Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

After having two weeks to let the disappointment of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix pass, Scuderia Ferrari are ready to bounce back at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, where Charles Leclerc will be looking to extend his championship lead.

With Carlos Sainz Jr retiring on the first-lap and Leclerc spinning out of a podium position, it was not the return home that Ferrari would’ve been expecting. This weekend represents a whole-new challenge though, at the brand-new Miami International Autodrome. With it being a new circuit there is plenty of unknowns ahead of the Grand Prix, meaning that being as prepared as possible is crucial to a successful weekend.

For drivers the best way of learning a new track ahead of the Grand Prix is in the simulator. Ferrari’s Head of Driving Simulator, Enrico Sampo, explained how the simulator helps drivers prepare for a Grand Prix.

“The driving simulator is a key element in preparing for a race. The work starts several weeks before an event, looking at the previous year’s race if possible. Then, a test driver undertakes several sessions to get an understanding of tyre behaviour, to predict car balance, to check the behaviour of special components and lastly, to test different set-up options.

“A few days before the event, the race drivers and their group of engineers tackle a session on the simulator to provide their input to the preparation and car set-up. With a new circuit like Miami, Charles and Carlos will also use the simulator to learn the track and to go through the various race weekend procedures.”

As was expected after the second practice session, Toyota Gazoo Racing locked out the top two positions on the timing board for final practice of the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The LMP2s were still in the mix with the other Hypercar entries, but Toyota disappeared into a class of their own.

A second split the two Toyotas from the rest of the field, but it was Kamui Kobayashi who had the edge on Brendon Hartley with a 2:03.225. The pair both broke into the 2m03s lap times for the first time this weekend and are the only two to have done so. Hartley was two tenths off, but importantly eight tenths clear for third-placed Prema ORLEN Team. The next closest Hypercar to the Toyota pair was fourth-placed Alpine Elf Matmut, 1.5s off the pace. A resurgent WRT from free practice two capped off the top five, only three thousandths of a second off the Alpine.

An incident for Pipo Derani in the #708 Glickenhaus Racing saw him spin off into the gravel trap at Stavelot and bring out the only full course yellow of the session. He had to be lifted off the track and taken back to the pits, losing the team some track time in the last 60 minutes of practice. However, there seemed to not be too much if any damage to the Glickenhaus as, no sooner was it back into the pits, it was back out on track. It could do no better than 15th overall, 2.3s off the pace set by Kobayashi.

Prema had just over half a second advantage on the closest LMP2 car, but the fight between WRT and United Autosports in sixth was less than a tenth. Team Penske also stayed in the fight for the top half of LMP2, taking seventh on the overall timing board, fourth in class. They were outpaced by the #38 JOTA in the hands of Will Stevens. Pro/Am fastest once again was the AF Corse crew, finishing ninth in the overall standings ahead of the #10 Vector Sport that, after having a difficult start to the weekend, is starting to find more pace.

Michael Christensen was the man to beat in GTE Pro, leading the sister car across the line for a one-two lock out at the front of the class. The #92 Porsche GT Team has led every practice session of the weekend in class, placing it as a favourite for qualifying later this afternoon. Once again, the pattern that has been emerging from the practice sessions saw the sister Porsche around four tenths off the class leader, but in a tight battle with the AF Corse Ferraris.

Keeping up the trend from the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps yesterday, it was an LMP2 on top of the timing board at the end of Free Practice 2, keeping the Hypercars at bay by 0.021s. Team Penske were the ones to beat, with Glickenhaus Racing once again leading the top category.

The session started with the seeming return of the status quo: Toyota Gazoo Racing on top and setting the pace ahead of the Alpine Elf Team and Glickenhaus entries, but it wasn’t long until the LMP2s were back on top. Felipe Nasr set the fastest lap of the session with a 2:04.443 clearing the then-leading Toyota #8 by two tenths of a second. This was the advantage Team Penske would hold onto over the Toyota with only the Glickenhaus in the hands of Olivier Pla splitting the pair with a lap two thousandths of a second slower than the LMP2.

United Autosports featured in the top of the timing screen again as Oliver Jarvis set a 2:04.821 to go fourth fastest overall, the fastest of the two United Autosports entries. Their competitors from yesterday, 2021 champions WRT, were down in 16th overall, 2.2 seconds off the pace set by Team Penske. The reason for this loss of pace is unknown, but if it continues into final practice the team will have a challenge on their hands for qualifying.

Prema ORLEN Team were fifth overall, as the second Toyota finished four tenths off the sister car in sixth. The second United Autosports followed them for seventh, with the JOTA pair and final Hypercar – Alpine – rounding off the top ten. Being the best placed Pro/Am LMP2 and showing strong pace again was the AF Corse LMP2 car, taking 11th overall, just over a second off Nasr’s pace.

Kevin Estre led the way in GTE Pro once again, but the Ferrari entries that had been assumed to struggle this weekend because of Balance of Performance weightings split the German manufacturer’s two entries. Estre’s 2:14.366 looked to be in a class of its own, six tenths up on the chasing Pro pack, but second through fourth were split by two tenths of a second. With both the AF Corse’s outpacing the Corvette Racing by at least half a second, the Italian outfit does look to be in a bit more contention that had previously been expected.

All female-championship W Series have announced they will partner up with ESPN for the coverage of all qualifying and race sessions. W Series has its longest race calendar for its third season, with 10 races across eight supported Formula One Grand Prix weekends. ESPN, Inc. is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment brand, airing Formula One races in the USA since 2018.

ESPN will broadcast live W Series coverage across all of its channels: ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPNEWS. The first race of the championship’s 2022 season kicks off this weekend, 6-8 May 2022, with the Series’ first double-header at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida.

The 2022 season will host two double-headers, the first being in Miami and the second at the end of the season in Mexico City at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Last season saw reigning champion Jamie Chadwick take the crown in front of a record 400,000 supporters at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, USA.

 W Series’ Chief Executive Officer Catherine Bond Muir explained, “W Series is building great momentum in the USA following the incredible finish to last season at COTA where our women drivers showcased their skills in front of a record crowd. As a result of that, we will stage three races in the USA this year, starting with a double-header in Miami this weekend.”

“W Series Miami presented by Hard Rock will be the biggest event we’ve ever staged, and I am delighted that ESPN – with its reputation as the leader in sports broadcasting in the US, and who has done such a good job of promoting motorsport, and particularly Formula 1, in North America – will broadcast live coverage of all W Series races this year. I hope that the USA will become our largest market, and ESPN is a great step towards making that happen by helping us reach new audiences”.

The GB3 Championship rolls into Silverstone for the first of two visits this weekend (7/8 May), after a thrilling opening weekend at Oulton Park in April.

The Checkered Flag looks ahead to the Tatuus MSV-022‘s first competitive running at the home of the British Grand Prix.

Last time at Silverstone

Like this year, GB3 made two visits to Silverstone in 2021.

Reece Ushijima took his first wins in the Championship in the first two races, with Ayrton Simmons making the best of a damaged chassis to win Race 3.

The drivers returned to the Northamptonshire circuit in August, and Simmons continued his positive form to win Race 1 and 2.

All eyes were on the LMP2 class during the first practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, as they locked out the top four on the timing board with a seventh of a second advantage on the Hypercars.

Setting an impressive time of 2:05.475 in his second lap of the session, Robin Frijns put the class reigning champions – WRT – into the top spot, a position that it would not lose during the 90 minutes of track time. Opening pace suggests that we’re looking at another WRT versus United Autosports for the race on Saturday as the three cars dictated the pace for the rest of the field. The Realtime by WRT wasn’t in the top four fight as it had been during the 1,000 Miles of Sebring, and had to settle for seventh.

The top three were covered by four tenths of a second, but there were only 0.06s splitting the #22 United Autosports from Frijns’ pace-setting time so the advantage was marginal for the WRT. Track conditions are due to stay similar to today tomorrow, which could give WRT the edge in qualifying.

Fourth went to the #38 JOTA which, setting a time only half a second slower than the WRT, suffered an issues at the end of the session and came to a stop at the exit of La Source. Antonio Felix Da Costa managed to get the car moving again and back to the pits, bringing out the only Full Course Yellow of the session. The only other disruption came at the very beginning where the FIA’s systems failed, postponing the start by 15 minutes.

Finishing just behind the fastest Toyota Gazoo Racing entry, the Algarve Pro Racing finished ninth overall as the fastest Pro/Am LMP2.

Frédéric Vasseur, the Team Principal of Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, says the team are going into the Miami Grand Prix weekend full of confidence after a strong start to their 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Valtteri Bottas has scored points in three of the opening four weekends to sit eighth in the Drivers’ Championship standings, while Zhou Guanyu has shown a lot of promise in the first races of his rookie season, although he only has a solitary point to his name to show for it.

Despite the impressive start, Vasseur says it is important Alfa Romeo do not take their foot off the gas, and he knows a minor swing in performance in any direction can see them fighting at the front or back of the midfield battle.

“We approach this race in a strong position and with a confident mood: we showed in Imola, where we fought for the highest positions, that our form from the beginning of the season was not a fluke,” said Vasseur

“We are actually improving with every round, and we are in a situation in which we can reap the rewards of our work, but we cannot get carried away. The whole field is still very compressed and a minor swing in performance, be it track-related or due to upgrades, can mean the balance can shift significantly.

Valtteri Bottas is eager to continue his strong early season form this weekend in the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, with the Finn having scored points in every race he has finished so far in 2022.

Bottas currently has twenty-four points to his name from the opening four race weekends, and it should have been even more having retired late in the day from a top six placing in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. 

His most recent result saw him finishing fifth in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with Bottas shadowing his replacement in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, George Russell, right to the chequered flag.

The Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN driver is excited to race in the United States again this weekend, with the Miami International Autodrome hosting its first race, and he is eager to break into the top ten once more.

“I am really excited about racing in Miami,” said Bottas. “I just spent some days in the US, visiting friends and cycling with my partner, and I’ve really enjoyed the atmosphere: I am sure the race in Florida will be an incredible show as America has got us used to.

Max Verstappen says everyone is excited about racing in Miami for the first time this weekend, and he is expecting a crazy weekend in the state of Florida.

The Miami Grand Prix makes its FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar debut this weekend at the Miami International Autodrome, and the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver arrives in the first of two races in the United States in 2022 having taken his second victory of the year last time out in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who sits second to Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship heading into this weekend, has done as much preparation for the newest event on the schedule as he can, and he is pleased Formula 1 appears to be getting more popular than ever in the United States.

“I think this weekend is going to be pretty crazy!” said Verstappen.  “I’m looking forward to racing in Miami, I’ve driven the track on the simulator and we’ve practiced and prepared as much as we can without visiting the track in real life.

“I love racing in Austin so it’s fun that we get to go to another state and race this year. It’s exciting to see Formula 1 getting much bigger in the US, F1 and the teams are working hard to promote the sport in the US and we’re having more and more races here, so step by step we are making it more popular.

William Byron‘s break-out over the last two seasons have earned him a three-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports. The deal keeps him in the #24 Chevrolet through the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Now in his fifth season of Cup competition, Byron is enjoying a solid 2022 campaign with wins at Atlanta and Martinsville and sixth-place standing in the championship. Eleven races into 2022, he is one of just two drivers with multiple wins alongside Ross Chastain.

Byron also won in a Camping World Truck Series one-off at Martinsville the night before his Cup victory there.

“I’m so thankful to continue racing for Mr. (Rick) Hendrick, Jeff (Gordon, vice chairman) and Hendrick Motorsports,” said Byron. “Since I joined the organisation, they’ve supported my growth process every step of the way, including my path to the Cup Series. With the great people around me, I’m excited to continue pursuing race wins and playoff success. Together we’ve built a #24 team that I know will contend for championships. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season and my years to come with Hendrick Motorsports.”

A member of the Hendrick family since 2016, he won the Xfinity Series championship as a rookie a year later.

Since 2015, NASCAR‘s annual trip to Darlington Raceway has become a time to honour the past with paint schemes resembling historic cars. All three national series—Cup, Xfinity, Camping World Truck—are on hand for the occasion.

As usual, the majority of the throwback liveries are modelled after past cars. Generally, drivers opt to pay tribute to those who formerly drove for their team or with their number, such as Hendrick Motorsports‘ William Byron having his #24 painted like Hendrick Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon‘s #24 DuPont (predecessor to Byron’s sponsor Axalta) car from 2007. Gordon, one of NASCAR’s household names, is a popular choice for throwbacks this year as all three series features at least one Gordon throwback: while Byron fills the Cup slot, Ryan Vargas does so for Xfinity by emulating Gordon’s Pepsi car from his brief foray into Xfinity Series team ownership, while Lawless Alan‘s truck is a tribute to Gordon’s 2007 Department of Defense one-off scheme.

A sponsorship angle also applies in cases like Kurt Busch‘s McDonald’s machine resembling when the fast food chain sponsored Bill Elliott in 1996, while Elliott’s son Chase has his NAPA Auto Parts car designed after Jimmy Means‘ 1993 NAPA car. Kyle Busch, who is in his final season with funding from Mars, Incorporated, has a throwback based on M&M’s first foray into Cup sponsorship with Ernie Irvan in 1998. Xfinity driver Patrick Emerling, a Whelen Modified Tour veteran, went as far as to acquire sponsorship from the late Richie Evans‘ supporter B.R. Dewitt for his Evans Modified throwback.

Some tributes have no connection of any kind beyond a driver being a favourite of a Darlington competitor in their youth or having an attractive paint scheme. For example, Carson Hocevar‘s #42 Premier Security Chevrolet truck is painted to resemble Travis Pastrana‘s 2012 Boost Mobile-sponsored #99 Xfinity Toyota. The livery even includes the hidden #1 in front of the number, a “loophole” that Pastrana included to continue using his trademark #199 despite NASCAR only allowing double-digit numbers. Corey LaJoie‘s #7 also employs the three-number approach as a tribute to Marty Robbins‘ #777 by having the last two sevens much smaller than the first, enough of a difference to follow NASCAR rules.

Others go for a personal route like Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, and Brandon Brown driving cars based on vehicles from their early careers, while Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell‘s throwbacks are respectively to their 2016 Daytona 500 and 2017 Truck Series championships. Keeping it in the family, Harrison Burton and his cousin Jeb are honouring their fathers Jeff and Ward‘s racing careers.

Lucas Luhr is known for his exploits in sports car racing. He is a two-time class winner in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and twice Nürburgring 24 Hours champion, and also has extensive experience in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and won the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2011. For 2022, he will make the switch to stock cars for the first time as he enters the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving the #58 Chevrolet Camaro for Racingfuel Motorsport in EuroNASCAR PRO.

In the sports car world, Luhr has primarily raced in GT cars with titles in FIA GT and GT1, as well as GT class wins at Daytona, Le Mans, Nürburgring, Sebring, Spa, and Petit Le Mans; he is a five-time GT winner at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Luhr also has six championships in the American Le Mans Series, with two in GT while the others were in Prototypes.

Luhr has also competed in other disciplines like touring cars, where he ran the full 2007 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and finished seventeenth in points for Team Rosberg. In 2013, he did an open-wheel one-off in the IndyCar Series at Sonoma.

“I’m really looking forward to joining the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and providing my support to build and develop the Racingfuel Motorsport team,” Luhr stated.

Racingfuel has contracted Christoph Lenz to drive the #58 in EuroNASCAR 2, while Roger Mettler will compete for EuroNASCAR 2 Rookie and Legend Trophy honours in the #94.

Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting will not take part in this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps after Bovy has tested positive for Covid-19.

The all-female crew of the #85 Ferrari-powered Iron Danes team had a great start to the season, coming across the line as the highest placed Am Ferrari, fifth in class, in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring. The trio of Bovy, Gatting and Rahel Frey had been looking to continue building on the strong start but sadly two thirds of the team have had to be replaced after a last minute positive Covid test.

Only Bovy tested positive, but due to being in close proximity over the past few days Gatting will too be sitting the Belgian race out. Impressively, the Iron Danes team has done a superb job at finding not only two replacement drivers, but two female replacement drivers at very short notice.

“We can confirm that following a COVID test earlier today, as part of our internal safety protocol, Sarah Bovy has tested positive and will not be racing this weekend at Spa.” The team statement posted on social media read. “Michelle Gatting won’t be racing either due to being in close proximity to Sarah over the last few days.

“The health of our team is our main priority and neither driver has been in contact with any other team members.

Attendants at the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend will be among the first few to experience the new Raidillon / Eau Rogue grandstand that officially opened yesterday.

Work on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps began at the end of 2021 as the circuit sought Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme accreditation so bike racing could return. Due to run off areas being too small and certain corners (Speaker’s Corner to name one), the Belgian circuit has not been deemed safe enough for bike racing, with the last world championship race taking part in 1990. There was one final bike race in 2001 – the 24 Heures de Liège as part of the Endurance World Championship – but bikes, which were the first vehicle to race on the renowned 4.352 miles circuit, have not touched the tarmac since.

As part of the renovations to get FIM certification, a new grandstand with the capacity to hold 4,600 spectators has been permanently installed at the top of the Raidillon / Eau Rouge. The new seating area allows views of cars coming out of La Source and the ability to follow them all the way through Raidillon and Eau Rouge before disappearing down the Kemmel Straight. This will be a highly-sought after seat for the Formula One race in August, but this weekend spectators of the WEC event can get a first look of views from the grandstand.

The instalment of the grandstand has, however, seen the iconic white chalet that sat a-top of the corner complex demolished to make way for the new seating area. This will come as a disappointment to some fans.

To the tune of €25 million, the renovations have added 13,000 extra seats as well as increased the safety of the circuit in response to some horror crashes the track has seen in the past (specifically in the Eau Rogue area). The completion of the project comes just in time for the circuit to celebrate its centurion active racing season.

The Ferrari-running GTE entries are expecting another difficult race at the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps after they have received no Balance of Performance (BoP) change off the back of the 1,000 Miles of Sebring.

At the opening race of the season, the Ferrari GTEs were noticeably down on power with the Pro entries struggling to outpace the fastest Ams. The class-winning Am entry, Northwest Aston Martin Racing, split the two AF Corse in the final overall clarification. It had been hoped Ferrari would be handed a BoP break for the 6 Hours of Spa, but due to the automated system needing two races to process data, the first change will be seen at the 6 Hours of Monza (as the 24 Hours of Le Mans has its own BoP system).

No one from the team was available to talk on the lack of BoP changes and anything that can be done to compensate the lack of pace, but it is summised the Ferrari runners will lose 1.2s per lap on their GTE competitors. The rain would be the only variant that may help Ferrari with the pace of their competitors being reduced, but predicted rain fall may also be an Achilles heel for the Italian outfit as that will alter the maximum outputs allowed (in the Hypercar class, a wet track reduces top speeds by around 50mph).

With first practice in just under an hour’s time, it will be seen if indeed Ferrari’s predictions are correct and they’re in for another difficult race, or if the pace is not as bad as they first assumed. The indications coming from the team, however, is it’ll be a hard fight to get a Ferrari up on either GTE podium.