Six Speed Blog

Long Time, No Post

Jacob Van der Wiel — Mon, 24 May 2010 01:29:03 +0000

Due to the end of the school year rush and other engagements, I have been so busy. I’m back though, as I want to renew my engagement with the car culture and auto industry.

In the coming weeks I will hopefully be posting more often, but with smaller entries. Glad to be back

Formula 1 Melbourne

Jacob Van der Wiel — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 05:16:20 +0000

Jenson Button has done it again! After a rainy start to the second round of the 2010 Formula 1 Series in Melbourne, Button cruised to victory in front of second place Robert Kubica (Renault) and third place Felipe Massa (Ferrari). Button made the controversial call to be the first to change to slick tires despite the track still being wet, and his intuition proved correct as his lap times improved to nearly 5 seconds under his nearest competitor immediately after the change. With the wind at his back, his only remaining obstacle was the flawless Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Renault, but an unlucky brake failure forced Vettel to retire, handing the lead to the lightning fast Button.

After Button took the lead, the focus shifted to Button’s teammate at Mclaren, Lewis Hamilton, who after pitting a second time for fresh tires, set fastest lap after fastest lap. With his breakneck pace, Hamilton was expected to pass the third and fourth place Ferraris to contend with Kubica for second, but Fernando Alonso masterfully kept him in fifth. On the penultimate lap Australia’s own Mark Webber of Red Bull Renault tapped Hamilton causing both of them to careen off-track and fall to sixth (Hamilton) and ninth (Webber) places.

Button celebrates victory flanked by second and third place finishers Kubica and Massa.

[Photo: planetf1.com]

Craigslist Car Places in WRC Event

Jacob Van der Wiel — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:11:15 +0000

Every so often in life, you come across a story that truly inspires you. Sometimes it is a story of triumph in the face of death or a struggle against inequity, but not all inspiration is derived from life-changing circumstances. Sometimes a story just resonates with you personally in a way that few people can understand. The story of Bill Cassidy’s third place finish at the WRC Corona Rally in Mexico is one such story.

Into a field of $400,000 super-tuned rally machines rolls a 1991 BMW 318i. A $500 BMW 318i. From Craigslist. What?

Yep. A Craigslist car in a WRC event. Let that sink in for a second.

Not only was Mr. Cassidy ballsy enough to enter the beater he tuned himself in a WRC event, but he took to the course without a proper navigator or even his own notes on the turns. And he personally fixed his car at every stop and after every breakdown. And he spent hours signing autographs for fans whenever he could – something most rally drivers avoid like the plague.

This guy has balls of steel and a heart of gold. He had the drive to take the dream of every weekend gearhead and car-nut and make it a reality — all for the fun of it. In the most basic sense, he went out and lived his life, giving no heed to limitations or obstacles in his way. I may be making him out to be some God, and this event to be too big of a deal, but I am honestly amazed by this guy’s outlook on life. Few people go out and reach for their dreams in such a direct and unrelenting fashion, and an automotive modern-day David vs. Goliath story such as this deserves to be told and retold.

Read the full story at Jalopnik.com (the link is at the bottom) as they tell it better than I do.

The Man.

The Machine.

The Glory.

[Source: http://jalopnik.com/5497042/how-a-500-craigslist-car-beat-400k-rally-racers?skyline=true&s=i ]

Lexus LF-A Nürburgring Edition

Jacob Van der Wiel — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 04:46:47 +0000

Apparently the yet to be released $400,000 Lexus Supercar with nearly 560 horsepower is not quick enough for the tastes of some. Lexus is apparently planning to release the LF-A Nürburgring Edition which packs an additional 10 horsepower and a stiffer suspension among other slight improvements. No word yet on the cost of these tweaks, but once you are toying around in the $400,000 range an additional $100,000 is probably fairly inconsequential to prospective buyers.

The utterly bonkers track-spec of Lexus' forthcoming $400,000 monster

[Source: egmcartech.com]

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Super GT 2010: Round 1 Results

Jacob Van der Wiel — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:25:54 +0000

The season opener of the 2010 Super GT season is now in the books! Super GT is Japan’s premier Grand Touring car racing league which showcases the best of Japan’s automotive engineering. New this season is a completely redesigned successor to Honda’s NSX deemed the HSV-10 GT. The HSV, short for Honda Sports Velocity, sports a completely redesigned chassis and a naturally aspirated 3.4 liter V8 which pumps out over 500 horsepower. Competing with the new HSV in the GT500 class are the established powerhouses of the Nissan GT-R (previous Super GT champion) and Lexus SC430. The HSV, to the surprise of many, failed to deliver a win in its inaugural race and was bested by the HIS Advan Kondo GT-R. Unfortunate collisions between two HSV’s as well as a light that caused another HSV to slide off the track all but extinguished Honda’s hope for the top spot on the day.

In the GT300 class, the RE AMEMIYA SGC7 (based on the Mazda RX-7 base) took first place after beginning the race in the pole position. The GT300 class is much more stiffly regulated than the GT500 class and consists of cars more closely resembling their commercially available counterparts such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Lexus IS350, Lamborghini Gallardo, and Nissan 350Z.

The following is a video by Best Motoring that gives a little bit of insight into the Super GT series. Best Motoring is one of my favorite auto-related programs and is an incredible source of information concerning not only JDM model cars but European and American cars as well.

Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture was the site of the race.

Honda's NSX-successor, the HSV-10 GT

The class-winning HIS Advan Kondo GT-R

The Team PETRONAS Tom's SC430 driven by Juichi Wakisaka, a Best Motoring presenter, placed fourth in the GT500 class

[thanks to Speedhunters.com, RotaryNews.com, GTRblog.com, and SuperGT.net, AutoBlog.com, and ne.jp for images and results]

ALMS 12 Hours of Sebring

Jacob Van der Wiel — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:11:59 +0000

After watching on and off throughout the course of the day, the final results for the 12 hour inaugural race of the 2010 American Le Mans series are out. Peugeot dominated the LMP1 class with its diesel powered prototypes taking 1st and 2nd, followed by the gas powered Aston Martin. Porsche, despite a poor showing in the GT2 class due to an freak accident, managed to take top honors in the LMP2 class. The Ferrari of the Risi Competizione team out of Houston claimed first in the GT2 class and Alex Job racing finished 1st and 2nd in the Porsche GT Cup class.

The #7 Peugeot 908 HDi took top honors on the day.

Ferrari of Houston's Risi Competizione F430, winner of the GT2 class

BMW Rahal Letterman's E92 M3 claimed the second spot atop the podium in the GT2 class.

The Flying Lizard Porsche was hit by a tire from the Falken Racing Porsche bending the left rear rim and effectively placing it out of the running for the day.