Porsche has introduced the 2026 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo and in this week’s Racecraft & Race Cars Roundup you will get the details of why and how. You will also learn how to mentally reset after something goes awry on track, the importance of the driver/engineer relationship plus lessons learned from a self-coaching racing driver. All this and much more.
Racecraft Tips & Techniques
On-Track
In the video above, Enzo Mucci explains why when you risk more, you win more. “Whether you’re a race driver or not, far too many of us are letting our fears pin us back and paralyze our progress. Well… No more You need to take risks if you want to achieve what very few do.”
While this is from the April 2000 issue of Grassroots Motorsports magazine, these tips for mastering the art of overtaking still apply. You can read them here.
Apex Advisory Racing has a number of Practice Strategies for Neurodivergent Racing Drivers with Helpful Guides (via Patreon). “As a neurodivergent thinker, I’ve always struggled with the typical ways people learn racing. Watching hours of YouTube tutorials, studying data graphs, memorizing braking points—they all left me overwhelmed or zoning out. I’d hop in the car and still forget what I was supposed to focus on. The usual advice didn’t stick. My brain doesn’t…”
Trenton Worsham wonders, where did NASCAR’s driving ethics go wrong? “The big question asked this past week and a half to drivers, both current and former, was where did the sport shift and go wrong? Where did the younger drivers start driving like this and pick up bad habits? Did the points format have much to do with it? The younger drivers are so far removed from the death of Dale Earnhardt and the safety has come such a long way since then that they may feel invincible inside the car.”
Team Brit trust the VBOX Pit Lane Timer to optimize their pit stops and stay ahead of the competition! In this video testimonial above, drivers and engineers tell VBOX how the VBOX Pit Lane Timer has helped them to achieve precision timing, avoid penalties, and maximize their performance on track.
Samir Abid of Your Data Driven explains the unique lesson he learned from a self-coaching racing driver (himself). “A self coaching racing driver can struggle to work through what is needed to drive faster. Even if you are not a racing driver but a serious track day or HPDE driver, you can face the same challenges. In this article I share some experiences and lessons I had as a self coaching racing driver myself!” You can read what he learned here.
V8 Sleuth goes into detail on the driver/engineer relationship. “It’s almost like you have got to be like a married couple in a way,” said Jones. “You really have to be able to communicate, you have to be able to get over a little argument that you may have or a discrepancy; one might want to go one way and vice versa.” Read more here.
Andrew Marangoni, Chief Engineer for LMGT3 and the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at United Autosports also wrote about the importance of a strong driver and engineer relationship on Motorsport Prospects here.
Terrence Dove explains how to find the impossible final 2 tenths on track. “The final 2 or 3 tenths to the quick lot feels like an impossible mystery. Some drivers want to resign themselves to the idea they’ll never find it. But damn – simulators, even Gran Turismo 2 on the PlayStation, proved to me there’s always another tenth… forever.”
Off-Track
In the video above, Enzo Mucci explains how to mentally reset after something goes awry on track.
“I know that a lot of Pro Drivers still don’t have this mental skill nailed down, but do what you can do make sure that you have. You need to be super consistent and focused on what matters. Less emotions and more mind on the real task in hand.”
Race Car & Series Developments
Porsche has revealed that it will roll out an Evo update for the Type-992 911 GT3 R in 2026, with the car set for its competitive debut in this weekend’s Michelin 12H Spa-Francorchamps as part of the development process.
“The Creventic Series offers the ideal environment for such an important test,” said Porsche 911 GT3 R project manager Sebastian Golz. “The competition features numerous privateer teams racing at a high level, there’s a lot of track time, and the Spa-Francorchamps circuit poses a formidable challenge for both drivers and machines. As a long-time Porsche customer team, Herberth Motorsport can provide valuable feedback on vehicle handling, serviceability, ergonomics, and operational functions. We’re also eager to hear the drivers’ impressions.”
Stephane Ratel fears the implementation of torque sensors for this year’s FIA GT World Cup in Macau could come as a detriment to the grid due to additional costs associated with the power control devices.
“We are the coordinator for Macau,” Ratel told Sportscar365. “We will see the consequences. It’s been very difficult for a number of years to build the grid. Post-COVID we’ve had suddenly this increase. Are we going to get the same grid with torque sensors? I don’t know.”
The LMP2 sportscar category is set to switch to turbocharged power in 2028, based on preferences the FIA has laid out in a tender for the supply of key powertrain components and Racecar Engineering digs into the details.
The Sports Car Club of America and Vitour Performance Tires have announced a partnership that spans a multitude of motorsport competition types, offering SCCA members the opportunity to compete on the Vitour Tempesta P1 200 treadwear ultra high performance tire in SCCA Autocross and Time Trials events, with a generous contingency package celebrating top performances. The partnership, which is effective immediately, also sees Vitour as the preferred tire in one series and the presenting sponsor of another, along with offering the Club’s membership a variety of unique opportunities. Full details can be found here.
Eurasia Motorsport are reporting that the 2025 F4 South East Asia Certified by FIA Championship is taking shape. “The return of a ‘summer’ series junior formula championship to the region is looking good with interest high resulting in a good number of competitors likely. Using the Gen 2 Tatuus powered by the FIAT Abarth turbo engine it represents a perfect first step in car racing. Eurasia Motorsport has two seats available. FIA Super License points are on offer in the FIA Certified Championship.”
Interested drivers should contact Team Principal, Mark Goddard, at mark@eurasiamotorsport.com or visit their website, www.eurasiamotorsport.com to download their driver guide.
IndyCar’s primary feeder series Indy NXT has a new series director, just four months after its appointment in the position. Kirk Dooley is taking on the role ahead of the second round of the season, and officially succeeds Richard Buck who did not actually oversee a single race during his tenure.
From the Sim Racing Roundup
Maximizing performance in FIA F2, F3 & F4 with race simulators is just part of what you will learn in last week’s Sim Racing Roundup. You will also learn how Mercedes F1 drivers use a sim to learn a new track, how a young Liechtensteiner went from sim racing to the real thing and details on your chance to win a Prodigy Pass.
Track Days
Grassroots Motorsports asks the question, what’s faster than a McLaren Senna? their answer, this Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. “It turned out that GT500 was so much faster than the car I already had put all this work into,” Steve explains. The GT500’s higher-cost consumables, though, steered him toward saving it for competition events: “The GT500 also eats a full tank of gas in a 20-minute session–15 gallons of fuel. It’d chew through a set of tires in two track days. The running cost of this car didn’t make sense. So, we put the GT350R back to a street car, and we built the GT500 into what it is today.”
Willow Springs Raceway has new owners and here is a roundup of coverage of what to expect in the near-future.
- What the Heck Is Going on at Willow Springs Raceway, Anyway? (Autoweek)
- Singer’s latest project to be reimagined? Willow Springs (Grassroots Motorsports)
- Willow Springs Isn’t Going Anywhere, and That’s Good News for Race Fans (Car and Driver)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a 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.
