SCORE Safety Seminar

Dear Desert Racer,



SCORE International is honored to be able to work with Yves Morizot and Stand 21 of France to present the very unique SCORE Safety Seminar from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 3.



To be held at the Eibach Springs-North America headquarters in Corona, Calif., this first-of-its-kind seminar is open to ALL desert racers, no matter what series you race, and ALL desert racing promoters.



For 38 years, Stand 21 has developed, manufactured and sold safety equipment for racers. Among the prominent clients of Stand 21 have been a variety of series including F1, GT, Prototypes, NASCAR, Rally, Dakar Rally and Touring Car.



Stand 21 is also the official and exclusive world supplier for Porsche Motorsports, and is one of only two HANS licensed manufacturers in the world.



Stand 21 has conducted over 30 safety seminars worldwide and we are extremely excited to have them produce one especially targeted to our very special needs in the world of desert racing.



It is also a distinct honor to be able to have noted Professor John Melvin as one of our speakers.



We are convinced that this will be a very worthwhile activity for all of us to participate in on May 3 and we look forward to seeing you there.



Admission is free, refreshments will be served and a special tour of the Eibach North America facility will be offered. We thank Eibach for their generousity.



We only ask that you RSVP by April 28. We have attached the event invitation with this e-mail.



Yours in desert racing,







Sal Fish, SCORE CEO/President

Stoner: Schumacher just having fun

MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner does not believe that Michael Schumacher was doing anything more than "having fun" during his recent escapades on two wheels.

The former seven-time Formula 1 champion recently tested for Ducati and took part in two bike races in Spain and Italy.

“Michael’s not testing anything. He’s just riding a bike, he’s having fun," the Australian is quoted as saying by Speed TV.
Related Stories

“No matter how much experience he has in F1 he would need to learn to ride a bike a little faster before he started giving advice on electronic systems and suspension.

“But from what I hear his improvement as a rider is quite exceptional. He’s done very well considering he’s doesn’t have a lot experience on a bike.”

Former MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi previously tested for the Ferrari Formula 1 team two years ago, though nothing came of the speculation linking the Italian with a full race drive.

And while Stoner admits that he would love a similar opportunity, some practice on four wheels would be needed first.

“When I get a bit more experience in cars I would like to have a go in an F1 car but I’m not going to jump in one when I haven’t really driven a car around a race track,” he added.

“When I retire I’d like to have a go in touring cars and maybe do something closer to home in Australia.”
source: sentanta sports

Latest news from the Red Bull Air Race World Series 2008

Abu Dhabi: Britain's Bonhomme dominates Red Bull Air Race World Series opener in Abu Dhabi



Paul Bonhomme got the 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series off to a flying start today with a resounding victory against Hannes Arch of Austria in front of 400,000 spectators in Abu Dhabi....

Gaming god Kazunori Yamauchi reveals why Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is the most spectacular GT instalment yet

Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi is, as you might expect, a geek. Not a gaming geek, though. A car geek.

"For me, it's always been cars first and gaming second," says Kazunori, fresh from putting the finishing touches to GT5 Prologue, the latest instalment in the Gran Turismo franchise. "Give me the choice between a day on the track and a day on the Playstation, and it's the track day every time."

Correct choice, Kazunori-san. That's no idle assertion to pacify Top Gear, either - Kazunori is renowned as a seriously quick track driver, and he admits slightly sheepishly that his garage back home in Japan includes a Honda S2000, Nissan 350Z, Porsche GT3 and a Mitsubishi Evo V. Oh, and a Merc SL55 AMG. A pretty full collection, then? Apparently not.

"I'm not even close to owning all the cars I'd like to," says Kazunori. "My dream garage would have to include... well, a Ferrari 330 P4, a McLaren F1 and the new Nissan GT-R."

Ah yes, the GT-R. Nissan's Skyline (OK, it's not called the Skyline any more, but Kazunori repeatedly refers to the GT-R by its old name) has been intimately intertwined with the GT franchise over the past 10 years - in fact, 48 different Skylines have appeared in the various iterations of the game.

"We've got so many cars in the game that are absolute gems - the Ferraris, for example," muses Kazunori, glancing up at a giant screen with Nissan's Godzilla rendered lifesize across it.

"Next to them, the GT-R is the ugly duckling among the swans. But it's still a special car for us. For a start, we were involved in the car's development [Kazunori worked on the in-car information screens, and was given a GT-R for his efforts], and the timing of the game and the car have run closely together. So we were always going to be partial to it."

The GT-R is one of 71 cars in GT5 Prologue, each recreated in terrifyingly accurate detail. 'Lifelike' is a term bandied round too readily in the gaming world, but trust me: Prologue is worryingly, flinchingly realistic.

At the official launch, a video splicing together in-game clips and real-world footage had the TG team transfixed for a good 20 minutes as we tried to separate the real and the virtual. We'd had a couple of beers, true, but still...

"As an example, the amount of effort and information required to create a whole car in GT4 is equivalent to one headlight in GT5 Prologue," says Kazunori. "We've modelled the bulb, the lens, the reflection, everything. We got headlights shipped from the manufacturer and dismantled them."

source: topgear

Indy remains 'open' to F1 return

Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Joie Chitwood has reiterated that the circuit remains “open” to Formula 1’s return in future.

The historic track is absent from the calendar for the first time in nine years this season after it failed to reach an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone to keep F1 in the US.

There has been speculation that the event however could return as early as 2009, with Indy boss Tony George revealing last month that he was in talks with potential sponsors in order to increase the financial viability for any F1 return.

And Chitwood has confirmed that the Brickyard would happily welcome the sport back again.

“I know that Tony has said it, I've said it: The door is open,” he said in a pre-Indy 500 press conference.

“We think that's a phenomenal racing series; we think it should be back in America.

“So the door is open.

“Maybe it can come back some day.”

While Indianapolis is not hosting any F1 action this year, it will stage its first MotoGP event in September on a newly re-designed road course – which, unlike the F1 layout, runs in the same anti-clockwise direction as the oval racing at the circuit.

Chitwood insists the circuit doesn’t see the addition of motorcycle racing as a direct replacement for F1, adding that it ensured the track changes were still approved to FIA standard.

“One thing I want to make sure is clear, motorcycles didn't replace F1,” he said.

“If you look at the way we scheduled our calendar, we had hoped that F1 would come back and it would have maintained that June date after the Montreal event, and that's why you saw the motorcycle event in September.

“One of the things that we did do with the design of this motorcycle course, which they will run the same direction as the oval, is that every change we made was also inspected and approved by the FIA so that should F1 come back, they can run this course, they can run it their same direction, they can run it the other direction, they can run the four-turn chicane in Turn One or not.

“We did not want to make any changes that would preclude us in the future from hosting F1.”

source: itv

Latest news from the Red Bull Air Race World Series 2008

Latest news from the Red Bull Air Race World Series 2008

Abu Dhabi: Bonhomme tops charts - Great Brit with mysterious but fast setup


Britain's Paul Bonhomme was in a class of his own in Wednesday's training
sessions ahead of the Red Bull Air Race World Series' season-opener in Abu
Dhabi, earning the top spot for Thursday's qualifying session.

Formula 1: Robert Kubica and BMW Sauber show they can take on the big guns

We have seen three very different races and three different victors so far. With a three-week gap before the European season kicks off, it’s time to see who’s hot and who’s not.


Despite a truly disastrous opening race in Melbourne, Ferrari have been the form team so far this year despite lying second in the constructors' championship (down only to Felipe Massa’s silly error in Malaysia where second place was surely safe). Clearly the fastest, and crucially – as seen most recently in Bahrain – the least punishing on tyres in the most crushing of conditions, the F2008 is a triumph of aerodynamic stability (which the McLaren has yet to show) and sheer pace (something BMW Sauber cannot quite replicate just yet).

The drivers, too, Melbourne dramatics aside, have displayed the kind of attitude and commitment that wins titles. Kimi Raikkonen, of course, has shown the greater composure and skill. In Bahrain, his experience and maturity enabled him to settle for eight points and he remains the more fancied to triumph over his Brazilian team mate. But, thankfully, Massa proved the alarmingly keen doubters wrong with a commanding display in the desert, despite the psychological barrier of failing to clinch pole – something which could have affected him after two races in which he was seen by many to have taken a step back to his wild Sauber days.

McLaren remain the closest team to the Italians, but some worrying cracks are undoubtedly forming. The MP4-23 is at times the fastest package on the grid and will remain a contender for the title all season, but a few tenths have been lost to Ferrari over the winter. The bigger worry for the Woking squad is the car's lack of traction and grip – significantly highlighted in Bahrain and especially Malaysia.

The team’s darling and unofficial No.1 driver Lewis Hamilton is evidently enjoying his second Formula 1 season much less. The ’debut season rookie’ label is off now and replaced with expectation; it hasn’t helped either that Finnish team mate Heikki Kovalainen, as expected by some, has comprehensively beaten Hamilton for pace and self-control. It is, of course, no crisis for Hamilton, not yet.

By far the next best team, BMW Sauber are currently leading the constructors' championship and have been the revelation of 2008. Any gremlins that existed over winter testing have been shaken off and the squad – given the dramatic swings in momentum between the top two teams race by race – can expect regular podium finishes and a fair few more pole positions throughout the season.

In Robert Kubica, the team had their historic first pole sitter in Bahrain. The Polish driver has been correctly labelled the brightest young thing in the sport. His raw pace is now being met with a greater composure and a maturity that defies his 23 years. Teammate Nick Heidfeld has to be feeling a tad anxious, despite a solid second place amidst the carnage Down Under. He, too, is being slightly overshadowed by his less prolific teammate.

The midfield battle has been an incomprehensible mess of race-to-race form that has seen most teams capture the limelight on at least one occasion. Of them, Williams have enjoyed the most success with 10 points after three races. Nico Rosberg’s fine drive to a maiden podium in Melbourne was a stark contrast to a disappointing 14th place in Malaysia, where the team were nowhere after suffering McLaren-style with a lack of aerodynamic structure.

In Bahrain he could only muster an indifferent eighth after failing to conquer his main race rival Jarno Trulli in an improved yet still hardly revolutionary TF-108. Toyota themselves, in the hands of Trulli, look to be back to their regular points finishes, which is fine for a small independent team, not the Japanese giants. Toyota can at least be happy that perhaps for the first time, they have two drivers who with their combined pace, experience and proven title-winning mentality are actually worthy of a place in F1.

They will improve with every race.

Along with the unfancied Toyota, Honda have surprised everybody with their pace and reliability – especially in qualifying where the team have been in or around the top 10; a vast development on the rank 2007 car. Ross Brawn has made the difference much quicker than expected and I fancy the team – with the calibre of its fast and evergreen driver pairing – to grab a healthy points haul by the season’s end.

The midfield teams who have faltered are obviously Renault and Red Bull. The former world champions have not improved at all on their 2007 back-step. Fernando Alonso, like Giancarlo Fisichella and Kovalainen before him, is doing the best he can with the car, and even that is rewarding him with nothing more than a draining battle that ends with little or no points. Red Bull, who do not possess the pedigree of Renault, have fewer reasons to despair, but the team can once again boast an Adrian Newey-designed car – something that should have pulled in more than four points after three races.

A special mention for David Coulthard, who is sadly beginning to show signs of fatigue and a real lack of concentration and probably commitment. Two wasteful collisions and an uninspiring ninth place are hardly commendable for a man of such experience.

Lastly, of the three teams with the least promise on paper it has been Force India who have delighted the most. In the veteran Fisichella’s hands (a man who for no straightforward reason has always excelled in lesser cars), the team are achieving race pace equal to Toyota and have enjoyed the biggest leap in form since last year.

The former Spyker squad, like Torro Rosso, are still using a revised 2007 entry, but the Red-Bull sister team, with their superior resources and more stable foundations are scoring the points. The two ‘Sebs’ are a delightful mix of exciting pace and feel, and proven title-winning composure. They have made the rather faceless Torro Rosso squad a joy to behold.

Super Aguri, who did so well to even make it to the grid, are in dire need of some resources and funds. The team have so far resembled the Minardi outfit in their final years – verging on embarrassment.
Can the Sauber team challenge the Ferrari and McLaren big guns in F1? Tell us what you think, either by commenting below or writing your own Sportingo article.

source: sportingo

City dominatrix in 'Nazi' sex scandal

By Citizen reporter
THE dominatrix at the centre of the 'Nazi' sex scandal, which threatens to topple Formula 1 boss Max Mosley, runs a dungeon and bondage chamber from her home in Milton Keynes.

'Mistress Switch' was identified at the weekend as the "chief vice recruiting lieutenant" who was paid £2,500 to arrange five girls to take part in the five-hour orgy at an upmarket London flat 11 days ago.

According to the News of the World, the 40-year-old divorced mum of two gave instructions to the girls to play out different roles, including barking out orders in German and re-enacting sick concentration camp scenes.

They were also given costumes including Nazi uniforms and striped concentration camp uniforms.

It is understood that Mosley had arranged either three or four sessions a year with Mistress Switch, who runs the House of Whispers on the outsk
irts of Milton Keynes.

One of the girls said: "Mistress Switch telephoned or met all the girls in person in advance to spell out their roles.

"It was all carefully worked out beforehand. Max had given Mistress Switch £2,500 to sort out the whole scenario and she briefed us all on his requirements."

In June last year, the 5' 11" blonde opened the House of Whispers which has a dungeon and bondage chamber spread over two floors.

As recently as last Friday, Mistress Switch hosted a £125-a-head 'Life Begins at 40 Spanking Party' in Central London, in spite of the international scandal which is threatening Mosley's position as head of Formula 1.

Mosley – the son of British facist leader Oswald Mosley – has refused to step down, saying the sessions were "harmless and completely legal" and denied there was any Nazi element.

Mistress Switch was unavailable for comment this week.

source the citizen

Bitchin racecar for sale

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=98064&viewitem=&item=120244611292&_trksid=p3907.m29


FOR SALE

2005 Nissan 350Z
Original owner ? converted daily driver
NASA logbook
PTB / TTB car
VQ35 motor STOCK (reliable - no supercharger or turbo's)
VIN JN1AZ34D25M604967
approximately 37,000 miles
AMB Personal TranX260 Direct Powered Transponder (hard wired)
NISMO 2 Front Fascia (cracked ? near passenger side wheel well ? pesky rumble strips) NISMO Canards
Injen intake
Injen Ti full cat back exhaust
K Sport Coil-overs
K Sport adjustable Front Camber
Race pipes (no cats)
Tein front and rear anti-sway bars
17X9 " MB Racing Weapon wheels
Toyo RA1's all four 275/35
7 point weld in cage (Superior Racing Development)
10 lbs 4 nozzle fire system
5 lbs hand held fire bottle
Moroso emergency cut off switch
Center and window net
MOMO Seat
Corbeau belts (due next year)
NRG removable steering wheel
Gulf Oil Livery custom wrap (sponsor stickers removable)
Carbon Rear Hatch
C-West Adjustable Aluminum wing
Brembo Brakes (350Z Track model brakes)
Hawk DTC60 rear pads (2 events)
Hawk DTC70 front pads (2 events)
Racing Brake 1 piece rotors front and rear

For more photos
http://www.nboundz.com/photos/album/72157604441821590/Race_Car_For_Sale.html

Baldwin Racing welcomes Jeremy Mcgrath

Newport Beach, Ca. (March 2008) – Seven-Time Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath will be bringing his high flying skills to the exciting world of Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) fulltime as the newest member of Baldwin Racing. McGrath, who first got a taste of high adrenaline, high horsepower short course off road racing in 2005, became a serious contender in ‘07 driving a Baldwin Prepared Pro 2® (Two wheel drive 800hp) truck with the CORR “Guest Driver” program in 2007. Now with three more CORR events under his belt, he’s back full time in 2008 for the full nine weekend race schedule.



While at a recent test session McGrath commented, “Jim and the Baldwin team are giving me an incredible opportunity. While racing the truck a few times in the past couple of years, I’ve had a chance to watch the series grow and it’s only going to get bigger. It was amazing fighting for the lead last year at Lancaster and finishing on the podium. I’m now looking forward to starting the next chapter in my racing career.”



Looking toward the upcoming season, Pro 4™ (Four wheel drive 800hp) driver Josh Baldwin spoke about his new teammate, “Our team is incredibly excited to have Jeremy on board. He is going to make an immediate impact on this team and the Pro 2 Class. Having a driver with his resume and credentials is going to be great for Baldwin Racing and the series itself.”

Championship Off Road Racing™ brings high action, four wheel motor sports including 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive trucks to the closed course off road arena. The 2008 CORR season includes eight race weekends at tracks located in Los Angeles , San Diego, CA, and Primm, NV.

Baldwin Racing competes professionally in the Championship Off Road Racing series as well as Best in the Desert and SCORE International desert racing series.





Baldwin Racing – “We’ve got to go!”

Breaking Rally News

Desert racing Champion BJ Baldwin of Las Vegas, NV has been signed to race the Robby Gordon Motorsports Hummer H3 at the upcoming Central European Rally put on by the ASO.

The race takes place April 20-26. The 7 stages start in Budapest, Hungary and continue to Romania and then turns around to finish in Balatonfured, Hungary covering 3061 Kilometers.

We asked BJ how feels his desert experience will translate into driving a rally?

"Well desert racing and rally are quite different. There will be no 4 foot bumps, no boulders to dodge, and fewer big jumps. From what I know about driving a rally it's all about going deep into the corners and carrying as much speed out of them as possible. The Hummer I'm driving only makes 340 horsepower but it stops and turns better than anything I have ever driven. I am very excited to participate in this event and I am looking forward to competeing against some of the best off-road drivers in the world. Robby Gordon is a great guy and a very talented driver. I can learn alot from him and that is exactly what I intend to do."

BJ Baldwin is a regular driver in the SCORE and BITD desert racing series and was the 2006 SCORE Trophy Truck Champion. He is also the current Trophy Truck points leader in the SCORE series.

BMW hoping to shake up F1 pecking order

LONDON � BMW Sauber took the lead in the Formula One championship for the first time at the weekend in their bid to break the Ferrari-McLaren stranglehold on the sport.

Team boss Mario Theissen hoped the next Spanish Grand Prix would see further progress for his team, whose main target is a first race win this season.

Champions Ferrari and McLaren have between them won the last 21 races. "The next step will be Barcelona and we have a chance to test there before and every team will have a development package there," Theissen said after Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

"It could change the pecking order, depending on how strong the development packages are.

"We have quite a significant package on the aero side as well as on the chassis side."

BMW Sauber had their best weekend yet in Bahrain, with Poland's Robert Kubica securing his and the team's first pole position before taking their third podium finish in three races.

They had no technical problems and Kubica was not far off the Ferrari duo at the end of the race.

Germany's Nick Heidfeld finished fourth, allowing BMW Sauber to take the overall lead by one point ahead of champions Ferrari. McLaren are a further point back.

"The performance potential of the car is way higher than last year's car and the more you go to the limit, the more difficult it is to fully exploit that potential and fine tune the package so that it works in all conditions," said Theissen. "That is a process we had to learn after the launch and the process is not finished yet.

"Certainly we are one of the three top teams now and then it depends on daily form who is ahead. It's not just about the performance of the car, you have to get your act together when it counts," he said.

McLaren struggled, with Lewis Hamilton losing the championship lead and making almost as many serious mistakes in one weekend as he did in all of last season, but team boss Ron Dennis was confident that Bahrain was just a blip.



Related Stories

More Sports News

CORR FANS CAN PICK THEIR SEATS, PURCHASE AND PRINT TICKETS ONLINE

For the first time CORR fans can pick their seatS, purchase and print tickets online at www.corracing.com



Newport Beach, CA (April 7, 2008)— With the launch of Championship Off Road Racing’s brand new website comes an all new and improved ticketing system for 2008. For the first time CORR fans can pick their seats, purchase and print tickets online at www.corracing.com. Online tickets sales are now open for the first CORR event of the 2008 season.



Fans will now be able to choose the best seat in the house when purchasing a premium ticket. You’ll be able to pick your seats from an online seating chart. Reserved seating will guarantee your seat all day, giving you the option to walk down vendor row or grab an autograph. Every person who buys a ticket online will be able to print their ticket at home; eliminating waiting time and ticketing lines.



CORR’s 2008 season kicks off on April 26-27 at the Fairplex in Pomona. Supercross Champs Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Johnson will battle it out in the Pro 2 class against five-time CORR Champion Johnny Greaves in 2008. This will be Greaves’ return the Pro 2 class. Will he be able to take home the illusive two-crown title, winning both the Pro 4 and Pro 2 Championships in 2008? With the largest Pro classes in CORR history, drivers have come to test their skills out against the best competitors in the business. Don’t miss the chance to see it LIVE; buy your tickets now before it’s too late!



Tickets prices are:

$46 - Adult Premium admission (reserved seating)

$30 - Adult General admission (open seating)

$5 - Kids 4 to 12 years-old (premium & GA)

Free - Kids 3 and under.



RV parking is available to purchase onsite for $60 a night.



Gates open at 8:30AM on Saturday and Sunday. General Parking is located at Gate 17 on Fariplex Dr. The Fairplex in Pomona is located in Los Angeles County with a Population = 9.94 M Residents Largest County in the USA (2005 US Census). It also Draws from Orange (2.99 M), San Bernardino (1.96 M) and Riverside Counties.