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Almirola, 37, will complete the 2022 season driving the No. 10 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing with longtime sponsor Smithfield Foods and then step away following the No. 6 season finale at Phoenix. “I truly enjoy driving race cars and I’m excited to race my heart out in 2022 for Smithfield and Stewart-Haas Racing,” Almirola said. “But to be the best in this business, you’ve got to be ...Keep readingView the full article

The three-time Dakar winner lost almost eight minutes to nearest rival Sebastian Loeb in the overall classification by the end of the 395km Stage 8 between Dawadimi and Wadi Ad Dawasir, having completed the majority of the stage with only front-wheel drive with his Toyota while he also suffered a puncture early into the test. The Qatari driver, who finished Stage 8 in 11th place, explained ...Keep readingView the full article

Two-time DTM champion Ekstrom and teammate Stephane Peterhansel traded the top spot for most of the 395km Stage 8 between Al Dawadimi and Wadi Ad Dawasir, with only Sebastien Loeb able to prevent the contest from turning into an all-Audi affair. Peterhansel appeared on course for a 49th career stage win in the cars category after Ekstrom dropped nearly three minutes off the lead on Waypoint 8 ...Keep readingView the full article

Sunderland, who led almost all of the first week of the Saudi Arabian event, had lost the advantage as the rally resumed after rest day on Sunday, as he lost almost 26 minutes to the leaders on what he described as a "casino" stage in terms of navigation. However, the Briton struck back on Monday's 395km Al Dawadimi-Wadi Ad Dawasir test, leading at every single waypoint to win the stage by two ...Keep readingView the full article

The Korean marque has unveiled its challenger to tackle the WRC’s new hybrid era, featuring a tweaked version of its blue and orange factory livery. The i20 N Rally1 will be piloted by Thierry Neuville and 2019 WRC champion Ott Tanak across the full 13-round championship, while new signing Oliver Solberg will share the third entry with the experienced Dani Sordo during the season. Solberg ...Keep readingView the full article

Gracie, a two-time Bathurst 1000 starter, is contemplating the move to the U.S. having found fame in the adult entertainment industry on the popular OnlyFans platform, after deciding to end her domestic racing career after the 2017 season. She spoke to Motorsport.com from Las Vegas while on a fact-finding mission to make a new base in America. “I’ve been here for five or six days but I had ...Keep readingView the full article

Having dropped to third in the general classification after two navigational errors on Friday, Loeb re-established himself as Al-Attiyah’s closest competitor with a commanding stage victory as the rally resumed with a 402km test from Riyadh to Al Dawadimi. The Prodrive/Bahrain team driver locked horns with Audi’s Carlos Sainz at the beginning of the stage, trailing his former WRC teammate ...Keep readingView the full article

GasGas rider Sunderland initially took the lead of the Saudi Arabian event on Stage 2, and maintained a slim advantage of two minutes, 39 seconds at the head of the table into Saturday's rest day. However, the Briton's hopes of adding a second Dakar victory to his 2017 triumph took a blow on Sunday's 402km Riyadh-Al Dawadimi test, as navigational problems left him 25m55s behind the day's ...Keep readingView the full article

With many of the leading riders struggling on Sunday's 402km Riyadh-Al Dawadimi test, van Beveren was able to leapfrog from the fourth position he held at the rest day into the top spot. The French rider gained a position even before the start as GasGas rider Daniel Sanders crashed out during the liaison section before the timed special, while the Australian's teammate Sunderland and his ...Keep readingView the full article

GCK Motorsport expressed its intention to develop a hydrogen-powered rally-raid car back in November 2020, but it was only this Saturday that the French company unveiled the first version of the GCK e-Blast H2 in the Riyadh bivouac. Before the new car makes its expected Dakar debut in 2024, GCK will continue to compete with the Thunder DKR on biofuel to gather additional data. The vehicle ...Keep readingView the full article

The Australian had won two of the six stages to have taken place during the Saudi Arabian event so far to go into Saturday's rest day third overall, trailing GasGas teammate Sam Sunderland by just five minutes, 35 seconds. However, en route to the start of Sunday's 402km Riyadh-Al Dawadimi stage, Sanders injured his left arm in a fall and had to be taken to hospital. As the winner of Stage ...Keep readingView the full article

To help pick a tire to be used on the track for NASCAR’s Next Gen car this season, drivers Chris Buescher, Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain spent days testing various tire combinations. As part of the track’s recently completed reconfiguration, the banking in the corners was increased from 24 to 28 degrees – higher than any other intermediate track on the NASCAR schedule. The track width ...Keep readingView the full article

De Villiers ran over Chilean rider Cesar Zumaran on the second stage of the rally-raid on Monday, earning himself a five-minute time penalty for the collision. This was followed by a second accident the same day, where the South African was unable to avoid the crashed bike of Mohamedsaid Aoulad Ali after coming down a dune. The FIA stewards initially handed him a five-hour penalty for acting ...Keep readingView the full article

The Qatari driver had been the most vocal critic of Dakar’s regulations in the past, particularly complaining about the apparent performance gulf between two-wheel drive buggies and 4x4 cars such as the Toyota Hilux. After his defeat to X-raid Mini’s Stephane Peterhansel in last year’s event, he made it clear that he was “not interested” in returning to the rally unless the rules were ...Keep readingView the full article

On the eve of this year’s Dakar event in Saudi Arabia, Sainz was critical of the new T1 Ultimate regulations that cover electric and hybrid vehicles, saying that Audi wasn’t given parity with its petrol-powered rivals. The three-time Dakar winner was of the opinion that Audi has to contend with a car that is significantly heavier than its competitors, while not having any more power or the ...Keep readingView the full article

The Mooresville, N.C.-based team will also see a manufacturer change and SHR drivers running with the organization during the course of the year. SHR will supply the organization with race cars while Roush Yates Engines will provide Ford horsepower. SHR will also provide technical support for the entire 33-race season. “We are thrilled to be part of this new relationship with SS GreenLight ...Keep readingView the full article

On Friday, Jean-Yves Le Drian said the possibility of cancelling the rally was "still on the table" after an assistance car belonging to French team Sodicars Racing exploded outside in Jeddah on December 30. Driver Philippe Boutron suffered a "very serious leg injury" as a result of the explosion, while the five other people in the car escaped unharmed. French Foreign Minister Le Drian said ...Keep readingView the full article

De Villiers was involved in two separate incidents in the opening two stages of the rally-raid in Saudi Arabia, leaving him out of battle for outright honours. The South African was given a five-minute time penalty for the first offence involving Chile's Cesar Zumaran in Stage 1, before having five hours added to his total time for a second incident the following day. De Villiers ran into ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC will embrace hybrid technology for the first time this season as part of new sweeping Rally1 regulations set to make their debut at the Monte Carlo Rally later this month. The introduction of hybrid power will present drivers with extra power boosts to be used on each stage, resulting in all-new cars being capable of producing 500 horsepower in short bursts. The addition of a ...Keep readingView the full article

Australian rider Sanders was declared the winner of Stage 6 as the day's 421km loop around Riyadh was cut short at the first neutralised zone after 101km. That was due to safety concerns regarding the degradation of the terrain, which had been used by the cars and trucks competitors on Thursday and further worsened by heavy rain. Sanders led at each waypoint to finish 2m26s up on Sunderland ...Keep readingView the full article

The lead changed hands several times during the 348km special near Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, with Audi’s Carlos Sainz, Overdrive Toyota driver Yazeed Al Rajhi, and Al-Attiyah all enjoying stints at the front. But ultimately it was Prodrive’s third driver Terranova who ended the day quickest of all, scoring his first Dakar stage win since 2015 by just over a minute over Audi rival ...Keep readingView the full article

An assistance car belonging to French team Sodicars Racing exploded outside the Donatello hotel in Jeddah on December 30, just days before the start of the rally on January 1. Six passengers were travelling in the car during the explosion and, while five of them were unharmed, driver Philippe Boutron suffered a "very serious leg injury". While the local authorities has since reinforced ...Keep readingView the full article

Double MotoGP race winner Petrucci became the first rider in history to win a stage of the famous Dakar having also competed in the premier class of grand prix racing. Petrucci finished the shortened stage five – which was ended early for the bikes due to the medical helicopter being mobilised – second, but winner Toby Price was hit was a six-minute penalty. This promoted Tech 3 KTM ...Keep readingView the full article

Karam, 26, will make several starts in the 2022 season with Alpha Prime Racing, which is co-owned by Tommy Joe Martins and Cesar Bacarella as the organization expands to two fulltime teams. Karam, whose diverse racing background includes IndyCar and the Nitro Rallycross series, made four Xfinity and one Truck series start in 2021 with Jordan Anderson Racing. His best finish was 16th at the fall ...Keep readingView the full article

Harris has quite the resume. Previously, he worked as a car chief with Martin Truex Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing/Furniture Row. He was part of the 2017 championship-winning team and has been a part of over two dozen Cup victories. “Blake has proven to be championship leader who is ready to take McDowell and our No. 34 team to the next level,” said Jerry Freeze, General Manager, Front Row ...Keep readingView the full article