Numerous reports have mentioned that Toyota’s chief test driver, Hiromu Naruse, died in a head-on collision on Wednesday in Germany. Video shows the accident scene reportedly near Toyota's shop near the Nurburgring.
A special edition Racer Ford P68 has been made by Racer for Great Traditions in Philadelphia for the Racer Resin National Final race for 2010. There were 50 total cars made, 25 of each of the 2 sets of names on the cars. They're sure to be highly collectible because of the small production run. Check out the drivers names... it was sure a surprise to see my name on one of these cars!
Big ‘n' black 'n' nasty. Chase it round your track with the BULLITT Mustang! Features: Driver & assassin figures. 18k Typhoon motor, sidewinder configuration Detailed interior QuickChange braids Scalextric Digital DPR ready Availability: May 2010
After four races in the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic supporting the FIA GT1 World Championship, the FIA GT3 European Championship heads to Spain to take centre stage for the first time this season. Rounds 5 & 6 of the 12-round Championship will be held on the 3.8 kilometre Jarama circuit, near the Spanish capital Madrid, the first time the series has visited the country.
With large grids representing 10 different marques, the FIA GT3 European Championship continues to provide action-packed racing on the top European race circuits. The visit to Jarama will be with the Superleague Formula which will provide the Spanish race fans the best of both worlds – top flight GT and single-seater racing action.
So far Corvette has been the dominant force in 2010, winning three of the first four races and filling five of the six podium places in Rounds 3 and 4 at Brno last month. The opening round of the 2010 season saw the Trackspeed Porsche 911 GT3 R of Jose Luis Cunill and Tim Bergmeister take the first win of the year but only after the Graff Racing Corvette of Mike Parisy and the Callaway Competition Corvette of Christian Hohenadel both suffered technical problems. In Round 2 the Callaway Competition team put the earlier race one problems behind them with Christian Hohenadel and Daniel Keilwitz claiming victory in the second 60-minute race of the weekend ahead of the Hexis AMR Aston Martin of Frederic Makowiecki and Manuel Rodrigues. Third place for Cunill and Bergmeister gave the Trackspeed Porsche pairing the championship lead as the Championship headed to the Czech Republic for Rounds 3 and 4 at Brno.
The Czech track was missing from the 2009 calendar and, as a firm favourite among the teams and drivers, it made a welcome return this season. Reigning French GT3 Champion Mike Parisy and his co driver Joakim Lambotte dominated the weekend in the Graff Racing Corvette with a double win which was a huge relief for the team after the disappointments at Silverstone. In Round 3 it was a Corvette 1-2-3 with Parisy taking the chequered flag ahead of Christian Hohanadel in the Callaway Competition car, with Dino Lunardi taking the second podium finish in three races for the Toni Seiler Racing Corvette. The early pace setter of the second race of the Brno weekend was Diego Alessi in the Chad Racing Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Starting from pole position the Italian held a small lead to the chasing Corvettes, which he held until the pitstop, but a timing mistake led to Giacomo Petrobelli rejoining the race too early and the resulting stop and go penalty dropped the car out of the running and handed the lead and the second race victory of the weekend to Joakim Lambotte in the Graff Racing Corvette. Philip Geipel and Albert von Thurn und Taxis brought the Argo Racing Lamborghini Gallardo up the field from a lowly 14th to finish in second place, just ahead of the Callaway Corvette of Daniel Keilwitz. The German team suffered an early misfire dropping Hohenadel down to 17th from the front row. However the problem was sorted at the pitstop and Keilwitz forced his way back up the field to take the final podium position and the lead in the Drivers Championship after four races.
Who will be victorious in Spain? Can the Corvettes hold onto their dominant position or will one of the other marques join Corvette and Porsche as race winners in 2010? The GT Commission have made a Balance of Performance ruling and all Corvettes will have a smaller restrictor (50mm instead of 52mm) at Jarama. Success in GT3 means more weight. The nr16 Graff Racing car, thanks to the double victory, will have 40 kilos of success ballast, the nr101 Callaway Competition Corvette will run with 25kg of ballast, while the nr24 Argo Racing Lamborghini and the nr18 Toni Seiler Corvette will have 15 and 10 kilos respectively.
The event at Jarama begins on Saturday 19 June, with Free Practice and Qualifying, while both 60-minute races will take place on Sunday 20 June. For the latest information visit the championship website at GT3Europe.com.
EVENT TIMETABLE
Saturday 19 June 08:30-09:00 Superleague Formula Free practice 1 09:15-10:15 FIA GT3 European Championship Free practice 1 10:30-11:00 Superleague Formula Free practice 2 11.15-12.15 FIA GT3 European Championship Free practice 2 12.30-14.00 Superleague Formula Qualifying and Knockouts 16:00-16:50 FIA GT3 European Championship Qualifying
Sunday 20 June 09:15-10:15 FIA GT3 European Championship Race 1 11:00-11:45 Superleague Formula Race 1 12.30-13.15 Superleague Formula Race 2 13.30-13.45 Superleague Formula Race 3 16:00-17:00 FIA GT3 European Championship Race 2
News and photos used with permission from FIA GT3.
Check this link out Saturday from Noon-6:30pm for live coverage of the 24 Hours of LeMans... when they're showing something getting chopped, cut, jacked, auctioned, or practiced... ugh.
If you find yourself tapping your foot waiting for the flag to drop at the start of the upcoming 24 Hours of LeMans, then we have found just the thing for you!! TRUTH IN 24! A documentary of the Audi Team and the incredible R10. There is some great video and history of LeMans. This is a perfect way to get your LeMans fever started this week!!
Now then there are a couple of ways to catch this:
FREE iTunes Movie!!! : Go to iTunes and search for "Truth In 24" and download the movie to your iPod, iPad or iPhone. (NOTE: I do NOT recommend getting the free Truth in 24 GAME. It tends to lock up rather often).
Paris, 2nd June 2010. At the premiere of the 17th BMW Art Car Jeff Koons unveiled and signed his car in front of 300 international VIP guests on 1st June in the Centre Pompidou, one of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions for modern and contemporary art. It is the same venue where Roy Lichtenstein, back in 1977, first presented and signed his Art Car.
In the spirit of Calder, Stella, Lichtenstein, Warhol, BMW announced this year that the 17th Art Car created by Jeff Koons will race where the first rolling pieces of art by legendary artists raced – at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France on 12th and 13th June 2010. Koons’ canvas is a BMW M3 GT2, which was homologated to compete at this year’s running of the world’s most famous endurance race.
On 2nd June, between 11 am and 9 pm, the public will have the chance to see the Art Car free of charge in the Forum of the Centre Pompidou. At 5.30 pm Jeff Koons will participate in a book signing at the museum’s official book shop before he talks about his work in conversation with Alain Seban, President of the Centre Pompidou, at 6 pm at the Forum of the museum.
The Design Process.
As part of his creative process, the artist collected images of race cars, related graphics, vibrant colours, speed and explosions. The resulting artwork of bright colours conceived by Koons is evocative of power, motion and bursting energy. With its silver interior as well as the powerful exterior design, the Art Car will impart a dynamic appearance even when it’s standing still.
“These race cars are like life, they are powerful and there is a lot of energy,” said Koons. “You can participate with it, add to it and let yourself transcend with its energy. There is a lot of power under that hood and I want to let my ideas transcend with the car – it’s really to connect with that power.” Koons has been in an intense collaboration with BMW’s team in Munich for months – melding his skill with sophisticated BMW engineering – to ensure the 17th BMW Art Car will be race-ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Travelling back and forth to Germany many times since the 2nd February announcement that Koons would create the 17th BMW Art Car, the artist has worked with the BMW engineering and design teams to conduct in-depth explorations of materials and application options that will prove crucial to optimizing both the aesthetic and aerodynamic attributes of the race car. Working with actual 3-D computer-aided design (CAD) models of the BMW M3 GT2, Koons was able to simulate the application of the graphic to the car’s surfaces and evaluate it from all angles. Koons even donned a helmet and joined BMW’s American Le Mans Series race team for testing in Sebring, Florida, on 23rd February. Koons was able to experience the M3 GT2 at race speed to further inspire his design. As Koons describes it, he witnessed “the raw unfiltered performance” of the M3 GT2 from the seat of a historic BMW M1 race car. Koons also drove a BMW M3 Coupe on the circuit to further the dynamic exercise.
Under Koons’ direct guidance and supervision, his BMW Art Car was produced in association with a team of BMW engineers and designers at Schmid Design, near Munich. The challenge to create the BMW Art Car had to do with using a light material and a design that would not interfere with the race car's aerodynamics and weight. Timing was also an issue, as there was only a two month window between the first design sketches and the Paris world premiere. This is why digital print on car wrapping vinyl was used covered by a double clear-coating to bring out the colour.
To apply hundreds of dynamic lines of Koons' design onto the car, CAD designs were translated from 3D into 2D for the printing process and then painstakingly applied to the entire car as well as onto individual spare parts. Koons design incorporates many bright contrasting colours to communicate the aesthetics of power. The concept design was transformed into hard edged lines of colour. Graphics of debris were added to the rear sides and back of the car to simulate the power of the car. Furthermore, two graphic rings on the rear of the car represent supersonic acceleration.
Koons and BMW.
The germination of Koons’ collaboration with BMW began in 2003, when he expressed his desire to create a BMW Art Car. His relationship with BMW started more than two decades ago when he drove a BMW while residing in Munich, home to the BMW Group headquarters. Koons is known for his heartfelt appreciation of cars. Earlier this year he was even recognised by music icon Bono of U2 as one of the ideal artists to design a car that would make the world fall in love with automobiles again. Koons’ creative process for the BMW Art Car mirrors techniques, some borrowed from transportation design and development, which he regularly employs for his artistic production. For example, in the creation of Koons’ monumental sculptures, his studio uses 3-D CAD models to evaluate the surfaces, assembles them via methods found in bike chop shops, and paints them in a manner based on sophisticated automotive painting techniques.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In April 2010, BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen announced the driver line-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Andy Priaulx (GB), Dirk Müller (DE) and Dirk Werner (DE) will race the no. 79 BMW Art Car. Jörg Müller (DE), Augusto Farfus (BR), Uwe Alzen (DE) will drive the no. 78 BMW M3 GT2.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world’s oldest endurance race in all of sports car racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance, it is organized by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and runs on a circuit containing closed public roads. The race is designed not only to test a car and driver’s ability to be quick, but also to last over a 24-hour period.
The BMW M3 GT2. Derived from the BMW M3 high-performance sports car, the BMW M3 GT2 boasts a 4.0-litre V8 engine with a maximum output of 500 bhp, an upgraded chassis, racing-caliber brakes, and extensive use of lightweight materials. Able to reach 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, the BMW M3 GT2 is rapidly emerging as a real first year contender at this year’s event.
For the comeback at Le Mans BMW Motorsport is supported by numerous successful partners. This is why the BMW M3 GT2 will be decorated with the logos of Castrol, Crowne Plaza, Dunlop, Randstad, Sympatex, LuK, H&R, BBS and NGK for the race on the “Circuit de la Sarthe”.
BMW Art Cars.
Since 1975, artists from throughout the world have turned BMW automobiles into art signifying a particular period through the Art Car programme. In 2007, the latest instalment was revealed with Olafur Eliasson’s “Your mobile expectations: BMW H2R project.” Many of the cars by the likes of Warhol, Lichtenstein, Stella, Rauschenberg, Hockney and Holzer have been exhibited in renowned museums throughout the world including the Louvre, the Guggenheim Museums, and the Shanghai Art Museum. They have been displayed at the BMW Museum in Munich, between 2006 and 2010 and many went on a world tour throughout Asia, Russia, Africa, India, the United States and Mexico.
The Koons car number, “79”, pays tribute to the 1979 Andy Warhol car. The Warhol car was assigned the number “76,” an homage to the 1976 Frank Stella car, both of which raced at Le Mans. The home of all BMW Art Cars is the BMW Museum in Munich. Starting in September, Koons’ 17th BMW Art Car will be presented there together with some of its predecessors.
With over 100 major projects worldwide, BMW Group cultural programmes have been an integral part of the company’s contributions to society for almost 40 years. Besides contemporary art, architecture and design, classical music and jazz are key components of this engagement.
Numerous reports have mentioned that Toyota’s chief test driver, Hiromu Naruse, died in a head-on collision on Wednesday in Germany. Video shows the accident scene reportedly near Toyota's shop near the Nurburgring.
A special edition Racer Ford P68 has been made by Racer for Great Traditions in Philadelphia for the Racer Resin National Final race for 2010. There were 50 total cars made, 25 of each of the 2 sets of names on the cars. They're sure to be highly collectible because of the small production run.
Check out the drivers names... it was sure a surprise to see my name on one of these cars!
Paris, 2nd June 2010. At the premiere of the 17th BMW Art Car Jeff Koons unveiled and signed his car in front of 300 international VIP guests on 1st June in the Centre Pompidou, one of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions for modern and contemporary art. It is the same venue where Roy Lichtenstein, back in 1977, first presented and signed his Art Car.
