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Posted
Oct 30 2009, 03:32 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 10 comment(s)
This Speedhunters film is going to be my final contribution to the Driver's Month special features.
It's a quick portrait of the multiple World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx.
Shot last month at the Imola round of the WTTC, we've done our best to capture the essence of Touring Car racing. The intensity, the aggressive driving and the on track dramatics.
Thanks Andy Priaulx for taking the time to talk to us. Enjoy the film!
...
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Posted
Oct 20 2009, 03:24 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 18 comment(s)
This is Andy Priaulx MBE, Husband to a fantastic wife, father to two gorgeous kids but then I would say that ; racing driver from an early age racing almost everything from Motorbikes and power boats to formula one cars, currently racing in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) having won the title three times in a row now trying to win it back. My experience of GT racing is also varied but my greatest success was to win the Nurburgring race in 2005 with Said, Lamy and Husiman, to master the...
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Posted
Sep 23 2009, 05:40 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 4 comment(s)
I don't think I have ever witnessed a race start like the one I had the chance to see with my own eyes this past Sunday at Imola. With all the cars on the grid being so evenly matched, the race for the win becomes something drivers really have to work hard for, right from the instant when the lights turn green. Rod and I headed to the Tosa corner a wide-radius, double-apex hairpin bend, for the start of the first race. Unfortunately this meant we ended up missing the big scramble to Tamburello...
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Posted
Sep 22 2009, 11:34 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 32 comment(s)
A critical element that always has to get organized, well in advance of any Speedhunters' event visit, is trackside access. This often involves writing letters, sending faxes and filling out online accreditation forms. It can be a lot of work, but you really can't attend a motorsports event without special permission to access the restricted access areas. It's the only way to shoot professional quality photos and video footage. Once you are at an event you also need to plan out where...
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Posted
Sep 21 2009, 06:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 2 comment(s)
Thought this shot of Muller bouncing over the entry into the Variante Alta at Imola would make a pretty cool desktop as it exemplifies the intensity of the pace in WTCC. Click here to grab it. -Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Sep 21 2009, 09:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 12 comment(s)
I think this opening shot of Yvan Muller's Seat Leon bouncing high above the apex of the infield chicane at Imola, pretty much sums up what WTCC is all about. It's all very hectic, with virtually the shortest time windows to get things done so the drivers really have no time to waste. The two half hour practices on Saturday were followed by a 35 minute qualifying session, and from then it's onto the two 11 lap races on Sunday. For this reason the drivers push 110% from the get go, giving...
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Posted
Sep 18 2009, 04:45 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 7 comment(s)
This is the beginning of yet another Italian trip, a voyage that has taken Rod and I to one of the best known race tracks in the world, the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Autodromo Internazionale of Imola. Host of the old San Marino F1 Grand Prix and the place where F1 legend Ayrton Senna had his tragic fatal accident back in May 1994. Imola is a curious circuit snaking around the small town where it gets its name from, with houses littering most of its perimeter and a few others actually within the grounds...
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Posted
Sep 17 2009, 09:00 AM
by
John Brooks
with 3 comment(s)
I was ploughing through the archive today looking for material for a couple of SpeedHunters' BMW assignments when I came across this shot, I thought why not? It was taken on the opening lap of the first ETCC race held at Spa back in July 2004. It has a strong BMW theme and I remember being pretty pleased with it at the time, double page spread in Sport Auto as I recall, making Editor Schurig happy. Of course it is pure luck to get such symmetry but as Gary Player once said " the more I practise...
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Posted
Jul 23 2009, 05:40 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 6 comment(s)
Watching the teams prepare their cars in the pit lane before sending them out for the Sunday morning warm-up, I was struck by the choreography that directs the relationship between the teams and their drivers. Timetables drive the series - sessions are short, meaning every second counts, so co-ordination between driver and team is vital. However, there's a problem. While the team want a well executed, effortless performance - drivers gliding round the track to elegant victory - the drivers seem...
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Posted
Jul 20 2009, 11:00 AM
by
John Brooks
with 13 comment(s)
The email arrives in the in-box, detailing the monthly assignments.................yes, despite the evidence to the contrary on my pages there IS a plan. Most of the jobs follow the monthly themes, so some months I am more involved than others. In July the WTCC was in my neck of the woods, down the Hatch in fact. So mobilising his sense of mischief, Editor Rod gives me a hospital pass "The Art of WTCC"...............oh no, my shoulders slumped.......not more pretention about art or ART...
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Posted
Jun 26 2009, 12:30 PM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 2 comment(s)
BMW continued their winning streak at the last round of the World Touring Car Championship in Brno last weekend. Alessandro Zanardi won the first race of the weekend after starting from third on the grid. The ex IndyCar champion was helped to the win by one of the strangest maneuvers I’ve seen on a track in a long time. Augusto Farfus led from Pole, but as the leaders braked for the 1st corner, Farfus turned across the track, wiping out the three works Chevrolets, along with BMW Team mate Andy...
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Posted
Jun 02 2009, 08:13 AM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 4 comment(s)
Valencia, Spain played host to rounds 9 and 10 of the World Touring Car Championship. Following the farce at Pau last month, the series has regrouped and the FIA have revised their Turbo Boost tolerance. This may have taken some of SEAT’s advantage away, but reasonable notice this time allowed the Spanish marquee to adjust their cars. It seemed to have worked. SEAT were 1-4 in qualifying with Gabriele Tarquini on pole, followed by current champion Yvan Muller, Jordi Gene and Tiago Monterio...
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Posted
May 26 2009, 10:20 AM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 4 comment(s)
One of the most visible, if not successful touring cars of the last decade is the SEAT Leon S2000 race car. Surpassed only by the BMW 320Si, the SEAT has been the choice of many drivers and teams in National and World Touring Car Championships. The SEAT Leon Cupra is a 5 door hatchback based loosely on the Golf 'A5' platform and available in Europe and parts of South America. This is the second generation of the Leon and is regarded as one of the better hot-hatches in the European marketplace...
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Posted
May 20 2009, 06:17 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 4 comment(s)
Rules are made to be broken, but it helps if you know what they are in the first place. Faces in the paddock on Sunday morning were as threatening as the sky. No one was happy about the perceived lack of clarity in WTCC rules or the qualifying penalties. SEAT boss Jaime Puig was particularly vocal and the SEAT news site summed up their weekend. The last three headlines before, during and after? 'SEAT is ready to tear up the streets of Pau'; then 'Regulation changes by the FIA hinder SEAT...
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Posted
May 16 2009, 03:30 PM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 5 comment(s)
Everything said rain for this weekend. Last year, as the final WTCC race finished, I don't think I had ever been so soaked through. Pau sits in its own little ecosystem, perched as it is just north of the Pyrenees, right down in the south-west reaches of France, and the weather seems to do what it likes. Rain and thunderstorms were forecast so, of course... we had blazing sunshine. One thing that hasn't changed from last year though is the strength of the BMWs: Andy Priaulx lines up on pole...
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Posted
May 04 2009, 12:00 PM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 3 comment(s)
Chevrolet race team, RML repeated their success in the British Touring Car Championship with two wins and a pole at the Moroccan round of the World Touring Car Championship. The weekend started well for the works Chevrolet team with Rob Huff on pole, with team mate, Alain Menu in 2nd, in front of a group of SEAT’s. The British driver lead from start to finish despite pressure from SEAT’s Gabriele Tarquini. A Safety car had to be diploid after Menu, BMW’s Jörg Müller and...
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Posted
Mar 23 2009, 03:30 PM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 11 comment(s)
Rounds three and four of the 2009 World Touring Car Championship took place this past weekend in Puebla, Mexico. SEAT continued their winning ways with two more wins, but BMW were much closer, much to the delight of the German Manufacture and their drivers. Swede, Rickard Rydell, took his first win of the season despite some tyre issues towards the end. BMW's Agususto Farfus finished in second with team mate, Andy Priaulx on his rear bumper. The second race of the day saw another SEAT win, with...
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Posted
Mar 09 2009, 12:00 PM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 7 comment(s)
A quick follow-up post, given our World Touring Car Championship Preview, which we posted last week. Despite recent rule revisions, SEAT Sport continued their domination of the WTCC with rounds 1 and 2 of the 2009 season in Curitiba. Current champion Yvan Muller was on Pole Position for race 1, the nearest BMW in 5th place. Muller would take a lights to flag victory with team mates Jordi Gene, Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini just a couple of seconds behind. 5th place was originally Nicola Larini...
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Posted
Mar 06 2009, 03:15 PM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 13 comment(s)
The 2009 World Touring Car Championship starts this weekend in Curitiba, Brazil with current champion, Yvan Muller hoping to retain the championship. His task will be hard. Its a competitive series and the rules have been tweaked, which has pegged back the performance of his all dominating SEAT Leon TDi. 2008 saw Yvan and SEAT finally beat Andy Priaulx run of four consecutive titles, thanks to some performance advantages with their Turbo Diesel race car. The FIA have also scrapped their 'success...
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Posted
Dec 05 2008, 04:50 AM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 7 comment(s)
I'm very pleased to write this post, as a big fan of French race driver Yvan Muller and admin of SEATCupra.net, the largest SEAT enthusiast forum on the net. The final round of the FiA World Touring Car Championship took place in Macau earlier in November. Going into the final round, Muller and team mate, Gabriele Tarquini were the only drivers able to clinch the crown. Muller clinched the championship, after finishing third in race one. Chevrolet driver Alain Menu won the race with out-going...
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