Editor-in-Chief's Note: Three excellent reads for you this week. The first two are by colleague Gordon Kirby, who does a superb job in framing just how dynamic, transformative and revolutionary racing's golden era here in the U.S. - encompassing the 60s and 70s - really was. It was an extraordinary time, never to be repeated in the now over-regulated racing environment that exists today. Kirby also does a fine tribute in Motorsport magazine to Mark Donohue and the fantastic career he had while being an integral part of the dawn of Penske Racing. And Paul Tracy provides an entertaining piece in Motorsport magazine about the convoluted rules and varying degrees of "officiating" in racing today. He also gets a few well-placed jabs in about the sport in general too. All very much worth the read. - PMD

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy/newspress)
Ken Block will join the all-new FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy. Block (Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta) will compete in Hell, Norway, June 14-15, Loheac, France, September 6-7, and Istanbul, Turkey, October 11-12. “I’m stoked with how the new liveries for my Ford Fiestas have turned out, as well as the race schedule we’ve been able to put together for 2014," Block said. "Once again I’ve been fortunate enough to put together a highly diverse schedule that has me going around the world... and, most interestingly, racing in three of the World Rallycross Championship rounds for the first time ever. I’m pretty sure nobody has a better job than me this year!” Former Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has also announced he will compete in World RX.

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)
Volkswagen Motorsport has signed an exclusive three-year partnership with Sweden’s Marklund Motorsport to enter the new-for-2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy. 2013 Global Rallycross Champion Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen will join Marklund Motorsport as the team’s lead driver for the next two seasons. He will be joined by teammate Anton Marklund and together they will compete in all 12 rounds of this year’s World RX. The Scandinavian pairing will debut their new Marklund Motorsport VW Polo RX Supercars at Montalegre, Portugal (May 3-4). Volkswagen’s Motorsport Director, Jost Capito, commented: "Rallycross is attracting ever-increasing levels of attention in Europe and overseas and is one of the fastest growing motorsport disciplines out there. The races are short and sweet, the cars are spectacular and look almost like factory models. Marklund Motorsport ranks among the most ambitious independent teams and has single-handedly developed the Polo for the 2014 FIA RallyCross World Championship."

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)

(Silverstone Classic)
The Ford Mustang turns 50 this year and besides the festivities planned all across the U.S. this summer, the famous pony car will be celebrated in style at the Silverstone Classic (July 25-27) as well. The Mustang Owners Club has chosen the mid-summer event for its official golden anniversary homage to the Mustang. The festivities will be topped by a pair of very special showdowns staged on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit as part of the weekend’s action-packed racing schedule. These will feature a record number of competition-prepared Mustangs with cars coming from all round the globe to join the celebration. Grids will include Mustangs conforming to the FIA’s Appendix K technical regulations – as regularly raced throughout Europe in the popular Pre-1966 Touring Cars series run by Masters Historic Racing – as well as a one-off "invitation class" for slightly more modified machines. While the competition Mustangs will top the bill, the fields will be packed with more than 50 starters including other notable "Yank Tanks" from the same golden era of saloon car racing such as Ford Falcons and Galaxies. While Silverstone’s long straights will suit the thundering V8-powered American muscle cars, the transatlantic invaders will be given a tough time by crowd-pleasing Lotus Cortinas, BMW Tis and three-wheeling Mini Coopers on the circuit’s newer, twistier sections. Full details can be found on the official www.silverstoneclassic.com website.

(Honda Motorsports)

(McLaren Automotive Inc. North America/newspressUSA)

K-PAX Racing will enter the McLaren 12C GT3 in the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge (PWC). The competitive debut of the 12C GT3 will mark the return of the McLaren name to North America, where the company has enjoyed considerable success in the past. McLaren notched 43 race victories and five championships in the legendary Can-Am series between 1967 and 1971, and three wins in the Indianapolis 500 (1972, 1974 and 1976). Former PWC champions, K-PAX Racing will compete in the 16 race schedule across nine weekends this season with two McLaren 12C GT3s. The driver lineup consists of Alex Figge and Robert Thorne. The Pirelli World Challenge, now in its 25th consecutive season, is one of North America’s leading production car-based racing championships, and is a support series for IndyCar. Each race is a 50-minute sprint. The series is sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing and races at North America’s premier road and temporary street courses. The competitive debut of the K-Pax Racing 12C GT3s will be at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which takes place March 28-30, 2014.