Jalopnik: race

AC Cobra Out-Drags Corvette ZR1

Wes Siler — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EDT

Maybe they didn't know how to use the Corvette ZR1 launch control or maybe they just didn't have Ben, but England's Autocar managed to beat GM's finest with an AC Cobra up to 100 MPH. [Autocar]

Best Motoring Races S2000, 135i, 370Z, Cayman S and 911

Wes Siler — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EDT

The bestest motoring show from the land of the rising sun, Best Motoring, ran the Honda S2000, BMW 135i, Nissan 370Z, Porsche Cayman S and 911 together on the same track. The result? We told you so.

Top Gear To Recreate Italian Job, Drive Minis Through Belfast Sewers

Wes Siler — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT

Top Gear is planning to recreate the most famous scene from The Italian Job, racing Minis through Belfast's Sewers. Belfast? Well, James May doesn't like Italy.

Belfast has just completed construction on a new sewer system, meaning Clarkson, the Hamster and May won't have to splash through human waste in the name of infotainment. While the original 1969 film was set in Turin, Michael Cain was actually driving through Coventry's waste disposal system.

Filming is expected to take place "in the coming weeks" meaning we should see the race this season. No word on which one of the trio had the great idea. [via BBC]

View From The Pilot's Seat: 12 Hours Of Sebring Flyby

The Auto Insider — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:30:00 EDT

Check out the 12 Hours of Sebring action from the skies with the Blue Sky Yakrobatics aerial stunt team as they strut their WWII vintage aircraft during pre-race National Anthem ceremonies.

If you can identify the planes that you see in this clip we'll give you a cookie and a Tylenol. [via YouTube]

12 Hours Of Sebring: Epic Audi And Peugeot Lead-Changing Battle

The Auto Insider — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EDT

Those of you who watched Saturday's 12 Hours of Sebring race will surely agree this was the most exciting battle of the entire race. Diesel vs. diesel. Man vs. man. French vs. German.

This video's a battle occurring around the seven-hour mark pitting Audi R15 TDI driver, Alan McNish and Peugeot 908 HDI driver, Franck Montagny against one another for overall race lead. It was an eerily similar battle to the one between Flying Lizard's Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and Risi Competizione's Ferrari F430 GT that happened during the final lap of the 2007 Sebring race. [youtube via speedtv]

Audi R15 TDI Wins 12 Hours Of Sebring

The Auto Insider — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:19:48 EDT

Audi emerged victorious at the 12 Hours of Sebring tonight with their new R15 TDI racer piloted by Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen, taking the checkered flag 22.279 seconds ahead of Peugeot.

Audi's brand new R15 TDI whomped on the French with a 1st place finish over the 2nd place Peugeot 908 HDI. It was an epic battle between the two diesel powers and McNish in the #2 car was able to take the lead around the 42-minute mark when Peugeot driver, Montagny, made a final fuel-only pit stop. McNish was able to maintain his overall lead, clicking off faster and faster laps that allowed him to gain enough of a gap to eventually win the 100th ALMS race, the 57th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.

Can they repeat this epic win in Le Mans? We're sure that Peugeot will bring their A-game, but with Audi's amazing performance today, we're not so sure it the French will win on their home turf.

57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Final Results:
1. (2) Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Audi R15 TDI (1, P1), 383.
2. (5) Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (2, P1), 383.
3. (4) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Audi R15 TDI (3, P1), 381.
4. (7) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (1, P2), 360.
5. (3) Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Christian Klien, Austria; Nicolas Minassian, England; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (4, P1), 356.
6. (12) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Antonio Garcia, Spain; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (1, GT1), 349.
7. (11) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Marcel Fässler, Switzerland; Corvette C6.R (2, GT1), 348.
8. (27) Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (1, GT2), 332.
9. (15) Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Mathias Russo, Argentina; Luis Companc, Argentina; Ferrari 430 GT (2, GT2), 330.
10. (17) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Ian James, England; Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford (3, GT2), 329.
11. (14) Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 326.
12. (24) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (5, GT2), 326.
13. (23) Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Eric van de Poele, Belgium; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Ferrari F430 GT (6, GT2), 325.
14. (16) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT MK 7 (7, GT2), 303.
15. (6) David Brabham, Australia; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Acura ARX-02a (5, P1), 302, Drive line.
16. (13) Dirk Werner, Germany; Richard Lietz, Austria; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (8, GT2), 274.
17. (19) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Ritchie Holt, Davie, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (9, GT2), 251, Clutch.
18. (1) Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Simon Pagenaud, France; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Acura ARX-02a (6, P1), 246, Mechanical.
19. (20) Robert Bell, UK; Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage GT2 (10, GT2), 204, Engine.
20. (9) Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Tony Burgess, Canada; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Lola B06/10 AER (7, P1), 151, Electrical.
21. (10) Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Ben Devlin, England; Lola B09 86 Mazda (2, P2), 149, Mechanical.
22. (26) Dirk Müller, Germany; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; BMW E92 M3 (11, GT2), 140.
23. (8) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Lola B09 86 Mazda (3, P2), 127, Mechanical.
24. (22) Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX; Eric Curran, Easthampton, MA; Lucas Molo, Brazil; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (12, GT2), 89, Mechanical.
25. (25) Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06/10 AER (8, P1), 77.
26. (18) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; BMW E92 M3 (13, GT2), 27, Mechanical.
27. (21) Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Hans Stuck, Germany; Johannes Stuck, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14, GT2), 0, Withdrawn.
28. (28) Richard Westbrook, England; Marc Basseng, Germany; Lance David, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (15, GT2), 0, Withdrawn.

[via speed, youtube, americanlemans, coldtrackdays] (Top Photo: Doug Werner)

Google Earth Reveals Coolest Driveway Ever

The Auto Insider — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST

What could quite possibly be the coolest driveway ever was found outside of Lakeland, Florida. Our friends at The Car Lounge used Google Earth to get a closer view of this killer not-so-mini racetrack driveway.

If you look closely you'll notice that he's even installed FIA curbs to each of the corners. We're wondering what kind of ride he has lurking under those trees - a shifter kart, some Italian muscle or what.

[Google Maps via carlounge]

Corvette-Engined Formula Le Mans LMP2 Racer Makes Angry Noises

The Auto Insider — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST

GM’s venerable small-block LS3 from the 2009 Corvette/2010 Camaro SS has found its way under the rear bodywork of a new Formula Le Mans prototype. Click below to see and hear the beast in action.

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) has announced a new European race series called Formula Le Mans. The star of the series is a new Corvette LS3 V8-sourced racecar. Built by Oreca, of Viper motorsport heritage, the new racer is a carbon-kevlar open-cockpit LMP2 that looks (and sounds) to be a promising entry.

Oreca released a promo video that makes the hairs on our arms stand on end. The LS3 mill sounds absolutely devilish is this configuration.

Listen To The Roar Of That LS3

[Formula LeMans via YouTube]

Stunning Video Of Swedish-Style Track Day

Andrew Didorosi — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST

Videographer Anders Bäckman wields a simple camcorder while producing incredible results in this short clip of a track day at the Gotland Ring in Sweden. Added bonus: crank the volume for funky electronic beats.

[Stilism]
Hat tip to Tio!

Lewis Hamilton Races F1 Car Against Learjet

Mark Arnold — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:00:00 EDT

The age-old battle of car versus airplane has been renewed by Lewis Hamilton, racing his McLaren Mercedes F1 car against a Learjet. Sadly, it's not quite as exciting as Top Gear's Bugatti Veyron versus EuroFighter contest, but then this was just some publicity stunt put on because Hamilton is a "brand ambassador" for Bombardier Learjet. Whatevs; we'll take all the car vs. jet battles we can get.
[via GridCrasher]

Volkswagen Builds 300 HP Scirocco For Nürburgring 24-Hour Race

Mark Arnold — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:20:00 EDT

A lot of people think VW's upcoming Scirocco could use a little more oomph under the hood. The stock engines are rated from 122 HP to 200 HP, but this new version has a 300 HP version of the 2.0-liter TFSI inline-four. That's because the car has been race-prepped specifically for next month's 24-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring.

Yep, this little fastback will be in the same race as the Gumpert Apollo Hybrid and the Lexus LF-A. Sadly, there are currently no plans for a version of the race car to hit the streets, but who knows. After all, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24 started life as a specially-built car for this same race just a couple years ago.
[CarScoop]

Aston Martin Releases Official Vantage GT2 Shots

Wes Siler — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:15:00 EDT

Aston Martin finally got around to taking photos of its new Vantage GT2 racecar. A step above the Vantage N24 road-going racer, the GT2 will compete in ALMS, FIA GT and Le Mans series. We told you a couple of weeks ago that the 4.3-liter V8 will run on either ethanol or gasoline and should make about 480bhp. There's not much more information available, so we'll just sit back, look at the pictures and drool.

Schumacher Wins First Motorcycle Race, Prompting Rumors Of New Career

Wes Siler — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Former F1 driver Michael Schumacher has won his first ever motorcycle race. The ex-Ferrari driver has successfully completed tests on board Ducati's MotoGP bike and raced a Honda CBR1000RR. With the addition of this win, on board a Triumph Daytona 675, the motorcycle world is rife with rumors that he will compete professionally in a major racing class next season.

In addition to his Triumph, Schumacher brought his track prepped Ducati 1098R and Desmosedici RR to the Barcelona track for testing. It's not known which series, if any, Schumacher would choose to participate in, but it's assumed he can pretty much write his own ticket. Any lack luster performance would be made up for by his crowd-pulling name. [Via Motorcycle News]

Factory Five GTM Is Mid-Engined Bargain

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:15:00 EST

The Factory Five GTM is causing us pains. Is it better to buy and drive the donor Corvette Z06 the car is built with; or is the mid engine and lighter weight worth the sacrifice? Decisions, decisions. In any case, the GTM is that rare occurrence: The racing version is actually cheaper than the street version. The GTM for the road runs about $61K, while the race version costs a scant $43K. Bargains, for the kind of performance you're likely to see. Of course, there's the whole kit-car hell aspect of things, but come on, be adventurous—they're bound to be more reliable than a Lamborghini right? [Factory Five GTM Home]

First report in - #22 Esperante loses brakes...

bwojdyla — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 16:08:55 EDT

First report in - #22 Esperante loses brakes but all is well, some rubbing between an LMP and a Porsche and one showing of the pace car. Early leaders: LMP1- MkNish (Audi), LMP2 - Briscoe (Porsche), GT1 - Magnussen (Corvette), GT2 - Salo (Ferrari)

ALMS Race Is GO!

bwojdyla — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:30:39 EDT

Here we are folks at today's Detroit Belle Isle Gran Prix main event, the American Le Mans Series race. We'll strap in and fire up our keyboards to bring you sporadic coverage for the next three or so hours. Expect plenty of tense passing as there are only two good places to get around slow moving traffic. At turn one and two after a series of sweeping high speed curves is for those with courage, and between turn seven and eight on the long back stretch (with the pretty view of the river) is for those with big engines and bigger brakes. Stay tuned for more.

The Primal Scream of Bruce

bwojdyla — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:30:52 EDT

Heilige scheiße! Straight cut gears in the sequential transmission and ludicrous engine power combine to form an unholy union in this E36 that embarasses every other car during this run of the Dutch Supercar Challenge. Our hero passes race spec 911's and Marcos Mantis's like they're standing still. I think I lasted until about the 6:45 mark before I had to pause the stream and go have a smoke. Normally we'd recommend turning your speakers up ~~to eleven~~, but in this case, the stupendous frequency of the gear mesh will deafen you. This only makes me lust after E36's even more.– Ben Wojdyla

Behold, The Awesome Track Prowess of the Elise

bwojdyla — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:40:16 EDT

We caution readers with weaker constitutions to avoid viewing this video. If you do not already have a burning desire to own one of these masterpieces of lightness, turn away, lest you fall for its devilish ways. Cursed be you oh series of tubes, for not bringing this video to our attention sooner! Almost a year, languishing on the tube of you... for shame. Okay, kids, here's a test, put on your helmet, turn up the sound, sit real close to the monitor and hit play, if you don't want an Elise by the end, you officially have no soul. – Ben Wojdyla

Not Unbeatable? Audi R10 Loses to Harrier Jump-Jet

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:06:15 EDT

It may have a reputation of being unbeatable — having aced the 24 heure du mons this year — but a Harrier jump-jet made quick work of the diesel-powered Audi R10, yesterday. On an RAF base in blighty, Scotsman Allan McNish, piloting the R10, demonstrated the R10 greater thrust off the line, beating the jet to 150 mph. But the stinkbomb couldn't hold its lead; the Harrier arrived at the one-kilometer mark a tenth of a second quicker. Still, it's hella bragging rights for Audi, which may have done more to change diesel's image than "BJ and the Bear." Google it, kids.

Jet fighter beats diesel Audi... [Classic Driver]

Related:
More on the Audi R10 racer [internal]