When you hear the evocative guitar from the midpoint of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain you know it’s time for Formula 1. It’s been used by the BBC since the 1970s and after the break you can watch its F1 intros from 2015, 2013 and 1979.
[Source: F1 archives & The Telegraph]
If you haven’t yet seen Ott Tanak’s crash from Rally Mexico then put your floaties on and get ready to get wet!
The 27-year-old Estonian crashed out on SS03 and the off itself wasn’t so spectacular, it was only after he had gently rolled into the water that things became dramatic. It was actually a bit scary there for a moment: could Tanak and co-driver Raigo Molder escape their stricken Fiesta?
Thankfully they did, both men getting to the safety of dry land without too much fuss. Molder even had the presence of mind to grab his pace notes.
If you’re an Autosport+ subscriber there’s some interesting post-rally analysis on Tanak’s crash. David Evans laments that the crash attracted world healdines, but the subsequent victory by Sebatsien Ogier barely rated a mention.
Further, Evans questions why it took 17 minutes to get FIVs on the scene. It took 12 minutes alone just to locate Tanak and Molder, as there were issues with their car’s tracking device.
The tale had almost remarkable ending. After spending nine hours in that lake the car was salvaged and brought back into service. M-Sport set about repairing the car and had three hours to do so. And they did, for a brief moment, get the car running.
Alas, shortly after leaving service the Fiesta stopped running, and despite the team’s best efforts Tanak was unable to resume.
This time next week we’ll be well and truly in Australian Grand Prix mode. To help get you ready for the forthcoming season, and with a local Aussie flavour, here’s a 13-minute highlights package from 2014 that’s all about Daniel Ricciardo.
Last season Dan made his mark on the world of F1. It was a big challenge to take on the well-entrenched four-time world champion on the other side of the garage at Red Bull. Not only did Ricciardo take Vettel on, he beat him handsomely.
Moreover, Daniel showed he has balls of steel when he is on a charge. He made overtaking moves stick that he had no right to make. And he did it cleanly. Ricciardo was a breath of fresh air in 2014 and his three race wins amidst a season-long Mercedes AMG domination shows he is a superstar in the making.
Let’s hope we see a lot more of Daniel soaked in champagne atop the podium in 2015 and beyond.
Meet Paul Bailey. He’s from the UK and owns a McLaren P1, a LaFerrari and a Porsche 918 Spyder. What a bastard!
In this video Bailey drives his P1 to pick up his new LaFerrari. Not content with taking delivery of one car for the day he shoots straight off to Porsche to collect his 918. Nice work if you can get it!
We’re treated to some of his thoughts on all three cars. This is not a balls out performance comparison that’s going to get him banned by over protective car makers (yet), but it’s still a worthwhile insight into the three best and most desirable hypercars of the moment.
[Source: The Supercar Driver]
Following the official launch of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, here’s a couple of promo clips from the Porsche YouTube channel.
Porsche has come good with some slightly comical videos of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Cayman GT4 in time for the Geneva Motor Show. Comical because they’ve been sped up in parts. It’s a little bit Wacky races!
There’s two more GT3 RS clips after the break as well. Make sure you pay attention to see if you can spot the editing fail.
Porsche has won Le Mans a record 16 times. It’s return to the LMP1 category in 2014 brought with it a wave of nostalgia. Xcar ran with that and made this 25 minute video which they have declared is “the definitive history” of Porsche at Le Mans.
[Thanks to John for the tip]
A rare Porsche made in 1968, what’s not to love! Hang on a sec, hasn’t that bus got a Mercedes-Benz badge on the grille? That’s right, this old skool race transporter was built by Mercedes and used by the Porsche factory team from its creation up until the 1980s.
‘Buster’ as it is now affectionately known is one of only two transporters of its kind and is currently owned by Brumos Porsche in the United States. It’s great to see the Brumos team understand and respect the little piece of history they have, as this video from egarage shows.
[via Motor Sport Retro]
The Porsche 918 Spyder, it’s natural playground is the 20.832km of ribbon-like tarmac at the Nürburgring. But what happens if you find yourself faced with snow and ice as far as the eye can see?
Don’t panic, just bung on snow tyres complete with 6mm spikes and let it rip!
Rally Sweden will be held this weekend. It’s the only genuine snow and ice event on the WRC calendar and with that comes unique technical requirements and driving methods for the teams and drivers.
After the break we’ve assembled a few preview clips to bring you up to speed on what to expect this weekend.
The 2015 Bathurst 12 hour race saw a record 20 Safety Car periods. The first of those came after this incident during the early stages of the race when Anthony Gilbertson driving the #42 BMW M3 GTR hit a kangaroo on Conrod Straight.
Video of the strike has been uploaded to YouTube by Gilbertson and can be seen below. If you’re not up to seeing a skippy get hit at high speed or some colourful language it’s best if you don’t watch the clip.
Kangaroos have long been a a problem at Mount Panorama and a cull was proposed by Bathurst Councillor Warren Aubin last year in the wake of Roger Lago’s kangaroo strike which ended his Bathurst 12 hour race.
[Thanks to Aaron for the tip]
We already love the Porsche Cayman GT4, so hearing Porsche’s boss of GT cars Andreas Preuninger talk about his new toy was something we have been looking forward to. We thank Jethro Bovingdon and Evo magazine for bringing this video to the world.
Preuninger goes through technical details of the 1340kg 283kW/420Nm GT4 sharing with us the close connection this model has with Porsche’s other GT cars such as the iconic 911 GT3 and 911 GT2.
Put 20 minutes aside to watch this clip (you can just listen to it), you won’t regret it.
[Thanks to Wayne for the tip]