Motorsport Series News for August 03, 2022-That New Race Car Smell

The smell of new race cars permeates this week’s edition of Motorsport Series News. Both Ferrari and Porsche have debuted their new GT3 racers and McLaren have announced an Artura-based race series. The new 12 Hours of Kuwait has been announced as well as the opportunity to test Australia’s S5000 single-seaters. There is also a look at the future of Danish F4 and much more.

Sports Cars

Motorsport Series News for August 03, 2022
Ferrari 296 GT3 (Photo Ferrari)
  • Ferrari have unveiled their brand new 296 GT3 race car, their first V6 GT race car in over 50 years. It is scheduled to replace the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 and features a 3.0-liter V6 turbo engine that can produce 600 horsepower at a maximum of 7250 RPM. “The car is dedicated for both pro drivers and teams and gentlemen drivers. The most important goals are to win and to support the customers the best we can.” You can get all the details here.
Motorsport Series News for August 03, 2022
Porsche 911 GT3 R (Photo: Porsche)
  • Not to be outdone, Porsche have introduced their brand new 911 GT3 R. “The new 911 GT3 R has big shoes to fill,” says Michael Dreiser, Sales Director at Porsche Motorsport. “Its forerunner has won almost everything there is to win in the GT3 scene in four seasons since 2019. Its stand-out successes include overall victories at the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and also here at Spa-Francorchamps. Raced by our customers, the predecessor scored class victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. The new model faces a massive workload in the hands of the Porsche customer racing teams.” After the GT3 class was announced as a professional category in the North American IMSA series, the FIA WEC World Endurance Championship follows suit: From 2024, GT3 racing cars such as the new 911 GT3 R will be eligible to take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time.
  • In the run-up to last weekend’s Spa 24 Hours, SRO’s Stéphane Ratel presented their plans for 2023 and beyond. The global presence of SRO has continued to expand in 2022. By the conclusion of the year a total of 170 races will have been staged across 46 events in 13 different series, comprising 220 hours of competition on five continents. There will also be 57 test and track days, as well as 25 esports races across five championships. Daily Sportscar has a handy News Notebook From The SRO Press Conference.
  • IMSA is expected to mandate a Bronze-rated driver for each GTD lineup beginning next year. The proposal for a Bronze mandate in the Pro-Am-enforced class has been years in the making, with several GTD manufacturers having pushed for it to be introduced this season. Expect more news in the “State of the Sport” address on Friday.
Motorsport Series News for August 03, 2022-That New Race Car Smell
McLaren Artura Trophy race car
  • A new Pro-Am McLaren Trophy championship that will feature bespoke Artura race car at Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS events in 2023 has been announced. At the heart of the McLaren Trophy is the all-new Artura Trophy race car. It is based on the Artura GT4 but freed from Balance of Power (BoP) regulations. This provides the benefit of enhanced power and downforce levels to increase engagement and reduce lap times to a level closer to GT3 machinery.
  • In the article Rising Radical star Rafols makes international debut by Radical Motorsport, they discuss their driver development program which some may not be aware of. “This award also supports Radical Motorsport’s ‘Race The World’ initiative – that enables competitors from any of the 14 international Radical series to join the grid at any of the iconic race tracks that they compete at around the world. This initiative has been amplified recently with the announcement of a Radical World Finals that is due to be held in Las Vegas this November.”
Motorsport Series News for August 03, 2022-That New Race Car Smell
Kuwait Motor Town
  • Creventic has confirmed that the new 12 Hours of Kuwait is to replace the 24 Hours of Sebring. The race will utilise Kuwait Motor Town’s full Grade 1 licensed 5.609km Grand Prix Circuit which features a 1,075-metre straight between turns one and two, onto which competitors will emerge from pitlane.
  • Endurance, a new multi-class competition with LMP3 and GT3 cars sharing the track, is set to join the bill of the second edition of the FIA Motorsport Games, being held from October 26-30 in Marseille and at the nearby Circuit Paul Ricard. GT3-spec cars raced in the inaugural running of the FIA Motorsport Games in 2019, as part of the GT Cup. They are set to return to the second event this year, featuring across Endurance, GT and GT Sprint. LMP3 prototypes, meanwhile, will make their event debut this October.

Single Seaters

Motorsport Series News for August 03, 2022-That New Race Car Smell
Danish F4 (Photo: Boxengrasse Media)
  • Formula Scout looks at how Danish F4 sees itself, and its future. “[The FIA] can do whatever they want and I can do whatever I want,” Frederichsen says. “I don’t want to throw away that [customer base by naming an end date] so we had to do something else, so we decided to put out a press release saying we will keep these cars for a long time, and even though if we get new cars we’ll still keep this as a B class.”
  • Prototype testing has begun with the new Tatuus JR-23 USF Juniors chassis. The Tatuus JR-23 utilizes the same base chassis as the first two steps of the driver development ladder system with some modifications to conform to an entry level step. Drivers and teams can begin with the JR-23 chassis and continue to advance up the world’s most complete driver development system with a forward-thinking three-step concept.
Motorsport Series News for August 03, 2022-That New Race Car Smell
S5000
  • THE S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship will host an evaluation day this September, allowing time behind the wheel for prospective drivers keen to sample Australia’s premier open-wheel category. To be held at The Bend Motorsport Park on Tuesday, 20 September, the ‘S5000 Open’ will see a fleet of S5000 racers on hand at the South Australian circuit in an opportunity to give interested drivers a chance to sample the cars at speed.
  • Formula 2 and Formula 3 are set to become features on the support card of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix for the ‘long-term’ according to Speed Cafe. Quoting Bruno Michel: “I don’t know if you can say 2035 but as I said, it’s a long-term commitment.”

Rallying

Motorsport Series News for August 03, 2022-That New Race Car Smell

The World Rally Championship is working to add a first Middle East round to its calendar since 2011, which could materialize as soon as next year as well as looking at racing in the United States. The Middle East has emerged as a key area for the WRC, which harbours an ambition to host at least one round in every continent in the world. It has been forced to focus on Europe predominantly for the last two seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mark Boudreau
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.