As part of Audi’s ongoing 30 years of quattro celebrations they have released a new video titles The drive of progress. It runs for just under 10 minutes and takes us through the origin of the famous Audi drivetrain, seen in the Ur Quattro, right up to the different applications we see in today’s road cars. It’s a nice complement to previous clips from Audi published around the time of the RS5 release.
You can see the clip in full after the break.
This chrome-look Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 was recently spotted in Hockenheim at the German Grand Prix. The added bling to the GT3 supercar was done to help promote the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Well, it stands out I guess.
[Source: Mercedes-Benz Passion via The German Car Blog]
Ken Block is back. Well, kind of. In the video promo you can see after the break it is a virtual Kenny getting up to mischief in his Ford Fiesta to promote upcoming rally game DiRT 3. The game is due for release in 2011 and is produced by Codemasters. It is the successor to the successful Colin McRae Rally series. While this new clip is simply a teaser, it still doesn’t really measure up to some of Block’s other efforts.
[Source: DiRT 3]
Dutch website Autoliefhebber brings us some new and close up pics of the now familiar Audi RS3 test mule. We last saw pics of this prototype (note registration HN TT 342) back in June, with some video not long after. While there’s still nothing officially official coming from Audi we can learn a couple of things from these pics.
Inside you can make out a TT RS style flat bottom steering wheel. They’re quite a bit chunkier than the standard tiller found in the S3 Sportback on which the prototype is based. You will also note large cross drilled brake rotors up front. A better view of the front spoiler has also been captured showing a bit more definition than previous spy shots.
From these pics it’s not possible to see if the car is fitted with an S tronic or manual transmission. However, the TT RS is only available with a 6 speed manual box, so it may safe to assume the RS3 will come with any transmission you like so long as its manual.
Other interesting tidbits to note are the test mule is actually white underneath what appears to be a black vinyl wrap. You will also note the fitment of a roll cage and full on racing buckets from Recaro. Of course, there’s the data capturing hardware on the wheels as well.
[Source: Autoliefhebber]
1. Mark WEBBER (Red Bull), 1h41m05.571s
2. Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari), 1h41m23.392s
3. Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull), 1h41m24.823s
Q: Mark, a commanding win by the end of 70 laps. But it was probably the 43 you managed in your first stint that really set it up.
Mark WEBBER: Yeah, that’s right. The start we always knew was going to be a little bit tricky on that side. Fernando got a good start. Seb’s was pretty good as well. But we all jumped into the slipstream in the run to the first corner and then I had Lewis (Hamilton) there as well, so had to make sure to at least get out in third position. If not, see what happened in front. Then settled in. You know around here it is going to be very difficult to make any moves on the track unless anybody made a mistake, so it was not a surprise to see Seb disappearing with Fernando doing his absolute best but I was still marking him and waiting for the crucial part of the race to see what would happen. That being the pit stop. Then we had the safety car and I had to go off strategy to try and pass Fernando and make it a bit easier to try and do that. But we were asking a lot of the option tyres. You are right, building from safety car through to when we decided when to make the stop we knew that we needed around 20 seconds but I told the guys ‘let’s get a bit more of a buffer to make sure the guys have less pressure in the pit stop.’ All those types of things. But they were on it anyway. The front left was completely finished, it was pretty difficult with the grip that we had finishing that stint. But in the end, I knew once I got the primes on, these guys had already done 20 odd laps and the race was pretty much in the bag. I knew that Seb had some difficulties on the re-start for whatever reason and it was a bit of a gift to day for me. But I have not had many of them, so I will take today’s. Tough luck for Seb as he lost a couple of spots. I enjoyed the fight with Fernando at the start. Not much of a fight but as I was saying I was just trying to get the most out of the car and keep pressing on and we were gapping Felipe (Massa) and Lewis. But an incredible day for the team. Another victory. One-two was our goal. Unfortunately we didn’t get that, so we still got a big chunk of the points, so it was a good day.
At last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix details of the 2011 F1 season were revealed, according to media reports. The leaked information shows a provisional 20 race calendar, with the inaugural Indian Grand Prix to be staged on 9 October.
Bahrain maintains its hold on the opening race of the year and has been pencilled in for 13 March, with the Australian Grand Prix to follow a fortnight later on 27 March. The season finale will take place in Abu Dhabi on 13 November. The Korean Grand Prix is poised to move forward from its October slot to April, meaning it will host two races inside six months.
Five double-headers are on the cards in 2011; Australia–Malaysia (March-April), China–Korea (April), Germany–Hungary (July), Belgium-Valencia (August) and the Japan-Brazil fixture (October) which will test logistics.
[Source: motorsport.com]
Those of you who think gullwing style doors are a bit passe might be interested to learn the Roadster version of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is getting closer to a release. This video filmed at the Nürburgring shows the car in action. As with its tin top sibling the engine note is pretty special. Check out the clip after the break.
[via The German Car Blog]
The 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix; Red Bull Racing’s 100th GP, Mark Webber’s 150th GP and his 6th career victory. The Aussie now leads the drivers championship and Red Bull have finally reached the top of the constructors tree. There’s seven races left in 2010, can Mark and RBR maintain the rage?
Elsewhere, Michael drove his old pal Rubens up the wall. Sebastian had a mid-race nap and Robert drove into Adrian. Here’s a surprise, too; think of the six drivers from the new teams (Lotus, Virgin and HRT), if they were running their own mini-championship who do you think would be leading the charge? A gold star for you if you picked out the name Karun Chandhok.
[Thanks to Micky for the Chandhok tip]
Ford Australia have just confirmed they will be bringing the Focus RS down under. If you want to play with Ford’s extreme hatch you will need to pony up $59,990 plus on road fees and charges. It will be available in three colours; Ultimate Green, Performance Blue and Frozen White. The introduction of the Focus RS to Australia will be limited to 315 cars. All signs currently point to an October release date.
Marin Burela, Ford Australia President, expressed his excitement at today’s news, “Customers, the motoring press, Ford enthusiasts and hot hatch fans have all been constantly asking us about Focus RS and when it might be coming to Australia, so we’re very pleased and incredibly excited to be able to confirm for everyone today that it’s on its way and will be here soon.”
In case you had already consigned the hype about the RS as yesterday’s news, it is powered by a 224kW 2.5 litre turbocharged five cylinder Duratec engine. There’s a gobsmacking 440Nm of torque on offer, as well. Powered by the front wheels only, Ford have tried to reign in that power by fitting the RS with a fancy “RevoKnuckle†MacPherson strut set up in conjunction with a Quaife limited slip diff.
At its launch early last year the Focus RS was attracting plenty of attention from the UK motoring journos, including Jason Plato from Fifth Gear and Steve Sutcliffe from Autocar. Even Mark Webber has had his say.
So, what do you think; has the moment passed for the two-year old RS? Is it’s $10K premium over the all-wheel drive Golf R too much to ask? Is that Ultimate Green paint job having a laugh, or could you see yourself behind the wheel of this extrovert?
Ford’s full press release is available after the break. Further information can be found in the UK sales brochure, which can be downloaded in PDF format HERE (724kb).
Mark Webber has just won an extraordinary Hungarian Grand Prix, in doing so he has reclaimed the lead of the 2010 world drivers championship. It was a fortunate turn of events that, in the end, delivered Webber a comfortable win from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and his Red Bull Racing teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel started the race on pole, with Webber in P2 and Alonso P3. The Ferrari man jumped Webber off the line and very nearly took the lead from Vettel into Turn 1. Vettel was able to fend off Alonso’s challenge and the notoriously difficult to pass Hungaroring looked like providing another boring procession.
However, on lap 15, before teams were planning to bring in their drivers for scheduled pit stops some debris from one of the Force India cars was positioned precariously in the middle of the track. The Safety Car was deployed and the entire field took advantage to make their compulsory tyre change; with the exception of Webber, Rubens Barichello (Williams) and Jarno Trulli (Virgin Racing). Chaos reigned in pit lane, too, with a crash between Robert Kubica (Renault) and Vintonio Liuzzi (Force India), a loose wheel from Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes bouncing down the lane among the teams and cars everywhere.
Australian race fans will once again be able to see the world’s quickest one-make series in 2011 with the return of the Porsche Carrera Cup. The category was last seen on local race tracks in 2008 following the collapse of the 2009 series.
Porsche Cars Australia will manage the series after gaining support from Germany in the last few days. PCA Managing Director Michael Winkler is excited by the category’s return, “We have the chance for a fresh start, with an all-new race car and an all-new approach for Porsche Carrera Cup Australia,” he said.
“Motorsport is an important part of our brand and our business in Australia. We have been busy working behind the scenes on a sustainable and viable long-term motorsport plan that places Carrera Cup at the forefront of our domestic racing.
“Our job is to now engage organisers, promoters, broadcasters, sponsors and of course potential teams so we can have a full grid for the start of 2011, as well as ensure we are in a position to deliver required outcomes to all stakeholders.”
[Source: SpeedCafe | Thanks to Chris for the tip]
Chris Alajajian extended his lead in the 2010 MINI Challenge by claiming the round in Townsville earlier this month. Reigning title holder Paul Stokell finshed Round 4 in second place and Beric Lynton, making his first appearance of the year, claimed the final podium spot in the three race program.
Speaking after the final race Alajajian said, “My team continue to do a fantastic job with the R56 Challenge car and it makes it so much more comfortable for me to drive because I have full trust in my car and team. We now have a big gap until the next round at Phillip Island which is a really fast event where anything can happen so expect some exciting racing down there MINI Challenge fans!”
There’s a selection of images on show after the break, as well as the full press release from MINI Challenge. Round 5 action takes place on Phillip Island in mid-September at the L&H 500.
[Pics: Spherix]
UPDATE: TV highlights have been added below.