Molly Taylor has enjoyed a solid start to her full-time return to the Extreme E Series, ending the weekend’s Desert X Prix double header on top of the overall standings.
 
Linking up with Kevin Hansen at Veloce Racing this year, Taylor was instrumental in the Saudi Arabian season opener as the duo finished with an outright victory and a runner up placing across the two races. 
 
With the championship adopting a new format for the 2023 season, Taylor and Hansen finished second in the first qualifying heat before taking out the second qualifying heat.
 
Their results saw them qualify second overall behind X44’s Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez ahead of the day’s Grand Final.
 
When it came to the Final, each driver put in good shifts to put the car in second behind RXR’s Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky.
 
With Kristoffersson and Ahlin-Kottulinsky receiving a penalty for speeding in a slow zone and being demoted to third, it gave Taylor and Hansen the victory for the season opener ahead of Sainz XE’s Laia Sanz and Mattias Ekström.

For the second race of the weekend, Taylor and Hansen qualified on pole, however they were unable to convert that to a win, as they fell just five seconds short of Sanz and Ekström.
 
Click here to view results.
 
The next round of the 2023 Extreme E series will be the Hydro X Prix on 13-14 May.


 

Mint 400

Polaris Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) regular Brett Comiskey has completed the hugely popular and challenging Mint 400.
 
Held in Las Vegas in the United States, Comiskey was one of 87 entries to take on the four-day event with the 2022 AORC Extreme 2WD champion finishing 29th overall and 10th in class.
 
The Queenslander got better as the event went on as he finished the first lap in 62nd overall, before improving to 53rd at the end of the second day – in what was his first lap for the event.
 
A similar time on the third day put Comiskey in a good position, and with plenty of attrition taking place across the lap, he ended up making up an impressive 19 places.


 
The final day of the competition proved the most difficult though as he recorded his slowest lap time for the event, but it was still enough to gain four places and finish inside the top 20.
 
Comiskey wasn’t the only Aussie competing in the US-based event though, with 2022 Can-Am Loveday 400 podium getter Brad Gallard also taking part.
 
While the South Australian had a strong start to the event, finishing the first day in P29, unfortunately his race ended prematurely when he failed to finish the second lap.
 
Click here for full results.

Spanish Formula 4 Winter Series

Gianmarco Pradel has wrapped up the Spanish Formula 4 Winter Series with his strongest performance throughout the whole four-round series.
 
Held at the famous Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the round saw Pradel show good pace in practice before backing it up in qualifying to secure pole position.
 
Unfortunately, the 2022 Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) Oceania and Asia Pacific Selection Program finalist lost out to US Racing teammate Zachary David, however he still managed to pick up a season-high second place, along with the Rookie win.
 
David ended up going back-to-back in the second race, while Pradel had his hands full in a tussle for second place, which he unfortunately lost to fellow 2022 FDA Asia Pacific and Oceania Selection Program participant Akshay Bohra.
 
Despite not holding onto the runner-up position, Pradel was still the best-placed rookie as he picked up a fifth consecutive podium and finished second for the season.


 

Formula 4 US Championship

Another FDA Asia Pacific and Oceania Selection Program participant in Jesse Lacey got his 2023 international campaign underway with a podium in the Formula 4 US Championship season opener.
 
Racing for Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport alongside compatriot Lewis Hodgson, both drivers were two of nine drivers representing the team with each claiming plenty of points.
 
Finishing the weekend higher of the two and third on the overall standings was Lacey, who started the race meeting at Nola Motorsports Park in Avondale with an impressive P4.
 
Lacey then stepped it up in the second race of the round with a podium behind Jimmy Lackhard before dropping to eighth in the final race of the weekend.


 
Hodgson on the other hand, improved as the weekend went on with his best result of fourth coming in the third and final race.
 
His P4 in the final outing followed a well-deserved fifth place, while a P10 in the first race wound up as his results.
 
Both drivers sit inside the top 10 on the standings, with Lacey currently sitting third and Hodgson sixth overall.
 
The six-round national championship resumes in a couple of months with the second round of the season to take place at Road America on 18-21 May.