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Cover of The Mechanic’s Tale by Steve Matchett

The Mechanic’s Tale

Steve Matchett

1999

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Jaguar’s Mitch Evans is now the all-time winningest Formula E driver

This was a great Miami E-Prix, complete with wet conditions. Jaguar hadn’t scored any points so far this season, and this win vaults Evans into P6 in the championship. I think he’s my favorite winner on the Formula E grid, meaning I enjoy the way he wins the most. He keeps his cool through the playing out of careful strategy, and then when it comes time to make the move, he does so forcefully and without mistakes.

Also worthy of note was Porsche driver Nico Müller, who took his first pole position in Formula E.


The fastest driver of the first 2026 F1 test is Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap of the first week of testing today, the last day. Is the GOAT’s long ground effect nightmare finally over?

I know this is verging on caring about testing lap times, but you should read the quotes in the article, too. Lewis sounds like he’s waking up from a bad dream.


Renault clearly doesn’t want to be in racing anymore

This is not a report of a fire but rather one of smoke pouring out of many different buildings. The executive turnover at Renault is not over, and the Alpine brand is in trouble. Even though the WEC Hypercar program began to show promising signs last year, that’s several pay-grades below the people who are concerned about this.

Clearly the Alpine Formula 1 team is also a concern, as they have fallen to worst on the grid, and Renault will no longer even make them an engine. When Hornerpalooza kicks off, I fully expect the team to change brands.

Sources


Sébastien Bourdais quits Tower LMP2 team after Daytona

It has been a tough stretch for the Tower car at Daytona. Last year they won and then were disqualified for some piece of bodywork hanging off the bottom that surely reduced their performance, and this year they were the second-to-last LMP2 car running. Sébastien Bourdais is 46, and he has a top-class World Endurance Championship drive to worry about, and I wouldn’t want to be flying off to get my ass kicked all the time in LMP2, either.

Sources


Precision Racing LA confirms Ryan Eversley and Karl Forman for GT4 America

I was among the many Ryan Eversley fans flying to Daytona last week worried about not seeing his name on any entry lists. Lo and behold, when I landed, I ran into him at the airport leaving Daytona, and I briefly became even more worried. He quickly put my mind at ease with the news that he will be racing Precision Racing LA’s Toyota GR Supra in Pirelli GT4 America full-time this year.

Ryan bounces back and forth between IMSA and SRO, which is a normal thing for a coaching-level pro to do as up-and-comers such as Karl Forman enlist their services in whatever series suits their program. Forman is graduating from the GR Cup series, where Eversley coaches many drivers, so they’ve worked together and have chemistry, and they’re staying in the same OEM ecosystem. And going forward, if you want to build a track record right now with any GT brand, I dare say it’s Toyota.


Looks like Honda is entering WEC Hypercar in 2027

UPDATE, FEB 5: According to DSC’s Graham Goodwin, who somewhat hesitantly published this story after other publications began to run with it, the primary source of this story may have “over-egged the pudding,” as he puts it, and the appearance of the ARX-06 in FIA-sanctioned competition is not nearly as imminent as was reported. That story may even have complicated the deal, which would suck. Listen to #TWISC for more details.


Given how long the Acura ARX-06 has been in service in IMSA, it is natural to wonder why it hasn’t entered the WEC yet, and I look forward to learning more about that if possible, but as friend-of-TF @putdorianedown.bsky.social points out, there are many pieces of such a project that are just now falling into place:

This has been a story repeatedly, of course, but this one seems a lot more solid: - it gives a year, 2027 - there's space, because of Porsche - it names a credible partner team, Inter Europol

So, Great Honda Bake-Off for Le Mans (and the rest of the season) suddenly very plausible.

[image or embed]

— The Pin is mightier than the sword (@putdorianedown.bsky.social) Jan 30, 2026 at 9:34 AM

Sources


NASCAR is backing the USA Luge team in the Olympics

This is such a cool partnership, and I hope they really lean on the history to get some crossover going. No less storied a NASCAR figure than Geoff Bodine built bobsleds for Team USA for decades that won many medals, which I think is something fans of both motorsports winter sports should know.


Marco Mapelli contesting Bathurst 12H with Wall Racing

The Wall Racing Huracan GT3 is, objectively, the most attractive Lamborghini on Earth, much as Mount Panorama is the most attractive race track on Earth, so it’s pretty sweet for Pfaff fans familiar with Marco Mapelli’s work to have this car to root for at the Bathurst 12 Hour.


Jack Doohan’s Super Formula seat falls through

Brutal development for poor old Jack. Super Formula was the one thread of redemption from which he was dangling after getting dumped by Alpine F1 for not having more money than Franco Colapinto, and it seems budget is still the issue even in Japan. What’s Jack going to do now?


Zion Brown is IndyStar’s new motorsports reporter

I didn’t realize the world continued to have beat reporters with jobs in it, but sure enough, there is a sharp young motorsports reporter starting at IndyStar. Even better, he says he has been prompted to join Bluesky because it “needs more motorsports reporters,” so if you’re part of the squad, make sure to greet Zion warmly, so he sticks around, unlike so many of his predecessors.


Saturday Bowman Gray Clash events postponed for weather

The winter weather has begun to wreak its havoc on the first event of the NASCAR season, which is a significant bummer. Friday activities are still scheduled, and they’re trying to cram all the Cup action into Sunday, so we may still have a race, but it’s not going to be the rowdy Madhouse party we all want.

NASCAR has made a string of popular moves lately, and I would like to suggest one more: Move the Clash back to Daytona permanently, and have the All-Star Race at Bowman Gray.

Sources


Tim Cindric is back at Penske to be Scott McLaughlin’s strategist

Tim Cindric, whom you may remember as the former president of Penske Racing who was fired last year after one too many cheating scandals, has been… re-hired by Penske. Now, it’s not in an executive role, so I guess that’s something. He’s going to be on the pit wall doing strategy for Scott McLaughlin. Scotty is stoked, obviously, as this is the guy who pretty much made his racing career happen, and he knows racing at least as cold as anyone else on Earth. I guess this means Penske is really putting its ammo behind the 3 car this year!


Aston Martin did not have a good start to 2026 testing

I think it’s probably fair to say that Aston Martin F1’s 2026 car is the most anticipated race car of the year, what with the Adrian Newey and the Honda works status of it all. Hyping it up even more, the first test is in Spain, and Fernando Alonso drives that car. So with the eyes of the world on this car, Lance Stroll pulls it out onto a hot track for the first time, drives it around slowly four times, and then on the fifth lap has to pull it over in the runoff and shut it down.

UPDATE FEB 20: More nightmare stories added from later in testing.


Vintage IROC racing continues to rule

They’re still racing IROC cars, and all the old greats who can still race are doing so. Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, so on and so forth. This news just reminds me that NASCAR lost its antitrust suit, and its fear and loathing about racing it doesn’t own made it look particularly bad, even though everybody knows that NASCAR could just be a happy partner with stuff like this and derive nothing but benefit. Maybe it will now.


The White House wants a D.C. IndyCar race, like, now

A few days ago, an X account that I guess seems like some kind of official Trump administration communications channel (?) posted an absurdly intellectual-property-stealing AI video about a fictional Washington D.C. IndyCar street race called the “D.C. Grand Prix,” apparently trying to meme the race into being in this very upcoming season. In Washington, D.C. In late August.

Now, clearly, this is right up there with the worst-conceived motorsports events of all time, and the ways for IndyCar to wriggle out of it are myriad. Graham Rahal might think it’s a good idea for all the ✌️ “exposure” ✌️ and whatnot, but, listen, Graham. As someone familiar with putting on insane events in inhospitable environments in late August — aside from literally everything else about this — I assure you this is going to make IndyCar look like a bunch of idiots.

But does it even have a snowball’s chance in hell of actually happening? Coming back from IndyCar media day, it sounds like James Hinchcliffe and Alex Rossi are a little worried it might.

UPDATE 1/30, 12:10 PM: The President has signed an executive order decreeing that this IndyCar race shall happen. Fascinating to consider what, if anything, this changes about the odds of it happening.

Sources


Simona de Silvestro makes the Italian Olympic bobsleigh team

Former IndyCar driver Simona de Silvestro has qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics, representing Italy in bobsleigh. It warms my heart to see a professional fast person make it to the top level of going fast, even if the shark-infested waters of motorsport aren’t where it happens for them.


Sparklefarts the unicorn is back as a BMW

Slade Stewart, whose children designed the pink, glittery unicorn livery the world knows as Sparklefarts, has moved over to run GT World Challenge America full-time with Riley Motorsports. Andy Lee is co-driver. The car will be a BMW M4 GT3 Evo, which still really suits Sparklefarts, though it’s quite a different vibe from the Lamborghini Super Trofeo car.


Pit Wall

A Corvette GT3 race car parked in its pit box

Now reading

Cover of The Mechanic’s Tale by Steve Matchett

The Mechanic’s Tale

Steve Matchett

1999

Peruse Jon’s racing library