Autosport 6/9/2022

Motorsport’s classic events are coming thick and fast at the moment. We’ve only just had the 2022 editions of the Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500, and now it’s time for the greatest sportscar race in the world, the Le Mans 24 Hours. As has become tradition, we have put our Le Mans preview, covering all the cars and drivers in all four classes, into a free supplement. Gary Watkins has spoken to many of the key players while also picking out some pertinent moments from the past. He’ll also be on hand to report on the 90th running of the race for next week’s issue. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix also takes place this weekend. Unlike Monaco, Red Bull will go in as favourite, meaning Ferrari needs to pull out something special…

LE MANS 24 HOURS Glickenhaus is heading into this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours believing it can mount a challenge for race victory in the centrepiece round of the World Endurance Championship. The revised Balance of Performance in the Hypercar class and improvements to the American marque’s 007 LMH have given rise to a new-found confidence within the squad. Team founder Jim Glickenhaus was in bullish mood in the wake of last weekend’s Le Mans test day on the full Circuit de la Sarthe after Romain Dumas ended up second in the times, and only 0.2 seconds off the Toyota at the top of the classification. “Why shouldn’t we be going into the race believing we can win?” said Glickenhaus. “That’s why you go racing, and we won’t go down easily. If you…

LMDh BMW has released the first photographs of its LMDh prototype for next season in camouflage livery. It has also revealed the name and the first technical details of a car developed in conjunction with Dallara that is due to begin testing this summer ahead of its debut in next year’s IMSA SportsCar Championship. A machine that will be known as the BMW M Hybrid V8 will be powered by a turbocharged V8. That is all the German manufacturer has said about the internal combustion element of the hybrid powertrain, but it is known that the engine has its roots in the four-litre, eight-cylinder naturally aspirated engine that powered its DTM cars from its re-entry into the series in 2012 until the switch to the two-litre in-line-four turbo engines for 2019. BMW has…

FORMULA 1 Alpine Formula 1 star Fernando Alonso has questioned the possible introduction of a cap on driver salaries in the series. F1 introduced a budget cap at the start of the 2021 season, initially at $145million per year. This figure dropped to $140m for 2022 and will fall by a further $5m next year, although talks are ongoing about the impact of inflation and increased freight costs. There are a number of exclusions from this base figure, including the driver salaries, but there is a renewed push for a cap on driver pay. “I don’t think it’s needed,” said Alonso at the recent Monaco Grand Prix. “Drivers have been always outside this topic, and I think the drivers, they are using us more and more to promote Formula 1. We do more and…

FORMULA 1 Peter Bayer, the man who led the investigation into the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, has left his position as FIA secretary general for sport and Formula 1 executive director. Bayer took up the role as the FIA’s secretary general for sport in 2017, overseeing all activities in the FIA’s sporting department from karting up to F1, as well as working closely with member clubs across the world. The Austrian became the FIA’s F1 executive director late last year prior to the controversial end to the season in Abu Dhabi, overseeing its F1 operations. In a statement, the FIA said: “The FIA warmly thanks him for the achievements he has contributed to the development of motor sport over the last five years. In particular, he has supervised, with the entire…

MOTOGP Reigning MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo has finally agreed a new two-year deal with Yamaha following months of negotiations. The Frenchman has ridden for Yamaha since making his MotoGP debut in 2019 with Petronas SRT, before being promoted to the Japanese marque’s factory squad in 2021 to replace Valentino Rossi. Quartararo won five races last year on his way to his first MotoGP world title and Yamaha’s first since 2015. Since the winter, he has admitted that his future in MotoGP remained open due to unhappiness with the lack of progress Yamaha made with its engine for 2022. His manager revealed in April that rival manufacturers had approached Quartararo, although Yamaha was confident it could get a deal over the line. Quartararo said it was “not an easy decision” to commit to Yamaha,…