THE FASTEST NEWS ROUND-UP
F1 RACING EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Dubai-based British driver Ed Jones will switch to the Chip Ganassi squad for next year’s Indycar season. Jones was Indycar rookie of the year in 2017, finishing 14th in the points with Dale Coyne Racing, and has now secured a surprise switch to Chip Ganassi… Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer has said he could swap to a privateer LMP1 team for the World Endurance Championship next season following Porsche’s exit. The German will compete with Techeetah in Formula E in 2017/18 but he still wants to continue racing in LMP1 if there is parity between the privateers and manufacturers. Toyota has hinted that it could remain as the sole works team in the class next year… Tom Chilton took victory in the opening World Touring Car Championship race at Motegi last weekend. In sodden conditions, Chilton grabbed the lead into the first corner and was untroubled thereafter. Honda driver Norbert Michelisz won a rain-shortened race two that featured just four racing laps. The win means he is now the closest challenger to Volvo points leader Thed Bjork… Kyle Busch secured his place in the NASCAR Cup final four after winning a chaotic race at Martinsville last weekend. Busch inherited the win with three laps to go when Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin collided. The other three drivers currently holding a playoff place are points leader Martin Truex Jr, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick… European Formula 3 racer Harrison Newey won on his Asian Le Mans Series debut in an ORECA-NISSAN 05 LMP2 car for the Jota-run Jackie Chan DC Racing team last weekend. Newey won the season opener at Zhuhai with team-mates Thomas Laurent and Stephane Richelmi… Sacha Fenestraz secured the Eurocup Formula Renault title at Barcelona last weekend, beating 2015 Mclaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Will Palmer, taking a win in the season finale. Third-placed Robert Shwartzman won the other two races while 2016 British Formula 4 champion Max Fewtrell secured the rookie class title and sixth overall…
■ Fines will be increased, with a significant additional championship fine applied on top of any MSA fine.
■ From next year a ‘strike’ will last for 12 months from the date applied, rather than just the same season. This then brings them into line with the 12-month penalty points system on MSA race licence.
■ Strikes gained during a 12-month period will result in the following penalties; Third strike – back of the grid Fourth strike – one-race ban Fifth strike – two-race ban Sixth strike – three-race ban Seventh strike – banned from the championship for the rest of that season.
■ A relatively minor but straightforward on-track incident, involving and affecting only two cars, that can be simply rectified by swapping their finishing positions post-race (or which has already been fully redressed within one lap by the offending driver) will not necessarily constitute a ‘strike’.