Motorsports
MINI Captures First Rally Victory Ahead Of WRC Debut
While it wasn’t the MINI Countryman WRC that did it, the brand still captured their first ever rally victory, with an S2000-class MINI John Cooper Works finishing first in the Rally dell’Adriatico. The privateer team, known as Grifone, is campaigning the car in a regional rally series that adheres to the rules of the S2000…
Mopar, Ram to Sponsor TORC Racing Series
Chrysler’s Mopar and Ram divisions recently announced that they will be official sponsors for the series, providing trucks for drivers as well as an official pace vehicle in the shape of a Ram Runner Pickup.
FIA And EU Considering Electric F1 Racing
With an eye toward fostering electric-powered F1 competition, Jean Todt, president of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), said it plans to begin with electric auto, go-kart, and single-seater racing. The first season could come as soon as 2013, he said, and plans for a series and championships are comprehensive. “We want as soon as…
Garage Revolution Mazda RX-7 to Contest World Time Attack Challenge [video]
Coming up on August 5th and 6th at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney, Australia will be the World Time Attack Challenge presented by Yokohama. This year, they are working on gathering some of the world’s most prestigious time attack cars along with throwing on a drifting exhibition with some of the world’s best. The goal…
Risi Competizione Calls Out ALMS For Lack Of Live TV Coverage
One of the leading teams in the American Le Mans Series has published a tactful but strongly worded essay taking the ALMS to task for failing to secure a proper live television deal for the 2011 season, when the race series has previously been able to secure such a contract. For this season, ALMS shifted…
P4/5 Competizione Makes Nurburgring Debut
James Glickenhaus took his custom made P4/5 Competizione to the Nurburgring ahead of its first race there at the Nurburgring 24 Hours. Driver Mika Salo was able to get ample seat time in the hand-built racer, but co-driver Luca Cappellari was limited to a single lap after a red flag came out for unidentified reasons….
Tea Party To Sponsor NASCAR
The Tea Party political movement is sponsoring an entry in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series, with the red #89 truck driven by Chris Lafferty being rebranded as the “We The People’s” truck for the next two seasons. The sponsorship will actually work in reverse from the usual arrangements, with sponsorship money actually going to the…
Kimi Raikkonen To Compete In NASCAR
Former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen will join NASCAR, in a surprise move, a departure from his previous endeavors in Formula 1 and rally racing. A Finnish newspaper, cited by Autosport, claims that Raikkonen will start out in the Truck series before moving on to both the Nationwide and Sprint cup car series. No start…
BMW M Coupe With V8 Power Prepares For One Lap Of America [Video]
The guys at the well-regarded motorsports blog Axis Of Oversteer are building a car for the annual One Lap of America race, and their weapon of choice, a BMW M Coupe, looks to be the ultimate expression of what the Bavarian brand can do, mating an older M Coupe chassis with a fully built E39…
Refueled: The Return Of The Cadillac CTS-V Race Car Episode 4 [Video]
Cadillac is back with their web series highlighting the CTS-V Race Car and its quest for victory in the World Challenge series. We’ve already brought you the first 3 episodes and now we have the 4th installment ready to go. This episode shows the team gearing up for its first real race, and we’re about…
Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 Gets The Video Treatment
You will never be able to buy one off the showroom floor, but that shouldn’t stop you from drooling over the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, a race version of Mercedes’ most extreme sports car. At a sticker price of $430,000, the GT3 version is the psychotic sibling of the standard car, and only a shadow…
Jenson Button To Auction Ferrari 512BB
Famed auction house Bonhams will offer up a Ferrari driven by Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, but the car for sale isn’t one of the contemporary mega-buck supercars, but a more archaic model that has never attracted much fanfare from the Ferraristi. Button’s ride, a 1978 Ferrari 512BB, is a model known mostly to…
Refueled: The Return of the CTS-V Episodes 1-3 [Video]
As Cadillac gets ready for its return to racing this weekend, they’ve now quietly rolled out the first three installments of the ‘Refueled: The Return of the CTS-V’ YouTube miniseries. The series profiles the creation of the cars, their testing and includes more insights on the team and drivers, with Andy Pilgrim driving the No.8…
Mazda MX-5 GT Unveiled: The Lightest, Most Powerful Miata Yet
The MX-5 GT is the lightest and most powerful version of the sports car Mazda has ever built. Making 275-hp from a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, it weighs an astonishingly low 1,874 lbs. Sadly, it isn’t street legal, but a full roll-cage-included race car, designed to compete in the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship this year. The…
Donald Trump To Drive Indy 500 Pace Car
Donald Trump is set to join the illustrious list of Indy 500 Pace Car drivers when he slides behind the wheel of a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS at the quintessential American motorsports event. The Camaro SS Pace Car, announced earlier this year, will be a convertible model, and that gives us extra incentive to tune…
Peugeot Victorious at Sebring, Successfully Defending 2010 Title
Baring any surprises, with over an hour left at the American endurance classic, it was obvious that the No. 10 diesel-powered Peugeot driven by Loic Duval would take the checkered flag. With the win, Peugeot successfully defended its victory from 2010. Holding off Peugeot from a one-two win wasn’t long-time rival Audi, but the Highcroft…
Nissan Returns to International Sports Car Racing at Sebring With Signatech LMP2 Racer
This weekend Nissan will officially return to international sports car racing, fielding an LMP2 entry in the 12 Hours of Sebring. Marking the first time Nissan has competed at this level in over a decade, Nissan’s NISMO motorsports division has partnered with the Signature Group to field an LMP2 level prototype machine. Powered by a…
Honda Performance Development Unveils ALMS Racer Car, Acura Branding Dropped
Highcroft Racing has dominated the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series for the past 4 years, but the program didn’t seem to be doing much to promote the Acura brand. In light of that, the car will now be branded as a Honda Performance Development car, a move that signals both a positive…
Porsche GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 to Compete at Nurburgring 24 With More Efficient Engine
While Audi made a name for diesels in endurance racing, Porsche is paving the way for hybrids, announcing that it will once again run its GT3 R Hybrid at the Nurburgring 24 Hour Race this June. The updated car creates the same power as last year’s model, but is more efficient, meaning it will require…
Cadillac Launches ‘Refueled: Return of the CTS-V’ YouTube Miniseries [Video]
General Motors had considerable success with its Corvette Racing YouTube miniseries last year and so they’re decided to expand the marketing effort to focus on Cadillac‘s racing season for 2011. Just released is a trailer for the ‘Refueled’ Return of the CTS-V’ miniseries, which aims to give fans a look inside the season, as well…
Lotus Cup USA Season Begins At Willow Springs
The first round of the Lotus Cup USA kicked off this past weekend at Willow Springs Raceway, with Jack Fried taking the overall win in the awesome, track-only 2-Eleven sports car. Fried won after race leader Andy Kern bowed out with mechanical problems, but Kern managed to take the overall win in the Time Attack…
World Touring Car Championship Will Come To U.S. In 2012
The World Touring Car Championship, a popular series in Europe, is planning to come to North America as a book-end to its usual race in Brazil. So far, the location of such an event is undecided. “The West Coast would be better in terms of reaching the public who buy our kind of cars,” said…
McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Race Car: First Pictures from Silverstone Shakedown
McLaren Automotive has officially revealed its new MP4-12C GT3 race car, with photos of their newest product lapping world famous Silverstone circuit in the U.K. Powered by a modified version of the street car’s twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8, in race trim it swaps the dual-clutch setup for a new Ricardo racing transmission. The GT3 car gets…
BMW To Target DTM Crown With Three Teams
German automotive giant BMW is well known for making great road cars and some really great racing cars, however in the past few years, they have stayed away from the German DTM touring car racing series. Now they are making a comeback, and a massive one at that by announcing that three teams will be…
