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| June 2023 News |
| Article Index |
06/22 - IMS Replaced Car Damaged During Indy 500
06/18 - The Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational
06/11 - The 100th 24 Hours of Le Mans
06/18 - The Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational
06/11 - The 100th 24 Hours of Le Mans
6/07 - James Key will become Alfa Romeo's new technical director, replacing Jan
Monchaux. Key left a similar role at McLaren in March, where he had worked the
past four years.
Monchaux. Key left a similar role at McLaren in March, where he had worked the
past four years.
6/08 - Conor Daly has been replaced at Ed Carpenter Racing by Ryan Hunter-Reay.
100th Running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
June 11 - After a 50-year absence, Ferrari returned to Le Mans with drivers Antonio Giovanazzi,
James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi. Competing in the Hypercar class, they won, breaking
the 5-year winning streak of Toyota, which finished 2nd, 1 minute, 21 seconds behind the winning team.
Chip Ganassi Racing, carrying the flag for IMSA, finished 3rd and 4th with their Cadillac V-Series.R
cars.
IMSA’s Action Express Racing team also raced a Cadillac in the race.
"I couldn't be more proud of all three Cadillacs crossing the finish line, which I think is a huge feat
at this race especially considering everything that happened. This is the busiest Le Mans that I can
remember for the past few years and we were able to have such a strong finish," said GM sports
car racing program manager Laura Klauser.
Also of note, Team Penske’s much-anticipated Porsche 956 finished sixth.
In the LMP2 class, the No. 34 Inter Europol entry gave Poland its first-ever win in any class of
competition at Le Mans. The team didn’t have it easy in the closing stages of the race, as they lost
radio communication and had to resort to pit boards to send messages to the drivers. They won by
21.015 seconds over runner-up No. 41 Team WRT. The No. 30 Duqueine squad also earned a
podium finish.
The Corvette Racing Team, which normally competes in the LMP2 class in the IMSA WeatherTech
Sportcar series, also traveled to France to compete.
Their No. 33 C8.R. entry driven by Ben Keating, Nico Varrone and Nicky Catsburg, gave a
great illustration of tenacity and patience, bouncing back after falling two laps down earlier in the
race due to repairs to fix a failed damper. After those repairs were finished, the team methodically
clicked off passes of opposing cars, gained back the first of its two lost laps, ultimately got back
on the lead lap and went on to win what will be the final GTE race in 24 Hours of Le Mans history.
“To feel like it was out of reach and then watch this team claw back and get victory out of defeat’s
grasp was really special,” said Keating.
Rounding out the podium was the No. 25 ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage and third-place
finishing team, the No. 86 GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19.
Lastly, the race was marred by heavy rain at times that led to a number of cars sailing off-track and
into the grass. Still, the whole event was arguably one of the most exciting races in Le Mans history.
June 11 - After a 50-year absence, Ferrari returned to Le Mans with drivers Antonio Giovanazzi,
James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi. Competing in the Hypercar class, they won, breaking
the 5-year winning streak of Toyota, which finished 2nd, 1 minute, 21 seconds behind the winning team.
Chip Ganassi Racing, carrying the flag for IMSA, finished 3rd and 4th with their Cadillac V-Series.R
cars.
IMSA’s Action Express Racing team also raced a Cadillac in the race.
"I couldn't be more proud of all three Cadillacs crossing the finish line, which I think is a huge feat
at this race especially considering everything that happened. This is the busiest Le Mans that I can
remember for the past few years and we were able to have such a strong finish," said GM sports
car racing program manager Laura Klauser.
Also of note, Team Penske’s much-anticipated Porsche 956 finished sixth.
In the LMP2 class, the No. 34 Inter Europol entry gave Poland its first-ever win in any class of
competition at Le Mans. The team didn’t have it easy in the closing stages of the race, as they lost
radio communication and had to resort to pit boards to send messages to the drivers. They won by
21.015 seconds over runner-up No. 41 Team WRT. The No. 30 Duqueine squad also earned a
podium finish.
The Corvette Racing Team, which normally competes in the LMP2 class in the IMSA WeatherTech
Sportcar series, also traveled to France to compete.
Their No. 33 C8.R. entry driven by Ben Keating, Nico Varrone and Nicky Catsburg, gave a
great illustration of tenacity and patience, bouncing back after falling two laps down earlier in the
race due to repairs to fix a failed damper. After those repairs were finished, the team methodically
clicked off passes of opposing cars, gained back the first of its two lost laps, ultimately got back
on the lead lap and went on to win what will be the final GTE race in 24 Hours of Le Mans history.
“To feel like it was out of reach and then watch this team claw back and get victory out of defeat’s
grasp was really special,” said Keating.
Rounding out the podium was the No. 25 ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage and third-place
finishing team, the No. 86 GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19.
Lastly, the race was marred by heavy rain at times that led to a number of cars sailing off-track and
into the grass. Still, the whole event was arguably one of the most exciting races in Le Mans history.
| Corvette Racing - Winner of the GTE class |
| Chip Ganassi Racing - The Cadillac V-Series.R |
The Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational
June 18 - The Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational returned over Father’s Day Weekend with racing
from the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) and the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.
The Trans Am Series competed for just the fourth time in the series’ 57-year history. A stout field of
TA, XGT, SGT and GT competitors took the green flag for their fifth round of the 2023 championship.
Indianapolis native Matthew Brabham put on a clinic at his home track, leading the Trans-am race
from start to finish in his No. 20 Ford Mustang. Brabham was the class of the field in front of his
hometown crowd, scoring his second victory of 2023 and leading a 1-2 finish by CD Racing.
TRANS-AM RACE RESULTS
June 18 - The Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational returned over Father’s Day Weekend with racing
from the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) and the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.
The Trans Am Series competed for just the fourth time in the series’ 57-year history. A stout field of
TA, XGT, SGT and GT competitors took the green flag for their fifth round of the 2023 championship.
Indianapolis native Matthew Brabham put on a clinic at his home track, leading the Trans-am race
from start to finish in his No. 20 Ford Mustang. Brabham was the class of the field in front of his
hometown crowd, scoring his second victory of 2023 and leading a 1-2 finish by CD Racing.
TRANS-AM RACE RESULTS
Other events included exhibition laps from over 20 pre-war race cars and the Forgeline Yenko
Spirit Classic race featuring Corvairs.
SVRA Race Winners
Spirit Classic race featuring Corvairs.
SVRA Race Winners
| Matt Brabham |
6/18 - The Canadian Grand Prix featured 3 multiple world champions on the podium.
Verstappen's victory handed Red Bull their 100th F1 win.
Verstappen's victory handed Red Bull their 100th F1 win.
| F1 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX PODIUM Fernando Alonso, Adrian Newey, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton |
Speedway Replaces Car Damaged During Indy 500
June 22 - During the Indy 500, an accident resulted in a wheel getting ripped off a race car which
then flew high over the catch fence.
This happened once before at the Indy 500. In 1987 a loose wheel was hit by another car, punting
it over the fence. The wheel hit a fan sitting at the top of a stand, killing him.
Fortunately, this time, the wheel missed hitting anyone. However it did come down and hit a parked
car, crunching the front corner of it.
The car belonged to a lady who was working in the suites in Turn 2.
The speedway bought her a new car to make up for it. She took ownership of a 2023 Chevrolet
Equinox, decked out in 2023 Indy 500 graphics. She seemed very happy with her new car.
June 22 - During the Indy 500, an accident resulted in a wheel getting ripped off a race car which
then flew high over the catch fence.
This happened once before at the Indy 500. In 1987 a loose wheel was hit by another car, punting
it over the fence. The wheel hit a fan sitting at the top of a stand, killing him.
Fortunately, this time, the wheel missed hitting anyone. However it did come down and hit a parked
car, crunching the front corner of it.
The car belonged to a lady who was working in the suites in Turn 2.
The speedway bought her a new car to make up for it. She took ownership of a 2023 Chevrolet
Equinox, decked out in 2023 Indy 500 graphics. She seemed very happy with her new car.
Robin Matthews