F1 – Sauber Utilizing McLaren Style “Snorkel”

I have already commented this year that i think the 2010 F1 cars look a million times better than that of the 2009 model. There was also some new innovation on the cars like 50 winglet front ends and new rear diffusers. The diffusers have already stirred up some controversy, but so has a certain McLaren “snorkel” device that now Sauber is ready to test and other teams are close to their own design. The piece in question is a vent mounted on the top of the nose. This vent…

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F1 – Renault Power to Blame…

As we had wrote in our Bahrain race review, Red Bull Racing has blamed a component linked to the spark plug as the reason for Sebastian Vettel dropping off the pace. However, the trained eye of Ron Dennis seems to believe that it was a fuel issue that plagued Vettel’s chance at victory and that there may be a design flaw on the RB6. Interesting… Dennis indicated that the McLaren ECU may have remapped fuel in a move to conserve for the rest of the race. This is a completely…

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IndyCar – St. Petersburg Preview: History and Track Analysis

Introduction: This weekend represents the home opener for the IZOD IndyCar Series, and the first race of the season for the Firestone Indy Lights and US F2000 National Championship, on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The IZOD IndyCar Series began the 2010 season the weekend before last on the Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, but this weekend represents the series first race of the year on US soil. Historically, the St. Petersburg race has one of the best races of the season, which is a bit surprising given that its…

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Rally – Skoda Dominates Argentina

The third round of the IRC championship was held this weekend in the beautiful settings of Argentina. The stages that usually play host to the WRC would be ran with names like Meeke, Hanninen, and al-Attiyah and cars like Peugeot and Skoda. All eyes would be on Kris Meeke after a dominant win in Brazil a couple weeks ago, but it was not to be for the British star. Skoda, who has put together a very formidable effort would take a dominating 1-2-3 in the event and further strengthen their…

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Rally – Fiesta to Test Current Focus Motor

With the World Motor Sport Council agreeing to run the S2000 chassis with a 1.6 litre turbo engine, Ford has decided to take a head start on the issue of development. The Fiesta S2000 will be fitted with the current 2.0 litre turbo charged engine used in the Ford Focus WRC. This is a tactic that has been used by Citroen in the development of the DS3 using the C4’s engine. Ford hopes that by using the chassis and engine package, they will be able to gauge how the car…

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Diffuser Row Take 2

It was Australia of last year when we found out about a trick double decker diffuser that was placed on the Brawn GP machine that raised a number of questions. The diffuser was then made legal and the other teams were forced to design one for the rest of the season. However, by that time the damage had been done and Button would go on to be your champion. The FiA announced today that the diffuser will change again and now a select number of teams have been told to…

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Episode 30 – Open Paddock Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and myself this week as we recap Bahrain and the IndyCar season opener from Sao Paulo Brazil. Interesting topics will also include Virgin F1’s CFD claim, Ferrari’s impressive display, and why the media is all over Schumacher after Nico Rosberg outpaced him for one race. Mario Moraes riding shotgun with Marco Andretti through the first corner, Ryan Hunter Reay’s awesome performance as well as Fantasy IndyCar results for the Openpaddock.net team. Sit back with a leftover pint of your Irish favorite and…

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Rally – WRC Jordan Will Happen

News coming out of the WRC website indicate that the six months of rain that fell last week in a 72 hour span will not hinder Rally Jordan and that the show will go on. Last week seen fierce weather devastate much of the rally surface and even chunks of ground were taken by massive flash floods. To compound the problem, some of the stages are actually below sea-level which caused impossible situations as the water ran down from higher ground. The Jordanian government is currently working around the clock,…

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F1 – Monster to Sponsor Mercedes GP Drivers

It would appear that Red Bull is no longer the only kid on the energy drink block as Monster has announced a deal that will see them sponsor Mercedes GP. Monster has global reach in terms of motorsport and sponsors the likes of Ken Block, Ricky Carmichael, and scores of other motorcross drivers. It only makes sense that the drink company would now make their presence known in the realm of F1 to further that global success. Below is the brief press release on the deal: On the day of…

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