Not for the first time, many of us made pre-season predictions of Andretti Autosport fighting for the championship. “It will be a shock if [Colton] Herta isn’t in title contention come September’s finale at Laguna Seca,” this writer wrote in February and, in time, that form may emerge. But right now, after two rounds, Herta
Month: March 2022
Although this first test was run in great secrecy, with the current 2.2 litre engine’s alternator in place of the spec hybrid component from Mahle, both companies said they welcomed the chance to at least run their respective internal combustion engine [ICE] element of the 2024 IndyCar powertrain. The two-day test was extended to a
The Honda-powered car was driven by Chip Ganassi Racing’s six-time IndyCar champion, Scott Dixon, while Team Penske’s two-time champion Josef Newgarden drove the Chevrolet machine. Chevrolet driving duties are expected to be taken over by Will Power as testing continues on Tuesday. Monday’s test was conducted on a 13-turn 2.6-mile version of the road course
Hendrick Motorsports driver Bowman was third heading into the final complex of corners that ends the 3.41-mile, 20-turn Texas track behind leader Chastain (Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet) and the Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of road course specialist AJ Allmendinger, who had won Saturday’s Xfinity race. After Allmendinger had run Chastain wide into the tight Turn 16 left-hander, Chastain retaliated
As a late caution sent the race into a two-lap overtime, Tyler Reddick held the lead – but Chastain used a deft move in the esses to reclaim the lead. Chastain took the white flag – signalling the last lap – as the leader but Allmendinger and Bowman did not let him get away. Coming
Two-time World Endurance Championship title winners Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen will be joined by fellow works driver and Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Pro class champion Maxime Martin in one of two Aston Martin Vantage GT3s entered by the Prodrive-run Beechdean AMR squad in the five-round series. The programme brings Aston back to the
When it was revealed early in March that the 2.4-litre’s race debut had been delayed until 2024, IndyCar stated its intention that the first test of the engines would be held 30-31 March on the Sebring International Raceway’s short course. However, since around 20 cars are expected for a group test at Indy on those
The team struggled in qualifying, with Dalton Kellett, Kirkwood and JR Hildebrand only 22nd, 23rd and 26th on the speed charts. However, in second practice Kirkwood was 15th with his race setup, and overnight the team made further progress. When the first caution period occurred on lap 12, reigning Indy Lights champion Kirkwood was running 21st so
Ferrucci – who said he expected to be “racing his couch” – stood in for Jack Harvey in the #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan, who was ruled out of the first oval race of the season following a big crash in practice on Saturday. Ferrucci finished ninth and on the lead lap, despite making four pitstops compared
Newgarden led only three laps compared with his teammate’s 186, but one of them was the final one, as he gained momentum through Turns 3 and 4 to pass McLaughlin around the outside on the run to the checkered flag. His winning margin was 0.0669sec. “I’m telling you, I was yelling!” said Penske’s two-time champion.
Johnson started 18th on the 27-car grid for Sunday’s race at the Texas Motor Speedway, a venue where he scored seven wins during his NASCAR career. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver made good progress on track, making outside passes and rose through the field to run a legitimate fifth, before fuel worries due to faulty
As Byron took the white flag to signal the final of 325 laps, Ross Chastain attempted to make a move on Byron for the lead but was thwarted by Christopher Bell who passed him on the inside to take second on the back straightaway. Bell, however, was penalised by NASCAR for passing below the red
McLaughlin led 186 of the event’s 248 laps when he came up on lapped traffic, with Team Penske team-mate Josef Newgarden on his tail. McLaughlin couldn’t clear David Malukas’s 11th-placed car entering Turn 3, which allowed Newgarden to get the run on him through the final two corners. Newgarden used that momentum and the outside
McLaughlin, winner of the 2022 IndyCar opener at St. Petersburg, led for 186 laps having taken the lead on the opening lap from polesitter Felix Rosenqvist, but got caught behind traffic which allowed Newgarden in for a late charge. Carrying more momentum through Turns 3 and 4, the #2 Penske caught the tail of the
Harvey shunted heavily in yesterday’s second practice session after qualifying in 24th spot. The Briton stepped from his wreck unaided and spoke to media outside the medical centre after being released, but was re-evaluated this morning and IndyCar medical team did not clear him. An official IndyCar statement reads: “Per IndyCar protocol, all drivers wear
Harvey, who has qualified only 24th yet was fastest of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan-Hondas in a strangely poor event for the team so far, was on his 26th lap of the 1.5-mile track in final practice when his car understeered in the middle of Turn 2. Harvey downchanged, his car started oversteering, and its right-rear
Oval IndyCar rookie Jimmie Johnson, the fifth driver to run, was the first driver to crack 220mph on a lap, reaching the 220.006mph mark on his first flyer in his Chip Ganassi Racing machine. A 219.724mph lap on his second tour left him with an average of 219.865mph. This was immediately edged by Andretti Autosport’s
Pagenaud, who joined MSR from Team Penske during the off-season, lapped at 223.087mph to edge Rosenqvist’s 222.878mph effort. Fresh from being announced as part of the McLaren Formula 1 team’s testing lineup, Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta was third-fastest while oval racing rookie Callum Ilott was a remarkable fourth-quickest for Juncos-Holinger Racing with the aid
Since the PJ1 TrackBite was added to parts of the track surface in November 2019 to boost traction for the Goodyear tyres of the NASCAR stock cars, IndyCar drivers have found it thoroughly incompatible with their Firestone rubber, some comparing it to black ice. In effect, IndyCar drivers at full racing speed – as opposed
As IndyCar racing attempted to pull itself apart in 1996, with the infamous split caused by the formation of the Indy Racing League, the CART World Series side of the deal received its best possible gift: Alex Zanardi. From the ashes of Team Lotus in Formula 1, and just a handful of BPR GT and
O’Ward enjoyed a breakout season in IndyCar last year with Arrow McLaren SP, scoring two wins and remaining in title contention until the final round of the season. It led to the Mexican driver receiving his first Formula 1 test at the end of last year in Abu Dhabi, after which he outlined a two-year
Race organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest has confirmed that acceptance of the entry from Hendrick Motorsports for the grid slot – reserved for what it describes as an “innovative car” – is dependent on the Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 running an energy-recovery system. That would give NASCAR the chance to test the hybrid technology on
For as long as people care about motorsport, there will be multiple stories and memories told of the Indianapolis 500s in 2021, 2011, 1987, ’66 and ’65. They didn’t all feature spectacular battles for victory, but those editions of the biggest race in the world were won by drivers who were one-off or part-time entries
The project was revealed in a joint announcement between NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports at the Sebring 12 Hours on Thursday afternoon. They plan to take a modified Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the famed French sportscar classic as an homage to NASCAR founder Bill France Sr taking stock cars to the race almost half
Although AMSP ace O’Ward was thrilled by his F1 test with McLaren in Abu Dhabi and the team was said to be impressed by his performance, it was announced last week that McLaren F1 has signed fellow IndyCar ace Colton Herta to its test program. O’Ward, although stating that he is firmly focused on IndyCar
The new car, which has been developed in-house at Ferrari under a team led by head of GT race car design Ferdinando Cannizzio, will be based on the production 296 GTB that is powered by a turbo-charged V6 hybrid engine. However, Ferrari has stressed that the race model will not be equipped with the electric
The newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway promises to put on a show similar to what fans would see at a superspeedway, rather than an intermediate track. Atlanta was last reconfigured in 1997, changing to a quad-oval format that measured 1.54 miles. Although it retains the same length, the banking of its turns have been increased
According to paddock rumours, Glock is expected to compete for touring car legend Roberto Ravaglia’s Ceccato team in the eight-round Italian GT series, driving the new BMW M4 GT3. Glock already knows Ravaglia’s team well, having competed for its predecessor ROAL Motorsport at the Spa 24 Hours in 2015 with Spengler and Alex Zanardi. Glock’s
Nine-time world champion Rossi called time on his 26-season grand prix motorcycle racing career at the end of last year, and has joined up with the crack sportscar outfit WRT for a full-season assault on GT World Challenge Europe across the Sprint and Endurance divisions. The 43-year-old will be partnered with Audi factory driver Frederic
Briscoe, who struggled through his rookie year with Stewart-Haas Racing last season, powered to the lead on a restart with three of the 312-lap race remaining at Phoenix Raceway and held off Ross Chastain by 0.771 seconds to take his first win in 40 career starts. At the end of the race, the top three