Well it was fun while it lasted, but the news out of Charlotte today is finally the end of what has been one ugly situation. For the last few weeks USF1 has been the center of attention off the track. While teams tested and prepared for the season opener in Bahrain, the struggling American outfit has done nothing but sit in a stalled state. News of backers leaving and sponsors falling off has made for one ugly PR situation for the team that announced in February of 2009 their intentions…
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Rally – 100 Acre Results
Ken Block Wins His Fifth Consecutive 100 Acre Wood Rally Written by: Rally America, Sunday, February 28, 2010 Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino of the Monster World Rally Team have claimed their fifth consecutive 100 Acre Wood Rally win. Block drove the Open Class Ford Fiesta to victory despite having a tough first day and starting the second leg over a minute behind rally leader, Travis Pastrana. The Ford driver was able to gain some ground after Antoine L’Estage dropped to third place due to a water crossing visibility issue…
Read MoreEpisode 27 – Open Paddock Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Mike and myself discuss the 100 Acre Wood Rally as we will be in attendance. Look forward to meeting up with john Cassidy from Last Ditch Racing as well as Travis Pastrana and Ken Block. We cover the IndyCar silly season and why many teams are looking to Sebring instead of Barber. We also get into Formula 1 and have a nice debate on Ferrari’s verbage as well as USF1 and the new look Campos Meta.
Read MoreOP-Ed – Ferrari the Crusader
There are times when Ferrari releases some crazy PR statements, and then there are times where the completely fall off the wagon with what can only be called ridiculous. Yesterday the team released one of those ridiculous statements. The troubles faced by the new teams on the grid have been well documented by openpaddock and many motorsport publications. Campos Meta’s near collapse teamed with the bloody and ugly falling of USF1 have driven traffic on internet sites through the roof as people search for any bit of news they can…
Read MoreRally – 100 Acre Wood This Week!!!
OP-Ed – USF1 Denies; Stefan Delivers
The soap opera that is the new teams and the potential 14th grid slot has seen two updates the last 24 hours that doesn’t make the situation any easier. As of the middle of this week we all thought the USF1 project was in a serious state of collapse. This very well may be true but it has not stopped the boys based in Charlotte from refuting the rumors. According to USF1’s twitter account, the team is “not gone” and we are to “have news soon”. Are you serious? Less…
Read MoreRally – Proton Closes in on Driver Selection
Malaysian based Proton is reportedly close to signing another driver for its 2010 IRC campaign. Alister McRae delivered a solid finish for Proton at last year’s Rally Scotland and is set to be one of the drivers in the car this year. The question then remains who is in line for the second seat? Francois Duval is one of the names mentioned as well as former factory Subaru ace Chris Atkinson. The latter of the two has just completed a test for the Malaysian squad and is currently without a…
Read MoreRally – LDR Going WRC in Mexico!
As was mentioned on Episode 26 of the podcast this week, our very good friends at Last Ditch Racing have been given an opportunity that would be insane to turn down. The crew has been offered a chance to yet again compete in a WRC event in Mexico. The only difference between the 100 Acre Wood Rally and Mexico for the team will be the car. T4 will be on the sideline freshly recovering from action in Missouri, while John takes command of a Peugeot 207. The event is going…
Read MoreEpisode 26 – Open Paddock Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadAfter what could be considered a black day in American motorsports, Mike and I look over USF1 and Campos. We bring you our opinion on Rally Sweden results with some good conversation. IndyCar silly season is in full effect….never mind our bit about KV Racing…they beat me to the punch! Also, we ran into a couple problems with our skype so there may be patchy spots. We should have a remedy for the situation in time for next week. Battle through it and enjoy…
Read MoreRally – Prodrive MINI on Target
The wonderful folks at Rallybuzz.com are at it again with a great update on the current MINI crossover that looks to make its WRC debut next year. The bottom lineup on the project is that it will happen and it is on schedule for next season. Dave Richards and some of the other top brass at Prodrive were in Sweden this past weekend for the WRC’s opening round. What was labeled as a fact finding mission has brought forth some specifications on what the boys from Banbury are working on.…
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