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- Category: Road Racing
By: ST Racing
September 18, 2024
September 18, 2024
ST Racing took a bittersweet GT4 podium finish on its endurance racing return with the 24H SERIES in Barcelona. One earned after a fighting comeback from five laps down.
ST Racing, the Overall GT Teams’ champion of 2021 made a return to the 24H SERIES at this past weekend’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA with their BMW M4 GT4. Team co-owner Samantha Tan and team manager Jon Miller – both Overall GT Drivers’ champions of 2021 – were joined for the 24-hour event in Catalunya by BMW M Motorsport works driver Neil Verhagen, Fabian Duffieux, and Indy 500 star Pippa Mann.
In a confidence-boosting start to the weekend, fast runs by Samantha, Fabian and Pippa helped the #428 BMW qualify 2nd on the GT4 grid. A strong stint from Neil meanwhile kept the BMW out of trouble for the frenetic opening laps, and after just 20 minutes, ST Racing had moved into the GT4 lead. By the end of his stint, Neil had opened up a 15-second advantage, and set a fastest lap – 1m 51.200s – that would go unbeaten by every other GT4 competitor for the rest of the event.
By one-third distance, ST Racing held a two-lap advantage. Sadly, during the eighth hour, the team lost 20 minutes in the pits when a stone pierced the BMW’s radiator. This misfortune not only cost the race lead, it also dropped the #428 M4 to 5th in-class, five laps down.
Consistent and quick stints by Pippa, Jon and Neil during the night – alongside typically meticulous pit work by ST Racing’s European partner Bas Koeten Racing – meant the BMW was already back into the top three shortly after half-distance, and had clawed back the deficit entirely by Sunday morning. As the race entered its final hour, ST Racing was back in the lead of GT4, three laps ahead of the pack.
In another brutal turn of bad luck, the M4 GT4 briefly rolled to a halt during Samantha’s final stint with suspected fuel pressure issues. The 90-second lead was eradicated. While Samantha could not stop her nearest rival – Britain’s Venture Engineering – taking the GT4 lead almost in sight of the flag, she did not allow the GT4 Mercedes to eke out its advantage in the final sprint to the line.
When the checkered flag was unfurled, ST Racing was just 1.011 seconds behind after 24 full hours of racing.
Though disappointed to have lost a potential win – twice! – ST Racing is nevertheless buoyed by the pace of its BMW M4 GT4, and feels confident it can comfortably be among the frontrunners once again on its next endurance race outing. The team is also incredibly proud of the manner in which Samantha, Jon, Neil, Fabian and Pippa worked so seamlessly as a team in their first race together.
Samantha Tan, co-owner / driver (#428): “The 24H Barcelona was an emotional rollercoaster, filled with moments of pure exhilaration and heartbreaking disappointment. We started from the front row, and after just six hours, we had built a commanding 4 lap lead thanks to our strong stints. But racing can be cruel. A stone pierced our intercooler, forcing us into the garage. Our crew was incredible, fixing the issue in just 20 minutes, but by the time we were back on track, we were 5 laps down from the leader. Still, we refused to give up.
Through the long hours of the night, we fought back, pushing harder with every lap. By the early morning, we reclaimed the lead. The hours ticked by, and soon, we were 3 laps ahead again. I climbed into the car for the final stint, determined to bring it home. But it just wasn’t meant to be. A technical issue caused the car to repeatedly lose power and enter limp mode. I had to stop and reset the car on track three times. Every second felt like a lifetime, and in the chaos, the class leader passed me.
I gave everything I had, fighting to the very last moment, crossing the line just one second behind. One second… after 24 hours. P2 doesn’t feel like enough. It doesn't even begin to reflect the relentless drive that went into this 24H race.
But through it all, I couldn’t be prouder—of myself, my teammates, and our incredible crew. We fought with everything we had. Thank you all for your tireless work and support — let this be motivation for the next one.”
Kenneth Tan, co-owner: “I am heartbroken. Well, a little bit anyway. We had P1 in the bag with less than an hour to go. But the gremlins in our car decided the outcome. I am very proud of our team having executed the strategy to perfection. The result says otherwise but it was purely caused by things totally out of our control. The whole team; the drivers, the crew, the engineers, mechanics, everyone, executed everything extremely well. In the end, finishing a 24 hour race is an achievement and we are proud of that and a podium finish is even better. Thank you to everyone and to Creventic for running an amazing race. We will be back soon. Perhaps Dubai 24H next?”
Jon Miller, STR38 team manager / driver (428): “This will be a race that we won’t soon forget. It was the most dramatic finish to an endurance race that I’ve ever been a part of. It’s incredibly bittersweet, but I think the whole team takes pride in our incredible recovery drive and the knowledge that we were absolutely the car to beat this weekend. A huge thanks is due to the Bas Koeten Racing crew and our engineer for the faultless hard work this week and all of the drivers who did not put a wheel wrong all week long. We can hold our heads high for the personal performances and we are already looking forward to the next chance to win together.”
Neil Verhagen, driver (#428): “Finishing second in the Barcelona 24 Hours would normally be something to celebrate, but this one really stings. I want to start by thanking Bas Koeten Racing and my incredible teammates—Samantha, Jon, Fabian, and Pippa—for all their hard work throughout the weekend. Everyone gave it their all, but unfortunately, we faced technical issues throughout the race. Going into the final hour, we had a 4 lap lead, but three technical issues in that last hour cost us the victory, and we lost the race by just a couple seconds. It’s heartbreaking to lose a race like that, but that’s motorsport, and we’ll come back stronger.”
Pippa Mann, driver (#428): “Sometimes a second place finish feels like you’ve won the race, and sometimes it’s just heart-breaking. We did everything humanly possible to try and win this race for STR and BMW, but the racing gods decided it just wasn’t our day. On the positive side we can all be very proud of our performance - the entire Bas Koeten team running the car for STR were incredible, our pit-stops were consistently good, and all of the drivers gave their all.
From a personal point of view, I’m just so grateful to have had this opportunity to join Samantha Tan Racing for this event. Having four fast team-mates, all of whom were focused on one goal, was a very cool experience, and joining a team of this caliber for an event like this was truly a “pinch me” moment. Massive thank you to Jon Miller, and to Sam and Ken Tan for allowing me to be part of, and welcoming me to this team for this event.”
After a short break, Samantha Tan Racing will close out its 2024 motorsport season at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Indianapolis 8 Hours on 3-6 October. The event is the season finale of the 2024 GT World Challenge America, at which ST Racing hopes to secure this year’s PRO/AM Teams’ and Drivers’ championships.
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
By: FEL Motorsports
September 17, 2024
September 17, 2024
St Catharines, Ontario – FEL Motorsports is thrilled to introduce a GT3 Cup class to the Sports Car Championship Canada (SCCC) presented by Michelin. The GT3 Cup class will become the fastest form of sports car racing in Canada.
Details about the GT3 Cup class will follow. Currently, FEL Motorsports is working on firming up the 2025 schedule. Event and schedule announcements will be released in the coming weeks.
"I am excited to announce the addition of a GT3 Cup class to the SCCC presented by Michelin in 2025," said Chris Bye, President of FEL Motorsports. "As we seek ways to expand the sports car field and the ladder system of Canadian professional Sports Car racing, we will keep our foot on the gas to feature exciting and competitive racing for our community."
About FEL Motorsports
FEL Motorsports grew out of a deep base of automotive roots from FEL Automotive Learning and Promotion. FEL, the parent company of FEL Motorsports, has over three decades of experience in the automotive event industry working within Canada and the U.S by combining the expertise gained from working with luxury automotive brands with some of Canada’s most experienced motorsport personnel, FEL Motorsports executes premium race event weekends at tracks in Canada. FEL Motorsports is focused on growth and sustainability in the Canadian Motorsports landscape by giving back to its teams through prizing and prize money.
For further information on FEL Motorsports visit felmotorsports.com, shop merchandise at felmotorsports.shop and watch the races on the FEL Motorsports YouTube.
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
By: IndyCar
September 15, 2024
September 15, 2024
Lebanon, Tennessee – Louis Foster was just too fast – today and all season.
Foster finished his INDY NXT by Firestone championship-winning season with his eighth victory of 2024 in the Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway. Foster drove his No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies entry of Andretti Global to victory by .3071 of a second over rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy in the No. 22 Optima Batteries/Clarios/Abel Motorsports car. It was a career-best finish for Sundaramoorthy.
While Foster clinched the title in the INDYCAR development series at the previous race, Aug. 31 at Milwaukee, he finally got a chance to perform celebratory donuts after his 10th career victory in INDY NXT, tying him for second all time with Tommy Byrne, Alex Lloyd, Paul Tracy and current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Kyle Kirkwood. Greg Moore is the all-time leader with 13 wins.
“I would have loved to have done them at Milwaukee, but we had to baby the car for one more weekend,” Foster said of the celebration. “But now we can. Yeah, it’s good. If in doubt, go flat out.”
Rookie Caio Collet finished third in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports entry, 1.7897 seconds behind Foster on the 1.33-mile concrete oval. James Roe finished fourth in the No. 29 Topcon car of Andretti Global, and rookie Salvador de Alba Jr. rounded out the top five in the No. 2 Grupo Indi machine of Andretti Cape NXT and helped to put three Andretti-affiliated cars in the top five as the team capped its sixth championship in INDY NXT.
Foster earned his eighth win in the last 11 races as his list of superlatives continued to mushroom. He never finished lower than second in the last 11 races of this season, dating back to mid-May. He qualified on the front row in the last 10 races of the season.
In total, Foster led the series in wins (eight), poles (seven), laps led (362 of 640, 57 percent), top-five finishes (13) and top-10 finishes (14) in 14 races this season.
Foster pulled away from the field today after starting from pole. His gap held steady between two and three seconds, first over Collet. Then Sundaramoorthy passed Collet in Turn 1 on Lap 34 of the 65-lap race but couldn’t bridge the gap to Foster.
But the complexion of the race changed on Lap 52 when Jack William Miller in the No. 40 Patterson Dental Haven Go by SAAM car of Miller Vinatieri Motorsports and Jamie Chadwick in the No. 28 VEXT entry of Andretti Global made contact in Turn 1, triggering the only caution of the race.
Foster’s three-second lead suddenly evaporated. He got a good jump on the restart on Lap 58, but Sundaramoorthy rallied to pull to within two-tenths of a second on Lap 59. Sundaramoorthy closed to within one-tenth of a second on Lap 63, but Foster drove away on the last two laps to hang on for victory. Foster led every lap.
“It was a strange race, really,” Foster said. “We were pinned for pretty much the entire race. Once I had a bit of a gap to Caio and Yuven behind, I was saving tires a bit.
“But Yuven was really strong that race. I had to keep him behind at the end, and I was struggling with the balance of the car. I wasn’t sure if we had it. But luckily, I was able to keep him at bay and finish with a win.”
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
By: IndyCar
September 15, 2024
September 15, 2024
Lebanon, Tennessee – Alex Palou joined the immortals of more than a century of North American open-wheel racing Sunday, winning his third NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge at Nashville Superspeedway.
Palou finished 11th in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, more than enough to clinch his third Astor Challenge Cup in the last four years. His closest title rival, Will Power, went five laps down early in the race due to a disconnected seat belt in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet and finished 24th, eight laps down.
“We just had to keep on going,” Palou said of his focus after he learned of Power’s troubles. “I have to thank everyone working on the 10 car. Super proud. It’s been an amazing year, and I’m happy we got the championship back home.”
With the title race all but over just 13 laps into the 206-lap race due to Power’s troubles, Colton Herta hunted down and passed Pato O’Ward on Lap 202 to earn his first career oval victory in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. Nashville-area resident Herta outraced O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to victory by 1.8106 seconds and climbed from fourth to a career-best second in the final NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings, 31 points behind champion Palou.
It was the first oval victory for the Andretti team since Alexander Rossi won in 2018 at Pocono Raceway.
“I’m so happy,” Herta said. “We knew we were going to have a hot rod in the race. It’s been an amazing year. I just saw I finished second in the championship, which is awesome. Hoping to do a little bit better next year.”
Nashville-area resident Josef Newgarden finished third in the No. 2 Hitachi Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet. NTT P1 Award winner Kyle Kirkwood was fourth in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global after leading a race-high 67 laps, while Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet.
Palou’s list of accolades matches many of the all-time greats of INDYCAR SERIES racing. He became just the 13th driver in history to earn at least three championships and just the seventh to win three titles in four years; Dario Franchitti was the last – also for Chip Ganassi Racing – when he won three straight from 2009-11.
Spaniard Palou, 27 years, 5 months, 14 days, became the second-youngest driver to win three INDYCAR SERIES championships. Only Sam Hornish Jr. was younger, 27 years, 2 months, 8 days in 2006.
Chip Ganassi Racing also continued its climb into rare air, winning its 16th series championship, including four in the last five seasons. Only Team Penske has more, with 17 titles.
Herta prevailed over O’Ward in a duel of differing strategies created by use of Firestone Firehawk alternate tires in addition to the standard primary tires. It was only the second time the softer, grippier red-sidewall alternates have been used on an oval in series history.
O’Ward made his final pit stop at the end of Lap 161, taking the Firestone alternate tires for the mandatory second time. David Malukas was forced to pit from the lead on Lap 201 in the No. 66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda of Meyer Shank Racing, as he made his previous stop on Lap 139 and didn’t have enough fuel to make it to the finish.
Meanwhile, Herta was hunting down O’Ward after he made his final stop at the end of Lap 180, 19 laps after O’Ward’s final trip to pit lane. Herta took more durable Firestone primary tires after using his two mandatory alternate sets earlier in the race and used that fresher rubber to claw ground on O’Ward, also helped by slower traffic blunting O’Ward.
As Malukas was in pit lane for his final stop, Herta dove under the lapped No. 41 Goodheart Vet/Pray.com Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises in Turn 1 at the start of Lap 202, with O’Ward on the outside in a nerve-fraying race for the win. O’Ward was forced slightly up the 1.33-mile concrete oval by the three-wide action, and that let Herta power past for the lead for good at the end of the back straightaway and into Turn 3.
Herta never trailed thereafter for his second victory of the season – he also won on the streets of Toronto in July – and his ninth career victory. The decisive pass was one of 653 on track and 237 for position, records for the INDYCAR SERIES at this track in its return here for the first time since 2008.
Meanwhile, Palou wasted no time from the drop of the green flag to erase the predicament he found himself in after qualifying Saturday. He only needed to finish ninth or better to clinch the title, but he started 24th in the 27-car field after qualifying a mystifying 15th and dropping nine spots on the starting grid due to a penalty for an unauthorized engine change after the race Sept. 1 at Milwaukee.
Palou already had gained 10 spots, running 14th, when calamity struck Power on Lap 13. Power had started fourth – he needed to place third or better to have any mathematical chance of winning his third title – but had slipped to sixth when he called to his pit box on his radio that his lap belt dislodged.
Power immediately pitted, and the field circled the track five times before the belt was fixed and Power was back on track. His title hopes were over.
“I was driving down the front stretch there, and I just felt a pop on the lap belt,” Power said. “That’s a very abnormal thing. I don’t know what went wrong. Very strange failure. I’ve never had that before. You have engine failures, gearbox failures; I had a belt failure.
“Disappointing, but big congrats to Alex. A tough guy to beat. Ganassi did a great job. It’s been fun racing those guys this year.”
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season starts Sunday, March 2 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding at St. Petersburg, Florida, live on FOX and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Results Sunday of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (9) Colton Herta, Honda, 206, Running
2. (7) Pato O'Ward, Chevrolet, 206, Running
3. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 206, Running
4. (1) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 206, Running
5. (18) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 206, Running
6. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 206, Running
7. (12) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 206, Running
8. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 206, Running
9. (5) David Malukas, Honda, 206, Running
10. (6) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 205, Running
11. (24) Alex Palou, Honda, 205, Running
12. (10) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 205, Running
13. (20) Jack Harvey, Honda, 205, Running
14. (25) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 205, Running
15. (26) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 205, Running
16. (13) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 204, Running
17. (11) Scott Dixon, Honda, 204, Running
18. (27) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 204, Running
19. (21) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 204, Running
20. (23) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 204, Running
21. (16) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 204, Running
22. (17) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 202, Running
23. (19) Graham Rahal, Honda, 202, Running
24. (4) Will Power, Chevrolet, 198, Running
25. (15) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 136, Contact
26. (22) Katherine Legge, Honda, 85, Contact
27. (3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 55, Contact
2. (7) Pato O'Ward, Chevrolet, 206, Running
3. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 206, Running
4. (1) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 206, Running
5. (18) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 206, Running
6. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 206, Running
7. (12) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 206, Running
8. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 206, Running
9. (5) David Malukas, Honda, 206, Running
10. (6) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 205, Running
11. (24) Alex Palou, Honda, 205, Running
12. (10) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 205, Running
13. (20) Jack Harvey, Honda, 205, Running
14. (25) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 205, Running
15. (26) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 205, Running
16. (13) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 204, Running
17. (11) Scott Dixon, Honda, 204, Running
18. (27) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 204, Running
19. (21) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 204, Running
20. (23) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 204, Running
21. (16) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 204, Running
22. (17) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 202, Running
23. (19) Graham Rahal, Honda, 202, Running
24. (4) Will Power, Chevrolet, 198, Running
25. (15) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 136, Contact
26. (22) Katherine Legge, Honda, 85, Contact
27. (3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 55, Contact
Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 159.207 mph
Time of Race: 01:43:15.2534
Margin of victory: 1.8106 seconds
Cautions: 3 for 31 laps
Lead changes: 8 among 6 drivers
Lap Leaders:
Kirkwood, Kyle 1 - 53
Newgarden, Josef 54 - 91
Rossi, Alexander 92 - 123
Newgarden, Josef 124 - 139
O'Ward, Pato 140 - 160
Herta, Colton 161 - 179
Kirkwood, Kyle 180 - 193
Malukas, David 194 - 201
Herta, Colton 202 - 206
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
Palou 544, Herta 513, McLaughlin 505, Power 498, O'Ward 460, Dixon 456, Kirkwood 420, Newgarden 401, Ferrucci 367, Rossi 366, Lundgaard 312, Rosenqvist 306, VeeKay 300, Armstrong 298, Ericsson 297, Lundqvist 279, Grosjean 260, Rahal 251, Fittipaldi 186, Robb 185, Simpson 182, Rasmussen 163, Siegel 154, Malukas 148, Harvey 143, Daly 119, Agustin Canapino 109, Theo Pourchaire 91, Legge 61, Tom Blomqvist 46, Ed Carpenter 45, Toby Sowery 45, Callum Ilott 39, Luca Ghiotto 27, Helio Castroneves 26, Kyle Larson 21, Takuma Sato 19, Tristan Vautier 12, Juri Vips 11, Colin Braun 10, Ryan Hunter-Reay 6, Hunter McElrea 6, Marco Andretti 5
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
By: IndyCar
September 14, 2024
September 14, 2024
Lebanon, Tennessee – Winning a championship has its privileges, even when it rains.
2024 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Louis Foster will start first in the Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, as entrant points set the starting grid for the final race of the season for the INDYCAR development series when qualifying was interrupted and eventually rained out Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway.
“Interesting session; I’m sure everyone would have preferred to qualify,” Foster said. “But it’s not what we got today. Hopefully the rain stays away tomorrow for the race. Should be an interesting race – not a lot of practice here today. We’ll see what happens.”
Andretti Global driver Foster will start at the front of the field for the seventh time in 14 races this season. He led both practice sessions today on the 1.33-mile concrete oval before qualifying.
Foster clinched the series championship in his No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car at the last event, Aug. 31 at the Milwaukee Mile.
Nine of the 18 drivers in the field made qualifying attempts today before rain washed out the session. Rain already had interrupted qualifying for a brief period after the first four drivers made attempts before the session resumed, only to be halted again.
The nine drivers who made attempts will receive a set of new Firestone tires so all cars will start the 65-lap race Sunday on sticker tires. Live coverage starts at 11:50 a.m. ET on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Jacob Abel will join Foster on the front row, starting second in the No. 51 Abel Construction entry.
Row 2 will be comprised of rookie HMD Motorsports teammates Caio Collet in the No. 18 car starting third and Christian Brooks in the No. 39 machine starting fourth.
Rookie Callum Hedge will start inside Row 2 in fifth in the No. 17 HMD Motorsports car, with fellow rookie Salvador de Alba Jr. starting sixth in the No. 2 Grupo Indi entry of Andretti Cape INDY NXT.
