Race Rap: Monday, April 28

Happy Birthday. Five-time touring car champion and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner Dick Johnson has added another milestone number to his resume. This time it's 80, as he has celebrated a giant birthday alongside his wife Jill and the crew from Dick Johnson Racing who continue to carry his name into action in the Supercars championship.

Marquez wins again. It was a familiar name but an unfamiliar result as Alex Marquez joined his older brother Marc on the MotoGP honour roll with victory at the Spanish Grand Prix. His win was made easier when the older Marquez brother fell after just three laps of the main event, following another Sprint race victory on his factory Ducati.

More disappointment at Talladega. Shane van Gisbergen suffered the most on a tough oval-track weekend for Trackhouse Racing, trailing home 31st as his team-mates Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez could only manage 22nd and 31st. "Not our day in Dega, back to work for Texas," was the official team comment.

McLaren changes focus. Formula E is over for McLaren Racing as it instead looks to a new motorsport program in Le Mans sports cars. A 'strategic review' led to the decision to withdraw from Formula E at the end of the current season, with its all-new Le Mans program set to begin in 2027.

Zak attack. He might be the main man at McLaren in Formula One, but Zak Brown is also heavily committed to historic racing with a range of cars including a retired Williams GP car. He scored a pair of second-place races with co-driver Richard Dean at the Historic French Grand Prix at the Paul Ricard circuit on the weekend driving a Jaguar XJR-9.

The Force is strong. The world speed record for Top Fuel drag racing has just fallen to Brittany Force, who beat her own mark by hitting 341.59 miles-per-hour during qualifying at the ZMax Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina. That's 549.735817 km/h and she did it in just 1000 feet (305 metres), although she was eliminated in the semi-finals of the four-wide event.

Toby Price wins again. Off-road ace and Dakar motorcycle winner Toby Price has made a successful switch to rallying in the Rally of the Heartland. Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer, he and Holly Kilbride swept both heats to claim the first round of the South Australian Rally Championship.

Dixon returns to Sydney. Former NHRA champion Larry Dixon will return for more Top Fuel action when he jumps into one of the Rapisarda team racers for the Nitro Champs in Sydney next weekend. He won the event at Sydney Dragway in 2023 and his presence will help compensate for the loss of Supercars team owner Peter Xiberras from the Top Fuel field.