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  • Hendrick déjà vu: Byron beats Larson in overtime finish again to win Phoenix Cup race

    Hendrick déjà vu: Byron beats Larson in overtime finish again to win Phoenix Cup race

    Sunday saw William Byron, for two-weeks in a row, beat Kyle Larson in a overtime restart to win the Cup Series race, this time at Phoenix Raceway in the United Rentals Work United 500. Kevin Harvick had overtaken Larson for the lead with 43 laps to go but a caution with 11 laps to go for Harrison Burton blowing a tyre, saw Harvick lose the lead on pit road and fall back to seventh, having taken four tyres, while Larson and Byron came off pit road first and second on just two tyres. 

    • Race summary
    • Rest of race recap
    • Full race results
    • Point standings

    William Byron had taken the lead away from pole-sitter Kyle Larson on lap two and went on to win stage one but Kyle Larson took the lead back on pit road during the stage break and won stage two.

    Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Shingrix Toyota, and Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Rheem Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Chris Graythen | Getty Images)

    Heading towards the white flag, Tyler Reddick gave a helpful push to Byron coming down the backstretch heading, as Blaney, Larson and Byron were three-wide for the lead with Byron on the outside, helping Byron clear Larson and Blaney going into turn four to take the white flag and the checkered flag.

    It’s Byron sixth career win and his first at Phoenix in the Cup Series.

    William Byron celebrates his 6th career win by burning it down at the start finish line at Phoenix Raceway, March 12 2023 (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)

    Byron thanked crew chief Rudy Fugle for the win saying: “Owe the last couple weeks to him. He’s done a really good job strategy-wise, and execution-wise we’ve done a good job to put ourselves in those positions on the front row with a shot at the end.”

    AVONDALE, ARIZONA – MARCH 12: William Byron, driver of the #24 Valvoline Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 12, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

    Kyle Larson led 201 of the 312 laps so was not too pleased to come in fourth after losing the win to Byron in the same fashion for two-weeks running, being beat in last week’s overtime restart in Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 400-mile race, saying: “Restarts are just tough. [Byron] did a really good job of holding it to my outside, clearing me down the back. Yeah, I’m pissed off.”

    Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, reacts after finishing fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Susan Wong | NASCAR Studios)

    Kevin Harvick aka “The Closer” was looking to become a 10-time Phoenix Cup Series winner. Having started 15th, he finished eighth and third in stages one and two respectively before in the final stage on a long green flag run passed Larson for the lead with 43 laps to go.

    Harvick was clear sailing prior to the caution with 11 laps to go and was not able to gain any positions when the field went back to green with three laps to go before Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs wrecked in turns one and two sending the race into overtime.

    Harvick said: “That’s the way it goes. Just smoked ’em up until the caution. They did a great job with our Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang. Didn’t need the caution at the end.”

    It was Harvick’s 20th straight top-10 finish at Phoenix Raceway in the Cup Series.

    Ryan Blaney had a strong race from start to finish coming home in the runner up spot. Blaney finished sixth and eighth in stage one and two respectively. The Team Penske driver was running sixth at the time of Burton blowing his tyre.

    Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford, races during the the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Cameron Richardson | NASCAR Studios)

    Ford and former Penske teammate Brad Keselowski also had a strong race prior to the overtime finish, being ninth and fourth in stages one and two respectively before finishing eighteenth.

    Josh Berry, subbing for the injured Chase Elliott, drove the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet to an impressive 10th place finish. Berry was getting used up in stage one struggling to get inside the top 25. The full-time JR Motorsports Xfinity driver worked his way into the top 15 in the final stage before finishing one place behind Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman, placing all four Hendrick Chevrolet’s in the top-10.

    Rest of race recap

    The United Rentals 500 marked the debut of the new short track package, seeing a 30% reduction in downforce compared to last year’s short track package, due in part to halving the spoiler from four inches to two.

    The cars were permitted to race in wet conditions  if they occurred during the race as part of NASCAR’s expansion to allow wet-weather racing at one mile or less sized oval tracks in addition to the road course races.

    2021 Phoenix winner Kyle Larson led the field to green flag before Byron released Larson of the lead getting by on the inside of turn one on lap two.

    Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 12, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    With under ten to go in stage one, BJ McLeod retired with a fuel pump issue before Ricky Stenhouse Jr. tagged the turn one wall running 25th but was able to continue. Byron led the rest of the laps to win stage one.

    During the stage one caution break, Kyle Larson was able to win back the lead on pit road in part to having the number one pit stall at the end of pit road.

    Aric Almirola brought out the caution on lap 139 after his wheel hub and tyre broke free. Larson was first off pit road again and went on to win stage two.

    Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 GoBowling.com Ford, breaks a right-front wheel during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Susan Wong | NASCAR Studios)

    Harvick started the final stage side-by-side with Larson on the restart but Larson quickly pulled away to a 2.5 second gap by lap 207.

    Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway, with Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Ford Mustang behind, on March 12, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    During the rest of the final stage, the whole field split the 127-lap stage in half except Erik Jones who stayed out in the lead on old tyres until Kyle Larson caught and passed him for the lead on much fresher tyres with 52 laps to go. Jones was hoping for a caution to force everybody else down pit road again while with the lead but one didn’t come before having to pit. Jones finished 21st.

    As the run went on Harvick closed back down the gap to Larson to just 0.3 seconds and cleared him coming out of turn three with 43 laps to go.

    The crash that led to the overtime finish came from Gragson and AJ Allmendinger colliding into the turn two wall together, while Gibbs piled into the back of them after getting tangled with Corey Lajoie on the high lane in turn one.

    Ty Gibbs, driver of the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, drives his damaged car back to pit road during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Susan Wong | NASCAR Studios)

    The 2022 Hamlin-Chastain clash was revived on the final lap when Denny Hamlin washed up the race track in turn two dragging Chastain into the wall. Hamlin had spent most of the day in the top five but would only come home 23rd in the end, with Chastain 24th. Both had a long conversation with each other on pit road post-race.

    The next race for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this Sunday, with the race starting at 3pm ET.

    Featured image: William Byron, driver of the #24 Valvoline Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 12, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

    Full race results 

    1. William Byron
    2. Ryan Blaney
    3. Tyler Reddick
    4. Kyle Larson
    5. Kevin Harvick
    6. Christopher Bell
    7. Chase Briscoe
    8. Kyle Busch
    9. Alex Bowman
    10. Josh Berry
    11. Joey Logano
    12. Ryan Preece
    13. Michael McDowell
    14. Bubba Wallace
    15. Chris Buescher
    16. Austin Dillon
    17. Martin Truex Jr.
    18. Brad Keselowski
    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    20. AJ Allmendinger
    21. Erik Jones
    22. Daniel Suarez
    23. Denny Hamlin
    24. Ross Chastain
    25. Austin Cindric
    26. Corey LaJoie
    27. Justin Haley
    28. Ty Gibbs
    29. Noah Gragson
    30. Ty Dillon
    31. Zane Smith
    32. Todd Gilliland
    33. Aric Almirola
    34. Cody Ware
    35. Harrison Burton
    36. BJ McLeod

    Stage one 

    1. William Byron
    2. Kyle Larson
    3. Christopher Bell
    4. Denny Hamlin
    5. Tyler Reddick
    6. Ryan Blaney
    7. Ross Chastain
    8. Kevin Harvick
    9. Brad Keselowski
    10. Kyle Busch

    Stage two 

    1. Kyle Larson
    2. William Byron
    3. Kevin Harvick
    4. Brad Keselowski
    5. Tyler Reddick
    6. Denny Hamlin
    7. Christopher Bell
    8. Ryan Blaney
    9. Ross Chastain
    10. Chase Briscoe

    Points standings after 4 of 36 races 

    1. Alex Bowman – 154
    2. Kevin Harvick – 151
    3. Ross Chastain – 148
    4. William Byron* – 144
    5. Kyle Larson – 137
    6. Christopher Bell – 137
    7. Denny Hamlin – 125
    8. Ryan Blaney – 124
    9. Kyle Busch* – 122
    10. Martin Truex Jr. – 122
    11. Daniel Suarez – 119
    12. Joey Logano – 118
    13. Brad Keselowski – 115
    14. Chris Buescher – 112
    15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* – 104
    16. Bubba Wallace – 92
    17. Austin Cindric – 81
    18. Corey Lajoie – 79
    19. Michael McDowell – 76
    20. Tyler Reddick – 72
    21. AJ Allmendinger – 71
    22. Austin Dillon – 63
    23. Ty Gibbs – 62
    24. Justin Haley – 60
    25. Chase Briscoe – 59
    26. Aric Almirola – 56
    27. Ryan Preece – 54
    28. Erik Jones – 53
    29. Chase Elliott – 49
    30. Harrison Burton – 48
    31. Todd Gilliland – 46
    32. Noah Gragson – 43
    33. Cody Ware – 38
    34. Travis Pastrana – 26
    35. BJ McLeod – 26
    36. Ty Dillon – 17
    37. Jimmie Johnson – 10

  • Extreme E: Acciona Sainz Win Desert XPrix

    Acciona Sainz claimed their first ever victory on Sunday as they cruised to the win in the final race of the weekend. Here’s how the day unfolded:

    Picture courtesy of Extreme E
    Picture courtesy of Extreme E

    Qualifying 1 Heat 1:

    Sunday’s first qualifying session started with ABT Cupra, Andretti United, X44, Veloce, and Carl Cox Motorsport all racing against each other.

    ABT Cupra, who picked up damage during Saturday’s running, were using the championship car as they could not fix their own in time.

    The lights went green and all but one of the teams got off to a good start. Unfortunately for ABT Cupra, they had issues and were slow to get going. They would finish the race, but they would treat it more like a shakedown than qualifying.

    For the rest of the field, though, the running was tight. Andretti United made a good start but dropped to third on the final lap.

    Veloce crossed the line first to take maximum intermediate points, with X44 not far behind. Andretti United would remain in third as Carl Cox Motorsport did not leave the switch zone.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 1 Classification:

    1. Veloce – 10 Intermediate Points
    2. X44 – 8 Points
    3. Andretti United – 6 Points
    4. ABT Cupra – 4 Points
    5. Carl Cox Motorsport – 2 Points

    Qualifying 1 Heat 2:

    The remaining five teams, McLaren, Chip Ganassi, Acciona Sainz, RXR, and JBXE competed in Heat 2.

    After an initial aborted start, RXR took a lead they would not relinquish. Further behind there was some side-by-side action between Chip Ganassi and McLaren, with Chip Ganassi eventually winning out. Acciona Sainz also got past.

    After that there was not much action to report. McLaren were given a 2.4 second time penalty for speeding in the switch zone, but they would not lose a position.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 2 Classification:

    1. RXR – 10 Points
    2. Chip Ganassi – 8 Points
    3. Acciona Sainz – 6 Points
    4. McLaren – 4 Points
    5. JBXE – 2 Points

    Qualifying 2 Heat 1:

    The first heat of Qualifying 2 got under way with Veloce getting the best start. Chip Ganassi and Andretti United were not far behind, with McLaren and Carl Cox Motorsport in fourth and fifth respectively. That order wouldn’t change into the switch zone.

    However, disaster struck for Andretti United not long after. For the third time this weekend, the car rolled over, and they were unable to finish the race. The driver, Timmy Hansen, got out of the car okay.

    The race was temporarily red flagged whilst the car was recovered, and when it was restarted, the teams finished in the position they resumed in.

    Veloce took maximum intermediate points from qualifying to guarantee their place in the final, whilst a poor day for Carl Cox meant they would compete in the redemption race.

    Qualifying 2 Heat 1 Classification:

    1. Veloce – 10 Points
    2. Chip Ganassi – 8 Points
    3. McLaren – 6 Points
    4. Carl Cox Motorsport – 4 Points
    5. Andretti United – 2 Points

    Qualifying 2 Heat 2:

    The final qualifying race of the weekend got underway, with Acciona Sainz getting the best start. Going into turn two, however, RXR’s Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky took the lead.

    ABT Cupra, who had a poor first race, were using a different strategy to the other teams. Their make driver was put in the car first, and Nasser Al-Attiyah made his way to the front and stormed ahead.

    Ultimately it would be a strategy that paid off, as they were not caught for the rest of the race. Further behind, though, there was trouble for X44, who picked up a 3.7 second penalty for speeding in the pitlane. As a result, Acciona Sainz and X44 were tied on intermediate points, though Acciona Sainz went through to the final because they were quicker through the Continental Traction Challenge.

    Qualifying 2 Heat 2 Classification:

    1. ABT Cupra – 10 Points
    2. RXR – 8 Points
    3. Acciona Sainz – 6 Points
    4. X44 – 4 Points
    5. JBXE – 2 Points

    Overall Qualifying Classification:

    1. Veloce – 20 Points
    2. RXR – 18 Points
    3. Chip Ganassi – 16 Points
    4. ABT Cupra – 14 Points
    5. Acciona Sainz – 12 Points
    6. X44 – 12 Points
    7. McLaren – 10 Points
    8. Andretti United – 8 Points
    9. Carl Cox Motorsport – 6 Points
    10. JBXE – 4 Points

    Redemption Race:

    Just as yesterday, the redemption race was full of action as the bottom five qualifiers looked to salvage as many championship points as possible.

    The first two laps were fairly uneventful as X44 lead into the switch zone. Carl Cox Motorsport were just a little way behind and, when X44 took slightly too long, the two cars appeared side by side.

    Upon exiting the switch zone, Carl Cox Motorsport took the lead, though X44 soon regained it again. A subsequent roll for the championship’s newest team and they dropped to the back.

    Also having a roll was JBXE, as the car ended up on its side. They would not finish the race.

    X44 won the redemption race to claim eight championship points, with McLaren just behind. Andretti United came in third.

    Redemption Race Classification:

    1. X44
    2. McLaren
    3. Andretti United
    4. Carl Cox Motorsport
    5. JBXE

    Final:

    The final race of the weekend was contested between the top five qualifiers, ABT Cupra, Acciona Sainz, Veloce, RXR, and Chip Ganassi.

    Off the line it was Acciona Sainz who got the best start, leading Veloce then RXR. However, problems for Veloce on the opening lap saw them lose out a position to RXR. Acciona Sainz flew off into the distance, whilst Veloce regained the position before the switch zone.

    Not a lot of action followed that, despite a flying ABT Cupra in the last two laps. Acciona Sainz won their first ever Extreme E race, followed by yesterday’s winner Veloce. RXR rounded out the podium,

    Final Classification:

    1. Acciona Sainz
    2. Veloce
    3. RXR
    4. ABT Cupra
    5. Chip Ganassi

    The weekend saw two new race winners, as Veloce and Acciona Sainz started the season on a great note. Hoping for better in the rounds to come will be Andretti United and Carl Cox Motorsport, who have both had weekends to forget.

    Championship Standings:

    1. Veloce – 46 Points
    2. Acciona Sainz – 46 Points
    3. RXR – 31 Points
    4. X44 – 23 Points
    5. Chip Ganassi – 21 Points
    6. ABT Cupra – 15 Points
    7. McLaren – 14 Points
    8. Carl Cox Motorsport – 8 Points
    9. JBXE – 5 Points
    10. Andretti United – 5 Points

    With Veloce top of the standings, all eyes will be looking ahead to Scotland for the Hydro XPrix in May.

  • Extreme E: Veloce take Maiden Win in Opening Race

    The opening day of the new Extreme E season was full of action, which ultimately saw Veloce win their first ever Extreme E race. Here’s a roundup of the day’s action.

    Image courtesy of Extreme E

    Qualifying 1:

    The first action of the day, Qualifying 1 Heat 1, saw Extreme E’s newest team, Carl Cox Motorsport, take on ABT Cupra, Andretti United, Acciona Sainz, and Chip Ganassi.

    Chip Ganassi were best off the line and took an early lead. Acciona Sainz were right on their tails. Despite being close behind, there was little action before the switch zone, with Chip Ganassi heading out Acciona Sainz, Carl Cox Motorsport, Andretti United, and ABT Cupra.

    The pressure eased on Chip Ganassi after the switch zone after Laia Sanz in the Acciona Sainz team got a bit too close to the water’s edge, costing the team a lot of time.

    Further behind, ABT Cupra’s Klara Andersson also got too close to the water. All the way to the back.

    The biggest drama of the session, however, was when Catie Munnings rolled her Andretti United car whilst attempting an overtake on Carl Cox Motorsport. Thankfully Munnings was okay, but the team would not finish the race.

    Chip Ganassi crossed the line first, receiving 10 intermediate points and the first championship point of the season. Acciona Sainz came second with championship new boys, Carl Cox Motorsport, picking up six intermediate points.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 1 Classification:

    1. Chip Ganassi 11:32.914 – 10 Intermediate Points
    2. Acciona Sainz +3.384 – 8 Points
    3. Carl Cox Motorsport +18.663 – 6 Points
    4. ABT Cupra +57.726 – 4 Points
    5. Andretti United DNF – 0 Points

    Qualifying 1 Heat 2:

    The five remaining cars, JBXE, McLaren, X44, RXR, and Veloce, all competed in Heat 2.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 2 was a much calmer affair. Whilst the teams were all tightly packed, the only move of note was a lovely move from X44’s Fraser McConnel to take the lead.

    X44 crossed the line first, with Veloce just behind, and JBXE in third. Season 1 championship winners, RXR, finished fourth ahead of McLaren.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 2 Classification:

    1. X44 12:32.993 – 10 Points
    2. Veloce +8.734 – 8 Points
    3. JBXE +19.100 – 6 Points
    4. RXR +20.980 – 4 Points
    5. McLaren +28.728 – 2 Points

    Qualifying 2 Heat 1:

    The second part of qualifying saw Chip Ganassi, Carl Cox Motorsport, Andretti United, Veloce, and RXR all compete for more intermediate points in Heat 1.

    After a messy start, Veloce took an early lead that they would not relinquish. RXR made some good overtakes on first Carl Cox Motorsport, then Chip Ganassi, but that would be the extent of the action. Carl Cox Motorsport would later grind to a halt after experiencing a technical issue.

    Veloce won the heat, securing their place in the final, whilst Andretti United’s fourth place cemented their spot in the redemption race.

    Qualifying 2 Heat 1 Classification:

    1. Veloce 11.380 – 10 Points
    2. RXR +8.86 – 8 Points
    3. Chip Ganassi +14.42 – 6 Points
    4. Andretti United +25.39 – 4 Points
    5. Carl Cox Motorsport – 0 Points

    Qualifying 2 Heat 2:

    The final qualifying race consisted of Acciona Sainz, ABT Cupra, X44, JBXE, and McLaren.

    As the lights went out, Laia Sanz for Acciona Sainz got a lightening start, with X44 and JBXE battling ot out for second place behind.

    After the start there was little action, and Acciona Sainz topped both their heat and qualifying overall. X44 finished in second place, with McLaren finishing in third.

    When all the intermediate points were added up, three teams, Acciona Sainz, RXR, and Veloce, had 18 points, only being separated by times through the Continental Traction Challenge

    Qualifying 2 Heat 2 Classification:

    1. Acciona Sainz 11:29 – 10 Points
    2. RXR +5.34 – 8 Points
    3. McLaren +11.34 – 6 Points
    4. ABT Cupra +18.34 – 4 Points
    5. JBXE +25.52 – 2 Points

    Overall Qualifying Standings:

    1. Acciona Sainz – 18 Points
    2. X44 – 18 Points
    3. Veloce – 18 Points
    4. Chip Ganassi – 16 Points
    5. RXR – 12 Points
    6. ABT Cupra – 8 Points
    7. JBXE – 8 Points
    8. McLaren – 8 Points
    9. Carl Cox Motorsport – 6 Points
    10. Andretti United – 4 Points

    Going through to the final following qualifying were tje top five teams, Acciona Sainz, X44, Veloce, Chip Ganassi, and RXR. The bottom five qualifiers would compete in the redemption race.

    Redemption Race:

    The redemption race saw the most action of the day, with three cars not seeing its end.

    McLaren took an early lead off the start but the main action was happening just behind. Three cars converged through a waypoint with Andretti United coming off worse. Their car rolled over and was unable to continue.

    Things calmed down for a couple of minutes after that, but a move from the ABT Cupra car on the McLaren also saw the former end on its side in an incident not dissimilar from Catie Munnings’ in Qualifying One. All drivers were okay but the race was red-flagged.

    The race resumed and JBXE reclaimed their lead. However, technical issues for the team saw them slow down and eventually stop, becoming the third retirement of the race.

    With three cars out of the race it was a comfortable finish for McLaren, who crossed the line in first, with Carl Cox Motorsport not far behind in second.

    Redemption Race Classification:

    1. McLaren 28:55.292
    2. Carl Cox Motorsport +5.552
    3. JBXE DNF
    4. ABT Cupra DNF
    5. Andretti United DNF

    Final:

    The last race of the day was the final, being fought between the top five qualifiers.

    RXR took an early lead with a brilliant move from Johan Kristofferson. All five cars were neck and neck for most of the first lap.

    However, Chip Ganassi ran into a technical issue and were forced to retire. A slow zone was put by the stricken car, restricting speeds to the switch zone speed limit. X44 also had an issue and retired not long after.

    The remaining teams came into the switch zone with just a few seconds separating them. RXR led, with Veloce in second, and Acciona Sainz in third.

    As the cars neared the slow zone, RXR’s Molly Taylor lost track of where she was and failed to slow in time, They were given a post-race penalty of 136 seconds.

    There was little going on after that incident, as RXR crossed the line first but Veloce taking the victory. Acciona Sainz came in second and RXR were saved a place on the podium by virtue of the other cars retiring.

    Final Classification:

    1. 11:56.291
    2. Acciona Sainz +16.709
    3. RXR + 2:08.041
    4. X44 DNF
    5. Chip Ganassi DNF

    Championship Standings:

    1. Veloce – 26 Points
    2. Acciona Sainz – 21 Points
    3. RXR – 15 Points
    4. X44 – 13 Points
    5. Chip Ganassi – 11 Points
    6. McLaren – 8 Points
    7. Carl Cox Motorsport – 6 Points
    8. JBXE – 4 Points
    9. ABT Cupra – 2 Points
    10. Andretti United – 1 Point

    So concluded an exciting day’s racing. With the chance to do it all again tomorrow, Veloce will be hoping for a similarly successful day, whilst Andretti United will welcome the chance to immediately get their championship back on track.

  • Extreme E: What’s new for Season 3?

    Images courtesy of Extreme E Extreme E is about to enter its third season and there have been a number of changes over the winter break to get your head around. Luckily, this handy guide breaks it all down for you!

     

    Format:

    The most noticeable change to Extreme E this year is to the format. Gone are the days of one day for qualifying and one day for races: now each weekend will be a doubleheader! 

    Qualifying:

    Qualifying remains two separate sessions, but there will be heats in both Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2. In Qualifying 1, teams will race in one of two five-car heats, with intermediate points being awarded ten through two based on finishing position. 

    These heats will also set the grids for Qualifying 2. First, third, and fifth in Qualifying 1 Heat 1 will compete against second and fourth from Qualifying 1 Heat 2 in Qualifying 2 Heat 1. The remaining teams will race each other in Qualifying 2 Heat 2. As with Qualifying 1, intermediate points are awarded ten through two to finishers first through fifth. The teams that win their heat will receive one championship point. 

    After both qualifying sessions are complete, intermediate points are added up and the teams are ranked first to tenth from highest points tally to lowest. Any teams that are tied will be separated by their times in the Continental Traction Challenge, which awards the team with the fastest combined time over the course of the day an extra two championship points. Got that? Good! 🙂

    Race:

    There are no Semi-Finals or Crazy Races this year. Instead, the teams that qualify in the top five positions will go straight through to the Final, whereas the teams that qualify in sixth or lower will face off in the Redemption Race.

    Despite its name, the Redemption Race will not provide teams the opportunity to make the final, which remains just five cars. Instead, the teams will attempt to gain as many championship points as they can, with the team finishing first in the Redemption Race receiving eight points. Points awarded for second to fifth in the Redemption Race will be six through one.

    The Final remains unchanged from last year and will award 25 points to the winner. Second place will receive 18 points, whilst third, fourth, and fifth will pick up 15, 12, and ten points respectively.

    If that doesn’t fill your racing appetite, teams will do it all again the following day! The new double-header race weekend will provide anyone who had a poor Saturday with a great opportunity to immediately bounce back and recover some crucial championship points. So, where are they racing this year?

     

    Calendar:

    The Season 3 Extreme E calendar will see teams return to some championship favourite locations, as well as some new courses that will provide a fresh challenge.

    The season opener is, once again, taking place in Neom, Saudi Arabia this weekend (11th-12th March). Neom hosted the first round of Season 2, which saw the one-time championship winners, Rosberg X Racing, take the victory. Sardinia, Italy; and Antofagasta, Chile also return to this year’s calendar.

    There will also be two locations making their Extreme-E-hosting debut. Scotland will run the Hydro XPrix on 13th-14th May, though the exact location is yet to be confirmed. Either the Amazon, or USA will feature a round on 16th-17th September.

    The full race calendar is as follows:

    11th-12th March – Desert XPrix – Neom, Saudi Arabia

    13th-14th May – Hydro XPrix – Scotland

    8th-9th July – Island XPrix – Sardinia, Italy

    16th-17th September – TBC XPrix – Amazon or USA

    2nd-3rd December – Copper XPrix – Antofagasta, Chile

     

    Teams and Drivers:

    Taking on these challenging courses will be a mixture of new drivers, and old, as well as at least one new team.

    The freshest team on the grid, taking the place of Xite Energy, is Carl Cox Motorsport. Racing for British DJ, Carl Cox’s team will be the smiley Spaniard Christine GZ, as well as Timo Scheider. Both GZ and Scheider have a vast amount of experience in the series, which will surely help the team settle in quickly.

    Jenson Button’s team, JBXE, will welcome a Finish former Formula 1 driver (no, not THAT one) in Heikki Kovalainen. Compared to much of the grid, Kovalainen has limited rallying experience so he will be hoping that his teammate, Hedda Hosas, can get him up to speed.

    Other new additions to the grid include Fraser McConnel, who will drive for X44, and Amanda Sorensen, who will drive the Chip Ganassi car. Mattias Ekstrom will replace Carlos Sainz at Acciona Sainz for the Desert XPrix as the Spaniard is still recovering from an injury.

    There was also supposed to be another team joining the grid this year, XE Sports Group. However, they will not race this coming weekend, and it is unconfirmed whether they will join the grid at all this year. Former footballer, Tim Cahill, was set to be one of the team’s backers.

    The confirmed driver lineups for the Desert XPrix are as follows:

    Veloce Racing – Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor

    Rosberg X Racing – Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky

    JBXE – Hedda Hosas and Heikki Kovalainen

    Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E – Catie Munnings and Timmy Hansen

    X44 Vida Carbon Racing – Cristina Gutierrez and Fraser McConnell

    Acciona Sainz XE Team – Laia Sanz and Mattias Ekstrom

    NEOM McLaren Extreme E – Emma Gilmour and Tanner Foust

    GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing – Amanda Sorensen and RJ Anderson

    ABT Cupra XE – Klara Andersson and Nasser Al-Attiyah

    Carl Cox Motorsport – Cristine GZ and Timo Scheider

     

    The new season is now just days away and there are many questions just waiting to be answered. Will the change in driver lineup put reigning champions X44 on the backfoot? Will Heikki Kovalainen fare any better than his new boss Jensen Button did back in Season 1? How will championship newcomers Carl Cox Motorsport handle the series? And what impact will the change in format have on the series? Tune in on Saturday as we attempt to uncover the answers.

  • William Byron hits the jackpot at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    William Byron hits the jackpot at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    William Byron dominated Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, leading 176 of the 267 laps, sweeping all three stages, and passing Martin Truex Jr. in overtime to take his first Cup win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Byron had battled hard with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson all race long for control of the lead and just pipped the Larson to the pit road exit line, seeing him line-up alongside Truex Jr. for the overtime restart, who gambled to stay out on old tyres.

    • Race summary 
    • Full race results
    • Points standings 

    Byron said: “Yeah, just happy with getting the first win of the year. It’s been a while since we’ve won. It’s been almost a year, and it’s nice to kind of just get back to what I feel like we’re capable of.”

    William Byron, driver of the #24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

    Byron was part of Hendrick Motorsports’ third one-two-three finish in the teams Cup Series career with Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman finishing second and third respectively, finishing the race how they ended stage two. Hendrick’s previous one-two-three finish came in the 2021 spring Dover race where it was also Hendrick’s first one-two-three-four finish with Byron finishing fourth and Alex Bowman taking the spoils that day.

    Race summary

    Byron first took the lead on lap 10 from pole-sitter Joey Logano. From then on it was mostly smooth sailing for the first stage with Larson keeping tabs on the Charlotte, North Carolinian finishing just under a second behind him.

    Stage two was a carbon copy for both drivers with Larson once again finishing second in stage two under a second behind Byron. The final stage saw the roles reversed with Byron losing places on pit road under caution on lap 184, and starting fourth on the restart with Larson in third.

    William Byron, driver of the #24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Larson was all over Denny Hamlin, who had stayed out on older tyres, for the lead and finally claimed top spot in the running order with 71 laps to go. Larson pulled out a five second-plus gap to Byron over the course of the final stage but this was eradicated when the caution came out with four to go in response to Aric Almirola sliding into a spin against the turn four wall.

    At the time of caution Byron had halved the gap down to 2.4 seconds but it looked like a tall-order to have caught Larson without the Californian making a mistake or traffic getting in the way before they yellow flags waved.

    Larson was only able to clear Truex Jr. with half a lap to go on the backstretch to finish runner-up.

    Larson commented: “It seems like kind of laps down, lap by lap, and then, sure enough, the yellow lights come on. I had a gap to William behind me, and their pit crew must have just done a really good job and got out in front of us, and that gave up the front row. I knew I was in trouble with the 19 staying out.”

    William Byron held off teammates Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson at the end of Sunday’s Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, sealing a 1-2-3 sweep for the organization on March 5, 2023 (Photo by Getty Images)

    A dominant display by Hendrick comes on the week of teammate and 2020 NASCAR Cup champion Chase Elliott being forced to sit out indefinitely after fracturing his tibia in a snowboarding accident in Colorado last Friday.

    Team owner Rick Hendrick speaking on Friday about NASCAR’s most popular driver said: “Chase’s health is our primary concern. He’s understandably disappointed to miss time in the car.”

    JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry stood in for Elliott on Sunday, finishing 29th, two laps down, in his first race in the Next Gen car.

    Josh Berry leans on No. 9 Chevrolet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Photo by Zack Albert | NASCAR Studios)

    Bubba Wallace had a stand-out day running inside the top ten for most of the race, taking sixth in stage two and eighth in stage one, and coming home fourth. After not finishing either of the first two races of the season, it’s a much needed boost of confidence and points for the No. 23 team.

    Wallace said: “Never stop fighting. You never give up. I almost come over the radio and said, hey, good job, we finished sixth, then the caution came out, and I perked up again and got some.”

    Wallace’s teammate Tyler Reddick had a wild day after marching up to 19th, just 11 laps after starting the race in the rear. Reddick nearly let a good points day get away when inside of 65 laps to go,  he ripped the turns three and four wall running sixth, sending him back to tenth. Reddick would finish 15th, after coming into the weekend with just four points after being wrecked out of the first two races.

    Sunday’s pole-sitter Joey Logano and last week’s Auto Club finale winner Kyle Busch both difficult races.

    Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Pennzoil Ford, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    After losing the lead on lap 10 to Byron, Logano fought a tight handling race car for the first half of the race, clinging onto the top 15.

    The two-time Pennzoil 400 winner asked a little too much of his No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang on lap 182, when while he was battling three-wide on the outside with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch  coming off turn four over 14th place, he ran out of real estate, colliding with the wall before spinning across the track into the infield grass. Logano’s team were not able to fix the car under the damage vehicle policy in time, forcing him to retire.

    Kyle Busch made contact with the yellow outside walls several times during the race including twice in stage one, once clattering the turn two wall hard, bending the steering angle whilst challenging Hamlin for ninth place, but was able to continue.

     

    The Las Vegas native wound up 14th in a weekend where he had attempted to sweep all three national series races taking place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, trying to replicate his Bristol Motor Speedway’s 2010 and 2017 weekend sweeps. 

    Busch won the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday driving for his own Kyle Busch Motorsports team but could only manage fourth in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race driving for Kaulig Racing.  

    Kyle Busch, driver of the #51 Zariz Transport Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 03, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    The next race for the NASCAR Cup Series is the United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway this Sunday, with the race starting at 3:30pm ET.

    Featured Image: William Byron, driver of the #24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) 

    Full race results

    1. William Byron
    2. Kyle Larson
    3. Alex Bowman
    4. Bubba Wallace
    5. Christopher Bell
    6. Austin Cindric
    7. Martin Truex Jr.
    8. Justin Haley
    9. Kevin Harvick
    10. Daniel Suarez
    11. Denny Hamlin
    12. Ross Chastain
    13. Ryan Blaney
    14. Kyle Busch
    15. Tyler Reddick
    16. Aric Almirola
    17. Brad Keselowski
    18. AJ Allmendinger
    19. Erik Jones
    20. Corey LaJoie
    21. Chris Buescher
    22. Ty Gibbs
    23. Ryan Preece
    24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    25. Michael McDowell
    26. Harrison Burton
    27. Austin Dillon
    28. Chase Briscoe
    29. Josh Berry
    30. Noah Gragson
    31. Todd Gilliland
    32. BJ McLeod
    33. JJ Yeley
    34. Ty Dillon
    35. Cody Ware
    36. Joey Logano

    Stage one 

    1. William Byron
    2. Kyle Larson
    3. Ross Chastain
    4. Christopher Bell
    5. Denny Hamlin
    6. Martin Truex Jr.
    7. Alex Bowman
    8. Bubba Wallace
    9. Kyle Busch
    10. Brad Keselowski

    Stage two 

    1. William Byron
    2. Kyle Larson
    3. Alex Bowman
    4. Martin Truex Jr.
    5. Christopher Bell
    6. Bubba Wallace
    7. Ross Chastain
    8. Denny Hamlin
    9. Brad Keselowski
    10. Kevin Harvick

    Points standings 

    1. Ross Chastain – 129
    2. Alex Bowman – 126
    3. Kevin Harvick – 108
    4. Daniel Suarez – 104
    5. Martin Truex Jr. – 102
    6. Denny Hamlin – 99
    7. Christopher Bell – 94
    8. Kyle Busch* – 92
    9. Joey Logano – 92
    10. Chris Buescher – 90
    11. Brad Keselowski – 87
    12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* – 86
    13. William Byron* – 85
    14. Kyle Larson – 85
    15. Ryan Blaney – 81
    16. Bubba Wallace – 69
    17. Austin Cindric – 69
    18. Corey LaJoie – 68
    19. AJ Allmendinger – 54
    20. Ty Gibbs – 53
    21. Aric Almirola – 52
    22. Michael McDowell – 52
    23. Justin Haley – 50
    24. Chase Elliott – 49
    25. Harrison Burton – 46
    26. Austin Dillon – 42
    27. Todd Gilliland – 41
    28. Erik Jones – 37
    29. Cody Ware – 35
    30. Noah Gragson – 35
    31. Ryan Preece – 29
    32. Chase Briscoe – 28
    33. Travis Pastrana – 26
    34. Tyler Reddick – 26
    35. BJ McLeod – 25
    36. JJ Yeley – 18
    37. Ty Dillon – 10
    38. Jimmie Johnson – 10
  • 2023 Bahrain GP

    2023 Bahrain GP

    The opening race of the 2023 F1 season was dominated by the RedBull team and the defending world champion Max Verstappen. His teammate Sergio Perez and the resurgent Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin followed him home.

    The race start. Image courtesy of RedBull Content Pool

    From the start Verstappen led away Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, into turn 4 the Aston Martins came together but avoided damage after Stroll out-braked himself and clipped Alonso. This incident let the Mercedes drivers through to settle into P5 and 6.

    Once the field had settled down Alonso started to close on Russell in the Mercedes, by lap 13 he had closed it completely and had a great battle with the British driver and eventually came out on top.

    Further behind the McLarens weren’t having the greatest start to the season, Piastri retiring on lap 15 and Norris having issues meaning he had to pit numerous times and leaving him at the back of the field.

    By lap 20 the first stops were completed and the field settled down. During the stops Ocon served a time penalty for a start-line procedure breach, unfortunately, he then gained another penalty for not serving the penalty correctly.

    Verstappen was now leading by over 10 seconds but carrying on with soft tyres whereas every other team had moved to the hard compound.

    Perez was now catching Leclerc and by lap 26 he was ahead of the Ferrari and moving to P2. Sainz in the second Ferrari was 4th but had fallen further behind and didn’t seem in the fight all weekend.

    Mercedes tried to pit early to try and keep Alonso at bay but once the stops were over Alonso quickly caught Hamilton and after a great 2-lap battle the Spaniard pulled ahead and started to pull away in search of Sainz in the Ferrari.

    Ferraris reliability issues then struck again with Leclerc stopping on track causing a brief VSC.

    Once that was cleared Alonso set after Sainz and overtook him shortly after to move up to P3 and into the podium positions.

    After 57 laps Max Verstappen crossed the line to take win 36 of his career, Perez second ahead of Alonso completing the podium. Behind them came Sainz, Hamilton, an impressive Stroll racing with two fractured wrists and a broken toe finished sixth.

    Seventh was Russell in the second Mercedes, then Bottas, Gasly and Albon an impressive tenth in the Williams.

    Eleventh was Tsunoda ahead of Sergeant, Magnussen, De Vries and Hulkenberg. The last two finishers were Zhou and Norris.

    The only retirees were Ocon, Leclerc and Piastri.

    After such a dominant performance RedBull will be confident they can once again dominate the season but with Aston Martin making big gains and Mercedes planning a big upgrade already, we will have to wait and see how the season progresses.

    Round 2 is in Saudi Arabia in 2 weeks, Can they start to catch up already, we will have the answers in 14 days’ time.

  • Round 2 WorldSBK, Mandalika, Indonesia, Race 2

    Round 2 WorldSBK, Mandalika, Indonesia, Race 2

    Mandalika always seems to throw plenty of drama, and talking points into the mix, and Sunday was no exception, with drama from start to finish.

    WorldSBK Mandalika, Round 2, Race 2 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

    The earlier Superpole race was full of incidents, and it was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) who was able to avoid them all and secure the win, followed by fellow team mate Andrea Locatelli in 2nd, with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in 3rd rounding out the podium. Championship leader Alvaro Bautista crashed out for his 1st DNF of the season.

    Before the start of race 2, Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was declared unfit to start, due to suffering a fractured leg in contact with Lowes in the superpole race. Remi Gardener (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) however was able to start after his illness.

    Lights out then for race 2, and it was Toprak with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Yamaha team mate Locatelli in 2nd, Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 3rd, Bassani (Motocorsa Racing Ducati) 4th, Lowes 5th and Vierge (Honda HRC) 6th. Lowes made a move on Bassani briefly taking 4th, before the Italian was able to snap back to retake the position. Bautista was down in 8th.

    On lap 19 of the 21, Bassani who had an incredible start and was looking very aggressive, was now in 2nd, and blasted past Locatelli to take the lead. Toprak however had been mugged, and now found himself down in 5th. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) also had a great start and was moving through the field. Positions were as follows: 1. Bassani 2. Rinaldi 3. Rea 4. Lowes 5. Toprak 6. Vierge 7. Locatelli 8. Bautista 9. Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 10. Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

    Next lap and Rinaldi continued his forward advance, and now got through on Bassani to take over the lead for the first time. Lowes also went through on Rea into 3rd.

    With 17 laps remaining Bautista was now up to 7th, after getting through on Locatelli who was in 8th. Toprak dived under Rea into turn 10 to take 4th. Meanwhile Bassani was instructed to drop 1 position for dangerous riding.

    Next lap and it was Rinaldi with the new fastest lap time a 1:33.0, and he held a gap of 0.8s to Bassani. Bassani then eased off the throttle to allow Lowes through, however Toprak snapped up the chance also coming through. Bassani lost 2 places and was in 4th.

    WorldSBK Mandalika, Round 2, Race 2 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

    With 15 laps of 21 remaining Rinaldi was looking at ease in front, and set another fastest lap this time a 1:32.668. Meanwhile further back however, it was utter carnage, with firstly Lowes running off track, then both Rokit BMW’s crashed, and Oettl (GoEleven Racing Ducati). The German collided into the back of Vd Mark, sending the Dutchman high siding with a nasty crash, both were out, then Redding lost his BMW into a corner and he was down. It was absolute mayhem! Meanwhile Bautista had got through on Rea, and was up to 4th.

    Then with 14 laps left, and unsurprisingly, the race was red flagged. The new race distance after the restart would be 14 laps with Rinaldi in pole position, Toprak 2nd, Vierge 3rd, Bautista 4th, and Rea 5th. Both Lowes and Redding were able to restart.

    Lights out for the 2nd time in the race, and Rinaldi got the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Toprak 2nd, Bautista 3rd, Vierge 4th, Rea 5th, Bassani 6th, Locatelli 7th, Redding 10th, and Lowes 14th.

    With 12 laps left, it was the other Ducati setting the fastest lap, this time it was Bautista with a 1:32.5, and he was all over the back of Toprak looking for the pass. Rinaldi held a gap of 0.8s out in front.

    Next lap and not to be outdone by his team mate, it was Rinaldi with the fastest lap a 1:32.3, and was pulling away from Toprak behind, the gap now at 1.3s. Bautista then made his move on Toprak with a super move into turn 15, slicing under the Yamaha R1 to take 2nd. Bassani then got through on Rea into turn 1 to take 5th, Rea now in 6th.

    Just over half race distance, and positions were as follows: 1. Rinaldi 2. Bautista 3. Toprak 4. Vierge 5. Bassani 6. Rea 7. Locatelli 8. Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati)9. Lecuona (Honda HRC) 10. Gardner.

    With 8 laps to go, Rinaldi held a gap of 1.1s to Bautista. Bautista in turn held a gap of 1.2s to Toprak behind in 3rd.

    Next lap and Rea cut under Bassani into the penultimate corner to take back 5th. Then drama for the 6 times world champion a few corners later, as he lost the front end into the high speed turn 7, sliding out, and his race was over. Another disappointing race for Kawasaki, as Lowes was down in 14th and not looking comfortable.

    With only 5 laps remaining positions were as follows: 1. Rinaldi 2. Bautista 3. Toprak 4. Vierge 5. Locatelli 6. Bassani 7. Petrucci 8. Lecuona 9. Gardner 10. Redding.

    Last 3 laps and Bautista had now caught his team mate, looking like he had a lot more tyre grip than Rinaldi. Toprak was still in 3rd, but out of contact for the race win.

    Next lap and Bautista took Rinaldi into turn 10, and was looking good for the win.

    Last lap and Rinaldi had lost his race rhythm, he overshot turn 10 going wide and lost places. However his team mate would make no mistake, and crossed the line to make it 5 wins out of 6 races this season. Toprak 2nd, Vierge 3rd, Rinaldi 4th, Locatelli 5th, Petrucci 6th, Gardner 7th, Bassani 8th, Lecuona 9th, Redding 10th.

    WorldSBK Mandalika, Round 2, Race 2 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

    Result top 5:

    1. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
    2. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team)
    3. Vierge (Honda HRC)
    4. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
    5. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team)

    Championship top 3:

    1. Bautista – 112 pts
    2. Razgatlioglu – 75
    3. Locatelli – 70

  • Formula 3 2023 Round 1 Bahrain Round-Up

    Image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports The Formula 3 Season Kicked off in Bahrain this week for the first of 10 rounds.

    Qualifying
    Qualifying started  the first competitive session for the Formula  3 season of 2023. In a tough battle against each other, a shock result saw Mini take his first pole in his first ever Formula 3 qualifying session in the Hitech Pule-Eight car. Bortoleto qualified P2 in the Trident with Saucey qualifying P3.
    Sprint
    The first race of the Formula 3 season kicked off with Colapinto on the front row and the pole sitter Mini stall on the grid and go from P12 to P26. Colapinto managed to maintain P1 but then by lap 2, Villagmonez crashed into the wall which caused a safety car to be deployed. Collapinto managed to maintain the lead after the restart. Lap 7 saw the HiTech car of Luke Browning stop and cause a Virtual Safety Car to be released. O’Sullivan then went over the kerbs on the outside of 8. Lap 14 saw Pepe Marti close in on the leader Colapinto and he makes the lead on lap 14, turn 4. Marti took his first race win in Formula 3 with Colapinto finishing P2 and Collet finishing the podium positions.
    Feature
    The Feature Race saw Mini start on pole after he qualified there on Friday. Saucey and Mini were fighting on lap 3 and 4 before Mini finally gets the move done by lap 4. The car of Hugh Barter picked up a puncture on lap 5 caused after a slight piece of contact with an MP Motorsport and he had to go to the pits. Tommy Smith had a spin on lap 7 which saw the safety car deployed. By the time the safety car was brought back to the pits, O’Sullivan and Aron got into a bit of a scrap further on and Montoya was able to pick up the pieces in order to get up to p10. Within laps 15 and 16 saw Goether make his way up to P3 and Browning up to P6. Montoya began to close in on Aron by lap 18 and eventually get the Prema driver by lap 19. Smith collided with another driver on lap 21 which brought out a safety car and brought the race to an end.

    While Mini did cross the line first, he got a 5 second time penalty and dropped to P8. That  meant that Bortoleto took his first Formula 3 race victory in his first ever Formula 3 Feature Race. Goethe took P2 and Beganovic concluded the podium places.

    Formula 3 returns to our screens in 4 weeks time for the first ever weekend behind held in Australia.

  • Classic Sports Car Club Winter Warmup – Race 6 (Part 2)

    Classic Sports Car Club Winter Warmup – Race 6 (Part 2)

    Whilst Kevin Bird and David Harrison were putting on a great advertisement for German engineering in their Porsches, club newcomer and 20-year army veteran William Ashmore was determined to put his Ferrari F430 Challenge in with the Porsches. Also enjoying some close fighting with Dylan Popovic in his Ginetta G50 and David Griffin in his BMW M3 E90, both cars had already been seen in the day, and are regularly seen fighting each other at various CSCC events in the past. Further back was Harry Petch in the family Ginetta G50, who had an unfortunate moment upon exiting the holding area expecting too much from his cold tyres and ended up facing the wrong way. Petch was engaged in combat with the Andrew & Michael Jordan-prepared Porsche 996 GT3 Cup car of Simon Evans, along with Warren Tattersall in his 350HP Seat Leon Cupra TCR Turbo.

    Pitstops and driver changes concluded, Clarke had moved aside Mathew Evans to take over the Lamborghini, but so had Mustill given the Volvo to Dolby, who had set the lap charts alight with purple as not only did he obliterate the fastest lap of the race, he beat his own qualifying time that was already nearly four seconds faster then Clarke in the Lamborghini. With the Volvo being in the new “High Capacity” class, for cars that are expected to be considerably faster than the A1 class that the Lamborghini currently led, this meant that the Volvo had an additional 15 seconds in the pitlane to serve, but by the time that Evans had left the pitlane because Dolby was lapping 10 seconds faster than anyone else on track, the Lamborghini had no answer to Dolby, so much so that the Volvo passed Evans on the outside of Becketts.

    Bird and Harrison continued their Porsche battle for the last podium spot, now being joined by the Mark Smith & Arran Moulton-Smith shared BMW M3 Evo E36, a car that is 30 years old and still able to make the modern machinery work, and also adding to the advertisement of German automotive might. Another pitlane visit for Ashmore saw a flurry of activity around the Italian stallion, as the F430 had gone into limp mode, yet the cause wasn’t clear. Ashmore was sent back out but was soon back in the pits with the problem requiring more attention, causing the team to retire the army-built car.

    At the flag, Dolby would have victory by over 30 seconds over Evans in the Lamborghini, who was given an additional 30-second penalty for pitting outside of the pit window. The efforts of Clarke and Evans were not undone by the penalty, as they still had eight seconds in hand over Smith, who had not only caught the Porsche battle of Harrison and Bird but left them behind by over five seconds. In the end, it was Harrison that won the duel with Bird but only by a quarter of a second.

    The Slicks series was a great way to end a wonderful, if bitterly cold, days racing at the home of British motorsport, which marks the 20th year of racing for the club. Happy birthyear CSCC, we look forward to many more years of exciting club racing.

  • Classic Sports Car Club Winter Warmup – Race 6 (Part 1)

    Classic Sports Car Club Winter Warmup – Race 6 (Part 1)

    The final race of the day, the Liqui Moly Slicks Series, is the youngest category in the CSCC portfolio. A home for all saloon, hatchback, sports and GT cars of any age, the series was first introduced in 2020 (ironically the maiden voyage of the Slicks Series was at a wet Thruxton, so they had to run racing wets instead of slicks), and the series has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity in that time. Numerous names through the grid had already been seen in the day, but the lion’s share of attention was drawn to the front row. Starting in 2nd was the first time a Lamborghini had been seen in a CSCC grid, Mathew Evans sharing the Super Trofeo spec Huracan ST LP620-2 with hugely experienced Kevin Clarke. Whilst their efforts in qualifying were amazing, they were still beaten to the pole by nearly four seconds by, of all things, a Volvo. There isn’t much from Sweden on this car, as it houses a seven-litre powerhouse with owner Nigel Mustill sharing the duties with the amazing talent of stunt driver Craig Dolby.

    Of the 25 qualifiers, 22 took the start, and with the tyres requiring a lot of work to get into the ideal operating temperature, and the weather, whilst dry, being very cold (and the temperature was dropping by this point), the grid had two rolling laps to conduct, and to ensure that the proper curfew was adhered to, the racing clock started at the end of the first rolling lap. At the end of the first rolling lap saw the first retirement. Chris Everill brought the 6.2 litre Chevrolet powered Ginetta G55 into retirement with electrical issues causing the dashboard to turn into a light show of warnings and flashing lights, and soon afterwards, Dominic Malone was found stranded at the trackside for the second time, as the issues he had from the New Millennium race had reared their head once more, leaving the BMW E90 WTCC trackside once more.

    Clarke was quick to deploy his right foot in the Lamborghini to take the lead from Mustill, the almost angelic notes of the Italian Burro being drowned out by the earth-shattering roar of the Volvo behind. Kevin Bird, bearing the number 1 on his white Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, having formerly raced a BMW M3 GT4 E92 in the CSCC, was locked in an intense duel with fellow Porsche 911 GT3 Cup runner David Harrison for 3rd place early on. The pitlane was soon visited by Open Series winner David Harvey in the Lotus 340R, sounding extremely unhealthy with either a major misfire or an exhaust issue. Soon after the Lunar Lotus was in, Jasver Sapra was in the pits with his troubled BMW. Bryan Bransom had experienced difficulties with the new paddle shift system in the car in the New Millennium race earlier in the day, and now owner Sapra had to retire the car as 5th gear no longer wanted to work. Also found out in the Northamptonshire countryside was the Severs’ new toy, the Ginetta G50.