PHOTO GALLERY // MotoGP 2ND OFFICIAL TEST @ SEPANG

Having provided us with results from MotoGP's second official test at the Sepang International Circuit earlier this week, ColdTrackDays correspondent, Anas Zakaria, now brings us a handful of images from his visit to the Malaysian racing circuit... [read more]













For a look at more photos from Anas Zakaria's visit to the second official MotoGP test at the Sepang International Circuit, click here

Photo: Anas Zakaria
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

'THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SOUND' // JEAN ALESI'S V12 FERRARI

Camden Thrasher sent me this video yesterday, although it wasn't until just now that I was able to play it with sound. That said, I must concur with Mr.Thrasher, that the sound produced by Alesi's V12 powered Ferrari is indeed 'the most beautiful sound.' FInd a quiet place and turn it up! // [comment]

F1 TESTING @ BARCELONA // FEBRUARY 27TH

The penultimate day of testing before the start of the 2010 Formula One season is in the books and this time it was the Mercedes W01 of Nico Rosberg that finished the day atop the time sheets. Rosberg's 80.686 second lap of the Spanish circuit was some 0.727 seconds faster than Sebastien Buemi who finished the day second overall in his Ferrari powered Torro Rosso STR5.

Follow the link for complete results from today's test session... [read more]

F1 Testing @ Barcelona // February 27th:

Nico Rosberg Mercedes W01 80.686
Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR5 81.413 +0.727
Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 81.45 +0.764
Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth FW32 81.975 +1.289
Felipe Massa Ferrari F10 82.344 +1.658
Vitaly Petrov Renault R30 82.523 +1.837
Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes VJM03 82.606 +1.92
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault RB6 83.123 +2.437
Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth T127 85.059 +4.373
Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari C29 86.216 +5.53
Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth VR-01 86.305 +5.619

Image: Julien Leroy
Info: F1Fanatic
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

MotoGP // 2ND OFFICIAL TEST @ SEPANG - DAY 2

Since MotoGP came to Sepang for the official test earlier this month, nobody managed to set a faster time than Valentino Rossi. Today's fastest lap marked the fourth time in this month's 4 days of testing that the Italian racer set the fastest times. Ducati showed a good sign of improvement as both of their riders, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, set the 2nd and 3rd best times. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and Ben Spies registered 4th and 5th on the timesheet respectively. MotoGP testing will resume at Qatar on March 17-19th.

For complete results from today's test session, click here

- Anas Zakaria

F1 TESTING @ BARCELONA // FEBRUARY 26TH

The second day of Formula One testing is complete at the Circuit de Catalunya and this time it was Nico Hülkenberg in the Williams-Cosworth FW32 that finished the day atop the time sheets. The second best time of the day went to Fernando Alonso, who was 0.023 seconds off the pace of Hülkenberg. Rounding out the top three was Pedro de la Rosa in the BMW Sauber-Ferrari C29, who finished the day a mere 0.359 seconds back.

Follow the link for complete results from today's test session... [read more]

F1 Testing @ Barcelona // February 26th:

Nico Hülkenberg Williams-Cosworth FW32 80.614
Fernando Alonso Ferrari F10 80.637 +0.023
Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari C29 80.973 +0.359
Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes VJM03 81.056 +0.442
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault RB6 81.258 +0.644
Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR5 81.571 +0.957
Michael Schumacher Mercedes W01 81.689 +1.075
Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 82.152 +1.538
Robert Kubica Renault R30 84.912 +4.298
Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth T127 85.524 +4.91
Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth VR-01 85.942 +5.328

Image: Julien Leroy
Info: F1Fanatic
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

DOMESTIC INDULGENCE // DICK JOHNSON'S FORD MUSTANG

Following the 1984 season, Australian racing legend, Dick Johnson, realizing he was in need of a car eligible to race in the new Group A class, purchased a pair of fox-bodied Ford Mustangs and prepared to compete in the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Originally raced in the 1984 DTM series by Zakspeed, the Mustangs, which the German racing outfit had told Johnson were 'in perfect race condition, with strong 302 engines,' were anything but. A few days after taking delivery, Johnson took the V8 powered Mustangs to Bathurst for a practice session. After his first run up the mountain Johnson commented that his Mustang "would not pull a sailor off your sister." Severely underpowered, Johnson took the Mustangs back to his Queensland workshop where he rebuilt the motors and properly prepared the Fords for ATCC competition... [read more]



For additional information on Dick Johnson and his ATCC prepared Ford Mustangs, click here

Image, Info and VIdeo: Motorsport Retro
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

NEWS // TDI CUP CHAMPION PREPARES FOR NEXT LEVEL

Timmy Megenbier, the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Champion, is preparing for the next chapter in his motorsports career. The Chicago native will travel to Athletes' Performance in Phoenix, Arizona for a weeklong training session ahead of the 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup series in Europe... [read more]

“Volkswagen has given me a tremendous opportunity to make it to the top levels of motorsports – something I have prepared for since I was five years old,” Megenbier said. “These chances to not only further my training but also race in a number of Volkswagen series are truly once-in-a-lifetime, and I want to do everything possible to succeed.”

After his training session in Arizona, Megenbier will head to Oberjoch in southern Germany to join Volkswagen Motorsports for another week of fitness training, including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and a tightly-monitored nutrition regime.

Megenbier will then begin testing the all-new Volkswagen Scirocco R. He will travel north to Hanover to move into his new apartment, and take on a variety of roles at Volkswagen Motorsports. When not working, testing, or racing, Megenbier will be taking German lessons and following a strict diet and training schedule.

The Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup is a new racing series featuring factory-prepped Scirocco R models with compressed natural gas-powered (CNG), 2.0 liter turbocharged engines producing 220hp.

All nine races of the Scirocco R Cup (eight in Germany and one in the UK) will run in conjunction with the DTM series, and will be broadcast live in over 300 million homes in 100 countries worldwide.

For additional information on the Scirocco R Cup, click here

Image and Info: Volkswagen Motorsport
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

NEWS // BRISCOE LEADS FIRST DAY OF IRL TEST @ BARBER

Ryan Briscoe led yesterday's pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park, finishing the day some 0.2094 seconds ahead of Penske teammate, Helio Castroneves. It would have been an all Penske afternoon, had Justin Wilson not pushed Will Power back to fourth, even though the Dreyer & Reinbold sponsored driver suffered a late afternoon crash... [read more]

This weeks two-day test is the only track time IndyCar drivers will see before the season opener in Brazil early next month.

Briscoe, seemingly delighted that Penske was the team to beat, went on to say: "It's nice to be at the top of the speed charts. It's important because it is our only test before the first race, so we're all comparing times. It's nice to have the Team Penske cars on top. It's a great way to start the year."

IRL Testing @ Barber // February 25th:

1. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m10.5052s
2. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m10.7146s + 0.2094s
3. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 1m10.7397s + 0.2345s
4. Will Power Penske 1m10.7637s + 0.2585s
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m10.8927s + 0.3875s
6. EJ Viso KV 1m10.9186s + 0.4134s
7. Takuma Sato KV 1m11.1138s + 0.6086s
8. Tony Kanaan Andretti 1m11.1433s + 0.6381s
9. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m11.1825s + 0.6773s
10. Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1m11.2212s + 0.7160s
11. Marco Andretti Andretti 1m11.3557s + 0.8505s
12. Mario Romancini Conquest 1m11.4567s + 0.9618s
13. James Rossiter KV 1m11.7759s + 1.2707s
14. Vitor Meira Foyt 1m11.9171s + 1.4119s
15. Raphael Matos de Ferran Luczo Dragon 1m11.9924s + 1.4872s
16. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 1m12.1369s + 1.6317s
17. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 1m12.1543s + 1.6491s
18. Danica Patrick Andretti 1m12.5369s + 2.0317s
19. Simona de Silvestro HVM 1m12.8124s + 2.3072s
20. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher 1m16.0138s + 5.5086s

Stay tuned for continued coverage of the 2010 IndyCar Series

Image: Autoweek
Info: Autosport
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

EVENT // WHEELS DOWN WINTER TESTING (PART FOUR)

In this, the fourth and final installment of photographic coverage from this years Wheels Down Winter Test, ColdTrackDays correspondent, Phil Woodard, has put together a wonderful photo gallery for us, highlighting his weekend at Sebring International Raceway.

Follow the link and have a look... [read more]



As this is the first time we've utilized Flickr's slideshow feature, we are curious to know whether you found it easy to use or if you'd prefer that we stack images within the post, as we have done in the past.

Photo: Phil Woodard
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

F1 TESTING @ BARCELONA // FEBRUARY 25TH

Formula One's final four-day test began today at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Finishing the day atop the time sheets was Mark Webber and the Red Bull-Renault RB6. Webber, who managed to lap the Spanish circuit in just 81.487 seconds, was followed closely by Nico Hülkenberg in the Williams-Cosworth FW32, who was but 0.92 seconds off his pace. Finishing the day third overall was Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes GP W01, some 1.027 seconds off the pace of Webber.

Follow the link for complete results from today's test session... [read more]

F1 Testing @ Barcelona // February 25th:

Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault RB6 81.487
Nico Hülkenberg Williams-Cosworth FW32 82.407 +0.92
Nico Rosberg Mercedes W01 82.514 +1.027
Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari C29 83.144 +1.657
Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 83.452 +1.965
Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes VJM03 84.064 +2.577
Fernando Alonso Ferrari F10 84.17 +2.683
Vitaly Petrov Renault R30 84.173 +2.686
Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR5 84.869 +3.382
Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth VR-01 87.057 +5.57
Fairuz Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth T127 88.002 +6.515

Stay tuned for continued coverage of F1's final test session ahead of Bahrain.

Image: Julien LeRoy
Info: F1Fanatic
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

EVENT // WHEELS DOWN WINTER TESTING (PART THREE)

As promised, featured below are additional images from Phil Woodard's visit to this years Wheels Down Winter Test at the Sebring International Raceway. Amongst those on track for the ALMS winter test session was the LMP1 entry of Aston Martin Racing, the GT2 class BMW M3 of Rahal-Letterman and the ever present Porsche 911 of Flying Lizard Motorsport.

Follow the link for a look... [read more]












For a look at more photos from Phil's visit to this years Wheels Down Winter Test, click here.

Photo: Phil Woodard
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

VIDEO // TANNER FOUST'S MULHOLLAND DRIFT PROJECT

Rally America competitor and two-time Formula DRIFT champion, Tanner Foust, has been hard at work this winter and is finally ready to take on Ken Block in the YouTube arena. Foust, at the wheel of his NASCAR powered Formula DRIFT Scion tC, has been terrorizing the Hollywood Hills outside of LA and is almost ready to release his project onto the internet. Follow the link for an 18 second teaser, as well as a more in-depth look at his aforementioned 800hp Scion tC... [read more]





Stay tuned for Foust' completed Mulholland Drift project expected to make its internet debut sometime next month.

Photo: Jesse Lee
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

EVENT // WHEELS DOWN WINTER TESTING (PART TWO)

ColdTrackDays correspondent, Phil Woodard, was at the Sebring International Raceway all last weekend for the annual Wheels Down Winter Test. With a handful of ALMS teams taking advantage of this mid-winter test session, Phil has been able to provide us with an inside look ahead of the first race of the season, the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Follow the link for a look... [read more]







Stay tuned for continued coverage of this years Wheels Down Winter Test!

Photo: Phil Woodard
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

MotoGP // 2ND OFFICIAL TEST @ SEPANG - DAY 1

Valentino Rossi sets the fastest time, a 2:01.068 lap on the first day of the second official test of the year at the Sepang International Circuit on Thursday. Casey Stoner continued with the development of the bikes and clocked a second best with a time of 2:01.219 lap. Andrea Dovizioso took 3rd, lapping the Malaysian circuit in just 2:01.631. Testing resumes tomorrow at 9am local time. Stay tuned! // [comment]

NEWS // RISI COMPETIZIONE TO FIELD TWO CARS @ SEBRING

Endurance racing champions, Risi Competizione, will field two Ferrari F430 GTC cars in the GT2 class for next months Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. One of those cars will be the the Krohn Racing Ferrari F430 driven by Tracy W Krohn, Nic Jönsson and Eric van de Poele.

The partnership between Risi and Krohn, now in its fourth year, will see the pair compete not only at Sebring, but at this years 24 Hours of Le Mans as well. In addition, the green and blue #61 car will also be campaigned by Krohn and Jönsson at the 6-hour American Le Mans Series Monterey event at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, this May... [read more]

Following his fourth place finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Tracy Krohn commented: “We are happy to be back with Risi Competizione in the Ferrari 430 GTC for our fourth season together. We can always count on a well-prepared car and a professional team with Risi. They have guided us to two podium finishes at Le Mans and one podium finish at Sebring in three years. We obviously are doing something right with this partnership and hope for more successes in 2010.”

Stay tuned for continued coverage of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Editorial: Justin W. Coffey
Images and Info: Krohn Racing

GEAR // HYPER PRO RACER - A MINI ARIEL ATOM?

Powered by a Yamaha 450 WR four-stroke motorcycle engine, which is attached to a five-speed sequential gearbox, the Hyper Pro Racer is the ultimate kart, or so it seems. Weighing just 352 pounds, this exo-caged Aussie superkart features an FIA-approved roll cage, Ohlins aluminum-bodied race shocks, as well as cross-vented disc brakes with billet four-pot aluminum calipers, which according to Hyper Racer, allows their superkart to run laps nearly as fast as a GT Production car... [read more]



Fast and affordable (the track day Racer S is currently priced at $26,546 USD, while their hillclimb Racer R is priced at $31,947 USD) watch as the Hyper Pro Racer runs a few laps around the Bryant Park hillclimb track.

Editorial: Justin W. Coffey
Images and Info: Hyper Racer via Autoblog