Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[SPOILER ALERT: Getting down to the point at the Japanese Grand Prix]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/04/spoiler-alert-getting-down-to-the-point-at-the-japanese-grand-p/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/04/spoiler-alert-getting-down-to-the-point-at-the-japanese-grand-p/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/04/spoiler-alert-getting-down-to-the-point-at-the-japanese-grand-p/#commentsFiled under: ,

2009 Italian Grand Prix - Click above for high-res image gallery

Underdogs turned front-runners. Grands prix won by six different drivers. Four teams switching their lineups midseason. A multiple world champion (quite nearly) returning to the grid. A team principal and technical director shamed into retirement. A retiring motorsport figurehead sparking a heated race for his succession, and several new teams preparing to join the grid. More so than any other in recent memory, this season of Formula One racing has been packed with excitement. But now it all comes down to three things: points, points and - you guessed it - points. Because while the championship has been in contention since the start of the season some seven months ago in Melbourne, we're now down to the final rounds where the titles will be ultimately decided.

Crossing the East China Sea from Singapore to Japan, Jenson Button held a commanding lead in the drivers' standings, and with his teammate Rubens Barrichello in second place, Brawn GP looked poised to take the constructors' crown as well. All they'd need would be another few points and they'd have it all locked up, leaving their rivals fighting over the table scraps. Follow the jump to see if they got 'em.


Gallery: 2009 Japanese Grand Prix



Continue reading SPOILER ALERT: Getting down to the point at the Japanese Grand Prix

SPOILER ALERT: Getting down to the point at the Japanese Grand Prix originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At the risk of sounding like the end of a cheesy kung-fu movie, the future of the Japanese Grand Prix is safe...for now. After Toyota confirmed it could no longer host the race at its Fuji Speedway, Honda has reportedly stepped up to secure a new deal with Bernie Ecclestone to hold the race at its Suzuka circuit for the next three years. Hiroshi Oshima, president of Honda's Mobilityland division met with Ecclestone in Valencia at the European Grand Prix this past weekend to sign the contract.

The Suzuka International Racing Course hosted the event twice in the early Sixties before the Japanese Grand Prix switched to Fuji. Suzuka hosted again from 1987 through 2006, after which an alternating agreement was signed between the two tracks. With Suzuka now set to host until 2011, Honda will hold the race but field no team, while Toyota continues to compete but host no race...for now.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Clive Mason/Getty]

REPORT: Suzuka secures future of Japanese Grand Prix for three years originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bernie ecclestoneBernieEcclestoneecclestonef1formula 1formula oneFormula1FormulaOnefujifuji speedwayFujiSpeedwayhiroshi oshimaHiroshiOshimahonda suzukaHondaSuzukajapan gpjapanese gpjapanese grand prixJapaneseGpJapaneseGrandPrixJapanGpmobilitylandoshimasuzukasuzuka circuitSuzukaCircuittoyota fujiToyotaFujiMon, 24 Aug 2009 18:01:00 EST<![CDATA[Honda CEO reportedly rules out return to Formula One]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/16/honda-ceo-rules-out-return-to-formula-one/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/16/honda-ceo-rules-out-return-to-formula-one/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/16/honda-ceo-rules-out-return-to-formula-one/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Things could hardly have played out worse for Honda. It has poured what surely amounted to billions of dollars for years into its Formula One team with little effect. Then it brought in Ross Brawn, only to withdrew its support from the squad, then it sold the entire operation to Brawn while paying out big bucks to avoid an even bigger severance bill. And only then did Brawn turn the F1 team into a winner. That'd be enough to send some automakers scurrying to get back in the game, but not Honda.

The Japanese automaker's new CEO Tokanobu Ito has reportedly completely ruled out the possibility of a return to F1 "even if the economy improves," deriding the series as bereft of relevant development possibilities. Well, there you have it. No word, however, on whether Honda will support the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix at its Suzuka Circuit after Toyota withdrew its Fuji Speedway from the event.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty]

Honda CEO reportedly rules out return to Formula One originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>brawnbrawn gpBrawnGpceochief executivechief executive officerChiefExecutiveChiefExecutiveOfficerf1formula 1formula oneFormula1FormulaOnehondahonda ceohonda f1HondaCeoHondaF1itojapan f1japan gpjapanese gpjapanese grand prixJapaneseGpJapaneseGrandPrixJapanF1JapanGpsuzukasuzuka circuitSuzukaCircuittokanobutokanobu itoTokanobuItoThu, 16 Jul 2009 17:58:00 EST<![CDATA[REPORT: Toyota woes spell trouble for Fuji Speedway]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/04/toyota-woes-spell-trouble-for-fuji-speedway/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/04/toyota-woes-spell-trouble-for-fuji-speedway/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/04/toyota-woes-spell-trouble-for-fuji-speedway/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Toyota's Timo Glock at the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway

In any game of chicken, it's all about who flinches first. Ever since its first running in 1963, the Japanese Grand Prix has bounced between Fuji Speedway and Suzuka Circuit, the former dominating in the '60s and '70s before the latter got the exclusive in the late-'80s through 2006, at which point Fuji took over again. The rivalry is about more than just the tracks, though: With Toyota owning Fuji and arch-rival Honda owning Suzuka, the back-and-forth has become something of a turf war between the country's automotive powerhouses.

Two years ago, the two tracks worked out a deal that would have the race alternating year to year, sort of like Germany's arrangement between Hockenheim and the Nürburgring. However, emerging reports suggest that tightening belts at Toyota could spell trouble for Fuji Speedway. The costs of hosting a Formula 1 grand prix event continue to escalate, and those costs may be harder to justify for the cash-strapped auto giant - especially if ticket sales don't cover the budget. Honda is likely in no better a financial situation, as evidenced by their unfortunate withdrawal from the sport. But if Toyota flinches first, Honda might win the race... in one sense or another.

[Source: F1-Live | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty]

REPORT: Toyota woes spell trouble for Fuji Speedway originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>f1formula 1formula oneFormula1FormulaOnefujifuji speedwayfuji toyotaFujiSpeedwayFujiToyotagrand prixGrandPrixhondahonda f1HondaF1japan gpjapanese grand prixJapaneseGrandPrixJapanGpsuzukasuzuka circuitsuzuka hondaSuzukaCircuitSuzukaHondatoyotatoyota f1ToyotaF1Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:19:00 EST<![CDATA[SuperGT: Nissan GT-R takes First and Second in Round 1 at Suzuka]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/17/supergt-nissan-gt-r-takes-first-and-second-in-round-1-at-suzuka/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/17/supergt-nissan-gt-r-takes-first-and-second-in-round-1-at-suzuka/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/17/supergt-nissan-gt-r-takes-first-and-second-in-round-1-at-suzuka/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Click above for a high-res gallery from the SuperGT season opener.

Nissan GT-Rs first hit the track in 1969, and won their inauguaral race.

23 years later the R32 GT-R race car won its first Japanese GT Championship race at the first attempt, and yesterday at Suzuka, the Xanavi NISMO R35 driven by Benoit Trulyer and Satoshi Motoyama continued the tradition by taking round one of the 2008 Super GT Championship.

Trulyer, who was also one of the drivers who took the R34 GT-R to victory in its last appearence in Japanese GT in 2003, reckoned that his new car is more stable than its predessor, the Super GT Z, and thus much easier to drive on the limit, but has lost a little in terms of top speed, which may hurt the GT-R's chances when it visits the world's longest straight at Fuji Speedway in May and November.

Unless the GT association take exception to the GT-R's dominance this race and impose extraordinary penalties on the car, which has precious little in common with its road going counterpart, expect a similar performance at Round 2 in Okayama on April 13th.

Gallery: Nissan GT-R at Suzuka

SuperGT: Nissan GT-R takes First and Second in Round 1 at Suzuka originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gt-rjapannissanround oneRoundOnesuper-gtsuzukaMon, 17 Mar 2008 12:31:00 EST<![CDATA[VIDEO: Ayrton Senna laps Suzuka in an NSX]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/07/video-ayrton-senna-laps-suzuka-in-an-nsx/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/07/video-ayrton-senna-laps-suzuka-in-an-nsx/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/07/video-ayrton-senna-laps-suzuka-in-an-nsx/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

With superfast Imprezas and Skylines galore, Japan has produced some impressive performance cars, but only one bonafide supercar: the NSX. Honda developed the groundbreaking all-aluminum exotic with input from the legendary (and tragically short-lived) three-time F1 champ Ayrton Senna, who drove several Honda-powered grand prix cars throughout his career.

In this phenomenal video, Senna drives the NSX-R around Japan's Suzuka grand prix track (which is owned, of course, by Honda). The real treat is that inside the cockpit were mounted three cameras: one showing the steering wheel, shifter and road ahead, another on the pedals and a third on the gauges.

Regrettably, like the champ's life and career, the video is too short at less than three minutes, so savor the moment.

VIDEO: Ayrton Senna laps Suzuka in an NSX originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>acuraayrtonhondajapannsxsennasuzukaThu, 07 Dec 2006 14:53:00 EST<![CDATA[SPOILER ALERT! Japan Grand Prix results and disappointments]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/08/spoiler-alert-japan-grand-prix-results-and-disappointments/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/08/spoiler-alert-japan-grand-prix-results-and-disappointments/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/08/spoiler-alert-japan-grand-prix-results-and-disappointments/#commentsFiled under:



The Japan Grand Prix wrapped up moments ago and in a huge disappointment for Ferrari fans, Michael Schumacher's engine blew up in an unspectacular fashion on lap 37, taking the race leader out of the competition.

Schumacher held a healthy lead over Fernando Alonso throughout the race and was gaining momentum, setting a record time in the previous sector, before his catastrophic engine mishap. In typical gentleman-racer style, Renault's Fernando Alonso blew past Schumacher, briefly waving to his German competition as he took the lead.

The first reported details of the race are available at Formula1.com.

SPOILER ALERT! Japan Grand Prix results and disappointments originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Oct 2006 03:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>fernando alonsoFernandoAlonsoferrariformula 1formula oneFormula1FormulaOnemichael schumacherMichaelSchumacherrenaultsuzukaSun, 08 Oct 2006 03:19:00 EST