The Safari Rally in Kenya has become the second World Rally Championship event to be cancelled outright in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The East African event was due to return to the WRC calendar for the first time since 2002, scheduled as the eighth round on 16-19 July on the original
Month: May 2020
Suzuki MotoGP team boss Davide Brivio says he feels Ducati should not drop Andrea Dovizioso amid rumours that the Italian veteran is considering a change of scenery for 2021. Although it had been widely assumed Dovizioso was prepared to commit to Ducati for another two years, recent reports in the Italian media have linked him
Three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo won’t get a wildcard return with Yamaha in 2020, as wildcard entries have been outlawed for this year. Lorenzo was due to make his first grand prix appearance since announcing his retirement at the end of last year in the Catalan Grand Prix for Yamaha, originally scheduled for June,
A revised GT World Challenge Europe schedule due to begin in July includes a second six-hour race at the Nurburgring. The German fixture, which maintains its September 6 date, has been extended in duration and joins the already-rescheduled Paul Ricard 1000Km six-hour race in November on what is now an eight-weekend calendar. GTWCE organiser the
Efforts to bring the World Rally Championship to Northern Ireland for the first time in 11 years have been labelled “very, very exciting” by the province’s new Secretary of State. Brandon Lewis told the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee on Thursday afternoon that he is keen to work with those stakeholders behind the bid, saying:
Brad Keselowski will head the NASCAR field on its return to action this weekend at Darlington Raceway following the random draw used in the new event format. With NASCAR suspended since the fourth round at Phoenix in early March, a partial easing of lockdown restrictions in the United States has allowed officials to plot out
NASCAR has released more of its revised schedule for its coronavirus-delayed 2020 season, detailing events set to take place between 30 May and 21 June. NASCAR will return to action this weekend at Darlington Raceway, a month after the fourth round of the campaign at Phoenix. Numerous events have been postponed and three have been
Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Mattia Binotto has admitted that the team is currently investigating the possibility of entering IndyCar, possibly as soon as 2022. Days after racing icon Mario Andretti called on the Scuderia to consider entry into US open-wheel racing, Binotto admitted that both IndyCar and sportscar racing are under discussion at the
KTM boss Pit Beirer says the Austrian marque’s plan is to retain its current MotoGP line-up of Pol Espargaro and Brad Binder, casting doubt on the rumoured Andrea Dovizioso switch. In the last week, three-time MotoGP World Championship runner-up Dovizioso became linked with a shock move to KTM as contract negotiations with Ducati hit a
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will host the 2020 IndyCar Series season finale on 25 October having lost the opening round slot amid the coronavirus pandemic postponements. The new date, confirmed by IndyCar officials and St. Petersburg spokespeople, means the iconic event regains its spot on the calendar to mark its 16th consecutive
NASCAR has detailed how it plans to organise the starting grid ahead of this weekend’s return to action at Darlington Raceway. The series has been suspended since the fourth round at Phoenix in early March. Plans to run races at Homestead and Atlanta behind closed doors were also cancelled due to lockdown restrictions in the
The real-life 2020 motorsport season will resume this weekend courtesy of the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series’ visit to Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. A fifth race of the top-flight stock car season brings an end to the two-month pause brought on by the coronavirus global health crisis. NASCAR has attempted to fill the suspension
Ducati needs Andrea Dovizioso more than the veteran MotoGP rider needs the Italian manufacturer, claims Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella. Dovizioso’s bargaining position for a fresh deal with Ducati for 2021 and beyond was strengthened considerably when the Borgo Panigale marque’s top two targets, Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo, both re-signed with Yamaha. Ducati was also
A Le Mans Series class victory for an all-Geordie line-up in the unloved Panoz at Donington Park in 2006 is the latest instalment in the series celebrating underdog achievements in motorsport Aside from the instantly identifiable Newcastle United livery adorning the Lister Storm team at Le Mans in 1996, it’s fair to say the North
Aprilia has requested an exemption from the engine freeze MotoGP has implemented this year in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, Autosport has learned. At the core of Aprilia’s radically-revised 2020-spec RS-GP is an all-new 90-degree V4 similar to that used by Honda, Ducati and KTM, replacing the old 75-degree unit. However, the Noale marque
The coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented time for this generation, and has had devastating effects worldwide, with over four million people infected and over 280,000 killed. But, in this time of crisis, the best in humanity has been brought out as everyone – in big and small ways – have been making a difference
Valentino Rossi will return to the grid for the fourth edition of the MotoGP Virtual race, which will feature a MotoE race for the first time. The coronavirus crisis has forced the first 11 rounds of the 2020 MotoGP season to be either cancelled or postponed, with the campaign aiming to start in late July
Fabio Quartararo says he hopes that Italian MotoGP fans do not “hate” him once he replaces Valentino Rossi at the factory Yamaha squad next season. Petronas SRT Yamaha rider Quartararo has secured a promotion to the Iwata marque’s works operation for 2021 after a stunning rookie campaign last year that featured six pole positions and
British single-seater powerhouse Carlin is ready to run a Formula 2 driver in the IndyCar Series if motorsport in the US gets going before the Formula 1 season. Carlin has one spare seat for the road and street-course rounds of the IndyCar Series, which is currently scheduled to emerge from the coronavirus-enforced hiatus at the
Alex Rins admits that the widespread perception the Suzuki MotoGP bike is the easiest on the grid to ride “annoys” him. Last year, Rins scored his first victories aboard the GSX-RR on his way to fourth in the riders’ standings, triumphing at both the Circuit of the Americas and Silverstone. Team-mate Joan Mir also enjoyed
Veteran IndyCar mechanic, race engineer and team manager Larry Curry has died after a stroke, aged 68. Curry, who was most recently team manager at Harding Racing, was perhaps best known for his work as engineer at Team Menard, where he gave NASCAR ace Tony Stewart his shot at U.S. open-wheel glory. Stewart duly won
Veteran IndyCar mechanic, race engineer and team owner Larry Curry has died after a stroke, aged 68. Curry, who was most recently team manager at Harding Racing, was perhaps best known for his work as engineer at Team Menard, where he gave NASCAR ace Tony Stewart his shot at U.S. open-wheel glory. Stewart duly won
Long before Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier dominated the WRC, fellow Frenchman Didier Auriol was a major contender. He spoke to Autosport’s KEITH OSWIN for the 22/29 December 1994 issue, shortly after prevailing in a titanic scrap with Carlos Sainz to score his first world title Didier Auriol dismissed the Network Q RAC Rally as just
Valentino Rossi admits he has “more potential” this year thanks to the arrival of new Yamaha MotoGP crew chief David Munoz in the winter. Seven-time MotoGP world champion Rossi announced late last season that he would be parting ways with then-crew chief Silvano Galbusera, who had been with the Italian since 2014 as replacement for
NASCAR has announced what three tracks will lose races in 2020 as it revamps the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current NASCAR season has been on forced hiatus since March, though is due to get going again on 17 May with a return to action at Darlington as part of a string of
Andrea Iannone’s lawyer is “confident” a verdict on the Italian MotoGP rider’s appeal against his 18-month doping ban can be achieved by July, when the season is due to begin. Aprilia rider Iannone was handed the ban at the start of April after testing positive for an anabolic steroid during last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix,
The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season will begin 6th June with the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, which will be held behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 IndyCar Series season has been on hold since the coronavirus outbreak which has forced a complete shake-up of its original calendar. As well
Northern Ireland’s former Secretary of State was “on the cusp” of granting the province the chance to stage the British World Rally Championship round in 2021, it has emerged. The revelation was made as Julian Smith MP – who was removed from his post as part of a cabinet reshuffle in February – gave evidence
In the second instalment of free episodes from Motorsport.tv’s Duke archive, relive a farcical 1989 US Motorcycle Grand Prix which offers a stark reminder of how far MotoGP safety has come. The 1989 American Motorcycle Grand Prix isn’t history’s most significant race, but a re-watch of the event offered up a grim reminder of what
MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports and Jerez have agreed a proposal to host the first two 2020 rounds in July to be sent to the Spanish Government for approval. The outbreak of COVID-19 has forced the opening 11 rounds of the season to be scrubbed from their original slot, with the Qatar, Dutch, German and Finnish