MotoGP’s new 850cc era will kick off with a special launch event at Rio de Janeiro on 21 February 2027.

As reported by Autosport last month, the entire MotoGP grid will travel to Brazil at the start of next year to mark the launch of the new season. 

The main event will take place at Botafogo Beach, with the famous Sugarloaf Mountain serving as the backdrop.

The launch will precede the opening round of the 2027 campaign, which will take place on 5-7 March at the Buriram International Circuit in Thailand.

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP Group, said: "The MotoGP Season Launch has become one of the defining moments of the year for our championship, bringing together every team, rider and manufacturer as we begin a new season.

"The enthusiasm shown by Brazilian fans during our sold-out return to Goiania in 2026 confirmed the extraordinary connection between MotoGP and Brazil.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

"Following the success of our recent season launch events in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Rio de Janeiro provides the perfect stage to continue raising the bar, combining iconic locations, passionate fans and world-class entertainment. 

"We look forward to delivering our biggest and most spectacular MotoGP Season Launch yet." 

Following in the footsteps of Formula 1, with which it now shares an ownership structure, MotoGP hosted a special fan-focused season launch on the streets of Bangkok in 2025.

The inaugural event was a success, convincing Dorna (now MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group) to turn it into an annual fixture.

A second season launch was held in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of this year, with riders performing wheelies and stoppies in a closed-off stretch of road in front of thousands of fans.

For 2027, MotoGP is placing even greater emphasis on its season launch event, with the year marking the introduction of new 850cc machines. The bikes will feature reduced aerodynamic influence and no ride-height devices as part of a major overhaul of the technical regulations. 

Miami had initially emerged as the venue of choice, before MotoGP opted for Brazil. The South American nation returned on the calendar in March this year, with Goiania hosting the first Brazilian GP in two decades.

MotoGP prepared to move Qatar GP to another venue

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Defending champion Matt Armstrong claimed all three Caterham Seven Championship UK victories at Knockhill, on the category’s latest appearance on the British Touring Car support bill, but it was far from plain sailing.

The Team Parker racer started a dry opener from pole position alongside Harry Senior, with points leader Taylor O’Flanagan nearly half a second behind in third. Armstrong and Senior quickly broke away from the pack and engaged in a race-long battle for the win, often at lap record pace. Although Senior applied severe pressure throughout, he was never quite close enough to mount a serious overtaking attempt. Armstrong duly held on for a narrow win, which would have been more comfortable but for a final lap bout of oversteer.

The heavens opened above Knockhill ahead of race two, and the wet asphalt helped produce a scintillating three-way tussle up front. O’Flanagan was a subdued presence in the first bout but was back in the mix in the second encounter, joining the Armstrong-Senior battle with gusto. The moves came thick and fast among the trio, aided by the appearance of grippier wet lines through Duffus Dip and Taylor’s, with each of the main protagonists enjoying a spell out in front.

However, just after the halfway point there was slight contact between O’Flanagan and Senior approaching Turn 1, forcing the latter’s left-side tyres onto the sodden Scottish grass. He rejoined at McIntyre but was out of contention for the win.

O’Flanagan continued to lead the way, with Armstrong maintaining a watching brief just behind. The reigning champion waited until the penultimate lap, and launched a bold move down the inside at the hairpin. The pass was completed with a graceful dab of opposite lock, and Armstrong stubbornly defended his position thereafter to claim a double win.

By comparison, race three was Armstrong’s most straightforward performance of the weekend, barring a lap one contretemps with O’Flanagan. Armstrong made a sluggish start from pole and carried too much speed into Turn 1 to compensate. He subsequently ran wide through Turn 2, allowing O’Flanagan to take the outside line at McIntyre. The pair collided, sending O’Flanagan through the gravel and down to sixth.

Senior attempted to take advantage of this racing incident, but was firmly rebuked by Armstrong, who gradually built a 6s lead by the chequered flag. O’Flanagan continued with a hobbled car and pulled off an impressive recovery drive to reach the final step of the podium.

Rogers bites into Marshall's Cayman advantage

Australian had the edge over team-mate Marshall in both the wet and dry at Knockhill

Photo by: JEP

As the Porsche Sprint Challenge GB grid headed north for its third event of the season, dominant championship leader Joe Marshall could be forgiven for feeling confident.

The Team Parker Racing driver was unbeaten in 2026 up to this point, claiming six wins in a row and a healthy points lead to boot. However, his rookie team-mate Joshua Rogers finally turned potential into race wins at Knockhill.

The affable Australian has made an impressive full-time jump from sim racing this season, with a trio of podiums on his debut at Donington Park underlining his raw talent.

Rogers claimed pole position for the first two races of the weekend, and proceeded to make a good start in the opener. Belying his inexperience, Rogers cannily backed Marshall up at McIntyre, and eventually built a two-second gap in an impressive lights-to-flag victory.

Race two was a similar story, barring a treacherously damp track, with a mid-race safety car keeping the leader on his toes.

Rogers again defended into McIntyre on lap one of the finale before Marshall lunged for the lead at Clark. Rogers coolly gave his team-mate space but carried more speed to fend off the attack. He then maintained metronomic pace to the chequered flag, and looked entirely unflustered by the experience.

It may be too late for a championship charge, but Marshall’s Sprint Challenge dominance has been well and truly broken.

Hickton's mixed Scottish Mini weekend

Excelr8 driver twice won on the road but was denied the second by penalty for being out of position at the start

Photo by: JEP

Ominous clouds circled the Fife venue for the first of the weekend’s three Mini Challenge races, but the track mercifully remained dry for the opener to the delight of polesitter Harry Hickton.

On his return to Excelr8, Hickton converted his strong qualifying performance into the lead at Duffus Dip, with the only blip in an otherwise assured performance coming when he was slowed by traffic in the final laps as he scored a maiden JCW win.

The rain finally arrived in time for race two, with Ned Anthony initially leading from the partially reversed grid ahead of Alex Solley and the pacey Harry Campey. On lap three, Campey unceremoniously shoulder-barged Solley into the gravel outside McIntyre, before passing Anthony for the lead in similarly robust fashion.

Jamsport’s Archie Johnson and Solley (Pro Alloys Racing) finished second and third on the road, but only after the charging Sam Gornall retired on the final lap with mechanical maladies, while Campey ended up 7.8 seconds ahead in P1. But to further compound Gornall’s misery, Campey later received a two-place penalty for his earlier misdemeanours, and Johnson inherited the victory.

Hickton again made a rapid getaway from pole in the finale, but was adjudged to have started outside his grid box, receiving a 5s penalty in the process. Despite his best efforts, he finished a net third behind the Pro Alloys duo of race winner Solley - the third new Mini victor of the weekend - and Max Edmundson.

It was a somewhat quiet weekend for Excelr8’s points leader Tom Ovenden, with the reigning champion picking up a best result of fourth but still maintaining a 33-point advantage over Edmundson.

Pape fights back amid huge Scottish Legends grid's thrills and spills

There were plenty of hair-raising moments like this among the bumper Legends pack

Photo by: JEP

Thirty-four drivers signed up for the Scottish Legends championship’s BTCC appearance and perhaps unsurprisingly Saturday’s three races were nothing short of chaotic.

Across two heats and one final, there were a combined four safety car interventions and two red flags; one for a worrying six-car crash featuring multiple rollovers.

Edge Motorsport’s Ryan McLeish emerged from the stramash to clinch a heat win and the overall round victory, with Michael Weddell and Ross Marshall the other race winners on the day. However, championship leader Matthew Pape’s points advantage took a battering after his Mertec Motorsport car was destroyed during the final.

Sunday’s televised races were far calmer affairs in comparison, with Legends stalwart Ben Mason taking the spoils in the morning’s first rain-affected bout. McLeish then snatched the heat-two lead away from the impressive Angus Scrivener on the final lap, only for a 5s track-limits penalty to drop him to fifth.

Pape used a borrowed car to grab a redemptive win in the final race to help consolidate his championship lead, while McLeish’s 12th-placed finish was enough to secure his second overall round win of the weekend.

McLeish ended the chaotic weekend as the top scorer

Photo by: JEP

MotoGP has not ruled out moving the Qatar Grand Prix to another country amid the uncertainty caused by the war in the Middle East, and could potentially follow the same strategy Formula 1 has taken by hosting its Bahrain race in Malaysia. 

The conflict that erupted several months ago in the Persian Gulf between the United States, Israel and Iran has had a direct impact on this year's sporting calendar, prompting several championships to cancel or postpone events.

Formula 1 initially postponed the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain grands prix, but announced a few days ago that the latter will take place at Sepang in Malaysia on the weekend of 4 October, while the Saudi race has been officially cancelled for 2026.

F1 organisers continue to monitor developments in the region ahead of deciding what course of action to take regarding the Qatar Grand Prix on 29 November and the Abu Dhabi season finale on 6 December.

Malaysia will officially host F1's 2026 Bahrain GP

In MotoGP's case, the Losail circuit on the outskirts of Doha was originally scheduled to host the fourth round of the season on the weekend of 11-12 April, but the organisers opted to reschedule it for 6-8 November. As things stand, Qatar is the final race before the championship returns to Europe, where the Portuguese Grand Prix is scheduled for 20-22 November and the Valencia round, which will bring the season to a close, is due to take place one week later on 27-29 November.

MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (MotoGP SEG), the championship promoter, maintains that it is still working towards holding the race at Losail, while at the same time admits it is exploring possible alternatives.

2025 Qatar GP

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Aside from the commitment involved in considering hosting a sporting event in a location where there are obvious security concerns, Autosport understands that some companies operating in the championship – namely suppliers – have internal policies prohibiting them from sending employees to areas considered high-risk.

Asked directly about the alternatives being considered, sporting director Carlos Ezpeleta did not rule out MotoGP following a similar path to F1 with Bahrain and staging the Qatar Grand Prix in another country.

"Obviously, the fact that we belong to the same family as F1, Liberty Media, means that this issue is obviously on our minds," Ezpeleta told Autosport. "The situation is different, though. We only have one race in the Middle East and, from a commercial point of view, a 21-stop season rather than 22 is clearly sufficient."

The final decision on what to do with the Losail race is extremely complex from every perspective. Logistically, finding a circuit at such short notice that both meets MotoGP's required safety standards and is available is far from straightforward. It must also be taken into account that, just two weeks later, all the equipment needs to be ready for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

"We are at a point in the year when most European circuits are already occupied," Ezpeleta said, while stressing that his priority remains travelling to Qatar in November. "Honestly, I hope we can go, and that's what we're focused on right now."

MotoGP SEG has given itself until the end of this month to make a decision, allowing enough time to act in either direction. Depending on the course of action and how the situation in the Middle East develops, next year's opening sequence could also have to be altered.

For now, it is known that the first round of the 2027 season will take place in Thailand on 5-7 March, with everything seemingly in place for Qatar to host the second round one week later. The conflict, however, could yet force a change to that scenario.

Thailand to host MotoGP 2027 season opener

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Formula E’s Gen3 Evo era is set for an epic conclusion in London this weekend, with the fight for the 2025-26 title going down to the wire.

As many as nine drivers remain in mathematical contention heading to the ExCel double-header, the most since the chaotic 2020-21 season when 18 drivers went into the final races in Berlin with a chance of becoming champion.

Prior to last month’s races in Tokyo, one would have expected a more straightforward battle for the title. But with both Porsche and Jaguar faltering in the Japanese capital, the championship fight has been blown wide open.

Andretti’s Jake Dennis has gone from being 32 points down to leading the standings, while Pascal Wehrlein slipped from first to third following the Japan double-header. In all, four drivers (Dennis, Mitch Evans, Wehrlein and Oliver Rowland) appear to be genuine contenders, while the rest have an outside - or a mere mathematical - shot at the crown.

Adding to the uncertainty is the ExCel’s unique indoor/outdoor layout, which has routinely delivered chaotic - and controversial - title deciders over the years. Porsche and Jaguar would be the most obvious bets given their recent form, but past results only count for so much when stakes are so high and making (strategic) mistakes is easy. Just ask Jaguar.

In our London preview, we assess the chances of each of the nine title contenders.

Drivers' championship

Jake Dennis

Jake Dennis, Andretti Formula E

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Jake Dennis was Formula E’s first Gen3 champion in 2023, and if things go his way, he could be its last too. While all other title contenders have the might of a factory directly behind them, Dennis has punched above his weight in a customer Porsche, backed by an Andretti operation that has regularly outperformed its means.

Although Dennis was expected to be an outside contender at best heading into the final races, the outcome of the Tokyo weekend changed the complexion of the championship, with two podiums propelling him to the top of the standings.

Dennis has put together a strong campaign overall, even if it has been far from perfect. He started the season with a fine victory in Mexico and continued to amass a solid haul of points in the first half of the season.

Monaco was the lowest point of the year. After being taken out by Nick Cassidy in the opener, he caused a collision with Dan Ticktum in Sunday’s race and earned a penalty that left him without any points from the weekend.

However, he quickly bounced back from the double disappointment by winning in Sanya, with three podiums in the following four races to strengthen his title bid.

Mitch Evans

Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

The Formula E driver with the most wins is still searching for a maiden title, and London was the venue for some of his most painful heartbreaks. But Mitch Evans has a chance to set that right as he makes one final appearance for Jaguar before departing for Opel next season.

Evans’ campaign has gone through some major highs and lows, but it’s worth highlighting how exceptional his performances were when he was able to put everything together. First came the wet-weather win in Miami, even if Evans put the result down to the conditions rather than the car at his disposal. Jeddah was where his season really started, but it was in Madrid and Berlin where he really starred, converting back-of-the-grid starts into top-line results. By round 10, he was 21 points clear of the rest of the field.

The second Asian leg was where things started going wrong for him. An incident triggered by Ticktum in Sanya and a technical problem in Shanghai all cost him valuable points. But while the Tokyo weekend was tough for both Jaguar and Porsche, Evans was able to salvage a fourth place in the first race, which means he now trails Dennis by just two points.

With team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa far down the order, it will be imperative for Jaguar to back Evans in their joint-pursuit of a maiden drivers’ title.

Pascal Wehrlein

Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche Formula E Team

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images

Pascal Wehrlein is gunning to join Jean-Eric Vergne in the exclusive group of double Formula E champions. And with new team-mate Nico Muller having no more than a mathematical chance of the title, one would expect the entire Porsche Team to put its weight behind the German.

Looking back at Wehrlein’s season, one statistic particularly stands out: he failed to score points in six of the 15 races so far. On one hand, that shows how many poor weekends he has endured over the course of the season - whether due to factors within or outside his control.

But the fact that he is only five points behind Dennis going into London illustrates how impressive he has been otherwise during the year. Think about those dominant victories in Jeddah and Shanghai and the pole position in Berlin; there were plenty of occasions where Wehrlein made his rivals sit up and take notice.

Wehrlein also lost lots of points when others clattered into him, most notably in Monaco when it was his team-mate Mueller who caused an embarrassing clash for the factory Porsche team. On some occasions, he was himself at fault, like at Sanya (after being caught out by the timing of a red flag), while a dry-weather package cost him in the second Tokyo race.

Oliver Rowland

Oliver Rowland, Nissan Formula E Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Oliver Rowland has single-handedly carried Nissan this season and strengthened his position as one of the most talented drivers on the grid. With Jaguar and Porsche taking centre stage, the Briton has done all he could to extract the best out of the Nissan package.

For a large part of the season, he lacked consistency; either he finished on the podium or completely outside of the points. This meant that we saw Rowland producing some textbook drivers, such as in Monaco, that were reminiscent of his title-winning 2024-25 campaign. On the other hand, he also evidently dropped the ball at times. For instance, in Sanya, he clattered into the barriers while chasing Wehrlein, who was already carrying a penalty.

But those swings in performance hide the fact that he managed to achieve six podiums, more than any title contenders so far this season. That’s the paradox: Rowland was remarkably inconsistent despite being able to score regular podiums.

The Briton carries some momentum into the London weekend after recovering from poor starting positions to score two solid results on Nissan’s home turf in Tokyo. With that in mind, it would be foolish to bet against Rowland winning back-to-back titles at the end of the Gen3 era.

Edoardo Mortara

Edoardo Mortara, Mahindra Racing

Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images

Edoardo Mortara equalled the record for most pole positions in a season - four - yet he is the only title contender yet to score a victory this season. Of course, there were occasions where other teams were simply faster than him in race trim, but it’s also fair to say that both Mortara and Mahindra didn’t execute everything as they needed to.

With a 40-point deficit, Mortara is at best an outside contender for the title. But with others focused on the championship battle, the Italian-French driver could utilise the opportunity to end a win-less streak that stretches back to 2022.

Antonio Felix da Costa

Antonio Felix Da Costa, Jaguar TCS Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

After a difficult start to life at Jaguar, Antonio Felix da Costa began his championship challenge with back-to-back victories in Jeddah and Madrid. More podiums followed, but those were punctuated by costly non-points finishes. Da Costa was rightly aggrieved after being hit by Mueller in Berlin and again after a collision with Ticktum in Monaco. That meant that he was left with too much ground left to make up in the title fight, even as he proved he could take over from Evans as Jaguar’s next team leader in the Gen4 era.

Nick Cassidy

Nick Cassidy, Citroen Racing

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images

Nick Cassidy’s move to Citroen has proved to be a success, even if he has fallen short of mounting a sustained title challenge. The Kiwi shone at the start of the season - winning from 13th place in Mexico - and again performed admirably in Tokyo. But ultimately, he never had the package to run regularly at the front and suffered too many painful non-scores, including a painful 17th place result after taking pole at Jarama.

Nico Muller

Nico Müller, Porsche Formula E Team

Photo by: Porsche

Nico Muller emerged as a reliable and dependable driver after moving up to Porsche this year. Matching Wehrlein was always going to be tough, but he has done enough to help Porsche remain in the hunt for the teams’ title. His Berlin win was easily the highlight of the year, while the clash with Wehrlein in Monaco was the low point. One can expect him to assist his team-mate’s title bid in Berlin, even though he himself has a long shot at winning the championship.

Nyck de Vries

Nyck De Vries, Mahindra Racing

Photo by: Takashi Aoyama / LAT Images via Getty Images

For most of the season, Nyck de Vries has run in the shadow of team-mate Mortara. Yet it was the Dutchman who guided Mahindra back to winning ways in Monaco and secured another victory in Tokyo last month. While he has been erratic at times, the 2020-21 champion continues to excel on strategy and race execution, two things that would benefit him again in Tokyo. A championship is most certainly out of the picture, but he could bag yet another victory to cap off the year in style.

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At the end of a day of thrilling competition, Wallace Menzies left Shelsley Walsh as the new outright hill record holder at the famous Worcestershire venue.

Rounds 21 and 22 of the British Hillclimb Championship formed the second visit of the year to the famous 1000-yard dash up the side of the Teme Valley and in warm sunshine in front of a big crowd it was a day of outstanding record-breaking.

Menzies arrived in Worcestershire on a roll after five wins from six events in the Channel Islands and at Wiscombe Park. An enforced engine change, more car development and a return to Pirellis have all served to put the Scot right into the title race.

At the start of the Shelsley weekend, the hill record belonged to Will Hall in 22.33s, which had stood for just nine weeks since the June event. But, when times during Saturday's practice runs dipped into the middle 22s bracket, that record looked particularly vulnerable.

Sure enough, on the first of the class runs to decide the qualifiers for the opening run-off, current champion Matthew Ryder posted a 22.29s climb to take the record, but only for a little while. After a delay while barrier damage was repaired, it was Menzies who ran first of the top three Gould GR59-mounted title contenders. His 22.27s sliced a fraction off the new record and set a marker for Hall and Ryder coming behind him. Incredibly, Hall posted an identical time of 22.27s, while Ryder was a tiny whisker away at 22.29s. For the first time, the outright hill record at Shelsley Walsh was shared.

Hall was one of three drivers to break the old record on an historic day for hillclimbing

Photo by: Ben Lawrence

However, that shared record was to last barely three hours. At the end of a long day, the top-12 runners returned for the second contest. This time, Ryder was the first of the big guns to tackle the hill and set a respectable 22.64s but admitted that he'd run wide at Crossing and kissed the bank on the way through. “It just wasn't quite our day today,” said Ryder.

Meanwhile, Hall was the penultimate runner of the day and stormed the hill in 22.28s, which seemed like it might be enough to take the win. But Menzies had other ideas. “I went to the line knowing what Will had done and it just had to be a case of full send,” said the Scot. It certainly was full send, even as the low sun crept over the brow just off the startline. But Menzies kept it pinned and stormed to a remarkable 22.20s to set another new hill record, the third of the day.

Menzies toured back down the hill to a rapturous reception after what could prove to be a very important weekend in the absorbing title contest between these three giants of the discipline.

Rather overshadowed by the record-breaking, other drivers had good days in the run-offs, and they included Dave Uren, Trevor Willis, Alex Summers and, particularly David Warburton, who broke the 24-second barrier on the second run in his 1600cc Gould.

With dropped scores about to come into play, this title race is just too close to call with three points separating the trio’s raw totals. There are now four run-offs left, two at Loton Park at the end of August and two at Prescott in mid-September. It's going to be a thriller.

While Aston Martin introduced its first major upgrade package for the AMR26 in Hungary, Honda will bring its first update of the 2026 Formula 1 season to Zandvoort.

With Adrian Newey’s first upgrade package of the year, the deficit on the chassis side has been reduced considerably. Aston Martin is still a long way from where it wants to be, but figures from Paceteq show that its deficit in terms of race pace was “just” 2.034 seconds per lap in Hungary.

During the preceding weekends at Silverstone and Spa, that deficit was still more than five seconds per lap, although there are two important caveats. Firstly, both iconic circuits are much longer, while the Hungaroring is also less dependent on power unit performance.

The latter remains a weakness for Aston Martin, although Honda hopes to make a step forward at the start of the second half of the season with its first ADUO upgrade of the year.

That upgrade is entirely focused on the internal combustion engine, which general trackside manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara still identifies as Honda's biggest weakness compared to the competition.

"Our engine performance is definitely poor compared to other manufacturers. So probably the most important point to improve now is our engine performance because, as I mentioned, the gap is quite huge.

Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer of Honda Racing Corporation

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

"Without improving our combustion engine performance, [the rest doesn’t help]. Let's say, if we improve energy management, that doesn't help if the engine performance is poor," Orihara explained during an exclusive interview with Autosport.

"So now we purely focus on improving our engine performance. Once we achieve our target there, then maybe we can optimise some other small areas. But still our main focus point is the engine performance, the combustion engine."

Honda knows that closing the deficit in terms of outright power will take time, meaning further upgrades will be required after this first step – with some of the most optimistic estimates suggesting a gain of up to 30bhp.

When asked about the specific target for the Zandvoort upgrade, Orihara outlines an objective similar to Aston Martin's in Hungary: getting back to what is referred to as the "racing field".

That has been achieved on the chassis side, but Orihara stresses that the same needs to happen on the power unit side.

"Our target is to get back to the racing field, to a situation where the 10 milliseconds or 20 milliseconds that we try so hard to find every weekend, can actually make a difference."

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images

Honda faces fresh driveability challenge with new engine

Because the power unit is undergoing significant changes, the Zandvoort upgrade also brings another question mark. It concerns a term that has been discussed frequently during the opening months of this F1 season: drivability, the feeling the drivers get from the power unit.

"We developed our tools to optimise our driveability. We have made good progress and we were close to what we wanted to achieve," Orihara said.

"But when we introduce the spec 2 engine, the combustion characteristics will change significantly. Well, maybe not significantly, but there will be a big difference.

"And then engine behaviour will be changed in the cornering phase as well. So yeah, we need to develop our driveability again."

It goes hand in hand with Aston Martin's upgrades on the chassis side, which also have an impact on the drivability of the power unit.

"With the car spec changing, cornering speeds will be much higher. And then demands on driveability will be changing as well."

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

It sounds as though Honda will face the same drivability challenge it encountered at the start of this year, but Orihara stresses that the Japanese manufacturer will not be back to square one under any circumstances. After all, the lessons learned can still be applied to the new specification.

"There has been big progress through this first half of the season. We developed our optimised way [for drivability]," he said.

"We will introduce our new engine and probably we need [to do] more work to improve driveability again, but now we know how we need to do it and where we should improve.

"That has been a big learning, and we can carry over that learning point to our B spec engine."

It is partly because of this aspect – working on drivability – that Aston Martin's recent filming day at the Hungaroring with the new power unit was so important. It has already provided both parties with some initial data to analyse, helping them avoid unpleasant surprises at Zandvoort.

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Sixty years after Neil Corner’s victory in the Griffiths Formula race that spawned the Historic Sports Car Club at Castle Combe on 14 May 1966, the ex-works/Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-type graced Saturday’s Griffith Haig Trophy race at the anniversary celebration. Owned by Christian Albrecht, XKD504 led initially, before team-mate Gary Pearson howled past to win in a similar car.

Kyle Tilley brought Albrecht’s car home second and another finned D-type with Ben Eastick up finished fourth, the iconic aerodynes split by David Alexander’s Lotus Elite. Delightfully, Porsche 356 veteran Geoff Thomas, who contested the 1966 race, presented the prizes. Bravo Allard Farrellac pilot Tony Bianchi for organising the retrospective.

The other big celebration marked 40 years of Classic F3, debuted at Combe within a British Racing & Sports Car Club Formule Libre race on 26 May 1986. Chevron, March, Ralt and Argo chassis in period liveries, the best entry in a decade, reminded enthusiasts of the two-litre cars of 1974-84 and presented the opportunity of an emotional Saturday grid walk for your scribe as CF3 co-founder with the late Tony Broster, early race winner and event commentator.

Chris Hodgen, nephew of five-time champion Rob Moores - who owns the ex-Derek Daly 1977 BP British championship-winning Chevron B38 still - planted his ex-Derek Warwick B38 on pole with a 1m07.323s shot. James Hadfield was 0.527 seconds slower in the ex-Brian Henton/Rupert Keegan March 743, winner of the 1974 and 1976 British titles, plucked from three years in the Silverstone museum. Like Hadfield, Benn Tilley had not raced Vic Nutter’s ex-Mike White March 803B before, indeed the 2020 CF3 champ qualified third on first sight. Period F3 racer, now GB3 and GB4 team chief Gary Ward (ex-Didier Theys Ralt-VW RT3) was fourth among the Toyota-powered cars.

Hodgen led Saturday’s race with Tilley and Hadfield on his tail until a cracked suspension stay allowed the Chevron’s wing to sag. Chris wrestled worsening understeer, but could not keep Benn and James behind. They finished 0.839s apart, clear of Hodgen and 2016 champion Simon Jackson (ex-Quirin Bovy Chevron B43).

Having raced on Hodgen’s well worn Q-tyres, Hadfield was given a newer old set by Graham Brunton for Sunday’s decider, which he led for five laps, darting through the chicanes to stave off Tilley. But the wing car was quicker through the fast corners and more stable under braking, thus Tilley prevailed by 0.832s in another thriller.

Tilley enjoyed two terrific battles with Hadfield in Classic F3 on his first outing in the March

Photo by: Steve Jones

“That was fantastic, proper racing with James, who I’ve known all my life,” said Tilley, 26, proud recipient of the HSCC’s Marcus Pye Trophy. Ward, third on Sunday, kept it on combined times from Jackson, fourth again ahead of Scot Fraser Gray (ex-Andrew Gilbert-Scott Ralt-VW RT3).

Tom Gadd, last here in a Locost, plumped his Classic Formula Ford championship lead with a seventh win on Saturday in the Numanair tribute Van Diemen RF81. Cal Bennett (RF80), racing at his local circuit for the first time, overtook Ollie Chapman (Lola T200) spectacularly round the outside at Camp to lead lap one, but finished second from Grace Parkington, who scored her maiden podium in the ex-Tiff Needell Crossle 25F.

Pressured by Bennett, Gadd weathered a grassy excursion out of Quarry on Sunday. Parkington followed Bennett past as Gadd rejoined, but Grace - approach line compromised - spun in the Esses and was hit at the front by Chapman, then from the rear by Rick Morris in Stuart Kestenbaum’s RF81. All three alighted OK, but the race was red-flagged and restarted. Bennett, overjoyed at his first win, punched the air as the chequered flag fell with Gadd in his slipstream and a surprised Daniel Whear (Royale RP21) third.    

Having only just finished repairing his Jomo’s chassis following his Brands Hatch drama, but no time to refresh its engine, Historic FF1600 points leader Benn Simms outran rivals, slugging it out on both days. From a frenetic six-car chase on Sunday, Chapman ambushed Jacques Jensen (Merlyn) for second into Camp on the final lap. Dane Mads Gravsen - finding uncle Chris Sharples’ Palliser WDF1 quicker but its engine running cooler without its nose - Rob Wainwright (Elden Mk8) and Joey Foster (in Stuart Kestenbaum’s Crossle 16F) were queued up behind. 

Jordan Harrison, enjoying a fun one-off in dad Mark’s Lola T580, ended Ben Glasswell’s Historic FF2000 winning streak with a double. On an oily track, Glasswell’s impact with the Recticel buffers at Gooch’s stopped Saturday’s race, but damage to his Reynard was largely cosmetic. He rebounded to finish fourth behind the delighted Greg Robertson and Andrew Storer on Sunday.  

De la Roche (l) tussles with Jason Timms en route to pair of Historic F3 triumphs

Photo by: Steve Jones

Historic One-Litre F3 champion Pete de la Roche’s double in the ex-Ken Sedgley Alexis mirrored Brabham drivers Jason Timms and Richard Trott’s Donington Park and Brands Hatch results. Jeremy Timms (Chevron B15) and his cousin finished closest initially. Single-seater rookie Ollie Musgrave (B15) was ecstatic to finish third behind Jason on Sunday.  

The Road Sports massive entertained as ever. Mark Godfrey (Lotus 7) bogged Sunday’s first start but recovered to beat Richard Plant in his faithful aubergine Morgan +8, a veteran of over 350 races together, and returnee Julian Barter (TVR 3000M). Following Godfrey’s early demise, John Shaw (Morgan) reeled Plant in and growled past on the last lap of the finale when Richard hit oil exiting Old Paddock and autocrossed down Howard’s Way. Barter, John Williams (Porsche 911SC) and George Daws (Datsun 240Z) chased them home.  

BMW M10 power reigned in the thin Guards Trophy bout, but Scot Elliot Paterson (Ginetta G16) and Mark Colman (Chevron B8) swapped the lead to the pitstops before Paterson prevailed. Among the GTs Peter Thompson relayed Jon Payne into his TVR Griffith and took over Charlie Allison’s Cobra for third and fourth.

The resident Castle Combe Racing Club championships were laced with drama. A chain-reaction Hot Hatch start shunt wrecked eight cars, but their drivers escaped. Points leader Corey Webber won the restart from fifth. His perfect run ended when his Honda cut out in the sequel. Poleman and class B leader Lee Waterman’s EPC lost its air filter, which upset the engine mapping, thus Julian Fisher (Ford Fiesta), Tim Fooks-Bale (Renault Clio) and Wayne Rushworth (MG ZR) filled the podium. Liam Collins and Jack Boulton took Saloon wins in K24 transplant Hondas. Electrical gremlins stopped Bill Brockbank’s now bewinged SEAT Leon Cupra.

Luke Cooper equalled Ed Moore’s record of 34 Formula Ford round wins, but fuel pump failure while cruising towards a solus lead left him watching as Tom Hawkins scored his first Combe victory after nine years. Dave Scaramanga homed in on the GT crown with another Ferrari 488 turbo win, before pursuing non-scoring Sacha Kakad in Keith Butcher’s Lamborghini.

Boulton (r) gets the better of Haydn King's SEAT in Combe Saloons

Photo by: Steve Jones

Cadillac Formula 1 team principal Graeme Lowdon has given an update on the outfit’s current infrastructure, which is still being developed.

F1’s newest squad operates from several locations, mainly its Silverstone hub, while it makes the most of General Motors facilities in North Carolina and Michigan, and uses Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne.

Cadillac has been building a new F1 factory in Fishers, in the Indianapolis suburbs, while its power unit department will be based in the Charlotte area where the parent company is already based.

Meanwhile, the team keeps chasing its first Q2 appearance and maiden world championship points.

“We're still building,” Lowdon said. “It's building the plane while flying in it, or the ship while we're sailing in it. We are still doing that. We're still building factories.

“Next to my desk are some steel toecap boots and a hard hat, and we go and look at construction sites. A very, very big one in Indianapolis, and then a smaller one in Silverstone. And obviously the PU company is building the factory down in Charlotte as well.

Cadillac F1 Team works shop in Silverstone

Photo by: Cadillac Communications

“We're still recruiting like mad as well, and so there's still an awful lot of building going on. And then Q2 of this year has kind of allowed us to start understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the MAC-26 as well, and also the strengths and weaknesses of the team operationally.

“We like to say every day is a school day. If it's a day where we haven't learned something, it's a day we've wasted. And so we're just trying to find every area that we can improve and constantly, constantly improve.

“And at the minute, it's big chunks because there's just so much to do and there's so much that's new as well. And so we're somewhere off that area where you're just refining things, where I think a lot of the other teams are probably more in that mode.”

As far as the Fishers factory is concerned, Lowdon hinted at “more announcements soon about when various things will come online”, with the new simulator “going in as we speak”.

“It's still in construction at the moment,” the Briton explained. “It'll be phased, because it's 450,000 square feet. It's not small.”

Asked if things would start next year at Fishers, Lowdon replied: “In broad terms, yes. It's very well advanced, the whole construction there, but it's a huge project. 

“There's a lot happening and coming online at Silverstone as well.”

Why it will “take years” for Cadillac to reach the level F1 rivals are operating at

There was a distinct Jaguar theme to the Classic Sports Car Club’s Oulton Park meeting last weekend as the inaugural Cheshire Cats event was held. Alongside a host of Jags racing, there were also some very special cars taking part in a demonstration.

Star Car: Jaguar XJR-9

There was a thoroughly impressive collection of vehicles on display, but the one that created the most excitement was undoubtedly the Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9. Jock Howe, one of the day’s designated drivers for this piece of automotive history, commented that when driving it he feels “massively responsible, because of the heritage of the car, the value of the car and what it represents to people”.

The famous victory at Le Mans in 1988 ended a remarkable run by Porsche, which had dominated the event, winning every race since 1981. But the trio of Dutchman Jan Lammers and Britons Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace brought an end to that run in a hotly contested race in which the Jaguar was stuck in fourth gear for the last 40 minutes. Earlier in the race its sister car, driven by Raul Boesel, was forced to retire due to the same gearbox issue and Boesel had the presence of mind to warn Lammers what to look out for.

During the final stint Lammers felt the vibration Boesel mentioned, and knowing that changing gear would shatter the casing, he jammed it into fourth to finish the race. This particular vehicle, chassis 488, was handed over to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust after some promotional events. Astonishingly, Le Mans was the only race it ever finished.

Star Car: Jaguar XKR

Dowell's Jaguar features a variety of gearbox, engine and exhaust tweaks

Photo by: Steve Jones

The Powered by Jaguar Race boasted a number of impressive cars, but few were created with more expertise than Stephen Dowell's Jaguar XKR.

Sporting a classic Martini Livery, this unassuming XKR boasts several impressive racing modifications that make it stand out as a special machine. Most notably the 8HP gearbox conversion, which is becoming increasingly popular in the world of aftermarket upgrades, a conversion known for increasing shifting speed, drivability, as well as fuel economy. The car’s owner Stephen Dowell commented that of all the things he has done to his Jaguar, this is “the one thing that makes me feel excited to drive it and makes me feel proud”. This event was also the first time they had been able to use paddleshifts due to regulations normally requiring a stick shift.

Aside from this, it has a supercharged conversion from a Range Rover SVR and an eight-into-one collector exhaust that produces a noise which can quite confidently be described as unique. The engine and gearbox have all been moved back to help with the balance and weight distribution and a new fuel tank added that sits lower.

Sadly for Dowell, both his qualifying session and his race were cut short due issues outside of his control, but his XKR certainly turned heads. There are few who know how to modify a Jaguar for racing better than him but, by his own admission, he “is more of an engineer than a racing driver”, and his expertise certainly shines through.

Chilton’s Nissan wins the Jaguar hunt

Skyline was able to stretch clear of the Jaguar contenders

Photo by: Steve Jones

Diverse would be the best way to describe the Powered by Jaguar Race, which also featured Modern and Future Classics competitors. The split grid began with the Jaguars heading off into Old Hall a few seconds before a wide variety of assorted Classics followed on.

The very impressive Mark Chilton drove his Nissan Skyline GT-R from the Future set like a man possessed to catch up with the Jaguar pack, alongside the Lotus Elise driven by Craig Denman. Meanwhile, an enthralling battle was taking place at the head of the Jaguar prowl. Jack Robinson had, as expected, solidified his lead in his XK8 but second position was up for grabs and hard fought between Tom Lenthall in his XJS and Andrew Harper's S-Type R, a battle that was settled by a spectacular move at Clay Hill and into Druids by Lenthall.

The mandatory 90s pitstop created a lot of action at the halfway point of the race. Some drivers swapping over, and one or two switching cars, with Tom Robinson taking over from his brother, Jack. Once the dust had settled from the pitlane shenanigans, Chilton's Skyline had become the clear leader and proceeded to dominate the remainder of the event, finishing with a nearly 23s gap to the Robinson brothers.

Denman fought hard to try and hunt down the Jaguar to claim second, but ultimately came up 3s short. The best of the rest was a hugely impressive Geoff Beale in his Talbot Sunbeam Lotus with a thoroughly professional drive.

Best Battling: BMW contenders

Bradley wrapped up the title with win in race two

Photo by: Steve Jones

Away from the Jaguars, the Ramair BMW Championship provided the event with some excellent racing, none more exciting than their second contest of the day. Coming into the weekend, Class A leader Niall Bradley had the chance to wrap up the title in his M3 E46, but the rest of the field wasn't going to make it easy. Bradley's nearest rival, Luke Yeomans, finished fourth in race one, while Bradley himself had a hard-fought second, losing out to an impressive Nathan Wells. This meant that a third-place finish or above would seal the title in the finale.

Fellow M3 E46 pilot Wells had completed a brave dive into Old Hall at the start of the opener, and Bradley returned the favour in the sequel and took the lead. This set the scene for an intriguing battle with Wells fighting hard, while Yeomans followed in third until Jason West expertly took advantage of a bad run through Old Hall and overtook on the outside of Cascades.

At the rear of the pack, Joe Collier was forced to start from the back due to a race-one DNF and was carving his way through the order, gaining eight places into sixth after four laps. Luck wasn't on Collier's side, though, after an incident at Druids culminated in him finding the barrier, which brought out a red flag.

Wells continued to pile the pressure on Bradley after the restart, until the effects of the dirty air caused an engine temperature issue on the final tour, and forced Wells to pull back to save his race. Bradley therefore crossed the line as race winner and champion.

Wells had jumped into the lead at the start of the opener

Photo by: Steve Jones

The main stakeholders in MotoGP are studying the introduction of a football-style transfer window for when teams are allowed to sign riders, Autosport understands.

A meeting of the recently-created IRTA Management Council was held at the Silverstone paddock on Friday morning. The body brings together representatives of the MotoGP teams’ association, IRTA, and the teams themselves, and on this occasion also included MotoGP sporting director Carlos Ezpeleta.

One of main issues discussed in the meeting was the introduction of a rider transfer window: a measure that would establish a specific period during which teams could complete rider signings. Any deal agreed outside that window would not be valid.

The thinking behind the initiative is to try to prevent a repeat of what has happened during the first half of this season, when the sporting side of the championship and the action on track have been overshadowed by a rider market that became active much earlier than usual.

Autosport reported at the end of January that Fabio Quartararo had agreed to join Honda, with Jorge Martin set to take his place at Yamaha. Shortly afterwards, still in January, Pedro Acosta’s agreement with Ducati became known, with the Spaniard set to share the factory garage with Marc Marquez.

The rush to secure a seat for the 2027 grid meant that around 80% of the available places had already been assigned to riders before the summer break, which traditionally was the point at which most of the moves were finalised.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

In itself, that is not necessarily a problem, although for many it takes some of the essence out of the championship, which should ultimately be about what happens on track.

With that in mind, all the parties involved are studying a formula to try to implement a model already used in other sports, such as football.

The issue is a complex one because it would have to take into account a number of possible scenarios, such as promotions from the lower categories. For that reason, the logical approach would probably be to devise a framework that could also be applied to those cases, with certain exceptions.

Autosport understands that following the meeting held at Silverstone, there are differences of opinion between those who consider the idea both viable and positive, such as Yamaha, and those who are more reluctant and believe it would be an extremely difficult objective to achieve, such as Ducati.

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MotoGP plans Austin showcase during F1 US GP

What role does a MotoGP rider really play in bike development?

This weekend, IndyCar is visiting Canada's Ontario province for the inaugural race at Markham, where the Toronto-based event has been moved.

This will be our opportunity to speak to David Malukas, who, albeit still winless in IndyCar, truly burst onto the scene this season.

Racing alongside Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin at Penske, the 24-year-old from Chicago has displayed impressive consistency, to the extent he currently holds third place in the drivers' standings.

So what would you like to ask Malukas as he comes to prominence at the pinnacle of American single-seater racing?

Fire away! You may submit questions until 12 August via this link.

You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas

You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica

You Ask The Questions: Esteban Ocon

Rally Scotland will deliver fast gravel stages and prove to be quite the challenge for World Rally Championship crews in 2027, according to Elfyn Evans.

The World Rally Championship points leader was among a group of drivers that took part in the British Rally Championship’s Grampian Forest Rally held in Aberdeenshire, last weekend, which also acted as the FIA’s Rally Scotland candidate rally. The event included gravel roads that could feature in Rally Scotland, which is set to join the WRC calendar in 2027 after inking a three-year deal in March to bring the WRC back to Great Britain for the first time since 2019.

How Scotland ended the WRC’s seven-year GB hiatus

The event proved to be a valuable fact-finding mission for drivers to prepare for the rally. It also offered a team from the FIA, which included rally category manager Marina Dunach, sporting delegate Timo Rautiainen, safety delegate Nicolas Klinger and medical delegate Anna Carreras Castanye, an opportunity to oversee the rally and the proposed stages and infrastructure for next year to ensure they meet the criteria required for the WRC.

Evans jumped behind the wheel of Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 for the event, but didn’t run competitively, driving the stages as the zero car. However, from behind the wheel he was impressed by the nature of the stages and the challenge they will provide crews next year.

"Overall, the stages are nice. They're pretty fast, probably even a bit on the fast side in some stage sections, but fine,” said Evans. “It's not so dissimilar to Wales in the end. I think the surface is a bit different. Naturally it is a bit faster here, not quite as flowing, and a bit more cambered here.

"It's going to be quite challenging. It's very fast. And of course, when you're not used to this car, those are the bits that I find difficult here. I'm sure that when we come with a car that we know well, it won't be an issue.

"I think it was good to come and have a look and at least sample some of it and get some notes. We've got a flavour, we know a bit of what to expect. The Rally2 car is very much in line with what we're going to have next year in terms of wear, so we've been able to evaluate tyre wear and all that. Of course, it is drier now probably than we're going to have next year. We'll learn something from it, I'm sure, even if it doesn't feel super significant at the moment. Obviously, it's surprising what getting your eye in can do.”

Jon Armstrong won the Aberdeenshire event

Photo by: Spacesuit Media

The rally was won by M-Sport-Ford’s Rally1 rookie Jon Armstrong, who took the win by 9.3s from M-Sport WRC2 regular Romet Jurgenson with factory Lancia WRC2 driver Nikolay Gryazin in third. The triumph for Armstrong proved to be his first outright gravel rally win in his career.

“To come out and win and get my first win on gravel is great. We have always been put in the tarmac specialist box, so it just goes to show how good the pace in Rally1 in the WRC is that we can take a step back and be right on the pace in a Rally2 car," said Armstrong.

“It is very important [to be here] and I would say it is very important for next year to secure a drive. It is nice to show we can do it on gravel and overall, it has been a very nice event and I can’t wait to see what they do next year in WRC.

“The stages are going to be really good. They have such a nice character and camber and are very, very fast. I think it is going to be a brilliant event. We have been enjoying the roads, and they are a good mixture of flowing, camber and some nice cuts, which is a bit rare.

“Overall, it has been impressive the type of road we have here and they have way more forests they are looking at for next year.”

The FIA carried out a thorough inspection of the event and was encouraged by the stages on show and those proposed for next year. The world motorsport governing body was particularly impressed by the 48,000sqm P&J Live conference centre, located next to Aberdeen International Airport, which will act as the service park and hub for the rally next year.

Scotland's return to the WRC was announced earlier this year

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“I can say that there are two different kinds of stages. Having different days of different character, it's good. Honestly, no major concerns [with the stages] just fine-tuning things and we have that everywhere we go,” said FIA safety delegate Klinger.

“It’s [the P&J Live arena] an incredible venue. You have so many possibilities, so many solutions. When you have a small service park to try to fit everything. It looks complicated and then it looks crowded. Then when it's too big, if it looks empty, it's not good either. So, it's all these things that we try to discuss and see where you place this, that, and how to arrange it. It’s WRC level, very close to the airport, everything close to the town. You have everything here.”

The WRC is yet to announce its 2027 calendar, but it is expected that Rally Scotland will receive an Autumn date, with the event tipped to be held in October.

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It may only be early August but already some of the club racing seasons are drawing to an end and Mini Challenge Clubsport champion Oli Willmott concluded his campaign in style with a dominant winning treble at Donington Park last weekend.

The Mini Cooper S pilot led home Adrian Linggi in race one, with James Dudley a distant third. But Linggi cooked his engine and retired from the sequel, which left Dudley in second from Simon Sinfield. Fifteen seconds behind Willmott, a returning Rob Gaffney ousted Freddy Hewitt from second in the finale, while Dudley clinched third and a hat-trick of podiums of his own.

Another driver making a return in Leicestershire was reigning TCR UK champion Adam Shepherd, but this time he was at the wheel of an unfamiliar Audi. After a couple of early exchanges with Max Hart’s Honda, Shepherd scored a comeback win in the opener. Behind, Hart was reeled in by Callum Newsham’s Hyundai and Harry Bloor’s Honda, with a track-limits penalty for the latter enabling Newsham and Hart to complete the podium.

Rod McGovern’s Cupra led from the start of race two, but couldn’t hold off the building pressure as Bloor, Hart and Jenson O’Neill-Going’s Honda all went by on lap three of 18. While Bloor took the spoils, Shepherd finished strongly to take Hart for second.

Bloor scored his second win having demoted Shepherd on the fourth lap of their final race. Shepherd then had his hands full as Maximus Hall’s Honda piled the pressure on snatching second with five laps remaining.

Elsewhere, there were four different winners in four races for the British Truck Racing Championship. Points leader David Jenkins’ MAN was all over Stuart Oliver’s Volvo throughout race one, but had to settle for second, while in race two he was second again behind Steve Powell’s MAN.

Michael Oliver’s MAN and Craig Reid’s Iveco were victorious in races three and four respectively, but the planned finale was red flagged on the opening lap after Simon Reid rolled through the Craner Curves.

Stuart Oliver was one of four different Truck winners at Donington

Photo by: Mick Walker

Having led the opening laps of the first CNC Heads Sports & Saloons bout, Chris Roberts’ BMW M4 was forced to pit with a loss of boost. Simon Allaway’s Lotus Esprit then led with Zack Booth’s Renault Megane and Richard Wright’s Solution F BMW exchanging for second. It had looked like Wright would be the victor after a jump-start penalty for Allaway but this was subsequently rescinded.

Race two only lasted two laps, as two red flags brought it to an early end with Roberts declared the winner, from Allaway and Anton Landon’s Fisher Fury.

The Civic Cup was another category where each race was won by a different driver. Matt Wilkins spent the first half of the opener chasing Sean McGovern, before making the decisive move on lap six of 12. They continued to stay close to the flag though, while the four drivers behind were all given track-limit penalties, which handed third to seventh-placed Alistair Camp.

Spencer Stevenson led much of race two until retiring with two laps to go, which left Dave Marshall clear, while Josh Bromley just held off Wilf Butler and Louis Austin for second. McGovern was the third victor, but it was mighty close for third, as Wilkins just held off Marshall, while they were both promoted after Jake Hewlett was disqualified from second for a technical infringement.

Nick Hull and Richard Avery’s Porsche finished strongly to take the Britcar Endurance laurels, from Sam Howarth’s similar Porsche and Colin White’s Ginetta.

Aaron Thompson won the first of two Pickup races, but second-placed Allen Cooper was penalised for track-limits abuses, which dropped him behind Ryan Hadfield. Cooper then won race two, but was penalised again, relegating him to second and handing Thompson another victory.

Carl Swift headed home Andrew Rogerson in the first Audi Cup race, but revenge was sweet in race two when he took the win over Sam Meagher.

Swift (l) and Rogerson had hard-fought Audi tussle

Photo by: Mick Walker

Having started the 2026 season on the back foot, McLaren is showing signs of what made this iteration of the storied team so successful in the first place over the past two years.

True to its successful strike rate with in-season upgrades in 2024 and 2025, McLaren's latest upgrade package in Hungary, featuring a revised floor and the latest iteration of its front wing, was another significant step forward building on previous updates in Miami and Montreal. It gave its drivers a chance to fight for victory, with Lando Norris claiming his and the team's first grand prix win of the campaign.

McLaren's race-winning form has yet to be confirmed on different circuits and in varying weather conditions. But it has likely come too late to successfully defend either championship, with the team still 159 points behind leader Mercedes. In the drivers' championship Norris is still only fifth after losing a lot of ground during a difficult opening spell of the campaign, with Piastri further behind in seventh.

The team explained its sluggish start to the 2026 season was down to it having to fend off a late title challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen last year, combined with a course correction it made during the development of its 2026 concept.

"We obviously had a big, although slightly surprising, competition with Max at the end of the season," said Neil Houldey, McLaren's technical director for engineering. "But obviously, we were developing our car right until the end of the year whilst working on 2026. When you look at how we went into the start of 2026, we were a little bit on the back foot compared with a couple of teams.

"I think we've done a pretty good job of bringing a lot of upgrades that have added performance to the car. We've put ourselves in a better position from a PU perspective, from a car perspective. But you'd have to say that a couple of teams out there have certainly done a better job than us. And now we've got to find a way in this back half of the season to outdevelop them and become a little bit more competitive at more races."

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

Rather than last year, when the likes of Ferrari and other teams out of contention resolutely switched focus to the following season early, McLaren still feels adding performance to this year's car will stand it in good stead in 2027. That's despite its car design itself not fully carrying over, as the team is already plotting a 2027 challenger with a longer wheelbase and a changed suspension layout.

There are also a number of tweaks to the regulations next year, including the front bib or tea tray at the front of the floor becoming 300mm shorter, which will not only impact downforce generation but also ride heights.

"We expect the next few races to be bringing some major parts, and we expect to do that quite late on into the season as well," Houldey confirmed. "We're certainly not stopping development on ‘26 because we know that whatever we take from 2026 into 2027, that learning will carry over.

"Even if our car might get a little bit longer, even if conceptually the suspension might change, everything that we're learning this year is very much relevant for next year. So, we're very keen to keep developing the car for as long as we possibly can."

He added: "The best way to understand the performance you're generating is by putting it on the track and actually properly testing it and making sure it does what you expect it to do. If you stop 2026 now, it certainly puts you more into that theoretical world, and it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll generate lots and lots of 2027 performance.

"So, our view at the moment is there's so many races coming up that we can add performance to. Let's find ways of adding performance to those at those events, and we know that that learning will be useful for 2027."

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

Like every other team, McLaren has been able to take inspiration from what its rivals are doing, with the squad the third team to trial an upside-down rear wing first seen on the 2026 Ferrari in winter testing.

Houldey admitted the team was a little "disappointed" it had missed that opportunity in the regulations. But the innovation seen at Ferrari further underlines how the 2026 technical regulations are less prescriptive than perhaps first assumed.

"Aerodynamically, although [the cars] look quite close, I think they're not, actually," Houldey explained. "There's a little bit that people have opened up. I think the regulations give us enough freedom.

"When you're talking about year one, you really pick up a lot that other teams have done. You pick up a lot within the regulations when you re-read them that actually means that they're a little bit more open than 2022 to 2025, and obviously in that first year, you learn so much that it's good fun to be able to look at different concepts.

"Sidepods are a good example where maybe there isn't a huge amount of performance in them, but you see so much down pitlane that are different. No one's converged yet, so you've got a lot of things that you can try out to find the right direction."

Is the MP4/8B McLaren’s greatest what-might-have-been?

Tom Chilton made no mistake from his gift of reversed-grid pole position by dominating the final race of the British Touring Car Championship round at Knockhill.

Chilton was always the favourite, bearing in mind his Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback was one of just seven of the 23 cars able to use soft-compound Goodyear tyres in this race – and the next-highest starter doing the same was Gordon Shedden from sixth on the grid.

Shedden’s hopes evaporated within half a lap, when his Speedworks Motorsport-run Toyota Corolla GR Sport slewed sideways at the chicane with a puncture. The Scottish veteran continued after a visit to the pits to finish a lap down.

Behind Chilton, a trio of Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus Titanium machinery ran in close formation early on, with rookie Lewis Selby ahead of Sam Osborne and Dan Cammish.

Cammish got past Osborne on the third lap, but a commendable effort from Selby resulted in him staying in second place until the ninth lap, when Adam Morgan and Cammish forced their way past.

Morgan had started his Plato Racing Mercedes A35 Saloon from eighth on the grid and was another on the soft tyres. But he had a six-lap deficit to Chilton on TOCA Turbo Boost. There was therefore little chance of catching the Hyundai, which took the chequered flag 3.054 seconds to the good.

“Seeing Adam on the soft tyre coming through, Barry [Plowman] my engineer was on the radio every lap giving me the gap,” said Chilton.

“I’ve had a bit of rotten luck on my car this season, so I’m happy for my team as well as for myself.”

Tom Chilton, Team Vertu Hyundai i30N

Photo by: JEP

While Selby fell down the order, and Osborne went off at McIntyre’s after contact with Dexter Patterson, Cammish upheld Alliance honour with a comfortable third place – the best of the medium-tyred runners.

Patterson had a good race in his Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon, holding off the West Surrey Racing BMW 330i M Sport of Charles Rainford for fourth, both on medium tyres. In their wake, Daryl De Leon did a terrific job from 17th on the grid to carve his WSR BMW through to sixth – also on mediums.

Next came a couple of soft-shod runners. Dan Rowbottom ran out of TTB early on in his Plato Mercedes but just held off the Speedworks Motorsport Toyota of Josh Cook for seventh.

Next came Ricky Collard, who had Excelr8 Hyundai team-mate Tom Ingram attempting to get past mid-race on his charge from the back of the grid. Then they happened upon the freefalling Selby who, quite within his rights, did not make life easy for Ingram at the chicane. The reigning champion’s subsequent loss of momentum allowed Mikey Doble past, although Ingram subsequently regained the pace from the PMR Audi man to finish 10th.

Runaway championship leader Ash Sutton also got mixed up in the midfield shenanigans, losing several places just before half-distance. His Alliance Ford recovered to 12th, meaning the loss of just two points to Ingram, with the gap between them still a hefty 81.

BTCC Knockhill Race 1: Morgan heads Plato Racing 1-2

BTCC Knockhill Race 2: Sutton takes big stride towards title with victory

It may seem odd that two riders who qualified on the front row dropped places at the start with stuck ride-height devices, when MotoGP explicitly banned holeshot devices for that very phase of the race.

Polesitter Jorge Martin had already appeared set to lose the lead to eventual race winner Raul Fernandez when he ran deep into Turn 1. Ai Ogura, also on an Aprilia, suffered a similar problem and tumbled down the order.

In both cases, replays clearly showed the rear section of their bikes dragging on the asphalt, suggesting that the ride-height adjustment device had failed to disengage. This could have led to serious issues, but both were ultimately able to continue after freeing up their respective devices, with Martin even recovering to finish second behind winner Fernandez. Ogura crashed out later in the race after failing to regain ground on his rival.

Silverstone marked only the second weekend since MotoGP banned the holeshot device – located at the front of the bike – in the wake of a crash-filled Catalan GP. However, it is important to note that all bikes are still equipped with a ride-height adjusting device at the rear. This is primarily used while accelerating out of slow corners over the course of the race, but riders also deploy it at the start to get a better launch. It was this rear ride-height device that caused problems for both Martin and Ogura.

In the past, most of the complaints have been about the ride-height devices refusing to disengage despite the riders applying the required brake pressure. However, at Silverstone, both Martin and Ogura accepted responsibility for their poor race starts.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

“I didn't start really well – or well, Raul started much better than me. I could hear his bike,” Martin explained.

“We went into the first corner, I just wanted to keep the first position and I didn't brake enough, so my rear device didn't come back. So, it is what it is. Then I went on the left and Marc overtook me, Ai overtook me, so I lost quite a lot of time.

“I think it was more of my mistake to try to keep the first [position], instead of braking a little bit. And then maybe I had the chance to be in second position behind Raul, but I was too optimistic.”

A stuck rear ride-height device can severely compromise the turning ability of the bike, but Ogura never felt the problem left him in a dangerous position.

“I wasn't sure about Raul and Jorge,” said the Japanese rider. “I was just adapting to them, and I forgot to brake hard enough to unlock the rear. I lost a couple of positions, but nothing scary. I just couldn't lean like usual.”

The British GP weekend highlighted that riders may continue to face issues with ride-height devices at race starts until they are explicitly outlawed in 2027 at the advent of the 850cc era.

There have been mixed opinions about how MotoGP should deal with such devices, especially with some manufacturers having developed more sophisticated systems than others.

However, there have long been calls from some quarters to ban them in the name of safety, amid various incidents over the years. While the change in regulations that came in effect at the Sachsenring specifically targeted the front holeshot devices that are developed only for race starts, some riders have also called for MotoGP to bring forward the ban on rear devices – which are used repeatedly through the lap – as well.

Riders, however, feel crashes at the start are inevitable – with or without such devices – as it is the easiest opportunity to gain multiple places in an era where aerodynamics have made it harder for bikes to follow each other later in the race.

To reduce the risk, MotoGP has also increased the space between each rider on the grid from three to four metres, starting with the German GP.

MotoGP British GP: Fernandez takes dominant win, Martin extends points lead

Ash Sutton took a hefty stride towards a record-breaking fifth British Touring Car Championship title with victory in race two at Knockhill.

With the morning rain blown away on the Scottish air, and the track merely damp off-line, Sutton and his Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus Titanium were the clear favourites for victory.

That’s because Adam Morgan, Dan Rowbottom and Gordon Shedden – the leading trio in race one – were all compelled by the sporting regulations to run the medium-compound Goodyear tyres in this race, with fourth-on-the-grid Sutton the highest-placed starter on soft rubber.

BTCC Knockhill: Morgan heads Plato Racing 1-2

Sutton immediately got past Shedden at the start and looked as though he could round Morgan for second at McIntyre’s, only for the Lancastrian to reassert himself at Butcher’s to maintain an early 1-2 for the Plato Racing Mercedes A35 Saloons.

That extended through an early safety car to retrieve the stranded Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon of Aiden Moffat from the grass on the approach to McIntyre’s, after contact had sent the Scot off the road.

As soon as the safety car emerged, Tom Ingram dived for the pits. His Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai had run into the back of Gordon Shedden at the chicane as the pack checked up, and a damaged radiator forced him out of the race.

Rowbottom, who had gone around the outside of polesitting team-mate Morgan at Duffus to grab the initial lead, impressively held on at the front on his medium tyres for the best part of six laps once the race resumed.

Sutton had lanced down the inside of Morgan at McIntyre’s on the second lap after the restart, and his perfectly executed manoeuvre on Rowbottom for the lead came at the hairpin. From then on, victory was never in doubt, although Sutton did have to go through another restart.

The cause of this late second safety car was Chris Smiley, who had clattered Dan Cammish during the course of a passing move at the hairpin, and paid the penalty when the left-front suspension collapsed on the approach to Duffus. The Restart Racing Hyundai finally came to rest on the grass before McIntyre’s.

Rowbottom had his eyes more on defence than attack, and Sutton was free on the one-lap dash to the flag to win by 1.277 seconds.

“We’re delivering when we need to,” said Sutton, whose points lead over Ingram has ballooned to 83.

Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK

Photo by: JEP

“Poor old Tom getting his DNF there. I want good racing on the track, but we’ve got to take it how it comes.

“Today’s been fantastic, turning it around from P11 at the start of the day.”

Rowbottom did a great job with his medium tyre offset to take second. Ricky Collard had been the first to pierce the defences of the steadfast Shedden and took a long time to get past Morgan, but the Excelr8 Hyundai wasn’t making much of an impression on Rowbottom before the final safety car.

Rowbottom then sat on the inside line at McIntyre’s on the one-lap restart to deter any passing attempt, while Collard completed the podium.

Mikey Doble brought his PMR Audi nicely up the field to fourth, while the late safety car almost certainly saved Morgan from an attack from Charles Rainford, who produced a spectacular drive from 21st on the grid to bring his West Surrey Racing BMW 330i M Sport home in sixth.

Shedden took seventh in his Speedworks Motorsport-run Laser Tools Toyota Corolla GR Sport, winning an all-Scottish battle with PMR Audi man Dexter Patterson. Next were the Alliance Fords of Cammish, Sam Osborne and Lewis Selby.

Tom Chilton, who finished 12th in his Excelr8 Hyundai, was drawn on reversed-grid pole by Sutton. And little wonder that he promised the race two victor a beer: Chilton used his medium tyres in this one, so can go on softs in the finale…

Raul Fernandez annihilated the competition at the British Grand Prix to claim his first victory of the 2026 MotoGP season, leading another podium lockout for Aprilia.

Having crashed out of Saturday’s sprint, the Trackhouse rider redeemed himself in the main race, grabbing the lead at the start and leading every lap in what was arguably the most convincing performance of his MotoGP career.

Aprilia’s Jorge Martin recovered from a poor start to finish second and extend his lead in the standings to 31 points, while Marco Bezzecchi resisted a late attack from Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez to secure the final spot on the podium.

At the start of the race, Fernandez got the holeshot into Turn 1 from second on the grid, after polesitter Martin dropped the order with a stuck rear ride-height device.

Ai Ogura also lost positions early on the opening lap, allowing Bezzecchi to slot into second behind race leader Fernandez.

But before Bezzecchi could mount an attack, the Spaniard had already checked out of the chasing pack, building a lead of a second by the end of the opening lap.

Fernandez continued to pull away from the rest of the field, extending his advantage to three seconds in the first quarter of the race.

As Bezzecchi and a recovering Martin duelled for second, Fernandez continued to edge away, cementing his lead at the front.

It took until lap nine for Martin to pass his team-mate, by which time his countryman was already 4.5s up front.

Although the 2024 champion managed to bring the gap down to 3.5s, Fernandez never appeared to be at threat, cruising in the final laps to claim his second career victory and reignite his title challenge.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Bezzecchi’s podium position came under serious threat in the middle part of the race, as he struggled with pain on his comeback from Sachsering injuries.

Alex Marquez passed him for third on lap 9, only to tumble to sixth after a big scare at Copse on the following lap. Although he closed the gap to Bezzecchi again, the Italian impressed with his defence to hold on to the final spot on the podium.

The Gresini rider, hence, had to settle for fourth place, ahead of the top KTM of Pedro Acosta.

Silverstone to continue hosting MotoGP's British GP after new deal

VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio made a late pass on Marc Marquez to claim sixth, as the latter again struggled with tyre graining in the final stages of the race.

The top 10 was completed by Brad Binder (KTM) and Luca Marini (Honda), both riders progressing from lower down the order.

Fabio Quartararo led Yamaha’s charge in 13th a year on from his pole position and near-win at Silverstone.

It was a race of survival at the Northamptonshire track, with only 16 of 23 riders making it to the finish. The most high-profile retirement was Ogura, who hit the deck on lap nine in what was his first major mistake of 2026. The mistake has dropped him to third in the standings, behind Bezzecchi.

Francesco Bagnaia also tumbled out of the race, bringing a premature end to a tough weekend, while home hero Cal Crutchlow was another notable retiree.

Adam Morgan led home Dan Rowbottom for an emotional Plato Racing 1-2 in the first British Touring Car Championship race of the day at a soggy Knockhill.

BTCC Knockhill: Morgan claims qualifying race win for Plato team

As qualifying race winner, Morgan started his Mercedes A35 Saloon from pole position, with Rowbottom third on the grid behind the front-row-sitting Toyota Corolla GR Sport of Gordon Shedden.

Local hero Shedden got his Speedworks Motorsport-run Laser Tools machine away in second place, but had nothing for Morgan, who was nearly two seconds clear after just two laps.

Shedden didn’t have much for Rowbottom either, and the bearded Midlander cleared the Toyota by running around the outside of the hairpin at the end of the third lap, and then completing the move on the outside of Duffus Dip.

Rowbottom began to eat into Morgan’s advantage, but not significantly so, and the amiable Lancastrian had begun to inch away again when the safety car was called on the 18th of the scheduled 24 laps.

Lewis Gilbert, making good progress on his second BTCC weekend in a West Surrey Racing BMW, had already had a contretemps with Josh Cook, hauling his Speedworks Toyota from the back of the grid following his qualifying race shunt, when the two made contact on the entry to Clark.

The Scot was stranded in the gravel, meaning a recovery that allowed time for five more laps of racing once the course was clear.

Morgan was never under threat once racing resumed, and similarly Rowbottom faced no threat from Shedden as the Plato team broke its full-points-on-Sunday victory duck in resounding fashion, on just its sixth race weekend.

“To be here on the top step with my team-mate is a day the whole team will remember for a very long time,” said Morgan.

“It’s been very hard work to get the car to a point where it’s good in wet and dry, and it was perfect in the race.

“It was a very long race – it looked calculated, but underneath it was panic all the way!”

Adam Morgan, Cataclean Plato Racing

Photo by: JEP

Championship leader Ash Sutton, who had started his Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus Titanium from 11th on the grid, had sliced through the field and was hauling in Shedden – setting the fastest lap as he did so – when the safety car appeared.

But Shedden, the BTCC’s master of defence, would not be denied and the veteran ended up third. His defence also allowed Tom Ingram to have a crack at Sutton, and the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback had an overlap on the Focus as they crossed the finish line, with Sutton narrowly getting the verdict for fourth and extending his points margin over Ingram to 61.

Behind Ingram, it was Excelr8 Hyundai team-mate Ricky Collard who claimed sixth, while the Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon of Dexter Patterson made good progress after the safety car to pass Dan Cammish’s Alliance Ford for seventh on the final lap.

A 10-second penalty for a false start dumped Cammish to 18th, the safety car bunching up the field and magnifying the effect.

That allowed Mikey Doble and Aiden Moffat (from the back of the grid) to complete a PMR Audi 7-8-9, while Sam Osborne’s Alliance Ford was 10th.

Charles Rainford ran fifth early on in his WSR BMW 330i M Sport but was forced into the pits by the officials due to loose rear bodywork – possibly a result of contact from Sutton – before resuming, while team-mate Daryl De Leon also fell down the order.