Already the 2011 Formula One season is looking like it could be a Sebastian Vettel procession. Thankfully, there’s still another 17 races to go; with any luck someone else will get a look in very soon. This weekend in China, perhaps?
Until then, here’s 78 images from the Malaysian Grand Prix to keep you busy.
The the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli kicked off at Monza on the weekend, which meant it was the race debut for the new 458 Challenge. What better way to bring you closer to the action than by taking you onboard the new racer for a full lap of the famous Italian circuit. Stefano Gai, 2010 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli winner, is at the wheel.
At this year’s Targa Tasmania rally Porsche was celebrating two anniversaries, the first being the 20th running of Tasmania’s ultimate tarmac rally, the second being the 60th anniversary of Porsche in Australia.
The Porsche Musuem shipped over at least four cars to Australia to run in the event, including the iconic 911 SC to be driven by Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer; just as they did at the 1981 San Remo rally. There was even a Carrera GT road car on the Apple Isle during Targa. Clearly then, Porsche was taking this event very seriously.
You get the sense they were hoping Röhrl would write a fairytale story by winning the classic outright category, with Jim Richards to join in the winning fun in modern outright at the wheel of his 911 GT2 RS. In the end a driveshaft problem for Röhrl and a blown hose for Richards put paid to those hopes.
However, Porsche did have cause to celebrate when Rex Broadbent piloted his 911 Carrera RS to a fifth consecutive classic outright Targa Tasmania title.
After the break you can see how the Porsche media team captured the event over the course of the rally, as well as downloading three bonus AUSmotive wallpaper-friendly images. Simply click on any of the pics to view them in 2000px sizing.
Five sketches have emerged detailing the look of the new Audi A3 hatch and sedan. Next year the third generation A3 hatch will be released; it will be the first model built on the platform which will underpin the Golf VII and many other Volkswagen Group products. In 2013 the A3 sedan will follow, which we know will be launched in the US and Germany. We can only assume the sedan model will reach other markets, but this is yet to be confirmed.
We don’t really see anything in these sketches that we shouldn’t expect. The lines have been sharpened up a bit, but really, we’re seeing an evolution of the current 8P shape here, rather than revolution. Of course, we were given a big preview of what to expect with the A3 concept “notchback” at Geneva last month.
In case you missed it, British car show Fifth Gear is a couple of episodes into its latest series. In the latest ep Vicki Butler-Henderson indulged in a bit of ultra-violence with BMW’s cooking M3 GTS. It costs twice as much as a regular M3 and is powered by a 4.4 litre V8 and good for 444bhp. So, is it any good? When she drove the M3 GTS Vicki got a wee bit excited and, well, let’s just say she loves the car.
Check out the action after the break.
The MINI WRC Team was officially launched in Oxford overnight. To celebrate the occasion, one of the team’s works drivers, Kris Meeke, took to the Plant Oxford forecourt and performed a motorkhana display in his new MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Amateur video footage of that run can be seen below.
It’s all about development for the MINI WRC in 2011 and they will take part in a reduced program competing in just six of the 13 rallies on the WRC calendar. From 2012, though, the MINI WRC Team will be hoping the lessons learnt this year will allow them to challenge the established teams from Ford and Citroën. Meeke will be joined by Spanish rally ace Dani Sordo, so the driving roster should be up to the task at hand.
Rally Jordan takes place this weekend, then in early May, the MINI WRC will debut at Rally d’Italia in Sardinia.
David Richards, Chairman and Chief Executive, Prodrive Group, can’t wait for the team’s first race, “We have been working towards this moment for more than two years and it is truly exciting to be launching the MINI WRC Team and what I believe is the most stunning car in World Rallying, the MINI John Cooper Works WRC. We have an experienced team, a talented driver pairing and, most importantly of all, a strong partnership with MINI. We are now eagerly looking forward to demonstrating the performance of the car on its debut in Sardinia in just a few weeks.â€
More detail below from MINI motorsport, including a link to download the team’s full media kit. There’s over 30 pages of info to keep you interested. You can also keep abreast of MINI motorsport activities by checking out their website, which includes links to various social media.
[Thanks to Aaron for the video tip]
We just stumbled across this teaser that indicates MINI will have an official presence at this year’s Nürburgring 24 hour race.
The MINI motorsport website states, in part, “MINI will also be demonstrating its staying power in the 2011 motor racing season, when it faces the competition at the demanding 24-hour race on 25 and 26 June.
“Whether at Pflanzgarten, in the Carousel or on the Döttinger Höhe: this year fans can look forward to a new challenger from MINI in the ‘Green Hell’.”
Apparently full details will be revealed soon and we’ll be on the case as soon as we know more.
[Source: MINI motorsport]
The Mercedes-Benz comedy team is at it again and has followed up the “Compliments” ad with this new clip “Decision”. It’s a nice lighthearted way to illustrate the intra team rivalry faced by Formula 1 drivers. Just a shame the Mercedes GP team isn’t performing as well as these ads are.
Another commanding display when it mattered most has seen Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) claim his second Grand Prix victory of the year in Malaysia today. Most pundits wouldn’t have been surprised by first place, but seeing Jenson Button (McLaren) and Nick Heidfeld (Renault) take the minor placing probably raised a few eyebrows.
The Red Bull cars were again affected by their troublesome KERS. For Mark Webber, the frustration emerged immediately when his KERS failed on his way to the grid. Subsequently he made a poor start and was mid-pack after the first few corners. That he managed to climb his way back to fourth place should be commended.
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) have been slugged with a 20 second penalty after the race by stewards as a result of an incident between the pair early in the race. Alonso was lucky enough that the penalty did not affect his sixth placing. However, Hamilton has moved from seventh back to eighth, promoting Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber).
The full transcript from the post-race press conference featuring the first three drivers across the line can be read after the break.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Tony Quinn and Naomi Tillett today held on to win their second Targa Tasmania rally in three years. In their Nissan GT-R the 2009 champs carried a comfortable lead into the final day and drove well to secure victory by 3 minutes and 39 seconds.
Wet weather on the last two days certainly provided tough conditions for all competitors and many found their limits. Yesterday, especially, claimed many competitors with the heavy rain in the afternoon.
Second in the modern outright placings was Dean Herridge (Subaru WRX STi), almost two minutes ahead of Matthew Sims (Nissan GT-R).
Winner in the classic outright category was Rex Broadbent (Porsche 911 Carrera 911 RS), from David Cooper (Holden Torana A9X) and Nick Ellis (Porsche 911 Carrera). This makes it five wins on the trot for Broadbent in the classic competition.
Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) has nailed his third pole position in a row. The young German finished qualifying at the Sepang circuit with a best time of 1:34.870, one tenth faster than Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) who’s quickest lap was 1:34.974.
Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) could only manage the third fastest lap (1:35.179), despite regularly heading the time sheets during practice.
Crucially for Vettel and Webber they will start the race on the right side of the track. Previously pole position in Malaysia has been on the left side and has been changed at the request of the drivers who think the switch will offer better grip at the start.
The full transcript from the post-quali press conference can be read after the break.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
After another dramatic day on Tasmania’s roads it now appears as though the 2011 Targa Tasmania title is Tony Quinn’s to lose. At the wheel of his Nissan GT-R, the 2009 Targa winner has extended his lead in the modern outright category to over two minutes.
The Audi TT RS of Matt Close remains in second place, while Matthew Sims in a Nissan GT-R has held on to his third place. More fancied competitors such as Steve Glenney (Mazda RX8 SP) and Kevin Weeks (Lamborghini Gallardo) suffered accident and mechanical problems that put them out of the race.
It was a pleasant surprise to see the Porsche 911 SC of Walter Röhrl at the Silverdome this morning and he rejoined the action with a 20 minute time penalty following yesterday’s issues.
Andrew Miedecke (Ford Perana) is leading classic outright by 53 seconds. Brendan Reeves continues his stranglehold on the 2WD showroom category enjoying a lead of more than five minutes.
It was a better day for AUSmotive’s team leader Andrew Robinson too. While the MINI John Cooper Works is still failing to make boost Robbo was able to negotiate an otherwise trouble-free day. Importantly, all times were met to maintain eligibility for Targa plates and that now remains the goal for the next two days.
Televsion highlights from Southern Cross TV can be seen after the break. This includes footage the Alfa Romeo GTV accident shown above.