This weekend’s Petit Le Mans was to be the best race of the year for endurance racing aside from the 24 Hour event itself. The 1,000 mile/10 hour event would highlight the best teams from all over the world at Road Atlanta, but Mother Nature had other ideas. After about 4 hours of racing the heavens opened up and cut loose. Torrential rains saw the event cancelled at about the half way point with Peugeot taking a 1-2. However, don’t be fooled. The Peugeot was clearly not the best car…
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F1 – Eccelstone Doubts USF1
It has been known for what seems like eternity that Bernie Ecclestone is a very outspoken man. One to never let an opportunity in front of a microphone go, Bernie has now heaped scorn at the Peter Windsor/Ken Anderson USF1 entry claiming that he does not believe the team will be ready for 2010. The new Charlotte based team has worked methodically and round the clock to ensure their entry would hit the grid by 2010 and have done it all right in my opinion. They have their own chassis…
Read MoreRally – Solberg Signs with Citroen Junior
The final round of the WRC has taken a turn as it was recently announced that Petter Solberg will race for the Citroen Junior squad in Great Britain. This move by Citroen could have a serious impact on the championship and something that will surly put Ford on the defense. While Solberg will be racing a C4 that he has leased in Spain with his own team colors, he has reached an agreement with the French squad for Rally GB that will see him fighting for victory in the season…
Read MoreLe Mans – Peugeot Take Front Row
Qualifications for the Petit Le Mans took place this afternoon with all the focus on the Audi/Peugeot battle. The two teams did not fail in delivering a great session which acted as a sneak peek into this weekend’s epic battle. The focus was all on the P1 class and Peugeot took the first round of the fight to Audi and secured the front row out right. The Peugeot piloted by Nicolas Minassian took pole position in the 07. Franck Montagny’s #08 qualified just 0.223s behind the 07 and is ahead…
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Episode 09 – Open Paddock Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week Mike and I return to discuss Renault and Ryan Briscoe. We run down Motegi, Rally America in Colorado and look ahead to this weekends only real race of value: Petit Le Mans. More politically incorrect motorsport news and opinion served up in Episode 09.
Read MoreRally – Colorado Review
With the national championship already won by Travis Pastrana, the Rally America series went to Colorado to put on a show for the fans. Colorado is typically home of the world famous Pikes Peak hill climb, but the folks in the Rockies sure appreciate their rally racing whenever they can get it. Ken Block would enter the rally but drive for Dave Mirra who was away for the weekend. Block’s open class car had not recovered from damage suffered in the previous round, so the Monster Energy Drink star would…
Read MoreF1 – FIA OK with Re-Homologation
Engine homologation in F1 has been a bit of a black art. The teams were allowed to make ‘reliability upgrades’ to their cars, but those upgrades have increased engine performance. So much so that Renault was allowed to make special engine upgrades during the offseason to catch up. New concerns over the performance level of the engines have come up, with many in the paddock saying that the Mercedes engine is at a very clear advantage, especially after their performance at Monza. The FIA has responded to requests from FOTA…
Read MoreF1 – 2010 Schedule Released
The FIA took the opportunity of the WMSC meeting with Renault to release the 2010 F1 calendar of events: March 14 – Bahrain March 28 – Australia April 4 – Malaysia April 18 – China May 9 – Spain May 23 – Monaco May 30 – Turkey June 13 – Canada* June 27 – Europe (Valencia) July 11 – Great Britain July 25 – Germany August 1 – Hungary August 29 – Belgium September 12 – Italy September 26 – Singapore October 3 – Japan October 17 – Korea October…
Read MoreF1 – WMSC Puts Down Smack
The FIA has issued their full verdict on the Renault ‘Piquetgate’ scandal and the arbitrary hand of FIA justice has fallen. Leading up to this mornings WMSC hearing, Pat Symonds and Flavio Briatore left the team and Renault made it known that they would not dispute any of the FIA’s findings. On top of that they issued an unreserved apology to the FIA for the actions of members of their team. The FIA found that Nelson Piquet Jr., Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds conspired to have NPJ crash during last…
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