Weekend Racing Preview: Racing Comes Back

The winter is over and racing has finally returned. While NASCAR has been back for about three weeks, this is the first weekend that the international racing schedule can be said to actually begin. It is actually quite an exciting weekend with the first Formula 1 race of the season and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Formula 1

The speculation can finally end, and we will learn who is really the fastest in F1. Formula 1 heads to Australia for the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Qualifying starts at 5pm local time, which works out to 2am Eastern Time for the US or 6am Greenwich Mean Time. The race will be at the same time. 

International V8 Supercars

Formerly known as the Australian V8 Supercars series, it will be holding one race in the US this year and therefore gets a new name. It will be holding four races from Friday to Sunday as support races for the Formula 1 race at Albert Park. That means that attendees to the race will get a fantastic weekend at the track this weekend. It is the second race in the V8 Supercars calendar for the season.

12 Hours of Sebring

The sports car and prototype racing begins this weekend as well at Sebring International Raceway in Florida. The race is slightly bittersweet this year because it is no longer a round in the World Endurance Championship this year. Audi is entering two R18 e-tron QuattrosAudi R18 e-tron quattroGermany, 2012 > present8 photos
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, and because of the new Unified SportsCar Racing series has excised the LMP1 class for next season, it may be the last time that LMP1 cars race at Sebring for at least the next three years. The race begins at 10:45am ET and runs to 10:45pm, which is 2:45pm to 2:45am GMT. 

NASCAR Sprint Cup

The NASCAR season is actually well underway already. It began at the end of February and moves to the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Perrenial NASCAR winner Jimmie Johnson has a scant five-point lead in the series championship. Qualifying will be held at 3:30pm ET (7:30pm GMT) on Friday, and the race starts at 1pm ET (5pm GMT) on Sunday.