glennkellt: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

Video: Moscow plane crash captured by car's dashcam

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Videos, Russia

A passenger plane attempting to land at the Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia crashed on Saturday, December 29, killing four of its eight crew members on board, according to CNN. The flight, arriving from the Czech Republic, reportedly overshot the runway and crashed through a fence, sending debris scattering across an adjacent highway. While it's too early for officials to determine the cause of the incident, authorities say pilot error, weather or a technical malfunction could be to blame.

Shockingly, a driver captured the tragic event on video via a dash cam. The clip shows the aircraft bouncing through a barrier before sending dirt, snow and pieces of the plane careening across the roadway and damaging cars. You can view the dramatic video below.

Continue reading Moscow plane crash captured by car's dashcam

Moscow plane crash captured by car's dashcam originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Dec 2012 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/31/moscow-plane-crash-captured-by-cars-dashcam/

Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot

PATRICK HEAD STEPS DOWN FROM THE BOARD OF WILLIAMS GRAND PRIX HOLDINGS PLC

WILLIAMS GRAND PRIX HOLDINGS PLC
Grove, UK. 31 December 2011

Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC (Ticker: WGF1) today confirms that Director of Engineering Patrick Head will step down from its Board of Directors with immediate effect.

Patrick co-founded Williams F1 in 1977 with Frank Williams and over three decades has led the team's engineering department. In that time, Williams F1 has won 113 Grands Prix and secured nine Constructors' and seven Drivers' World Championships.

Patrick will continue in his role as a Board Director of Williams Hybrid Power Limited, a subsidiary of the company that develops and produces hybrid technologies.

The company wishes Patrick well in his future activities and remains indebted for his service to Williams F1 over the past 34 years.

Frank Williams:

"Patrick and I have been in partnership for 34 years. During that time, he has been the leader of the technical team that has won the majority of our race wins and championships. This is a remarkable legacy and one which will be treasured and definitely not forgotten.

"Patrick is a very straightforward, hard working and truly gifted engineer who comfortably operates at a world class level. I will miss him very much, as I am sure his colleagues will, and he will always be welcome at Grove. Indeed, Patrick will still be seen around the factory as he continues to be involved in the development of our hybrid power activities."

Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2011/12/patrick_head_steps_down_f.php

Divina Galica Nanni Galli Oscar Alfredo Gálvez Fred Gamble Howden Ganley

Superspeedway Testing Key in Developing Rules Package For 2013 NASCAR Fusion

Ford Racing

• In preparation for the season-opening Daytona 500 in February, NASCAR teams participated in a recent test session at Talladega Superspeedway.

• The Talladega test represented the first on-track appearance for Penske Racing with Ford Racing since it announced earlier this year it would be returning for the 2013 season.

• The 2013 NASCAR Fusion will make its highly-anticipated debut in competition during Daytona Speedweeks, which begins with the Daytona Shootout on Saturday, Feb. 16 and concludes with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24.

DEARBORN, MI, (Dec. 19, 2012) – It’s only been a month since the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season came to an end, but teams and fans alike are already looking forward to what lies ahead next year with the debut of cars like the all-new 2013 NASCAR Fusion.

And while many will be taking a break to celebrate the upcoming holidays with family and friends, most race shops will continue humming as teams build and prepare the new models for competition. The primary focus at the moment is Daytona Speedweeks, which is only two months away, and getting ready for the season-opening Daytona Shootout and Daytona 500.

Besides having a new Fusion to run with in 2013, Ford Racing will also welcome Penske Racing back to the program. Car owner Roger Penske is coming off his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 2012 as driver Brad Keselowski captured the crown in only his third full season. The Penske organization, which also includes drivers Joey Logano and Sam Hornish Jr., got their first on-track work with Fusion during a recent test at Talladega Superspeedway.

“Ford probably did the best job in terms of what NASCAR wanted,” said Hornish, who handled driving duties at the test. “NASCAR gave them the opportunity to give their race car a little bit more of the look of the actual street car. If you basically slinked up your car and made it into a street race car, this is what it could look like. I think they did a really good job of that and bringing out the character of the car.”

Vice President of Operations for Penske Racing, Mike Nelson, agreed and said, “We’re excited about the Fusion and the way it looks. There’s a lot of buzz about it in the garage and in the shop, so it’s been good so far. It means a lot to the fans and it means a lot to us as well. It’s nice to be able to look at the street car and look at the race car and see the similarities between the two. They’re identical and it’s cool for everyone.”

That individual brand identity among manufacturers was a key element toward instituting this new-generation car, but questions about components like the cooling system was one of the main reasons for having the Talladega test.

“It’s been a challenge to get all the correct features in the car within the design parameters and still having the car competitive,” said Ford Racing aerodynamicist Bernie Marcus. “At the end of the day you can have the best-looking car, but if it doesn’t work on the track, that’s not going to be good so we have to have both. We have to have the looks and the performance.”

Finding the right balance that will allow the cars to remain competitive and put on a good show for the fans is NASCAR’s ultimate goal while making it to victory lane and winning championships is the primary focus for Ford Racing officials and its teams.

“There’s been cooperation to get to the end goal of making the cars look the same on the race track,” said Pat DiMarco, Ford Racing NASCAR program manager. “We’ve done that over the past few months and now we’re working towards our goal of winning the Daytona 500.”

Ford Racing has won the Daytona 500 two straight seasons and three of the last four overall. The next chance for teams to test their superspeedway cars will be Jan. 10-12 at Daytona International Speedway.

Video of the Talladega test can be found at this link: http://youtu.be/EH4eAaveihU

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 168,000 employees and about 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.

Source: PCGCampball for Ford Racing, Press Release

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Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney

Report: Renault will have new Alpine ready by end of 2015

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Renault

We earlier reported that Renault's revival of the Alpine name would take four years. But Stephen Norman, head of marketing for Renault, says to expect the first new Alpine sometime before the end of 2015.

Norman also tells Autocar that the Alpine jointly developed with Caterham "won't be more hardcore than a Mazda MX-5." He went on to say we should expect a competitor for the Porsche Boxster and high-performance Audi TTS. "You can't betray the DNA of Alpine," Norman says. "That's a third of what the car will be."

But the executive also says its DNA is certainly French, "It must be light and look different, and have a touch of French Dash. It's not a car for dandies, though." Norman says the target buyer is either French or a Francophile.

The French-styled, Miata-like, Boxter competitor is expected to have a price tag around £50,000 and is predicted to have a 250-horsepower Renault engine.

Renault will have new Alpine ready by end of 2015 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Dec 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/31/renault-will-have-new-alpine-ready-by-end-of-2015/

Dave Kennedy Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler Nicolas Kiesa Leo Kinnunen

Pic: No pressure to score in 2013

Charles Pic does not believe his Caterham team is under pressure to score its first point in the 2013 season as long as it improves over last season’s performance.

The team has finished 10th in the constructors’ championship in the three years it has been in Formula 1, beating fellow new teams Marussia and HRT since the 2010 season.

Its best result to date, however, is an 11th place in the season finale in Brazil last month.

Although Caterham boss Cyril Abiteboul said the team cannot be satisfied with 10th place anymore, Pic reckons there is no huge pressure to finally get a point next season.

“Caterham have always been the first of the three ‘new’ teams so I think what they’ve produced so far has been good,” Pic told the official Formula 1 website.

“But we can do better and our target is to do better next year. But I don’t think we are under pressure.

“We know where we want to go and that is the most important thing for the team.”

He added: “I think Caterham has big potential – I’m 100 per cent confident of that. We just have to work very hard to improve ourselves to be better next year and to take a step forward.”

Pic, who made his grand prix debut this year, is joining Caterham from Marussia on a multi-year deal.

The Frenchman says having secured a long-term agreement does not mean he will approach 2013 any differently.

“I’m very happy about that because we can work together on the long-term and that’s very important,” he said. “But it doesn’t change anything for me next year.

“I have my own targets, as do the team, and we’ll have to work really hard together to achieve them – that doesn’t change whether you’re on a one- or a two-year contract.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/pic-no-pressure-to-score-in-2013

Gus Hutchison Jacky Ickx Yuji Ide Jesús Iglesias Taki Inoue

Mata Forms M1 Racing, Signs Acosta for Full Pro Mazda Campaign

M1 Racing Logo

CRESSON, Texas, Dec. 19 — Paul Mata, who served as team manager for Team GDT in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear for six years, has formed a new, multi-car team called M1 Racing that has all the ingredients of a championship contender.

He has already signed Juan Camilo Acosta as one of M1 Racing’s drivers for 2013 in the series, which was recently renamed the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

Although M1 Racing is new it has the makings of a powerhouse team. It consists of many open-wheel veterans, including not only Mata but also noted engineers Eric Purcell and Remi Lanteigne, all of whom worked together on Team GDT this year. (Team GDT’s Star Mazda operation was disbanded at the end of the season and its owner, multi-time Expert Series champion J.W. Roberts, is pursuing other motorsports interests.)

M1 Racing purchased the bulk of the Star Mazda equipment previously owned by Team GDT and AIM Autosport.

M1 Racing has established its headquarters at MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, which is about a 15-minute drive from Fort Worth. Being able to test on that facility’s 1.7-mile and 3.1-mile road courses will give it a definite advantage in its pursuit of victories in the Pro Mazda Championship, which is part of the Mazda Road to Indy program.

Mata is excited about signing Acosta and hopes to sign at least one other driver to join the 22-year-old from Cali, Colombia, on his Pro Mazda team in 2013. Funded drivers can get more information by contacting Mata by e-mail at M1Racinginfo@gmail.com or by calling him at (214) 282-1646.

Acosta drove a Star Mazda car for the first time when he participated in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oct. 10-11 with Team GDT. He set the team’s fastest lap of that test and he was fourth and fifth overall in the two practice sessions held during his first day ever driving a Star Mazda car.

Acosta made his first start in the series at the season finale Oct. 19 at Road Atlanta, finishing 13th in a Team GDT entry. His sponsors for that event, Studio F and Ela, two young women’s clothing lines, will continue to sponsor him in Pro Mazda in 2013.

Acosta also competed in a doubleheader in the Panam GP series this year, winning the second half of that doubleheader Sept. 23 at Autódromo Tocancipá, Colombia.

Acosta said he chose M1 Racing because its personnel are making him a better driver.

“When I met them I was a complete rookie driver, and in about six days they taught me a lot about how to drive a race car,” Acosta said. “I think I’ll be able to improve my driving with their help. They are a good, complete crew with very experienced guys who are very competitive. We just completed 18 days of testing and we have 16 more days planned in the next couple of months. We’re testing a lot because we want to be very competitive next year. Everybody, myself included, is working hard and we all want to fight for the championship. I think we’re going to have fun!”

M1 Racing certainly has a strong engineering department.

Purcell was John Edwards’ engineer when he won the Star Mazda driver championship in 2008. Purcell can relate to his young charges, because he was a promising open-wheel driver himself until a crash during testing ended his driving career. Since then he has become a widely regarded engineer and race car designer, working with a wide variety of young racers like Peter Dempsey, Devin Cunningham, Natacha Gachnang, Jorge Goncalves, Kyle Marcelli and David Ostella.

Lanteigne has also been the engineer of many notable drivers in Star Mazda, Formula Atlantic, Firestone Indy Lights and other series, including Helio Castroneves, Patrick Carpentier, Katherine Legge, Tristan Vautier, Conor Daly and Alex Rossi.

Lanteigne is also helping Mata with the overall team management of M1 Racing. He has been instrumental in the formation of many teams, including Andersen Racing in Star Mazda, Euro International in Atlantics, Jensen Motorsports in Firestone Indy Lights and others.

M1 Racing will also be the only Pro Mazda team with a nutritionist on staff, as that role and the role of driver coach is filled by Chuck West, the 1992 Star Mazda driver champion, a top Atlantic competitor and the founder of World Speed Motorsports.

Restart Communications based in Indianapolis will handle the team’s public relations. Its principal has also worked with many rising stars in the past, including current IndyCar drivers Graham Rahal and J.R. Hildebrand, reigning Firestone Indy Lights champion Tristan Vautier, GP3 driver Conor Daly and Andy Lally, a sports car champion who was the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year.

In the coming weeks M1 Racing will debut a website at M1Racing.co. Its Facebook page is at M1 Racing — Pro Mazda and its Twitter account is M1 Racing Pro Mazda (@M1ProMazda).

Source: Restart Communications for M1 Racing Press Release

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William Ashton Lewis Jr Sterling Burton Marlin Mark Anthony Martin Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray

Teased: Alfa Romeo teases 4C, confirms 2013 arrival

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Alfa Romeo

Any time you open up your promotion for a new vehicle with the claim of a "car to end all cars," you better have the goods to back it up. If any automaker has said goods, it is Alfa Romeo. The brand behind the stunning 8C has promised a new car to debut in 2013. We all know that vehicle will be the 4C (a name which has been trademarked in America), which has been running ahead of schedule in development. With this teaser shot, it seems that a production version should be imminent. The report from Motor Authority, suspects that could be as early as the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

We've been enamored with the 4C ever since we saw the first concept for it at Geneva in 2011. Since then, we've heard word of convertible variants and various facts and figures, such as a sub-2000-pound curb weight, and a 1.8-liter mill. The low weight, combined with the claimed 200 horsepower could put the 4C's zero to 60 times below four seconds.

As promising as this teaser is, our hopes of Alfa's tearing up American roads have been repeatedly dashed by reports from the Italian brand. Time and again, Alfa's supposed entry into the US has been delayed. Let us hope that this new teaser serves as warning that Alfa Romeo's invasion is imminent.

Alfa Romeo teases 4C, confirms 2013 arrival originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/28/alfa-romeo-teases-4c-confirms-2013-arrival/

Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty

From the Editor's Desk: Thank you!

Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2012/12/from-editors-desk-thank-you.html

Carl Edwards Copart Ford Denny Hamlin Z Line Toyota Kyle Busch

Steve Nielsen quits Caterham role

Steve Nielsen quits Caterham role Caterham’s sporting director Steve Nielsen has resigned from the team, AUTOSPORT has learned.

Nielsen originally joined the outfit when it was known as Team Lotus at the end of 2011 after several years at the Renault team.

It is not clear why he is leaving, but sources suggest that he is moving to another outfit. The Leafield-based team has confirmed he will stop working for them in January.

No replacement has yet been lined up, with Caterham using Nielsen’s departure to evaluate a possible new structure to the sporting side of the operation.

Nielsen is an F1 stalwart, having previously worked at Arrows, Benetton/Renault, Tyrrell and the old Team Lotus, and his experience would be invaluable to any outfit on the grid.

Caterham endured a difficult 2012 campaign, when it failed to make the steps forward that it had hoped to.

However, it managed to hold on to its crucial 10th place in the constructors’ championship after Vitaly Petrov finished 11th in the final race in Brazil to help his team overhaul rivals Marussia.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/steve-nielsen-quits-caterham-role

Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried Lucas di Grassi Cecil Green Keith Greene

Video: Infiniti teases G-replacing Q50 ahead of Detroit debut

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Sedan, Videos, Infiniti, Design/Style, Luxury

Preparing for the introduction of its new naming system and redesigned entry-level sedan, Infiniti has released a brief teaser video for the 2014 Q50. As a refresher, the Q50 is the replacement for the G37 sedan, and while we've seen spy shots of this car before, this video is our first detailed look at the production car.

All we get to see in the video is a shot of the headlight, but we get to see key elements like the stylish daytime running lights, crescent-shaped parking lights and adaptive low beams. The overall shape of the headlight is very close to what we saw earlier this year on the LE Concept. We have to wait until the Detroit Auto Show kicks off in a couple weeks to see the Q50's full design (although we're sure there will be some leaks before that point), but until then, check out the short video posted after the jump.

Continue reading Infiniti teases G-replacing Q50 ahead of Detroit debut

Infiniti teases G-replacing Q50 ahead of Detroit debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/28/infiniti-teases-g-replacing-q50-ahead-of-detroit-debut/

Al Keller Joe Kelly Dave Kennedy Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler

Haryanto switches to Addax for 2013

Rio Haryanto will join Addax for the 2013 GP2 Series season.

The 19-year-old Indonesian drove for Carlin in his rookie campaign this year. Pole position in the wet at Spa was his highlight.

After several years at the forefront of the championship – including teams’ titles in 2008 (as Campos) and ’11 – Addax slumped to eighth in the standings this year, despite winning three races with Johnny Cecotto Jr and Josef Kral.

Team boss Alejandro Agag declared that Haryanto was the man to revitalise Addax.

“We have to admit that 2012 wasn’t the greatest of seasons for us even though we were always looking to win races, like we did at three very important circuits such as Monaco, Spa and Hockenheim,” said Agag.

“We have put our unconditional faith for 2013 in Rio Haryanto to get back to the level we have demonstrated in the past.

“Rio has both the motivation and experience necessary and what’s more, the desire to improve and triumph, which fits in perfectly with our philosophy.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/formula-cars/gp2/haryanto-switches-to-addax-for-2013

Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Laughton Builds Momentum at Dover

Laughton heads to his fourth win NiPS win in seven starts as Brown exits stage left . . .

Sometimes everything just seems to go your way, much like the 2012 NASCAR iRacing.com Pro Series has gone thus far for Chad Laughton. Last night saw Laughton hold-off Dustin Montgomery and Jared Crawford in a one lap shootout at Dover International Speedway to win for the fourth time in seven races.

Laughton took the lead for the first time during a round of yellow flag pit stops on Lap 166 and led the remaining 35 laps on his way to the win. Crawford looked to have the dominant car, leading a race high 112 laps, but could not get back around Laughton once he was passed on pit road.

Montgomery edged Crawford for second in the one lap shootout. Jake Stergios finished fourth and Philipp Geiss had an impressive drive from his thirty-fourth starting spot to grab fifth.

Joey Brown looked to have the car to beat early on after he grabbed the pole. He quickly built a comfortable lead but was overtaken by Crawford on pit road when the leaders made their first stops of the race under the first yellow on Lap 44.

The first caution flag of the race marked the end of a 273 lap stretch dating back to Kentucky without a yellow.

In contrast to Richmond’s green to checkered flag run, last night’s race featured eight cautions. Here Carson Downs (97) embarks on a wild ride.

When the green flag flew again, Brown settled into second and began to pursue Crawford for the lead with Laughton holding steady in fourth. Brown was unable to run Crawford down, but another caution on Lap 79 erased Crawford’s lead and saw the leaders come down pit road for the second time.

This time it was Brown who won the battle off pit road, but his lead would be short-lived. The third caution of the race flew just seven laps after the restart and while most of the front runners stayed out, Brown chose to pit; this would prove to be a mistake.

The race restarted with Crawford and Laughton running one-two and Brown back in eighth, albeit on fresh tires. Brown started to slowly work his way back through the field and on Lap 133 he was battling Joshua Laughton for fourth place when everything went wrong. Brown got loose off of Turn 2, overcorrected and crashed into the wall. Joshua Laughton and Benjamin Burmeister had nowhere to go and were caught up in the mess, ending both of their chances at a good finish.

Brown’s car was damaged but he got it repaired under the yellow flag; meanwhile at the front of the pack Crawford and Chad Laughton had taken control of the race. Brown tried to regain his lost track position by taking two tires during a late caution, but his car just was not the same after the damage and his day ended in another crash, this time on the last lap. Brown finished eighth.

Eight cautions slowed the field for 31 laps in a race that had far more carnage than the caution-free race last week at Richmond. The most spectacular crash occurred on Lap 194 when Landon Huffman and Carson Downs got together coming off Turn 4. Downs was hooked into the outside wall and was sent for a wild ride, flipping down the front straightaway before coming to stop upside down on the pit lane. It was the second time this season Downs ended-up on his top.

The one lap shootout was also wild, as one could imagine. There were several incidents in Turns 3 and 4 coming to the checkers, leaving many more drivers with broken cars and disappointing finishes. The biggest loser was Josh Berry, who was running fourth before the last lap melee and wound up nineteenth.

Dover saw Crawford notch his sixth podium finish in seven starts.

After the dust settled at Dover, Chad Laughton increased his point lead to 13 over Crawford, despite Crawford not finishing outside the top three since the season opener at Daytona. Montgomery remains third, but is now 36 points behind, almost a full race. Stergios and last week’s winner Adam Gilliland round-out the top five, but are too far back to battle for the title unless something dramatic happens to Laughton.

After a two week hiatus for the holidays, the NiPS will be back in action at Homestead-Miami Speedway. You might remember that Homestead was slated to be the fourth event of the season, but technical difficulties led to the cancelation of the online race. After some discussion with the drivers, the series director decided to replace New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Homestead, since drivers had worked hard on setups for a race that ended-up not counting.

Back during the Week 4 visit to Homestead, Crawford had the pole and a quick car, but Laughton was not far behind and looked to have a solid top five car. It would be no surprise to see either in victory lane, but the pressure is on Crawford to close the gap on Laughton with only two races remaining in the season. We will see you after the holidays!

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/nascar-news/laughton-builds-momentum-at-dover

Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr Carl Michael Edwards III William Clyde Elliott

Montezemolo: Massa deal the right call

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has no doubts that his team did the right thing in handing Felipe Massa a fresh contract for 2013.

Although the Brazilian driver had a lacklustre start to the campaign, he improved dramatically over the second half of the year to secure his future at Maranello.

That move was questioned at the time, with some reckoning Ferrari should have gone for a younger driver, but di Montezemolo is totally convinced about the decision.

“The Brazilian improved a great deal in the second half: in fact in the first part, it seemed he’d gone on a round the world holiday!” said di Montezemolo during his annual Christmas lunch with media at Maranello this week.

“Joking apart, I think the decision to reconfirm his position was the right one. If we had changed, then one would need to take on someone who would make a difference and I can’t say I noticed many drivers around who would be quicker than Felipe.

“Also, we did not want to change the balance and the good atmosphere within the team. Domenicali and I told ourselves it was best to wait and I think that the facts proved us right.

“Towards the end, when Felipe was even faster than Fernando a couple of times, the points he scored played a vital part in securing our place in the constructors’ championship.”

Reflecting on the season just gone, di Montezemolo admitted that there was disappointment about the team just missing out on the championship – but that it should also realise it did a great job too.

Felipe Massa, Ferrari “You can see the glass as half full or half empty, but clearly there is great regret,” he added.

“Because the outcome went down to the wire, because after that first lap in Brazil, maybe things could have turned out differently, because Fernando went on holiday at the start of the summer break with a 40 point lead over his closest challenger and because, when it came to collisions, we were forced to retire, while others kept going as if nothing had happened.

“However, the biggest regret is that we did not have a car that was quick enough to win the world championship.

“On the glass half full side, we had amazing reliability which allowed us to come second in the constructors’ championship despite the fact McLaren was quicker than us and despite the fact that, in the first half of the season we pretty much only had Alonso’s points to count on.

“There were those great starts and pit stops and the fact Fernando had an extraordinary season, the best since he has been in Formula 1.

“Next year, let’s hope we can say it was our best season, given that we want to give him and Felipe a car that’s competitive right from the start.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/montezemolo-massa-deal-the-right-call

Ernst Klodwig Kamui Kobayashi Helmuth Koinigg Heikki Kovalainen Kevin Harvick

KBM Continues Youth Movement with Addition of Kligerman

Parker Kligerman - Photo Credit: John Harrelson / Getty Images

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 18, 2012)- Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that the team has signed 22-year-old Parker Kligerman to compete for the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver’s championship. Kligerman will pilot the No. 77 Toyota Camry for the entirety of the 33-race schedule.

Kligerman comes to KBM’s Nationwide Series program on the heels of a breakout season in 2012. In his second full-time Camping World Truck Series campaign, the talented youngster earned his first career NASCAR victory at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October, captured two pole awards and collected eight top-five and 15 top-10 finishes en route to a fifth-place finish in the final Truck Series driver’s point standings. His Talladega victory, both poles and five of his eight top-five finishes came after joining the Toyota Racing family at the halfway point of the season.

The Connecticut native has registered five top-10 finishes in 18 career Nationwide Series starts. He posted two top-10 finishes in three starts this season, including a career-best seventh-place finish in the July race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.

In October of 2009, at the age of 19, Kligerman captured the pole in his first-ever Nationwide Series start at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, becoming the 10^th driver in series history to accomplish the feat. That same year, he earned the 2009 Rookie of the Year award in the ARCA Racing Series after winning a series-high nine races and finishing second in the final point standings.

“When you think of Kyle Busch and Kyle Busch Motorsports, you think of an owner and a team that have established a tradition of winning and pride themselves on it, so I feel honored to be given the chance to come in and continue in that tradition,” Kligerman said. “I feel that running full-time in the Truck Series the last two seasons and coming close to a championship last season has prepared me to be able to do the same in the Nationwide Series next year. With the personnel that KBM has in place and what they were able to accomplish in their first year in the Nationwide Series combined with all the support they have from Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development), I see no reason why we can’t compete for wins on a weekly basis and be a top-five team in the final point standings at the end of the season.”

“Once Parker got behind the wheel of a Toyota halfway through the season, he proved that he was capable of running up front week in and week out in the Truck Series and comes to us with a lot of confidence,” owner Kyle Busch said. “Since I started my Truck Series team in 2010, I’ve wanted the focus of our efforts to be on developing young talent and being able to create an identity for KBM without having to be behind the wheel myself. With the addition of Parker to our Nationwide Series program and Joey Coulter to our Truck Series program, we now have two of the sport’s most talented young drivers in our building.”

“Everyone at Toyota and TRD speaks very highly of Parker and they were a big part of why were able to bring him onboard here at KBM,” KBM General Manager Rick Ren said. “Although he has only driven a handful of races with these new Nationwide Series cars, he has participated in a lot of testing the last few years and we feel like he will be able to come in and be able to use that knowledge to help us to continue to make improvements to our program.”

In its inaugural Nationwide Series campaign, KBM registered one win, three poles, 15 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes en route to an eighth-place finish in the owner’s point standings. The team recorded eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes over the last 13 races of the season.

“Our Nationwide Series program really seemed to hit its stride the last 10 races of the season — won a couple of poles, led a bunch of laps and were in contention for the win almost every week,” said Busch, who was behind the wheel for eight of the final 10 races. “We feel like we’ll be able to carry that momentum into next year and come out of the gates stronger than we did in our first season.”

Further details regarding sponsorship for Kligerman’s No. 77 Camry will be announced at a later date.

About Kyle Busch Motorsports

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) has quickly established itself as one of the most successful teams in all of NASCAR, capturing the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owner’s Championship in its inaugural season and 18 Truck Series victories over its first three seasons. 2012 marked the team’s debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with team owner and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Kyle Busch sharing the driving duties behind the wheel of the No. 54 Monster Energy Camry with his brother Kurt, the 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion. The duo produced one win, three poles, 15 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes in their debut campaign.

KBM prepares a fleet of race-winning Toyotas out of its 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C. Pending LEED certification, the facility’s state-of-the art equipment and innovative green initiatives make it unmatched among its peers. Fans can stay up-to-date with all the latest KBM news online at www.KyleBuschMotorsports.com, by liking the team on Facebook (KyleBuschMS) and following the team on Twitter (@KBMteam).

Source: Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

The post KBM Continues Youth Movement with Addition of Kligerman appeared first on Catchfence.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/m3zCvNowJCE/

Jackie Holmes Bill Homeier Kazuyoshi Hoshino Jerry Hoyt Nico Hülkenberg

Alfa Romeo’s Product Plans Through 2016 Allegedly Leak Online

Alfa Romeo product plan 2016

The Greek website Autoblog.gr claims to have obtained Alfa Romeo’s proposed product plans for the next four years, a time frame that includes the Italian automaker’s proposed return to the U.S. (Here’s our recent take on which vehicles you can expect here.) The plans are laid out on what appear to be presentation slides, and even though they are somewhat vague, the product breakdowns back up most of what we already knew about Alfa’s upcoming products, both globally and for the States. The documentation details the company’s aggressive product expansion through 2016 from its current, weak two-model lineup (the subcompact MiTo and compact Giulietta) to nine entries.

The larger slide includes a graph placing nine new Alfa Romeo models on two axes based on price and size. There is one B-segment model, followed by one C-segment, three D-segment vehicles, one E-segment, and three “specialties.”

The B-sized ride is the MiTo hatchback and the C is the Giulietta (which shares its architectural basis with the new Dodge Dart). The D-sized players are the upcoming Giulia mid-sized sedan and wagon, as well as a compact crossover based on the next Jeep Compass/Patriot. The E-segment offering will be a large, rear-drive sedan loosely based on that Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger bones that also will underpin the upcoming Maserati Ghibli.

Finally, the specialty Alfas, all of which are sports cars, include the mid-engined 4C coupe and roadster, plus the new Duetto/Spider rear-drive roadster that will be architecturally twinned with the next Mazda Miata.

Alfa Romeo product plan 2016

Also among Autoblog.gr’s leaked info is an unlabeled timeline showing which models will arrive each year between now and 2016. (It’s unclear from the documentation whether the years are calendar years or model years.) The current MiTo is aging, so our guess is that its replacement falls under the 2013 header, although we don’t expect it to be sold in the United States. That year should bring a refreshed Giulietta, too. Next to arrive will be the all-new 4C for 2014, followed in 2015 by the Duetto/Spider, the Giulia sedan and wagon, and the compact crossover. Finally, 2016 will see the arrival of the large E-segment sedan and probably a fully redesigned Giulietta. (Other interpretations: The rear-drive flagship may be a 2015 entrant, and may be assembled in North America given that one icon lacks an Italian flag. The 4C coupe and roadster timing might also be staggered.)

Alfa’s slides include a strong emphasis on becoming a “truly global premium brand” with “significant sales” in NAFTA (North American) and EMEA (European, Middle Eastern, and African) markets. The brand is currently due here in 2014, a target we look forward to seeing Alfa Romeo meet after years of false promises regarding a return to the U.S.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/qId6657faKo/

Joe Kelly Dave Kennedy Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler Nicolas Kiesa

The NBBL Files: Weinshall Got Randy Mastro Before the Paint on PPW Was Dry

Editor’s note: Yesterday an appellate panel prolonged the legal assault on the Prospect Park West redesign, ruling that a lower court will have to hold a hearing on the question of whether the PPW bike lane was installed as a “trial” or as a permanent redesign. Of course, the case has never really been about the legality of the Prospect Park West redesign, which was implemented after an extensive public process and is doing exactly what Park Slope residents wanted it to do: reduce speeding, improve pedestrian crossings, and provide a safe north-south bikeway. The lawsuit is just a clever way to sling mud at NYC DOT in the press.

With the tabloids once again reprinting comically outlandish accusations from Jim Walden, the high-powered attorney and rumored Brooklyn DA hopeful who’s representing the PPW opponents, now is a good time to review what the Prospect Park West story is really all about: a few extremely well-connected people who doggedly refused to accept the legitimate outcome of the public planning process, using their extensive contacts in New York City media and politics to throw an epic tantrum. Throughout the day Streetsblog will be reprinting our six-part series, “The NBBL Files,” which explored these connections.

This piece originally ran on October 3, 2011.

Last week, opponents of the Prospect Park West redesign moved to appeal Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Bert Bunyan’s decision to reject their complaint against the city. If the community board’s approval of the bike lane and the data showing its effect on speeding and safety didn’t persuade them not to sue in the first place, a judicial decision wasn’t going to persuade them now. The longer the litigation drags on, the more time they’ll have to muddy the truth (to borrow a phrase from the Brooklyn Paper).

Since the case is still in the courts, though, we’ve also got more time to get a clearer look at the anti-bike lane group “Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes.” Based on email correspondence obtained via freedom of information request, we now have a better sense of NBBL’s methods — how they’ve exploited their connections to politicians, media personalities, city bureaucrats, and various New York City power players in their attempt to erase the new bike lane in their neighborhood.

Randy Mastro offered pro bono legal representation to Iris Weinshall and Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes immediately after the bike lane was installed. Mastro photo: New York Post

Let’s begin with the connection that set the lawsuit on its path to becoming a media spectacle: NBBL’s access to Gibson Dunn partner Randy Mastro.

Actually, first let’s pause to appreciate a classic NBBL exercise in muddying the truth. In the run-up to suing the city, you may recall that NBBL adopted the posture of reluctant litigants. “Much has been said about a potential legal action; we hope not to be forced to bring one,” said their attorney, Gibson Dunn partner Jim Walden, shortly before filing the suit. At the time, in late February, NBBL and Walden had been grabbing headlines for a few weeks, talking about litigation as a supposed last resort.

In fact, his firm had been planning a lawsuit with former DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall and the leaders of NBBL for more than seven months. Gibson Dunn provided this service “pro bono.” The person who first offered the use of the firm’s resources to assist Weinshall was Mastro, who co-chairs Gibson Dunn’s litigation arm.

Weinshall and Mastro were not strangers. Both served in Rudy Giuliani’s mayoral administration – Mastro as chief of staff and later first deputy mayor, Weinshall as a high-ranking official in the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and then as DOT commissioner.

On July 3, 2010, Weinshall emailed her daughter, Jessica Schumer, a recent graduate of Yale Law School who campaigned vigorously against the bike lane that summer. “Spoke with Randy mastro he said he would help you with the article 78!” she wrote [PDF]. (An “Article 78″ refers to the type of lawsuit opponents eventually filed in their bid to tarnish DOT and erase the bike lane.)

DOT had just finished installing the bike lane the month before. Practically before the paint was dry, Weinshall had enlisted a lawyer who runs one of the nation’s top litigation practices — a man who represents the world’s corporate behemoths in court — to help wage her local NIMBY battle.

Schumer herself connected with Mastro two weeks later. “Just got off the phone with randy mastro and I’m pretty sure we have pro-bono representation from a top nyc law firm (gibson dunn),” she wrote in a message [PDF] to NBBL president Louise Hainline and another member of the group, Lisa Napolitano.

Then on July 22, Hainline wrote to fellow bike lane opponent Lois Carswell [PDF] to inform her that “the Randy Mastro connection has gotten us two attorney’s at Randy’s firm” as well as “many interns or first year attorneys.”

When law firms donate their time and energy to clients who are not poor (Hainline and Carswell own some of the most desirable real estate in Brooklyn), it’s considered ethical practice for a committee to decide if the case is appropriate for pro bono work. Gibson Dunn has not responded to inquiries about whether their pro bono committee voted on giving NBBL free legal services.

We don’t know exactly why Mastro agreed to help Weinshall. Neither of them would comment for this piece. We do know, however, that Weinshall was concerned about that information leaking out. On February 6, 2011, after Hainline mentioned that NPR’s Andrea Bernstein had been asking about Mastro, Weinshall wrote a short email in response. It said simply: “We should never say how we got Randy!”

Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/12/20/the-nbbl-files-weinshall-got-randy-mastro-before-the-paint-on-ppw-was-dry/

Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien Karl Kling Ernst Klodwig

Help 'undeck' the NASCAR Hall

Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/12/25/2565749/help-undeck-the-nascar-hall.html

Bruno Giacomelli Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous

Yamaha and PETRONAS Conclude MotoGP Partnership

Yamaha Racing
Sunday, 01 Jan 2012

As 2011 draws to a close it marks the end of a successful partnership between Yamaha's Factory MotoGP Team and PETRONAS.

The integrated Malaysian oil and gas corporation came onboard with Yamaha in 2009 and has enjoyed a hugely successful three year relationship.

Yamaha and PETRONAS have been privileged to share in two consecutive Triple Crown MotoGP victories, in 2009 and 2010.

Lin Jarvis,
Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing:

"The relationship between Yamaha and PETRONAS has been a great success, we have enjoyed some major achievements together in the MotoGP class. Now that the partnership has reached its natural conclusion I would like to thank our friends at PETRONAS for the support during their time with us and wish them well for the future".

Mohammad Medan Abdullah,
Senior General Manager of PETRONAS Group Corporate Affairs Division:

"We are happy to have had this opportunity to work with the Yamaha Factory Racing team over the past three years. In that time, we have enjoyed the benefits of strong brand exposure through the privilege of being associated with a team that shares our values and passion. The team has achieved many successes through a high level of competitiveness and stretched performance standards and we wish the team continued success in the future".

Jointly issued by Yamaha Factory Racing and PETRONAS Motorsports

www.yamaha-racing.com

Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/01/yamaha_and_petronas_concl.php

Kevin Michael Harvick Virgil Ernest Irvan III Kenny Dale Irwin Jr Dale Arnold Jarrett Jimmie Kenneth Johnson

Fast Facts: Kyle Larson

Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2012/12/fast-facts-kyle-larson.html

Bobby Grim Romain Grosjean Olivier Grouillard Brian Gubby André Guelfi

The Bluegrass Battle

Alfalla (1) leads Daley (2), Hightower (3), Mojica (5), and Blackford (4) out of Turn Two.

Fresh off a week of short track racing, Week Eight of the NASCAR iRacing.com Class C Series (fixed setup) took the sim racers on a trip to the Bluegrass State for a bumpy and fast ride at the Kentucky Speedway. With over 1,200 online racers making at least one start during the week, it was a great battle to watch as this week’s Strength of Field involved many drivers who are considered the best at what they do.

This week’s high Strength of Field event took place on December 21st and included six current and former NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship competitors. Byron Daley (New York) led the NiSWC wave leading 31 of the race’s 45 laps to take the victory by 0.490 seconds over fellow NiSWC competitor Bryan Blackford (Florida) in the 4214 SoF. Former NiSWC competitor and current NASCAR iRacing.com Pro Series competitor Pedro Mojica (Texas) finished in the third position after turning the fastest lap during the race. The NiSWC trend continues as Marcus Lindsey (Indiana) finished in the fourth position and Georgia native Brandon Williamson rounded out the top five after starting from the 13th position. The remaining two NiSWC and NiPS competitors in the field were two time champion Ray Alfalla (Florida) and Josh Berry (Mid-South) who made contact early in the race which left Berry heading toward the garage with heavy damage to his Silverado. Alfalla was able to recover slightly better, finishing in the 11th position after battling for the lead early in the going.

With a thrilling victory in the week’s high SoF, Daley left Kentucky with the most championship points on the week, adding 264 to his season total as he attempts to claim the Season Four championship. Blackford’s second place effort earned him a solid 248 points as he looks to break into the top five in overall standings. While Alfalla’s finish in the week’s high SoF race wasn’t what he was looking for, his performance in the three other races he competed in during the week was good enough to earn him 246 points. John William (Carolina) ended Week Eight in the fourth position, earning 232 points for his efforts. Lindsey’s fourth place effort in the week’s SoF event earned him 217 championship points.

Daley (2), Darren Armitage (17), and Blackford (4) work their way up through the field.

The king of the hotlap is back at it once again as he put his name on top of qualifying chart for Week Eight. Simon Crochart’s (France) time of 31.585 seconds was the fastest time of the week by 0.011 seconds over second place qualifier Ryan Luza (Texas). Ken H O’Keefe (Eastern Canada) finished in the third position, just 0.002 seconds behind Luza. Jason Jacoby (Georgia) and Thomas Davis (Mid-South) filled the remaining spots in the top five.

After eight competitive weeks of online racing, Daley holds a 204 point lead over second place driver Berry. Jordan Hightower (Mid-South) sits in the third position, 226 out of the lead. Alfalla sits in the fourth position, 454 points back, and rounding out the top five is Jason Jacoby, who is 467 points back.

Keep a bookmark of inRacingNews.com handy because next week the NiCCS (fixed setup) makes a trip to the NASCAR homeland for some racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Also, be sure to head on over to iRacing.com to be part of the action and you could win a Logitech G27 wheel and pedal set by claiming any of the Season Four divisional championships in the NASCAR iRacing.com Class C Series (fixed setup) or by being chosen at random from iRacers running the Logitech logo in any series. Click here for complete details.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/iracing-news/the-bluegrass-battle

Bob Gerard Gerino Gerini Peter Gethin Piercarlo Ghinzani Bruno Giacomelli

DTM forced to move Norisring round

DTM forced to chage Norisring round date to avoid F1 clash DTM organisers have been forced to change the 2013 schedule to avoid a clash between its Norisring round and the German Grand Prix.

The FIA recently revealed that the German Grand Prix had been moved to create the space on the Formula 1 schedule for another European race in July.

That left the GP clashing with the DTM’s high-profile Norisring street race – usually attended by more than 100,000 spectators – on July 7, so organisers of the German series have moved that event to a week later.

Other dates in the second half of the DTM season have also changed as a result, with the series citing ‘logistical reasons’.

Zandvoort moves from July to become the penultimate round of the campaign in September, while the Oschersleben and Hockenheim finale rounds which are now either side of it have also been moved to later dates.

“Due to the short-notice alterations on the Formula 1 calendar, we also had to respond by adapting the DTM calendar to the new situation,” said Hans Werner Aufrecht, chairman of DTM promoter ITR.

“By postponing the Norisring round by a week we avoid a scheduling conflict with the home race of Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel.

“Consequently, the fans aren’t forced to choose if they prefer attending the F1 race or the DTM round in Nuremberg.

“Thanks to this move, they have the chance of witnessing these two motor racing highlights on successive weekends.”

The revised DTM schedule also affects the FIA European Formula 3 championship, which will be on the support bill at seven rounds in 2013.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/miscellaneous/dtm/dtm-forced-to-move-norisring-round

Carl Michael Edwards III William Clyde Elliott Jeffrey Michael Gordon Charles Robert Hamilton IV Charles Robert Hamilton V

Capirossi: ’12 tyres made MotoGP safer

Loris Capirossi MotoGP 2012 Loris Capirossi believes the tyre changes he recommended and Bridgestone implemented over 2012 have helped make MotoGP safer.

The 2011 season was punctuated by a string of crashes, particularly during Friday practice, which were attributed to Bridgestone’s compounds taking too long to warm up.

15-time world champion Giacomo Agostini also called for changes in the behaviour of MotoGP tyres following Marco Simoncelli’s fatal accident at Sepang.

Capirossi, installed as safety advisor to the championship and its promoter Dorna at the end of 2011, said at the start of this year that improving the safety of Bridgestone’s rubber would be his main priority.

The 39-year-old believes both he and Bridgestone have been successful in their subsequent endeavours.

“I’m proud of the work done on tyres: this year no one has broken any bones due to tyres not being up to temperature,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Bridgestone has worked well and I have pointed them in the right direction.

“It’s not over yet: in 2013 we’ll have tyres made specifically for the CRTs and perhaps there will be news regarding the number of tyres at everyone’s disposal.”

The Italian said he was also working on several other safety improvements and procedural revisions.

MotoGP 2012 start “We are working on small but important details, for example a guard for the front brake lever,” he explained.

“Not everyone was convinced but I spoke with the riders. We try to understand the problems and solve them.

“We are [also] looking at a rider’s protective gear: we don’t want to see riders with overalls or helmets damaged by crashes.

“It’s a question of safety – if the gear has already been put to work, it becomes less protective.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/motorcycles/motogp/capirossi-12-tyres-made-motogp-safer

Kenny Dale Irwin Jr Dale Arnold Jarrett Jimmie Kenneth Johnson Kasey Kenneth Kahne Matthew Roy Kenseth

Vettel eyed for Ferrari post-Alonso

Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso Ferrari has singled out Sebastian Vettel over Lewis Hamilton as its future lead driver for when Fernando Alonso finally decides to retire from the sport.

Vettel has already been strongly linked to a move to Ferrari, and the company’s president Luca di Montezemolo has not shied away from his praise of the German – who he thinks would be the perfect man for his team.

“Between all the drivers Vettel and Hamilton could be perfect for the Ferrari of the future with one difference – Vettel is younger,” di Montezemolo was quoted as saying by the Independent.

“First of all, I think of all the drivers at the moment we have the best in Formula 1, in terms of speed, in terms of intelligence in the race and capability to work with the team. When you have the best driver you have to put him in the best condition to succeed, to win and have a good environment without peer troubles.

“But if Alonso decided tomorrow to go to live in Hawaii with the girlfriend I have no doubt that for human and professional reasons [I would choose] Vettel. He would be very good for us.

“Vettel I like because he is not presumptuous. He wants to win but he is not arrogant. Michael [Schumacher] told me many years ago that coming from karts Vettel had the most potential of any young driver and he was right.”

Fernando Alonso Di Montezemolo ruled out the possibility of Vettel being lined up alongside Alonso, and made it clear that his current driver was still the star of the show.

Reflecting on the Spaniard’s strengths, he suggested Alonso had the best qualities of both Niki Lauda and Schumacher.

“Niki was very intelligent in the race and the first driver to be closer to the team, details, working even in the night,” he said. “Michael was for me a war machine in the race because he was in condition to do 60 laps like qualifying.

“Fernando is a good mix between the two. He is very intelligent. He knows when to push, how to save the tyres, when to attack, super intelligent and super quick, too.

“It is difficult to make comparisons [across different eras] but he is right at the top. I’m very happy with Fernando. He is a key member of the team.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/vettel-eyed-for-ferrari-post-alonso

Stefan Johansson Eddie Johnson Leslie Johnson Bruce Johnstone Alan Jones

Saturday, December 29, 2012

2013 Porsche Boxster S PDK Tested: A Bargain Exotic with a Mighty Fine Automatic

For those of you who might have been encased in amber the past 15 years or perhaps stuck in a universe of flying dirigibles, a golden Statue of Liberty, and Sony Betamax VCRs, we’d like to welcome you to the other side. The bad news: During your absence, all the ten-penny mid-engined sportsters such as the Lotus Elise and the Toyota MR2 have been superseded by exotics with entomological monikers and six-figure price tags. All, that is, but the Porsche Boxster, which launched around the time you entered hibernation. READ MORE ››

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/3ZTXclegBeM/2013-porsche-boxster-s-pdk-test-review

Juan Jover Oswald Karch Narain Karthikeyan Ukyo Katayama Ken Kavanagh

Di Grassi gets full-time Audi deal

Former grand prix driver Lucas di Grassi will join Audi’s LMP1 line-up in 2013.

The Brazilian, 28, has been signed to drive one of the German manufacturer’s R18 e-tron quattros after a starring performance on his sportscar debut at the Interlagos World Endurance Championship round in September.

Di Grassi takes the place of Marco Bonanomi in Audi’s prototype squad, which will include a three-car attack on the Le Mans 24 Hours in June. The Italian has been released by Audi.

Audi Sport boss Wolfgang Ullrich said: “Lucas was really impressive at Interlagos. If you look at what he has achieved up to now, we can consider that he has a big future.”

Di Grassi finished third at Interlagos, sharing an R8 ultra with Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish.

“Audi offered me a dream contract, better than anything I had in F1, so I am very happy,” said di Grassi. “This job is only due to my performance; there is none of the F1 commercial mess.”

The extent of di Grassi’s programme in 2013 has yet to be revealed. Audi said that it would announce at a later date the driver line-ups in each of its cars and which drivers will be chosen for its expected two-car WEC line-up.

Marc Gene, who joined Audi in place of the injured Timo Bernhard for the Spa 6 Hours and then Le Mans, remains with Audi for 2013.

The nine-strong prototype squad is completed by Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer, Marcel Fassler, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish, Loic Duval and Oliver Jarvis.

Bernhard and Romain Dumas are returning to Porsche for 2013 as it gears up for its LMP1 entry in 2014. Rinaldo Capello made his last prototype start at Le Mans this year.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/di-grassi-gets-full-time-audi-deal

Boy Hayje Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld Theo Helfrich Mack Hellings