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Formula 1 is testing a 'virtual safety car'
Safety vehicles are sometimes as dangerous to racing drivers as actual competition -- Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi recently crashed into a recovery tractor sent out for an earlier accident, for instance. They may be less of an unintentional threat if a virtual safety car (VSC) trial at the US Grand Prix pans out. Instead of using a lead car to slow things down during yellow flags, the system relies on dashboard displays that tell racers to stay under a given speed limit; they face penalties if they go over. The technology is only being used in practice sessions this weekend, but the FIA is working with teams to determine just when VSC is viable for honest-to-goodness races.
Formula E racers unite to accelerate EV innovation
A new, high-profile and all-electric motorsport will debut on the city streets of Beijing this September, and it's called Formula E. While it's a form of entertainment like any racing series, the championship has a far greater aspiration than just putting on a good show, and that's to accelerate the development of new technology that can benefit consumer EVs. "The real purpose is to drive innovation... to put the most talented engineers onto a problem and solve it," Sylvain Filippi, Chief Technology Officer of the Virgin Racing team, told us.
Gran Turismo creator, FIA plot to 'revitalize' motorsport
Following a recent collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile in which the FIA lent official certification to a number of Gran Turismo 6 tracks - a first for any racing game - series mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi took to Reddit to explain his plans for this new partnership. "In the collaboration that was announced with the FIA, my objective now is to really revitalize and reconstruct motorsports," Yamauchi wrote. "That's also the dream of the FIA chairman and so that's the goals that we're working toward." "The last message in the FIA press conference was that this is for the expansion and prosperity of motorsports for the next 100 years. That's exactly it - I've always wanted motorsports to become as popular as football or soccer and my feelings haven't changed regarding that." For those unaware, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit that governs a massive number of motorsport events around the world. It represents 213 organizations in 125 countries, and is widely seen as the world authority in racing high-tech, exotic vehicles. Obviously it would behoove the FIA to raise interest in motorsport, which ties right into Yamauchi's stated goals to push the sport to new heights of popularity via his development team's fan-favorite racing simulation. [Image: Sony]
After two years of prep, Formula E cars are here and ready to race
What does it take to create an entirely new motorsport? In Formula E's case, two years, ten teams and ten city-street circuits, which will play host the first championship. Since the idea of Formula E started taking shape towards the end of 2012, several public demos have kept buzz for the all-electric racing series alive, but the atmosphere was different at the UK's Donington Park circuit yesterday. Attendees of the official opening of Formula E's operational headquarters and team facilities at Donington weren't there to watch a traveling circus visit a racetrack, but to witness a milestone in a sport where, until now, petrol has been king.
Auto Club Revolution 2.0 closed beta starts June 16
Auto Club Revolution, a free-to-play motorsport MMO thing developed by Eutechnyx, is gearing up for its 2.0 closed beta that begins on June 16th. The 2.0 is significant because the game initially launched in 2012. The new version is "nothing less than a full remodeling," according to the latest Eutechnyx press release. Oculus Rift support is also on the way, so if you've ever wanted an MMO featuring Fords, BMWs, and Bentleys instead of casters, healers, and tanks, ACR is probably worth a look. [Source: Eutechnyx press release]
Drayson Racing's B12/69EV sets new Goodwood record, electric cars move further up the grid
Speed and cars go together like jam and sandwiches. Relatively speaking, electric vehicles, have still been slicing the loaf, while their fossil-fueled cousins slather on the thick, fruity speed. Things are changing though, as eloquently demonstrated by Drayson Racing at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. The EV set a new race record for an electric machine, coming in at 53.91 seconds on its second run. So, while the 850 horsepower B12/69EV came 11th overall, it does show that the capabilities of the emission-less engines are making ground. With the recent record at the Nürburgring also tumbling, perhaps it's time to reassess your motoring lunch bag.
Visualized: the history of the Formula 1 car in 60 seconds (video)
Formula 1 car technology has come a long way since it first hit the asphalt banks 62 years ago. It's been hard to convey the sheer amount of change in a succinct way, but Rufus Blacklock may have nailed it in exactly one minute. Abstract versions of the cars show us the progression from the bullet-shaped cars of the 1950's through to the low-slung, wing-laden beasts we know today. If the clip is a little too F1-fast, there's also an infographic that details exactly when certain technology changes came into play, starting with the first wings in 1968 through to modern (and at times controversial) introductions like KERS in 2009. Click past the break for the video, and check out the relevant source link for a quite literal big picture.
Angry Birds Heikki: because F1 and fort-breaking games are like peanut butter and chocolate
We've seen Angry Birds go into strange places both figurative and literal, but Formula 1 racing? That's a less natural mix than a peanut butter cup. As a way of backing race driver and fellow Finland native Heikki Kovalainen, Rovio has crafted Angry Birds Heikki, a free web game themed all around its namesake's escapades during the F1 race year. The gameplay changes are more cosmetic than functional, although that leaderboard matters a little more in spirit than it might otherwise. Perhaps the biggest draw is simply that your gameplay schedule is intrinsically linked to Heikki's: new sections only unlock as the real-world races get near, so you'll have an incentive to keep coming back until the Sao Paulo race determines the F1 championship on November 21st. Let's just hope that there aren't too many road hogs spoiling either Heikki's fun or our own. [Thanks, Rodrigo]
F1 boss Ecclestone says no high definition feed until 2012
Bad news for Formula One fans worldwide, as Bernie Ecclestone told the media we will likely have to wait until 2012 to get a glimpse of the racing series in high definition. Trailing every other autosport federation we can think of, and nearly every sport in existence, F1 spent the weekend during the Canadian GP testing HD and even 3D cameras and feeds, but according to Ecclestone there aren't enough viewers that want it. Andrew Barratt, vice president of F1 sponsor LG backed Ecclestone's assertions, calling F1 "the most technical sport in the world to shoot" and saying the differences in the varied locales make it tough to get right, in his comments to Autosport. From our perspective, it was shocking when we couldn't watch the US GP in F1 in 2007, that it could take five more years to make the jump is nothing short of ridiculous.
100 straight, October 4, don't cut: WRC schedule for HD Theater revealed
We finally know exactly when Discovery HD Theater will deliver the rally racing action it promised now that the official schedule has been revealed. Our friends at Autoblog have plenty of pics to gawk over while we mark off the days, check after the break for the PR with dates and times, plus a preview trailer. We're not sold on how the new NA engines in WRC may sound in 5.1, but we'll always take more HD racing action, you hear that Bernie?
World Touring Car Championship is the first FIA racing series in HD
The first FIA World Championship has scheduled its switch to high definition -- unfortunately, it isn't F1. Still, World Touring Car Championship fans can expect sweet sweet HD from track side and RF cameras (on board is still 16:9 SD) on nine of the season's twelve events, starting in the third week from Marrakech. No word on which broadcasters will air the races in HD other than that "several" plan to, but we hope this is just a test run before we get a clearer view from all the Formula One events soon -- c'mon Bernie, you're not going to let NASCAR and Indy stay ahead, are you?[Via F1SA]
A1GP series races available in HD next season
There's always room for more racing in high definition, and A1 Grand Prix fans are the latest to be blessed, as the upcoming season be available in high definition (assuming your local broadcaster offers it). Since A1GP does a bit more country-hopping than NASCAR or Indy the logistics are more complicated, but we can apparently expect HD looks at the action courtesy of 60 cameras manned by a team of 130 production staff following the series around the world. also in store are new on-board camera positions and more telemetry info when the '08/'09 season kicks off September 21 from Mugello.
Drift Style racing series premieres on Rush HD tonight
Joining NASCAR, Indy, off road and Mustangs in this season's HD racing schedule is a brand new series focused on drift racing. Rush HD premieres Drift Style tonight at 8:30 p.m. on the Voom HD network. If you're (still) not familiar with the sport, its a competition mixing speed with style as drivers take their heavily customized street cars around the track. We're glad to see more new original content on Voom, for more info on this weekly series check the full PR after the break.
ESPN plans "most advanced" HD coverage for NASCAR in 2007
ESPN recently revealed its plans for broadcasting NASCAR races during the upcoming season, in what the network is calling "most technologically advanced in motorsports history". Every race will be done completely in HD, including in car cameras, pit crew, blimp and other angles. All of this goes along with the mobile studio ESPN will use to broadcast NASCAR Countdown shows from each race, and a radio room that allows ESPN to record and replay clips from any driver-pit crew transmissions. You can expect the full HD treatment on every Busch Series race this year (aired on ESPN2-HD) and the final 17 Nextel Cup races on ESPN and ABC. We've already come to expect top notch HD broadcasts from TNT, Fox and HDNet's coverage of the sport and it appears ESPN is ready to raise the bar yet again.
Vertu intros first 2 of 6 Racetrack Legends handsets
Ever since their Ascent Motorsport Edition withstood five rollovers by a Porsche Boxster, we've taken Nokia's Vertu luxury handset division much more seriously, and you'll never again hear us questioning the logic of spending $X on one of their products (where X = some obscenely large number). The company's newest designs, called the Racetrack Legends series, each pay tribute to one of six of the greatest circuits on Earth and are limited to 1000 units apiece, with outlines of Italy's Monza and Britain's Silverstone etched onto the back of the first two releases. When you're in the market for a Vertu phone, features are surely not your top priority, and the Legends series meets those expectations with nary a notable spec other than the inclusion of Bluetooth and tri-band GSM connectivity. Likewise, if you have to ask about pricing on these, you're probably not part of the target demographic.[Via Luxist]
