Indholdsfortegnelse for 17/09/20 i Autosport

Mugello proved a hit with the Formula 1 drivers last weekend and it was certainly nice to see a new (European) track on the schedule. It was surprisingly quick too – Lewis Hamilton averaged just over 156mph on his pole lap, quite something when you take a look at all the corners on the track map (see page 24). Everyone likes an unpredictable race – as the previous week’s Italian GP showed – but things got a little bit too chaotic during the Tuscan Grand Prix. The use of gravel traps and lack of asphalt runoff meant that cars got stuck. That’s fine in terms of drivers being punished for their mistakes, but it has two downsides for fans. The first is fewer cars to watch after an incident because…

WEC The Renault-owned Alpine marque will return to its spiritual home at the top of the sportscar racing tree as well as competing in Formula 1 next year. The make that won the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours will enter next year’s World Endurance Championship with the ORECA-Gibson LMP1 design currently racing as the Rebellion R-13. The French manufacturer and Signatech, its partner in LMP2 since 2013, will exploit what Alpine sales and competition director Regis Fricotte described as a “one-shot opportunity” to race the car next year. WEC rules will give existing P1 machinery a single year’s grace to compete against the new breed of Le Mans Hypercars that come on stream in 2021. No commitment has been made on continuing in the top division of the WEC beyond…

MACAU GRAND PRIX The Macau Grand Prix will not take place as we know it in 2020. Instead, it will most likely be contested by cars and teams from the Chinese Formula 4 Championship, bringing to an end an unbroken run of 37 years as the blue riband of Formula 3. The 2020 running has become the latest victim of the COVID-19 crisis, and the Macanese government’s very strict reaction that has resulted in just 46 cases of the virus, and none at all in recent months. A 14-day quarantine stipulation for anyone entering Macau has made it too difficult for teams from the new-for-2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship, or for Macau to revert to the old philosophy of F3 cars and run the race for the Dallara 320 machines…

LE MANS 24 HOURS The stop-start saga of the Ginetta G60 may well have reached its conclusion after the factory team withdrew last Friday from this week’s Le Mans 24 Hours. The works Team LNT operation has scratched the Ginetta-AER G60-LT-P1 entered at Le Mans for Guy Smith, Chris Dyson and Mike Simpson, citing an increase in COVID-19 infections in France. LNT Group chief executive Matt Lowe said: “New COVID cases in France are at their highest level since the start of the pandemic, and with the latest quarantine rules in place when returning, as a factory-based team, this will in effect mean a minimum four-week closure of the Ginetta manufacturing facility, with a knock-on effect on our core UK championships.” LNT boss Lawrence Tomlinson has already said that the…

For nine laps, it looked as though Ferrari might have something mighty to celebrate in the Tuscan Grand Prix – which it was celebrating as its 1000th world championship race. Once the real race had finally got under way after the first-lap pile-up and safety-car-restart nonsense, Lewis Hamilton led Valtteri Bottas, with Charles Leclerc following in third. Leclerc, in the maligned Ferrari SF1000, in third on lap nine… He had hauled his car to stunning surprise podiums at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, but on both occasions he had needed something unexpected to get him onto the podium. For those glorious laps, the burgundy-coloured car held off the advances of Lance Stroll’s Racing Point, with Leclerc running behind the dominant Mercedes machines. If the narrow Mugello track could keep…

Formula 1 was only racing at Mugello because of the freak nature of 2020 and the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This MotoGP paradise had hosted testing back in 2012 and is owned by Ferrari, which secured the inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix when F1 was redrawing this year’s calendar, and it opted to celebrate its 1000th world championship race (after massaging of entry definitions) at the track. Mugello is tricky for the drivers and engineers, and it is vicious, ready to punish the slightest mistake with its close gravel traps and narrow, high-speed nature. Only Monza and Silverstone have faster average laps. Intrigue was high as to what kind of race this would produce. In the end, F1 got a freak event. “It was like three races in one…

FIA FORMULA 2 MUGELLO (ITA) 12-13 SEPTEMBER ROUND 9/12 The FIA Formula 2 feature race at Mugello offered the perfect preview of the chaos that would engulf the Tuscan Grand Prix the following day. Nikita Mazepin emerged victorious from 14th on the grid to take his second Saturday win of the season in a dramatic contest. But it was bad luck for Renault F1 junior Christian Lundgaard, who had earned his maiden pole and was set for a first feature race win until two late safety car periods ended his race-long advantage. The first safety car was required to recover the HWA Racelab machine of Giuliano Alesi, and which took a painfully long time to recover. This pause gave a sizeable boost to those drivers who’d gone for the alternative…

GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE SPRINT CUP MAGNY-COURS (FRA) 12-13 SEPTEMBER ROUND 2/4 Not since 2011 had the GT World Challenge Europe visited Magny-Cours in the series’ former guise as the Blancpain Endurance Series. Therefore, there was a fair number of unknowns as the Sprint Cup resumed last weekend. Nevertheless, the formbook seemed familiar as the Haupt Racing Team Mercedes combination of Luca Stolz and Maro Engel proved the best of the field across the weekend, taking a victory and third place to close in on the points lead. The pair claimed pole position for Saturday’s night affair and duly drove a perfect race on their way to a first win of the season. Stolz started and, although he was chased by the Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini of Mikael Grenier, the…

MOTOGP MISANO (ITA) 13 SEPTEMBER ROUND 6/14 Motorsport isn’t exactly a famed breeding ground for cool-headed individuals – not least at world championship level. Franco Morbidelli bucks that trend, however, in that he’s able to kick back off track, but is a force on it. Morbidelli’s career is something of a triumph-over-adversity story. Plucked from obscurity in the European Superstock 600 series – which used to support World Superbikes – at the end of 2013, he moved into Moto2 full-time in 2014. Valentino Rossi then took Morbidelli under his wing in his VR46 Academy. Morbidelli became the first VR46-backed rider to win a world title when he bagged the 2017 Moto2 crown. In 2018, he was also the first to make it to MotoGP. A tough Honda bike in Marc…

BRITISH GT Warren Hughes will return to British GT for the first time since 2014 at Donington Park this weekend when he partners Jan Klingelnberg in a Balfe Motorsport McLaren 570S GT4. Hughes, the 2012 GT4 champion, has coached Swiss driver Klingelnberg in the Pure McLaren GT Series and partnered him in the recent GT Cup round at Silverstone. Their McLaren will bolster the 10-car GT4 field for the three-hour race, joining the sister Balfe McLaren of Mia Flewitt and Euan Hankey, which is the only GT4 Pro-Am entry. “It’s great to be taking that next step into a known environment,” said Hughes, who last raced in British GT in a Trackspeed-run Porsche before switching to a Triple Eight BMW Z4 for the final two rounds of 2014. “The appeal…

NEW COVID-19 GUIDELINES Motorsport UK has released new guidelines due to the increasing threat of COVID-19. From this weekend, all race meetings will only be allowed a maximum of six marshals on each post, and all event participants will be required to wear a face mask in all areas of the venue at all times. It also adds that it has “removed the provision for individual personal exemptions from wearing a face mask”, and these people will not now be allowed to attend events. DOOLEY’S ALFAS IN ACTION Three cars raced by Jon Dooley – who died earlier this month – raced in the Classic Alfa Challenge at the Historic Racing Drivers Club’s Lydden Hill event on Sunday. Chris Snowdon drove Richard Melvin’s Gp2 Napolina Alfetta GTV to second in…

Driving standards are a hot topic in Formula 1 after the Tuscan Grand Prix. It is pretty rare to have a multi-car pile-up in the championship in recent times, so to have two in one race, along with two red flags and 12 drivers being given a warning for their involvement in one of the shunts, is virtually unprecedented. But it is not just at the highest level of the sport where standards have been called into question lately; the same has also been true in national motorsport in the past few weeks. Take the 3 September issue of Autosport. In the club news pages, we ran two stories about poor driving and the national opinion piece discussed penalties for former BRDC British F3 points leader Kaylen Frederick and Piers…

SILVERSTONE BRSCC 12-13 SEPTEMBER Luke Herbert demonstrated why he’s been crowned Mazda MX-5 Supercup champion for the past three years as he once again proved unbeatable at Silverstone. From lights-out in race one, James Cossins and 2014 champion Abbie Eaton joined Herbert in a three-car break, but only a lap later it was one long train of cars, before Herbert and Eaton tried to escape again. But, after the duel for third between Cossins and Samuel Smith broke up, Smith began to close on the lead duo and towed Patrick Fletcher along too. Suddenly all four were together and entered Brooklands as one on lap 10 of 13. Herbert and Eaton retained their places after red flags flew, while Smith finally got the better of Fletcher for third, as Colin…

DONINGTON PARK MSVR 12-13 SEPTEMBER Marcus Clutton’s domination of the Radical Challenge continued at Donington Park as he claimed a clean sweep of victories across the weekend’s three races. Clutton lost the lead at the start of the first race to Shane Stoney, but swiftly reclaimed the position before an early safety-car period after second-row starter John Macleod lost out in a three-wide battle at Hollywood, ending up in the barriers. Clutton built a six-second advantage following the restart and controlled the gap until the finish. Stoney dropped three places to fifth following his mandatory pitstop before recovering to third, one second behind Jason Rishover. Stoney took second in race two, keeping Clutton honest for most of the encounter before a late red flag, and Stoney again provided the closest…

OULTON PARK BARC 12 SEPTEMBER After double-headers at Croft and Brands Hatch, the Britcar Endurance Championship came to Oulton Park with 18 cars for a one-day, single-race event. After qualifying on a track that was still damp in places, the Praga-Renault R1T of Danny Harrison/Jem Hepworth secured pole position with the SB Race Engineering Ferrari 488 Challenge of Paul Bailey/Andy Schulz alongside for the rolling start. But it was young Jack Fabby in the other VR Motorsport Praga R1T who burst through from the second row as the cars raced towards Old Hall for the first time, immediately opening a significant lead for a couple of laps until the safety car was called to enable the Taranis-Chevrolet to be extricated from the gravel. Fabby carried on where he left off…

BRANDS HATCH MSVR 12 SEPTEMBER Jonathan Browne continued his impressive recent form at Brands Hatch with two further Champion of Brands victories to follow up his success from the British GT support round and maintain his unbeaten run in the series in 2020. Last year’s Formula Ford Festival winner was never headed in either race in his Ray GR18 but, in typical Formula Ford style, he was never given time to relax in a double-header event that boasted a healthy grid of over 20 starters. Rory Smith provided Browne with his toughest opposition throughout the weekend in his Medina Sport JL18, but was unable to make a decisive pass. Behind the top two, Browne’s Low Dempsey team-mate Bryce Aron (Ray GR18) came out on top in two close battles with…

It wasn’t quite as surprising as Pierre Gasly’s recent Italian Grand Prix victory, but there was plenty of drama at Monza 25 years ago this week. Poleman David Coulthard kicked things off by throwing his Williams off the road on the warm-up lap of the 1995 Italian GP. The Scot got a second chance when a multi-car accident at Ascari on the opening lap brought out the red flags, and he led the race when it finally got under way again. Coulthard looked confident up front until wheelbearing failure put him out, allowing Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari into the lead. The home team got another boost when Damon Hill’s Williams hit the back of Michael Schumacher’s Benetton as they battled over second, allowing Jean Alesi’s Ferrari into second. Somewhat dramatically, F1…

If it’s hard to make accurate predictions about Rebellion Racing’s chances this weekend, there is pretty much one certainty based on the evidence on the past two Le Mans 24 Hours — the two Toyotas are going to be scrapping it out for the duration. That was the case in both editions of the French enduro encompassed by the 2018-19 World Endurance Championship superseason, and all the races in between. That hasn’t been the case this season courtesy of the system of success handicaps designed to close up the championship battle between the Toyotas and the privateers. The prospect of a proper fight between the pair of TS050s is something the drivers of the two Japanese cars are relishing after a season in which, according to Sebastien Buemi (right), “it…

10 2004 MONZA 1000KM Le Mans Endurance Series A stunning opportunist manoeuvre decided an amazing race between the two Veloqx Audis in the inaugural Le Mans Endurance Series race at Monza in May 2004. The difference between the two factory-backed R8s over the course of the four-hour race was Johnny Herbert’s overtaking move on the grass on the exit of the Ascari Chicane. Herbert, who co-drove his R8 with Jamie Davies, was chasing Pierre Kaffer, in the car started by Allan McNish, through the third hour. The Brit knew he was quicker, but was concerned about finding an opportunity to make it past an identical car (the evenly matched Audis were rarely separated by much more than 20 seconds). He saw that chance coming when he spied a Ferrari GT1 car…

5 LUCAS LUHR Luhr is a driver who somehow missed out on overall victories in the sportscar blue ribands. He was, however, a multiple race winner over a prolonged period of P1’s history aboard a variety of machinery. That explains his place here. The straight-talking German was at his best in the ALMS with Audi and then the Muscle Milk/Pickett Racing squad with first a Lola-Aston Martin and then an HPD. He ended up as a three-time champion – once with the Audi factory and twice with Muscle Milk – and took no fewer than 24 overall victories. 4 NICOLAS MINASSIAN The British-based Frenchman was the fastest driver on Peugeot’s books for much of its five-year LMP1 adventure. That’s not, however, counting a single qualifying lap at Le Mans when three-time polesitter…

The tear gas hanging over the streets of Paris at the back end of May 1968 was a foretaste of what was to come at the Le Mans 24 Hours that year. Rain, mist and fog swirled around the Circuit de la Sarthe for much of a race that was pushed back to September as a result of civil unrest in France at the beginning of the summer. An autumn date for the French enduro, the first and only until this year, resulted in one of the wettest editions of the race on record. It began raining shortly before the 3pm start – an hour earlier the traditional 4pm kick-off – and didn’t stop until some time after dawn. And sunrise on the last Sunday of September was only shortly…

FORMULA 1 Formula 1’s worst-kept secret was made official last Thursday morning ahead of the Tuscan Grand Prix – Sebastian Vettel is joining Aston Martin for 2021. And it was an even worse-kept secret since Sergio Perez, the man Vettel will replace, had announced the previous evening that he will be leaving the team currently named Racing Point at the end of this season. Vettel therefore moves from Ferrari, where he has become surplus to requirements since Charles Leclerc showed sensational form in his maiden season with the squad in 2019, to a team that feels it needs him and where he will partner Lance Stroll, the son of Racing Point/Aston F1 squad owner Lawrence Stroll. “It’s a new adventure for me with a truly legendary car company,” Vettel said…

FORMULA 1 New Formula 1 entrants must pay rival teams a total of $200million as part of a prize-money ‘dilution fund’ if they want to join the grid from 2021. As part of the arrangements that all teams have signed off with the new Concorde Agreement, special efforts have been made to ensure that the revenues of current entrants are protected. With a much fairer distribution of commercial rights income, there were concerns that new operations could end up diluting the revenues of more established teams by simply turning up and not contributing to the championship’s success. One of the consequences for the current teams would then be that the prize money fund could be split between 11 or 12 teams rather than the current 10. So in a bid…

INDYCAR SERIES Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is planning a move to IndyCar for 2021 and 2022 with Chip Ganassi Racing on the series’ road and street circuits. Johnson has signed an agreement with the team to “officially explore the possibility” of the programme. The 45-year-old grew up with fellow Californian and Indycar legend Rick Mears as his hero, and drove a McLaren Formula 1 car as part of a ride swap with Fernando Alonso at the end of 2018. Johnson was due to pilot an Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet IndyCar at Barber Motorsports Park in a test in April this year, before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A test was then scheduled with the Honda-powered Ganassi team, only for Johnson to test positive for coronavirus…

IMSA SPORTSCAR Points will be awarded for qualifying in next year’s IMSA SportsCar Championship as part of a major rejig of the series’ scoring system. The pole winner in each of the North American championship’s classes will be awarded 35 points, with 32 for second place and 30 for third. The system mirrors IMSA’s current scoring rules for the races, with points theoretically available down to 30th position in class. An increase in race points by a factor of 10 for next season will go hand in hand with the new development. That means race winners will be awarded 350 points down to 10 points for 30th in class. All drivers nominated for a car will gain the qualifying points. Each manufacturer’s highest-qualifying car will earn points towards their championship.…

Formula 1 drivers are superheroes. They always have been, and always will be, pushing themselves and their cars to the limit week after week. But it is often forgotten that F1 drivers are also still human beings. They face emotions and challenges like the rest of us, yet do so amid the pressures of one of the most exclusive and competitive sporting series in the world. As mental health has become more of a talking point for society as a whole in recent years, its place within racing is also coming more and more into the spotlight. F1 has tended to operate where the requirements of competing at the pinnacle of motorsport mean that if you’re not up to the job, you’ll be replaced. The stigma surrounding mental health means…

In the Italian Grand Prix, there was joy for Pierre Gasly and despair for Lewis Hamilton – relatively speaking in the world champion’s case. But in the next Formula 1 session that mattered, qualifying for the Tuscan GP, their fortunes reversed. In the case of Monza winner Gasly, he had finished FP3 in fifth place, just 0.696 seconds slower than Valtteri Bottas’s session-topping time. But in Q1, his pace disappeared and he was dumped out in 16th – his worst qualifying result of 2020 so far. The AlphaTauri is capable of making Q3, as Gasly has proved time and again, but it’s still a fight to do so. A Q1 exit, however, doesn’t reflect the car’s pace, with Daniil Kvyat taking 12th in the other AT01. “Today we missed [Q2]…

The restart crash that led to the first red flag was the most contentious issue of the race, with those at the rear of the field blaming the leaders, and the podium finishers saying the chaos came as a result of the safety car’s lights going off too late. Leader Valtteri Bottas was cleared of wrongdoing by the stewards. He had used the late location of the control line – at the start lights – to delay his getaway in a bid to reduce the effect of the tow to the cars behind as he proceeded towards San Donato. Further back in the pack, several drivers left big gaps that they accelerated into, and then had to brake when they realised the leaders were not yet racing. The resulting clashes…

Max Verstappen missed out on one of his best chances to take on the Mercedes duo after a troubled start. Intrigue about Verstappen’s potential at Mugello was high as he’d shown a strong turn of pace in qualifying. But, like in Hungary, there was a flurry of action around the Dutchman’s Red Bull ahead of the start – a bid to fix his rear lights, due to a small software issue. That was fixed but, after a good initial getaway brought Verstappen tantalisingly side by side with the slow-starting Lewis Hamilton, he soon had no power and fell down the order, bringing him into the cut-and-thrust of the midfield. Then, as Pierre Gasly got sandwiched between Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean into Turn 2, Raikkonen ended up clattering into the…

Two well-established star names in IndyCar racing enjoyed redemption at Mid-Ohio last weekend. The first was Will Power, who scored his first win of a season that had hitherto been beset – almost as we’ve come to expect – by pitcrew errors, tactical miscues, misfortune regarding the timing of full-course cautions, and yes, a couple of his own mistakes too. On Saturday, Power scored the 60th pole position of his career – he’s now just seven away from Mario Andretti’s all-time record – and simply left his opposition behind to score his 38th victory. Perhaps most significantly, it was his first ever at Mid-Ohio, a place where he’s now started from pole five times but where he had previously encountered various tales of woe. In true Power boom-and-bust fashion, the…

FIA FORMULA 3 MUGELLO (ITA) 12-13 SEPTEMBER ROUND 9/9 Six drivers entered the final round of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 season at Mugello with a mathematical chance of taking the championship, but it was Renault F1 junior Oscar Piastri who walked away with the title despite scoring just four points. Piastri headed into the finale with an eight-point advantage over his Prema Racing team-mate Logan Sargeant, and 24 over ART Grand Prix’s Theo Pourchaire. The outside title hopes of Pourchaire were boosted by the knowledge that both Piastri and Sargeant would have grid penalties. Piastri’s starting disadvantage was amplified on Friday when he could only manage 11th in qualifying – 16th on the grid – while Sargeant was second fastest, and fifth on the grid after his drop was…

DTM NURBURGRING (DEU) 12-13 SEPTEMBER ROUND 5/9 Nico Muller showed exemplary form as the DTM returned to the Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit for the first time since 2004. The Abt Audi driver would have likely bagged a perfect score of 56 points had he not been robbed of victory in the second race by technical gremlins. After setting the fastest lap in second practice on Friday afternoon, Muller lowered his own benchmark to take pole position for the first race on Saturday, comfortably outqualifying his title rivals Robin Frijns and Rene Rast. The Swiss driver then maintained his advantage in the 31-lap contest, pulling away cleanly and stopping for fresh tyres early on to rule out any chance of being undercut by his rivals. From there, the championship leader slowly…

SUPER GT MOTEGI (JPN) 13 SEPTEMBER ROUND 4/8 Real Racing Honda drivers Bertrand Baguette and Koudai Tsukakoshi grabbed the Super GT championship lead at Motegi with their second win in the past three races. The duo overcame their 48kg weight handicap and survived two safety car restarts on their way to a victory that puts them two points clear of the opposition at the halfway point of the season. Cerumo Toyota pair Yuji Tachikawa and Hiroaki Ishiura bagged pole position in the mixed conditions of qualifying but, come the race, Tachikawa couldn’t shake off Baguette and fell victim to the Belgian on the eighth lap of 63 at the Turn 10 hairpin. Baguette led until pitting on lap 25 and handing over his Honda to Tsukakoshi, who was never seriously…

RACE OF REMEMBRANCE The end-of-season Race of Remembrance at Anglesey has become the latest event to be cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The popular fixture takes place on the Remembrance Sunday weekend and, as well as featuring an endurance race, a poignant memorial service also takes place. The event was due to run on the 6-8 November weekend this year, but organiser Mission Motorsport – a charity that aims to aid the recovery and rehabilitation of service veterans through motorsport – has decided in light of rising coronavirus cases and uncertainty surrounding events in Wales that it is best to cancel this year’s edition and instead focus on next year. A statement from the organisers read: “With heavy hearts, Race of Remembrance will be postponed this year.…

CLASSIC SPORTS CAR CLUB The Classic Sports Car Club will return to Castle Combe for the first time since 2017 in October to replace the Le Mans Bugatti circuit races, which have been cancelled due to COVID-19. An international event, in addition to an annual Spa visit, has been a mainstay of CSCC calendars in recent years, but both have been lost in 2020 to the pandemic. The club approached Castle Combe sales and marketing director Tom Davis, and a one-day meeting on 24 October has been agreed. Grids will run for the Swinging Sixties, Classic K, Tin Tops and Turbo Tin Tops, Magnificent Sevens, Future and Modern Classics plus Open Series and – subject to championship agreement – the Jaguar Saloon and GTs. CSCC director David Smitheram said: “Castle…

Tony Ellis was fortunate to walk away from the wreckage of his Gemini Elva after this spectacular crash at Oulton Park last weekend. The dramatic incident occurred heading over Dentons crest and down into Cascades on the second lap of the CNC Heads Sports and Saloons Championship race. Ellis, who had qualified his Class B car in seventh for the opening race, was able to extract himself from the destroyed vehicle after the violent impact damaged the barrier and ripped the front suspension from the Elva.…

SCOTTISH MOTOR RACING CLUB The Scottish Motor Racing Club finally kicked off its 2020 season at Knockhill last weekend, with eight races taking place as part of the new half-day format. Just three meetings will be held this season following the outbreak of COVID-19, but the racing on track easily made up for the lack of action over the past five months. An impressive grid of 21 cars turned out for the Classic Sports and Saloons races, with victories being shared by Andrew Smith (Morgan +8) and John Kinmond’s Rover 3500. Smith and Kinmond went toe-to-toe in the opener as the two Class E competitors proved far and above the quickest around the Fife circuit. Smith beat Kinmond to the line by nearly two seconds, while the latter cruised to…

MONDELLO PARK LMC LEINSTER TROPHY 12-13 SEPTEMBER Confusion reigned in the Mondello Park pitlane last weekend when the all-important Leinster Trophy race was red-flagged in the closing stages and subsequently declared a result. Paul O’Connell had led away from pole in the race for BOSS Ireland machinery and kept fellow Dallara driver Cian Carey – a double F3 Cup champion – at bay for most of the contest. But a good run out of the final corner late on gave Carey the impetus he needed and he forced the leader to defend into Turn 1. This allowed Carey to draw alongside on the exit and, after running through the next pair of corners wheel to wheel, he had the lead. O’Connell had no intention of giving up though, and had…

RADICAL CHALLENGE Races 1, 2 & 3 Marcus Clutton GT CUP Race 1 Richard Neary (Mercedes-AMG GT3) Race 2 John Seale/Marcus Clutton (Lamborghini Huracan GT3) Race 3 Sam Neary (Mercedes-AMG GT3) Race 4 Shamus Jennings/Greg Caton (Porsche 911 GT3 R) 7 RACE SERIES Races 1 & 2 Alexander Koeberle (Caterham 420R) Race 3 Phil Jenkins (Caterham 420R) Race 4 Mark Stansfield (Caterham 420R) Race 5 Justin Heap (Caterham 1600) F3 CUP Races 1 & 2 Stefano Leaney (Dallara F315) Race 3 George Line (Dallara F310, below) MSVR ALLCOMERS Races 1 & 2 Richard Webb (Caterham S3) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

SNETTERTON TOYOTA MR2s Race 1 Aaron Cooke (Mk2) Race 2 Paul Hinson (Mk2) SPORT SPECIALS/MA7DA SERIES Races 1 & 2 Andy Hiley (Chronos HR1S) FORMULA VEE Races 1 & 2 James Harridge (Maverick) ALFA ROMEOS Races 1 & 2 Graham Seager (GTV, above) 116 TROPHY Anthony Seddon/Alan Corfield For full results visit: 750mc.co.uk OULTON PARK BRITCAR ENDURANCE Jack Fabby/Garry Townsend (Praga-Renault R1T) BRITCAR TROPHY Nigel Ainge/Danny Cassar (Honda Integra DC5) CATERHAM GRADUATES Races 1 & 2 Harry Senior (Sigmax) Race 3 Andrew Whitton (Sigma 150) CNC HEADS SPORTS/SALOONS Races 1 & 2 Paul Woolfitt (Lotus Exige) KUMHO BMWs Races 1 & 2 Mike Pensavalle (E46 M3) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

LYDDEN HILL HRDC JACK SEARS TROPHY Races 1 & 2 Roy Alderslade (Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1) HRDC ALLSTARS Races 1 & 2 Ben Colburn (Lenham GT Sprite) HRDC CLASSIC ALFA CHALLENGE Races 1 & 2 Richard Merrell (Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Junior) BRANDS HATCH CHAMPION OF BRANDS Races 1 & 2 Jonathan Browne (Ray GR18) RACING SALOONS & PRODUCTION BMWs Race 1 Chris Adams (VW Golf GTI) Races 2 & 3 Nigel Innes (BMW M3) ELISE TROPHY John Lamaster (Elise 135R) MINI CHALLENGE TROPHY Races 1 & 2 Rob Austin MSVT SUPERCUP Colin Tester/Hugh Gurney (BMW M3, below) TRACK ATTACK Races 1 & 2 Rod Birley (Honda Integra) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

5 156 ‘SHARKNOSE’ Ferrari was well prepared for the switch from 2.5-litre to 1.5-litre F1 engines in 1961. While the British teams moaned and even attempted to set up their own rival series, Ferrari and Porsche had honed their designs in F2. Power was the V6 car’s trump card, as demonstrated by a 1-2-3-4 result at the high-speed Spa. Only two great Stirling Moss drives defeated the 156 during the campaign, with Phil Hill becoming champion. 4 F1-2000 There have been better Ferraris and cooler ones (see left), but the F1-2000 has a significant place in Ferrari folklore as the machine that finally ended its longest wait. The team hadn’t won the F1 drivers’ crown since Jody Scheckter in 1979 when the F1-2000 was launched. Nine wins for Michael Schumacher, including the…

Le Mans fans have had a long time to wait. It seems an age since Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima took their second consecutive win in the 24 Hours, and there’s been plenty of doubt about the race following the COVID-19 outbreak. Sadly, the 88th running of the greatest endurance race in the world will take place with no fans, but at least (fingers crossed) it will be taking place. Toyota will inevitably start as favourite but, as Gary Watkins shows on page 4 of this free guide, top privateer Rebellion has a chance – if it can pull off a perfect run. LMP1 will be replaced as the top class of sportscar racing in 2021, so we have taken the opportunity to look back on the greatest…

2007 Aston Martin was third in the old GT1 class in 2005 with the DBR9 that brought the marque back to the Le Mans 24 Hours that season. A year later it was second, and then in 2007 notched up a first victory in dominant style with David Brabham, Darren Turner and Rickard Rydell. The British Racing Green machines were on top throughout in a race where one of the rival Chevrolet Corvettes went out early and the other was off the pace. The eventual winners – who finished fifth overall – came out top when two offs on Sunday morning for the car shared by Johnny Herbert, Tomas Enge and Peter Kox dropped it back. 2008 The Prodrive-run AMR squad, now with its cars liveried in Gulf Oil colours,…

FORMULA 3 Renault F1 Junior Oscar Piastri plans to move up to Formula 2 for next season after clinching the FIA Formula 3 Championship title in a thrilling three-way final-round showdown at Mugello last weekend, in which he became Italian powerhouse Prema’s ninth champion in the past 10 years of top-flight F3 competition. Piastri (above), who struggled for pace on the Tuscan circuit and was carrying a grid penalty from the previous round at Monza, did just enough to edge out Prema team-mate Logan Sargeant and ART Grand Prix charger Theo Pourchaire. It was a rookie F3 crown for Australian Piastri, who came into the season as reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion. Piastri, whose mentor is ex-Formula 1 race winner Mark Webber, said: “Providing everything goes well in the off-season,…

EXTREME E The flurry of blue-chip companies signing up for the inaugural Extreme E season has been mighty impressive. Lewis Hamilton will field his own X44 squad and double Formula E teams’ champion Techeetah will enter too. Not to be outdone, Abt has fought back into the headlines. First in the DTM and then Formula E via Audi, German tuning company Abt has a long-term association with the Volkswagen Group. It’s used that standing to introduce SEAT sub-marque Cupra as the first manufacturer into the all-electric SUV series. While XE had been starved of inspiring driver announcements so far, Abt has revealed that its male driver for 2021 will be two-time DTM champion (with the Abt team) and 2016 World Rallycross title winner (in an Audi S1) Mattias Ekstrom. “It…

FORMULA 2/3 The FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships could be separated next season so that they no longer appear on the same grand prix weekends.. Autosport understands that a plan is being discussed to split the two series, with each category running triple-header events in place of double-headers to free up extra track time. Sources suggest that the move is under consideration as teams prepare for another season that will inevitably be impacted by COVID-19, with driver budgets potentially suffering. One potential financial benefit of splitting the championships would be that teams with entries in both could pool resources between their F2 and F3 operations, and run them with fewer people. Nine of the 11 F2 teams also contest the F3 category. The provisional plan is that F2…

Difference between speed and perception of speed Kevin Turner’s Opinion (10 September) about F1 rulemakers versus F1 speeds rather misses the point that most of what are now called ‘fans’ don’t really care about the numbers, what they want to see are immensely skilled drivers doing the impossible on that high wire. We want to experience drivers balancing everything on the limits of adhesion rather than just be told afterwards they had been. Silverstone Grand Prix circuit is a prime example with the difference in lap times between an F1 car and a MotoGP bike being 30 seconds, yet which looks faster or appears to demand more skill? Modern F1 has become a magnificent technical exercise but, sadly, resembles a video game when seen on TV. Those of us who…

Lance Stroll’s hopes of a second consecutive podium finish were ended in a big crash that sparked the second red flag with 15 laps remaining. Stroll had been third ahead of the first round of pitstops, but was undercut by Daniel Ricciardo, and then remained less than two seconds behind the Renault entering the closing stages, just ahead of the looming Alex Albon. Stroll went off at the second Arrabbiata, slamming into the barrier at high speed to leave his Racing Point RP20 with significant damage. “We’re still investigating whether it was a puncture or suspension failure, or if something broke, as we are not sure yet,” Stroll said. “We’ll look into it and find out.” Team-mate Sergio Perez finished fifth despite a balance issue that prevented him from joining…

Colton Herta was just five years old when Andretti Autosport – or Andretti Green Racing, as it was called then – last swept the podium. On that occasion, it was the 2005 Grand Prix of St Petersburg, with Dan Wheldon beating Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti. In fact, it was better than that, for AGR scored a 1-2-3-4 on that day, and the fourth-placed man was Herta’s father Bryan (below), who had started from pole position. Even though Herta Jr finished third and second in his Indy Lights years, whereas his dad clinched that title in spectacular fashion in 1993, it now seems certain that the younger Herta will eclipse his father’s racing record. With 29 IndyCar races under his wheels, he has won three of them; Bryan made 179…

FIA FORMULA 3 MUGELLO (ITA) Race 1 Frederik Vesti Prema Racing Race 2 Liam Lawson (below) Hitech Grand Prix GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE SPRINT CUP MAGNY-COURS (FRA) Race 1 Luca Stolz/Maro Engel Haupt Racing Team (Mercedes-AMG GT3) Race 2 Steven Palette/Simon Gachet Sainteloc Junior Team (Audi R8 LMS GT3) FORMULA RENAULT EUROCUP MAGNY-COURS (FRA) Race 1 Caio Collet R-ace GP Race 2 Victor Martins ART Grand Prix POWERED BY For full results visit motorsportstats.com…

WTCR ZOLDER (BEL) 13 SEPTEMBER ROUND 1/6 Yann Ehrlacher and his uncle Yvan Muller kept it in the family as the 2020 World Touring Car Cup finally kicked off at Zolder last Sunday. The pair were joined on the podium by new Cyan Racing team-mate and series rookie Santiago Urrutia in a Lynk & Co lock-out, in the second of two races at a meeting switched at short notice from the Salzburgring in Austria to the former Belgian Grand Prix venue because of pandemic restrictions. Argentine Nestor Girolami won race one from reversed-grid pole position on Sunday morning ahead of Thed Bjork’s Lynk & Co and the Honda of Attila Tassi. The downside for the German team was a double engine blow-up for Esteban Guerrieri and Tiago Monteiro, who started…

NASCAR CUP RICHMOND (USA) 12 SEPTEMBER ROUND 28/36 Post-race burnouts are synonymous with winning in the NASCAR Cup, but there would be none from Brad Keselowski when he took the chequered flag after 400 laps at Richmond. The 2012 champion had his Team Penske-run Ford Mustang exactly as he wanted and didn’t want to risk anything upsetting the package before this weekend’s visit to Bristol Motor Speedway. It was a near-perfect race for Keselowski. He missed out on victory in the first stage – that went the way of Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pilot Denny Hamlin – but came into his own in stage two. Austin Dillon, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr all attempted to take that lead from him, but it was Keselowski who ran to the top…

BRITISH FORMULA 4 British Formula 4 driver Roman Bilinski has again escaped a racing ban, despite accruing 12 licence penalty points for the second time in two years. The Arden racer picked up his 12th penalty point of the condensed 2020 season – in just the fourth event of the year – at Knockhill at the end of last month, when he speared Abbi Pulling out of the lead of the second race heading into Duffus Dip. But for the second season in succession, he has escaped receiving an automatic three-month ban from Motorsport UK because the governing body only counts one set of penalty points per weekend towards the limit of 12. Bilinski received four points for the race-two incident at Knockhill, and was also awarded two points the…

HILLCLIMB The outright hill record at Shelsley Walsh came under serious attack over the weekend as Sean Gould posted the second fastest time in the 115-year history of the Worcestershire hillclimb. Driving his 700bhp Gould GR59, Gould set a stunning best of 22.73s, just 0.15s off the current record set by Martin Groves in August 2008. With Alex Summers ending the weekend with a best of 22.83s in his DJ Firestorm, there is every prospect of the famous record being broken when the British Hillclimb Championship returns in 2021. Gould and Summers took advantage of perfect late-summer weather to join three other members of the sub-23s class at the historic 1000-yard rush up the side of the Teme Valley. Aside from Groves, only Scott Moran (22.83s) and Jos Goodyear (22.86s)…

CORONAVIRUS Knockhill’s director of events Stuart Gray says the Scottish venue is set to admit limited numbers of fans as racing has returned to the circuit. The Scottish Motor Racing Club and the Knockhill Motor Sports Club held events last weekend, with the former bringing in 70 entries for the half-day meeting that kickstarted the club’s season. COVID-19 safety measures brought in by Motorsport UK were strictly adhered to by the venue, which went the extra mile to mitigate potential risk of infection. Gray said he was pleased with how these procedures were implemented as racing has returned in recent weeks. “We’ve been really happy with how the circuit has approached the meetings,” Gray told Autosport. “As far as COVID protocols have gone, it’s Motorsport UK guidance but we have…

There are three junior racing series in the UK at the moment, and not even the British Racing & Sports Car Club would dispute that its Fiesta Championship had the poorest entries last season, averaging just five cars. But it’s a much-improved picture for the 2020 campaign. “This is my second season as coordinator, but before that I was a helper,” said coordinator Laura Payne. “It was obvious that with only three starters at our final round last season, something had to be done.” The BRSCC recognised this and, rather than give up on the category altogether, invested in it. Taster days were organised last year and two new drivers came directly from these, along with a lot more interest. And all of this culminated in an impressive 15-car grid…

SNETTERTON 750MC 13 SEPTEMBER It may have been a late replacement for this month’s cancelled Anglesey meeting, but the 750 Motor Club’s visit to the Snetterton 300 circuit was big on entries and high on action. The Toyota MR2 Championship provided a major portion of the excitement, with more lead changes in two 15-minute races than certain international series manage all season. Aaron Cooke was the winner of the first race, seeing off a fast-starting Nick Williamson, who had qualified fourth. Williamson remained in the top three for four laps, but he tangled with Paul Cook when both went wide at Turn 3. While Cook held on for second, Williamson dropped to fifth behind Paul Hinson and Ben Rowe. Cooke would also have got the win in the second race…

LYDDEN HILL HRDC 13 SEPTEMBER When the Historic Racing Drivers Club returned to Lydden Hill on Sunday for the annual Historics On The Hill meeting, there was much to celebrate. Particularly among the Jordan Racing Team, with two wins for Roy Alderslade and multiple podium places for Mike and Andrew Jordan. The squad’s success story started with the Jack Sears Trophy event. Of course, both father and son know the circuit well; Mike raced Eurocars at Lydden a few years ago, and Andrew served his apprenticeship in Junior Minicross en route to rallycross supercars, a World Rallycross podium and eventually the British Touring Car title. During qualifying they took turns to slipstream each other down the short straights. “Well, at least we tried to,” said Jordan Jr with a grin.…

TV SERIES REVIEW RACE TO PERFECTION Sky Sports F1 has often faced trial by social media. Whether it be Johnny Herbert joining Sergey Sirotkin in a Russian banya for a natter, a segment constantly replayed whenever the channel needs some filler, or opting to show delayed support series coverage, the commentariat are always close behind. But the channel’s latest offering might just force the mob to abate and instead absorb a new seven-part docuseries reflecting upon the “high-octane drama” provided since the world championship’s inception. Race to Perfection, produced in-house at Osterley, breaks F1 down into what talking head Peter Windsor describes as “the moments that make us feel why we love the sport called Formula 1”, ranging from championship deciders to controversial moments. One strong decision taken by Sky…

FROM THE ARCHIVE Reigning World Rally champion Richard Burns kicks up a cloud of dust and stones in his Peugeot 206 WRC during shakedown ahead of the 2002 Rally of Cyprus. Burns took a while to find his feet on the Mediterranean island, initially running in the outer reaches of the top 10, but battled back to finish in second place, almost a minute behind team-mate Marcus Gronholm. Autosport debates the greatest rally car of all time as part of our special series of podcasts to celebrate our 70th birthday. Go to bit.ly/GreatestRallyCar For classic rallying DVDs head to dukevideo.com/WRC For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…

“As I came into the final chicane, the helicopter was up in front of me and I thought we must be close to the leader,” remembers Martin Short of his greatest moment in a racing car – although he didn’t realise it at the time. “On the Mulsanne, I could see an Audi chomping at the bit in my mirrors, so I made it easy for him. Into the second chicane I let Stephane Ortelli through, but little did I know I’d been in the lead of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The ORECA Audi had pitted and was on its out-lap. Either the radio didn’t work or the guys didn’t tell me in case I did something stupid, but I had no idea. At the end of my stint…

5 PORSCHE WSC95 The story of the Porsche WSC95 takes some believing. It started life as a Jaguar XJR-14 Group C chassis minus its roof, got canned before it could race and was then dusted down at the suggestion of that wily old fox Reinhold Joest for Le Mans. He then won the 24 Hours with the car – and there were only two – that was built up around one of the Silk Cut Jags. Joest got to keep the winning car as part of his agreement with Porsche, took it back to the Circuit de la Sarthe in defiance of the factory, and won again. 4 PEUGEOT 908 Had Peugeot won Le Mans more than the once over the life of the 908 programme, it would be viewed very differently…

Gijs van Lennep and the Porsche 936 he shared with Jacky Ickx receive essential fluids during the notoriously hot 1976 Le Mans 24 Hours. The first 10 laps were led by the Renault Alpine A442 of Jean-Pierre Jabouille/Patrick Tambay/Jose Dolhem, but once it fell back van Lennep and Ickx were untouchable, taking the flag with an 11-lap lead over the Mirage M8 of Jean-Louis Lafosse/Francois Migault. Autosport debates the greatest sports-racing car of all time in our special series of podcasts to celebrate our 70th birthday. Go to bit.ly/Greatestsportscar For classic Le Mans DVDs head to dukevideo.com/lemans For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…