http://www.yardbarker.com/users/SpeedReadBlog Recent Yardbarker Articles: SpeedReadBlog en-us The new street race at Valencia will be Bridgestone's 200th race since its 1997 debut in Australia... Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:21:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/309761 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/309761 Andrew Gilbert-Scott, manager for Takuma Sato, says Formula One remains the goal for the Japanese driver, out of a race drive since the demise of Super Aguri. To that end it his emerged Sato turned down offers from America and endurance racing. Opportunities are few this year, with many teams looking to maintain current driver lineups. One place with at least one open seat, however, is Toro Rosso, with Sebastian Vettel's promotion to parent Red Bull and Sebastien Bourdais on thin ice... Plus, Fernando Alonso looks forward to his second home race of the season, and Tim Glock wins for charity Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:21:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/308439 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/308439 Narain Karthikeyan, Formula One's first Indian driver, has come up again in relation to a Force India race seat for 2009. When countryman Vijay Mallya purchased Spyker last season, Karthikeyan's name was naturally linked to the team due to his nationality and experience. However, while the team tested Vitantonio Liuzzi, Christian Klien, Giancarlo Fisichella, Ralf Schumacher, Franck Montagny, Giedo van der Garde and Roldan Rodriguez over the winter, Karthikeyan wasn't included. Mallya eventually settled on Giancarlo Fisichella and Spyker holdover Adrian Sutil, saying the current crop of Indian drivers were not qualified for the pinnacle of motorsport... Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:23:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307680 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307680 If Nelson Piquet was hopeful he had convinced his Renault bosses to keep him in the team, it looks like he'll have to wait a little bit longer. F1-Live.com reports that's the claim of German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, which says the Brazilian will have to wait until September to hear the verdict. According to the report, Piquet's management team agreed to extend the deadline on his option for 2009. Piquet's ride depends on Fernando Alonso. Apparently, Renault are high enough on test driver Romain Grosjean they want to give him a race seat next year. Should the double world champion jump ship, Grosjean would replace him. If he stays, it is believed Grosjean would replace Piquet in the second car. Plus, Kimi Raikkonen warns those who think he has lost his motivation are mistaken. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:30:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306843 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306843 Scott Speed always dreamed of driving in F1, and for a brief period, he achieved his goal. One might think plying his trade in the lowly ARCA series, a developmental rung for NASCAR, would find the California native regretting his pursuit of that dream. Think again. Plus, Michael Andretti is inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:51:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306273 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306273 Hans-Joachim Stuck's at it again. After recently weighing in on how much better Timo Glock is for Toyota than Ralf Schumacher, the German ex-F1 driver has turned his sights on Nick Heidfeld. It's the VW racing head's opinion BMW Sauber should replace Quick Nick with double world champion Fernando Alonso, and sign the Spaniard into a long term contract. Plus, Force India is set to race its seamless-shift gearbox, and Renault aerodynamicist Dino Toso loses his fight with cancer... Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:01:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305560 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305560 It's called the summer break, and for the support staff which makes F1 work, it is, but that doesn't mean teams aren't finding ways to keep active during the break. Taking advantage of the rules which allow limited running not in excess of 50kms, Renault, Force India and McLaren have all been in action. SpeedTV.com, quoting the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, said Renault has been testing a new braking system at Kemble Airport with two of its cars. Force India and McLaren were making a racket at the airport last week, as well, enough to spark complaints from local residents. Meanwhile, A1GP and the Superleague Formula are gearing up for their seasons... Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:08:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304777 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304777 Typically by the summer break silly season is in full swing, providing a little entertainment during the three week gap between races. A couple of years ago it was JPM's surprise announcement he was going to race with the good ol' boys. Late year it was the Alonso/Hamilton rift. This year, things are relatively peaceful. How peaceful? McLaren has already confirmed Hamilton and Kovalainen for '09. Elsewhere, much continues to hinge on what Fernando Alonso decides to do next season, but with three more seats confirmed over the past couple of days, opportunities will be slim for those hoping to break into the sport next year. Here's SpeedRead's take on who winds up where (and who isn't going anywhere) in 2009... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:28:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304133 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304133 Former STR driver Scott Speed won his fourth ARCA RE/MAX race of the season, edging Jeremy Clements on the final lap at Nashville to extend his series lead. Speed ran in third for much of the race, when a race-long battle between Sean Caisse and Justin Allgaier came to a head on a restart. Allgaier spun, and while Caisse continued, Speed put immediate pressure on him and eventually took the lead with three to go. A final caution as Speed took the white flag resulted in a one-lap sprint for the checkered due to the series' green flag finish rule. Speed, still backed by Red Bull, drives a Toyota for Eddie Sharp Racing. The American currently leads the NASCAR feeder series after 13 races. Plus, the continuing exploits of Schumi on a bike... Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:06:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303806 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303806 A lot of teams are worried about the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) for 2009, from technical issues such as those suffered by Red Bull and BMW Sauber, to cost. Some, believed to be about two-thirds of the teams, have even attempted to delay their introduction. That move was blocked by manufacturers BMW and Honda, and surprisingly, privateer Williams. The presence of Williams in that group particularly irks Renault boss Flavio Briatore... Plus, DTM's Hans-Juergen Abt says his company, Abt Sportsline, has aspirations, but can't do F1 without a manufacturer. And Mexico aims to get on the F1 schedule. Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:24:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303588 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303588 David Coulthard used the forum of his weekly ITV column to make a case against refueling in F1. The topic came up after a series of refueling fires at last week's Hungarian Grand Prix, attributed to the hot weather. Fuel stops were brought back into the sport in 1994, the same year DC made his driving debut, partially to make the sport more exciting. But the Scot feels it has had the opposite effect, making the sport too predictable. Coulthard believes reintroducing the refueling ban would solve the problem, nd he may have found the perfect way to sell it to the suddenly "Green" Max Mosley -- environmental protection. Plus, Bruno Senna looks to be in line for a test with STR, and Ford offers Raikkonen a rally test. Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:13:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303352 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303352 Chassis company head Andrea Pininfarina, often a collaborator of Ferrari, was killed in a road accident when his Vespa collided with an automobile near Turin. He was 51... Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:55:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302801 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302801 Timo Glock is already garnering favorable comparisons with other German Formula One drivers. Shame Ralf Schumacher doesn't fare so well in the assessment. It's safe to say former Grand Prix driver Hans-Joachim Stuck believes Toyota traded up when it replaced the pricey Ralf with the GP2 champion... Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:53:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302799 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302799 Well, Ferrari's performance in Hungary didn't impress Ron Dennis, but come the end of the season, he expects it will be a close title fight between McLaren and the Scuderia. If not for Lewis Hamilton's untimely puncture, the McLaren boss reckons the team was in position to overtake Massa. But the McLaren/Ferrari rivalry is a long standing tradition, and one Dennis doesn't take lightly.. Plus, BMW Sauber is not ready to throw in the towel for 2008, Sir Frank Williams is not ready to sell up, Christian Klien explains he's rather test for BMW Sauber than drive for Force India, and Sebastien Bourdais is on increasingly thin ice... Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:58:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302171 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302171 Kimi Raikkonen has had a couple of difficult races, that much is for certain. But if you believe the press, you can stick a fork in the 28-year-old world champion, 'cause he's done. First it was Massa who was about to get canned before saving his bacon (again) in Bahrain. Then it was Lewis Hamilton who couldn't put a foot right. And Hungary race winner Heikki Kovalainen was fighting for a job just a few weeks ago, if you believe what you read. So how bad has it been for Raikkonen? Isn't he second in the championship? Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:50:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301582 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301582