Monday, 1 August 2011
F1 2011 Launch Catch Up ? McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Renault?
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Maserati Gran Turismo S Superior Black Edition by Anderson Germany
German tuner makes a dark art out of the Gran Turismo S while dialing up output to nearly 500 HP.Hamilton on top again in Hungarian Grand Prix practice
A look at the BBC/Sky deal
64 Fairlane.....Re-Build....."Got It Finished"..........7/28
Got this old sorta built and will try to make into a true muscle car.................................
Hope to have some soon.....................
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Jaime Alguersuari - classic F1
Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari is the latest grand prix driver to pick his five all-time favourite races for BBC Sport's classic Formula 1 series.
The 21-year-old Spaniard has been impressing on the track in recent races, putting to one side speculation about his future with strong drives into the points in the last three races - Canada, Valencia and Silverstone.
Alguersuari is a singular character - outspoken and interesting, with a particularly idiosyncratic approach to his Twitter account.
He has applied that uniqueness to his choice of races for this feature, which we use to whet your appetites for the action to come at this weekend's German Grand Prix.
In chronological order, his choices are as follows:
A no-holds-barred, flat-out battle between F1's then top two drivers - Fernando Alonso and Michael Scumacher. It was reminiscent of a similar fight between Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen six years previously. Alonso, driving for Renault, put huge pressure on Schumacher throughout the race, so much so that the Ferrari's engine eventually broke.
The result did not quite secure Alonso a second consecutive championship but it did put him in a virtually unassailable position - and he made no mistake at the final race of the season in Brazil. This is the first time we have shown highlights of that Japanese race.
Alguersuari remembers that "there was a big casino with the rain and you had whatever Force India was then - Spyker maybe - actually leading the race and a lot of people crashing". He's right. This was a spill-a-minute race, won by Alonso, who was driving for McLaren. More on that in a moment.
"Because it was my first grand prix," says Alguersuari.
It was also the scene of a brilliant victory by Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren car that had started the season more than two seconds off the pace.
The 2010 Australian Grand Prix
This race will long be remembered for Jenson Button's inspired victory for McLaren. It was also enlivened by Alguersuari's brief but exciting tussle with Michael Schumacher, when the Spaniard re-passed the German legend after being overtaken.
"It was the first time I had really had a battle with someone in Formula 1," Alguersuari says. "It was the start of something good, of what was a big season for me in 2010. It was the basis of my championship."
Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber to a comfortable Red Bull one-two but Alguersuari remembers the race because it was the one in which he scored his first F1 points. "That was very nice and something I will not forget," he says.
----------------------------
As always, we choose one of these races to highlight. This time, we have gone for the 2007 European Grand Prix, which was held at the Nurburging, the track that hosts this weekend's German GP.
It was an incident-packed weekend, starting from the moment Hamilton crashed his McLaren at high-speed in qualifying after a wheel came off, leaving the Englishman in 10th place on the grid, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on pole and Hamilton's team-mate Alonso beside him on the front row.
The Nurburgring, high in the Eifel mountains, is famous for its capricious weather - and this race was no different. After rain hit on the first lap, Spyker's Markus Winkelhock, making his one and only grand prix start, held the lead. The race was then stopped after four laps before Alonso and Raikkonen's team-mate, Felipe Massa, battled it out for the win.
In the dry, Massa pulled out a lead of about five seconds only for Alonso to cut it back in the closing stages. The late rain then gave Alonso the chance he needed.
After both men had fitted intermediate tyres, Alonso was much faster than Massa, the Spaniard passing the Brazilian with a superb move around the outside of Turn Five, the two men banging wheels as the McLaren went through.
The result moved Alonso to within two points of Hamilton in the championship - and set the stage for a cataclysmic sequence of events at the next race at Hungary.
The highlights of that thrilling Nurburgring race are embedded below - Murray Walker is the commentator as he did a one-off stand-in race for BBC Radio 5 live that weekend.
There are also links to short and extended highlights of last year's German Grand Prix, which was held at Hockenheim. During the controversial race, Ferrari asked Massa to hand the lead to Alonso, now his team-mate, to boost the latter's title chances.
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CLICK HERE TO WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 GERMAN GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 GERMAN GRAND PRIX
A selection of the classic races will be shown on the BBC red button on interactive television in the United Kingdom. These will be Japan 2006, Europe 2007, Malaysia 2010 and extended highlights of Germany 2010.
Satellite and cable viewers will be able to watch them from 1500 BST on Wednesday 20 July until 0855 on Friday 22 July, when our broadcast of free practice starts.
Those watching via Freeview will be able to see the classic races between first and second practice on 22 July, from 1035 until 1255.
Why Michael Schumacher Could Win The 2011 World Championship
Ham-garoring
2011 Hungarian Grand Prix grid | 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix
Mercedes Viano Vision Pearl concept announced
Described as a yacht on wheels, the van has luxurious interior with leather seats, wood floors and brushed aluminum trim.Friday, 29 July 2011
Hanging it up temporarily
Well y'all my sister-in-law and her two toddlers are coming to stay with my wife and I for some time so I have to put everything safely out of reach. We live in a one bedroom apartment and everything I build with is within reaching height of these two wonderful little girls so everything must be boxed up and put up on a shelf in the closet. That's my dilemma. Oh well. Family first right.
McLaren lead the First Practice Session in Spanish Formula One Grand Prix
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Watch Bahrain F1 Grand Prix Live on Star Sports ? Time in India, Hongkong, Malaysia and Singapore
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Predict the top five in Hungary to win F1 prizes | Predictions Championship
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Your F1 2011 questions answered - part II
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has extended his dominance of the 2011 season at the European Grand Prix in Valencia with another win. I look at who might be able to close the gap on the runaway leader - and give my thoughts on Lewis Hamilton's future.
Watch my answers below.
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
BMW will hold i-brand preview/press conference on Friday
Automaker is expected to introduce range of vehicles of new energy efficient i-sub-brand ahead of their Frankfurt show debut.U.S.-spec 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth to make L.A. show debut
Fiat 500 Abarth will go on sale in the U.S. sometime in 2012 and is expected to be similar to the Euro-spec Abarth.Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Q3: Aussie rules Austria
Vote for your German GP driver of the weekend | Debates and Polls
Top five conclusions from: the German Grand Prix
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Formula One Goes High Definition
Three MP4-12C GT3's to race at 24 Hours of Spa
McLaren GT will race the MP4-12C GT3 in second event this year with 3 cars and 10 drivers at Spa.CUP: Gordon Chasing Big Numbers This Weekend
'The point of no confidence is quite near'
 The wreckage of Jochen Rindt's car at Barcelona |
?Colin. I have been racing F1 for 5 years and I have made one mistake (I rammed Chris Amon in Clermont Ferrand) and I had one accident in Zandvoort due to gear selection failure otherwise I managed to stay out of trouble. This situation changed rapidly since I joined your team. ?Honestly your cars are so quick that we would still be competitive with a few extra pounds used to make the weakest parts stronger, on top of that I think you ought to spend some time checking what your different employes are doing, I sure the wishbones on the F2 car would have looked different. Please give my suggestions some thought, I can only drive a car in which I have some confidence, and I feel the point of no confidence is quite near.?A little more than a year later Rindt's Lotus suffered mechanical breakdown just before braking into one of the corners. He swerved violently to the left and crashed into a poorly-installed barrier, killing him instantly.
Monday, 25 July 2011
Harley-Davidson V-Rod 10th Anniversary Edition
Harley-Davidson is rolling out a fleet of new bikes, all of which should make fans of the iconic American motorcycle maker drool and grab for their wallets at the soonest possible time.
Even better, at least a few of these models are limited edition pieces, including the 2012 V-Rod 10th Anniversary, a commemorative model that celebrates the 10th anniversary of the brand’s V-Rod model.
In developing the frame for the bike, Harley went above and beyond to make something that will catch the awe and adulation of its customer base. Using an innovative process called hydrofoaming, Harley was able to build a strong chassis that features unconventional angles while applying fewer welds and bending and shaping metal pipes with high-pressure water. To go with the unique chassis, Harley-Davidson decked out the V-Rod 10th Anniversary model with plenty of striking features, including a Brilliant Silver Pearl bodywork that bears a striking similarity to the anodized aluminum bodywork of the original V-Rod models. There’s also an aluminum speed screen, a drag-style low rise handlebar, dual chromed mufflers, heat shields, polished forks, clamps, and handlebars, silver split 5-spoke cast aluminum wheels with machined highlights, a silver instrument cluster, a two-up bucket saddle, and special edition V-Rod 10th Anniversary badges.
Powering the V-Rod 10th Anniversary model is an engine that Harley built in collaboration with Porsche, an innovative technical masterpiece called the 1,250cc V-Twin Revolution. It’s a fuel injected, liquid cooled powertrain that comes with dual overhead cams, producing an output of 125 horsepower and 84 lb/ft of torque at 7,000 rpm with a combined fuel efficiency rating of 37 mpg.
The attached price tag for this special edition Harley-Davidson V-Rod 10th Anniversary model is $15,999, which is by no means cheap. But given the special edition tag and the fact that it’s a Harley-Davidson, there will always be a strong appeal for it in the bike-riding population of America.
Harley-Davidson V-Rod 10th Anniversary Edition originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 25 July 2011 14:15 EST.
Will Hamilton frustration prompt Red Bull move?
Lewis Hamilton's frustration with life as a McLaren driver has been palpable in recent weeks.
There was his outburst after finishing sixth at Monaco, the result of a messy weekend at a race he was hoping to win.
There was the supposed-to-be clandestine visit to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner on Saturday afternoon in Canada, a matter of hours after qualifying a disappointing fifth for another race he was hoping to win.
There were the messages over the team radio as he laboured in fourth place, struggling with tyre wear, during the European Grand Prix. "I can't go any slower," he said to his engineer after being asked to look after his tyres. And a few laps later: "I can't go any faster," when asked to try to make up some ground.
So will Hamilton still be a McLaren driver in 2012?
Although he has a contract that lasts until the end of that season, someone leaked to the Mail on Sunday that there is an option for Hamilton to leave if either he does not win the drivers' title or the team do not win the constructors' championship this year, neither of which is likely to happen. McLaren will not comment on the veracity of the Mail report.
On Monday the Independent published an interview with McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who said: "Lewis loves this team and he knows the car is capable of winning races.
"He's sat with me in the last 10 days and explained his passion, enthusiasm and desire to remain part of this team.
"I've known him since he was 11. I don't think he would look me in the eye and say that if he didn't mean it."
Hamilton remains one of the biggest stars in F1 despite some disappointing moments this season
But someone who has spoken to Hamilton about his future recently says that the 26-year-old is not happy at McLaren, and would leave if he could.
And in the last few days, a source with intimate knowledge of the driver market told me that Hamilton had been having "extensive negotiations with Red Bull".
The catalyst for Hamilton's discontent is another year in a car that is again not good enough to mount a realistic challenge for the title - the third in a row now for Hamilton at McLaren since he won the 2008 drivers' title in his second season with the team.
Hamilton is widely regarded in F1 as the fastest driver in the world, and he certainly believes that of himself. So to watch Sebastian Vettel running away to a second consecutive title at Red Bull, in the fastest car on the grid for the third year in a row, is painful indeed.
Publicly, Hamilton continues to say positive things about McLaren. His most recent utterance on the subject of his future was to say: "Fortunately I don't have to make any decisions just yet. I still have a contract for another year and a half."
He has added that he sees no reason to leave as long as he has a competitive car.
Some would follow Whitmarsh in arguing that he does - had things gone differently, Hamilton might have won in Spain, Monaco and Canada in addition to his sole victory so far in China this year.
That would mean he and Vettel would have been tied on four wins each, in which case Hamilton may not have been eyeing the Red Bull quite so jealously.
Even had this happened, however, the Red Bull would remain undoubtedly F1's fastest car - its advantage in the races is far less than it is in qualifying, but it seems increasingly certain that is simply down to the fact that Vettel has to take it easy on Sundays to manage this year's delicate Pirelli tyres.
Hamilton could only go to Red Bull in 2012, though, if two things married up - he has to really want it, and so do Red Bull.
You can be sure Hamilton would think very carefully about engineering a way out of his contract with a team that has nurtured him from the age of 11.
Firstly, there is the personal loyalty he must still feel on one level, even if he might think he has paid a lot of it back with some of his stunning wins in recent years, victories McLaren would not have had without him.
Just as important, though, will be the knowledge that, historically, McLaren always win in the end.
Stay where he is, and Hamilton can be pretty sure he will get a title-winning car eventually - just as Mika Hakkinen did after sticking with the team through the difficult years of the mid-1990s.
Equally, it is not that long since Hamilton dismissively referred to Red Bull as a "soft drinks company". And while McLaren and Ferrari are in F1 for the long haul - it is their raison d'etre - no one can be quite sure how long Red Bull will stick around.
But that's the long-term view, and racing drivers, generally, are pretty short-term people - after all, they have limited shelf lives.
The short-term view is as follows:
The Red Bull is likely to remain the car to beat as long as the current technical structure under Adrian Newey remains in place - which is until at least the end of 2014.
By then, Hamilton will be 29. He will still have plenty of life left in him, but that is a long period to wait fighting the odds - and potentially without a title - when most people consider you the fastest driver in the world.
There are other issues in the mix, too.
Hamilton - and team-mate Jenson Button, it is believed - find the public relations demands of being a McLaren driver quite tiring - and they note the rather different requirements on Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, the other member of F1's big three.
Equally, McLaren are quite restrictive of drivers having their own personal sponsors, although Hamilton does have such a deal with sportswear company Reebok.
So in a lot of ways, a move to Red Bull might make sense for Hamilton. The question remains, though, does it make sense for Red Bull?
On the face of it, you might think not. They already have Vettel, their blue-eyed boy wonder.
Why unsettle him by sticking Hamilton alongside him in a match-up that is bound to be super-high-maintenance? And if they do, what is the point of their driver development programme, which is moving on apace with Red Bull prot�g� Daniel Ricciardo being given his F1 race debut in a Hispania this weekend at the British Grand Prix.
But if Vettel continues to dominate F1 in the way he is doing this year, is that really good for Red Bull? Yes, he is winning everything, but that is likely to turn off a majority of the audience, not excite them. And that is no way to sell cans of soft drink.
Red Bull seeks to project a cool, youthful, exciting image, and what could fit those qualities better than sticking Hamilton in the team alongside Vettel and saying to the world: "There you go. We're got two of the three most exciting drivers in the world and we're going to sit back and watch them go at it."
The reality is that any negotiations that may be taking place will likely be between Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz and Hamilton's new manager, Simon Fuller. Neither of whom routinely give interviews to F1 journalists.
For now, no one beyond that needs to know anything about it - not even Whitmarsh or Horner. So at the end of the day, it comes down to Hamilton and Mateschitz, and how much each of them wants to link up with the other. Time will tell.
UPDATE, 1600 BST: I have just heard from my old friend Gerhard Kuntschick on this subject. He is a journalist for the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachtrichten and knows Mateschitz as well as any reporter. Kuntschick spoke to Red Bull F1 adviser Helmut Marko on Monday, who told him: "Red Bull considers Lewis Hamilton as having a firm contract with McLaren and we don't interfere with other people's contracts. But you never know what will happen in the future."
Webber tops the charts on a grey day
F1: Hamilton Has His Way In German GP
Seeking Advice on Testors One Coat
I like Tamiya paint but aside from the basic colors of orange, blue, etc., I can't buy it locally. So I decided to give Testors One Coat Lacquer a try--Fathers Day gift card!! Tomorrow is the day. Too hot outside to do anything so time to paint the El Camino. What hints,advice, directions would you care to share? Thanks.-
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Rate the race: 2011 German Grand Prix | Debates and polls
Tin Box No. 4 '32 Bantam Competition Coupe - W.I.P. - 7-21 Update
This is the fourth and final build extracted from a single AMT Double Dragster Kit “Tin Box” Special Edition. This kit contains an extra dragster chrome tree which gives you much of an additional dragster. The kit also comes with two sets of dragster frame side rails, a twin side-by-side engine set, and a set for a single or in-line twin setup. This got me thinking that it should be possible to build at least three, and perhaps four cars from one tin box if you were willing to raid your parts box and do some scratch building. So far I’ve completed 2.95 cars:
Tin Box Build No. 1 - A ’25 T Altered using the Fiat Altered frame from the kit, along with an AMT Competition Parts Pack ’25 T Altered kit and a blown Pontiac from the same Competition parts
Tin Box Build No. 2 - A Fiat Altered using the Double Dragster Fiat body, the blown Hemi from the Double Dragster kit, and a scratch built frame.
Tin Box Build No. 2.95 - A side-by side twin Chevy rail with top mounted blowers. This last is 95% done because I managed to lose one of the rear wheels and I’m waiting to receive a replacement thanks to the generosity of a fellow member on the TRaK board who popped one in the mail to me last week.
In the meantime I’ve started work on “Tin Box Build No. 4”. It’s a competition coupe based on the two single engine side rails from the Double Dragster kit and a resin ’32 Bantam coupe body shell I recently found on e-Bay. Needless to say the old tin box is getting pretty empty at this stage so the hemi comes from an AMT Hemisphere kit. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep it blown or go real early era and use the eight ‘97’s I still have from the Double Dragster kit. Beside the frame rails (and perhaps the carburetion), the Double Dragster kit will provide the slicks, front suspension and the seat. It could have supplied the quick change rear axle, too, but I decided to save that for a future build and substituted a rear end from a Revell Deuce kit which I had snapped a couple of years ago. I cut it down and added new axle ends. All the chassis cross members and the x-brace for the roll cage are scratch built from styrene rod and tubing, as is the suicide perch at the front. I have removed the body mount stubs from the frame rails and may still remove the mounting stubs for the Moon tank at the front. The front wheels and tires are from a Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit. The rear wheels are dummies for the moment.
I’ll have to scratch much of the steering gear and raid my parts box for some interior details, but otherwise this build is coming together surprisingly quickly. It’s also striking how the “bones” of this old AMT kit shine through all these different cars, all of which are decidedly Old School from the era when the kit was first released, which is to say circa 1960.
Thanx for lookin’,
B.
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Live: 2011 German Grand Prix third practice | F1 Fanatic Live
'The point of no confidence is quite near'
| The wreckage of Jochen Rindt's car at Barcelona |
?Colin. I have been racing F1 for 5 years and I have made one mistake (I rammed Chris Amon in Clermont Ferrand) and I had one accident in Zandvoort due to gear selection failure otherwise I managed to stay out of trouble. This situation changed rapidly since I joined your team. ?Honestly your cars are so quick that we would still be competitive with a few extra pounds used to make the weakest parts stronger, on top of that I think you ought to spend some time checking what your different employes are doing, I sure the wishbones on the F2 car would have looked different. Please give my suggestions some thought, I can only drive a car in which I have some confidence, and I feel the point of no confidence is quite near.?A little more than a year later Rindt's Lotus suffered mechanical breakdown just before braking into one of the corners. He swerved violently to the left and crashed into a poorly-installed barrier, killing him instantly.
2012 Porsche 911 (991) caught undisguised - rendering added [video]
991 Carrera prototype video shows car buzzing around the environs of Zuffenhausen, Germany.