A Quarter of a Billion Pounds!

So many new car pictures from the Paris show everywhere, how about some old ones?

I can't vouch for the veracity of that claim of 250 million pounds worth of rolling metal banging fenders on the Goodwood track but, with 3 GTO's in the running, I'm pretty sure it's not the 24 hour of Lemons.
(photo: David Breach)



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Prototipo

(photo: Julien Mahiels)
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Sabine: She Cooks, She Saves!

I'm sure Sabine Schmitz can cook faster than you, probably makes water boil faster too. In this clip the famously fast fraülein of the Eiffel whips up some grub for team fabulous Frikadelli team before the most recent VLN race.

The rest of the video is 9 minutes of onboard from the team's Porsche 997 GT3 R including the race start and the incident when on the first lap of its first race, the Mercedes SLS AMG gets into a very avoidable accident. Got to love the fist pump as driver Nic Kentenich just squeezes between the Merc and the 'vette!




But of course Sabine is best know as cab driver. Here she is hacking in a 997 GT3 RS MkII during a Gentlemen Driver Club track day. All is well up to about 8:15 minutes in when she gets to Pflanzgarten.

Now, if you've driven at the 'ring, you know exactly how scary that section of the track is so you can imagine what losing the rear of any car, never mind a "junk on the trunk" 911, at that speed must feel like. I'm sure the video does not do that feeling justice, you have to at least have driven that particular roller coaster section.

"Check the tires" she says...I say check the passenger seat before the next client.



(let me put in a plug for Pistonspy.com, if you are into N-ring spy pix and videos it needs to be on your list!)
home

The Sweet Sounds of the Flat Plane

Flat plane crankshafts just have that something extra....Joey Hand testing in the BMW RLR GT at Road Atlanta.



"Joey Hand - normally found in the No. 90 M3 GT - tests the No. 92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3 GT at Road Atlanta in preparation for Petit Le Mans 2010. Testing allows the team to try quite a few things to find every possible tenth. Here Joey was able to drive both M3s back-to-back to test two different spring set-ups. September 25, 2010"
(BMWNA Motorsport).

War of Nerves: Fernando Alonso Wins in Singapore

(Photo: RichSeow)

Fernando won another battle in Singapore but is he also winning a larger, psychological war?
Certainly he took the fight to Red Bull and Mclaren all week end, being very aggressive even in practice while playing the underdog with the press. He repeated that it's the leaders who are under pressure not to make mistakes.

I wonder if his first victim was not Lewis Hamilton, I have never heard him sounding so depressed and defeatist as he was after his retirement. Interviewed, Lewis really sounded like he meant it when he despaired about his chances in the championship and somewhat melodramatically added a wish for Button's success. Snap out of it dude! Hamilton is only 21 points out of the lead with 100 still in play, anything can happen.

So he had a couple of bad races, big deal. Alonso was in much worse shape, with everyone giving him grief about his mistakes, he kept his head down, his optimism up and his mouth shut and look what happened...

As far as the incident with Webber, I'll be interested in your comments. I saw it as a racing incident. Watching the replays, Hamilton will wish he had given a few extra inches to Webber as Kubica did when he pulled off the same move on Sutil, in the same corner. There was no absolute need to shut the door like that as the following turn was a right.

Lewis' explanation that he did not know Webber would be there doesn't really cut it, he really should have figured Webber, who would not even yield for his team mate, would very much "be there". Did Hamilton really think Webber would be a pushover like Button was at the start, when he had easilly passed Lewis only to back down under braking and getting passed on the outside? I don't think so.

In the end it was the two championship championship leaders fighting for supremacy on track, what more can anyone want?



Webber was very lucky, not just that his suspension did not break and his tire did not burst but that the Red Bull strategy risk paid off thanks to a second Safety Car period. Third after being uncompetitive for most of the week end is very good for him. Meanwhile with Vettel Red Bull had its hand forced by Ferrari when they pitted on the same lap as Alonso. Vettel also made an error in his pit stop when he tried to pull out in second gear and almost stalled.

Four to go, five still in play, the story line of the 2010 championship is getting better and better, I think the winner will need to be not just fast but cool as a cucumber.


if it's slow, let it load...
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Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 race debut video

The Gullwing GT3 SLS literally thundered through the Eiffel forest in its race debut in a VLN race, The Barbarossa Cup, this past Saturday.

The big AMG driven by Berndt Schneider ran in an "Experimental" class separate from the GT3 Porsches, BMW z4 and Audi R8. The best lap time was 8:32 (including the GP track) compared to the 8:21 of the 911 GT3 R of Lucas Luhr and Richard Westbrook or even the 8:24 of the Dörr Motorsport Z4. But VLN is not FIA GT so comparisons are not totally accurate.

For further reference, a 996 GT3 Cup Chris Harris was co-driving had a best lap of 8:53 and Sabine Schmitz lapped some unspecified GT3 in 8:27.

Wagnerian soundtrack aside, the car retired with 3 laps to go. But damn, that sound... turn it up!



More after the jump

Drifters....

Is that tape FIA approved?


Brought to you by the Hungarian Drift Association (probably NSFW in the US)

Best THAT Ken Block! :)
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Alonso cracks open a Red Bull

Maybe Fernando Alonso figures Vettel does not handle pressure and maybe that is why he dogged Vettel throughout Q1 and 2 today in Singapore, almost taunting the Red Bull driver to best his times over and over throughout the week end. Vettel fought back but when it really counted, Seb. could not deliver.

Afterwards, Vettel blamed traffic, more than his own driving errors for the missed pole and could not resist taking a swing at Alonso in the press conference when he referenced the 2008 race ( to the delight of the many Fernando haters in the press core). I'm not sure Fernando is the type to be rattled by that sort of thing.

Webber was a bit lackluster but the good news is that all five title contenders are once again all there, clustered together, first through fifth on the grid. Tomorrow should be a first lap not to be missed.

It will be interesting once more to see who plays it safe and who "goes for it" in terms of the championship.
Vettel pretty much has to attack, He's expected to win. If he gets past Alonso in the first lap then he will be gone but how is he at passing?
Button and Alonso are, in my view, the ones in the best place psychologically in terms of pressure. In the popular view, they are considered the outsiders among the five.

Hamilton has been on a bit of a downward slide after losing the championship lead in Monza, I'm sure he will attack with all he's got. Webber is faced with this season being his only chance to be Champion and will have to administer his lead without making stupid errors. Not easy, even for a cool character like him, on a bumpy street track with a car eating chicane.

Here is Alonso's pole lap (with German commentary!)

Pos  Driver         Team                   Q1        Q2         Q3
 1.  Alonso         Ferrari                1:46.541  1:45.809   1:45.390
 2.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault       1:46.960  1:45.561   1:45.457
 3.  Hamilton       McLaren-Mercedes       1:48.296  1:46.042   1:45.571
 4.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1:48.032  1:46.490   1:45.944
 5.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault       1:47.088  1:45.908   1:45.977
 6.  Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth      1:48.183  1:47.019   1:46.236
 7.  Rosberg        Mercedes               1:48.554  1:46.783   1:46.443
 8.  Kubica         Renault                1:47.657  1:46.949   1:46.593
 9.  Schumacher     Mercedes               1:48.425  1:47.160   1:46.702
10.  Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari         1:48.908  1:47.599   1:47.884
11.  Alguersuari    Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:48.127  1:47.666
12.  Hulkenberg     Williams-Cosworth      1:47.984  1:47.674
13.  Petrov         Renault                1:48.906  1:48.165
14.  Buemi          Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:49.063  1:48.502
15.  Heidfeld       Sauber-Ferrari         1:48.696  1:48.557
16.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes   1:48.496  1:48.899
17.  Liuzzi         Force India-Mercedes   1:48.988  1:48.961
18.  Glock          Virgin-Cosworth        1:50.721
19.  Kovalainen     Lotus-Cosworth         1:50.915
20.  di Grassi      Virgin-Cosworth        1:51.107
21.  Trulli         Lotus-Cosworth         1:51.641
22.  Klien          HRT-Cosworth           1:52.946
23.  Senna          HRT-Cosworth           1:54.174
24.  Massa          Ferrari

All Timing Unofficial

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Audi Fly By

I'm sure that got Jim's attention... good thing no Hippie liveried Interseries Caymans were harmed in the making of this video!



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Flex and that silly chicane!

I thought the splitter was not supposed to be flexible... also interesting is how much the ride height changes at speed. I suppose it's because of the need for a soft setup to deal with that dumb, dumb chicane? Check it out after the jump...

Ferrari SA Aperta: GTO goes topless

Ferrari outspeedsters Porsche with a car that is more than a bodykit and lower windshield with this tribute to Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina.
Clip on top and all, the 599 SA Aperta has the same power output, 670HP as the 599GTO. Unlike the 997 Speedster though, you will probably never see one of the only 80 SA Aperta Maranello will produce.
(Ferrari)

Reminder: Formula 1 practice Live stream

On speedTV.com

Singapore Rewind...

September 28, 2009

"...For me the most entertaining part of the week end was the podium press conference. Fernando Alonso literally stunned the whole of the F1 press into silence by dedicating his result to "Flavio watching at home". Dependent on the FIA for their access most new sites did not know how to comment last night. This morning the party line is along the lines of "Oh that means he's going to Ferrari"...you don't say.

Aside from the stunning news the FIA did not manage to cancel Flavio's Formula 1 pay-per-view subscription, that was as big a public razberry to Max Mosley as I've ever seen and good show of Alonso's character. He and Mark Webber proved to be real men, not tempted to feign moral outrage. Don't be afraid Mosley is going to revoke your superlicence, Alonso is saying, just imagine him in the nude sipping tea with the hookers. In a sport where a team is deemed "too big to fail", Alonso just asked the FIA to try him. Let's see your moral outrage now!

Fernando is right of course, he thanked the team and he thanked Briatore who is the reason Renault is and, paradoxically now, will stay in F1. Briatore is also responsible for the deals that brought Alonso to Ferrari and likey, Kubica to Renault, all good things for Formula 1...."

SIngapore 2009


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Happy 75th Jaguar!

(photo: ultimatecarpage.com)


Jaguar 75.com

Download the book "Jaguar 1935-2010, Seventy five years of fast beautiful cars" for your iPad, iPhone or computer HERE
Follow the Flickr links for super high resolution version of these great shots courtesy of Jag.



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Sebastien Loeb will retire after the 2011 season

" If Sebastien Ogier, your Citroen team mate and the up and coming star of the WRC begins to beat you regularly, would the make you stop?

Yes, I think so, I would say it's not worth taking unnecessary risks to chase him. But it's not him who will put an end to my career, It's my decision to make and it will come at the end of the 2011 season"

Nothing left to prove it's not a surprise Sebastien Loeb, Six time WRC champion and current standings leader would all but announce his retirement in an interview to Paris Match.

Other Highlights: He used to drive an AMX-30 tank in the army and in 1998 used to earn minimum wage pulling electrical cables.

Loeb has said "Rally is instinctive, Formula 1 is hard work"

You can read the interview (in french) HERE

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Goodwood Revival 2010

Goodwood Revival, maybe you find the period costume requirement in the infield a bit hokey but there is no arguing with the on track action! Hopefully next September I'll be able to go.
Some fan videos are starting to show up on YouTube, the broadcast is coming up before the end of the month. Can't wait.

More clips after the jump

Raikkonen dominates the Dojo!

The good news is that Raikkonen won his first rally, the 2010 Rallye Vosgien, part of the French national championship, the bad news is that was a rally equivalent of Kramer dominating the dojo, his Red Bull Junior Team Citroen C4 was the only current spec WRC car entered.

Of course the reason why Kimi was in that rally at all is because it's run on the same tarmac roads as the upcoming Rally France. Which, as they say, begs the question: if he was going back to F1 next year would he be putting in the extra effort?

Clips after the jump will give you a better idea of the competition...



(Auto Hebdo)

Porsche Rumor: Ultimate 997 GT3 RS edition

A rumor that has been rolling around for a while, make of it what you will, It goes like this: Porsche will top off the 997 production run with a limited production, carbon fiber paneled 4.0 liter GT3 perhaps designated as 997 GT3 RSR.

This ultimate 500 hp 997 GT3 would be sold alongside the next generation 991 but limited to 500 copies and priced in GT2 territory.

We know nothing more at the moment but will add that Porsche does have a penchant for special editions. Producing this special model would probably cost Porsche little and produce what is sure to be one of the most sought after special models ever.

Meanwhile as widely expected, the 997 Speedster was announced. Check it out on EVO



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Like Horsepower?

These guys have more :) Reno Air Races



(of course I''d like to see how these boys do on a 200+mph MotoGP bike but hey, it's all showbiz, not just the RedBull Air Races, right?)

More after the jump

Mclaren MP4-12C, Supercar in a flannel suit

If a fine man's suit is defined by details and what makes that suit truly special are those details invisible to anyone but the man wearing it, then the Mclaren MP4-12C is the Tom Ford suit of supercars: sharp but not loud, posh but not boring, expensive but not ostentatious, meticulously detailed and appreciated by those hip to it.

CG and I were at the Mclaren NYC premiere last night in a room full of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche owners, the target client in Ron Dennis' ambitious bet of starting a brand new global car company. Not a high margin, artisan business like Pagani but a bona fide car company with dealers, spares, service and long term plans. A titanic endeavor even in good economic times...

More, plus photos and videos after the jump



A dark silver MP4 was there as was a naked chassis, the car's skeleton for all to see. CG and I were especially impressed at how low the twin turbo v8 is mounted, the top of the valve covers is well below the top of the wheels. We were surprised the car does not have adjustable sway bars, like the Porsche GTs but then the 430 Scuderia does not either (EDIT: and it tuns out the MP4 does not have one..see comments). The welds, even the brake pedal, a sculpture in its own right.



The MP4 looks better in person then in pictures, styling more R8 than Lamborghini, subtle but sharp. Paint quality is phenomenal. Cool design details are everywhere, the rear has no visible lights or turn signals, the doors have no latches or switches. Inside the cabin, materials, which will of course be fully customizable, are top quality. Here again, many touches which speak to an obsession with engineering perfection that is so Mclaren. A good example, the reading light switches: not just switches, they are touch activated dimmers.

The touch screen navigation, entertainment, communication console in the center console was not immediately user friendly but then again it's not like I had either time or the manual... Looks great in any case. Shift paddles are on the steering wheel and even the air vents look special, product of months of CFD analysis not doubt. The only non Mclaren like bit? hidden under the center console, a cupholder.






The cabin is small but not crowded. The driving position close to perfect and getting in and out of the car made quite a bit easier by the doors being mounted so far forward. There is ample room for long legs in the passenger seat though exiting with a short skirt and modesty might be mutually exclusive.



How does it sound? good question. We were not allowed to start it but wondered how they were able to meet noise regulation with that tiny exhaust, I guess turbos must quiet things. How does it drive? hopefully we'll find out soon.



Frank Stephenson in his introduction mentioned how working at Mclaren was liberating as he was not burdened by design language and expectations and here, I think, lies the crux of issue: Who will be the Mclaren buyer?

Porsche and Ferrari, have a at least a 60 year head start in the aspirational market. Axis readers will appreciate the technological tour de force that lies beneath the Mclaren flannel suit but, to sell the numbers projected, Working is going to have to convince lotto winners who crash their 458 into trees and Greenwich fundies who buy 911 turbo cabriolets to spring for a car with little name recognition outside of the hardcore and without the obvious bling of a Lamborghini.

That might make winning a Formula 1 championship seem like child's play for Ron "Enzo" Dennis, I'm sure he relishes the challenge.

Thoughts and questions always welcome in the comments.
Mclaren Automotive

Damn Shame

Who doesn't love Giulia GT's, even later non step nosed ones? Take the bumpers off any Giulia, maybe add flares and it's instantly one of the coolest cars ever, Giugiaro's masterpiece. Damn shame to see one get into trouble like this.
(MPZRaceVideo)
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0-300-0

For once we can't argue with German humor: " When the car accelerates, the passenger should not be able to touch the dashboard. When it brakes he should be thrown forward and ideally after three times in a row he ought to be completely shaken up with his heart in his mouth"

The 2010 test run by Germany's Sport Auto, pitted stock vs tuners, 16 cars with more than 10000 HP combined. Full details on the news stand (if you can still find it) but a quick summary after the jump.

(Sport Auto)






(300km/h= 186.4 mph)

Stock cars:

27.8 s - Bugatti 16.4 Veyron
35.2 s - Porsche 911 GT2 RS
39.3 s - Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera
42.8s - Corvette ZR1
49.5 s - Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
57.6 s - Lexus LFA
68.6 s - Bentley Continental GTC speed
xx s - BMW M3 GTS (never made it to 300 kmh, 0-280-0 time 60.7s)


Tuned cars:

24.5 s - 9ff BT1000 AWD

37.3 s - Hohenester HS650 RR
41.6 s - MTM-Audi RS6 Clubsport
43.3 s - Importracing-Nissan GT-R
49.7 s - Väth-V60 RS
60.2 s - Wimmer-C63 AMG
60.6 s- Speedart Panamera
XXs - AC Schnitzer ACS6 (never made it to 300, 0-270-0 time 63.3s)

(the Bugatti was in handling mode)

Gear: Sport Touring

I think we have a fair number of riders who read Axis and I'm pretty sure an even greater number of fans of the oldest Italian technical gear manufacturer, Alpinestars.
Alpinestars have been making motocross boots since the mid 1960's, other Italian companies, Momo, Sabelt and Sparco all came later.

Alpinestars, among their many promotional efforts (could you go anywhere on the internet this past week and not run into a Ken Block Gymkhana video for example)? are producing a series on the development of their technical gear. We published the first about Adventure riding, here is the second one focusing on touring gear. Have a look


(Alpinestars TechTouring)

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The Turn from Hell

Zolder, Belgium turn one in the rain.

And before you start thinking it's just the wacky racers in the big rigs, wait until 3:05 seconds in this clip, everything from Smarts to Artegas are falling off!

(extra bonus points for the guy in the Smart using his rear hatch as an aero device!)

(Huib van den Nulft)
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GULF!

Celebrate one of the most iconic race liveries in the history of racing with a photo gallery curated for us by our friend Drew from MotoringConBrio.com, a site you must visit if you like fine car photography.

MCB was also kind enough to run a profile article on Axis recently....like I said they have impeccable taste! :)
You can find the article HERE and the photo gallery after the jump.

Mini Countryman WRC testing video

I wonder about Mini/ prodrive choosing the Countryman the platform for its WRC car, the bodyshell seems awfully big and very tall compared to the competition. The final bodywork has not been shown yet but I imagine it will take some special wizardry to keep the center of gravity low in that bus!

Here the WRC Countryman is filmed testing in Portugal, wrung out by Estonian ex WRC driver and ex Subaru test driver Markko Martin.




(YouTube/SergioAfonso21)

Home

Heavy Hitter

Everyone photographed this F10 2012 BMW M5 tearing around the Nürburgring fog recently, the fifth version of the original super saloon looks much less controversial that outgoing e60 but is likely to be the heaviest M5 yet, well over the e60's 4016lbs kerb weight. The current F10 550 sedan declares 4376 lbs, we can't imagine the M5 will weigh much less.

The question is, does it matter and will anyone care?

It does not matter: in the past couple of years we have seen that surprising performance can be engineered into behemoths, the M5 will be miles faster and nicer to drive than the 5000lbs plus X6M while using a similar power train ( will we see the first 4wd M sedan btw?)

Nobody will care:... except the fellas changing tires and brake pads on the Ring Taxis because nobody in their right mind will track these things.

So the new M5 will happily continue the tradition of spanking AMGs while not looking as ridiculous as Panameras. Win WIn.

Check out an interview with the the Head of the MDivision, Kay Segler, over to Bimmerfile for some thoughts about weight.

David Murry Track Days at VIR

Call this a blatant plug if you want, we don't care, Dave Murry is a friend of Group 52 and any friend of Group 52 is a friend of ours.

David Murry Track Days promises the same open track, for advanced drives only experience as G52 but at the lower latitudes of Virginia International Raceway and with the added bonus of access to instruction from Murry, a racer with almost 30 years experience. The next event is October 13-14. Please go.

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Monza Pit Lane Incident

There was a scary incident where a HRT radio tech who had come onto the hot pit are to check faulty equipment on Sakon Yamamoto's car and was not able to get out of the way of the car as it left. The pit lane was closed as he was taken to the hospital for a check up.


(how long before this one gets pulled?)

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Matador! Alonso and Ferrari Dominate Monza.

Race win, pole and fast lap: Fernando Alonso showed why he gets paid the big bucks this week end but if anyone had any doubts about Formula being a team sport, today's race should change your mind.

Ferrari had the measure of Mclaren on speed but it was strategy that played the key role. Alonso and his engineers did well to bide their time, pressuring Button but saving tires just enough for a quick in lap. On lap 37 Ferrari's crew made what has to be the pit stop of the year, 8/10th faster than Mclaren's one lap earlier, allowing Fernando to come out just ahead of Jenson.

Over at Red Bull, Vettel's crew gambled on what seems like an insane strategy gamble, going 52 of 53 laps on the soft tires. It worked.

Now team orders, many wondered why teams fight for every single point, Alonso who seemed to be out of the running for the championship after Spa is now third, one point ahead of Jenson Button. Red Bull probably used team orders today and ended up salvaging precious championship points for Webber who had a lousy start, 4th to 9th on the first lap.

Yesterday we wondered if Lewis Hamilton would choose to defend his championship lead or try to win it on the first lap. Ironically, interviewed before the race in a segment about Sebastian Vettel's supposed immaturity, he opined the German is still young and has some learning to do before he can be champion... I'll leave it at that.

The Italian Grand Prix
Autodromo di Monza, Italy;
53 laps; 306.720km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
1.  Alonso        Ferrari                    1h16:24.572
2.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +     2.938
3.  Massa         Ferrari                    +     4.223
4.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +    28.193
5.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    29.942
6.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    31.276
7.  Hulkenberg    Williams-Cosworth          +    32.812
8.  Kubica        Renault                    +    34.028
9.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +    44.948
10.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +  1:04.200
11.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +   1:05.00
12.  Liuzzi        Force India-Mercedes       +  1:06.100
13.  Petrov        Renault                    +  1:18.900
14.  De la Rosa    Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
15.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
16.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
17.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps
18.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Cosworth             +    2 laps
19.  Di Grassi     Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps
20.  Yamamoto      HRT-Cosworth               +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Alonso, 1:24.139

World Championship standings, round 14:               

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
1.  Webber       187        1.  Red Bull-Renault          350
2.  Hamilton     182        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          347
3.  Alonso       166        3.  Ferrari                   290
4.  Button       165        4.  Mercedes                  158
5.  Vettel       163        5.  Renault                   127
6.  Massa        124        6.  Force India-Mercedes       58
7.  Rosberg      112        7.  Williams-Cosworth          47
8.  Kubica       108        8.  Sauber-Ferrari             27
9.  Schumacher    46        9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         10
10.  Sutil         45      
11.  Barrichello   31      
12.  Kobayashi     21      
13.  Petrov        19      
14.  Hulkenberg    16      
15.  Liuzzi        13      
16.  Buemi          7      
17.  De la Rosa     6      
18.  Alguersuari    3      
     

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

And speaking of oogling carbon fiber, another great shot by Eric Rosendahl, erdero on flickr, who also took the picture of the RSR in out top banner!

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Pagani Zonda Tricolore

YouTube video of Horacio's tribute to the Italian Air Force acrobatic team is a good excuse to oogle rolling carbon fiber porn.


On the occasion of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the "Frecce Tricolori", Pagani Automobili created the Zonda Tricolore as a tribute to the National Aerobatic Team.

In 2010 the aerobatic season of the Frecce Tricolori comes to its 50th anniversary, wich will be celebrated on 11th and 12th September at Rivolto Airport (info: www.aeronautica.difesa.it).

The Frecce Tricolori (Italian, literally Tricolour Arrows), officially known as the 313th Aerobatic Training Squadron is the demonstration team of the Italian Air Force, based at Rivolto Air Force Base, in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli Venezia-Giulia, province of Udine. They were formed in 1961 as an Air Force team, replacing previous teams that had been sponsored by various commands by the end of the 1920s.

The team flies the Aermacchi MB-339-A/PAN, a two-seat aircraft capable of 898 km/h at sea level, with nine aircraft and a solo (the highest number of aircraft of any aerobatic team in the world).

The Frecce Tricolori belong to the legacy of the entire italian community.

¡Olé! Alonso's got the beans but will he make a fabada tomorrow?

Alonso and Massa will be starting from the "right" side of the track tomorrow while the "wrong" Mclaren is on the "wrong" side.

Hamilton is back two rows but on the racing line, it will be interesting to see if he tries a first corner move or if he might decide for a cautious race calculated to preserve his points lead. I imagine he will want to get ahead of Webber at least.

Alonso really put together an incredible lap yet, looking at the onboard I was surprised by the big oversteer moment at the first Lesmo. In his post qualifying comments Alonso mentioned how it's easy to try too hard at Monza, check out how he negotiates Ascari, so clean on exit, a



Great job by Jenson Button to come up with the right setup at a point in the season where the team and the fans attention balance had shifted to the other side of the garage.
Great Job by Webber to dig out a 4th from a fairly lousy week end so far. Red Bull chose not to change Mark's engine and he has issues tomorrow many nasty questions will be asked.

Pos  Driver         Team                    Q1        Q3        Q3
 1.  Alonso         Ferrari                 1:22.646  1:22.297  1:21.962
 2.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1:23.085  1:22.354  1:22.084
 3.  Massa          Ferrari                 1:22.421  1:22.610  1:22.293
 4.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault        1:23.431  1:22.706  1:22.433
 5.  Hamilton       McLaren-Mercedes        1:22.830  1:22.394  1:22.623
 6.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault        1:23.235  1:22.701  1:22.675
 7.  Rosberg        Mercedes                1:23.529  1:23.055  1:23.027
 8.  Hulkenberg     Williams-Cosworth       1:23.516  1:22.989  1:23.037
 9.  Kubica         Renault                 1:23.234  1:22.880  1:23.039
10.  Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1:23.695  1:23.142  1:23.328
11.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes    1:23.493  1:23.199
12.  Schumacher     Mercedes                1:23.840  1:23.388
13.  Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari          1:24.273  1:23.659
14.  Buemi          Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1:23.744  1:23.681
15.  Petrov         Renault                 1:24.086  1:23.819
16.  Alguersuari    Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1:24.083  1:23.919
17.  de la Rosa     Sauber-Ferrari          1:24.442  1:24.044
18.  Trulli         Lotus-Cosworth          1:25.540
19.  Kovalainen     Lotus-Cosworth          1:25.742
20.  Liuzzi         Force India-Mercedes    1:25.774
21.  Glock          Virgin-Cosworth         1:25.934
22.  di Grassi      Virgin-Cosworth         1:25.974
23.  Senna          HRT-Cosworth            1:26.847
24.  Yamamoto       HRT-Cosworth            1:27.020

All Timing Unofficial

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Italian GP Friday Practice Highlights

No surprise that with everyone running as little drag as possible, there were some off... Great Job by Massa to keep it off the barriers at the exit of the Parabolica.



Check out how complicated the inside of the wheel fairings at least on the Mclaren have gotten. While some of that is to channel air to the brakes, the bottom part looks a lot like a wing, probably to clean up the airflow.
Someone might easily misconstrue that as a "movable aerodynamic device"...

Pos  Driver         Team                    Time               Laps
 1.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault        1:22.839            27
 2.  Alonso         Ferrari                 1:22.915  + 0.076   32
 3.  Massa          Ferrari                 1:23.061  + 0.222   20
 4.  Hamilton       McLaren-Mercedes        1:23.154  + 0.315   22
 5.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1:23.210  + 0.371   38
 6.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault        1:23.415  + 0.576   23
 7.  Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1:23.708  + 0.869   31
 8.  Kubica         Renault                 1:23.709  + 0.870   32
 9.  Hulkenberg     Williams-Cosworth       1:23.852  + 1.013   30
10.  Rosberg        Mercedes                1:23.857  + 1.018   29
11.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes    1:24.181  + 1.342   35
12.  Liuzzi         Force India-Mercedes    1:24.380  + 1.541   36
13.  Petrov         Renault                 1:24.407  + 1.568   21
14.  Schumacher     Mercedes                1:24.448  + 1.609   29
15.  Buemi          Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1:24.517  + 1.678   35
16.  de la Rosa     Sauber-Ferrari          1:24.547  + 1.708   32
17.  Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari          1:24.785  + 1.946   31
18.  Alguersuari    Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1:25.106  + 2.267   24
19.  Trulli         Lotus-Cosworth          1:26.204  + 3.365   38
20.  Kovalainen     Lotus-Cosworth          1:26.306  + 3.467   41
21.  di Grassi      Virgin-Cosworth         1:26.631  + 3.792   31
22.  Glock          Virgin-Cosworth         1:26.676  + 3.837   25
23.  Yamamoto       HRT-Cosworth            1:29.498  + 6.659    5
24.  Senna          HRT-Cosworth                                 3

WRC Rally Japan: Kimi vs concrete and Al Qassimi has a big one

Yeah..those blocks, they are not styrofoam Kimster.



Once again, those amazing WRC roll cages at work


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Spaghetti Gangsta!

Who said Formula 1 drivers have no sense of humor: this is Tonio Liuzzi's helmet for Monza! FTW!

Actually there is more to it than that: the helmet , by Kaos-Design, glows in the dark and has heat sensitive paint!...don't believe it, check it out after the jump
(Kaos-Design via Omnicorse.it)


home

Monza in Perspective

(photo: Marco Zamponi)

I though it might be useful to see what Monza looks like from a prospective we can understand, as you would see it driving a normal road car, albeit a very fast one.

Our host is one of our go to tracktards in the EU, Manu, a man with an impeccable selection of cars and the good taste to rip them hard on track. Today he chose to play with his Porsche 997 GT2 and in the couple of laps of this video is turning 2:00 minute laps which, for a street car not on slicks, is a quite a fast time.

More interesting than the lap times though is seeing how, from a "normal" prospective, the track is quite tight in places, the chicanes and especially the two Lesmo corners are much tighter than you would imagine from watching formula cars on TV. You can also clearly see the spot in the first Lesmo where trees overhang the track and there's all sorts of slime on the tarmac. Make note of the braking points and how the car rides the kerbs.



Now, after the jump, compare this "normal" car to the alien spaceship driven by Lewis Hamilton to pole last year. The time was 1:24 meaning the GT2 would be approaching the Seconda Variante, the second chicane just as Lewis is starting his lap. Note how well the F1 cars ride the kerbs, a key to proper setup for this track...



Of course the first Lesmo is a nasty corner, turn in a bit early and...



And of course even Lewis' time is slow compared to the 2004 pole record by Rubens Barrichello, 1:20.089!

Sanity prevails: $100K fine enough for Ferrari.

and progress was made towards eliminating hypocrisy in F1: repealing the team orders regulations (at least as presently worded) was proposed to the council. Let's see if they get this right.

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The Magic World of F1

(Alberto Crippa)

"The Magic World of F1" is the 9th edition of the photo competition and exhibit dedicated to the memory of F1 journalist Pepi Cereda. If you are lucky enough to be in Monza this week you can go have a look at the historic "Arengario" building in the center of town, not far from the Autodromo.


(Emily Davenport)

More fantastic pictures after the jump



(Thomas Lam)


(Mark Thompson)


(Steven Tee)


(Laurent Charmiaux)


(Frits van Eldik)


(Eric Vargiolu)


(Raymond Ho)


(Vladimir Rys)

The unbearable price of lightness

Amazing document linked by a reader in the Jochen Rindt post: A letter from the Austrian driver to Colin Chapman in 1969, sometime after his accident at Montjuic where the high rear wing collapsed on his Lotus 49.






Not that much has changed at Lotus to this day, typical British way: brilliant engineering, crap build quality.
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