Motorsport News 26/11/20

For any fan of the World Rally Championship, the prospect of the UK missing out on a round of the top series is unthinkable. Those are the same people who should have their fingers firmly crossed that Northern Ireland’s bid to run an event in 2021 works. The appetite from Wales for the WRC has seemingly evaporated and now all hopes rest with the Emerald Isle. Rally GB isn’t the only one on the calendar that is propped up by tourism bosses, keen to extol the virtues of their particular slice of terra firma. With belts tightened and visitors unable to travel freely around the globe this well of cash has run dry. It is understandable, but will present many leading international events with a major headache. It is well known that…

Ciceley Motorsport will swap to a brace of BMW 330i M Sport machines in the British Touring Car Championship in 2021. The squad joined the BTCC in 2013 with a ToyotaAvensis before fielding the brand new Mercedes-Benz A-Class from 2014. DriverAdam Morgan has taken eight wins with the German machine, including a victory at Oulton Park this season on his way to eighth in the standings. The team will now use WSR designed and built BMWs and is expecting to take delivery of its first rear-wheel-drive machine early next year. Morgan will remain on the driving strength and Ciceley is seeking a second driver. WSR claimed the 2019 title with driver Colin Turkington in one of the BMWs. Ciceley chief Russell Morgan said: “This has been a hard decision, made even more difficult by…

Juan Pablo Montoya will race in the entire World Endurance Championship in 2021 with the DragonSpeed LMP2 operation. The Colombian, a seven-time Formula 1 winner, will race an ORECA-Gibson 07 alongside Briton Ben Hanley and the squad’s principal backer Henrik Hedman. Montoya took part in his second Le Mans 24 Hours this year with the team and is now set to contest all six rounds of the next championship. He has previously raced in the IMSASportsCar Championship in North America with the Penske Acura programme, but Honda’s withdrawal means that alliance is now finished. Montoya, 45, said: “I had an amazing experience with the team at Le Mans and I am looking forward to racing at so many classic venues with such a great group of people.” Team boss – and former British Formula…

The boss of Pirelli in Formula 1 Mario Isola was tested positive for coronavirus at the recent Turkish Grand Prix. The 51-year-old is now self-isolating and was said to be asymptomatic during the weekend in Istanbul and was following all medical guidelines.All of his close contacts during the grand prix weekend were also tested but none of them recorded a positive result. Isola’s positive test follows that of Williams boss Simon Roberts, who missed the Turkish Grand Prix after contracting the virus himself. Ealier in the season, Racing Point driver Sergio Perez missed two races following a positive test for Covid-19 and was replaced by substitute Nico Hulkenberg. Team-mate Lance Stroll also contracted coronavirus ahead of this year’s Eifel Grand Prix and he was diagnosed when he returned home to Switzerland.…

The Team Dynamics British Touring Car Championship team is aiming to run three cars in the category next season should it be able to acquire another entrants’licence. The multiple title-winning team, which runs Matt Neal and Dan Cammish in factory-supported Civic Type R FK8 machines, last entered three machines at the beginning of the 2016 campaign, when Neal and Gordon Shedden were joined byAndy Neate in the line-up. However, Neate’s deal collapsed after only one round. Now, however, team boss Neal said that there was a desire to expand, and he expected a final decision within the next few weeks. “We are looking seriously at expanding to three cars,” said Neal. “We have spoken to a few drivers. It is a merry-go-round at the moment and nothing is solid, but we want to…

Formula 1 bosses have decided to take no further action despite AlphaTauri racer Daniil Kvyat reporting his seatbelts were loose during the recent Portuguese Grand Prix, which is the second time the issue has arisen in 2020. Kyvat reported back to the pits that his belts were “undone” after the final round of pitstops, but the team told him to carry on in the race. He finished 19th, two laps down from winner Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had a similar incident during the Spanish Grand Prix in August. Formula 1 race director Michael Masi said he had discussed the incident with the chiefs atAlphaTauri, which had instigated a change in its processes to make sure the issue did not occur again. Massi said: “His seatbelts were not undone. I think that’s [just]…