In announcing Project 91 last year, Trackhouse co-owner Justin Marks said its intentions were to field “world class” drivers from other racing disciplines to compete in the highest level of NASCAR. The 2007 F1 champion was the programme’s first driver, debuting last year at the 21 August Cup race at Watkins Glen International. The Finn ran
Month: March 2023
The track has decided to remove a section of the Turns 3-4 wall, which Chastain’s car slammed against in a daring full-throttle manoeuver known now as the ‘Hail Melon.’ It’s also been referred to as the ‘Martinsville Miracle’ and various other nicknames. He passed five cars on the final lap and broke the track record
Maserati marked its return to racing competition this season by taking over and rebranding the Venturi Formula E team, and also announced last July that it would build a new racer based on its MC20 sportscar. Simply known as the GT2, the new machine has been designed to meet GT2 regulations, which allow cars to
“I remember sitting there watching these GTs thundering around Spa and it was just hypnotic, and I think that’s the first time motor racing, and especially GT racing, just hooked me.” For Andrew Howard, becoming mesmerised by endurance racing at the famous Belgian circuit in 2003 proved to be a pivotal moment for several reasons.
The Arrow McLaren driver took over the lead following the clash between polesitter Romain Grosjean and Scott McLaughlin, and was working hard to hold off the charging Ericsson in the closing stages of the event. But exiting the final corner at the end of lap 96, O’Ward’s Chevrolet engine suffered a flash plenum fire which
Byron, who had dominated the event and won the first two stages having led 176 of 271 laps, lost the lead during a round of late pitstops and it appeared his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Kyle Larson was set to cruise to victory. But Aric Almirola’s spin seven laps from the end sent the race into
Following a poor final restart, Ericsson was applying pressure to leader O’Ward in the closing stages of Sunday’s race when the Mexican ace suffered what was described as a “plenum event” that briefly zapped the car’s power under acceleration from the final turn. With Ericsson just 0.6s behind, the delay was enough to see the
Team Penske driver McLaughlin and Andretti Autosport’s Grosjean were battling over the lead after the final round of pitstops, having earlier almost come together at Turn 4 after the first pitstop sequence. With 28 laps to go, leader McLaughlin emerged from the pits on cold tyres, with Grosjean – on recently changed and fresh hot rubber
Ericsson’s late move on O’Ward to secure victory arrived after polesitter Romain Grosjean and Scott McLaughlin collided while dueling for the lead the sent the duo into a tyre wall. This allowed Arrow McLaren’s O’Ward to hit the front, but a small engine issue for the leader allowed Ericsson to slip past and sprint away
There are so many reasons to be enthusiastic about the 2023 IndyCar season, and we have outlined the potential storylines of excitement and intrigue here. But there is another reason why IndyCar and its followers need this year to be thoroughly absorbing; it may help distract from the series fumbling and bumbling over the introduction
Fellow Andretti driver Kyle Kirkwood began the final qualifying session at a disadvantage, having used two sets of fresh alternate Firestones to get out of Q1, so had no fresh alternates for the last segment. However, that issue seemed small when he slid straight on at the final turn, and missed the tyre barrier to
Two-time St. Petersburg winner Josef Newgarden became the first driver of the session to make contact with the wall, bending the rear toelink of his Team Penske car at the exit of Turn 10. Meanwhile, the Chip Ganassi Racing team was looking strong in the early minutes of the session, with Indy 500 winner Marcus
Motorsport is dangerous. It’s an exploit to be taken seriously, and nothing less than peak physical fitness is expected of drivers to reach peak performance. But motorsport is also a highly competitive business, and the stakes are high. When money has been invested, taking the decision to prioritise health over competition isn’t easily made and
The 2020 champion suffered an injury to his left leg while snowboarding in Colorado, a Hendrick team statement said. He was scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday night, and his length of recovery is currently unknown. Elliott will be replaced by Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry, the 32-year-old a five-time race winner at the second tier of NASCAR
The first red flag of the session was caused by Benjamin Pedersen locking up into Turn 4, the car trying to swivel left, and making hard contact with its left front wing against the wall. The second red flag was caused by a concrete patch of the track on the exit of fifth-gear Turn 3
Andrew Kirkaldy’s team won the 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup outright with the McLaren 650S GT3 and returned to the marque in 2022 to run its 720S after three years with Aston Martin. The season yielded the Pro Am title in the GTWCE Sprint Cup with Dean Macdonald and Miguel Ramos, whose results in
A cast list of drivers largely staying the same, and largely in the same places, might lead you to expect the 2023 IndyCar season to be a rerun of 2022. This belief could be compounded by the fact that the campaign ahead will be the 12th for the 2.2-litre twin-turbo V6s from Chevrolet and Honda,
Power, the 2014 and ’22 champion, led his Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin in a Penske 1-2-4 in the 2022 points standings, with Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, Palou and Marcus Ericsson filling out places 3-5-6. But Power said there were other teams he is watching warily. “I think you’ll learn over the first five
A 27-car field will take to the start as the 2023 IndyCar Series kicks off on the streets of St. Petersburg. Although the 2.2-litre engines are unchanged ahead of the adoption of hybrid power for 2024, several noteworthy technical changes have been made including the adoption of Shell’s 100% renewable fuel lauded in testing by