Autosport understands Dixon’s current contract with Ganassi is through to the end of 2023, and that it is IndyCar-specific, whereby he can’t be moved sideways into CGR’s Cadillac sportscar operation full-time – although he’ll likely remain as one of the extras for endurance races. However, there are rumours that when his contract is up, he
Month: June 2022
A late caution set up a pit strategy decision as several of those contending for the win elected to pit for new tyres while Elliott and nine others remained on the track. On the restart with four of 300 laps to go, Elliott easily cleared Kurt Busch for the lead with a push from Ryan
Sharing his Hyundai Elantra N with fellow Canadian Mark Wilkins in a two-hour race at Watkins Glen, Wickens won the TCR class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge event for Bryan Herta Autosport. His last race victory was in September 2017, at the Nurburgring for Mercedes in the DTM. Due to his spinal cord injury, Wickens
In a sport driven by characters that at times seemed larger-than-life – Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty among them – Smith always seemed to be among the best at capitalising on their appeal to the masses. Yes, the drivers were the stars. But to be stars, there had to be an audience that adored
But for Cindric the most notable contrast is not in the technical regulations nor the completely different sporting approach. Instead, it is fan engagement that stands out for him as the biggest deviation. Cindric attended his first F1 race in Canada last weekend and got to see up close how a real life grand prix
After a “very encouraging” test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course on Thursday, the 2016 Indy 500 champion told Autosport that he was continuing to work productively together with his team-mates and that their dedication to winning had not shifted. “Everyone’s been very understanding with regard to my move,” said Rossi, who has been
With 10 races remaining before the start of the 2022 playoffs, NASCAR has already seen higher TV ratings, strong race-day crowds and plenty of on-track action, particularly on intermediate tracks. While the Next Gen car hasn’t been a smashing success everywhere – short track races at Martinsville and Richmond were sub-par for instance – but
The Meyer-Shank Racing IndyCar driver won the opening round of the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), a six-race mini-series in which drivers from top US racing categories compete in identical stock cars, at Pensacola last weekend. Series CEO Don Hawk had told Castroneves that he’d get the Brazilian a ride in the Daytona 500 if he
Aurally, the change was welcome. The normally-aspirated V8s of the Indy Racing League/IndyCar 1997-2011 era, at high revs, tended to sound as if 20-plus Canada geese were locked in one’s tympanic cavities and never needed to draw breath. This could have a near nausea-inducing effect when the sound was bouncing off the concrete walls and
Ratel believes moves announced earlier this month by WEC promoter and Le Mans 24 Hours organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to create a premium category based on GT3 to replace the current GTE class are positive. PLUS: When the moribund GTE Pro class stole the show at Le Mans “I’m supportive of it, because it
Kostecki began to put his NASCAR plan into place during a recent trip to the US where he took in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Cup Series race at Gateway. While Stateside he kicked off talks with potential parties that could facilitate a partial Cup or Xfinity Series programme next season. The idea isn’t
Rosenqvist’s future at the team has been subject to speculation following the signing of Alexander Rossi to Arrow McLaren SP to partner Pato O’Ward, although the IndyCar team is currently planning a third entry for the 2023 season. McLaren is also expanding its racing portfolio for next season, as it takes over Mercedes’ Formula E
De Silvestro, who raced the 2021 Indianapolis 500 for Paretta, opened her 2022 account on a road course – the first time she had raced an IndyCar on a road course in seven years. Her return to the notoriously challenging Road America circuit was a tough refresher course, and Beth Paretta’s team is this year
The former Sauber F1 racer will drive the EMA Porsche 911 GT3-R together with Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet in the Belgian enduro on 30-31 July, which is a round of both the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. The trio have already won the GT Daytona Pro class of
Walker Racing – Team Australia as it was rebranded with Aussie Vineyards backing – had only ditched its Reynard 02Is at the end of 2004, one of the last two Champ Car teams to do so, and so 2005 was very much a learning year for Derrick Walker’s team with the ageing Lola B2K. It
Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda It’s hard to knock a team that has started the 2022 season in roughly the same way as it ended the last, with three of its drivers in the top six in the championship, one of them leading. The down side is that they have scored only one win so far: the
Forget Top Gun Maverick, in the world of NASCAR it’s Team Trackhouse that feels like the feelgood movie of the summer. In a Cup Series where giants like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske field their star-studded jet jockeys, Trackhouse is the plucky little squadron that put them all in its sights and
The Porsche factory drivers will reunite for the Spa classic on 30-31 July aboard a Porsche 911 GT3-R run by ART Grand Prix as part of GPX’s assault on this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge. Estre, Christensen and Lietz, who all race for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship, came together for Spa in 2019 when
At Road America, Newgarden delivered his third win from the opening eight races of the season, and moved up to third in the championship, 32 points away from leader Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson. Newgarden is the only driver to score more than one victory this year to date. But the 2017 and ’19 title
After Palou and Ericsson qualified third and fourth respectively – Ericsson’s best grid position of the year – the pair had retained those positions from the start. Following the long run down to Turn 5 on lap 4, Palou appeared to brake slightly early in response to being so close behind the second-placed car of Josef Newgarden,
Suarez took the lead in Sunday’s race at California’s Sonoma Raceway road course with 22 of 110 laps remaining and cruised to victory over Chris Buescher, earning his first victory in 195 career starts. He became the first Mexican driver to win in the Cup Series since its inception in 1949. His NASCAR career had
In his 195th Cup Series start since his 2017 debut with Joe Gibbs Racing, the 30-year-old cruised to a 3.849 second win to book his place in the playoffs alongside team-mate Ross Chastain. The 2016 Xfinity Series champion, one of the first success stories to come out of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity programme, Suarez had posted
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Palou started the eighth round of the season at Elkhart Lake fourth in points, with Ericsson two spots ahead of him after his Indy 500 triumph. Palou was running third in Sunday’s race on Lap 4 when Ericsson lunged to his inside at Turn 5. Ericsson was more than halfway alongside when
Newgarden, who had been burned in 2021 following a late caution and hit gearbox trouble with two laps left as the race restarted, suffered no such trouble to beat Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson home – as the Swede dispatched polesitter Alexander Rossi late on. Rossi had been assured in the opening part of the
Rossi clocked a 1m44.8656s to snatch pole position by 0.0715s from Newgarden to become the eighth different polesitter from as many races in the 2022 IndyCar season to date. Four drivers elected to go with primary tyres rather than used reds at the start of the Firestone Fast Six, and Andretti Autosport-Honda’s Rossi took two
In cool conditions, and with no alternate-compound tyres available in FP2, after they were used in yesterday’s first practice session, Conor Daly held top spot for Ed Carpenter Racing after 15 minutes, with a 1m46.5240s. But then defending race-winner Alex Palou delivered a third lap in his Chip Ganassi Racing was over a second quicker.
Despite a guaranteed 75 minutes of track time, most drivers remained on pitlane after their installation laps since they were yearning for another set of tyres. The teams were granted their practice Firestone alternates for this session, rather than second practice, but the drivers wanted rubber laid down to be most representative of the expected
Last Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix was an epic way for the 2.35-mile track to sign off its time on the IndyCar schedule. Will Power’s triumph by one second over Alexander Rossi meant the Team Penske ace landed Chevrolet’s 100th win since it returned to IndyCar at the start of the 2.2-litre V6 twin-turbo era in 2012,
For 2022, Calderon is competing in all the road and street course events for AJ Foyt Racing, while handing over the #11 ROKiT car to JR Hildebrand for the ovals. But given the current testing restrictions, it has a been a tough season of acclimation for the 29-year-old Colombian since she knows so few of
De Silvestro made her return to IndyCar in last year’s Indianapolis 500 with Paretta Autosport, a female-forward team. But for this year team owner Beth Paretta has elected to use the funding she has raised to run three IndyCar races – Road America this weekend, Mid-Ohio in July and Nashville in August – as she targets