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“Sadler paired with Crew Chief Luke Lambert at Richard Childress Racing” No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala (Elliott Sadler) – Photo Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images for NASCARWELCOME, N.C. (January 20, 2012) – When the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season kicks off in late February, Elliott Sadler will once again be driving the No….more»

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Jason Plato has joined MG for the marque’s new assault on the British Touring Car Championship.

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Kimi Raikkonen has returned to the wheel of a Formula 1 car for the first time since the end of 2009, driving a two-year-old Renault R30 at Valencia as he reacclimatises himself to the sport with Lotus. Raikkonen arrived at the track at 0830 CET and took to the wheel of a two-year-old Renault R30 car – painted in Lotus’s contemporary black and gold livery and using Pirelli’s demonstration-spec rubber – for an installation lap just after 0900. The Finn is taking part in a two-day session designed to help him reacclimatise himself with grand prix machinery

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In the round-up: Marussia will be absent from the start of F1 testing in Jerez.

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Ferrari have been speaking about the changes they will be making for the 2012 Formula 1 season. In recent times, they have struggled to match Ferrari and McLaren for success and they want this to change from now on. Referring to the effort they are putting in, team boss Stefano Domenicali said: “The situation shouldn’t be [...]

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Heikki Kovalainen is the driver picking his five favourite all-time grands prix for the penultimate edition of BBC Sport’s 2011 classic Formula 1 series.

The Finn has re-established his reputation with Team Lotus in 2010-11 after two years at McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton that were, by Kovalainen’s own admission, “disappointing in terms of results”.

So it is appropriate he has chosen five of his own races, as they remind us that he is a race winner in his own right and not simply one of F1′s top drivers.

In chronological order, the 30-year-old talks through his choices, starting with the race that stopped him getting the sack after a shaky start to his debut season with Renault:

Canada 2007

“A very difficult weekend. One of the low points of my F1 career. I think Flavio [Briatore, the Renault team boss] was very close to getting rid of me. His patience was running out. I crashed the car on Friday and it didn’t look good in the first part of qualifying. I honestly think he would have sacked me after that race if I hadn’t come through the field and finished fourth, fighting actually for a podium with [Williams driver] Alex Wurz. 

“After that, I finished a strong fifth in Indy, beating Kimi [Raikkonen of Ferrari]. From then on, things started to work in the right direction. I probably didn’t realise at the time that it was that much on the line. I just thought: ‘It’s not working, let’s try again tomorrow.’ But looking back now I think my career was at stake. Some other people have told me that. Luckily, he [Briatore] gave me some more races and things started to go well. 

“In Canada, Robert Kubica had a big accident. I was just exiting the hairpin and I saw the accident to my side and thought: ‘That’s going to be a safety car.’ I was just coming up to a pit stop and I decided to go into the pits myself. I called the team and said: ‘There’s going to be a safety car.’ And they were like: ‘No, no, no.’ I said: ‘Yeah. I’m sure there will be.’ And as soon as I left the pits I saw the safety car, so I jumped a lot of people. If I had stayed out I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish fourth.”

Japan 2007

“It was my first podium in F1 and with Renault. It was raining a lot, quite difficult conditions. We started behind the safety car, then [I was] coming through [the field] all the way through the race. I found I was in second place and fighting with Kimi on the last lap. He passed me, I passed him back, and I was able to keep him behind me. 

“Of course, it mattered that it was Kimi and a Ferrari. Kimi was at that time one of the big names, one of the guys fighting for the championship. To be able to beat him as a rookie, in a car that wasn’t as good as his car, was a great moment. 

“Obviously, the circumstances worked out very well for us. The strategy was good and the rain maybe it evened out a bit. It was a tricky race and Kimi was also coming through the field. Maybe a few more laps and he would have got me.”

Australia 2008

“My first race at McLaren and I came very close to winning it. [Team-mate] Lewis [Hamilton] had done his second pit stop, I was coming up to mine. I had just done the fastest lap of the race and I was catching him. 

“He was on full fuel and I had a few extra laps before the end of my stint, so I was actually gaining a couple of seconds a lap on him. The team thought about stopping, but we decided to go to the planned end of my stint. Then the safety car came out. 

“I remember being behind the safety car at the head of the queue. Most of the guys behind me had stopped, so I dropped to 10th and eventually fought back to fifth. I overtook Kimi and Fernando [Alonso's Renault]. It was good. But imagine starting your McLaren career with a victory; it would have been quite cool.

“At the time I was annoyed, but what can you do? It was the right choice to stay out to fight for a win. If we had taken the conservative approach and stopped earlier, I would have been second, but we had good pace and going quicker and quicker. It was just unfortunate the safety car came out.”

Hungary 2008

“My first win. I was in a good position all the way through the weekend. After Lewis had a puncture, I was running second all the way through the race. Then at the end I was catching Felipe Massa’s Ferrari by two seconds a lap. 

“I knew he was in trouble. We were running out of laps. Then I saw his engine go. There are no style points in F1. It was a great moment. I knew now was a good chance to win the race. I had a good cushion behind me to Timo [Glock's Toyota]. I didn’t have to push. I was able to ease off a little bit and finish the job. It was nice to win a race.

“It was a good part of the season [for me]. I was on pole at Silverstone and I didn’t finish off that race. Hockenheim was a little bit unfortunate – I was in a position to be on the podium and then it didn’t work out for me with the safety car. Then to get the victory just before the summer break was great.”

Monaco 2010

“Looking at the performance of the [Lotus] car, I think I got everything out of it. I remember fighting with [Renault's Vitaly] Petrov and some other guys in better cars for quite a long time, knocking on the [door of the] top 10. But then the power steering broke five laps before the end and I had to stop. It was a good race – I was able to build a big gap to the other new teams and join the back of the [midfield] queue.”

Kovalainen has chosen Hungary 2008 as his favourite race. The highlights are embedded below, with short and extended highlights of last year’s title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix underneath to whet your appetites for the weekend’s action. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX

The classic races will also be available on digital television in the UK. On Freeview, they will be broadcast between the two free practice sessions on Friday 11 November, from 1035 and 1255 GMT. On satellite and cable, they will be available from 1500 GMT on Wednesday 9 November to 1000 on Thursday 10 November, from 1030-1430 and 1830-2000 on Thursday, and from 1035 -1255 on Friday.

Tom Jones Juan Jover Oswald Karch Narain Karthikeyan Ukyo Katayama

Posted on 01.25.2012 16:00 by Kirby Filed under: Ferrari | coupe | Supercars / Exotic cars | car tuning | Ferrari 458 | Cars | Car Reviews | Ferrari

It’s been ages since we last heard from Prindiville Design, but they sure did pick an opportune time to return to the tuning scene with a bang.

The London-based bespoke coach builder has released tuning programs for the Lamborghini Aventador, Range Rover Evoque, and Ferrari 458 Italia, the last of which comes in three different forms.

Called the S1, S2, and S3 packages, these three tuning programs for the Italian supercar comes with styling characteristics unique to its own. The S1 program, which features a red 458 Italia, comes with a carbon fiber body kit that includes a front bumper with stainless steel mesh grills, side skirts, a new rear bumper, mirror covers, rear tailgate vents, a rear spoiler, a roof air duct, and a new set of Prindiville alloy wheels. The S1 program will be limited to only 25 units, making it a true must-grab for 458 Italia owners everywhere.

Next up is the S2 program that’s displayed in the silver 458 Italia. Carrying all the aerodynamic components of the S1, the S2 differentiates itself with the addition of a top carbon fiber wing and air vent grills. Likewise, the S3 program – that’s the orange 458 Italia if you’re keeping score – also has its own distinct styling flavor. On top of the aero body kit, the S3 program carries a carbon fiber lower front lip spoiler, top air vent grills, and carbon fiber rear grills. Just like their S1 counterpart, both the S2 and the S3 programs are only limited to 25 units a piece. We’d tell you that they’re also equal must-haves, but we think you know that already.

Technical upgrades are also in the offing from Prindiville Design. While no official numbers have been given out, the British coach builder does, in fact, offer an ECU upgrade, new air filters, a new suspension kit, replacement sports 200 cell catalytic converters, and a new titanium exhaust system that’s 70% lighter than the stock version on the 458 Italia.

Ferrari 458 Italia by Prindiville Design originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 16:00 EST.

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Dan Gurney Hubert Hahne Mike Hailwood Mika Hдkkinen Bruce Halford

In the age of cruise-missile assassinations of U.S. citizens without a trial, a Supreme Court victory for civil liberties and freedom is a welcome aberration. Yesterday, a unanimous court ruled in U.S. v. Jones that police don?t have the authority to put GPS tracking devices on vehicles unless they get a warrant first. Yes, you?ve [...]

Joe Kelly Dave Kennedy Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler Nicolas Kiesa

A Mazda with a diesel engine finally will arrive in the U.S. in early 2013, spokesman Jeremy Barnes tells us. “It’ll be here between 15 and 18 months behind the launch of the Skyactiv-G gasoline engine in the Mazda 3.” That car hit the market in October of last year, so the math says to [...]

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Travis Pastrana ThumbnailTravis Pastrana has gotten back into a race car to test, and while he gets back into shape after suffering a broken ankle last year, his 2012 NASCAR schedule is still taking shape. The action sports star originally was going to run seven Nationwide Series races in 2011 and then 20 in 2012….more»

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© Daily Telegraph

Tom Cary says in his column in the Daily Telegraph that the man dubbed ?Baby Schumi? has plenty of time to match or even surpass his compatriot?s record haul of seven world titles after he cinched his first in the Abu Dhabi night.

?Here, after all, is a young man, already dubbed ?Baby Schumi? by Germany?s tabloid press, winning the first of what will presumably be multiple world championships, and all at the tender age of 23. Plenty of time yet to match Schumacher’s incredible haul of seven world titles. And yet, their phenomenal ability to drive racing cars apart, there is little similarity between the two men. ?There are still lingering doubts over his racing ability but with such blistering qualifying pace he is nearly always leading from the front anyway. Vettel is set for multiple world championships. Just don?t call him Baby Schumi.?

The Guardian?s Paul Weaver says it was difficult to begrudge Vettel his moment of glory after he won the first of what will be many world titles. He also looks back at some of the season?s highlights.

?An amazing Formula One season produced its final twist here on Sunday when Sebastian Vettel, who had never led the title race, won his first world championship. It is difficult to begrudge him his glory, for he had more poles (10) than any other driver and shared the most wins (five) with Fernando Alonso. There will be red faces as well as red cars and overalls at Ferrari, though, for deciding to bring their man in when they did, only to see him re-emerge into heavy traffic. ?Among the highlights, and every race felt like a highlight after the bore-start in Bahrain, there was that wonderful beginning to his McLaren career by Jenson Button, who won two of his first four races, even though he couldn’t keep up the pace, especially in qualifying. ?Hamilton once again drove his heart out, and outperformed a car that looked a little too ordinary at times. He was superb in Montreal. Then there was Webber, the Anglophile Aussie who was the favourite among most neutrals to win the title. There was that spectacular crash when he ran into the back of Heikki Kovalainen and the most famous of his four wins, at Silverstone, when he said to his team at the end of the race: ‘Not bad for a No2 driver.’ ?But in the end there was only one German who mattered. It was the remarkable Vettel. This will be the first of a clutch of championships for him.?

The Independent?s David Tremayne focuses on the plight of the other title contenders, writing it is easier to feel more sorry for one than the other.

?It was impossible not to feel for both Webber and Alonso. Yet while a frustrated Alonso gestured at Petrov after the race, the Australian, predictably, refused to complain about his pitstop timing. ?A world championship seemed an inevitable part of Sebastian Vettel’s future, but it came a little sooner than most expected, after his recent tribulations. You wouldn’t bet against several more, and if that record-breaking streak continues, perhaps even Schumacher’s achievements will be overshadowed.?

And the Mirror?s Byron Young elaborates further on the petulant behaviour of Fernando Alonso on his slowing down lap after his title dreams ended behind the Renault of Vitaly Petrov.

?Fernando Alonso was hurled into more controversy last night for a wild gesture at the former Lada racer who cost him the title. But the Spaniard brushed off accusations he gave Russian Vitaly Petrov the finger for ruining his title hopes by blocking him for 40 laps as they duelled over sixth place. “The Ferrari ace was caught on television cruising alongside the Renault driver on the slowing down lap and gesticulating from the cockpit. Petrov was unrepentant: “What was I supposed to do? Just get out of his way, pull to the side? I don’t think that is how we race. It was important for the team for me to get points.”

Piercarlo Ghinzani Bruno Giacomelli Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther

The Chevrolet Volt was supposed to be a no-compromise electric vehicle that would re-establish GM as a technological innovator. Now those hopes are starting to fall apart…

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Formula 1 always goes a little quiet over Christmas, but one team that has been making waves – both publicly and behind the scenes – are Williams.

The team that dominated F1 for much of the 1980s and 1990s are one of only two outfits still with an obvious vacancy in their driver line-up – the other being back-of-the-grid HRT.

And it seems that Rubens Barrichello, the veteran who has driven for the team for the last two seasons, is back in with a chance of staying with them for 2012.

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado is staying on in one of the cars after an up-and-down rookie season in 2011 – his position in the team is secure thanks to a multi-million sponsorship deal with his country’s national oil company.

But the second seat is still up for grabs, and while Williams are not the attractive proposition they were in their glory days, they are the only decent choice for a whole host of drivers wishing to continue their F1 careers.

These include Barrichello, German Adrian Sutil, Brazilian Bruno Senna, Toro Rosso rejects Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Sutil, who had an impressive second half of the season for Force India, has been the favourite for some time, but the situation appears to have shifted recently.

My sources tell me that Barrichello, who appeared to be out of the running as his 19th season in F1 drew to a close in November, has come back into the frame and now has a reasonable chance of a Williams drive in 2012.

Barrichello has been arguing for some time that, with the huge ructions going on at Williams through 2011 and over the winter, it would make sense to have a known reference in the drivers.

“With all the changes for next year on the engine side and engineers,” he said at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, “it would be clever from the team to keep the drivers and keep on going. I’m not pushing them, I’m just trying to show them that is the way to do it.”

You can see his point. The team are changing engine suppliers, replacing Cosworth with Renault, and have undergone a wholesale restructure of the design department, with a new technical director, head of aerodynamics and head of engineering.

New tech boss Mike Coughlan is admired as being very clever, but his last role as a technical director was with the now-defunct Arrows team, who collapsed in 2002. As chief designer of McLaren after that, he was involved in the spy-gate scandal that engulfed the team in 2007 and for which he was sacked.

The technical changes at Williams were made even more seismic when it emerged on New Year’s Eve that not only was co-founder Patrick Head stepping down as director of engineering, he was also resigning his position on the F1 team’s board, thereby cutting all his ties with the sport.

It had long been known that Head, one of the most respected engineers in the history of the sport, would no longer have an active role in the day-to-day F1 operation, but it was a surprise to hear he was not going to be on the board of directors.

Head has insisted that his decision to end his day-to-day F1 role was based on feeling his relevance in F1 was diminishing.

In Brazil, he said: “I certainly didn’t have an ambition to stop my involvement in Formula One with a season like this last one we’ve had behind us.

“But when I have a look at what specifically I can do to assist Mike Coughlan and (chief operations officer) Mark Gillan and (head of aerodynamics) Jason Somerville, I came to the conclusion that it isn’t really enough to justify me carrying on doing the same thing.”

He will still be involved at Williams through their subsidiary company Williams Hybrid Power and remains close to team boss Sir Frank Williams, who will doubtless be turning to him for advice on a regular basis.

All the same, many will consider it unwise that a team in such flux, and with such a grave need to improve, will not have on their board the guidance and wisdom of a man who not only co-founded the company but who was directly responsible for seven drivers’ championships and nine constructors’ titles.

Why will he not be there? Williams and Head were both unavailable for comment on Monday. I’m told, though, that his difficult relationship with chief executive officer Adam Parr was a part of Head’s decision to step down.

Ironically, Head’s departure may ease Barrichello’s path to a return.

Head is forthright character and I’m told he had grown tired of the Brazilian’s complaints about the team’s difficulties.

With the 65-year-old no longer involved, that on the face of it is one less barrier to Barrichello being in the car again.

It seems, though, that all the driver hopefuls will have to wait. Williams are in the process of sponsorship negotiations with the Gulf state of Qatar, and they take primacy over a final decision on drivers.

With more than a month until the start of pre-season testing on 7 February, there is plenty of time to sort out drivers. After all, it’s not as if Williams are struggling for choice.

Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs

WHERE CAN I GET PARTS FOR AN AMT YANKEE CHALLENGER ?  I HAVE BODY AN ROOF BUT NOTHING ELSE TOO COMPLETE THE BUILD EXCEPT ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

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Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)MOORESVILLE, N.C. (January 19, 2012) – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Monster Energy Company as primary sponsor of the team’s No. 54 Monster Energy Camry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Team owner Kyle Busch, the all-time race winning driver in the history of…more»

Parker Kligerman Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler David Carl Allison

Porsche has announced the 100,000th second generation Porsche Cayenne has rolled off the production line in Leipzig on Friday. The production milestone also marks the Leipzig plant’s 10 year anniversary.

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Marussia Racing consultant Pat Symonds believes that the team’s 2011 car had very good potential in some areas but was badly hamstrung by poor aerodynamics. After relying solely on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for its first two designs, the ex-Virgin team is embracing windtunnel technology as part of its design restructuring, which has also seen the exit of former partner Wirth Research and the announcement of a new collaboration with McLaren

Terrence Lee Labonte Randy Joseph Lajoie Kevin Paul Lepage William Ashton Lewis Jr Sterling Burton Marlin

The iRacing V8 Supercar series by Bigpond Sport continues to thrill, and the top split is heading for a showdown worthy of it’s immense status. This epic iRacing event will take place at Road Atlanta this Monday 23rd January. The final season for 2011/12 has been a story of intense, consistent rivalry between Trans-Tasman’s Madison Down, Tatts.com Racing’s Mitchell McLeod and Nfinity Esports’ Rens Broekman. While Down has had the upper hand, indeed dominating most rounds, McLeod has shown him up enough to stay in the chase. “Road Atlanta will be bigger than Ben Hur…” Right now, the gap between Down and McLeod, first and second, is a measly 42 points. Meanwhile, a dropping-worst-round points system stands to benefit Broekman. Since our last report on a messy Round Six at [...]

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Caterham have announced their F1 car will be seen for the first time on January 26th – earlier than any of the other teams’ launch dates.

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Southern Maine Scale Modelers will be holding it's annual Model Contest on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at the Linnell Gymnasium of Thornton Academy in Saco, ME. The event begins at 8:30 am. There will be door prizes, raffle, food, and a Make and Take Program for the kids. For more info, please contact Norm at spudbub@aol.com.

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Longer, lower, wider. Those words were a Detroit marketing mantra in the 1950s, when the original Volkswagen Beetle began its march to immortality here in the U.S. But of course the thing that made the Bug so lovable, and such a counterculture icon, was that it possessed none of those traits. Keep Reading: 2012 Volkswagen [...]

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