Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Raphaël Lessard‘s NASCAR Xfinity Series début is off the table. On Tuesday, he revealed that SQR Development will not race in 2022, citing personal problems surrounding team owner J.C. Stout. He joined the newly formed team’s #87 Toyota GR Supra with plans to run ten to twelve races beginning this Saturday at Richmond Raceway.

Stout, a former start-and-park driver in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series, founded SQR in December. The team purchased a chassis from Joe Gibbs Racing before signing Lessard a month later.

Speaking to French Canadian newspaper Le Journal de Québec, Lessard explained he had not heard back from Stout regarding his planned Richmond start. He called the owner on Saturday, to which he was told personal matters will prevent the team from seeing the track. Such issues were not specified by either party.

“Hey everyone! Due to a unfortunate personal matter SQR Development Racing’s owner JC Stout will have to cancel his plans for racing in the Xfinity Series this season,” reads a statement from Lessard’s Facebook. “Mr. Stout wishes the best for driver Raphael Lessard in the other driving opportunities he has ahead of him and appreciates all of Raphael’s fans support over the last couple of months! On my side I’m ready to take on my busy season that is starting very soon”.

The unusual nature of the situation, which included Stout previously proclaiming his intent to run for governor of New York, prompted those like Le Journal de Québec to suggest Lessard had been duped. Lessard conceded to the paper that he was “not really convinced of the seriousness of this company when I was approached,” but that he joined the team as he was running out of opportunities to stay in NASCAR. Although he won a Truck race with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2020, he lost his ride after just one season; a full-time slate with GMS Racing for 2021 only lasted seven races before funding ran out and forced him to the sidelines yet again.

BWT Alpine F1 Team’s campaign at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix resulted in a sixth place finish for Esteban Ocon and an unfortunate retirement for Fernando Alonso, keeping them from achieving a double-points finish at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

“We don’t know what happened yet but we’ll investigate the issue tonight. We did lose a chunk of points today, but it’s good to see the car performing well tonight and all weekend. I think we deserved sixth place today and we were having a good race, so it’s bad luck we couldn’t get to the end,” Fernando Alonso said. 

A main talking point from the Grand Prix was the entertaining battle between the Alpine teammates in the beginning stages of the race. Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer did not step in to stop the teammates from racing, allowing for some of the most memorable on-track action during the race. 

“The battle with Esteban on track was fair, we always respect one another out there. We had some close fights in Bahrain too and always try to do the best for the team.

“I was a little bit faster during the race and so I made the overtake and I had to watch out for Bottas as well. We could have scored double points tonight, but we are still fourth in the championship and we go again in Australia,” Alonso said.

Andreas Seidl admitted McLaren F1 Team’s target in Saudi Arabia was to score points with both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, and he feels they would have achieved their target had the latter not been forced into retirement with a mechanical issue.

Norris scored McLaren’s first points of 2022 by climbing from eleventh on the grid to finish seventh, while Ricciardo was on course to break into the top ten as well despite starting fourteenth.  However, a problem, possibly with his clutch, exiting the final turn on lap thirty-five saw him ground to a halt.

However, after the disappointment of their no-score in Bahrain, Seidl was pleased with how McLaren bounced back at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, and he praised everyone within the team, and those within their engine suppliers Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, for their efforts.

“P7 today. Six points. We’ll take that,” said Seidl.  “Starting P11 and P14, our target was to stay in the race, make good strategic decisions and get back into the top 10 with Lando and Daniel, who did a great job all weekend of maximising the package we have at the moment.

“The entire team worked very hard to achieve that. Thanks to everyone at the track, back in the factory, and our colleagues at Mercedes HPP, for a huge effort this week. P7 was a good result for Lando, and the reward everyone deserved.

Lando Norris was pleased to bring home the first points of the season for the McLaren F1 Team in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, although he was disappointed to see team-mate Daniel Ricciardo retire when on course to bring home points for the other car as well.

After qualifying outside the top ten, Norris was happy to move up the order during the evening at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, and he was involved in a late race battle with BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon over sixth, which unfortunately he came out second best in.

Norris was pleased to see the MCL36 had more pace in Saudi Arabia than they were able to show in the Bahrain Grand Prix just seven days earlier, and there was some satisfaction to score points for the first time in 2022.

“I think we can be satisfied with P7 and some decent points, that was the aim for today,” said Norris. “We would have loved to have got P6, and maybe it was possible, but we’re still happy with P7.

“It’s a real shame about Daniel because we could have had two cars in the points today, which would have been a very satisfying day.

Toto Wolff reckons the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix result for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team highlighted just where the team are at this point of the season as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and tenth respectively.

Mercedes went into the race after a less than impressive performance in Bahrain, and it was equally difficult as both Scuderia Ferrari and Oracle Red Bull Racing more than had the beating of them at the Jeddah Cornice Circuit, with Russell half a minute back on race winner Max Verstappen and Hamilton over seventy seconds behind in the last of the points paying positions.

Wolff, the Team Principal at Mercedes, says the results in Saudi Arabia mean the team have a lot of work to do to play catch up to the leading two teams, both in Qualifying and in the races.

“Today’s race was the reflection of where we currently stand,” said Wolff.  “The performance gaps seemed to be similar in qualifying and the race, and clearly there is a lot of work for us to do in order to get into the fight at the front.”

Wolff was pleased with the way Russell performed in Jeddah, feeling the Briton got the maximum out of his W13, while he bemoaned the timing of the virtual safety car and the closing of the pit lane late in the day that prevented Hamilton from finishing higher up the field than he achieved.

The iconic Brumos livery will be returning to competition on a Porsche at the 2022 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in June.

David Donohue will be behind the wheel of a Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport which will be adorned with the famous Brumos 59 red, white, and blue livery, marking the return of the brand to competition for the first time since 2013.

“Racing for Brumos has been a highlight of my career that I look back on with pride,” said Donohue. “I feel humbled to play a role in bringing back the number 59 to such a special race and its milestone running.”

Donohue’s return with Brumos writes another chapter in their history together. Pikes Peak will be his one-hundred and twentieth race driving for the team, in a career that includes a win at the 24 hours of Daytona in 2009, adding to Brumos previous three victorie in 1973, 1975, and 1978.

Following the retirement of Brumos in 2013, the Jacksonville-based dealership was sold in 2016, giving way to the Brumos Collection, which opened in 2020 to the public. The collection is a a 35,000 sq. ft. interactive experience which “pays homage to to history and significance of automotive innovation, from open-wheel Indy racers to celebrating Brumos and Porsche dominance.”

Ahead of today’s test action at Donington Park, Ollie Jackson and Sam Osborne found their way through the fog to unveil their 2022 BTCC liveries under the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan banner.

After ditching the black and green of last year, the liveries hark back similarly to the old Motorbase colours of red, white and black with Apec jumping on board alongside Beavis Morgan who have long been a main sponsor of multiple race-winner Jackson.

“Having a brand as highly regarded as Apec onboard demonstrates the pull factor that BTCC has this season,” said Team Owner and Team Principal Pete Osborne. “This is just the start of what we hope will be a fruitful partnership and we can’t wait to see how the car looks when it hits the track.”

“Our strategy this year is to solidify our position as market leaders in quality, service and support,” added Jamie Hall, Commercial Director of Apec Braking. “Sponsoring Motorbase in the British Touring Car Championship marks a milestone in this journey, increasing brand recognition at consumer level and further lead generation.”

After Jade Edwards was announced to return to BTC Racing for the 2022 season, Josh Cook will also rejoin the Steve Dudman ran squad to attempt to win the Drivers’ Championship for the first time.

Cook as usual impressed throughout last year scoring five race wins and seven fastest laps finishing third overall in the highest finishing position to date and will head into a fourth season with the same team with stability potentially the key in the new Hybrid era.

“I am really pleased to be back with BTC Racing for what will be my fourth season with the team,” said Cook. “Steve Dudman has been instrumental in making this happen, so I’m hugely grateful for our continued partnership. Last year was our best to date and I can’t wait to keep the momentum going into 2022.”

While similarly Team Owner Steve Dudman and new Managing Director, Danny Buxton share the same enthusiasm about the return of their star driver.

“Josh has been an integral part of BTC Racing’s development these past three years,” confirmed Dudman. “With his skill, knowledge and race craft, he makes such a strong contribution to the whole team, and he has the grit and determination to be the next Champion. We’re aiming for him to be a title contender from day one.”

Nitro Rallycross has revealed its ten event calendar for the 2022-2023 season where the series crosses the pond to find itself in a number of different countries ranging from the ice and snow country of Sweden all the way down to the deserts of Saudi Arabia. While the series first season was exclusively in the United States, it was announced in 2021 that the following season would travel abroad to compete on a global scale. NRX is also doubling its event count from the five it held in its inaugural season to the ten it holds now with the majority of its events featured outside the US.

The historic Lydden Hill launches the series into action for the first round of racing as the British track holds a special place in rallycross history being one of the very first proper rallycross tracks in Europe. The track has also been host to other British national series since it was last seen on a major series schedule such as FIA World Rallycross. From there the series heads to Sweden, Finland, Saudi Arabia, and Canada for its international rounds where the series will take on new styles of track layouts ranging from stadiums, street circuits, and ice and snow for a diversified challenge this year. The US will maintain four rounds in which two, Pheonix and Minneapolis will make a return to the schedule for the upcoming season.

When speaking about the introduction of international circuits on the schedule, series creator Travis Pastrana said, “I’m so excited to see Nitro Rallycross expand into a full worldwide series. This is the action-packed, no-limits racing that teams, drivers, and fans have been looking for, and going global has been our goal from the beginning. We also have the fantastic opportunity to get things started at historic Lydden Hill, an iconic track that is the birthplace of rallycross and home to some of its biggest moments. We are going back to the beginning and making the changes we think are needed to take the sport to the next level.”

From new locations to new tracks, the series will also be joined by a new car, the FC1-X as it will make its official racing debut this season. The 800kW all-electric car will be featured in its own Group E class this year driven by the biggest drivers and teams but also with much interest from outsider drivers as the newly branded A-SHOC Energy #GONITRO car returns for any motorsport superstars willing to give it a go. The FC1-X will also be joined by its older brethren as the traditional petrol-powered Supercars and NRX NEXT class return to competition offering three different types of racing to be seen on the circuit this season. Each series stop will also include additional special disciplines offering fans even more wide-open action.

European Rallycross Champion, Andreas Bakkerud had some input to offer as well stating, “The FC1-X blew my mind straight out the box, not only from a performance point of view but also with its toughness given the amount of laps we could do on a frozen lake up north in Sweden. The car itself is very promising to drive, with loads of power – just like us rallycross drivers like it. It’s going be a blast going head to head with this new car and to see which team can first find that little detail in performance gain for the first few races.”

Ahead of today’s Hybrid Test at Donington Park, ROKiT MB Motorsport have unveiled their striking WSR-run BMW 330e M Sport in the flesh for the first time which will be piloted by title challenger, Jake Hill for the 2022 season.

It is a sixth full campaign for Hill who gets better and better as the years go by and he will enter a new era with Team BMW while still working with Mark Blundell and MB Motorsport who have represented a solid partnership in recent years seeing him seal nine podiums and finish fifth in the Drivers’ Championship last year.

“I’m so excited to finally show off our car for this year,” said Hill. “A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes and it’s great to reveal it to the world ahead of its first public outing on track tomorrow. We’re less than a month from the season opener at Donington Park and it can’t come soon enough!”

“After a busy winter of preparation, I’m delighted to present our 2022 challenger,” added Mark Blundell, ROKiT MB Motorsport Sporting Director. “A heartfelt thanks to all our valued partners for their continued support and to Dick [Bennetts] and all the team at WSR who have prepared the car excellently. I’ve no doubt that with Jake behind the wheel, it will be as fast as it looks!”

The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series‘ dirt races at Bristol Motor Speedway and Knoxville Raceway will once again have a married couple in the field. On Monday, Halmar Friesen Racing announced Jessica Friesen will return to the #62 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for the two events, joining her husband and full-timer Stewart Friesen who is in the #52.

Married since 2014, the Friesens frequently race against each other on dirt whenever Stewart is not in NASCAR and the two are not overseeing their t-shirt business. While Stewart is primarily a dirt modified racer, Jessica mainly competes in sprint cars and has experience in World of Outlaws and the All Star Circuit of Champions.

Jessica attempted to make her Truck début at the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race in 2021, but never had a chance to qualify as the heat races to set the starting grid were rained out. She finally got her shot at Knoxville, where she finished twenty-sixth. Consequently, Knoxville became the first NASCAR national series race to feature a husband and wife in the same race since former Truck Series competition director Elton Swyer and Patty Moise competed together in the Xfinity Series in the 1990s.

“I’m pumped to get another shot with the truck on the dirt,” said Friesen. “I am beyond grateful to Halmar International and Chris Larsen for believing in Stewart and I, in this team, and in our family. I’ve watched Chris (Larsen, HFR co-owner), Stewart, and Trip (Bruce, crew chief) work very hard the past few years to build Halmar Friesen Racing into a top NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. We have an amazing group at HFR, and the performance in 2022 is showing it. To get the opportunity to compete at this level is a racer’s dream, and I get to do it again with my husband as my team-mate and with our son by our sides.”

The #62 was introduced in 2021 for Jessica’s dirt starts, but is seeing further use for 2022 as two-time Truck Series champion Todd Bodine is driving it for six races in his quest to reach 800 career national series starts. Bodine finished twenty-first at Las Vegas in his first and only start for the team so far, with his next run scheduled for Darlington on 6 May.

DGM Racing began the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season as a triumvirate of full-time cars in the #36, #91, and #92 Chevrolet Camaros. However, the team announced Monday that it will become just a duo as the #92 reduces its schedule to just a part-time entry.

All three cars are being filled by multiple drivers, and the #92 began the season with Kyle Weatherman behind the wheel for the first five races. In his last start of the slate, Weatherman scored his second career top ten by finishing eighth at Atlanta. Ross Chastain took over the car last Saturday at Circuit of the Americas, where he ran up front for much of the day before finishing seventeenth. Despite not being a weekly driver for the team, Weatherman remained involved as a crew member.

Although the #91 also scored a top ten at Atlanta when Mason Massey finished sixth while Alex Labbé can upgrade to a full season in the #36 with sufficient funding, the team elected to axe the #92 in order to place more emphasis on the other two cars. Labbé, Weatherman, and Preston Pardus who drove the #91 at COTA will not have their responsibilities change despite the news. The team also fielded the #90 for Labbé at Daytona, where he failed to qualify.

“DGM Racing has made the difficult decision to condense our operations from three entries to two full time entries and a part time third entry,” reads a statement from the team. “This move allows us to strategically allocate our resources to be most competitive.

“Mason Massey, Alex Labbe, Kyle Weatherman, and Preston Pardus will still remain part of our 2022 driver lineup with this change. We continue to support Weatherman in his search to secure partners for the remainder of the season.”

It only required a mad scramble on the final lap that resulted in plenty of contact and anger, but Ross Chastain can finally call himself a NASCAR Cup Series race winner. A wild run to the finish between him, A.J. Allmendinger, and Alex Bowman ended with all three drivers bumping each other and Allmendinger eventually spinning while Chastain held on to win for the first time in the premier series and on a road course.

Chastain started sixteenth while Ryan Blaney was on the pole. Daniel Suárez, Chastain’s partner at Trackhouse Racing Team, qualified second and dominated the opening stage en route to the win. Blaney, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top ten.

Despite Suárez’s day getting off to a strong start, power steering problems began to plague his #99 car as the stage came to an end. He eventually fell off the pace as his power steering was eliminated, forcing him to fight the car to what would eventually be a twenty-fourth. With Suárez out of the picture, Cindric dominated Stage #2 before pitting which cycled Denny Hamlin into the lead and eventual stage victory. Kyle Busch, Logano, Blaney, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Burton, Chastain, Cindric, and Bubba Wallace followed.

While the first two stages ran caution-free, the incidents necessitating yellow flags ramped up in the final segment with six cautions being called. Combined with a lack of local cautions in NASCAR, the first five were all for debris or single-car stalls or spins too close to the rest of the racing. The sixth and largest came on the penultimate scheduled lap when Logano, Kurt Busch, and Kyle Larson made contact and went into the gravel and wall outside turn one.

In overtime, Saturday’s Xfinity Series winner Allmendinger battled with Chastain and Tyler Reddick. Chastain held the advantage through the first lap while Allmendinger and Bowman gave chase before catching him in the final sector. Allmendinger made his move in turn fifteen and pushed Chastain wide, and Bowman joined the fight with a dive along the inside line two corners later. Allmendinger and Chastain made up the ground before the latter pushed the other into Bowman, causing Allmendinger to spin. As Bowman ran wide to avoid further collision with the spinning Allmendinger, Chastain remained inside and held the lead for the final two straights to score his and Trackhouse’s maiden victories.

Former World Karting Champion Hugo Ellis will join the grid for the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup GB series with the Joe Tandy Racing team, along with backing from NAPA Racing UK.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a successful karting career, including winning the 2016 IAME International Final and briefly moved in to single seater racing in Formula Ford before taking a break away from racing to concentrate on his education and business opportunities.

“I can’t wait to get started in Porsche Carrera Cup GB, the car looks, sounds and drives just awesome! ” said Ellis. “JTR have been great so far, with both Nicks, Tandy and Madge, plus all their great crew, I’m sure we have everything in place to make the most of my opportunity.

“Plus having NAPA Racing UK involved with the team and myself is just the icing on the cake, I hope to do them Proud.”

Nick Tandy, Team Principal of JTR is excited to bring the NAPA Racing brand to the Carrera Cup, “To help bring an iconic brand into British racing is something fantastic for us at JTR.” said Tandy. “I’ve long since followed the exploits of NAPA Racing in the US and its always associated with success.

Richardson Racing has announced a new title partnership with Comline Auto Parts (Comline) for the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup GB season.

The new deal will see the Corby-based team rebranded to Comline Richardson Racing this year as the team enter their third year in the series with Will Martin and Jack Bartholomew.

Martin enters the season as a title contender after finishing the last two seasons championships in the top five, while Bartholomew moves up from the Porsche Sprint Challenge.

Gwyn Richardson, Comline Richardson Racing team principal, was happy to welcome the new partnership, “We’re thrilled to confirm that Comline Auto Parts will be our new title partner for 2022, and to join forces with such an established automotive brand is fantastic for us as a team as we continue to develop.

“This partnership is a reflection of the huge steps forward we have taken in recent years, and one that I believe will be a huge success both on and off track during the season ahead.