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McLaren Announces Tanner Foust As Their First Driver For Extreme E Series

Just two months after announcing their foray into Extreme E for the 2022 season, McLaren has signed their first driver for the all-electric SUV series in the form of successful rallycross and Formula Drift driver Tanner Foust.

It’s safe to say Foust has his fair share of racing success, winning the U.S. rallycross championship in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2019, as well as the Formula Drift championship in 2007 and 2008. In addition to his championship titles, he also has experience with a variety of other forms of racing, competing in such disciplines as open-wheel racing, sports cars, Baja, and the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb, to name a few.

Who will be driving alongside Foust for the 2022 season is yet to be announced, although it will be the first female McLaren Racing driver to date, as in accordance with Extreme E‘s rules, every team must consist of one male and one female driver.

“We are thrilled that Tanner has joined the McLaren Racing family of drivers,” said Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing. “He is a top-class off-road competitor with a wealth of experience and a winning record. Alongside his driving prowess he’s a fantastic personality, who will help us connect with new fans around the world and bring the purpose and important messages of Extreme E to the fore.”

On his part, Foust said: “To be able to race for McLaren is every driver’s dream and the opportunity to compete for the team in this innovative and imaginative racing series makes it even more special. The concept is unique and the challenge compelling. It will enable me to draw on all my experience and skills, while being part of a positive cause addressing key issues for our planet and society.”

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Seven Years After Its Release, Mario Kart 8 Remains Nintendo’s Second-Best Selling Game

The staying power of Nintendo’s racing game franchise, Mario Kart, remains a marvel. I can still remember sitting on the ground, inches away from the TV, playing Mario Kart 64. Seven years later, Mario Kart remains a sales juggernaut.

Kotaku reports that even today, Nintendo’s sales charts are dominated by Mario Kart 8. While that, at first blush, might not sound surprising, it becomes more impressive when you learn that it was first released in 2014, seven years and a whole console ago.

In all, the game has sold 37 million copies, which has undoubtedly been helped by the second life Nintendo‘s latest console, the Switch, has given it. Despite that, though, Mario Kart 8 didn’t really receive a meaningful update for the new console beyond taking advantage of its generational improvements.

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And yet, the game continues to beat new Nintendo releases with dedicated followings of their own such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Golf: Super Rush, and others. Although New Pokemon Snap beat Mario Kart in its first full quarter of sales with 2 million sales, the karting game wasn’t far behind despite its age, with 1.7 million sales in the same period.

It seems, then, that Mario Kart 8 is a testament to the undying appeal of a well-designed racing game. Despite not having the fancy graphics or as many manufacturer tie-ins as other games like Forza and Gran Turismo, it just does racing well.

As Kotaku argues, Mario Kart also serves a niche in the Nintendo universe, as a more accessible game for inexperienced gamers than, say, Super Smash Bros., but a quicker and slicker gaming experience than Mario Party.

At the risk of turning this into a QOTD, how many of you out there have a copy of Mario Kart 8, and how many still play regularly with people who aren’t otherwise racing fans?

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Nürburgring Honors Sabine Schmitz’s Memory, Names Corner After Her

When drivers racing in endurance races at the Nürburgring’s combined track are coming off of the Grand Prix circuit and returning to the old Nordschleife, the first corner they encounter will be the “Sabine-Schmitz-Kurve.” The owners of the famed track announced today that the corner will officially be inaugurated in September at the ROWE 6 Hours ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen.

The corner is named in honor of Sabine Schmitz, the “Queen of the Nordschleife” who, by some estimates, had driven more than 33,000 laps of the 12.9-mile (20 km) track. Those laps were sometimes used to welcome people to the Nürburgring as the driver of the BMW ring taxi, and others were on her way to victory. Winning the 24h of Nürburgring twice (1996 and 1997), she was the first and remains the only woman to win the legendary race.

“Sabine Schmitz was the ambassador of the Nürburgring. Her name was mentioned around the globe in the same breath as our race track,” says Mirco Markfort, Nürburgring Managing Director. “It still stands for what defines the Nürburgring: the close connection to the region, the close proximity to the fans and the passionate commitment.”

Her connection to the track extended beyond her laps, though. Born in Adenau, Schmitz grew up around Nürburg and lived so close to the track that she had no choice but to interact with it. Nürburgring officials report that she sometimes even had to drive over the track to get her grandmother to the hairdresser. Sadly, in March, at the age of just 51, Schmitz lost her battle with cancer.

Schmitz has been given “the greatest honor” a race track can lay on a person, a corner in their name. More than just the first corner on the way back onto the Nordschleife, the Sabine-Schmitz-Kurve is located on the outskirts of Nürburg, where Schmitz grew up. The corner is a fitting tribute to one of the best-loved drivers in motorsports.

Sabine-Schmitz-Kurve on the Nordschleife!
➡ Highest honour for “the ambassador of the Nürburgring”.
➡ First corner on the Nordschleife receives her name
➡ Schmitz grew up a few metres away – in Nürburg
➡ Official ceremony: 11 September, 6h race Nürburgring Endurance Series pic.twitter.com/J4FTBL2PPI

— Nürburgring (@nuerburgring) June 18, 2021

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Hyundai Starts Testing Its i20 N-Based Hybrid WRC Car For The 2022 Season

Hyundai Motorsport has started testing its 2022 World Rally Championship car, complete with the hybrid powertrain that will be used under the new technical regulations.

Hyundai’s 2022 WRC racer is based on the i20 N road car and during this initial outing, the team set out to understand its behavior, plus its strengths and weaknesses. Current plans call for the car to be tested in a number of different locations across Europe to assess its performance in all conditions and terrains.

“It’s a special moment when you take a car to the road for the first time and as always there are some challenges to face,” Hyundai Motorsport team principal Andrew Adamo said in a statement. “In the case of the 2022 Rally1 challenger, we are starting from scratch with brand-new rules, a different concept and a new base model, the Hyundai i20 N. It was thrilling to kick-off the testing and to start this exciting new adventure.”

“During last week’s session we have seen interesting things, some that need to be changed and improved but it is all part of the process and of the job. The team at Hyundai Motorsport has done an amazing job and has worked so hard to prepare the car for the first test in such a short amount of time. Of course, we are just at the beginning of a long journey but I do think we have interesting times ahead of us before Rallye Monte-Carlo 2022”, Adamo added.

From next year, WRC cars will feature a 1.6-liter direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder engine coupled to an electric motor with 134 hp and 132 lb-ft (180 Nm) of torque. Feeding the electric motor with its power will be a 3.9 kWh battery pack located within a sealed carbon fiber housing. Toyota and M-Sport Ford have also committed to the 2022 WRC season.

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Bentley Would Return To Le Mans If Battery Tech Were Ready

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is seeing renewed interest from automakers as a result of new regulations defining new classes. For Bentley, though, that’s not enough.

The brand, which is no stranger to Le Mans, could be enticed into returning to the competition but, according to CEO Adrian Hallmark, would only be interested under certain conditions.

“Today there is no battery that can run at Formula 1 speeds for 24 hours, and attempts to get even near to that goal are not there yet,” Hallmark told Autocar recently. “Furthermore, we don’t see hydrogen as a sustainable way of achieving that goal yet either.”

Also Read: Porsche Teases LMDh Prototype For WEC And IMSA Championships

As a result, it will not return to the famed French race. Not yet, anyway.

“As soon as the technology is at a point that it can achieve those parameters using battery-electric technology we’d love to be there, fighting for the win again,” said Hallmark.

As its CEO intimated, Bentley has a rich history at Le Mans, winning in 1924, 1927, 1928, and 1930 before becoming one of just two teams to beat Audi at the height of its powers in 2003.

There’s a bit of a renaissance happening right now at endurance racing. Toyota, Alpine, Ferrari and Glickenhaus have confirmed entries for the Hypercar class, while Acura, Audi, and Porsche have all expressed interest in the Le Mans Daytona Hybrid class.

With the Volkswagen Group’s interest in electrification,it’s not surprising to hear that Bentley would only be interested in racing in an electric series. Besides, if Porsche were to race too, how many VW brands can compete against each other in the LMDh category?

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Ferrari Announces Le Mans Hypercar Entry, Will Compete In 2023

Ferrari has become the latest automaker to announce a Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) program.

The company didn’t say much about their effort, but confirmed the program was greenlighted following careful study and analysis.

Development is already underway as the automaker has spent the past few weeks working on the car’s design as well as running simulations. If everything goes according to plan, Ferrari will enter the new top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023.

Also Read: Toyota GR010 Hybrid Unveiled With Twin-Turbo 3.5-Liter V6 For Le Mans Hypercar Class

This will be a big moment for Ferrari as 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of their last official participation in the World Sports Car Championship. Ferrari went on to say they “proactively helped to establish” the FIA World Endurance Championship and aren’t a stranger to the 24 Hours of Le Mans as they have racked up 36 victories over the years.

In a statement, Ferrari President John Elkann said “In over 70 years of racing, on tracks all over the world, we led our closed-wheel cars to victory by exploring cutting-edge technological solutions: innovations that arise from the track and make every road car produced in Maranello extraordinary. With the new Le Mans Hypercar program, Ferrari once again asserts its sporting commitment and determination to be a protagonist in the major global motorsport events.”

While Ferrari didn’t go into many specifics, they confirmed drivers and the name of the car will be revealed in future announcements.

Regardless, they’ll be competing against Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, Peugeot and Toyota. Aston Martin was supposed to be part of that group, but they pulled out last year.

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Honda To Quit Formula 1 At The End Of 2021 Season

Honda made the surprise announcement of its withdrawal from the Formula 1 championship as an engine supplier at the end of the 2021 season during a press conference in Tokyo this morning.

The Japanese carmaker is instead going to focus on the research and development of fuel-cell and EV technologies as part of their plan to realize carbon neutrality by 2050.

Honda to Conclude Participation in FIA Formula One World Championship.

— Honda Racing F1 (@HondaRacingF1) October 2, 2020

“Honda needs to funnel its corporate resources in research and development into the areas of future power unit and energy technologies, including fuel cell vehicle (FCV) and battery EV (BEV) technologies, which will be the core of carbon-free technologies,” the company said in a statement.

Honda will quit Formula 1 at the end of 2021, which is the final year of the motorsport’s current technical regulations.

It’s currently unclear which engine supplier is going to replace Honda at Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Alpha Tauri, leaving both teams with just three options: Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari, and Renault. However, both Mercedes and Ferrari are unlikely to strike a deal with Red Bull and Alpha Tauri, with Renault currently being the most probable supplier for the two teams.

“As a Team we understand how difficult it has been for Honda Motor Company to reach the decision to step back from Formula One at the end of the 2021 season,” said Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner. “Whilst we are disappointed not to continue our partnership with Honda, we are enormously proud of our joint success, delivering five wins and 15 podiums for both Red Bull-owned teams and we thank everyone at Honda for their extraordinary efforts and commitment.”

Honda returned to Formula 1 in 2015 with McLaren as an engine supplier. The combination wasn’t successful and their partnership ended after three race seasons, with Honda then supplying Alpha Tauri for a year before striking a deal with Red Bull as well.

Castrol TOM’s Racing Toyota Supra Found In Storage And Is Being Restored

The iconic Castrol TOM’s Racing Toyota Supra has been found and the racing team has embarked on a project to restore it to its former glory.

This Supra is perhaps the most recognizable vehicle to ever compete in Japan’s Super GT series and was responsible for taking the rivalry between Nissan and Toyota to new heights.

A Redditor first stumbled across an article in Japan asking for donations and detailing the car’s history and the plans to restore it. Following its successful life as a racing car, the vehicle fell off the map until it was found in a storage unit in the Chugoku-region of Japan. It remains unclear just how the car ended up in the storage facility, but it has likely been there for many years. TOM’s Racing is leading the restoration and asking for donations to get it done, creating a crowdfunding campaign asking for 50,000,000 yen ($466,000). At the time of writing, 990,000 yen ($9,233) had been raised.

The team’s first funding goal is 10,000,000 yen ($93,000) and will involve a cosmetic restoration of the exterior and interior. The second funding goal sits at 30,000,000 ($279,000) and will make the car driveable. The ultimate goal of 50,000,000 yen is to get the car back to a race track.

The Castrol TOM’s Racing Supra had its debut during the 1995 All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship. Competing squarely against the Nissan Skyline of the day, Toyota decided against using the 2JZ engine of the road-going model and instead fitted the race car with the same 2.0-liter, turbocharged 3S-GT powertrain as the Toyota Celica WRC car, which was good for 493 hp and over 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque. The racer scored its maiden win on June 25th, 1995 at the Sendai Hi-Land Raceway, and went on to secure numerous other victories in subsequent seasons of the championship.

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