FIA Rally Star

Taylor Gill has enjoyed an unforgettable international debut over the weekend having been victorious in the FIA Rally Star’s first event for its 2023 Training Season.
 
Entered in the San Marino Rally with five other participants from the program, Gill and co-driver Daniel Brkic took out the Rally3 class over their closest rivals in Jose Caparó and Guillermo Sierra Ovalle by four minutes.
 
Although they enjoyed a solid victory over the Peruvians, Gill and Brkic’s biggest challenge for much of the nine-stage rally came from Estonians Romet Jürgenson and Oja Siim.
 
For the first five stages, Gill and Jürgenson were locked in a tight battle together with Gill winning two stages and Jürgenson winning three - the New South Welshman had the advantage on the final service though, with three tenths separating them at the end of stage five.
 
However, Jürgenson had an off during the sixth stage, causing him to retire and, allowing Gill to cruise his way to the end with a further three stage wins.
 
Not only did Gill and Brkic win the FIA Rally Star’s competition, but they also finished the event in 10th outright – a terrific effort considering there were 81 registered entries.
 
The next round of the FIA Rally Star program will be in Austria for Rally Weiz on 13-15 July.

NTT IndyCar Series

Aussie Will Power has had a weekend to forget at the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America after a lackluster 13th-place finish.  

Tensions were high from start to finish with Powers' car having to be rebuilt after a massive crash in practice with New Zealand’s Scott Dixon. 

The extent of the rebuild meant the reigning champion would join qualifying late due to a screwdriver being left in the cockpit – causing a frantic scene in the pitlane before Power would finally take the track and qualify in 22nd for the race.  

With a lot of work needed in the early stages of the race to walk away with a result, Power found himself in 18th after a couple of laps before his pit strategy left him with some extra pace in the back end of the race - moving up into 13th in quick succession. 

While the result was less than ideal, Power still managed to score some bonus points having led the 55-lap race for seven of them, before dropping down to 13th where he finished.

On the other hand, it was a smoother weekend for Scott Mclaughlin who was able to finish inside the top 10 after starting all the way back in 18th.  

The results leave Power in eighth place in the standings, two places behind Mclaughlin in sixth.  

The next round of the NTT IndyCar Series is the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on 2 July. 

USF2000 Championship

Lochie Hughes remains at the top of the USF2000 Championship standings after delivering yet another race win.
 
The Championship’s fifth round of the season was taking place at the famous Road America over the weekend, with Hughes having a mixed set of results during the two races.
 
Starting off with the fastest times in every practice session, Hughes then set a blistering lap in the first qualifying session to produce pole position with a new lap record.
 
Unfortunately, the Queenslander suffered a rear wing failure in the opening race to drop down the field and out of contention, finishing 12th overall.
 
Hughes then bounced back in perfect fashion for race two, starting from third on the grid and taking the lead early having made passes on fellow title contenders Mac Clarke and Simon Sikes.
 
In the end, Hughes crossed the finish line six tenths ahead of Clarke, while Sikes finished 10th, allowing Hughes to move back to the top of the standings.
 
In claiming his fourth win of the season, Hughes now leads the championship by three points over Sikes with eight races still to go.
 
The next round of the USF2000 Championship will be at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on 1-2 July.

Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia

Australians Andrew Macpherson and Ben Porter have had a tough weekend out at Fuji International Speedway as part of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia.
 
The Australian duo were behind the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R and made plenty of improvements in both races, however they were unable to secure any top 10 finishes.
 
Qualifying for race one in 35th, the duo managed to make up an impressive 12 spots to finish 23rd overall.
 
It was an even better result in the second race of the weekend as the duo started from 26th and crossed the line 18th out of 39 cars – marking their best return for the season.
 
The Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Series continues next month at Suzuka International Racing Course on 15-16 July.