Jacques Villeneuve drives his father’s Ferrari at Catalunya 2012

Highlights of the Spanish GP, 2012

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado’s says it’s been a “wonderful day” after he converts his maiden pole into his first ever victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Venezuelan also praises his “competitive” car after he finished ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in second and Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, who came third.

Sexy Girl + Bad Ass Car
Jenni taking a ride in an Underground Racing Twin Turbo Lamborghini Superleggera.
This was her first time to feel 1250whp! and in an all wheel drive car…she was having a blast!

Albert Park Turns 11 & 12
Formula1 GP 2012

V8 Supercars on the left
Formula1 during P3 on the right

A fire breaks out in the Williams garage shortly after Chavez supporter Pastor Maldonado wins the Spanish GP ahead of Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

Michele Mouton, the only lady to win a World Championship Rally, recently got back behind the wheel of a Porsche 911, in preparation for the Rallye International du Maroc from October 9-16.

Group B rally cars.
The Group B referred to a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the FIA. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were blamed on their outright speed. After the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver in the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FIA disestablished the class. The short-lived Group B era has acquired legendary status among rally fans.

Modified Porsche 928S4 at a cold and wet open track day at Laguna Seca. Pirelli P-Zero Corsa System Asymmetricos rear, Pirelli P-Zero Corsas front.

This is a lap of Le Mans in my Porsche 928GTS. They kept us waiting nearly an hour to get on the track in 40deg temperatures so everything was getting very hot. The camera was on a dual suction mount fixed to the inside of the passenger window so we could only open the driver’s side. Even with the aircon going flat out it was still cooking inside. I notice some break up on the soundtrack the first time down the start and finish straight so perhaps the camera was feeling the heat as well. (Sony HDR-HC1E) The high levels of background noise are due to the air blast from the dashboard vents.

The 928s were the only Porsches fitted with a V8, the GTS is the last of the line and has a 5.4lit 32 valve unit. The exhaust on my one has an X pipe and a rear muffler bypass so it performs quite efficiently (and sounds good too!) The engine was peaking at around 5.5-6k RPM on the quick bits. It has a four speed auto box and it gives a very quick shift with no loss of momentum although it probably loses quite a few horse power in the torque converter.

We were two up with a full tank and 60kg of camera gear in the boot so I was taking it easy round the corners. I had also intended to change the brake fluid before we left for France as it was due on age but a stuck bleed nipple prevented that. Given the high atmospheric temperature and the potential for significant heat generation in the brakes I was a bit wary of vapour generation in the fluid so I was not using the brakes to their full effect. There is nothing more embarrassing than arriving at a corner at high speed with no brakes!

Nevertheless we managed to achieve some satisfactorily high speeds, just over 160mph, which was ok given the maximum speed ever recorded in the car was 173mph on the Nordschleife. Due to the delay we only got one lap when we had paid for two so that was disappointing. There was no offer of a refund either!