Johann Zarco says a 2020 factory Honda MotoGP call-up in light of Jorge Lorenzo’s retirement would be “an exceptional dream”, but insists he would be happy with an LCR ride as well. Zarco, who has impressed as LCR’s stand-in for Takaaki Nakagami in the last two races following an ignominious end to his short tenure
Retiring three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo says he is “very sorry” to have “disappointed” Honda and team boss Alberto Puig with his poor form in 2019. Faced with a likely exit from Ducati, Lorenzo contacted Honda during the 2018 season and agreed a shock switch to become Marc Marquez’s team-mate from this year onwards. But
Three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo has called time on his glittering career at the end of his worst season in grand prix racing. Lorenzo joined Honda for 2019, but a season plagued by injury and difficulties in adapting to the RC213V meant he has not even scored a top 10 finish so far. After
Elfyn Evans will be announced as a 2020 Toyota World Rally Championship driver – potentially with Sebastien Ogier alongside him – as early as the end of next week. Toyota team principal Tommi Makinen has dismissed speculation he has already signed both drivers, but said his line-up could be completed imminently. His squad has been
Citroen’s future in the World Rally Championship is under review, with an immediate departure from the series reckoned to be a strong possibility. Citroen returned to the WRC in 2017 after a year away from the series was spent developing the C3 WRC. Its latest car has been, by some distance, the least successful of
Until a late-race caution set up a three-lap dash to the finish, last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup playoffs semi-final race at Phoenix was short on drama. And that’s a problem for NASCAR, because in 2020 Phoenix will be hosting the championship decider. The need for clean air appeared to dominate and left overtaking at a premium,
MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports has announced a preliminary agreement to bring a Hungarian Grand Prix to the calendar from 2022. The announcement comes nine years after the country’s previous attempt to hold a MotoGP race collapsed. The series was meant to make its first visit to Hungary since 1992 in 2010 at the proposed new
NASCAR Cup title contender Martin Truex Jr said he effectively raced with “half a team and an old car” at Phoenix last weekend as he prepared for the championship decider. Truex, the 2017 champion, became the first driver to cement a place in the ‘championship four’ field for Homestead when he won the opening race
World Rally Championship teams will distribute unused food to the local Coffs Harbour community before returning to Europe following the cancellation of Rally Australia. The event was cancelled on Tuesday due to bush fires spreading through New South Wales, having initially had its route dramatically shortened in a bit to to hold the event. The
The recent Malaysian MotoGP served up a significant statistic for Yamaha, as Maverick Vinales’ dominant win marked its first brace of victories in one season since 2017. After crashing out of the fight for the win in Australia, Vinales led from start to finish at Sepang in a dominant display, which harked back to the
The 2019 World Rally Championship finale Rally Australia has been cancelled amid concerns about the rapidly spreading fires closing in on the event’s Coffs Harbour base. Official confirmation of the decision from rally organisers is expected imminently. Autosport has seen email confirmation from rally officials to the FIA and WRC Promoter declaring the cancellation, with
There is increasing anger in the World Rally Championship service park that Rally Australia has not yet been cancelled, with its Coffs Harbour base in the path of intensifying bushfires. Rally Australia organisers are set to meet with the FIA, WRC Promoter and the teams at 1600 Australian time on Tuesday (5am in London) to
Reigning NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano was left completely perplexed by the Phoenix race slump that ended his title defence. During much of the first two stages of Sunday’s penultimate round of the season, Penske Ford driver Logano looked almost unbeatable. He led 93 of the first 176 laps and took the stage two victory
This year’s title-winning Super GT outfit Team LeMans will not continue in the Toyota stable in 2020, Autosport has learned. Team LeMans won the GT500 title earlier this month at Motegi with Kazuya Oshima and Kenta Yamashita, adding to the All-Japan GT Championship success it earned back in 2002 with Akira Iida and now-team boss
Rally Australia organisers have revealed a heavily revised schedule as a proposal to keep this week’s World Rally Championship finale running. The route for the Coffs Harbour-based event has been hit by bushfires raging up and down the east coast of New South Wales. A bulletin issued by clerk of the course Wayne Kenny outlines
World Rally champion Ott Tanak’s sensational move from Toyota to Hyundai – sealed just before his title – is only the start of the 2020 driver market machinations. In a special rallying edition of the Autosport Podcast, David Evans joins Edd Straw to consider what happens next in the WRC. Will Sebastien Ogier walk out
Denny Hamlin survived a late restart in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix to claim his sixth win of the season and secure a spot in the championship shootout. He will go up against Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr and Kevin Harvick for the title at Homestead next weekend, with reigning champion Joey Logano
Chris Ingram has become the first British driver to win the European Rally Championship title since Vic Elford in 1967 after finishing fourth on the season-closing Rally Hungary. Ingram, driving a Toksport WRT-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 with Ross Whittock as co-driver, overcame two punctures and a spin on the final day to edge home on
The identity of the four drivers who will fight for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series title will be settled at Phoenix on Sunday, with an early favourite in jeopardy. Martin Truex Jr and Kevin Harvick have guaranteed the first two slots in the ‘championship four’ with their wins at Martinsville and Texas. Behind them, Kyle
Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has outlined what changes he wants made to the 2020 Honda in a bid to find more performance. Marquez eased to his sixth premier class world title this season with four races to spare, and won 11 grands prix while finishing inside the top two in 17 of the
Double Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso achieved his first podium finish in cross-country rallying in the third of his Dakar Rally preparatory outings with Toyota. Alonso and co-driver Marc Coma contested this week’s Al Ula-Neom Cross-Country Rally in Saudi Arabia, where the Dakar is being held for the first time in 2020. They were
World Rally Championship finale Rally Australia will have a “significantly shortened” route – if it goes ahead at all – due to a worsening fire situation in the area. Bush fires have been burning for days in New South Wales and worsening weather conditions – including strengthening winds set to run into Tuesday – are
Rally Australia officials are becoming increasingly concerned by the onset of bush fires in New South Wales ahead of next week’s 2019 World Rally Championship finale. Because of the fires, the roads being used for the WRC event are currently closed to all traffic – including event officials hoping to set stages up for the
Richard Petty Motorsports NASCAR driver Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr has been penalised after admitting that he intentionally caused a caution period in last weekend’s race at Texas. Wallace was fined $50,000 and docked 50 championship points for his actions. His Chevrolet had suffered a deflating rear tyre but he appeared only to have successfully caught
Meyer Shank Racing will contest a full IndyCar season in 2020, signing Andretti Autosport as a technical partner as its previous deal came to an end and McLaren replaced it. The team – with Jack Harvey confirmed as the team’s driver – had gradually increased its participation from three races in 2017 to six in
Meyer Shank Racing will contest a full IndyCar season in 2020, signing Andretti Autosport as a technical partner as its previous deal came to an end and McLaren replaced it. The team – with Jack Harvey confirmed as the team’s driver – had gradually increased its participation from three races in 2017 to six in
Jonas Folger has announced he has split with Yamaha after less than a year as the manufacturer’s European MotoGP test rider. Folger joined Yamaha’s European test team at the start of 2019 season and also added five Moto2 outings with the Petronas-backed SIC Moto2 team to his schedule. He claims he had verbally agreed to
MotoGP boss Carmelo Ezpeleta has urged Jorge Lorenzo to make a decision on his future, having described the three-time premier class champion’s recent struggles with Honda as “sad”. Lorenzo is approaching the conclusion of what has been a nightmare first season as a Honda rider, sitting 19th in the championship with just 25 points to
Ott Tanak is heading to Australia for the season finale as World Rally champion but about to leave the Toyota team for Hyundai for 2020. That’s already a tricky enough psychological situation even without the added factor that Hyundai and Toyota are still battling for the manufacturers’ championship. While no one’s expecting Tanak to be
Iker Lecuona will stand in for Miguel Oliveira at the Tech3 KTM team in the final round of the MotoGP season in Valencia. It means Lecuona, who will race alongside Oliveira at the team in 2020, will make his MotoGP debut at the Ricardo Tormo circuit. “To have this opportunity in my home Grand Prix