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Daytona hosts endurance opener
THE first big endurance race of 2023 kicks off on 28 January in Florida. The Rolex 24 takes place on the road course layout of the Daytona Speedway, and gives race fans their first chance to see the all-new top-tier category of worldwide endurance racing.
Thanks to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship converging their rules, there has been an explosion in manufacturer involvement in both series, and Daytona’s entry list shows some of this variety. Nine cars take the field in the toptier GTP category (built to the same LMDh regulations used by the WEC), including entries from Cadillac, BMW and Porsche They’re joined by last year’s winners, Acura, with Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque looking to defend their crown alongside Brendon Hartley for the squad following a shaky pre-season test Two of the teams tipped to challenge Porsche – Jaguar and DS Penske – both struggled Mitch Evans battled to eighth place and Sam Bird retired with a broken driveshaft, while reigning champ Stoffel Vandoorne could only manage 10th for DS, and teammate Jean-Eric Vergne took 12th Cupra’s struggles were more miserable; Nico Muller took 14th, while Robin Frijns is a doubt for Diriyah after breaking his wrist in a crash.
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Miami GP set for improved track
STAYING in Florida, heavy investment is to take place at the home of the Miami Grand Prix The bumpy track surface will be renewed, while the paddock (crammed onto the perimeter of the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium in 2022) will be moved inside the ground Although some drivers had doubts over the tight chicane area at turns 14 and 15, organisers have said that the layout will stay the same for now
THE people of the North East aren’t the only ones to be disgusted and dismayed by the death of the Britishvolt gigafactory (Page 13) and the thousands of much-needed jobs it promised – but failed – to deliver There surely can’t be many people in Britain who didn’t want to see Blyth – once famous for mining –reinvent itself as home to the first of many clean, green, cutting-edge EV battery plants Establishing such a facility 20-odd miles from the EV-making Nissan plant in Sunderland was a no-brainer And the job creation was just for starters. The plan also demonstrated that Britain still has what it takes to be a major player on the world’s automotive stage.
Given that we ’ ve long had plenty of huge car makers in Britain and still have five mainstream, seven major premium and 60-plus smaller specialist manufacturers, the gigafactory would have, could have, and should have been as important as many of our leading vehicle-making plants
Trouble is, the willing but apparently unable entrepreneurs – working with politicians who’ve again failed the region, the nation and the EV cause – have disastrously dropped the ball And even more worrying, it seems less likely than ever that the UK Government will now ensure that Britain gets the four gigafactories it needs by 2030 – the year when the sale of new pure-petrol and diesel cars will be outlawed by, er, the UK Government!
When, as a rookie reporter in the eighties, I interviewed, photographed and was scared to death by our then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Nissan Sunderland, she was hardly my cup of tea – not least because I whispered to her that I was sceptical about the Japanese opening a factory in Britain and she barked at me that the venture was 100 per cent right Like or loathe her, if it weren’t for the Iron Lady, Nissan Sunderland – never mind Toyota, Burnaston and Honda, Swindon – would not have been built In turn, thousands of high-quality jobs would never have been created over the decades Contrast Thatcher’s automotive commitment, determination and delivery with the disinterest and broken promises from the last three PMs who had Blyth under their watch They were tasked with seeing the project through And, shamefully, none did The broken-hearted people in and around Blyth are entitled to feel disgusted and dismayed right now, after their hopes, dreams and employment prospects were cruelly shattered last week. And at the same time, our political leaders must accept that, on this occasion, they were all talk, no action and, ultimately, got things indecently wrong Time, I reckon, for car makers in the UK to rely less on others and more on themselves – by at least studying seriously the prospect of building their own gigafactories here Alternatively, we now know that when the UK Government incentivised Nissan to construct a car factory in Britain, it was the right and successful thing to do An invitation to, and similar incentives for, a Korean EV battery giant such as LG Energy to build a gigafactory here (as it has done elsewhere) would be equally appropriate
