Having spent the first half of the season in Europe, the FIA World Endurance Championship begins its globetrotting with a trip to Mexico. Having made its debut at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last year, the series returns to Mexico City for six hours of racing at more than 2 km above sea-level, making it a real challenge for cars and drivers alike. With 30 hours of racing remaining, all four titles are still up for grabs, so be sure to join Motorsport.tv for LIVE coverage of the full race.
Courtesy of wins at Le Mans and the Nurburgring, Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber hold a healthy, but not unassailable lead in the points standings. Their nearest rivals are Toyota’s #8 crew, who lost ground on the Porsche over the last two rounds due to mechanical problems. The Japanese team will be looking to bounce back, though in 2016 Mexico proved to be a happy hunting ground for Hartley, Bernhard, and then team-mate Mark Webber, taking the win in a race affected by changeable conditions. The LMP2 class has been dominated thus far by Jackie Chan DC Racing, with Ho-Pin Tung, Oliver Jarvis and super-silver Thomas Laurent taking three wins and a third to date. Vaillante Rebellion and Signatech Alpine have some task to close the 46-point margin, though with five races to go anything can happen. In the production-based GTE-Pro class, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell lead the drivers’ standings, but the manufacturers’ standings sees Ferrari, Ford, Aston Martin and Porsche separated by less than 30 points, while in the GTE-Am Drivers’ Championship, Dempsey-Proton, Clearwater and Aston Martin Racing are covered by just two points.
Back in Europe, the FIA World Rallycross Championship makes its third visit to the town of Loheac, France, for the ninth round of the year. Johan Kristoffersson has scored a hat-trick of wins in the last three races, thus building up a 35-point margin over PSRX Volkswagen team-mate Petter Solberg. Furthermore, the Swede was the winner in Northern France last season, giving him confidence to perform on this occasion. Lohaec is the home race for Sebastien Loeb, who - sitting fourth in the standings - will be hoping to put on a show for his French fans. Two additional drivers join the field in Brittany, with Audi DTM racer Nico Muller joining Mattias Ekstrom’s team, whilst Alister McRae, younger brother to World Rally Championship legend Colin, makes his series debut for LOCO World RX Team, both drivers could spice up the results. Follow our LIVE coverage to keep up-to-date with all the action from France.
After a nearly two-month summer break, the TCR International Series returns to action this weekend, coming from Chang International Circuit. Nine points is all that separates the first four in the title hunt as the championship heads to Buriram, with Jean-Karl Vernay leading the way. Neither young-star Attila Tassi, nor Roberto Colciago scored any points last time out, allowing 2016 champion Stefano Comini to close the margin to them. The ultra-competitive series has seen wins shared out this season, with the top four drivers only taking eight of the 14 possible wins between them, meaning the Thai round will be as wide open as ever. We’ll be bringing you LIVE coverage from this frantic touring-car championship.
Spa-Francorchamps is the location for the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2017 Porsche Supercup, and the first of two weekends that feature a double header of races. Michael Ammermuller has finished no lower than second to-date, though his title ambitions are being kept honest by Porsche young driver Dennis Olsen, who himself has only finished off the podium once. The possibility of the unpredictable Spa weather could be a big factor as the title race heats up.
Over in America, the NASCAR Xfinity Series makes its third and final appearance on a road-course for 2017, heading to Wisconsin’s Road America. At 6.5 km, the Elkhart Lake track is the longest on the Xfinity calendar and provides quite the challenge for drivers, with high-speed corners and heavy braking zones. The intra-team battle between Elliot Sadler and William Byron has proved gripping over the season, but with only four races remaining before the playoffs, every additional point earned now could be the difference between falling above or below the cut-off.
Finally, we have a selection of UK-based club racing from two of the countries top venues. Oulton Park plays host to the British Mini Challenge, boasting a bumper entry of 30 race-prepped John Cooper Works Minis. Also coming from the Cheshire circuit is the Caterham UK Racing series, using the same basic car that was designed as the Lotus Seven by legendary Colin Chapman. Last, but by no means least, the VW Racing Cup UK season continues on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, as Golfs, Polos and Sciroccos do battle.
Friday 1st September
18:55 - The Flying Lap, Ep 10
Saturday 2nd September
14:25 - Porsche Supercup, Rd 8, Spa
15:15 - British Mini Challenge, Rd 7, Oulton Park
15:45 - Caterham UK Racing, Rd 5, Oulton Park
16:50 - VW Racing Cup UK, Rd 5, Brands Hatch Indy
18:25 - FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, Rd 12, Switzerland
20:00 - NASCAR Xfinity Series, Rd 23, Road America
Sunday 3rd September
09:20 - LIVE TCR International Series, Rd 8, Buriram
13:00 - LIVE FIA World Rallycross Championship, Rd 9, France
17:45 - LIVE FIA World Endurance Championship, Rd 5, Mexico
