RNW Staff

Two famous ‘JDM’ legends are all set to grace TSS The Super Series by B-Quik, both cars competing in Super Car GTC, when Round 1 of the 2023 season gets underway at Buriram’s Chang International Circuit next weekend – with two exciting new Filipino drivers behind the wheel.

It’s a P3 starting position for the No. 1 Quartz Engine Oil-backed BMW M4 GT3 machine of Paul Miller Racing as the team chases their third consecutive IMSA win on the streets of Long Beach. 

Three races, three wins for the BMW M4 GT3: the BMW Junior Team has completed the hat-trick for BMW M Motorsport in the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS). On Saturday, BMW M works drivers Neil Verhagen (USA), Dan Harper (GBR) and Max Hesse (GER) won the third race of the season on the Nürburgring Nordschleife (GER) in the #44 BMW M4 GT3 from the BMW M Team RMG.

WeatherTech Racing will start fifth in GTD Pro for tomorrow’s running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The No. 6 Porsche 963 tackles round three of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from the grid position six. During the qualifying for the Long Beach Grand Prix in California, works driver Nick Tandy from the UK turned his fastest lap in 1:11.406 minutes. His brand colleague Felipe Nasr from Brazil claimed P8 in the 20-minute hunt for top times on the city circuit close to Los Angeles. In the GTD-Pro class, the Sebring-winning squad Pfaff Motorsports secured a promising grid spot, planting its Porsche 911 GT3 R on third place.

Prior to this afternoon’s qualifying session for tomorrow’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, BMW Team RLL drivers Nick Yelloly and Augusto Farfus had perhaps only one hour’s practice time on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in preparation for their first Long Beach start. At the end of the 20-minute session, the timing charts showed the BMW drivers posting the season’s-best qualifying result with fourth and fifth place in the GTP class and overall starting positions for the 100-minute race. Yelloly posted the fourth fastest time (1:11.002 minutes) in the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 he will share with Connor De Phillippi. Along with Sheldon van der Linde, the trio finished second at the recent 12 Hours of Sebring. Augusto Farfus qualified the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 fifth (1:11.368 minutes). He will co-drive with Philipp Eng.

The 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS campaign will launch in spectacular style next weekend (21–23 April) when a 55-car field tackles a three-hour Endurance Cup contest at Monza.

With well over double figures in all three classes, the season couldn’t start with a more open playing field. The 52 cars entered include plenty of new teams, while the three class-winning driver pairs from last year have all moved on to new horizons. What’s more, various cars have undergone an evolution over winter and both BMW and McLaren present brand-new machinery, adding even more to the unpredictability at the dawn of the new season.

HubAuto Racing will make its Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS return this season after revealing a two-car GT3 entry for drivers Morris Chen and Alvaro Parente, and Brian Lee and Hideto Yasuoka.

Audi Sport customer racing relies on a strong customer base in the DTM in 2023 as well. Three established teams – including an up-and-coming touring car racing team with motor racing experience – will contest the tradition-steeped series with the Audi R8 LMS, which will be held under new auspices this year.

Porsche Sprint Challenge GB enters its fourth season in 2023 with a revised package and the busiest grid yet. The one-make championship for the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport delivers 18 races with national television coverage. It now joins the TOCA package on six weekends, where it runs in support of the British Touring Car Championship and alongside Porsche Carrera Cup GB.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB, the fastest single-marque GT racing championship in the UK, enters its 21st season in 2023 with an exciting mix of returnees and talented newcomers. The championship continues with the latest generation of 911 racing car – the 510 hp ‘Type 992’ 911 GT3 Cup – while 2023 also marks Carrera Cup GB 2022 / 2023 Junior Adam Smalley’s second year with the support of Porsche, a season in which he guns for title glory.

The bull from Styria will be wearing red-white-red in the DTM in 2023. The Grasser Racing Team from St. Margarethen near Knittelfeld will take on the prestigious racing series this season with two Austrians. In addition to the Tyrolean Clemens Schmid, the second Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of the racing outfit supported by Lamborghini Squadra Corse will be driven by Mick Wishofer from Vienna. The newcomer in the number 19 car will make his debut in the legendary championship at the official DTM test in Spielberg on April 15 and 16.

Paul Miller Racing head into the first sprint round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship not only as the most recent 2023 winners—at Sebring International Raceway in March—but as defending two-time race winners of the Long Beach Grand Prix. 

Former Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat has been announced as an official Lamborghini Squadra Corse Factory Driver, carrying out extensive testing of the firms’ LMDh prototype this year before making his race debut in 2024 with Lamborghini Iron Lynx in the WEC and IMSA Championships.

Hong Kong racing driver Jonathan Hui (HKG) has confirmed a full-season entry in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (GTWC Europe) Endurance Cup for his fifth consecutive season in the highly competitive European championship. The 2021 GTWC Europe Endurance Cup Pro-Am champion is looking to get back to the top of the championship standings, teaming up with Chris Froggatt (GBR) and Eddie Cheever III (ITA) for his 2023 season assault. The team will be competing for Bronze category honours in the brand new #93 Sky Tempesta Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, aiming to maximise points at each of the 5 rounds of this year’s race calendar.

Popular motorsport outfit K-PAX Racing is closing in on the start of its 2023 season, as the team finalises testing and preparations for its Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS campaign.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport works team heads to round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC with high hopes. After the opening round in Sebring (USA), the team will compete with the new Porsche 963 for the first time on a European racetrack in Portugal. The hybrid prototype, which was built in accordance with the LMDh regulations, contests the Hypercar class in the WEC. Porsche customer teams fight for victory in the GTE-Am category with six 911 RSR.

This weekend finally sees the first moment of truth of the 2023 DTM. The Red Bull Ring in Austria will be the arena for the official test and media days on 15 and 16 April. All teams and drivers will have the opportunity to find the optimum tuning for their racing cars in competition conditions ahead of the season start at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (26 – 28 May). Almost 13 hours of free practice in six sessions are scheduled over the two days. And fans are also getting a free ride: Admission is free, enabling spectators to follow the race action from the Steiermark Tribüne (Styria stand). Entrance to the paddock is also free, allowing a look behind the scenes, including autographs and selfies with the drivers.

Oman Racing’s Ahmad Al Harthy makes a welcome return to race action in Europe later this week as the FIA World Endurance Championship arrives in Portugal, for the hotly anticipated second round of the 2023 season – the 6 Hours of Portimao.