Off The Wall Racing News

OPEN WHEEL EDITION

Formula One


The Sauber Racing team welcomed their newest driver, Sergio Perez, a 21 year old rookie from Mexico, to their unusual week of fitness training. Perez and teammates Kamui Kobayashi and reserve driver, fellow Mexican Esteban Gutierrez met in Switzerland near Walensee Lake and went through performance testing at the Swiss Olympic Medical Center (Sportzentrum Kerenzerberg) then went about cross country skiing and frozen waterfall climbing... Yes, I said frozen waterfall climbing…

Not my cup of tea…

Other unusual activities included bowling and pistol shooting…
"There's a lot of fun involved in days like these, but you also get to see how everyone responds to pressure, sometimes you have to overcome yourself, and you learn to rely on your teammates," said program overseer Markus Angst.
"During the ice climbing, for example, we were roped together both metaphorically and literally."

I’d like to see a few of the NASCAR drivers up on a frozen waterfall…
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The Lotus…

In Buddhist teaching the Lotus is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols. The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment. A really beautiful symbol.

Then there’s the Lotus as it pertains to Formula One…

The use of Lotus branding has boiled down to a money-driven feud between two wealthy businessmen from the Far East. Renault (Group Lotus) owner Gerard Lopez is once again finger-pointing going after Tony Fernandes (majority owner of Team Lotus). Lopez claims Fernandes’ is only engaged in the disagreement to avoid losing prize money. Under F1 regulations, prize money earned in previous years cannot be received if a team changes its official chassis name, unless the rest of the paddock is in agreement.
"I've dealt with the press for many years, not just in Formula 1, but also in business, and I've got to call a spade a spade," Lopez said.
"I can tell when somebody's trying to twist things.
"I think it's a shame because we've never twisted things in any form or fashion.
"We've just said that we have a partnership with Lotus, Lotus is a great car company, they've decided to be quite aggressive in this involvement, they want to have a business association with Formula 1, and they want to promote their brand.
"There's only one Lotus car company.
"Anything else is a bunch of 'BS'.
"I'm aware of the negotiations that took place, and I know that money is essentially the centrepiece of this - it's not passion, it's not taking over Colin Chapman's legacy, or whatever.
"It's the fact that if 1Malaysia [the company name behind Fernandes' team] changes the name, they lose the FOM [prize] money.
"It's an issue for them, and yes it's probably one that I wouldn't take too kindly to if I was in their shoes and obviously I would be fighting.
"But just admit to reality: the fact is it's about money and nothing else."
Lopez admitted he had become annoyed by the way Fernandes was presenting his team's position in the argument.
"What I believe is quite damaging is to act as the small team that's getting beaten up – the David against Goliath," said Lopez.
"We're a private team, we do have a sponsor, but we're privately-owned and we just happen to be bigger.
"The thing about [Team Lotus] being the poor kid who gets beaten up at the back of the room, honestly that makes me laugh sometimes.
"The fact is, it's all about money, and they stand to lose money if they change their name, and they should be honest and just say that."

The disagreement has boiled down to nothing short of a knife fight between Lopez and Fernandes with a British Court hearing coming up shortly to sort it out. Then perhaps Lotus will lose its tarnish in Formula One.
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This just in! Team Lotus vs. Group Lotus: Summary Judgment application rejected

In a setback for the Group Lotus, a judge at London High Court rejects Group Lotus's application for a summary judgment. This would mean that Lotus Racing would be able to use the name of Team Lotus for the start of the 2011 Formula 1 season. A full trial date between Team Lotus and Group Lotus over the naming rights is now set for March 21.
"Team Lotus is delighted that we were successful at the Summary Judgment Application hearing today and that the Judge threw out Group Lotus' application even before hearing the arguments of the barristers on either side," read a statement released by the team.
"Although this decision was never in doubt, it means that we start the 2011 season under the Team Lotus name. Whilst we expected that the Judge would refuse this application, it is good to have the decision in black and white."
It continued: "The Judge also felt that it was in everyone's best interests to bring the hearing date for the full trial forward and that is now fixed for 21st March rather than us having to wait until Autumn 2011 or even later. We remain confident that we will succeed at the full trial and we can now focus on the challenges ahead in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship."
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New Car Launching is Underway! Here’s a look at several of the new F1 cars recently put on public display…

The Ferrari F150 features the return of a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) and a new feature, the driver-adjustable rear wing…

By the way, Ferrari’s use of the F150 name is in honor of Italy’s reunification anniversary that occurred 150 years ago. The Italian tri-color flag also appears painted on the rear wing.


Ferrari is ready to launch an all-out campaign to unseat reigning champion Red Bull. Stefano Domenicali said last week: “Our strategy [for the coming season], which is a conservative approach, is to make it to the end and be ahead,” said the under-pressure team principal. “To reach this objective the mobile rear wing has to be interpreted and used best possible, together with the KERS, where we had many problems in 2009, but we hope that we could solve them due to our experience. As far as aerodynamics is concerned I think that there will be less improvement as the season goes on, so we have to start well immediately.”
Fernando Alonso took the new Ferrari F150 on its first test laps January 28th.

The question is… Has Ferrari done enough?
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Is This the new Red Bull Entry???

No... But it's their very innovative prototype.
Here's the New Red Bull RB7 for 2011

Red Bull evidently will stand on their 2010 laurels as nothing about new improvements have been announced.
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Mercedes GP W02

Mercedes has tagged along with Ferrari as they also introduced a KERS system and an adjustable rear wing…
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Team Lotus

"This year's car is a much more contemporary design," Chief Technical Officer and former Toyota engineer Mike Gascoyne said ahead of Wednesday's expected test debut. "The car really will be a midfield runner. It's a modern F1 car. I'm very confident it is a big step up and it's the start of a process that takes Team Lotus back to the front of the grid.
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McLaren’s New MP4-26

Subtle aerodynamic changes to the nose, L-shaped side pods and the air box have been made.
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Sauber C30-Ferrari

The C30 features renewed stability and improved aerodynamics (raised front, slender waist, compact rear, new roll hoop and downward-sloping engine cover), capable of low-speed cornering and mechanical grip. KERS and the Ferrari 056 engine are back.
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Lotus Renault

"All the hard work over the winter has been focused on delivering a big improvement for 2011," team principal Eric Boullier told the Lotus Renault website. "The result is a car with more than 92% new parts compared to the R30. But technical innovation isn't the only key to performance.
"Since last year, we have reviewed all our internal processes and our overall efficiency has now improved by 15%. That means we should be more competitive than last year, on the track and at the factory."
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36 Days to Bahrain!

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IndyCar

Simona de Silvestro!

Last season’s IndyCar Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
Simona de Selvestro has parlayed her good work in 2010 into a second year with HVM Racing and a new sponsor, Entergy Nuclear (an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations.)
The three-year Entergy sponsorship was announced at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Baltimore, delivering publicity to the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix scheduled for Sept. 4. De Silvestro later performed burnouts and simulated pit stops at nearby Camden Yards.
An eighth-place run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was De Silvestro's best finish in her rookie IndyCar effort, but the 22-year-old from Thun, Switzerland, was far more impressive than the results indicated.
"This is great news for HVM and for Simona," said HVM owner Keith Wiggins. "It gives Simona a long-term opportunity to develop into a top IndyCar driver while the team will have a stable platform over multiple years to support our championship effort. It is a terrific marketing opportunity with a strong partner who has an important message and role in our world's future."

Simona’s Racing Career:

Season-Series-----Team---------------Races Wins Poles FLaps Points Position
2005---Formula----Renault------------17------0----0-----0-----16-----20th
2006---Formula----BMW USA--------14------1----0-----2----113------4th
2007---Atl. Champ-Walker Racing---12------0----0-----0-----69-----19th
2008---Atl. Champ-Newman Wachs-11------1----0-----0----167------8th
2009---Atl. Champ-Stargate Worlds-11------4----4-----1----176------3rd
2010---IndyCar----HVM Racing-------17------0----0-----0----242-----19th

Ms. De Silvestro finished second out of 12 rookie drivers in the standings, 20 points behind Britain’s rookie Alex Lloyd (known as Pink Lloyd based on being a Pink Floyd fan).
Looks like the boys have a real competitor to deal with and Danica has some competition for most glamorous driver in IndyCar as well…
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Chip Ganassi has a LOT of work to do to top 2010

"If people are disappointed should we not match last year, they haven't been around racing too much," he said. "I would like our success to continue but the others (owners) want to end it. For our team, the last season is behind us and we must concentrate on 2011. You have to approach every year like it is a new season. For us, 2010 (season) is history."

Don’t look for Chip and his racing teams to slow down after one of the best racing seasons an owner could ask for.
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51 Days until the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg!

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OTHER

When you consider that the Earth is estimated to be around 5 billion years old and that man-like creatures have been walking on the Earth for around 200,000 years, you realize just how insignificant 125 years actually is.

January 29, 2011 marked the 125th anniversary of the invention of the automobile. 125 years ago on that day Karl Benz filed a patent for a three wheeled vehicle driven by a gasoline fired engine in Mannheim Germany.

From this…

To this…