The FIA is stepping up its efforts to simplify the World Rally Championship’s class structure into a five-tier ladder of progression. Last week’s FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting agreed on revisions to current regulations in an effort to streamline WRC 2 Pro and WRC 2. This is part of FIA rally director Yves Matton’s
Honda and six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez are already in advanced talks over a contract extension to the end of 2022. Marquez’s current deal with Honda – where he has spent his whole MotoGP career so far – expires at the end of next year, at the same time as every other works rider’s
KTM rider Pol Espargaro says three points for 13th place in the Thailand Grand Prix have vindicated his push for an “impossible” return from injury. Having withdrawn from Aragon after fracturing his left wrist in a practice crash, Espargaro was operated on and underwent a week of intense, “24-hour” therapy to be fit in time
Denny Hamlin blasted rival Joey Logano after he felt he was held up unnecessarily by the lapped Penske driver during the NASCAR Cup race at Dover. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver Hamlin dominated the first stage from pole and appeared well on his way to a stage-two win until Logano – who was 24 laps
Pramac Ducati MotoGP rider Jack Miller says he was “disappointed in myself” after he lost a second-row starting position in Thailand by accidentally tripping his bike’s kill switch. Miller looked the quickest Ducati for much of the Buriram weekend, but had to give up sixth place on the grid when he switched off his bike
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson ended a 75-race streak dating back to 2017 without a NASCAR Cup race victory by winning at Dover. Larson was the early challenger to Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who was celebrating his 500th Cup start. Polesitter Hamlin convincingly won the first stage and was dominating the early stages
Ott Tanak strengthened his World Rally Championship title bid with victory on Rally GB, scoring a maximum 30 points by topping the Brenig powerstage. Toyota team-mate Kris Meeke had led early on Friday morning, with Tanak starting on the back foot after a mistake on the rally-opening Oulton Park superspecial. A storming drive on the
Fabio Quartararo says his last-corner MotoGP defeat to Marc Marquez in the Thailand Grand Prix was more “frustrating” than when he was beaten on the last lap at Misano. Petronas Yamaha SRT rider Quartararo led off the line from second on the grid, and was only overtaken by eventual race winner and newly-crowned six-time premier
Rally GB’s Great Orme stage has been called off because rough weather conditions mean the team of divers required for safety reasons cannot get close enough to the stage. The 2.945-mile asphalt stage on the famous headland near Llandudno was due to conclude Sunday morning’s loop of the World Rally Championship round. Part of the
Honda rider Marc Marquez became MotoGP champion for the sixth time after defeating Fabio Quartararo in a scintillating battle for Thailand Grand Prix victory. Marquez, who has sealed the 2019 crown with four races to spare, is now just two premier-class titles short of Giacomo Agostini and one short of Valentino Rossi. He is officially
World Rally Championship stewards decided against penalising Sebastien Ogier, Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen for deviating from the prescribed Rally GB route because of how the stage was marked. Controversy had erupted in Wales on Friday when it was suggested the three drivers had not followed the correct route through a chicane after the finish
Ott Tanak added another 0.9 seconds to his Rally GB lead by winning the Colwyn Bay spectator stage, further increasing the Toyota driver’s advantage over his World Rally Championship rivals. Based around the promenade of Colwyn Bay, only a few miles away from rally HQ in Llandudno, the short 1.5-mile stage was the only night
Thierry Neuville scored two Rally GB stage wins to take second place from World Rally Championship title rival Sebastien Ogier on Saturday afternoon, though Toyota’s Ott Tanak still leads. Tanak suffered a scare early on the Sweet Lamb stage when a compression ripped the rear bumper off his Toyota Yaris WRC, which caused additional noise
Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Cup driver Alex Bowman says he is trying to quietly move on from the Charlotte spat in which rival Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr threw liquid on him. Bowman, who had to start from the rear of the field last Sunday at the Charlotte Roval in a back-up car, rallied to finish second
Data from Marc Marquez’s frightening high-side crash in Thailand Grand Prix MotoGP practice reveals he hit the asphalt with a 26.14g impact and that the accident lasted 4.81 seconds. The Honda rider was flicked from his RC213V at Turn 7 while on an out-lap in the latter stages of the first 45-minute practice session of
Marc Marquez knew there was a “big chance” of crashing as he braked for Turn 5 during final qualifying for MotoGP’s Thailand Grand Prix, but still opted against backing off. The Honda rider was on a lap that was threatening to put him on pole in the dying moments of qualifying when he slid off
KTM MotoGP rider Mika Kallio says he is “not happy at all” with his current form after having replaced Johann Zarco in the team’s full-time rider line-up. Having granted Zarco the request to leave the outfit after 2020, KTM then sidelined him in favour of tester Kallio ahead of the Aragon race, in order to
World Rally Championship points leader Ott Tanak has edged further ahead of chief rival Sebastien Ogier on Rally GB, but Elfyn Evans dominated the Saturday morning loop for M-Sport. Evans had lost nearly a minute on Friday with damaged suspension after contact with a bank on Elsi but has now surged back up the leaderboard
Petronas Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo bagged the fourth pole of his rookie MotoGP campaign in Thailand, despite crashing on his final lap. Quartararo posted the fastest-ever MotoGP lap of Buriram, eclipsing Dani Pedrosa’s benchmark from 2018 pre-season testing, as he saw off fellow Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales and championship leader Marc Marquez – who also
Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso topped a rain-delayed and shortened third practice ahead of the Thailand Grand Prix at Buriram. A last-gasp lap on slicks on a rapidly trying track left Dovizioso over eight tenths clear of his nearest rival, Petronas SRT Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli. Torrential rain in the morning meant the session was postponed
A row over alleged deviation from the prescribed route of a Rally GB chicane could have a significant impact on the result of this weekend’s World Rally Championship round. Sebastien Ogier, Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen are all understood to have deviated from the route at a chicane following the finish of the short Slate
Ott Tanak stormed into the Rally GB lead on Friday night’s stages, leaping from fourth to first while erstwhile leader and Toyota World Rally Championship team-mate Kris Meeke fell back. Tanak benefited from running first on the road for Dyfnant, winning the stage by 5.7 seconds from Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen in near-daylight conditions as drivers
Jimmie Johnson underlined he wants to delay any decision about his long-term NASCAR future as long as possible, as Hendrick Motorsports announced a sponsor deal covering his car through 2023. The 44-year-old seven-time Cup champion’s current contract with Hendrick expires at the end of next year. He has not won a Cup round since June
Kris Meeke continues to lead Rally GB for Toyota, but is under heavy pressure from reigning World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier. Fastest times on both Elsi and Penmachno – the afternoon loop’s two full-length stages – launched Citroen driver Ogier forwards from the fifth place in which he had ended the morning. He is now
Marc Marquez comes into MotoGP’s Thailand race with a 98-point lead in the championship and his first opportunity to seal a sixth premier class world title. All the Honda rider needs to do is outscore nearest rival Andrea Dovizioso on the Ducati by two points at Buriram and an early coronation will be assured. Marquez
The aeroscreen IndyCar will adopt in 2020 is stronger than the halo device used in Formula 1 and other single-seater categories, according to developer Red Bull Advanced Technologies. The device – which also features a halo-like structure – was tested on-track for the first time on Wednesday at Indianapolis, after which IndyCar drivers Will Power
LCR rider Cal Crutchlow says the current performance of Honda’s MotoGP bike on out-laps is “embarrassing”, and believes this played a part in Marc Marquez’s FP1 crash at Buriram. Marquez was thrown from his RC213V late on in the first practice session at the Turn 7 right-hander while off-throttle, and had to go to hospital
Toyota’s Kris Meeke kept himself in the lead of his home World Rally Championship round, Rally GB, on a very wet Friday morning. Though Meeke did not win any of the loop’s four stages, his consistently quick pace meant he headed for service with a six-second lead over Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville. Meeke managed to
Valentino Rossi hopes incoming MotoGP crew chief David Munoz can make a big impact, after admitting he and current Yamaha crew chief Silvano Galbusera have been “a little bit stuck”. Rossi remains winless since the 2017 race at Assen, and has managed just two podium appearances this season – fewer than both factory team-mate Maverick
Kris Meeke leads Rally GB following the Oulton Park opener, with Petter Solberg a sensational third and World Rally Championship leader Ott Tanak only 13th after an error. Crews were greeted with an extremely wet and slippery stage for Oulton’s first appearance on a WRC itinerary since 1993, with the 2.25-mile mix of asphalt and