From GMM
A furious storm, with Fernando Alonso right in the middle, is brewing at Ferrari.
Earlier at Monza, even though the Red Bull switch rumours have ended, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone let slip he thinks the Spaniard is "not happy" at Ferrari.
The Italian team has been playing down reports of tension between Alonso and Luca di Montezemolo, but the Ferrari president was visibly furious after qualifying at Monza -- and refusing to give interviews.
Alonso qualified fifth, behind Massa, and reportedly slammed the team on the radio afterwards. According to former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, the Spaniard told his team members they are "stupid".
Earlier on Saturday, McLaren's Jenson Button was quoted by Brazil's Totalrace: "I heard an interesting rumour today.
"Someone told me about Fernando going to McLaren.
"I don't know if it will happen -- he didn't exactly leave McLaren in a good way (in 2007)," he added. "Let's wait and see."
After Saturday's events, Eddie Jordan also smells a rat.
"Fernando's not a happy boy," the former F1 team owner said on British television BBC.
"We could be watching something unfold here that we were not expecting."
Although he put on a brave face when speaking to reporters, insisting it had been "a good qualifying", it is possible Alonso's dream relationship with Ferrari is over.
From Caterham F1 Team
Caterham F1 Team's racecars, driven by Charles Pic (#20) and Giedo van der Garde (#21), will bear the silhouette of a brand new concept Caterham road car on the side of the two CT03s at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend.
The new ultra-high performance model will be unveiled by Tony Fernandes, Chairman of Caterham Cars, during the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix race weekend (September 20th to 22nd).
The concept is the first model to be designed and developed with significant input from all of Caterham Group's specialist business arms - Caterham Technology & Innovation, Caterham Composites and Caterham F1 Team.
Separately, Caterham's all-new two-seater sportscar, which is being developed as a joint-venture with Renault-Alpine, continues to move apace ahead of its launch in early 2016.
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| Charles Pic, Caterham CT03, Monza (Photo: WRi2) |
On September 6th and 7th 1914, over 650 Parisian cabs, Renault AG1's, were requisitioned in order to carry troops from the front to stem the German advance on Paris. 3,000 soldiers from the 7th Division boarded these vehicles (1 on the running board, 3 in the rear and 1 by the driver). Called Marne Taxis, these vehicles made history.
The Renault AG1 ran on wooden wheels and was powered by a 2-cylinder engine. Lighting consisted of a petrol-soaked wick lamp. They needed to stick close together at night so as not to lose sight of each other. This initiative can be considered as the first ‘'mechanized unit'', which proved to be so successful in WWII.
This operation constituted the first mechanized unit. For the record, the requisitioned vehicles cost the pubic treasury some 70,000 francs, as the drivers were paid the regular fees for their services...
Source : Musée Automobile Reims Champagne
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| Taxi de la Marne © musée de l'Armée (Dist. RMN-Grand Palais) Photo: Pascal Segrette |
From Grand-Am.com
There's no better place for a world premiere than sunny California. This weekend, two famed automobile marques will make their GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series debut, when Aston Martin and Lotus compete in Sunday's Continental Tire Sports Car Festival at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Months in the planning, TRG will field the No. 66 PayPal/Hewlett-Packard Aston Martin Vantage for factory driver Darren Turner and Brandon Davis. SDR/Lotus Racing will roll out the No. 11 Lotus Evora GX for Scott Dollahite and Jeff Mosing in the GX class.
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| Aston Martin Vantage (Photo: Grand-Am.com) |
TRG owner Kevin Bucker said his new car was built specifically for the Rolex Series. He shook the car down with a sixth-place finish at the recent SCCA World Challenge race at Sonoma Raceway - an event won by Davis in a similar Aston Martin.
“I've been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Buckler said. “We've been working on this car since January. We're not sure how competitive it will be the first time out, but we brought in the best of the best for this weekend. “
Buckler also plans to run the new Aston Martin for the 2013 Rolex Series finale at Lime Rock Park on Sept. 28 in preparation for an all-out assault on 2014, beginning with the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
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| Lotus Evora (Photo: Grand-Am.com) |
It's been a long and winding road for Lotus to enter the Rolex Series. Originally, McMahon Raceworks planned to run the new Evora in the GX class, but sponsorship failed to materialize.
The team sold the car to Scott Dollahite and his father Bill, and they've spent the last five months getting ready at their shop in Austin. The SDR facility also includes a test track - Driveway Austin - where Scott Dollahite and Jeff Mosing did plenty of testing.
Red Bull Sebastian Vettel, who set the fastest times in all practice sessions, topped the timing charts during all three segments of qualifying as well, to give his team its 50th pole in F1, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The German stayed in front of his teammate Mark Webber, who turned out to be the only other contender for the top spot on the grid. Third was Nico Hulkenberg, putting a nice bond on a tough season at Sauber. His best result so far has been eighth.
Ferrari's tactics of running in tandem failed, as Felipe Massa settled for fourth, ahead of team leader Fernando Alonso in fifth. Rumours of the Spaniard's discontent with the team are growing.
Nico Rosberg, piloting the only Mercedes in the top 10 shootout, managed a discrete sixth on the grid. His teammate Lewis Hamilton's run of four consecutive poles ended in Q2, with the Briton only 12th after a messy lap, for which he blamed himself. Nevertheless, former friend Adrian Sutil (Force India) did block him, and could be facing a penalty.
Both Mclaren drivers made it to Q3, and eventually Sergio Perez edged teammate Jenson Button with a faster time, leaving the pair eighth and ninth, sandwiched between the two Toro Rossos of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Éric Vergne, who rounds out the top 10.
Despite showing up at Monza with a long wheelbase version of the E21, Lotus could not do any better than 11th and 13th on the grid, with Finn Kimi Raikkonen leading teammate Romain Grosjean.
Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) was fastest at the back of the grid. Teammate Charles Pic also managed to beat Marussia drivers Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.
Qualifying results* - Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'23”755 - Q3
2.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'23”968 - Q3
3.Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'24”065 - Q3
4.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'24”132 - Q3
5.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'24”142 - Q3
6.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'24”192 - Q3
7.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'24”209 - Q3
8.Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'24”502 - Q3
9.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'24”515 - Q3
10.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'28”050 - Q3
11.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'24”610 - Q2
12.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'24”803 - Q2
13.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'24”848 - Q2
14.Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'24”932 - Q2
15.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'25”011 - Q2
16.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'25”077 - Q2
17.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'25"226 - Q1
18.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'25"291 - Q1
19.Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'26"406 - Q1
20.Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'26"563 - Q1
21.Jules Bianchi (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'27"085 - Q1
22.Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'27"480 - Q1
*Unofficial timing
Jeff Gordon beat his nearest NASCAR Chase rival, Kurt Busch, to win the pole for Saturday night's race at Richmond International Speedway.
The four-time champion is 11th in the standings (with no victories) six points behind Busch and needs to climb up at least one spot in the standings to make the Chase without a win.
Busch, the 2004 champion, had qualified first at a speed of 130.334 mph -- tying the record set by Matt Kenseth in the Spring race here. Then Gordon went out and broke the record at 130.599mph around the three-quarter mile oval.
For Gordon who must race his way into the Chase it was a bit easier than last year when he had the same task.
“Last year I was really on edge and it was stressful,” said Gordon.
“The entire weekend was stressful. And I've been a lot more calm this weekend. I don't know exactly why other than I think because we went through so much last year that it does help prepare you to deal with whatever is thrown at you and know that you're giving your best. This is only step one.
“We started pretty good here last year, if I remember correctly.”
Busch, who drives for the one car Furniture Row Team (before leaving for Stewart Haas Racing next year) made a point that the third place qualifier, Brad Keselowski, was another Champion who also has to race his way into the Chase. But Keselowski is a long shot.
“I'm going to just draw the parallel that all three of us have and that is the Sprint Cup trophy that is sitting in our trophy room,” said Busch. “That is why you probably see us three up there.”
Clint Bowyer was fourth fastest at 130.020mph, followed by Kenseth at 129.864 mph.
Gordon will be doing his best to repeat history and lock himself into Chase with a timely victory on Saturday evening.
"That's huge, to be able to do that at a crucial time, get that No. 1 pit stall (closest to the exit from pit road) and set ourselves up to do what we're going to have to do here (Saturday)," Gordon said.
"It's going to be tough. It's going to be a hard fight, and I think we just got that little bit of confidence boost that we need."
At the moment Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman are the leading wild card challengers (in the top 20 in points but have at least one win. Truex will start 11th while Newman takes the green flag from 24th.
From GMM
Bernie Ecclestone has denied distributing the draft 2014 calendar that found its way into team bosses' hands at Monza.
The schedule features a record 21 grands prix, but F1 chief executive Ecclestone insisted the real calendar "hasn't been produced yet".
"I'm saying there is no draft calendar," he told Reuters.
Ecclestone also told the British broadcaster Sky: "It wasn't (released by) us."
Indeed, two venues not included - New Jersey and Valencia - were taking news of the release of the draft calendar tentatively.
"We have no official notification that the race is not going to happen," Jose Ciscar, vice president of the Valencia government, is quoted by El Pais.
And when asked about New Jersey, American FIA official Nick Craw said the draft calendar "contains more events than can be accommodated (and) doesn't contain some events that might be accommodated".
Beat Zehnder, team manager at Sauber, agreed that the calendar doing the rounds at Monza is almost certainly subject to change.
"Especially the number of races," he told Speed Week.
"To really have 21 races would require the consent of all eleven teams. And in all likelihood that is not going to happen."
From GMM
Pirelli has signed supply contracts with all eleven formula one teams, motor sport director Paul Hembery told reporters at Monza.
The Italian marque also has a new deal in place with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, giving the impression Pirelli is surely staying in the sport beyond its 2013 tenure.
"Yes, we now have an agreement with all the teams, and the promoter of the championship," Hembery is quoted by Russia f1news.ru.
But the final signature, that of F1's governing FIA, is still conspicuously missing.
Amid speculation Jean Todt favours the return of French supplier Michelin, Hembery said recently that a change now for 2014 would be "farcical".
Hembery said at Monza: "In two weeks we need to clearly define the programme for next year and give the teams the information they need.
"We have been preparing for next season for the past four months."
On September 6th and 7th 1914, over 650 Parisian cabs, Renault AG1's, were requisitioned in order to carry troops from the front to stem the German advance on Paris. 3,000 soldiers from the 7th Division boarded these vehicles (1 on the running board, 3 in the rear and 1 by the driver). Called Marne Taxis, these vehicles made history.
The Renault AG1 ran on wooden wheels and was powered by a 2-cylinder engine. Lighting consisted of a petrol-soaked wick lamp. They needed to stick close together at night so as not to lose sight of each other. This initiative can be considered as the first ‘'mechanized unit'', which proved to be so successful in WWII.
This operation constituted the first mechanized unit. For the record, the requisitioned vehicles cost the pubic treasury some 70,000 francs, as the drivers were paid the regular fees for their services...
Source : Musée Automobile Reims Champagne
|
| Taxi de la Marne © musée de l'Armée (Dist. RMN-Grand Palais) Photo: Pascal Segrette |
From GMM
Jean Todt has finally indicated he intends to fight for his role as FIA president.
Challenger David Ward has already published his manifesto as he seeks election in December, while incumbent Todt had yet to even say he will push for a second term.
"I guess to have an election you've got to have more than one candidate," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner at Monza.
Finally on Saturday, on a visit to the Italian grand prix, Frenchman Todt told Auto Motor und Sport: "Why should I not want to finish what I have started?"
Also on Saturday, former Ferrari driver and ex Toro Rosso co-owner Gerhard Berger backtracked on earlier comments in which he suggested Todt's reign had not been good for F1.
"Jean Todt is 25 years a friend of mine and the reason why I do certain things in the FIA," the Austrian, also at Monza, told Reuters.
"And I support the FIA and Jean, just to clarify this.
"I would be very surprised if Jean does not stay long term in this role," added Berger.
Volvo is recalling 2014 S60, S80, XC60 and XC70 models that are equipped with keyless ignition to fix a software glitch. The company said the central electronic module in the cars and crossovers is not performing as intended.
Volvo is recalling 2014 S60, S80, XC60 and XC70 models that are equipped with keyless ignition to fix a software glitch. The company said the central electronic module in the cars and crossovers is not performing as intended.
It's a banner year for bicyclists.
It's a banner year for bicyclists.
It's a banner year for bicyclists.
It's a banner year for bicyclists.
It's a banner year for bicyclists.
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