Autoblog

Fans had been looking forward to it for years, and now it's come to a close. For 2007, Formula One stepped out of the dominating shadow of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, the first season since his retirement, and came to today's final race of the season in a close three-way battle between Ferrari's "iceman" Kimi Raikonnen and McLaren's feuding fraternity of defending champion Fernando Alonso and amazing rookie Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari's brave Brazilian Felipe Massa having fell out of contention earlier in the season.

The 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix was a thrilling end to a thrilling season and a gripping race in its own rite. SPOILER ALERT: Follow the jump to find out who won the race, who took the title and how it all went down.

Following the news that Ferrari was in discussions with A1GP, the international racing series has announced that the two racing outfits have signed a six-year contract with Maranello. The terms of the agreement have Ferrari supplying the V8 engines for all the national teams competing in the series starting the season after next, when the current deal with Lola and Zytek expires. In addition to powering the new cars, Ferrari will also consult on the design of the chassis, which will be built by an as-yet undisclosed third party.

The deal gives Ferrari a de facto feeder series of its own, not unlike Formula BMW and the GP2 series owned by Renault principal Flavio Briatore. A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira also announced the formation of a second, lower-rung regional series to be called A2GP – taking a possible similar relationship as the Atlantic series to Champ Cars – with which Ferrari will also collaborate, supplying detuned versions of the engine. The deal should give Ferrari a place to field up-and-coming younger drivers and bring in extra revenue, while lending the open-wheel series added prestige on the world motorsports stage.

Teixeira also confirmed earlier speculation that, after bowing out of the Spyker purchase, he is considering buying into Scuderia Toro Rosso. The Italian F1 team, currently owned by Red Bull and former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger, scored impressive fourth and sixth places in last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

[Source: Autosport and A1GP]

Ferrari is apparently running out of F1 teams to supply with engines, so it's looking to other racing series altogether for new customers. For the current season, the Maranello-based team had to have the rules bent so that they could supply their engines to not one but two additional teams on the grid (Spyker and Toro Rosso). No wonder then that half of the cars that finished in the points at this past weekend's penultimate Chinese Grand Prix were powered by Ferrari.

Like other single-seater racing series, A1GP, the self-described "world cup of motorsport", uses the same chassis and engines for all the teams. Lola and Zytek have been supplying the cars and power respectively, but with contracts up for renewal, rumors started to fly when Ferrari's sporting director Stefano Domenicali was seen at Silverstone during an A1GP test session. Ferrari has now confirmed that they're in negotiations with the series' organizers.

Rumor has it that the engine deal isn't the only thing A1GP chief Tony Teixeira is discussing with Ferrari, as insiders tip the South African businessman as a potential partner in Scuderia Toro Rosso, which would effectively become Ferrari's B-squad in the developing "super team" saga.

[Sources: F1i.com and autosport]

The boffins have broken down the data from BMW Sauber F1 driver Robert Kubica's crash at the Montreal Grand Prix. If the shunt itself wasn't eye-popping enough, it turns out that Kubica hit the wall nearly head on at 142.6 mph and endured a 75 G impact. And he made it out with nothing more than a slight concussion and a sprained ankle. That's what a survival cell, crash box, HANS system, helmet, and 1,000 pieces of carbon fiber, Kevlar, metal, and honeycomb can do for you when they work perfectly. In a burst of German understatement, the BMW Sauber technical director said they were "very content about the behavior of the chassis as survival cell." Throttle-by-wire is great, but we need a whole lot more of that kind of tech to trickle down ASAP.

[Source: Autosport]

The 2006 Formula One season came down to a nail-biting final race in Sao Paulo, Brazil today, as hometown hero Felipe Massa sailed to the checkered flag and reigning champion Fernando Alonso claimed his second consecutive title with a comfortable second place podium finish.

Despite having dominated in the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, retiring legend Michael Schumacher had to start the race from tenth position, as his team-mate Felipe started from pole. Things then went further downhill for Michael as he blew out a tire and limped back to the pits, then got back out on the course to fight all the way up to fourth place from twentieth. Renault reduced the revs on Alonso's car after Schumacher's blow-out to ensure he would finish in the points and secure the championship (Michael would have had to have won the race and Alonso to have earned no points for the German to win the title over the Spaniard). A smiling Jenson Button took third place on the podium.

With a Ferrari 1-4 and a Renault 2-6, the French team also secured the constructor's championship. That didn't seem to upset Massa too much, though, as the jubilant driver – wearing a special racing suit in his national colors – became the first Brazilian driver to win the Brazilian Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna. Felipe described the victory as the happiest day of his life.

Next season will see Massa stay with Ferrari to be joined by Kimi Raikkonen, whose place at McLaren will be taken by the champion Alonso, as Michael Schumacher retires after narrowly missing the shot at his eighth world championship. This was one of the most exciting seasons in recent history, and while Michael will be missed, the next should be even more gripping as the sport steps out from under the dominant figure's shadow.

The A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsport is in the process of being sold to a consortium of investment firms. Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, literally the biggest name in racing and the founder of the series, is selling all his stock in A1GP for an as-yet undisclosed cash (yes, we said cash) sum.

Maktoum will step down as head of A1GP and a new chairman and director will be named, after which the Maktoum will be focusing his attention on his "other business interests".

The announcement comes at the start of A1GP's second season, currently kicking off at the historic Zandvoort track in Holland. The multi-million dollar transaction will be completed within a month's time, in advance of an anticipated IPO.

The it's-a-small-world-afterall racing series was Maktoum's brainchild, but his departure is expected to help the series grow from a fledgling start-up to a permanent part of international motorsports.

[Source: A1GP.com]

The limited edition model MINI GP has already sold out before the first one has been delivered to a customer. All 444 units that MINI UK was allotted were snatched up, and the company is now negotiating with other countries and has acquired an additional 15 to sell, of which only ten are left. BMW/MINI planned to build only 2000 models of this MINI Cooper S with the factory-installed John Cooper Works GP Kit, but may think twice considering the car is selling out like a World Cup match.

The MINI GP is the fastest production money of all time thanks to its 218 bhp supercharged engine and various weight saving accoutrements. 0-62 mph occurs under 6.5 seconds later and the little hot hatch reaches terminal velocity at 146 mph. All of the add ons are reportedly worth about 10,000 ($18,440 USD), while the car itself goes for 22,000 ($40,568 USD).

[Source: NewCarNet]

Unlike BMW automobiles, Bavarian motorcycles carry a rather stodgy reputation. Basically, they're the two-wheeled equivalent of Red Wing work boots - comfortable and well-suited to all-day wear, but not necessarily ideal for track use. Ever since BMW dominated the rather obscure World Sidecar Championship some thirty-plus years ago, on-road victories by factory-supported machines has been virtually non-existent.

This may be about to change, however, as rider Jeremy McWilliams has been spotting testing what is said to be a 990cc GP bike. The cycle's speed are said to not be competitive with the current frontrunners, and it's just as well since the engine size limit drops to 800cc after next season. This leaves BMW's intentions a bit unclear - is this simply a science project, a step towards an effort in 2008, or will the boys from Munich actually field a ride this year or next? 

Regardless of the timetable, a GP entry would go a long ways towards establishing BMW as a bona fide contender in the sport bike arena.

[Source: Motorcycle News]