So we have now finished the RACC Rally Spain and a title race that was three strong is now down to two. Mikko Hirvonen and Sebastien Loeb are now set for a thrilling one round shootout at the season finale in Great Britain. The French ace Loeb will carry an eight point lead into the final round which just so happens to be Ford’s stomping grounds. Though the title fight was on everyone’s mind, there were a number of great stories that came out of this year’s penultimate round. MINI/Kris…
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WRC – MINI WRC Team – Rally RACC – Rally of Spain – Day Three
Salou, 23rd October, 2011. The MINI WRC Team was in a celebratory mood at the end of Rally RACC – Rally of Spain. Not only did Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) and Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) finish fourth and fifth respectively, but the MINI John Cooper Works WRCs were also first and second fastest on the Power Stage. While it was Sordo’s home event, it was Meeke who took the honour and the three points for being fastest on this final stage. This was…
Read MoreWRC – Double Podium in Spain Sends Ford’s Title Fight to Final Round
Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen’s quest for a maiden FIA World Rally Championship title will go to a final round shootout after Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team claimed a double podium in Rally de España today. They finished second in a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car with team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in third, ensuring the drivers’ crown will be decided in Britain next month. The 31-year-old Finn’s title challenge was boosted when Latvala sacrificed second position shortly before the finish to ensure his team-mate maximised his…
Read MoreWRC – Update After Day 1 for Rally Spain
Just a brief recap here of the events of day 1 for Rally Spain. Keep it to OpenPaddock as the teams post indepth reviews of their first day for the penultimate round of the championship. Conditions were the name of the game for the gravel stages today. Loeb would start first on the road and usually that is an issue, but conditions actually favored the French ace as dust would cause the cars running behind massive problems. The gravel stages were very dry and there was not much of a…
Read MoreRally – WRC Rally Spain Preview from iRally
IndyLights – That’s a Wrap!
The season finale for the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights series took place this morning at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and there was no lack of excitement! Although Sam Schmidt Motorsports had long since wrapped up the team championship, and the team’s primary driver, Josef Newgarden, had secured the drivers’ championship at Kentucky, there was still a fierce battle to be had for second spot in the drivers’ championship and there were some new drivers looking to make a mark as they work on plans for 2012. Andretti Autosport’s Stefan…
Read MoreIndyLights – Las Vegas Preview
The final round of the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights Series takes place this Sunday at the Las Vegas Motorspeedway, but the calamity from Kentucky has left a few cars and one driver on the sidelines. David Ostella, primary driver for Jensen MotorSport, is out. The team was not able to repair his car in time for the transport out to Las Vegas leaving the team with only one entry, newcomer Oliver Webb. This is a pretty brutal situation for Ostella who has scrapped and fought well for Jensen MotorSport all…
Read MoreEpisode 108 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they talk about Formula 1 from Suzuka and Vettel’s title. They break down the race that was the always amazing Japanese Grand Prix. The boys also look ahead to the INDYCAR World Championship from Las Vegas and ask the question…will this be a real race? How will race control influence all of the events that will be going on? Is race control positioned for world domination? Where they the ones who secretly plotte dthe assasination of the Saudi ambassador?…
Read MoreEpisode 107 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they recap the events from WRC France and the IndyCars from Kentucky. We talk a bit about the 2012 schedule or lack there of and look ahead to the season finale in Las vegas. As always, thank you for the download and enjoy the show!
Read MoreIndyCar – Kentucky Weekend in Photos
Our IndyCar photographer, Joe Ferrall, was at the Kentucky Speedway and brought back some really great shots of both the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights events. Enjoy! You can view the rest of our IndyCar photos from this year and back to 2009 by clicking on the Photo Galleries tab above and selecting IndyCar.
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