American Conor Daly impressed AJ Foyt and many others in his first IndyCar test in Sebring, Florida on Thursday, December 13th. Daly participated in day three of INDYCAR’s three day series test along with 14 other drivers.
It was an opportunity for Daly to experience an IndyCar for the first time and for the Foyt Team to look at how Daly would perform in that environment. Over the course of the day, Daly completed 120 trouble-free laps. More ...
NASCAR's Next Wave Of Superstars Just Over The Horizon NASCAR has a talent-laden farm system loaded with the stock car racing's future stars. From the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Craftsman Truck series through the sanctioning body's touring divisions and on the Whelen All-American tracks, there's a single common denominator: Youth, lightning fast youth. The pipeline leading to the ultimate destination the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series figures to overflow for years to come. And from the looks of 2012, current NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors had best be ready to defend their turf and their jobs.
Dillon Brothers Lead The Charge Again Austin Dillon made history in 2011, becoming the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' youngest champion at age 22. That goal accomplished, his owner and grandfather, Richard Childress gave Dillon an even greater challenge, a full-time opportunity in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where he thrived in his #3 Chevrolet. The young competitor won twice at Kentucky Speedway, never left the top four in points and claimed Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. More ...
FIA chief doctor Gary Hartstein reveals anger at FIA Former FIA chief doctor Gary Hartstein has declared his anger at the FIA, saying he is "righteously pissed off" to have lost his job.
Hartstein revealed on Twitter in November that he had been informed that the decision not to renew his Formula One contract had been taken by Jean Todt and the president of the FIA Medical Commission. However, having originally said it is "not down to me to know" the reasons for the change, Hartstein has today taken to Twitter once again to voice his anger and declare that he is set to challenge the FIA's decision. More ...
Lotus have confirms that Grosjean will partner Raikkonen 2013 Williams Chief Operations Engineer Mark Gillan has left the team, it was reported on Monday.
Autosport said that Gillan, who joined Williams in 2011, had left them to "spend more time with his family".
With a background in aerodynamics, Gillan had previously worked in Formula 1 for McLaren, Jaguar/Red Bull and Toyota.
The Northern Irishman also held a professorship at the University of Surrey, and it was from there he was lured by Williams in September 2011. More ...
Williams Chief Operations Engineer Mark Gillan has left the team (GMM) Mark Gillan, chief operations engineer, has left Williams.
Citing the confirmation of a team spokeswoman, Reuters news agency reports that Gillan - who only joined the famous British team just over a year ago - wants to "spend more time with his family".
Gillan worked for Jaguar from 2002, moving from Red Bull to Toyota in 2006 to head the Cologne based team's aerodynamics department. More ...
Lola future secured by new deal Lola Group Holdings Limited announces the continuation of the Lola name in international motorsports based on an agreement reached on 14 December between Lola Group Holdings, Multimatic Engineering, and Carl A. Haas Automobile Imports, Inc.
The agreement, spearheaded by Lola's chairman and owner of the Lola brand, Martin Birrane, sees the championship winning Lola LMP project continuing with Multimatic providing engineering support and Haas providing spares services and distribution for teams that run Lola race cars. More ...
Ganassi announces Rolex 24 lineup Six-time and reigning Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Champions Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced today its season-long program for 2013, including their driver line-up for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Long-time partner TELMEX returns as the primary sponsor of the No. 01 Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley piloted by Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, who return for their seventh consecutive season with CGRFS.
BMW Power returns for a fourth consecutive season through the support and assistance of BMW of North America and Dinan Engineering. The 5.0-liter BMW M S62 V8 power plant has driven the team to 16 Daytona Prototype class victories in 37 races over the last three seasons. More ...
Showtime Not Renewing "Inside NASCAR" After Three Seasons Showtime has opted not to renew its deal for “Inside NASCAR,” bringing an end to the show’s three-year run on the premium cable channel. NASCAR, which produces the show, has begun searching for a new partner. The studio-based show resembles Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” with behind-the-scenes footage and high-quality features. Showtime did not respond to requests for comment.
The channel promoted the show heavily, even buying a race entitlement in '10 and '11 for the Showtime Southern 500, but NASCAR Managing Dir of Productions & Programming Tally Hair said Showtime decided to discontinue the show because its programming strategy changed. Hair: “We’re very proud of the show and believe in the franchise. We believe there is a home for it with the right partner.” More ...
McDonald's to sponsor McMurray in more races in 2013
McMurray
McDonald's will increase its sponsorship on Jamie McMurray's #1 Chevy to help make up for the departure of primary sponsor Bass Pro Shops, an Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing spokesperson said Thursday. EGR's Jeff Dowling said in an email he's "not 100% sure" what McDonald's total commitment will be, but that the team is planning an announcement on Jan. 23 during the NASCAR media tour that will outline sponsorship for the #1 car.
McDonald's sponsored 13 races in 2012. Bass Pro Shops, which will sponsor #14-Tony Stewart in 18 races in 2013, is not leaving McMurray completely. According to Dowling, Bass Pro Shops is expected to remain as an associate sponsor and "hopefully be the primary on the #1 Chevy for one or more races."
The team is still working on details. McMurray also had several one-off sponsors on his car in 2012, and Dowling said announcements on others will be announced soon. As the World Turns
Mercedes valued at half of BMW as Zetsche loses investors Daimler investors value the Mercedes-Benz cars unit at half what rival BMW is worth as CEO Dieter Zetsche seeks to reclaim the title of world's biggest luxury carmaker.
Market capitalization at BMW has surged to 45 billion euros ($58.8 billion), versus 42.2 billion for Daimler. With the subtraction of a reasonable price for Daimler's truck business -- the world's biggest -- the value investors assign to Mercedes passenger cars stands at about 25 billion euros.
"The market is saying that the prospects for Mercedes are much worse than for BMW," said Hans-Peter Wodniok, an analyst with Fairesearch in Kronberg, Germany. "The market's always right. In terms of innovation, BMW is the leader." More ...
Newey: We took it right to the edge Despite suggestions to the contrary, Adrian Newey insists that everything Red Bull did in 2012 in order to improve performance was legal.
Red Bull's chief technical officer was speaking in a documentary, where he responded to accusations from other teams that they resorted to illegal means in order to get the most out of their car.
On more than one occasion the FIA were forced to close off loopholes during the 2012 campaign - loopholes that Newey and his team were only too happy to take advantage of. More ...
Europe car sales fall to 19-year low European car sales fell 10 percent to 965,918 units in November, bringing registrations this year to a 19-year low, as austerity-hit buyers stayed out of showrooms.
Hyundai was the only mass-market automaker to buck the trend, posting a 7 percent gain while sister brand Kia's sales fell 3.6 percent. Renault suffered the biggest year-on-year decline with combined registrations down 27.4 percent for the Renault and Dacia brands. More ...
Race Of Champions Generates 'Disappointing' Ratings On German TV German private-TV channel Sat.1 "obtained disappointing ratings" with its broadcast of Saturday's Race of Champions, according to David Grzeschik of Quoten Meter. Sat.1 attracted only 650,000 to its broadcast of the event. The number equaled a 4.6% market share. In the target demographic 14-49, the broadcast received a 7.1% share.
Grosjean wins Race of Champions French Formula 1 star Romain Grosjean put in a stunning performance to eclipse 15 fellow superstars of motorsport and win the Race Of Champions on an evening of thrills at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium.
Like Jaques Villeneuve, Hamilton went for the money. He's smiling all the way to the bank, but his career as a winner may be over.
Sir Jackie Stewart sent a warning Lewis Hamilton’s way, as the three-time World Champion fears the former McLaren driver will find life difficult at Mercedes following his much-discussed switch for 2013.
With much of the drivers’ market for next season originally revolving around Hamilton’s choice for the future, there have been many expectations in store for the partnership between the 2008 World Champion and technical guru Ross Brawn – and while Formula One insiders do not expect Mercedes to play a leading part in the fight for the 2013 title, the £60 million deal bringing Hamilton to Brackley is seen as a real test for the team’s ambitions. More ...
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali says Fernando Alonso will come back stronger in 2013, assuming Ferrari does not design another slug.
Despite leading for much of the year, Alonso was ultimately unable to counteract Sebastian Vettel's dramatic late charge at the tail end of the season, which saw the German win his third consecutive drivers' championship title.
Alonso is too strong a personality and too talented a driver to let that get him down, however, says Domenicali. More ...
Team Germany wins ROC againUPDATE Added photo of the winning team below. It is no fluke that they have won the team competition for six, count them six, straight years. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are the two best drivers in the world.
12/15/12
Winning for Germany once again were Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel
Team Germany's Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel added to their incredible run of success by winning their sixth consecutive ROC Nations Cup title in Bangkok.
On another hot evening in the Thai capital, legends from many of the world's biggest motor sport series teamed up in pairs to battle for national pride. They raced a mix of cars – including the Audi R8 LMS, VW Scirocco, Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo and the Toyota GT86 – on a purpose-built parallel track at the Rajamangala Stadium. More ...
Circuit of the Americas to seek up to $5 million from state for 4 more races Circuit of the Americas officials, aided by a Austin City Council vote Thursday, will seek what could be as much as $5 million from the Texas Event Trust Fund for four motor sports events next year. Separately, circuit organizers will likely seek a payment from the state for the November 2013 Formula One race.
The council voted 5-2 to in effect sponsor the circuit’s application to the Texas Event Trust Fund for reimbursement of state sales, alcohol, hotel/motel and car rental taxes that a later study would determine were generated by the four races. The city, according to Assistant City Attorney Leela Fireside, would retain all local taxes produced by the races. More ...
Two Cars For Scuderia Corsa In Rolex 24 Giacomo Mattioli, team principal of Scuderia Corsa, has confirmed that the team will field a pair of 458 Italia GT3′s in the 2013 running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Alessandro Balzan, the 2012 Ferrari Challenge champion, will share the No. 63 458 Italia GT3 with Alessandro Guidi and Marco Frezza. More ...
Last Year's winner, Tony Stewart (R) gets his trophy from none other than Mario Andretti
In one of the strongest and most diverse fields in the history of the award, 16 racers from 13 different series have been nominated for the seventh annual presentation of the Mario Andretti Trophy as the SPEED Performer of the Year. “This might be one of the most difficult decisions to date,” said Andretti, the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and Formula One World Championship. “Every year, a few racers seem to elevate themselves above the rest, but this is a season loaded with extremely strong and passionate performances that all deserve consideration.”
Nominees include 2010 SPEED Performer of the Year Sebastian Vettel (F1), Fernando Alonso (F1), Brad Keselowski (NASCAR), Jorge Lorenzo (MotoGP), Casey Stoner (MotoGP), Ryan Hunter-Reay (IndyCar), Antron Brown (NHRA), Kyle Larson (USAC), Sammy Swindell (WoO), Sebastien Loeb (World Rally), Andre Lotterer (WEC), Max Biaggi (World Superbike), Scott Pruett (Grand-Am), Donny Schatz (WoO), Josh Hayes (AMA Pro Superbike) and Ryan Villopoto (Supercross). More ...
The American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association has announced its annual All America Team for 2012. The honored drivers representing multiple forms of professional motorsports is elected each year by AARWBA. The association's members vote on drivers within their participating categories of racing and the top two from each discipline are elected to the first team.
The 2012 All-America team is as follows:
In the Open Wheel Division, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Will Power were the leading choices. Driving for Andretti Autosport, Hunter-Reay claimed his first IZOD Indy Car Series Champion this year, and Verizon Team Penske's Will Power sat on five pole positions and won three races in the series on his way to second place in 2012 points for the third consecutive season. More ...
Yacaman earns top Colombian driving honor Firestone Indy Lights driver Gustavo Yacaman was named Colombian Driver of the Year as part of the "Night of the Best" of the Colombian Federation of Motor Sports FCAD.
This is the second time in his career that Yacamán has been given the prestigious title.
The award comes after a career-best season in Firestone Indy Lights and his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the same year. He finished in third place in the championship in Firestone Indy Lights, with two victories at Detroit and Toronto, pole position at the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis, seven top five and 10 top ten finishes. At just 21-years-old, he finished third in his first-ever 24 hours of Daytona. More ...
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing building for team's future Dec. 15, 2011, was an especially busy day for Sarah Fisher and Willis "Wink" Hartman. They held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing facility and unwrapped their new Dallara chassis a few miles away at their current home base.
A year later finds the team principals exceptionally busy and continuing to build for the future.
Fisher, who founded the team in 2008, expects furniture to roll into the 37,000-square-foot facility on Main Street in Speedway, Ind., next to Dallara Automobili's U.S. home by May 2013. More ...
Hildebrand checks out half pipe and more JR Hildebrand will be a guest at the Dew Tour Mountain Championships this weekend in Breckenridge, Colo. Competitions include various forms of snowboarding and skiing.
"I've always been a huge action sports fan," he said. "Growing up in the Bay Area I raced mountain bikes and BMX and I still mountain bike. It's a cool thing to do during my off-season and to see the snow sports side it."
The National Guard, primary sponsor on Hildebrand's No. 4 car for Panther Racing, is a supporter of the Dew Tour.
Rookies impress at Sebring test By extension, some straight talk from Sam Schmidt led to Tristan Vautier having the opportunity to test an IZOD IndyCar Series car Dec. 13. He appreciates both.
"I met Sam in 2010 and the first thing I did was beg him to give me a (Firestone Indy Lights) test that I couldn't afford," Vautier recalled. "He was honest and advised me to go back to Star Mazda where I had the money to hopefully win the championship and come back to see him when I had the title. I came back to see him a year later with the scholarship from Mazda." More ...
Go Hunter-Reay! A reader writes, Dear AR1.com, Love the pictures from the Race of Champions Friday and Saturday practice on your home page. As an American I am rooting for Ryan Hunter-Reay to give those F1 guys a driving lesson. Go Ryan! Gail Monroe
Schumacher and Vettel aim for six in a row Formula 1 world champions Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are preparing for tonight’s ROC Nations Cup as they bid to extend Team Germany’s run of glory to a record sixth consecutive triumph.
The German duo, who have become an all-conquering force in the competition, met the media at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium this evening along with fellow F1 stars David Coulthard and Romain Grosjean. They are part of the dazzling line-up of motor sport greats – also including MotoGP world champions Jorge Lorenzo and Mick Doohan – who will compete in tonight’s ROC Nations Cup and Sunday’s individual Race Of Champions. More ...
Video: Tony Kanaan and Simona de Silvestro testing at TMS KV Racing Technology teammates Tony Kanaan and Simona de Silvestro tested at Texas Motor Speedway recently.
Video: Recent Chevrolet Test at Auto Club Speedway Will Power, Helio Castroneves, Sebastien Bourdais, Marco Andretti and Ed Carpenter tested for Chevy at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Tuesday December 5th.
Video: IndyCar Offseason: Episode 1 See what IndyCar drivers James Hinchcliffe, Charlie Kimball, Will Power and Josef Newgarden have been getting up to during the off-season so far..
Ericsson and Richelmi sign for DAMS Defending GP2 champions DAMS have confirmed their line-up for the 2013 season, with Marcus Ericsson and Stephane Richelmi leading the team’s hunt for a third consecutive drivers’ title.
Swede Ericsson joins from iSport, where he finished 10th and eight in the Championship in the last two seasons, while Monegasque Richelmi makes the switch from Trident after finishing 18th in the rankings last year.
"I'm extremely proud to get the opportunity to drive for DAMS," said Ericsson, who will be leading the team as he enters his fourth year at this level. “After testing successfully together in the Jerez post-season tests, there were no doubts as to where I wanted to be in 2013.” More ...
Video: The Red Bull Story: 2005 to 2012 Since Red Bull Racing’s first Formula One race in Australia 2005, the team has claimed three Formula One Constructors’ World Championships, while Sebastian Vettel has claimed three Drivers’ World Championships.
Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber talk candidly about key moments from the team’s history 2005 – 2012.
New version of iPhone app released A new version of our iPhone app has been released and is ready for download in the Apple App Store. The new version adds some features already available in our iPad app plus more.
What's New in Version 2.1
Added iPhone 5 support Added new features: - Push Notifications (get iPhone alerts when new news is posted) - View race schedules and track information - You can now add a race event to your iPhone calendar - Image navigation has been approved
Vautier Excels with SHM in IndyCar Debut When 2012 Firestone Indy Lights Champion Tristan Vautier put his helmet on moments before climbing in the No. 77 Schmidt-Hamilton HP Motorsports (SHM) car for his first laps in an IndyCar during a test at Sebring International Raceway, he told himself, “You’ll remember this moment for a long time.”
When he stepped out of the car at the conclusion of the test he had climbed to second on the time charts, ensuring that SHM and the rest of the IZOD IndyCar Series paddock would remember him for a long time.
Vautier clocked an unofficial lap time of 52.85 seconds at the 1.65-mile road course, second only to Team Penske’s Will Power who was a hair faster at 52.84 seconds. More ...
Al Speyer, Executive Director of Firestone Racing, to Retire in 2013 Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (Bridgestone Americas) announced today that Al Speyer, executive director of motorsports, intends to retire in 2013 after 38 years with the company.
Speyer has been a well-known face at tracks across the globe during his 30 years in motorsports. He began his career with Firestone Tire & Rubber Company after graduating from Syracuse University in 1974 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Throughout his career he has worked on a wide variety of racing classes including stock cars, sports cars (SCCA – amateur and Trans-Am; IMSA – GTP/GTO/GTU and the Firestone Firehawk Endurance Series), drag racing, F1 and IndyCar. More ...
Team India triumph in ROC Asia Team India's Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok are celebrating tonight after they took glory in the inaugural ROC Asia competition, the first night of action of the 2012 Race Of Champions weekend.
On a hot evening at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium, Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok joined forces for Team India as both made their ROC debuts. The Indian duo topped the group stage with four wins out of six to go into the final as favorites.
There they faced Toyota Team Gazoo Japan, who were represented by Kazuya Ohshima and Takuto Iguchi, who were both class winners in this year's Nürburgring 24-Hour race. In the end the Indian duo prevailed, both winning their heats to take the title. More ...
HPD announces grassroots contingency program for 2013 Honda Performance Development, the racing arm of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., has announced an expanded contingency program for grassroots and entry-level professional racing in 2013.
Significant additions to the program include the new Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Majors series, which will debut in 2013 as an eventual replacement for SCCA National race weekends; and support for 250cc shifter karts, where a new HPD-developed package will be available for one of the quickest categories in karting.
In professional Touring Car racing, HPD will continue its support for teams taking part in the SCCA Pirelli World Challenge and Grand-Am’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series. More ...
Successful Test Day at Sebring as Barracuda Racing Prepares for 2013 When Alex Tagliani hit the track on Thursday at Sebring International Raceway, the goal was to further develop the Barracuda DW12 for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season.
By the mid-day break, the No. 98, Honda-powered Dallara DW12 had turned 51 laps, allowing the team to evaluate a variety of setup options for the upcoming season.
During the afternoon session, Tagliani drove an additional 20 laps. He recorded a 52.91 as his best time of the day, in what he considered a successful, problem-free development day with engineer Todd Malloy. More ...
Poor F1 performance was Haug's demise As AR1.com suggested earlier this week, Mercedes sport supremo Norbert Haug revealed that the reason behind his sudden departure from Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, announced on Thursday, was caused mainly by the disappointing results of the Stuttgart marque’s Formula One team.
Talking to German news agency SID, Haug explained in more detail the reasoning behind what he described as a ‘mutual’ decision by all parties involved.
“There is always somebody who has to accept the overall responsibility,” said the 60-year-old, who steps down after more than two decades at the helm of the constructor’s sport operations. “We have had our successes in the past three years, of course, but not consistently enough – so a direction had to be set and a marker laid down.” More ...
Money may force Conor Daly back to USA 21-year-old Conor Daly says the financial demands of racing in Europe means he is likely to focus on finding a seat in the United States for next year.
"We don't really know yet what we can do [for 2013]," Daly told the official IndyCar website.
"We have had some great sponsors and supporters around us, but it will take more if we want to move up in Europe and also if we can do IndyCar. More ...
Power tops Sebring test times Penske Racing's Will Power turned the fastest laps in both days of testing at Sebring this week on the 1.6-mile short course. Rain interrupted the testing several times.
Lap Times
1: Will Power, 52.84s 2: Tristan Vautier, 52.85 3: Alex Tagliani, 52.91 4: Josef Newgarden, 52.93 5: Justin Wilson, 52.94 6: Scott Dixon, 52.94 7: Helio Castroneves, 53.00 8: Simona de Silvestro, 53.01 9: Oriol Servia, 53.02 10: JR Hildebrand, 53.04 11: Tony Kanaan, 53.13 12: Conor Daly, 53.29 13: Charlie Kimball, 53.31 14: James Hinchcliffe, 53.34 15: Graham Rahal, 53.48
Average fuel economy for new cars flat TrueCar, the authority on new car pricing information, trends and forecasting, today provided actual fuel economy numbers from November light vehicle auto sales that indicate TrueMPG increased to 23.2 mpg in November 2012 compared to 22.3 mpg in November 2011, and stayed flat from October 2012 at 23.2 mpg.
"The demand for fuel-efficient vehicles continues to be unseasonably strong as TrueMPG has remained at 23.0 MPG or above since February," said Jesse Toprak, Senior Analyst at TrueCar. "We expect to see TrueMPG dip in December as more consumers snap up larger SUVs and trucks." More ...
Motor sport legends ready for the Race Of Champions Many of the world’s greatest drivers have arrived at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium ahead of this weekend’s ROC 2012 – and it didn’t take long for the banter to start.
The Race Of Champions, which is being staged for the 25th consecutive year in 2012, brings together the world’s greatest drivers from motor sport’s main disciplines – including Formula 1, world rally, touring cars, Le Mans, MotoGP, IndyCar and the X-Games – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.
A dazzling line-up of international superstars including multiple F1 world champions Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel plus multiple MotoGP world champions Mick Doohan and Jorge Lorenzo will compete in Saturday’s ROC Nations Cup and Sunday’s individual Race Of Champions. More ...
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Team India triumph in ROC Asia