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Formula One pre-season – Valencia photo gallery

F1 testing @ Valencia

There’s only a couple of days until Formula One pre-season testing resumes at Jerez (10-13 February). To help get you in the mood here is a 50-strong gallery of images featuring pics from Ferrari, MercedesGP, Renault and Williams. As usual you can click on your favourite images to load 2000px wallpaper-friendly sizing.

At the completion of the Valencia testing Ferrari was showing the rest of the field a clean pair of heels, with Fernando Alonso posting the quickest time (1:11.470), just three tenths ahead of teammate Felipe Massa (1:11.722).

Alonso, in front of over 35,000 parochial Spanish fans, was pleased with his time behind the wheel of the new F10, “The car went well and it was fast; it had a good set up, too, which is positive.”

He continued, “It’s absolutely impossible to say where we stand compared to the others. To be competitive you need a reliable car and we’re on the right track. The technicians have lots of data now to prepare us the best possible way for the next tests.”

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Bathurst 12 Hour

Bathurst 12 hour to stream live

2010 Bathurst 12 hour

UPDATE 14 Feb: Click here to watch the race LIVE on AUSmotive.

Next weekend, for the first time, the Bathurst 12 hour race will be streamed live on the internet. The broadcast will feature full screen video and live commentary. Also included in the coverage will be some behind the scenes footage showcasing the field of over 40 cars.

The broadcast commences next Sunday, 14 February, at 6:30am – bathurst12hour.com.au

An entry list for the 2010 race can be downloaded HERE (124kb PDF). Further detail on the internet streaming can be seen after the jump.

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Jaguar Motorsports

Jaguar back at Le Mans

Jaguar will return to Le Mans in 2010

With seven outright victories Jaguar is one of the most famous names when it comes to Le Mans. Yet, the big cat hasn’t been seen loping around the Circuit de la Sarthe since the early 1990s. In 2010, the JaguarRSR team will put things right when they take to the track in June with their XKR GT2 machine.

Principal Partner of JaguarRSR, Paul Gentilozzi, says “We are delighted the ACO has granted us entry in the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans. It is a race that is held dearly in the hearts of motorsport fans across the world and for Jaguar to be racing again is something special.

“We are fortunate to bring an international line up of the world’s finest driving talent including Scott Pruett and Marc Goossens as our drivers for this race.”

This year also marks Jaguar’s 75th anniversary, so a good showing in their class at Le Mans will be just the ticket for the iconic British marque. If you’d like to learn more about Jaguar’s proud motorsport history you could do a lot worse than track down a copy of the relevant episode of Victory by design, hosted by Alain de Cadenet.

In other Le Mans news, 1992 Formula One World Champion Nigel Mansell will be making his debut at the 24 hour race in 2010. He will join his sons, Leo and Greg, behind the wheel of a British-built Ginetta Zytek.

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Formula 1

F1 @ Valencia – Behind the scenes with Williams

Images from Valencia via ClaireVWilliams

If you’ve been following the F1 testing at Valencia via twitter these past few days you’ll have noticed what a sterling job ClaireVWilliams has been doing. She regularly uploaded images via Twitpic, ensuring F1 fans across the globe got a glimpse of the action as it happened.

The best part, this wasn’t all Williams propaganda either. Claire proved to be a right F1 fangirl for the masses. Cheers Claire, looking forward to your work at Jerez next week.

A selection of images from Claire’s Twitpic gallery can be seen after the jump.

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Formula 1

FIA unveils new points system for 2010

Ferrari F10 uncovered

Formula One teams aren’t the only ones lifting covers off things this week. News has just come through from the FIA announcing a totally revised points structure for the 2010 season as well as new tyre regulations that will affect qualifying strategy. Further to that, the double diffusers that worked so well for Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing last year will be outlawed from the sport from 2011.

First, to the new points regime—instead of the first eight drivers scoring points, from this season the first 10 drivers across the line will be awarded points. The winning driver will now see a seven point gap back to second place, replacing the previous meagre two point advantage from previous years. The full tally goes like this; 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. The FIA says this measure should “further encourage the race to win” approach.

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Formula 1 Renault

Renault R30 on track at Valencia

Robert Kubica tests Renault R30

More pics from Valencia, this time of Robert Kubica putting the new Renault R30 though its paces. Although, unfortunately for Renault their car is a bit off the pace at the moment. Kubica was the slowest of yesterday’s eight runners and while he has improved on his times already in day 2 of testing at Valencia he is still over 3 seconds from the head of the pack.

These are early days yet and Chief Race Engineer, Alan Permane,is cautiously optimistic, “A fairly positive first day of running with the R30 with Robert in the car. We concentrated on putting mileage on the car and spent time getting Robert comfortable in the car.”

Kubica will be the only Renault driver on track today, with Vitaly Petrov getting his first taste of serious F1 action in tomorrow’s final testing day.

If you want to keep up to date with the on track action, sign up to the AUSmotive F1 list on twitter. You’ll see all the latest tweets from team bosses and journos who are currently trackside.

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Michael Schumacher returns to F1 at Valencia

MercedesGP - Valencia day 1

Michael Schumacher is back! His eagerly anticipated return to Formula One with MercedesGP took its first step overnight with the season’s first test session, held at Valenicia.

Speaking at the end of the day Schumacher, who set the third fastest time, said “It was a perfect rollout for the new car today. I felt totally comfortable and really had a feeling that everything was very natural. It felt just like at the very beginning of my career in 1991 when on the first lap, I thought ‘wow that was really fast’ and then on the second lap, I was just extremely excited. I feel like a young boy again and really enjoyed myself out there.

“We did a good job today, just making a few control checks, and the most important thing was that the car ran reliably. With Nico and I covering 79 laps between us, it was a superb job by the team.”

A full list of times from day 1 can be seen here (there were only 8 runners). There are two more days remaining on the Valencia testing schedule. Nico Rosberg will be the only MercedesGP driver to take to the track tomorrow, while Schumacher will return on day 3.

After the jump you will find more pics of Schumacher on track and in pit lane, along with statements from teammate Nico Rosberg and Team Principal Ross Brawn.

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Formula 1

2010 F1 season shakes down at Valencia

MercedesGP W01

The first official testing session for the 2010 Formula One season is currently underway at Valencia. If you don’t mind a tweet before bedtime, not only can you follow AUSmotive, you can also keep up to date with the latest F1 news via the AUSmotive F1 list.

This first test session marks the first time many of the 2010 F1 cars will be seen in public, including the MercedesGP W01 shown above.

There will be just four pre-season tests before the first race in Bahrain on 14 March. The ban on in-season testing remains in place for the 2010 season.

The current testing schedule at Valenica is open until Wednesday (3 February). Following test sessions include two windows at Jerez (10-13 and 17-20 February) before a final run at Barcelona (25-28 February).

UPDATE: A list of times from day 1 of testing is available after the jump.

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Formula 1 Renault

Renault unveils 2010 F1 car

Renault R30 - 2010 F1 car

The wraps came off Renault’s new R30 at Valenica overnight. It looks pretty much as expected, and this car marks the start of a new era for Renault. In 2010 the team starts under a radically revised ownership regime and with two new drivers the team can now go forward and forge a new identity far removed from the shadow of the 2008 ‘crashgate‘ scandal.

We already knew that Robert Kubica was on board with Renault for the 2010 season and now the strong rumours of being joined by the first Russian in Formula One have been confirmed with the announcement of 25-year-old Vitaly Petrov as Renault’s second driver.

Reminiscent of previous Jordan paint schemes, the new R30 looks great, although Renault will be hoping it can fill the sponsorship void sooner, rather than later. There’s plenty of images of the R30 available after the jump, although so far all manufacturers have remained coy about showing the rear of their cars. I guess we’ll get a look at the rear diffusers later today during testing.

In addition to the pics there’s press statements from the major players and a YouTube clip showing off the new R30. When you’re done looking at all this why not take a peak at the new Renault F1 website.

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Formula 1 Renault

Renault R30 images leaked

Renault R30 - 2010 F1 car

There’s only a few hours to go until the new Renault R30 is revealed to the public in Valencia, but, already images of the 2010 F1 racecar have been leaked. In actual fact, according to French website ToileF1, the pics were leaked by Renault themselves who hit the “go live” button on their 2010 website a little too early. Whatever the reason, if the the striking colours of the Renault livery shown here are accurate, their cars will look great on the 2010 grid.

In other news, it is expected Renault will announce Russian driver Vitaly Petrov as Robert Kubica‘s teammate at today’s launch.

Peter Sauber will also be launching his team’s new look at Valenica today, ahead of tomorrow’s first official test session.

[Source: ToileF1.com via andyblackmore]

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Formula 1

A sneak peak at the Williams FW32

Williams FW32 spy shot

The Williams F1 team aren’t due to reveal the FW32, their 2010 racecar, until Monday’s first 2010 test session at Valencia. But that hasn’t stopped a couple of intrepid wannabe spies from posting some spy footage to YouTube (available below after the break). The video was filmed recently at Silverstone and shows the car being unloaded from its transporter before technicians worked on the car from a makeshift tent. The team’s rookie driver Nico Hülkenberg then took the FW32 for a brief shakedown. Watch the clip and tell me what you reckon of the car’s engine note.

All eyes to Valenica then, which will see the reveal of the Sauber and Renault cars tomorrow before official testing begins on Monday. That’s when we will see the FW32, officially, for the first time, along with the new Mercedes GP silver arrows.

In other news Williams have signed 20-year-old Finn Valtteri Bottas as the team’s test driver.

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Formula 1 McLaren

McLaren unveils 2010 F1 car

McLaren MP4-25 launch

Last night Vodafone McLaren Mercedes launched their 2010 Formula One racecar, the MP4-25. The event was covered live on McLaren’s website and if you missed it you can see some highlights jump. The clip features brief interviews with drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, as well as team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

Aside from Michael Schumacher the McLaren story for 2010 is one of the most eagerly anticipated. How will Jenson Button go now that he has moved into Lewis’ digs? Can the two work together in harmony. For now, both men are talking up their friendship. Let’s wait and see if they’re still singing from the same hymn sheet on 14 November after the last race of the year in Abu Dhabi.

For more on the MP4-25 check out McLaren’s online press pack.

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