Sylvain Guintoli announced today on Twitter that he will be riding a Ducati courtesy of Team Pata at the Silverstone World Superbike meeting. Earlier today, he also posted a photo of the back of his new helmet to Instagram with the title "the view from the yellow bikes."
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/MuD0JujXDi0/should-he-stay-or-should-he-go
Press releases issued ahead of this weekend's Laguna Seca round of MotoGP. Includes the Yamaha MotoGP press release, which gives no hint of Ben Spies' announcement he will be leaving the factory at the end of the year, as well as details of updates to be used by both Honda and Ducati:
Time again for another Yahoo! Sports NASCAR live chat. This week, we'll be a bit later than usual, running on Thursday rather than Tuesday. Mark your calendars, we'll still be here! Make sure you are, too. Or else.
Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco Hans Binder
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/07/23/christian-horner-theres-going-to-be-a-lot-of-good-racing/
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/xKcklTZ1lUs/raikkonen-targets-hungarian-victory
Pedro Matos Chaves Bill Cheesbourg Eddie Cheever Andrea Chiesa
Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: You write us with your best rant/ joke/one-liner at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face.
It's Independence Day, which in America means celebrating our freedom by blowing stuff up. (In other countries, it, uh, doesn't really mean much.) What's your best Fourth fireworks debacle? We once nearly set a forest of 40-foot-tall pine trees on fire by not checking the tree cover when we fired off some extra-strength Roman candles. Still, at the moment I have all 10 of my fingers, and considering I've blown up enough explosives in my day to take over Canada, that's an achievement in itself.
Anyway, your letters:
As I read through the headlines of Brad Keselowski's run at Kentucky, I get the sense that it's still a surprise when he wins, almost as if it's a some abnormal event (like Sam Hornish Jr. not running into Danica).
From my quick research, Jetski has won more races over the last four years than Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and a whole host of others that seem to be expected to win. Is he getting the respect he deserves from the NASCAR community?
? Doug
Troy, Ohio
Keselowski has a couple things working against him. For instance, he's relatively new to a sport that's slooow to embrace turnover. (Don't believe me? Check this list of race winners from 2004. Only four winners from that era aren't relevant right now, and two, Elliott Sadler and Joe Nemecheck, continue to run occasionally in Cup.) He's also racing for Dodge and Penske, two organizations that haven't held a hammerlock on the public imagination in quite some time. Still, he's as legit as they come right now, and anyone, driver or fan, who takes him for granted could be in for a surprise. And as that link above shows, he's likely to be a force in NASCAR for a long time to come.
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NASCAR is the only sport where ALL of the teams are on the field at the same time. Imagine if the MLB schedule said, "Yankees/Cubs/Cardinals/Rays et al are playing the Red Sox...at the same time." Every week we have the joy of seeing the biggest rivalries going on at 200 mph. I have watched since 1965 and with all of the terrible broadcasts, cookie cutter tracks, dial-tone personalities and made up drama there is still nothing like it. There are times I love to hate it/hate to love it but after almost 50 years I still watch it.
? Michael Raby
North Port, Fla.
What a lovely email. True, too. We sometimes take for granted our embarrassment of riches here in NASCAR; your favorite driver is out there and on TV every single week. (Unless your favorite driver is Brian Vickers. Then, sorry.) Hey, the rest of you: quitcher bitchin' and write in something you love about NASCAR. Anything. We'll do a roundup.
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Can you talk about any dirt races? We here in Texas enjoy our dirt racing and go to them and enjoy the competition and passing. Try it. Some may like it. Do it in the dirt!
? Bill L.
There's so much racing out there that we generally don't even try to cover the smaller events, but by all means, if you see something cool at your dirt track (video is always nice!) hit us up at the address above or below. You're right, dirt racing is something to behold, and the world is a better place for it.
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So Danica Patrick finishes 12th and actually moves up to 9th in the Nationwide standings. The strategy seems to be working. Watch the DNFs, drive like an old lady ? well, not like many old ladies but certainly in comparison with the real racers ? and pile up laps and points. Only one top 10 and she is firmly seated in the top 10. It's just not right.
But, if fellow drivers have kind hearts and want to help her develop, here's what they need to do: pit her. Early and often. Do it gently and don't hurt her but DNF her several times and force a new strategy. As she falls in the standings, she's going to have to start racing. I don't know that she has it in her, but we (and she) will never know unless trying for some top 5s is the only way to recover her season.
So, try not to wrap up too many others, but send her to the garage early and often. Then we'll learn if she deserves to be called a race car driver.
? Paul Stewart
By taking her out? That seems a little ... unsporting. We've said it before, many times: Patrick isn't a great driver yet. But she could be. She could also be a flameout. We just don't know. She doesn't have the credibility of other drivers, but then she's not a complete embarrassment either. Her ceiling is likely much lower than most champion-worthy drivers, but soon enough there'll be a woman who won't have that ceiling. And she'll have Danica and other women of racing to thank for paving the way.
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What do you think of Erin Andrews leaving ESPN? With Fox courting her, any chance she ends up on race coverage during the college football off-season? She'd be a nice counter-balance (read: distraction) to DW. Please?
? Jeff "The Real Slim Sarge" Smith
I have been at events where Ms. Andrews has been assigned coverage, and let me tell you: watching college boys watch Erin Andrews is like watching a dog on a leash with a glistening steak just out of reach. I shudder to think what would happen if you brought that poor woman to a NASCAR track. You'd have to airlift her in and out. That said, she would give instant cachet to, say, the Daytona 500 just by her presence. And there's always the chance of a Danica-Erin catfight that would crack the Internet in half. We can hope, can't we?
And on that note, we're out. Thanks to all our writers this week. You want in? Fire up the computer and hit us with whatever's on your mind, NASCAR-wise, at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com. You can find Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR coverage on Facebook right here, and you can follow me on Twitter at @jaybusbee and on Facebook here. Make sure to tell us where you're from. We'll make you famous!
Kenan Sofuoglu lead Fabien Foret ahead of four Hondas. The Kawasaki riders were the only riders able to lap under 2'04 today, ending Friday's Honda dominance of the top spots. With Jules Cluzel and Sam Lowes unable to go faster than they did yesterday, qualifying could be split across the two manufacturers.
Results:
Sebastien Bourdais Thierry Boutsen Johnny Boyd David Brabham
Below is the press release issued by the Pramac Racing Team after Hector Barbera's surgery to fix the leg he injured in a training accident:
When things aren't going Denny Hamlin's way, he doesn't hide his feelings. He doesn't turn the air blue like Kurt Busch or Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he doesn't chill the temperature in the cockpit with I'm-going-to-fire-you-all sarcasm like Tony Stewart. But when the day turns south for Hamlin, you can hear the shoulder-wilting depression in his voice.
On Sunday at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in New Hampshire, Hamlin clearly had the best car in the field, leading 150 of the 301 laps. There was no one among Hamlin's competitors who had enough juice to get within three seconds of him; indeed, it appeared that the only way he could lose would be to beat himself.
And on the last pit call of the race, that's exactly what happened. Hamlin asked for tires, crew chief Darian Grubb ordered a four-tire stop when everyone else took two, and Hamlin went from leading the race to buried in the field.
"Oh, God. Oh, no," Hamlin said when he realized the mistake, and the sadness evident in his voice surely made all his female fans want to give him a hug.
Even so, Hamlin ripped upward through the field and very nearly made a race of it, closing to inside a second behind eventual race winner Kasey Kahne. But clean air ruled the day, and Kahne had enough room (and a caution-free final run) to keep Hamlin well behind him.
How could this happen? Hamlin walked through the process after the race.
"When the caution flies, when pit road opens, that time is so small, your time to communicate, figure out what you're going to do, you really have about 45 seconds to get it," he said. "Between all that, what happened was is Darian asked me, he said how much of the tires he felt like I used up.� I said I felt like I used them up a substantial amount.� I'd been on the lefts for quite a few laps. So my information to him was, yeah, I've used up the tires.� He said, I think two is the call.� I said, Okay, just give me tires and no adjustments. He took that as I meant four tires.� So it's just that small miscommunication just messed us up a little bit."
In the long run, this won't matter. Hamlin was already a dead-bang lock to make the Chase, and this is the kind of race that's forgotten once September rolls around. Unless Hamlin finishes the year three points or fewer out of first place, the total of bonus points this cost him by not getting a win, this will be little more than an object lesson for both Hamlin and his team.
"Darian was set on taking 2 tires but I told him that I needed tires and he took it as 4," Hamlin said after the race on Twitter. "Still had a hell of a run."
Hamlin and former crew chief Mike Ford famously crossed signals on a pit call at the end of the 2010 season that may well have cost them the Cup, and their relationship never recovered. Hamlin and Grubb have plenty of time to get past this one ... but we'd bet everybody knows exactly how many tires are going on the car every time down pit road from here on out.
Vettel and Hamilton at odds over unlapping is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
In the round-up: Vettel and Horner criticise Hamilton ? Alonso teases Button and Vettel after win ? Ecclestone avoids German round
Vettel and Hamilton at odds over unlapping 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/2012/07/23/f1-fanatic-roundup-237/
Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/07/22/stefano-domenicali-we-need-to-improve-the-car/
Ernesto Brambilla Vittorio Brambilla Toni Branca Gianfranco Brancatelli
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With Porsche introducing an SUV in 2003, it was only a matter of time before the other premium sports car and supercar manufacturers joined in the fun. After years of rumors, whispers, and planning, Lamborghini is the next to cross over into the high-performance soccer mom world, AKA the SUV realm, with the oddly named Urus.
Though the name sounds odd, it is very appropriate for the model. The urus, also called the aurochs, is an ancient ancestor of the modern day cow, which went extinct in 1627. These things were massive, ranging from 61 to 71 inches tall at the shoulders and weighing in at 1,500 lbs ? phew, that’s a lot of quarter pounders. This makes the urus one of the largest bulls ever recorded, which is appropriate, considering the Lamborghini Urus is almost certainly going to end up being the largest to boast the raging bull emblem.
Now that we have turned off Animal Planet, we can continue with the Lamborghini Urus and not the extinct cow relative. There is some debate as to whether Lamborghini can actually support an SUV, especially after the LM002, the original Lambo SUV, fizzled out in 1993 with only 328 models ever produced.
So, can Lambo actually have a successful SUV this time around, and how does it stack up against the Porsche and the upcoming Bentley SUVs?
You’ll have to click past the jump to find out.
Lamborghini Urus originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 20 July 2012 16:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/lamborghini/2017-lamborghini-urus-ar132643.html
