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Photo: Honda ARTA Honda driver Kaku Ohta has acknowledged closing the points deficit to Toyota and TOM’S in this weekend’s Sugo round will be vital for his title aspirations. Ohta, who shares the works-backed No. 8 Honda HRC Prelude-GT with Hiroki Otsu, faces a 23-point disadvantage at the halfway point of a campaign that remains at eight races with the addition of a second race for the Motegi double-header in November. He and Otsu are coming off the back of consecutive podium finishes, finishing second from pole in Fuji in August and third last time out at Suzuka after Honda made a major leap forward with its new Prelude-GT in the aftermath of a troubled first two races. ARTA’s sister No. 16 car of Tomoki Nojiri and Ren Sato took the win at Suzuka, leading a podium lockout for Honda at its home venue . Although the No. 8 Honda is laden with a fuel flow restrictor for the first time this year at Sugo as part of a 54 kg handicap, Ohta says that beating No. 36 TOM...

Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: Chris Green/CPT Lamborghini factory driver Loris Spinelli has been officially confirmed as the third driver in Chicago Performance and Tuning Co.’s lineup for next month’s Desder Indianapolis 8 Hour, joining Nicolai Elghanayan and Mads Siljehaug in the Pro-Am class entry. As first reported by Sportscar365 last month, the Italian, who has been assisting the team in its partial season GT World Challenge America powered by AWS program, will be at the wheel of the No. 64 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 for the season-ending round, which doubles as the final leg of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. “Loris has been a key part of this program from the very beginning, working closely with Mads and Nicolai to help bring both the car and the drivers up to speed at Sonoma and Road America,” said team manager Christopher Lester. “Now, we’re excited to officially welcome him behind the wheel and into our lineup for Indianapolis.” Team principal and Ch...

Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: SRO Motorsports Australia SRO Motorsports Australia has announced that former Formula 1 race director Michael Masi has joined the organization as its new head of sporting. Masi takes on the role ahead of this weekend’s penultimate round of the GT World Challenge Australia by AWS season at Sydney Motorsports Park. His duties will entail “ensuring processes and procedures are followed under the standard of SRO Global, managing the Stewards, Race Director and other race officials, as well as implementing international best practices as per other SRO series”. Masi is best known for his three-season tenure as F1’s race director, as he succeeded the late Charlie Whiting in 2019, and notably presided over the controversial 2021 title-decider in Abu Dhabi where Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the crown. The fallout from Masi’s decision-making, widely regarded to have influenced the outcome, led to his removal from the role in early 2022. He subse...

Photo: Christian Rasmussen Facebook Christian Rasmussen will make his return to Era Motorsport in this weekend’s TireRack Battle on the Bricks, teaming up with the previously confirmed Nick Boulle in the No. 18 Oreca 07 Gibson. The 26-year-old, who drives for Ed Carpenter Racing in NTT IndyCar Series competition, was part of Era’s LMP2 class-winning lineup in the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Prior to that, the Dane had been a regular with the team for two seasons, although his last LMP2 start came in January’s Rolex 24 with AO Racing. “I’m excited to be back with my friends at Era for Battle on the Bricks,” Rasmussen said. “I have a lot of great memories with this team, especially winning the Rolex 24 together in 2024. “I’m also really looking forward to working with Nick. I think we have a strong lineup, and I’m confident we’ll be able to fight right at the front.” Boulle added: “I have been out of an LMP2 car and competition f...

Photo: Sam Cobb/BMW The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS rollercoaster season continued at Virginia International Raceway’s flowing, technical 3.27-mile layout. The GS championship lead changed hands for the fourth time this year, while the run of poor results for the GS race winner in their next race continued. Heading into this week’s penultimate round of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Turner Motorsport regained the lead for the first time since Watkins Glen courtesy of a third-place finish for Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars in their No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 EVO. The No. 95 car has sat fourth, second or first through all eight races this year. It has led the standings by as much as 200 points (leaving Round 4 at Mid-Ohio) and trailed by as many as 140 points (in fourth, leaving Round 6 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park). They’re now at the head of a BMW 1-2, with the ever-consistent Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer 80 points behind in the No. 27 AutoTechnic Racing BMW with ...