Episode 18 – Open Paddock Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and I as we discuss Le Mans and the International Cup. We also cover all the big motorsport conventions from this week and the great news that came from them. Britain again has a GP and we discuss it. We also talk rally feeder series and even mention Danica to NASCAR.

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Rally – Gronholm Returns to Sweden

Marcus Gronholm has tackled many every rally out there during his long career. However, one stands out more than others. Rally Sweden and the world famous Sagen stage have always been one of the Finns favorite. Gronholm has announced that he will be in an M-Sport Ford Focus for the Swedish round in 2010. The rally kicks off on 12 February and is the only snow event on the calendar this year. Gronholm has won Sweden five times and should be right back at home in the Ford Focus. It…

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IndyCar – The Road To Indy

There have been many things fans, teams, drivers, and sponsors have all been requesting/begging/demanding from the Indy Racing League. We asked for better racing than we were getting at the beginning of 2009, and we got it. We asked for multiple manufacturers for both the engines and the chassis, and it looks like we might get those. We asked for a title sponsor, and we got that, too. One big thing that people have been asking for that will do more to improve the influx of new talent and hopefully…

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IndyLights – Kimball Joins Plowman at Andretti Autosport

This morning, it was announced that Charlie Kimball will join Martin Plowman on the AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport Firestone Indy Lights team for the 2010 season. This marks a significant step up for Charlie who raced last year for Palm Beach International Racing, as well as for Plowman (aka Plowey) who raced for the now defunct Panther Racing FIL team. AFS/AA has won the past two series championships with Raphael “Rafa” Matos in 2008 and JR Hildebrand in 2009. There’s no doubt that the AFS/AA rides are currently the best in…

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WRC – Todt Holds Rally Development Forum

Well, many of us F1 fans were greatly disappointed in Todt’s victory over Ari Vatanen for the FIA presidency, but there are some positive things that M. Todt is doing. First of all, surpasses his predecessor by realizing that there’s more to the FIA that Formula 1. The WRC isn’t as strong as it used to be, and in response, the FIA held a forum to discuss ways to improve the FIA involvement in rallying at all levels. The forum was attended by several manufactures, Ford and Citroen who are…

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Gran Turismo 5 Indy500 Contest

For those of you with a Playstation 3, get ready to download the Gran Turismo 5 trial when it hits the Playstation Network Store on December 17th. This trial will include only two cars, the Nissan 370-Z in stock configuration, and the Nissan 370-Z in tuned configuration, and only one playable track. Ordinarily, my first reaction to this would be to rant about how lame and how this is not even worth being called a tease. However, Polyphony Digital has significantly sweetened the pot with an offer that will have…

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Le Mans – International Cup 2010

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) has announced today that 2010 will be the first year for a new competition called the International Cup that will be comprised of three races from the various Le Mans series across the world. The first year will see three races act as the cup decider with three more being added in 2011. Thus far, Silverstone, Petit Le Mans, and a TBD race from the Asian Le Mans series are on tap. What makes this news even better is the news that Audi has…

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IndyCar – Double Duty for Patrick

Just when I thought things had calmed down on the NASCAR front, I was made to eat my words. Danica Patrick announced today that she is going NASCAR while still focusing on IndyCar. The news should be no surprise considering ESPN has reported the living crap out of this story. In fact, ESPN rumored this so much that it actually became ridiculous and annoying. Yet here we sit weeks later and the news has finally been released. If all goes according to plan, Patrick will debut for the ARCA series…

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F1 – Rosberg Would Welcome Schumi

As speculation about a Schumacher return picks up steam, the man forgotten in all of this finally speaks. Nico Rosberg left Williams F1 in pursuit of a winning team and a championship. That was of course until the greatest F1 pilot in history started stirring the pot. Not all is bitter in the Mercedes garage however. Rosberg has been recently quoted as saying he would welcome Michael Schumacher to the german marquee’s team and would gladly share a seat with the seven times champion. Rosberg was quoted as saying to…

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IndyCar – Viso to Test DRR

E.J. Viso will be testing with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing on December 9th at the famous Sebring Circuit in a one day event. Hugo must really be tossing a lot of money in support of his Venezuelan talent, and DRR is taking all of it. With Venezuelan Milka Dunno already racing (or pretending) under the DRR flag, a much more talented Viso will be brought in to test new data systems and equipment. Viso, whom currently is without a drive will be looking for employment before season prep really takes…

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