Indy Car Info

Saturday

Martin Whitmarsh: ?I?m not going to get carried away??

Martin Whitmarsh insists that McLaren?s improved form in Germany was not purely a result of the change in tyre specification for that weekend – but he accepts that there’s still a long way to go before the MP4-28 is a … Continue reading →

Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2013/07/12/martin-whitmarsh-im-not-going-to-get-carried-away/

Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris Francois Cevert

2013 Sachsenring MotoGP Saturday Press Releases

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after qualifying for Sunday's German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring:

Round Number:

Year:

2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/9pokuFeV23o/2013_sachsenring_motogp_saturday_press_r.html

Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi

Dacia Logan 2013

the second generation test The second generation Dacia Logan weighs just 1,059 kilos, which allows you to average consumption pretty tight. The Dacia Logan 2013 surprised by the step forward that has occurred in regard to the design. Now looks like a current car, something that his predecessor could not boast. First test passed. Once [...]

Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/497-dacia-logan-2013.html

Zsolt Baumgartner Elie Bayol Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem

Warped Wednesday: The reason for no roof flap penalties

Welcome to Warped Wednesday. On this, we'll put out the rush to judgment mat, go a little too far and have a little fun. Will it be funny? Sometimes. Will it be crazy and largely unbelievable? Probably. Will not everyone get it? Definitely. That means this isn't real.

Maybe NASCAR's decision to not penalize the 16 Sprint Cup teams (and 15 Nationwide teams) that it confiscated roof flaps from didn't have anything to do with competitive advantages and everything to do with Jimmie Johnson?

Warped sources exclusive to Warped Wednesday have said that Johnson's performance this season factored exclsuively into the decision that NASCAR made not to penalize teams for machining down the roof flaps to reduce their weight.

Why? The sanctioning body didn't want to see Johnson's points lead grow any larger.

Johnson's currently ahead of second-place Clint Bowyer by 49 points -- or one more than Johnson scored for winning Saturday night's race and leading the most laps. His lead over third-place Carl Edwards is 71 points. Both of those drivers had roof flaps confiscated before practice on Friday. Johnson didn't.

NASCAR has long been seen in the eyes of many to be in the corner of Johnson and the No. 48 team, and penalizing the teams directly behind him could have been more ammunition for the tinfoilers' holsters. According to NASCAR's loop data, Johnson's average running position is 6.5, a full position ahead of second place Kevin Harvick. Plus, he's tied for the series lead in wins -- a number that could be three higher.

He doesn't need NASCAR's help, and the sport realizes this. Besides, there are only two people whose domination would be fruitful for the sport and their first names start with "D". That's why this no-call, coupled with the restart penalty at Dover, is an opportunity to show that Johnson and team are just that damn good even if the playing field is tilted slightlyagainst them.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/warped-wednesday-reason-no-roof-flap-penalties-024536036.html

Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier Roberto Bonomi Juan Manuel Bordeu

Friday

Allan Simonsen dies from injuries suffered during crash at 24 Hours of Le Mans

Allan Simonsen died after he was injured in a crash on his fourth lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Dane was making his seventh start in the iconic race. Driving the No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage, Simonsen crashed in the Tertre Rouge corner of the Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans, France.

"The driver was immediately attended on the scene by the doctors from the Automobile Club de l?Ouest?s Medical Service," an official statement from the race organizers said.

"In a serious condition, Allan Simonsen was transferred immediately to the Circuit Medical Centre where he died soon after due to his injuries.

"Allan Simonsen?s family has been informed immediately by David Richards, Principal of the Aston Martin Racing team."

After starting first in the LM GTE Am class, Simonsen's car appeared to snap loose on the damp and slick track, then immediately turned back to the left has he corrected and slid into a steel barrier.

The race continued behind a safety car for almost an hour following the crash while the barrier was repaired. A tree sits behind the barrier where Simonsen crashed and the impact from the guardrail sheared bark off the tree.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/allan-simonsen-dies-injuries-suffered-during-crash-24-170334424.html

David Brabham Gary Brabham Jack Brabham† Bill Brack

Caterham unveils Driver Academy program

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/Lg41o7IguTQ/caterham-unveils-driver-academy-program.html

Piero Carini Duane Carter Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto

Craziest Moment: Paulie Harraka runs into Alex Kennedy before they leave pit road

We've all had mishaps while leaving our driveways. Maybe you've knocked a rear-view mirror off on the side of the door. Maybe you've run over a trash can on the side of the street. Maybe you've started to leave your garage before the door's gone up or you've even run into another car in the driveway.

Paulie Harraka had one of those moments Sunday. It's just that his came on pit road before officially making the first Sprint Cup Series start of his career.

Harraka, making his 16th NASCAR series start, was set to start 40th on Sunday at Sonoma, just behind Alex Kennedy, who was also making his first Cup Series start. As the field made its way off of pit road to start the pace laps before the race, David Reutimann slowed to a stop in front of Kennedy. So Kennedy did the same.

Harraka didn't until it was too late and attempted to swerve to the left. That too, was futile, and he plowed into the back of Kennedy, bashing in the front of his car and damaging the rear of Kennedy's.

Both cars immediately returned to pit road for repairs, and Harraka was forced to start the race without much of the front of his car because of the severity of the damage. Bizarrely, they weren't the only two drivers with issues before the race even started. Jacques Villeneuve spent extended time on pit road with a transmission issue and Bobby Labonte had to go to the garage before he even took to the track after his car leaked oil on pit road.

And if the incident on pit road wasn't bad enough, Harraka had an issue between turns one and two on lap 7 and brought out the first caution of the day. He ended up completing 89 laps and finished 39th.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/craziest-moment-paulie-harraka-runs-alex-kennedy-leave-232733525.html

Eugene Chaboud Jay Chamberlain Karun Chandhok Alain de Changy

Power Rankings: Kenseth ascends to the top spot

It's time for Power Rankings! After every race, we'll opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there. Remember, this isn't scientific, as our formula is the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. So let's get on with it, shall we?

1. Matt Kenseth (LW: 5): New blood at the top! Putting the Sprint Cup wins leader here the week after he took the title all for himself is a no-brainer, no? It's not exactly the most encouraging thing for the quality of racing if clean air overrides any advantage from new tires, but that's not the fault of Kenseth and crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who played their tireless strategy perfectly. Or given what happened to the guy who fell to No. 2, did it simply just work out perfectly?

2. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 1): You can make the case for Johnson to continue to reign. Dented fender and all, he led 182 laps and had the best car all day. But then came that fateful restart spin and a possible win became a ninth after a hard charge through the field. The storyline of Johnson and restarts will continue to be overblown, partially because of his radio comments about Kenseth's restart style. What happened at Kentucky was much different than what happened at Dover, but because of Johnson's ubiquity at the front of the field, the "restart question" is going to linger.

3. Clint Bowyer (LW: 8): Even with two fresh tires he didn't have the car to keep up with Kenseth after a lap or so, but his third place finish closed the gap on Carl Edwards to three points and he's now within a full race of the points lead. Is it possible that Bowyer could be the points leader before the points reset without a win? Yes. Is it likely? No. Bowyer could get there, but if he does, it'll be because he's won a race or two.

4. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3): Ho-hum, another week, another top 10 for Harvick. This race followed a very similar storyline with a methodical drive to the front from a starting position outside the top 20 and fresh tires whenever possible. It wasn't without drama, though. Harvick did get caught by a caution flag right after a green flag pit stop, but the wavearound helped with that.

5. Kyle Busch (LW: 11): Kyle vaults up here because he gets bonus points for the recovery after his lap 44 spin off turn two, which turned out to be an omen for later in the race. Busch didn't hit the wall, and almost miraculously, didn't get hit by another car, worked his way back through the field and suddenly was on the front row for the race's final restart. That didn't work out exceedingly well, but anytime you spin and recover for a top five, it's a successful comeback.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 6): That was the proverbial salad out of you-know-what day for the No. 88 team. Except that the you-know-what actually started out as salad. Looking back in the box scores without context, this 12th place finish won't look too bad. But given what could have been, it's fair to wonder if Hamlin's wayward tire subtracted three points off Junior's potential Chase-starting points total.

7. Carl Edwards (LW: 2): Edwards suddenly went from contender to also-ran during the late stages of Sunday's race. Why? Well, that's what happens when you combine an ill-handling car and traffic these days in the Sprint Cup Series. But Kentucky's over and Edwards can move on to the next race, which is.... oh, it's at Daytona. We won't talk about February.

8. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 7): Bet you didn't know that Truex finished seventh, did you? And did you know that he's now 8th in the points standings? Following up a win with a top 10 is always nice, but when that top 10 moves you up two positions in the standings too, that's a whole other level. Just how much have his Chase chances improved since Pocono?

9. Jeff Gordon (LW: 10): When is Jeff Gordon going to pit under green and not get immediately caught by a caution flag? If you believe situations like that tend to even themselves out over the course of a season, then you may want to start preparing yourself for a race in which Gordon laps the field twice because he stays out and traps the rest of the field on pit road when a caution flies. Gordon's 8th place finish could have been better too had he not had to check up in the middle of a four-wide situation on the final restart. Yeah, we can make the joke that it was another terrible restart by Gordon, but if he didn't get out of the gas, there could have been a lot of torn up cars.

10. Greg Biffle (LW: 4): A six spot drop is harsh, but so was the crash that Biffle was caught up in after Kurt Busch tagged Brad Keselowski. As Keselowski skidded back up the track, Biffle was trapped and was suddenly without a front end on his race car. Don't worry Greg, you're not on the precipice of falling out of Power Rankings, but you should know you're only 24 points ahead of 13th.

11. Joey Logano (LW: NR): What kind of odds could you have gotten on Logano being the top Penske driver in the points right now? If such a bet existed in Vegas and you bet on it, you're looking at a nice profit. (And probably have some gambling issues.) Joey, if you disagree with Denny Hamlin this week, can you not have another Twitter fight? Please and thanks.

12. Kasey Kahne (LW: 9): Oh Kahne where art thou at Kentucky? 11th place and a far cry from contender status was surprising, and not very helpful to KK's points standing. And a great way for Kasey to help his points position at Daytona? Stay the hell away from Kyle Busch.

Lucky Dog: Zoolander! Nice second place run by Jamie McMurray. Must have been the mayonnaise on the car.

The DNF: Brad Keselowski, it's you again. But it's not your fault because there's nothing you could have done after Kurt Busch made his foray onto the apron. Alas, Keselowski's slide through the standings continues. He's now 13th.

Dropped Out: Tony Stewart.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/power-rankings-kenseth-ascends-top-spot-132005424.html

Bob Anderson Conny Andersson Mario Andretti Michael Andretti

Q-Type Jaguar and XQ

The Tata-owned manufacturer has just recorded the names Q-Type Jaguar and XQ in the European Union, as published by Carscoop. This could indicate two things: one, that the brand has decided to take over in case names, and other than the first Jaguar SUV could be on the way. For now, the brand has denied [...]

Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/501-q-type-jaguar-and-xq.html

Skip Barber Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels

Thursday

Welcome to May!

Welcome to May Welcome to the official opening day Social Media Garage live blog on a chilly day at the Greatest Race Course in the World. We?re starting a bit late due to the ridiculously chilly weather today but … Continue reading →

Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/welcome-to-may/

Zsolt Baumgartner Elie Bayol Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem

Christian Horner: ?I don?t think you can discount anybody?

Christian Horner says that Red Bull feared that Kimi Raikkonen would be able to hang onto the lead in Germany by not making a third pit stop – an alternative outcome that Kimi himself pondered after the race. In the … Continue reading →

Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2013/07/08/christian-horner-i-dont-think-you-can-discount-anybody/

Luciano Burti Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button Tommy Byrne

Felipe Massa stays ahead

Felipe Massa set the fastest time of the Q2 session at the Nurburgring, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, while Sebastain Vettel, Romain grosjean, Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Dan Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg and Jenson Button went through to Q3. The session saw Nico Rosberg, Paul di Resta, Sergio Perez, Esteban Gutierrez, Adrian Sutil and […]

Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/felipe-massa-stays-ahead/

Carlo Abate George Abecassis Kenny Acheson Andrea de Adamich

Matt Kenseth benefits from clean air and a Johnson spin to win at Kentucky

Matt Kenseth said he thought crew chief Jason Ratcliff was "slightly crazy" when he didn't want to take tires on the team's final pit stop during Sunday's Quaker State 400.

As it turned out, slightly crazy was the winning move.

Kenseth stayed out front over the race's final two restarts and got some help from Jimmie Johnson's misfortune to get his series-leading fourth win of the season in the rain-delayed race at Kentucky Speedway.

Johnson had dominated the majority of the race leading 182 laps, and he and crew chief Chad Knaus elected, along with most of the field, to take two tires when the caution flag flew for Brian Vickers' crash and tire failure. It seemed inevitable that it was going to be the No. 48 and not the No. 20 that was heading for win No. 4.

Because of how good Johnson's car was, Kenseth and Ratcliff knew that sitting fourth as the cars came to pit road, they weren't going to beat Johnson for the win if they took two tires also. So Ratcliff went the crazy route, banking on Kenseth getting out into the lead and taking advantage of the bountiful clean air.

"I didn't roll the dice, Jason did," Kenseth said in victory lane. "I thought he was slightly crazy when it happened."

The short pit stop put Kenseth in the lead for the restart with Johnson to his inside. He drove ahead of the five-time champion as the two headed towards turn one, and Joey Logano dove to Johnson's inside on turn one. That meant Johnson was in the middle of the track to the inside of Kyle Busch and when he was in the middle three-wide, Johnson's car snapped around on him. He went from 2nd to 22nd.

Over his radio, Johnson felt that Kenseth slowed down unnecessarily as he led the field to green. However, replays showed that there was no accordion-effect through the field behind Kenseth from any brake checking. Bluntly, it simply looked like Kenseth got a great jump on Johnson. (Yes, you may be having Dover flashbacks.)

After Johnson's spin, Kenseth was at the point for another restart with 17 laps to go. After briefly holding off a charge from Clint Bowyer for the first lap of green, the strength of the clean air overrode the weakness of Kenseth's old tires, and he ultimately beat Jamie McMurray to the finish line by a second for his third 1.5 mile track victory of the season.

We'll point it out for re-emphasis: The Chase features five 1.5 mile tracks. Will the No. 20 team's adeptness through the first half of the season carry over? Ratcliff noted that the team's three previous wins made going for the win a good gamble.

"I knew if we could get Matt in position he'd make a good fight at it," Ratcliff said. "And he did. Thankfully we got a couple of good restarts there and once he got out front and got rolling -- (McMurray) was coming, there were some good cars behind us there -- but that was going to be our only shot to get it done today."

Outfitted with fresh tires after looping his car around, Johnson charged through the field to finish ninth. That push, along with Carl Edwards' late fade to 21st, meant that Johnson extended his point lead to 38 points.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/matt-kenseth-benefits-clean-air-johnson-spin-win-201549966.html

Pedro Matos Chaves Bill Cheesbourg Eddie Cheever Andrea Chiesa

Tony George Elected To Board

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2013/03/tony-george-elected-to-board.html

Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco Hans Binder Clemente Biondetti

Wednesday

Peugeot RCZ R

Posted on 07.10.2013 14:00 by Simona

At the 2012 Paris Auto Show, Peugeot unveiled the 2012 RCZ R Concept - a preview of the most powerful road-going car in Peugeot’s extensive history. Now, one year later, the production version will make its world debut at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The model will also be displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2013 and will be put on sale early in 2014.

With its new turbo engine, the new RCZ R is the most powerful road-going car in Peugeot’s extensive history. It comes equipped with lots of elements developed by Peugeot Sport and with an interior inspired by the aviation.

The new RCZ R is not only the most powerful model in the RCZ lineup, but also when compared to the current range-topping model - the RCZ THP - it is about 37 pounds lighter and will deliver one of the best fuel economy ratings in the segment.

Click past the jump to read more about the new Peugeot RCZ R.

Peugeot RCZ R originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 10 July 2013 14:00 EST.

Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/peugeot/2013-peugeot-rcz-r-ar157569.html

Colin Davis Jimmy Daywalt JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler

Peugeot RCZ R

Posted on 07.10.2013 14:00 by Simona

Click past the jump to read more about the new Peugeot RCZ R.

Peugeot RCZ R originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 10 July 2013 14:00 EST.

Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/peugeot/2013-peugeot-rcz-r-ar157569.html

Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi Erwin Bauer Zsolt Baumgartner

Ferrari pledge support for struggling Massa | 2013 F1 season

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo gave his backing to driver Felipe Massa after another disappointing performance in Germany.

Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/07/10/ferrari-pledge-support-for-struggling-massa/

Mark Blundell Raul Boesel Menato Boffa Bob Bondurant

Tragedy Strikes this Year?s Le Mans race

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/z2bgHVBCoOQ/tragedy-strikes-this-years-le-mans-race.html

Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi Erwin Bauer

A Ramble on Tires, Push and the Future

As the season reaches the halfway point the future of indycar is starting to look quite bright. Something as simple as an in-depth look at the odd link between downforce, pushy racecars and tires, a bone of contention in their … Continue reading →

Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/a-ramble-on-tires-push-and-the-future/

Clemente Biondetti Pablo Birger Art Bisch Harry Blanchard

Tuesday

German Grand Prix: Winners & Losers

Round nine is over, and Germany has once again supplied drama and excitement. Now the dust has settle, we look at the best and worst performances. CLICK HERE TO REVEAL THE WINNERS & LOSERS

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/0igGTw_FLNc/german-grand-prix-winners-losers-2

Alan Brown Walt Brown Warwick Brown Adolf Brudes