George Harrison was a big F1 fan I just learned, even made a record about it

found on http://zona-rapida.blogspot.com/2013/11/musica-sobre-ruedas-faster-george.html

racing, what it means to the great F1 drivers

Found on http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/11/racing-racing-drivers-history-video/#continued

Evolution of F1, in a cool animated way

Found on http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/12/f1-evolution-video/

NEWS: Duncan Hamilton To Auction Niki Lauda Ferrari Wing on eBay

Historic car auctioneer, Duncan Hamilton, is selling a piece of iconic motor racing history – the rear wing from Niki Lauda's Ferrari 312T – on eBay! 

After selling Niki Lauda’s championship Ferrari 312T in 1985, Adrian Hamilton acquired the rare rear wing as a piece of racing memorabilia. Now however, 38 years after the French Grand Prix where Lauda was victorious, Duncan Hamilton & Co Ltd will sell on the iconic rear wing on eBay with a reserve of £10,000. Fancy it?! What with all this Rush-film-fever?
The Ferrari 312T was a Ferrari Formula One car design, based on the 312B3 from 1974. In various versions, it was used from 1975 until 1980. It was designed by Mauro Forghieri for the 1975 season and was an uncomplicated and clean design that responded to mechanical upgrades.
Nick Maton, Sales Manager at Duncan Hamilton & Co, said: “The recent popularity of blockbuster film ‘Rush’ demonstrates how connected the public is with motorsports both past and present. We are lucky enough to be holding a true piece of motorsport history and we are excited about the prospect of handing this onto a new owner. We have decided to put this piece on eBay so that motorsport fans far and wide will be able to bid for it and we have already seen a real buzz being generated amongst collectors.”
The rear wing of Niki Lauda’s incredible championship Ferrari 312T will go on sale in November on eBay.

MAGAZINE: Road Magazine No.36 Live Now!

Sorry for the wait! Summer break has been a biggie! 

Anywayz, Road Magazine is back – with an SUV special.

Despite their obscene weight/inertia levels, punishing fuel prices and painful VED road tax hits from government, the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) 4x4 market is still booming – so manufacturers are busy trying to out-do each other to claim their slice of the ‘soft-roader’ SUV pie, in all its glorious forms.
So, with Winter approaching, we’ve gathered an eclectic trio together of 4x4s for you – starting with something truly bonkers, Infiniti’s FX Vettel Edition: A super-rare, £100,800 beast of a genuinely sporty utility vehicle (in SUV terms), bestowed with Vettel-designed, unbelievably expensive carbonfibre kit, huge 21-inch rims and a 420bhp V8, capable of 155mph and 5.6s to 62mph. Is it the maddest SUV ever?
We also have two newly-re-worked SUV brands… Jeep’s long serving (now 21) Grand Cherokee in its fresh-look 2014 specification. The Jeep has just gone on sale across Europe and now and comes with a brand new eight-speed trick transmission, devastating off-road capability, monstrous 6.4-litre V8 SRT range-topper and a lavish luxury interior for its good value price tag. And we also have Mitsubishi’s new-look Outlander on test – the most sensible choice of the three featured here, as it’s “Intelligent Motion” diesel engine, lightweight and aerodynamic body enable it to knock out over 50mpg, which is a different take on the SUV cult: Not sporty, but certainly utilitarian.
Do enjoy our SUV special and share our FREE Road Magazine with your mates across your own social media platforms. Thanks! Phil Royle, Editor

NEWS: Nico Rosberg Wins British F1 GP @ Silverstone in Pirelli Tyre Chaos

German race ace, Nico Rosberg heads to his home F1 event at the Nurburgring next, with a win at one of the most dramatic (and miraculously good weather!) British Grand Prix events in years – with four rear left Pirelli tyre failures blighting the event for drivers, including UK darling Lewis Hamilton, who'd stuck it on pole in qualifying and led much of the race.

Hamilton was trying to hold off Vettel for the lead of the race when his rear left exploded, and dropped to last place. But he fought back to an incredible forth place (just 0.6s behind rival Alonso in third) at his home event, showing true talent and character, in his Mercedes. And there were Pirelli tyre failures for Massa, Jean-Eric Vergne (at 200mph!) and Sergio Perez. An investigation is no underway.

See some fabulous images from the exciting event by motorsport specialist snapper, Kevin Bennett on our Facebook page here. 

VIDEO: Alfa Romeo 4C technical Detail Revealed

Alfa Romeo has unveiled more technical information about the awesome new, super-lightweight (895Kg) Alfa 4C – including details of its F1-inspired carbon fibre monocoque (weighing just 65kg). More than 1,000 4C's will be produced at the Alfa Romeo Modena facility, using Maserati manufacturing functions "combining high technology and craftsmanship." And the new breed supercar is set to make its dynamic UK debut at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Can't wait! Can you? Alfa says: "The ‘compact supercar’ perfectly embodies the Alfa brand with Italian style, sporty performance and engineering excellence offering maximum driving satisfaction in total safety. The captivating coupé with two bucket seats uses technologies and materials derived from the 8C Competizione - carbon, aluminium, rear-wheel drive - and technologies from the latest Alfa Romeo models, but thoroughly developed to enhance the sports appeal of the new car. This is demonstrated by the new 1750 Turbo Petrol engine with direct injection and aluminium block, the sophisticated “ALFA TCT” twin dry clutch transmission and the Alfa D.N.A. selector with the brand-new Race mode." Built in Modena, birthplace of the world's most famous sports cars, the Alfa 4C’s production process integrates Alfa Romeo’s design roles and Maserati’s manufacturing functions with engineering and technological contribution from Italian world-wide leaders in the component industry for high-performance sports cars. To design a car that is both exclusive and achievable for Alfa Romeo fans across the world, the Alfa 4C’s designers focused on lightness and efficiency over greater horsepower, which would have impacted the purchase and maintenance costs. Combining high technology and craftsmanship through an advanced mix of hi-tech materials which combine stiffness and strength but also with reduced weight, the Alfa 4C’s weight to power ratio is less than 4kg/HP with a total dry weight of just 895kg, making 4C one of the lightest cars in the world. Some materials involved in 4C production include: CARBON FIBRE The Alfa 4C uses 10% carbon fibre which represents 25% of the car’s overall volume. Carbon fibre currently offers the best weight/stiffness efficiency. The structural function monocoque, designed by the Alfa Romeo specialised team, makes up the central, load-bearing cell of the chassis yet weighs just 65kg. Joining state-of-the-art Formula 1 inspired manufacturing technology and the manual craftsmanship typical of the Italian artisans, Alfa Romeo is the only brand capable to assure a production of over 1,000 pieces per year. ALUMINIUM Aluminium was used for the roof reinforcement cage and the front and rear frameworks. To reduce weight but increase stiffness, the designers replaced the traditional rectangular strut section with a newly designed section, manufactured using the innovative 'Cobapress' process, which combines fusion and forging under press for a lighter and safer framework. Aluminium in the hybrid-type front brake discs with aluminium bell and cast iron ring gear also reduced weight by up to 2kg per disc, in addition to providing better braking. SMC (SHEET MOULDING COMPOUND) Using SMC (Sheet Moulding Compound), a low-density and high resistance composite material, for the body enabled a 20% weight reduction in comparison to traditional sheet steel. The Alfa Romeo 4C is the first standard production car to achieve such a high percentage of low-density SMC. With a weight of 1.5 g/cm³ this material is decidedly lighter than steel (~7.8 g/cm³) and aluminium (~2.7 g/cm³), besides being more malleable in terms of design it also disperses noise well for acoustic comfort. Low-density SMC also reduces the number of components and operations required together with shorter assembly times, thus lowering production costs. PUR-RIM (INJECTED POLYURETHANE) The PUR-RIM (injected polyurethane) on the bumpers and wings weighs 20% less than steel and is suitable for creating complex design elements, such as the 4C wing, and for keeping an ideal cost/production volume ratio. WINDOWS With the window glass, the overall weight was reduced by a real silhouette-thinning approach: all the window glasses are on average around 10% thinner than those normally fitted on cars, allowing for an average weight reduction of 15%. The windscreen is also only 4 mm thick – difficult to obtain on such thin glass with the car’s particularly aerodynamic shape. QUALITY CONTROL To ensure the utmost quality of each Alfa 4C, the production process takes place in dedicated 4C workshops with the ‘testing’ and ‘finishing’ areas shared with the Maserati production. Every day several sample bodies are checked by a dedicated team on over 400 high precision measurement points to ensure the body is perfect from a geometric and dimensional standpoint. Once the car’s manufacture is complete, every detail is strictly checked by systems: from the climate control system operation to the mechanical component settings and the dynamic behaviour. And each Alfa 4C produced is also road-tested for 40 km by an experienced test-driver – a practice commonly used for the most prestigious supercars – not bad work, if you can get it eh?

NEWS: Goodwood Revival Jim Clark Tribute

The 2013 Goodwood Revival (13-15th September) is set to pay a tribute to the legendary Scottish F1 and rallying star, Jim Clark, on the 50th anniversary of his first F1 World Championship victory.

A daily track parade at the Goodwood Motor Circuit will include a variety of Jim Clark’s most famous cars to honour the life and achievements of this incredible and versatile man – featuring "a wealth of famous competition cars, spanning a variety of different genres in the course of his all too brief career." Clark achieved success in single-seaters, sports, GT and saloon cars, and even turned his hand to rallying, setting fastest stage times on the 1966 RAC Rally in a Lotus-Cortina. The track parade will read like a shopping list of great racing cars from the 1960s, including the Lotus 25 in which Clark won the F1 World Championship in 1963, the Lotus-Cortina in which he won the 1964 British Saloon Car Championship, and the Lotus 38 in which he won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965. 

Clark died tragically in an F2 race at Hockenheim on 7 April 1968 and was a much-loved motorsport face. As such, fellow star drivers of his era such as Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, John Surtees and Tony Brooks will be attending the Revival to honour Jim Clark's all-too-short career. 

Jim Clark competed at Goodwood on many occasions in the early 1960s, and, along with fellow Scot Sir Jackie Stewart, jointly holds the lap record of 1m20.4, set at the circuit’s final F1 race in 1965. Goodwood Revival founder Lord March fondly recalls meeting him as a motor racing-obsessed boy, saying: "Jim was always very nice to me – quiet, charming, a thoroughly good guy; not brash like some of the other drivers. He was an absolute world-class driver, and effortless is a good way to describe his ability."
Tickets, grandstand seats, camping and other products for the 2013 Goodwood Revival can be purchased via the Goodwood website (www.goodwood.com/motor sport/), or the Ticket Hotline: +44 (0)1243 755055.

See some more Revival images on our Facebook page.

Picture credit above: Goddard – GPL

NEWS: Sir Chris Hoy Podium in Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge

Sir Chris Hoy MBE contested the all-new ‘Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge’ at the F1 Australian Grand Prix at the 3.3-mile Albert Park track in Melbourne this weekend – as 21 evenly-matched, 137mph, 175PS (420Nm) Mazda6 2.2-litre SKYACTIV-D saloons battled for honours. And the Olypmic champion and budding racer, who will be racing Radicals this year in the UK, managed an excellent second place in the final of the three-race mini-series.
"The Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge in Australia was great fun and provided the perfect showcase for Mazda’s clean diesel technology," comments Jeremy Thomson, Managing Director, Mazda UK. "The event captured the ‘defy convention’ spirit at the heart of Mazda and put a fresh spotlight on our brand in a country where Mazda is already very popular and the Mazda3 topped the new car sales chart last year."
Completely standard, the all-new Mazda6 saloon racecars were fitted with additional safety equipment to comply with FIA regulations including a full roll-cage, Sparco race seat with six-point safety harness, external battery ‘kill’ switches and race compound brake pads. The cars retained their six-speed SKYACTIV-DRIVE automatic transmission with steering wheel paddle-shift selectors and ran on regular, grooved road tyres.
The only British competitor in the event, Chris Hoy qualified a promising third during Thursday’s practice session, finished fifth on Saturday (from a 20th place start) and stormed to a great second place finish in Sunday’s final.
"I am delighted with today’s performance; it was the most fun I have had in the car ever," enthused Hoy, who recently drove the Prodrive Impreza WRC that Colin McRae drove in 1998, for BBC2' Racing Legends program. "After Saturday’s charge through the field, passing 15 cars, I even had hopes of maybe winning the final, but Brad Hodge has been so consistent and he was ultimately out of reach and I had to settle for the runner-up spot."
The three-race Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge was won by former Australian test cricketer Brad Hodge who convincingly took overall honours by winning every race with celebrity chef Shane Delia and star actor Jonathan LaPaglia (Law & Order and NCIS) rounding out the podium.
Women drivers also performed well with Australian hero Olympic cyclist Anna Meares finishing fourth overall – the leading female in each race – and Holly Candy (nee Valance, formerly of Neighbours) singer of the chart-topping single Kiss Kiss, playing a starring role.
Well done Chris! Good practice for the super-fast Radicals this year... sort of!

NEWS: McLaren P1™ Fast Facts & Figures. Oh and £866,000 price tag!

More details have emerged on the amazing McLaren P1™– a lesson in hypercars from the world's most anal and awesome car builders, with the most immaculate F1 win record. Not to mention being a lesson in car launching technique. The crescendo drip feed of facts, figure, images and info. has been superb. Bravo marketing and PR team.
So, headlines this week in McLaren P1™world? Well, thanks to the Instant Power Assist System (IPAS), the McLaren P1™will be 23% faster than the legendary McLaren F1 – blitzing 0-62mph in under three seconds and 0-300 km/h (186mph in old money!) in less than 17 seconds, which is quite quick (five seconds faster than the McLaren F1 in fact)! The top speed has been limited to 217mph (350 KM/h in new money). Only 375 will be made, making it super exclusive. But that'll cost you, at £866,000 OTR, or track! And McLaren says the production model is almost unchanged from the original design study, which is impressive too. McLaren has been engaging with potential customers actively in the last few months to get their views on the McLaren P1™, about the car’s styling.  Their unanimous verdict on the styling was not to change the car presented last September in Paris.  So unusually, the McLaren P1™ has translated to production form with very little change.  In fact just one, the addition of LTR ducts ahead of each of the front wheels to further aid cooling and optimise downforce.
The options list will be limited to only bespoke content that a customer might wish to add through McLaren Special Operations, and fitted luggage... naturally.
As already announced, the McLaren P1™ will have the combined force of two highly-efficient powerplants, offering the optimum mix of superb throttle response, day-to-day drivability and top speed. A mid-mounted 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine is substantially enhanced featuring, for example, larger turbochargers and a highly effective electric motor, to give a combined output of 916PS (903 bhp) and a maximum torque figure of 900Nm. This ensures instantaneous throttle response through the rev range, more akin to a naturally aspirated engine. Emissions of less than 200g/km on the combined cycle are reduced to zero in full electric drive mode, while the Formula 1-derived DRS and IPAS technologies offer an increase in straight-line speed and an instant boost of power.
The tyres fitted to the McLaren P1™ are specially developed P Zero Corsas, which have been developed with McLaren’s technology partner, Pirelli. The team at Pirelli has been involved throughout the entire development programme, and this has seen the tyre testing phase integrated into the schedule, as a key performance component. The final compound and construction has been developed and optimised during testing, and the end result is a tyre that is finely tuned specifically to the performance and handling characteristics.
To rein in the power produced by the twin powerplants, the McLaren P1™ is designed to offer braking performance more associated with a GT3 or sports racing car. Developed by McLaren’s Formula 1 partner Akebono, the system features a new type of carbon ceramic disc, which has previously seen service in space, but never before used on a road car. Stronger than conventional carbon ceramic, the material dissipates heat more effectively, giving the highly efficient braking system exceptional stopping and cooling capability. The system also boasts significantly reduced weight, and a bespoke ceramic layer coats both friction surfaces to give an attractive mirrored finish.
One surprising eco-feature is that the car can also be driven solely in electric mode.  In city driving, with an average speed of 30 mph, this could mean up to a 20km range.  More than enough for an owner to enter, for example, a city centre Zero Emissions Zone, have dinner and return home.
Can you wait? We can't. New Top Gear lap record? Yup! Nopt to mention a whole host of other accolades...
Bravo. The world today needs the McLaren P1™don't you think?
See more images here.

NEWS: 2012: 25 Years of the Fabulous "Race Of Champions"

You know it's Christmas coming when the most fun motorsport event of the annual calendar – the Race of Champions – is here, with just three days before it all kicks off in Bangkok, Thailand, December 14-16th. And this year sees the epic event – pitting the world's greatest drivers from all motorsport disciplines against each other in a range of different cool vehicles, head to head, against the clock, becoming a knock-out competition – celebrate 25 years. Bravo! 

It all looks set to be a classic too, with 2011 King, Sebastian Ogier back to defend his title, and both Sebastian Vettel (also showing off the new Red Bull RB7 F1 car) and seven-times F1 champ, Michael Schumacher coming back to try and prove F1 drivers are quicker than rally boys (good luck with that!) and fight to the death, like they did last year. Classic! 

ROC cars this year include the Toyota GT86 (which should be sideways fun), VW Scirocco, Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo, Euro race car, ROC buggy, KTM X-Bow and also this year, the 500bhp Audi R8 LMS. All the pieces are in place for a gem. Well done ROC for 25 great years! Here's to a fabulous 2012 event and the next 25! 

Find out more on the ace ROC Facebook page and website, including where you can catch all the action on TV, buy last year's DVD as a Christmas present (hint, hint!), see all the previous winners, watch great videos, get all the news, get the freshest tweets and images and much more. Get involved...

NEWS: Donington Park Multi-million £ Investment

Great news if you, like us are big fans of Donington Park Circuit – they have just started a huge multi-million pound re-investment to reinstate, re-shape and landscape the infield spectator and outdoor exhibition areas of its world-class race track. The two-year project will see new spectator banks created on the infield overlooking the Old Hairpin, Starkeys Bridge and McLeans. When complete, this work will also greatly improve the viewing areas around Coppice, along the main Straight, and into both the Fogarty Esses (Grand Prix circuit) and the newly-named Roberts chicane on the National track layout, which format is much used by BTCC and all historic racing. Bob Adams, Donington Park Circuit Manager, commented: "This is a major project for the Park and will create a fantastic viewing area for all the fans. We’ll be shaping 250,000 tons of material with topsoil and new grass lawns, right across these 24 acres, to make sure they will work well as our new spectator banks. We are also taking the opportunity to construct new roads to improve access to the infield area, both for show cars at major events to reach display areas, but more importantly for the many manufacturer displays and the traders who enjoy the advantages of the infield."
The original Donington Park infield was excavated by contractors working for the previous operator’s ill-fated Formula 1 circuit rebuild in 2009. Now placing that whole episode firmly into the history books, the new Donington ownership and management has, following a successful council planning application this summer, now committed to transform the circuit over the next two winters.
Phase one of the infield restoration will be completed by the end of March 2013. This will see the eastern half of the infield restored. Phase two will take place during the 2013-2014 winter circuit closed period, thereby ensuring that all the new spectator banks are completed and ready for the significant growth plans for the 2014 racing season.
In 2012, Donington Park has hosted its busiest racing schedule ever, with more than 30 events of the very best in World, European and British motor sport, including the World and British Superbikes, the British Touring Car Championship, the British Truck Grand Prix, and the European Le Mans Series. In addition,Donington Park will this weekend (29th and 30th September) host the concluding round of the FIA GT1 World Championship.
Christopher Tate, Managing Director at Donington Park, added: "We’ve had an amazing year of dramatic racing and a return of the crowds, for both the two and the four wheel events at the circuit. Now, with the infield work already fully underway, Donington Park continues its rebirth as the heart and soul of British motorsport."
For further information on events at Donington Park, visit the website at www.donington-park.co.uk.

VIDEO: Ferociously Fast Fiat For Friday!

Revving to over 10,000rpm, weighing in under 600Kg and knocking out over 300bhp, this Fiat X1-9 is one hell of a cool hill climber, eh? Check it out. You can buy the DVD from this epic hill climb at: http://www.dorvyd.it/Homepage.html. Ace! 

VIDEO: Neil Cole's "The Grid" – Episode II

Our new Road Magazine columnist, rallyist, comedian, writer and all-round top guy, Neil Cole – http://www.neilcole.org – has a new show on Sports Tonight Live... "The Grid." It's a motorsport fan's dream, with all the latest news, gossip and more, chatted about in a very relaxed, happy format, with Skype chats from various contributors. This is the second episode with Neil and Kevin Shepherd talking Sebastian Vettel and F1 testing, Juan Montoya and his spectacular crash in NASCAR at the Daytona 500, as well as IRC and BRC with Andrew Coley. You can follow them on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/STL_TheGrid
And you can read all three of Neil's latest columns for Road Magazine here:
http://issuu.com/roadonlinemagazine/docs/road_22_small/1
http://issuu.com/roadonlinemagazine/docs/road_23_subaruspecial/1
http://issuu.com/roadonlinemagazine/docs/road_24s/1