Autoblog

Big Deal? VW racing chief, F1 drivers visit Homestead for NASCAR season-closer

Noah Joseph — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:59:00 EST

This year's Sprint Cup was awarded this past weekend at Homestead, where Jimmie Johnson scored his record fourth consecutive championship with a fifth-place finish behind race winner Denny Hamlin. (Oh yeah, "spoiler alert".) Anyway, on to the interesting part: the oval speedway had some unlikely German visitors for the series finale, leading the motorsport press and the fans to begin asking questions.

The Volkswagen Group's head of motorsports Hans-Joachim Stuck was reportedly among the spectators at Homestead this past weekend, and took a few visible meetings with NASCAR officials. But Stuck was quick to dispel any rumors. Although he kvelled over the purity of the spectacle that NASCAR offers, Stuck said that convincing the bean counters back in Wolfsburg that stock car racing made sense for them would be a tough sell.

If you think it would be an even tougher sell to fans, consider that VW's new plant in Chatanooga, Tennessee, could be only the first step in an increasing American presence for the German automaker, and that Toyota may have already prepared the ground for foreign makes to enter the series.

Meanwhile Stuck did confirm ongoing negotiations over the German auto group's potential participation in the Grand Am sportscar series, also owned by NASCAR's France family. According to Stuck, the Audi/Lamborghini V10 could be a perfect fit for the prototype racers, though they'd have to make it work with the spec ECU. Stuck also revealed that his company was discussing a possible entry into the IndyCar series.

The VW racing chief wasn't the only notable German at Homestead this past weekend, though, as Red Bull flew out its star driver Sebastian Vettel to witness the spectacle as well. After watching the race and chatting with former colleague Juan Pablo Montoya, Vettel said that F1 could stand to learn a lot from NASCAR, and that while he's committed to F1, he'd like to try out a stock car on an oval. This after his professed fascination with rallying as well. It's worth noting that Heikki Kovalainen, now looking for a new drive since leaving McLaren, was also at the race as a guest of Penske Racing, leading to speculation over the Finnish driver's prospects for next season.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Jason Smith/Getty]

Big Deal? VW racing chief, F1 drivers visit Homestead for NASCAR season-closer originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: With F1 program scrapped, where will Toyota Motorsports land next?

Noah Joseph — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Toyota GT-One - Click above for high-res image gallery

As Toyota president Akio Toyoda announced the withdrawal of his company from the Formula One World Championship, he reiterated Toyota's commitment to motorsport competition. But while this may have been pure lip-service, the Japanese automaker has a long history in racing, leading to speculation over where Toyota could land next. According to Toyoda:

Motor sports remain an important means of personalizing the automobile in the eyes of customers. Motor sports also remain an important means of cultivating human resources and our R&D operations. ... We will rethink our motor-sports activities with an eye to maximizing those benefits while addressing economic realities.

Even in the absence of a renewed F1 program, Toyota continues to compete in series as diverse as Formula Nippon, NHRA, Grand Am, Super GT and NASCAR. While the beancounters in Tokyo could continue to rely solely on these and other existing programs - or worse, start pulling out of more - sources point to potential racing programs at Le Mans, in the new FIA GT1 World Championship or possibly in the shifting World Rally Championship. Any of these categories would give Toyota a more direct tie-in to its road-going products, but which - if any - the Japanese motor giant will ultimately choose remains to be seen. In the meantime, enjoy the short clip after the jump highlighting the company's history and continued involvement in motor racing worldwide.

[Source: PistonHeads]

Continue reading VIDEO: With F1 program scrapped, where will Toyota Motorsports land next?

VIDEO: With F1 program scrapped, where will Toyota Motorsports land next? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kia Forte Koup going racing in 2010 Grand-Am Koni Challenge series

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:10:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, SEMA Show, Kia

Kia Forte Koup Grand-Am racer - Click above for high-res image gallery

For the first time in its history in the U.S. market, Kia is going racing in 2010. Kia announced today at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas that it has partnered with the Kinetic Group to build and compete with a pair of new Forte Koups in the 2010 Grand-Am Koni Challenge series. The Koups will be driven by Andy Lally and Nic Jönsson in the Street Tuner class of the Koni Challenge. Kia says it chose the Kinetic Group for its experience working in NASCAR, ALMS, IndyCar and, of course, the Koni Challenge.

The front-wheel-drive Kias are based on the production Forte Koup and will be running against the likes of the Mazda MX-5, Honda Civic Si and MINI Cooper. The Kias will make their debut January 8-10 at the Grand-Am test days at Daytona and then really hit the track in anger at the end of the month for the season opener as part of the Daytona 24 Hours weekend. Will the little two-door from South Korea have the racing chops to hang with other, more experienced production-based racers? Time will tell, but it's great to see Kia hop into motorsports with both feet and choose a series where its actual cars have the potential to shine.

Gallery: Kia Forte Koup Grand-Am Koni Challenge

[Source: Kia]

Continue reading Kia Forte Koup going racing in 2010 Grand-Am Koni Challenge series

Kia Forte Koup going racing in 2010 Grand-Am Koni Challenge series originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Camaro returns to racing this weekend against Mustang, Challenger

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Specialty

Sunoco Grand-Am Camaro - Click above for high-res image gallery

This Sunday, October, the classic dark blue Sunoco Chevy Camaro will race once again. What's more, the car will be piloted by drivers with rather appropriate last names: Donohue and Bucknum. Suddenly, it's 1969 all over again. Perhaps coolest of all, though, is that Chevrolet's revived pony will be lining up against its most classic nemeses, Ford's Mustang and Dodge's Challenger (yes, we know the original Mopar didn't hit the scene until 1970).

The retro racing action will take place during final round of the 2009 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge season at Virginia International Raceway. Though the Bill Riley-built Camaro will be completed with barely enough time for a few shakedown runs ahead of the actual competition, David Donohue and Jeff Bucknum are both satisfied that it will be competitive. We look forward to watching the battle lines play out during the 2010 season. Hit the jump for the official press release, which includes plenty of commentary from the two drivers.

Gallery: Sunoco Grand-Am Camaro

[Sources: Grand-Am Road Racing, Camaro5.com]

Continue reading Camaro returns to racing this weekend against Mustang, Challenger

Camaro returns to racing this weekend against Mustang, Challenger originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alex Roy retires from rallying, campaigning team in Grand Am Rolex series

Damon Lavrinc — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

In a move that's sure to surprise almost no one, Alex Roy - head of Team Polizei, multi-rally champion, author of The Driver and the man responsible for crossing the continent in 31:04 - has officially retired from road rallies. Roy, who hasn't participated in one of the ego-fueled events since his record-setting run, has tried to raise awareness about the inherently unsafe nature of the "sport" over the last few years, Now, he's taking the next step to prove that the time, effort and capital necessary to participate in the world of rallying would be put to better use on the track.

Roy plans to race and campaign a team in the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, along with veteran Ferrari Challenge driver Henri Richard and Rene Villenueve as driver/team captain. Team Polizei is partnering with TRG, the 2008 Grand Am winners, to run at Laguna Seca on May 17, all the way through to the series' finale at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

In addition to bringing professional drivers and the street/tuner/rally world together, Roy is working on a new interactive track-side model that will combine live, streaming, high-definition video from the team's Porsche 911 race car, GPS/GPX tracking and a crew of volunteers/fans to work on video editing, web-content delivery and mapping to the masses.

Naturally, Team Polizei plans to be competitive, but Alex admits that they're in it to do more than win - the team wants to revolutionize the way motorsports coverage is delivered. Plan on reports from the pits at Laguna Seca for the team's first outing, followed by more from Watkins Glen on June 6.

Alex Roy retires from rallying, campaigning team in Grand Am Rolex series originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Event Alert: April Calendar of Automotive Events

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:19:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, New York Auto Show, Auctions, China, Europe, Misc. Auto Shows, Canada, Event Alert

This year's New York Auto Show promises a few surprises

April might be best known for its rain and resultant flora, but we hope sunshine prevails. After all, April marks the beginning of the IndyCar season with an undercard of ALMS in St. Petersburg, as well as a follow-up race for each series in the shadow of the Queen Mary from Long Beach, CA. NASCAR powers through Texas, Arizona and Alabama, Grand-Am makes stops at VIR and Thunderbolt, and Formula 1 visits Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Bahrain. We also get the New York Auto Show as well as other motor shows in Vancouver, California's Ontario, Albany, the Inland Empire, Denver and elsewhere.

There will be auctions in Palm Beach, Toronto, and Carlisle, vintage drags in Fontana, a GoodGuys stop in Del Mar, the Copperstate 1000, Top Marques Monaco, and the Street Rod Nationals up in Bakersfield, as well. If none of those events appeals to you, check the Google Calendar after the jump for even more listings, all with detailed info and links. We've tried to list the highlights as well as a few smaller events that we hope will be of interest to you. Feel free to use the comments section to add or modify listings.

Continue reading Event Alert: April Calendar of Automotive Events

Event Alert: April Calendar of Automotive Events originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey to race Ferrari at Le Mans

Drew Phillips — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari, Celebrities

Throughout the history of motorsports several Hollywood actors have had aspirations to be professional racecar drivers. Steve McQueen and the late Paul Newman come to mind, both of whom were very successful, and some modern era actors have also had a go at it too like Jason Priestley, Eric Bana and the annoyingly ignorant Franky Muniz. Adding to that list is Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey, who has competed in the Daytona 24 Hour Race and the Baja 1000 and has been competing in Grand Am's GT class since 2007. This June he'll be stepping up his game even further when he takes on the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Team Seattle and last year's Grand-Am Koni Challenge champion, Joe Foster. Dempsey will be driving a Ferrari F430 GT prepared by Advanced Engineering who has previously won the GT2 category in the FIA GT, although he'll have his hands full taking on the likes of factory-supported teams from Porsche, BMW, Panoz, and Ferrari. We wish him the best of luck!

[Source: ColdTrackDays]

Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey to race Ferrari at Le Mans originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Training Wheels: Dallara rolls out Formulino racer

Noah Joseph — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Technology

Click above to view a high-res gallery of the Dallara Formulino

Typically, race cars - especially formula single-seaters - are designed and built for a specific series. Nobody knows that better than Dallara. The Italian motorsports engineering firm designed and fabricates the chassis for GP2, the World Series by Renault, practically the entire Formula 3 grid and the Indy Racing League, to say nothing of its occasional dabbling in Formula 1, sportscar and Grand Am racing. But now they've decided to shake things up a bit by building the Formulino.

Italian for "little formula", the idea behind the Formulino project is to give aspiring racing drivers a point of entry into the world of formula racing with a straightforward and affordable Dallara racer, similar to the ones they'd be driving in the big leagues, only smaller. Three different levels of Formulino spec are available - Base, Plus and Pro - each with different suspension and aero packages. The chassis is a carbon monocoque, outfitted with a Hewland FTR gearbox capable of handling a range of engine options up to 260 horsepower. Prices start at 38,500 euros (about $51,600 USD) for the Base model (not far off from the Formula Vee car we drove) and range up to 65k euros ($87k) for the full-on Pro model, a chassis that already approaches F3 spec. Follow the jump for the press release, and don't forget to check out the high-resolution images in the gallery below.

Gallery: Dallara Formulino

[Source: Dallara]

Continue reading Training Wheels: Dallara rolls out Formulino racer

Training Wheels: Dallara rolls out Formulino racer originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEMA 2008: Camaro GS Race Car Concept LIVE

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:29:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, SEMA Show, Tuners, Chevrolet

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Camaro GS Race Car Concept

If the 2010 Camaro is, as Ed Peper said, "a 21st century sports car for the young and the young at heart," then this is the race car for those actual and spiritual whippersnappers. The Camaro GS Race Car Concept takes its inspiration from the Trans Am racer of Mark Donohue, but Riley Technologies updates it with a just a few go-fast add-ons. The body is seam-welded, the hood, trunk lid, and doors are swapped for carbon fiber components, and in the front a racing radiator and an upgraded engine cooler are fitted. The production LS3 V8 swaps gears though a Tremec close-ration six-speed gearbox, and all those spent hydrocarbons exit through three-inch dual exhaust pipes. Even better than all that: you can buy it from Riley for the 2009 Grand Am season. Check out the press release after the jump and the live high-res photos below.

Gallery: SEMA 2008: Camaro GS Race Concept LIVE

Continue reading SEMA 2008: Camaro GS Race Car Concept LIVE

SEMA 2008: Camaro GS Race Car Concept LIVE originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan may take GT-R to go racing in Australia

Damon Lavrinc — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:33:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Supercars, Nissan, Australia

The land Down Under hasn't been kind to Nissan when it comes to motorsports. The Skyline GT-R was banned in 1993 from the country's touring car series after three consecutive wins in 1990, 1991 and 1992, and Nissan hasn't returned since.

That might change in the 2008 season, as Nissan is considering campaigning the GT-R in the Targa Tasmania rally, according to Ross Booth, marketing manager for Nissan in Australia. The automaker is looking into the Bathurst 12-hour race as well, not to mention the Grand Am series and a possible campaign in the 24-hours of LeMans.

The sourced Drive.com.au interview is rife with great quotes from Booth and Jim Richards, driver of the 1992 Bathurst 1000 GT-R driver. But one line from Booth referring to the V8 supercar series cars as "taxis" is worth clicking through for.

[Source: Drive.com.au]

Nissan may take GT-R to go racing in Australia originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Enter the Rumormill: Nissan GT-R may compete in Grand Am series

Damon Lavrinc — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Supercars, Nissan

The Nissan GT-R GT500 race car from Japan's Super GT series.

A brief blurb over at GT Channel revealed a rumor we hope would come true. According to the site's sources, Nissan may be considering campaigning a GT-R in the U.S.-based Grand Am series. If it were to come to fruition, we'd expect the GT-R to be mixing it up in the GT Class with Porsche GT3s, BMW M3s, Corvettes and Ferraris. With a slightly detuned engine (power is limited to 450 hp) and a serious diet, we think a GT-R campaign could up the ante on what is arguable one of the most exciting motorsports events around.

[Source: GT Channel]

Gallery: Nissan GT-R GT500 Race Car

Enter the Rumormill: Nissan GT-R may compete in Grand Am series originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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McDreamy can only be tamed by a wild Mustang

Merritt Johnson — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:32:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Ford

The ladies swoon over Patrick Dempsey on Grey's Anatomy so much that he's garnered the nickname McDreamy on the show. McDreamy himself, however, dreams about ponies - a particular pony, in fact, in the form of a Ford Mustang FR500C built for the Grand Am Road Racing KONI Series. Dempsey recently competed in the Grand Sport (GS) class with co-drivers Joe Foster and Rick Skelton. The season ended on Oct. 7th at Virginia International Raceway, and Dempsey's best finish ended up being sixth place at Miami back in April. He says he strives to get faster, so hopefully we will see more of the good doctor behind the wheel of a Mustang.

Dempsey credits his passion for racing to the days of watching major motorsports events like the Indianapolis 500, Dayton 500 and Monte Carlo Grand Prix with his father. Surprisingly, he got his start in racing through the Skip Barber and Panoz driving schools, though no doubt his money and fame helped land him in the driver's seat of an actual race car. He attributes his draw towards the Ford Mustang to the aura generated by the works of Carroll Shelby and the Mustang's deep history. This pin-up doctor is apparently much deeper than we thought.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading McDreamy can only be tamed by a wild Mustang

McDreamy can only be tamed by a wild Mustang originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Porsche powered Fabcar to run in Grand Am finale

Sam Abuelsamid — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:34:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Porsche

The factory-backed Porsche RS Spyders of Penske Racing have been leading the ALMS LMP2 class and even captured some overall victories this year. In the competing (well, kinda) Grand Am series, the official Porsche engine in the Daytona Prototype class is a 3.8-liter flat-six. The Spirit of Daytona team, however, wants to take a different approach.

It had the Lozano Brothers build a five-liter race-prepped version of the Cayenne V8 that they intend to debut at the series finale at Miller Motorsports Park on Sept. 15. Since Porsche hasn't officially approved the project, it won't allow the team to carry Porsche badging on the engine. Instead, the car will be labeled a Fabcar-Cayenne in its first run.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Unofficial Porsche powered Fabcar to run in Grand Am finale originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo Alert: Grand-Am Rolex Series rolls into Barber Motorsports Park

Chris Tutor — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:22:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Porsche

click above image to view more high-res pics of last weekend's racing action

While Autoblog doesn't cover every motorsport event, or most for that matter, it doesn't mean we're not fans. So when racing comes to town, we try to check it out. Barber Motorsports in Birmingham, Ala. was busy last weekend and, except for the heat, was blessed with an almost perfect three days of racing weather. Blue skies and a continuing, statewide drought brought out thousands of fans. The Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series doesn't get the publicity of NASCAR, but the racing is heated and the competition fierce, two facts that were evident while watching the Porsche 250.

Driving the red No. 99 Pontiac, Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty took the checkered flag in Sunday's Porsche 250 Grand-Am race at Barber Motorsports. An 11th-lap tie-up forced the field to take a mandated pit stop, and was one of only two full-track cautions in the race. The win put the team within one win of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series single-season record for victories.

If the name Gurney sounds familiar, it should. Alex is the youngest son of Formula 1 driver, Dan Gurney.

Second place went to the Krohn Racing Pontiac driven by 18-year-old Colin Braun. In third was Max Angelelli and Memo Gidley, a full 40 seconds behind the leaders. At race's end, Angelelli was loaded into an ambulance, possibly suffering from the heat and dehydration. Reports say he recovered well.

More, larger photos in the gallery. Follow the jump for more racing coverage of the KONI Challenge Series race that also took place at Barber Motorsports this past weekend.

[Sources: Grand-Am.com]

Gallery: Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports

Continue reading TiVo Alert: Grand-Am Rolex Series rolls into Barber Motorsports Park

TiVo Alert: Grand-Am Rolex Series rolls into Barber Motorsports Park originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Caddiwhack: Predator 800 HP twin-supercharged CTS-V

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:32:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Cadillac

click image for high-res gallery

The Cadillac CTS-V is a fine sports sedan. Perhaps it's not our first choice when talk of Mega Millions wins come around, but we certainly wouldn't point and laugh at somebody who bought one. One of the complaints about the car is that several less expensive vehicles offer nearly as good or better performance at a lower price point (Chrysler 300C SRT-8, to name one), or that the cars GM identifies as real competition for the Caddy offer a much higher level of refinement and often better performance, albeit at twice the price in some cases (Think M3 and RS4 here). But the vehicle soldiers on, holding its head moderately high.

Owners who have one in their garages, however, know that there are things that can be done to enhance the driving experience to make the car even better. And when you are looking for upgrades, you might as well start by playing to your strengths. That big V8 under the hood is as good a place as any to begin the journey. As with many such projects, things can spiral out of control and you can end up with something like 800 hp if you're not careful. And that's exactly what happened when one aftermarket tuner, Predator Performance, was let loose on an unsuspecting Cadillac a couple of years ago in advance of SEMA. Follow the jump for the rest of the story.

[Source: Predator via GMInsideNews]

Gallery: Predator 2005 Cadillac CTS-V

Continue reading Caddiwhack: Predator 800 HP twin-supercharged CTS-V

Caddiwhack: Predator 800 HP twin-supercharged CTS-V originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorsports this weekend: May 13-14

Stuart Waterman — Fri, 12 May 2006 18:04:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

A busy racing weekend, particularly for open-wheel fans!

North American TV broadcast times and channels from tvracer.com, all times shown as Eastern.

American Le Mans Series: Lone Star Grand Prix, Houston
A rare visit to a street circuit for the ALMS is proving tough for Champion Racing's venerable Audi R8, which only managed a fourth-place grid spot in qualifying, behind pole-sitter James Weaver's Lola (right), and the two LMP2 Porsche RS Spyders of Penske Racing. The much lighter LMP2 cars should have a good shot at an outright victory on short, tight street circuits like Houston's Reliant Park - if they can survive the bumps. Despite a recently-imposed ALMS weight penalty, the GM Racing Corvettes qualified one-two in GT1, less than a second ahead of the two Aston Martin DBR9s. Home town heroes Risi Competizione put their Ferrari F430GT at the top of the GT2 grid, with the top five GT2 cars all within a second.

The race is Friday night in Houston, and on TV Saturday. If you can't wait, listen to ALMS live radio and watch live timing and scoring at www.americanlemans.com.

Saturday, 1pm, CBS [delayed broadcast from Friday - beware spoilers!]

Lots more racing action after the jump....

Continue reading Motorsports this weekend: May 13-14

Motorsports this weekend: May 13-14 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 May 2006 18:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights: April 22-23

Stuart Waterman — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Quite a weekend! Ferrari returns, a new Nextel Cup points leader, a wild sports car race, a ton of motorcycle road racing, and some fence-climbing in Japan.

Formula 1:
At the front of the field, the San Marino Grand Prix was a mirror-image of last year's race, this time with Michael Schumacher holding off Fernando Alonso instead of the other way around. Schumacher's victory capped a great weekend for the tifosi, with Felipe Massa redeeming himself for his miscues in previous races with a fourth place finish, and Michael qualfying on the pole. Alonso continued to build his championship lead with his second-place finish, and Juan Pablo Montoya brought his McLaren home in third. Full weekend coverage here. [Photo courtesy of Ferrari]

More after the jump.

Continue reading [Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights: April 22-23

[Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights: April 22-23 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Apr 2006 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights April 8-9

Stuart Waterman — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 16:39:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

NASCAR:
Kasey Kahne started on the pole and won going away Sunday to cap a perfect weekend in Texas, becoming the 11th winner in as many races in the 2006 Nextel Cup series. Kahne's Dodge finished five seconds clear of Matt Kenseth's second-place Ford. A brace of Chevy's driven by Tony stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five. Full coverage here.

MotoGP:
Yamaha pilot Valentino Rossi (pictured) was back on top again at the Grand Prix of Qatar, coming from seventh on the grid to win by almost a second over Honda's Nicky Hayden. Ducati's Loris Capirossi's third place finish puts him firmly in the lead for the championship with two races in the books. Lots more information here.

More after the jump...

Continue reading [Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights April 8-9

[Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights April 8-9 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Apr 2006 16:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorsports this Weekend: April 8-9

Stuart Waterman — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 16:23:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Champ Car World Series:
The Champ Cars are in Long Beach for their season-opener this weekend. Interesting storylines include Newman/Haas driver Sebastian Bourdais, who is going for his third consecutive championship, and RuSport's Justin Wilson, who should join Forsythe Racing's Paul Tracy as a regular front-runner this year. More info here.

NBC, Sunday 4pm

Rolex Sports Car Series:
The Daytona Prototypes will experience their first-ever street race this weekend, joining Champ Car in Long Beach. Patrick Long has set the pace in early practice with his Porsche/Crawford (pictured). Given this series prediliction for door-banging, we can expect a very eventful Long Beach debut for the prototypes.

SPEED Channel, Saturday 9pm ET (delayed)

More racing after the jump...

Continue reading Motorsports this Weekend: April 8-9

Motorsports this Weekend: April 8-9 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Apr 2006 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights: March 4-5

Stuart Waterman — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

WRC: Sebastian Loeb (Citroen) put his 2006 season back on track this weekend with a win in Rally Mexico. Last year's winner Petter Solberg (Subaru) fought Loeb down to the wire, but ultimately settled for second place, and his first points of the season. Austrian Manfred Stohl was third for the OMV-Peugeot Norway team. Marcus Gronholm, winner in Sweden and Monte Carlo, finished in 8th, after rolling his Ford Focus on the first day.

With his win in Mexico, Loeb moves into the championship lead.

More after the jump!

Continue reading [Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights: March 4-5

[Not TiVoSafe] Motorsports Highlights: March 4-5 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Mar 2006 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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