Mansell to open Rockingham aboard Champ Car
British racing hero Nigel Mansell will return to the seat of a Champ Car to open Rockingham Motor Speedway, Britain's first high-speed oval racing venue since the pre-war Brooklands circuit
Mansell, who was CART champion in 1993, will lap the new £50 million pound facility situated near Corby, Northamptonshire, during the Coys International Historic Festival on May 26.
"I'm really looking forwards to getting back in a car, its the first time in a long time that I have driven a single seater," said Mansell. "The track looks awesome and it should be good for over 180mph - although I'm not going to try and do it at full speed!"
Rockingham's banked 1.5-mile speedway layout features an all-seater stadium, and the track will host the 200mph-plus FedEx Champ Car series in September. Mansell won that title in 1993, just a year after winning the Formula 1 World Championship for Williams - making him the only driver to win the two world's premier single-seater titles back-to-back.
At a launch today at his Woodbury Park golf course, Mansell got behind the wheel of one of the star cars of the Coys Festival, the 1955 Le Mans-winning Jaguar D Type that was driven by Britain's first World Champion Mike Hawthorn. It is expected to fetch over £500,000 in the Coys auction that takes place at the Festival later this month.
"I learned the word 'wow' when I was in America and it surely must apply to this car," said Mansell of the D Type. "Not only has it got a fantastic history with Mike Hawthorn and those drivers were my heroes, but it is also one of the most beautiful cars in the world. Whoever buys it at the Coys auction will be a lucky man."
CART boss says Nazareth could gain reprieve
Texas sues CART for race postponement
Laser Tools Racing continues in BTCC with Hill
The Laser Tools Racing name that was carried to British Touring Car Championship titles in 2020 and 2021 will continue in the series after all with Jake Hill.
McLaren to share F1 reserve driver Schumacher with Mercedes
Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher will be also made available as a stand-in to McLaren, the Woking team has announced.
NASCAR Next Gen car gets safety upgrades for 2023 season
NASCAR unveiled some changes to the Next Gen car for the 2023 season, with most enhancing its safety aspects.
O’Ward optimistic about Rossi and that McLaren IndyCar DNFs can be reduced
Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he’s confident that Alexander Rossi will be a strong addition to the line-up and that the team has gotten on top of its mechanical woes.
The 2022 Autosport Awards winner using Esports as a launchpad
A trail blazed in Esports has inspired a revamp of the annual prize that aims to discover the best young engineering talent. Autosport met Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future winner Michael Preston
The plug in and play stand-ins who got their timing just right
Nyck de Vries’s Italian GP exploits weren’t the first post-eleventh-hour call-up in motorsport history, and won’t be the last either. Here are some offbeat tales from the past
Porsche’s hopeful Le Mans future meets its illustrious past
Rising sportscar star Adam Smalley had to pinch himself when offered the chance to drive the car that won the world’s most famous enduro in 1987
Why romanticism isn't the key factor in Lola’s racing return
The iconic Lola name is being relaunched after it was taken over by new ownership. Part of that reboot is a planned return to racing, though the exact details of this are still to be finalised - though its new owner does have a desire to bring the brand back to the Le Mans 24 Hours. But romanticism doesn't appear to be the driving force behind this renewed project...
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.