Trending Sports Updates

Photo: SRO Defending champion BMW has pulled out a sizable advantage at the top of the GT4 Manufacturer Ranking table and is close to seeing off the challenge of Toyota as the season enters its final phase. The Japanese marque appeared set to push the defending champion all the way, but its title assault has faltered during recent weeks. While not yet beyond reach, BMW is very much on course to retain the title that it won in 2024 and 2025, albeit without the remarkable dominance it enjoyed last term. Toyota might yet come under threat for second in the standings as Porsche continues to bank good points across the globe, while McLaren is also on an upwards trajectory after a run of excellent results – including an unprecedented quartet of victories during a single weekend. The level of change over the past few months is underlined by the fact that Toyota still led the standings when the recent run of races began with a triple-header on July 25-26. In Monochrome GT4 Australia, McL...

Photo: James Armas/TRD Spike Kohlbecker and Jeremy Fletcher are set for a Toyota GR Cup North America title showdown this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with only 13 points separating the two drivers entering the final two races of the season. Both drivers ended the most recent event at Barber Motorsports Park with the same margin as they entered the weekend, following a win apiece and third place finishes for the No. 15 TechSport Racing Toyota GR 86 Cup and No. 22 Copeland Motorsports entry. The Race 1 victory for Kohlbecker marked his first win since Road America, which has kept him marginally ahead of Fletcher, in what’s been a season-long battle between the two drivers and teams. The fight for third place in the standings will go down to RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate drivers Will Robusto and Max Schweid, who are just separated by five points entering the weekend. Parker DeLong sits fifth in the title race in his TechSport entry. Among the notable ...

Photo: Eric Le Galliot/MPS Agency United Autosports trio Ben Hanley, Gregoire Saucy and Griffin Peebles head the 47-car field into this weekend’s European Le Mans Series finale at Portimao as one of only two crews that can win the outright title. The drivers of the No. 22 Oreca 07 Gibson enjoy a 13-point lead at the head of the standings after an ultra-consistent campaign in which they have finished every race inside the top-four and have only once been off the podium. Only the No. 29 Forestier Racing by Panis entry of reigning champions Esteban Masson and Oliver Gray, alongside Louis Rousset, can stop the United Autosports racers from taking the title. The Forestier crew have scored two wins so far this year but a costly retirement at Paul Ricard — when a sensor issue struck — has dented their chances of another crown. However, it is much closer in each of the other three classes, including in the LMP2 Pro-Am division, where the top-four crews are separated by just six poin...

Source: Sports Car 365

Image: WRT Anthony McIntosh’s No. 69 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo will pay tribute to the iconic BASF ‘Cassette Tape’ BMW design from the early 1980s in next weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship round in Barcelona. Revealed by the Belgian team on Monday, the LMGT3 entry will feature the famous red-and-white design which ran on the BMW M1 Procar and Group 4/5 racers. The livery’s distinctive circles were designed to mimic the spiral mechanics of a cassette tape. As usual, McIntosh will be joined by Parker Thompson and Dan Harper. The trip currently sit eighth in the championship coming off a sixth place class finish in last month’s 6 Hours of Fuji. McIntosh has run special liveries, linked to previous BMWs or BMW-powered cars, in all WEC races this season. Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI Several of the leading FIA-rated Bronze and Silver LMGT3 drivers in the FIA World Endurance Championship have had their classification changed for next season, including points leader Jonny Edgar and reigning champion Riccardo Pera. Edgar had originally been due to be promoted from a Silver to a Gold for this season, but was able to successfully appeal the decision and remained part of the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R squad as a result. But in a batch of driver ratings changes confirmed by the FIA that will take effect from Jan. 1, Edgar has now been promoted to a Gold. Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo driver Pera — who won last year’s LMGT3 title — has also been promoted from Silver to Gold. Fellow Silver driver Ben Tuck, who is part of the Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 EVO stable, has had a similar reclassification, as has Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo pilot Tom Fleming. MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi is among the other Silver driv...

Photo: GT World Challenge Asia Absolute Racing duo Alessandro Ghiretti and Huang Ruohan scored victory in Sunday’s GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS race on the streets of Beijing to set up a final-round showdown with Lu Wei at Shanghai at the end of the month. At the wheel of their No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, Ghiretti and Huang converted pole into their first win since the opening round of the year at Sepang to reignite their title challenge, as Origine Motorsport pair Lu and Loek Hartog finished second. It means Lu, who failed to score in the first race after hitting the wall, will head to the finale in Shanghai with five points in hand over Ghiretti and Huang. Victory in the opening race on Saturday went to Harmony Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Liu Kaishun and GTWC Asia debutant Takuro Shinohara. Liu scored pole and was untroubled at the head of the field for the opening stint, and after the driver changes PONOS Racing SUPER GT driver Shinohara’s path to a debut ...