Chris Harris from evo has spent a fun day behind the wheel of the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Harris will be racing a GT3 RS at the Nürburgring 24 hour race later this month. Watch the two videos below to see if he wishes he was in the 458 instead.
An incident in the first race of this weekend’s MINI Challenge round at Queensland Raceway has resulted in injury for two race goers.
A statement from MINI Challenge organisers reads, “Two spectators were injured and transported to Ipswich Base Hospital. The extent of their injuries appears to be relatively minor, pending full medical evaluation. Both were conscious whilst being treated at the scene. There were no other reported injuries.”
The accident happened after a car was involved in an accident and flipped into the air, cartwheeling over a safety barrier. According to the official statement the driver was taken to Ipswich Base Hospital by ambulance for precautionary tests and is believed to be uninjured. FoxSports have reported the driver involved was Kain Magro.
More details as they come to hand. The full statement from MINI Challenge is available below.
[Pics: 7 News]
UPDATE #1: A Channel Ten news segment reporting on this incident can now be seen below. It is worth noting that the Channel Ten report stating the driver was injured is incorrect. Thanks to smarm providing a separate link to crash footage.
UPDATE #2: News footage from host broadcaster Channel Seven is also available below.
Tasmanian based Jason White in his Lamborghini Gallardo continues to hold the outright lead in Targa Tasmania 2010 at the completion of day two. However, it was defending champ Tony Quinn in his Nissan GTR who set the early pace this morning, posting the quickest time through the awesome Sideling stage.
Quinn is currently in fourth place, 54 seconds behind White. But the surprise packages have to be in second and third placings. Steve Glenney, 2008 winner, is second, 31 seconds behind the leader, in his one-off Mazda RX8 SP. Actually, Mazda are doing a good job of covering their three cars in the event, so make sure you take a peek at the Mazda Motorsport Australia website for more info.
In third place, 42 seconds behind White, is Ray Vandersee at the wheel of the extreme looking Skelta G Force. You have to respect the man who builds the car out there racing the car and doing very well.
News clips from the first two days of competition can be seen below and you can keep up to date with all the latest results, including live updates, at the Targa Tasmania results website.
This weekend’s MINI Challenge round at Queensland Raceway includes a few firsts for the series. The most obvious is the debut of the John Cooper Works MINI Challenge racecars on the Ipswich circuit. In addition the usual three race program will be replaced with a four race card, including two races on Saturday and two races on Sunday.
MINI Challenge Category Manager Ted Toleman is looking forward to the weekend, “It is great to see a four-race format for the first time in our series. We have seen some incredibly close racing over the last two events and now the fans in Queensland will be treated to even more of this exciting racing. We have competitors as young as 16-years-old in the series and for the young guys there is nothing better than experience and track-time to help them progress positively through their careers.”
Another first this weekend will be the appearance of Sarah Harley, who will be the first female to race in the MINI Challenge for 2010. She will be joined by a number of V8 Supercar drivers, including Warren Luff, Luke Youlden and Dean Canto.
Steven Bradbury returns to the MINI Challenge grid at the wheel of the Pizza Capers Ãœber-star car and he hopes this experience will allow him to further his motorsport ambitions, “I love driving race cars and I’m counting down the days until I hit the track at QR. The experience I gained last year in the MINI, and having driven at QR before, will hopefully enable me to be quite competitive. I have longer term aspirations in motorsport and driving the UberStar Car is an opportunity that might help me realise those aspirations.”
With 16 cars to line up this weekend the action is sure to be fast paced and full of thrills. Can Chris Alajajian continue his early season speed, or will defending champion Paul Stokell start a charge up the points table?
A few press releases from MINI can be found after the jump and if you can’t get to Queensland Raceway this weekend make sure you book some time on the couch the following weekend for the Channel 7 highlights package scheduled for 8 May.
This MINI Challenge wrap of Round 2, held during the Australian Grand Prix weekend at Albert Park, has been a little delayed because I was waiting for the television highlights. However, due to a few reasons it looks like the highlights package won’t be going to air, which is a great shame for the series.
On to the racing, then, and Chris Alajajian was able to build on his Round 1 success by placing on the podium in all three races. He has now established a 46 point lead over Sean Carter and Peter McNiven, both on 218 points.
Alajajian was happy to claim a win in the final race and is enjoying the racing so far in 2010, “We finished all three races on the podium this weekend and it was great to be able to end the weekend with a race and round win.
“Two round wins in a row is really making things look good for my championship hopes, he said. “There was some really close racing once again and I can’t wait to see what round three will bring.”
Round 3 of the Australian MINI Challenge takes place this coming weekend at Queensland Raceway (television highlights are scheduled for broadcast on 8 May).
More images from Melbourne and the series table can be see after the jump.
[Pics: Spherix]
Is this another RS3 prototype that has been spotted on roads near the Nürburgring? First we need to establish if Audi actually have plans to release an RS3 model at all. We’ve been teased enough, for long enough to suggest it could happen. The first rumour I heard from a credible source of a possible RS3 release was around five years ago. Last year it was reported that Michael Dick, Audi technical development boss, had said the idea was under consideration. So will the RS3 happen?
We saw the supposed leaked confirmation on Twitter last year suggesting the RS3 would be revealed at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. As we know that turned out to be false. Was it a total hoax, or just mis-timed? Given the other information floating around, I would tend to think the latter.
Back to these latest spy shots (follow link to WCF below for more). You can see there are larger front air intakes, indicating the car could be fitted with the 250kW 2.5 litre five cylinder from the TT RS. It also appears that there could be slotted rotors up front. While the inset pic above is not conclusive, it would explain why the test mule has different wheels at the front and back. Brake clearance the likely explanation.
Whatever the real truth is, just stand up with me and demand Audi makes an RS3. And that they do use the snarling five pot from the TT RS.
One last question, if the RS3 is made, will it be the last hurrah for the 8P platform, or a stunning way to launch the next-generation? Going on previous RS model releases you would expect Audi to use the RS3 as a last hurrah on the current gen chassis. If that’s the case, then we should have an answer to all this speculation sooner rather than later. I would expect a new A3 to be in showrooms by 2012. So, then, get ready for some wild RS3 speculation in the run in to October’s Paris Motor Show.
[Source: World Car Fans | Pics: SB-Medien]
Porsche have issued recall notices for all Panamera models sold worldwide. That’s over 11,000 vehicles in all. For the Australian market affected cars are listed as Panamera S, Panamera 4S and Panamera Turbo 2010 models.
The problem surrounds the locking elements on the front seat belts which can work loose or become detached from their mounts. Pretty easy to see what could happen next in such a situation. According to the official recall statement, “If the front seats are adjusted very far, resulting in unfavorable tolerances, it is possible that the function of the locking mechanism for the seat belt mount can no longer be guaranteed.”
A recall notice has been posted on the recalls.gov.au website which outlines the possible defect and the likely outcome. All Panamera owners in Australia will be contacted by mail with instructions of what steps are required for inspection and possible repair.
Targa Tasmania 2010 kicked off in earnest today with the first leg of the event taking place. Wet and wild conditions greeted the field and while most crews did manage to make it back to Launceston safely, some crews are already out of the rally. Fortunately there aren’t any reports of serious injury, despite some very ordinary looking cars.
A quick shout out to all the drivers, navigators, support crews still competing, as well as the event officials. Here’s hoping they enjoy a safe and successful Targa for 2010.
Live updates from the rally are available from the Targa Tasmania results website. It’s not the most sophisticated set up, but based on today’s effort it seems to work quite well. You can also see some news footage of yesterday’s Prologue at Georgetown after the jump.
AUSmotive has taken a contributing role with a new start-up magazine Canberra Torque. The mag is produced by Capital Magazine Publishing who have a strong record in the ACT region. Issue one came out a few weeks ago and 10,000 copies of the mag will be distributed around Canberra every month. It’s free, so if you see a copy make sure you pick it up and have a decent read. Issue two is not far away.
There’s a good mix of stories from the region as well as old, modified and new cars. If you’re not in or around Canberra, you can keep up to date on the magazine’s progress via Facebook.
What does this role mean for AUSmotive? Aside from increased opportunities to test and review new cars there should be no change to the way the website is currently operating. The odd news item will also be adapted from AUSmotive for print, as well.
On the review front I currently have the keys to a Jaguar XF. You’ll be able to read the results in print and online soon.
The wonderful looking Porsche 918 Spyder which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March is one step closer to reality according to a report published by Bloomberg.
Speaking last week at Auto China in Beijing, Wolfgang Duerheimer, Porsche development boss, said, “I’m confident that we will soon reach the threshold of 1,000. We need 1,000 seriously interested people to make a sound business case.â€
Porsche say they already have 900 expressions of interest so I guess this one is done and dusted. Lock in the 918 Spyder for series production and look for it a Porsche dealer near you in the next year or so.
All that’s left to be answered is how green is a car that offers up a maximum of 730bhp, but only has a full zero emissions range of 25km? To be fair, the hybrid powered 918 can achieve a fuel consumption rating of 3l/100km when tested against latest Euro standards. And CO2 emissions from the same test are as low as 70g/km. Yeah, go on, I’d have one too.
Although, perhaps a bigger question remains; will a variation of the 918’s 3.4 litre V8 ever find its way into a 911 chassis? Nah, that’d never happen, would it?
[Source: Bloomberg.com]
This flared and angry beast you see before you is understood to be an Audi R8 GT3 prototype. With matt black paint, and even wider sideblades this V10 powered coupé looks sensational.
Also of note on the bodywork is a revised front splitter with two small fins on either side to aid downforce. At the back you see a fixed rear wing, and some more aero work on the rear valance. Two enlarged round exhaust tips also let you know that this is no ordinary R8 V10, if there is such a thing.
Spotted on roads near the Nürburgring you can expect Audi to be dialling in lots of data learned from their 24 hour race debut last year where they almost took home the chocolates.
[Source: Autocar | Pic: CarPix]
Mercedes-Benz Australia have just announced a Manufacturer’s List Pricing (MLP) for the SLS AMG ‘Gullwing’ of $464,000. That might seem like a lot of cash to you and me, but it seems there is no shortage of buyers lining up for a dose of 420kW V8 goodness.
“The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has been extremely well received by our customers in Australia with more than forty orders already locked in,” said Horst von Sanden, managing director of Mercedes-Benz Cars in Australia.
“Despite the fact that the first customer cars have not yet arrived and with deliveries not expected until August the order book is filling fast.”
Of course, once you add delivery fees, stamp duty and so on to the MLP the bottom line will be heading towards that half million dollar mark. But there’s not many cars on the market these days that can boast the ability to head a field of Formula One cars.