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Photo: Andrea Lorenzina/DPPI Pipo Derani believes the next step for Genesis Magma Racing “will be critical” to ensure the team will be consistent contenders for top-five finishes and be in the mix with the likes of Toyota and Ferrari amid an increasingly competitive Hypercar field in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Brazilian driver, who along with Andre Lotterer were announced as the first two drivers for the ground-up program, have been part of the Korean manufacturer’s venture into sports car racing from the start and has seen “massive” progress at various stages. However, he has cautioned that a further step needs to be made soon in order to ensure the program can show up in its sophomore season near the front of the pack. While having shown flashes of potential this season, the two-car squad has scored only a single points finish, an eighth pace result for Derani and co-drivers Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert in the No. 17 Genesis GMR-001 at ...

Photo: JEP/SRO Thomas Neubauer has been ruled out of next weekend’s Suzuka 1000km, and likely additional races, after suffering a complex fracture of his left collarbone in a cycling accident. The Ferrari factory driver was due to share the Maezawa Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo in the Intercontinental GT Challenge round with Yusaku Maezawa and Naoki Yokomizo. The 27-year-old Frenchman revealed the extent of his injuries on social media on Thursday . “A few days ago, I was involved in a cycling crash,” he wrote on Instagram. “Despite always being very careful, sometimes accidents are unfortunately unavoidable. “I fell off my bike and, among other injuries, I suffered a complex fracture of my left collarbone, with at least seven fragments and significant displacement of the bones. “I had surgery on Tuesday, and everything went well. I’m finally starting to feel like myself again. “I would sincerely like to thank all the medical staff who to...

Photo: Nissan The grid for this month’s Suzuka 1000km has been boosted by the late addition of an extra Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 entered by Super Taikyu outfit Team Daishin. Announced on Thursday, just over a week before track action is set to begin for the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season, the Bronze class entry sporting Daishin’s famous orange livery provisionally brings the grid up to 29 cars. Sharing driving duties will be two-time SUPER GT champion Tsugio Matsuda, Kiyoto Fujinami and FIA Bronze-rated Ryuichiro Oyagi. The news means that Nissan is set to be represented by three cars at Suzuka, with Team Daishin joining 5ZIGEN and Tomei Sports in running the GT-R. Matsuda, who stepped down from his Nissan GT500 duties at the end of last season, last raced the GT-R NISMO GT3 in the 2019 edition of the Suzuka 10 Hours for KCMG, finishing sixth in that race alongside Katsumasa Chiyo and Josh Burdon. The 47-year-old has remained active in Super Taik...

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA As part of the celebration of the 75th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to be run March 20, a panel of ten sports car racing experts have selected the ‘Class of 75’ – the 75 greatest drivers ever to participate in the world-renowned race. Beginning on Sept. 15, and again on the second Tuesday of each month through January, 15 drivers from the list will be announced. Predictably, the ‘Class of 75’ is a who’s who of drivers who have competed in the grueling once-around-the-clock battle at Sebring. A driver’s success away from Sebring International Raceway was not factored into the selection. In total, drivers on the list made 878 career starts at Sebring, accounting for 109 overall victories and 93 class wins. “As we celebrate 75 magical years of racing at Sebring International Raceway, it’s only fitting we kick off the next seven months of festivities by recognizing the best drivers who found success in one of the most challeng...

Photo: Nissan Katsumasa Chiyo says Nissan must find a way to extract more performance from its Z NISMO GT500 car heading into the latter half of the SUPER GT season after the major leap forward taken by Honda in the most recent races at Fuji and Suzuka. Chiyo and his co-driver in the works No. 23 Nissan, Mitsunori Takaboshi, were best of the rest in last month’s Suzuka 300km behind the three Honda HRC Prelude-GTs that locked out the podium, rising from eighth on the grid to finish fourth. Honda made a marked improvement starting from the third round of the season at Fuji, taking advantage of the long break after the Golden Week round at the same circuit to completely revamp the new-for-2026 car’s setup concept . With Toyota having started the season in a dominant position with its GR Supra, Chiyo believes Nissan now needs to make a similar leap to Honda to stay in the running. “We were able to get on the podium in Round 2 [at Fuji], which was something we knew we...

Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will officially rename its iconic Corkscrew the “Zanardi Corkscrew” on Friday, honoring the late Alex Zanardi and commemorating the 30th anniversary of his extraordinary pass that became one of the defining moments of his remarkable career. The ceremony will bring together guests from throughout Zanardi’s career including Chip Ganassi, Max Papis, Doug Boles, and other IndyCar legends. Plans for a commemorative marker recognizing the Zanardi Corkscrew will be unveiled during the ceremony, permanently linking his name with the most famous landmark in motorsports. The circuit placed a “Grazie Alex” message at the Corkscrew during the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round in May, the same weekend where the Italian passed away at the age of 59. On Sept. 8, 1996, during the final lap of the CART season finale at Laguna Seca, Zanardi, driving the No. 4 Target Chip Ganassi Honda Reynard made a dar...