Mikko Hirvonen crashed out of the WRC Rally Finland earlier today, destroying his Ford Focus RS in the process. The Finnish driver was leading the event when he lost control of his Ford in the middle of special-stage 3 Urria. Luckily, Hirvonen and his co-driver, Jarmo Lehtinen, were uninjured // [comment]
7.30.2010
NEWS // HIRVONEN CRASHES @ RALLY FINLAND
VIDEO // ZONDA R @ THE NURBUGRING
The gentlemen at Pagani finally posted video of their record setting lap at the Nürburgring. Besting the record for fastest production car set by Ferrari's 599XX, the Pagani Zonda R managed to lap the Nürburgring's Nordschleife in a record 6:47.5, some 10.66 seconds faster than the Ferrari // [comment]
GEAR // GREAT GRAND PRIX RACING HEROES
A new series of 52 minute films dubbed Great Grand Prix Racing Heroes is currently being produced by Brunswick Films and is expected to be released later this year. The new series highlights the careers of 12 different F1 drivers, to include Sir Jackie Stewart, Jody Sheckter, Niki Lauda, Ronnie Peterson, Clay Regazzoni, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Alan Jones, Frank Williams, Mika Hakkinen, and Enzo Ferrari. A lot of the footage featured in the series has never been broadcast before and is being directed by Rohan Tully, and edited by Marco La Nave. Click here for additional information // [comment]
VIDEO // WORLD TIME ATTACK CHALLENGE 2010
The guys at MotiveDVD have just released a short bit of film from the 2010 Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge held at the Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney, Australia. The video featured above is just a taste of what Jet Multimedia produced in their two hour full length DVD, which is available here // [comment]
7.27.2010
PHOTO GALLERY // GRAND-AM @ NJMP
Having spent the better part of three days at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey for the ninth round of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, the NJMP 250 Presented by Crown Royal, ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, took a few days off to hang out with the family. Now, with Mr.Creager back in the office, we're able to provide you with a handful of photos from his time spent in the Garden State. Follow the link for a look... [read more]
Photo(s): Curtis Creager
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey
MotoGP // LORENZO WINS AGAIN @ LAGUNA SECA
The MotoGP circus landed in the U.S. for the first of its two 2010 rounds this past weekend and your humble narrator was actually in attendance. This was great for me but from the standpoint of race reporting, it’s tough to give a nice overview having seen the race from only one vantage point, this explains the more brief report. To compensate, some nice photos are included here... [read more]
This weekend’s festivities at Laguna Seca marked the end of the first half of the MotoGP calendar. Jorge Lorenzo began the weekend with a hefty 47 point lead ahead of second place Dani Pedrosa. To put this in context, in 2008, Valentino Rossi left Laguna Seca with 50 points over Casey Stoner and would go on to win the championship with the most points ever scored in a season (373).
Lorenzo’s chances for the title seem to be better than average at the moment, but less overt is the asterisk hanging over its authenticity given Rossi’s four-race absence. In order to erase that doubt, Jorge knows he must win convincingly with Rossi now back in action. Valentino, while arguably not at 100%, came maddeningly close to a podium spot one week ago in Germany and in both practice sessions appeared to be riding with a shot of contending a top-three spot at Laguna. Lorenzo responded by taking pole position away from Casey Stoner in the final moments of qualifying with an authoritative lap of 1:20.978. Behind them was Andrea Dovizioso with his first-ever front row starting spot. The rest of the top ten, in order were Dani Pedrosa, Ben Spies, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards, Marco Simoncelli and Hector Barbera.
Lorenzo got off the line well but was quickly swallowed up by Pedrosa, Stoner, Spies and Dovizioso. Going into turn 4, he was in fifth place. When they crossed the line for the first time it was Pedrosa, Stoner, Lorenzo, Spies, Dovizioso, Rossi, Hayden, Simoncelli, Edwards and Melandri making up the top ten. Spies began to come under pressure from behind and dropped back to seventh. Meanwhile, Stoner, who was running close to Pedrosa, dropped back toward Lorenzo. A few seconds back, Rossi began to harass Dovizioso over fourth position. 
Lap five saw Lorenzo pass Stoner into turn five as Stoner ran wide. Now Jorge had the job of chasing down Pedrosa who has a nasty habit of escaping at the front and running away with races. As things began to settle in, Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Stoner were away together at the front; they were followed by a tight group comprised of Dovizioso, Rossi, Hayden and Spies a few seconds back. Next was Melandri, Simoncelli and Edwards with a gap over the group of Capirossi, Kallio and Espargaro. At the rear were the replacement riders DeAngelis (subbing for Aoyama) and Roger Lee Hayden (subbing for DePuniet), Barbera and Bautista both out of the race already with a retirement and a crash respectively.
Lorenzo began to gap Stoner and simultaneously chip away at Pedrosas lead, lap by lap gaining a tenth here and there and putting pressure on his former nemesis. But just as it appeared the race was headed for a good battle between the two Spaniards, Pedrosa succumbed to the pressure and tucked the front going into turn five, flipping the bike sideways into the air fence. Dani knew his bike was gone and his race over, he just took his gloves off and walked away. Lorenzo then ticked off fast, consistent laps, eventually gaining more than four seconds on Stoner and cruising to his sixth win of the season. Meanwhile, Andrea Dovizioso had pulled nearly two seconds over Valentino Rossi and a third place finish seemed to be very likely for him. 
Unfortunately for Dovizioso, his tires began to fail him just as Rossi put his head down to try and reel him in. Just as the race was about to dip under five laps to go, Rossi took over third going into turn eleven. Dovizioso fought back down the straight but Rossi managed to cut across him going over the hill through the slight left-handed turn one, sealing the pass going into the turn two-three complex. Dovizioso held on tenaciously but was never able to mount a pass, he had to settle for third place while Rossi achieved the dream finish that so narrowly eluded him at Sachsenring.
Lorenzo’s victory was his sixth of the year, but almost as impressive is the fact that he has finished in second in the other three races. His penchant for dramatic highsides has been tamed completely along with his Biaggi-esque win- or-fall attitude. The first half of this season has given us a Jorge Lorenzo that can control himself when he knows he can’t win a race, not letting himself be goaded into wild riding that throws points away. Even more importantly is the Jorge Lorenzo we saw this past weekend who has seemingly begun to master Rossi’s trick of pressuring a rider into making a mistake when he may not be quite close enough to mount a pass. 
The naysayers will always cite Rossi being gone for a good chunk of the season for Lorenzo’s title juggernaut but the absolute calm, smooth authority he has ridden with is dispelling that race by race. He may not have been 73 points (!) ahead of his closest rival if Rossi had been there the whole time but it’s hard to imagine him being anywhere but first place this year. Rossi has said this himself. If his march to the title is unstoppable, let’s at least hope Rossi’s return will give us some exciting racing to at least keep things interesting.
Photo/Editorial: Jeff Winterberg
GRAND-AM // NJMP 250 PRESENTED BY CROWN ROYAL
ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, spent last weekend at the New Jersey Motorsports Park for the ninth round of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, the NJMP 250 Presented by Crown Royal.
In the Daytona Prototype (DP) class, Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney brought the #99 GAINSCO Chevrolet Riley its first win of the 2010 season, beating Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas who finished second in the Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley. In the Grand Touring (GT) class, Jonathan Bomarito and Sylvain Tremblay collected their second win of the season, crossing the line ahead of Adam Christodoulou and John Edwards in the second of three SpeedSource Mazda RX-8s.
Follow the link for additional images and complete results... [read more]
2010 NJMP 250 Presented by Crown Royal // Complete Results:
1 99 DP 1 Fogarty / Gurney GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing / Chevrolet Riley 116 1:16.413 80 94.672
2 01 DP 2 Pruett / Rojas Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates / BMW Riley 116 1:16.288 82 94.637
3 10 DP 3 Angelelli / Taylor SunTrust Racing / Ford Dallara 116 1:16.434 72 94.629
4 61 DP 4 Frisselle / Wilkins AIM Autosport / Ford Riley 116 1:16.789 80 94.585
5 8 DP 5 Dalziel / Forest Starworks Motorsport / BMW Riley 116 1:16.666 46 94.578
6 77 DP 6 Bell / von Moltke Doran Racing / Ford Dallara 116 1:17.334 80 94.510
7 6 DP 7 Frisselle / Valiante Michael Shank Racing / Ford Dallara 116 1:16.614 79 94.174
8 60 DP 8 Negri / Pew Michael Shank Racing / Ford Riley 116 1:16.591 82 93.911
9 59 DP 9 Donohue / Law Brumos Racing / Porsche Riley 115 1:16.883 82 93.819
10 70 GT 1 Bomarito / Tremblay SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8 111 1:22.556 98 90.529
11 68 GT 2 Christodoulou / Edwards SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8 111 1:22.556 103 90.527
12 69 GT 3 Assentato / Longhi / Segal SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8 111 1:23.158 77 90.340
13 41 GT 4 Gue / Keen Dempsey Racing / Mazda RX-8 111 1:23.283 56 90.287
14 94 GT 5 Auberlen / Hand Turner Motorsport / BMW M6 111 1:22.195 101 90.271
15 44 GT 6 Potter / Stanton Magnus Racing / Porsche GT3 111 1:23.016 76 90.205
16 57 GT 7 Davis / Liddell Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GT.R 111 1:22.126 97 90.168
17 07 GT 8 Edwards / Russell Banner Racing / Corvette 111 1:22.848 2 91.532
18 30 GT 9 Lacey / Taylor Racers Edge Motorsports / Mazda RX-8 110 1:23.345 81 89.714
19 66 GT 10 Lally / Valentine TRG / Porsche GT3 110 1:22.423 98 89.499
20 64 GT 11 Lowe / van Overbeek JLowe Racing / Porsche GT3 110 1:23.337 2 89.306
21 40 GT 12 Espenlaub / Foster Dempsey Racing / Mazda RX-8 110 1:23.491 75 89.245
22 43 GT 13 Nonnamaker / Wallace Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8 110 1:23.504 17 89.071
23 46 GT 14 Aschenbach / O'Connell Autohaus Motorsports / Camaro GT.R 109 1:23.099 18 88.567
24 67 GT 15 Bertheau / Pumpelly TRG / Porsche GT3 107 1:23.008 19 86.595
25 42 GT 16 Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker / Sahlen Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8 105 1:25.282 73 85.665
26 90 DP 10 Garcia / Rice Spirit of Daytona Racing / Porsche Coyote 99 1:16.502 46 87.059
27 9 DP 11 Barbosa / Borcheller / France Action Express Racing / Porsche Riley 96 1:17.411 60 77.998
28 97 GT 17 Magnussen / Schaldach Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GT.R 90 1:22.614 2 90.678
29 7 DP 12 Cameron / Lester Starworks Motorsport / BMW Riley 89 1:17.676 70 89.419
30 75 DP 13 Jonsson / Krohn Krohn Racing / Ford Lola 65 1:16.706 26 97.132
31 28 GT 18 Collins / Lux LG Motorsports / Corvette 65 1:23.261 3 91.663
32 31 GT 19 Curran / Said / Whelen Marsh Racing / Corvette 44 1:23.092 2 91.248
Photo(s): Curtis Creager
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey
NEWS // FERRARI FINED $100K FOR GERMAN GP INCIDENT
According to Autoblog, Ferrari has been fined $100,000 for breaking the Sporting Regulations during last weekends German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring. The stewards have referred the matter to the World Motor Sports Council, which means the results of last weekends Grand Prix might change in the next few days. The official statement says that the stewards found Ferrari guilty of breaking article 39.1 of the Sporting Regulations, which forbids team orders that influence the outcome of the race, and that Ferrari may have transgressed article 151c of the International Sporting Code // [comment]
7.26.2010
PREVIEW // 2010 SILVERSTONE CLASSIC
ColdTrackDays correspondent, Calvin Chu, spent last weekend at the Silverstone Circuit for this years Silverstone Classic, a gathering of vintage racing cars and enthusiasts. And while we wait for Calvin to post process all of the photos he took over the course of the weekend, check out this 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C that was "taking a nap in between races." Stay tuned for more from the 2010 Silverstone Classic // [comment]
NEWS // PANAMERA S RACE CAR WINS @ MUGELLO CIRCUIT
On June 3rd, the guys at N.technology released a handful of images of their Porsche Panamera race car. Clad in carbon fiber and without a racing livery, the images didn't adequately represent the N.Technology Panamera S. Skip ahead to this weekend. With Italian racing driver Fabrizio Giovanardi at the wheel, the N.Technology Panamera S made its racing debut during this weekends Superstars Series race at the Audromo del Mugello. In the first of two championship races over the weekend, Giovanardi managed to drive the N.Technology Panamera S to a sensational victory in its first race, finishing ahead of Gianni Morbidelli's E92 BMW M3 and the Mercedes C63 AMG of Luigi Ferrara.
Follow the link for additional information and complete results... [read more]
Superstars Series // Race 1 Results:
1 Fabrizio Giovanardi N Technology PANAMERA S 14 28'55''886
2 Gianni Morbidelli Team BMW Italia M3 E92 14 +0'02,083
3 Luigi Ferrara CAAL Racing C63 AMG 14 +0'08,499
4 Thomas Biagi Team BMW Italia M3 E92 14 +0'12,104
5 Max Pigoli Romeo Ferraris srl C63 AMG 14 +0'13,216
6 Stefano Gabellini Team BMW Italia M3 E92 14 +0'13,404
7 Kristian Ghedina Movisport M3 E90 14 +0'16,061
8 Luca Cappellari Team BMW Italia M3 E92 14 +0'19,515
9 Roberto Del Castello Santucci MotorSport CTS-V 14 +0'24,424
10 Michela Cerruti Romeo Ferraris srl C63 AMG 14 +0'28,329
11 Ermanno Dionisio Hopmobile Audi Sport Italia RS4 14 +0'39,322
12 Sandro Bettini Swiss Team QUATTROPORTE 14 +0'46,209
13 Matteo Malucelli Motorzone Race Car LUMINA CR8 14 +0'47,266
14 Andrea Chiesa Swiss Team QUATTROPORTE 14 +0'49,419
15 Mauro Cesari Movisport 550i 14 +1'06,943
16 Francesco Sini Romeo Ferraris srl MERCEDES C63 AMG 13 + 1 giro
17 Francesco Ascani Movisport M3 E90 12 + 2 giro
18 Federico Bellini Vaccari Motori M3 E92 12 + 2 giro
19 Christian Montanari RGA Sportmanship M3 E92 4 Retired
20 Alessandro Gabrielli Hopmobile Audi Sport Italia RS4 3 Retired
21 Matteo Cressoni MRT by Nocentini CHRYSLER 300C SRT8 2 Retired
22 David Baldi CAAL Racing C63 AMG 2 Retired
23 Roberto Russo Top Run Racing M3 E92 0 D.N.S
24 Filippo Zadotti Motorzone Race Car LUMINA CR8 0 D.N.S
Superstars Series // Race 2 Results:
1 Max Pigoli Romeo Ferraris srl C63 AMG 14 29'04''679
2 Luigi Ferrara CAAL Racing C63 AMG 14 +0'05,487
3 Gianni Morbidelli Team BMW Italia M3 E92 14 +0'06,040
4 Stefano Gabellini Team BMW Italia M3 E92 14 +0'06,071
5 Kristian Ghedina Movisport M3 E90 14 +0'06,146
6 Luca Cappellari Team BMW Italia M3 E92 14 +0'06,238
7 Thomas Biagi Team BMW Italia M3 E92 14 +0'06,571
8 Matteo Malucelli Motorzone Race Car LUMINA CR8 14 +0'07,131
9 Fabrizio Giovanardi N Technology PANAMERA S 14 +0'21,816
10 Sandro Bettini Swiss Team QUATTROPORTE 14 +0'52,838
11 Marco Bonamico Vaccari Motori M3 E92 14 +2'01,582
12 Francesco Ascani Movisport M3 E90 13 + 1 giro
13 Francesco Sini Romeo Ferraris srl MERCEDES C63 AMG 12 + 2 giro
14 Andrea Chiesa Swiss Team QUATTROPORTE 5 Retired
15 Roberto Del Castello Santucci MotorSport CTS-V 4 Retired
16 Matteo Cressoni MRT by Nocentini CHRYSLER 300C SRT8 4 Retired
17 Christian Montanari RGA Sportmanship M3 E92 4 Retired
18 Ermanno Dionisio Hopmobile Audi Sport Italia RS4 2 Retired
19 Mauro Cesari Movisport 550i 2 Retired
20 Michela Cerruti Romeo Ferraris srl C63 AMG 1 Retired
21 David Baldi CAAL Racing C63 AMG 0 Retired
22 Alessandro Gabrielli Hopmobile Audi Sport Italia RS4 0 D.N.S
23 Filippo Zadotti Motorzone Race Car LUMINA CR8 0 D.N.S
24 Roberto Russo Top Run Racing M3 E92 0 D.N.S
Tech Specs // N.Technology Panamera S:
Chassis: Steel frame with aluminum components
Engine: V8, front
Capacity: 4.8 litres, 4 valves per cylinders
Power: 450hp
Intake: Single throttle
Traction: Rear wheel drive
Friction: Carbon double discs diameter 184 mm
Gearbox/transmission: 6 gear sequential, self locking ramps and plates differential
Brakes: Front 355×35 disc, with 6 pots caliper, Rear 330×32 disc, with 4 pots caliper
Steering: Pinion and rack
Suspensions: Front double wishbone with 3 ways adjustable dampers, rear four rods multilink with 3 ways adjustable dampers
Wheels: Magnesium wheels 10,5×18
Tires: Michelin 27/68-18
Aerodynamics: Front splitter, front and rear widened fenders, Rear wing (single supplier of the same element for all cars)
Weight: 1,320kg
Image and Info: N.Technology
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey
VIDEO // GROUP B LANCIA DELTA S4 @ 1000 LAKES RALLY
The video featured above, which comes to us courtesy of The Rally Channel, highlights the efforts of Markku Alen, Micael Ericsson and Kalle Grundel as they drove a trio of Group B Lancia Delta S4s in the 1986 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, what was the 9th round of the WRC season // [comment]
VIDEO // GT3 CLIMB
Our friend and filmmaker, Will Roegge, working with Luminox Watches, Porsche Motorsport North America and Pirelli, has just released this incredible bit of film, what he is calling GT3 CLIMB. The video, which highlights Jeff Zwart's record setting Pikes Peak International Hill Climb run, was directed by Will and filmed with the help of Los Angeles based photographer and videographer, DC Chavez // [comment]
2010 GERMAN GRAND PRIX // RACE RESULTS
Fernando Alonso collected his second victory of the 2010 season, crossing the finish line ahead of his Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa, during this weekends German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. Alsono's win, albeit controversial, has moved Ferrari into third place in the constructors championship, only 92 points back from McLaren-Mercedes... [read more]
2010 German Grand Prix // Complete Results:
1 8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 67
2 7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 67 4.196 4.196
3 5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 67 5.121 0.925
4 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 67 26.896 21.775
5 1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 67 29.482 2.586
6 6 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 67 43.606 14.124
7 11 Robert Kubica Renault 66 1 lap 1 lap
8 4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 66 1 lap 6.642
9 3 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 66 1 lap 3.197
10 12 Vitaly Petrov Renault 66 1 lap 4.376
11 23 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 66 1 lap 1.259
12 9 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 66 1 lap 1.654
13 10 Nico Hülkenberg Williams-Cosworth 66 1 lap 0.649
14 22 Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 66 1 lap 24.309
15 17 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 66 1 lap 17.472
16 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 65 2 laps 1 lap
17 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 65 2 laps 10.297
18 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 64 3 laps 1 lap
19 21 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 63 4 laps 1 lap
19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 56 11 laps 7 laps
25 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 50 17 laps 6 laps
20 Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 19 48 laps 31 laps
18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 3 64 laps 16 laps
16 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 66 laps 2 laps
Image and Info: F1Fanatic
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey
PHOTO GALLERY // WTCC @ BRANDS HATCH
Last weekend saw the World Touring Car Championship make its 5th visit to the ledgendery Brands Hatch GP circuit for round seven of this years series. ColdTrackDay's associate editor Neil Tozer was in attendence and provides us with just a flavour from the event... [read more]
For more images from the WTCC's visit to Brands Hatch, click here
Photo/Editorial: Neil Tozer
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