JMW Motorsport to Spearhead Aston Martin Racing GT2 program

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 7th, 2010 at 10:08 am

JMW Motorsport, runners up in their debut Le Mans Series GT2 season in 2009, will be competing with the Aston Martin Vantage GT2 in the 2010 Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hour, having become Aston Martin Racing’s official global GT2 Development Partner.

The Essex based team, headed by Team Principal Jim McWhirter, will become an official Aston Martin Racing partner and will work closely with the Banbury-based team on a three year programme to help develop the Vantage GT2.

JMW Motorsport are retaining their strong partnership with Dunlop who have renewed their long term commitment to the team as Development Partners in the GT2 programme. The JMW Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT2 will feature in Dunlop’s 2010 Le Mans Design Competition.

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Ken Block has switched cars, from Subaru to Ford

Posted by Ilia Lou on January 6th, 2010 at 3:18 pm

If you ever searched for anything Rally related on YouTube, then you most likely have herd about a guy named Ken Block. His Gymkhana skills have been exposed to millions of YouTube users around the world, along with his car, a modified Subaru Impreza WRX STi. However, Ken needed a new car since he’s now going to compete in the World Rally Championship.

So, what is his weapon of choice? Modified Ford focus RS and the rally Fiesta. The cars have been prepared by M-Sport, and are lighter, better handling, and more powerful than the standard cars. You’ll see these cars racing soon, with the one and only Ken Block at the wheel.

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Flavio Briatore’s ban overturned

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 12:03 pm

Flavio Briatore has come out on the winning end of his appeal to have his ban overturned, after he was exiled for life for plotting with driver, Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash in order to give Alonso the first place position in the 2008 Singapore GP.

The French Court found that the actions on the part of the FIA were illegal. Also on the winning end is Renault F1’s ex Director of Engineering, Pat Symonds. This is a big victory for Briatore, even though he now has some damage control to do. With regards to his financial claims, he was only able to recover  £18,000 of the  £900,000 he wanted.

[Image]

Flavio Briatore’s F1 future to be determined today

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 4:08 am

Judgment Day has come for Renault’s Ex F1 Boss, Flavio Briatore. He was banned for life back in 2009 after ordering team driver Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash in order for team mate Fernando Alonso to go ahead and win the race.

Briatore believes the ban was excessive and illegal, and that FIA boss Max Mosley asked for him to be banned for revenge purposes. In late November, he went to the French courts to appeal his ban, hoping to get his ban lifted, as well as £900,000 in damages. Even though Briatore was wrong in conspiring to sabotage the event, he is arguing that the FIA method of investigations were against the FIA’s international sporting code.

Stay tuned for further updates today.

Ralf Schumacher eyeing Formula 1 return

Posted by Bradley Wint on December 29th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

Ex-F1 driver, current DTM driver, current brother to the 7 time F1 world champion Ralf Schumacher has stated that he is interested in an F1 return if the right offer is made to him.

Ralf has stated that the desire to to return to F1 is “burning” inside him. On another note, he mentioned that his desire to return had nothing to do with competing with his older brother, but simply because he liked it. He told German DPA Press this:

“Competing against Michael is not that important for me

“In any case, I would seriously consider an interesting and attractive offer to drive in a competitive Formula One team.”

Currently he races in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series, where is racing luck isn’t any good either, so the real question is, who would want him to race after his poor career history?

Ferrari engineers most advanced Driving Simulator

Posted by Bradley Wint on December 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pm

Pilots have airplane simulators to practice on, and now Ferrari F1 drivers have their own F1 simulator, which is said to be one of the most advanced virtual reality machines built to date.

Weighing in at over 200 tonnes, packing 60GB RAM, using 10 computers, pumping sound through a 3500watt surround sound system and displaying a 3D environment through 5 flat screen monitors, it’s definitely the way forward with regards to track testing. Unfortunately they did not build this for some tycoon to play Gran Turismo 5, but will be used to aid F1 drivers in preparing for future races. Since there are so many limitations to real life testing, such as limited time on the circuit, this new simulator will make it much easier for the drivers to spend time learning the tracks’ corners and straight aways.

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Michael Schumacher officially signed with Mercedes F1

Posted by Bradley Wint on December 22nd, 2009 at 9:01 pm

Yes folks, it’s official, Michael Schumacher has signed with Mercedes and will be hitting the F1 asphalt from 2010.

So far, his PR agent has not commented on the situation but various agencies state that an announcement is soon to be made public. Details about his contract are still unknown at this time but he is expected to race for one year for 7 million euros according to German newspaper, Bild.

Lots of other race drivers and team owners are already criticizing his comeback, saying that his injuries may prove to be a problem, or he is just not physically fit and agile as he was in his prime.

More details soon.

SPEED TV to cover F1 in America

Posted by Bradley Wint on December 22nd, 2009 at 7:30 am

For another straight running year, SPEED TV will have the rights to broadcast Formula 1 in the United States. This year they’ve made it even better with the addition of live online coverage, so if you can’t make it to the TV set, you can follow it from your PC. According to them, all events will be broadcast live including practice, and qualifying sessions, but I’ve had to watch taped races due to races being blacked out, so I’m not too sure if the problem comes down to regional cable channel providers having rights to SPEED for the event. FOX Network has attained the rights to show 4 of the events (in a consecutive row).

[Via: Formula 1 Blog]

Bernie Ecclestone keeps it classy with F1 Christmas Card

Posted by Bradley Wint on December 21st, 2009 at 4:05 pm

Every year, Bernie Ecclestone posts a greeting card to his dearly beloved fellow F1 team owners, board members and other staff to truly show how he appreciates their work during each year of Formula 1. This year he takes a stab at quite a few victims. Details are as follows:

• On the departing boat in the water is BMW’s Mario Theissen, badboy soon-to-be ex-Pres Max Mosley and Toyota’s John Howett
• On the deck are the other team bosses who will continue into 2010
• In the little pirate boat stands Renault’s ex-team manager, Flavio Briatore holding a rocket launcher, ready to shoot down the bigger vessel
• Finally, Ecclestone himself sits in the lifeguard chair in the far distance

Funny stuff. Click the pic above to see it a bit bigger.

Aston Martin set to sit out 2010 Le Mans Season

Posted by Bradley Wint on December 21st, 2009 at 10:29 am

News has come that Aston Martin Racing will not be entering the 2010 Le Mans series in order for the team to focus on their 2011 competitor. However, French private racing team Signature-Plus has said that they will be running an LMP1 class car in 2010 driven by Pierre Ragues and Franck Mailleux.

Aston Martin themselves have not confirmed their non-entry into 2010, but their initial reports indicate no likelihood of competing for the above mentioned reasons. Both Aston Martin Racing and the Signature-Plus team have been doing well in both their classes and overall standing during the 2009 season.

[Via: Autosport | Image: Aston Martin]

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