January 9th, 2009 phix
The Kawasaki Racing Team has confirmed its immediate pullout from the premier grand prix motorcycle racing class, MotoGP. The news of the pullout was leaked long before Christmas but this is the first official announcement pertaining to it. The world economic situation was cited as the primary reason for the pullout but poor performances by the team was no doubt a factor as well. Since Kawasaki’s return in 2003 they had yet to win a grand prix however they did land a few podiums.
All is not bleak, however, as the 125cc and 250cc Aspar outfit is looking to take over the MotoGP operation and run the factory bikes with the Kawasaki Racing Team riders John Hopkins and new signee/Ducati refugee Marco Melandri. Now, it’s just a waiting game to see if any sort of rescue deal does come to fruition.
Link to Autosport article
Posted in Kawasaki Racing Team, MotoGP | No Comments »
January 9th, 2009 phix
Sebastien Buemi has been confirmed by Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2009 Formula One season. This was never really questioned as Red Bull Emperor Dietrich Mateschitz had unofficially confirmed Buemi for the drive a few months ago. All that’s left is who will occupy the other STR car on the grid. Currently it’s a throw up between last year’s driver Sebastian Bourdais and former-Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato. Personally, I believe Bourdais deserves a second season after some strong performances in his first year in F1. However, Red Bull is first and foremost a commercially driven team and Sato could prove to be a crucial link to the Japanese energy drink market where the company has yet to make a significant penetration into given the fierce competition.
Link to Autosport article
Posted in F1, Scuderia Toro Rosso | No Comments »
January 6th, 2009 phix
The Scuderia Ferrari has announced the unveiling of their F2009 will be held on January 12th. Ferrari will set up a special website just for the unveiling which will contain photos, interviews, and technical specifications of the car. The F2009 will contest the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship with drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen at the helm. The above image is a single teaser photo released by the scuderia showcasing the Constructors Champion badge and their 16th overall Constructors Championship win.
Link to Ferrari’s official website
Posted in F1, Scuderia Ferrari | 1 Comment »
January 4th, 2009 phix
Announced back in December on the 24th, Citroen has revealed that they will be running a second team in the 2009 World Rally Championship. Coined as the Citroen Junior Team, it will contest a minimum of eight events in the 2009 in order to be officially recognized as a manufacturer junior team thus being eligible to score manufacturer points. In regards to the driver line up it’ll be no surprise to see Conrad Rautenbach back in one of the cars as well as Evgeny Novikov. These two will be contesting the full twelve rounds of the 2009 season while a third driver, Sebastien Ogier, will contest at least six rounds. However, there IS a possibility that the Junior World Rally Champion will be competing in more than six rounds no doubt depending on his performance.
And… perhaps the most interesting bit of news from this announcement …will be that of ex-Subaru driver, Chris Atkinson, will be driving for the team in the opening Rally Ireland round. It has been announced that he’s only be signed on to drive for this single rally but there is a possibility that depending on how well he does he’ll be signed on to drive for more rallies during the season.
The 2009 World Rally Championship is set to kick off with Rally Ireland on January 30th.
Link to original announcement
Link to discussion thread
Posted in Citroen, Citroen Total WRT, WRC | 1 Comment »