Official Racing Thread

[SomethingWild]

WTCC sucked so much today 

What's your guys take on the Farfus/Menu incident? Imo, it's Farfus' fault. He didn't he room to pass him in the first place, and Menu gave him plenty of room in the turn..

Not only should they be stricter with the drivers, but they should get rid of this track next season. The track sucks and it's dangerous.

[sanzoku]

RIP Hiromu Naruse, too soon.

According to reports, Toyota's chief test driver, 67-year-old Hiromu Naruse, has died in a crash on highway 410 near the famed Nürburgring race track in Germany. He was driving the recently spied Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition (above) at the time of the accident, and reports say he veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with two others test drivers in a BMW. The two BMW test drivers survived the crash, though one is reportedly still in critical condition. German video of the crash scene after the accident took place can be viewed below. Police are investigating the crash and have yet to determine its cause.

Naruse was heavily involved with the development of the Lexus LFA supercar he was driving, along with many other past sports cars from Toyota's history since he joined the company in 1963. Enthusiasts today call him the "Godfather of the LFA," though he was involved in the development of sports cars for Toyota going as far back as the storied 2000GT from the late 1960s.

[THUNDERDUCK]

 A motor racing executive died reportedly after an extreme S&M session with an infamous Belgian dominatrix and her assistant.

He was identified Friday as Robin Mortimer, the 58-year-old founder of RPM Motorsport, a British touring car team. He was in Belgium for this weekend's International GT Open.

 Mistress Lucrezia, 46, and Mistress Juno, 38, were arrested at their villa near Brecht, Belgium, and charged with assault and battery following the death on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities in Antwerp said he may have died after being given nitrous oxide; also known as laughing gas and used as an anesthetic to prolong sadistic sex sessions.

On her website Mistress Lucrezia warns she offers "bondage, humiliation, torture, education and cross-dressing" with sessions lasting between one hour and three days. She is said to be a regular guest of the British S&M scene.

Het Nieuwsblad newspaper reported that Mortimer's family reacted with shock when they were told of the apparent circumstances of his death.

An earlier statement from the family read: "It is understood that Robin died of natural causes in his sleep at a hotel in Belgium while traveling with his team en route to Spa Francorchamps.

"Alex Mortimer, Robin’s British GT Championship-winning son, hopes to compete in the International GT Open taking place at Spa this weekend, June 26-27, alongside Peter Bamford, in honor of his father.

"Robin’s wife Bridget, fondly known as Biddy, and Alex are grateful for the continued messages of condolence and support but respectfully request privacy at this difficult time."

[daigong]

Honda Indy Edmonton is in town this weekend! http://www.hondaindyedmonton.com



Awesome, and the Indy has been extended for the next three years. Wonder if Danica will be there? Simona De Silvestro is heating it up!

[daigong]

Danica does it again!!! at the Edmonton Indy, finishes practically last lol

But Helio Castroneves gets cock blocked! CRAZY SHIT check it:

[RatBastich]

Michael Schumacher accepts penalty

Associated Press

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Michael Schumacher has apologized to former teammate Rubens Barrichello for the way he drove during the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Race stewards say Schumacher impeded Barrichello on the 66th lap Sunday. Schumacher appeared to try to force Barrichello into a concrete pit wall as the two fought for 10th place.

The seven-time world champion has been penalized 10 places on the grid for the next race, the Belgian GP on Aug. 29.

Schumacher says on his website that he reviewed what happened and agrees with the stewards. He says he did not intend to endanger the Williams driver and was "sorry" if Barrichello felt that was the case.

[RatBastich]

Helio Castroneves says rule is vague

Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Scott Dixon watched Helio Castroneves move his No. 3 Honda a couple car widths to the outside entering Turn 1 at Edmonton two weeks ago, in an attempt to cutoff Penske Racing teammate Will Power.

Uh-oh Helio, Dixon thought. That's a no-no.

IndyCar officials agreed, black-flagging Castroneves for blocking with two laps remaining, a ruling that helped Dixon pick up his second victory of the season while Castroneves was bumped to 10th.

The typically affable Brazilian erupted afterward, earning himself a $60,000 fine for grabbing an official. Castroneves apologized for his behavior but still believes he did nothing wrong on the track, arguing the rule is too vague.

"The calls have been very inconsistent and I felt I should not have been black-flagged and the rules do not say that," he said. "They change. So it's sad."

[RatBastich]

Dario Franchitti claims win at Mid-Ohio

Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Dario Franchitti was preparing for a restart during Sunday's IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio when a Target Chip Ganassi crew member came over the radio with a little breaking news about friend Juan Pablo Montoya, who drives for Ganassi's NASCAR team.

"They said something like 'News flash, Montoya just won at [Watkins Glen] so it's up to you now," Franchitti said. "I thought 'Oh God, no pressure now.' "

None indeed.

Franchitti used a pair of sparkling pit stops to overtake series road warrior Will Power and capture his 25th-career open-wheel victory, tying him with Gordon Johncock for 12th all-time.

[RatBastich]

Ed Carpenter to drive No. 20 car

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- IndyCar veteran Ed Carpenter has signed a three-race deal with Panther and Vision Racing.

Carpenter will drive the No. 20 car in Chicago, Kentucky and Homestead. Carpenter hasn't raced since finishing 17th in the Indy 500 in May.

The 29-year-old Carpenter is winless in 100 career IndyCar starts. He narrowly missed his first victory at Kentucky last summer when Ryan Briscoe nipped him by 0.0162 seconds.

Carpenter's full-time ride at Vision Racing was shuttered during the offseason. He spent six seasons as an IndyCar regular, finishing a career-best 12th in the standings in 2009.

[RatBastich]

Danica Patrick on board for IRL union

Associated Press

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Danica Patrick is optimistic that the formation of a drivers association in IndyCar racing will give competitors a stronger voice in the sport.

Patrick says IndyCar drivers met at Mid-Ohio last weekend and talked about a formal alliance to give them more input on safety, competition and other issues in the sport.

"We got together as drivers and think it's a good idea to have a voice and be more professional and unified on what we want," Patrick said Friday at Michigan International Speedway.

But Patrick, who is preparing for Saturday's Nationwide series race at Michigan, wisely sidestepped a question about the need for a similar organization in NASCAR. Drivers' past attempts to form something similar to a union in NASCAR have led to conflicts with the sport's leaders.

In 1961, officials banned Curtis Turner for life after he tried to organize a union, but the ban was lifted after a few years. A subsequent attempt to organize a drivers association and boycott a race at Talladega over safety issues in 1969 fizzled out.

"I definitely don't have enough experience over here to know whether you need one or not," Patrick said. "I definitely don't want to say anything about this side of things until I have much more time under my belt."

So far, Patrick's early exploits in NASCAR have shown just how tough it is for drivers to make the transition to stock cars from another form of racing.

In five Nationwide starts this season, Patrick's best finish was 24th at Chicagoland last month.

She's maintaining humble goals, hoping to finish inside the top 20 on Saturday.

"I think my expectation levels for this race will be similar. I'm hoping for top-15, -20 finishes. I didn't quite get into the top 20 last time. I think the expectation level stays the same for this weekend, and we'll see what we can do."

[RatBastich]

Race spectator who died called 'hero'

ESPN.com news services

LUCERNE VALLEY, Calif. -- One of the eight spectators who died Saturday during an off-road race northeast of Los Angeles had pushed children out of the way as the truck barreled toward them, according to a friend.

Derek Cox told KABC-TV in Los Angeles that Andrew Therrien, 22, sacrificed himself to save the children. He was killed in the accident.

"I owe my son's life, as well as many others," Cox said of the Riverside resident. "They were inches away from him and he saved their lives. He's a hero in my book."

Shortly after the California 200 began, one driver took a jump at high speed, hit his brakes on landing and rolled his truck sideways into spectators, sending bodies flying on a section of track that had no guardrails or anything else to keep the crowd back. Twelve people were also injured.

Those who witnessed the accident said the crowd pressed close to the track and could almost touch the trucks as they hurtled and bounced over the desert sand.

[SomethingWild]

Loeb is kicking ass in WRC. Couple more rallies and he'll be the champ for the 7th time in a row... truly amazing. 

[RatBastich]

Paul Tracy signs two-race deal

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- IndyCar veteran Paul Tracy has signed a two-race deal to drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. He will drive the No. 24 car at Kentucky on Saturday and in the race in Motegi on Sept. 18.

Tracy has competed in three races this year, including a 14th-place finish driving the No. 24 at Watkins Glen in July. He will drive for Mike Conway, who is recuperating from injuries at the Indy 500 in May.

The 41-year-old Tracy has 31 victories in major open-wheel series but has not raced regularly since 2007. He finished sixth in his last IndyCar start in Edmonton on July 25.

[RatBastich]

Austin F1 track has focus on fans

Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas -- Promising a fast track with sight lines that will let spectators watch most of the race from wherever they sit, the promoter for the revival of the U.S. Grand Prix said the proposed course is 3.4 miles long with 20 turns and elevations up to 133 feet.

Tavo Hellmund, managing partner of Full Throttle Productions, told The Associated Press the track will include grandstands near the start and finish line for at least 20,000 spectators with room for 50,000 or more around the rest of the track. It could cost up to $220 million to build.

Hellmund called the design "a throwback to old, classic tracks" with several turns inspired by racecourses in Europe.

[RatBastich]

Nabil Jeffri youngest to test F1 car

Associated Press

CAMBRIDGE, England -- A 16-year-old Malaysian has become the youngest person to drive a Formula One car in an official test session.

Nabil Jeffri took part in a day of straight-line aero testing for Lotus Racing at the Imperial War Museum runway near Cambridge on Wednesday.

Jeffri says that "the first time I went out it was pretty scary." He said it took him a while to get used to the car's powerful acceleration and braking.

Jeffri also took part in pit stop practice.

Team owner Tony Fernandes said Jeffri "repaid my faith in him and has performed incredibly well."

[RatBastich]

Felipe Massa's start under investigation

Associated Press

PARIS -- The world governing body of motorsports has opened an investigation into Ferrari driver Felipe Massa's start at last weekend's Formula One Belgian Grand Prix.

A FIA spokeswoman said Friday it is trying to find out how Massa started the race ahead of his designated spot on the grid without it being noticed until amateur footage was posted on the Internet.

It was unclear whether the Brazilian driver could lose his fourth-place finish.

In another case, Ferrari will face a disciplinary hearing next week after it was found guilty of breaking team-ordered rules at the German Grand Prix.

Ferrari was already fined $100,000 after Massa appeared to let teammate and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain pass him to win the race on July 25.

[RatBastich]

Funeral held for Peter Lenz

Associated Press

VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Family members cried and hugged each other for support as pallbearers carried the casket of 13-year-old motorcycle racer Peter Lenz after his funeral Friday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Vancouver.

Lenz was killed Sunday when he fell off his motorcycle and was run over by another rider at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a warmup for a U.S. Grand Prix Racers Union event.

Autopsy results confirmed Lenz died of multiple blunt force trauma. He is the youngest driver or rider to be killed at the 101-year-old speedway.

Lenz earned an "expert" license at age 11 from the American Federation of Motorcyclists. In March 2009, he became the youngest rider to win an AFM race. Lenz had four wins in the Grand Prix series this year.

[RatBastich]

Pippa Mann dominates at Kentucky

Associated Press

SPARTA, Ky. -- Pippa Mann became the second female driver to win an Indy Lights race, dominating the 100-mile event at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night.

Mann started from the pole and led all 67 laps to pick up her first career win, beating James Hinchcliffe by 6.83 seconds. Series points leader J.K. Vernay was third.

The 27-year-old driver from England joins Ana Beatriz as the only female drivers to win in IndyCar's main development series. Beatriz won at Iowa and Nashville in 2009.

"I joked yesterday that I hoped to run away and hide [but] I didn't think that was going to happen," Mann said. "I just got my legs underneath me and started running and started pedaling and I guess nobody could catch me."

Mann nearly won at Chicagoland last week but was nosed out at the finish by Hinchcliffe.

"I was really disappointed, but you know, Hinch beat me fair and square," Mann said. "I was like 'OK, I'm going to come back and I'm going to beat you."

Danica Patrick is the only female driver to win an IndyCar race, taking the checkered flag at Motegi in 2008.

[RatBastich]

Helio Castroneves gets 2nd official win

Associated Press

SPARTA, Ky. -- Helio Castroneves crossed the finish line in front.

This time it counted.

The IndyCar star won the Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, squeezing the last 53 laps out of one tank of fuel and then taking advantage when the leaders were forced to make last-second pit stops to fill up.

It was the second victory of the season for Castroneves, at least officially.

[RatBastich]

Dani Pedrosa wins at San Marino

Associated Press

MISANO ADRIATICO, Italy -- Dani Pedrosa won the San Marino Grand Prix from the pole Sunday in a race overshadowed by the death of a rider in the Moto2 event.

Pedrosa, of Spain, finished in 44 minutes, 22.059 seconds. He was 1.9 seconds ahead of MotoGP standings leader Jorge Lorenzo of Spain and 3.183 seconds faster than defending world champion Valentino Rossi.

Lorenzo stays top of the standings with 271 points, 63 ahead of Pedrosa.

Shoya Tomizawa of Japan died in the preceding Moto2 race after he lost control of his bike and was hit by two other riders. A statement on the MotoGP website said the 19-year-old Tomizawa died of cranial, thoracic and abdominal trauma.