Motorsport News 21/01/21

Tom Ingram will race a Hyundai i30 Performance N Fastback in this year’s British Touring Car Championship after securing a multi-season deal with the ambitious Excelr8 Trade Price Cars squad. The 27-year-old will spearhead a four-car attack for the expanding team, which is an amalgamation of Excelr8 Motorsport and Trade Price Cars Racing crews for 2021. Ingram, a two-time Independents Trophy winner, said he was thrilled by the new agreement, which will make its debut in the delayed start to the 2021 BTCC at Thruxton on May 8-9. Sixteen-time race winner Ingram said: “We’ve got the right people in the right places – from the engineering side to the design and team management – to do the best job possible. The Hyundai has developed significantly over the past year, and it goes…

It seems like the engines have hardly had time to cool down since they were switched off following the final round of the 2020 World Rally Championship at Monza in December. The rejigged calendar meant that the competitors were putting themselves to the test right up until the cusp of Christmas, but now they are ready to get going again. In Motorsport News this week Elfyn Evans tells us that getting straight back on the horse is of no concern to him as he seeks in 2021 to go one better on his narrow missing out on a maiden crown last term. The Toyota man will go right back into battle with World champion and team-mate Sebastien Ogier, the sister Yaris WRC of Kalle Rovanpera and the rest to prove that the…

F1 agrees Bahrain test Formula 1’s stakeholders have agreed to run 2021’s pre-season test in Bahrain on March 12-14. The three-day test was expected to be held at Barcelona in Spain on March 2-4, however with Bahrain becoming the season-opener’s host after Australia’s postponement teams agreed Sakhir was the logical test venue. Interlagos contract suspended Formula 1’s recently announced five-year deal with the new promoter of Interlagos’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix has been temporarily suspended by a local judge. The move is due to a legal challenge over the use of public funds in securing the deal and its level of transparency. McLaren signs FE option McLaren has signed an option to join Formula E’s Gen3 era beginning in 2022. Audi and BMW’s forthcoming FE exits free up two vacancies on the grid. The deal…

Ferrari Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc has announced he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating at home in Monaco with mild symptoms. In a social media post, the 23-year-old said: “I am regularly checked according to my team’s protocols. Unfortunately, I learned that I have been in contact with a positive case and immediately went into self-isolation.Asubsequent test I took came back positive. “I am feeling OK and have mild symptoms. I will remain in isolation in my home in Monaco in compliance with the regulations set by the local health authorities.” Leclerc is the fifth F1 driver known to have contracted Covid, following Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton last season, plus Lando Norris recently tested positive while on holiday in Dubai. It is not known where Leclerc contracted…

Renault has confirmed the reorganisation of its racing activities under theAlpine brand, but there was confusion around its Formula 1 management personnel for 2021. Renault announced last September it would rebrand its F1 team asAlpine for ’21 as part of a wider reorganisation. TheAlpine name has significant heritage in rallying and endurance racing, taking overall Le Mans victory in 1978. Detailing the company’s new ‘Renaulution’strategy in Paris last week, Renault confirmed that the current activities of Alpine cars, Renault Sport Cars and Renault Sport Racing will be united under theAlpine brand. However many details about the F1 team’s leadership structure were not confirmed at the launch. Ex-Suzuki MotoGP boss Davide Brivio’s expected recruitment was not mentioned, though it has been confirmed since that he will become racing director. Executive director Marcin Budkowski’s anticipated…

Toyota has unveiled its all-new GR010 HYBRID challenger that will contest the 2021 World Endurance Championship under the hypercar regulations. The 3.5-litre V6 turbo-powered GR010 HYBRID, a racing version of the upcoming hypercar road car, took 18 months to develop. Reflecting the WEC rules’cost-cutting aims, the car is 162kg heavier and 32% less powerful than its TS050 predecessor, and is expected to be 10 seconds slower lapping Le Mans. Two three-day tests of the new car had been completed prior to its unveiling. Toyota also confirmed it will defend its WEC drivers’and manufacturers’titles and its Le Mans crown with an unchanged driver line-up for both cars. Team director Rob Leupen said: “It has been a tremendous effort from the team to develop and produce this new car, despite the global circumstances. We are…