Autoblog

It's been all the rage in motorsports recently: Formula One refugees hopping the trans-Atlantic to race in NASCAR. Juan Pablo Montoya has found considerably more success than Jacques Villeneuve (even Michael Schumacher was offered a drive), but they could have some company soon.

Recently interviewed by ESPN, F1's elder helmsman David Coulthard said he would consider racing in NASCAR in the future. The Scottish driver is now entering his 15th season in F1, having started with Williams and driven nine seasons for McLaren before brokering Red Bull's purchase of Jaguar Racing from Ford. If DC did decide to make the switch, Red Bull's NASCAR team (pictured, right) could potentially provide him with an "in".

Although once a competitive driver, Coulthard has slipped to back-marker status over the past few seasons, and may soon have to face retirement from F1. If he does, NASCAR could offer a challenging alternative – joining his long-time friend Jacques in stock cars – because DC stated he was less keen on the idea of racing in IndyCars.

[Source: F1-Live, photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images for Puma]

If you've got your money on Prodrive making an unprecedented F1 debut next season, we'd recommend calling your bookie and changing your bet. The British racing consultancy was preparing to hit the grand prix circuit using equipment obtained through a deal with McLaren, but the agreement that was all but dotted and crossed has reportedly fallen apart.

Neither Prodrive nor McLaren have yet to comment, but according to Autosport.com, the deal is off. As we'd reported previously, Prodrive were to become an effective second McLaren team by using the same chassis next season, but that all depends on the FIA Court of Appeal's ruling on the legality of such an arrangement. That procedure was, according to Prodrive chief David Richards – also chairman of Aston Martin and former lyteam principal at first Benetton and then BAR-Honda – was the last obstacle standing between the new team and its fight for podiums in 2008. It would appear, however, that McLaren is less than confident that the regulatory body will rubber-stamp the customer-car deal, as they've reportedly told their employees not to prepare the additional Prodrive cars.

Mad props to our reader andybee for the tip!

[Source: Autosport]

What's faster, a kart or a Viper? That's the question Nurburgring wunderfrau Sabine Schmidt asked and answered in this ten-minute segment on her German television show DMAX. (You remember Sabine... she's the girl who dragged Clarkson's sorry old ass around the 'Ring in a diesel Jag.)

To make the plum even sweeter, we're not talking about any ordinary Viper or any ordinary kart here. The Viper is the GTR race version based on the first-generation super-snake, and the kart, as far as we can gather (we've yet to launch Autoblog German) is one beast of a suped-up shifter kart with a 164-hp 1100cc motorbike engine.

No contest, you say? The Viper'll win it hands down? Not so fast (no pun intended). Power-to-weight is the name of the game, and even with a quarter the power, the kart doesn't weigh nearly as much as the big American muscle. It's a close race... you'll have to watch to see which crosses the finish line first. Blitzschnell!

[Source: 0-60mag.com via Motorpasion]

Aston Martin in F1? Not likely, but that won't stop some from speculating. And being the diligent reporters we are, we'll search high and low (and in foreign languages) to bring to you the latest in motor news.

The speculation comes out of the arrival of David Richard's Prodrive outfit re-entering the grand prix paddock. Prodrive is essentially a racing consulting firm, offering automotive manufacturers the opportunity to go racing without developing and implementing their own racing program. Prodrive's responsible for Subaru's rally success, took the 550 Maranello endurance racing for Ferrari and implemented Aston Martin's racing program as well, to mention a few. Richards was hired to overhaul Honda's F1 team, and after delivering results sooner than expected, was shown the door.

Richards has claimed Prodrive has no interest in racing under their own banner, so eyebrows were raised when the British outfit secured their own entry into F1. But while Richards has stated they're considering a number of potential partners, he remains understandably tight-lipped about who that might be, leaving the motoring press to speculate. Of Prodrive's major previous clients, Ferrari and Honda have teams of their own and Prodrive's already forged Subaru's racing image in rallying. That leaves Aston Martin, whose involvement could be as simple as buying Cosworth engines and rebadging them as their own (which is hardly unheard of in F1). Ironically, Aston's impending separation from Ford could help their chances of entering F1, after Ford pulled sister-company Jaguar out of racing several years ago and would have little interest in re-entering under the Aston banner. One thing's for sure: if Aston Martin does end up being the client, Prodrive will have one hell of a time trying to make an F1 car look like every other Aston.

Another potential client could be Nissan, tipped to be entering F1 themselves (likely in closer partnership with Renault) or Hyundai, which hopes to be on the grid by the time their home-turf Korean Grand Prix joins the circus in 2010. (Unfortunately, due to budgetary restrictions, AutoblogF1 just isn't in the cards.)

[Sources: Le Blog Auto (French) and Crash.net]