Motorsports

In recent years, Formula 1 has faced the harsh challenge of trying to engage a young audience. Due to the high prices of the events themselves, and the general barrier of interacting with the series, F1 can often feel like it’s in a world of its own. However, Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost believes that there is an answer for developing the relationship between the younger generation and the historic motorsport—and it involves the world of eSports.

The racing season is continuing to heat up for Nismo. While last weekend’s tough Dubai 24H race saw the GT Academy team finish 8th in the SP3-GT4 class, the next event will up the pace for a once-around-the-clock run around Mount Panorama.

Endurance racing is a war of attrition. That was certainly the case for the GT Academy team at last weekend’s Dubai 24H race, as the #123 car was met with numerous setbacks en route to an eighth-place finish in-class.

The race is on for the GT Academy team in Dubai right now. With a little over 14 hours to go, the team has already experienced the highs and lows typical of an endurance event.

GT Academy Team RJN has confirmed it will be taking part in the upcoming 2017 Dubai 24 Hours event, which will be held at the Dubai Autodrome, UAE from January 12–14.

Following the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s (ACO) announcement of the new 2017 LMP1 class rules for the FIA World Endurance Championship, Ginetta has disclosed that it will be an LMP1 chassis manufacture for the 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship with an all new chassis.

Recent eSports events like the ‘Road to Vegas’ focus on a merger of sim racing athletes and actual racing drivers competing on a single platform, providing a place for both to compete that doesn’t require either party to have years of training in the other discipline. However, a cross-dimensional approach could happen as soon as two years time according to Formula 1’s Chief Technical Officer, John Morrison.

Jann Mardenborough may have just missed out on the All-Japan F3 Championship title earlier this year (as well as the GT300 class in Super GT last month), but we imagine this must make a pretty sweet consolation prize.

In spite of his heroic efforts displayed on track this year in the Super GT series, the top step of the podium eluded Jann Mardenborough this past weekend. After missing the 2016 All-Japan F3 title by a narrow margin, a very similar scenario befell the GT Academy grad at Motegi. Ater two back-to-back 250 km races at the circuit, Jann and his co-driver Kazuki Hoshino settled their team B-Max NDDP GT-R at 4th position in the GT300 class.

This weekend we’re going to find out the new title-holders of the 2016 Super GT season. The races designated to conclude another season of this stimulating touring series will be held at Twin Ring Motegi course, with both Saturday and Sunday featuring 250km races. Our eyes will be on Jann Mardenborough and Kazuki Hoshino, who are one step away from winning the GT300 title. Can it happen?

Can home entertainment provide a decent groundwork for a professionally-oriented job of the same genre? As far as video games are concerned we suppose it could, given how modern driving simulators are nowadays being extensively used by racing drivers around the globe. How else can you conveniently polish your skills without having to carry out expensive tests in the actual car?

Due to the exciting conclusion of the 2016 All-Japan Formula 3 series, we’ve barely been able to keep up with the other racing activities the ever-busy Jann Mardenborough has been involved with. The talented GT Academy wasted no time in adding more silverware to his shelf, this time in the familiar silhouette of the Nissan GT-R: alongside co-driver Kazuki Hoshino, Jann helped put the B-Max NDDP car on the podium in the GT300 class. This is the second podium placement for the team since they snatched the gold at the 500km Fuji endurance event last May.

The season finale of the Pirelli World Challenge took place last earlier this month at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. While the hunt for the title was essentially a two-horse race between McLaren pilot Alvaro Parente and Porsche driver Patrick Long, few would have predicted quite how the final standings would shake out. Parente emerged victorious, snatching the title from the 2011 winner as well as putting an end to Johnny O’Connell’s four-year-strong title run with Cadillac.

Quick: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read the word ‘Ginetta’? Is it the manufacturer’s storied history of producing sports cars for the aspiring racecar driver? Perhaps the name rings a bell because of games like Gran Turismo or, more recently, Project CARS. Or maybe no significance comes to mind at all.

The penultimate round of the Pirelli World Challenge took place a few weeks ago at the sunny, rolling hills of Sonoma Raceway. Continuing a trend set by GT Academy grad Bryan Heitkotter at the previous race weekend in Utah, veteran GM racer Johnny O’Connell swept both races in California in his bright red Cadillac ATS-V.R.

The grand finale of the 2016 All-Japan Formula 3 open-wheel series wrapped up this past weekend, but not in a way many of us may have expected. Despite heading into the final weekend at Sportland Sugo with a points lead, GT Academy graduate Jann Mardenborough lost the title by only three points to Kenta Yamashita after a hard-fought final three rounds.

Nissan GT Academy Team RJN has successfully scored a podium placement at the final race of the 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, held at Nurburgring GP circuit last weekend. This is the first podium position for the team in the series, brought by athletes Lucas Ordonez, Alex Buncombe and Mitsunori Takaboshi in the Pro Cup class.

Okayama International Speedway brought an interesting turn of events for the 2016 All-Japan Formula 3 season. An unfortunate off-course excursion combined with mechanical difficulty during the second qualification session forced Jann to start from behind. Not being able to reach for the points, Jann would face a drastic reduction in the championship lead he had worked so hard to build.

Highly sophisticated racing simulators are increasingly common these days. What racing drivers can’t learn prior the race itself can be experienced and absorbed on these high-tech platforms. This allows drivers to be highly competitive regardless of the track they are going to face next.

Earlier this month, GT Academy winner Nicolas Hammann made his NASCAR debut in the Xfinity series. Competing at the Zippo 200 Watkins Glen International, the American managed a 28th place finish after an oil leak plagued his race. Although not ideal, his placing did put him ahead of a good few NASCAR veterans including NASCAR sprint cup champion Kyle Busch, although Busch did have an accident himself. Hammann’s Xfinity journey isn’t over yet however — he’ll race this weekend in the Road America 180.