We are very proud to have Bimmerworld join our Axis family as a sponsor of these pages.
We, like many of our BMW driving readers I'm sure, have been James Clay's clients for years. Aside from many assorted maintenance parts, I purchased the replacement S54 for my MCoupe as well as the Performance Friction big brake kit I recently installed on the car. I've been very happy with both and so, once again I can recommend Bimmerworld to you from positive personal experience.
Next time you need a track tested solution for your BMW performance issues, give Bimmerworld a call. In the meantime go check out all the tasty bits here . --> READ MORE
How Felipe Massa though he could leave the door open that much and have Hamilton NOT hit him we'll never know. It's not like it's the first time Hamilton has tried that exact move. Just in Monaco he did it twice, to Massa at the hairpin and to Maldonado at St.Devote, both resulting in epic fails for the Brit.
The issue here is that Hamilton has decided he is Senna and he saw the movie, and he read the quote about going for the gap every time, blah blah blah. It's obvious Lewis believes people should just move out of the way when he makes any move, thus his surprised whine after the incident.
But he is not Senna, this is a different century and a different Formula 1. That Hamilton believes anyone in the top tier (and some in the second tier) will move aside goes a long way towards explaining why he painted Bob Marley on his helmet. Pass it over Lewis!
Massa's penalty is proof the incessant whining about being "singled out", is working for Hamilton. That and having Johnny Herbert as the "expert" steward in India. That was at best a racing incident, but judge for yourself after the jump.
Other than this incident, nothing really happened at the Indian GP, just a boring procession with the usual results. Big losers have to be Webber and Hamilton and possibly Force India for a rather poor showing in front of the home crowd.
From Alfa to Volvo everyone gets a chance to fail at Eau Rouge in the rain!
I imagine now that Spa is on GT5, so many more will go there convinced they can drive it "flat out" and keep local YouTubers busy. Interesting about this clip is the sheer variety seldom seen racers. When was the last time you saw spec Volvo 300s? What can you say about that Volvo PV racer?
Prototypes, legend clown cars, BMW Z4, lotus 7's...they all get a taste of that red water. . --> READ MORE
I'm off to New Jersey Motorsport Park this week end for the final (sigh) NASA Time Trial and race week end of the season. One of the pieces of gear on my car is the new Traqdash display from Traqmate.
As I've said many times, Traqmate advertises on Axis but we had used their products well before we ever made contact with Glenn and the gang. We love it. Axis will feature a full writeup on the Traqdash next week but I wanted to alert all to a big one time sale Traqmate is running from November 4th through November 7th.
You will be able to save up to $250 if you order a complete system and $100 off the new display if you are upgrading your current system. I'd jump at the chance, you are not going to find this discounted anywhere.
Now the other huge news, Traqmate is announcing Traqdata Pro, an integrated camera control for GoPro!.
This is huge, a $300 HD camera that can be remotely controlled and powered on by Traqmate.
No more sync issues, no more "oh crap, I forgot to start the camera" (you still have to remember to empty the memory card and charge the batteries though!). Exactly what we had been hoping for since we abandoned the standard definition chase cams.
The Traqmate GoPro interface will ship in January 2012.
Ok, so maybe Ferrari needs some help with its English grammar but if you're a recent engineering school graduate, you won't care about that. Maranello is conducting a worldwide search for young talent:
Ferrari opens its doors to newly graduates
Maranello, 13 October - Ferrari decided to open its gates in a world-wide campaign to newly graduates with the goal to find young talents to insert in the company's structure. In the project's first phase ten graduates, who will join the technical department, the production technology department and the production process department, will be selected.
Initially the chosen candidates will be offered an internship over six months, which can lead to employment and a career in the company.
The candidates will be chosen based on an online selection process based on an English test, a psychometric tests and in-depth tests regarding technical knowledge. An interview in a video conference is mandatory to be chosen for the final group tests held in Maranello. (more after the jump)
Ferrari is seeking 10 recent graduates of world-class universities to offer them a unique work experience and the opportunity to grow within the Company.
The search is being conducted for the following departments: Research and Development, Production Technologies and Production.
Ferrari’s objective is to hire talented young graduates and develop them in-house, enabling them to grow into professional job roles of increasing responsibilities. Initially, successful candidates will be offered a 6-month work experience as a prerequisite for hiring. Our recruiting is aimed at outstanding candidates who have received engineering degrees from top universities worldwide in the last 12 months. Excellent English language skills are indispensible in order to participate in the selection process. Successful candidates will work in Maranello.
The selection process starts with an initial assessment of the candidate’s study curriculum. Then, selected candidates will have to complete the following online: English language test, psycho-attitudinal assessment test and technical trials specific to the job profile selected. Candidates who pass the online testing phase will be invited to participate in a videoconference interview. The final phase of the selection process consists of individual interviews and a group assessment session at Ferrari in Maranello. The entire selection process will be conducted in English.
Candidates who meet the stated requirements, who are driven by initiative and innovation, who are disposed to adopt company values and culture and who are willing to learn Italian can apply by choosing a job profile (choose only one) and completing its attached form with the information requested.
• VEHICLE INNOVATION: 2 Mechanical Engineering graduates, to work in Research and Development. The first assignment is in innovation projects in the field of vehicle design. Candidates must have a specialization in Automotive and must have developed a thesis on one of the following topics:
Weight reduction
Vehicle dynamics or suspension systems.
• VEHICLE INNOVATION: 1 Electrical or Electronic Engineering graduate, to work in Research and Development. The first assignment is in innovation projects involving electrical and electronic systems. Candidates must have developed a thesis on topics related to automotive electronics applications.
• TRANSMISSIONS: 1 Mechanical Engineering graduate, to work in Research and Development, in the Powertrain area, on activity related to Transmissions. Candidates must have developed a thesis on topics such as transmissions, gears, hydraulics or controls. Knowledge of the German language is required.
• POWERTRAIN: 1 Mechanical Engineering graduate, to work in Research and Development, in the Powertrain area, on activity related to Engine design. Candidates, graduates of Automotive Engineering Faculties or Departments, must have developed a thesis on a topic from the Engine field.
• TECHNOLOGIES: 3 Mechanical Engineering graduates, to work in Production Technologies and Production, in the Mechanical Systems area. Candidates must have acquired in-depth knowledge, through specialised courses, of subjects related to the development and management of mechanical processing or engine assembly equipment.
• COMPOSITE MATERIALS: 2 Mechanical Engineering graduates, with a specialization in composite materials, and other non-metallic materials and their automotive applications. The orientation and development program is planned to allow the candidates to gain experience in both the design and the technology development departments.
His many internet fans know Antti Kalhola has a flare for editing dramatic videos, this clip seems especially on target given recent events. Celebrate Motorsport, enjoy life!
Money makes the wheels go round, we all know that and we know that there are two basic paths to top tier motor racing, talent and funding. Now, if you have talent you might, if you are lucky and extremely good, get funding but if you have enough funding you will certainly get a seat somewhere.
The top talents on F1, Alonso, Hamilton, Schumacher, Montoya none of them came from big money, all worked hard and put themselves in the position to be noticed and funded. But they are the exception, for every one of them there many more drivers who are buying their time in the show.
It's not a modern phenomenon, the sport started with wealthy "gentlemen racers" but in the modern era, drivers have tended to hide the source of their funding preferring to give the impression they have the seat based on their talent alone.
The numbers give you nosebleed. The path to Formula 1, a season in World Series by Renault 3.5 will cost $1 million and GP2, 2 to 3 million for a top team, if it wasn't for wealthy pay drivers, the fields would be very, very thin.
This is not discussed much in the racing media so se asked our friend Timur Tsunvazo to look into the background of two current drivers, Vitaly Petrov and Jaime Alguersauri.
Man and machine. A synergy the makes racing the most electrifying kind of sport. We can spend a lifetime arguing what’s more important, the man or the car, but in the real world, money is way more crucial. While there are no non-millionaires in modern F1, GP2 or even WSR, drivers do their best to hide it, because nobody wants to be evaluated based on money first. But of course, many are.
The father of Formula 1's youngest driver Jaime Alguersuari – Jaime Alguersuari Senior – is a top-ranked multi-millionaire from Spain. He used to race bikes in 1970s and later could also be seen on the grid of F3 and Formula Ford.
Alguersuari Sr. never won any title but went on to become a successful businessman. Today he owns World Series by Renault (consists of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, WSR 3.5 & Eurocup Megane Trophy) which gave us Kubica, Vettel, Ricciardo and some others. A leading media magnate in Spain he is president of RPM Racing (a large-scale company responsible for the majority of motorsport events in Spain, http://www.rpmracing.es/default03.php) as well.
No surprise the Spaniard has easily managed to pay €2 million for his son’s first two races for STR Ferrari back in 2009 (with a friendly assistance of Repsol) and protects Jr.’s seat over the following years with no consistency from the 21-year-old.
Now, on to Russia, may be the only place in the world where you can spend time in jail and then become a multimillionaire, meet in person with Vladimir Putin, get his comprehensive support and finally get your son racing in FIA Formula 1 Championship!
Let’s talk about Alexander Petrov, Vitaly’s father. Officially, he is a principal at customs house in Vyborg, Russia (18 miles from the Finnish border and 600 miles from Moscow), who «mortgaged all his property to secure a loan and let his talented son take a seat at Lotus Renault F1 Team»… In the real world, according to the few media existing in Russia, Alexander Petrov is Member of the Board at Vyborg Shipyard & its co-owner with 3.45% share. The company, established in 1948, has over 1500 employees, net profit about $400 million a year and boasts a good client in Gazprom (the largest industrial giant in Russia) which recently ordered the development of two drilling rigs for as much as $2 billion. In one of the earliest TV interviews in 2010 Alexander Petrov personally declared that he spent over €20 million for his son’s early career steps (including GP2 and GP2 Asia), then «took out a loan and borrowed money from my good friends including Ilya Traber» in order to pay €15 million for Vitaly's debut.
Thanks to Putin, Petrov Sr. refilled his cash flow later the same year with a huge contribution from VAZ (the manufacturer you may know by LADA brand) whose management was ordered by the prime-minister to do so as a favor for the participation in multibillion dollar anti recession governmental campaign. Now you know what LADA and Vyborg Shipyard brand logos exactly do on both Lotus Renault cars.
By the way, If you were wondered who those kind «friends» are, according to media, Ilya Traber is the russian mafia godfather in Saint-Peterburg who unofficially owns the whole antiques market and the largest seaport in the city.
Like we said, Money makes the wheels go round and F1's a fast crowd. Briatore? An amateur compared to some!
Well, at today's press conference, organizers of the New Jersey Grand Prix did say Google Earth was used to find a suitable spot next to Manhattan. A day before the announcement some enterprising person made good use of that same Google Earth in the clip above, Outstanding!
It's real.... and it's a short subway ride away from my house!
Kudos to Joe Saward for nailing the layout ahead of everyone... despite others taking the credit.
Some highlights
1. Full access via public transport, like Montreal.
2. No public financing.
3. 10 year contract with FOM
4. Tilke Design
5. large elevation change, with steep downhill section.
6. Average ticket price $360 for three days makes it somewhat affordable by F1 standards.
7 run clockwise.
James Allen narrates the story of Djorge Simic, bank employee and winner of the 2011 Johnny Walker Drive of a Lifetime contest, surely one of the more epic contest wins in history.
"I bet he's crapping in his pants" says Hamilton watching Simic climbing in the 2008 Mclaren MP4/23. Yeah, probably he was but in oh such a good way!
I wonder if they could even have this contest in lawsuit happy USA what with all the necessary restriction inherent with even fitting inside an F1 car...
"17. For an opportunity to be considered for the drive of a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car (selection to take place during day 2 and day 3 of the Experience), winners must fulfil the following requirements to satisfy the specific safety standards of McLaren Racing Limited (“McLaren”) such as, but not limited to:
a. you must be in good health;
b. there is no minimum weight but winners must not exceed 85kgs (187lbs);
c. must be a minimum height of 153 cm (5’2”) tall and must not exceed 183cm (6'0");
d. maximum shoe size should be UK size 10 (European 44); and
e. must be fluent in English to ensure that instructions from the McLaren team may be understood. (taken together, the "Safety Criteria".)"
Just look at that thing, how awesome is it to share the same planet with this machine?
2012 will bring much needed new blood and interest to DTM. Check out the contenders after the jump, who are you going to root for, BMW Audi or Mercedes?--> READ MORE
This is one of those weeks when you just want nothing to do with motorsports. You can find the horrible video from Sepang on plenty of sites that want traffic that way, we'll pass.
It was an unheard of, freak outcome of a very common fall. Looking at the video from the bike just behind it looks like when he lost the front, Simoncelli may have become wedged under the Honda so the bike could not break free on the tangent. Or maybe he hung on to it thinking he w could save it, who knows. It does not matter, it's just awful.
Our condolences to Marco's family and team. Special thought for Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi tonight, there was absolutely nothing they could do.
There was some talk of this this past summer, I like many others war more than a little skeptical but this just popped up on AutoWeek.
" Speed TV on Friday said it will interrupt its regularly scheduled programming on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. Eastern to "bring audiences live coverage of a special announcement regarding the future of Formula One Grand Prix racing in the United States."
The broadcast is expected to be the formal announcement of the previously rumored New Jersey F1 race that will take place in view of the Manhattan skyline, probably in 2013 and likely paired with the Montreal F1 race.
The effort to bring the race to a temporary street-circuit in Weehawken and West New York in New Jersey is headed by gentleman racer Leo Hindery Jr., who is the former head of the YES network, and who is married to Speed TV executive Patti Wheeler, daughter of former Speedway Motorsports Inc. executive and legendary promoter Humpy Wheeler.
A well-regarded NASCAR executive is rumored to be joining the effort, though that announcement may or may not come on Tuesday.
The race is expected to complement the already-announced U.S. Grand Prix scheduled to debut in November 2012 in Austin, Texas, as well as a race planned for Mexico."
If it happens, they better use the Lincoln tunnel helix and run the cars around the Javitz Center and back out to New Jersey!
Stay tuned
Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20111021/F1/111029957#ixzz1bT7nXZDD" . --> READ MORE
When I posted the video of the Cayman R vs BMW 1M below, I confess to just looking at the pictures an giving no attention whatsoever to what the professional paid journalist in it was saying, a typical and maybe bad habit of mine.
My loss because, as some of you pointed out, I missed the face palm inducing revelation by CAR editor Ben Barry of a "3.4 liter straight six" in the Porsche Cayman R!
Sure, anyone can flub a line or get confused but how minblowing is it that it gets through the editorial process and the quite extensive post a magazine like CAR will do for its YouTube clips?
Seeing the BMW 1M pitted against the Cayman R is not exactly new and while that comparison still makes little sense to us (we think there is zero chance a Cayman buyer would say, you know what, I'll choose the 1M instead, and vice versa) we do love watching them burn some tires. So the new issue of CAR gets a free plug!
I remember, as a very young boy, my father taking me to Monza to see the 1000Km and seeing the E9 Batmobiles flying down towards the Parabolica spitting flames out the sides. Such a distant memory but one I will never forget.
Very cool of BMW to take these priceless four wheeled treasures out and share them with the public who might not have seen them when they were "Just race cars".
I never saw a Mclaren F1 GTR in the heat of battle, the more reason to enjoy a ride in one driven by Mr BMW himself, Bill Auberlen (a.k.a. "best race driver ever" :)). At this year's Oktoberfest BMW track day at Barber Motorsports Park some lucky attendees got to sit in the right....and left seats!
That sound...wow. One day I'll get a ride in that monster. Kind of funny watching people giving point bys, like Bill would have waited around!
The F1 boys ended up putting on a fairly decent show at times on that wretched, wretched track in Korea. The highlight was certainly that scrap between Webber and Hamilton, good stuff, clean too.
Hamilton drove, dare I say it, a Button-esque race. He saved his tires and was able to keep a traction challenged Webber behind. Well done. He was still sad though, perhaps those voices saying he's pining for Nicole are correct. Maybe he saw the terms of Button's new contract, more likely, he was not happy going backwards from his grid spot again.
Meanwhile, Vettel made a decisive pass on Hamilton and never really looked back. The guy's gunning for Schumacher's single season wins, I'm not betting against him pulling it off, do you?
Back in the Ferrari camp Massa still hasn't figured out Fernando really IS faster than him and wend about "destroying" his race. Alonso destroyed him once he passed him in the pits, it was embarrassing.
And how about Petrov? Between the custom inspector's kid and the legend's nephew, what an embarrassing week end for the Lotus Renault team!
The best news I heard is that the Korean GP is having financial issues. That track is possibly the most miserable on the circuit, I don't think too many would miss it.
No, I'm not posting the crash, if you did not see it on TV, I'm sure there are plenty of other sites that happily traffic in that.
I'm not an oval racing fan, all I can say is that Formula One has worked tirelessly, many times against the grumbling of fans, to constantly improve safety, learning form mistakes and unexpected accidents. It seems to me, as an admittedly casual follower of Indy car racing, that all major accidents resulting in serious injuries in that series have had remarkably similar dynamics, a car flying into the catch fence. Why?
Our condolences to Dan Wheldon's family and his team and all those involved in Indy car.
Hamilton got a fantastic pole, first in many months but then was bizarrely morose as he got out of the car and during the post qualifying conference. Massive hissy fit of just woken up on the wrong side of the bed, something's going on in there.
Tomorrow it will be early stops to get rid of the "red" Pirellis and then a race to see who can make their primes last. RBR might try for a 2 stopper.
Meanwhile, Vettel got an inexplicable freebee when stewards decided not to penalize him for cutting the track on his in lap after his first Q3 run. I would have thought you could make the argument that, in a game of seconds and ounces, cutting gave him extra flexibility in the garage. In the big scheme of things it means little but it certainly sets a bizarre precedent.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m35.820s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.042s + 0.222
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.126s + 0.306
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.468s + 0.648
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m36.831s + 1.011
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m36.980s + 1.160
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m37.754s + 1.934
8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m38.124s + 2.304
9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes no time
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m38.254s Gap **
11. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.315s + 1.789
12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.354s + 1.828
13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.508s + 1.982
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.775s + 2.249
15. Bruno Senna Renault 1m38.791s + 2.265
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m39.189s + 2.663
17. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.443s + 2.917
Q1 cut-off time: 1m39.464s Gap *
18. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m39.538s + 2.013
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m40.522s + 2.997
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m41.101s + 3.576
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.091s + 4.566
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m43.483s + 5.958
23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m43.758s + 6.233
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth no time
107% time: 1m44.351s
There's not much riding on this year's race but bragging rights and constructor points but last year it was quite a different story and wow, what a difference a year makes, no engine failures so far for Red Bull at all.
Well, OK maybe "love" is too strong a word, but certainly "enjoy" and not sit in the garage waiting for the rain to pass. Fully wet track days are statistically pretty rare here, but what if you ever move to the UK? If you are disturbed by rain you would never get on track!
Last week at Watkins Glen we had what could best be described as a deluge. The track sits on a plateau and that meant that not only did we get rain but the whole facility was essentially in the clouds.
Visibility varied from none to barely enough to see the next corner. There were substantial delays but eventually they made the decision to open up the track and I was out for the Time Trials.
First few laps were a bit cautious but by the end I managed the second best time in class, less than a 1/2 second behind my friend Luke who had cleverly rented a set of Hoosier Wet race tires. I was driving on Michelin Super Sport excellent tires though they may be, with over 7000 miles on them they don't quite have the same level of grip.
I noticed looking at old videos I was about 15 seconds a lap faster, in worse conditions, than the last time I was at the Glen in the rain. Back then, Stee and I would marvel at how CG would blow by us in the Carrera S he had at the time. So what did I change?
I would have to say it was 95% mental, I just stopped being afraid. Sure, I kept my guard up but I was not anxious. The other 5% was probably better tires. I did not do anything to the car other than set the shocks to full soft but there are a number of things I learned. They seem obvious now but I'll skip the ones you will typical hear a driver's briefings and in the classrooms. Maybe some can help my fellow tracktards.
1. Look at the track:
Get to know where water is puddling, where rivers are forming, this will change throughout the day, so know what to expect
2. Don't brake in puddles and rivers!
Seems obvious but if you run a particular track often, your braking points will be engrained in your memory and you will tend to want to follow the same pattern regardless. A good example of this was the run into turn 7 (the Toe) at Watkins Glen where a river forms diagonally from left to right, just about where you might think of braking. The right play there is to go against your instinct and actually brake later, past the river where there is no standing water.
3. Cold brakes grab.
If you are running race compound pads remember that on your first few laps your cold brake pads will be very grabby, not much of an issue in the dry but in the wet you might find yourself skating on ABS right when you fist start to pick up speed. Both Stee and I had this same experience in the bumpy braking area for turn 8, but only on the first lap or two.
4. Both axles count.
If you are driving a RWD car, remember your rear wheels have to get passed the river as well. Sounds stupid but there is an interval of time there and if you are only thinking of your front wheels, you might feed power in just that split second too early...
5. Your corner speed is largely irrelevant.
Speed in the rain is not made on the turns, it's made in a straight line, coming out of the turn. Traction is why 911's are so awesome in the rain. (if you do it right).
6. invert your braking, apex and track out.
As there is little speed to be made up in the turns, you want to minimize the time you spend there.
The "Dry line"(blue) will almost always be more slippery so you have two different strategies for turns: the classic rimshot (green) or the elbow (red) where you would come in braking on the inside, park it, turn and shoot out. Which one will work best will depend on the turn, the conditions and your car.
7. There is no rain line.
Regardless of what they tell you, every corner is different, every car is different and conditions will vary. Turn 9 was a good example, the best line through was the dry line. Why? because it's off camber and if you just did the prescribed wide arc you would end up in deeper water and gain nothing. Taking the dry line at the appropriate speed worked for both me and the Freep.
8. Learn to let go of the brake.
Sounds counter intuitive especially if you have ABS and new fangled traction control but that's what saved me at the end of the clip above. In the braking zone into turn 1 the car started coming around. rather than trying to fight it I released the brake which allowed the car to settle.
9. Straight line hydroplaning is scary.
Can't help you there, when you hit a puddle at over 100 and it moves you over 5 feet, it's just unnatural and it sucks and proof that in the end you always have to dance with physics!
To show you good rain driving in a scary place, I included a clip of CG in a PCA race at Daytona. Never seen Daytona wet before and CG does a very artistic 720º on the infield. No worries though, he will make his way back through the field to a top five finish.
Everyone loves Senna of course but we at Axis also worship "uncle" Walter, that master of oversteer, arguably the best and most complete rally driver of all time.
Now, you can get your hands on a new DVD celebrating Röhrl's career through Ford, Opel, Fial, Lancia, Porsche, Audi from Turini to Pikes Peak through RallyandRacing.com
A tribute to Vettel's back to back championships or is Jim Hunter just trying to show off now? Whatever the case we loved his wheels up shot of the #75 Axis of Oversteer/Capital Partners GT3 at Road Atlanta.
Jim will receive an Axis t-shirt and a set of autographed hero cards courtesy of James at The Racer's Group.
There have been a number of incidents in the last couple of years where teams and drivers have been criticized for making the safe play and banking precious points. If anything Sunday's race in Japan shows how very important it is to get the job done and over with.
Sebastian Vettel may be criticized for some for his very Schumacher-esque opening move on gentleman Jenson Button but, let's get real, this is F1, he was on pole and he made the move to defend his position. Why every yard counts became clear later in the race, when a combination of Jenson's mastery of tire management and less than perfect timing by Red Bull relegated Vettel to P2 and later P3 behind Alonso's Ferrari. Sure Vettel needed only one point but you just can never take anything for granted when the big prize is in site.
In the latter stages of the race Red Bull sent out the order for Vetter (and Webber) to hold station, Safe, yes but it's obvious Mclaren has developed a car that is a real threat and who knows what could happen in the remaining races, you have a chance to seal a Championship, you do it. period.
There is little doubt Vettel is a deserving double champion. Red Bull gave him an awesome car but, as Webber showed this season, that is not enough. Seb made many mistakes in the past, but unlike other highly regarded drivers in the field, he has not repeated them, he learned from the past.
Speaking of, the Massa, Hamilton thing is getting to be comical. Those two are like those magnetic dog toys, always finding each others butt. I'm not sure how Massa thought he was going to pass Hamilton on the outside of the chicane, but for sure Ham turned out on him. His, not doubt PR scripted, excuse was that he could not see him. Balls, but whatever.
The podium in Japan saw the best drivers in Formula 1 at this moment in time, one single and two double World Champions. A good snapshot of this season and, hopefully a prelude of things to come. Next year the storyline will be the fight among those three and the outsider, Hamilton trying to get his game back together and into the top tier once again.
Today Lewis Hamilton managed to blow his chance at pole and destroy Schumacher and Webber's final go in the process. Afterwards he flipped off Grandpa in the pits and complained to the media that Schumacher's pass was dangerous, despite having done precisely the same himself in Singapore two weeks ago.
Hamilton slowed down too much to get a gap for his final flying lap leaving no choice for Webber and Schumacher but go around him or risk not making the cut. Webber made it, Schumacher ended up with dirt all over his tires and out of time and Hamilton, well, he was left hanging.
Prediction for tomorrow's race? Well, given how Vettel pulled 4/10ths out of the hat just like that and how RBR has been solid on long runs, he will run away with it. If we are lucky, either Hamilton or Alonso will do something fun at the start and get around. If that happens perhaps Vettel will want to push and win the championship with a win, not points. Hey there's always hope, right?
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.466s 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m30.475s + 0.009 3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m30.617s + 0.151 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m30.804s + 0.338 5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m30.886s + 0.420 6. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m31.156s + 0.690 7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber no time 8. Vitaly Petrov Renault no time 9. Bruno Senna Renault no time 10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m32.380s Gap ** 11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m32.463s + 1.997 12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m32.746s + 2.280 13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m33.079s + 2.613 14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m33.224s + 2.758 15. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.227s + 2.761 16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.427s + 2.961 17. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari no time Q1 cut-off time: 1m35.111s Gap * 18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m35.454s + 4.988 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m35.514s + 5.048 20. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.439s + 5.973 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.507s + 6.041 22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m37.846s + 7.380 23. Nico Rosberg Mercedes no time 24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth no time
(photo: Stephen Maddalena) How do you top the previous two races? Simple, add water!
That and increase value to stratospheric levels. Ok so, the recession took a bit of a bite, last year the combined value of the cars on track for the Goodwood TT was estimated to be a quarter of a billion pounds, this year the estimate is closer a a measly 100 million pounds.... but as I said, you add water.
We gave Martin Brundle some stick for being a bit slow with Nick Mason's 30 million pound GTO (gee, I can't imagine why he's be careful with it!...) Obviously Martin reads Axis and was embarrassed because this year he holds little back, and it was the first time he drove the car in the rain! Nice ripping Martin!
Check it out, it's a lot of fun, oh did I mention the bread van? Check out some pictures after the jump.
On the eternal bucket list, the Goodwood Revival has a simple, timeless formula: pro drivers in old cars with skinny tires with no brakes on a fast flowing circuit. What could possibly not be awesome about it?
The event is broken up in various "trophies" for various classes and time periods, we'll start with the St. Mary's Trophy for 1960's touring cars. The field could not be more eclectic: Ford Galaxie, Jaguar Mk II, Lotus Cortina, Mini Cooper, Alfa GT and BMW 1600.
The drivers, Darren Turner, Emanuele Pirro, Tom Kristensen, Andy Priaulx, Tiff Needell, Eddie Cheever, Jackie Oliver, are having a blast, you'll enjoy the show!
"Oh lalalalala, putain, merde comme c'est violente..."
There seems to be an effort to bury the incident and pull videos off YT, the fact that the video below had it's title changed to "NOT for Save the Ring" and then pulled gives a bit of a clue about the Eiffel intramural scrum going on these days.
That clip showed, in our opinion, gross stupidity and unbelievable lack of judgement by the Nurburgring track crews who crated a 20 mph funnel on a very fast part of the track and put warning signals after a blind corner at nowhere near enough distance for a safe deceleration. No wonder track management bans cameras and why it's more important than ever people disregard and document everything, thanks to the video's author for sharing.
This clip shows you a lot of what happened.
we start as the car rounds Bergwerk and starts the climb up the hill. One accident at the work zone funnel has already happened, you will see a white e90 M3 missing a complete front strut and at least one damaged 911 Cars are stopping everywhere as they can, on the grass, sideways. In the camera car they quickly realize stopping is not the right play and just as they start picking their way thought the wreck, you see a Corvette stop at the back and moments later getting smashed by one of the BMW Ring Taxis arriving on the scene what else, flat out!
I'm not going to knock the track, I loved going there every time but the place is turning into a clown show fast.
Today it's in the news because of a big crash. No, it was not initiated by the BMW Ring Taxi. No, it did not happened on the corner Lauda crashed in 1976 but yes, a Ring Taxi was involved, people were hurt and cars were destroyed.
Nothing new you say? Correct. Why? Because those in charge of the track are clowns.
Touristenfahrten days bring in Euro 150000 per, that's a lot of money. Does the the Nürburgring spend even a fraction of that on even the most basic safety for its ever-growing customers eager to launch their vehicles on a track they mastered on Forza 4? No, but they do make extra money on vehicle recovery and Armco repair!
Problem is, the track itself is not the danger. Hell, Watkins Glen has the same amount of runoff as most of the 'Ring, the biggest danger on the Nordschleife is human stupidity coupled with accidents or fluid spills you can't see.
The high spending, fancy new 'Ring management boasted it would improve the local economy: well, hire some damn marshals, actually spend money on shiny flags and make sure you pay them enough to stay awake. What fraction of that 150K per day would that cost?
Want to go one better? Invest in a remote caution light system, like a proper track.
Case in point, below is a video of the most recent "newsworthy" incident location, just before the crash happened, it shows borderline criminal stupidity by track management.
Coincidentally, the video starts on the "Lauda kink" to the slow right Bergwerk and then it's the beginning of the long flat out climb towards the top of the track. I stress again, flat in most cars, with a couple of blind left kinks. There is some track work being done, the track is narrowed to one 5 mph lane yet the warning sign is placed behind one of the kinks at a distance that requires very, very ginger brake application. Clown show, what could possibly go wrong.
There is more: The BMW Ring Taxi now under Nürburgring management, fired Sabine, hired some dodgy driving clowns and are borderline screwing the customers. Surprised BMW puts up with it which may explain why the track was trying to cover up the incident.
So the news is NOT Ring Taxi crashes into Corvette but that the Ring is getting so fucked up even those who had previously an open mind about the new regime have turned against it. Mike Frison is right, the only way we are going to Save the Ring is if people demand change.
