Like a bolt of lightning, the 2016 Rio Olympics are already in the rear-view mirror. But if you’re wondering what to fill your weekend with, now that there’s no more kayaking, hammer-throwing and dressage to watch, wonder no longer and switch over to the High Speed Television channel for your full complement of high-speed fun.
If multiclass racing is your cup of tea, then you can’t do much better than the European Le Mans Series, which is only at the halfway stage of a 2016 campaign that has already thrown up incident and intrigue galore. The 4 Hours of Paul Ricard this weekend promises plenty more of the same, as Harry Tincknell’s G-Drive squad face up against a TDS by Thiriet Racing outfit that have called up Toyota LMP1 racer Mike Conway in a bid to overcome their slender eight point advantage. The two British aces will face plenty of competition for TV time however, as United Autosport’s Alex Brundle seeks to preserve his 100% record in LMP3, while in GTE, the AT Racing, Beechdean AMR and JMW Motorsport teams are all separated by just five points.
By contrast, there’s not long left to savour the FIM MXGP championship, so you won’t want to miss the final European round of the year from Assen in Holland. Rookie sensation Tim Gajser is all but confirmed as the first man to win the world championship with a Honda since Marcus Hansson in 1994, but behind him the battle rages on for second between Tony Cairoli, Max Nagl and a fit-again Romain Febvre, eager to prove that he could have taken the title battle to the wire had he not missed four races due to injury.
It’s already been confirmed that Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings will be joining them in MXGP next year, but his season of dominance in MX2 was ended prematurely by a collarbone injury that handed Jeremy Seewer an unexpected shot at the title. A good weekend on Herling’s home turf could put the Swiss into the championship lead, but he’ll have to contend with an in-form Max Anstie, the Briton putting a nightmare season behind him by sweeping the last two meetings at Lommel and Frauenfeld.
Watching a grid of 20 heavyweight monsters charge towards a first corner is one of the most uniquely thrilling sights in motorsport, so you’re sure to be entertained as we bring you full live coverage from round five of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship at the Hungaroring. It couldn’t be closer at the top between Adam Lacko and Jochen Hahn, with just one point separating the pair heading into the weekend, but it’s the local sensation Norbert Kiss who fans will be turning out in their droves to see. After an inconsistent start to the season, the 2014 and 2015 champion will be hoping to propel himself into the title fight with a repeat of his two popular wins last year. You thought the #TeamLH hysteria was big at the British GP? Just watch this!
It’s also mighty close in the TCR International Series, where victory last time out in Sochi helped inaugural champion Stefano Comini to claim a one point lead in the championship over Pepe Oriola. Just six points behind the Spaniard heading to Thailand is his team-mate James Nash, but will having two cars still in title contention help or hinder the Craft-Bamboo squad?
As if all that’s not enough, we’ve also got highlights of two madcap ADAC GT Masters races from Zandvoort and two of the very best one-make racing championships in the planet – the all-action Mini Challenge from Oulton Park in Cheshire and the Audi R8 LMS Cup Asia from Sepang. So what are you waiting for?
Saturday 27th August09:25 – Audi R8 LMS Cup Asia, Rd 5-6, Sepang12:30 – LIVE FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Rd 5, Hungaroring (Race 1).14:30 – LIVE FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Rd 5, Hungaroring (Race 2).16:50 – Mini Challenge, Rd 6, Oulton Park17:50 – ADAC GT Masters, Rd 6, Zandvoort
Sunday 28th August07:25 – LIVE, TCR International Series, Rd 8, Buriram13:00 – Delayed-as-Live FIM MX2 World Championship, Rd 16, Assen (Race 1).14:00 – Delayed-as-Live FIM MXGP Championship, Rd 16, Assen (Race 1).15:00 – LIVE FIM MX2 World Championship, Rd 16, Assen (Race 2).16:00 – LIVE FIM MXGP Championship, Rd 16, Assen (Race 2).17:00 – Delayed-as-Live European Le Mans Series, Rd 4, Paul Ricard20:00 – Delayed-as-Live FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Rd 5, Hungaroring (Race 3).21:00 – Delayed-as-Live FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Rd 5, Hungaroring (Race 4).
