Briscoe stays in one place for all of next weekend: Toronto with Panther - MotorSportsTalk

For the second weekend in a row, Ryan Briscoe will have two races. The difference is, this time they’ll be in the same car at the same track.

The Australian stays aboard the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet for the IZOD IndyCar Series’ trip to the streets of Toronto this upcoming weekend, for the doubleheader Honda Indy Toronto.

He’s coming off a weekend where he won the P2 class in the American Le Mans Series in his Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b, then rose from 24th and last to 14th on Sunday in the Panther Chevrolet in Pocono. The P2 win was controversial after late race contact with another HPD, driven by Guy Cosmo of Extreme Speed Motorsports.

Panther Racing managing partner John Barnes confirmed the news via Twitter Monday morning.

@Ryan_Briscoe in the National Guard 4 car at Toronto this weekend. Double Double race now with standing starts.

— John Barnes (@Jbindy4) July 8, 2013

Barnes likes Briscoe enough that it seems he’s working to keep him for as many races as possible, even despite the schedule conflicts with ALMS, and the fact Oriol Servia has also raced the No. 4 car and has no other conflicts.

Briscoe has racked up the frequent flier miles over the last two months. Starting May 11 in Monterey, he raced the Level 5 HPD there, then headed to Indianapolis to drive Chip Ganassi’s fourth car for the month of May.

In June, he made his Panther debut at Detroit, flew to Le Mans to test the Level 5 HPD, flew back to Milwaukee for Panther, flew back to Le Mans for the 24-hour race, then had an off weekend before resuming with the doubleheader across states and series this past weekend.

There are two more weekend conflicts the remainder of this season between IndyCar and ALMS. On October 5-6, IndyCar is in Houston while ALMS is at Virginia on the Saturday, and on Oct. 19, both have their season finales in Fontana (IndyCar) and Atlanta (ALMS). The Atlanta race starts earlier in the day.

Oh, and there’s also Baltimore Aug. 31-Sept. 1 when IndyCar and ALMS share the weekend, and Briscoe could hop between both cars. At this point, you can’t rule anything out about where and in what car he’ll be racing the rest of the year.

Benny Bloss will race for the factory Beta Motorcycles team in 2024 as that manufacturer joins SuperMotocross as the ninth brand to compete in the series. Beta Motorcycles will make their debut in the Monster Energy Supercross opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California in January.

*Benny Bloss finished among the top 10 twice in Pro Motocross, in 2016 and 2018. – Beta Motorcycles*

“The wait is over and we can finally share everything we have been working towards,” said Carlen Gardner, Race Team Manager in a press release. “It has been a great experience being a part of this development and seeing the progression. The only missing part was finding a rider that would mesh well with our Beta Family.

“After a one phone call with Benny, we knew it would be a good fit for him, and for us. We are happy to have him on board for the next two years and can’t wait to see everyone at Anaheim in January.”

Bloss debuted in the 450 class in 2015 with a 15th-place finish overall at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Bloss has a pair of top-10 rankings in the division with a sixth-place finish in the Pro Motocross Championship in 2016 and a seventh in 2018. His best Supercross season ended 15th in the standings in 2018.

“I’m extremely excited to join the Beta Factory Racing team,” Bloss said. “It’s cool to see a brand with such a rich history in off-road racing to come into the US Supercross and Motocross space. I know this team will be capable of great things as we build and go racing in 2024.”

Bloss is currently 22nd in the SuperMotocross rankings and has not raced in the first two rounds of the Motocross season.

Testing for Beta Motorcycles is scheduled to begin in August and the team expects to announce a second rider at that time.

The family-owned brand adds to the international flare of the sport. The company was founded in Florence, Italy in 1905 as Società Giuseppe Bianchi as they built handmade bicycles, The transition to motorcycle production in the late 1940s.

Beta Motorcycles competed and won in motocross competition in the late 1970s and early 1980s with Jim Pomeroy and other riders.

Beta will join Triumph Motorcycles as a second historic brand to join the sport in 2024. First established in 1902, Triumph has won in nearly every division they have competed in, dating back to their first victory in the 1908 Isle of Man TT. Triumph will debut in the 250 class in 2024 and plans to expand into 450s in 2025.

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