Double WRC champion Marcus Gronholm has joined Stobart for the opening round of the WRC calendar in Sweden. Gronholm, who already entered in the event driving a Ford Focus has been brought under the Stobart banner as an official points scorer. Gronholm originally entered under Mattias Therman’s team banner, however Ford has opted to replace Matthew Wilson with Gronholm in the Stobart outfit in hopes of scoring key manufacturer points. Matthew Wilson will still participate in the Swedish round but will not be eligible to score any points. Gronholm proved…
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Rally – Kimi Shows True Colors
Mercedes Grand Prix were not the only team to release a new livery today. Red Bull has issued a picture featuring Kimi Raikkonen and his new Citroen C4 and its livery as well. Raikkonen who made his highly publicized switch to the WRC this fall turned in his Ferrari for a Citroen C4. The car looks amazing and will probably the best looking one running the stages, provided the Finn can keep the car right side up. Kimi will contest all rounds under the Citroen Junior satellite team except for…
Read MoreIndyCar – IZOD Dumps Cash on Advertising
I was pleasantly surprised this weekend to see IZOD IndyCar Series commercials air during both the AFC and NFC league championship games this weekend. Short of the Superbowl, there is hardly any other advertising buy that would attract the attention of more eyes. The commercial used was the same bit that IndyCar fans were treated to all season last year (‘everything gonna be all right’) but ended with an advertisement for the Sao Paulo race and the phrase ‘The Fastest Race on Earth’. While this is the first time I…
Read MoreF1 – Mercedes GP Reveals Their 2010 Racer
This morning, Mercedes GP revealed their 2010 race car, the MPG-W01, and its gorgeous! Today was just a stage show, but we’ll get to see the MPG-W01 on track on Feb. 1st when the team arrives in Valencia for the first of several pre-season testing sessions. The Valencia test will also be the first time we see Michael Schumacher at speed in a current F1 car since Ferrari forced his all-too-early retirement. Here are Ross Brawns comments on the release, I think for me it is several things, one is…
Read MoreRally – Hirvonen Strikes Gold at Monte
The third and final day of the legendary Monte Carlo Rally has come to an end and Mikko Hirvonen has won in fine fashion. The WRC driver claimed his first victory in the IRC and made a statement for M-Sport and Ford in the process. The Ford Fiesta S2000 has tasted victory in its very first outing and did it easily after an exciting third day seen some of the best driving to date from Frenchman Sebastian Ogier. WRC Citroen Junior driver Ogier proved why he was be groomed to…
Read MoreIndyCar – Belskus is Searching for New IRL Leader
Word is on the street (and in the Indianapolis Star) that the IRL is looking for a new CEO. Jeff Belskus took over for Tony George last year after his mom, his sisters and the consigliori voted him out of his positions of leadership within the family business. At this time, Jeff serves as the CEO of Hulman & Co., IRL, IMS, IMS Productions and the radio network. Busy man, but he is looking for help, especially since Joie Chitwood (IMS CEO) and Charlie Morgan (IMS Productions CEO) left for…
Read MoreF1 – 2010 Driver Lineup – Alguersuari Confirmed at Torro Rosso
Torro Rosso announced today that Jaime Alguersuari will return to the team for the 2010 season as Sebastian Buemi’s teammate. No big shock in this one, since Red Bull’s motor racing consultant Helmut Marko said earlier this week, “It will be Alguersuari. It’s just some contractual details that have to be solved, but generally it’s Alguersuari” Marko was at the time shooting down rumors that Nick Heidfeld or Bruno Senna were lined up for the seat. “In our considerations, Nick Heidfeld plays no role. That has nothing to do with…
Read MoreF1 – Rossi Happy With Ferrari Test
Valentino Rossi, undisputed G.O.A.T. of motorcycle road racing, completed yet another test with Ferrari wtih flying colors. This time, he was in the F2008 shoed with GP2-spec slicks and set a blistering time for someone who has had only a couple of sessions in a Formula 1 car. His quick time around the Barcelona circuit was 1:21.900. To put this into perspective, Autosport.com pulled out the pole time for this year, and for 2008. Jenson Button won pole last year with a 1:20.527, and Kimi’s 2008 pole was secured with…
Read MoreMikko Cruising at Monte Carlo
The first two days of the Monte Carlo Rally have come and gone, and thus far the event has seen a number of attrition related factors that have taken out many of the IRC front runners. One thing that has remained the same is the 42 sec. lead that is enjoyed by Mikko Hirvonen. Day-1: The opening day at Monte Carlo was action packed and the M-Sport Fiesta S2000 thrived on the slick and treacherous surface. The Fiesta entered by M-Sport and piloted by Ford’s WRC ace was quickest through…
Read MoreRally – Last Ditch Racing Interview
John Cassidy from Last Ditch Racing was recently interviewed by Gearbox Magazine. John is a frequent contributer here at Open Paddock so we want to give him all the love we can. Step on over to Gearbox and take a look, the interview is very good and the photography is excellent as well. John has competed in several different rally series including Rally America, the Canadian Rally Championship and even WRC and has won the Rally America Eastern Regional Championship for the last two years. The whole Open Paddock crew…
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