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Posted
Jan 24 2012, 01:00 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 14 comment(s)
One of the highlights of the International Racing Car Show is always the Formula 1 Grid: a rare opportunity to examine up close an almost full-house of current F1 machines – and perhaps the only way without having some very well-connected friends and a whole neck-full of passes. Even dedicated racing magazines and sites only infrequently show close-ups of the detailing of the cars, so I found it very interesting to be able to see for myself the surprisingly large differences between the current...
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Posted
Dec 16 2011, 11:00 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 12 comment(s)
The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in England has a full-house of Formula One races from across the decades, chronicling the evolution of the Championship in physical form. Beginning with racers from the '50s and finishing with examples from the most recent era, some vital cars are included in the collection that would normally only be seen in the hands of private collectors or in the museums of the manufacturers themselves. It's what makes Beaulieu such a special place, like the equally...
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Posted
Dec 08 2011, 03:00 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 32 comment(s)
While walking through the Essen Auto Show the other week, Rod and I started talking about the recent Art of the Badge articles from fellow Speedhunter, Jonathan Moore. The genius of these posts is how they refresh normal event coverage as they look at details that are sometimes overlooked. This then allows you to compare car features, side by side. Mike Garrett's wheel and paint posts from the California Hot Rod Reunion and Rod's Engines of SEMA post follow on from this new story template...
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Posted
Nov 29 2011, 09:00 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 29 comment(s)
A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Rod, telling me that he was planning to join me during the Essen Motor Show . The last few years I have always been traveling alone to the Essen Motor Show, so this was a welcome change. The show gives a fairly accurate picture of the different styles and scenes in Germany and was a good opportunity for Rod to see it in person for the first time. So after a small detour to pick Rod up at the Düsseldorf airport, we arrived at the giant convention center...
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Posted
Nov 14 2011, 02:30 PM
by
Linhbergh
with 16 comment(s)
Two days is mere minutes in SEMA time. There's so much to do and so much to see in the three giant convention halls and an outside parking lot. As I made my way around the SEMA show floor in fast forward, I saw fleeting glimpses of cars. So when a car at SEMA does catch my eye, it means that it is something rather special. Take this 2010 Mercedes E350 for example. It's a car that was floating in a sea of other automobiles trying their hardest to stand out, be different and noticed. But by...
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Posted
Oct 31 2011, 06:00 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 21 comment(s)
To the average Joe, this car looks like a normal run-of-the-mill Mercedes Benz W123. But I wouldn't feature this machine unless it has something special right? It's only when you take a closer look, you'll start to notice that there are some big differences to a standard example. This becomes especially apparent when you look at the front of the car. You'll notice the lower half of the frontbumper has been cut up to make place for a rather large intercooler. That's a sure sign...
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Posted
Oct 12 2011, 09:30 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 18 comment(s)
Sometimes the greatest treasures are just around the corner. This was definitively the case when I visited ‘The Gallery' in my home town of Brummen. It is a classic car dealer that started in 1977 with only a few cars but has since grown into a large scale operation. The company is run by Nico Aaldering and his son Nick. The two live and breathe classic cars and have become famous in the world of classic car sales. From humble beginnings Nico has built himself an empire and was able to...
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Posted
Oct 10 2011, 06:00 PM
by
Patrick McGrath
with 25 comment(s)
One of the more peculiar aspects to working on Speedhunters is the sheer variety of stories we come across. From writing detailed stories about a specific F1 chassis and the success it enjoyed to a static show where performance is usually pretty far down the list of importance can be a bit of mind melter at times. However, it's this amount of variety that makes the job all worth while. It's very rare that two days of a Speedhunter's are the same - unless shooting a multi-day event but...
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Posted
Sep 27 2011, 10:30 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 16 comment(s)
Here we go with a final look at the IAA and I want to start with Mercedes. They had several new models and cars on display. But the thing that struck me the most was the sheer size of their ‘stand'. It wasn't an actual stand but an entire hall filled to the brim with everything Mercedes has on offer. The Mercedes Benz SLS AMG roadster took center stage and was officially unveiled during the IAA. The hall was massive. We got there early in the afternoon and the amount of people there...
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Posted
Sep 27 2011, 06:30 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 20 comment(s)
Before I start with my final report on the IAA, I wanted to take a small detour and show you some of the companies that make a living by improving the cars from some of the major manufacturers. Although the term improving is up for debate. One of those companies that keep churning out car after car is Mansory. They had a considerable stand with some of the most desirable cars all in a black and white theme. Mansory calls themselves ‘Th e address when it comes to the exclusive customisation...
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Posted
Sep 23 2011, 12:02 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 24 comment(s)
 As I'd arrived on site for the second day at the Goodwood Revival I'd been greeted by a blustery wind and light rain falling from the grey, cloud-laced sky. As I reluctantly put rain covers on the cameras and trudged away from my car, parked right at the far end of one of the car parks, I decided to head for a line of Morgans that I'd spotted as I was driving in. Leaning in close to get good look, I not only realised how nice the cars looked with the rain drops, but also the sheer diversity...
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Posted
Sep 21 2011, 02:59 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 8 comment(s)
 This year's Goodwood Revival was packed with celebrations of big-number anniversaries. 50 years of the Jaguar E-Type, 75 years of the Spitfire and 50 years since the late Phil Hill became the only driver to win both the Le Mans 24 Hours and the F1 World Championship in the same year – all saw tributes paid over the three-day event, but two centenaries also had their turn in the spotlight.  Firstly, the Ford Motor Company of Great Britain put on an enormous display of vehicles spread...
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Posted
Aug 26 2011, 07:30 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 12 comment(s)
The Slovakiaring's paddock was teeming with car-spotting opportunities over the weekend of the FIA GT3 races, with a packed supercar parking area adjacent to the pits plus the attractions at numerous displays around the track. And what a supercar display there was! Each GT round has been playing a game of who's-got-the-sauciest-cars – Silverstone's Lamborghini Aventador and Paul Ricard's Aston One-77 (and US muscle) for instance, but Slovakia provided that and more. The rarest...
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Posted
Aug 23 2011, 11:12 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 9 comment(s)
The European FIA GT3 Championship's visit to the Slovakiaring in central Europe, constructed just two years ago, attracted a whole slew of local talent for the weekend's two races. For starters, the British-run #20 MTECH Ferrari featured an all-Slovakian crew, with Jan Danis and Zdeno Mikulasko at the wheel of the 458 Italia.  Next up, racing for Slovakia in the #25 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo were Stefan Rosina and Anton Kiaba. Jirko Malcharek, sometime FIA GT driver and Minardi...
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Posted
Aug 21 2011, 02:15 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 8 comment(s)
Slovakiaring has proved to be a Mercedes SLS track, with the big car taming the jumps and sweeps of this impressive circuit. There was a win for the #44 Heico team car yesterday and then another for Graff Racing's SLS today – they snatched victory with a rapid-fire pitstop in Race 2, overtaking the similar Gravity/Charouz-run SLS that had been leading the first half of the race. For Philippe Giauque and Mike Parisy in #3 the combination of their race win plus bad luck for the leading driver...
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Posted
Aug 21 2011, 01:04 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 7 comment(s)
 For all the first-time visitors – drivers and photographers alike – the Slovakiaring has been quite a surprise. Looking at the track map, you could be forgiven for thinking that it's super-sized go-kart track with a bland set of switch-backs on a billiard-table smooth landscape. It couldn't be further from the truth… At the 6km the track is the longest on the calendar and has a series of challenging fast sweepers interspersed with completely unnecessary – and awesome...
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Posted
Aug 06 2011, 01:37 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 3 comment(s)
Surprisingly, heavy rain at around 1am in the morning didn't add to the number of retired cars: with wet tyres fitted it looked like most drivers slowed to a sensible pace and went into survival mode in the pitch black. With the late afternoon start of 4pm the previous day, it's sometimes difficult to process that in a race this long the dead of the night is barely halfway through the 24 hours you have to get through. The bad news was that as the track dried around 4am, drivers got back to...
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Posted
Aug 05 2011, 07:30 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 5 comment(s)
Audi might have had the pace around the epic Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix track – with an almost two second advantage in the dry – but they were forced to fight for their right to win this year's Spa 24 Hours, the 63rd running of the historic race. At the start of the race, 62 GT cars blasted down towards Eau Rouge for the first of 545 times: barely half would make it the full 24 hours, and of those just a handful in anywhere near prime condition.  The race showed the best of GT...
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Posted
Jul 31 2011, 05:25 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 6 comment(s)
After a titanic struggle between the #33 Audi and #76 BMW lasting 13 hours of the 24-hour race, the Belgian WRT Audi team won the Spa 24 Hours – less then five minutes ahead of the trio of Team Need For Speed drivers in their BMW Z4.  Both WRT R8 LMSs finished in the top four, and the surviving United Autosports and Phoenix Audis joined them for a formation finish after 545 laps of racing.  Edward Sandstrom drove the final stint for Team Need For Speed after a challenging race for the team...
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Posted
Jul 31 2011, 12:38 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 6 comment(s)
 We're over two-thirds of the way through the race now: it's after 9am here in Belgium, the sun is up – somewhere there behind all the cloud that still cloaks the circuit that is – and now it's the race to the flag. Just the seven hours to go… Up front it's still the #33 Audi Sport Team WRT R8 LMS of Mattias Ekstrom, Greg Franchi and Timo Scheider, as it has been on and off since the fourth hour. But just a lap behind is the #76 BMW Z4 of Team Need For Speed! ...
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