Friday 4 March 2011
Thursday 3 March 2011
The Best and Worse Of Formula One with Video's
This time of year there's a lot of motorsport list's, looking back over the last year, of looking forward to the next.
Well I've come across an article at here heres a quick summary, do please have a look
Greatest Driver: Jim Clark
When Jim Clark died in an F2 accident in Hockenheim in 1968 he had the most wins ever by an F1 driver, with 25. That record lasted almost six years until Jackie Stewart got his 26th at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1973.
Most Underrated Driver: Graham Hill
Can a two time World Champion, an Indy 500 winner, a Le Mans 24 hours winner, 14 time Grand Prix winner, and five time Monaco Grand Prix winner be underrated?
Overrated Driver: Giancarlo Fisichella
Fisichella has competed in 231 Grands Prix, in some great cars like Benetton, Renault and Ferrari, including a couple that won the championship. His result of three victories are not sufficient for the opportunities he was given.
Best Ambassador: Jackie Stewart
The Wee Scot is perhaps the best-known F1 driver in North America, along with Mario Andretti, and most of that is due to his work and promotion of the sport after he finished racing.
Worst Ambassador: Max Mosley
I could go on a huge rant about each reason Mosley was bad for F1. Instead I will just point out a few of the low-lights.
Best Pass (Tie): Nelson Piquet - Hungarian Grand Prix 1986
Piquet was sitting second behind Senna when he got into Senna's slip-stream on the main straight.
Best Pass: Jacques Villeneuve - European Grand Prix 1997
This was not one of those flashy, spectacular passes where cars are
sliding, wheels are locking and smoke is coming off the tires.
Best lap: French Grand Prix 1979
Gilles Villeneuve's and Rene Arnoux's last lap in the 1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon.
Worst Race: French Grand Prix 1996.
Nothing happened. There isn't much else to say.
Only highlight I could find.
Best Race: European Grand Prix, Nurburgring, 1999.
The race started with a Jordan on Pole Position -- a Jordan, whose driver, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, was still in the championship hunt. A second formation lap led was needed then the race featured: a barrel-roll accident, rain, some cars on dry tires, some cars on wet tires,
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Well I've come across an article at here heres a quick summary, do please have a look
Greatest Driver: Jim Clark
When Jim Clark died in an F2 accident in Hockenheim in 1968 he had the most wins ever by an F1 driver, with 25. That record lasted almost six years until Jackie Stewart got his 26th at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1973.
Most Underrated Driver: Graham Hill
Can a two time World Champion, an Indy 500 winner, a Le Mans 24 hours winner, 14 time Grand Prix winner, and five time Monaco Grand Prix winner be underrated?
Overrated Driver: Giancarlo Fisichella
Fisichella has competed in 231 Grands Prix, in some great cars like Benetton, Renault and Ferrari, including a couple that won the championship. His result of three victories are not sufficient for the opportunities he was given.
Best Ambassador: Jackie Stewart
The Wee Scot is perhaps the best-known F1 driver in North America, along with Mario Andretti, and most of that is due to his work and promotion of the sport after he finished racing.
Worst Ambassador: Max Mosley
I could go on a huge rant about each reason Mosley was bad for F1. Instead I will just point out a few of the low-lights.
Best Pass (Tie): Nelson Piquet - Hungarian Grand Prix 1986
Piquet was sitting second behind Senna when he got into Senna's slip-stream on the main straight.
Best Pass: Jacques Villeneuve - European Grand Prix 1997
This was not one of those flashy, spectacular passes where cars are
sliding, wheels are locking and smoke is coming off the tires.
Best lap: French Grand Prix 1979
Gilles Villeneuve's and Rene Arnoux's last lap in the 1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon.
Worst Race: French Grand Prix 1996.
Nothing happened. There isn't much else to say.
Only highlight I could find.
Best Race: European Grand Prix, Nurburgring, 1999.
The race started with a Jordan on Pole Position -- a Jordan, whose driver, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, was still in the championship hunt. A second formation lap led was needed then the race featured: a barrel-roll accident, rain, some cars on dry tires, some cars on wet tires,
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Tuesday 1 March 2011
2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Pheonix Review
Just 1 week removed from the historic Daytona 500, what a difference a week makes, The youngest ever winner of the 500 Trever Bayne would crash in friday practice, and for the first time ever would be in a "back-up" car, how would he fair.
Other stories to watch include Kyle Busch was looking to cap of a dominante weekend, having won in the Trucks and then leading every lap in nationwide, with Carl Edwards also crossing the stripe in second on every lap, Could the current points leader Carl Edwards increase his lead over the pack. having finished in the top 2 in the last 3 races he's surely one to watch, and with 48 points the maximum point haul for a race, who could forget the 5 time champion Jimmie Johnson.
Expect to see a different style of racing here from last week, this track is all about the driver, and it will be every man for himself.
The first 70 laps were eventful, with 2 multi-car incidents.
The first was caused by Busch making contact with polesitter Carl Edwards exiting Turn 2, causing the Roush Fenway racer to drive over the grass and sustain damage to the front end of his Ford.
Edwards lost control after that and slid towards the barrier with the front wheels locked, forcing Gordon against the wall as well. However his Hendrick crew was able to quickly get the right front fender back in shape under the caution, putting Gordon back in contention.
Only eight laps later during the following restart, a multi-car crash involving 13 drivers ignited when Red Bull's Brian Vickers got loose and spun at the very same spot after a brush with Matt Kenseth, resulting in a brief red-flag stoppage.
Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne ended up crashing heavily against the wall which would take him out of the race, when he made contact with Travis Kvapil's Ford at the end of the front-stretch early in the race.
Both Gordon and Busch recovered from there earlier incidents, following the final restart with 22 laps remaining, Gordon had to chase the leading Toyota of Busch, who passed Tony Stewart for the lead shortly after the green flag waved for the last time.
Busch was hoping to complete a sweep of wins in all three of NASCAR's top championships for the second time in his career, having won on Friday in the Truck Series event, and taken victory again on Saturday in the Nationwide Series. However Gordon had different plans in his Drive to End Hunger-sponsored Impala, as he started to put pressure on the Joe Gibbs driver as the lap-count faded.
Gordon eventually got to the rear bumper of Busch with nine laps to go, almost passing him at the exit of Turn 4. He got side-by-side with his rival along the front-stretch, kept his line entering Turn 1 and made contact with Busch as both drifted onto the 11-degree banking.
As Gordon came out of Turn 2 he had already opened a gap that he was able to stretch over the final eight laps to claim a very popular win.
Jeff Gordon ended a 66-race win-less streak and would lead a race-high 138 laps. Gordon's win also allowed him to tie Cale Yarborough in the record books in fifth in the all-time list of race winners, Gordon being the leading active driver in that ranking - in which he is only one win shy of third-placed Darrell Waltrip.
"I just beat Kyle Busch!" screamed Gordon on his radio after crossing the stripe.
"I've not been in position to put pressure on the leader and force him to make mistakes to be in control of the situation in a very long time and that's what I loved about today," said Gordon. "To be in that position was a very cool feeling. You feel like you're in control of your destiny.
"It got a little hairy getting into [Turn] 1. I was shocked I even got underneath [Busch] but when I did I thought 'I'm going to check up early' because I was afraid he was going to do the swap-over on me on the exit. He's pretty notorious about that."
Results - 312 laps
1. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 3h01m49.000s
2. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota + 1.137s
3. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet + 2.500s
4. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet + 2.827s
5. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 3.697s
6. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota + 4.161s
7. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 6.262s
8. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge + 9.041s
9. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford + 9.176s
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet + 9.500s
11. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota + 10.853s
12. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford + 10.927s
13. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet + 11.545s
14. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota + 15.323s
15. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge + 1 lap
16. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford + 1 lap
17. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet + 1 lap
18. Casey Mears Germain Toyota + 1 lap
19. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 1 lap
20. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford + 1 lap
21. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota + 2 laps
22. David Gilliland Front Row Ford + 2 laps
23. Bill Elliott Phoenix Chevrolet + 3 laps
24. Mike Skinner FAS Lane Ford + 4 laps
25. Tony Raines Front Row Ford + 6 laps
26. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet + 36 laps
27. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet + 52 laps
28. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford + 60 laps
29. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota + 66 laps
30. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota + 74 laps
31. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet + 75 laps
32. Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge + 76 laps
Non-finishers:
Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 213 laps
Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 213 laps*
Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 126 laps
David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 125 laps
JJ Yeley Whitney Chevrolet 72 laps
Landon Cassill Germain Toyota 68 laps
Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 66 laps
Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 49 laps
Michael McDowell HP Toyota 43 laps
Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 27 laps
Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 22 laps
* Running again at chequered flag
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Other stories to watch include Kyle Busch was looking to cap of a dominante weekend, having won in the Trucks and then leading every lap in nationwide, with Carl Edwards also crossing the stripe in second on every lap, Could the current points leader Carl Edwards increase his lead over the pack. having finished in the top 2 in the last 3 races he's surely one to watch, and with 48 points the maximum point haul for a race, who could forget the 5 time champion Jimmie Johnson.
Expect to see a different style of racing here from last week, this track is all about the driver, and it will be every man for himself.
The first 70 laps were eventful, with 2 multi-car incidents.
The first was caused by Busch making contact with polesitter Carl Edwards exiting Turn 2, causing the Roush Fenway racer to drive over the grass and sustain damage to the front end of his Ford.
Edwards lost control after that and slid towards the barrier with the front wheels locked, forcing Gordon against the wall as well. However his Hendrick crew was able to quickly get the right front fender back in shape under the caution, putting Gordon back in contention.
Only eight laps later during the following restart, a multi-car crash involving 13 drivers ignited when Red Bull's Brian Vickers got loose and spun at the very same spot after a brush with Matt Kenseth, resulting in a brief red-flag stoppage.
Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne ended up crashing heavily against the wall which would take him out of the race, when he made contact with Travis Kvapil's Ford at the end of the front-stretch early in the race.
Both Gordon and Busch recovered from there earlier incidents, following the final restart with 22 laps remaining, Gordon had to chase the leading Toyota of Busch, who passed Tony Stewart for the lead shortly after the green flag waved for the last time.
Busch was hoping to complete a sweep of wins in all three of NASCAR's top championships for the second time in his career, having won on Friday in the Truck Series event, and taken victory again on Saturday in the Nationwide Series. However Gordon had different plans in his Drive to End Hunger-sponsored Impala, as he started to put pressure on the Joe Gibbs driver as the lap-count faded.
Gordon eventually got to the rear bumper of Busch with nine laps to go, almost passing him at the exit of Turn 4. He got side-by-side with his rival along the front-stretch, kept his line entering Turn 1 and made contact with Busch as both drifted onto the 11-degree banking.
As Gordon came out of Turn 2 he had already opened a gap that he was able to stretch over the final eight laps to claim a very popular win.
Jeff Gordon ended a 66-race win-less streak and would lead a race-high 138 laps. Gordon's win also allowed him to tie Cale Yarborough in the record books in fifth in the all-time list of race winners, Gordon being the leading active driver in that ranking - in which he is only one win shy of third-placed Darrell Waltrip.
"I just beat Kyle Busch!" screamed Gordon on his radio after crossing the stripe.
"I've not been in position to put pressure on the leader and force him to make mistakes to be in control of the situation in a very long time and that's what I loved about today," said Gordon. "To be in that position was a very cool feeling. You feel like you're in control of your destiny.
"It got a little hairy getting into [Turn] 1. I was shocked I even got underneath [Busch] but when I did I thought 'I'm going to check up early' because I was afraid he was going to do the swap-over on me on the exit. He's pretty notorious about that."
Results - 312 laps
1. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 3h01m49.000s
2. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota + 1.137s
3. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet + 2.500s
4. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet + 2.827s
5. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 3.697s
6. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota + 4.161s
7. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 6.262s
8. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge + 9.041s
9. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford + 9.176s
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet + 9.500s
11. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota + 10.853s
12. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford + 10.927s
13. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet + 11.545s
14. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota + 15.323s
15. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge + 1 lap
16. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford + 1 lap
17. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet + 1 lap
18. Casey Mears Germain Toyota + 1 lap
19. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 1 lap
20. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford + 1 lap
21. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota + 2 laps
22. David Gilliland Front Row Ford + 2 laps
23. Bill Elliott Phoenix Chevrolet + 3 laps
24. Mike Skinner FAS Lane Ford + 4 laps
25. Tony Raines Front Row Ford + 6 laps
26. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet + 36 laps
27. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet + 52 laps
28. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford + 60 laps
29. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota + 66 laps
30. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota + 74 laps
31. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet + 75 laps
32. Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge + 76 laps
Non-finishers:
Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 213 laps
Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 213 laps*
Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 126 laps
David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 125 laps
JJ Yeley Whitney Chevrolet 72 laps
Landon Cassill Germain Toyota 68 laps
Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 66 laps
Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 49 laps
Michael McDowell HP Toyota 43 laps
Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 27 laps
Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 22 laps
* Running again at chequered flag
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Monday 28 February 2011
Monday Answers
Hello and welcome to the first of a weekly Sunday Quiz
Rember this is just for fun, Hear are the answers to yesterday quiz. How well did you do?
1) Who's this
Coulthard, Monaco 1996, due to an issue with his he was forced to use schumachers replacement. Finished 2nd, McLarens best result of the season, behind Panis.
2) Who's eyes are these
1996 world champion Damon Hill
3) Who is the first Brit to win a World Rally Championship and when?
Colin McRae, 1995
4) Who is the only women to attempt but fail to qualify for the Indy 500 race?
Desire Wilson, attempted but failed to qualify in 1982. Guthrie first attempted to qualify for the 1976 race but fell short on speed and preparation time. She returned to qualify for the first time in 1977,
5) Who won the 50th running of the Daytona 500?
Ryan Newman, in 2008, this marked the first Daytona 500 win for Penske Racing and the first run using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which was introduced in 2007 and became standard as of 2008
6) In Dale Earnhardt debut race in the Winston Cup, what car number did he run?
The number 8, in 1975 Earnhardt drove an Ed Negre Dodge Charger(#8) and finished 22nd in the race, one place ahead of his future car owner, Richard Childress.
7) Who won the first A1GP championship?
France with drivers Nicolas Lapierre, Alexandre Premat
A!GP began on 25 September 2005 with the A1 Grand Prix of Nations Great Britain at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, United Kingdom.
8) When did 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo first capture Pole in MotoGP
Oh his debut in 2008's Qatar night race on March 8, he went on to finish 2nd, and capture pole in the next two events.
9) Who's helmet is this?
Giancarlo Fisichella, 2009 Ferrari as Massa replacement.
10) in 2010 who qualified on Pole for the Bathurst 1000 Race?
Mark Winterbottom with a time of 2.07.53seconds he's eventually finished 9th.
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Rember this is just for fun, Hear are the answers to yesterday quiz. How well did you do?
1) Who's this
Coulthard, Monaco 1996, due to an issue with his he was forced to use schumachers replacement. Finished 2nd, McLarens best result of the season, behind Panis.
2) Who's eyes are these
1996 world champion Damon Hill
3) Who is the first Brit to win a World Rally Championship and when?
Colin McRae, 1995
4) Who is the only women to attempt but fail to qualify for the Indy 500 race?
Desire Wilson, attempted but failed to qualify in 1982. Guthrie first attempted to qualify for the 1976 race but fell short on speed and preparation time. She returned to qualify for the first time in 1977,
5) Who won the 50th running of the Daytona 500?
Ryan Newman, in 2008, this marked the first Daytona 500 win for Penske Racing and the first run using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which was introduced in 2007 and became standard as of 2008
6) In Dale Earnhardt debut race in the Winston Cup, what car number did he run?
The number 8, in 1975 Earnhardt drove an Ed Negre Dodge Charger(#8) and finished 22nd in the race, one place ahead of his future car owner, Richard Childress.
7) Who won the first A1GP championship?
France with drivers Nicolas Lapierre, Alexandre Premat
A!GP began on 25 September 2005 with the A1 Grand Prix of Nations Great Britain at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, United Kingdom.
8) When did 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo first capture Pole in MotoGP
Oh his debut in 2008's Qatar night race on March 8, he went on to finish 2nd, and capture pole in the next two events.
9) Who's helmet is this?
Giancarlo Fisichella, 2009 Ferrari as Massa replacement.
10) in 2010 who qualified on Pole for the Bathurst 1000 Race?
Mark Winterbottom with a time of 2.07.53seconds he's eventually finished 9th.
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Sunday 27 February 2011
Hamilton to Drive NASCAR at Watkins Glen
2008 Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton is set to drive a premier Sprint Cup NASCAR for the first time later in 2011.
Hamilton will take the wheel of Tony Stewart's Chevrolet, allowing Stewart to drive the 2010 McLaren MP4-25.
The exhibition, organised by mutual sponsor Mobil 1, is set to take place some time in the summer at the famous Watkins Glen road course in New York.
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Hamilton will take the wheel of Tony Stewart's Chevrolet, allowing Stewart to drive the 2010 McLaren MP4-25.
The exhibition, organised by mutual sponsor Mobil 1, is set to take place some time in the summer at the famous Watkins Glen road course in New York.
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Checa The Irresistible Force - World Superbikes.
since his first sessions in the official IMS tests at Phillip Island earlier this week Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) made himself a force to be reckoned with.
Race 1
Checa's winning margin over Biaggi in Phillip Island race 1 was clear evidence of the Althea man's domination. Checa took the lead from Laverty on lap 3 and steadily pulled out to an unchallenged 4-second gap at the flag. Biaggi soon realized it was not possible to keep the pace of Checa and settled for second. The podium was completed by Haslam who held off both Yamaha riders, Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri, who exchanged places right at the flag in a sprint finish.
Fastest lap : Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing), 1'32.034 (Lap 2)
The top three said.
Carlos Checa: "Here we have something extra, maybe the bike works really well at this track and I like it as well. We did a great job in testing, practice and qualifying but you never know, conditions can change. I started well and made a gap, controlled the race, went fast lap by lap, but it's a fantastic winning start for me and the team."
Max Biaggi: "A very good result because the last two years at Phillip Island we were struggling and far behind. The twins are always a bit better on this track but I don't want to take anything away from Checa, he did a fantastic race. We did our best, I came close at some stage but my wheel was spinning so I couldn't go faster."
Leon Haslam: "A third place is like a win for me at this stage, we've come on a lot this last week and the boys have worked fantastic. I'm looking forward to having a look at the data because we had a few issues and still managed to get on the podium. Hopefully the team can work its magic in race 2."
Race 2
Again no one was able to run with Checa and he finished a clear distance ahead of Biaggi again, 1.118 seconds at the flag. The reigning world champion battled it out for the runner-up slot in the final stages with an impressive Melandri just getting the edge at the line after some very impressive close-quarter racing from each rider.
Fastest lap : Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing), 1'32.012 (Lap 3)
Again the top three said.
Carlos Checa: "It wasn't easy at all. I went into first position as soon as I can, but Haslam was not easy to pass at all. From there I tried to make my place on the track, but I know they were fighting behind me and two seconds lead wasn't perfect. This is the best start for me, 50 points here in Australia."
Max Biaggi: "Two second places in Australia is a very good result. It's good to come back here after we struggled the last two years. Thanks to my team and crew, we've been working very well these days. It was good battling with Marco, the Yamaha has potential and I think they can do a good race, and Haslam as well. It makes it better for the competition."
Marco Melandri: "It's been an amazing day for me after not such a good race 1. I didn't have a good feeling with the bike so we sat down with our team and they made a good job on the bike for race 2. I could ride so much stronger, I started more aggressive, and it felt very good to be back on the podium after such a long time, I'm just a bit disappointed not to beat Max for second place."
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Race 1
Checa's winning margin over Biaggi in Phillip Island race 1 was clear evidence of the Althea man's domination. Checa took the lead from Laverty on lap 3 and steadily pulled out to an unchallenged 4-second gap at the flag. Biaggi soon realized it was not possible to keep the pace of Checa and settled for second. The podium was completed by Haslam who held off both Yamaha riders, Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri, who exchanged places right at the flag in a sprint finish.
Fastest lap : Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing), 1'32.034 (Lap 2)
The top three said.
Carlos Checa: "Here we have something extra, maybe the bike works really well at this track and I like it as well. We did a great job in testing, practice and qualifying but you never know, conditions can change. I started well and made a gap, controlled the race, went fast lap by lap, but it's a fantastic winning start for me and the team."
Max Biaggi: "A very good result because the last two years at Phillip Island we were struggling and far behind. The twins are always a bit better on this track but I don't want to take anything away from Checa, he did a fantastic race. We did our best, I came close at some stage but my wheel was spinning so I couldn't go faster."
Leon Haslam: "A third place is like a win for me at this stage, we've come on a lot this last week and the boys have worked fantastic. I'm looking forward to having a look at the data because we had a few issues and still managed to get on the podium. Hopefully the team can work its magic in race 2."
Race 2
Again no one was able to run with Checa and he finished a clear distance ahead of Biaggi again, 1.118 seconds at the flag. The reigning world champion battled it out for the runner-up slot in the final stages with an impressive Melandri just getting the edge at the line after some very impressive close-quarter racing from each rider.
Fastest lap : Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing), 1'32.012 (Lap 3)
Again the top three said.
Carlos Checa: "It wasn't easy at all. I went into first position as soon as I can, but Haslam was not easy to pass at all. From there I tried to make my place on the track, but I know they were fighting behind me and two seconds lead wasn't perfect. This is the best start for me, 50 points here in Australia."
Max Biaggi: "Two second places in Australia is a very good result. It's good to come back here after we struggled the last two years. Thanks to my team and crew, we've been working very well these days. It was good battling with Marco, the Yamaha has potential and I think they can do a good race, and Haslam as well. It makes it better for the competition."
Marco Melandri: "It's been an amazing day for me after not such a good race 1. I didn't have a good feeling with the bike so we sat down with our team and they made a good job on the bike for race 2. I could ride so much stronger, I started more aggressive, and it felt very good to be back on the podium after such a long time, I'm just a bit disappointed not to beat Max for second place."
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Reactions To Bahrain GP News
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is happy with the delay. "I am not too unhappy about the world championship only starting in Australia, because it gives us more time," the 2008 World Champion said. And added, "We have some catching up to do and not a lot of time until the season starts."
Mercedes Sport Director Norbert Haug was quoted saying by a German magazine when asked about the extra time, "At this point before the start of a season, all the teams are doing things literally at the very last minute." But there is no time for radical design changes, and the German admitted all teams just have 'a little bit more air'.
Replacement driver Heidfeld about Renault's chances this year, "I sadly have to disappoint everyone who is thinking that we are top of the grid now because of the fastest lap of Robert [Kubica] in Valencia and mine in Jerez. Certainly we work hard to chance this." Which also means Renault has extra time to get rid of their current gremlins which have hampered the development of the car.
And interestingly enough, the winner of last year's Constructors' and Drivers' championship Red Bull, and according to insiders currently the team with the fasted car, the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix could help them as well. Team principal Horner, "With its long straights, Bahrain would not have been our showcase race." Melbourne is an altogether different circuit, with tight corners where acceleration is more important than straight-line speed, so the Australian circuit will certainly suit the Red Bull team better.
The Williams team cannot be happy with the cancellation, British newspapers have reported Williams Grand Prix Holdings have lowered the price of it shares for their upcoming stock flotation. The price range has been decreased from 24-29 Euro to 25-27 Euro a share as a result of the Middle East crisis.
A few people were not happy with the way Formula One's governing body, the FIA, has handled the situation in Bahrain. Or should we say, did not address the situation at all. FIA President Jean Todt has been remarkably silent. He was in Ireland and when asked by reporters about the situation, he only managed to squeeze out a few words and said he 'always tried not to overreact on breaking stories', and added there was no reason for 'unnecessary concerns'.
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Mercedes Sport Director Norbert Haug was quoted saying by a German magazine when asked about the extra time, "At this point before the start of a season, all the teams are doing things literally at the very last minute." But there is no time for radical design changes, and the German admitted all teams just have 'a little bit more air'.
Replacement driver Heidfeld about Renault's chances this year, "I sadly have to disappoint everyone who is thinking that we are top of the grid now because of the fastest lap of Robert [Kubica] in Valencia and mine in Jerez. Certainly we work hard to chance this." Which also means Renault has extra time to get rid of their current gremlins which have hampered the development of the car.
And interestingly enough, the winner of last year's Constructors' and Drivers' championship Red Bull, and according to insiders currently the team with the fasted car, the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix could help them as well. Team principal Horner, "With its long straights, Bahrain would not have been our showcase race." Melbourne is an altogether different circuit, with tight corners where acceleration is more important than straight-line speed, so the Australian circuit will certainly suit the Red Bull team better.
The Williams team cannot be happy with the cancellation, British newspapers have reported Williams Grand Prix Holdings have lowered the price of it shares for their upcoming stock flotation. The price range has been decreased from 24-29 Euro to 25-27 Euro a share as a result of the Middle East crisis.
A few people were not happy with the way Formula One's governing body, the FIA, has handled the situation in Bahrain. Or should we say, did not address the situation at all. FIA President Jean Todt has been remarkably silent. He was in Ireland and when asked by reporters about the situation, he only managed to squeeze out a few words and said he 'always tried not to overreact on breaking stories', and added there was no reason for 'unnecessary concerns'.
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Kyle Busch to Take Phoenix Sweep?
For the second week in a row Kyle Busch is on to make history.
Having come up short in Daytona last week, Busch has once again set himself up to take the full sweep of victories in the top-level championships at Phoenix in a single weekend, having already dominated in the Trucks and Natiowide Series races at the one-mile oval.
Friday night Busch took his 25th win in NASCAR's Truck Series, Driving for his own KBM team, driving his traditional number 18, led a quite incredible full sweep of victories in its top-level championships at Phoenix in a single weekend, having already dominated in the Trucks and Natiowide Series races at the one-mile oval.
On Saturday afternoon, Busch led every single lap to claim his 44th Nationwide Series career victory, his 33rd for Joe Gibbs Racing in the second-tier series. Although he was raced side by said in the closing stages by the current SPRINT cup point leader Carl Edwards.
Busch was also fastest in practice for the SPRINT cup race, and qualified on the outside of the second row,
Toyota Tundra. It was also his 25th victory in the series, out of 87 events contested since 2001.
If Busch manages to claim victory in Sunday's Cup event at Phoenix, which he won back in 2006, he would match the feat he already achieved last August when he completed a full sweep at Bristol, winning in Trucks, Nationwide and Cup.
In Saturday's Nationwide race, Busch became the first driver since 2003 to lead every lap of a NASCAR event.
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Having come up short in Daytona last week, Busch has once again set himself up to take the full sweep of victories in the top-level championships at Phoenix in a single weekend, having already dominated in the Trucks and Natiowide Series races at the one-mile oval.
Friday night Busch took his 25th win in NASCAR's Truck Series, Driving for his own KBM team, driving his traditional number 18, led a quite incredible full sweep of victories in its top-level championships at Phoenix in a single weekend, having already dominated in the Trucks and Natiowide Series races at the one-mile oval.
On Saturday afternoon, Busch led every single lap to claim his 44th Nationwide Series career victory, his 33rd for Joe Gibbs Racing in the second-tier series. Although he was raced side by said in the closing stages by the current SPRINT cup point leader Carl Edwards.
Busch was also fastest in practice for the SPRINT cup race, and qualified on the outside of the second row,
Toyota Tundra. It was also his 25th victory in the series, out of 87 events contested since 2001.
If Busch manages to claim victory in Sunday's Cup event at Phoenix, which he won back in 2006, he would match the feat he already achieved last August when he completed a full sweep at Bristol, winning in Trucks, Nationwide and Cup.
In Saturday's Nationwide race, Busch became the first driver since 2003 to lead every lap of a NASCAR event.
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NASCAR Phoenix Qualifying Times
1. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 26.224s
2. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge 26.256s + 0.032s
3. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 26.259s + 0.035s
4. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 26.281s + 0.057s
5. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevy 26.283s + 0.059s
6. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 26.288s + 0.064s
7. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 26.314s + 0.090s
8. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevy 26.321s + 0.097s
9. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 26.322s + 0.098s
10. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 26.340s + 0.116s
11. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 26.346s + 0.122s
12. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 26.358s + 0.134s
13. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 26.362s + 0.138s
14. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet 26.382s + 0.158s
15. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford 26.392s + 0.168s
16. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet 26.407s + 0.183s
17. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 26.448s + 0.224s
18. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 26.459s + 0.235s
19. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 26.471s + 0.247s
20. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 26.515s + 0.291s
21. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 26.523s + 0.299s
22. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevy 26.529s + 0.305s
23. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet 26.547s + 0.323s
24. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford 26.553s + 0.329s
25. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 26.556s + 0.332s
26. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota 26.557s + 0.333s
27. Casey Mears Germain Toyota 26.563s + 0.339s
28. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 26.569s + 0.345s
29. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 26.574s + 0.350s
30. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 26.574s + 0.350s
31. Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge 26.621s + 0.397s
32. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 26.680s + 0.456s
33. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 26.715s + 0.491s
34. Michael McDowell HP Toyota 26.729s + 0.505s
35. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 26.731s + 0.507s
36. Mike Skinner FAS Lane Ford 26.811s + 0.587s
37. Landon Cassill Germain Toyota 26.856s + 0.632s
38. JJ Yeley Whitney Chevrolet 26.857s + 0.633s
39. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 26.909s + 0.685s
40. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 26.988s + 0.764s
41. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet 27.288s + 1.064s
42. Tony Raines Front Row Ford 27.343s + 1.119s
43. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 26.996s + 0.772s
Did not qualify:
Brian Keselowski K-Automotive Dodge 27.431s + 1.207s
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2. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge 26.256s + 0.032s
3. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 26.259s + 0.035s
4. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 26.281s + 0.057s
5. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevy 26.283s + 0.059s
6. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 26.288s + 0.064s
7. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 26.314s + 0.090s
8. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevy 26.321s + 0.097s
9. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 26.322s + 0.098s
10. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 26.340s + 0.116s
11. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 26.346s + 0.122s
12. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 26.358s + 0.134s
13. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 26.362s + 0.138s
14. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet 26.382s + 0.158s
15. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford 26.392s + 0.168s
16. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet 26.407s + 0.183s
17. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 26.448s + 0.224s
18. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 26.459s + 0.235s
19. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 26.471s + 0.247s
20. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 26.515s + 0.291s
21. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 26.523s + 0.299s
22. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevy 26.529s + 0.305s
23. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet 26.547s + 0.323s
24. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford 26.553s + 0.329s
25. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 26.556s + 0.332s
26. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota 26.557s + 0.333s
27. Casey Mears Germain Toyota 26.563s + 0.339s
28. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 26.569s + 0.345s
29. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 26.574s + 0.350s
30. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 26.574s + 0.350s
31. Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge 26.621s + 0.397s
32. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 26.680s + 0.456s
33. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 26.715s + 0.491s
34. Michael McDowell HP Toyota 26.729s + 0.505s
35. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 26.731s + 0.507s
36. Mike Skinner FAS Lane Ford 26.811s + 0.587s
37. Landon Cassill Germain Toyota 26.856s + 0.632s
38. JJ Yeley Whitney Chevrolet 26.857s + 0.633s
39. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 26.909s + 0.685s
40. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 26.988s + 0.764s
41. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet 27.288s + 1.064s
42. Tony Raines Front Row Ford 27.343s + 1.119s
43. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 26.996s + 0.772s
Did not qualify:
Brian Keselowski K-Automotive Dodge 27.431s + 1.207s
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Sunday Quiz 1
Hello and welcome to the first of a weekly Sunday Quiz
Rember this is just for fun, and the answers will be posted tomorrow, how well will you do
1) Who's this
2) Who's eyes are these
3) Who is the first Brit to win a World Rally Championship and when?
4) Who is the only women to attempt but fail to qualify for the Indy 500 race?
5) Who won the 50th running of the Daytona 500?
6) In Dale Earnhardt debut race in the Winston Cup, what car number did he run?
7) Who won the first A1GP championship?
8) When did 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo first capture Pole in MotoGP
9) Who's helmet is this?
10) in 2010 who qualified on Pole for the Bathurst 1000 Race?
Good luck, check back tomorrow to see how well you did.
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Rember this is just for fun, and the answers will be posted tomorrow, how well will you do
1) Who's this
2) Who's eyes are these
3) Who is the first Brit to win a World Rally Championship and when?
4) Who is the only women to attempt but fail to qualify for the Indy 500 race?
5) Who won the 50th running of the Daytona 500?
6) In Dale Earnhardt debut race in the Winston Cup, what car number did he run?
7) Who won the first A1GP championship?
8) When did 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo first capture Pole in MotoGP
9) Who's helmet is this?
10) in 2010 who qualified on Pole for the Bathurst 1000 Race?
Good luck, check back tomorrow to see how well you did.
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Top 10 WTF Moments in NASCAR
Before todays race, here are some bloppers from previous NASCAR event's, expect more next week
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Saturday 26 February 2011
Virgin GP Again to Offer the Best Manor Driver a Test
Virgin Racing will again offer a Formula 1 test to the most successful driver from the affiliated Manor Racing GP3 squad's.
The top scoring driver from Manor's three-car GP3 team will drive for Virgin in the winter young driver F1 sessions.
Last year this prize saw Indonesian teenager Rio Haryanto get his first taste of F1 with Virgin in the Abu Dhabi tests, having taken fifth in the GP3 standings for Manor.
Virgin Racing will also back new karting category Formula KGP.
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The top scoring driver from Manor's three-car GP3 team will drive for Virgin in the winter young driver F1 sessions.
Last year this prize saw Indonesian teenager Rio Haryanto get his first taste of F1 with Virgin in the Abu Dhabi tests, having taken fifth in the GP3 standings for Manor.
Virgin Racing will also back new karting category Formula KGP.
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Friday 25 February 2011
2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500 Odds
Looking forward to Sunday, it should be no surprise that the Vegas favorite to win is five-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has four career victories at Phoenix, including sweeping both of the 2008 races. Johnson's Vegas odds for Sunday are a field favorite 5-2.
Denny Hamlin had a tumultuous stop at Daytona, leading seven laps before coming home 21st. Vegas oddsmakers rank Hamlin second with 4-1 odds to take home the checkers at Phoenix. Hamlin's teammate Kyle Busch has 6-1 odds.
As mentioned, Carl Edwards is the only Ford driver to have won at Phoenix since 2005, winning last season's fall race at the one-mile speedway. Edwards might have won last Sunday had it been the Daytona 502.5, and enters Phoenix looking to build on his second-place finish in the 500. Edwards and the No. 99 car are 8-1 odds on Sunday.
At 10-1 are two drivers who can win anywhere, on any day: Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. Stewart finished 13th at Daytona while Harvick won this race back in 2006.
At 12-1 are Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle, who between them share a sole victory in the desert, Gordon's victory in the 2007 spring race.
He's no Trevor Bayne, but consider Matt Kenseth a dark horse heading into this weekend. The 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion has never won at Phoenix, but finished sixth and seventh in the track's two races last year. Kenseth enters the weekend with middle-of-the-pack 18-1 odds to win on Sunday.
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Denny Hamlin had a tumultuous stop at Daytona, leading seven laps before coming home 21st. Vegas oddsmakers rank Hamlin second with 4-1 odds to take home the checkers at Phoenix. Hamlin's teammate Kyle Busch has 6-1 odds.
As mentioned, Carl Edwards is the only Ford driver to have won at Phoenix since 2005, winning last season's fall race at the one-mile speedway. Edwards might have won last Sunday had it been the Daytona 502.5, and enters Phoenix looking to build on his second-place finish in the 500. Edwards and the No. 99 car are 8-1 odds on Sunday.
At 10-1 are two drivers who can win anywhere, on any day: Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. Stewart finished 13th at Daytona while Harvick won this race back in 2006.
At 12-1 are Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle, who between them share a sole victory in the desert, Gordon's victory in the 2007 spring race.
He's no Trevor Bayne, but consider Matt Kenseth a dark horse heading into this weekend. The 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion has never won at Phoenix, but finished sixth and seventh in the track's two races last year. Kenseth enters the weekend with middle-of-the-pack 18-1 odds to win on Sunday.
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Snegirev makes F2 move
Mark Snegirev will make the move from British F3 to F2 for the 2011 Season.
The 23 year-old Russian struggled to break into the top 10 in F3 last year, but ended the season on a stronger note when he returned to Formula Palmer Audi - the series where he had made his racing debut in 2007 - and won a race.
From here he took part in all four days of winter F2 testing at Portimao and Barcelona, setting the sixth quickest around the Portuguese Algarve circuit.
Snegirev will be the fourth Russian to take part in the FIA Formula Two Championship, following in the footsteps of Mikhail Aleshin, Sergey Afanasiev and Ivan Samarin.
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The 23 year-old Russian struggled to break into the top 10 in F3 last year, but ended the season on a stronger note when he returned to Formula Palmer Audi - the series where he had made his racing debut in 2007 - and won a race.
From here he took part in all four days of winter F2 testing at Portimao and Barcelona, setting the sixth quickest around the Portuguese Algarve circuit.
Snegirev will be the fourth Russian to take part in the FIA Formula Two Championship, following in the footsteps of Mikhail Aleshin, Sergey Afanasiev and Ivan Samarin.
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Montoya's View on $5million IndyCar Bonus
The IndyCar season will end in Las Vegas, With IndyCar offering a $5million bonus to any non IndyCar Seirse driver.
Juan Pablo Montoya says he's not up to Izod IndyCar's challenge. The series is offering a $5 million bonus for a non-series driver to win the final race of the season, Oct. 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Sunday event conflicts with Nationwide and Cup series events in Charlotte that weekend. "Let's not even talk about if I would like to do it or not," Montoya said. "It's just impossible logistic-wise. If you were really going to try to win the $5 million bucks, you would have to get all the practices down right. It's intriguing but being realistic, it's impossible. Are you going to show up on Sunday and race without practice and hope for the best?"
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Juan Pablo Montoya says he's not up to Izod IndyCar's challenge. The series is offering a $5 million bonus for a non-series driver to win the final race of the season, Oct. 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Sunday event conflicts with Nationwide and Cup series events in Charlotte that weekend. "Let's not even talk about if I would like to do it or not," Montoya said. "It's just impossible logistic-wise. If you were really going to try to win the $5 million bucks, you would have to get all the practices down right. It's intriguing but being realistic, it's impossible. Are you going to show up on Sunday and race without practice and hope for the best?"
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Daytona 500 champ Trevor Bayne crashes in practice
Whar a difference a week makes, The youngest Daytona 500 winner in History one week, having the president on the phone as a result and becoming a household name.
Bayne, 20, posted the second-fastest lap in Nationwide Series practice, behind Kyle Busch.
"I just cant wait to get back in the race car. That's where I feel the most comfortable," said Bayne, before his world came crashing back to reality,
On the first lap in his first Cup practice session, Bayne's tires locked. He struck the wall in Turn 4, demolishing the right side of his Wood Brothers Ford and forcing him to a backup car.
"On pit road I told them the brakes felt like they weren't working right," Bayne said. "I paced myself getting into the corner. … As soon as I let off the gas, I said, 'I'm crashing.' I knew it wasn't going to slow down and it happened."
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Bayne, 20, posted the second-fastest lap in Nationwide Series practice, behind Kyle Busch.
"I just cant wait to get back in the race car. That's where I feel the most comfortable," said Bayne, before his world came crashing back to reality,
On the first lap in his first Cup practice session, Bayne's tires locked. He struck the wall in Turn 4, demolishing the right side of his Wood Brothers Ford and forcing him to a backup car.
"On pit road I told them the brakes felt like they weren't working right," Bayne said. "I paced myself getting into the corner. … As soon as I let off the gas, I said, 'I'm crashing.' I knew it wasn't going to slow down and it happened."
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De Ferran Team Officially Closes
Gil de Ferran has confirmed he has been left with no choice but to close his IndyCar team.
Following The De Ferran Dragon squad's failure to secure Tony Kanaan due to funding, team co-owner de Ferran acknowledged to American media that there was no possibility of continuing with an alternative driver.
The former Champ Car champion initially created his team to run an Acura prototype in the American Le Mans Series in 2008, before switching to IndyCar last year when the operation merged with Jay Penske and Steve Luczo's Luczo Dragon team.
In what now appears to be De Ferran Dragon Racing's soul season in 2010's IndyCar, The squad secured two fourth places in Sao Paulo and at Watkins Glen.
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Following The De Ferran Dragon squad's failure to secure Tony Kanaan due to funding, team co-owner de Ferran acknowledged to American media that there was no possibility of continuing with an alternative driver.
The former Champ Car champion initially created his team to run an Acura prototype in the American Le Mans Series in 2008, before switching to IndyCar last year when the operation merged with Jay Penske and Steve Luczo's Luczo Dragon team.
In what now appears to be De Ferran Dragon Racing's soul season in 2010's IndyCar, The squad secured two fourth places in Sao Paulo and at Watkins Glen.
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Alex Pettyfer To Play Racing Driver James Hunt
DreamWorks, who are also producing Pettyfer's next big shot at stardom, I Am Number Four, are behind the adaptation of Shunt: The Story of James Hunt, a biography by Tom Rubython.
Hunt became the Formula One champ in 1976, and he was deemed to be a big factor in the growing popularity of the sport.
Hunt is quite a character for Pettyfer to get his teeth into. He was known for his fiery attitude behind the wheel, as well as his eccentric behaviour away from the track.
Hunt went on to become a commentator on the sport, before he died in 1993, aged only 45.
His life story certainly seems ideal for a cinematic adaptation, with a decent character to invest in amidst the high-speed racing action.
Read more: Alex Pettyfer to play racing driver James Hunt | TotalFilm.com
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Hunt became the Formula One champ in 1976, and he was deemed to be a big factor in the growing popularity of the sport.
Hunt is quite a character for Pettyfer to get his teeth into. He was known for his fiery attitude behind the wheel, as well as his eccentric behaviour away from the track.
Hunt went on to become a commentator on the sport, before he died in 1993, aged only 45.
His life story certainly seems ideal for a cinematic adaptation, with a decent character to invest in amidst the high-speed racing action.
Read more: Alex Pettyfer to play racing driver James Hunt | TotalFilm.com
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GP2 Asia : Seek To Replace Bahrain
GP2 is working to find at least one meeting to replace the dropped Bahrain rounds of its Asia series.
Teams had already travelled to Bahrain before the event was canceled.
Both last weekend's planned races and the intended finale during the now-cancelled Bahrain Grand Prix meeting were called off.
Plans for a Qatar and a one-off European race are being discussed, Qatar having previously an Asia Series round in early 2009.
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Teams had already travelled to Bahrain before the event was canceled.
Both last weekend's planned races and the intended finale during the now-cancelled Bahrain Grand Prix meeting were called off.
Plans for a Qatar and a one-off European race are being discussed, Qatar having previously an Asia Series round in early 2009.
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GP3 Update : Manor Lineup
Manon has retained duo Rio Haryanto and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs for a second season in the GP3 Series, and added former Formula 3 Euro Series driver Matias Laine.
18-year-old Haryanto was Manor's lead GP3 driver last year, taking fifth in the championship and winning the second race at Istanbul. He also tested for the affiliated Virgin Formula 1 team over the winter. Quaife-Hobbs' best result of 2010 was a third place at Spa.
Finnish driver Laine moves to GP3 having been a midfielder in Euro F3
Laine takes the place of James Jakes in the Manor line-up, the Briton having returned to GP2 with Coloni.
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18-year-old Haryanto was Manor's lead GP3 driver last year, taking fifth in the championship and winning the second race at Istanbul. He also tested for the affiliated Virgin Formula 1 team over the winter. Quaife-Hobbs' best result of 2010 was a third place at Spa.
Finnish driver Laine moves to GP3 having been a midfielder in Euro F3
Laine takes the place of James Jakes in the Manor line-up, the Briton having returned to GP2 with Coloni.
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Date Adjustment For Final F1 Test
The test set to replace the canceled Bahrain test, will be held in Barcelona.
The final test of the winter pre-season has changed dates - moving from 8-11th to 9-12th March.
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The final test of the winter pre-season has changed dates - moving from 8-11th to 9-12th March.
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Patrick Wins Award
Danica Patrick has been the recipient of numerous awards during her motorsports career, and now Cartoon Network are getting in on the act.
The show, hosted by Tony Hawk, airs on the Cartoon Network at 7 p.m. (ET) Feb. 25.
The IZOD IndyCar Series driver for Andretti Autosport was voted the award for "She's Got Game" (best female athlete) as part of the inaugural sports awards show, Other nominees were skier Lindsey Vonn, golfer Michelle Wie and tennis player Serena Williams.
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The show, hosted by Tony Hawk, airs on the Cartoon Network at 7 p.m. (ET) Feb. 25.
The IZOD IndyCar Series driver for Andretti Autosport was voted the award for "She's Got Game" (best female athlete) as part of the inaugural sports awards show, Other nominees were skier Lindsey Vonn, golfer Michelle Wie and tennis player Serena Williams.
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Stoner Ends Sepang Test On Top
Casey Stoner completed his domination of the Sepang test on the back of his Honda.
Stoner had be fastest on both the previous days, completed the hat-trick of fastest times, with a lap of 1m59.665s to finish top of the third and final day.
Yet again, second place fell too Dani Pedrosa, with the spainard being the only other man to break the two-minute barrier.
Gresini's Marco Simoncelli posted a promising third fastest time, with Andrea Dovizioso on the third works Honda in fourth to complete another dominant day for the Japanese manufacturer.
Ben Spies completed the top 5, and again the Yamaha was the second best machine.
1. Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 1:59.665 + +0.000 37
2. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1:59.803 + +0.138 38
3. Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:00.163 + +0.498 46
4. Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 2:00.541 + +0.876 45
5. Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.678 + +1.013 32
6. Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 2:00.966 + +1.301 29
7. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 2:01.003 + +1.338 48
8. Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2:01.194 + +1.529 34
9. Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:01.328 + +1.663 48
10. Hector Barbera Mapfre Aspar Team 2:01.346 + +1.681 21
11. Valentino Rossi Ducati Marlboro Team 2:01.469 + +1.804 59
12. Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 2:01.469 + +1.804 71
13. Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Team 2:01.493 + +1.828 39
14. Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 2:02.034 + +2.369 50
15. Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Team 2:02.155 + +2.490 42
16. Toni Elias LCR Honda MotoGP 2:02.410 + +2.745 57
17. Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 2:02.506 + +2.841 55
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Stoner had be fastest on both the previous days, completed the hat-trick of fastest times, with a lap of 1m59.665s to finish top of the third and final day.
Yet again, second place fell too Dani Pedrosa, with the spainard being the only other man to break the two-minute barrier.
Gresini's Marco Simoncelli posted a promising third fastest time, with Andrea Dovizioso on the third works Honda in fourth to complete another dominant day for the Japanese manufacturer.
Ben Spies completed the top 5, and again the Yamaha was the second best machine.
1. Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 1:59.665 + +0.000 37
2. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1:59.803 + +0.138 38
3. Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:00.163 + +0.498 46
4. Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 2:00.541 + +0.876 45
5. Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.678 + +1.013 32
6. Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 2:00.966 + +1.301 29
7. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 2:01.003 + +1.338 48
8. Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2:01.194 + +1.529 34
9. Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:01.328 + +1.663 48
10. Hector Barbera Mapfre Aspar Team 2:01.346 + +1.681 21
11. Valentino Rossi Ducati Marlboro Team 2:01.469 + +1.804 59
12. Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 2:01.469 + +1.804 71
13. Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Team 2:01.493 + +1.828 39
14. Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 2:02.034 + +2.369 50
15. Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Team 2:02.155 + +2.490 42
16. Toni Elias LCR Honda MotoGP 2:02.410 + +2.745 57
17. Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 2:02.506 + +2.841 55
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Thursday 24 February 2011
John Force Feature
As promised, here is the feature on John Force, Winner of RACER of the Year 2010, check up my previous post for other winners and runner-up's.
John Force (born May 4, 1949 in Bell Gardens, California) is an NHRA drag racer, a 15-time Funny Car champion driver, and a 17-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing. He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 132 career victories.
Current drivers racing under him are son-in-law Robert Hight,daughter Ashley, and Mike Neff, who was the crew chief for rival driver Gary Scelzi for the 2005 season, earned his NHRA Funny Car license in October 2007 and raced for Team Force from October 26, 2007 at the AC Delco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals through the 2009 season.
Early in his career, Force drove a Corvette, Monza and then in the 1980s switched to an Oldsmobile Cutlass through the end of the 1993 season. He drove a Chevrolet for 1994, quickly changing to a Pontiac in 1995 and 1996. Since 1997, Force has been a Ford driver and team owner.
Here's a look at his most recent events.
In 2005, Force won 5 events, but only finished third in the championship standings, 32 points behind champion Gary Scelzi,
In 2006, John Force won his 14th NHRA World Funny Car Championship, defeating Ron Capps.
2007 was a very tough, tragic season for the Force team, beginning early in the year with the death of team driver Eric Medlen, followed later by Force's own crash in Ennis, Texas at the 2007 O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals. Force started the year poorly, suffering a DNQ ending a 20+ year consecutive qualifying streak. He rebounded, winning the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee, then proceeded on to three more final rounds, winning another race in Sonoma, California, putting him fourth in points and allowing him to make the first cut in NHRA's new point system, the Countdown to the Championship aka the "Countdown to Eight". He stumbled again in the next two races but, again, rebounded until his crash.
2008 was not a very good season for Force, finishing out of the top five for the first time since early in his career. He ultimately finished 7th . However, after the death of driver Scott Kalitta, he was instrumental in the development of some of the safety precautions that were implemented throughout the rest of the season, and also, along with retired 6 time world champion Kenny Bernstein [4 Funny Car titles, 2 Top Fuel titles], and seven-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher
2009 once again saw Force finish outside of the top five. John finished 9th, daughter Ashley finished 2nd, and Mike Neff placing 10th. However, he would win his 16th overall championship as a car owner, with teammate Robert Hight's championship, placing Force as the winningest car owner in NHRA history.
The start of the 2010 season saw Force celebrate 25 years with the same sponsor, as well as 34 years in the NHRA. On February 14, Force won the season opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in the 50th Winternationals in California defeating Ron Capps. After 13 events, Force has 4 wins, and lead the Funny Car points standings with 933, 58 ahead of teammate Robert Hight. November 14, 2010, Force needed some help to win the championship. He started the day 38 points behind 28-year-old Matt Hagan, who ran for team rival Don Shumacher and his team. In order to capture the championship he needed to finish two rounds ahead of Hagan. With Bob Tasca III taking Hagan out in the first round, Force won his first round over Gary Densham and second round win over Bob Bode, securing the championship.
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John Force (born May 4, 1949 in Bell Gardens, California) is an NHRA drag racer, a 15-time Funny Car champion driver, and a 17-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing. He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 132 career victories.
Current drivers racing under him are son-in-law Robert Hight,daughter Ashley, and Mike Neff, who was the crew chief for rival driver Gary Scelzi for the 2005 season, earned his NHRA Funny Car license in October 2007 and raced for Team Force from October 26, 2007 at the AC Delco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals through the 2009 season.
Early in his career, Force drove a Corvette, Monza and then in the 1980s switched to an Oldsmobile Cutlass through the end of the 1993 season. He drove a Chevrolet for 1994, quickly changing to a Pontiac in 1995 and 1996. Since 1997, Force has been a Ford driver and team owner.
Here's a look at his most recent events.
In 2005, Force won 5 events, but only finished third in the championship standings, 32 points behind champion Gary Scelzi,
In 2006, John Force won his 14th NHRA World Funny Car Championship, defeating Ron Capps.
2007 was a very tough, tragic season for the Force team, beginning early in the year with the death of team driver Eric Medlen, followed later by Force's own crash in Ennis, Texas at the 2007 O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals. Force started the year poorly, suffering a DNQ ending a 20+ year consecutive qualifying streak. He rebounded, winning the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee, then proceeded on to three more final rounds, winning another race in Sonoma, California, putting him fourth in points and allowing him to make the first cut in NHRA's new point system, the Countdown to the Championship aka the "Countdown to Eight". He stumbled again in the next two races but, again, rebounded until his crash.
2008 was not a very good season for Force, finishing out of the top five for the first time since early in his career. He ultimately finished 7th . However, after the death of driver Scott Kalitta, he was instrumental in the development of some of the safety precautions that were implemented throughout the rest of the season, and also, along with retired 6 time world champion Kenny Bernstein [4 Funny Car titles, 2 Top Fuel titles], and seven-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher
2009 once again saw Force finish outside of the top five. John finished 9th, daughter Ashley finished 2nd, and Mike Neff placing 10th. However, he would win his 16th overall championship as a car owner, with teammate Robert Hight's championship, placing Force as the winningest car owner in NHRA history.
The start of the 2010 season saw Force celebrate 25 years with the same sponsor, as well as 34 years in the NHRA. On February 14, Force won the season opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in the 50th Winternationals in California defeating Ron Capps. After 13 events, Force has 4 wins, and lead the Funny Car points standings with 933, 58 ahead of teammate Robert Hight. November 14, 2010, Force needed some help to win the championship. He started the day 38 points behind 28-year-old Matt Hagan, who ran for team rival Don Shumacher and his team. In order to capture the championship he needed to finish two rounds ahead of Hagan. With Bob Tasca III taking Hagan out in the first round, Force won his first round over Gary Densham and second round win over Bob Bode, securing the championship.
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RACER of the Year:
There aren't too many accolades NHRA Funny Car legend John Force hasn't picked up in his storied career, but here's a first: RACER of the Year 2010 presented by Mobil 1 and voted for by readers of RACER magazine and RACER.com.
Force took the overal win, fending off the best from road, oval and drag racing, but it's also the first time any drag racer has taken the top honor in the 16-year history of the award.
The motor-mouthed crowd-pleaser polled 37 percent of your votes, with F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup title-winner Jimmie Johnson, running him closest with 15 and 14 percent, respectively.
Force also took the Drag Racer of the Year for a record ninth time.
(For those of you not aware of Force's achievements, expect to see a feature soon)
Other awards :
Oval Racer of the Year
Winner : Jimmie Johnson
Runner-up : Dario Franchitti
Road Racer of the Year
Winner : Will Power
Runner-up : Sebastian Vettel
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Force took the overal win, fending off the best from road, oval and drag racing, but it's also the first time any drag racer has taken the top honor in the 16-year history of the award.
The motor-mouthed crowd-pleaser polled 37 percent of your votes, with F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup title-winner Jimmie Johnson, running him closest with 15 and 14 percent, respectively.
Force also took the Drag Racer of the Year for a record ninth time.
(For those of you not aware of Force's achievements, expect to see a feature soon)
Other awards :
Oval Racer of the Year
Winner : Jimmie Johnson
Runner-up : Dario Franchitti
Road Racer of the Year
Winner : Will Power
Runner-up : Sebastian Vettel
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F3 Euro Series Update, Merhi joins Prema
Prema Powerteam have annouced that Spaniard Roberto Merhi in the F3 Euro Series and International F3 trophy this year.
This will be the Spaniard's thrid consecutive season in the series having raced for Manor Motorsport and Mucke Motorsport in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
Where he finished seventh and fifth respectively.
Merhi raced for Prema in last years Marcu Grand Prix, where he had been set for sixth, but hit the barriers at Lisboa on the final lap, and ended up being classified seventeenth.
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This will be the Spaniard's thrid consecutive season in the series having raced for Manor Motorsport and Mucke Motorsport in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
Where he finished seventh and fifth respectively.
Merhi raced for Prema in last years Marcu Grand Prix, where he had been set for sixth, but hit the barriers at Lisboa on the final lap, and ended up being classified seventeenth.
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F2 Onboard Lap of the new Snetterton 300 circuit.flv
Snetterton has recently revised it's layout
Norfolk circuit, owner by MSV was one of britians fastest tracks, take a ride around the new layout.
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Norfolk circuit, owner by MSV was one of britians fastest tracks, take a ride around the new layout.
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Williams FW33 Livery
Williams is set to unveiled it's 2011 livery later today
See it happen live online from 11o'clock GMT
Watch live here www.attwilliams.com.
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See it happen live online from 11o'clock GMT
Watch live here www.attwilliams.com.
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
DTM Update: Audi To Run 3 Rookies
Audi has signed three rookies to it's DTM programe
Double Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix winner Edoardo Mortara (born 12 January 1987 in Genève, Switzerland). Mortara won the season-opening race at Circuit Paul Ricard in the Formula Three Euroseries, eventually winning the F3 Euro Series crown.
Race of Champions winner Filipe Albuquerque (born June 13, 1985 in Coimbra). Albuquerque also competed in the Italian GT3 Championship full-time, finishing as joint-runner up in the series with his Audi R8 LMS
Swiss female racer Rahel Frey. Rahel competed in the LMGT1 category of 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. She shared #61 Matech Competition Ford GT with fellow Swiss drivers Natacha Gachnang and Cyndie Allemann. All three participating Fords were forced to retire from the race.
The new additions will all drive older-spec cars, and replace Markus Winkelhock, Katherine Legge and the already-dropped Alexandre Premat.
Frey will join ex-Abt driver Martin Tomczyk in the Phoenix team.
Mortara and Albuquerque will drive for the Rosberg Audi squad.
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Double Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix winner Edoardo Mortara (born 12 January 1987 in Genève, Switzerland). Mortara won the season-opening race at Circuit Paul Ricard in the Formula Three Euroseries, eventually winning the F3 Euro Series crown.
Race of Champions winner Filipe Albuquerque (born June 13, 1985 in Coimbra). Albuquerque also competed in the Italian GT3 Championship full-time, finishing as joint-runner up in the series with his Audi R8 LMS
Swiss female racer Rahel Frey. Rahel competed in the LMGT1 category of 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. She shared #61 Matech Competition Ford GT with fellow Swiss drivers Natacha Gachnang and Cyndie Allemann. All three participating Fords were forced to retire from the race.
The new additions will all drive older-spec cars, and replace Markus Winkelhock, Katherine Legge and the already-dropped Alexandre Premat.
Frey will join ex-Abt driver Martin Tomczyk in the Phoenix team.
Mortara and Albuquerque will drive for the Rosberg Audi squad.
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NASCAR Race Two, Preview
The NASCAR series moves to phoenix international raceway this weekend for the Subway Fresh Fit 500, on the back of the Daytona 500, Bayne the winner of the 500 won't be competing this weekend.
Can points leader Carl Edwards (42) keep a hold on his advantage over David Gilliland and Bobby Labonte (both on 41) and the rest of the field
The green flag will drop at 1:00 p.m. Arizona time on Sunday. The race which is usally held both at night and in April has been moved forward as NASCAR's feels this will benefit all parties.
Airing on FOX in the USA, and Premier Sport in the UK.
Completed : 1964
Distance : 1 mile
Shape : Tri-oval
Banking :
11° Turns 1-2
9° Turns 3-4
3° frontstretch
9° backstretch
Frontstretch : 1,179 feet
Backstretch : 1,551 feet
Seating : 76,800
Records
RACE RECORDS
Sprint Cup Race Record :: Tony Stewart 118.132 - 11/07/99
Cup Historical Race Winners
Nationwide Race Record :: Jeff Burton 115.415 - 11/04/00
Truck Race Record :: Kevin Harvick 107.527 - 10/31/03
QUALIFYING RECORDS
Sprint Cup Qualifying Record :: Rusty Wallace 134.718 - 2000
Nationwide Qualifying Record :: Jimmy Spencer 131.339 - 2001
Truck Qualifying Record :: Joe Ruttman 129.204 - 2000
2010 Race Results
Sprint Cup Series
Subway Fresh Fit 600 :: Ryan Newman - 04/10/10
Kobalt Tools 500 :: Carl Edwards - 11/14/10
Cup Historical Race Winners
Nationwide Series
Bashas' Supermarkets 200 :: Kyle Busch - 04/09/10
WYPALL 200 powered by Kimberly-Clark Professional :: Carl Edwards - 11/13/10
Camping World Truck Series
Lucas Oil 150 :: Clint Bowyer - 11/12/10
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Wednesday 23 February 2011
F1 Constructors Championship ; Early Odds
11/8 Red Bull
5/2 Ferrari
11/4 McLaren
9/1 Mercedes GP
25/1 Renault
40/1 Williams
80/1 Force India
100/1 Sauber
150/1 Team Louts
250/1 Toro Rosso
500/1 HRT
500/1 Virgin
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5/2 Ferrari
11/4 McLaren
9/1 Mercedes GP
25/1 Renault
40/1 Williams
80/1 Force India
100/1 Sauber
150/1 Team Louts
250/1 Toro Rosso
500/1 HRT
500/1 Virgin
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F1 Driver Championship ; Early Odds
5/2 Fernando Alonso
5/2 Sebastian Vettel
9/2 Lewis Hamilton
9/1 Mark Webber
11/1 Jenson Button
11/1 Nico Rosberg
12/1 Michael Schumacher
22/1 Felipe Massa
28/1 Nick Heidfeld
50/1 Rubens Barrichello
100/1 Adrian Sutil
125/1 Vitaly Petrov
150/1 Kamui Kobayashi
250/1 Jamie Alguersuari
250/1 Sebastien Buemi
250/1 Pastor Maldonado
250/1 Paul Di Resta
500/1 Sergio Perez
500/1 Timo Glock
500/1 Jarno Trulli
500/1 Heikki Kovalainen
750/1 Narain Karthikeyan
750/1 Jerome D'Ambrosso
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5/2 Sebastian Vettel
9/2 Lewis Hamilton
9/1 Mark Webber
11/1 Jenson Button
11/1 Nico Rosberg
12/1 Michael Schumacher
22/1 Felipe Massa
28/1 Nick Heidfeld
50/1 Rubens Barrichello
100/1 Adrian Sutil
125/1 Vitaly Petrov
150/1 Kamui Kobayashi
250/1 Jamie Alguersuari
250/1 Sebastien Buemi
250/1 Pastor Maldonado
250/1 Paul Di Resta
500/1 Sergio Perez
500/1 Timo Glock
500/1 Jarno Trulli
500/1 Heikki Kovalainen
750/1 Narain Karthikeyan
750/1 Jerome D'Ambrosso
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Is Massa Back?
The 2008 world champion, for a couple of corners atleast, hasn't look quiet the same since his near fatal accident in Hungry 2009.
On Monday afternoon 23rd of Feb, will this be a turning point in Felipe Massa’s Formula 1 career.
He set a time in testing, late in the day over a second quicker than anyone else had managed, with a stunning lap, back in the Ferrari pit garage the Brazilian climbed out of the F150th, removed his helmet, he sported the biggest grin in Spain.
Speaking to Estadao after the event “I can feel the car now and I know what I can get out of it. I am confident.”, Massa's confidence is appearing to grow, the flurry of super quick laps in the final hours of testing at Circuit de Catalunya were the catalyst he needed to reassure himself, and a statement to the world that he deserves his Ferrari seat.
Massa attributed his change in confidence in the new tyres, stating “Last year I arrived at a track and I tried everything but could not get the best out of the car because the tyres [Bridgestone] were very hard. There was no way to be happy. And happiness at work is very important, especially in this kind of work. It was hard going to a race knowing that my efforts were in vain. Now, after the first test with new tyres [Pirelli] it took three laps to change everything.”
Is the the 2011 world champion, only time will tell.
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On Monday afternoon 23rd of Feb, will this be a turning point in Felipe Massa’s Formula 1 career.
He set a time in testing, late in the day over a second quicker than anyone else had managed, with a stunning lap, back in the Ferrari pit garage the Brazilian climbed out of the F150th, removed his helmet, he sported the biggest grin in Spain.
Speaking to Estadao after the event “I can feel the car now and I know what I can get out of it. I am confident.”, Massa's confidence is appearing to grow, the flurry of super quick laps in the final hours of testing at Circuit de Catalunya were the catalyst he needed to reassure himself, and a statement to the world that he deserves his Ferrari seat.
Massa attributed his change in confidence in the new tyres, stating “Last year I arrived at a track and I tried everything but could not get the best out of the car because the tyres [Bridgestone] were very hard. There was no way to be happy. And happiness at work is very important, especially in this kind of work. It was hard going to a race knowing that my efforts were in vain. Now, after the first test with new tyres [Pirelli] it took three laps to change everything.”
Is the the 2011 world champion, only time will tell.
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F1 2011 Valencia testing Highlights [BBC]
A video I've come across of F1's first test of 2011, highlights provided by the BBC, enjoy you first taste of moving images of this years cars.
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Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
Bahrain Grand Prix Latest
Bernie Ecclestone has said he will do all he can to slot the Bahrain Grand Prix back into the calender at some stage this season.
Bahrain had previously stated that there were no plans for the race to be rescheduled, while the FIA said it would be down to the sports governing body.
Ecclestone, however, says he will do all he can.
Ecclestone also revealed that Formula One Management will pay for the costs of the cancelled event, estimated to be around $40 million.
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Bahrain had previously stated that there were no plans for the race to be rescheduled, while the FIA said it would be down to the sports governing body.
Ecclestone, however, says he will do all he can.
Ecclestone also revealed that Formula One Management will pay for the costs of the cancelled event, estimated to be around $40 million.
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Daytona 500 Winner Still Commited To Nationwide
Bayne is signed to contest his second full season in the second-tier Nationwide Series with Roush Fenway Racing.
Although his win would stand him in good stead to fight for a spot in the chase and as such a shot at the 2011 Sprint Cup Series. Bayne is commited to his second season in the Nationwide Series where he currently sits fifth.
The 20 year old who was scheduled to race in a further 16 Spint Cup races this season with the Wood Brothers, but of the back of his Daytona win they are looking to increase this, depending upon sponserships.
NASCAR new rules for this year restrict drivers racing in more than one national series to contending for one title only.
Bayne, the youngest winner in the history of the Daytona 500, earned a total prize money of US$1,463,813 for his victory in what was just his second outing in the Sprint Cup series.
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Although his win would stand him in good stead to fight for a spot in the chase and as such a shot at the 2011 Sprint Cup Series. Bayne is commited to his second season in the Nationwide Series where he currently sits fifth.
The 20 year old who was scheduled to race in a further 16 Spint Cup races this season with the Wood Brothers, but of the back of his Daytona win they are looking to increase this, depending upon sponserships.
NASCAR new rules for this year restrict drivers racing in more than one national series to contending for one title only.
Bayne, the youngest winner in the history of the Daytona 500, earned a total prize money of US$1,463,813 for his victory in what was just his second outing in the Sprint Cup series.
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MotoGP : Sepang test, Day Two. Rossi sidelined
Rossi who had travelled to the Sepang track early in the morning did not get chance to ride, due to illness, and returned back to hotel shortly after lunch, to rest before tomorrow final day of testing.
Stoner again showed impressive form onn his factory Honda, setting the fastest time, just half a tenth faster than team mates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso another three tenths behind.
In the Sepang sun with the Honda's recording the 3 fastest times of the day. The track temperature rose above 60ºC, Ben Spies was best of the rest on the works Yamaha with his team mate Jorge Lorenzo completing the top five.
Ben spies ended his day late on how ever with a crash at turn 7.
All five riders were the only five to post times below the 2m01second mark.
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Stoner again showed impressive form onn his factory Honda, setting the fastest time, just half a tenth faster than team mates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso another three tenths behind.
In the Sepang sun with the Honda's recording the 3 fastest times of the day. The track temperature rose above 60ºC, Ben Spies was best of the rest on the works Yamaha with his team mate Jorge Lorenzo completing the top five.
Ben spies ended his day late on how ever with a crash at turn 7.
All five riders were the only five to post times below the 2m01second mark.
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Tony Kanaan Fails to Secure De Ferran Drive
Tony Kanaan will not be driving for De Ferran Dragon Racing in the 2011 IndyCar serise.
The news comes of the back of Kanaan's failure to secure the required level of backing from his sponsors.
Gil de Ferran's squad had previously annouced Kanaan as a driver in December last year.
The 2004 IndyCar champion will be looking at his options for the up and coming season, having left Andretti Autosport after 8 seasons with the outfits.
Potentially strong teams including Newman/Haas, Conquest, KV, Dreyer & Reinbold and Dale Coyne are yet to announce their full line-ups, although all are likely to have financial considerations.
With the IndyCar season due to start in St Petersburg on 27th March, time is running out.
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The news comes of the back of Kanaan's failure to secure the required level of backing from his sponsors.
Gil de Ferran's squad had previously annouced Kanaan as a driver in December last year.
The 2004 IndyCar champion will be looking at his options for the up and coming season, having left Andretti Autosport after 8 seasons with the outfits.
Potentially strong teams including Newman/Haas, Conquest, KV, Dreyer & Reinbold and Dale Coyne are yet to announce their full line-ups, although all are likely to have financial considerations.
With the IndyCar season due to start in St Petersburg on 27th March, time is running out.
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GP3 Update. Williamson joins Arden
Lewis Williamson has secured a sear in the GP3 Series with Arden this season.
The 21-year-old Scot, who finished as runner-up in the 2010 Formula Renault UK championship and winner of the 2010 McLaren Autosport BRDC award, secured his seat following his test with the team at Estoril in Portugal.
Following yesterdays news Wimmiamson with team up against New Zealander Mitch Evans.
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The 21-year-old Scot, who finished as runner-up in the 2010 Formula Renault UK championship and winner of the 2010 McLaren Autosport BRDC award, secured his seat following his test with the team at Estoril in Portugal.
Following yesterdays news Wimmiamson with team up against New Zealander Mitch Evans.
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Tuesday 22 February 2011
IRL $5million Bonus.
IndyCar has announced today that it's season shall end at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
There will also be a $5,000,000.00 reward for any driver who wins the race who isn't in the IndyCar Seires.
This will be the first time that IndyCar has been to Las Vegas since 2000, although Champ Car last appeared on the oval in 2004, before the two seires merged.
In another innovation, any fan who attends any IndyCar race could end up with a free ticket to the Las Vegas event.
This moves confirms popular speculation all winter that Las Vegas would be see the season out. Taking place on Sunday 16 October.
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Texas GP project Update
The venue of next years American Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Have appointed Steve Sexton former Churchill Downs race course chief, as the project's president.
The venue is due to bring Formula One back to the US for the first time since 2007
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The venue is due to bring Formula One back to the US for the first time since 2007
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F1 Winter Test : Barcelona
Day 1 Friday, February 18, 2011
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:24.374, 37 laps
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:25.485, 101
Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:25.638, 57
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:25.641, 78
Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:26.365, 77
Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:26.575, 26
Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:26.912, 52
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:27.512, 90
Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:28.393, 116
Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:30.065, 54
Jerome d’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:30.950, 116
Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:35.174, 20
Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:44.324, 27
Day 2 Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:23.315, 104 laps
Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:23.519, 97
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:23.978, 90
Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:24.008, 118
Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:24.242, 41
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:24.243, 125
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:24.730, 131
Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:24.923, 54
Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:25.194, 80
Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:26.421, 58
Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:26.884, 61
Vitantonio Liuzzi, HRT, 1:27.044, 70
Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:27.242, 66
Ricardo Teixeira, Lotus, 1:31.584, 26
Day 3 Sunday February 20, 2011
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:23.168
Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:23.463
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:23.858
Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:24.815
Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:24.995
Jarno Trulli, Lotus, 1:25.454
Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:25.557
Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:25.720
Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:26.155
Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:26.508
Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:26.598
Giorgio Mondini, HRT, 1:28.178
Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:28.329
Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:30.722
Day 4 Monday February 21, 2011
Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:22.625
Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:23.442
Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:23.550
Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:23.657
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:24.003
Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:24.057
Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:24.177
Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:24.515
Jerome D’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:26.501
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:27.079
Jarno Trulli, Lotus, 1:29.992
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Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:24.374, 37 laps
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:25.485, 101
Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:25.638, 57
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:25.641, 78
Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:26.365, 77
Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:26.575, 26
Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:26.912, 52
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:27.512, 90
Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:28.393, 116
Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:30.065, 54
Jerome d’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:30.950, 116
Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:35.174, 20
Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:44.324, 27
Day 2 Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:23.315, 104 laps
Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:23.519, 97
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:23.978, 90
Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:24.008, 118
Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:24.242, 41
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:24.243, 125
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:24.730, 131
Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:24.923, 54
Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:25.194, 80
Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:26.421, 58
Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:26.884, 61
Vitantonio Liuzzi, HRT, 1:27.044, 70
Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:27.242, 66
Ricardo Teixeira, Lotus, 1:31.584, 26
Day 3 Sunday February 20, 2011
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:23.168
Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:23.463
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:23.858
Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:24.815
Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:24.995
Jarno Trulli, Lotus, 1:25.454
Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:25.557
Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:25.720
Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:26.155
Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:26.508
Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:26.598
Giorgio Mondini, HRT, 1:28.178
Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:28.329
Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:30.722
Day 4 Monday February 21, 2011
Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:22.625
Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:23.442
Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:23.550
Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:23.657
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:24.003
Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:24.057
Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:24.177
Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:24.515
Jerome D’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:26.501
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:27.079
Jarno Trulli, Lotus, 1:29.992
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Bahrain Grand Prix, GP2 Cancelled
Following the withdrawal of the Bahrain Grand Prix from the Formula One Calender, GP2 has also announced today that the final rounds of GP2 Asia will no longer take place in Bahrain
These were due to be run as support races for the Formula One Grid.
We are still awaiting if GP2 will seak out a replacement event, of if the seirse will end after just one event, in Abu Dhabi, which race one was won by Jules Bianchi for the ART team, and race two by Stefano Coletti for the Trident team.
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These were due to be run as support races for the Formula One Grid.
We are still awaiting if GP2 will seak out a replacement event, of if the seirse will end after just one event, in Abu Dhabi, which race one was won by Jules Bianchi for the ART team, and race two by Stefano Coletti for the Trident team.
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MotoGP Sepang Test Day One
In news away from cars, The Sepang MotoGP test has kicked off.
Continuing on from it's earlier strong form the Work's Honda Team put in another strong display, with Casey Stoner setting the pace at the end of day one, and team mate Dani Pedrosa in second almost 4 tenths down on Stoners best of 2m00.987s.
World champion Jorge Lorenzo was third quickest on the Yamaha, with Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 bike and Andrea Dovizioso on the third works Honda completing the top five.
Ducati with Valentino Rossi only managed ninth fastest overal. Is it too early to write "The Doctor" off yet?
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Continuing on from it's earlier strong form the Work's Honda Team put in another strong display, with Casey Stoner setting the pace at the end of day one, and team mate Dani Pedrosa in second almost 4 tenths down on Stoners best of 2m00.987s.
World champion Jorge Lorenzo was third quickest on the Yamaha, with Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 bike and Andrea Dovizioso on the third works Honda completing the top five.
Ducati with Valentino Rossi only managed ninth fastest overal. Is it too early to write "The Doctor" off yet?
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GP3 Update. Evans joins Arden
The current Toyota Racing Series champion and runner-up in last year's Australian Formula 3 championship. Mitch Evans will make his European debut having joined the MW Arden team in the GP3 series this season
The 16 year old, New Zealander is excited by this opportunity which came about following a successful test in Estoril for the team in October of last year.
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The 16 year old, New Zealander is excited by this opportunity which came about following a successful test in Estoril for the team in October of last year.
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Rorbet Kubica Update
Robert Kubica has started his rehabilitation and is said to be in pretty good condition mentally. According to one of the doctors treating him.
Kubica who has under gone numerous surgery the last and final one took place last week, and was only let out of intensive care a few days ago.
He is currently retraining his hand, with gentle exercises and small flexing to his fingers.
"He no longer needs intensive care so he has begun the rehabilitation process," Rossello, a hand specialist, said
I wish Kubica a speedy recovery and hope to see him back behind the wheel of his Renualt, sooner rather than later. He is a talent that with be sadly missed this season.
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Kubica who has under gone numerous surgery the last and final one took place last week, and was only let out of intensive care a few days ago.
He is currently retraining his hand, with gentle exercises and small flexing to his fingers.
"He no longer needs intensive care so he has begun the rehabilitation process," Rossello, a hand specialist, said
I wish Kubica a speedy recovery and hope to see him back behind the wheel of his Renualt, sooner rather than later. He is a talent that with be sadly missed this season.
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Bahrain Grand Prix Canceled
The Bahrain Grand Prix has been canceled and won't be held at all over the course of the 2011 season, I for one hope that it returns in 2012.
The Bahrain Internation Circuit has been a fixture on the Formula One calender since 2004, and this year was to be it's second as the opening round of the championship.
So the season begins on 27th March in Austrillia, and will end in Brazil on the 27th November.
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F1- Pre Season, Who's Hot and Who's Not
Well it's a little difficult to tell so far, as it's testing, fuel loads, tryes etc...too many variables, but as the third winter test is now finished, I'm going to put my neck out and predict whereI believe teams to be.
Generally the Red Bull's, last years champions, look good again, overal the strongest package. Slightly stronger than Ferrari i'd say, but not a significant amount, Renault has looked strong, but now they've lost Kubica could struggle, they're replaced him with Heidfield but he doesn't have the out and out pace Kubica brings, but does have the knowledge and know how to devolpe the car, expect Mercedes and Williams to pick up the odd podium, The big question mark for me is on the McLaren, not really done much mileage as there car keeps breaking, so they're still working on set-up and fine tuning, but expect McLaren not to have built a dog, and a car that'll be near the pace come austrilia. Force Indina seem to have lost abit of ground, although Di Resta is looking good, should give Sutil a run for his money, and of the teams formally known as "the new teams", not that we've seen the new hispania car but Lotus looks quickest again, and they appear to be closer to the space, possibly on the same sort of pace of the Torro Roso, Sauber and Force India.
The Pirellis are fasinating too, so far unmarked so it's impossible to tell who's on what compound (Super Soft, Soft, Medium or Hard), but from looking at lap times on the longer runs I can make an educated guess who's on what.
The Hards and Medium appear to lose about 3 seconds, in terms of ultimate laptime over the course of 15 laps, some cars are holding on to this better than others, noticably the Red Bulls and the Ferraris.
The two Softer compounds appear to lose the same 3 seconds in about 10 laps, with the opening flying lap signifcatly better than the next, by about a second, so expect this to be the tyre to qualify on, and only the one flying lap to get it right, with some earlier than we're used to pit stops for the front runners.
With the wear rate of the Pirellis, I hope this doesn't keep the car's in the garage's on Friday and Saturday Practice's as they're saving tyre's, as yet there has been no increase in allocation over the weekend, but I would expect the teams to be pushing for an extra couple sets per a car.
The other big concern is with reliabity, The Ferrari appears to have a clear margin here, consistantly managing to get over the 100 laps a day mark, where as Red Bull are just dipping into that occasionally, All teams have had an issue or two, and with the new rear wing, and return of KER's this is to be expected, the team who appears to be struggling at this stage is the McLaren, there lap count has increased over the last few days and on the last day they managed 107 laps, compared with Ferrari and William's who managed 121 laps.
The HRT is the only 2011 car yet to turn a wheel. There could always be a suprise there, don't expect a race winning package, but in the world of Formula One you just never know.
The other big concern is with reliabity, The Ferrari appears to have a clear margin here, consistantly managing to get over the 100 laps a day mark, where as Red Bull are just dipping into that occasionally, All teams have had an issue or two, and with the new rear wing, and return of KER's this is to be expected, the team who appears to be struggling at this stage is the McLaren, there lap count has increased over the last few days and on the last day they managed 107 laps, compared with Ferrari and William's who managed 121 laps.
The HRT is the only 2011 car yet to turn a wheel. There could always be a suprise there, don't expect a race winning package, but in the world of Formula One you just never know.
Monday 21 February 2011
Bahrain Grand Prix Postponed
The Bahrain Grand Prix organisers have announced that they will now not be holding the opening race of the season.
Due to the countries current state of distress the Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.
feels the country need time to recover. "At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain,"
This now means that The Bahrain Grand Prix is now postponed and as of yet no date has been set for it, (more on that as and when it happened), and the Barhain Test has been canceled.
So the start of the season will now kick off on the 27th March at Albert Park, Australia,
Barcelona will again hold the final winter tester of the season, with another few day's set taking place 8-11th March, this will not give the teams a chance, as hoped, to test the new tyres in a warmer climate.
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Daytona 500
So the Daytona 500 has just been run.
Following Kurt Busch's wins in both the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel qualifying race, 11 other men have succeded in completeing the Shootout and Duel double, but none had gone on the win the Daytona 500. Could he create history? or would someone else take the honour from him, just 200 laps, and 500miles till we would find out.
Dale Earnhardt Jr, the pole sitter in the 88, had to start from the back, due to a crash he suffered in practice.
So with the new surface laid, smoother than the old, we were expecting a new breed of racing on this 2.5mile tri-oval, with bated breathe the green fell, on what was to become the 500's wildest and incident prone event in history, with a record breaking 16 cautions being flown.
The first couple of laps went by with little event, settling down for the long haul, drivers finding there first drafting buddies, on lap 3 the crowd went quiet, holding 3 fingers aloft in the air, in a fitting tribute to the late great Dale Earnhardt, who was sadly taken on the last lap of this event 10 years ago.
A couple of small moments caused the first couple of yellows, before the anticipated "big one" happened on lap 29, taking out 14 car's including defending champion Jimmy Johnson along with Jeff Gordon and all bar Dale Earnhardt Jr of the Hendrick cars. Which happened after Michael Waltrip turned around his team-mate David Reutimann at Turn 4.
With many of the expected title contenders forced back into the garage for repair, the door was open for someone to step up and calm a famous victory.
Juan Pablo Montoya survived two wild rides, which after the save's was forced to take to pit road both times.
With 10 to go David Ragan lead with his "Two car tango" partner and rookie Trevor Bayne bump drafting behing, from the Busch brothers. When a caution took us to the Green, White, Cheuqered finish.
On the restart Ragan choose to take the outside lane, he pulled down, as Bayne hesistated to pull infront of him so the Two could resume there two car tango to the finish, NASCAR unforunatly deemed this to be illegal and black flagged Ragan, then the yellow came out once more.
Second attempt, with Ragan now out of the running, Bayne appears to have lost his partner, not to mention that now into the 205th lap, he's been told to save fuel.
Lap 206 and we're green, when Bobby Labonte gave Bayne a push until the last corner, looked as if the tango of Busch and Montoya were getting a head of steam, until that steam ran out on the back straight.
Rookie Bayne rounded the last corner, and had pulled slightly clear of Labonte, he looked sure to win as he headed for the line, and in only his second NASCAR sprint cup race, and first Daytona 500 event Bayne made history as the first to win on only his first attempt at Americas Greatest Race.
All this on the day after his 20th birthday. and to give the Wood Brothers, NASCARs oldest team there first win for a decade.
Enjoyed this review of the NASCAR Daytona 500, America Greatest Race, please feel free to comment.
Follow me on twitter @DarrenMSViews
Following Kurt Busch's wins in both the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel qualifying race, 11 other men have succeded in completeing the Shootout and Duel double, but none had gone on the win the Daytona 500. Could he create history? or would someone else take the honour from him, just 200 laps, and 500miles till we would find out.
Dale Earnhardt Jr, the pole sitter in the 88, had to start from the back, due to a crash he suffered in practice.
So with the new surface laid, smoother than the old, we were expecting a new breed of racing on this 2.5mile tri-oval, with bated breathe the green fell, on what was to become the 500's wildest and incident prone event in history, with a record breaking 16 cautions being flown.
The first couple of laps went by with little event, settling down for the long haul, drivers finding there first drafting buddies, on lap 3 the crowd went quiet, holding 3 fingers aloft in the air, in a fitting tribute to the late great Dale Earnhardt, who was sadly taken on the last lap of this event 10 years ago.
A couple of small moments caused the first couple of yellows, before the anticipated "big one" happened on lap 29, taking out 14 car's including defending champion Jimmy Johnson along with Jeff Gordon and all bar Dale Earnhardt Jr of the Hendrick cars. Which happened after Michael Waltrip turned around his team-mate David Reutimann at Turn 4.
With many of the expected title contenders forced back into the garage for repair, the door was open for someone to step up and calm a famous victory.
Juan Pablo Montoya survived two wild rides, which after the save's was forced to take to pit road both times.
With 10 to go David Ragan lead with his "Two car tango" partner and rookie Trevor Bayne bump drafting behing, from the Busch brothers. When a caution took us to the Green, White, Cheuqered finish.
On the restart Ragan choose to take the outside lane, he pulled down, as Bayne hesistated to pull infront of him so the Two could resume there two car tango to the finish, NASCAR unforunatly deemed this to be illegal and black flagged Ragan, then the yellow came out once more.
Second attempt, with Ragan now out of the running, Bayne appears to have lost his partner, not to mention that now into the 205th lap, he's been told to save fuel.
Lap 206 and we're green, when Bobby Labonte gave Bayne a push until the last corner, looked as if the tango of Busch and Montoya were getting a head of steam, until that steam ran out on the back straight.
Rookie Bayne rounded the last corner, and had pulled slightly clear of Labonte, he looked sure to win as he headed for the line, and in only his second NASCAR sprint cup race, and first Daytona 500 event Bayne made history as the first to win on only his first attempt at Americas Greatest Race.
All this on the day after his 20th birthday. and to give the Wood Brothers, NASCARs oldest team there first win for a decade.
Enjoyed this review of the NASCAR Daytona 500, America Greatest Race, please feel free to comment.
Follow me on twitter @DarrenMSViews
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