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Topic
FIA World Rally Championships
The FIA World Rally Championships is the biggest rally series in the world. Cars race against the clock on special stages, often on mixed road surfaces.
Company
Hyundai Motorsports
Hyundai Motorsports is Hyundai’s racing team. They help run and support Hyundai race cars in big competitions like rallying.
Topic
WeatherTech Sport Car Championship
The WeatherTech Sport Car Championship is a big sports-car racing series in North America. Races often involve different classes of cars running together.
Topic
Long Beach
Long Beach is a race track that runs on city streets in California. Because it’s tight and close to barriers, cars have to be set up carefully and drivers have to be precise.
Topic
Sport Car Race
They’re talking about sports car racing, which is usually longer races than typical sprint events. The cars are built for performance and endurance.
Topic
Monaco Historic
“Monaco Historic” is a race event in Monaco for older cars. People go to see classic cars compete in a famous location.
Topic
Le Mans preparation
“Le Mans preparation” means getting ready for the big endurance race at Le Mans. Teams do lots of testing and planning so the car can last for many hours.
Car
BMW Z4
The BMW Z4 is a small two-seat sports roadster. The podcast is describing an incident where a bike ended up hitting the passenger foot area, which shows that the space inside can be tight. That can make loading or moving things around the cabin more difficult.
Topic
Thunder Hill Raceway
Thunder Hill Raceway is a race track in Northern California. When they mention it, they’re talking about where the racing action is happening.
Concept
ATFs
“ATFs” here doesn’t sound like a car part—it sounds like a recurring type of content or posts the group shares. The hosts are basically debating whether they should be doing it and talking about which posts were good.
Topic
WEC at Imola
WEC is a major endurance racing series. Imola is a famous race track in Italy, and they’re talking about the WEC event there.
Topic
FIAWC
“FIAWC” is used here as shorthand for an FIA World Championship program (most likely the FIA World Endurance Championship ecosystem). The hosts are speculating about a switch in racing direction if Acura’s IMSA involvement changes, so it’s a meaningful motorsport governance/series reference.
Topic
FOM reported me
They mention “FOM” as the group that reported someone after they criticized the rules. It’s basically about how rules and enforcement can lead to penalties and appeals.
Concept
three-week ban
A “three-week ban” indicates a temporary suspension tied to conduct or rules enforcement after an incident. In motorsport communities, bans can be used to manage disputes and maintain compliance, and appeals can restore participation.
Concept
GTP programme
They’re talking about Honda’s racing/development effort called the “GTP programme.” When a manufacturer pauses it, it usually means they’re not competing in that effort for a while or are focusing elsewhere.
Brand
Honda
They mention Honda, the car company. The key point is that Honda is changing its involvement in a racing program, so you may see less of them in that specific competition.
Topic
Hong Kong
They say Hong Kong is where the competition is happening. It sounds like a motorsport-related event where she’s representing her country.
Topic
Dubai
They mention Dubai as where Nick was when he was feeling sick. Dubai is a common stop for people traveling to motorsport events.
Topic
Abu Dhabi
They talk about Abu Dhabi as part of the trip. Abu Dhabi is a well-known place for big racing events, so it fits the motorsport theme.
Concept
Formula One (F1) driver tax rules by country
They’re talking about how different countries handle taxes for Formula 1 drivers. Because you’re racing in that country, the government may decide you owe tax there, and the rules can get complicated.
Topic
Formula One driver taxation debate
This part of the show is mainly about a debate over how Formula 1 drivers get taxed when they race in different countries. The hosts are questioning whether the approach is fair.
Concept
tax jurisdiction / pro rata tax based on working days
This is about how countries decide which part of your income they can tax. Even if you’re based in one place, Italy may tax you for the days you’re actually working there (like race weekends), and not for days you’re just visiting for fun.
Topic
Formula One drivers and Italian tax at Monza
They’re using Formula One and the Monza race as an example of how tax rules could work for drivers who spend some time in Italy for work.
Topic
Mugello
Mugello is a famous race track in Italy. It’s mentioned as part of the 2020 race locations.
Concept
Grand Prix
A “Grand Prix” is a big, high-profile race event. The hosts are talking about whether certain countries can keep hosting those events.
Concept
taxes
The segment discusses how taxes and related charges can affect where events are held and who can participate. While not a technical automotive term, it’s relevant to motorsport logistics and event economics.
Concept
financial restraint of trade
It means something is being restricted because the costs are too high. The hosts are suggesting taxes can act like a barrier to hosting major races.
Concept
Brexit
Brexit is when the UK left the EU. The hosts are saying it changed how taxes are handled for people working in other countries like France.
Concept
horsepower
Horsepower is basically how strong the engine is. More horsepower usually helps the car accelerate harder, but it’s not the only thing that matters.
Topic
Formula One cars that have been impounded
In racing, “impounded” means officials take the car away temporarily. It usually happens when there’s a rules or technical problem that needs to be sorted out.
Company
Bernie
“Bernie” refers to Bernie Ecclestone, a major figure in Formula One. The joke here is that big decisions in F1 can sometimes be influenced by powerful people behind the scenes.
Concept
block settlement
A block settlement is basically a “one big deal” to settle things. Instead of negotiating each issue separately, everyone agrees to a combined package to close the matter.
Topic
San Rino
“San Rino” sounds like San Marino, a small place people sometimes move to for tax reasons. The point here is that where someone lives can change how they’re taxed, even if they’re Italian.
Topic
Estaril
“Estaril” is likely Estoril in Portugal, a race track. They’re talking about which tracks might host races and how that ties into the money/tax discussion.
Topic
Portimao
Portimão is a race track in Portugal. The hosts are listing tracks to talk about a planned set of races and how the schedule totals up.
Concept
10-hour race and an eight-hour race
A 10-hour or 8-hour race is a long endurance event. Teams have to plan for things like tires, fuel, and driver changes, not just speed for a short time.
Topic
Italian Carrera Cup
The Italian Carrera Cup is a Porsche one-make racing series in Italy (part of the Carrera Cup ladder). Mentioning it implies a driver moving into a structured, brand-supported competition with similar cars and a focus on driver development.
Topic
News Top Stories segment
They’re about to switch to the show’s news section. It’s where they talk about what’s happening in the motorsport world right now.
Brand
Lando Norris
Lando Norris is a well-known Formula 1 race driver. If he shows up in the news, it usually means something big happened in his racing life.
Concept
Laureus
Laureus is a big sports awards program that honors top athletes. It’s not a car award, but it’s a major recognition for sports stars.
Car
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a car model made by Chevrolet. In the podcast, the word “Monte Carlo” is used in connection with an event, not just the car itself. The mention is mainly about the name showing up in a motorsport-related story.
Concept
Breakthrough Award
The Breakthrough Award is an award for someone who made a big leap forward. In racing, it usually means a driver had a standout rise in performance around that time.
Concept
Indy 500
The Indy 500 is one of the biggest and most famous races in the United States. It’s a major open-wheel event, and the episode is noting how long after an Indy 500 win the Breakthrough Award happened.
Concept
comeback award
A comeback award is an award for someone who struggled for a while and then improved a lot again. It’s basically a “you bounced back” recognition.
Company
Alpina
Alpina is a German company that makes special, performance-focused versions of BMWs. They’re known for making cars that feel fast but still comfortable to drive.
Concept
Formula One team got their own engine
In Formula One, teams can run engines supplied by manufacturers or develop/operate their own engine program. When the hosts say the team “got their own engine,” they’re referencing the high-stakes technical effort and cost involved in managing an engine supply/partnership, which can affect performance and budgets.
Concept
F1
F1 is the top level of open-wheel racing with single-seat race cars. Races are usually shorter than endurance events, and teams focus a lot on car setup and performance over a race weekend.
Concept
manufacturers in different series
Car companies don’t always race in every series forever. They may leave if the program gets too expensive or doesn’t fit their goals, especially when lots of teams are competing for attention.
Brand
Ferrari
Ferrari is a famous car company and racing team. In this conversation, it’s mentioned as an example of a team that has been in the sport for a very long time.
Brand
McLaren
McLaren is a well-known racing team in Formula One. The hosts bring it up to show that some teams have been around so long that they’re less affected by short-term changes.
Brand
Williams
Williams is a long-time Formula One team. Here, it’s mentioned as another example of a team that’s been around for a long time.
Concept
hiatus
A “hiatus” just means a temporary pause. In racing, it can happen when a team or company takes a break for a while—often because money or priorities are changing.
Topic
Acura motorsport future (ERX/GTP/LMDH)
The hosts are talking about Acura’s racing plans and whether they’ll keep running their top endurance prototype program. They mention a pause in IMSA, but not a full stop.
Concept
IMSA programme
IMSA is a major racing series in North America. If a team “pauses” its IMSA programme, it means they’re likely taking a break from racing in that series for now.
Car
Acura NSX
The Acura NSX is a performance road car that Acura also used in racing. Here, they’re saying it stopped being eligible under the rules (“homologation”), so Acura doesn’t currently have a GT race car to replace it.
Concept
GT3 car
GT3 is a racing category for production-based sports cars. If a brand doesn’t have a GT3 car, it means they’re not currently competing in that very common GT racing lane.
Concept
homologation
Homologation is the process of certifying that a car meets the rules to compete in a specific racing class, typically requiring a production-based connection and compliance with technical regulations. When a car “drops out of homologation,” it can no longer be used in that class, forcing teams to find an alternative.
Concept
FIA WEC competition
FIA WEC is a world championship for long-distance races. Cars have to last for hours, so teams plan pit stops and driver changes carefully, not just chase lap times.
Term
endurance racing
Endurance racing is motorsport focused on completing long races—often with multiple drivers per car—over hours rather than minutes. Success depends heavily on reliability, tire/fuel management, and pit strategy, not just peak performance.
Term
number 93 car
In racing, each car is assigned a number. The “number 93 car” is just the way they identify one particular entry in the series.
Term
number 60
Like the number 93, the “number 60” is a car’s race number. It’s how the team and car are identified during IMSA events.
Company
Mayashank
This sounds like a racing team name connected to the car number they’re talking about. The exact spelling in the transcript is unclear, so it may be a transcription error.
Term
Deer Turner
This is probably the name of a race track where something went wrong with the team. The transcript spelling looks off, so the exact venue should be verified.
Concept
disqualified for not being within the rules
In racing, there are strict rules. If a team breaks them—sometimes even unintentionally—they can be removed from the results, even after a strong finish.
Company
HPD
HPD is Honda’s racing team and engineering group. They help with things like setup, development, and getting people trained to run the race cars.
Term
V6 engine
A V6 engine has six cylinders arranged in two banks that form a V shape. The idea is that it can make good power without being huge or overly heavy.
Term
2.4, 2.6 engine
Those numbers are the engine size—2.4 liters or 2.6 liters. In racing, engine size can be important because the rules and performance targets depend on it.
Concept
Daytona
They’re talking about a big endurance race held at Daytona. Sometimes teams win, but later officials review the car and rules—if something doesn’t comply, the win or prizes can be taken back.
Concept
Asian Le Mans series
The Asian Le Mans Series is endurance racing in Asia, similar in style to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. They’re discussing whether Honda/Acura could end up racing there.
Concept
GTPs
GTP is a category of fast race cars used in major endurance racing in North America. It’s basically the “top prototype” class with rules that keep the cars comparable.
Brand
Genesis
Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury brand. The hosts are talking about Genesis doing well in racing and using that success to grow its reputation with more customers.
Concept
FAWEC
FAWEC here is talking about the big world endurance racing series. It’s the championship where teams race prototype and GT cars over long distances.
Brand
Ford
Ford is discussed here in the context of whether it will participate in IMSA beyond 2027. Manufacturer commitment is a major factor in endurance racing because it influences budgets, factory support, and the overall depth of the field.
Concept
manufacturer attraction
They’re basically saying IMSA wants more big-name car companies to race there. When manufacturers show up, it usually means more money, better cars, and a stronger competition.
Brand
Porsche
Porsche is a well-known sports-car brand from Germany. Here, they’re talking about Porsche teams showing up in endurance racing, which matters because it affects how competitive and attractive the series is.
Concept
golden ticket
“Golden ticket” here is a metaphor for a highly valuable invitation or pathway—most likely to the Le Mans 24 Hours—associated with WEC. The hosts imply that this one marquee opportunity drives interest, even if the broader WEC calendar is less attractive.
Brand
Cadillac
Cadillac is a car brand that also races in endurance events. When it shows up in a series like IMSA, it usually means they’re bringing serious effort to compete for wins.
Brand
Aston Martin
Aston Martin is a performance car brand that races in endurance events. If it’s one of the IMSA manufacturers, it generally means they’re taking the series seriously and aiming to compete.
Brand
Alpine
Alpine is a car brand that races at the highest levels of endurance competition. The point here is that some brands are more focused outside the U.S., so entering U.S. racing programs can be harder.
Concept
hypercar teams
“Hypercar” here means the top-level, most advanced race cars in endurance racing. The idea is that the biggest manufacturers in that class may be cautious about where they race and why.
Concept
LMH
LMH stands for Le Mans Hypercar, the FIA WEC top prototype rule set introduced to create a bridge between different endurance prototype philosophies. The hosts contrast “original hypercar teams” with “not the LMH teams,” implying different manufacturer motivations and competitive dynamics within the hypercar landscape.
Concept
Le Mans entry
This is about getting a car officially allowed to race at Le Mans. Because racing has rules for who can enter, teams sometimes choose specific events first to make sure they qualify.
Topic
WAC
They’re talking about a specific racing series or event (“WAC”) that teams use as a stepping stone. The idea is that doing it helps them get into Le Mans.
Concept
sub resets in the race
In long races, there are sometimes interruptions that cause teams to reset their plan. Even if it’s not a full restart, it can change when you pit and how you manage the car.
Concept
marginal gain
“Marginal gain” just means “a little extra benefit.” If a company is already racing where the audience is, adding another race might not move the needle much.
Topic
NASCAR
NASCAR is a popular kind of auto racing in the U.S., mostly on oval tracks. The cars and the fans tend to be different from other racing series, like sports car racing.
Topic
INSA
The transcript says “INSA,” but it’s probably talking about IMSA, a North American sports-car racing series. IMSA races are usually on road courses and often feel more like endurance racing than NASCAR’s oval-track style.
Concept
demographic of the sport
Different racing series attract different kinds of fans. Even if both are about cars, the racing style and events can make them feel completely different.
Term
X
“X” is the name Twitter uses now. The hosts mention it because people post about what races they watch, which can show how different fan groups overlap.
Topic
baseball and NFL
They’re comparing NASCAR vs another racing series to how baseball and football (NFL) are both sports but have different fan cultures. The point is that fans often don’t cross over as much as you’d expect.
Topic
GT4
GT4 is a racing category for cars that are based on models you could buy. The rules limit performance so different cars can compete more evenly.
Car
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a popular sports car from Ford. Here, they’re talking about it being used in a racing series called the Mustang Challenge, where teams compete using Mustangs.
Term
carbon fiber
Carbon fiber is a strong, lightweight material. On cars, it’s often used to make parts lighter and to give that high-performance, race-inspired look.
Topic
Formula One with Red Bull and its sports car program
Formula One is a major world racing series, and Red Bull is a big name in it. The host is saying that outside the U.S., brands often use F1 and related racing programs to build recognition and sell cars.
Concept
horses for courses
It’s a saying that means not everything is best for every situation. Different people and places want different things, so the “best” choice depends on the context.
Topic
IndyCar
IndyCar is a major U.S. racing league for open-wheel race cars. It’s the kind of series teams look at when they think there’s more opportunity or momentum.
Concept
privateers
A privateer is a racing team that isn’t run by the car maker itself. They may get cars from the manufacturer, then do the racing and logistics on their own.
Concept
linear for Imza
This sounds like they’re talking about timing—when a team or brand might join a series or start a program. The exact wording is unclear, but the idea is about future plans.
Car
Corvette
A Corvette is a Chevrolet sports car. Here, they’re talking about how Corvette racing programs focused on getting entries to major endurance races like Le Mans.
Concept
WEC entry
WEC is a racing series for endurance cars. They’re saying the team wanted to race Le Mans, and ideally didn’t have to join the whole WEC schedule to do it.
LIVE
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Hello everybody, a little after eight o'clock on a Wednesday evening.
This is series 21, episode 14, I've just realised I've written series 24, episode 14 on the group
chat.
That may well have confused everybody, however, it is midweek motorsport.
I'm John Heimdorf and I am back in the UK after our fantastic four weekend which in
many ways was fantastic, in other words, quite clearly was not.
We'll talk more about that during the show tonight.
Up in London is Tim Greyer, our executive producer.
Tim, first of all, well done to you and your team over the weekend on a very difficult weekend
technically as well as emotionally.
On a pack programme tonight, we have what?
We have all the usual features, including Nick Damon, he'll be here to talk about
Formula One and other things with wheels.
We have a big interview, I can't remember who it's with.
No, no, this is quite exciting with a bit of luck and a fair wind and assuming it gets
there, we are crossing live to Gran Canaria ahead of the FIA World Rally Championships
and Andrew Wheatley from Hyundai Motorsports will be joining us from the service park.
We'll have to see if he's there, if he's there for that.
I'll ask you something related to that a little bit later on.
We might have time for game show, we've got CrowdStrike Award to give out.
Yes, CrowdStrike Endurance Team Work and Speed for the Ibiza WeatherTech Sport
Car Championship which was on the streets of Long Beach at the weekend which also had
IndyCar there as well and we had a huge amount of Sport Car Race to, Sport Car Race
that we'll talk about, we'll try and review that as well.
This weekend is Monaco Historic, I'm not involved in that and so lots to happen.
Shall I do a bit of housekeeping?
Please do, we missed out last week because we didn't really have time.
Yeah, I think I did about three last week.
Hello to Jesse, no AFAs, thanks for the fantastic four at the weekend.
Also hello to NG Orto Art, our Artisan Residents, hello Neil, super work last week.
To Johannes Quagley, Johannes thank you so much for all your help at the weekend.
To Simon Hough, I hope you all enjoyed the start of the WE season, one eye on the snooker tonight as well.
Hello to Derrick Green, very good, thank you for your kind words.
Also to Sean Crockett, continuing his Le Mans preparation by trying to test fit and fold up
by biking into the passenger footwell of a Z4, thinks they're not going well.
Smaller bike or bigger car is the question.
Every bike's a folding bike if you try hard enough.
Tim Greer, Tim Greer with words to live by.
All you need is a hacksaw and a couple of hinges.
Hello to Jerry C, joining live, looking forward to hearing your take on the breaking Honda Accura news.
I suspect that that will be near the start of the program.
Hello to the Sim Racing Bar Steward listening live tonight wondering if someone's going to pull
an alternative radio station behind us here to do the broadcast again just to make life more difficult.
We had that a couple of times at the weekend.
The worst part of it was I didn't realize that you guys weren't hearing what I was hearing
or seeing what I was seeing, which was really bizarre.
Goyma Hoffman is listening from Adan Pesanesi, California, packing for yet another race
weekend, Marshall and Judy's off to Thunder Hill Raceway in Northern California.
Hello to the Collective, looking forward to ATUFs.
All they usually think is well done.
Kevin Payne says no ATFs and then really enjoyed the Phil Hansen Tyler's long one that he posted
last week.
All of our preview and additional content from WEC at Imola, which I call Mons and
more than once.
There's a reason for that, but we can't go into that at the moment.
He's posted including Hyper Paul, which Tim has nature is there as well and Hyper Paul
is worth listening to.
Stu's here, fears this week, family time and a midweek mini-rose will catch up
on the M1 in the morning.
Chris Sucu's doing a bit of work in the study tonight.
James O'Donnell looking forward to the usual news and views on the sport we love to go at
the famous line this weekend, the best of times and the worst of times.
Well, is it not the truth?
Thank you for what you said about the team's professionalism and our partners as well.
Austin Hilliard racing, can't believe Acura pulling out of IMSA, hope that doesn't mean
sports cars all together, maybe a switch to FIAWC, we'll have some news on that
when Tim tells us we can talk about it, which will be in the show tonight, it's just when
he cues us up for it.
Otter, after this weekend's Laws and Highs and Motorsport got back after a three-week
ban, because FOM reported me for criticising their rules set after the
Berman accident.
Wow, Otter, he speaks the truth and he's appealed and he's back.
Excellent.
Another thing, listening in live later, sad to see Honda pausing the GTP programme, thanks
for the professionalism of all of you this weekend, that's kind of you at the CSO.
Alexander Orgen, new EFAs tonight, Alex, your daughter did brilliantly, is doing
brilliantly in the 7s for the nation at Hong Kong, brilliant stuff, great to see
her get on earlier in the week, EFAs for Mark, Mark Bowling, he'll be catching up on
the trip down to Monaco, excellent, he won the HRN competition, I think he did, Ed
Morziss's EFAs tonight need to get back to early, starts catching up with the archive
on, oh my, is it that early, I just see what he'll be.
Hello to Arnaj, Rob, four great weekends, finally caught up with the end of the
archive series last night, what a great series, that is superb atmosphere, well done
Black Pearl Johnny and Simon Hill, hello to who else have we got, oh no that's
who, I think I'm up to date, I'd spec your team and if you'd like to get in
touch with us through the programme tonight and let's crack on, shuffled
papers and here we go for the top story.
Oh, no it's not that, I wasn't either, I pressed the wrong button, let's press the correct button
and we'll get this one and we can also say hello to Nick Damon, good evening Nick.
Hang on, he's over here, there he's on, that one, hello Nick.
Good evening Tim, good evening Jordan.
Nick feeling better after being very polling, international sickness, yeah well, there's
a few of us have had that made, but you actually were very polling whilst you were in Dubai
at the wing end, weren't you?
Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi on the Emirates.
What's it, is it aligned in Abu Dhabi?
It's aligned on the right on the edge of Abu Dhabi, yeah.
Ah, okay, I should have just said you were Ian and you'd have been right.
I made the same mistake last week on the show actually, suggesting that he
might have been in Dubai, but no, he had an Abu Dhabi do at the weekend.
Very good.
Well, he didn't have an Abu Dhabi poo, he had an Abu Dhabi thrown up, so it wasn't well at all.
Abu Dhabi, as it were.
Crown court, music, oh no, there's a number of stories that this could be.
So we brought in Nick Damon because this is a Formula One story.
Formula One story.
Hooray, I mean they're early.
I was in Italy at the weekend and this brought in Italy whilst I was still there.
It was all over the news.
It's a tax thing.
It is a tax thing.
They were all going to prison, Nick, apart from coming out and everything.
Yeah, well, yeah, maybe.
This is interesting because...
Oh, Nick, you've just gone off mic.
I think your mind's not talking to your computer.
Hello?
Yes, hello?
Hello?
You sounded like you were down...
You sounded like you were IndyCar Radio there for a...
I'm down a man job.
There you are.
You're back.
That's fantastic.
There's this weird situation where some countries decide that because a Formula One driver is
taking part in a race in their country that they are entitled to one X and the X is the
number of grand prix in the season of their salary as far as tax is concerned.
And that includes Australia.
I also think that as well.
So the idea is that if you're doing 1.24 of your salary, you have to pay tax in that country
and it's a very complex situation.
It's a sort of financial grab.
And I think it's pretty unethical, personally.
I think people...
Because you're working in a country...
When I used to do it with Repso, I used to do international...
I managed international teams.
Yes, I used to manage people.
So if I was working in Germany for three days, they didn't ask for three days of my money.
No.
Because I was employed by a British company...
Well, a Japanese company.
A British company.
But in Britain, I don't understand why this is...
Because you're a racing driver.
You're not like a freelancer.
You're a racing driver who works for a particular company.
You live in a different country and that's where your tax jurisdiction should be.
They claim you're a professional athlete, Nick.
Why?
I wouldn't say a professional athlete.
You're not.
No, but the Formula One drivers are.
And therefore, they should be paying tax in Italy for every day they spend in Italy.
What happens if they spend a day on holiday?
What happens if they go visit Pompeii for a week?
Are they going to pay for 150 seconds of their earnings?
No, they're not working.
It's only when they're working.
Is that Italian law?
Because normally, if you can prove that you have paid tax in some country...
For the right amount of time, then you're all right.
Because it's not as if you're working in Italy, in this case, for enough days for you to qualify to have to pay tax.
You've earned the money in Italy and therefore under Italian law, you haven't earned tax because you were in Italy when you were paid.
Yes, but they want 120th of the money.
Say they're 20 grand prix in a year.
They're asking for 120th of the money.
When, of course, they're employed for 365 days a year.
They're not asking that.
They want it pro rata based on the number of working days spent in Italy.
So it's not just when you're at the Grand Prix at Monza.
It's when you do promotional events in other places.
For example, in 2020, we had races in Monza, Imola and Mugello.
The Italians need to be careful about this because what will happen is it will stop them getting Grand Prix.
I think it should be absolutely...
Don't forget, this is one of the reasons we don't go to India anymore after two years because they got silly with taxes.
I think if you're trying to pull that back trick, it just disqualifies you as a country.
And that's it, you don't get any Grand Prix.
It's a financial restraint of trade.
So, Premiership footballers who are playing for British clubs and being played by British clubs,
when they play Italian clubs in the Champions League, are they paying Italian tax?
They should be, yes.
Well they're not. I'll tell you that now.
There'll be a dispensation worked out by UEFA.
Bands, track and field athletes and cyclists on the Grand Tour.
Apart from probably three people, no track and field athlete is earning enough money to probably qualify for paying tax.
No, but it's not about qualifying.
It's not about qualifying.
This is why they're going after it, John.
They can see an easy political win in it.
Surely anybody who earns, somewhere like France, and we've been through this,
actually it's a benefit of Brexit now because now France don't care about what happens because we're outside of Europe.
When we were inside Europe, they wanted anybody who worked in France, who was part of the EU,
to pay French tax, French national insurance effectively, and various other things.
Anybody who came in from out of Europe, so you know, America, Australia,
and we had people who were from both of those places, they didn't care.
Now we're from outside of Europe, they don't care anymore.
Except for the fact that Tim, you know this because you work in sport as well.
France has an exception to anybody who's working for a major sporting or cultural event.
And those are events that are given exemptions.
So this is not an EU law, this is something that is particular to a European country.
Yeah, and Italy. I'm not sure how they get aware of that to be honest,
in the EU where everybody's supposed to be the same.
Well the tax rules aren't the same in every country.
They have different rates of BAT everywhere, you have different rates of income tax everywhere.
It's why people who live in somewhere like Alsace will do their shopping on one side of the border for food
and buy their petrol on the other side of the border.
Don't talk about buying petrol in Europe after the week after you start.
Yes, but yes, you're absolutely right.
You're driving a 500 horsepower Mustang.
450, but yes.
But one of the reasons that everybody wanted us to stay in Europe was
because it's one big happy family and therefore you have one set of regulations
and for lots of things you do, but tax is not one of those things.
Not work is, it's supposed to be free movement of work, isn't it, in Europe?
Here you can work it, but they want you to pay tax when you work there.
I think it's cheeky, I think it's unenforceable.
I think it's unenforceable.
Don't forget the Italians do like to just impound things.
I think yes, you'll remember the various Formula One cars that have been impounded
and released after usually Bernie dropped some money somewhere on a Saturday night.
Anyway, how is this going to be resolved, Nick?
I assume that they're going to have to try and argue some sort of exemption.
No, Formula One management is going to negotiate a block settlement.
Formula management is going to say, right, OK, do you like having Grand Prix?
Yes, exactly right.
Well, stop it then.
Exactly right, that's exactly what needs to happen.
Why did I say every driver apart from Ciumi Antonelli?
Because he's already Italian.
He is, but he now no longer lives in Italy.
Does he not?
You have Monaco already?
He does not live in Monaco.
He's moved to a different tax haven.
San Rino.
There we go.
Can I just say about this then?
Does that mean that every motor racing driver, whoever races in Italy,
including a WEC at the weekend,
and more likely at the end of the season,
when if we can't go to Cata and Bahrain,
will be at least one Italian and possibly two Italian circuits,
will have to pay their monies as well.
One Portuguese circuit, I heard.
Well, you know, it's between Estaril, Mugello and Monza.
Estaril?
Yes.
Portimao.
Not Portimao.
Sorry.
Sorry.
Yes.
Portimao.
Portimao, Mugello and Monza for what would be in 1812 kilometers.
So a 10-hour race and an eight-hour race.
If it doesn't happen, that's what the smart money's on.
And we're going to try and get hold of Harley Horton.
He's off to Italy to go and drive in Italian Carrera Cup.
Are they going to take a chunk of their money out of them as well?
And also, by the way, if that's the case,
if they are taking it from individuals,
why aren't they taking corporation tax from the teams?
Well, I'm not taking it from a salient tax.
It's not as easy as a magazine hit that.
Yeah, I think this is just, it's talk, isn't it?
Anyway, you've seen the Midweek Mortar Sport.
It is just after 20 minutes past eight in the UK.
This is series 21, episode number 14.
Tim is up in London.
Nick is in his garden.
Well, sorry, in his house.
Well, his garden is the Hall of Lincolnshire.
Yes.
Yeah, quite right.
And I'm in North, Northamptonshire.
And Tim is going to tell us where we're going next
in our News Top Stories segment.
We're going to Spain.
Are we?
Yes, because we don't have to pay tax there.
Excellent.
At the moment.
And...
What's the faith of Waterfall?
Lando Norris was there on Monday night.
Right.
To win one of the most prestigious awards
an athlete can win.
Really?
Yeah.
The Baldor.
The Laureus.
It's the World's Breakthrough of the Year.
What?
Breakthrough of the Year?
Yes.
OK.
Who was sports person of the year then?
Who won the Laureus Sports Awards?
The sports person of the year.
That was Carlos Alcaraz.
Do you know what?
I was about to say that here
and they nearly always give it a chance player.
A comeback of the year went to Rory McElroy.
Oh, very good.
That was for last year, not this year.
Yes.
These are all...
Four last years.
Four last years.
Yeah.
You might see how Lando Norris has broken through
it's like it's fifth season or sixth season there,
but carry on.
I think it might have been for 2024 actually
when he won his first race.
Who was the last Formula One driver
to win the Laureus Award?
Lewis Hammond.
Lewis Hammond, yeah.
No.
Well...
Someone who won the Laureus Award
Well?
Someone since Lewis Hamilton.
Max and Stefan.
No.
Carlos signs for the best hair
in sport.
Oh, yeah.
Nico Walsberg.
Really?
Yes.
In 2017.
What did he win?
What did he win?
What did he win in 2017?
World title the year before.
Did he win?
No, yeah.
But what did he win?
What was the Laureus award?
Did he win running away
because he couldn't defend his title?
He won the sportsman of the year, I think.
Yes.
Really?
Yes.
That's a weird thing.
Who are Laureus, by the way?
You mean, what do they do?
Yeah, what do they do?
They organise these awards
for the stitch of sports people.
It is...
I do know this.
Is it a company
or is it just a presentation company?
No, it is.
It's a company.
They are a...
I know this.
I'd like to point out
that their marketing is obviously not working.
Absolutely.
It is...
It's the Laureus sport for good.
I've found it now.
The Laureus sport for good foundation.
Daimler and Richemont were the founding patrons
supported, therefore, by Mercedes-Benz,
IWC, Shufferhausen,
the watch company,
and Mitsubishi UFGA final.
The name Laureus is described
for the Greek word for Laurel,
which obviously, you know,
that's what you're through round peoples.
Yeah.
Next.
It's 26 years old this year.
The first ceremony was held on the 25th of May
in Monte Carlo.
Nelson Mandela gave the team
not speech.
Eight categories.
Max Verstaffel won in 2022.
Did he?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Not on my list.
Well, my wisdom is that he was sportsman
of the year in 2020, too.
There we are.
Can you name some other Formula One drivers
who have won?
Lewis Hamilton.
Yes.
Jetson Button.
Yes.
Michael Schermacher.
Schermacher's definitely won.
No, no, no.
Michael Schermacher won sportsman of the year
at least once and possibly twice.
I think.
Really?
Yes.
What did he win?
He won the Breakthrough Award.
Really?
Okay.
Very good.
One problem on Toya.
Yes, that's right.
Breakthrough Award in 2002.
That's like six years after he won the Indy 500.
I'm just thinking that the 2022 Awards,
Max, who's happened to have won it,
come back of the year in 2022 with Sky Brown.
She's only about 50 now.
How could she have come back five years ago?
No, because she...
No, that was the television channel, Sky Brown.
No.
Is that a horror channel?
She broke everything, didn't she?
When she first planted, trying to do that
double nollie,
tail holds,
50 upside down thing.
I'm not going to get the gig on my first skateboarding.
She was in hospital.
She was trying a clever trick
and it went wrong in practice.
She was in hospital for ages and then she came back
and won that bit, I knew.
Simone Biles won the comeback award in 2024
after she had all of the...
What do they call it? The twisties?
The call-up when she...
When you can't spot things.
So, anyway.
Moving on.
Let's move on.
Have you got a sports car story for me, too?
I was going to say, no, I did.
Coming in, she got the lifetime achievement award, as well.
This year?
This year.
Former Romanian athlete first won to get a 10.
And did a move on the asymmetric bars,
which was banned.
Too dangerous.
I always remember, as a special guest in the 1973 Cup final,
predicting that Sunderland was going to win.
And they did.
Well, they are, he said.
Although not at the weekend,
but a fabulous game against Aston Villa.
I know we've got some Aston Villa fans
in the collective.
I haven't watched the full game yet.
I only watched Match of the Day whilst I was away.
And I do need to...
Niki Laoda won a lifetime achievement award.
This year?
No, 2016.
Alex and Adi got a comeback award in 2005.
That's sure enough.
Valentino Rossi got it in 2011.
A comeback award?
Yeah.
Well, after his two bad years,
he won the Cashion Decati.
Yes, indeed.
A list in the middle of the sport,
coming on to Hot Mask 8, Nick, Tim and me.
Guests coming up later on,
once we get the technology
and the wind blowing in the right direction.
We're following Nick.
We're going to have one at an airport, at least,
and hopefully one in a service park.
Fingers crossed.
Sports car news?
Can we do a bit of sports car news?
There's a bit of sports car news.
Yes.
Because if you want to go into Stowe on the World...
Not the story I was thinking of, Tim.
You are in luck,
because Alpina said it is working on keeping
the A44 in operation.
This is very interesting.
We've got a story of somebody who said they were leaving
and might be staying,
and a story of somebody who was about to leave.
He's about to leave, but probably will come back.
And somebody who's pausing,
and somebody who we thought was coming,
and now probably isn't.
There's three sports cars.
I liked him taking this first, Nick,
because this is Alpine.
The winding down,
the Formula One team
got their own engine, they're trying to sell it,
maybe they're not trying to sell it,
maybe they just want to keep the money.
The A424 winding up at the end of it,
except they were pretty good.
No spoilers for later on,
but at Imola they were competitive.
The top one of the sessions, they raced well.
At least one of the cars raced well.
Most teams had one car that raced well,
to be honest, and one car that probably didn't.
And this is a chunk of light
that might mean that they can continue,
which is absolutely, Nick, at odds
with what we were being told,
and the mayor of the town was going off on it
and calling them all the bad names in French
under the world, in the world that we weren't going to report,
which is very odd.
Extraordinary stuff.
They spend money to race in the WEC,
they make money racing in F1,
but quite clearly there's an opportunity for them
to do something special, and particularly at Le Mans.
Yeah, I didn't realise they were looking
for a bit of a vault of fat on the retirement.
This is news to me.
They've kind of jumped the gun, I don't know.
The thing is, I mean, I think, you know,
we've had a couple of, obviously,
a portion of pulled out of WEC,
and we've got this other announcement coming up,
but it's just the way it's going to be.
When you've got that many manufacturers in different series,
they're going to pull out.
It's not the end of the world, it's not indicative of anything,
apart from the fact that the three-year-old,
five-year-internal financing has dried up.
And because things...
...financing goes in waves, doesn't it, for most?
Look, it's different if you're Ferrari in Formula One,
they've been there forever, McLaren,
I suppose you could say, similarly.
They've been pretty much there
ever since McLaren's been a team.
Williams is the same.
But ultimately, in motorsport, in all forms of motorsports,
the legacy teams, some of them have dropped in
and dropped out down through the years
as their marketing and product cycles,
and therefore the money that goes with the product cycles
for marketing, and therefore motorsport,
has been available and they're not available.
Yeah, I mean, it's obviously always sad if someone pulls out,
but they've been pretty much replaced
as they've gone so far, haven't they?
Other manufacturers at the top level.
Yes, and that brings us to a cessation
or a pause, Tim, I think it's been described, isn't it?
A hiatus! Oh, very good.
Did they use a hiatus as a word in a U.S. press release?
Maybe they didn't.
Maybe that's just John De Geese using the word hiatus.
Oh, very good.
I thought I saw the word pause.
Well, actually, I saw the word pause in the press release
from Mayochank Racing.
Yes.
That's where I saw pause.
Look, it's been banging around for a little while
about whether Acura, part of Honda, of course,
will continue with their ERX, GTP, LMDH car
beyond the end of the season.
They've said that they're going to pause their IMSA programme,
but they haven't said they're going to stop completely.
This is very interesting
because when I was at Imola at the weekend,
I was talking to a couple of people
who are far, far better informed than I am
about how Honda, the parent company of Acura,
want to go forward in their motorsport aspirations.
And they don't have a GT3 car at the moment.
The NSX has dropped out of homologation
and there doesn't seem to be anything else right now
that is going to replace it.
They've never fancied putting the ERX,
I think it's all six now, isn't it,
into FIAWEC competition.
But it seems that David Salter and the US organisation
have been sort of handed the sports car side of things.
And remember we reported on this programme
about Honda sort of bringing their whole
global motorsport programme together
under the banner of HRC, Honda Racing Corporation.
And so HPD, Honda Performance Development
in the States kind of no longer exists,
comes under HRC.
But it seems that the smart money
is that the American side of things,
under David Salter, formerly of Ferrari's
Powertrain and Gearbox department,
who's done a great job,
have been given the opportunity,
responsibility, call it what you will,
to look after endurance racing.
And as you know, the number 93 car,
I'm sorry, spoiler alert,
the number 93 and the number 60
are the two cars that run in IMSA.
The 93 car, when Mayashank came back after
their trouble with staying within the rules
at Deer Turner, he says diplomatically,
and winning the race and then being disqualified
for not being within the rules.
When they came back with Honda, HPD
put some people into running one of the cars,
and that car was number 93.
Number 93 was successful at the weekend.
Sorry if I've spoiled that for you,
but I did say spoiler alert some time ago.
And the thought was that they were
gaining experience to potentially run the cars themselves.
So the questions that we have to ask
about IMSA.
IMSA will be asking questions
because of the next story we're going to talk about as well.
But we have to ask ourselves,
is there a problem with IMSA?
I think probably not.
Is there a problem with sports car racing?
Again, probably not.
It's a good time to be in sports car racing
and that Acura is still a competitive package
with the little V6 engine.
It runs really well.
It was a 2.4, 2.6 engine.
It runs really well
and it's still capable of winning as we saw at the weekend.
Have they had another falling out
with Michael Shank and his organisation?
Don't know.
It's the answer to that.
And I'm not suggesting that that is true,
but those were dark days.
They won Daytona and then they
had to give back the prizes.
Although I'm not sure the watches ever went back in fairness,
but I don't know.
And it's an odd one for me
that they've never been able
or allowed by Japan to take that car into the WEC.
And there are questions about
what it would have been branded as.
But as I say, the smart money
and the clever people tell me
that Honda US, Acura,
what used to be HPD,
is the easiest way to put that.
If they want to do something in sports cars,
they've been given the go ahead to do it.
Does that mean that the Asian Le Mans series
with potentially, as we know,
getting hypercars
and therefore LMDH or GTPs,
in that, is that an opportunity for those cars?
May they pop up in quote-unquote private hands
with some Asian drivers?
Question mark, question mark.
The answer is we don't know.
And the answer is that if they leave
in certain the end of the year,
which is now confirmed,
who takes their place?
So can I move on to the next story, Tim?
Is there something you want to say about Acura?
I don't want to write anything more about Acura.
But is your next story going to be about Genesis?
Yes.
Yes, you can move on to that.
Thank you.
So there was a strong suspicion
that Genesis,
who obviously have started this season quite successfully,
as I'm sure we'll talk about later,
in the FAWEC,
would move into
a very big market for them,
into IMSA and run their
Genesis Magma Racing 001 chassis,
at least one, possibly two cars in IMSA next year.
Now it seems that isn't going to happen.
We also know Ford isn't coming
at least in 2027,
and they've made no announcement about
whether they will come post 2027,
and neither will McLaren be in IMSA in 2027.
It would seem.
They haven't said quite as much about that,
but again it makes sense, as we said,
right at the start of the Genesis projects
and the Ford project to concentrate on WEC
to start with and get you the mon entries.
So next year, 11
becomes 9 in IMSA,
and
whether or not it's IMSA fault,
and I would suggest not,
that does get Nick to be a little bit,
it's not a crisis,
but it is a concern for John Dunin and for IMSA
that they aren't attracting
the top level manufacturers
and the
yes they've still got Porsche,
and that's a big plus,
and three Porsches at that with John Church,
and they've done their best to keep JDC in
and let them run the older car.
But all of a sudden seven cars doesn't look quite so good
against what next year in IMSA will be,
sorry, in WEC
will be 21 cars.
You know, it's the way of the world.
I'm sure John's not happy at all
about the accurate decision,
but then again I'm sure he needs to
or the team need to work out
what it is that is not attractive.
It's an interesting situation
and obviously I'm,
WEC obviously has the golden ticket
obviously with the
invitation to the Mon,
but the other 51 weeks of the year,
I think WEC is a much less attractive proposition
for a manufacturer than IMSA.
Because?
Because no one can watch WEC,
everyone can watch IMSA.
Unless you're in the States, obviously.
Yeah, but sorry,
but let's be really honest about this,
whereas the hub core of endurance sports car fandom.
WEC is hidden behind the world's most ridiculous paywall
which no one cares about
and no one's paid to pay for.
IMSA, go on YouTube,
the easiest app in the world to get hold of.
Yes, that is true.
And also though,
and this is kind of counter-intuitive,
when you have got, as we will have
next year 10 different manufacturers in IMSA,
excuse me, in WEC,
even if everybody,
you can't even have one win for each manufacturer.
Yes, whereas with what it will be next year,
will be Cadillac
and Porsche,
BMW and Aston Martin.
Those are your manufacturers
in IMSA.
So the likelihood of you getting a result
is twice as likely?
Well, it's more likely anyway
because it's a bit more balanced,
but yeah, I mean, I think that, you know,
it's budgets,
it's kind of the allure of a world championship
rather than a regional championship.
Obviously some of the teams who are into WEC
don't have a massive footprint in the States,
you know, Alpine being a very good example.
Yes, good.
But you look at some of the other teams
and I think there is a natural resistance
by the original hypercar teams,
not the LMH teams.
I don't think you're going to see
Toyota or Ferrari come out,
just for balanced reasons.
But then anyone who's got, you know,
an MDH, you're kind of going,
well, I don't understand why,
I can't fathom why Ford isn't committing
to run a program in IMSA.
Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
I don't, you know,
you're thinking that's your biggest market
in the world,
why are you ignoring it?
I'm not a professional marketeer,
I'm a major motor fan,
I'm actually going to say, hey, hey.
Yes, well, that's maybe,
that is a question that I,
next time I sit down
with Mark Rushbrook,
then maybe I'll ask him that.
I would, but it makes no sense to me.
I understand though,
why they would start in the WAC,
because that's the only way
that they can guarantee their Le Mans entry.
I actually don't agree with that.
Really?
Because no, I think you should,
why would you start in an overly bopped
melee where you all you ever read about,
when you can start, I would say,
this is unpopular opinion,
whilst you're doing your first year
teething troubles and ironing everything out,
why not do it at a championship
where you have lots of chances
for sub resets in the race,
where you've got lots more track time,
it's not completely crowded the whole time
by 19 other cars,
you've got a bit more PR possibilities.
If I was, I would definitely do my,
I know it's Le Mans, Le Mans, Le Mans,
and that's how they get the money signed off,
it's Le Mans, Le Mans, Le Mans.
Actually, if you were a racing team,
I know you can't take Le Mans out of it,
you said which would make more sense
for your first year,
it would make more sense to your first year in Le Mans.
I think.
Unless,
you're a motor manufacturer
which has already entered
in a bigger series
in the same market
because then your marginal gain is tiny.
That's a good point,
you're talking about NASCAR aren't you?
That is a very good point, Tim.
That is a very good point.
No, that's not true
because there is zero overlap
between NASCAR and INSA.
Oh, I don't think that's true.
I think the demographic of the sport,
I think it's a completely different people.
I mean, the most sport fans, yes.
I'm sure we'll know,
get Twitter,
where it's called now, X,
flooded with people saying
I watch every race
and I watch every NASCAR race,
but it's not, they are two separate worlds.
Right, so,
it's like baseball and NFL.
So,
I think...
That's not a question, NASCAR, by the way.
No, no, no, I know that's not the case.
I think
there are more sports car fans
that watch NASCAR
than NASCAR fans watch sports car.
I'll agree with you there.
But endurance racing
is endurance racing
and I love watching long NASCAR races.
I think it's phenomenal.
One driver working with the team
to get the car that works
for the last 50 or 75 miles.
I think it's brilliant.
I've just had
one of the most extraordinary experiences
of my life driving,
and this is the other part of this.
So, Ford are already in IMSA
in the GT category
and successfully,
both in IMSA,
where the tech sports car championship
and in GT4
and in Mustang Challenge
with the Ford Mustang.
I've spent 10 days driving
a Mustang dark horse in Europe
and let me tell you,
I have never,
ever had the response
to a manufacturer car
that I have had in that Mustang,
that bright red racing red
Mustang with all the carbon fiber,
with the dark horse race kit on it,
as I've had this week,
including in the home of Ferrari
in Marinello where I was last Thursday.
It's been extraordinary.
And you could make the argument,
and if you're talking about marketing
as you were, Nick,
you can make the argument that Ford
will sell to its
market in the States
via the NASCAR connection.
Whereas in Europe
and the rest of the world,
it has to sell using something else.
And that's Formula One
with Red Bull
and its sports car program.
And I think that in some ways
that makes your argument
that they are two different demographics
and one is particularly US based
and one is global.
And it's not that never the twain
shall meet,
but I think they are looking at,
and if you'll pardon the pun
when I've been talking about a Mustang,
horses for courses.
You know, I think,
nothing says black and white
or as simplistic as you can make it out to be,
but I think there is elements where
some decisions are more difficult
to understand.
Decide they want to take a bit of a break.
That's understandable. They've been going for several years.
They've decided that they've seen opportunity
within IndyCar,
which is on the up in the States at the moment.
So, you know,
but often these pauses turn into permanency though.
And Alpine in that as well,
they're looking to turn their cars
over to privateers.
There's an opportunity for that.
I think it's very interesting right now
how people want to
try
and
make things happen for them.
Well, I think Alpine can sell their cars
to the Asian Monceries, can't they, for next year?
Well, yeah, well, anybody can.
So, you know,
Ferrari,
talking to the guys at Ferrari at the weekend,
they think they've got buyers for cars.
They'll have to run them,
so there'll be a large
a large check attached
to it.
I'm saying it's really involved in this here, isn't it?
Gigi,
hello, Johannes.
2027 might be a linear
for Imza, but surely Ford and Genesis will join
in 2028.
It's the biggest marker for both
of them.
I don't disagree with you,
but I remember what Doug Feehan
used to say to me when he was
looking after
Corvette.
Now, all right, Corvette World Racing
at the time, he said,
as long as we keep getting
our entries for Le Mans,
that's all I care about.
That is
our international
global,
and to
our base even,
that is the most important race that there
is in.
And so long as they could do that without
having to have
a WEC entry, then
we're going to keep doing it.
And he actually said to me, in fact,
I think we broadcast this,
he said, I don't understand
why the ACO keep giving us entries.
This is long before the current
situation.
Because if they didn't give us an entry,
I would have to go to our board
and say, if we want to go on
race at Le Mans, we're going to have to
race at the WEC.
Now, ultimately, that's what's happened
to those brands.
I think for Ford, it's all about
Le Mans. That's the story.
That's the history.
Ford, even by their own admission,
have somewhat neglected
their heritage, and particularly
their sporting heritage in the last
15 or 20 years.
They're trying to claim that back now
and the two places that
they have neglected the most
and they are trying to claim back is
Formula One and Le Mans.
Hmm?
Listen,
and I'm not saying, we've got
a relationship with Ford. That's not
what I'm being told by Ford, that's
just my particular
thoughts about it.
But I will go back to say
and
by the way, if we talk about the
Le Mans series next year, wherever
the Le Mans series
might happen because everything's
on hold for that
right now.
It's Netton
next year.
Two races in two days.
I
think with
all of that
you've got to look at your marginal gains
and you've got to look at
where you're going to get the best
for your money.
Toyota are slightly different because
they appear for everything, they don't
appear for it out of their marketing that comes
out of a road car research and development
but honestly,
I think for their sports car program
look at how much effort they put into
taking those Mustangs
to Le Mans.
Nick and you involved without you.
That was great, that was good fun.
Tim, sorry
seven minutes before
nine o'clock. Where do you want to go
Tim next? Let's point out that since we
started this show
Ford have sold
about 1200 F-150s
in North America alone.
Yes, and we don't get the F-150
in Europe and we won't.
They don't need to try and sell them in Europe
because they sell
as many as they can make in North America.
And that's
the point I was making, Tim.
You're absolutely
spot on. They can sell every
F-150 including the 700
horsepower plus Raptor
that IMSA use for the MG safety
teams which gets
them there quicker than
the speed of light it would appear
at the weekends and and
and they're doing their off-road.
It's not as if
Ford
are
only in sports car racing
or only in NASCAR.
They have reactivated all the
areas that they used to be in in the
60s and 70s
and they are putting money behind it.
They're doing the off-road stuff.
They're doing the W-2RC
the World Rally
Rade Championship, sorry.
That's the
nomenclature for people who are in it.
World Rally Rade Championship
with the Bronco.
They are doing all kinds
which takes in Dakar
as well of course. They're doing all kinds
of other stuff. They're still
sort of doing WRC
although bizarrely
they're not supporting that as much as everything else.
And Malcolm Wilson
therefore is the
entrant on that
for the Puma.
But they are
reactivating the areas.
Do I think
they will eventually end up in IMSA?
I do.
Do I think they will end up in IMSA
with a works effort?
I'm not sure.
I think
they mind back to
when Acura
as we were talking about Acura leaving
when Acura first went to what was then the
IMS series
they cast about
for teams
to run their cars
and the deal was they would give them the cars
and the technical
support
but the teams had to raise the running budget
and we had
a number of teams
Gilda Farron and
Andretti Racing
ended up running the cars.
There were other teams there
who were interested in doing it
and I was involved with one of them trying to put something together
for it in one of the behind
the scenes
deals that
sometimes don't happen
and
the running budget
you had to raise yourself.
I could see Ford doing that.
I'm going to
who's not in IMSA? Who should be in IMSA?
Chip Ganassi, maybe.
Who runs Ford's
in NASCAR?
Is there an opportunity for them to have that
as an adjunct?
You know
go and find the running budget. We'll give you the cars
and the technical
support but we're going to tell you now
we're going to do a year in FIAWC
and at Le Mans first to gain some data.
You know
if they had
said prior logon sergeant
racing
in GT cars at the weekend
that's not because they're going to be in GT cars
that's because they're learning about
WEC
I think it's interesting
and
Nick's point about
IMSA
is well made
in that with fewer cars
fewer manufacturers
and a style of racing
that
generally speaking ends up
being closer at the end of a race
then
you've got more of a chance to work the strategy
whereas when you have
three and a half hours of green flag racing
as we did
at
at IMSA
at the weekend
then
you know if you get the drive through
as teams did
it's really hard
after you've made that mistake to come back
from it
but there's still Le Mans
and
Le Mans is the 900 pound gorilla in American
terms is it not
there you go
Why did
their Le Mans
have the words Le Mans in its name
say that again sorry
did the American Le Mans series have the words Le Mans
in its name
because
Dr. Pianos, God rest his soul
wanted to
create
a series that
embraced the
sporting
and historical
background of the
24 hours at Le Mans
which is what you're getting at
Le Mans
exactly
can I just do a couple of
and realise we're coming up
if they're NASCAR fans will also watch IMSA races
well yes
yes
when can we really start to question if hybrid
LMH teams
are unofficially banned from racing in the US
well they're not
they just don't want to come
because it's such a different style of racing
I spoke to a couple of people at the weekend
and the same thing
that we've just said
is that
Toyota
offered cars
to Lexus in the US
and the cars were offered for free
but
sorry the cars were offered free
technical
support would have had to come from
Cologne
from what was then called Toyota Gazoo Racing
which now of course is just called Toyota Racing
and I have no doubt
that the TR-O10
could race
in IMSA
it's been homologated at
Winchia
which all of the IMSA cars are as well now
as they've all been re-homologated
between last season and this season
but it's about
running costs and
whether it makes sense
for the American
arms of the manufacturer
to do something
with those
Ferrari
the guys
Antoni Colletta
said
that they would think about
doing it but they would have to
run it, those are difficult cars to run
so if Giuseppe Racy wants to run one
he's going to have to find a lot of money
and that's what will
coming down to
Dave Ogle says do I have a
direct election of David Brabham driving
you're right, yes you do
absolutely right
and a number of
they were the Altman Topcars
and they were incredible
we had
Mark O'Andretti driving
as well, incredible stuff
your thoughts on how to expect your
tournament please
do we go into the second hour now
I've got one more thing which is
still on the same
theme
we have McLaren coming
in next year
yeah
why
might it
not be
why might Alex Lynn
not be driving for them
well
sorry in
sports cars, in WBC
well is it Cadillac driver
for a start
WBC is this season
yes
he has been rumoured to be joining
there are people
suggesting that he could
join McLaren
why has Zach Brown
said it may not happen
I would suspect because
Zach Brown is waiting to find out what's happening
with Porsche drivers
no it's because Zach Brown
bought a Ford Capri off Sean Lynn
and didn't get the deal he wanted
oh really
an old RS31
presumably for historic racing
it's midweek motorsport
still to come on midweek motorsport
and is there any chance you could bring
some dessert to the VO booth please
oh
dessert I haven't even had any
dessert although I have been eating
some very nice
french food from
the trip of the weekend
and drinking some very very good
and very reliable
and very reasonable Italian wine
coming up in the second half of tonight's program
we'll be talking about the
Italian Porsche Carrera Cup
with a driver that we've
spoken to before
on this program we'll have Nick
with some more F1 news
more of your tweets or
exes on ad
specutairmen but next
we've had the nod we can
cross over to the Canary
Islands and have a bit of rallying
on midweek motorsport next
here on RS1
midweek motorsport
on RS1
well I'm delighted to say
that joining us
on the telephone now
is the sporting
director of Hyundai
motor group Andrew Wheatley
Andrew thank you very much
indeed for joining
us and I take
it we're joining you on events
in Gran Canaria
so we literally just arrived
in the service park 15 minutes ago
and getting ready
to start here for the next round of the
World Rally Championship
the World Rally Championship we followed it for a long time
here on midweek motorsport
it's been
a tough season and a half
or two seasons for Hyundai
however it does seem that
there's light at the end
of the tunnel new regulations
most recently without
the
without the hybrids
parts of the car
do you think you've turned the corner
are you looking far more competitive than you have done
I think we're moving in the right direction
I think we've still got a little bit of a way to go
some of the stuff that we're working
on at the moment won't come out until
the next round in Portugal
but I think once we get back
onto the gravel for the second half of the season
we should be in a good place to be honest
the drivers are fired up
and ready to go so I think we're in a good place
obviously
we cover sports car
and circuit racing fairly extensively
and so we're used
to watching development of cars
and evolution of cars
in that scenario
is it a similar sort of
process
in terms of rally
cars
where you're examining your performance
and obviously there's only so much you can do
given the regulations
yeah I think
despite the regulations there's still quite a lot that can be done
because each of the rallies
is so individual and that's the bit
that creates so many challenges
so many opportunities within WRC
is that you have a situation whereby
each rally is 100%
specific to the conditions
and also to be honest with you
each day of each event is specific to conditions
so we're constantly evolving the setup of the car
and that's primarily
where the development
of work is being done in how the drivers
feel and how
the car reacts in the specific conditions
I can only imagine
a bit like NASCAR
in some respects
that your cars are very different
when you're on the Kenya
what we used to call the old safari rally
to a smoother tarmac rally
like last time
out are they actually the same
shells or do you
like NASCAR do they rotate shells around
they have a super speedway car
a short oval car
and
what they would call
a circuit car
a natural terrain road circuit car
are you working on the same
basic monocoque all the time
we have different
chassis for the season
but I'll be honest with you the chassis that are doing
this weekend
which is probably as close to circuit racing
as we get in the world championship
Mary Island is super
super smooth very little pollution on the
stages and these are
high speed tarmac stages
they'll be the same chassis that we go to
Portugal with in two weeks time
Portugal is completely the other end of the spectrum
it's a difficult
hot rough gravel rally
so we do have
chassis in rotation
but they're not dedicated between
different surfaces and that's one of
the challenges that we've got
with the WRC
at the moment is the car that's designed to do
safari rally two weeks later
has to go to Croatia rally
they are quite different
in terms of what you want
from the car
but it's the compromise that we have to have
in order to be able to have
the variance that we have
in the world rally championship
and is that the challenge?
that seems very different from
the TCR
or the 24 hour the Nürburgring
which we see your cars at
on a regular
regular basis
that seems
very different and very much more
involved
yeah I think you know rally in particular
has always had this
level of variation
if we look at the first few rounds this year
we started in Monte Carlo which normally
is a tarmac rally to be said
this year it wasn't
this year it was very much a very specialist event
with the very specific conditions
the second event we go up to
north of Sweden to do the snow rally
third event we're in
in Kenya for the safari rally
and the final
of the quartet is Croatia
which again normally Croatia
is a fairly clean tarmac rally
although this year
with the new stages that were introduced
and the second use of the new stages
they were fairly gravel based to be fair
the rally one car
which is what runs at the front
of the WRC
is the i20N
it's purely internal combustion engine
now
1600 cc turbocharged
in line 4
for what about 350
360 horsepower
it's a little bit more than that
it's just under 400 horsepower
about 385
so it's designed to be
it's designed specifically for
for the
world rally championship
it is a global race engine base
so it's a dedicated block
dedicated head
and it's
key attribute is its reliability
in terms of power
it could do a lot more power than it does at the moment
but it's key attribute is the reliability
in Kenya
when we block the radiators
with the mud
we ran pretty hot
these cars ran pretty hot for a very long time
and we were fairly sure
we wouldn't be able to cope with that level of temperature
in excess of 120, 125
but they
they did, they came back
and they fired up again
and off they went again
so in terms of
the championship
we have two engines for the year
first 14 world championship rallies
we can only use a third engine
if we have a retirement
we can only introduce a third engine
so they're having to do quite a lot of work
over the course of the season
that's just shocked me
that
when you talk about
I'm old enough to remember
when rallies were a lot longer
and covered longer distances
both in road mileage and in stage mileage
but even so
just two engines for the year
so
that's quite a lot of work for them to have to do
Andrew
it's a huge amount of work and I think it's one of the things
that we really appreciate in the rally 2 class
you can change the engine every rally
but in rally 1 you have to do the whole
you have to do season with two engines
I remember when I started in WRC
the rallies weren't much longer
and we were using one rally
one engine
which multiplied by three cars equaled a lot of engines
through the year
but now it's very much
a question of trying to
manage the life
of the parts and manage the life of the engine
and that
puts extra pressure on the technical team here
because you do have to think ahead
there are different types of events
different conditions that we're going to have in the year
and so you have to tactically try and make sure
you have the best engine
for the best condition at the best time
and that puts an alarm
is that allowance to those two engines
that's the ancillaries as well
so things like turbos and things like that
and you can't rebuild them
turbos can be modified
the engine is doing probably 1200-1500 km
that's
let's say two and a half rallies
so in terms of
you're talking about the core
you're talking about the parts of the engine
that are sealed from start
so basically you seal ahead to the block
and then you can't change
those core components
but it's one of the challenges
that the championship
has at the moment
and to be honest with you
we really focus
the
engineers and the technical team
on making sure we have that reliability
because
that is a core part of WRC
and I cannot remember the last time we had
an engine failure which stopped us on a rally
so it's one of the things
that is
there is still an element
of endurance in WRC
it's not all sprint
I hope you were touching wood as you said that Andrew
I'm surrounded by wood
I'm standing on more than
I'm holding wood with two hands
so for our listeners
who know the story
now it makes even more sense
from not just the logistical
and knowledge point of view
but also from that endurance point of view
that you've just mentioned
that the
Genesis Magma
WEC
prototype a hypercar
that we saw debuting
at Imola at the weekend
used the rallycar
engine block and base
and knowledge as their base
because you guys must have
have garnered
down through the years a huge
amount of knowledge on
what's going on inside that engine
and the power of producers etc
yeah I think that's one of the
you know I think that
the design principle of that engine
was based around the same core
they are quite different
in their application
in terms of the way that they've manufactured
but there is a lot
of common components
because effectively there's
a global race engine in there as well
so it's one of the key
areas of development
and where Hyundai
is investing a lot of time and a lot of energy
is ensuring that the powertrain
department in Offenbach
is as well equipped
as possible to work on a number of different
projects as we go forward
just looking at this season
you are
and this is not unusual in rallying
and Peter McKay when he does a
rally report points
all of this out
you're rotating through some
drivers for part of
your program it's Adrian Formore
who is your best
pace driver in the championship
at the moment he didn't have
the best of rallies
last time out
it was back in for his second rally
and fantastically
second rally of the season with you
fantastically got on
on the podium
obviously we know here when I spoke to him
when I was down in New Zealand earlier
in the year
what is the thinking behind
rotating those
drivers through that particular car
I think it was an interesting
discussion at the end of last year
there's no question that
the best option for a team
is to have three
or if you can do it five drivers
that are going to be permanent for the season
that are going to be able to
build on their experience over the course of the season
when Oich
made the decision to leave at the end of last year
it was a question
how do you replace somebody
that's got that level
of experience and that level of knowledge
and the answer is it's very very difficult
at the moment this is the final year
of the current set of regulations for rally one
the number of drivers with
good experience of rally one is limited
and
to ask a young driver to step out of a rally two car
and jump into a rally one car
and be competitive consistently
is very difficult
it's potentially possible to have
flashes of speed
but what we wanted to try and do was to
support
who we know are both
drivers that are capable of fighting
at the very front of the world championship
we wanted to support them
on the events whereby
there could be a potential
difficulty or they could
have an opportunity and give them the
basically a free reign to go flat out
and for example Hayden
did it for me a fantastic job
in Croatia
he exactly was required
he sat right on their heels
all the way through the rally until
there was a problem for
Adrian and then he was able to
take up that place
and when Terry had a
challenge at the end of the rally
he was able to jump onto the podium
and claim the last spot
it's been very beneficial
we come here
to Canary Islands with a slightly different view
we've got Danny Sordo back in the team
here in the Canary Islands and Danny's got a
very good history of competing on Spanish
Tarmac he is a
Spanish Tarmac driver
so he has here a position
or an opportunity to be able to
support the drivers
slightly differently he'll be pushing
100% from stage 1
because that's the
philosophy we've got on this event
and then we go to the next event
in
Portugal where again another
element of the third driver scenario
comes into play whereby
providing Danny doesn't win this rally
which we'd love him to win this rally
but providing Danny doesn't win this rally
he should be starting
in a very favorable position
in Portugal and that's a rally where Danny
does have a lot of experience
and he will be able to push
because running lower down the road
on the first day can be beneficial
to the extent that it can help him
to be in a good place from the second day to go forward
you know there is a number of different reasons
why we went with that
specific policy
you know we're very clear
the best policy is to have a rally winner
in the third car there's no question about that
but in the situation
that we had at the end of last year
and into this year we believe that we've got
a strong package that we can come
to each event with the target
of scoring the maximum number of points
you must have been delighted
with Kenya in particular
in addition to that rally
the car showed their metal
they showed their longevity
and their endurance qualities
in what was a ridiculous rally
in some respects
it seemed like every time
I think I was at home that weekend
and every time I turned the television on
someone else had broken something
someone else had fallen out
and it was normally
someone at the front of the field
and that was a cracking result for you guys
it wasn't
I'll be honest with you
we had the pace to win Safari
in fact we had the pace to be first and second
and that was
a challenge because
quite honestly
we do those gravel events
the team is strong
it's really strong and we want to
capitalize on those events
Safari is an event that hasn't always been
kind to Hyundai and this year
we did have remarkable reliability
you know the team did an incredible
job of making sure
that every time the car went out of service
it was back to 100%
and that's difficult you know
it's not easy the events are challenging
the conditions this year were
particularly difficult
and you saw that
with everybody struggling
in different ways
but from the team's perspective
it was a long weekend
it was a very long weekend
people put in a lot of hours over the weekend
but
we just about
got the result that we
went for
because we wanted to get
good manufacturer points
because Takimoto wasn't entered for
manufacturer points
but
there was always in the back of the mind
that actually it was a little bit wadi
with that weekend
as you say though
you did pick up the 25 points
as Takimoto
wasn't registered
for his manufacturer
do you look ahead
at the coming round as you mentioned
this weekend obviously you've got
Portugal do you look ahead
at the schedule
and say
this is a rally
that suits our car
much as we used to
it's quite the same
now in circuit racing
because everything's been levelled
or at least
that's what the regulations are meant to do
but do you look at them and say
well we should be good here
perhaps we're not quite as good there
we might want to do something different
no question we have very clear targets
for every event on the 14 rounds
of the championship
and you have to start with a clear understanding
of what your capability
is
this weekend is going to be
one of our events
where we consolidate performance
where we make zero mistakes
and we try to make sure we come away
with the best possible result
and by the same token we go to Portugal
knowing that we have a very strong chance
we'll have a good running order
on day one
and the testing has been very positive
and we know that we will be in
let's say conditions that suit
Rebecca
you go to every event
hoping for the best possible result
but the level of preparation
and the level of
effort that you put into each event
is equal, it's the same
but you also have in the back of your mind
you know that there are targets
you know that there are opportunities
in our case we bring in specific drivers
with different
ambitions for each event
so there is a little bit of
opportunity to have
a bit of differentiation
and I think that's the same with every driver
every driver has the events
that they know that they can be
confident on generally
when the driver knows you can be confident
then generally you get the result
You look after
a broad spectrum
of motorsport Andrew
and that includes the TCRs we've mentioned
and of course we see
the TCRs
at the Nurburgring 24
you've got three cars
entered across two classes there this year
we'll be there for that
next month
you've been notoriously successful
that congratulations
you've got
a pair of Elantras
in the SP4T
classes
as well as the
TCR car and did I read recently
that you've managed
to
pursue an equal bastion to come and drive for you
that's correct
but I'm afraid I can take episodes in none of the
credit for that team that is absolutely
Benoit that you need to be speaking to
for the Nurburgring team
yeah absolutely
Nurburgring 24 is a core
of Hyundai's motorsport
activities you know we are carrying
this weekend on the side
of the rally cars
Namyang and Nurburgring
that's in celebration of the fact that
the N brand for Hyundai
is based after Namyang the test track
in South Korea
but the spiritual home of the N
brand is the Nurburgring
and as a result
it is very close
to the hearts of everybody
in Hyundai Motorsport that we have a good result
there but absolutely
they will be pushing to the 10th
degree to be able to bring
back more trophies
from the green hell
you mentioned Namyang that
is that your sort of R&D
performance centre
back in country
that's where the N brand products
originate
and that's where we
as a spirit of competition within Hyundai
that's where it focuses back
to that's why we are celebrating
that on the side of the car
we have the Nurburgring
here in Canary Islands this weekend
this year we are doing something slightly different
with the livery on the
WRC car
we have around 8 or 10
special liveries over the course
of the year that are particularly
relevant to specific
events or specific
elements of specific events
but the Namyang Nurburgring
is the core
and that's where our heart lies
Hyundai
were
very early adopters
of non-European brands
of using the Nurburgring
as a testing
and proving ground
obviously you go more
to racing to highlight
the specific qualities
of your manufacturer
endurance
and performance being one of them
with the N brand
out of it when we buy
an i20 or an i40
what kind of
technology knowledge transfer
is coming across from
WRC
WAC in the case of
your sister brand Genesis Magma
and indeed TCR
I think it's across the board
some of the elements are very hard to identify
and see with it
as you lift the bonnet
and I think
WRC and WEC are the height of that
I was in Japan
three weeks ago with
some distinguished guests from Shell
and we were asking this question
where is the road to track technology
and with Shell in particular
it was very clear
that what we can do
in motor racing
we're looking for efficiency
in motor racing we're always looking for efficiency
in WRC and WEC
and on the engine side
what we're looking for from Shell
is absolutely the last horsepower
but that efficiency translates
into the road cars differently
the efficiency in the road cars
is looking for efficiency in terms of emissions regulations
in terms of fuel economy
but the principle is exactly the same
the principle is that we need to ensure
that we take everything
to the limit and beyond
in order that when we build
our knowledge of that particular product
and the engineering activity that you're talking about
is a really interesting one actually
two of the cars that are running
will be using a prototype development
of a next generation road car engine
and that is a fantastic opportunity
to be able to take
road car developed parts
and test them in an extreme environment
a safe extreme environment
and I think you'll see
over the course of the year
there are many many things
that we learn
from competition
and it's not just about maximising performance
it's not just about making sure
we look for the 1%
there are very practical solutions as well
another project that I worked on in the past
was about windscreen wipers
in WRC
in WRC
quite often you'll find
that the cars are sitting at around 185
195 kph
in a hostile environment
in the rain
and the development that you can find
on the windscreen wiper at that time
is very relevant when you're
in Germany and you're driving down the Autobahn
yes of course
so that technology is directly
influencing how we go forward
so there are things that we learn
in motorsport
that we could take back into road
but there's equally things that we learn in road
that we can take back to motorsport
that's interesting much more of a two way straight
so that new
production version of the engine
that's going to be in the pair of
the Elantra N1 RPs in the SP4T
class is it?
yes that's the plan
it will be a fantastic opportunity for them to be able to
to get more data
and more information
in an extreme environment
and that will find its way back
into the road car in the next
18 months to 3 years
that will be how these parts develop
and how we use that
opportunity
to be able to improve
the road cars step by step
and you know the old adage of
we raise you win
probably has never been
more apt then
in that case and thank you very much
indeed for joining us
particularly it's such a busy part
of the season
we wish you good luck and
good racing this weekend
in Rally Islas Canarias
and presumably you'll be home
for some decent weather
and not
it's interesting you should say that
we're on an island
and one of the interesting things about Canarias
is that the stages go up to over 1200 meters
so we go from
literally we go from sea level
1200 meters and back to sea level
on the same stage
and that can create
you can have plenty of weather at this time of year
in this part of the world
there will definitely be a leveler
because the weather comes
in an island environment the weather comes so fast
yes so we
it could be quite interesting this weekend
and between the times
when your reccy crews bring
through the stages
and your cars are waiting
on the line I presume
yeah I mean we
we've had this discussion recently as well
about you know how long
can we
how long does it take us to be able to make changes
before the start of the stage
and it can be as little as 5 minutes
if we know what the weather is going to do 5 minutes before the start of the stage
the drivers are able
to make fairly substantial
changes to the car in order to be able to help them
on that pathway
the key there though is the driver and the co-driver have to do it
they don't have a service crew
because they're sitting waiting in line
so are we talking about
they have to do everything themselves
with tools that they're carrying themselves
is that things like changing suspension settings
and things like that
I mean obviously you're not going to jack the car up and do
to
camber, shim changes and things like that
but presumably they can change damper settings
yeah they can change damper settings
that's relatively easy
they can change rake of the car
they can change the angle of the pack of the car
they can
you know there are a number of changes that they can do
within the differentials
that they can modify
they can make quite a lot of change
just through
the other thing that we do on rally is that we
quite often try to cover
off the tyre choice
we're allowed to carry six tyres
so quite often
where there is a risk
we will carry four and two or three and three
in fact in Monte Carlo we can quite often carry
two
so we have two stud, two wet
and two slick on the car
and then we have to cross them to try and get the best
possible
performance on each individual stage
so that is a little bit of a blackout
and that's where you'll find
drivers have the
advice that they get from their route crews
who are driving through the stages
up to two hours before the car goes
through there is absolutely invaluable
does it help nowadays
in terms of making those
choices that you
back at rally HQ
at the service part
and indeed the drivers if they've got
connectivity
I don't know if you've got Starlink in all your cars
or you're allowed that
but on their phones they could actually be watching
the WRC
TV coverage in the on boards of cars
that are going ahead of them
absolutely and if you look at the power stage
power stage runs in reverse order
you'll quite often see
the leading drivers studying
as intently as they possibly can
the conditions on the road
from the earlier cars through the stage
it's a part of life now that we have this data
around us
and we try to use it in the best possible
way
it's difficult for the drivers because they're never off
they never switch off because they're constantly
looking for the next little piece of data
and next little piece of information
but if the data
is there then they
will obviously try to get the maximum
benefit obviously we're also logging
the data and we also have people
in our rally control centre
which are logging the data
and watching the information
to try and give them as much information
up to the point that they start the stage
we can support them
with data and with information
the point at which they start the stage
that stream has to stop
but right up until
I would say 45 seconds before the stage
starts we can
share information with them as much as possible
Andrew thank you so much
I could talk to you about this for hours
because there's so much going on
in the background that
makes this
makes this part
of our sport to me absolutely fascinating
growing up in the north east of course
we had Kielder
and the north Yorkshire
forests on our
on our doorstep and my first
experience of major motorsport
was on the old Lombard RAC rally
when I was working as a marshal or stage commander
or something like that
and so it's always been of interest to me
we wish you all the best
for the weekend thank you again
give our best to the teams
and hopefully you'll join us again at some stage
during the season and we can have a wee bit of an update
or maybe even come down to see you in Germany
when you get a few weeks back at base
yeah no problem just keep in touch
and we can try and work out
what's possible as we go forward
Andrew Wheatley from
motorsport fascinating
how much is going on in the background there
Tim Gray where to next
to Yorkshire John
to Yorkshire yeah
and the Yorkshire forest Griesdale and
and all of that we're not going to
talk about rallying anymore
we're going to go back to sports car racing
because Yorkshire has claimed
to be nice daughter sports
and they are
looking for a new
home
they're currently in Yorkshire
no they've moved seven years ago
to Gareth
and now they need to move again
but they're not moving out of Yorkshire are they
not out of Yorkshire no
no no no
all three of their
shortest adoptions according to Richard Diener
in Yorkshire one of them is a brand
facility
I take it
he said it may seem like
we're
a long way from motorsport
valley but in America
in terms 150 miles
as a trip to the grocery store
well I know he's absolutely
he's absolutely right there
I have to say
I thought they'd already found their
new place
this is to be able to take
on the additional
work involved
in running the McLaren
hypercar project
they've
realised that they've got extra
they need extra space
I mean they have to stop doing NMP2
because
they don't have the space to do any development
at the moment well no they're still doing LMP2
they're still racing in IMSA
they're still in Europe
they've stopped doing
the Le Mans GT3
in WEC that's gone to garage
59
from McLaren
they've not stopped doing NMP2
in the MES as well
they're still doing that maybe
I'd be surprised because
that'll get them some Le Mans entries
but
look
Richard
they have worked
really hard
on what they've
achieved and they deserve all the
success they've got
in the past because it's not
coming easily
and I
I keep saying I'm going to go up there
and I've never been up there
I've never been up to the new place
I went to the old place a couple of times
I've never been up to the new place
where there's all the
classic F1 cars and that are up there
and sports cars
so I haven't been up there
I've been past near enough
a few times but never been able to find
the time to get in so
maybe we'll wait till they get in the new one
we'll do an inside story
definitely yes
let's
tell you about
some coverage this weekend
because John you and Bruce James are off to Monaco
yes we are
it is the Monaco Historic
Saturday and Sunday
friends and colleagues
at Greenlight Television
to bring the stream to life
I've just had an entry list
through and it is
mouth watering
absolutely incredible
the Ferrari
Parade
on its own
is worth the
price of admission
which obviously if you're watching on the YouTube
it will be absolutely nothing
at all
and I'm looking for
it's a
shim actually it came together a little bit later
than we'd all hoped
because quite frankly
if I'd realised I was going to be in Monaco
on Friday morning
or Friday
lunchtime probably
by the time I've cleared ESS
EES rather
at Nice on Thursday night
I might as well it's just
going down the course and steer down there
on the way back
but that's not how things
often happen by the way
nice response to
Andrew joining us
Andrew Willey joining us
both Neil Gardner and Alexander Org
and saying good things
about what a fabulous chat with Andrew
great to hear more of the strategy tactics
and tech from Hyundai
the crossovers between more and more sports
than anything
Neil saying much the same thing
as well
so I'll be talking old cars
except they're not old cars
some of them are cars that we
talked about when they were
in their
first
20 years ago
sometimes less than 20 years ago
anyway we will have the
embeds for that on the website
and it's
coverage on Saturday and Sunday
John or is there coverage on Friday as well
I hope Saturday and Sunday only
because Friday
I've sort of put aside
however much we've got
to wander around
the numerous paddocks
and actually
see which cars are there
so Saturday and Sunday
we'll have the embeds
on Radialamon.com
and RadioShow.co.uk
those
with Bruce
and John
with all the coverage of the
Monaco Isla Reek
back to sports cars now John
well I'm delighted to say
that we are catching up once again
with Harley Horton
who actually very excitedly
about the jump on a plane
where are you headed to Harley
yeah that's right John just at the airport
back to Bologna ready for the first round
of Carrera Cup Italia this weekend
at Imola so yeah
proper in the moment
interview yeah well I was
there at the weekend obviously for WEC
and we had Carrera Cup
but it wasn't Carrera Cup Italia
I got very excited that I might be able to
watch you race this is
a bit of a new departure for you
we've known you from your exploits
on the Nürburgring
Nordschleife
why the change to Carrera Cup
and in particular
Carrera Cup Italia
yeah absolutely it's kind of
two polar opposites of
GT racing if you like Carrera Cup
being very sprint qualifying
focused and obviously Nordschleife being the
ultimate sort of endurance test
so it was a big switch
big decision to make for us to jump over
to that style of racing
but Carrera Cup
is produced you know
I don't know how many it must be at least
as far as the current
factory
outfit for most teams and it's where
people go to prove themselves
ultimately on a bigger stage
so to race against the best
in the world
is a big opportunity
and specifically talking about Carrera Cup Italia
it's a car
that Carrera Cup Italia is still using
the 992.1
whereas Germany and Super Cup
and I think Asia and America
went to the new car
but I already had some endurance
experience with the 992.1
so it's not as big
of a change because I've raced that car
in the 992.1 endurance cup
Rambrite, Craventic at Spa
and a couple of years ago I also did
the 24 Hours of Barcelona
so it was less of a
leap into the unknown
perhaps and also
yeah at that 992.1
endurance cup race we
drove with Fulgenzi
Enrica Fulgenzi Racing
and the team were fantastic all weekend
we made some real
good improvements to the car
and by the end of the race we were flying
so it was a really positive
weekend with them and ever since then
we stayed in touch and
over the winter the offer
came around
and we even did Dubai 24 Hours
together so they were really
really interested in doing something
we were looking for that moment of
we've done a few years of Nürburgring
which is probably the biggest
improvement and challenge you can give
to a driver and now we need to show it
on a bigger stage so
yeah it was all kind of stars aligned
if you like and yeah that's how we
came to change over to
Italia
You'll have no ABS
on this car or does
Italia allow it on Carrera Cup
I know the US did even on 992.1
Yeah so for this year
I think all of the championships have
switched to allow ABS simply because
simply because of the introduction
of
the new 911 Cup
car with the ABS on
if it doesn't make sense to
do one year on a car with no ABS and then
switch so we've got
ABS and that changes the
racing a little bit you can be a little bit more
aggressive as we saw in
Carrera Cup Germany at Imola
which is a lot more chaotic
than normal which is
saying something for Carrera Cup
What do you know of Imola
have you had a test there?
Yeah so we did our official pre-season
test there with the championship
at the beginning of April
we were third quickest on the day and in general
the race pace was very good
all was quite promising really
which might have come as a bit
of surprise it was my first day
back in the car since September
last year
but the team
gave us a proper, proper good car
and we made some more steps forward
that day and what
track Imola is as well to
kick things off at really, really good
bit nerve-wrong-esque in some
parts so possibly
a bit more suited to me than some of the others
Very difficult to pass through
track position in a sprint
race that means
track position means qualifying
so it's not something
you've had to absolutely focus on before
how do you think you're going to be
mentally make that
transition and are you
looking forward to the challenge I suppose
Yeah well like you say qualifying
is massively important
not just because of the difficulty to
overtake at this track but also because
it's very likely we have safety cars
even red flags in some cases
because the racing is so intense
so that's a new
kind of challenge for me that I haven't faced
since
back in the genetic days you know for four years
ago now so in the off-season
we'd be doing lots of work on
qualifying drills and simulator
on
tyre preparation you know getting
your head in the zone
just before you're there to go out
so all that kind of mental preparation as well
so we're going to see where we're at this weekend
for sure I don't think
I've got too high
or too lofty expectations
for the first session but it's all about
knowing where we're at and then improving
from there really yeah
I'll ask you this
it's quite a difficult question maybe for you
to answer so feel free to bat it away
do you consider yourself a championship contender
this year Harley
it's a first year
in a championship any of the Carrera Cups
it's often a
two year commitment but do you
consider yourself a championship contender
I would certainly say race
winning contender championships are about
you know consistency and execution
more about
one lap or one weekend pace
and that's perhaps what
we'll be lacking with
the lack of experience I've had in that kind of racing
and in that car as well so
obviously I'd like to say yes
and I'm never going to say no
but my focus this year
is probably to show pace and actually get
a race win under my belt and then next year
is to try and
whether it's growth, Italia or another championship
is to try and execute a championship
winning season in that car
yeah yeah well
we wish you but well this weekend
if the weather is anything like it was last weekend
you're going to have to watch your tyre pressures because
track temperature was I think 42-43
celsius
at one stage over the weekend
depending when your races are
what are you supporting
this weekend is it Italian GT?
yeah that's right
it's Italian GT
TCR Italy is there as well so
it's a busy weekend yeah
and you're running on Michelin tyres?
yeah we're on the Michelin's
the M3, the normal Carriacup tyre
I think you'll enjoy it
you've obviously with that test
you've got an idea of where the car
where the track goes
if fortune favors the brim there
quite clearly as we saw at the weekend
but it is the
first round of the championship so
I'm suggesting that you might
just have to
tread a fine line Harley
between aggression and getting
some points in the bank
yeah I mean
like Emily you also can't make too many mistakes
it's not like a Mizzano
or even a Monza
where you can kind of you know
if you outbreak yourself you can just go through a slip road
so it's going to be
a punishing track to race on
it's very easy to lose a lot of time
getting caught up in battles so
it's going to be about being smart in the races for sure
and yeah mostly for us it's about seeing where we are
you know because this is new
ground for me
the team have obviously done it before
they're multiple time champions in Carriacup Italia
so
all the focus will be on how we can improve
myself for
future races really
you say hello to Enrico
for us because he's a smashing character
we love seeing him in the
in the Craventic
in the Craventic series
and hopefully we'll see him
in
the Craventic later on this season
as well
you've got some cracking tracks to go to
this year in Carriacup Italia
I'm down at Monaco for the
Historiques this weekend but I'll keep an eye
and travel well
can I just say
you are at the quietest
you must be at the quietest part of Manchester airport
in the world
I haven't heard an announcement
I haven't heard any babies crying
anybody playing loud music shouting into their phone
or anything so
hope all goes well for you
travel well Harley and thanks
thanks for calling in
yeah thank you very much for having me on again John
really appreciate it thank you guys
Harley Horton
from Manchester airport no he really was
he's in
Carriacup Italia this weekend
at Imola
and I will be keeping an eye out for his
results
Tim Gray where would you like to take us next
on this week's Midway Motorsport
well Nick Damon is still with us so
let's do a little bit more from with one
we've got some wall changes Nick
we have
yes they're fiddling
what like
deck chairs on the Titanic
not quite that bad because then you have to assume
it's sinking in the first place
they're doing some tune ups let's say
well that's good
things are mis-firing so they're tuning it up
basically you know after the
outrage of
calls for this the worst
racing ever the worst set of regulations ever
TM
copyright maximum because I'm not winning
stop is basically
so do you all right
do you want to think if you got bothered if he was winning
no
I said to somebody who's an
F1 Journal
who was in the paddock at
Imola at the weekend because obviously they had
nothing else to do so they came down to see
Kimmy Antonelli
and I said
for the most part
the people who were complaining are the people
who haven't got it right or don't understand
how to make the regulations work
don't forget other people who are complaining also are all the
real fans of F1
and if you're a real fan of F1
you have to be completely against these new regulations
otherwise you're just a drive to survivor
apparently according to every social post I've seen
so they are
doing a few things
that they can do because obviously
they are stuck with this overall concept
the engine being 5050
electric and I
CE and to change that
they were ideas of getting more fuel
flow to the combustion part
but that's just not a work of a moment
these engines would need to be re-engineered
which there can be between seasons but not between races
so they are in qualifying
they're dropping the amount
of electricity actually used
in a qualifying laps obviously therefore
you can't run out of it that easily
and more importantly what you degenerate is
what they're trying to prevent
is those very obvious de-rating situations
around iconic corners like
the car where the car
hit maximum speed then run out of power
and then started super clipping
which is a terrible underword
and that you went 30 to 40 kmph
slower rather than carrying it any faster
so they're trying to make it
more of a point where in qualifying
you will actually go flat
out the whole time
they're also doing
the first place which is allow the
super clipping to regen
at a higher rate
so that means that when you're actually
are lifting and coasting you're regenerating
more because what they're trying to
actually achieve is less time
when you're actually trying to go forward
and harvest at the same time
which is what's caused the problems
so they are
they've done a couple of things
they've done what they can do with that really
I mean they've effectively made
qualifying laps slower
but oddly more on the edge
which is a weird concept to go slower
to 100% for nearer
100% at the time
I understand that
so that's the first thing
in the race so again they've still
gone with the super clipping situation
so they'll be less derating the race
and they've also
changed a couple of
parameters in the way
the cars behave
outside of the key overtaking and braking areas
to try and mitigate against
what happened with Ali Berman
Ali Berman suddenly coming up on
Franko Collapinto with a very big difference
in speed so it won't
eliminate it, it'll make it less
likely because they've taken away
an element where you could suddenly have
a 250 kilowatt difference
and now it's down to
350 kilowatt difference of power
which is 450 horsepower
and now it's down to 150 kilowatts
so they've basically done
three or four fiddly bits
which will have
a bit of a safety
bit of a safety implication
and quite a lot of it will look
better implication now whether it will change
the quality of the
racing for better or for worse
who knows
whether it will change the
ratio we've seen that probably
would naturally have slowed down
as teams and drivers got more
used to driving the new regulations
yep
it's obviously Miami coming up in
Miami isn't it that will be
anyway it was a very good harvesting circuit
so they would have had less of these problems
but it would be an interesting test
I don't think anything they've done
is going to do anything to the running order
so it's not going to change the running order at all
obviously what the teams have done in the month
with upgrades and learnings
and
new aero packages that may change
it slightly but none of these regulation
changes on the engines will make any difference
exactly the same for all of them
moving forward there are a couple other things they're going to do
they're looking at the start procedure as well
looking at trying to prevent these cars having
no power at the start
and they're going to have
an emergency power coming if your car
isn't working properly it will actually move off the line
but they don't want
they can do the safety they've done a little bit for the show on
qualifying and they've done a bit more
to make the region a bit easier
but what they actually
need to do
is move away from 50-50
that's what was 64 as I said before
and that can't be done
there is a will to do it which question be
of course that can't be done through the year
right
that's by regulation
we should say
by regulation and the fact that you'd have to
redesign the engines
they can't just pump more fuel into the engine
they've been designed in a certain way
you can't just
make engines
100 horsepower better
or 100 horsepower worse
like we do in sports car racing all the time
well you could do
but then don't forget
there are specific reliability issues built into them
they need to go and speak
all the manufacturers need to go and
speak
to the guys at Gibson
because their LMP2 engines
have been changed
more times than
most people change their socks
and it's not just a question
of
they have fuel flow
and restrictors and all sorts of things
yeah but the thing to remember is
the thing to remember is there's five
power plant manufacturers
and they all have to be able to do it
and they have to be able to do it in a way that it's reliable
they have to do it in a way in which they're happy with it
so it's not something you can do on a wind
but you can do it over the winter
yes and there's money involved and of course the
cost caps
and the engines have cost caps now as well
where next Tim?
who else has announced new rules this week?
that gives you a clue it's a championship that
starts this weekend
and the rules will be announced today
DTM is correct
great answer
I think it's the last
thing to start isn't it
British super bikes
British super bikes obviously doesn't start
like it's finished
so like yeah
I just
the reason I know DTM
is because I raised people
a new DTM series this week
cool
and have they got the new tyre rules?
probably not
they wouldn't have had them till today
the DTM
has got a new tyre
teams are going to be allocated three sets
of new tyres
per weekend
except for
is it still handcooked?
it is handcooked
no it's not it's Pirelli
it's Pirelli now is it?
they will get
an extra set of tyres
for
the season opener at Spiehlberg this weekend
the season finale
at Hockenheim because they're both double
headers and at Zandvoort
in the Saxon ring because they're high
degradation circuits
however
at the end of the weekend
the teams have to give these tyres back to Pirelli
so they can have a look at them?
no so the teams
can't go and do
massive amounts of testing
on these tyres
so they are allowed
to use this special
Pirelli compound on testing
but they only
get one set of
tyres for a test
for each DTM weekend
that the car has raced in
but at the moment there's zero
yes they'll all get one set of test tyres
after this weekend
and those test tyres are also to be used
in the free practice sessions
oh wow okay
it was our fantastic four
end of endurance
racing
Imser was on the streets of Long Beach
we have a Pride Strike
endurance team work and speed
award to talk about
because it was only
the two classes
we
have a single winner
taken from either GTP
or GTD
and
amongst a tremendous
um
amongst a tremendous
um
the close racing
um
with honourable
mention to the number 89
Vassar Sullivan Racing Lexus
which did a great job
and qualified on pole position
unusually actually
when the data is being crunched
it was the accurate
Mayashank racing
qualified on pole position
dropped down, came back, won the race
um and
so whatever else is happening
they're going to get a
crowd strike endurance team work and speed award
which as I have one
on my windowsill
in the drawing room is very very lovely
quite a long
green flag period
after a bit of untidiness
at the start
Robert Witton starting on pole position
in the
uh
in the Corvette, the DXDT Corvette
um it was the other
Vassar Sullivan Racing Lexus that won wasn't it
it was the 12 car that won
that's the full series
Henry it was
quite entertaining actually
it was 30 years a day after
Jimmy Vassar won at Long Beach
and he was there and
and his car was there as well
uh the car that won which would have been
a target
sponsored Target Chip Ganassika
it was yes
um so
thank you to Ryan
for jumping in on that
um we had Tom Sargent winning both
of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America
races on the streets
of Long Beach
at the
Spa Race
if you haven't seen that yet it's really worth watching
and there was a splash
and Johnny Palmer
Simon Hill
Carla Velti and Sarah Esser
doing the honors
there
McLaren on pole
and won the race
but that does not tell the
story of the race
meanwhile at Immola
lots of chats
as we were talking about last week with John DeGeese
about B or P
and
we got their sums right at the weekend
with the top four
qualifying in Hyperpool
in three quarters of a tenth of a second
and
uh the race
itself with a long
um long green flag
I think it was three hours or something
in the middle two and a half hours
in the middle of the race it was a tyre race
it became a tyre race even more
than a fuel race
incredible numbers of laps
on the new Michelin tyres
which some of the WEC teams
were somewhat worried about
because they hadn't had them in IMSA
they hadn't had them in IMSA
Kanwe Kobayashi who ended up
in third
I think he did over a hundred laps
or triple stints
so there were triple stinting
the
certainly the medium compounds
because they get the choice of two
and it was medium and soft
in the middle of the race
Ferrari
had some pace
but not the ultimate pace
with the long green flag run
in the middle
if you made a mistake
and what's our Porsche keys to the race
that we always do in IMSA
no penalties
if you had a penalty there wasn't
neutralisations, VSCs
or indeed safety cars
to close the food back up again
including Cadillac Hurts team
Jota really found it
difficult to get in so it was
Toyota
Ferrari and then Toyota
and the GT
battle was
absolutely outstanding
McLaren garage 59
were robbed
they broke down near to the end
still don't really know what happened with that
looked like some kind of electrical gremlin
because the car
was doing dead stick and then it restarted
and then it didn't
but well done
have to be in it to win it
Parker Thompson
Tony Macintosh
and Dan Harper
in one of what will be
eight special liveries this year
they ran a 1990s
BMW E30
DTM livery
Tic Tac livery, it looked fabulous
so they've got off to
record crowd
92,175
people across the way and it was
chocolate
Friday it was busy
in the paddock, Saturday
I had to run to a meeting at Short Nautilus
it sat on Saturday
morning
at
before nine o'clock
and it was
incredibly
busy
just incredibly busy
we had Kimmian and Ellie waving
the green flags so people came to see
him of course
there was good support races
the weather was decent until
right at the end, it absolutely threw it down
10 minutes after it finished
and I think it would have really changed
the race beforehand
but it poured down
for seven
minutes and then stopped
it was incredible
I realized that for reasons
that everybody knows about
that was the first round of the season
there were a lot of people
in the paddock saying
if this is what having the first race
in Europe is all about
and we can get this kind of crowd
why aren't we doing this anyway
which I thought was really
interesting
I suspect the BLP
argument and particularly those people
who are conspiracy theorists
who are saying that
it appears that
the field was pretty close together
and that
conversation is going to continue
will be at Spa for the next race
I'll be in the paddock for that again
and
let's see how things work out
before we go to LeMond
Nick you are busy this weekend
arts where?
Down the road at Fallbeck
Oh so you take the laundry then
Yes absolutely
it's a run out on the rough
energy road at Fallbeck
Last year I was nearly dying
because it was so hot
as well as going around
the potholes
Tim any last words
from you?
Just to say
Indycar was won
by Alex Palo
on the streets of Long Beach
his first victory there
and the race where very little
happened
I knew
said you didn't see an overtake until lap
50 which is more than a half way
43 it was
and then
there wasn't a yellow flag
until lap
70 something
incredible
and Will Power
was given a drive through penalty
over someone's foot
Oh really?
Yes
but
it was
Ryan Masek
the
rear tyre changer
he's been giving you all clear
and there's nothing broken
By the way when we talk about
the WeatherTech Championship
the Vasa Sullivan win was the first
for them in two years
and the
Acura win at the Acura Grand Prix
was the first win at Long Beach in the
Paws Merger era as well
so there's plenty of good headlines
from there the Indycar race
was
interesting but less than inspiring
which is interesting isn't it because
that's a spec series and you expect
they did change the race
so that you had to run two sets
of soft tyres
and
look for a while
like Joseph Newgarden
for Penske
going for a three stop strategy was
on the way to doing something quite extraordinary
but didn't happen
next week we'll talk about
they also had an issue with push to pass
where
they
enabled it too early
and 12 drivers used it
because they could
just from Newgarden
it was all about that
34 entries for Laguna Siga
GTD Pro back
at WeatherTech
race with Laguna Siga
not this weekend but next weekend
we'll talk more about that next week
Ben Hanley is going to jump in
for Paul DeResta
at CTMP
because Paul will be on WEC duty
and Andretti performance are coming back
for a two race Porsche
GS effort with Jarrett Andretti and Gabby Chavez
coming back
to the Michelin pilot
and final bit of him sir
WeatherTech Championship news
we're going to
we can't have Manny Franco
in the conquest racing
296
not this weekend but next weekend
because he's a bit busy
so
we have
Lorenzo
Petrazi
who's Ricardo Petrazi's son
will be starting alongside
Albert Costa
so
that's a little addition
but we'll have all the news
of
that next week
and by the way
just a quick note well done to the sim racing
online racing team
they have had
an
entry
approved for effectively the
ALMS
which considering they only started relatively recently
they were at the test
the virtual test day recently
well done them that's come on massively
and I'm sure Matt and the rest Matt Hunter
and the rest of the team will be talking about that
is that tomorrow
is that a week tomorrow?
Yes I thought so
I'm sure we'll hear all about
that Nick thank you very much indeed
thank you to Andrew
and to Harley
Tim Greer was up in London
Nick Damon owns all of Lincolnshire
my name's John Hindle
and there's no time to explain
there's no time to explain
because the ALMS has still got
some motorcycling to watch
because it's been such a busy weekend
have a lovely one everybody
and we'll see you at the same time
same channel next week
bye bye
for more
subscribe to midweek motorsports
wherever you get your podcasts
About this episode
A packed Midweek Motorsport catch-up spans F1, endurance, rally, and Carrera Cup. The big debate is Italy’s tax demands on F1 drivers’ earnings, with Nick Damon calling it unethical and potentially harmful to hosting. Sports-car news focuses on manufacturers “pausing” programs: Acura stepping back from IMSA, Genesis not joining IMSA as expected, and Alpine’s WEC/F1 engine plans. Hyundai’s Andrew Wheatley joins live from Gran Canaria to discuss WRC development, engine reliability limits, and driver rotation. The show ends with IndyCar/IMSA/DTM updates and a chat with Harley Horton about switching to Carrera Cup Italia at Imola.
Original notes
Nick Daman explains why F1 drivers could be going to prison in Italy. This week’s Big Interview is with Hyundai’s Andrew Wheatley.
Midweek Motorsport
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