MOTORSPORT: Ricciardo's calm before Suzuka storm

As a super typhoon threatens this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo has calmed his own storm.

Glenn Beavis, of the company Sivana in Dubai, has been claiming 20 per cent commission on Ricciardo's Formula 1 contract with Renault worth a minimum US$55 million – more than A$80 million at today's exchange rate – over two years.

Beavis has repeatedly been described as Ricciardo's manager in reports throughout the dispute, which had gone on for several months and reached the High Court in London.

However, Ricciardo's defence against the claim included the counter-claim that Beavis was not his manager, but rather someone who had assisted with negotiations and details of the contract.

In any case, the carsales.com.au global ambassador will now race at Suzuka on Sunday – provided the Japanese GP goes ahead – without the headache of the dispute weighing on him.

A joint statement from the parties this week said: "Daniel Ricciardo and Glenn Beavis are pleased to confirm that they have reached an amicable settlement over the amounts due to Glenn and thus bringing to an end the proceedings in the High Court in London. Daniel and Glenn wish each other well in their future endeavours."

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Ricciardo advised Beavis last December that he no longer wanted to use his services, but it was agreed that Beavis would finalise details of the contract under which the Honey Badger moved from Red Bull Racing to Renault.

The fine print of the contract was only finalised days before the season-opening Australian GP in Melbourne, and the association between Ricciardo and Beavis officially concluded on March 31.

Ricciardo's commercial affairs are now handled by CAA Sports, a subsidiary of Creative Arts Agency.

It emerged from the documents filed during the proceedings that Ricciardo's father, Joe, rather than Beavis, had initiated the switch of teams.

Meanwhile, a category five typhoon – the strongest – with winds of about 160km/h and heavy rain is forecast to hit Suzuka on Saturday afternoon and qualifying has already been moved to Sunday morning, just four hours before the scheduled race start.

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has said it is “working closely in conjunction with the Japanese Automobile Federation and F1” on the weekend timetable.

It said Japanese GP procedures in these scenarios are well-practised, given the event's history of terrible weather.

In 2014 young French driver Jules Bianchi crashed late in the race in heavy rain from Typhoon Panphone and died the next year from his injuries.

In 2010 qualifying had to be held on Sunday morning due to a washout on the Saturday.

Australian teenager Oscar Piastri could win the Formula Renault Eurocup this month, if he can hold off a charging French rival.

Piastri, 18, from Melbourne, has six wins and 10 podiums from 18 races in his second year in the open-wheeler series in which Daniel Ricciardo raced as a junior.

Ricciardo was runner-up in the series to Valterri Bottas in 2008 but was victorious in the Formula Renault West European series that year. Bottas is currently Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes teammate in F1 and winner of this year's Australian GP.

Piastri is driving for French team R-ace GP, which has already won the Eurocup team championship for the third straight year.

However, 18-year-old French driver Victor Martins is only 13.5 points behind Piastri after winning four of the past six races and three of the past four with Dutch team MP Motorsport.

The final round is in Abu Dhabi on October 26-27 – five weeks before the year's F1 finale there.

Piastri was second in both Eurocup races at Germany's Hockenheim last weekend. He was runner-up in the 2017 British Formula 4 Championship.

More than a decade after he was a regular World Rally Championship driver for Subaru, Chris Atkinson has helped the Japanese manufacturer to its first rallycross title.

Atkinson, who is now within two months of turning 40, won the final round of the Americas Rallycross (ARX) on a wet, muddy and slippery track at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

It was his second win of the six-round series in a WRX STI, clinching the team championship for Subaru after years of domination of American rallycross by Volkswagen. The major series was previously called Global Rallycross.

"Our boys have done a great job this year," Atkinson said.

"Four wins out of the six rounds and the team championship – it's a huge moment for the guys at Vermont SportsCar [which runs the Subaru program] and for Subaru of America.

"We've come so far over the past few years. Everyone has worked so hard. It feels perfect to be ending the season at the top of the podium."

Tanner Foust, who was a host of TV show Top Gear in the US, won the driver title in a VW Beetle, with Atkinson runner-up – one point ahead of another Subaru driver, Swede Patrick Sandell.

Foust, 46, missed out on the Mid-Ohio final after a penalty in the semi-finals but said the season's success was especially sweet.

"The Beetles wrapped up five championships in five years, but this is the first year we did it without manufacturer support – basically on leftover parts and going up against amazing factory efforts and newly-developed cars," he said.

"It was surprising Volkswagen was willing to let us use the cars and potentially put them up to be beat after their track record.

"Andretti Autosport stepped up and offered to run the program on the thinnest budget and we somehow did it.

"While it's five out of five, this year was really different. Everybody is so stoked."

Volkswagen has also been successful in the World Rallycross Championship with its Polo, while Subaru has not competed in that broader series.