Racing
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Takuma Sato took the checkered flag at the 2017 Indy 500. He drank the milk. He rose to the challenge and shined in the spotlight. Sato did so with the support of his Andretti Autosport racing team. Mobil 1 The Grid produced a video to show just what this team is all about and the various team members that drive it forward. Sato got the big win this year, but he was running with some very competent team members as well. Driving on the Andretti Autosport roster are Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Alexander Rossi. You'll no doubt remember that Rossi came won the Indy 500 last year as a...
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10 best things we saw at 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed
God must be a gearhead. Want proof? Southern England inexplicably managed good weather for three consecutive days so we could witness seven decades of Ferrari, multiple generations of Formula One cars, and a tribute to Group B rally cars. Bear witness to the best we found at the 2017 Goodwood...
Brandon Turkus -
The engineering behind the Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR Goodwood hill climber
If done right, the Goodwood Festival of Speed can be an excuse to get champagne drunk on a British aristocrat's estate and watch very fast cars drive up a hill. We were there, accomplishing those goals and having a grand time of it. Subaru was also there, and the only bubbly it wanted to indulge in...
Brandon Turkus -
Watch Nick Heidfeld attempt a Goodwood hill climb record in Mahindra’s Formula E car
During the 1999 Goodwood Festival of Speed, German racing driver Nick Heidfeld managed to complete the event's 1.16-mile hill climb in a scant 41.6 seconds behind the wheel of a McLaren MP4-13 Formula One race car. It’s a record that stands to this day—even after the close of the 2017...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Retired racer Mark Webber to help develop Porsche road cars
Mark Webber isn't leaving Porsche anytime soon, though his role is changing from race cars to road cars. Following his retirement from racing in 2016, the Australian stayed on with Porsche as a consultant and brand ambassador. Now, he's going to have a hand in developing future road cars for the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Watch the Faraday Future FF 91 take on Pikes Peak
Electric car startup Faraday Future may be facing some significant financial challenges right now, but that didn’t stop the company from entering the 2017 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. During the event held on Sunday, a prototype for Faraday Future’s first model, the FF 91, raced...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Six months after his ouster as CEO at McLaren Technology Group due to a spat with fellow shareholders, Ron Dennis is now set to leave the company he helped craft over the past four decades. Dennis has agreed to sell his 25 percent stake back to the company, with the value estimated to be $358 million. As part of the transition, the McLaren Technology Group has been renamed the McLaren Group. The other shareholders include Saudi businessman Mansour Ojjeh with another 25 percent through his TAG Group holding company, and the Bahraini government which has the remaining 50 percent. They both...
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The 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed is here, so let's celebrate with a day one gallery
Plodding up a driveway is hardly news for 51 weeks out of a year. For one weekend it makes history. The 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed, a race up Lord March's driveway, picks up where the Earl of March started in 1936 with a hillclimb through his park. Officially started in 1993, now the annual...
Aaron Cole -
Nick Heidfeld aims for Goodwood record with Mahindra Formula E car
Nick Heidfeld is no stranger to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and he's returning this year with one goal in mind: smash his current hill climb record. Currently, Heidfeld holds the hill climb course record with an incredibly quick 41.6 seconds. However, that was set over 10 years ago in 1999 in a...
Sean Szymkowski -
Romain Dumas wins 2017 Pikes Peak hill climb, his third title
The 2017 Pikes Peak Hill Climb saw dozens of entrants, but only a few of them went home winners. For the overall title, that victory went to Romain Dumas once again. Dumas piloted his Norma MXX RD Limited to victory for the third time in four years. Dumas took home the win with a final time of...
Sean Szymkowski -
Self-driving Roboracer does a lap at speed at the Berlin ePrix
The future is shaping up to be an interesting place. For example, self-driving cars are starting to come of age and there's even a sanctioned form of motorsport dedicated to electric cars known as the Formula E Championship. Now, self-driving cars and electric motorsports has been combined the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Ricciardo wins eventful 2017 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix
There was plenty of drama on Sunday at the 2017 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Despite it all, Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo managed to emerge from it the victor—even after dropping to the back of the grid at one point. Ricciardo was followed across the finish line by...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Azerbaijan held its first Formula One grand prix in 2016, although the race was run under the auspices of the European Grand Prix. The F1 circuit returns to Azerbaijan in 2017 but this time for the newly minted Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The race takes place on Sunday once again on the Baku City Circuit, located in the heart of Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. The Hermann Tilke-designed street circuit stretches 3.73 miles and features the key characteristics of a long 1.3-mile straight and a long pit lining the edge of the Caspian Sea. Downforce levels are the second-lowest of the year, after...
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3,000-HP Nissan GT-R goes 255 mph to claim half-mile world record
The Nissan GT-R has become a beloved vehicle by many performance shops to push big horsepower numbers and break records. On June 19, another GT-R claimed yet another record. In fact, it became the world's fastest Nissan GT-R in the process. With 3,000 horsepower, the Extreme Turbo Systems Nissan...
Sean Szymkowski -
Alpine promoted to Le Mans podium after Vaillante Rebellion disqualification
There’s been a shakeup in the results of last weekend’s 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans regarding the LMP2 class. The No. 13 Vaillante Rebellion Oerca 07 which placed third, thanks to the efforts of Nelson Piquet Jr, Mathias Beche and David Heinemeier Hansson, was disqualified on Monday...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Goodwood Festival of Speed to honor Bernie Ecclestone
This year, attendees of the Goodwood Festival of Speed won't be treated to a celebration of a particular marque or manufacturer. Instead, the 2017 Festival of Speed will honor the legendary and controversial Formula One figure Bernie Ecclestone. Ecclestone was chosen as the central feature after...
Sean Szymkowski -
Watch Ken Block blast the 2017 Ford GT at Le Mans
Only a lucky few have been given the tick of approval—500 individuals so far—from Ford to own the modern GT supercar. Yes, it's a rare and beautiful thing. However, we understand why someone like Ken Block would be offered the chance to muscle one around the 24 Hours of Le Mans' Circuit...
Sean Szymkowski -
LMP1 Hybrids will require an electric-only mode in 2020
There’s no doubt vehicle electrification is going to play a major role in the development of new cars in the coming decade. Organizers of motorsport, even at the highest levels, are well aware of this and are reshaping the regulations to ensure the technology of the racing world doesn’t...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche pulled off a miracle finish at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday when it’s No. 2 919 Hybrid LMP1 driven by Earl Bamber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley crossed the finish line first, despite being stuck in the pits for over an hour at one point. The miracle was made possible due to reliability problems that plagued Toyota’s TS050 Hybrids. Hopes were high of a first Toyota win when the pole position-winning No. 7 TS050 Hybrid led for the opening 10 hours, but a clutch problem meant the car had to retire. The No. 8 TS050 Hybrid had also been in contention for almost...
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Witness a Porsche 911 Group B rally car with straight pipes rip around Monza
Oh, Group B rally racing. There will never be anything like it again. Group B birthed some of the most wicked machines the automotive world at large has ever seen. Porsche was already a force to be reckoned with, but the 911 SC RS of the 1980s is something else entirely. Based on the 911 RS, the SC...
Sean Szymkowski -
Porsche may join Formula E in 2018
Formula E may be attracting yet another high-profile brand to its form of electric motorsport: Porsche. According to a new report from Autosport, Porsche is mulling over the possibility of joining Formula E in 2018. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, board member Michael Steiner, and LMP1 racing chief...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota’s Kobayashi secures 2017 Le Mans pole with record lap
Kamui Kobayashi driving the No. 7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid during qualifying for the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans has smashed the lap record and in the process secured pole position for this weekend’s race. The ex-Formula One driver's time during the second qualifying session on Thursday was 3:14.791...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
This Lotus Elise hillclimb racer packs a V-8 secret
In our continuing exploration of the world of hillclimb race cars we present a new mighty, maniacal machine for your enjoyment. This time around we're working with a Lotus Elise. This is a car built on the idea of added lightness, but this one also has a V-8 engine. This particular V-8 isn't a...
Jeff Glucker -
Get ready for Le Mans with this 360-degree view lap in a Porsche 919 Hybrid
Teams are currently qualifying for the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans which runs June 17-18. You can get a sense of what it’s like to head out on the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe where the race is held thanks to this interactive video. (Note, the video doesn’t work in all browsers.) The...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran