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Audi Porsche Toyota WEC

Toyota wins 2014 6hrs of Silverstone

2014 6 Hours of Silverstone

The 2014 WEC season got off to the best possible start overnight after Toyota claimed a dominant 1–2 victory in a rain affected 6 Hours of Silverstone. Two laps behind the winning #8 Toyota TS040 (Davidson, Lapierre, Buemi) was the #20 Porsche 919 (Bernhard, Hartley, Webber). That result marks a promising return to the LMP1 category for Porsche.

“The team did a fantastic job all weekend,” said Anthony Davidson after the victory. “It looked like it would be an epic fight with Audi and Porsche if it had stayed dry, but we knew the rain was coming and we had set our car up for wet conditions.

“We made the right call on tyres, the strategy was just perfect; that’s how you win races.”

Defending champions Audi had a race to forget with both the R18s crashing out of contention. Luca di Grassi was at the wheel when the #1 R18 went out early in proceedings, while the #2 car lasted until mid-race distance having lost time due to a separate incident in the first hour.

The #14 Porsche 919 also went off-track briefly, although no major damage was done. However, its race came to an end early in the second hour due to a “technical problem”. This highlights how valuable the third place for the #20 car was, enabling the team to gather valuable track time and experience in addition to championship points.

In a three horse race, with two established rivals and a new kid on the block, this set of results builds anticipation for the 6 Hours of Spa in two weeks.

The Audis have shown they have raw pace, setting the fastest single lap in both qualifying and the race, and with multiple championships behind them they’re unlikely to repeat the double blunder we saw here at Silverstone.

Toyota has built on its LMP1 experience and this result will give them confidence to carry its momentum to Spa. While Porsche has shown it can have the reliability it needs to keep its more fancied rivals honest.

“It’s been a brilliant day for us,” Mark Webber siad post-race. “I’m happy to have played a small role in the effort that’s gone in from the team and everyone back at the factory to get to this point.

“Timo and Brendon drove exceptionally as well. It was unfortunate for the other car, but it wasn’t their day. It was a tough race for all the drivers with tricky conditions, and drizzle on slick tyres is never easy. We managed to dodge a few bullets and survived some of the tricky phases.

“It was a great experience for me, I learnt so much today in the race. We were spot on with the pit stops in terms of the tyre strategy.”

Official race reports and photos from Toyota, Porsche and Audi can be viewed after the break.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

2014 Chinese GP: Post-race press conference

2014 Chinese Grand Prix

Before you get into the mostly routine press conference after the break, let’s take a look at what the Red Bull team statement gave us in light of another race where Sebastian Vettel was asked to let Daniel Ricciardo overtake him for track position.

Daniel Ricciardo: “With Seb, we were racing and you always want to hold on to your position, but the team radioed and he let me through. I did what I could after each stop and we improved the car; at the end I was doing all I could to catch Alonso and I think we got to within a couple of seconds of him as we went over the line. It’s going well with the team, I feel comfortable here and I did the best I could today. I really want that podium and we’re getting close!”

Sebastian Vettel: “I moved over for Daniel once I knew that we were on different strategies. When I was first asked, I didn’t understand as we were on the same tyre, unlike in Bahrain, so I double checked. When the team said we were on a different strategy, I moved over and then, as the race went on, I saw more and more that I didn’t have the pace. There was no point in holding Dan back. I’m not yet where I want to be with the car, but it’s an on-going process; hopefully at the next few races we will make some more steps in the right direction.”

Christian Horner: “Sebastian made a great start, but then appeared to go through the tyres quicker than Daniel and, after the second stop, it was apparent Seb’s degradation was particularly worse than Daniel, so we looked at switching him to a three-stop and therefore released Daniel who was very much focused on a two-stop at that point. Thereafter Daniel was able to close the gap to Alonso, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough to get onto the podium today.”

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Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 Chinese GP

2014 Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton cruising to victory has been the story of the early season so far in Formula 1 and that narrative continued in Shanghai today when Hamilton strolled to his third race win on end at the Chinese Grand Prix.

It also says something of Mercedes AMG’s dominance over the field when a comparatively bumbling Nico Rosberg, driving a car unable to transmit its telemetry back to the pit wall, was able to recover from a poor start to take an easy second place, making it the third Mercedes 1–2 in succession.

Fernando Alonso extended his reputation for delivering more than his car can give by finishing third, able to hold off a late charge from Daniel Ricciardo who came home fourth. The young Aussie once again ruffled the feathers of four-time world champ Sebastian Vettel, who finished fifth.

Around mid-race distance Ricciardo was on a two-stop strategy and at the time Vettel was planning to three-stop. With fresher tyres Daniel was closing in quickly on his more credentialled teammate and for the second race in a row an order from the team came through asking Vettel to let Ricciardo past.

Vettel’s initial response over the radio, after establishing both men were on the same tyres, was, “Tough luck!” Although, on the next lap Vettel opened the door for Daniel and the impressive youngster went through. To rub further salt into Vettel’s wound the team later switched him to a two-stop strategy.

After the excitement of Bahrain, this was not a race for the ages. The only incidents of any note came during the early stages of the opening lap when Felipe Massa and Alonso clunked wheels. Almost immediately afterwards, in a separate incident, Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas interlocked wheels. It was a stroke of good fortune for all four drivers that no damage was done and all managed to finish the race uninhibited.

That said, Felipe Massa’s chance at a stronger points haul was ruined when his Williams crew completely botched his first pit stop. To call it a comedy of errors would have been kind. In the end the Brazilian resumed the race in last place and did well to fight back to finish P9.

Reliability improved across the field, too, with only two drivers failing to finish the race. Adrian Sutil retired early with an engine problem, while the Lotus of Romain Grosjean succumbed to a gearbox failure.

Trivia buffs will be keen to note an oddity to the final result thanks to the chequered flag first being shown to Lewis Hamilton on lap 55 of the 56 lap race. That mistake meant the final classified result reverted back to the positions on lap 54.

You can see the full lap 54 positions after the break, along woth updated championship tables.

There will be a delay in our F1 in pictures gallery for this race. We expect to have the images ready for you by next weekend, or hopefully before.

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2014 Chinese GP: Qualifying report

2014 Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton made light work of the wet conditions to comfortably claim pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix yesterday. It’s his third pole position for the year and his 34th career pole, a new British record.

Hamilton’s time (1:53.860) was almost six tenths faster than Daniel Ricciardo’s best lap (1:54.455), who outqualified Sebastian Vettel (1:54.960) for the third time in four races. Vettel will start from P3, alongside Nico Rosberg (1:55.143).

Former teammates Fernando Alonso (1:55.637) and Felipe Massa (1:56.147) will line up on the third row, ahead of Valtteri Bottas (1:56.282) and Nico Hulkenberg (1:56.366).

The top 10 is rounded out by the Renault-powered duo of  Jean-Eric Vergne (1:56.773) and Romain Grosjean (1:57.079).

McLaren will be wondering where its pre-season pace has gone, only able to qualify in P12 (Jenson Button) and P15 (Kevin Magnussen).

Technical problems prevented Pastor Maldonado from setting a time in Q1 and he will start from the rear of the grid at the stewards’ discretion. Given he has a five-place grid penalty for flipping Esteban Gutierrez at the last race it would spice things up a little if the stewards said, “No race for you!”

Weather conditions for the race are expected to be cool and dry, which should see Mercedes increase its advantage over the Red Bulls who need rain to have any chance of closing the gap over a full race distance.

The full post-quali press conference transcript can be read below and Sebastian Vettel’s response to having a “more competitive teammate” is worth a read.

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Audi Video

Audi S1 teaser review

Audi S1

The 21st century Audi S1 is a car that interests us very much. For starters we’ve always quite liked the look of the A1. And the idea of sticking what is essentially the S3 drivetrain into its more fashion conscious little brother is one we wholehearetedly approve of.

That said, the real S1 deserves its place in motorsport folklore. Any attempts by Audi to try and fool us into believing there is a genuine link between a trumped up A-segment shopping trolley and a group B rally icon should be spared. If not for our embarrassment, then at least for Audi’s.

It’s better to just accept Audi’s current nomenclature and rationalise the name of the S1 that way, rather treating us like fools.

Now that we’ve cleared that up we’re pleased to see the S1 doing the media rounds. Although, as this review from Evo shows, you’ll be left wanting for more. And in the case of the feisty S1, perhaps that’s no bad thing.

[Thanks to John for the tip]

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Subaru

MY15 Subaru WRX STI – Australian pricing & specs

MY15 Subaru WRX STI

Subaru Australia announced the pricing and spec deatils for the all new WRX STI during the week. There’s good and bad news, too. The good news is they have slashed the pricing compared with the previous model. The bad news is, if you already own the old model, your resale has just been smashed!

The WRX STI is offered in standard trim for a list price of $49,990 along with the WRX STI Premium for $54,990. That represents five-figure savings against the old models.

Powered by a 2.5 litre boxer engine the key stats of power (221kW at 6000rpm) and torque (407Nm at 4000rpm) fare well against the STI’s competition. Although fuel consumption (10.4l/100km) and CO2 emissions (242g/km) don’t look so good.

The STI weighs 1525kg (Premium 1537kg) but can still manage to reach 100km/h in 4.9 seconds. A figure Subaru assures us has been achieved in local testing.

Subaru Australia says it has increased the standard equipment in the new STI and a comprehensive press release available below has all the details for you.

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Audi

Audi A3 wins 2014 World Car of the Year

2013 Audi A3 Sportback

The 8V Audi A3 has been named the 2014 World Car of the Year, beating a field of 24 finalists which had been narrowed down to three and included the BMW 4 Series and the Mazda3.

On awarding the A3 the grand prize the judges noted: “It might borrow styling hints from its bigger brothers, but the A3 still offers classic, chiseled contours and even better interior trim levels. With a superb choice of engines and 4 body styles, the A3 range packs a hefty premium punch in the small luxury segment.

“Audi should be complimented for making this A3 ride like no other A3. All the old shimmer over rough surfaces has gone, replaced by a silky smooth ride that approaches limousine quality.”

The WCOTY awards are in just their tenth year and Volkswagen Group cars have won the main award six times, including: Audi A6 (2005), Golf VI (2009), Polo V (2010), up! (2012), and Golf VII (2013).

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News Porsche Video

Should Nick Murray get his money back?

Nick Murray's 911 Carrera S

Meet Nick Murray. He’s the not so proud owner of a 991 Porsche 911 Carrera S. He took delivery of his car around the middle of last year and, according to him, it has spent around two months back at the dealer getting a variety of seemingly random and unconnected problems resolved.

In this video Murray details his ongoing discussions with Porsche Cars North America and asks them publicly: “Stop jerking me around and give me my money back, so I can buy another car and then you can get rid of me.”

Based on his own evidence it would seem Nick has a pretty good case for a replacement or full refund under applicable US Lemon laws. Watch the video below and see what you think.

[Thanks to Wes for the tip]

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Citroen Video

The best car of all?

Citroen 2CV

The Citroën 2CV is one of the most intriguing cars of all time. But is it also one of the best? That’s the case Chris Harris puts forward in his video this week.

A little about the car before you watch the clip. The 2CV was built from 1948–1990 and ended with an estimated production run of 5,114,996 vehicles. At launch it was offered with a 375cc air-cooled flat twin cylinder engine producing a whopping 9hp at 3500rpm. Over the years power ballooned to 29hp at 5750rpm thanks to the eventual arrival at a 602cc flat twin.

Power is sent to the front wheels through a 4-speed manual gearbox with a shift pattern designed for convenience rather than convention.

The 2CV stands out like a beacon today due its basic nature. You get the feeling that it probably still stood out for similar reasons 66 years ago when it was first released. Undeniably, though, the 2CV makes people smile and for that, and a host of other reasons, it has made the motoring world better for its existence.

If you know anyone that owns a 2CV and you think they would let AUSmotive do a Drive Thru review please let us know.

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BMW

BMW facing its own recall dramas

BMW M135i

Maybe recalls are the new black. Volkswagen, Porsche, Toyota; everyone it seems is getting in on the act! And now it’s BMW’s turn to put a screw loose. Quite literally, as it happens, in the case of BMW’s well utilised 3.0 litre straight six engine.

According to Scott Croaker from BMW Australia a potential loss of oil pressure can occur if a bolt attached to the engine’s VANOS valve system fails. No oil pressure means your silky smooth M135i engine, for example, goes bang!

While no faults or failures have been reported in Australia at this stage BMW is readying itself for a voluntary recall campaign.

“There was a couple of failures in China,” explained Croaker. “We looked at it closer and realised that the problem was not market specific, it was related to a component.

“As soon as we get the information we will raise the necessary process and issue the recall.”

The total amount of affected vehicles is still to be determined, but is expected to number around 2700 and cover two years of production. The engine is used in models such as the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, X3, X5 and Z4.

Most people will accept a potential fault with their vehicle, no matter how remote, so long as the manufacturer is open and transparent with them. Communicating and detailing the repair procedure in a timely manner will also win favour. And from limited detail that seems to be exactly the way BMW is handling this issue.

[Source: Drive.com.au | Thanks to Wayne for the tip]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing Video

Austria’s next top model

Paul Bischof, Red Bull Racing

Austrian twentysomething Paul Bischof is a bit like you and me. He’s a car geek. And he likes Formula 1. But Paul is a bit different, too, and takes his interest in cars to a totally new level. Way beyond the scope most of us can even think of.

He makes 1:10 scale models of racing cars from paper. For example, he made a Red Bull RB7 replica, which consists of around 6500 parts. That’s right, from paper!

He had no idea at the time, but his RB7 model turned out be the best job interview he ever did. This is his story, and you watch the video after the break.

[Thanks to Tiaan for the tip]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Red Bull loses Ricciardo appeal

2014 Australian Grand Prix

Red Bull Racing’s presentation to the International Court of Appeal has failed and Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix for his car exceeding the maximum fuel flow rate will stand.

The FIA has released a brief statement, which can be read below, and says full details will be published later this week.

At this stage there appears to be no further sanction for Ricciardo or Red Bull.

This result was expected and while Red Bull’s defence had merit, it was always undermined by the fact that the team was warned by FIA stewards during the race that Daniel’s car was in breach of the regulations. When you’re given an opportunity to right a perceived wrong by the referee and you ignore it you can’t really expect them to pretend it didn’t happen.

Red Bull’s statement can be read below, after the the FIA press release.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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