After making its debut on Paul di Resta’s car at the 2013 Italian Grand Prix thermal imaging cameras look like being a permanent addition to Formula 1 broadcasts.
If you were on the couch for yesterday’s qualifying at the Korean Grand Prix you will have seen Mark Webber lock his right front. If you missed it, this is what it looked like from the thermal camera mounted on his car. Pretty cool, huh. Well, hot anyway.
[Thanks to Dylan for the tip]
This otherwise regular looking Audi S3 is said to be an early RS3 prototype. At first glance it’s hard to find much to support such a theory, but on closer inspection the front brake rotors are cross drilled and those calipers look very meaty as well.
The honeycomb grille beneath the foglights were open offering air flow to the brakes, whereas the same area on the S3 is blocked off. But the kicker to building the case that this is an RS3 is the reports from those snapping the pics who said the engine note sound much more like Audi’s beloved inline five cylinder turbo than any old 2.0 litre four pot.
Last year we heard the 8V RS3 is likely to come to Australia. Now, with more powerful offerings on the market from BMW and Mercedes-Benz we reckon Audi’s hand has been forced somewhat.
It’s expected the RS3 will be on Audi’s stand at the Geneva Motor Show next March.
[Source: CarScoops | Pic: CarPix]
Word is Toyota has shelved plans to put the FT-86 Open Concept into production. Officially, Toyota hasn’t put a comment on record, but reports suggest we won’t be seeing a chopped 86 anytime soon.
Supposedly Toyota’s product plans for 2014 and 2015 have no slot for the topless Toybaru. Although due to the fact engineering work on the production model had progressed since the concept was first shown in March it shouldn’t take too much for Toyota to get things back on track if they decide officially wreck the back to basics sports car.
[Source: What Car]
The Sebastian Vettel show successfully filed another episode this afternoon when the Red Bull champ claimed his 42nd career pole position.
Vettel (1:37.202) was two tenths faster than Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes AMG, 1:37.420) who had set the pace in the first two practice sessions. Close behind was Mark Webber (Red Bull, 1:37.464).
Sadly for Mark, he’ll be lining up from P13 tomorrow after his 10-place grid penalty handed down after his reprimand in Singapore.
“We had to take a bit of pace out of the car for qualifying, not much, but it was about how we would compromise between qualifying and the race tomorrow,” Mark explained. “I’m pretty happy, I could be two positions further up but that would mean, with the penalty, I would be 11th rather than 13th. It was a pretty tight qualifying with the two Mercedes, Seb and myself. Tomorrow’s race will be interesting, I will be out of position, but we’ll fight and come back through.”
Romain Grosjean (Lotus, 1:37.531) benefits from Mark’s penalty and will start the race from P3. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG, 1:37.679) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari, 1:38.038) will line up on the third row.
Felipe Massa (Ferrari, 1:38.223) edged out the two Saubers of Nico Hulkenberg (1:38.237) and Esteban Gutierrez (1:38.405).
Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso, 1:38.417) couldn’t crack the top 10 for qualifying—he missed by less than a tenth of a second—and will start from P12 after Webber’s penalty. But he did continue to outpace his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne (1:38.781).
“I’m definitely not happy with my position and when the gap to the top ten is so small, you have to also be disappointed,” Daniel said. “I would have liked to have been in the car for the full hour. However, compared to where we were yesterday, we have managed to improve the car, but we have not been able to make enough progress to be more competitive than this.”
The full transcript of the post-quali press conference featuring the first three drivers can be read after the break.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
While the rally world is busy patting Volkswagen’s Sebastien Ogier on the back, in the background and out of the spotlight is 24-year-old Norwegian driver Andreas Mikkelsen. The two-time IRC winner has the lowest profile of the three Volkswagen drivers but if he achieves the aims he outlines in this video that will soon change.
Mikkelsen had a charmed childhood with parents able to buy him whatever he wanted. That financial strength certainly helped him make a start in rallying but he eventually had to prove he has the talent to compete on the world stage.
This short documentary is well made and worth wacthing. It’s open and honest and has tragic story along the way. He is Andreas Mikkelsen and he is going places.
“You see, men love women, but more than that they love cars.”
–Christian McKay as Lord Hesketh
With that line, towards the start of Rush, we get to the crux of what brings the two main characters together. Take the comment to its full extension and James Hunt and Niki Lauda loved the challenge that racing presents. Both men went about their craft in completely different ways, but the fierceness of competition, especially against each other, drove them to their success.
Indeed the structure of the film is akin to a race, with Hunt and Lauda competing against each other off the track as much as on it. This ongoing rivalry binds the story together and helps build the tension until the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix which would decide the world championship.
The dialogue between the pair is, of course, part of the film’s success. Ron Howard (director) and Peter Morgan (writer) handle the two characters and those around them with great skill, bringing the viewer into the heart of their private battle.
Rush succeeds because of its authenticity. It’s true there are historical inaccuracies (there’s no mention of Hunt being stripped of his British Grand Prix win, for example) and clichéd gear changes to indicate increasing speed are rare moments of Hollywood overtaking reality. And, yes, the pre-F1 careers of Hunt and Lauda have been condensed and elaborated to make a better piece of entertainment.
Overall, though, the film is true very to the era and, most importantly, true to the Hunt–Lauda relationship. For the most part the action sequences are very well crafted and the use of modern camera techniques complements the action and adds to the experience.
The recreation of Lauda’s accident, in particular, is both accurate and gruesome in its detail. The scene with Lauda putting on his helmet for the first time after his accident is another example.
AUSmotive has been charting the progress of Rush for over two years now and one of my great hopes was that the film wasn’t a case of style over substance. We’d seen and heard enough from Ron Howard to know that wasn’t likely to be the case, but the jury was always going to be out until the movie was released.
Thankfully, Howard has delivered an excellent film. I’m not sure if I liked it so much because it was a well made film about a wonderful Formula 1 rivalry or just because it’s a fine film in its own right.
I do know that I felt compelled to send out a tweet to @RealRonHoward immediately after the film was over. He may not read my thoughts or care too much about them, but all I can say is thank you Ron Howard for caring enough about this story and the fans of Formula 1 to make a film we can all be proud of.
The final three hours of the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour race will be broadcast live around the country on SBS One. The race, which takes place on Sunday 9 February, will also continue to offer free live streaming of the event.
“Live TV will increase exposure for our sponsors, teams, drivers and, importantly, open the race up to more fans around Australia and the world,” said Event Director, James O’Brien.
“We are thrilled to reach an agreement with SBS to show the closing stages of what will be another highly competitive and entertaining race. Live TV It is an important step forward in the continued growth of the Event.”
Radio Le Mans will also return to offer live audio coverage to its legion of fans.
A total of 45 entries are currently confirmed for the race, including Craig Lowndes in a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 and Rick Kelly in a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3. It’s expected the grid will reach the maximum 55-car limit by the time entries close in December.
[Source: Bathurst 12 Hour]
The death of Ayrton Senna, almost 20 years ago, still sits uneasily with Adrian Newey, chief designer of the Williams FW16 used during the 1994 season. “What happened that day, what caused the accident, still haunts me to this day,” Newey told the BBC.
Controversy has shrouded the events of Senna’s death with Newey and Patrick Head brought before Italian courts to answer charges of manslaughter. The focus of the trial centred around the failure of the steering column in Senna’s car. While both men were originally acquitted in 1997, Head was later found guilty in a 2007 retrial. Head avoided a penalty due to the statute of limitations being passed.
Newey spoke about Senna’s death in revealing interview with The Guardian back in 2011. Then, Newey speculated that a puncture may have been the reason Senna left the track. “The car bottomed much harder on that second lap which again appears to be unusual because the tyre pressure should have come up by then,” he said. “Which leaves you expecting that the right rear tyre probably picked up a puncture from debris on the track. If I was pushed into picking out a single most likely cause that would be it.”
Newey didn’t repeat that theory in his recent BBC interview, saying “no-one will know” if a mechanical failure or driver error caused the crash.
“There is no doubt it [the steering column] was cracked,” Newey said. “Equally, all the data, all the circuit cameras, the on-board camera from Michael Schumacher’s car that was following, none of that appears to be consistent with a steering-column failure.
“The car oversteered initially and Ayrton caught that and only then did it go straight. But the first thing that happened was oversteer, in much the same way as you will sometimes see on a superspeedway in the States—the car will lose the rear, the driver will correct, and then it will go straight and hit the outside wall, which doesn’t appear to be consistent with a steering-column failure.”
Senna’s accident happened in only his third race for Williams, acknowledged as the premiere manufacturer in F1 at the time, coming off the back of repeat drivers’ and constructors’ championships in 1992 (Nigel Mansell) and 1993 (Alain Prost).
“I guess one of the things that will always haunt me is that he joined Williams because we had managed to build a decent car for the previous three years and he wanted to be in the team he thought built the best car—and unfortunately that ’94 car at the start of the season wasn’t a good car,” Newey admitted.
[Source: BBC Sport | Pic: Williams/LAT]
BMW M boss, Dr Friedrich Nitschke, says the future of the M5 will include all-wheel drive. However, AWD will be an option only and the M5/M6 will still be available in a traditional rear-wheel drive format as well.
Those wanting all-paw traction for their M5 still have some time to wait. “On our cars we are thinking of all-wheel drive, but it won’t come before we get the successor of the M5 and M6,” Dr Nitschke said.
“That’s the timing and it’s not practical to react in the current life cycles. It would also be an additional option, not the only available model, because a lot of M buyers prefer rear-wheel drive.”
Nitschke revealed at least part of the reason for this move is to respond to the likes of Audi and Mercedes-Benz. “I’ve looked at the numbers and 70 to 80 percent of E63 AMGs are all-wheel drive in the US now,” he said.
Fans of the M3/M4 will be interested in these emphatic words, “The M5 and M6, maybe in the next generation they could get AWD, but not with the M3 or M4. Never,â€Â Nitschke stated.
“To accelerate out of corners with this rear-end architecture concept is so fantastic that it [all-wheel drive] is not needed.”
It’s not the first time we’ve heard M5 and AWD in the same sentence, but the expected time frame for the launch an all-paw M5 has extended.
[Source: motoring.com.au]
Subaru Australia boss, Nick Senior, says the all-new WRX will go on sale in Australia in the first quarter next year. It’s expected the transformation from concept model (pictured) to production model will be revealed at next month’s LA Auto Show.
Speaking to motoring.com.au Senior said: “I’ve had the opportunity to drive it and I think it will not disappoint any of those existing customers. I think it will appeal to new customers because of the changes that they’ve made. Everyone’s conscious that we need to widen the appeal [of the WRX], and I’m certain that this car is going to hit the mark.”
It’s understood Subaru Australia wants the WRX to be on sale next March to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the WRX first going on sale in here in March 1994.
“We launched it at $39,990, 20 years ago. It’s [still] $39,990 today—it’s an incredible value for money [story],” Senior added. “But there’s no doubt there’s going to be substantially more kick, equipment and technology, in the new car.
“We’ve still got—fortunately—six or seven months, and we don’t need to lock away pricing just yet… I think we’ve got to realise that there’s a fair amount of kit that’s going to be added to this car.”
So, we can probably expect the price for the WRX will go beyond the $40,000 barrier, but that increase will be offset by extra goodies.
Those of you who prefer your WRX to have the letters STi following will also be encouraged by Senior’s promise you won’t have too long to wait. “Traditionally it’s been a bit of a gap, but I expect a lot less a gap this time—probably only a couple of months at the most,” he said.
All we have to hope for now is that the production car matches the concept as closely as possible, even though there’s some evidence to suggest that may not be the case.
[Source: motoring.com.au]
Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have now officially claimed the 2013 World Rally Championship after finishing third in the Powerstage at the Rally de France-Alsace.
It caps off a season of dominance for the Volkswagen duo who have won six of the 10 rallies so far, and with three rallies still up for grabs (including Rally France) you’d expect the new world order to add to their tally.
Normally the nominated Powerstage is run towards the end of the rally, but for Rally France the nominated stage was SS1. Citroën driver Dani Sordo won the stage and collects three world championship points.
The only man who could stop Ogier winning the title was Ford’s Thierry Neuville, but to catch the Volkswagen ace he needed to win the Powerstage. Neuville, like Sordo a tarmac surface specialist, could only manage the two points offered for second place and with that Ogier’s title was secured. For good measure Ogier and Ingrassia finished third in the Powerstage and claimed a single championship point.
“I am absolutely overjoyed,” exclaimed Ogier. “I could give everyone in the world a big hug. The feeling is impossible to describe. To have won the World Championship title in France is an absolute dream come true. For the last few days I have been trying not to think too much about it, in order to avoid making any mistakes. The relief now is immense.
“However, I am also well aware that rallying is a team sport. This success would never have been possible without our fantastic team at Volkswagen. Whether trucker, mechanic or race engineer, I have to thank everyone. One thing is for sure—we will celebrate in style now!”
“It is possibly the best day of my life—and definitely of my career,” enthused Ingrassia. “If anyone had told me at the start of the year that Séb and I would already be World Champions with so much of the season still to go, I would immediately have told them they are mad. We were so close in Australia three weeks ago, but now the title win is a reality.”
It’s hard not to be happy for Ogier/Ingrassia and Volkswagen who have injected the WRC with a new enthusiasm. Nobody would have expected the Polo R WRC to make such an impact in its debut season, least of all the establishment at Citroën.
We’ll have more coverage of the rally over the next few days, but for now there’s some extra material from Volkswagen after the break.
GTFO!
A 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis #5111) has sold privately for US$52 million, Bloomberg reports. Unsurprisingly that easily gives it the title of the world’s most expensive car. According to Ferrari just 36 of these were made, which in part explains the high demand for the classic V12-powered coupé.
The buyer of the high-priced 250 GTO remains anonymous for now, but the seller is US-based collector Paul Pappalardo, who purchased the car back in 1974. Pappalardo is keeping tight lipped about the sale. “We don’t confirm these things. I have no comment,” he told Bloomberg.com.
London-based Ferrari dealer Joe Macari says the 250 GTO is the must-have model for mega-wealthy Ferrari collectors. “It’s a cult car,” he said.”If you’re a billionaire, you feel you have to have one. I don’t understand the appeal of them. They’re not very beautiful and they never won Le Mans. I’d rather have a Testa Rossa.”
Quite.
[Source: Bloomberg | Pics: Ferrari]