Hungarian GP Report: Hamilton Returns To The Top

Sunday 26th July 2009

Lewis Hamilton claimed his first grand prix victory of the season in Hungary as McLaren put their early season woes behind them to return to winning ways.

Starting from fourth on the grid, the defending World Champion put his KERS to good use, easily sliding his way past his rivals and up into second place by the end of the first lap.

From there it was just a case of chasing down Fernando Alonso, which he easily did, taking the lead as the Spaniard pitted.

Alonso's pit stop, though, proved to be the Renault driver's downfall as his front right wasn't secured properly and came off on his out-lap.

With the wheel hurtling across the track, F1 proved for the second time this weekend that its safety standards still need to be improved. The damage from driving back to the pits on three wheels resulted in Alonso retiring on the next lap.

Meanwhile, with Hamilton pulling away from the chasing pack, it was left to Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber to settle the podium with the Ferrari driver taking second place off the Australia.

However, in yet another strange occurrence of the weekend, Raikkonen could lose his eight points as he will be investigated by the race stewards after the race for his incident with Sebastian Vettel at the very start of the race. So what were the stewards doing for 69 3/4 laps?

Nico Rosberg put in yet another solid performance for Williams, coming home in fourth place ahead of Heikki Kovalainen and Timo Glock. Jenson Button could only manage seventh place with Jarno Trulli completing the points.

Full report to follow...

Results
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:38:23.876
02 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 11.529
03 M. Webber Red Bull + 16.886
04 N. Rosberg Williams + 26.967
05 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 34.392
06 T. Glock Toyota + 35.237
07 J. Button Brawn GP + 55.088
08 J. Trulli Toyota + 1:08.172
09 K. Nakajima Williams + 1:08.774
10 R. Barrichello Brawn GP + 1:09.256
11 N. Heidfeld BMW + 1:10.600
12 N.Piquet Renault + 1:11.500
13 R. Kubica BMW + 1:14.000
14 G. Fisichella Force India F1 + 1 laps
15 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1 laps
16 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1 laps
Did not finish
17 S. Vettel Red Bull + 41 laps
18 F. Alonso Renault + 55 laps
19 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 69 laps

Source : Planet F1

LEWIS WINS IN HUNGARY

Finally, a race worth watching. And what a race. The supposedly boring Hungarian GP turned otherwise. Alonso who was on pole and looked to have at least been on the podium ended up DNF because of a loose wheel which came off flying in a dramatic way.

Sebastien Vettel also retired due to a problem with his car and Mark Webber really didn't have the pace although he did end up 3rd. Rosberg quietly finished in 4th and Kovalainnen got some more points for McLaren in 5th. He really is no match for Lewis even with the same car.

The 2 Toyotas were surprising finishing 6th and 8th after a poor practice and qualifying. The Brawns seems to have lost some steam with Button 7th and Barrichello 10th. Looks like Rubens won't be racing next year.

The race was watchable, I'd definitely watch it again. The start was nail biting, there were some overtaking moments and McLaren are back.

Ford’s baby cat is getting ready to pounce

I never liked Ford, any model but this new Puma Coupe' is just too hot, wished it was another brand like Honda that came out with this design.

"Boasting nearly 180bhp, the hot Puma would be able to do 0-60mph in around six seconds and accelerate on to a 140mph top speed. Allied to a even sharper chassis with a subtle ST-style bodykit, uprated brakes and figure-hugging Recaro seats, it could be a successor to the revered Racing Puma." 180bhp? Woohoo!

Aston Martin One-77

Aston Martins have always been sexy supercars and they have had good exposure in the James Bond movies. But this particular model, the highest in their range and set to rival the Bugatti Veyron is just incredible. Incredible in looks and specs. To read more about it click here. Here's a selection of pictures courtesy of EVO to whet your appetite.

Mitsubishi FQ-330 SST

Great news for Evo lovers, as paddle-shift reaches more powerful Mitsubishi Evo X

Here at Evo Towers we’ve blown hot and cold over the tenth version of our namesake Lancer, primarily because of its technical advancements and more polished finish. As a ground covering tool it would be hard to find anything more efficient and there are fleeting moments of greatness, but we miss the interaction and rally-raw feel of the old Evo IX.

The optional SST twin-clutch gearbox introduced with the X did little to help the new car’s case. Up until now, however, the SST ’box was only available on the basic FQ-300, which led us to conclude that it wasn’t beefy enough to cope with more power. Well, apparently it is, as now the 324bhp FQ-330 can be ordered with it too, and the great news is that it makes for a far more intriguing package.

The bias of the Evo’s four-wheel-drive system is rearward and here it has enough power to give the driver more options, with both power and lift-off oversteer on the menu. The blink-and-you’ve-missed-it gearshifts are more in keeping with this new-found feistier character too. The great news for Evo lovers, then, is that some of the missing spirit has returned.

Source : EVO UK

Bugatti Veyron and Nissan GT-R

Ever considered what would happen if you pit the mighty Veyron against the GTR? Well, click here to find out. Of course, it is easy to know that the Veyron would chew up the GTR and spit it out but even with the GTR given a rolling start, the Veyron still caught up with it and overtook. Incredible.

AUTO NEWS - Used-car sales expected to drop

Probably in 3 months time, it would be a good time to go shopping for a used car.

GEORGE TOWN: The sales of used cars in the country are expected to drop by 10% this year from 450,000 units sold last year.

Federation of Motor and Credit Companies Association of Malaysia president Datuk Tony Khor said that from 2004 to 2008, the sales of used cars had been between 400,000 and 500,000 units per year.

“But because of the global recession this year, we expect a decrease of about 10%,” he told StarBiz.

Khor said that since last October, the drop had hit double digits every month.

“In May, due to the launch of the Proton Exora, the decline in sales improved to single digit.

“We expect the Exora, coupled with the dip in interest rates, to drive up sales for Proton to enable it to become the number one car company in the country, overtaking Perodua, which has been the leading national car company for the past 12 months,” he added.

Interest rates on loans for national cars have recently gone down from 4.1% to 3.5% and 3.65% for a five-year and seven-year period respectively, and 3.75% for a nine-year period.

On the sales of non-national cars, Khor said the hike in interest rates to about 3.4% from 2.4% and the impact of a slow economy had affected sales. He urged Bank Negara to lower the rates.

Sales of 1.6-litre capacity and below vehicles had taken about 85% of the market share in the country last year, Khor said, adding that about 48% of the cars were sold in Selangor, while about 10% were sold in Penang and Johor respectively.

Source : The Star

AUTO NEWS - Porsche axes CEO, sets stage for VW merger

Wendelin Wiedeking, CEO of Porsche SE posing for the media before the start of the company's annual news conference in Stuttgart on November 26, 2008. He was forced to step down today, a casualty of the power struggle over Porsche's future. - Reuters file photo

STUTTGART, July 23 — Sportscar maker Porsche conceded a months-long power struggle to mass-market rival Volkswagen by axing its CEO and said it would raise at least €5 billion (RM29.13 billion) in equity as the two prepared for a merger.

Porsche said Wendelin Wiedeking, Germany’s best-paid executive and its CEO for the past 16 years, and finance chief Holger Haerter would quit the group immediately.

Before Wiedeking’s departure, the Piech and Porsche families which control Porsche approved his proposal to raise fresh equity – either in cash or through a contribution in kind – and endorsed talks to sell a stake to Qatar.

“This should lay the foundations for the creation of an integrated automobile group consisting of Porsche and Volkswagen,” Porsche said.

The families had been at loggerheads for months over how to resolve Porsche’s debt woes and the role VW would play. VW chairman Ferdinand Piech has pushed for VW to take over Porsche, on condition that Porsche fixes its finances first.

Porsche SE, the holding company that controls sportscar maker Porsche, needs to bolster its finances after accumulating more than €10 billion in debt through its botched attempt to seize control of VW.

“What is good news is that decisions have at least been prepared. However, still a huge amount of questions (are) open which are decisive for valuation,” said MM Warburg analyst Marc-Rene Tonn.

It remained unclear whether Qatar could take a stake in Porsche, in Volkswagen, or in both. It was also not clear what form a possible combination of the two companies could take.

On Tuesday, sources said that Qatar was primarily interested in an investment in Volkswagen, though a participation in the capital increase will also give it a stake than 25 per cent in Porsche.

The issue was due to be discussed by Volkswagen’s own board of directors at an extraordinary session on Thursday in Stuttgart, where Porsche’s Zuffenhausen headquarters are based, rather than its own headquarters in Wolfsburg.

CONTRIBUTIONS IN KIND

Sources told Reuters that Porsche, as part of the capital increase hopes to raise €2 billion cash by selling a stake of less than 25 per cent to Qatar, the first time a family outsider might gain voting rights in the company.

It was not clear whether the Porsche and Piech families, which trace their origins back to VW Beetle creator Ferdinand Porsche, would participate in the capital increase, but analysts said they believed the families could bring in the assets of their Salzburg-based Porsche Holding instead of cash.

An analyst who asked not to be named agreed: “I cannot think of another asset the families have.”

Porsche Holding holds the exclusive distribution rights for all Volkswagen group brands in Austria as well as central and eastern Europe. It had sales of €13.7 billion last year.

At 1139 GMT (7.39pm, Malaysian time), Porsche shares were down 0.33 per cent, while Volkswagen’s were down 2.5 per cent, compared with a 0.5 per cent fall in the DJ Stoxx auto index and a flat German market.

Wiedeking, who opposed selling Porsche to Volkswagen, will be succeeded by Porsche’s production head Michael Macht, the board said in a statement early on Thursday.

The duo’s hasty exit will be sweetened by severance deals of €50 million and €12.5 million. Wiedeking, who had been criticised by German media for his fat pay check, said in a statement his after-tax payoff would be used for charity.

Porsche was forced to abandon attempts to win control over 75 per cent of VW, leaving it with a stake of nearly 51 per cent. The failed takeover attempt opened the door to VW chairman Piech, himself a part-owner of Porsche, to turn the tables on Porsche.

Porsche is entering the final stretch of negotiations with Volkswagen to create what both sides have called an “integrated” auto group, in which Porsche would essentially become the 10th brand in Volkswagen’s sweeping automotive empire. – Reuters

Batman replica motorcycle leathers (Batpod not included)

by Alex Nunez on Jul 19th, 2009 at 1:31PM

The San Diego Comic-Con kicks off later this week, and as is the case each year, there'll be no shortage of giddy, costumed fanboys and girls roaming the halls. There's no denying that some of the getups people wear to the con are pretty spot-on, but fans of Batman might be interested in this one, which looks to be dead accurate, as well as being somewhat functional.

Universal Designs is developing a set of motorcycle leathers that's an exact replica of the Batsuit donned by Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight. Included in the leather-and-kevlar suit are the jacket, pants, boots and gloves. You even get the ninjatastic arm gauntlets. How cool is that?

You'll need to supply your own cape, cowl and helmet (having a trustworthy butler, billions of dollars, plus an inventor friend and colleague with a healthy sense of discretion will help immeasurably). For maximum impact, you should probably build a fully-functional Batpod in your garage, too. Just think of the entrance you can make in San Diego.

Source : Autoblog

PitroadM M-Golden Hayabusa GTO

PitroadM M-Golden Hayabusa GTO Ver.3 [Z16A] From OPTION [Dec. 2006]

Despite its satisfactory sales and sporting a style which swayed away from the domestic tradition, the Mitsubishi GTO still stamps a highly notable presence in the tuning world. Being supported by many GTO fanatics to this date, Mr. Morishita attempts to build the fastest straight-line drag GTO out there.

A potent arsenal of 3.1 liters + T88-38GK It all began 6 months ago when Morishita received a video letter from one of his acquaintance in the United States. That video included an astonishing clip of a stateside Mitsubishi 3000GT (GTO in Japan) pulling off an impressive 9 second pass on the quarter mile. Morishita replied “I was in utter shock. Seeing a stock bodied GTO breaking the 10 second barrier was something that we have never seen. Our best time was 10.7. I watched that amazing pass many times, even rewinding the tape and measuring with my own stop watch from start to finish.” That machine was just an extension of a street vehicle, with an extreme case of weight reduction performed. Morishita was further stunned to learn that the foreign machine was mostly fitted with PitRoadM components and made consistent 9 second passes. As a competitive tuner in the DSM world, Morishita's fire was lit. Determined to achieve a higher status, the 10.7 second achieving 6G72 engine fitted with forged internals with TD06L2 turbine that made 600 horses was tossed out. They decided to build another engine. The new bottom end consisted of 1mm oversized forged 92mm pistons with H beamed connecting rods which increased the displacement to 3100cc. The crank was only balanced and not modified since Morishita believed that it wasn't necessary to as long as they didn't force the motor to over rev. Next was the head assembly. Custom strengthened valve springs accompanied the intake and exhaust high lift camshafts of 272 degrees. Since the 6G72 engine produces plenty of torque without having to spin it to the higher RPMs, there's no need to rev that high. Building the engine to achieve a 8500 RPM redline can be a disastrous decision, with rocker arms flying off and spinning connecting rod bearings in no time. The absolute limit for these engines should be 8000 RPMs at the most. The correct tuning approach should be to modify the combustion chamber and the intake ports to increase midrange torque; which PitRoadM started doing. The turbine should be matched to the mid range torque to add that much needed punch. The twin turbos were tossed out to make room for the monstrous single snail. The intake manifold was reversed to make room for the exhaust manifold. The entire assembly is regulated by an Fcon Vpro, achieving 920 horsepower at 7500 RPMs. 672 ft/lbs of torque is produced from this beast. “Now we should be able to break the 10 second barrier with ease. We can't be losing to the boys in the US all the time.” Claims Morishita. The vehicle is planned to be tested this winter. Holding the pride of the nation's number one GTO tuner, he cannot afford to lose to this game. SPECIFICATIONS • ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN Modified 6G72 3.1 liters, Special port & polish, modified combustion chamber, M-SPL MFR92mm forged pistons, H-beam connecting rods, 1.5mm headgasket & intake manifold, Trust T88-38GK18L turbo & Type C wastegate, M-SPL MFR camshafts (IN&EX:272 deg), strengthened valve springs, custom original surge tank, 90mm throttle body, 1000cc injectors x6, HKS F-CON Vpro, Trust Profec, M-SPL 3 row intercooler, 3 row radiator • SUSPENSION M-SPL Suspension (F:16kg R:8kg), M-SPL camber arms, M-SPL brake kit & hoses & pads • WHEELS & TIRES GY Eagle (FR:265/35-18), RAYS Gram Lights (FR:9.5J-18) • INTERIOR & EXTERIOR Veilside steering wheel, Recaro SP-G x2, Trust gauges, Autometer, M-SPL Falcon aero kit, M-SPL carbon doors & rear hatch & hood, LED tail lights, acrylic windows ENGINE The 6G72, an unfriendly engine to the aftermarket tuning parts industry. At PiRoadM, tons of research and development have gone into this platform, producing a mass of engine components. The payoff and the proof is the engine shown to the left, a high boost 3.1 liter 6G72. SUSPENSION The suspension is an Aragosta base, which was modified to withstand and provide traction. 16 kg springs for front, and 8 kg for the rear was set. The rear is equipped with a custom camber arm. The suspension was set meticulously and carefully. BRAKES In order to bring the large sized body to a stop, oversized brakes were installed. The front and rear was fitted with a modified Greddy brake kit. 6 pot caliper with 355mm rotors for the front, 4 pot 330mm brakes for the rear. The brake pads are a custom as well. INTERIOR Driver and passengers are seated in the Recaro SP-G seats. On the middle of the dashboard, Trust water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, intake temp, fuel pressure gauges are lined up. In addition, a Tomei AFR gauge with an Autometer gauge was set. BODYWORK The rear seats have been deleted to remove unnecessary weight however all the other trim pieces remain in tact. A custom chromoly 5 point cage was welded in. On top of that, the front and rear tower bars add extra rigidity to the chassis. COOLING A twin pipe 3 row intercooler was mounted having a diameter of 100mm for each pipe. The 3 row radiator and 16 row oil cooler are also a shop original item. The water pump pulley adds support when producing big horsepower numbers. AERODYNAMICS The M-SPL Falcon body kit was produced for the early model GTO with the looks of the later generation styling. The headlight assembly is turned into an air intake duct, and the windows were all replaced with acrylic units to save weight. The doors, rear hatch, and the hood are made of carbon fiber to achieve a 3300 pound vehicle.

F1 News - Webber hails a 'great' day for Australia

Monday 13th July 2009

At least one Australian emerged triumphant on Sunday as Mark Webber finally savoured the sweet taste of Formula One success.

Monday's meal with close friend, Australia captain Ricky Ponting, will not be as celebratory as planned after the cricketers missed out by one wicket on taking a 1-0 lead over England in the Ashes following a thrilling climax to the first Test at Cardiff.

But in becoming the first Australian since Alan Jones at Las Vegas in October 1981 to win a grand prix, Webber will still be hailed a hero Down Under.

Although Webber will be gutted by the result in the cricket, there was no doubting just how much his maiden win meant to him as an Australian.

"It was very, very important for me because not many Australian drivers have reached Formula One, and there are even fewer who have been successful," remarked Webber.

"It's a real message to the Australian people. I've always tried to represent my country as best as I can.

"We're a very proud sporting nation which has done well on bikes in the past with Mick (Doohan) and Casey (Stoner).

"Now this is a great day for me and Australia."

Source : Palnet F1

Brawn GP lightest of all

This should be interesting as the Brawns are light but the Red Bulls are not that heavy. The more interesting thing is the McLarens are way heavier but are on row 3 and have KERS. Plus the weather is changeable with a heavy possibility of rain and the first turn is after a long straight with a harpin. Woohoo!

Saturday 11th July 2009

In a surprise revelation, car weights post qualifying have hinted that Brawn GP's rivals have not only caught them, but surpassed them.

Brawn's two drivers, Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, qualified second and third for Sunday's German GP, a feat that one has come to expect from the duo this season. However, what wasn't expected was how light they are.

Barrichello and Button are the lightest drivers on the grid, weighing in at 647 and 644kgs respectively, whereas pole sitter Mark Webber and his team-mate Sebastian Vettel are both coming in at 661kgs.

Lewis Hamilton, who qualified in fifth place and has already said a podium finish could be on the cards for McLaren, is third lightest of the top ten, with his MP4-24 weighing 654kgs while his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen is carrying 10kgs more fuel.

One of the biggest surprises of qualifying, though, was Adrian Sutil's performance as the German finished the afternoon in seventh place ahead of both Ferraris. And he's heavier than them as well.

Weights
01. Webber Red Bull-Renault 661.0
02. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 647.0
03. Button Brawn-Mercedes 644.0
04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 661.0
05. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 654.5
06. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 664.0
07. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 678.5
08. Massa Ferrari 673.5
09. Raikkonen Ferrari 674.0
10. Piquet Renault 676.0
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 681.0*
12. Alonso Renault 668.2*
13. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 683.6*
14. Trulli Toyota 683.7*
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 689.6*
16. Kubica BMW-Sauber 673.5*
17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 674.5*
18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 662.5*
19. Glock Toyota 662.3*
20. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 689.5*

Source : Planet F1

Qualy: Webber claims debut pole

Saturday 11th July 2009

What a difference a touch of rain makes to an F1 track, as Germany witnessed the best qualifying session of the season with Mark Webber claiming his first ever pole position.

The rain started to fall lightly at the end of Q1, however, it was in Q2 that the action really started with drivers sliding off the track on their outlaps before returning in full force to the pits for intermediates.

And although the rain stayed away for the final session it was no less exciting as the top five positions all changed after the chequered flag fell with Webber coming out tops with a 1:32.230. It was the Aussie's first ever pole position and a much-deserved one.

Brawn GP was the team that yet again took the fight to Red Bull Racing with Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button finishing second and third, ahead of Sebastian Vettel. This means the top four drivers in the Championship race will also be the top four on the Nurburgring grid.

Lewis Hamilton, who set the pace in the final two practice sessions, had to settle for fifth place ahead of his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and Force India's Adrian Sutil.

Qualifying 1
Under leaden skies with the temperature down at 14C ambient and the track at 22C, all the teams scurried into the pitlane for the start of the session fearful that the skies might open and rain would become a factor.

As it was, the rain held off in the opening minutes and while the cars - which had all been fuelled up for three or more hot laps - circulated, Sebastian Vettel established the P1 time at 1:33.413 on the medium (prime) tyre.

Button edged this down to 1:32.649, Alonso reduced it to 1:31.834 before Lewis Hamilton seized the advantage with a 1:31.686 on the first of a series of three runs which took the time down to 1:31.473 (all on the super-soft option tyre).

Realising that everyone was going to be using the green-walled super-soft tyres, Vettel joined the gang and re-set P1 at 1:31.430, while Mark Webber went even better with a 1:31.257.

A rejuvenated Fernando Alonso was flying in the early stages and making the most of an updated aero package on his Renault. It looked like he would snatch P1 until he came up against the Toyota of Timo Glock trying to give himself a bit of space in the final corner. Alonso still got P2 but even if Glock wasn't in trouble with the stewards, he was in trouble on the track.

Going into the final three minutes the danger positions were: 13.Nakajima, 14.Sutil, 15.Piquet, 16.Kubica, 17.Button, 18.Fisichella, 19.Glock, 20.Bourdais.

There had been rain drops spotting the camera lenses after five minutes, but with two minutes to go it began to rain steadily, giving those in the drop zone no chance of improving their lap time. And though Kubica and Glock set off with the hope of getting into Q2, their mid-lap times were so far down that they didn't bother completing the lap.

So, out went:
16.Kubica
17.Buemi
18.Fisichella
19.Glock
Bourdais

Glock was the major casualty, but strange to say after their practice form it was more of a surprise to see Fisichella in the bottom five than it was Robert Kubica.

Qualifying 2
If the rush to get out of the pitlane in Q1 was evident, then the scramble to get out of the pits for Q2 was like the M25 on a Friday night. And the race to get track position was intense on the opening tour as the rain started to fall again and conditions worsened.

Lewis Hamilton was on the outside of a three-car battle going into one turn, while ahead of them Kazuki Nakajima showed how bad the conditions were getting by spinning his Williams-Toyota under braking.

Everyone was having fun controlling their cars, none more so than Felipe Massa who lost control of his Ferrari exiting the Michelin kurve and found himself tiptoeing round a cinder track behind the gravel trap at the run-off for the BIT kurve.

At the end of a madcap lap everyone barring Mark Webber came in to the pits for Intermediate tyres, leaving the Red Bull driver to struggle on for a fruitless lap on slick tyres.

Out they all came again on inters, led off by Fernando Alonso who set P1 at 1:43.931. This was then superseded by Lewis Hamilton at 1:42.325 with Adrian Sutil taking P2 and then Kazuki Nakajima taking P2 off him.

Everyone was having moments all over the circuit. Heikki Kovalainen passed the tentative Toyota of Trulli only to put a wheel on the white line at the exit of Turn 4 in the Mercedes Arena and spun his car with a gentle bash on the Armco that thankfully only ruined his lap time.

Nick Heidfeld was sensational in the wet at Silverstone and Spa in 2008 and he grabbed P1 with a 1:42.310, Raikkonen took it off him with a 1:41.730 and then Mark Webber put in an astonishing lap, sending the timing screen purple for three sectors with a 1:38.038.

While all this was happening, and Nakajima and Vettel were having a paint-swapping moment in the pitlane, Rubens Barrichello chose to put on dry tyres. The rain had stopped briefly and Rubens saw a gap. His lap time was sensational. He carved almost four seconds off P1 from a 1:38 to a 1:34.469.

Now the rush was to get out there again with dry tyres on.

Going into the final three minutes the danger positions were: 8.Hamilton, 9. Nakajima, 10.Sutil, 11.Trulli, 12.Piquet, 13.Rosberg, 14.Button, 15.Kovalainen

And just as soon as the cars had their slicks back on then it started to rain again. With just seconds of the session remaining, Button and Hamilton had been relegated to 14th and 15th positions. Sutil grabbed P2, then Nelson Piquet took P2 off him.

Fernando Alonso lost it under braking for the Veedol chicane but kept his car out of the gravel despite dipping his front wing in. At the same time Kimi Raikkonen started to rallycross his Ferrari F60.

Across the line they came and Heikki Kovalainen managed to get his injured car into P6, Button's last gasp attempt brought him P5 and Hamilton came home in P6. It had been the most breathtaking Q2 of the season, if not the most eventful since we moved away from single lap qualifying.

Out went:
11.Heidfeld
12.Alonso
13.Nakajima
14.Trulli
15.Rosberg

For the first time Nelson Piquet Junior had outqualified his team-mate and by a margin of almost seven seconds. Nelsinho just loves the German Grand Prix (he finished in P3 last year). Alonso looked like he had the potential to run in the top five but threw it all away due to his own misjudgement.

Trulli's exit sealed a miserable qualifying for Toyota and the recent upswing of Williams was stopped dead inits tracks.

Qualifying 3
Unlike the previous two sessions when the green light came on, this time nobody came out at all. There was 8.30 left on the clock when Jenson Button's Brawn GP car broke the silence, but seeing few others come out on track, he came straight in again.

Rubens Barrichello set the provisional pole time with a 1:32.797 and Mark Webber slotted in behind before Sebatian Vettel took P2 off him. The track was drying fast and it looked like everyone was going to save their best till last.

After the early laps, the order was: Barrichello, Vettel, Webber, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Massa, Sutil, Hamilton, Piquet, Button (who hadn't set a time).

Out they came for either one or two final hot laps. Kovalainen consolidated his P4. Lewis Hamilton jumped to P1 with a 1:32.616, Jenson Button couldn't better it and went P2. Rubens Barrichello passed him for P2, then Mark Webber set pole at 1:32.230.

Vettel, Barrichello and Button were all on hot laps behind him. Hamilton was back in his garage. Though Button set the fastest first sector of anyone, he had a moment in his middle sector and lost 0.5 of a second.

Meanwhile Vettel crossed the line to take P2, but despite Jenson's mistake he took it off the German, and then Barrichello crossed the line to put himelf on the front row in P2 relegating Button to P3 and Vettel to P4.

Hamilton ended up 5th and Adrian Sutil a brilliant 7th for Force India - five Mercedes engines in the top 10. It was Mark Webber's first ever pole position and the Aussie is good in both wet and dry conditions boding well for the race tomorrow.

FH

Times
01 M. Webber Red Bull 1:32.230
02 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:32.357
03 J. Button Brawn GP 1:32.473
04 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:32.480
05 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:32.616
06 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:33.859
07 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:34.316
08 F. Massa Ferrari 1:34.574
09 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:34.710
10 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:34.803
11 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:42.310
12 F. Alonso Renault 1:42.318
13 K. Nakajima Williams 1:42.500
14 J. Trulli Toyota 1:42.771
15 N. Rosberg Williams 1:42.859
16 R. Kubica BMW 1:32.190
17 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:32.251
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:32.402
19 T. Glock Toyota 1:32.423
20 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33.559

Source : Planet F1

F1 News - Prac Two: Hamilton steals Vettel's thunder

Friday 10th July 2009

Lewis Hamilton stole Sebastian Vettel's thunder in Friday's second practice in Germany, beating the local favourite to the P1 slot.

Hamilton, who has had a miserable season with McLaren to date, showed some signs of promise as he crossed the line with a 1:32.149, edging Vettel by 0.182s.

Third place went to Brawn GP's Jenson Button, who wasn't far off the pace, just 0.2s behind his fellow Brit.

Report: With the track temperature up to 20'C and thick cloud cover overhead, Sebastian Vettel got proceedings underway in the weekend's second practice session. The German, who stopped out on track due to a loose electrical connector in Practice One, led out a string of cars as the drivers set about covering their installation laps. Vettel, though, almost came together with Seb Bourdais as he dived down the inside, looking to start the first timed lap of the afternoon.

Vettel clocked a 1:37.646 but was quickly overhauled by fellow German Timo Glock. Glock too lost out as his team-mate Jarno Trulli went quickest with a 1:37.180. Nick Heidfeld, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica and Seb Buemi queued up behind them on the timesheets. Vettel returned to the P1 slot, posting a 1:35.577 as the first few drops of rain began to fall. Glock improved to second place ahead of Trulli, Kubica and Buemi.

Giancarlo Fisichella was the first to fall foul of the wet weather as the Roman put his car onto the wet white paint, which put him into a slide that ended with his Force India making contact with a barrier at the Michelin Kurve. Game over for Fisichella.

After a brief rain break the drivers returned to the track with Nico Rosberg taking eighth place on his first timed lap of the afternoon. The German moved up to second place on his next lap before being dropped as Heikki Kovalainen went quickest, the first driver to use the super softs. He did a 1:34.906 only to take more than a second off his time on his second timed lap.

With all the drivers out on track, excluding Kovalainen, Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen, the timesheets continued to change with Kazuki Nakajima taking second place ahead of Rosberg before Rosberg moved ahead and Massa slotted in between the Williams pairing. Fernando Alonso went fifth ahead of his team-mate Nelson Piquet but that too changed when Trulli put his Toyota into third place.

Nick Heidfeld was the next to take the P1 slot only to lose out to Mark Webber seconds later. Jenson Button went fourth and Alonso fifth. Vettel had problems going into Turn 1, forcing him onto the run-off area as he overshot the braking point. The German later moved up to fourth place, moments after Button took third.

Raikkonen improved from the bottom of the timesheets to fifth place while Hamilton moved up to ninth. The McLaren driver continued his climb up the order taking sixth place behind Glock. Glock's team-mate Trulli also upped his pace, going second quickest with Nakajima third.

The order of play changed as Button took control, going quickest with a 1:32.369, putting him 0.2s ahead of Webber while Adrian Sutil put in another stellar performance to take third place. Trulli improved to second place, 0.142s behind Button. Barrichello slotted into fifth place, finishing finding a similar sort of pace to his pace-setting team-mate's.

Hamilton was the next to put in a charge as he moved up to second place, just 0.044s behind Button before the two Brits were dropped by Vettel's climb up the order. He went quickest with a 1:32.342.

The final few minutes saw a mad rush from the 19 drivers remaining in the session with Hamilton taking the P1 slot and although Vettel closed the gap, he wasn't able to overhaul the McLaren man.

Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:32.149 23 laps
02 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:32.331 31 laps
03 J. Button Brawn GP 1:32.369 32 laps
04 M. Webber Red Bull 1:32.480 28 laps
05 J. Trulli Toyota 1:32.511 32 laps
06 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:32.585 32 laps
07 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:32.664 26 laps
08 F. Alonso Renault 1:32.774 24 laps
09 K. Nakajima Williams 1:32.872 32 laps
10 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:32.992 29 laps
11 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:33.012 36 laps
12 F. Massa Ferrari 1:33.052 34 laps
13 N. Rosberg Williams 1:33.128 34 laps
14 R. Kubica BMW 1:33.161 28 laps
15 T. Glock Toyota 1:33.172 34 laps
16 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:33.182 29 laps
17 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:33.724 27 laps
18 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33.903 30 laps
19 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:34.025 30 laps
20 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:38.877 3 laps

Source : Planet F1

F1 News - Prac One: Red Bull and Brawn resume battle

Friday 10th July 2009

The battle between Red Bull and Brawn GP resumed in Friday's opening practice for the German GP with Mark Webber setting the pace.

The Australian driver, who Jenson Button believes is the favourite to win at the Nurburgring this weekend, clocked a 1:33.082 to outpace Button by 0.381s.

Third place went to Felipe Massa as the Ferrari driver demonstrated the Scuderia's continuously improving pace.

Report: With the track temperature sitting at just 14'C, Sebastian Vettel left the Red Bull garage to put in his installation lap in front of his home crowd. He was soon joined by another German driver as Adrian Sutil ventured out, followed by a train of drivers. Within ten minutes everyone barring Lewis Hamilton and Timo Glock had completed their sighting lap.

Sebastien Buemi set the first lap time of the weekend as a few spots of rain began to fall, a 1:43.315 for the Toro Rosso driver. Giancarlo Fisichella was the next to record a time, going quickest after taking three seconds off Buemi's time. The track action, though, stopped shortly after as the rain came down a little harder.

With the rain abating, drivers ventured out again with Jarno Trulli going quickest with a 1:39.7. Fisichella dropped to second with Nico Rosberg, Heikki Kovalainen and Buemi behind him. Rosberg and Kovalainen improved their times with Kimi Raikkonen slotting into third place between the two. Raikkonen continued lapping, taking second place while Trulli lowered the benchmark to a 1:36.1. Kovalainen went second.

Halfway through the session, the top eight were Trulli, Rosberg, Mark Webber, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Kazuki Nakajima, Nick Heidfeld, Felipe Massa. Raikkonen and Heidfeld almost immediately moved up the order while Sutil, Jenson Button, Seb Bourdais, Rubens Barrichello, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso had yet to set times.

Webber went quickest with a 1:34.4, taking a full second off his time over the course of the next two laps. Rosberg moved up to second place behind him while Sutil impressed with a 1:35.0, which put him third quickest. The German's run, though, came to an end shortly after as he car stopped on the side of the track at the exit of Turn 1.

Vettel went second to give Red Bull the 1-2 but was soon overhauled by Massa, the only driver to get within a second of Webber's P1 time. Alonso moved up to fourth place with Fisichella slotting in behind him and ahead of Robert Kubica, Rosberg and Nelson Piquet.

Vettel, having just improved his time, was the second driver - and the second German - to drop out of the session as the Red Bull racer brought his car to a standstill in almost the exact same place as where Sutil stopped minutes before. The marshals quickly pushed his car out of harm's way.

Force India's impressive run continued with Fisichella moving up to second place with Button also improving as he went P5. Meanwhile, at the back of the pack lay Hamilton, who was 2.5s off the pace with only Buemi slower. Hamilton's fellow Brit, Button, climbed the order to third place, 0.5s off Webber's P1 time before moving up to second on the next lap. Hamilton slot up the timesheets, taking seventh place, while Webber improved his P1 time.

Trulli overhauled Fisichella for third place while his team-mate Timo Glock remained down in 16th place, unable to find the pace needed to challenge at the front in his home grand prix weekend. Raikkonen put in a charge to move up from 17th to fourth place, 0.7s off the pace.

The final few minutes saw a major push from the drivers with Massa going off at the Castrol S chicane before taking third place on the following lap.

The session ended with Webber at the top of the timesheets with a 1:33.082. Button was second ahead of Massa, Trulli, Fisichella and Raikkonen.

Times
01 M. Webber Red Bull 1:33.082 19 laps
02 J. Button Brawn GP 1:33.463 18 laps
03 F. Massa Ferrari 1:33.745 21 laps
04 J. Trulli Toyota 1:33.795 23 laps
05 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:33.839 26 laps
06 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:33.840 23 laps
07 N. Rosberg Williams 1:33.902 26 laps
08 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:33.909 13 laps
09 K. Nakajima Williams 1:33.952 25 laps
10 F. Alonso Renault 1:34.148 16 laps
11 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:34.221 25 laps
12 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:34.227 17 laps
13 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:34.483 14 laps
14 R. Kubica BMW 1:34.694 23 laps
15 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:34.738 24 laps
16 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:34.827 27 laps
17 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:34.878 28 laps
18 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:34.893 26 laps
19 T. Glock Toyota 1:34.911 23 laps
20 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:35.092 6 laps

Source : Planet F1

The Legend - Proton Wira - 4G92 Rebuild by Simon

Back to Year 2002 ~ My First car was Proton Wira 1.3GL.

I decided to buy this car because Proton Wira was made based on Mitsubishi Lancer Platform and plenty of modification can be done on this car .



Back to year 2004. First modification - Transplant 4G93T 1.8 GSR Engine to my car. Not much modification was done - just enjoy the stock standard 1.8 GSR which produced 181WHP dynoed that time.

At last the 4G93T Engine is blown due to overboost as my turbo actuator are faulty! After deep thinking and finally decided to do transplant to 4G63T - from Mitsubishi Evolution 2.

Modification list:
Garrett GT2835 Turbine
1.2mm Metal Gasket from Tomei
Re Map ECU with Ralliart Chip
Sard 800cc Injector
Walbro Fuelpump
Stock Internal

Pumping out 320WHP but too bad...engine blown when I tried to push it to the limit at 1.7 bar boost!! Am I crazy?!?!?!?!? (a bit la Simon - ED)



With a very tight budget and I must get my car running on the road again, I got no choice but
plug in 4G91 engine to make it running it again. I bought the 4G91 Floor Engine only At RM900, quite cheap back then.

After plugging in the 4G91 Engine, I'm using the Stock 4G93T Turbo ECU code - 5771 with stock GSR Airflow code 449 and stock GSR 390cc Injector. I have no choice but have to mix and match to get the engine started. That time the Fuel consumption is quite high as I'm using 4G93T GSR Turbo stuff on 4G91 N/A engine.



In 2006 I'm thinking out of the box, based on my experience in modifying cars, I came out with an idea - Bolt On Turbo (I think this idea was around a long time ago, sorry didn't want to offend our reader's intelligence - ED).

With all the parts taken off from my previous 4G93T GSR Engine, all the turbo parts was mod into the 4G91 engine.

Here is the modification list:

4G93T TD04L turbine
4G93T Turbo Exhaust Manifold
4G93T Engine Oil Pan
4G93T Cylinder Head



But the 4G93T piston unable to fit in as the original piston bore for 4G91 is 78.4MM and 4G93T piston are 81mm. It very dangerous to bore more than 2mm from the original block , so end up using the stock 4G91 Piston.

4G93T Piston compression ratio around 9:5.1 and 4G91 N/A - around 11:5.1 compression Ratio. Plus 4G91 N/A does'nt have oil squirter to cold the piston and damn!! I put 1.5mm metal gasket to prevent massive engine knocking and to lower the engine compression.

The Engine management system by Greddy E Manage Ultimate as piggy back ecu to control the fuel map and ignition timing. After the modification are done , the maximum boost is around 0.8Bar , and it can't go any higher, it will cause the engine blown again!!

Engine was tuned based on wide band on the road tuning but definitely its more powerful then 4G93 N/A engine but never powerful than 4G93T GSR. Sorry I don't have the dyno chart



Year 2007 - Planning to increase the power of the engine .......... after a careful planning, came out with 4G92 Mivec block interchange !!!


Reason why ???

4G92 Mivec block sharing the same piston size with 4G93T which is 81MM
4G92 Mivec block comes with oil squirter built in
4G92 Mivec con rod its shorter and stronger

This time Major modification going to start but still with tight budget, I told myself ... why people can built a powerful & responsive engine in oversea especially in Thailand but why I can't built it here in Malaysia ? ?

The piston - I modified in the Toyota Supercharger Forged Piston (Flat Type) Compression Ratio - 8:9.1

The Conrod - Ordered from RPW Australia - Billet Forged Con rod

Together with ARP Racing Stud

The Bearing - ACL Racing Bearing

1.8MM metal gasket fitted in from Mitsubishi special ordered from Japan with a help from my friend. This time I upgrade my turbine to TD05H 20G turbo custom built by Tong Turbo in Kuala Lumpur. Wastegated with Tial 38MM 1 bar spring.

Guess what ? I'm still using the stock standard turbo manifold. Engine head port polish done by Nasty Port Flow in Subang with CFM tested. Jun 4G93T Turbo High Profile Billet cam fitted in - 272 Degree 10.85mm lift for both Intake and Exhaust together with Custom made adjustable cam pulley.

Intake system using back the standard 4G93T intake manifold but ported to bigger flow. The throttle body -From 4G92 Mivec bored to 65MM.



This time Sard 800cc injector fitted in again with Walbro 255LPH in tank fuel pump. This time I'm using the Haltech E6x standalone ECU with external 3 bar map sensor ( well I'm not using the stock map sensor built in with the ecu ) and Toyota 1JZ Air Temp sensor modified to my Intake system and 2.5" Exhaust piping with R*SR Invidia muffler

After the engine running in for few weeks ..After setting and tuning .Massive 316 WHP boosted at 1.9Bar , The turbo boost control by Blitz Dual SBC Spec R. I'm pushing it to the limit at the dyno machine and can't believed it !!!!! as this just 1600cc Engine !!!!!

I'm confident that my engine can withstand the power as the modification done on the engine block!!!! But too bad, the car was stolen on 5 January 2009 at my house :(

Here is some of the photo's and the full modification chart list



Engine Modification
Mitsubishi 4G92 Mivec 1.6Liter Block
Mitsubishi 4G93 N/A Cylinder Head (Port Polish Done By Nasty Port Flow Subang)
Mitsubishi 4G93T standard turbo manifold
Mitsubishi 4G93T Intake Manifold

Aftermarket Modification
Custom Engine Wiring
JUN 272 Degree Lift 10.85 Hi Cam ( SS Racing )
Custom Made Adjustable Cam pulley
Sard Fuel Regulator (SS Racing)
Sard 800cc Injectors (Bought 2nd hand at Zerotohundred.com)
Greddy Type RS Blow Off Valve ( Tomei Autoparts )
TD05 20G Journal Bearing Turbine by Tong Turbo
Stainless Steel Intercooler Piping by Chee Wah USJ Subang
2.5" Exhaust Piping by Chee Wah USJ Subang
R*SR Invidia Racing Muffler ( Tomei Autoparts Subang )
Aftermarket 65MM throttle Body
Exedy 9" 3 Puck Racing Clutch (SS Racing)
1.8MM Mitsubishi Metal Head Gasket (WiraTakLaju Zerotohundred.com)
Walbro 255LPH Fuel Pump (SS Racing)
Greddy Type RS Blow Off Valve ( Tomei Autoparts)
Mitsubishi Evolution 7 Intercooler ( Sponsored by one of my customer )
Mitsubishi Evolution Front Twin Pot Brake System (Tomei Autoparts)
Mitsubishi Evolution Rear Disk system (Tomei Autoparts)
Mitsubishi Evolution Master Brake Pump (Tomei Autoparts)
Mitsubishi Evolution III Semi LSD Gearbox (Tomei Autoparts)
Mitsubishi Evolution front Axle and Anti Roll Bar (Tomei Autoparts)
Mitsubishi Evolution III Dashboard (Tomei Autoparts)
Mitsubishi Evolution II Door Panel (Tomei Autoparts)
Mitsubishi Evolution II 6 Pieces Cromax Glass (Tomei Autoparts)

Engine Management and Computer System

Haltech E6X Standalone engine Management system
3Bar Map sensor from Haltech
Blitz Spec R Dual Solenoid Boost Controller ( Tomei Autoparts )

**Item bought from the shop as stated in the bracket**
** Car was stolen on 5 January 2009 in front of Union Height Condominium OUG**

Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV

It seems that this will be the last model from the Murcielago family and Lambo have pulled out all the stops to send off their most monster creation to date. Have a read of the specs:

Engine	V12
Location	Mid, longitudinal
Displacement	6496cc
Max power	661bhp @ 8000rpm
Max torque	487lb ft @ 6500rpm
Transmission	e-gear paddle-shift gearbox (six-speed manual optional), four-wheel drive, front and rear limited-slip diffs
Front suspension	Double wishbones, coil springs, gas dampers, anti-roll bar
Rear suspension	Double wishbones, coil springs, gas dampers, anti-roll bar
Brakes	Vented carbon-ceramic discs, 380mm front and rear, EBD, ABS, TC
Wheels	8.5 x 18in front, 13 x 18in rear, aluminium alloy
Tyres	245/35 ZR18 front, 335/30 ZR18 rear, Pirelli P Zero Corsa
Weight (kerb)	1565kg
Power/weight	429bhp/ton
0-62mph	3.2sec (claimed)
Top speed	212mph (claimed)
Basic price	£221,335
On sale	Summer 2009

This one is just too much for me and I'm not talking about the price. It's a supercar through and through, something we can only dream about. For the review of the car and how it drives, go here.















AlvinK

HOT WHEELS WIKI

Just when you thought you've seen or heard it all, along comes a surprise that you never thought possible or even exist. You know about the Wikipedia right? The source of information on just about everything. Well, now they even have a Wiki for Hot Wheels toys or toy cars. Incredible, see it here.