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  1. <Why Koenigsegg Never Went Racing, And Why It Doesn't Plan to Start Christian von Koenigsegg explains why his cars have never competed at Le Mans, and why he doesn't intend to participate in the new Hypercar class. KOENIGSEGG Despite building some of the most innovative supercars on earth, Koenigsegg does not currently have a racing team. That's not for lack of trying: Founder Christian von Koenigsegg actually built a viable race car with intent to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when his company was in its infancy. But it never happened, and during a lengthy conversation with the man behind the Swedish performance car company, we learned more about why his Le Mans ambitions fell apart—and whether he hopes to try again. In 2007, Koenigsegg built a fully-functional race car that exactly followed the FIA's Group GT1 rules. The race car, called CCGT, bore a strong resemblance to Koenigsegg's second production model, the CCR. But its roots went back even further, to the very first prototype Koenigsegg built, called CC. As explained on a Koenigsegg company blog post, the original CC, and the race car it spawned, was designed to fit exactly into GT1's dimension requirements: The car could be two meters wide at the maximum, and the cockpit had to span 70 percent of the vehicle's overall width. It had a dry weight of 2200 pounds (significantly below the minimum weight for GT1, which would mean adding ballast to reach the required weight) and was powered by a naturally aspirated V-8 making well over 600 horsepower. But two months after the CCGT's first shakedown runs, the ACO and FIA had a change of heart. The governing bodies banned carbon-fiber monocoque construction, which was used in every Koenigsegg road car and thus formed the basis of the CCGT. The regulators also raised the minimum production requirement dramatically. Previously, an automaker was required to construct 20 street-legal examples of a model, in total, to be eligible to race. After the 2007 change, that number rose to 350 cars per year, impossible for a tiny automaker like Koenigsegg to achieve. The CCGT was ruled out of the class before it ever competed in a single race. The only Koenigsegg CCGT ever built. | KOENIGSEGG "We were aiming to go racing in the GT1 series, which was perfect for our type of cars—road-going hypercars turned race cars" von Koenigsegg told Road & Track during a recent, lengthy conversation. "Then they shut it down right when we were about to go racing, which was very annoying. Since then, there hasn't been any series for these types of cars." The rule change left von Koenigsegg without a place to take his supercars racing. "Even if we would be allowed to go to the highest level of GT racing, we would be competing against Porsche 911s and Ferrari 488s"—sports cars built to vastly different performance goals than Koenigsegg's cars, which commanded well over half a million dollars each. Even if von Koenigsegg had wanted to compete in such a class, he worried that his cars would be "completely downgraded through Balance of Performance via restrictors, because we are not supposed to be any faster. And then it would be just a super-expensive racing car, which would cost more to repair than a 911, and we might even get beaten by a 911 because of BoP, while in reality, they are completely different vehicles. That doesn't make any sense." So Koenigsegg's racing dreams died in 2007, before they could ever become real. But what about today? The WEC's new Hypercar class debuted this year, and it was seemingly built for exactly the kind of extreme vehicles that Koenigsegg builds. But the man behind the Swedish supercar company is unconvinced. "Of course, they started this Hypercar series at Le Mans, but in the end it turned out to be some kind of LMP car again, so it's just a new name for the same kind of thing, more or less." Does von Koenigsegg see a racing future for his cars? Not under the current rules. "The alternative, I guess, is to build some kind of a Le Mans Prototype, which has no relation to our road cars, which I don't find too appealing. I would like to go back to the GT1 type of class, where we [could] see Bugattis, Paganis, Koenigseggs—modified road cars featuring completely different technologies. Not this silhouette racing where you have the same chassis under different bodies. Granted, it would be a very expensive series, given the price of these cars, but then we could build up on what we have. Everyone could showcase something you could actually buy, if you're extremely wealthy. That's what we would like, but I'm not sure if it could ever happen.">
  2. <Gran Turismo 7 Brings Back Another Fan-Favorite Fictional Circuit In A Big Way Deep Forest Raceway receives a new lease on life and a controversial final sector change for GT7. Gif: PlayStation Studios When Trial Mountain appeared in the first trailer for Gran Turismo 7 more than a year ago, longtime fans pumped their fists into the air. The fictional circuit — present in every Gran Turismo except for the Prologue entries and GT Sport — will return fully remodeled in 4K, with variable weather and time-of-day change taking advantage of the full power of the PlayStation 5. It will be a treat for anyone who grew up with these games, and it’s not the only nostalgic gift Polyphony Digital has packed into GT7. Eagle-eyed followers had an inkling Deep Forest was coming back — the course’s recognizable ribbon appeared in several development diary-type videos released over the last two months. Back in 2017 and just after GT Sport’s release, series producer Kazunori Yamauchi told GTPlanet that while his team already had Deep Forest running in the game, the course was far from complete. It will be ready for GT7. Like Trial Mountain, it looks phenomenal. Deep Forest’s signature undulating front straight and descent into Turn 1 is still intact. Actually, most of the course’s first two sectors are pretty much just as you remember them, with some minor tweaks to encourage fair and eventful racing. For example, the concrete surface inside Turn 4 — a patch often used by your jerk friend to illegally overtake you in split-screen battles — has now been festooned with sausage curbs that will unsettle cars passing over top. I anticipate Polyphony will enforce strict track limits around that section for online play, too. All of the tunnels are still exactly where you remember them. I’ve seen some fans complain that the canopy of trees overhead doesn’t cover as much of the view above as it used to, making this forest feel less, well, deep. But that was sort of unrealistic from an environmental standpoint to begin with, and PS1 and PS2 games had wonky proportions. Seriously, go back and play GT1 or GT2 if you don’t get what I mean — billboards and trees were the size of office buildings in those games. Deep Forest then and now — how the track appeared in GT6 and earlier on the left, versus its new layout in GT7. Illustration: PlayStation Studios/Adam Ismail Some corners have clearly been reprofiled in the first sector — most notably Turn 10, the last before the back straight. In the original Deep Forest, this was a more relaxed bend with a very punishing outer rock wall that left absolutely no margin for error. For GT7 it’s been made tighter and serves as the circuit’s second real overtaking zone after the first corner. Oh, and speaking of overtaking zones, it’s probably time we discuss that change — the new shape of what I guess you’d call Turn 11. In every other Gran Turismo, this has never been anything other than a fast, downhill left-hand sweeper; if you don’t recall the turn’s original shape, watch the comparison video below courtesy of MotoGames TV. The players in this video reach this part of the track at different times, mind you, so the corner will arrive first in the GT6 snippet. Rather than descending at speed immediately following the final tunnel, GT7's Deep Forest leads you right into a braking zone approaching an acute hairpin. This is surely going to ruffle some feathers, but personally I don’t mind it. The track could’ve used another spot for passing opportunities, especially given how Polyphony has courted professional, competitive play with the FIA World Championship. Following that, we have a long drop into a valley, where a maintenance van can be seen traveling on a bridge overhead. It’s little touches like this that endear me to GT7's reimagining of classic courses. I know we all love quaint “old-school” racetracks, but there’s something gratifying and comforting about contextualizing Trial Mountain and Deep Forest as real places in the world that have evolved over the last two-and-a-half decades. Picture it like this: These were small-time, local or club circuits at first, then gained notoriety over the years and have now reached FIA Grade 1 status. But they still haven’t lost their most defining characteristics, as many world-famous venues tend to when they’re renovated. It’s the perfect blend of honoring the past while thrusting into the present, and I cannot wait to experience both favorites when GT7 releases in March. Personally, I hope Polyphony’s planning similar treatment for Midfield Raceway or Grand Valley.>
  3. Title is self-explanatory, but now I need to use this alongside proof of GT Academy graduates like Lucas Ordonez and Jann Mardenborough to show my mother why all those years of playing video games weren't a waste of time!
  4. Hey guys ! Just curious and wanting to know cars that have a similar technology to what Formula 1 car has. The closest could ever get to a formula 1 car and why. Could be looks, technology, speed, all of the above? you name it. Personally my top 2 picks are the LaFerrari as it is as close as it could get to a F1 car for its technology, and Lexus LFA for its Screaming V10 sound.
  5. What three motoring things would you like to achieve before you go? (that you have a reasonable chance of) For me it would have to be 1. Own a classic muscle car of some sort 2. Drive the Nurburgring 3. Own a Caterham / Ariel (or one of it's derivatives)
  6. Jaguar congratulates Carvell Motorsport on debut win for Jaguar XF Diesel On its race debut, a Jaguar XF 3.0 Diesel S, run by privateer squad, Carvell Motorsport, has won its class and finished as the leading diesel-powered vehicle at the Nurburgring 24hrs. http://www.xfforum.co.uk/threads/8611-Jagu...aguar-XF-Diesel Carvell Motorsport Jaguar XF 3.0 Diesel S The XF, with Nathan Freke, Colin White and Rob Carvell at the wheel, was powered by a 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine producing 300PS and 600NM of torque. It completed 109 laps of the 14-mile track
  7. SSC calls it quits with SG Changi for motorsports hub The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) announced on Monday it has terminated its agreement with private firm SG Changi to build the proposed Changi Motorsports Hub. SSC's chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin told reporters at a media briefing that the SSC found it would be "difficult for the project to succeed". The consortium was awarded the tender to build the hub in March last year but faced difficulties raising the estimated $380 million needed. Construction for the hub, which was to be completed by the end of the year, was halted in January. The SSC gave the termination notice to SG Changi last Wednesday. Lim said that he will personally lead an SSC inquiry into the process of the motorsports hub project and has commenced a full post-mortem. He added that for the remainder of this year, the SSC and SG Changi will work out a mutual termination agreement, with the terms to be finalised by the end of this month. He declined comment on whether a new tender will be opened for the project but noted that the SSC will need to put out a public request for information to assess market interest in taking up the building of the hub. The hub was planned to include a 3.5km race track, a 1.2km karting track and a 20,000-capacity spectator gallery, alongside a museum and a racing academy. sauce - http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ssc-calls-it-quit...ports-hub-.html
  8. Hi ppls do anyone send their car to this workshop located near johor. I do have a bad experience as I just bought my wheel few week and intend to install a side skirt and etc. As what I alway heard from ppls around me saying that malaysia is a good place to do your car as in the price and the design. I randomly search online and found this website that seem quite attractive toward me the main thing is that the location is near to singapore checkpoint. After few hrs of installation when I reached home I realised that there are lot of gap between the sideskirt and I was thinking perhaps I should make my way the next following week. Eventually the lady boss told his worker to do some amendent. But after I reach singapore after the second trip the gap seem like the same and even get worst. I am quite disappointed and went in again during the weekend and the worker show a very bad attitude toward me and he keep saying that it's normal as there are gap. Secondly before I went in the first time I was been told that all the installation will told not more than 3 hrs but somehow on that day it make me wait for more than 5 hrs in johor. Lastly the price that I call them on phone and on the spot was totally different and they were saying is because of promotion period. I am thinking whether anyone of you encontered bad incident from this or other workshop or any ppls kindly recommend me a good workshop as in their price and skill. http://www.voxmotorsport.com/
  9. [extract] The countdown has started ahead of Volkswagen contesting the FIA World Rally Championship with the Polo R WRC from 2013. In the Neste Oil Rally Finland, the eighth of 13 World Championship rounds this year, the Volkswagen Motorsport team completed its first test rally with cars from the group brand
  10. When motorsports is mentioned, most people will think of the glitz and glamour of Formula One. After all, it is the most high-profile of all motorsports out there. But I'm sure that there are some fans of other kinds of motorsports, like the rough and tumble of rallying. Specifically, the World Rally Championship. The 2011 World Rally Championship is now three events old, but it's just such a pity that there's very little local coverage or interest. I've always been a fan of the WRC, probably more so than F1. I grew up watching those electric blue Subaru Impreza WRXs and red-and-white Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions jumping massive crests at high speed. It brought about a kind of exhilaration that cannot be compared to track-based motorsports like F1. My hero was the late, great Colin McRae. I can't pinpoint exactly why. Maybe because it was his "all-or-nothing" driving style, where he would always be on maximum attack, even at the risk of crashing out. It feels a bit of a shame that today's WRC is a bit of a pale shadow from the excitement of the 1990s. I suppose the decline can be traced to the middle of the 2000s, when a host of drivers and manufacturers pulled out for various reasons. The retirements of legends Tommi Makinen and Carlos Sainz, coupled with the tragic losses of McRae and Richard Burns, as well as the withdrawal of major manufacturers like Peugeot, Mistubishi and later Subaru, dealt a heavy blow to the sport. The fact that current World Champion Sebastian Loeb has held a Michael Schumacher-esque domination over the sport for much of the past decade doesn't really help matters. Although, to be fair, you can't say that Ford and its Finns Marcus Gronholm and currently Mirko Hirvonen haven't gave it a go at challenging the Frenchman. But after a period in the doldrums, the WRC seems to be livening up again. New regulations for 2011 means that smaller cars are now in vogue, with Citroen and Ford using the more compact DS3 and Fiesta hatchbacks instead of the larger C4 and Focus respectively. Even Mini is looking to get in on the act, entering its Countryman WRC car in selected rallies this year. One can only hope, but I do wish for better things for the WRC in the decade ahead. It does deserve better as the premier world rallying competition.
  11. While I totally fancy the current BMW Mini I find that the newly launched Countryman is a mini too far. Or in other words, there is nothing 'Mini' about it and it distorts the image of what a Mini is to such an extent that it looks pretty monstrous. And imagine when my discomfort when I found out that the Monster Energy X-raid team has unveiled the new MINI ALL4 'Countryman' racing which will compete in the 2011 Dakar rally series. A Monster team driving a monster Mini. How appropriate. So the largest of all Minis, gets a pretty tall suspension lift, lots of rally development and also receives a massive heart; a 3.0liter twin turbo diesel engine that pumps out 315PS and 700Nm of torque. This engine may be happier in a truck than in something that is supposed to be a Mini. Amazingly, the development and work done coverting the all-wheel drive Countryman into rally spec too a mere three months. Team Monster Energy X-raid seems pretty confident that the All 4 will be successful. The Mini All 4 is currently undergoing testing in France by team Monster Energy X-raid driver Guerlain Chicherit and navigator Michel Perin after which is will be off to its first rally event. The All 4 will make its maiden rally debut at the 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile that runs from the 1st to the 16th of January 2011. What I can add is that the All 4 does look like a neat looking Off-Road vehicle but then when you suddenly realize that it is actually a variant of the BMW Mini, the opinion changes quite a bit, and then you ask
  12. [extract] The ultimate Porsche 911 around is the GT3 RSR race car that Porsche and customers run in GT races throughout the world. This non-road legal version of the venerable 911 is the ultimate interpretation of the timeless 911 and for 2011, Porsche has come out with the latest round of upgrades to the 997 based GT3 RSR. First previewed at the recent
  13. Another year, another racing Aston Martin. This time around it has previewed their revised for 2011 Vantage GT4 that will compete in various GT races around the world. The Vantage GT4 variants have to date competed in the FIA GT4 class races like the 24hour endurance races at the Nurburgring, Dubai and at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium. It also competes in its own one make series, making this Vantage racing program a very profitable race car program for Aston Martin. The Vantage GT4 isn
  14. Formula 1 has a new world champion in the shape and form of Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver, who seemed to have started the 2010 Formula 1 season on a high, then faltered mid-season and then making a strong comeback even with a fabulous mid-season charge by Double World Champion, Fernando Alonso. Whatever the case, Formula 1 has a new World Champion and it was decided at the last race of the 2010 calendar, in Abu Dhabi last Sunday. I'd also have to add that it must be terribly disappointing for Alonso, who entered this race as championship leader. Finishing 7th basically scuppered all hope of winning the title. It is so frustrating watching the Alonso's race as he was basically behind Renault's Petrov, who somehow managed to hold up a two time world champion for almost two-thirds of the whole race
  15. [extract] Red Bull pulls off a 1-2 victory at Interlagos, Brazil and captures the FIA Formula 1 Constructor
  16. [extract] Fernando Alonso of Ferrari wins the inaugural Korean Formula 1 Grand Prix and is ahead in the Driver
  17. [extract] Sebastian Vettel finally wins something after dominating qualifiying and sometimes in the races itself but failing to capitalize on it. He came out first in Suzuka, Japan at last weekend
  18. Lamborghini and Swiss luxury watchmaker Blancpain have come up with a special edition of Lamborghini's Gallardo. This is in conjunction with the successful pairing up in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo one make racing series featuring the Lamborghini Gallardo. The new special edition car is called the Gallardo LP570-4 Blancpain Edition. A mouthful, but a nice mouthful nonetheless. This latest Gallardo takes the essence or the spirit of the Super Trofeo Gallardo race car and makes it road legal. The first Gallardo Blancpain was unveiled on the 26th of September 2010 during the final race of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo by Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, and Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO of Blancpain, at the
  19. Okay. The results for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Singapore. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari wins. Sebastian Vettel comes in second and his team mate in the other Red Bull, Mark Webber was third. The Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix started off nicely without a pile up. This is good as we all know the fact that this race is run like Monaco, a street circuit and the starting grid was led by Fernando Alonso, Seb Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Mark Webber. However, this changed when Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi suffered a broken suspension from a knock on lap 4. This first major incident caused that beautiful Mercedes-AMG SLS Safety Car to be deployed and some of the teams decided to make their tire changes then. Mark Webber was thhe first among the front runners mentioned and because of this, he rejoined in 11th but as we know, he made it to 3rd in the end. The thing about this race was that as it was a street circuit, the surfaces aren't paper smooth and the crash barriers are close. Overtaking isn't something easy to do and this enabled front runners Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel to actually pull away from everyone including Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. This and the fact that if the car you were running was on the harder compound that Bridgestone brought to Singapore could not match the pace of those shod with the softer compound tires. Hamilton and even Mark Webber found this out the hard way. Ferrari's choice to keep with their strategy meant that Alonso made a stop around lap 29 and so did Vettel of Red Bull. This round of pit lane drama ensured that Vettel closed up on Alonso but his efforts were thwarted by Kobayashi of Sauber-Ferrari crashing in lap 32, then his stricken car getting hit by Bruno Senna driving for HRT-Cosworth. This meant a Safety Car situation and a procession of Formula 1 race cars following it until the debris of the crash was cleared. In fact, right before this, Kobayashi caused Michael Schumacher to hit a barrier due to his aggressive overtaking move. Schumacher was lucky that he didn't suffer any suspension damage. Lap 36 was a sad lap for Lewis Hamilton. Fighting for position with Mark Webber basically caused him to try a move on Mark Webber but he lost out when they touched, causing Hamilton's McLaren to suffer from a broken suspension. This is the second retirement in two races for Hamilton. His championship title race by now is severly compromised. Prior to this in lap 35, Nick Heidfield in the other Sauber-Ferrari had tangled with Michael Schumacher and had to retire. Schumacher pitted for a new nose cone and finished the race in 13th , out of the points of course. Yes, a lot of tangling and crashing. I suppose this was due to the tight track and their willingness to actually go for it or actually racing. Right up to the end of this night race, Alonso had to fend off the charging Red Bull of Vettel and I thought this charge was almost saved by the burning Lotus of Heiki Kovalainen if not for the race stewards decision to carry on while the track marshalls move the stricken Lotus to safety. You also get to see Kovalainen asking for a fire extinguisher to put out the fire himself. A Formula 1 driver putting out their own car's fire. Quite unusual indeed. Alonso basically worked hard to win this time in Singapore, making this a consecutive win since his victory at Monza a few weeks ago. And the Lion City looks spectacular with all those lights and the good weather.
  20. The Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix that was held last Sunday was won by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Considered as Ferrari's home race, the win is a poignant one for the team in what was quite an event filled race this time around. Of course, by event filled, this basically means the mad dash to the first corner at the start and the pit lane tire change strategies. The start and first lap tussles claimed Lewis Hamilton who couldn't continue after his steering column gave way due to a come together with Felipe Massa. The planned tire changes which caused various strategies to be mapped out and this time, team HRT to be fined a good US$20,000 for injuring one of their mechanics who was adjusting HRT driver Sakon Yamamoto's radio during the Japanese driver's pitstop when the lollipop man released him off. The mechanic had to be driven to the nearest hospital to get his injuries looked at. What the outcome of this race was that Mark Webber is now once again Championship leader, overtaking Lewis Hamilton, who crashed out on the first lap, in the points. This outcome came regardless of the fact that Webber himself finished in sixth position. He was pretty frustrated as he started fourth, lost some track positions due to a bad start, then had a tussel with the Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg who refused to yield even though he was driving much slower than Webber (hey, its racing for position and finished seventh behind Webber
  21. After a mid-season break, the Formula 1 Grand Prix is back again with the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francochamps, a circuit both spectacular and emotive. The La Source hairpin, the downhill plunge to Eau Rouge, the forest setting and the longest lap distance in the Formula 1 World Championship which according to the Formula 1 drivers, a fabulous track to race on and a fantastic race for us to watch. This time, Lewis Hamilton driving the McLaren wins the pretty damp and wet race. The start was good for Hamilton, passing pole position Mark Webber of Red Bull. Then sometime on lap 2 it started raining causing havoc and cars were everywhere, on and off the track causing a Safety Car to be called out. Rubens Barrichello (his 300th F1 race by the way) driving for Williams retired due to a crash. The incredible thing was that it only rained for a short period causing those who changed tires to the intermediate compound during the Safety Car period to suffer as the track started drying soon enough. One driver who suffered badly was Fernando Alonso, who suffered from the Barrichello crash and two tire changes in a short period caused any chances of a podium for him to disappear. Hamilton slowly but surely pulling away from second placed Jenson Button (Petronas Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull). Vettel on lap 17 was caught out by some water on the track at the final chicane, lost control, zig zagged and drove right smack into the Mercedes of Button. The Red Bull really speared its way into the Mercedes destroying the car's radiator, Button could therefore not continue. Vettel pitted for a new front wing and was later handed a drive-through penalty. Tough luck as both as championship contenders. Hamilton sometime after lap 36 nearly hit the barriers as it started getting wet again and nearly everyone had to pit for wet tires. By then, Hamilton was still in the lead, Mark Webber second, Kubica of Renault third with Filipe Massa of Ferrari in fourth. In fact the rain made proper havoc after that. In lap 39, Alonso spun and the Ferrari stalled right smack in the middle of the track. This prompted another safety car as Alonso could not get it moving again (Formula 1 cars do not have a starter and has to be started by a race engineer). Three championship contenders were now out at this time. Alonso with his spin, Button after being taken out by Vettel and Vettel himself out of the points due to his crash and drive through penalty mentioned above. By then, even after the restart of the race Hamilton had managed to pull away from Webber all the way to the finish. This has enabled him to garner the first place's 25 points, making him the current leader in the Drivers' Championship. This isn't a comfortable lead as Mark Webber trails by a mere 3 points. This is Lewis Hamilton's first victory at Spa, a milestone for him of sorts. The drive and driver of the day has to go to Michael Schumacher. He started in 21st place due to a penalty. He made it all the way to 6th position before being pipped by his team mate Nico Rosberg (who also started quite far back in 14th) in the final laps of the race. Amazing drive from Schummi anyway. Hats off to the man. The Results 01 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1hr29.04.268 02 Mark Webber RBR-Renault +1.5 secs 03 Robert Kubica Renault +3.4 secs 04 Felipe Massa Ferrari +8.2 secs 05 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +9.0 secs 06 Nico Rosberg Petronas Mercedes GP +12.3 secs 07 Michael Schumacher Petronas Mercedes GP +15.5 secs 08 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari +16.6 secs 09 Vitaly Petrov Renault +23.8 secs 10 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari +29.4 secs 11 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +34.8 secs 12 Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari +36.0 secs 13 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari +39.8 secs 14 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 Lap 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault +1 Lap 16 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +1 Lap 17 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth +1 Lap 18 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +1 Lap 19 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth +1 Lap 20 Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth +2 Lap Did Not Finish Fernando Alonso Ferrari +7 Lap Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +29 Laps Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth +39 Laps Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 43 laps -Barrichello DNF photos:planetf1
  22. Somehow Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull seems to start in pole position but fail to capitalize on this. At the Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix last Sunday, his team mate, Mark Webber was instead the victor. With Lewis Hamilton of McLaren crashing out of the race, it looks like the championship chase is still an open book too. The race basically got on to a usual 'follow the leader' kind of opening lap but there was an incident that shook things up a little in lap 17. The Petronas Mercedes of Nico Rosberg lost a wheel right (below) after he pitted for a tire change. Upon pulling out the tire started detaching itself from the car and nearly hit some other team's pit crew. He was in sixth before the incident. Pit lane incidents seem to be in abundance in Hungary, Robert Kubica of Renault was released too early by his lollipop man and he ran into Force India's Adrian Sutil just as he was about to enter the pit entry box. Due to this the Force India car couldn't continue but Renault was able to send Kubica out again where the race stewards slapped on him a 10-second stop-go penalty for an unsafe release from the pits. There was a safety car incident that also allowed Lewis Hamilton to take the lead, but on lap 24 his transmission gave way on turn three. This makes it the second retirement suffered by the McLaren driver. This and another incident played things out to Mark Webber who was by this time running in fourth position. The incident in question is when the race stewards decided that Sebastian Vettel had to receive a 5 second drive through penalty for exceeding 10 cars lengths behind the safety car. Being the race leader at one point of the race, he had backed up the pack of cars too far from the safety car which was about to pull in to the pit lane. Mark Webber also emerged the victor due to staying out longer as everyone pitted due to the safety car. Pulling fast laps somehow ensured that when he pitted for the second time, he still had a good 20seconds lead over the number two, Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari (which seem to be quietly performing after last week's team orders fiasco). Results 1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1h41:05.571 2. Alonso Ferrari + 17.821 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 19.252 4. Massa Ferrari + 27.474 5. Petrov Renault + 1:13.100 6. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1:16.700 7. De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 8. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1 lap 9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 11. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap 12. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 13. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 14. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 3 laps 15. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth + 3 laps 16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps 17. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps 18. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 4 laps 19. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps Did not finish Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 25 lap Kubica Renault 25 Rosberg Mercedes 17 Sutil Force India-Mercedes 17 Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2 photos: planetf1
  23. The N. technology Porsche Panamera S has won a Superstars race at the Mugello circuit in Italy on debut. Driven by Fabrizio Giovanardi, the N.Technology Panamera posted a time of 28:55.886, which was 2.083 seconds faster than the runner up. Unfortunately, during the second race, Giovanardi was involved in an accident that affected the car's steering and knocked it out of contention. According to team principal Mauro Sipsz, "We are of course happy and very satisfied with the results: pole position and victory in Race 1, a good loot for the debut of our newest car!" The N.Technology Panamera features a lightweight aluminum space frame, aerodynamic styling, and carbon fiber brakes. It is powered by a 450 hp 4.8-liter V8 engine which produces 50 hp more than the standard car.
  24. Ferrari has a 1-2 victory at the German Formula 1 Grand Prix at Hockenheim and Ferrari should not be proud about it. The reason was that Felipe Massa, after fighting tooth and nail for P1 against team mate Fernando Alonso and pole sitter Seb Vettel in the early stages of the race had to 'give way' to Alonso, letting Alonso win for the sake of the points in the driver's championship. I have just watched Scuderia Ferrari commit what was supposedly banned (team orders) in F1 by the most cunning way where Massa's engineer had said "So Fernando is faster than you? Can you confirm you understand that message?". Now of course Ferrari didn't say
  25. The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli is a Ferrari only racing series comprising of F430s, 360s, F355s and 348s. It will now have another Ferrari added to this list; the 458 Challenge. This new race car was revealed during the annual dealer meeting held recently and will join the other Ferraris on the grid in 2011. The photograph above is the one and only official picture released by Ferrari at the moment. The 458 Challenge race car will be equipped with the same engine, producing the same amount of power (562bhp at 9,000rpm) as the road going version. But we all know that horsepower alone does not make a race car. The Challenge will be faster from revised gear ratios and a recalibrated 458 Italia flappy pedal gearbox, a lighter (thinner body panels, a more stripped out with greater use of carbon fiber and lexan replacing the glass) chassis and the usual uprated suspension setup. The suspension will have stiffer springs (as well as a drop of 30mm in ride height), single rate shock absorbers, 19inch lightweight racing alloy wheels and wider Pirelli slick tires. Brakes are massive CCM2 Brembos as used in the track only 599XX and it will also get the E-Diff electronic differential and F1-Trac traction control systems which were never used in Challenge versions of the F430 even though road going versions used them. All of the modifications enable the 458 Challenge to corner faster than the road going car which has similar power output. It will lap Ferrari's Fioriano test circuit in 1minute 16.5seconds. Two whole seconds faster than the F430 Challenge. The car is measured to have generated a dizzying 1.6g of cornering force. Somehow the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli may be even more lopsided with the inclusion of the 458 Challenge. In fact when the 360 Challenge car was raced in the series, Ferrari allowed the earlier 348s and F355 to run GT rear wings which increased aerodynamic efficiency, particularly rear downforce, in the earlier Ferraris. I wonder whether more changes would be allowed for the earlier cars as the 458 Challenge seems like a technological tour-de-force compared to the cars mentioned above.
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