Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/01/14/2605755/from-twitter-to-tv-initiative.html
David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Detroit: 2014 BMW Z4 offers minor refinements with a majorly orange wrapper
Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Convertible, Performance, BMW, Luxury
The redesigned BMW Z4 was rolled out onto the show floor at the Detroit Auto Show, with the example in question being an sDrive35is variant, with the just-less-than-screaming Hyper Orange Package. The exclusive colorway includes the metallic orange paintjob, as well as trim-specific seats, stitching and accents for the interior. More importantly, the 35is driveline means that you'll find a high-output version of the turbocharged 3.0-liter N54 engine, here outputting 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, and a 7-speed DCT gearbox.
Two slightly less ferociously powered versions of the Z4 will be available for the new model year, too (both familiar). The Z4 sDrive35i is good for 300 hp and 300 lb-ft, while the still-potent sDrive28i features a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder making 240 hp and 260 lb-ft.
You'll fine some more details about the 2014 BMW Z4 in our original news story about the model here, or by scrolling down to read the full BMW press release.
Continue reading 2014 BMW Z4 offers minor refinements with a majorly orange wrapper
2014 BMW Z4 offers minor refinements with a majorly orange wrapper originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/14/2014-bmw-z4-detroit-2013/
Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot
Monday, January 14, 2013
Detroit: Volkswagen shows off performance-ish Passat concept
Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Sedan, Performance, Volkswagen
As part of its 2013 Detroit Auto Show debut package, Volkswagen has rolled out a sportier version of the Passat sedan, though it's strictly conceptual for now. A small dose of go-fast visuals have been added to the handsome Volkswagen, including 19-inch wheels, carbon-capped mirrors, an advanced front lighting system, LED taillamps and dual exhaust. Some carbon bits and upgraded leather are found inside the cabin, as well.
But the real performance chops come in the form of a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that sends 250 horsepower to the Passat's front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. That's a good boost in power over the 170 hp of the base 2.5-liter inline-five, but not quite as potent as the 3.6-liter VR6. A lowered sport suspension and revised electronic steering are also on hand, making things slightly more involving out on the road... we assume.
It's not quite the performance concept we were hoping for, but a more enthusiastic Passat isn't necessarily a bad thing. Scroll down for the press release.
Continue reading Volkswagen shows off performance-ish Passat concept
Volkswagen shows off performance-ish Passat concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/14/volkswagen-passat-performance-concept-detroit-2013/
Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs
2013 Daytona Preseason Thunder Day 2 Afternoon Crash Q&A with Toyota Racing Drivers
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “I have no idea. I didn’t see anything happening in front of me. Just saw the smoke and then a car sideways and I started trying to check up. I feel like I did a pretty good job checking up. The guy behind me got into me a little bit so I knew I couldn’t slow down more so I just had to try to find a lane to get through and I saw the 43 (Aric Almirola) come across the race track so I turned left to miss it and I shot the gap and when I did somebody was on my inside and just hit me in the left rear a little bit. That’s just the major damage right there on the left rear. Everything else is fine. It’s all cosmetic so I don’t think it’s that bad.”Toyota Racing Logo
How was the drafting on the race track with a larger pack? “It’s okay. The first time we went out we had a pretty good pack side-by-side and everything. There was some mixing around and some moving and passing. And then the next time we went out it seemed like there was a strong lane on the top and just four or five cars on the bottom and the bottom wasn’t moving anywhere. It was actually going backwards and so everybody was working their way high and I think some guys just got checked up and that’s what caused the wreck.”
What are your impressions of the new car? “It’s just like anything else, there’s going to be an adapting period and having to get used to what the cars feel like and how they drive and what not. I’m good with it. I think our car’s pretty good. The M&M’s car was fast and felt stable and better than some other guys.”
What has it been like having Matt Kenseth as a teammate? “Matt’s (Kenseth) been good. He’s got a lot of experience and a lot of leadership and been around for a while and won a championship. So, it’s good to lean on a guy like that and talk to a guy like that and have somebody in your corner like that. We had it with (Tony) Stewart when he was at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and he was really, really good and then he moved on to his own deal. Now that Matt is there I think that kind of replaces Stewart a little bit. Matt’s a little bit more low key about his business than Stewart may be.”
MARK MARTIN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “I was very close to being in it. I was the first car back from (Dale Earnhardt) Junior when it all started out in the front of Junior’s car. It’s a Daytona thing. That’s Daytona. That doesn’t have nothing to do with the new cars or anything else. That’s just normal Daytona stuff.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “Carnage. I don’t know. The 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and the 9 (Marcos Ambrose) kind of got together a little bit and the 9 got turned into the wall on the back stretch. I missed the 9 by about an eighth of an inch so I was pretty happy.”
Were you afraid to go back out on the race track after the big wreck? “Well, no, but our car is kind of bent up a little bit so they want to take it back up to the shop and fix it. It’s not bad (on the rear quarter panel), but we kind of got done with everything we wanted to and the car is in good shape. I was happy with it. It has great speed and it’s going to be our Shootout car, so they figured they would go home to fix it and I think everybody has pretty much had enough anyway.”
Did you expect to have an accident while drafting? “You never really expect it to happen, but you always know in the back of your mind that there’s potential for it. At Daytona and Talladega that’s just kind of the way that it is. But, I will tell you that I was really happy with the way the drafting was out there. I really enjoyed it. It took me back to when I was running Nationwide and the way those cars drafted and early in my Cup career when we had the older cars. I thought it was really good. It didn’t really help me to push a guy, but you could get right up to them, give them some momentum and you get runs on the leader. I passed the leader a few times, which has been difficult to do the past few years. I thought the drafting was great. Getting the bumpers lined up and figuring out how hard you can hit someone when you kind of get jammed up in the middle of the pack there, that’s all stuff that’s going to be learned and figured out as we go. But, I was really happy with the way the drafting went — the speeds and the way the cars drove. My car drove phenomenal. I had good speed, so I’m happy and ready to come back and do some racing.”
What was the biggest thing you learned from drafting in the big pack? “The biggest thing was just how the draft was working kind of more like it used to be. There were no two-car tandems. It was somewhat difficult to get on a guy’s bumper and push him, but again you get that little air bubble between you and you could get a guy rolling and get a guy moving in front of you and give him some good momentum and make some passes. It was cool being able to back up off the leader and get runs and take the lead and do things like you used to do. It was a little bit more strategy involved than just holding it wide open and hitting the guy in front of you as hard as you could, so I thought it was cool. It was a lot of fun and I think it’s going to put on a great show when we come back down here.”
Source: Toyota Racing, Press Release
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/CA1QW4XC4hU/
Oscar Alfredo G·lvez Fred Gamble Howden Ganley Frank Gardner
This Week: Bronx Ped Safety, Brooklyn Gateway, Transit Trivia
Last week, we covered the efforts of advocates to get the city and state to complete the missing link in the Bronx River Greenway by building phase two of Starlight Park. That isn’t the only action happening along the greenway: There are two community board meetings this week to improve safety at pedestrian crossings leading to Concrete Plant Park.
Also this week: talk transportation in the neighborhoods near Downtown Brooklyn, help improve the G train, and test your transit knowledge.
- Tuesday: Brooklyn Community Board 2 will discuss the Brooklyn Gateway Transportation Vision Plan. 6:00 p.m.
- Tuesday and Wednesday: DOT and the Bronx River Alliance are meeting with community board committees about safer pedestrian crossings near Concrete Plant Park. On Tuesday, Bronx CB 9 meets at 6:00 p.m., and on Wednesday, Bronx CB 2 meets at 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday: Join the Riders Alliance at a strategy session to win better G train service, including more frequent service, better communication with riders, and more free transfers from the G to other lines. 6:30 p.m.
- Thursday: DOT is presenting its commercial bicycling and pedestrian wayfinding initiatives at Brooklyn Community Board 6, covering Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Park Slope and Red Hook. Meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
- Thursday: Tickets for the New York Transit Museum’s first trivia night — where teams test their knowledge of transit-themed movies, music, history and culture – are sold out. But the museum’s website indicates that additional tickets will be made available 30 minutes before the event. 7:00 p.m.
Keep an eye on the calendar for updated listings. Got an event we should know about? Drop us a line.
Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/01/14/this-week-bronx-ped-safety-brooklyn-gateway-transit-trivia/
Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman
Will Cy Vance and New York’s District Attorneys Push for Traffic Law Reform?
On Tuesday the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York released its agenda for cleaning up and toughening state and federal gun laws. Manhattan DA Cy Vance, named to a one-year term as DAASNY president last summer, announced that the organization had sent a letter to Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders with a host of proposals, ranging from restrictions on high capacity magazines to stiffer penalties for gun crimes and changes to mental health laws.
Cy Vance. Photo: Getty via Politicker
Said Vance in a statement:
Week after week, innocent victims are gunned down while trying to go about their daily lives. We in government must do more for ordinary citizens, in New York and around the country. New York has long been a leader in sound gun control policy while respecting the Second Amendment. The proposals we support would strengthen our ability to protect New Yorkers against senseless gun violence by keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of criminals and emotionally disturbed individuals.
In New York City, where people in cars kill roughly as many victims as do people with guns, survivors and advocates have long called for legislative action to advance the cause of traffic justice. While it’s too early for specifics, vehicular crimes law is also on this year’s DAASNY agenda, according to Vance’s office.
“The DAASNY legislative affairs committee, which creates the legislative agenda with input and consensus of members, has a subcommittee on vehicular crime,” said Vance spokesperson Erin Duggan, in an email to Streetsblog. “The bipartisan, upstate/downstate DAASNY gun agreement shows that sensible fixes to the laws are possible. There are a number of areas DAASNY will weigh in on this year, as consensus is reached with the 62 members.”
There are plenty of fixes to be made.
Vehicular laws in New York State are weak and rife with loopholes. Criminally negligent homicide is a Class E felony, the least severe of all felony categories, with a minimum sentence of probation. The state’s vulnerable user law has been interpreted by NYPD to exclude offenses that are not witnessed by a police officer. In the aftermath of a serious crash, motorists suspected of DWI can delay the collection of blood evidence at will. To get a hit-and-run conviction, prosecutors must practically convince a jury that they can read a defendant’s mind, giving rise to the highly successful “I didn’t see her” defense. Compounding the obstacles presented by labyrinthine statutes, the state’s highest court has repeatedly undermined prosecutions, betraying a bias against vehicular crimes cases.
Prosecutors concerned with conviction rates are reluctant to pursue charges in such an environment. When they do, outcomes can be maddeningly unpredictable. In court, victims are put on trial along with their drunken killers. Judges throw out guilty verdicts. Just yesterday the Post reported that a grand jury failed to indict a Queens motorist for attempted murder for an incident in which he allegedly dragged two police officers and struck a third with an SUV.
All of which points to a need for decisive leadership on the part of the state’s district attorneys. Maureen McCormick, a vehicular crimes specialist whose boss, Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice, is nationally known for pursuing murder charges in DWI fatalities, has spoken often of efforts to reform the traffic code. While running for office in 2009, Vance pledged, among other measures, to push for heightened penalties for habitual reckless drivers, and for vehicular homicides and assaults that do not involve alcohol or drugs.
As the chief advocate for New York’s top prosecutors, Vance is in a unique position to help himself and his colleagues by making good on his traffic safety platform.
Says attorney Steve Vaccaro, who represents families that have lost loved ones to vehicular violence: “You can’t kill multiple people with a single shot of a gun. You can’t put down a gun and have it kill people while you aren’t operating it. How can we regulate guns so strictly in the city — and rightly so — without recognizing the need to regulate driving even more strictly?”
Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Stoner decided to retire after 2011 title
HRC chief Shuhei Nakamoto said he spent several months trying to persuade the double world champion to reconsider before Stoner revealed in France last May that he would retire at the end of the year.
“Casey told us [in 2011] that he was thinking to retire at the end of 2012. It was after he won the Australian GP to secure the championship,” Nakamoto said.
“He still had one more year to run on his contract with us, so he said he would ride for Honda in 2012, but it was quite a shock to hear he wanted to retire.
“Ever since the season began, he kept saying he wanted to make his decision public. Naturally, we really wanted him to continue with us and repeatedly tried to persuade him to reconsider, but Casey’s mind was made up.
“It was at round four in France that he finally got his way and announced his plans during the Thursday press conference. I was OK with that, since I thought it would motivate him to win his final championship and retire in a blaze of glory.
“Unfortunately it didn’t turn out like that, but he still had a great final season.”
Nakamoto added that Honda would always be willing to have Stoner back if he wanted to return.
“The following day I was asked by a number of Casey’s friends what I said to him that night. When I asked why they wanted to know, they said that Casey, who had never wavered until then in his decision to retire, had said ‘maybe after all I should keep on racing…’
“Right from the first day Casey came to ride for Repsol Honda, pretty much every day he came up with something new that astonished us. I don’t know of any other rider that is such fun to work with.
“I hope he quickly recovers from his injury, and if he ever decides to come back he will find a warm welcome waiting. I told him that’s always on offer.”
Aldo Gordini Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried
FanVision absent from F1 in 2013
FanVision, which originally entered F1 under the Kangaroo TV banner, had provided spectators in the grandstands with the opportunity to hire handheld screen units that broadcast television coverage of the races, as well as on-board camera footage, full commentary and statistical data.
In a statement issued on Thursday, FanVision said that efforts to sort a new deal out with FOM had failed – which left it with no choice but to leave F1.
“As you know we have, for some months, been trying to find the basis of an agreement between FanVision and FOM in order to continue providing the service in F1 in 2013,” said a FanVision spokeswoman.
“Unfortunately it is now clear that we are not going to be able to agree terms with FOM and very reluctantly we have to confirm that we won’t be in F1 in 2013. It’s a big blow for us.”
FanVision will continue to provide its services in NASCAR, NFL and golf, and it is unclear yet whether or not FOM has plans for a replacement service in F1.
Deep Dive: Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video]
Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Crossover, Lincoln, Design/Style, Luxury, Deep Dive
Ford's efforts to resuscitate its moribund Lincoln luxury brand began in earnest with the introduction of its 2014 MKZ sedan, a model many labeled as the marque's make-or-break offering. Of course, one model does not a comeback make, and with the MKZ just now starting to trickle into dealers, it will be some time before America's jury of consumers comes in with their judgment. More to the point, it's likely to take better than a decade's worth of products and sustained marketing effort to even begin to figure out whether Lincoln has a shot at redemption or if it will die of Mercury poisoning. After all, rival General Motors has been pouring resources into Cadillac since the late '90s, and if the sales charts are any guidance, it's still probably too early to declare its rebirth a success.
Certainly, a brand with Ford's resources, free of distractions (read: the now-defunct Premier Auto Group and various other side projects) should be able to successfully market a single luxury brand, particularly one with such a rich - if distant - history. Especially now with the Blue Oval enjoying more consumer goodwill than at any time in recent history. So let's all give Alan Mulally and friends a little room to work, eh?We can start by focusing on the compact crossover seen before you, the Lincoln MKC Concept. Riding atop the same global C-platform that underpins the Ford C-Max, Escape and Focus, the MKC showcar here presages a production small CUV that will stick its distinctive nose into one of the auto industry's fastest-growing segments.
Continue reading Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video]
Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/13/lincoln-mkc-concept-shows-real-promise/
2013 Daytona Preseason Thunder Day 2 Afternoon Crash Q&A with Toyota Racing Drivers
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “I have no idea. I didn’t see anything happening in front of me. Just saw the smoke and then a car sideways and I started trying to check up. I feel like I did a pretty good job checking up. The guy behind me got into me a little bit so I knew I couldn’t slow down more so I just had to try to find a lane to get through and I saw the 43 (Aric Almirola) come across the race track so I turned left to miss it and I shot the gap and when I did somebody was on my inside and just hit me in the left rear a little bit. That’s just the major damage right there on the left rear. Everything else is fine. It’s all cosmetic so I don’t think it’s that bad.”Toyota Racing Logo
How was the drafting on the race track with a larger pack? “It’s okay. The first time we went out we had a pretty good pack side-by-side and everything. There was some mixing around and some moving and passing. And then the next time we went out it seemed like there was a strong lane on the top and just four or five cars on the bottom and the bottom wasn’t moving anywhere. It was actually going backwards and so everybody was working their way high and I think some guys just got checked up and that’s what caused the wreck.”
What are your impressions of the new car? “It’s just like anything else, there’s going to be an adapting period and having to get used to what the cars feel like and how they drive and what not. I’m good with it. I think our car’s pretty good. The M&M’s car was fast and felt stable and better than some other guys.”
What has it been like having Matt Kenseth as a teammate? “Matt’s (Kenseth) been good. He’s got a lot of experience and a lot of leadership and been around for a while and won a championship. So, it’s good to lean on a guy like that and talk to a guy like that and have somebody in your corner like that. We had it with (Tony) Stewart when he was at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and he was really, really good and then he moved on to his own deal. Now that Matt is there I think that kind of replaces Stewart a little bit. Matt’s a little bit more low key about his business than Stewart may be.”
MARK MARTIN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “I was very close to being in it. I was the first car back from (Dale Earnhardt) Junior when it all started out in the front of Junior’s car. It’s a Daytona thing. That’s Daytona. That doesn’t have nothing to do with the new cars or anything else. That’s just normal Daytona stuff.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What happened to cause the accident on the race track? “Carnage. I don’t know. The 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and the 9 (Marcos Ambrose) kind of got together a little bit and the 9 got turned into the wall on the back stretch. I missed the 9 by about an eighth of an inch so I was pretty happy.”
Were you afraid to go back out on the race track after the big wreck? “Well, no, but our car is kind of bent up a little bit so they want to take it back up to the shop and fix it. It’s not bad (on the rear quarter panel), but we kind of got done with everything we wanted to and the car is in good shape. I was happy with it. It has great speed and it’s going to be our Shootout car, so they figured they would go home to fix it and I think everybody has pretty much had enough anyway.”
Did you expect to have an accident while drafting? “You never really expect it to happen, but you always know in the back of your mind that there’s potential for it. At Daytona and Talladega that’s just kind of the way that it is. But, I will tell you that I was really happy with the way the drafting was out there. I really enjoyed it. It took me back to when I was running Nationwide and the way those cars drafted and early in my Cup career when we had the older cars. I thought it was really good. It didn’t really help me to push a guy, but you could get right up to them, give them some momentum and you get runs on the leader. I passed the leader a few times, which has been difficult to do the past few years. I thought the drafting was great. Getting the bumpers lined up and figuring out how hard you can hit someone when you kind of get jammed up in the middle of the pack there, that’s all stuff that’s going to be learned and figured out as we go. But, I was really happy with the way the drafting went — the speeds and the way the cars drove. My car drove phenomenal. I had good speed, so I’m happy and ready to come back and do some racing.”
What was the biggest thing you learned from drafting in the big pack? “The biggest thing was just how the draft was working kind of more like it used to be. There were no two-car tandems. It was somewhat difficult to get on a guy’s bumper and push him, but again you get that little air bubble between you and you could get a guy rolling and get a guy moving in front of you and give him some good momentum and make some passes. It was cool being able to back up off the leader and get runs and take the lead and do things like you used to do. It was a little bit more strategy involved than just holding it wide open and hitting the guy in front of you as hard as you could, so I thought it was cool. It was a lot of fun and I think it’s going to put on a great show when we come back down here.”
Source: Toyota Racing, Press Release
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/catchfence/~3/CA1QW4XC4hU/
Brabham would welcome GT return
The Le Mans 24 Hours winner raced a HPD for privateer team JRM in the World Endurance Championship last year with Peter Dumbreck and Karun Chandhok.
Having yet to secure a deal for the 2013 season, the Australian said he was evaluating opportunities in the WEC and in North America, and that a top GT drive would also appeal to him.
“I have no plans at the moment, but I’m looking around for opportunities,” he said on the AUTOSPORT Stage with KX at AUTOSPORT International on Thursday.
“Whether it’s in US or the WEC I don’t mind. From a driving point of view I have lots left in me and I know what I can do in terms of contributing to a team.
“It’s tough out there, especially in sportscars, and I’d be happy doing a GT programme. I’ll drive anything.”
When questioned about the possibility of driving new Bentley Continental GT3, which is being displayed on the AUTOSPORT Stage with KX, Brabham said: “It’s a lovely-looking bit of kit.
“I’ve always had a soft spot for Bentley and had a nice time when I drove the LMP car for them at Le Mans in 2003.”
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/brabham-would-welcome-gt-return
Matthew Roy Kenseth Alan Dennis Kulwicki Travis Wade Kvapil Robert Allen Labonte
Quaife-Hobbs close to GP2 deal
Speaking at AUTOSPORT International, Quaife-Hobbs said securing the final part of his budget was the only remaining hurdle.
“That’s what holding us back from signing a deal at the moment, but we’re working on it and we’re quite close,” he said on the AUTOSPORT Stage with KX.
“There’s less than half the grid signed at the moment so there’s not really a rush. We’ve got another six or seven weeks until we have go to testing.”
Quaife-Hobbs ruled out defending his Auto GP crown if he falls short on finance for GP2.
“There’s not another plan because that’s where we’re aiming to be and it’s where I need to be this year,” he said.
“I definitely wouldn’t be doing Auto GP again because I’ve won it.
“GP2 is where I need to be to get to Formula 1.”
The 21-year-old dominated Auto GP last season, and argued that his pace in GP2 testing proved that his 2012 success was down to his speed, not a lack of opposition.
“It’s never easy. We might’ve had fantastic results when you look at the CV, but nothing’s ever easy,” Quaife-Hobbs said.
“I think that was proved when I went into GP2 testing in the winter.
“I was second at Barcelona with Addax and then I was third at Jerez with Arden, and I’ve never been to the circuit. Two completely different teams and the same result, against drivers that have been doing GP2 for a number of years.”
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/formula-cars/gp2/quaife-hobbs-close-to-gp2-deal
KX Akademy reveals driver line-up
The scheme, led by two-time British Touring Car champion Jason Plato, will support seven drivers: Stefan Hodgetts, Tom Ingram, Daniel Lloyd, Sam Tordoff, Rob Boston, Luke Herbert and Ant Whorton-Eales across a variety of championships on the British TOCA package.
Speaking on the AUTOSPORT stage with KX on Thursday morning, Plato said: “There’s a lot of schemes out there to help single seater guys but there isn’t anything really to help saloon or GT drivers.
“So we put together an academy, looking up and down the world of motorsport and club racing, and we’ve got seven very talented guys who we want to assist.”
Plato explained that the KX Akademy was not simply a funding scheme for drivers.
“The funding we put in is a budget top-up,” he said. “It’s an amount that will make the difference to their season.
“What we don’t want to be doing is paying for their whole drive. There’s thousands of people in motorsport with no money, and if you’ve got no backing it doesn’t matter how good you are, you’re not going to succeed.
“Not only do these guys have to be talented in the car but they have to be shrewd operators. You’ve got to be sharp, you’ve got to be a salesman.
“If you haven’t got any sponsors, you’re not going to make it, and we don’t want to back those people.”
Plato is the mentor for KX, and he said he is enjoying the opportunity to help young drivers.
“I’ve learned a lot along the way in my career and it’s important for me to give a bit back,” he added.
“This is a great opportunity to share some of those things to help these guys in their careers.”
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/kx-akademy-reveals-driver-line-up
Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet Brad Keselowski
Saturday, January 12, 2013
M-Sport reveals 2013 Fiesta WRC
M-Sport has revealed its 2013 Ford Fiesta for this year’s World Rally Championship at AUTOSPORT International.
The team’s WRC future was placed in doubt over the winter following the announcement that Ford would withdraw its factory support at the end of 2012.
However, M-Sport has managed to sign a major deal with Qatar to keep it in the series, and it revealed its 2013 Fiesta WRC on the AUTOSPORT stage with KX on Thursday morning.
Team boss Malcolm Wilson said: “The last three months of last year were the most difficult of my business life.
“The reduced investment from Ford obviously put a lot of pressure on the team to find added investment.
“With the Fiesta WRC we have a fantastically competitive car and the last thing we wanted was not to be able to fight at the highest level.
“We’ve got Qatar on board which has filled a big hole. We’ve got some way to go but I’m confident that we can challenge for some good results and that will bring more interest.”
Mads Ostberg, who will be joined by Evgeny Novikov and Thierry Neuville in the team this year, said he was happy with the performance of the 2013-spec car in testing.
“The car feels good,” he said. “I did two and a half days in December and the last test day before we go to Monte Carlo is tomorrow.
“This is a big opportunity, and we have been working very hard to get into this position.
“The first aim is to start winning rallies. During the season maybe we will need to focus on the championship but at the beginning we just want to get good results and start winning.”
Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman
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