Ford has released images of its new Falcon-based FG01 V8 Supercar ahead of the car’s track debut. Craig Lowndes will drive the only FG01 in the field in this weekend’s Sandown 400. There are five images in all, simply click on an image for a high resolution download (all images 3800px wide, approx 1.5mb).
Ford’s press release and additional high resolution images can be seen below.
After becoming the first ever MINI CHALLENGE UBER-STAR at Eastern Creek, Jason Bargwanna will complete the remainder of 2008 in the Series, this time with cousin, Scott in a two car super-team, starting this weekend at Sandown.
The arrangement has come together with major support from Trivett Classic MINI Garage in Parramatta (Sydney) and Matchmaster TV Reception Systems. It will be a family affair, the cars being run under the Bargwanna Motorsport banner out of Sydney.
Racing together isn’t new for the cousins – the Bargwanna/Bargwanna combination first teamed up at the 1992 Bathurst 1000 in a Corolla, taking a class win. The boys will continue the family connection by using the racing numbers of their fathers – twins, Alf (Scott) and Harry (Jason) Bargwanna – #79 and #97 respectively.
“Bargwannas have come out of the woodwork to get this deal pulled together for Sandown,†the former Bathurst 1000 winner said. “We’re looking good and cannot wait for the challenge. We want to be competitive in this deal, but we really want to have some fun as well.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to involve our families in our racing. Scott and I grew up at race tracks watching our fathers and this gives us the opportunity to do the same with our sons and also involve our fathers closely. MINI CHALLENGE is a great environment to go racing in and do this sort of thing.â€
The Audi R8 can now be optioned with full light-emitting diode (LED) headlights. The R8’s controversially styled LED day time running lights have set a new visual language for Audi’s lighting across their model range. But the R8 is the first car to have LED headlights to be used for general night time driving and can be used in both low and high beam. There are 54 LEDs that complete the set up—ouch, they come at a price though—approximately AU$5790!
Audi’s press release can be read after the jump.
In stunning news just to hand Max Mosley has won a vote of confidence and will remain in his role as FIA President. The vote, called by Mosley himself, returned over 60% of the count in favour of the embattled motorsport supremo, winning 103 of the 169 votes.
Mosley’s controversial grip on the FIA has been under question since news broke of his involvement in a ‘Nazi-style sex orgy’ in late March. The automotive federations of Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the USA all voted against Mosley. This follows public condemnation of the 68-year-old’s behaviour from prominent Formula 1 manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Honda. Even Formula 1’s main man, Bernie Ecclestone, has pleaded that Mosley step down. “He should go out of responsibility for the institution he represents,” Ecclestone told the Daily Telegraph.
Eddie Jordan, former Formula 1 team boss, has expressed concerns over Mosley’s ongoing tenure, “there are a lot of countries where F1 goes and lots of the rulers of those countries don’t want to deal with him. That is clearly not acceptable. My hope is that he will listen to the comments and then go.”
There are also suggestions from BBC journalist Adam Parsons that the FIA could face a damaging split, “he won by a clear majority, but among those who opposed him there is overt anger and resentment. The US, German and Dutch raised the spectre of breaking away from the FIA in protest is an unprecedented threat.
“Today the FIA is an organisation in crisis, facing the prospect of being ripped apart.”
Source: BBC
Honda’s top brass couldn’t wait to trumpet this feel good story about Jazz owner Mary Taylor, a soon to be 90-year-old readying herself for her seventeenth round Australia trip. Seventeenth!
What’s more, young Mary will be singing her own tune as she plans to complete this latest journey solo. A woman after my own heart, Mary says “I’m addicted to solo driving. I love being by myself. I like to make my own decisions. Passengers always want to stop.â€
Mary was 75 when she completed her maiden round Australia voyage, and in preparation for her upcoming drive she booked herself in for a thorough driving assessment. The assessor’s report card read as follows: Mary Taylor’s driving ability is of a very high standard.
Mary will document her journey with a dash-mounted video camera and her laptop, complete with voice-recognition software. She will also take photographs of her Jazz at various locations she visits. She hopes to drive as many as 600 kilometers per day and anticipates her journey along the Australian coastline will take around six weeks, covering between 16,000 to 18,000 kilometers. With precision planning, Mary travels anti-clockwise in order to save petrol and reduce her impact on the environment. “The wind pushes you along. I’ve also done the trip twice in the Civic Hybrid.â€
After attending the launch of BMW’s 1 Series Coupé, I was keen for a closer look at the 135i. Initially I thought the 1 Series Coupé was a bit of a design faux pas, however, the more I see it, the more cohesive its design appears to be. The 1 is certainly a car that looks better in the flesh than in photos. Even the Sedona Red colour, used in most of the promotional material, looks better than photos would suggest. As with most current BMW’s the visual language is unmistakable and on the 1 Series Coupé it is from the dramatic shoulder line the rest of the car’s visual cues hang. Its stubby tail gives the car a squat aggressive look that sums up the its raison d’etre perfectly. Most importantly for BMW, in a segment that is all about traditional swoopy coupés, like the 350Z, Audi’s gorgeously updated TT, or even BMW’s own Z4, the 1 Series Coupé provides a unique and fresh solution.
Keep your eyes peeled for some great MINI CHALLENGE action on your TV this weekend, including an exclusive interview on Channel 10 with Ben Tune about his roller coaster experience as a MINI CHALLENGE UBER-STAR CAR driver.
Channel 7 will also have a complete highlights package of all the Round 3 action from Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway. Read below for more detail and broadcast times.
Jeremy Clarkson has got himself into more hot water for admitting to driving 186mph (300km/h) on a public road in Britain. In news sure to attract unwanted attention for Australian producers of the impending Top Gear spin off, the revelation has come to light in a recent article in the Daily Mail. This has obviously created outrage from a variety of groups:
Mary Williams, chief executive of Brake, said: ‘Jeremy Clarkson is extremely offensive and irresponsible. His comments are very upsetting to loved ones who have suffered a bereavement through a road crash because of a speeding driver. He is the most appalling role model for our next generation of drivers. The BBC should sack him – he is totally out of control.’
UPDATE: Meet the Top Gear Australia cast (watch video)
Charlie Cox, Warren Brown and Steve Pizzati will form the Australian cast of Top Gear to air on SBS. The trio were selected after the show’s producers—including Andy Wilman, executive producer of Top Gear UK—went through an exhaustive 4000 applications. It is said the show will have an Australian flavour, although the stereotypical Australian ‘ocker’ won’t be featured. The Australian producers will model their version heavily on the extraordinarily successful UK version which stars Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
Charlie Cox, 47, is an ex-Briton with a background in motoring journalism. Forty-something Warren Brown is best known for his role as a cartoonist with The Daily Telegraph—expect him to have a sharp wit. While thirty-ish Steve Pizzati brings some genuine driving credentials to the set thanks to his experience as an advanced driving instructor and racer with Porsche Australia.
I recently heard about the BMW Performance range, a collection of official aftermarket bits and pieces that can be retro fitted to sir’s 135i. Given a few of the photos below are taken with parts fitted to an M3, it seems as though it shouldn’t be too long before BMW offers the parts across their range. In the meantime, more pics and the official BMW press release are included below. It’s a bit boy racer, but the steering wheel with shift indicator and small display for lap times seems pretty nifty.
This is a rare gem of a clip from the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix. Watch the closing laps as iconic commentary duo Murray Walker and James Hunt attempt to keep you up to date with who is winning the race! This should get you in the mood for tonight’s 2008 Monaco Grand Prix.
After recently driving the Audi’s close relation, the Golf GT TDI with DSG, I was keen to see how the A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI Ambition compared. The two cars share the same basic underpinnings, the same engine, producing the same power (125kW) and the same torque (a gob smacking 350Nm). Both cars tested also shared the 6-speed double clutch transmission, or S tronic in Audi speak.
Let’s start with the subjective first, the car’s looks. To me, the Sportback body shape has a basic and rudimentary silhouette which can look awkward when viewed from the rear quarter. However, far from allowing this to be a negative, Audi’s designers have performed their usual task of delivering the market a well executed design solution and the A3’s slightly lower and raked roofline gives the car a sleeker, more dynamic look when compared to the Mk5 Golf. The A3 also has more of an exclusive feel about its looks. This feeling of exclusivity is reinforced in pure sales terms — in 2007, Audi sold 1,594 A3s, whereas Volkswagen sold 10,982 Golfs. Figures to the end of April this year follow a similar trend — 654 as against 4,503 — so you can be assured that an A3 will always be more exclusive than its Volkswagen cousin.