(Courtesy of NHRA Communications)

F1 icon Juan Pablo Montoya sat down with  VegasInsider, to discuss what to expect from the F1 teams this season, emphasizing on the Ferrari engine and how it could benefit Haas. Here's what Montoya said:

• Haas will benefit from the Ferrari connection

"If Ferrari built a good car that it looks like they have, and you're Haas and you get the engine, the gearbox, the rear suspension and the front suspension and you do a half-decent job on the aero package, you might not be that far from a Ferrari."

"If your basics are very good - if Ferrari made a huge step forward, they (Haas) made a huge step forward. Plus all the aero games."

"They get a lot of things from Ferrari, so if Ferrari runs really strong, they are going to run stronger. If you look at when Haas came in, Ferrari was winning races.”

• It will be interesting to see how much of a step Williams will be taking

"If Ferrari built a good car that it looks like they have, and you're Haas and you get the engine, the gearbox, the rear suspension and the front suspension and you do a half-decent job on the aero package, you might not be that far from a Ferrari."

"If your basics are very good - if Ferrari made a huge step forward, they (Haas) made a huge step forward. Plus all the aero games."

"They get a lot of things from Ferrari, so if Ferrari runs really strong, they are going to run stronger. If you look at when Haas came in, Ferrari was winning races.”

Where do you put the AlphaTauri? Do you put it really close to the Red Bull, because they're sister teams. They should be right there."

"You look at everyone else, Aston Martin, where is Aston there? They're so packed."

• Kevin Magnussen coming back at Haas surprised many, but it was the correct decision

"I think a lot of people were surprised, but I think he was the right person for the job." 

"Because it would have been him or (Romain) Grosjean, in my opinion, because they are guys that have been in the team, know the team, know the engineers, know the working environment. And they understand the sport. When that happens, it's easy to make that decision. You can either have somebody with crazy amounts of money or you look for somebody that's gonna help the team."

"At that point, you're gonna look for somebody that is going to help the team, more than anything else, in my opinion. And I think they went for the safer route. That is the safest route they could go with. Because, who else are you going to hire?"

"(Pietro) Fittipaldi hasn't raced in how many years? And he did a decent job when he replaced, a year and a half ago. But since that race, I don't think he's raced anything."

"How many tests do they do in F1?"

"Are they gonna gamble it on a young guy? With no testing experience, no simulator time, a week before the race?"

"The choices were Grosjean but he signed with Andretti for a multi-year deal. He's in a happy place and I don't think he would go for it. So the other guy was Mags."

"The other guy you could have looked for was (Nico) Hulkenberg."

• Bottas, at Alfa Romeo, is coming out with a vengeance this season

"At Alfa Romeo, I think Bottas is coming out with a vengeance. I think he really wants to do a good job. People behind Sauber want to make sure they run well."

"And they are on a Ferrari engine as well."

Thanks again to  VegasInsider. You can find the entire interview here.

The excitement in the arena continued to increase throughout Day 2 of the 2022 Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Auction as more than 250 collector cars sold on the auction block. A pair of very special vehicles united the audience and elicited cheers and applause.

A surprise appearance by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis brought the entire arena to their feet. Gov. Ron DeSantis was introduced by Florida Sen. Tom Wright who then joined Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson and President Steve Davis, philanthropists George and Megan Shinn, and American Muscle Car Museum founder Mark Pieloch and his wife, Tetiana, to take part in the sale of two cars, a 2009 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake and a 1986 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Indy Pace Car donated from their collections.

The cars were sold as a pair to benefit Samaritan’s Purse, a nonprofit organization that is providing humanitarian relief in Ukraine. Edward Graham, vice president of operations for Samaritan’s Purse and grandson of Reverend Billy Graham, took center stage to explain how 100% of the hammer price will help the crisis relief efforts.

Gov. Ron DeSantis brought the gavel down on a $1 million bid by NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick, but it was in the following moments that the generosity went even further. Eliciting both cheers and tears, George and Megan Shinn and Mark and Tetiana Pieloch each added $100,000 to the hammer price. Craig and Carolyn Jackson as well as Steve and Janie Davis matched the donation, which was also duplicated by John Staluppi, John Rosatti and Sam Pack, with Michelle Mauzy adding $50,000. Additional donations brought the total to $1,760,000.

The Pielochs have a direct connection to Ukraine; Tetiana is a Ukrainian citizen. After witnessing the horrific images coming out of the country, they decided to specify one of his vehicles for charity. Two of Tetiana’s relatives, who recently arrived in the U.S. after fleeing the war, accompanied the vehicles on the block while waving Ukrainian flags.

Shinn, who had already consigned part of his collection, was encouraged by Megan to do something to support those suffering in Ukraine.

“The generosity of Barrett-Jackson’s customers overwhelms me,” Craig Jackson said. “Freedom is priceless, but it’s not free.”

If you’d like to add to the funds raised for Ukraine, click here.

Also selling for good cause was a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited custom 6×6 pickup. The one-of-a-kind vehicle sold for $150,000 and resold when the high-bidder, John Staluppi, donated the vehicle back to sell again for another $100,000. A total of $250,000 was raised for Can’d Aid, which helps build thriving communities.

Top sales of the day included $231,000 for a 1984 Porsche 930 Turbo; 2022 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible IMSA GTLM Championship Edition, $220,000; a 2006 Rolls-Royce Phantom, $209,000; 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited custom SUV, $181,500; and a 1965 Amphicar 770, which sold for an auction world record $161,700.

The morning opened with the Automobilia Auction, which featured a large selection of memorabilia items from John Staluppi’s Cars of Dreams Museum. Top automobilia sales for the day included a Porsche Automobiles neon sign, which sold for $51,750; and a 1950s Corvette coin-operated kiddie ride, sold for $34,500.

Barrett-Jackson auctions are known for welcoming celebrities. Among those stopping by on Friday were TV personality and automotive specialist Ant Anstead; former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich “Ace” Franklin; and Captain Lee Rosbach from TV reality show “Below Deck.”

(Courtesy of Barrett-Jackson)

Atlanta-based SKI Autosports has its sights set on carving a new reputation for performance with the launch of a Ferrari 458 GT program in the GT America championship.

The team’s GT3 competition debut will take place at VIRginia International Raceway with veteran championship-winner driver Andy Pilgrim at the helm. 

In 2021, the team dominated the International GT Maranello Cup competition, winning the championship and overall races at historic tracks throughout the US, including VIR in September.  

“It felt like the right time for our team to make the move into professional racing. We have the right car and certainly the right driver to be competitive,” said team owner Kent Hussey. 

The SKI Autosports team is run by veteran champion sports car manager Phil Creighton.

Hussey continued, “Phil and his team are an undeniable combination and affords us the best possibility to win. Along with Andy, we have put together a team that has the opportunity to compete for wins in the SRO series.”

British-born American racer Pilgrim’s career has included stints as a factory Corvette and Cadillac driver. He won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2004 aboard a Daytona Prototype and scored the then SPEED World Challenge championship in 2005.

“We had a great time with the Ferrari in IGT last year, I’m so excited we’re heading to the SRO GT America series," Pilgrim said.

"I can’t think of a better team to be with in this venture. The SKI Autosports team is such a blast to work with, both on and off the race track.”   

SKI Autosports will compete on a limited schedule in 2022 with an eye toward a full season in 2023.

GridRival, the most in-depth fantasy motorsports manager game on the planet, has announced it has registered its 180,000th user in March, 2022, just one year since the platform went live in 2021. GridRival’s mobile app, which uniquely offers fantasy leagues based on Formula 1 and MotoGP race results, with more series to be added throughout the year ahead, also enjoyed significant audience growth in March, 2022, seeing its total registered user base grow by over 50%, helping push through the 180,000 mark..

“GridRival exists to make motorsport fans’ favorite series more exciting, more engaging and more social, and our audience growth demonstrates that there is a real appetite among the motorsport community for the gaming product we have created,” commented GridRival Founder and CEO Ross Fruin. “Our ever-increasing registration numbers are a strong indicator that we have created a community that caters to motorsports fans, an audience which we believe had been poorly served by fantasy games before GridRival, and by sports betting operators overall. We are delighted to be exceeding our projected user figures and are on target to achieve our mission of becoming the number one fantasy gaming destination of choice for motorsports fans around the world.”

GridRival, which Fruin launched in 2021, has gained popularity with motorsport fans due to its combination of fantasy leagues, detailed performance data, in-depth research tools and social features. 

“Our purpose-built platform allows users to make informed choices on team selection, while offering a simple and clean interface for social engagement,” continued Fruin. “Our ultimate goal is to make motorsports more exciting, and in future we will provide both fantasy and real-money offerings across multiple race series.”

The 2022 season for the Formula 1 World Championship on ESPN networks kicked off with a record audience watching the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

Viewership for the Bahrain race, which started shortly after 11 a.m. ET, peaked at 1.54 million between 12:30-12:45 p.m.An average of 1,353,000 viewers tuned in on ESPN as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won the season opener, the largest audience for an F1 race on any of ESPN’s networks since the championship returned to ESPN in 2018. The previous high was 1.2 million for the 2021 United States Grand Prix, which aired on ABC.

The race also was the second most-viewed on both cable and ESPN on record, exceeded only by the 1.74 million average audience for the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, and falls among the top 15 most-watched F1 races of all time in the United States.

The telecast viewership also set an event record, becoming the most-viewed Bahrain Grand Prix ever, surpassing last year’s mark of 927,000 on ESPN2.

The telecast averaged 656,000 viewers in the Persons 18-49 demographic, a substantial increase over the 486,000 average for last year's Hungarian Grand Prix, the largest of the 2021 season.

The top U.S. metered television markets for ESPN’s telecast of the Bahrain Grand Prix were Richmond, Va. (1.9 rating); Miami/Fort Lauderdale and Raleigh/Durham, N.C. (1.6); Charlotte, N.C. (1.5); and Indianapolis (1.4). 

The Bahrain audience comes on the heels of the record-setting 2021 season that saw F1 races on ESPN networks average 949,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed F1 season ever on American television.

As WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca celebrates its 65th racing season, we take a look back at some of the legendary characters who helped mold the mystique of the now world-renowned race track.
 
In 1960, Laguna Seca had three years of racing under its belt and started to form into an elite racing venue. Its competitions often attracted not only the best drivers in the U.S., but around the world.
 
Beginning that October, the Pacific Grand Prix implemented an innovative way to race. The competition was divided into two 200-mile heats, with a 30-minute break in between. This time was used for repairs on the cars which struggled in the first heat, and to tune up the ones that finished.
 
Enter Sir Stirling Moss – a London native who was downshifting into the twilight of his International Motorsports Hall of Fame career in the early 1960s.
 
Moss won 212 races between 1948-1962, including 16 Formula One Grand Prix events. Two of those 212 wins came in the 1960 and 1961 Pacific Grand Prix, where he went back-to-back.
 
Moss would return to Laguna Seca often later in his life to take part in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
 
As Moss took the trophy home during the 1960 Pacific Grand Prix, the man who finished second to Moss in the overall results was taking his final competitive laps.

 
Carroll Shelby navigated the Laguna Seca course in car No. 98, a bright red Maserati Tipo 61, in the final race of his legendary career, which was cut short due to heart problems. Shelby finished fifth in the first heat and fourth in the second to place only behind Moss as the two icons went one-two in the final standings.

Shelby became notorious for popping nitroglycerin tablets to ease chest pains from a chronic heart condition. After finishing second to Moss, Shelby complained to the press that he would have won the damned thing had he not had to slow down to take his heart medications while driving.
 
Footage of that race can be seen here.
 
The most famous drive of the 1961 season didn’t happen on the Laguna Seca pavement – but rather at the Mark Thomas Inn hotel pool. Yes, you read that right.
 
Augie Pabst, fueled by adult beverages and a bet from Roger Penske and Walt Hansgen, drove his Hertz rental car into the hotel pool.
 
“I said, ‘Augie, you’ve had a really bad day. I bet you $100 that you won’t drive your rental car into the swimming pool,’” Penske later recalled.
 
“So, sure enough, Augie stripped down to his undershorts, got in his rental car and drove right down between the diving board and into the pool. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen!”
 
The car was totally submerged, and unfortunately for Hansgen, he had forgotten to take his camera out of the trunk first.
 
The following day the car was removed from the pool, and both Hertz and the Mark Thomas Inn – which is now the Hyatt Regency – received more publicity than they ever could’ve dreamed of as a result of the prank. When the group returned to the hotel the following year, the staff had placed a floating “no parking” sign in the pool.
 

 
The late 1960s saw high-powered muscle cars take over at Laguna Seca, as the Trans Am series roared into Monterey in 1969.
 
Mark Donohue became a fixture on the podium at Laguna Seca, as he captured the final USRRC race ever held in Monterey in 1968 behind the wheel of Roger Penske’s McLaren M6A. Donohue would go on to clinch the 1968 USRRC title, which was his second in a row.
 
The always popular Donohue also found great success in the Trans Am series. Behind the wheel of a Camaro Z28, he won the inaugural Over 2000cc race at Laguna Seca in 1969, which also clinched his second consecutive Trans Am series championship.
 
Check back next month for another installment of 65th Anniversary Laguna Legends. And make sure to buy your tickets to all eight 2022 premier events at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca by visiting www.WeatherTechRaceway.com or by calling the Tickets and Accommodations Specialists at 831.242.8200.

(Courtesy of WeatherTech Raceway)