This week I look at how road racing is on the rebound in America with healthy grids and a budget for all types of racers.
In addition to that I look at guidance on how to lodge a protest and appeal with Motorsport UK, more details on the 2023 Macau Grand Prix, off-road racing developments in North Africa and the Middle East, the best track cars to buy in 2023.
All this and more in this week’s Motorsport Series News Roundup on Motorsport Prospects.
PRI looks at how car counts have rebounded to, or even exceeded pre-pandemic levels from the entry-level ranks to premier road race events across America and how the momentum will carry over into 2023. They look at Trans Am, USF Pro Championships, SRO Motorsports America, the US Touring Car Championship, and the National Auto Sport Association. If you are interested in road racing in the United States, make sure you read what each series has to offer in the article. There are a lot of positive developments for drivers with all kinds of budgets.
“Road racing in North America is happily healthy at all levels, with series of all sorts reporting expanded interest from competitors, sponsors, and tracks. There’s pronounced momentum and opportunities for racers just learning their craft or for those with experience hoping to move on to higher plateaus of the sport. PRI Magazine interviewed some of the players in North American road-course competition, who discussed their recent successes and predicted still better times to come.”
The latest edition of Motorsport UK’s Revolution magazine has an article with guidance on how lodge a Protest or an Appeal.
Sportscars
Follow along with Mike Skeen and the Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 during the February 2023 IMSA WeatherTech series test at Sebring International Raceway in the video above.
Autoweek looks at the Meyer Shank Racing cheating scandal at this year’s Rolex 24 and explains its wider implications. “The questions start with how long has this been going on? The discovery taints not only the victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but the result in last year’s 24-hour as well as the victory in the season-ending Petit Le Mans last year, where Meyer Shank clinched the DPi WeatherTech Championship.”
The opening round of the 2023 European Le Mans Series will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday 23 April with the circuit featuring a new layout In a change from the previous three occasions that the championship has visited the Catalan circuit, the track layout used will be the new-for-2023 Grand Prix circuit, which misses out the final chicane, reduces the number of corners from 16 to 14 and the track length by 18m to 4.657km.
Racer has a great look at how Corvette Racing will be fighting on two fronts in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship, competing in two very different GT classes, with C8.Rs in two different specifications, with two sets of drivers, run out of two different headquarters.
Single-Seaters
More details are seeping out about the potential of an F3 Festival at this year’s Macau Grand Prix. “Parallel negotiations are ongoing for F3 to return for the first time since 2019 to fight out the prestigious crown this November, and for international Formula Regional and Formula 4 grids to feature too. While organisers of the Formula 1-supporting FIA F3 series are understood to be lukewarm about the plan to return to Macau, the governing body is keen to make it happen.”
On the Formula 2 website, series boss Bruno Michel argues that this year has the makings of a thrilling season. “It was a lively opening weekend and looking back over the action, Formula 2 CEO Bruno Michel has cast his verdict on the first round of 2023. From feel-good stories to technical innovations and of course, sublime racing skills, here is what the CEO made of the Sakhir race weekend.”
With the demise of Australian Formula 3 and Formula 4, Formula Scout tells the story behind Australian racing’s slicks-and-wings survival route with Formula Open and how it will fit into developing the next generation of Australian single-seater drivers. “We’ve got a lot of F3 cars down here, and we’ve got a gaping hole in Australian motorsport for a development category. Either coming from Formula Ford, which is more state-based, or even going straight into FOpen from karts. So I reckon there’s a hole there. Kids shouldn’t be going straight from karts to S5000, it’s the most brutal car you’ll ever drive. So Australian F3 has pretty well morphed into Australian FOpen.”
Euroformula has announced it has ended its lengthy partnership with Michelin and will now have Hankook as its spec tire supplier. Eurformula promoter GT Sport describes the new deal with Hankook as “a technical and commercial partnership”, and so far it is only for the upcoming 2023 campaign.
Touring Cars
Sim racer Alain Louise Geronimo took the new Honda Civic Type R racecar for some laps around Clark International Speedway and gave his positive impressions of the experience in the Manila Times. “Despite my lack of real-world skills and the limited time behind the wheel of the Type R, I can tell that the new Type R is willing to be pushed and is eager for that — thanks to how stable the car is.”
WSC Group and PNK Motorsport signed an extension of the agreement for the Coppa Italia Turismo. The three-year deal will expire at the end of the 2025 season. Just like in 2022, PNK Motorsport will run two parallel series for the TCR cars: the Coppa. Just like in 2022, PNK Motorsport will run two parallel series for the TCR cars: the Coppa Italia Turismo over six events, each one featuring two sprint races, and the Coppa Italia Turismo Endurance over four events each one featuring a single two-hour race.
Rally & Raid
In recent times, the Rallye du Maroc‘s route mainly consisted of a loop that started and ended in the same location. For 2023, however, the rally will opt for a linear path from Agadir along Morocco’s coast before heading eastwards to finish in Merzouga. The route was revealed on Friday, though specifics such as a breakdown of each stage and their lengths were not immediately disclosed.
The Checkered Flag reports that the FIM Bajas World Cup‘s revisions to its 2023 calendar in February meant the FIA would inevitably do the same to its World and Middle East Cups for Cross-Country Bajas to ensure they take place at the same time. Indeed, roughly a fortnight after the FIM’s changes, the FIA’s Cross-Country Rally Commission followed suit during a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Bahrain.
(Press Release) Polaris Off Road, the leader in off-road vehicle innovation, is establishing a new standard for off-road racing with the development of a comprehensive RZR Factory Racing program and the sport’s first-ever purpose-built race ready UTV. Piloting three all-new Polaris-engineered race machines will be rising off-road stars Austin Weiland, Brock Heger and Cayden MacCachren. The trio of drivers are backed by the full power and innovation of Polaris engineering, along with an elite management team and crew made up of some of the sport’s most proven and successful off-road racing veterans.
The RallyCross National Championship is unique from other SCCA National Championship events in a multitude of ways, but most notable is that it consistently moves around the country, offering accessibility to the entire SCCA RallyCross community. The inaugural RallyCross National Championship took place in 2007 in Hasting, NE, and since then the event has traveled to eight additional locations, repeating locales only a handful of times. This year, the event will return to Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, KS, marking only the third time the Club’s pinnacle RallyCross event will take place in Kansas.
Historic Racing
The Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival has revealed their new website as well as details of the event set to take place from 8-10 December at the Dubai Autodrome. With a far more accessible process for registering your car for the competition, and a more streamlined ticket purchasing function, it’s never been easier to secure your place at the Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival.
Miscellaneous Racing Series
Check out the highlights of 2022 in Mazda Motorsports competition in the video above.
Track Days
Road & Track looks at the best track cars you can buy in 2023. “So you want a track car, but you don’t want to have to trailer it? Here’s your best selection of street-legal production track cars, according to us.”
Team News
- AO Racing Unveils T-Rex Livery for Full Season
- V8 Racing Announces Plans For Camaro GT4.R Swansong
- Akkodis ASP to Make Mugello Debut in 43-Car Entry
- Lynk & Co Cyan Racing completes TCR World Tour line-up
- Proton Planning Road America IMSA Debut for Porsche 963
- Hyundai Motor America to Compete in Nürburgring 24 Hours Endurance Racing Event in Germany
- 2022 race winners Mittell Cars and University of Wolverhampton Racing sign-up for 2023 Praga Cup UK
- Falken Motorsports confirms entry into 2023 Nürburgring Endurance Series
- Manthey EMA Announces Porsche Factory Lineup for N24
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.