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Photo: Michelin The smiles were a touch bigger in the Michelin camp at IMSA’s ‘State of the Sport’ address last October. It made sense. The announcement that IMSA and Michelin had agreed to a ten-year extension , keeping Michelin as the ‘Official Tire’ of the series, was about far more than racing Eighteen manufacturers. One tire supplier. No other racing series in the world offers that kind of proving ground with so many different platforms. And Michelin understands the opportunity goes beyond racing when the manufacturers see the performance of the tire with their race cars. “They’re extending that performance beyond the track and into their production models, carrying it into real ‑ world settings at their performance driving schools,” said Derek Beneteau, OE Brand Marketing at Michelin. “Then that trust at the track is what gets us into the conversation when they’re developing the next generation of vehicles.” Lexus is...

Photo: SRO Next weekend’s GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS race at Ningbo will not go ahead as originally announced, with Shanghai International Circuit returning to the calendar but now as the season finale. Confirmed by SRO Asia on Tuesday, it comes just four days after Ningbo was confirmed to replace the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix venue due to “local administrative complications linked to China’s nationwide college entrance exams.” The latest decision following “extensive consultation” with teams and stakeholders, according to a statement by SRO. “Maintaining the same date would have reduced the logistical challenges and cost of changing venue at short notice. Indeed, this was SRO’s primary motivation for selecting Ningbo,” the statement read. “However, subsequent discussions led SRO to seek alternative solutions.” This now means the GTWC Asia season will conclude with back-to-back events in China, first on th...

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI Gray Newell says he’s been getting more comfortable in his foray into the FIA World Endurance Championship, in what’s been a meteoric rise through the sports car racing ranks. The 28-year-old American, who only started racing only six years ago, has graduated to the world championship amid Heart of Racing Team’s expansion into a two-car Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo effort in the LMGT3 class. While having previously taken part in Michelin 24H Series races, the opening two WEC rounds of the season marked the FIA Bronze-rated driver’s first full-time program on the global stage. “It’s intimidating being here,” Newell admitted to Sportscar365. “I’m in very, very, very accomplished company here and I’m still trying to remind myself that I earned this spot and I belong here doing this. “It’s frustrating that I don’t quite feel like I am where I know my capability is. “I...

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 ...

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 ...

Source: Sports Car 365

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, ...