Flat Spot

I could not help but notice that tire just outside the Mclaren garage... The tendency of Hamilton to lock up the inside front of his McLaren has been almost a regular feature this season. Perhaps the silver cars are be setup with a very stiff front end but Interlagos is especially bumpy and has fallaway corners... it may come into play this week end.

Chin Cam

Ever wonder what David Coulthard's epic chin sees during a race?
Thanks to advances of modern technology the question can finally be answered!

Brazil Free Practice II

The first session had some light rain, Hamilton was up most of the session with Massa consistently having a much faster second section but then losing out on the high speed third. By the end of the session Massa put one lap good lap together and was 2/10th up on Hamilton and Raikkonen.


live feed...

Practice is over, see you tomorrow!

Hamilton on Senna: "We're somehow similar"

"I share something with him". 

On the eve of the deciding Brazilian GP Lewis Hamilton once again invokes Senna's ghost. Specifically he claims he too can be, as they would say down NASCAR's way, "the intimidator", "I don't care who you are - whether you're Kimi Raikkonen or whomever - I'll go up the inside of you."

Oh boy, this should be a wonderful Brazilian GP!

BBC News





And here is the rest of it.

Brazil free practice.

If it works, you will find the feed after the jump. In China it never worked, fingers crossed for Brazil.

Looks like we might get wet practice and qualifying but a slight chance of a dry race,  That would make Saturday extremely exciting with drivers gambling on a dry setup for qualifying.

This will be David Coulthard's last race.  DC broke all sorts of records in this his final season not least of which is "most collisions with a Japanese driver",  he and Nakajima ran into each other three times this year....get a room you two!

We'll finally have word of where Alonso will be working next year,  possibly the most anti-climactic announcement of the season.

Also say good bye and good riddance to grooved tires, finally.  It will be proper slicks next year.

Leave a comment if it's working for you.

First Free Practice is now over, join us later for the second session.

Daddy Grand Prix

This has some awkward potential: organizers of the Brazilian GP have decided parents of the driver crowned 2008 World Champion will wave the checkered flag at the end of this year's race.

This year has been the "year of the dad"in Formula 1 broadcasting: it really started last season with Lewis Hamilton's dad Anthony. He became the go to cutaway shot for the FOM TV director. This year Felipe Massa's dad, Luiz Antonio has become Anthony's ubiquitous parental nemesis in red.

Now, it used to be that a proper cutaway was a drop dead gorgeous smoking babe girlfriend of that driver who just made a heroic move. We of course understand parents are proud of their kids but maybe it's a bit of an illustration of where Formula 1 is at these days.

"We are convinced this is a very special way to have relatives participate" race official Carlos Roberto Montagner told Brazil's Gazeta Esportiva. The official goes on to say that as a person he wishes Massa the win but as a legal entity he has to be impartial..
I cannot imagine Brazilian crowds will love having Anthony Hamilton give Massa the checker.


Família de Massa ou de Hamilton pode dar bandeirada em São Paulo
Marta Teixeira

São Paulo (SP) - A chegada do Grande Prêmio do Brasil de 2008 pode ter um significado especial para os pilotos que disputam o título da temporada. Isso acontece porque os reponsáveis por dar a bandeirada final da prova podem ser os familiares de Felipe Massa ou de Lewis Hamilton. Segundo o diretor da prova Carlos Montagner, a organização da prova ainda estuda a possibiilidade de convidar os parentes dos adversários.
Iniciativa que se confirmada deve ser recbida com surpresa em grande parte da Europa, conforme admitiu Montagner, a possibilidade agrada bastante ao empresário, que gostaria de ver a família dos pilotos fazendo parte da definição do título: no caso de Massa, o convite deve ser feito a seus pais, Luiz Antônio e Ana Elena, enquanto que Hamilton poderia ser representado pelo pai, Anthony, ou pelo irmão, Nicholas.

“Mesmo que não seja algo muito comum na maioria dos países europeus, brasileiros e italianos são muito apegados à família, então seria uma coisa muito especial se os pais pudessem participar de alguma maneira”, afirmou Montagner nesta quarta, revelando que os familiares podem no próximo domingo ter a missão que nos últimos anos já foi cumprida por Pelé e Gilese Bündchen.

Questionado ainda sobre o âmbito esportivo do GP Brasil, o organizador admitiu a torcida, ainda que comedida, por Massa. “Eu, como pessoa física, quero que Felipe seja o campeão, mas, como pessoa jurídica, não posso torcer para ninguém”, ressaltou, antes de mostrar que não acredita na chance de o inglês desperdiçar o título como no ano passado.

“O Hamilton só precisa comboiar”, brincou Montagner, já que o piloto da McLaren precisa somente de um quinto lugar em Interlagos para levantar a taça. “Em 2007 ele perdeu para ele mesmo e não conseguiu o resultado, mas é muito difícil que isso aconteça novamente porque está mais maduro. Acho que está difícil para o Felipe, porém nada é impossível. De qualquer forma, os dois estão muito bem preparados, então será uma prova muito difícil, por ser decisiva”.

Como organizador da prova que encerra a atual temporada da Fórmula 1, Montagner ainda comentou o alto número de punições que vem marcando as últimas corridas: ele considera que esse fato pode, sim, influenciar o modo como os candidatos ao título encararão a corrida paulistana. “Talvez os dois venham para cá com um pouco mais de cuidado, porque todo mundo já foi punido nesta temporada. Contudo, se for preciso arriscar, eles vão arriscar”.
Gazeta Esportiva

Brazil, Brazil

All kind of weird stuff has happened at Interlagos over the years. I mean, Fisichella won there with his car on fire!
Check out one of the most insane, chaotic races ever in 2003.



You are not going to miss this week end's finale are you?



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"...but, but I'm a race car driver!"

Remember the chick on the reality show Setup? The one who would wave the flag and shake her things while at times spouting profound racing banter with Tommy Kendall?

Silly us, we never realized she was a race car driver and being a race car driver as we all know, is the best way to get out of a DUI stop!

from TMZ(the Freep's #1 web site!):

"...Cops nailed the former one-time SPEED TV host in West Hollywood late Monday night when she refused to cooperate with a deputy who was directing traffic. But after she was pulled over, sources say she felt the need to tell cops, "...but I'm a race car driver!"

Didn't matter -- 'cause we're told she failed the field sobriety test miserably and blew well over the legal BAC limit..."

Check out her smoking reel after the jump. A fashion model-high speed-race car driver but "racing comes first" she specifies.

Weeeeeeee!

NY, Home of the Brave.

Cruel prank or fearless parker, we don't know. We do know the green toupee was in a planter behind the car and that parking spots can be hard to come by in Manhattan.



Somewhere in Tribeca by AC

Supercars in Hell...

...the green hell that is.

Pardon the pun but this test runs rings around all others we have seen. This is how tests should be done: same time, same place, same driver, same amount of fuel and cars to factory spec. This is an Axis approved test.

Enzo Ferrari, Maserati MC12, Pagani Zonda R, Porsche Carrera GT and a Koeniggseg CCX, Supercar Movies and Black Falcon Performance really hit one out of the park.

The only improvement would be to have all the telemetry data available, perhaps in later episodes we will get that too. Below is the introduction and, after the jump, let's find out how the Enzo did on a timed lap around the Nürburgring.
(thank you Jay for the tip!)





Sorry but Supercarmovies.com objected to our direct use.... go see them on supercarmovies.com
Interesting about the shocks, whe we were at the Nürburgring, Dale Lomas told us the new M3 had similar issues, where dampners would overheat during the lap...

Can't wait for the next four episodes!

The message.

Do you know what this Ferrari is? It was built as a message and it still stands, as a message, in the Galleria Ferrari in Maranello.

Ferrari will probably build another message soon if the FIA does think Mondays communique was enough and continues with its pursuit of a common engine.

The Ferrari 637 was extremely successful though it was never raced (as a Ferrari anyway).

In case you are not familiar with its history, read THIS







Ferrari 637 by Mark Alan Jones

"In late 1986 Gustav Brunner designed a Ferrari chassis to house a brand new 2.65 litre V8 turbo Ferrari engine - built to CART regulations - and the press was invited to inspect. Most journalists came away impressed; the engine held some unusual features including upward mounted exhausts, and it made the new 1.5 litre turbo V6 Formula One engine, displayed at the same time, look a little plain.

V8 turbo Ferrari engineThere were rumours that Ferrari would be attacking the 1987 season, then the 1988 season. Rumours were placing Andrea de Cesaris in the car for the 1987 Indianapolis 500 But the car never raced. One rumour circulating was that the car was built to put pressure on the FIA. The new engine regulations for 1989 onwards were being finalised for 3.5 litre V8 engines. Ferrari however wanted to build a V12. So they put pressure on the FIA by building an Indycar. The FIA changed the regs and V12's were allowed - and Ferrari (and Lamborghini) built their Formula One V12's. This would also allow Honda and Renault and now everyone to build V10's. The Indycar was locked away in FIAT's vault.

Come 1987 and Alfa Romeo, one of Ferrari's sibling in the FIAT empire, wanted to get back into serious motorsport competition. After having a look at the newly formed World Touring Car Championship, Alfa Romeo was gearing up for an attack on CART as part of marketing Alfa Romeo, and the rest of the FIAT range, in the US.

Again journalists were invited to view the new Italian creation, some time in 1989. An all new Alfa Romeo 2.65 V8 turbo, bearing no relation to the Ferrari unit of three years previous, was unveiled connected to a March chassis. Over in the back of workshop Doug Nye spotted an all white chassis that was clearly not a March and had an Alfa Romeo logo painted on it that nobody from Alfa Romeo were prepared to talk about. It was too big to be any of the smaller formulae running in Europe and America, and the circular indentations for refuelling caps gave it away as being an Indycar chassis.

It was the old Ferrari Indycar, finding a use after all - perhaps as a test mule running in secret at Fiorano where many a strange occurrence happens. "

Monticello Motor Club Videos and Traqmate Data

Lapping MMC South Course on October 24, 2008. BMW M Coupe.

CG and I were at the Monticello Motor Club on Friday, first time actually driving. It was a NASA/PDA track day on the South Course but the club's management was kind enough to give everyone a taste of the full track in the afternoon. Then, apparently, some clown ruined it for everyone and we were relegated back to the South Course for the rest of the day...oh well.

It's a very exciting facility, the full track is spectacular and even the smaller south course is fun to drive. At about two miles it has a great variety of turns that reward good lines and trail braking. Prospective members should note we found proposed future improvements to the track layout spot on and that those designing the course are very much on the ball.

The track will get its final paving layers and curbing next year and when complete it will really be something special. If you get a chance to drive any of the courses at the Club, don't miss it. As a reference, I annotated pictures with some hints that might save you precious laps when you finally do get there. We saw many people struggling to find the line all day and we so hate to see laps wasted, trust us, painted lines are OK to drive over!
The last four frames pertain to the full track. A video lap of the full track is after the jump HERE
Download my Traqmate files for the SOUTH COURSE and the FULL COURSE.



In the parking lot there was a very healthy dose of exotics including two factory cars, a Nissan GTR and a bizarrely optioned Corvette ZR1 there to do a comparison test for Playboy of all things. The driver evaluating the cars was described to us as "an intermediate student over driving the cars"... see why we want to do our own tests?

Raikkonen in a Rally Car.

A vaguely incognito Kimi Raikkonen showed up to visit his countryman Anton Alen (son of legendary 80's rally driver, Markku Alen) at this week end's Rally du Valais in Switzerland. 

In the end, he could not resist and had to have a seat inside Alen's Grande Punto Abarth 2000 running in the IRC series. OK,  so he just sat in it but, a taste of things to come after 2010?

(RacingWorld)

Spam in a can

I remember seeing something like this once at Lime Rock but it involved an Elise and a very large instructor.
Which also reminds me of another funny story involving an Elise. A mediocre student once told Freep he was slowing him down because, after all, Freep represented almost a 10% ballast and he had just had the car corner balanced. Now, the Freep is a normally sized human and as you can imagine, that student's rest of the day did NOT go well!

I found this one on 0-60Mag.com, go check it out later.







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Monticello Motor Club, October 24, 2008 by AC




Axis Picture Of the Day.... I you would like your picture considered for P.O.D. sent it to us!

Check out some previous POD's here

Fxx at the Nürburgring

Continuing our series on Global Tracktards, lets join another Italian legend, Manuma and his FXX, on the Nürburgring GP track.
Awesome sounds from this black monster.  

Couple of things strike me about this clip: the car is a beast, no question there but they must have some pretty strict passing rules for that FXX track day program and there is some really dodgy driving by some of the other cars...the concept of "apex" seems a bit vague at times!

Finally, I was surprised by the braking distances. I understand it's hard to judge the approach speed from the video and perhaps I have been watching too many F1 onboards lately, but he seems to be getting off the gas awful early. There is one lap in the 2:04 range, I tried to find lap times to compare but had little luck other than F1 lapping at 1:30 or so.  Seems most races there use the shorter 3.1km layout. I did find the results for a historic Group C race and there on the 5.1km track a Porsche 962C lapped in 1:52...  In any case, all nitpicking,  turn up the volume and enjoy the awesome sounds from this special car.

Video after the jump



Fxx at the Nürburgring from Axis Of Oversteer on Vimeo.

Alonso helps Massa in Brazil.

Attention...this post contains humor....Hamiltonistas can relax!
This is how Spanish fans picture el Milagro de Interlagos








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Nissan GT-R and Porsche GT2 vs the Axis STFU3000

We've all marveled at the reported performance of the Nissan GT-R, many wondered if such performance is even physically possible. Porsche for the first time ever weighed in, magazines raved, web sites castigated, video evidence has been questioned. In other words, there has been much entertainment for tracktard gearheads.

Now, call us cynical skeptics, but so far we have not seen evidence that satisfies us one way or the other about the GT-R and other cars it has been compared to. "Godzilla the Giantkiller"is just too good a magazine selling headline not to be taken with a grain of salt. There have been many tests but none have had the level of detail or transparency to convince us fully.

So here is what we propose: Axis of Oversteer will supply a Porsche GT2 and we make an open call to curious owners of a Nissan GT-R to provide Godzilla for head-to-head testing.

Let's get something out of the way: I've read comments about Axis being a Porsche fanboy site. I can assure you we have no vested interest in Porsche A.G. Of course we LIKE Porsches, what true car maniac does not but our main interest is performance. CG owns a GT2 it's true, but I guarantee that is only because he could not find a 430 Scuderia at a premium that would not include the removal of precious body parts. We drive BMW and Audi, I even have a soft spot for Renaults when I go to Europe! We get into arguments with people all the time because we call for the death of the stick-shift and proclaim the virtues of paddle-shifters (though, ironically, at the moment none of us owns a car with a robo-box!). In other words we are interested in how to go fast not in what to go fast in.

I can guarantee we don't care what the results will be but we DO CARE how conclusions are reached and how data is gathered.

So how would this work? Obviously this would be in consultation with with the GT-R owner but the main goal is to eliminate as many variables as possible.

Here are the basic points:

1. Cars will be tested on the same day, under the same conditions.
2. Cars should be stock (disclaimer: CG installed rear seats in his GT2).
3. Both cars will carry data loggers and video cameras.
4. All results will be made available on our site.
5. We are based in NYC so testing would be at one of our local tracks, to be determined.

Here are the safety/insurance points:

• A fair test requires the same driver in both cars, ideally a number of different drivers in both cars and we understand that this might be a sticking point. While we welcome support from track insurance companies that may want to be involved in this project and allow for a more complete test, CG is willing to guarantee the GT-R owner MSRP as a contingency. CG would drive and the GT-R owner would ride in both cars to even things out. If someone can guarantee for the GT2 then we can have a further data point.
  
• There has been some controversy about the GT-R warranty, we would run the GT-R in whatever mode the owner is satisfied will not void Nissan's coverage.

Again, in the interest of full disclosure, while CG can play the part of the Stig's latin cousin very well, he is in fact the head of a successful company and happily married with 3 kids....you would not be putting your life in the hands of a Red Bull fueled Gran Turismo 5 champion.

We would like to thank Chris H for his help formulating this idea and look forward to getting to the bottom of this, we truly are curious and want to find out what we can.

Join us, we'll gather data, feed it into the nearly infallible Axis STFU3000 Supercomputer and let the chip fall where they may!

Feel free to leave comments with your suggestions and if you are that GT-R owner CONTACT US asap!











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Scoobie Snack

The Freep and "Mr. Worst Passenger in the World" forwarded this: an 850 HP time attack Subaru.... Niiiiice.

The car, knows as "The Gobstopper", is from Roger Clark Motorsport in the UK. Dyno graph after the jump.
Add photography by Clashproduction, those stylish purveyors of HD car goodness we have featured here before, and it is just a treat guaranteed to make you feel slow next time you hit the track!



Roger Clark Motorsport Time Attack PRO Winner 2008 from Clashproduction on Vimeo.

Sergini Strikes Again

One of our favorite global tracktards is Signor Sergini from Bologna.  Here are two videos from Vallelunga, a great track near Rome.
We get both wet and dry practice (on old tires he notes), I think you'll enjoy these rides.
Note the very nice data display. From the upside down g-meter I would think it might be a custom version of the software from our friends at TrackVision, but I don't recognize the display. Maybe Tony will chime in and clear things up. In any case, it's super clear and it's great that it includes both brake and throttle position sensors. Very cool.







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Seven at the Glen

Time: About 4:30pm, September 25, 2008
Place: Watkins Glen International, BMW CCA Oktoberfest
Situation: Driver School, Instructor Run Group
Conditions: Humid. Cloudy. Dry track surface.

I took my pal Mr. Worst... Passenger... Ever for a spin (figuratively) in the Instructor Run Group to prove he can trust me behind the wheel and to hopefully show him a good time. A good time was indeed being had when we came upon something more interesting: an E65 BMW 7 Series being driven quite hard on the track. I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of sexy to see the big girl working so hard. Mr. W.P.E whipped out his Blackberry (whew) and snapped a quick sequence (hit the jump for the good shots).



BMW CCA's Oktoberfest is the closest thing to a BMW orgy (and that's close enough, thank you), so you're most likely to see a 7er on the track at an event like this.

Now, the Axis of Oversteer is perfectly comfortable putting cars that don't fit onto a roadcourse in the name of entertainment, but as we closed on the big 7er we realized what a glorious match was occurring between this big car and the track surface. Sure, it rolled a bit, but not too badly thanks to the ARS system. The brakes appeared effective enough for the pace (somewhere above leisurely), and it accelerated beautifully. I never ran into the instructor who was driving her so smoothly, but if you're an Axis watcher, be sure to send us an email. Nice work out of you!

-Freep

Chinese Domination

Pole, fast lap, win, Mclaren gave Hamilton the perfect car at the perfect time. The benefits of having a designated number one are clear and now Hamilton, who not only made no mistakes this week end but was fastest in every session save for the Saturday warm-up, has the championship well in hand. All he needs are four points in Brazil, barring a disaster, it's his.

Ferrari failed to give a Massa a car fast enough. The Brazilian was forced to attempt a light fuel load strategy which fell apart when he could not deliver in qualifying. Speed was just not there.

Speed was there for Renault with Alonso once again looking strong. After the first lap or so the race was a snoozer, huge track, no traffic to speak of, no rain... glad I did not stay up to watch this one live.

Much yammering will go on about Massa passing Raikkonen, probably from the same people who though it was fine when, year ago, Hakkinen passed Coulthard or even this year when Kovalainen let Hamilton though in Germany and who complained bitterly about Ferrari having a designated number one driver in the past.

Now on to Brazil with Massa and Ferrari surely wondering about that engine failure in Hungary...

Video Highlights after the jump



.

Imagine that, Two F1 drivers actually having fun!

OK, my mandarin is little rusty but I think it's clear Rober Kubica and Fernando Alonso are having a blast playing with karts. Imagine, competing teams, sponsors... all out the window and just a fun afternoon giving each other a hard time. Seems like Robert had the best time when they were both on track and finally Alonso goes out and bests him...and then celebrates with no arm, one foot donuts.
F1 needs more of this spirit.

Thanks to our reader Espidi for the clips!
On Marca.es

Mclaren-Ferrari-Ferrari-Renault: Japan repeat?

Except for a disapointing Kovalainen, this grid looks vaguely familiar. Hamilton put in a great lap to take pole, Raikkonen is awake, Alonso once again is in the mix, Massa did a so so lap. From looking at the q2/q3 times, no huge surprises with fuel loads with Massa having the largest delta but probably because he did a poor lap rather than because he has 3/10th worth of fuel on board.

BMW and/or Kubika sure blew it, he did not make it into Q3 and will need mayor luck to be a contender, a real shame. Surprised Heidfeld did not get a penalty for clearly impeding Coulthard for no reason.



Check out the second video after the jump. The Shanghai circuit has on unique feature, turn one is taken full throttle at turn in and from there drivers have brake and scrub all the speed while turning into a decreasing radius turn. It's fiendlishly difficult.

Finally, on the Speed TV broadcast, Peter Windsor practically had a conniption describing Alonso's comments about wanting Massa to win and how he will do anything he can to help him. David Hobbs intimated Alonso would be crashing into Hamilton intentionally. And I thought Alonso was supposed to be the Drama Queen! They seemed honestly shocked Alonso dared to express a preference. Maybe it's all best illustrated by this week end's UK media moment of zen from the press conference:

Q: (Jon McEvoy - The Daily Mail) To all drivers other than Lewis: do you think there’s a feeling among the drivers that you are jealous or envious of the fact that Lewis at the moment is leading the drivers’ standings and also that wherever you go he seems to be the biggest star?

Funny stuff.

Chinese GP Qualifying Live

It has not worked so far this week end so there is the distinct possibility you will find just a blank screen. Given the time I wil not be up to check one way or the other so please leave a note to say what happened...

Feed (if any) after jump and should start betweek 1:30 and 2:00 am Eastern time.

Chinese GP Friday Practice

If there was ever a time to thank Bernie Ecclestone for forcing night races in the far east this is it.   Practice, race and qualifying start at 2AM eastern time...  I guess people on the west coast of the US are happy: they may be, as the guys on the F1Weekly podcast pointed out,  a minimum of a 15 hour plane ride from the closes GP venue but at least they get to watch these Asia races without the aid of artificial stimulants!

I will be watching Quali and the race off the DVR tomorrow,  I'll see if the feed will work or not but I'll put it up for you night owls!

Now to practice....nothing especially exciting  other than further Hamilton related blabbing. Asked why so many of the drivers in the field are cheering for Massa,  Ecclestone tells Auto Motor und Sport  that Hamilton is good for business but " he seems a bit arrogant " and has "too high an opinion of himself and so irritates the others".  Take it up with Bernie.

Myself, I'm still trying to figure out what Hamilton meant by:

"The reason I'm here is because of the way I drive.  And, as you can see, I don't clash with people so they can't be that aggressive."

Alonso: "No driver wants to see Hamilton win the championship"

Anyway. enjoy the clips and check in tomorrow afternoon after qualifying.

2008 Bathurst 1000 Part 3: the Race

The final instalment of of our Bathurst epic starts with a circuit walk with Neil Compton, a former driver and now commetator with Australia's 7 Sport. The broadcast coverage of this race is simply fenomenal, everything from cameras inside th cars to Helicopters chasing racers down the mountain...just great. And we have to thank Darcy in Australia for making these clips available to the rest of the world.
After the jump, the final 12 laps of the race, a final strint from behind the safety car.







Care to have a go at the Mountain yourself? It's possible if not exactly convenient for most:
Drive Bathurst.com
And of course you could enter the Bathurst 12 hour race for Showroom stock cars too!

2008 Bathurst 1000 Part 2: Shootout

C'mon how can you not love a series that has drivers with names like "Gaaath Teendah" and Jason Bargwanna?

Here is the top ten shootout....balls out by yourself on the mountain. More than you can possibly want, enjoy.





The others are after the jump:

2008 Bathurst 1000 Part 1

The Bathurst 1000, Thunder on the Mountain from the land where men are men and kangoroos run scared. The 1000 Km race on the Mount Panorama rollercoaster, a track which makes the Nürburgring look reasonably safe, belongs among motorsports top ironman events along with LeMans, Indy, Daytona and the Nürburgring 24hours.

This is NASCAR done right: an entertaining mix of antidiluvian engine technology keeping costs relatively low while producing the wonderful sound we all love and proper racing, with turns and braking zones. Combine that with a reasonable 3000lbs weight and you have something truly exciting....
Other cost cutting measures include spec suspension layout (front double wishbones, rear live axle with Watts linkage) and a standard sequential transmission. The 5 liter Engines are fuel injected and make around 650 hp. Tires are spec and limited to 24 per week end.

But you can look up all of that elsewhere... lets start with the action! Part one will be some clips from practice and some of the minor races. Later the Shootout and finally some of the main event.

It's all good!



More clips after the jump

















.

Ferrari Californication

Personally I think the Ferrari California is one of the least attractive cars ever to come out of Maranello. But, they are sold out already proving there is serious money in hairdressing...not that there's anything wrong with that...





And here is the rest of it.

Axis giant Bathurst 1000 post: Coming soon!

On the only track in the world might make the Nürburgring look easy, monster V8 behemoths millimeters from concrete walls at 295 km/h....need we say more?

Nissan tells Porsche to get better drivers

If you are still following the Nissan vs Porsche saga. Nissan has come back with pictures of the tires they claim were used for the famous "record" breaking run and a video offering the Porsche drivers some tips on how to drive faster...

Pass the popcorn.... Words HERE






And here is the rest of it.

Foot in Mouth Disease: Japanese GP Executive Summary

Maybe Hamilton should stop declaring he's as good as Senna or that he will visit Senna's grave or that he has anything to do with Senna.  In fact, he should probably change the color of his helmet because every time Hamilton invokes him, the spirit of Ayrton seems to come down and deliver the cosmic bitchslap.

And maybe Kubica is the most deserving of winning the championship this year. Hamilton: he has the best car, he's a top tier talent, he's incredibly stupid. His move at the start was just that, stupid.  That he even though he needed to make the move was stupid.

Curiously, nobody said much about how it is that he ended up behind Massa at the end of lap one. Lewirton Sennalton flew off the road a second time in one lap and only the miracle of paved runoff saved him.

Massa, he's fast, he's unlucky but a Schumacher would have realized Hamilton had flatspotted his tires to the chords and figured out a plan B. A fully avoidable and forseable penalty and like Hamilton at Spa, he claimed to have been pushed off the track.   Still,  everyone cheered!

As for the penalties, I would have given none, none for the start, none for the Hamilton-Massa incident and none for the Bourdais-Massa punt.  One giant upshot would have been not to have to hear the moaning from Hamilton and the UK Motor Media for the next 200 years about it.

Again awesome Alonso. Renault gave him a car that was truly competitive with Mclaren and Ferrari....

Great battle between Kubica and Raikkonen but once again I say: F1 tires suck.  To hear both drivers talk about their struggles with graining and how they each had only a two lap window of optimal tire performance and could do little once the tires went off was just sad. I hope slicks will prove more consistent next year.

Japanese GP Live

As always, an alternative to your local broadcaster. Your mileage may vary. I'm not sure who can watch at this hour... but if you do, leave a comment. Enjoy.

Feed after jump. times listed are GMT

Please Join us for the GP of China next week end

Japanese GP Qualifying Live.

As always, an alternative to your local broadcaster. Your Mileage May Vary.

Qualifying is now over,  join us for the race at some ungodly hour between today and tomorrow!

Hamilton: "I am as good as Senna".

I wonder why we did not see this on any UK web site?

Sport.de claims that in talking to journalists before the Japanese GP, Lewis Hamilton proclaimed:

"I know I am as good as Ayrton Senna" apparently stunning even seasoned British journalists present (though presumably not Peter Windsor) "don't you know I'm the best?"

"I can tell immediately where the line with the most grip is". Mocking Massa he added that being good on a wet track is not automatic for Brazilians and that Felipe in such conditions "cannot find the limit"...


Hamilton größenwahnsinnig: "Ich bin so gut wie Senna"

Lewis Hamilton ist die scheinbar beruhigende 7-Punkte-Führung in der WM-Wertung vor Felipe Massa zu Kopf gestiegen. Obwohl der McLaren-Pilot seit 5 Rennen auf einen Sieg wartet, hält sich der Brite im jungen Alter von 23 Jahren schon für einen der besten Piloten aller Zeiten. "Ich weiß, dass ich so gut wie Ayrton Senna bin", verblüffte Hamilton am Rande des Singapur-GP selbst einen alteingesessenen britischen Journalisten.
Gereizt durch die umstrittene Entscheidung der FIA, ihm den Triumph beim Großen Preis von Belgien zu entreißen, hat Hamilton die Psychospielchen mit Ferrari eröffnet. "Wissen Sie nicht, dass ich der Beste bin?", sagte er nach 'Sport-Bild'-Informationen während des Prozesses zu Ferrari-Anwalt Nigel Tozzi. Besonders auf Konkurrent Massa hat sich Hamilton eingeschossen. "Ich erkenne sofort, wo auf nasser Piste die Linie mit der größten Haftung ist", spottete er über den auf nasser Piste nicht immer souverän agierenden Brasilianer. Er könne dagegen "bei solchen Bedingungen ans Limit gehen", so Hamilton.

More Bernie dreams: Max +20 and Rossi in red.

After telling a German newspaper that he would be a dream to have Schumacher back in F1 it is perhaps not surprising he would tell la Gazzetta dello Sport he would wish for Valentino Rossi to be driving a red car.

His wish for another twenty years of Max Mosley rule however will not go down well with some in the F1 journalistic community though, so you will not read the complete interview elsewere...

Mr.Ecclestone, who will win on Sunday?

We've seen the most exciting when it rains, or when the Safety Car comes into play. Anything can happen but I think it will be a fight between Hamilton and Massa with a possible interference of Raikkonen.

F1 is back to racing during the day. Which races could become night races in the future?

The Singapore GP was born out of the need to make it viewable in Europe at an acceptable time of day so night races would be limited to Asian Pacific races. All races in that part of the world could theoretically become night races. But for 2009 only Singapore will be at night. In Europe I see no reasons to have races after dark.

F1 is in tiny Singapore but is out of the world's largest auto market, the United States and now it's out of Canada as well...

America works a different way. In the rest of the world certain sporting events, like Formula 1 for example or the Olympics are organized by the state. In North America they are organized by private individuals who want to realize profits even before the race has held, that is a but too much to ask.

Future races?

Aside from Abu Dhabi, we have two or three option open in Russia. Moscow is obviously first but it's to early to think of a firm date. Then there is India which I can say will be on the calendar in 2011.

Don't you think one of the more difficult problems with F1 is the confusion with the rules? The Spa case, with Mclaren's recourse accepted and then ruled inadmissible for example.

I agree and it's true that this foments a climate of suspicion. I see the group of stewards, those who have to decide, as composed by independent figures. There are at least thirty lawyers ready to volunteer for the job. Decisions should be thought out but also immediate. but it's an FIA issue and 'd rather not get in the middle of it.

Did Hamilton deserve his punishment in Belgium?

I will say that Hamilton is a fighter and acts as such but the punishment was just. I do not understand why Hamilton did not calm down and settle for second. That way Massa would have lost more points...

How do you judge Hamilton?

An extraordinary talent, right up with Senna and Schumacher. Last year as a rookie he almost won the title, do you remember other who did that?

And Massa?

He's very strong but he was unlucky. I would say it would be bad if Hamilton did not win the title this year after his bad luck last year. Let me correct myself, after the bad management from his team last year. At the same time it would not be right if Massa lost.

You have been very critical of Raikkonen, who you you said, gave little back to F1..

Kimi is a strange boy and I like him as he is. But when you win the title you need to make more effort and open up more because you become a symbol fr the sport. He did not do that.

What do you think of his season?

I know him as a great driver, I don't know where that great driver went. It's a mystery.

Why does Ferrari not hire Alonso?

Simply because Raikkonen and Massa have contracts through 2010...

Montezemolo claims the percentage you charge the constructors are too high. Will this change with the new Concord Agreement?

Let me explain clearly. I am not the owner of Formula 1 but I have the role of president of a group that holds the majority stake. For every business deal I make, old or new, the monies do not come to me, they go to the company. I don't know why Luca always takes it out on me on this argument. Manufacturers want to earn more? They should cut costs. I propose a few ideas: standardize transmission, cut aerodynamic development and KERS

Toro Rosso, winner at Monza risks being out of F1 after 2010 because of it will not be allowed to run a chassis designed by another team..

I made a proposal: to authorize only team in F1 for 10 year or longer to utilize materials from other teams, overlooking the intellectual property issues. But I think that F1 can stabilize expenses other great companies will join.

Mosley's mandate ends next year, who would you like to see in his place?

I would re-elect Mosley for another twenty years. If he wants to stay it's right that he stays.

The world is going through a dire economic crisis, how will this impact F1?

It will impact but it will depend on how certain industries will decide to distribute their advertising budgets. I think investing in F1 is still advantageous. I am encouraged that in the past three years F1 has not declined.

Vettel won in Italy, is he a champion of the future?

Certainly. Ever since his debut with BMW I thought he had uncommon talent.

F1 is missing a character like Valentino Rossi

Very much so. I hope one day he will come to F1 and that Ferrari will give him a car. That's the only team I can see him with.

Gazzetta dello Sport

Japanese GP Friday Practice 2 Live

Free Practice is over, join us for Qualifying at 1 AM tonight.






And here is the rest of it.

Japanese GP Practice Live

Practice is now over, Join us at 1 AM Eastern time for Practice 2

No Fur For Tamara!

In these scary economic times it's nice to get a little break and even thank PETA without who we might not get to see pictures of Tamara Ecclestone... not really naked. Thank you PETA!
More proof that there is no limit to Bernie Ecclestone's powers after the jump...

Ferrari nose and Toyota tail

Some Fuji specific aero changes to the Ferrari front end which adds a pair of sharply angled fins behind the wing mounting points. Toyota instead will show a new extractor with larger channels to alter the balance of the car.
from Gazzetta dello Sport





And here is the rest of it.

Remember Traction Control?

Weather forecasts for this week end's Japanese GP do not call for rain, a minor miracle if correct. Remember last year's Kubica vs Massa last lap duel in the middle of a monsoon? It's tempting to ascribe that solely to electronics but Alonso was caught out as indeed were many others that day.

Still, no question it was a huge performance advantage and one nobody really misses....OK, maybe Massa at Silverstone after his fourth spin.

Let's go back to Professor Piola for a short history lesson and then, after the jump, you will find the classic Kubica-Massa battle from 2007...








Rain Heroes from Axis of Oversteer on Vimeo.

Sideburns and Flares.

How about some 1970's/80's racing action from the Nürburgring? You got to love the slip angle on those Renault 5s!

Anyone want to take a crack at naming some of the cars in this video?






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