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FOX Sports has confirmed it’s the brand new home for IndyCar with its 2025 schedule released

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As a part of the unprecedented increase in visibility of the IndyCar Series, all races within the 2025 season might be broadcast on FOX and may also be available on the FOX Sports app, and FOX Deportes will broadcast exclusive television coverage in Spanish.

In addition to being the exclusive home of North America's premier open-wheel championship, the deal includes extensive, multi-platform coverage of the 109th Indianapolis 500 on the FOX Sports family of networks.

FOX may also broadcast two days of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” qualifying on Saturday and Sunday, bringing the full variety of broadcast windows to 19, a record for the IndyCar Series.

“This means unparalleled exposure and unparalleled opportunities to grow the most competitive and entertaining motor sport in the world,” said Mark Miles, IndyCar CEO.

“FOX Sports is a fully committed partner, ready to provide engaging and technically innovative coverage to millions of fans across the country while thoroughly promoting IndyCar across all of its platforms.”

The five-hour window on FOX might be part of intensive Indy 500 race day coverage.

“Adding the iconic Indianapolis 500 and bringing the entire NTT IndyCar Series to the FOX Sports lineup is a perfect fit for our model of partnering with major sporting events and best-in-class brands,” said FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks.

“We are honored to be the new host of the broadcast of 'The Greatest Show in Racing,' an incredibly special event for everyone on FOX Sports.”

All IndyCar series practice and qualifying sessions might be broadcast on FS1 and FS2. The historic deal also includes most Indy NXT races broadcast on FS1, with FS2 providing additional coverage of additional races.

While the printed schedule might be announced at a later date, a 2025 schedule has also been revealed.

IndyCar Series racing will once more kick off the 2025 season with the Saint Petersburg Grand Prix on Sunday, March 2. It will conclude on Labor Day weekend with the Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, August 31.

A return trip to The Thermal Club is scheduled for March 23, with significant changes including a race in St. Louis on the track formerly generally known as Gateway moved to June 15.

Additional announcements, including on-air talent, might be made at a later date.

Full 2025 IndyCar Series schedule:

  • March 2 – Saint Petersburg Grand Prix – FOX
  • March 23 – Thermal Club – FOX
  • April 13 – The Streets of Long Beach – FOX
  • May 4 – Barber Motorsports Park – FOX
  • May 10 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road track) – FOX
  • May 25 – Indianapolis 500 – FOX
  • June 1 – Streets of Detroit – FOX
  • June 15 – World Technology Track – FOX
  • June 22 – Road America – FOX
  • July 6 – Central Ohio Sports Car Course – FOX
  • July 12 – Iowa Speedway Race 1 – FOX
  • July 13 – 2nd speedway race in Iowa – FOX
  • July 20 – Streets of Toronto – FOX
  • July 27 – WeatherTech Laguna Seca Race Track – FOX
  • August 10 – Portland International Raceway – FOX
  • August 24 – Milwaukee Mile – FOX
  • August 31 – Nashville Superspeedway – FOX

Sauber fix for F1 struggles 'not rocket science'

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The Hinwil-based team is the one team to not have scored points in the present campaign after its qualifying results dropped because the start of the season.

Bottas rode well in mixed conditions in Montreal before pitting “one lap too early” to modify to slicks because the track surface dried out, eventually ending thirteenth, 10 seconds behind Pierre Gasly, who was within the last point-giving position.
With five cars withdrawing from the race – three of which were regular points scorers within the cars of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Sergio Perez – Sauber missed out on a probability to get on the leaderboard, especially as rival Alpine secured two top-10 finishes .

“We still have something to work on,” Bottas said. “We must make improvements and increase the speed of the automobile. It's not rocket science, we just need more elements.”

On whether an update package for the Spanish Grand Prix is ​​on the best way, the Finn replied: “We have small things, but a very high downforce track, it's a different track to here. I think it will be close, as we saw. The next step will be to get back to Q2, where we can fight a little better.”

Valtteri Bottas, kick of the Stake F1 Sauber C44 team

Valtteri Bottas, kick of the Stake F1 Sauber C44 team

Photo: Zak Mauger / Motorsport images

Teammate Zhou Guanyu endured a test weekend struggling behind the wheel of the C44, which saw two red flag incidents during practice.

His fortunes didn’t turn around before qualifying and, facing a back-to-back start, he joined Bottas in starting the race from the pit lane.

Ultimately ending the race because the only driver lapped by race winner Verstappen, the Chinese driver admitted: “I just struggled on different compounds. Halfway through the race I used to be a bit out of the race anyway, so I used to be a bit lonely.

“We have already planned something on the factory to examine every part and make certain that we’re starting a bit from scratch. These two weekends I feel like something just isn’t going right and this weekend all these mistakes which have never happened before.

“So we try to understand all our problems and have plans for the next race.”

Asked if it was just the rear of the automobile that was lacking confidence given the accidents it had earlier within the weekend, Zhou replied: “Honestly, this phenomenon happens everywhere, just four-wheel skidding. There's no huge limitation here, we're just lacking traction. Getting progress is quite simple, but not easy.”

Needing a win, McDowell says: 'It hurts to complete second'

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McDowell, who typically performs well on road courses and superspeedways – and has won the NASCAR Cup Series on each – noted that Sunday's race has a first-rate opportunity to capture his first victory of the 2024 season.

For McDowell, victory is probably going the one way he’ll make the 16-driver playoffs after a difficult begin to the season that left him stuck twentieth within the standings.

On the newly renovated 3.99-mile track, McDowell's No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford was fast in practice and qualifying. He began the race from twelfth position and rode a solid first stage.

However, after McDowell was forced back onto the sphere as a consequence of pit strategy, there was an incident with Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric shortly after the restart on stage two, forcing him to pit for repairs.

Still, after 51 green-flag laps at the top of the race, McDowell slowly caught as much as the leaders, and when Martin Truex Jr. ran out of fuel early in the ultimate lap, McDowell – briefly, anyway – saw a glimmer of hope for victory.

Kyle Larson held on for over 4 seconds to overtake McDowell for the win, and McDowell made a powerful comeback, but his playoff hopes are dwindling.

Michael McDowell, Motorsports Front Row, Love's Journey Stops the Ford Mustang

Michael McDowell, Motorsports Front Row, Love's Journey Stops the Ford Mustang

Photo: Ben Earp / NKP / Motorsport images

“The first stage went well for us, we just executed our plan and strategy, but unfortunately when we got to the back after the restart and they were stuck in the es, we just hit the barriers.” McDowell said.

“It really hurt our track position because then we needed to go to pit road and repair the damage, which type of killed our probabilities of getting back on the front after coming off the bike, but luckily we had a very fast (automobile).

“We managed to get about half of them back before the end of the second stage, and in the last stage we had to fight really hard to get track position.”

The encouraging, if frustrating, a part of Sunday's race for McDowell was that he believed his team showed it had the potential to get a much-needed victory.

“I feel like we had the speed and that hurts. Finishing second within the race hurts,” he said. “We desperately need a win to make the playoffs, but I'm happy with the hassle and speed we achieved.

“Just a little short.”

McDowell said he probably would have needed assist in the ultimate laps to have a likelihood to catch as much as Larson when Truex fell to the side of the road.

“I pushed pretty hard. I don't understand how way more I could achieve,” he said. “I needed (Larson) to fight (Truex) slightly more and even (Chris Buescher) because when he got here out on the brand new tires he was just faster than us.

“I couldn't stop him, but I knew in the long term we could probably keep our balance and gain some speed. Our strength was the long series. It's only a shame.”

Pushing Red Bull to the curb won't compromise the F1's aerodynamic efficiency

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The team from Milton Keynes faced two demanding trips in Monaco and Montreal, and the 2024 rival turned out to be not very comfortable in overcoming curbs and bumps.

The issue is known to be related to the aerodynamic platform, requiring the RB20 to be driven with stiff suspension settings that can’t be alleviated significantly without causing a lack of downforce.

Red Bull is working on an answer that may give it a greater overall package, but it can likely take a while.

However, team principal Christian Horner believes there is no such thing as a reason why the answer ultimately implemented couldn’t still allow the RB20 to showcase its strengths.

He also said there have been already encouraging signs of progress from the team by way of Red Bull's speed in the ultimate sector of Montreal, which incorporates the ultimate high-curb chicane.

“Everything has to work in tandem, so you're pushing against the aerodynamic platform of the car, but you want the car to go over the curbs,” he explained. “It was encouraging that our third sector was competitive this weekend, even with the stiffness of the automobile hitting the ultimate chicane.

“If you take a look at the entire run. we were very competitive there. So despite the fact that it was uncomfortable, we were still capable of be fast enough.

“I think we're looking at real performance, so if we can unlock that, it will increase the lap time.”

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing RB20

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo: Mark Sutton / Motorsport images

Verstappen was heard on team radio through the Canadian Grand Prix complaining that his suspension “felt stuck.”

Asked to make clear what the Dutchman meant, Horner said: “I believe what he meant was that the automobile is kind of stiff and because the track dries out the automobile goes a bit faster and so they start using the curbs.

“But we understand our problems and a few weeks ago we had a great improvement after the match against Monaco. Winning a race like this was very satisfying and important.”

Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen, 1st, celebrates his arrival at Parc Ferme

Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen, 1st, celebrates his arrival at Parc Ferme

Photo: Zak Mauger / Motorsport images

Speaking after the victory, Verstappen shared Horner's optimism that Red Bull would solve the issues without harming the RB20's strengths.

But at the identical time, he suggested it was flawed to suggest that Montreal showed that kerbing problems weren't that bad because a wet race meant most drivers steered clear of them.

“I really think we can solve this problem without affecting any other part of the car,” said the world champion. “Today it was more like a curb ride because I felt like that wasn't there within the race.

“We realize it's a weakness and I also know we're working hard to repair it because I actually feel it's quite a performance constraint for us in the intervening time.

“Then I'm also looking forward to tracks where we don't have to go over too many curbs or bumps.”

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Watch: Canadian GP Race Review – Wet and wild vs. cool and calm

How Red Bull took one other step towards the F1 rear wing trend

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The twin rear wing tip solution is currently one example – rivals clearly saw the potential on offer when Aston Martin and Alpine concurrently debuted original versions of two barely different solutions at Monaco last 12 months.

All teams have been on the lookout for ways to compensate for among the losses that the rear end regulations have placed on them, because the endplate and flap combination is significantly different from how they’ve been shaped previously.

This was for good reason, nonetheless, as teams became extremely adept at managing the ultimate vortex to extend downforce and reduce drag. While this was good for the automobile's performance, it was troublesome for the automobile behind because it affected the general wake profile.

But designers couldn't unlearn what they already knew, and so they quickly realized that if they might eliminate among the constraints that the regulations appeared to place on them, while introducing a few of their old ideas in latest ways, they might regain a few of what they’d lost. performance.

Just over a 12 months because the advent of those two solutions, there continues to be a good amount of development occurring within the now quite divergent branches of development which have emerged.

Alpine A523 rear wing side comparison

Alpine A523 rear wing side comparison

Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola

The foremost route taken by most teams is an alpine structure, with a metal support angled to the tip plate and contained in the joint.

However, as teams modified their designs, there was a move towards an elongated lower tip that extends down over the support and the sting of the foremost plane. There was also a reshaping of the tip section to supply support for the highest flap.

All of those optimizations, together with the redesign of the endplate cutout, are intended to assist discover a compromise between increasing downforce and reducing drag, while still accounting for the facility of the DRS when applied.

Sauber Mono Pillar, Monaco vs Canada

Sauber Mono Pillar, Monaco vs Canada

Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola

Sauber introduced latest rear wings to its pool in each Monaco and Canada because the team switched from a dual mounting pillar system to a single unit.

Interestingly, the Swiss company has secured its assumptions, because solutions on either side of the downforce spectrum have two different twin ends. The variant with higher downforce refers back to the Aston Martin design, while the variant with lower downforce refers back to the Alpine line.

Meanwhile, Mercedes is one other interesting case study, because it moved within the direction of Aston Martin in 2023, but switched to the Alpine concept in 2024 (inset below).

Mercedes W15 Imola rear wing comparison

Mercedes W15 Imola rear wing comparison

Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola

The German manufacturer has introduced a totally latest variant to its lineup in Imola, developing a forward-reaching outboard-mounted solution.

The overarching goal of the project is evident, because it assumes the exchange of resistance for a given level of downforce of the wing getting used. However, it is a more creative interpretation, which is natural considering the time designers have now had with these regulations and this particular design feature.

Red Bull has also made changes to the rear wing design of the RB20 in Canada because it continues to look for tactics to enhance performance, which is very essential considering the chasing pack is now hot on its heels.

Red Bull RB20 rear wing tip

Red Bull RB20 rear wing tip

Photo: Uncredited

His latest design was quite interesting, nonetheless, as he added a small paddle at the highest corner of the foremost plane and an end-plate connector that was also angled parallel to the end-section mounting bracket.

The latest vane can be placed in step with the lower end of the tip (see inset), which was also modified as a part of the refurbishment and takes advantage of some great benefits of the vane. Both change the airflow behavior in that area.

To make sure the wing performed as predicted by the simulation tools, Red Bull doused the RB20's rear wing components with flow paint in the course of the first free rehearsal, and the flows created using the oil paint provided a snapshot of the airflow behavior over these surfaces.

Red Bull Racing RB20 rear details

Red Bull Racing RB20 rear details

Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola

It will likely be interesting to see if, how and when other teams start applying similar logic to their very own twin end section solutions, provided that every team in the sector has either had one or is currently using one.

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Watch: Canadian GP Race Review – Wet and wild vs. cool and calm

Aitken stays away from Rast and secures victory in the primary match

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The former Formula 1 driver remained on top of things throughout the race, taking a dominant victory from pole position in his Emil Frey Ferrari, which added to his victory within the season opener at Oschersleben.

Three-time DTM champion Rene Rast finished second for his first podium of the season, while Arjun Maini finished in the highest three ahead of Sunday's race.

When the lights went out for the fifth round of the campaign, Aitken took off with ease, with second-placed Clemens Schmid thwarting Maini's attack within the opening corners.

Aitken regularly gained 2.1 seconds on Schmid in the primary 11 minutes, and Rast, after jumping from seventh to fourth during this era, showed strong pace later within the race.

Overtaking, nevertheless, proved difficult as a consequence of the tightness of the Dutch track, as drivers held positions until the pitstop window 21 minutes into the race.

Schmid was the primary of the favorites to pit, but this proved costly as Aitken gained a nine-second advantage after changing tires on the next lap.

The Dorr McLaren driver then dropped one other position when Rast pitted behind Aitken, while Maini accomplished one other lap before pitting.

Arjun Maini, Mercedes-AMG HRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 Team

Arjun Maini, Mercedes-AMG HRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 Team

Photo: Alexander Trienitz

The long sweep gave the impression to be a masterstroke because the Mercedes driver exited the pit lane just ahead of Aitken, but was capable of regain the lead with Maini on the earliest opportunity just before turn three.

Maini lost second place to Rast 10 minutes later when the Schubert BMW went down the within Turn 1 before specializing in Aitken, who was two seconds ahead with 23 minutes remaining.

However, Rast did not make any significant gains as Aitken crossed the finish line 2.3 seconds ahead and moved as much as third within the championship.

Maini was one other 3.2 seconds behind and Schmid missed out on a fourth podium spot within the DTM.

Lucas Auer accomplished the highest five ahead of 2022 champion Sheldon van der Linde in sixth, while Marco Wittmann finished seventh after passing Riccardo Feller into the primary corner with 13 minutes left.

Mirko Bortolotti and Luca Stolz finished in the highest ten, while championship leader Kelvin van der Linde finished 14th.

Netherlands Zandvoort – Race 1

Wittmann takes a surprising victory within the second red-flagged race

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The Schubert BMW driver began from 14th position, but a masterful pitstop strategy allowed him to take the lead and win the second race of the DTM weekend in Zandvoort.

He was joined on the rostrum by Mirko Bortolotti and Kelvin van der Linde, with the latter extending his lead within the championship.

As the lights went out for the sixth round of the campaign, polesitter Maximilian Paul entered Turn 1 but did not fend off Bortolotti, who took the lead on the surface.

However, moments later Clemens Schmid hit the barrier approaching Turn 5, and in one other incident Lucas Auer stopped as smoke billowed from the rear of his Mercedes, causing a red flag for 10 minutes.

Racing resumed with 55 minutes remaining, Bortolotti retained the lead before a security automobile break was called 12 minutes later when Ayhancan Guven spun on the exit of Turn 3.

The safety automobile ran for six minutes and the drivers held their positions after the restart until the pitstop window with 36 minutes left within the race.

Van der Linde was the primary of the favorites to pit fourth, Thierry Vermeulen was the third to vary tires on the following lap, and Bortolotti made one other tour before pitting.

Van der Linde's undercut worked though, as he passed Vermeulen with a daring move on the surface of Turn 7 on Bortolotti's out lap, while Paul finally pitted with 27 minutes remaining.

Mirko Bortolotti, SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3

Mirko Bortolotti, SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3

Photo: Alexander Trienitz

The undercut initially worked as he left the pits in front of him, but on the out lap Paul was overtaken by Bortolotti at Turn 7 before overtaking Van der Linde and Vermeulen in the next corners.

However, Wittmann managed to tug off an undercut by pitting during these battles, leaving the pit lane two seconds ahead of Bortolotti.

However, the Lamborghini driver quickly made progress and attacked Wittmann, with the 2 colliding at Turn 12.

This caused damage to Wittmann's rear left bodywork, but he was capable of proceed and gain time over Bortolotti, who gave him victory by 7.2 seconds.

Van der Linde thwarted Vermeulen's late attack to say his third podium of the season, with Luca Stolz ending in the highest five.

This means Van der Linde is eight points ahead of second-placed Bortolotti, with third-placed Ricardo Feller an extra eight points behind.

DTM Zandvoort – Results of the second race

Results to follow

Mostert ends Ford's victory drought

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chaz mostert walkinshaw andret

Mostert, who led Walkinshaw Andretti United to a front-row break in qualifying, followed teammate Ryan Wood for the primary 14 laps of the 55-lap race before taking the lead and accelerating to a 4.9s victory over Triple Eight's Will Brown.

Ford's first victory within the ninth race of the season was decided by pit strategy and speed. Brown took 4 tires within the mandatory pit stop and 4 laps later, Mostert only two. This gave Mostert a five-second advantage, which he managed to take care of until the top of the race.

“[We are] I'm just aggressive, you know? Last year we didn't really feel where we were with the car window,” Mostert said after his first victory in almost two years.

“We tried numerous things. This yr I felt like each time he touched the automobile, either it did something. So [the recent] The test day was about trying out some big changes in philosophy and with that we got here here. We needed to put all of it together and make it work. For [our] after first seeing it, I feel it's pretty good.

Brown, who prolonged his lead within the series to over 100 points with a second-place finish, looked joyful together with his result after starting fourth.

“When we passed Ryan [Wood]I probably had a little bit of a tire problem and Chaz was still fast,” he said.

“He [Wood] he achieved the same times on two tires, so we had some work to do overnight, but we still managed to take second place. It's good for the championship.”

Third place was decided by a fierce battle between Fords of Wood and Cam Waters from Tickford. Wood (20 years old) rode brilliantly, and Waters managed to realize a position only on the last lap of the race.

Despite missing out on the rostrum, Wood's performance suggests that WAU appears, no less than for now, to have convincingly overcome its recent struggles on considered one of its bogey courses.

Triple Eight's Broc Feeney finished fifth, ahead of veteran James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team Ford) and Matt Stone Racing's Nick Percat (Chevrolet).

The day was a disaster for Erebus Motorsport as Jack Le Brocq suffered a battery failure on the beginning and defending champion Brodie Kostecki spun out of the primary corner and went into the last. At the top of the race on his home track, where he played last yr, he returned to tenth position.

Similarly, Grove Racing's Richie Stanaway dropped out early when Aaron's Love Ford, directly in front of him, experienced a stuck fuel pump. Stanaway hit him from behind, hit the wall and pitted before restarting, ending twenty fourth and last, 11 laps behind.

The results significantly increased Brown's points tally to 103 (952-849) over teammate Feeney, with Mostert third on 763. Percat and Grove Racing's Matt Payne are fourth on 606.

Kla Driver Car engine Delay
1 Chaz Mostert Ferry
2 William Brown Chevrolet 4.9134
3 Cameron Waters Ferry 13/1297
4 Ryan Wood Ferry 13.4661
5 Broc Feeney Chevrolet 17.8079
6 James Courtney Ferry 21.7942
7 Nick Percat Chevrolet 25.6341
8 Matthew Payne Ferry 26/0108
9 A. De Pasquale Ferry 30/2070
10 Tom Randle Ferry 31.9240
11 Cameron Hill Chevrolet 32.6170
12 Tim Slade Chevrolet 33.1726
13 A. Heimgartner Chevrolet 33.4673
14 James Golding Chevrolet 34.3121
15 Bryce Fullwood Chevrolet 37.7807
16 M. Winterbottom Chevrolet 41.9684
17 David Reynolds Chevrolet 43.5845
18 Jaxon Evans Chevrolet 44.4463
19 Macauley Jones Chevrolet 44.8055
20 Jack Le Brocq Chevrolet 47.3078
21 Aaron Love Ferry 1'14.2225
22 Brodie Kostecki Chevrolet
23 Will Davison Ferry
24 Richie Stanaway Ferry

Waters wins as Mostert takes a penalty

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race winner cameron waters tic 2

When the Walkinshaw Andretti United crew released Mostert from the pitlane after changing tires, he drove into the trail of Tickford's Thomas Randle, forcing him to hit the brakes.

The resulting five-second penalty saw Mostert attempting to construct a lead over fellow Ford Mustang driver Waters, but a lead of just 2.58 seconds gave Waters his first victory of the season.

Waters took pole position by just 0.03 seconds, but a slip at the top of the primary lap left Waters running wide and Mostert into the lead, which he would hold until the penalty was decided.

“It's great to get some trophies this weekend and get a race win,” Waters said. “I put my head down and closed the gap to Chazzie. Just two or three years ago I lost a race with a five-second penalty, so it was good to get it back!”

Mostert raised his hand to take the blame for losing the race.

“It sucks. I didn't expect that we could be so near anyone else,” he said. “I used to be a bit of hesitant, it was my mistake, I'll take this one.

“I didn't really race the race I wanted to. I probably burned some tires trying to achieve this [back] this punishment. He [Waters] He calmed down and ran a smart race.”

Triple 8's Will Brown secured third place on the course, replacing Randle on lap 49 of the 55-lap race. In doing so, he helped Randle off the road and earned a five-second time penalty himself, which he exceeded by just over one second, maintaining his second podium position of the weekend.

“I was working hard to get to him, I thought he moved under the brakes. “Unfortunate for him,” he said. “For us, third and second place after a hard weekend is a good weekend.”

Randle dropped back to fifth, splitting the Dick Johnson Racing Ford duo of Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale, who finished sixth.

It was a tricky Sunday for Triple 8's Broc Feeney, who qualified outside the highest ten and will only advance to seventh. WAU's Ryan Wood was eighth, ahead of fellow Ford driver Matt Payne (Grove Racing) and David Reynolds (Team18 Chevrolet).

The results mean Brown has prolonged his points lead over teammate Feeney to 136 points.

The 2024 Supercars season will resume in 4 weeks when teams gather for round five of the championship at Hidden Valley in Darwin on June 15-16.

Aston factory driver Sorensen will make his SUPER GT debut at D'station

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2022 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Sorensen will provide the newest specification Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to D'station managing director/driver Tomonobu Fujii within the GT300 class of the Japanese series, ranging from the season opener at OKakama in April.

The Danish driver will mix his newly announced commitments with the LMGT3 campaign within the World Endurance Championship, where he has been designated as a D'station skilled driver for 2024.

It was announced that he could be included in D'station's WEC squad early last month, when he signed a brand new contract with Aston Martin with a view to competing within the Hypercar class in 2025 within the half-baked Valkyrie LMH.

It is probably going that Sorensen will give method to the WEC when the series clashes with SUPER GT in two different situations, nonetheless no official word has been received from him, D'station of Aston.

“For me, competing in SUPER GT is a dream come true,” he said. “I really like Japan. I even have competed in races everywhere in the world, but I’m looking forward to a brand new challenge in Japan. The recent GT3 has taken a decisive step forward by way of performance.

“I'm looking forward to racing with Fujii San, who has SUPER GT experience, and the D'station Racing crew to get the results they deserve. I'm sure we can do great things together. Race fans in Japan always give me a warm welcome too, so I'm looking forward to my first race in Okamama.”

#33 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AmR LMGTE Am by Marco Sorensen

Photo: Marc Fleury

#33 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AmR LMGTE Am by Marco Sorensen

Sorensen's entry into SUPER GT coincides with D'station's return to SUPER GT after a three-year hiatus. The Japanese team last competed within the championship in 2020 with Pacific Racing before focusing its efforts on the WEC with a GTE version of the Vantage.

D'station signaled an official return to the category in October, with Fujii revealing that she had been approached by an existing team, paving the best way for a return to SUPER GT.

At the time, it was unclear whether he would give you the chance to secure a spot in the brand new LMGT3 division of the WEC, because the LMGT3 producers had to pick out a partner team, leaving the entry process to D'station.

D'station has not announced the 2 drivers who will partner Sorensen within the WEC, but Fujii – who has spent the last three years with the team in GTE Am – will team up with the 33-year-old in SUPER GT.

Fujii has been absent from his country's premier racing championship since his team's withdrawal at the tip of the 2020 season. Without D'station, Aston Martin can also be left and not using a presence in SUPER GT.

However, the British manufacturer will now return to the championship with the Evo Vantage GT3 version and can provide the team with factory support.

Dunlop will likely be the official tire supplier for D'station, a departure from the team's previous stint in GT300 between 2017 and 2020. The team spent the primary three seasons racing on Yokohama tires before moving to Michelin for what turned out to be its final season in 2020.

Adam Carter, Head of Motorsport at Aston Martin, said: “We are delighted to see our partner team D'station Racing bring Aston Martin's wings back to the Japanese Super GT Championship.

“D'station Racing has achieved more domestic success in Japan with Aston Martin than some other team, so we’re proud that they’re selecting the brand new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to return to the GT300 class of Japan's most prestigious GT series.

“The new Vantage GT car is a clear step forward in terms of performance, and with the strong driver line-up the team will have in Tomonobu-san and Marco, we can't wait to see what can be achieved in such a significant race in the series.”