Borowski Race Engines (BRE), the engine builder based in Joliet, Illinois, has announced the addition of Heather Dorethy to its team as a new sales and marketing representative.

Dorethy previously spent time in sales and marketing roles with automotive aftermarket firms, most recently at Precision Turbo & Engine. Dorethy, who is an active drag racer with a passion for motorsports, has also been a brand ambassador for major sponsors of NHRA events including Mello Yello and Mopar.

Dorethy is a member of SEMA’s Businesswomen Network, CARCHIX Nation, International Women’s Motorsport Association, Chicagoland Mustang Club and FastHer. She has also been an active participant and panelist at the SEMA Show, PRI Show and more.

For more information, visit borowskirace.com.

Further details of the FIA Motorsport Games, a new multi-disciplinary event, were revealed at a press conference held hosted by the FIA and promoter SRO Motorsports Group at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

The FIA Motorsport Games were borne out of the successful FIA GT Nations Cup held last year at the Bahrain International Circuit, and the concept was announced by the FIA last month.

The inaugural event, organized by the FIA in conjunction with promoter SRO Motorsports Group, is scheduled to take place in Rome and at the nearby Vallelunga Circuit from October 31 to November 3, 2019.

The FIA Motorsport Games will be held across six different racing disciplines, with established categories such as GT, Touring Cars and Formula 4 featuring alongside the emerging competitions of drifting, digital motorsport and karting slalom, which are rapidly gaining in prominence.

Continuing the national focus of the GT Nations Cup, each competition invites one entry per country to be selected by the respective National Sporting Authorities (ASNs) worldwide. Liveries in each discipline will feature the national flag of the respective country.

Each competition will award gold, silver and bronze medals to its top three, all of which will contribute to an overall medal table to determine the winning nation at the end of the event.

For more information, including when and where the opening and closing ceremonies will take place, visit fiamotorsportgames.com.

Photos courtesy of FIA Motorsport Games

In the spirit of ensuring an equal level of performance and increased competition between the LMP1 Hybrid and Non-Hybrid prototypes competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), officials announced the following measures concerning the series’ Equivalence of Technology (EoT).

The different points were discussed and agreed by the LMP1 competitors, Toyota Gazoo Racing, Rebellion Racing and Team LNT ahead of The Prologue, the WEC’s official pre-season test in Barcelona.

•    Weight: The Toyota TS050 HYBRIDS will each carry an additional 30.86 lbs (14 kg) compared to the TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa 2019, thus +88.18 lbs (40 kg) compared to the car’s minimum regulation weight.

•    Fuel tank capacity: The fuel tank capacity will be adjusted to ensure an equal number of laps per stint for both LMP1 H and LMP1 NH for every round including Le Mans.

•    Refueling time:  At each pit stop, LMP1 H cars will refuel 1 second slower than LMP1 NH cars to compensate for the advantage they have restarting in electric mode.

•    Success handicap: A success handicap will be introduced whereby the performance of all cars—hybrid or non-hybrid—will be adjusted before each race to take into consideration points scored in the Championship.

These changes have been agreed by all LMP1 competitors and will come into effect from the opening round of Season 8, the 4 Hours of Silverstone on September 1, 2019. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a specific EoT will be implemented using the same principles as for the Season 8 EoT.

For more information, visit fiawec.com.

International Speedway Corporation (ISC) announced that Brian Crichton, the vice president of Marketing and Sales at Talladega Superspeedway would serve as the new president of Talladega Superspeedway beginning September 3.

Crichton assumes his new role as Speedway Chairman Grant Lynch prepares for his previously announced November retirement with the completion of Transformation – The Talladega Superspeedway Infield Project Presented by Graybar.

During his role as the VP of Marketing and Sales at Talladega, Crichton and his staff created the popular Friday Night “Big One on the Blvd.” fan event and elevated the track’s traditional Saturday Night Infield Concert, among other initiatives.

In his new role, Crichton will report to Joie Chitwood, the COO of ISC, and oversee promotion and operation of the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

“Brian has earned this promotion following nearly 10 years of valued leadership at Talladega,” stated Chitwood. “His creative marketing efforts, community building and fan-first mentality have helped Talladega Superspeedway become the most fan-friendly track on NASCAR’s schedule.”

With nearly 20 years of motorsports industry experience, Crichton served in successful capacities at Daytona International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway.

For more information, visit talladegasuperspeedway.com.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is positioned to remain a cornerstone event on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule through at least 2024 as the St. Petersburg City Council in Florida unanimously approved a four-year extension to the existing agreement with event promoter Green Savoree St. Petersburg.

The spring break racing tradition has been the season-opening event on INDYCAR’s annual calendar for the past nine years of its 15-year history.

“The Firestone Grand Prix has a home in the Sunshine City,” St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said. “I am so pleased to have this cornerstone event of the NTT IndyCar Series dedicated to St. Petersburg for the next five years. I want to thank Kim Green and Kevin Savoree for their partnership, and for their dedication to St. Pete.”

Set for the second weekend of March, the approved dates for the next five Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg events are:

March 12-15, 2020
March 11-14, 2021
March 10-13, 2022
March 9-12, 2023
March 7-10, 2024

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is run on a 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary waterfront circuit that includes a combination of adjacent downtown streets circling Pioneer Park, the Mahaffey Theater, the Salvador Dali Museum and extending onto the runways of Albert Whitted Airport, which overlook the Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg harbor and marina.

For more information, visit indycar.com or gpstpete.com.

The Team Racing Endurance Challenge (TREC) is a new NASA enduro series that offers track time to drivers without an official competition license.

The new series is said to be a definite departure from typical NASA competition with “a heavy emphasis on fun above all else.”

Anyone with a driver’s license can participate in a TREC race, including minors who race with NASA. Cars are classed using a combination of time brackets and base classing listed in the TREC rules, and all vehicles compete on tires marked with tread wear 180 or higher by the manufacturer.

“NASA’s High Performance Driving Events have introduced thousands of people to the joys of driving their cars on track,” said NASA Vice President Jeremy Croiset. “Now, with our new TREC series, drivers with little to no experience can get in on the fun of wheel-to-wheel endurance racing with a professional sanctioning body like NASA. This new program establishes a new pathway for people to attain a NASA Competition license.”

Drivers who complete four TREC events may apply for a TREC license qualifying them to participate in the fastest TREC class. Anyone with previous racing experience may apply for a TREC license. Those who hold a TREC license and complete six TREC events will be eligible to apply for a full NASA competition license.

TREC events will be offered in various NASA regions in the latter half of 2019 with many additional events coming online for the 2020 season.

For more information, visit nasaproracing.com or the official NASA TREC forum.

The NMRA/NMCA Technical Department released a recent statement regarding turbocharger modifications.

The NMRA/NMCA Technical Department has reminded competitors that, due to the increased safety risk, any modifications to the compressor or turbine wheel, blades, hubs, cover or housing is prohibited.

Over the last few months, the NMRA/NMCA Technical Department has reportedly seen several turbochargers, not in competition, that feature modified turbine wheels. This type of modification is said to be highly susceptible to failure since the center hub is cut down from its original design.

The increase in potential failure can create a very hazardous scenario, similar to incidents observed at non-NMRA/NMCA events this year.

For more information, visit nmradigital.com or nmcadigital.com.

Pictures of a legal turbo, left, and illegal turbo, right, courtesy of NMRA/NMCA

Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI), the operator of eight major speedways around the US, has entered into a “definitive merger agreement” with Sonic Financial Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina, according to published reports.

Sonic Financial Corp. is owned by Bruton Smith and his family. Smith is also the founder and majority stakeholder in SMI.

The merger would take SMI private, a move similar to the one announced by International Speedway Corp. (ISC) in May. ISC entered an agreement to sell its outstanding shares to NASCAR, a deal which is expected to close later this year.

Sonic Financial would acquire all outstanding shares of SMI common stock at $19.75 per share in cash.

SMI stated the following in a published memo to its employees:

Speedway Motorsports, Inc. will continue its focus on owning and operating first-class, modern facilities in premier geographic markets, and providing our individual and corporate fans and customers with the best entertainment experience and marketing value in the motorsports industry.

We have no current plans for job eliminations as a result of the proposed transaction. Rather, the proposed transaction will enable us to accelerate our long-term growth plan and transformation, and maintain our focus on providing the best entertainment experience and marketing value in the motorsports industry.

SMI currently owns and operates Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.

For more information, visit speedwaymotorsports.com.

British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) organizer TOCA has awarded a vital contract to Cosworth Electronics for the design, supply and servicing of the BTCC Hybrid System, which will be introduced for the 2022 BTCC season.

The BTCC was reported to be the first major touring car championship to announce the move to hybrid power in August 2018 and is also now the first to specify the exact timing, pathway and technical details of the change.

The contract was awarded to Cosworth Electronics after a successful round of tenders that met with the challenging specifications—particularly those regarding packaging, performance and low-cost—that TOCA had outlined.

The additional hybrid power will be used by each driver for either passing or defending and will introduce new competitive strategies and opportunities during each BTCC race.

Cosworth’s performance simulations show that significant gains will be achieved at the low engine RPM ranges; the hybrid power burst will bring the engine up into the turbo "window" more quickly. This will provide drivers deploying the system the chance to pull alongside or gain ground on the opposition.

Prior to introduction, additional testing and simulations will refine the more exact nature of the driver-selectable hybrid power delivery (i.e. how many seconds per lap, when/how it can be used etc.) as well as configuring the varying amounts of regeneration and hybrid power that will be used to replace the current success ballast system.

For more information, including a technical overview of the Cosworth Hybrid system, visit btcc.net.

Photo courtesy of BTCC

Best In The Desert, the largest off-road racing series in North America, announced its 2020 race schedule, comprised of legendary events like the Parker 250, Parker 425, Laughlin Desert Classic, Silver State 300 and Vegas to Reno, plus the addition of popular races from the past.

A total of eight races will be held with six points-paying events for cars, trucks, motorcycles, quads and seven points-paying events for UTVs. Starting with the season-opening Parker 250 on January 10-11, 2020, and wrapping up with the BlueWater Desert Challenge in October, racers will contest for a Best In The Desert Series Championship.

“We are very excited about the 2020 schedule,” Best In The Desert CEO Daryl Folks said. “A lot of hard work and thought have gone into it. We’ve worked hard to provide a wide variety of events to not only challenge our racers but also a schedule that considers racing budgets and costs. In the end we feel our racers will be tested thoroughly and whoever comes out on top will be deserving of a Best In The Desert series championship.”

For more information and the complete 2020 schedule, visit bitd.com/race-events/2020-schedule.