PressBox, Author at NXTbets Inc

September 17, 2026

Ai Ogura cleared to return at Austrian Grand Prix

Ai Ogura was cleared to return to MotoGP at the Austrian Grand Prix after passing a mandatory medical check on Thursday, putting him in line to ride Free Practice 1 at the Red Bull Ring. He was due to be checked again after Friday morning’s session before doctors decided whether he could continue for the rest of the weekend.

Ogura missed the previous two races, at Aragon and Misano, after fracturing his left hand near the thumb in a motocross training crash in Japan. The injury required surgery in Barcelona, and doctors had already delayed his comeback after further checks. Ogura said his hand was “quite okay” and Austria was his preferred target because Misano came too soon. The Trackhouse rider said he wanted a normal weekend rather than immediate podium contention and would use Austria as preparation for his home race at Motegi, where he hoped to be closer to full fitness. He had been third in the championship before the injury but dropped to sixth after missing races and Marc Márquez’s strong results, leaving him 71 points behind the leader. He is due to join the factory Yamaha team next season.
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September 17, 2026

Carolina Cowboys add Lucas, Skogquist for Greensboro

The 2026 PBR Teams season is set to visit First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, for Cowboy Days presented by Patriot Mobile on Sept. 18-20, with all 10 teams competing in the eighth event of the season. Friday’s action is scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m. ET on Paramount+, Saturday’s event will air live at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, and Sunday’s main broadcast is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on The CW. CBS Games of the Week are also scheduled for Sunday.

The Carolina Cowboys have added Joao Henrique Lucas and Ethan Skogquist to their roster for the event. The Oklahoma Wildcatters said rider Cort McFadden has been cleared to return, while Marcelo Procopio Pereira remains out after surgery for a compound open humerus fracture.

Missouri and Nashville enter Greensboro tied atop the standings at 14-6. Austin sits fourth after a 3-0 weekend in Anaheim.
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September 17, 2026

Bulega escapes serious injury after Ducati Mugello crash

Nicolò Bulega escaped major injury after a violent highside during Ducati’s 850cc MotoGP test at Mugello on Wednesday, and he said he was fine apart from “a bump” after the crash. He also thanked fans for their messages after the incident, which happened around midday at the Arrabbiata 2 corner.

He was taken to a nearby hospital for checks, where doctors found no fractures, and he was discharged after the examination. Bulega was set to travel to the Red Bull Ring on Saturday evening and was expected to be back on track Monday for a Ducati 850 test day, where he was due to work alongside Marc Márquez and Fermín Aldeguer in the first session bringing the three riders together on the bike.

Bulega had been expected to take part in next Monday’s post-Austrian Grand Prix Pirelli tire test, but that now appears unlikely with the Cremona WorldSBK round scheduled for next weekend. He is still expected to recover ahead of Cremona and remains 146 points clear of teammate Iker Lecuona with three rounds left, while his full-time MotoGP debut with VR46 is scheduled for 2027.
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September 17, 2026

Fernando Alonso takes delivery of chrome Bugatti Veyron in Monaco

Fernando Alonso took delivery in Monaco this week of a chrome-wrapped Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport featuring an exposed polished aluminum body, after finishing 17th at the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix. The car is described as the most expensive Bugatti Veyron ever built, with bespoke aluminum body options costing more than $2.5 million and the total custom build price said to exceed $5 million.

The Bugatti is powered by an 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W16 engine, with sources citing either 1,001 or 1,200 horsepower, and it reportedly accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and reaches 407 km/h. Footage of Alonso collecting the hypercar and driving it through Monaco circulated on social media. The car joins a garage that includes a Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, a Pagani Zonda Verde Diamante, several Ferraris, McLarens and Bugattis, with reports differing on whether his Aston Martin is a Valiant or a Valkyrie. Alonso also said a decision on his 2027 F1 plans will not come soon.
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September 17, 2026

Mike Elliott rejoins Alpine after Mercedes stint

Alpine has hired former Mercedes Formula 1 technical chief Mike Elliott as its new chief technical officer, bringing him back to the paddock after a three-year absence. The team said Elliott will lead its technical and engineering functions at the Enstone factory as it works to strengthen its technical capabilities and close the gap to Formula 1’s top four teams.

Elliott returns to Alpine after leaving Mercedes near the end of the 2023 season. He has 23 years of Formula 1 experience, starting at McLaren in 2000 before working at Renault from 2008 to 2012 and then holding senior technical roles at Mercedes from 2012 to 2023.

Alpine also said Elliott previously worked at its Enstone factory as principal aerodynamicist from 2008 to 2012. Executive technical director David Sanchez continues to lead development of Alpine’s 2026 and 2027 cars.
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September 16, 2026

Yuki Tsunoda Calls 2025 His Toughest Formula 1 Season

Yuki Tsunoda said his biggest mistake in Red Bull’s RB21 was trying to copy Max Verstappen’s setup instead of leaning on his own approach, a choice he said made an already difficult car harder to handle. Tsunoda said he still did not fully understand what was causing his problems with the car by the end of the 2025 season, and he could not identify why he struggled so much to adapt.

The 2025 campaign, which began after Tsunoda replaced Liam Lawson at Red Bull, became what he called the toughest year of his career. He said the pressure of trying to close the gap to Verstappen left him mentally and physically exhausted, and at times he was unable to reset properly between race weekends. Tsunoda said he was “not really enjoying my life,” leaned on psychology, training and other support, and missed being around friends in Japan.

Tsunoda scored 30 points for Red Bull, his best finish was sixth in Baku, and he was about eight tenths of a second off Verstappen in the RB21. He finished 17th in the standings and with the largest points deficit ever to a teammate in Formula 1 history. Tsunoda said he knew his exit was coming after learning in Qatar that Red Bull would not keep him for 2026, and he said he was disappointed but not devastated, adding that he fought really hard and had no major regrets. Helmut Marko was said to be disappointed to see him leave, even though Tsunoda said Marko had been pushing for him to be moved on.
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September 16, 2026

Kyle Larson opens as favorite for Bristol night race

Kyle Larson opened as the betting favorite for Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, listed at +400 by DraftKings Sportsbook. Denny Hamlin was next at +500, with Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell behind him in the odds. Larson arrives after ending a 51-race winless streak with a victory at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, a result that cut Hamlin’s lead in the Chase standings to nine points. Hamlin remained atop the standings after finishing ninth at Gateway, and the Bristol race is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Larson has three Bristol victories, including the 2024 night race, and he has seven top-five finishes in his last eight Bristol starts. All three of his Cup Series wins came in those eight races. Hamlin has four Bristol wins and finished ninth or better in eight of the last nine Bristol races. He also has four wins and four poles this season. Larson finished third at Bristol in the spring, while Hamlin was ninth. Christopher Bell was 18 points behind Hamlin in third after being collected in a Lap 223 crash at Gateway, Ryan Blaney was 33 points back after a brake rotor failure, and Joey Logano cut his deficit to 51 points after finishing third.

Chase Briscoe and Logano were listed as sleeper picks, with Briscoe taking four top-10 finishes in his last four Bristol starts. Logano is a two-time Bristol winner, and Bristol had also been a strong track for Bell, Blaney and Logano. Brad Keselowski was listed as a longshot at +2800 after finishing second in last year’s Bristol night race, as he tries to end a winless drought that has lasted more than two years.
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September 16, 2026

Mundell seeks rebound in fifth title defense against Cullen

David Mundell will defend his BKFC World Middleweight Championship for the fifth time when he meets unbeaten British contender Jack Cullen at BKFC 94 on Sept. 26 at AO Arena in Manchester. The event will stream live on DAZN.

Mundell is coming off a setback against Lorenzo Hunt, who stopped him in the fourth round of their non-title fight at KnuckleMania VI in Philadelphia. Before that bout, Mundell had won eight fights in a row.

Mundell said Cullen is a strong matchup, but he believes bare-knuckle fighting is different from boxing. He said he expects to dominate Cullen if he gets the chance, and said a convincing win could lead to a rematch with Hunt. Mundell added that he expects to beat Hunt decisively if they meet again.
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September 16, 2026

NASCAR keeps safety calls, but opens tire choices

NASCAR will change its wet-weather oval tire procedure this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, giving teams more strategy options once a race is underway and the track is drying after rain. Under the new rule for all three national series, crew chiefs may choose between slick tires and wet-weather tires after a rain caution if the surface is still damp, ending NASCAR’s previous practice of controlling when teams made tire changes in those conditions.

NASCAR will still decide the starting tire type for every car, and it will also decide when weather makes it unsafe to keep racing. If pit road is deemed damp, yellow-flag pit stops will be non-competitive, meaning no position changes can occur during those stops. Green-flag pit stops will remain competitive.

The change follows criticism over NASCAR forcing a tire switch at New Hampshire. It comes as Bristol’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race faced a 55% chance of showers and possible thunderstorms. Denny Hamlin led the NASCAR Chase standings by nine points over Kyle Larson, with Christopher Bell 18 points behind Hamlin and Ryan Blaney 33 back.
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