Last week Robbie Maddison jumped “the most dangerous” stunt of his career when he jumped across the Corinth Canal in Greece. You can relive the stunt in a new video below, which includes some behind the scenes footage with Maddison.
For the statisticians Robbie’s jump was 85m (278ft) across and at his highest point Maddison was almost 100m above the water below. And he made it look so easy!
March was another strong month for Australian vehicle sales. So much so that the 94,744 sales recorded represented a new monthly record for March, an increase of 352 sales over the previous high set in 2007. Compared to last month sales increased by 12,525 units.
While all vehicle segments fared well, the SUV sector continued its upward trend, increasing by 44%. Passenger car sales were up by more than 23%, while both the light and heavy commercial segments also posted healthy increases.
Toyota and Holden continue their reign as the country’s top two selling marques, with 21.4% and 12.4% market share respectively. Meanwhile, Ford fought back from last month’s drop recovering from fifth on the sales charts to finish ahead of Hyundai and Mazda in third place with 8.5% market share.
However, there was still good news for Hyundai as the i30 was the country’s best selling small car during March. The first time the i30 has achieved such a result.
This coming weekend Sothebys Australia will be auctioning off a unique piece of Australian motorsport history when they put Alan Jones’ ex-Formula One car under the hammer. Built in 1979 and raced in the same year, as well as Jones’ 1980 championship winning year, the Williams FW07 is expected to sell for close to one million dollars.
The FW07, designed by Patrick Head, was recognised for its aerodynamic ground effects and was good enough to bring Williams the first of its nine F1 constructors titles and first F1 drivers championship. The car up for auction is chassis number 4 (FW07/04) and was used by Jones to win the 1979 German, Austrian and Candian Grands Prix, as well as the 1980 Argentine Grand Prix.
FW07/04 saw an end to its competitive life after it was crashed in testing during the 1980 season. Jones has recounted it was the only time in an F1 car that he feared for his life after the front wheel broke loose and brushed his helmet as it flew over the car.
After its crash FW07/04 was rebuilt for show car purposes and includes a replica Ford-Cosworth DFV engine. The car was sold in 1981 and found its new home at the York Motor Museum in Western Australia.
The car is now available to purchase for the first time since its original sale and James Nicholls from Sothebys hopes there is strong interest in Lot #130, “It’s difficult to tell as this is such a specialist car—we certainly think it will be in the high hundreds of thousands, it could be $700,000 or higher than that. With the (Formula One) race in Melbourne bringing people into the country we’re hoping people are aware of the car, it’s a very prestigious car, a ground-breaking car driven by Alan Jones so it’s pretty significant here and internationally.”
[Source: Sothebys Australia | via carsguide | Pics: Sothebys Australia]
Australia’s Robbie Maddison has added another stunt to his impressive list by jumping the Corinth Canal in Greece. At the peak of his jump Maddison was almost 100 meters from the water below and the leap spanned roughly 90 metres. You can see footage of the leap after the break. There is also a brief interview available with Robbie from this morning’s Sunrise program.
In July last year Maddison backflipped over the Tower Bridge in London and he has performed many other stunts around the world, including Las Vegas and Melbourne.
[via ESPN | Pic: Predrag Vuckovic, Jörg Mitter, Stefan Aufschnaiter]
If you’re a Gen-Xer like me then Ferris Bueller’s Day Off will be right up there with one of your favourite films of all time. Just one of the things that made the movie great was the Ferrari 250GT Spyder California belonging to Cameron’s dad.
The good news for cashed up Gen-Xers is that they now have an opportunity to buy the car from the movie. And it’s actually likely to be more affordable than you think. The rarity and value of genuine 250GTs is such that the film’s producers commissioned two replicas to be made, using an MG chassis. Of course, one of the cars got destroyed in the making of the film, but the unique surviving piece of movie history could be yours.
UK auction house Bonhams will offer up the car on 19 April. They expect the replica to fetch between £30-40K (AU$50-66K). I have to admit, this would be one very cool piece of memorabilia to own. A reminder of the car in action can be seen after the jump, thanks to the glory of YouTube.
[Source: Bonhams | Thanks to Tom for the tip]
Doing a few burnouts at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed is one thing. Doing them in Victoria’s nanny state during Grand Prix week is a different proposition altogether. Just ask 2008 F1 World Champ Lewis Hamilton who was busted fishtailing his Mercedes road car yesterday evening on Fitzroy Street in St Kilda.
Senior police constable Scott Woodford said the 25-year-old’s car had “accelerated heavily and lost traction to the rear wheels.”
Woodford continued, “It’s fair to say that he was disappointed with the whole incident but I must say he was extremely cooperative throughout.”
Hamilton will be charged with improper use of a motor vehicle and the car will be impounded for 48 hours.
A statement released by McLaren quotes Hamilton as saying, “This evening, I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police. What I did was silly, and I want to apologise for it.”
[Source: ABC | Thanks to Mick for the tip]
Yesterday was Steve McQueen‘s 80th birthday. He was the King of cool, thanks largely to his starring roles in movies like Le Mans and Bullitt. Seemingly, he had it all. But apart from the obvious perks of fast cars and women, McQueen had style and class. May he rest in peace.
[via Motor Morph]
It is two years ago today since AUSmotive began. The past twelve months has seen many articles published, including a world exclusive spy pic of the new Hyundai ix35, the first pictures of the Audi RS5 published on a motoring-based site and AUSmotive was the first Australian website to bring you news of the Volkswagen Scirocco import plans, as well as yesterday’s revelations concerning the Volkswagen Golf R.
Site traffic has continued to grow every quarter and numbers have tripled on last year’s stats. In the coming months AUSmotive 2.0 should be coming to a screen near you. If you’ve got any suggestions on what you would like to see in this upgrade, it’s not too late, so please post your ideas in the comments section below.
For now, though, I wish you happy and safe motoring from AUSmotive and, remember, keep it shiny side up.
Earlier today Queanbeyan City Council honoured Australian Formula One driver, and local lad made good, Mark Webber with a civic reception. I made the short journey across the border to join in the fun.
Proceedings begun with a parade down Queanbeyan’s main street, where hundreds of people, including lots of school kids, were able to cheer Webber on and offer best wishes for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Once the parade was over Webber was greeted by Queanbeyan Mayor, Cr Tim Overall, before he became a pied piper of sorts on his way into the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. It was a short walk but with every step Webber happily signed autographs for F1 fans of all ages.
The usual speeches were presented including a great precis of Webber’s career from an old family friend. You could see from the smile on Mark’s face that he enjoyed the snapshot offered, and that the effort made was very much appreciated.
Webber then took the stand, accepted a plaque from Cr Overall and spoke of his fond memories from growing up in Queanbeyan. He also made special mention for two other local boys done good, namely David Campese and David Furner.
During Webber’s F3 days he was facing a financial crossroad and he needed money for his motorsport career to survive. Former Wallaby David Campese came to the fore providing $100,000 which allowed Mark to carry on. Webber quipped that he has since paid back the loan and acknowledged his gratitude to Campese who took a huge risk to support what was then a fledgling career.
David Furner, NRL premiership player and current Canberra Raiders coach, also earned praise from Webber who recalled his days growing up when he would walk his dog and see Furner out practicing alone. Mark commented that when he first arrived in Europe he thought he was doing pretty well, but he soon realised all the other young hopefuls from countries far and wide wanted to achieve the same thing he did, a Formula One career. He remembered Furner’s discipline and willingness to train that little bit harder and soon followed a similar methodology. Mark mentioned he likes training on Christmas Day and News Year’s Day as he reckons this gives him two extra days on his competitors.
Webber spoke well and his enthusiasm for friends, family and all in attendance was clear to see. He appears to have a humility that many of his peers would do well to imitate. He also has the support of Australian F1 fans and I’m sure all wish him great success, including a strong result this weekend.
More pics and a few sound bites from Webber’s speech can be seen after the jump.
Earlier this week Mark Webber arrived in Australia ahead of the Australian Grand Prix (25–28 March). As you might expect his time in Australia is full of promotional engagements, but Queanbeyan City Council has managed to get dibbs on Mark for a civic reception next Monday, 22 March.
A motorcade will travel down Queanbeyan’s main drag, Monaro Street, at 12:30pm before a reception is held at Council Chambers on Crawford Street. Queanbeyan Mayor Cr Tim Overall has invited the public to come along to support Mark and says, “Queanbeyan is proud of all of its sporting stars and is honoured to have such high-quality sports people representing it on all levels.
“The people of Queanbeyan have followed Mark’s career closely and the town celebrated as one when he crossed the finish line in Germany to record his first Grand Prix victory.”
Webber has also been acknowledged by Australian Grand Prix organsiers after they named a grandstand in his honour. The Webber Stand, just announced today, is situated in between the Fangio and Senna stands, near Turn 16.
You can relive Webber’s finest moments from the 2009 season, by checking out AUSmotive’s German and Brazilian Grand Prix galleries. Let’s hope there is more to come in 2010.
[Source: markwebber.com & grandprix.com.au]
Fans of the Nürburgring Nordschleife will love this AUSringers post, which features a selection of images captured during a tourist lap of the famous course in 1972. The photos were taken by a US resident who lived in Europe at the time. So, why don’t you step back in time some 38 years and see what a traffic free lap of the Ring looked like back in the day.
The special edition MINI 50 Camden released last year features an exclusive “Mission Control” system. While the name sounds comprehensive, it’s essentially a novelty addition that plays pre-recorded message in response to driver inputs, for example, turning the car on or off, switching on the Sport button and so on.
A brief clip of the system in action has been posted to YouTube by MotoringFile and you can watch that clip below. AutoWeek also has a rather amusing review of the Camden with the Mission Control system in full operation. You can also see that footage after the jump.
On the hand the Mission Control feature is fun and light-hearted, on the other hand, it is annoying and downright naff. The best feature, perhaps, is that Mission Control can be switched off.