Innehållsförteckning för 13/04/23 från Autosport

Just what is it that makes the Red Bull RB19 so good? That’s a question several rival designers in the Formula 1 paddock are doubtless asking themselves and is one we take on in this issue. Jake Boxall-Legge looks at how the car is an improvement over the championship-winning and record-breaking RB18, as well as the team and driver factors that make Red Bull so hard to beat (page 18). Perhaps even more interestingly for neutral fans, he also ponders where Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez could be vulnerable in 2023. Le Mans will celebrate its centenary in June and we’re already kicking off our celebration of the greatest endurance race in the world. In the first of our Le Mans 100 series on the major manufacturers taking on the…

Regular readers will know we’re partial to featuring classic tin-tops from the DTM support package in these pages. The latest is this Volvo 240 Turbo from PROsport Racing. The team has two examples of the model, which claimed 1985 honours in the European Touring Car Championship (with Gianfranco Brancatelli and Thomas Lindstrom) and the DTM (Per Stureson). None other than former DTM king Kurt Thiim will race one of them in the DTM Classic rounds at the Norisring and Lausitzring. The Dane is a former team-mate and long-time friend of PROsport team manager Christoph Esser, and was consultant to the squad when it was formed in 2006.…

FORMULA E One-time Williams Formula 1 grand prix starter-turned-sportscar ace Jack Aitken will sample Formula E machinery for the first time at the series’ upcoming Rookie test in Germany later this month. The 27-year-old (above) will join customer Jaguar team Envision Racing for the test, which will take place the day after the 22-23 April Berlin E-Prix double-header at the Tempelhof airport circuit. British-South Korean Aitken, whose F1 start came at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, won last month’s Sebring 12 Hours in a Cadillac and will compete in the DTM this year at the wheel of an Emil Frey Racing Ferrari. “I’m really excited to be Envision Racing’s rookie driver,” said Aitken. “It’s a great opportunity for me to get behind the wheel of a Formula E car for…

At around 4pm Japanese time last Saturday, Liam Lawson’s phone wouldn’t stop vibrating. After his stunning debut Super Formula victory at Fuji, the messages of congratulation were flooding in. One of them was from none other than Red Bull junior scheme taskmaster Helmut Marko, who no doubt was keenly following his protege’s progress from afar. “Normally if we win a race, we get a message from Helmut,” says Lawson. “That’s obviously encouraging. I had a crazy amount of support; I was really surprised how many people saw the race. I was very appreciative of that.” Rookie winners in Super Formula have become relatively commonplace in recent seasons, but Lawson made a piece of Japanese motor racing history by vanquishing reigning two-time champion Tomoki Nojiri in the Fuji opener to stand…

The word ‘Toyota’ written large across the nose of the two cars wasn’t necessarily what it seemed. The presence of the Japanese manufacturer’s name on two Group C machines at Fuji nearly 40 years ago didn’t identify the design so much as offer a pointer to the future. It turned out to be a long and winding future, littered with false dawns and heartbreak. Eventually, though, the marque would find plentiful success at the greatest sportscar race of them all. The Fuji 1000Km round of the World Endurance Championship in October 1983 was ground zero in the story of Toyota’s bid for glory at the Le Mans 24 Hours. No one could have predicted that it would take 35 years for the marque to bag the biggest prize in sportscar…

SUPER FORMULA FUJI (JPN) 8-9 APRIL ROUND 1/7 Red Bull junior Liam Lawson stunned the Japanese establishment by scoring victory on his Super Formula debut at Fuji. By beating his Mugen team-mate and reigning champion Tomoki Nojiri in a straight duel in Saturday’s opening race, Lawson achieved what no other driver has managed since the ‘modern’ era of what was then known as Formula Nippon began in 1996 – a debut win. It was Nojiri who grabbed the first pole, but Lawson laid down a marker with the third-fastest time in a qualifying session that provided the first action of the weekend following the cancellation of Friday practice due to bad weather. Come the race, Lawson was able to grab second after a safety car restart that followed a chaotic…

ALESI’S DIFFICULT ELAN RACE Ex-Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi’s latest historic outing at Paul Ricard last weekend ended in disappointment. The Lotus Elan he shared with Philippe Gache and father-and-son duo Jean-Pierre and Stephane Richelmi in V de V’s historic six-hour race was the last of the classified finishers in 20th place, 48 laps down on the victorious Equipe Palmyr Tiga SC79 crew. Britons Ross and Charlie Hyett were 16th in their Tiga. CLARKSON’S DIFFERENT CARS With his Shelby Daytona Cobra still being rebuilt after an accident at Spa last year, Chris Clarkson shared the Austin-Healey 3000 of David Smithies to third in class in the Gentlemen Drivers’ race at Donington Park last weekend. They also ran Clarkson’s Ford Falcon to 12th in the Pre ’66 Touring Car race. The…

GB3 James Hedley is hopeful of completing a full season in the GB3 Championship having taken his maiden win last weekend at Oulton Park. The 2019 Ginetta Junior champion was a last-minute signing with Arden VRD for the opening round of the season, having raced for Elite Motorsport and JHR Developments last year, when he took a best finish of third. After finishing an impressive fourth in the first contest in Cheshire, Hedley starred in heavy rain during the second race, launching from fourth on the grid to second before moving ahead of leader Joseph Loake at the end of lap two. “I think everyone was just on a dry set-up and I think that played to my advantage,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure when you’re in the…

GAUNT OUT OF HOSPITAL Caterham racer Roger Gaunt returned home from hospital last week, after Autosport closed for press, following his sizeable accident in the final 310R contest at Oulton Park earlier this month. He escaped serious injury in the roll and is said to be eager to make a racing return. SWITCH TO SINGLE-SEATERS Former Junior Saloons driver Gabriel Doyle-Parfait has switched to single-seaters for this year and was in action at the Nogaro circuit last weekend. The JSCC race winner took a best result of 12th across the three races. WEEKEND TO FORGET Tom O’Rourke had a weekend to forget when the British Truck Championship got under way at Brands Hatch, culminating in a huge crash. The Scot was initially credited with a shock pole ahead of defending…

BRITISH GT The new-for-2023 McLaren Artura GT4 won on its debut weekend in British GT, despite its performance being pegged back ahead of the two races at Oulton Park. The new car was the class of the field in qualifying as Optimum Motorsport’s Jack Brown and Charles Clark took dominant poles, with other Arturas run by DTO Motorsport, Paddock Motorsport and Race Lab also near the top of the timesheets. Ahead of the races, the car’s Balance of Performance was tweaked heavily. This included 10kg of weight being added, a raise in ride height at both the front and rear, and a change in engine mapping. Rain heavily influenced proceedings in the races, though, making it difficult to judge how much difference the changes had made. The highest-placed Artura in…

The decision to start on slicks on a slippery and treacherous track proved an inspired move by Academy Motorsport, as its Ford Mustangs filled the top two spots in the opening British GT4 race. Will Moore and Matt Cowley ran nose-to-tail throughout the opening stint after starting from the pits, scything past their rivals on wet tyres and even led outright briefly as the GT3 field made their pitstops. The turning point of the race between the two crews came when a safety car was deployed just as Cowley had pitted to handover to team-mate Erik Evans, following Sam Neary’s crash. With Moore stopping a lap later, and the field at a reduced pace behind the safety car, team owner Matt Nicoll-Jones was able to rejoin just before the pit…

MINI CHALLENGE TROPHY Race 1 Tom Ovenden Race 2 Jack Byrne Race 3 Alex Solley BRITISH TRUCK RACING CHAMPIONSHIP Races 1, 2 & 5 Ryan Smith (Daimler Freightliner) Races 3 & 4 Stuart Oliver (Volvo VNL) PICKUP TRUCKS CHAMPIONSHIP Heat 1 Matt Simpson Heat 2 Dale Gent Final Reece Jones HYUNDAI COUPE CUP Races 1 & 2 Wayne Rockett (below) MG OWNERS’ CLUB Races 1 & 2 Scott Bugner (ZR) KUMHO BMWs Race 1 James Card (E46 M3) Race 2 Jason West (E46 M3) CATERHAM GRADUATES SIGMA 135 Race 1 Richard Groom Race 2 Ben Wheatley CATERHAM GRADUATES SIGMA 150/SIGMAX Race 1 Harry Senior (Sigma 150) Race 2 Harry Cramer (Sigma 150) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

The Ford Cortina Mk2 is a much rarer sight on track than the Mk1 – specifically the Lotus version, which is ubiquitous in historic touring car racing. But experienced rally driver – and circuit racing novice – Josh Payton is bucking the trend with his stunning self-built machine. Rather than go for a historic version, Payton has produced a car that’s able to compete among the very quick machinery leading the way in the Modified Fords grid. “I’ve got a Mk2 Escort I go rallying with, and fancied something a bit different,” said Payton, a regular in the Circuit Rally Championship and other mainly asphalt events until he rolled the car at Cadwell Park last year. After sourcing a two-door Cortina shell, Payton incorporated underpinnings that he’s more familiar with.…

CASTLE COMBE CCRC 10 APRIL Formula Ford provided Easter Monday’s closest finishes at Castle Combe as Felix Fisher (TM Racing Ray) and Luke Cooper (Swift Cooper SC20) renewed their rivalry of recent seasons in two breathtaking encounters. Having finally got the monkey off his shoulder by winning 2022’s crown, Fisher withstood double champion Cooper by 0.448 seconds and 0.128s, thrilling spectators on a Howard’s Day that dawned horribly wet but finished in glorious sunshine. Returnee Ben Mitchell and Swindon-based Anglo-Pole Lucas Romanek, relishing his Castle Combe debut, each completed a podium. Tom McArthur and double champ Adam Higgins made their presences felt, but Sam Street pulled off a surprise by beating fellow Swift SC92 driver Nathan Ward to Class B gold in the opener. David Cobbold was the Class C…

The centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours is just around the corner. And in the event’s illustrious history there’s been no shortage of memorable machines that have graced the Circuit de la Sarthe. Plenty are remembered due to their successes, others because of their spectacular failures, and a few because of their random quirkiness. Autosport’s writers have selected their favourites from the event, all for very different reasons. PORSCHE 917/20 ‘PINK PIG’ Perhaps it’s no surprise that a Porsche 917 would pop up in this list, but this selection isn’t based on pure performance reasons. At the 1971 edition the Porsche 917/20‘pink pig’ driven by Reinhold Joest and Willi Kauhsen was fast but untested, running in fifth place before retiring with crash damage. But that butcher meat cut…

FORMULA 1 Felipe Massa is weighing up legal routes to challenge the outcome of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship that he lost by a single point to Lewis Hamilton – as if waiting four hours to decide third place in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix wasn’t enough… The ex-Ferrari driver has been prompted by recent comments from Bernie Ecclestone, who now says that he and the FIA were aware at the time that Nelson Piquet Jr’s scandalous safety car-inducing crash in the Singapore GP was deliberate. The consequence of this shunt, which helped Piquet’s Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race, was a botched pitstop for Massa that dropped him to an eventual 13th place, while McLaren driver Hamilton grabbed third position to help tee up the famous…

WEC The new Isotta Fraschini Le Mans Hypercar was undertaking its first laps on track as Autosport closed for press. The Tipo 6 LMH Competizione was in the middle of a two-day shakedown at Vallelunga as the Italian manufacturer and partner team Vector Sport gear up for a projected World Endurance Championship debut at Monza in July. The test followed protracted running on a four-wheel-drive dyno at AVL Racetech as well as a private test to verify the car’s aerodynamics at the Sauber wind tunnel. “Now we are ready to go on the track,” said Isotta motorsport boss Claudio Berro ahead of the first run. Driving duties at the shakedown scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday were handed to Maurizio Mediani, who is a test driver for the Michelotto Engineering organisation…

TCR WORLD TOUR TCR UK star turn Isaac Smith is to contest the joint opening round of the TCR World Tour and TCR Europe at the end of this month at the Algarve circuit. Smith was narrowly pipped to the 2022 UK crown by Chris Smiley, despite driving an ageing weapon in the form of the Volkswagen Golf GTI. Now he has joined up with leading Spanish tin-top squad Volcano Motorsport. That team ran the promising Isidro Callejas to fourth in the European points last year with Cupra machinery, but has now switched allegiance and will field Smith in an Audi RS3 LMS Gen2. The Yorkshireman got to grips with the car in a recent test at Barcelona – it was his first experience of the Spanish Grand Prix venue,…

NASCAR NASCAR has once again penalised Hendrick Motorsports after finding violations with two of its cars. William Byron’s #24 and Alex Bowman’s #48 Chevrolets were taken to the NASCAR R&D Center after the Richmond round on 2 April for what it called “further inspection”. The team was found to have made illegal modifications to the greenhouse of both cars. The Byron and Bowman cars have each been docked 60 driver and owner points, as well as five playoff points. Interim crew chiefs Brian Campe and Greg Ives were suspended for the next two races and each fined $75,000. Bowman’s points penalty dropped him from the lead of the standings down to seventh, and he has fallen further to 11th after last weekend’s Bristol round. Hendrick finished 1-2 at Richmond, with…

GOODYEAR’S WEC GT3 DEAL Goodyear will be the exclusive tyre supplier for the new LMGT3 category to be introduced into the World Endurance Championship next season. The American-headquartered company has won the FIA tender to provide rubber for the division that replaces GTE in 2024. NODA TO RACE IN EFO Former W Series racer Juju Noda will compete in Euroformula Open this season. The 17-year-old daughter of three-time grand prix starter Hideki Noda will campaign a Spiess-powered Dallara fielded by the family Noda Racing operation, based in Italy. She has already had one race outing in the car this year in the low-level Drexler Cup, scoring a win at Mugello. NASCAR SUSPENDS WARE NASCAR Cup Series driver Cody Ware has been indefinitely suspended by NASCAR after he was arrested and…

Would free entry bring the fans flocking? It’s about time UK circuits looked at how to entice more spectators into club racing weekends. With most now charging over £20 for entry per day, it’s no wonder only a few dozen fans turn up. Why not make it free to enter to encourage more people to come and watch some fantastic racing while also supporting grassroots racers? They’d most likely easily make any (little) revenue back from lost ticket sales in increased canteen and coffee shop orders. James HarveyBy email Reaching for the dictionary… So Autosport readers need to sharpen up their use of English? In the Saudi Arabia report (23 March) appears the word ‘cromulent’. Intrigued (and not understanding), I looked it up in the Oxford English Dictionary (admittedly not…

NASCAR CUP BRISTOL (USA) 9 APRIL ROUND 8/36 Three-time Chili Bowl winner Christopher Bell was finally able to cash in on his dirt-race experience in the NASCAR Cup Series. Bell inherited the lead for the first time by not pitting between stages two and three. His Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led the final 100 of 250 laps but had to ward off repeated challenges, with the last coming from Tyler Reddick (23XI Toyota) in the final five laps. Reddick, who won stage two, had pitted for new tyres during the break and put them to good use. He drove from 12th to second and thus put himself in position to challenge for the win down the stretch. With Reddick closing in for a final attempt at a pass on the…

MINI CHALLENGE Former Mini Challenge champion Dan Zelos will continue in the category this year having undergone a “full reset” in the winter to rediscover his motivation after a frustrating campaign last season. On the back of winning the 2021 title, Zelos could only finish eighth in last year’s standings, managing just three podiums after suffering numerous car problems during the season. After putting those difficulties behind him, Zelos is now intent on enjoying the coming campaign as he remains with Excelr8 Motorsport. “Last year was tough and, mentally, that affected me quite a lot,” Zelos admitted. “We had so many issues with the car and more than our fair share of bad luck and, on top of that, I put a lot of pressure on myself with the goal…

BRITISH RALLYCROSS Reigning British Rallycross champion Patrick O’Donovan dominated the opening instalment of the 2023 campaign at Lydden Hill to begin his title defence in style, but his weekend didn’t go perfectly throughout. Racing a newly acquired Hansen Motorsport-built Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar, the 18-year-old was twice fastest in qualifying on Saturday, and led the first semi-final from the front. But, on lap three, he was forced to retire with a gearbox problem. Usually out of a place in the final, O’Donovan was classified fourth and scraped into the final (starting seventh) by virtue of two cars retiring before him. Fellow 208 runner Jack Thorne, meanwhile, started on pole and led the final from the front, having won semi-final two, while O’Donovan climbed to fourth on the opening lap, before…

Any junior single-seater championship that has attracted 25 drivers onto its grid is clearly doing something right. Even more so when such a strong entry comes at a time of financial hardship. GB3 supremo Jonathan Palmer and his MotorSport Vision team must therefore be congratulated for enticing exactly that many competitors to turn out for last weekend’s opener at Oulton Park. Take a look at those 25 and there is an intriguing mix of backgrounds. Unsurprisingly, a significant number – nine, or 36% – are in their second full year of GB3 competition, seeking to put into practice what they learned in 2022 and progress further in their sophomore seasons. Eight (32%) have previously competed in other European, Asian or American single-seater categories and have been tempted by the GB3…

OULTON PARK MSVR 8 & 10 APRIL GB4 served up a thrilling battle in its season-opener, with 1.9 seconds separating the top five at the finish of the first race. Tom Mills backed up some strong testing form by qualifying on pole, but his KMR Sport team-mate Jeremy Fairbairn made the better start to sweep around the outside at Old Hall. Mills made several attempts to reclaim the advantage, the pair inches apart through Cascades at one stage, but it was Fairbairn who held on to win. A similarly close battle raged behind with Cooper Webster edging Colin Queen and Josh Irfan to third. A technical issue for Webster (Evans GP) left Mills alone on the front row for a rain-affected race two. A crash for Queen at Druids and…

SNETTERTON BRSCC 8-9 APRIL An emotional victory at Snetterton last weekend, followed by a reversed-grid podium, gave Bruce Winfield an early lead in the TCR UK standings. New cars, new teams and new drivers joining the series for its sixth season have undoubtedly raised the bar. But Winfield, runner-up in 2021 and third in last year’s standings, rose to the challenge. His Area Motorsport Hyundai i30 N qualified third fastest, which became second when team-mate Josh Files (Hyundai Elantra N) inherited pole after Bradley Kent’s Hyundai Veloster was sent to the back for having an intermittently working wheel-speed sensor. Files’s poor getaway allowed Winfield into a lead he wouldn’t relinquish. Team-mate Adam Shepherd (i30) kept in touch until he suffered a tyre delamination, which released Files to close up to…

DONINGTON PARK MSVR MASTERS HISTORIC 7-8 APRIL An enthralling Gentlemen Drivers’ contest headlined the opening Masters event of the season at Donington Park, with Nigel Greensall fending off John Davison in a mighty battle of the TVRs. For 90 minutes, it was hammer-and-tongs action as the leading TVR Griffiths took on the Jaguar E-type of John and Gary Pearson, as well as the remarkable Ginetta G4R of Robin Ward and Ron Maydon. John Spiers took the opening stint in his TVR and drove a blistering session to stay ahead despite fierce opposition. He pitted from the lead and handed the car over to Greensall, but the extra pitstop penalty for the over 4000cc TVR, along with Greensall’s driver status, cost them half a minute against the Pearsons’ E-type. But the…

DONINGTON PARK 750MC 10 APRIL The 750 Motor Club’s 2023 curtain-raiser, held in mixed weather at Donington Park, produced some new winners as a number of obvious ‘favourites’ suffered setbacks. Ryan Polley (Honda Civic Type R) achieved his first Hot Hatch double, but it was thirsty work. In the opening race, he had to overcome early leader Dan Silvester (in the ex-Kris McCloy Civic) before then defending vigorously from Philip Wright’s Civic Type R. Silvester took third as just 0.6 seconds covered the top three. Race two then came to Polley as heavy rain suddenly fell and he drew clear, while Silvester shrugged off Wright for second. In Class B, there were two maiden wins for Joel Arguelles (Renault Clio 197), while Martyn Paget (Citroen Saxo) was also a first-time…

Dark clouds passing over the Estoril circuit provide a dramatic backdrop for the Benetton B193B of Michael Schumacher during the 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix. A fortuitously timed and slickly executed pitstop on lap 21 of 71 ensured that sixth-place starter Schumacher held the lead once the Williams pair of Alain Prost and Damon Hill had pitted. Then the decision by his team to forego another stop, plus his determination to bag a second GP victory, entrenched his position, which he held to the flag, the pursuing Prost content not to fight too hard as second place was enough to secure the world championship. For classic motorsport DVDs and downloads head to dukevideo.com For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…

The crazy world of Antonio Pizzonia has taken a new twist – the Brazilian has embarked upon a full-season racing comeback in Europe’s BOSS GP Racing Series at the wheel of an HS Engineering-run World Series by Renault car, powered by a 4.5-litre Gibson V8 engine. Unsurprisingly, Pizzonia, pictured leading a bunch here, took a double victory in the Open class at last weekend’s Paul Ricard season-opener. Overall and F1 honours went the way of BOSS stalwart Ingo Gerstl in his Toro Rosso STR1 (inset left), while the Jaguar R2 of Didier Sirgue (inset right) was another contender.…

BTCC The British Touring Car Championship grid became all but complete last week when Nic Hamilton was named as the sixth driver for Team Hard’s enormous line-up of Cupra Leons. The Kent squad will in 2023 break a modern-day record for the number of cars run by a BTCC team. Hamilton joins three-time race winner Dan Lloyd, reigning Jack Sears Trophy champion Bobby Thompson, promising 2022 rookie Dexter Patterson, plus fellow regulars Jack Butel and Jade Edwards on board. Hard owns three BTCC TBL entrants’ licences, but is making use of the TBL of its former driver Carl Boardley plus two from One Motorsport Honda-bound Aiden Moffat. This will be the fourth season at Hard for the brother of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, and his second using a bespoke…

INDIANAPOLIS 500 US-based Briton Katherine Legge says there is much to learn ahead of her Indianapolis 500 comeback next month following her test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Texas Motor Speedway. The 42-year-old, who last started an IndyCar race 10 years ago at the 500, has been entered in a fourth RLLR car at this year’s 107th running of Indy alongside full-timers Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey. Legge, who ran alongside Linus Lundqvist at the test (see p7), said: “For me personally, it was really good to get back in the car and shake off the cobwebs, gain confidence and learn all the procedural things like pitstops, buttons, to get back in during a low-pressure, low-stress environment… “My first thought when I left pitlane was ‘Wow, I…

In 2023, Ferrari has made its worst start to a Formula 1 season in terms of points scored after three rounds since 2009. That could change if Ferrari’s request for a right of review into Carlos Sainz’s late Australian Grand Prix penalty is deemed admissible and he gets back the 12 points lost in the five-second time addition handed down for punting Fernando Alonso around at the late restart. But that seems highly unlikely. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur insists his team is “sticking to the plan” with its SF-23 challenger and that “we won’t come with something completely different” through in-season upgrades. “[There won’t be] a B-car if that is what you mean,” Vasseur said, flat-out emphasising that Ferrari will not be taking the same approach as Mercedes and…

Those hoping for a modicum of convergence in the second year of Formula 1’s new technical package, and a more competitive title battle after Red Bull grew in strength throughout 2022, will have been left slightly disappointed by 2023’s opening races. Relative to its early position as a thorn in Red Bull’s side at the start of last year, Ferrari appears to have regressed. Mercedes appears slightly closer to the sharpest end of the F1 grid but has already lost faith in its W14, and it’s been left to the upwardly mobile Aston Martin to offer the closest challenge to the 2022 title winners. But there’s still a gaping chasm between Red Bull and the rest. Max Verstappen looks to be on course for a third title in a row,…

1 Lotus Cortina at 60 A field of 30 Lotus Cortinas in the hands of a raft of stars will surely be a memorable highlight of the 80th Members’ Meeting. To mark the 60th anniversary of the competition debut of the Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1, Goodwood has pulled together another of its ultimate one-make races. One of the iconic racing images from the mid-1960s is Jim Clark three-wheeling a Cortina on his way to winning the British Saloon Car Championship. He was also the only driver to take outright BSCC victories in the tin-top, so it is appropriate that Sunday’s 45-minute two-driver encounter will be run for the Jim Clark Trophy. The capacity field is packed with quality drivers and this is going to be a ferocious contest. There will…

HISTORICS A number of significant front-engined grand prix cars have been confirmed as taking part in the special 75th Anniversary Grand Prix Trophy race at this year’s Silverstone Festival, including two that participated in the Northamptonshire circuit’s inaugural event. The 25-27 August historic meeting has been rebranded from the Classic to Silverstone Festival for this season and will feature several races to help celebrate 75 years since the track was first used. The Historic Grand Prix Cars Association is assembling a grid of front-engined machines for a race that will recreate the contests held during the circuit’s early years, and a Talbot Lago and ERA from the first 1948 meeting are due to be on the grid. Frenchman Philippe Etancelin qualified third for the 1948 RAC International Grand Prix in…

BRITISH TRUCKS The British Truck Racing Championship has pledged to use more sustainable fuels during the 2023 season and into the future. The championship, which held its opening round at Brands Hatch last weekend, has partnered with Green Biofuels, which will supply advanced Gd+ fuel – made from 100% waste-derived cooking oils and fats and supercharged with an engine-enhancing additive. Designed as a clean alternative to diesel, all Truck competitors will use Gd+ fuel during the season. “This is not only a big announcement for the sport but also the industry as a whole, too,” said Steve Thomas, Truck Sport UK director. “As one of the premier motorsport series in the UK, it is only right that we stand up and make an impact in the correct way. “Carving out…

MINI CHALLENGE Maximus Hall, the reigning Junior Saloon Car champion, claimed rookie class honours on his first appearance in the Mini Challenge Trophy at Brands Hatch last weekend. A 30-car field gathered for the opening trio of races in this year’s championship, and Hall almost grabbed the race lead in his first start. Fifth overall at the finish and leading newcomer was an impressive debut (inset). “The switch to slick tyres is the big difference from the Junior Saloons,” said Hall, who is driving for Westbourne Motorsport. “My first start was great but, in race two, from a bit further back I was on the hill and I’m not used to handbrake starts.” Hall finished a lap down in the second contest after stopping to report a dashboard warning light,…

TCR UK One-time Civic Cup champion Alistair Camp will combine a partial campaign in TCR UK with a full Civic schedule this year, as he targets a full-time graduation in 2024. Camp has been a Civic Cup frontrunner since 2019, winning the title with Area Motorsport in 2021. For this year, he has moved to Neil Greenland’s growing Pro Alloys Racing team, where he also has a driver coaching role. Pro Alloys helped Camp put together a late deal to join the TCR UK grid at Snetterton last weekend in a Hyundai i30 N. Despite limited running, and switching between cars, Camp qualified 15th of 24 TCR entries and claimed two top-10 finishes. “Pro Alloys have helped out massively,” said Camp. “We’re going to do this round and we’re hoping…

TURNER BACK TO FIESTAS Former Fiesta Junior champion Olly Turner returned to the Fiesta fraternity at Snetterton last weekend, taking two fourth-place finishes in the ST240 championship driving a Jamsport-run car. Turner followed the Fiesta Junior title in 2019 with third in the senior version for ST150s and part-seasons in the Volkswagen Racing Cup and British Endurance Championship. “The aim is still to try and get into TCR and dip into some GT racing,” he said. GLOVER SWAPS TO LAMBO Historic single-seater racer Neil Glover switched to the new Masters GT Trophy at Donington Park last weekend in a Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo. “It’s a fantastic bit of kit,” said Glover of the car, which is being run by Scott Sport and shared with team boss Aaron Scott. However, the…

OULTON PARK BRITISH GT 8 & 10 APRIL “That was probably the hardest win out of them all.” Jonny Adam is no stranger to winning in British GT, and the four-time overall champion once again stood on the top step of the podium after the opening round of the season at Oulton Park. But this one possibly meant more than the previous 16 wins – not only was it achieved on the Aston Martin factory driver’s 100th start in the championship, but it was arguably his most hard-fought victory after immense pressure in changeable conditions over the closing laps. Adam had been gifted the perfect opportunity to win his centenary race, 2 Seas Motorsport team-mate James Cottingham having handed over their Mercedes-AMG GT3 with a healthy lead after dominating the…

OULTON PARK GB3 8 & 10 APRIL Unpredictability became the norm for the opening round of the GB3 Championship, both in terms of the pecking order and the weather. If picking a pre-season title favourite had been difficult prior to the weekend, then events at the Cheshire venue only further muddied the waters. British Formula 4 graduate Joseph Loake was the stand-out performer, taking a double pole and winning the opening race comprehensively on his debut. He left Oulton Park with a five-point lead in the standings and a new circuit lap record – a 1m28.619s. Matthew Rees made it a JHR Developments 1-2 after starting alongside Loake on the front-row and shadowing his team-mate throughout, while fellow GB3 sophomore Callum Voisin (Rodin Carlin) completed the podium in a processional…

BRANDS HATCH BARC 8-9 APRIL Round one of this year’s Mini Challenge Trophy drew a bumper grid and produced three races full of action at Brands Hatch last weekend, giving Tom Ovenden an early championship advantage with three podium appearances, including a win. Top billing at this regular Easter spectacular, and much of the spectator interest, was given to five races for the British Truck Racing championship. But some predictable results and inevitable delays meant the Coopers stole the show. The first 20 Mini qualifiers were bracketed by less than a second, and Ovenden – highest ranked of the 2022 drivers continuing for another year – was feeling extra pressure after securing pole for the season-opener. A poor start didn’t help, almost allowing rookie Maximus Hall to grab the lead…

TCR UK Race 1 Bruce Winfield (Hyundai i30 N TCR) Race 2 Lewis Brown (Cupra Leon Competicion TCR) CIVIC CUP Race 1 Dan Thackeray (EP3, below) Race 2 Jack Harding (EP3) FIESTA ST240s & ST150s Races 1 & 2 Zachary Lucas (ST240) Race 3 Alastair Kellett (ST240) FIESTA JUNIORS Race 1 Luke Hilton (ST) Race 2 Ryan Micallef (ST) SUPERSPORT ENDURANCE CUP Keir McConomy/Bart Horsten (BMW 1 Series) MODIFIED FORDS Race 1 Stephen Scott-Dunwoodie (Sierra RS500) Race 2 Dave Matthias (Sierra Sapphire Cosworth) CITYCAR CUP Races 1 & 2 Elliot Lettis (Peugeot 107) Race 3 Stuart Bliss (Toyota Aygo) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

MASTERS GENTLEMEN DRIVERS John Spiers/Nigel Greensall (TVR Griffith) MASTERS SPORTS CAR LEGENDS Chris Beighton (Lola T70 Mk3B) HGPCA FRONT-ENGINED Races 1 & 2 Mark Shaw (Scarab Offenhauser) HGPCA REAR-ENGINED Races 1 & 2 Justin Maeers (Brabham BT11A) MASTERS ENDURANCE LEGENDS Races 1 & 2 Stuart Wiltshire (Peugeot 90X, above) MASTERS GT TROPHY Race 1 Craig Wilkins (Lamborghini Huracan EVO) Race 2 Sam Tordoff (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) MASTERS PRE-’66 TOURING CARS Sam Tordoff (Ford Falcon, below) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

CASTLE COMBE CCRC FORMULA FORD Races 1 & 2 Felix Fisher (Ray GR05) CCRC HOT HATCH CHALLENGE Races 1 & 2 Shaun Goverd (Citroen AX) CCRC GT Race 1 Kevin Bird (Porsche 991.1 Cup) Race 2 Charles Hyde-Andrews-Bird (Porsche 991.1 Cup) CCRC SALOON CARS Races 1 & 2 Adam Prebble (Vauxhall Astra turbo, above) CMMC TIN TOPS/SUPER SALOONS Races 1 & 2 Rod Birley (Ford Escort WRC) WRDA/INTERMARQUE SILHOUETTES Race 1 Lewis Smith (Mercedes SLK) Race 2 Daniel Smith (Mercedes SLK) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com DONINGTON PARK HOT HATCH Races 1 & 2 Ryan Polley (Honda Civic Type R) FORMULA VEE Race 1 Elliot Mason (Sheane Mk1) Race 2 Craig Bell (AHS Dominator) LOCOST Race 1 Daniel Garrett Race 2 Todd Boucher BIKESPORTS Race 1 Hector Hurst (Radical SR3…

For two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner and long-time Formula 1 tester Alex Wurz, the question of choosing a favourite racing car isn’t dictated by how much he raced it. There’s something rather simpler behind his pick of the McLaren MP4-17D that took Kimi Raikkonen to within two points of the 2003 world championship. “I only think, ‘I can drive it to its limits in any condition’ – empty [tanks], light, alone, against competitors,” says Wurz, who was extensively involved in its development as McLaren’s test driver. “And the 17D was just the most balanced and joyful and very fast car to drive.” The original MP4-17 appeared in 2002 when, along with the rest of the field, it was blown away by Ferrari’s F2002. The first car to result from…