Just in case you missed the spectacular action from last weekend’s Catalunya round of the MotoGP here it is. You will see Yamaha teammates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo fighting it out right down to the very last corner.
The Italian commentary only heightens the excitement, never mind that you can barely understand a word!
Enjoy it while you can.
[Source: Times Online]
Audi have released this teaser image of their upcoming A5 Sportback. The car will have its European launch in September, presumably at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Australians will get their first chance to see the car in the metal in the first quarter of 2010, with Audi scheduled to launch the car locally with turbo diesel and normally aspirated petrol powered models.
AUSmotive is aware of at least one of these cars being in existence at the Ingolstadt factory for the best part of this year. Given the way things get leaked all over the net these days it’s amazing all we have to go on is the above image and a couple of sketches.
Speaking of which, a video of Wolfgang Egger, Audi Group Head of Design, sketching the A5 Sportback can be seen after the jump.
With 480-litres of luggage space Audi reckons this is the wagon you have when you really want a sedan. Described as a genuine four seater it looks like families will still need to opt for the stylish A4 Avant.
The usual range of TDI, FSI and TFSI engines will be on offer in Europe, with all meeting EU5 emissions standards. At this stage the most powerful engine planned is the 195kW 3.2 V6 quattro. (Hmm, interesting, so why can’t Volkswagen use this engine for a Mk6 Golf R32?)
The A5 Sportback will also include the Audi drive select dynamic driving system. This offers three driving modes which alter throttle response, steering sharpness and shift points for the 7-speed S tronic or multitronic transmissions. The option of a fourth mode, programmable by the driver, will also be available. That sounds pretty nifty.
UPDATE: Audi UK press release added below. It is essentially the same as the Australian blurb, however, it does give pricing for the UK market. While not foolproof it will give some idea as to the expected ballpark costs when the car goes on sale in Australia (albeit, a very conservative ballpark!). That’s assuming their model lineup resembles Australia’s. Looking at the models on offer for the UK launch, I wouldn’t count on that.
In an era, as pointed out by Mark Webber, where a single footballer has been sold for enough money to run two F1 teams in Mosley’s world it is no surprise that Formula One teams are showing signs of frustration.
The ongoing saga of the £40M budget cap could be the wedge that forces F1 teams to start a breakaway competition. If that happens, it seems the drivers are on side.
Speaking to the BBC, Mark Webber states, “All the drivers share the same view. We want to drive for the best teams and race against the best drivers. If it’s not the FIA Formula 1 world championship, so be it. It’ll still be the most prestigious championship.
“It’s the first time ever pretty much all the teams have the same view. For the sake of the sport, the main constructors and people who have the real vision believe they need to take a stand.â€
Dual world champion Fernando Alonso is more direct, “I prefer to race in any other category before the new F1.”
The D-day for a final decision is due when teams will be busy with Friday qualifying for the upcoming British Grand Prix. The drama is not lost on Toyota’s Jarno Trulli, “I know that in the next week something should budge, must move, otherwise there will inevitably be a split.”
Alonso, again, made his position clear stating the teams have tried their best to reach a satisfactory compromise, “(The teams) have done their maximum. Now the ball is in the FIA’s court.”
Formula One is, once again, proving that it is the pinnacle of motorsport both on and off the track. When the sport’s most important stakeholder’s are speaking in unison you would think FIA boss Max Mosley would listen. Perhaps the teams would be better served by negotiating with Max in a Chelsea dungeon.
[Source: BBC | Photo by Martin Trenkler]
Despite declaring they were chasing outright victory, Aston Martin say their new LMP1 has exceeded expectations at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The #007 car was the first petrol powered racer across the line, finishing fourth outright. The other two Aston Martins had accident related issues which kept them well out of contention.
From the #007 car, German driver Stefan Mücke spoke highly of their achievements, “I’m absolutely delighted by this result,” he said. “The performance gap shows that there are still effectively two classes in the LMP1 category—diesel and petrol—but we said from the very beginning that our objective was to be quickest in the petrol class and so I am very pleased that we have managed to achieve this. Compared to last year our performance gap to the diesels is a bit smaller but the rules still do not allow us to compete on equal terms.”
Aston Martin CEO and part-time racer, Dr Ulrich Bez, reminded us of the old adage—win on Sunday, sell on Monday—”In the same month that we launch the new V12 Vantage and DBS Volante, it is fitting that the same 6.0 litre V12 heart powers our LMP1 cars to such an outstanding Le Mans debut. I am thrilled for the whole team.”
More after the break.
Tonight’s was a run of the mill episode. James drove a Pontiac Commodore around LA and waxed lyrical about Aussie motoring brilliance. His points weren’t entirely convincing, it has to be said.
He also took a new Nissan 370Z for a test drive. This should be the program’s raison d’être. The challenges and mucking around are a bit of welcome hit and giggle, sure, but car reviews are where it’s at for a Top Gear franchise. At least, it should be. James’s review wasn’t bad, by any means, but it wasn’t great. It wasn’t particularly memorable, like Clarkson’s pieces on the Porsche Carrera GT or Mk5 Golf GTI, for example. And, I hate to say it, but his review tonight had a touch of Glenn Ridge about it. Just a bit too nice, a bit too slick and not quite worthy of being taken seriously.
The rest of the show followed a similar path. The lawn mowing challenge with Steve and Warren was okay, but not brilliant.
Turns out the highlight were the two guests, Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones. The latter setting a new lap record around the TG Aus track.
GoAuto brings us news that the Volkswagen Golf GTD has “been put on the backburner” by Volkswagen Australia.
The GTD is essentially a GTI-spec Golf, but powered by a 125kW 2.0 litre diesel engine. As such, VW Australia are running with the same rationale for not bringing the GTD here as they have for the Scirocco. Namely, the GTD could hurt GTI sales.
Australia did get the previous generation Mk5 Golf GT Sport TDI, which was a great drive. While the old GT Sport was also essentially a GTI in diesel form, the chassis tuning and suspension were different. The GTD, however, has the same chassis and suspension specs as the GTI.
All this said, I still can’t see the major problem for Volkswagen Australia here. Surely it’s a no brainer—JUST BRING THE CAR TO AUSTRALIA!
[Source: GoAuto]
Grant Denyer claimed the points at Round 2 of the MINI CHALLENGE 2009. Here are two clips that show how he did it.
There’s plenty of action on offer, including footage of Denyer punting off Ãœber-Star Car driver Steve Bradbury during qualifying!
As reported last night, Australia’s David Brabham, along with Marc Gené and Alexander Wurz, drove their Peugeot 908 HDi to victory at Le Mans, finally beating fierce rivals Audi. Both teams headed the field for most of the weekend, with the Peugeot team dominating the race.
“It’s such a great feeling to have won,” beamed David Brabham. “Peugeot Sport did a tremendous job; they really did.
“It’s a great team – they gave us a 100 per cent reliable car and the three of us drove a faultless race.”
Audi, on the other hand, began the race with high hopes. With five successive Le Mans wins behind them, and a hard fought win over Peugeot in the Sebring 12 hour for their new R15 TDI, the 2009 race was always going to be a fight between the French and German teams, despite a renewed bid from Aston Martin.
Audi sent three cars to La Sarthe, but only one remained in contention. Although, as the race drew to a close hopes began to fade and the #1 R15 TDI held on for a safe third place, some seven laps behind the race winner.
The Audi team were gracious in defeat and, according to Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport, are already planning their 2010 assault, “Obviously we are a little disappointed about the result. We didn’t manage to extract the full potential of the Audi R15 TDI in the race, which we had seen during testing.
“In addition, we had several technical problems that really caught us by surprise. As a result, we could only get one car onto the podium. Peugeot produced a fantastic performance and certainly deserved the victory. We will analyze the problems we had to ensure we come back stronger in 2010.”
More from the Peugeot and Audi PR teams below.
Earlier this month we brought you the demise of a McLaren F1. As if one supercar going up in flames wasn’t bad enough, here is some smoking footage of a Ferrari Enzo in Canada that is sure you bring a tear to your eye.
[Source: Jalopnik]
The #9 Peugeot 908 HDi has just won the 77th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the #8 Peugeot crossing the line in second, it was a quinella for the Peugeot team. The #1 R15 TDI from the defending Audi team finished third.
Spain’s Marc Gené drove the winning car across the finish line, completing the hard work of teammates David Brabham (Australia) and Alexander Wurz (Austria).
David Brabham’s win makes it a double success for the Brabham-Peugeot combination. David’s older brother Geoff, driving a Peugeot 905, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1993.
A complete list of Le Mans winners can be viewed at Wikipedia. Photos and driver quotes will be posted on AUSmotive tomorrow.
A quick reminder that Top Gear Series 13 returns to UK screens next Sunday 21 June.
If you don’t mind a few spoilers on what you will see in the upcoming series, check out Wikipedia or finalgear.com.
Well into the second half of the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans the Peugeot 908 HDi looks set to end Audi’s dominance of the event.
The #9 Peugeot 908 HDi, driven by Australia’s David Brabham, Marc Gené (Spain) and Alexander Wurz (Austria), is currently leading the race. The pole position winning #8 Peugeot, with an all French driving team of Stéphane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny and Sebastien Bourdais, is in second place.
The race for Audi has not gone to plan with just one car left in contention. Despite turbo overheating problems the #1 Audi R15 TDI of Allan McNish (Scotland), Tom Kristenesen (Denmark) and Dindo Capello (Italy) is fighting hard in third place, one lap behind the two Peugeots.
There is still a long way to go, with the race finish still some 10 hours away (11pm AEST). To keep up to date you check your local OneHD guide, or tune in to Radio Le Mans for complete audio coverage. A live scoreboard can also be accessed from the official race website. Peugeot also have a dedicated Le Mans website being constantly updated.
For those of us not in a OneHD coverage area, US motorsport channel SpeedTV is also offering a live feed of the race.
More pics and a few press snippets from Peugeot and Audi can be viewed after the jump.