Felipe fraga

Listen to this article Fraga will share Arnage's Yokohama-shod #50 Lexus with fellow youngster Yuga Furutani, while Formula Regional Japanese champion and Toyota junior Miki Koyama also joins the line-up as third driver. Arnage switches to using Lexus GT3 machinery after selling its previous Toyota 86 Mother Chassis car to Team Mach. It marks the third different model the team has used in three seasons. As well as earning title backing from Anest Iwata, a Yokohama-based heavy manufacturing company, the squad has also entered into a tie-up with Polyphony Digital, the creators of the popular Gran Turismo series of video games. Fraga will be making his SUPER GT debut, having moved to Japan last year in a bid to revitalise his stalled real-world career. He tested both Super Formula and Super Formula Lights machinery late last year, and had been actively targeting a seat in the latter category with B-Max Racing. Furutani raced in Super Formula Lights for TOM'S last … [Read more...] about Fraga lands SUPER GT drive in Gran Turismo-backed Lexus

The driver line-up for the first day of testing at Jerez has been confirmed. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez will have their first runs for their new teams on Wednesday. Force India , who are yet to confirm their 2013 driver pairing, will run James Rossiter and Jules Bianchi alongside Paul di Resta. Marussia will confirm tomorrow who will test their MR02 on the second two days after Max Chilton. Fernando Alonso will not appear at the test and will make his debut in the second test at the Circuit de Catalunya. Team Car 5th 6th 7th 8th Red Bull RB9 Mark Webber Mark Webber Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel Ferrari F138 Felipe Massa Felipe Massa Felipe Massa Pedro de la Rosa McLaren MP4-28 Jenson Button Sergio Perez Jenson Button Sergi Perez Lotus E21 Romain Grosjean Romain Grosjean Kimi Raikkonen Kimi Raikkonen Mercedes W04 Nico Rosberg Lewis Hamilton Nico Rosberg … [Read more...] about Driver line-up for Jerez test confirmed · RaceFans

While the European new car market didn't have a good year, there were some interesting surprises in the overall model rankings for 2022. According to data released by JATO, the best-selling new car in the region was the Peugeot 208 at 206,816 units. Its volume increased by 5 percent compared to 2021, allowing Peugeot to lead this ranking for the first time since 2007, when the 207 reigned supreme. Indeed, the 208 dethroned the Volkswagen Golf , which has continuously led the European car market since 2008. This major change can be explained by the continued sales decline of the German hatchback across Europe following software problems, availability, and increased competition within the Volkswagen group. The Golf thus slipped to fifth place in the standings, well behind the Dacia Sandero, the Volkswagen T-Roc, and the Fiat/Abarth 500. Citroen C3 And Peugeot 2008 Out Of The Top 10 Among the other great performances of the top 10 is that of the Fiat 500 , which moved from … [Read more...] about The Best-Selling Cars In Europe: Peugeot 208, Dacia Sandero, VW T-Roc

Listen to this article Most cars that win in Formula 1 are special. The level of competition ensures that genuinely poor designs rarely get near a podium, particularly given the reliability of modern racing machines. But sometimes a combination of luck, inspiration and/or unusual weather gives underdog cars their moment in the limelight. For this list, we looked at the overall pace of the cars, their reliability, how difficult they were to drive and the circumstances of their success. So, here are Motorsport.com’s top 10 worst cars to win a world championship grand prix… 10. Ferrari F60 Raikkonen's victory at Spa in 2009 owed much to the KERS unit on his Ferrari F60 that allowed him to blast past Fisichella's Force India at a restart Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images Victory: 2009 Belgian GP, Kimi Raikkonen Best other finish: 2nd Constructors’ championship: 4th Ferrari's car for F1’s new 2009 regulations was poor. Not only did the team … [Read more...] about Ranked! The top 10 worst F1 cars to win a grand prix

The only surprising thing about Mercedes’ sweep to a front-row lockout in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix was that it was their first of the season instead of their third. They won the first two races comfortably and seem to have a slightly larger performance advantage in Bahrain – perhaps because the circuit doesn’t play to the strengths of Red Bull, who until now have been their closest competitors. But while Bahrain’s switch to a night race may mean cooler temperatures for the grand prix, no team is exempt from the ever-present concerns about the reliability of these complicated new power units. Most drivers are using the same engine for the third race running this weekend. As they can only use five complete power units for the 19-race season, most of their engines will have to do four grand prix distances, and if they reach the chequered flag they will be well on the way to achieving that. It was at this stage of their engines’ lifespans during testing that the … [Read more...] about 2014 Bahrain GP pre-race analysis: Reliability may decide – F1 Fanatic

Listen to this article The announcement follows Vandoorne leaving the Mercedes Formula E outfit with which he won the 2021/22 title to join DS Penske, which is part of the same Stellantis automotive group as Peugeot. The 30-year-old will take the place vacated by British driver James Rossiter , who announced his decision to step down from racing last year to become the team principal of Maserati MSG in FE. Vandoorne had been handed a chance to sample the Peugeot 9X8 in the Bahrain post-season test last year, but he couldn't make the trip to the Gulf nation after being diagnosed with appendicitis. He has since made a full recovery and returned to racing last month at the Mexico City E-Prix, which marked the start of FE's Gen3 era. It's unclear if the Belgian driver got to drive the Peugeot hypercar over the winter, when the French manufacturer completed a number of tests with the radical 9X8 in preparation for the 2023 season. With his new role in WEC, Vandoorne will … [Read more...] about Vandoorne joins Peugeot WEC team as reserve driver

Ferrari and Toyota left the other F1 teams behind by testing in Bahrain this week – perhaps McLaren wished they’d followed them after the events at the Circuit de Catalunya ? It may prove an advantage for them as the other teams are not likely to test at Bahrain before its Grand Prix, but Ferrari and Toyota will likely make it to the Circuit de Catalunya before the Spanish Grand Prix. Unsurprisingly, Ferrari were considerably faster – but it was the margin of the advantage that caught the attention. Kimi Raikkonen was strikingly quick on Tuesday , and even faster yesterday. Ferrari World champion Kimi Raikkonen tested on all three days, with test driver Luca Badoer alongside him for the first two and Felipe Massa in on Wednesday. With track temperatures consistently in the high 20s, Raikkonen was quickest on all three days. After the first day’s running in windy, dusty conditions, Raikkonen posted some very quick laps on the final two days: 1’30.595 and 1’30.455 ( … [Read more...] about 2008 F1 testing round-up 6: Bahrain · RaceFans

In the F1 blogs this week grab yourself a complete back-catalogue of the free paddock magazine Red Bulletin in PDF format from the past three years. Just don’t try taking them into the McLaren pit … Plus an Australian F1 fan frustrated with the organisation of the Melbourne race, plenty of thoughts on testing and more. December 2007 huge magazine collection – This blog is offering free downloads of every issue of the Red Bulletin so far. Losing traction and getting sidetracked – An Australian F1 fans complains about the poor marketing of his country’s Grand Prix. Spanish press hail Alonso – Fernando Alonso’s return to Renault is hailed by his countrymen. McLaren to be sold… maybe – Veteran McLaren-watcher Alan Henry doesn’t think Mercedes is about to purchase the extra 11% of McLaren it required for a controlling interest in the company. Gordon Murray’s bright idea – F1 Insight’s Clive looks back at one of Brabham designer’s Gordon Murray’s radical F1 … [Read more...] about F1 blogs review: free Red Bulletin download · RaceFans

South African van der Linde pipped Mercedes driver Lucas Auer and Rast's Abt Audi to his first DTM crown last season, in a successful maiden campaign for the new BMW M4 GT3 and series newcomer Schubert, but the championship's future was then plunged into doubt when Gerhard Berger's ITR group sold rights for the series to rival German promoter the ADAC. After some uncertainty, the ADAC announced it would continue to run the DTM as a sprint series for single drivers alongside its existing ADAC GT Masters platform for two driver crews, enabling DTM teams to press on with plans for 2023. BMW Motorsport's announcement on Tuesday morning that Schubert will retain van der Linde and run newly-signed BMW factory driver Rast in all rounds aside from Zandvoort - which clashes with his McLaren Formula E commitments - coincided with the reveal that Project1 will enter the series as a BMW GT3 customer for the first time after running its products in the GT4-based DTM Trophy. The … [Read more...] about Van der Linde to defend DTM title with Schubert, Rast returns with BMW