Monday Pit Stop #6
While all eyes were on F1 in Saudi Arabia, there were plenty of other things going on throughout the world – and also in the Middle East region.
F1 Academy got underway at Jeddah, with Mercedes protégée Doriane Pin seemingly set for a clean sweep of victories after finishing first in both races. But on Saturday's race, she failed to notice the chequered flag and continued to push after the finish – which meant that she got a time penalty that demoted her to ninth. As a result, she heads home from Saudi Arabia third in the championship, behind Abbi Pulling (supported by Alpine) and Maya Weug (backed by Ferrari).
Other Saudi headlines include female racer Reem Al Aboud, who set a new acceleration record in Formula E (2.49 seconds from 0-96.5kph) using a prototype car just before the Saudi Grand Prix.
But here's a car that everyone can drive. BAC (which stands for Briggs Automotive Company) has become well-known in recent years for producing what are essentially Formula 1 cars for the road, with bespoke tyres supplied by Pirelli. Now, for the first time, BAC has announced a racing series as well.
The BAC Mono championship will become what has been ambitiously described as the ‘fastest one-make racing series in the world'. The series will be initially based in the Middle East, having been announced just before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The new Mono Cup series will be coordinated by the Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) and commence at the end of this year, running over a six-month period. Jeddah Corniche will serve as the home circuit for the series, with Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also featuring on the calendar.
Neill Briggs, BAC co-founder, said: “The Mono Cup embodies BAC's unrelenting dedication to high-performance driving. Like our road-legal supercars, the Mono Cup car will deliver a driving experience unlike anything else across the world.” For a taste of what the BAC Mono feels like to drive, check out this video from Tyreseeker with renowned motoring journalist Steve Sutcliffe:
On the other end of the scale, one of the big growth areas in motorsport is historic rallying. Former F1 TV pundit Tony Jardine has been backed by Pirelli in the past on historic events that range from New Zealand to the Arctic Circle, and he's returning to the sport for his first event of 2024 this weekend, at the wheel of a Chrysler Avenger GT, for the Rally North Wales.
Jardine will run his car entirely on bio-ethanol fuel, and his main sponsor is Traditional Oak, a leading wood recycling firm.
Rally fans might also have noted that Hyundai's Dani Sordo is embarking on an exciting new adventure this year by taking on the legendary Pikes Peak hillclimb, in Colorado, in June of this year with an electric car that is still to be announced. Sordo will join an all-star line-up that includes Paul Dallenbach, an 11- time winner, and Robin Shute: a four-time winner and the current Pikes Peak title holder.
