NASCAR has announced its plans to return to racing for the first time amid the current coronavirus pandemic on 17 May with the 400-mile Darlington Cup Series event. The series has been on indefinite hiatus since the fourth round at Phoenix in early March. Plans to run the races at Homestead and Atlanta later that
Month: April 2020
Former NASCAR Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he is unsure how long his real-world racing career will last beyond this year. Earnhardt, who retired from full-time NASCAR competition following the 2017 season, took part in his first virtual IndyCar Series race two weeks ago, finishing third in an event at the virtual Michigan International
Valentino Rossi admits MotoGP races behind closed doors in 2020 would be a “big shame”, but accepts that this a better alternative to having no events at all. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation or postponement of the opening 11 races of the 2020 season, with an end-of-July start the aim for MotoGP, with
Embarrassing the IndyCar series regulars with a victory on his virtual series debut last weekend was another demonstration of Lando Norris’ affinity with Esports. But it would do him a disservice to ignore the intensive preparation he puts in Lando Norris’ victory on his virtual IndyCar debut at the Circuit of the Americas last weekend
Rally Portugal has become the first event on this year’s World Rally Championship schedule to be cancelled outright as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. Originally scheduled as the sixth round of the 2020 campaign, the Porto-based event was due to take place on 21-24 May before it was indefinitely postponed in late March
MotoGP has outlined the maximum numbers of team personnel allowed in the paddock when racing resumes, while confirming it is looking to purchase 10,000 coronavirus test kits. The outbreak of COVID-19 has forced the opening 11 rounds of the season to be either cancelled or postponed, with the campaign now set to commence at the
Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has proposed the idea freezing current rider contracts until the end of 2021 to avoid deals being done without any racing having taken place. The 2020 season in on indefinite hiatus until at least the end of July, after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation and postponement of the
The MotoGP Dutch, German and Finnish Grands Prix will not appear on a revised 2020 calendar, as all three events have been officially cancelled by the FIM. The coronavirus pandemic has put the 2020 season on hold until August at the earliest, after the first 11 races were wiped from their original slots. The season-opening
NASCAR has cleared Ryan Newman to return to competition following his horror Daytona 500 accident in February which left him with a head injury. Newman has been sidelined since a vicious airborne accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500, where he sustained a closed head injury and had to be airlifted to a
Valentino Rossi believes the retired Jorge Lorenzo “can think to come back” to MotoGP with Yamaha in the future, but is unsure of the triple world champion’s motivation. Lorenzo retired from MotoGP at the end of last year following a miserable sole campaign on the works Honda, but signed to Yamaha in the winter to
Chip Ganassi Racing has brought in veteran driver Matt Kenseth to complete the remainder of the 2020 NASCAR Cup season in place of Kyle Larson. Larson was suspended from NASCAR competition indefinitely and fired from Chip Ganassi Racing earlier this month after using a racial slur during an iRacing stream. Kenseth will now occupy the
The Spa 24 Hours centre-piece round of the GT World Challenge Europe has been rescheduled for October. The new date for the Belgian enduro, which is also part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, is October 24/25. Originally scheduled in its traditional slot on the last weekend of July, the double-points Endurance Cup round of the
Dakar Rally director David Castera says the world-famous rally raid will take place in January 2021, but may abandon plans to involve extra countries in next year’s route. The coronavirus pandemic, which has already recorded almost three million confirmed infections and more than 200,000 deaths worldwide, has also severely affected sporting events. Among them, motorsport
Toni Elias says Valentino Rossi still hasn’t forgiven him for inflicting defeat on the Italian in the 2006 Portuguese Grand Prix, which ultimately cost Rossi that year’s MotoGP title. Estoril played host to the closest finish of the MotoGP era in 2006, as Gresini Honda rider Elias pipped Yamaha man Rossi to the finish by
Ryan Newman, who suffered a head injury in a horror crash in the season-opening Daytona 500, expects to return to action when the NASCAR season resumes. Newman suffered an unspecified closed head injury in a violent last-lap wreck in the Daytona 500 in February. He was transported by ambulance to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona
Despite every hackneyed cliché, natural talent doesn’t exist. Sadly, there is no gene for the perfect Scandinavian flick or negotiating Eau Rouge flat out. These are skills that take countless hours to develop and are possessed by the rarest of breeds. Yet, relentless hard work alone isn’t enough to succeed, either. Raising a champion requires
MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports says it is “optimistic” the delayed 2020 season can begin in July, with races without spectators the most likely course of action this year. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the first 11 round of the 2020 season to be cancelled or postponed, with the only action so far coming in the
Andrea Dovizioso admits he didn’t expect reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez to commit to Honda for four more years, and thought he would have switched manufacturer. Honda shocked the paddock when it announced in February that it had locked down Marquez for four more seasons, in a deal that is rumoured to be worth
Bubba Wallace has decided not to participate in this weekend’s eNASCAR Pro Invitational event as long stints of sim racing leave him feeling “burnt out”. Wallace, who lost a real-world sponsor after abruptly quitting the Bristol eNASCAR race earlier this month, a posted a series of messages on his Twitter account in which he said
Yamaha MotoGP riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales have praised frontline healthcare workers battling coronavirus worldwide, branding them “heroes”. The COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 2.5million people worldwide and killed over 170,000, with much of the world locked-down as governments impose strict measures to help quell the spread of the deadly disease. The lockdowns
Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi says he will now have to take a decision on his MotoGP future before completing any races in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the season. The seven-time MotoGP world champion is out of contract at the end of the year and has already lost his place at the works Yamaha
Jack Miller says his famous ‘shoey’ celebration after winning the 2016 MotoGP Dutch TT was a “dig” at Honda for fining him over a similar act at a party. Miller was signed directly to Honda on a three-year deal to join the satellite LCR squad in MotoGP for 2015, after finishing as runner-up in the
NASCAR races remain on hiatus as North Carolina, the state where most Cup Series teams are based, has extended its stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrat Governor Roy Cooper on Thursday extended his executive order closing non-essential businesses and prohibiting groups of 10 or more through to 8 May. It was originally set
MotoGP’s return to Finland for the first time since 1982 has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the total number of scrapped races up to 11. The 11th round of the 2020 season was due to take place at the newly-constructed KymiRing 100km outside of Helsinki on 12 July, marking MotoGP’s
MotoGP 20 marks Milestone’s most ambitious instalment in the franchise so far, with an April release date, a revamped career mode and the return of historic bikes. This unprecedented early release date – just days after the fourth round of the real-life MotoGP season was supposed to take place prior to its cancellation – immediately
Alex Rins has revealed he began talks about remaining with Suzuki in MotoGP for 2021 during last year’s Argentine Grand Prix weekend. The double MotoGP race winner announced last Sunday that he has signed a new two-year deal to remain with Suzuki beginning next season, with team boss Davide Brivio admitting to Autosport beforehand that
Andrea Iannone admitted in a social media Q&A with Max Biaggi that he regrets his exit from the Ducati MotoGP team at the end of the 2016 season. Iannone made his MotoGP debut with Ducati at the Pramac squad in 2013 and graduated to the works team in ’15 before winning his so far only
Last week Suzuki confirmed Alex Rins for two more years in MotoGP, and is expected to announce a two-year renewal with Joan Mir soon. Rins proved one of the paddock’s hottest properties when he stepped up to Moto2 in 2015, finishing runner-up in his debut season, and made a strong impression in his first two
MotoGP has announced it will run its first Virtual GP to replace the postponed Spanish Grand Prix on 3 May, with Moto2 and Moto3 featured on the virtual bill. The coronavirus pandemic has wiped out the first half of the 2020 MotoGP calendar, with the Dutch TT at Assen the latest event to be postponed
The coronavirus pandemic has now decimated the first half of the 2020 MotoGP calendar, as Assen has now confirmed this year’s Dutch TT has been postponed. The outbreak of COVID-19 forced the opening round in Qatar to be cancelled back in March, with the following eight rounds in Thailand, America, Argentina, Spain, France, Italy, Barcelona