2003

Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Miller Brewing Company officials announced on Friday morning (before the bar opened no less!!) that the Miller Lite brand is returning to IMS as the official beer for the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400.

The 2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Motocross Championship arrives at Glen Helen Raceway this weekend [Sunday 11 May] for the traditional season kick-off, and anticipation is running high as Ricky Carmichael and Chad Reed prepare to carry their Supercross rivalry into the 250cc class.

American billionaire IndyCar owner John Menard has bought one of the former Tom Walkinshaw Racing [TWR] sites, taking over TWR Engineering in the process, as he adds to previous acquisitions from the former F1 boss.

SAM HORNISH Jr (#4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara-Chevrolet):

The Formula One boys were lucky enough to enjoy bright blue skies, warm temperatures and sunny conditions for their trip to Spain last weekend - will the MotoGP circus benefit from similar weather as it makes the first of three visits to Iberia. Jerez, Spain

Alan van der Merwe's form continued in the two 20 minute morning practice sessions at Knockhill today with his fastest lap of 47.37secs close to Courtney's lap record of 47.22s.

Carlos Sainz is the overnight leader of the fifth round of the 2003 FIA World Rally Championship in Argentina. Sainz's Citroen is 22.4 seconds ahead of Ford's Markko Martin, after a largely trouble-free day for the double world champion, who posted three fastest times through the day.

When the inaugural German 500 was run in 2001, several of the current crop of veteran drivers in the Champ Car World Series were on hand to push the limits on the daunting 2.023-mile superspeedway, including Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier, owner/driver Adrian Fernandez, Team Rahal's Michel Jourda

Former Arrows Formula One driver Enrique Bernoldi has found himself at the centre of an escalating family row between tennis star Jelena Dokic and her volatile father.

Toyota Motorsport GmbH has revealed that its Formula One team has signed a sponsorship agreement with Karcher, the well-known cleaning systems manufacturer.

Round five of the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford marks a return to the state-of-the-art EuroSpeedway Lausitz after a year's absence due to the track's recent financial difficulties.

Next week's Austrian Grand Prix will mark the 500th grand prix anniversary of UK journalist Mike Doodson and, as well as marking the occasion with a special cake and a toast at the team's motorhome next Friday, the achievement also prompted the formation of a select 'club'.

Telefonica MoviStar Honda Jr Team rider Sebastian Porto is a near veteran, having raced in 109 grands prix, and yet he is still just 24 years old. 2003 is a crucial year for the Argentinean, who was selected for the ride by non other than Alberto Puig.

Following the tragic loss of lead rider Daijiro Kato, Fausto Gresini has announced that the Telefonica MoviStar Honda team will contiunue as a two rider operation - with Sete Gibernau being given Kato's full works spec RCV, and a new Japanese rookie joining the team.

The first guest appearance of the new-look DTM series in Italy is being considered a highlight on the 2003 calendar of Europe's premier touring car series, and the Abt Sportsline team, spearheaded by champion Laurent Aiello, has clearly defined goals for this weekend's race at the Adria Internati

In his first run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the 1995 Indy 500, Bryan Herta strapped into Dario Franchitti's regular #27T Archipelago/Motorola Dallara-Honda and posted a best speed of 225.380mph (39.9326secs) in 53 laps around the 2.5-mile Brickyard.

The following statement has been made by Oxford Silver Machine promoter Nigel Wagstaff after reading comments in the Speedway Star on May 3 and having had time to reflect on the Good Friday/Easter Saturday fixtures between Oxford and Coventry.

The General Motors Chevrolet Corvette Racing team enjoyed its outing at the pre-race test at Le Mans last weekend, running quickly and efficiently despite completing a programme designed to evaluate the effectiveness of new and revised parts.

Latest signing Ben Howe certainly made a huge impacton his debut with 13 points as Mildenhall overwhelmed StokeSpitfires 36-53 at Loomer Road last Sunday.

The fortunes of the ACU Academy's road race stars was as mixed as the weather at round four of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday.

Ford has today announced that Martin Whitaker (pictured), Ford's European Director of Motorsport and the boss at Ford Rallye Sport, will be leaving the company and that Jost Capito has been appointed as Director of Ford Team RS, and will now take over Whitaker's responsibilties.

In blustery but dry conditions at Oulton Park yesterday, Honda Racing's Steve Plater finished in a fine fourth in the first British Superbike race, but fell after a collision with Yukio Kagayama in race two.

KTM mounted Marc De Reuver proved that he is a true all round racer after taking his first win of the season on the hard surface of Teutschenthal, Germany.

Single-seater ace turned NASCAR star Robby Gordon will attempt the Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 'daily double' for the fifth time in his career this 25 May, racing during the day at Indy and in the evening at the Winston Cup Series race in Charlotte.