ADESS has introduced their 2025 AD25 LMP3 with the hopes of it being more competitive in the newly updated LMP3 class for 2025 and you will get the details this week. I also feature a review VBox HD Lite, tips on how to drive fast on track and details on the inaugural 2025 McLaren Trophy America championship. All this and much more in this week’s edition of the Racecraft & Race Cars Roundup on Motorsport Prospects.
Racecraft Tips & Techniques
On-Track
Grassroots Motorsports reviews the VBox HD Lite. “The HD Lite is a nearly one-box solution for data and video. The system is composed of the head unit–about the size and shape of a nice healthy lemon–plus a remote GPS antenna and a 12-volt lighter adapter power supply.”
Samir Abid of Your Data Driven explains how to drive fast on track. “This article starts to unravel some of the mystery of how to drive fast by helping you understand what is most important to focus on…. Luckily (!) it’s all in your head.”
Off-Track
The video above from Enzo Mucci is for those who want to create a winning mindset. “It’s a great exercise to do when you need to mentally reset and recalibrate things. We are all so lucky to be experiencing this life, we know this, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this.”
Ross Bentley talks George Russel’s mental preparation in Racey Thoughts: George’s Mental Prep Takes the Lead into Turn One. “Many would be surprised at how late most drivers are still at the track the evening before a big race, going through data, engineering briefings, and strategy meetings. Then, finally, they get back to their hotels, and that’s where a lot of the pre-race preparation really begins.”
Formula E has come together with BXR to create a new class that will be rolled out across the luxury gym’s three London locations. Inspired by the training regimes of Formula E’s race drivers, ATTACK MODE by Formula E is a sweat-inducing 45-minute workout that’s guaranteed to put gym-goers through their paces.
Race Car & Series Developments
Portuguese prototype manufacturer ADESS has revealed its 2025 AD25 LMP3 car, which it hopes will compete with customer teams next season when the entire LMP3 formula begins its transition to the new Toyota-based 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo engine manufactured by ORECA.
“This is a great opportunity for us,” Stéphane Chosse, the CEO of ADESS, told DSC. “The 03 EVO programme was tough because we didn’t get many results in terms of sales. But this new homologation period is a chance for us to get back into business in LMP3. The ACO has done a great job developing this category, the racing is great, but we think that having four manufacturers represented is important.”
Full specs for the AD25 LMP3 car can be found here.
According to SportsCar365, Ford Performance global sports car manager Kevin Groot says that the outfit is currently receiving “very strong” interest from a number of customer teams who are thinking about competing in the Ford Mustang GT3 in the 2025 season. Currently, Proton Competition uses the GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, while Multimatic campaigns two GT3s in the GTD Pro class of the WeatherTech Championship.
“So far it’s very strong [interest],” Groot said. “With GT3, it’s nice to be the first team getting their cars in a championship; I understand that. That’s the position we’re in; I’d imagine our rivals are as well. We’ve got to get those cars to the right teams to spread the Mustang around. We’ve got things in the works. Those are not my announcements to make; those are the teams’ announcements to make. We’ll leave that for them. It’s got to be quality efforts, 100 percent. But it’s not our program to run. It’s customer programs so there has to be pull from them as well. But there’s some key series that I think we need to make sure we have cars represented in.”
Daily Sportscar reports that Comtoyou Racing’s owner Jean-Michel Baert, who facilitated the switch from Audi to Aston Martin over the off-season, feels that the move to Aston Martin has paid off already.
“The 2024-spec model has re-ignited the brand’s customer racing programme. Just half a season into the new car’s life, it already feels like Aston Martin is back and better than ever in the hotly-contested customer GT3 marketplace. The feedback on the Evo-spec Vantage so far – from both drivers and teams – has been exclusively positive. It’s seemingly easy to drive, easy to service and clearly, rapid! It ticks all the boxes.”
McLaren Automotive has confirmed the calendar for the inaugural 2025 McLaren Trophy America championship season in 2025, which will run on the World Challenge America support bill with ten rounds at five venues.
Cars will be run by independent teams with existing 570S Trophy cars also being eligible for the series. These cars will compete for class wins and championships just like the Artura Trophy and will be fully supported by McLaren Motorsport with replacement parts and backup available at every round.
Stéphane Ratel has announced the return of the Suzuka 1000km in 2025 but is facing a lot of pushback to SRO’s unsustainable June 2025 schedule.
BMW M Motorsport director Andreas Roos stated that it is likely “not possible” for the brand to uphold a presence at all three events like it has done this year.
“There are things involved. You need the people and you can’t send people four weeks in a row to racetracks. It’s also physically, in my opinion, not feasible.
OEM Bosses Warn Against ‘Unsustainable’ June Schedule
The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin posts impressive numbers when it comes to victory margins, lead changes, prize money and more, but this summer the series reaches a number that’s been a decade in the making. In June, Flis Performance completed Mazda MX-5 Cup car build number 300.
“It’s very easy to build a very expensive car,” Valdes explained. “You just take everything that’s the highest price on the shelf, throw it at the car and hope for good luck. We didn’t want to do that. We wanted to make a really good value for the customer base.”
Racing Prodigy has revealed its plans for its inaugural Prodigy Draft on July 6 inside the Williams Racing Fan Zone presented by Kraken at the iconic ‘Below the Lights’ at Piccadilly Circus, London. Kicking off at 2 pm BST (9 am EST), six teams will each draft four drivers led by Williams Esports Prodigy Racing Team, who was recently announced as the first official team for the upcoming real-world Prodigy Three Championship series.
“Racing Prodigy continues to take major steps forward in our drive to make motorsports more accessible for not only drivers but for the fans globally,” said Racing Prodigy CEO David Cook. “Our inaugural class of drivers have proven their skills and passion to build a sustainable racing career, and we can’t wait to see them perform on the tracks this fall. We can’t think of a better stage for our draft than the Williams Fan Zone.”
BARC has introduced BARC Heritage, a new initiative to re-establish a connection in the classic and historic racing space. Announced at the Thruxton Historic, this new brand will offer a home for historic and classic racing enthusiasts, celebrating the eras that defined motorsport.
Autosport looks at the factors behind Japan’s Super Formula series losing its international luster. “It was the COVID pandemic and the subsequent travel restrictions in Japan that triggered the current slump of international participation in Super Formula. The championship went from having almost a third of the grid comprising overseas racers to just two full-timers in 2021-22.”
In the latest edition of The Motorsport Saga by Alan Dove he discusses the implications of the huge license growth recently reported by Motorsport UK.
“In their latest press release, Motorsport UK proudly announced, “In 2023, the UK’s network of 676 motor clubs hosted 3,930 events across the country, offering entry points for enthusiasts of all ages, including the 70,000 UK competition licence holders.” However, this dramatic rise has sparked skepticism. Clubs like Rissington Kart Club, which struggle to attract participants to their meetings, must question where these 40,000 new licence holders are, as they are not appearing at their events.”
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.
