Motorsports

Recent eSports events like the ‘Road to Vegas’ focus on a merger of sim racing athletes and actual racing drivers competing on a single platform, providing a place for both to compete that doesn’t require either party to have years of training in the other discipline. However, a cross-dimensional approach could happen as soon as two years time according to Formula 1’s Chief Technical Officer, John Morrison.

Jann Mardenborough may have just missed out on the All-Japan F3 Championship title earlier this year (as well as the GT300 class in Super GT last month), but we imagine this must make a pretty sweet consolation prize.

In spite of his heroic efforts displayed on track this year in the Super GT series, the top step of the podium eluded Jann Mardenborough this past weekend. After missing the 2016 All-Japan F3 title by a narrow margin, a very similar scenario befell the GT Academy grad at Motegi. Ater two back-to-back 250 km races at the circuit, Jann and his co-driver Kazuki Hoshino settled their team B-Max NDDP GT-R at 4th position in the GT300 class.

This weekend we’re going to find out the new title-holders of the 2016 Super GT season. The races designated to conclude another season of this stimulating touring series will be held at Twin Ring Motegi course, with both Saturday and Sunday featuring 250km races. Our eyes will be on Jann Mardenborough and Kazuki Hoshino, who are one step away from winning the GT300 title. Can it happen?

Can home entertainment provide a decent groundwork for a professionally-oriented job of the same genre? As far as video games are concerned we suppose it could, given how modern driving simulators are nowadays being extensively used by racing drivers around the globe. How else can you conveniently polish your skills without having to carry out expensive tests in the actual car?

Due to the exciting conclusion of the 2016 All-Japan Formula 3 series, we’ve barely been able to keep up with the other racing activities the ever-busy Jann Mardenborough has been involved with. The talented GT Academy wasted no time in adding more silverware to his shelf, this time in the familiar silhouette of the Nissan GT-R: alongside co-driver Kazuki Hoshino, Jann helped put the B-Max NDDP car on the podium in the GT300 class. This is the second podium placement for the team since they snatched the gold at the 500km Fuji endurance event last May.

The season finale of the Pirelli World Challenge took place last earlier this month at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. While the hunt for the title was essentially a two-horse race between McLaren pilot Alvaro Parente and Porsche driver Patrick Long, few would have predicted quite how the final standings would shake out. Parente emerged victorious, snatching the title from the 2011 winner as well as putting an end to Johnny O’Connell’s four-year-strong title run with Cadillac.

Quick: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read the word ‘Ginetta’? Is it the manufacturer’s storied history of producing sports cars for the aspiring racecar driver? Perhaps the name rings a bell because of games like Gran Turismo or, more recently, Project CARS. Or maybe no significance comes to mind at all.

The penultimate round of the Pirelli World Challenge took place a few weeks ago at the sunny, rolling hills of Sonoma Raceway. Continuing a trend set by GT Academy grad Bryan Heitkotter at the previous race weekend in Utah, veteran GM racer Johnny O’Connell swept both races in California in his bright red Cadillac ATS-V.R.

The grand finale of the 2016 All-Japan Formula 3 open-wheel series wrapped up this past weekend, but not in a way many of us may have expected. Despite heading into the final weekend at Sportland Sugo with a points lead, GT Academy graduate Jann Mardenborough lost the title by only three points to Kenta Yamashita after a hard-fought final three rounds.

Nissan GT Academy Team RJN has successfully scored a podium placement at the final race of the 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, held at Nurburgring GP circuit last weekend. This is the first podium position for the team in the series, brought by athletes Lucas Ordonez, Alex Buncombe and Mitsunori Takaboshi in the Pro Cup class.

Okayama International Speedway brought an interesting turn of events for the 2016 All-Japan Formula 3 season. An unfortunate off-course excursion combined with mechanical difficulty during the second qualification session forced Jann to start from behind. Not being able to reach for the points, Jann would face a drastic reduction in the championship lead he had worked so hard to build.

Highly sophisticated racing simulators are increasingly common these days. What racing drivers can’t learn prior the race itself can be experienced and absorbed on these high-tech platforms. This allows drivers to be highly competitive regardless of the track they are going to face next.

Earlier this month, GT Academy winner Nicolas Hammann made his NASCAR debut in the Xfinity series. Competing at the Zippo 200 Watkins Glen International, the American managed a 28th place finish after an oil leak plagued his race. Although not ideal, his placing did put him ahead of a good few NASCAR veterans including NASCAR sprint cup champion Kyle Busch, although Busch did have an accident himself. Hammann’s Xfinity journey isn’t over yet however — he’ll race this weekend in the Road America 180.

With only two race weekends left on the calendar, the 2016 season of the All-Japan Formula 3 open-wheel series is slowly coming to a close. Normally, this puts enormous pressure on drivers whose  overall standing depends on a point or two. Jann Mardenborough has managed to avoid this unpleasant position by winning the last two races at Motegi. This perfect weekend brought Jann a comfortable advantage over his rivals, and brings him one step closer to claiming the championship title.

In case you’ve been living under a particularly large rock, a little thing known as the Olympics just wrapped up in Rio on Sunday. A testament to the capabilities of the human body, the best technology available, and the relentlessness of VISA advertising, it offers a global stage for the absolute best to compete against one another.

Last weekend saw a landmark achievement for one of the most promising graduates from the GT Academy programme, as the 2011 U.S. winner Bryan Heitkotter was able to to take his first overall win in professional motorsport — which was then swiftly backed up by a second win the day after.

The 2016 Spa 24 Hours endurance event recently finished with the #99 BMW M6 GT3 from ROWE Racing team claiming the victory after 531 laps. Variable weather conditions and several unforeseen pace interruptions caused enough anxiety to make the race entirely unpredictable.

Nicolas Hamman, who won the 2014 US GT Academy, will participate in NASCAR for the first time this weekend after securing a seat for the XFINITY series race at Watkins Glen. Driving the #74 Mike Harmon Racing Xfinity Car, Hamman will make his debut at the famous circuit in a Dodge branded stock-car.

After a month-long break, the Pirelli World Challenge got underway again last weekend, with Rounds 14 & 15 taking place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Heading in, Alvaro Parente (K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3) enjoyed a 52-point lead over Patrick Long (Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R), with Michael Cooper (Cadillac Racing ATS-V.R) a further 66 points back.