Ford will be bringing the Fiesta Movement to the racetrack when a few of the European minded city cars are campaigned at X Games 15 at the end of this month. However the compact rally racer is slated to make its North American motor sport debut at the upcoming Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado. The vehicle’s run up the hill is guaranteed to be more than just a shakedown run.
The Swedish Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution (MSE) team has decided to prepare a pair of three door Ford Fiesta’s for the event that will be televised around the globe here in the U.S. on ABC and ESPN. It is fitting that they have chosen someone who speaks their language to get behind the wheel, Swedish driver Kenny Brack. The other driver has not yet been announced. All three Fiestas will compete in the Rally America Open Class. That should be no problem for the 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner who will be making his X Games debut. Brack retired from motor sports in 2006, but has decided to come back in a Ford Fiesta. Could we see the 17 year old rally phenom, Markus Eriksson sitting in the other car?
When you think of setting speed records, there is only one place that comes to mind, the endless dried up lakebed in Utah, the Bonneville Salt Flats. However this is not the place where the most recent land speed record was broken. The English crew traveled to the northwest corner of Nevada in order for their Thrust SSC jet powered streamliner to hit 714 MPH, making it and Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green, the fastest man and machine of the planet.
The Thrust Super Sonic Car was powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce turbine engines and after their initial record setting attempt and a little fine tuning, the team came back two weeks later to go 763 MPH. It would take the velocity of three Bugatti Veyrons just to come close to the Thrust SSC’s top speed run that was set on October 15, 1997. What is most impressive is that this record has stood uncontested for over a decade.
It is only fitting that the fastest man in the world will make an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, but it has also been announced that the 1000 MPH hopefuls, team Bloodhound SSC will be on hand as well to show off their super sonic machine for the thousands of automotive enthusiasts on hand.
Things didn’t turn out as well as Dr. Ulrich and the rest of Team Audi would have liked, but at least an R15 made it onto the podium. It was a sight to see all three Peugeot 908s regroup for the final laps of the 24 hour race, in order for that oh so important photo finish after so many years of trying. Things didn’t turn out exactly as we predicted:
Like you saw in the video, a Peugeot 908 took the overall win as well as the LMP1 trophy.
In the smaller LMP2 category Team Essex’s Porsche RS Spyder took home first place in its category.
Johny O’Connel won his 4th 24 Hour Title behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette
Risi Competizione taking the GT2 win for the second year in a row, in the same Ferrari F-430.
No matter whether you are watching the race on television or are enjoying the aromas first hand, there is one essential tool that any race should have with them. Birdwatchers have their books from the Audubon Society to help them identify different species, well now the web site spotterguides.com is offering the same tool to enthusiasts free of charge. These fully color coded entrants list are very well designed and offer all the information you would need to know about a particular race team’s entrant. Best of all, Spotter Guides gives you a diagram of the race car which makes it all the more easier to identify when it is going around the track.
Spotter Guides is currently offering their wares for the American Le Mans Series, British Touring Car Championship, Formula 1 and of course the 24 Hours of Le Mans. So now when the announcer starts talking about an Audi R15 is being held up by a slower Porsche RS Spyder on the other side of the track, you will know exactly which cars they are talking about. Follow the link to download your own copies for this weekends race from Le Mans.
It is mid-June, the Nurburgring 24 has passed and the endurance race fans from around the world are gathering at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. That is because this Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14 racing greats from around the world are competing in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race twice around the clock includes vehicles from the ALMS as well as the LMS racing series which are made up of two classes of GT, production car based racers, and two classes of prototypes, this year’s race will include 20 of the big boy LMP1 machines all fighting each other as well as lapped traffic for an overall win.
The big battles lately have been between Audi’s and Peugeot’s endurance racing teams at these events. The German automaker is competing in their all new R15 racecar and Peugeot is bringing back their 908, except this time it has Formula 1 derived KERS. Reports from the racetrack say that the Audi camp has gotten a hold of some unfound speed from their previous entrant, the R10. The four ringed automaker has an excellent track record at the epic endurance race, with an Audi engine winning every year since 2000. 2003 was the only year that an Audi R chassis didn’t take home the victory, that year Audi’s factory efforts lent their services to fellow members of the Volkswagen family, creating the Bentley Speed 8. Ever since 2006 Audi’s racing team has been taking advantage of the rules regarding diesel powered race cars, a trend that has caught on with Peugeot.
We have all heard about the future super car from Lexus, the LF-A; but what you may not know is that Gazoo Racing is campaigning a pair of prototypes in endurance races all across Europe. This not only serves to give the brand racing credibility before it is even on the market, and also allows the automaker to conduct performance and reliability testing in some of the most demanding environments in the world.
Despite Gazoo’s setback at the Nurburgring24, the team is continuing to develop the car for the track and Lexus is finishing off a very limited number of production versions for the street. This video offers a rather unrestricted view of the LF-A as the car is put through its paces by the English racing team.
With the ultra exotic teams of F1 running in Istanbul this weekend in the Turkish Grand Prix, we thought that it was only fitting to show you this F1 inspired video. Have a look at how all the parts come together to create the BMW Sauber F1.09.
I apologize because we here at Top Speed could only bring you blacked out concepts or cartoon designs of the Future Luxus LF-A super car. Please let Top Speed officially present to you, the Gazoo Racing LF-A Nürburgring 24 competitor.
Even though it is a racecar and because of this is equipped with safety equipment like a roll cage, fuel tank and everything else in the rulebook. Things you most likely won’t find on the production version include the GT wing and other aerodynamic features. However one thing that might carry over is the large LCD gauge cluster.
Although this is not quite the street version, it is nice to finally have someone pop the hood to willingly expose the 500 HP V10.
If Aston Martin is going to install its largest engine in its smallest car, then of course it will the car racing. The Aston Martin V12 Vantage got a few minor tweaks to get ready for the Nürburgring 24 hour race on May 23 and 24.
Aston says the V12 Vantage race car will be close to production model, with only essential safety modifications, reduced weight and re-tuned suspension. The car has not had any additional aerodynamic enhancements.
It will be powered by the same 6.0-liter V12 engine that can be found in the road-going V12 Vantage and the DBS. It produces 510 hp and 420 lb.ft of torque, which is a 100 hp improvement over the V8 N24.
We had no complaints when we got Jaguar’s new V8 on the track, so it’s no surprise a full-on racecar is making its debut. Rocketsports Racing (RSR) revealed the XKR GT2 racing car that will compete in the American Le Mans Series.
This Jag will take on cars such as the Corvette C6R GT2 and Aston Martin Vantage GT2. This means although RSR will be using the naturally aspirated version of the 5.0-liter V8, the engine will likely be modified to make more than the 385 hp it generates in cars like the 2010 XK.
The XKR GT2 will not be ready for the track until this summer and will only run a partial season in 2009. So even if it is a contender this year, this is just a practice run for 2010.
More pics and full breakdown in the press release after the jump.
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