Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/TnXyPsROplA/have-they-still-got-what-it-takes
Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh
Thursday
Have They Still Got What It Takes?
The 2012 Formula One World Championship has been a season filled with shocks, surprises and above all revelations. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest surprises this season has been the rise of Ferrari, a team who have found a dramatic return to form in the last two years. As the oldest team in Formula One, Ferrari [...]
Wednesday
Luxury Car Sales Jump Helps GKN Boost Profits
British automotive and airplane parts maker GKN has seen profits soar as the demand for luxury cars worldwide has shot up. The main reason for the massive profits increase is due to GKN?s Driveline business, which produces car parts such as chassis, axles and drive shafts. The sales rose from �1.3billion to �1.7billion at Driveline [...]
Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/321-luxury-car-sales-jump-helps-gkn-boost-profits.html
2012 N�rburgring WSBK: Saturday Qualifying Round Up
The Nürburgring in Germany is an iconic location. The famous 13-mile Nordschleife attached to the GP track is a mecca for motorsports fanatics wanting to test their bravery and car factories wanting to test their latest models. The GP-Strecke is the GP track that the Superbikes race at. It was completed in 1984 and is used for Formula 1, DTM, World Superbikes and others. It was built on the site of the old Sudschleife, the south ring to the Nordschleife's north ring, and connects to the larger track at the tight Coca Cola curve that leads on to the start/finish straight. The first corner is a bowl-shaped hairpin, a scene of many comings together in the past, and the rest of the track is comprised of many different corners and few straights, so don't expect high-gearing slipstreaming to feature here.
Jeff Gordon was really unhappy with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Michigan
Everything was going so well for Jeff Gordon. He'd been charging forward for the last few months, working his way up the standings from joke to afterthought to respectable competitor to wild-card holder. Then came last week and a spin at oily Watkins Glen, and then Sunday at Michigan, when absolutely nothing went right.
As you can hear in the video above, Gordon was furious at Dale Earnhardt Jr. for hard racing ... much to Earnhardt's surprise. The issue, apparently, was how Earnhardt was handling restarts:
[Related: Danica Patrick hits a shoe while leading Montreal Nationwide race]
"He took me four-wide [on the restart] and that wasn't that big of a deal, but then he slid up in front of me off of Turn 2, and I had to check up or I would have wrecked all of us," Gordon said afterward. "So, I just didn't think that it was the smartest thing to do, especially as teammates. But, he chose to do it and that's fine. It all worked out. I don't care who I'm racing out there; I'm going to show my displeasure if I'm not happy about something. But that one was pretty close; but no big deal. I'm glad to see he's running good. Those guys have really got their car dialed-in here at Michigan this year."
Quality response by Gordon, especially considering he was off the track soon afterward for unrelated engine issues, and a smart one for the long term. Chances are this "feud" is already over and done with, but still ... makes for some good radio, yes?
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Tuesday
Ryan Newman spins and 15 car crash ensues behind him in Bristol Modified race
While Wednesday night's Camping World Truck Series race may not have featured any track-clogging incidents, the Whelen Modified race that preceded it certainly did.
Just four laps into the race, a massive pileup happened on the frontstretch that included 15 cars, more if you count the cars that were spinning behind the crash. It started when Ryan Newman, who had won the last two Bristol Modified races, spun in the No. 77 car to spark the chaos behind him. (Newman, who ended up 19th, actually didn't get collected in the pileup.)
When the cars had stopped spinning (and in John Smith's case, going over each other), there was just a sole lane on the apron for anyone behind the melee to weave through.�Ron Silk started on the pole and won the race.
Yep, Danica Patrick wrecks again: Regan Smith puts her into the Bristol wall
You can love Danica Patrick or you can hate her, but you can't argue that she hasn't had some really rough luck this season. After a miserable practice session in which she consistently brought up the rear of the pack, timing-wise, Patrick ran decently at Bristol largely by keeping her head while everyone around her lost theirs. She was on the verge of a top-20 finish ? not the stuff of which legends are made, but not what we'd have expected from that practice session, either ? when contact with Regan Smith on lap 435 sent her into the wall and into a fury.
"This is Bristol, and this is why people love this track is because you see a lot of that and you see tempers flare," she said afterward. "The team did a great job and everything was running really smoothly. So it's a shame that we lost that. But you know, Bristol is a place where you find out who's playing fair and who's not."
[Related: Tony Stewart flings helmet at Matt Kenseth]
Her team was far less diplomatic, cursing over the radio and vowing revenge on Smith.
Smith, for his part, was contrite: "I just pushed up into her," he told SB Nation. "Trust me when I say this: No one wants to be the guy who wrecked Danica."
Patrick punctuated her anger by angrily wagging her finger at Smith. That was unfortunate; she should have joined her boss Tony Stewart in flinging a helmet. If she'd connected, she'd instantly gain legions of new fans.
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Jimmie Johnson?s engine deprives him of a victory at Michigan
"This one is over."
That was the phrase that undoubtedly crossed the lips of many on Sunday when Jimmie Johnson took the lead from Brad Keselowski with 10 laps to go at Michigan. After completing the pass, Johnson set sail, opening up a gap over Keselowski and Greg Biffle that looked almost insurmountable as the laps started to tick down.
Yes, Johnson's Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon had retired earlier in the race because of a valve spring issue, and a valve spring issue had also sidelined Tony Stewart, whose Stewart-Haas race team uses Hendrick horsepower. But Johnson was just more than six laps from the finish and he had a fresh engine that was installed on Saturday ? a fresh engine that had helped him drive from a 41st starting position to the front of the field with relative ease. Gordon and Stewart's problems came a whole lot earlier in the race, Johnson's engine was going to make it to the end. Right?
Wrong. Johnson started radioing to his crew that the motor was laying down ? the same verbiage that Stewart used when describing his engine woes. Was Johnson serious? Or was he playing around given the gap he had drawn on the field? Then the lead dwindled, more than half a second in one lap. Oh no, Johnson wasn't kidding.
[Related: Greg Biffle outruns Brad Keselowski to win and grab points lead]
He slowed on the backstretch. Biffle screamed by for the lead. Then Keselowski and others zoomed past. Johnson's frustration on the radio apexed. And soon, his engine was billowing smoke and causing a caution flag.
After inheriting the points lead thanks to a third-place finish last week at Watkins Glen, Johnson talked openly about how he looked forward to having the pressure of being the points leader on his team; pressure that the No. 48 crew had responded positively to. And claiming Michigan's checkered flag would not only have kept Johnson in the points lead, but also meant that he'd likely start the Chase at the top spot as well.
That frustration was still at a crescendo as Johnson pulled his car behind his team's hauler in the garage. He exited his car quickly and walked past his hauler with his helmet still on his head. He kept walking and turned towards the motorcoach lot, pausing for no one. It was evident how much this win meant for one of the most media-affable drivers in the garage.
While, as of now, Johnson would be tied for the lead when the Chase begins, he's now fourth in the points standings, 28 points behind Biffle with three races to go before the 10-race playoffs. Barring any major misfortune, Johnson and company won't get to feel the pressure of being the points leader any more before the Chase. But for the 193 laps that they did on Sunday, it was obvious what the response was.
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Monday
Sebastian Vettel: ?We are not expecting to win?
Sebastian Vettel will start the Italian GP from fifth place despite Red Bull struggling for one lap pace at Monza. Vettel only just made it out of Q2, while his team mate Mark Webber was left stranded in 11th place. … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/09/08/sebastian-vettel-we-are-not-expecting-to-win/
Martin Truex and NAPA re-up with MWR for three more years
Though he was scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season, Martin Truex Jr. wasn't mentioned as a candidate to switch teams for the 2013 season. Why? Because it was a safe assumption that Truex would be staying with Michael Waltrip Racing, as both parties made it clear that they preferred to keep their partnership intact.
On Friday, that assumption became the official truth, as MWR announced that Truex, along with sponsor NAPA Auto Parts, had signed on for three years.
"Re-signing Martin was huge for us," Waltrip said in a release. "We've given him competitive race cars and engines this year and he's been able to showcase his talent. Where I am most proud of Martin is off the track. He has dedicated himself to be a leader in our organization and has accepted his role as an ambassador for our sponsors. His work with NAPA, Toyota, AAA, along with his foundation work, has shown his maturity as a person and he makes me proud."
Truex is currently fifth in the points standings and can clinch his first Chase berth with MWR with 14th-place finish Sunday night at Atlanta. In his first two years at MWR, Truex finished 22nd and 18th in the points standings. Teammate Clint Bowyer, who came to MWR from Richard Childress Racing before 2012, is also poised to make the Chase as well.
NAPA's extension with the team includes all 36 Sprint Cup Series points races, and in this current period of rising competition costs and a sagging economy, will continue to be one of the only companies to sponsor the entire season. (MWR also had sponsor 5-HOUR Energy expand its sponsorship for all but one of Bowyer's 2012 races earlier in the season.)
There's no word if there are any provisions in the new NAPA contract that prohibit commercials featuring Michael Waltrip booty shakes.
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Sunday
Ryan Newman officially re-ups with Stewart-Haas Racing
Ryan Newman is returning to Stewart-Haas Racing.
The driver of the No. 39 was scheduled to be a free agent at the end of 2012, but will be back on a one-year deal for 2013. Over the summer, both Newman and team owner/driver Tony Stewart said a priority was Newman's contract renewal.
SHR will field three full-time cars in 2013; for Stewart, Newman and Danica Patrick. However, Patrick is the only one of the three that has full-season sponsorship announced. Newman has operated with a variety of different sponsors while at SHR, and the team's biggest sponsor, the U.S. Army, announced earlier in the year that it wouldn't be returning to the team in 2013. On Sunday at Atlanta, Office Depot, Stewart's largest sponsor, announced that it wouldn't be returning to the hood of Stewart's car next year either.
With a win Saturday night at Richmond, Newman, currently 17th in the Sprint Cup points standings, would qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. During his four-season tenure at Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman has qualified for the Chase twice.
2012 Italian Grand Prix result | 2012 Italian Grand Prix
2012 Italian Grand Prix result is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Lewis Hamilton wins the Italian Grand Prix ahead of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso.
2012 Italian Grand Prix result 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/2012/09/09/2012-italian-grand-prix-result/
Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen Mike Beuttler
WSBK News: Jakub Smrz Curiously Absent From N�rburgring
Liberty Racing reaffirmed on Tuesday that they would be present at the Nürburgring round of World Superbikes, with all three riders. This morning, however, Jakub Smrz was absent from both the entry list and the timing screens and appears to have been replaced by Lorenzo Lanzi. Of all the teams to have mysterious absences, Liberty Racing would be the most likely, so this doesn't come as a major shock.
As the team has essentially given up on 2012, it does look like their pay-to-ride riders, Brett McCormick and Maxime Berger, are still going to see out the season, McCormick is now considered fit to race the remainder of the year, but he has to consider his health first.
Lanzi was a shock pole-sitter and winner in World Supersport at Assen, making the most of the wet weather for his only race of the year.
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