darren, Author at Octane Photography

Capture the Moment

Sep 29

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Nascar, van Gisbergen, Xfinity

Van Gisbergen rallies to eighth in remarkable Kansas recovery

Shane van Gisbergen has delivered a master performance in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs race at Kansas. Despite starting down in 22nd and racing at Kansas for the first time, van Gisbergen produced a smashing final stage to soar to eighth and fifth amongst the Playoff contenders. It was the Kiwi’s fourth best result on an oval and could not have come at a more critical moment in the Playoffs opener where he is trying to be one of the leading eight to make the cut after the first three-race segment. Up front Aric Almirola made a late-race charge to snatch the win from Playoff drivers Cole Custer and Chandler Smith, who had words post-race. Sheldon Creed in fifth and Austin Hill in seventh were the only other Playoff drivers to finish ahead of the #97. The big Playoff victim was Justin Allgaier, who crashed out after making contact with Sheldon Creed and spinning into the inside wall from 10th on Lap 20. Van Gisbergen started 22nd after qualifying 0.948s off pole sitter Brandon Jones and had a steady opening stage, crossing the line 24th. The Kiwi crept into the top 20 in a second stage that was heavily […]

Sep 27

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Slade, Supercars

Slade Announces Full Time Retirement

Tim Slade has announced the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will be his last as a full-time driver. The 39-year-old took to social media this afternoon to share the news, deciding now is the time to step away after making his debut in the championship in 2009. “Ahhh car racing… Definitely provides a rollercoaster of emotions,” said Slade in his statement. “2024 is my 15th and will now be my last year competing full time in Supercars. “I’m proud to have spent that length of time racing at the top level in Australia in one of the most competitive series in the world. “I’m looking forward to finishing it off the best way possible in the remaining races this year and also for what’s to come next. “I’m very appreciative to the many people that have made it all possible over the years, especially and firstly my Dad and secondly, James Rosenberg [long-time supporter].” PremiAir Racing also confirmed the news via social media, with team owner Peter Xiberras thanking Slade for his role in boosting the young team towards the front of the grid. “Since joining as our full-time driver in 2023, Tim has consistently impressed us with his race craft […]

Sep 25

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Skaife, Supercars

Skaife Steps Down from Supercars Board

Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises (RACE), the owner of Supercars, has confirmed Mark Skaife is no longer on its board of directors after stepping down ahead of the Bathurst 1000. Skaife has stepped down from his position as a director of RACE and its Supercars subsidiaries, with the big change to take place in coming weeks ahead of the Bathurst 1000. With TV rights negotiations coming up due to the current deal with Fox Sports and Seven, the five-time Supercars champion felt the timing was right to step back. However, RACE will still use the knowledge of the 90-time race winner in an advisory role. Skaife has been calling Supercars ever since his retirement in 2008 as an expert on the Supercars TV broadcast beamed by Fox Sports since the pay TV network took over in 2015. A Supercars statement confirmed the news and stated that Skaife decided to “remove any perception of conflicts” due to his role behind the microphone. Supercars’ statement read: “Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd (RACE), the owner of Australasia’s premier motorsport category, the Repco Supercars Championship, today confirmed that Mark Skaife OAM will step down from his position as a director RACE and its Supercars subsidiaries, […]

Sep 22

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Formula1, RB, Ricciardo

Writing on the wall for Ricciardo after Singapore Qualifying Disaster

Daniel Ricciardo may be preparing for the final race of his F1 career on Sunday after another nightmare performance in qualifying. If the rumours weren’t already loud enough, it looks like there’s nothing left that will save Daniel Ricciardo’s career after another disastrous qualifying session at the Singapore Grand Prix. The promising signs for a good weekend for Ricciardo on the first day of practice, which saw him finished seventh in FP1 and sixth in FP2 evaporated on Saturday, going 17th fastest in FP3 before yet another Q1 exit from qualifying. The Aussie qualified 16th for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix in yet another disappointing performance. Only this one came at the worst possible time with the whispers of him being replaced by Liam Lawson taking over the grid this weekend. Red Bull is reportedly set to drop the axe on Ricciardo after the weekend with a four-week break between Singapore and the United States Grand Prix in Austin. “We have an idea, but we have to wait until Singapore,” Red Bull supremo Helmut Marko told Viaplay. “It is still September, but from Singapore, we will have a precise idea. It will be quite clear as to what will happen with […]

Sep 20

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Miller, MotoGP, Yamaha

Jack Miller joins Prima Pramac Yamaha in 2025

The Australian rider’s move completes the rider line-up Jack Miller is set to embark on a new chapter in his MotoGP™ career, joining Prima Pramac Yamaha Factory Team for the 2025 season. The Australian rider’s move completes the rider line-up for the upcoming campaign. After a two-year stint with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Miller’s switch to Yamaha’s new-look Independent Team will see him partnering with Miguel Oliveira. This move represents Miller’s fourth different manufacturer in his MotoGP™ journey, showcasing his versatility and adaptability in the premier class. Miller is no stranger to Prima Pramac Racing, having spent three successful years with the team from 2018 to 2020. During this period, the duo celebrated nine podium finishes, including three impressive second-place results in 2020. This prior experience is likely to ease Miller’s transition into the team for the 2025 season. Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, expressed enthusiasm about Miller’s arrival, stating, “With 10 years of experience in the MotoGP class with three different manufacturers, Jack will be a valuable asset for Yamaha. His speed, knowledge, work ethic, and team spirit will be invaluable to our project as we plan to improve the performance of the M1 in […]

Sep 20

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

Yamaha confirms V4 engine plans for MotoGP

Yamaha, which has raced Inline four-cylinder engines since the start of the MotoGP era, is ‘busy developing a V4 powerplant’. Yamaha Racing managing director Lin Jarvis confirmed the news in an interview with MotoGP.com. Jarvis stopped short of giving a timeframe for the V4’s debut, which will be “when it is quicker than the Inline”. But the engine is already being bench-tested and could be on track “in the middle of next year”. “I can confirm that we are busy developing a V4 powerplant,” Jarvis said. “It’s something that goes back a while, because when Suzuki was still here, there were two manufacturers running with the Inline4. And obviously the other competitors running with the V4. “In the last years, however, we’ve seen many, many technical developments in this sport and of course Suzuki stepped out. So we’ve been the only manufacturer remaining with the Inline4. “The Inline4, in our opinion, still has plenty of capacity to be developed and to be improved. “But when you have all of your competitors using V4s and now as we look towards the 2027 regulations, it’s important for us to fully understand the potential of a V4 versus the Inline4. “So based on […]

Sep 19

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Honda, Mir, MotoGP

Repsol ends Honda deal

MotoGP’s iconic Repsol Honda partnership will cease at the end of the 2024 season. Spanish petroleum company Repsol has served as the title sponsor of the works Honda premier-class team since 1995, with the likes of Mick Doohan (pictured below), Alex Criville, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez all winning titles in its colours. There had been persistent rumours in recent years, however, that Honda – whose MotoGP competitiveness has declined badly since it last won the title with Marquez in 2019 – and Repsol may be headed for a split. It hadn’t materialised until now, but Marquez’s departure for 2024 seemingly left the partnership on particularly shaky ground – as evidenced by Repsol branding being relegated to just part of the motif on Honda’s works livery for 2024, rather than providing the dominant colours. “Repsol is grateful for HRC’s [Honda Racing Corporation] commitment and dedication during all these years in which we have worked together,” a Repsol statement read. “The multi-energy company will continue to be linked to motor racing to continue developing products and services of the highest quality.” The news arrived – surely coincidentally – on a day in which Repsol-branded Hondas were already […]

Sep 18

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Supercars, Toyota, WAU

Toyota to join Supercars in 2026 with GR Supra

Powerhouse brand Toyota Australia has sensationally confirmed the GR Supra will join the Repco Supercars Championship from 2026. In a blockbuster announcement, Toyota will field a minimum of four Gen3 GR Supras in 2026. Two Supras will be run by homologation team partner Walkinshaw Andretti United, driven by Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood, with a second team to be announced in due course. Toyota has committed to racing in the Supercars Championship for five years, and will become the third brand to race in the Gen3 era alongside Ford and Chevrolet, extending the famous Japanese marque’s commitment to Australian motorsport. Already, Toyota supports its one-make grassroots Toyota GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) Scholarship Series and GR Cup, and the TGRA Rally Team alongside Neal Bates Motorsport. Toyota is also a dominant force in international competition, winning championships in the World Endurance Championship, the World Rally Championship and NASCAR. Beyond motorsport, Toyota Australia is also a major partner of the AFL, Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams, Cricket Australia, Country Music Festival, North Queensland Cowboys and Adelaide Crows. Toyota Australia has already begun initial design work on the GR Supra Supercar through its own in-house design team, based at Altona. The design team […]

Sep 18

by darren in Media 0 comments tags: Marquez, MotoGP, Rossi

Rossi risks tarnishing legacy with Marc Marquez conspiracy theory

Nine years after the fact, only one person can truly take the blame for Valentino Rossi not winning the 2015 MotoGP world title. And it’s him. The nine-time world champion has never wavered from his stance that Marc Marquez conspired against him to ensure Jorge Lorenzo won the 2015 crown. It’s a view that has radicalised a portion of the MotoGP fanbase and is the main reason a chorus of boos tends to follow Marquez around whenever he races in front of former Rossi strongholds. It is a cloud that has forever hung over MotoGP since that Malaysian Grand Prix weekend almost a decade ago and one, sadly, that shows no signs of ever disappearing after Rossi stoked the fires again earlier this week. Taking to the ‘Mig Babol’ podcast – a show hosted by former VR46 Academy rider and current VR46 Racing team rider coach and video analyst Andrea Migno – Rossi doubled down on his rhetoric about 2015. He reiterated why he called out Marquez in the pre-event Sepang press conference after ‘irrefutable’ proof of conspiracy was discovered at Phillip Island the week before. He doubled down on the fact that, in the Malaysian GP, Marquez tried to […]

Sep 17

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

FHO Racing confirms BSB 2025 presence, riders to be announced

FHO Racing BMW Motorrad’s Team Principal Faye Ho, has confirmed her team will return to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship in 2025, despite recent speculation of the teams’ participation in the series. Confirming the news today at Oulton Park on the grid ahead of the opening race of the weekend, Faye delighted BSB fans with the news that FHO Racing will be back on the grid in 2025. Although details on FHO Racing’s rider line-up is yet to be released, with negotiations still taking place, further news will be announced in due course regarding the teams’ line-up in BSB, as well as on the Roads. Faye Ho – FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team Principal: “It’s no secret that we’ve struggled this year with results and current rule changes, and with that it could be very easy for people to speculate that we’re not returning, but I’m delighted to confirm that this is not the case. My team will be back in 2025 on the BSB grid, as well as the Roads. Sometimes things don’t go your way, and sometimes the results don’t come your way, but it’s how we deal with these knock backs as a team and how we […]