Motorsport Series News Roundup for August 10, 2022

This week the Motorsport Series News Roundup features the IMSA State of the Sport, more details on the new McLaren Artura Trophy, a look at the Ferrari Challenge, WTCR chaos, F3 and F4 to race in Kuwait and more.

Sportscars

• IMSA President John Doonan hosted the yearly State of the Sport last week which revealed new dates, new venues and more interesting developments for IMSA in 2023. “IMSA has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-energize our existing base of sports car racing fans and reach new audiences in 2023 and beyond,” Doonan said. “With the introduction of our new GTP prototypes, a robust and stable platform for GT racing, a renewed focus on sustainability and a calendar filled with legendary road racing venues, all of the ingredients are in place for continued success.” Both Motorsport Week and Sportscar365 have further analysis of the announcements.

• Sportscar365 reports that Audi Sport is taking a “race by race” approach to its participation in this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season according to its head of customer racing Chris Reinke, who admitted that the Indianapolis 8 Hour will be the “most challenging” one to put together.

• I mentioned this last week but Supercars.net has additional details on the new McLaren Artura Trophy. This McLaren Trophy championship will be held with a new car, the McLaren Artura Trophy race car, which happens to be based on the Artura GT4, but being a single-make championship, the Artura Trophy edition does not have to adhere to GT4 rules, like the Balance of Power (BoP) regulations for instance, so the Trophy version can come with more power and increased downforce compared to the GT4 variant, this will effectively make the Artura Trophy about as quick as a GT3 race car.

• Jim Glickenhaus is planning to add customer Hypercars to the WEC field in 2023. “We are before several teams that are seriously considering buying one of our Hypercars,” said Glickenhaus. “We are offering our Hypercar for a lower price than anyone else.” That price is $2.5 million, plus another half a million for spares. “You can race alongside of us on a totally equal basis and have an equal chance to win Le Mans,” he said. “We don’t care if it’s the car that you own or the car we own. We just care if it’s a Glickenhaus.”

• Sports Car Digest takes a look at the 2022 Ferrari Challenge and Corse Clienti for a good overview of these one-make Ferrari race series. There is also a Ladies cup (any lady driver), and a Gentleman’s cup (over 65 years of age). As drivers improve, they are moved up in class. It is normal for the top three in a lower class (Shell Amateur) to be moved up in class in subsequent seasons. I also published a Ferrari Challenge Primer last year that you may want to check out.

• Praga have announced that they have added an additional Praga R1 Test Day. The newly listed test day will take place on Friday 2nd September 2022 at Oulton Park International circuit with full support from the experienced team from Idola Motorsport, which currently runs four R1 cars in the Praga Cup 2022. While two test days require racing licenses, the third test day, held at Snetterton on 21st September, requires no racing license, only a UK National Driver‘s License is required. Competitive, all-inclusive test day packages are available which include a mechanical team for the day, data/performance engineer, tires, fuel and circuit costs. The three test days are:
  • 12th August – Donington – Sessioned Test Day – ARDS Race National Licence required
  • 2nd September – Oulton Park International – Sessioned Test Day – ARDS National Licence required
  • 21st September – Snetterton – Open Pit Lane – UK Driving Licence required

• Finally, the Porsche Museum is honoring “30 years of the Porsche Supercup.” On display alongside the anniversary model is the 911 GT3 Cup in VIP Car design, the flagship of the Supercup series. It will be driven by famous personalities in selected races of the 2022 season. Also on display is the 911 GT3 Cup 3.8 from 1994, which is based on the 911 generation Type 993. Visitors to the museum will also encounter the third-generation Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Cup, which started in its first year and is based on the 911 Carrera RS. The 911 GT3 Cup Type 997, which is the first Cup vehicle to be delivered by Porsche without ABS, completes the field.

Touring Cars

• In the WTCR, Lynk & Co Cyan Racing have announced an immediate suspension of their WTCR program citing issues with their Goodyear tires combined with the BoP they have been assigned. “We have a tyre this year that cannot handle the Balance of Performance and Compensation Weight window for all cars on all tracks, and our car runs heaviest of all,” Fredrik Wahlén, team manager of Cyan Racing said. “As a result, our drivers are subjected to tyre failures at high speeds and crashes and it is simply not possible for Cyan Racing to continue the season in a safe manner. While series organizers WSC and Discovery Sports Events stated that they were ‘surprised’ by the Cyan Racing withdrawal, they have indicated that they want the team back for 2023. Comtoyou Racing team principal Jean-Michel Baert on the other hand has labeled the team as “bad losers”.

• In more positive Touring Car news, TCR Finland will be launching in 2023. The new series will run within the framework of Finland’s domestic Rata SM Series, having signed a three-year deal with WSC Group. It will be operated by AKK Sport, Finland’s national motor racing authority, with Miko Heinonen as its promoter. Full calendar details as well as technical regulations will be revealed in due course.

• The video above shows testing of the new Toyota Corola GRS that will be racing in the TCR South America series.

Single-Seaters

• More details have been released about this year’s Formula 4 return to the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games. Each FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) National Sporting Authority (ASN) will have the opportunity to enter one driver to compete in the Formula 4 events which will be run at Circuit Paul Ricard. A fleet of Formula 4 cars will be run on behalf of the FIA for the 2022 Motorsport Games. Once their entry is confirmed, drivers representing nations need only to arrive with their race suit, helmet and licence – their car and crew will be waiting for them on arrival. For the FIA Motorsport Games, the Formula 4 focus is well and truly on the driver. All cars competing at Circuit Paul Ricard will have both identical specifications and set-ups and all drivers and engineers will have access to data from every competitor. More details can be found here.

• The Formula Regional Asian Championship and Formula 4 United Arab Emirates will include races abroad in 2023, as a visit to Kuwait has been added to their calendars according to Formula Scout. They also report that Formula 4 United Arab Emirates’ second new team has been announced, as sportscar squad R2RACE will join the grid in 2023.