Trending Sports Updates

Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI Testing at the FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue will be limited to a chosen single day per team, amid the event’s clash with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, it has been revealed. Sportscar365 has learned that the two-day test, scheduled for Sun. March 22 and Mon. March 23 at Lusail International Circuit, has been adjusted in the wake of the overlap with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship enduro occurring the day prior in Florida. A significant number of drivers and team personnel are due to travel directly from Sebring to Qatar but are unable to make it for the opening day of the official pre-season test, which is mandatory for all WEC teams. Instead, it’s understood teams will choose which day to run, instead of being eligible to test for the full duration. It comes as a welcome development from competitors, particularly those who were severely impacted by the clash. Four of BMW M Team WRT’s six Hypercar drivers, for instanc...

Third Hypercar OEM to depart WEC shouldn't raise alarm bells, writes Gary Watkins... Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA Tristan Vautier will replace Sebastien Bourdais at Tower Motorsports for the remainder of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. It was revealed that four-time Indycar champion Bourdais would step down from driving the Tower Oreca 07 Gibson in the wake of the Rolex 24 at Daytona season opener to focus on his commitments in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the JOTA-run Cadillac Racing squad. Now it has been announced that Vautier, who has been a regular in the WeatherTech championship’s top class but has not contested the LMP2 division, will take Bourdais’ place alongside Sebastian Alvarez and John Farano in the Tower entry. While Vautier has no IMSA LMP2 experience, he has been a fixture in the LMP2 ranks in both the European and Asian Le Mans Series for the past three campaigns, including finishing as runner-up in the 2024-25 Asian LMS season. “With Tristan’s experience and leadership, we are confident this is exactly ...

Photo: BSI Racing BSI Racing will field six Toyota GR 86 Cup cars in Toyota GR Cup North America competition this year, following the team’s championship winning season with Westin Workman. While Workman has graduated to IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge competition, the Florida-based team will continue with a mix of returning and new drivers to the organization in the competitive single-make series. It includes Ethan Goulart, who will return for his second year under the BSI banner and will pilot the No. 72 Endava-liveried GR Cup car. Goulart was recently announced into Toyota Racing’s driver development program. Massimo Sunseri will also return behind the wheel of a BSI-entered car, along with Ethan Ayars. Newcomers to the Shea Holbrook-owned team are Amilio DiLauro, Alcyr Araujo and Ryan Power. “With the momentum from our 2025 driver and team championships, we’re raising the bar again in 2026,” said Holbrook. “This lineup reflects exactly what BSI is built on. “Developing ...

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI Alpine has announced that it will shutter its Hypercar program at the end of this season, following weeks of speculation that the French brand would exit the FIA World Endurance Championship. Confirmed on Thursday, it will mark the end of Alpine’s involvement in WEC competition, which dates back to 2013 in the LMP2 ranks in partnership with Signatech prior to graduating to the Hypercar ranks in 2021 with a grandfathered ORECA-chassied LMP1 car. Alpine created its own LMDh car, the A424, based around an ORECA spine, which launched in 2024, with its highlight to date coming with a maiden win last year’s 6 Hours of Fuji with Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul-Loup Chatin. Its withdrawal comes amid a change of leadership in parent company Renault, which saw Francois Provost take over a CEO from Luca de Meo last summer, and follows decreased sales, particularly with its initial EV-only strategy, which has since been reversed. The decision to exit...

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI Four-time IndyCar champion and current FIA World Endurance Championship driver Sebastien Bourdais will compete as a guest driver in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin doubleheader at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Racing with McCumbee McAleer Racing, Bourdais will participate in his home race as part of a fundraiser for the Karts4Kids charity. The St. Pete event weekend on Feb. 27-March 1 will mark the second event of the MX-5 Cup season, which opened last month at Daytona International Speedway with a record-setting field. In his IndyCar career, Bourdais was quite successful at St. Pete, winning the race twice, but he hasn’t turned a wheel at the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit since 2021. “I’m super excited to once again race on the streets of St. Petersburg,” said Bourdais. “It’s a real thrill to join the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup at such a meaningful place. St. Petersburg is my home, and I’ve been fortunate to have success in open-wh...

Photo: Racingpixels/Creventic Lusail International Circuit will host the opening round of the 2026-27 Michelin 24H Series Middle East Trophy, in a change of venue from last season’s campaign. Confirmed by organizer Creventic on Wednesday, the Michelin 8H Qatar will take place on Dec. 11-12, kicking off a three-round championship that will include return trips to Abu Dhabi and Dubai for six and 24-hour races, respectively. Qatar replaces Sepang International Circuit, which hosted the 12H Malaysia one week earlier on the schedule last year, and means all three rounds of the series are within the Gulf region. The final order of the 2026-27 calendar has yet to be confirmed. The 6H Abu Dhabi preceded the 24H Dubai this year, although Sportscar365 understands that the order is likely to be reversed, pending agreements with both Yas Maria Circuit and Dubai Autodrome. “We are very proud to announce this new race in Qatar,” said Creventic’s team relations manager Helen Roukens. “Over t...