MotoX News: 1/20/13

Saturday

2013 Jerez WSBK Test Day 1: Giugliano Fastest In Wet, Lowes Quickest WSS Man

The weather has not improved at Jerez for the full World Superbike and World Supersport test. Aprilia, Honda, Suzuki, BMW, Kawasaki and Yamaha have met with much the same weather as Ducati, who have just departed the circuit after a three-day test of their own. It rained on and off for most of the day, leaving the track soaked despite the odd sunny spell. The tricky weather conditions rendered the times meaningless, though all of the teams got plenty of work done shaking down a host of new parts.

Althea Aprilia's Davide Giugliano ended the day on top, the young Italian making a good transition to the Aprilia, after having ridden the Ducati for the past two years. Marco Melandri was second, the only man to get within a second of Giugliano, and benefiting from an extra day of testing on Monday, riding his BMW in among the Ducatis. Sylvain Guintoli set the 3rd fastest time, but the Frenchman was nearly two-and-a-half seconds slower than Giugliano.

Race Details

2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/45VoU0Du01g/2013_jerez_wsbk_test_day_1_giugliano_fas.html

Henry Banks Fabrizio Barbazza John Barber Skip Barber

Random facts about the 2012 Sprint Cup Series

Needing some random and totally useless NASCAR facts about the 2012 season to tantalize your friends with at your New Year's Eve party? You've come to the right spot! Today, it's the Sprint Cup Series!

Four Sprint Cup Series races featured double-digit numbers of caution flags. Just like in the Nationwide Series, the second race (and first at newly remodeled) Kansas Speedway was the leader with 14 caution flags. The others were Bristol 2 (13), Martinsville 2 (11) and the Daytona 500 (10).

11 races had less than five caution flags. The rain-shortened race at Auto Club Speedway was the only one that featured a single caution (which came when the rain started to fall) and Texas 1 and Sonoma each featured two cautions.

Nine races ran longer than their scheduled distances, while two (Auto Club and Pocono 2) were shortened by rain. The most extra laps in a race came at Martinsville 1, when Ryan Newman won after 15 additional circuits had been tacked on.

In that race, AJ Allmendinger finished second for his only top five of the season, the highest finish for any driver who finished in the top five just once. The others who could only show their finish on a single hand once? Kurt Busch (3rd), Paul Menard (3rd), David Ragan (4th), Aric Almirola (4th), Regan Smith (5th) and Sam Hornish (5th).

Six drivers had 20 or more top 10 finishes. Jimmie Johnson led the way with 24. The only driver of that six who didn't make the Chase? Kyle Busch.

11 drivers scored 10 or more top 5 finishes. And guess what? Kyle Busch (13) is the only one of those too to miss the Chase. The two Chasers not in that top 11? Martin Truex Jr. (7) and Kevin Harvick (5).

17 drivers started on the pole at least once. Mark Martin, Johnson and Kasey Kahne each had four.

15 drivers won at least one race. Nine won more than once. The win leaders in the Cup Series were Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin.

The speed might not have been there for Richard Childress Racing this season, but Menard and Harvick completed the most laps of anyone in the Sprint Cup Series. Of the 10,442 laps possible, Menard completed 10,406 and Harvick completed 10,398. The driver who started all 36 races that completed the fewest? David Gilliland with 9,503.

26 drivers started all 36 races. Despite making just 24 starts, Martin finished the season ahead of four drivers who started every race. (Ragan, Casey Mears, Landon Cassill and Gilliland).

Three drivers led over 1,000 laps. Jimmie Johnson led the most (1744), while Sprint Cup Series champion Keselowski led 735. In fact, Johnson led more than 600 laps more than he did in 2011 (1115), while Kyle Busch led nine fewer laps in 2012 (1436) than he did in 2011 (1445).

After leading 903 laps a year ago, Carl Edwards led 254.

No driver boasted an average finish in the top 10, but juuuuuuust barely. Keselowski had the highest average finish of anyone at 10.1, while Greg Biffle is just behind at 10.2. Third? Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 10.4. Sunken by his restrictor plate woes, Johnson's average finish ended up at 11.1.

The lowest average finish for a Chaser? Jeff Gordon at 14.1, half a spot behind Tony Stewart at 13.6.

Kahne was the season's best qualifier. His average starting position was 8.8.

Travis Kvapil was the season's biggest mover during a race, finishing almost 11 spots higher than he qualified. (25.7 vs. 36.6). Of course, when you qualify that poorly week after week, it's kind of hard to go backwards unless you're a start and parker. Martin finished just more than six spots lower than he qualified on average (15.2 after 9.1) and Joey Logano also was a big mover in the wrong direction (17.4 average finish vs. an 11.9 average start).

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/random-facts-2012-sprint-cup-series-161931888--nascar.html

Eitel Cantoni Bill Cantrell Ivan Capelli Piero Carini

Clint Bowyer is sick of talking about Jeff Gordon

At some point in our lives, we've all gotten sick of talking about a significant moment, only for the topic to be brought up again and again. And it's safe to say that Clint Bowyer has reached that point when talking about Jeff Gordon.

As you've seen over and over again (and replayed to chariots of fire music and turned into a meme), Gordon intentionally wrecked Bowyer at Phoenix, the next-to-last race of 2012 after contact between the two had sent Gordon into the wall laps earlier. The intentional crash destroyed Bowyer's championship hopes (and his car) and after pulling to pit road, Bowyer made a full sprint to the garage area to find Gordon while the two drivers' teams ended up in a big scrum.

Bowyer hasn't forgiven Gordon for that moment, or if he has in private, he's certainly not showing it.

"Who cares? Really, who cares?" Bowyer said on Thursday when he was asked if he talked to Gordon between the banquet and Daytona testing. "Apparently you guys do way more than we do. I can promise you that. I missed that deer that I was talking about in Texas though, if that makes you feel any better. That was more important on my off-season list than figuring out where I was going to vacation and who I was going to vacation with. My neighbor shot it, it sucked. Yes. He was really happy -- I was not."

The subject was broached because Gordon and Bowyer spent New Year's in the same location -- on P. Diddy's yacht. And also because there has been no apparent resolution to the feud. In an era of NASCAR where drivers have been branded as "too vanilla," that's pretty rare. So yes, there were questions that needed to be asked.

"I was on the damndest boat you've ever seen in your life," Bowyer said. "I'm from Kansas. We don't have big boats in Kansas. We don't have very big bodies of water so I think (Gordon) was on that same boat, but there was a lot of other people on there and it was a big time being had. Yes, he was on there and I think it was on the same island. I'm pretty sure he was on there. It was pretty late. Put it that way."

"I had a great New Year's. I enjoyed myself very much," Gordon said.

So no, they didn't toast the arrival of 2013 together. Or did they?

"Yeah we held hands and walked on the boat, discussed the past year and enjoyed ourselves throughout the whole vacation," Bowyer said (sarcastically). "That was the one person I wanted to -- that I definitely wanted to vacation with."

"I could not wait to get there for that very reason."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/clint-bowyer-sick-talking-jeff-gordon-014239207--nascar.html

Jo Bonnier Roberto Bonomi Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd

How would you vote in the Sprint Unlimited fan voting?

Not only does the Sprint Unlimited have a new name (from the Budweiser Shootout) but it could feature some new wrinkles that will be determined by fan voting.

NASCAR and Sprint announced that fan voting through the official NASCAR app for smartphones or via a link on NASCAR.com will determine the race's segment distances, type of pit stop after the first segment and if any cars will be eliminated after the second segment.

The choices for race segments are broken out into 40 laps/20 laps/15 laps, 35/30/10 and 35/20/20. That voting will end on February 13th, the Wednesday before the race.

The voting for pit stops and eliminations will close during the race. For the pit stop after the first segment, fans can vote for no mandatory pit stop, a mandatory (at least) two tire pit stop or a mandatory four tire pit stop. And on the elimination side of things, the options are either no cars eliminated, two, four, or six.

If I was the grand poobah of all of this, I would go with the 35/30/10 format. We all know how wild restrictor plate finishes can be over a short sprint (pun!) and since this is an exhibition race, the final segment might as well be as short as possible. As far as the pit stop goes, let's say four tires, because again, this is an exhibition race. There's no place here for strategy.

And on the side of eliminations, let's go with the max of six. With the new format of the bumpers on the cars, it's entirely possible that six cars could be eliminated in the form of a crash before we get to the final segment anyway. But if we've avoided the big one(s) up to that point, it's a great way to prevent teams from riding around in the back. If you can recall, Jimmie Johnson did a pretty good job of sandbagging in the All-Star Race in May.

You know what would also be an awesome fan voting category too? Best on-track obstacle. Fans could choose between Jet Dryer on Fire in Turn 3, Pothole in Turns 1 and 2, Chicago Inflatable Orange, Pocono Deer or Pocono Groundhog among others. How cool would that be?

What format would you vote for? And what obstacle would you pick? Drop us a line in the comments.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/vote-sprint-unlimited-fan-voting-023015362--nascar.html

JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais Thierry Boutsen Johnny Boyd

Friday

Kubica talks about his DTM test

Robert Kubica was out testing in a DTM Mercedes this week in Valencia and he told DTM television about how things were going and his hopes for the future. With F1 fans keen to keep an eye on Robert’s progress, I thought you might be interested to hear what he had to say.

Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/kubica-talks-about-his-dtm-test/

Alberto Crespo Antonio Creus Larry Crockett Tony Crook

Upcoming IndyCar Tests

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/11/upcoming-indycar-tests.html

Trevor Blokdyk Mark Blundell Raul Boesel Menato Boffa

Russian Grand Prix gets November date for 2014 | 2014 F1 season

Russian Grand Prix gets November date for 2014 is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.

The first Russian Grand Prix will get a November slot on the 2014 F1 calendar, according to the mayor of Sochi.

Russian Grand Prix gets November date for 2014 is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.

Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/01/25/russian-grand-prix-november-date-2014-mayor/

Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco Hans Binder

Raikkonen in rude health

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/11/post_abu_dhabi.html

John Barber Skip Barber Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello

2013 Jerez WSBK Test Press Release Round Up - Fixi Crescent Suzuki And Pata Honda

The WSBK teams issued the following press releases after the test at Jerez:

Year:

2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/L0RroSGGg5I/2013_jerez_wsbk_test_press_release_round.html

Pedro Diniz Duke Dinsmore Frank Dochnal Jose Dolhem

Thursday

Vettel becomes Sports yyoungest ever Dreibettzimmer Weldmeister!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/_N7RKsuAccc/vettel-becomes-sports-yyoungest-ever.html

Pablo Birger Art Bisch Harry Blanchard Michael Bleekemolen

2012 season in the rear view: Matt Kenseth

Vitals: 7th in the points standings. 3 wins, 13 top 5s, 19 top 10s. 1 DNF.

Moment to remember: Matt Kenseth's victory may not be the first thing that everyone remembers from the rain-delayed prime time Daytona 500, but it's certainly the highlight of his season.

Kenseth was a beast on restrictor plate tracks this season. After winning the 500, he led 73 laps at Talladega and finished third. (In fact, his car might have been too strong that day, as his car had so much space between it and second place Greg Biffle that Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch were able to storm by together on the outside on the penultimate lap.)

On the return leg to Daytona, Kenseth started on the pole and finished third, and then at the second Talladega race, Kenseth avoided the crash on the final lap and won the race.

Moment to forget: Oh Chicago and Dover. Kenseth qualified third for the first race of the Chase at Chicago. However, he lost a shock and because of the repairs, finished 18th. And then at Dover, the third race of the Chase, Kenseth lost an engine. Through three Chase races, he was 12th in the standings and his championship hopes were gone.

The wrap: We weren't quite sure what to expect from Kenseth in the Chase, given that this was his final season at Roush Fenway Racing before moving on to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013. Over the first 26 races of the year, Kenseth was one of the strongest drivers in the series, but that whole lame duck thing was hanging over his head as his tenure at Roush was coming to a close.

But, a parts failure and Kenseth's only DNF of the season in the first third of the Chase made those questions a moot point. (And no, they had nothing to do with his departure.) Kenseth bounced back nicely from those races, however, and thanks in part to a win at Kansas, was fifth in the standings after Texas before finishing the season in seventh.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/2012-season-rear-view-matt-kenseth-222901179--nascar.html

Michael Andretti Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella

Suzuki WSBK Press Release: Day 1 of Testing Completed For Cluzel And Camier

The FIXI Crescent Suzuki team issued the following press release at the end of the first day of testing at Almeria:

CONSTRUCTIVE DAY FOR FIXI CRESCENT SUZUKI

Team Suzuki Press Office - January 17.

FIXI Crescent Suzuki has kick-started its 2013 eni FIM Superbike World Championship season by completing the first day of testing at the Almeria circuit in Spain.

Leon Camier and new signing Jules Cluzel worked on a thorough testing schedule that will encompass updated electronics, improved aerodynamics and a new-spec engine for 2013, during the two days in Spain. Both riders completed many laps today and the Yoshimura-powered Suzuki GSX-R performed faultlessly.

Cluzel was making his first appearance for the FIXI Crescent Suzuki team and his debut on a fully-fledged Superbike. The Frenchman looked comfortable from the start and adapted to the new bike quickly. He was pleased to get the first day under-his-belt and is looking forward to improving tomorrow.

With a strong breeze blowing under clear and sunny skies, Camier went about his work in a methodical and professional manner, and whilst fast lap-times were not the order of the day, he showed that he is already on the pace and looking hungry for the season ahead.

Year:

2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/rBIxy-fnO_w/suzuki_wsbk_press_release_day_1_of_testi.html

Bernard Collomb Alberto Colombo Erik Comas Franco Comotti

NASCAR tracks get part of a nice little $70 million perk in the fiscal cliff deal [UPDATED]

With minutes to spare, the president and Congress pulled America away from the fiscal cliff, a deal reached amid partisan posturing and acrimony, which ... OK, look, I know you didn't come here for any kind of political nonsense, so let's get to it: the fiscal cliff deal, which saves most of us some money but costs most drivers a lot more, has buried within its dank recesses a nice little perk for many of your favorite race tracks.

Here's the deal: NASCAR tracks stand to benefit from an estimated $70 million in tax credits? due to an extension included in the fiscal cliff deal. [Note: An earlier version of this article characterized the tax credit in an unclear fashion.]

The so-called "NASCAR tax credit" allows "certain motorsports racing track facilities" (not just NASCAR ones) to write off their costs over just seven years, rather than the usual 15 to 39 years. Compacting the writeoff period allows the tracks to pay fewer taxes over that time. The tax credit is located under section 168(i)(15) of the federal tax code, but you already knew that.

If you have eaten lately, you might not want to click this link ? it's a rundown of every special interest that gained in the fiscal cliff deal. Railroads, electric motorcycle makers, Hollywood, and rum producers were among the others who gained from the fiscal cliff deal.

First track to do a "Thanks for not pushing us over the fiscal cliff!" ticket promotion wins ... well, nothing, because they're already saving tax money. But they should do it anyway.

UPDATE: International Speedway Corporation's Charles Talbert, Senior Director for Investor and Corporate Communications, offered the following statement to Yahoo! Sports in response to this article:

"I wanted to follow up on your article you posted [Wednesday] regarding the extension of 7-year recovery period for motorsports entertainment complexes, which has been unfairly referenced as the 'NASCAR tax credit.'� Your statement, ??NASCAR tracks will hang onto $70 mil that otherwise would have ended up in the U.S. Treasury?? is misleading. �The provision you reference is not a tax break and does not result in ISC or other track owners paying less tax. �Rather it simply preserves the same tax treatment the industry has used for decades.

"I imagine Austin?s Circuit of the Americas F1 motorsports complex and the hundreds of millions of dollars invested will benefit from the extension as will the tracks that host IndyCar, NHRA, ARCA and the nearly 1000 other smaller tracks that promote motorsports.� �International Speedway Corporation never sought any tax treatment that was different from the treatment the industry has used since its inception. �We are an industry that regularly buys and replaces real property and regularly pays corporate taxes.� We also use private money to finance our operations, choosing not to ask locals or business travelers to pay our freight.� But we can't abide the IRS changing the way our business operates when Congress never acted to allow it. �The provision Congress enacted simply continued current practice. �This topic will come up again and I would be open to speaking with you on the issues. �The misreporting on this issue is rampant, and not at all consistent with the facts."

UPDATE 2: Thanks for the love, Jalopnik.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/nascar-gets-nice-little-70-million-perk-fiscal-203238580--nascar.html

Gianmaria Bruni Jimmy Bryan Clemar Bucci Ronnie Bucknum

Juggling

In my experience in F1, teams that have no visible means of support generally come crashing down after a while. One can only keep the balls in the air for a certain period of time before things start to fall apart. Formula 1 eats money and so those who cannot afford to play soon fall [...]

Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/juggling/

Ian Burgess Luciano Burti Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button

Wednesday

Want to sponsor Junior? There?s space available on his car

Alright Junior Nation, this is your chance to get your name on your idol's car. Of course, it will cost you millions of dollars, but primary sponsorship of the most popular driver EVAR isn't free. You certainly didn't think that, did you?

Oh, these races are also towards the end of the year. You could be on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car as he goes for his first Sprint Cup title. Historic.

On Wednesday, Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick said that 13 races were available after the summer for Junior's Sprint Cup Series No. 88. They're not worried about filling those races at all, so if you better jump at this opportunity, especially if you present Hendrick with the 'right' deal.

From the Sporting News:

?We?ve got a lot of good opportunities and the way we?re positioned, our car is covered until the end of the summer,? Hendrick said Wednesday during the Sprint Media Tour. ?I?m looking for the right deal, not any deal. If I wanted any deal, I would put ?Hendrick cars? on it. ? I have no worries about that car having a full deal come the end of the year.?

Oh, and you must be willing to commit to a long-term deal as well. For the other 24 points races of the season, Junior's car is sponsored by Diet Mountain Dew and the National Guard. The Guard operates on one year contracts, and according to Sporting News, the cost of its sponsorship (including sponsor activation) was a cool $26.5 million for 16 races last year.

Junior isn't alone in the "high profile driver seeking additional primary sponsorship to fill out the season" category. Tony Stewart is there too, as he said on Monday that his team was looking for primary sponsorship for eight to nine races for the rest of the season. Like Hendrick, Stewart didn't seem too concerned that there was available real estate on both his and Ryan Newman's cars at various points in the season.

Why? Likely because the market rate for sponsorship -- especially for high profile drivers -- is higher than the costs of running a race team. Yes, teams like Hendrick and Stewart-Haas have larger operations, and therefore, larger expenses, than say, Joe Nemechek, who runs his own team on a shoestring budget, but it's also Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. There's a lot of power in three Sprint Cup Series titles and 10 consecutive Most Popular Driver awards.

So when you combine a still-recovering economy with the rising costs of operating a championship level Cup team, openings aren't all that unfathomable. But both Hendrick and Stewart-Haas are also not in the position of taking whatever they can get to simply have a sponsor on the car for a reduced rate. There's no other reason to explain they keep rebuffing our FromTheMarbles.com sponsorship attempts, though it certainly doesn't hurt that their team owners also have deep pockets either.

?If I?m going to dilute it, I might as well take it myself. I spend $90-100 million dollars a year in advertising (for my dealerships), why not do it myself?" Hendrick said. "It makes more sense to me and so I?m not concerned. ? If I had a car I had to worry about sponsorship on, it ain?t Dale Junior's car.?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/want-sponsor-junior-space-available-car-010752205--nascar.html

Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco Hans Binder Clemente Biondetti

Stupid Pet Tricks, A winter?s Drive to GrandMaMa?s house and Man?s Best Friend...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/x9qiyBbmX50/stupid-pet-tricks-winters-drive-to.html

Marco Apicella Mбrio de Araъjo Cabral Frank Armi Chuck Arnold

2012 season in the rear view: Jimmie Johnson

Vitals: 3rd in the points standings. 5 wins. 18 top 5s. 24 top 10s. 6 DNFs.

Moment to remember: Winning from the pole in two consecutive races isn't too shabby is it? Especially when it's in the Chase.

That's what Johnson did at Martinsville and Texas. At Martinsville, Johnson took over the points lead, and then extended it slightly at Texas after his epic late battle with Brad Keselowski that at one point saw both drivers wash up the track in turns 1 and 2 side by side for the lead.

Keselowski had gotten to the front with a two-tire pit stop, but couldn't hold off Johnson after a green-white-checker restart where Johnson successfully pinched Keselowski down as the two entered turn one and pulled away for the win.

Moment to forget: Just a week removed from those two first-to-first performances, Johnson's pursuit of a sixth title effectively ended at Phoenix thanks to a cut tire.

Johnson entered Phoenix with a seven point lead over Keselowski. He left with a 20 point deficit after Keselowski survived the final lap melee as the field headed to the checkered flag to finish sixth.

The wrap: How do you characterize Jimmie Johnson's 2012? A failure because of the massively high standards he's set for himself over the past seven years? (If it is, then prepare to call every title-less season for Johnson a failure. That's when you know you're really, really good.)

Or is it truly a fantastic season given Johnson's six DNFs? Could any other driver finish in the top 10 of 80 percent of the races he completed? Yes, he was snakebitten at restrictor plate tracks, but come on, we all know at this point that they're pretty much just one big roll of the dice. When he was running at the finish, he only finished outside the top 17 once, and that was at Phoenix. Johnson led over 300 laps more than any other driver (Kyle Busch was second) despite being just 19th in laps completed.

After coming out on top in so many late season races and situations, it was only natural regression that Johnson was going to suffer some bad luck to derail his chances like what happened this season. But title or no title, it's still blatantly obvious that Johnson should always be one of the presumptive favorites for the title and that 2012 was a pretty dominating season.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/2012-season-rear-view-jimmie-johnson-232954410--nascar.html

Skip Barber Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels

SENNA: The Right to Win

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nofenders/zbjv/~3/iQZ-kSWoCBs/senna-right-to-win.html

Julian Bailey Mauro Baldi Bobby Ball Marcel Balsa

Ducati Press Release: Ducati Riders And Bosses Speak On Day 2 Of Wrooom

The Ducati Team press office issued the following press release after the second day of Ducati's Wrooom team launch event at the Italian ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio:

Day two of Wrooom dedicated to Dovizioso and Hayden

Madonna di Campiglio (Italy) 15 January 2013 – Ducati Team MotoGP racers Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden were the stars of the second day at Wrooom 2013, the traditional Press Ski Meeting that takes place at Madonna di Campiglio until Friday 18 January. Today the two riders met with international media in the first scheduled press conference, which opened with a welcome from Ducati Motor Holding CEO Gabriele Del Torchio, who presented the new Ducati Corse staff.

Year:

2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/MvQNrmChbNs/ducati_press_release_ducati_riders_and_b.html

Giovanna Amati George Amick Red Amick Chris Amon

Tuesday

De Silvestro Signs With KVRT

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/10/de-silvestro-signs-with-kvrt.html

David Clapham Jim Clark† Kevin Cogan Peter Collins

Glock leaves Marussia by ?mutual consent?

Marussia has now formally confirmed that Timo Glock has left the team by “mutual consent.” In what was called a joint statement from driver and team, John Booth said: ?Timo has made a very significant contribution to our Team over … Continue reading →

Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2013/01/21/glock-leaves-marussia-by-mutual-consent/

Rene Arnoux Peter Arundell Alberto Ascari Peter Ashdown

Reminder Of What It?s Like Being A Race Fan

When you spend your weekends pitting race cars all across the country, you end up talking to a lot of race fans. With the drivers so busy with appearances and the like, the crews have become the next best attraction. The conversations are often short and usually consist of the same basic questions. How do [...]

TheNASCARInsiders.com

Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/GLp8xbw0wDg/

Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem Jean Behra Derek Bell

Q&A With Josef Newgarden

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2012/10/q-with-josef-newgarden.html

Fernando Alonso Giovanna Amati George Amick Red Amick

Monday

Reminder Of What It?s Like Being A Race Fan

TheNASCARInsiders.com

Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNascarInsiders/~3/GLp8xbw0wDg/

Phil Cade Alex Caffi John CampbellJones Adriбn Campos

2012 season in the rear view: Juan Pablo Montoya

Vitals: 22nd in the points standings. 0 wins, 0 top 5s, 2 top 10s. 5 DNFs.

Moment to remember: Oh, gee, what could it be?

Even if Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2012 Sprint Cup Series title, nothing was going to top the jet dryer incident at Daytona in February. Nothing. And Montoya obviously didn't win the championship, so nothing was really a close second either.

So when it comes to performance on the box score (the blaze was performance art at its finest), the highlight of Montoya's season are the back-to-back poles that he scored at Pocono at Watkins Glen in August. But, as Montoya's 2012 tended to go, they lead us directly into the next section.

Moment to forget: Those two poles could have been a great launching point for Montoya to grab a win, jump into the top 20 and suddenly be in the discussion for a Chase wild card berth over the final three races of the regular season. But instead, Montoya finished 20th at Pocono and then 33rd at Watkins Glen after issues with his left front tire. And it wasn't like Montoya was at the front for very long in each of those races. He led a combined eight laps.

The wrap: Chip Ganassi made some personnel switches at Earnhardt Ganassi before the season, including putting Chris Heroy atop Montoya's pit box for the season, and hinted that there could be more on the way if the team's performance didn't pick up. And it didn't. Teammate Jamie McMurray was just one spot ahead of Montoya in the standings.

The team announced that it would field Hendrick engines next year, switching from Earnhardt-Childress Racing engines. Will the powerplant swap be a catalyst for an uptick in performance in 2013? Or is there more to Earnhardt-Ganassi's struggles?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/2012-rear-view-juan-pablo-montoya-204409078--nascar.html

Red Amick Chris Amon Bob Anderson Conny Andersson

2012 season in the rear view: Marcos Ambrose

Vitals: 18th in the points standings. 1 win, 3 top 5s, 8 top 10s. 4 DNFs.

Moment to remember: Hey, we have a winner! Being the lowest ranked winner in the points standings isn't much of an honor, but Marcos Ambrose's win was sure fun to watch. Let's watch it again.

That win was followed by two top five finishes, suddenly making Ambrose a legitimate Chase contender as the Sprint Cup marched towards the final race before the Chase at Richmond.

Moment to forget: And then things started sputtering from there. In the 12 races since his fifth place finish at Bristol, Ambrose's highest finish was a 12th place at Kansas Speedway. In that stretch, Ambrose had three crew chiefs (Todd Parrott, Mike Ford and Drew Blickensderfer) and finished outside the top 20 six times, including crashing at Talladega and then at Texas after losing a tire.

The wrap: After Richmond, Ambrose was 15th in the points standings, but was 17th after Chicago and then settled into 18th. He showed enough flashes at non road courses to stay inside the top 20 for the final 26 races, but was only a true threat to win at Watkins Glen.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/2012-season-rear-view-marcos-ambrose-002359907--nascar.html

Anthony Davidson Jimmy Davies Colin Davis Jimmy Daywalt

WSBK Bikes To Be Price-capped At 250,000 Euros Per Season?

Now that it has the World Superbike series under its control, Dorna is turning its attention to the question of costs. It was an issue which, WSBK insiders claim, the Flammini brothers and Infront spent too little time on, preferring to focus on trying to compete with MotoGP instead. The series' critics charge that this obsession caused WSBK to allow bikes into the series which were more like MotoGP prototypes than production road bikes. The Aprilia RSV4 is one of the bikes most often named in this regard, though perhaps the most extreme example was the Foggy Petronas FP3 machine, of which the entire homologation run is rumored to be stored in a warehouse owned by the Malaysian oil company in Kuala Lumpur. As a result, grids have shrunk from around thirty starters in 2009 to just twenty in 2013.

Source:

http://www.speedweek.de/art_31739.html

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/CDX4lHYCgtA/wsbk_bikes_to_be_price_capped_at_250000_.html

Alex Caffi John CampbellJones Adriбn Campos John Cannon