Its Coming

… a new video from Stereoscreen showcasing BMW’s touring car racing history.

Charge Mazda 787B

Yup, its the classic Group C Charge Mazda 787B that we want to share. You’re probably wondering what the difference is between the 787 and 787B. Well it comes down to this: the 787B has an ECU to controlld the action of the telescopic intake for the rotary engine – how cool is that?!

However we are not focusing on how cool this car looks, but rather how GREAT it sounds! This year at the 2014 Spa Classic we found a lad who strapped a GoPro to the inside of the Mazda 787B that he was racing. Enjoy the great video demonstrating how difficult it is to pilot one of these types of cars around the famed Spa Francorchamp Circuit.

Here are some additional sounds of the race winning Mazda 787B, that was restored, and driven in demonstration laps at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans

82nd Running of Le Mans 24 Hours

It’s that time of year again when we drop all that have planned over the weekend to take part in watching the world’s most respected race – 24 Hours du Le Mans. This marks the 82^nd running of the world famous race, and man does it have some exciting news for this year.

What’s new for this year?

This year is the first for three top manufactures going all out to claim the top spot. This year marks the return of Porsche, running two factory LMP1 hybrid race cars set out to battle Toyota and the reigning champions, Audi. On top of that, the ACO organizers have imposed rules stating that top-tier LMP1 cars (just listed) will have to run this year’s race using roughly 30% less fuel than that of last year, which will be monitored live throughout the entire race. Let’s introduce the contenders.

Audi’s R18 E-tron quattro will run a 4 liter, turbo diesel V6 engine with flywheel hybrid technology (combined power of nearly 770HP)

 

 

Toyota’s TS040 will run a naturally aspirated V8 supplemented by a supercapacitor hybrid storage/deliver unit (combined power of 1000HP)

 

Porsche’s 919 will run a turbo V4 (yes, V4 motor) with an energy recovery system (ERS) hybrid system (combined power of nearly 800HP)

 

Garage 56 entry, which is designed for experimental cars, has been taken by Nissan’s ZEOD and will be  piloted by Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez. We hope this car can make it to the end.

Corvette Racing will be returning for their 15th anniversary of running at Le Mans with guest driver Jordan Taylor, who will join Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia to battle the GTE-Pro category for the top step.

Dempsey Racing is back this year, but fielding a car produced by Proton featuring an all American team of Patrick Dempsey, Joe Foster and Patrick Long

As for the track the Ford Chicane now features rather beefy ‘baguette’ inner curbs to dissuade corner cutting (and the subsequent massive intrusion of gravel onto the track surface).

 

 

How to enjoy the race remotely!

With all that said, set aside your Saturday and Sunday plans and fill your 24H information needs from the following links:

24Hours of Le Mans Home Page (live timing and ranking)

Before this weekend’s race be sure you print off your spotters guide and study hard all thanks to the hard work from Andy Blackmore, 2014 Le Mans Spotters Guide

Live ACO Official TV-feed can be streamed directly to your iPhone/iPad or Android by the ACO Official app found here: iTunes or Google Play Store

Nismo TV will be hosting their live stream via Youtube

Static Cameras track side from Le Mans will be available here: Lemans-TV

Corvette Racing will be streaming their two cars (in car footage and pit camera) in conjuction with Fox: FoxSports

Live radio commentary is provided by RadioLemans; new this year is a webcam showing their mobile media center

Live timing can be found in three locations: http://en.lemanslive.com/ or http://www.24h-lemans.com/live/en/ or (clean single page) http://live.fiawec.com/

For those located here in the United States you can enjoy the race on TV:

TV SCHEDULE (all times EST):

Saturday, June 14 – 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM (FOX Sports 1, LIVE)
Saturday, June 14 – 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM (FOX Sports 2, LIVE)
Saturday, June 14 – 6:30 PM to 1:00 AM (FOX Sports 2, LIVE)
Sunday, June 14 – 1:00 AM to 7:30 AM (FOX Sports 1, LIVE)
Sunday, June 15 – 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM (FOX Sports 2, LIVE)
Entire race streamed LIVE on FOX Sports GO​ (if subscribed and offered in your area)

Pre-made Tweeter feeds for this year’s race

• Tweets from Drivers
• Tweets from Teams
• Le Mans News

All of these could not be possible without Thomas Baekdal

 

And of course nothing would be completed without some Videos to get you ready for the race:

Road to Le Mans

We Are Racers Series 1 & 2

 

Fun Le Man Infographic

Blue Sky After the Rains

It’s been a pretty rough day here in NYC with the rain not cooperating very well for most. Yet, for just the rainy day we came across a great video depicting the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. This video tantalizes your eardrums with some of the greatest engine and exhaust sounds you’ll ever want to hear. Mix that with some awesome sights and you’ll soon be transported to an automotive wonderland. I don’t think there’s anything more you could ask for, when stuck indoors due to the rain. Turn up those speakers and enjoy the rush for some sweet 16 minutes of your life.

Hear a Lusso?

I’m sure we have said this before, here is another car that you’ve got to hear. It’s a symphony to any car lover’s ears. The engine sound alone should help your heart beat quicken. The start of this video is a lovely Ferrari 250 GT Lusso. What makes this video a bit different than others is their ability to capture the true sound of the engine revving freely as the driver gains speed while in a deserted L.A. It really makes you feel as if they took something from the movie “Drive”. Something else we enjoyed from the interview was the owner’s description of the start-up sequence. He even goes on to say that it’s a process that cannot be rushed! If you watch closely at the end you’ll see the driver rush the start-up sequence – what a shame. Otherwise turn up your speakers and let the sound radiate into your entire body. Ferrari Lusso sing us a song.

If you had to choose one

The question is simple – you have the money and you can only have one. Which would it be? The BMW E30 M3 or the Mercedes 190E 2.3-16. Both are classic and amazing.

Birth of the Skyline

Sometimes an image can be so powerful that it can influence your life decisions. In this case, many of those that work at Nissan were influenced by the debut of the Nissan Skyline at the 1964 Grand Prix.

Midweek Inspiration for an Adventure

Simply listening to this story helps to put everything into perspective – life is definitely short but it shouldn’t be spent entirely behind a desk or working away on an assembly line. It should be spent searching for an adventure and, who knows, perhaps by the end you’ll have your very own story to share. So on your next Sunday Drive think of Gunther Holtorf’s adventure.

Because the video was pulled from Vimeo you can view it from the source: BBC.CO.UK

Everything you need for 2012 24 hours of Le Mans

The 2012 Hours of Le Mans is here:

2012 will be the 80th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours; the greatest endurance race of them all! Last year Audi won despite losing two cars in the most horrific crashes seen at Le Mans for years. Back in this year’s line-up Audi have 4 cars entered. Audi however will have competition with the return of Toyota in their new Hybrid TS030 car. It was a timely entry as Peugeot has renounced their entry in motorsports due the economic downturn in the past couple of years.  The 2012 Hours of Le Mans will be the debut for the two Toyota’s, and all eyes will watching to see if they can battle the goliath (Audi). In sad news though, BMW has not entered any cars as they have been focused on supporting their 2012 entry back in the DTM series. Their lovely art cars will be missed.

In case you haven’t see what this year will bring be sure to watch the 2012 Preview presented by ALMS

The title fight is between these two teams and cars (the blue Toyota is the actual race livery):

To help you prepare for your weekend of Le Mans we have put together many tid-bits to help you stay covered from start to finish.

Live timing timing and weather information during qualifying and the race will be provided on the WEC site -> Live FIA WEC

The Race will Start at: 3:00PM CET (9AM Eastern Standard Time), Saturday June 16, 2012

In the United States Speed’s alternating broadcast schedule on TV and Speed.com:

• Speed TV (part 1): 8:30AM – 1PM
• Speed.com: 1PM – 2:30PM
• Speed TV (part 2): 2:30PM – 7PM
• Speed.com: 7:00PM – 7:30PM
• Speed TV (parts 3 and 4): 7:30PM – remainder of race (through 9AM Sunday)

If you cannot watch it be sure to clear your DVR and record these times. For those who need your Spotters Guides pick them up from blog.simraceway.com. They are available in huge or big sizes.

For Live streaming this year there will be a number of sites that will show the race. Audi once again has stepped up and will provide the live streaming on their website for the entire race from start to finish. Audi’s live streaming will not go live until the drop of the green flag so be sure to bookmark their site -> Audi live streaming

Radio Le Mans Coverage Schedule for the entire race weekend (sometimes great paired with streaming online coverage when no audio is available)

(All times are BST.)

Friday 15 June

• 14:00 Le Mans Qualifying Review

Saturday 16 June

• 07:45 Le Mans Warm-up
• 13:00 Nissan Countdown to Green
• 14:00 Le Mans 2012: Race

Sunday 17 June

• 14:00 Le Mans 2012: Finish followed by post race

Updates for the 2012 hybrid race cars:

The FIA has defined new braking rules for teams that run hybrid systems, where braking is sufficiently heavy. The hybrid systems of Audi and Toyota recover the energy generated under braking. Previously this was lost; it is now stored and transmitted under acceleration. In order to limit the size of these systems – and the budgets required for their development – the ACO and the FIA have imposed a maximum quantity of energy that can be transmitted between two braking phases: 500 kilojoules. Each hybrid car can take advantage of additional electric power without exceeding the minima laid down in the technical regulations.

For the 13,629-km Le Mans circuit there will be seven. (See image)

• Zone no. 1: Dunlop chicane (no. 8 marshal’s post)
• Zone no. 2: Forza Motorsport Chicane (no. 42 marshals’ post)
• Zone no. 3: Michelin Chicane (no. 60 marshals’ post)
• Zone no. 4: Mulsanne corner (no. 76 marshals’ post)
• Zone no. 5: Indianapolis Corner (no. 96 marshals’ post)
• Zone no. 6: Porsche Corner (no. 115b marshals’ post)
• Zone no. 7: Ford Corner (no. 131 marshals’ post)

The entry to each zone is 50 meters before the corner in question. Four of the 56 cars entered for the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours have hybrid engines: the nos 1 & 2 Audi R18 e-tron quattros and the nos 7 & 8 Toyota TS030s.

It is worth noting that in the case of Audi where the energy is fed to the front drive train the car must be running above 120 km/h for the transmission to take place. For Toyota, on the other hand, in which the energy is fed to the rear drive train there is no minimum speed.

As an experimental class the Nissan DeltaWing will be running the full course of the race but will not be listed in the final results. The DeltaWing is purely testing its design theory at the hardest race of them all. Nissan is trying to prove that with a car half the weight and drag of a conventional racer it can still compete at the top. the Delta Wing will aim to use half as much fuel and tyres of its rivals with its turbocharged 1.6 four cylinder engine, ultimately they are trying to make racing more efficient by consuming far less resources. So their running will mark a historic mile stone and the information feedback could be ground breaking.

And finally if you need all this information in one tightly packaged website please visit this site -> Le Mans Mini-site

The group is looking forward to your support and they will be racing for victory this Saturday. Enjoy the race!

Keep the Dream Alive

Very few motoring enthusiasts have the opportunity to drive the car of their childhood dream. But what would you do if you were able to get your hands on the car of your dreams? Would you simply lock it away from the rest of the world or would you enjoy it as if it were your daily driver? For one enthusiast the Mercedes-Benz 300SL “gullwing” was his dream and after 30 years of wanting and waiting it finally became a reality. Below is his video explaining why he shares his joy with the rest of the world. What would you expect this man to do? We would want him to do what any of us would do – drive it. Hear his story below and remember happy motoring.