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The prospect of Max Verstappen taking on the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford Hypercar is already igniting excitement inside the American manufacturer’s racing division. Ford Performance chief Mark Rushbrook has openly admitting that he would love to see the four-time Formula 1 world champion spearhead the company’s future endurance ambitions. The company’s long-awaited entry into the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar category from 2027 is shaping up to be one of the sport’s biggest upcoming storylines. The automotive giant is preparing an LMDh prototype for the top class of endurance racing, adding another major manufacturer to an already stacked field. And while the programme itself is still taking shape, one dream scenario is already impossible to ignore: Verstappen fighting for outright Le Mans victory in Ford colours. Ford already in talks with Verstappen The connection between Ford and Verstappen is obviously rooted in the manufacturer’s Formula 1 alliance with Red Bull Powertrains, which officially began this season. As it works closely with Red Bull on future F1 power units, conversations about racing beyond Formula 1 have already started to emerge. “Yes, of course,” said Rushbrook, speaking to Motorsport.com’s Dutch affiliate. “We love Max, we love what he does in the Formula 1 car, on the track. “We love him off the track. He's a great person, as much as he's a great driver. We love his passion to be racing GT3, like he is, and what he does with developing drivers through sim racing and getting them on the track. “So, of course, we have regular discussions with him about what are the opportunities to do more in sportscar, including Hypercar." Verstappen’s enthusiasm for endurance racing has become increasingly visible in recent years. Beyond his extensive sim racing involvement, the Dutchman is preparing to compete in the
As speculation over the Dutchman’s long-term endurance racing future continues to grow, Ford Performance boss Mark Rushbrook has admitted that the American manufacturer would “rather” see Max Verstappen racing a Ford Mustang GT3 than a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Verstappen, the four-time Formula 1 world champion, is set to compete in next week’s 24 Hours Nürburgring with Verstappen Racing in a Mercedes-AMG GT3, following the team’s switch from the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. This has attracted attention due to Ford’s expanding partnership with Red Bull Racing in anticipation of Formula 1’s new power unit regulations in 2026. Ford is heavily involved in developing Red Bull’s future engine, leading some observers to question whether Verstappen’s association with Mercedes in GT racing would cause problems for the American manufacturer. Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya was among those to publicly raise the issue. “If I were the boss of Ford, I wouldn’t like to see Verstappen advertising for Mercedes at the Nürburgring,” he said recently. Speaking during a media session at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Rushbrook acknowledged that Ford would ideally prefer Verstappen to represent its own GT machinery. However, he also made clear that the company understands the reasoning behind the Dutchman’s current programme. Ford praises Verstappen’s racing mentality Rushbrook stressed that Ford views Verstappen’s wider racing ambitions positively, particularly given his increasing involvement in GT and endurance competitions alongside his Formula 1 career. “Naturally, we would prefer to see our Ford drivers stay at Ford,” Rushbrook explained. “We understand why he did that. We love his passion.” “We love that he is a racer. We love what he does for us in Formula 1. We appreciate who he is as a person.” The Ford executive added that Verstappen’s constant pursuit of extra racing experience, whether through sim racing, GT competition or endurance
Max Verstappen racing a Ford at Le Mans isn’t a pipe dream someone floated on a podcast. It’s a conversation Ford is actively having with the man himself, and Mark Rushbrook isn’t hiding it. Speaking to Motorsport.com, Ford Performance‘s global director confirmed the discussions are real and ongoing. When asked if talks had taken place, Rushbrook didn’t hide his enthusiasm to have an ally in the Dutchman: “Yes, of course. “We love Max. We love what he does in the Formula 1 car, on the track. We love him off the track. He’s a great person, as much as he’s a great driver. We love his passion to be racing GT3, like he is, and what he does with developing drivers through sim racing and getting them on the track. So, of course, we have regular discussions with him about what are the opportunities to do more in sportscar, including Hypercar. He’s a racer. He wants to race,” Rushbrook said. Verstappen’s name keeps coming up in the endurance world, given his appetite for long-distance racing and his existing ties to Ford through Red Bull Powertrains. The four-time champion has made clear in recent years that he wants to do more outside of Formula 1, and he will compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, his next step in GT racing. A Le Mans outright bid is the obvious target, and Ford is the obvious partner – except for when the calendar gets in the way. The Schedule Is the Problem, Not the Will Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, keeping his schedule locked up for the foreseeable future with 24-race seasons. “He wants to go race Le Mans and race for the overall win, but most years the schedule doesn’t allow it, right? While he’s
About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket © 2026 Google LLC
About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket © 2026 Google LLC
Ford’s endurance racing ambitions could include Max Verstappen, with performance boss Mark Rushbrook admitting the company has already discussed future Hypercar opportunities with the four-time Formula 1 World Champion. Ford and Red Bull partners for the first year in Formula 1 together, the American company making its first return to the pinnacle of the sport this century after a major role in evolving the sport from the 1960s until the 1990s. Furthermore, Ford will enter the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar class in 2027 with its new LMDh prototype, marking the brand’s return to the top category of endurance racing. The American manufacturer already competes in WEC with customer Mustang LMGT3 entries, while its Formula 1 return this year came through its partnership with Red Bull Racing. Verstappen’s growing interest in endurance racing has only intensified speculation about a future Le Mans programme. The Dutchman is set to compete in next week’s Nürburgring 24 Hours in a Mercedes AMG GT3, while repeatedly expressing his desire to race at Le Mans for an outright win. Speaking to Motorsport.com Netherlands, Rushbrook confirmed Ford has already held discussions with Verstappen about sportscar racing possibilities. “Yes, of course,” said Rushbrook. “We love Max. We love what he does in the Formula 1 car, on the track. “We love him off the track. He's a great person, as much as he's a great driver. We love his passion to be racing GT3, like he is, and what he does with developing drivers through sim racing and getting them on the track. Verstappen is a racer, he wants to race “So, of course, we have regular discussions with him about what are the opportunities to do more in sportscar, including Hypercar. He’s a racer. He wants to race," according to Rushbrook, who added that Verstappen
Asetek ‘Masterclasses’ featuring Matt Malone and Austin Jurs to be held at SimRacing Expo Charlotte Asetek has announced it will be holding sim racing 'Masterclass' discussions throughout this year's SimRacing Expo Charlotte, with Matt Malone, Austin Jurs and André Eriksen set to appear. Asetek booth at SimRacing Expo Charlotte will feature Austin Jurs, Matt Malone and André Eriksen A series of ‘Masterclass’ discussions is scheduled, covering sim racing equipment, driving tips and highlighting transferable skills between real-world motorsport and virtual driving Sim racing hardware manufacturer Asetek Racing will be holding a series of ‘Masterclasses’ at this year’s SimRacing Expo Charlotte. Friday and Saturday’s Masterclass discussions will cover sim racing equipment and driving advice with Malone and Eriksen, while on Sunday, visitors will hear insights from Jurs on how his real-world motorsport activities are influenced by sim racing, and vice versa. Asetek will also be presenting a range of sim racing equipment for patrons to try, with an as-yet-unnamed racecar set to be on display. The full Asetek Masterclass schedule for SimRacing Expo Charlotte is below. This offers three days of SimRacing Expo Charlotte access, one-day access to the NASCAR Hall of Fame museum and a Race-Day Bundle for the NASCAR Cup Coca-Cola 600 at the nearby Charlotte Motor Speedway. Discussion 0 Comments Join the discussion Join Traxion.gg to start discussing with members. Already a member? Sign in
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Lewis Hamilton will shy away from using the simulator ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, the Briton revealed in Miami. The seven-time world champion hopes this approach works better for him after time in the sim did not translate into a better result last Sunday. In the build-up to the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton spent time in the simulator. However, once he got to the track, it proved ineffective, as there was no correlation, the Briton explained. In Miami, Hamilton eventually finished sixth on Sunday after his teammate Charles Leclerc was handed a 20-second time penalty. He will therefore change his approach for the Canadian Grand Prix, which will also be a Sprint weekend. Hamilton: 'My best weekend was without the sim' "On a sprint weekend, for example, you've only got practice one, you don't really want to veer off from your setup too too far like with a big suspension change, and so you stay with it. Then you make a change going it's qualifying and you only got six laps to get on top of it. So in an ideal world I should have started where Charles was at the beginning of the weekend on P1 and I think we would have just had a stronger weekend from there," Hamilton explained to GPblog, among others. He added: "So I'm not gonna go on the simulator between now and the next race. I'll still go and hold meetings at the factory and stuff, but I'm just going to back away from it for a little bit and see. Because when we went to China, I had the best weekend without the sim." Make GPblog your preferred source on Google and see our content first in Google Discover and Google News. Listen to or watch the GPblog.com video podcast. In
About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket © 2026 Google LLC
About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket © 2026 Google LLC
About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket © 2026 Google LLC
Wolff explains how Bonnington has been a ‘good mentor and strong boss’ for Antonelli Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington, Kimi Antonelli’s race engineer at Mercedes, has received praise from team boss Toto Wolff for how he has handled working with the youngster. Toto Wolff has credited Kimi Antonelli’s race engineer, Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington, as playing a key role in the young driver’s success, with Wolff praising Bonnington for being both a “good mentor” and a “strong boss”. Bonnington brings a wealth of experience to his role, having previously acted as a race engineer to Michael Schumacher during the German’s stint at the Mercedes team before joining forces with Lewis Hamilton, the pair forming a memorable partnership across Hamilton’s 12 seasons at the Silver Arrows. Following Hamilton’s departure for Ferrari, Bonnington began working with Antonelli when the Italian stepped up to Formula 1 in 2025. Now in his sophomore campaign, Antonelli’s progression has seen him score three consecutive victories, becoming F1’s youngest-ever championship leader in the process. Speaking to the media after Antonelli’s latest win in Miami, Wolff was quizzed on how important Bonnington has been in terms of looking after the teenager on the radio, having been heard to warn Antonelli about track limits during the race. “Bono has learned from the greats, from Schumacher to Hamilton for many years and then now to Kimi,” Wolff responded. “He's been a good mentor to him, but also a strong boss. “There were a few times today when he had two strikes with the track limits – I said to Bono, ‘One more and I'm gonna go on the radio’, and he said, ‘No, no, you leave that to me’. That shows he just knows how to handle it. That's good, he's been part of the success.” Whilst Wolff hailed Antonelli’s performance at the
Forza Horizon 6 launches next week, and to give new players a head start on their car-collecting journey, Playground Games has revealed that returning players from previous games in the series can claim up to six free cars as loyalty rewards. For example, if you played the 2023 Forza Motorsport reboot, you can unlock the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray. Those who played Forza Horizon 5 can also claim the Mercedes-AMG ONE early. Here’s a full list of Forza Horizon 6’s loyalty car rewards: Forza Horizon 6 loyalty car rewards Forza Motorsport: 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Forza Horizon 5: 2021 Mercedes-AMG ONE Forza Horizon 4: 2016 Aston Martin Vulcan Forza Horizon 3: 2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4 Forza Horizon 2: 2014 Lamborghini Huracán LP-610-4 Forza Horizon: 2013 Dodge SRT Viper GTS Each loyalty reward represents the cover car from its respective game, with the exception of Forza Horizon 4: the McLaren Senna appears on the cover rather than the Aston Martin Vulcan. If your Xbox Gamertag is linked to any previous Forza Horizon games or the most recent Forza Motorsport, the loyalty reward cars will unlock in Forza Horizon 6 automatically after completing the introductory race in Tokyo City. Alas, this means that returning players can access powerful supercars at the start of the game. Forza Horizon’s car progression is often criticised for rewarding fast cars too liberally in free Wheelspins. Forza Horizon 6 aims to address this by restricting faster cars to later Wristband events in the campaign, but it remains to be seen if Wheelspin rewards will be as generous as before. The loyalty rewards mitigate this, but are optional. Forza Horizon 6 launches on 19th May for PC and Xbox Series X|S, with early access starting on 15th May for Premium Edition owners. A PlayStation 5 version is set
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The Nürburgring may be heaven for the likes of the Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 RS, but the Taycan electric sedan has had to dig deeper to reclaim its title as the fastest EV around the circuit. In late 2023, Porsche announced the Taycan Turbo GT – equipped with its optional Weissach package – had set the quickest time for a production EV at the 20.832km Nürburgring Nordschleife track, lapping the venue in seven minutes and 7.55 seconds. However, it was later displaced by the Rimac Nevera hypercar (seven minutes and 5.30 seconds) then the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra (seven minutes and 4.96 seconds), the latter of which held the record until the world’s fastest car, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme, beat it with a six minutes and 59.16-second lap. Now, Porsche once again holds the production EV title, after the Taycan Turbo GT received upgrades from its racing partner Manthey Racing, the firm responsible for the fastest 911s at the Nürburgring, to set a time of six minutes and 55.53 seconds. Like the 911s, the Manthey kit consists of retuned vehicle software, lightweight 21-inch forged wheels (shod in Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tyres), and additional aerodynamic parts (rear wing with bigger endplates, larger front splitter, rear diffuser and rear wheel aerodiscs) which increased its downforce levels from 95kg to 310kg at 200km/h. The Manthey kit also represents a first for any Porsche, increasing its powertrain outputs, resulting in a 20kW power increase to 600kW in its standard driving mode, while peak torque has jumped from 1240Nm to 1270Nm using launch control. An additional 130kW can be unlocked using the Taycan’s Attack Mode, bringing total power up to 730kW. To cope with the extra speed, the front brakes have also grown in size from 420mm to 440mm, paired with higher performance
This week’s new Online Time Trial is German through and through. Gran Turismo 7 pairs one of Porsche’s most beloved classics, the 911 Carrera RS (901) ’73, with the full 24h layout of the Nürburgring on Sports Medium tires. The Carrera RS was was added to GT7 back in update 1.29 and it’s a slow but personality-rich choice, especially when paired with this tire compound. The result has been one of the more popular Time Trial combos in recent memory, judging by the conversation in our forums. This is, of course, the full 25-kilometer Nürburgring 24h layout. Most players are looking at lap times north of 10 minutes, so a clean run is a real commitment. Last week’s Online Time Trial featuring Gr.3 cars on Trial Mountain Circuit with Racing Hard tires has one week left to run before it closes on May 14. GT7 Lap Time Challenge May 7 - Track: Nürburgring 24h - Car: Porsche 911 Carrera RS (901) ’73 - Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H) - Tires: Sports Medium - Settings: Fixed GT7 Lap Time Challenge April 30 - Track: Trial Mountain Circuit - Car: Gr.3 - Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M) - Tires: Racing Hard - Settings: Fixed Accessing Online Time Trials To access the Online Time Trials, you’ll need to unlock Sport Mode by completing Menu Book 9 (“Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade”) in the GT Cafe. PlayStation Plus is not required. Once an event closes, gold goes to players within 3% of the fastest time (2m credits), silver within 5% (1m credits), and bronze within 10% (250,000cr). Events update every Thursday, with each challenge running for two weeks. The next new Time Trial arrives on May 14. See more articles on Gran Turismo 7 Time Trial.
Image source: The Motley Fool. Date May 7, 2026, 5 p.m. ET Call participants - Chief Executive Officer — Thi La - Chief Financial Officer — Gordon Mattingly Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Takeaways - Revenue -- $354.5 million, topping the midpoint of company guidance. - Gross profit -- $116 million, reflecting a 13% increase year over year, supported by both main segments. - Gross margin -- Reached a first-quarter high of 32.7%. - Gamer and Creator Peripherals segment revenue -- Increased 10% year over year despite tariff headwinds. - Gamer and Creator Peripherals segment gross profit -- Rose 8% to $50.3 million; segment gross margin was 40.8%. - Gaming Components and Systems segment revenue -- Declined 10% year over year, attributed to a "non-GPU upgrade cycle" and "challenging memory pricing dynamics." - Gaming Components and Systems segment gross profit -- Increased 18% to $65.7 million, with segment gross margin expanding from 21.7% to 28.4% (a rise of 670 basis points). - Direct-to-consumer channel -- Comprised 20% of revenue, up from 17% a year ago; carries structurally higher margins. - Segment mix shift -- Higher-margin Gamer and Creator Peripherals accounted for 35% of revenue, up from 30% a year prior. - Adjusted EBITDA -- $35.8 million, a 58% year-over-year increase, representing 10.1% of revenue and exceeding the high end of guidance. - GAAP EPS -- $0.11 compared to a loss in the prior-year period. - Non-GAAP EPS -- $0.27, a significant improvement from the prior-year period. - Cash from operations -- $29.7 million generated during the quarter; cash and restricted cash rose by $20.9 million sequentially to $119.7 million. - Net debt -- Ended the quarter with a near zero position, enhancing flexibility for capital allocation. - Share repurchases -- Approximately $5 million in