Motorsport Series News for June 8, 2022-Two Reveals and a Tease

In Motorsport Series News this week I have a reveal from BMW, a partial reveal from Lamborghini, and a tease from Acura. I also look at new Nissan Z Racing Concept cars and a new Dakar Rally Raid route. Finally, there is also news on the upcoming Motorsport Games and more.

• BMW have released images of their LMDh challenger, the BMW M Hybrid V8. “The hallmark of the design for the BMW M Hybrid V8 is the wide kidney. In addition, it boasts typical BMW M design elements such as the nested 50th anniversary logo on the hood, twin BMW icon lights, dynamic body side, Hofmeister kink window graphic, M ‘hook’ mirrors and the tail-lights. The camouflage livery in which the BMW M Hybrid V8 will complete its testing, contains many elements from five decades of motor racing history in North America. The images of iconic racecars – the 1976 BMW 3.0 CSL, the 1981 BMW M1/C, the 1978 BMW 320i Turbo, the 1986 BMW GTP, the BMW M3 E36 GTS-2, the BMW Z4 GTLM and the BMW M8 GTE – create a graphic mosaic which obscures the shape of the BMW M Hybrid V8 to maintain competitive IP during development testing.”

• With the BMW reveal, The Race looks at the current status of Hypercar racing in both the WEC and IMSA. “Hopes have long been pinned on the hypercar rules – first announced in an initial form way back in 2018 – wooing factory teams back to Le Mans racing on more realistic budgets and with greater road relevance than the LMP1 era, but delays and U-turns among marques have meant that despite an impressive host of manufacturer announcements, the WEC faces a fifth straight Le Mans in which Toyota has no opposition of equal stature at the front this weekend.”

• While BMW revealed, Acura only teased with this image of their upcoming LMDh car set for GTP competition in 2023 and potentially Le Mans in 2024. According to Road & Track: “If Acura does want to race in 2024, they’ll need approval from Honda of Japan. It is one of the unique complications of a multinational company that has made previous programs complicated in the past, but Honda has previously signed off on privateers racing other Acura prototypes designed in America under the Honda Performance Development banner. The hope here is that the company will give a similar approval by the time the teams want to race at Le Mans in 2024, allowing Honda the chance to race for what would be their first overall win in the 24 hour classic.”

• In the final reveal (as of this writing), Lamborghini have announced that Ligier will be their chassis constructor. Lamborghini motorsport chief Giorgio Sanna said: “As in Lamborghini Squadra Corse we have found in Magny-Cours [Ligier’s base] a team of young, competent and motivated people. We already feel as one team and we look forward for the next challenges in front of us.”

• Dakar Rally organizers have revealed that next year’s event will be longer by both distance and number of stages. The 2023 Dakar will be comprised of 14 stages plus a prologue, with reduced liaison time and more competitive running.

• Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motorsports & Customizing Co., Ltd. (NMC) unveiled the Nissan Z Racing Concept race cars 230 and 244. “To explore possible competition in various motorsports categories, Nissan and NMC are developing these new vehicles with the knowledge gained over many years of Super GT and customer racing vehicle development. Car 230, entered by the NISMO team, is equipped with a carbon-neutral-fuel (CNF) compatible engine. Car 244, entered by the Max Racing team, is powered by a gasoline engine. Through participation in the grueling 24-hour endurance race with the two Nissan Z Racing Concepts, the aim is to further develop the vehicles and accumulate valuable data that can only be obtained through racing. This aim particularly applies to the CNF-compatible engine, and for application to future development.”

• Toyota Gazoo Racing North America (TGRNA) announced that the all-new GR Cup single make racing series will be sanctioned by SRO America in its inaugural season of 2023. According to Daily Sportscar, “the one-make championship, which was originally announced on 31 March, will accompany the SRO America promoted series next year including GT World Challenge America, GT4 America, TC America, and GT America. Featuring the second-generation Toyota GR86, it will be similar to the existing Toyota 86/BRZ Cup in Japan, and the TGRA 86 Series in Australia.”

• Toyota is assessing an all-new Le Mans Hypercar for the WEC according to Autosport. “Sources have revealed that the Japanese manufacturer is already well advanced with the design of a successor to the GR010 HYBRID introduced last year, though it is not known whether it is eyeing an introduction of the new car in 2023 or ’24.”

• The third round of the Scottish Formula Ford season at Knockhill has been called off due to a lack of entries, which could mark the end of the series’ 2022 schedule according to Formula Scout. “There are three more planned rounds for this year, all part of SMRC race meetings at Knockhill, on July 10, August 21 and October 9. However as drivers have said there is little promotion of the series or attempts to attract more cars, talk in the paddock is that the July round “looks pretty unlikely” and that after that it could be “game over” for Scottish FFord in 2022.”

• The Circuit Paul Ricard near Marseille, France, will play host to a wide range of motorsport disciplines for the return of the FIA Motorsport Games in October this year. The Circuit Paul Ricard venue will stage events on its road course (for Endurance, GT, GT Sprint, Touring Car, and Formula 4); slalom course (Auto Slalom and Karting Slalom); driving centre (Drifting), and karting venue (Karting Endurance, Karting Senior and Karting Junior). The circuit will also host the entire Esports competition.

• Speaking of the Motorsport Games, GT racing will be well represented. The trio of GT disciplines opens the 2022 Games up for GT3 crews and drivers to represent their nation’s FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) National Sporting Authority (ASN) and compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals under their country’s flag. The dedicated series for cars conforming to GT3 regulations attracted eight world-class manufacturers to Le Castellet. Those included Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, McLaren and Mercedes-AMG, but in the end it was the Iron Lynx Ferrari of Davide Rigon, Antonio Fuoco and Daniel Serraace which won this year’s six-hour race into the sunset. More information can be found here.

• The Gulf 12 Hours will return to its traditional December slot at Yas Marina Circuit this year with a very different look. According to Daily Sportscar, the 2022 race will be run as a continuous 12-hour race for the first time in its history, rather than being split into two six-hour parts.

• Due to supply chain issues, the ERA Championship has taken the decision to run with a different format for the upcoming back-to-back rounds in Hungary and Spain. “As a brand new series, the global issues surrounding materials supply and transportation have heavily disrupted and delayed our production phase. As an organisation, must ensure we run to the highest of standards on all fronts for our team, drivers, and fans. We will never compromise when it comes to our high standards of safety and quality. It is of utmost importance that every car is thoroughly tested before racing and these global issues have not enabled this to happen on time for these rounds.”