Indholdsfortegnelse for 26/08/21 i Autosport

So, Toyota scored the 1-2 most Le Mans fans expected last weekend. But it was no easy run – as Gary Watkins explains at the start of our bumper report on page 16, there was an underlying issue with both cars that could have handed the initiative to Alpine and Glickenhaus. The fact that all five Hypercars finished in the top five is a good start for an era that looks set to feature epic battles between multiple manufacturers. Former Audi squad Veloqx is the latest name linked with a return (p4), while the fact that hydrogen-powered cars are being lined up to contest overall victory in the 24 Hours from 2025 could bring yet more interest to the top of endurance racing. One of the feel-good factors of the…

FORMULA 1 Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix has been cancelled for the second year in a row as officials work to find replacement events for the closing stages of the 2021 season. F1 had hoped that the successful staging of the Olympic Games in Tokyo would pave the way for a visit to Suzuka (above) in October, but the Japanese government cancelled the race last week amid a sustained rise in COVID-19 cases. F1 said it would announce details on the revised calendar “in the coming weeks”, but is facing a number of challenges as the pandemic continues to impact travel and events. Japan joined Canada, Singapore and Australia as events that have been scrapped, while doubts linger over Mexico and Brazil due to their UK ‘red list’ status. Autosport…

FORMULA 3/W SERIES FIA Formula 3 and W Series bosses are discussing ways of helping racers step up from the all-woman championship. Formula 3 supremo Bruno Michel has spoken to W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir about helping drivers from the category get into F3. “We have had some discussions with Catherine to see how we can try to work together in the future,” said Michel, who added that there are some “very interesting drivers in W Series”. Michel, who also manages FIA Formula 2, suggested the W Series champion could be given testing time in an F3 car. The F1 feeder series boss and Bond Muir had a meeting when both championships were on the F1 support package in Austria (below) earlier this season. “I took the advantage of…

P36 INDYCAR REPORT HAVE YOUR SAY, GET IN TOUCH Autosport editorial Autosport Media UK Ltd 1 Eton Street Richmond TW9 1AG E-mail autosport@autosport.com Visit our website autosport.com Twitter twitter.com/autosport Facebook facebook.com/autosport Instagram instagram.com/autosport YouTube youtube.com/AUTOSPORTdotcom…

Glickenhaus struggled at first and it didn’t look like its two Pipo-engined Le Mans Hypercars had anything for Alpine, let alone Toyota. Yet through Sunday morning the #708 car driven by Olivier Pla, Pipo Derani and Franck Mailleux battled with the French car for the final place on the podium. Glickenhaus was all at sea early in the race. The 007 LMH struggles in low-grip scenarios and had run for barely two hours in the wet before 4pm on Saturday. The rain was a double whammy for the Italian-based operation because a field of 60-odd cars running on grooved tyres removed much of the rubber laid down over the preceding week. It explains why the two cars got better over the course of the 24 hours. Derani and co were…

The battle for honours in the LMP2 Pro-Am class for drivers with a bronze-rated driver in the line-up was a topsy-turvy affair that could have gone any one of three ways. In the end, the DragonSpeed ORECA shared by Juan Pablo Montoya, Ben Hanley and Henrik Hedman came out on top despite two late hiccups. Hanley had moved the US entry past the TDS Racing-run Realteam ORECA with Esteban Garcia at the wheel and was building up a handy lead when he missed the call to pit in the penultimate as a result of the multiple alarms going off on the dash. He had enough of a margin to complete a slow lap, eking out the remaining litres left in the tank, and still hang onto the lead. But there…

A third GTE Am win of the World Endurance Championship season for reigning champions Nicklas Nielsen and Francois Perrodo with Alessio Rovera wasn’t the foregone conclusion that it appeared for much of the contest. Like their Pro class stablemates, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari took control of the race towards the end of the 11th hour and didn’t relinquish it again for another 146 laps. Ben Keating’s #33 TF Sport Aston Martin cycled back to the lead in the 21st hour after the conclusion of Perrodo’s final double stint, but when Keating made his next stop eight laps later and stayed aboard, Rovera was away and clear again. However, the shoe had been very much on the other foot before midnight. TF’s starting driver Felipe Fraga was turned around on…

DTM NURBURGRING (DEU) 21-22 AUGUST ROUND 4/8 Red Bull protege Alex Albon romped to a maiden victory in the DTM in a race of attrition at the Nurburgring, as a 23-car grid highlighted increasing interest in the revamped series now for GT3 machines. Albon had already clinched two podiums in the opening three rounds of the season to emerge as one of the most consistent points scorers in the series. But he hadn’t exactly been able to match the results of his younger AF Corse team-mate Liam Lawson, who won on his debut at Monza. This was largely down to Albon rarely finding an empty track ahead of him in qualifying, which meant he always faced an uphill climb in the races. The general belief was that if the Anglo…

DTM NURBURGRING (DEU) Race 1 Kelvin van der Linde ABT Sportsline (Audi R8 LMS Evo) Race 2 Alexander Albon AF Corse (Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo) WORLD RALLYCROSS HOLJES (SWE) Timmy Hansen Hansen World RX Team (Peugeot 208) RX2E HOLJES (SWE) Jesse Kallio Olsbergs MSE MICHELIN LE MANS CUP LE MANS (FRA) Race 1 Tony Wells/Colin Noble Nielsen Racing (Ligier-Nissan JSP320) Race 2 Moritz Kranz/Ugo De Wilde (below) Muhlner Motorsport (Duqueine-Nissan M30-D08) For full results visit motorsportstats.com…

CLASSIC SPORTS CAR CLUB More than 40 Special Saloons and Modsports cars – the largest gathering since the 1980s – for the inaugural Ricky Parker-Morris memorial trophy race is a highlight as seven Classic Sports Car Club grids will be unleashed on Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix circuit this weekend, supporting GT World Challenge Europe. Parker-Morris was the popular drivers’ representative for the series but died in January after contracting COVID-19 and Brands was his local venue. “It will be quite a spectacle – Ricky’s passing, our first time on the circuit and the high-profile event have focused competitors,” said club director David Smitheram. “Brands is huge deal for us. Clubs our size don’t normally get gigs at big-ticket meetings. “We have received around 320 entries: one race sold out in…

750 MOTOR CLUB Adam Shepherd secured the Type R Trophy crown with a meeting to spare with victory at Anglesey, and may now sit out the final event at Brands Hatch. The title was the Essex driver’s third in a category run by the 750 Motor Club, having previously triumphed in the Civic Cup in 2015 and M3 Cup in 2017. “I am not completely sure that I’m not going to do Brands, but my wife and I are having a baby that’s due two days afterwards, and the car is for sale and I wouldn’t want to see it damaged,” said Shepherd, who has won eight of the 10 rounds this season. He is evaluating the possibility of a drive in Club Enduro for 2022. Shepherd found it slightly…

Drivers in the Mini 7 Racing Club’s categories paid tribute to the vital role marshals play in enabling motorsport events to take place at last weekend’s Brands Hatch Mini Festival. In emotional scenes at the end of the Miglia and Se7en races, drivers waved a special orange flag from their Minis in memory of marshal Rob Foote, who lost his life in an accident at Brands at the end of last month, as well as to show support to all of those who give up their time to volunteer for the Orange Army.…

We have all become used to aspects of our lives changing over the past year and a half. But, now, as we take tentative steps towards normality amid the coronavirus pandemic’s unrelenting grip, some of the differences are becoming less stark. And the same is true in terms of national motorsport as well. Following the much-hyped ‘Freedom Day’ last month, when the English government relaxed most of the remaining restrictions, there was also an easing of the rules from British motorsport governing body Motorsport UK. It had adopted a number of new protocols, particularly concerning signing-on and scrutineering, but also in other far wider aspects of event management to enable the sport to restart last July. Now, from the end of this July, clubs have enjoyed greater freedom over how…

BRANDS HATCH MSVR MINI FESTIVAL 21-22 AUGUST Mixed weather failed to dampen the enthusiasm of drivers and spectators alike at Brands Hatch as the Mini Festival made a welcome return following a year’s hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Two typically thrilling Mini Miglia encounters were among the highlights of the event. Former champion Endaf Owens won both races, but not before indulging in a fabulous three-way lead tussle with defending champion Aaron Smith and current leader Andrew Jordan in race one. After a restart was called following a first-lap incident, Jordan powered into the lead from the outside of the front row to head Smith and Owens into Paddock before, a lap later, Owens relegated Smith to third. An audacious move for the lead around the outside of Paddock…

MALLORY PARK VSCC 22 AUGUST From a powerful and photogenic lead duel in the Alvis centenary opener to a surprise winner and scintillating third-place battle in the horribly wet Boulogne Trophy race – the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s 2021 circuit season closer – Sunday’s Mallory Park event showcased the spirit of the club’s offering superbly. A subdued Mallory was the VSCC’s COVID-torn 2020 season, but an air of optimism pervaded the lakeside paddock this time as it filled with everything from spindly cyclecars to thudding leviathans. Thirty years after the club’s inaugural visit, the event was back on full song, evidenced by strong grids across an 11-race card. One hundred years after the now fabled marque’s name refocused TG John’s engineering company in Coventry, Alvis stalwarts chatted with spectators on a…

SILVERSTONE BARC 21-22 AUGUST Come rain or shine – and there was plenty of both last weekend – the wide track and long straights of Silverstone’s National Circuit provide the perfect setting for multi-class endurance racing. It’s a ‘leveller’ for those of similar pace, creating tight battles through the grid, yet its hard-braking corners also offer perfect passing opportunities. The Britcar Trophy category headed the bill on Saturday, experiencing this all first-hand. Aimed at production-based cars, many from one-make championships, the line-up featured BMWs joined by Ginettas, Renault Clios, VWs and others. Championship leaders Simon Baker and Kevin Clarke (in their BMW 1 Series) claimed pole but with rain, wind and dry spells to contend with, work on the track had to be matched by set-ups off it. Baker got…

Markku Alen’s co-driver Ilkka Kivimaki keeps a steadying grip on the rollcage of their Ford Escort RS 1600 as the two Finns make swift, sideways progress through the mud of the 1973 RAC Rally en route to third place, completing an impressive 1-2-3 for the Blue Oval. The event was won by Timo Makinen/Henry Liddon, with Roger Clark/Tony Mason runners-up. Although Makinen never looked under threat as he took his first RAC win, Ford’s podium lockout was no walkover – Alen went off the road and rolled down a slope on the penultimate stage, making it to the finish with badly damaged bodywork. For classic rallying DVDs head to dukevideo.com/rally For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…

LE MANS 24 HOURS/WEC The Veloqx team, runner-up at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2004, is gearing up for a return to top-flight sportscar racing with a Le Mans Hypercar bearing the Fangio name and powered by a radical environmentally friendly engine. The British-based organisation will end an absence from the race tracks dating back to its successful 2004 season with a pair of Audi R8 LMP1 prototypes, which also yielded victory at the Sebring 12 Hours and a clean sweep of all four races in the Le Mans Series. It is developing its own LMH prototype and engine for a project that is likely to hit the race track in the World Endurance Championship in 2025. Team founder Sam Li said: “I was 28 when we stopped at…

LE MANS 24 HOURS The vision for the future of GT racing at the Le Mans 24 Hours and World Endurance Championship has been laid out by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the FIA. The current GTE regulations will be replaced by a new category based on GT3 for 2024 when GTE Pro will be dropped. No meat was put on the bones by either of the bodies that set the rules for international sportscar racing. ACO president Pierre Fillon explained that there was still work to be done on the detail of the plans and that the final rules and regulations will be set by the end of the year. He stated that GT3 will be the “basis” of the new class used across the WEC and the…

INDYCAR Romain Grosjean’s IndyCar engineer believes the ex-Formula 1 driver has shown he could contest a full season after a fine oval debut at Gateway last weekend. Grosjean, who made 179 F1 starts before his IndyCar switch this year, has been reluctant to race on ovals but was strong around the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway. Although he finished only 14th, partly due to the unfortunate timing of a yellow flag and a strategy switch, Grosjean pulled off several good passes and rose as high as eighth. His Dale Coyne Racing engineer Olivier Boisson thinks the Frenchman proved a point: “You never know if a guy from Europe is going to have it for the ovals or not. Santino [Ferrucci] was a good surprise for us because the ovals seem…

What will I remember most about the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2021? The start of what we believe will be a bright new era for sportscar racing? Toyota’s fourth victory in a row? A finish so close in LMP2 it was almost beyond belief? The return of a crowd to the greatest motor race of them all? None of the above, actually. What has stuck in my mind so far was the block of a single colour at the top of the timing screens at the finish. Each of the World Endurance Championship’s four classes has its own signature colour that provides the backdrop to each race number on the car and up on the timing screen. Hypercar’s colour is red. There were five cars in class and five…

HYPERPOLE QUALIFYING LAPS LED OVERALL RACE STATS WINNERS’ AVERAGE SPEED Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez 130.805mph FASTEST LAP SEASON STATS DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP HYPERCAR LMP2 GTE GTE AM MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP HYPERCAR GTE RESULTS WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4/6, LE MANS 24 HOURS (FRA), 21-22 AUGUST (371 LAPS – 3141.184 MILES) In each car, first-named driver started race. TOP 4 HOUR BY HOUR CHART POWERED BY Motorsport Stats is the pre-eminent provider of motorsport data to media owners, rights-holders, bookmakers and sponsors. Its data services are founded on the world’s largest repository of racing results dating back to 1897. For more information contact sales@motorsportstats.com DON’T MISS WEC REPORT 6 HOURS OF BAHRAIN 4 November issue…

WTCR HUNGARORING (HUN) 22 AUGUST ROUND 4/8 Eight races, eight different winners: the World Touring Car Cup continued to surprise as the 2021 season hit its halfway point at the Hungaroring. Santiago Urrutia, the least experienced, decorated and well-known of Cyan’s glittering Lynk & Co quartet, scored a dominant victory that lifts him into a potentially intriguing title battle with team-mate and reigning champion Yann Ehrlacher. But what really caused a stir in Budapest was the pace of Rob Huff and his Zengo Motorsport-run Cupra Leon. The 41-year-old has endured a miserable time since returning to the WTCR this year. But, having qualified no better than 15th at the previous three rounds, the British driver set a new circuit qualifying record in Q2 on Saturday, then topped the Q3 shootout…

SUPER GT SUZUKA (JPN) 22 AUGUST ROUND 4/8 NISMO drivers Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda scored their first Super GT win of the season at Suzuka as Nissan crews locked out the podium. After the pole-winning Nakajima Honda NSX-GT crashed out of the lead early on with brake failure, the race boiled down to a straight fight between the two Michelin-shod Nissan GT-Rs, with the NDDP/B-Max car of Kohei Hirate leading Matsuda’s works machine after pitstops. Hirate, who took over from team-mate Katsumasa Chiyo, was 4s ahead at one stage but Matsuda closed in rapidly before diving up the inside at the hairpin to make the winning move on lap 41 of 52. It was a symbolically significant win for Matsuda, who now has 23 GT500 victories to match Nissan’s…

BRADLEY’S KUMHO BMW BID Niall Bradley is considering entering Kumho BMW full-time in 2022 after scoring two wins in the series at Brands Hatch earlier this month. The Chatham-based Irishman, who has also raced his E46 M3 in the BMW Club Car Championship this year, said he was “unsure the car was up to the standard needed beforehand” but the performance shown at Brands made him believe “it was something seriously worth considering in the future”. HSCC PRESSES ON WITH SPA The Historic Sports Car Club is pressing ahead with plans to run its traditional closed-wheel races at the Spa Six Hours meeting this year, after skipping the event amid the coronavirus pandemic last season. Cars from a variety of the club’s categories are eligible to compete in the two…

VINTAGE SPORTS-CAR CLUB Former British Touring Car racer Karl Jones landed a surprise handicap victory in the Alvis Centenary race at Mallory Park last weekend, on his first competitive appearance at the circuit in nearly 35 years. Jones was racing in vintage machinery for the first time in fellow Welshman Andrew Davies’ 1932 Alvis Speed 20. “It’s my first race here since 1987, [when I was] in a Ford Escort RS Turbo production saloon, although I did qualify a Eurocar [on the oval, but non-started due to a wrist injury] in 1995,” said Jones. Jones, 62, finished eighth on scratch in the ‘Red Baron’, a well-proportioned cycle-winged sportscar built for Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin, winner of the 1929 and 1931 Le Mans 24 Hours. Subsequently, Jones was flabbergasted to learn…

ENDURANCE RACING LEGENDS A Bentley Speed 8 made a victorious return to Le Mans last weekend as a water leak for James Cottingham prevented him from taking a double win in his Dallara SP1 in the Endurance Racing Legends contests that supported this year’s 24 Hours. There was drama before the opening 45-minute encounter had even begun when a number of cars in the 45-strong field spun on the formation lap, one into the barriers, meaning proceedings began behind the safety car. Polesitter Cottingham maintained the lead when the safety car pitted as Florent Moulin made it a Dallara 1-2. Front-row starter Shaun Lynn battled back up to second in the Bentley but experienced historic racer Cottingham – who also made his British GT bow earlier this year – was…

CLUBMANS SPORTS PROTOTYPE Alan Cook was the star of the Clubmans Sports Prototype category’s visit to Croft last weekend as part of a Darlington and District Motor Club meeting, impressing in the tricky damp conditions of the first two races. CSP1 championship leader Steve Dickens held off a strong challenge from Cook’s wet-shod CSPA Mallock 20/21B in the opening race to win in his Mallock Mk29, while Mathieu Gauthier-Thornton won the hotly contested CSP2 class and Barry Webb was victorious in CSPB. But it was in race two when Cook really starred as he romped away, again on wets, to win overall, well ahead of CSP1 victor Clive Wood. Michelle Hayward took CSP2 and Webb prevailed again in CSPB. In the last – and dry – race Wood’s Mallock Mk23…

ANGLESEY 750MC 21-22 AUGUST Peter Bove moved to the top of the 750 Formula standings with two victories at Anglesey, but not without rapid competitors being sidelined in a chaotic first race. Dave Hodkin qualified first in his HRD Mk2 but was down to fifth position by the second corner. As the 2013 champion sought to climb through the field, he clattered into the side of 2017 title winner Bill Cowley’s eponymous Mk4 at Target, with Raymond Barley’s Racekits Falcon caught up in the aftermath. Half a lap later, Mark Glover – who was leading in his Falcon – retired with a cylinder-head failure. The two-time champion had been running with a replacement engine after his normal unit expired at Cadwell Park last month. Bove inherited the lead and took…

MINI MIGLIA Races 1 & 2 Endaf Owens MINI SE7EN Race 1 Jeff Smith Race 2 Joe Thompson PRE-’66 MINIS Race 1 Ian Curley Race 2 Endaf Owens FASTEST MINI IN THE WORLD Races 1 & 2 Harvey Death (Austin Mini Cooper S V8) CHAMPION OF BRANDS Races 1 & 2 Oliver White (Medina Sport JL17, below) PRODUCTION GTI Race 1 Simon Hill Race 2 Simon Vercoe F3 CUP Races 1 & 3 Stefano Leaney (Dallara F317) Race 2 George Line (Dallara F308) MIGHTY MINIS/SUPER MIGHTY MINIS Race 1 Bobby Thompson (Super) Race 2 Neven Kirkpatrick (Super) Z CARS & NEW GENERATION PRODUCTION BMW Races 1 & 2 Chris Murphy (Z4) RACING SALOONS & PRODUCTION BMW Races 1 & 2 Nicholas Bosch (SEAT Sport Leon) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

DONINGTON PARK BRITISH TRUCK RACING Races 1 & 5 David Jenkins (MAN TGX) Races 2 & 4 Martin Gibson (MAN TGX) Race 3 John Newell (MAN TGS) PICKUP TRUCKS Race 1 Paul Tompkins Race 2 Matt Simpson CNC HEADS SPORTS & SALOONS Races 1 & 2 Paul Rose (Saker RAPX S1-500) LEGENDS Races 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6 Miles Rudman Race 4 Jack Parker C1 RACE SERIES CSC Racing (Patrick Scharfegger/Simon Kilham) CATERHAM GRADUATES SIGMA 135 Race 1 David Read Race 2 Ben Buckley CATERHAM GRADUATES SIGMAX/SIGMA 150 Race 1 Stephen Clark (SigMax) Race 2 Harry Senior (SigMax) SILVERSTONE BRITCAR TROPHY Races 1 & 2 Simon Baker & Kevin Clarke (BMW 1 Series) KUMHO BMW Race 1 Michael Vitulli (E46 M3) Race 2 James Card (E46 M3) JUNIOR SALOON…

TV 24 HOURS OF LE MANS: THE GREAT HISTORY The Le Mans 24 Hours. For many it is, and always shall be, the truest test of endurance in motorsport as driver and machine battle to survive the gruelling event through day and night, come rain or shine. Since its inception in 1923 the French endurance classic has grown in stature, its legacy enshrined in history, and for manufacturers it has become something of a holy grail, as well as an annual pilgrimage for the thousands of fans who flock to the north of France from across the globe. The 89th running of the event has just taken place – albeit slightly later than its customary June date – and fans were welcomed back once more after missing the 2020 race…

For many sportscar drivers, the imminent manufacturer influx to the top classes at Le Mans poses a potential career-making opportunity. Factory BMW GT driver Nick Yelloly makes no bones about his desire to represent the marque in LMDh from 2023, not least because his only taste of prototypes to date was all too brief. Twice a race winner in the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 series, in which he beat Kevin Magnussen and Alexander Rossi in the standings, Yelloly couldn’t raise the budget to stay on for 2013 and spent the next two seasons treading water in GP3. A regular podium finisher, he finished sixth in both years and recognised that sportscars offered the best chance of career advancement. Hoping to emulate Harry Tincknell, launched into a works drive with the…

LE MANS 24 HOURS The proposed class for hydrogen fuel cell prototypes at the Le Mans 24 Hours has been delayed for one year. But when the new zero-emissions racers arrive in 2025 the intention is that they will be able to challenge for overall victory. Pierre Fillon, president of Le Mans organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, explained that “with the regulations it will be possible on paper” for a hydrogen car to challenge the Le Mans Hypercar and LMP2-based LMDh machinery. He pointed to Audi’s debut win with the R10 TDI turbodiesel at the French enduro in 2006 as evidence that new technologies can be successful straight away. Fillon revealed that eight manufacturers are part of the group working on the regulations for the new cars and that…

MOTOGP Yamaha has formally parted ways with Maverick Vinales with immediate effect following the Spanish MotoGP rider’s suspension earlier this month. Vinales was suspended by Yamaha and withdrawn from the Austrian Grand Prix for deliberately trying to blow up his bike’s engine in the latter stages of the Styrian GP (above). Vinales later apologised publicly for his actions, blaming them on frustration at the situation he found himself in during the race and with Yamaha in general. Having already elected to quit Yamaha at the end of 2021, one year earlier than his current contract period was due to expire as the relationship between both parties deteriorated across the campaign, Vinales has now officially raced his last grand prix for the Japanese manufacturer. Yamaha had already decided Vinales would remain…

DTM DTM driving standards have come under fire after a wild race at the Nurburgring that was marred by several on-track collisions and two safety car periods. Amid an expanded field of 23 cars, nine drivers retired from Sunday’s second race at the former German Grand Prix venue, with seven of those directly a consequence of on-track collisions. The first safety car was deployed at the end of lap one when Arjun Maini forced the Mercedes of Maximilian Buhk into the pitwall, copping a 30-second penalty. There was more drama at the second restart, with Maximilian Gotz pushing the Porsche of Michael Ammermuller into a spin, and Philip Ellis and guest driver Luca Stolz involved in an all-Mercedes crash. Later in the lap, Red Bull’s Liam Lawson triggered an incident…

There wasn’t much to look forward to about British summertime last year, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of its heavily revised calendar, MotoGP didn’t pay a visit to the UK in 2020. But, a year on, much of the country is double-jabbed with the vaccine and this weekend Silverstone will throw its gates open with glee as it welcomes fans back to its grandstands to witness MotoGP’s return to this troubled island. And there’s much to look forward to for UK MotoGP fans in 2021. Despite there being no full-time Brit on the premier-class grid at the start of 2021, circumstances in recent weeks mean fans will have two home heroes to cheer on. The ‘retired’ Cal Crutchlow was originally drafted in to replace the injured Franco Morbidelli…

SRT41’S 32ND PLACE IS A WIN Frederic Sausset’s SRT41 squad made it to the finish with the entry for an innovative car in what used to be called the Garage 56 slot. Paraplegic drivers Takuma Aoki, a podium finisher in 500cc motorcycle grands prix in the late 1990s, and Nigel Bailly, who joined Matthieu Lahaye as a late replacement for the injured Francois Heriau, suffered no delays on the way to 32nd position. RISI SQUAD RUNS INTO PROBLEMS There was no fairytale return to the prototype ranks at Le Mans for the Risi Competizione squad, which claimed the first of its three class victories at the Circuit de la Sarthe way back in 1998 with a Ferrari 333 SP on its last appearance with a pure-bred racer. Its ORECA shared…

Aside from Ferrari, which viewed it with suspicion as evidence of Porsche’s factory cars sandbagging, most observers were delighted to see HubAuto’s customer car take a shock pole position in its first event with the 911 RSR-19. Kevin Estre was set for top spot in Thursday’s six-car hyperpole shootout in the #92 factory Porsche until he lost the back end and crashed at Indianapolis, after which the floor was open. Step up Dries Vanthoor (below), who made full use of a “risky” set-up change designed to improve straightline speed to be the only driver to improve on his form in Wednesday’s qualifying practice – although he wouldn’t surpass Daniel Serra’s chart-topping time from that session, which stood as the fastest of the whole weekend. Serra’s #52 Ferrari was second, ahead…

PURE ETCR HUNGARORING (HUN) 22 AUGUST ROUND ⅘ Mikel Azcona became the first two-time Pure ETCR winner with a dominant drive last Sunday at the Hungaroring to set up a five-way final-round title shootout for the all-electric touring car series. The Spaniard had already won both of his Saturday battles and added to that by topping Time Trial B for pole position for the second SuperFinal that closed the event. Following Philipp Eng’s SuperFinal A victory, Azcona knew that only first place in his SuperFinal would be enough to secure the round for the CUPRA X Zengo Motorsport squad. Despite a frantic first lap – which was actually a lap and a half due to the Starting Gate being located between Turns 11 and 12 – which involved short spells…

MICHELIN LE MANS CUP LE MANS (FRA) 19-21 AUGUST ROUND 4/6 The Nielsen Racing duo of Colin Noble and Tony Wells profited from a lengthy safety car intervention during the Michelin Le Mans Cup opener to guide their Nissan-powered Ligier to the Road to Le Mans race victory. Wells was in the hot seat for the start, lining up seventh among the 45-car field split between LMP3 and GT3 machinery. But the 12-lap contest was interrupted by a shunt at the Ford Chicane that involved the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo – with driver Ken Abe taken away by ambulance – and Racetivity’s Mercedes-AMG. While most decided to pit during the neutralised conditions, the top four cars – led by Ugo de Wilde after a first-lap pass – had…

NASCAR CUP MICHIGAN (USA) 22 AUGUST ROUND 25/36 Ryan Blaney ended up extending Ford’s dominance at Michigan International Speedway last weekend but only after an unintended assist from a Toyota driver. Chevrolet’s Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and William Byron dominated much of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race, leading 156 of the 200 laps. But on a restart with eight laps to go, Blaney’s Penske Ford lined up on the inside alongside leader Byron and got a huge shove from behind by Toyota’s Kyle Busch. The move shot Blaney well out ahead of the rest of the field and he spent the final two laps warding off challenges from Larson and Byron to claim the win by 0.077 seconds – the closest finish at the track since the advent of electronic scoring…

GINETTA JUNIOR Ginetta Junior squad R Racing is appealing a three-month ban handed to its title contender Tom Edgar, with the National Court hearing scheduled to be held as Autosport closed for press. Edgar had taken two wins this season and was in the championship hunt before having to miss the Knockhill quadrupleheader earlier this month after the ban came into effect. A collision with Robert de Haan at Oulton Park earned him his 12th licence point in the past year, triggering the ban. But R Racing will argue this prevents the teenager from learning from his mistakes at a vital point in his young career. “We couldn’t get a court hearing in time for Knockhill because it was a short turnaround after Oulton Park,” explained R Racing boss Jamie…

ZEO PROTOTYPE CUP CTR Developments is targeting frontrunning pace in the Zeo Prototype Cup as it develops its unique CTR 01. Designed by Matthew Chamberlain and finished in the familiar orange livery of father Richard’s self-built Porsche 935, the car made its race debut last year in the Sports Prototype Cup’s Open class. During several years’ gestation, Chamberlain switched from Suzuki Hayabusa power to a Honda K20 mated to a Hewland FTR gearbox acting as fully stressed members. “I decided I’d make a car and just fired up the CAD system and started,” said Chamberlain Jr. “We like [open regulations] – it’s half the fun. It would have been far easier to go and buy a Radical or something.” Father and son share driving duties and qualified mid-grid, four seconds…

QUICK SUPERKART LAPS Superkart lap records were scattered asunder on the Silverstone National circuit last weekend. Liam Morley knocked 1.24 seconds off the previous best in the Division 1 category, setting a new benchmark of 53.257s. In the same race, Samantha Hempshall lowered the F250 National record, while later in the day Mark Bramhall also set a new time in the F125 Open class. Morley picked up two British Superkart Racing Club Super Series wins before adding the Motorsport UK ‘0’ plate, beating Sam Moss by 0.253s. JENNINGS’ CHARITY TRIM Irish Tarmac Rally champion Garry Jennings has raised over £10,000 for Down’s Syndrome charities in Counties Fermanagh and Donegal after having his hair cut by 10 inches. Jennings – one of Ireland’s best-known and most successful drivers – had his…

A walk into the outer paddock at Brands Hatch last weekend revealed a growing list of former British Touring Car Championship stars who are fond of racing Minis. In Mini Miglia, 2013 BTCC champion Andrew Jordan headed into the Mini Festival weekend leading the standings, while his former Eurotech team-mate Jeff Smith is achieving the same feat in the Mini Se7en category as he chases a third successive title. Additionally, Andrew’s father and BTCC race winner Mike has recently joined the Se7ens grid and Ian Curley remains a key player in the Pre-’66 Mini ranks following a brief sojourn with the BTCC in 2005. Last weekend, Bobby Thompson became the latest BTCC star to take part in a Mini race as he continued his rehabilitation from concussion sustained in a…

DONINGTON PARK BARC 21-22 AUGUST There were three different winners in the British Truck Racing Championship at Donington Park last weekend, but none of them were multiple champion Ryan Smith, as others had a chance to shine. David Jenkins got the better of Martin Gibson into Redgate at the start of the opener, leaving Gibson to duel with John Newell for second. But Newell later lost a belt and pulled off at McLeans, leaving Gibson to reduce Jenkins’ winning margin to just under a second, with Smith a distant third. Smith pulled out a good early lead in the second race, with Gibson demoting Mark Taylor from second on lap three, but fuel starvation began to slow Smith and Gibson reeled him in. Gibson had just gone ahead when Smith…

It is somewhat fitting that the cars in the F1000 Championship are called Jedis. The category is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and yet organisers have had to display some warrior-like resilience to enable the series to survive throughout that period – and now it is thriving once more. Championship manager Frazer Corbyn describes F1000 as now being “the best it’s ever been”, but it has taken a lot of hard work for the category to be a major force once again. Back when it launched in 1997, the British Racing and Sports Car Club-administered division was known as Formula 600, with the nimble slicks-and-wings Jedi mated with a 600cc motorbike engine. It proved a hit and future British Touring Car racers Mat Jackson and Tony Gilham were among…