APRIL 29, 2026

(IMS)

The 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X – America's hypercar and the quickest production car in America – will lead the field to the green flag for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, this pace car design reflects both where we’ve been and where we’re headed,” Chevrolet Global Executive Design Director Phil Zak said. “Every element – from the badging to the colors – were deliberately crafted to honor this milestone while expressing a forward‑looking vision of Chevrolet design.”

Designed in tandem with the Stars and Steel Collection, the Pace Car features the stars‑and‑stripes decals running across the car. This exclusive ZR1X was custom painted, appearing Arctic White from the driver side and Admiral Blue from the opposite profile. Every detail was considered, including the painted striping running down the ZR1X’s carbon fiber spine on the rear hatch. Inside, Santorini Blue seats are paired with red accent seat belts and red stitched floor mats for a cohesive, performance‑driven interior. Indiana University Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti, in celebration of IU Football’s undefeated National Championship season, has been named honorary Pace Car driver and will pace the field of 33 drivers in the Corvette ZR1X to start “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Just a reminder: The Corvette ZR1X delivers 1,250HP across all four wheels, combining a 186HP electric motor on the front axle with a 5.5L twin-turbo V8 putting 1,064HP to the rear wheels. For Pace Car duty, the ZR1X is equipped with the Carbon Aero package, including dive planes on the front bumper, underbody aero strakes and the rear wing, which creates more than 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speed. The Corvette ZR1X is capable of zero to 60 mph in under 2 seconds and can reach a top speed of 233 mph, approaching speeds seen by race cars in the field.  

(IMS)

(Paul Miller Racing images)

Paul Miller Racing heads to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the third round of its 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign, carrying both championship momentum and a striking tribute to BMW's racing legacy. For the annual IMSA Throwback Weekend, Paul Miller Racing will debut a special heritage livery on the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 Evo, paying tribute to the iconic No. 25 BMW 3.0 CSL from the 1975 100 Miles of Laguna Seca. The design features the historic BMW Motorsport colors of red, light blue and dark blue, a look that defined the brand's early success in North America. The tribute connects directly to a historic performance by Hans-Joachim Stuck, who claimed pole position and set the fastest lap at Laguna Seca in 1975. While it is the fourth race on the IMSA calendar, it will be only the third start of the season for Paul Miller Racing after the Long Beach event featured only GTP and GTD entries. Arriving in California, the team leads the GTD PRO championship standings with 658 points, building on a strong start to the season highlighted by a victory at Daytona and a consistent points finish at Sebring.

(MotoGP.com)

Flawless Alex Marquez keeps Bezzecchi at bay for victory as Marc Marquez crashes in Jerez. Back-to-back MotoGP victories at your home Grand Prix are what dreams are made of, and Alex Marquez (No. 73 BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) has achieved just that after he delivered a stunner in a dramatic 2026 Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain that saw Marc Marquez (No. 93 Ducati Lenovo Team) crash out of second place on Lap 2. Marco Bezzecchi’s (No. 72 Aprilia Racing) record-breaking victory run is now over, but the Italian’s P2 is another fantastic result for the championship leader as compatriot Fabio Di Giannantonio (No. 49 Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) earned P3 to jump up to third in the standings. Watch the Race Highlights here. (Thank you to MotoGP.com)

(HRC)

Hard off its win at Long Beach, Honda Racing announced that it was ending its Acura involvement in the IMSA series at the end of this season. Instead, Honda Racing will step up its NTT INDYCAR SERIES presence. Marcus Armstrong's No. 66 Honda-powered IndyCar will carry Acura branding in the 2026 Indianapolis 500, which will be the brand's first appearance on the Indy 500 grid. Acura's multi-race IndyCar activation began at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with Meyer Shank Racing and will continue at additional high-profile NTT INDYCAR SERIES races.

(Porsche images)

Porsche has unveiled its 975 RSE Formula E race car. The 975 RSE opens a new chapter in all-electric motorsport and complies with the regulations for the fourth Formula E vehicle generation that will be used starting next season. The new GEN4 machine delivers the biggest performance leap in electric motorsport to date: 804HP (600 kW) of power, permanent all-wheel drive, new tires and significantly increased downforce bring Formula E into the slipstream of the fastest single-seater race cars worldwide. The new car offers even stronger acceleration and a top speed exceeding 205 mph. “The GEN4 shows how far electric vehicles have evolved,” says Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “When the championship started in 2014, every driver needed two cars per race. One battery alone was not enough to cover the full race distance. Those days are long gone. Since 2024, we have been developing a race car that puts us on the level of Formula 2 cars. EVs are not only catching up with the standards we are used to; their strengths are becoming increasingly evident – on the track and on the road.”

For the first time, aerodynamic downforce significantly increases the grip of Formula E cars. Together with new tires and permanent all-wheel drive, this enables much higher cornering speeds. “Within roughly a decade, Formula E has become so fast that aerodynamic downforce is now a necessity. However, downforce always comes with drag and increases energy consumption,” Olivier Champenois, Technical Project Leader Formula E at Porsche Motorsport, said. “To maintain a strong focus on efficiency, we use two different aero packages with distinct bodywork components: a low‑downforce package with reduced drag for the races, and a high‑downforce package for qualifying, where energy consumption isn’t relevant. We are talking about up to 150 percent more downforce compared to the GEN3 Evo.”

Already in the current Formula E Porsche, the highly efficient GEN3 Evo-generation Porsche 99X Electric, drivetrain efficiency is over 97 percent. From the battery to the wheels, less than three percent of the energy is lost – for example through friction in mechanical components.

“As efficiencies approach perfection, other topics moved higher up the GEN4 development brief, including potential in terms of weight, durability and costs – similar to EVs for the road,” Champenois said. “The 975 RSE produces 71 percent more peak power than its predecessor. At the same time, we were able to reduce the weight of many parts. Although we are developing more components in-house for GEN4 than for GEN3, the total weight of our parts package was only allowed to increase by 11 lbs.”

In Formula E, manufacturers primarily develop the technical components that are also relevant for electric road cars. In-house developments include operating software, pulse inverter, electric motor, gearbox, differential, drive shafts and other drivetrain components on the rear axle, as well as cooling, carrier and suspension components at the rear. With the introduction of GEN4, several additional components are added, including the DC/DC converter and the brake‑by‑wire system, further electronics and wiring looms, as well as control units for the hydraulic differentials. For cost reasons, the battery remains a standard-supplied component and may not be developed.

“The concept remains the same: the regulations force us to maximize the efficiency of our cars in every respect – because that makes us relevant for the road,” Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E said. “The races should become even more attractive, as the new cars are considerably faster. The acceleration is impressive, and we expect top speeds of up to 208 mph. I’m very curious to see how the fans will react.”

Provisional technical data – Porsche 975 RSE:

Drive power:
- Normal mode: 450 kW (603HP)
- Attack Mode: 600 kW (804HP)

Power transmission:
- Permanent all-wheel drive

Acceleration:
- 0–62 mph: approx. 1.8s

Energy recovery
- Up to 700 kW recuperation power (brake energy recovery)
- Approx. 40 to 50 percent of the drive energy per race comes from brake energy recovery

Brakes
- Regenerative braking system: up to 350 kW electrical braking power on both the front and the rear axle
- Depending on brake pressure: additional deceleration through friction brakes (brake-by-wire system)
- Brake disc outer diameter front and rear: 275 mm

Tires
- Bridgestone tires for dry and wet conditions (two sets per race weekend and per car, three for double-headers)
- Bridgestone wet-weather tires for heavy rain (one set per race weekend and per car, second set possible for double-headers)

Rechargeable energy storage system (RESS)
- Lithium-ion accumulator
- Standard-supplied component
- Usable energy capacity: 51.25 kWh

CCS charging system (Combined Charging System)
- Designed for extremely fast charging with up to 600 kW charging power

Weight and dimensions
- Weight: 2,013 lbs. (954 kg) without driver
- Length: up to 218.1 in., width: up to 70.8 in., height: up to 45.27 in.
- Wheelbase: 121.25 in.
- Front track: 58.35 in.
- Rear track: 56.8 in.

Aerodynamics
- Two packages with aerodynamic elements for higher and lower downforce and drag

 

 

Editor's Note: This is our dearly departed billboard, which we had at Road America for several years. Peter gifted the phrase "America's National Park of Speed" to the track, which now uses it proudly in all of its communications. -WG

Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG