Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Toyota driver Ott Tanak starred ahead of World Rally Championship title contenders Sebastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville to extend his Rally Germany lead on Friday morning. Tanak had led the rally overnight following Thursday’s superspecial stage but fell behind Ogier on the
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Renault’s push to increase its works Formula 1 team’s headcount by 50% since rejoining the grid hurt its efficiency and “bang-for-buck” while developing its 2018 challenger. Since reclaiming ‘Team Enstone’ from Lotus ahead of the 2016 season, Renault has been on an
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Retiring NASCAR Cup driver Kasey Kahne turned down an approach from leading team Stewart-Haas Racing for 2019. Autosport revealed earlier this month that Kurt Busch and sponsor Monster Energy will be leaving SHR to replace Jamie McMurray at Ganassi next season. Kahne,
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Marco Andretti has signed a new multi-year contract to remain with Andretti Autosport in its Bryan Herta affiliated IndyCar team. Andretti switched places with Alexander Rossi in the Andretti line-up ahead of the 2018 season and will stay in the #98 Andretti-run,
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Honda says it would welcome Fernando Alonso to IndyCar for 2019, and has not ruled out an engine supply for McLaren should the Formula 1 team join the series. Speculation had suggested McLaren’s ill-fated stint with Honda engines in F1 had damaged
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Ott Tanak was fastest on Rally Germany’s opening superspecial, which for a long time looked like it would again by topped by WRC2 Skoda driver Jan Kopecky. Last year asphalt ace Kopecky stunned the World Rally Championship by leading outright in Germany
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Fernando Alonso says a lack of track action in Formula 1, rather than his and McLaren’s recent poor results, prompted his 2019 exit decision. The two-time champion announced earlier this week that he would not be competing in F1 in 2019, but
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Toyota will not renew its 44-year-old title sponsorship of IndyCar’s Long Beach Grand Prix, ending what organisers claim is the longest running commercial deal in the history of motorsport. The manufacturer was involved in the very first Long Beach GP in September
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Autosport understands McLaren Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso will test a 2018 Indycar in the coming months, an opportunity the driver admits is possible. IndyCar confirmed to Autosport earlier this week that it was working with McLaren on a plan to enter
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Spanish authorities have blamed a mistranslation for fuelling incorrect media reports that injured Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher was poised to move to Mallorca. Widespread reports over recent days suggested that Schumacher’s family was poised to move away from it current residency
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Kasey Kahne will retire from full-time NASCAR competition at the end of the year, having turned down an option to continue with Cup series outfit Leavine Family Racing in 2019. Kahne switched to Leavine after a disappointing spell at Hendrick Motorsports, winning
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Retiring Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa says he is at a loss to explain to why he has not been able to perform to his usual level in 2018. Pedrosa announced his decision to step away from grand prix motorcycle racing at
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Elliott Sadler, a three-time race-winner in the NASCAR Cup series and regular Xfinity title contender, will retire from full-time competition at the end of 2018. His retirement will bring an end to a NASCAR career that began in 1997 and encompassed 12
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Esteban Ocon believes a Mercedes Formula 1 drive is “just a matter of time” and says his future lies with the German manufacturer regardless of his 2019 team. The Mercedes junior is halfway through his second year racing with its engine customer
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. McLaren is working on replacing Fernando Alonso with Carlos Sainz Jr as Pierre Gasly has emerged as Daniel Ricciardo’s likely successor at Red Bull, Autosport understands. Sainz drove for Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso for three seasons and is currently on
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. The FIA will meet with World Rally Championship event organisers in Germany this weekend to discuss better methods of measuring stage safety following criticism of the use of average speeds. The route for last month’s Rally Finland was altered significantly to feature
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Pramac Ducati rider Jack Miller admits he is going through a “low point” in his MotoGP career after a disappointing Austrian Grand Prix. Miller’s transition from Honda to Ducati this year initially looked seamless as he finished inside the top 10 in
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Renault cannot afford to let its 2019 work compromise its ’18 car’s development because of the pressure it is under in Formula 1’s midfield battle, says chassis chief Nick Chester. The French manufacturer consolidated fourth in the constructors’ championship heading into the
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. The beleaguered BK Racing NASCAR Cup series team could have its charter bought by Xfinity team GMS Racing, handing it a graduation into the top tier. NASCAR has run its equivalent of the American sporting franchise system with its charter since 2016,
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales admits he is finding it “impossible to enjoy” riding at the moment after his dismal run to 12th in Austria. Vinales could only qualify 11th for the Red Bull Ring round, with that result – combined with
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. The latest episode of The Autosport Podcast dives into Fernando Alonso’s decision not to race in Formula 1 next season and the wide-ranging consequences of the call. Autosport’s Andrew van de Burgt and Scott Mitchell join Edd Straw to discuss what Alonso
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Kevin Harvick’s Michigan race-winning Stewart-Haas Racing Ford is one of six NASCAR Cup series cars being used by the series to help inform its 2019 specification tests. Harvick’s machine will be joined by five other cars that were raced at Michigan for
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. One-time Formula 1 world champion Jody Scheckter believes people have overrated Fernando Alonso and says his divisive nature is “not the way to win world championships”. Alonso revealed on Tuesday that he will leave F1 at the end of the year but
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. McLaren is working on a plan to enter IndyCar full-time with double Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso in 2019, according to series chief Mark Miles. Alonso announced on Tuesday that he would not compete in F1 in 2019, but left the
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Scott Redding has issued an apology to Aprilia for describing its MotoGP bike as a “piece of s***” after last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. Redding was unable to contain his emotions after finishing 20th in dry conditions at the Red Bull Ring,
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Fernando Alonso says he could return to Formula 1 after 2019 and has indicated his absence from the grid may only be temporary if McLaren’s form improves. The two-time world champion revealed on Tuesday that he will not be racing in F1
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi reckons Jorge Lorenzo will “lose out” when he joins rival MotoGP manufacturer Honda next year. After a disappointing first season at Ducati last year and a similarly slow start to the 2018 campaign, the Italian manufacturer’s bosses
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. The overhaul of Formula 1’s front wing rules for next season makes it tough for teams to judge aerodynamic targets for their 2019 cars, according to Williams chief Paddy Lowe. Williams (pictured above), Force India and Red Bull provided a first on-track
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Valentino Rossi reckons his “character” and experience are helping him to deal with Yamaha’s ongoing MotoGP issues better than team-mate Maverick Vinales. Yamaha’s winless streak is now up to 22 races after last weekend’s Austria race, a slump caused mainly by the
Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. World Rally Championship leader Thierry Neuville is understood to be closing on a new deal with Hyundai, but the identity of his 2019 team-mates remains up in the air. Neuville, currently 21 points ahead of reigning champion Sebastien Ogier in the standings,