Rain causes postponement threat
Persistent rain has put the Elkhart Lake Champ Car round in jeopardy of being postponed until Monday. The star-crossed event was already axed from the CART schedule once, only for Champ Car legend Mario Andretti to step in and save the event, which was renamed the Mario Andretti Grand Prix in his honour
Just before 4:00 p.m. local time, some two hours after the scheduled start of the 60-lap contest, Champ Car steward Beaux Barfield met the media to discuss the options for completing the race. In two efforts to start the race, a total of six laps were completed behind the Pace Car.
"Obviously we're in a very difficult predicament here today to get the event underway, keeping in mind the safety of the drivers, teams and spectators," Barfield said. "We have stopped all efforts to bring the track back until it stops raining. Until then, we're pretty much helpless and we're still in a wait and see mode.
"In the past, we've had trouble on the back straight, but there is nothing specific today - just the standing water you would expect in these rainy conditions. There is still a possibility of running on Monday, but we haven't ruled out today."
If the race is completed Sunday, Champ Car officials have announced that the distance will be cut to 47 laps.
Road America's Champ Car race has been affected by rain on several other occasions, most recently in 2001, when the race was red-flagged for standing water. The 1997 race was delayed by rain for more than two hours, and a flooded track caused the 1987 race to be rescheduled two weeks later.
Indy IROC: Johnson's race, Busch's crown
Road America: Junqueira all the way
Magazine: Hamilton's F1 2009 woes retrospective, BMW Motorsport at 50
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles with mediocre Formula 1 machinery in 2009 and 2022 are compared in this week’s Autosport magazine, out today (11 August).
Rodin reveals more details about 'F1-beating' hypercar
More details have been revealed about Rodin’s new closed-cockpit FZERO hypercar, which it intends will offer greater performance than Formula 1 machinery.
Magazine: F1 Hungarian GP review, FE London and BTCC Knockhill
Last weekend's Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, featuring another Ferrari clanger and Max Verstappen victory, is our focus on the cover of this week’s Autosport magazine, out today (4 August).
MotorsportDays LIVE reveals date of 2022 show at Silverstone
Motorsport Network is excited to announce that MotorsportDays LIVE will be held at Silverstone on 4-5 November 2022.
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
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands