Saturday, October 22, 2011

Hundreds attend the funeral of British IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon



Hundreds of people have turned out to mourn British IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon in St Petersburg, Florida.
Fellow racers, including pallbearers Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, attended the funeral.
He won his second Indianapolis 500 earlier in 2011 after becoming the first Englishman to win the race for almost 40 years in 2005.

Although the last few days have been unbearable for our family, the overwhelming love and support we have received are rays of sunshine during these dark days
Susie WheldonDan Wheldon's widow
That victory helped him to win the IndyCar championship in 2005.
Saturday's funeral was held in Wheldon's adopted hometown of St Petersburg, where he lived with wife Susie and their two young sons.
Mrs Wheldon invited the city's community to attend the memorial service.
She said: "Although the last few days have been unbearable for our family, the overwhelming love and support we have received are rays of sunshine during these dark days.
"The outpouring of sympathy and condolences has been so comforting and I want to thank everyone for their kind notes, letters, gifts and flowers."
The car in which Wheldon won the 2011 race will be stripped and put back together in the condition it would have started the famous race - then donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
Adam Dominguez, who will be working on the vehicle, said: "We've just been told to make the car look absolutely perfect.

MARK WEBBER'S BLOG

It was difficult not to hit it off with him - he was a likeable bloke
Mark Webber column
"It's not a pay cheque. It's for a cause."
Meanwhile, celebrities from American sport and Hollywood have donated items for an auction to benefit his family.
IndyCar Series chiefs, along with world motor sport governing body the FIAT, have launched an investigation into the crash which killed Wheldon.
The driver died from severe head injuries when his car flew into the air and hit a safety fence.
The 1.5mile oval in Las Vegas was hosting its first IndyCar event for 11 years.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Briton Dan Wheldon dies in IndyCar race in Las Vegas R.I.P.


Wheldon won the IndyCar series in 2005

British driver Dan Wheldon has died following an accident at the Las Vegas Indy 300.
Buckinghamshire-born Wheldon, 33, was one of 15 cars involved in a crash at the second corner on lap 13 of the series' season-ending race.
The aftermath of the crash at the Las Vegas circuit

Wheldon, who began IndyCar racing in 2002, was the series champion in 2005 and won the Indy 500 in 2005 and 2011.
IndyCar chief executive Randy Bernard said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

WHELDON PROFILE


  • Born: 22 June 1978
  • IndyCar wins: 16
  • IndyCar champion: 2005
  • Indy 500: 2005 & 2011
Wheldon was airlifted to the nearby University Medical Center where he was joined by his family - including his wife and two sons - but his death was announced to his fellow drivers in a meeting at the track.
It was the first IndyCar fatality since 2006 when Paul Dana was killed during the warm-up for the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Bernard added: "The IndyCar drivers and owners have decided to end the race in honour of Dan Wheldon and the drivers will take part in a five-lap salute."
When drivers returned to the track, Wheldon's 77 was the only number on the scoreboard.
The song Danny Boy was played followed by Amazing Grace as the teams' crew and mechanics stood around the track.
The drivers go out on a five lap parade in honor of Dan Wheldon     

The Briton had failed to secure a ride this season after he was replaced by JR Hildebrand at Panther Racing.
Despite that, Wheldon put together a deal for the Indianapolis 500 with Bryan Herta Autosport, a race he won after Hildebrand crashed going into the final turn.

The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something
IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe
He took up IndyCar chief Bernard's offer to pay $5m (£3.1m) if any non-regular series driver entered and won the season finale at Las Vegas.
There were 34 cars entered in the season finale - one more entry than at the Indianapolis 500 at the bigger Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Earlier in the week, drivers had voiced concerns about the high speeds of close to 225 miles per hour being reached at the track during practice.
"I'll tell you, I've never seen anything like it," said driver Ryan Briscoe.
"The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something. I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere."
Scot Dario Franchitti secured his third straight series crown and fourth overall when rival Will Power's car was a victim of the crash.

Autumn returns.


So, when the forecast is for fog, they mean it then... 4C and slippery. It made for some seasonal shots though:




(77)

Dan Wheldon



Mira las carreras de F1 en vivo aqui (transmitimos toda la temporada):

TheFastCastor

Sebastian Vettel wins Korean Grand Prix from Lewis Hamilton



Sebastian Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to help Red Bull wrap up a second consecutive constructors' championship.
Vettel jumped Hamilton on the first lap to take the lead and was unchallenged on his way to a 10th win of the season.
Hamilton defiantly fended off Mark Webber's Red Bull to hold on to second.
McLaren's Jenson Button saw off Fernando Alonso's fast-finishing Ferrari for fourth with Scot Paul di Resta 10th in his Force India.
Hamilton had delivered a brilliant lap on Saturday to knock Red Bull off pole position for the first time this season but then lost his advantage on the first lap of the race.
Vettel nosed his way into the McLaren's slipstream and used the tow to pass Hamilton into Turn Four and take the lead.

Vettel will have thoroughly enjoyed that. He may have won the world title last week but that will mean a great deal to him
Martin BrundleBBC F1 commentator
With one Red Bull ahead of him, Hamilton then found himself under pressure from Webber, who was on an opposite strategy to his Red Bull team-mate by choosing the harder 'prime' tyres at the first pit stop.
Hamilton and Webber made their second stop at the same time and when they emerged from the pits they swapped position several times in a thrilling duel through the high-speed middle section of the Yeongam circuit.
"Super-clean, super-aggressive, super-respectful race driving from both of them," said BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard.
Hamilton hung on to take his first podium since winning the German Grand Prix in July but Webber never fell more than a second behind over the final 22 laps.
The field had been slowed by the safety car, which emerged after Vitaly Petrov crashed into the back of Michael Schumacher's Mercedes on lap 17.
But Vettel pressed on when the race re-started and the double world champion sailed clear to finish the race 12 seconds clear of his rivals.
"Vettel will have thoroughly enjoyed that," said BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle. "He may have won the world title last week but that will mean a great deal to him."
The 24-year-old showed just what it meant to him on the pit-to-car radio, shouting: "Yes, yes, yes and yes again -10 wins."
Vettel can still match Schumacher's record 13 wins in a single season if he wins the remaining races in India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

I never questioned my belief in myself so that's not something that needs doing
Lewis Hamilton
"It's good to see that the whole team keeps on pushing," said Vettel. "To come here and after a tough Friday and Saturday to come back in the race was fantastic.
"I was getting quicker and quicker and I didn't need the safety car. Lewis came closer again but the car seemed to stabilise and I was able to maintain the gap.
"At the end it was fantastic I was able to push when I wanted to. It's fantastic [to win] last week the drivers' championship and this week the constructors' championship."
Hamilton, who scored his fifth podium of the season, said: "It was OK, not too bad. Mark drove really well through the race.
"It was impossible to catch Sebastian and overtake him and then I struggled with understeer but it's a good weekend for me compared to what I had in the past so I'm happy.
"I never questioned my belief in myself so that's not something that needs doing.
"I have the trust and confidence from the team so I just need to keep my head down and hope for better results."
Webber added: "It was the team's day today. It's been a phenomenal year but I'm disappointed not to get second today.
"I think at the second stop we did the worst thing, we stopped on the same lap and that was disappointing as we had some good pace to pull away from Lewis. I look forward to the next one."
Button finished fourth after he found himself jostling for position on the opening lap, dropping from third to sixth as both Ferraris and Webber's Red Bull squeezed past him.
The 2009 champion got the jump on the Ferraris at his first pit stop but had to fend off Nico Rosberg's Mercedes in the pit lane and then on track.

I was suddenly 180 degrees in the wrong direction and saw my wing hanging down and a Renault wing pass by
Michael Schumacher
Alonso closed quickly in on Button over the final stint but a near-miss with a wall with two laps to go made him realise that the chase would be in vain.
"I give up, I give up," Alonso told his team on the penultimate lap.
The Spaniard had spent half of the race behind his team-mate Felipe Massa, who had out-qualified him and then defended his position when Alonso tried to pass him on lap 13.
Brundle commented: "I think that (radio) message means 'if you ever leave me behind Massa again this is the price you pay.'"
As it was, Massa finished behind Alonso in sixth ahead of Jaime Alguersuari, who equalled his best performance of the season with seventh for Toro Rosso.
Rosberg finished eight for Mercedes with Toro Rosso's Sebastian Buemi and Di Resta's Force India completing the top 10.
Schumacher retired after just 17 laps when Vitaly Petrov crunched his Renault into the back of his Mercedes, crumpling the rear wing.
Petrov had been under pressure from Alonso, who narrowly escaped being caught up in the incident, and the Russian apologised to Schumacher for causing the crash.
"I was suddenly 180 degrees in the wrong direction and saw my wing hanging down and a Renault wing pass by," said Schumacher.
"We have had some great racing together this year, the first two were on my cap and the third on his cap."
The Russian may have taken responsibility for the incident but the stewards will still investigate the incident after the race.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Lewis Hamilton blasts to pole at Korean Grand Prix



Lewis Hamilton knocked Red Bull off pole position for the first time this season with a brilliant lap in Korea.
McLaren's 2008 champion edged out Red Bull's double world champion Sebastian Vettel by 0.222 seconds.
Jenson Button lines up third for McLaren alongside Mark Webber's Red Bull with the Ferraris fifth and sixth.
It is Hamilton's first pole since last year's Canadian Grand Prix and will be a tonic to Hamilton, who wants to end a run of poor form.
McLaren told Hamilton over the pit-to-car radio: "Great news, you are on pole, great job."
But it appeared to be an emotional moment for Hamilton, who did not respond.

Lewis has been tough to hold onto all weekend
Jenson ButtonMcLaren driver
He has said this weekend that it would take some time to put a difficult season behind him.
But asked for his response to taking his first pole for 16 months, he said: "I'm very happy. I'm very proud of what the team has achieved over the last two races.
"It's one of the first positives I've had for a while. To be back on pole is a great feeling. I've had some difficult races in the past and we'll try and redeem ourselves (in the race) tomorrow."
Hamilton had stretched clear of his rivals from the first phase of qualifying and sealed his 19th career pole with a lap of one minute 35.820 seconds.
BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard commented: "This is a man who has rediscovered his mojo. Anyone who doubted him, check that lap out."
Vettel was the penultimate man out on track as eight cars took to the Yeongam circuit in a frantic final 90 seconds.
But the 24-year-old, who sealed a second world title last weekend, could not reel Hamilton, who has been strong in the wet and dry conditions thrown at him this weekend.
Button was nearly half a second slower than Hamilton despite setting the fastest time through the first section of Yeongam's challenging circuit.
"It's not perfect but congratulations to Lewis as he's been tough to hold onto all weekend," said Button, who won six days ago in Japan.

McLaren were very competitive on Friday. They were a fair chunk ahead of us and once again we pushed them very hard and got closer than expected
Sebastian Vettel
"We can race very well from here. We haven't got a clue what's going to happen with tyre degradation on high fuel but I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Red Bull would have broken the record for number of pole positions won in a season had Vettel or Webber taken the honours but an unusual qualifying strategy suggested the team had already turned their attention to the race.
Both drivers took the unusual step of starting qualifying on a new set of super-soft tyres, which are usually reserved for the final phase when the top grid positions are settled.
Pirelli have provided the soft and super-soft compounds in Korea and Red Bull have chosen to save all their unused sets of soft tyres for a race where tyre wear will be key.
"We saved all our prime tyres which is the difference and will be crucial for tomorrow," said Vettel.
"We are in a good position. It's not a long way down to the first corner, tyre wear will be crucial, Jenson did a good job in the last race, so that again will be important again.
"McLaren were very competitive on Friday. I know the [wet] conditions were different but they were a fair chunk ahead of us and once again we pushed them very hard and got closer than expected."
Felipe Massa out-qualified Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso, who was running with a new front wing, to claim sixth on the grid.
Asked if the new wing was the explanation, Alonso pulled a face and said: "Maybe."
He later admitted, however, that he had made a mistake at the start of the lap.
"I lost a few tenths at the first corner and after that, I could not make up the time, so I decided not to complete the lap," he said.
Massa has now out-qualified Alonso at three of the five races since F1 returned from its summer break.
Paul di Resta lines up in ninth ahead of his Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil after the team again chose not to set a fastest lap in the last stage of qualifying.
Some teams have chosen to strategically sit out qualifying to save tyres for the race but tyre supplier Pirelli want to discuss this controversial practice with the teams at the next race in India.
Michael Schumacher had the track to himself in the middle section of qualifying but the 42-year-old still couldn't eke out enough pace to challenge for a top-10 place and he lines up 12th for Mercedes.
Schumacher had complained on the pit-to-car radio that he was feeling vibrations in the car but carried on regardless.
Williams left it late to send their drivers out of the garage in the first phase of qualifying and Rubens Barrichello ended up being knocked out by his own team-mate Pastor Maldonado.
"The tyres gave up a little bit on me and we decided to stop," explained the 39-year-old, who is fighting to keep his place in Formula 1 in 2012.
Daniel Ricciardo was the only driver who didn't set a time in qualifying and the Australian starts at the back of the grid for HRT.
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