Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Estonian Minister of Culture Piret Hartman has confirmed that next summer’s Rally Estonia which is set to be featured on the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship schedule, will receive a slice of 1.5 million euros from the state budget. However, the FIA has not yet confirmed next year’s calendar, but Estonia can be found in the preliminary schedule.

First Estonia was able to participate in the WRC during the “corona season” 2020. Around Tartu, the rally was also featured on this year´s calendar and last year’s as well. The state has been strongly behind the Estonian round, in 2020 and 2021, the event received financial backing a total of 2.5 million euros altogether and less next year but the amount is still significant.

“It is a great recognition of the work done by the race organization that we once again get the opportunity to organize the Rally Estonia as a part of the [FIA} World [Rally] Championship. This is good news not only for rally fans but also for the whole of Estonia. I am satisfied that we reached such a result. Without state support, the event would probably not take place.” Hartman told the Estonian publication Delfi in an interview.

It is known that the Rally Estonia will also be held in July of the 2023 season and the FIA ​​is expected to confirm the 2023 schedule next week.

Both Fernando Alonso and George Russell have backed Pierre Gasly after the Frenchman was handed a time penalty and two penalty points to his Superlicence for speeding under a red flag during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri driver was off the back of the pack behind the safety car after being forced to pit for a new front wing after making contact with an advertising board on lap one, and he was clocked to have exceeded 250 kilometres per hour on the back straight.

BWT Alpine F1 Team driver Alonso, who Gasly will replace at the Enstone-based team in 2023, said the drivers know when they are in control of their car, and the Frenchman was not really doing anything wrong as he attempted to catch back up to the rest of the field.

“Totally supporting Pierre,” Alonso is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “We are in the car, we know the speed we are doing, we know when we are in control.

“What we don’t expect is to see a tractor on the circuit, so that’s something that nothing to blame Pierre.”

Guillaume Dezoteux, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Scuderia AlphaTauri, was disappointed to see the team fail to score points during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, with circumstances appearing to go against the team at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

Pierre Gasly’s race was compromised early by picking up damage after hitting an advertising board that had been brought onto the track after Carlos Sainz Jr. crashed. AlphaTauri gambled on pitting the Frenchman a second time to try and benefit from fresh intermediate tyres, but he ended down in seventeenth at the chequered flag, which became eighteenth when he was handed a time penalty post-race for speeding under the early red flag.

AlphaTauri also pitted Yuki Tsunoda for a second time to try and use better tyres to clear the traffic that had built up behind Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi, but the Japanese driver ran out of time to make the strategy work and ended only thirteenth.

Dezoteux hopes AlphaTauri can have better races across the remainder of the season, with the next race coming at the Circuit of the Americas in two weeks’ time.

“It’s been a difficult Sunday for us, and we didn’t manage to get points today in Suzuka,” said Dezoteux.  “Starting from the pitlane, Pierre was able to catch the pack immediately, but got hit by a panel that was broken during the crash of Carlos. This broke his front wing and front wheel winglet, however we were able to repair this during the red flag period.

Yuki Tsunoda admitted to being disappointed not to have been able to score points in his first home Grand Prix, but he felt he did the best he could throughout the race at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

Heavy rain and aquaplaning meant a long red flag period during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, but on the restart, the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver was unable to find the pace necessary to fight for a place inside the top ten, and he was forced to settle for thirteenth at the chequered flag.

Nevertheless, Tsunoda said it was an ‘exciting’ weekend in his homeland, and he thanked everyone who came to the track and stuck it out during the red flag and in the rain.

“It’s been a difficult afternoon,” said Tsunoda.  “I obviously wanted to finish in the points, so it’s a real shame that I wasn’t able to make it today.

“I think that I did the best I could today and extracted the most from the car, but the pace just wasn’t there.

Nicholas Latifi says that Williams Racing’s decision to not extend his contract with them into the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season would not have changed despite his first top ten finish of the 2022 campaign last weekend in Japan.

The Canadian secured ninth place at the Suzuka International Racing Course to finally secure his first points of the year, but his performance amid difficult weather conditions in Japan would not have made any difference had Williams not already made the decision to show him the exit door.

Latifi says his lack of consistency has cost him at Williams, but despite knowing his time with the team is coming to an end next month, he was pleased to break into the top ten and give him a much-need confidence boost as he considers the next stage of his career.

“It’s nice to get some points for sure,” Latifi told Formula1.com. “But in the end, even if a decision hadn’t been made yet about my future, a race like this wouldn’t have really changed much.

“I’ve always said it was about consistency across results, not one good result. So it’s obviously a nice personal boost for me for sure.

The McLaren F1 Team conceded points to the BWT Alpine F1 Team during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, with the two teams again switching places in the Constructors’ Championship as they battle over fourth place.

With Esteban Ocon finishing fourth and Fernando Alonso seventh at the Suzuka International Racing Course, Alpine regained the fourth place they lost just seven days previously in Singapore, with McLaren scoring only one point thanks to Lando Norris taking tenth place.

Andreas Seidl, the Team Principal at McLaren, says Norris was unfortunate to lose several positions at the initial start which left him on the back foot in his bid for the top ten, while the team were too conservative when it came to the call to switch Daniel Ricciardo from the full wet to intermediate tyre on the restart.

This meant the two drivers were left fighting through the pack rather than for places deep inside the top ten, and it left the team thirteen points behind Alpine heading into the final four races of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

“It was a disappointing Sunday afternoon for us,” said Seidl.  “On Daniel’s side, despite moving up some positions at the initial start we were too conservative at the restart, staying out for too long which resulted in losing positions and dropping out of the points.

Lando Norris was happy to recover from a poor start to score a point in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, with the Briton claiming tenth despite the poor conditions at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

Having started inside the top ten, the McLaren F1 Team driver slipped to thirteenth at the start, but an early switch to intermediate tyres brought him back into contention for the top ten.

He did not have the pace to catch Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi in the second half of the rain-shortened race, but despite this he was content to score a point in conditions that did not suit McLaren in Japan.

“Firstly, I’m glad we got a race today,” said Norris.  “The Japanese fans have been amazing here all weekend, and they waited in the rain for ages, so I’m glad we could give them that.

“Of course as drivers we always want to race. The race itself was a tricky one. I lost a lot of positions in the first start which was unfortunate, but then made up for it with the pit-stop, and it was good to come away with a point.

Williams Racing scored two points during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix thanks to Nicholas Latifi, and Dave Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance, praised the Canadian for performing an ‘excellent job’ in difficult conditions.

Latifi was one of the first drivers to switch to the intermediate tyres following the restart of the race, and by doing this, he was able to jump a number of places to run inside the top ten.

He may have lost a position to the recovering George Russell late in the day, but he had enough pace to maintain a good gap to the chasing Lando Norris, and he ended several seconds clear of the McLaren F1 Team driver in ninth place at the chequered flag to score his first points of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Team-mate Alexander Albon was less fortunate, with the Thai driver retiring on lap one of the initial start after contact with Kevin Magnussen damaged his radiator, meaning he was forced to stop at the side of the track in the second sector.

Robson said it was an enjoyable race at the Suzuka International Racing Course once conditions allowed the cars to properly race, and it was pleasing to see the team score points for only the fourth time in 2022.

Nicholas Latifi felt his ninth place finish in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix was a ‘nice morale boost’ both for him and his team as he scored his first points of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season amid tricky weather conditions at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

The Williams Racing driver was one of two drivers – the other being Sebastian Vettel – to pit immediately at the end of the safety car period to switch from the full wet tyre to the intermediate compound, and he gained many positions on track as a result of this.

He may have lost a place to the recovering George Russell and Fernando Alonso late in the day, but he was comfortably able to maintain a gap to Lando Norris behind him to finish ninth and score two points.

“The beginning was quite tricky with the red flag and the delays,” said Latifi.  “We made the right decision to pit straight away for the Inters which was critical in jumping the cars ahead of us.

“I struggled at the end with the front tyres but I’m extremely happy to hold on and get my first points of the season. Overall, I’m really happy for the team and it’s a nice morale boost.”

While Kees Koolen celebrated becoming the first World Rally-Raid Championship class winner in an FIA category (T5) at the Rallye du Maroc, Mason Klein got to do so on the FIM side as his overall win in the rally secured the Rally2 title with one round remaining.

Klein has dominated Rally2 all season with BAS World KTM Racing Team, winning his class in his Dakar Rally début followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. At last week’s Rallye du Maroc, he finished third in the prologue before winning Stage #1B to take the overall lead and never relinquished it for the rest of the event; he ended the rally with three leg victories (including Stages #3 and #4) and a forty-minute, twenty-five-second advantage over team-mate Bradley Cox.

Having gone three-for-three in W2RC events, Klein has eighty-eight total points. Romain Dumontier, who has finished on the overall podium in each round, is twenty points back in second. While the season does not end until the Andalucía Rally on 18–23 October, the overall winner can only receive twenty-five points at most.

His success adds to a growing list of American achievements in rally raid bike racing. While Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes steal the show with their Dakar success, the former winning the Bike overall in 2020, the twenty-year-old Klein is leading the new generation of riders. The 2023 Dakar Rally is set to feature at least ten American riders, the most of their kind, including The Checkered Flag interviewee Ace Nilson. Like many of his peers, Klein cut his teeth in North American desert racing before heading abroad, having raced in Best In The Desert and the AMA National Hare and Hound championship.

Despite his accomplishments, Klein has had to rely on crowdfunding to make it to races like Dakar. Nilson, a fellow privateer, told TCF that those without factory funding have to pay a multitude of fees such as but not limited to registration, bike rental, lodging, and training. With how quickly these costs can add up, many independent competitors turn to donations to afford the trip.

Ed Robinson, founder of the Valley Off Road Racing Association and 2018 inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, passed away Monday.

“The end of an era…Yesterday, the legendary Ed Robinson passed away,” began a post from VORRA president Laura Butcher. “Ed & Jenny Robinson began Valley Off Road Racing Association in 1975. Together with their family & friends, Ed & Jenny successfully ran VORRA for 25 years.

“Beyond a race promoter, Ed was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a friend, and a leader. Ed Robinson was adored by many, who will continue to hold him in their hearts throughout life’s many races.

“BJ (Butcher, Race Director) & I were lucky enough to have Ed & Jenny meet with us as we transitioned into VORRA promoters. Even luckier to have the Robinson’s attend our first desert race, the 2019 Fallon 250. Having Ed drop the green flag on that race will remain a cherished memory and symbol of the torch passing for years to come.

“God speed, Ed”.

XITE Energy Racing will have their third male driver of the 2022 Extreme E season as Ezequiel Pérez Companc makes his début at the season-ending Energy X Prix on 26/27 November, teaming up with Tamara Molinaro. The Argentine will be the first South American to compete in the series.

Companc does not have much of an off-road résumé as he comes from grand tourers. He mainly races in the ADAC GT Masters and GT World Challenge Europe for his Madpanda Motorsport team, which he established in 2020 with help from QEV Technologies. The extent of his off-road driving came in September when he tested an FIA World Rallycross RX2e car, a QEV creation. QEV initially entered Extreme E as their own team before allying with ACCIONA and Carlos Sainz to form ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team.

Five rounds into the ADAC GT Masters season, Companc is twenty-fifth in points with a best finish of fifth at the Nürburgring. Companc and Fabian Schiller won the GTWEC Sprint Cup’s Silver Cup class at the season ender in Valencia in September. In 2014, he won the Ferrari Challenge Europe Trofeo Pirelli Am championship.

“It is an honour to be the first South American driver in the series and going racing in South America so close to my hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in such a prestigious event makes it a special one for me,” said Companc. “Coming from GT racing, the format, the car, and the track layouts of this series will all be new to me. I am looking forward to learning from my experienced teammate Tamara and from my engineer, who I have already started preparing with for the Energy X Prix.

“Last month I had my first electric racing experience with an RX2e and had a lot of fun.” Getting behind the wheel and taming the ODYSSEY 21 in such a short time will be a big challenge, but I am ready to take on the beast.”

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team earned a high-scoring points finish at the eventful Japanese Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel finishing sixth place at Suzuka International Racing Course and Lance Stroll landing just outside the points in twelfth. 

Aston Martin Principal Mike Krack said that the team made solid strategy calls to allow for the successful result, with the team finding success in the rain a second weekend in a row after Stroll’s sixth place finish at the Singapore Grand Prix. 

“From an Aston Martin point of view, we scored our second consecutive sixth place, thanks to a fine drive by Sebastian, facilitated by a good strategy call to fit Inters so soon after the restart and a superb pit stop that enabled him to exit the pit lane ahead of [Nicholas] Latifi. 

“Lance pushed hard on his second set of Inters – another good call by our strategy team – and ended up a solid 12th.”

Krack described the shortened Japanese Grand Prix as an exciting race once restarted, and great for the committed fans that stayed tuned through the stoppage, whether from home or trackside at Suzuka.

This weekend the annual Swedish Folkrace event NGK-Masters will be held in Karlstad, Sweden, and the event which usually attracts many international familiar names haven´t disappointed this year too with the entries, many star drivers from the Northern European countries from different racing backgrounds are set to battle it out for the NGK-Masters 2022 title.

NGK Masters is usually the season highlight of the year in the Swedish Folkrace scene and it attracts many fans from far and wide, many fantastic home built Folkrace cars from chunky Volvo estate wagons all the way to unique and rare Fiat 850 Coupé, you can find everything on the start line and all cars are something special.

The event which is held this weekend 15-16 October at the Karlstad Motorstadion has a total of 96 drivers entered in the Senior class, 100 in the Junior class, and 30 in the Lady’s class, of course, it is in the Senior class most of the popular names are featured.

Headlining the entries are the three-time world rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson who will be entering in an estate Volvo, the two-time European rallycross champion Robin Larsson in an Opel, WRC regular Oliver Solberg also in an Opel, Euro RX regular Ulrik Linnemann in a Volkswagen, Supercar Lites driver Ole Henry Steinsholt in an Opel, Höljes 2019 World RX winner Sebastian Eriksson also in another Opel.

Euro RX regular Peter Hedström in a Saab, NGK Masters legend Daniel Wall also in a Saab, former Euro RX Super1600 driver Marius Solberg Hansen in an Opel, Euro RX regular Thomas Bryntesson in a Volkswagen and Nitro RX Next frontrunner Simon Olofsson in an Opel with his sister Sandra Hultgren entered in the Ladies class in a Volvo and many more, we can´t list all of them as there are so many,

The area around the city of Salou will be playing host to the RallyRACC – Rally de España Between 20-23 October, which marks the second last rally of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship season. Last year’s winner of the rally, Thierry Neuville was at the wheel for the Korean manufacturer on the first test day ahead of the rally.

The Belgian driver was able to test in dry weather throughout the day as Neuville is aiming for his second win of the season after the win in EKO Acropolis Rally Greece in September. At the previous round in New Zealand, Hyundai fell behind the Toyota cars in wet conditions, the team is certainly hoping for drier weather on the tarmac roads in Catalunya because Toyota has been stronger in wet weather this season.

Neuville, Ott Tänak, and Dani Sordo will form a tough trio for the Spanish rally, Hyundai’s job in the manufacturer’s championship is practically impossible. Climbing past Toyota to claim the championship would require a mathematical miracle because for Toyota it is enough for the team to get two cars to the finish line in the two remaining rallies.

In an article published by WRC.com, Neuville explained the situation of wet weather: “We need to find more precision from the car, sometimes it’s too slow to react and we need to change this. It’s about working with the differentials and some other areas. I think we know what we have to do.”

“As well as raising the performance, we need to make the car more comfortable to drive – we will see then, but this could make more performance as well. I have some ideas for some things we could do, but the problem is we have no real gravel testing until next season.”