Indy Racing League - St. Petersburg - Highlights

The Danica Patrick Admiration League (aka The IRL) hosted a race this past Sunday in St. Petersburg Florida.  While I have not been a big fan of the IRL, (choosing instead to follow CART), I felt that enough time had passed that I could let bygones be bygones, and check out the action from the USA's  major open-wheel racing series.  So this is what I learned in watching from watching the action this weekend on the VERSUS network,

• People care how much a front-wing and nose assembly is.  VERSUS made a big deal that they are $35,000 each, and that on a street circuit you will probably break one or two, adding up to big bucks. Wow!
• Every event in the race has to be related back to how it impacts Danica Patrick, no matter what position she is in.
• As part of her off-season training program (and I'm not making this up), Danica received a bread maker, and has spent much of the off-season experimenting with different bread recipes.  Take that Robert Kubica with your low-carb weight loss program.
• Driving skill might skip a generation or two.  Both Andretti and Rahal family entries didn't look as strong as their non-famous counterparts.  Of note- Grandpa Mario didn't look too happy with young Marco's performance.
• The announcers from VERSUS, are completely unaware of most racing that occurs outside of NASCAR.  This was notable in the commentary about the drivers and their backgrounds, as well as the points of comparison used.

Congratulations to Ryan Briscoe on the win, and great races by both Ryan-Hunter Reay and Justin Wilson!  You can check out the highlights below. Enjoy!

Formula One Malaysian Gran Prix - Race - Live Stream

It should be here, but I'm setting this up in advance so I don't know if this feed will work yet.

Can't promise anything so keep your fingers crossed. Enjoy!

Watch live video from Dragons Bar on Justin.tv

It's official - The world is ending - Welcome the BMW X6M

Okay, I thought that Jenson Button being on pole two weeks in a row was just a coincidence, that the world financial crisis was just a small anomaly, that the British Motoring Press turning on Lewis Hamilton was just a phase they are going through but here is the direct proof of the appocolypse--The BMW X6M.

While I may even find its 555hp alluring, even seductive, I know deep down that the like it, or really even look at it will turn me into a pillar of salt.

Somewhere in Munich their is an e30 M3 praying for death. As many have said, few believed, M does stand for Motorsport, "Motorsport-based Marketing."

2009 Malaysian Gran Prix- Qualifying Results- Virgin dances on the pole again

Jenson Button and Brawn GP Mercedes / Virgin Team made it two pole position in a row (WTF?) as he beat Jarno Trulli by less than a tenth of a second in qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

However will Massa start from 16th after he and Ferrari made a bad decision early in the session. Having set decent times on soft tires Ferrari did not send their drivers out for a final run. But as track conditions improved Massa was caught out and dropped to 16th - with no time left to set another lap.

Massa's decision not to go out for a second attempt was even more baffling as he’d made a mistake on his first attempt. Maybe he had something else to attend to?

2009 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	1:35.058	1:33.784	1:35.181	18
2	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:34.745	1:33.990	1:35.273	20
3	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	1:34.935	1:34.276	1:35.518	17
4	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	1:34.681	1:34.387	1:35.651	20
5	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:34.907	1:34.258	1:35.690	24
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1:35.083	1:34.547	1:35.750	21
7	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	1:35.027	1:34.222	1:35.797	19
8	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:35.166	1:34.562	1:36.106	19
9	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:35.476	1:34.456	1:36.170	17
10	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:35.260	1:34.706	1:37.659	15
11	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:35.110	1:34.769		14
12	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1:35.341	1:34.788		13
13	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:35.280	1:34.905		13
14	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:35.023	1:34.924		14
15	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	1:35.507	1:35.431		16
16	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:35.642			4
17	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	1:35.708			11
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	1:35.908			8
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1:35.951			10
20	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	1:36.107

Formula One Malaysian Gran Prix - Qualifying - Live Stream

Hopefully this should work. If you tune in early, enjoy the repeat broadcasts of Friday Practice, (especially Kimi being on the Hot Seat in his Ferrari.)

With the time difference being what it is, I'm going to need to put this up prior to the start of qualification. Enjoy!


Watch live video from Dragons Bar on Justin.tv

ALMS St. Petersberg Qualifying Results

Here's the running order for tomorrow's race.  Looks like the BMW M3's came back with a vengence in GT2. Good Luck Rahal Letterman Racing!


Pos Num CL Car Best Lap Time Fastest Driver
1 66 P1 Acura ARX-02a 1:03.776  Simon Pagenaud
2 9 P1 Acura ARX-02a 1:04.722  Scott Sharp
3 15 P2 Acura ARX-01B 1:05.178 Luis Diaz
4 16 P2 Lola Mazda 1:05.464 Guy Smith
5 20 P2 Lola Mazda 1:05.666 Marino Franchitti
6 37 P1 Lola AER 1:09.044 Chapman Ducote
7 62 GT2 Ferrari F430GT 1:12.892 Jaime Melo
8 87 GT2 Porsche 911RSR 1:13.173 Wolf Henzler
9 90 GT2 BMW E92 M3 1:13.267 Joey Hand
10 92 GT2 BMW E92 M3 1:13.458 Dirk Mueller
11 45 GT2 Porsche 911RSR 1:13.465 Patrick Long
12 21 GT2 Panoz Esperante 1:14.109 Dominik Farnbacher
13 40 GT2 Doran Ford GT 1:14.281 David Murry
14 28 GT2 Corvette C6 1:14.633 Eric Curran
15 11 GT2 Dodge Viper 1:15.938 Joel Feinberg
16 22 GT2 Panoz Esperante 1:15.996 Tom Sutherland
17 44 GT2 Porsche 911RSR 1:18.592 Seth Neiman

ALMS St. Petersberg Practice / Qualifying- Live Stream- On NOW!!

It's just one camera...normally used for the IRL. It's not perfect but it's a free stream. Enjoy!

UPDATE: They are now using multiple cameras!

F

2009 BMW Sauber Formula One Preview - Malaysia- 100% Kangaroo Free

Fortunately for BMW Motorsports, neither Robert Kubica nor Nick Heidfeld visited a petting zoo during their time in Malaysia. (most unlike their time in Melbourne)  Not sure if the lack of Kangaroo petting will have an impact on the team's performance.  Based on the this morning's practice times they may want to start looking for an orangutan to feed before qualifying.