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Ickx Drives Genesis Hypercar at Paul Ricard

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Photo: Genesis Magma Racing Six-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and Genesis Magma Racing advisor Jacky Ickx has recently sampled the team’s GMR-001 Hypercar for the first time. The 81-year-old endurance racing legend completed laps of the Paul Ricard circuit in a specially liveried Genesis, giving him a first-hand insight into the world of modern prototypes. Ickx first became an ambassador to Genesis back in February 2024, before its entry to the FIA World Endurance Championship was announced. Fellow multiple Le Mans winner and Genesis racer Andre Lotterer adjusted the Belgian’s helmet straps before he was sent on his way at the French track. Ickx said the test was “undescribable” and a “unique” opportunity for him to combine his knowledge of the past with the present. “When I opened that door, I saw something I didn’t expect at all,” he added. “I share with people the passion I have for motor racing — it was incredibly ...

Cairoli, van der Linde share Zandvoort Victories

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Photo: Gruppe C Photography Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli and BMW racer Kelvin van der Linde shared the DTM victories in the second event of the season at Zandvoort last weekend, but it was Mercedes-AMG pilot Maro Engel who maintained his points lead. Cairoli was dominant in the opener converting pole into a comfortable victory, his first in the DTM after joining the series for this year and also the first win in the category for the revised Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo. The Emil Frey racer crossed the line nearly four seconds ahead of the Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Lucas Auer, who briefly assumed the championship lead, after jumping the second Ferrari of Thierry Vermeulen at the start, with the latter completing the podium. Bastian Buus had seemingly produced a perfect rearguard action in the Land Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo to keep Jules Gounon’s Mercedes-AMG at bay for fourth, but Buus was later disqualified after his car was found to be underweight. Further back, Engel ...

Check Out Nürburgring 24 Sights & Sounds

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Source: Sports Car 365

Ford ‘Not Losing Sleep’ Over Later Hypercar Testing Start

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Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI Ford Racing Hypercar program manager Dan Sayers says he is ‘not losing sleep’ over fellow 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship entrant McLaren beginning track testing at least three months earlier than the American manufacturer. McLaren’s new MCL-HY Hypercar completed its first miles at a circuit at the start of this month , while Sayers said that Ford’s current target is to hit the track for the first time with its as-yet-unnamed LMDh machine at the beginning of August. Despite the three-month difference between the dates, Sayers insisted Ford is “focused on our program” rather than worrying about what rivals are doing, adding there are benefits to spending more time developing the car before commencing testing. When asked by Sportscar365 if he was concerned by McLaren gaining a head start, Sayers replied: “In honesty, no — it’s interesting but not very. “I always think, from my design background, ...

IMSA Issues Corrected Detroit BoP

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Photo: IMSA IMSA has issued a corrected version of its Balance of Performance table one day after confirming the original figures for next weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. Released in a technical bulletin on Friday afternoon , figures, primarily in the GTP class, have been adjusted. The BMW sees weight and power corrections, with the M Hybrid V8 getting 1 kg of additional weight after initially receiving a 12 kg reduction for Detroit. Additionally, the power levels have been adjusted to the LMDh-based prototype, with a 0.4 percent decrease in Stage 1 and 1.7 percent increase at Stage 2 compared to Thursday’s published figures. The Cadillac V-Series.R gets corrected power levels as well, with a 0.4 percent increase in Stage 1 and a 0.6 percent decrease in Stage 2 when referenced to the original Detroit BoP numbers. The Acura ARX-06, meanwhile, gets a 0.2 percent increase in Stage 1 power levels. Both specs of Porsche 963s also have corrected Stage 1 pow...

Ningbo Replaces June Shanghai Event in 2026 Schedule

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Photo: SRO The GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS series has made a late change to its schedule with its Chinese round next month moving from the Shanghai International Circuit to instead be held at Ningbo. The swap was formally confirmed by the series on Friday, just two weeks before the June 3-5 event was due to take place, although teams had been given advance warning of the change in venue. In a statement, series organizer SRO explained: “Local administrative complications linked to China’s nationwide College Entrance Exam recently cast doubt over the scheduled Shanghai event, which was due to take place on the same dates. “SRO Motorsports Group has therefore taken the proactive decision to move the event to Ningbo, a circuit it last visited in 2018.” That 2018 event was the season finale of that year’s campaign and the circuit played host to FFF Racing’s Dennis Lind and Martin Kodric winning the title at the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracan GT3. The ...

Inter Europol Unveils Polish-Designed Art Car for Le Mans

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Image: Inter Europol Competition Inter Europol Competition’s No. 43 Oreca 07 Gibson LMP2 entry will sport an art car livery in next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the two-time and defending class-winning squad revealing the color scheme created by Polish designers Aleksandra and Gustaw Lange. Billed as a “comprehensive concept” that includes the “entire visual identity and communication” of the project, the art car’s livery stems from the team’s traditional yellow and green color scheme, derived from the landscape of rapeseed fields. The designers built a “narrative” rooted in Polish Impressionism and, more broadly, in the history of Polish art. Their work references artists such as Leon Wyczółkowski, Edward Dwurnik, and Waldemar Świerzy, as well as the aesthetics of the Polish School of Poster Art. “Our goal was to create something that works on an immediate visual level, but also carries deeper layers of meaning...