Another great TouTube clip here from DTMEnthusiast. Not so much DTM goodness in this one, though. No, it’s mostly Quattro rally footage, with a bit of circuit racing just so we don’t forget Audi doesn’t mind the black stuff too.
Make the jump and the clip is yours.
It’s been a bit of YouTube week so far on AUSmotive, so I may as well continue this trend with another clip of awesomeness. This time from the DTM series with footage from around 20 years ago. Cheesy pop, again, is the order of the day, but you can’t deny the classic motorsport action. It is first rate.
If you enjoy racing when it goes wrong, then keep an eye out at 1:20, 3:28 and 4:45 in the clip after the jump.
Here at AUSmotive we like to keep you up to date with the Australian MINI Challenge series. Now, with these videos you can imagine what the category would have been like back in the 1960s. There are two clips for you to enjoy. Both were filmed at this year’s Goodwood Revival held in late September.
Above you can see a highlights package from ITV where the racing is close, spectacular and the cars are really flying around the track.
Below, you can see in car footage from car #43. It makes for fascinating viewing, too, thanks to the Racelogic VBOX setup showing telemetry from the car’s progress around the circuit.
Enjoy!
[via MotoringFile]
Nico Rosberg is the first driver to be signed to Mercedes GP for the 2010 season. Blah, blah, blah, we all knew that was coming. But…
When will Michael sign? That’s what everyone really wants to know!
Eddie Jordan, the man who gave Michael Schumacher a start in Formula One, firmly believes the seven-time World Champion will race for Mercedes GP in 2010.
“The possibility is being actively pursued and I believe it is going to happen,” said Jordan.
Adding more fuel to the rumour mill, Jordan says the recruitment of Schumacher will be a stop gap measure until Mercedes can lure Sebastien Vettel away from Red Bull Racing.
Back to the Schumacher rumour, though. Jordan understands Schumacher is in negotiations with Ferrari to give him a full release from the Italian company. This would open the doors for Michael to reunite with Ross Brawn at Mercedes GP.
You can see the full interview with Eddie Jordan by clicking on the image above.
Mercedes, for their part, have neither confirmed or denied the possibility of what would be the biggest comeback story F1 has ever seen. “It’s clear that there will always be speculation as long as one cockpit is still free. And some speculations are nothing but dreams which will not come true,” said a spokesman for Mercedes-Benz.
Similarly, Schumacher’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm is playing down the comeback rumours, “Michael is enjoying his life very much. To me, a return would therefore be highly unlikely at the moment,” she said.
However, Bernie Ecclestone is up to speed on this one and has been quoted as saying, “It would be fabulous for the sport.” Quite.
The MINI Challenge action from Western Australia’s Barbagallo Raceway has just finished. And, like last year, Leanne Tander was in the thick of the action. In the footage above you will see the aftermath of an incident involving Tander and Aaron Caratti on the third lap of today’s Race 3. Tander, driving the Pizza Capers Uber-Star car appeared to be pushed wide by Caratti which forced Tander into a concrete wall where she made heavy contact on the driver’s side.
The 25 lap race was red flagged and Tander and Caratti were able to free themselves from their cars and it has been reported neither driver suffered any serious injuries.
Further mayhem followed at the race start. Now reduced to a 20 lap race there was apparent confusion on starting orders and several cars made contact before the first corner. The race was stopped again, with all remaining drivers making a clean get away from the re-start.
Race 3 was finally won by Nathan Caratti in his Glory Team Racing machine, with the Deco Rug duo of Paul Stokell and Grant Denyer filling the minor placings. Full race action can be now seen after the jump. The muddled up re-start can be found at the end of clip one, and again at the start of clip two.
Results from yesterday saw Nathan Caratti take out Race 1, with Karl Reindler and Scott Bargwanna following in second and third. Race 2 was won by series leader Paul Stokell, Chris Alajajian came home second with Nathan Caratti rounding out a great weekend in third.
If you want to see more MINI Challenge action on TV, Channel 7’s highlights package from this round will be aired across the nation next Saturday from 1:30pm. The final round for the year is two weeks away and will be held the new street circuit at Sydney’s Homebush Olympic precinct. There will be live coverage from thatrace, as well, so keep an eye on your local TV guide for details.
If you’re of the right age then Le Mans Group C cars will hold a special place in your heart. They are beautiful.
Well, if you do happen to be of that age then get ready to get all excited down below. At next year’s Le Mans race there will be a 45 minute support race featuring the Group C cars that will take place hours before the start of the next 24 hour classic.
Bob Berridge of Group C/GTP Racing explains, “There has already been a huge surge in interest by potential and existing competitors to race at this event, and we’re expecting a wide range of marques on the grid – from Porsche, Jaguar, Mazda, Spice and Mercedes, to Aston Martin, Nissan, Argo and Tiga.â€
If you’d like to find out more, check out the following sites: www.motorracinglegends.com or www.groupcracing.com.
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Given yesterday’s news, multiple reports tonight claiming Jenson Button has indeed signed with McLaren come as no surprise.
Button will hope he can maintain the image above and stay ahead of his new teammate and 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton. But, word on the interwebz suggests that Button is making a terrible mistake and will not be able hold a candle to the talents of Lewis Hamilton.
Whatever the case may be, you can bet the big winner out of this will be the sport’s rights holder Bernie Ecclestone who will be loving the hype generated by this news. Perhaps, the losers out of a Hamilton-Button driver pairing are the fans in countries like Australia who take the television feed and race commentary of BBC’s F1 coverage. Brundle and Legard are likely to be totally insufferable in describing the efforts of the McLaren duo.
[Source: BBC]
UPDATE: McLaren have confirmed the Button signing, you can read their press release below.
Hang on to your hats, the F1 rumour mill is about to go into hyperdrive with reports suggesting Michael Schumacher could be tempted out of retirement to re-unite with Ross Brawn at the revamped Mercedes GP team in 2010.
The speculation is being fuelled by two main factors. First, Schumacher has left his role as an advisor to the Ferrari F1 team. Secondly, with Jenson Button seemingly destined for a seat at McLaren the scene is set for an all-German dream team in the new “Silver Arrows” at Mercedes GP.
Okay, sure, Schumacher still holds a key role at Ferrari’s road car department which may scupper any plans of an F1 comeback with the German giants. But, the seven time world champion could almost taste an F1 return earlier in the year when a Maranello red Formula One carrot was dangled in front of him in the form of a part time drive to cover for the injured Felipe Massa.
In the end, that chance was taken away due a neck injury he suffered earlier in the year. Would the promise a full time drive in a new German super-team, headed by his ex-Ferrari master tactician Ross Brawn, be enough to lure Schumacher back to the sport?
Norbert Haug, Mercedes motorsport chief, expects to announce the team’s driver pairing in the next couple of weeks. He’s not revealed any concrete plans to offer Schumacher a seat, but has said, “I think and hope we can announce something in the course of the next couple of weeks. We will do a very good job in that respect as well I can promise you – and maybe we can create some surprises.”
I must admit I am not one of Michael’s greatest fans, but even I can see how spectacularly awesome this would be for F1 were the Schumacher-Mercedes rumour to come true. Please let it be so.
[Source: Autocar]
Ouch! Here for your enjoyment, if you can call it that, is 10 minutes of YouTube carnage titled “Crazy Finns Crashing”.
Seems noone bothered to the tell the Finnish the old motorsport adage, to finish first, first you have to finish.
Given the recent Jenson Button rumours, you have to wonder if we will see Kimi Raikonnen adding to this party clip in 2010.
[via TopGear.com]
The Guardian currently leads its sport page with a story declaring that reigning F1 world champion Jenson Button has agreed to join the McLaren team on a three year deal.
While nothing has been made official, just yet, it is expected the £6 £18 million deal will be signed off in the coming days.
Button’s reported salary of £2 £6 million per season is well short of Lewis Hamilton’s wage, which is understood to be a very healthy £12 million per year, thanks very much. Assuming this deal goes through, a Hamilton-Button driver pairing is sure to make fascinating viewing in 2010.
[Source: guardian.co.uk | Thanks to Mark for the tip]
If we’re to believe the spin McLaren and Mercedes will part ways under mutual agreement. The basics of this agreement were given in Daimler AG’s announcement of the BrawnGP buy-in. Now, McLaren are making happy family noises, as well.
A statement on the McLaren website begins, “McLaren and Mercedes-Benz are delighted to announce a realigned long-term strategic alliance.
“The agreement covers the next six Formula 1 seasons (2010-15) and also provides mechanisms whereby the partnership may continue beyond 2015.”
McLaren will buy back the 40% share owned by Mercedes, with the purchase scheduled to be completed by 2011. Interestingly, for the time being, the Woking-based outfit will continue to race as the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team in their familiar silver and red livery.
Reading between the lines it seems as though McLaren welcome the independence from Mercedes in the lead up to the launch of their new road car, the MP4-12C. While Mercedes will, theoretically, enjoy greater control over their new F1 team.