Innholdsfortegnelse for 14/11/24 i Autosport

When Lewis Hamilton announced his switch from Mercedes to Ferrari for 2025, it seemed like a good idea for everyone except the seven-time world champion. It was great for Formula 1, fantastic for Autosport as interest skyrocketed, and a coup for the famous Italian team. But was Ferrari really more likely to give Hamilton something to fight Red Bull with than Mercedes, with which he’s scored six drivers’ titles in the time since Ferrari won an F1 crown of any sort? But things have changed since the start of 2024. As Jake Boxall-Legge shows on page 14, the fluctuating fortunes and developments at Ferrari and Mercedes currently make Maranello appear the better option. Not only has the SF-24 won three of the past six races, but the strategic miscues that…

FORMULA 1 Formula 1 drivers have written an open letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to express unease over his crackdown on swearing and interventions in other matters. Through a Grand Prix Drivers’ Association statement posted on Instagram, the drivers urged Ben Sulayem to “consider his own tone and language” after what was felt as a heavy-handed approach in recent months. Following an Autosport interview in September in which Ben Sulayem urged F1 to go further in weeding out any form of swearing from its coverage, world champion Max Verstappen was given a community service order by the FIA for swearing in a Singapore GP press conference. Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000 for swearing in the Mexican GP post-race press conference, half of which was suspended for 12 months…

WEC Reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire is under consideration for a test and reserve role with Peugeot’s World Endurance Championship squad along with former sparring partner Clement Novalak. The pair were given their maiden runs in Hypercar class machinery with the French manufacturer earlier this month at the WEC rookie test in Bahrain. Peugeot has stated that it wanted to take a look at some new drivers and confirmed that they are both in the frame to take the position filled by Malthe Jakobsen, who is moving up to a race seat in 2025. “It is always interesting to evaluate drivers for the future,” said Peugeot Sport technical director Olivier Jansonnie. “You have seen what we did with Malthe and we are very happy with that. The idea of…

OBITUARY Bobby Allison was the leader of NASCAR’s famed ‘Alabama Gang’, a Cup champion, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, was involved in the infield punch-up that elevated his form of motorsport to a mainstream American following, and is fourth on the all-time wins list. Allison, who died last Saturday at the age of 86, also experienced more than his fair share of tragedy. Allison was born in Florida and began racing at the age of 17 in 1955. For some time this was under a pseudonym since his parents would not allow him to race while living at home – until he did well enough for his picture to make the local Sunday newspaper… At the dawn of the 1960s he and younger brother Donnie along with veteran racer Red…

Here it is, then. After 243 Formula 1 races, there are just three remaining of what is statistically the greatest ever driver/team partnership. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes: the end. Ever since Hamilton made his decision to jump ship to Ferrari for 2025, the current campaign was destined to be very different to the 11 that had come before, with all those wins and titles. Inevitably, given the heavy PR side of the F1 game, it’s been quite the year in message management. This started with Mercedes making a conspicuous effort to avoid scrutiny at the launch of the W15. This meant that, after two years of many promises preceding much disappointment, the team built itself something of a shield. But it also meant questions about Hamilton’s future in another team’s…

“I’m looking forward to Christmas,” Lewis Hamilton mused wistfully in the wake of this year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Owing to his admiration of Ayrton Senna, highlighted this year by an opportunity to drive the revered Brazilian’s McLaren MP4/5B before the grand prix, races at Interlagos are usually convivial affairs for Hamilton. In fact, so much so that Hamilton was granted honorary Brazilian citizenship. This year was anything but. The Briton endured a thankless trudge to a 10th-place finish, complaining that his Mercedes W15 was at its “worst” all weekend. And, in a season where Mercedes’ smattering of promising results have scarcely been followed by consistent performances, Christmas is on Hamilton’s mind. And, wrapped neatly in scarlet paper under the tree, there’s a 2025 Ferrari. When Hamilton’s Ferrari move –…

For all the success Oscar Piastri enjoyed in his glittering junior single-seater career, there was one title that eluded him. If you cast aside his part-campaign in the short UAE Formula 4 season that preceded it, the only championship the Australian failed to win was British F4 in 2017. While Jamie Caroline beat Piastri to the crown, the season was somewhat overshadowed by Billy Monger’s devastating crash in the second round at Donington Park that resulted in Caroline’s close friend having both of his legs amputated. That left all of the drivers in an unsettling situation and, with it being Piastri’s first full year in single-seaters in unfamiliar territory and up against a rival with three years already in cars, it always meant he faced a tough task. With the…

For 90 years, the voiturette racing cars produced by English Racing Automobiles in the 1930s have engendered passion and national pride. Motor racing in the 1930s was dominated by German and Italian marques, but in 1933 three British enthusiasts decided to get their country into the spotlight. ERA was the brainchild of designer Peter Berthon, racer Raymond Mays and financier Humphrey Cook. Rather than try to go head-to-head with Maserati, Bugatti and the fast-emerging German teams, ERA aimed at the second-tier voiturette racing, loosely the Formula 2 of the time. Built in Bourne in Lincolnshire with engines based on the six-cylinder Riley unit, the first car was unveiled at Brooklands in May 1934. Through until the outbreak of the Second World War, ERA won many races as well as the…

There are a surprising number of similarities between Freddie Slater and Alex Dunne, who will be Theodore Prema Racing team-mates for this weekend’s Macau Grand Prix and are among two of the drivers to watch out for. Both have enjoyed dominant campaigns on British shores in the past; Slater rewrote the Ginetta Junior record books last season, while Dunne achieved what was then unprecedented success in British Formula 4 in 2022. Both proceeded to announce themselves on the international stage at Macau last year with starring performances, but each missed out on the ultimate glory. And now both are aiming to bounce back this time around with victory in a car neither has ever raced before. For Slater, fresh from further record-breaking during an impressive Italian F4 campaign, Macau this…

NASCAR CUP PHOENIX (USA) 10 NOVEMBER ROUND 36/36 Joey Logano is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, earning Team Penske its third consecutive title. Logano certainly had to fight for it. The final caution at Phoenix came just as William Byron had pitted for fresh tyres, which allowed him to jump into the race lead with two Hendrick Motorsports team-mates directly behind him. But it didn’t help much when Christopher Bell went on the attack in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as the race went green with 54 laps remaining. Bell drew even with the Chevrolet of Byron in the battle for the lead, but this allowed Logano’s Ford to rapidly close and take them three-wide through the dogleg. He cleared both cars and led every lap from that point…

PICKUPS The Pickup Truck Racing Championship will join MotorSport Vision Racing’s roster for the upcoming 2025 season after moving away from the British Automobile Racing Club. The championship has existed in the UK since 1997 under the guidance of founder Sonny Howard and become a staple of the national calendar. It has worked with MSVR already as part of the popular annual American SpeedFest event at Brands Hatch. “My wife, Barbara, and I have been working hard to find a way to future-proof the Pickup Truck Racing Championship,” said Howard. “It is unique, whereby everyone involved understands that we are a Motorsport UK championship, but are also aware that motorsport is designed to entertain. “They are all show-orientated and even after 28 years the ethos of its racing – to…

CIRCUIT RALLY The Circuit Rally Championship will hold its second round, the Cadwell Park Stages, this Sunday. Reigning champions Michael Igoe/Wil Atkins (Citroen C3 Rally2) head the 75-car entry, with former title winners John Griffiths/Emma Morrison (Skoda Fabia R5) next up. Igoe was second at Oulton Park, but still took maximum points, while Griffiths retired mid-rally after debuting his Skoda. The Darrian of Josh and Tamsyn Davey won its class at Oulton and was fourth overall, and they start third, with the top six completed by Kiaran Hankin/James Swallow (Citroen C3 Rally2), John and Alex Stone (VW Polo R5 GTI) and Tony Robinson/Mark Jones (Skoda Fabia R5) for the eight-stage event.…

An adjustment to Appendix K of the FIA’s International Sporting Code does not, on the face of it, sound like much to get excited about. But for fans of historic racing, the decision announced following last month’s World Motor Sport Council meeting to issue Historic Technical Passports (HTPs) to machinery built between 1991 and 2000 from next year could have major ramifications. “It would be correct for somebody who owns a 1992 car to question, ‘Has my car fallen into the heritage or not? Is it part of the historic motorsport?’” says FIA historic championships and committee manager Mathias Doutreleau. Among the tantalising possibilities that may result from the first significant change to Appendix K since 2014, the result of an FIA technical working group codenamed Project 2025, is the…

Been there, done that. Ray Mallock had won the Formula Atlantic championship in Britain in 1979 when the category was reintroduced to the country after a two-year hiatus. He’d then competed in the Aurora British Formula 1 Championship in 1980 at the wheel of Surtees and Wolf machinery. But for 1981, there was good reason to return to Atlantic to attempt to win a second crown. “There was this thing that Bernie Ecclestone [then the owner of the Brabham F1 team and head of the FOCA teams group] was supporting,” recalls Mallock. “The prize for that was an F1 test drive…” Driving the Ralt RT4, the new ground-effect version of the all-conquering Formula 3 RT3, Mallock dominated the championship against variable opposition. Little wonder, because he’d already proved himself on…

FORMULA 1 Audi is on the verge of selling a shareholding in its Formula 1 Sauber team to Qatar, with an announcement potentially coming later this month ahead of the country’s Grand Prix. Autosport sources have suggested that the deal could be announced imminently and amount to a larger investment than initially anticipated. In March this year, Audi announced that it would be buying 100% of the Sauber team from Finn Rausing for an estimated price of around €650million. But the situation for the German manufacturer appears to have changed in recent weeks, with Audi owner Volkswagen AG in the throes of an economic crisis that could lead to plant closures and the loss of up to 30,000 jobs. Audi is facing similar challenges on the world market while it…

WEC New rules designed to offset the advantage of lighter drivers in the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class are under discussion for next year. The driver is not included in the minimum weight of a Hypercar, and BMW is among the manufacturers calling for a change. It has suggested a reintroduction of a rule in force in LMP1 from 2015 forcing cars with an average driver weight below 80kg to carry ballast up to that amount. “There should be a compensation for driver weight as there was in the past in LMP1 and we are pushing for that,” said BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos. “We shouldn’t get to a situation where the manufacturers are looking for the lightest drivers; there should be a situation where every driver can be…

FORMULA E Mitch Evans posted the fastest time for Jaguar during Formula E preseason testing at Jarama last week as teams got up to speed with the new Gen3 Evo machines. The Kiwi set his quickest lap on the fourth and final morning of running at the FIA Grade 2 listed track, which was picked after a last-minute venue change with just 72 hours’ notice. FE was due to run at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit just outside Valencia, but organisers moved the test due to the devasting floods in the region that have killed more than 200 people. “I believe that operationally, it was doable, but it was more on the sense of we couldn’t be taking resources out of that city, at that particular moment, where there are still…

SUPER FORMULA/SUPER GT Ex-Formula E racer Sacha Fenestraz is poised to land a plum TOM’S drive in Super Formula next year as part of a deal with Toyota to return to Japan’s top two categories. The Franco-Argentinian is in line to replace Ukyo Sasahara, who ended up scoring no points this season while team-mate Sho Tsuboi won the title. Fenestraz was abruptly dumped by the Nissan Formula E team in early September and, with no options remaining to stay in the all-electric series, he turned his attentions towards a return to Japan. Toyota and Nissan are both understood to have made Fenestraz (below) offers for a double programme encompassing Super Formula and Super GT, with the former winning the battle for his signature. His most likely destination in Super GT…

Winning the Aston Martin (now Silverstone) Autosport BRDC Award at the end of 2023 was something I didn’t expect after GB3, where I didn’t manage to win the championship. I gave it everything and to win the Award was awesome, and it was the main thing that helped me get into FIA Formula 3 for this season with Rodin Motorsport. It was a dream come true, so I can’t thank Aston Martin, the BRDC and Autosport enough, because without that I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity this year. I was definitely thrown in at the deep end, but I think everyone at Rodin knew that I was going to be on the back foot at some of the rounds. There were some areas where I made mistakes that I…

When Charles Leclerc was promoted to Ferrari after just one season in Formula 1 with Sauber, it did away with the Prancing Horse’s perceived conservatism in the driver market. Here was a team that had declined to replace Felipe Massa with an up-and-comer, and instead reinstated Kimi Raikkonen to the line-up. And, although the Finn was past his best, he stayed for five seasons. Leclerc’s arrival shook things up at Maranello. The Monegasque very quickly put Sebastian Vettel in the shade and became top dog, and Vettel was replaced for 2021 by Carlos Sainz. And Sainz has, throughout his four years alongside Leclerc, largely kept up with his team-mate. But there’s a small glimmer of star quality that separates the two drivers; Leclerc might be the more peaky of the…

R1B The 1500cc R1B was built for Richard Seaman (above) and he raced it successfully in 1935 before driving a Delage and then moving to the factory Mercedes-Benz grand prix team. R1B was then owned and raced before the Second World War by band leader Billy Cotton. Subsequent notable owners included Cuth Harrison, Patrick Marsh and, since 2007, German racer Michael Gans. R2A When new in 1934, R2A was fitted with a supercharged 1100cc engine and mainly raced by Humphrey Cook for the factory. When sold to Greek Nicky Embiricos at the end of 1935 it was upgraded to a 1500cc engine and soon had new independent front suspension fitted, both of which it retains. Long-term owners have included Brian Classic, Rodney Smith and now Paddins Dowling. R3B Remarkably, only…

Raffaele Marciello’s victory in the 2023 FIA GT World Cup was his final act as a Mercedes driver before joining BMW. The only two-time winner of the single-driver GT3 event since it gained FIA status in 2015 will return this weekend for his maiden Macau appearance aboard an M4 and is among a star-studded 23-car entry list comprising eight regulars from the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class. But even without Marciello, Mercedes still has every chance of ending its year on a high by defending the title. In addition to 2011 Macau Grand Prix winner Dani Juncadella and Bathurst ace Jules Gounon, both entered by Craft-Bamboo Racing, the Affalterbach brand also has proven Macau expert Maro Engel, who is vying for a fourth victory at the Guia Circuit. The inaugural…

WORLD RALLYCROSS ISTANBUL PARK (TUR) 9-10 NOVEMBER ROUND 5/5 The biggest surprise of the World Rallycross finale was certainly not that Johan Kristoffersson clinched his seventh title; it was that the Swede did not take victory on either day at Istanbul Park. Kristoffersson sealed the deal thanks to an epic drive in the second heat on Saturday. His KMS Volkswagen Polo emerged from a scintillating battle for second with the electric PWR of Niclas Gronholm, then passed Timmy Hansen’s electric Peugeot on the penultimate lap for victory. With the points he required in the bag, Kristoffersson then played the team game in his semi-final, blocking the pack behind as he chased KMS VW stablemate Ole Christian Veiby to propel the Norwegian onto the front row for the final. Veiby then…

HSCC The Historic Sports Car Club’s 2025 calendar features a return to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, but the popular Croft Nostalgia event has been dropped. The club will visit Silverstone on 31 May-1 June next year, and will once again embrace the Brands Hatch Super Prix (12-13 July) and Oulton Park Gold Cup (25-27 July). Croft’s August date has been claimed instead by the British Touring Car Championship. “It’s very unfortunate,” said Croft circuit manager Tracey Morley. “We’ve looked at other dates with the HSCC but we’re only able to run two events a month from April to September. Nothing else fits, but hopefully it will be back stronger in 2026.” For the first time in 15 years, the club will run its own Mallory Park event, with plans…

F5000 The bark of stock-block V8 engines reverberated around period venues in Australia and New Zealand last weekend as historic racers celebrated the final throes of the Tasman Cup Series’ Formula 5000 era. At Sandown Park, Aussies Paul Zazryn and Bryan Sala prevailed. Piloting his Lola T332 HU32 (right), Zazryn won the bookend races, but a gearbox glitch in Saturday’s second outing enabled the Sala (A50/51 002) to grab the middle gold. Over the Tasman Sea at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon, local ace Kevin Ingram – the 1983 national FF1600 champion – grabbed the early Tasman Cup Revival Series lead with a hat-trick in T332 HU48R over promising 21-year-old Michael Hey (McRae GM1) and Tony Galbraith (T332 HU38). The long-established New Zealand series continues with the second of six rounds,…

ANGLESEY BRSCC RACE OF REMEMBRANCE 8-10 NOVEMBER The diesel-powered Audi TT of Matt Isherwood, Oliver Waind, Alex Smith and Ryan Parkin was a dominant winner in the Race of Remembrance, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last weekend. The quartet’s final winning margin was two laps, having led from the 54th tour of the 362-lap race. Paul Cook’s RAF Motorsport BMW E46 M3 set the pace from the start, but his 40-second lead was soon wiped out by the first safety car intervention after 26 laps. The caution period ran to the completion of the first of 12 hours, with Cook leading Sam Heading in the Rob Boston Lotus Elise. But Heading was soon in the pits with a rear puncture, which moved Jason McInulty’s ES Motorsport Elise into third, from…

Should a Formula 3000 revival take root, it would be fitting if it did so in Britain, for the category always had a close link to these shores. Although F3000 racers were built elsewhere too, Ralt, March, Lola and Reynard hoovered up all 206 races of the main FIA championship between them, while tyres originating from Avon’s Melksham workshop were on every winner from 1986 to F3000’s climax in 2004. The very first F3000 race was held at Silverstone in 1985, with Mike Thackwell’s works Ralt taking victory in the International Trophy. Britain would host a round of the championship every year until its 2004 demise, and in 1987 held four of the 11 races between Silverstone, Donington, Brands Hatch and the Birmingham Superprix. Such was the verve for F3000…

Jim Clark’s #2 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato makes a lightning getaway in the 1962 RAC Tourist Trophy at Goodwood, aided by the fleet-of-foot Scot’s “meteoric dash” (according to Autosport’s report) in the race’s Le Mans-style start. But even the future two-time Formula 1 world champion couldn’t make up the gap to the #15 Ferrari 250 GTO of Innes Ireland, or John Surtees’s #6 Ferrari, and later on the opening lap was demoted by Graham Hill’s #10 GTO. A.er two laps the flying Surtees, “on irresistible form, driving the Ferrari like it was a GP single-seater”, was in the lead, while Clark fell down the order struggling with his Aston Martin’s wayward handling. When Surtees came to lap him, Clark spun while attempting to move out of the way, taking…

FORMULA 1 Several European Formula 1 races are set to join a rotation system, series CEO Stefano Domenicali has revealed. F1 is enjoying unprecedented interest worldwide from countries and venues keen to join its packed calendar. But with the series setting a limit of 24 races, which has already stretched travelling F1 personnel to its limits, a rotation between some of Europe’s long-running races now looks inevitable. Speaking to Wall Street analysts in an earnings call, Domenicali said: “We have some news to share very, very soon with regard to the possibility in the mid-term to have some rotational European grands prix and some other new options coming later. It is true that we have a large demand of new possible venues that want to come in and our choice…

Two-time World Rally champion Kalle Rovanpera may not be contesting the full WRC this season, but he’s certainly keeping busy. The latest outing for the Finn was a long-awaited opportunity to test a Red Bull Formula 1 car, which he did at the Red Bull Ring. “The F1 was something I had been looking forward to for a long time, so it was really cool to finally get to drive it,” said Rovanpera, who has raced in Carrera Cup Benelux this year and got up to speed in F4 and Formula Renault 3.5 machinery before driving a 2012 RB8. “The day went well, and I was left with very good feelings.”…

FORMULA 2 The lengthy gap in between the end of the European leg of the Formula 2 season and the final two stop-offs in the Middle East has unsurprisingly led to a smattering of driver changes, with multiple race winner Richard Verschoor on the move and two new drivers stepping up from the Formula 3 ranks. Verschoor has effectively returned home to the Dutch MP Motorsport team with which he has enjoyed much success during his career, dating back to his two F4 titles in 2016 and encompassing his Macau Grand Prix glory in 2019. He has upped sticks from Trident for the trip back to MP, which has confirmed that the Dutchman will remain on board for the 2025 season. Verschoor stands in for Dennis Hauger. A disappointing season…

SUPER FORMULA Sho Tsuboi wrapped up the Super Formula title last weekend with a pair of second places in the final double-header of the season at Suzuka, which was swept by Kakunoshin Ohta. TOM’S Toyota driver Tsuboi carried a 14.5-point lead into the weekend, and he all but sealed the deal in Saturday’s first race when he jumped main title rival Tadasuke Makino during the mandatory pitstops to extend his lead to 18.5 points with only 23 left to play for on Sunday. That meant Makino had to win the finale with Tsuboi failing to score, but for a second race in succession the points leader finished second to a dominant Ohta, while Makino’s challenge ended with a limp run to eighth from 10th on the grid. Tsuboi, the driver…

In praise of Formula Ford Once again the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch provided some superb single-seater action, and while no longer quite what it was in its heyday, nonetheless it made one realise just how much racecraft can be learned in these cars and the wide variety of audience that they attract. Congratulations to the BRSCC for their efforts this year, aided and abetted by the irrepressible Graham Fuller (ex Minister Racing Engines) for persuading the organisers to recognise the success of one of the nicest guys in racing, Gerrit van Kouwen. The GvK 200 FF Festival was made very special through all their hard work as it celebrated 40 years since Gerrit took the laurels. Not to be outdone, two weeks later James Beckett’s love for the…

“Oscar’s brain is a supercomputer,” says Oscar Piastri’s early mentor James Sera, who helped the McLaren driver navigate his early career in his native Australia. It’s an unusual response when asked about the McLaren Formula 1 driver’s most crucial characteristics. When posed the same question, the man who oversaw Piastri’s career when he moved to the UK latches onto the same theme. “It’s his feel, his dexterity – the supercomputer; the brain,” responds Rob McIntyre. Two people independent of each other using the exact same term to characterise the 23-year-old might be somewhat unusual. But perhaps it is not so unusual, for Piastri at least. The Melbourne native’s ascent to the top of the F1 podium has been so rapid that it is perhaps understandable to forget that he is…

It was one of the biggest eruptions of joy from the British Touring Car Championship season. When Jake Hill plucked out ball number ‘6’ from his reversed-grid draw at Silverstone in late September, he installed Chris Smiley and his Restart Racing Cupra Leon on pole position for the final race of the day. The crew from the little Essex squad cheered wildly. And so they might, because 12 months earlier they hadn’t even pressed the green light on their project. Restart’s two-car entry to the BTCC with Smiley and Scott Sumpton looked set to make the team the first to join the series since Excelr8 Motorsport back in 2019, although as things transpired it would end up sharing that honour with single-car Unlimited Motorsport, like Restart running the ex-Team Hard…

In a bid to keep up with the ferocious pace of car development from Germany in the late 1930s, ERA unveiled E-type GP1. The sleek, low-line car was markedly different to the earlier generation of upright ERAs. Raymond Mays gave GP1 its debut at Brooklands in 1938. Humphrey Cook continued the development of the E-type during 1939, though GP1 suffered reliability issues and an accident at Albi in France when being driven by Arthur Dobson. The outbreak of war in September 1939 brought the project a halt. Post-war, Peter Walker had an accident on the Isle of Man in 1950 in GP1, and the car fell into disuse. Finally, in the 1990s, ERA enthusiast Duncan Ricketts acquired the car as a project and worked painstakingly to take it back into…

“I hate the place; it scares the crap out of me!” Surprising words from Rob Huff, the only man on four wheels to be in double figures for Macau victories, and who has ventured to the Far East once more for another crack at glory in the classic Guia tin-top clash. These days, the Macau Guia doubles up as a round of the TCR World Tour. Huff, of course, left this series for 2024 in order to return to the British Touring Car Championship, but returned to the global contest for last month’s Zhuzhou round and Macau with Spanish team Volcano Motorsport and the same model of Audi RS3 LMS that he raced in 2023. As ever, the title battle for this, the final round of the TCR series, is…

GB3 This year’s F1 Academy champion will receive a fully-funded drive in GB3 next season with Rodin Motorsport. The all-female series previously had a similar prize in place with the Formula Regional European Championship with a Prema seat, although the inaugural 2023 champion Marta Garcia was eventually fielded by Iron Dames. Now, this year’s champion will receive a GB3 drive alongside 20 days of testing in a prize funded by F1 Academy and tyre supplier Pirelli. It coincides with GB3 introducing a new car for 2025 that features DRS and improved aerodynamics, while it has also added Monza to its schedule so the calendar is now equally split between UK rounds and European events. Alpine junior Abbi Pulling, who drives for Rodin, is currently dominating the F1 Academy season with…

BRITISH GT Corvette could return to the British GT Championship in 2025 after Steller Motorsport bought two Z06 GT3.Rs. The American marque has not appeared in British GT3 since Speedworks contested the full 2012 season with a Z06.R. This means Steller will end its partnership with Audi, which started in 2019 and yielded the 2022 GT4 title before competing in the 2023 Le Mans Cup. Steller boss Gary Blackham said: “The Z06 GT3.R is a stunning car, beautifully engineered and designed from the off as a true endurance racer. The team, and our customers that have seen the car already, are truly excited by the prospect of racing with one of the most successful brands in sportscar racing.” British GT’s entry process for 2025 opens on 2 December, with Steller…

BUCKMORE PARK Karting venue Buckmore Park is set to submit plans for a major expansion at the venue that would include the construction of a 20,000-square-foot building. Dubbed The Paddock, it would house 18 state-of-the-art karting simulators, a 100-seater conference room, a restaurant and bar area, as well as a viewing terrace at the circuit, a stomping ground for Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Ollie Bearman during their childhood karting days. The venue is owned by Leonora Martell-Surtees, daughter of 1964 F1 champion and multiple bike racing champion John Surtees, and her husband Richard, the family taking over the running of the circuit in 2017. “On one side of the circuit the facilities are a bit lacking, so when we have race meetings they’re all based there and it…

RACE OF REMEMBRANCE (362 LAPS) 1 RAF Motorsport (Matt Isherwood/Oliver Waind/Alex Smith/Ryan Parkin – Audi TT); 2 LIOS Racing (Steve McCulley/Don Henshall – Caterham) –2 laps; 3 AbleCare/ES Motorsport (Jason McInulty/David McInulty – Lotus Elise); 4 Clapham North/Rob Boston Racing (Will Blackwell-Chambers/George Grant/Rob Boston – Mazda MX-5 Mk3); 5 Brake Dancer Racing (Daryl Cresswell/Paul Hearnden/Wes Payne/Harry Eyre/Timothy Steel/Allan Curtis – Caterham); 6 Stuart Humphrey Racing (Stuart Humphrey/Alex Kapadia/Martin Rich – Mazda MX-5 Mk3). Class winners Clapham North/Rob Boston Racing; Brake Dancer Racing; Track Scotland 2 (Adam Morrison/Adam Kindness/Craig Dillon/Lowell Forsyth – Mini Cooper); Anthony Seddon Racing (Anthony Seddon/Samuel David Carrington Yates/Alan Corfield/Harry Ormerod/George Heller – BMW 116); Flatcap Motorsport/Minto Motorsport (Joes Moss/Haydn Payne/Alex Foden – Toyota Aygo); WRC Developments with CB Autoservices (James Macintyre-Ure/Robin Welsh/Liam Crilly/David Drinkwater/Finley Edwards/James Poulton –…

BOOK REVIEW FORMULA 1: CAR BY CAR 2000-09 Peter Higham RRP £60 Formula 1: Car by Car 2000-09 offers perhaps the most in-depth look back at a decade that featured some of the fastest machinery in motorsport history, and ended with the unforgettable Brawn GP fairytale of 2009. Across 304 pages, Peter Higham recounts every twist and turn of the decade for every team, in a format that quickly develops a familiar feel. Higham introduces each season with a two-page overview, setting the scene for all the rule changes, political drama and intrigue, and telling the general tale of that campaign in a surprisingly detailed manner, given more than half of the spread is taken up by images. Beyond this, teams are generally given one or two pages for the…

Max Verstappen may be Red Bull’s Dutch hero, but its first driver heralding from the Netherlands was Robert Doornbos. Upon stepping up from his third driver role to replace Christian Klien for the final three races of 2006, Doornbos was essentially keeping the seat warm for the incoming Mark Webber. With attention fully on the first new car of the Adrian Newey era and in an RB2 chassis that had long since ceased development, his chances of securing a longer-term seat before heading off to Champ Car for a race-winning campaign in 2007 always appeared slim. Those outings alongside David Coulthard cemented an impression Doornbos had formed of the 13-time GP winner during a year in which he also made 15 Friday appearances. “Fun, fast and someone with experience,” the…