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Toyota last raced in the Le Mans series in 1999 with their GT One (TS020) race car and ever since then, they have intensively involved in Formula One racing until 2010. Now, the Japanese automaker has revealed their hybrid-powered race car that will be used for the 2012 Le Mans series. Toyota TS020 GT One Back in 2008, Toyota did mention that they intend to debut a hybrid-powered racing car to be used for the Le Mans racing series. Not many details were given at that time until now, when about a week ago, Toyota showed photos of their TS030 hybrid racing car going through tests at a race track in France. Toyota Racing will build two cars for their participation in the upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship. A team of professional drivers has been confirmed and they will debut the car at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May this year. The team will consist of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima. Another team for the second car is still under discussion and will finalise soon. On top of this, Toyota Racing has appointed Andrea Caldarelli as a junior driver. Once after the drivers for the second team has confirmed, Toyota Racing will enter the Le Mans 24 Hours in June 2012 with both cars. Toyota is the first manufacturer to enter the endurance series with a hybrid-powered car and it stresses Toyota
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[extract] Ford looks to return to the NASCAR with the 2013 Fusion NASCAR Sprint Cup race car that was recently unveiled at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina USA. The racy Fusion has been designed to retain as much detail from the production version as possible. "We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return
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The Le Mans 24 hours endurance race will be short of one of its regulars this year and maybe the year after that. Peugeot has announced that it will be pulling out of endurance racing due to lackluster sales in 2011. It has also stated that it will pour its resources on marketing the new Peugeot 208 supermini(above) and its 2012 hybrid models instead. Quite obvious actually. With the pullout, this would mean that Audi will have no actual rival in the LMP1 category as Peugeot was its only actual rival. Peugeot won the 2009 Le Mans and the first Intercontinental Le Mans cup title in 2011 with its diesel powered Peugeot 908HDi FAP. A monopoly at this year's Le Mans? Aside from Audi gaining from Peugeot's absence, they will also gain from Toyota's decision to only participate in a few of this year's LMP1 races and the fact that old timers Porsche will only be re-entering the fray in 2014. So expect a very lopsided Le Mans LMP1 category for the next few years people. And furthermore, Le Mans without a proper French manufacturer/team is somehow a sad thing too. It is actually quite sad to see Peugeot pull out of Le Mans are they have been doing quite well and was the second manufacturer to compete in the Le Mans with a diesel powered car
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The jointly developed new sports coupe (86, FR-S and BRZ) from Toyota and Subaru has yet to arrive in the showrooms around the world. But some tuners have made specially designed units of the abovementioned cars. And the car you see above is just one example of it. Scion unveiled this specially made car at the 2012 Detroit Motor Show and it is named as the Scion Racing Greddy FR-S race car. This car was built by team crews from Scion Racing and Greddy. Greddy is a performance parts company that has worked with Toyota previously and has been involved in racing for over twenty years. The car has been tuned to produce 600bhp. It will be used in the 2012 US Formula Drift season and it will be driven by professional drift race car driver, Ken Gushi. Toyota did not reveal much about the car except that it has been lowered, stripped-out and fitted with a huge GT wing spoiler and racing bodykit. Surprisingly, the exhaust appears to be missing from the car and some believed that it is still under development. It is also known that Greddy is developing a custom road legal exhaust system for the road going sports coupe. In other news, Toyota will start selling the 86 and FR-S by spring of 2012 and it will be the first car to offer a connected infotainment audio system called BeSpoke, powered by Pioneer's Zypr. Toyota is organising a program known as the First 86. This program will pick eighty-six lucky people to be the first owners of the FR-S. They will receive the cars even before the model goes on sale to the general public. Photo credit: GT Spirit
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On 18 November 2011, BMW opened its second dedicated BMW M dealership in St. Petersburg, Russia. The first dedicated BMW M Showroom was launched in Singapore in August 2010. St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia after Moscow with a population of 4.8 million residents, and the sixth largest market for M automobiles. Called the Park M, the latest M dealership is responsible for the sales and maintenance of BMW M models. Alexander Bystrov, Park M Managing Director has the following comments: "Our dealership is located in a new business district of St. Petersburg where young, modern business people leave and work. For them, speed, power and prestige are important in a car. You will find all this and more in the unique products of BMW M." The most widely sold M automobile in Russia is the BMW X6 M. Park M displays the entire BMW M model range on a surface area of 300 square metres. BMW M, also known as M-Technik, was initially created to facilitate BMW
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Track days. An event where petrolheads, young and old alike, are let loose in their cars on a race track, mostly to let off some steam that they can't release in everyday driving. Although I had some track experience earlier this year when Audi invited me for their Sportscar Experience in the R8 V10, I had never been to an open track day (The R8 V10 drive was done in a controlled environment, with instructors on hand to lead). So, when Audi (again. Aren't they nice people?) asked me if I wanted to join them on a track day adventure with the RS5, I certainly couldn't say no. For Singaporeans, the most obvious place to do a track day was Sepang. It was the nearest 'proper' racetrack to us, even though it's a good three hour drive from our sunny island. So, our day began early, as I joined Audi Singapore's Public Relations Manager Lee Nian Tjoe on the drive up North. We set off at around 7am, way too early for a Saturday morning. After clearing Customs at Tuas (which took a while as we had to jostle with the weekend crowd driving up as well), we opened the beans as we pointed the RS5 towards the direction of KL. True to the car's performance ability, it dispatched the journey with little fuss, and we reached our destination in just under three hours. Managing Director of Audi Singapore, Reinhold Carl, joined us after taking a flight from Singapore (which was delayed, meaning the car actually got to KL first. Score!), and once trackside, we parked the RS5 alongside the specially-prepared S4 trackcar that Audi regularly brings up to Sepang for such occasions. After a safety briefing (which was compulsory for all) and an orientation drive (I was a newbie after all), we were finally allowed to go out on our own. I was naturally cautious, but both experienced Audimen (that's a nice term) taught me plenty about track driving, about finding the right lines, braking and acceleration points, and etc. I didn't drive particularly fast, because 1) it was my virgin experience, 2) I was driving an almost $400,000 sports coupe and 3) I'm timid by nature. But it was still fun learning in a car as exciting as an RS5. With its Quattro all-wheel-drive, it was possible for one to overcook the limit and still not be killed (metaphorically of course). The most thrilling part though, was getting to go out on track in both the S4 track car and RS5, with Mr Carl at the wheel and me being passenger. It was then that I was truly shown the difference between an amatuer everyday driver (me) and a true motorsports enthusiast. I now have newfound respect for Mr Carl after laps of riding shotgun with the affable German, who displayed some rather awesome skills at late braking, four-wheel-drifting and sheer bravado. The weather started to open up as our session came to an end, and even though it was short (just about three hours), it was quite an enlightening experience. Given a free track, and enough time and guidance, I suppose I can make a decent fist of a lap at Sepang. But as Mr Carl pointed out during a chat, fitness is also important if one is to really cut it, because driving for hours on a track (especially one like Sepang, where the weather can be unforgiving) is quite taxing on the human body. And if there are other cars on the track, intense concentration is also very important as well, just to avoid crashing. So your mental and physical state has to be on top form to really be a competitive race driver. Looking at myself, I doubt that can really happen. But oh well. At least I had a go.
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[extract] Martin Tomczyk, winner of the 2011 DTM Championship, announced he will no longer compete for the Audi squad in the 2012 season. The 29-year old Champion from Rosenheim has competed for Audi for 11 years, and thanked the Audi team for their support,
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[extract]CHERYL TAY speaks to four mothers who share their challenges about driving with kids and also advice and tips on how to cope with these challenges
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Flame Awards: OCBC Corporate Karting Challenge 2011 Grand Final
Pinkypink posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The chequered flag was taken by all 12 teams who competed in the Grand Final of the OCBC Corporate Karting Challenge and the i-Resource teams' consistency saw them take a 1-2 finish. Aston Martin Singapore Drakar Racing barely made it into third place with CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing right on their heels. But that's not the end of the awards. While I was processing my photos from the race yesterday, I thought of creating my own list of subsidiary awards! Enjoy:) Note: This is purely in the name of humour so please do not take any offence. Fastest Time of the Day (FTD) - Jon Wu (CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing) Jon clocked the fastest time of 44.064 seconds - this is not only the fastest time of the Grand Final, but also the fastest for the entire OCBC Corporate Karting Challenge 2011 (ie.including its three earlier elimination rounds). Most Presentable Team - Bar Bar Black Sheep Racing It doesn't matter where they finish in the race, as long as they get the most attention off the track, in nothing less than style. Bringing in three race queens during their elimination round in August, Bar Bar Black Sheep Racing doubled the hot factor by bringing in SIX race queens this time. Best Helmet Design - Lawrence Lee (CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing) He had a mission to be the fastest man on the track - and also to do that in his best dressed effort. Although he failed to clock the fastest time, his S$5,000 Stand21 full carbon helmet and its spanking 'bling' chrome design couldn't get more noticed along with his fully customised Stand21 suit and shoes. Best Sportsmanship - Desmond Yip (CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing) When rival driver Chew Hock Ngee of i-Resource KS Rage Bull Racing returned from his stint with a cramp in his leg, Desmond kindly used his Salonpas on Hock Ngee, even helping him to take off the racing suit. My apologies if this photo looks a little 'wrong'. Most LOL (Laugh Out Loud) Driving Expression - Eye2Eye Burners The team from IT company Eye2Eye Communications Pte Ltd has some really cute drivers who drive with their tongues out. Thumbs up for comic relief on track! Most Candid Driver - Jansen Tan (Team Stamford Tyres) Each time he drove past me, Jansen would either wave or do a thumbs-up. Initially I thought he was signalling to his team-mate; then I realised there wasn't anyone standing next to me and the pit is kinda far away. Every time I'm standing at that spot taking photos and he is driving, he was sure to 'pose' for the camera. Every single lap - unless he was busy fighting for position. Most Creative Team Name - Unilever Formula None, i-Resource KS Farrari Racing, i-Resource KS Rage Bull Racing This was a tough fight and instead of choosing one I decided to just make it a three-way win. Formula 'None', 'Farrari' Racing and 'Rage' Bull Racing - Innovation beyond speech. Best Frown - Ron Tay (i-Resource KS Farrari Racing) and Ng Sier Han (Bar Bar Black Sheep Racing) I'm afraid this award only applied to those who DID NOT have tinted visors as I could not see their expressions. There were quite a lot of 'stressed' looking drivers and the best frown was a two-way tie between Ron and Sier Han. Check out the knitted eyebrows man! That's called FOCUS. Most Pitiful Look - Propnex Powerhouse Unfortunately I do not know the name of this driver from Propnex Powerhouse but his really sad face caught my attention. Cheer up buddy! It's just a race;) Coolest Acknowledgement Sign - Peng Malakul (Bar Bar Black Sheep Racing) Team-mates flash all sorts of signboards and cards to 'signal' for their drivers on track to come into the pits. To show that they have seen the board, some nod their heads, some wave or give a thumbs up. Peng gives the coolest three-fingered hand sign... Most Relaxed Driver - Eugene (Aston Martin Singapore Drakar Racing) This shot was taken after qualifying, while waiting for the race to start. Eugene carried this relaxed attitude throughout the entire race - there was an occasion where he was driving by the pit lane exit and Lawrence Lee of CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing was just exiting. Lawrence had an agenda to go all out and fight for position but Eugene waved at him and said hi (they are friends). After the race, Eugene said to Lawrence, "I said hi to you and wanted to talk to you, why didn't you talk to me?" Lawrence's reply: "I didn't have time to talk to you lah! I had to go and fight!" Most Classic Moment of the Race - Felix Lim (Team Stamford Tyres) Desmond Yip of CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing and Felix bumped asses when Desmond made an overtaking move on Felix. Desmond raised his hand in apology and everything was quickly forgotten with no hard feelings. However, CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing paid dearly for this incident later in the race - After this little brush, Desmond's engine died and he rolled into the pit lane. After the marshals restarted the kart for him, he decided to go in and do a driver change. As a result of his unplanned shortened stint, the team had to make a last driver change in the last 10 minutes of the race - dropping them from 2nd to eventually finish 4th. Sexiest Driver - Gerald Tan (CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing) Check out the curves in his tight tight spandex! :p Best Teamwork - i-Resource KS Farrari Racing When your team-mate makes a mistake, just point. When you're not sure what's happening, just point. Sorry I couldn't come up with enough awards to make everyone a winner. But hey for making it to the Grand Final you are already a winner - pat on the back! I wish I was racing too but don't get me started... -
[extract] Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced that it will participate in the FIA (Federation Internationale de l
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And so Sebastian Vettel was crowned this year's Formula 1 driver's champion after winning the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix in Suzuka recently. He only needed 1 point to win and came in third behind race winner Jenson Button and second place Fernando Alonso. This is his second championship in a row and it also makes him the youngest driver ever to win back to back championships. His performance was, as usual, immaculate and somehow he makes winning so very easy. Of course some people may say that it is down to the car. Red Bull's engineers really constructed a fabulous race car this season but one must note that there are two drivers per team and Vettel seems to be able to out drive and out pace his team mate Mark Webber most of the time. So you've got to hand it to him for actually being bloody talented in the first place. Now add the fact that there are former world champions racing against him this strengthens his case even more. We have two time champion Fernando Alonso (who drove a fantastic race this time around), one time champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and also multiple world champion Michael Schumacher rounding up the list of champions. What Vettel is doing is quite incredible as someone so young can drive so maturely and fabulously quick in all the races to date. The 2011 F1 races will continue, but since we already know who the driver's champion is should we continue watching upcoming races? While the constructors championship is still an open book (but with Red Bull far ahead), does it warrant us to continue watching F1 or just wait till next year? The next race is something new, the Korean GP, on the 16th of October. Results 01. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h30:53.427 02. Alonso Ferrari + 1.160 03. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 2.006 04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 8.071 05. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 24.268 06. Schumacher Mercedes + 27.120 07. Massa Ferrari + 28.240 08. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 39.377 09. Petrov Renault + 42.607 10. Rosberg Mercedes + 44.322 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 54.447 12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:02.326 13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:03.705 14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:04.194 15. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1:06.623 16. Senna Renault + 1:12.628 17. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:14.191 18. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1:27.824 19. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1:36.140 20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 21. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 22. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps 23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps DNF Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 35 photo credit: planetf1
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A 2nd look at the 2012 Singapore GP, Vettel wins (again), Lewis Hamilton a villian?
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The 2011 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix concluded with Sebastian Vettel coming in first and he is almost assured to be crowned this year's F1 champion. Discussing Vettel's win over in Singapore is somehow pointless as he drove exceptionally well and the Red Bull F1 car in winning form. This year is his and there is nothing we can do about it but enjoy the performance. Now if you've been following this year's F1 like I have been you'd have noticed that the media has been trying hard to create waves elsewhere as Vettel's winning ways are killing headlines. In a way that is. Imagine the same headline 'Vettel Wins!' throughout the season with only the venue changing. So they try turning something into nothing. It must be hard for them to cook up stories as they've recently decided to crucify Lewis Hamilton because of his antics in the Singapore GP. What happened over in Singapore (somewhere behind the winning Sebastian Vettel) was Hamilton driving the tyres out of his McLaren and rear ending Fillipe Massa of Ferrari. This had caused a furious Massa trying to make his way towards Hamilton in the pits. This had also caused the media speculating that the drivers were ganging up on Hamilton stating that he had made dangerous moves on other drivers in Malaysia, Monaco, Montreal, UK Hungary, Belgium and a few others. Honestly, he was racing and trying his hardest to overtake everyone in front of him. I think the media is making a big fuss out of nothing. It also seems that some media people want races to be without incidents or without aggressive drivers. Maybe the cars would have neon signs that state 'Please move over I am faster than you, you slowcoach'. Too much hot air is being blown onto this issue. Oh yes. I have not reported on the 2012 Singapore GP as yet. Aside from Vettel winning again (and again, and again) it was quite good. Hamilton crashing in Massa meant that the drivers are indeed racing. The track is super tight as usual and there is no room for error. The Singapore GP is indeed taxing on the drivers as they mostly see barriers, tall fencing and lights. How most of them can keep their concentration lap after lap in a totally cooped up environment is totally commendable and truly awesome. photo credit:planetf1 -
The end of the Singapore Grand Prix also marks the end of a very hectic week for all in the automotive and media industry. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been swamped, with numerous events and press conferences to attend in the lead up to the big race here. While some might be sad after the night race, I'm sure more than a few others would breathe a sigh of relief at the end of the crazy schedule that we have to contend with lately. Over here at sgCarMart, we are no less busy, with the unprecedented number of events stretching our resources to the limits. And, being short of manpower, we had to sacrifice a few of these as we simply could not split ourselves into multiple parts to be at various places at the same time. Nevertheless, we endeavoured to bring our readers as much as we can, to the best of our ability. We were there, for example, to catch Michael Schumacher's first public appearance in Singapore. Then we caught up with David Coulthard, and some of the Red Bull Racing team, at the Infiniti Dynamic Drive event at Changi. We also dropped by the TechArt Party by Autovox, where Force India driver Adrian Sutil made an appearance, unfortunately too late for us to take a photo. But there were lovely Porsches around nonetheless. As the race weekend neared, the events started to ramp up, and we were lucky enough to visit The Podium Lounge at the Ritz Carlton just before the race, thanks to Aston Martin. Finally, one day before the race, we managed to catch Lotus-Renault GP's press conference, with the team consisting of Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna, test driver Fairuz Fauzy, team principal Eric Boullier, and Lotus chief Dany Bahar. And of course, the race itself. Obviously we didn't manage to catch every single event, because as mentioned, we only have so many of us, but still, all in all, it was an exhilarating experience. A bit like a roller coaster ride actually. Or an F1 race.
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Attending a trackday is not something most Singaporeans get to do everyday, unless one is fairly well-off and is able to make multiple trips up north to sastify their inner racing desire. So when Audi arranged for its Driving Experience track day at Sepang during the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race 2011 weekend, with the Audi R8 V10 no less, there was much excitement going around. The privileged media were given the opportunity to explore the Sepang track, under the guidance of Audi's training instructors, which included Le Mans winner Marco Werner, former Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion Daryl O'Young, and a familiar face, Top Gear Australia host Steve Pizzati. There was to be a planned morning session, where the instructors guided the participants to various driving techniques as well as learning the lines of the Sepang Circuit. Unfortunately, just as the sessions were to begin, the weather opened up and poured down. Nevertheless, after waiting a while for the rain to let up, the lessons continued, albeit a bit more carefully. Thankfully, the sun came out in the afternoon, and so the event was back in full force. To briefly summarise, each participant were first taken out on a taxi ride in the new Audi R8 GT, driven by either Marco Werner or Daryl O'Young. Subsequently, we were divided into groups, and were led out onto different sections of the tracks, to learn the various lines, apexes and braking points of the Sepang circuit. Following a short break, the teams were then now led out by the instructors' car for a full hot lap of the circuit. Each member in the group of four were given the chance to 'lead' the pack at least once, to fully utilise the skills picked up earlier in the day. What surprised me was that there was at least three sessions of circuit lapping, with each session consisting of about four laps each. So that meant that we drove the R8 V10 at full speed around Sepang for at least 12 laps. In the blazing Malaysian heat, it really sapped whatever energy you had, especially when you are concentrating fully on controlling the car at high speed. Fun it might be, but it was also extremely exhausting. But given the choice, I have absolutely no doubt that I will do it again.
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I have to confess, I have never attended a track event, except for our very own Singapore Grand Prix. So when I was sent to Kuala Lumpur to catch the 2011 Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race, or MMER for short, I wasn't really sure what to expect. The trip was sponsored by Audi, who entered two cars in the race. As a brief introduction, the MMER is an endurance race, much like Le Mans, but on a smaller scale. The cars run for just 12 hours, instead of 24, but it is no less taxing, due to the Malaysian climate Audi's entries consisted of two R8 LMS GT3 cars, one of which was oddly liveried in the blue and white of MediaCorp. There was also an independently-run third Audi R8 car. Audi's presence were certainly made known, as they also supplied the Safety Car, an R8 GT. The race kicked off at noon, and lasted for the next tweleve hours. Granted, an endurance race like this is not exactly spectator-friendly, but there were some thrills and spills to be had. The beauty of the Sepang circuit is that one could really find pockets of spaces trackside for photo opportunities. I tried my best, but my camera clearly wasn't good enough. As the race went into the night, tiredness began to set in, and it told. The blue MediaCorp Audi R8, at the hands of Alex Yoong, had a clash with a wayward Aston Martin at the halfway mark, and suffered a broken steering column, denying it a chance of victory. The number one Audi, piloted by Le Mans winners Frank Biela, Marcel Fassler and Marco Werner, were leading with 20 minutes to go, until their car suffered an unfortunate puncture. This handed the lead to Team Petronas Syntium, running a pair of Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG cars, and they held on to grab victory away from the Audi team. It was a rather exciting race, with lots of ups and downs, and on a personal level, it was a fantastic trackside experience, with the chance to really see the cars at their best up close. Sepang might have its detractors, but nothing beats racing on a proper circuit.
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2011 Italian F1: Vettel wins again but Schumacher shows us how its done
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The 2011 Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix was another one of those action packed races this season where Sebastian Vettel won. Yes, that chap may still be knocking the socks off the other contestants but it isn't a dull one horse race at all. He may be impervious at this moment but I don't really care because after the recent mid-season break we're actually seeing some movement from the other teams. Ferrari and McLaren seem to have gotten their form back as Jenson Button came in second for McLaren and Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari Vettel drove impeccably and even did a brilliant overtaking move against Alonso early on in the race. But what really got me extremely enthralled with the Italian Grand Prix was Michael Schumacher's ultra defensive (or aggressive -
There's a hint in ST today that the idea of a permanent track for Singapore might be canned forever. That would be so so sad There's a poll running over here http://www.facebook.com/letsplaysg on whether or not we need...
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[extract] Having led the Barum Czech Rally Zl
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Vettel wins the 2011 Belgian F1 GP and some fabulous drives by the others
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Dramatic. This was what the 2011 Formula 1 Grand Prix in Belgium was like. It was action packed with flat out racing, tyres that somehow didn't seem to last long and pit lane tactics coming into play. The race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit happened after a one month break from racing and the break must have rejuvenated Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull gang as Vettel came in first ahead of his team mate Mark Webber and Jenson Button who had a well deserved third place after starting from thirteenth place. The race started off with a bang. This was because after the front runners (with Vettel in pole) moved off safely, Bruno Senna caused the opening crash by failing to brake and torpedoing into the Toro Rosso driven by Jaime Alguersuari. Then Timo Glock decided to rearrange the looks of Paul DiResta's Force India car by crashing into it. He manageda two-birds one stone thingy as he managed to take off Jenson Button's endplate too. Button then collided into bits of Senna's front wing which was strewn across the track and lost his own wing too causing him to pit (imagine still comming out third after this type of start). The drama ensured as by lap 5 Vettel had to pit due to blistering tyres and on lap 6, the other Sebastian, Sebastian Buemi made contact with Sergio Perez and lost his rear wing. Both entered the pits for damage and Perez was given a drive-through penalty for the skirmish. By this time the positions of the drivers had changed but the driving or racing was really good (a simple non-bombastic word to actually describe the moment). On lap 15 or thereabouts Kamui Kobayashi got tangled with Lewis Hamilton causing a pretty massive crash. This caused a safety car incident which Sebastian Vettel utilised to get another tyre change. Meanwhile, Mark Webber's radio failed causing him to lose contact with his pit crew and lose the chance of taking advantage of the moment. I suppose this may have caused him to lose the race. The Red Bull cars were having tyre issues as both ran massive front camber setups for qualifying that made sure tyre life was short. Somehow both drivers managed to 'drive around' this problem and finish first and second. Anyway aside from Vettel and the others making things interesting, it was a fabulous race for Michael Schumacher too. The Grand master of Formula 1 showed the new kids on the block some of his magic and this race celebrated his 20 years in Formula 1. As I've said earlier, this old man is still showing people how it's done (albeit his usual recklessness and silly mistakes occasionally) as he started off from the last position and finished fifth ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg. Watching him drive this time around was like watching him drive in the late 1990s and early '00s. It looks like this old chap is getting younger with every race. The Belgian F1 was a memorable race and Vettel's win wasn't like one of his earlier victories of this season. He had to work hard for this one. Results 01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h26.44.893 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 3.741 3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 9.669 4. Alonso Ferrari + 13.022 5. Schumacher Mercedes + 47.464 6. Rosberg Mercedes + 48.674 7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 59.713 8. Massa Ferrari + 1m06.076 9. Petrov Renault + 1m11.917 10. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1m17.615 11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1m23.994 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1m31.976 13. Senna Renault + 1m32.985 14. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 15. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 16. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 17. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap 18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap 19. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap Did Not Finish Perez Sauber-Ferrari 27 Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 13 Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 12 Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6 Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 photo source: planetf1 -
Post Japan GT Race Epic Fail - Lamborghini totaled after post race duel
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
[extract] With great power lies great responsibility. This phrase made popular by the SpiderMan movie series makes perfect sense when coming up with a moral for this article. You see, every time there is one of those international race events held at the Sepang F1 Circuit over in Malaysia there are bound to be many pseudo-race drivers acting out their dreams by becoming the Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel or Nikki Lauda on the highways that lead away from the circuit. After this big events you would see modified Protons and Hondas tearing away on the ELITE Highway or the Sungai Besi stretch of the PLUS North -
Well this just sucks! http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_691322.html i fear this is never going to happen crap!
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At the Goodyear Eagle F1 launch and the high cost of drifting
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
I attended the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric 2 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Directional 5 over at the Proton Test Track in Shah Alam, Malaysia recently. The whole day event put me in a Honda Civic 2.0 & 1.8 sedans, a 320i and taxi rides in the same cars too. It was all good fun and part of Goodyear in creating more consumer awareness to the users in this region. I suppose events like these do, but this time I'd like to talk about grassroots motorsport, in particular, drifting. So what has drifting got to do with the launch in the first place? Quite a lot. You see, the Eagle F1 tires, both in the higher performance Asymetric 2 and the Directional 5 are competent handlers. The participants was taken in taxi rides around the Proton Test Track banked oval track at speeds in excess of 150km/h and the tires handled very predictably. Even through the high speed chicanes and banked corners ( both taken at over 145km/h in either a Honda Civic 2.0 & 1.8 sedan, BMW 525i or a BMW 320i) you can tell that the only person really worried was the passenger who had too much for lunch and wanted to keep its contents in the stomach instead of all over the floor of the cars (basically yours truly and a few other people who long ago realized that they are mortal instead of otherwise). The cars shod with the Eagle F1s handled well and even from the passenger seat you can tell that the drivers weren't at all worked up taking the corners and chicanes at speeds above 140km/h. This would mean that high speed lane changes and emergency maneuvers will not cause the cars to lose control. Unless you are a total twit, that is. Anyway, these are high performance all-weather tires and being Goodyear tires, they are not really cheap rubber. Everything has a place in the price structure of tires sold and there are cheap ones and slightly pricier ones (that actually give you that extra 5-10% of grip or handling when you really need it). Anyway, since the Eagle F1s are actually on the higher echelons of tire prices, what got me wondering is the fact that if you are into grassroots motorsport like drifting, you would be broke faster than you can say -
2011 Hungarian Formula 1 GP: Jenson Button's 200th F1 race & 11th win
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The recent Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix was interesting. I suppose the weather helped again as it rained and we got to see defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel as well as previous World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso losing it with either a spin or having some off the track incidents. We also got to see a level headed ex-world champion Jenson Button winning the race in a McLaren. Lady luck must have been with him as the Hungarian Grand Prix was mainly led by Lewis Hamilton who drove the other McLaren. Now other than that this race marked Button's 200th race and incredibly his 11th race win. I suppose this basically means that Formula 1 is tough as this chap has been racing for so long and actually won the driver's championship once yet he only has eleven wins around his belt. It must be as he has to fight four other world champions out there (the chaps mentioned above and Michael Schumacher too). Anyway, it rained and as usual that sort of weather makes racing so unpredictable. Aside from the spins and slips by the race leaders and challengers, one other reason Jenson Button won was his decision not to come in of intermediate tires when everyone seemed to want to use them. He opted for the prime tires in a slightly damp track and kept it on the track when others seemed to be slip-sliding all around him. From what I have seen, the Red Bull cars are still the cars to beat on race day but when the weather comes into play, tire strategy, patience and skill comes into play. One other incident that is actually worth writing about is the fact that Nick Heidfield's Renault actually caught fire in the pits (at around lapd 20). This happened as the Renault was stationary for quite a while and upon exiting the pits, his car caught fire. Heidfield managed to scramble out of the car and the car experienced a small explosion while the track marshalls were trying to put the fire out. One marshall was hit by flying shards of carbon fiber and it was a nearly a safety car incident. It wasn't, but if the safety car was brought out, the outcome of the race may be altered. Anyway, as I posted earlier, mid-season is usually when Formula 1 gets interesting. No one knows what will happen after this upcoming 4 week break from racing. The next race is scheduled on the 28th of August at Spa, Belgium. Results 01. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h43:42.337 02. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.588 03. Alonso Ferrari + 19.819 04. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 48.338 05. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 49.742 06. Massa Ferrari + 1:17.176 07. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 08. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 09. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 11. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 12. Petrov Renault + 1 lap 13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps 15. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps 16. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 4 laps 18. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps 19. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 5 laps 20. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 5 laps Retirements Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 56 Schumacher Mercedes 27 Heidfeld Renault 24 Trulli Lotus-Renault 18 photo credit:planetf1 -
[extract] Are you a fan of the World Rally Championship? How big a fan are you? Well, if you can prove that you are Singapore's biggest fanatic of the all-out, gravel bashing rally championship, then Citro
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Webber and Vettel go head to head - in an Infiniti this time
ElDiablo posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
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