2014 Le Mans MotoGP FP2 Results: Marquez Tops Tight Contest

Marc Marquez topped the field in Friday's second MotoGP qualifying session but only by a hair's breadth. Marquez's 1'33.452 at the Le Mans circuit left him only seven-thousandths clear of Andrea Iannone who put in a blistering lap toward the end of the afternoon session. Alvaro Bautista finished his day another two-tenths back. Bradley Smith (4th) saved his best for last and jumped several places in the order on his final lap.

Dani Pedrosa also set his fast time late in the session but was dropped into fifth after the late runs of Iannone and Smith. Stefan Bradl, still recovering from arm-pump surgery last week, managed sixth just in front of Jorge Lorenzo. Andrea Dovizioso ended the session six-tenths from the leader, followed closely by Aleix Espargaro. An improved final lap allowed Valentino Rossi to climb into 10th from 11th.

Race Details

Round Number: 

5

2014

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/nEk4WEYMT2s/2014_le_mans_motogp_fp2_results.html

Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi Erwin Bauer

'500' Records And Milestones At Risk

Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2014/05/500-records-and-milestones-at-risk.html

Andrea Chiesa Ettore Chimeri Louis Chiron Joie Chitwood

Casey Mears says Marcos Ambrose's punch 'got me pretty good'

Casey Mears participated in Jimmie Johnson's charity 5K race Sunday morning and admitted that yes, Marcos Ambrose did land the punch he threw towards Mears Saturday night.

Mears said his left-eye area, the place where Ambrose connected, was fine and had a sense of humor about the incident.

It's OK, he got me good though," Mears said. "He did. That's one thing I can say, is that out of all the NASCAR fights or punches or when you see people swing, usually it's a lot of fly swatting. He actually connected, so that was pretty good."

Ambrose was 18th while Mears was 19th. Mears also didn't rule out retaliation in the future, though we're not sure what the on-track protocol for punch revenge is.

"I don't think it something you just forget," Mears said. "Obviously, that's kind of where it sits."

NASCAR is investigatiing the incident and penalties, if there are any, will likely be announced on Tuesday.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/casey-mears-says-marcos-ambrose-s-punch--got-me-pretty-good-181345587.html

John Cannon Eitel Cantoni Bill Cantrell Ivan Capelli

2014 Imola World Supersport Qualifying Results: Red Flag Doesn't Ruin Qualifying

A red flag in the middle of the session didn't slow down qualifying, and neither did a rider trying to kick another rider's bike off the track.

Race Details

Round Number: 

4

2014

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/NNxAcfGaPq8/2014_imola_world_supersport_qualifying_r.html

Jenson Button Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade

Swiss conundrums

Sauber heads to Spain with new versions of the as-yet unsuccessful C33, the team having reportedly shaved 15 kgs from the car and produced ?a significant aerodynamic update”, including a new engine cover and an upgraded front wing. The team says it will also have better software to enable the drivers to get more power […]

Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/swiss-conundrums/

Gary Brabham Jack Brabham† Bill Brack Ernesto Brambilla

Volkswagen Golf R 400

The Volkswagen Golf R 400 Concept made its debut at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show and immediately, the hot hatch became one of the most exciting models on display. The positive reception was heard all the way in Germany and in response, VW has confirmed that the Golf R 400 Concept won’t be a concept for very long. Equally important, Volkswagen’s R&D boss Heinz-Jakob Neusser also revealed that the production model will produce more horsepower than the "400" in its name will alludes to.

All this should ring music to the ears of those pining to see a production version of the Golf R 400 Concept. Once its built, the Golf R 400 will end up being the crown jewel of the entire Golf lineup, which already includes luminaries like the Golf GTI and the Golf R.

All that though and we still can’t get over the treat of seeing a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine inside the sports hatch packing 400 horsepower. On top of that, it will also carry a dual-clutch automatic transmission and a 4Motion all-wheel-drive system.

Though specific performance details haven’t been announced, it’s reasonable to expect a 0-yo-60-mph time of under four seconds to go with a top speed of 174 mph. In the end, those numbers may even be conservative, if the production model has more than 400 ponies on tap.

Note: Concept version pictured here.

Click past the jump to read more about the Volkswagen Golf R400.

Volkswagen Golf R 400 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 12 May 2014 08:00 EST.

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Source: http://feeds.topspeed.com/~r/topspeed/~3/gGVb-aZBIDg/2015-volkswagen-golf-r-400-ar163512.html

Raul Boesel Menato Boffa Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto

Kurt Busch says a successful double would be completing both races

KANSAS CITY, Kan. ? What constitutes a successful Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 for Kurt Busch? Simply completing all 1,100 miles.

"I think finishing both races," Busch said. "That's just a quick honest answer. I'd love to finish in the top half of th field at Indy. I'd love to stay out of trouble all day and just experience it all. But once this week gets further down the road, I think with just the comfort level that I will gain, I'll want more. But right now, it's a matter of just finishing both races. 1,100 miles is tough to do."

While it seems like a simple goal, making all the miles is a task that only one person has accomplished when racing both on the same day. That'd Busch's car owner Tony Stewart.

In 2001, Stewart finished sixth at Indianapolis and third at Charlotte. Robby Gordon has come close twice, completing all the laps in the Indianapolis 500 twice and finishing 11 laps down in 2000 in the Coca-Cola 600 and a lap down in 2002.

What has Stewart told Busch about doing the double?

"He said, you know the IndyCars have less horsepower. They have less pick-up, acceleration, and feel even though the cars weigh 1500 pounds, IndyCars don't accelerate like stock cars do," Busch said. "So you have to look ahead. You have to anticipate. You have to digest what's happening in front of you when guys get side-by-side, how quick you're going to catch them."

Busch said he's gained three pounds through training for both events and recently completed the Indy 500 rookie orientation program. He said he thinks the most important part of his training is upper body strength.

"On the physical side of it, my hands have been very sore after each of the practice sessions just from the death grip on the wheel," Busch said. I need to relax more and just let the car come to me instead of me forcing the car. So, it's just getting comfortable with the dirver controls and knowing where everything is around me."

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/kurt-busch-says-a-successful-double-would-be-completing-both-races-185901549.html

Joie Chitwood Bob Christie Johnny Claes David Clapham

Jimmie Johnson finished third at Darlington after an inauspicious beginning to the race

Jimmie Johnson's car was just flat out not good in the early stages of Saturday night's race at Darlington. And yet he still finished third.

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus were briefly befuddled with the handling of the No. 48. Johnson didn't qualify well on Friday, but instead of deliberately carving his way through the field from the drop of the green flag, he was as stagnant as two-month-old pond water.

At one point while the sun was still up he was racing Josh Wise and Parker Kligerman for 28th spot. No offense to either Wise or Kligerman, but it doesn't happen to often that the six-time champion is racing them for position.

But after some adjustments, Johnson was quickly on his way to the front. He broke into the top 10, and then the top five, and was then second to eventual race-winner Kevin Harvick as the laps counted down.

When the caution flag came out with 10 laps to go, Knaus and Johnson decided to go for track position and beat Harvick, who was taking four tires, out of the pits. It almost worked. Johnson had the lead when the green flag waved, but wasn't able to hold on to it.

"I thought we had a shot at a win," Johnson said after the race. "I think if things stayed green after our last pit stop, we had a good chance at it, good shot at it. I'm happy with Chad's decision to go with two, and there were enough cars that took two that it gave us a little bit of a cushion, maybe enough of a cushion to make it four or five laps there."

"(It was a) solid performance, granted we struggled in qualifying.� We struggled the first run or two of the race, but we got the car turning for me and came to life and really did it the old?fashioned way and kind of drove up through the field before the last pit stop, so proud of the hard work."

Had the race stayed green after the restart with five laps to go, Johnson would have likely been in victory lane. But two caution flags came after it, giving Harvick the opportunity to capitalize with his fresher tires.

As the series heads to its first off-week of the year and Johnson is winless, there's likely little panic from the No. 48 bunch. They may not know the minute details of what they're missing every week, but they know the area that they need to work on. We know we're not going out on much of a limb here, but we bet Johnson gets a win in the next month. Besides, the season still isn't 25 percent complete.

"For us it's just unloading closer," Johnson said. "We seem to find a way come race time to get a good finish and honestly have a shot to win some races. But showing up at the track a little bit closer is key for us.� We're really just trying to get a grasp on these rules, and we go home with what we've learned from a previous race, bring a new mousetrap, and unfortunately we've had to continue to work on it each week.� That's really our goal is to show up closer."

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/jimmie-johnson-finished-third-at-darlington-after-an-inauspicious-beginning-to-the-race-040951933.html

Georges Berger Gerhard Berger Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi