THIRD RRDC/FIA YOUNG DRIVERS SYMPOSIUM TO KICK OFF AT PRI SHOW WITH LINEUP OF EXPERT PANELISTS

Registration for free workshop is open at www.rrdc.org The third RRDC/FIA Young Drivers Symposium will kick off at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Orlando, Fla., next week with a lineup of the the sport’s and industry’s most distinguished experts. The FREE workshop, open to racing drivers from all motorsports disciplines, will be held at [...]

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/all-news/third-rrdcfia-young-drivers-symposium-to-kick-off-at-pri-show-with-lineup-of-expert-panelists/

Luiz Bueno Ian Burgess Luciano Burti Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button

Jimmie Johnson Taking Time to Savor Fifth Championship in Las Vegas

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LAS VEGAS -- In a luxury suite in the Bellagio Hotel high above the Las Vegas strip, Jimmie Johnson was all smiles and "aw shucks" on the eve of collecting an unprecedented fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship trophy. He was at the hotel to meet with a small group of reporters and to unveil the true benchmark of an athlete's success.

Forget the historic five NASCAR titles, Johnson now has a video game named after him: "Jimmie Johnson's Anything With an Engine."

The game doesn't go on sale until 2011, but the concept launch this week meant the vivid collision between two of America's favorite pastimes, video gaming and NASCAR. And it was interesting to observe the hip, young gaming reporters, dressed in black adorned with lots of zippers and skull designs and colorful tattoos, sizing up the NASCAR All-American good guy's entry into their eclectic world.

"So how does it feel to be a legend?'' asked Jon Carnage, a former professional wrestler who is now a reporter from the video game blog Destructoid. He clearly caught the humble Johnson off guard.

"It's still strange to me that I hear that,'' Johnson replied.

Perhaps he should get used to it.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/03/jimmie-johnson-taking-time-to-savor-fifth-championship-in-las-ve/

Lance Reventlow Peter Revson John Rhodes Alex Ribeiro Ken Richardson

San Luis track delights GT1 drivers

The Potrero de los Funes international circuit has got the thumbs up from drivers competing on the dramatic Argentinian track for the first time in this weekend's FIA GT1 World Championship finale. The San Luis venue attracted plenty of praise when it was first used in the FIA GT Championship two years ago, but will be a new experience for most of this year's leading GT1 drivers.

Source: http://www.inracingnews.com/3rdparty/san-luis-track-delights-gt1-drivers/

Tony Shelly Jo Siffert Andre Simon Rob Slotemaker Moises Solana

F1: Vettel insists no problems with Webber

Vettel insists no problems with Webber By Jonathan Noble Monday, December 6th 2010, 12:37 GMT Sebastian Vettel insists that there will be no lingering tensions with team-mate Mark Webber next season, despite some troubled flash-points during their title battle in 2010. As well as their on-track clash at the Turkish Grand Prix as they fought for the lead of the race, Vettel and Webber endured far from easy times off the circuit too amid talk of favouritism towards the world champion within Red Bull's ranks Related posts:
  1. F1: Vettel insists collision not his fault Vettel insists collision not his fault By Dieter Rencken and...
  2. F1: Vettel and Webber free to ‘give it all’ Vettel and Webber free to 'give it all' By Jonathan...
  3. F1: Webber praises world champion Vettel Webber praises world champion Vettel By Steven English Monday, November...
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Source: http://doxcar.com/f1-vettel-insists-no-problems-with-webber/

Bertrand Gachot Patrick Gaillard Divina Galica Nanni Galli Oscar Alfredo Gálvez

Many gaps to be filled on 2011 F1 entry list

The FIA has published the 2011 F1 entry list, which is notable more for what is missing than what is actually on it. No drivers are listed for Force India, Toro Rosso (although the team has named Buemi and Alguersuari), … Continue reading

Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2010/11/30/many-gaps-to-be-filled-on-2011-f1-entry-list/

Alex Zanardi Emilio Zapico Ricardo Zonta Renzo Zorzi Ricardo Zunino

Could F1 2011 be even better?

The final grand prix of the season in Abu Dhabi summed up why the 2010 season will go down in Formula 1 history as a classic year.

There were super-fast Red Bulls, world champion drivers in the thick of the action, strategic errors, raw emotion and a final twist in an epic tale as Sebastian Vettel won his first world title.

Before the race was run, the sun-soaked paddock was buzzing with talk of "the greatest season ever" and debate about the highlight of the season swelled.

In fact, as the dust settles on Abu Dhabi, the teams' attentions are already turning to 2011 - all the teams and most of the race drivers get their first run on next year's new Pirelli tyres at the Yas Marina track at the weekend.

With just 118 days to go until the cars and drivers return to the desert in Bahrain to rejoin battle, expectations are already building that 2011 could be another classic year, matching events this season.

As BBC pundit Eddie Jordan exclaimed on Sunday: "We have five world champions competing next year, what are we in for?!"

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Jordan is right to be excited.

The men who defined this season remain in situ - Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button at McLaren, Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, and Vettel and Mark Webber at Red Bull.

All of them know they have things to improve in 2010 - particularly the number of errors they have made. And the long winter will give each of the 24 drivers on the grid time to analyse and agonise over crucial mistakes and frittered points that ultimately defined their seasons.

"Every one of us made too many errors and that is why we found ourselves in a position with five guys fighting it out," reflected Button, who saw his title defence end in Brazil.

Though he was the first to bow out, Button had the cleanest season of all the five contenders but found himself let down by a lack of pace - particularly in qualifying - as he got to grips with a McLaren in his first season with the team.

Alonso will rue his uncharacteristic errors in Australia and China, his crash in Monaco and, most of all, the fatal call from Ferrari to bring him in early for fresh tyres in Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton will reflect on his ill-judged passing moves in Monza and Singapore, which effectively ended his hopes, while Webber will relive his frightening somersault in Valencia and his costly crash in Korea.

Vettel, too, made more than his fair share of errors. He must take the blame for crashes with his team-mate Webber in Turkey and an unwitting Button in Spa, while his attempt to go around the outside of Webber at the start in Silverstone earned him a puncture.

For Red Bull, though, one of the biggest areas of focus will be the poor early-season reliability, from spark plugs to wheel nuts, that prevented Vettel bursting into an early lead.

When Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko was asked on Sunday what his next goal was after his team captured both championships, he said they intended to cut out the errors so they could win the titles sooner.

All the top teams will be adding grease to their usually slick operations over the winter at the same time as building their cars to a set of regulations that have been tweaked again.

Gone will be the double-diffusers which caused so much controversy at the start of 2009, as well as the F-duct that McLaren pioneered at the start of 2010, forcing everyone else to follow suit.

Blown diffusers - 2010's other defining technical tweak - will stay to an extent, though.

In come those Pirelli tyres, while Kers energy storage and power-boost systems return after a year away. There will also be a new technical trick in the form of moveable rear wings, an attempt to solve F1's perennial problem even in a season as great as this - the difficulty of overtaking.

The success of the teams' research into the effects of these changes will shape next year's title chase - and it is by no means a given that this year's big three will be the ones who get it most right.

There have been concerned whispers that the efforts of waging a season-long campaign have diverted attention away from 2011 development programmes at Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.

The strain of winning the 2009 championships certainly drained Brawn Grand Prix, which had a debilitating effect on them this season in their new guise as Mercedes.

However, with no championship to fight for, teams such as Mercedes and Renault, who stopped developing their 2010 car in September so they concentrate on next season, could make it a five-way battle for honours next year.

"It has been a special year," mused McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh. "Can there be more?

"We have to keep the focus on brave, fantastic drivers in great machinery; an even-handed regulator, stability and clear rules that are administered properly.

"We can't guarantee it but there is no reason the championship next year can't be as good - or even better."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sarahholt/2010/11/could_f1_2011_be_even_better.html

Clemente Biondetti Pablo Birger Art Bisch Harry Blanchard Michael Bleekemolen

NASCAR Driver ? I Got Stiffed By Extenze

Robby Gordon Sues ExtenZe - Photo Credit: TMZNASCAR badass Robby Gordon claims he was used and abused by the people who make Extenze – claiming he put their logo on a car he owned … but instead of paying him, they gave him the shaft. Gordon claims the company behind the penis pills agreed to...more»

Source: http://www.catchfence.com/2010/sprintcup/12/03/nascar-driver-i-got-stiffed-by-extenze/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nascar-driver-i-got-stiffed-by-extenze

Reine Wisell Roelof Wunderink Alexander Wurz Sakon Yamamoto Alex Yoong

Making the most of the F1 season

I find it impossible to think that this is it. I said to Harriet, as I packed my bag for the final race of this year, that 2010 has been the fastest 12 months of my life.

I can vividly remember eating pizza in a small restaurant in Richmond back in March as we both apprehensively considered the next nine months of almost constant travel.

In the blink of an eye, it's almost over.

Although I've visited many of the same places, same hotels, even the very same hotel room at times, this year has been an incredibly different journey to the one I took in 2009.

I'll never, ever forget the nerves in the Melbourne pit-lane as F1 returned to the BBC after a long absence almost two years ago. And while the nerves have settled down, the pressure never has.

In 2009, I went into every race having never been there before, feeling anxious, aware I was a total newcomer, looking to please everyone. At the end of what was the most incredible year of my life, I realised that I hadn't actually taken time to step back and enjoy it. I was determined to put that right in 2010.

I think I've managed to do that but, as I've tried to take a step back and be objective about this season, remember the sights and the sounds of a championship year, I wonder if the same can be said of the men who are at the very centre of the storm... the championship contenders.

One of my mottos in life is "savour it". I said it to my wife on our wedding day, to my sister when her first child was born and to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner after last weekend's constructors' title triumph.

As life zips past at an incredible rate and the smallest things become the biggest issues, savouring what is around us is often the last thing we think of doing.

Last weekend in Brazil, for example, David Coulthard turned to me and said: "You'll never see a driver celebrate a win for as long as a team member."

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Zoom in and fly around the Abu Dhabi track
He was referring to the psyche of a driver, the complex psychological make-up that inspires the chosen few to constantly put their neck on the line in pursuit of perfection.

After he picked up pole position last weekend, I asked Nico Hulkenberg what had crossed his mind following the achievement.

"Oh no, two press conferences and then more interviews," was his answer.

He didn't allow himself the indulgence of reflecting on the hard times when an F1 pole was beyond his wildest dreams, or how his family would be celebrating back in Germany. Nope, it was all about what was to come.

F1 doesn't do the present very well. It's all about the next race, the next upgrade, the next season. The constant pursuit of perfection demands that. Live in the now for a fraction of a second and, in this world, it instantly becomes the past.

In this year, of all years, it's been important to take stock of what we are witnessing, to be aware that it may be very many seasons before we encounter another similarly close title battle. And it all comes down to this weekend's final race.

For four of the drivers, there is no looking beyond this weekend. Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton know their entire season - every lap of every track - has distilled to this... one race with everything on the line.

My advice? Tune in, take the phone off the hook and, most of all, savour it. I know I will.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is live on BBC1 (from 1210 GMT) and the BBC Sport website (UK users only) on Sunday with the race starting at 1300 GMT.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2010/11/making_the_most_of_the_f1_seas.html

Helm Glöckler Paco Godia Carel Godin de Beaufort Christian Goethals Paul Goldsmith