Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Zhou Guanyu has extended his stay with Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN after an impressive first year with the team, meaning he will race for them in 2023.

The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix made history as it saw the first Chinese driver take part in a FIA Formula 1 World Championship race, and Zhou showed has shown his worth by scoring points in his debut race. The Chinese driver has developed a good relationship with much more experienced teammate Valtteri Bottas, with the former mentoring him during his first year in the sport.

Zhou has six points this season, an impressive amount for a rookie and could have had more but he has been unlucky in multiple races throughout the year. On top of that, he is contributing not just on the track but also with his simulator work and general attitude around the Alfa Romeo team.

Despite an impressive first season, Zhou will be pushing for more next season as he looks to consolidate his status in Formula 1.

“I am happy and grateful to Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN for the opportunity to be part of the team for another season. Making it to Formula One was a dream come true and the feeling of competing for the first time in a race will live with me forever: the team has been incredibly supportive, welcoming me from day one and helping me adapt to the most complex series in motorsport.

Perennial backmarker but perennial fan favourite Mike Harmon will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend as he hopes to make Saturday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. He will drive the #47 Chevrolet Camaro for his Mike Harmon Racing team.

Owing to factors like his underdog status and girth, Harmon is a bit of a folk hero in the NASCAR community. Jokes frequently surround the Applebee’s restaurant chain stemming from his willingness to fight Michael Annett at one following a practice incident between the two at the 2019 Indianapolis weekend, as well as his walking away from a massive wreck at Bristol in 2002. Harmon and his team have also embraced the reputation and tend to join in the humour.

The 64-year-old has raced in NASCAR since the 1990s, but due to his team’s small stature, he has never recorded a top ten in the Xfinity or Truck Series. In 289 career Xfinity starts, his best finish is sixteenth at Daytona in 2020 while 2015 saw his highest placement in the standings of twenty-fifth. Conversely, he has seen modest success in ARCA with ten top tens and an eighth-place points finish in 2005.

Since 2020, Harmon has scaled back his driving duties to give other drivers opportunities; his lone start in 2021 came at the Martinsville fall race where he finished thirty-ninth. He placed twenty-fifth and seventeenth in the two Talladega races in 2020. While Talladega will be his first start of 2022, he received a seventy-five-point penalty prior to the season for a 2021 testing violation, though an appeal was able to at least erase a fine and crew chief suspension.

The #47 has struggled to make races in 2022, with only ten successful efforts between Brandon Brown, Gray Gaulding, Brennan Poole, and Ryan Vargas. Stanton Barrett, Dawson Cram, Bobby McCarty, and Tim Viens have also attempted to qualify but failed. The car sits forty-second in owner points with Gaulding holding its best finish of twenty-first at the first Talladega event in April.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team recently released the details surrounding a trial of biofuels for European land freight during the recent FIA Formula 1 World Championship triple header.

Mercedes are driving to reduce their CO2 emissions further and achieve a verified status of Net Zero by 2030. A trial was conducted recently, that saw the team use biofuels in their sixteen Mercedes Actros Gigaspace race trucks, the recent trial was organised to give the team and others further understanding of the level of carbon saving and the positive impact that can be achieved by using biofuels.

The trial took place between the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort and the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, a distance of approximately fourteen-thousand kilometres. Mercedes’ analysis shows that after the trial has that the use of ‘HVO 100’ biofuel saved 44,091kg CO2 and reduced freight emissions by eighty-nine per cent.

HVO 100 which is short for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil is a 100% renewable fossil fuel-free product, which is obtained from vegetable oils, waste oils and fats. The use of HVO 100 is shown to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and reduce the impact of freight on local air quality by reducing NOx and particulate emissions.

Biofuels are already being used in motorsport, with Formula 1 introducing the use of E10 biofuels this year as part of the sport’s drive to transition into a 100% sustainable fuel model in F1 cars from 2026.

The Küs Team Bernhard driver, Thomas Preining, completed a masterful wet weather drive to charge through the field to win his home race at the Red Bull Ring in race two of the DTM. Whilst championship leader, Sheldon Van der Linde was unable to recover from a nine-place grid penalty to finish outside the points.

A thrilling qualifying session that unleashed treacherous conditions on the drivers, led to a somewhat mixed-up grid for race two at the Red Bull Ring. Maro Engel came away with pole position for the first time in his DTM career, followed by race one winner Nick Cassidy and Felipe Fraga. Philipp Eng and Maximilian Götz rounded out the top five.

It was uneventful first few corners for the drivers at the front of the grid. But for Sheldon Van der Linde, a disappointing weekend got even worse, as he ran wide into turn three, as soon as his Schubert Motorsport car touched the slippery asphalt outside the track, he was launched into a spin. Dropping him all the way down to the back of the field.

Somebody who was having a much better weekend at his home race was the Austrian Thomas Preining. From the early periods of the race, it was the Preining show. First, he was past Arjun Maini, then Maximilian Götz, before pulling off the move of the day on Philipp Eng. The two were wheel-to-wheel heading into the long turn seven corner, with Preining going all the way around the outside of Eng before turn eight. It truly was a move that showed Preining’s superior confidence compared to everyone else on track at that time.

With the track drying slowly, the field was split on their tyre strategies. Luca Stolz was the first to switch to new wet tyres, whilst other drivers were waiting for the right time to go straight to slick tyres.

The New Zealand, Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse driver, was unchallenged on his way to a second win in as many races in DTM’s race one at Spielberg, with René Rast following him home to cut his gap to Championship leader Sheldon Van der Linde dramatically.

Racing got underway with Nick Cassidy starting from pole, after René Rast, who was quickest in qualifying was pushed back three places due to a grid penalty he picked up from fighting Cassidy in the previous race at Spa.

At the start, Cassidy held onto his lead. Whilst Rast showed all his years of DTM racing experience to move up into second by turn three. Taking Nico Müller by surprise around turn one, before similarly overtaking Ricardo Feller into three.

Simultaneously, Feller was involved in another battle as a fast-starting Felipe Fraga tried to take the Swiss driver on the inside. However, it all ended in tears as the two made contact, leaving Fraga with a puncture, which caused him to plummet down the order before eventually retiring.

But the main battle of the race came from the flying Küs Team Bernhard driver Thomas Preining and Nico Müller. The two were embroiled in an epic back-and-forth battle that saw them change positions countless times. Only being decided after the pair made contact for the second occasion, and Preining was awarded a 10-second penalty for his involvement. Dropping the Austrian down to tenth place by the checkered flag. While Müller went on to record a fourth-placed finish.

Trident has confirmed that Gabriel Bortoleto will race for the team in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 season as he becomes the first new driver to be announced ahead of the new season.

Bortoleto currently sits sixth in the Formula Regional European championship, picking up one win and three podiums over eight races this season, leaving him one hundred and twenty-six points behind championship leader Dino Beganovic with two races remaining in the season.

The seventeen-year-old recently impressed in Formula 3 post-season testing in Jerez, setting the fastest overall time on day two of the three-day test, which subsequently ended up being the fastest time over the course of the entirety of post-season testing.

“I am extremely delighted for the chance to compete in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship with a high-level team like Trident Motorsport,” Bortoleto commented on his call-up to the Trident team.

“I would like to thank every member of the team for the warm welcome I have been given. I feel ready for a new chapter in my career and to move to a higher series in single-seaters. 

Prior to last weekend’s Copper X Prix, XITE Energy Racing announced Timo Scheider and Tamara Molinaro would finish out the 2022 Extreme E season. On Monday, however, Scheider revealed plans have changed on his part as he will not run the season-ending Energy X Prix on 26/27 November as the team has found a new driver whose identity was not immediately revealed.

“I agreed with the Team in case there is a Paydriver turning up I will move,” explained Scheider on social media. “As I am a professional Racer I get payed for driving so I totally understand the case!!

“This means I will be back on Side again as Track Designer and Championship reserve Driver!! Bring on the Final…”

Scheider, a two-time DTM champion and rallycross veteran, has worked as Extreme E’s Championship Driver and advisor since the inaugural season in 2021. In June, he joined XITE for the Island X Prix doubleheader, during which he and Molinaro scored a runner-up finish in the first round’s Final.

In the Copper X Prix, XITE crashed out of their heat and finished third in the Crazy Race to be classified in ninth.

With the 2023 Dakar Rally looming but the Russian invasion of Ukraine seemingly continuing to crescendo with the former’s mobilisation, more Russian potential competitors have continued to separate themselves into those able to punch their tickets to the race or letting their loyalties get in the way. In an interview with RBC Sport, Anastasiya Nifontova placed herself into the former camp.

Since April, the FIA has required Russian and Belarusian teams and drivers to sign a declaration denouncing the internationally condemned invasion and standing in solidarity with Ukraine. The terms also state competitors must race under a different nationality, as is the case with Dakar co-driver Konstantin Zhiltsov acquiring an Israeli passport or Formula 3 racer Alexander Smolyar competing under the generic FIA flag. Zhiltsov’s driver Denis Krotov also intends to do the same.

While Zhiltsov and Krotov are well on the path to Dakar, Nifontova refuses to join them.

“I will not race at Dakar, because this is a World Championship for which you need to sign a declaration that I do not support the special operation, that I am not for Russia and that I support Ukraine. I can’t sign it because I don’t agree with it,” said Nifontova. “In this context, participation is impossible, I cannot but support my country.”

Nifontova is the first Russian woman to compete at the Dakar Rally in the Moto category in 2017, where she finished second among female riders. Following the invasion, the two-time FIM Women’s Cross-Country Rallies World Cup has focused on domestic competition in the Russian Rally-Raid Championship, where she pilots an SSV in the T3 class.

Parker Retzlaff has had a busy 2022 season as the former ARCA driver began dabbling in NASCAR‘s national tiers. On Monday, Young’s Motorsports announced he will compete in the Camping World Truck Series for the first time, driving the #20 Chevrolet Silverado RST on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. Retzlaff has no prior experience on superspeedways, having never competed at Talladega or Daytona International Speedway.

The 19-year-old entered the Xfinity Series on a ten-race deal with RSS Racing, though ultimately attempted just five with a best finish of tenth at Richmond. Last Saturday, after exclusively racing with Toyota and Ford, he switched to Chevrolet for the first time by running Texas for Our Motorsports and finished twenty-first.

The recent streak of Chevrolet teams comes in the wake of Retzlaff joining Team Dillon Management, a talent agency led by Chevrolet driver Austin Dillon.

Retzlaff posted on Twitter, “Excited to make my first @NASCAR truck series start this weekend @TALLADEGA with @youngsmtrsports and @FunkAway on the truck!”

Young’s Motorsports has won twice at Talladega with Spencer Boyd in 2019 and Tate Fogleman in 2021. Boyd will be a team-mate of Retzlaff in the #12.

Tyler Reddick missed the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs’ Round of 12 by just two points. Had he made up those points, he would already be locked into the Round of 8 after winning at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Reddick led the final fifty laps to secure his third career win and extend the streak of non-playoff drivers winning in the postseason to four. He is the first Richard Childress Racing driver to win thrice in a season since Kevin Harvick won four times in 2013.

However, Reddick’s win was overshadowed by a plethora of Goodyear tyre failures. By the end, excluding the two stage breaks, fourteen cautions were called, nearly all of which were for single-car accidents stemming from blown tyres. While Goodyear has regularly warned teams against running lower air pressures than recommended, they faced a barrage of criticism from fans and drivers alike for the situation.

“If your thinking that maybe NASCAR will look into someone else for tires, keep dreaming. GY pays them a fat check so they are allowed to gouge the teams each week,” tweeted Denny Hamlin.

“Goodyear is working with the teams on their setups and everything else to try to mitigate the problems that we’re certainly seeing,” commented NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller. “We’re all learning about the setups, the tyres. Goodyear is learning about the construction, the new wheel. It’s an unfortunate part of a learning process.

After two weeks off, this weekend sees the return of the incredibly demanding Singapore Grand Prix; however, Pirelli Motorsports Director Mario Isola has warned that fans are instore for a “totally new race” due to the Marina Bay Circuit having been laid with “new asphalt”.

The Singapore night race is profoundly known as arguably the most demanding and physical event on the calendar, due to the high temperatures and unbearable humidity that reigns long into the Asian night. The race also typically goes close to the two-hour limit, with drivers having lost an astounding amount of weight before during the Grand Prix.

This weekend will be Formula 1‘s first time racing around the streets of Singapore since 2019, following a two-year absence due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The previous race at the venue was won by Sebastian Vettel, with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen completing the podium.

With this weekend presenting somewhat of an unknown factor, given how long its been since any teams have gathered data at the venue, Pirelli have opted to bring the three softest compounds in their range, the C3, C4 and C5. Whether these will even be used remains to be seen, with heavy downpours and thunderstorms forecast for the entire weekend.

The new asphalt, which has been laid by Italian company Dirmo, isn’t as smooth as usually seen given the fact it is a street circuit, where a number of road lines and bumps will remain.

FIA Formula 3 post-season testing began on Wednesday 21 September ar Jerez, Spain; making up one-third of the PREMA racing lineup for the three-day test was rising Ferrari Driver Academy starlet Dino Beganovic. 

Beganovic, who currently leads the Formula Regional European Championship by fifty-four points, entered the weekend keen to gather some valuable data for the PREMA team in his first ever outing in a Formula 3 car.

The test started slowly for the Swede, however, as he recorded a 1:31.660 to end the morning session of day one all the way down in fifteenth place.

However, the afternoon session would prove to be much more positive for Beganovic as an extremely impressive 1:31.358 meant he finished the session second, four places ahead of next best PREMA finisher Zak O’Sullivan.

Beganovic once again struggled to reach full potential in day two’s morning session, as a 1:30.383 left him twelfth, however, the impetus of PREMA’s morning session looked to be focused on gathering data, and Beganovic’s forty-four laps haul in the morning session alone certainly would have contributed to that.

Shane van Gisbergen is on the verge of winning his third Supercars Championship, and is eager to bring his strong résumé to America in 2023. In an interview with Nine’s Wide World of Sports, he revealed he has talked with Trackhouse Racing Team owner Justin Marks about making his NASCAR Cup Series début.

In the decade since his Supercars career was seemingly at a standstill, he has become one of the series’ top drivers. After joining Triple Eight Engineering in 2016, he has won fifty-two times along with a pair of championships that year and in 2021. His title defence has only further established his dominance with nineteen victories and a very comfortable points lead with three rounds remaining.

While van Gisbergen intends to continue his time in Supercars after 2022, he has started to express interest in other racing opportunities. This weekend will see his début in the World Rally Championship at Rally New Zealand, consummating his increasing participation in the discipline in domestic competition. He has also invariably competed in America in the past, most notably attempting the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona from 2014 to 2017 with a runner-up class finish in 2015.

“[I]t’s all dependent on our calendar and what races I can do and if there’s time to get over there and back without upsetting Supercars,” said van Gisbergen. “I’d love to do a road course and have a go, for sure, it’s just getting the right opportunity.”

NASCAR will be a new foray for the Kiwi, but one that became more viable with the introduction of the Next Gen car, which shares numerous characteristics with the Supercars. The new vehicle’s rollout also coincided with NASCAR’s growing embrace of road courses, with the 2023 Cup schedule set to feature six including Circuit of the Americas and Watkins Glen International: COTA was on the Supercars calendar in 2013, where van Gisbergen finished twenty-sixth, fifth, and third in three races, while he placed fourth in class at WGI’s 2017 IMSA round. Van Gisbergen also showed intrigue in the new Chicago Street Race scheduled for 2 July.

For the first time ever, Rosberg X Racing failed to reach an Extreme E Final, though of no fault of the drivers as a technical issue ended their day despite topping qualifying and winning Semi-Final #1. With the points leader out of the picture, X44 Vida Carbon Racing found new life in the championship battle as Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez scored their first win of the season.

“We were surprised to see that Rosberg X Racing weren’t competing in the Final, but we didn’t have a lot of time to think about it as we were racing straight away,” said Loeb.

X44, winner of Semi-Final #2, faced significant pressure from McLaren XE until the latter’s Emma Gilmour received two time penalties totalling fifteen seconds for knocking down waypoint flags. Although Chip Ganassi Racing was moved up to second in McLaren’s stead, they suffered the same fate for Sara Price missing a checkpoint, with the resulting five-second infraction knocking them off the podium and promoting ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team and ABT CUPRA XE up a spot.

The win is X44’s second after claiming the 2021 season-ending Jurassic X Prix. It also concludes a strong first round under the X44 Vida Carbon Racing name after the company became the team’s title sponsor weeks before the Copper X Prix.

“Today was amazing, we are so happy to have won the Copper X Prix and to still be in the fight for the championship,” commented Gutiérrez. “Rosberg X Racing are a really strong team so for them to not be able to drive in the Final was not good for them, but hopefully it is more interesting to have more than one team fighting for the championship in Uruguay.”

Tom Ingram cruised to victory in Race Three at Silverstone to set up a mouth-watering conclusion to this year’s British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season in two weeks at Brands Hatch.

The top three drivers are only separated by just seven points with Ash Sutton as reigning champion leaving the Northamptonshire circuit with a slender lead after outscoring Jake Hill in second compared to fourth but the RoKIT MB Motorsport driver is next followed by Ingram, whilst a poor weekend for Colin Turkington leaves him 27 points behind.

To begin the race, Josh Cook was on pole but made contact off the line with Dan Cammish with Adam Morgan also caught up with the frenetic opener which left the door ajar for Ingram, Sutton and Rory Butcher to ease through. Hill nearly saw his race up in smoke after contact with Shedden at Brooklands but recovered to carve his way through to fourth, while Cammish and Cook recovered to round out the top six.

Another top display from Tom Chilton saw the EXCELR8 driver sit seventh ahead of Shedden, Ollie Jackson and Aron Taylor-Smith with Turkington as mentioned down in 12th and needing a miracle seemingly to seal the title once more.

2022 British Touring Car Championship – Race 3 – Silverstone