(Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship PR)

he Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) makes its Indianapolis debut this week as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship heads to the hallowed ground of Midwest motorsports – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). More than 100 years of motorsports history echoes through the track at 16th and Georgetown, and ESM looks to make its mark during Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix.
 
Scott Sharp, ESM owner/driver, has 14 Indianapolis 500 starts on his résumé including a pole position in 2001 and five top-10 finishes. In his last four appearances (2005-2007, 2009), Sharp ran a Honda-powered machine. The 2007 season was the first time Sharp drove a Tequila Patrón-sponsored Honda race car. 

“There is no track that has the heritage and atmosphere as Indianapolis! I’ve been fortunate to have great memories from the many Mays that I have spent at the track," stated Sharp.

Sharp now leads the Extreme Speed Motorsports Tequila Patrón-sponsored Honda Performance Development ARX-03b (HPD) team into another chapter of IMS history. This weekend marks the first time Sharp, Ed Brown, Ryan Dalziel and Johannes van Overbeek will race as a team at IMS.
 
Sharp and Dalziel, co-drivers of the No. 1 Tequila Patrón HPD, have turned plenty of laps at IMS. Sharp made his IMS debut in 1994 and competed in the 2002-2003 International Race of Champions (IROC) events. At the 2003 IROC race, Sharp qualified on the outside pole. Dalziel has two previous starts at the Indianapolis Grand Prix under the GRAND AM Rolex Sports Car Series banner. In 2013, Dalziel and Starworks DP co-driver Alex Popow won the Indianapolis Grand Prix on the former 2.534-mile circuit.
 
Shortly after Dalziel’s win, the IMS road course was reconfigured to a 2.439-mile, 14-turn circuit.  The only race on the road course in the new configuration this year was the IndyCar road race in May. ESM’s Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup driver Simon Pagenaud was the race winner.

“We need both cars to have a solid, trouble free weekend," commented Dalziel. "If we do that I think we can see both Tequila Patrón cars on the podium.”

The only other speedway/road course circuit on the TUDOR Championship calendar was the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. This marks the second time this season for ESM to compete on the combined speedway/road course circuit.
 
Brown and van Overbeek, co-drivers of the No. 2 Tequila Patrón HPD, finished eighth at the season-opening race at Daytona. The combination of confidence from that race along with the mid-June test at IMS, should bode well for the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca race winners.

“We tested the new Indy road course circuit earlier this year, and it’s impressive," added Brown. "This is Indianapolis – the true American racing venue, and definitely one on the ‘must win’ list for any driver. Few tracks in the world have the history and mystique Indianapolis does, and we’re ready to set our place in IMS history."
 
Following the last two rounds of competition and seeking a balance of power within the premier racing class, officials from the TUDOR Championship’s sanctioning body – International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) – announced last week that ESM’s Honda HPDs will receive a 0.3mm larger air restrictor. The change results in a greater airflow to the HPD engine for more horsepower.
 
The two-hour, 45-minute TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Brickyard Grand Prix on July 24-25 is the eighth race of 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Qualifying for prototype cars takes place at 5:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 24. Green flag is 5:45 p.m. ET on Friday, July 25.  
 
Television coverage of the Brickyard Grand Prix starts at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. 

It's safe to say the previous pair of TUDOR United SportsCar Championship races have been difficult for the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia and drivers Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Westphal. However, both of them are entering this weekend's Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway upbeat and aiming for a second win of the year. 

Balzan finished fourth in the Rolex Series race at IMS in the GT class driving the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia. After narrowly missing the podium then, he is hoping for a clean race and a chance to compete for the podium this time. 

"To race at such a famous circuit in a Ferrari is an honor," said Balzan. "We have had some bad luck recently, and everyone at Scuderia Corsa is motivated to get another really good result not only for our team, but for Ferrari. Right now we have a car that maybe isn't the fastest in a straight line, but has good balance and that will be important this weekend. And as we saw in Detroit, we can count on a good strategy from the team!"

Westphal will be competing at the world-famous Brickyard for the first time this weekend, and is excited to race at the historic venue for the first time.

"The last couple of races have been difficult, but everyone at Scuderia Corsa is very motivated," said Westphal. "Considering our position in the championship, our goal is to be aggressive and win races and to also help secure the manufacturer championship for Ferrari. I think we have a car that will be good on long runs and will be good in the infield, and the team will do everything it can to maximize the performance."

While Scuderia Corsa competed at IMS last season, this year will present a new challenge as the road course layout has changed substantially creating a world of unknowns for the drivers and the engineers. The TUDOR Championship will be also sharing the weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, putting the track time for the TUDOR Championship at a premium.

Keeping the challenges of the schedule and the new layout in mind, Scuderia Corsa engineer Joe La Joie will be tasked with getting the most out of the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia.  

"In previous years, the Indianapolis road course presented a couple challenges - long straights, a big brake zone, and the rather abrupt transition onto the short shoot between the oval turns one and two," said La Joie. "This has changed this year since we will run the new IndyCar circuit.  It appears that we could have two significant brake zones and it is unclear as to how severe the transitions will be, if at all.  The track has also been resurfaced. One of the challenges of running Indy is the logistics - NASCAR and IMSA run the oval and the road course on the same day which does not leave us much track time."    

The Brickyard Grand Prix will be shown live on Friday, July 25th 5:30 ET on FOX Sports 1. Qualifying will be streamed live on Thursday, July 24th beginning at 4:00 PM ET on IMSA.com.

On Tuesday, July 22, Dragon Racing, the Los Angeles based professional motorsports team owned by media and publishing entrepreneur Jay Penske, announced the signing of Jérôme d'Ambrosio to compete in the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship.  

“It is with great excitement that I will be at the wheel of the Dragon Racing entry in this historic first season of the FIA Formula E Championship,” said d'Ambrosio. “I have watched the Dragon Racing organisation closely over the last few months and feel that together we can achieve great results during this first season.”

The 28-year-old Belgian began go-karting aged eight before quickly rising through the single-seater ranks on his way to his Formula One debut with the Virgin F1 Team (now Marussia). In doing so he became only the third Belgian in the history of the sport to complete a full season in F1, after well-known racing drivers Jacky Ickx and Thierry Boutsen. Following this, d'Ambrosio moved to the Lotus F1 Team as a reserve driver for 2012-2013, taking part in the 2012 Italian Grand Prix. More recently, he signed with Bentley for their return to endurance racing and is now looking forward to beginning the Formula E season with Dragon Racing.  

Jay Penske, owner of Dragon Racing, said: “I am so pleased to have Jérôme pilot one of our two Dragon Racing entries. After watching Jérôme’s performances in F1, as well as the most recent Formula E test, I feel that the combination of Jérôme and our other drivers should prove to be a formidable force.” 

Dragon Racing, which is currently preparing for the first race of the inaugural Formula E series in Beijing, China, on September 13 2014, first began in 2006 under the original banner of Luczo Dragon Racing founded by Penske and Steve Luczo, Chairman and CEO of Seagate Technologies. In May of 2007, Dragon Racing made their debut at the Indianapolis 500 finishing an impressive fifth with Ryan Briscoe. Two years later they completed their first full IndyCar season claiming Rookie of the Year with Raphael Matos. In 2013 Dragon Racing fielded two cars in the IndyCar Series, with drivers Sebastian Saavedra and four-time Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais.  

The signing of d'Ambrosio leaves just three driver places remaining for the 2014/2015 Formula E season with China Racing yet to reveal their line-up, along with the second seat at Andretti Autosport. 

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, added: “Jérôme is a talented driver and we’re delighted to welcome yet another top name to the inaugural Formula E grid and excited to see who will fill the last three places.” 

For more information on Formula E, including a full driver list, visit www.fiaformulae.com. 

Registration for the 2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs® at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the first west coast visit for the event in 46 years, opens this Wednesday, July 23, at 10 a.m. (EDT, 7 a.m. PDT).

The heart of historic downtown Monterey will be transformed into an outdoor motorsports museum when historic race cars line Alvarado Street between 5 and 7 p.m. on Friday, August 8 when Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca kicks of the 2014 Monterey Classic Car Week activities.
 
The race car show lines the street allowing visitors the chance to freely walk among the race cars, take pictures beside them and ask questions of their owners. This event marks the start of an exhilarating week on the central coast and allows visitors to gain an up-close look at the weekend’s biggest automotive stars. In addition to its motorsports attractions, the race car show will also feature raffle prizes, music and driver interviews.
 
With the support of the Old Monterey Business Association, the show features a select group of classic race cars that will participate in the week’s cornerstone event, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Under police escort, this band of historic race cars will travel from the race track, down Highway 68 and finish their journey in beautiful Old Monterey where they will be on display for the downtown community.
 
This year’s race car show will feature a diverse lineup of race cars, such as a 1956 Lotus Eleven, 1965 Alfa Romeo GTA, 1968 Bizzarrini Strada and a 1963 Corvette Stingray.
 
For race participants it is an opportunity to showcase their cars to the community in a festive environment filled with families. Cibo Ristorante Italiano (www.cibo.com) located at 301 Alvarado is a generous supporter of the event. Cibo is hosting a driver reception that will be open to the public at 5 p.m. with complimentary appetizers until 7 p.m. and live jazz music beginning at 5:30.
 
Part competition and part pageantry, racing history comes to life as cars from nearly every era grace Mazda Raceway August 14-17 at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The cars, which are selected for their historical significance, authenticity and period-correctness, are divided into 15 classes, based on type of car, displacement and era of origin. In commemoration of its centennial, Maserati is this year’s featured marque and will be represented by a number of rarely-seen models competing on the track. 
 
For more information on the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion or to purchase tickets call 800-327-7322 or visit www.MazdaRaceway.com.

In July of 2013, Bryan Sellers was able to make a childhood dream a reality. He won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) taking top-honors in the track's Sports Car Challenge race. However, the Braselton, Georgia-resident, who grew up just hours away in Centerville, Ohio, is eager to place his name on trophy for the top sportscar race at world famous facility, the Brickyard Grand Prix. Sellers and teammate Wolf Henzler (Germany) will challenge for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship's GT Le Mans class victory in the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR on Friday evening, July 25.

"I am beyond excited to race at Indy in the Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR," stated Sellers. "Getting to race and win here last year with Fall-Line Motorsports in the support race was an amazing experience. However, as a racecar driver, you always want to be on the biggest stage and in the most intense environment. This week I have the chance to do that in the most competitive GT class in the world on the most famous racetrack in motorsports in the best Porsche 911 ever created in the top event. It is a huge honor to just be here in this position. I am eager to get on track and put on the best show we can for the fans." 

Sellers chased his dreams of an Indianapolis 500 victory from his first kart race at the age 11. He won multiple open-wheel championships and tested ChampCar open wheel machines. Sellers moved to sportscar racing in 2005 and became a Team Falken Tire factory driver in 2009. His win last year in the Brickyard Grand Prix's support event fueled the fire to return and fight for top-honors on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. With the world's most competitive GT racing class now eligible to compete at Indianapolis, by virtue of the formation of IMSA's TUDOR Championship, Sellers now has the opportunity.

"I think every win stands out because victories can be so few and far between," Sellers continued. "However, there are always some that stand out more than others and Indy will always be one of those for me. Standing on the high-rise podium and looking down has been one of the greatest moments of my professional career. It's a feeling that you want to re-create weekend after weekend. I am so honored to be able to have that on my resume, as it is something that can never be taken away. The flavor of the bricks is something I think I will always be able taste." 

The Indianapolis road course underwent major modifications in the last year removing some of Sellers' "inside knowledge". However, expectations of success for the two-hour, 45-minute "sprint" race were increased when the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche, the only customer team-owned Porsche 911 RSR competing in the TUDOR watch-backed series, qualified third and raced near the front for much of the most recent round of the season. Falken Tire brought a new Azenis racing slick to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) for that race and the gains proved to be a significant breakthrough. The new tire provided the longtime driving duo predictable and consistent handling over the course of a race stint increasing their competitiveness against the field of factory teams.

"I think it is simple to keep the momentum really," added Sellers. "The execution needs to be a little better. We had the speed in Mosport [Canadian Tire Motorsport Park] but I had a slight bobble that put us a little behind in my stint and with the lack of yellows we couldn't recover. The GTLM class is just too close to have even the smallest hiccup. Indy will be different. We will execute at a high level, and if we have the speed, we will get a result." 

The week between the Canadian round and the Indianapolis stop has had special significance to Sellers. The Ohio-native and his wife Jamie announced they are expecting their first child in November.

 "Everybody in motorsports are more than friends, they are family," concluded Sellers. "I was excited to be able to share that Jamie was pregnant. I am so excited to take on this next portion our lives. One thing I know for sure is there will be no shortage of people I can turn to for help!"

The Brickyard Grand Prix can be seen live on FOX Sports 1 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, July 25. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the race live on its network of stations. Friday's race will also have live timing and scoring available at IMSA.com. Streaming of the qualifying show is available on the IMSA web site beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 24.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is back with a bang at Snetterton this August (2/3) as the drivers and teams return from their summer break. You can save up to £13 on the gate price by purchasing tickets in advance by clicking here. 

After two high scoring meetings at Oulton Park and Croft, eBay Motors' Colin Turkington has taken the title lead, but is coming under attack from Honda's Gordon Shedden and Pirtek's Andrew Jordan, the reigning champion. 

With no fewer than seven former champions on the 31-car grid, at least half of the drivers are capable of winning one of the three races at Snetterton, where the long straights and testing corners make for great racing. There's a packed support bill too - and you won't miss a moment of the action from the venue's panoramic spectator banks and giant TV screens! 

To buy tickets for the BTCC at Snetterton, call 0843 453 9000 or click here!

On Monday, July 21, the circuit layout and location for the 2015 Buenos Aires ePrix, host for round four of the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship, was finally revealed. Taking place on January 10, 2015, the 2.44km anti-clockwise track lies in the popular and modern Puerto Madero district to the east of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.The ePrix has been warmly welcomed by Mayor Mauricio Macri, along with the City Government, local authorities and the ASN. 

“For Buenos Aires to be selected to host a Formula E race alongside worldwide cities such as Beijing, London and Miami demonstrates the commitment of the city to embracing new technologies, clean mobility and respect for the environment," added Macri. "The electric vehicle will play a significant role in reducing future pollution in cities across the globe, making them better places to live, and Buenos Aires is pleased to be at the forefront of this and to be supporting a pioneering initiative such as Formula E.”

The course was designed by Santiago Garcia Remohi and features 12 turns including a mix of high-speed corners, chicanes and hairpins. The race is one of two in South America along with Punta del Este in Uruguay (Round three) on December 13 2014. 

“Looking at the track, you have to say it’s got a good combination of corners,"Mahindra Racing’s Bruno Senna said. "There’s a chicane, some high-speed turns with a change of direction and slow-speed as well. It’s impossible to tell from the map about undulation, but I think that it could make for an interesting race and it will be fun to drive."

The Buenos Aires ePrix becomes the fifth track to be revealed by Formula E organisers, with the roads surrounding Beijing’s Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium forming the season opener, followed by a race though the centre of Putrajaya in Malaysia for round two. Punta del Este’s picturesque coastline provides the venue for round three with round seven taking place in Long Beach, Southern California, using a modified version of the city’s historic street circuit. The remaining tracks will be released approximately six months prior to the race.

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E said: “We’re very excited about racing in Argentina and want to thank the City Government, Mayor Mauricio Macri, the ASN and all the local authorities for their continued support, investment and backing. We believe this race is going to provide a fantastic spectacle for the people of Buenos Aires and for Formula E fans around the world.”

Formula E is the FIA’s new fully-electric single-seater championship designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans, whilst accelerating the interest in electric vehicles and promoting sustainability. Competing entirely on city-centre circuits – with races also in China, Malaysia, Uruguay, USA, Monaco, Germany and the UK – it uses cars capable of speeds in excess of 150mph (225kph). Its 10 teams and 20 drivers feature some of the leading international names in motorsport including Alain Prost and Michael Andretti, along with high-profile environmental supporters including Sir Richard Branson.

Formula E currently has two signed South American drivers in Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt) and Bruno Senna (Mahindra Racing), whilst Juan Manuel Lopez recently become the first Argentinean to test the Formula E car at Donington Park, UK. 

Full details on tickets for the event will be revealed closer to the time. For more information on Formula E, including viewing an interactive circuit map of the Buenos Aires ePrix, visit www.fiaformulae.com.

Tanner Foust snapped a 12-race winless streak in Red Bull Global Rallycross competition with a thrilling victory in Volkswagen Rallycross NY, held on Sunday at Nassau Coliseum in New York. Foust, driving the #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Polo, beat SH Racing Rallycross driver Nelson Piquet Jr. and Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block to the line in a mad dash to the finish.

“It’s been a tough year—the guys with the most finely tuned road racing skills have really dominated this year, and this was a course that road racing skill really played in,” said Foust. “Luckily, I was able to use a little bit of rallycross skill, focusing on starting, because the track was really hard to pass on in order to get the job done.”

After incidents eliminated Patrik Sandell and Sverre Isachsen and led to red flag periods, Foust took advantage of a two-car front row in the final to get a clean start and push out to the lead. Second place was hotly contested throughout the event, with Ken Block, Piquet Jr., and Scott Speed all holding the runner-up spot during the six-lap main event.

Speed crossed the line second, but was disqualified from the event for making unapproved adjustments to his vehicle during the first red flag under Article 7.7 of the series’ supplemental regulations. As a result, Speed was dropped to ninth position, elevating Piquet Jr. to second place and the points lead.

“Obviously, we want to take the points lead on the track, but regulations are regulations,” said Piquet. “Points-wise, it’s great, and it’s great for the team. I work great with my team, I love them, and we’re bonding all the time. We want to win a race, but we think about the championship and scoring as many points as we need to.”

In GRC Lites, Kevin Eriksson earned his first career victory just four days after his 18^th birthday, winning over Olsbergs MSE teammate Mitchell DeJong and Pedro Piquet. Piquet, the 15-year-old brother of Nelson Piquet Jr., and fourth place finisher Oliver Eriksson were each making their GRC Lites race debuts in New York.