Race Rap: Monday, July 7

Street sweeper. Shane van Gisbergen was unbeatable on the streets of Chicago as he swept both the NASCAR and XFinity races at the track where he scored his first stock car win in 2023. His total domination began with back-to-back pole positions and he was never seriously challenged in taking twin wins.

Unlucky Oscar. A contentious penalty for 'erratic driving' during a Safety Car period has cost Oscar Piastri a shot at victory in the British Grand Prix. His McLaren team mate Lando Norris got the win at his home race with Piastri second, as Nico Hulkenberg finally claimed his first Formula 1 podium with Sauber after 239 F1 starts.

A tough time. Jack Perkins qualified strongly in fifth for his first XFinity start on the streets of Chicago but was an early casualty. He was tagged early in the NASCAR street race and, despite repairs, was never able to feature as upercars champion Will Brown also struggled in Chicago, qualifying 19th for the NASCAR feature and taken out of contention early.

Aiming for the main game. Time is tight and so are seats, but 21-year-old Super2 champion Zach Bates has not given up his ambition to race the Supercars championship in 2026. He is locked into a Wildcard start at the Bathurst 1000 with Craig Lowndes, while Jamie Whincup and Triple Eight will also give him a run in a sprint weekend at the Ipswich 440 in Queensland.

Two for two in the ARC. Kiwi raider Hayden Paddon and his co-driver John Kennard trumped the Bates boys from Toyota at Rally Queensland. The Hyundai crew were runners-up to Harry Bates on Saturday but swept the second heat on Sunday as their primary rival ran into trouble – first a flat tyre, then a crash – with his GR Yaris, after Lewis Bates had rolled in the first leg.

Tim Miles is gone. A cycling crash in Sydney has claimed the life of Tim Miles, one of the most influential behind-the-scenes power brokers in Supercars. He twice organised the sale of the organisation, while boosting young drives and racing himself – most recently taking a class podium in the Mustang Cup at Le Mans.

More for Gardner on two wheels. Former MotoGP champion, who now calls Monaco instead of Wollongong, has unveiled an all-new two-wheeler in collaboration with Yamaha after four years of development. It's the G87 range of electric mountain bikes, which use an X4 Ebike drive unit on all three models with up to 150 kilometres of riding range.

Trading places. Zac Brown might be the F1 boss at McLaren but he also has a vast collection of classic racing cars including an ex-Nigel Mansell FW11B from Williams. He turned hot laps at Silverstone during the 75th anniversary celebrations for Formula One.

Audi moves to the UK. A new technology centre in the UK is the latest development at Sauber Motorsport as it continues to speed towards a future as the official Audi team in Formula One. Traditionally based at Hinwil in Switzerland, Sauber has open a new facility at Bicester Motion, a former World War II airfield which has become a massive motoring and motorsport hub in recent years.