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Volkswagen Golf24: 450 hp beast set to take on Nürburgring

June 22, 2011 at 3:23 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Motorsports, Volkswagen


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Volkswagen is set to challenge for honours at this coming weekend’s 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, with no less than five factory-fielded VW Motorsport entries. Leading the charge are three 450 hp Golf24 cars, a thoroughbred racing version of the world’s highest-volume production car.


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Powered by a 450 hp 2.5 litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine, the four-wheel drive Golf24 features a sequential six-speed gearbox with paddle shifters and wears a rather spectacular body shell.


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The three cars will be piloted by an assortment of drivers, ranging from seasoned Nordschleife drivers such as Peter Terting and Patrick Simon, ex-Formula 1 veterans Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell right through to the likes of Volkswagen junior René Rast and DTM rookie Edoardo Mortara.


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The two other VW factory cars are 330 hp Scirocco GT24-CNG versions, which will contest for honours in the class for vehicles with alternative powertrains. Of note is the three-man crew for one of the vehicles – Nasser Al-Attiyah, Carlos Sainz, Giniel de Villiers, the three Dakar Champions from 2009, 2010 and 2011, who will take on the Nordschleife together in a blue and orange Scirocco GT24-CNG. They will be joined by former DTM racer Klaus Niedzwiedz, who will be the fourth driver for both Sciroccos.

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Top five finishes for Jazeman Jaafar at Brands Hatch

June 20, 2011 at 4:45 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under International News, Motorsports

A fourth place finish in the first race, fifth place in the second race and a storming drive from a tenth position start to fourth place at the chequered flag in the third and final race at Brands Hatch in Kent over the weekend has kept Jazeman Jaafar in the championship hunt of the 2011 Cooper Tires Formula 3 International Series after four events.

The first race on Saturday afternoon featured ever-changing weather conditions. The race started on a wet track, after a sudden shower just before the cars went to the grid, with all the teams opting to start on wet tyres.

Jaafar, one of the six drivers racing with the championship-winning Carlin team, maintained position in the first half of the race and then, along with the majority of the drivers, opted to pit for slick tyres when the track dried. The Petronas-backed Malaysian dropped to seventh after his stop, but fought back to cross the line in fourth place.

The second race of the weekend, in dry conditions, saw Jaafar off the line cleanly and into sixth position, but a start line shunt behind brought out the safety car for five laps to clear the stricken cars. Having used up half the time available for racing, it left few laps for Jaafar to improve on his position, and in the end he finished fifth.

In the last race, a torrential shower prior to the start meant wet tyres, and Jaafar once again showed his prowess in the wet conditions – starting in tenth, he’d moved up to eighth spot by the end of lap one and was up to sixth by half distance, eventually finishing fourth.

“It’s been a good weekend, but all three races were pretty tricky, especially the last one when we had a torrential downpour in the middle of it, so I’m pleased with that result and to have finished all three races in the top five,” said Jaafar. “I’m lying fourth in the overall drivers’ championship, just one point off Carlos Huertas in third, so we’re mixing it at the front.”

The fifth of ten events in the British F3 International Series takes place at the Nurburging on July 2–3.

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Proton wins Rally De Nouvelle Caledonia – Chris Atkinson takes top honours again, Alister McRae finished third

June 20, 2011 at 2:44 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

After the heartbreak in Australia, Proton has returned to winning ways in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), winning the Rally De Nouvelle Caledonie. Chris Atkinson and co-driver Stephane Prevot took the Satria Neo S2000 to victory in the third round of the APRC, finished ahead of Pertamina Cusco Racing’s Rifat Sungkar in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

Teammate Alister McRae capped off a successful weekend in New Caledonia with a hard-fought third place, after having conceded his early lead in the rally due to a puncture and broken driveshaft. The result mirrors that of the Malaysian Rally, the opening round of the championship.

“It’s a phenomenal result for Proton – the entire team and for Stephane and I personally. Our rally wasn’t exactly trouble free, especially with a broken driveshaft on day 2, but we were lucky we had built a big enough gap to have it replaced and still hang on to the lead,” said Atkinson.

Atkinson moves into the lead of the APRC Driver’s Championship with 58 points, just two ahead of McRae. In third place is Team MRF’s Gaurav Gill, who retired in New Caledonia. McRae also reclaims the top spot in the Asia Cup Driver’s Championship ahead of Gill.

Victory in New Caledonia saw Proton claiming not only the overall victory, but also top honours amongst the APRC contenders, finishing first in the Pacific Cup and clinching the APRC Team Trophy at the event.

A further bonus for Proton came from Karamjit Singh, who won the Two-Wheel Drive Category in a 1600cc Satria Neo, extending his lead in the Driver’s Championship and Proton’s in the Manufacturer’s Championship. Karamjit finished ninth overall in the rally.

“Two victories in three rounds of the APRC certainly prove the competitiveness of the Satria Neo S2000. We’ve endured our fair share of misfortunes and mechanical issues, but the car has nevertheless proven time and time again that it is able to take on the more powerful turbocharged cars and more importantly, win rallies,” said Proton’s managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin.

“We have channeled a lot of effort towards development in terms of achieving both greater performance and reliability since the last rally in Australia and this has indeed paid dividends here in New Caledonia. This is a big step forward and with all the mechanical issues hopefully behind us, we now look forward to our next immediate event, which is the Ypres Rally in Belgium in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and New Zealand in the APRC,” he added.

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“Monster” Tajima looks for win No 11 at Pikes Peak

June 20, 2011 at 11:05 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Motorsports, Suzuki


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By the looks of it, as long as he’s able to, Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima won’t ever give up doing Pikes Peak. The 60-year-old Suzuki rally legend will of course be in Colorado this coming weekend to defend his title as King of the Mountain at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Tajima has been a fixture at the event since 1988 and has now won the unlimited division a record ten times, all behind the wheel of Suzuki vehicles. This year he will be behind the wheel of his SX4 race car, aiming to maintain an unbeaten run that began in 2003.

He will return to the event with his SX4-based special, though for 2011 the car has undergone significant aerodynamic changes to adapt to the modified road surfaces for this year’s race.

The turbocharged 2.7 litre V6 engine – now measuring just over 3.0 litres in capacity – has resulted in the 1090 kg Monster Special Pikes Peak SX4 producing 912 hp at 8,750 rpm and 890 Nm of torque at 5,850 rpm.

Looks as if everyone else in the class, including the likes of the Dacia Duster ‘No Limit’ , will be hoping Tajima – who of course holds the all-time course record with a time of 10 minutes 1.41 seconds set in 2007 with the Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb Special – doesn’t make it win number eleven in the Race to the Clouds.

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Bahrain GP officially struck off the 2011 F1 calendar

June 16, 2011 at 9:50 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1

It’s official. The Bahrain GP has been struck off the 2011 F1 calendar, again. The Middle East race was originally scheduled as the 2011 season opener, but civil unrest in the country forced the sport’s authorities to postpone the race. Earlier this month, the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) reinstated the race following a satisfactory assessment by FIA VP Carlos Gracia.

FIA gave Bahrain the October 30 slot of the inaugural Indian GP, pushing the new race to be the season finale in December. Then came the protests, from uneasy drivers to vocal human rights groups. The Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) umbrella body then rejected the race, and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone also raised his concerns.

The loud chorus forced FIA to reconsider its decision, and the following WMSC fax vote lead to the latest development. India will get back its original October 30 date and the season will end in Brazil on November 27. Bahrain will be back next year to host the 2012 season opener.

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GE comes onboard as Premium Partner of Team Lotus

June 15, 2011 at 5:25 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Team Lotus has announced that American giant GE is the team’s latest sponsor. GE, a leading global technology and infrastructure company that operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people, joins the Malaysian owned team as a Premium Partner. GE branding will be seen on the team’s T128 F1 cars and entire race and factory structure from this July’s British GP.

“On behalf of the whole team I am very proud to welcome GE into the Team Lotus family. It is a resounding endorsement of the remarkable development of our team that we have unveiled a partnership of this significance with one of the world’s most eminent organisations,” gushed Team Lotus boss Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

“We are already exploring a number of initiatives that will bring the GE/Team Lotus relationship to life across the spectrum of GE’s interests, from future automotive electrification technologies, materials sciences, design processes and core engineering competencies to the showcasing of GE’s world class e-infrastructure capabilities throughout the global business and government communities in race and non-race markets alike,” he elaborated.

“We are excited to sponsor Team Lotus and continue our relationship with Tony Fernandes. We have worked with Tony for many years and know his commitment to the aviation business. The global appeal and popularity of Formula 1 provides a unique opportunity for GE and we look forward to great things from Tony again as we become part of his team,” said Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE.

Last month, AirAsia X signed a USD 600mil deal with GE Aviation that will see the latter supply engines for its three new Airbus A330-200s, with an option to outfit two more planes. The long-haul budget carrier also made a 20-year on-point solutions agreement with GE for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the CF6-80E1 engines.

I scratch your back, you scratch mine!

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After a buffet of thrills and spills, Audi wins Le Mans 2011

June 14, 2011 at 5:33 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Motorsports

This year’s Le Mans 24 Hours has been won by Audi, and 2011 will be remembered for a long time as one of the classics. Audi’s car No.2 trio of Benoit Treluyer, Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler prevailed at the end, but it was a very tight affair – second place went to Peugeot’s Bourdais, Lamy and Pagenaud, whose No.9 car was just 13.854 seconds behind.

There was immense pressure on Lotterer, who drove the final stint being hounded by the Peugeots, and in on/off rain. He also had to pit for a puncture with around 40 minutes remaining, so it’s a job well done.

The French cars filled the rest of the top five positions, meaning all three factory Peugeots made it to the end. Things couldn’t be more different for chief rival Audi, which saw two of their three cars involved in major crashes in the first third of the race. Thankfully, Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller sustained no injuries in those incidents.

The first accident saw McNish’s car No.3, who had just taken the lead shortly before the end of the first hour, collide with a Ferrari at La Chappelle. The GTE Pro class car hit the Audi’s left rear wheel, causing the R18 TDI to spin off and hit the barrier hard before rolling over and causing an explosion of car bits. This brought the safety car out.

Eight hours into the race, another Audi crashed out. This time, Rockenfeller’s car No.1, which was running second at 11 pm, was powering down the Mulsanne when he collided with (another) slow Ferrari at the kink, propelling his car into the barriers. This was a super high speed crash, and it’s a testament of the safety built into today’s race cars that “Rocky” climbed out of the car himself.

“If you pursue new paths this always involves a risk. But this risk has absolutely paid off. The Audi R18 TDI was in a class of its own at Le Mans 2011. Particularly due to the two extremely serious accidents this has been the most difficult Le Mans race for us in an emotional sense so far. That our team managed to keep the strong competition at bay for 16 hours with just one car is almost unbelievable,” said Audi Head of Motorsport, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich.

“Everyone at Audi can be proud of this triumph. However, the news that Allan and Mike came out of these extremely heavy accidents so well is at least as important as that of the tenth Audi victory,” he added.

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Ferraris are fast in Canada, but Vettel is on pole once again

June 12, 2011 at 3:50 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Formula 1 moves to Canada for its only North American race in the calendar, and yesterday’s qualifying session at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve saw reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel race to his sixth pole position in seven races this year. Hot on the heels of the Red Bull man was the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, who will line up second and third on the grid.

The young German’s 1m13.014s lap was 0.185s faster than Alonso’s best effort and 0.203 faster than Massa’s. This is the best Saturday for the Scuderia so far this season, and their legions of fans will be hoping that it translates to good results later in the race.

Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber is fourth, and Lewis Hamilton will line up alongside Mercedes GP Petronas’ Nico Rosberg on the third row in fifth and sixth respectively. McLaren’s other English champion, Jenson Button, is seventh. The rest of the top ten spots will be filled by Michael Schumacher (8th), Nick Heidfeld (9th) and Vitaly Petrov (10th). Lotus Renault GP would be happy to see two black/gold cars in Q3.

Further down the grid, Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari is the midfielder to join the usual six cars to fall out in Q1. Team Lotus’ Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen should now be able to drive to their usual 19th and 20th spots on the grid blindfolded, as they’ve made it their own. Behind them are the HRTs and Virgins. The latter’s Jerome d’Ambrosio qualified almost half a second off the 107% time, so his race is in the stewards’ hands.

Click here to see the full timing sheet. For those staying up late to watch the race, we wish you good recovery and a decently productive Monday!

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Bahrain concedes defeat in 2011 F1 race controversy

June 10, 2011 at 5:07 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

It has been one week since FIA announced the reinstatement of the Bahrain GP, which will take the October 30 slot of the Indian GP, pushing the inaugural race to be the 2011 season finale. But instead of welcoming cheers, the World Motor Sport Council decision attracted plenty of flak from the paddock, human rights groups and commentators alike. You can read their views here and here.

As criticism grew by the day, including an unwilling FOTA and a doubtful Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA has been left with little option but to backtrack and apologise. No such move, yet, but FIA president Jean Todt has asked Bernie to resubmit a calendar, which would likely revert India to October 30, ending the season in Brazil on November 27. The Bahrain GP organiser meanwhile, has all but given up hope.

“Whilst Bahrain would have been delighted to see the grand prix progress on October 30th in-line with the World Motor Sport Council’s decision, it has been made clear that this fixture cannot progress and we fully respect that decision,” Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed R Alzayani said in a statement.

“Bahrain has always sought to play a positive role in the continued development of Formula 1, from pioneering F1 racing in the Middle East, to helping other countries in facilitating their own races in new territories, as well as providing our own unique experience and universal welcome to grand prix supporters.

“Bahrain has absolutely no desire to see a race which would further extend the calendar season [and] detract from the enjoyment of F1 for either drivers, teams or supporters. We want our role in Formula 1 to continue to be as positive and constructive as it has always been, therefore, in the best interest of the sport, we will not pursue the rescheduling of a race this season,” he added.

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600 PS, 320 km/h Skoda Octavia going landspeed racing!

June 10, 2011 at 10:37 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Motorsports, Skoda

This could be a decent April Fool’s joke, just that it’s real. Skoda is developing a car that will break the 320 km/h barrier in the famous Bonneville Speed Week in August. Held at the Bonneville Salt Flats 145 km west of Salt Lake City in north-western Utah, it has been the spiritual home to high-speed racing for almost a century.

This project is to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Skoda’s vRS performance flagship badge, and the car used is a one-off modified Octavia vRS saloon. The brand’s UK technical team at Milton Keynes has been working in secret on the racer for several months now, with the assistance of performance software and tuning outfit REVO Technik.

The factory-fresh production Octavia vRS has been given improved aerodynamics and performance. For one, the car sits almost 80 mm lower and a has a new sub-frame which houses an intercooler. The engine is a standard 2.0-litre TSI petrol unit but the standard turbo has been ditched for a more advanced unit from Garrett. Now generating up to 600 PS, and producing 26-28 PSI of boost pressure, it drinks high-octane race fuel (with water methanol mix) instead of regular unleaded.

The Octavia has to follow Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) safety regulations to take part, which means a reinforced roll cage, parachute, fire extinguishers and window cage.

The vRS is entered into the ‘2.0-litre production car’ category and will race over a nine-mile (14.5 km) straight, which includes a timed mile in the middle. Performance through that section determines the class winner.

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