A video showing the days of when real men raced.

It seems like a lot of race fans these days have nearly forgotten the days of the Group B racing. Though it was only a short 4 years of racing history, it seems that once someone has discovered the magic, they're addicted. Group B racing is truly captivating to all ages.

It was a period when giants roamed the earth. From 1982 to 1986, people cheered on the likes of Lancia, Audi, Renault, and Peugeot pound the roads at triple digit speeds. Even the greats like Ferrari and Porsche, companies comfortable sticking to the asphalt, put their names on the line with legends such as the 288 GTO and 959. These cars were monsters, lightweight, fire-breathing (farting) monsters that sounded as though the devil himself had put his soul into these cars.


Accidents were far too common with these behemoths; consequently, the FIA banned Group B cars in 1986. Still, forever in our hearts will these have a spot.




Source: YouTube

American Top Gear: my personal analysis

So when I first heard that there was going to be an American version of what is arguably the greatest TV series to ever have graced my television, I have to admit, I was skeptical. Nevertheless, maybe it was still worth giving a chance.

And my conclusion is:

It's shit!! Good shit, but shit nonetheless.

Just hear me out on this. What makes the BBC's Top Gear so great? In my opinion, its a combination of excellent artistic taste, great camera work, awesome cars, creative challenges, and of course, last but not least the graceful/hilarious presence of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. With all those attributes, it makes the show enjoyable to anyone. Whether or not the viewer is a gear-head or not, it's irrelevant; the show is enjoyable to all viewers. You can just have a laugh at it or be enthralled by it even if you know absolutely nothing about cars. In the end thats why so many people love it, so how does the American broadcast differ?

We'll all the attributes that the British broadcast that I listed above, the American show lacks. 

First off, the hosts; I freakin hate that Adam Ferrera guy, him and his tough-guy, Brooklyn/New Jowsey accent drive me up the wall. He tries hard to be funny and it's obvious, thereby killing it. It's also clear he know little to nothing about cars.

Second is Rutledge Wood, I'm not really sure what to think of this guy considering how he's a redneck hipster but if I had to put a finger on it, I would say I like him, in a platonic way of course. He's actually pretty funny. What I do know about him, is that he's actually a racing analyst for SpeedTV; this gives him some cool points.

Of course that leaves us with Tanner Foust. This guy has loads of respect from me as far as motorsports is concerned. In all honesty, this guy has more driving skill then all three of the British host do combined. He is incredibly well recognized and very successful in the motorsports world. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean he is a good show host. Everything he says, it seems like he's just reading of a teleprompter. 

The show itself just isn't that good when it is in a side-by-side comparison with the BBC broadcast. The challenges seem all too familiar and the cars are kinda lame, the most exciting was when they had Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4. Finally, why the hell cant they keep the camera straight? It's hella annoying when all every shot seems like it was taken in the middle of a war. 

The big star in a little car: lame. Why do they need a Stig when they have Tanner Foust? 

All in all, I think the show would be a lot better if it wasn't called "Top Gear". It doesn't live up the expectations of being called that. Sure its probably a lot better then Motorweek but so is watching grass grow. I'll just say its the best American Car Show for now.

Rant end.

Merry Christmas, here's a treat for your eyes and ears.

TURN IT UP!!!




Shown here is the fantastic Aston Martin V12 Vantage. This beast is large and in charge, loud and proud thanks to its 6.0-liter V12 cranking out 510 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. The exact same powerplant; the 6.0-liter unit can be found in the DB9, Rapide, DBS and even the amazinginly gorgeous One-77, and it's also the hamster wheel that powers the Lola-Aston Martin B09/60, better known as the Aston Martin DBR1-2 LMP1 racecar.

Now, the V12 Vantage is certainly an impressive car, however the DBR1-2's power tuned in to around 650 hp for its track day fun. That 140-hp raise is means a lot more when you factor in the weight difference between the two cars – the V12 Vantage weighs 3,700 pounds and the DBR1-2 comes in at just 2,000 pounds.

Source: Aston Martin via YouTube

Virgin Racing and Lotus Renault GP fill in their seats for the 2011 F1 season

As the very last few days of the 2010 calender year are winding down, some of the last seats in Formula One are getting filled.

After whats been a crazy time for Lotus Renault GP, they have some of their drivers selected; Russian driver Vitaly Petrov will stay with the team alongside Robert Kubica for another two years. 


Marussia Virgin Racing, formerly known an just Virgin Racing has also filled us in on who's going to be driving for them. Timo Glock is set to stay with the team. Alongside Glock, Jerome d'Ambrosio is set to fill in the second seat. The Belgian driver won the International Formula Master in 2007 and placed second in the GP2 Asia Series in 2008as well as 2009. As a former Renault reserve driver, d'Ambrosio will replace Lucas di Grassi.


Ironically, di Grassi made some sound in the community by taking the checkered flag at Felipe Massa's charity karting ahead of none other then Massa himself. Kinda makes you wonder if Virgin is really doing the right thing. 


With this news, theres still another 6 seats to be filled for the 2011 season. We'll try to keep you posted on what else is going on before then. The first race is set for March 13 in Bahrain.


Source: Lotus, Virgin Racing via Autoblog

Where have all the real drivers gone

America’s driving heroes. What happened to the days of Al Unser and Mario Andretti? How have they been replaced with the likes of Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon. None of the latter can actually drive a car. Jimmy Johnson can be seen here crashing a Corvette C6r in a straight line, because he hit a bump. As for Andretti, well, I can tell you no crashes came from this bump. The fact that NASCAR is so popular just goes to show that not enough people here understand what real driving is all about.

When McLaren ruled Can-Am

One of my favorite magazines; Racecar Engineering posted this series of videos in commemoration of McLaren releasing a new GT3 sports car racer.

You'll wanna turn up your speakers for these.







Source: Racecar Engineering

Porsche 917. Why? Because it is that awesome.

I just finished watching Steve McQueen's "Le Man's" and was bored so I thought I would post this fantastic video on what is arguably one of the greatest cars to ever race the 24 Heurs du Mans.

This was a machine that put Ferrari back in their place, a machine that was the most efficient German killing machine since the SS.

It came out of a time when there was no limit on prototypes. the Group 6 cars as they came to be known were huge, limitless monsters. Some of these, such as the Ford GT40 Mk.IV had engines up to 7 liters. This were the racecars that real men drove.

The final variant of the 917, the 917/30 did 0-60 in 2.3 seconds and 0-124 in 5.3 seconds. It was a 1,580 HP brute capable of reaching speed of upwards of 220 MPH on the Mulsanne Straight.

What is even more mind boggling is that it had a flat-12 of anywhere from 4.5 to 5.0 liters; much smaller then some of its competitors. Whats more, this engine was air-cooled. Yeah, really.

But you dont need to read all this mumbo-jumbo, just watch this:



Source: ME!

Johnny O'Connell leaving Corvette Racing.

So after a while of me freaking out because I couldn't figure out what some mysterious Facebook post on Johnny O'Connell's page was about, I've finally got it. Unfortunately it makes me a little sad.

In an interview with BadBoyVettes, Johnny revealed his future plans for all to see.

Turns out that the veteran Corvette Racing driver is set to leave his place behind the wheel of the yellow and black racers for a place behind the wheel of a Cadillac.  Johnny O' has been responsible for a multitude of wins for Corvette Racing including at Sebring and Le Mans. The man is also the only American factory Team Corvette driver.

O'connell is a GM factory driver and in no way confined to driving for only Corvette. With this knowledge, it still comes as a shock that he will be taking the wheel of one of the new Cadillac CTS-V Coupe's. From the looks of it, Cadillac has had their eyes on Mr. O'Connell for quite some time and actually requested him as part of the deal of building a factory Cadillac race car.

Sadly though, Johnny has said to not expect to see too much from his as far as Corvette Racing is concerned, seems that he'll be distancing himself from that in order to concentrate more on the Cadillac racing effort.

Source: BadBoyVettes

Jimmy Johnson drives the C6.R, loses it on a right hand corner

I don't know if thats true, but as far as I'm concerned, he spun going in a straight line almost.



Corvettes - ZR1 Playing with C6R

Source: Street Fire

SpeedTV highlights 2011 technical changes in video

Source: SpeedTV