Pitstop

Lawson chasing dream

New Zealander Liam Lawson is the latest young driver to try to make it into American single seater racing. The Kiwi is heading to Arizona next week as one of 20 international drivers keen to get the US$ 200,000 scholarship fund to help towards their campaign in the USF2000 Mazda Road to Indy.

Logo misses the point

The new Formula One brand logo has gone down as well with fans as the sound of the current F1 engines. The retro- looking and oddly bland piece of work has been slammed by both drivers and fans alike. The sport needs fixing, not the logo, and when the explanation is to “really retool [ the logo] to position us on a going forward basis”, the sport is in trouble.

Alfa turns back time

Alfa Romeo is set to return to Formula One after a 33- year hiatus. It will be nothing like the days back in the 1950s, when the Italian manufacturer was a direct challenge to Ferrari. This is more a collaboration with Sauber, as Aston Martin is with Red Bull Racing. However, it’s nice to have a heritage name back into the sport.

Round two for V8s

The New Zealand V8 championship hits Taupo this weekend and Jason Bargwanna is looking to build on his success at the opening round at Pukekohe last month. The Aussie’s teammate, Andre Heimgartner, sits in second, with Nick Ross third. The class two field is led by defending champion Liam MacDonald.

Rally, just for kicks

Former football manager of Chelsea and Tottenham in the English Premier League, Andre Villas- Boas, has decided to swap a football pitch for a pitch at the Dakar Rally. The 40- yearold Portuguese wanted to contest the event on a motorcycle, but was told that’s a bad idea, so will stick to a car.