Pitstop: Evans finding GP2 pace

New Zealand GP3 driver Mitch Evans. Photo / Supplied

GP3 champion Mitch Evans showed good pace over two days in his first official GP2 test at Barcelona, Spain, this week. Evans was ninth fastest in the morning session. He quickly set the fastest rookie time in the 27-car lineup and improved to be eighth fastest in the afternoon session.

Porsche Supercup test

Andre Heimgartner has completed the Porsche Motorsport International Scholarship shootout at Vallelunga, Italy. The 17-year-old was selected for the test where a drive in the 2013 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is up for grabs. No decision will be made until all data have been analysed.

Kelly nursing shoulder

Todd Kelly's injured shoulder will rule him out of most of Nissan Motorsport's pre-season testing programme of their new V8 Supercars machine. An accident before the Bathurst 1000 damaged his right shoulder.
Paddon gets ready for Spain

Rally driver Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard are heading to the final WRC event at RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de Espana, November 9-11. While his chances of winning a second world rally championship title in two years disappeared in France in October, Paddon is keen to show how fast he can be.

Raikkonen staying with Lotus

Lotus F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen has signed a one-year contract because he says it's less hassle and leaves him with more options and he didn't want to commit long term. The Finn returned to Formula 1 this year after two seasons in WRC.

Under the hood

Western Springs speedway will awake to the roar of race cars this weekend for the opening event of the 2012-13 season. Fizzing around the dirt will be 36 midgets, 20 sprintcars and 14 F2 midgets as well as 32 TQs. Overseas competitors include Americans Jonathon Allard and Ricky Logan.

Alex Bright, another visiting American, will also have his first run at the Springs. Kiwi Michael Pickens will run the BSL/Esslinger he used in America where he won the USAC feature. Fellow Kiwi Brad Mosen will be competitive in the King chassis, which is powered by the NZ-designed and built Synergy V8 engine that came under heavy scrutiny by the USAC for being too revolutionary.