Category: Motorsports

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Motorsports Porsche

2011 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

2011 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

Over the course of the last week material concerning the latest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup has come our way from two different sources. It would be wrong not to share it with you.

First, from Porsche UK some pics and a press release telling us how closely linked the new Cup car is to the mighty 911 GT3 RS. The release says this is the first time this has happened, which means the Cup car now has a body measuring 44mm wider than the previous model. This also allows wider wheels and tyres to be used. The rear rims are 12″ wide, if you don’t mind. Oh, for the record, that massive rear wing now measures 1700mm across.

Of course the other key numbers to remember are 1200kg, 3.8 litres and 331kW (450hp).

Also finding its way to the AUSmotive in tray were a handful of images from Porsche Australia as part of their Australian International Motor Show press pack. Remember, the Carrera Cup returns to Australian race tracks in 2011. The GT3 Cup on the Porsche stand was one of the highlights of AIMS last week and if you couldn’t get along here’s a second chance to see what you missed.

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Audi Motorsports

Racing Audi TT RS shows class on debut

Raeder Motorsport Audi TT RS

Last week we told you the racing Audi TT RS, prepped by Raeder Motorsport, was all set for its competition debut at the Ring. That debut has now come and gone and the feisty looking TT RS managed to win its class (SP 4T), while also registering a top 10 finish outright. Not bad!

There’s more at AUSringers.

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BMW Motorsports

BMW getting the DTM band back together in 2012

BMW E30 M3

Think German Touring Car racing and you immediately think BMW v Mercedes. Such is BMW’s legacy on the sport, this is still the case, even though they have not competed in DTM since 1994. In 2012 BMW will finally put things right.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen has been twiddling his thumbs since BMW quit F1, but he’s excited about this new project, “The entire team at BMW Motorsport is approaching this exciting project with absolute commitment. We began making technical preparations following our declaration of intent in April, and established parameters for a high-performance vehicle concept for deployment in the DTM. The positive decision of the BMW Board of Management means we can now shift up a gear and give the green light for development.”

BMW will be using the E92 M3 as the base for its DTM entry. A car that has already proven its track capabilities with the M3 GT2 claiming victory in this year’s Nürburgring 24 hour race.

So, now we can look forward to a new era of Audi v BMW v Mercedes. It should make for great viewing. To help get you in the mood there’s a great clip after the break showing highlights of classic old skool DTM.

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Formula 1 Motorsports Volkswagen

Volkswagen to discuss F1 and NASCAR in November

Hans-Joachim Stuck

Hans Stuck, Volkswagen ambassador and former F1 driver, says VW has a meeting scheduled for November in which its “strategy will be discussed.” That all seems fairly innocent, but in late 2009 Stuck floated the idea of Volkswagen, or one of its many subsidiaries, returning to Formula One.

The regulations for engine suppliers in F1 are due to change in 2013 and it is then that the VW Group could become involved in F1, rather than as a full manufacturer. Porsche and Audi loom as the most suitable fit to F1, but perhaps we’ll have new speculation to ponder after this meeting in November.

Indeed, this may very well be true; according to reports Stuck has also hinted strongly at Volkswagen participating in NASCAR. Why?

[Source: World Car Fans]

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MINI Challenge

2010 MINI Challenge – Round 5, Phillip Island

2010 MINI Challenge, Round 5, Phillip Island

Apologies for the lateness of this update. In short, Chris Alajajian didn’t manage a race win, but he still pocketed enough points to take the Round win at Phillip Island and maintained his MINI Challenge series lead.

Defending champion Paul Stokell had his share of dramas and followed victory in Race 1 by missing all but one corner of Race 2 due to an accident on lap 1. A massive shout out to his Deco Rug team for getting him back on track for Race 3. He didn’t let them down, either, putting in a stirring drive from the back of the grid to cross the line in first place. It was that sort of weekend, really.

Highlights can be see after the jump, as well as the series leaderboard. Also included is a onboard footage from Sean Carter’s car. It shows all of Race 1 and is added with thanks to the MINI Challenge YouTube channel.

The MINI Challenge returns this weekend at the Gold Coast 600.

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Holden Motorsports

Another look at Fabian Coulthard’s spectacular Bathurst crash

Here’s a couple of new YouTube clips of Fabian Coulthard’s violent crash from lap 1 of the recent Supercheap Auto 1000 at Bathurst. The two clips were recorded by fans from the inside of The Chase and give a good insight into the crowd reaction.

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Audi Motorsports

Raeder Motorsport Audi TT RS

Raeder Motorsport Audi TT RS

This is one of the most extreme Audi TT RS examples we have seen yet. And for very good reason. It has been prepared by German outfit Raeder Motorsport and will be competing in a couple of VLN rounds at the Nürburgring later this month, starting this weekend in fact.

There’s not a lot of technical info about for this car, apart from a few mentions of using bits and bobs from the R8 LMS. We know the car will be entered in the SP4T class at the Ring this weekend, so we can assume it uses a 2.5 litre petrol powered inline five turbo like the road car (although there are reports the engine is diesel powered, too). When more details come to hand we’ll bring them to you.

UPDATE 21 October: Hi-res pics can now be accessed at AUSringers.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing preview Korean GP

RBR Korean GP preview

Back in September Red Bull Racing sent Karun Chandok for a first look at the new Korea International Circuit. In just under two weeks the new track will host the inaugural Korean Grand Prix.

Giving us another look at the newest race track on the F1 calendar is Mark Webber who commentates his way around the Korean track with a pesky Sebastian Vettel close behind. It’s a pretty tidy piece of animation from the Red Bull crew and let’s hope it’s another one-two result for the team; with our Mark taking maximum points.

Take the jump to see the preview in full.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2010 Japanese Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Japanese GP

Formula One action was all go on Sunday in Suzuka. Thanks to the rained out qualifying session the day before racegoers got to see a full qualifying session and a race all in the one day. What they saw was an unassailable Sebastian Vettel who topped all three quali sessions and led the race virtually from start to finish.

Our boy Mark Webber maintained his championship lead with a solid second place. The Red Bull duo still can’t shake of a persistent Ferrari challenge from Fernando Alonso, who also finished on the podium. McLaren’s Jenson Button was fourth, able to take advantage of more frustration for Lewis Hamilton; this time in the form of another dodgy gearbox.

However, aside from Sebastian and Mark, this race was all about fighting for the scraps. A couple of brain farts at the start ensured there were a few more scraps too, with Virgin Racing’s Lucas di Grassi reportedly crashing on the warm up lap. Vitaly Petrov made a mess of his Renault at the start—that’s him above, on the grass with half his car missing. And Felipe Massa continued to flounder by barely making it into the first corner. It’s a shame the latter two took some Force India and Williams collateral damage with them, too.

Local lad Kamui Kobayashi in his Sauber went on a late charge and provided plenty of entertainment and loads of heart-in-mouth overtaking moves. He made them all stick, though, and continues to show he has raw pace by the bucketful.

Relive the race for yourself by checking out our gallery below, with thanks to the F1 teams who offer great access to some fantastic photography.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

2010 Japanese GP – Post-race press conference

2010 Japanese Grand Prix

Red Bull Racing returned to the victory dais at Suzuka today with Sebastian Vettel claiming his third race win of the year. Constantly at the top of the time sheets, Vettel was the dominant man all weekend and started the race from pole position. Teammate Mark Webber completed the Red Bull Racing domination by securing an comfortable looking second place. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso took the final podium position.

With three races to go the title race now looks set to be a race between Webber, Vettel and Alonso. A solid haul of points saw Webber slightly extend his championship lead this weekend. He is now on 220pts, with both Alonso and Vettel close behind on 206pts.

The full post-race press conference transcript is available below.

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Holden Motorsports

Fabian Coulthard’s spectacular Bathurst crash

Fabian Coulthard crash

Today is a big day for Australian motorsport fans. Most of us will be hoping that Mark Webber can extend his championship lead in the Formula One title race at today’s Japanese Grand Prix. At the same time many will be keeping an eye on today’s Supercheap Auto 1000, currently underway at the famous Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst.

If you missed the opening lap of the Bathurst 1000 this morning it was an absolute ball-tearer. At least it was from the seat of Fabian Coulthard‘s Bundaberg Red Rum Holden Commodore. A minor altercation at the start line proved costly; it ultimately caused his left rear tyre to fail on entry to “the chase”, one of the quickest corners in Australian motorsport.

You can see the clip below and fortunately Coulthard walked away unharmed. He was interviewed by Channel 7 shortly after the incident and was in high spirits.

UPDATE: The full opening lap of the race, including coverage of Coulthard’s crash and subsequent television interview can be seen in the second clip below.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

Japanese GP qualifying washed out

2010 Japanese Grand Prix

It would be out of the ordinary for AUSmotive to feature an image gallery on a Grand Prix weekend before the race had been run. It would be out of the ordinary for qualifying to be cancelled due to heavy and persistent rain. But these extraordinary events have happened today, and when you see the pictures, mostly taken during this morning’s Free Practice 3 session, you will see why.

Heavy rain started to fall this morning at the Suzuka circuit and barely abated all day. Despite several delays to allow conditions to improve qualifying was eventually called off and is now scheduled to be run tomorrow morning at 10am Japan time (midday AEDT). The race will go ahead as scheduled at 3pm (5pm AEDT). Weather conditions are expected to improve.

As well as the pics below you can also read the concise and somewhat humourous qualifying report from Lotus Racing.

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