Trending Sports Updates

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA Mike Skeen has been a last-minute call-up for Friday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season-opening BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway, having been brought into KohR Motorsports’ lineup in GS. Skeen has replaced team owner Dean Martin as the third driver in the No. 60 Ford Mustang GT4, alongside full-season drivers Evan Slater and Ray Mason. Martin did not turn any laps in the car, carrying a tribute livery to the late Greg Biffle, during last weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 pre-season test. “I can’t wait to be back in the IMSA Michelin Pilot garages at Daytona and racing with KohR Motorsports,” said Skeen. “I have raced against them many times and they are always front runners. “Likewise, I have raced against Evan many times in Trans-Am, sometimes as teammates and sometimes not, but he is always at the sharp end of the field. I think we will be in the hunt for a strong result. “Ray has been a consistent competitor I’ve kno...

Photo: Jessica Johnk/Porsche Porsche Motorsport North America has named Ryan Yardley and Tom Sargent to its Selected Driver roster for this year. Yardley, the reigning Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion, joins as a new Selected Driver in the program, which saw Sargent, Loek Hartog and Riley Dickinson serve in the role in 2025. The award provides direct manufacturer support, expanded race opportunities, and mentorship across GT and endurance racing platforms. “We’ve watched both of these talented divers improve their craft through Porsche single-make racing here in North America and each has earned this honor,” said Porsche Motorsport North America President and CEO Volker Holzmeyer. “We’re proud of Ryan and Tom and look forward to watching their careers develop in the United States and around the world as PMNA Selected Drivers.” Yardley claimed his first-ever Carrera Cup North America title with three wins and 14 podiums out of 16 races in a battle with Dickinson that ...

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI Team WRT has formally confirmed that Valentino Rossi will return to the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS this year at the wheel of one of its BMW M4 GT3 EVOs, and he will be partnered by fellow works drivers Max Hesse and Dan Harper. Seven-time MotoGP champion Rossi had already revealed he would be making a return to the GTWC Europe this year in a BMW after his two-season spell with WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship came to an end,  but more details about his program have now been announced. He will be partnered by Hesse for the category’s Sprint Cup competition at the wheel of the No. 46 BMW, the GTWC Europe season marking the latter’s first full campaign with the squad. The pair will then be joined by Harper for the Endurance Cup rounds — the Northern Irishman having also only made sporadic appearances with WRT in the past. Rossi scored two wins during his previous three-season spell with the team in the GTWC Europe with a be...

Image: Absolute Racing Absolute Racing will run a special kangaroo-inspired livery on its Porsche 911 GT3 R for next month’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour. The Chinese squad took the wraps off the Pro class entry that is set to be driven by Matt Campbell, Bastian Buus and Alessio Picariello in the Intercontinental GT Challenge season opener on Feb. 15. The distinctive yellow-and-black design includes a large kangaroo sign graphic on the rear-quarters of the car, reminiscent of Phoenix Racing’s special design on its 2012 race-winning Audi R8 LMS that also featured a kangaroo sign. The race has regularly featured Australian-themed liveries, particularly from overseas teams competing in the around-the-clock enduro. Absolute’s entry is one of two Pro class Porsches set to take part in the race, the other being fielded by Earl Bamber Motorsport for Klaus Bachler, Ricardo Feller and Laurin Heinrich. Image: Absolute Racing Image: Absolute Racing Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: Juergen Tap/Porsche Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid admitted he’s unsure where Porsche Penske Motorsport will stack up to the competition in this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona despite topping the time charts at the Roar Before the 24. Two-time and defending overall Rolex 24 winner Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor set the first and third quickest times from the three-day test at Daytona International Speedways that saw the Porsche 963 lock out the the top three positions when factoring in the 2025-spec GTP entry from privateer squad JDC-Miller Motorsports that was second quickest in the hands of Nico Pino. While the next-closest competitor was the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Filipe Albuquerque, some four-tenths slower, Diuguid dismissed the notion the team holds any kind of pace advantage heading into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener. “I know we had a good, successful three days of running, from a technical standpoint...

Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA Morgan Burkhard topped the times across three days of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge testing at Daytona International Speedway ahead of next weekend’s four-hour season opener. GS and TCR competitors were given a total of five sessions across the Roar Before the Rolex 24 weekend, with Burkhard’s benchmark time of 1:52.800 coming during the opening session on Friday. As a result, the No. 2 CSM Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport was 0.175 seconds faster than the No. 46 Team TGM Ford Mustang GT4 of Matt Plumb, with the sister machine of Hugh Plumb third. Ford runners occupied all but the top spot in the top five across the weekend, with Clayton Williams fourth in the No. 30 LAP Motorsports entry followed by McCumbee McAleer Racing driver Nate Cicero. Former NTT IndyCar Series driver Matheus Leist was sixth aboard the No. 7 VPX Porsche, with Gregory Liefooghe slotting into seventh at the wheel of the No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing Mustang. The overall top te...