Author Archives: PressBox

August 6, 2026

MotoGP Extends Silverstone British GP Deal Through 2028

MotoGP and Silverstone have extended their partnership through 2028, keeping the British Grand Prix on the FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The agreement was announced on the eve of the 2026 British Grand Prix weekend and ended speculation that the race could move to Donington Park or drop off the schedule.

Silverstone has staged the British round since MotoGP returned there in 2010, and the circuit said the deal reinforces its role as the UK home of elite international racing. MotoGP chief Carmelo Ezpeleta said the partnership would help the series invest further in the event and strengthen its presence in the UK, while Silverstone chief Stuart Pringle said it reaffirmed the circuit’s commitment to two-wheel racing and a long-term partnership.

The extension comes as MotoGP continues to target the British market, which it treats as important despite not matching Formula 1’s draw at Silverstone. Last year’s British Grand Prix drew just under 100,000 fans, and MotoGP has staged a London watch party and moved the pre-event press conference to the capital to build interest. Silverstone has hosted more than 2 million fans for MotoGP events, and the next British Grand Prix is expected in August 2027, when MotoGP’s new 850cc machines are due to race.
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August 5, 2026

Hamlin Opens as Favorite for Iowa Cup Race

Denny Hamlin opened as the betting favorite for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway, with DraftKings listing him at +400. Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell were next at +500, Kyle Larson was +750, and William Byron and Joey Logano were among the longer shots. The race is scheduled for 350 laps at the 0.875-mile track, with the green flag set for 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and the Motor Racing Network. The Cup Series returns from its final off week of the 2026 season for its third race at Iowa Speedway, and some previews also pointed to Blaney as the track favorite based on his previous Iowa results.

Hamlin enters Iowa leading Tyler Reddick by 84 points in the regular-season standings and carrying a 95% probability of winning the regular-season title in NASCAR’s statistics. He has four victories, 12 top-five finishes and a record 20th postseason berth already secured. Four drivers have clinched playoff spots, Hamlin, Reddick, Blaney and Ty Gibbs, and there are four races left before the playoff field is set. Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Cindric are near the cutoff line, while Logano, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman are among the drivers listed to watch.

Joe Gibbs Racing has all four of its Cup drivers in the playoff picture, with Hamlin leading the group as the points leader. Hamlin has led 836 laps in 14 races on non-drafting ovals this season and enters with a nine-race top-five streak on those tracks, though he finished 24th in both of his previous Cup starts at Iowa. Christopher Bell has finished second six times this season and is still trying to clinch his playoff berth, while Chase Briscoe won the pole at Iowa last year and led 81 laps in a runner-up finish. Ty Gibbs is fourth in the standings, has career-best numbers in top fives, top 10s, stage wins and stage points, and has scored 216 points over the last five races, the most in that span.
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August 5, 2026

Goodyear Debuts New Left-Side Tire for Iowa Speedway Cup Race

Goodyear Racing will debut a new left-side tire for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway, while the right-side tire will stay the same as the one used at the track last season. Goodyear said the updated left-side Goodyear Racing Eagle has a new construction and compound designed for Iowa’s 0.875-mile layout, which produces high speeds and heavy loads, and is intended to increase wear and fall-off.

Goodyear NASCAR product manager Rick Heinrich said the company worked with the industry to prepare a tire package for Iowa’s demands. The tire development plan was shaped by a May 12-13 test in Newton, Iowa, that included Austin Dillon, Noah Gragson and Tyler Reddick.

For Saturday’s HyVee Perks 250, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams will use a familiar tire combination previously run at Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Goodyear said that left-side tire has also been used this season at Darlington, Rockingham, Bristol and Dover. Cup teams will have 11 tire sets available for the weekend, including four wet-weather sets, and Goodyear Racing Eagles are also being used this weekend in the British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill.
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August 5, 2026

Stoner: Acosta needs patience before Ducati title push

Casey Stoner backed Pedro Acosta’s planned move to Ducati in 2027 and said he had no argument with a future lineup that could pair Acosta with Marc Marquez. Stoner described Marquez as dependable and incredibly consistent, while saying Acosta has clear talent but still needs more patience if he wants to turn that into championships. He said Acosta will be a big threat, but his true level will be easier to judge once he rides a proven Ducati rather than KTM, which Stoner said remains behind Ducati and Aprilia in performance and reliability.

Stoner also said Acosta still tries too hard in wheel-to-wheel battles with certain riders, including Marquez and Enea Bastianini. Acosta was criticized for over-aggression and crashes in his 2024 MotoGP debut, but Stoner said he has become more consistent over the last 18 months and now focuses on top-five finishes. Acosta has not yet won a grand prix, and in 2026 he has scored almost twice as many points as Bastianini.

On Pecco Bagnaia, Stoner defended the Ducati rider’s complaints about the GP25 and said many people wrongly dismissed them. He said Bagnaia “got the short straw” during a difficult period and that, from the outside, it was clear the bike was not the same. Bagnaia was a title contender in 2024 before slipping to occasional also-ran status in 2025, although he still won two Grand Prix races and scored several podiums. With Bagnaia set to join Aprilia alongside Marco Bezzecchi, Stoner said he hopes the move gives him a fresh start, new motivation and a chance to return to the form that feels safest for him.
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August 4, 2026

Reports conflict on Tom McCullough’s Aston Martin exit timing

Reports vary on the timing of Tom McCullough’s exit from Aston Martin, with some saying the performance director is set to leave at the end of the 2026 season and others saying he will fully depart later this year. His departure would end a 13-year spell with the team, which he joined in 2014 when it was Force India and stayed with through the Racing Point and Aston Martin eras.

McCullough became performance director in 2018 and played a key role in some of the team’s best results, including Force India’s back-to-back fourth-place finishes in 2016 and 2017 and Racing Point’s first Formula 1 victory in 2020. He also began his F1 career at Williams in 2002 and had a stint at Sauber before joining the team.

After Aston Martin’s 2025 leadership reshuffle under CEO Andy Cowell, Mike Krack took over McCullough’s trackside duties as chief trackside officer and much of his former Formula 1-side responsibility. McCullough moved to the team’s Performance Technologies arm, where he spent the last 20 months overseeing motorsport projects and other racing programs. Aston Martin is currently led on an interim basis by Adrian Newey as team principal, with Jonathan Wheatley widely expected to take over after leaving Audi.
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August 4, 2026

NASCAR Brings The Clash Back to Daytona in 2027

NASCAR announced Tuesday that The Clash will return to Daytona International Speedway in 2027, bringing the exhibition race back to its traditional home on Saturday, Feb. 13. Rebranded as the Wheatley Vodka Clash, the non-points race will open Speedweeks and lead into the 69th Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 21. NASCAR said more details on the 2027 Clash format and eligibility will be announced later.

The move ends a six-year stretch away from Daytona. The Clash was run at Daytona from 1979 through 2021, then moved first to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and later to Bowman Gray Stadium, where this year’s race was postponed twice because of severe winter weather in North Carolina. Daytona International Speedway also announced a new multi-year partnership with Wheatley American Vodka, which becomes NASCAR’s official vodka partner and the entitlement sponsor for The Clash.

Speedweeks at Daytona will also include Daytona 500 qualifying on Feb. 17, the Duel at Daytona on Feb. 18, a Truck Series race on Feb. 19, and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and ARCA Menards Series races on Feb. 20. NASCAR also confirmed the summer Daytona weekend will feature an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on Friday, Aug. 27, followed by the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, Aug. 28.
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August 4, 2026

Szafnauer Blames Aston Martin’s Instability for 10th-Place Form

Former Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer said the roots of the team’s Formula 1 problems were planted about five years ago, when Lawrence Stroll’s operation pushed for quick success without enough stability. Szafnauer said the constant turnover of personnel left the team short on continuity, and he pointed to Mercedes under Toto Wolff, Red Bull’s title-winning run and Ferrari under Ross Brawn as examples of how the strongest teams were built on stable leadership and staff.

Aston Martin’s rebuild has yet to deliver on track in 2026. The team started the season badly and sits 10th in the constructors’ standings with one point, scored by Fernando Alonso in Monaco. A major upgrade package introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix brought some progress, with Alonso taking the team through the first part of qualifying there for the first time this season and the lighter, higher-downforce car reportedly cutting lap times by about two seconds. Even so, the team still trails Williams by 10 points and remains well below expectations.

Aston Martin has made major investments in its future, including a new factory or campus, a new wind tunnel, a Honda power unit partnership and the signing of Adrian Newey. The team also spent heavily at its Silverstone base before Formula 1’s cost cap arrived in 2021, but has not turned that spending into immediate success. Newey did not officially start until March 2, the wind tunnel was not ready until mid-April and Honda’s engine program was also behind schedule, while early-season upgrades were described as uncompetitive and unreliable. Aston Martin overhauled its processes later in the year, Newey has delayed AMR26 updates so they can be developed properly, and the first Honda engine upgrade is due at the Dutch Grand Prix, with a full Newey-led design not expected until 2027.
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August 3, 2026

Carson Brown Set for NASCAR O’Reilly Debut at Iowa

Carson Brown is set to make his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut Saturday at Iowa Speedway, where the 18-year-old Richard Childress Racing development driver will pilot Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport’s No. 32 Chevrolet with Distributor Wire & Cable colors in the HyVee Perks 250. Brown, from New London, North Carolina, will be the youngest driver to take the green flag in the series this season and the fifth driver to race the No. 32 entry in 2026.

Brown said the move to the O’Reilly Series was “the right step” and that he is ready for the opportunity. Jordan Anderson said Brown earned the ride through his results and his quick adaptation across multiple series. Brown has been preparing for the debut with Friday’s ARCA Menards Series race at Iowa Speedway in the No. 28 Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group, and he also completed acclimation laps in the No. 32 car at North Wilkesboro.

Brown has built his résumé through ARCA, the CARS Tour Late Model Stock division, Trans-Am and the ASA STARS National Tour with Anthony Campi Racing. He currently leads the ASA STARS standings by 130 points with four wins and two runner-up finishes in six races. Reports on his ARCA experience vary, listing either six or 11 starts, but they agree he has one win, which came earlier this year at Phoenix Raceway. The HyVee Perks 250 is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 8, and will air on The CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90.
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August 3, 2026

FIA blames governance limits for delayed 2026 F1 engine changes

The FIA said it could not fix Formula 1’s 2026 engine regulations sooner because the sport’s governance structure required approval from Formula One Management and at least four of the five power-unit manufacturers, votes that never came. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the governing body had identified problems as early as 2022 from simulator data and had tried for the previous two years to make adjustments, but those efforts failed under the rules in place. He said the FIA could not act unilaterally and could not secure the supermajority needed to revise the regulations before the season.

Tombazis said the FIA expected complaints about the 2026 package, including the 50/50 power split, energy management, superclipping and algorithm-driven elements. Drivers including Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri criticized those features during the season, and the FIA later introduced emergency energy-management tweaks from the Miami Grand Prix to reduce extreme superclipping. Formula 1 has already agreed to shift the power split gradually toward a 60-40 balance by 2028, a change Tombazis said ideally should have arrived years earlier.

Tombazis said the criticism was “realistically only to be expected,” and added that the first half of the season had still produced “pretty exciting” racing. He said Mercedes had taken most of the wins but there had been little processional running. Looking further ahead, he said another engine overhaul is expected at the start of the next decade, with a return to V8 engines under discussion, and he said future regulations could not be “held hostage by manufacturers.”
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