The first electric car manufactured by Tesla Motors, the high-performance, zero-emissions Tesla Roadster sports car was unveiled before a crowd of car buffs and potential customers.
The electric Tesla Roadster has the equivalent of 135 mpg and a range of 250 miles on a single charge, a combination unseen until now in a mass-produced electric car. Its extended range is due to its state-of-the-art lithium-ion Energy Storage System.
The Tesla Roadster is capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in four seconds.
Using a unique two-speed electrically activated manual transmission, the Tesla Roadster's power comes from a 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor. The motor is controlled by the Power Electronics Module (PEM) which also controls the inverting direct current to 3-phase alternating current, charging and braking systems.
Tesla Motors's engineers have gone to great lengths to ensure that not only is the Tesla Roadster safe to drive, but also is safe when charging, at home or on the road.
The electric motor's efficiency rating is likely to be as high as 95 percent, while the internal combustion engine's efficiency is 20 percent or less. With this efficiency, the Tesla Roadster achieves the equivalent of 135 mpg.
That efficiency doesn't slow this sleek sports car down, either. Estimated 0-60 mph time is around four seconds, and with an electric motor, the torque is instantaneous, throw-you-back-in-the-seat responsive.
The new 2010 Ferrari California is the first hard-top convertible ever produced by Ferrari and the first to feature a mid-front positioned engine.
Ferrari California features a new 4.3 liter V8 with direct injection and a flat crankshaft that will put out 460HP. The result is a 0-60mph of under 4 seconds.
The new 2009 Corvette ZR1 is a fast and powerful sports car. It has a 6.2-liter surpercharged engine with 638hp. The acceleration of 0-60mph time of just 3.4 seconds will make it reach reach 100mph from standstill in 7 seconds flat.
The final MSRP of the new Corvette is $103,300 including the destination charge, but it will have a $1700 gas guzzler tax added on top of this.
Power for the Audi GT3 has been boosted to 500hp and the engineers digged deep into the technics to conform with GT3 standards. The four-wheel-drive system had to be replaced with a more conventional GT rear-wheel drive system and it is also equipped with a newly developed six-speed sports sequential gear box.
Rolls Royce Motor Cars is a BMW subsidiary, responsible for the Rolls-Royce automobiles since 1998.
In 1998, owners Vickers decided to sell Rolls-Royce Motors. The most likely buyer was BMW, who already supplied engines and other components for Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars, but BMW's final offer of £340m was beaten by Volkswagen]'s £430m.
However Rolls-Royce plc, the aero-engine maker, decided it would license certain essential trademarks (the Rolls-Royce name and logo) not to VW but to BMW, with whom it had recently had joint business ventures. VW had bought rights to the "Spirit of Ecstasy" hood ornament and the shape of the radiator grille, but it lacked rights to the Rolls-Royce name necessary to build the cars. Likewise, BMW lacked rights to the grille and mascot. BMW bought an option on the trademarks, licensing the name and "RR" logo for £40m, a deal that many commentators thought was a bargain for possibly the most valuable property in the deal. VW claimed that it had only really wanted Bentley anyway.
BMW and VW arrived at a solution. From 1998 to 2002 BMW would continue to supply engines for the cars and would allow use of the names, but this would cease on January 1, 2003. On that date, only BMW would be able to name cars "Rolls-Royce", and VW's former Rolls-Royce/Bentley division would build only cars called "Bentley". Rolls Royce's convertible, the Corniche, ceased production in 2002.
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A few months ago Racer X Design released the sketches of the KC-427, which is currently being built and expected to be shown as a fully built car by the end of the year.
The streamliner is not intended for production, and is just one of the many designs that Racer X Design have come up with.
Designed as an example of a luxurious four seater GT, the type 12-2 is the artwork of Reuben Zammit. The aim was to get the type 12-2 immediately recognizable, yet make a signature of it’s own for a specific marquee. A classic front engine rear wheel drive layout. The shape allows for a boot bigger than its rivals, yet keeping the lines flowing. The doors take a large part of the side and the roof for easier access.
The idea is to use a VW derived W12 engine with a twin turbo layout hence the name 12-2. Although not as extravagant as the W16 used in the Veyron, there would be enough power to propel the Type 12-2 to over 200 mph.
Racer X Design is a company that has designed and built some of the best show cars in the business winning first place awards in the XLR-8 live competition every time it competed with 4 different demo cars in 2 different classes for bodystyling.
“We are now offering various design services ranging from show car design to full concept car design to any individual whether he needs to modify a car for competition use, or companies looking for a design that can meet their needs.”Read More »»
Bugatti EB110 was a mid-engine sports car from Bugatti Automobili SpA, the 1990s successor to one of the most celebrated marques in automotive history. It was unveiled on September 15, 1991 in both Versailles and in front of the Grande Arche at La Défense in Paris, France exactly 110 years after Ettore Bugatti's birth.
The car had a 60-valve, quad-turbo V12 powering all four wheels through a six-speed gearbox. The 3.5 L (3499 cc) engine had a bore of 81 mm (3.2 in) and a stroke of 56.6 mm (2.2 in) and was capable of 553 PS (542 hp/407 kW) at 8000 rpm. Acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) took 4.5 seconds, and the GT has a top speed of 213 mph (336 km/h).
The car used a double wishbone suspension, with the chassis built by Aerospatiale, an aircraft company, and made from carbon fibre. Equipped with Gandini's famous lifting scissor doors, it had a glass engine cover that provided a view of the V12 engine along with a speed-sensitive electronic rear wing that could be raised at the flick of a switch. The shift-knob was placed closer to the driver so that less time would be taken to shift. No expenses were spared when it came to speed. Five pre-production prototypes with aluminum chassis were built, followed by eight with composite chassis. Following these, it is believed that only 95 GT and 31 SS production models were constructed.
In 1992, a lighter and more powerful model with 600 PS (592 hp/441 kW) at 8000 rpm, the EB110 SS (SuperSport) was introduced. This car was capable of 216 mph (352 km/h) and 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.2 seconds.
At a price of more than US$350,000 for the SS model, the car wasn't going to be anything but exclusive. Early in 1994 Formula One driver Michael Schumacher purchased a banana-yellow EB 110 Super Sport, giving the company a great deal of publicity. Derek Hill, son of American Formula One Champion Phil Hill, was one of the three drivers on a team that competed with an EB 110 in the United States at the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona.
Hard times hit the company in 1995 and, as result of chairman Artioli's over ambitious purchase of Lotus in addition to the company's quest to develop the EB112 a four door car, the company was bankrupt. Dauer Racing GmbH of Nuremberg, Germany, bought the semi-finished EB 110 cars in the assembly plant plus the parts inventory through the bankruptcy trustee. The remaining chassis and a version of the engine were later developed by B Engineering into their Edonis sports car.
Despite later racing for Ferrari 1996 onward and a high profile collision with a truck the previous year which he took the blame on the braking system, Schumacher continued to retain the EB110SS. Schumacher sold the car in 2003 to Modena Motorsport, a Ferrari garage specialising in service, race preparation and sales of classic Ferraris in Germany.
Q: (Tom Clarkson – Tom Clarkson & Associates) Mark, how does this win compare to the Nürburgring?
MW: I think the first one was pretty nice, there’s no question about it. It’s nice to get another one, but probably Nürburgring was a little bit better, because it was a big relief more than anything. This one was more of a controlled fashion, I suppose, and although not too dissimilar to the Nürburgring, but I suppose I could only lose this one. I put myself in a very, very good position after yesterday in the first stint to win the race and then I had about 45 laps of getting it home. I went a little bit on the kerbs in a few places here and there and just had to give myself a bit of an uppercut and say ‘mate, just bring it together’ and remind myself that I’m not in tenth, I’m in the lead, so you just control it. It was a pretty good day. Also I just want to add to all the press guys who haven’t come in here but it was a good weekend for a good friend of mine, Jason Crump who won the World Speedway Championship. He’s very, very injured and I’m very happy for him that he’s won the World title and Casey (Stoner) won the motorbikes, so it was a good day for us guys.
Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, it’s the first time in 40 years that Britain has had back-to-back World Champions. I wonder if you could offer your thoughts on what this means over the past two years for British motor sport.
LH: I don’t think I have a clue if I’m honest. I think it’s fantastic for our country to have – I think in the last couple of years – such great athletes coming through. It’s been a good couple of years for us, with the Olympics and some seriously good talent coming through. It’s been great for the sport, great for all the fans. I’m sure the fans back home are extremely happy to have two World Champions two years in a row. I can only assume that they are very, very proud, that’s all I can say.
Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, would it be fair to suggest to Jenson that he’s only got it on loan for a year?
LH: I don’t know. That’s the plan, for sure. I’m not going to take anything away from his championship. He did an incredible job this year. He kept up the pressure, the pressure was extremely immense for him these last few races and I saw him today and whilst he was trying to keep a cool exterior, I know exactly what he’s going through. I just said to him ‘you don’t have to do it in this race but just keep your cool’ and clearly he did, so I’m very, very happy for him and his family. But I definitely plan on taking it back from him at some stage.
Q: Mark, you probably don’t want to be reminded of this, but your two previous best results here were two ninth places.
MW: I didn’t know it was that, but I had a reasonable idea that I’ve had a pretty rough run here. There have been lots of firsts this year and this is another one, in terms of getting a good result. It was an interesting first lap as usual. There was quite a bit at stake, all the guys know that. KERS cars always liven it up and once we got through all that, we then settled down, and I knew that Rubens and Robert were quite a bit shorter than me in the first stint, so I just managed all that as best as I could. They pitted and then I got a big gap after that first stop. The stop went well, the guys did a good job there. Then I had a long stint on the prime, same for everyone because we knew everyone was probably going to do a little bit of protection against the option. So we just controlled that second stint to a limit. It wasn’t absolutely bananas but it was pushing reasonably hard. Robert was obviously a bit quicker because he was pretty short and then in the last stint I looked after the tyres, got it home and it’s nice when it’s like that. I hoped that it was going to be very boring and it was. It’s good.
Q: How unexpected was the win?
MW: After Friday, I was quite confident that we could go for a victory. Our pace was pretty good, I was a little bit worried about this guy here (Hamilton) because the McLaren, we knew, would do pretty well here with the KERS and he’s also a pretty good driver. We knew he would be a force. Fortunately it was mixed up yesterday and that’s where the foundations were laid, particularly for me and Robert, delivering in those difficult conditions. Again, some cars were different to others, it was not easy to get through, but that’s where the foundations were laid for that type of day today. It didn’t come as a surprise that I had a chance to go for the victory, but it’s always nice with five laps to go that you realise it.
Q: How dry was your car in terms of settings?
MW: Hundred percent. We struggled in Q1, I think, because we all knew that we shouldn’t have run in those conditions. I was lucky to get a lap in which put me through. That was one of the toughest qualifying laps for a long time to get through that session, because I couldn’t believe the pace on my pit board that other people were doing. I thought I’m risking so much here to get through. Thankfully I did, but then when the aquaplaning got lower in Q2, it was a different ballgame and then the car came alive on intermediates in Q3.
Q: Robert, same question: how dry was your car?
RK: Well, we kept 99 percent of Friday’s set-up. Actually we were not really running proper downforce. We were lacking downforce, we didn’t have the proper wings here, so we were already lacking downforce in the dry and especially when it rained, we took a gamble. We hoped for a dry race, we hoped some people would adjust their set-up to the wet conditions, so yesterday I think it was a very good job, especially when Q1 was full of water, I was extremely quick, surprisingly quick. Unfortunately, when the track dried, our pace was not as good. Some people in our team were disappointed about row four, because they thought miracles might happen in every qualifying, like in Q1 when I was third and running very quickly but in changing conditions drivers adapt their driving, the tyres, the pressures, so all in all fourth row was good for me. Today I had a good race.
Q: I understand this result was pretty unexpected, so what will it mean for the team?
RK: I don’t know. I hope they will be on the grid next year. Of course it’s a good result after such a difficult season, which is still not finished. Here we were surprised about which downforce level we should use. We didn’t have it. We had a mixed car: Singapore upgrade with an old front wing. It was very, very tricky and we were just really covering the problems, so I’m very surprised with second place. I was very surprised by the quite slow pace of the top guys in the first stint and yeah, additionally we had water temperature problems after lap eight of the race, so we had to reduce engine revs and it was not easy. I ran most of the race with low revs and tried to keep the car as cool as possible, pulling out of the tow, so all in all I was surprised to be able to keep to Mark and Rubens’s pace.
Q: Lewis, how important was KERS here, particularly for overtaking?
LH: That was probably one of the toughest races I’ve had, not as tough as last year, clearly, but it was good. I think we qualified 18th. We were quite unlucky in qualifying and very fortunate with it being dry today. We had a very good pace, we just stayed out of trouble. KERS definitely helped at the start. If we had the fastest car or as fast a car as maybe Mark here and we had KERS on top we would be light years ahead but KERS, for us, just recovers what we lose in a straight-line because the efficiency of our car is not good at all. But generally today we did a great job, we’ve done a tremendous job to catch up throughout the year and we’re stuck with the car we have. We know it wasn’t the best car, we stuck with it and just kept pushing and pushing and pushing, and we’re doing the best we can and I tell you, there’s not much more if any more we can get out of this car. It’s been a really good learning experience and today was great. I just have to say a big congratulations to Jenson and the Brawn team, great job by them for the whole season. I definitely look forward to having a better car to challenge them next year.
Q: Mark, you took the lead after that first pit stop, set fastest lap, it looked like a walk in the park for you.
Mark Webber:You never know in the first stint. I knew Rubens (Barrichello) was a bit shorter, I knew Robert was a bit shorter. I was impressed with Robert’s pace to start with and then when they pitted, I knew I had a nice clear run to get a good gap starting the second stint. I just cleared JB on the out lap which is always nice as well. And then also just making sure the tyres were nice and comfortable for the whole stint, doing enough. A little bit panicky with Robert in the second stint because he started closing and I thought my pace is not too bad, but he’s closing but the guys said he was quite short in that middle stint, so that sort of confirmed that for me. And then I was just asking a few questions: who was option, if anyone was on the option in the middle stint, how did it look, what do I need to do maybe for the first part of the last stint, because the option wasn’t too great for us on Friday, to be honest. And then starting the last start it was nice to have a bit of a buffer, so just controlled that to start with. Obviously the tyres are very good straightaway but you can’t go bananas on them. And just control the gap to Robert at about five-odd seconds and then it looks like it was going to be a stalemate and then backed off a bit earlier towards the end. So that gave me a nice run home. It’s been a fantastic day for the team, to win again. We’ve had quite a few victories this year off the back of some tough seasons at Red Bull, totally confirming second for us in the Constructors. Obviously we weren’t good enough over the whole season to win any championships but we’ve done ourselves very proud as a team, as a unit. I would like to thank Renault as well, the engines have been very good. It’s not an easy environment for them, so yeah, very, very good. It’s a special weekend for Australians because Jason Crump won the World Speedway Championship last night, a very close friend of mine, under very difficult conditions, very badly injured, and Casey (Stoner) won the motorbikes yesterday, so it’s a good weekend for the Australians.
Q: Mark, a tumultuous first lap, a lot going on. Can you talk about the conditions there? Obviously it was wet yesterday going onto a dry track surface, and what the debris was like later on. We saw a lot of debris on the back straight.
MW: Yeah, always coming off the back of a green track overnight you had to get a bit of a feel for it early on. Fuel is back in the car and last time I drove like that was obviously Friday. The track wasn’t too bad, to be honest. It could have been a lot worse, the balance was not too bad as well, but as you say, a bit of debris, safety car early on, making sure we weren’t picking up any punctures or anything stupid like that, because there was some carbon around, and then also towards the end of the race it looked like maybe Heidfeld had a moment down to turn four and put a lot of mud on the track. I was happy they didn’t put the safety car out because it would have undone all my hard work and I don’t think it needed a safety car for a bit of dirt anyway. Yeah, the track cleaned up and then I was just hoping it didn’t rain, which it didn’t, so He looked after me upstairs again today.
Q: And what was the run like on the back straight on the opening lap? It was pretty crowded, a lot of people going for that first corner.
MW: The thing that really surprised me… it’s always the same with the KERS cars, the speed difference is absolutely enormous. Come out of three, to start with, and then I saw Kimi (Räikkönen) massively late. He had a massive speed advantage. I was firm, Kimi would have done the same to me, so it had to be done.
Q: Robert, what a day for you too: first podium for the team since Malaysia, way back at the start of the season. It’s been a difficult year for the team, but for you personally a great drive from eighth place.
Robert Kubica: Difficult season, as you say, for our team, but I think yesterday we did a big part of the job. We knew it might be a dry race today so we decided to keep our low downforce configuration car like we were running on Friday. It was extremely difficult when there was a lot of water. Nick was out in Q1, I managed to put in a good lap in difficult conditions, it wasn’t an easy car to drive in the wet. I managed to qualify eighth. I think some people were disappointed in this qualifying, I don’t know why because maybe they wondered if miracles could happen every session, like in Q1, but when the track was drying, I had no chance against the quicker cars. And then today I had good pace, consistent. I think I was a bit surprised about the slow pace from Rubens and Mark initially. I was able to keep up with them. We had a problem with the water temperature straightaway. I already had to reduce rpm on lap ten of the race, so for most of the race I drove with lower rpm because our engine was overheating. Yeah, I had to pull out of slipstream every time on the straight. I was just trying to cool down the temperature and bring the car home.
Q: Mark just mentioned the second stint of the race when he was a bit worried about you. How did you feel at that point in terms of what you could do?
RK: I was very unlucky after the first pit stop. I just got behind four cars which I think were Kobayashi, Nakajima, Jenson and Sebastian. They were overtaking, I was heavy, they were light and I had no chance to overtake them. I had to take care about the temperature, about the engine, so I was not pulling and Mark pulled out a nice gap there. I was assuming I was shorter but not as short… We discussed our strategy but not as short as we were, so I had to pit with 28 laps to go and put on option tyres, I was a bit worried because after five laps on Friday, the tyres were finished. I just tried not to over-drive them, to keep them nice and steady but also to look at the gap to Rubens and it paid off. I had some problems with tyre degradation in the last ten laps, but the gaps were quite easy and I brought the car home.
Q: Lewis, on the day that you passed the title of World Champion to your compatriot, Jenson Button, you were on the podium in the Brazilian Grand Prix: a heavy fuel load, a very early stop to get the soft option tyre out of the way and a great run to third place.
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, today’s been an extremely tough day, tough weekend, and today was a huge surprise to me. I had no idea that we would even be able to get into the points. The team did a great job with the strategy but I was on a knife edge the whole way. I feel great, the car felt great. I think there are still some improvements we need to make but to fight all the way up to third from 18th I think is a great job from all the team, so hugely thankful to them for the hard work, the good job they did. I had an incredible battle with Rubens. I must say congratulations to Jenson: a great job from him, a great season.
Q: In the early pit stop there was a drama in your pit crew with Heikki Kovalainen, your team-mate. I guess you were not aware of that and it didn’t play any part in your race?
LH: No, I thought I saw a Ferrari behind me as I was pulling out and I thought it would be close but I didn’t really see that Heikki was actually behind. I didn’t see any dramas that he had but I hope everyone in the pit crew is OK and we will probably have to work on that to find out what went wrong.
Q: And third place in the Constructors’ Championship is still very much alive for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
LH: Yeah, I’ve got the bosses breathing down my neck to get the job done, so today would have definitely made them happy and we really needed it, considering we were both right at the back and weren’t really looking to get points, so this would go very well. I’m sure the lads in the team are very happy and bosses are too.
Q: Mark, returning to you for some closing thoughts: it’s been a year of domination by one team and then another, Brawn Mercedes and Red Bull particularly. Your second win now, Jenson is the World Champion though. Your thoughts on how the season’s gone and some comments about Jenson.
MW: Well, it’s been a very interesting season in many ways. We started off with double diffusers, some teams with KERS. Then we, as Red Bull, were phenomenal in the middle of the year, the first part of the European races. Then off to the street circuits, back in July and early August and we had a bit of a tough time. The McLaren came back, especially Lewis, and Kimi also had a good run. So there have been many, many teams… six different winners this year, I think, and quite a few different people on the podium. So it’s been a mixed season in terms of performance for people. Jenson, I think, deserves the championship, no question about it. He drove very, very well in the early part. It’s not easy to have error-free weekends, with the exception of Spa, when he had problems at the top of Les Combes when it’s easy to happen when you start in the middle of the pack. He’s driven pretty well, particularly in first stints, when he’s been on the back foot and coming through, doing a pretty good job here and there. Every car has its strengths and weaknesses and Brawn, obviously, have some strengths and a few weaknesses here and there. JB’s done a good job, so I’d like to congratulate him and Brawn as well. I think he will sleep better now, because he’s been incredibly nervous, there’s no question about that. He’s been absolutely bricking himself the last few weeks, so he can sleep better now, and all of us can go to Abu Dhabi and just enjoy the new race there. I don’t think it’s going to be like Suzuka but anyway, it’s another street track.
The County of Northamptonshire is dotted with old country estates and bomber bases. The aerodromes were built in World War II to house the squadrons of British and American bomber aircraft which pounded Nazi Germany into submission. And then the war ended and most of the bases were left to rot. But while most have now disappeared, Silverstone has flourished. It was only a training base and not as famous as others in the area but in the immediate post-war era it was discovered by racing enthusiasts, looking for somewhere to have fun. The early events at Silverstone were pirate affairs and legend has it that the first "race" at Silverstone ended prematurely when one of the competitors collided with a sheep.
The runways and the sweeping taxiways meant that the tracks were fast and soon gained popularity and when the Royal Automobile Club began looking for a venue for a British Grand Prix in 1948 Silverstone was suggested. Donington Park was a military dump and Brooklands had been taken over by the aircraft industry. Silverstone was the cheapest option and the RAC negotiated a lease. Jimmy Brown was appointed the Track Manager and told to organize a race. Makeshift pits were put up at the Farm and haybales marked out at 3.7-mile circuit, shaped like an hourglass. It was to be a very basic affair but plenty of Britons wanted a bit of fun after years of wartime struggle - and it was a huge success: Gigi Villoresi in a Maserati beating fellow Italian Alberto Ascari. The second event, in the Spring of 1949, saw a new circuit - similar to the track used for many years afterwards - and that summer there was a Formula 1 race, sponsored by the Daily Express and known as the International Trophy.
In 1950 Silverstone was chosen to host the very first round of the new Formula 1 World Championship. King George VI was there for the race and thousands of fans were treated to a battle between the visiting Alfa Romeo factory team - three Italian drivers being joined for the occasion by British driver Reg Parnell. Giuseppe Farina, who would become World Champion that year, was followed to the flag by Luigi Fagioli and Parnell.
In 1951 the RAC decided to hand over the lease of Silverstone to the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) and, after that, development accelerated with the Grand Prix moving to July and the International Trophy becoming the big event of the Spring months. The pits were moved from the Farm to the straight between Woodcote Corner and Copse. This meant that there could also be a shorter circuit, running up the old runway from Becketts Corner to Woodcote.
Until the development of Aintree in 1955, Silverstone hosted the British Grand Prix each year and then it alternated the race with the Liverpool circuit. In the early 1960s however, Brands Hatch emerged as a new force and from 1963 onwards Silverstone and Brands Hatch shared the British Grand Prix. Both circuits continued to support a busy schedule of national races and almost all the Grand Prix drivers of the 1960s and 1970s cut their teeth racing around one or the other. Silverstone became a major testing facility as well.
In 1971 the BRDC negotiated the purchase of the entire 720-acre Silverstone estate and, free from constraints, pushed ahead with more development. New pits were constructed and after a huge accident at the start of the 1973 British Grand Prix, it was decided to build a chicane to slow the cars down through Woodcote Corner. The Woodcote Chicane was well-designed and provided a good overtaking spot and there were many exciting nose-to-tail finishes.
There have been many fine races at Silverstone beyond Grand Prix racing as the track also played host to the World Sportscar racing, the Tourist Trophy touring car race and all manner of smaller classes. The constant battering meant that in 1979 the entire track had to be resurfaced and as a result the track record went up to 140mph. By 1985 Keke Rosberg was able to lap the track in qualifying for the British GP at an average of 160.925mph.
The speeds were, however, becoming too great and in 1987 it was decided to create a corner before the Woodcote Chicane in order to slow the cars down. This was followed in 1992 by a complete reconfiguration of the track with a new infield section before Woodcote, a reprofiling of Becketts and a slower section known as Vale, between Stowe and Club Corners. The track has been altered slightly since then but retains most of the changes made in 1992.
The BRDC successfully developed a motor racing industrial park beside the track in the course of the 1980s and the track is always busy with testing, racing school activities or rented for major events. In an effort to increase possible uses a National Circuit was laid out, which includes the southern part of the circuit, which can be run independently from the Club Circuit. There were even discussions of an oval.
But while the BRDC has done a great deal to improve the track the local authorities have failed completely to improve road access to Silverstone and every year the lanes around the track are blocked as the thousands of fans try to get into the track. The congestion is such that over the years Silverstone has developed into an enormous airlift - as thousands of VIPs are flown in and out by helicopter. For a day the track becomes the busiest airport in Britain.
In 1999 attempts were made to buy the circuit but the BRDC fought off the challenge although the future of the Grand Prix at Silverstone was placed in doubt by the announcement that Brands Hatch had landed a deal to host the race in 2002. The circuit could not however be upgraded and so Octagon Motorsport, the owners of Brands Hatch leased Silverstone from the BRDC and announced plans for a major rebuilding of the track. The new bypass was completed and access was improved dramatically in 2002 but other major work has been delayed because of Octagon's financial problems. - if the necessary upgrading work can be completed in time.
The BRDC is in the process of modernizing itself and its ideas to meet the challenge.
There have been many great racing circuits in the history of the automobile but none have compared to the Nurburgring, a 14-mile rollercoaster ride through the wooded hills of the Eifel plateau in the western part of Germany, not far from the Belgian border. Centered on Nurburg village, which is overlooked by the ruins of an old 12th century castle, the circuit was the brainchild of the local district controller, a Dr. Creutz, who felt the construction would not only reduce the crippling unemployment in the area in the mid-1920s but also promote tourism and help the German motor industry by providing a testing facility. The idea won the support of the Mayor of Cologne, Konrad Adenauer, who would later rise to become the Chancellor of Germany, and it was Adenauer who convinced the government of the day to supply the 15 million Deutschmarks needed for the project. The work began in 1925 and was finished in time for a grand opening in June 1927. The track was wet and the race was won by Rudi Caracciola. A month later the track hosted the GermanGrand Prix and 100,000 locals turned out to watch Otto Merz win in a Mercedes-Benz.
The oldNurburgring was not one but two circuits which could be used together (making a total of 172 corners) or as separate entities. The Nordschleife (North Loop) was 14.2 glorious miles of tarmac and the Sudschleife (South Loop) was a mere 4.8-miles. Where the two tracks met there was the paddock, the pits, a magnificent wooden grandstand and even a place to stay - the Sporthotel.
This vast circuit was the site of Tazio Nuvolari's greatest victory for Alfa Romeo in 1935; of Juan-Manuel Fangio's greatest drive, fighting back from a delay in his Maserati 250F to win in 1957; and of Jackie Stewart's remarkable win in the fog of 1968, driving with his wrist in plaster.
Such a fast and spectacular track must also have its victims and all around the oldNurburgring there are places where the fast and wild died young. The march of time dictated that safety and television would become important factors. It was virtually impossible to cover the entire track without several hundred TV cameras - and no broadcasting organization could afford such an operation.
But it was the safety which finally - inevitably - put paid to the old Ring. It was, by its very nature, almost impossible to make safe. Despite a three-year program in the early 1970s to erect barriers and create run-off areas there were still safety problems and in 1976 Niki Lauda proposed to the drivers that the circuit be boycotted. The other drivers voted against Lauda and the race went ahead on August 1 that year. Lauda crashed and was badly burned, being saved by the combined actions of fellow drivers Arturo Merzario, Guy Edwards, Brett Lunger and Harald Ertl rather than by the ill-equipped fire marshals. At the end of that year the governing body of the sport - then called the CSI - withdrew the Nurburgring's F1 license.
Other racing went on for another six years but in May 1982 the old circuit held its last international event - a 1000km sportscar race - and work began on the vast new Nurburgring. This extraordinary enterprise was completed in the Spring of 1982 and to celebrate the event the Nurburgring management decided to hold a race with one of the best grids in the history of the sport. The cars were identical Mercedes 190Es and the 20 drivers included Niki Lauda, Keke Rosberg, Alain Prost, Alan Jones, Carlos Reutemann, Jacques Laffite, John Watson, Ayrton Senna, Jody Scheckter, James Hunt, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Phil Hill, Denny Hulme, John Surtees and Elio de Angelis. Senna, a new boy in F1 that year, beat Lauda by just over a second with Reutemann, Rosberg and Watson right behind. A month later - on the same day as the Le Mans 24 Hours - the New Nurburgring held its first international event, a European Formula 3 race.
Formula 1 visited the new Nurburgring in October that year for the European Grand Prix, won by Alain Prost in a McLaren and again less than a year later - in August 1985 - when Michele Alboreto won the only German GP to be held at the new track. And then the Nurburgring disappeared from F1, the victim of commercial disputes between promoters and an unpopularity, which was based solely on the track it replaced. The new Ring would never be like the old one but it did not deserve the criticism it received.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the new Nurburgring survived without Grand Prix racing. The new track hosted a variety of events, from international level down to club races. Occasionally the local racers used the old circuit for races, the highpoint of the year being the Nurburgring 24 Hours when hundreds of drivers turned up to race day and night. The fans came too, tens of thousands of them with their tents and camper vans, to barbecue, drink beer and watch the racing. Just as they used to do when F1 cars flew around the old circuit.
The rise of Michael Schumacher, a local boy from the town of Kerpen, just 40 miles to the north of the track, led to increased pressure for a F1 race and in 1995 the F1 trucks rolled into the circuit once again. The change in all the F1 circuits in the late 1980s and early 1990s meant that it did not seem such a bad place after all and despite poor weather it is now a very popular venue. After hosting the European GP in 1995 and 1996, the race was given the rather exotic title of Luxemburg GP for 1997 and 1998 - to avoid complaints that the Germans were monopolizing the European event, but in 1999 it was back to the European tag.
The track was changed in 2002 to create a stadium-like sectioon at the first corner.
Much of the romance of the old Ring went with the bulldozers. The grandstands now feature strange crane-like support which give the feeling that the whole place has become a dockyard. But at the top of the track there is the comforting sight of the old Nurburg tower, staring out across the hills as it has for the last eight centuries. Out there is the greatest race track that ever existed. and if you pay a few Deutsch Marks you can tour around to the Flugplatz - where the cars flew - along the ridge to the long curling Aremberg and under the bridge, fast downhill to Fuchsrohre (The Foxhole), bottoming out before the sweep uphill again to Adenauer Forst, and on to Kallenhard before the road sweeps off downhill again towards Adenau Bridge. It was up at the righthander before the descent that Onofre Marimon flew off the track during practice for the 1954 GP, crashing to his death below.
Across the bridge at Adenau, the road curls uphill and round behind the hillside towards Bergwerk, and off to the high-speed run along the valley where Lauda crashed. At the top of the valley the track curls to the left and climbs steeply up to the Karussell, the tree which the drivers used to line-up their approach to the corner is still there, as is the mini-banking in a dip in the road - the fastest way through. You are catapulted out and off uphill once more towards Hohe Acht - the highest point on the circuit - before the descent through Wipperman, Eschbach and Brunnchen to the two famous jumps at Pflanzgarten and into Schwalbenschwanz, the little Karrussel, and the fast downhill section, out of the trees by the Dottinger-Hohe hotel and on down the long straight to the kink at Tiergarten and the old pits.
"Nothing gave me more satisfaction than to win at the Nurburgring," said Jackie Stewart, "and yet, I was always afraid. When I left home for the GermanGrand Prix I always used to pause at the end of the driveway and take a long look back.
Motor racing in Hungary was talked about several years before it ever happened. In the early 1930s there was a Hungarian Grand Prix listed in the calendar for several years but it never happened. In 1936, however, the organizers finally succeeded in organizing a race on a 3.1-mile track which was laid out in a park near the center of the city. The Auto Union, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari teams all sent three cars and there was a huge crowd to watch the action. Victory went to Tazio Nuvolari's Alfa Romeo by 14secs over Bernd Rosemeyer's Auto Union.
Hungary suffered serious damage in the war years and it was not until the early 1960s that the first races were held for Formula Junior cars at Budapest's Ferihegy Airport. These events lasted for only three years and then the 1936 track was revived in a slightly different form and the European Touring Car Championship visited on a couple of occasions with Hubert Hahne winning for BMW in 1964 and Andrea de Adamich for Alfa Romeo in 1967.
At the start of the 1980s Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone wanted to hold a Grand Prix behind "The Iron Curtain" and spent many months negotiating with Soviet Russia, the aim being to stage a race in Moscow - the center of the Communist world. In 1983, however, he gave up on the Russians and started looking at other Eastern European cities. Tamas Rohonyi, a Budapest-born advertising man who was involved in the Brazilian GP, suggested that Ecclestone look at Budapest. Ecclestone visited the city in the summer of 1983 and found support for the idea from the head of the national sporting authority Magyar Autoklub, Tibor Balogh.
A Hungarian government study looked at possible street circuits but concluded that it was better to build a new track in Three Springs Valley, 12 miles outside Budapest, close to the new motorway which linked the capital with Miskolc in the north-east of the county.
The valley was perfect, allowing architect Istvan Papp to design a track with marvelous spectating.
In February 1985 a consortium - Forma 1-GT - was created to build the track and the work was completed in seven months. The track opened in June 1986 and the first race took place in August. The first F1 World Championship event to be held behind the Iron Curtain drew an enormous crowd of almost 200,000 people. It was won by Nelson Piquet in a Williams. The tight nature of the circuit tended to make overtaking difficult but this did not stop Nigel Mansell winning from 12th on the grid in 1989, although, in the 1990 race, Thierry Boutsen was able to hold off a string of cars to beat Ayrton Senna to the line by 0.3secs.
The track has become a popular mid-August venue with thousands of Germans, Austrians and Italians traveling to the city to join the many race fans from the east. The track has been gradually upgraded in recent years with changes to the track coming in 2003 in an effort to increase overtaking possibilities.
On January 8 1297 Francois Grimaldi, an Italian buccaneer who robbed and pillaged his way along the rocky coast of what is now called the Riviera, disguised himself as a monk and snuck through the gates of the fortress of Monaco, perched on a dramatic rock, which dominated a pleasant rocky bay. He then opened the gates of the town for his pirate friends and they saw off the soldiers of the ruling family of Genoa who had previously been in control. Seven hundred years later, thanks to a couple of historical incidents, Monaco remains an independent sovereign state, the smallest in the world. It covers less than a square mile but is known throughout the world as the glamorous place where the wealthy and the famous like to live.
Monaco is actually three villages which have grown into one: Monaco the rock - where the Grimaldi Castle sits; Monte Carlo, a village on the top of the cliff opposite; and La Condamine, a tiny port between the two.
Long before His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III married Hollywood movie star Grace Kelly in 1956, Monte Carlo was world-renowned because of its casino - which was the most famous gambling establishment in the world. It was opened in 1863 and helped Monaco develop its glamorous reputation. The relaxed tax laws help to attract the billionaires but originally it was simply a place where the winters were mild and there were things to do in a beautiful setting.
Nowadays there are so many rich and famous people who want to be based there that the grand old Monaco villas have disappeared beneath apartment blocks although one can still get an idea of what it must have been like in the old days if you visit the other little bays between Monaco and Nice. Under the towering corniches, with the sea blue to the horizon, they are dotted with bougainvillea-covered mansions and villas. A wonderful world.
Monaco's glamorous image was helped enormously by the Noghes family, wealthy cigarette manufactures who were well-connected with the Grimaldis. In 1909 Alexandre Noghes became president of the Sport Automobile Velocipedique Monegasque - the local cycle and car club. He proposed the creation of a car rally which would start at points all over Europe and converge on the town. The first event was in January 1911 and 23 cars set out from 11 different locations and was won by Henri Rougier in a Turcat-Mery, the judging being done on a rather arbitrary nature, based on the elegance of the car, the state in which it was when it arrived and so on.
There were cries of scandal when the results were published but it was, despite everything, a glamorous event. It was not until much later that it would develop into a proper race. In 1925 the SAVM changed its name to become the Automobile Club de Monaco. Three years later Alexandre Noghes's son Anthony suggested that Monaco hold a Grand Prix. The club had enjoyed some success organizing the Mont Agel hillclimb and Noghes felt that the next step was a Grand Prix. The idea received enthusiastic backing from Prince Louis II and in April 1929 the first Monaco Grand Prix took place. It was won by a mysterious Anglo-Frenchman called "Williams" in a privately-entered Bugatti Type 35B, painted in British racing green. In 1933 Achille Varzi and Tazio Nuvolari fought out one of their greatest duels on the streets and in 1934 the meteoric racing career of Algerian Frenchman Guy Moll reached its zenith with an unexpected victory for the young Ferrari driver.
The Grand Prix stopped during the war years but on August 5 1945 - nine days before the Japanese surrender - the 36th American Infantry Division held a regularity trial in Monaco - using jeeps and GMC lorries.
The racing revived in 1948 but the event struggled in the early 1950s - it was a sportscar event in 1952. But in 1955 it was back on the international calendar with a dramatic race which saw Alberto Ascari crash into the harbor and victory go to Maurice Trintignant. Monaco is a track where the driver plays a more important role than the car and so the race has tended to be won by the best: Ayrton Senna won six times between 1987 and 1993, Graham Hill earned the name "Mr. Monaco" with five wins in the 1960s. Alain Prost has won four times while Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart took three victories apiece. Michael Schumacher won his fifth Monaco GP in 2001.
From time to time Monaco throws up a surprise: in 1972 Jean-Pierre Beltoise was untouchable in the wet but he never again won a Grand Prix. A decade later Riccardo Patrese scored his first Grand Prix victory in a race that no-one seemed able to win: Prost crashed, Patrese spun, Didier Pironi and Andrea de Cesaris ran out of fuel and Derek Daly leaked oil. Patrese, however, recovered from his mistake and crossed the line, thinking he had lost the race but discovered that he was actually the winner.
In 1996 Olivier Panis came through from the midfield in his Ligier to win a remarkable victory.
Over the years there have been tragedies as well. Lorenzo Bandini crashed at the chicane in 1967 and was burned to death in a raging fire; and in 1994 young Austrian Karl Wendlinger crashed at the same spot, the resulting head injuries effectively ending his F1 career.
Over the years the circuit has changed as Monaco has developed but the basic circuit remains as it was in 1929. In 1973 a new tunnel was built beneath the Loews Hotel and the track from Tabac to La Rascasse was reprofiled to make way for the new swimming pool. Later the Ste Devote and Rascasse Corners were tightened to slow the cars down and in 1986 the chicane was reprofiled for similar reasons.
People have been forecasting disaster for years, but Monaco survives each passing year even if the safety and facilities are out of step with all the other F1 circuits.
Monaco is more than a race. It is the most important Grand Prix of the year, the place where everyone wants to be. More deals are done at Monaco than at any other race and the glitter of the Principality rubs off on F1 as much as the glamour of F1 reflects on the city.
"This place gives us more than we give it," admits F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
In recent years pressure has grown for work to make it possible to build proper pits at Monaco and in 2002 Monaco revealed details of a long-term plan to create decent-sized pitlane and garages. This will necessitate the reprofiling of the Tabac, Swimming Pool and Rascasse sections.
