A new weekly, or bi-weekly, or whenever-we-get-to-it section, bringing you the most important race news from the weekend. Everything you need to know and nothing you shouldn’t care about, plus some opinion. Feedback is always welcome.
This week:
This week’s Boston Tow Party & Overhead-Cam Bake 24 Hours of Lemons race at Stafford Motor Speedway, in Stafford CT, just off I-84, featured the typical LeMons jalopies, weather changes, and drama, more on which later. There was, however, one car that stood out from the crowd. Among a Fiat 131, a dunked donked (yea, like you knew the difference between “dunked” and “donked”. STFU, please. 
) Pontiac, Peugeots, and Alfa racers, there was – a mid-engined Lancia Montecarlo. … Continue Reading
In the list of 16 manufacturers to have won Le Mans since the end of World War II, only one of them hails from the “land of the rising sun”. Mazda is the only Japanese marque to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall. Recently, the race winning Mazda 787B was restored and driven in demonstration laps at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. You may have seen the videos, but do you know the whole story behind that historic win? Read on.
Mazda has an incredible racing history, and group C sports car prototypes are just one facet of the Mazda racing diamond. However, as professional racing goes, this facet was their most successful. Having competed in every Le Mans event for nearly twenty years, Mazda stepped up to the top level class in 1990 with the 787. The 1990 race was not very favorable toward Mazda, as two 787s retired having completed just fewer than 150 laps. The third 787 did finish the race, however troubles mired them down in 20th position, finishing more than 50 laps down to the winning Jaguar. … Continue Reading
Along with the Formula 1 race, there were other races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. While I did not spend a lot of time at the track I did catch Porsche Cup qualifying and Vintage Formula 1 qualifying. Pictures and videos are below.
Bill Auberlen’s technical knowledge puts him in front of many pro-drivers in the world. His perception and detail orientation makes the Turner Motorsport team a winner every year. Follow him through a chilly day at Carolina Motorsports Park while testing the TMS fleet. Although a slow-paced and thought provoking video, his office is a very fast moving one.
James Thurber’s character Walter Mitty was a daydreamer, an emotional man with an idealistic fantasy life dreamed up during his workaday life. The short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was published in 1939, but its long reaching effects can be found in popular culture even today. Walter Mitty has become the archetype for innumerate dreamers, romantics and idealists everywhere.
Mr. Mitty’s namesake event has become somewhat of an embodiment of that style of life, an escape from the normal, where everything is a dream. The three day event at Road Atlanta began back in 1978 as a small group of vintage car fanatics getting together to race, show off their cars, have fun, and generally escape from reality. Now having completed its thirty-third year of bringing absurdity to every day, the Mitty is now larger than ever.
In November of 2009, Kia announced in a press conference at the SEMA Show that, in conjunction with Kinetic Motorsport of Atlanta, GA, they would enter competition in the 2010 season of the Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner class. Within three months, Kia and Kinetic had a brand new Forte Koup on track competing against Honda’s Civic Si, Mazda’s 3 and MX-5, and MINI Coopers. In the third race of the 2011 they came away with their first victory.
Motorsport season is in full swing. In an effort to provide better understanding of the various forms of road racing in North America we provide you with Complete Guides to each one. This week we look at Muscle Milk SCCA Pro Racing Trans Am Series.
Please check out other “Complete Guides” by Bradley Brownell:
Motorsport season is in full swing. In an effort to provide better understanding of the various forms of road racing in North America we provide you with Complete Guides to each one. This week we look at SCCA Pro Racing Pirelli World Challenge.
Please check out other “Complete Guides” by Bradley Brownell:
The 2011 One Lap of America has commenced. The Redfive Turbo E34 of Justin Kababik and Baer Connard is running strong after a few dramatic mishaps before leaving for Indiana – something about a complete brake failure and an engine rebuild. Expect an update tomorrow but in the mean time you can follow their adventures on their blog and their Facebook Fan page. Today let’s look at the thirty or so (and more coming) pictures of their One Lap competitors and some behind-the-scenes pics.
The month of May is almost upon us and motorsports are in full swing. In an effort to provide better understanding of the various forms of road racing in North America and the world we have brought you the Complete Guide to American Le Mans Series and the Complete Guide to the Indycar Series. Now we look at Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series.
Spring is finally here and the racing season has begun. We would all be fooling ourselves if we admitted that we knew everything about all the racing series. In an effort to reduce confusion and hopefully bring some clarity, we have started a series of articles about the various road racing series in U.S. and the world. Feedback is always appreciated; let us know what you want to see or if we missed something. This week we continue with the Izod Indycar Series.
I’ve tried, but I couldn’t master the black magic that is heel-and-toe. In the end, I am not a competitive person and I enjoy an empty track the most – just me and the car. Losing a second off my lap or the deep satisfaction that comes with executing this trick perfectly is irrelevant to me so as long as I am having a good time. … Continue Reading
For years I have been searching for that one video that best showcased the amazing Group B Rally of the 1980s and I have finally found it. It was not one car or one driver that made the Group B so amazing, it was the insanely powerful cars, the amazing drivers, and fearless fans put together that made this the greatest spectacle in motorsport. If you are old enough to remember these races, this video should bring a tear to your eye. … Continue Reading
Spring is finally here and the racing season has begun. We would all be fooling ourselves if we admitted that we knew everything about all the racing series. In an effort to reduce confusion and hopefully bring some clarity, we will start a series of articles about the various road racing series in U.S. and the world. Feedback is always appreciated; let us know what you want to see or if we missed something. We start off with American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron. … Continue Reading
This is the first of three articles on Rally Racing. I intend to cover car set-ups, driver training, different classes, and whatever else I may come upon. This part will show a built of an Open Class rally car, which is …
I have recently had the opportunity to drive the new Jaguar XFR on the road and on a race track. With the XFR competing directly against the BMW M5, which I have also had the opportunity to drive on the track …
While you may have already read a thing or two about BMW’s new compression ignition offerings, you may not have heard all the details, and you may have some questions. I sure did, and I did my best to answer them …
French cars; some say they’re ugly, some say they’re beautiful, all agree that they’re unreliable. However, there is something about them that makes you want to look. These pictures were taken in March of 2007, my wife’s and mine last trip …
Do you think your ’02 Chevy Tahoe with 170k miles is at the end of its life? Try driving a ’55 Suburban that you inherited from you father. This is a gallery of car pictures from Cuba, where the only way …
Have you visited Hooniverse's Retro Tech site, AtomicToasters?