Millennials have had to put up with a lot.

First, they gave us all trophies and then had the nerve to criticize us for all getting trophies. Then they told us we could be whatever we wanted as long as we wanted it bad enough… and then got mad at us for wanting things.

But despite all that, we navigated two recessions, paid off our student loans, worked our way up the corporate ladder and now we can finally afford nice things.

Namely, you might be thinking about finally getting yourself a “nice” car — something that proclaims to the world that you made something of yourself, despite living in your parents’ basement until you were 26.

Sure, you still don’t have crazy, break-the-bank money. But you don’t need it to get into the growing “entry-level luxury” market.

Here are five of the best options.

Genesis G70

Starting at $43,000

If you care nothing for the status of a well-established name plate and want to present a modicum of decorum without any pomp or circumstance, you may consider turning to the relatively new Genesis brand — a luxury spin off of Hyundai.

While the entry-level Genesis model, the G70, is often praised for its well-tuned chassis and upscale interior, what’s most notable is how aggressively the G70 undercuts its German competition on price. And let’s face it, a bargain price will always be the first, second and third reason to buy a Genesis. The fourth will be that some people may suspect you know something they don’t (you don’t).

Cadillac CT4

Starting at $35,998

It’s remarkable that we’ve entered a time where Cadillac is seen not necessarily as a symbol of status or wealth, but as a blue-collared alternative to the blue-blooded aristocracy of the automotive elite.

Of course, “young people” (Millennials are of course no longer the “young generation” but nobody over the age of 40 seems to know that) never really saw Cadillac, outside of the Escalade, as a… well let’s be kind and say, “contemporary” nameplate. However, this has been to our general detriment. Because while we’ve been coveting the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4, which always felt just out of the reach of our budgets, Cadillac has been producing ever more accessible models in a desperate attempt to onboard buyers who aren’t actively dying.

Case in point, the CT4 that, after freight and fees, still comes in under a $40,000 starting price. Add on some goodies, like AWD and the 2.7-litre turbocharged engine available on the CT4-V with 310 horsepower, and you’ll have yourself a proper sports sedan for under $50,000. Oh, and your grandparents will think you’re rich — despite still not understanding exactly what it is you do for a living (“something with computers,” they tell their friends).

Mercedes CLA

Starting at $43,600

There’s a good chance that you might be absolutely dead set on having a German luxury car because… well, let’s face it, it’s a flex. But if that’s the case, then you have to ask yourself which one to get — a question that used to be really hard to answer.

A decade ago, the BMW 3-Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class were ferociously deadlocked in terms of price, performance, options and unreliability. But now, the 3-series is absolutely hideous, the A4 has all the personality of a wet sponge and the C-Class will make you look like a stock trader who makes Soundcloud beats in their spare time. It’s also too expensive.

The solution is in the Mercedes CLA. While almost identical to the entry-level A-Class in terms of equipment, the CLA’s swooping bodywork helps give it the presence of Mercedes’ more expensive offerings. The CLA also has about 30 horsepower more than the A-Class and receives some sportier suspension, steering and stability control tuning.

Also you can point out to people that you didn’t buy the “cheapest Mercedes” and that’s important.

Lexus IS

Starting at $42,950

Yes, the IS’ powertrains are dated. Yes, you have to spend another $10,000 to get the really good one with AWD, 311 horsepower and all the infotainment bells and whistles.

Despite all that, without hesitation, this is the one I would personally go with. For a few reasons, I think the build quality is top-tier. I like the piece of mind of Toyota engineering. And I think the 2021 redesign makes the IS the best-looking entry-level luxury sedan (certainly the most striking) on the market.

Oh, and they finally got rid of that god-awful touchless screen that made you navigate with an actual mouse — which I can only imagine Lexus outsourced to the writers of The Onion to engineer. It was so frustrating to use, it would make you question whether Lexus was playing some kind of Andy Kaufman-inspired prank on you. It’s gone now and the world is better for it.

But what I like most is that a Lexus is neither a flex, nor does it come off as some kind of bargain-hunter special. If it were a watch, it would be a TAG Heuer, not a Rolex. It’s dignified, it’s luxurious, it’s well made, but it doesn’t make you a show off to own one.

Acura TLX

Starting at $44,105

The TLX’s little brother, the ILX, is a really great car that I like a lot. But the ILX is, for all intents and purposes, a really upscale version of the last generation Honda Civic. So if you’re really looking for the “you’ve made it” model, you’ve got to go for the TLX.

The last generation TLX was, in my opinion, an uninspired barge of a vehicle that served only to remind you of the crushing sameness of everyday life. This new generation, however, is a much, much different story.

With 272 horsepower from a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine being sent through a 10-speed automatic, the TLX is no longer a sleepy giant unable to get out of its own way. The updates to the exterior styling also help make the TLX a more exciting proposition. It looks sleek and sharp and like it wants to scythe through corners. While not as striking as the Lexus IS, the Acura TLX maintains that same “dignified, but without the bling” presence.

The interior, however, is the stand out upgrade. No longer inspired by what I assume was the back of a Dell laptop, the TLX’s new interior feels focused and purposeful — like a fighter jet.

Sure, the TLX may start at a higher price than its rivals — it can hardly be called the bargain of the group. But it brings to the table something really important. Something that the last TLX had none of; and something its competitors could use more of. And something which is slowly fading from so many models and brands.

It has a sense of joy.

And after all the struggle, after navigating through two recessions, paying off your student debt, working late, dealing with unruly clients and even more unruly bosses… isn’t what you want most to have just a little more joy in your life?

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For 2021, the “Recharge” name arrives in the Volvo line-up, representing the latest step for the brand towards getting one million electrified cars on the road by 2025.

In 2021, “Recharge” has a couple of meanings – it can mean fully battery-electric, as is the case with the 2021 XC40 Recharge small crossover or it can mean plug-in hybrid (PHEV), as seen here with the S90 T8 Recharge sedan.

It is available only as an Inscription trim, meaning fully-loaded and starting at $76,050. My tester, however, has a host of options that run the price up to just under $90K, which is no small price to pay.

Some of the features added are: massaging front seat and ventilated rear seats; power operated trunk; HUD; rear air suspension; heated steering wheel; 360-degree parking camera and more. Most of that stuff I can understand having to pay extra for, but to have to pay extra for a heated wheel in a top-trim car in Canada that starts at over 75 grand? That’s a little on the rich side.

The Recharge is a real Swedish smorgasbord, though, when it comes to its powertrain. It’s not just turbocharged, not just supercharged and not just EV-powered – it is, in fact, all three of these things. They combine to offer 400 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque, fed either to the front wheels, the rear wheels, or all four wheels.

How is that, you ask? Well, read on.

The S90 doesn’t have your typical AWD set-up in that there is no driveline from the engine to the rear wheels. Instead, the rear axle is powered by its own 87 hp motor, so there’s your AWD. There’s also your RWD, too, because when in full-EV mode (which Volvo says is good for 34 km), only the rear wheels get power. The gas engine, meanwhile, will send power to the front wheels and to the front wheels only if the battery is depleted. You can let the computers decide for themselves how to power the vehicle, or you can select from four different drive modes that prioritize certain elements; Pure mode, for example, keeps the S90 in full-EV mode if you have the juice. Hybrid mode optimizes fuel economy and Power mode makes use or both the gas engine and EV motor but also quickens gear shifts and stiffens up the suspension.

All that tech – and the weight it adds — could have gotten in the way of the drive, but truth be told, it really hasn’t. It should come as little surprise that the S90 drives smoothly – it’s a flagship Volvo, and Volvos, if nothing else, are very smooth-riding cars – but what the super- and turbocharging do is make for a very smooth power curve. The supercharger gets things going at low revs, while the turbocharger steps in as revs climb. Add the EV power on top of all that, and you have a big sedan that can hustle, and do so fairly efficiently (I saw 9.4 L per 100 km during my test) while it’s at it.

Speaking of the range: 34 km is fine, but I rarely saw more than 23 km or so on a single charge. It was a somewhat cold test week, though, which is going to affect range and being a PHEV, you can plug-in every night and assuming you have a short commute, you could very well be driving in EV mode almost all the time. That’s the beauty of a PHEV and the S90 goes the extra mile by providing both a “Hold” and a “Charge” mode for the EV system.

What these do is either maintain battery level or use the gas engine to charge the battery. Why would you want to modify this? Well, if you’re on a road where the gas engine is at its most efficient – eg, an open highway – you can select “Hold” and save your EV power for when the gas engine is least efficient, that is to say in traffic once back in town.

I just wish it wasn’t so hard to get to both the EV controls and a number of others, including the lane-departure system, cross-traffic alert and so on. All of that is accessed through the vertical nine-inch infotainment display, but you have to swipe left – I think – from the main screen, then navigate a text-heavy display that tends to pull your attention away from the road ahead more than I’d like.

One thing I don’t mind admiring, though, are the interior accoutrements. All the materials are of top-notch fit and finish, the Orefors crystal shift lever fits the environs well and I love the Bowers & Wilkins audio both for its sound quality and just how slick its speakers all look, punctuated by a roundel atop the dash. A little unsure about the start/stop joystick, though; it’s finicky in its operation, it seems like it might break and a button would just make more sense.

This is one comfortable car, though. The front seats are adjustable a number of ways and the massage feature is nice to have but the real story – the real story – is actually the back seat. It is a massive place to sit with limo-like legroom and a centre armrest that’s big enough to make it almost seem like the rear seat is actually two separate buckets as opposed to a single bench. Rear seat occupants also have their own controls in addition to heated seats – and if speced – cooled seats as well.

Better still: even with all that room back there, the trunk measures 500 litres, more than enough for your wares and the charge cable with its very Swedish-chic carry bag.

The real star, though, is the powertrain. It’s a well thought-out PHEV and the added super- and turbocharger rounds everything out and shows that Volvo has delivered a flagship sedan that’s not just about the high-techniness of its EV elements. It’s a car that can provide a fun drive, too.

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Just when you thought that Porsche couldn’t possibly manage to improve its street legal race prepared GT3 anymore, out pops the new 2022 911 GT3 and improve it they have.

The naturally aspirated flat-six boxer engine now produces a phenomenal 502hp and 345 lb-ft of torque, that puts all the power down to the rear wheels through either a seven-speed PDK transmission or an optional six-speed manual gearbox. The engine, which is almost identical to the track only GT3 cup race car, benefits from six independent throttle bodies that increase the sharp throttle response adding to the already racing pedigree performance. The GT3, using the standard PDK transmission, can now reach 100km in a blistering 3.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 314km/h.

The biggest change in the GT3 is the introduction of a new double-wishbone front suspension that has been redeveloped from the Le Mans winning RSR – the first time a double-wishbone system has been added to a Porsche production car. This increases handling especially when entering corners at high speed and manages relieve some of the pressures placed on the dampers ensuring the front wheels stay secure and flat on the surface throughout cornering especially on uneven surfaces.

To manage the new front set up the rear suspension has been upgraded with additional ball joints being added to the lower wishbones to help relieve the additional high stress levels incurred at the back end. Special shock absorbers have been added in the rear to increase performance especially when on track. Rear-wheel steering is still standard that increases cornering stability at high speed and aids in tight maneuvers when at low speed.

To handle the additional handling capabilities the front brake discs have been increased by 28 mm to 408 mm, but while being larger the weight has been reduced by 17 per cent. Additionally, new road legal, high performance track-ready tires have been approved as an option for the first time.

Up front the GT3 benefits from an adjustable front spoiler lip and diffuser with cooling intakes being integrated into the lower part of the carbon fibre hood. New side skirts specifically designed for the new GT3 have been added ensuring smooth airflow around the wheels.

What makes the new GT3 stand out is the huge manually adjustable swanneck rear spoiler and a newly designed rear diffuser, this combination – when set up for track use – can increase the downforce by up to 150 per cent.

Don’t expect any of the luxuries normally associated with Porsche in the cabin. The interior is sparse with all the focus on racing and speed. Four-way adjustable seating is made available as standard with lighter carbon fibre, full bucket seats being offered as an option.

New to the GT3 is the new PDK gear shifter in the centre console that can be used to change gears by pushing forward or pulling back and can be used as an alternative to the steering wheel mounted shifter paddles.

A much improved instrument cluster now includes a Track-Screen function that condenses the amount of information shown to the bare minimum. All of the information that a driver needs to see during high performance driving or racing is now tightly situated around the analog tachometer that allows the driver to take in all needed information with one single glance.

Just to prove how much the new 911 GT3 has improved from the last model, a time of 6:59.927 was achieved around the 20.8 km long Nürburgring Nordschleife which is 17 seconds faster than the outgoing model. To make this even more impressive it was achieved during a regular fine tuning session of the vehicle.

The 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 should be available in the fall of 2021 with pricing being made available closer to then.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning Racing Roundup on Tuesday. We’ll get to that Daytona 500 nonsense in a moment.

But first . . .

Last week was a rough one. Three superstars from the world of auto racing died: Dick Bradbeer, vice-president of marketing for Labatt back in the early 1970s when it held the rights to promote Formula One racing in Canada; Jeremy Hinchcliffe, father of IndyCar racing star James Hinchcliffe and a racer in his own right; and Frank Orr of the Toronto Star who wrote hockey in the winter and auto racing in the summer in the 1960s and ‘70s.

You could call Dick Bradbeer the “Godfather of Hospitality” at Formula One races. Prior to 1972, F1 races – most of which were in Europe – were devoid of hospitality units or garages, with the teams arriving in transporters and working on the cars on the grass outside the trucks or in tents. Only when the racers and the beautiful people who followed them got to Monte Carlo for the Grand Prix there did the tuxedos and fancy dresses come out for the annual party thrown by the Automobile Club de Monaco, which was the social highlight of the year.

So, that year (’72), Bradbeer parked a trailer – a plain, ordinary, sleeps four, travel trailer – on the inside of Corner One at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (then called Mosport), which did not have a liquor licence. There was no signage; no nothing. Over the course of the weekend, newspapermen, ad agency reps, team managers, sponsors and other A-listers (except for the drivers) would be quietly invited by Bradbeer to wander down to Corner One and enjoy a bottle of Labatt “Blue” lager or “50” ale on the sly inside that trailer.

That was the beginning. By the following year, “hospitality” of one kind or another was prominent at Grands Prix and other major races all over the world and I don’t think that Bradbeer, a brilliant marketer, ever got the credit he deserved for getting that particular (but very expensive) ball rolling.

RIP, Dick. Freeloaders the world over owe it all to you.

Jeremy Hinchcliffe was a businessman, recreational scuba diver and motorsport participant/fan who was vacationing with his wife in the Turks and Caicos Islands in mid-May, 2015, when a friend sent him a text asking how his son was doing. That was how he found out that James had hit the wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was in hospital, near death.

A little more than two weeks later, I was with my friend and fellow motorsport reporter Jeff Pappone and we were in the lobby of the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. It ‘was Indy 500 weekend and the joint, as they say, was jumping. And who do we bump into but Jeremy Hinchcliffe (whose room there in the emergency had been arranged by Jeff, who had connections).

We went to the bar of the Don Shula Steakhouse on the Westin’s second floor where Jeremy knew just about everybody. Asked whether James would ever make a comeback, Jeremy answered in the affirmative. “Of course, he’ll be back,” he thundered. ”He’s a warrior!” And the very next year, for the 100^th anniversary of the running of the Indianapolis 500, James Hinchcliffe went out for four laps with his foot to the floor and put his car on the pole. A warrior, indeed.

I was talking about Jeremy with my friend Jeff Sunday and he reminded me that Jeremy raced several cars over the years and drove a variety of classics in the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada. In 2005, he even teamed up with son James to race a 1969 Lotus 7 in an endurance event at CTMP, where the pair finished second.

Two years ago, James Hinchcliffe named that Lotus 7 when asked to choose a favourite among all the cars he’s raced. “This car was special because it was the car that my dad had built to race,” he told Inside Track Motorsport News in 2019.

“He’d always loved Lotus 7s back in England,” James told the magazine, “and had always wanted to race one. So when he finally found one that he was able to turn into a race car, it meant a lot to him, and so it meant a lot to me as well. Plus, it was a lot of fun to drive.”

Jeff reminded me that that seven years after hanging up his helmet, Jeremy received a 2012 VARAC Lifetime Membership Award for his contributions to vintage racing and for being a member, director and former driver.

Away from the track, businessman Jeremy founded and built NOCO Fuels Ltd. into a successful company and his love for racing was reflected in the company’s support of local motorsport events at speedways around the Toronto area. The NOCO name also appeared on his son’s cars during his climb up the motorsport ladder.

Jeremy also played a key role in preserving Canada’s racing history, buying and restoring the Van Diemen RF91 Formula Ford that was driven by Greg Moore in the 1991 Esso Protec Formula 1600 Championship. Jeff said that Jeremy donated the car to the Canadian Motorsports Heritage Museum in 2009 but, unfortunately, the museum never materialized and Moore’s Formula Ford, along with a Player’s/Forsythe Racing Reynard 98i-Mercedes he drove to victory in the 1998 Michigan 500 ended up in the hands of a private collector.

RIP, Jeremy. You were an original and a great family man.

Frank Orr was one of the great characters of our time. Mark Zwolinski of the Star wrote a fantastic obituary (you can read it by clicking here) but it was mostly about hockey, which is natural because Frank was in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I knew him primarily because of car racing.

I could tell a hundred stories about Frank but for the purposes of this tribute, I will tell you one, which will illustrate his kindness. It was 1972 (that year, again) and the start of the Grand Prix had been held up because a heavy fog had settled over CTMP (er, Mosport back then) and it was too dangerous to turn the F1 cars loose.

I was on the Globe and hanging around with Frank that day. We’d had a great time at Indianapolis earlier that year and the Grand Prix, being held that September, clashed with the first game in Moscow of the ’72 Canada-Russia Series. Frank had covered the first four games in Canada, then stayed home to write about the Grand Prix while Trent Frayne went to Russia for the Star. Frank and I watched the game on a 12-inch black-and-white TV in the office of Mosport owner Harvey Hudes. (Frank’s quick wit: Gilbert Perrault scored an incredible goal for Canada by deking a defenceman out of his socks and going around him to score. Said Frank: “He put that puck in his mouth and took it out his —.”) The fog lifted – organizers finally told the 25 drivers to take their cars out and blow it away – and the race got going about 90 minutes late, finishing just before 6 p.m. I was in a jam because I had to file to the Globe by 7 p.m.

A press conference was scheduled for the second floor of the old tower inside Corner 10. It was bedlam in there. Everybody who ever had anything to do with organizing anything at Mosport was in attendance. The working press had all lost their places up against the glass at the front of the room because women were picking up the typewriters and putting them on the floor to make room for their children to sit. It was crazy.

The organizers had put a table in the middle of the room and had placed three chairs on top of the table where the podium drivers would sit. Peter Revson, who’d finished second, was up there but Jackie Stewart, the winner and third-place finisher Denis Hulme hadn’t arrived.

So I found my typewriter and, after being told to get lost by the person who was occupying my work space, I sat down on the floor with my typewriter on my lap and started to write. Frank sees this and can’t handle it. “C’mon, kid,” he says. “I have an idea.” Somehow, he got hold of a chair and he put it on the floor in front of the table about two feet away from Peter Revson’s shoes. Then he took my typewriter and put it on the table right in front of those shoes. Then he sits me down in this chair and says, “This is better. Now you can work.”

I look up and Revson is looking at me with a bemused look on his face. I had interviewed him during his rookie year at Indianapolis in 1969 when the first week of qualifying was rained out and everybody had a lot of time to kill. I doubt if he remembered my name but he remembered my face.

“How’ve you been?” he asked.

“I’ve had better days,” I said.

“Want a quote?” he said.

“Sure,” I said.

“These people couldn’t organize a two-car parade.”

“Thanks,” I said, “but I can’t use it. I have to work here.”

“Okay, how’s this? He grinned. “Everybody here seems to be in a fog.”

I told him he was very funny. But I also said I couldn’t use that one either.

“Well, I tried,” he said.

“That you did,” I said, and then Jackie Stewart arrived and I went back to work.

None of that would have happened without Frank. He was such a lovely guy.

R.I.P., Frank. Great talent and a very funny (and helpful) guy.

They say that everything comes in threes. I hope this is it for awhile.

DAYTONA 500

Fourteen laps into Sunday’s Daytona 500, they had a Big One. Fifteen or 16 cars were involved. One of the cars and drivers eliminated was Ryan Newman, who was nearly killed at Daytona year ago. Maybe he should think of retirement. You can only dodge so many bullets.

Just in case you missed the first Big One, they had a second one on the last lap. Eight cars were involved this time, including the two leaders racing for Team Penske. Joey Logano was leading, with Brad Keselowski second. Keselowski appeared to back off ever so slightly to get a run and was hit by Michael McDowell, who was running third. Almost simultaneously, Logano moved to block Keselowski and they collided. BOOM! McDowell managed to avoid the two of them and emerged the winner of the Great American Race in his 358^th Cup start. Chase Elliott was second and Austin Dillon finished third.

This Big One was particularly violent, with a flash fire going into the cockpit of Austin Cindric, who had won the Xfinity Cup stock car race at Daytona on Saturday. He was okay but it was a close call – ironic, since his father, Tim Cindric, president of Penske Racing, had steered his son away from Indy cars, suggesting stock car racing was safer, That might have been a wakeup call.

It has been 20 years since Dale Earnhardt died at Daytona and through planning or just plain luck, there has not been a fatal accident in any of NASCAR’s three travelling divisions – Cup, Xfinity or trucks. But you can’t keep piling up cars at 200 miles an hour race after race, year after year, without the law of averages catching up with you at some point.

Racing is dangerous enough without the restrictor plates that see the cars performing in packs, three-wide and literally inches apart. Some people find this exciting. I find it scary because I worry about the drivers. One of these days, Alice . . .

Other than the massive wrecks, it was a pretty routine race – other than a long rain delay, which didn’t see the restart get the green flag till 9:30, and the checkers fly till nearly midnight.

Notes:

One of the things NASCAR could do (if it wanted) would be to eliminate “bump drafting.” That little manoeuvre is what starts most of the big wrecks in the first place.

After noting that it was 20 years since Earnhardt died, Mike Joy said, “NASCAR took the lead in driver safety,” and nobody’s been killed since. I don’t know why those guys do that. Actually, I do know: they work for NASCAR and they kiss —. NASCAR did a couple of thing – 1), they disallowed teams from installing safety equipment the way the drivers wanted rather than the way the manufacturers said it should be installed (Earnhardt had changed the angle of his seat, for instance). 2). They did put some money into research that led to the SAFER barrier but that was after Tony George entirely financed the first crack with a team at Wayne State University and, when it failed, approached the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to take what had been learned in Detroit and improve on it. It was then that George approached NASCAR to help out and they put in some money but, for all intents and purposes, the SAFER barrier was an Indianapolis Motor Speedway production. “Took the lead?” Hardly.

CANADIANS AT DAYTONA

Quebec driver Raphael Lessard won the first stages and finished second in the second staged of the Campers World truck series race Friday night and was in a position to win the whole thing when he was wrecked toward the end of the race. He was classified 23^rd. Jason White of Sun Peaks, B.C. was 19^th. Steward Friesen of Niagara-on-the-Lake was caught up in a huge wreck and was classified 32^nd. White, a regular runner in the NASCAR Canada Pinty’s stock car series, finished 14^th in an ARCA stock car race Saturday afternoon. Also Saturday afternoon, a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock race was held and Quebec’s Alex Labbe was 40^th after suffering engine problems early in the race.

OTHER RACING

Red Bull has made a deal to use Honda power unit technology from 2022, it was announced at the weekend. Translation: Red Bull will build its own engines (er, power units) after the 2021 season. A new company called Red Bull Powertrains Ltd. will use the Honda technology to produce the engines for Red Bull and its sister team Scuderia AlphaTauri.

Michael Andretti is now involved in eight racing series around the world – IndyCar, Indy Lights, IMSA, Formula E, Extreme E and Australian Supercars. (We just have to get him involved in the Pinty’s Series.) His latest venture (for those of you who are counting) is a partnership with Michel Jourdain in the Mexican Super Copa (Touring Car) series. Drivers and sponsors to come later.

Megan Gilkes, the talented Richmond Hill girl who raced in the W Series two years ago, will be racing in British Formula Ford this season and hopes to do the Formula 1600 race at the Grand Prix of Canada – if it happens, of course.

Fernando Alonso was hit by a car while out riding his bicycle in Switzerland. He suffered a broken jaw and was released from hospital. Fans breathed a sigh of relief as he will be ready to go when the F1 season opens in Dubai in late March. Oh, and Sir Lewis Hamilton signed a one-year contract with Mercedes to give him his eighth world championship (f he doesn’t screw up and the car is as good as it has been in other years). Toto Wolff said, with a straight face, that the one-year deal will give them time to determine the length of his next, and last, M-B contract. I have a friend who is willing to bet good money that Hamilton is already talking to Ferrari about 2022 and on. I agree with him.

Finally, Canada is the latest country to join the GT4 family as SRO Motorsports and RACE Events Inc. have signed an agreement that will bring the internationally recognized class to the Canadian Touring Car Championship for 2021 and beyond. The CTCC presented by Pirelli will add a separate GT4 class that will complement its existing Touring Car and GT Sport categories, the CTCC announced in a release.

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