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Saturday
What Was Your NASCAR Best and Worst from 2011?
It was a wild season that began with 20-year-old Trevor Bayne winning the Daytona 500 and ended with a wild race that made series veteran Tony Stewart the first Cup Series Champion not named Jimmie Johnson since 2005. In the mean time: we saw 19 different winners, including five different first time winners; Kyle Busch [...]
Simoncelli Family Creates Simoncelli Foundation In Memory Of Marco
The death of Marco Simoncelli at Sepang earlier this year was utterly tragic, but some good will yet come from the popular Italian's demise. On Thursday, Simoncelli's parents, girlfriend and sister announced that the final documents had been signed to create the foundation set up in Marco Simoncelli's name. The Marco Simoncelli Fondazione has been set up as a non-profit organization, with the aim of helping those in dire need.
Exactly which projects will receive funds gathered through the foundation is yet to be decided, though Paolo Simoncelli, Marco's father, is keen to use the money as effectively as possible. According to GPOne.com, projects could include helping children with special care needs, such as extremely rare diseases, receive treatment and care. Paolo Simoncelli also said his initial impulse was to support large projects, but that such projects were fraught with danger. The foundation could instead support a few much smaller causes, as it is easier to exercise more control over such initiatives and ensure that the money is spent directly on helping those in need.
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Rumours from Doha
One rumour doing the rounds at the moment is that Williams may end up with title sponsorship from Qtel, the Qatar national telecommunications company. This makes a great deal of sense. The Qtel Group is a fixed and mobile telecommunications operator, operating in Qatar, Indonesia, Kuwait and Iraq. It has a customer base of 82 [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/rumours-from-doha/
Friday
The French Grand Prix
The stories suggesting that the French Grand Prix will be back on the calendar in September 2013 could be true. The plan is to alternate the race with the Belgian GP and use the Paul Ricard circuit, near Toulon. This has very limited spectator capacity and poor access roads, but it is the venue that [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/the-french-grand-prix/
Subaru BRZ
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Toyota and Subaru have always said they were going to unveil their collaborative vehicles at the same time, so after finally seeing the production version Toyota GT 86, the production version of the highly anticipated BRZ sports car was given its time to shine. Next to the GT 86, the new BRZ will be making its world debut this week at the Tokyo Auto Show and will go on sale early next year.
While developing the two sports cars, Subaru and Toyota promised they would deliver totally different design languages, but upon close inspection, the two vehicles are almost identical. Both vehicles have a strong front fascia, but the BRZ will be distinguished by a Subaru-signed hexagon lower grille, front bumper design, and headlight detailing. Other details setting it apart are the custom fender vents, integrated exhaust tips, and revised tail-lamps.
As previously confirmed, the Subaru BRZ will be powered by the same 2.0-liter horizontally-opposed boxer engine found in the GT 86. The engine even delivers the same 200 HP and 151 lb-ft torque, meaning the promised 300 HP will be reserved for the STI version.
UPDATE 12/07/2011: Although not yet confirmed, it is being rumored that the Subaru BRZ will go on sale at a starting price of $24,000 for the BRZ Premium and $27,000 for the BRZ Limited. The base Premium model will come with aluminum pedals, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and an 8-speaker system and Navigation as standard. The Limited version will come with the usual Subaru leather and alcantara seats, foglights in the bumper, and a boot spoiler not seen on the model in Tokyo.(MotorTrend)
UPDATE 01/06/2012: Subaru has confirmed that the new BRZ sports car will be making its North American debut next week at the Detroit Auto Show. Sales in the States will begin in late Spring 2012.
Hit the jump to read more about the 2012 Subaru BRZ.
Subaru BRZ originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 6 January 2012 10:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/subaru/2012-subaru-brz-ar99818.html
Christian Danner Jorge Daponte Anthony Davidson Jimmy Davies
NASCAR Got The Chase They Wanted
And then there were two. Following Sunday’s Cup Series race at Phoenix, only two drivers, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, still have a shot at the title. �Every other Chaser has been mathematically eliminated. �As we get ready for Homestead, we are in for one hell of �a battle with the two drivers we do [...]
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Jaime Alguersuari Philippe Alliot Cliff Allison Fernando Alonso
Thursday
Luca di Montezemolo: ?Winning depends on us, not on others?
Luca di Montezemolo used Ferrari?s Xmas lunch today to encourage the team to work harder in the build-up to 2012. Over 1000 team members and suppliers – including the drivers – were present to hear Montezemolo celebrate 20 years in … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/12/17/luca-di-montezemolo-winning-depends-on-us-not-on-others/
Dan Wheldon died of a ?non-survivable injury? to his head
On Thursday, the Izod IndyCar Series released a report announcing the results of the investigation surrounding Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon's death at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16.
In the crash, Wheldon's car was launched airborne and his head ultimately hit a vertical post on the catchfence -- a "non-survivable injury."
Thirty-four drivers participated in the race on that Sunday and were spread out four-wide on the track when the crash happened.
"Racing grooves not only restrict drivers' naturally aggressive racing behavior, but make the location of another competitor's car on the racetrack more predictable," the report said.
But when the race began at Vegas, the packed 34-car field was all over the track?movement series officials did not expect despite drivers' warnings.
"The ability of the drivers to race from the bottom of the racetrack all the way up to the wall and run limitless is not a condition we've experienced before," IndyCar President Brian Barnhart said. "I don't think we were expecting it to be any different from what we'd experienced in the last decade at places like Chicagoland, Kentucky, Fontana and Texas. ?
"We were never expecting to be able to run from the top to the bottom (at Las Vegas)."
Drivers were able to run all over the track because of Las Vegas' new pavement and configuration. The track was repaved and banked with progressive banking in 2006. Progressive banking allows cars to run the high line at a comparable speed to the lesser-banked low-line.
That, combined with the extreme downforce of an IndyCar, meant that the conditions in the 12 laps before that fateful crash were not unlike a restrictor plate race at Daytona or Talladega -- just with cars with open cockpits going approximately 30�mph faster.
The report said that Wheldon had slowed to 165 mph before he launched off of the car in front of him and his car flew into the fence. His head hit a vertical support pole inside of the catchfence, but Barnhart said that it would not have mattered if the fence was inside or outside of the fence fabric.
IndyCar's 2012 schedule still hasn't been announced and CEO Randy Bernard said that he hoped to have it out on Friday. Will Texas Motor Speedway be on it? That remains to be seen. While its pavement is older and the groove is smaller, it's a similar track to Las Vegas.
The IndyCar Series needs high-banked ovals. But it needs them safely. Ovals have produced the most compelling racing recently, but unfortunately, the pack racing was a main cause of the drama. The non-oval races in 2011 tended to be snooze-fests, and the 2012 schedule will be mostly road and street races. But if a short break from high-banked oval racing is necessary to work on driver safety and the long-term sustainability of the sport, then so be it.
Piero Carini Duane Carter Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto
Wednesday
Porsche 911 Cabriolet
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Now that Porsche has unveiled the new generation 911/991 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the company has started to test the convertible version. Obviously, the two models will more or less be the same, but the Cabriolet will feature a canvas soft-top - and not the folding hardtop previously suggested.
Like with the coupe version, the 911/991 Cabriolet will receive an updated exterior featuring an even more muscular stance, a new headlamp design, remodeled exterior mirrors, and new wheels. The interior will be more driver-focused and will offer better technology.
As for the engine line-up, the standard Carrera will get a 3.4 liter direct-injected flat-six engine that will deliver a total of 350 HP, while the S version will feature a 3.8-liter flat-six with direct injection engine delivering a raised output of 400 HP. Performance times would obviously suffer just a tad with the added weight of the soft top, but shouldn?t be too far off of the 0-62 mph time of 4.6 seconds for the Carrera and 4.3 seconds for the Carrera S.
Expect the new 911 Cabrio to debut in the upcoming months.
UPDATE 12/27/2011: It’s been a month since the 911 Cabriolet’s official launch and Porsche wants to reignite interest in the drop top with a new video of it in action. Enjoy!
UPDATE 01/04/2012: Porsche has announced today that the new 911 Cabrio will be making its North American debut at the Detroit Auto Show and they have also unveiled a new video of the car. Enjoy!
Porsche 911 Cabriolet originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 27 December 2011 17:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/porsche/2013-porsche-911-cabriolet-ar116477.html
Richard Petty Motorsports interested in hiring Kurt Busch
After his release from Penske Racing, it seemed that there would be a slim chance that Kurt Busch would be in a competitive ride in 2012.
Those chances may be a lot fatter than initially figured. Richard Petty Motorsports COO Robbie Loomis said Tuesday that the team is interested in the 2004 Sprint Cup champion.
"Best Buy has been a great partner for a long time, and AJ Allmendinger has done a fantastic job for us. He's coming off his best season yet, but I can tell you there is a lot of interest on our part in having Kurt Busch in the fold. It makes sense to have Kurt with our team, if we can make it work."
And he added this:
"I would mortgage my house to make Kurt a part of this team," said Loomis. "We value what he has done on the race track. He has won a [Sprint Cup] championship and worked for a first-class operation like Penske Racing. Guys like that don't come along every day."
According to the report from Sirius Speedway, Busch would be a candidate to replace AJ Allmendinger in the No. 43 Ford in an attempt to keep sponsor Best Buy with the team. Allmendinger was one of the better performers in the Cup Series over the final weeks of 2011. Since RPM was a two-car operation with Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose last year, they would have room to expand for Busch, but�? and stop me if you've heard this before ? sponsorship would have to be found.
Interest in Busch from RPM seems a little odd on the surface given the relationship between Busch and Jack Roush. Roush's team is the flagship Ford operation and provides chassis and Roush-Yates engines to RPM. Busch was fired from Roush in 2005 after a traffic stop outside Phoenix International Raceway. And when he was asked who he wanted to win the 2011 championship, Busch picked Tony Stewart�? a man who he's had on-track run-ins with before�? because of Roush, Carl Edwards' co-owner.
If Busch does join RPM, it would be yet another instance of how uber-talent can earn multiple chances. Yes, Busch has acknowledged his actions in the cockpit and how his attitude affected his professional relationships, but we haven't yet had a chance to see that Busch's actions match his words. Will it happen? His future employer will find out soon enough.
Engines Engines Engines
It?s been a while since I have pontificated on the new chassis, but there really hasn?t been much new news on that front and the number one news item was kind of lost in the wake of Las Vegas. We … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/engines-engines-engines/
Tuesday
Two Teams In The Seat We All Strive For
Do you remember when you were a little kid in your backyard playing whiffle ball with your buddies? �You always pretended it was the bottom of the ninth in game seven of the World Series. �There were two outs, the bases were loaded, and your team was down three runs. �You strode to the plate [...]
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Ten Kate To Prepare Honda Engines For Gresini CRT MotoGP Bike
After many years of success in the World Superbike and World Supersport series, Ten Kate is to take their first steps in the MotoGP paddock. The Dutch race shop has been contracted by Gresini to supply race-prepared Honda CBR1000RR engines for Gresini's CRT machine in MotoGP, along with the fly-by-wire electronics system the Ten Kate team developed together with Cosworth for their World Superbike machine.
According to the Dutch racing website Racesport.nl, Ten Kate Racing Products, the commercial arm of the race team and the Honda dealership owned by Ronald and Gerrit ten Kate, signed a contract with the Gresini team just before Christmas to seal the agreement. Ten Kate will supply complete Honda CBR1000RR engines, tuned and prepared by them, along with a complete electronic system, including the fly-by-wire system used on the WSBK machine. The Ten Kate engine is to be fitted into a custom chassis designed and built by FTR. Both FTR and Gresini were very keen to work with Ten Kate, given their long experience and success in the World Superbike series.
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George Connor George Constantine John Cordts David Coulthard
Monday
Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon breakdances
NASCAR's Champion's Week festivities in Las Vegas have been a gold mine of hilarious moments so far, but Jeff Gordon stole the show during Thursday's "After the Lap" event.
The day after all 12 Chase drivers participated in the NASCAR version of "The Newlywed Game," they were back on stage for "After the Lap," which ended up turning into a group roast of sorts for the Chasers.
While there were many funny moments to be had ? 2011 Sprint Cup champion and noted Burger King connoisseur Tony Stewart joked about having to change clothes next to runner-up and fitness freak Carl Edwards�? Gordon had the best moment of them all when he showed off his breakdancing moves on stage.
Yes, seriously.
The California-raised Gordon has transformed himself from anti-NASCAR establishment young gun into one of the best drivers in the sport's history with 85 wins and four Sprint Cup titles over the course of his 20-year career.
[ Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins Most Popular Driver award for ninth time ]
If a guy like Scott Speed�? a former Red Bull driver who came to NASCAR from Formula 1�? breakdances, it doesn't seem out of the ordinary. But Jeff Freaking Gordon? One of the seemingly most unlikely NASCAR drivers to have any breakdancing skills? That's just awesome. It's like Tiger Woods deciding to get down after a round at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am or if Peyton Manning boogied at the Pro Bowl.
It took some prodding for Gordon, 40, to finally show off his moves, but he reluctantly did for about 10 seconds to roars and applause from fans and his fellow competitors, even prompting Denny Hamlin to laughingly tell Gordon "don't bring that [garbage] into my club." (Hamlin owns a club in the Charlotte area.)
The four-time champion admitted that he was an avid breakdancer when he was younger and that the last time that he had breakdanced (publicly) was at five-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson's wedding.
And while there were quips about Gordon's ability to get a girl soon after he got down�? Gordon also once had an awesome mid-1990s mustache and a rainbow-colored firesuit ? they aren't exactly based in any truth. Gordon is married and has two children with model Ingrid Vandebosch.
For more motorsports news, follow us on Twitter at @FTMNASCAR.
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Bravo to Kurt Busch for seeing a sports psychologist
Amid the festivities and silliness of Champions Week, there have been some serious, even sobering moments. Kurt Busch, who's had a rough season from a public relations perspective, acknowledged this week that he's seeing a sports psychologist.
"I need to be a better person on the radio, to the team, as a leader," Busch said. "It's personal issues, of course, and working with a sports psychologist, I've gotten obviously a small grasp, but there's obviously bigger things that I need to accomplish and things can't happen overnight."
[ Related: Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon breakdances ]
Busch marred a promising year with several outbursts, ranging from profane radio chatter to unruly behavior at Richmond to a foul-mouthed shot at Homestead captured on YouTube. He became a walking punch line ? we too got in on the jokes ? who could explode in rage at any moment.
But the revelation that he's seeing a sports psychologist is very good news indeed. Certainly, there will be those who can't understand this, who see this as either quack science or a way of dodging those "personal issues." That's completely the wrong approach to take here.
Most of us can't possibly understand what it's like to compete at this level. Sorry, but chances are your job and mine aren't the kinds that jack your adrenaline through the roof for hours on end and involve the very real threat of bodily harm. So it's not surprising that you see guys act like Kurt Busch. What's surprising is that you don't see more like him.
Busch conceded, though, that the environment is no excuse, and acknowledged how much harm one can do to one's image with just a single outburst. "You can work 364 days on being positive and building toward a better platform, and it can take just one day to knock it all back," he said. "I need to harness what happens in the race car and keep it there, and then I need to step out of the car and understand that if we didn't reach our goal for that day or that moment, that it's going to be all right at the end."
None of this is meant to say Busch is mentally ill. But the brain needs a tune-up every now and then, too. Bravo to Busch for recognizing that, and for taking the necessary steps. As much fun as it is to hear him explode, it's got that watching-a-car-crash voyeuristic element to it ... if that car was self-destructive and driving itself into guard rails at every turn. Best of luck to Busch with the treatment.
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