Stewarthaas racing

Blair Orange went closer than most to a professional league career but a chance meeting at Templeton Primary School slowly pushed his sporting goals in a different direction. Fairfax Media finds out how the promising league player became one of the country's premier reinsman. Blair Orange loved rugby league and he was good at it, but a schoolyard friendship slowly tackled him away from the field to the racetrack. That school mate was Mark Jones - a member of a prominent harness racing family and now one of the country's leading trainers and reinsman. More than 28 years later the pair are still best mates and members of the 1000 driving wins club. Orange became the 23rd New Zealander to reach the milestone at Addington last Friday night. "You don't realise what you have actually achieved until after it settles down a bit," Orange said as he reflected this week. "I never thought it would be possible, I was just a useless kid from nowhere." Orange's wife, Lisa, and the … [Read more...] about Blair Orange: From rugby league to harness racing – a journey

Following delayed discussions, seven-time world champions Hamilton and Mercedes finally agreed a fresh one-year contract in February, which will cover the 2021 season but will leave both parties to renegotiate a new agreement for F1's new era of regulations from 2022. While the deal ended speculation about Hamilton's short-term future, it also raised questions about what would happen beyond the end of 2021. Hamilton commented he had "no real need necessarily to plan too far ahead in the future", preferring the flexibility of a one-year deal. "I just wanted one year," he said. "Then we can talk about if we do more and keep adding [to] it if we have to." Team principal Wolff explained Hamilton's unusually short deal doesn't raise doubts about his long-term commitment to the sport but instead gives the 35-year-old the flexibility his career deserves. "No, no doubt about his commitment," Wolff said. "First of all, he enjoys racing a lot. We enjoy working with … [Read more...] about Mercedes has “no doubts” on Hamilton’s F1 commitment

Fenestraz has been stuck in Dubai for several weeks and unable to re-enter Japan owing to travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic that are preventing him from obtaining a new visa. The French-Argentine driver has been forced to miss this weekend’s Okayama SUPER GT test, and will almost certainly miss both Super Formula tests scheduled for this month. TOM’S team director Jun Yamada told Motorsport.com that the Japanese government’s decision last week to extend the state of emergency declaration covering the Greater Tokyo area for a further two weeks had complicated efforts to get Fenestraz his visa. He added that it will be “on the limit” for Fenestraz to enter Japan in time to serve a 14-day quarantine before the SUPER GT opener at Okayama on April 10-11. “In the end, the state of emergency was extended until March 21,” said Yamada. “He’s already applied for his residence card, but he hasn’t been granted a visa yet. So it's a tough situation. “If … [Read more...] about TOM’S admits Fenestraz could miss Super GT opener

Given Motorsport.com's increasing coverage of Japan's two premier racing series, we felt it was appropriate to pay tribute to the outstanding stars of one of the most competitive national scenes anywhere in the world. But rather than compile separate lists for Super Formula and SUPER GT, which would have featured largely the same drivers given how many of them compete in both championships, we decided to go down the route of a single countdown. Read on to see who made the cut. Start action Photo by: Masahide Kamio Honourable mentions Both of the drivers that Honda recalled from Europe last year enjoyed quietly impressive campaigns back at home. Nirei Fukuzumi was able to ease his way into GT racing with a seat with the ARTA squad in GT300 and immediately proved one of the class's most consistent and capable performers, helping veteran Shinichi Takagi to a first title after some 17 years of trying. He also ended his first full year in Super Formula on a high … [Read more...] about The Top 10 Super GT/Super Formula drivers of 2019

JERUSALEM — Israel has opened most of its economy as part of its final phase of lifting coronavirus lockdown restrictions, some of them in place since September. Bars and restaurants, event halls, sporting events, hotels and all primary and secondary education may reopen to the public on Sunday, with some restrictions on entry and capacity. The move comes after months of government-imposed shutdowns. The Israeli government approved the easing of limitations Saturday night, including the reopening of the main international airport to a limited number of incoming passengers each day. Most large public activities, including dining at restaurants, are available to people vaccinated against the coronavirus. Israel has sped ahead with its immunization campaign. Over 52% of its population has received one dose and almost 40% have had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, one of the highest rates in the world. Israel has confirmed at least 799,000 cases since the start of the pandemic, … [Read more...] about The Latest: Israel in final phase of easing of lockdown