F1 Austrian Grand Prix

This coming weekend will be another big one for motor sports.  In addition to another 24 hour race (Le Mans last weekend, Nurburgring this weekend) Formula 1 is back at on the track.  The teams are back in Europe for the Austria Grand Prix on 22 June.  The Austrian circuit is a 4.325 kilometer course with nine turns.  The race will consist of 71 laps, covering a total distance of 307.020 kilometers.

  There is no doubt that Lewis Hamilton will be pushing again hard at this one.  Despite his four wins in a row at the start of this season, he failed to take first in the last two races.  In Monaco, a month ago, he was beat out by his team mate Nico Rosberg and had to settle for second. During the last race, the Canadian GP, vehicle problems forced him to retire from the race early.

  The action starts on Friday, 20 June with two practices, followed by practice 3 and qualifying on Saturday afternoon.  The race kicks off on Sunday 22 June  at 2pm Austrian time (8 am for those on the US East Coast).  NBC Sports will broadcast the practice, qualifying and pre-race shows on Friday and Saturday.  The race will air on NBC Sporsts on Saturday morning.  

Michael Schumacher out of the hospital

According to the "Michale Schumacher (MSC) Facebook page, the official spokesman for the driver, "Michael is no longer in a coma and has left Grenoble Hospital. His further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye."
  It's great to hear that he is out of the coma and going through some more rehabilitation, we hope for the best for him and his family and continue to support him  We also hope that everyone, especially journalists/paparazzi continue to honor and respect the family by leaving them alone and not violate their privacy just to get a story.

24h Le Mans - Less than ten minutes to start

  In less than ten minutes, the 82nd running of the 24 hours of Le Mans will kick off.  This year will be an epic battle between Audi and Porsche among all the other classes of cars.  You can catch all the action on Fox Sports or at 24h-lemans.com

Saturday Morning Motorvation: Father's Day Edition - The Norton Project

Since tomorrow is Father's Day, we thought this would be the perfect Saturday Morning Motorvation.  Unfortunately, because tomorrow is Father's Day, you probably won't be able to put together anything this cool for your dad by tomorrow.

F1 Canadian Grand Prix

The practice and qualifying are completed and there's only a few hours left till this one kicks off.  Should be a great race and since it's in North America at a 'normal' time.  NBC Sports Network coverage kicks off at 1:30 pm this afternoon, thirty minutes before race time.  Just switch over to NBC at 2 for the live race coverage.

Saturday Morning Motorvation: Loaded BMW M3 CSL E46 record 7:22 at Nurburgring

24 Hours of Le Mans App for IPhone and Android

Look's like a great way to catch all the action, especially for those of us on this side of the Atlantic without full TV coverage and limited streaming options.

24 hours of Le Mans App

Michelin x Porsche Le Mans Documentary: We Are Racers - Ep 1

This year's 24 hours of Le Mans is only a few week's away and Porsche continues their hype.  We are all looking forward to watching them and see how this race shapes up.  They are definitely prepared for the race but with Le Mans, anything can happen.

Grand Theft Auto Prank by fouseyTUBE

Crazy prank but I have to wonder why the guy in the backseat remained so calm about the whole thing.  I think a lot of people would have really started to fight this guy or try to choke him out when he was driving.

Nap time

Saturday Morning Motorvation: Onboard Porsche GT3 Zeltner/Zeltner Sachsen Rallye 2013

F1 Canadian Style - A Visitors Guide

  Today was one of the most historic circuits on the F1 season but the next race will be the first chance to see the action here in North American.  In just 14 days, June 6 to 8, the teams will be at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.

  The circuit was originally constructed in 1978 and has hosted just about every form of motor sports since them.  The layout utilized for F1 is a 4.361 kilometer course with 13 turns.

  Tickets are still available (http://www.circuitgillesvilleneuve.ca/home) and are anywhere for $45 dollars for a general admission on the practice days to $560 for a three day pass with seating in the Grandstand 1.  Several packages include seating in different locations for the practices and back in the main grandstand for the race but those packages are going quick.  There are also several high end hotels offering room and ticket packages but some of these are well over $2,000.

  At the Monaco Grand Prix, Team Mercedes continued to dominate but the real action was between Lewis Hamilton and Nico  Rosberg.  The tense between the two started during the qualify and a move by Rosberg that prevent Hamilton from completely what was on track to be his fastest lap.  Because of this Rosberg took pole position and Hamilton came in second.  Rosberg ran an error free race and kept the lead from start to finish.  It will be interesting to see how this inter team rivalry continues into Canada.

Saturday Morning Motorvation: McLaren P1 vs. The Nürburgring-Nordschleife

Just to lap in under seven minutes.Great sights and sounds in this one.

Monaco Grand Prix primer

The Monaco Grand Prix has been run since 1929 and is, by far, the most popular on the F1 circuit.  The extravagance of Monaco coupled with the thrill of F1 through the middle of the city of Monte Carlo makes for a very unique and expensive atmosphere. The track layout consists of very tight turns and drastic elevation chances making it one of the most dangerous on the modern F1 schedule despite the slower speeds on the course.  The course itself is 3.340 kilometers long and the cars will complete 78 laps for a total distance of 260.520 kilometers. One of the most dramatic parts of the course is the tunnel, creating blind spots when the drivers eyes are forced to adjust from daylight to darkness and back again. And let's not forget all that beautiful engine noise reverberating through the tunnel.  Just a quick search of youtube will show how popular this tunnel is for super car owners.  Although it's just as dangerous, as can be seen by the recent misplacement of a very expensive car while attempting re-create that exhaust reverberation.  But the sounds will be a bit different this year as the new smaller and quieter F1 engines (1.6-litre V6 turbo engines vice the old V8) this year are so quiet, the announcement speakers are drowning out the engines.
  For those luckily enough to be in Monaco this weekend, getting a good view of the track can prove to be an expensive undertaking.  Almost every balcony of the surrounding buildings will be full of race fans, many of which paid top dollar for the privilege of renting the balcony during the race.  For those enjoying their Memorial Day weekend back in the US, there are a few online and televised viewing options.  Several of the teams will have live streaming coverage from various points but the most comprehensive coverage will be on NBC Sports Network.  Practice #2 aired at 8 am on Thursday morning and qualifying will be at the same time on Saturday.  The live race coverage starts and 7:30 on Sunday with several opportunities to watch re-broadcasts later in the day.
  Lewis Hamilton, who posted the fastest overall time in practice for his Mercedes team, will be the one to watch four.  He has won the last four F1 races and is an obvious favorite to win this weekend as well.  If Hamilton pulls off a five win he will virtually guarantee his overall victory for the season and preventing any excitement for the remaining races.  Despite his successful year, the tight and dangerous track offers plenty of opportunities for any of the teams to seize victory.

When to watch:

Thursday, May 22 - 8:00 a.m. -- Monaco Grand Prix - Practice #2 (NBCSN)
Saturday, May 24 - 8:00 a.m. -- Monaco Grand Prix - Qualifying (NBCSN)
Sunday, May 25 - 7:30 a.m. -- Monaco Grand Prix - Race (NBC)

Saturday Morning Motorvation: Aston Martin One-77

Saturday Morning Motorvation; Racing. Not Posing

Mental Floss - 32 Car Name Meanings

Saturday Morning Motorvation: Porsche Commercial

Wilmington Cars & Coffee - May 3rd

The next Wilmington Cars & Coffee event will be held on May 3rd at Chili's (819 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403). Come out and get your weekend started right with free coffee, doughnuts and most importantly lots of cool cars and petrol heads.

E-Bay find of the day - Mint 1992 Dodge Viper

Although we've never been the biggest fans of the Dodge Viper, you really can't knock it's unique styling and high power.  Today's E-Bay find of the day is a 1992 version located in Middleburg, North Carolina, which the seller says was number #176 of 200 built.  The most amazing part about this over twenty year old V-10 is the extremely low mileage, just 3,045.  Yes under four thousand miles in twenty two years, that works out to an astonishingly low 152 miles per year. Several of the accessories are still in the original factory packaging and the original bar code from the assembly plant is still on the window.  Like all vipers produced that year, this one is red with soft vinyl top and grey leather high back bucket seats.  The original MSRP on these vipers was only around $50,000 but because of the limited number produced almost all sold for significantly over that price.  Check out the photos below and find the original e-bay listing here.  Act fast, as there are only six days left on this one and it's gaining a lot of interest.