Indholdsfortegnelse for 9/22/2022 i Autosport

There were moments during the dramatic 2021 Formula 1 title contest when Max Verstappen still looked a little raw. The occasional mistake and regularly overstepping the mark in wheel-to-wheel fights with Lewis Hamilton showed that he perhaps wasn’t quite the full package, even though Verstappen took the crown in the farcical Abu Dhabi finale. But there has been far less of that this year. Verstappen has been fair in his fights with Charles Leclerc and, even in the events where he has had to come through the field (such as at Spa and Monza), he has shown patience and an ability to let a race come to him rather than desperation. How much of this is due to Verstappen maturing and how much can be put down to the different…

FORMULA 1 Newly crowned Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich is no longer the most deserving young talent with no connection to a Formula 1 team. The Brazilian has joined Aston Martin as a reserve driver ahead of the 2023 season. Off the back of Drugovich’s F2 title win at Monza with three races to spare, Aston revealed that the 22-year-old would become the first member of its newly formed young-driver programme. Drugovich will therefore serve as one of the team’s reserves through next season in support of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, as well as completing an extensive private testing programme. He will also make his FP1 debut in Abu Dhabi later this year and take part in the post-season rookie test. “For me, 2023 will be a learning curve,”…

WEC Departure from Audi announced one day, new employer shortly afterwards. Nico Muller’s move to Peugeot to become part of its World Endurance Championship campaign was confirmed last week in much the same way as Rene Rast’s departure for BMW last month. The other similarity is that they have left the long-term employ of Audi to chase the dream of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours. That’s something that wasn’t going to be possible with the German manufacturer after it discontinued its LMDh project. “My dream has been to compete at Le Mans for the overall win for many years and once the contact came up with Peugeot and I started to get to know the people a bit better, I understood the company is committed to winning that thing,”…

ITALIAN GT Ex-Formula 1 star Rubens Barrichello is targeting more endurance racing with Ferrari after taking victory on his Italian GT Championship debut at Vallelunga last weekend alongside fellow F1 veteran Giancarlo Fisichella. The 50-year-old Brazilian started 322 grands prix between 1993 and 2011 and scored 11 wins, nine of them with Ferrari. He struck a late deal to join Scuderia Baldini alongside World Endurance Championship regular Fisichella at the wheel of a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo. “It’s just an amazing feeling to be back driving a Ferrari and to be alongside my great friend Giancarlo Fisichella,” said Barrichello. “Vallelunga was one of the first tracks I ever drove on, when I was 16 years old, so I’m really excited to be back.” The duo began the weekend strongly by…

Over the years the motorsport world has witnessed its fair share of machine swaps as drivers and riders explore different disciplines. Think seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi famously experiencing their respective 2017-specification Mercedes W08 and 2019 Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1 machines at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo in 2019. Or back in 2003 when Williams F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya exchanged his FW24 with four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon’s ‘rainbow warrior’ Chevrolet Monte Carlo at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Montoya would ultimately enjoy an almost-nine-year sojourn in NASCAR, which began four years after the PR stunt. The concept also included 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button and seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes swapping a McLaren MP4-23 and a Holden VE Commodore to tackle…

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s death on 8 September put the United Kingdom on hold, a sombre week of national mourning providing an opportunity to reflect on an extraordinary 70-year reign. With protocols observed, the 24th Revival went ahead with union flags fluttering respectfully at half-mast above Goodwood’s pits, moving tributes from the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, and heavy gun salutes followed by the observation of a minute’s silence before racing. Over three gloriously warm sunny days, during which the lightest of natural tears from the sky occasionally anointed the scene, the roar of Rolls-Royce Merlin V12s as three Spitfires and a Hurricane wheeled overhead the former RAF Westhampnett aerodrome, while the shriek of a magnificent BRM V16 traced its now-hallowed perimeter track. Pilgrims from around the world, in…

NASCAR CUP BRISTOL (USA) 17 SEPTEMBER ROUND 29/36 Chris Buescher provided the latest NASCAR Cup Series playoff surprise by holding off Chase Elliott to win Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Buescher exited pitroad first at the final stops on lap 438 of 500 thanks to a two-tyre call, but he also got a little help. Two of the top contenders for the win – Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin – both had problems during their respective stops and got shuffled back in the field. Buescher and his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford quickly cleared for the lead on the restart with 57 laps to go and had little problem holding off Elliott to claim the win and become the third consecutive non-playoff driver to win in the first…

MOTOGP MOTORLAND ARAGON (ESP) 18 SEPTEMBER ROUND 15/20 To his immense credit, Fabio Quartararo has made only one big mistake so far in his 2022 MotoGP title defence. The crash with Aleix Espargaro at Assen that netted him a long-lap penalty for Silverstone has been the only blot on his copybook in a campaign when he has had to outperform his motorcycle to keep clean. It is unfortunate, then, that the moment that could well have spelled the end of his title hopes this season wasn’t of his own doing. The Aragon Grand Prix heralded the comeback of six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez. Having been absent since the end of the Italian GP back in May, after which he went for a fourth major operation on the right arm…

TRACK ATTACK The team behind the successful Junior Saloon Car Championship has taken over the operation of the Track Attack Race Club series following the retirement of founder Steve Vince. The club was created in 2004 and was designed to offer a low-cost way for people to compete in a variety of tin-tops. Separate series for German (Deutsche Marques), Japanese (Nippon Challenge) and French (Tricolore Trophy) cars have been held but recently these have usually been run together. The new organisers, spearheaded by Dave Beecroft, intend to grow interest in Track Attack again but will continue to follow Vince’s original principles. Beecroft explained Vince asked him to consider getting involved to ensure the series had a future after his retirement. “I’ve known Steve for 20-odd years and I spoke with…

BATTLE OF BRSCC BOSSES There will be some internal rivalry in the Mazda MX-5 Mk1s at Donington Park this coming weekend, when the British Racing and Sports Car Club’s chief operations officer Paul McErlean goes up against competitions coordinator Luke Souch and head of development Greg Graham. “We have all raced before but not all in the same race,” said McErlean. JAGUAR TITLE AT LAST A pair of wins in the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Jaguar Challenge was enough for Tom Robinson to clinch the title at Snetterton. Robinson’s supercharged Jaguar XJR6, prepared by his own Swallows Racing concern, has been beaten only twice this year. “I’ve been close a couple of times,” he said. “To finally get there is great – a bit of a relief!” TESTING THE…

V8 SUPERCARS Veteran club racer Rod Birley sampled an ex-Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy Holden V8 Supercar at Brands Hatch last week, thanks to his friend Alex Sidwell. Birley has endured a difficult season after suffering multiple engine problems with his regular Ford Escort WRC, and the chance to test the Aussie Supercar was the realisation of a long-held ambition. He has known Sidwell for over 30 years, when the pair competed against each other at Lydden Hill. With Sidwell now owning a collection of Holdens, he said several years ago that he would like to give Birley the chance to get behind the wheel of one. That test happened last Friday, with Birley driving the car Skaife and Murphy took to fourth at Bathurst in 2009, and is a…

Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September, there was inevitably an inkling that Goodwood’s Revival Meeting would not take place as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland went into a period of national mourning. As difficult as it would have been to countenance cancellation for force majeure – the sheer magnitude of logistics behind such a herculean undertaking would never have allowed postponement to an adjacent weekend – the vast majority of people affected would have understood. Once the royal funeral’s date was set, on the Monday after the Revival weekend, and the green light was given for sporting events to go ahead in the interim, wholesale changes made to the event programme followed at very short notice, and yet another piece…

SNETTERTON BARC 17-18 SEPTEMBER Inventive overtaking manoeuvres by Tom Ovenden on his way to an opening-race win highlighted three hard-fought Mini Challenge Trophy races at Snetterton. Rounding Nelson King at the Wilson hairpin allowed Ovenden to complete his move for second into Turn 3 on the penultimate tour, before diving to the inside of Nicky Taylor for the lead at Coram later that lap. Taylor attempted to fight back into Murrays, but that allowed King to use Ovenden’s slipstream to snatch second. “That was the most stressful race I’ve done in a while,” said Ovenden. Beaten for only the third time in 11 races, King resumed normal service in the rematch, pulling clear as the rest squabbled. Taylor and Jack Byrne completed the podium after Ovenden was forced to pit…

CATERHAM SEVEN UK Races 1, 2 & 3 Lewis Thompson CATERHAM ACADEMY – GREEN Races 1 & 2 Rrutuj Patki (below) CATERHAM ACADEMY – WHITE Race 1 Ben Timmons Race 2 Tom McEwing CATERHAM ROADSPORT Race 1 Geoff Newman Race 2 James Cook CATERHAM 270R Race 1 Domenique Mannsperger Race 2 Hugo Bush CATERHAM 310R Race 1 Pete Walters Race 2 Harry George FIESTA CHAMPIONSHIP Race 1 Rob Smith (ST240 Turbo) Race 2 William Kellett (ST240 Turbo) Race 3 John Cooper (ST240 Turbo) FIESTA JUNIORS Races 1, 2 & 3 Thomas Jack Lee (Mk6 ST150) BMW COMPACT CUP Race 1 Ian Howes Race 2 Mikey Doble Race 3 Steven Dailly For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

BRANDS HATCH MSVR 17-18 SEPTEMBER Rory Smith was back in Formula Ford machinery and got his Festival preparations into full swing with two decisive victories in the combined Champion of Brands and United Formula Ford double-header last weekend. The 2020 Festival winner’s only impediments were an oil leak in qualifying (which didn’t stop him securing pole) and losing places at the initial race-one get-go when he couldn’t get first gear. Fortunately for him, the race was restarted after a spectacular first-lap barrel roll for B-M Racing team-mate Drew Cameron that he thankfully walked away from. In both races, Smith’s fellow Festival winner Joey Foster, on his first outing of 2022 in his Firman, followed the Medina home. “We’ve made some real headway this weekend [for the Festival],” Smith said. “And…

CROFT BRSCC 17-18 SEPTEMBER Emax Motorsport’s Jake and James Little came away victorious in both C1 Endurance three-hour races at Croft last weekend. Nick Beaumont had set the early pace for JWB in race one with Jake Little in hot pursuit but, with such varying strategies, it wasn’t until the last half-hour that the true picture began to unfold. The Littles had the lead from JWB’s Phil House, Emax’s Murdo MacLeod and Scuderia Pollo Rosso’s Frank Claydon, but the safety car was out too. There was a final 20 minutes on the clock from the green flag, but it only ran for 10 after On The Edge had a wheel fail at Sunny and the race was red-flagged. The Littles had almost two minutes in hand over the House/Beaumont car…

FORMULA 1 Star Italian Grand Prix Formula 1 race debutant Nyck de Vries has entered the race for a seat with AlphaTauri next season after Red Bull gave up on its quest to secure a superlicence for Colton Herta. Autosport revealed during the recent Belgian GP weekend that Red Bull was interested in signing IndyCar driver Herta as a possible replacement for Pierre Gasly, who is being sought by Alpine as a replacement for Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso. But it emerged in the following weeks that the FIA would not be willing to grant Herta an exemption for a superlicence, given he has 32 of the required 40 points to qualify for one. Although there were some avenues to get Herta over the line for a superlicence, such as entering…

INDYCAR IndyCar silly season pivot Alex Palou is staying with Chip Ganassi Racing after all for 2023, and that means Felix Rosenqvist will remain at Arrow McLaren SP. Palou found himself in the eye of the storm when it was announced in July that he would be leaving Ganassi for McLaren Racing after the 2022 season. The statement landed shortly after Ganassi announced that it had taken up the 2021 champion’s option for another year, triggering a legal tug of war between the two sides. Due to the acrimonious fallout, Palou’s future was up in the air for two months but, in a stunning turn of events, he announced last week that he is staying put. It was understood that, along with wanting to secure a better contract as an…

For anyone fortunate enough to have visited Melbourne, it’s rather hard not to constantly miss it. And when he looks back to Formula 1’s first race in the Australian city for three years, that really applies to 2022 Melbourne winner Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver was dominant on a weekend when Red Bull couldn’t match its red rival on outright pace or tyre performance and its star ultimately retired. That put Leclerc 46 points clear of Max Verstappen and in prime position for his first title glory if he and Ferrari could keep it up. As we now know, neither could. Verstappen is romping to his own double title glory and can do so as early as next weekend’s first F1 race in Singapore for three years. But it’s worth…

Move on from Monza I find it amusing that the finish to the Monza race is being called a ‘farce’. Had this not occurred at Monza with a red car in second place it’s likely we wouldn’t even be talking about it. But combine the above scenario with so many fans’ inability to move beyond last year’s title decider (which actually was a farce) and what we’re left with is the proverbial tempest in a teapot. It would be a great shame to see any kind of knee-jerk reaction from the powers-that-be. Making changes to the rules all in the name of manufacturing an exciting ‘show’ is something that NASCAR does, not Formula 1. I’ve been a motorsports fan and participant for the better part of my 50 years on…

Driving through the heavily tree-lined gates of Virginia International Raceway, there’s a real mixture of emotions churning inside me. Firstly, of awe. If you’ve never been to VIR, you may not know what a truly special racetrack it is. It sits inside an expansive 1300-acre estate located on the Virginia-North Carolina border. With an ‘old-school’ quality, almost Spa-esque, it’s surrounded by forest. But unlike the depths of the Ardennes, VIR’s complex has a hotel, a pub set in the original property owner’s house, and luxury private lodges with views of the famous Esses – people don’t just want to drive here, they want to live here. It’s mid-July, which means early morning mists give way to thunderstorms in the afternoon, adding to the drama of the place. It’s through that…

Sixty years after the first of Graham Hill’s two Formula 1 world championships – those, plus Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans victories that made history in themselves – his record at Goodwood is impressive too. He debuted here on 2 April 1957, driving Tommy Atkins’s Connaught A-type and Aston Martin DB3S, and winning his class in Dr Manton’s Lotus 11. By season’s end he had returned in a Team Lotus 12. After numerous podiums, Graham bagged a double victory on Easter Monday 1962 – Stirling Moss’s fateful day – winning the Glover Trophy in a BRM P57 and the St Mary’s Trophy in Noddy Coombs’s Jaguar Mk2. He finished second in the RAC Tourist Trophy in Coombs’s Ferrari GTO that summer, before winning it in Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s Maranello Concessionaires…

SUPER GT SUGO (JPN) 18 SEPTEMBER ROUND 6/8 Nissan strengthened its grip on this year’s Super GT title chase with a 1-2 finish for its works NISMO-run cars at a rain-hit Sugo. In the first wet Super GT race for three years, the two Michelin-shod Nissan Zs were the class of the field, scything to the front in the worst of the conditions. But what looked like an easy first win of the season for veterans Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda slipped away owing to a questionable strategy call that handed the advantage to the machine of Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi. Quintarelli was running comfortably ahead of Chiyo when he pitted on lap 44 of 84 to hand over to Matsuda, who was given a fresh set of wet-weather…

NASCAR XFINITY BRISTOL (USA) 16 SEPTEMBER ROUND 26/33 AJ Allmendinger topped the regular season, but Noah Gragson enters the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs as the hottest driver. Gragson was the only driver on the lead lap not to pit during the final caution, and quickly cleared for the lead on a restart with 21 of 300 laps to go. He then fended off a furious charge from Brandon Jones over the final three laps and held on to win Friday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The win is a series-leading sixth for Gragson and his third straight. He will enter the playoffs this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway as top seed in the 12-driver field. “That’s three in a row!” Gragson said. “That last caution came out and I…

BRITISH F4 British Formula 4 is set to feature its largest grid for six years at Silverstone this weekend, bolstered by Fortec Motorsport returning to the category. Fortec was a mainstay of the series from when it became an FIA F4 championship in 2015, and powered Luke Browning to the 2020 crown, but has been absent so far this season. With the world of UK junior single-seaters undergoing major changes during the winter, Fortec opted to initially concentrate on GB3 and GB4 – and has drivers in title contention in both series – but is now ready to return to F4. It will field Australian Marcos Flack, a GB3 race winner with Douglas Motorsport this year and who will now contest a sixth different category in 2022, alongside Ginetta Junior…

RADICAL CHALLENGE W Series drivers Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling joined the Radical Challenge at Donington Park last weekend and finished third in Sunday’s 45-minute endurance race with the all-new SR10. The Britons competed in the meeting having not carried out any pre-event testing, with Pulling having never previously raced an open sportscar before. Problems in qualifying restricted Powell to one aborted lap and both drivers had to complete three laps behind the safety car ahead of the race. “I raced a Radical PR6 at Snetterton about 11 years ago and was invited to race this car, so I asked if Abbi could share it,” said Powell, who currently sits second in this year’s W Series standings. “Abbi was doing the FIA F3 test at Magny-Cours when the test was…

GOODWOOD REVIVAL The new BRM V16 retired from its race debut at the Goodwood Revival last weekend, but driver Rob Hall believes it can compete at the front. Hall qualified chassis IV in 12th for the Goodwood Trophy for Grand Prix and Voiturette cars raced between 1930 and 1951, despite a fuel-system issue. He ran ninth for much of the 13-lap race in the recently built Hall & Hall machine, before rising oil temperatures brought the 1500cc supercharged car into the pits at the end of the 10th tour. “It wasn’t pulling 100% cleanly from the start and then, after about five laps, the oil temperature was getting high,” said Hall. “Running and racing are two different things and we’re still learning.” Despite the retirement, Hall believes the car can…

CADWELL PARK 750MC 17-18 SEPTEMBER The 750 Motor Club’s visit to Cadwell Park featured a dramatic climax to the 116 Trophy race, with victory changing hands on the final lap and then again after the chequered flag. Multiple race winner Sam Carrington-Yates made a return to the one-make BMW series alongside Toby O’Reilly and led the early stages of the 90-minute mini-enduro from pole before heading to the pits approaching the 20-minute mark. Having also made a pitstop, Ben Seybold closed a five-second deficit to take the net lead from O’Reilly into Park before passing the still-to-pit Harry Portlock for the overall lead, just after the first of two safety-car periods. After making his final stop, Seybold rejoined but had lost out to Peter Keen, who had also made his…

MINI CHALLENGE TROPHY Race 1 Tom Ovenden Race 2 Nelson King Race 3 Charlie Mann BRITISH TRUCK RACING Races 1, 2 & 5 Stuart Oliver (Volvo VNL) Race 3 Richard Collett (MAN TGX) Race 4 Ryan Smith (MAN TGA) CTCRC PRE-’83 TOURING CARS Races 1 & 2 Stephen Primett (Ford Escort Mk1) CTCRC PRE-’66 TOURING CARS Races 1 & 2 James Ibbotson (Hillman Imp Super) CTCRC PRE-’93 & PRE-’03 TOURING CARS Race 1 James Everard (BMW M3 E30) Race 2 Rob Crisell (BMW M3 E36) CLASSIC THUNDER/BOSS/JAGUAR CHALLENGE Races 1 & 2 Jason Davies (Ford Sierra Cosworth) LEGENDS Races 1 & 2 Will Gibson Race 3 Matthew Isherwood Races 4 & 5 Miles Rudman (below) Race 6 John Mickel PICKUP TRUCKS Race 1 Dale Gent Race 2 Reece Jones MG…

For anyone who has followed the BMW Compact Cup in the past five years, there’s only been one name that emerges at the top of the standings. Steven Dailly is a five-time champion in the series, but the Edinburgh driver is not part of the title hunt this season. Instead, he’s had the best part of a year on the sidelines, confining himself to a “fun” one-off outing last weekend at Knockhill because “life has taken over”. ‘Taken over’, it must be stressed, in the best possible way: Dailly and his partner Nicola are expecting a baby in February, which means priorities have naturally shifted away from the race track. “This weekend was really just a one-off, to have some fun and try and win some races,” said Dailly. “I…

SILVERSTONE FERRARI CHALLENGE UK Races 1 & 2 Lucky Khera FERRARI CHALLENGE EUROPE – TROFEO PIRELLI Races 1 & 2 Doriane Pin FERRARI CHALLENGE EUROPE – COPPA SHELL Races 1 & 2 Franz Engstler For full results visit: ferrarichallenge.alkamelsystems.com CROFT C1 ENDURANCE Races 1 & 2 Emax Motorsport (Jake Little/James Little) TRACK ATTACK RACE CLUB Races 1 & 2 Robert Buckland (Renault Clio) CITYCAR CUP Races 1 & 2 Richard Bliss (Toyota Aygo) Race 3 Ben Creanor (Citroen C1) ST-XR CHALLENGE & CIVIC CHALLENGE Race 1 Jamie Lewthwaite (Honda Civic Type R) Races 2 & 3 Simon Waite (Honda Civic EP3) COCKSHOOT CUP Races 1 & 2 David Morrison (MG Midget, below) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

FORMULA 1 Alpine is testing three drivers at the Hungaroring this week to evaluate them for a Formula 1 seat for 2023 if the team cannot land top target Pierre Gasly. Nyck de Vries, Antonio Giovinazzi and Jack Doohan were each scheduled to get a day of running in Alpine’s A521 from last year in their bid to stake a claim for a seat. Recent Alfa Romeo F1 driver Giovinazzi was due to test on Tuesday before handing over to de Vries (see story left) for Wednesday’s running. Alpine youngster Doohan is set to round out the test today (Thursday). The test was originally planned for Oscar Piastri, but the Australian has been stood down from his private-run programme after spurning Alpine and signing with McLaren for next year. Gasly…

WEC/IMSA Lamborghini is developing a bespoke twin-turbo V8 for the new LMDh prototype with which it will contest the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2024. The Italian manufacturer announced the move when it released the first technical details of the car along with another teaser image. The significance of the announcement is that the new engine will be the first ground-up design developed at Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse motorsport department established in 2013. That makes it distinct from the production-based V10 that has powered its line of Huracan GT3 and Super Trofeo one-make racers. Lamborghini hasn’t told us much more than the architecture of the engine that will combine with the spec hybrid system produced by Bosch, Williams and Xtrac to form the LMDh’s powertrain. The unit has…

OGIER SET FOR SPAIN, JAPAN Eight-time World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier will contest the final two rounds of this year’s series in Spain and Japan. Ogier stepped down to a partial campaign in 2022 with Toyota and has shared the squad’s third Yaris with Esapekka Lappi. Toyota WRC boss Jari-Matti Latvala has told Autosport that he is keen to retain Lappi for 2023. D’AMBROSIO OUT OF MASER Ex-Formula 1 driver Jerome d’Ambrosio has left his role as team principal at the Maserati Formula E team as it transitions from Venturi for next season. The Belgian follows former CEO Susie Wolff through the exit door. D’Ambrosio joined as Wolff’s deputy after retiring from racing in 2020, and was promoted to team principal when Wolff became CEO in 2021. MERHI RETURNS TO…

It’s not much by any measure, but 0.011 seconds represented a victory of sorts for electric racing over the traditional internal combustion engine when the World Rallycross Championship visited Norway’s Hell circuit in August. The 38.058s fastest lap set by KMS VW driver Johan Kristoffersson on his way to victory in the first round of World RX’s new electric era just shaded the 38.069s from Andreas Bakkerud’s conventionally propelled EKS Audi in the European RX1 final held on the same day. That’s no mean feat given the work needed to accommodate the spec, twin-motor Kreisel Electric four-wheel-drive powertrain kit, which packs a 500kW punch. “It was not as simple as just removing the internal combustion engine and putting in the electric powertrain,” points out Hansen World RX Team boss Kenneth…

The 2022 Formula 1 season has been a campaign of great transformation from the one that came before. This is epitomised in the start of the championship’s new era, with the ground-effects car designs that are already well liked and established. There are of course similarities, too. The multi-team title fights F1 observers had hoped would return started off restricted to just two of what were already considered to be ‘Class A’ squads. Then, as the year has gone on, it has boiled down to just one top team: Red Bull. The slightest infraction of any racer still leads to bitter and divisive online arguments. But at the same time, F1’s postpandemic-restrictions boom continues unabated. And then there’s Max Verstappen. His 2021 title-clinching circumstances were controversial, but even without such…

There exists a photo of a young Sergio Perez standing on the podium at Road America during the penultimate round of the 2004 Skip Barber National Championship. Holding the glass-plate trophy above his head, the 14-year-old Perez is smiling proudly even though he’s not made it onto the top step. An arm is wrapped around the young Mexican’s shoulders belonging to race winner Gerardo Bonilla. Perez has finished third, his only podium of the season, which places him 11th in the standings. Bonilla will go on to finish second, just 10 points behind that year’s champion, Marco Andretti. Eighteen years later, Bonilla is now President of Series and Racing Schools at Skip Barber Racing School, while Perez is a three-time Formula 1 winner. Bonilla remembers racing with Perez fondly. “At…

For the first half of the RAC Tourist Trophy Celebration, onlookers gasped at the superiority of Jenson Button in Adrian Newey’s outrageously fast new Jaguar E-type. Indeed, the ground-hugging dynamics of the successor to the car rivals dubbed ‘N-type’ when the F1 genius partnered Bobby Rahal and Martin Brundle to wins in 2009 and 2012 were staggering to see. Newey left the lap record at 1m25.259s (101.33mph) a decade ago. Things have moved on in Goodwood’s 1960-64 GT arena, ostensibly for FIA Appendix K-compliant cars. Romain Dumas planted Bill Shepherd’s highly developed low-riding Cobra on pole with a 1m24.354s on Friday. This was 0.146 seconds beyond Button in Saturday’s session. Nobody had an answer to 2009 F1 world champion Button on race day. Shepherd beat him to Madgwick, but Jenson…

WORLD RALLYCROSS MONTALEGRE (PRT) 17-18 SEPTEMBER ROUND 3/6 A penalty for contact scuppered Johan Kristoffersson’s 100% winning record in this season’s World Rallycross Championship at Montalegre. The Swede had made if four wins from four on Saturday and crossed the finish line first on Sunday, only for victory to be handed to Niclas Gronholm. As usual, Kristoffersson had to rebound from setbacks to take Saturday honours in his Kristoffersson Motorsport Volkswagen. He suffered a double puncture in his progression race, but bounced back to win his semi-final. The other semi went to the sister KMS VW of Ole Christian Veiby, who had sustained a puncture of his own in heat one when he brushed the wall on his joker lap, and as a result crashed after the finish line. Kristoffersson…

GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE SPRINT CUP VALENCIA (ESP) 17-18 SEPTEMBER ROUND 5/5 Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor gave the Team WRT/Audi combination a perfect GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup swansong by delivering a third successive title in the final round at Valencia. The Belgian crew’s third position in the opening one-hour encounter, which was won by AF Corse Ferrari pairing Pierre-Alexandre Jean and Ulysse de Pauw, was enough to secure the crown, while a thrilling final-lap victory on Sunday put the icing on the cake. Weerts and Vanthoor held an 11.5-point margin as they arrived in Spain over ASP Mercedes duo Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy. The maths was simple enough: score six points more than the Merc and the title was theirs once again. Their cause was helped…

MONOPOSTO New Historic Formula Ford champion Samuel Harrison sampled some more-modern machinery at Donington Park last weekend, when he drove Adrian Holey’s Dallara F397 to victory on his Monoposto debut. Harrison has starred in both Historic FF1600 and Historic F3 this season, taking 16 wins, and further added to that tally in Leicestershire. After finishing third in the opening Monoposto F3/1400/2000 race, the teenager was a dominant race-two winner and was heading for a repeat in the finale when the car expired on the last lap. “It’s the newest car I have ever driven, but the main thing is the extra grip,” he said. “I hadn’t driven the car before qualifying and managed to put it on the front row.” Holey added: “They loaned me a Lola Formula Atlantic to…

RALLYING Ex-British Rally champion Gwyndaf Evans, father of World Rally ace Elfyn, at the wheel of an ex-Colin McRae Ford Focus was the highlight of the annual Rallyday at Castle Combe last Saturday. Evans was one of three BRC champions in action in a range of cars from BGMsport during the Legends Stage, which topped the day’s rallying activity. Evans said he was very honoured to have the chance to drive a car made famous by McRae. Joining Evans to thrill the fans on two specially laid out rally stages were David Higgins and current BRC champion Matt Edwards, who drove the Toyota Celica GT-Four of 1993 WRC champion co-driver Nicky Grist.…

BRITISH TRUCKS Multiple British Truck Racing champion Ryan Smith saw his points lead cut after experiencing teething troubles with a new truck at Snetterton last weekend. Smith took his sixth title last year with a Mercedes Actros but rebuilt the chassis and engine into a Daimler cab for 2022. His title defence began well, with nine wins across the opening four race weekends of 2022, but Smith has now sold the Daimler and instead drove a MAN TGA (below) at Snetterton. “Our main sponsors, Northside Truck and Van, wanted to move to a Mercedes chassis,” explained Smith. “So we’ve decided to build a new Mercedes and the Daimler was the funding for it. We’ll run the MAN for the last three meetings and then move into the new Mercedes for…

116 TROPHY Peter Keen 750 FORMULA Race 1 Oliver Collett (Racekits Falcon) Race 2 Peter Bove (Darvi 88 P) Race 3 Bill Cowley (Cowley MkIV) FORMULA VEE Races 1 & 2 Craig Pollard (WEV) MX-5 CUP Races 1, 2 & 3 Ben Short MIGHTY MINIS Races 1 & 2 Neven Kirkpatrick (Super) LOCOST Races 1 & 2 Craig Land TOYOTA MR2s Race 1 Aaron Cooke (Roadster) Race 2 Adam Lockwood (Roadster) ALFA ROMEO CHAMPIONSHIP Race 1 Scott Austin (156, below) Race 2 Thomas Hill (GT) HISTORIC 750 FORMULA Races 1 & 2 John Village (Village V2) CLASSIC STOCK HATCH Race 1 Chris Dear (Peugeot 205 GTI) Race 2 Pip Hammond (Vauxhall Nova GTE) SPORT SPECIALS Race 1 Lewis Ward (Westfield SEiW) Race 2 Paul Collingwood (Eclipse SM1) For full results…

KNOCKHILL BRSCC 17-18 SEPTEMBER The British Racing & Sports Car Club’s Caterham championships once again served up a dazzling display of action during last weekend’s meeting at Knockhill. Running the Fife circuit’s conventional configuration on Saturday before switching to the anti-clockwise direction on Sunday, the latest venture north for the club produced a unique challenge to the 170-odd entries across the weekend. The Caterhams were at their slipstreaming, relentless best throughout, while the Seven UK Championship lived up to its reputation as the top-tier class, with Lewis Thompson taking a clean sweep of victories in three action-packed races. Points leader Aaron Head didn’t have his best weekend of the year but, then again, neither did his chief rival Henry Heaton. Head was eighth after picking up two track-limits penalties in…

DONINGTON PARK MSVR 17-18 SEPTEMBER Two Radical Challenge wins secured the title for James Lay at Donington Park, but his weekend began with a scare. Noah Degnbol took Lay into Redgate at the start of race one, before the points leader had contact with Anthony Ayres at McLeans and rejoined from the gravel trap a lap down, with the safety car out after a multi-car first-corner shunt. Dougie Bolger was into second on lap four of 10, then caught Degnbol napping after a second safety-car intervention and was ahead into McLeans on lap eight. Degnbol soon reclaimed the lead, with Bolger still close, while Ayres pitted. This left John Macleod and Andy Lowe to complete the top four, after another incident at Goddards brought out the red flags. Lay was…

SILVERSTONE MSVR 17-18 SEPTEMBER There are two faces to Ferrari. There’s the Formula 1 team and then there’s the Auto division, the heart and soul that skillfully crafts exclusivity for a fortunate few. This year is the 30th anniversary of Ferrari Challenge, a programme designed to tailor opportunities for customer racing – every detail supported by a dedicated team from Maranello, who ably represent the marque. And so it was to Silverstone, swathed in red, that devotees travelled to witness the season finale for the UK category, and the long overdue cross-channel visit from the continent. Lucky Khera has been in dominant form in Ferrari Challenge UK and, although newcomer Andrew Morrow and Han Sikkens had mathematical chances of overturning the odds, Khera was having none of it. Carl Cavers…

VIDEO GAME SBK 22 (available on PC, PlayStation and Xbox) RRP £32.99 It’s been a decade since the World Superbike Championship has received an official video game, excluding mobile devices, and with that wait comes expectation. Italian game developer Milestone is back at the helm with the new SBK 22 edition – released last week for PC, PlayStation and Xbox – just as it was with the last endorsed title, 2012’s SBK Generations. That game was a swansong of the series virtually, coming after 2010’s SBK X, which is seen as the zenith for many loyalists. In the intervening years, the Milanese studio has been working on yearly MotoGP releases instead and that means there are two distinct perspectives to view SBK from. The first is being able to stand up…

After impressing in a handful of practice outings for the inexperienced Virgin Formula 1 team in 2010, ironically replacing the driver he would later manage at Venturi’s Formula E team in Lucas di Grassi, Jerome d’Ambrosio got the nod at the team for 2011 alongside Timo Glock. It’s often forgotten that the Belgian later deputised for Romain Grosjean in 2012 at Lotus, when the now-Andretti IndyCar driver was slapped with a one-race ban for playing skittles at Spa’s opening corner. But d’Ambrosio picks neither of the cars he raced in F1 as his favourite. Instead, he offers the Renault R30 from the 2010 season as his most-treasured experience behind the wheel, having driven it in the young driver test following that year’s Abu Dhabi finale. The yellow-and-black machine looked glorious…