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Mini That Won Goodwood Race To Honor 60 Years Of Cooper Had Livery Designed By 9-Year-Old

The trend of racecar drivers allowing their helmet or car liveries to be designed by children is one of the purest forms of sweetness in motorsports. Fun, kind, and a way of reaching out to youth, the practice has now extended to the Goodwood Revival grid.

In the John Whitmore Trophy race that celebrated 60 years of the Mini Cooper and featured 30 Minis battling out with some of motorsport’s most illustrious names at the wheels, one car, the 1963 Morris Mini Cooper S raced by Nick Swift and Andrew Jordan, featured a very bright livery.

Stanley Wilkinson, a 9-year-old who took inspiration from Richard Petty’s legendary Plymouth Superbird, designed the livery that won the “Design a Mini” competition at Goodwood SpeedWeek last year to become a reality and line up in the one-off race held especially to commemorate the legacy of the car.

“I had the best day at the Revival,” said Wilkinson. “I was really excited to see the Mini and I could not believe it when I saw it in real life, it was exactly like my design.”

The drivers, Swift and Jordan, had quite the competition on their hands for the September 18th race. They lined up alongside former F1 drivers Jochen Mass, Brendon Hartley, Martin Brundle, and Karun Chandhok, as well Tiff Needell, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Le Mans legends Emanuele Pirro and Andre Lotterer. AC/DC lead singer, and known petrolhead, Brian Johnson was among the contestants, too.

As the 45-minute race elapsed, though, Swift and Jordan proved their mettle, beating their rivals and winning the race.

“It was an honor to be a part of this project although I can’t say I’ve ever had a Mini with a rear wing before!,” said Swift. “It was brilliant to be back out on the track at Goodwood and thanks to my co-driver Andrew, we were able to bring home the win and celebrate with Stanley.”

Wilkinson was, of course, also thrilled with the outcome of the race: “I was cheering on the Mini during the race and it was amazing when Nick and Andrew won, and I got to celebrate with them afterwards. It was a day I will never forget.”

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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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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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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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