Articles tagged with "Racing"
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Official pictures of Aston Martin's Vantage GT2
March 31, 2008 Aston Martin Racing has revealed the first official pictures of the Vantage GT2. Based on the V8 engined Aston Martin Vantage and designed to run on both standard and E85 bio-ethanol fuel, the new race car will make its debut at the Le Mans Series at Barcelona on 5 April 2008. The addition of the Vantage GT2 gives Aston Martin Racing a full complement of cars covering each of the four categories in the FIA GT Championship: GT1 – DBR9; GT2 – Vantage GT2; GT3 – DBRS9; GT4 – Vantage N24. See the gallery for more pics. (read more...)
KTM's RC8 superbike targets Ducati's 1098S
March 20, 2008 World Superbike racing is about to get a serious shake-up in 2009, as new heavyweight contenders step into the ring from BMW, Aprilia and 675 triple. In WSBK 2008, it seems the Ducati 1098S, the fastest Ducati ever with Australia's Troy Bayliss on board, is already standing out the bike to beat - and that's exactly the way KTM have approached the development of their 1148cc v-twin RC8 superbike, which weighs in, on both the scales and the dyno, as an absolute equal to the slippery Ducati. (read more...)
Aprilia RSV4 racebike unveiled
February 26, 2008 Aprilia has taken the wraps off the 1000cc, V-4 engined superbike it plans to race in the World Superbike Championship in the 2009 season in front of an audience of more than 1,200 dealers attending the International Piaggio Group Convention in Milan. The race version of Aprilia's first ever 4-cylinder engine is already making a claimed 207 horsepower - with more room yet for development potential - and the new bike is due to make its road debut by the end of 2008. The unique, compact four-cylinder 65 degree V engine configuration achieves peak power at 13,500rpm and uses a computer controlled fly-by-wire system similar to that found in the recent R1 and R6 Yamahas for controlling power output and traction. (read more...)
The Dakar to return - in South America
February 18, 2008 Just six weeks after the last minute cancellation of the 2008 event due to threats of terrorist attacks, organizers have announced that the 2009 Dakar will take place in Argentina and Chile. The planned 9000 km loop starting and finishing in Buenos Aires from the 3rd to the 18th of January is the first to be held outside of Africa. As well as the name, organizers aim to retain the spectacular and varied topography, demanding competition and the spirit of the legendary 30 year old race. (read more...)
Details confirmed for first-ever Formula One night race
February 1, 2008 The timetable has been set for September's Formula 1(TM) Singapore Grand Prix, the first ever Grand Prix to be held at night. (read more...)
Cannondale's new Scalpel XC racer features zero-pivot swingarm
Already the dominant bike in cross-country racing, the Cannondale Scalpel has received some significant upgrades for this year's model. The most fascinating is the company's decision to do away with a chainstay pivot on the rear suspension – instead employing a unique bending carbon fiber unit that uses its designed-in flex to improve bump handling and stiffness while increasing rear suspension travel to 100mm. Combined with Cannondale's amazing single-sided Lefty fork and a host of other new developments that see the bike's overall weight drop by 10%, the new Scalpel is quite a stunning piece of engineering. (read more...)
First glimpse of Aston Martin's Vantage GT2 race car
Aston Martin Racing has released a sketch showing its first impressions of the new GT2 racing car. Based on the V8 engined Aston Martin Vantage road car and to be known as the Vantage GT2, the vehicle is designed to run on either standard race fuel or E85 bio-ethanol (where regulations allow), a conversion that was successfully completed for the DBRS9 in 2007. The new car also gives Aston Martin the mantle as the only manufacturer to offer cars in every GT racing category: GT1 – DBR9; GT2 – Vantage GT2; GT3 – DBRS9; GT4 – Vantage N24. Aston Martin chairman, David Richards, will be announcing Aston Martin Racing’s 2008 plans at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, UK, on Thursday 10 January at 10.45 am. (read more...)
Dakar Rally canceled due to terrorist threats
January 5, 2008 For the first time in its 30-year history, the Dakar Rally has been canceled, the day before it was due to start, due to direct threats launched against the race by terrorist organizations based in the area. It appears the event may be moved to sub-Saharan Africa from 2009 onwards. We commiserate with race fans, organizers and the 550-odd competitors for many of whom this "Everest of off-road" event is a lifelong dream. (read more...)
F1 shock: no more engine development allowed for 10 years
December 10, 2007 Last Friday, at the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco, the FIA, which governs Formula One racing, made a decision to immediately freeze engine development for the next 10 years. Unbelievably, the engine each F1 team presents and homologates by the end of next March will be the engine that team races until 2017 – and the billions of Euros normally spent on engine development will be channeled into peripheral systems. The FIA sees development outside the engine, such as with Kinetic Energy Recovery, as a far more valuable contribution to road car development than spending money on squeezing another 1000rpm and 30 horsepower out of an engine that's already spinning three times as fast as the one in your family sedan. (read more...)
The HB Special: a driving experience from yesteryear
Classic racecar fans might find this offer appealing: if the idea of owning, restoring and maintaining a 1950s racecar requires too much commitment, why not “experience” one for a week through the twisty mountain roads of Europe? Contrary to the modern trend of making supercars more and more easy to drive with electronic assistance, the Huet Brothers’ Triumph TR6-based “HB Special” is very much an accomplished driver’s car that rewards concentration, skill and finesse if you want to get the most out of it. Mind the dress code, though! (read more...)
America’s only 180mph rolling-road wind tunnel
October 1, 2007 The Windshear rolling-road wind tunnel in North Carolina will be one of the fastest and most advanced facilities in the world, and the only in America capable of 180mph (around 300kph) testing. The US$40 million complex will be an excellent resource for Formula One, NASCAR and most other racing teams – but interestingly, street-legal supercars like the Bugatti Veyron at the forefront of high-speed aerodynamic design still have nowhere to test their 250+mph models. (read more...)
Speedsailing records tumble at Walvis Bay
September 21, 2007 Speedsailing competitors from all over the world flocked to Walvis Bay in Namibia recently where a combination of high winds and smooth seas saw several records tumble. The fastest run of the week was by Italian Patrick Diethelm, who completed the 500m pass at a blazing average of 43.02 knots – a ground speed of just under 80kmh and a new Italian men’s record. (read more...)
A closer look at the black art of aerodynamics in Formula One
August 21, 2007 Aerodynamics is now viewed by Formula 1 teams as the single most important piece of race car design the rules allow them to control. A good aerodynamic setup makes an F1 car slippery in a straight line, maximizes acceleration and top speed, and provides huge amounts of downforce to mash the car’s tyres into the tarmac and add extra grip in the corners. Massive money is spent on tweaking the wings and body shape for that elusive perfect flow of air. Toyota’s Head of Aerodynamics, Mark Gillan, explains further in the second part of Panasonic Toyota Racing’s ‘Inside a Formula 1 Car‘ series. (read more...)
Power Tool Drag Racing weapon - the chainsaw powered wheelbarrow
August 12, 2007 Since our first report back in May we’ve been waiting impatiently to see what flavor of unlikely contraptions would emerge at the Silverline Power Tool Drag Racing contest - and if the belt sander-driven toaster and the chainsaw powered wheelbarrow are any indication, the entries did not disappoint. Amazing photo library with this story! (read more...)
World's first hydrogen-powered racecar to debut this weekend
July 15, 2007 Alternative engine technologies face several challenges in the battle to be viewed as a serious alternative to the internal combustion engine - and a key hurdle is the perception that they can't deliver enough power and performance to compete with their fossil-fuel burning counterparts. How better to dispel such fears than to race a hydrogen-powered car against petrol-powered competitors? The first hydrogen-powered race car will take to the track this weekend in the worldwide Formula Student category, and if the notion of green car racing catches on, we can look forward to watching the ingenuity of the racing community making some significant contributions to the development of emission-free consumer cars in the near future. (read more...)
Limited Edition Repsol Replica Blade CBR1000RR
March 1, 2007 Nicky Hayden's 2006 MotoGP Championship has prompted Honda to announce a limited edition Repsol replica Fireblade CBR1000RR which will be released into European and American markets later this month. It’s the second Repsol Replica Fireblade, the first coming in 2005 to commemorate a decade of Repsol sponsorship. Repsol began sponsoring the Honda MotoGP Team in 1995 when Michael Doohan won his second of five consecutive World GP 500 titles. Since then the team has won seven of the last eleven World Championship crowns including last year's Constructor, Team and Rider's Championship. The CBR1000RR features a host of race-developed technological innovations including the PGM-DSFI dual sequential fuel injection system, the Mass-Centralised Chassis Configuration, the Gravity Die-Cast Aluminium Frame, the Unit-Pro-Arm Swingarm, Radial-Mount Front Brake Callipers and the Electronic Steering Damper. Though it’s nowhere near an exact replica of the racing machines ridden by Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa, the new Repsol Honda Fireblade certainly looks authentic. (read more...)
New 370 km/h ultra-high performance Pirelli PZero
February 28, 2007 Founded in 1872, Pirelli is known variously around the world for its Pirelli International Award (involving the communication of Science & Technology), its sponsorship of Italian Soccer Club Internazionale and the Brazilian soccer club Palmeiras, the Pirelli Tower in Milan, its highly-sought-after calendars and more recently its short films starring Uma Thurman, but mainly because of its tyres. To celebrate 100 years of motorsport, the Italian icon has launched its most technologically advanced ultra-high performance tyre ever - the P Zero. The tyre features a new tread pattern, innovative compounds and structure, and is protected by five patents. It is already being fitted to the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, the Lamborghini Murciélago and Gallardo, the Audi R8 and S8, the Aston Martin DB9, the Maserati Quattroporte, the Jaguar XK, the Mercedes AMG, and will shortly appear on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and the hottest Porsche and BMW models. (read more...)
MotoGP Season underway for Ducati at Wrooom
January 16, 2007 The Wrooom - MotoGP Press Ski Meeting 2007 starts each new racing year at Madonna di Campiglio in the beautiful Trentino region of Italy. Every year this traditional appointment sees the Ducati Marlboro Team riders get their season underway in the Italian mountains and it’s happening right now for a week, with the highlight being the unveiling of the new Ducati Desmosedici GP7 built for the new era of 800cc MotoGP tomorrow. The week is the first appearance in Ducati colours for new rider and newlywed Casey Stoner, alongside his new ontrack teammate, three time World Champion Loris Capirossi. One obvious component of the Ducati week was the Superbike team - while the MotoGP team is in the snow, the Ducati Superbike team is topping the leaderboards in Australia in roasting heat. The bookies rate Valentino Rossi as an odds-on favourite to reclaim his crown in 2007 with Hayden, Pedrosa and Capirossi as the most likely to stand in his way, with Stoner on the next rung of betting. Bayliss is odds-on favourite to take the crown for Ducati again in 2007. (read more...)
HONDA unveils RC212V – 2007 MotoGP machine
December 7, 2006 Having wrestled the World MotoGP Riders and Manufacturers Championships away from Valentino Rossi and Yamaha, Honda’s next big challenge is to keep them and next year with the rules changing to an 800cc limit, suddenly everything is up for grabs again and in post-season testing of the new 800 machines Honda, Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki have all shown they will have competitive machinery next year . We’ve already done a complete technical rundown (with pics) of the RC211V 1000cc MotoGP bike which Honda is leaving behind – herewith is the official Honda unveiling of its 800cc, V4 replacement with a stunning all-new chassis built with mass centralization and ultimate handling in mind. Welcome to the future… (read more...)
Ilmor 800 snares MotoGP championship point
October 20, 2006 The goal was quite simply to finish the race for the first-time MotoGP team Ilmor SRT, but the Sultan of Slide, Garry McCoy, went one better putting in a consistent performance to bring the team its first Championship point. Given that it was the first 800cc capacity bike (built for 2007 regs), it suggests the 800cc MotoGP series next year might be even closer again. It’s a long way from challenging for the win, but such an impressive first up showing suggests the fledgling team will be a lot further up the field by the time the 2007 championship begins next year. (read more...)
ABN AMRO ONE retires from round-the-world racing and sets itself for Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
October 19, 2006 ABN AMRO ONE, the winner of the 2005-6 Volvo Round-the-world Ocean Race will sail in the 2006 Rolex Sydney–Hobart Yacht Race. The world-class race begins its 62nd running on December26 and takes the fleet out of spectacular Sydney Harbour then down the East Coast of Australia, across treacherous Bass Strait finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The crew has its sights firmly on line honours and a race record if the conditions suit the wide-transom boat. The current race record of 42 hours, 14 minutes and 10 seconds is held by Wild Oats. (read more...)
Smart technology for racing cyclists
October 11, 2006 The future of sport is not just about training hard, it’s about monitoring the body and making intelligent decisions using the data available and a fine example of the high-tech understanding being developed in sport science is the work being done by Dr Martin Becker of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE. Becker has developed a new intelligent training system which uses sensors, computers and actuators to help racing cyclists optimize their performance. Each bicycle is fitted with equipment that constantly registers the forces acting on the pedals. Further significant factors are the rider’s pulse and pedaling frequency, the speed and the gradient. All these readings are collected in a processor on the bicycle and radioed to a central processing unit where they are analyzed. The computer delivers individual training recommendations to each rider: He can view them on a display mounted on the handlebars or listen to them over headphones. (read more...)
Honda wins MotoGP Constructors World Championship and reveals the secrets of its RC211V
October 3, 2006 With five riders on three different brands of machinery still capable of winning the World MotoGP riders championship, it has gone almost unnoticed that Honda has taken its 17th Constructors’ Championship and eclipsed MV Agusta’s 16 Constructors’ titles. With 203 premier class victories since it first competed at the highest level in 1966, Honda now dominates the history of MotoGP by almost any measure. Astoundingly, at the Japanese GP, it called a press conference and in an unprecedented move it revealed the complete engine internals of its RC211V, the bike which had won 47 (58.75%) of the 80 races since the 1000cc formula was introduced. Our image gallery for this story contains imagery of many of the famous riders who have tasted World Championship success with Honda such as Hailwood, Spencer, Rossi, Lawson, Gardner and Doohan, plus the bikes they rode from the RC181 of the sixties to the NSR500 V4 and high res imagery of the internals of the RC211V – clearly Honda feels that the internals of the V4 800 of next year with its hydraulically operated valves are so far removed from the V5 1000 that it has nothing to fear. But if you’re a lover of fine engineering, feast your eyeballs on the Honda’s internals. (read more...)
Microsoft goes F1 racing
July 7, 2006 In February this year we discussed the fascinating call by the governing body of international motorsport, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), for expressions of interest in providing the standard electronic control system for all F1 cars as part of the drive to reduce the sport's prohibitive costs. Overnight it was announced that Microsoft MES has been selected as the official ECU supplier to F1 in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Now the world's largest software vendor has had its eye on the automotive environment as one of the cornerstones of future computing for some time, recently winning Best Telematics Solution at the Telematics Detroit 2006 with its Microsoft Windows Mobile for Automotive platform, BUT ... let's hope the boys and gals from Redmond are on the ball with this one as anything less than perfect is not good enough in the world of F1 and it could prove to be the almightiest gaffe in Public Relations history if perfection isn't achieved. A large chunk of the world's population watches a Formula One race and F1 drivers are particularly unforgiving of technical failure when they get a microphone in front of them. (read more...)
Night MotoGP racing on the agenda
April 25, 2006 As television plays an ever greater role in the globalization and monetization of sport, sport is evolving. Once upon a time a time difference meant just delaying the telecast on the TV, but as the internet has hastened deadlines and live sport means “when it’s actually” happening, time-shifting events is now being considered. One such innovation on the horizon is night racing, a regular and ever more frequent autoracing fixture in recent years but until now not tried in the pinnacle sports of either car or motorcycle racing. Earlier this month the three permanent riders on the MotoGP Security Commission (Valentino Rossi, Kenny Roberts Junior and Loris Capirossi) tried out the Losail circuit in Qatar during full darkness to evaluate the feasibility of holding races at night. MotoGP points leader tried the circuit on a Ducati 999R, the headlamps of which proved to be indispensable for those parts of the track without the benefit of artificial lighting. Similarly, Rossi rode a Yamaha sports bike and Roberts rode a Honda CBR1000RR sports bike in their respective determinations. (read more...)
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