Category: Motorsports

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Formula 1

Formula One adopts ‘must win’ strategy

Lewis Hamilton lucky to be 2008 F1 World Champion?

Under new rules released overnight the 2009 Formula One world driver’s championship will be awarded to the driver with the most wins, irrespective of points scored. Were these same rules in place for last season’s drama filled final race then Felipe Massa would have been the one celebrating in the picture above, having won six races to Lewis Hamilton’s five. Of course, Hamilton sensationally clinched the title in the last lap, securing the fifth position he needed to win the title by a single point.

The familiar 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points system will be kept however, and will be used to determine the minor placings once the world champion has been decided.

The potential for farce is high with this system, although, such things usually have a way of sorting themselves out. That said, being used to the system that has decided the driver’s title for over 50 years it will be odd if the second placd driver in the 2009 season has a healthy points advantage over the driver with the most wins. Let’s hope natural justice sorts itself out and the right driver wins the title under the right circumstances.

However, if we cast an eye over all previous F1 seasons then this new system would have affected the results of no less than 13 seasons. Crucially, for Australian readers, Alan Jones would be a dual world champion having won the most races in 1979 as well as 1980, his world championship winning year. Thankfully the BBC has done the legwork for us and a full list of affected world titles can be read HERE.

In other F1 news, teams can opt to break free from the strict in-season testing freezes if they agree to limit spending in any one season to £30M. Hmm, can anyone see salary cap style rorting rearing its ugly head in F1?

Source: Formula1.com

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MINI Challenge

Denyer and Stokell return for MINI Challenge

MINI CHALLENGE - DecoRug Racing

Great news for MINI CHALLENGE fans with confirmation that Paul Stokell and Grant Denyer will be back chasing the 2009 title with DecoRug Racing.

Defending champion Neil McFadyen will have his work cut out with the fancied DecoRug duo determined to make amends for 2008’s promising, but ultimately disappointing, season.

Bill Gremos, DecoRug Racing team owner, is backing his charges all the way, “If Grant had remained fit, I have no doubt we would have won the Series and Paul would have finished behind him. We had a lot of bad luck throughout the year, but despite all of that, we led the Series for most of the way and Paul had a sniff at taking the Title at the final round. This time we want both cars to be at the front all the way through the year.”

It’s a great sign for Grant Denyer, too, now back to full fitness after his injury scare last year. “There is definitely some unfinished business I need to attend to in MINI Challenge and I intend to do that right from round one at the Grand Prix,” he said.

The 2009 MINI CHALLENGE begins in just nine days with practice sessions starting on 26 March as part of the  Formula 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix. A full calendar of races can be seen HERE.

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Audi Motorsports

Audi R8 LMS deliveries begin

Audi R8 GT3 LMS

Last August when the Audi R8 GT3 sports car was revealed you probably giggled with the excitement of a six-year-old like I did. Well, I’m pleased to say you can giggle some more as news of these awesome looking machines starting to reach customers.

Audi Sport Italia have been handed the keys to the Audi R8 LMS. The handover of chassis number 101, the first customer car, was made on Tuesday in the Audi Forum Neckarsulm. Emilio Radaelli, Team Manager of Audi Sport Italia, accepted the R8 LMS from Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich.

The R8 GT3 will make a dual race debut in mid-April with both the French GT Championship and the ADAC GT Masters starting on the same weekend (10-13 April). That marks the start of a long campaign for the new machines, with a full list of events available after the jump.

Continue reading “Audi R8 LMS deliveries begin”
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Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton drives F1 car by remote control

This viral ad for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was just sent in by massive Lewis Hamilton fan Wes Stubbs. It takes us on a fictional journey from remote control car nerds right to the heart of the McLaren garage, and ends up with the current World Champion driving his F1 car via a Bluetooth equipped mobile phone. It’s pretty damn cool.

(Thanks to Wes for sending this in.)

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Formula 1

BBC – Back on the chain gang

The BBC will be covering Formula One again in 2009 (no more James Allen, thank f***ing god!). For races held outside of Australia local television audiences will also see BBC’s return to F1 via Channel Ten’s coverage.

To get you in the mood the Beeb have revived their old F1 theme, The Chain by Fleetwod Mac. There’s only three weeks to go…

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Mazda Targa Tasmania

Mazda turbocharges Targa assault

Mazda turbocharges Targa assault

Mazda Australia is planning one of its biggest and best assaults on Targa Tasmania yet. They have signed 2008 winner, South Australian Steve Glenney, and thrown him the keys to a 205kW turbocharged RX-8 SP.

“I’m excited to be chosen by Mazda Motorsport to play a role in the development of the Mazda RX-8, and to be driving it in its Australian rally debut,” said Glenney.

“The RX-8’s a great-looking car, the rotary engine is synonymous with Mazda’s Motorsport history in Australia, and I’m confident of getting a top result for Mazda.”

Mazda and Glenney are hoping the return of the SP badge to Australian motorsport will bring a top-three finish. The RX-7 SP, the last Mazda to race in Australia with the SP badge, won four Bathurst 12 hour races in a row from 1992–95.

Also forming part of Mazda’s Targa team will be a pair of Mazda 3 MPS vehicles. Australian motorsport perennial Rick Bates returns in Mazda colours for the third year in a row. This year he will be partnered by Anthony McLoughlin. That’s the experience covered then, what about youth? Mazda, has that angle covered as well with the brother and sister team of Brendan Reeves and Rhiannon Smyth also taking the wheel of the MPS hatch.

Targa Tasmania 2009 runs from Tuesday April 28–Sunday May 3 and AUSmotive will again be there at the coalface in support of MINI competitors Andrew Robinson and Stu Jones.

A trio of press statements detailing Mazda’s plans follows after the jump.

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Formula 1 Honda

Ross Brawn buys Honda Racing F1 Team

Ross Brawn buys Honda Racing F1 Team
Brawn GP car debuts at Silverstone on Friday

The newest team in Formula One will be called Brawn GP. As expected, Ross Brawn has taken over the Honda Racing F1 Team, which announced its withdrawal from Formula One last December. Official statements from both Honda and Brawn GP confirming today’s news can be read after the jump.

The announcement from Brawn GP also confirms that former Honda drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello will retain their seats in the salvaged team.

“I am delighted that Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello will form our race driver line-up for the 2009 season. The vast experience and knowledge that both drivers bring to our team will prove invaluable as we aim to get up to speed in the shortest possible time to be ready for the first race of the season,” said Brawn.

The team will continue to operate from the Brackley base used by Honda. Brawn GP will run Mercedes-Benz FO108W customer engines. The first car, labelled BGP001 is understood to be a modified Honda RA109 chassis.

Brawn GP must now begin to cram as much testing in as possible before the opening race in Melbourne at the end of this month. The team will have just two testing periods—Barcelona (9-12 March) and Jerez (15-17 March)—before lining up on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix on 29 March.

For more on Brawn GP, check out their official website, which is expected to be updated regularly over the coming days.

UPDATE: Image added above showing Jenson Button rolling out BGP001 at Silverstone on Friday.

Continue reading “Ross Brawn buys Honda Racing F1 Team”
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Formula 1 Honda News

Barichello gets ready for 2009 F1 season

Rubens Barichello

In surprising news, Rubens Barichello is set to keep his seat with the team-formerly-known-as-Honda and is planning to line up on the grid for the 2009 Formula One season. Bruno Senna, nephew of triple world champ Ayrton, was tipped to replace Barichello and isn’t taking this latest news too well. At least, that’s what the Telegraph in the UK reckons.

Uncertainty has surrounded the ex-Honda factory team since news of its demise broke in December. Now, it looks as though the team is set to be taken over by team management in Ross Brawn and Nick Fry. Apparently, Honda just needs to rubber stamp the buyout and F1’s newest team will be confirmed.

The Brawn-Fry team will use Mercedes-Benz customer engines and, with just a few weeks to go until the season opener in Melbourne, they are understandably quite keen to undertake some testing. It is believed they could take to the track as soon as this Friday with some track time at Silverstone.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

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Formula 1 News

USF1 bosses introduced on Speed TV

If you’re a fan of F1 you’ll have heard a bit about the impending USF1 outfit, which will be based in North Carolina. USF1 is aiming to take the grid in 2010. Speed TV recently introduced the two team principals, Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor.

Not too much is given away during this 5 minute interview, however, more details will be revealed on the USF1 website later today.

To keep up to date with all the latest, keep an eye on USF1.com.

Source: autoblog

UPDATE 26 Feb: More on the above interview can be seen at SPEEDtv.com.

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MINI Challenge

2009 MINI CHALLENGE calendar confirmed

MINI CHALLENGE - Round 8, Oran Park

The 2009 Australian MINI CHALLENGE series calendar has been confirmed and, as speculated, the year will kick off at the Melbourne Grand Prix. Full listing below:

2009 MINI CHALLENGE CALENDAR
(TV Coverage in brackets – Live denotes single race unless otherwise stated):

  1. March 26-29 Formula 1â„¢ ING Australian Grand Prix Albert Park, Vic (Live)
  2. May 29-31 Falken Tasmania Challenge Symmons Plains, Tas (30m HL)
  3. July 10-12 Townsville 400 Townsville, Qld (Live + 30m HL)
  4. Jul 31-Aug 2 Sandown 400 Sandown, Vic (30m HL)
  5. September 11-13 L&H 500 Phillip Island, Vic (Live + 30m HL)
  6. October 22-25 Gold Coast SuperGP Gold Coast, Qld (Live + 30m HL)
  7. November 20-22 Barbagallo Raceway Wanneroo, WA (2 xLive + 30m HL)
  8. December 4-6 Sydney 400 Grand Finale Sydney, NSW (Live + 30m HL)

There’s new teams and new locations all set for 2009, but can Neil McFadyen prevent there being a new champion too?

Continue reading “2009 MINI CHALLENGE calendar confirmed”
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Formula 1 Honda News

Will Honda be saved by F1 virgin?

Will Honda still be f**ked if saved by Virgin?

With just six weeks to go until the 2009 F1 season begins in Melbourne time is fast running out for the former Honda Racing team to find a buyer. The BBC reports that there is hope with several buyers sniffing around the back of the Honda garage. One of those has been confirmed today as being Richard Branson. “We are negotiating with several buyers and one of these parties is the Virgin Group,” a Honda spokesman said.

While the team could be sold for as little as £1, the new buyer would have to stump tens of millions each year just to get to the grid each weekend. It is understood that Honda is willing to offer some cash if a buyer can be found, as this will be cheaper than paying out contracts of the 700-strong workforce.

The F1-Team-formerly-known-as-Honda has negotiated a deal to use Mercedes-Benz engines for the 2009 season, but the German giant has put a deadline in place for the deal to be finalised. According to the BBC report it is expected that deadline could end within a week.

Since Honda announced their withdrawal from Formula One speculation has been fairly constant that buyers are on the lookout for a deal. There was a strong rumour in late December that Mexican telco billionaire Carlos Slim Helú was prepared to be Honda’s saviour, but that proved false.

Also in BBC’s report is speculation that three Honda Racing executives could partner with current team bosses Nick Fry and Ross Brawn to form a consortium prepared to bail out the team.

With the season approaching fast, and the F1-Team-formerly-known-as-Honda still needing to undertake much needed track and crash testing before they get to Melbourne, I guess we will find the answer to this story sooner rather than later.

Source: BBC

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Formula 1

Red Bull RB5 explained by Sebastien Vettel

Red Bull racing new boy Sebastien Vettel talks us through the the new Red Bull RB5 which he and our own Mark Webber will use to tackle the 2009 Formula One Season. It’s a very cool clip with the rule changes for the 2009 season explained and accompanied by clever graphics. Vettel promises the rule changes will return more responsibility to the drivers and increase overtaking. Let’s hope he is right.

You can also see the clip direct from the Red Bull Racing website.

(Thanks to Wes for the tip.)