Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/06/could_a_london_grand_prix_ever.html
Saturday
Emptying the i-Phone
Now and then I get home and plug my i-Phone into the MacBook Pro and download the snaps I have collected in my life along the way. It is always quite amusing to see where I have been and what captured my interest and this month there have been quite a few entertaining things. As [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/emptying-the-i-phone/
2012 Mugello Moto2 FP1 Result: Espargaro Holds Off Iannone
Pol Espargaro's dominance of practice continues, the Spaniard once again topping the first session of free practice for the Moto2 class at Mugello. His advantage over 2nd place man Andrea Iannone was minimal, however, the Speed Master rider less than a tenth slower than Espargaro. Thomas Luthi took 3rd spot, the Interwetten rider just pipping Tech 3's Bradley Smith. Marc Marquez, now officially confirmed in the Repsol Honda MotoGP team for next year, could manage only the 5th fastest time, a third of a second slower than Espargaro, but Marquez finished ahead of Simone Corsi and Scott Redding.
Results:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. vs. Batmobile. Who ya got?
OK, be forewarned: this is basically a big ad for Mountain Dew and the new Batman flick. We all good with that? Fine, let's roll. Dale Earnahrdt Jr. and the iconic "tumbler" from "The Dark Knight Rises" (they don't call it a Batmobile, but we know that's what it is) took to Michigan International Speedway for some hot laps. And while Junior's car clearly had the speed edge, the Batmobile likely would have put the 88 into the wall with little trouble had Batman (or whoever was driving the thing) been so inclined.
Alas, Junior's car doesn't appear in this movie the way it did in last summer's Transformers 3. Too bad; would have liked to see how Junior Nation would fare against Bane's army of creepy acolytes.
"The Dark Knight Rises" hits theaters July 20. Mountain Dew is on sale now. And Dale Earnhardt Jr. is hoping desperately to win his first race since 2008 this weekend.
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Friday
Facelift To The Mazda MX-5
The world’s best selling roadster. What topicazo. But the topics exist within the same world that proverbs: they are the most clear and concise certainties exist. It’s that simple. Mazda created a myth, and myths survive, walk on the time and nothing affects them. From time to time given some wiggle and money machine keeps [...]
Source: http://www.autocarblog.co.uk/251-facelift-to-the-mazda-mx-5.html
Will Power breaks out the double middle finger salute again; this time towards EJ Viso
Very rarely is a sequel more subtle than its precursor. Very rarely is a sequel organic. And Will Power, yours was both during Saturday night's Izod IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway and we thank you for it.
Last summer at New Hampshire, Power became somewhat of a sensation for his double middle finger salute towards IndyCar officials after the series tried to finish the race under green on a damp track, causing a major pileup. Power flipped them again on Saturday, giving E.J. Viso the treatment in response to Viso's gesture towards him.
Power and Viso had just made contact in turn one, as Viso was on the inside of Power. The contact sent Power around and both drivers into the wall, with Viso's car ahead of Power's. As TV cameras were focused on Power, he flipped up his visor, unhooked his steering wheel and BAM, the double barrel salute subtly appeared. And then it disappeared. In fact, if you rewound your DVR, you may have had a hard time finding it. It existed for just a couple frames.
Viso's car ended up ahead of Power's on the track. It wasn't visible in the initial camera shot, but on replay, when Viso climbed from his car he gestured toward Power while pointing at his helmet, intimating that Power needed to use his head. Power responded with his trademark, and then Viso got the last motion with a gesture towards, uh, down there. (After he emerged from the infield care center, Power said he had simply lost the car, and then after looking at replays, apologized to Viso for not seeing him on the inside.)
Will, you're now the master of the exuberant and the low-key double bird flipping, perhaps the best road racer in the IndyCar Series and you can extinguish your own engine fire. Don't stop being you.
(Uncensored version below)
Danica Patrick crashes out with 17 laps to go at Daytona
Danica Patrick's fourth and final Daytona start in 2012 ended just like the first three; with a crash.
Patrick qualified third and spent most of the evening near the front, leading five times for a career-high 13 laps, and missed the race's 14-car pileup because she was at the head of the pack. It wouldn't have been a stretch to say that Patrick might have had the race's best car.
But 17 laps later, Patrick wasn't so lucky. Jeffrey Earnhardt went around off the bumper of Ricky Stenhouse ahead of Patrick, and Patrick, who was on the outside as the field exited Turn 2, darted to the inside to miss Earnhardt's car. But as she made her move to the left, she clipped the front bumper of a car and off she went towards the inside wall.
[Also: Tony Stewart pulls off dramatic comeback win at Coke Zero 400]
It was a violent impact that knocked her steering wheel straight up in the air ? an extraordinary sight from the in-car camera. (Patrick was OK.) And it was eerily reminiscent of her crash in the Gatorade Duel qualifying race for the Daytona 500, where she also slammed into the inside backstretch wall. In the first Nationwide race at Daytona, she crashed after she and teammate Cole Whitt made contact and was caught up in a crash along with Jimmie Johnson three laps into the 500.
Patrick's next scheduled restrictor plate start? Speedweeks in Daytona next year. Will the turn of the calendar also turn her luck?
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Thursday
Power Rankings: If it?s hot, Smoke is rising
The race is done, and that means it's time for Power Rankings. Each week throughout the season, we'll size up who's rising and who's falling, based on current standings, behind-the-scenes changes, expected staying power, recent history and general gut feelings. It is not scientific, nor is it meant to be. And remember, whoever your favorite driver is, we're biased against him and like someone else better. We continue with a guy who's back again...
1. Tony Stewart: You know, just when you're about to write ol' Smoke off as coasting until he hits the Chase, he goes and rips off three straight top-3 performances. He is never. Going. Away. And anybody who takes him for granted until the final lap of Homestead is going to be chasing him before they know it. Last week: 5.
2. Jimmie Johnson: When an unremarkable week for Johnson is a fifth-place finish, you know we're in for something good come Chase time. Could this be the year that we finally get an all-out battle between the guys who've held the Cup every year since 2004? It very well could be. (And yes, the clown-wig pic stays. Deal with it.)� Last week: 3.
3. Greg Biffle: The Biffle/Kenseth fan bases are going to scream that the top two drivers in the series are ranked third and fourth, but tough. Both guys were good but not good enough at Sonoma, which is reason enough that some people might not want to scream too loudly about adding a road course to the Chase. It's a decided disadvantage to a large chunk of drivers. Last week: 4.
4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth tooled around the lower edges of the top 10 most of the afternoon before settling for a 13th-place finish. For him and others not completely at ease on a road course, that's ... well, that's not a victory, but it's still good news, and now he's gotten away from the right turns for a few weeks. Last week: 2.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: You remember when you were in school, and you busted your butt to get an A average, and then you hypothetically slept through just one freaking exam, hypothetically, and it destroyed your grade? Same principle applies here. Junior could get right back up top, but in the meantime: CAN JUNIOR SNAP HIS LOSING STREAK IN KENTUCKY? Last week: 1.
6. Clint Bowyer: Great run by Bowyer, who's validating all the faith shown in him by Michael Waltrip. He's now ranked 7th in the Chase standings and is becoming a legit threat to last halfway through the Chase as a contender. One question: what happens when you mix wine with Five-Hour Energy? Last week: 8.
7. Kasey Kahne: This is why Kahne's ugly start was so damaging; he's now got to run well every single race in order to have any prayer of getting into the Chase. Right now, he sits fourth in the wild card standings, behind Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano. No margin for error any longer. Last week: 9.
8. Jeff Gordon: On the season, he's been wretched, but over the last two weeks, he's notched two sixth-place finishes, which averages out to ... hey, sixth place! How about that? As with Kahne, he may have waited too long to make his move. But coming back to finish so well after running out of gas on Sunday was a definite step forward ... after running over your own foot. Last week: 12.
9. Martin Truex Jr.: Time's a-wasting for the Other Junior. He's already gotten passed as the marquee driver in the Waltrip stable, and he's now in ninth place in the standings. He ought to be able to hold the 41-point edge he has over 11th place, but he'll need to put together some stronger full-race runs. Last week: 7.
10. Kevin Harvick: Another double-digit finish for Harvick, who hasn't finished higher than 10th since Dover back in the first weekend of the month. No reason to worry yet, of course, but no reason to get particularly inspired, either. He's like the Nickelback of NASCAR at the moment. Last week: 6.
11. Marcos Ambrose: Oh! So many hopes dashed for Ambrose this weekend! He had it all right there in front of him ... literally, since he started on the pole. But it wasn't to be, and now he's left to wonder if he let one of his best chances slip away. (Spoiler: yes, yes he did.) Last week: 11.
12. Denny Hamlin: Two straight finishes in the 30s, and it's time for the Denny Hamlin fans to push the panic button! Really! His season is on the brink! He's screwed! It's all gonna be a - wait, what? He's got two wins? Oh, right. Never mind. Keep calm and carry on, Hamlinoids. Last week: 10.
Dropping out of the rankings: Nobody.
Lucky Dog: A tie between Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers. Two guys written off at the start of the season come back to post top-5 finishes. Great job by both of 'em; will it lead to more work?
DNF: Juan Pablo Montoya. There was reason to hope for JPM at Sonoma, since it's one of two tracks he's won on in Sprint Cup. Alas, it wasn't to be, and he's in real trouble now.
All right, your turn. Fire away, friends.
2012 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 8, Sachsenring
MotoGP Championship standings for round 8, 2012
Video: Can Dale Jr. keep the win streak going at Sonoma? (Spoiler: no.)
It's time for the first road course of the season, and let's chat a bit about who's going to win. Your favorite Yahoo! Jays, Hart and Busbee, discuss how this race could very well affect THE ENTIRE CHASE. It's true, it could happen. Also, we don't think Junior will win this weekend. Enjoy the video presentation anyway.
Conny Andersson Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Keith Andrews
Mark Webber Q&A: ?There were discussions with Ferrari??
Red Bull has issued an intriguing Q&A with Mark Webber, who confirms that he turned down Ferrari. Q: Was signing with Red Bull Racing for 2013 an easy decision? MW: In the end, yes it was. It?s been an interesting … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/07/10/mark-webber-qa-there-were-discussions-with-ferrari/
Jay Chamberlain Karun Chandhok Alain de Changy Colin Chapman
Wednesday
Mini-racing: Get the entire Junior-wins-Michigan experience in 12 minutes
Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, you're going to want to clip and save this video. No, not because a win won't come around for another four years; we can be optimistic, can't we? At Michigan on Sunday, Dale Junior absolutely throttled the field, putting together the kind of dominating win that removes all doubt from the minds of anyone except the tinfoil-hat crowd that he actually is one of the best drivers in the sport right now. So, have at it. We'll probably be covering this topic in more depth throughout the week.
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