Year: 2011

A quick guide to Pirelli’s Formula One tyres

Post author By Liam
Post date 25 March, 2011
6 Comments on A quick guide to Pirelli’s Formula One tyres

First filed 19 March.

Ahead of ~~next~~ this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix the sport’s new new tyre supplier Pirelli has announced it will use coloured labelling on the sidewalls to differentiate between its different tyres during the 2011 Formula One season.

At each Grand Prix four types of tyres will be available; wets, intermediates, primes and options. The prime and option tyres are slicks and will be nominated before every race from a range four different compounds; supersoft, soft, medium and hard.

For example, the first three Grands Prix this yearâ€”Australia, Malaysia and Chinaâ€”will use the hard compound for the prime tyres and the soft compound as the options.

A total of six colours will be used to tell each tyre apart:

Wet â€“ orange
Intermediate â€“ light blue
Supersoft â€“ red
Soft â€“ yellow
Medium â€“ white
Hard â€“ silver

To begin with Pirelli wants to have at least one full step between the prime and option tyres. Meaning teams would not have the choice between the supersoft and soft at the same race.

There’s a series of handy reference images below as well as Pirelli’s press release.

News

AUSmotive hits the road

blurry lights

AUSmotive will be in go slow mode for the next few days while the editor enjoys some R&R in Melbourne. We should be back at full strength on Sunday and you can look forward to our Grand Prix galleries making a return for 2011.

Saturday will be AUSmotive’s third birthday, so a quiet nod and thank you to our readers for your support.

Formula 1 Holden McLaren Motorsports

VIDEO: TeamVodafone Bathurst F1/V8 driver swap

Post author By Liam
Post date 23 March, 2011
2 Comments on VIDEO: TeamVodafone Bathurst F1/V8 driver swap

Here’s a short film from TeamVodafone about yesterday’s F1/V8 driver swap at Bathurst. It’s a high quality production, too, so make sure you check it out.

[Source: Speedcafe]

Lamborghini

Inside look at new Lamborghini Aventador TV ad

Post author By Liam
Post date 23 March, 2011

The chaps over at InsideLine were privileged to be invited along to the filming of a new ad piece for the brand spanking new Lamborghini Aventador. They’ve been kind enough to share some video with the world as well, which you can see after the break. Imagine mucking around on that dry lake bed with a fearsome 6.5 litre V12 and its 700hp of fury behind you. Bags not cleaning the car afterwards, though!

[Source: InsideLine]

Tags Aventador

Mercedes-Benz

VIDEO: Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG coupÃ©

Post author By Liam
Post date 23 March, 2011

Mercedes-Benz has published a couple of videos to support the static release of pictures and press statement from earlier this week.

The first clip is pure marketing and not terribly exciting. The second plays on AMG’s relationship with Ducati. It’s better and has a nice early twist, but we’d still like less layers of marketing and more V8 rumble please.

Tags C63 AMG

Formula 1 Holden McLaren Motorsports

Jenson Button & Craig Lowndes drive F1 car around Mount Panorama, Bathurst

Post author By Liam
Post date 22 March, 2011
18 Comments on Jenson Button & Craig Lowndes drive F1 car around Mount Panorama, Bathurst

Today represented a once in a lifetime experienceâ€”the chance to witness a Formula One car lapping the legendary Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst. It was a chance the AUSmotive Editor was unwilling to let slip.

Shortly after arriving at the track the 2008-spec McLaren MP4-23 showcar fired into life in its pit garage. It was a sign for me to go to the top of the mountain. The section from the Cutting to Forest Elbow is what makes Mount Panorama so special, and it was here I wanted to see the F1 car in anger.

The Esses proved to be one of the better vantage points and after a bit of a wait Jenson Button finally came out for a single installation lap. There was another slight delay of 10â€“15 minutes before he came back out to complete his flying laps. Button’s quickest time, recorded unofficially, was 1:48.3â€”some 18 seconds faster than the current V8 Supercar lap record, coincidentally held by Lowndes.

I felt the sensation of speed would be greater across the top of the Mountain at McPhillamy Park and moved there for the rest of the laps.

Green Machines Porsche

Porsche opens order book for 918 Spyder

Post author By Liam
Post date 22 March, 2011
6 Comments on Porsche opens order book for 918 Spyder

Porsche has announced it’s ready to take orders for its hyper car with a green tinge, the stunning 918 Spyder hybridâ€”shown above in this new sketch. The asking price, in Europe, is a cool â‚¬645,000, plus taxes. First deliveries are due in late 2013.

Limited to 918 examples, all expected to be southpaws, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see the 918 Spyder offered for sale in Australia. If we did, its asking price would be well beyond $1,000,000.

The production version of the 918 will be heavily based on the concept car shown at Geneva last year. Indeed, aside from the addition of a removable one-piece roof, any changes appear to be minimal, The company is still claiming a sub 7:30 NÃ¼rburgring lap time from the 528kW hybrid powered beast.

All that power is provided by a 368kW 3.4 litre V8, with links to the RS Spyder, and a pair of electric motors providing 160kW. The killer blow for this car comes via its fuel consumption figure. If you play nicely and follow Euro testing protocols, Porsche reckon the combined fuel consumption rating for this astonishing car will be as low as 3l/100km. Further highlighting the car’s almost impossible to believe numbers is the predicted CO2 emissions of 70g/km.

We all know companies like Porsche like to offer a lot of options for buyers to tick. Well, the 918 Spyder is probably a world first. Buyers who sign on the dotted line for the hybrid model can also tick a box that will land them a specially prepared limited edition 911 Turbo S. It’s true!

Read all about that, and more after the break.

Formula 1 News

Australian release of Senna movie set for 21 July

Post author By Liam
Post date 21 March, 2011
17 Comments on Australian release of Senna movie set for 21 July

UPDATE 4 May: The premiere has been pushed back until 11 August.
Advance screenings are planned for Melbourne and Sydney.

Today is Ayrton Senna’s 51st birthday. It seems fitting, then, that Manish Pandey brings word on the Australian cinema release of Senna, which is scheduled for 21 July. The film will be distributed by Universal Pictures, so make sure to keep an eye out for screening details at a theatre near you.

We’ve run it a few times already, but you can watch a trailer for the documentary after the break. The film has been earning rave reviews all over the globe.

Accessories & Tech Formula 1

Official Australian Grand Prix iPhone app

Post author By Liam
Post date 21 March, 2011
4 Comments on Official Australian Grand Prix iPhone app

If you can’t wait for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix then you can help pass the time by downloading the official iPhone/iPad app. Well, assuming you have succumbed to the clutches of the Apple corporate beast.

After downloading the app last night and giving it a good test run it looks like it should be quite handy for those at home as much as those who will be trackside during the event.

Best of all, it’s free.

[Thanks to Andrew for the tip]

Mercedes-Benz

Post author By Liam
Post date 21 March, 2011

Mercedes-Benz completes its hotted up C-Class range with the C63 AMG coupÃ©. Here at AUSmotive we’d still take the C63 AMG estate on pure cool factor, but, having never really been fans of the C-Class coupÃ©, this new AMG version is starting to influence our position.

The detail is much the same as the saloon and estate version. That means you get 336kW/600Nm from the familiar 6.3 litre V8. Of course, if you’d like a few extra beans you can shell out for the AMG Performance package to increase that V8 goodness to 358kW, torque remains the same.

Coupled with a trick 7-speed MCT transmission you’ll quickly find yourself at the legal limit in around 4.5 seconds. The usual 250km/h v-max handrake applies for the coupÃ© as well.

The two door C-Class AMG hot rod goes on sale in July and after the break you’ll find all the pics and press material you need to tide you over until then.

[Source: Daimler AG]

Formula 1 News Red Bull Racing

If Victoria wasn’t a “nanny state” then Mark could have done this…

Post author By Liam
Post date 20 March, 2011
11 Comments on If Victoria wasn’t a “nanny state” then Mark could have done this…

Red Bull Racing, and most other F1 teams, do public promotion events all over the globe. The idea is simple, take a Formula One car out of its natural habitat, the racetrack, and bring F1 to the people.

It’s about promotion mostly, but it’s also about breaking away from the shackles of everyday life. Most of all, it’s about having fun. At least it should be. People like watching cars go fast and they like watching these highly skilled drivers burn a bit of rubber. Yes, it’s pretty pointless when you think about it, but it’s great to watch.

Last year, Webber controversially declared Victoria a “nanny state” and yesterday proved why. Is it that hard to put a smile on someone’s face? Webber played his part beautifully yesterday when he interacted with the fans that did turn up. But, the Victorian Government bottled it, and in a big way. Honestly, is there a lot to get excited about when an F1 car is harnessed by red tape to a measly 100km/h?

Just look at what the Germans allowed Sebastian Vettel to do in front of the Brandenburg Gates. In Melbourne, you get to pay your road toll and drive an F1 car as if it were a Toyota Camry.

The Western Australians didn’t object to a few donuts at last year’s Festival of Speed at Barbagallo Raceway. Fair enough, that’s on a purpose built circuit you might argue, but even the NSW Government let Mark crack 200km/h crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

After the break you’ll see some video highlights of what the Victorian Government should have let Mark do. What do you think, did the Vics get it right, or waste a golden opportunity?

Formula 1

2011 Formula One calendar

Post author By Liam
Post date 20 March, 2011
11 Comments on 2011 Formula One calendar

First filed 20 February.

A couple of weeks ago the FIA released an updated calendar for the 2011 Formula One season incorporating starting times for each race. You can check out the full list after the break.

Obviously, doubts remain over the running of the Bahrain Grand Prix; could Melbourne see the opening race of 2011? [Ed: Yes it will.]

UPDATE 20 March: A revised calendar has been added below, which includes the starting times for all races converted to Australian Eastern time.

UPDATE 4 June: Following the decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix, an updated calendar can be read HERE.

[Pic: Red Bull Racing/Getty Images]