OCTOBER 26, 2016

Editor's Note: As you may have heard, Audi is ending its sensational 18-year run in FIA WEC endurance racing - and the 24 Hours of Le Mans - and committing to Formula E. Read Peter's take on this development here. -WG

(Larry W. Smith/EPA/The Gaurdian)
Thirty-one-year-old Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 AMG Petronas Mercedes) started from the pole position and went on to dominate the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday. It was the 50th Grand Prix win of Hamilton's career, putting him third on the all time list behind Michael Schumacher (91) and Alain Prost (51). Nico Rosberg (No. 6 AMG Petronas Mercedes) finished second and leads Hamilton in the F1 championship standings by 26 points with three races remaining (Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi). (Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3 Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer) finished third.

(Getty Images/BBC Sport)
Hamilton's win was the 50th of his illustrious F1 career. It was also his fifth U.S. Grand Prix win (four at Circuit of The Americas, one at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway).

(NASCAR)
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion) led the final 45 laps and held off Brian Scott (No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Goody's Ford Fusion) on a green-white-checker restart to win Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and advance to the Round of 8 in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Ground Toyota Camry) finished third. Logano, Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet SS), Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS), Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry), Carl Edwards (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Subway Toyota Camry), Kurt Busch (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS) and Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&Ms Toyota Camry) are the drivers with a shot at the 2016 NASCAR championship.

(www.crash.net)
Cal Crutchlow (No. 35 LCR Honda RC213V) won the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island - his second victory of the season, but first in the dry - after holding off Valentino Rossi (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1), who charged from 15th on the grid to second place. Maverick Viñales (No. 25 Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR) claimed the final podium place, from 13th on grid. Pole sitter and newly crowned world champion Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team RC213V) pulled out a comfortable lead but crashed out at half distance.

(Michelin)
In collaboration with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, Michelin has announced the winners of the global 2017 Michelin Challenge Design, “Le Mans 2030: Design for the Win.” Works by individuals and teams of designers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, India, Portugal and Russia were among the winners and finalists selected by a distinguished jury of the world’s top automotive designers and industry experts. The three winning designs, seven finalists and 10 honorable mentions were chosen from more than 1,600 registrants representing 80 countries. Over 16 years, Michelin Challenge Design has received a total of 9,901 entries from 123 countries. “The winners of our 2017 Michelin Challenge Design presented numerous highly innovative features for the Le Mans race in the year 2030 and the quality of work from this year’s entries was truly outstanding,” said Thom Roach, vice president of original-equipment marketing for Michelin North America. “We congratulate the winners for their thought-provoking, visually captivating designs for the world’s greatest endurance race, Le Mans 24 Hours.” First Place went to Tao Ni of Wuhu, China, for design entry “Infiniti Le Mans 2030” (above).

(Michelin)
Second place went to Daniel Bacelar Pereira of Vila Real, Portugal, for “Bentley 9 Plus Michelin Battery Slick.”
(Michelin)
Third place went to Kurt Scanlan of Toronto, Canada for his “Cierzo C1” entry.

Editor-In-Chief's Note: Red Bull Global Rallycross will create an all-electric vehicle series for the 2018 season. Electric vehicles will be added to Red Bull GRC race weekends as a distinct, stand-alone series, joining the Supercar and GRC Lites classes in the series’ race program. Red Bull GRC, in conjunction with USAC (United States Auto Club), will serve as the governing body for the new series. The Red Bull GRC Supercar class now features four manufacturer partners: Ford, Subaru, Honda and Volkswagen. It will be interesting to see which manufacturers sign up for the new all-electric series. More details will be released in the coming year. -PMD