Scuderia Ferrari's First Visit to the Moscow City

This past Sunday, Russia’s capital city hosted the annual Moscow City Racing event. It was the fourth time in a row that the racing show was organized in Moscow and the first to feature the Ferrari Formula 1 team.

After the press conference, Scuderia Ferrari test driver Giancarlo Fisichella first drove a California in the usual parade, and then last year’s F10 Formula 1 car on the streets of Russian capital.

Fisichella had this to say about the experience of driving a Formula 1 car by the Kremlin walls:

“The organizers have done an amazing job to lay out such an interesting course, which I definitely found more interesting than previous ones of this type that I have driven. You had to be very careful, because the water made the urban streets slippery, but it was really exciting to feel the enthusiasm of the fans as I was driving and they were not put off by the rain, packing the viewing areas around the track.”

Nico Rosberg to Drive Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes W196

Mercedes F1 driver Nico Rosberg will have the chance to drive Juan Manuel Fangio’s legendary 1954 Mercedes W196 at the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife circuit next weekend during the German Grand Prix.

The Mercedes W196 was the first Formula 1 car to race with open wheels, coincidentally at Nurburgring, after Fangio faced problems with the "streamlined" bodywork at the British GP. The W196 won the German GP, as well as three other races, in 1954 and another five in 1955.

"Coming to the Nürburgring for the German Grand Prix always feels very special to me," said Rosberg . "This year, I will have the opportunity to drive Juan Manuel Fangio's car from 1954 on the amazing old circuit, and that will be very special."

Felipe Massa: “Ferrari Can Still Win F1 Title”

Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, who lead by 110 and 80 points in the Constructors and Drivers Championships respectively, are clearly the team and man to beat this season in Formula 1. And in the last race, in Silverstone, someone stepped up to the challenge and did just that: Ferrari and Fernando Alonso were at the top spot of the podium flanked by the two Red Bull drivers.

Now Felipe Massa, Ferrari’s other driver who in the British GP finished fifth behind Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren, claims that despite Red Bull’s huge points advantage and the fact that half the season is already behind us, the Scuderia can still beat their opponents for the World Championship:

“As long there is a mathematical possibility there is always hope. I have said it so often, but it’s still true, that at Ferrari we never give up and we keep on fighting. The best strategy is simply to think about the season one race at a time, like we did at Silverstone.”

How did Ferrari, which was struggling at the first races of the season, manage to improve so rapidly? Does this have to do anything with FIA changing rules over the off-the throttle engine operation that most think affected Ferrari’s rivals, Red Bull and McLaren?

Massa doesn’t thinks so: “Silverstone was the first time we were able to make the hard tires work very well. As an example, just look at the first part of qualifying at Silverstone where I was third quickest, just a tenth of a second behind the fastest man, using the hard tire. This means that our performance level was down to all the new components and updates we brought to Silverstone and was not connected to the rule change.”

Ferrari’s Brazilian driver is also very optimistic about the next race this coming weekend at Nurburgring: “It is an interesting circuit, with some unusual corners, uphill and downhill and slow turns in the modified first sector. So you need good downforce, but there are also some straights where straight line speed is important and based on what we saw from our aero package in Silverstone, I have high hopes that we can continue in the right direction in Germany.”

Bluebird to Attempt to Break Electric UK Land Speed Record

The Bluebird team has a history of more than 100 years old. A history in what, you might ask? The answer is, breaking speed records. Not just on land, but also on water. It all began in 1911 with Sir Malcolm Campbell, who named his team after Maurice Maeterlinck’s play.

In the following years, the family team broke more than 30 speed records and now, Sir Campbell’s own grandson, Don Wales, will attempt to make history once again over a century later.

The weapon of choice is the Bluebird Electric. The setting will be the Pendine Sands at South Wales and the date is the weekend of 13-14 August. The event was supposed to happen earlier, but a key component was not delivered by its European constructor on time, so British-based Transdev made it instead.

The 30- strong Bluebird team is using the event as an assessment point in the project car’s development, but also hopes to break the UK land speed record for electric vehicles. The big target is set for 2013 when they will attempt to break the 500 mph (805 km/h) barrier with their electric car.

Audi A5 Coupe DTM Racing Concept 2012

Get excited DTM fans because there’s a new kid coming to town. We’re talking about Audi’s freshly revealed A5 Coupe racecar, internally named “R17,” that will replace the four-door A4 with which Audi has conquered the DTM title four times since 2004.

Ingolstadt’s new touring model is based on the facelifted A5 Coupe that was presented earlier this week and it complies with the new technical and safety regulations that will come in effect in the German touring model championship next year.

The new Audi A5 DTM sports a high-strength carbon-fiber monocoque combined with a steel tube cage. The racing model adopts the current A4 DTM’s V8 engine with some minor changes and an output or around 460-horses. A six-speed transmission will continue to be used as well.

For now, Audi has shared a trio of renderings of the A5 DTM but we’ll get the chance to see the real thing at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

BMW DTM M3 Coupe Concept Racer

New DTM racing cars are like public transportation: you wait for ages and then , all of a sudden, three or four buses appear at the same time. Just yesterday we posted Audi’s new entry into the German Touring Car Championship or, as it’s more commonly known, DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters). Today, BMW pulled the wraps off its new own DTM racer based on the coupe version of M3.

And mind you, unlike Audi, BMW revealed the M3 in the flesh clad in carbon fiber and looking quite menacing with its matte paint, flared wheel arches and aerodynamic package.

This isn’t the final form of the racer as BMW Motorsport’s engineers will hone it for its 2012 premiere. Set to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, it is powered by a 480HP V8 built according to the racing series’ new regulations.

This is the first time that BMW will officially participate in the DTM series since its departure in 1994.

“The DTM comeback sees BMW return to its roots” said member of the board Dr. Klaus Draeger. “We will be facing our main competitors in the premium sector and we are looking forward to this challenge. We have enjoyed great success in the past, and I am convinced we will follow on in 2012 where we left off”.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen commented:

"The entire team at BMW Motorsport is approaching this exciting project with absolute commitment. We began making technical preparations following our declaration of intent in April, and established parameters for a high-performance vehicle concept for deployment in the DTM. The positive decision of the BMW Board of Management means we can now shift up a gear and give the green light for development."

Now we’ll have to wait for Mercedes’ competitor which will, more than likely, be based on the brand new C-Class Coupe. This three-way battle between the German premium automakers’ pumped-up coupes should be quite interesting to watch.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato

It’s official; Aston Martin has not only confirmed plans to build a strictly limited number of the new V12 Zagato show car, but it is also accepting orders with first deliveries expected from the second half of 2012.

Production of the British firm’s new supercar model, which is the collaborative work of Aston Martin and Italian design house Zagato, will be limited to 150 examples that will be hand assembled at Aston Martin’s global headquarters at Gaydon.

Prices, not including local taxes, start at £330,000 GBP, which comes to around US$528,000 or €369,000 at the current exchange rates.

The V12-powered supercar was created by Italian coachbuilder Zagato to celebrate its partnership with Aston Martin in the 50th anniversary year of the DB4GT Zagato.

It made its first public outing at the Concorso D’Eleganza at Villa D’Este in May, winning the Design award for Concepts and Prototypes, and then went on to successfully complete the grueling 39th Nürburgring 24 Hour race.

Based on the existing Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the Zagato model features a bespoke, handcrafted aluminium and carbon fibre body with power provided by the British firm’s 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 517-horses and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque.

“The V12 Zagato is an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style,” said Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s Director of Design.

“The original DB4GT Zagato was a true icon, powerful and graceful; the new design is a true representation of the spirit of DB4GT Zagato. The muscular organic forms define the thoroughbred nature of the car’s racing credentials," he added.

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