Race Rap: Monday, July 28

Half-time happiness. A sixth win of the season in Belgium means Oscar Piastri now has a 16-point advantage over the bloke in the other McLaren as Formula One enters its mid-season summer break. McLaren leads Ferrari 516-248 in the teams' standings, with Max Verstappen trailing Piastri by 81 points, which means one of the papaya punters is certain to claim the 2025 title.

Another for Palou. It's looking like another IndyCar championship for Alex Palou after a win again at Laguna Seca in northern California, giving him a 121-point break with three races to run. Will Power was seventh for Team Penske, with Scott McLaughlin in 10th.

Bubba makes Brickyard history. Bubba Wallace scored a landmark victory in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis as the first black racer to win at the classic oval course. Shane van Gisbergen was solid after qualifying 11th, finishing in 19th place.

Broc is the Sprint star. The first big prize of the Supercars season will be awarded after the Ipswich 440 in just over a week and it will take a complete disaster for Broc Feeney to be robbed of the inaugural Sprint Cup. Feeney holds a 220-point lead over his Triple Eight teammate Will Brown.

Aston breakthrough at Sandown. Liam Talbot is moving back into contention for another GT3 title after taking the first win for an Aston Martin in the GT World Challenge Australia at Sandown. The defending GT3 champion was successful on Sunday while sharing with Jamie Day, a British racer making his first start in Australia.

Giddy up. Classic sports sedan racers will start at Winton on the coming weekend as the Festival of Speed kicks into gear. Among the legendary racers on the grid from August 1-3 will be the Bryan Thompson Chevrolet Mercedes and the recreation of the VW Type 3 Chev.

Australia back in October. The MotoGP calendar for 2026 has 22 stops, from Thailand on March 1 to Valencia on November 22. Australia is back at Phillip Island as usual, from October 23-25.

Fast but failed. Jack Perkins had another impressive Trans Am run at Portland in the USA. He was holding a strong second place before a mechanical failure took him out of the running in his Toyota Camry for Nitro Motorsports.

Looking good. Mercedes-AMG has provided the first pictures of its next-generation GT3 racer, which is expected to hit the track in 2026. The program is running late but the Benz blaster is promised to be an “uncompromising concept vehicle” that will race around the world an also in the GT class at Le Mans.