MIATA MONDAY // THE DARK AND STORMY

The turkey is all gone, your four-day weekend long since over. And as we move into the work week, those of you trying enjoying a few moments away from the monotony that is Monday morning will be happy to know our Miata Monday tradition is alive and well. So with that said, check out this shot of an NA MX-5 we'd like to call The Dark and Stormy! // [comment]

NEWS // PROFESSIONAL MOTORSPORT WORLD EXPO AWARDS

The award season got into full swing earlier this month as the annual Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards took place in Cologne, Germany with over 700 guests from the motorsport world attending a gala dinner.

The awards, which form part of central Europe's leading trade-only motorsport exhibition, are given annually for outstanding achievement in various categories.

Chairman of the judging panel Graham Heeps, who is Editor of Professional Motorsport World Magazine explains... "The awards have become established as one of the industry's leading annual events that gives deserved recognition to exceptional personal and technological achievement in motorpsort. " With industry experts such as Michael Andretti, Trevor Carlin, and Armin Schwarz amongst the judges, these awards set the bar very high and only reward the sport's top achievers."

The evening saw the following awards announced... [read more]

Vehicle Development of the Year

Winner: Brawn BGP 001

With the Ross Brawn and his team of designers gaining an early season march over their rivals, the award went to the Brawn BGP 001 which was developed around ultimate aerodynamic performance rather than the KERS system.

Even when faced with the extra challenge of accommodating at very short notice a Mercedes-Benz power plant that would compromise ideal weight distribution the design was clearly a race winner straight out of the box.

Nominations:

• Audi R8 LMS
• Brawn BGP 001
• Chevrolet Cruze WTC
• Corvette GT2

Motorsport Facility of the Year

Winner: Autodromo do Algarve

Last winter the all new 4.7km-long Portuguese track hosted F1 tests for all the front running teams. The venue also proved popular with test teams and competitors from FIA GT, GP2,WSR and the Le Mans Series, all of which raced there in 2009. The circuit is widely acknowledged to be one of the best of the "New" European facillities and provides a wide ranging challenge for both drivers and engineers alike.

Nominations:

• Autodromo do Algarve
• Nürburgring
• Rally Finland
• zMax Dragway

Safety Innovation of the Year:

Winner: F1 Marshalling System - EM Motorsport

The safety signalling system that is now used in F1 developed by EM Motorsport has put an end to forever the claim "I didn't See The Flag". With remote operation and lighting systems within each cars cockpit the system which was launced back in 2007 has become a major safety improvement.

Nominations:

• EM Motorsport – F1 Marshalling System
• FIA Institute – Motor Sport Medicine book
• Stilo – ST4 F1 8860 helmet

Other awards went to Ross Brawn who quite unsurprisingly collected both "Design Engineer" and "Team Principal" of The Year

Photo: Brawn GP/Audi Media
Editorial: Neil Tozer

VIDEO // FANGIO VS. BRABHAM @ SANDOWN [1978]

Following the 1978 Australian Grand Prix at Sandown, five-time Formula One World Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio, climbed into his W196 Mercedes-Benz for a four lap 'exhibition' race against Jack Brabham and his Brabham Repco car.

Fangio, who was 66 years old at the time, showed great skill at the wheel of his W196, a car that was 12 years older than the Brabham Repco. A bit of footage that few have seen, we must tip our hats to PRO-3 driver Tom Olsson for shedding some light on this memorable moment // [comment]

EYE CANDY // THAT PERFECT PLACE

Fans of ColdTrackDays on Facebook were privileged to some additional Eye Candy this Holiday weekend. Amongst the images posted to our fan page was a photo of the Stelvio Pass in Northern Italy. And while this photo was not taken in the Alps, the condition and layout of the road are reminiscent of the Italian mountain pass and as far as we're concerned, could be considered its equal // [comment]

WHAT WE'RE READING // TKART MAGAZINE [NOVEMBER 2009]

Now available online, TKart is an international karting magazine based in Milan, Italy. Covering a broad range of topics from around the world of karting, their current issue highlights the relationship between some of todays Formula One stars and their start racing karts. A magazine that has managed to reach readers well beyond its native Italy, TKart is a must read for any karting enthusiast.

Follow the link for additional info on TKart's November 2009 issue... [read more]

TKartWeb No. 11 – November 2009 - 150 pages:

News from all over the world of kart

15 minutes with Gianluca Beggio: a life on and off kart
15 minutes with Danilo Rossi: I’m a lucky kart driver
Champions WSK - Kozlinski, Lammers, Cooper and De Vries
Championkart Internationals - All about the Parolin one make series
Easykart Internationals - All about the Birel one make series
ROK Internationals - All about the Vortex one make series
The Tkart nurse - On track with Le Cont
Scoop - Schumi and Formula 1 drivers on kart
Beyond the chronicles - Some of the interesting numbers in karting
Stories - Beppe Gabbiani: the life of “Mad Horse”
Theory put to practice - Wet Track: here’s what to do
TKart Broke - The Righetti Ridolfi water pump
But what do you know about Parolin steering
Is it true? - Legends from the paddock: true or false?
Report - Photos and reports on the most important races

To download your copy of TKart Magazine, click here

PHOTO GALLERY // RED WHITE SANGARI INVITATIONAL KART PRIX

Following our coverage of the first annual Red White Sangari Invitational Kart Prix at the Sepang International Karting Circuit in Malaysia, ColdTrackDays correspondent Anas Zakaria sent a handful of additional images, effectively quenching our thirst for karting. And while we have no editorial to accompany said images, we feel they paint a rather wonderful portrait of the event... [read more]
















For a look at more photos from the first annual Red White Sangari Invitational Kart Prix, click here

Photo: Anas Zakaria
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

NEWS // RAIKKONEN CLOSES IN ON CITROEN WRC DEAL

With Kimi Raikkonen having taken a sabbatical from the world of F1 for 2010, it is understood he is very close to signing with Citroen to drive a C4 World Rally Car on all 13 rounds of next years World Rally Championship.

Following our report last week here on CTD, a reliable source close to the former F1 World Champion told WRC.com that only small details needed to be tied-up before an official statement is made in the next few days... [read more]

Red Bull, one of Raikkonen's personal sponsors is understood to be funding the drive.

2003 WRC champion Petter Solberg told the sport's official website "With the proper practice, planning, and testing I think he will adapt quickly". Solberg added "He's a very, very good driver, and once he's learned the basics, like how to work with pace notes, I think he will surprise many people."

Photo: WRC
Editorial: Neil Tozer

EVENT // RED WHITE SANGARI INVITATIONAL KART PRIX 2009

Red White Racing (RWR) of Indonesia, a go-karting promoter, in conjunction with Sangari, a Brazilian motorsport education institution, organized the inaugural Red White Sangari Invitational Kart Prix 2009 at the Sepang International Kart Circuit on the last 21st and 22nd November. The event featured more than 100 drivers from Europe, South America and Asia. The drivers were divided into 3 categories, Micro (8-12 years old), Junior (13-16 years old) and Senior (17 and above)... [read more]

Although i've been taking photos of track racing for the past few years, i've never had the opportunity to capture any karting events before. So when I arrived at the circuit, I didn't know what to expect. What interests me the most is the Micro category. The first sights that I saw was little kids with big crash helmets. But make no mistake about it, this is the cute and the furious! When it's time to hit the track for qualifying, these kids were going at it like mad. The sound of squealing tyres, opposite locks under braking and mid corner, and the speed they carried into the bends leaves me totally in awe! Surely, this can't be real, I told myself.

I still remember a conversation between me and my friend a while ago. He asked me a very simple question. What does Michael Schumacher, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and David Beckham have in common? Well, surely they have a lot in common, such as a very successful career, a great fan following and other stuff. But my friend just smiled at me and said, "they all started early". And surely enough, that's the most simple answer you could think of. They all started very early, at a very young age.

Karting is the most important platform that have been overlooked outside of Europe. This is why Europeans, and to a certain extent, South Americans produce the largest pool of talented racing drivers. But with efforts from promoters and sponsors like Red White Racing and Sangari, hopefully these younger generation of racing drivers will be able to compete with the best in the world in the future. And judging by this event, the signs are very promising.


As for the race, the Micro category was won by Suhaizarul Suhaizat from Malaysia ahead of Brazilian Giuliano Raucci. The Junior category was won by another Malaysian, Nabil Jan Al Jeffri after Australian Jaei Robson was disqualified due to technical infringement. Ireland's world champion Martin Pierce took victory in the Senior category despite all the efforts by Ryuichi Nara from Japan, who pushed him very hard until the chequered flag.

Photo/Editorial: Anas Zakaria

NEWS // FROST ENGINEERING TO RACE TWO M3'S @ THUNDERHILL

Frost Engineering Team Racing announces its driver lineup for the 2009 Edition of the NASA 25 Hour at Thunderhill on December 5th and 6th.  

The 25 Hour is the world's longest endurance road race. This year the Frost team will field two cars, piloted by a team of nine drivers. The team is delighted to be supported in this year's effort by a major sponsorship from Bridgestone... [read more]

Car #40, a BMW E36 M3 running in the ES class, is a 25-Hour veteran.  In the 2007 and 2008 25 Hour campaigns the car was running near the front of the pack but suffered from reliability problems.  Extensive focus on preparation for this year's race will improve its chances of running the distance.  The driver lineup in car #40 is Andrew Newell, Bob Spreen, Dan Rogers, Donna Gilio, and Kyle Gimple.  Andrew, Bob, and Donna are confirmed endurance racing enthusiasts with previous experience in the 25 Hour.  Dan is fresh from a top-10 finish in the 12 Hours of the Cascades at Portland International Raceway in October.  Kyle is a successful young open wheel racer eager to gain endurance racing experience.

The other Frost entry is car #48, another E36 M3.  This car is newly built by Jerold Lowe of Lowe Group Racing in Carnation Wa, specifically for endurance racing.  Drivers are former CART star Dominic Dobson, Dominic Cicero, Ted Anthony Jr, and Caelin Gabriel.  Cicero drove in American LeMans this past season.  Anthony ran a full 2009 season in the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Series, taking second place in the hard-fought championship.  Gabriel is the 2009 Champion in the International Conference of Sports Car Clubs very competitive Pro3 class.

Frost Engineering Team Racing principal Stan Bovetz is excited about this year’s effort.  With a second car and an enlarged driver and crew contingent, this year figures to be a bigger challenge than we've faced before.  But with an experienced team, our focus on preparation, and meaningful support from Bridgestone, I feel we can do very well this year, says Stan.  He adds but really it’s about having fun and that’s what keeps us coming back, no matter how we place.

Stay tuned for continued coverage of Frost Engineering's effort at this years NASA 25 Hours at Thunderhill

Photo: Curtis Creager
Editorial: Bob Mearns

HISTORY // OPEN WHEELS AND INDIANAPOLIS?

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea who this photo is of, or for that matter, when or where it was taken. From what I can tell, it appears to be an early model Indy Car, possibly sitting in pitlane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Anyhow, it was an interesting shot of an early model open wheel car and certainly worth a bit of space on our server.

If you have any additional information about the car or this particular photo, please leave us a comment and we'll be sure and amend the post // [comment]