Month: September 2009

IndyCar – Danica Back for Three More Years

Doug Patterson

Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star reported this evening that Danica Patrick has signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti-Green Racing (soon to be simply Andretti Racing). Much speculation has been thrown about the interwebs regarding her departure from open-wheel racing to seek even more fortune in NASCAR. Even we at Openpaddock.net has dabbled in such speculation. Although she may yet run a race or two (or several) with Tony Stewart’s team, she’s now committed to three more full-time seasons in the IndyCar series. Love her or loathe her, this…

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Episode 09 – Open Paddock Podcast

Shaun

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Mike and I return to discuss Renault and Ryan Briscoe. We run down Motegi, Rally America in Colorado and look ahead to this weekends only real race of value: Petit Le Mans. More politically incorrect motorsport news and opinion served up in Episode 09.

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ALMS – Corvette Denied Direct Injection

Doug Patterson

In a rather surprising and disappointing fashion, the new GT2 Corvettes will not be running the same engine they used at Mid-Ohio, Road America, and Mosport. The Porsche and Ferrari teams have successfully argued to the ACO that the Corvette’s direct-injection engine gave them an unfair advantage and it should be prohibited. In spite of having a written statement from the ACO proclaiming the 6.0L DI power-plant to be permissible, the new GT2 ‘Vettes will have to run the Petit LeMans sans DI. This won’t likely affect their power output…

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Rally – Colorado Review

Shaun

With the national championship already won by Travis Pastrana, the Rally America series went to Colorado to put on a show for the fans. Colorado is typically home of the world famous Pikes Peak hill climb, but the folks in the Rockies sure appreciate their rally racing whenever they can get it. Ken Block would enter the rally but drive for Dave Mirra who was away for the weekend. Block’s open class car had not recovered from damage suffered in the previous round, so the Monster Energy Drink star would…

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WRC – HD Theater TV Plans Announced

mike

We have known for quite a while that WRC was coming back to US television on HD Theater, but we haven’t known much about the details. Now we do. On October 4th, HD Theater will air a 6 hour special on the WRC, which will end with a 1-hour wrap up of the 2009 season’s first event, Rally Ireland. The other 5 hours will be dedicated to introducing US fans to the cars, drivers, stages and events of the 2009 season. Following the premiere weekend, HD Theater will show a…

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F1 – FIA OK with Re-Homologation

mike

Engine homologation in F1 has been a bit of a black art. The teams were allowed to make ‘reliability upgrades’ to their cars, but those upgrades have increased engine performance. So much so that Renault was allowed to make special engine upgrades during the offseason to catch up. New concerns over the performance level of the engines have come up, with many in the paddock saying that the Mercedes engine is at a very clear advantage, especially after their performance at Monza. The FIA has responded to requests from FOTA…

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