darren, Author at Octane Photography

Feb 02

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Ford, Supercars, Triple Eight

Triple Eight switches to Ford from 2026

Reigning Supercars champion team Triple Eight Race Engineering has confirmed it will field Ford Mustangs from 2026. In a blockbuster Supercars story, Triple Eight and Ford revealed they will rejoin forces, 15 years after the championship-winning squad defected from the Blue Oval to General Motors. The news was confirmed on Friday, less than three weeks before the beginning of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship. Triple Eight will continue to compete as Red Bull Ampol Racing. Renders and a real-life livery of Red Bull Ampol Ford Mustang Supercars have also been revealed, giving fans an early look of what to expect when the 2026 season gets underway. Additionally, Triple Eight has also been nominated to become Ford’s homologation team in Supercars, subject to ratification by a majority vote of Ford’s Supercars teams. The dominant team of Supercars of the last 15 years, Triple Eight returns to Ford, having begun life in the championship in 2003 with the famous brand. As a Ford team, Triple Eight claimed the driver-team championship double in 2008, won another drivers’ title in 2009, and three straight Bathurst 1000s between 2006 and 2008. Midway through 2009, in the most significant manufacturer move in Supercars history — until […]

Jan 23

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Phillip Island, WSBK

Phillip Island WSBK Round to have mandatory pitstops

Ahead of the 2025 WorldSBK season opener at Phillip Island, organisers have confirmed that the WorldSBK and WorldSSP races will again follow a flag-to-flag format, requiring all riders to make a mandatory pit stop for tyre changes. This decision comes in response to concerns regarding the unpredictable weather and wide range of track temperatures expected at Phillip Island from February 21st to 23rd. Combined with the circuit’s unique layout and challenging surface, these factors have necessitated this precautionary measure to ensure the safety and competitiveness of the event. A similar approach was implemented successfully during the 2024 season following the circuit’s resurfacing. Following extensive analysis of the circuit’s characteristics, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) determined that rear tyres must not exceed 11 laps for the WorldSBK class and 10 laps for the WorldSSP class. As a result, the race distances for WorldSBK Race 1 and Race 2 will be set at 20 laps, with riders allocated two additional sets of tyres for the weekend. Gregorio Lavilla – WorldSBK Executive director “Phillip Island is renowned for its thrilling, high-speed layout, but it also presents unique challenges due to its surface and rapidly changing weather. Despite […]

Jan 18

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Marquez, Rossi, Stoner

Stoner on Valentino Rossi v Marc Marquez feud

Casey Stoner has weighed in on the Valentino Rossi-Marc Marquez spat that has dominated headlines on-and-off in MotoGP since 2015. It’s a feud that still captures the raging imagination of fans from across the MotoGP spectrum even 10 years on, especially as Marquez now prepares to team up with Rossi’s protege, Francesco Bagnaia, at Ducati this year. For Stoner, it’s also one in which Marquez has “deserved” the criticism levelled by some at him. “Marc [Marquez], to a certain degree, deserved his criticism,” Stoner said on the Ducati Diaries podcast. “He tried to get in there.” Stoner affirmed, though, that the blame for the whole spat lay at Rossi’s door – Marquez was simply responding to an attack. “Even though people blame Marc for the whole thing,” Stoner said, “people forget that Valentino [Rossi] started it. “Marc’s Marc, we’ve watched him do that all through his racing, and then Valentino started a war of words. “They were all friends, and all the rest of it, then Valentino started something, and then Marc retaliated because he didn’t like it. “And then of course everybody blows up about that, forgetting that Valentino went and poked the bear.” Stoner explained that the fallout […]

Jan 12

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Acosta, KTM, MotoGP

Defiant KTM to begin building 2025 MotoGP bikes

KTM technical chief Wolfgang Felber says “everything is currently going as normal” regarding KTM’s preparations for the 2025 MotoGP season. The Austrian firm faces an uncertain future in MotoGP as the company navigates its way through a financial crisis, which triggered a restructuring process. A report from the first creditors hearing also stated that a withdrawal from grand prix racing is “planned” for KTM, though it will carry on as normal in 2025. KTM’s racing division has also been acting on a 100-point plan to cut spending amid the company’s current financial troubles, which includes scaling back its factory involvement in various disciplines. For 2025, it will field four factory KTMs in MotoGP spread across its works team and Tech3 for Pedro Acosta, Brad Binder, Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini. In an interview with German publication Speedweek, Felber offered a positive development on KTM’s 2025 preparations. “As far as preparations for the new season are concerned, everything is currently going as normal,” he said. “In recent years we have trimmed all processes so that we build the new machines in the third week of the year. “It will be the same in 2025. Next Monday we will start rebuilding all […]

Nov 13

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: FHO Racing, Hickman, Todd

Peter Hickman and Davey Todd join forces in 2025

Peter Hickman and Davey Todd will join forces in 2025 for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad team. Todd is moving across from TAS Racing to link up with Faye Ho’s squad for next year’s British Superbike Championship, and road racing commitments. Todd won the national Superstock title this year and is seeking greater honours in 2025. Todd rode the Superstock-spec BMW M 1000 RR this season with TAS Racing so has experience of FHO Racing’s machinery. Hickman will remain with the team for a fourth consecutive year. Todd said: “I’m really excited to be joining the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad team for 2025 and also the Macau Grand Prix this year. It’s a really exciting time to be moving up to the Superbike class; I don’t feel like I got fair shot when I got my first races in the class, but to now have the opportunity to do it with an awesome team, I feel like it’s a great step for me. “I’m just super excited joining the team, I feel like I’m already starting to build a relationship with the guys just with the first few meetings we’ve had.” Hickman said: “I am mega happy to be staying […]

Nov 07

by darren in Track 0 comments tags: Bathurst, Kostecki, Supercars

Back to Back for Brodie

Brodie Kostekie goes back to back for Pole at the 2024 Bathurst 1000 for Erebus Motorsport

Nov 02

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: MotoGP, Valencia

Valencia MotoGP Cancelled

Five alternative venues are reportedly being considered as replacements after the Valencia MotoGP was cancelled. Deadly floods in Valencia, where the final round of the MotoGP season is scheduled in two weeks, have caused a last-gasp re-think. MotoGP confirmed on Friday that their season-finale in Valencia was cancelled although a new plan has not yet been confirmed. The Valencia MotoGP was due on November 15-17 but wherever the replacement round is held, the date is expected to be pushed back. The likeliest weekend for the rearranged MotoGP round is November 22-24, a week later than the Valencia MotoGP was planned. The postseason test, scheduled for Tuesday November 19, will also have to be rearranged in line for the new race weekend. MotoGP statement: “MotoGP stands with the Community of Valencia following the devastating floods that have affected the area. Our hearts are with all those who have been lost and those who have lost so much. “We have been in constant contact with the local authorities and the circuit to best assess how we can help and how we should proceed. We have a responsibility to every region where we race that goes far beyond the sport and the events. […]

Oct 30

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Irwin, Road Racing

Glenn Irwin announces retirement from Road Racing

Glenn Irwin will no longer take part in Road Racing events from 2025 as he switches his focus to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB). After achieving high levels of success at the North West 200 and taking part in the Isle of Man TT Irwin has decided to end his time in Road Racing. The 34-year-old will instead switch all of his focus to the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike campaign. The Northern Irishman finished third in the 2024 British Superbike season for the Hager PBM Team. However, Irwin is targeting his first British Superbike title in 2025. Irwin has proven that he is a talented short circuit and road racer throughout his career. In 2022 Irwin tackled the iconic Isle of Man TT for the first time in his career with the Honda Racing UK squad. During his time at the TT Irwin’s best lap was clocked at 129.85 mph, making him the fastest-ever newcomer. In addition to the Isle of Man TT, Irwin has raced in the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix. In the 2024 season, Irwin won three races at the North West 200, taking his overall victory count to 11. When speaking about his […]

Oct 30

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Ducatti, Iannone, MotoGP

Iannone to make first MotoGP start since drug ban

The VR46 Racing Team has confirmed that Andrea Iannone will replace Fabio Di Giannantonio at the Grand Prix of Malaysia next weekend. This follows Di Giannantonio’s announcement last week that he would be ending his season early for surgery. His final race of the 2024 season was the recent Thai GP, where he secured fourth place. The VR46 rider dislocated his shoulder during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend and is expected to undergo surgery this Saturday. Recently rumored for a one-off MotoGP return, Iannone has been competing in the World Superbike Championship since his four-year doping ban in 2019, with GoEleven Ducati. This year, he secured a contract extension through the 2025 season. Speaking about his return to the world of MotoGP, Iannone said: “Riding the world champion bike is exciting. MotoGP™ is the most technological and high-performance bike, I’m honored that they thought of me and I felt like I had to say yes to this opportunity immediately as soon as it was offered to me. The challenge is certainly crazy, complex and demanding, as I haven’t ridden a bike in this category for years and without having done tests or similar. I’m excited to be able to work […]

Oct 28

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Erebus, Kostecki, Supercars

Should Kostecki have stayed at Erebus

As Brodie Kostecki nears the end of his tenure, Erebus Motorsport is back to its winning best and Dick Johnson Racing is mired in the midpack. The frayed relationship between the respective parties has long been intimated and for reasons never fully explained publicly by anyone, Kostecki sat out the first two rounds of 2024. Kostecki returned for the third event in Taupō where Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan put a stake in the ground – the drivers’ championship was a distant dream but the team would win the Bathurst 1000. He was true to his word. After winning the Great Race, that momentum continued on the streets of Surfers Paradise where Kostecki enjoyed his first solo win of the season. So what changed? “It’s been a bit of a momentum shift in the last three or four months. Everybody is happy and excited to be racing again,” said Ryan after the Gold Coast 500. “At the start of the year was a shit fight. We’ve got to be honest about it, we dug deep and we’re all in a good head space including this champion. “I’m just so proud of the way he’s got through the year. “We had […]