Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Guenther Steiner reckons the Haas F1 Team would have been a top ten contender in the Australian Grand Prix had they found the pace in Saturday’s Qualifying session at Albert Park.

Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen started fifteenth and sixteenth for the third round of the season and both were embroiled in the midfield battle for much of the afternoon in Australia, but ultimately, they came up short in thirteenth and fourteenth at the chequered flag.

Schumacher was twice lucky not to crash out after getting close to being hit by the out-of-control Scuderia Ferrari of Carlos Sainz Jr. at the fast chicane on the second lap, before almost hitting the back of Yuki Tsunoda later in the day behind the safety car as the pack backed up ahead of him.

Magnussen also had a run-in with Tsunoda as he was forced to take avoiding action at the same chicane Sainz went off at, but unlike the Spaniard, the Dane was able to avoid the gravel trap and keep going, although he fell behind his team-mate in the incident.

Steiner, the Team Principal at Haas, believes the team were out of luck on Sunday due to the timing of the safety car, but despite having a strong car and the drivers performing well, they fell just short of the points.

The first round of the 2022 Intelligent Money British GT Championship has started as it means to go on, with thrilling racing at every turn and the qualifying sessions were no exception! The first of the GT4 sessions saw both Ams and Silvers taking to the track, setting the grid for the first race in the Bank Holiday Weekend bonanza.

Steller Motorsport took pole in the first qualifying session, with Richard Williams on driving duties for the #42 Audi R8 LMS GT4 very nearly setting a new lap record, but not quite. That honour instead went to Darren Turner of Newbridge Motorsport, who in the second GT4 qualifying session pipped Sennan Fielding to the pole with Steller Motorsport having to settle for second place on the grid.

GT4 Am/Silver 1:

Whilst the headline news is the Audi taking the double pole for Race One following Shaun Balfe‘s exceptional drive in the GT3 Audi R8 LMS EVO II GT3 Am qualifying session, it wasn’t quite so assured for Richard Williams, as initially there was a three way battle for pole and he was not a contender.

Topping the table from the start of the session was Jack Brown in the Century Motorsport #90 BMW M4 GT4 who was in close competition with both Tom Edgar in the #48 Toyota Gazoo Racing UK Toyota GR Supra GT4 and Benji Hetherington; team owner/driver of the #51 Valluga Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS – one of several teams making their British GT debut this year.

Once Williams had warmed up however he put in a flying lap that was a clear half second quicker than his competitors, coming in at 1:42.395 – a time he would then better by another 0.003s, but no-one was matching him. Hetherington did his best to catch the Steller Audi, however his fastest time, gaining him the other spot on the front row was 0.653s slower than the pole sitter.

Qualifying for the opening rounds of the 2022 Intelligent Money British GT Championship season saw 17 of the 18 GT3 machines take to the track at Oulton Park to put in their best lap. Shaun Balfe for the eponymous Balfe Motorsport took pole position for race 1 on his return to the championship after a year out racing in Europe.

Richard Neary of Team ABBA Racing put in a strong performance in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 to claim the top spot in GT3 Silver/Am, second on the grid overall with a well mixed melange of Pro/Am and Silver/Am competitors seeded throughout their wake.

It was GT3 Pro Qualifying where the excitement really built as a succession of Silver, Gold and Platinum drivers did their best to defeat the circuit qualifying lap record. Adam Carroll did it first but it was series debutant Jules Gounon who obliterated the lap record to claim the top spot for race 2 on Easter Monday.

In GT3 Pro qualifying it was more as we would expect with a solid block of six Pro/Am cars at the top of the table. The fastest Silver driver was Jamie Caroline, newly promoted from GT4 and showing promise for RAM Racing’s second car in seventh overall.

GT3 Am:

John Ferguson led the field out for GT3 Am qualifying and was expected to do well with a new tyre and a circuit which favours the big and grunty V8 Mercedes-AMG over more refined equipment. The RAM Racing driver was straight away quick and put in a provisional pole time but couldn’t keep hold of it for long.

Mick Schumacher had an eventful first Australian Grand Prix last Sunday, but the German’s search for a first top ten finish continues after ending the day thirteenth.

Schumacher was lucky to avoid a second lap retirement after coming close to being hit by the out-of-control Carlos Sainz Jr. at the fast chicane at the back of the circuit, while he also was close to hitting the back of Yuki Tsunoda’s Scuderia AlphaTauri while behind the safety car later in the race.

He felt the pace of his VF-22 was not far off what was needed to be a top ten contender, but ultimately the speed was not there when he needed it to be, and he was left outside the points when it mattered.

“It was a very eventful one,” said Schumacher. “Right from the beginning with Carlos coming around and cutting back across the track, I think we got missed by a few meters there, and obviously Yuki under the safety car coming quite close together.

“I think in terms of pace we were not too far off, it’s just unfortunate that there’s not a huge amount of passing opportunities here. Lots was learned, some positives, so we’ve just got to take it away with us and hopefully be better in Imola.”

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is the second team to join Nitro Rallycross‘ fledgling Group E division for the upcoming 2022/23 season. On Thursday, the team announced a continued partnership with Joel Christoffersson‘s JC Raceteknik to field four FC1-X cars in Group E. Drivers were not immediately revealed.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Joel Christoffersson and his entire team for our FC1-X programme moving forward,” said DRR owner Dennis Reinbold. “Joel and his team are a perfect fit for our organisation and goals within Nitro Rallycross, as we share the same vision, goals and objectives for our team and our growth within this new era of global Nitro Rallycross competition. We partnered with Joel and his organisation in 2021, and have continued through the offseason and have hit the ground running.”

DRR stands out from other Nitro RX teams in that it also competes in the NTT IndyCar Series. The former full-time IndyCar operation currently has two IndyCar entries that intend to enter May’s Indianapolis 500 in Santino Ferrucci and Sage Karam. With the exception of a 2015 stint with Chip Ganassi Racing and a pair of 2019 starts for Carlin, all of Karam’s IndyCar career has been with DRR since his début in 2014.

Karam’s involvement with DRR further extends to the rallycross arm, where he spent the 2019 Americas Rallycross and 2021 Nitro RX seasons in their developmental tiers. He enjoyed tremendous success in both as he never finished lower than second in five ARX2 races and won five of nine Nitro RX NEXT races en route to a runner-up championship placement.

2021 saw DRR field season-long NEXT cars for Karam and Lane Vacala, the latter of whom finished fifth in points. Simon Olofsson and John Holtger ran two rounds apiece for the team while Connor Martell had four. Olofsson and Vacala were previously team-mates in RallyX Nordic.

The Long Beach street circuit is one of the most prestigious tracks on the NTT IndyCar Series calendar, and played host to a fantastic race that saw Josef Newgarden hold off Romain Grosjean and Alex Palou for his second consecutive win of the season.

For five members of this rookie class, this was their first Grand Prix of Long Beach. It proved to be difficult for many, as half of the class did not finish the race while only one finished in the top fifteen. What issues plagued the young stars? Who managed to shine bright? We’re going to break it all down in this week’s IndyCar Series Rookie Report.

KYLE KIRKWOOD – A.J. FOYT ENTERPRISES

QUALIFYING: TWELFTH – RACE: TENTH (+2)

Kirkwood once again showed his talent this weekend, and was the only rookie to finish inside the top fifteen. This was the best finish of his young career so far, and his first career top-ten finish in the NTT IndyCar Series.

What’s most impressive about Kirkwood’s weekend is his consistency. In both practice sessions as well as the race, Kirkwood finished in tenth place. The only blemish being his twelfth-place qualifying performance, which wasn’t much of a blemish at all. Kirkwood became the first rookie to reach the second round of qualifying, beating out race-winning talent in Graham Rahal and Rinus Veekay in the first round of qualifying to advance.

The Florida native was elated after the race, and shared how proud he was of the team’s work despite difficulties overtaking.

Roberto Faria took his 11th podium in the GB3 Championship in Race 1 at Oulton Park on Saturday afternoon, his first with Carlin.

The Sauber Academy prospect held off debutant, British F4 champion Matthew Rees for much of the race, before the JHR Developments driver’s challenge faded.

The Checkered Flag spoke to Faria after the race.

“Rees was a bit faster with used tyres. We had the pace in quali but then it dropped a bit,” he said.

“In the middle of the race he started to drop as well, probably because [the Tatuus MSV-022 has] more downforce this year, so he was probably more heavy and the tyres were overheating.

Mike Krack admitted the Australian Grand Prix was a frustrating one for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team as they failed to score a top ten finish for a third consecutive race.

Lance Stroll ended the day twelfth after a hard tyre gamble almost paid off, but a returning Sebastian Vettel ended his day in the barriers at turn four to end a weekend to forget for the four-time World Champion.

Vettel’s weekend started with a mechanical issue in first practice that prevented him from participating in the second session, while both he and Stroll crashed out in final practice before both were eliminated in Q1 in Saturday afternoon’s Qualifying session.

Krack, the Team Principal at Aston Martin, said the team just did not have the pace to fight for a top ten finish across a weekend where everything seemed to go against the Silverstone-based squad.

“We had a frustrating end to a weekend to forget,” said Krack.  “Sebastian had an accident on the exit of Turn Four, and was taken to the Medical Centre for precautionary checks, but I am glad to say he is OK.

Luke Browning dominated the first race of the weekend, and the 2022 GB3 Championship at Oulton Park to win by ten seconds.

The Checkered Flag spoke to the Hitech GP driver after the podium presentations.

“We’ve put a lot of hard work in behind the scenes, tremendous hard work, honestly,” he said.

“The guys have been working so hard over winter, a lot of preparation in testing and I think it’s paid off.”

Browning, from just 15 minutes up the road in Kingsley, enjoyed plenty of local support throughout Saturday, after setting the fastest times in pre-event testing and taking pole for Races 1 and 2 on Saturday morning.

Lance Stroll felt the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team did not have the pace to score points in the Australian Grand Prix, even though the Canadian did his best to sneak into the top ten late in the race.

Stroll ran as high as ninth but fell down the order in the closing laps to end twelfth, while also taking a five-second time penalty for weaving down the main straight whilst defending from Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s Valtteri Bottas, although that didn’t affect his finishing position.

He was thankful to his team for fixing his car ahead of Qualifying after crashing in final practice, and he hopes they can unlock some pace from the AMR22 ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix so they can bring themselves off the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship standings.

“We did not quite have the pace for points today, although we were able to defend a position inside the top 10 for a while late on,” said Stroll.  “I think we had the right idea with our strategy by running the majority of the race on the Hard tyre, but we will look over the data and see what else we can learn.

“The five-second penalty was frustrating, even though it did not change our final race position. I caught Valtteri [Bottas] after the Virtual Safety Car and made up a place so it was frustrating to receive a penalty for weaving.

Luke Browning dominated the first race of the 2022 GB3 Championship at Oulton Park from pole on Saturday afternoon.

Tom Lebbon received a five-place grid penalty after qualifying for impeding Zak Taylor, while Joel Granfors received the same punishment for a collision with Branden Oxley, dropping from second to seventh.

Lebbon’s travails continued immediately as he got a slow start which scrambled the yellow flags on the start line, but worse was to come.

Callum Voisin and Javier Sagrera made contact exiting the Shell Oils hairpin, Sagrera seeming to squeeze his Carlin team-mate towards the grass and breaking his own suspension in the process.

Voisin, with front wing damage and possible bent suspension, then clipped Alex Connor at the Hislop’s chicane later in the lap, pitting for a new front wing at the first opportunity.

The updated lean, mean, half green Mercedes machine of Team Abba Racing is officially back with a vengeance for the first British GT round of 2022 this weekend, as father/son duo Richard and Sam Neary take the fastest lap of Free Practice Two by just 0.004s. In GT4 the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK (run by Speedworks Motorsport) of Tom Edgar and Jack Mitchell dominated by taking an early lead in the session which it held throughout the entire hour, with a tenth to spare ahead of the second quickest entry from Valluga Racing.

GT3: Mercedes account for three of the top six entries.

Team Abba Racing took the top spot in the GT3 rankings with around a third of the session to go leaping just ahead of the Balfe Motorsport new for 2022 Audi R8 LMS Evo II GT3 #22 of Shaun Balfe and Adam Carroll. If the pace shown by this car when it leapt to the top of the table halfway through the session is anything to go by then we’re certainly in for a great challenge from this effort this season, as the fastest Pro-Am entry in the session.

Third quickest in this session was the RAM Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 #6 of Jules Gounon and Ian Loggie. Finishing second in the last practice session, we’ve got early consistency coming from this pair, and Gounon is already showing the pace for which he’s known elsewhere in Sportscar racing here in the British GT paddock. The Lamborghini Huracan GT4 Evo #72 of returning driver pairing for this season for Barwell Motorsport of Adam Balon and Sandy Mitchell was fourth quickest, just under four tenths of a second behind the pace setters, giving a great show of what this capable pair are setting out to achieve in qualifying this afternoon.

Fifth quickest overall saw the highest ranking McLaren 720S GT3 entry in the session, courtesy of Team Rocket RJN who have graduated their #2 car to the top flight for this season. James Kell who also graduates from GT4 with the team is paired with super-sub Graham Davidson for this weekend as usual teammate Simon Watts is unfortunately on the sidelines having tested positive for Covid. The 2 Seas Motorsport #4 Mercedes of James Cottingham and Lewis Williamson took sixth quickest, with the unmissably retro-themed red and yellow livery completing the triad of the Mercedes club sandwich of the session.

GT4: Toyota Gazoo Racing UK pips Valluga Racing Porsche to top spot

Having shown some impressive pace in the previous practice session, the newly numbered #48 of Toyota Gazoo Racing UK has shown this morning what this car is capable of having had time over previous seasons to develop. With a new driver pairing this year of Tom Edgar and Jack Mitchell, the Silver entry took an early lead in the session which they held onto for the entire hour.

Alex Connor makes his return to the GB3 Championship at Oulton Park this weekend, but engine issues meant he was unable to show his true pace in qualifying on Saturday morning.

He starts the first race of the season in 20th, owing to a single, unrepresentative lap time set on a hot morning in Cheshire.

The Checkered Flag spoke to the Arden Motorsport driver ahead of Race 1.

“I did one somewhat fast lap [in qualifying] and I don’t think I met the 102 per cent [threshold] I need to be on reverse-grid pole, which is a bit annoying but it is what it is,” he said.

“The guys have done a great job so far changing the engine and hopefully I’ll be out for Race 1.

Luke Browning took pole for the first GB3 Championship race of the season at Oulton Park on Saturday, with his second-fastest time also putting him at the front for Race 2.

The Carlin trio of Callum Voisin, Roberto Faria and Javier Sagrera completed the first representative laps, before Zak Taylor and Browning showed their hands.

McKenzy Cresswell moved towards the top before Browning fired in a 1:29.570 to go almost four seconds clear of the pack, who began to move towards the pace they showed in midweek testing.

Faria and Joel Granfors shot up the order after a few minutes, while Nick Gilkes also improved.

Only 14 of the 21 drivers had set a time in the first three minutes of the session, the lower order setting unrepresentative lap times initially before moving closer to the leaders.

The RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of GT4 graduates John Furguson and Jamie Caroline has topped the first official session of the 2022 Intelligent Money British GT Championship season. The duo, who stepped up from the Speedworks Motorsport run Toyota Gazoo Racing UK Toyota GT Supra GT4 this year, struck hard and struck early to set the fastest time on just the seventh lap of the one hour session.

In GT4 it was series debutants R Racing who made the running, again with an early effort from Jamie Day who took the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 to the top of the class before handing over to team mate Josh Miller for the bulk of the session.

GT3: RAM Racing 1-2 with new GT3 drivers to the fore.

The two RAM Racing Mercedes had a great start to their British GT Championship year, winning the bragging rights in their respective classes in opening practice ahead of the opening round at Oulton Park. Topping the time sheets was the #15 Mercedes-AMG of Furguson and Caroline, thanks to an early effort from the latter as the crew made their GT3 Silver/Am debut. Jamie’s 1:33.129 outpaced the best offering from team mate and newly minted Mercedes-AMG factory driver Jules Gounon who makes his series debut alongside Ian Loggie in the #6 machine, by a small but respectable margin of 0.176 seconds.

The #6 machine claimed the top spot in GT3 Pro/Am.

Marcus Clutton‘s early offering in the Enduro Motorsport run McLaren 720S GT3 he shares with Morgan Tillbrook was enough to secure third place ahead of the Porsche 911 991.2 GT3-R of Nick Jones and pro driver Scott Malvern. The former British F3 racer set the fastest for the Team Parker Racing run machine. Both cars are entered into GT3 Pro/Am, as are the #4 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes and the #72 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini.