Home » May 2012
Loeb wins in Greece

Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena have won the Acropolis Rally for a third time following a faultless display in their Citroen DS3 WRC.
After seeing off determined challenges from Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg, Loeb was able to win with ease, despite a late scare when he and Elena had to stop to change a puncture tyre on stage 20.
Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen made it a Citroen one-two with Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila claiming the final podium spot for the factory Ford team.
It was Loeb’s fourth victory in this season’s FIA World Rally Championship.

Acropolis Rally:
1. Sebastien Loeb     Citroen Total WRT DS3 WRC     4hours 42mins 03.3secs M
2. Mikko Hirvonen     Citroen Total WRT DS3 WRC     +00mins 40.0secs M
3. Jari-Matti Latvala     Ford WRT Fiesta RS WRC     +03mins 04.8secs M
4. Mads Ostberg     Adapta WRT Fiesta RS WRC     +06mins 16.4secs
5. Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta RS WRC     +07mins 46.5secs
6. Thierry Neuville Citroen Junior WRT DS3 WRC     +09mins 41.4secs M
7. Sebastien Ogier     VW Motorsport Skoda Fabia S2000    +12mins 59.9secs
8. Yazeed Al-Rajhi     Ford Fiesta RCC     +20mins 12.2secs
9. Ott Tanak     M-Sport Ford WRT Fiesta RS WRC +23mins 18.9secs M
10. Abdulaziz Alkuwari     Seashore Qatar WRT MINI John Cooper Works WRC +28mins 40.5secs

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Laguna Seca Ferrari 458 flies in Ferrari Racing Days 2012

  

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Martin Scorsese to produce Silver Ghost film about Rolls-Royce

Oscar-winners Martin Scorsese and Richard Attenborogh are teaming up to make a film called Silver Ghost, based, in part, on the lives of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. The screenplay was written by Jeffrey Caine and playwright Sharman Macdonald, who also happens to be actress Kiera Knightley's mom.

According to Top Gear, the biopic will be set at the dawn of the 20th Century, during the seminal days of the auto industry. But the report says the real hero of the story will be one Lord John Douglas-Scott Montagu, the Second Baron Montagu of Beaulieu and a member of British Parliament who used his position in British society to champion motoring.

While we're not quite sure what all that Barons and Lords stuff is about, reading that in 1899 Montagu drove the first car to enter the yard of the House of Commons made us think he must have been a decent enough chap. According to the report, he even launched a monthly car magazine. And like any good period-film protagonist, he was romantically linked to another key figure in the story, Eleanor Thornton, the woman who inspired the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy mascot that became a defining feature of the marque.

The film is still a long way from the screen, although Scorsese's involvement can't hurt its chances of getting made.

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BMW presents M6 MotoGP Safety Car


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Maldonado wins Spanish F1 GP

Venezuela's Pastor Maldonado claimed his maiden Formula One win, and handed Williams their first since 2004, with victory in the Spanish Grand Prix here on Sunday.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso finished second with Finn Kimi Raikkonen in third as Maldonado made the most of inheriting pole position from Lewis Hamilton after the Briton was relegated to the back of the pack on Saturday.

McLaren driver Hamilton finished in eighth place at over a minute behind as Maldonado won a thrilling duel with Ferrari's former two-time world champion Alonso.

Alonso's runner-up place gave him 18 points and the championship lead at the expense of defending world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was sixth in a Red Bull having started from seventh on the grid.

Maldonado's maiden win handed Williams their 114th overall, but their first in the series since fellow South American Juan Pablo Montoya won the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2004.

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Maldonado     Williams-Renault      1h39:09.145
 2.  Alonso        Ferrari                            +     3.195
 3.  Raikkonen     Lotus-Renault             +     3.884
 4.  Grosjean      Lotus-Renault               +    14.799
 5.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +  1:14.641
 6.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renau               +  1:17.576
 7.  Rosberg       Mercedes                      +  1:27.919
 8.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes     +  1:28.100
 9.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes       +  1:25.200
10.  Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes  +     1 lap
11.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault            +     1 lap
12.  Vergne        Toro Rosso-Ferrari          +     1 lap
13.  Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
14.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes     +     1 lap
15.  Massa         Ferrari                              +     1 lap
16.  Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault        +     1 lap
17.  Petrov        Caterham-Renault            +     1 lap
18.  Glock         Marussia-Cosworth         +    2 laps
19.  De la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth              +    3 laps

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Real-life Transformer


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Citroen Number 9 concept

These pictures of the French manufacturer's hybrid-powered wagon have been delivered ahead of the N9's debut at the upcoming 2012 Beijing motor show, hinting that Citroen's DS sub-brand is about to get itself a new flagship.

The styling flagellation begins with 21-inch wheels and ends just 1.27m later with a glass roof. But its massive 1.94m width and 4.9m length - only 1.79cm shorter than an S-Class - leave plenty of room to showcase that front-end. Citroen says: "It introduces the new identity of future models, along with an original light signature. The concept signals the styling cues of the next three DS line models: a premium sedan, an SUV and an executive saloon."

Underneath the 1500kg shell, there's full plug-in full-hybrid tech, which Citroen thinks will esteem to 166mpg, 50km all-electric range, 295hp, and 39g/km of CO2. There's also a deliciously Turbo Outrun-sounding ‘boost' function, which combines the power of the combustion engine and electric motor, dispatching all 295 horsepowers at once. This means 0-62mph takes 5.4 seconds and it'll travel a 1,000m in 25.3 seconds from a standing start.

The drivetrain mashes a normal FWD combustion engine together with an electric motor - rechargeable in 3.5 hours, fact fans - on the rear axle that develops 70hp and 200 torques.
 
This is, resolutely, a proposition aimed at the Chinese market. Firstly, enormous, thrifty Euro saloons are flying out of dealerships out there.

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Here it is Peugeot 208 R2 Rally car


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