MotoGP: Paris Hilton Races in MotoGP

Paris Hilton's Super-Martxe VIP racing team will compete in the 2011 MotoGP season. 

MotoGP races next season will be sensational and star-studded as hotel chain heiress Paris Hilton launch her own MotoGP team.  The reality star will have Super-Martxe VIP by Paris Hilton racing team to compete in the MotoGP 125cc category in season 2011-2013.  The announcement was made in Madrid last December 18 by Hilton clad in a low-cut, pink and white, rhinestone-studded racing suit.

The team will bear the colors pink, white, and blue with Sergio Gadea and Maverick Vinales as riders.  Richard Jove will serve as the team's technical director and manager for Team Hilton.  Hilton also agreed to attend at least five races in the season.  Rossano Brazzi, who previously works for Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi, will attend to the preparation of the bikes.

Will Paris Hilton's motoGP team finishes in Cinderella-fashion at the end of the season?  It remains to be seen in the 2011 MotoGP season races.  

Hamilton: Coolest Driver On The Grid

Lewis Hamilton and girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger receive awards from Hilton Racing. 

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was voted by Hilton Racing as "Coolest Driver" in Formula 1.  The award was based on survey made on F1 fans.  He topped the list followed by his teammate Jenson Button and F1 champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing.  He also made the top choice as Overtaker of the Year Awardee and Best Dressed.  His girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger, made as WAG of the Year Awardee.  The survey also include surveys on Rookie of the Year, Best New Team, Best Race of the Year, and WAG of the Year.  

Hilton Racing's survey winners:

Coolest Driver 
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Jenson Button
3. Sebastian Vettel

Rookie of the Year 
1. Nico Hulkenberg
2. Kamui Kobayashi
3. Vitaly Petrov

Overtaker of the Year 
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Kamui Kobayashi
3. Mark Webber

Best New Team 
1. Lotus Racing
2. BMW Sauber
3. Virgin

Best Dressed 
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Jenson Button
3. Nico Rosberg

Most Like to Have a Drink With 
1. Jenson Button
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Michael Schumacher

WAG of the Year 
1. Nicole Scherzinger 
2. Jessica Michibata
3. Raquel del Rosario

Best Race of the Year 
1. Abu Dhabi
2. Belgium
3. Great Britain

Most Like to See a New Race 
1. London 
2. New York 
3. Paris

2010 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Results

The 2010 Formula One World Championship made a great showing for the current season with lots of drama, action and tire burning.  Records fall, new heroes and celebrities born, and teams racked with controversies and run-ins. 

For a review of the season's races, click on the links of each grand prix race.     

Race 1          2010 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

                                Sakhir, Bahrain                        12 - 14 March

Race 2          2010 FORMULA 1 QANTAS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 

                                Melbourne, Australia              26 - 28 March

Race 3          2010 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX 

                               Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia        02 - 04 April

Race 4         2010 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX 
                               Shanghai, China                       16 - 18 April

Race 5         2010 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA 
                                    TELEFÓNICA  
                               Catalunya, Spain                     07 - 09 May

Race 6         2010 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 
                               Monte Carlo, Monaco             13 - 16 May

Race 7         2010 FORMULA 1 TURKISH GRAND PRIX 
                               Istanbul, Turkey                    28 - 30 May

Race 8         2010 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2010 
                               Montreal, Canada                    11 - 13 June

Race 9         2010 FORMULA 1 TELEFÓNICA GRAND PRIX OF 
                                     EUROPE 
                               Valencia, Spain                        25 - 27 June

Race 10      2010 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX 
                              Silverstone, United Kingdom  09 - 11 July

Race 11       2010 FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON 
                                   DEUTSCHLAND
                               Hockenheim, Germany           23 - 25 July

Race 12       2010 FORMULA 1 ENI MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ 2010 
                               Budapest, Turkey                   30 July - 01 August

Race 13       2010 FORMULA 1 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 
                               Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium    27 - 29 August

Race 14       2010 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 
                               Monza, Italy                                 10 - 12 September

Race 15       2010 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 
                               Singapore                                      24 - 26 September

Race 16       2010 FORMULA 1 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX 
                               Suzuka, Japan                              08 - 10 October

Race 17       2010 FORMULA 1 KOREAN GRAND PRIX
                               Yeongam, South Korea               22 - 24 October

Race 18       2010 FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO 
                                      BRASIL 
                               Sao Paulo, Brazil                          05 - 07 November

Race 19      2010 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI 
                                      GRAND PRIX 
                              Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi    12 - 14 November


For more exciting highlights of the 2010 Formula 1 results, visit Motorspeed Portal.

F1: FIA announces Formula 1 Entries for Season 2011

The Formula 1 Season 2011 has already started with an official list of F1 teams and their drivers released by FIA last Tuesday.  FIA's official list has indicated six confirmed F1 teams joining next season's grand prix.


The six F1 teams include 2010 Constructor's Champion Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Sauber, and Lotus.     

2010 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix Highlights

The Prancing Horses of Ferrari dominated the field with a 1-2 finish to start its F1 campaign at the 22010 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir, Bahrain last March 14, 2010.  Fernando Alonso top the race  with a race time of 1:39:20:396 over compatriot Felipe Massa. McLaren Mercedes' Lewis finished at third place.

Felipe Massa returned from a head injury sustained in the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.  Three new teams made their debut in this opening race of the season which includes Malaysian-owned Lotus, Virgin Racing Team and Hispania. 

F1: Brazilian F1 Grand Prix Will Determine F1 champ

The Formula 1 Grande Premio Petrobas Do Brasil is scheduled on November 5 - 7, 2010 at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil. F1 teams' practice sessions will start on November 5 (Fri).  The qualification race is on November 6 (Sat) in the afternoon.  Race day is scheduled on November 7 (Sun).   Here is a video preview of the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace Race Circuit.

The F1 circuit is 4.309 km long and will run into 71 laps for a total race distance of 305.909 km.  The circuit is divided into three sectors with 15 turns and long straights.  Juan Pablo Montoya has set the race circuit record in 2004 with the time of 1.11.473 hours onboard Ferrari.  Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing last year won the Brazil F1 Grand Prix starting second from the grid. 

This F1 race in Sao Paulo will be exciting to watch since five drivers are in pursuit of their driver's championship crown.  It will be everbody's game in the season's second to the last race.  Fernando Alonso of Ferrari is the current F1 driver leader with 231 points after winning the inaugural Korean F1 International Grand Prix.  Webber of RBR-Renault is in second place with 220 points after crashing in last weekend's Korean F1 race.  McLaren Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton is running in third place with 210 points.  RBR-Renault's Sebastian Vettel is in fourth place with 206 points after experiencing the same fate of his RBR teammate Webber.  Australian Jenson Button is in fifth place with 189 points onboard McLaren Mercedes.

F1: Alonso Leads Driver's Championship After Rain-Drench Korean Grand Prix





Fernando Alonso of Ferrari emerges victorious in the inaugural Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam circuit amidst a rain-delayed, bizarre and chaotic F1 race of the season.  The story of the race belongs to Red Bull Racing team as both Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel succumbed to a crash on Lap 12 and an engine failure in Lap 46, respectively.  along the Korean circuit as well as their championship leads. With both RBR out of action, Alonso was lucky enough to hold the lead of the race and grabs the driver's championship with two remaining races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Alonso wins Korea F1 Grand Prix amid the rains, crashes, and safety cars.

Alonso is way ahead of Webber with 231 points, Webber at second place with 220 points, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton with 210 points at third place.  RBR's Vettel is at fifth place with 206 points after his RB6 engine blew along the long straight way after coming out of Turn 2.  Before the race, the young German driver is in second place tied with Alonso.

Ferrari made good with its promise to win in the new Korean circuit with also a podium finish for its other driver, Felipe Massa.  Massa joined his Ferrari teammate at the podium with a third place finish.   McLaren's Lewis Hamilton arrived in second position of this dramatic, chaotic rain-delayed race.   

With torrential rain pouring on the circuit before the start of the race, a 10 minute delay was announced to wait for the rain to stop.  However, race director Charlie Whiting decided to start the race behind the safety car since the track condition did not improve and visibility was poor because of the downpour.  The F1 cars completed three laps around the circuit behind the safety car when Whiting decided to call the red flag as most drivers over their team radios expressed concerns of the track conditions.

The race started behind the safety car and stopped by red flag because of the track conditions.

The race was stopped for 48 minutes amid the bustling activities of heavy vacuum cleaner tracks and stewards on the race circuit.  The weather condition improved and the cars again started behind the safety car.   The real game started after 37 minutes behind the safety car.    The wet circuit claimed six cars due to crashes and another two for engine failures. 

RBR's Mark Webber lost his car and championship lead in a crash on Lap 12.

In my own analysis, the top 4 drivers will have a chance to grab the Driver's Championship in the next two races.   The race schedules for Brazil and Abu Dhabi will be marked in the next few weeks for busy activities of testing and setting up of race cars of the different F1 racing teams.  Alonso, Webber, Hamilton, and Vettel will go back to the drawing boards again to evaluate their previous performances on these circuits.

This is another exciting season for F1 fanatics as every driver is a cinch to finish the F1 season in a dramatic fashion and cop the F1 diadem.  It is now or never for these drivers comes November.

Images are courtesy of AP and Reuters

Video copyright is owned by Formula One Management (FOM)

F1: Korean Grand Prix Under Rain; Safety Car Leads The Race

The inaugural season of the Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam is under torrent rain at the start of the race.  Race control and stewards decided to use the safety car at the start of the race with the yellow flag and markers flashing around the racetrack.  The organizer decided to have the red flag at Lap 4 to wait for the rain to stop and water in the track to dry up.

Sebastian Vettel still have the pole position followed by his RBR teammate Mark Webber.  Fernando Alonso of Ferrari is running third in the grid.  Heavy vacuum cleaner trucks were utilized to dry out water rain form the track. The race will resume at 16:05 ET.

Stay tuned for more updates of the Korean International Grand Prix.

MotoGP: Stoner Overruns Lorenzo, Rossi

Ducati's Casey Stoner wins his 4th Australian MotoGP crown 
at Phillip Island Circuit, Australia.

Casey Stoner wins his fourth consecutive Australian MotoGP crown with a convincing race over compatriot newly-crowned MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi before a 43,227 roaring hometown crowd in Phillip Island Circuit, Australia.

Ducati's Stoner dominated his hometown race in 41 minutes 9.128 minutes to take the 2010 Iveco Australian MotoGP diadem.  Fiat Yamaha's Lorenzo took second place 8.598 seconds later.  Seven-time World MotoGP champion Rossi finished third with a far 17.997 lead from the Australian race leader.

Stoner blasted the oppositions in the starting grid with superb riding and lead Lorenzo by 1.5 seconds in the first lap and never looked back to take his win.  The Italian Rossi slid into 9th place after a poor start and some maneuvering made by his opponents in the first three corners of the circuit. 

The Doctor made some aggressive overtaking in Lap 3 and Lap 6 to climbed from 9th place to 5th place,  he pushed hard on Honda's Marco Simoncelli to take his new position.  In Lap 7, Rossi a strong corner overtaking maneuver on Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies to grab 3rd position.  Stoner is now way ahead of the pack with a lead of 3.7 seconds over Fiat's Lorenzo.  

It was all a Stoner's race with superb riding but the real drama was between Rossi and Hayden all the way to the finish line. In Lap 24 of the 27-lap race, Hayden made a brilliant overtake on Rossi to regain 3rd position in the race.  The two riders were neck-to-neck until the last lap with Rossi making an aggressive move in the last hairpin and went on to hold on his 3rd place position up to the finish line.

Stoner now leads Rossi in the driver's championship race for third with 205 points.  The Italian Fiat rider has 197 points and Honda's Andrea Dovizioso in 5th place with 179 points.   Dani Pedrosa of Repsol Honda is still in second place with 228 championship points. However, he was not able to race along with Rizla Suzuki's Loris Capirossi due to injuries prior to the race.

The next MotoGP race will be on Portugal's Estoril Circuit on October 31.

Photo Courtesy of motogp.com   

  

   

German F1 Grand Prix Highlights

MotoGP: Rossi To Stonewall Stoner At The Island

Valentino Rossi with his 46th career team win
with Fiat Yamaha in Sepang

Valentino Rossi will have his hands full as hometown hero Casey Stoner will gun for a home win at Iveco Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island on Friday.  Despite Stoner's early exit in the first lap of the Malaysian MotoGP, Rossi still believes that the Ducati rider poses a great challenge to him after his magnificent winning ride on Sepang. 

In today's practice session newly crowned MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time in the circuit with 1'41.146 aboard his Fiat Yamaha bike.  Stoner came in with 0.334 seconds down on Lorenzo's time on board his Desmosedici GP10 motobike.  The Doctor is in seventh place on his Fiat Yamaha M1. 

Rossi last won the Australian GP in 2005 and has dominated it since 2001.  This race will erase many doubts among Rossi's detractors after coming from a broken leg injury in mid season.  "The Malaysia race was a bad day for Casey but I'm sure he is the man to beat at Phillip Island," Rossi said. "Last time I won was in 2005 so I will try but Casey and Ducati are very, very fast at the Island. I need to be at 100% to try and beat him."

With a nagging shoulder injury, Rossi believes that he is back 100% mentally in racing.  It took him three months to come back from his injuries and made a fantastic win  in Sepang.  It was his 79th MotoGP career win and 46th win for his Yamaha team the same as his bike's race number.

"That was one of my best ever races -- a Valentino Rossi-style win," Rossi said of Sepang. "My confidence came back and winning from 11th was something great."

The Australian MotoGP will be on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 1:00am EST.

   

F1: A Preview Of The New Korean Grand Prix Circuit

The new Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province has been cleared by FIA for its first taste of Formula1 racing scheduled on October 22 - 24, 2010. The circuit has been regarded by FIA as "Grade A" circuit complying all the requirements for an F1 race track.

The Korean race track is divided into three sectors with 18 corners and several long straights. It is 5.621 kms in distance and F1 will run the race in 55 laps with a total distance of 309.155 kms.  Take a tour of the new Korea International Circuit.

Red Bull's Mark Webber is leading the Driver's Championship with 220 points after completing 16 races for the season.  Tied for second place is teammate Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with 206 points.  Red Bull F1 racing leads the pack in the Constructor's Championship with total aggregate score of 426 points.  Far behind RBR is McLaren Mercedes with 381 points.  It will be a no-holds barred  race in Korea for the F1's 17th race of the season.

F1: Formula 1 Infamous Controversies and Disputes

Formula 1 has a rich history of run-ins involving its drivers, teams and even the structural designs of their race cars.  Head to head battles between F1 drivers are common frills in the Grand Prix.  Even to the point that teammates are also battling each other for the championship podium.  F1 teams have their own internal squabbles involving their drivers and management.  Here are some infamous controversies in the Formula 1 racing in the past and current seasons.

Ferrari Team Order

Ferrari made another headline in the German F1 GP in July 2010 with its controversial team order on its drivers.  Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa finished 1-2 in the podium in Hockenheim after both Ferrari leading most of the race.  Controversy sets in after Felipe Massa, who was leading the race, gave way to Alonso in the latter lap for the podium finish.  Alonso is still in contention for the season’s driver championship and with his win at Hockenheim improved his position for a championship finish. 

The Italian team was fined with US $100,000 for the breach of the regulations.  The Hockenheim stewards cited an infringement by Ferrari of Article 39.1 of the 2010 Sporting Regulations which states that "Team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited" and Article 151 c) of the International Sporting Code "Any of the following offences (…) shall be deemed to be a breach of these rules (...) any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally".

The Scuderia Ferrari team might be facing a disciplinary action from FIA World Motor Sport Council for this team action during the race.  It might cost their chance of finishing in the top three of both driver and constructor’s championship once disciplinary actions will be meted out.  The disciplinary hearing of the FIA World Council will be on September 8, 2010 in Paris France to be headed by the FIA Deputy President for Sport.

F1 Spygate Scandal

In 2007, McLaren were booted out from the constructors’ championship in 2007 because of a controversy involving its team and championship rival Ferrari.  Team McLaren was also fined with a record $100 M after important documents proved the controversy.

The hullabaloo involves Ferrari’s Nigel Stepney providing McLaren’s senior engineer Mike Coughlan with technical information on Ferrari’s race cars.  Both F1 personnel were suspended by their team and causing an internal spat within McLaren.

Documents collected revealed that there were emails between McLaren driver Fernando Alonso, test drivers Mike Coughlan and Pedro Dela Rosa showing signs of incriminatory behavior to their team.  There could have been prior team instructions from management wherein these drivers behave indifferently.  Team principal driver Lewis Hamilton and Alonso have already established a grudging rivalry between themselves sans the intervention of their team officials.  With the turmoil going on between the McLarens, the Prancing Horse of Ferrari came from behind the Silver Arrows in the last GP race to steal the driver’s title from the battling McLarens by only a single point.  The Spygate Scandal of F1 has divided the McLaren F1 team into shambles with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikonnen winning the title by a single point over the warring Alonso and Hamilton.  This controversy in the 2007 GP season has broken the potential winning driver combo of both Hamilton and Alonso for McLaren.

Flexi-wing Disputes

Before the GP season starts, McLaren protested that Red Bull Racing and Ferrari F1 teams have installed performance-enhancing front wings deemed to be illegally attached structures in F1 cars.    These flexi-wings, as McLaren alleged, do not conform to FIA regulations on structural enhancement of team’s race cars.  These wings provide more downward thrust to the chassis of the car providing more traction and maneuverability in corners and chicanes of the race circuits.

The Double Diffusers Row

Brawn Mercedes constructor’s championship was the talk of the FIA F1 Grand Prix season in 2009.   In the first grand prix race at Australia, F1 teams of Brawn, Toyota and Williams came out with their double decker diffusers during the qualifying race.  These new, enhanced structural designs have made great impressions and results leaving other teams in awe.  These F1 teams blew their competition to pieces in the qualifying records.  FIA made enquiries on the protests on the technical issues surrounding the double diffusers on some F1 teams after the Malaysian Grand Prix.  It finally came out a decision that these enhancements are legal and did not violate any rulings on the F1 race car structural designs.   Other teams accepted the decision of the ruling board on their protests and made their own diffuser designs.      

Most of the teams had made great strides on their own custom-made diffusers in the GP races.  However, Jenson Button and Brawn F1 had already secured six of the seven GP races of the 2009 season.  Button and his team had amassed championship points leaving their competition behind and claiming both championships.

Images courtesy of Getty Images

MotoGP: No Valentino Rossi Deal for 2011 season – Ducati

Ducati has denied speculations on signing of Valentino Rossi for its team participation in the 2011 MotoGP World Championship.  Once Rossi will be signed for the team, he will be riding along Nicky Hayden and make up one of the most exceptional riding duo in MotoGp history.

Ducati CEO Ganriele Del Torchio was quoted by Cycle World website saying “… Nikcy is a wonderful person and great rider.  This year, he greatly contributed to improving our Desmosedici race.  Next season, he and Valentino will hone the bike to its ultimate winning potential.”  This statement quoted from Del Torchio might be misconstrued as a prelude to the signing of the two top MotoGP race drivers.

Due to this event, Team Ducati issued a statement denying any formal agreements between the two superstars for 2011 season.   The team statement states:

“Regarding the recent allegations attributed to Gabriele Del Torchio, Ducati CEO and President, Ducati states that no final agreement has been reached with the riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden for the future Moto GP season, although our interest in these riders remains.  We would like to say that the recent news which has appeared on the US website Cycle World and other websites has been misreported and must be attributed to the many rumors circulating lately. Whether and when an agreement is reached, official press releases will be issued.”

Rossi, principal rider for Fiat Yamaha, is yet to confirm his plans for the upcoming GP races.  Everyone awaits his decision to announce his future plans after the Czech Grand Prix at Brno.

Cycle World has stick to its reports on the alleged transfer of Rossi to Ducati in 2011 MotoGP season.  Whether the story is true or not, Cycle World remains the first one to publicize on the Rossi deal.

One speculation that Ducati did not admit the reported deal is to avoid upsetting Fiat Yamaha by breaching the established protocol of a high-profile rider and team divorce split up.  This separation protocol is done by announcing a rider leaving the team on a presscon of thanks and appreciation on both parties.  It will then be followed with the new team confirming the signing of the driver.

Yamaha is also contemplating to sign Ben Spies to race alongside Jorge Lorenzo in its full 2011 factory line-up taking Rossi’s place in the team.  It will be a high-octane MotoGP fanfare event at Czech Grand Prix at Brno whether The Doctor will race with Ducati.

Photo: motoGP.com

Formula 1: Webber, Red Bull for a 2010 F1 Championship Finish

Mark Webber and his Red Bull F1 team could be in for an Formula 1 championship in the current FIA F1 World Championship.  Webber leads the drivers’ championship with 161 points over McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton 157 points after coming off a phenomenal race in the Hungaroring Circuit in Budapest last weekend. 

Red Bull Racing-Renault is the frontrunner in the Constructor’s Championship with 312 points after 12 GP races for the season.  Second-running McLaren Mercedes has 304 points with Ferrari in a distant third place with 238 points.

Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel is at third place with 151 points to his name.  It seems that the Red Bull teammates and their management have already settled their internal spat resulting to this impressive wins over their Formula 1 adversaries.

Renault F1 managing director Flavio Briatore issued a statement over La Gazzetta dello Sport that his Australian prodigy Webber will go all the way to the F1 driver’s championship following his remarkable race finish. He believed that his ward has already matured into one of the finest F1 drivers of his time and used this intelligence to outmaneuver everyone in Budapest.  

Webber was very patient to queue up behind his race-leading RBR teammate Vettel after the safety car appeared on Lap 14.  The Australian completed another 29 laps without changing his ‘Option’ tires to outpace and register fastest laps over his RBR teammate and the second-running Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.  When he changed tires, he was way ahead of the pack and claimed his fourth podium finish for the current F1 season.

Red Bull Racing-Renault has done a remarkable job in maintaining their racing cars’ consistency and performance for a season-leading finish over the McLarens and Ferraris.  Many racing critics questioned the RB6 performance most specifically its innovative front wing if it can maintain the same level of performance it produce at the Hungaroring Circuit to the seven remaining circuits of the season. 

The Australian Webber told Red Bull’s official website, “We’ve shown this year that the car is performing on all tracks so we hope we don’t have any weak circuits,” he told Red Bull’s official website. “Singapore should be good, Suzuka, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. We’re a little bit worried about how the long straights might go at some of the other venues, at Monza maybe. But the car is very, very strong at most tracks so we’re ready to take on anyone at any venue.”

He was very optimistic as well as his team on their chances of claiming both the driver and constructor’s championship at the end of the F1 championship season.  Next stop is the Belgium Formula 1 Grand Prix on its Spa-Francorchamps race circuit on August 27-29, 2010.

MINI returns to FIA World Rally Championship 2011

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) will be joined by MINI in 2011 as its comeback season. The MINI Countryman WRC car will be used and developed by Prodrive in collaboration with MINI.

MINI has a rich history of success in rally cross dating back in the 1960s. The MINI Cooper S made a name by registering victories at the Monte Carlo Rally. The company also has several victories in the European Rally Championship series. MINI's WRC comeback to the rally scene is base on its current endorsements of technical and sporting regulations in increasing awareness to manufacturers and the importance of the company's production cars.

The MINI Countryman WRC is powered by a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder turbo-charged engine provided by BMW Motorsport. The racing car complies with International Automobile Federation's new Super2000 racing regulations. The new guidelines emphasize the use of turbo engines 1.6-liter displacement and four-wheel drive setups for road relevant technologies. Adaptation of this new rule results to 25% overall cost reduction. The new MINI rally car has already posted confirmed customer orders with its first deliveries scheduled for the start of the 2011 season.

The MINI Countryman WRC racing car defines superb features in terms of aerodynamic design, excellent handling, performance efficiency and upbeat customization. The first production model offers optimum ride comfort, spacious riding cabin with four doors and a wide-opening tailgate, and a powerful engine for 2 or 4-wheel drive performance.

WRC Season 2011 will be an exciting season for rally cross with the addition of this diminutive yet powerful racing car – MINI Countryman WRC.

German Blitzkrieg in Hockenheim Grand Prix

German F1 drivers are on blitzkrieg in the upcoming Hockenheim Grand Prix on July 25. There are six Formula One drivers coming from Germany and five of them can register championship on their home turf.

Leading the field is Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel who sees the Hockenheim race a very special event for him to prove his point as the man to beat in F1. Germany's illustrious F1 son Michael Schumacher is coming back home after his retirement to race and redeem his stature as one of F1's legend.

Vettel is in the middle of a Red Bull team squabble involving his teammate Mark Webber and their management. The tiff started when the two Red Bulls collided with each other during the middle race of the Turkish Grand Prix that cost both drivers their individual championship and constructors' championship points. The young German was pretty beaten up by Silverstone and that made its toll on him. His teammate Webber lashed out at the team's controversial front wing switch which also affected him as the favored driver by the management.

The young Vettel is now in fourth position in the driver's championship standings trailing Webber and the two McLarens – Hamilton and Button. He is more pressured to perform better at this German course supported by his thousands of fans on weekend. All he has to do is focus on the race, stay with the team's race strategy and compete with Webber squarely. If he will win the race ahead of his teammate without controversies, then the brewing war within the team will be resolved.

Schumacher is racing again in his home turf that gave him most of his F1 career wins. He won his last German GP trophy in this 6.823-kilometer German racetrack in 2004 onboard Ferrari. However, many of his critics are questioning his ability to notch another win with his new team. Schumi has yet to win a podium finish for his new Mercedes GP team.

The German legend has the vast experience to win the race but it will never be a quick or easy process for him to get to his racing form after three years of retirement. He made a strong race in an intra-team battle with Nico Rosberg in Spain and Monaco but slumped again. Mercedes GP car has one of F1's powerful engines ideal for long stretch and slow corners. However, reliability issues of their race cars have contributed to the team's lackluster performance in the season. The German GP might be the answer to his critics or regret that he came out from retirement. It remains to be seen on Sunday's race result.

Other German drivers expected to score championship points in this race include Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) and Timo Glock (Virgin). It will be an exciting home GP for German fans where these homegrown talents will achieve great things for their country. German fans as well as Hockenheim organizers are hoping for a head to head race finish between Vettel and Schumacher or for an all-German finish at the podium.

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Hockenheim F1 Grand Prix Circuit Revisited

The Hockenheim F1 Grand Prix Circuitwill stage another exhilarating and heart-pounding race on July 25. Six German F1 drivers will jostle with other drivers in this 6.823 km racetrack of permanent, clockwise road course for the German GP 2010.

Hockenheim is considered as one of the fastest circuits with two distinct sections which require drivers' focus and gut of steel to manage the twists and turns of the racetrack. One of the sections is the sector starting from Turn 13 to Turn 17 going to the stadium complex in front of the grandstands and the pit area. Maneuvering and overtaking are made in this section that give lots of heart-thumping and adrenaline-charged moments for the 100,000 live spectators. This very fast and breathtaking circuit was added with new chicanes that require also from team engineers to outfit their race cars with better setups.

Hockenheim race circuit is divided in three sectors compose of long straights, turns and a tight hairpin. The first sector has two long straights and four right corner turns. This part of the circuit is good to build up speed and perform maneuvers in the turns. In Turn 1 at Nordkurve, car speed is place at 211 km/h at fourth gear. Turns 2 and 3 set average speeds at a slow 93 km/h shifting to second gear.

Hockenheim's Sector 2 forms the best zone on the track with a very long straight good for powerful engines. In the Parabolika section, the longest straight of the circuit, drivers can hit a top speed of 326 km/h at their top gear. At the end of this long straight, the tightest corner in the racetrack awaits the drivers. Speed hits a lowly 59 km/h shifting to first gear to build up speed again. Turn 7, 8, 9 and 10 offer the best turns good for overtaking and maneuverings.

Sector 3 comprises the fastest corners going into the finish line. Starting with Mobil 1 Kurve, race cars hit 205 km/h at gear 4. Turn 16 and 17 are double right hand corners where major wheel to wheel battles set their center stage before going into the finish line.

The German Grand Prix will have 67 laps totaling at 306.458 km distance. The lap record is 1:13.780 and set by Kimi Raikkonnen in 2004 onboard a McLaren. The Hockenheim circuit is the major racetrack of Mercedes as well as by German F1 racers. The race on July 25 will involve a record six German drivers from different team with Michael Schumacher leading the pack. Sit tight and watch the race with the exciting twist and turns of Hockenheim.

Racing the Odds at Grand Prix Du Canada: F1 Teams Perspective

Formula One racing among teams has been more competitive this season as compared to the past seasons. New F1 teams joined the bandwagon of open-wheel auto racing with their own line-up of drivers and technical staff. Old teams revamped their driver's lineup with welcome addition of champion drivers in their fold. In the last Turkish Grand Prix, a new leader for the constructors' championship has emerged dislodging a team that holds the championship leadership for the past six races.

In the next Grand Prix race at Canada, expect that every team will battle it out for podium finish. Drivers are talking about Circuit-Gilles Villenueve – a demanding and tricky 4.361 km long circuit that needs to be completed in 70 laps for a total distance of 305.27 kms.

The current F1 teams racing in the 2010 season have different previews of Grand Prix Du Canada on June 13, 2010.

Mercedes McLaren

McLaren was able to snatch the most important win for its team in the last Turkish Grand Prix. The black-and-silver cars finished the race in 1-2 positions due to a late collision between the two Red Bulls in Lap 40. The Red Bull cars of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel lead the race from grid position until the disastrous collision. Vettel retired from the race and Webber finished in third place.

The McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were able to snatch the Constructor's Championship from Red Bull with 172 points over the Bull's 171 aggregate points. Button declares that mistakes will not be tolerated in Canada. Hamilton will be back again in the circuit that gave him his first grand prix win in his career.

Team McLaren will rely on the reliability of their MP4-25 cars perfectly configured for the circuit's fast and slow bends. The ability of the cars to be smoothly controlled in the corners will help the McLaren drivers avoid hitting the wall barriers most especially the Wall of Champions. The McLaren team is very confident that their drivers and cars will race perfectly to the circuit of Canada and maintain their lead over their closest rivals.

Red Bull Racing

Red Bull wants to redeem the team's disastrous finish in the Turkish Grand Prix with both cars involves in a collision and losing the Constructors' Championship to McLaren. Internal squabble between their drivers Webber and Vettel made the losing result a bitter pill to swallow. Webber was quoted to have express resentment on a possible favoritism by top team official on Vettel despite the German driver was responsible hitting him.

The Red Bull management told media that both drivers and team officials have already settled the issue among themselves. The team is relying on the performance of their RB6 in this challenging circuit. The RB6 is extremely superb in its performance in the past GP races of the season. Expect that the Red Bulls will push out their rivals to reclaim their lead of the season.

Mercedes GP

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is all about top speed with the Mercedes GP cars receiving its upgrades that will power the team to a significant result in the Canadian GP. This was team driver Michael Schumacher's opinion on the upcoming race in the track that made him won nine GP races in his career. Nico Rosberg also believes that their powerful Mercedes-Benz engine will be an important factor since the track needs more speed on the long straight and slow corners.

Team manager Ross Brawn considers their car's engineering will have better speed performance, satisfactory braking stability and robust engine performance to produce an excellent race finish in the Canadian GP. The team is currently in fourth place of the Constructor's Championship standing.

Grand Prix Du Canada will be the benchmark for all F1 teams for their drivers' performance, car and engine reliability, and team's engineering efficiency in achieving the victory in Montreal.