Motorsport Series News for February 16, 2022-The Accelerate Her Driver Development Program and More

There is a lot of positive motorsport series news this week as Busch Light has put their money behind the new “Accelerate Her” driver development program, news from various sports and touring car series across the globe, Hypercar testing and more.

NASCAR

• In a major boost to women racers in the USA, Busch Light has launched their ‘Accelerate Her’ program to boost female NASCAR racers. The Anheuser-Busch brand has committed to spending $10 million over the next three years to elevate women in NASCAR with the Busch Light Accelerate Her program. The objective is provide more funding, track time, media exposure and training to prospective female NASCAR racers aged 21 or older. Busch Light will invest directly “in every” female driver 21 or older and put in place a program to track their development, improve their access to the sport and celebrate their success. A portion of the $10 million commitment will be reserved as a standing sponsorship fund for up-and-coming drivers. The official launch of the program will occur through an advertisement during the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 20.

Sports & Touring Cars

• The Speed Euroseries for CN cars is back and will be racing at Spa, Barcelona and Monza. The calendar includes three rounds for a total of six races. Each race will be of the length of 30 minutes + 1 lap. The rounds: June 18-19 – Spa Francorchamps (Belgium), September 10-11 – Barcelona (Spain), October 29-30 Monza (Italy). Tyres will be provided by Hankook. Six sets of tyres will be included in the entry fees of the championship that amount to Euros 15,500 + VAT. The format will include all the benefits of the Formula X Racing Weekend: a dynamic and effective communication, live tv coverage on MS Motor TV (channel 229 SKY) featuring overlay and on-board cameras, a paddock with drivers and fans at the centre of the attention, support initiatives and special care to the visibility and welcoming of sponsors. For more information, please visit the website www.formulaxitalianseries.it, the Facebook page @speedEUseries or send an email to: 2022@formulaxitalianseries.it. Stay tuned as the renewed website www.speedeuroseries.net will be available soon.

• FEL Motorsports has announced a Test & Tune Weekend for April 1-3, 2022. at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s Driver Development Track. Friday is an open day, with one hundred percent of the track time being dedicated to FEL Motorsports teams. On Saturday and Sunday track time will be divided into 30-minute intervals to share the track with the participants of the first ever FEL Motorsports Academy. FEL Motorsports invites teams and drivers from both the Sports Car Championship Canada and the Radical Cup Canada to register for this event, to practice and prepare their cars for the first race of the season scheduled for May 20th, 21st, and 22nd. The fee of $1,295 includes the track booked from 9am-5pm daily and lunch provided on all three days. To register go to felmotorsports.com/test-and-tune.

• In the UK, Mazda MX-5 MK4 Trophy Cars are set to test at Donnington Park on February 26th, 2022. There will be two examples of the Mk4 heading to Donington Park, with a manual and sequential gearbox respectively, for prospective and interested drivers to see up close and potentially drive throughout the day. In addition, permanent BRSCC Mazda MX-5 clerk of the course Paul Levitt will also be in attendance to assist and answer any questions. If you’re interested in joining the series and taking a closer look at what could be your next race car, then get in touch with coordinator Mandy Andrew at mandy@brscc.co.uk or call 07973 665176 for more information.

• Following TCR South America’s successful inaugural season in 2021, Brazil is the next country that will organize a national championship for TCR cars. From 2023, the first season of the TCR Brazil championship will be run in parallel with the TCR South America. The calendar will include a minimum of six events hosted by Brazil’s most important circuits. The new series will mark the return of front-wheel-drive touring car competition in the country after the Campeonato Brasileiro de Marcas that was run until 2018.

• The future extent of Audi’s support to GT teams in North America is “to be seen” according to the manufacturer’s head of customer racing amid a “restructure” of activities. According to Chris Reinke, who oversees Audi Sport’s global customer racing efforts, the German company is providing heavily-reduced support to customer outfits in North America due to a “strategic” refocus in the region and a lack of volume in sales.

• Rutronik Racing will run a steer-by-wire GT3 Audi in the German GTC Race series, with 17-year-old Finn Zulauf driving and being supported by Markus Winkelhock. The car utilizes Schaeffler Paravan’s Space Drive technology. “It is important for us to involve young drivers in the Space Drive development process,” said Klaus Graf, board member at Schaeffler Paravan and a former American Le Mans Series champion.

• Does the Toyota GR GT3 concept hint at a possible Lexus racing future? Marshall Pruett looks at the possibilities.

• Meanwhile over at Ferrari, they are reportedly making “consistent” progress on the development of their new GT3 car and could carry out the first rollout at the end of next month, according to the manufacturer’s sports car racing director Antonello Coletta.

• While Corvette gets their 2023 GT3 contender ready, they are currently racing a modified GTLM car. Racer.com looks at how Corvette is chasing the changes in this stop gap year of 2022.

• There is a lot of Hypercar/GTP news this week as BMW is targeting a Le Mans 2024 entry, Peugeot is close to making their 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours entry decision and Porsche and Toyota have started testing in anger.

Rally

• After the success of the new Renault Clio Rally4 and Rally5 cars, the French manufacturer has confirmed they are a taking a step-up and will start to develop a car for the all-new four-wheel-drive Rally3 class.

• World Rally Championship (WRC) team M-Sport Ford announced a new partnership with sim racing hardware firm Fanatec just ahead of the 2022 season. The partnership will encompass both sim racing and rally technology to produce steering wheels for M-Sport Ford’s new Puma Hybrid Rally1 car. The agreement brings technology from the sim racing space to rallying, while feedback from the M-Sport Ford team will also be used to benefit Fanatec and the wider sim racing industry.

Single-Seaters

• Formula Ford’s return to the Motorsport Australia ranks as a national series has been confirmed with the publication of its 2022 Sporting Regulations. The 2022 Australian Formula Ford Series starts with Round 1 at Sandown on February 26-27, as part of a Victorian state meeting.

• The United States-based 2022 SpeedTour Formula Development Series plans have been confirmed by Parella Motorsports Holdings. The SpeedTour Formula Development Series was created to provide up-and-coming racing talent with an additional opportunity to hone their skills with transitioning from karting to open-wheel competition, while keeping budgets in mind. The series utilizes the existing F4 U.S. chassis and features low entry fees with sanctioning by PMH. Open to drivers ages 14 and up, the winner of the 2022 SpeedTour Formula Development Series will receive a scholarship from PMH to cover their entry fees for the 2023 F4 U.S. season.

General Industry News

• If you are looking for a podcast that covers all things SCCA then you will want to subscribe to the Inside SCCA Podcast. It is a new podcast that features interviews with the club’s leading personalities, but it’s not owned by SCCA. Instead, it’s an independent media outlet managed by Rule 15 Productions and hosted by long-time SCCA Member and journalist, Brian Bielanski. He uses the Club’s name with permission, but without direction or influence from SCCA.