Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

The Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan in the hands of Sandy Mitchell and Adam Balon led the way in the second practice session for the final round of the British GT Championship at Donington Park after a close-fought battle with the Ram Racing Mercedes of Jules Gounon and Ian Loggie. Steller Motorsport took the top spot in GT4, Richard Williams and Sennan Fielding holding the top spot.

GT3

Heading into the second Free Practice Session, the circuit was fully dry allowing the drivers to really get to grips with the flowing Donington Circuit. Jules Gounon and Sandy Mitchell set the pace, trading times, Mitchell besting Gounon by just over a tenth of a second by the end of the session. The Pro drivers hit the track first, Marcus Clutton in the Enduro Motorsport McLaren, Sam Neary in the Team Abba Mercedes and Euan Hankey in the 7TSix McLaren set the first laps before Mitchel joined the fight. A few laps later, Michael O’Brien took the Orange Racing powered by JMH McLaren into the top spot before the session was interrupted with a brief Red Flag when the #91 Century Motorsport BMW stopped on track with a broken belt.

20 minutes left on the clock, Mitchell and Gounon rose to the front and with three minutes left on the clock, the pair were split by 0.004s. Lewis Williamson was in the mix but had two fastest laps deleted for track limits. Simon Orange and Michael O’Brien took third by the end of the session, Lewis Williamson and James Cottingham took fourth ahead of James Kell and Simon Watts in the Team Rocket RJN Mclaren.

GT4

Sennan Fielding set his fastest lap in the middle of the session, and it was enough to hold the top spot until the end of the session. The duo look well set for qualifying and will be looking to challenge for the win in Sunday’s race. Marco Signoretti and Matt Cowley were just a tenth behind, closing the gap after the red flag period.

Seb Hopkins and Jamie Orton came home third in the Team Parker Racing Porsche with Matt Topham and Darren Turner in the Newbridge Motorsport Aston Martin. Tom Edgar and Jordan Collard closed out the top five in the Toyota Gazoo UK GR Supra.

Orange Racing powered by JMH‘s Michael O’Brien and Simon Orange made their mark on the session, securing the fastest lap in mixed, cold, wet and drying conditions, a time of 1:27.439. In GT4, Tom Edgar and Jordan Collard led the pack with the fastest time of 1:35.218 in the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra.

GT3

The sun may have been shining as the cars hit the track, but overnight heavy rain meant the session was declared wet. The order chopped and changed, but Michael O’Brien in the Orange Racing powered by JMH set the fastest lap towards the end of the session. Euan Hankey, Jules Gounon and Lewis Williamson were all in contention, trading fastest laps as the session progressed. Richard Neary in the Team Abba Mercedes made the decision to switch to slicks and it wasn’t long before the rest of the field followed suit.

Gounon led the way on slicks early on, lapping in the 1:34s before Martin Plowman found another second as the conditions improved and the track dried. Gounon somehow found 4 seconds on his next hot lap, establishing a commanding gap before BMW ace Alexander Sims found another couple of tenths. Heading into the final 10 minutes, it was anyone’s guess who would secure the top spot.

Lewis Williamson and James Cottingham, Michael O’Brien and Simon Orange leapt to the forefront in the closing moments, O’Brien securing the top step by 0.679s over Williamson with a time of 1:27.439. Euan Hankey, in the 7TSix McLaren 720s was third with Gounon and Loggie taking fourth. Darren Leung and Alexander Sim’s took fifth place in the Century Motorsport BMW M4.

GT4

The times in GT4 were all over the place throughout the one-hour session. Kavi Jundu, the championship debutant, set the early pace in the mixed conditions, the McLaren 570S he shares with Moh Ritson, nimbly handling the mixed conditions of the drying circuit. The car made the early switch to slicks and the gap to the competition continued to climb. Tom Edgar was the only one who came close, shortening the gap to Jundu’s time before going faster as the times continued to fall. Jordan Collard entered the mix as the session continued to dry, securing 12th place overall, ahead of some of the GT3 runners.

The BWT Alpine F1 Team were able to show just how the floor update brought to the Marina Bay Street Circuit performed last weekend during the Japanese Grand Prix, according to Esteban Ocon.

Ocon finished a seasons-best fourth at the Suzuka International Racing Course and the Frenchman felt the team were able to show just what they were capable of doing thanks to the new floor.

The Singapore Grand Prix did not offer the team a chance to showcase how good the new floor was due to the bumpy nature and slow corners of the Marina Bay track, but the faster and smoother Suzuka did give them that chance, and both Ocon and team-mate Fernando Alonso were competitive throughout the weekend in Japan.

Qualifying in the dry in particularly was an enjoyable time for Ocon, with the reward coming with fifth on the grid behind the two Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers and two Scuderia Ferrari drivers.

“I think it was a matter of time until we could really show what the car was capable of,” said Ocon to Motorsport.com. “We were able to do that this weekend in general – we were fast in all conditions.

The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team can keep Fernando Alonso happy by just being honest with him, according to the new Team Ambassador, Pedro de la Rosa.

De la Rosa has previous experience of working alongside his fellow Spaniard after being test driver at both the McLaren F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari whilst Alonso was racing for those teams.  And with Alonso joining Aston Martin in 2023 to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel, it will be another opportunity for the two Spaniards to work together.

Alonso holds a reputation, perhaps unjustifiably, of being difficult to handle and sometimes abrupt with his opinions, but de la Rosa says this is far from the truth, and the fact that English is not his first language makes him sound harsher than he is.

“I don’t think that Fernando is a difficult guy to handle,” said de la Rosa to Motorsport.com.  “He’s just very genuine, very honest.

“The fact that English is not his native tongue sometimes make him a bit harsh when he tries to describe things. But he’s very honest. And what he tells you is what he feels about the car, about the team, about how to be competitive.

Mike Krack says the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team are remaining realistic as they look to hunt down Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN and take sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship in 2022 despite a recent surge in points thanks to productive weekends in Singapore and Japan.

Aston Martin have scored twenty-six points across the past two races at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and Suzuka International Racing Course to close the gap to Alfa Romeo to just seven points with four races remaining of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel finished sixth and eighth respectively in Singapore, and his was followed up by another sixth place for Vettel in Japan.  A little bit of form for Aston Martin has come in a spell where Alfa Romeo have scored just one point in the past nine races.

Krack, the Team Principal at Aston Martin, says the team has confidence at this stage of the season, but realistically, they do not have a strong car, and although they have scored big in the past two races, there is no guarantees this will continue across the final four races of the season.

“Confidence is not everything, you also have to have a quick car,” said Krack to Motorsport.com. “Because with confidence alone, we don’t do much.

Pedro de la Rosa has found himself back in a role in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship after joining the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team as Team Ambassador.

The Spaniard raced in one hundred and four Grand Prix between 1999 and 2012 for the Arrows Grand Prix International team, Jaguar Racing, McLaren F1 Team, Sauber F1 Team and HRT Formula 1 Team. 

He scored one podium finish in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix for McLaren after being picked to replace Juan Pablo Montoya, but he was a renowned test driver in the sport and completed more than 65,000 miles away from race weekends.

De la Rosa will undertake communications, media, PR, marketing, promotional, commercial and general advisory duties as part of his role with Aston Martin, and the fifty-one-year-old is excited for the new opportunity.

“I am delighted to be joining Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team as Team Ambassador,” said de la Rosa.  “I already know many faces within the team, having worked extensively with Fernando Alonso during my time at McLaren and Ferrari, and I look forward to getting to know everyone within the organisation.

The McLaren F1 Team has announced that NTT IndyCar Series drivers Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward will drive for them in free practice sessions in the United States and Abu Dhabi this season as part of the mandatory young driver sessions.

2021 IndyCar champion Palou will get his first taste of an official free practice session at the Circuit of the Americas, with the Spaniard taking over the MCL36 from Daniel Ricciardo.

Palou has won four races in IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing, including the season-ending finale in 2022, and has been linked with a move to the Arrow McLaren SP squad for the 2024 season once his contract with CGR concludes.

“I’m so excited to be making my F1 weekend debut,” said Palou.  “It’s great to be driving in the United States in front of fans that may have seen me race in INDYCAR.

“Having driven the 2021 McLaren MCL35M in a few tests now, I can’t wait to put the MCL36 through its paces. I look forward to helping the team in their preparation for the 2022 United States Grand Prix.”

Théo Pourchaire will get his first taste of an official FIA Formula 1 World Championship session at the Circuit of the Americas after being given the chance to run in free practice with Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN.

The Frenchman will take part in the opening session in place of Valtteri Bottas in the United States as Zhou Guanyu will be making his first appearance at the track in the other car.

Pourchaire currently sits second in the FIA Formula 2 championship standings heading into the final round of the season, although Felipe Drugovich has already won the crown. 

But Pourchaire is delighted that he has been given the chance to run a Formula 1 car on an official race weekend for the first time at the Circuit of the Americas, having first tasted a car during an in-season test with Alfa Romeo at the Hungaroring in 2021.

“I am thrilled to be making my Free Practice debut in Austin; it will be my second time behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, but in some ways, it will feel like it’s the first time, as this time it will be during an official Grand Prix session,” said Pourchaire.

Pietro Fittipaldi will return to the seat of a Haas F1 Team car later this year after being given the responsibility of running their two mandatory young driver free practice sessions in Mexico and Abu Dhabi.

Each team is mandated to run drivers with two or less Grand Prix experience in two free practice sessions throughout the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, and although Antonio Giovinazzi is contracted to two sessions in Italy and the United States, the Italian is not classed as a rookie due to his three seasons worth of experience.

Fittipaldi is classed a rookie despite racing twice for Haas back in 2020 when he replaced Romain Grosjean for the Sakhir and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after the Frenchman suffered a fiery crash during the preceding Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Brazilian’s running in Formula 1 machinery since has been limited, with tests in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year and Bahrain at the beginning of this season the only times he has driven for Haas since his races with the team.

“Super excited to announce that I’ll be doing the FP1 in Mexico and Abu Dhabi,” Fittipaldi said. “I want to thank Haas F1 Team for the great opportunity.

Kelly Moss Racing is co-owned by Victoria Thomas, who hopes to bring the first female driver in Porsche Carrera Cup North America history for 2023. To achieve this, the team intends to host a two-day test at Putnam Park Raceway later in October for four women, with the winner earning the team’s 2023 ride.

Sabré Cook, Sarah Montgomery, Aurora Straus, and Loni Unser were named as the four drivers on Thursday. The quartet was selected from a pool of twelve drivers.

Besides on-track performance, the test will also gauge the four’s media abilities and resonance with their crew. Judging them will be a panel that includes owners Thomas and Andy Kilcoyne, Kelly-Moss driver Riley Dickinson, Women in Motorsport North America founder and 1992 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Lyn St. James, team managers Ken Swan and Will Alexander, and data engineer Alex Stone.

“Our goal is to find the very best female talent to drive our Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, type 992 competitively in the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup North America series,” said Thomas.

“The Netflix F1 series Drive to Survive has further proven women are very interested in motorsports when they know the story beyond just race results. We intend to share the story of our journey, the ups and downs to draw women into and share the love of motorsports and its community.”

Father and son racing together is not a new concept in NASCAR. On the other hand, Friday night’s ARCA Menards Series West race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring will provide the opposite as Sarah and Bridget Burgess will become the first mother/daughter duo to compete in a NASCAR touring series event.

Bridget races full-time in the series in the #88 Chevrolet for family-run BMI Racing, and is currently seventh in points with four top tens. Sarah will be making her series début in the #97. The feat was originally set to take place in March at Irwindale, with Sarah in the #04 as a replacement driver for Eric Nascimento, but she withdrew shortly before the race.

While they will be making stock car history, the Burgesses are no strangers to racing against each other. Prior to entering stock cars, the Australians were short course off-road racers who primarily ran the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. In 2018, after mainly spending time in the lower tiers, Bridget joined her mother in the Pro Lite category; Sarah finished tenth in points ahead of Bridget’s twelfth. The following year saw them place in the same points positions.

Bridget moved to stock cars in 2020. Sarah has overseen her development and also worked as a crew chief.

“A lot of work has gone into this moment, and it’s surreal to know that Bridget and I will both be behind the wheel on the same track in a matter of weeks,” Sarah stated in September.

Season Eight of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was one for the record books, as the all-electric series announced that 2022 saw their highest TV figures yet, following on from the records set in 2021. 2022 was the biggest Formula E calendar the championship has ever had, with more races somehow making the series feel more interactable and viewable, with a clearer story line being generated throughout the year.

2022 was a vital year for the championship due to the amount that was changed to make it a better spectacle. The new Qualifying Duels has played an instrumental part to the championship’s success this year, with the format being easier to understand and more enjoyable to follow than the previous system used.

Season Eight also saw a welcomed return to Asia for the series, with races in Indonesia and South Korea representing a further global reach for the sport. The series was supposed to race in China in 2021; however, the pandemic made it simply impossible. The last race in Asia prior to this year’s Jakarta E-Prix was all the way back in 2019, before the world-breaking Coronavirus pandemic put a halt on what felt like everything.

Perhaps the main reason why the audience was so big this year was because of the titanic four-way title fight, which hit an unbelievable climax at the first ever Seoul-E Prix. Stoffel Vandoorne, of course, claimed the title in what was the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team‘s last year in the series, meaning they left the championship staggeringly with the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.

In general, the series itself just went up a level last year with the race results somewhat representing the championship order, something that makes it a more attractive proposition to fans given the confusion that previously occurred when the race winner one week would be towards the back at the next. A lot of that does come down to the new Qualifying format, as mentioned, which will hopefully suit the Gen3 cars just as well as it suited the Gen2 in Season Eight.

As Justin Allgaier pursues a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, it makes sense for JR Motorsports to want to keep him around. On Thursday, the team announced he will remain in the #7 Chevrolet Camaro for the 2023 season, which will be his eighth year in the series. Longtime sponsor BRANDT Professional Agriculture will also stay on the car.

After two years in the Cup Series, Allgaier returned to Xfinity in 2016 with JRM. Over the next seven years, he has continually been one of the series’ top drivers with top-five points finishes every year but one (seventh in 2018) and fifteen wins. Twenty-nine races into 2022, he has three victories (Darlington, Nashville, Loudon) and is fourth in points.

“It’s great to return to JRM next season and to continue our partnership with BRANDT Professional Agriculture,” said Allgaier. “Our relationship has continued to grow and expand and I am extremely proud of everything that we have accomplished together. They have become a family to me. The same way that JRM has over the last seven years. I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue to drive this #7 Chevrolet for Dale (Earnhardt Jr., owner) and Kelley (Earnhardt Miller, CEO) and compete for race wins and championships year after year. The goals have remained the same for us, and we feel confident that they will come to fruition.”

While BRANDT is closely aligned with Allgaier, having worked with him since 2011, the company has also expanded its JRM involvement in the last two years by supporting Miguel Paludo‘s road course stints in the #88.

“On behalf of Team BRANDT, we are thrilled to extend our partnership with Justin and JR Motorsports,” commented BRANDT president Rick Brandt. “Our philosophy is to win in the field and to dominate on the track: JRM and Justin give us the tools to do that. Let’s finish 2022 strong, go get that championship, and be ready for a great 2023.”

The Japanese Grand Prix had so much promise for the Haas F1 Team; however, it was once again a point-less occasion.

Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen both started the very wet race brilliantly and climbed up to tenth and twelfth respectively, before the red flag was flown on the second lap due to the intensity of the rainfall.

When the race resumed, drivers flooded their way into the pits for the Intermediate tyres, with the full Wets having been unsuitable for every single driver due to how slow the compound has proven to be. Alas, Haas decided to leave both drivers out a bit longer, a decision that proved costly. Magnussen was the first of the Haas drivers to pit and eventually went on to have an uneventful race in fourteenth place.

Schumacher was left out even longer and staggeringly led the race for roughly ten metres; however, he quickly tumbled down the order due to how slow the Wet compound was. This meant when the German did pit, he was last by some margin.

It was a disappointing outcome for Schumacher especially, with the under pressure driver having shown points worthy pace. Haas have now gone seven races without a points finish, as they continue to sit eighth in the Constructors’ Championship, considerably further behind the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team.

Kevin Magnussen endured a somewhat boring Japanese Grand Prix last weekend, in what was another race without points for the Danish driver.

The Dane rose five places on the opening lap before the race was red-flagged on the second lap due to heavy rainfall at the Suzuka International Racing Course, meaning he was twelfth when proceedings eventually resumed. From the restart nothing really happened for Magnussen, who dropped back to fourteenth but still finished higher than his team-mate, following a poor strategy by the Haas F1 Team.

It means the Dane still hasn’t claimed points since the Austrian Grand Prix, following a underwhelming weekend.

“There’s not a whole lot to say – it was another day with the weather being like this, which is always an opportunity so of course it’s disappointing not to get anything out of it.”

“We put them [the intermediates] on a bit too late” – Mick Schumacher

Mick Schumacher‘s race was somewhat more eventful but ultimately even more catastrophic, as the Americans fitted the German with the Intermediate tyres too late, which resulted in the German finishing last of the running drivers.