Indholdsfortegnelse for 9/15/2022 i Autosport

Ferrari took a surprise pole position for its home race at Monza and made all the correct strategy calls but still lost the Italian Grand Prix. As Matt Kew shows in our analysis on page 14, the main reasons for that were Red Bull’s novel set-up approach and Max Verstappen’s sheer speed. Whatever Ferrari tried, it seemed set to lose. The late safety car appeared to give the team an extra chance, only for that to be dashed because there wasn’t time for a restart. This has created some controversy, even within the Autosport office and between experienced and seasoned F1 observers. From this writer’s point of view, the decision was correct. You can’t really (rightly) criticise F1 rules not being adhered to last year in Abu Dhabi and then…

FORMULA 1 The Formula 1 community came together to hold a minute’s silence ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II, who died last Thursday at the age of 96. Teams came out into the pitlane shortly before the start of opening practice at Monza last Friday for a minute’s silence, before another opportunity was given to pay respects before the start on Sunday as part of the grid ceremonies. A number of teams also ran with tributes to the Queen written on their cars throughout the weekend, while team personnel wore black armbands. F1’s TV offering was also more muted than usual over the Monza weekend as a mark of respect. Lewis Hamilton hailed the Queen’s “long-lasting” legacy, and recalled meeting her, having been honoured…

INDY LIGHTS Recently crowned Indy Pro 2000 champion Louis Foster will race for Andretti Autosport’s Indy Lights team next season. Last year’s Euroformula Open runner-up was a finalist in the 2021 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award, and moved to the Road to Indy ladder for this year. Joining Exclusive Autosport, Foster scored his first win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, then added six more victories to triumph convincingly ahead of Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Reece Gold. Now, the 19-year-old from Odiham will graduate to the last step before IndyCar, driving for Michael Andretti’s team that has taken five drivers to the Lights title, most recently Kyle Kirkwood in 2021. “As a driver, you always want to be in the best teams and that’s certainly the case here,” said Foster.…

LE MANS/WEC Ferrari’s new Le Mans Hypercar has already completed approximately 5000km of testing. The car that will take the Italian marque back to the pinnacle of sportscar racing as a factory in the World Endurance Championship next year has completed multi-day tests at Mugello and Barcelona since its Fiorano shakedown in July. Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s sportscar racing boss, has expressed satisfaction with testing so far: “We have done a lot of kilometres and at the moment we are happy, but we know the road is long.” The next test is likely to take place within the next two weeks. The intention is that the Ferrari LMH will be on track every two weeks through the winter. All eight factory Ferrari GT drivers have now driven the car, along with…

Of course Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix. On paper, the race on enemy soil was nigh on a perfect fit for the way car and driver find their performance in 2022. The defending champion has been firing on all cylinders this season, much like the Honda engine mounted in the middle of his Red Bull that has produced a top-speed edge over Ferrari so often. As a result, flat-out Monza was surely tailor-made for the leggy RB18, even if the tifosi were desperately hoping for one of their own to win the 100th anniversary event at the ‘Temple of Speed’. Intriguingly, Red Bull somewhat defied expectation last weekend with its approach to set-up. Instead of running with a conventional wafer-thin rear wing to cut through the air as…

Nyck de Vries pulled off a famous debut drive as a late call-up at Williams in place of Alex Albon, who missed the Monza race suffering with appendicitis. De Vries, who had driven for Aston Martin in FP1 for one of its mandatory 2022 rookie practice outings, was having coffee in F1’s Paddock Club early on Saturday when he took the call that would lead to his stand-in drive – the Dutchman available as a reserve for Mercedes, Williams and Aston Martin. The 2021 Formula E champion qualified 13th after locking up his rear wheels and sliding off at the second chicane on his final Q2 effort but started eighth thanks to the many grid penalties for others. In the race, de Vries settled in, then harnessed Williams’s top speed…

Haas was left fuming that it “got done by the officials”, according to team boss Gunther Steiner, over a penalty awarded to Kevin Magnussen for his part in the Turn 1 melee. Magnussen was hit from behind by Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, which did indeed force him to cut Turn 2 and result in diffuser damage. But, critically, not allowing all the cars he’d been behind back past – principally Williams’s Nicholas Latifi, per the stewards’ ruling announcing Magnussen’s five-second time addition – left the Dane open to sanction. Magnussen ended up finishing last of the classified runners having dropped to the back following his long pitstop on a planned medium-to-hard one-stopper. Bottas, meanwhile, recovered from last to 13th despite getting considerable front wing damage in the Turn 1 crash,…

Ott Tanak says it was a shame to be denied a “fair fight” for the Acropolis Rally Greece victory after criticising Hyundai Motorsport’s decision to deploy team orders. Hyundai management elected to impose orders on its drivers Thierry Neuville, Tanak and Dani Sordo to hold position in order to safeguard a historic first World Rally Championship 1-2-3 podium lockout for the marque. With Rovanpera finishing outside of the points and only picking up four points from the rally-ending powerstage, a victory in Greece on top of his powerstage win could have seen the 2019 world champion close to within 46 points of his rival, with 90 points remaining. When asked if the team had made the right call, Tanak said it was the “correct call” for the team from a…

The TF Sport Aston Martin squad returned to the winner’s circle in GTE Am after coming out on top in the battle of the bronzes. The key portion of the race came in the opening two hours when TF’s bronze-rated driver Ben Keating went up against opposite number Sarah Bovy in the Iron Dames Ferrari. Keating had a lead of approximately 30 seconds over the Ferrari when he vacated the car and that was more or less the margin in favour of the Vantage GTE co-driven by Henrique Chaves and Marco Sorensen at the finish. The all-green race played into the hands of the TF Aston and the Iron Dames Ferrari 488 GTE Evo that Bovy shared with Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting. No one else was able to get…

Will Power has driven races differently this year. He’s handled bad situations differently this year. And in reinventing himself as a model of consistency and pursuing his goal of earning a second championship with a frighteningly single-minded devotion, he delivered Roger Penske his 16th IndyCar title. Last Sunday at Laguna Seca, Power had to grind it out, his car emphatically not happy for around 50 of the 95 laps but, as has been his wont this year, he stuck to the task at hand, came home third and that was more than enough. No one had any answer to the pace of Alex Palou on what would/could/should be his last race for Chip Ganassi Racing. Although he arrived at Laguna Seca with a 20-point lead in the championship over Penske…

FIA FORMULA 3 MONZA (ITA) 10-11 SEPTEMBER ROUND 9/9 It was a chaotic end to a chaotic FIA Formula 3 season, with Victor Martins becoming champion at Monza after some frenetic post-race calculations. After Sunday’s feature race was red-flagged with five laps remaining, a question mark hung over which of the six contenders would take the title, with Zane Maloney and Oliver Bearman running first and second on track. But it was Martins who was finally declared victorious after the race was not resumed, allaying the ART driver’s fears of scenes reminiscent of Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 Abu Dhabi debacle. The race was stopped on lap 16 after Kush Maini (MP Motorsport) spun at the exit of Lesmo 2, collecting Brad Benavides on their way into the barrier. This had prompted…

FORMULA REGIONAL EUROPEAN RED BULL RING (AUT) 10-11 SEPTEMBER ROUND 8/10 Kas Haverkort and Hadrien David shared the wins in Austria as Dino Beganovic extended his points advantage with two rounds to go in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. Haverkort’s win with Van Amersfoort Racing on Saturday came in a bizarre race on a slippery track after starting 14th. It began behind the safety car with the field on wet-weather tyres. Paul Aron led from pole, but the Prema-run Mercedes F1 protege’s bid to claw back ground in the title race was ruined by two errors – one strategic, one driving. R-ace GP team-mates Gabriel Bortoleto and David had already pitted for slicks when Aron took the same gamble, before Prema stablemate Sebastian Montoya followed suit. The crossover…

DTM SPA (BEL) 10-11 SEPTEMBER ROUND 6/8 Dennis Olsen and Nick Cassidy claimed their maiden DTM victories at Spa last weekend, while Sheldon van der Linde returned home with an extended 32-point lead in the championship. Porsche-affiliated Olsen had been under the radar for much of the season, not helped by the presence of full factory driver Laurens Vanthoor on the other side of the SSR Performance garage – or Team Bernhard’s Thomas Preining picking up Porsche’s maiden DTM victory at the Norisring just before the summer break. But, having already proven that he is capable of finishing on the podium in the previous two rounds of the season, the Norwegian marked himself out as a true frontrunner with an impressive victory drive in the opening contest at high-speed Spa.…

BRITISH GT Fox Motorsport’s appeal following victory at the British GT round at Spa-Francorchamps has been upheld by the UK’s National Court, meaning Nick Halstead and Jamie Stanley have kept their win. The McLaren 720s GT3 of Halstead and Stanley, as well as the Paddock Motorsport entry of Martin Plowman and Graham Davidson, raced under appeal in Belgium at the end of July after initially being excluded from the qualifying results for having “failed post-qualifying technical checks”. Both teams stated that the fault lay with McLaren following Balance of Performance changes ahead of the session, rather than anything untoward. The decision to uphold the appeal was announced last Saturday just hours before qualifying for the Brands Hatch event, but means the Fox Motorsport entry keeps its maiden series victory while…

BIKESPORTS International karter Thomas Fleming took victory on his second car racing appearance in the first of the Bikesports races at Anglesey last weekend and plans to graduate to the Ferrari Challenge next year. The 19-year-old, who has raced in British and European Senior X30 karts, made his car debut in the Radical SR1 Cup at Silverstone in July, when he took two podiums. But he went better than that in Wales as he fought his way past Valour Racing team-mate and defending champion Leon Morrell to win the opener. He then led race two before Morrell snuck ahead for a second Valour 1-2 result in their Radical SR3s. Fleming, studying business and finance at the University of Reading, said: “I’m looking to race in the Ferrari Trofeo Challenge in…

BRANDS HATCH BRITISH GT4 10-11 SEPTEMBER A second outright victory of the year for Matt Topham and Darren Turner at Brands Hatch has edged them closer to the GT4 title despite the best efforts of chief rivals Richard Williams and Sennan Fielding. Topham’s Newbridge Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage remained within touching distance during the opening stint having started seventh, as three safety car periods prevented Williams in the polesitting Stellar Motorsport Audi R8 from pulling out a much-needed gap. Jamie Orton in the Team Parker Porsche 718 Cayman had been the big mover at the start, climbing into second from fourth and proving something of a cork in the bottle as Marco Signoretti (Academy Ford Mustang), Tom Edgar (Toyota Gazoo GR Supra) and Jamie Day (R Racing Aston) all made…

GB3 Race 1 (14 laps) 1 Matthew Rees; 2 Luke Browning +0.723s; 3 Joel Granfors; 4 John Bennett; 5 Nico Christodoulou; 6 Tom Lebbon. Fastest lap Browning 1m19.425s (110.29mph). Pole Rees. Starters 22. Race 2 (14 laps) 1 Lebbon; 2 Browning +0.718s; 3 Rees; 4 Granfors; 5 Alex Connor; 6 Bennett. FL Rees 1m19.231s (110.56mph). P Lebbon. S 22. Race 3 (10 laps) 1 Branden Oxley; 2 Cian Shields +0.923s; 3 Roberto Faria; 4 Zak Taylor; 5 Javier Sagrera; 6 Nick Gilkes. FL Browning 1m19.602s (110.04mph). P Marcos Flack. S 22. Points 1 Browning 430; 2 Granfors 414.5; 3 Callum Voisin 312; 4 Faria 305.5; 5 Lebbon 294.5; 6 Rees 276.5. GINETTA GT5 CHALLENGE Race 1 Harley Haughton Race 2 Will Jenkins Race 3 Mikey Doble GINETTA GT ACADEMY Race…

F1000 Races 1 & 3 Lee Morgan Race 2 Thomas Gadd BIKESPORTS Race 1 Thomas Fleming (Radical SR3) Race 2 Leon Morrell (Radical SR3) HOT HATCH Races 1, 2 & 3 Kris McCloy (Honda Civic) MA7DA Races 1 & 2 Jonathan Lisseter (below) Race 3 Eddie Mawer BMW CAR CLUB RACING Races 1, 2 & 3 Graham Crowhurst (E46 M3) ROADSPORTS Colin Gillespie/Phil Dryburgh (SEAT Leon TCR) WELSH RACING DRIVERS ASSOCIATION Races 1 & 2 Christian Douglas (Ariel Atom) CLUB ENDURO Carl Swift/Robert Baker (SEAT Leon TCR) CALM ALL PORSCHE TROPHY Races 1 & 2 James Coleman (Boxster) Race 3 Roger Coy/Calum Lockie (968) For full results visit: 750mc.co.uk…

SILVERSTONE EQUIPE 10 SEPTEMBER Equipe Classic Racing’s flagship series, Equipe GTS, finished the day at Silverstone and finished the season for its participants, bringing the first year of the club promoting its own race meetings to a close. Lee Atkins steered his TVR to the final victory of the day from the sister Grantura of Rob Cull, who had in turn found his way past Neil Fisher’s MGB. Atkins, who has had an up and down season, got a great start and consistently kept a good gap to Cull and Fisher, even through contrasting pitstop strategies. Atkins dived in at half-distance, with Cull opting to stop slightly earlier. This required him to put in some fast laps to ensure he emerged ahead of Fisher and also safely saw off a…

SANTA POD DRAG RACING 8-11 SEPTEMBER Twice a year, Santa Pod Raceway stages rounds of both FIA European Pro Modified and Motorsport UK British Drag Racing championships combined into a single shootout. The FIA category, suspended for two years thanks to COVID-19, resumed with the first of these joint sessions in May and concluded with the European Finals last weekend. With one further round of the British championship remaining, of which Pro Mod is the designated class, Hampshire’s seven-time champion Andy Robinson leads the standings but with rivals closing fast. Hopes that our long, dry summer would extend for one more week were dashed as rain allowed only two of the four scheduled qualifying sessions to take place, although Sunday’s eliminations proceeded untroubled after a late start waiting for wet…

Michele Alboreto attempts to see what’s amiss with his Ferrari 156/85 [can’t imagine those dinky mirrors are much help – ed] as an oil leak combusts, bringing his attempts to improve on his third-place qualifying position for the 1985 Canadian Grand Prix to an end. Come race day at Montreal, polesitter Elio de Angelis (Lotus-Renault 97T) and his team-mate Ayrton Senna led the opening laps, with Alboreto in pursuit. The Ferrari moved up a place when Senna had to pit, then passed de Angelis to take a lead it would not relinquish. At the finish, Stefan Johansson made it a 1-2 for Ferrari, promoting the squad to the top of the constructors’ points, while Alboreto also ended the weekend at the head of the drivers’ standings. For classic motorsport DVDs…

Australian Supercars continues to work on its Gen3 regulations as teams are bracing for a busy off-season building the new cars. The Gen3 design and development programme, led by Triple Eight Race Engineering, recently hit a significant benchmark with Brad Jones Racing taking delivery of the first control chassis built by Pace Innovations. Initially the chassis was supplied without the front clip, which was only approved after the Sandown SuperSprint in August, but chassis makers and teams are now free to begin working on the entire control tube frame. Pace will build chassis for the majority of teams, as well as supplying chassis kits to the likes of Walkinshaw Andretti United and Erebus Motorsport. Triple Eight is building its own chassis to the control spec. The 5.7-litre Chevrolet and 5.4-litre…

Electric off-road series Extreme E has launched a new initiative intended to create opportunities to gain hands-on experience. Called Racing for All, the “action-based programme” is designed to tackle “the substantial barriers of opportunity and bias that exist throughout the motorsport talent pipeline”. Individuals with less than one year’s professional motorsport experience will be able to join XE teams as a sixth crew member – outfits are currently capped at five engineers or mechanics – with the teams responsible for the selection and integration of their desired candidates. Females and people from minority ethnic or lower socio-economic backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Lewis Hamilton, who co-owns the X44 team and launched the Hamilton Commission whose findings informed the initiative, welcomed it as a programme that “will be creating genuine opportunities…

1 PRANCING HORSES HONOUR FERRARI’S RACING LEGACY Goodwood’s celebration of Enzo Ferrari’s marque’s 75th anniversary, which started at the Festival of Speed in July, brings a priceless gathering of cars to the motor circuit each day, respecting its contemporary 1966 timeline. From a trio of 166 MM Barchettas to a 330 P3/412P, the cavalcade leaves no gaps. Some are racing, including Lawrence Auriana’s sensational ex-John Surtees/Lorenzo Bandini/Pedro Rodriguez 1965 1512 ‘0008’, star among the single-seaters, in which 2018 victor Joe Colasacco returns to the Glover Trophy fray. From the Louwman Museum in Holland comes the 1952 375 ‘Grant Piston Ring Special’ – Johnnie Parsons’ Indianapolis 500 contender – to join a 500/625A, Lancia-Ferrari D50A, 375MM, 500 Mondial, 750 Monzas and Testa Rossas. There are front-engined 246 Dinos in Formula 1…

FORMULA 1 Nico Hulkenberg is in contention to make another Formula 1 comeback in 2023 after joining the fight for the vacant seat at Haas. Hulkenberg last raced full-time in F1 in 2019, and has since made a handful of stand-in appearances in his role as reserve driver at Racing Point and Aston Martin. Autosport understands Hulkenberg is now in the mix for a potential return next year with Haas, which looks set to drop Mick Schumacher after two seasons. Ex-Alfa Romeo F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi is high on the list of options, having driven for the team in FP1 at Monza, while reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi could also be in contention depending on sponsorship. “Everybody with a superlicence is on the list,” said Haas F1 chief Gunther Steiner. “I…

YOUNG DRIVER OF THE YEAR The four finalists who will contest the 2022 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award have been selected. FIA Formula 3 race winner Ollie Bearman, GB3 championship leader Luke Browning, W Series dominator Jamie Chadwick and recently crowned Indy Pro 2000 champion Louis Foster will battle it out for prizes that include a test in Aston Martin F1 machinery. Chadwick (2019), Bearman and Foster (both 2021) are former finalists. The Award, which aims to find and assist the best junior British racing drivers, will include fitness and simulator elements before a two-day test at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in MotorSport Vision Formula 2, United Autosports-run Ligier LMP3 and Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 cars. Aside from the F1 test, prizes…

Classic Team Lotus rolled back the years at Monza last weekend to celebrate 50 years since Emerson Fittipaldi’s first Formula 1 title, which was clinched at the famous venue, reuniting him with Lotus 72 chassis 5. A series of runs were organised in support of the Italian Grand Prix with four of Fittipaldi’s cars from his time at Lotus: 72/5, the 56B, a 49 and 72/7. Fittipaldi was joined in the demo runs by Karun Chandhok, Johnny Herbert, Mika Salo, Damon Hill and Martin Brundle.…

Who would have thought that just nine months after the most controversial ending to a Formula 1 championship since Jerez 1997 some people are still mightily pissed off? Lewis Hamilton said he was “not angry” about the safety car conclusion to the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, but then went on to reveal that the wound opened by the 2021 Abu Dhabi race ending in farce ultimately still festers: “There’s only one time in the history of the sport where they haven’t done the rules like that…” But others were angry at Monza. The post-race boos in Italy came from a tifosi livid that their brief hopes of a grandstand finish had been dashed. That emotional outpouring combined with the frustration of many neutral fans, who had spotted a dull race…

Deciding the grid at Monza has been a messy business in recent years. Remember the clumsy squabbles for track position out of Parabolica that left drivers crossing the line too late to start a flier? The switch to ground-effects and a reduced significance of the tow avoided a repeat. But it still wasn’t a good look as four hours were required for officials to work out a provisional starting order due to another flurry of penalties. Charles Leclerc wasn’t in line for a drop, so wherever he ranked in qualifying would be where he started, aside from any promotions due to others. The Monegasque didn’t stitch together any session-best sectors, but his last run in Q3 was still sufficient to snare a first pole since France in July. While it…

Carlos Sainz led home the trio of drivers from frontrunning squads starting down the order and recovering to score strong results, with the Ferrari ace finishing fourth ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull racer Sergio Perez. Sainz and Hamilton were required to start from the rear of the field – with Sainz ahead thanks to his third-place qualifying result – for taking all-new engines ahead of the race. Perez dropped from qualifying fourth to 13th for taking his first additional internal combustion engine over the three allowed by the rules. But the Mexican driver got crowded out on the exit of Turn 2 to drop back towards the already surging Sainz, who then dived past Perez the next time into the first chicane, with the pair briefly touching…

World Rally Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera vowed to come back stronger in New Zealand after admitting his Acropolis Rally was one of the worst of his career. The Finn faced the second match point of his quest to become the youngest ever World Rally champion if he could outscore Tanak by 18 points in Greece. However, for the second event in a row, after his spectacular Belgium crash, the magic he has sprinkled at almost every round this season appeared to have dried up. Hampered by opening the roads on Friday, and a crash on Saturday, Rovanpera didn’t leave Greece empty handed, claiming four powerstage points that could be vital. “Of course, I have done many good and bad weekends but this is one of the worst ones,” said Rovanpera.…

Ferrari took a 1-2 in GTE Pro to put one hand on the final drivers’ title to be awarded in the soon-to-disappear division. Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado extended their lead to 11 points going into the Bahrain finale on a day that the Italian marque’s 488 GTE Evo enjoyed a clear advantage over class rivals Porsche and Chevrolet. A duo looking for their third WEC title had to overcome a strong challenge from the sister AF Corse-run factory car shared by Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina. Fuoco on the fresher rubber was able to charge down Pier Guidi in the fourth hour, eventually moving past with an hour and 20 minutes to go. The pendulum swung the other way after the final stops when Calado had the better…

AUSTRALIAN SUPERCARS PUKEKOHE (NZL) 10-11 SEPTEMBER ROUND 10/14 Shane van Gisbergen gave Pukekohe Park the perfect send-off with an emotional victory in the circuit’s final ever race. The Kiwi went into his home event as the runaway favourite, but instead met stiff opposition from a rapid Will Davison. On Saturday van Gisbergen wasn’t even second best to Davison, the series leader qualifying just seventh. As Davison ran away with race one, van Gisbergen could only work his way forward to a relatively underwhelming fifth. That left Andre Heimgartner as the best-performing Kiwi, the Brad Jones Racing Holden driver holding his nerve to finish second in a tense showdown with Cam Waters after a late safety car. Triple Eight found some speed overnight and van Gisbergen grabbed pole for the first…

PORSCHE SUPERCUP MONZA (ITA) 11 SEPTEMBER ROUND 8/8 Dylan Pereira brought the 2022 Porsche Supercup season to a close as champion after ending the Monza round in fifth. It was a scrappy drive as Pereira spent the latter part of the 15-lap race desperately fending off Team GP Elite’s Larry ten Voorde for the final step on the podium. Pereira – three times a winner in 2022 – made several clumsy errors in his defence, the most costly when he locked up and ran through the second chicane. This netted him a three-second penalty, dropping him from third at the chequered flag to fifth. The champion’s Lechner Racing teammate Bastian Buus started from second on the grid as team-mate Harry King was dumped to fourth from pole due to a…

BRITISH GT Jules Gounon was forced to sit out last weekend’s British GT round at Brands Hatch as he recovers from two cracked vertebrae in his back. The Mercedes factory driver was due to join Ian Loggie at RAM Racing again, having already raced alongside the Scot at Oulton Park and Spa. But on Wednesday Callum Macleod replaced Gounon as the Frenchman recovers from a back injury sustained in a crash earlier in the year. RAM Racing team boss Dan Shufflebottom said: “Over time, he was struggling with pain and he just thought it was going to heal itself. “He got it checked again and they found two cracked vertebrae. It’s going to heal in time and they’ve said about one month.”…

A TRIP TO THE BEACH James Coleman missed last Sunday’s 40-minute CALM All Porsche Trophy race at Anglesey “because I’d promised the kids I’d take them to the beach”. Scaffolder Coleman, 46, had already taken victories in both of Saturday’s two sprint races. He said: “We’d travelled a long way as a family, so I put them first and went for a stroll on the beach nearby, bought them an ice cream and still got back in time to watch the second half of the enduro race.” GETINO’S RACE STOPPAGE Fernando Getino escaped unharmed from a heavy crash that caused the 40-minute CALM Porsche race at Anglesey to be red-flagged midway through. Getino’s Porsche Boxster struck the barriers exiting Church corner, but the 60-year-old was able to extricate himself from…

There was a sigh of relief throughout the British GT paddock and from organiser SRO shortly before qualifying at Brands Hatch for the championship’s latest round. After waiting just short of seven weeks, the UK’s National Court finally announced a decision regarding Fox Motorsport’s and Paddock Motorsport’s appeal from the previous meeting at Spa all the way back in July. The overdue decision, which upheld the appeal made by the two teams, was welcomed across the board for several reasons. For the Fox and Paddock squads it was the end of a long process and vindication that they had done nothing wrong after racing under appeal at Spa all those weeks ago. Both McLaren 720S GT3 machines failed post-qualifying checks, with the manufacturer having been handed a Balance of Performance…

GT3 (78 laps) 1 Morgan Tillbrook/Marcus Clutton (McLaren 720S); 2 Adam Balon/Sandy Mitchell (Lamborghini Huracan) +1.275s; 3 Henry Dawes/Alexander Sims (BMW M4); 4 James Cottingham/Lewis Williamson (Mercedes-AMG); 5 Mia Flewitt/Euan Hankey (McLaren); 6 Ian Loggie/Callum Macleod (Mercedes). Fastest lap Sims 1m24.706s (103.41mph). Pole Cottingham/Williamson. Starters 14. Points 1 Loggie 135; 2 Balon/Mitchell 110.5; 3 Cottingham/Williamson 102; 4 Tillbrook/Clutton 101; 5 Alex Malykhin/James Dorlin (Lamborghini) 82; 6 Nick Halstead (McLaren) 72. GT4 (74 laps) 1 Matt Topham/Darren Turner (Aston Martin Vantage); 2 Richard Williams/Sennan Fielding (Audi R8) +5.284s; 3 Jamie Orton/Seb Hopkins (Porsche Cayman); 4 Jamie Day/Josh Miller (Aston Martin); 5 Aaron Morgan/Bobby Trundley (McLaren 570S); 6 Tom Edgar/Jordan Collard (Toyota Supra). FL Matt Cowley (Ford Mustang) 1m32.611s (94.58mph). P Williams/Fielding. S 13. Points 1 Topham/Turner 154; 2 Williams/Fielding 141.5; 3…

Nikolas Taylor notched up his ninth GB4 win at Brands Hatch, but it was by no means plain sailing in his quest for the title after crashing out from the lead in the opening contest. After building a one-second advantage, Taylor was caught out by a brief rain shower at Paddock Hill Bend, striking the barriers after sliding through the gravel and ending his race. His crash resulted in three thrilling laps to the chequered flag following a safety-car period to retrieve his Fortec machine, as Jarrod Waberski led Kevin Mills Racing team-mate Tom Mills. The latter had to fight hard to keep Jack Sherwood behind at the restart, but the Elite Motorsport driver eventually got ahead into Paddock at the start of the penultimate lap before briefly snatching the…

DONINGTON PARK CSCC 10-11 SEPTEMBER A heart-in-mouth trip over the grass amid the Craner Curves on the penultimate lap, having caught and sliced diagonally between long-time leaders Russell Hird and Andrew Windmill at Hollywood, and a phenomenal save as he rejoined the track, earned Danny Cassar victory in Sunday’s sensational Tin Tops race at the well-supported Classic Sports Car Club Donington Derby meeting. The event went ahead after poignant daily two-minute silences paying respects to HM Queen Elizabeth II. Cassar’s 1m17.067s (92.44mph) shot had put Nigel Ainge’s Hillwood Motors Honda Integra Type R on pole, with Windmill (Civic) and Hird (Integra) within 1.157 seconds. Ainge slipped to seventh from the rolling start, but relayed Cassar from a steady sixth as the pit window opened eight laps into the 40 minutes.…

MONDELLO PARK MPSC 10-11 SEPTEMBER Michael Cullen vaulted himself back into title contention with a win in the opening Stryker race at Mondello Park last weekend, his rival Johnny Taylor retiring mid-race with damage. But it was Cullen’s turn to suffer in the second encounter, meaning he ultimately missed out on another crown. Despite a spectacular oil leak and subsequent smoke screen, Cullen did pip Taylor to the flag in race two. However, the officials had shown a mechanical defect flag, and under the chequered flag hung a black one, Cullen’s subsequent exclusion handing Taylor the title. Keith Dawson dominated Fiesta Zetec proceedings in his uncle’s borrowed car, even breaking the long-standing lap record on his way to the opening win. In race two, Robert Barrable took the lead with…

BOOK ROMAIN GROSJEAN WITH MARION GROSJEAN: FACING DEATH RRP £16 It was one of those moments in life where you can recall exactly where you were when it happened. The TV images of a car spearing off the track, a huge impact with the barrier and within a split second an eruption of flames more reminiscent of Formula 1 from a bygone era. Not something anyone ever expected to see again in 2020. The accident at the start of that year’s Bahrain Grand Prix for Romain Grosjean was one of the most violent motorsport crashes in modern times, as for 27 seconds the Frenchman was engulfed in a ball of fire with his life very much on the line. Footage of him battling his way through the flames to safety…

When one thinks about rally legends Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, the acrimonious 1995 World Rally Championship campaign usually springs to mind. But the public breakdown between the then Subaru team-mates doesn’t paint a true reflection of their relationship, according to Sainz, who cites McRae as his favourite team-mate and one of his greatest rivals. Of McRae’s 11 full-time WRC campaigns, the Scot spent six as a team-mate to 1990 and 1992 world champion Sainz. The pair spearheaded Subaru’s factory programme in 1994 and 1995 before Sainz’s split with the Prodrive-run team, then joined forces again at Ford between 2000 and 2002, before moving together to Citroen for 2003. In 1995, McRae and Sainz went head-to-head for the WRC title, split by five points in McRae’s favour prior to the…

Rallycross legend Kenneth Hansen says the FIA world championship’s new electric cars can be the fastest ever, but still have “more potential” to extract. The 14-time European champion operates two Peugeot 208 RX1es, fitted with spec twin-motor Kreisel Electric powertrains that produce 500kW, for sons Timmy and Kevin. All three races so far have been won by VW Polo driver Johan Kristoffersson. Hansen Sr told Autosport he was “very positive” about the championship’s electric revamp, but believes the cars have the potential to “be quite [a lot] faster than we are” with more mileage to optimise mapping and some software improvements. This will be subject to talks with the FIA to ensure that the driver still predominantly has control and that teams aren’t granted so much freedom that those with…

Williams Advanced Engineering has launched a new platform designed to assist brands building high-performance electric hypercars. Revealed earlier this month at the Low Carbon Vehicle Show, the ‘EVR’ platform offers what the supplier of Formula E’s first-gen battery calls a “complete turnkey solution” that allows startups and OEMs to reduce development costs and shortcut their path to getting a product on the market. It also boasts “maximum design flexibility”, coming embedded within a lightweight composite chassis. Powered by an 85kWh battery that produces peak power of 1650kW, the EVR is reportedly capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h (62mph) in less than two seconds, up to a maximum speed exceeding 248mph with a vehicle mass less than 1800kg. It supports all-wheel and rear-wheel-drive vehicle configurations, can be charged in under 20 minutes…

“We were approached by the Owen family because John remembered as a lad the three BRM V16s on the grid at Goodwood,” says ace historic preparer and former BRM mechanic Rick Hall. “No one was running the original ones because they were very tired, very old and had not had a lot of money spent on them for many years. His dream was to hear three V16s at Goodwood and race.” The final part of that dream should become a reality this weekend when Hall’s son Rob contests the Goodwood Trophy for grand prix and Voiturette racers from either side of the Second World War in BRM V16 chassis IV, the first of three new cars. It will be the first race for a car only completed last year, but…

Whenever historic Formula 1 machinery takes to the track on a grand prix weekend, there’s always the risk of the contemporary machines being upstaged. Think of the attention garnered by Fernando Alonso’s demo runs in his 2005 title-winning Renault R25 at the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, or Ralf Schumacher lapping his 2003 Williams FW25 at comparable pace in the crowd-pleasing Legends Parade segment at the Austrian Grand Prix. Masters Historic Formula 1 has supported F1 in the past, but it’s unlikely to do so on a regular basis. That’s not the case with the DTM, which promotes its own historic championship as a fixture on its support bill. The new-for-2022 DTM Classic Cup permits machines that raced in the DTM between 1984 and 2007 (including its period known as…

FORMULA 1 Porsche’s plans to enter Formula 1 in 2026 through a partnership with Red Bull Racing have been scrapped. Regular delays to announcement plans, fuelled by uncertainty from Red Bull about Porsche’s plan to take a 50% share in the team, have ultimately led to negotiations coming to an end, as confirmed by Porsche in a statement last Friday ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. “The premise was always that a partnership would be based on an equal footing, which would include not only an engine partnership but also the team,” said the statement. “This could not be achieved. With the finalised rule changes, the racing series nevertheless remains an attractive environment for Porsche, which will continue to be monitored.” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that a…

OLLIE BEARMAN Aged 17 Third in FIA Formula 3 with Prema Racing “I wasn’t expecting to be nominated twice in a row. This year’s experience should help massively. In F4 you don’t really have tyre degradation, which is a big thing in the F2 car and in F3. I think I’ve made a big step and I’m a better driver than I was last year. The race run wasn’t the best last time so that’s where I’m looking to improve.” LUKE BROWNING Aged 20 Currently leading GB3 with Hitech Grand Prix “The Award is something I’ve been looking at since I stepped into car racing. It was a goal coming into the season. I’ve looked at the Award for years and years, and I was gutted when it didn’t run…

WEC/IMSA The German Proton team has emerged as clear favourite to run the second customer Porsche 963 LMDh prototypes available in both the World Endurance and the IMSA SportsCar championships in 2023. The long-time Porsche GT entrant with close links to both the factory and 963 development partner Multimatic has looked certain for some time to get one of the two WEC cars where it would join the British Jota team. Now it has emerged as the leading contender to race as a Porsche customer in IMSA alongside JDC-Miller Motorsports. Proton had made a bid for the remaining car available for North America earlier in the year, but Porsche looked set to go with a new operation set up alongside the IndyCar team run by US racing legend — and…

GTs/DTM Ex-Formula 1 driver Timo Glock will leave BMW Motorsport at the end of the 2022 season. The 40-year-old will call time on a decade-long partnership with the German manufacturer after next month’s final round of the Italian GT sprint series at Mugello with Roberto Ravaglia’s Ceccato Motors team. “Thank you BMW Motorsport, spending 10 years together around the world on the best race tracks you can dream of,” said BMW’s five-time DTM race winner. “I really enjoyed the intense time in DTM with those wonderful Class 1 cars and great wins and podiums. “Now it is time to move on. A special thanks goes to [former BMW Motorsport director] Jens Marquardt who was the key person behind this journey.” The 91-time F1 starter has not yet confirmed his next…

So Will Power has done it. The fastest IndyCar driver of his generation has nailed his second championship, eight years after his first. The man who scored five wins in 2010, six in 2011 and both times failed to clinch the title, has been victorious in 2022 just once… along with eight other podium finishes and three additional top-fours. It’s been a curious season, watching this lethal weapon of a driver so often slip on the safety catch, refrain from going for long shots. This year he blended less of the go-for-it Tom Sneva and Bobby Unser-style attitude with more of the big-picture thinking of a Rick Mears or Al Unser. Let no one describe it as a ‘new analytical approach’, however. The ability to analyse every facet of his…

Sport has a strange habit of conjuring up unthinkable results when you least expect them. This year’s Acropolis Rally fell into that category as Hyundai – the team that has struggled the most with reliability this year – conquered one of the World Rally Championship’s most brutal tests by scoring a history-making podium lockout. Hyundai’s fragile i20 N created headlines for all the wrong reasons in the first half of the season as the South Korean marque, which was late to commit to the WRC’s hybrid Rally1 regulations, found itself on the backfoot. A severe lack of development was highlighted at the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, where Thierry Neuville’s sixth place, almost eight minutes adrift of the pace, was the best it could deliver. The list of problems to…

The best of the WRT and Jota ORECAs were separated by a dozen or so seconds on track at the top of the LMP2 order after six hours at Fuji. But the two teams opted for very different strategies to get to positions one and two in class. The #31 WRT ORECA-Gibson 07 driven by Sean Gelael, Robin Frijns and Dries Vanthoor took the victory by pushing as hard as possible from lap one to the end. The Jota car driven by Roberto Gonzalez, Antonio Felix da Costa and Will Stevens went off kilter on strategy in what turned out to be an unsuccessful victory bid. But Jota’s decision to go onto an aggressive fuel-save regime to try to save a pitstop had logic to it. The crew of the…

FIA FORMULA 2 MONZA (ITA) 10-11 SEPTEMBER ROUND 13/14 Felipe Drugovich was crowned Formula 2 champion after Saturday’s sprint despite watching most of it from the pitwall. The MP Motorsport driver suffered a first-lap retirement after a collision with Amaury Cordeel at Turn 5 broke his suspension, leaving him to return to the pitlane. But he watched on as title rival Theo Pourchaire finished last, leaving his championship-leading margin untouched and paving the way for him to become the first Brazilian to win the main Formula 1 feeder series title since Bruno Junqueira conquered Formula 3000 in 2000. Juri Vips won the sprint race, having started third for Hitech behind Frederik Vesti (ART) and Logan Sargeant, the Carlin driver making a poor start to drop to fifth. Then Olli Caldwell…

NASCAR CUP KANSAS SPEEDWAY (USA) 11 SEPTEMBER ROUND 28/36 Bubba Wallace held off his boss Denny Hamlin to win in Kansas and become a second consecutive surprise winner in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Wallace, who failed to qualify for the playoffs, ran down Alex Bowman to take the lead for the first time on lap 200 of 267 and built a comfortable lead after successfully navigating a round of green-flag pitstops. With 16 laps to go, Hamlin – co-owner of Wallace’s 23XI Racing team along with NBA legend Michael Jordan – got around Christopher Bell and chased after Wallace. With no additional cautions to bunch the field, Wallace held off Hamlin to earn his second career victory and first of 2022. The win replicated that of team-mate Kurt Busch,…

NUNN CHANGES TEAM Harry Nunn has followed in the footsteps of his Mini Challenge team-mate Bradley Gravett and left Graves Motorsport, joining Excelr8 for the remainder of the season. Nunn had taken a best result of 17th so far in his rookie campaign, having won the Cooper title in 2020. “I knew this season was going to be a big challenge but I think it’s fair to say that I was hoping for more in terms of results by this stage and I feel the time is right for a change,” he said. LAND EYES MA7DA SWITCH Locost title favourite Craig Land is eyeing a step up to the Ma7da championship for 2023. “I’ve bought Simon Walker-Hansell’s car, which was always at the front, so Ma7das are definitely one of…

GINETTA GT ACADEMY Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness made a surprise debut in the Ginetta GT Academy at Brands Hatch last weekend, taking a class win and not ruling out a return in the future. McGuinness, whose only previous four-wheeled racing experience came in the Fun Cup last year as well as a few rallycross events, was tempted by the opportunity after a test in a G56 GTA car at Croft. “It’s a lot harder than I’ve given it credit for – I take it all back,” said McGuinness, who has 23 TT wins to his name. “It’s how late you have to brake. The lines are different after thousands of laps round here on a bike.” After being taken out at Druids in race one, the 50-year-old…

OBITUARY Born on the Channel Island of Jersey on 1 January 1948, Mike Blanchet – who died last week aged 74 – commanded universal respect as a motorsport professional, indeed touched the lives of many beyond his own racing. Synonymous with Lola Cars, of which he progressed from sales director to joint MD, Blanchet was a winner on track and in business. Standing five feet two and with size five feet, Blanchet was ideally suited to early Formula Ford, before minimum weights were set around regular-sized drivers. After briefly hillclimbing a Lotus 7 locally at Bouley Bay, with brother Terry, Blanchet relocated to England in 1973, where his bold handling of a Lotus 61 Formula Ford ‘wedge’ caught pundits’ eyes. Second to Geoff Lees (Royale) in the 1975 Festival at…

BRANDS HATCH BRITISH GT3 10-11 SEPTEMBER An unexpected lead change two laps from the end, a collision involving the championship leader and a title battle finely poised all helped to create an intriguing British GT round at Brands Hatch. Enduro Motorsport’s Morgan Tillbrook and Marcus Clutton claimed their second win of the season after being in the hunt for victory throughout the two-hour encounter, while an eventful sixth place for Ian Loggie means he heads to the Donington Park finale next month with a healthy points lead. Loggie entered the Kent race with a confirmed 39-point advantage, the result of the previous Spa round having been made official after the UK’s National Court upheld Fox Motorsport’s appeal on Saturday just hours ahead of qualifying (see News). The RAM Racing team…

BRANDS HATCH MSVR 10-11 SEPTEMBER Even with no victory to his name across the weekend’s three races, Luke Browning took a crucial lead in the GB3 Championship with a battling display at Brands Hatch against title rival Joel Granfors. Both championship protagonists, though, were relegated to the role of supporting cast in qualifying as Elite’s Tom Lebbon secured a brace of poles from JHR Developments’ Matthew Rees. It was Rees, however, who occupied the pole slot for race one, Lebbon demoted five-places having carried over a penalty from the previous round at Silverstone for a yellow-flag infringement. Rees charged into the lead at the start, while front-row starter Granfors bogged down and was passed by both Browning and John Bennett before repassing the latter into Druids. The Fortec driver then…

ANGLESEY 750MC 10-11 SEPTEMBER At a crucial moment in the title race, Rob Welham took over the F1000 championship lead from Matthew Booth as fellow title contender Thomas Gadd and Lee Morgan did the winning in three nail-biting races at the penultimate round at Anglesey. Mittell Cars’ Matthew Higginson had taken a maiden pole position in qualifying and came close to winning for the first time too in the opening encounter. He was under intense pressure from Morgan throughout, the Perpetuum driver drawing alongside through the left-right Rocket sequence of bends on several occasions, but Higginson was able to hold firm – until the final lap. On that occasion, Morgan was a bit further alongside as they hit the brakes and was able to cling on around the outside to…

TIN TOPS Nigel Ainge/Danny Cassar (Honda Integra Type R) MODERN CLASSICS Miles & Piers Masarati (Porsche 964 Turbo) SWINGING SIXTIES Group 1 Ian Staines (MG Midget) Group 2 Oliver & Nigel Reuben (TVR Griffith) FUTURE CLASSICS Aston & Tony Blake (TVR Tuscan Challenge) CLASSIC K Jamie Boot (TVR Griffith) TURBO TIN TOPS Phiroze Bilimoria (VW Scirocco, below) NEW MILLENNIUM Simon Baker/Kevin Clarke (BMW 1 Series Coupe) SPECIAL SALOONS & MODSPORTS Race 1 Clive Anderson (BMW E30 V8 turbo) Race 2 Danny Morris (Peugeot 309 GTI turbo) MAGNIFICENT SEVENS John Cutmore (Spire RB7) OPEN/SLICKS SERIES Morgan Short (Mosler MT900) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

SILVERSTONE EQUIPE GTS Lee Atkins (TVR Grantura) EQUIPE PRE-’63 AND 50s Dafyd Richards (Lotus 11) EQUIPE LIBRE Matthew Moore/Mark Daniell (AC Cobra) MGCC BCV8 Races 1 & 2 James Wheeler (B GT V8) PRODUCTION GTI/Z CARS Race 1 Henry Riley (VW Golf GTI) Race 2 Simon Hill (VW Golf GTI) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com MONDELLO PARK IRISH STRYKERS Race 1 Michael Cullen Race 2 Jonathan Taylor FIESTA ZETEC Race 1 Keith Dawson Race 2 Michael Barrable FIESTA ST Race 1 Erik Holstein Race 2 Eddie Peterson MINI JUNIOR CHALLENGE Race 1 David Travers Races 2 & 3 Codey Keogh HISTORIC RACING CAR ASSOCIATION Race 1 Dave Griffin (Crossle 9S) Race 2 Jackie Cochrane (Sunbeam Tiger) SEAT SUPERCUP IRELAND/IRISH SUPERCARS/IRISH TOURING CARS Race 1 Shane Murphy (SEAT) Race 2 Harry…

It’s a testament to the appeal – and growing importance – of historic racing that the Goodwood Revival is regarded as one of the keystones of Britain’s motorsport calendar, an event that professional racers attend in their droves with one common aim: winning. Having fun in period garb is an added bonus. While the atmosphere on a weekend that celebrates the past is likely to be sombre, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week, there will at least be plenty to entertain spectators making the trip, as Marcus Pye outlines in his preview on page 14. Even if the thought of Jimmie Johnson doing battle with top drivers from touring cars, sportscars and even rallying doesn’t get the mouth watering, then the sight (and sound) of the BRM…

The organiser of the Student Motorsport Challenge is targeting a doubling of entry numbers next year and is also working on plans for a second series. The Challenge sits within the British Racing and Sports Car Club’s CityCar Cup contest and enables college and university teams to compete against each other in Citroen C1s, Peugeot 107s and Toyota Aygos. Educators can either convert the cars themselves, buy a ready-to-race machine or partner with a driver who already has a car and run it for them. The concept was launched last year and began this season, with 10 teams competing so far. Student Motorsport founder JP Latham said this was an “incredible achievement”. “I set out to start something that was going to make motorsport more sustainable, accessible and inclusive for…

COSWORTH POWERS EV Cosworth has partnered with Ariel Motor Company to build a new road-legal electric car, called HIPERCAR, which is eyeing lap records currently held by combustion vehicles. Powered by batteries developed at Delta Cosworth, the HIPERCAR was unveiled earlier this month. It is still in development, but power figures of around 1200hp are reported. Its 150-mile range can be extended by fitting Cosworth’s Catalytic Generator. NEW HQ FOR WOLF RACING Italian sportscar manufacturer Wolf Racing Cars, which owns the rights to the name of the 1970s Formula 1 outfit, has announced it is building a new headquarters close to its current base in Brescia. A statement from the company that builds hillclimb and sports-prototype machinery said its investment demonstrated an intention “to provide a 100% Wolf car from…

1 UNIVERSITY DEGREES Time was when an education in motorsport consisted of helping your mate load his Formula Ford Dulon MP15 onto a trailer, then got left with the oily toolbox, stopwatch and pitboard while he pulled on his Les Leston overalls, open-face helmet and goggles and took to the track. As with the whole of the motorsport industry, everything is now optimised to the nth degree and there are a host of courses available up and down the UK offering formal qualifications to those who want to forge a path in the sport. One of the best-known seats of motorsport learning is Cranfield University, which has been prominent for its research in the sport since the 1970s and is home to the FIA-approved Cranfield Impact Centre and Cranfield Motorsport…

After over 50 years of working with racing engines, there are few better qualified than Richard ‘Dick’ Langford when it comes to the art of extracting horsepower. Langford began his career at Cosworth as the world-beating DFV was beginning to flex its muscles, and serviced much of the Formula 1 grid during the 1970s, before he and Alan Peck co-founded their own engine-building company Langford & Peck that became a successful DFV tuner in Formula 3000 and supplied several top F1 teams. Today known as Langford Performance Engineering after Peck stepped back in 1993 – “Everybody used to call us L&P, so we kept the initials,” he says – it focuses on historic road and race engines, and builds new HB V8 engines alongside restoration work. A Coventry Climax V8…