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Rast: BMW Drivers, WRT “Raised Our Game” This Year

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Photo: Charly López/DPPI Rene Rast believes the BMW Hypercar drivers and the WRT squad have “raised our game” in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season as the German manufacturer sits second in both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings. The BMW M Hybrid V8 achieved its first WEC victory thanks to Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 20 car leading home the sister WRT machine at Spa, before then following that up with a strong second place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last month. Rast said “you couldn’t expect that” upturn in performance before the start of the season and believes the updated Evo package has undoubtedly played a significant part in BMW’s improvement, but has also highlighted other factors. “The Evo package for sure is the biggest part of it but also I think we as drivers are on a better level compared to the last years,” he told Sportscar365. “The last years you could ...

Pfaff Temerario GT3 Making ‘Progress’ Despite No Cross-Over

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Photo: Pfaff Motorsports Andrea Caldarelli believes Pfaff Motorsports and Lamborghini are continuing to make progress with the new Temerario GT3, despite their IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship car currently being one-of-a-kind due to a large disparity in technical specifications to the Temerario GT3s competing in Europe. While Caldarelli and co-driver Sandy Mitchell claimed a rather surprising runner-up finish in GTD Pro on the streets of Detroit, the V8 twin-turbo-powered car’s next-best class finish so far this season has been a fifth at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Yet the Lamborghini factory driver insists that the best is still yet to come with the new-for-2026 package. “We’ve definitely done big progress, I think,” said Caldarelli. “Detroit, even though it was a chaotic race, I do feel that we belonged there and we were fighting, realistically, for the podium. I think it was very encouraging. “However, I think the thing we missed is ...

Wickens Hoping to “Finally Give” DXDT First GTD Podium in CTMP

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Photo: Corvette Racing Robert Wickens said he’s hoping to help “finally give” DXDT Racing its first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship podium finish in his return to the wheel of the team’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R entry in this weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Wickens and full season co-driver Mason Filippi were left on the sidelines in the most recent WeatherTech Championship GTD sprint round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca when DXDT’s transporter suffered a catastrophic fire en route to Monterey. It resulted in a near total-loss for the David Askew-owned team , which has been forced to re-purpose its SRO America Corvette chassis and returned to competition the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen two weeks ago. “It’s been a lot of work from the team to get ready,” said Wickens. “They ran the six-hour at The Glen with a new car, a different transporter, different pit equipment and e...

Nato Eyes Payback for “Painful” Le Mans Finish in Brazil

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Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI Cadillac driver Norman Nato says he’s eyeing another FIA World Endurance Championship victory in Sao Paulo this weekend, as he and Hertz Team JOTA co-driver Will Stevens aim to avenge a disappointing conclusion to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nato and Stevens, together with Louis Deletraz, ended up fourth in the WEC blue riband event last month aboard the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R after losing out in a late full-course yellow, with Toyota coming away with victory. Now the American manufacturer’s focus turns to repeating its maiden series win that it took in last year’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, which it did in dominant style. Nato, who was part of the No. 12 crew that won in Brazil last year with Stevens and the now-injured Alex Lynn, says he’s hoping for a chance to atone for the “painful” experience of just missing out on a podium finish at the Circuit de la Sarthe. “I have such good memories of last year, it was suc...

Doonan Provides Update on IMSA Labs

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Source: Sports Car 365

Full Extent of Paul’s Injuries Revealed from Norisring Crash

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Photo: Maximilian Paul Instagram The full extent of Maximilian Paul’s injuries have been revealed by Grasser Racing Team following his massive accident in the opening DTM race of the weekend at the Norisring. The 26-year-old newly minted Lamborghini factory driver was initially reported to have sustained an injury to his left leg after his Lamborghini Temerario GT3 slammed into the driver’ side door of Kelvin van der Linde’s Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO. However, team principal Gottfried Grasser confirmed to Motorsport.com that the German driver suffered fractures to both his fibula and tibia as well as a lumbar vertebra fracture. Paul underwent surgery on Tuesday and now faces a significant road to recovery. “The accident was a major setback for me,” he said. “I’d like to thank all the rescue workers and the doctors who looked after me so exceptionally well. “Now it’s time to look ahead. I’m taking a break for the time being to loo...

Second Asian WEC Round “Not a Priority” for Genesis

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Photo: Andrea Lorenzina/DPPI A second FIA World Endurance Championship round in Asia is “not a priority” for Genesis according to Magma Racing team principal Cyril Abiteboul, with the Korean automaker’s focus set on exposing the brand into new markets, primarily in Europe. Genesis, in its first year of sports car racing competition, has been making steady gains in results since its debut in April’s season-opener at Imola, while also increasing its brand activation at circuits. While Silverstone will make its series return next year  as part of an expanded nine-round championship, Abiteboul dismissed any strong desire to push for a home race in South Korea, it’s largest market, or potentially in China, where Genesis launched in 2021. “It’s not a priority for us,” he told reporters at last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. “The current footprint of the championship is actually very consistent with where we need to expand as a bra...