| Friday, April 3rd 2015, 13:53 GMT |
Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly has finished GP2 pre-season testing on top, setting the fastest time on the final day of running at Bahrain International Circuit
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Scott Mitchell | Friday, April 3rd 2015, 14:31 GMT |
British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington thinks it will be "harder than ever" to win in the series ahead of the 2015 season opener at Brands Hatch
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Lawrence Barretto | Friday, April 3rd 2015, 15:21 GMT |
Marcus Ericsson has described his Malaysian Grand Prix weekend as a "breakthrough" in Formula 1, despite spinning out of the race
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Hal Ridge | Thursday, April 2nd 2015, 12:57 GMT |
Sportscar squad JRM Racing has confirmed its Prodrive-built Mini Clubman RXs will appear in the World Rallycross Championship this year, while World RX organisers have announced a list of eight full-time teams
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Lawrence Barretto | Thursday, April 2nd 2015, 14:32 GMT |
Williams driver Felipe Massa believes Ferrari's tyre affinity was the biggest factor in its Malaysian Grand Prix success, but admitted the Scuderia has improved more than its Formula 1 rivals
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Thursday, April 2nd 2015, 14:44 GMT |
Honda-backed ART Grand Prix driver Nobuharu Matsushita led the way during the second day of GP2's pre-season test in Bahrain
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Hal Ridge | Wednesday, April 1st 2015, 15:55 GMT |
DTM star Mattias Ekstrom has declared he'll also "drive enough races to become World Rallycross champion" this year, in announcing a dual 2015 programme.
With his own outfit, EKS RX, Ekstrom contested three World RX events in 2014, winning on home soil in Sweden and finishing second in Germany.
This year, he'll enter the championship in an Audi S1 Quattro alongside compatriot Anton Marklund, who was moved to the squad from Marklund Motorsport.
"We're happy to announce that we will do the full world championship. This was the plan from the beginning when we started the project," Ekstrom said.
"Anton and I will share the number one status and do as many races as we can to become world champions, both as a team and as drivers. If it's me [who is champion] then I'm really happy, and if it's Anton then that's also good.
"In the teams' championship, I think we have a very good chance. I like collecting trophies and it's a hobby of mine to polish them, so I will continue to do that until I stop racing and maybe even after."
Ekstrom is targeting a third DTM crown with Audi, and that campaign starts at Hockenheim next month in a double header with World RX, while the DTM finale also clashes with the Italian World RX round.
With Marklund racing in the newly-created Audi TT Cup at DTM events, Ekstrom refused to be drawn on potential stand-ins after a number of drivers represented EKS RS in 2014.
"The biggest chance for wildcard guys in the team will be the races we are not sure we can do, which will be Hockenheim and Italy," he said.
"The rest we will do ourselves and try to do as well as possible. Last year I think we had a good driver line-up.
"We have been contacted by around 40 drivers since the last race last year, so we've got a pretty good network. Our aim is to win, so we will pick the guy who we believe can drive the fastest."
Ekstrom is set to join Marklund on the grid for the very first TT Cup round at Hockenheim, which would see him race in three classes on the same weekend.
"Last year I proved that I can win in both cars," he said of his primary campaigns.
"I have felt I became a better qualifier in DTM after I started rallycross. In rallycross you have no time to start slowly and increase your pace, you have to be on the limit straight away.
"In the other direction, I have learnt a lot from the option tyre in DTM, even in only six laps in rallycross that can make a difference, the tyres can get very hot in that time."
| By Edd Straw and Lawrence Barretto | Wednesday, April 1st 2015, 14:40 GMT |
Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost believes "stupid people" who criticised Max Verstappen as too young for Formula 1 will have been silenced by his first two grands prix.
Verstappen, the youngest ever F1 driver at 17, became its youngest scorer as well when he finished seventh in last weekend's Malaysian GP, having qualified sixth in the wet.
Asked by AUTOSPORT if he felt Verstappen's critics were now answered, Tost replied: "I said this in October and November when all the people criticised: he will answer them on the racetrack because the answer on the racetrack means stupid people can understand."
Verstappen's team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr - also an F1 newcomer - has scored points in both the first two races of 2015, and Toro Rosso technical director James Key said the duo do not seem like rookies at all.
"I think the drivers did brilliantly in really difficult conditions," Key told AUTOSPORT.
"But they're both doing exactly what we want them to and the feedback in the race about the tyres is exactly what you want.
"It doesn't feel like they're rookies in many respects.
"There's no major drama behind, they just got on with the job."
Tost added that he has been particularly impressed by Verstappen's and Sainz's work ethic.
"I'm more than happy with both of the drivers," said Tost. "Both of them have done a fantastic job without any mistakes.
"They are open-minded and they want to learn until late at night.
"They want to see what is going on, what's being changed on the car and this understanding helps them perform well.
"They are also very high-skilled drivers."
| Wednesday, April 1st 2015, 15:05 GMT |
Manor Formula 1 team development driver Jordan King topped the timesheets for Racing Engineering on the opening day of GP2's second pre-season test at Bahrain International Circuit.
Having been 13th in the morning, King sat atop the times for the bulk of the afternoon running, and asserted his place with a 1m41.494s lap set with half an hour to go, after Norman Nato and Marco Sorensen had briefly gone fastest during the final hour.
Mitch Evans was King's closest challenger, with a 1m41.608s, despite bringing the day to a premature end when he stopped on track in the dying minutes.
The New Zealander had earlier set the morning pace with a 1m42.479s, ahead of Nato and Sorensen.
Only 16th in the morning, Sergey Sirotkin jumped up to third late in the afternoon, ahead of McLaren protege Stoffel Vandoorne, Sorensen, Julian Leal and Nathanael Berthon.
Reigning GP3 champion Alex Lynn ended the day 16th, one spot ahead of Nick Yelloly, who is testing with Hilmer Motorsport after parting company with European Le Mans Series squad Jota Sport last month. Completing his maiden GP2 running, Yelloly was 12th in the morning.
The three-day test continues on Thursday.
Morning times:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell Evans | RUSSIAN TIME | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.479s | - | 10 |
| 2 | Norman Nato | Arden International | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.653s | 0.174s | 22 |
| 3 | Marco Sorensen | Carlin | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.689s | 0.210s | 14 |
| 4 | Nathanael Berthon | Lazarus | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.712s | 0.233s | 16 |
| 5 | Julian Leal | Carlin | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.728s | 0.249s | 4 |
| 6 | Stoffel Vandoorne | ART Grand Prix | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.779s | 0.300s | 35 |
| 7 | Sergio Canamasas | MP Motorsport | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.800s | 0.321s | 14 |
| 8 | Alexander Rossi | Racing Engineering | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.801s | 0.322s | 10 |
| 9 | Andre Negrao | Arden International | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.953s | 0.474s | 26 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | DAMS | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.015s | 0.536s | 10 |
| 11 | Daniel de Jong | MP Motorsport | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.016s | 0.537s | 7 |
| 12 | Nick Yelloly | Hilmer Motorsport | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.042s | 0.563s | 22 |
| 13 | Jordan King | Racing Engineering | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.101s | 0.622s | 16 |
| 14 | Arthur Pic | Campos Racing | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.226s | 0.747s | 3 |
| 15 | Rio Haryanto | Campos Racing | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.347s | 0.868s | 18 |
| 16 | Sergey Sirotkin | Rapax | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.357s | 0.878s | 14 |
| 17 | Richie Stanaway | Status Grand Prix | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.391s | 0.912s | 16 |
| 18 | Artem Markelov | RUSSIAN TIME | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.455s | 0.976s | 14 |
| 19 | Raffaele Marciello | Trident | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.766s | 1.287s | 14 |
| 20 | Robert Visoiu | Rapax | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.826s | 1.347s | 14 |
| 21 | Marlon Stockinger | Status Grand Prix | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.876s | 1.397s | 19 |
| 22 | Alex Lynn | DAMS | Dallara/Renault | 1m44.022s | 1.543s | 10 |
| 23 | Zoel Amberg | Lazarus | Dallara/Renault | 1m44.333s | 1.854s | 28 |
| 24 | Nobuharu Matsushita | ART Grand Prix | Dallara/Renault | 1m44.392s | 1.913s | 26 |
| 25 | Rene Binder | Trident | Dallara/Renault | 1m44.416s | 1.937s | 10 |
Afternoon times:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan King | Racing Engineering | Dallara/Renault | 1m41.494s | - | 20 |
| 2 | Mitchell Evans | RUSSIAN TIME | Dallara/Renault | 1m41.608s | 0.114s | 14 |
| 3 | Sergey Sirotkin | Rapax | Dallara/Renault | 1m41.636s | 0.142s | 12 |
| 4 | Norman Nato | Arden International | Dallara/Renault | 1m41.755s | 0.261s | 16 |
| 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | ART Grand Prix | Dallara/Renault | 1m41.851s | 0.357s | 22 |
| 6 | Marco Sorensen | Carlin | Dallara/Renault | 1m41.861s | 0.367s | 16 |
| 7 | Julian Leal | Carlin | Dallara/Renault | 1m41.985s | 0.491s | 13 |
| 8 | Nathanael Berthon | Lazarus | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.004s | 0.510s | 13 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | DAMS | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.015s | 0.521s | 14 |
| 10 | Artem Markelov | RUSSIAN TIME | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.038s | 0.544s | 13 |
| 11 | Alexander Rossi | Racing Engineering | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.201s | 0.707s | 20 |
| 12 | Daniel de Jong | MP Motorsport | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.301s | 0.807s | 9 |
| 13 | Arthur Pic | Campos Racing | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.301s | 0.807s | 15 |
| 14 | Richie Stanaway | Status Grand Prix | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.365s | 0.871s | 22 |
| 15 | Raffaele Marciello | Trident | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.431s | 0.937s | 9 |
| 16 | Alex Lynn | DAMS | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.461s | 0.967s | 11 |
| 17 | Nick Yelloly | Hilmer Motorsport | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.608s | 1.114s | 18 |
| 18 | Robert Visoiu | Rapax | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.628s | 1.134s | 11 |
| 19 | Andre Negrao | Arden International | Dallara/Renault | 1m42.700s | 1.206s | 10 |
| 20 | Nobuharu Matsushita | ART Grand Prix | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.181s | 1.687s | 19 |
| 21 | Rio Haryanto | Campos Racing | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.207s | 1.713s | 15 |
| 22 | Zoel Amberg | Lazarus | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.383s | 1.889s | 17 |
| 23 | Marlon Stockinger | Status Grand Prix | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.398s | 1.904s | 13 |
| 24 | Rene Binder | Trident | Dallara/Renault | 1m43.902s | 2.408s | 6 |
| 25 | Sergio Canamasas | MP Motorsport | Dallara/Renault | 1m44.630s | 3.136s | 8 |
| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, March 31st 2015, 12:01 GMT |
The Manor Formula 1 team insists there is no reason why it cannot run both its cars at the same time, following speculation over Will Stevens' Malaysian Grand Prix absence
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
