Formula 1
A Brief History of Cooper Motorsports
A mechanic by trade, Charles Cooper teamed up with his son John and a young man named Eric Brandon to build a race car in the middle of the 1940s. Designed merely to compete in hill climb events in post-war England, the very first Cooper was a highly experimental racer whose platform was essentially made up of two Fiat Topolino front ends bolted to a simple ladder frame.
Korea Dropped from 2015 F1 Calendar, Another Event to Take Its Place?
Earlier this month, the FIA unveiled a 21-race Formula One schedule for 2015, the busiest race schedule in F1 history. The additions of the Mexican Grand Prix, scheduled for November 1st, along with the Korean Grand Prix, scheduled for May 3rd comprised the changes from the 2014 season, but it looks like FIA officials may have jumped the gun when they added the Korean event to the mix.
FIA Reveals 21-Race 2015 Formula One Calendar
The 2014 F1 season maintained a fairly busy schedule of 19 grand prix events, but for 2015, the FIA has scheduled a record-setting 21 events,…
Classic: McLaren F1
Many small companies promise to build ultra-quick supercars designed for the world’s richest customers, but very few of them manage to break into the mainstream and fight head-to-head against the likes of Ferrari and Porsche. McLaren took the automotive industry by surprise when it did just that, seemingly coming out of the Formula 1 pits with what has gone down in history as one of the world’s best sports cars.
Race Class Profile: Formula 1000
Formula 1000, also known as USF1000, is an open wheel SCCA race class. Powered by 1000cc motorcycle engines and utilizing full racing aerodynamics, chassis tuning, suspension and brakes, the single seat USF1000 cars are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 150 miles per hour. While the 190 horsepower generated by these motors might not immediately grab the attention of some racers, when it’s installed in a race-ready car that weights 1000 pounds (with the driver in it), some quick math should indicate that Formula 1000 cars have a fairly impressive power-to-weight ratio. As one of the fastest growing formula car classes in the United States with more active car builders than any other open wheel class in the world, the Formula 1000 series attracts experienced amateur racers who’re serious about going fast.
RAM Adopts SAE Trailer Towing Standard to Provide Real World Ratings
The Society of Automotive Engineers is an entity comprised of more than 138,000 engineers from the automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicle industries which creates testing standards and practices for certifying performance measurements for vehicles. We recently saw SAE involvement in new Chrysler products in regards to the horsepower ratings in the new supercharged engine in the Dodge Challenger and (potentially) the Dodge Charger. Now, Chrysler’s RAM truck division has decided to adopt the SAE’s newest J2807 towing standard across their entire truck line – the only manufacture to do so thus far. However, the real story here is that the SAE has a standard by which manufactures’ trucks can be rated by a universal measurement, rather than ones designed by the manufacturers to meet target numbers under specific conditions.
Classic: Acura – Honda NSX
Honda started toying around with the idea of building a supercar in the early 1980s when it teamed up with famed Italian design house Pininfarina to present a concept called Honda Pininfarina Xperimental (HP-X) at the 1984 edition of the Turin Motor Show. Powered by a 2.0-liter V6 engine, the HP-X was merely a futuristic-looking design study that was never seriously considered for mass production but it showed Honda was already thinking beyond economy cars.
Gallery: Nine of the Greatest Jaguar Race Cars Ever Built
Our friends at Motorsport Retro brings us this gallery of the most legendary Jags built to attack a road course. A decade ago, Jaguar decided to bow out of the F1 series, exiting worldwide motorsport indefinitely. Regardless, Jaguar’s 50-year racing history still stands, and it includes some of the most incredible racing machines each era of competition had to offer. While Jaguar might be more well known for their road-going sportscars, racing icons like the XJR-9 and D-Type still hold special places within the hearts of motorsport fans worldwide. Here’s a look at some of the most notable racing Jags ever to grace the race track.
Racecar Profile: Phoenix Raceworks F1K.12 Formula 1000
Formula 1000 is an open wheel SCCA class that utilizes a 1000cc motorcycle engine in a single seat race car with full racing aero, chassis tuning, suspension and brakes. 200 horsepower may not sound like an excessive amount of grunt for a car, but consider this: A race-ready F1000 weights 800 pounds (or less), which means these F1000 cars actually have a better power-to-weight ratio than a Bugatti Veyron. To put it another way – F1000 racing is serious business.
Gallery: 10 Awesome Turbocharged F1 Cars
Motorsport Retro brings us this collection of especially palatable boosted F1 cars from yesteryear. Forced induction seems to be infiltrating every corner of motoring these days, and for the 2014 season, even Formula One is getting in on the act. Although it remains to be seen if this change will bring a new level of intensity to F1 that we’ve been craving, perhaps this collection of turbocharged F1 cars will help us determine the necessary ingredients for boosted success.
Maldonado Finds a New Home at Lotus
After three years with Williams F1, the Venezuelan driver is poised to take over the vacant spot over at Lotus left by Kimi Raikkonen, who will be returning to the Scuderia Ferrari team for the 2014 season.
Video: Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, The Destroyer of Tires
Chris Harris of Drive and EVO fame is perhaps best known for the elegance and effortlessness in which he’s able to put fast cars sideways around corners. When Chris asked Ferrari for a go in the 740 horsepower F12, the folks in Maranello said yes – and wisely sent along 4 extra sets of tires. What happened next is a thing of carnal beauty.
Formula 1 Driver Lineup News: Magnussen, Perez, Räikkönen, and Kovalainen
Shortly after the news that Felipe Massa will be joining the Williams F1 team, we’ve got some more news about driver lineups concerning Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez, and Heikki Kovalainen.
November Race Schedule
Formula 1 and other series finish their 2013 race seasons this month. Here’s what to watch.
Sebastian Vettel Youngest Driver To Win Four Formula 1 Championships
26-year-old Sebastian Vettel won Sunday’s 2013 Indian Grand Prix, securing the Drivers’ Championship title for the season. With three races left in the season, not even current second-place driver Fernando Alonso has the opportunity to catch up to Vettel’s 322 points.
Video: Hear Honda’s New Formula 1 Engine
Back in May, we learned that McLaren will again be using Honda power for the 2015 Formula 1 season. Now we can hear the sound of that engine in this video from Honda Racing.
New Jersey Added To 2014 Formula 1 Calendar
In what could possibly be great news for North American race fans, Formula 1 has added New Jersey, Mexico, Austria, and Russia to its newly published 2014 calendar. New Jersey and Mexico are listed as provisional pending circuit approval. Korea is also listed as provisional.
Film Review: Rush Lives Up To Its Title
Rush does a great job of breathing life back into a bit of racing history that definitely deserves a bit of renewed attention, even if it is just for the sake of entertaining a fresh audience. The story of the racing rivalry between the blunt and disciplined Niki Lauda and rebellious playboy James Hunt—culminating in the 1976 Formula 1 season—is one we feel lucky to get to experience on the big screen.
Driver Profile: James Hunt
James Hunt was born in England in 1947, and as an adolescent rebelled against his strict family. After seeing his first race on his 18th birthday, James decided to go into auto racing, despite the disapproval of his parents. He was as wild on the track as he was in his personal life, and once he learned to keep his car on the track, he proved to be a talented driver.
Driver Profile: Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda, born in Vienna, Austria in 1949, started racing cars despite his family’s disapproval. He Joined Formula 2 in 1971 driving for March, and soon found himself driving for March’s Formula 1 team. Lauda joined BRM’s F1 team in 1973, and was eventually signed to Ferrari in 1974. He won his first Formula 1 championship with Ferrari in 1975.
Frankrurt 2013: Ferrari 458 Speciale (With Video)
Since teasing the 458 Speciale with a video, a few photos, and some details, Ferrari has debuted the car at the Frankfurt motor show with more information and some new images.
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