team after being with M-Sport for one season last year.

So far it is known Sordo will race the opening round next weekend in Rallye Monte-Carlo and he will contest a total of seven rounds while Breen is going for six. The team has not yet announced a new team principal, it is rumored the former Renault Formula 1 team principal Cyril Abiteboul will take over the charge from the current deputy team principal Julien Moncet.

Renault Sport expect the FIA to be ‘a bit stronger’ when it comes to requests to change power unit components across the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

The power units are currently in the middle of a development freeze up until the end of the 2025 Formula 1 season, with only fixes to improve reliability issues being allowed.  Anything designed purely to improve performance is currently outlawed until the new regulations come into play in 2026.

Bruno Famin, the Executive Director of Renault’s engine department that powers the BWT Alpine F1 Team, says the FIA will likely look closely at any request made by any of the engine manufacturers to ensure any changed aimed at improving reliability does not offer a performance gain at the same time.

“I think the process in 2022 with the FIA and the other manufacturers has been quite good,” Famin is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. It has been transparent at least, so everybody was aware of the request of the others, and this is very good. It has been well managed by the FIA, I think.

“It has been quite tolerant in 2022. I think it was quite normal because everybody was affected by reliability issues: not only us, clearly, because I think we had 30/40/50/60/70 requests from different manufacturers, so everybody was affected by this kind of problem.

Zak Brown has called for the technical regulations in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship to be less regulated now that the sport is being run under a cost cap.

The CEO of the McLaren F1 Team believes the current regulations are too restrictive, and with a budget cap in place, it would be better to allow certain areas of development to be opened up so some cars could look different to the others.

Brown has called for the FIA to allow more technical freedom within Formula 1, with the American insisting designers will need to be clever to deliver different designs within the cost cap limitations.

“I think we are over-regulated while under the cost cap,” Brown is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “If you’ve got the cost cap, I’d almost go the other way: which is: do what you want. If you want to have six wheels, have six wheels. But this is how much you have to spend.

“I don’t know why the regulations have to be as tight as they are.  I think if you’ve got a cost cap, then there should actually be some more technical freedom within the cost cap as you are governed.

Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez has set his sights on a driver’s championship victory in 2023 with hopes that greater consistency across the season will allow him to challenge his dominant team-mate Max Verstappen. 

Perez discussed how his form hinged on his comfort level with the car throughout the year, which contributed to the highs and lows he faced, and felt that he was performing “at his best” at the season’s end. He hopes that he can carry this momentum into next year in order to tackle new goals. 

“I’m constantly working on it. I think it really depends on how comfortable I am at the start of the season with the car, as I was in the beginning of the season, then it slipped away.

“I think as Formula 1 drivers, we are constantly working for new challenges all the time. But I do feel, at this time, I’m pretty much at my best. I really want to carry it on and start next year on a very high [level].”

In spite of the team’s technical problems, Perez had a successful start to the season and kept his points gap to Verstappen quite narrow. It was after two retirements at the Canadian Grand Prix and Austrian Grand Prix that Perez began to slip out of the running points-wise, leaving Verstappen to take off with the lead until the end.

This weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez marks the start of a new chapter for Mahindra Racing, and the beginning of the third era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the Banbury-based outfit ready to make the most of the “great opportunity”.

Mahindra enter the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix on the back of a solid pre-season, with new signing Lucas Di Grassi having been impressed by the M9Electro’s reliability. The Anglo-Indian team appear to have a reliable and somewhat quick package for Season Nine, with Oliver Rowland having been a regular figure towards the top of the timesheets during pre-season testing.

The team enter the new era of the sport having finished eighth in the Season Eight Constructors’ Championship, after having suffered twelve retirements during the final campaign of the Gen2 era of the sport. Gen3 gives Mahindra the chance to turn the page on their woeful 2022 performance, with 2023 looking potentially more promising. The team are, of course, a power unit supplier for Gen3, with the team supplying the ABT CUPRA Formula E Team with powertrains for the upcoming season.

As well as a new driver, the team also have a new CEO following the departure of Dilbagh Gill, with Frederic Bertrand taking on the role. Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Bertrand is aware that the side will face “obstacles” during the season; however, he’s hopeful that the team have what it takes to “work together to overcome” any future issue.

“We have a great opportunity at the start of a new era of Formula E, with the Gen3 car. It is a unique year for the team as we move forward with a new car, a new team spirit and a new common ambition to perform and win. Of course, there will be obstacles, but we will work together to overcome these as best we can.

Lucas Di Grassi is ready to put his “really hard” work from the off-season into use, as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returns this weekend for Season Nine, and the highly anticipated start of Gen3.

With Di Grassi being a Formula E veteran and a former Champion of the sport, he is one of a few drivers to have actually driven all three generations of Formula E machinery. With that in mind, himself and a small group of drivers will become the first to have raced all three, with the Mexico City E-Prix being the host of the first Gen3 race.

The Brazilian driver has a strong track record at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and is a two-time race winner at the event, with his wins coming in Season Three and Season Five. It does mean that Di Grassi has won in Mexico City in both Gen1 and Gen2 machinery, could he add Gen3 to that list this weekend? Whilst he is likely to be an outsider for victory, given the strength of the DS-powered cars, Mahindra Racing have looked like a very tidy team for Season Nine.

Di Grassi has switched from ROKIT Venturi Racing (known now as Maserati MSG Racing) to Mahindra for Gen3, with the Brazilian so far enjoying life at the Banbury-based outfit.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Di Grassi is in the right frame of mind for the “new challenge” that is Gen3, with the Brazilian simply hoping that “everything goes smoothly” in Mexico City.

This weekend marks the start of a new era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with Season Nine of the all-electric series kicking-off in Mexico City, with Jaguar TCS Racing ready to “fight” for either title.

Anything could happen at this weekend’s season-opening Mexico City E-Prix, with technical issues having plagued several teams during pre-season. Jaguar were one of the teams to experience some issues; however, the outright pace of their Gen3 challenger, the I-TYPE 6, does look promising. Qualifying let the British team down in Season Eight, with Mitch Evans having performed wonders during the races to seal second in the Drivers’ Championship.

The team also claimed their highest total of points in the Constructors’ Championship last season, with Team Principal James Barclay revealing that this, plus the fact that Evans came so close to the title, has “given the team even more motivation”. For Jaguar and every team on the grid, the initial priority this weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is to simply finish the race, with the expectation being that many won’t given the countless technical issues some teams endured in pre-season.

It will create an “exciting season”, though, with so much being unknown heading into the new season. One thing that is for certain, is that Sam Bird‘s and Evans’ experience will be crucial if the Coventry-based outfit want a good year, with Barclay being aware that there is “so much to learn” about the plethora of changes taking place.

“We had a very positive year in 2022 with some real highlights but we did just miss out on the top spot. This has given the team even more motivation to be in a position to fight for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Team and Driver titles this season.

The start of a brand new season and a brand new era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is just a matter of days away, with both Mitch Evans and Sam Bird hoping to start the year on the front foot at the Mexico City E-Prix.

This weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is going to be an incredible spectacle, as Gen3 of the all-electric championship will finally get underway. Evans will be keen to start the new era of the sport in similar fashion to how he ended Season Eight and Gen2, by being a frontrunning driver. The 2022 Vice-Champion was a regular figure at the front of the field; however, there is no guarantee that he’ll be amongst the front with so much being unknown.

Pre-season testing was mixed for Evans, with the New Zealander having shown some good pace, whilst having also suffered some technical issues. Technical issues were a theme throughout the field in pre-season, with Jaguar TCS Racing simply being no exception. Despite that, the team do boast an incredible line-up, with Evans having won in Mexico back in 2020.

With that in mind, Evans has “fond memories” of his Mexico City win from a few years ago and is eager to make a “strong start” the Season Nine.

 “Last season was my most successful in Formula E, so I’m using that momentum to kick start this season and focus on achieving a positive result in the first round. I have fond memories of winning in Mexico City in 2020, so I’m feeling ready for a strong start to the season.”  

After one season in the Trucks, Blaine Perkins will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a full-time basis in 2023 when he drives the #07 for SS-Green Light Racing. Kelly Crandall of RACER reported the news on Monday after speaking with Perkins, who along with SSGLR subsequently confirmed the story.

The 2020 ARCA Menards Series West runner-up, Perkins made his Xfinity début in 2021 on an eight-race slate for Our Motorsports with a best finish of thirteenth at Talladega. He moved to the Truck Series with CR7 Motorsports for the full 2022 season and finished nineteenth in points with his highest run and lone top twenty being eighteenth at Nashville. He was CR7’s first full-time driver.

He returned to Our in the second half of 2022 after Brett Moffitt was released from the #02, making five starts. At Martinsville, he scored his first top ten in tenth.

“He’s a really good person,” said Perkins about SSGLR owner Bobby Dotter. “I want to be around the right people, and he’s been in the sport a long time and has a great reputation. Being able to drive for him will be good for me and hopefully good for his race team.”

Perkins replaces Joe Graf Jr., who left the team in December.

Upon completing Stage #8 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, competitors were granted a day of R&R before preparing for the second half. On the other hand, FIA stewards were busy handing out penalties for infractions found during neutralisation and post-stage checks.

Neutralisation takes place in a certain area of a Special Stage where cars undergo routine inspections and drivers can make minor repairs or take a break before resuming the race. Introduced in 2022, neutralisation was tweaked for 2023 to require the inspection process to discourage racers from exploiting the break.

As most penalties for car-related violations were accounted for during and immediately after the stages, most of those handed out during the rest day were for driver-specific conduct. Of those released as of this article’s publishing, many were dinged for their navigators simply wearing wristwatches that were not the approved Rebellion Edition Dakar model.

The Rebellion Edition Dakar is produced by Swiss watchmaker Rebellion Timepieces and given to all Rally participants for timekeeping purposes. Under Article 9.6.1 of the FIA Cross Country Rally Sporting Regulations, this is the only model that racers can use while inside the cockpit as “[w]atches of any kind are not permitted in the competition vehicle, with the exception of the model provided by the Promoter.” Besides plugging the Rally’s partnership with Rebellion, the rule extends to most electronics for safety and competition reasons like to forbid external GPS tracking. Those who are caught receive a thirty-minute time penalty for the stage that it occurred as well as a suspended disqualification from the Rally entirely provided there is “no further breach of similar nature committed by the competitor during this period.”

Yasir Seaidan, who finished runner-up in T4 in Stage #8, received the penalty shortly after the fourth leg when co-driver Alexey Kuzmich was busted. Multiple of their peers suffered the same fate during the rest day for doing the same in Stage #5. Fellow T4 driver Juan Miguel Fidel Medero of the #423 was penalised for co-driver Javier Ventaja‘s oversight, as were class colleagues Sebastian Guayasamin and Ricardo Torlaschi (#430), Xavier de Soultrait and Matin Bonnet (#415), Cristiano Batista and Fausto Mota (#427), Oscar Ral Verdu and Carlos Jimenez Vals, and Toomas Triisa and Mart Meeru (#443). From the T1 category, the #241 of Andrea Lafarja and Ashley García Chávez, #251 of Alexandre Pesci and Stephan Kuhni, #253 of Jean-Pierre Strugo and Christophe Crespom, and #267 of Roger Audas and Patrick Prot were slapped with the watch penalty. The T3 and T5 classes had one violation apiece in the #319 of Helder Rodrigues and Gonçalo Reis (#319) and the #503 of Martin Šoltys, Roman Krejčí, and David Hoffman, respectively.

The 25-year-old Irishman William Crieghton has reveals he has plans to continue in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship this season which will also mark the third year in a row he is doing so.

Creighton revealed a couple of weeks ago that he will attend the season-opener at Rallye Monte-Carlo in the WRC2 class, however, that appearance will be only a one-off for this time as he will swap the Motorsport Ireland Rally Acedemy backed Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car for a M-Sport Poland built Ford Fiesta Rally3 in Rally Sweden next month.

Last year Creighton claimed two podium finishes in Sweden and in Greece which made him to end up fifth overall in the standings come the end of the season.

“I didn’t finish last year thinking, right, I need to work to get towards Monte. It wasn’t really on my radar. It’s a bucket-list event and something I’m really looking forward to, as you can imagine.” Creighton said.

“Never did I think I’d be going into my third year in the Junior WRC, or starting off in Monte-Carlo with a Rally2 car. It’s crazy where things take you and I owe a huge thanks to all the people who’ve supported me – especially the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy but Sweden is, let’s say, a lot more simple,” he explained, referencing his previous experience on the snowy speed tests around Umeå.”

The entry list for the season-opener of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season is now officially published, featuring 75 cars that will be taking on the icy and tricky twisted roads in the mountains nearby Monte-Carlo.

The event organizer Automobile Club de Monaco released the entry list today (Monday) and for the headlining Rally1 hybrid class there will only be 10 cars but the premier support category WRC2 has got a strong field for the 91st running of the world-famous Rallye Monte-Carlo.

The defending champions Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT will be fielding four Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 for the opener where the 2022 champion Kalle Rovanperä headlining the team. Joining beside him will be the Monte-Carlo specialist and eight-time champion Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans. Takamoto Katsuta will be driving the fourth car but for this year he is entered under the main factory team but running outside of the points scoring.

Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT sees two familiar faces in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 for Monte-Carlo with Thierry Neuville who is a long-term driver for the team, joining beside him will be Dani Sordo who is going for another year in the shared third car, and newcomer Esapekka Lappi, who switched from Toyota to Hyundai at the end of last season.

At M-Sport Ford WRT there will be a completely new line-up for 2023 as the 2019 champion Ott Tänak is returning for the team and he will be joined by Pierre-Louis Loubet, who has signed a full-time contract with the British outfit while the Greek privateer Jourdan Serderidis is going with a privateer Ford Puma Rally1.

The two M-Sport Ford WRT drivers Ott Tänak and Pierre-Louis Loubet have now begun their first pre-event testing ahead of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season-opener in Rallye Monte-Carlo and over this weekend the duo has been spotted testing the Ford Puma Rally1 around the mountains west of the town of Gap in Monaco.

On Saturday, M-Sport become the first manufacturer out of the three to carry out tests ahead of the first round of the season and there are only 10 days left until the cars are on the start line ready to launch away on the annual first stage at La Bollène-Vésubie / Col de Turini 1 starting on Thursday evening.

Tänak, who left Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT at the end of last year, shared the seat with Loubet on the first testing day and it was also the first time Tänak was seen driving the Puma Rally1 in the public outside of M-Sport´s testing area in Cumbria, United Kingdom.

According to some reports coming from fans watching, the testing went smoothly and without problems. Loubet was the first to have a go and later Tänak took over until the evening. Yesterday (Sunday) it was Loubet´s turn to do a full day of testing before Tänak continues with it today (Monday).