
German Grand Prix to stay on MotoGP calendar until 2031
The new deal will see MotoGP celebrate the Sachsenring's 100th anniversary in 2027 as motorcycle racing's premier class capitalises on the growing interest in the sport, which had over 250,000 fans attend the Grand Prix over the weekend.
"Saxony is motor racing country... The new record attendance at the weekend showed once again how much we love motor racing in Saxony," Michael Kretschmer, Prime Minister of Saxony, said in a statement.
Ducati's Marc Marquez won the German Grand Prix on Sunday to extend his world championship lead to 83 points, proving once again why he is known as the 'King of Sachsenring' after claiming his ninth MotoGP victory at the circuit. — REUTERS
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New Straits Times
2 days ago
- New Straits Times
Razlan feels Horner's pain, 'not easy' says ex-RNF boss
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Razlan Razali can relate to what former Red Bull Racing F1 team principal Christian Horner is going through, following the latter's sudden dismissal last month. The former RNF Racing MotoGP Team boss said he did not expect to see Horner, considering his contribution to the team over the year, dismissed in such a manner. Horner was relieved of his duties on July 9 though Red Bull did not publicly state a reason for his dismissal. The 51-year-old had been accused of coercive and controlling behaviour by a female employee last year though was twice cleared following internal investigations. "That is the brutal ruthlessness of Formula One," said Razlan when met yesterday (Aug 5). "Although the team (Red Bull) is not performing, I did not expect him to go like that as he has done a lot for Red Bull. "So to be removed like that, there must be something more to it. "It is a shock for Formula One and I can, more or less, feel what he is feeling. I can understand what he is going through, it is not easy." Razlan had experienced similar circumstances at the tail end of the 2023 season when he was removed from his position as RNF team principal - a team he owned 40 per cent of at the time - after their relationship with partners CryptoDATA turned sour. The former Sepang International Circuit chief executive officer said he does not have plans to return to motorsports anytime soon. "No plans to go back so far. At the moment there is nothing that interests me, especially in MotoGP," said Razlan. "But I still like to follow the sport and still keep in touch with Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna Sports CEO) and Massimo Rivola (Aprilia Racing CEO)." Razlan was met at the launch of Anytime Fitness' 80th club in Malaysia, which was held in Cyberjaya yesterday. Anytime Fitness also announced a strategic partnership with the Youth and Sports Ministry which will see them supporting national wellness campaigns and community-based initiatives. Anytime Fitness is also sponsoring memberships for 20 national athletes, which includes upcoming motorcycle racers Hakim Danish Ramli and Qabil Irfan Azlan. Razlan, who is also an Anytime Fitness franchisee, said the sponsorship will give the athletes access to 80 Anytime Fitness gyms in Malaysia and thousands around the world. "Some of these national athletes may not have easy access to such facilities as they may live far away so this Anytime Fitness membership can help them complement the training they are already doing," said Razlan. "They can also access Anytime Fitness' gyms when they are training or competing abroad because there are thousands around the world. "I have been involved in motorsports talent development for a long time, it has been my passion. Now that I am in the fitness industry, it is about changing people's lives through fitness." Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Adam Adli officiated the sponsorship presentation in Cyberjaya. The other 18 recipients will be selected by the National Sports Council.


The Star
5 days ago
- The Star
Motor racing-F1 is healthier without Horner, says McLaren boss
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Formula One is a healthier place after the firing of Christian Horner as Red Bull team boss, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said on Sunday. Speaking to reporters after talks with Horner's successor Laurent Mekies at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the American welcomed the Frenchman's appointment and said his predecessor had crossed a line. "I just left having a chat with Laurent, I'm happy he's in the role he's in," he said. "I like Laurent, and I think that'll be healthy, and maybe we can get back to focusing on competition on the track. "There's always going to be some political aspects to the sport, I think it's going to be healthier with Laurent," he added. "I'm a fan of Laurent, I've known him for a long time and I think it'll be good to go racing against Laurent." Brown and Horner were not friends, to put it mildly, and clashed frequently -- with the former accusing Red Bull of cheating in 2022 when the team were found to be in breach of the 2021 cost cap. The pair raced in British Formula Three and renewed their rivalry as bosses, trading barbs in the media with Horner a "pantomime villain" for audiences of the Netflix series 'Drive to Survive'. McLaren dethroned Red Bull as constructors' champions last year -- although Max Verstappen won the drivers' crown for Horner's team for the fourth time in a row -- and have been dominant this season. Brown said the Milton Keynes-based team, who dismissed Horner on July 9, had not seemed to be a healthy environment. Horner, who last year faced allegations of misconduct made by a female employee which he denied and was cleared of after an investigation, has not commented publicly on the reasons for his departure. Brown looked forward to racing Red Bull in the same way McLaren enjoyed competing against Ferrari and Mercedes -- hard on track but celebrating in a more collegiate spirit for the good of the sport. "From a fan's point of view, the drama of the villain stuff I think works, but I also think the celebratory 'fight it out on track but then kind of photobomb each other' ...I think that's a more fun way to go racing," he said. Brown said the rivalry with Red Bull had gone too far, with Horner's accusations about 'flexi-wing' breaches and other technical matters. "When you start getting into frivolous allegations, I think that's just going too far, and I think if I look up and down pit lane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically but there being a line that's not crossed," he said. "I think that line got crossed before... so I think that we'll see a little bit of a change for the better." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon)


New Straits Times
31-07-2025
- New Straits Times
Piastri out to boost title bid in Budapest, scene of first win
BUDAPEST: Oscar Piastri returns to the scene of his first victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend seeking to stretch his lead in the title race over his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. The 24-year-old Australian, with six wins from 13 races this year, has a 16-point lead over Norris, but he is well aware of the potential pitfalls ahead. "I'm looking forward to going back to where I had my first win," said Piastri. "It's a great city and a cool track and a fun weekend so it will be nice, but once we are in the cars and out on track all that will be forgotten." His victory last year came with the help of team orders. Having taken the lead from pole-sitter Norris at the start he fell behind during the pit-stops. McLaren asked Norris to give him the position back, gifting him his maiden triumph in a manner that left the Briton feeling mistreated. This time, Norris is out to ensure he wins for himself to trim Piastri's advantage. Second in Belgium where Piastri passed him following a rolling start on a drying rain-affected track, Norris has been less consistent than the metronomic Melburnian. His slightest errors have been highlighted while the measured Piastri rarely makes mistakes. A similar scenario is not impossible this weekend with McLaren dominant after taking 10 wins and targeting their 200th win before Formula One takes its summer break. After the rainstorms in the Ardennes forest at high-speed Spa-Francorchamps, the Hungaroring circuit 25km north of the capital represents a very different challenge - a sinuous and slow track with one straight dubbed "Monaco without the barriers." It also offers very different weather with very warm and sunny conditions expected, although there are thunderstorms threatening, making it a twisting and technical challenge for teams and drivers. The race joined the world championship calendar in 1986 when travelling behind the Iron Curtain into eastern Europe was still considered adventurous, but the first sole nominated Hungarian Grand Prix was held 50 years earlier in Nepliget, a Budapest park. Ferrari's seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, in urgent need of a good weekend with a podium finish after "one to forget" as he described his Belgian experience, has won a record eight times at the Hungaroring and also taken a record nine poles. This could be his chance to secure a first Ferrari podium and lift some of the pressure on the Maranello team. But the track has a reputation for throwing up surprise winners, often maiden triumphs, and is fondly remembered also by two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin who was 22 when he became then the youngest driver to take pole and win a Grand Prix in 2003. He followed that by taking the drivers' title two years later to become the sport's then-youngest world champion at a venue where Briton Nigel Mansell also clinched the title in 1992. This weekend's contest will be Alonso's record 22nd in Hungary. Four-time champion Max Verstappen is set to start his 200th race for Red Bull. The Dutchman won in 2022 and 2023, but is no longer enjoying imperious superiority with Laurent Mekies at the helm for the second race weekend following the sacking of Christian Horner.