Motorsport Series News Roundup for August 17, 2022

This week’s Motorsport Series News Roundup has a bit of an old school vibe as I talk about new race cars from Porsche and Maserati as well as La Carrera Panamericana. I also look at Radicals in the Philippines, the return of the Australian Formula Ford festival, details on the new Toyota GR Cup, FIA F2 and Japanese F4 developments and much more.

Sports Cars

• Porsche are targeting up to six new customer 911 GT3 Rs for its Daytona debut at the Rolex 24 according to Sportscar365. “Speaking to Sportscar365, Holzmeyer said current supply chain issues could impact the initial build numbers but is still confident of having a well-represented grid split across the GTD Pro and GTD classes.”

• Porsche also told Sportscar365 in the same article linked to above that they “respect” IMSA’s decision to not require a bronze-rated driver in GTD next year. “The Porsche vision is that our customer programs are normally funded by gentlemen drivers,” he said. “IMSA has a broader view. They have to take everything into consideration.”

• Meanwhile, Maserati anticipates the in-development MC20 GT2 car to make its competition debut in the middle of next year, according to the Italian manufacturer’s director of motorsport Giovanni Tommaso Sgro, as reported by Sportscar365. “There was no point rushing. We want to make sure it’s performing the way we want it to. So we’re aiming for mid-season next year. We’re in the early phases of the development. Matilde [La Guardia, head of Maserati racing projects] is a principal part of that development, but we also have Andrea Bertolini who is our racing advisor and chief test driver. So when it comes to the development of cars like MC20 and the GT2, it is fundamental to make sure that the car is getting to the level that we want it to be.”

• Radical Motorsport and Radical Philippines have announced the debut of the inaugural Radical Cup Philippines. Billed as the fastest racing series in the region, the series will take on the local Batangas Racing Circuit and the FIA Grade 4-certified Clark International Speedway in Pampanga, north of Manilla.

• La Carrera Panamericana is a historic race across Mexico open to all manner of sports and GT cars. It runs this year from October 14-20 and there are timed stages run at full speed on great roads, connected by transit stages. Autoweek looks at its history and how you can race in it.

• The European Le Mans Series has put together two helpful graphics (see above) of what constitutes their LMP2 and LMP3 cars.

Single-Seaters

• Speed Cafe reports that the Australian Formula Ford Festival is slated for a revival in 2022. The 2022 Formula Ford Festival will form part of the Winton Formula Festival, scheduled to be held from October 14-16. “The ASSA-sanctioned event will be open to all Formula Ford cars including Formula Ford (Duratec), Formula Ford 1600 cars (Yokohama Tyres), as well as Historic Formula Ford 1600 cars (FA, FB, and FC).”

• Racer.com reports that the USF Juniors are set to join the Road to Indy Fall Combine. “The first shipment of new USF Juniors Tatuus JR-23 chassis, which recently began series prototype testing, will be available to teams ahead of the Fall Combine in September. Component kits to convert a USF2000 USF-22 chassis to a USF Juniors JR-23 will also be available in September.”

• As FIA F2 has opened an engine supply tender with a potential for hybrid power down the road, series organizers have announced that they plan to keep the current grid size and introduce the new engine in 2024. According to Formula Scout, “Reliability issues have persisted with the current engine and its turbocharger since its introduction, with one driver this year already on their eighth engine of the season, and the FIA has laid out that the series’ next engine must have a lifespan of 10,000 kilometres. It will also be more powerful at 630bhp.”

• Japanese F4 have revealed their Gen2 design that is set to be introduced in 2024. Formula Scout reports that “Super GT and Japanese F4’s promoter GT Association announced the successor car at last weekend’s round at Fuji Speedway, and the new chassis will once again be manufactured by Toray Carbon Magic (the company that bought out Dome shortly after its F4 Gen1 car was designed) with TOM’S continuing as engine supplier and with Petronas chosen as oil provider. TOM’S will be creating a new engine for the championship, and it will feature a 20-horsepower increase in maximum power output to 180bhp and compatibility for hybrid components to be fitted in later seasons.”

• Formula Scout attempts to answer the question, does Scottish Formula Ford still have a future as more races are cancelled? “There is hope that maybe drivers do attend that final round because they will want mileage before Brands Hatch’s FFord Festival later in the month and Silverstone’s Walter Hayes Trophy two weeks after that, but that in itself is a problem. Drivers would not be contesting Scottish FFord for the sake of it, but as a warm-up for something else.”

Touring Cars

• Toyota Gazoo Racing North America (TGRNA) has unveiled the inaugural GR Cup schedule, along with a portion of the purse offerings for the debut season. “Everyone at Toyota is excited to unveil the GR Cup schedule along with some of our initial purse and prize offerings,” said David Wilson, president, Toyota Racing Development. “The schedule takes our teams to some of the most iconic venues in racing across this country. Additionally, the initial purse offerings further show Toyota’s commitment to this series long-term. We are thrilled to be able to offer such a lucrative race and championship winning purse in our first season.”

• Speed Cafe reports that the Australian Racing Group has no desire to mash some of its categories together with the Repco Supercars Championship, according to CEO Matt Braid. “The ARG categories, TCR for example, has grown to a point where it’s got its own broadcast partner and naming rights partner distinctly in competition with Supercars’ partners,” Braid told selected media. “The ability to actually merge those two together is probably not there.”

Other Racing Series

• Rodin have revealed more details about their ‘F1-beating’ FZero hypercar according to Autosport. The car is expected to produce approaching 1200bhp from an ultra-lightweight four-litre twin-turbo V10 engine that is boosted by a 130kW electric motor. The anticipated top speed will be 360km/h (224mph). Interestingly, when Autosport asked about plans for the car to race, company founder David Dicker added: “We’ve got a couple of interesting projects that we’re working on, but I can’t talk about them at the moment.”

• The 2023 Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty event has partnered with Grassroots Motorsports Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge (UTCC), which will take place alongside Time Trials Nationals. “The UTCC is an epic event most have only read about in Grassroots Motorsports magazine or online – for 2023, Time Trials Nationals participants will get a front-row seat to the action.”