Innholdsfortegnelse for 20/06/24 i Autosport

What a race! Yes, there was rather too much time spent behind the safety car, but the 92nd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours had four manufacturers in contention, changeable conditions that threw the advantage from one team to another, and a result that was in doubt until the very end. And that’s before we mention LMP2 and LMGT3. In this special Le Mans report issue, Gary Watkins explains how Ferrari managed to overturn a Test Day deficit to Porsche and a race pace disadvantage to Toyota to make it two wins on the trot (page 20). British squad United Autosports and Oliver Jarvis know a thing or two about succeeding at the 24 Hours but both have had to wait to follow up their previous wins. Stephen Lickorish…

FORMULA 1 Sauber racer Valtteri Bottas says he is confident of finding a seat for the 2025 Formula 1 season, with a decision expected in the coming weeks. The 2025 driver market is now largely dictated by Ferrari exile Carlos Sainz, who has to make a decision between accepting a long-standing offer from Sauber, which will become Audi in 2026, or joining Williams. With the Spaniard the highest-profile free agent left to announce a deal, his stalling over a decision has an impact on others, not least Sauber’s incumbent duo of Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. Neither Bottas nor Zhou is expecting to remain at Sauber/Audi for 2025, although there remains an outside chance that the Finn could stay if team CEO Andreas Seidl doesn’t land his main target Sainz. At…

WEC The results of last month’s Spa 6 Hours round of the World Endurance Championship remain provisional after Ferrari appealed the decision not to uphold its protest in the wake of the race. It protested the decision of the stewards to allow the red-flagged race to restart after the scheduled finish time of the event, and therefore the provisional results immediately after the race. The protest was thrown out, but Ferrari has now exercised its right of appeal, Ferrari sportscar racing boss Antonello Coletta confirmed ahead of last weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours. “Yes, we filed a complaint and we have filed an appeal,” he said. “At this moment we prefer not to discuss any details and to be fair we don’t have a date for the hearing [at the…

Barcelona Length 2.894 miles Number of laps 66 UK START TIMES Friday 21 June FP1 1230 FP2 1600 Saturday 22 June FP3 1130 QUALIFYING 1500 Sunday 23 June RACE 1400 CATCH THE RACE LIVE SKY SPORTS F1 BBC RADIO 5 LIVE Highlights CHANNEL 4 1830 TYRE ALLOCATION CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS Drivers Constructors BARCELONA STATS Previous winners 2023 POLE POSITION Max Verstappen 1m12.272s POLE LAP RECORD Max Verstappen 1m12.272s (2023) RACE LAP RECORD Max Verstappen 1m16.330s (2023) Barcelona podiums…

People always ask me a simple question: what is your favourite Le Mans 24 Hours? It’s an inevitable request when you’ve been to as many of the things as I have. My tally now stands at 34 to be precise. Favourite for me means best, as in the best motor race. And each year when I travel down through France, my mind is always thinking about whether this one will jump somewhere near the top of my personal ranking. The 2024 edition last weekend didn’t disappoint, though I’ve yet to decide where it fits in among some of the classics I’ve had the honour of witnessing and reporting on for Autosport. It was a brilliant race with high drama at the end, notwithstanding the fact that six hours, give or…

It was a bad day for the home manufacturers at Le Mans this year. Peugeot never troubled the frontrunners with its still-new 9X8 2024 Le Mans Hypercar over the course of the 24 Hours, and the two Alpine A424 LMDhs took early baths. Yet both marques tried to put a bit of spin on their disappointing performances at this double-points round of the World Endurance Championship. Peugeot got its cars to the finish, albeit down in 11th and 12th, both two laps down. That was the good news it took away from the third race for its updated contender in the Hypercar class. “The most positive thing from the race is the reliability,” said Peugeot Sport technical director Olivier Jansonnie. “We had no issues with the car, not only for…

LAMBORGHINI SUPER TROFEO LE MANS (FRA) 13 & 15 JUNE ROUND 3/6 The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe event last time out at Spa had been chaotic, with a red flag significantly shortening the second contest. Things were even more troublesome at Le Mans, where race two did not take place at all. Numerous drivers encountered tyre failures prior to the races, and two of the leaders then suffered dramatic blowouts in the opener, with the left rear providing the majority of the problems. Despite “significant endeavours to maintain the race” involving Lamborghini and tyre supplier Hankook – in its second season with the series – organisers opted to abandon Saturday’s contest. “Safety remains of utmost importance to Lamborghini Squadra Corse and the championship organisers would like to express its regret…

‘Three left minus, long, bumpy’, may resemble an ordinary rally pacenote. But this is how a World Rally Championship driver views one of motorsport’s most famous corners – the Karussell at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. To test its WRC title-leading crew Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai Motorsport set a unique rally-meets-race-circuit challenge. The pair were tasked to drive the 73-turn Nurburgring to pacenotes as if it were a rally stage, behind the wheel of a TCR-spec race-prepared touring car. Autosport was invited to follow the crews and witness the art of pacenote-making first-hand for an insight into how a rally crew operates outside their comfort zone. The undulating and relentless 12.9-mile ribbon of asphalt nestled in Germany’s Eifel mountains is one of few of the world’s renowned permanent circuits that…

BRITISH GT Optimum Motorsport boss Shaun Goff said it is imperative his team rights the wrongs of last year by winning the 2024 British GT4 title. Jack Brown and Charles Clark could have sealed the 2023 championship with two rounds to spare, but one points finish across the final three weekends dropped the Optimum McLaren duo behind Academy Ford pair Erik Evans and Matt Cowley. Brown, who now races alongside Zac Meakin, has made a terrific start to 2024 and the McLaren Artura GT4-mounted pair top the standings by 26 points ahead of this weekend’s Spa event. “That championship last year still hurts us,” said Goff. “It was ours and somehow it wasn’t to be. So, this year we have to make sure we put right what went wrong.” Goff…

OBITUARY Competitors and friends made across six decades of motorsport will be shocked to learn of David Bain’s death on 6 June, aged 71, following a short illness. Introduced to racing aged 15 by family friends who took him to Mallory Park, Bain was hooked and six years later, in 1974, he debuted his road-going MG Midget, in which he’d slept overnight! While studying to become a solicitor – he qualified in 1980 – Bain hillclimbed and sprinted Minis, rallied a Hillman Imp and raced the first of several Mallocks. Bain also teamed up with David Gibson to race Lenhams built by Dutch FISC series promoter Pieter Bakker, with Cadwell Park his favourite circuit. “Although he ‘stopped’ racing when he got married, when he had his first child and regularly…

BRITISH HILLCLIMB Alex Summers continued his stunning early season form to extend his lead in the British Hillclimb Championship at Doune over the weekend, as the category made the first of two visits to the Scottish hill this year. Summers added a second place and then a win in his DJ Firestorm to make it five victories from nine run-offs to date. The weekend allowed Summers to extend his championship lead to an impressive 16 points, as the consistently quick Will Hall moved into second place in his Gould GR59. It was a mixed weekend in Scotland for title contenders Matthew Ryder and Wallace Menzies. Ryder took a handy fourth in the opener after a massive effort to rebuild his car following his Shelsley Walsh accident a fortnight beforehand, but…

SILVERSTONE BARC 15-16 JUNE Deagen Fairclough consolidated his British Formula 4 points lead by taking his fifth win of the season on Silverstone’s full Grand Prix layout, while Alex Ninovic strengthened his own title hopes with three podium finishes. After romping clear following an early safety car period, Fairclough led a Hitech GP 1-2 in the opener ahead of Reza Seewooruthun. Jack Sherwood went out in a first-lap collision while battling his Rodin Motorsport team-mates James Higgins and Ninovic, the Australian eventually grabbing third into Copse from Higgins, who slid off the road and finished fourth. Ella Lloyd took fifth after gaining five places at the start and holding off Yuanpu Cui and her JHR team-mate Leo Robinson. Fairclough was one of four drivers to end up in the Becketts…

LYDDEN HILL MSVR 15 JUNE Aspiring American talent came to the fore at Lydden Hill last Saturday as teenagers Caleb Gafrarar and Jason Pribyl shared the United Formula Ford wins between them as FF1600 racing made a longawaited return to the Kent venue. Squally weather made driving conditions difficult in race one but Gafrarar, who celebrated his 16th birthday in the week leading up to the race, made a superb start from the outside of the second row to move his Ammonite Motorsport Ray GR18 into second behind poleman and early pacesetter Jason Smyth. In contrast, 2022 series champion Morgan Quinn made a tardy getaway, falling to ninth from second on the grid in the 17-car field. For the opening 10 laps, Gafrarar shadowed Smyth’s Team Dolan Van Diemen RF00/JL12…

CADWELL PARK VSCC 15 JUNE Charles Jones took a thunderous win in the Triple M Mary Harris Trophy race in his MG L Magna after the skies decided to open during the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s Cadwell Park meeting last weekend. After the sun shone in the morning, rain began to fall during the third race of the day before there was a downpour on the Triple M contest. With the organisers keen to push on due to a packed schedule, the race began in the worst of the conditions, with Jones making a great launch from pole while other drivers moved away gingerly on the wet surface. Jones quickly established a large lead, perfectly balancing his car in the conditions, which didn’t relent, with thunder and lightning echoing across the…

FORMULA 1 The FIA has reduced the minimum age to acquire a Formula 1 superlicence to 17, removing any technical obstacles for Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli to make his debut. The FIA has updated Appendix L of its International Sporting Code to add a clause stating that, although the minimum age for the superlicence required to drive in F1 is 18 years old, special dispensation may be granted to certain drivers to receive one at 17. The updated article 13.1.2 reads: “At the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition may be granted a Super Licence at the age of 17 years old.” This also affects the requirements for a free practice-only superlicence,…

WEC/IMSA The current breed of Le Mans Hypercar and LMDh prototypes that has spawned a so-called golden era of sportscar racing is going to be around for a bit longer than planned. The lifespan of both rulesets has been extended through to the end of 2029 in both the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The timeframe for the rules, which make up the respective Hypercar and GTP classes in the two series, has been extended for reasons of stability, according to both the WEC and IMSA on the announcement made ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC round last week. “Stability is very important: it is the reason why we have all these manufacturers in Hypercar, that and the reasonable costs involved,” explained Richard Mille, president…

WEC Imola has maintained its place on an unchanged eight-round World Endurance Championship calendar for 2025. The Formula 1 venue has renewed what was originally a one-year deal covering 2023 to keep the Italian round of the series for a further four years. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari has committed to improving the infrastructure in the paddock area, including the building of additional pit garages, as part of the deal. An increase in the capacity of the Imola pitlane will be required for next year’s race in April as the WEC expands its grid to 40. The WEC switched from Monza to Imola this year because the home of the Italian Grand Prix was undergoing major paddock works. The limited number of garages, one fewer than the 37 cars…

INDYCAR The chances of IndyCar champions such as Scott Dixon and Alex Palou contesting next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours look remote after IndyCar released its 2025 calendar – with a clashing date. The round at the World Wide Technology Raceway oval in St Louis (below) has moved forward from August and is set to take place on 15 June, meaning that IndyCar has joined Formula 1 in doubling up on the same weekend as the world’s premier endurance race. As usual, the IndyCar season begins at the St Petersburg street circuit in Florida on the first weekend of March, while the race at The Thermal Club in the same month remains, but will now count for points. Rounds at Long Beach, Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis road course…

WRC Hybrid-powered Rally1 cars will continue in the World Rally Championship until the end of 2026 after all, following a U-turn in technical regulations by the FIA. The governing body proposed in February to remove hybrid power from Rally1 cars from next year as part of a plan to close the performance gap to Rally2 cars through a reduction in aero, a modified rear wing and a smaller air restrictor. This coincided with a plan for manufacturers to produce an optional upgrade kit for Rally2 cars to increase their performance. It was hoped that this could increase entries and provide a smooth transition to all-new technical regulations in 2027. The changes were strongly opposed by teams and manufacturers. Their key concerns centred around the short timeframe to redesign, test and…

The news that the FIA has altered Appendix L of its International Sporting Code, which in effect means highly rated Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli can make his Formula 1 bow before he turns 18 years old in August, means the junior single-seater scene must be viewed differently. There are two sides to consider. The first argument poses how, five years on from the DTM-supporting Formula 3 European Championship being merged with GP3, the results of the decision to streamline the junior categories finally stand out starkly. The proliferation of spec categories at a junior level – remember, European F3 had Mercedes and Volkswagen-badged engines that involved development and higher-downforce aero loads, which tested drivers early – means there are now fewer marques directly assessing potential factory drivers on their…

HYPERPOLE * grid penalty QUALIFYING RACE STATS WINNERS’ AVERAGE SPEED FASTEST LAPS LAPS LED SEASON STATS DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POWERED BY Motorsport Stats is the pre-eminent provider of motorsport data to media owners, rights-holders, bookmakers and sponsors. Its data services are founded on the world’s largest repository of racing results dating back to 1897. For more information contact sales@motorsportstats.com RESULTS WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4/8, LE MANS 24 HOURS, LE MANS (FRA), 15-16 JUNE (311 LAPS – 2633.176 MILES) In each car, first-named driver started race. TOP 6 HOUR BY HOUR CHART DON’T MISS WEC REPORT 6 HOURS OF SAO PAULO 18 July issue…

AUSTRALIAN SUPERCARS HIDDEN VALLEY (AUS) 15-16 JUNE ROUND 5/12 Broc Feeney scored the first doublewinning weekend of his Supercars career at Hidden Valley, but he still could not shake off Triple Eight Chevrolet team-mate Will Brown in the fight for the championship. Feeney was the driver to beat in Darwin, taking two polished wins in the 48-lap races. But Brown’s amazing consistency made it 11 podium finishes in 12 races to hold onto a convincing, if slightly diminished, points lead. Brown had to settle for third in Saturday’s race, the T8 Camaros split by the Team18 example of veteran Mark Winterbottom, a noted specialist at this track. On Sunday Brown made it to second, while third place went to Brodie Kostecki, getting back to something like his 2023 title-winning form,…

HISTORICS Cars raced by Alan Jones, Henri Pescarolo, Rolf Stommelen and Derek Warwick in the 1970s are among many returnees set to star in this weekend’s Thruxton Historic extravaganza, which celebrates the Hampshire venue’s past masters, Jochen Rindt and Ian Taylor. Populating an exciting 16-race programme, the strongest entry and greatest variety of categories yet to grace the annual event should make it the best yet. Single-seaters from Formula 2, FAtlantic, F3, Formula Ford 2000 and FF1600 will recreate the spectrum of frontline classes in which established aces and rising stars competed at the British Automobile Racing Club’s home. Austrian Rindt, who dominated the European F2 championship rounds at the track from 1968-70, is remembered in the feature race, promoted by Classic Racing Car Club founder Rob Manger. Last year’s…

HISTORICS Veteran racer Mike Lane has returned to competition this season in his Formula Atlantic Chevron B49 after an 18-month break for a heart operation. Lane, who first raced in 1973 and is now 72 years old, felt unwell during a race at Donington Park in 2022 and subsequently needed heart surgery to have a pacemaker fitted. He even took his HANS device into the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford so that the surgeon could see where best to fit the pacemaker and not impede his ability to return to the cockpit. “Getting my licence back was a massive deal,” said Lane, who has worked hard to regain fitness and be ready to race. “The medics at the hospital were wonderful and fully supported me getting fit to go racing…

MOTORSPORT UK Governing body Motorsport UK has revived its National Motorsport Week initiative for this year, with the scheme designed to shine a spotlight on the diverse range of disciplines that make up the sport in this country. A diverse mix of events from 11-21 July will be given extra promotion in a bid to inspire more people to get involved in the sport. There will be a focus on less expensive grassroots contests, such as autotests, autosolos and trials. The initiative also incorporates high-profile fixtures such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed and concludes with the UK’s round of Formula E. A total of 103 events are planned during National Motorsport Week, and these also include the British Hillclimb Championship visiting Bouley Bay in Jersey, British GT in action…

BRITISH F4 Race 1 (9 laps) 1 Deagen Fairclough; 2 Reza Seewooruthun +4.770s; 3 Alex Ninovic; 4 James Higgins; 5 Ella Lloyd; 6 Yuanpu Cui. Fastest lap Fairclough 2m01.055s (108.85mph). Pole Fairclough. Starters 23. Race 2 (8 laps) 1 Leo Robinson; 2 Lloyd +4.772s; 3 Ninovic; 4 Joel Bergstrom; 5 Higgins; 6 Bart Harrison. FL Robinson 2m01.559s (108.40mph). P Lloyd. S 23. Race 3 (9 laps) 1 Seewooruthun; 2 Fairclough +1.760s; 3 Ninovic; 4 Robinson; 5 Jack Sherwood; 6 Maxwell Dodds. FL Seewooruthun 2m01.503s (108.45mph). P Seewooruthun. S 23. Points 1 Fairclough 225; 2 Ninovic 196; 3 Higgins 133.5; 4 Seewooruthun 133; 5 Sherwood 118; 6 Abbi Pulling 92. BRITISH ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP Peter Erceg/Marcus Clutton (Audi GT3) BRITCAR TROPHY Races 1 & 2 Chris Bialan/Simon Mason (Cupra Gen 1) SNETTERTON…

CASTLE COMBE CCRC 15-16 JUNE British GT racer Alex Walker won the eighth round of the Castle Combe Racing Club’s Formula Ford Championship in his Van Diemen last weekend after Felix Fisher’s Ray was penalised for cutting The Esses. Race one winner Rory Smith led the early stages in his Medina, as both Fisher and Walker passed Andrew Rackstraw (Spectrum) on lap three at Quarry – the South African admitting to being “humbled” on his return to Formula Ford just six days after claiming a victory in the Porsche Carrera Cup at Thruxton. The pair chased after Smith and passed him on lap five, with Fisher grabbing the lead at Quarry and Walker impressively passing Smith at Camp corner. An intense battle followed, with Walker drawing alongside Fisher on the…

Derek Bell drifts his Ferrari 312 on his world championship F1 debut in the 1968 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. His car, and those of team-mates Jacky Ickx and Chris Amon, sported a new, adjustable rear wing. Autosport described the “aerofoil” thus: “The angle is controlled by an hydraulic device, the pressure being supplied by oil from the engine. There are two positions for the wing, horizontal and minus 15 deg, the signal coming from several sources: a hand control on the dash, pressure in the brake lines, and road speed”, also noting that during practice “the sight of them moving up under braking added to the spectacle”. Bell qualified eighth, starting on the third row alongside reigning champion Denny Hulme (McLaren M7A) and Jackie Stewart (Matra MS10), but retired…

WEC/IMSA The British Jota team will fly the flag for Cadillac in next year’s World Endurance Championship, and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti is set to do the same in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Jota is known to have a deal in place to field a pair of V-Series.R LMDhs, while WTR is edging towards one. Jota, Autosport has learnt, will move over from its customer programme with the Porsche 963 LMDh less than two seasons after its graduation to the Hypercar ranks following a stint in LMP2 beginning in 2012 that yielded no fewer than 10 class podiums at the Le Mans 24 Hours. WTR is set to move back to its spiritual home with the General Motors marque after four seasons representing Acura in North America. The changearound…

The MissionH24 group backed by Le Mans 24 Hours organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest has unveiled its new-generation prototype powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The wraps came off a show version of the H24EVO on the eve of this year’s edition ahead of the arrival on track of the real thing next year. It is a single-seater coupe for two reasons, explained project technical director Bassel Aslan. There was a desire to give the car a unique look and also to free up space for packaging reasons. Testing will begin next year ahead its competition debut in 2026 in an undisclosed series.…

British 15-year-old Freddie Slater took three more wins at Vallelunga last weekend to extend his Italian Formula 4 Championship lead. The Prema Racing driver got the jump on US Racing’s Australian poleman Jack Beeton to lead throughout the first race, waltzed away from Jamaican-American team-mate Alex Powell in the second, and jumped pole winner Powell to win a safety car-infested finale. NO CONNECTION YET FOR BT The ‘will he, won’t he?’ saga over Bobby Thompson’s British Touring Car Championship season with West Surrey Racing is a ‘he won’t’ for this weekend’s round at Oulton Park. Thompson starred on his debut in one of the team’s BMWs at Snetterton last month before commercial issues put the brakes on his campaign at Thruxton. WSR is still working to get him out in…

NASCAR Former NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr has decided to end his Cup career at the conclusion of the 2024 season, but said he still plans “to be around” the sport. Truex, 43, has mulled retirement from NASCAR for the past several years, which has resulted in him signing a one-season renewal with Joe Gibbs Racing and putting off a decision each year as long as possible. But last Friday at Iowa Speedway, Truex made his decision official – he will step away from JGR’s Toyota team at the end of the year regardless of how his season plays out. Truex said it had been “a true honour” to work with all the crew members and team owners over his career. “I won’t be gone,” he insisted. “We’re going to…

Twenty-three cars graced this year’s Hypercar class at the Le Mans 24 Hours, three more than the current 20-strong Formula 1 field. It was quite the statement of success for the current rules cycle at the top level, one that had become increasingly sparse in the final days of the LMP1 formula across a World Endurance Championship season. Renewed interest among the manufacturer entities bolstered the decision to unify the LMH regulations with those in the GTP, LMDh-based category at the top of the IMSA SportsCar Championship – and now you have a line-up brimming with star power. Aston Martin’s long-awaited Valkyrie is set to come online in 2025, and the WEC would undoubtedly welcome more. That’s in stark contrast to F1, which seems a closed book when it comes…

BMW celebrated after first qualifying on Wednesday evening, then Porsche had its turn when it really mattered at the end of the half-hour Hyperpole session a day later. And Cadillac muscled in on the act just for a few minutes in the belief, it seemed, that it had grabbed the pre-race headlines with pole. The pace of the BMW M Hybrid V8 was one of the surprises of Le Mans week, even if many were billing the German manufacturer as a good outside bet for Le Mans courtesy of the upward trajectory it has been on since joining the World Endurance Championship with WRT at the start of this season. Dries Vanthoor was quickest initially on his first run, and then found two seconds on the second to take the…

You cannot get much closer to taking a Le Mans class win than leading onto the final lap only for your car’s throttle sensor to falter and leave you grinding to a halt. But Louis Deletraz’s LMP2 near-misses continued after that 2021 disappointment when he had to settle for runner-up the following year and was second again in 2023, when he missed out by a mere 21 seconds. The chances of Deletraz finally putting that unwanted streak of bridesmaid results behind him this year were boosted when he topped Hyperpole qualifying in the AO by TF ORECA. Yet Deletraz was not getting carried away – even if he did believe an outright LMP2 win was possible for the Pro-Am crew. “Quali is good for the ego but I want to…

LE MANS CUP LE MANS (FRA) 13 & 15 JUNE ROUND 3/6 A dramatic brake disc failure on the green-flag lap of the first Road to Le Mans contest for the Inter Europol Ligier of Alexander Bukhantsov, where the left-rear wheel broke free, set the tone for what became a stop/start blue-riband 24 Hours support event for the Le Mans Cup. The problem resulted in an extra formation lap and only one racing tour was completed before the safety car was called upon, with multiple cars stranded. A clutch of crews opted to pit on the first lap of the caution, and the prospect of a GT3 winning overall seemed possible with the Ferrari 296 of Charles-Henri Samani and Emmanuel Collard in the lead and a lengthy delay to clear…

NASCAR CUP IOWA SPEEDWAY (USA) 16 JUNE ROUND 17/36 On a race weekend dominated by tyre concerns, it was a bold two-tyre pit strategy that propelled reigning series champion Ryan Blaney to victory at Iowa Speedway. Sunday night’s race was the first for the Cup Series at the 0.875-mile short track, but it has hosted numerous Xfinity, Truck, ARCA and IndyCar series races in its 18-year history. Teams were wary of tyre wear issues since Friday’s practice – several paid the price by hitting the wall after flats in the race – but Blaney and his Penske Ford team mastered the strategy. On the final caution, Blaney was first off pitroad and he and two others took just two new right-side tyres. The race, which had eight cautions, ended with…

SUBARU IMPREZA (WRC) Prodrive had already tasted some rallying success with the Legacy but the Impreza, which appeared in 1993, took things up a notch. It was the car to have in 1995, when Colin McRae pipped team-mate Carlos Sainz to the drivers’ title and Subaru won the manufacturers’ crown as the Impreza became a rally talisman. Subsequent versions continued winning for a decade, with Richard Burns (2001) and Petter Solberg (2003) adding further drivers’ crowns. FORD MONDEO (BTCC) The Mondeo had been through a rough period in the British Touring Car Championship when Prodrive took over the programme for 1999. Anthony Reid and Alain Menu endured a tricky learning year, with Menu taking just one win and Ford finishing only seventh in the standings. But the multi-million-pound project delivered…

HISTORICS Bumper grids are expected for two historic Peter Auto-organised categories that will support next week’s centenary celebrations for the Spa 24 Hours. The enduro’s roots are in tin-tops, and two races for saloons built between 1966 and 2000 will be held. Almost 40 entries have been received for the Heritage Touring Cup contests, and many of these are BMWs – ranging from the 3.0 CSL through to 635 CSis and E30 M3s. Current BMW factory driver Maxime Martin is due to pilot one of the M3s with his father Jean-Michel, who is also a Spa 24 Hours winner. Eric van der Poele, a five-time victor, is an another E30, while 2013 British Touring Car champion Andrew Jordan is due to share one with Paddy Shovlin. The other main marque…

BEC Three-time Britcar champion Witt Gamski made his first racing appearance in six years during last weekend’s British Endurance event at Silverstone. Gamski, who also won the 2010 Britcar 24 Hours, was reunited with the MJC team and his old driving partner Ross Wylie in a Bentley Continental GT3, and the duo took second despite Wylie wrestling a car not suited to a wet track in the final stint. The weekend was not without its dramas, as a wheel-bearing failure in testing led to a replacement part being rushed from Bentley partner M-Sport’s headquarters on Friday evening. “I’ve been trying to get back into it,” said Gamski (below). “This car came up – we’ve raced Ferraris for years but I’m getting a bit big for them! It’s an exciting car.…

GB3 James Hedley will return to GB3 this weekend, taking the place of Ugo Ugochukwu in the Rodin team as the British series prepares to race in Hungary. McLaren development driver Ugochukwu will be at the Hungaroring this weekend but will focus on the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine with Prema. The American sits only 17th in the FRECA standings, compared with fourth in GB3, having taken three podiums, but will prioritise the former. It means Hedley will race in GB3 again this weekend having made sporadic appearances this season for VRD Racing by Arden. Most recently, the 20-year-old Briton competed at Monaco in Formula 3 with Jenzer Motorsport as he targets a full-time drive in 2025. “I know the [GB3] car really well and it will be a…

Former British Formula 3 driver Jay Bridger is aiming to enter the British GT Championship next season after making his first foray into endurance racing in last weekend’s British Endurance Championship contest at Silverstone. The 36-year-old, who won the 2008 British F3 National Class and more recently raced in Formula Ford 1600, shared a McLaren 570S GT4 with fellow debutant ‘Jonny’ Chun Cheong Ip with his own team, Bridger Motorsport. “I’ve been out of racing for a long time, around 14 years since I last was doing it seriously,” said Bridger. “I have my good friend Jonny as my co-driver. I used to work at Lotus Cars and I met him there about 10 years ago and he always wanted to go racing in GTs. We’ve been doing testing with…

LYDDEN HILL UNITED FORMULA FORD Race 1 Caleb Gafrarar (Ray GR18) Race 2 Jason Pribyl (Ray GR20) CMMC SUPER SALOONS/TIN TOPS Race 1 Chris Bassett (Peugeot 306 GTI) Race 2 Martin Reynolds (Ford Escort, below) MSVT TRACKDAY CHAMPIONSHIP Justin Roberts/Nicole Drought (Honda Civic Type R) MSVT TRACKDAY TROPHY Justin Roberts/Nicole Drought (Honda Civic Type R) CASTLE COMBE CCRC FF1600 Race 1 Rory Smith (Medina Sport JL18) Race 2 Alex Walker (Van Diemen RF01) CATERHAM GRADUATES (SIGMA 135) Race 1 Jamie Winrow Race 2 Paul Armitage CATERHAM GRADUATES (SIGMA 150) Races 1 & 2 Jamie Ellwood CCRC HOT HATCH Races 1 & 2 Craig Tomkinson (Vauxhall Nova) JUNIOR SALOON CARS Races 1 & 2 Jonathan Moore CCRC GT Race 1 Josh Smith (Caterham RLM 260 Edition) Race 2 Dylan Popovic (Ginetta…

BOOK REVIEW YORKSHIRE MOTORSPORT – A CENTURY OF MEMORIES Larry Carter RRP £15.99 For all of its prodigious size, Yorkshire isn’t exactly endowed with a great number of racing circuits. But that’s not to say that the white rose county doesn’t have any racing pedigree, as new book Yorkshire Motorsport – A Century of Memories makes clear. Written by motorsport broadcaster and journalist Larry Carter, the book takes readers through the history of motorsport in Yorkshire, from long-gone racing circuits through to the marques that started there, and the racers who hail from God’s own country (no prizes for guessing where our reviewer hails from! – Ed). The book starts with the champions to have come from Yorkshire. F1 legend and 1958 world champion Mike Hawthorn is perhaps the best-known…

Perhaps it should be no surprise that Benoit Treluyer picks the Audi R18 e-tron quattro as his favourite car. He won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice in LMP1 racers bearing that name, and claimed the 2012 World Endurance Championship title in R18 machinery. But his pick from the e-tron quattro family, each year’s variant bearing differences of varying significance, is the 2015 iteration he raced to victory in high-downforce trim at that year’s Silverstone WEC season-opener. “That car was just crazy to drive,” enthuses Treluyer, who prevailed with Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler after a frenetic back-and-forth duel with the Porsche 919 of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb. “Silverstone is one of my best memories in terms of sensation driving; going to Becketts with the car nearly…