Roadmap — August 2026: zero starts, one championship ready

No starts in August — and we prefer to say so plainly, from the outset. The month played out behind the scenes: our in-house championship is ready to launch, the site speaks five languages, and the Journal has never published more. Here is the August 2026 roadmap, division by division.

The month in brief

0 race starts — deliberate withdrawals, not forced ones
1 championship ready: the JOBARD Racing Academy Series launches on Friday 4 September at 20:30
8 pre-season rounds on the calendar, through to December
4 driver categories and a published evaluation grid
5 articles published in the Journal
378 actions completed behind the scenes this month

On track

The figure is unvarnished, and we stand by it: no races contested in August. The fixtures were there, but without a complete line-up or preparation matching our rigour, we chose to stay in the garage.

08–09/08 — Nordschleife (4h) — Withdrawal
14–15/08 — Portimão 1000 km — Withdrawal
15–16/08 — 12H Barcelona — Withdrawal
28–30/08 — 4H Spa — Withdrawal
29–30/08 — Nordschleife (4h) — Withdrawal

Each withdrawal was decided in advance, race by race. The reason is straightforward, and we name it: no complete line-up, no adequate preparation schedule. A deliberate withdrawal will always be preferable to a poorly prepared race — and driver recruitment becomes the race team's priority. The season does not stop, however: the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans awaits at the end of October, and preparation has already begun.

Behind the scenes

The defining project of August is the championship. The JOBARD Racing Academy Series enters the arena on Assetto Corsa EVO: registrations are open, the pre-season regulations are published online, and everything required to run a championship works end to end — registration tested through to the driver charter, four categories (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze), a published and explained evaluation grid in the Journal, automatically calculated standings, and results announced on Discord as soon as each race concludes.

On the training side, our online space now has its own page and a complete purchase journey, with a consolidated sales framework: general terms and conditions published, secure payment in place. On paid content, our position does not shift: nothing is released until the standard satisfies us.

The website has continued its development: multilingual navigation repaired end to end — 32 links corrected across the five languages —, home and brand pages optimised for search, the secure connection corrected on the primary address, and five articles published in the Journal, ranging from telemetry to the championship launch.

Our digital pit wall reaches a new milestone: the tool detects the current session and automatically proposes and installs the correct team setup. The setup library is becoming a genuine collective asset, and fuel strategy has been made more reliable for the closing stages of races.

On the community side, the Discord server regulations have moved to version 2.0, the Friday newsletter maintained its cadence throughout the month, our first customers from the shop were welcomed personally, and online membership for the JOBARD Club association is in preparation.

JOBARD Auto, finally — and this is the deliberate decision of the month: without a suitable premises, the Ford Escort restoration project and its video series come to a halt. We prefer to say so clearly rather than leave a project in limbo. The automobile will return to JOBARD — through the right door.

Looking ahead to September

Friday 4 September, 20:30: first start of the JOBARD Racing Academy Series. Eight pre-season rounds through to December, with results and standings published after each race. The race team is preparing its return to competition, with the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans in October firmly in sight. And the Driver Notes series continues in the Journal.