The Coming Hypercar Battle

Ferrari F70 tub

Lines have been drawn in the...tarmac. For the first time in history, the top dogs in the hypercar game will all be fielding hybrid contenders in one form or another.

You've seen the Mclaren P1 in Paris and probably wasted as much as I did playing with the clever phone app. The Porsche 918 is the most "leaked" prototype ever. The missing link has been the Ferrari F70, the successor to the Enzo.

Not a coincidence of course that Ferrari brought an F70 tub to the Paris Auto Show and released these two videos.

It is, after all, war!

No cameras allowed at the US GP!

Planning on attending the inaugural US Grand Prix in Austin?  You  can bring your point and shoots or your iPhone but  don't even think of  trying to use an SLR or a camera with detachable lenses "of any kind".   Forget video cameras, "no video recording will be allowed".

If you don't realize you have a "banned item", there will be no place to leave it at the entrance, and you will be banned yourself if you are found trying to get in with any such items.

Really Austin?

good camera/bad camera

"The following items will not be permitted inside the gates of the circuit. In addition to items specifically listed here, other items that may be deemed to present a potential hindrance or threat may also be prohibited.

Alcoholic Beverages
Animals (exception for certified service animals)
Bags or parcels larger than 12X12X20 inches
Bicycles, scooters, skateboards, skates, segways, golf carts or other unauthorized means of transportation
Coolers, thermoses or ice chests
Distribution of unauthorized promotional or commercial material

banned!

Food and Beverage (Note: sealed, individual, plastic bottles of water are allowed)
Fireworks, explosives or other incendiary devices
Glass or metal containers of any style
Illegal substances
Items that may be deemed a safety hazard or annoyance to participants or guests (balls, Frisbees, balloons, projectiles, horns, radios, bells, whistles, musical instruments, laser pointers, etc.)
Large, golf-type umbrellas
Non-collapsible chairs
Tents or canopies
Video cameras, still cameras with lenses exceeding 10 inches in length or detachable lenses of any kind, audio recording devices and tripods; no video recording will be allowed
Weapons of any kind, including guns, knives, pepper spray, handcuffs, nightsticks or other items

Evil!

The following items will be permitted inside the circuit gates.

Blankets
Umbrellas (small, hand-held style)
Baby strollers
Portable, collapsible chairs
Personal camera equipment (e.g. digital cameras, point-and-click digital cameras or film cameras)
Binoculars
“All bags, purses, backpacks and persons are subject to screening by security personnel. Fans entering Circuit of The Americas should prepare accordingly.

“Smoking will only be allowed in authorized areas. All security measures are subject to change without notice.
“Ticketholders should be aware that there are no provisions for returning banned items to them when such items are left at the race entrances. Patrons are encouraged to leave all banned items at home or in their vehicles before entering the venue or boarding any of the complimentary shuttle buses transporting ticketholders to Circuit of The Americas.

“Individuals who deliberately attempt to bring banned items through security checkpoints are subject to removal from the facility.”

(Via Adam Cooper)

Here are some nice pictures I shot in Monaco...



UPDATE:

In response to fan feedback, (I'd say, outrage) Circuit of The Americas has updated the list of prohibited items for the FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX, Nov. 16-18, 2012.

Patrons with still cameras featuring detachable lenses smaller than 10 inches in length WILL BE permitted on site during the Grand Prix event. However, detachable camera lenses longer than 10 inches will be prohibited.

Hamilton to Mercedes, Perez to Mclaren

In the biggest Formula 1 drivers market shift since Fernando Alonso left Mclaren,   Lewis Hamilton is expected to announce his move to AMG Mercedes F1 with a reported 3 year, $100 million deal.  Replacing him as team mate to Jenson Button will be Sergio Perez.

Now the inevitable questions: who will be with Lewis at Mercedes?  Schumacher?  If so, where will Rosberg go,  Ferrari as rumored or will Maranello really keep Massa?

I can't imagine Rosberg would take a one year deal.... in the meantime, Jaime Alguersauri has been telling everyone who will listen he's sure to be back in F1 in 2013....

Keep in mind Petrov has said his sponsorship money has dried up and that Senna's seat at Williams is not too stable.

Mercedes was the last holdout for the new Concorde agreement, one wonders if Mr. E had a hand in all this, Mercedes stays if they can get one of the biggest stars in racing and such a dramatic shift, from the team that raised him from a child to World Champion is sure to create a new storyline for the F1 reality show.

Pass the popcorn.


UPDATE: with the official announcement today, we know Schumacher will be leaving Mercedes. It's likely he will just retire again but that does not stop the rumor mill, my favorite so far? It has to be Button to Ferrari with di Resta at Mclaren, Massa at Sauder and Alguersauri at Force India.... what next, Santa Claus at Caterham?

There's a Mclaren P1 in my kitchen!

How to Drive FASTER: Laguna Seca

Axis of Oversteer, How to drive FASTER brings you detailed track guides and advice from professional racers aimed at advanced drivers, time trailer and club racers. You can find otherepisodes HERE

Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca California. The iconic Corkscrew, how do you drive it like a boss? We asked Grand Am Continental Cup Bimmerworld driver Gregory Liefooghe for some tips.


INTRODUCTION

Living in San Francisco, Infineon Raceway is my home track, I’m working there every week but Laguna is very close to home.

Laguna has a few quirks, some interesting and at least one, very annoying: aside from a few official race weekends, the sound limit is 92 db!  Yes, you read that right, 3db less than what is street legal in California.
If you’re going for a track day, anything goes to pass that sound limit, from "lift and coast" as you’re passing next to the sound tower between turn 5 and 6 to adding an extension to your tail pipe directing sound to the left side, away from unforgiving track workers. If you are coming from far away, make sure you are below that sound limit because the track has a strict 3 strikes and you’re out rule

Laguna is a medium speed track. Aside from the corkscrew, there are no combination corners just good old fashion sweepers. The track is safe, thanks to Moto GP coming every year, with lots of gravel traps to catch the car. It is especially hard on brakes, with no real straight to cool them down. The on-throttle time is not very long compared to a typical track and we tend to use less fuel here than anywhere else.

DRIVING CONCEPTS

Laguna has a very specific surface, it’s very slippery. If you are coming from another track with a “normal” amount of grip, you will literally think something broke on your car.  You will want to change your car set up significantly to allow the car to roll more and produce more grip.

One of the key elements here is using the whole track width including the curbs. There really is only one rubber line that you have to use in order to get the maximum grip out of the track. What makes it tricky is that you have to come close to the red motorcycle curbs without hitting them because if you do, you will bend your wheels enough that they can eventually fail a few laps later.   

Because 80s racecar

Monkey strikes again

Because 70s racecar

2012 Singapore GP Executive Summary

Singapore may look terrific on TV, what with F1 to be floated on the local stock exchange you won't hear anything but gushing accolades from the motoring press depending on paddock passes but, as far as racing, it can only be justified as a torture test for drivers. I can't remember the last time I've seen the guys look so spent after a race, and these are guys in amazing shape.

The big story of the race was Hamilton's gearbox failure. We discussed it before, you can decide if the hit against the wall in qualifying was a factor. In any case it's yet another time this year Hamilton has been let down by Mclaren.

There are still 150 points in play in the championship, the math boils down to Alonso not having the luxury to finish behind Vettel any more.  Ferrari was nowhere near Red Bull and Mclaren and Fernando will have to count on the Hamilton and Button taking some of those 150 points away from Vettel while Ferrari figures out how to achieve the right temperature delta between front and rear tires, apparently the key to Mclaren's speed lately.

There were penalties handed out to Schumacher, Webber, and Senna . Not sure what to say about Schumacher other than , another senior moment?

Massa, what a save! Ferrari needs more, but who? you can't kick Massa out for a Hulkenberg or a Kovalainen if you can't get a Perez...

The lamest move EVER in motor sport?

Brazil,  it's raining buckets at the Autodromo Santa Cruz do Sol during a local 250cc bike race  when rider Marlington Teixeira  takes a spill.    Nothing serious or unusual there, everyone's crawling and there's a ton of water, the rider is not hurt.  But when Teixeira, nicknamed Kalunga, realizes there's bent bit on the bike and he would not be able to just hop back on and continue, well...  he turns to that time tested football trick,  the dive!

Helloo, Mr Kalunga, you DO realize there is a new invention called "video" yes?  

Apparently, not. Teixeira decides the best thing to do is to run across the track and lay there, pretending to be injured, until the race is black flagged.    Competitors stop and throw down their bikes in the mud to help this asshole who later claimed to have fainted.    Teixeira was banned from the championship but amazingly not for life.

Hamilton and the wall.

In the previous piece we wondered if Hamilton glancing the wall on the final flying lap in qualifying might come into play in the race.   So far there is no word from Mclaren but one has got to think there is a good chance it might have had an effect on the Mclaren gearbox.

Hard to say without knowing the precise timing of events but you'd the team would have told Hamilton to abort his lap as he had pole in the bag (by a mile).  On Sunday, someone decided to gamble and not incur a 5 spot penalty for swapping the gearbox, Mclaren easily had the speed but reliability will win this championship.

Another notable failure was Schumacher's.  Mental or mechanical? Schumacher said the latter * but the "What the hell was that?" radio transmission from Ross said "senior moment"....

Photo: Thanassi360/Flickr

*Schumacher has since fessed up and was handed a 10 spot penalty for Suzuka.

Singapore GP Qualifying: Hamilton hammers, Vettel peaks too soon.

It's going to be a very interesting first lap tomorrow what with old friends Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado sharing the first row.  Maldonado knows the stewards eyes will be on him but the margin of error here at Singapore is nothing.   Pass the popcorn.

Lurking behind is the other kid under surveillance, Romain Grosjean,  call him "Lucky Luke" after stuffing his Lotus into the tire barriers in Q2 without any apparent damage.  Speaking of hitting the wall, in Q3 Hamilton, apparently not content having essentially pulverized the field was on a final flier when he touched the wall with his right rear,   will there be an issue in the race?

Vettel could not match his Q2 pace in Q3, this after being the fastest guy in every practice session.  His Q2 time would have put him on the front row ahead of Maldonado and his miracle  lap but Sebastian made a mistake on his final attempt.

Alonso is a whole second down but can afford to be,  for Ferrari it will be a question of reliability, consistent race pace and tire wear.  If he gets on the podium, it's a win.   Unfortunately Alonso has to do all the work alone,  Massa failed to make Q3,   Barring a miracle in the race this will be his last Singapore GP.

Raikkonen needed more ice cream.

This will be a race of strategy,  safety cars are likely and last year it was a 3 or 4 stop race.   Pass more popcorn.

Pos  Driver                Team                 Time         Gap   
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m46.362s           
 2.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m46.804s  + 0.442  
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m46.905s  + 0.543  
 4.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m46.939s  + 0.577  
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m47.216s  + 0.854  
 6.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m47.241s  + 0.879  
 7.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m47.475s  + 1.113  
 8.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m47.788s  + 1.426  
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             no time              
10.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             no time              
Q2 cut-off time: 1m47.943s                                   Gap **
11.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m47.975s  + 1.310
12.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m48.261s  + 1.596
13.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m48.344s  + 1.679
14.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m48.505s  + 1.840
15.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m48.774s  + 2.109
16.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m48.849s  + 2.184
17.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault     no time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m49.809s                                    Gap *
18.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m49.933s  + 2.245
19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault     1m50.846s  + 3.158
20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault     1m51.137s  + 3.449
21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth    1m51.370s  + 3.682
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth    1m51.762s  + 4.074
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth         1m52.372s  + 4.684
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth         1m53.355s  + 5.667
107% time: 1m55.226s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

500 Races

Shell and Ferrari,  technical partners  since 1947...  This clip may be a bit dramatic but there is so much win in there, literally!

Mateschitz dumps on Magneti Marelli

You know the situation is tense when the big boss has to get involved discussing alternators.

Sebastian Vettel had criticized Magneti Marelli after Monza, now it's Dieter Mateschitz who took the unprecedented step as an engine customer of demanding Renault change component suppliers in an interview in Autobild.

This all stems from the alternator failures in Valencia and Monza. Renault engineers thought they had the problems solved after the European GP when overheating was suspected,  rotors were redesigned and power consumption in the engine reduced on startup.

a Magneti Marelli alternator

Renault had no failures at Spa but Monza saw two alternators failures at RBR but a  partial failure on D'Ambrosio's Lotus meant the component could be analyzed (rather than being a big ball of melted metal).  Renault discussed a bearing issue but I'm told suspicion centers on faulty construction and non spec parts.

Remault design and spec the alternator which is then built by Magneti Marelli. Marelli is not exactly a fly by night operation and they built a few alternators in their last 80 years in motorsport. Renault's alternator is not some radical new design and Magneti Marelli alternators are running fine in Ferrari engines, albeit in water cooled form.

What's going on here? Marelli being a FIAT group company it's tempting to go the conspiracy route, it's certainly a lot easier than admitting to a design issue somewhere. Overheating, vibrations from hitting the limiter regularly, all theories I've read but Red Bull are putting the blame squarely on Renault,  the is no problem with the chassis according to Helmut Marko.  What's certain is that Renault will bring a number of different units, older ones, and new ones reinforced where weakness was found and will decide after Friday what to use in the race.

Reliability and consistency has, of course been key to this championship so you can see what Mr. Red Bull is a bit peeved.

Meanwhile, at Porsche

You get the impression there's a three way hypercar chess game being played between Porsche, Ferrari and Mclaren. Porsche, the day after Mclaren's P1 "pre" reveal laid claim to a 7:14 lap at the Nurburgring with the 918, just enough to be the fastest street tire car but likely well short from the car's true potential.

Meanwhile at Maranello they are keeping very very quiet...

Dan Gurney for President gets our vote!

A Goodwood Revival, possibly the best race on the planet, highlight reel from The Telegraph.

Count how many times you yelled out "NOOOOOOOO" in just this one clip! For the record something like a billion dollars worth on machinery in attendance this year.

Porsche GT3 Challenge at VIR

Photo: Tim Coop/Flickr

The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama held its penultimate rounds at Virginia International Raceway on September 14-15.

The race marked the return to action of Carlos Gomez in the Axis of Oversteer GT3, newly patched up after it was "viciously attacked by a wall" in Montreal this past June.

Carlos had to come to terms with a track he had never driven on in a GT3.   After, as he put it, "being humbled" by the track in the first practice sessions he  found a massive 3 seconds a lap in qualifying with help from NGT's Ramez Wahab and his coach, Team Falken's Bryan Sellers.   I'm sure he had a peek at James Clay's VIR track guide too.

But I digress,  here is his qualifying lap.

As a testament to how competitive the Porsche GT3 Challenge is, that time of 1:54.9 only put him in P10 for the start! The kids up front were just awesome with series champion Sean Johnston just putting the hammer down in Race 1 and literally pounding the field into submission with lap after lap in the 1:54 sec range. He won by almost 30 seconds, impressive.

While the "kids" were running amuck up front, Carlos spent the race in a death match with NGT-Momo team Mate Eduardo Cisneros.
As you can see VIR is not a place where you can pass easily. The struggle continues for about 24 minutes until Cisneros, probably out of tire grip, falls off at the "NASCAR" corner.  Carlos ended the race in P7.

In Porsche GT3 Challenge, the starting grid for the second race is determined by the best lap time during race 1 so CG started in P9 with Eduardo Cisneros in P8.

The two quickly pass Mike Mills in the Effort Racing/God.tv car at the start.  Mills did not take that kindly and on lap two tries an unlikely, given his position, dive bomb into turn 1. Does not work and I suspect, it was red mist all over when he tried an even more unlikely dive, from miles back into the turn before "Oak Tree".  Trying to go into a corner 30mph faster than anyone else takes a lot of faith but, as they say, physics gets you every time and Mills ends up into the tires.
 Gomez finishes the race in P5 from P9.



The whole story of the race is told in the official Porsche Challenge video put together by Leo and JF from Drive.

The final appointment of the season will be at Road Atlanta in support of the Petit le Mans on October 17-20.

Mclaren P1

What do you think?

Viking Motorsports

Can't stop watching... it's so insane. Formula Offroad from Norway, check out the shot from the top of the sand pit about 13 minutes in for a better idea of exacly what they are climbing up.

(Motorsportfilmer.net)

The inspiration for every Top Gear Challenge ever

Incredibly this this is not a Monty Python skit but something that really happened.
Move if the "race"? It has to be the Toyota driver spinning, slamming it in reverse and flooring it to rejoin the race...backwards! Good times.

Kubica crashes out of rally

Don't really know what to say about this,  a challenge or is it a warning?   

For sure I don't see why it's rallys for Kubica,  why not tin tops, something without trees and loose guard rails at least.

Neither he nor his navigator were hurt when the went off during the third special stage of a rather meaningless  Italian championship rally,  a rally that, among other things, featured one competitor getting the wiring loom in his car mysteriously cut in the night and another encountering a nail strip and puncturing both his front tires...

I'd go with "warning"

Photo: OmniCorse.it

BMW M3 GT Joerg Mueller in-car video from VIR

Yup, easy flat in the upper esses (on the second lap) and nice Ferrari dodge at 2:01 in the clip!


One of the sponsors of the race this week end is TrackPro Advisors. Check it out and if interested, promocode AXISALMS will get you 3 months free.

Mercedes' 100 million dollar offer to Lewis Hamilton.

Take this with the customary spoonful of salt but the latest Formula 1 market rumors have Mercedes offering Lewis Hamilton a 75 million Euro, almost 100 million dollar,  three year contract.

Such an offer would be in entirely a different financial galaxy from anything Hamilton is likely to get from Mclaren and one certainly ad odds with previous talk of Mercedes scaling back its F1 efforts in the coming years. A number enormous enough to entice the 2008 World Champion away from his Mclaren nest and to what has to be said is a wealthy but uncertain future.

   

Along with the offer to Hamilton, talk is of an almost equal offer made to Schumacher:  50 million Euro for two years followed by a contracts as an MB "ambassador" at 10 million per year.  If these reports are correct, someone had changed convinced Mercedes' board that it's not good to leave F1 as a "meh" team.

Schumacher has been going fast recently but in all this talk there was no mention of the one guy who actually won a race for Mercedes,  Rosberg is supposed to have a signed contract... but hey, it's F1!

Valentino Rossi back in a Ferrari

Rossi in the Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 GT3 at Monza

Valentino Rossi adds two extra wheels next week in Germany where he will race in fifth round of the Blancpain Endurance series at the Nürburgring.

The Doctor will be onboard a Monster Energy sponsored Ferrari 458 GT3 (number 46, of course) prepared by  Kessel Racing.

The soon to be "ex-Ducati" rider had driven  the same car at Monza earlier this year where he placed 18th overall.

Esses

The "Esses" at VIR. Taken flat at 150 or as Wolf Henzler told CG, "Easy flat" in an RSR...

Airtime at VIR

Leh Keen getting some air climbing the Esses  during qualifying for the ALMS Tequila Patron VIR 240.

Leh and Cooper MacNeil  qualified 4th in GT-C class,   On pole, we're happy to say, is Damian Faulkner in the Green Hornet Racing GT3.    Damien was one of the drivers in the Axis of Oversteer/ TRG car at the 2012 Daytona 24.

You can watch the race Saturday afternoon on ESPN3

Mclaren vs Mclaren

Everyone is looking forward to this one being unveiled at the Paris Auto Show. If Mclaren have a problem it will not necessarily be competition from the Porsche 918 and the from what I hear, completely mental, Ferrari F70 or the Huayra or the Aventador.

Mclaren's challenge will be surpassing the expectations and benchmark they set twenty years ago with the Gordon Murray F1, a car that looks as fresh today as it did in '92. That car had three seats and a stunning normally aspirated V12 engine. This one has a V8 a turbo and, possibly, batteries.

Let's see.

Sid Watkins 1928-2012

"It was Sid Watkins that saved my life in Imola 94. great guy to be with, always happy...tks for everything u have done for us drivers. RIP,"

Rubens Barrichello  via Twitter.

A Texan in Maranello

Amazing how Ferrari never misses an opportunity, ever.

On Board with Robert Kubica

Photo: Alessio Buttazzoni/Flickr

Pistonheads published this video today, you're sitting in the right seat of Robert Kubica's Team First Subaru WRC as he's charging up  the Italian Alps this past week end.  

Jalopnik today has a story about great motorsport comebacks, I think they missed this one.   Robert is driving like nothing ever happened.

At the same time I keep reading everywhere how Kubica is "coming back to F1 in 2014".  What Kubica actually said in Antonio Boselli's interview was:   "...certainly not before 2014". 

He also acknowledged an F1 return will be extremely difficult and that he feels lucky to just be where he is today.

I don't think Kubica will ever give up yet I'm not sure anyone is doing him any favors piling on pressure and measuring success strictly on his return to F1.

1957 Aston Martin DBR1 by Dave Rook

Kubica sideways!

He won!

Sure, it was a local amateur rally but when was the last time you spent 20 months in hospitals after a near death experience and came out of it with such need for tire shredding?

Go Robert!

2012 Italian GP: Hamilton makes it look easy...

Photo: Francesco Crippa

...but it's Alonso who is smiling.

After bad luck in Belgium and more bad luck in qualifying Saturday, Fernando will be more than happy with a third.   Helps Vettel had yet another alternator failure and scored no points, dropping him to fourth in the championship behind Raikkonen, now a single point behind Lewis, one ahead of Seb.

A 37 point lead might seem like a lot but , with seven races remaining and a maximum  175 points still in play,  Alonso has a long road ahead of him, it's by no means over.

Some observations on the race.

There was much to do was about the Alonso Vettel incident, almost a mirror image of last year.   After Spa and Grosjean  there was little doubt everyone would be under the FIA microscope  but, as it turns out,  it was a straight forward decision for the stewards, Emanuele Pirro explained:

"After Bahrein, when Nico Rosberg forced Hamilton to complete a pass beyond the circuit boundaries and later Alonso to have to lift to avoid going off track, the FIA issued very clear guidelines"

"The leading driver can choose his line up until the driver behind brings any part of his car beside the leading car's rear wheels: at that moment the driver ahead is obliged to leave one car width of space.  Vettel's penalty was correct as Alonso front wing was well beyond the Red Bull's rear tires."

"There is no doubt,  Connelly and I had prepared a powerpoint presentation after Bahrain that showed drivers all possible scenarios and consequences.  Drivers know how they should behave."

There was a question about the incident between Senna and Di Resta which did not result in a penalty to which Pirro replies:

"There was no double standard, TV pictures showed how Senna was already on the grass when he started the overtaking maneuver.  As the Brazilian was beyond the white  line it was he who was taking the extra risk and Di Resta was under no obligation to leave him room as he had the right to his line into the corner."



Fantastic Race for Sauber.

Very happy for them after the disaster at Spa,  Checo Perez from 12th to 2nd is certainly showing "experience" but was I the only one noticing a very distinct lack of..."feeling" in the body language between him and Alonso after the race?

Speaking of body language, what is going on with Hamilton?    Something's going on there, the guy is not a happy camper.

Finally, this this race seal the deal for a one year renewal for Massa?   I say maybe, he needs to continue to remember what it feels like not to be a midpack runner for the rest of the season and take precious points away from Alonso's rivals,  Can Felipe do it?






Bonus,  check out these two clips, Nico Hulkenberg had some interesting moments...