David Martin-Janiak

Aston Martin Racing is launching the AMR Young Driver Academy for 2019, in the search to find the next Ross Gunn, the factory FIA World Endurance Championship team’s current reserve and development driver and the winner of its previous young driver scheme in 2015.

Following the first GTLM class victory and double-podium finish for the BMW M8 GTE program at Virginia International Raceway, BMW Team RLL has its sights set on this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to extend the winning ways. The classic Northern California circuit within sight of Monterey Bay has seen two BMW victories in recent years. The BMW Z4 GTLM won in 2015 with John Edwards and Lucas Luhr behind the wheel and the BMW M6 GTLM was victorious last year with John Edwards sharing the win with Martin Tomczyk.

With the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entering its final stages, points-leading Whelen Engineering Racing will be looking to score its third-consecutive podium finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the America’s Tire 250 this Sunday.

Mustang Sampling Racing will look to make the most out of the penultimate round of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as the team looks forward to Sunday’s Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix featuring America’s Tire 250 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Cadillac V-Performance Racing teams are heading west to California’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the penultimate round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix featuring America’s Tire 250 this weekend, September 7-9.

Two thrilling Sprint Cup races brought the Blancpain GT Series back to life with a bang at the Hungaroring. The drivers rose to the challenge of treacherous track conditions by displaying supreme skill, while remarkable battles for two class championships unfolded at the Hungarian venue. 

Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Gunnar Jeannette (Salt Lake City, Ut.) are heading to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the penultimate round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, September 7-9.

As the initiators of the Hankook 24H DUBAI, the original endurance race in the Gulf region, Dutch agency CREVENTIC has unparalleled experience in organising and promoting endurance races in the Middle East. Therefore, it is only logical that CREVENTIC is now making the next step in launching the 24H MIDDLE EAST SERIES powered by Hankook, spread over three events at Dubai Autodrome and Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit on three consecutive weekends in late January and early February, 2019. “Racing in the Middle East is a perfect alternative to testing in Europe and by setting up the new series, we are responding to great demand from teams and drivers,” CREVENTIC’s Ole Dörlemann explains. The meetings will be held together with rounds of the 2019 TCR Middle East Series, also organised by CREVENTIC.

Sitting just 13 points from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD championship lead (275-262), Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) will continue its hunt to close the gap at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for Round 10 of the 2018 GTD season.

The Porsche GT Team travels to the tenth and penultimate round of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Monterey in California (September 7-9) with a pair of Porsche 911 RSR. At the Laguna Seca Raceway, the two 510 hp race cars from Weissach will go up against manufacturers BMW, Chevrolet and Ford. Porsche pursues its third win of the season in the GTLM class. The Porsche customer team Wright Motorsports aims to continue its podium streak in the GTD class with the Porsche 911 GT3 R after claiming its first IMSA victory this season at Road America in Elkhart Lake on August 5. The team Park Place Motorsports fields another 911 GT3 R in this class. Unlike at the recent round in Danville, the competitors in the prototype category will be back on the grid for the Monterey race.

The summer break is over, so it is time for action to resume in the CREVENTIC SERIES powered by Hankook with the Hankook 24H BARCELONA (7-9 September, 2018). This year’s edition of the 24-hour race at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in Montmeló marks the 20th running of the event, locally referred to as ’24 Hores de Barcelona – Trofeu Fermí Vélez’. It is the fifth round of the 2018 European Championship in the 24H GT SERIES powered by Hankook and the fourth round of the 24H TCE SERIES powered by Hankook. With only one more round coming up after the event in Spain, it could very well be that the first champions can already be crowned at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.

After scoring its third consecutive podium and second win at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), TeamTGM is looking to show continued strength in the final two races of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season. The team has grown its IMSA championship advantage to 17 points ahead of this weekend’s visit to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the penultimate race of the championship.

Bentley Motorsport and American partner team K-PAX Racing have secured their first championship win together – the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge GT teams’ title – following a consistently strong season and dominant series finale.

The title fight in the ADAC GT Masters has reached a critical stage. In the run-up to the penultimate round of the season at the Sachsenring this coming weekend (7th – 9th September), Mercedes-AMG drivers Markus Pommer (27, GER) and Maximilian Götz (32, GER, both Mann-Filter Team HTP Motorsport) have a lead in the overall standings of only eight points on Porsche rivals Robert Renauer (33, GER) and Mathieu Jaminet (23, F, both Precote Herberth Motorsport). And the Corvette pairing of local driver Marvin Kirchhöfer (24, GER) and Daniel Keilwitz (29, GER, both Callaway Competition) is in striking distance with a 19-point deficit. 

British duo Stuart Middleton and Will Tregurtha, erstwhile points leaders of the GT4 European Series, head into the category finale a fortnight from now provisionally just two points shy of the top of the championship after a challenging visit to Hungary over the weekend, 1st/2nd September.

Drivex made its own mark in the International GT Open at Silverstone with the pairs of Marcelo Hahn / Allam Khodair and Ricardo Baptista / Cacá Bueno in their Mercedes AMG GT3 cars. The Madrid-based team fought for another race win and only bad luck prevented another victory in the series.

Nick Kelly has claimed the 2018 CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series title after a nail-biting season finale at Winton Motor Raceway.

The Pirelli World Challenge 2018 drew to a close Sunday morning, and Flying Lizard Motorsports closed the season on a high note, clinching the GTSA class win in race two at Watkins Glen International. Mike Hedlund drove his No. 45 Audi R8 LMS GT4 to victory in the final race of the season, finishing fourth in the sprint championship points, narrowly missing out on a double podium weekend.

Ian James secured his fourth and fifth pole of the 2018 season at Watkins Glen this weekend and followed through to secure his fifth win, sixth class win, in today’s Race 2 at Watkins Glen International. This comes after a second-place finish in yesterday’s Race 1. Calculating points, this also secures Panoz the GTS Sprint/Sprint-X Manufacturer’s Championship title, thanks to the number of wins. 

Raffaele Marciello and Michael Meadows mastered treacherous conditions at the Hungaroring to secure their maiden Blancpain GT Series victory and the first of the season for AKKA ASP Team.