Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Schumacher and Villeneuve exchange warm words

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June 10 '10

Jacques Villeneuve has been reunited with his old nemesis.

The one-time car-racing champ and his former rival Michael Schumacher appear to have made up.

They met reporters near Montreal on Thursday to promote new automobile safety technologies and raced around on a rainy track.

It's been over a decade since Schumacher tried running his Canadian foe off the track in a decisive Formula One race. Schumacher now says he believes there's still a place in F1 for Villeneuve ? who hasn't driven on the circuit since 2006.

In return, Villeneuve is applauding the return of the seven-time champion.

It?s been over a decade since Michael Schumacher tried to run Jacques Villeneuve off an F1 track but on Thursday the two champions had nothing but good things to say about each other

?It's great for Formula One because it was starting to run short a bit of heroes,? he said of his former German rival. ?It's important because it brings in fans.?

Villeneuve is in Montreal while the city enjoys its own comeback this week: the return of F1 racing after a one-year hiatus.

Schumacher said he is happy the city is back on the F1 calendar.

?The track is always good emotion because the spectators really live the Grand Prix and you can feel that and that makes it special from that point of view,? Schumacher said.


Article as appeared first at www.theglobeandmail.com, Images(C) Daylife

Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade Alex Caffi

Mercedes SLS 63 Supersport by Kicherer


The Mercedes SLS AMG was designed as a response to McLaren’s MP4-12C, but while Mercedes is still deciding on whether or not to build a Black Series version that will come closer to the horsepower provided by the MP4-12C, German tuner Kicherer is busy creating an even faster version of the Mercedes supercar. The Mercedes SLS 63 Supersport was developed in cooperation with KW Automotive and improves both the car’s aerodynamics and performance.

While a standard SLS AMG develops a total of 571 HP, the 63 Supersport package goes up to an impressive 610 HP and 670Nm of torque. The increase was obtained thanks to a stainless steel sports exhaust system and a performance optimization package. Aside from the sweet increase in power, the SLS AMG also receives a new lift-up threaded sports chassis that allows for up to 30mm of increased height, a feature that facilitates driving over those nasty speed bumps. On the other hand, this same sports chassis can be lowered with a touch of a button to maneuver itself easily through parking garages.

The aerodynamic package includes a front spoiler lip in carbon and read diffuser fins in carbon. The package is finished by RS-1 multi-part forged wheels and a series of interior decorative parts in carbon.

Mercedes SLS 63 Supersport by Kicherer originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 30 November 2010 14:00 EST.

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Syd van der Vyver Fred Wacker David Walker Peter Walker

Have you ever owned any 1:1 muscle cars?

I know this is a site for model cars but I think this topic fits in. The reason I started building model cars is because I own a few 1:1 muscle cars. SO, post what you have/had and post some pics if you have them!!!!!!!


I'll start:



1969 Dodge Charger R/T tribute pro-tourer in progress
1970 Dodge Coronet 500- MAJOR project 1973 Plymouth Duster daily driver

Paul Emery Tomáš Enge Paul England Harald Ertl

Volvo to go mainstream - ditch premium prices

Volvo is set to go mainstream as CEO Stefan Jacoby has announced plans to drop their ambitions of becoming a premium automaker.

Robert La Caze Jacques Laffite Franck Lagorce Jan Lammers

Range Rover Sport by Startech


Fresh off of their tuning package for the venerable Land Rover Defender, celebrated tuning firm Startech has released yet another program for the British SUV brand, this time for the Range Rover Sport. The vehicle was recently revealed at the 2010 Essen Motor Show.

The styling program includes a bevy of new features, turning the Range Rover Sport into a stunning piece of black machinery. Among the exterior features are an aggressive front fascia, a revised rear apron with a new and integrated exhaust ports, a removable section on the rear that allows easy access to the SUV?s trailer hitch. Startech also added LED daytime running lights on the vehicle and outfitted it with a new set of 22? light allow wheels.

In the interior, Startech also went nuts with the upgrades, putting front and rear inside door panels in all factory leather colors, a new sports steering wheel, stainless-steel scuff plates that have illuminated Startech logos, aluminum pedals, and high-quality floor mats with color-coordinated leather borders. On top of that, the aftermarket tuning firm is also offering a bespoke customization upgrade for those who want their SUVs upgraded to the brim. Included in the bespoke program are items like premium-grade leather upholstery, exclusive and exotic wood trim sets, and rear tray tables, among other things.

Press Release after the jump

Range Rover Sport by Startech originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 30 November 2010 09:00 EST.

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Brian Hart Gene Hartley Masahiro Hasemi Naoki Hattori

The TOP 10 F1 Drivers of the Year

Number 10: Felipe Massa

Less than a year after an accident which was close to killing the Brazilian Felipe Massa was on the grid for the first race of the season in Bahrain. This was an achievement in its self but then finishing second in his first race back over shone this. Massa could have had more points this year as well if he didn?t ...

Piero Drogo Bernard de Dryver Johnny Dumfries Geoff Duke

Alonso and Massa sample classic Ferraris in Spain | F1 video

Video and pictures of Alonso and Massa driving classic Ferraris at the Finali Mondiali.

Gastón Mazzacane Kenneth McAlpine Perry McCarthy Ernie McCoy

British GP: "Number Two" driver, Webber takes perfect win

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July 11 '10

Mark Webber won his first British Grand Prix in style. ?Not bad for a number two driver? radioed Webber to his race engineer after the end of the race.

Lewis Hamilton finished second for Mclaren in front of his home crowd, while Mercedes' Nico Rosberg bagged third.

The Race in brief
Webber overtook his teammate Sebastian Vettel at the start, with the latter experiencing a tyre puncture only seconds later. While the German had to make a short trip to the pits for a new set of tyres, Webber increased his lead from Lewis Hamilton in front of the pack.

Ferrari?s Fernando Alonso had another start to forget, losing 2 spots and dropping to 5th place after the first few corners. He slightly touched his teammate Felipe Massa?s car while trying to defend his position, causing the Brazilian's right rear tyre to burst. Massa then visited the pits and returned to the track in 23rd place.

Although only a couple of seconds separated Webber and Hamilton in front, the trailing group, headed by Renault?s Robert Kubica, dropped no less than 20 seconds to the leading duo until the first round of pit stops. After each driver went to the pits to get new tyres, Webber emerged once again in front of the field, ahead of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg (who passed Kubica thanks to a great team work in the pit lane).

Alonso tried to pass the Pole himself in order not to lose contact with the Top 3 positions, but shortcut a chicane while pushed by Kubica out of bounds ? and passing the Renault driver ? which later got him a drive-through penalty from the stewards. Just when he was about to make his drive-though run, the safety car was deployed due to debris coming out of Pedro de la Rosa?s car. His rear wing practically disintegrated in the start/finish straight, as there was a slight contact between him and Adrian Sutil on the pit straight.

The Spaniard was forced to make his pit lane run when the SC went in, which dropped him to 16 overall.

In front of the field, Webber had no problem maintaining his 1st place in front of Hamilton, while Rosberg did the same in front of the second McLaren driver Jenson Button. The reigning world champion had a wonderful start and climbed all the way to 7th place (from 14th on the grid) after a few laps, which he later turned into 4th place after a good pit stop strategy (added Alonso?s penalty).

Webber the ?Number Two? Driver
Prior to the Saturday qualifying, the Austrian team decided to take the front wing of Webber?s RB6 and hand it to Vettel, resulting in the German driving to pole position in Q3. While obviously furious with the decision, Webber kept his cool and decided to deliver the response on track, winning his first British GP in career and becoming the winningest F1 driver this season (to date).

?Not bad for a number two driver,? Webber told his race engineer via radio at the end of the race, hinting that what happened in Silverstone will still haunt him from now on.

At the press conference after the race, Webber continued to voice his frustrations, insisting that he would have never signed a one-year extension with Red Bull had he known he will be treated the way he was in the UK.

?Yesterday was really a unique situation, and it was the first time we had one bit. I would never have signed a contract for next year if I believed that was the way going forward. I was disappointed. We will see how it goes in the future, I will keep doing what I am doing and I hope it is enough.?

?I have had a few hurdles in my career, sometimes privately as well, so I think you can judge a person's character by how they come back from adversity. Some drivers have that, I've had a bit more than others. It can work but obviously it is not how long is a piece of string - you have to make sure it is not constantly happening because it can test you too much but if the balance is right it can put some fuel on the fire,? added Webber.

The Race as it happened via James Allen
Heading to Hockenheim in two weeks time, Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers championship with 145 points. His team mate Jenson Button is second in the standings with 133 points and Mark Webber climbs to third with 128 points.

British Grand Prix Race times

1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 52 laps 1hr 24m 38.200s
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +1.3s
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes +21.3s
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +21.9s
5. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +31.4s
6. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari +32.1s
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +36.7s
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +40.9s
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes +41.5s
10. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +42.0s

11. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +42.4s
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +47.6s
13. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault +59.3s
14. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari +62.3s
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari +67.4s
16. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap
17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps
19. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth +2 laps
20. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth +2 laps

Rtd. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 44 laps completed
Rtd. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 29 laps completed
Rtd. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 19 laps completed
Rtd. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 9 laps completed


Fastest lap:
Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 30.874s lap 52



Thanks to autoevolution for the article. Image(C) daylife

Roland Ratzenberger Hector Rebaque Brian Redman Jimmy Reece

Monday, November 29, 2010

Audi TT GT4 concept


Audi is tossing out a line in the shape of a new concept car to see whether or not its customers will bite. This new concept is called the GT4 and is based on the TT sports model. Production for the GT4 concept is planned for the 2012 model year with sales starting at 120,000 Euro on both European and Asian markets.

The TT GT4 features a motorsport body with a roll-over cage and a safety-optimized fuel tank box, as well as other modifications appropriate for an affordable motorsport vehicle. The exterior sees the front apron, rear apron, and the rear wing borrowed from the Audi TT RS. The new hood, doors, and trunk lid are all made of CFRP while the windows are made of plastic.

Audi has equipped the GT4 with a TFSI engine producing about 340hp. This is handled by an S-tronic transmission with a differential lock and a modified production suspension with adjustable dampers. The vehicle is finished off with 9.5 x 18 inch light alloy wheels.

Press release after the jump.

Audi TT GT4 concept originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 29 November 2010 15:00 EST.

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Jackie Stewart Jimmy Stewart Siegfried Stohr Rolf Stommelen

Heikki Kovalainen: ?I didn?t really know where I was or what was happening??

Heikki Kovalainen proved yesterday in Dusseldorf that any kind of motor sport can be dangerous when he was knocked unconscious after a spectacular crash at the Race of Champions. In the very first race of the day Kovalainen was matched … Continue reading

Walt Faulkner William Ferguson Maria Teresa de Filippis Ralph Firman

Red Bull planning for long Vettel stay

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Red Bull expect Sebastian Vettel will remain with them for at least the next three years.

The German, who earlier this month became the 2010 world champion, only moved to Red Bull last year and the team are keen to tie him down to a new long-term contract.

However, Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, told Express: "Let's be clear, there is not going to be a ten-year contract, because we are ...

Pierre Levegh Bayliss Levrett Jackie Lewis Stuart LewisEvans

Turkish Grand Prix 2010 Qualifying gallery


Mark Webber claimed his third consecutive pole position and made it seven pole positions from seven attempts for Red Bull at Istanbul Park. Lewis Hamilton secured second position making it a McLaren front row start for the first time this season. Sebastian Vettel completed the top threehttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TAK1m8Jr7iI/AAAAAAAAGQg/ik6eBZf1ZR4/s1600/Turkish+Grand+Prix+2010+Qualifying+gallery.jpg


Credit : F1Fanatic, iTV, Daylife

Gerry Ashmore Bill Aston Richard Attwood Manny Ayulo

Porsche boss plays down F1 foray likelihood

Porsche's new boss has played down speculation the marque might soon enter formula one.

Chris Amon Bob Anderson Conny Andersson Mario Andretti

Gerhard Berger About Himself

Roger Loyer Jean Lucas Jean Lucienbonnet Brett Lunger

F1: Ferrari rules out kneejerk changes

Ferrari rules out kneejerk changes By Matt Beer Sunday, November 28th 2010, 21:10 GMT Ferrari has ruled out making any major changes to its team management in response to its defeat in this year's world championship, though it left the door open to 'minor adjustments'. Fernando Alonso had led the standings going into the Abu Dhabi finale, but lost out to Sebastian Vettel after a disastrous strategy decision left Alonso stuck in traffic for most of the race and down in seventh at the flag. There had been speculation in Italy that some of Ferrari's leading staff might be in the firing line as a consequence, but company president Luca di Montezemolo insisted that this would not happen. Related posts:
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  2. F1: Ferrari insists Massa has full support Ferrari insists Massa has full support By Jonathan Noble Thursday,...
  3. F1: Ferrari calls for SC rules rethink Ferrari calls for SC rules rethink By Jonathan Noble Sunday,...
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Lee Wallard Heini Walter Rodger Ward Derek Warwick

Turkish GP: Vettel fastest in final practice ahead of qualifying

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May 30 '10


Sebastian Vettel was the fastest man on track yesterday for the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. Some of his key rivals faced problems while others had off-track excursions, notably at turn 8.

Nico Rosberg was one among the late improvers. He claimed a strong second while spending much of the time at the bottom end of top ten.

Lewis Hamilton who finished third, had a lurid spin at turn eight. Via iTV, "Mid-way through the session the former champion ran wide over the kerb at the second of the sweeping corner?s three apexs and spun backwards into the gravel, having to be pushed out by marshals so he could recover to the pits.

On his return to the McLaren garage it emerged the spin had shredded his hard compound tyres while also doing minor damage to the MP4-25?s floor and area around the diffuser.

His team got him out for the final six minutes for a final run on the soft-tyres, however, and his best lap eventually wound up 0.310s slower than Vettel?s last-gasp flyer."

Mark Webber faced a throttle response problem, but nonetheless finished fourth. According to iTV, " A throttle linkage problem struck on his RB6 almost immediately after he left the pit lane for the first time, meaning he had to crawl around the 3.3-mile lap back to the garage."

Adrian Sutil managed just one lap before returning back to pits due to a hydraulic problem on his Force India.

Turkish Grand Prix free practice 3 times

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m 27.086s
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 27.359s
3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m 27.396s
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m 27.553s
5. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 1m 27.784s
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 27.861s
7. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 27.879s
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m 27.963s
9. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 27.969s
10. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault 1m 28.344s
11. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 28.610s
12. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 28.652s
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 28.734s
14. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 29.036s
15. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m 29.044s
16. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m 29.211s
17 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m 29.305s
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m 30.618s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m 30.884s
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m 31.341s
21. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m 32.180s
22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1m 32.230s
23. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1m 32.762s
24. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes no time


Image(C) Daylife

Helmuth Koinigg Heikki Kovalainen Mikko Kozarowitzky Willi Krakau

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Hendrick: Changes were not Earnhardt driven

Teo Fabi Pascal Fabre Carlo Facetti Luigi Fagioli

Sebastian Vettel is World Champion!

Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi Erwin Bauer

Liquid breakfast

Nicolas Kiesa Leo Kinnunen Danny Kladis Hans Klenk

Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup


Last week we brought you news of the 2010 Race of Champions to be held at the Dusseldorf Football Arena this weekend. If you were still looking for a reason to get a ticket and check it out, here?s one more thanks to VW. The German manufacturer has confirmed their Scirocco R-Cup racer will be put through its paces by the world?s best drivers in head-to-head battle. It doesn?t get much better than that.

The entrance of the Scirocco R Cup car into the ROC is especially newsworthy simply because this will mark the first time a bio natural gas powered vehicle will make a run in the race. Bio natural gas is a 100% natural product created in Germany from biogenous waste materials and its use will reduce the vehicle’s CO2 emissions by 80%. The bio-CNG is a great way to power the Scirocco R Cup, but it would be nothing without pairing itself with the 2.0-liter four cylinder TSI engine to produce 275hp.

The 2010 Race of Champions will feature some of the most successful racers from around the world, but also some of the world’s most famous names: S�bastian Loeb (seven-time World Rally Championship winner and three-time Race of Champions ?Champion of Champions?), Andy Priaulx (three time WTCC champion), Jason Plato (double British Touring Car Championship winner), Alain Prost (four-time Formula 1 world champion) and the German pairing of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher and the recently-crowned 2010 Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Press release after the jump.

Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 26 November 2010 17:00 EST.

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Peter Ryan Eddie Sachs Bob Said Eliseo Salazar