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MINI Challenge

2010 MINI Challenge – Round 3, Queensland Raceway

2010 MINI Challenge - Australia

At the end of an action packed Round 3 Chris Alajajian still leads the 2010 Australian MINI Challenge. But he didn’t have it all his own way. A qualifying infringement cost Alajajian points and sent him to the back of the grid for Race 1.

Alajajian made good progress in the opening race to finish in sixth place. Defending MINI Challenge champion Paul Stokell crossed the line first, but it was that spectacular accident from Kain Magro that grabbed the headlines and made news clips around the world. Magro’s car rolled seven times, leaping into the crowd on its journey. Amazingly just two spectators suffered minor injuries. Magro also walked away from the crash unscathed.

The second race returned to normal on track action and was won by a fast charging Alajajian. Race 3 was red flagged following Sarah Harvey’s rollover. It happened on the same corner as Magro’s crash the previous day. Despite heavy contact with the tyre wall, Harvey suffered no serious injury. These MINI Challenge racecars are tough little buggers it would seem.

Races 3 and 4 were both won by Alajajian, with Warren Luff and Stokell sharing the podium. In fact, Luff and Stokell finished in the top three placings for all four races over the weekend. Even though Luff didn’t win a race, his consistency and Alajajian’s lost qualifying points ensured Luff claimed the round win. Stokell finished the round in second place and in the process moved up the points table from fifth to second, cutting Alajajian’s overall series lead by four points.

Television highlights, driver quotes and the current championship table can all be seen after the jump.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber claims pole for Spanish Grand Prix

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber has set pole position for tomorrow’s Formula One Grand Prix in Spain after he steered his Red Bull Racing RB6 to a scintillating time of 1:19.995. He was the only driver to break the 1 minute 20 second barrier in the final session of qualifying. It is Webber’s third career pole, following the Malaysian Grand Prix in April and last year’s German Grand Prix.

Teammate Sebastien Vettel will start the race alongside Webber after setting the second fastest time, some 0.106 seconds behind the Australian. There was a big gap of 0.728 seconds back to Lewis Hamilton, who qualified his McLaren in P3.

Webber topped the times in all three qualifying segments and speaking after claiming pole he told he is enjoying Red Bull’s current good form, “Christian Horner (Red Bull team boss) told me before the session ‘you probably won’t get to drive a car like this around this track very often – so go and enjoy it!’

“Well, I did. It was a sensational quali session for me. Now I just have to go and complete the job. It has been a terrific effort by the whole team on both sides of the garage.”

The omens for a race win are good for Webber. The previous nine winners of the Spanish Grand Prix have all started from pole position. Conversely, this is the third 1-2 qualifying result for Red Bull Racing in 2010 and in all three of those races the pole sitter failed to win. Here’s to Mark putting that record right tomorrow night.

A complete list of qualifying results for the Spanish Grand Prix can be seen at Formula1.com.

[Pics: Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

VIDEO: SLS AMG Gullwing – F1 Safety Car

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing

MercedesBenzTV have just released a new video on their SLS AMG Gullwing F1 Safety Car. Bernd Mäylander, official Safety Car driver, tells us what all the buttons do. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg also pop in for a chat to tell us what a great car the Gullwing is. Remember, if you take $464K from under your bed you can have a Gullwing all of your own.

Check the clip in full below.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Barcelona

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber is back in his fancy Red Bull Racing computer game thingy. This time he’s giving us a preview of what to expect from this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. Well, apart from lots of fans for Fernando and a tough race for car and driver.

You can see the video below after the break.

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MINI Challenge

Another MINI Challenge crash at Ipswich 300

Sarah Harley's MINI Challenge racecar crashes into the tyre barrier

The MINI Challenge series has seen another spectacular crash at the Ipswich 300 event held at Queensland Raceway today. Sarah Harley’s car reportedly had a sticking throttle, forcing her car to understeer off the track and into the tyre wall. The impact happened at high speed and she was lucky to walk away with no serious injury.

After the incident Harley was taken to hospital for observation but was soon released. On her return to the track she said, “That was a really big hit this morning and it is a testament to the MINI and its strength that I walked away with just a bit of whiplash. It was scary heading into the tyre wall so fast I kind of tensed up and braced myself. It was a hard impact but all the safety features on the car did their job and officials worked really quickly to help me out of the car and secure the situation.”

News footage of today’s incident from Channel Seven can be seen after the break. The clip also includes a brief interview with Kain Magro, the driver involved in yesterday’s dramatic incident.

In on-track news the round was won by Warren Luff, who was making his MINI Challenge debut. Defending champion Paul Stokell ended the round in second place, while current series leader Chris Alajajian came home in third. A highlights package of this round will air nationally next weekend on the Seven Network (check you local guides for details).

Photos of the two crashes can be seen at the Catch Fence Photos forum.

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Lamborghini Porsche Targa Tasmania

Targa Tasmania 2010 update – Day 5

Jason White, Lamborghini Gallardo

Jason White driving a Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Strada has held on to claim the 2010 Targa Tasmania trophy. It is his second Targa victory and he finished 1 minute 5 seconds ahead of Ray Vandersee in a Skelta G Force. In third place was 2009 winner Tony Quinn driving a Nissan GTR.

The Classic competition was won by Rex Broadbent in his 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS.

A full list of category and class winners is available HERE. Tonight’s local Tasmanian news bulletin can be seen after the jump. Congratulations to all teams, crews and officials for their part in another successful Targa Tasmania. Next year’s event will be a massive one, it will be the 20th anniversary of Australia’s most prestigious tarmac rally.

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Targa Tasmania

Targa Tasmania 2010 update – Days 3 & 4

Steve Glenney crashes out in his Mazda RX-8 SP

Targa Tasmania competitors have just set off on the final day of competition. Wet and windy conditions are expected for the race into Hobart. Jason White in a Lamborghini Gallardo continues to lead the field, but as you can see from the pic above it hasn’t been plain sailing for those chasing him.

On Day 3 Steve Glenney was in second position when he crashed out, involved in a three car accident. Nobody was seriously hurt, but Glenney’s Mazda RX-8 SP was in no fit state to continue. Ray Vandersee in the Skelta G Force has taken advantage of Glenney’s demise to assume a comfortable second position. Although, his car had a full engine change in Strahan overnight and he will have his fingers crossed that there are no gremlins to be found during today’s final stages.

Last year’s winner Tony Quinn in a Nissan GTR is third, 2 minutes 16 seconds behind the Australian-built Skelta. Former Targa West winner Steve Jones, also in a Nissan GTR, sits in fourth. While the Vandenberg brothers, in a Mitsubishi Evo IX, have moved ahead of Jim Richards into fifth place.

For now, though, the Whites hold a 1 minute 9 second advantage over Vandersee. They’ll be hoping they don’t follow the path of fellow Gallardo driver Kevin Weeks who last year took a slender lead into the final day before suffering a bad crash on a downhill section of the Queenstown stage.

You can keep an eye on results in all categories on the Targa Tasmania results website. News bulletins from Legs 3 and 4 can be seen after the jump.

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MINI Challenge

Two spectators injured after MINI Challenge crash

MINI Challenge crash @ Ipswich 300

An incident in the first race of this weekend’s MINI Challenge round at Queensland Raceway has resulted in injury for two race goers.

A statement from MINI Challenge organisers reads, “Two spectators were injured and transported to Ipswich Base Hospital. The extent of their injuries appears to be relatively minor, pending full medical evaluation. Both were conscious whilst being treated at the scene. There were no other reported injuries.”

The accident happened after a car was involved in an accident and flipped into the air, cartwheeling over a safety barrier. According to the official statement the driver was taken to Ipswich Base Hospital by ambulance for precautionary tests and is believed to be uninjured. FoxSports have reported the driver involved was Kain Magro.

More details as they come to hand. The full statement from MINI Challenge is available below.

[Pics: 7 News]

UPDATE #1: A Channel Ten news segment reporting on this incident can now be seen below. It is worth noting that the Channel Ten report stating the driver was injured is incorrect. Thanks to smarm providing a separate link to crash footage.

UPDATE #2: News footage from host broadcaster Channel Seven is also available below.

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Targa Tasmania

Targa Tasmania 2010 update – Days 1 & 2

Tony Quinn, Nissan GTR

Tasmanian based Jason White in his Lamborghini Gallardo continues to hold the outright lead in Targa Tasmania 2010 at the completion of day two. However, it was defending champ Tony Quinn in his Nissan GTR who set the early pace this morning, posting the quickest time through the awesome Sideling stage.

Quinn is currently in fourth place, 54 seconds behind White. But the surprise packages have to be in second and third placings. Steve Glenney, 2008 winner, is second, 31 seconds behind the leader, in his one-off Mazda RX8 SP. Actually, Mazda are doing a good job of covering their three cars in the event, so make sure you take a peek at the Mazda Motorsport Australia website for more info.

In third place, 42 seconds behind White, is Ray Vandersee at the wheel of the extreme looking Skelta G Force. You have to respect the man who builds the car out there racing the car and doing very well.

News clips from the first two days of competition can be seen below and you can keep up to date with all the latest results, including live updates, at the Targa Tasmania results website.

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MINI Challenge

2010 MINI Challenge – Round 3 Preview

Chris Alajajian, current series leader, 2010 MINI Challenge

This weekend’s MINI Challenge round at Queensland Raceway includes a few firsts for the series. The most obvious is the debut of the John Cooper Works MINI Challenge racecars on the Ipswich circuit. In addition the usual three race program will be replaced with a four race card, including two races on Saturday and two races on Sunday.

MINI Challenge Category Manager Ted Toleman is looking forward to the weekend, “It is great to see a four-race format for the first time in our series. We have seen some incredibly close racing over the last two events and now the fans in Queensland will be treated to even more of this exciting racing. We have competitors as young as 16-years-old in the series and for the young guys there is nothing better than experience and track-time to help them progress positively through their careers.”

Another first this weekend will be the appearance of Sarah Harley, who will be the first female to race in the MINI Challenge for 2010. She will be joined by a number of V8 Supercar drivers, including Warren Luff, Luke Youlden and Dean Canto.

Steven Bradbury returns to the MINI Challenge grid at the wheel of the Pizza Capers Ãœber-star car and he hopes this experience will allow him to further his motorsport ambitions, “I love driving race cars and I’m counting down the days until I hit the track at QR. The experience I gained last year in the MINI, and having driven at QR before, will hopefully enable me to be quite competitive. I have longer term aspirations in motorsport and driving the UberStar Car is an opportunity that might help me realise those aspirations.”

With 16 cars to line up this weekend the action is sure to be fast paced and full of thrills. Can Chris Alajajian continue his early season speed, or will defending champion Paul Stokell start a charge up the points table?

A few press releases from MINI can be found after the jump and if you can’t get to Queensland Raceway this weekend make sure you book some time on the couch the following weekend for the Channel 7 highlights package scheduled for 8 May.

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MINI Challenge

2010 MINI Challenge – Round 2, Melbourne

MINI Challenge, Melbourne

This MINI Challenge wrap of Round 2, held during the Australian Grand Prix weekend at Albert Park, has been a little delayed because I was waiting for the television highlights. However, due to a few reasons it looks like the highlights package won’t be going to air, which is a great shame for the series.

On to the racing, then, and Chris Alajajian was able to build on his Round 1 success by placing on the podium in all three races. He has now established a 46 point lead over Sean Carter and Peter McNiven, both on 218 points.

Alajajian was happy to claim a win in the final race and is enjoying the racing so far in 2010, “We finished all three races on the podium this weekend and it was great to be able to end the weekend with a race and round win.

“Two round wins in a row is really making things look good for my championship hopes, he said. “There was some really close racing once again and I can’t wait to see what round three will bring.”

Round 3 of the Australian MINI Challenge takes place this coming weekend at Queensland Raceway (television highlights are scheduled for broadcast on 8 May).

More images from Melbourne and the series table can be see after the jump.

[Pics: Spherix]

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Targa Tasmania

Targa Tasmania 2010

Targa Tasmania 2010

Targa Tasmania 2010 kicked off in earnest today with the first leg of the event taking place. Wet and wild conditions greeted the field and while most crews did manage to make it back to Launceston safely, some crews are already out of the rally. Fortunately there aren’t any reports of serious injury, despite some very ordinary looking cars.

A quick shout out to all the drivers, navigators, support crews still competing, as well as the event officials. Here’s hoping they enjoy a safe and successful Targa for 2010.

Live updates from the rally are available from the Targa Tasmania results website. It’s not the most sophisticated set up, but based on today’s effort it seems to work quite well. You can also see some news footage of yesterday’s Prologue at Georgetown after the jump.

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