Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/q1-alonso-leads-the-way/
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Q1: Alonso leads the way
Fernando Alonso set the pace in the Q1 session in Budapest, a tenth ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren and the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel. Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Mark Webber followed, ahead of Adrian Sutil, Michael Schumacher, Paul di Resta and Nico Rosberg. Missing out were Sebastien Buemi, who has a five position [...]
Hungarian Grand Prix Preview: Is Hamilton now the man to beat?
Think back to the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix: Red Bull dominated the weekend as they took full advantage of their clear speed advantage to claim 1st and 3rd, winning every single session from Friday morning?s practice along the way. Fast forward to 2011 and if you were asked to predict what would happen at the [...]
Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion
Robert Kubica Could Be Ruled Out For At Least A Year Following Accident
Polish racing driver Robert Kubica will spend at least one whole year recovering from a rally crash he suffered this morning, according to his surgeon. Kubica, who races for Renault Lotus crashed the Skoda Fabia rally car this morning and was airlifted to hospital suffering serious injuries. He has spent many hours in surgery, with [...]
Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais Thierry Boutsen
Hamilton leads the way in morning practice
Lewis Hamilton clocked a 1.23.350 to edge out Sebastian Vettel in the first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton looked desperate to set the standard during the morning session to set the quickest time and follow up his impressive win in the German Grand Prix last weekend, and duly did so, with Vettel trailing [...]
Hamilton on top again in Hungarian Grand Prix practice
Lewis Hamilton was on top in practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix once more as the 2008 champion registered a time of 1.21.018 to lead the way from Fernando Alonso who was second and his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button in third. Having shown his hunger to go quick in the morning session, Hamilton repeated the [...]
Jimmy Daywalt JeanDenis Deletraz Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi
Ham-garoring
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the P1 session on Friday in Hungary with a lap that was two-tenths faster than Sebastian Vettel. Fernando Alonso was third quickest, which mirrored the three protagonists from the German GP last weekend. Places three to six were filled with their team-mates: Mark Webber, who crashed mid-seassion, Jenson Button [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/ham-garoring/
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Lamborghini Gallardo by Cosa Design
German tuner has a body kit as well as suspension-lowering, wheels and a power boost for the Gallardo.Duane Carter Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris
Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series with Track/Aero Package
The new Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series Coupe has just recently been revealed and there are already first images and details on the model equipped with the AMG Track Package and AMG Aerodynamics package - two packages that will add even more sportiness to the car.
The AMG Track Package includes sports tires, size 255/35 R 19 for the front and 285/30 R 19, developed exclusively for this model, active rear-axle transmission cooling, and a radiator located in the rear apron that allows the airflow to pass through it effectively. The Aerodynamics package includes the front carbon fiber canards (aka "flics") which are made of genuine carbon fiber and located on the front apron. This package also includes a functionally tuned front splitter made of genuine carbon fiber and a fixed carbon-fiber rear aerofoil with an adjustable blade. Both components not only increase the lift at the front and rear axle, they also optimize the vehicle?s aerodynamic balance.
The rest remains unchanged. The 6.3 liter V8 engine will still deliver a total of 510 HP and a peak torque of 457 lbs-ft, allowing the vehicle a 0 to 60 mph sprint time of 4.2 seconds.
Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series with Track/Aero Package originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 29 July 2011 14:00 EST.
Who remembers this crash from the Hungarian Grand Prix?
It is the Hungarian GRand Prix this weekend and Felipe Massa will be driving for Ferrari once again. He has some bad memories of Hungary though as the below video shows. The Brazilian suffered a horrific crash in 2009 and he will be making an emotional return to the circuit this weekend. Good luck Felipe. [...]
Quick Brickyard Diorama: DONE!
Last year while attending the monthly Automobile Museum Flea Market, one of my fellow modelers bought this picture, and since he has just completed the 1955 Bel Air Indy Pace car, I had this Idea: to build a Museum-like display for his nice built model. Here is the process:
Used heat to give shape to the base (discarded plastic from a trade fair stand) and applied some paint:
Checking how the picture fits on the base:
Since the title is QUICK diorama, more to come right now!
Thanks for looking! 
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/965595.aspx
2012 Mercedes ML63 AMG spied with minimal camouflage
Our spies have caught new pictures of the 2012 Mercedes ML63 AMG. Details insideInfiniti JX teaser no.4 released
Designed to appeal to active families, the crossover has a prominent grille, recessed headlights and plenty of chrome trim.Source: http://feeds.worldcarfans.com/~r/worldcarfans/Jxfz/~3/YOTJJker-OA/infiniti-jx-teaser-no4-released
How do you beat Vettel?
At Silverstone
Sebastian Vettel surveys Formula 1 serenely from a dominant position at the top of the world championship as he heads into this weekend's British Grand Prix, where the Red Bull driver is the hot favourite to win for what would be the seventh time in nine races.
The German's record has been rooted in the dominance of the Red Bull car and it is expected to be as tough to beat as ever at Silverstone, where the track layout could have been designed to suit its superb aerodynamics.
But Vettel is not unbeatable - as McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have already proved this year. If the German is going to be stopped this weekend, or at any other race this year, this is how it is likely to happen.
CHANGE THE RULES
Undoubtedly the biggest talking point ahead of the British Grand Prix is the decision to ban the use of off-throttle blowing of diffusers. This is a technology with which teams blow exhaust gases over the rear floor of their cars even when the driver is not pressing the accelerator, smoothing the airflow and increasing downforce and stability in corners.
This ruling will affect all the leading teams, and it remains to be seen whether it will change the pecking order. Intriguingly, though, it may also affect Vettel in comparison to to team-mate Mark Webber.
Red Bull and engine partner Renault were the pioneers of the technology last year, when they introduced it mid-season. But the run of form that put Webber top of the championship, including dominant back-to-back wins in Spain and Monaco, was achieved before it was introduced.
At that time, Red Bull were blowing their exhausts over the diffuser, but not when the driver was off the throttle, a practice that can lead to instability as the downforce comes off the car just when the driver needs it most - when he lifts off to enter the corner.
Webber found a driving style that minimised the effects of this more effectively than Vettel managed.
The Australian admitted to me that this "might have been a small part" of the reason why he was stronger than Vettel early last summer.
I asked him if he felt, therefore, that the new ruling could work in his favour in his attempt to beat Vettel for the first time this year.
"I don't think it can hurt," he said. "We're going to have a big change in how the cars are probably going to behave - I don't see that as a bad thing, mate."
Vettel adapted incredibly well to the new Pirelli tyres this season, while Webber has struggled to get on top of them - it is one of the reasons the German has dominated so far.
But as Webber says: "It's another start for both of us. You hope it's the other way around for me so I go, 'Bosh'. I might drop on to this a bit nicer than he might."
GET AHEAD OF HIM AT THE START
Vettel has based most of his wins this season on a simple strategy -put the car on pole, lead from the start and control the race.
The only way to stop him doing this is to either out-qualify him - as only Webber has managed to do this year, and then only once - or beat him off the start.
This was achieved by the McLarens in China - a race Hamilton went on to win - and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in Spain.
Do that, and Vettel is suddenly out of his comfort zone.
The limiting factor in races this season has been the sensitivity of the new Pirelli tyres - they lose grip quickly and if you abuse them, you are in trouble.
So leading at the start allows Vettel to treat the tyres gently while building up a small cushion.
He seeks to build a lead of about five seconds to enable him to respond to any attempts by rivals to use what is called "the undercut" - pass him by making an earlier pit stop and using the pace advantage of new tyres to get ahead.
This was demonstrated in Spain - where Vettel twice tried to undercut Alonso when running second to him in the early stages of the race. It failed at the first pit stops, but succeeded at the second, demonstrating the difficulty any driver in front of Vettel will have keeping him behind when he has a faster car.
But it doesn't always work like that.
In China, Vettel was beaten away by both McLaren drivers. He easily had the pace to stick with them during the first stint, but a decision to do a two-stop strategy rather than the three of McLaren backfired - the extra grip in Hamilton's tyres in the closing stages of the race made Vettel a sitting duck.
HOPE RED BULL MAKE A MISTAKE
As well as China, this also happened in Monaco, where a mix-up at his first pit-stop put Vettel on the wrong tyres and forced him into a strategy that would have lost him the race had it not been for a later safety car.
Without that, the advantageMcLaren's Jenson Button built from what would have been a better strategy would have seen him win the race.
Even in the situation that did unfold, Red Bull's strategy might not have paid off - Vettel headed into the closing stages of the race with Alonso and Button right behind him and pressuring him hard on much fresher tyres.
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McLaren believed Vettel's tyres would wear out to the point of him becoming defenceless before the end of the race, but then Vettel had what they call "the luck of champions". A late safety car led to a red flag and he was able to change to fresh tyres for the final eight laps.
DON'T MAKE MISTAKES YOURSELF
Leaving the Spanish Grand Prix in May, the chances of Vettel facing a challenge this year still looked pretty good.
Vettel had won in Barcelona, but only after fending off a clearly faster Hamilton in the closing laps - only the difficulty of overtaking at the Circuit de Catalunya had prevented the McLaren winning.
Coming up were two races on tracks where Hamilton fancied his chances - Monaco and Canada. But instead of beating Vettel, these events turned into a disaster for the Englishman.
A decision to do only one run in qualifying in Monaco led to him qualifying ninth when he had hopes of being on pole, and in the race he collided with two people on the way to sixth place.
In Canada, Hamilton's judgement seemed to have been clouded by qualifying only fifth. After making an impromptu visit to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to discuss his future that evening, he collided with two cars in the space of three racing laps on Sunday and retired. As Button later proved, it was a race Hamilton could have won.
So Hamilton could have been looking at a total of three - maybe four - wins instead of just the one, in which case Vettel would not be anything like as far ahead in the championship.
PRESSURE VETTEL - HE'S VULNERABLE
The vast majority of Vettel's F1 victories have come when he has dominated from the front, a situation in which he is supremely comfortable.
He is much less at ease having to make up positions or fending off pressure - as was proved in the thrilling climax to the Canadian Grand Prix this year.
After dominating in Montreal throughout, Vettel lost the win on the last lap, half-spinning while being pursued by the flying Button, who stormed through to a brilliant win.
This was not the first time he has made a mistake in a pressure situation, although in Vettel's defence, he was flawless under attack from Hamilton in the closing stages in Spain in May this year.
Nevertheless, Vettel - like anyone - can crack if pushed hard enough; it's getting into that situation that has been the difficulty for his rivals so often this season.
As Hamilton says: "You can push people into mistakes, and as long as you continue to apply pressure that's what you hope they're going to do. But for us to win this championship we have to be finishing ahead of them."
MAKE YOUR CAR FASTER
All of the above is all very well, but the reality is that Vettel's pursuers are fighting a losing battle as long as he has a fundamentally faster car.
"It is difficult to think about how to beat Vettel without a big improvement in our car or in McLaren's car for Jenson and Lewis," says Alonso, the man who was narrowly beaten to the title by Vettel last year.
"Their car so far is too dominant. It is a dominant position that maybe we don't remember since 2004 and Michael (Schumacher)'s time.
"Hopefully here in Silverstone we can see a turnaround of this situation in terms of performance. There is always the motivation to win a race but we need a step forward."
Alonso was not the only man at Silverstone on Thursday to liken Vettel's domination this year to Schumacher's seven years ago, when he won 13 races on the way to the most dominant of his seven championship victories.
So what does the great man himself think? Can Vettel be beaten this year?
"Difficult," Schumacher said.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/07/how_do_you_beat_vettel.html
Friday, 29 July 2011
Revell National Model Car Championship
I`ve been lurking for a while, and haven`t seen anyone else bring this up. Mods, please remove this thread if it`s already been discussed or if it is inappropriate.
IMO, this is huge, and will allow for great exposure to the hobby:
"Together with GearZ, Illinois-based Revell Inc. ��will conduct the inaugural Revell/GearZ National Model Car Championships. With the help of some 2,000 hobby shops and retailers, participants will be able to enter online or go to their local hobby shop to pick up an entry form and mail in photos of their models."
Link: http://www.gearztv.com/contest.html
IMO, this is huge, and will allow for great exposure to the hobby:
"Together with GearZ, Illinois-based Revell Inc. ��will conduct the inaugural Revell/GearZ National Model Car Championships. With the help of some 2,000 hobby shops and retailers, participants will be able to enter online or go to their local hobby shop to pick up an entry form and mail in photos of their models."
Link: http://www.gearztv.com/contest.html
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/931602.aspx
Team Lotus Launch Their 2011 Machine The T128
Team Lotus (the one who raced last year) have become the second team to officially pull the covers off their new 2011 car. The green and yellow liveried machine will start be raced by Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen this season under the name of Team Lotus as the management’s row with Group Lotus, now [...]
Source: http://f1fanatics.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/team-lotus-launch-their-2011-machine-the-t128/
Renault unhappy with Simon move to PURE
Yesterday I suggested here that F1′s engine makers might not be very happy to see the FIA’s powertrain expert join Craig Pollock’s PURE organisation, and today Renault’s Rob White made its crystal clear that the manufacturers have serious concerns. Gilles … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/07/29/renault-unhappy-with-simon-move-to-pure/
PURE announces Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is to be the Technical Director of the new PURE Corporation engine company, and will start work on August 1 on the company’s V6 engine for 2014. He leaves a position at the FIA where he was devising regulations for the sport. Prior to joining the FIA Simon was head of the engine [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/pure-announces-gilles-simon/
Christijan Albers Michele Alboreto Jean Alesi Jaime Alguersuari
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Toyota Prius Coupe coming in 2014 - report
According to a recent report, Toyota will launch a Prius coupe in 2014. Details insideAny Noteworthy Color-Place Paint Results?
Just curious if anyone ever sprayed a body with the Walmart Color-Place brand. I'm sure many of you are familiar and use their primer. What about the colors? Any success stories? If so and you have pics, please post!
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/970686.aspx
Stefano Domenicali: ?The performance is where it should be?
Stefano Domenicali has reiterated that Ferrari has to focus on doing its own thing and not worry about the margin to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. Fernando Alonso has scored more points than any other driver over the last three … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/07/25/stefano-domenicali-the-performance-is-where-it-should-be/
F1 Teams and Drivers for 2011 Season
The Formula One is almost here again, and motorsport enthusiasts around the world are already sweating from the anticipation of another lightning fast, exciting season. The F1 2011 season is slated to begin officially on the 13th of March, with the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix.
The defending F1 Driver’s Champion in 2011 is Sebastian Vettel, [...]
The defending F1 Driver’s Champion in 2011 is Sebastian Vettel, [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/formula-f1/~3/vhqQ2_KnnTk/
Fred Agabashian Kurt Ahrens Jr Christijan Albers Michele Alboreto
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Meanwhile in Mexico City?
There has been an upsurge in Mexican interest in Formula 1 with the arrival at Sauber of Sergio Perez and the possibility that he will be joined sooner or later by another Mexican youngster, Esteban Gutierrez. One should add that since Jean Todt took over as FIA President the influence of the Mexicans has increased [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/meanwhile-in-mexico-city/
Doctors use Formula One pit crews as safety model
American Medical News reports hospitals in at least a dozen countries are learning how to translate the split-second timing and near-perfect synchronisation of Formula One pit crews to the high-risk handoffs of patients from surgery to recovery and intensive care.
"In Formula One, they have checklists, databases, and they have well-defined processes for doing things, and we don't really have any of those things in health care."
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/10/doctors_use_formula_one_pit_cr.php
U.S.-spec 2012 Hyundai Azera set for L.A. Auto Show debut
Next-generation 2012 Azera will be slotted between the Sonata compact and Genesis full-sized sedans.Marco Apicella Mário de Araújo Cabral Frank Armi Chuck Arnold
TH!NK bought by Russian investor
A month after TH!NK declared bankruptcy, the company has been bought by Boris G. Zingarevich.Source: http://feeds.worldcarfans.com/~r/worldcarfans/Jxfz/~3/ta20a-cKxkE/thnk-bought-by-russian-investor
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Team order rule needs a re-think
 Jean Todt arives for Wednesday's hearing |
?Whether you are for or against team orders, if the FIA could not back up its own rules and nail a competitor in a blatant case such as this the rule really does need reviewing. Perhaps Ferrari?s thinly-veiled threat to take the matter to the civil courts if they were punished too harshly scared the governing body, who as much as admitted the flimsiness of its rule."Paul Weaver, reporting for the Guardian in Monza, was in favour of the ruling which keeps alive Ferrari?s slim chances in an enthralling championship.
?The World Motor Sport Council was right not to ruin a compelling Formula One season by taking away the 25 points Alonso collected in Germany. That would have put him out of the five-man title race. But the council was widely expected to increase the fine and possibly deduct points from the team, as opposed to the individual. In the end, it could be argued that common sense prevailed. But the decision will dismay those who were upset by the way Ferrari handled the situation as much as anything else.?The Daily Mail's Jonathan McEvoy expressed outrage at the FIA tearing up its own rule book by allowing Ferrari to escape unpunished.
"Although the race stewards fined them �65,000 for giving team orders in July, the FIA World Motor Sport Council, to whom the matter was referred, decided not to impose any further punishment. It leaves the sport's rulers open to derision. It was, after all, their rule they undermined. In a statement, the WMSC said the regulation banning team orders 'should be reviewed'."
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/09/team_order_rule_needs_a_rethin_1.php
24-karat Ferrari 250 GTO sculpture to be unveiled at Pebble Beach
By now, you’re probably familiar with the works of Swiss artist Dante. If you recall, he’s the guy that makes those obscenely expensive car sculptures that retail for about the same price as high-performance sports cars. One of his previous works - a wire sculpture of the Aston Martin DB5 - has already graced our pages before, which came with a price of �88,000, about $144,000 based on current exchange rates.
Now, the artist is back with his new creation and the third piece of his Iconic Sports Cars: a 24-karat Ferrari 250 GTO sculpture that is scheduled to be revealed in Pebble Beach, California next month.
According to Dante, these sculptures are "my tribute to the men who made the original cars: they were artists."
There’s no telling how much this 24-karat 250 GTO is going to cost, but we expect it to retail for around the same price the aforementioned DB5 and the other sculpture, one featuring the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing, commanded when they hit the market.
The 24-karat Ferrari 250 GTO will be limited to only ten pieces and will be unveiled at the same time that Pebble Beach will be celebrating the real deal with an exhibit of the world’s remaining 250 GTOs.
"One of the most important reasons for my coming to Pebble Beach is the celebration of the Ferrari 250 GTO and the number of original cars being shown," said Dante. "It is my favorite car of all time.?
24-karat Ferrari 250 GTO sculpture to be unveiled at Pebble Beach originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 26 July 2011 17:00 EST.
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