Category: Motorsports

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Holden Motorsports

TV Alert: Mal Rose Racing at the 2009 Dubai 24 hour

Mal Rose Racing at 2009 Dubai 24 hour race

Mal Rose is a name that many Australian motorsport devotees will remember. He hasn’t been competing much on the local scene of late. Internationally, though, he’s never been busier. Preparations are in full swing for yet another assault on the Nürburgring 24 hour race (21-24 May). This follows his team’s efforts earlier in the year at the Dubai 24 hour race.

This weekend on SBS TV Speedweek will feature highlights of the Mal Rose Racing V8 Commodore competing at the Dubai enduro. The broadcast is scheduled for 1pm on Sunday 26 April (check your local guides). If you miss this showing a repeat will be broadcast on Fox Sports on 13 May.

Categories
Formula 1

Mark Webber claims best GP result in Shanghai

Mark Webber

Australia’s Mark Webber has finished second at the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai today. In a big day for Webber’s Red Bull Racing team, he finished behind teammate, and pole sitter, 22-year-old Sebastien Vettel. The second place marks a great comeback to fitness for Webber who badly broke his leg last November. It is his best ever finish in an F1 race, after twice finishing in third place (Monaco 2005, Williams; and Nürburgring 2007, Red Bull Racing).

The win is Red Bull Racing’s first Formula One success, and the 1-2 podium finish is a stunning result for Christian Horner’s team.

Championship leader Jenson Button, BrawnGP, finished the race in third position. Comments from all three drivers given at the post race press conference can be read at Formula1.com.

[Picture: Rick Guest via Red Bull Racing]

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Motorsports Subaru

Subaru STi set for Nürburgring challenge

Subaru STi to race at Nurburgring 24 hour race

Subaru is taking a factory team to the Nürburgring 24 hour race this year (21-24 May). They will be entering a single Impreza WRX STi and have stated they are chasing a class win (SP3T).

Check out AUSringers.com for more detail.

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Motorsports Volkswagen

Its a gas gas gas

Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 CNG

Volkswagen will be sending a pair of natural gas powered Scirocco GT24s to race at the Nürburgring 24 hour race in May this year. They will be joining a trio of petrol powered GT24s.

The 130 RON compressed natural gas race fuel suits the turbo engines in the Scirocco and the cars are good for a smidge under 300bhp. The CNG powered cars will be headed by German touring car ace Klaus Niedzwiedz.

For more detail, check the full story at AUSringers.com.

Categories
Formula 1

Ron Dennis quits Formula One

Ron Dennis quits F1

A restructure of the McLaren Group, lead by Ron Dennis, has seen the 61-year-old walk away from F1 completely. This follows January’s news that Dennis handed over the running of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team to Martin Whitmarsh.

In his role as Executive Chairman of McLaren Automotive, Dennis will lead the the new sports car business. Effective immediately, Dennis has handed his responsibility as Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing to Martin Whitmarsh. This is in addition to Whitmarsh’s role of Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

Dennis, pictured above, at the McLaren Technology Centre with Richard Lapthorne, Non-Executive Chairman of McLaren Group, reflected on his F1 career at a press conference earlier today, “I admit I’m not always easy to get on with. I admit I’ve always fought hard for McLaren in Formula 1. I doubt if Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone will be displeased by my decision. But no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision.

“Equally, I was the architect of today’s restructure of the McLaren Group. Again, no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision.

“I feel enormously enthused about the prospects for the McLaren Group and for McLaren Automotive, and have no qualms about leaving Martin to report to the board regarding matters connected with Formula 1.”

[Source: BBC & McLaren.com]

Categories
Formula 1 News Renault

Don’t try this at home

A publicity stunt has gone horribly wrong for Renault at Dubai Autodrome. A drag race bewteen a Renault R28 F1 car and a Ford GT40 ended abruptly when the driver of the F1 car lost control and smashed into the pitwall.

Middle Eastern Rally Champion Mohammed Ben Sulayem, was at the wheel of the Renault R28 and remained in the car for some time after the incident. However, it is believed he has escaped serious injury.

You can see amateur footage of the incident in the YouTube clip above and then delight at the irony of the song being played in the background at the end.

[Source: Planet-F1] (Thanks to Wes for the tip.)

Categories
BMW Motorsports

BMW M3 GT4 set for Nürburgring race debut

BMW M3 GT4

The BMW M3 GT4 will make its competition debut at the 2009 Nürburgring 24 hour race this May. Although not an official works team, BMW works drivers Augusto Farfus (BR), Jörg Müller (DE) and Andy Priaulx (GB) will don their race suits for Schubert Motorsport.

For more pictures and extra detail, check out AUSringers.com.

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Chevrolet Fifth Gear Motorsports

Plato philosophical about great save

Fifth Gear’s Jason Plato is currently getting about in the BTCC in a reasonably priced car—a Chevrolet Lacetti. Something not so reasonable, though, was the tap up the backside given to him by BMW driver Jonathan Adam at Brands Hatch last weekend.

Watch the clip above to see the amazing car control shpwn by Plato as he keeps the car going in its intended direction, even if it was pointing in an entirely different one.

There’s also a brief post-race interview with Plato who found out that his bag of talent actually had a bit more in there than he first thought.

[Source: autoblog]

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Lotus Targa Tasmania

Lotus Exige Cup 260 takes on Targa

Lotus Exige Cup 260

Dean Evans will be gladly flogging the bejeezus out of a Lotus Exige Cup 260 in the Targa Tasmania event later this month.

With 192kW at their disposal, and just 890kg of car to move around it’s pretty safe to say Evans and co-driver Simone Bachmann have the ingredients to be at the pointy end of the field. Indeed the Cup 260 is good for a 100km/h sprint time of just 4.1 seconds.

Helping the Colin Chapman mantra of “horsepower makes you fast in a straight line, lightness makes you fast everywhere” to live on, this will be the world wide tarmac rally debut of the Exige Cup 260.

More specs and detail after the jump in the Lotus presser, and a rather tasty YouTube clip that shows what Dean Evans can do in a Lotus (if you haven’t seen this clip, I suggest you take the time to watch it).

Continue reading “Lotus Exige Cup 260 takes on Targa”
Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Jenson Button talks about the BGP 001

Jenson Button has just made it two race wins from two starts in 2009 at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Brawn-Mercedes driver got off the line from pole position poorly and lost the lead to Nico Rosberg. However, he was able to regain the lead before the race was cancelled due to a monsoon-like storm.

This YouTube clip, from BrawnGP, shows Button full of optimism before jetting out to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. Now, two races into the season, it makes for interesting viewing to listen to what Button has to say. You get the feeling that the strong pre-season form shown by BrawnGP left the team full of confidence. Looking at the subsequent results, you can see why.

A full table of results from the Malaysian Grand Prix can be accessed at Formula1.com.

Categories
Motorsports Volkswagen

Scirocco GT24 from the cockpit

Towards the end of last year Volkswagen Motorsport driver Jimmy Johansson took a few lucky punters for some hot laps around a very wet Sturup Raceway in Sweden. He was beind the wheel of the class winning Scirocco GT24 as raced in the 2008 Nürburgring 24 hour race. Here is the footage filed by Swedish website Sportbilen.

For more on the racing Sciroccos, check out AUSringers.com:

[Source: Sportbilen.se]

Categories
Ford Formula 1 News

You can take the boy out of Queanbeyan…

Webber drives Aussie muscle car

…but you can’t take the Queanbeyan out of the boy. No doubt, recent access to a high powered Aussie muscle car brought back plenty of Monaro Street memories from Mark Webber’s youth. Imagine if he had the keys to FPV F6 back in the day, he would have been the biggest show in town. Yes, even bigger than Barnsey performing at the Raiders Leagues Club.

Webber handed back the F6 to Ford Australia this morning, and says there are some things from home he always misses, “What a great car … this is what I miss in Europe … awesome Aussie muscle cars.”