Former Formula 1 driver Felipe Nasr remains optimistic of racing an IndyCar after his one-off deal to race for Carlin at St. Petersburg was aborted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Brazilian’s deal to contest the IndyCar season-opener for the team with which he won the 2011 British Formula 3 championship and finished second in GP2
Month: April 2020
Honda MotoGP boss Alberto Puig admits Marc Marquez “would have suffered hell” with his injured shoulder had Qatar gone ahead, but believes he would have fought for the win regardless. Reigning six-time world champion Marquez partially dislocated his right shoulder in a heavy crash during qualifying for November’s Malaysian Grand Prix, before aggravating it further
Petronas SRT team principal Razlan Razali says he will “strive” to keep Yamaha-bound Fabio Quartararo for 2021 should the 2020 season be cancelled outright by the coronavirus pandemic. The opening eight rounds of the 2020 MotoGP season have been either postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with uncertainty as to when racing will
Azhan Shafriman Hanif has taken over the CEO role at the Sepang International Circuit from Razlan Razali, who is stepping down to concentrate on his MotoGP role. The change comes after an 11-year stint from Razali, whose tenure formally ended on Tuesday. He’s been immediately replaced by trained mechanical engineer Hanif, who is fresh out
All six MotoGP manufacturers will meet with each other this week to discuss cost-saving measures, including a freeze on engine development, in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has shut down countries worldwide having infected more than 1.3 million people, has forced the opening eight rounds of the 2020 MotoGP season
The MotoGP season has been delayed until mid-June at the earliest, after the Italian and Catalan Grands Prix were officially postponed on Tuesday. The coronavirus pandemic, which has infected well over a million people worldwide as more countries begin to hit the peak of the outbreak, has played havoc with the MotoGP calendar. After the
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola says the idea of MotoGP following in Formula 1’s footsteps and racing with current machinery next year to save costs is “not madness”. The 2020 MotoGP campaign is on indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the opening six races either cancelled or postponed, with further rounds at Mugello and
IndyCar has cancelled the Detroit Grand Prix, while turning some existing events into double-headers and adding an October race at the Indianapolis road course as part of a revised calendar. IndyCar announced on Monday that the Detroit GP – which had become the new 2020 season-opening event following the shift of the GP of Indy
Aprilia rider Andrea Iannone’s 18-month ban for a doping violation has put his MotoGP career in serious doubt, though he is now in the process of appealing the ruling. After failing a doping test during last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, Iannone has been under FIM-ordered suspension since December while a hearing was carried out
Johann Zarco believes he will be “less lost” than the rest of the MotoGP grid when racing resumes having already had more time away from riding than his rivals. The 2020 MotoGP season is on indefinite hiatus right now due to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the Qatar Grand Prix and the
Ducati believes it will be difficult to find 10 countries able to host a race this season due to the coronavirus pandemic, and has offered up a radical alternate solution. The opening six round of the 2020 MotoGP campaign have been either postponed or cancelled, with the originally scheduled seventh and eighth rounds at Mugello
Multiple MotoGP race winner Max Biaggi admits he “misses” his grand prix days and his intense rivalry with seven-time premier class world champion Valentino Rossi. Biaggi stepped up to the premier class in 1998 as reigning four-time 250cc world champion, winning on his 500cc debut in Japan, before going onto win a further 12 grands
Due to the enforced racing hiatus by the coronavirus pandemic, MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports has announced a financial package to sustain the paddock. Last week, Dorna confirmed it would be offering financial assistance to all independent MotoGP teams – LCR, Pramac, Avintia, Petronas SRT, Tech3 and Gresini Aprilia – as well as the squads in
Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta admits he would be “delighted” if MotoGP could run a 10-round 2020 season once the worst of the coronavirus pandemic has subsided. The current MotoGP campaign is on indefinite hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the first six races of the current calendar either cancelled or postponed, with May’s
Ex-MotoGP star Sete Gibernau says his infamous clash with Valentino Rossi at Jerez in 2005 “opened the door” for contact to become an accepted part of grand prix racing. Nine-time premier class race-winner Gibernau engaged in a bitter rivalry with Rossi during his career in the early-mid 2000s, with the last-corner tangle at Jerez –
Ducati boss Paolo Ciabatti believes the Italian marque’s 2021 MotoGP line-up will consist of either of its five contracted riders currently racing Desmosedicis. Both Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci’s contracts with the works Ducati squad are up at the end of the year, with the manufacturers’ preferred options of Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo signing
NASCAR has announced its next generation of car will be delayed to the 2022 season due to the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The Gen-7 NASCAR machines were intended to lower the cost of competing for entrants, and testing of the machine began in the latter part of last year. It is hoped that the
Suzuki MotoGP boss Davide Brivio admits the marque has “already agreed on everything” for Alex Rins and Joan Mir to remain for 2021, though nothing has been formalised yet. Both Rins and Mir’s contracts are up for renewal at the end of the year, though both have looked likely to stay put despite keen interest
MotoGP’s number of cancelled or postponed races due to the coronavirus pandemic has risen to six, after May’s French Grand Prix was officially postponed on Thursday. MotoGP has yet to get a premier class race underway in 2020, after the season-opener in Qatar at the start of last month was cancelled a week prior owing
NASCAR Cup driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace says social distancing has become the “new normal” since the coronavirus outbreat, but says the series may need it to continue in the future. On March 16, NASCAR postponed all races through May 3 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and hoped to restart its season at Martinsville Speedway on
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola says Andrea Iannone’s 18-month racing ban for an anti-doping infringement is “absurd” and vows to support the MotoGP race winner’s appeal. Iannone was suspended by MotoGP governing body the FIM over the winter after two WADA urine samples taken during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend in November tested positive for an
Aprilia MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone has been handed an 18-month competition ban for an anti-doping infringement, but prosecutors conclude he did not purposefully take steroids. The one-time MotoGP race winner tested positive for an anabolic steroid during a routine WADA drugs test at last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix, with a follow-up sample also testing positive.
Aleix Espargaro admits he ‘needs’ Aprilia team-mate Andrea Iannone if he is to challenge for MotoGP podiums, with tensions between the pair now diffused after their Qatar test fallout. Espargaro branded Iannone as “super disrespectful” for comments the Italian made during the official livery launch of the 2020 Aprilia prior to the Qatar test last