The Morning Warmup: Le Mans Pushed Back to August
The Morning Warmup
March 5, 2021
(Photo: MPS Agency)
One of the world's biggest races has been pushed back to August amid the ongoing pandemic.
By Aaron Bearden
The Podium: Today's Top Three Stories
P1: ACO pushes 24 Hours of Le Mans to August in hopes of inviting fans (WEC)
The biggest sports car race in the world is going to take a few months longer to be ran this year.
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest announced Thursday that the 2021 edition fo the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been postponed to Aug. 21-22, 10 weeks past the original June 12-13 race date. This will be the second-straight year that the race has been shifted back, following a September running in 2020.
COVID-19 is the cause for the shift, with hopes of spectators being welcomed coming with the later date.
“Although it was a tough decision to make, it is the right one,” ACO president Pierre Fillon said in a release. “Holding the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind closed doors for the second year running would be unthinkable. We are therefore doing all we can to avoid that happening and to give competitors a clear view of the whole season.
“We are working very hard to put on a safe event, with all the necessary health precautions in place. This year’s race promises to be another thriller as the new Hypercar class makes its debut.”
Thursday’s decision makes Le Mans the fourth round of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship schedule, moving behind the 6 Hours of Monza in July. It also causes a date clash with the Suzuka 10 Hours and events in the NTT IndyCar Series and DTM.
Don’t be surprised if one or more of those events moves to accommodate the date change, as many drivers are keen to run Le Mans each year. The European Le Mans Series has already moved its 4 Hours of Le Castellet date to accommodate the change, while IMSA has shifted both Petit Le Mans and its planned race weekend at Virginia International Raceway to avoid clashes.
(Source(s): Daniel Lloyd / Sportscar365 (x2), Jamie Klein / Motorsport)
P2: Pietro Fittipaldi returning to IndyCar for oval run (IndyCar)
Three years removed from his NTT IndyCar Series debut, journeyman Pietro Fittipaldi is returning to the American open wheel tour with ovals including the Indianapolis 500 on his mind.
Dale Coyne Racing with RWR confirmed Thursday that Fittipaldi will handle the oval slate of the No. 51 entry driven elsewhere by Romain Grosjean. This continues a relationship between the two drivers that saw Fittipaldi fill in for the injured Grosjean in Formula 1 last fall.
“I’m very happy to be racing the ovals this season in the No. 51 car for Dale Coyne Racing with RWR,” Fittipaldi said. “I’m especially excited for the Indianapolis 500. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to race in the Indy 500. All of Dale’s cars were competitive there last year and the last few years, and we’re looking to do the same this year.”
Fittipaldi first came to IndyCar with DCR in 2018 after winning the World Series Formula V8 3.5 championship in 2017. He missed the Indy 500 and a few other rounds with broken legs sustained in a sports car crash at Spa-Francorchamps, but returned to the cockpit before year’s end.
The young prospect shifted overseas in 2019, becoming Haas F1 Team’s test and reserve driver while competing in DTM, the Formula 3 Asian Championship and, ultimately, F1 after Grosjean was injured in Bahrain last November.
Fittipaldi will remain Haas’ reserve driver this year and travel o the majority of the F1 races along with his IndyCar oval plans. He also claimed Thursday to have more news coming later this week that will add to his “busy” 2021 schedule.
There is a chance that Grosjean could choose to make a lone oval start at World Wide Technology Raceway. But if he decides to do so, DCR will reportedly field a third entry for him instead of forcing Fittipaldi to sit the race out.
(Source(s): RACER, David Malsher-Lopez / Motorsport)
P3: Chase Briscoe secures Truck ride for Bristol Dirt weekend (NASCAR Trucks)
NASCAR Cup Series rookie Chase Briscoe is making a rare return to the Camping World Truck Series later this month in search of a second dirt victory.
Briscoe announced Thursday that he will compete in the No. 04 Ford for Roper Racing Team in the upcoming race on the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt oval, filling the ride normally driven by Cory Roper. The Hoosier will be sponsored by Tex-a-Con Cut Stone while he looks to replicate his 2018 run at Eldora Speedway, where he inched ahead of Grant Enfinger at the checkered flag to score a victory.
Briscoe’s move comes as many others are competing in the earlier Bristol Dirt Nationals event in various classes, including Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon and more. The Stewart-Haas Racing rookie claims the Truck race suits him more.
From NBC Sports:
“I feel like it is a great opportunity for us in the Cup race to run really well, and I want to be as prepared as I can be — like I would any other week,” Briscoe told NBC Sports. “With it being a new track, the biggest thing for me, I want to see what the dirt does and how it transitions and how it changes throughout the race.
“To be able to run the Truck race the night before, I think, gives me that best opportunity to kind of know what the track is going to do in the Cup race.”
This will be far from Briscoe’s first foray on dirt. He started in local dirt circles in his native Indiana before gradually rising to the asphalt ranks. Briscoe has fielded dirt entries under the Chase Briscoe Racing banner in the past and competed on dirt as recently as January for the Chili Bowl Nationals.
(Source(s): Dustin Long / NBC Sports)
Other News and Notes
NASCAR
Ben Beshore has a unique challenge in helping Kyle Busch return to form this year. He’s slowly charting the course to make it happen. (David Smith / NBC Sports)
Our Motorsports is making the No. 23 a full-time entrant for the remainder of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. (Our Motorsports / Twitter)
Noah Gragson touched on criticism of his words and decisions after Saturday’s crash at Homestead-Miami Speedway, claiming he’s going to “stay true to” himself despite the backlash. (Chase Wilhelm / NASCAR.com)
The Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race could go very well or absolutely terrible, but it’s undeniably intriguing. That intrigue is a bit part of NASCAR”s plan for a dirt race at the ‘Last Great Colosseum.’ (Bob Pockrass / FOX Sports)
FOX Sports is continuing the annual trend of holding a drivers-only broadcast at some point in the year . This time Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick will join the fray. (Jordan Bianchi / The Athletic ($))
Cook Out is returning as a sponsor of the Southern 500 - good news for the track and hunger-inducing news for this Hoosier that can’t get to a Cook Out easily. (Alex Andrejev / Charlotte Observer ($))
RACER’s Kelly Crandall caught up with Ben Rhodes for the latest edition of “The Racing Writer’s Podcast.” (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
IndyCar
The 2021 IndyCar season unofficially kicked off with media day yesterday. Here’s a notebook from the opening day. (Curt Cavin / IndyCar.com)
Kamui Kobayashi puts on a show in sports cars, so why not IndyCar? He’s reportedly interesting in giving the series a go. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
Good news for Florida race fans - the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will welcome 20,000 spectators each day this year. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
In honor of Women’s History Month, IndyCar.com is interviewing women that broke barriers within the sport. First up - Janet Guthrie. (IndyCar.com)
Scott McLaughlin is ready for the “phenomenal” opportunity to race fellow rookies Romain Grosjean and Jimmie Johnson after making the leap from Supercars to IndyCar. (Simon Chapman / Speedcafe)
Without giving away many details, Grosjean did touch on Haas’ decision to pull his planned IndyCar backing of the veteran before this year. (Jack Benyon / The Race)
Moving to IndyCar has brought many challenges to Johnson, most notably getting the hang of his tire temperatures. (David Malsher-Lopez / Motorsport)
This is a contract year for both Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Neither are approaching it with any trepidation. (Nathan Brown / Indianapolis Star ($))
F1
Could Porsche and VW make their way to Formula 11? The thought is at least being monitored at the moment. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Sebastian Vettel put the Aston Martin AMR21 through the paces in the car’s track debut yesterday at Silverstone. (Scott Mitchell / The Race)
Haas F1 Team could find itself in trouble before the season starts. The World Anti-Doping Agency is looking into its Russian-themed livery for 2021 due to the two-year ban issued against Russian athletes competing under the country’s flag at world championship events. (Luke Smith / Motorsport)
Portimao is back on the Formula 1 calendar for 2021 in the wake of coronavirus-related disruptions. (Simon Chapman / Speedcafe)
F1’s new-look sprint races may not have podium celebrations to accompany them. (Jonathan Noble / Motorsport)
Sports Cars
The addition of two endurance events at The Bend and Bathurst have firmed up the inaugural schedule for Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia. (Slade Perrins / Sportscar365)
Aurora Straus has an admirable goal of building a sports car ladder for women keen to race. She’ll team up with Christina Nielsen and Katherine Legge this year in Pirelli GT4 America. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)
The Australian GT Championship has a new-look calendar and increased recognition on the global scale this year. (Mat Coch / Speedcafe)
Abt Audi has signed Mike Rockenfeller and Kelvin van der Linde to compete in DTM during the new-look GT3 era this year. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)
Dirt
This week’s “Open Red” includes an explanation of the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track invite system and stories from Doug Auld. (Rob Blount / WorldofOutlaws.com)
Fred Frost, a charter USAC member dating back to the club’s formation in 1956, passed away in January at the age of 85. (Speed Sport)
Medieval Chassis has signed a three-year contract with the United States Racing Ass’n to be the USRA Stock Car division’s title sponsor through 2023. (Speed Sport)
Short Tracks
A familiar name will be seen at Caraway Speedway on March 14 - Bobby Labonte, a 1987 Late Model Stock Car champion at the track who just happens to also be the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series title winner. (Speed51)
ARCA Menards Series East competitor Mason Diaz is also one of the CARS Tour’s Touring 12 this year, where he hopes to chase a series championship. (Andy Marquis / Short Track Scene)
JoJo Wilkinson has been added to the BMR Driver’s Academy series ahead of the inaugural event on March 26-27 at All-American Speedway. (Koty Geyer / Speed51)
Supercars
Roland Dane had heavy praise for early points leader Shane van Gisbergen this week, calling his start to 2021 an “awesome streak of form.” (Simon Chapman / Speedcafe)
Moto
Aprilia participated in a somber bike launch on Thursday, unveiling a 2021 bike for Team Gresini that will feature a tribute to former team leader Fausto Gresini after his passing due to COVID-19. (Simon Patterson / The Race)
MotoGP will reportedly race on a new Hungarian circuit starting in 2023. (Daniel Herrero / Speedcafe)
With Marc Marquez still out injured, a body double stood in for him at Repsol Honda’s MotoGP season launch. (Daniel Herrero / Speedcafe)
Esports
Motorsport Games is acquiring rFactor 2 developer Studio397 in a move that should shake up the sim racing industry a bit. (Overtake)
Other
We’ve seen electric racing tours come about in recent years, but none have competed against their internal combustion counterparts. That will change this year in the British Rallycross Championship. (Simon Arron / Motor Sport Magazine)
Mugen has revealed a special black testing livery it will run for the Honda SUPER GT pre-season tests. (Jamie Klein / Motorsport)
Honda’s Tadasuke Makino will sit out this weekend’s test at Okayama due to illness. (Jamie Klein / Motorsport)
If you want to know anything else about preseason testing for SUPER GT, this is your guide. (Jamie Klein / Motorsport)
Now that we know he’s okay, questions are being asked about last week’s Formula E crash for Edoardo Mortara. How did it happen? (Sam Smith / The Race)
The Audi Quattro Group B rally car has been reimagined for the modern day by Mattias Ekstrom and EKS JC. (Luke Barry / DirtFish)
Fast Fact:
William Byron’s second NASCAR Cup Series victory came in his 111th start, which sounds like a lot. But consider that his championship-winning teammate Chase Elliott needed 107 races himself to win two events, and Byron’s 111 doesn’t seem quite so bad. Now we just need to see if the young star can match the success his teammate followed that second victory with.
The Morning Warmup is fueled by associate sponsors David Colyer, Cat Hicks, Bob and Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Spencer Pullins, Nathan K. Thomas, Karen L. Springer. Ethan Davies, Tyler Sorenson, Mary Dzuro and Pat Richardson.
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