FOX SPORTS has all the WorldSBK and WorldSSP qualifying and race action LIVE in HD and AD-BREAK FREE across the weekend from the 2018 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Yamaha Finance round at Phillip Island.
The action begins on Saturday with Superpole qualifying for both WorldSBK and WorldSSP ahead of the opening WorldSBK race of the weekend, continuing Sunday with the WorldSSP race and WorldSBK Race 2.
Host Chris Stubbs will be joined by MotoGP and WorldSBK race winners Kevin Magee and Chris Vermeulen to cover all the action on Saturday and Sunday.
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Here’s our broadcast schedule for this weekend. All times AEDT on FOX SPORTS 506.
Ferrari will return to the elite class of the fabled Le Mans 24 Hour Race in 2023 after announcing Wednesday their Hypercar entry in the World Endurance Championship.
The iconic Ferrari racing car has been absent from the highest level of sports car racing, headlined by the Le Mans showpiece, since 1973.
While the hotly-awaited car has yet to be unveiled, it has been designed and Ferrari are also preparing to name its drivers for the 2023 return.
Watch the opening event of the Supercars 2021 Championship at Bathurst LIVE on Foxtel and Kayo. Sign up here!
Ricciardo wants a fast start at McLaren
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Ferrari has won the outright title at Le Mans on nine occasions, the last of which came in 1965.
“In over 70 years of racing, on tracks all over the world, we led our closed-wheel cars to victory by exploring cutting-edge technological solutions,” said Ferrari President John Elkann.
“With the new Le Mans Hypercar programme, Ferrari once again asserts its sporting commitment and determination to be a protagonist in the major global motorsport events.”
The new programme is also an opportunity for Ferrari to diversify its activities with Formula 1 introducing an annual spending limit this season of $145 million US (119.4 million euros) for each team.
By 2023, Ferrari will be the fifth manufacturer in the Hypercar series alongside the likes of Peugeot, Audi, Porsche and Toyota.
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Red Bull announce Honda deal till 2025
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The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), which promotes the WEC, welcomed the return of Ferrari.
“Ferrari has a long and illustrious history in Endurance and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Maranello team has won nine times, the last in 1965 in an epic duel against Ford,” said the ACO in a press release.
“Today is a great day”, added Pierre Fillon, the president of the ACO who noted the significance of 2023 which will be the centenary of Le Mans.
Limits on soaraway budgets in F1 have prompted the sport’s heavyweights such as Ferrari and Mercedes to review their racing objectives.
To avoid lay-offs of engineers and other employees, new outlets for their technological expertise have been sought.
Mercedes, for example, has raced in Formula E since the 2019-2020 season and shares projects with Ineos in sailing and cycling.
On the F1 grid, they have also strengthened their partnership with the Williams team.
Ferrari, which has not won the F1 drivers world title since Kimi Raikkonen’s triumph in 2007 and a constructors trophy the following year, endured their worst season in the sport in 40 years in 2020.
The 2021 Supercars Championship kicks off on Friday on the hallowed bitumen around Mount Panorama.
For the first time ever, Bathurst will open the season. And this weekend’s meet will be a single-driver sprint event, no less – the first in 25 years at the famous venue.
And while we’re back at the same course that hosted last season’s finale (the first time that back-to-back scenario has occured in 50 years!) one thing will look very different from 2020: Three-time reigning champion Scott McLaughlin won’t be around to defend his Supercars crown after moving to IndyCar.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Repco Mt Panorama 500.
Winterbottom celebrates 30-yrs in racing
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THE FORMAT
This year’s season opener will see two 40-lap races – one each on Saturday and Sunday – which cover a tick under 250km each.
There will be two practice sessions on Friday, as well as a Qualifying session and a Top 10 Shootout ahead of each race.
The full weekend schedule can be seen at the bottom of this article.
Every practice, qualifying and race session will be broadcast live with no ads breaks during racing in 2021 on Foxtel and Kayo.
Bathurst to open 2021 season
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TEAMS AND DRIVERS
Scott McLaughlin headlines the list of driver changes, leaving Dick Johnson Racing to their IndyCar counterparts.
He’s replaced by Will Davison, who alongside Anton De Pasquale features in a brand-new DJR line-up – one of three teams to have all-new drivers.
The two others are Team Sydney and Erebus Motorsport. Meanwhile Tickford Racing downsized to three cars after Lee Holdsworth left the squad.
2021 will be legendary driver Jamie Whincup’s final season in Supercars before he moves into management, and the 38 year old Triple Eight Race Engineering driver is keen to add to his seven titles and 122 race wins.
When McLaren announced the signing of Daniel Ricciardo, it was described as a “multi-year agreement” but there was no specifications around the length of the deal..
The Aussie superstar though has now revealed those details and it shows just how much faith he has in McLaren’s chances moving forward.
Speaking to mediaahead of the launch of the 2021 McLaren F1 car, Ricciardo said his deal would run through until the end of the 2023 season.
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Ricciardo wants a fast start at McLaren
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“I guess I can say – I’ll say it anyway, I’ve got nothing to hide – it’s three years,” Ricciardo said, per Sky Sports.
“So, it’s certainly enough time to get this thing going.
“I feel I’m coming here with a bunch of momentum behind the team as well, not only results, but I think some really good stability in the team and the infrastructure.”
McLaren boss Zak Brown revealed earlier in 2020 that they had been seeking out Ricciardo since he left Red Bull in 2018.
But the man himself said at the time, he was not completely sold on the move for a few key reasons.
“When I talked to McLaren a couple of years ago back in 2018, I don’t think Andreas was there yet, James Key wasn’t, so there were still quite a few moving parts,” he added.
“Ultimately not only the results weren’t quite there on track yet, but they were trying to figure out their own structure and I think they’ve established that now.”
The 31-year old will line up alongside the much younger Briton Lando Norris (21) and while he admits he cannot predict the future, he sees enough promise to be confident at McLaren.
“We don’t have a crystal ball. Leaving Red Bull or leaving Renault, it’s obviously what I feel is right,” Ricciardo said.
“Do I know 100 per cent how it’s going to turn out? I don’t, but I certainly feel like McLaren have done the right things particularly the last few years to set themselves up for these rule changes coming in ‘22.
“Obviously, I feel I’m coming here with a bunch of momentum behind the team as well.
“Not only results, but let’s say some really good stability in the team and infrastructure.
I’m basically just fitting into the puzzle as opposed to trying to put it all together. I’m certainly feeling good about it.”
