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[motorsport] Bubba Wallace tests Next Gen car after shoulder surgery
Wallace had successful right shoulder surgery immediately following the conclusion of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season and this week was his first time in a Next Gen car test during the offseason. His new teammate this year, Kurt Busch, has been doing all the offseason tests for 23XI Racing in Wallace’s absence. Wallace, 28, said he was apprehensive about getting in the car on Tuesday for ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Elliott spins twice, Gilliland contacts wall in Next Gen test
The Next Gen car is certainly no walk in the park. After two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch spun on Tuesday, 2020 series champion Chase Elliott spun twice on Wednesday. Elliott, a former winner at Phoenix, found trouble at the exit of Turn 4. Busch spun in the same area, and both drivers were able to avoid the outside wall. However, Todd Gilliland was not so lucky. The 2022 Cup ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Doug Yates talks Next Gen prep amid "fast-paced winter"
Amid an offseason full of testing and a completely new car, Ford Performance's Doug Yates and Mark Rusbrook took some time to discuss how preparations are going for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. This year brings with it countless unknowns for NASCAR's top level teams, who have been working tirelessly to make sure they are ready come Daytona in February. The aero package has been ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] NASCAR ready to "see what we've got" with Next Gen car
John Probst, NASCAR’s senior vice president of innovation and racing development, said the sanctioning body had only a couple items it wanted to “check off” at this week’s test at Phoenix. For the most part, NASCAR has left teams alone to work on set-ups to find speed and the right balance for their respective drivers – a far more “typical” test session. “So far, from the ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Hyundai to “double its efforts” after review of tough WRC opener
The 2019 and 2020 WRC manufacturers' champions faced a myriad of reliability issues during a particularly challenging start to the WRC’s new hybrid era, leaving the team firmly behind its rivals Toyota and M-Sport Ford. This week the team will sit down to address its problems with deputy team director Julien Moncet confirming its staff will now have to double its efforts to catch the ...Keep readingView the full article
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[autosport] Larson "surprised" by NASCAR Next Gen car similarity in Phoenix test
Larson, who clinched the 2021 Cup Series title with victory in the 2021 season finale at Phoenix, led the way in average lap speed (131.728 mph) on the first day of a scheduled two-day test at the track on Tuesday. The Next Gen car is a wholesale change from NASCAR cars of years past, but Larson found his first day testing not totally out of place ahead of its first race, the non-championship ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Breen: Sharing podium with Ogier and Loeb "a bit surreal"
The M-Sport driver produced a measured drive to third at last weekend’s WRC season opener to kick off his 2022 campaign with a tidy haul of points. Competing in his first event as a full-time WRC driver for the Ford squad, the Irishman delivered a clever drive across the four days, electing not to be drawn into full attack mode all the time to ensure he brought the new Puma home 1m39s behind ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Kyle Larson on NASCAR Next Gen car: "I'm ready to race it"
Larson, who won the 2021 season finale at Phoenix – and his first NASCAR Cup Series championship – not quite three months ago, led the way in average lap speed (131.728 mph) on Tuesday, the first day of a scheduled two-day test of the Next Gen car at the track. And while the Next Gen car is a wholesale change from NASCAR cars of years past, Larson found his first day testing not totally out ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Results: Larson tops the speed charts in Phoenix test
Phoenix, which will once again host the title-decider for all three national divisions this year, is a critical track to get right for teams this season as they become acclimated with the Next Gen car. During the first day of on-track session, the only incident involved Kyle Busch when he went spinning at the exit of Turn 4. The car was undamaged in the slide. Teams are running the ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Next Gen testing gets underway at Phoenix, Busch spins
Phoenix is a critical track on the NASCAR calendar, playing host to the season finale where the final four drivers in the playoffs battle it out for the championship. NASCAR will utilize a 670-horsepower package at all tracks with the exception of superspeedways and the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. Read Also: NASCAR confirms high horsepower/low downforce aero ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] WRC Monte Carlo: The Good, the Bad and the battle of the GOATs
Top Performer - Sebastien Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche After coming out on top in the battle of the WRC’s greatest of all-time, Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Isabelle Galmiche fully warrant the top performer status. At 47-years-old, even the nine-time champion questioned if he can still be competitive in brand new hybrid WRC machinery in his backyard, just days after contesting a gruelling ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] M-Sport to field fourth WRC Puma for Bertelli in Sweden
Rally Sweden organisers have released the entry list for the snow rally, to be held from 24-27 February, featuring 11 Rally1 cars including four Pumas. M-Sport ran four cars at least weekend’s Monte Carlo Rally with its fourth entry piloted by nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche winning the event. The British squad confirmed to Motorsport.com that it ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] NASCAR reveals stricter penalty system for 2022
NASCAR's updated penalty system includes much harsher consequences for violations, including the revoking of playoff eligibility. The updated L1 - L3 penalty structure comes just before the official introduction of the Next Gen car. Read Also: How some "old school NASCAR" got Next Gen back on track NASCAR: Next Gen ready "to put on a good show" at Daytona Steve ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] M-Sport keen to extend Loeb WRC deal after Monte success
Loeb and co-driver Isabelle Galmiche combined to pull off a sensational win over reigning champion Sebastien Ogier and new co-driver Benjamin Veillas, following a final stage decider on Sunday. The nine-time champion's WRC return came through a one-event deal with M-Sport Ford to pilot a fourth Puma at Monte Carlo, with Loeb admitting pre-event that it could potentially be his only outing for ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Petrucci opens up on pre-Dakar KTM "issues" as 2022 plans change
Having lost his Tech 3 KTM ride in MotoGP at the end of 2021, bringing to an end a 10-year stint in the premier class of grand prix racing that yielded two wins, Petrucci made a radical career shift to rallying and a maiden Dakar campaign with the Austrian manufacturer. Despite numerous injury woes and an early technical issue, Petrucci stunned when he took victory in the fifth stage of the ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Monte Carlo success a "dream start" to WRC's new era for M-Sport
The British squad scored its first WRC win since Rally GB in 2018 as Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Isabelle Galmiche managed to hold off Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier after an intense four-day battle. It also marked a successful debut for the new Ford Puma Rally1 the team has poured its limited resources into over the last 18 months amid several challenges for the operation and the effects of the ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Ogier: “Fate” decided Monte Carlo WRC battle for the ages with Loeb
The eight-time world champion appeared to be on course to claim a ninth Monte Carlo win before suffering a front left puncture on the penultimate stage, which turned a 24.6s lead over Sebastien Loeb into a 9.5s deficit. Ogier produced arguably the drive of the rally to take nine seconds out of Loeb on the final Power Stage, but incurred a 10s jump start penalty that dented hopes of denying Loeb ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] NASCAR Hall of Fame inducts Earnhardt, Stefanik and Farmer
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Sr. became the seventh father-son duo in the NASCAR Hall of Fame after Junior's induction on Friday night. Dale Sr. was part of the inaugural class in 2010. Earnhardt Jr., 47, was introduced by his wife Amy. “My eyes are already watering," he said as he accepted the honor. He then congratulated his fellow inductees and invited Farmer onto his podcast, the Dale ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Loeb: Monte Carlo WRC win over Ogier “one of my best memories”
The nine-time world champion came through an epic four-day head-to-head fight with eight-time champion Ogier to claim his 80th WRC win, arriving a decade after winning his last championship. Loeb, driving for M-Sport Ford in a one-event deal, was fast from the outset in the new Rally1 hybrid Puma, pushing Toyota’s Ogier hard. The 47-year-old took the lead on Friday after winning four of ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] WRC Monte Carlo: Loeb beats Ogier to win in epic battle
The two WRC legends waged a rally-long battle for victory with the lead changing hands across four brutal days of competition as the WRC ushered in its new Rally1 hybrid era. Ultimately the rally was decided in a final stage shootout, after Loeb was handed a 9.5s lead when Toyota’s Ogier suffered a front-left puncture on the penultimate test. Loeb and co-driver Isabelle Galmiche kept their ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] WRC Monte Carlo: Loeb reclaims lead as Ogier suffers puncture
The nine-time champion faced a 24.6s deficit heading into Stage 16 after Ogier extended his overnight 21.1s lead on Stage 15, but the M-Sport driver was handed a lifeline when drama struck his rival. Ogier picked up a front left puncture running through La Penne/Collongues 2, 19.37km stage that saw the eight-time world champion’s lead evaporate and hopes of a ninth Monte Carlo win severely ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Hyundai retires unwell Solberg at WRC Monte Carlo due to fume issue
The Swede, who started Sunday's action in 48th place overall, managed to complete the first stage of the final day before Hyundai confirmed it would retire the entry, with both driver and co-driver Elliott Edmondson unwell. Hyundai has been battling an exhaust fume issue on Solberg’s i20 N since Friday when he reported that the fumes were making him feel dizzy and suffer chest pains. The ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Tony Stewart to join FOX Sports booth for Daytona 500/Clash
During the San Francisco 49ers/Green Bay Packers NFL playoff game, FOX Sports announced the addition of Stewart to the broadcast booth next month. Stewart, 50, will join Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the booth for inaugural running of the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, as well as the 64th running of the Daytona 500. Stewart replaces Jeff Gordon, who left his position in the ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Evans “pretty frustrated” to lose WRC Monte Carlo podium shot to mistake
The Toyota driver was well placed to pocket valuable points, sitting in third behind teammate Sebastien Ogier and M-Sport’s Sebastien Loeb, both of whom will not be contesting a full season in the WRC. After winning the day’s first stage, Evans set a blistering pace through the infamous Sisteron stage before misjudging a right-hand corner on the dry asphalt. It resulted in his new GR Yaris ...Keep readingView the full article
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[motorsport] Tanak retires from Monte Carlo as Hyundai’s “tough” WRC Rally1 debut worsens
The Korean marque endured a day to forget as all three of its drivers struck trouble during Saturday’s five stages, leaving only two cars remaining to fight for the minor points paying positions. After starting the day in fifth, Tanak was forced to retire from the action following an eventful morning loop of stages where he suffered two punctures and a crash. The 2019 world champion ...Keep readingView the full article