Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i AUTOSPORT

Much of the focus last year was on the title battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. But George Russell also made his presence felt in Formula 1 in 2024. Not only did he win two grands prix, but he beat Hamilton in the championship and clashed with Verstappen off-track at the end of the year in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Now de facto Mercedes team leader, Russell talks to Ben Hunt in this issue about the opportunities for a Mercedes revival, working with rookie team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and how Hamilton’s departure should provide a fresh start for all involved (see page 24). A lot will depend on the car Mercedes can provide, of course, but the signs are that Russell is ready…

Three-time grand prix winner Johnny Herbert has been dropped from the FIA’s roster of driver stewards, with the governing body citing his media punditry as “incompatible” with his stewarding role. The Briton has been a frequent member of the FIA’s pool of ex-professional racing drivers, who are required to act as one of four stewards who serve to officiate incidents at F1 events. There has been significant interest in Herbert’s FIA role since late in the 2024 season, when he was part of the stewards’ panel that twice penalised Max Verstappen at the Mexican Grand Prix. In partnership with a betting company, Herbert subsequently commented on the decisions handed down by the body. “Johnny is widely respected and brought invaluable experience and expertise to his role,” the FIA stated. “However,…

Former Sauber managing director and representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has joined McLaren as chief business affairs officer, after departing the Swiss team at the end of January. The Italian’s (above) responsibilities will involve managing driver contracts, legal matters, and liaising with rights holders and the FIA. He will also head up the McLaren driver development programme. Meanwhile, at Haas Laura Mueller and Ronan O’Kane have been installed as race engineers to Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman respectively. Carine Cridelich joins from RB as race strategy engineer, Francesco Nenci becomes chief race engineer, and Mark Lowe comes in as sporting director. Team manager Peter Crolla has left, as has Aston Martin-bound Gary Gannon.…

I feel for Sir Lewis Hamilton. As someone who has passed 40 – to put it generously – I have every sympathy as my namesake goes into the 2025 season with constant taunts that he’s over the hill, with plenty to prove. Look, it’s only a number. OK, 40 may be more than twice the age of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes. So what? If you’re talking numbers, how about 104 pole positions, 105 wins and seven world championships? You don’t reach those peaks without learning a lesson or two about staying on or near the top without either falling off the edge or sliding sadly down the other side. Every emotional aspect of his performance in the wet at Silverstone last year proved that. Hamilton won two…

The Pit Boost concept, which requires drivers to make a mandatory pitstop, will make its long-awaited Formula E debut at the Jeddah E-Prix on 14-15 February. The concept has been in development for over two years, and means that the new Gen3 Evo cars will receive a 10% battery recharge at 600kW via a plug-in charger that will take approximately 30 seconds, during a prescribed pitstop window. The idea is to mix up races on double-header weekends, with Jeddah the first such event of the 2024-25 season. Pit Boost will also therefore be in use in Monaco, Tokyo, Shanghai, Berlin and London. “What we thought for Season 11 is that basically let’s launch this new system in places where we can do a complete different race the day after,” said…

BMW didn’t win the 2025 Daytona 24 Hours, though it could and arguably should have. Yet it did ultimately play a part in deciding which of the two factory Porsches prevailed in the opening round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship at the end of January. The pole-winning BMW M Hybrid V8, in the hands of Dries Vanthoor, was running second between the two factory Porsche 963s when the 14th and final safety car of the race was called with 50 minutes remaining. That led to a tactical call by the Porsche Penske Motorsport squad that was key to the victory for its #7 963 LMDh shared by Nick Tandy, Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor. Porsche needed to cover off the Bimmer – the fastest car at Daytona, at least in…

Ford is heading back to the Le Mans 24 Hours to fight for overall victory in an attempt to repeat its successes of the 1960s, and is to build an LMDh prototype for an entry into the World Endurance Championship in 2027. The American manufacturer made significant play of its heritage at Le Mans – and its four victories on the trot between 1966 and 1969 with the MkII, MkIV and the GT40 – on the announcement of its first factory bid for outright honours at the French enduro since 1982. So much so that there was no mention of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. But it can be taken as read that its new hybrid contender will race in its back yard, perhaps not in 2027 but certainly the year…

Aston Martin is back at the pinnacle of sportscar racing. Not just back, but returning with what has to be its most concerted effort to win the Le Mans 24 Hours since its lone overall victory in the big race in 1959. More than that, the British manufacturer will for the first time mount a concurrent campaign in North America. And it is raring to go with a car that is set to capture the hearts and minds of fans around the world. The Valkyrie AMR-LMH programme, which finally goes into battle when two cars take part in the opening round of the 2025 World Endurance Championship in Qatar on 28 February, has the chance to surpass anything achieved by Aston since its triumph on the Circuit de la Sarthe…

When it comes to the most brutal events in motorsport, there are not many that come even close to the Dakar Rally. Crews complete an entire Formula 1 season’s mileage across 12 stages featuring some of the roughest terrain on Earth. This gruelling slog take place during a 14-day period that includes only one rest day to recoup the vast energy expended by the competitors, and the teams chasing the cars through the Saudi Arabian desert. To conquer such an event requires skill, determination, luck, fitness and teamwork. “The Dakar really reminds me of the old Safari Rally, when it was a marathon event, and what you experience in a 24-hour endurance circuit race,” affirms M-Sport-Ford team principal Matthew Wilson. “Often Le Mans chooses who wins to a certain extent,…

CCK bites bullet with Barracuda One of the more unusual cars seen testing lately is this Plymouth Barracuda. Dating from 1965-66, and sold via McConnells of Montgomery in Alabama, it was given a shakedown at Brands Hatch by Porsche Carrera Cup ace Charles Rainford. The Barracuda was bought 15 years ago by Rainford’s father, CCK Historic boss Shaun, who used it as a road car. The intention was always to take it racing, but other projects got in the way. Only when CCK customer Ernst Luthi saw it languishing in the workshop was fresh impetus given. One of its unique features is a bullet hole in the side panel (which has been retained!), and the aim is to tackle this year’s Spa Six Hours. Photographer Gary Hawkins Where Brands Hatch,…

Equipe Classic Racing has revealed several tweaks to its portfolio for 2025, including the introduction of a new Sports Racing Cars series, a broadening of its historic singleseater offering, and the longrunning BCV8 category ceasing to be a standalone contest. The new Sports Racing Cars category will cater for both 1950s machinery (incorporating separate drum and disc-braked divisions) and cars built from 1960-65. Cars already signed up include a mix of Lotuses (11s, 15s and 23Bs), Lola Mk1s and Cooper Monacos. “We’re starting to build some momentum and there’s not a dedicated series for those specific cars,” explained Equipe partner Rob Cull, who added that other categories would also feature GTs. “In the invitation class, one of our drivers has been restoring a beautiful Lister one-off so there will be…

Over the past quarter of a century, UK rallying has faced a range of challenges, including potential loss of access to the forests, foot and mouth disease and COVID-19. But the biggest one it faces over the next decade is environmental impact. Like other areas of the sport where fossil fuels are consumed, rallying has a journey to make, but it can be done and there is every reason to envisage a strong future. Mike Broad, chair of the British Trial and Rally Drivers’ Association, is as close to the heart of rallying as anyone. He foresees a distillation to fewer, bigger events, and cites another of the leading challenges as finding event organisers. Broad says encouraging more clubs to come together to run rallies is logical. “A lot of…

Schuey’s steed is a handful Michael Schumacher did not have a good word to say about the handling of his Ferrari at the 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix, describing its rear-end instability as “so bad you would not believe it”. His travails stemmed from the team having to employ the previous year’s rear suspension and transmission due to the casing on the F310’s titanium gearbox cracking. Here he battles the Jordan of Rubens Barrichello in the race’s soaking early stages. After they locked horns again much later, the Brazilian spun off and Schumacher finished a lapped third. Photographer Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images Where Interlagos, Sao Paulo When Sunday 31 March 1996…

Forever in red genes Lewis Hamilton said “part of me has always held onto that dream of racing in red” and, on a chilly winter’s day in Maranello, he took another step towards realising that dream. Naturally it became a poor day for productivity in the area as fans gathered to watch history in the making. Back in the days of unlimited testing, this was virtually an annual event as onlookers fought to gain a glimpse of Ferrari’s new car. Now, of course, it’s a new pilot in an old car, and Lewis will be hoping this is the slowest Ferrari F1 car he’ll ever drive. Not that setting lap times would have been a goal on a day like this, running under strict Testing of Previous Cars protocols in…

A series of new penalty guidelines introduced by the FIA could result in Formula 1 drivers collecting fines or championship points penalties for swearing or other sporting code violations. Following the governing body’s clampdown on language deemed as offensive, particularly after Max Verstappen swore in a press conference in Singapore last year, it has now introduced an updated version of the FIA’s sporting code with guidelines for infractions with regards to misconduct. These guidelines also include base fines, which are multiplied by four for F1 drivers. Committing an offence within the bounds of misconduct includes a €10,000 base fine for the first offence – which becomes €40,000 for an F1 driver – rising to a base €20,000 fine (€80,000 in F1) and a suspended one-month suspension on the second offence.…

Whisper it quietly, but there is an air of positivity surrounding the Mercedes team as it embarks upon a new era led by George Russell. It is a freshness that evokes memories of 2013 following Lewis Hamilton’s arrival from McLaren and the addition of Toto Wolff into the management structure. Back then, ageing seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher left the Silver Arrows as it adjusted its driver line-up one year ahead of a substantial rule change and the introduction of the turbo-hybrid engine. Mercedes was reinvigorated, motivated and would go on to dominate Formula 1 for eight seasons. This time, of course, it is the other seven-time world champion, Hamilton, who has left the team to join Ferrari one season before another big regulation change. Hamilton’s departure has lit up…

Designed and built in just three months, unloved by its own creator and actively disliked by those tasked with driving it, the March 701 nevertheless sits at a fascinating nexus of history. Had those sitting at the table played their cards differently, the car now chiefly notable for being the last privateer entry to win a grand prix could have been a Formula 1 constructors’ title winner… and Jochen Rindt might have seen the day he was crowned champion. Granted, this is stretching the premise somewhat. The March 701 is by no means the car Robin Herd would have designed had he taken the other route when life presented him with what he described as “a fork in the road” in mid-1969. The two prongs of that fork, would you…

Big prize for Fairclough Deagen Fairclough was crowned as the 2024 Silverstone Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year at the Autosport Awards in January. The British Formula 4 champion beat Arvid Lindblad, Louis Sharp and Freddie Slater to the accolade, which aims to find and support up-and-coming British single-seater talent. The 18-year-old was presented the Award by inaugural winner David Coulthard, chairman of the judges Derek Warwick, British Racing Drivers’ Club chairman Peter Digby, Silverstone CEO Stuart Pringle and Autosport Chief Editor Kevin Turner. As well as the £200,000 prize, Fairclough will also receive an F1 test drive with Aston Martin, full membership of the BRDC, Arai helmet and Jordan Bespoke helmet bag. Photographer Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images Where Roundhouse, London, UK When 29 January 2025 THANK YOU Silverstone, Autosport…

While the IndyCar Series enjoys plenty of intrigue as the opening round looms at St Petersburg on the first weekend of March (see p80), the secondtier Indy NXT is also enjoying a surge, with over 20 cars expected on the Florida streets. New recruits from the European scene include 2021 FIA Formula 3 champion and five-time F2 race winner Dennis Hauger, the Norwegian lining up with Andretti Global, plus German Sophia Florsch and Australian Tommy Smith, who are among an eight-strong HMD Motorsports squad that includes fellow F3 graduate Caio Collet, third in his rookie season of NXT in 2024. Also on the grid at St Pete with HMD will be GB3 racer Nikita Johnson, who is contesting selected rounds in a car-share deal with reigning USF Juniors champ Max…

PICK A RACING CATEGORY in Europe – go on, choose one – and Prema Racing has probably won it. In recent years, the Venetian team’s reach has diversified from the European junior single-seater competitions to endurance racing and sportscars, and found success outside of its original heartland. Yet the desire to test itself at the highest levels has continued to burn; now, Prema has embarked upon its latest journey, in the IndyCar Series. Although IndyCar is a championship with immense global prestige, it retains a sense of parochiality. The modern iteration of IndyCar, far removed from ‘the split’ and the subsequent reunion with Champ Car, has been reticent to stray beyond the borders of the United States, aside from Canada. But there’s much more European interest, particularly since McLaren has…

Tom Gamble, 2018 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner, has described signing for Aston Martin to drive its new Valkyrie AMR-LMH in the World Endurance Championship as a “pinch yourself moment”. He revealed that racing in the top class of the series has been his goal since the early end to his single-seater career. Gamble, 23, will share the #007 The Heart of Racing Valkyrie with Harry Tincknell. Ross Gunn will join them for Le Mans, this month’s 10-hour Qatar season-opener and, most likely, Bahrain in November. It is the latest step on a sportscar journey that began when he jumped off the single-seater ladder after his maiden season in BRDC Formula 3 in 2018. “As soon as I went into sportscars in 2019 I was thinking about WEC and the…

Porsche will run three-driver lineups rather than two at the Imola World Endurance Championship round in April as part of its preparations for the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Porsche Penske Motorsport squad is delaying its plan to field just two drivers in the six-hour WEC races to beyond the second round of the championship. Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell, regulars with Porsche in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, will join the respective #5 and #6 PPM 963 LMDh crews in Italy for the second race in succession after this month’s 10-hour season-opener in Qatar. Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach described running three drivers per car at Imola as “the best possible preparation we can do” for Le Mans. Reigning WEC champions Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor will then race as…

CADILLAC TO DELIVER ON ITS POTENTIAL Cadillac has been the big underachiever in the World Endurance Championship over the past two seasons. It has just one podium, notched up at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2023, to show for its efforts. That’s a pretty paltry haul given how quick its V-Series.R LMDh has been. Don’t forget that the car won the inaugural GTP title in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2023. The Caddy was the fourth quickest contender in Hypercar last season, and probably higher up the pecking order in qualifying – witness Alex Lynn’s run of topfours between Spa and his pole at Fuji. Yet the solo full-season Chip Ganassi Racingrun entry ended up with only a couple of fourths, one of which at Qatar was lost to…

Toyota privateer Yazeed Al-Rajhi defeated factory rival Henk Lategan to claim his maiden Dakar Rally victory last month. The Saudi had always been rapid in the popular rally-raid, especially since it moved to his home country in 2020, but it took a more mature and measured performance to clinch the Touareg trophy at the 11th time of asking. For almost the entirety of the two-week marathon, Al-Rajhi was trailing the works Hilux of Lategan, whose consistency kept him in front in the overall standings. But when the South African made a rare navigational error on the ninth test, incidentally a day after claiming his first stage win, Al-Rajhi wasted no time to grab the top spot in his Overdrive-run entry. To Lategan’s credit, he was able to bounce back immediately…

It’s time to cut to the Chase Race winner Chase Elliott leads the field in the Clash, the traditional curtain-raiser to the NASCAR season that took place on 2 February. This year the event moved to the quartermile Bowman Gray Stadium, the track’s first appearance on the top-flight NASCAR schedule since 1971. From pole, Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led 171 of the 200 laps – albeit each of them took just 14 seconds to reel off! – to win from Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin. Alongside Elliott at the start is Hamlin, with Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick behind. They were the four heat winners to spearhead the 23-car field, which was completed by a Formula Ford Festival-style last-chance race. Photographer Sean Gardner/Getty Images/Motorsport Images Where Bowman Gray Stadium, North…

A new Mk4 version of the Mazda MX-5 has been specially developed for the Miata Trophy and a handful of the cars are expected to compete in the category this year. The series has primarily featured Mk3 models of the sportscar since the MotorSport Vision Trackdays championship was launched in 2023. But extensive work was undertaken last season to create a specification for the Mk4 that would help boost the longevity of the category. “The build kits have come from Burton Power, who also developed the EnduroKa one, so it’s a trusted supplier,” said MSVT championship manager Stuart Garland. “MSVT is driver-driven, so we’re looking at what they want. They don’t want an expensive build with all the bells and whistles. “We’ve developed this over a season and Burton Power…

Predicting the future is never easy. But it has grown much harder in recent years as the world has become ever more turbulent. Unexpected conflict, unpredictable political figures and significant decisions seemingly made on a whim, with no thought of the long-term consequences and those directly or indirectly impacted, all mean taking a look in the crystal ball is a challenging exercise. But, just because the picture is alarmingly murky, it should not stop us from gazing into the future. “My role is to look forward,” affirms Greg Graham, the British Racing & Sports Car Club’s head of formulae development, whose job is to develop new series. “If you only do the same thing every year, you’re always going to get the same results.” Yet looking ahead can be fraught…

Lewis Hamilton began preparations for his first season with Ferrari at the end of January with runs at Fiorano and Barcelona, although these were not without incident. The seventime world champion crashed during the team’s second day of running with its 2023 car at the Spanish Grand Prix venue. Hamilton’s opening day with Ferrari at Fiorano the previous week courted huge attention from its fervent tifosi, who made the pilgrimage to Maranello to catch a glimpse of his arrival. His new Giallo Modena-tinged crash helmet not only paid tribute to the tones of Ferrari’s famed scudetto, but also signalled a reversion to his previous helmet design. His run followed the emergence of his first photoshoot outside of Enzo Ferrari’s house, besuited and beside a Ferrari F40, which set tongues wagging…

African hopes of rejoining the Formula 1 calendar have been further boosted by the South African government opening bids to organise and promote a grand prix. The country’s ministry of sport, arts and culture has commissioned a ‘Bid Steering Committee’ to invite contenders in the hope of returning to the calendar, with an aggressive target of obtaining a race by 2026 or 2027. Representatives held an exploratory chat with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali at last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and have issued a 37-page request for expression of interest detailing the various requirements for organising a race. The tender calls for an “iconic destination location” close to a major city, emphasising the reliance on public transport and renewable energy to meet F1’s sustainability criteria, with a capacity to host up…

TONY ROBINSON WAS NOT EASILY IMPRESSED. He had been a mechanic for Stirling Moss working alongside the legendary Alf Francis on Moss’s Maserati 250F. With the retirement the previous year of Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling was now, unquestionably, the world’s leading racing driver. In addition to its owner, the 250F had been driven by others when he was not available, among them the recently deceased reigning world champion Mike Hawthorn. It was small wonder, therefore, that it was difficult to impress Robinson; he had worked with some great drivers. Yet, at Brands Hatch in mid-1959, he was certainly enthralled by what he was seeing. The result would be that a shooting star blazed briefly over the motor racing world, only to be extinguished just over a year later. By 1959,…

NO, IT WILL BE LANDO NORRIS… BEN HUNT The Norris/Piastri relationship was one of the many intriguing factors that McLaren was required to manage last season and it did so with varying success. The somewhat embarrassing pleas for Norris to surrender the lead of the Hungarian Grand Prix were a flash point, so too the faintest coming together in the Italian GP. But on both occasions the situation was managed enough to get the desired outcome – the constructors’ championship title. There was also the time when Norris defied his team’s orders and handed Piastri victory in the Qatar GP sprint race. It was all fairly amicable. Norris finished the season adamant that 2025 was “going to be his year” and indeed he might be right. But the biggest threat…

There will be no more racing cars built under the Mygale name, with Ligier Automotive becoming a majority shareholder in its fellow French constructor. Ligier had already been a minority shareholder in Mygale since 2013. Since then, Mygale went toe to toe with Tatuus in the global market for FIA Formula 4, and supplied cars for series that included the British, which kicked off in 2015. Ligier continued to focus on sportscars, although moved into the US single-seater scene in F4 and Formula Regional when it took over American constructor Crawford. Mygale’s star waned in F4, with the British championship – its flagship series – switching to Tatuus in 2022. This has left Mygale supplying cars only for the centrally run French series, as well as the new similarly operated…

The Dallara 324 car built to the old philosophy of Formula 3 is being introduced this season to Euroformula Open, but the significant thing is that it is powered by a three-cylinder turbocharged engine. The 1.6-litre TOM’S GTE33, based on the G16E-GTS from the Toyota GR Yaris road car, has emerged from a successful first season of use in Japan’s Super Formula Lights series in the 324, and now replaces the Spiess and HWA powerplants in use in European F3 from 2014-18, and in EFO since 2019. While power has been hiked from 220 to 275bhp, and torque is also increased, Dallara has managed to install the engines with only an incremental weight increase. “The future of the traditional F3 car was uncertain,” said Dallara project leader Jos Claes. “We…

Porsche double at Daytona The Porsche Penske Motorsport entry of Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor heads to victory at the spectacular Daytona 24 Hours, opening round of the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship. After starting third, the #7 Porsche 963 LMDh led 307 of the 781 laps and defeated the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura by just 1.335 seconds. It was the second consecutive victory in the American endurance classic for both the 963 and reigning IMSA champion Nasr. Turn to page 86 for Gary Watkins’s account of how Porsche beat top opposition from Acura, BMW and Cadillac. The next round is the Sebring 12 Hours on 15 March. Photography Porsche Where Daytona International Speedway, Florida, USA  When Saturday 25 January 2025…

Lamborghini is to begin looking for new partner teams to run its SC63 LMDh. That’s if it can prove the competitiveness of the car during a factory-led programme in the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s endurance races this season. The Italian manufacturer split with the Iron Lynx team that ran a single SC63 in each of the IMSA series and the World Endurance Championship in 2024, and has taken over the running of the car, forging a link with the Riley Motorsports squad. But it has insisted that it has no intention to continue on that basis in the long term. “It is not our ambition in the future to be a racing team,” explained Lamborghini chief technology officer Rouven Mohr. “One step after the other: first we have to consider the…

Monte master Ogier fired up Eight-time World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier heads through the night early on in the Monte Carlo Rally last month, a supermarket ‘slippery surface’ sign helpfully marking the apex. The Toyota star would win six stages on his way to a record 10th victory in the blue-riband event, which kicked off the 2025 WRC campaign. The Frenchman led team-mate Elfyn Evans in a Yaris 1-2-4, with only new Hyundai recruit Adrien Fourmaux preventing a Toyota podium lockout in a dramatic event. See overleaf for our account on how the rally unfolded. Photographer Tom Banks/McKlein Photography Where SS3 Avancon – Notre-Dame-du-Laus, France When Thursday 23 January 2025 Details Canon EOS R6m2 RF15-35mm lens, 1/30th @ F/3.2…

SHR SHUTDOWN CAUSES SILLY-SEASON FRENZY One of the first things you’ll notice when cars hit the track in 2025 is how different the field looks. When Stewart-Haas Racing shut its doors after 15 years of operation, it scattered four charters and four capable drivers throughout the field, with all landing in unique places. Chase Briscoe takes over the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from Martin Truex Jr as the former Cup champion retires from full-time racing. Josh Berry now drives the famed #21 Wood Brothers Ford, with Harrison Burton bumped back down to the Xfinity Series. Noah Gragson is now in the #4 Ford – a third car for Front Row Motorsports, whose charter was bought from SHR and only acquired after fighting NASCAR for it in court. Ryan Preece…

Fox Motorsport is planning a return to the British GT Championship with a GT4 Ginetta yet is struggling to find a co-driver for its star youngster Mckenzie Douglass, who dominated Ginetta GT last year. The 17-year-old claimed 13 wins from 21 races to clinch the crown at the penultimate weekend, and has been rewarded with a G56 GT4 to contest his rookie British GT campaign. Fox is a previous series regular and has won races in both classes – its last triumph was with a GT3 McLaren at Spa in 2022 – but has not appeared in British GT since the 2023 Donington Park finale when it ran a Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Team boss Paul McNeilly said: “We’re pushing so hard to return to British GT, a series in which…

Six special stage rallies in the UK and Ireland have been cancelled over the past three months due to extreme weather conditions. The most recent casualty was the Galway International Rally, which was due to run on 1-2 February but was postponed due to infrastructure damage caused by Storm Eowyn. As a result of cancelled rallies, contenders in the British Rally Championship will now tackle the notoriously challenging Kielder forest for the first time in six years on the new Carlisle Stages event. Following the battering the Welsh forests took from Storm Darragh in December and the subsequent cancellation of the Severn Valley Stages, due to run on 12 April, the Carlisle Stages has been put together in record time for the same date to provide rounds of the British,…

With its relatively free technical regulations, hillclimbing is one area that can offer rapid change in development across the next decade. It’s a branch of the sport with a very modest carbon footprint: the cars run singly, they’re usually active for less than a minute per run, and fuel and tyre consumption is limited. In many cases, moving to sustainable fuel will come with far less pain, because the amount used represents a smaller element of total cost, so there is every reason to see a bright next decade on the hills. At the top of the discipline in the UK is the British Hillclimb Championship, and 2015 conqueror Alex Summers sees big changes coming. As a gifted engineer and driver, Summers says that the main difference will be in…

SPY OCTANE: THE VEHICLES OF JAMES BOND – VOLUME 1 porterpress.com RRP £99 Gadgets and spectacular stunts are a key element of the James Bond franchise’s lasting appeal, and this comprehensively researched book begins the task of cataloguing them. The first volume covers the opening flourish of the popular movie series, from Dr No to Diamonds Are Forever – that is, Sean Connery’s HOT WHEELS F1 COLLECTION hotwheels.com/formula1 RRP £2.30-£79.99 Children of all ages will have been delighted to learn of an extension to the licensing tie-up between F1 and Hot Wheels, the definitive scale model toy car brand. Following last year’s successful limited edition model, Hot Wheels will now cover eight of the 10 teams on the F1 grid in 2025, with both standard and premium collections and two…