Video: Moscow plane crash captured by car's dashcam

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Videos, Russia

A passenger plane attempting to land at the Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia crashed on Saturday, December 29, killing four of its eight crew members on board, according to CNN. The flight, arriving from the Czech Republic, reportedly overshot the runway and crashed through a fence, sending debris scattering across an adjacent highway. While it's too early for officials to determine the cause of the incident, authorities say pilot error, weather or a technical malfunction could be to blame.

Shockingly, a driver captured the tragic event on video via a dash cam. The clip shows the aircraft bouncing through a barrier before sending dirt, snow and pieces of the plane careening across the roadway and damaging cars. You can view the dramatic video below.

Continue reading Moscow plane crash captured by car's dashcam

Moscow plane crash captured by car's dashcam originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Dec 2012 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/31/moscow-plane-crash-captured-by-cars-dashcam/

Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot

Heaps In the Heart of Texas 24 Hours of LeMons: Winners!

The checkered flag has been put away, the busted connecting rods are being swept out of pools of oil on the concrete at Eagles Canyon Raceway, and the LeMons HQ crew— actually, just Chief Perp Lamm— is on its way back to not-quite-as-butt-freezing California. Earlier this evening, however, the winning teams were glorying in their accomplishments during the final race of the 2012 24 Hours of LeMons season.

The team that completed the most laps (winning Class A in the process) was Team Back To the Past, who drove their Nissan 300ZX to a clean, nearly black-flag-free victory. This is only the second 300ZX in history to take a LeMons win on laps (as we’ve mentioned before, the Nissan Z Car tends to be quite blowy-uppy in this series), and this out-of-nowhere win for Back To the Past is quite an accomplishment.

Class B went to the Blue Goose Audi 4000S. The Blue Geese have been racing in the LeMons Gulf Region since the very beginning, starting with an extremely terrible Honda CRX, then a somewhat less terrible VW Rabbit, and then to this what-were-they-thinking Audi, and they’re way overdue for an overall win.

The Mustang II-equipped Macaroni Racing fended off the other Class C cars and took home the most coveted of the class trophies.

The Most Heroic Fix award was earned by LeMons Speed, who— unable to find parts on Sunday in rural Texas— were forced to fabricate a lifter tray for their V6 out of random junk they scavenged up in the pits.

You get the I Got Screwed award when your heroic fixing doesn’t work, and Team -ing With Bad Ideas did just that. After hauling their Beetle 1,700 miles from California, they threw a connecting rod 200 yards after the green flag on Saturday.

So, they swapped in their spare engine (savvy air-cooled Volkswagen racers always bring a spare engine)… and promptly blew it up. Screwed!

The organizers always create a special event-specific trophy for each race, and this time that trophy was the Jay’s Dream Car Award. Team Lost In the Dark grabbed that trophy by squeezing a Ford Modular 4.6 V8 into their ’78 Ford Fairmont. This turned out to make the car faster than anyone expected, and the Chief Perp couldn’t get over how ridiculous-yet-cool the swap was.

When your team shows up with a Hostess theme on Friday, then the team’s “CEO” sells “the brand” to Wal-Mart on Saturday night and the car shows up on Sunday as Team Wal-Mart, you have a good shot at the Judges’ Choice trophy. That’s what happened with Team OK Speed.

Getting to the serious trophy hardware now, we’ve got the ’12 Heaps In the Heart of Texas Organizer’s Choice winner: NSF Racing. Why? Painfully stock Aries K wagon! In our vision of the ideal LeMons race, K Cars would replace all 3-series BMWs.

The top prize of LeMons racing, the Index of Effluency, was a very easy call: the Hell’s Treehuggers Harley-Davidson-powered Toyota Prius. We’ll have a special feature about this fine race car in the near future, of course. Congratulations, Spank, Anton, and the Hell’s Treehuggers!

Photographs courtesy of Ron Vickers, Anton Lovett, and Sophie Aissen

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/4OC9_KxU1TQ/

Peter Hirt David Hobbs Gary Hocking Ingo Hoffmann Bill Holland

Superspeedway Testing Key in Developing Rules Package For 2013 NASCAR Fusion

Ford Racing

• In preparation for the season-opening Daytona 500 in February, NASCAR teams participated in a recent test session at Talladega Superspeedway.

• The Talladega test represented the first on-track appearance for Penske Racing with Ford Racing since it announced earlier this year it would be returning for the 2013 season.

• The 2013 NASCAR Fusion will make its highly-anticipated debut in competition during Daytona Speedweeks, which begins with the Daytona Shootout on Saturday, Feb. 16 and concludes with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24.

DEARBORN, MI, (Dec. 19, 2012) – It’s only been a month since the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season came to an end, but teams and fans alike are already looking forward to what lies ahead next year with the debut of cars like the all-new 2013 NASCAR Fusion.

And while many will be taking a break to celebrate the upcoming holidays with family and friends, most race shops will continue humming as teams build and prepare the new models for competition. The primary focus at the moment is Daytona Speedweeks, which is only two months away, and getting ready for the season-opening Daytona Shootout and Daytona 500.

Besides having a new Fusion to run with in 2013, Ford Racing will also welcome Penske Racing back to the program. Car owner Roger Penske is coming off his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 2012 as driver Brad Keselowski captured the crown in only his third full season. The Penske organization, which also includes drivers Joey Logano and Sam Hornish Jr., got their first on-track work with Fusion during a recent test at Talladega Superspeedway.

“Ford probably did the best job in terms of what NASCAR wanted,” said Hornish, who handled driving duties at the test. “NASCAR gave them the opportunity to give their race car a little bit more of the look of the actual street car. If you basically slinked up your car and made it into a street race car, this is what it could look like. I think they did a really good job of that and bringing out the character of the car.”

Vice President of Operations for Penske Racing, Mike Nelson, agreed and said, “We’re excited about the Fusion and the way it looks. There’s a lot of buzz about it in the garage and in the shop, so it’s been good so far. It means a lot to the fans and it means a lot to us as well. It’s nice to be able to look at the street car and look at the race car and see the similarities between the two. They’re identical and it’s cool for everyone.”

That individual brand identity among manufacturers was a key element toward instituting this new-generation car, but questions about components like the cooling system was one of the main reasons for having the Talladega test.

“It’s been a challenge to get all the correct features in the car within the design parameters and still having the car competitive,” said Ford Racing aerodynamicist Bernie Marcus. “At the end of the day you can have the best-looking car, but if it doesn’t work on the track, that’s not going to be good so we have to have both. We have to have the looks and the performance.”

Finding the right balance that will allow the cars to remain competitive and put on a good show for the fans is NASCAR’s ultimate goal while making it to victory lane and winning championships is the primary focus for Ford Racing officials and its teams.

“There’s been cooperation to get to the end goal of making the cars look the same on the race track,” said Pat DiMarco, Ford Racing NASCAR program manager. “We’ve done that over the past few months and now we’re working towards our goal of winning the Daytona 500.”

Ford Racing has won the Daytona 500 two straight seasons and three of the last four overall. The next chance for teams to test their superspeedway cars will be Jan. 10-12 at Daytona International Speedway.

Video of the Talladega test can be found at this link: http://youtu.be/EH4eAaveihU

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 168,000 employees and about 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.

Source: PCGCampball for Ford Racing, Press Release

The post Superspeedway Testing Key in Developing Rules Package For 2013 NASCAR Fusion appeared first on Catchfence.

Related Stories:

1. Track Testing Enables Ford Teams to Gather Crucial Data for 2013 NASCAR Fusion as Countdown to Daytona Continues
2. NASCAR Sprint Cup Stars Take 2013 Ford Fusion Production Car for Ultimate Test Drive and Give It Winning Marks
3. Wind Tunnel Testing Plays Vital Role for Ford Racing in Development of 2013 NASCAR Fusion

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/o2ZT9ZPbRRE/

Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney

SEB, WEB AND SEB RED BULL RACING'S 2012 DRIVER LINE-UP

Red Bull Racing
Thursday 5 January 2012

Red Bull Racing is pleased to confirm that Sébastien Buemi will continue his relationship with Red Bull as Red Bull Racing's test and reserve driver for 2012.
The 23-year-old joins Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, who are already confirmed.

Sébastien Buemi:

"It's good to remain with Red Bull for another year and have this opportunity with the World Championship winning team. I would prefer to be driving at the races of course, but working with Red Bull Racing on the development of their car and providing them with feedback throughout the season is the next best thing."

Christian Horner:

"It was entirely logical for Sébastien to continue with Red Bull having been a member of the Junior Team since 2004. He already knows the team well from his time with us in 2008 and has gained significant race experience over the past three years. He will complete important test and simulation work for us throughout the year and will be in attendance at each grand prix."

Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/01/seb_web_and_seb_red_bull.php

Jo Gartner Tony Gaze Geki Olivier Gendebien Marc Gené

Pic: No pressure to score in 2013

Charles Pic does not believe his Caterham team is under pressure to score its first point in the 2013 season as long as it improves over last season’s performance.

The team has finished 10th in the constructors’ championship in the three years it has been in Formula 1, beating fellow new teams Marussia and HRT since the 2010 season.

Its best result to date, however, is an 11th place in the season finale in Brazil last month.

Although Caterham boss Cyril Abiteboul said the team cannot be satisfied with 10th place anymore, Pic reckons there is no huge pressure to finally get a point next season.

“Caterham have always been the first of the three ‘new’ teams so I think what they’ve produced so far has been good,” Pic told the official Formula 1 website.

“But we can do better and our target is to do better next year. But I don’t think we are under pressure.

“We know where we want to go and that is the most important thing for the team.”

He added: “I think Caterham has big potential – I’m 100 per cent confident of that. We just have to work very hard to improve ourselves to be better next year and to take a step forward.”

Pic, who made his grand prix debut this year, is joining Caterham from Marussia on a multi-year deal.

The Frenchman says having secured a long-term agreement does not mean he will approach 2013 any differently.

“I’m very happy about that because we can work together on the long-term and that’s very important,” he said. “But it doesn’t change anything for me next year.

“I have my own targets, as do the team, and we’ll have to work really hard together to achieve them – that doesn’t change whether you’re on a one- or a two-year contract.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/pic-no-pressure-to-score-in-2013

Gus Hutchison Jacky Ickx Yuji Ide Jesús Iglesias Taki Inoue

Mata Forms M1 Racing, Signs Acosta for Full Pro Mazda Campaign

M1 Racing Logo

CRESSON, Texas, Dec. 19 — Paul Mata, who served as team manager for Team GDT in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear for six years, has formed a new, multi-car team called M1 Racing that has all the ingredients of a championship contender.

He has already signed Juan Camilo Acosta as one of M1 Racing’s drivers for 2013 in the series, which was recently renamed the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

Although M1 Racing is new it has the makings of a powerhouse team. It consists of many open-wheel veterans, including not only Mata but also noted engineers Eric Purcell and Remi Lanteigne, all of whom worked together on Team GDT this year. (Team GDT’s Star Mazda operation was disbanded at the end of the season and its owner, multi-time Expert Series champion J.W. Roberts, is pursuing other motorsports interests.)

M1 Racing purchased the bulk of the Star Mazda equipment previously owned by Team GDT and AIM Autosport.

M1 Racing has established its headquarters at MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, which is about a 15-minute drive from Fort Worth.  Being able to test on that facility’s 1.7-mile and 3.1-mile road courses will give it a definite advantage in its pursuit of victories in the Pro Mazda Championship, which is part of the Mazda Road to Indy program.

Mata is excited about signing Acosta and hopes to sign at least one other driver to join the 22-year-old from Cali, Colombia, on his Pro Mazda team in 2013. Funded drivers can get more information by contacting Mata by e-mail at M1Racinginfo@gmail.com or by calling him at (214) 282-1646.

Acosta drove a Star Mazda car for the first time when he participated in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oct. 10-11 with Team GDT.  He set the team’s fastest lap of that test and he was fourth and fifth overall in the two practice sessions held during his first day ever driving a Star Mazda car.

Acosta made his first start in the series at the season finale Oct. 19 at Road Atlanta, finishing 13th in a Team GDT entry.  His sponsors for that event, Studio F and Ela, two young women’s clothing lines, will continue to sponsor him in Pro Mazda in 2013.

Acosta also competed in a doubleheader in the Panam GP series this year, winning the second half of that doubleheader Sept. 23 at Autódromo Tocancipá, Colombia.

Acosta said he chose M1 Racing because its personnel are making him a better driver.

“When I met them I was a complete rookie driver, and in about six days they taught me a lot about how to drive a race car,” Acosta said.  “I think I’ll be able to improve my driving with their help.  They are a good, complete crew with very experienced guys who are very competitive.  We just completed 18 days of testing and we have 16 more days planned in the next couple of months. We’re testing a lot because we want to be very competitive next year. Everybody, myself included, is working hard and we all want to fight for the championship.  I think we’re going to have fun!”

M1 Racing certainly has a strong engineering department.

Purcell was John Edwards’ engineer when he won the Star Mazda driver championship in 2008.  Purcell can relate to his young charges, because he was a promising open-wheel driver himself until a crash during testing ended his driving career. Since then he has become a widely regarded engineer and race car designer, working with a wide variety of young racers like Peter Dempsey, Devin Cunningham, Natacha Gachnang, Jorge Goncalves, Kyle Marcelli and David Ostella.

Lanteigne has also been the engineer of many notable drivers in Star Mazda, Formula Atlantic, Firestone Indy Lights and other series, including Helio Castroneves, Patrick Carpentier, Katherine Legge, Tristan Vautier, Conor Daly and Alex Rossi.

Lanteigne is also helping Mata with the overall team management of M1 Racing.  He has been instrumental in the formation of many teams, including Andersen Racing in Star Mazda, Euro International in Atlantics, Jensen Motorsports in Firestone Indy Lights and others.

M1 Racing will also be the only Pro Mazda team with a nutritionist on staff, as that role and the role of driver coach is filled by Chuck West, the 1992 Star Mazda driver champion, a top Atlantic competitor and the founder of World Speed Motorsports.

Restart Communications based in Indianapolis will handle the team’s public relations.  Its principal has also worked with many rising stars in the past, including current IndyCar drivers Graham Rahal and J.R. Hildebrand, reigning Firestone Indy Lights champion Tristan Vautier, GP3 driver Conor Daly and Andy Lally, a sports car champion who was the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year.

In the coming weeks M1 Racing will debut a website at M1Racing.co. Its Facebook page is at M1 Racing — Pro Mazda and its Twitter account is M1 Racing Pro Mazda (@M1ProMazda).

Source: Restart Communications for M1 Racing Press Release

The post Mata Forms M1 Racing, Signs Acosta for Full Pro Mazda Campaign appeared first on Catchfence.

Related Stories:

1. Mazda Road to Indy Confirms Star Mazda Replacement Series
2. Team GDT’s Mendez Tests on an Oval for the First Time
3. Team GDT Signs Rising Colombian Open-Wheel Racer Andrés Méndez for the 2012 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/KgW2Y_njkqw/

William Ashton Lewis Jr Sterling Burton Marlin Mark Anthony Martin Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray

Love Is In The Air ... NASCAR Engagements

Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2012/12/love-is-in-air-nascar-engagements.html

Sterling Burton Marlin Mark Anthony Martin Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray Casey James Mears

2014 rules ‘urge team collaborations’

Formula 1 teams need to be open to the idea of greater co-operation between themselves if they are to make the most of the radical 2014 change in regulations.

That is the view of new Caterham boss Cyril Abiteboul, who thinks that the scale of the challenge teams face when new 1.6-litre turbo engines come in means that going it alone could be a hindrance.

“Potentially this breakthrough will require some partnership between the teams, and that is not only for teams like us,” Abiteboul told AUTOSPORT in an exclusive interview.

“I can feel that it will be just like in the automotive business when you want to produce a new product: you try and share the platform – that is what Renault, Alpine and Caterham will be doing [for a new sportscar for 2015].

Click here to read how Abiteboul plans to lift Caterham in 2013 and beyond

“You want to be more efficient, you want to be more competitive – and therefore you work in collaboration.

“I think the same thing that will have to happen in F1.

“It is a bit new to F1, because the teams also have to compete against each on the track, but I think the future will be about collaboration – and 2014 will urge us into considering more collaboration.”

Although Abiteboul is eager for closer ties between teams, he has made it clear that he is not advocating tie-ups going as far as leading to the return of customer cars to F1.

“There is a limit and in particular we don’t want customer cars,” he said.

“But between no collaboration at all and customer cars, there is a compromise to be found.

“I am sure we can do better than we do right now – both for Caterham and F1 in general.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/2014-rules-urge-team-collaborations

Max Jean Stefan Johansson Eddie Johnson Leslie Johnson Bruce Johnstone

From the Editor's Desk: Thank you!

Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2012/12/from-editors-desk-thank-you.html

Carl Edwards Copart Ford Denny Hamlin Z Line Toyota Kyle Busch

Steve Nielsen quits Caterham role

Caterham’s sporting director Steve Nielsen has resigned from the team, AUTOSPORT has learned.

Nielsen originally joined the outfit when it was known as Team Lotus at the end of 2011 after several years at the Renault team.

It is not clear why he is leaving, but sources suggest that he is moving to another outfit. The Leafield-based team has confirmed he will stop working for them in January.

No replacement has yet been lined up, with Caterham using Nielsen’s departure to evaluate a possible new structure to the sporting side of the operation.

Nielsen is an F1 stalwart, having previously worked at Arrows, Benetton/Renault, Tyrrell and the old Team Lotus, and his experience would be invaluable to any outfit on the grid.

Caterham endured a difficult 2012 campaign, when it failed to make the steps forward that it had hoped to.

However, it managed to hold on to its crucial 10th place in the constructors’ championship after Vitaly Petrov finished 11th in the final race in Brazil to help his team overhaul rivals Marussia.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/steve-nielsen-quits-caterham-role

Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried Lucas di Grassi Cecil Green Keith Greene

Montezemolo: Massa deal the right call

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has no doubts that his team did the right thing in handing Felipe Massa a fresh contract for 2013.

Although the Brazilian driver had a lacklustre start to the campaign, he improved dramatically over the second half of the year to secure his future at Maranello.

That move was questioned at the time, with some reckoning Ferrari should have gone for a younger driver, but di Montezemolo is totally convinced about the decision.

“The Brazilian improved a great deal in the second half: in fact in the first part, it seemed he’d gone on a round the world holiday!” said di Montezemolo during his annual Christmas lunch with media at Maranello this week.

“Joking apart, I think the decision to reconfirm his position was the right one. If we had changed, then one would need to take on someone who would make a difference and I can’t say I noticed many drivers around who would be quicker than Felipe.

“Also, we did not want to change the balance and the good atmosphere within the team. Domenicali and I told ourselves it was best to wait and I think that the facts proved us right.

“Towards the end, when Felipe was even faster than Fernando a couple of times, the points he scored played a vital part in securing our place in the constructors’ championship.”

Reflecting on the season just gone, di Montezemolo admitted that there was disappointment about the team just missing out on the championship – but that it should also realise it did a great job too.

“You can see the glass as half full or half empty, but clearly there is great regret,” he added.

“Because the outcome went down to the wire, because after that first lap in Brazil, maybe things could have turned out differently, because Fernando went on holiday at the start of the summer break with a 40 point lead over his closest challenger and because, when it came to collisions, we were forced to retire, while others kept going as if nothing had happened.

“However, the biggest regret is that we did not have a car that was quick enough to win the world championship.

“On the glass half full side, we had amazing reliability which allowed us to come second in the constructors’ championship despite the fact McLaren was quicker than us and despite the fact that, in the first half of the season we pretty much only had Alonso’s points to count on.

“There were those great starts and pit stops and the fact Fernando had an extraordinary season, the best since he has been in Formula 1.

“Next year, let’s hope we can say it was our best season, given that we want to give him and Felipe a car that’s competitive right from the start.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/montezemolo-massa-deal-the-right-call

Howden Ganley Frank Gardner Billy Garrett Jo Gartner Tony Gaze

Rosberg: Mercedes progress ‘massive’

Nico Rosberg is adamant that Mercedes made ‘massive’ progress across the 2012 Formula 1 season and insists his confidence has not been shaken by its lacklustre finish to its campaign.

The German mixed scoring his breakthrough grand prix victory in China with a barren six-race pointless run at the end of the year as Mercedes dropped down the competitive order.

Rather than that being indicative of the team’s true pace, Rosberg feels the disappointing end masked Mercedes’s progress.

Like team boss Ross Brawn, he believes there are justified reasons to be optimistic of further improvements next year.

“The improvement is massive,” Rosberg insisted when asked about Mercedes’s form in 2012.

“Unfortunately we haven’t seen it much in the second half of the season, but in the first part of the season we had the fastest car in two races – China and Monaco.

“That’s the improvement. We’re making progress; we’re getting better.

“If you would walk through the factory today, you would see a massive improvement compared to three years ago.

“The amount of competence that has joined us, the way everything is joined together, it’s really making huge steps and that’s why next year I’m sure will be better for us again.”

Rosberg conceded the team fell well short of its target of fighting for the championship, but says it was still able to learn valuable lessons for 2013 even as results tailed off.

“Unfortunately this process has taken a bit longer than we were hoping,” he admitted.

“We were hoping to already be there really fighting for the championship this year and that didn’t quite happen, by quite some margin unfortunately.

“But we learned a lot of lessons this year and that’s why I’m very confident that we’re going to start well next year and then develop through the season.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/rosberg-mercedes-progress-massive

Al Herman Hans Herrmann François Hesnault Hans Heyer Damon Hill

Honda pleased with ’13 engine progress

Honda is pleased with the development progress that has been made with its IndyCar engine as it prepares for the 2013 season.

IndyCar regulations require manufacturers to homologate their engines by January 18, after which many areas of the powerplant will be subject to a development freeze during the year.

Honda lost out to Chevrolet for this year’s manufacturers’ title, in the American firm’s first season back in the series.

Click here to read how Chevrolet stole a march in IndyCar’s 2012 engine war

But HPD technical director Roger Griffiths told AUTOSPORT that he is encouraged by the progress his team is making during the off-season.

“We’re feeling reasonably confident,” he said.

“We’ll never know until we get to [the season-opener at] St Petersburg, but we set our priorities very early on for what we wanted to achieve over the winter, and they were very clear and everybody has been focused on working towards these.

“That’s what has been driving us forward, and we have a really good group of guys who are focused on it.”

Chevrolet IndyCar program manager Chris Berube preferred to keep his cards close to his chest regarding how much of a step forward has been made with partner Ilmor.

“That’s a crystal ball question,” Berube said. “I’m not privy to what Honda’s doing.

“We’re certainly aware of what must be homologated and we’ll take advantage of that, but we won’t know [where we stand] until that first race.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/indycar-news/indycar/honda-pleased-with-13-engine-progress

Miguel Ángel Guerra Roberto Guerrero Maurício Gugelmin Dan Gurney Hubert Hahne

Name That Shifter, No. 108: 1967 Triumph GT-6

On Monday, we presented this week’s shifter and asked you to identify the make and model of the vehicle whence it came. Many of you figured out that the shifter was British and old, but the first commenter to correctly identify it as a 1967 Triumph GT-6′s four-speed stick was James E Delaney. In the spirit of the holiday season, we’re giving this week’s winner a special Save the Manuals prize bundle with a T-shirt, button, and sticker as a reward.

The GT-6 pictured here is from our May 1967 issue. Based on Triumph’s Spitfire chassis, the GT-6 got handsome two-door hatchback styling penned by Italian designer Michelotti. The coupe’s other distinctive feature (relative to both the four-cylinder Spitfire and TR-4 convertibles) was its 95-hp, 2.0-liter inline-six. It may have had a more-powerful motor, but performance was relatively tame—the sprint from 0–60 mph took 10.3 seconds.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/2nhxgnbqGHM/

Narain Karthikeyan Ukyo Katayama Ken Kavanagh Rupert Keegan Eddie Keizan

MotoGP introduces penalty points system

MotoGP is to introduce a penalty points system for riding transgressions from the start of the 2013 season.

The move follows calls for greater consistency from the officials during 2012, particularly in Moto2 and Moto3, where riders felt several incidents were treated either too leniently or with excessive harshness.

Up to 10 penalty points can be imposed, with sanctions applied at certain thresholds. Any rider reaching four penalty points starts the next race from the back of the grid, while seven points lead to a pitlane start and 10 points a race ban.

A statement from the Grand Prix Commission said: “It has been recognised that there is the need to address the problem of riders who are constantly being warned or penalised for endangering other riders or committing other serious offences like assaulting marshals or other officials.

“To address this issue a new system of penalty points was approved. Race Direction can sanction a rider with a number of penalty points between one and 10. This can be instead of or in addition to any other sanction.”

The statement added: “Once the 10-point sanction has been imposed then points reset to zero. Points are not carried forward to the following season.”

Moto2 champion Marc Marquez was involved in the season’s highest-profile incidents and punishment. The 2013 Honda MotoGP signing was made to start from the back of the grid for the Valencia season finale after colliding with Simone Corsi in practice but went on to win the race.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/motorcycles/motogp/motogp-introduces-penalty-points-system

Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld Theo Helfrich Mack Hellings Brian Henton