Aldo Andretti was an intrinsic part of his brother’s early ventures into motorsport after their family moved from Montona, Italy (now Motovun, Croatia) to America in June 1955. They took with them strong memories of witnessing the Mille Miglia and the Italian GP at Monza, which would prove to be the foundation of their dream
Month: December 2020
Former racer Aldo Andretti, the twin brother of 1978 Formula 1 world champion Mario and father of the late racing all-rounder John, has died at the age of 80. Aldo Andretti was an intrinsic part of his brother’s early ventures into motorsport after their family moved from Montona, Italy (now Motovun, Croatia) to America in
With Alex Palou moving to Chip Ganassi Racing and Santino Ferrucci’s future as yet undecided, the identity of Dale Coyne Racing’s lineup has been the centre of much interest this winter. Several drivers who competed in F1 this season are without a confirmed race seat in any series for 2021, including Daniil Kvyat, Romain Grosjean,
Dale Coyne expects to be able to confirm his 2021 IndyCar line-up by the middle of next month, amid speculation that drivers with Formula 1 experience could be in contention. With Alex Palou moving to Chip Ganassi Racing and Santino Ferrucci’s future as yet undecided, the identity of Dale Coyne Racing’s lineup has been the
World Rally Championship race winner Kris Meeke says participating in the 2021 Dakar Rally without previous rally raid experience will be “a big challenge”. Meeke is driving a PH Sport Zephyr T3 car, which uses the commercially available Can-Am Maverick X3 off-road vehicle as a base, but with an FIA-homologated tubular chassis and bespoke BOS
Andreas Mikkelsen says he wants to “dominate” every WRC2 and European Rally Championship round he starts in 2021 as he still targets a full-time World Rally Championship return. The former Volkswagen and Hyundai driver has announced he will contest both series in full next season at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia Rally 2 evo
World Rally Championship veteran Kris Meeke “felt like a kid at Christmas” during his first test for PH Sport, with whom he will compete in the 2021 Dakar Rally. Meeke will drive PH Sport’s Zephyr T3 in next month’s Dakar Rally, which will take place in Saudi Arabia across a total of 4750 miles. The
FIA rally director Yves Matton says he is “quite confident” the opening round of the 2021 World Rally Championship will go ahead, despite the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Rally Monte Carlo is scheduled to kick off the series on Thursday 21 January, although, at 174 competitive miles, next year’s instalment will be the
Arrow McLaren SP announced earlier this month that two-time Indy 500 winner Montoya would be joining the team for the 2021 edition of the race, driving alongside full-time drivers Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist. It will mark a reunion for Montoya and McLaren, the team the Colombian raced for in Formula 1 in 2005 and
Juan Pablo Montoya was the “very clear” choice for McLaren to field in its third car entry to the Indianapolis 500 in 2021, according to Zak Brown. Arrow McLaren SP announced earlier this month that two-time Indy 500 winner Montoya would be joining the team for the 2021 edition of the race, driving alongside full-time
Sebastien Loeb says the Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme team is entering the Dakar Rally expecting to be competitive against established outfits like Toyota and X-raid Mini. Loeb is returning to the Dakar after a one-year absence to helm the new Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, where he will be joined by 2015 winner Nani Roma. The
Daly will also again race the squad’s third car in U.S. Air Force livery in the Indianapolis 500, while team owner Carpenter will take the wheel of the #20 car for the other three oval events. Carpenter told Autosport earlier this month that his priority was to retain Daly for 2021, rather than signing a
Conor Daly will continue for a second year as the road and street course driver of the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing machine during the 2021 IndyCar season. Daly will also again race the squad’s third car in U.S. Air Force livery in the Indianapolis 500, while team owner Carpenter will take the wheel of the
Former World Rally Championship runner-up Jari-Matti Latvala has been appointed team principal of the Toyota Gazoo Racing squad, as the team confirms its full 2021 line-up. With Tommi Makinen stepping down as team boss at the end of the 2020 season to become Toyota’s motorsport advisor, Latvala will move into the team principal role having
Oliver Solberg has been confirmed as a Hyundai Motorsport driver for the next two seasons of the World Rally Championship, beginning in WRC2 in 2021. The 19-year-old son of 2003 World Rally champion Petter Solberg will spearhead Hyundai Motorsport’s WRC2 assault next year, with a graduation to a World Rally Car understood to be on
Only one car – with Ford driver Chris Buescher – took part in the test and spent much of the two days making single-car runs around the 2.5-mile oval. “Daytona was an important test for us, because when we come back here in 2022 we have to make sure we hit the speed targets that
NASCAR has completed a two-day test at Daytona International Speedway with its Next Gen car earlier this week, focusing on hitting speed targets. Only one car – with Ford driver Chris Buescher – took part in the test and spent much of the two days making single-car runs around the 2.5-mile oval. “Daytona was an
The move from the event’s traditional April date creates a three-race west coast swing to conclude the IndyCar season, beginning at Portland International on 12 September, followed by Laguna Seca the next weekend, and concluding on the streets of Long Beach on 26 September. The Long Beach event was originally due to be the third
IndyCar’s 2021 Long Beach round has been moved to become the category’s season finale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials from IndyCar have announced. The move from the event’s traditional April date creates a three-race west coast swing to conclude the IndyCar season, beginning at Portland International on 12 September, followed by Laguna Seca the
Lexus Europe announced on Wednesday that it has “reached the natural end to its direct support of GT3 racing projects in Europe”, which in 2020 centred on the Tech 1-run Panis Racing squad’s campaign in the GT World Challenge Europe. “As the brand’s strategic direction evolves, keeping Lexus at the forefront of automotive electrification, Lexus
Toyota brand Lexus has ended factory support of its racing programme with the RC F GT3 contender in Europe. Lexus Europe announced on Wednesday that it has “reached the natural end to its direct support of GT3 racing projects in Europe”, which in 2020 centred on the Tech 1-run Panis Racing squad’s campaign in the
Dalton Kellett will contest the full IndyCar schedule with A.J. Foyt Racing next season, after completing a partial campaign with the team in 2020. The 27-year-old Indy Lights graduate made eight appearances in Foyt’s #14 entry, which he shared with Sebastien Bourdais and Tony Kanaan. Kellett scored six podium finishes in his four years of
The WRC has announced that February’s Rally Sweden will not go ahead as planned, becoming the first event on the series’ 2021 calendar to be cancelled due to coronavirus. Sweden was one of the three countries to successfully hold a WRC rally on its original slot this year before the coronavirus pandemic took hold and
Catsburg told Autosport that he ended up off the circuit “at least four times” in the heavy rain of the final hour of a race he won together with Walkenhorst Motorsport team-mates Augusto Farfus and Sheldon van der Linde. “It was nearly impossible to maintain the 80km/h speed limit because the visibility was so bad
New Intercontinental GT Challenge champion Nicky Castsburg has revealed that he went off track multiple times under full course yellow conditions on the way to victory in Saturday’s Kyalami finale. Catsburg told Autosport that he ended up off the circuit “at least four times” in the heavy rain of the final hour of a race
The works Honda NSX GT3 shared by Baguette, Renger van der Zande and Mario Farnbacher had been firmly in control of Saturday’s race, leading by as much as 12 seconds with three hours to run before heavy rain hit Kyalami in the penultimate hour. SUPER GT regular Baguette was still leading with just over an
Honda’s defeat in last weekend’s Kyalami 9 Hour was “hard to take” after it commanded the first eight hours of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season finale, says Bertrand Baguette. The works Honda NSX GT3 shared by Baguette, Renger van der Zande and Mario Farnbacher had been firmly in control of Saturday’s race, leading by as
Their Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 came out on top in a confused climax to the Kyalami 9 Hours, which finished behind the safety car after a protracted period of running under a full course yellow in wet conditions. The points for victory in South Africa on Saturday were enough to vault Farfus and Castburg
BMW drivers Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg snatched the Intercontinental GT Challenge title with victory in the series finale at Kyalami together with Sheldon van der Linde. Their Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 came out on top in a confused climax to the Kyalami 9 Hours, which finished behind the safety car after a protracted
Pietro Fittipaldi, currently subbing for Romain Grosjean in the Haas Formula 1 team, is hoping to return to IndyCar in 2021 while remaining as a reserve driver in F1. The 2017 World Series Formula V8 3.5 champion ran six races for Dale Coyne Racing in 2018, but had his schedule disrupted by a heavy crash