Bolt proves driving harder than running

World's fastest man Usain Bolt recently got a brand new BMW M3 as gift from his main sponsor, Puma. Nobody is sure if he was trying to drive while looking behind him as he did when he won the 100M at the olympics but, in any case check out how Mr. Bolt did while riding with a female companion on a rainy Jamaican road, after the jump...

(via Corriere della Sera)

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Porsche Supercup: Bahrain

Let's check in with the Supercup boys, here are a few highlights from the Bahrain GP support race. Oddly there was not much Superclown action this time save for that black car a the start, he comes from way behind, slashing though the field only to... brake long into turn one and find, of all cars, his own team mate's rear bumper! Ooops.

I love the Sahkir circuit, Yes, it's built in an absurd place for racing, but what a fantastic layout, it must be a great challenge to drive.
(race wrap up after the jump.)

27 year-old reigning Champion Jeroen Bleekemolen (Konrad Motorsport) won his second consecutive race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain on Sunday. Meanwhile, the two drivers sponsored by Tudor, 42-year old Patrick Huisman (SPS Performance) and his team-mate 33-year old Richard Williams finished in the points in 4th and 5th place respectively.

The second race of the season started late morning in very hot conditions (36 degrees Celsius). In the support series to the F1 event, the news for this season comes from Tudor, part of the renowned Swiss watch-making company Rolex, who has formed a brand partnership with Porsche Motorsport. The partnership coincides with the launch of a new line of high-end sport watches from Tudor, evocatively named "Grantour."

Lining up on the grid as pre-race favourite was reigning Supercup Champion Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED), again in pole position. Bleekemolen remained in command for all 12 laps of the race. He completed what one could call a "super weekend," finishing his second consecutive race on the first step of the podium.

"This weekend could not have been better. I drove a perfect race and there was no trouble with the car. On every lap I was securing a better margin. I know that the other competitors were struggling with the heat and their tires, but we were simply quick. I hope this pace continues for the rest of the season. In Barcelona, the team has already been quick and know how to be at the top. I finished 2nd last year and my aim is to be again on the podium. On this track, the last new chicane is different and a bit tricky. Turn 3 is very challenging, but always nice for a driver. With the team I am looking forward to getting on the podium as often as possible."

Meanwhile Patrick Huisman (NED) and Richard Williams (GBR) finished in fourth and fifth place respectively. Huisman (SPS Performance) commented, "I am so happy today. Today I again drove a strong race with an amazing start where I gained two positions. It was decisive for the rest of the race. It could not have been any better leaving from 6th and finishing 4th with points. The cars ahead of us had a very strong pace. We had made some changes overnight but the rear of the car was still difficult to control. Damien Faulkner was always close to me even if sometimes I was also alone. The main thing is that I never got into trouble. I do not forget that we arrived here with no testing behind us. I lived a fantastic week here. For the immediate future I am flying back to Europe and will see my kids. It is Queen's Day in Holland and we will have a good reason to celebrate. But we won't test before Barcelona. We'll keep it to after the third race of the season."

Patrick Huisman's teammate at SPS Performance, Richard Williams (GBR), is just as happy about his Race 2 result. "I was frustrated yesterday because I knew we had the potential to win or at least do a strong race. It could not have been any better today," said Williams. "Leaving from 10th and finishing in 5th position. The team did a fantastic job overnight and fixed the damage to the car. I want to thank them for a great job. For me, the half distance point was the key to the race. I had saved my tyres at the start, and with the heat, it paid off. As a result I was able to make full use of the tyres all the way to the chequered flag. It is my second season with Supercup and I am pleased to come back in such a strong way today. I am impatient to be in Barcelona. I know the track and hope to make it again in the points."

Over the last 25 years, TUDOR and Porsche alike have worked persistently on design, technology and reliability, resulting in bold innovations and avant-garde solutions. In this constant quest for functional beauty, TUDOR leads us into the vibrant world of GT racing. The launch of a new range of sport chic design watches under the exciting name of Grantour and TUDOR's Porsche Motorsport partnership officially bring the two brands together. Both are branded with a shield; they share the same values and respect of tradition. TUDOR does not simply produce watches, nor Porsche merely cars. TUDOR and Porsche are both much more. Tudor is the "Official Partner" of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

(race wrap-up via PaddockTalk.com)

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Seemed obvious to me...

I'm sure that's what Audi meant when they named their latest TT variant.

(thanks Max!)

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Bullet Dodged

Mclaren received a three race suspended sentence from the FIA today for their "Lie-Gate" affair in Melbourne and Sepang. Now they just have to avoid doing anything silly for 12 months.

"Having regard to the open and honest way in which McLaren Team Principal, Mr Martin Whitmarsh, addressed the WMSC and the change in culture which he made clear has taken place in his organisation, the WMSC decided to suspend the application of the penalty it deems appropriate."

"That penalty is a suspension of the team from three races of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This will only be applied if further facts emerge regarding the case or if, in the next 12 months, there is a further breach by the team of article 151c of the International Sporting Code."

Frankly, it was expected as the FIA and Formula 1 could not afford to shoot themselves in the foot (even more) and effectively kick what arguably is the #2 most important team, out of the sport. What remains to be seen and we might never know for sure is the effect of Ron Dennis' "exit" from the sport on the decision.

And here is the rest of it.

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O.P.T.: a tracktard tip

After two days at Summit Point my brand new Kumho v710 looked like what you see at the bottom of the above picture. A heat gun, a good quality spatula and about a half hour later, I removed 2.5lbs (1.4kg) of Other People's Tires from mine. I think this will become part of my track routine.

And here is the rest of it.

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Desert Speed

Sorry for the delay but having been at the track myself this past week end, I've had little time to follow the Bahrain GP. There was some fantastic racing in the first lap, one of the best I have seen for a long time.

Some nice fights during the race as well, Alonso was great as usual in a lesser car and handicapped by a failed drink bottle. In fact Alonso, one of the fittest drivers, fainted after the race, yet another brave performance from the double World Champion. Button was very good, great move out braking Hamilton and managing his race lead.

Raikkonen too showed his old form chasing down, with cold hard tires, Timo Glock on warm soft tires.

Now from the sublime to the ridiculous: towards the end of the clip you'll see Rubens Barrichello whining about Nelson Piquet. Piquet was fighting for position, a point and his career, dared not to roll over and play dead for Rubens who lucked out having the best car in the field and is still getting his butt kicked by Jenson. I guess when you are #2 material, it shows.

The gap between the cars is shrinking even more, we should see even better races once the circus moves back to Europe in two weeks.

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Postcard from Summit

Hello from West Virginia! Busy day, some mechanical issues but some great racing from Pete and Stee in Spec e30 and GTS3. More after we get back, but this was unanimously voted as the coolest moment of the day!

And here is the rest of it.

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Axis of Practical

OK, we spend most of the time here oogling exotic machinery, discussing the merits of slick tires and track pads, data gathering systems and other tracktard delights . However at least some of us need to consider the practical side of things, like daily transportation, hauling kids and dogs and the astounding amount of "stuff" that always seems to need moving from one place to the next.

For the past six years, that mission has been admirably carried out by a 2002 Audi S6. The Battleship as it was known was a great car for us. In 2002, with its 340 hp, it was the most powerful station wagon available for sale in the US. It was priced competitively with the 290 hp BMW 540 T, a car that I had also considered at the time. The Audi was larger, more powerful and frankly a better deal.

The S6 certainly hauled and it has been reasonably trouble free for the 94000 miles I put on it. The biggest fault with the car was that while its stiff suspension is probably great for taking wide autobahn sweepers at 120 mph, it was not the best tuning for the nasty, potholed streets of NYC. This eventually led to the quite common (for Audi) need to replace some of the suspension components as the car reached the 70000 mile mark. Also, CV joint rubber boots were strangely fragile, needing to be replaced a number of times.

It is quite a cool car, that generation A6 has one of the best "old school" car interiors, lots of room and unstoppable in the snow.

But at 94000 miles it is time so, the the hunt for a replacement is on!

Here are the requirements in no particular order:

-It needs to be able to carry two small children, a large Weimaraner and an obese Dachshund.

-it needs to be sporty and rewarding to drive,and look nice.

-it cannot in any way shape or form resemble a van, mini or otherwise.

-it should get better gas milage than the S6 which got a very "old school" 18mpg highway /9 city if driven gingerly.

-it needs to have a certain subtle "cool" factor.

-it should have all the modern conveniences, Nav, bluetooth, ipod etc.

What do you Axis of Practical tracktards suggest?

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Off to Summit Point

Busy week end for Team Axis: CG is at Lime Rock with PCA debuting his freshly painted Cayman S race car while Stee, the Freep, Justin, Pete and I are off to Summit Point for a NASA track week end. Stee will be running in GTS3 while the other guys will be slugging it out in Spec e30. I will have to be content running in the ever prestigious Track Day World Championship for now but I'll try to take lots of pictures between instructing sessions.

If you are there, come find us and say hello!

Here is a old classic some of you more newer readers may not have seen and a more recent clip from Stee, who had an exciting moment when his newly installed brake bias controller decided to pop off in turn one!

And here is the rest of it.

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Kate's Dirty Sister

Last year it used to be Julia but then, as 2009 came around, he dumped Julia started riding Kate.
Sadly, Kate was killed during an argument with Robert Kubica in Australia and, as Sebastian Vettel tells Bild, a new and improved name was needed for the newer, faster version so, Kate's Dirty Sister was born. A legend in the making!

And here is the rest of it.

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When it rain it pours: it's dump on Ferrari day!

I guess it's a natural effect of Ferrari' s dominance that when the team is down, people line up for a swift kick. Some of the criticism is tough but not unfair, some is plain comical.

David Coulthard's criticism on his Telegraph.co.uk column reaches a bit with:

" If Force India's Adrian Sutil had managed to bring the car home in sixth place in China, with just five laps of the race remaining, the 2008 constructors' champions would be the only team left on the grid still without a point this season; an unbelievable state of affairs for a team tipped to be the dominant force this year."

OK, and Massa would have been third if his electronics had not given up... His comment on Ferrari's drivers are more interesting even though I suspect some will say he still bares a grudge towards Kimi from their Mclaren days:

"Kimi Raikkonen would never have been wondering about the pits with a choc ice and a coke, as he was in Malaysia when the race was still technically in session, had Todt still been in charge.
Then you have the drivers. I don't know Felipe Massa that well, so I can't really comment too much on him, but Raikkonen is a former team-mate of mine and the Finn has never shown me he can lead a car's development. Sure, he has blistering natural speed, but I suspect Ferrari will improve dramatically if and when Fernando Alonso arrives."

I can't disagree.

Now to the ridiculous, Niki Lauda. Lauda has traditionally kept his name in the news with a sort of automotive tourrette syndrome and today he came up with a great one!:

"‘In those days, Ross, because he is English, was the ideal bridge between the Italians, with their spaghetti culture, and Schumacher, with his German efficiency. Now the Italians are running it all. Does it work? It could be chaos. That’s the problem."

Forgetting for a moment that Ross Brawn has not been at active at Ferrari for the past two seasons which saw Ferrari win in 2007 and come within one point in 2008, in 1974-77 Lauda won two championship when employed by Maranello and the team was run by Luca di Montezemolo and Mauro Forghieri. But I guess he liked spaghetti then!

And here is the rest of it.

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Underdog: Trans-Am at V.I.R.

Mike Skeen sends us his latest dispatch from the Trans-Am series trenches.

"We are a small fish in a big pond. Some of you will remember that Atlantic Autosport was formed just weeks before Round 1 of the 2009 Muscle Milk Trans-Am series with a GT-1 car that had not been run in 2 years and a dedicated crew of volunteers. Now here we are in April running against the likes of Klaus Graf in the Muscle Milk Jaguar XKR and countless other teams that have been in this arena for years.

Without the time or budget to test every weekend, we spend our time between race weekends improving what we can in the shop. There is, of course, no substitute for real-world track time and we always discover new things about the car when we put it on the track. Unfortunately, with just two practice sessions during the weekend, we had little time to get things right before heading into qualifying.

First time out the car was way off. With so many things changed after Round 1, we barely knew where to start. We addressed the obvious issues, but some were not as apparent. One of our biggest concerns was a leaking rearend housing that would plague us all weekend. As we tried to find a solution for that, we took the shotgun approach to narrow down some of the handling issues. Our second and final practice showed that we were much closer to our target, but we still had not solved the leak.

The crew worked many hours Saturday afternoon taking the rearend apart and solving issues one at a time to make the best of what we had available. Unfortunately, qualifying showed it was not enough. With a time of 1:48.1, which was well below the existing track record, we secured fourth on the grid after provisional polewinner Klaus Graf was disqualified because of a wing height infraction.

After qualifying, we made some final field repairs in an attempt to help our issue and that was all that could really be done. We spent the rest of our time watching the weather radar, as rain was predicted about when the race was scheduled to start. Just as the call was made to report to grid, we began to feel a few rain drops. They were sporadic and never really wet the pavement, so we left the slicks on the car and continued as normal.

I lost a few positions at the start of the race being on the outside of Turn 1, but I was able to keep up with the lead pack as we pulled away from the rest of the field. Klaus Graf was coming through the field quickly and I did not put up a fight when he came up on me. Before long he had gotten up to second place and a full course caution was thrown, putting him in touch with the leader, Tony Ave. On that restart, I got past Diaz and Drissi and we continued to have a good battle for several laps before another full course caution flew for a big wreck in the uphill esses.

Fortunately, everyone was safe, but our car was starting to show signs of rearend trouble. The car had been smoking some from the leaked fluid burning off and a small vibration started to develop during the laps behind the pace car. I continued to circulate because a few rain drops were on the windshield, cleanup was expected to take a while, and the team wouldn’t be allowed to work on the car under yellow anyways, but when the pace car lights went out, I went to pit road. The guys took off the rear bodywork with no surprises—a big mess and a car that was not going to finish. Watching the field take the checkered flag from pit wall was not fun, especially knowing that I was well ahead of the eventual third place finisher.

A disappointing weekend to say the least, but we are still fourth in the points and only 12 points from the lead. We are looking forward to Round 3 at Mosport on May 17th, but we have a lot of work to do in the meantime. Thanks to some help from Smith Stokes Automotive Group, we will have something to work with in preparation for Mosport—hopefully we can build more partnerships to keep this underdog team afloat."

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The Quiet Champion

Quite a lively discussion about drivers and their talent in out Shanghai post below. Seemed like a good time to post a documentary about one of the legends... It's a full one hour show so make sure you have the time to enjoy it






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When is a Hole not a Hole?

The FIA published the full text of its diffuser protest decision. Anybody want to dig for interesting bits? My eyes glazed over by the time they discussed when a hole is not a hole...if you know what I mean.





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One Corvette, three suits

GM is on the edge of bankruptcy and Bertone was not in the best of health so let's hope that the twitter driven PR effort for Jason Castriota's latest creation, the ZR-1 based Stile Bertone Mantide, helps both. They deserve it.

Everyone is talking about this car, I was curious about Axis readers thoughts on it. The design goals are ambitious, one is cutting 250lbs off the 3300lbs ZR-1 making it lighter than the Z06. The second is for the car to break the Nürburgring lap "record".

The Mantide is not the only "fuoriserie" based on the C6 platform, Zagato has one called the Parana Z One and SpadaConcepts was out with the Codatronca last year.

Notice the tendency towards a large hatch design in all three of these cars. This is a design trend which is taking hold and you will see more of in the next few years, from the Porsche Panamera to the BMW 5 series GT to the upcoming Ferrari Scaglietti replacement, a 4wd Bentley GT fighter codenamed F151.

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Chinese GP: Shock result? Not really. Surprise maybe.

All I read today were headlines proclaiming a shock result because of the Red Bull one-two In China. Why? it was quite clear from pre season testing that Red Bull had a hell of a car and one designed within the so called "spirit of the rules". No smarty pants diffuser, no holes that aren't holes, just a good car. If Vettel had not had that moment with Kubica in Melbourne and the resulting penalty in Malaysia, nobody would have talked about how Brawn could already start to break out the 2009 championship t-shirts yet. Certainly that Sebastian Vettel is a great talent is not a shock.

However, a few things were undoubtably surprising on Sunday, that Renault would throw away a race by pitting after seven laps run under the safety car. If it had been a normal start, in the dry, that means they would have pitted after 3-4 laps? Yes, they were light, but I think they were trying to be too clever and ended up tossing the race.

Surprising were the number of mistakes Lewis Hamilton made, his excuse was that his tires were shot...ok, how did they get that way?

Surprising was to see a spark from Kovalainen. He really needed a result and I'm happy Mclaren did not order him to pull over for Hamilton, I'm sure against the protest of Hamilton Sr.

Surprising to see Ferrari do quite well with Massa, third at the time he was let down by the car, I was not surprised by Raikkonen's bland race. There is a serious problem there.

Surprised at how lost BMW seems. They thought they were really ahead of the curve with their KERS system but unlike Renault and Ferrari seem reluctant to abandon it and find a new development path.

Surprised at how few people see this diffuser issue as a political wedge brilliantly used by Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone to crack the unity of the FOTA. Latest talk has Brawn considering leaving the constructor's association, presumably in thanks for FOTA's help in getting the team off the ground. You're going to hear some good ones soon.

Finally, I was surprised that people were shocked, shocked I tell you, over Flavio Briatore's comments that drivers are car dependent. Yes, ladies and gents, he made the absurd claim that drivers go faster when they are in a dominating car. Shocking! That Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello moved from last on the grid last year to podiums this year is entirely due to what, Ross feeding them cheetah sandwiches for lunch? Shocking, how dare the Flavionator?

All the guys who race in F1 are potential winners if they have the right car on the right day, now a champion, that's another story, that takes consistency over 17 races...

Anyhow, great race. Not sure who's happier, Vettel that Buemi did not hit him too hard or Buemi that he did not take out the winning Sebastian... Close one there!

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Rumble

Do yourself a favor, turn your speakers up. no I meant ALL the way up and play this clip.

It's the LeMans Classic and I would love to identify every car, so far I have:

Ferrari GTB4 Competizione
Corvette C3 Stingray
Alpine A110
Porsche 906
Porsche 914/6GT
Ford GT40
Bizzarrini GT America
Corvette Stingray
2x Porsche 906
Lola T212
Porsche 908
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2
Ford Mustang Shelby 350
Porsche 906
Lola T70 Coupe
Chevron B8
Lola T212?
Ferrari Dino 246 GT
Piper GTR
Ford Shelby Mustang 350
Alpine Renault A220
Alpine Renault A210 LeMans
2x Lola T70
Porsche 917
Lola T70

Help fill in/correct! ( I think, with your help, we got them all, good job!


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Chinese GP Qualifying: Technolgy fails, Men make the difference

KERS is a miserable failure, that was made abundantly clear in China where all teams that removed it were relatively faster than they had been in Malaysia.

Diffusers aside it seems that weight distribution may be more effective than KERS, no wonder all the major teams are furious at the FIA for forcing them to use it while at the same time giving a fee pass to the smarty pant diffuser crowd.... but that's about politics and for another post.

This week end so far showed precisely why champions matter and why teams need that ultimate performance component if they hope to win. Sebastian Vettel had one shot at pole. There were mechanical issues and he is very light on fuel which meant he had only one flying lap each session including the final Q3. In Q3, he had just the warm up lap to get used to the new fuel load. His lap, which you can see below, was absolutely perfect. He's light on fuel along with Alonso and Webber but he delivered in a crunch the way only great champions are able to. Why BMW let this kid slip through their fingers I'll never understand.

Fernando Alonso got a new diffuser on the car just this morning and while the lightest of the top 5 he managed once again to make the best with what he had and get on the front row. Impressive.

The Red Bull and Renault strategy will depend on them making the most out of the soft tires which have been problematic over more than a couple of laps. Keep an eye on who starts on which tire.

Mclaren and Ferrari are both very heavy with fuel but Raikkonen and Hamilton left their teammates way behind. Massa because he made a mistake on his final Q2 lap, Kovalainen likely because he does not have anywhere near the same car as Hamilton this week end. I think at this point poor Heikki can kiss his career goodbye. His only hope may be a move and a stroke of luck similar to Button's and Barrichello's.

Speaking of Barrichello, he's been crying again, feeling like he can't get respect... His latest beef with Flavio Briatore who, jokingly referred to the Brazilian as a "pensioner" and Button as a "rolling speed bump". Rubens got all outraged and shot back calling Briatore "a stupid man". Well Rubens, I hate to tell you but... that's just the facts, if it wasn't for Brawn, you were going to retire and Button was certainly a rolling chicane last year with that Honda. Sheesh, some people just never know when to keep quiet and enjoy their luck!

Full results and Qualifying weights after the jump

Pos  Driver       Team                       Q1        Q2        Q3      Laps
 1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B) 1:36.565  1:35.130  1:36.184  11
 2.  Alonso       Renault               (B) 1:36.443  1:35.803  1:36.381  21
 3.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B) 1:35.751  1:35.173  1:36.466  19
 4.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B) 1:35.701  1:35.503  1:36.493  21
 5.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B) 1:35.533  1:35.556  1:36.532  19
 6.  Trulli       Toyota                (B) 1:36.308  1:35.645  1:36.835  21
 7.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B) 1:35.941  1:35.809  1:37.397  23
 8.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B) 1:36.137  1:35.856  1:38.089  19
 9.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B) 1:35.776  1:35.740  1:38.595  17
10.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B) 1:36.284  1:35.965  1:39.321  21
11.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B) 1:36.525  1:35.975            14
12.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B) 1:36.646  1:36.032            10
13.  Massa        Ferrari               (B) 1:36.178  1:36.033            11
14.  Glock        Toyota                (B) 1:36.364  1:36.066            14
15.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B) 1:36.673  1:36.193            13
16.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B) 1:36.906                      10
17.  Piquet       Renault               (B) 1:36.908                      10
18.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B) 1:36.966                      8 
19.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B) 1:37.669                      10
20.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B) 1:37.672                      10

All Timing Unofficial

Pos. Driver         Car weight
 1.  Vettel          644.0kg           
 2.  Alonso          637.0kg           
 3.  Webber          646.5kg           
 4.  Barrichello     661.0kg           
 5.  Button          659.0kg           
 6.  Trulli          664.5kg           
 7.  Rosberg         650.5kg           
 8.  Raikkonen       673.5kg           
 9.  Hamilton        679.0kg           
10.  Buemi           673.0kg           
11.  Heidfeld        679.0kg           
12.  Kovalainen      697.0kg           
13.  Massa           690.0kg           
14.  Glock           652.0kg           
15.  Nakajima        682.7kg           
16.  Bourdais        690.0kg           
17.  Piquet          697.9kg           
18.  Kubica          659.0kg           
19.  Sutil           648.0kg           
20.  Fisichella      679.5kg       

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Postcard from Long Beach.

Rahal Letterman BMW M3-RLR in Long Beach California. Qualified 3rd and 4th for Saturday's race after Jaime Melo's Ferrari got disqualified for a technical infraction.
The race will be show on tape delay Sunday 12:30PM EST on ABC.
Watch Qualifying HERE





Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach

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Snapshot: Ferrari in China

With the usual "Diffuser 3" topping Friday practice followed by Red Bull and a more promising Mclaren sporting a new diffuser, the situation at Ferrari, now at a development dead end and without even the help from their unreliable KERS system, can be best illustrated by this picture of Felipe Massa.

And here is the rest of it.

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We're not in Kansas anymore Toto...

Toto Wolff's fast, 7:03.28 fast! Two days ago, he had just completed that record lap onboard a 997 RSR and going for a second, as he hits the Fuchsroehre compression his rear right outside tire explodes. He's fine, the car, probably less so.

If you've driven the 'Ring you should be able to create a vivid mental picture of what losing a tire on that particular corner might mean for your underwear.

For another spectacular rear tire failure clip, don't miss this old classic from 2006 : "Ich bin abgeflogen!"

(renn.tv)



And here is the rest of it.

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No KERS for Ferrari in China

Not a bad move considering the "green" device probably emitted more toxic chemicals into the atmosphere in Malaysia that the two Ferraris did out of their tailpipes!

(clip starts weird but then it's OK...have faith! ;)
And here is the rest of it.

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Guess...

I got you now....you'll never guess! (yeah right, there is actually a huge identifying clue)

UPDATE: The car in the picture was the first car ever to sport a form of Active Steering, two turns lock to lock with continuously variable assistance. Technology at the time did not allow for an actual variable steering rack ratio but the designers did simulate this by changing the amount of assist based on speed.

The steering rack also had a hydraulic self centering system which in turn allowed for the front suspension to have zero caster. That meant there would be no camber change as you turned the wheel. It had self leveling, anti dive suspension and six swiveling headlights. Self adjusting front to rear brake pressure and a mid-front engine design.

The big Identifying feature I alluded to is the shifter which rather than being a traditional "boot" is a beautifully sculpted aluminum piece, perhaps one of the inspirations for BMW's recent rethinking of what an automatic's gear lever can be?
The car is ...

The car is as you have guessed the remarcable Citroen SM. Want to learn more? START HERE

Photos by "God Made Me Funky"


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Diffusers are go...

As expected the FIA, probably most interested in not contradicting itself, declared the Brawn, Toyota and Williams diffusers to be legal.

What was not expected and a big disappointment was to hear Ferrari's lawyer refer to Ross Brawn as "a person of supreme arrogance" for essentially coming up with his own, clever interpretation of the rules as written. Compound that with the apparent argument made by Adrian Newey that these diffusers are unsafe because they make cars too fast and the whole thing just looks bad plain stupid from the outside.

As a counterpoint of course, this ruling goes completely against the FIA stated intentions of cutting costs as many teams will be forced to spend huge amounts to rush new parts onto the cars. It was rumored Mclaren spent a few million on a front wing just for Interlagos last year, imagine what a complete re design of the rear aerodynamics of the car must cost.

Also the 2009 rules arise from recommendations made by the Overtaking Working Group which was made up by designers from Ferrari, Mclaren and Renault. It is understandable why those three teams made the argument that there was an infraction against the spirit of the regulations and it is understandable why their cars were not designed the same way. However proving infractions against spirits never worked very well and good luck getting a ruling that would have annulled what has been a dream media story again for Formula 1, right at a time when the sport so needs to be at the center of attention. Not to mention stifling that essential element for technical progress: creative disregard for "the way it's done".

For one interpretation of how the Brawn diffuser works look HERE

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Straight from the Horse's Mouth

Everyone is using YouTube to put out the official line, from the US Government to Ferrari. You will probably read these quotes in your favorite daily or web site or you can now just hear them spoken by Ferrari Team boss Stefano Domenicali.

You may have read about the realignment within the Ferrari team, with Luca Baldisseri being sent away from the track replaced by Chris Dyer, Schumacher's and Raikkonen's race engineer who himself had been sent back to homebase after the 2008 season.

Baldisserri, on his semi-anonymous blog, makes a not so cryptic entry:

"Rain did arrive, maybe too much of it in the end... those 5 minutes of your life that in the end always make the difference, if you think about it many of the turning points in everyone's life are dictated by moment short in duration but long in consequence."..."things as they happened, could have happened very differently"

In other words I rolled the dice, came up snake eyes.

So it was not Schumacher who made the full wets call for Raikkonen in Malaysia though it's interesting that he too will not be in China this week end. Let's see if it really was a case of too many cooks or if it was just the wrong cooks. For sure there is much more behind this story.

And here is the rest of it.

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It takes some nerve...

It takes a lot of nerve to race with a name like Stig Richards.

But perhaps it takes even more nerve to race a Caterham without a full cage, on the Mount Panorama track in Bathurst, on slicks, in the rain.

Aussie Stiggy here gets a bad start but stick around, he does OK in the end!

Stig writes:

"If you live in a drought affected area I think we have a solution. Gather around 30 Clubman cars and organise a race.

Just as we head out to the grid the predictive powers of the Bureau of Meteorology will collapse, clouds will gather like a scene from a sci-fi movie and as the lights go green the heavens will open, reaching the ground about two minutes later.

We will be on slicks, have had next to no experience of the track but rest assured we will enjoy ourselves immensely.

In this race I made the wrong decision at turn one and didn't have the momentum or power to keep my place up Mountain Straight.

I chopped out a couple of laps in the middle but essentially the video starts with me going backwards and then follows my quest to regain some spots.

Enjoy

Stig"

Catch more of "Stig Richards" here

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Guess...

As usual, to foil "peekers", the author of the picture will be revealed and linked once someone guesses right. Given your past track record, I suspect that will probably be very soon...

UPDATE: I hate you guys, you're too good!... 19 minutes is all it took for the right answer which you will find after the jump!


Congratulations to Ronzar, it is indeed an Aston Martin V8 Vantage beautifully photographed by Linhbergh Nguyen


Guess

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Time Machine: the e30 M3

BMW M has come a long way from the first 3.0 CSL "batmobile", to the latest emphatically non-licht X6M and X5M. Along the way, cars which are legends: the M1, the Mclaren F1, generations of M5's and of course M3's.

Of the M3's, only one model was a true GTO, Gran Turismo Omologato, a model created specifically as cover for competition cars, the e30.

For you who believe the e30 M3 was the last great M3, put on your flared pants, unbutton your shirt, and let's travel back to the groovy mid '80, a time when gold wheels were perfectly acceptable and even...cool!

Based on the 1986 model year E30 3-Series, the first M3 was introduced with a 2.3 L I4 S14B23 engine (or S14 in shorthand). The engine design was based on various BMW genealogy; basic block layout from the M10 4 cylinder (found in the 2002 and 320 series) overbored and reinforced to similar specifications of the BMW M88 inline-6. The valve train and head architecture from BMWs M1 and later M6 inline-6 cylinder was adopted for aggressive breathing, resulting in outstanding performance for the day.

The most notable characteristic of the E30 M3 (relative to later M3 iterations) is its racing pedigree. It was campaigned by BMW as well as other racing teams including Prodrive and AC Schnitzer competing in many forms of racing including but not limited to Rally, DTM, Australian touring car and other series.

One of the main reasons for production of the road car was to homologate the M3 for Group A Touring Car racing. One of the reasons often cited for its creation was that it was to compete with the "2.3-16V"-model of the Mercedes-Benz W201 190E which was introduced in 1983, although this was only speculative. When the E30 M3 was in its final years of top level competition, the 2.5 liter S14 engine in full race trim was capable of 340 hp (250 kW) plus, naturally aspirated.

The E30 M3 road car

The first road-going version produced 195 bhp (145 kW; 198 PS) (catalyzed model). Evolution models (not sold in North America) continued with 2.3 liters but adopted revised exhaust-cam timing, increased compression along with the lack of a catalyst producing approximately 215 hp (160 kW). Later the Sport Evolution model production run of 600 (sometimes referred as Evolution III) increased engine displacement to 2.5 L and produced 238 hp (175 kW). 786 cabriolets were also produced, all by hand in BMW's Garching plant; at the time the 215 hp (160 kW) example was the world's fastest four-seat convertible.

Changes from the standard 3-series

The E30 M3 differed from the rest of the E30 line-up in many ways. The M3 was equipped with a revised stiffer and more aerodynamic body shell as well as "box flared" wheel-arches to accommodate a wider track with wider and taller wheels and tires. The only body panels the standard model 3-series and the M3 shared were the hood and sunroof. It also had three times the caster angle of any other E30. The M3 shared larger wheel bearings and front brake calipers with the E28 5-Series. It also had a Getrag 265/5 5 speed gearbox, and rear differential with different final-drive ratio and 25% lockup.

To keep the car competitive in racing following homologation rules changes year to year, homologation specials were produced. Homologation rules roughly stated that the race version must reflect the street car aerodynamically and in engine displacement; therefore, improved models were periodically released for the public. Special editions and homologation specials include: the Evo 1, Evo 2 and Sport Evolution some of which featured less weight, improved aerodynamics, taller front fender arches (Sport Evolution; to further facilitate 18-inch (460 mm) wheels in DTM), brake ducting, and more power. Other limited-production models (based on evolution models but featuring special paintwork and/or unique interior schemes commemorating championship wins) include the Europa, Ravaglia, Cecotto, and Europameister.

Production of the original E30 M3 ended in early 1992.

Having won more road races than any other model in history, the E30 M3 is considered by many to be the world's most successful road-race car. M3s entered by BMW and privateer racing outfits did dominate the competition for the years it was in production. Its wins include the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, European Touring Car Championship and even the one-off World Touring Car Championship title in 1987. The E30 M3 is also a multiple winner of Guia Race, 24 Hours Nürburgring and Spa 24 Hours.

(wikipedia)

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Ouch!

Well played sirs, well played!


(juggernault)



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Frenchman hit with $183,500 speeding fine.

Don't speed in Switzerland. A magistrate in Fribourg nailed a wealthy French speeder with a bit of judicial Ju Jitsu. The Frenchman was clocked driving a perfectly normal 250km/h (155mph) in his Ferrari on one of those smooth, immaculately kept alpine highways. Unfortunately that was 130km/h over the posted limits and as you know the Swiss take their rules serioulsy.

The gallic speeder was a repeat offender but apparently in excellent financial health so it was deemed appropriate to devise the following financial fondue.

The fast frenchman was ordered to pay 150 DAILY installments of 1390 swiss francs (about $1230) for a total of 208,500 CHF or US$183,500. Lest people say he is heartless, the judge gave the defendant 90 days to make the first 50 payments and suspended the remaining 100 pending no further offenses for 5 years.

So if you are going to speed in Switzerland make sure you do it in an old e30 and wear jeans with holes!
(via Quattroruote)





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Rain in the Desert: MotoGP postponed

It was raining cats and dogs in Qatar today... what are the chances? The 125 race was red flagged.

MotoGP was cancelled and should be run on Monday.

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Time Machine: the 1971 24 hours of Spa

Rare cars you never get to see in action like the "Red Elephant" AMG 300 SEL, or even possibly more rare, a Citroen SM race car!

And of course you got your Alfa GTa, GTam , the Capri RS, the BMW 3.0 the Opel Commodores... 8 minutes well spent!

Happy Easter!

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Race car bling

These red anodized CCW C10 will be on the CG Axis Cayman S-GT3 race car once it is released from the paint shop where it's being converted to a proper Carrera White shade.

In case you are interested, the CCW wheels are rather reasonable for a true racing wheel, as opposed to a stunner special which will bent the first time you attack a curb. This set of 9x18 and 10x18 cost around $2800.

And here is the rest of it.

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