Hungarian GP: Lead us not onto temptation...

(Charles Coates/LAT Photographic)

That was the commandment for Jenson Button: don't fall for the temptation to come in for tires, too late at the beginning of the race and the wrong ones towards the end. Or for that matter, don't fall for the temptation to listen to your team, clearly clearly focused on Hamilton's strategy, and make your own tire call.

Great win for "gentleman" Jens. As usual, he kept his cool, even during his duel with "Chinstrap" Hamilton, he caught him but did not lose his head when Hamilton passed him back. Classic Button.



Hamilton, what can you say, he started second and finished fourth after being in a dominant position most of the race. Afterward he blamed the radio, the team for making that silly tire call and the stewards for giving him that fully deserved drive through. Still he was fun to watch in the opening laps.



Vettel, can go the rest of the season finishing in the top five and win the championship. Sure, Mclaren is now just as fast with Ferrari not far off, but if BUtton was able to have a similar arc with Brawn in 09, do you really think Vettel will not pull it off? However, this type of championship win will just make everyone hate him and Red Bull, time to show some fight, as I mentioned, Like Jenson did back then.



If Hamilton lost two spots, Alonso gained two and managed a podium despite lots of mistakes. From his starting spot, he had no choice but take risks. He lost big time when stuck behind the Mercedes of Rosberg, once clear he was able to match Hamilton's speed but by then it was too late. His big error was actually the spin, unforced, towards the end. The tire warming issue at Ferrari is still there, Massa took four laps on new tires to be able to set fast lap, Webber, in front was able to push right away. Ironically, it's not like Ferrari was gentler in the Pirellis, worst of both worlds.

Webber once again had a bad start adn was given a #2 driver strategy. Massa put in the kind of anonymous race that might make Luca di Montezemolo call his contract lawyer tomorrow.

In the back, Paul Di Resta came in seventh, well done. Renault made an exploding BBQ and the Hungarian marshals made an insane recovery, pulling the car back against the flow of traffic out of the pits, nearly collecting Vettel.



We'll have the highlight clip later this week, but for now, and as usual, love to hear your say!

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.663km;
Weather: Mixed conditions.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h43:42.337
 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +     3.588
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    19.819
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    48.338
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    49.742
 6.  Massa         Ferrari                    +  1:17.176
 7.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
 8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
 9.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +     1 lap
10.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
11.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
12.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap
13.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +    2 laps
15.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +    2 laps
16.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
17.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    4 laps
18.  Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth               +    4 laps
19.  D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    5 laps
20.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    5 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:23.415

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault                56
Schumacher    Mercedes                     27
Heidfeld      Renault                      24
Trulli        Lotus-Renault                18

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What exploded on Heidfeld's Renault?

(photo: Sutton)

Nick Heidfeld pulled over right after his pitstop during the 2011 Hungarian GP, with his Renault engulfed by fire. The first official word was that the forward exiting exhaust had somehow broken and overheated the bodywork. But if you look at the clip after the jump you can see a fairly massive explosion which appears to injure one of the marshals trying to put out the fire.

What blew up? it's not due as the file cell is not in that location and there was no fire with the explosion. Could it have been a KERS battery? thoughts

Get Exhausted !

(photo: nyy26time)

Need a pick me up? Check out this video from one of CG's IMSA Challenge competitors, Michael Schein.

Michael was at Lime Rock competing in the Shell Historic races on board a Ferrari F40 LM and was kind enough to stick a camera right next to the pipes.....ah, music! Check it out after the jump and turn it up.

Q3 Magic Button

So how does Red Bull and to some extent Mclaren, suddenly manage to find an extra full second in Q3? Extraordinary drivers? Some don't buy it and even though Alonso's "magic button" was just an off the cuff remark, the suspicion must be there, lurking in the paddock..

In a game of hundredths, ever a second is enormous, certainly more than can be attributed to any possible driver advantage: Vettel's Q2 time was a 1:21.0, Q3 1:19.8. Hamilton also, a full second. Enquiring minds want to know.

For tomorrow's race, looks like Hamilton is in the catbird seat at least in regards to available new tires. Hungary being what it is the conventional wisdom is, boring race. But then again these guys were passing in Monaco so, there is hope!

Pos  Driver                Team                 Time          Gap   
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m19.815s
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m19.978s  + 0.163
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m20.024s  + 0.209
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m20.350s  + 0.535
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m20.365s  + 0.550
 6.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m20.474s  + 0.659
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m21.098s  + 1.283
 8.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m21.445s  + 1.630
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m21.907s  + 2.092
10.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       No time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m23.067s                                   Gap **
11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m22.256s   + 1.994
12.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1m22.284s   + 2.022
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m22.435s   + 2.173
14.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault              1m22.470s   + 2.208
15.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m22.684s   + 2.422
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m22.979s   + 2.717
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    No time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m23.285s                                    Gap *
18.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m24.070s  + 2.492
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m24.362s  + 2.784
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m24.534s  + 2.956
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.294s  + 4.716
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m26.323s  + 4.745
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m26.479s  + 4.901
24.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.510s  + 4.932

107% time: 1m27.288s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

.

Flippin' Fins

Ouch. Rally Finland day one. Tough corner..

Flippin' Morgan...

I got it, I got it.... well the title gives it away doesn't it, check it out after the jump





2011 Silverstone Classic via ClassicDriver.com

Pirelli Ultimate Track Car Challenge at VIR

Apparently everyone baked at VIR but still, they persevered. No surprise, the Riley track car was fastest of all but the above LS1 powered RX7 won it's class and was nice enough to share its Traqmate powered video.



Note new Traqmate Traqdash display



An Ls1 in an Rx7 is reasonably normal but what do you make of a Miata automatic with a supercharged Lexus V8?



Link to results from GrassrootsMotorsport
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24 Hours of Spa Live Timing

Blancpain Endurance Series LIVE TIMING

Alternate link: HERE
(thanks Bert!)
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Ford Mustang GT3

(photo:Julien Mahiels)

Another car to look out for in this week end's Total 24 Hours of Spa. Video after the jump

(Twins by Julien Mahiels)
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How to build a Ferrari 458 Engine...

11 minutes and 37 seconds of cool
(Ferrari S.p.A.)

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Ferrari 458 Grand Am Tested at Daytona

GrandAm 458 developed by Michelotto specifically for Grand Am racing.

"Video of the first official on-track test of the Ferrari F458 as it prepares to enter the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Series in the GT class, including an interview with car owner Ray Langston." ....and no, it's not the guy from CSI.
(via GrandAm and Kevin York)

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2011 BMW M5 Blue Brake calipers

I'm pretty sure Brembo had a hand in developing those... But a BMW ///M first, bling six piston calipers, Nice! More video after the jump, it's HD so get the settings right and of full screen!

Slammed BMW 1 M

we don't necessarily condone this setup but some people love it. Our friend EC was over at Stee's house last night swapping in a set of KW Clubsports. We'll let you know how it works. Gallery after the jump

Mclaren MP4 GT3 in HD

Go ahead, click the HD button, full screen and turn it up!

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Ringmania...

You almost feel bad for Vettel and Webber beige hybrid and all

But where's Adrian? oh right, my bad :)

And the classic...



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Mclaren MP4-12C Attack Spa 24 Hours.

I don't have to reming Axis readers about what happened first time Mclaren brought a modified version of their road car to a 24 hour race... This coming week end, three Mclaren MP4 GT3s will compete in the Ardennes classic. What enquiring minds want to know is just how modified, suspension and electronics wise, the GT3 version is over the read ca, a carr which has gotten a fair amount of criticism by some about its, shall we say, controlling dynamics.

In any case, the race car looks stunning and Mclaren is smart enough to know that a proper super car needs a racing pedigree not just fancy flaps (which it has), a fancy dash (check) and a name that slips off the tongue (Huayrawmpf)!

More pix and full press info after the jump.










TRIO OF MP4-12C GT3 RACE CARS TO STAR FOR McLAREN GT AT TOTAL 24 HOURS OF SPA

Ten drivers to compete in three MP4-12C GT3 race cars at Spa-Francorchamps on 30-31 July.

12C GT3 is the first race car converted from a McLaren road car to make a 24 hour race debut since the McLaren F1 GTR at Le Mans in 1995.

McLaren GT customer VonRyan Racing to manage third MP4-12C GT3 in Pro-Am Cup category.



McLaren GT returns to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit this weekend for Total 24 Hours of Spa, following a successful race debut there in the British GT Championship early in July. The second race in the MP4-12C GT3’s development programme will see ten experienced racing drivers pilot three cars in the 12C GT3’s first ever 24 hour race.

The McLaren GT driver line-up for the Total 24 Hours of Spa includes CRS Racing Team Principal Andrew Kirkaldy and McLaren Automotive Chief Test driver Chris Goodwin. Both are Directors of the new McLaren GT company, which is led by McLaren Group CEO Martin Whitmarsh and includes McLaren Racing Head of Vehicle Engineering Mark Williams.

McLaren MP4-12C GT3 drivers for Total 24 Hours of Spa:

Pro-Cup category

Car 58 (McLaren GT):
Rob Bell - GB
Chris Goodwin - GB
Tim Mullen – GB

Car 59 (McLaren GT):
Andrew Kirkaldy - GB
Álvaro Parente - POR
Oliver Turvey - GB

Pro-Am Cup category

Car 60 (McLaren GT and VonRyan Racing):
Adam Christodoulou - GB
Glynn Geddie – GB
Phil Quaife - GB
Roger Wills – NZL

McLaren GT is using the 2011 race season to develop the 12C GT3, with 20 cars due for delivery to privateer teams for GT3 series racing in 2012. Chris Goodwin said: “I was very happy with the performance of the 12C GT3 in its debut race at Spa. We secured an amazing pole position at the first attempt and importantly for future customers; the 12C GT3 was reliable, fast and easy to drive.

“I’m delighted with the quality of the drivers we have enlisted as we take the 12C GT3 to its first 24 hour race. This level of endurance racing is a crucial test for the car technically, and we need the best possible team working with us to ensure we receive intelligent, objective feedback on the 12C GT3 driving experience. We will use this feedback as we continue to develop the car in readiness for customers to go racing next year.

“We will be taking the opportunity at Spa to work with a future McLaren GT customer, VonRyan Racing. We want to develop close relationships with all our customer race teams and this experience will be valuable in developing our customer support programme for 2012 and beyond.”

Badass Cinquecento

FIAT 500 Abarth, Silverstone Classic 2011 by Si558
OK not a real Abarth but badass none the less!



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Psychedelic Bimmer

<

Like, wow man! :)
(www.callaina-design.com)

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11/10ths

Just sit back and enjoy this battle between the Flying Lizards Porsche Gt3 RS of Jörg Bermeister and the BMW M3 GT of Bill Auberlen at the Mosport ALMS race. They are both driving the boobs off the cars

Speaking of driving the boobs off a car, check out the last lap battle between TRG teammates Dion Von Moltke and Spencer Pumpelly (CG's driver coach) after the jump.

Saved by the Ring

Just when it seemed that Lewis Hamilton had hit the skids, conditions at the Nürburgring created the perfect cocktail that gave him a winning car. Hamilton drove a great race making no mistakes and pouncing on the few his adversaries made.



It was an entertaining race, with a credible three way battle with Alonso and Webber, but of the three it's pretty clear only Alonso and Hamilton have that something extra that allows them to get more out of the car than the car is supposed to give and we as fans are all thankful for the show.




Of course, had Red Bull not messed up Webber's strategy (or given him the special "make way for #1" clutch setting at the start) things may have been different.

Ferrari, had to gamble on light fuel expecting rain maybe, and on the timing for critical last stop. The only way they could pass Hamilton was to hope there was enough left in Alonso's soft Pirellis to lap faster than Ham on the primes. Close, but the Ferrari tire heat issue reared its head and when Alonso got a bad exit out of turn one from the pits, Hamilton punished him. The low fuel situation may have compromised his ability to take the fight to Mclaren in the final stages.

The cold temperature helped with tire wear, up to now a Mclaren problem, but it was also amazing not to see the track, largely clear of that "five o'clock" shadow of rolled up Pirelli we usually see and made for much better racing and passing.



Speaking of racing, I'm sure there will be much discussion of Vettel's "racing" ability: can he fight or can he only run out front? It's tempting to follow that line of thinking but the jury is still out. For sure he did not deserve a 4th place today, we don't know if he had some undisclosed issue but he was off his game, not just playing defense. Certainly that unforced error was a surprise. That's the second time he's betrayed human origins this season!

Massa lost 4th place because of a bad wheel nut but also because he took so long to get around Rosberg earlier. Button too was very much outclassed by his teammate, the retirement put him out of his misery.

So what happens now, it the championship suddenly open again? Not really but then again, ask Button about having a great start of the season only to find yourself having to push in the final races. Red Bull worries about it despite the big lead, that's why Christian Horner did the rational thing in Britain.

On a final note, how did Alonso manage to communicate to Webber he needed a ride? I'm sure the Senna photo op, gone to his nemesis, must be cheesing Hamilton off terribly! (oh relax, fanboys!) Bring on Hungary, the way races have gone since Canada, even that track may produce a better race than Valencia!



No time for usual clip, my apologies, here is one for our latin american readers and one for the BBC Cheers!




.

Thank your lucky Alpinestars

Seriously, Jorge Lorenzo is the best commercial ever for Alpinestars gear: That and then pole the next day? That's just unreal.


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First Podium Finish For Axis GT3!

CG drove the Axis of Oversteer/Capital Partners Porsche GT3 Cup to his first podium finish this afternoon at Mosport.
CG was competing in the Porsche Gt3 Challenge Canada series. He had qualified second but was up against two drivers who could count Mosport as their home track, Winner Marco Cirone and second place Randy Oswald.

Earlier in the day, in the IMSA GT3 Challenge series, CG clawed his way from 13th on the grid to 6th in an event filled race.

Tomorrow, two more races, IMSA and Canada Cup. The axis car will grid P12 for the first and I believe P4 for the Canadian series.

Congratulations CG!

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2011 German GP Qualifying

That was one unenthusiastic and cold radio transmission between the RedBull pit wall and Mark Webber after he set pole. Wrong Red Bull on pole again? Hard to say. While it looks like Red Bull had been holding something in reserve in practice, it's hard to say who biased their setup for the rain that may come tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton put aside his constant whining and complaining long enough to put in a spectacular lap, pulverizing Jenson Button and setting up what will be a fantastic first lap tomorrow.

Vettel may be in cruise and conserve mode, he has everything to lose and nothing gain fighting for the lead tomorrow. on the other hand I'm sure he would like to win in GErmany....should be fun!

Pos  Driver                Team                 Time            Gap   
 1.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1n30.079s
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1n30.134s   + 0.055
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1n30.216s   + 0.137
 4.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1n30.442s   + 0.363
 5.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1n30.910s   + 0.831
 6.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1n31.263s   + 1.184
 7.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1n31.288s   + 1.209
 8.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1n32.010s   + 1.931
 9.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1n32.187s   + 2.108
10.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1n32.482s   + 2.403
Q2 cut-off time: 1m33.180s                                   Gap **
11.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault              1m32.215s   + 1.217
12.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m32.560s   + 1.562
13.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    1m32.635s   + 1.637
14.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m33.043s   + 2.045
15.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m33.176s   + 2.178
16.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m33.546s   + 2.548
17.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m33.698s   + 2.700
Q1 cut-off time: 1m33.664s                             Gap *
18.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m33.786s   + 1.960
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m35.599s   + 3.773
20.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m36.400s   + 4.574
21.  Karun Chandhok        Lotus-Renault        1m36.422s   + 4.596
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m36.641s   + 4.815
23.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m37.011s   + 5.185
24.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m37.036s   + 5.210

107% time: 1m38.253s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

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Get Off My Lawn Alonso!

There was this extraordinary moment in Friday practice for the German GP at the Nürburgring... don't think for a moment it wasn't intentional, guess Grumpy grandpa Schumi wanted to make sure he would come out of Castrol and into the esses named after...well after himself, ahead of the Ferrari...

Anyway. Practice confirmed that Ferrari's pace in England was no fluke or FIA assisted progress. Alonos is right there with the Red Bulls once again despite the re-instatement of the hot blown diffusers and all. Pretty amazing the difference finally understanding where the problem with the 150 was (stalling diffuser among others) and how well Ferrari and obviously, Pat Fry, have responded.
Red Bull knows it and that also explains why they made the decision they did at Silverstone: Vettel has a huge lead but he's not mathematical champion and in the end,every single point matters. Of course they still look silly for dumping on Ferrari for having come to precisely the same conclusion but, there it is.

With regards to the "Hot blowing" there is still so much confusion about how it works, perhaps this graphic will help. It's from Italy's Autosprint and I took the liberty to translate it. Hope it helps a bit.

While it is clever and very cool, it clearly is against regulations which as far as I know want the engine used only for propulsion not as a aerodynamic aid...

Pos  Driver                Team                   Time              Laps
 1.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault       1m31.711s          34
 2.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                1m31.879s  + 0.168  38
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault       1m32.084s  + 0.373  28
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                1m32.354s  + 0.643  36
 5.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes               1m32.411s  + 0.700  31
 6.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes               1m32.557s  + 0.846  32
 7.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes       1m32.724s  + 1.013  28
 8.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault                1m33.098s  + 1.387  17
 9.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault                1m33.138s  + 1.427  22
10.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes   1m33.211s  + 1.500  34
11.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1m33.225s  + 1.514  17
12.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes   1m33.299s  + 1.588  34
13.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari         1m34.113s  + 2.402  34
14.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth      1m34.344s  + 2.633  34
15.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m34.487s  + 2.776  37
16.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari         1m34.491s  + 2.780  35
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth      1m34.996s  + 3.285  35
18.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault          1m35.753s  + 4.042  42
19.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth        1m36.940s  + 5.229  32
20.  Karun Chandhok        Lotus-Renault          1m37.248s  + 5.537  33
21.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth        1m37.313s  + 5.602  33
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth           1m38.145s  + 6.434  31
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth           1m40.737s  + 9.026   5
24.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari     No time              3

All Timing Unofficial

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Axis of Oversteer on front row for GT3 Cup Canada at Mosport

friedrichphoto.com / IMSA


Axis CG improved his lap times by almost 3 seconds overnight to qualify on the front row for the Porsche GT3 Challenge Canada race tomorrow at Mosport. The Axis car will see action in both the Canada cup, which is run on Michelin tires and the IMSA GT3 Challenge, run with Yokohama rubber.

Here is the official IMSA press release ... GO AXIS!

BOWMANVILLE, Ont (22 July, 2011) – It was supposed to be a battle of local knowledge at Mosport International Raceway, as Torontonians Randy Oswald and Marco Cirone duked it out for the pole position for Round 5 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. But when an early spin put Cirone on the sidelines with only one hot lap, it was Oswald’s TRG teammate Carlos Gomez who gave the Pickering resident a scare.

More after the jump
Oswald put the #14 TRG/Verax Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car on top in Platinum Cup class and overall on his third lap with a time of 1:23.724. But two laps later, Gomez clocked a lap of 1:23.821 in his #75 TRG/Axis of Oversteer entry to start alongside Oswald, with Melanie Snow (#56 Snow Racing) and Cirone (#88 6th Gear Racing) rounding out the top four.

Oswald was obviously thrilled to set the fast time and first qualifying record for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada on his home racetrack – but he certainly had to sweat out his teammates lap times.

“My teammate came quite close!” said Oswald. “It was the first time for him driving a Cup car at Mosport and he really worried me! Marco had a problem and I had to pass him on my fast lap, so I think we had a little more. But I know Marco is going to be tough in the race – he and I have raced a lot out here and since he went off on the second lap of qualifying, his tires are fresh. But my teammate will be bringing it as well, so this is going to be a tough race!”

Gomez’s qualifying time is even more amazing considering it was only his second day on one of the most demanding tracks in North America.

“Randy has been a lot of help during the week, helping me make up the time,” said Gomez. “I missed the first practice yesterday and then we had a problem in the afternoon, so I spent a lot of time watching data and video and started to catch up. I’m really close and I’m so glad that it’s Randy in front. But this is by far and away the most technical, scariest track in North America, by a huge margin. I’ve raced most of the tracks, but this track in the Cup car, it took me a while to figure it out.”

Michael Levitas, driving the #36 TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the Gold Cup class, backed up his quick time in the morning practice by putting the car on the pole for tomorrow’s race.

“This was great stuff,” enthused Levitas. “I’m glad to be a part of the Canadian series and I enjoyed the Michelin tires, they had great grip. We got a little slowed up on our flyer, so I think there’s a half second left in the car. I haven’t been here in a few years, so I got some coaching Thursday and the TPC guys gave me a great car!”

For most of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada season, Toronto’s Bob Seitz has been the only entrant in the Silver Cup class for 2002-2005½ Porsches, in the #58 SpeedMerchants –Fiorano Racing Porsche. But this weekend, he has company in the form of teammate Gabor Foti in the #00 car, who nipped Seitz for the class pole.

“It will just be Bob and I,” said Foti, from Thornhill, Ontario “so we will start side by side. It will be fun!”

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada is divided into three classes; Platinum Cup, featuring the more powerful 2011 and 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars; Gold Cup, which includes 2005½ - 2009 Porsches, and the Silver Cup class for 2002 – 2005½ 996 Porsches. All three classes run on Michelin Cup N1 tires.

The final two rounds of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada will take the green flag Saturday at 4:50pm and Sunday at 8:55am. Live timing is at http://www.gt3timing.ca.

Three events comprise the inaugural season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada: May 14-15 at Calabogie Motorsports Park(Calabogie, Ontario), June 3-5 at Circuit ICAR(Mirabel, Quebec) and ending the season on the same racing card as their American counterparts July 23-24 at the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport. The season’s overall champion will be presented with a Tudor Heritage Chronograph, provided by Rolex Canada. For news updates throughout the race weekend, competitor regulations and live timing, visit http://www.imsaracing.net

The German Grand Prix, Sixty Years Ago.

Period Castrol film of the 1951 Großer Preis von Deutschland. Sixty years ago it was the second big win in a row for Ferrari over the powerhouse Alfa Romeo team which had dominated the world championship...

The race was won by Alberto Ascari over Fangio in the Alfa 159.

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Why is Vic Elford driving a priceless Porsche 917 in a nasty parking lot?

Why is this priceless historic Porsche 917-04, the classic "Hippie" liveried long tail, anywhere near a graffiti covered wall?

Andrew Henderson of Speed Captured Motorsport Photography explains:

"The car is owned by Dr. Frederick Simeone and is displayed in his Simeone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia, PA.
A few times a year Dr. Simeone picks one or two cars from his collection and starts them and runs them on the paved lot behind the museum. He does not vintage race any of his cars so they are not driven in anger. This particular event was special because Vic Elford was there and gave a talk about his career before jumping in the 917 (and the 962 in my other shot) for a quick spin.

Car was purchased by Vasek Polak from Porsche in 1975. It is a bit confusing as some stories say that Vasek bought the chassis and built a 917 from his parts inventory other stories say that this is the only complete 917 L ever sold by Porsche. When Vasek Polak died the car was sold to Symbolic Motors and later bought by Dr. Simeone I believe at Christie's auction in Pebble Beach in 1998.
There is more confusion as to the authenticity of the car and which chassis number it really is but I'm not going into that here."
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7 minutes 26 seconds BTG on a bike...

Organ doner or awesome that's your opinion, but Dale at BTG figures this may be the fastest bike lap ever on video...

Whatever the case, I found that at the 'Ring, the mix of bikers and cars during terroristenfahrt was the most unsettling item to contend with..

Axis of Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific!

Another full week end of racing around the world, F1 in Germany, ALMS, IMSA GT3 Challenge in Canada and on the other side of the world it's the second round of the 2011 Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific on the Shanghai International Circuit.

... wait a minute...what is that I see???





That's right, our friend HFO (and we can call him Axis HFO from now on), Hideki Francis Onda has added the Axis logo to his awesome Tunewear/Focal Point inc. Ferrari 458 Challenge for this week end's race in China. Axis HFO knows well that the simple addition of an Axis logo will cut a minimum of 1.3 secs off your best lap time!!

Thank you Francis and have fun ripping that 458 Challenge in China!

Axis Stickers are available HERE

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"It's inspired by a plane taking off..."

A perk of being the millionaire publisher of the best Car magazine on the planet is that you get invited to the Costa Smeralda to ride around in the new, amazing Huayra with Horacio Pagani himself. Takes considerable bravery to drive a 720 hp twin turbo that fast on tight and dusty sardinian roads!

Not much I can add to this great video clip by Harry Metcalfe other that perhaps, that the idea of a car inspired "by an airplane taking off" is not really what tracktards want to hear necessarily (like they are buying Paganis anyway...ha!).
But, damn the Huayra does sound and look like a fighter on afterburners.

Coming soon to an issue of EVO near you

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Ferrari 458 Grand Am Michelotto

This is the first photo of the Ferrari 458 developed by Michelotto specifically for Grand Am racing in the USA.
While based on the GT3 version, the Padova based race shop had to make it conform to the American series by, essentially, detuning it: Less efficient aerodynamic, less power, 48mm restrictors and rev limit at 8000 rpm.
There is no ABS or traction control but there is a roll cage with "NASCAR" bars for extra side impact protection and of course "Continental" slicks (actually made by Hoosier".

The car was tested at Fiorano. (Photo: Ferrari S.p.A.)


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Epic Fail: Adrian Sutil crashes a Gumpert Apollo at the Ring

Adrian "Machete" Sutil continues his legendary string of epic fails this year. After his tuned Panamera, his throat slashing broken bottle bar fight with a top Renault exec, now comes a crash at a Nurburgring track day!.

In the age of twitter there is no escape for Machete, Chris Harris was there and tweeted a pic of Lewis' BFF right after the crash. Even better, our ol friend Dale who runs the best 'ring site out there, Bridgetogantry.com, was right behind and sent the picture above. I would make sure to tune in to BTG later for all the juicy details that are sure to follow. Juicy details like: ...it happened on the first corner! Machete annus horribilis, I guess.



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Epic...

Epic is the only way you can describe this picture of a Ferrari 250 SWB by our old friend [ JR }. Shot at this year's Tour Auto..

Airtime

A little greedy on the curb? .

Dear Moto GP riders...

Let me get this straight, you can do what you do week end in and week end out but are afraid to go 150 miles away from the Fukushima nuclear accident site for 3 days? You have got to be kidding me. You all, well most all ride Japanese bikes and this is how you give back? Takes more than a sticker, Stoner...

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Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011

Got 45 minutes this week end? have a look at this year's program. I'm more of a fan of the Revival but there are some pretty awesome cars on this program. Enjoy!.

That will buff right out

"Brilliant" passing maneuver does not quite work out for this Moskovite Nissan GT-R. (crashphoto.ru)



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Darth Vader's Race car

Check out Darth's high rez stash on our Flickr page
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Badass DTM Bimmer's Toyota connection

Here is the presentation bodywork for the 2012 BMW DTM car. The car will most likely look quite a bit different by the time the 2012 season starts next May but it looks awesome in Darth Vader black.

The DTM M3 will be run by German Team Schnitzer and Team RMG along with Belgian Team RBM. Team RMB is a new team run by Stefan Reihold, ex of Toyota Racing in Cologne and now based out of the ex Zakspeed works in Niederzissen. Small world racing!



Photo: BMW Motorsport)
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