Innehållsförteckning för 11/01/24 från Autosport

Twenty-five months. That’s how long it has been since Lewis Hamilton last won a race in Formula 1, by some margin the longest drought he has endured since bursting onto the scene in 2007. Now 39, and saddled with less-than-spectacular Mercedes machinery for two years, the seven-time world champion could be forgiven for deciding that it was time to do something else. But it’s clear in our F1 feature this week that this is not the case (page 14). Whether it’s because he feels there is unfinished business after the way 2021 ended, a desire to overtake Michael Schumacher with an eighth title, or simply a love for the sport, Hamilton is still motivated. And he believes that he has the team around him to give him a chance to…

FORMULA 1 The FIA says that the long-term direction of Formula 1 engines will be dictated by ensuring the relevancy of the championship to car makers. F1 moves for 2026 to turbo hybrid power units run on fully sustainable fuel with an increased reliance on electrical power. There is an awareness that it needs to be at the forefront of battery technology development to retain the interest of manufacturers, who are shifting towards fully electrical cars. Longer term, a switch could be made to hydrogen power if it proves suitable, with F1 and the FIA recently joining Extreme H in forming a working group to evaluate the technology. FIA single-seater head Nikolas Tombazis says that it is critical to have rules to keep offering value to manufacturers. “The step for…

OBITUARY The name Rene Metge will be forever associated with the Paris-Dakar Rally. The Frenchman, who has died aged 82, competed in its inaugural running in 1979, won it three times, and subsequently became the director of the event. But he wasn’t a career rally driver: he made his reputation in touring cars and would claim victory in the Tourist Trophy at Silverstone in 1983. Metge was a British Leyland dealer from Hauts-de-Seine to the north of Paris who raced for the French importer in Supertourisme aboard Triumph Dolomite Sprints in the late 1970s. His dealership sold a lot of Range Rovers, which explained his participation in the first Paris-Dakar aboard one of the British machines. Two years later he won the event partnered with journalist Bernard Giroux. He was…

Performance-wise, I was up there with the top Porsche GT drivers in IMSA every weekend in 2023. The team, AO Racing, was new, having only been formed in the winter of 2022, but did an amazing job to get the car to where it has been because the Balance of Performance hadn’t really been on our side, apart from the last few races. It was a massive learning year, as it was my first time setting up the car and being the lead driver in a GTD pro-am line-up. I felt like I’ve learned a lot from doing that and progressed as a driver in and out of the car. We didn’t get the results we wanted, but I’m happy with how the year has gone. It was around November…

Formula E embarked on a new era just over a year ago, with the fresh, more powerful Gen3 machines offering teams the opportunity to reset the hierarchy and establish a revised pecking order in the championship. For Jake Dennis and Andretti Autosport – now renamed Andretti Global – any thoughts that they could be at the top of that new competitive order were a distant dream after a lacklustre pre-season test seemingly put them on the back foot. Fast-forward 12 months, and the 28-year-old Briton is in a very different place; he enters the 2024 season with the coveted #1 on the front of his Andretti machine after claiming his maiden Formula E title in dramatic fashion on home soil last year. Dennis enters the new season, which gets under…

Things are changing fast in the automotive world, providing plenty of talking points for the Autosport International Business Forum on Thursday and Friday. Some of the most innovative leaders will be part of the two-day conference to discuss a range of topics, from future engineering challenges to encouraging people from all backgrounds to pursue careers in STEM and business. Hydrogen in motorsport, artificial intelligence and autonomous travel, simulator racing and sustainability are also on the agenda. Former head of strategy at Aston Martin F1 and Sky Sports analyst Bernie Collins will host many of the panel discussions. Business leaders for the forum include representatives from the Alpine F1 team, Audi, DTM, Extreme E, IMSA, Jota, McLaren, MissionH24, More than Equal, Motorsport UK and the National Motorsport Academy. Admission to the…

1 His first loves were motocross and trials riding. He competed on two wheels as a youngster before he started karting. “I could ride a bike almost before I could walk,” he says. “I didn’t stop until my second year of karts when I was a Zip Young Gun and had to make a decision on what I wanted to do. I still love going out on my bikes and tinkering with them.” 2 He did work experience with the Team Dynamics British Touring Car Championship squad – based up the road from the Calado family home in Worcestershire – while he was still karting. His tea-making abilities, it is said, left something to be desired. 3 To get the necessary signatures to upgrade to the National A licence required…

ABU DHABI 6 HOURS British historic single-seater champion Samuel Harrison has been called up to race a Speedworks-run Toyota Supra GT4 in Creventic’s Abu Dhabi 6 Hours later this month. The Yorkshireman, who turned 20 on Christmas Day, has won more than 30 races over the past two seasons in dominant style, en route to Historic Formula Ford 1600 and 1000cc F3 titles. He also topped Autosport’s National Driver Rankings in 2022. Harrison is due to join fellow Historic Sports Car Club race winners Michael O’Brien and Ben Tusting in the car. Its crew is completed by Kavi Jundu, like O’Brien a McLaren racer in the British GT Championship. “It’s a one-off at the moment but, if all goes well, there is the opportunity to do more,” said Harrison. “I…

COCKSHOOT CUP The single-marque Cockshoot Cup for MG machinery will remain a championship for its 40th anniversary season in 2024 after securing a four-weekend calendar of double-headers. It will be the only series in which the Motorsport UK permit is retained by the MG Car Club – through its north-western centre – after the MGCC’s decision to cease organising race meetings led to its remaining championships finding homes with other clubs. The championship retains classes for MGFs and race-modified cars, but its standard and road-modified classes have been adjusted. With few standard MG ZR 160s racing, all front-wheel-drive cars will now compete in a single class, separate from classic MGBs and Midgets. Championship coordinator Paul Goodman, who is also celebrating 40 years at the helm, explained that the move aims…

BRITISH F4 British Formula 4 podium finisher Mika Abrahams has moved to Hitech GP for his second season in the category this year. The South African raced with Fortec Motorsport in 2023, but missed the opening three event because he had yet to turn 15. Prior to that he enjoyed success in the Danish F4 series, which allows drivers aged 14 to compete. Hitech powered Alex Dunne to the 2022 British title and Will Macintyre to runner-up last year. “After some impressive performances last season, we are confident Mika will be a frontrunner this year,” said Hitech F4 team manager Dominic Stott. “After narrowly missing out on the drivers’ and teams’ championships in 2023, signing Mika is another sign of our intentions going into the new season.”…

Drivers have different criteria they prioritise when it comes to choosing a favourite team-mate. Longevity is a crucial factor for some, while others relate most to drivers that they learned from. Erik Comas falls into the latter category and picks Jan Lammers, despite only racing together once. After four unfulfilling Formula 1 seasons in middling-at-best equipment, the 1990 Formula 3000 champion switched to sportscars and made his Le Mans 24 Hours debut in 1995. The same year, Comas entered the All-Japan GT Championship with Toyota, before joining Nissan for 1997 in a move that also took him back to the French enduro. The TWR-developed R390 GT1 had lacked reliability on its Le Mans bow, which was addressed for 1998 – all four cars finished inside the top 10. But Comas…

Details of the new Cupra Leon VZ TCR racer that will be available for customer teams to deploy in international competition this year were revealed shortly before the new year by the WSC organisation behind TCR. No official communication from Cupra has been made on the new car, the fourth iteration of the Leon produced since the original SEAT Leon Cup Racer won the inaugural TCR International Series title in 2015 with Swiss Stefano Comini and his Target Competition team. What is effectively an Evo upgrade on the existing Cupra Leon Competicion that has been in use since 2020 features new bodywork, a new front axle and an updated gearbox from French company Sadev, replacing the Hewland unit on the previous-generation model. Sadev kit featured when the Leon was first…

Two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Romain Dumas set a new automotive altitude record in a highly modified Porsche 911 last month, reaching a height of 6734 metres above sea level after scaling to the peak of the west ridge of the Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile. The car ran on eFuels in temperatures around 20 degrees below freezing, with the support of an international team. “I’ll never forget this experience,” said Dumas. “It was an extraordinary feeling to drive where no car has gone before. The 911 managed to go higher than any other earthbound vehicle in history. We reached a point where we were met by the true summit of the west ridge – we could go no higher.”…

There are countless differences between the Formula 1 grid of 30 years ago and now, and one that has perhaps gone under the radar is the loss of engine variety. Ferrari’s screaming V12 was pitched against an array of V10 and V8 engines in 1994, when the Ford V8 powering Michael Schumacher’s Benetton’s B194 beat the Renault V10 in Damon Hill’s Williams FW16 to the title. Now all teams use 1.6-litre V6 turbo power units, and development is frozen until F1’s next major technical revamp in 2026. It’s one thing to allow multiple engine configurations, as the World Endurance Championship does, but it’s quite another to welcome completely different methods of propulsion. Yet there are a few series that have left the door ajar. Take the FIA’s World Rally-Raid Championship,…

This month’s Daytona 24 Hours will herald the global competition debut for the latest GM sportscar in the long line of successful Corvette Racing machines. Following GTE’s demise, the Corvette C8.R has been replaced by a new GT3 model that’s been in development for over two years. Driver-in-the-loop testing on the Corvette Z06 GT3.R started in 2021, before the product of a collaboration between Pratt Miller Engineering and GM’s Competition Motorsports Engineering division began track testing in September 2022. DIFFERENT ETHOS The Z06 will be operated by Pratt Miller’s factory-supported team and customers alike. A significant number of shared components from the production model are incorporated, reflecting the need to be priced competitively on the customer car market. “We worked very hard to get to that while still being able…

A highlight of the Live Action Arena at this weekend’s Autosport International will be the ever-popular BriSCA Formula 1 stock cars. These V8 monsters are designed to race on short ovals and thrill with their fast-paced display and an aural assault that makes the grandstands shake. But while BriSCA F1 machines are used to turning left, left, left and left again, Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre isn’t quite their natural habitat. From March to November they compete on quarter-mile ovals, paved or with loose shale surfaces. Over a 70-year history, the formula has evolved from genuine ‘stock’ cars to highly specialised purpose-built machines with huge power combined with mean-looking steel bumpers and side rails to withstand the rigours of full-contact racing. Perhaps the most visually striking feature of a BriSCA F1…

Now in his third stint at McLaren, it should come as little surprise that Ian Morgan has a deep passion for the Woking-based giant he first worked for over 25 years ago. “The fact that I’m here now says a lot about the company and why after my initial foray in 1998 I’ve been drawn back every time,” the director of motorsport at McLaren Automotive says. Morgan ran Nick Heidfeld to the 1999 Formula 3000 title as a race engineer with its West Competition junior squad, but in a period of stability on the engineering front found it tough to rise up the ranks of its Formula 1 arm. “It was dead man’s shoes a little bit in those days,” he recalls. A highly successful spell at Red Bull’s F1…

FORMULA 1 While the Sauber squad’s transformation from Alfa Romeo to Stake F1 Team has caused some amusement and diversion over the 2023-24 off-season, the important question revolves around whether it is going to be able to make a big leap forward under its next identity of Audi, using the German manufacturer’s new Formula 1 engine, in 2026. And technical director James Key has moved to dampen those expectations by saying that the team is “not going to be the final product” until 2027. While Audi’s process of taking over Sauber continues, in the background the Swiss team is already undergoing rapid changes, with team CEO Andreas Seidl commissioned with improving the Hinwil headquarters’ facilities and bolstering its technical staff. Seidl’s first major hire was bringing in Key as technical…

DTM Max Verstappen just can’t keep away from driving. The three-time Formula 1 world champion has been using the winter break to drive the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 raced in the DTM by the son of his manager Raymond Vermeulen. Verstappen supports the career of Thierry Vermeulen, and to that end spent two days in the Ferrari at Portimao’s Algarve Circuit. The objective was to use Verstappen’s experience and assist the development of 21-year-old Vermeulen. “He drove on both days,” said EFR boss Lorenz Frey-Hilti. “On the first day, it was about 100 laps and they took turns. We tried out a lot. We are honoured that he uses our services as a racing team and that we are able to work with him on the test days.…

FORMULA 3 Reigning GB3 champion Callum Voisin has secured a graduation to the FIA Formula 3 grid, and remains at Rodin Motorsport for his step up. The 17-year-old Briton (below) took part in all three post-season F3 tests last autumn with Rodin Carlin (see p8), although missed the second day of running at Barcelona in order to compete as a finalist in the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. “Callum has been part of the wider Rodin Carlin team for the past two seasons, so being able to build on that strong working relationship is something I’m incredibly happy we can continue,” said team manager Sam Waple. “It’s a dream of mine to race alongside the Formula 1 stage, so I can’t wait to get started,”…

OBITUARY Herbert Linge was a five-time class winner with Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours, but his contribution to the German manufacturer was far greater than his exploits behind the steering wheel as an all-rounder who also enjoyed success in rallying. He played key roles in the establishment of the Weissach development centre near the beginning of his career, and Porsche one-make racing right at its end. Linge, who has died aged 95, was one of the earliest Porsche apprentices: he was the first mechanic to be employed on its move to Stuttgart. He proposed a rocky tract of heathland near Weissach, his home town, as the site for Porsche’s test track and would go on to become operations manager of the research and development centre, home to the…

The future of motorsport starts here Autosport International (A24) is the number one motorsport show in Europe. We aim to continue at this level by creating a highly impactful and memorable experience for every visitor. Our show offers unrivalled access to motorsport, and welcomes racing enthusiasts, race licence holders, industry professionals and families looking for a great day out. A24 is a showcase that combines quality exhibitor brands, high-profile guests, and all the thrills, noise and excitement of Live Action Arena. I am a massive motorsport fan and competitor, and I have visited and exhibited at the show for the past 20 years. This passion for motorsport, and my experience in delivering world-class events, has put me in pole position to bring Autosport International back to the desired levels. We’ve…

Engineering is a key part of Autosport International and this year it has been expanded to cover all four days, rather than just the traditional Thursday and Friday. The revitalised Engineering area has been developed for trade, suppliers, buyers and professionals. As well as showcasing many motorsport products and the latest automotive innovations, it provides an opportunity for like-minded professionals and enthusiasts to collaborate with new business partners and keep track of current developments. Beyond the big and growing companies, F1 in Schools will once again be exhibiting, providing visitors with the opportunity to explore the educational STEM challenge that teaches young people how to design, make, test and race miniature F1 cars. The not-for-profit organisation will have an interactive space, with a 20-metre race track in operation throughout the…

There’s no question about it: Ash Sutton is one of the all-time greats of the British Touring Car Championship. It’s well-documented already that his 2023 title success aboard his Alliance Racing Ford Focus ST was a record-equalling fourth alongside Andy Rouse and Colin Turkington, and meant that he became the first in BTCC history to win it in rear and front-wheel-drive machinery; the same goes for his matching of Alain Menu’s 1997 record of 12 race wins in a season. Sutton’s career has been covered extensively in these pages; so too have the achievements of the NAPA-liveried Motorbase/Alliance squad in our in-depth feature of last November. And everyone has an opinion about him. So now, as he gets set to be one of the star guests at this week’s Autosport…

There’s no disputing the success enjoyed by the 750 Motor Club over the past few years, with its mix of affordable championships consistently proving popular with drivers. For three seasons in a row, it has topped Autosport’s average grid size charts among the leading national racing organisers, giving a clear indication of how it’s pulling in the crowds. But, equally, the club’s bosses are well aware of the need to continually improve and evolve, and some of its latest initiatives will be highlighted at this week’s Autosport show. While many of its categories flourished in 2023, that successful theme was far from universal. One of the 750MC series that struggled a little was Bikesports, which – as the name suggests – caters for bike-engined sports-prototype machinery, chiefly Radicals and Mittells.…

OBITUARY Gordon Bruce, who died just before Christmas aged 76, did not list ‘racing driver’ as an occupation on his passport, yet for 25 years the journalist-turned-PR guru was a highly accomplished competitor. A mechanical engineer, whose early CV listed Lotus Cars – where he designed Colin Chapman’s boardroom table base – Bruce joined Motor magazine’s staff in 1971 and was soon promoted to road test editor. Like colleagues Tony Dron and Roger Bell, who died in 2021 and 2022 respectively, Bruce excelled on track, having started hillclimbing in 1972 with an Austin-Healey 3000 and subsequently a Cooper-Norton. In 1974, Bruce persuaded Ford to loan Motor an Escort Mexico for the race series and he finished eighth despite missing four rounds. Re-armed with an Escort Sport Mk2 for 1975, he…

SEAT SUPERCUP Harry McGovern has taken the top prize of €5000 as part of the Newcomers Cup after a successful season in the SEAT Supercup Ireland last year, but the award is only set to continue for one more year. A €10,000 prize fund has been shared out as part of the initiative, with 2024 set to be the fourth and final year of a programme that has helped rookies in Ireland’s fastest one-make saloon series. McGovern took the top prize from 2022 Fiesta ST champion Eddie Peterson, who collected a cheque for €3000 after both took wins during the season and entered the finale with a chance of the overall title. Fellow Fiesta ST graduate Dave Maguire claimed €2000 for his efforts after also taking wins during the season.…

You could hardly get two more different drivers as the most recent conquerors of the Autosport National Driver Rankings. Back in 2022, it was teenaged historic single-seater sensation Samuel Harrison who led the way, while last season it was veteran Irish racer Michael Cullen who topped the charts having triumphed in a range of tin-top machinery and also in a Seven-style Stryker. But that is the beauty of the rankings, which is a straightforward list of the drivers who win the most races in the UK and Ireland during a calendar year – it is open to everyone, regardless of the category they compete in or how experienced they are. “One of my good friends, Dave Maguire, sent me a text and said it’s no surprise – you’ve done more…

DOCUMENTARY SERIES FORMULA E: UNPLUGGED Available on YouTube and TNT Sport With the new Formula E season getting under way this weekend in Mexico City (see our preview on page 22), what better time to reflect on a 2023 campaign that produced all the thrills and spills we’ve come to expect from the all-electric championship? For those with a disposition for EVs, you’re in luck. The third instalment of the Formula E: Unplugged fly-on-the-wall series is available to watch now – well, in part, but more on that later. Taking inspiration from Netflix’s successful Drive to Survive docuseries, which charts the highs and lows of Formula 1’s personalities over a season, the same concept is used to cover the past Formula E season. There are the usual face-to-face interviews with…

There’s nothing like a clear USP to help a championship stand out from a crowded motorsport landscape, so it’s not hard to see why racing series pin their colours firmly to a mast when it comes to their direction of travel. Formula E broke new ground as the first electric single-seater championship in 2014 and after a few early hiccups has thrived to achieve world championship status, with numerous manufacturers seeking to apply lessons learned to electrified production cars. It has no reason to budge from that niche, and neither will Extreme H once it begins a new era for hydrogen racing in 2025. The multi-pathway approach is one championed by Toyota, which revealed an updated fleet of battery and fuel cell electric vehicles in November. It can be tough…

A reinterpretation of the Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo II that Klaus Ludwig drove to the 1992 DTM title has been launched as a road-legal, limited edition special equipped with the very latest technology. Called the HWA Evo, the car has been described as a “flagship project” by company CEO Martin Marx as the former Mercedes DTM partner seeks to position itself as an independent car manufacturer. The first of 100 units is expected to be delivered to customers by the end of 2025, and will cost €714,000 plus VAT. Technical specifications have yet to be finalised.…

Racing series tend to shy away from permitting different powertrain philosophies unless there is a robust Balance of Performance system in place. In the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class, freedom to select from multiple combinations of engine capacity, number of cylinders and turbos in the knowledge that BoP will ensure comparable performance has led to significant differences in approach, ranging from the 2.6-litre twin-turbo V6 in Peugeot’s 9X8 to a 5.5-litre normally aspirated V8 in the Cadillac V-Series.R. And that’s before getting into the nitty-gritty differences between four-wheel-drive Le Mans Hypercars and rear-drive LMDh, hence the need for a separate so-called ‘platform’ BoP. All Hypercars will be hybrid-equipped this year, removing one layer of differentiation from 2023. But the FIA’s Marek Nawarecki believes it’s important to distinguish between BoP and…

As one chapter in Formula 2’s history closes, with the retirement of its 2018 car, another begins in 2024 with the introduction of its new model. The new Dallara-built F2 2024, which will be raced for at least the next three seasons, features the latest FIA safety innovations, and aspires to be as close as possible to the latest Formula 1 machinery to help prepare young drivers for the final step on the single-seater ladder. The radically redesigned car, unveiled over the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza in September, has several features that move it more towards F1’s current generation. It features ground effects and similar wing concepts, with a rear wing not dissimilar from that used in Japan’s Super Formula championship, for which Dallara is also the constructor.…

FORMULA 1 The FIA has lost another key member following the departure of Formula 1 technical director Tim Goss. His exit comes in the wake of the resignation of sporting director Steve Nielsen and the departure of Deborah Mayer, the head of the FIA’s women in motorsport commission, in December. Goss was playing an important role on F1’s technical regulations for 2026, reporting to single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis. “We are disappointed to lose a person of Tim’s calibre from the organisation,” said Tombazis. “Tim has played a major part in the technical department and has always operated to the highest level. We understand that his career is taking a new direction and we support and respect his desire to pursue another path.” Goss, who joined the FIA after three decades…

DAKAR RALLY A Toyota driver led the Dakar Rally as Autosport went to press after the fourth stage on Tuesday, but it wasn’t one from the five-strong factory team. Instead, it was local favourite Yazeed Al-Rajhi in his Overdrive-entered Hilux who held the top spot at the one-third mark, despite not winning any of the individual stages. Saudi Arabian Al-Rajhi, competing on the Dakar for a 10th time, avoided the troubles that beset his factory rivals to head the Audi of Carlos Sainz Sr by 4m29s, with last year’s winner Nasser Al-Attiyah in third on his first outing for Prodrive. Al-Attiyah had dropped nearly 25 minutes to the leaders after an excruciatingly painful opening test on Saturday, but was able to cut the gap by more than half with three…

SINGLE-SEATERS What’s been going on at the team that veteran single-seater buffs still can’t help calling Carlin Motorsport, even though it hasn’t held that name since 2009? First, founder Trevor Carlin made a shock departure two months ago. His wife Stephanie stepped up from the deputy team principal role to take overall charge, but only on an interim basis because she had already accepted a job at the McLaren Formula 1 team as business operations director, starting in the new year. The team that in 2023 was properly known as Rodin Carlin has now been renamed Rodin Motorsport. Australian David Dicker, chief of New Zealand boutique manufacturer Rodin Cars, had bought out the stake of Capsicum Motorsport in January. Capsicum head Grahame Chilton, father of ex-Carlin single-seater racer Max and…

“Are there any good Formula 1 drivers?” Stuffed as I was full of turkey and bread sauce, I was not expecting to answer that question on Christmas Day. The calorie-stupefied cogs had barely started turning. Explanations of Lewis Hamilton’s statistical greatness, Max Verstappen’s current crushing domination and Charles Leclerc’s searing speed rose slowly from some dormant brain place after a long season. But the question actually wasn’t the one I’d initially assumed. “Are any of them good people?” Ahh – now that’s an entirely different query. First, there’s the hurdle of subjectivity, I diplomatically replied, the festive-season torpor into which I’d slipped since filing my final article of 2023 meaning my mind was struggling to switch into gear. Then it came to me. Hamilton’s drive for racial equality and efforts…

Living through history rarely feels quite so glorious when it comes at your own expense. For Max Verstappen, winning the 2021 title on the final lap of a contentious Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will likely remain his finest and most memorable triumph. For Lewis Hamilton, it was heart-shattering. Magnanimous in the moment, Hamilton rode off into the sunset once the weekend’s festivities were truly over. Then, there was radio silence. His social media channels barely flickered into life, and this prompted suggestions that he might be on the brink of hanging up his helmet for good. Outlandish? Yes. But, as Hamilton explains, it wasn’t all that far from the truth. “For sure [he considered retiring], yeah. There was so much going through my mind during that period in time. I…

The tuning and modifications industry is a big one and has long been part of Autosport International. As an element of the revamped event, the dedicated Performance Hall will have its own driveway stage as well as some of the biggest names in the field. Modified-car-building king Mat Armstrong will be on the Performance Stage on Saturday and Sunday, will open the show on Sunday, and a display of his cars will feature in the Performance Hall. The UK’s First BMW G87 M2 Clubsport will also star, presented by AReeve Performance. The AReeve M2 Track Edition will be displayed and driven onto the new Driveway Stage on Saturday and Sunday. Other likely highlights include British rallycross driver Liam Doran’s 1000bhp, carbon-bodied Ford RS200, which will appear on the Vibe stage…

Le Mans 24 Hours winner. That’s the tag that’s now nailed firmly ahead of the name James Calado, and has been since Ferrari’s victory in the centenary running of the French enduro last summer. Only it should really be, as the man himself points out, three-time Le Mans winner. When Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi took victory aboard their 499P Le Mans Hypercar in June, the first two were adding to their tally of wins at sportscar racing’s ‘Big One’. The Briton and long-time Italian team-mate Pier Guidi were winners at the World Endurance Championship blue-riband in GTE Pro in 2019 and 2021, triumphs that inevitably didn’t receive the same plaudits or attention as an overall win. Yet their importance shouldn’t be diminished. That’s very much Calado’s view.…

The 750MC is far from the only main national racing organiser to have a presence at this year’s Autosport show. Another key player that has enjoyed some terrific entry numbers in recent years is MotorSport Vision Trackdays, with its suite of categories aimed at encouraging people to take the plunge into racing. Alongside its popular Trackday Championship, Trackday Trophy and EnduroKa divisions, there’s a newcomer among the MSVT ranks for 2024 as it brings the famed Clio Cup name back to UK motorsport. A new series is being run for the latest, fifth-generation Clios (pictured above), and this is due to be highlighted on the MSVT stand (Hall 3A, 3A604). It may not have any completely new categories for 2024, but the Classic Sports Car Club has attracted several existing…

SILVERSTONE FESTIVAL Races for pre-war sportscars, classic 1970s junior single-seater machinery, and the 1950s GTs of the RAC Tourist Trophy are among those returning to the line-up for this year’s Silverstone Festival. The pre-1941 beasts were absent from the Festival last year, while the junior single-seater influx for the 23-25 August fixture comes courtesy of rounds of the new Formula 2 and F3 Classic Interseries, organised as a partnership between the Historic Sports Car Club and French promoter HVM Racing. The F2 category caters for cars from the 1.6 and 2.0-litre eras, spanning 1967 to 1978, while the F3 division will feature machinery from the 1970s and early 1980s. Many of the traditional staples of the event are also on the racecard, including the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association’s pre-’66…

OBITUARY Career motorsport engineer Geoff Wyatt, who died in December, aged 76, left a profound influence on racing from club level to Indycars. Hampshire-born Wyatt cut his teeth in Formula Ford, preparing Chris Gale’s Lotus 61 and Nick Foy’s Reynard. He subsequently built Foy’s FF2000 Reynard and ran it and Australian Mike Quinn’s machine in 1977. Recruited by Adrian Reynard for his growing marque – the quiet unflappable foil to the flamboyant designer/racer – they snared the 1979 EFDA FF2000 Euroseries crown. Wyatt graduated to the ATS F1 team, preparing cars for Jan Lammers and Marc Surer, but few could stomach irascible owner Gunter Schmid’s decisions, so staff turnover was high and Wyatt returned to Reynard, building the prototype ‘new generation’ FFord chassis. As a trusted lieutenant of Reynard’s empire,…

GB3 GB3 race winner McKenzy Cresswell has decided to remain in the series for a third year and plans a full title bid with Elite Motorsport this season. Cresswell originally entered GB3 in 2022 with Chris Dittmann Racing after finishing third in British Formula 4 the previous year, but endured a tricky rookie campaign and was 11th in the standings. He improved to fourth with Elite last season, scoring eight podiums, although a tough start to the year at Oulton Park meant he was always playing catch-up to the leading title contenders. Cresswell, who also contested a couple of FIA F3 rounds with PHM Racing last season, says the addition of a third European event, with the Hungaroring joining the schedule, was a key factor in deciding to stay in…

For over three months of last year, it looked like a teenager would top Autosport’s National Driver Rankings for the second consecutive season. Freddie Slater was proving almost unstoppable in Ginetta Junior and headed the winners’ table from June until mid-September, but his decision to upgrade his licence to tackle some single-seater races meant an early end to his Ginetta campaign and gave the opportunity for others to reel him in. But, before Slater had truly hit his stride, it was Mazda MX-5 stars Aidan Hills and Steve Foden that led the way (although they ultimately fell to sixth and 11th, respectively). As Slater moved to the top, Clubmans Sports Prototype dominator James Clarke soon became his closest rival. However, eventual leader Cullen was also on a charge and moved…

McLaren team boss Teddy Mayer won’t have been in the most upbeat of moods as he monitors preparation of the squad’s pair of M29Cs in the Hockenheim paddock ahead of the 1980 German Grand Prix. McLaren’s performance over the weekend typified a turbulent season of poor results and off-track rancour – Formula 1 rookie Alain Prost and team-mate John Watson qualified 14th and 20th respectively, 2.90 and 3.41 seconds off the pace of polesitter Alan Jones (Williams FW07B); Watson’s race ended in retirement when his engine gave up, and Prost trailed home in a lapped 11th place. For classic downloads and DVDs head to dukevideo.com For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…

Super Formula has appointed Ohlins as the supplier of spec dampers in a cost-saving measure that will further level the playing field between teams in the single-seater series, which uses Dallara’s SF23 chassis and Yokohama tyres. Its technical complexity has made the Japanese championship something of a middle ground between Formula 2 and Formula 1, which F2 graduates have used as a finishing school before arriving in Grand Prix racing. Reigning F2 champion Theo Pourchaire has joined Toyota squad Team Impul in a bid to emulate Liam Lawson, who impressed with AlphaTauri last year in five cameo appearances alongside a productive Super Formula campaign at Honda-aligned Team Mugen. The spec damper move for this year will close an area of development that was proving costly for teams to optimise. Ohlins,…

The British Touring Car Championship is well used to working with different bodyshapes and engine sizes. Series boss Alan Gow recalls that during the Super Touring years “we had four, five and six cylinders; four-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive” that all played into “a proud history of not saying no”. Today its regulations are consolidated around 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injection engines, with common turbochargers and intercoolers to reduce costs. “With our regulations, a privateer can come in and win the championship quite easily and compete on an equal basis,” says Gow. “It’s good for spectators because they understand that everyone’s equal, it’s easier for us to control, and it’s better for the teams because they know what they’ve got and they know what they’re racing against.” “WE WERE CONSTANTLY ADJUSTING,…

“It’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever done in a race car,” enthuses Bobby Thompson, a British Touring Car Championship podium finisher. Thompson drove world champion Tom Harris’s machine from last to fifth in BriSCA Formula 1’s BTCC Challenge Trophy for tin-top stars at Skegness Raceway last November, and won the 2022 edition. “Looking at the car, you think it’s going to be a bit of a boat, because of how big and heavy they are. But they’re actually a little bit more nimble than you first think. “I think I had nearly 800bhp, so to lay that down is quite hard work. I think I got to full power once – you don’t really need to. But when you get into a rhythm with it, you can really…