WRC – Ford Standoff Maybe Nearing an End

Shaun

As soon as the WRC season ended, it was time to prepare for the short turn around that is the 2012 campaign. However, the future of M-Sport and Ford’s involvement in the World Rally Championship was brought into question as the latest deal between the two came to an end. Mikko Hirvonen left the team to pair with eight times champion Sebastien Loeb and dark days loomed for fans of the blue oval. Recent events in the media have shown that perhaps the standoff between Ford and M-Sport have come…

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Episode 116 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Shaun

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they cover all of this week’s top motorsport news. ALMS fires back at Grand Am, and qualifying is officially added to the WRC. We also talk about the latest driver signings in both IndyCar and F1. As always, thank you for the download and enjoy the show.

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Formula 1 – Miracle on Congress Avenue

Doug Patterson

Merry Christmas, US Formula 1 fans! After learning that the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) actually had the money, or so was the claim, and that the breakdown between their group and Formula One Management (FOM) was a result of a disagreement on the details of the contract offered to COTA, we wrote optimistically about the potential of the USGP returning to the 2012 Formula 1 calendar. We knew that it was a long shot renegotiating a contract at the 11th hour with a master of manipulation in Bernie Ecclestone,…

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Episode 115 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Shaun

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShaun and Mike are back this week to cover all of the latest news in motorsport. We talk the Race of Champions and Mike reveals the all-star event has its own theme song. Our favorite Finnish driver is back in the saddle with a new team and FOTA falls apart a bit. We also talk about the IZOD IndyCar series and the management shakeup, Newman Haas closing its IndyCar doors, and the new car is still making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The…

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2011 Formula 1 Review – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Shaun

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Andy (@TheSpeedGeek) as they go back over the 2011 Formula 1 season. We talk about KERS and DRS as well as the Pirelli tires. We then go team by team and talk about the season that was Sebastian Vettel’s masterpiece. We talk up the winners and call out the losers and even have a little friendly debate! Thank you for the download and we hope you enjoy our look back at 2011.

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Star Mazda – 2012 Schedule Annouced

Doug Patterson

The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear announced their 2012 Race Schedule this morning. Well, most of it anyway. The a June event and the final event in October are still TBA, but we have the rest of the ten-event schedule. One big difference from last season is that many of the weekends will involve double-header races. So although there are only ten race weekends, there will be between 16-18 actual races. This has the potential of making for a far more challenging and interesting championship. As with previous seasons,…

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USF2000 – Scouting Combine Notes: Wednesday

Mike Shaw

Wednesday morning arrives with a cool chill in the air for Florida, and the drivers entered the race shop walking lightly on their feet. The knowledge that all their competition efforts were behind them seemed lost on the young faces, while the gravity of the results yet to be announced distorted both time and space as the 10 hopeful karters mingled about. The herd of cars and vans departed by 9:30AM and headed to a Star Mazda team race shop across town. The fact that race car drivers were unleashed…

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USF2000 – Bobby Kelley Wins Scouting Combine

Doug Patterson

Below is the official press release from INDYCAR and USF2000 announcing young driver, Bobby Kelley, as the overall winner of the Mazda Road to Indy Scouting Combine being held at Dan Andersen’s racing complex in Palmetto, FL. For now, I’ll leave you to read USF2000’s statement, but come back later this evening as our partners from AcceleRace Motorsports will have their final thoughts and deep insights about the success of the combine and the talent that was displayed over the past few days. Official release from INDYCAR and USF2000 After…

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USF2000 – Scouting Combine Notes: Tuesday

Mike Shaw

The weather in Florida cooperated this morning (albeit much cooler temp’s) and allowed the rest of the talented field of Karting Champions to finish their practice/orientation laps at the Andersen Karting Facility by mid-morning. The drivers that weren’t able to complete laps on Monday (due to rain) had obviously been watching the other competitors on-track. The skill levels and determination had definitely stepped-up from Monday, and the buzz of competitiveness hung in the air like static electricity. Everyone seemed to have much better starts from pit lane today as sleep…

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Episode 114 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Shaun

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike for all of the hot news this week in motorsport. We talk Ogier going to Citroen and Shaun tries to rationalize the Ford/M-Sport situation. We also look back and talk about the Brazilian Grand Prix. Where will Kimi go? Well we found out today Renault. We talk about it during the show. Join our Mazda Road to Indy editor Doug Patterson as he talks with Accelerace’s very own Ardie Greenamyer. Listen for details in the show about how you can…

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