There was no shortage of headlines to result from a 23-race Formula 1 calendar in 2023, MotoGP’s addition of sprint races at every round and the influx of manufacturers arriving into the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class.
Our team of writers scouring the paddocks of international and national motorsport series has diligently covered 24-hour races and border-crossing rallies, showpiece events and humble supports, and each has generated fascinating stories. But often they don’t reach the wider consciousness in the way that micro-analysed developments in F1 do.
Here then is a collection of stories you may have missed in the hectic racing year.
By Lewis Duncan, Stefan Mackley, Charles Bradley, Gary Watkins, Megan White, James Newbold, Tom Howard, Alex Kalinauckas and Stephen Lickorish
15 April – Alex Marquez crashes out of COTA sprint because he was sick
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Alex Marquez’s COTA sprint came to an unpleasant and uncomfortable end
There are a lot of stories I’ve written this year that I’ve been particularly proud of for one reason or another. Our coverage of the RNF team’s collapse and our story about Trackhouse Racing taking over are particular highlights.
Sometimes, a story is fondly remembered because it’s a bit random and generates a hell of a lot of traffic. Jack Miller saying he was “smoking cigarettes” before he crashed out of the lead of the Valencia GP caught more attention than expected: when that happens from a fun line, it’s a nice little bonus.
Given everything that has happened in 2023 within the Marquez family, you could be forgiven for forgetting that Alex was involved in a story that turned out to be rather popular… unfortunately for him.
During the sprint race in America, he crashed out at Turn 12. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about that in the moment. But afterwards, it had transpired that the reason he crashed was because at the exact moment he was braking for Turn 12 he was also vomiting in his crash helmet.
It turned out to be a bit of a gross race, to be honest, as Pramac’s Jorge Martin managed to get to the podium with his throat chock-full of mucus from a virus he was battling. Both soldiered on into the grand prix – only to tangle with each other on the opening lap. LD
24 April – Formula E’s Berlin grid invasion
Photo by: Andreas Beil
Protestors from German climate group Letzte Generation attempted to…
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