Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Adam Smalley heads into the penultimate weekend of the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup GB season at Silverstone just twelve points behind championship leader Kiern Jewiss.

Last time out at Thruxton, the Lancashire-based driver collected a second and third place finish, this weekend he will be looking to make the most of his form and hit the front of the pack to add to his seven podium finishes, including one victory, so far this season.

“We had a great weekend last time out at Thruxton, one of our strongest so far, which has boosted our confidence going into Silverstone. We showed some great pace, we had a very strong car, and I’m confident that we can take that into this one,” said the Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline driver.
 
“The 992 style 911 GT3 Cup car is great around any track, and Silverstone is a tricky little circuit with only four or five corners. The whole field is going to be very tight, and it’ll be interesting to see how everyone compares.
 
“Qualifying has been crucial this season. It’s very difficult if you’re not in that top five, so it’ll be important that we do all our hard work in the official Wednesday test and carry that through, finesse it on Friday, and do the job on Saturday and Sunday. I’m currently lying third in the championship standings, and we closed in on the lead last time.

“I just need to keep focusing on myself. We’re getting stronger each time we go out so fingers crossed I can have a strong showing.”

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Following the announcement that Fortec Motorsport will be returning to the final two race weekends of the ROKiT British F4 Championship certified by FIA with James Higgins, the Daventry-based team will be adding a second car to the upcoming meeting at Silverstone, with Marcos Flack in the driver’s seat.

Flack previously raced in the series in 2021 as he made his move from karting to single-seaters, he quickly proved himself as a frontrunner, taking podiums at Snetterton, Croft and Silverstone.

Since then the 16-year-old Australian has been busy racing in a part-season of GB3 Championship, including a breakthrough win at Silverstone, along with appearances in the Indy Pro 2000 series and the Italian, Spanish, and German F4 championships

“I’m looking forward to being back in ROKiT British F4, and to partner up with Fortec Motorsport,” said Flack.

“It’s a championship that I learnt a lot in last season, and I’ve got experience with the new Gen-2 car from racing in Italy and Germany this year. Fortec are a great team, and I’ve always run well at Silverstone, so the ingredients are there for us to have a good weekend.”

I’m very much looking forward to racing again this coming weekend after an enforced break – and certainly it’ll feel different as I’m now a very proud father to George, my first child.

More details on that later after I’ve brought you up to date on my racing activities since my last column – although that won’t take long.

My last races were on “home” soil when I recorded two eleventh place finishes in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Knockhill at the end of July – but that only tells half a miserable story racing back in Scotland.

I suffered a couple of scary barrel rolls in testing on the eve of the event after being hit up the rear. It severely damaged my Toro Verde GT entered 911 to the extent it was not repairable at the track.

I was totally blameless for the incident but thankfully was only shaken up and bruised. I was being supported at Knockhill by Dumfriesshire sponsors, PyroDry and Carronbridge Sawmills plus I’d got a lot of partners, prospects and guests attending the weekend’s action in attendance, the majority from around Scotland, but with some coming from as far away as Denmark.

As Kyle Larson pursues back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series championships, Hendrick Motorsports is keen to keep him involved for the forseeable future. The team announced Friday that Larson has signed a contract extension to keep him in the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the 2026 season.

“When Kyle joined our team, the expectations were sky high from both inside and outside the organisation. To say he’s exceeded them would be an understatement,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “Not only has Kyle proven himself as a champion driver, he’s performed at a championship level outside of the race car. We’re proud to continue our relationship and to see him represent our team and our brands in such positive ways. The years to come are very bright.”

Since joining Hendrick in 2021, Larson has become one of the Cup Series’ top drivers, leading the series in wins in his first year with ten en route to the championship. While his win total has dropped to two so far in 2022 at Las Vegas and Watkins Glen, he is fourth in points and a regular threat. He also notched an Xfinity Series win for satellite team JR Motorsports at The Glen.

HendrickCars.com, the online division of Hendrick Automotive Group, will continue as his primary sponsor. Although Larson’s successes have garnered outside interest, the Hendrick Automotive Group—which has its own autonomy separate from Hendrick Motorsports despite both being owned by Rick Hendrick—wanted to commit to him full-time. The only other company sponsoring him in 2022 is Valvoline, who has a team-wide partnership, for three races.

“I can’t explain how much this opportunity means,” commented Larson. “The chance to compete for the top team and best sponsors in racing is something every driver dreams about. I’m humbled to have incredible people in my corner and amazing support from so many fans. Thanks to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group for believing in me, Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) and our team. Even though we’ve done some great things so far, I truly believe our best is ahead of us.”

After abruptly retiring from the Baja 500, Bryce Menzies was able to turn around his SCORE International fortunes at the Baja 400 when he took the overall four-wheeler lead from Luke McMillin and never looked back. It is Menzies’ second straight 400 win and places him on the pole for the Baja 1000 in November.

McMillin beat Menzies in qualifying, but a flat tyre allowed Menzies to overtake him. Both drivers’ Trophy Trucks lost four-wheel drive during their runs, forcing them to re-adjust, while Menzies would also have a tyre go down though co-driver Oren Anderson quickly rectified the matter in just fifty seconds.

“It’ll take me fifty seconds just to get out and in (of the truck),” quipped Menzies.

“This race is so much fun. It’s very technical, very tight, but we had an awesome time. We only had one tyre go down all day. I had to go from learning to drive a four-wheel-drive to a two-wheel-drive so it made me have some fun today.”

The 500 marked a reversal of the San Felipe 250, where Menzies won the pole but finished second to McMillin; the duo also finished 1–2 at the 2021 400. McMillin’s older brother Dan joined him on the overall podium.

Red Bull Powertrains announced earlier this week that they are to partner with American tool manufacturer Snap-on, as it continues to develop capability at its state of the art Formula 1 powertrain facility, which is housed at the Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes, UK.

Red Bull have recently fired up their very first 2026 prototype power unit (without ERS), as the Austrian side prepare for the distinct possibility that they may need to supply their own power units when the new engine regulations are introduced in 2026. Porsche had been in talks to supply Red Bull with powertrains, but any potential partnership broke down.

The new agreement means Snap-on will be providing hand and power tools for use at the facility, and in the testing labs that will help contribute to the short and long term success of the Red Bull Powertrains operation. On top of that Red Bull will use Snap-on’s Level Five Automated Tool Control (ATC) solution.

CEO and Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing Team and CEO of Red Bull Powertrains Christian Horner, is excited about the potential success that the partnership may bring.

“The creation of Red Bull Powertrains is one of the most ambitious projects we have ever undertaken at Red Bull and requires partnership with the highest achievers in every area of development. As a global innovator in the field of tool manufacture, Snap-on meets that criterion perfectly.

Oracle Red Bull Racing have announced that from 2023, their team will be wearing clothing made by premium sportswear brand Castore, to ensure that they can “perform no matter what they encounter”.

The partnership will see Castore supply the team with their clothing; however, in an exciting announcement for Red Bull fans, they too will be able to purchase the same high-performance clothing worn by the Austrian team’s colleagues next season.

Red Bull are a great sporting company for Castore to add to their impressive roster, which includes elite sporting sides from the Premier League, European football, international cricket and so many more. The Red Bull and Castore partnership makes so much sense given the way the two work.

Both Red Bull and Castore are known to push the limits on what is possible in their respected fields, with the premium sportswear brand having used sports science, unique technical fabrics and rigorous testing to deliver products capable of allowing athletes to perform to the highest standard in any environment.

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner recognises that this factor will be massively beneficial to his team, who work in varying environments and temperatures throughout the season. Horner is aware that “comfort” is a “crucial component” to being successful in the pinnacle of motorsport.

2022 F4 British Championship certified by FIA championship leader Alex Dunne has been selected as one of four drivers being evaluated by the Ferrari Driver Academy, working in partnership with the ACI (Automobile Club d’Italia).

Dunne is joined by son of the former F1 driver Luca Badoer, Brando Badoer, who is currently racing in the Italian and German Formula 4 championships, along with Kart racers James Egozi, and Sebastiano Pavan.

The Irish youngster has had a stellar year, currently leading the British F4 championship by 41 points having collected eleven wins along the way; and with two race weekends remaining he is definitely the driver to beat. Alongside this the 16-year-old is running a dual campaign competing in the Italian F4 championship, running third in the standings with three victories to his name.

“It’s obviously a great honour and a privilege to be selected for one of the Ferrari Driver Academy scouting camps,” says Dunne.

“It’s been a strong season for me on track, leading the British F4 championship and running up at the front in Italy. I’ve learned a lot, and gained some really valuable experience, which I’m sure will put me in a good place for the assessments.

The first round of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs came to a close Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, but none of the sixteen playoff drivers sniffed in it. After Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace played spoiler at Darlington and Kansas, Chris Buescher added to the chaos theory in a banner day for him and RFK Racing team-mate Brad Keselowski at Bristol.

Keselowski won Stage #1 before fading back, while Buescher ascended from his midfield starting position to take the lead when Christopher Bell spun with sixty laps remaining. Despite facing pressure from playoff contenders Chase Elliott and William Byron, Buescher kept them at bay to secure his second career win and first since the fog-shortened 2016 Pocono 400 2,238 days prior. The victory was also the first for RFK Racing under their current identity, with co-owner Jack Roush‘s last Cup win being 1,904 days ago with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the 2017 Coke Zero 400.

“This has been number one on my list for a really long time,” said Buescher. “I actually love this race track. It’s my favorite place, we come on concrete. […] This is one I’ve had circled for a really long time and if there was gonna be one this year to get, this is it.

“I don’t even know what that count is for the year now. I think that we knew we’ve had a ton of different winners this year and we’ve been really close and fighting hard to get here. We’ve had a great summer. A little bad luck, but we didn’t have any of that tonight. We had some good fortune and some good execution and a fast race car and got to park in Victory Lane.”

While RFK celebrated, many were reeling, especially after suffering power steering failures that resulted in retirements like pole winner Aric Almirola and his Stewart-Haas Racing ally Chase Briscoe. The Toyota camp was especially affected by the issue with Martin Truex Jr. finishing last due to power steering fluid being blown over his right-front tyre, and both of his 23XI Racing technical allies Wallace and Ty Gibbs also suffered the same fate. The Next Gen car has drawn increasing driver scrutiny as mechanical failures seem to follow trends, and Truex added to the chorus of negative comments by recalling Kevin Harvick‘s mention of “crappy parts.”

16-year-old Jack Sherwood will continue with the Chriss Dittmann Racing team for the final two race weekends of the 2022 ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA season.

Sherwood made his series debut in the summer when he took points on his first race weekend at Snetterton, following on from that performance he continued to build his confidence in the car at Thruxton.

As he targets further experience ahead of a full-season campaign in 2023, Sherwood has signed up with CDR for the final race weekends at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

“Making the move into ROKiT British F4 with Chris Dittmann Racing was a great experience,” says Sherwood. “I’ve learned a lot over the last two rounds, and I’ve really enjoyed driving the car and the racing.

“The team have been mega with helping me develop as a driver, so it was a bit of a no-brainer when it came to deciding whether we were going to do the last few rounds. Because we learned so much from the first two, we knew it would have been good for whatever we do next year to continue on and finish the season.

Fortec Motorsport will head back to the ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA series for the final two race weekends of the series with 16-year-old James Higgins taking the wheel of their car at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

Following his rise through the karting ranks, the Daventry-based teenager made his car racing debut at the end of the 2020 season, racing in the Ginetta Junior series before returning to the series in 2021.

For 2022 Higgins switched his focus to a comprehensive testing programme with Fortec Motorsport with a view to joining the F4 British Championship in 2023 for a full-season campaign.

“I’m really pleased to be joining the ROKiT British F4 grid, and with such a renowned team as Fortec Motorsport,” said Higgins.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to test the car on a number of occasions with the team throughout this year, but there’s no substitute for competitive experience. The ambition is to be back on the grid full-time for 2023, so to get a head start going into the winter is only a benefit to me.

Anton Marklund is now a three time FIA European Rallycross Champion having done enough at the Lusocursos World RX of Portugal (17/18 September) to seal the title with a round in hand. The Swedish star finished fourth in the final, behind a superb Enzo Ide who finally managed to convert his strong pace into an event win, with championship rival Janis Baumanis not able to close the points gap enough by finishing second, and Ulrik Linnemann crossing the line in third.

In a season dominated by Marklund, however, it was far from a straightforward race to the title in this, the fifth round of the season. He got a terrible start in his first heat race, bogging down completely on the line and having to fight back and managing to take 3rd overall. Then, in the second heat, Baumanis and Marklund came together in spectacular fashion. Baumanis was on the tail of the SET Promotion Hyundai i20 for the majority of the race before going into the Joker lap first. Baumanis did what he had to do and absolutely sent it as Marklund completed his Joker the following lap. In a move not dissimilar to when Andreas Bakkerud and Timmy Hansen came together in 2019 in Abu Dhabi, the pair came together as Baumanis came into the Joker merge very hot indeed, colliding with Marklund’s rear left and spinning both cars. Never one to give up, Marklund managed to keep going and convert what looked like a slam-dunk retirement into a race win.

In the final, Marklund was left on the outside of turn 1 before committing that rarest of things from him this year: a mistake in the Joker lap. He managed to stay in contention and ultimately managed to finish fourth, doing enough to secure his third EuroRX title.

Enzo Ide demonstrated superb driving all weekend, finally taking his EKS Audi S1 to victory. He was top of the overnight standings, having driven consistently well on Saturday, and defended well from Baumanis in the final. Baumanis did everything he could to overtake the Belgian driver, but had to settle for second, finishing less than a second behind Ide. Marklund very nearly got a podium finish, had it not been for the stellar defensive performance from Ulrik Linnemman in his Ford Fiesta, taking the Norwegian driver to his second podium finish of the campaign.

A jubilant Marklund threw his car into donuts after crossing the line, before getting out and climbing onto the roof to the obvious delight of the Portuguese crowd at Montalegre. “It was a big, big relief” he said afterwards, reflecting that “It’s been an awesome year…the car hasn’t broken down a single time. They give me the right tool, and I think this year we have been treating that tool well and scored some good races.”

Johan Kristoffersson’s unbeaten run in the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship is officially at an end after a 10-second penalty promoted Niclas Grönholm to the top spot of the podium. A sensational day of racing was rounded off by the Construction Equipment Dealer Team driver taking his maiden victory in the new RX1e class, fending off Kristoffersson’s teammate Ole Christian Veiby, who took his second second position of the double header weekend, and Grönholm’s teammate Klara Andersson became the first female driver ever to achieve a podium in top flight world rallycross.

The final started innocently enough with 2019 champion Timmy Hansen pulling off a beautiful move around the dusty outside of turn 1, leading the pack for the first lap. Kristoffersson was super aggressive, weaving across the track as they started lap two, his Volkswagen Polo RX1e all over the back of the Hansen World RX Team car. He dived down the inside at turn 1, muscling his way alongside Hansen, and, as the cars squirmed under braking, they came together. Hansen was thrown off to the left, dancing through the gravel trap, before going for his Joker lap, coming out behind Grönholm and Veiby.

Andersson was absolutely sensational in the final. She piled the pressure onto Veiby relentlessly as she fought for what was the final podium position, not letting the Norwegian driver get a moment’s rest. Meanwhile, at the front, Kristoffersson waited until the last possible opportunity to Joker, coming out on track just in front of Grönholm and finishing less than a second in front of him on the road.

Speaking after the race, Grönholm acknowledged the less than ideal circumstances surrounding his first RX1e win, saying “This obviously isn’t the way I like to win and it’s always slightly bittersweet in situations like this…I was confident of challenging for the podium in the final if we got the tactics right. I made a few mistakes towards the end, without which I think I could have got Johan anyway. I know how it feels to be in his shoes, but it’s great for CE Dealer Team and all our partners to get both cars inside the top three. We’ve had a tough season so far, but we seem to be on a good path at last – so hopefully we can keep this going.”

Fortunes were mixed for the rest of the field. Timmy’s teammate Kevin Hansen has been flying all weekend, taking heat wins and generally making his presence felt at the sharp end of the grid. Unfortunately, it all came to an end in his semi-final. At the exit of the first corner, Grönholm ran a little wide, allowing Hansen into a gap. There was a little rubbing of door panels between the two cars and Hansen’s Peugeot 208 RX1e came off worse, spinning into the barrier and breaking his rear suspension, putting him out of the race. Meanwhile, the third KMS driver, superstar teenager Gustav Bergström was denied any chance of success when a late arrival at pre-grid ruled him out of his progression race.

Last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix marked Monza‘s one hundredth anniversary, and Pirelli‘s one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary, making the race a very special occasion. Max Verstappen crossed the line to take his eleventh victory of the season, and would receive a special trophy to mark the anniversaries of the legendary circuit and the exclusive tyre provider of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Marco Tronchetti Provera, CEO of Pirelli, described the event as a “celebration of Italian automotive technology and know-how” :

“We are proud to play a prominent part in this celebration of Italian automotive technology and know-how at our home grand prix, on the occasion of Monza’s centenary and Pirelli’s 150 years,” said the Italian.

“As well as also producing motorsport tyres at the cutting edge of technology for nearly 250 championships worldwide, we sustain culture and support the arts through Pirelli HangarBicocca in particular, so Pirelli wanted to mark this occasion with a unique trophy that has a direct relevance to the pinnacle of world motorsport.

“Many thanks to Patrick Tuttofuoco and Pirelli HangarBicocca for making it happen through an iconic artwork that perfectly links past and present.”

McLaren F1 Team announced Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey as an official partner this week, stating that the brand will feature on the nose of the team’s 2023 car, race suits and pit crew helmets. 

McLaren and Jack Daniel’s plan to host media and hospitality events and develop a retail programme. A special-edition bottle of whiskey featuring McLaren branding will be released to select markets in 2023 as part of the campaign. 

McLaren Team Principal Zak Brown looks forward to the partnership, and is excited to involve the brand in next year’s celebrations as McLaren turns sixty. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Jack Daniel’s to the McLaren F1 Team. Together we will look to reach new audiences as well as hosting a variety of events together. 2023 is an important year for McLaren as we commemorate our 60th birthday, and we are excited to celebrate with an iconic brand like Jack Daniel’s by our side.”

Jack Daniel’s aims to increase brand recognition on an international scale with the partnership, with the goal of reaching new consumers around the world.