plus 4, Southern California's M1GP Announces 2010 Mini Schedule - RoadracingWorld.com |
- Southern California's M1GP Announces 2010 Mini Schedule - RoadracingWorld.com
- Auto Racing Capsules: People's choice, Mark Martin, showing softer ... - Brownsville Herald
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| Southern California's M1GP Announces 2010 Mini Schedule - RoadracingWorld.com Posted: 28 Oct 2009 10:16 PM PDT Oct 29, 2009, ©Copyright 2009, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. M1GP announces its race schedule for 2010 with an eight sprint-race series championship with at least one night race. Races will vary from 2-heat/6-lap events and 1-main/12-lap events. Two new classes will be featured regularly for 2010: Terminator youth class and the Road Warrior class. Three endurance races are also scheduled. - The 3rd Annual 8 Hours at Grange (8H3) @ Grange Motor Circuit, Apple Valley, Ca. - Mini 2 hour-enduro @ Willow Springs International Raceway, Rosamond, Ca. - The Inaugural M1GP-24 Hour Super Endurance Race @ Willow Springs International Raceway, Rosamond, Ca. All dates are as follow and have been reserved with the respective race venues. (P)=Practice, (Q)=Qualifying, (R)=Race,(GMC)=Grange Motor Circuit (WSIR)=Willow Springs International Raceway
FEB. - 20th (Q), 21th (R) -------------------- (GMC) Round 1 CCW There will be practice dates exclusively for motorcycles on Saturdays at Willow Springs for our racers and new riders. Some current model street bikes are eligible for some of our race classes. Please see our classifications for more details. Racers from all racing organizations are invited to come race our sprint and endurance races. We regularly have racers from WSMC, WERA, USGPRU, AMA as well as other mini-road-racing organizations including some from abroad. - M1GP uses pro-level timing equipment (AMB) at all of our events (required for all racers). Racers, new riders, kids and adults, family and friends...all are welcome. For membership and registration details, please visit m1gp.us Thank you and see you at the races! More Breaking Headlines | Next Article | Home This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Auto Racing Capsules: People's choice, Mark Martin, showing softer ... - Brownsville Herald Posted: 28 Oct 2009 08:57 PM PDT MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Mark Martin senses that this is going to be a good week for him as he continues chasing Jimmie Johnson and the NASCAR season championship he so covets. If he's right, it would only add to what has been an emotional ride for the 50-year-old Martin, who has largely discarded his curmudgeonly shell in his return to full-time racing with Hendrick Motorsports and shown a softer, even somewhat sappy side on a regular basis. "It's because I'm not tired, I'm not burned out, not frustrated," he said at Martinsville. "I'm enjoying the opportunity and I appreciate it more than I ever did before." Johnson gained 28 points on the final short track of the season to extend his lead to 118 over Martin with four races to go, but the series shifts to Talladega Superspeedway, the last wild card on the schedule, where one big wreck could really shake things up. "I have a feeling that I'm going to have a great Talladega race," Martin said. "I don't know if our competition will or not. But I wrecked on lap five last time there. I've got a feeling that just isn't going to happen this time. The law of averages is going to get you sooner or later and I think I've got some good karma going in there. I'm very optimistic. "It could be a great equalizer." It would be a development that would be widely celebrated among NASCAR fans, who have embraced Martin as the sentimental favorite — a stature that can stop him in his tracks. "That's an incredible honor," he said. "And it's also a little bit of pressure. It means so much to me that they feel that way that I desperately don't want to disappoint them." Without a doubt, Martin stands as the best driver never to win a championship, and his close calls are well documented. He's finished second four times, losing out by 26 points to Dale Earnhardt in 1990, and by 38 points to Tony Stewart in his last close call in 2002. In 1990, his team incurred a 46-point penalty after a race at Richmond for using an illegal carburetor spacer, even though NASCAR agreed it had not enhanced his performance. Martin has also finished third four times, and in the top five another five times. His return to full-time racing this season came after he landed a ride with Hendrick, joining a stable of teams that includes Johnson, who is seeking his record fourth consecutive series championship, and Jeff Gordon, who has already won four, but none since 2001. What has happened since is fairy tale stuff: Five victories, one behind Johnson for the series lead, and his first since 2005. Seven poles, 12 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s. "It's amazing, and beyond my expectations," he said. "It's really an honor. I've said all that all year long. People may be getting tired of hearing that, but it's the truth." In the Hendrick shop, it's a story that even Johnson and Gordon are caught up in. Johnson is viewed in some circles as the villain who could deny Martin a title, and said even though he roots for his teammates, he's not letting up in his own drive to win again. "I certainly root for him if I'm not having the day, and the same for Jeff," Johnson said. "I have not thought about being the guy who could take away someone's opportunity." Gordon, who beat Martin for the title by 364 points in 1998, thinks all the drivers and teams are watching with interest, and that several are rooting for Martin to win. "I don't think there is anybody more deserving than Mark Martin," he said. "But (Johnson's) team, they've earned the position they're in," he added. "They've worked hard at it. They're a great, great team and I think they're in a position to make history. "I think there is something very special about that." Martin finished eighth at Martinsville, a disappointing finish considering he ran near the front for much of the race, but heads to Alabama with no intention of changing his approach. Revered for the way he races, he's not given to trying desperate measures. The suggestion that he would brought out his old drill sergeant-like persona. "I am racing with everything I got, and if I could find a way to be better, I would," he said. "And I will continue to look and search for anyway I can, going forward, to find a way to be better yet, but all I can do is put it out there. That's all I can do. I will put it out there and race with every bit of fire. Because I don't cause a lot of stink on the racetrack doesn't mean I don't race without a lot of fire. ... I race with everything I've got." And when it's not enough, he no longer lets his disappointment consume him. "I still get disappointed, OK?" he said. "I still get disappointed, and we have met with many disappointments this year, but I don't dwell on the disappointment and I revel in the opportunity. ... It's less about me, and that comes with age and maturity. What I'm doing today is a lot less about me and a lot more about the people that I care about. "I'm trying as hard as I ever did. I'm just not frustrated about it." A glance at the 12 drivers in the Chase A glance at the 12 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship heading into this weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway (in order of points): DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson CHASE POINTS: first, 6,098 CAR: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports POSITION CHANGE: None CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 15 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 17.7 (won in 2006) LAST WEEK: All this and manners too? Johnson finished second at Martinsville and passed up a chance to bump eventual winner Denny Hamlin out of the way over the final laps, a move he used to win at the track during the spring. CHASE CHATTER: "I wasn't just going to come in with the second-place car and take a cheap shot and pass him that way," Johnson said. "If I felt like I had a car to win the race, I would have been up there leaning on him some." DRIVER: Mark Martin CHASE POINTS: second, -118 CAR: No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg's Chevrolet TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports POSITION CHANGE: None CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 43 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 16.1 (won twice) LAST WEEK: Martin refused to crack, finishing eighth at Martinsville, but still lost 28 points to Johnson. CHASE CHATTER: "You know, eighth- and seventh-place finishes, it doesn't look like that's going to be enough to go out here and win this championship," Martin said. "But there's still some racing left and a lot of things can change at Talladega." DRIVER: Jeff Gordon CHASE POINTS: third, -150 CAR: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports POSITION CHANGE: None CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 33 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 16.4 (won six times) LAST WEEK: Spent part of the day trading paint with Juan Pablo Montoya and led 36 laps before a late-race caution cost him on a short run and finished fifth. CHASE CHATTER: "We had the long run that we needed and drove all the way up (to the front) and then had the caution that we really didn't need," Gordon said. DRIVER: Tony Stewart CHASE POINTS: fourth, -192 CAR: No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet TEAM: Stewart/Haas Racing POSITION CHANGE: None CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 21 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 13.8 (won in 2008) LAST WEEK: Salvaged a ninth-place at finish at Martinsville, but has been unable to find the magic he had during the regular season and is almost out of it. CHASE CHATTER: "Everything didn't fall the way we needed it to," said crew chief Darian Grubb. "It wasn't what we wanted. I think we had a top-four or five car." DRIVER: Juan Pablo Montoya CHASE POINTS: fifth, -200 CAR: No. 42 Target Chevrolet TEAM: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1 CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 5 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 18.6 (best finish: second in 2008) LAST WEEK: Ran third at Martinsville, but biggest headline may have been ABC football analyst Bob Griese's slightly off-color comment that Montoya was "out having a taco" the day before the race. CHASE CHATTER: "I could say I spent the last three hours eating tacos, but I was actually driving a car," Montoya said. "But that's OK, I don't care." DRIVER: Kurt Busch CHASE POINTS: sixth, -240 CAR: No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge TEAM: Penske Racing POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1 CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 17 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 12.1 (best 3rd, four times) LAST WEEK: An error on pit road cost Busch dearly about halfway through the race at Martinsville and he was never able to recover, finishing 17th to end any hopes of catching Johnson. CHASE CHATTER: "I had to get too close to the wall to squeeze into our pit box and that really did us in," Busch said. "We lost about 15 spots and got caught up way back in the pack." DRIVER: Ryan Newman CHASE POINTS: seventh, -312 CAR: No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet TEAM: Stewart/Haas Racing POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1 CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 15 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 18.5 (best finish: third in 2009) LAST WEEK: Qualified on the pole at Martinsville and led 23 laps before finishing seventh, his fifth top-10 finish in five Chase races. CHASE CHATTER: "It was a good run for us," Newman said. "We kept our nose clean the entire day and ran up there with those guys that are running for a championship." DRIVER: Greg Biffle CHASE POINTS: eighth, -350 CAR: No. 16 3M Scotch Brand Ford TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1 CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 13 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 23.8 (best finish: seventh in 2009) LAST WEEK: Limped to 25th at Martinsville, a performance Biffle blamed on a lack of practice time due to poor weather on Saturday. CHASE CHATTER: "We couldn't really do anything with our car," Biffle said. "With practice getting rained out yesterday it really hurt us. That happened in the spring, so that makes it tough. Someday when we get to test or practice here we'll be all right." DRIVER: Denny Hamlin CHASE POINTS: ninth, -352 CAR: No. 11 FedEx Toyota TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2 CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 7 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 18.9 (best finish: third in 2008) LAST WEEK: A week after his dreams of a title vanished at Charlotte, Hamlin bounced back with a win at Martinsville as he held off Johnson to post his third victory of the season. CHASE CHATTER: "It's kind of a fun power position to be racing around guys that are racing for a championship, and you have nothing to lose and all you're doing is going for a race win," Hamlin said. DRIVER: Carl Edwards CHASE POINTS: 10th, -413 CAR: No. 99 Aflac Ford TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing POSITION CHANGE: None CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 10 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 24.5 (best finish: fifth in 2005) LAST WEEK: Edwards' season in a nutshell? The final lap at Martinsville when his drive shaft broke, dropping him from 12th to 20th. CHASE CHATTER: "I was trying so hard at the end," Edwards said. "We're at a point with our Aflac team in the Chase with not a lot to lose, so the guys worked hard. It just wasn't meant to be." DRIVER: Kasey Kahne CHASE POINTS: 11th -439 CAR: No. 9 Budweiser Dodge TEAM: Richard Petty Motorsports POSITION CHANGE: Minus 2 CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 11 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 23.5 (best finish, 2nd in 2006) LAST WEEK: Kahne's roller coaster Chase continued, as a pair of incidents and a blown right front tire left him seven laps down and in 32nd place at Martinsville. CHASE CHATTER: "This hasn't been a great track for us, so we need to work on that," Kahne said. "It was a pretty frustrating day." DRIVER: Brian Vickers CHASE POINTS: 12th, -530 CAR: No. 83 Red Bull Toyota TEAM: Red Bull Racing POSITION CHANGE: None CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 10 AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 19.7 (won in 2006) LAST WEEK: After five weeks of Chase agony, Vickers managed to finish 11th at Martinsville, easily his best performance in the playoffs. CHASE CHATTER: "It's no secret that it's not gone well for us lately in the Chase, and 11th at a tough place like Martinsville is a good start to getting back on track," Vickers said. "We could've run better and finished better, but we'll take it." -- Will Graves Sadler to drive a Ford as RPM finalizes 2010 plans CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Richard Petty Motorsports is finalizing elements of its 2010 program, beginning this weekend when Elliott Sadler will race a Ford at Talladega Superspeedway. Behind the scenes, the team is also shoring up its lineup. Team officials familiar with RPM's personnel moves told The Associated Press on Wednesday that sponsor Best Buy will move from Sadler's car next season to Petty's famed No. 43 with AJ Allmendinger as the driver. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the changes have yet to be announced. Stanley will become the sole primary sponsor for Sadler. Both Best Buy and Stanley had shared Sadler's car this season. Sponsorship concerns have been one of the larger issues facing RPM as it prepares for 2010. The team is trying to complete a deal to merge with Yates Racing, and plans to move full time from Dodge to Ford next season. But its lineup has been a huge question as RPM fielded only two fully funded cars all season for Sadler and Kasey Kahne. The team has had to piece together funding for Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson, and both drivers have forfeited either salary or race winnings to help keep their teams afloat. Majority team owner George Gillett Jr. said earlier this month that RPM would field a minimum of three cars next season, but he would not discuss the potential lineup or sponsorship issues. By moving Best Buy to the No. 43, the team now has the far less difficult task of selling some individual races for Allmendinger and Sadler, as opposed to the daunting task of trying to secure a primary sponsor willing to spend $15 million or more to back Allmendinger. RPM could still be a four-car team, contingent on the merger with Yates and if driver Paul Menard and the sponsorship from his father's hardware store chain stay within the organization. The Menards could try to negotiate their way out of the contract and move the entire package to another team. Either way, all signs indicate the RPM-Yates merger will go through. "We do know that the negotiations are going very well with Yates Racing and RPM," said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports. "Both sides are very excited about the opportunities, but the final I's dotted and T's crossed has not been completed yet. All parties are working together, assuming that there are no real hard rocks in the road yet, so we're just really excited about the opportunities going forward." The change to Ford will happen regardless of the merger, and Sadler will be the first RPM driver to race in the new model Sunday at Talladega. Allmendinger is expected to drive a Ford in the final three races of the season. In getting its drivers seat time now, RPM officials will get a head start on their 2010 planning. Giving Sadler the car for Talladega also gives the team a database to prepare for the season-opening Daytona 500, which is also a restrictor plate race. Sadler is the best plate racer at RPM, with two top-10 finishes in the three plate races so far this season. He's also led at least one lap in his last 13 starts at Talladega, has three poles and three top-10 finishes. Sadler also has a lengthy past relationship with both Ford (269 starts) and Yates (130 races). He won seven poles in Yates Fords, including one at Talladega in May 2006. "Since this is the final restrictor plate race of the season, we made the decision to run a Ford to get some work done in advance," Sadler said. "This will be our first time to practice and work on a Fusion under real race conditions. It should help us get ready to make a strong showing at Daytona and put us in the best position to start next season. Since it's important to start a season off on the right foot, we thought we'd try to get a head start." -- Jenna Fryer Longtime Martinsville Speedway PR man dies MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Dick Thompson, a pioneer in auto-racing public relations during nearly 40 years at Martinsville Speedway, died Wednesday, the track announced. He was 74. Thompson was working as a racing writer for The Roanoke Times in 1966 when the late Martinsville Speedway founder, H. Clay Earles, hired him to help publicize events at the track, said W. Clay Campbell, Earles' grandson and now the track's president. Thompson was the track's first public relations director and was only the second full-time public relations representative in NASCAR, the speedway said in a news release. Using innovative strategies and gimmicks to attract interest, Thompson helped usher the half-mile track — and NASCAR — into an era of sponsorships and other growth. When he retired in January 2005 after nearly 40 years, NASCAR was the fastest-growing sport in America, routinely drawing more than 60,000 people for races at Martinsville. "Dick Thompson was one of the pioneers in track public relations," Campbell said. The track's press box is named for Thompson. Thompson's funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Martinsville. Burial will be at Roselawn Burial Park in Martinsville. Formula One F1 eras to end at 2009 season closer in Abu Dhabi ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — As Formula One prepares to welcome its newest circuit this weekend, it will be the farewells that gain most of the attention. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the state-of-the-art Yas Marina circuit on a man-made island off the Abu Dhabi coast, is the final race of the 2009 season. With the drivers and constructors' championships already safely in the keeping of Jenson Button and his Brawn GP team, this weekend's race will be a reflection upon the passing of some eras, and further intense negotiations over driver moves ahead of 2010. Abu Dhabi will be the last race for BMW, which has pulled out of the sport to reduce costs, and also marks the final race for Fernando Alonso with Renault and Kimi Raikkonen with Ferrari. Alonso, after two world titles with Renault, will take Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari next year. "I would love to finish the season and my Renault career with a great result," Alonso said. "It will be an emotional race because I have enjoyed so many special memories with this team and I am leaving behind a lot of friends." The 2010 destiny of Raikkonen, who also won a world title with Ferrari, remains the source of much speculation. He is considered likely to return to his old team McLaren to partner with Lewis Hamilton — one of the few drivers who can be sure he will start the 2010 season with the same team he'll race for this weekend. Button is in the midst of contract negotiations with Brawn. The Briton accepted a cut-price deal for 2009 because of doubts about the viability of the team following Honda's withdrawal on the eve of the season. Now that he has won the world title and Brawn is on more solid ground, a much better deal is due. Button would be quite happy to let rumors about a move to McLaren swirl around — it can only strengthen his bargaining position. Should he stay with Brawn, Button seems certain to have a new teammate for 2010. Veteran Brazilian Rubens Barrichello has been holding talks with Williams, and a straight swap with that team's Nico Rosberg appears likely. However, Hamilton would welcome his old karting teammate Rosberg at McLaren, which seems certain to jettison the underperforming Heikki Kovalainen. One move that is signed and sealed is that of Robert Kubica moving from BMW-Sauber to Renault to replace Alonso. The future of the Swiss-based BMW-Sauber team remains in flux. With BMW pulling out, the team has won financial backing from a somewhat mysterious Qadback Investments group, but has no guarantee of a place on the grid. It has been designated the 14th team for 2010, meaning its place in next season's championship depends upon one of the 13 teams not going ahead with its 2010 entry. Given the uncertainty over the financial state of the sport in the midst of global economic difficulty, it would not be surprising if a team withdraws, giving BMW a reprieve. "There will of course also be a fair amount of sadness within the team as we set off for Abu Dhabi," BMW team boss Mario Thiessen said. "After all, this will be our 70th and final race with the BMW Sauber F1 Team. "With the exception of our fourth and unfortunately final season, I'm more than satisfied with what we have achieved since 2006." This weekend's grand prix will also be the last for mid-race refueling, which will be banned starting next season to reduce the high cost of transporting the fuel rigs around the world. That will mean an end to pit crews dressed like astronauts as a fire safety precaution. But the more important resulting cosmetic difference will be to the cars themselves. No refueling requires a bigger fuel tank and a redesign of the chassis to accommodate it. With the tank fitted between driver and engine, the cars should look a little more bloated in the tail end. Auto Racing Glance NASCAR SPRINT CUP AMP Energy 500 Site: Talladega, Ala. Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 1-2:30 p.m., 3-4 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 11-2 p.m.); Sunday, race, Noon(ABC, 11-4 p.m.). Track: Talladega Superspeedway (oval, 2.66 miles). Race distance: 500 miles, 188 laps. Last year: Tony Stewart ended a 43-race winless streak with his lone victory in his final season for Joe Gibbs Racings. Stewart blocked Regan Smith for the final three laps, forcing Smith to dip below the out-of-bounds line to make a last-ditch pass that NASCAR later ruled illegal. Last week: Denny Hamlin raced to his third victory of the year, holding off series leader Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville Speedway. Johnson won five of the previous six races at the 0.526-mile track. Fast facts: Johnson has a 118-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin with four races left. Fellow Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon (-150) is third, followed by Stewart (-192) and Juan Pablo Montoya (-200). ... Johnson has six wins this season — three in the first six Chase races — and 46 overall. ... Brad Keselowski won the April race at Talladega for his lone Cup victory. He made contact with Carl Edwards on the last lap, sending Edwards airborne into the safety fence. Johnson was 30th. ... Gordon leads active drivers with six Talladega victories, one more than Dale Earnhardt Jr. ... Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth and David Ragan are using Ford's new FR9 motors. Next race: Dickie's 500, Nov. 8, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas. On the Net: http://www.nascar.com CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS Mountain Dew 250 Site: Talladega, Ala. Schedule: Friday, practice, qualifying (Speed, 4-6 p.m.); Saturday, race, 3 p.m.(Speed, 2:30-5:30 p.m.). Track: Talladega Superspeedway (oval, 2.66 miles). Race distance: 250.4 miles, 94 laps. Last year: Todd Bodine won the race for the second straight year, taking the lead on the final turn and holding off Ron Hornaday Jr. and Kyle Busch. Bodine also won the 2008 season-opener at Daytona, NASCAR's other restrictor-plate track. Last week: Timothy Peters raced to his first career Trucks win, holding off Todd Bodine over three restarts at Martinsville Speedway. Peters stopped just once in the 200-lap race, after 33 laps, and led the final 84 laps. Fast facts: Mike and Chrissy Wallace are set to become the first father-daughter combination in a NASCAR national series event. The 21-year-old Chrissy made her series debut in March at Martinsville. ... Hornaday has a 224-point lead over Matt Crafton with four races left. The 51-year-old Hornaday won five straight races this summer and has a series-high six victories. He has 45 career victories and three season titles, both series records. ... Busch has five series victories this year. Next race: WinStar World Casino 350, Nov. 6, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas. On the Net: http://www.nascar.com NATIONWIDE Next race: O'Reilly Challenge, Nov. 7, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas. Last week: Brad Keselowski raced to his fourth victory of the year, holding off series leader Kyle Busch at Memphis Motorsports Park. On the Net: http://www.nascar.com FORMULA ONE Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Site: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 8-9:30 a.m.); Saturday, practice (Speed, 8-9:30 a.m.), qualifying; Sunday, race, 7 a.m.(Speed, 6:30-9 a.m., 3:30-6 p.m.). Track: Yas Marina Circuit (road course, 3.45 miles). Race distance: 189.8 miles, 55 laps. Last year: Inaugural race. Last race: Brawn GP's Jenson Button wrapped up his first season title in the next-to-last race of the season, finishing fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Oct. 18. Brawn became the first first-year constructors' champion. Red Bull's Mark Webber won the race. Fast facts: The season-ending event is the last for BMW, pulling out of the sport to reduce costs, and also marks the final race for Fernando Alonso with Renault and Kimi Raikkonen with Ferrari. Alonso, a two-time season champion with Renault, will take Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari next year. ... Button is winless in the last nine races after winning six of the first seven. ... The 21-turn, Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina circuit sits on a man-made island. On the Net: http://www.formula1.com NHRA FULL THROTTLE NHRA Las Vegas Nationals Site: Las Vegas. Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 10:30 p.m.- 12:30 a.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 6:30-9:30 p.m.). Track: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Last year: Tony Schumacher raced to the last of his record 15 Top Fuel victories of the year after wrapping up his sixth season championship by qualifying. Cruz Pedregon won in Funny Car, taking the points lead en route to his second series championship. Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Chris Rivas (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won. Last event: Mike Edwards went wire-to-wire at the NHRA Virginia Nationals on Oct. 11, earning the maximum 150 points to nearly clinch his first Pro Stock title with two races left. Del Worsham (Funny Car) and Brandon Bernstein (Top Fuel) also won. Fast facts: Schumacher, a five-time Top Fuel winner this season, has a 47-point lead over Larry Dixon. Cory McClenathan (-68) is third, and Antron Brown (-81) fourth. ... Robert Hight tops the Funny Car standings, followed by Ashley Force Hood (-13), Tony Pedregon (-48) and Ron Capps (-63). ... In Pro Stock, Edwards has a 128-point lead over Greg Anderson. ... Hector Arana leads the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings, 28 points ahead of Ed Krawiec. ... Schumacher raced to his third straight Top Fuel victory at the track in April. Capps (Funny Car) and Coughlin (Pro Stock) also won. Next race: Automobile Club of Southern California Finals, Nov. 12-15, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Pomona, Calif. 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| Fly Racing's Team Faith Claims UTV Lites Championship - ATV Rider Magazine Posted: 28 Oct 2009 05:16 PM PDT The final round of the Can-am Grand National Cross Country series took place this last weekend in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Being one point out of the lead at the final round, Fly Racing's Team Faith were ready for a fight to the finish to take home the Championship in the UTV Lites class. Starting from the second row, 20 seconds behind the first row, Team Faith grabbed the holeshot and a clear track but only for a short time. Passing was impossible in the trees, then coming into a field they saw the class points leader with a front tire flopping around. Taking advantage of their competition's bad luck, Team Faith continued on to the finish to take home third place for the round and the 2009 UTV Lites Championship! Congratulations to Team Faith from everyone at Fly Racing. About Fly Racing This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| More info on the electric superbike coming soon from Mavizen - Examiner Posted: 28 Oct 2009 05:08 PM PDT A minister from the Isle of Man government, the Honorable John Shimmin, will be on hand in Las Vegas on November 3 to help launch Mavizen's TTX02 electric superbike. This electric motorcycle is meant to be a bootstrap vehicle for teams wishing to compete in the TTXGP racing series. The specs have not been released but obviously it is meant to perform better than the TTXGP winning entry from Mavizen's collaborator, Team Agni. The TTXGP race is part of the TT race series held on the Isle of Man, and bikes competing in this race have to complete either one or two 38 mile laps over mountainous rugged terrain. (see TTXGP UK Championship 2010 agreement, and other TTXGP news) Until recently the all electric superbike class of motorcycles seemed to be occupied solely by Mission Motors. However over the last two months we have seen Lightning Motors run a prototype of their superbike at the Bonneville Salt Flats, they expect to sell production models during 2010. And now Mavizen is getting ready to sell the TTX02 in Q1/2010. Additionally other companies may enter the superbike market with Brammo, Electric Motorsports, and Zero Motorcycles being likely contenders. (See Lightning Motors has second fastest electric motorcycle, ahead of Mission Motors) Mavizen has been leaking a series of tease photo's prior to next week's launch. Obviously details will be revealed next week but that hasn't stopped informed speculation from trying to figure it out ahead of time. One of the teaser images is the usual blur job but with a bit of photoshop detective work a writer on Asphalt and Rubber found an unblurred thumbnail which indicates Mavizen is using a KTM RC8 as the frame of the TTX02. Installed in the frame is two Agni motors. The Mavizen announcement also claims the TTX02 will be "the first factory production vehicle to be delivered with a dedicated IP access and connectivity to the network". What this precisely means is yet to be seen as for example other vehicles have had data connectivity to some sort of network, e.g. the Tesla Roadster can phone home with data that Tesla turns into vehicle improvements. The Mavizen TTX02 will be unveiled on Tuesday 3 November at the SEMA show in Las Vegas (Press conference 13.00hrs in the Making Green Cool Zone). The bike will be unveiled by the Honourable John Shimmin, MHK, Minister for Local Government and Environment, Isle of Man Government. A full technical specification and high resolution photos of the bike will be available at the launch. TTXGP is developing a global programme of low-carbon motorsports events working with the Auto-Cycle Union, British Motorcyclists Federation and the Fédération Internationale de Motocylisme to provide a platform for competition to drive technology and innovation into the next generation of motorsports.
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| Chad Reed Racing for Monster Kawasaki - Motorcycle USA Posted: 28 Oct 2009 05:16 PM PDT
The racing action is a little slow this time of year so for those of you who need a fix, try keeping track of the Australasian Supercross Championship. This is the series started by Chad Reed and he continues to use his own star power to promote it. As the reigning champion, Reed is defending his title with a one-point lead over Dan Reardon in the SX Open class. The seven-race series known as Super-X is already two-deep so check out the website for more information – it's actually a pretty good site with lots of great highlight videos. The multiple formats seem interesting for riders and fans alike. Round 6 will take the series to New Zealand for the first time and James Stewart has committed to racing down under. Perhaps tired of seeing Reed pad his career stats, JS7 is slated to attend the final round at Brisbane on Dec. 5 using the omnipotent 2010 Yamaha YZ450F. Oh, did we mention that Reedy is competing for his new Monster Energy Kawasaki team?
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