The first mixed surface event is in the books and Sebastian Loeb has won yet again. The Frenchman is now in full control of his WRC title destiny and if this weekend was any indication, the Fords need to find answers sooner rather than later. I thought the first mixed surface event was interesting and applaud the series for putting on a pretty good show. Rain would cancel a number of stages on day 3 but the show would go on. The mixed surface rally would take away the need…
Read MoreRally – Turkey Day 2 Wrap
Day 2 of the grueling Rally Turkey has ended and as we said yesterday, don’t be surprised if Sebastian Loeb charges to the front. That is exactly what the Frenchman has done, but it is still wide open heading into the third day. The day started with Sebastian Ogier holding first position on the road. Usually that means road sweeping and with the large rocks on the road he would surely yield his position quickly right? Wrong…the junior ace was a rocket today as the cars hit the tarmac/gravel stages…
Read MoreRally – Turkey Proving Tough
Rally Turkey would be the first mixed surface rally of the year and many drivers have called the event tough. To further the difficulty, none of the drivers would have pace notes going into the event. The event has also seen the return of Ken Block and his Monster Energy/DC Ford Focus. After a very impressive run in Mexico, the pressure would be on to perform in Turkey as Ken continued to fact find ahead of next year’s championship. The day would come to a very early end however. Sebastian…
Read MoreRally – Latvala and Block
F1 – Chinese Grand Prix Previews
Episode 34 – Open Paddock Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShaun is fried and sounding diseased and Mike celebrates his Miller Mailbag victory and is labeled a USAC crusader. We also recap the Barber IndyCar race and look ahead to the Chinese Grand Prix. In between that, there is rally news and companies who are thumbing their nose at Formula 1. Sit back with your favorite adult beverage and enjoy.
Read MoreIndyCar – Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach: Introduction and a Little History
Introduction: The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is the fourth event of the season for the IZOD IndyCar Series and the third for the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Joining the the Indy Cars and Lights Cars this weekend will be the SCCA World Challenge, American Le Mans Series, and for the first time on real city streets the Formula Drift Series. Formula D actually held their competition portion of their event on April 9th and 10th. This coming weekend, the crowds will be treated to a demonstration of what…
Read MoreVideo – IndyCar Barber Highlights
IndyCar – Augusta of Racing and the Beauty of Road Courses
In the past, I have made no secret that I prefer a good road course to street course racing. Problem has been that the road courses currently on the IndyCar schedule have not provided much in the way of interesting racing or overtaking. Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio and Sonoma may provide a picturesque background (some more than others) and a technically challenging drive, but the racing has been less than stellar. So now we get to add Barber Motorsports Park to the IndyCar Road Course quiver, and while it did not…
Read MoreOp-Ed – Making a Case for the World Engine
The recent concept from Lola of using the same tub for both the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Firestone Indy Lights series got me thinking. Why stop there? One of the most often used reasons for why multiple chassis and engine manufacturers are impractical for the IZOD IndyCar Series is that the loss of the economy of scale would drive up the costs too much for participation to be either attractive or profitable. Its a powerful and very well founded argument. If a manufacturer can spread the costs of development…
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