Formula 1: Loss-making Korean GP to Receive the Axe?

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Just two years after entering the Formula 1calendar, the future of the Korean Grand Prix looks bleak. The organizers are suffering heavy losses, most of which they attribute to the high fees paid to Bernie Ecclestone.According to ESPN, this year's race that took place last weekend, cost around US$80 million– and the organizers lost US$56 million, which is very close to the fees paid to Ecclestone for the privilege to host a Grand Prix.
Park Won Hwa, the race promoter, told British race magazine Autosport that the event will not take place next year unless F1’s head honcho renegotiates the amount he will receive which according to the deal, increases annually by 10%.
“We are trying hard, but we need the cooperation of Ecclestone”, said Hwa. “We certainly want to continue, even though we have losses, because it is a big event that can help to boost theregion’s economy and image.”
Hwa explained that the Korean GP organizers also face domestic criticism that they money spend on hosting the race would be better spent elsewhere: “Those citizens, who have a background as farmers and are normally poor, want to have the funds distributed for other purposes than be used for this, so far unpopular, event.”

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Peugeot 908 Hybrid4 Racer Undergoes its Maiden Track Test

At the Geneva Motor Show last March, Peugeot unveiled a new version of its 908 LMP1-class endurance racer called Hybrid4 and as its name suggests, it uses a hybrid powertrain.

Peugeot did not enter its new diesel-electric endurance racer in the last 24 Hours of Le Mans, nor in any other event so far for that matter, relying instead on the current 908HDi diesel. The reason is that the brand-new model was still at the early stages of development and is scheduled to compete in 2012.
Its shakedown test took place only a month ago on September 16 and kept a secret. Now,Peugeot decided to test the 908 Hybrid4 out in the open at the Estoril track in Portugal. The French firm's drivers Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Minassian and Stephan Sarazin completed more than 300 km (186.5 miles) with a glitch.
Peugeot Sport’s technical director, Bruno Famin, admitted though that the distance wasn’t comparable to a real endurance race: “Our aim wasn’t to put a lot of kilometers on the clock, but to verify that all the chief functions performed. It was important to analyze the data of each run to be sure we understood the results before moving on to the next step.”
After Formula 1, endurance racing is next in line to adopt hybrid technology as Toyota recently announced its own hybrid-propelled LMP1 Le Mans racer. Moreover, Porsche has been racing a hybrid 911 GT3 R for two years already.

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Old Lancia Stratos Meets New in San Marino Rally [Video]

More than a dozen examples of the classic Lancia Stratos in both production and rally trims met up with the one-off New Stratos at the recent 2011 Rally Legend Event in San Marino.

The New Stratos was commissioned by wealthy German car enthusiast Michael Stoschek and built by Italian design house Pininfarina. It is based on a shortened platform of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia and features a 4.3-liter V8 engine sourced from the same model with 540-horses and more than 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of peak torque.
In the video after the break, you can see (and hear) how the modern interpretation of the Stratos stands up to its legendary predecessor.
Story References: Youtube/Marchettino

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Formula 1: Korean Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Well, it was bound to happen at some point: Sebastian Vettel lost the pole position to another driver at the Korean Grand Prix qualifier. For the first time after five races, Vettel won’t be starting Sunday’s F1 GP from the first place on the grid.
This weekend also marks this season's first pole position for Lewis Hamilton who beat Vettel. Nevertheless, the 24-year old German has already won this year's drivers' world championship, and as he pointed out, he "didn't expect to be so close to the McLarens" in this particular track.
Therefore, it’s little consolation to the British driver who along with his team-mate Jenson Button, will try to give McLaren a chance to at least fight until the end of the season with Red Bull for the constructors’ title.

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Formula 1: Korean Grand Prix Race Results

With the drivers’ title already decided, the only question before the red lights went off to signal the start of the Korean Grand Prix was whether Red Bull would manage to snag the constructors’ championship as well or if McLaren, the only team with a shot at the title, could keep its (admittedly slim) chances alive for yet another race.

As it turned out, McLaren couldn't. Despite Lewis Hamilton securing pole position on Saturday and Jenson Button taking third place on the grid, it took two-times world champion Sebastian Vettel less than half a lap into the race before overtaking Hamilton on the fourth corner.

From this point on, it was business as usual for the young German who built a comfortable lead and crossed the finish line first, with a 12-seconds difference from Hamilton.

The McLaren pilot raced side-by-side with the second Red Bull of Mark Webber, thankfully without the two cars coming into contact. Further back, Button squandered his good starting position by falling behind the Ferraris at the start of the race. He managed to overtake them during the first round of pit stops, and came very close to Webber and Hamilton, but was never fast enough to pass either.

Fernando Alonso didn’t have an easy race as for its most part he couldn’t get past his team mate, Felipe Massa. He did it in his final pit stop and then picked up his pace by 0.5 seconds a lap.

But the Spaniard found overtaking Button’s McLaren impossible, and after the race admitted defeat by saying “I just give up”.

As a reminder of who is the boss this year, despite having already secured his 10th win of the season, Vettel posted the fastest time of the race during the last lap…

Therefore, Red Bull bagged the constructor’s title, too, three races before the end of the season. “It’s phenomenal” was team’s boss Christian Horner comment on his team walking away with all the silverware for the second year in a row. "Phenomenal for the team, phenomenal for every single member of the Red Bull Racing / Red Bull Technology Group and for everyone working for Red Bull."

Still, for the rest of the drivers and teams the championship is far from over, as they will fight for the best results in the three remaining races starting from India on October 30.

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Toyota Returns to Le Mans with Hybrid LMP1 Racer

Seems like the Nürburgring record for an electric vehicle set last August was just the beginning of Toyota’s electric charge into the world of motorsports.
The company's racing division, Toyota Motorsport, announced today that it will enter the 2012 World Endurance Championship which, for the first time, is organized both by FIA and ACO, the club that runs the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and the Intercontinental Le Mans Series.
The Japanese company will develop a brand-new, gasoline-electric hybrid racer that will compete in the top LMP1 class. The chassis will be built byToyota Motorsport in its Cologne, Germany headquarters, which previously served as its Formula 1 base, while the hybrid powertrain will be engineered in Japan.





Toyota’s head of motorsport activities, Tadashi Yamashima, commented: “We have competed in Le Mans before, but by using our hybrid technology, our participation in 2012 will be completely new. We want to make history in the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as in the FIA World Endurance Championship, through the use of our hybrid technology.”
In order to do so, Toyota’s hybrid racer will have to upstage current winner Audi as well asPeugeot, both of which compete in the LMP1 class.
The Japanese automaker hopes that its new assault on Le Mans will yield better results than its last attempt in the late ‘90s with the GT One that was fast but not fast enough to score a win.

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Video: Gymkhana on a Really, Really Tight Budget

Sick and tired of watching Ken Block flashing around his very expensive automotive toys? The crew over at YouTube channel "LeakingDuck" feels your pain so they created a little something to cheer you up.

LeakingDuck explains: "Let's do a little experiment : Do we really need a 600HP all wheel drive rally car driven by Ken Block to do a cool video ? Or any budget at all for that matter ? Let's see if it works."
You can see if it "works" for yourself by following the jump to watch the video.

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Time Waster of the Day: Infiniti Launches F1 Pit Crew Challenge Facebook Game

If you're looking to fool around and waste some time on your computer, Infiniti might have something just for you.

The Japanese luxury brand, which is increasingly looking to Red Bull to improve its awareness, has launched its first ever social game called "Infiniti Pit Crew Challenge" on Facebook.

The game is rather simple with the goal being to mimic the precision and speed of the Red Bull Racing Pit Crew by placing parts on the F1 car.

You can check it out four yourself on Infiniti's page at facebook.com/infiniti.

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Vettel Wins Back-to-Back Formula 1 Titles, Lauda says “He Can Surpass Schumacher”

If you have two Formula 1 world championships under your belt by the age of 24, then you surely must be special. Sebastian Vettel, who last year became the youngest world champion ever in the history of the sport, didn’t have anything to prove .
Nor did anyone doubt after the first races of the season, that the 2011 driver’s title would be his. Mathematically, at least, only McLaren's Jenson Button had a –very long- shot at stealing the title after Singapore. At last Sunday’s race in Suzuka, he did his best: Button crossed the finish line first.





Vettel, however, was content with third place since he secured the title four races before the end of the season. Niki Lauda, who himself has won three world championships, believes that the young German can even surpass Michael Schumacher’s incredible record of seven titles.
“He has all the circumstances to do it”, Lauda told Reuters. “If you choose the wrong car, then you can’t win because it’s always the combination of the two. But if he sits at the right time in the right car, he himself is certainly capable of winning more than Schumacher.”
The champion was certainly jubilant, but he didn’t forget that this isn’t a one man’s game: “I want to thank all the guys and girls in the factory at Milton Keynes, as it’s not just us here pushing very hard. It’s them as well, from the post office to the design office to the engineering office here at the track, their effort is just incredible.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner points out that they have accomplished only one-half of their work, since they are also aiming for the constructors’ title.





With 172 points available in the four remaining races and the distance from the second McLarencurrently at 130 points, no one is willing to bet against Red Bull.
Story References: ESPN

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Roll like an F1 Champ with Schumacher's Scuderia Ferrari Motorhome

Vehicle auctions usually make headlines for automobiles sold for ridiculous amounts of money, for being very rare or very famous. At the very least, they must have been owned at some point by a rock star, an F1 driver or some other kind of celebrity in order to attract attention.

Can you imagine a bus making it in that list? Probably not unless of course, we’re talking about an original Iveco Domino Ferrari Formula 1 driver’s coach that will hit the auction block on October 26 by RM Auctions.
What makes the Iveco coach even more special is that is was used by Scuderia Ferrari during the Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichelo era from 2001 to 2005. As befitting the seven times Formula 1 world champion, it was highly customized.





The bus is powered by an Iveco engine, has a ZF eight-speed gearbox with electronic selector, air suspension, hydraulic shock absorbers and antiroll bars, and the odometer reads 85,000 km (52,800 miles). Needless to say, it was serviced meticulously.
The coach was used for meetings and interviews, has two independent access doors from the front and the rear and is separated in two compartments, each with a living room, mini-bar, 15x18-inch LCD TV, and satellite telephone and internet capabilities. And for those moments when Scuderia’s drivers needed some relaxation, each compartment has a physiotherapy bed and table.
Its current owner acquired it in 2009 but found it lacking in the equipment department (!). As a result, these upgrades were performed: £44,290 (US$68,906) for a motorhome conversion, £4,112 (US$6,397) for an Intastat TV/internet/satellite system, £1,900 (US$2,95) for two Panasonic TV sets, £2,000 (US$3,111) for a home theater system by Bose, £5,520 (US$8,58) for a bed and some small change (£2,000/US$3,111) in various accessories.





If you have £200,000-300,000 (US$311,000-$466,00) laying around and want to experience the life of a Formula 1 champion before and after each race, here’s your chance.

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Lil' Monster: Romeo Ferraris Fiat 500 Abarth Stradale Packs 300HP

The first photos of Romeo Ferraris Cinquone Stradale hit the web on Saturday giving us a taste of the limited production model.






We're still waiting for the Italians to share the full details but in a previous email, Romeo Ferraris told us that its over-the-top Fiat 500 Abarth will be an "extreme" street-legal version of its racing model powered by a highly modified 1.4-liter turbo engine delivering 300-horsepower.
The photos reveal that the car gets a wide body kit with blistered wheel arches and massive hood air vents, a rear diffuser with centrally mounted tail pipes, a surprisingly small roof spoiler and new wheels.





The interior is clearly inspired from the world of racing mixing leather and alcantara surfaces with carbon-fibre trim, while the Italian mini also loses the rear seat bench and gains a pair of bucket seats up front and a racing-spec roll cage.
Story References: Romeo Ferraris via Autoblog.nl

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