In a surprise news from Financial Times on Wednesday, it reported that F1 is in talks with Amazon for live streaming of its races online, in a move to further tap the younger audiences. The sport is looking for a digital step amid uncertain television future.

Financial Times has quoted outgoing F1 chief Chase Carey, who told them that “substantive discussions [with] Amazon and all the global digital platforms [is ongoing as] they’re [an] incredibly important potential partner and an opportunity for us to expand and grow our business”.

While the idea behind a digital future is not new from Carey, considering their step with highly popular Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’, but a tie-up with Amazon and or any other service provider comes as a surprise since they have their own F1 TV providing streaming services.

Granted that F1 TV is not available in all markets due to TV deals, including one of their biggest markets in the UK, but the streaming service provided by the sport has been a welcome step, especially with host of viewing options presented to a fan.

Not only does F1 TV has the option for fans to watch onboard of all the F1 drivers, it also plays almost all of the radio messages which the world feed doesn’t broadcast. Additionally, there is a replay option too and more camera angles to see any missing detail.

It remains unclear at this stage if they are looking to combine F1 TV with Amazon, where the former will be able to use the latter’s worldwide services, especially with seamless connectivity, which has been a thorn for them due to multiple complaints.

Here’s the original FT story: https://www.ft.com/content/af3bbb6d-5600-44f3-99cf-a84e5681fea9

Aston Martin ends WEC factory programme, customer racing way forward:

There was a logical announcement on Wednesday morning, where Aston Martin confirmed end of its factory WEC GTE programme from 2021 onward, with the British carmaker focusing on customer racing as it goes through multiple changes on the automotive side.

With new co-owners, led by Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin is focusing on its full F1 step in 2021 – albeit taking over Racing Point’s programme. Therefore, it is not a surprise that the Vantage GT programme is now moving towards a customer operation.

The release did not announce any of the customer racing plans but just noted that it is hopeful that Aston Martin will have its presence in WEC through a partner team in 2021 and beyond. It is not clear if it will be for both Pro and Am classes.

It also wishes that it can race in GT categories of championships like Intercontinental GT Challenge, the GT World Challenge, the US-based IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship, the Super GT Championship and more, beyond 2020.

To enhance its GT programme, Aston Martin revised its agreement with Prodrive, who were running its WEC outfits. The new multi-year deal allows the Banbury-based organisation to continue with its exclusive rights on manufacturing and distributing the current generation of front-engine GT race cars.

Aston Martin President, David King, said: “This year has been one of unprecedented success for Vantage in international motorsport. At all levels, from GTE, through GT3 to the entry level GT4, we have experienced significant championship success, winning 26 titles across the spectrum of world, international and domestic series.

“But there is more to achieve, and there is more to come from Vantage, which is why we have concluded that now is the time for us to shift the weight of factory support to our partners as we go in pursuit of success in the most important events in GT racing.”

At the same time, Chief Executive Officer, Tobias Moers, added: “Vantage proved it has world champion pedigree in 2020, and in its GTE variant is a 24-hour race winner. Now with the Vantage GT3 we wish to give our partners and customers the best opportunity possible to fight for victory against our closest rivals in the toughest endurance challenges GT racing has to offer.”

 Here’s news on Infiniti exiting F1

Here’s the drivers’ Top 10 of 2020

Here’s stats difference from 2019 to 2020

Here’s news on Porsche in WEC, IMSA

L'entrada F1 in talks with Amazon for streaming – report; Aston Martin ends WEC run ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Having made its debut in 2019 with a Honda GSX, Button’s Rocket RJN will continue in the 2020 GT World Challenge Europe but has switched to a McLaren 720S GT3 in the Endurance Cup category, which includes 24 Hours of Spa event.

The team will continue using the famous Brawn GP livery on the McLaren GT3 in the five-round championship with the drivers yet to be confirmed. “It’s exciting to confirm that Jenson Team Rocket RJN will be campaigning the 720S GT3 and racing with McLaren this season,” said Button.

“The GT World Challenge championship grid gets stronger and stronger every year and the racing is amongst the best in the world. We go into the season full of confidence with a team boasting huge experience and a car which has already proven itself a race winner.”

McLaren Automotive director of motorsport Ian Morgan added: “It is great to have Jenson Team Rocket RJN join the customer racing family for 2020. The GT World Challenge Europe championship offers probably the biggest challenge in GT3 racing and the 720S GT3 has kicked off the year with a strong result on its Bathurst 12 Hour debut last weekend.

“We now have a strong foundation to build on and, and this latest programme is extremely exciting for the new season ahead.” The team did not have the best of 2019 seasons in Blancpain GT Series where they only managed 20th in the overall standings.

Here’s Jenson Button’s last off-road run

L'entrada Button’s Rocket RJN switches to McLaren in 2020 GT World Challenge ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

The 50-year-old will make a one-off return to racing where he will drive the McLaren 720S GT3 car in the inaugural Suzuka 10 Hours event – which forms the penaultimate round of the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge on August 23-25.

Hakkinen will pair up with gentleman racer Katsuaki Kubota and Super Formula/Super GT driver Hiroaki Ishiura in the Pro/Am category. This will be the ‘Flying Finn’s’ first competitive outing since the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup finale at Zhuhai in 2011.

“I visited Suzuka Circuit for the first time in 16 years in March 2017 and was able to meet Japan’s enthusiastic fans once again,” said Hakkinen. “Then, last year, I drove the MP4/13 and enjoyed Suzuka’s unique figure-of-eight track layout.

“So, this year, I decided to return to racing for the first time since the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup round at Zhuhai in November 2011, and I chose Suzuka Circuit as the place for my comeback.

“Suzuka was also the place where I won the Formula 1 World Championship for the first time and where I have so many enthusiastic Japanese friends. I am very grateful to Katsu [Kubota]-san and Mobilityland for making this wonderful project possible.

“And I hope to see the Japanese fans again in August.” This will also be Hakkinen’s first time in a McLaren race car since his last F1 outing in 2001. He hung around in DTM post his F1 career but drove for Mercedes in all those years.

The Finn has been active off-track as McLaren’s ambassador and recently visited the Bahrain GP as well but it changes with the one-off return to racing at the iconic Suzuka circuit where – as he mentioned above – he won his first F1 title in 1998s.

Read what he said in his post-race column from Australia and Bahrain

L'entrada Hakkinen confirms racing return for 2019 Suzuka 10 Hours in a McLaren ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

The reigning Super GT champion expands his horizon now as a team’s co-owner to field a Honda NSX-GT3 Evo car in the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in partnership with British-based RJN Motorsport.

As mentioned earlier, the team will be named as ‘Jenson Team Rocket RJN’ and will only compete in Endurance Cup category for the Silver cup honours, with the outfit moving on from Nissan which they used in 2018 to Honda for the new season with Button’s support.

The name ‘rocket’ comes from Button’s late father John, who ran ‘Rocket Motorsport’ in the British karting championship. In addition, reigning Endurance Cup Pro-Am champion Chris Buncombe will take on the commercial role of the team.

“As a Honda ambassador, I’m pleased to be a part of something that brings the Honda NSX to the Blancpain GT Series and I’m looking forward to seeing this project evolve,” said Button, who has also brought back the colours of Brawn GP as the team’s livery.

RJN’s Bob Neville, added: “I’m delighted and privileged to be in partnership with Jenson to race the superb NSX GT3 Evo. The team are preparing for the challenge of running what is a new car to us in the most competitive endurance championship in the world.”

The three drivers of the team will be revealed at a later stage with the season starting on April 14 at Monza, followed by races in Silverstone (May 12), Paul Ricard (June 1), Spa 24 Hours (July 27-28) and Barcelona (September 29). A second car at Spa is a possibility.

A few more visuals of the new Jenson Team Rocket RJN car.

No prizes for guessing what inspired the livery. #BlancpainGT pic.twitter.com/b3h64bPMv3

— Blancpain GT Series (@BlancpainGT) February 8, 2019

L'entrada Button joins in to form ‘Jenson Team Rocket RJN’ for Blancpain GT series ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Following his mid-season departure from F1 in 2016, Haryanto hasn’t raced much with only one competitive outing in the inaugural SIC888 endurance event in China last year. The Indonesian has tested various cars but none converted into a race drive.

For 2019 though, Haryanto has a full-time race programme in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia series – the SRO Motorsports-backed Asian arm of the European Blancpain GT Series – which started only in 2017 and will enter in its third year as a championship.

The 25-year-old will race for Singapore’s T2 Motorsports squad which is making its return in the series after competing in 2017 in the GT3 category as a full Am team. In 2019, it will enter in the Pro-Am category having secured the services of Haryanto.

The Indonesian teams up with David Tjiptobiantoro and Gregory Teo where the former will race at Sepang, Buriram, Fuji and Yeongam, while the latter – who will dovetail as manager of the outfit – to race at Suzuka and Shanghai.

The trio will drive a distinctive blue and red Ferrari 488 GT3, which is the car Tjiptobiantoro and Teo raced in the 2017 season. “We are excited to be returning to Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia in 2019,” said Teo.

“We really enjoyed our first season in the championship when it was still establishing itself as Asia’s leading GT series and then watched on from a distance last year when it really made its mark.

“That’s why we’re back in 2019 with a renewed programme and driver line-up that’s capable of scoring victories. Collectively, the package looks very promising indeed.” It remains to be seen if Haryanto has any other race plans or not for the 2019 season.

The series starts on April 6-7 with the first race at Sepang (Malaysia), followed by rounds at Buriram (Thailand, May 11-12), Suzuka (Japan, June 22-23), Fuji (Japan, July 6-7), Korea circuit (South Korea, August 3-4) and Shanghai circuit (China, September 21-22).

L'entrada Ex-F1 racer Haryanto to drive Ferrari in 2019 Blancpain GT Asia series ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

It was a remarkable achievement for the Walkenhorst outfit, which was fielding the #34 BMW M6 GT3 as a one-off effort for the 70th edition 24 Hours and making its first appearance in the Pro class at Spa.

Its driver line-up had never previously contested a 24-hour race together and, while the squad has no shortage of experience as a full-time Blancpain GT Series entrant in the Am Cup category, its ability to beat the best GT racing teams in the world was nothing short of phenomenal.

While this was a memorable first for the team, for BMW the victory represented a record-extending 24th triumph at the Belgian endurance classic and a third in four years. Eng now has two wins at the Total 24 Hours of Spa to his name, having also triumphed in a BMW at the 2016 edition.

The #34 crew was among the front-runners throughout the race, moving into the lead by the nine-hour mark and remaining there into the early hours of Sunday morning. This proved their ability to manage the most challenging hours of an endurance contest, with the car navigating several full-course yellow periods during the 24 Hours.

Indeed, the Walkenhorst car was at the head of the pack when the race was red flagged for the only time following a sizeable accident involving the #31 Team Parker Racing Bentley of Andy Meyrick and Jürgen Krebs in the #666 Attempto Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Both men were extracted and transferred to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Walkenhorst car was shuffled back on pit strategy when the race hit three-quarters distance, but patient driving and a shrewd pit strategy eventually returned the #34 BMW to the front of the pack.

Their chief rival from the 18th hour onwards was another BMW M6 GT3, the #99 fielded by the ROWE Racing squad, which had made gradual progress from 11th on the grid.

The #99 BMW leapt up the order and into the lead during the morning hours, but the Walkenhorst machine remained within striking distance. Crucially, the #34 crew were able to reach the end of the race by making one fewer pit stop than the other BMW, which placed them back at the head of the order for the final quarter of the race.

They managed this high-pressure situation perfectly, edging away from the ROWE car over the final two hours to eventually claim victory by 10.4 seconds. The #99 BMW followed them home to secure a one-two finish for the Bavarian marque on a circuit it has enjoyed so much success on throughout the years.

The final place on the overall podium went to the #29 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS, whose young crew of Kelvin van der Linde, Sheldon van der Linde and Jeffrey Schmidt delivered a performance that belied their years.

The Land car led at the six-hour mark and was a factor in the race from start to finish. The #29 Audi made more stops than any other top-20 crew, but the drivers – two of whom are silver-graded – delivered a mistake-free 24 Hours to secure their place on the rostrum.

Audi Sport Team Sainteloc narrowly missed out on backing up their win at last year’s race with another podium after running out of fuel during the final hour, costing the #25 R8 LMS significant time as it retuned to the pits. The #4 Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon car of Maro Engel, Yelmer Buurman and Luca Stolz completed the top five.

The #333 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 clinched the Pro-Am category and secured an excellent overall finish thanks to an accomplished comeback drive from Alexander Mattschull, Rinat Salikhov, David Perel and Daniel Keilwitz.

The crew made impressive progress during the 24 Hours, having qualified 11th out of 12 Pro-Am runners and 53rd overall. The Ferrari 488 GT3 moved into the lead during the final quarter of the race, then edged away to win their category by a lap.

They beat the #42 Strakka Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, which had led Pro-Am for much of the middle phase of the race but slipped to second during the closing hours.

Third place belonged to the #175 SunEnergy1 Team HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 machine, which took 20th spot overall. Indeed, all three of these Pro-Am cars finished among the top-20, with the winning Rinaldi-Ferrari an excellent 15th in the overall standings.

In the Silver Cup, the #12 Ombra Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 was dominant at the head of the class for much of the race but had to fend off intense late pressure to secure victory.

The pole-sitting #54 Emil Frey Racing G3 Jaguar paced the early stages, but by the sixth hour the Ombra car had advanced to the head of the field, with the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 its closest rival.

This situation remained unchanged until the chequered flag fell some 18 hours later, but that tells only half of the story. With just 20 minutes to run the #12 Lamborghini came under huge pressure from the Barwell car, which almost forced its way past at La Source.

But Ombra pilot Alex Frassinetti held firm to secure class honours for the car he shares with Romain Monti, Andrea Rizzoli and Kang Ling. The Barwell-Lamborghini was next across the line, ahead of the #6 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG, which completed the podium after an excellent comeback drive from the very back of the grid.

While the Barwell squad could not quite secure Silver honours, they nevertheless took home a set of Total 24 Hours of Spa winners’ trophies thanks to their #77 Lamborghini Huracan GT3’s dominant Am Cup performance.

The Barwell machine assumed control at one-quarter distance and held its lead for the remainder of the race, spending more time at the head of its class than any other car in this year’s 24 Hours.

The crew of Leo Machitski, Richard Abra, Adrian Amstutz and Patrick Kujala finished five laps clear of their nearest Am Cup rival, the #9 Target Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3, to seal the victory.

This was an especially sweet win for Amstutz, who was involved in a fiery accident during last year’s 24 Hours and required the bravery of track marshal Leen Coremans to save his life. 12 month later, he is a Total 24 Hours of Spa winner.

The Coupe du Roi, which rewards the manufacturer with the best results across Pro, Pro-Am and Am Cup at six, 12 and 24 hours, was won by Mercedes-AMG. The German marque was consistent across the categories and took home the award from a thrilling 70th edition of the Belgian endurance classic.

Staged in perfect weather conditions from start to finish, the race capped a spectacular weekend celebrating the 70th edition Total 24 Hours of Spa, including Wednesday’s annual parade into Spa town centre and an unforgettable concert that brought a music festival atmosphere to the event.

What’s more, the countdown to next year’s race has already begun, with the 2019 Total 24 Hours of Spa set to take place from 25-28 July. If it can match this year’s festivities, it will be another must-attend contest in the Belgian Ardennes.

Driver quotes

Philipp Eng, #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3: “This race is very exhausting. I must admit that I feel pretty tired, but I also feel very happy, especially for the Walkenhorst team. It’s the first time that they are running a Pro car at this amazing event and to come here and immediately win it is amazing. I am also very happy for my teammate Christian. He is not a professional driver and has a day job, but he put in a really good performance. Hats off to him, and to Tom of course. He was a legend, as always.”

Alexander Sims, #99 ROWE Racing BMW M6 GT3: “I know that Philipp’s ability is second to none and, realistically, I wasn’t going to be able to out-drive him today. We were on very similar strategies at the end of the race and I just kept on it to see what would happen. Full credit to the Walkenhorst guys, it’s fantastic to see them get this victory. I also want to say a huge thanks to ROWE, because our car has been reliable and fast. While we didn’t quite have the ultimate pace it’s been fantastic, and it’s very cool to get a one-two for BMW Motorsport.”

Kelvin van der Linde, #29 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS: “We pushed the whole way through and never gave up. Sometimes it went our way, sometimes not, but we really just drove like we were doing qualifying laps from start to finish. The car and the tyres stayed in one piece and we managed to bring it home. It’s Land’s first race in the Blancpain GT Series, and this is a fantastic result for them.”

David Perel, #333 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3: “A big, big thank you to Michele Rinaldi for giving me a chance to drive. For us to be here is so surreal. We did not have any issues and that is amazing. I had the same thing last year in the Am Cup car and I did not think that it could be repeated! Michele is a great engineer and gave us a perfect car.”

Kang Ling, #12 Ombra Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3: “It is unbelievable to win the Total 24 Hours of Spa on my first attempt. We had a very clean race. We were not the fastest, but we made no mistakes and I have three very strong teammates. I’m super, super happy about this result.”

Adrian Amstutz, #77 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3: “After my crash here last year I was not even sure that I would ever race again until this February. It is thanks to the marshals that I am here, especially Leen Coremans and Leopold Adriaans. Without them there would not have been a race for me today. I am eternally grateful.”

L'entrada BMW secures a one-two in Spa 24 hours ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Swiss team Emil Frey Racing has announced that it will compete with Jaguar for the sixth consecutive year after finishing last year’s Endurance Cup in sixteenth place. The program for this season consists in three Endurance Cup rounds (Monza, Silverstone and Paul Ricard) and a Sprint Cup round (Misano). Alex Fontana, Mikaël Grenier and Adrian Zaugg.

As a novelty, the team has also confirmed that it will line up two Lexus, a new manufacturer for this season, with a full-time racing program.

In one of these two cars, Monegasque Stéphane Ortelli, Finnish Markus Palttala and Austrian Norbert Siedler. The other one contains more known names such as 2009 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion Albert Costa, former Formula One driver with Jaguar, Red Bull and HRT Christian Klien and German Marco Seefried. All of the six drivers apart from former BMW driver Palttala have previous experience with the team driving the Jaguar.

The team is yet to confirm with two Lexus drivers will race each car full-time and who will only be in the Endurance Cup rounds.

The 2018 Blancpain GT Series season will start the 7th of April in Zolder, a Sprint Cup round, while the first Endurance Cup round will the held the 22nd of April in Monza.

L'entrada Emil Fray confirms its driver line-up for Blancpain GT Series ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Finishing an iconic race by red flag is not something you see often, but in this case, it was necessary. A monstrous accident has caused the red flag, and therefore, the decision of a typical resistance race.

Reliability is not a problem today – well, say that to Toyota. Technology has advanced so much that resistance races become sprints with changing drivers. What is the differencial factor then? The quality of the drivers, and the place where they compete. Mount Panorama does not forgive, and Bathurst’s 12 hours of 2018 are the best example of that.

A total of 16 safety car periods have ensured the uncertainty, a milliliter strategy and constant tension. Each meter of the journey was an adventure. Maybe it was a crossed car, broken or even meeting a kangaroo. Luckily, the ‘aussie’ wildlife has only been seen inside the cars.

Especially Chaz Mostert. The BMW # 43 rider has driven a first stratospheric relay. The safety cars and a drive-through penalty have diminished the pace of the M6 ​​GT3 of the Bavaria brand.

Once Mostert has gone back up to face the final part of the race, the pace has returned to the BMW. Augusto Farfus and Marco Wittmann have had lots of problemas to equalize their partner’s times. But, once the beast has touched again the hands of Mostert, it has come back to life.

Everything was going well for them, because the comeback was clear. Until The Mountain has thrown them. There is a lot of talk that Mount Panorama has a life of its own, and in this case, it is even credible. In the middle of a doubling and a direct fight with the Bentley # 17, Mostert has hit a Porsche and as a consequence, has taken off the Bentley, which has taken a second Porsche. Result: The BMW had to retire less than three hours before the end and a fine of 2000 Australian dollars for Mostert, with 1000 of them suspended in case of repeating it.

And the rest? Well, the rest was surviving. Audi planned it well the whole race. The two spearheads were # 74 and # 22. The first came out next to BMW # 43, and benefited from all the bad things that have happened to Mostert and company. The strategy on foot changed has benefited them in the long run. Until, again, Bathurst has crossed off the leaders’ list.

First the Audi # 22, with Kelvin Van der Linde at the wheel. The German has hit the wall in the descent and, with it, has damaged the rear suspension of the car. Long repair time and they have lost a few laps with # 74. But that has not been all for Audi.

#74 has broken less than two hours before the end. In those moments a brutal ending was emerging. It was one of those who enter fully into the history books. Markus Winkelhock has risen for the final relay to the R8, and a Little mistake has cost them the victory.

The famous German has stepped on the outer curb of Griffin’s Bend (curve 2) in an extreme way. The aerodynamics and low ground height of the GT have made the differential touch the piano, and this has ended up breaking the transmission. The car no longer accelerated, although it did go up in revolutions. Winkelhock has stopped in the middle of the climb and the world has fallen on him.

The last hour and a half has been crazy. Not because of overtaking, but because of how the long racing sauce has been slowly cooked: saving fuel.

The Porsche # 911 and the Mercedes AMG GT3 # 55 have led the rae since the green flag was given with 90 minutes left. With 22 laps behind them, they knew they had to stop again, so the drivers have squeezed every liter of fuel from their machines. The intention was to maximize the difference with the other cars, which have gone to a totally different strategy. And, there, appears Audi.

Audi only ha done car alive: #37. Robin Frijs, Stuart Leonard and Dries Vanthoor have not made much noise throughout the race. His presence in the leadership has been given by strategy, and less than an hour to the end. And they were not the favourites to win.

For fuel management, the favourite car to win was the Porsche # 911 mentioned. Romain Dumas, Fréderik Makowiecki and Dirk Werner have refueled as late as they could, and that has shortened the pit stop. In their personal fight with the Mercedes # 55, that shorter stop has earned them 14 seconds of advantage. They were the favourites, because everyone in front of them has set out to save fuel.

For them, we mean the Audi R8 # 37, the Mercedes AMG # 75 (Tristan Vautier, Jamie Whincup, Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Habul) and the Porsche # 991 (Earl Bamber, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor.) And with less intensity in that saving, the Porsche # 12 (Matt Campbell, Patrick Long, Alex Davison and David Calvert Jones).

As the minutes of the last hour have passed, times have increased. Clear fuel savings, until the Audi R8 # 69 and the MARC Mazda V8 # 95 have had an accident in Reid Park. The Audi has been crossed in the middle of the track and, at full speed, the Mercedes AMG # 19 has hit the back of the R8 in an evasive movement. Huge accident that has left the race with the safety car, and then red flag.

The confusion lasted ten minutes, time it has taken career direction to finish the race. And with that decision, the WRT team with the Audi R8 # 37 has won the 12 hours of Bathurst.

And the Bentleys? Well to be one of the favorite brands to win, to not be able to do anything to prevent a new disappointment in Bathurst. The first, and on the forehead: the Bentley # 18 has had problems in the gearbox in the first hours. After the repair, Maxime Soulet has fought to finish the race but a puncture has destroyed the options of seeing the checkered flag.

The right front Pirelli of the Continental GT3 has exploded on arrival at The Chase, the chicane behind the straight Conrod. Soulet has had to be rescued and, upon returning the car to the garage, he has opted to leave. Andy Soucek could not even drive.

The other Bentley, touched after the accident with the BMW # 43, was able to finish the race. The distance with the first has been more than six laps.

So one of the toughest races of the year ends. Bathurst is a place of legend, and today, although it has ended abruptly, the legend continues to be written: it is The Mountain who decides who the kings are. Because, yes, Mount Panorama has own life.

L'entrada Audi wins the 12 hours of Bathurst ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Blancpain GT Series team R-Motorsport Aston Martin has confirmed that French driver Matthieu Vaxivière will join the team for the upcoming season, his first one on the series. His team mates will be Alex Brundle, Jake Dennis, Maxime Martin, Nicki Thiim and another driver to be confirmed.

The 23-year old Frenchman left single-seater competitions in 2017 after three years in Formula V8 3.5, where he won five races and ended second on the final standings in 2015. Last year he joined WEC with TDS, where he drove an LMP2 car and ended the first round of the season on the podium. In 2018, despite his confirmation as a Blancpain driver, he will stay at TDS for the WEC season.

Despite having left single-seaters, he did, in 2017, two rounds of the GP3 Series season on which he drove for DAMS replacing Santino Ferrucci, who got promoted to F2.

“I’m really looking forward to start working for this fantastic project,” said Vaxiviere. “Not only does Aston Martin have a very rich racing history, I have also been given the opportunity to defend this brand alongside top drivers in a top team. I would like to thank Dr Kamelger and Dr Baenziger (team co-owners) for their trust. But also, the people behind Jota and Arden for giving me this amazing opportunity. I will give everything I have got. This year will be extremely competitive and exciting and I hope to be successful for many seasons to come.”

The 2018 Blancpain GT Series season will begin the 7th and 8th of April in Zolder, Belgium.

L'entrada Vaxivière to make Blancpain GT Series debut with R-Motorsport ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.