With the bombshell news that Ken Block had joined Ford in a global effort, the question was who would join Travis Pastrana in the other Subaru? Simple answer for the guys at Vermont and Subaru, but is this new pairing going to perform as well? Dave Mirra will now be moved from the super production ranks to join the open class and team with the four time Rally America champion. Mirra who has been waiting for an opening will make now make the jump to America’s top rally flight in…
Read MoreAuthor: Shaun
F1 – USF1 Nose Cone Destroyed
F1 – Alonso in Ferrari Red
Ferrari has kicked off its annual WROOM! media event this week and guess who was there in red for some photos…you guessed it. After a season that guaranteed a Fernando Alonso to Ferrari move, the Spanish double world champion was seen in the Scuderia’s colors on the ski slopes. Joining Alonso was now recovered incumbent Felipe Massa and third driver Giancarlo Fisichella. The annual event is being held at Madonna di Campiglio. Having Fred in the new Santander red outfit looked pretty good. It will be interesting to see how…
Read MoreF1 – FIA Appeal Official
It would appear as my cries for peace on the last podcast have fallen on deaf ears yet again. The FIA has officially announced they are going to move forward with their appeal against Flavio Briatore which would keep him out of the sport a bit longer. As we remember the Tribunal de Grande Instance had ruled in favor of Flavio and Pat Symonds and called the punishment by the FiA “irregular”. Below is the FIA’s justification for the continued legal battle: “The President of the FIA has consulted the…
Read MoreRally – LDR Team Prep Update
Hey everyone! Wanted to pop on and take a couple of minutes(when I should be sleeping) to let folks know how things are shaping up in our prep for the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Missouri in February. First, I’ll be posting blogs on the lastditchracing.com site. These automatically pop up on Facebook and Twitter if you’re following me there. You can also subscribe to the blog RSS feed if you want. Anyway, prep is going well, although the list is long(always is). Our goal with every race is to…
Read MoreF1 – Ferrari “281”
Car launch season is upon us with a few teams setting up release dates for their 2010 challenger. Ferrari have not released their launch date as of yet, but according to crash.net the car may look similar to another car that has already been on the grid. F1 technical artist Giorgio Piola has indicated that the new Ferrari takes many design cues from the Red Bull RB5 that ran so well last year. The Adrian Newey designed RB5 was the closest challenger to the Brawn GP cars for most of…
Read MoreDakar – Rest Day Summary
Rally – M-Sport Enter IRC
Malcolm Wilson and his M-Sport squad have decided to follow up the much anticipated launch of the new Fiesta rally car with their entrance into the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The team will compete in the opening round of the championship with Mikko Hirvonen at the wheel. Ford becomes the eighth manufacturer to participate in the IRC, adding a certain level of excitement to the 2010 season. This and the welcome addition of a Subaru car for sale have made this a lucrative off season for the IRC as it looks…
Read MoreEpisode 21 – Open Paddock Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and I this week as we travel to South America for Dakar….ok not really…but we cover it and have a Robbie Gordon revelation. We cover Ken Block to WRC, RHR to Andretti and hit a couple F1 high points. All in all it is a great show and it is signed, sealed, and delivered as it is nearly every week.
Read MoreRally – Ford and Block Join Forces
After months of “rumor” and speculation as to the future of Ken Block, we finally have our answer and it is more than we could have hoped for. Ford will now team up with Ken for a global sports push in 2010. What does this mean you ask? Ken will drive in the 2010 World Rally Championship in a Ford Focus WRC and run Rally America events in the all new and amazing Ford Fiesta. Specific event breakdown has not been outlined at the moment. This is huge news after…
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