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The Dakar is well underway and today is halfway through the 48h chrono stage, which is held over two day. After stopping engines at 4:00 PM local time, competitors stay at the bivouac closest to them, where they must complete all maintenance without any outside help.
What makes the rally so interesting is that, with the amount of competitors and length of the event, the stories are as numerous as the miles covered. We scratch the surface below, but hope you are tuning into MAVTV's broadcast coverage. They did throw a curve, pushing back the first of two daily airings from a scheduled noontime broadcast to 2:00 PM, but the 7:00 PM rebroadcast has remained constant.
Formula E kicks off their Season 10 in Mexico City on Saturday, January 13th. CBSSN delays the race broadcast a day. We preview the new season below.
We are also on the cusp of a new Sports Car season, with IMSA staging their longest race of the year in two weeks. Teams and competitors are flocking to Florida from all over the world for the action, which begins January 19th - 21st with the annual Roar Before The Rolex 24, followed on January 25th - 28th by the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
We appreciate your readership and patronage of our valued sponsors. For more on your favorite series, visit the home page of SARNIMOTORSPORTS.
Jay Geils Memorial TV Links:
Thursday, January 11th: Dakar - 7:00 PM ET/PT MAVTV
Friday, January 12th: Dakar - 2:00 PM ET/PT - 7:00 PM ET/PT MAVTV
Sunday, January 14th: Dakar - 2:00 PM ET/PT - 7:00 PM ET/PT MAVTV
Formula E - Mexico City (1/13) 10:00 PM ET CBSSN
Monday, January 15th: Dakar 2:00 PM ET/PT - 7:00 PM ET/PT MAVTV
Tuesday, January 16th: Dakar 2:00 PM ET/PT - 7:00 PM ET/PT MAVTV
Wednesday, January 17th: Dakar 2:00 PM ET/PT - 7:00 PM ET/PT MAVTV
Thursday, January 18th: Dakar 2:00 PM ET/PT - 7:00 PM ET/PT MAVTV
Friday, January 19th: Dakar 2:00 PM ET/PT - 7:00 PM ET/PT MAVTV
ENJOY YOUR RACE WEEKEND!
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DAKAR - Today the Dakar rally entered the unknown; the 48 hour chrono, where all riders had to shut off their engines at 4:00 PM local time, stop racing and sleep at the bivouac nearest to their position. To that point the car category was led by Team Audi Sport's Carlos Sainz, who yesterday maneuvered himself into the right place to get away in good position and put in one of his customary performances on the Dakar. As the 17th car to start the day, the Spaniard was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of a driving style that has remained intact since his days as world rally champion, and which has been adapted to the dunes by almost twenty years' experience on the Dakar, dating back to 2006.
“El Matador”, a three-time winner of the race, gained a lead of 4’31’’ over his teammate Mattias Ekström and 5’19’’ over Sébastien Loeb, which opens the door for him to a 43rd stage win on the Dakar and also the possibility of reaching the rest day at the front of the race.
Sainz is the general rankings leader, achieved among the rocks; and a starting position, which worked well for the big challenge of the 48 hour Chrono stage. Indeed, it was not in the dunes where fate struck the hopes of Yazeed Al Rajhi, but in between two portions separated by a large clump of camel grass or a simple bump in the terrain turned the tracks into a take-off strip for his car, which barrel-rolled, putting it immediately out of service.
The Saudi was taken back to the start of the special and has no guarantee of being able to battle for more stages or help his Overdrive team colleagues from stage seven onwards, because his badly damaged vehicle will have to comply with the technical and safety rules before being reintegrated into the race after the rest day.
American Seth Quintero debuted with Toyota, but had some bad luck when he damaged his Hilux and had to be towed back to the bivouac. The team did get his Toyota repaired in the early morning hours and was able to rejoin the rally, but with a 20 hour time penalty.
The Californian, and his German co-driver, did not complete Stage 4, and incurred penalties for the waypoints they missed. They were also penalized by twenty hours for changing the engine in their GR Hilux EVO, following the problems of the previous stage. The second penalty was applied during Stage 5, which dropped them down the order in the stage results. However, their time was just 2min 52sec behind the stage winners, which would have put them in fifth place on the day. He will use the rest of the rally to gain valuable experience.
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American Seth Quintero's Debut in a Toyota Hilux | |
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Seth Quintero after Stage 5: "Actually, this stage wasn't too bad. I mean, it was only 118 kilometers or so. So, it was a short one, but it took us a while to get through here. That sand is super soft coming from the back all broken up, but all in all, had a great day. I mean, considering the mechanics finished up the car at four or five this morning, I took off at seven. It's an impressive feat to bring it back here and be pretty close to the top guys again. But yeah, I'm stoked for tomorrow, 48 hours long. I don't really know what to expect out of it. We got a great starting position and we'll see what happens."
American Ricky Brabec is in great position in the Bike Class. The factory Honda rider, who won Dakar in 2020, has put himself is prime position. The same can not be said of Skyler Howes, who had electrical gremlins on his Honda and the the bike had to be airlifted to the bivouac.
Pablo Quintanilla, who ran out of fuel ten kilometers before the first refueling point, paid a hefty price for his negligence and, after 424 km, has dropped down the rankings by more than 1 hour and 40 minutes. Several of his teammates on the Honda team, for whom he will now be able to act as a water (or petrol!) carrier, were wiser as well as more efficient and can still race for the win when they reach Yanbu, notably Ricky Brabec who is now the virtual leader of the general rankings with an advantage of 2’48’’ over Ross Branch. However, the same can be said for Nacho Cornejo and Adrien Van Beveren, the day’s quickest rider up to point F, located after 537 kilometers, where ten bikers will be spending the night tonight.
Competitors continue the 48h chrono tomorrow in the Empty Quarter, when Stage 6 continues.
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MOTOGP - Grand Prix motorcycle roadracing celebrates 75 years since the first FIM sanctioned race; the 350cc race on the Isle of Man June 13th of 1949. The anniversary of the first premier class race was on the 17th of June 1949.
At the last race of 2023 in Valencia, the logo for the 75th anniversary was revealed that will be used as the FIM, IRTA and Dorna celebrate throughout the 2024 season.
To commemorate the occasion, MotoGP has rolled out a dedicated website that is full of historical information covering the races, the champions and manufacturers that have made the category the most exciting and competitive formula in Motorsport.
So as we get ready for the test ban to lift and engines to roar back into life for the new season, take a look at what has preceded the 2024 MotoGP World Championship. Check out MOTOGP75.
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In 2023 MotoGP celebrated GP1000 at Le Mans, so by the start of 2024, there have been 1015 Grands Prix staged since the start of the World Championship in 1949, comprising 3371 races for solo classes.
There have been 126 riders who become World Champions – many more than once. The rider with most world titles is Giacomo Agostini with 15, followed by Angel Nieto (12 + 1), Mike Hailwood (9), Valentino Rossi (9) and Carlo Ubbiali (9). Another name could add theirs in 2024: Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) who has eight Championships on the way in to 2024.
A total of 399 riders have won Grands Prix in solo classes – so reaching 400 in 2024 seems not only plausible or possible, but likely. The most recent maiden GP winner is Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) after his Moto3 victory at Sepang.
Honda is the most successful manufacturer in Grand Prix racing (solo classes) with 821 wins followed by Yamaha (520), Aprilia (297), MV Agusta (275) and Kalex (176).
Riders from 30 different nations have won solo Grand Prix races. Italy has the most wins, 888, followed by Spain on 722. There have also been 30 countries that have staged Grands Prix. The most recent country to debut on the calendar is India, with Buddh International Circuit welcoming MotoGP for the first time in 2023. In 2024 Kazakhstan is set to become country 31.
Italy will be the hub of bike reveals in the next two weeks. In particular, the center will be in Riccione, Italy. The presentation of the Gresini team (MotoGP, Moto2 and MotoE) will take place on January 20th in Riccione. You can watch on the team's YouTube channel at 12:30 PM Eastern at GRESINI.
Four days later, also in Riccione, Italy, the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team will officially kick off the 2024 MotoGP season, the Team's eleventh in the World Championship on January 24th. A new partnership between the Indonesian lubricants company and the Tavullia Team will be initiated on the stage of the Palariccione - Palazzo dei Congressi. The unveiling will be streamed at 9:00 AM ET, live on the team's YouTube channel at VR46.
It's the time of the year for Ducati to hit the slopes. The second edition of 'Campioni in Pista-Ducati' returns to Madonna di Campiglio with the Ducati MotoGP, Superbike and Motocross 2024 teams. They will hold court in the Dolomites on Monday. January 22nd. Italians are still celebrating and it will continue at 4:00 PM at the free event on the Piazza Sissi,with the presentation of the official Ducati MotoGP and Superbike teams accompanied by music and entertainment.
Three weeks from today bikes will be back in action getting ready for the 2024 season. The Sepang Shakedown is February 1st - 3rd. Three days later the MotoGP Official Test at Sepang runs from February 6th - 8th. The Qatar Official Test is February 19th and 20th. Round 1 of 2024 is the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar on March 10th.
Round 4 is at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on the second weekend of April. Tickets for the event are on sale at COTA and once again Ducati will have special packages available for Ducati riders at Ducati Island.
Ducati riders can enjoy:
- 3-Day Grandstand Ticket in the Main Grandstand or Turn 1
- Exclusive Ducati-Only Parking at Ducati Island
- Access to Ducati Caffè Hospitality unit
- “Taste of Italy” small plate appetizer of authentic Italian antipasti
- Rider Q & A (Subject to availability)
- Ducati Welcome Gift
- Exclusive Ducati-Only Parade Lap
- Complimentary Gear Check
Buy tickets for DUCATI ISLAND
New for 2024 is the Ducati Loft Suite
Ducati Loft Suite Package Details:
- Exclusive Ducati Loft Suite Access (Located in MotoGP Paddock)
- Balcony Seating Overlooking the Pit Lane and Start/Finish Straight
- Premium Dining and Refreshments
- 3-Day Paddock Access
- Rider Q & A (Subject to availability)
- Exclusive Ducati Gift
The Ducati Loft Suite Package does not grant access to Ducati Island. Ducati Island tickets are sold separately through Circuit of the Americas.
Buy tickets for DUCATI LOFT $UITE
Check out the 2024 MOTOGP CALENDAR and the 2024 FIM MOTOGP ENTRIES.
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WORLDSBK - The question in 2024 is; who will unseat Alvaro Bautista, as he endeavors to win three consecutive WorldSBK Championships? As in MotoGP, the Mediterranean Boot is kicking ass. These are heady times for Ducati and as we have seen in almost all categories, once a manufacturer has asserted their dominance, a dynasty ensues.
But nothing lasts forever and it is the transitional years that make for great racing. Dethroning Jonathan Rea was no easy feat, as he and Kawasaki stomped to six consecutive World titles. But Rea has now turned in the lime green Kawasaki leathers for Yamaha blue. It is indeed a big transition for the Ulsterman.
Also on a new machine is Toprak Razgatlioglu, who unseated Rea by winning the WorldSBK World Championship in 2021. The Turk will now be riding for BMW in 2024. Can either of those past champions adjust to new machines and new teams, while the two-time title winner is as comfortable as can be on the Ducati Panigale V4R.
But, odds are not necessarily in Bautista's favor. Probability decreases with each ensuing campaign to stay on top. No Ducati rider has ever won three World Championships in consecutive years. In fact, the last time they won three titles in a row was in 1994, 1995 and 1996 but that was with two riders: Carl Fogarty and Troy Corser.
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The 2024 Questiion: Who Will Beat Alvaro Bautista? | |
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2024 Provisional Permanent Entry List
Number Rider Nationality Motorcycle Team
No. 1 Alvaro Bautista ESP Ducati Panigale V4R Aruba Racing - Ducati
No. 11 Nicolo Bulega ITA Ducati Panigale V4R Aruba Racing - Ducati
No. 55 Andrea Locatelli ITA Yamaha YZF R1 PATA PROMETEON YAMAHA
No. 65 Jonathan Rea GBR Yamaha YZF R1 PATA PROMETEON YAMAHA
No. 22 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki ZX-10RR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
No. 47 Axel Bassani ITA Kawasaki ZX-10RR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
No. 77 Dominique Aegerter SUI Yamaha YZF R1 GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
No. 87 Remy Gardner AUS Yamaha YZF R1 GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
No. 7 Iker Lecuona ESP Honda CBR1000 RR-R Team HRC
No. 97 Xavi Vierge ESP Honda CBR1000 RR-R Team HRC
No. 21 Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Ducati Panigale V4R Team Motocorsa Racing
No. 9 Danilo Petrucci ITA Ducati Panigale V4R BARNI Spark Racing Team
No. 31 Garrett Gerloff USA BMW M 1000 RR Bonovo Action BMW
No. 45 Scott Redding GBR BMW M 1000 RR Bonovo Action BMW
No. 54 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR BMW M 1000 RR ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
No. 60 Michael van der Mark NED BMW M 1000 RR ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
No. 29 Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Panigale V4R TEAM GO ELEVEN
No. 5 Philipp Oettl GER Yamaha YZF R1 GMT94 Yamaha
No. 28 Bradley Ray GBR Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team
No. 27 Adam Norrodin MAS Honda CBR1000 RR-R PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda
No. 95 Tarran Mackenzie GBR Honda CBR1000 RR-R PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda
No. 53 Tito Rabat ESP Kawasaki ZX-10RR Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
No. 14 Sam Lowes GBR Ducati Panigale V4R ELF Marc VDS Racing Team
WORLDSBK 2024 CALENDAR:
23rd – 25th February: Phillip Island, Australia
22nd – 24th March: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
19th – 21st April: TT Circuit Assen, the Netherlands
14th – 16th June: Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, Italy
12th – 14th July: Donington Park, United Kingdom
19th – 21st July: Autodrom Most, Czech Republic
9th – 11st August: Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal
23rd – 25th August: Balaton Park Circuit, Hungary*
6th – 8th September: Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France
20th – 22nd September: Cremona Circuit, Italy*
27th – 29th September: MotorLand Aragon, Spain
11th – 13th October: Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto
*subject to homologation
MOTOAMERICA - MotoAmerica has announced further expansion of their feeder series. Mission Mini Cup By Motul qualifiers will see Northern Nevada Kart Club (NNKC) host four series qualifiers at racetracks in Nevada and Northern California.
The qualifiers will feature all of the Mission Mini Cup By Motul classes – GP160, GP190, Street GP, Stock 50, Stock 110 and Stock 125 – with young racers earning points to qualify for the Mission Mini Cup By Motul National Final at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 9th - 11th.
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MotoAmerica Continues Providing Opportunities | |
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NNKC will hold qualifiers at Desert Park Raceway in Reno, Nevada (April 27th - 28th), Little 99 in Stockton, California (May 25th - 26th), Shasta Kart Track in Redding, California (June 29th - 30th) and Kinsmen Kart Track in Dixon, California (July 20th - 21st).
“NNKC Minimoto is delighted to include the MotoAmerica Mini Cup in our 2024 Sierra Nevada Moto Championship season,” said NNKC President Jeremy Callendar. “This will be our fourth season of operation, and we are excited to have MotoAmerica trust us with their newest generations of racers. We are working alongside three additional tracks and will be supporting the full list of Mission Mini Cup By Motul classes: GP160, GP190, Street GP, Stock 50, Stock 110 and Stock 125.”
The MotoAmerica season begins with the 82nd running of the historic Daytona 200, a non-points-paying Supersport race that will take place at Daytona International Speedway, March 7th - 9th.
2024 MOTOAMERICA CALENDAR
Follow the link to make a donation to the ROADRACING WORLD ACTION FUND.
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SUN SPECIALTIES - Sun Specialties is the official promotional products supplier of Sarni Motorsports. Sun Specialties has over 35 years of experience, providing quality and service on wearables and all imprinted products. Whether you are looking for Team Gear, Corporate Awards, or Specialty Advertising Products, we want to share our longstanding relationship with this great company with you. We encourage you to take advantage of special savings.
Sun Specialties is offering a 10% discount to Sarni Motorsports Update readers.
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FORMULA 1 - On Wednesday, January 10th it was announced that Guenther Steiner has left his role as Team Principal of Haas F1 Team, with Director of Engineering Ayao Komatsu stepping up to replace him.
After discussions between Steiner and owner Gene Haas, it was decided that Steiner would leave the organization with immediate effect.
His replacement Komatsu, 47, has worked with Haas since they debuted in F1 in 2016, starting as Chief Race Engineer and rising to Director of Engineering.
Steiner has led the team since the American squad entered F1 in 2016. The Italian was F1’s third longest-serving team principal, behind Red Bull’s Christian Horner and Mercedes’ Toto Wolff.
Ayao Komatsu: “I’m naturally very excited to have the opportunity to be Team Principal at Haas. Having been with the team since its track-debut back in 2016 I’m obviously passionately invested in its success in Formula 1. I’m looking forward to leading our program and the various competitive operations internally to ensure we can build a structure that produces improved on-track performances.
“We are a results-based business at the end of the day, and we obviously haven’t been competitive enough recently which has been a source of frustration.
“We have amazing support from Gene and our various partners – particularly MoneyGram, and we want to mirror their enthusiasm with an improved on-track product. We have a great team of people across Kannapolis, Banbury and Maranello and together I know we can reach the kind of performances we’re capable of.”
On Monday, January 8th Mercedes-Benz announced that they will continue to power Williams Racing until at least 2030. Williams becomes the brand's second customer team confirmed for the next generation of power unit regulations that will be introduced in 2026.
Mercedes-AMG has powered the Grove-based outfit since 2014 and the start of the 1.6-liter V6 hybrid era. 2023 therefore marked the 10th season of partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Williams, and this relationship will span close to two decades by the 2030 season.
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Mercedes Dolling Out The Power | |
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Development of the new power unit has been underway since mid-2022 at Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth. A healthy portfolio of strong customer teams will enable faster learning once these power units take to the track in 2026.
Toto Wolff: "We are delighted to confirm Williams Racing as the second customer team that we will supply for the 2026 power unit regulations. Today's news highlights the strength of the Mercedes-Benz offering in F1 and importantly not only validates, but reinforces, our overall Motorsport strategy. Since 2014, we have continued to build and develop our relationship with Williams. As the team continues to put the foundations in place to challenge at the front of the grid, we look forward to supporting them with our power unit supply."
In forty days, Formula 1 will be in action, from February 21st - 23rd for the pre-season test in Bahrain.
2024 F1 CALENDAR
INDYCAR - For the past two days the NTT INDYCAR SERIES has been hosting its annual Content Days, with all full-time drivers present.
We picked up on the interview with driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet Pato O'Ward, who in 2024 is beginning his seventh year in the NTT INDYCAR Series. He talked about balancing time off with the challenges that his talent has afforded him and the demands of advancing his career.
Pato O'Ward: "I mean, I guess we can call them like balancing moments. Those are very much needed, because it's such an intense season. And as soon as I finished, I went to a very intense program with Formula 1, and I didn't finish really until -- December 6th was kind of like my first day off. By then -- definitely not complaining -- but by then everybody else probably had, what, three months off. Coupled with that, we had a lot of hybrid testing, and it was just a very busy, season.
"I wanted two weeks off. I just needed 10 to 14 days of just really relaxed and just calm down the pace of just life in general a bit. Just tried to behave, not chasing tail, focus.
"I feel good. I feel really good, physically, mentally. I'm excited for the challenges ahead because I know it's not going to be an easy year, just like it never will be.
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Pato O'Ward Is An INDYCAR Star
O'Ward then touched on the subject of growth, in Motorsports and beyond and of speaking his mind to enact change around him.
Pato O'Ward: "I'm going to go with not just I think in sports route but in just growth in general. I'm only 24 years old, so I know there's a lot more people that have a lot more experience than I do. But from my years of life so far, when you see things grow -- it could be a person, it could be a company, a business, a group of people. But when you're just speaking of growth, change will usually kind of rattle people's floor. Like it'll kind of move things around. Some people will like it, some people won't like it. But when you don't evolve and when you don't change, you sure as hell will not grow. The only way to doing that is to change things up.
"The way that things grow nowadays is completely different to what it was 30 years ago. Keep in mind, I wasn't alive 30 years ago, but I have heard a lot from my grandparents, my parents. I have seen what just 10 years has done and has shifted in the markets of a lot of products and a lot of different things.
"I think having a good product, yes, like that is important. But ultimately what you need is you want people to be present. You want people to be a part of something that's just not race cars going around. I think we as a series are a perfect example of that because the racing is unbelievable. The racing is so good.
"But there is something missing that we have yet quite to crack. And I think there's a lot of examples that are going around in Motorsports that have shown growth. It's basically not a plug and play because every series is different, but you see how other series grow. I think the most simple way would be like really see what is working for them; what is causing that to happen.
"I've always been from the mentality -- everything I do, I always go 100 percent. I never do things halfway. Maybe that's a bit aggressive to obviously a series or whatever. But we have the potential to be like two or three Xing, not growing 5 or 10 percent a year. We're selling ourselves short by just wanting to grow incrementally like that.
"Like I think we really have the potential to see like massive gains, but just like in a lot of things, you just obviously have to fuel it if you want to see some of that double, triple, quadruple. I know I'm just a voice. Some people agree with me, some people don't agree with me. I believe at Arrow McLaren as a group, we are on the boat of definitely turbo charging it a bit and just getting it a bit more -- taking more of an aggressive approach, which has been proven to work.
"I don't know. I try and do my best to help and to bring new audiences and new people to the series, because I feel like once people see and watch it, they're going to want to stick around. The problem is you need to get it in front of as many eyes as you can."
The 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opens Sunday, March 10th on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. The season concludes at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville on September 15th. Check out the 2024 schedule for INDYCAR.
FORMULA E - Formula E returns this weekend with the first race of Season 10 in Mexico City, renewing the rivalries and racing action from last season, when the title was decided on the final weekend.
Ultimately it was Andretti’s Jake Dennis who triumphed in London in July to win his first world title. But changes in the off-season mean his two closest rivals of the last campaign – Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans – are now a formidable Jaguar TCS Racing team partnership following Cassidy’s move from Envision Racing.
With former Formula E world champion Nyck de Vries returning to the series from Formula 1 with Mahindra Racing, and eight of 11 teams making driver changes, this Saturday’s 2024 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix promises another competitive race.
Some 40,000 spectators will pack the grandstands at the Foro Sol in what is Formula E's eighth visit to the historic Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with the circuit a favorite of fans and drivers alike and one of the highlights of the season.
This weekend Formula E returns to the 19-turn, 2.630km circuit, which features long, fast straights and a technical infield section that passes right through the Foro Sol stadium, housing tens of thousands of fans.
There's a new chicane this year on the back straight, while the ATTACK MODE activation zone is now on the outside of Turn 15 at the exit of the stadium section - more of a challenge this time around.
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Dennis Begins Defense of His Formula E Title Saturday in Mexico City | |
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It's all-change ahead of the first race in Mexico City. Only three of 11 teams keep the same pairings from Season 9: TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team with Pascal Wehrlein and Season 6 champion António Félix da Costa; DS PENSKE with Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Éric Vergne (three Formula E titles between them); and ERT Formula E Team, formally NIO 333 Racing, with Dan Ticktum and Sergio Setté Câmara returning.
Nick Cassidy looks to have settled in well at Jaguar TCS Racing, setting the second-quickest time at the Valencia test behind new teammate Mitch Evans.
Robin Frijns, Cassidy's replacement at Envision Racing, and a double race-winner in Formula E, wound up seventh and will line up alongside Sébastien Buemi.
One of the biggest talking points heading into Mexico City is the return of Nyck de Vries. The Season 8 champ departed the all-electric championship for a spell in Formula 1 but is now making a return to the series he called home for so long.
Since his time in Formula E, a lot has changed, including a whole new generation of car. He will have it all to do alongside Edoardo Mortara, who moves from Maserati MSG Racing to the Anglo-Indian team which struggled to adapt to GEN3 in Season 9. Mortara did steer to a promising sixth in testing, though.
Maserati will once again field Maximilian Günther with optimism abound after the team turned their form around in the second half of Season 9 at the hands of Günther who won in Jakarta and took to the podium in Rome. Indian rookie Jehan Daruvala steps into the fold as Günther's teammate.
Norman Nato managed to set a quicker time than Season 9 champion Jake Dennis at the Valencia test in his first outing with Andretti Formula E, with Oliver Rowland also looking rapid for his return to Nissan Formula E Team, alongside Sacha Fenestraz.
Sam Bird’s time at NEOM McLaren Formula E Team is another story which will be followed closely, with the Brit ending pre-season testing 14th. He joins fellow Brit Jake Hughes, who impressed with two poles in his debut campaign.
Lucas di Grassi made an emotional return to the team with which he won the Season 3 title; the Brazilian joining up with Nico Müller at ABT CUPRA Formula E Team. Di Grassi is Formula E's most successful driver on Mexican soil.
Jake Dennis: “We've still got an incredibly strong powertrain. I don't think there's too much development that can happen coming into this season. There's always tweaks here and there, but it's more probably fine tuning.
“I would expect the likes of DS will definitely close the gap to us. It's also still going to be difficult to beat Jaguar TCS Racing and the other Porsche team. Just trying to do what we did last year is going to be extremely difficult with that many podiums and wins. It's never easy when the competition closes up."
The 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship begins in Mexico City on Saturday, January 13th. CBS Sport Network carries the race one day later on Sunday night at 10:00 PM Eastern. If you want tosee live Formula E is 2024 in the USA, get on the stream train. The series signed a deal with ROKU. Money, money, money, money. Money! Cue the O'JAYS.
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Alboreto: Gasoline in the Veins - The story about the man who grew up to realize his childhood dream of driving a Formula 1 car for Enzo Ferrari is now available once more in the United States.
Alboreto: Gasoline in the Veins is written by Michele Alboreto's brother Ermanno and details his early years and rise through the racing ranks.
It also tells about his character outside the car and that is the contribution that we are most proud to be associated with. It began with an interview during Michele's Indy car career and a request to use it in his life story. We also contributed interviews with his teammates and racing legends like Giacomo Agostini.
Listen to that interview HERE.
For ordering information, simply reply to this update for details. There are a limited number of copies here in America, you will save international shipping prices by getting your copy right here.
There is also a Facebook page for the book HERE.
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FIA WEC - Former Porsche racing driver and Operations Manager of the Weissach Development Center, Herbert Linge died on Friday, January 5th. He was 95. Linge played an instrumental role in setting up Porsche’s proving ground, while through his work with Motorsport’s governing body he was responsible for the introduction of life-saving measures at racing tracks around the world.
Linge is an integral part of Porsche's history. He was one of the company's very first apprentices and in the late 1950s was the man who suggested to Ferry Porsche that a site near his hometown of Weissach and the neighboring settlement of Flacht be used for testing and development.
Herbert Linge received his first Porsche ID card on April 7, 1943 at the age of 14. Six years later, he was the first mechanic employed by Porsche after it moved from Gmünd to Stuttgart. Until his death, Linge was one of the few remaining people to have known Ferdinand Porsche personally. He was involved in the development of the first Porsche 356 built in Stuttgart.
The company’s early sports cars were not delivered until Linge had test-driven them. From 1952 onward, he traveled regularly to the US to set up a nationwide after sales network. As many employees were encouraged to make the most of their various skills in the early years of the sports car manufacturer, Linge was able to prove himself as a development driver. He was valued by racing drivers and colleagues as a gifted mechanic and analyst as well as showing a talent for racing himself. His co-drivers would rave about the precision with which he drove sports cars.
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Herbert Linge was awarded the Mexican Order of Merit for three consecutive class victories as a co-driving mechanic in the Carrera Panamericana from 1952 to 1954. Seated alongside Hans Herrmann, the pair secured a class victory in a 550 Spyder at the Mille Miglia in 1954 – a race that would become the stuff of legend after the duo were forced to duck down to pass under the closing barrier of a railway crossing.
Linge went on to celebrate further class wins not only at the Mille Miglia, but also at the Targa Florio. He finished as the overall winner of the 1954 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, the 1960 Tour de Corse and the 1967 Marathon de la Route at the Nürburgring. He started 11 times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with eight rankings and several class wins. In 1965, together with Peter Nöcker, he won the Index of Performance award at Le Mans for the most economical ratio of fuel consumption to engine capacity. That same year, Linge and the then future Porsche racing director Peter Falk finished fifth in the Monte Carlo Rally – the first major Motorsport success for the early 911.
In 1970, he took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 908 that had been converted into a camera car for filming, and he afterwards doubled for Steve McQueen in the racing scenes for the ‘Le Mans’ film. “Porsche and McQueen had an extremely good relationship. Our racing director at the time was fully behind the film and we supported McQueen wherever we could,” Linge once recalled.
“Steve couldn't take part in the real race himself for insurance reasons and didn't have a car that complied with the official regulations. But he wanted the real pictures for his film – and I got them for him with the 908.”
Round 1 of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season takes place in Doha, Qatar on March 2nd. The FIA and IMSA no longer have a shared weekend on the schedule. The FIA will once again return to Austin's Circuit of The Americas for their US Round. Lone Star Le Mans will be Round 6 of the FIA World Endurance Championship and will take place on Labor Day Weekend. Get tickets for the September 1st race at COTA.
2024 WEC CALENDAR.
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IMSA WTSC - The 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season begins next weekend with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 three-day test session at Daytona International Speedway from January 10th - 21st. The weekend includes qualifying to set the starting grid for the 62nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 27th - 28th.
The WeatherTech Championship qualifying session for all four classes concludes the weekend’s on-track activities. Acura is riding a three-year overall win streak into this year’s Rolex 24. Wayne Taylor Racing delivered the victory in 2021 with the Acura ARX-05 in the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class. Meyer Shank Racing followed it with the DPi triumph in an ARX-05 in 2022 before the team repeated the overall victory in the first race for the Acura ARX-06 last year in the debut of the modern GTP class. Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti fields both Acura entries in 2024 but will face stiff competition from BMW, Cadillac and Porsche.
Tom Blomqvist will go for his third straight overall win at the Rolex 24 this year, which would tie him with Helio Castroneves for the record. Blomqvist won in 2022 and ’23 in a Meyer Shank Racing Acura but has joined the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R team for the endurance races this season. Castroneves was also part of the Meyer Shank winners in ’22 and ’23, with the first of his three straight overall wins coming with Wayne Taylor Racing in 2021.
The driver lineup for BMW M Team RLL’s start to the second GTP season of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2024 was confirmed on Wednesday, January 10th. Like last season, Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly are the regular pairing in the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8. Jesse Krohn joins Philipp Eng in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8.
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BMW M Team RLL Confirms GTP Lineup | |
Jesse Krohn: “I’ve never waited for any season as much as I have for the 2024 one. This is truly a special opportunity for me and I can’t be more grateful to BMW M Motorsport for putting their trust in me. This is basically what I’ve worked my whole life for, driving at the pinnacle of sports car racing in the top class, being the fastest car out on track. I think it’s also good that I have the IMSA experience from the past from the GT cars because I can put myself on both sides and know what to expect from the GT drivers as we pass them in traffic. There is a lot I can bring in from the past and going back to racing with BMW M Team RLL is super fun. I always enjoyed racing in the US and everybody at BMW M Team RLL is like my second family there so it’s really exciting to go back there and team up with Philipp for the full IMSA season. I can’t wait to get started; it’s going to be an awesome season.”
The WeatherTech Championship no longer includes the LMP3 class, allowing additional entries in the remaining four classes at the Rolex 24 and throughout the season. The entry list includes a total of 59 cars following the withdrawal earlier this week of the previously named No. 91 Kellymoss with Riley entry.
Twenty-four cars, 22 teams and 11 manufacturers are set to compete in the GTD class, which is the largest of the series’ four classes. There are some new or new-ish GTD teams to keep an eye on as well. AWA was successful last season in the LMP3 class and now embarks as a customer team for the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, running a pair of cars.
Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti partnered with Racers Edge Motorsports to run six GTD races in 2023, but that was with an Acura NSX GT3. Marcelli and Danny Formal return for a full-season go in the No. 45 WTRAndretti Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 this year.
The “other” Andretti team, a separately operated Andretti Motorsports outfit operated by Jarett Andretti, competed part time in GTD in 2023 with a different manufacturer, while also running a full LMP3 schedule. Jarett Andretti has moved the operation full time to a Porsche 911 GT3 R in GTD with co-driver Gabby Chaves.
The 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season kicks off on January 19th - 21st with the annual Roar Before The Rolex 24, followed on January 25th - 28th by the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Get tickets for the ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA.
2024 IMSA WTSC SCHEDULE.
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