Riding in a 600 HP Red Bull GRC Beast

By Matt Kalish of Matt Kalish Photography   Red Bull Global Rallycross is in LA this weekend and that means two things for for the Long Beach waterfront – fast cars and fast driving. But just how fast is fast? I got to find out last month at Red Bull GRC’s Washington D.C. round.   I was just a lowly photographer planning on going to the D.C. GRC round to scavenge some work and wax poetically on the nature of burning dinosaurs for sport. Is that writing too heavy handed?…

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Red Bull GRC – Season Kicks Off This Weekend in Ft. Lauderdale

The Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship kicks off this weekend on the streets of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  We’ve been excited about the new 2015 season for a couple of reasons.  For one, the finale last year was simply epic with the young Finn Joni Wiman (pronounced “yon-ee”  “Vee-man”) of Olsbergs MSE coming out as the champion narrowly beating out chief Hoonigan Ken Block.  The other reason is that the series showed remarkable improvement as the season went on with ever improving track designs and better racing between drivers.  If this season is…

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Red Bull GRC – Power Rankings for LA

Last week I spoke with Chris Leone of the Red Bull GRC and we summarized the season so far as it heads to the west coast.  As the clock ticks down to this weekend’s double-header in LA, I came up with my opinion of where I think the drivers rank.  Note that this doesn’t exactly reflect the championship standings as this isn’t just where they finish, but about their consistent speed and potential.  I’ve jotted down a few comments about each driver, let me know if you agree or disagree with their…

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Inside the Helmet – Shelby Blackstock, A Multidisciplinary Racer

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShelby Blackstock joins us to talk about his unique start (and late) start into the world of motorsport, how he moved up through the ranks, and how he now does double-duty as both an open-wheel racer in the Indy Lights Series Presented by Cooper Tires as well as the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Be sure to connect with Shelby and Andretti Autosport to keep track of their progress through the 2014 racing season. Shelby Blackstock: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ShelbyBlackstock Twitter: @Shelbilly Website: http://shelbyblackstock.com/ Andretti Autosport:…

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Inside the Helmet – Matthew Brabham Looks Back as 2013 and Ahead to 2014.

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadYour 2013 Pro Mazda Champion Matthew Brabham joins us to talk about his dominating season in Pro Mazda, how he’s adapted to the Indy Lights platform in pre-season testing, and his expectations for the 2014 Indy Lights season. Be sure to connect with Matthew Brabham and Andretti Autosport to keep track of their progress through the 2014 racing season. Matthew Brabham: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Matthew-Brabham/197733736993240 Twitter: @MattyBrabs Website: http://matthewbrabham.com/ Andretti Autosport: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrettiAutosport Twitter: @FollowAndretti Website: http://www.andrettiautosport.com/

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Inside the Helmet – Matthew Brabham

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe had the great pleasure of speaking with Matthew Brabham, driver of the #83 Pro Mazda machine for Andretti Autosport and destroyer of the 2013 Pro Mazda championship so far. Matthew shares with us his story of how he chose open-wheel racing over sportscars, how he came to race in the Mazda Road to Indy program, what it was like to race at the Circuit of the Americas, and why his favourite MotoGP rider is not his countryman Casey Stoner, but Valentino “The Doctor”…

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IndyCar-Highlights from Kurt Busch Press Conference

Here are some of the more pertinent quotes from today’s press conference with Kurt Busch, who tested an IndyCar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today and completed all three phases of the Rookie Orientation Program. Quotes courtesy Indycar PR/Amy Konrath. MODERATOR: Kurt, first impressions?  You spent two days here last week in a Cup car and today was a completely different feel.  What are your thoughts? KURT BUSCH:  Just an incredible feeling to be able to drive at Indianapolis in May in and IndyCar and have the name Andretti on it. …

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Pro Mazda – Race 2 at COTA Recap

Race 2 this afternoon for the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at the Circuit of the Americas started out much like Race 1, with a giant furball headed into T1 and two drivers coming out worse for it. Yesterday’s winner, Juncos Racing’s Diego Ferreira, set the fast lap during Race 1 and earned pole position for Race 2. He would lose that spot to Andretti Autosports’ duo of Matthew Brabham and Shelby Blackstock as they would take advantage of Diego’s overshooting the T1 apex. Diego would fight all…

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USF2000 – Alberico and Cape Motorsports Dominate Winterfest

After the dominance that Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing displayed last season in the Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, it’s really no surprise to see them dominate this year’s USF2000 Winterfest. The six-race mini-series that started with three races at the Sebring International Raceway last Tuesday and Wednesday, concluded this weekend with three races at the Palm Beach International Raceway. Californian Neil Alberico won all three of the races, followed immediately by his teammate Canadian Scott Hargrove in P2. That gave Alberico a strong lead headed…

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Indycar-E.J. Viso to Andretti

Sources report this morning that Venezuelan driver E.J. Viso has signed a contract with Andretti Autosport to pilot its 4th entry in the 2013 IZOD Indycar Series.  Viso had initially approached the Andrettis about his desire to start his own team, but it appears a ride with Andretti developed instead. Terms of the contract are currently unknown. Viso has 84 Indycar Series starts with one podium, 2 Top 5s, 18 Top 10s, one Fastest Lap and a best series finish of 17th in 2010. Viso is previously the 2003 British…

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