The Ferrari Luce is a car model associated with Ferrari. In the podcast, the host briefly mentions it and then moves on, without explaining details. Based on the snippet, it’s mainly being brought up as a named Ferrari in the conversation.
The Indy 500 is a famous American race held at Indianapolis. Cars race for 500 miles on an oval track, and it’s one of the biggest motorsport events in the U.S.
Felix Rosenqvist is a race car driver who competes in top open-wheel racing. Here, the hosts say he won the Indy 500 by a tiny amount after taking the lead late in the race.
Term
0.02 seconds
0.02 seconds is a super tiny difference between the winner and second place. It’s basically a photo-finish decided by race timing equipment.
A red flag is the signal that the race has to stop right away because something unsafe happened on track. Cars usually slow down and stop so officials can fix the problem.
A safety car is a pace car that comes out when the track isn’t safe for racing. Everyone slows down behind it until officials say it’s okay to race again.
An aborted start in Formula One is when the race start procedure is stopped and the field doesn’t complete the intended launch. The cars remain under control and the event is restarted later, often to ensure safety or correct procedure after an issue.
The Indianapolis 500 is one of the biggest races in the U.S. for open-wheel cars. Winning it is a huge deal and it’s famous for being fast and challenging over a long distance.
A closest finish means the race result was decided by a tiny difference between the top cars. It usually comes down to who makes the best calls and stays out of trouble at the end.
The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany. Car fans and manufacturers use it to test how fast and how well a car handles, because the track is long and challenging.
“Reclined” means the seat is leaned back. In a race car, the seat angle can affect how the driver feels and how well they can stay in position while driving hard.
“Aerodynamic reasons” means they changed something to make the car cut through the air better. In racing, even small changes to how someone sits can affect speed.
Hydraulics are systems that use pressurized fluid to make parts move quickly. If the hydraulics aren’t working right, the car may not shift or engage gears properly—especially when you’re trying to launch.
Term
power stream
“Power stream” is basically how the car’s power gets from the engine to the driving parts. They first thought the problem was in that power path, but later realized it was actually caused by the hydraulics.
It’s a backup button that can put the car into neutral if something goes wrong with the normal shifting controls. The goal is to make the car easier and safer to handle if the gearbox won’t behave normally.
A sprint race is a shorter race than the main one. It often helps determine where cars line up for the main race, so problems in the sprint can hurt your chances later.
Engaging a gear means putting the gearbox into the gear you need so the car can actually move. If it won’t engage at the start, the car may not be able to launch properly.
An abortive start is when a race start attempt doesn’t go through as planned. If the car can’t get into the right gear at the beginning, the start can be stopped or repeated.
It means the driver gets extra time added because of a rules violation. The race officials decide how it’s applied, but the effect is the same: it makes it much harder to finish near the front. Here, it happened after the incident that also damaged Albon’s wing.
A wing on an F1 car is there to help the car stick to the track, especially in turns. If it gets damaged, the car can feel less stable and slower because it can’t “push down” as well. That’s why the incident can quickly snowball into worse results.
The gearbox is what lets the car change gears. If it “gives way,” it breaks and the driver can’t use the car properly anymore. In racing, that often means you can’t finish, so you score no points.
It means they didn’t earn any championship points from that race. In F1, only certain finishing positions get points. If you retire or finish too far back, you end up with zero.
The main pack is basically the main group of cars racing together. If you stay with that group, you’re less likely to get into trouble with gaps, slower cars, or sudden incidents. The host is saying staying with the pack would have helped avoid the situation that caused the penalty and damage.
Red Bull is a Formula 1 racing team. The host is talking about how their car feels and how fast it is, and how that changes depending on the tires and the race.
A medium tyre is less grippy than the soft tyre, but it lasts longer. The host says Red Bull had trouble getting the medium tires working properly during the race.
Monaco is a famous Formula 1 race on tight city streets. Since it’s slow and twisty, the car’s “pull” (torque) and how smoothly it drives can matter more than maximum top speed.
A “small turbo” is a turbocharger that’s built to react quickly. That can help the car feel more responsive when you’re accelerating out of slow turns.
Torque is the twisting force that makes the car accelerate. If a track is slow and twisty, having strong torque helps you get moving quickly out of corners.
In Formula 1, “harvesting” usually refers to capturing energy during braking and other deceleration phases for later use. The idea is that certain circuits let you recover more energy, which can change how much power you have available later in the race.
A hairpin is a super-tight turn where the car has to slow down a lot and turn sharply. If it’s the final hairpin, it’s the last big corner before the next straight, so how well you brake and get back on the gas matters a lot.
McLaren is a top Formula 1 racing team. Here, they’re being used as the yardstick for speed—saying the other car was about as quick as a McLaren when things weren’t too chaotic.
“Scrapping” here means racing very closely—cars are fighting for position and making it hard for each other to pass. When they’re not scrapping, it’s easier for the quicker car to pull away.
Ferrari is a famous Formula 1 team. The speaker is saying the other car was faster than the Ferrari and could open a gap—until the racing got close and the gap shrank.
A prologue is a short practice/test session held just before a big race. Teams use it to make sure the car is working right and to adjust things before the real competition starts.
Audi is a car brand that competes in endurance racing. In this segment, they’re described as being the fastest during the test period before the main race.
A fastest lap means the quickest one full circuit time in that session. It’s a simple way to show which car was moving the best at that moment. If you hear “fastest lap,” it usually means the car had strong speed and grip.
Track conditions are how the race track is acting at that moment. Things like temperature and how much grip the surface has can change lap times a lot. The host is saying the conditions were ideal, so the performance is more impressive.
BOP is a set of rules that tries to make different race cars compete more evenly. Race organizers may add weight or limit power so one car doesn’t automatically dominate. The host is saying this Audi still stays competitive even with those limits.
“EVO” here means an updated version of the race car. Manufacturers make improvements over time based on what they learn from testing and races. The host is saying the latest update is part of why the car is still competitive.
This is a race-prepped version of the Audi R8 made for GT3 competition. The “EVO 2” part means it’s a later update of the car. The host is saying it’s still quick enough to race at the front, not just show up.
Chris Haase is a professional race driver who has been closely tied to Audi’s GT racing efforts. The host is mentioning him to show that skilled drivers are still choosing to race this car, not just less-experienced entrants.
This is a Bentley race car built to the GT3 rules. GT3 is a common racing format, so teams can run the same kind of car in different championships and keep it competitive for years.
GT America is a racing series in the U.S. for GT-style race cars. Saying a car does well there means it’s not just fast in one region—it can compete in American races too.
Memo Gidley is a professional race car driver. Here, they’re saying he’s leading the championship in the series they’re talking about, meaning he’s doing very well right now.
A 24-hour race is a long endurance event where the car has to keep going for an entire day. Teams focus on staying consistent and not breaking parts, not just one fast lap.
“Factory-supported” means the car company is helping the racing team. That support can include technical help and parts, which makes it easier to stay competitive.
GT3 is a popular type of race car category with rules that keep cars fairly comparable. When they say “European GT3 world,” they mean the big network of GT3 racing in Europe.
GT World Challenge Endurance Cup is a racing series for GT cars, where races last a long time. Teams have to manage tires, fuel, and driver changes to finish strong.
This is the European endurance championship for GT cars. The discussion is about how many Porsche cars enter it compared with other related series.
Term
intercontinental GT challenge entry car collections
This is talking about GT racing events that bring teams together from different places. “Entry car collections” just means the cars that are officially entered on the event list.
A factory team is a racing team backed by the car maker itself. Instead of being an independent outfit, they’re closely supported by the manufacturer and often run the manufacturer’s own race cars.
A punctured tire is basically a tire that got damaged and started losing air. In a race, it makes the car harder to control, so the driver may have to drive slowly back to safety.
Car
Mercedes AMG GT3
Mercedes-AMG GT3 is a race car made for a popular class called GT3. Teams buy or run it in endurance races, and the rules are designed so different brands can compete fairly.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car made by Chevrolet. It’s designed to be fast and fun to drive, and it’s often used in racing or performance builds. The podcast mentioning TF Sport suggests someone is working on or preparing Corvettes for a specific purpose.
Penske is a racing team/organization. If someone leaves a Porsche-Penske program, it typically means they’re switching to a different team or racing contract.
Genesis is a car brand. Here it’s being described as the company that supports drivers and lets them race in different setups.
Topic
Herbergring 24
This sounds like a 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Instead of just speed for a short time, it’s about lasting the whole day—staying consistent and keeping the car running.
SRO is the organization that runs and promotes certain GT racing events. If they change qualifying, it’s because they’re setting the rules for how the event runs.
Topic
Super Paul
“Super Paul” sounds like a special qualifying stage used in this event. The key idea is that it trims the field by eliminating the slower cars before the final runs.
“Fast 8” is a later round where only the quickest cars remain. Those cars then get another chance to set their positions before the final grid is determined.
WEC is a major endurance racing series where cars race for long distances and often compete in different categories at the same time. The hosts mention it because they’re comparing a new format to something WEC has tried before.
Instead of everyone racing once and getting a final ranking, the field gets cut down step by step. The goal is to keep the competition intense until only the fastest cars are left.
Topic
sports car 3, 6, 5
That “3, 6, 5” sounds like a shorthand label used in the broadcast—like a specific car entry or category. It doesn’t clearly point to a single well-known car model from this snippet alone.
The Isle of Man TT is a famous motorcycle race on real roads around the Isle of Man. It’s known for being extremely challenging and dangerous compared with normal closed race tracks.
IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is a major U.S. sports-car racing series. Cars of different types race in the same event, and the weekends are often built like endurance races.
A street race is held on roads that are normally used by the public, rather than a purpose-built circuit. These events typically have tighter corners, barriers close to the racing line, and less runoff, which can make them more demanding and accident-prone.
This is racing on city streets in Detroit instead of a purpose-built track. City tracks usually lead to more close calls because there’s less room for mistakes.
Bel Isle is a Detroit-area island that’s been used for racing. The host is saying some people prefer that venue over the current downtown street setup.
Acura is a car brand from Honda that also races competitively. Here, they’re saying Acura has been winning a lot lately and is trying to keep that streak going.
GTD Pro is one of the racing categories for GT cars, aimed at more serious, pro-level competition. The hosts are saying a team is trying to win again in that specific category.
Multimatic is a motorsport and engineering company known for building and supporting race cars, especially in endurance racing. Here, the hosts say Multimatic is aiming for back-to-back wins in the GTD Pro class.
Seb Perio is a pro race driver. The hosts mention him because he and Mike Rockenfeller aren’t doing the full season anymore, changing who’s expected to carry the team’s momentum.
Fred Ravish is a professional race driver. The hosts are saying he’s part of the team/car that’s now expected to be strong based on what happened last time.
Laguna Seca is a well-known race track in California. The hosts bring it up because the last race winner came from there, so it’s a clue about what might happen again.
GTD is a category in endurance racing for cars that are based on real production models. The idea is to keep the cars more evenly matched so they can compete against each other.
GR GT3 refers to Toyota’s GT3-spec race car program (the “GR” branding for Toyota Gazoo Racing). GT3 is a global customer-racing rule set that standardizes things like aerodynamics and balance of performance so private teams can run competitive cars.
The IndyCar Championship is the main season in U.S. open-wheel racing. They bring it up to explain how Penske has been involved in major races for a long time.
The “six hours of the Glen” is a long race where teams compete for six hours at Watkins Glen. Because it’s so long, strategy and staying reliable matter a lot, not just speed.
Car
Porsche 963s
The Porsche 963 is a race car Porsche built for long-distance endurance events. The hosts mention it because the same model can be set up a bit differently depending on the team or racing rules, which can change how it performs.
Person
John Church
John Church is mentioned as someone involved in the racing conversation—basically an insider who was teasing what might happen. The hosts use his comments to connect the weather to the race story.
Topic
text board car championship race at Laguna Seca
They’re talking about a championship race at Laguna Seca, and how what happened there connects to the larger season standings. The exact series name is a bit unclear from the transcript, but it’s clearly a points-paying event.
GT3 regulations are the rules that race cars must follow in a popular class of racing. The idea here is that the car is designed to meet those racing rules first, and only afterward is it turned into something you can drive on the street.
“Backwards engineered” means they start with what the race car needs to be good, then figure out how to turn that into a street car. Instead of starting with a normal road car and modifying it for racing, they go the other way around.
The Ford GT is a famous high-performance Ford that’s also been built with racing in mind. In this discussion, it’s mentioned as an example of a car that started from competition ideas and then worked back toward a road version.
Homologation is the paperwork-and-rules step that makes a race-derived car legal for the road. Here, the speaker says they worked on the street and race versions at the same time so both could meet the requirements.
GT3 is a racing category for cars that are based on real production models. The rules are designed so different brands can race each other on a more level playing field.
Toyota Gazoo Racing is Toyota’s racing and performance arm. The hosts are saying Toyota GR is changing how it develops cars for racing because modern road cars have gotten heavier and don’t match GT3 needs as well.
They’re talking about changing the usual plan for making race cars. Rather than starting from the newest street car and trying to turn it into a racer, they want to design the race car first and then shape the direction around racing needs.
Car
Mercedes-AMG GT Black series
The Black series is a very hardcore Mercedes-AMG road car. The host is saying the new GT3 race car takes inspiration from that Black series car.
Topic
LS race
The host is talking about where the new car will race first. “LS” seems to be a specific racing series or event, but the transcript doesn’t spell it out in this snippet.
“LS6” refers to a specific performance engine type people chase for power and tuning potential. Here, the host is basically saying that’s the best bet.
The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany. Car companies and racing teams use it to see how well cars handle in real-world track conditions.
GTE stands for “Grand Touring Endurance,” a class of race cars used in endurance racing (notably the FIA World Endurance Championship). It’s typically based on production-derived sports cars, so the relationship between road-car launches and race-car readiness can matter.
The BMW M8 is a fast, performance-focused BMW meant for spirited driving. The podcast also mentions it in a racing context, saying it was used in GTE, which is a type of endurance racing category. So it’s being discussed not just as a road car, but as a car that has been used in competition.
GT3 racing is a type of race series where teams can buy race cars and compete under standardized rules. It’s meant to make it possible for smaller teams to race without needing a huge factory budget.
Concept
limited availability
This is about how many race cars are actually available for regular teams to purchase. If only a few can get them, it becomes harder for other teams to join the racing.
The FIA is the main organization that writes the rules for a lot of international motorsport. For GT3, they’re involved in approving what cars and setups are allowed to race.
“Modular” means the car is built in sections that can be changed more easily. That helps teams update the car faster, like they would with a prototype.
The Ferrari 296 is a modern Ferrari model. The host is using it as an example of how some cars are built with flexible, update-friendly engineering—more like a prototype than a fixed design.
“Prototype side” means the highest-level race cars in the series. These cars are built mainly for racing, and the costs tend to be higher than in the more production-based classes.
Le Mans is one of the most famous long-distance races in the world. It’s often where big racing rule updates are announced, so it’s a key timing reference for endurance racing.
LMDH is a set of racing rules for a new generation of endurance prototype race cars. It’s meant to make it easier for different teams to build cars that can compete in multiple top endurance events.
LMH is a set of rules for top-level endurance prototype race cars. It helps define what those cars can be and how they’re kept roughly competitive with each other.
A hypercar program is basically a big plan to create and race an ultra-high-end race car. In endurance racing, it’s not just about being fast—it’s also about building something that can last for hours.
“Portugal” is another country on the racing calendar. The host thinks the Portugal race will likely be one of the longer events that earns extra points.
Topic
ten hours
“Ten hours” is just how long the race might be. Longer races can be worth more points under the rules the speaker is describing.
Dubai is a city in the UAE that also hosts racing events. In this segment they’re saying the track there is rated highly, meaning it’s considered suitable for big, serious races.
Term
class 1
When they say “class 1,” they mean the track is officially rated as meeting top-level standards. That usually relates to safety and how well the venue is set up for major races.
Term
testing grade 1
“Testing grade 1” means the track is considered good enough for serious testing, not just occasional track days. It implies the venue is set up to handle teams running cars for development and evaluation.
They bring up Ramadan because it can make certain months harder to schedule events. In this case, it’s being used to explain why February might be difficult for races.
WRC means World Rally Championship. It’s the biggest rally racing series, and events only count if they’re officially part of the championship schedule.
Topic
world championship event
They’re saying the rally was part of a top-level “world championship” rather than just local or national competition. It’s a way of explaining how official and high-stakes the event was.
The Audi quattro is Audi’s rally-famous all-wheel-drive setup. It helps the car grip the road better on slippery surfaces like gravel, so it can accelerate and turn more confidently in races.
Rally America is the main rally championship in the U.S. The hosts are saying the Olympus rally became part of that bigger championship, not just a one-off event.
Ken Block was a well-known American rally and motorsport driver, famous for both competition and viral Gymkhana-style videos. His name here signals the caliber of drivers who have won the Olympus rally.
Here, “equipment” means the car’s race parts and setup. The hosts are saying you don’t necessarily need the newest stuff to do well—sometimes it just makes the racing more interesting.
This is a performance Toyota hatchback (the GR Corolla). “RC2” is a racing category—so the car is set up to follow specific competition rules.
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Oh, is it that time?
Just after eight o'clock on a Wednesday?
Sorry, I was...
They would be thinking that we'd had an aborted staff.
No, absolutely. We might have to do that two or three times.
Well, indeed so.
Sorry, just checking flights to Europe
from the Regis Le Brice International Airport.
Good evening, everybody, and welcome along to Midweek Motorsport.
We have reached Midweek Motorsport Series One episode...
That's Series 21, episode number 20, up in London.
As you've already heard, it's our executive producer
and newly married man, Tim Greg.
Congratulations from all of us.
And on IMPACT programme tonight, Tim, we have what?
We have all the usual features.
We will have Nick Damon's team-by-team review
of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Correct.
We'll be looking back at the Indy 500
and have a game of the answers, not Scott Dixon.
Can we just look back at the Indy two and a half?
Because, really, that was the only bit of the martin.
There's a few bits of math earlier on.
But I'll agree.
You could probably skip the first 19 laps
and then a big chunk in the middle that was under yellow.
And then we'll go to about five laps from the end.
OK.
We'll be looking ahead to Indy cars next adventure in Detroit
and they're joined by the Tech Sports Car Championship there.
So we'll be looking at that as well.
We'll be looking at a lot more sports car news.
John Deese is with us.
He's going to be talking about the sports car news
in both hours of tonight's show.
We're trying to get hold of Peter McKay for the rally report.
He is in Japan at the moment, because that's where the next round
of the World Rally Championship is taking place.
So we're trying to wake him up and see if we're successful,
sometime in the next hour and 55 minutes.
What else have we got?
If we've got time, we'll squeeze another round of points for us.
Oh, brilliant.
My favorite.
You did very well on that last week, John.
Yes.
It is good, bad or indifferent.
I actually do it.
I think that's a really good, one of your better games, yours,
if I'm honest.
I don't think it's beating Dunton with a plow.
Do you know what?
It's very funny, because we had a plow at the weekend
and that's exactly what I was thinking about as well.
Anyway, some quick parish notices.
Hello to Simon Hoff, who is just dropping in first time
in a few weeks.
No airfares for Rafi, Alex Orkin,
supper of sausage, fennel, pasta.
That's interesting, because we had sausage and fennel
pasta tonight.
Hope we've got lots on the 500, 600 F1 and sports cars.
I also had pasta, but no sausage or fennel in it.
Let's ignore the luce.
Well, the luce is a necessary cart for Ferrari to build,
so that they hit their targets on how many EVs they have,
so that they can continue building V12s and V8s.
So it doesn't matter what it looks like.
They'll sell them all.
Jesse Young, hello.
Of all the Indy 500s that I watched,
that was possibly the best finish.
Dave England's airfares.
Still got a list of the last weeks, actually.
I was in Mallorca after spending the prior weekend
at the Barcelona-Battelona Mortige,
pretty intense, Kroeper Hoffmann, no airfares,
but advanced airfares for next week and beyond.
I'll be winging my way to France next Wednesday,
en route to Kroeper's first ever Le Mans martial duty.
Oh, wow, thank you for that.
It is midday, motorsport, not next week,
but the weekend and the week after.
Austin Hilliard racing, Indy 500 was great.
I've never sat and watched the entire thing before.
Life of kids and all of that.
Well worth it.
NG Autostar, Auto Arts.
Neil, gives a shout if you need to, mate.
Airfares for him, spending some quality time with Mrs. NG.
James O'Donnell listening in from the garden
on another glorious evening in the midlands.
I'm really sure to run the cables outside tonight.
It's still lovely, but we have a huge Monsign style
thunderstorm and lightning last night,
which involved lightning strikes in the high street,
which have damaged the road surface, believe it or not.
Chris Suku, looking forward to the show.
What a weekend in motorsport.
Fault in next team by team.
Looking forward to joining you this evening, just dear old cook.
I spent a great afternoon in the garden rereading
an old favorite, 2010 Odyssey 2 by Arthur C. Clarke.
I bet we need some books today as well.
Otter, Otter FR.
It is World Otter Day today.
He's been having a day of CAR TLC
with his WeatherTech mat inserts.
Otter, I always thought you were in Europe.
If you are, where do you get the WeatherTech stuff from?
Arnaj, Rob, Warman, Sonny and Sheffield
looking forward to tonight's show.
Thomas Pitt, apologies for absence
on the rescheduled work trip to Germany.
Oh, that's the one that let me go to the Northampton Boxers.
Open fixture, wasn't it?
Maybe listening on Friday on the way home.
Right turn, lover, in tonight.
Paul Maron, how are you?
Nice to know you're listening tonight.
Ed Moser's back to the archive early tomorrow,
busy doing the presets on the radios this afternoon.
Yes, if you didn't notice that, the responsible adult.
We have our frequency and once again,
at Le Mans for Test and the Race,
it is 91.2 FM, Radio Le Mans for 2026.
It is out 21st RSL, Radio Le Mans.
Kevin Payne looking forward to John De Geest
back to listening live tonight.
Hello to Blur Fiend listening in tonight as well as...
Who else did I see down at the bottom here as I scroll?
No, I think that's it. I think I've got everybody.
Geoffrey and Tom Aiken as well, all tuned in tonight.
At spec, if you want to get in touch, Tim Gray's hand time
is shuffle, he's paid for work, such as it is,
and he will tell us in a moment what the top story is
after this jingle.
All the latest motorsport news from around the world.
Midweek Motorsports.
And we're going to start with the Indy 500
and the closest finish ever
in what is the richest Indy 500 ever as well.
Congratulations to Felix Rosenquist,
who took the lead on the final lap
and won by 0.02 seconds.
He took the lead as he crossed the 13 rows of bricks
or whatever it is.
Was that the only time he had let?
No, I don't think so.
That was the 70th lead change,
which is also a record.
There have never been that many lead changes in the Indy 500
before. The previous record was 68, which was set 13 years ago.
It was an excellent race.
I missed the start of it,
but I watched from lap 19 to the end,
so I think I got all the action in and the rain.
Yes, I kept tuning.
Every time I tuned in to start with,
and I was in Belgium,
and it was stopped,
and then I watched it and they stopped it again.
There was only one red flag, wasn't there?
The others were safety cars.
There were two red flags, weren't there?
There were two red flags.
There were two that I saw,
or there could have been more.
And then they got cracking again,
and it was nice that Formula One had aborted start
so that we could actually see the end and then switch straight over.
So that was quite good.
First win for Felix Rosenkrist and Mike Schank.
Mike Schank racing, winning it.
Yes, their second Indianapolis 500.
Victory.
Because Heliocatron never won for them in 2021.
Right, excellent.
Nick Daimler's with us as well. Good evening, Nick.
Good evening, Tim. Good evening, John.
Can I borrow a handbag the whole thing?
Because?
Just one lap.
It's not very difficult to have a closest finish if we just run one lap.
It was the greatest Indianapolis 2.5 miles ever.
I think.
The utter ridiculousness of making this out to be a fantastic event,
a fantastic race,
but it was just really because someone won by not very much on a one lap sprint.
Two laps sprint?
No, one lap.
And then they were saying,
oh, it had more lead changes than any other India ever.
And so what? Lead changes don't mean anything.
People were swapping around.
They were saving fuel. They came back and they gave it.
The last lead change mattered.
The previous 70 didn't.
69.
So yeah, I mean, I watched it.
I didn't for one moment say it was a bad race,
but I think this ridiculous hyperbole,
because they just ran it for two or not easily.
It's like the situation where you get all these super close finishes
that they turn to me for hours,
but you don't get them at Le Mans.
Well, that's just because of the yellow flag rules.
Did you agree, gentlemen?
I'll ask this question. I'll ask you both.
Did you agree with them throwing the red flag
with whatever it was eight laps to go
and then restarting it?
They made a pretty quick decision about that.
It was quite a nasty looking incident with flam and everything like that.
Was that the right thing to do, Tim?
Yes, because you don't know what's going to happen.
There could have been fuel spilled all over the track as well.
I thought it was the right thing to do.
It's what they should have done at Abu Dhabi, wasn't it?
They should have thrown the red flag straight away.
There wasn't quite the rules there.
You didn't need to throw the red flag there.
You just needed to obey the rules as written.
So he hung on, strapped me in,
start the engines, I've hooked a huge one.
The lap of Abu Dhabi is a lot longer than the lap of Indianapolis.
Well, that is true as well.
So the cars would have gone past it much sooner.
And then, also, then we had the...
Abu Dhabi, where there was also a safety car.
But then we had another safety car within that eight laps
and at least a full course yellow as it turned out
because I don't think the safety car actually came out, did it?
It didn't have time.
Someone's struck the wall.
Someone glanced the wall but we're absolutely fine.
It makes you mad here.
But again, you can't be too careful.
You don't want to have the race finishing under yellow.
Well, it's a thing, isn't it?
So, as you both watched it,
we're going to base tonight's...
the answer's not Scott Dixon on that particular race.
Well, I only watched the last eight laps.
Did you watch like an A level?
No, but that's okay.
Well, we'll do that later. We're going to do that now.
No, do it right now.
Let's do it quickly.
I think it's...
John has turned to go first.
Right.
John, Felix Rosenquist is the third Swedish driver to win the Indy 500.
Can you name me the other two?
Yes, I can.
And they are?
That was very confident.
Nils and...
Let me have a think.
I can name...
I can name one.
Which was?
Marcus Ericsson.
Ericsson.
Yes.
And...
Kenny Bragg.
He's correct.
Kenny Bragg's a great answer.
Yes.
Except Kenny Bragg...
was Kenny Bragg still Swedish then
or had he not been naturalised US?
He was very Swedish then.
Okay.
That was my question.
Felix Rosenquist is 34 years old.
Can you name the last 34 year old to win the Indy 500?
Oh, that's brilliant.
What?
I don't even know how old these drivers are.
Tell you what, because I've got like four chances.
I'm going to have a hellier cash than ever.
It's correct.
Well turned.
In 2009 he was 34.
Right.
Who advanced the most positions
from their starting positions,
Stephanie and Shane position, John?
Er...
I can't even remember.
I didn't say the start, so I've got no clue.
Nick?
I don't know what the result was.
I don't even know who qualified where,
because I never saw qualifying.
I'm just a guess.
I actually cannot remember where this person finished,
but I've got a guess.
It was Conor Daly?
It wasn't. It was Roman Crozion.
Conor Daly qualified quite well.
He did.
I couldn't remember.
I had a chat with his dad today
for a special we're going to have at Le Mans,
which is good.
You're going to enjoy it.
Carry on. Next.
Ed Carpenter completed his 23rd career in the 500.
He hasn't won any of them,
which makes him the most winless starts
of any driver in the event's history.
But whose record did he beat this year?
What, for winless starts?
Yes.
So I had to find out the person
who was next least successful.
Yes.
Can I ask you a question?
Is this someone I would have heard of?
No.
No.
Okay.
Speedway Derrick?
John, I'll pass it across to you.
Not a clue.
It was George Snyder.
He started 22 in the 500 consecutive
between 1965 and 1987.
Sorry, George.
Well, I'm sure he's delighted
that you've forgotten that,
because I don't think it'll be something
that he really wanted to do.
He's pretty proud of that.
Of the 70 lead changes,
26 of those were between Alex
Palau and Scott Dixon
setting a new record
of the number of lead changes
between two drivers.
The previous record
of lead changes between the same two drivers
was 18.
But which two drivers in 2016?
Ooh.
There's a clue.
There's your clue.
Do you think that's a clue?
It gives you an ear.
It means you're not going to say Alonza.
Well, I might.
It would have been...
I don't know.
Let's have a guess.
I've got not a clue.
Ryan Hunter Ray?
Yes.
Oh, why bloody hell?
And...
I don't know.
Is it an active driver?
No.
Is it somebody who was there?
Yes.
James Hinch Cliff.
Get the back of the net.
Nick?
Well, hang on a second though.
There were like two clues there.
Well, I don't...
I'm still not going to win.
It doesn't matter.
Carry on.
Oh, I know this one.
Very good.
I knew that.
Is anyone keeping score on this?
Yes, 2-1.
2-1.
2-1 to the Arsenal.
2-1 to the Jills.
So that is a win for...
Nick?
Again.
Well, no, I think I didn't jump in the last one.
I won't point this.
No, he won this.
See, you won...
You won...
with your amazing
plucking names out of history
last week.
I think I'm having a good run
on the answer, not Scott Dixon.
I still don't think I've won an auction
event yet, so...
Hmm.
You just need to bid higher.
Lower.
Still Nils H, by the way,
in the European competition.
Do you know where I'm going to be
next year
when the Europa Cup final
is in Frankfurt?
The Nürburgring.
Correct!
The Nürburgring.
They're still quite alive.
And also, you haven't got there yet.
I know, I'm just...
I'm just pointing that out.
Plans are being...
Plans are being made
for the European Odyssey.
Between me and Bradley.
So...
Just bear in mind that you're busy
most of those days.
Well, not on the Thursday, I won't be.
Somebody else can do whatever I need to do
on the Thursday.
It'll be a Wednesday, yes, you're right.
Hmm.
Sometimes on Thursday.
How far
is it to
Frankfurt
from the Nürburgring?
It depends on time of day
because the traffic can be terrible.
So it could be anything from 90 minutes
to 4 hours.
Really?
More to say than I think.
Oh yeah, because you have one there.
I've always wanted to do that.
Honestly.
You're giving up motorcycling?
Well, in the UK I am, definitely.
But my bikes are worth nothing.
It's 101 miles, so it's 2 hours.
2 hours, 8 minutes.
2 hours, 8 minutes.
I can go on...
I can go on the line, I can go on the number
860 bus
and then the train via
Koblenz.
But actually, it's quicker to just stay on the 860 bus.
I went to the...
The second time I went to the Nürburgring
I went via Koblenz.
Yeah.
Anyway, moving on, what else you got for us two?
Let's move on to Formula 1
because...
Hooray!
No, go in quickly.
Immediately after the Indy 500
was the Canadian Grand Prix.
What a great race it was as well.
Or...
And that means it's time for Nick Damon's
team by team review
of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Excellent.
There was a sprint which I didn't
watch and therefore really
don't care about.
I watched all the sprint.
Did you?
Yeah, I fell asleep during the main race.
Walk up at the end.
It was very late by then.
Don't forget I was an hour further
into the deer than you guys were.
That had been very early.
Let's start with Cadillac, Nick.
Yes.
The surprising
thing to me about Cadillac
and something I wouldn't have expected
is that Sergio Perez
is comprehensively outperforming
Valterri Bottes.
His job's in jeopardy apparently.
My anti-Perez
rants at the previous years have
began to look very, you know, out-tuned.
You've spurred him on.
Probably is, yeah.
Bottes is going to play at the car fields
every time he gets in.
He isn't getting on with the machine.
He isn't getting on with the new
sort of
regulations.
Perez had a weekend
where he kept getting the best result
Cadillac ever got, but that's about 11th
or 12th.
And then he came in
really weirdly
at the end
with a broken front suspension
which appeared to have actually broken
by itself.
But then you kind of think, did you have a wall glance
prior? Before we go any further,
can I just say, I thought the TV coverage
was absolutely shocking.
You mean
in the pictures themselves
and what they were showing
at the show?
The camera angles.
What happened to the replay machine?
They had an absolutely
appalling set of camera angles.
They got these new cameras which were just showing you wall
rather than cars.
They never got a replay round.
We didn't see replays of most of the things that were important.
You know, it's like
and then they were playing the replays
in the tiny little box
in the timing.
That was a mistake, that must be a mistake
because later on they were showing the main screen.
Basically, I don't know whether the main director
had had
some sort of panic attack
prior to it and they had the third reserve in
but it was absolutely terrible.
Anyway,
that's my first statement about it.
So he may have clipped the wall
but the front end collapsed spectacularly
but he still got reclassified
17.
So he was beaten by Bottas
a long way back
and lots of stops and change tyres.
So they are
still marginally faster it seems
than parts of the Aston Martin team
but they are not really moving forward
as much as you'd hope
because they haven't managed to get the second car working yet.
That means we move on to Aston Martin.
So last role
That's true.
Seemed even more disinterested than usual
in world of disinterested Lance Strolls
so much so
it's not a fake in coverage
because he was Canadian
I actually don't have anything to say about him.
Alonso
Can I mention going back to Cadillac
I don't remember seeing either of those cars
apart from
when Perez
had his collapse
I didn't see
No, I didn't see either of them coming
He was being lapped
Bottas got lapped, Perez got lapped
Yeah, I mean
they probably
can't really complain
they are very much bringing up the tail
and they're not really interesting
Alonso in the end retired from the race
because he's in pain
which he put down
having the seat too far reclined
and this is like an absolute agent
getting the driver in a ridiculous position
for aerodynamic reasons
but the position they got into
was causing him so much pain
there wasn't much point going on when he formed
so far at the point it was never going to happen
so they just parked it and they said they're going to mend the seat
they're going to move the seat position
moving forwards
That was Aston Martin
then next is
Aldi
I think it's Aldi, yeah
I think if you
look up the word
nondescript in the dictionary
you will find Aldi at the Canadian Grand Prix
because
nothing
this is not impressive
Nothing to talk about
Well, didn't really achieve anything apart
from a couple of replays of Halkenberg going off
or let it get you in the way of someone
but they were a long way off
the pace, a couple laps off by the end
they did actually also go for
the intermediate tyre at the start
which was a better bet than it was
for a certain other team went for it
but the car really hasn't pushed on
from what was a relatively
positive initial performance
so they're having this issue trying to develop it
and you know, certainly
it's not looking very Aldi like at the moment
it's still this problem with starts
because the car has got this biggest turbo
it doesn't get off the line very well
and you're kind of wondering when are you going to start fixing this stuff
so it looks like they're going to get themselves stuck in
lack of development hell
so yeah, they have really just
underperforming
it's very Aldi like
I think they are finding a lot of people
this is a bit more difficult than they thought it was going to be
OK, let's move on
to William
I know, Hass first, then Williams
Hass, yeah, so Hass
who also started the season well
they brought a set of upgrades
which they thought were going to catapult them back up to the front of the midfield
and they kind of spectacularly didn't really perform very well
they've really lost pace
relative to the other midfield runners
over the course of these
first four or five races
and of course it's been
three months or so of development
interesting here
Berman was a little bit quicker than Okon
Okon being slower than Berman
then complained of something wrong with his car
because that's what Esteban does
he's not very quick as the cars fault
if it's quick it's him, so you know, fair enough
Berman managed to hang on to the last point
when you think that three of the top eight cars
didn't finish
it kind of puts it more into perspective
you've got to be there to get it and you've got a point
but Hass has got some problems they need to sort out
so Williams
Alex Albon
summed up the
if he didn't have bad luck he'd have no luck at all
as he lost the whole
of the only practice session
because he hit a groundhog, of course he's more unlucky for the groundhog
but pretty unlucky for him
damaged the car so much he couldn't hit a car
what was it, it wasn't a groundhog, what did they call it?
well it was a fish, groundhog
it was a marmot, they call it
but they are groundhogs
so he didn't get to sprint qualifying
and the sprint was just a test session
then we were going to go to real qualifying
he hadn't done any qualifying so he hadn't run any fast laps
on soft tyres to have problems
but then he started racing
he got past a lot of people who were on
who started intermediate tyres
he was going really really well
and then some, you know
unguided missile piloted by an Australian
clunked him one
and broke it
always very annoying when you get hit
and the person who hits you carries on going
and they destroy your car
and so Albon was out of the race
after about 30 laps
he just sat there and he was sitting there going
what's at Earth, he really
just had a nightmare where he could
virtually none of it was own making
a car aside to have a couple of points
which was absolutely a bonus
the car is slowly getting better
it's still not anywhere near the class
in the middle of the field
putting bits on it, they're losing a bit of weight
here and there
signs are also starting to mediate
luckily he managed to get round it
early on and not lose too much time
I think two points of cars
that's quite a good return
he's pushing on and doing the car
lots of things now after
and if they had a better car
he'd be a lot further up
Arby
yeah so
Arby had a
had a situation where they couldn't get both
the cars running correctly at the same time
Lawson had an issue at the start
of practice with
hydraulics
so they said it was power stream, it was all the hydraulics
and then they found they couldn't think into neutral
with the emergency neutral switch
they got fined I think 30,000 euros
for that because apparently if I had said
they'd seen something in the design of the
the red bull powertrain forward thing
that meant this was quite likely to happen
and they'd warned them and then it happened
so they got a big fine for that one
for it not being able to be proved by the
marshals
and then Lawson's kind of missed out on qualifying
into
sprint race, sprint race ok, Limba did really
really well qualifying, both races qualified very well
for the main race and then
he couldn't engage gear on the first of the
many, the first of the many abortive starts
for the main race
so he couldn't get first gear
and therefore he
ended up, actually
we've got the wrong team here you know
back to the right team in a second
just carry on
so he then
he was out of the race despite having a really good weekend
Lawson
who had problems up until that point
completely maximised what he could do out of the car
and he's turning out to be, when he isn't hitting
people he's turning out to be quite a useful little racer
Liam, he's got the whole thing up to seventh place
he's got six points, managed to hold off
Gasly, despite the fact Gasly had
newer tyres on him
so yeah, in the end
it was six points which I'm really happy for
I feel a bit sorry for Limba
but Lawson is kind of sort of justifying
his position in the team now so it's quite a solid
pairing they've got there for this
Division 2 team
Next is Alpine
Which one did you want to go for?
We should have done McLaren
Should we?
Oh, yeah, they would have
D&F in 11th
Yeah, let's do McLaren then
Yes, McLaren
who had a better sprint than they expected
with Norris stritting the
2
Norris has been significantly
at the start, we were
weird at seeing it being so far, of course they had problems getting the cars going
but in qualifying it had been
Piastri who had been better
though in the race it hadn't been paid off for him for various reasons
certainly the last couple of races
Norris has had an edge over
Oscar, I mean it's
a bit of an ebb and flow with those two
so they all lined up on the grid and they looked around
as the blankets came off and they were on
the intermediates which no one else was on
Now this was obviously
an error
Do you think?
It's hard to
understand why a team on 2nd and 3rd and 4th
in the grid would make that call
why they would decide to go so country
intuitively
I think it's because
the information they had when they made the call
which was like 5 or 6 minutes before the
formation lap
gets underway, they thought
there might have been more rain, it was a bit wet
then of course the race finally started
10 minutes later than it should have done
because of the 2 aborted starts
so any advantage it would have had with slight damp track
disappeared, it did work
off the line
Norris was easy to take the lead
a lot more grip than everyone else
unfortunately within
lap and 3rd course once some heat got into the tyres
he was going to be several seconds slower
so they came in at that point
and they dropped down
it was a disaster
but not a complete
disaster at that point because both of them
they'd run clean, would have worked their way
back into the points and probably being
6th and 7th in the end
which is not what they wanted but it would have
given them a nice hat full of points
Any problem with Oscar Piastri
he decided to have
an attack on
Alex Albon
which first of all damaged his wing
and then he got a 10 second penalty as well
on top of it and he could only crawl his way back
to 11th
and
Lando was going quite well actually
I think he was up to 7th or 8th already
and then of course his gearbox gave way
so
a 0 point day for McLaren
most of their own making
because obviously Piastri's problem
wouldn't have happened if he had been stuck in the main pack
and you never know what would have happened with
Norris but yeah a completely pointless
main race after some encouraging signs
in the sprint
Now let's do Alpine
Yes so Alpine
have scored well
this time they got a 6th
and an 8th
Franco Colapinto put in his 2nd
excellent performance of
this swing in North America
one minor mistake
when he came out of the pit
after his well known stop
he slightly clouded the wall and broke his wing
but he was relatively untroubled
in
6th place
he was going about 15 seconds ahead of Lorce
and he was an absolute age behind Hajar
Hajar had about a
minutes worth of penalties
but it was still ahead of Colapinto
which just shows the top 4 teams
are in a completely different stratosphere
to the rest
it's really hard to understand how that gap
is still looked at in no one's even thought about bridging it
but
that's where we've got 4 teams of competitive
rather than just 2 or 1
so Colapinto
is finally justifying his hype
from a couple of years ago
and keeping hold of Argentina happy
Gasly had a bit of an off weekend
it resulted in a few points
he again also I think was a French thing
he also thinks there's something wrong with his car as well
so
we remember that Colapinto's return to form
was supposed to be spurred on by the fact that he had a new chassis
starting in Miami which was a slightly lighter chassis
I'm not sure where they were
but the chassis feel like something else
so it's interesting isn't it
if you're bridging a bad weekend it's the car
that's what we've learnt from this
but they both scored points
so I've been looking very very good this year
it just goes to show that
they didn't really need their own engine
having a Mercedes kind of solved most of the problems
next is Red Bull
interesting weekend for Red Bull
they were quite on the pace
they were in Miami at various times
but it does seem that
whilst the car now is easier to drive for both drivers
than it was prior to the last couple of races
it doesn't seem to be consistent
about where it's quick
so it isn't quick at every single point
so it might be quick in a single lap
but not quick in the race
it's obviously used as a setup
it was relatively fast
in the qualifying
for the flow from the sprint
not that fast in the sprint
and then in this race it was looking particularly good
on the soft tyre
but once you got onto the medium tyre
it had problems warming them up
which is why the Saffons went past Hamilton
through in the soft tyre phase
but then it was easily caught up again
despite being 8 seconds ahead where they came out of the pit
when the tyres changed
and the Saffons having problems getting warmed
into the front of the car
Hatchile was going again
it's privy to be by far
the Saffons best team mate
but he did pick up rather too many penalties
in this one
he had a yellow flag penalty
and what was the other penalty for him
was it a collision or something
he managed to have two penalties
well it was a stop and go
it was him on those for a long time
but despite that
because he was the last
of the top teams
he was still so far ahead of Colpin
he didn't matter
what they should do
I think it's Finland
or maybe Sweden
where speeding fines
are based on your earnings
so someone got fined
£8000
for speeding because they earned
£200 grand
so I think if you're already a minute ahead
there's no point giving you a 5 second penalty
you should get a minutes penalty
because those are pointless
aren't they really otherwise
those penalties that Hatchile had
didn't do him any harm whatsoever
but like I said
the Saffons
seemed happier during the weekend
but then once again started playing
I'm the most important thing in F1
so if you don't change your rules
suit me I'm going to leave
and my feeling is
we'll leave then
and next we move on to
Hamilton and Leclerc
at Ferrari
yeah I mean it was a great weekend
for Louis, the only downside
was the last lap of the sprint
a side by side
racing situation
no harm no foul with Piazza
just putting him out of line so much
he got overtaken by Leclerc as well
but he qualified well
not perfectly, he had a slight problem
with a couple of technical issues
on what should be his fastest lap
but then he just showed
maybe 40 or 41 more areas
but yeah he still got it when it counts
and put in a great performance
and Charles Leclerc had a less good performance
but again he only finished two places behind them
because both of them had clowns broken down
Isaac Hatchile was perplexed in the Stuart's
Stuart's office
and despite the fact he's spout he was still fourth
which just says sometimes you don't have to be good
just to be lucky and be in the right place
and Leclerc had a bad weekend
it happens, hadn't had a good weekend
let's hope he had more than one good weekend
that's two good weekends this year now
so we're already up on last year so that's a good start
so hopefully that's more good weekends
and the thought is
that the next race at Monaco is the one
that's got the best chance at
but really?
because they've got a small turbo
they don't need big power, you need torque
and buzz and everything else
there's going to be no issue with harvesting
in Monaco
they won't be able to use the power
and finally
it's going to be most like an ordinary race
and finally we move on to
Mercedes
yes and the championship is now all over
or is it? I don't know
yeah so
in fairness to
George who's been complaining about
bad luck
basically most of the season
apart from the first race
he hasn't had bad luck
the engine let go when he was leading
whether he would have stayed in the lead
who knows they were swapping it around
both of them were unable to brake for the final hairpin
the car was upgraded
it was quick
the car
was on a par with the McLaren
it was obviously back to being three or four tenths faster
than the McLaren
when they weren't scrapping
they were pulling away quite easily
in fact from the Ferrari
and the Red Bull
obviously as soon as they started scrapping
those gaps came right down
it was good fight you know
Anthony was upset at the sprint
I don't think there was any particular reason for it
in the main race
there was a little more circumspect
not sure how that will last
but in the end of the day it's four wins
he is making more mistakes
so he's
being a bit rough around the edges
but he can't in other facts he's very quick
and even George need to
not only to get his finger out
performance wise we need to change in luck
otherwise Anthony is going to get too far ahead
and they'll call off the battle at Mercedes
but it was entertaining
it was a very entertaining race
as long as you were a McLaren fan
where do we go next in Formula One Nick?
we go to Monaco
so once again
after all these races where they've only had one practice
because it's been a sprint race
now they get the race that doesn't mean anything
as far as race is concerned
so we are probably
can't wait to get a blast and have three whole practice sessions
wonderful that is Nick Damon's team by team review
of the Canadian Grand Prix
here on Midweek Motorsport
well time now
for the first of a few
updates that we're going to have
prior to the
CrowdStrike 24 hours
of Spa
and there is obviously only one person
that we can talk to
regarding this and that is
John De Geese who is joining
joining us now
do they always have
a prologue for the Spa
24 and is it always sort of ahead
I can't remember this happening
in the past but then again
there's been so much going on
recently and it was pretty much
straight off the back of the Nürburgring
good evening welcome back to Midweek Motorsport
Mr. Dick
yeah thanks John
yes technically there has been
a prologue but I don't believe it was always called
a prologue
it seems that a lot of series are now calling
their tests prologues
and it all started I think with WEC
long time ago and
whatever I'll take
my I won't put my own opinion
into the name it's still a
it's a test before the big race
and that's exactly what it was
two days
following the
Nürburgring 24 believe it or not
so that was a bit of a
busy time for a number of teams that are
doing both but not quite
as bad as last year because obviously we had
the races on back to back weekends
but nonetheless there was
two days for
most of the cars to take part
on and off weather I believe
there was definitely
rain had an impact over the running
but in Audi ended up
being quickest for the second year in a row
yeah this is
I think this is
an interesting story because
clearly Audi still supporting
their customers but it's been a while now
since Audi Sport customer
racing was I want to disband it
but it was wound down
quite
a lot and yet the cars
are still competitive we saw that the Nürburgring
and we've seen it again
Chris Haase
with
the fastest lap
which actually happened on the opening morning
with the best of the track conditions
in believe it or not I think it was about
16 hours of track time
we should see a John that nobody
was expected to take the Nürburgring car
prep it
and send it straight back out again
but it was a quick turnaround for some of the
the personnel but Audi
still turning out cars
and their customer teams still turning
out performances that are
class and race worthy
in terms of being
competitive I think there's
two parts to this in that
A the car is still competitive
especially in
a BOP
driven
platform of GT3 so that means
how well the car was built in its latest
EVO its final EVO configuration
the R8 LMS GT3 EVO 2
and then B there's still
very capable drivers wanting to
drive it it's not just turned into
a field filler with a bunch of bronze
drivers you have Chris Haase
who is one of the leading
factory drivers back in the day
and he's still leading the way with
this car even though he's not employed by
Audi Sport anymore so
I think it's a combination of that
it has surprised me
that it's still been going on this long
I think we've written multiple stories of like
oh this is probably the final year
for the car to be in competitive form
and and all of a sudden it's still
out there it almost reminds me of the Bentley
Continental GT3 where
you had I think
Team Parker racing and a couple other teams
that had run it after the factory had
ceased that program
so it just goes
to show you how good
of a car it still is
and it races competitively in America too
in GT America
it's good point with Memo Gidley
he's leading the championship over there
so
it's really cool to see but
it's sort of a stinging reminder
of what could have still been
for the manufacturer if they still had
that support and that kind of
factory status that's a very very good
point I had the bizarre
situation at just this weekend
going of watching Audi RA Ultra
in the new classic
GT3 series
at Spa and looking
at the cars in the garage
they don't look all that much different
in fact hardly look anything different
from the cars that will be racing
in the crowdstrike 24 hours
in a couple of weeks
at time
Dorian Boccalacci
in the Bootson VDS Porsche
a half of a tenth of a second
back
a little bit
slower everybody was a little bit slower
than last year's prologue
last year's test
different weather conditions that had been very cold as you
mentioned
and
third quickest overall lion speed
Thomas Prining in the
Porsche
that team
the Colbe team
has shown itself
to be absolutely
deserving
of the
confidence that Porsche
have put on it down through the years
and they've really stepped up that game
yeah
they're the team I sort of see
as Porsche's next factory
supported operation well they are
literally ready
Porsche's gone through some teams over the years
and there's a lot of
changing of the guards per se
in the European GT3 world
but
seeing them field
a all pro
effort for the Nürburgring 24
be the highest finishing Porsche in the race
just a few weeks ago
and then
they're committed with an all pro lineup
for GT World Challenge Endurance Cup
and Sprint Cup I believe too
in Europe so
that shows a lot of commitment
and I'm sure they're getting some additional support
from Porsche not only from the drivers as well
but it's interesting to note
that for Spa itself
there's quite a few additional
Porsche entries there's actually
16 cars
from the German manufacturer where there's significantly
less
that compete in the
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
season high class racing
entered because there are intercontinental GT
challenge entry car collections
on the entry list
we also have
Schumacher CLTR
that's
that was the next car back in
the prologue running
and that's Changuven, Matt Campbell
and Lauren Heinrich
I look at that
that's an all factory
factory team
that car was taken out
very early in the race last year
by one of the McLarens
if you remember in the opening laps
Lauren Heinrich
was at the wheel of the Porsche
I think he had a punctured
tire and he was limping the car back
and he got slammed into the rear
by this McLaren
luckily everybody was okay but
there was a time where we sort of feared
for Lauren's well being
because the car was absolutely demolished
so hoping that
that team can have better luck this time
around at the crowd strike 24 hours of Spa
if we look at the other manufacturers
a third two season
motorsports
Mercedes AMG GT3
Lewis Williamson
and Scott Noble
who's come across some get speed
I've not exactly been sidelined
by AMG but they're doing other things
Jason Hart and Aaron Walker
in that one as well
AF Corsa
a fifth
AF Corsa running all of the
Ferraris in the world
again, factory driver though
heading over to that, Miguel Molina
joining
Matty, Vax Vier, Gustavo Toledo
and Peter Dempsey
in that who comes across
from TF Sport
at Corvette so that's an interesting
little line up there for that quartet
yeah absolutely
it's good to see Peter back racing after
all those years it was a great
story that you know he's been called up
part you know courtesy
of Charlie Eastwood I believe
in TF
to be the designated
Perhan's driver in that
line up in the WEC in one of the
Corvettes so it's great to see him getting
other opportunities as well now
now that he's sort of shown his
pace at the wheel in sports car racing
yeah and it's Peter
not Patrick just for those of you who got very
excited when they saw Peter Dempsey
on a car I mean he's still a lovely
bloke and he's still very quick
but just make sure you get the right
Peter Dempsey, 18 in the
pro class, 9 gold cup
16 silver cup
19 bronze and 8
in the pro arm so
that's 70 cars
all there about
and we have to mention some of the classes
as well
because
we are seeing
a pretty decent amount of bronze
class line up one of the ones that I know that
you
highlighted in the reporting
was a second Chevy Corvette
for
Jeho Motorsports GMR squad
Ben Green but with the princess
Jeffrey Abraham
and Abu Bakr Abraham as well as
Mohammed Afiq Yazid
in that
and you look at that straight away and you know
that Prince Jeffrey has spent a lot of
time getting himself up to speed
and that's a solid bronze class
entry yeah that is but
I look at it at what could have been
because
JMR was prepared to run two cars
in this race like they did last year
and they would have run one in
pro and actually Robert Wiccans
was in discussions with them
to have to be potentially in that line
up but
it all sort of came to nothing because
of the unfortunate clash with the
IMSA race at Watkins Glen
there's no other GM factory drivers
available to
to be clear Wiccans is not a factory driver
but there were no
GM factory drivers available
to help support the line up for this race
there was even talk of Scott
Scottie McLaughlin maybe even doing it but
yes I don't think
that those also one of the holdups
as well so JMR has typically
run as a two car team wherever they've run
and they've had to scale
back to one car literally because a driver
availability of having no
works drivers
that could take part in this race due to the
unfortunate clash
If you're talking about Bronscoup
any Bronscoup that involves Herbith
Mortisport there number 91 cars in that
and did I see Matthew Jaminez
name against that for the Genesis
Magma racing driver
Yes, Jaminez is going to be in a
Herberth Porsche so
it didn't take him long to return to a Porsche
after parting ways of Porsche
Penske at the end of last year but
again that's not a huge surprise because
Genesis has
given their drivers
a lot of freedom
to drive, you see
Jean-Barre in various
programs, Danny
Junkadea having just taken part
in the Herbergring 24 in the Verstappen
racing entry so
good on Matthew for getting
back in a Porsche, I'm sure he had a choice
of different cars and
he probably feels the most comfortable in that
and looking forward to seeing what he can do
Just before we go on to something
a little bit new this year
the other one that caught my eye
Antares our recent
WEC
winner in a Porsche
Michel Gatting, Sven Muller
and Martin Rump, that's a
Rutronic racing car and again
you look at that and go
Yes, that looks pretty solid as well
Yeah and
Teres has won quite a few races
with Rutronic
in GC World Challenge
Europe through the years and
in class obviously
Luke Hartog was part of that lineup
for quite a while as well
so that should
definitely be a favorite
for class owners as well
Slightly different qualifying
and actually I think quite sensible
from SRO for the CrowdStrike
a Spa 24 this year because
basically splitting
the Thursday
session
into three groups
now we've seen that, that's a 10 minute
quick fire run
but then it all gets
a bit more complicated with a Super
Paul on Friday
that knocks out the bottom
16
and then the rest
basically it's a bit like IndyCar isn't it
and we get down effectively
the Fast 8
and then the top four
a single run each round spot
now that I found that
intriguing that's going to take up a lot of time
but it's going to be very
spectacular
Yeah at first when I sort of read this
development I thought oh okay they're going to do
something similar to what WEC has done
with qualifying and hyper pull
but this is taking it to a whole other level
where you have it, there's a knockout
elimination round after
and
when you consider there's 70 cars on the grid
and all of a sudden it goes down to the fastest four
that's going to make it pretty dramatic
for the fight for Paul
for sure. Looking forward to that
and you'll be able to follow along
with John's coverage and the rest of the sports car
3, 6, 5
team, John will be back
with a bit of a double stint coming up a bit later
on in the program
Let's move
Absolutely, let's move on to
bikes now and the Isle of Man
TT has got something
out of the way so far
and it's not been a great start
tonight's sidecar qualifying
has been stopped by a
red flag that came after a red flag
stopped yesterday's sidecar
session after a crash involving
Maria Costello and Sean Parker
at Brandish
Costello has been transferred to Aintree
for further treatment and is in a
serious but stable condition
Parker is still in the Isle of Man
receiving treatment for chest
leg, arm and
facial injuries
and there was a crash on Monday night
as well
where
a bike, I think it was a
super sport bike
went into the crowd
well, went into a barrier
went into a barrier
and the barrier got pushed back onto the crowd
Yes, 7 people
there's only 8 people injured including
the rider Martin Morris
7 have been discharged
from hospital
the remaining one
is being flown to the UK
for further treatment
it's been
quick though and they have been
qualifying record set
and not a super bike
but weather has been fantastic for it again
well yes, exactly
it always helps you to see that you're going on mountain
yes
the
viewing area in Parliament Square
has now been
closed for the remainder
of this
years event
while they
investigate
that as a precautionary
measure
but there was
circuit based bike racing
at the weekend Nick
Yes
there was
did you see it?
I'm hoping
I didn't see any of it
WSBK
Yes, it was the same as always
ok
so that's
well not the same as always
just the same as always this year
because
always previously would have been a win for a
top bike because I can't be ugly
or Johnny Rear
no no, we've got the wrong weekend
that was the previous week
WSBK was the week before
Yes, we talked about that last week
this weekend
this weekend
you said it
No, go on, you said it
Mark Marquette is coming back
way too early
yes
it is absolutely
incredible
these guys heal
at a different rate
Mark Marquette doesn't heal
that's the whole problem
that's why he keeps having to go back now
surgery
he's not healing
I just
I just don't get it
well I'll tell you why
it's because you're not out of the championship
because no one's really managed to establish anything
that's a good point
but it's only got about 18
or something
so he hasn't leapt away
and if you recover
rediscover the form
of the back end of last year
which is possible if he's feeling fit
then it's still quite possible
he could get the championship
yes, the jacati is not as
dominant as it was
last year
so
Mark Marquette is not cleared to ride
as yet, that will happen
potentially tomorrow
he will have to be cleared by
Morton or GP's doctor
and I don't think that's
as much of a foregone conclusion
that would have been in the past
I don't know
none of his injuries are brain based
his shoulder and foot
so it's not like he's coming back
from something that if he does it again
could be life altering
they'll probably make sure that he's not
actually bleeding and then let him go
nor Alex Marquette
who's subbing for him
in my way
in my way, it's Piro isn't it
in Manuel Ipiro
Micaely
Manuel Ipiro
I've paid to see that
I'd absolutely say that
Crassini racing
well, he's 39
in Manuel Ipiro
no, Micaely
Micaely is
stop it
Thurman Eldegar
is the other
Crassini rider
so it'll be the number 51
that's back
from
for that
who
who's
who was at the TT this week
but will be at
that's
Michelle at the weekend
in a new role
Nick
would it be
Ross Braun
and why is that
he's on the board of Pramac
I don't know but why
he's on the board of Pramac
he's now going to be on the board of Pramac
currently a Yamaha satellite team
running Top Rack
and
Jack Miller is very much like
he'd be at drop next year
did you think
sorry, say that again
Jack Miller is about to be
at drop next year
Ross Braun
is a massive motorcycle fan
he's been at the TT many times
and he's decided
he wants to do something
more involved in the
motorcycle world
I guess that's the only thing
I can think of
what's his job Nick
is he just on the board
who knows
I think it's
I think it's interesting
he's joining
Paolo Campinotti's
team
as I suppose
well they say it's a strategic
advisor
to Paolo
you know
he knows his stuff but
it's a non-executive role apparently
he has said
Ross has said
I'm delighted to join the board of
Pramac Racing, limited in a non-executive role
motor sport has always been about
people, teamwork and continuous improvement
and I look forward to supporting
Paolo and the team
contributing where my experience might be
useful
Pramac has built an impressive organization
with a strong spirit
and I'm happy to be part of its future
and
Paolo Campinotti has said
his extraordinary career and achievements in F1
Ross is someone with whom
I've shared a friendship and a relationship
of great respect for many years
I believe his vision, knowledge and winning
mentality will make a valuable
contribution to the continued
growth and development of Pramac Racing
so there you go
and we've
just run over into the second hour
so
let's have your thoughts
then on Ross Brunn in
MotoGP
and
let's aspect your
entertainment
of course
hello to all of you joining us
thank you for finding us wherever you're tuned
in
still to come in the second hour of tonight's program
a pointless says Tim
and we've also got
the streets of Detroit
to talk about
for both IndyCar
and for
the IMSEN brother tech sports car championship
which is where we'll be going
next
as we promised you
not one but two
tranches of John DeGeese
he's been standing by
and that's how we'll kick off our two
before we do that I actually want to talk about
what's happening in the SimCast
okay
a little pause there
and now
having said I wanted to do that
I've lost my note from
Matt
where's that gone
have you got Matt's notes
on what's on the SimCast
just stand by one second
talk amongst yourselves
where would it be
it would be on here
I've got it
this week's show is a preview
of the ACV
with Steve
talking through the near
60 car field with the organisers
this weekend is the test
today
closed brackets
with qualifying in the hyper pole
on Sunday
further free practice sessions
on Thursday ahead of the race
on June the 6th
so that's the SimCast which is
tomorrow at 8pm here
on RS1
as promised earlier on
John DeGeese
Sports Car 365
it's our double stint look
at all things sports car racing
I know I'm going to get told off
for Tim by this
but I haven't spoken to you
since
the Nurburgring 24 hours
got to have a quick chat about that
your impressions
John let's put it that way
of quite extraordinary I thought
on so many different levels
Nurburgring 24 this year
yeah I'd have to say that
the first few hours
were extremely intense as they normally are
and then the last few hours
were extremely dramatic for what it was
the middle stages
I wouldn't say were extremely exciting
but as we sort of saw
a dominant effort from the
two windward racing Mercedes
but certainly I think it was
one to remember
and you have to feel
for the Verstappen entered crew
for having that issue
but at least it shook things up
a little bit in my mind and it sort of made
for some really good storylines
at the very end for the battle
for the second place
between the Epflambergini
and the
Walton horse Aston Martin
so it was
really really good to sort of see
that kind of action
in this race
and it was definitely a one to remember
do you think Max will be back
he didn't win the race
I saw some people saying
in the nicest possible way
and I'll probably get misquoted on this
that they were
I won't say please but they felt it was good
that perhaps he didn't win the race
because it probably means he comes back
do you think he comes back?
Yeah I'm pretty sure he will
as long as there's no clash with F1
and I think
actually we could find that out now
because the calendar has been
the F1 calendar has not been released
Nick is still
here to the ground and waiting for the facts
to come through
from the FIA
because we do know next year's Nürburgring
date is May 27th through the 30th
so it's a little bit different
oh that's interesting
so that's the end
of May bank holiday
which is Memorial Day weekend
in the US
it used to be Monaco obviously
but now this year it was Montreal
so maybe there will be a clash next year
and the other thing is
it's Indianapolis 500
yeah that's who
as well which it has been before
because I remember sitting down
after the race to watch the
Indy 500 or listen
to it on the Indy radio
I hope he does come back
I thought it was generally
speaking in a positive
influence
to the event
and clearly the organisers
thought so as well
let's look ahead to the weekend
we're back in Imsa Weathertech
sports car championship
action
the second and final street race
of the year, 21 cars
doesn't sound like a lot
but it's 11 GTP
and 10 GTD Pro
entries and probably just
about the right amount
on what has been a track on downtown Detroit
John that has provided us
quite a lot of controversy
entertainment
and
contact down through the years
I think 21 is about right
yeah especially
I think there has been a lot
of action and incidents
just with the two classes
just GTP and GTD Pro
and
you ask a driver
if they like the track and a lot of them
probably wouldn't say so
but it does provide some
entertaining racing so let's put it that way
I think there are some of us
that wish it's back on Bel Isle
but it's
neither here nor there
you can't really
reverse things now
given the situation but
certainly Acura going for
its third straight win
at the race
Wayne Taylor Racing did it
back in 2024
and then obviously last year with Meyer Schenck
and in GT
the
GTD
Pro class it's
multi-matic looking for back-to-back wins
but it won't be with Mike Rockenfeller
and Seb Perio because they're no longer
full-season drivers so the momentum
has really sort of shifted towards
the 65 car of Fred Ravish
and Chris Meese who won last time out
at Leather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca
so that'll be interesting and then also
don't count out a second Lexus
obviously best you're following loads to
add the extra entries for
the races where there isn't a
pro or a GTD class
and this time it's going to be with
Aaron Thielitz and Chaz Mostert
defending
Repco Supercars champion who's now
a Toyota driver in Australia
so that's the connection there that he's
been able to get the call up to go do
this race and it'll be interesting
to see if he's going to be part of
that family maybe in a higher
capacity next year when the GR GT3
comes online. Yeah I'm interested
to that I mean I agree
entirely about what you're seeing about the track
I don't think it's that inspiring
I understand why we're
downtown and I think part of the problem
is that we did have
Bel Isle which turned into it wasn't
it was a bit untidy he says
diplomatically when we first started
going there but the money that it brought in
has transformed that part
of the city and I do think it's a shame
that the politics
have got in the way I'm sure Mr.
Penske does as well because it was always one of
his promoted races even
before he took over the IndyCar
Championship as well
and Indianapolis
as a venue
so we're comparing apples and oranges
really with that and I think that's part
of the issue
it is the last short race
of the season and that also
brings with it
a slightly different mind
set
it's
Corvette isn't it that's leading
in GTD
in terms of
their championship
and Porsche Penske Motorsport as well
of course it's Philip Nasser isn't it
no it's actually Lauren Heinrich
it's Heinrich on his own isn't it
after the big win
at Laguna Seca and we do know
that Lauren is going to miss the six hours
of the Glen due to the
abstract 24 hours of spa
so that's really unfortunate
I have to say because it would be a really cool
story to see if he could win the championship
between two different teams, two different
specifications of Porsche 963s
that would be a really cool thing to follow
but I guess
it is what it is with that
John Church
was sort of teasing us at the end
of the weather
text board car championship race at Laguna Seca
saying well we'll have to have a word
with it but as we were discussing in the crowd
straight 24 hour update earlier on
he's been announced
as a team
for that
it doesn't count him out
but it would probably mean that Philip Nasser
and Julian Anglauer would have to have
a horrible race
at the Glen because there are only I think
70 odd points
behind
the race is Saturday
we'll have coverage for you
and I think you'll be on site for that John will you
yeah yeah good
well enjoy your trip to that
before I let you go
I want to talk a little bit
about some of the other stories
that are coming through
at the Nürburgring you sat down
and had a pretty sensible conversation
with Steph and Retell
and one of the things that came up
which has been a talking point for a while
is
this
trend which is beginning to develop
for
GT3 cars
that are effectively built
to the GT3 regulations
as a race car first
and then
backwards engineered for one of a better word
into a road car now this happened in the past
it's exactly what I did
what we did when I was at RML
with the Salinas 7R
the Ford GT
the Multimatic guys did exactly
the same thing as that
you study the regulations
you see what you can do
you build your race car without too many compromises
and then what we did
we did a parallel homologation
for a street car and a race car
with the Salinas
and that's starting to creep in a little bit now
which has in the past
often begun
a cycle of decline
because again diplomatically
but Stefan seems remarkably
bullish about this and feels that
the SRO and the authorities
can keep a cap on it literally
yeah I was actually surprised
when I asked him the question because
I sort of thought he would have a different
response but
for the time being he feels
like it'll be okay
he and
SRO's global technical director
Cloud Sermont both believe
that the
the latest generation of road cars
GT based road cars are all
becoming bigger, heavier
they're not really
fitting the bill of a
GT3 car as we know it
for racing and this is what
he believes has sort of led to Mercedes-AMG
and Toyota
Gazoo Racing to sort of
reverse the strategy
and build a race car first
and then adapt it to the road
the new AMG GT3
which is supposed to be
on track later this year potentially
but I think more of a
larger roll out next year
it's based on the Mercedes-AMG
GT Black series
which is yet to be
put onto the road
although Mercedes did this
press release back in March
with the two cars sort of side by side
on the North Chalifa and whatever
but the real car that's been
sort of a reverse homologation
is the GR GT3
because that thing's been testing for years and years
it's
dating back to 2022 or so
and it's
set to debut I think later this year
in an LS race
an LS6 is where the smart money is
and I've failed spectacularly
in an interview at the Nurburgring two weekends ago
at the Get David Pitart to
confirm or even deny
or even acknowledge that he'd been driving the car
in testing for KCMG
who are the team who are
most likely going to be running it
exactly yeah so
I think the GR is the
perfect example of what this
you know theory is
because the race car's
been held up to wait for the road car
that's the bottom line they could have gone racing
I think maybe two years ago even
and we've been waiting for the road car
launch instead which has been launched
and I you know we're again
on track now to get the car
going but it does bring up a big
concern at least of
mine personally because
we saw this in GTE to some extent
with the Ford GT
the BMW M8 when it was
in GTE I believe that
raced first before the road car
was launched as well
but this is a totally different platform
this is you know this is the
bread and butter of GT racing we don't have two different
platforms right now we only have one
GT3 and I don't really
care what what Stefan says about
GT2 but it's not to the level of what
no no to replace GT3
in a in a instant so
it's great that he has GT2 sort of on the
back burner and it could be used
as a backup plan in the future but
this does raise a lot of concerns to me
but the sensible thing that Stefan
did bring up is that it ultimately
if there's if both of those cars can
be sold at a reasonable cost
similar cost to what other
GT3 cars are
selling for today then there should not be
a problem but we're still
awaiting the price tag for both
and that's the key isn't it it's availability
to customer teams
because whilst we all
revel in the fact that we have some
works teams from the major manufacturers
and however they
address these things up
in SRO there's always been
works teams and I get
what Stefan says
he says I provide the
the platform I provide the opportunity
the manufacturers need to provide the
cars and sell them to customers but you look back
at the Bentley teams various BMW
teams Audi teams down through
the years there's been no doubt that whatever
Niam has been on the entry list
there they have been works
funded works
drivers to a great
or a lesser extent but beyond
that and beyond those big events
there's a whole
ecosystem
of GT racing GT3 racing
around the world be it national
or regional or one off events
where customers
have got to be able to have these cars
and limited
availability cars like the old Cadillac
and various others and again I'm
harking back to what I saw at the weekend
and I did some research
about GT3 and what was available
for that legends series
and some of the cars never
got into private hands and clearly
that's what Stefan's saying here
make them available or you won't
be allowed to race them is that
the ultimatum?
Well it ultimately comes down to the FIA
because they're the homologation
authority for GT3
Stefan is one of the
brainchilds of GT3 but
it's ultimately up to the FIA
they put this rule out I think almost 10 years ago
where each GT3 manufacturer
has to build at least
20 cars within
the first two years of each car's
homologation believe it or not
everybody has done that
since that rule has been in place
the only exception I think
to that was the Cadillac back in the day
and that's why the rule was made basically
to prevent a factory
program and not going into
customers hands in the case
of these two examples we sort of pinpointed
I'm sure Mercedes
will be selling well more than 20 of these
new AMG GT3's
they're a customer driven manufacturer
they're one of the most successful
in terms of
sales numbers with their current
AMG GT3's so
I'm not concerned by them at all
I think I'm just a little concerned about the GR
situation because
we don't see many Lexuses
racing right now
I'm sure Toyota and
GR want to change that with the new car
but at the same time
how much will it cost and
could it go out of
out of reach
for a lot of people financially
I think that's my biggest concern with that at least right now
and what sort of numbers are we looking at
just over a million euros
is the sort of number that
I keep getting quoted
there's one or two that's a little bit more than that
creeping towards maybe a million and a half
is that the sweet spot
that we're talking about?
I believe the Porsche
and the Ferrari are two
and the Corvette are the three most expensive
ones right now and they're around
800 to 900 million
800 to 900 thousand
I'm thinking of
old WEC operating
budgets on the Audi 1 eras
but you just made some of the financial
departments if they're racing
operations very happy
if they thought they would get that
for each one
I don't think any
GT3 car goes for a million
US Euro
equivalent right now
but my concerns if it
goes over that I think we're going to be in trouble
just looking back at where
things were again not going to be immediately in trouble
but this is going to set a trend
and it's going to start an arms race
and I just
would hate to see this happen because
we're already starting to see some other
GT3's like even the
Porsche and the Ferrari they're almost built
they're built so modular they're almost like prototypes
the Oracle builds
the Ferrari 296
of all constructors
being the renowned prototype constructors
so
you see some of these signs
and I've been in the sport
good 20 years now
believe it or not and I just see
this cycle that goes back and forth
and you've seen it more than me through your time
and it just
it just raises alarm bells
and I just hope that the FIA
and under the guidance of
SRO and other organizations
can make sure to nip this in the bud
if it really does become an issue
and what sanction could they apply
do you see we're not going to homologate the cars
I mean is that the ultimate sanction I suppose
it is but
I think our listeners probably understand this
it's a point worth making though
and certainly I remember from the Celine example
at every step of the way
every time we were going to do something
every change we wanted to make
we spoke to the guys
at the ACO
as it was in those days
and said look we're going to do this
we're going to send you some
we can send you some blueprints
plans whatever or you can come and see the cars
so it's not as if they just turn up
on a day in September and say here's the car
and the sanctioning body goes
ah no sorry you're not having it
there's a dialogue going on here so these conversations
presumably John are happening
all the time and this is kind of what
Stefan was alluding to when he was talking to you
yeah yeah
it's not like you're just building something
and then showing the finished product to the FIA
it is definitely
there is discussions going on
how much is too much I don't know
that's the problem
I don't think any of us know right now
I'm just worried that it could
set a precedent for more manufacturers
to do this
and sort of just
you know
I wouldn't say kill the platforms
I don't think GT3 is going away anytime soon
but at the same time
it could put a big dent into it
for
points of entry because we've seen the costs go up
in some series particularly
like in IMSA
just the way
how competitive you have to be
even in the GTD class
to have a championship
winning program you need to have
budget
and there's manufacturer assistance even in the GTD
ranks so
that's where I get concerned
when you're seeing budgets go up
and up and up especially at a time when
budgets are creeping up on the
prototype side and we're talking about a new
set of regulations or revised set of
regulations potentially being announced
as soon as Le Mans for
LMDH, LMH whatever it will be in the
in the future
I think now is time to have a sensible discussion
about GT3 and where it's headed for the long term
what
one other thing before I let you go and thanks
for your time again John always great
having a chat with you
the
issues of
the issues of the world
are
always impinging on us
was Stefan able to give you
any
indication about
the Asian Le Mans series
calendar coming
which we haven't had yet for the end of this year
in the beginning and next year
there's been an internal calendar
released to teams and
we understand that it is due to start
the week after Bahrain in the UAE
I'm not sure which races
first and second but it's
Dubai, Abu Dhabi
24 hour races
and each weekend and then ending the season
provisionally in
the week before
the roar before the 24
that's apparently the schedule that's been
released to teams so they can plan
their programs but
we all know what's going on
in the Middle East and unfortunately it doesn't seem
to be ending anytime soon
at least from the news reports
that I see and
I would have to think that
there it's probably
unlikely as we stand here today
that there will be racing in the Middle East
by November so
SRO which is a
co-promoter in the Asian Le Mans series for several
years now with the ACO with LMEM
Stefan
confirmed to me they are working on contingency plans
for the
Asian Le Mans season
particularly with those two Middle Eastern races
and I think the logical choice was
I asked him okay move those races to
Southeast Asia and he says it's not that simple
because since the majority of teams are European
they need to be closer to Europe
and
I point blank asked him I said well does that mean
there could be a European round and he said well
anything is possible
personally I wouldn't like to see a European
round in the Asian Le Mans series
but maybe
just maybe there could be
a race in India perhaps
we have a certain famous
Indian actor that's planning
that's hoping to do a hypercar program in the
Asian Le Mans series
that would fit pretty well
and I don't know the status of
the track in Istanbul
I know that's getting ready for F1
next year but
maybe that could be turned around
in time we'll have to wait and see I don't know
those are just two pure speculations
on my part I have no evidence to support
that those are two possible alternative
venues Stefan did not say
that to me at all
but the only thing he did hint was that
the alternative venues could be closer
to Europe rather than
closer to Southeast Asia
and a final thought on calendars
I'm hearing rumors that Silverstone could be
back on WEC
for 2027
sometime in May
so I saw Spar perhaps
moving any skill
put on that John?
I think it all depends on when the series
starts next year
looking at the calendar of Ramadan
that sort of dictates when Qatar
kicks off the
WEC season
Ramadan I believe ends
on the evening of March 8
which is the week before
Sebring
so if they're able to put that race
into that slot
that weekend the weekend before Sebring
and somehow hold the prologue before then
during Ramadan or I don't know
what the customs are with that
I think that would give WEC
enough space to have three European rounds
before Ramadan but again
that all depends on the situation
politically as well
but we do know that the schedule for
the WEC the 2027 calendar
will be released at Ramadan
next month
another 17 hour flight for us coming back for the Middle East
thanks John, John De Geese
he'll be reporting this weekend for Sportacar 365
from the streets of Detroit
and we'll have another double stint
and indeed more updates on the
CrowdStrike 24 hours of SPA
in later programs
in the series
Tim Gray, where would you like to take us next?
I just want to pick up on
the status of
Istanbul because it is very much
It is very much
on the edge of Asia
and
it's ready to host a race
very, very soon
so yeah, there's no reason why
we're going to Istanbul
at the end of this year
other than perhaps the weather
Nick, you've been to Turkey a few times haven't you
what would the weather be like then?
It gets quite cold
it's surprising how chilly it gets in Istanbul
in the later months of the year
the only months of the next year
but it's quite nice
I don't think it's even
is there some particular rain system that comes across in Istanbul?
Not what I'm aware of
No, I'm not sure
to be honest
I've got a couple of screen texts
I don't think the
the international circuit
is
anywhere near
a state to host
an international sport
they cleaned it all up for most
cheap, didn't they?
Yes, they did
It was abandoned after two years in F1
which I think was 10 years
but they did three in F1
11, 12, 30
11, 12, 30
and then they did two
they did two or just one in MotoGP
but it's the same problem again
the issue you're going to have
is they are
not very flexible on their tax rules
No, 40% now
and
where else could we go?
Sorry, come on
Indy was talking about building a new track
because Herman Tilker
and the
Adani group
are looking at
building a new track
I know his son has a lot of design
but how old is Herman?
That's a good question
but Gift City in Gujarat
is where they're looking for
looking for
a new track
I'm 71
71
Where else could you go?
I thought John's point
about when the season might actually start
is
is a good one
if we could squeeze
a WAC round
rather than Asian in the World Series
Well, yes
but it all has to
work together, doesn't it?
Because the other thing about
Asian Le Mans Series
is that Ramadan
which
doesn't finish till March the 8th
That means it's starting later
which means you've got more time to get
Starting early
Starting 7th or 8th of February
It goes back between
10 and 16 days each year
Correct, it moves back
forward through the year
It's lunar, so it's not a fixed amount
So the issue that they're going to have
with the dates for that
and with the WAC
and it's all got to work together
is
we know where date owner is
and
that would be
I think that's the last week of January, isn't it?
So
there's no space
to get
an Asian Le Mans Series couple of rounds in
before Ramadan starts
So
then you start to think
about what do you do extra rounds
in November and December
and just run it
to the end of the year
and where does
an opening round of
even if we can get
to that area of the world by then
which is far from
certain
or do you start
earlier in Europe
and slot
two or three European rounds
in before Le Mans
which if you're not anywhere else
for the WAC, you could do
but my concern
and as I say, I thought John's point
was very well made
is if you can get
let's say it is Istanbul
if you get Istanbul off in
November or December
you've still got three other rounds
to get in
and if
you've kind of then
Nick, haven't you
you've kind of got
if
if you've got to get them
in before the WAC
starts, you've kind of got to get them in
before the end of the season
or in early January
Asian Le Mans Series will run two double
headers as part of its five race
championship so
if Istanbul's a double header that makes it
easier because then
you only have two dates to find
true
yes, did they go back
to having two races at both Dubai
and yes last year
they did that
because they cut one of them down
James O'Donnell says talking of calendars
of the many news on Qatar and Bahrain
WAC rounds this year
are they expected to move to Europe
and when will decisions be made
the answer
the answer to that
is no decisions have been made
the only thing and I'll say this again
and it's a fair point you've made there
James
that when we were at
Mizano, not Mizano at all
Mugello
for the first round of the season
sitting talking to
WAC
a hierarchy
they said we will have
the full amount of rounds this year
and it will be for the full amount of points
so Qatar
was one and a half points and Bahrain
is one and a half points as well because
they're more than six hours but not
long enough to be double points which is
the 24 hours of Le Mans
so there will be two
one and a half point races
slotted in sometime
before the end of the season
I suspect
that
and I think we've talked about this on this program before
James
we suspect Portugal
will be one of them and possibly
both of them
it could be a ten hours
and an eight hours it could be 28 hours
at Porto Imau
or at Esther Rill and Porto Imau
possibly Barcelona
and
Porto Imau
I think Porto Imau
right now
if it doesn't go
if we don't get back to the UAE
and the Middle East
I think Porto Imau has nailed on and basically
two races there
or one race there, one at Barcelona
and one at Esther Rill
but there will be
one and a half points races
so that means that the end of the season is actually
going to be really interesting
in terms
of
and again John made a very good point
in terms of calendars
the calendar will be announced
at Le Mans for Asian Le Mans series
and I suspect the WEC calendar
for next year will be announced as well
and I expect to see
Qatar in there
and Bahrain in there
for 2027
whether we are able to get there
is
beyond the control of the AC on the FIA
but I suspect that they will announce
those calendars
as it is
Dave Olcock says you also have to consider
not only dear Turner
but the Maguire's Bath is 12 hours
then back to Florida for Sebring
if you are moving cars, teams and equipment
your time scales tight to squeeze in Asian Le Mans series
rounds
I don't think anybody is moving cars
backwards and forwards for those
but you are still moving people
you are still moving people
so
so
I think it is tough
and Jeff Markowski says
by the way
on the Detroit
track that you were talking about
use Jefferson but make a right on Woodward
instead of running on the narrow streets
straight off the river and the Rensen
I totally agree with you and I know exactly where you may
because we have looked at that in the past
I think
we have Fantasy Detroit
Fantasy Detroit
absolutely
I have driven around some of them as well
I just
the right of Jefferson apparently
does not exist anymore
there is a flower bed there
thanks to Paul Mahan
for that
I think
I honestly think
you could always run the other way
you could use more of the old circuit
and go further down beyond the pits
I think for the sports car calendar
and again I will preface this
as we always do gentlemen
by saying
first world problems and we are worried about
seeing a bit of motor race and while people are getting
bombed and killed
we are not being
cold and heartless on this
but we are just trying to run
through
a thought process that perhaps
the governing bodies
will be
doing at the same time
is
just about finding somewhere
that they can get
races on
and generally speaking they use
class 1
circuits don't they, grade 1 circuits
for WEC
WEC and
well
even
Asian Mon series don't forget that Dubai
is a class 1
circuit so it is a testing grade 1
they have renewed that recently
absolutely built
it is a very busy period to try and get those races
in at the start of the year
especially with the fact that February
is more difficult because it is covered by
Ramadan in the area
so
I think February is out
even if
the hostilities
if
they kind of think
the hospitality has stopped
I am more worried about them flaring up again
to be honest
and the uncertainty that that would
cause and who wants to go
that is a fair point as well
but I think February and March
we have had an event
at Qatar
we have got the first week of February by the way
because Ramadan starts on the 2nd Monday
but we have had
an event in Qatar
which I think was the prologue
that was still in Ramadan
but the race
was the first weekend that was outside
Ramadan
was the prologue not on the Monday
and Tuesday maybe it was Sunday Monday
I can't remember
no it was
it was
it was the
Friday
I don't think it was as early
as the previous Friday Saturday
no you might be right
but Ramadan
didn't finish until
the Thursday night
or the Friday night that year
and the race was
on
the race was on the Saturday
but anyway
look
great amines that I was
it's what we do
where are we going next then
I'm going to give you a quote here
one thing very quickly
Jeval Cook said if I was handling WEC
calendar I'd be looking at a round in
Germany
the German WEC rounds were very well supported
by fans and they've got great facilities
the only problem with Germany or anywhere in Europe
is the weather
and that's
and if you're replacing something
at the end of the year trouble
if you're at the beginning of the year
potential trouble
right you're going to give us a quote Tim
the Tennessee Kentucky region has long been
recognised as a leader in live events
entertainment and hospitality
I'll agree with them on hospitality
but
big live events in Tennessee
Kentucky Derby
that's in Kentucky yes
that's in Tennessee
that's in Kentucky
Memphis in Tennessee
Memphis is in Tennessee Nashville
lots of big events there
music stuff
you've got football
Nashville
you've got Tennessee Titans
you've got football
basketball and ice hockey
in Nashville
you've got two race circuits
potentially be happening
in Tennessee and Kentucky
in June next year
football
next year
oh next year
NASCAR must be
is it not NASCAR
no it's not NASCAR
is it a big sporting event
then is it motorsport
it's motorsport
I'm still on this program
well it's team
21 years of this
and it's team
it's team who never told me
he was getting married at the weekend at any point
it could be wife carrying
I don't know
and Tim can do that now
yes he can
I'm not even going
there's so much I would leave that one there
leave that one there everybody
this is the world's rally championship
oh yes I did say this
Malcolm Wilson is heading out there this weekend
yes he is
to do a facilities check
he's doing a recce
they're going to start
because they're looking at the Tennessee Kentucky region
they're going to start
with a visit to the
SOFR
the what?
the southern Ohio forest rally
okay
no mountain gorillas there mind you
and also noxing Tennessee or Kentucky
but hey
it's a round of the American Rally Association National Championship
and will provide an opportunity
to experience rallying at the domestic level
showcasing the enthusiasm
and professionalism of the organizers, volunteers
and rally community across the country
along with the exceptional talents
and competitiveness of the drivers and teams
following the visit to Ohio
they will travel to Tennessee
and eastern Kentucky
which is the proposed venue
for rally United States
I tell you what
if they had a special stage
in Nashville
city centre
around the car parks
and used the
they tried to do an Indy car race there
but look what happened
that's an Indy car race
rather than one car
obviously this is not my area of expertise
has it ever been in 90 states rally before
yes sort of
in 1988
oh fair enough
I'm happy not to remember that
I kind of feel that I know it's logistically difficult
I know it's logistically difficult
but you're going to have a special stage in America
just take it to Pikes Peak
it's getting down there to the issue
that
we'll just make it the final state
so they're just still at the top
good point yes
question
for that
question for that though team
when you say
the
was that
a full WRC event
I mean
the WRC wasn't really
a
it didn't happen did it
but this was the limper's rally and it was a
world championship
world championship event yes
yes yes I remember that
we had some
I mean John Buffum came across from the states
having been
Marco and Len were the first one
well
there was quite a bit
of
fairly decent national
level rallying
in the states John Buffum came across
and had one of the early Audi Quattros
and
competed in
I'm going to do this all off the top of my head
in the British Rally Championship
when the British Rally Championship was huge
and
who else
I've got a feeling
I think
Alistair McCrea went across
and did some rallies
and won
and won some rallies
Jim Rawley used to do
rallying out there
Tim Mayer
met his first wife
when they were rallying
and they were
teamed up together
Tim Mayer who should have been the FIA
president of course
at least had a chance to stand
so
there is
history and there are events
over there
it's nowhere near as big
as you think it might be
let's put it that way
so the three times
it was part of the world championship
86
won by Marco Allen
and then
87 Eurkankinen and 88
Michy Biasion
Michy Biasion was he driving a Lancia?
He was, they were all driving Lancias
this is only FB1 by a Lancia
and it could be
but now that the Lancia Epsilon
is back in
as a WRC
three car or whatever it is
then it might happen again
weren't there supposed to have had
a candidate event
this year?
Don't I remember
PMAC
who obviously we're not going to get tonight now
with the time change
weren't there meant to have a candidate
event this year
or is this what they're going to see
as a
they're going to see
the stages
or potential stages it doesn't seem to be any mention
of an actual candidate event
which means
or makes me wonder if it's actually
likely that it would happen next year
as a world championship event
because surely you have to run into the candidate event
first
but maybe
maybe
the trial event will be delivered
in collaboration with ACUS
and alongside stage and service part
assessments the program will include engagement
with the American rally community
through a visit to the
American rally association
the Olympus rally by the way
was reinstated
as part of
the rally American national championship
and has run
20 more times
since 2006
with winners
including Ken Block, Travis Pastrana
David Higgins
David Higgins that's who I was
thinking of not Alistair
McRae
and this year
Yari Matty Ladvula
David Higgins was driving for RML
when he went over there
and won it I think
yeah but he was one of our
drivers he went over there
they don't always have the newest
most up to date equipment
but that's not a problem
because it just makes it more exciting
Higgy of course it was Higgy
I'm very sorry David
I should have remembered that mate
that's terrible by me
and it ran on the April
the 17th to the 19th this year
it did that's the one that
Yari Matty Ladvula won in this
Toyota GR Corolla Rc2
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About this episode
Midweek Motorsport s21 e20 opens with what the show covers and where it’s recorded, then jumps into a packed motorsport rundown. The hosts preview a Canadian Grand Prix team-by-team review, recap the Indy 500—highlighting Felix Rosenquist’s 0.02s win and a record 70 lead changes—and debate race-control calls, red flags, and yellow-flag effects. Later, they pivot through F1 strategy and incidents, then broaden out to endurance and GT3/GT racing, including Spa 24 Hours prologue talk and GT3’s future under FIA rules.
