“Ugly Cars Have Never Been Fast”

The new Audi R18 (unveiled December 10, 2010) will be making its race debut at the Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup this May. Often compared to the Batmobile, this new machine is chock-full of meatiness. Audi expects this monster to give them their tenth Le Mans success.

The R18 Overview

Constructor: Audi AG
Engine: Audi TDI 3.7 litre V6 turbodiesel, mid-engined, longitudinally mounted
Cockpit: Closed
Gearbox: 6-speed
Rumoured B HP: 550bhp
Weight: 900 kgs (2,000 lb)
Predecessor: Audi R15 TDI

Here’s a nice video that takes you through some of the specs. It’s three interviews. One… read more

American Le Mans, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa-Francorchamps, Audi, LMP, R18

Posted on Friday, April 8th, 2011 at 4:33 pm by Adam Jevne

You’re in the fastfastfast Lane

Year after year I am consistently disappointed by the poor design of motorsports apparel. Okay, there are a few leagues, teams, brands and fans that do it well, but for the most part, it’s a mess. When will the silhouetted face of a driver pushing through a myriad of colours or non-subtle use of logos splashed across every inch of material fade into the past? It appears that in motorsports apparel, the treasured ‘whitespace’ doesn’t exist.

As part of our motorsports lifestyle initiative, I’m starting a series on motorsports fashion. Over the next while, we’ll be highlighting various designers that… read more

American Le Mans, Formula 1, IndyCar, MotoGP, NASCAR, NHRA, World Rally Championship, apparel, fashion

Posted on Monday, March 14th, 2011 at 5:07 pm by Adam Jevne

Speed Read: August 9, 2010

NASCAR Nationwide Zippo 200 at the Glen

It was Marcos Ambrose’s race to lose, as the winner of the past two consecutive Nationwide races at the Glen. The Aussie didin’t disappoint, grabbing the pole, leading 60 of the 82 laps, and bringing home his third consecutive win.

Top 3
Marcos Ambrose, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick

Notable
Carl Edwards’ chase for the championship was hampered by engine troubles, which brought him to the garage only 25 laps in. He ended up finishing 33rd, and 231 points behind leader Brad Keselowski.

Ambrose’s future is uncertain for next year, as he’s finished… read more

American Le Mans, Grand-Am Rolex, IndyCar, NASCAR

Posted on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 3:51 pm by Andrea Bell

Left in the Cold… Again

My last column talked about the offseason, and how miserable it is for race fans. While that still holds true, there’s no denying that January is a great month for racing. You have the Chili Bowl, the 24 Hours at Daytona, the Bodine Bobsled Challenge, the Polar Bear 150, the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale, the Dakar Rally, plus a few important and interesting races run here and there.

Why does it seem, then, that most of us remain so detached from racing?

Hello?! Because most of it isn’t televised!

While the Toyota All-Star Showdown and the 24 Hour Daytona… read more

American Le Mans

Posted on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 11:29 pm by Summer Dreyer

Mad Crashes, Hot Passes and Big Brawls

If you’re like me, you’re already missing the racing action we saw in 2009. The best thing to happen to fans like us? The 2009 Speed Network Performance Awards. That’s right. You must check this out.

Speed has assembled the best moments from 2009 across different racing series (including NASCAR, F1, Indy, MotoGP, NHRA, WRC, ALMS, Supercross, etc.) and they’ve gone beyond run-of-the-mill, yawn-inducing categories like “Best Driver,” and “Best Team,” and have instead brought us the best passes, biggest upsets, best finishes, biggest tempers, best rivalries, biggest oops!, and best comeback.

And the best part? They’ve got videos for… read more

American Le Mans, Formula 1, IndyCar, MotoGP, NASCAR, NHRA

Posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 7:59 pm by Andrea Bell

Schedule

Date

Event

Venue

Location

Tickets

Tech. Specs

Series:	American Le Mans
Category:	Sports Car
Course Type:	Road
Approximate Race Length:	3,100 miles
Top Speed:	165-210 mph (4 classes)
Fuel:	Diesel or unleaded 98 octane racing gasoline-ethanol mix
0-60 mph:	Know the answer? Let us know!
0-100 mph:	3.2 secs
Horsepower:	450-700 (4 classes)
Traction Control:	Yes (fuel / spark only); Brake intervention not permitted
Engine:	6-liter; 4-liter for turbocharged or supercharged
Gearbox:	Six-speed with sequential paddle shift
Tires:	Racing slicks (ungrooved); grooved for rain, Manufacturers include Michelin, Yokohama, Kumho, Dunlop, Hankook and Falken (the last two new for 2008)
Wheelbase:	108″ to 120″
Chassis:	Carbon fiber monocoque
Brakes:	No spec.; typically 4-piston carbon
Suspension:	No spec.; typically pushrod with double wishbones
Min. Weights:	1,985 lbs. for E10 powered cars (without driver)
Max Height:	40″
Max Width:	78.74″
Geographic Scope:	United States, Canada
Driver Change:	Yes
Annual Cost Per Car:	Know the answer? Let us know!
Vehicle Manufacturers:	Acura, Aston Martin, BMW, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Mercedes, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Toyota

Twitter

	toothphase (The Solitude Dude): @bebephase #ALMS for ALam Mo na Siya. Haha! :D wink, wink 16 hours, 37 minutes ago

	toothphase (The Solitude Dude): Yes! Excited na ko sa #ALMS ko na 5 boxes of ChocoMallows this coming Saturday! Wooohooo! d(^,^)b 16 hours, 46 minutes ago

	beachdreaming98 (Melissa): RT @almsnotes: Good piece from David Phillips on new perspectives for @JoeyHandRacing - http://t.co/8BQKWJs2 #ALMS @RLLracing @BMWNA_Racing... 16 hours, 57 minutes ago

	RLLracing (RLL Racing): RT @almsnotes: Good piece from David Phillips on new perspectives for @JoeyHandRacing - http://t.co/8BQKWJs2 #ALMS @RLLracing @BMWNA_Racing... 16 hours, 59 minutes ago

	TreyNantz (Trey Nantz): @TreyNantz: How is @PatrickDempsey going to drive with that hand? #GreysAnatomy #ConstantDisaster @GoDempseyRacing #alms 17 hours, 5 minutes ago

	kevintoy888 (Kevin Toy): BMW Schubert @RLLracing Dirk Muller and Jorg Muller P16; @FalkenTire @FalkenALMS Wolf Henzler P21 @almsnotes #ALMS #N24 19 hours, 7 minutes ago

	kevintoy888 (Kevin Toy): P11: Black Falcon and Jeroen Bleekemolen and P12: Haribo Racing, @CorvetteRacing Westbrook, Milner, Magnussen @almsnotes #ALMS #N24 19 hours, 13 minutes ago

	kevintoy888 (Kevin Toy): Other @almsnotes teams: Team Manthey (@FlyingLizard_MS) @pLmotorsport, @JBergmeister, Holzer, and Nick Tandy P8. #ALMS #N24 19 hours, 25 minutes ago

	kevintoy888 (Kevin Toy): Some of @almsnotes drivers and their 1st day of qualy: Wochensteigel Team Manthey (Luhr) @MuscleMilkRace provisional Pole. #ALMS #N24 19 hours, 27 minutes ago

	applecado (Alex Ball): RT @BaronVonClutch: GoPro HD: 2012 @almsnotes Laguna Seca with @MuscleMilkRace: http://t.co/VzI504a5 #ALMS 20 hours, 38 minutes ago

	BaronVonClutch (Peter Leung): GoPro HD: 2012 @almsnotes Laguna Seca with @MuscleMilkRace: http://t.co/VzI504a5 #ALMS 20 hours, 54 minutes ago

	almsnotes (ALMS Racing): Good piece from David Phillips on new perspectives for @JoeyHandRacing - http://t.co/8BQKWJs2 #ALMS @RLLracing @BMWNA_Racing... 21 hours, 41 minutes ago

	almsnotes (ALMS Racing): RT @chapulindiaz: #alms friends vote for me for best Ganassi driver! send a tweet to @TCGRTeams with #teamdiaz, i'm up against Dario Franchitti. @almsnotes 1 day ago

	FalkenALMS (Falken Tire ALMS): Indiana Motorsports Association Blog: Derrick Walker Part 1: How Badly Do You Want to Be in Pit Lane? http://t.co/dTeMuiDh #ALMS 1 day ago

	PntBtrN_Honey ( M.G. Rodriguez✨): RT @chapulindiaz: #alms friends vote for me for best Ganassi driver! send a tweet to @TCGRTeams with #teamdiaz, i'm up against Dario Franchitti. @almsnotes 1 day, 1 hour ago