RNW Staff

The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team showed progress throughout the weekend with the race looking promising as Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc lapped with good pace. Ericsson made a good start and had already gained one position to 16th when he had to retire on lap six due to a hydraulic issue on his car, which is now undergoing further investigation. On the other side of the garage, debut Formula 1 racer Charles Leclerc had a strong race during which he put in a consistent performance that enabled him to finish 13th. The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team leaves Australia feeling positive and heading to Bahrain with confidence for the second round of the FIA Formula 1 Championship.

Under the bonnet the new MH4 is quite similar to the old one. The 3.0 Liter S55 Biturbo heart of the BMW M4 gained some additional 119 HP this time due to a software remapping.

Lewis storms to the first pole position of the 2018 Formula One season

Marcus Ericsson (car number 9):C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)Qualifying: 17th in Q1 (1:24.556 min / ultrasoft tyres) 3rd practice: 3th (1:28.890 min / ultrasoft tyres / 14 laps) “The work done overnight by the engineers on track and at the headquarters in Switzerland paid off. All in all it was a good qualifying today. We have made good progress since yesterday when we were quite a long way off the competition. We should be proud of the work that we have put in since then because it made a big difference. We are still not where we want to be, but today we were really close to Q2. We do have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are in the fight which is nice to see. Overall, I am happy with the progress and I look forward to the first race of the season”

With the first pure asphalt rally of the 2018 season at Corsica linea – Tour de Corse [5-8 April] just around the corner, teams have been busy testing their cars on the island’s twisty roads.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport shows promising pace in Friday practice

On March 15, in the Huracán assembly line in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the racing car number 300 was produced.

Multiple Blancpain GT Series champions Belgian Audi Club Team WRT have unveiled their crews for the 2018 campaign during pre-season testing at Zolder.

Nicolas Ciamin will move into the WRC 2 category this season after announcing a five-event programme in a Hyundai i20 R5. His first event will be the Corsica linea – Tour de Corse (5-8 April).

Marcos Ligato has abandoned plans for an emotional farewell to the sport at his home WRC fixture in Argentina next month for health reasons.

Plans to celebrate 60 years of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at this summer’s Silverstone Classic (20-22 July) have moved up a gear with confirmation of a special track parade on Tin Top Sunday.

Here we go again! The new Formula 1 season begins in Melbourne next weekend. Valtteri Bottas tells us what he is looking forward to most in 2018.

The organisers of Neste Rally Finland [26 – 29 July] have revealed an almost entirely new route for the 2018 event.

Team BMW has presented the colours in which Colin Turkington and Rob Collard will contest the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The AmDtuning.com with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing team has confirmed the signing of Scottish driver Rory Butcher for the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.   Rory will embark on his first full season in the series with the West Thurrock-based outfit and will partner series returnee Tom Boardman in the team’s second MG6 GT.   The 31-year-old joins AmDtuning.com having made his debut in the series last season, when he was called up by the Motorbase team for the final four rounds of the year in place of Luke Davenport after his injury in qualifying at Croft.   On his first time in the car, Butcher snared a pair of top ten finishes at Knockhill and showed impressive speed through the remaining rounds, pushing regularly for more points finishes.   Having sampled the MG for the first time during a test at Snetterton, Butcher is set for further pre-season running in the coming weeks ahead of the opening rounds of the season at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 7-8 April.   Rory will be eligible to compete for the Jack Sears Trophy this season, which is now open to those drivers without a podium finish in the series.   “My move into the BTCC last season was all a bit last minute and I was thrown in at the deep end for my debut on home soil at Knockhill,” Butcher said. “So I was determined to try and get a place on the grid this year to build on what I learned from the final four rounds of 2017 and to start building a long-term BTCC career.   “In January, it looked like it wasn’t going to be possible but then I spoke to Shaun (Hollamby) about the MG and with a lot of effort from the team and from my sponsors – who were eager to join me in the BTCC – we’ve been able to pull together a deal – which I’m absolutely delighted about.   “It’s is such a strong series, particularly this season, that it hard to make too many predictions about what we can expect to achieve, but the team has shown what it can do in recent seasons and my goal is to regularly fight inside the points and push for some strong results as the season goes on.   “Twelve months ago, I didn’t imagine I would be racing in the BTCC but there is no better place for me to be in terms of profile. The series is the very pinnacle of British motorsport and I’m really excited about the prospect of a full season on track with AmD in 2018.”   Shaun Hollamby, AmDtuning.com team boss, added: “Rory is a driver who we have been talking to for some time, and we are delighted to have concluded a deal for 2018. His career record speaks for itself, and the way he performed last year when he joined the grid in difficult circumstances was hugely impressive.   “Since announcing the MG programme, a huge amount of work has gone into preparing and updating the cars and bringing in the drivers is the final piece of the jigsaw.   “We have to give thanks to both RCIB Insurance and AutoAid for their support in putting such a strong driver line-up together and I’m confident that in Rory and Tom, we have a pairing is capable of picking up some really strong results on track. We want to challenge towards the front, and I fully expect Rory to be in the mix towards the top of the Jack Sears Trophy standings.”

By Steve Luvender NASCAR.com March 20, 2018 at 11:30 am It’s the end of 2018’s #NASCARGoesWest stretch of races. Time for drivers and crews to change their clocks back to Eastern Daylight Time. Here’s what earned our thumbs-up and thumbs-down in Southern California at Auto Club Speedway. Thumbs Up: Seven-Time is Back (kind of) Jimmie’s […]

Benito Guerra will miss next month’s WRC 2 fixture in Argentina after fire destroyed his car before Rally Guanajuato Mexico earlier this month.