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Frankfurt Auto Show 2010

Editor — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:26:45 +0000

Motoring enthusiasts in Germany are spoiled for locations when it comes to the annual Frankfurt Auto Show, as it is hosted in Frankfurt and in Hanover. Each year, the show displays an array of vehicles, both production vehicles and concept vehicles, for visitors to enjoy. Last year, production vehicles such as the Audi R8 Spyder, BMW X1, Aston Martin Rapide, Dodge Caliber and Ford C-Max were showcased, with concept cars including the Lexus LF-Ch, Mini Coupe, Bugatti Galibier 16C and the Mazda MX-5 Superlight taking visitors breath away.

This year promises to be another display of magnificent vehicles and state of the art technology that will create the cars of the future and vehicles that are safe for the environment.

Date: 23 September – 30 September 2010
Venue: Various
City: Frankfurt and Hanover
Country: Germany

Timo Glock

Editor — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:32:57 +0000

Formula One driver Timo Glock was born on 18 March 1982 in Lindenfels, Germany. He began karting in 1998 and won various championships. By 2000 he was competing in the BMW ADAC Formula Junior Cup, which he won. Then in 2001 Glock took the Formula BMW ADAC Championship title.

Timo Glock moved to competing in the German Formula Three championship in 2002. That year he came in third place overall. The following year he came fifth in the Formula Three Euroseries, after three race wins and three other podium finishes. In 2004 Glock made the move to Formula One racing, where he competed in a few races for Jordan Grand Prix. He managed to score two points during his debut race, the Canadian Grand Prix.

2005 saw Timo Glock heading to the United States to take part in the Champ Car World Series as part of the Rocketsports team. He ended the season in 8th position and was awarded the Champ Car World Series’ Rookie of the Year. Glock decided to give the GP2 Series a go in 2006, and finished the season fourth in the standings, with two wins. That same year he began testing for BMW Sauber’s F1 team and was signed up to be the second test driver for the 2007 season. In 2007, as well as testing for BMW Sauber, Glock won the GP2 Series after 5 victories.

A talented driver, Timo Glock, was signed on by Toyota for the 2008 Formula One season. He certainly impressed in his first season, gaining second place in Hungary, ending the season with 25 points and coming in tenth in the standings. The 2009 season started off reasonably well for Glock and he was able to come in third in Malaysia and second in Singapore. An accident during a qualifying round in Suzuka, resulted in cracked vertebrae and Glock was unable to complete the season.

With Toyota pulling out of Formula One by the end of 2009, Timo Glock’s future in F1 racing was uncertain. Fortunately he was signed on by Manor Grand Prix (now Virgin Racing) for the 2010 season.

Sebastian Vettel

Editor — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:23:58 +0000

Sebastian Vettel was born in the city of Heppenheim, Germany, on 3 July 1987. The racing-bug bit Vettel at a young age and he began racing karts when he was five. At the age of seven he began taking part in the mini klasse kart league. In 2001 he won the German and European Junior Karting titles.

Then, in August of 2002, Vettel began taking part in the selection process at Valencia’s Formula BMW ADAC Racing School, where he met with much success. 2003 saw Sebastian Vettel taking second place in the Formula BMW ADAC championship and winning the rookie trophy. He followed this up in 2004 by winning the Formula BMW ADAC championship with 18 victories and podium finishes in all of the 20 races.

Sebastian Vettel advanced onto the Formula Three Euroseries in 2005, driving for ASL Mucke Motorsport. By the end of the season he came in fifth with 64 points and was named the best rookie driver. He was rewarded for his success by being permitted to test drive the Williams FW27 F1 car. 2006 was a busy year for Vettel. He finished the F3 Euroseries as runner-up, debuted in the World Series by Renault, and was BMW Sauber’s reserve and Friday test driver. A test driver for BMW Sauber in 2007, he substituted for Robert Kubica at the US Grand Prix, ending the race in eighth position. He gained his first ever F1 World Championship point and was named the F1’s youngest point scorer. At the end of July 2007, Vettel joined Scuderia Toro Rosso, and began racing for them in the Hungarian Grand Prix, with exceptional results for the team.

2008 was Sebastian Vettel‘s first full F1 season. During the season he became the youngest winner in F1 with a triumph at Monza. By the end of the season he had finished in eighth overall, with a total of 35 points. For the 2009 season, Sebastian Vettel was moved to the Red Bull Racing team. A thrilling season, Vettel scored the team’s maiden pole and win in China, as well as taking first place at Silverstone and Suzuka. After gaining victory at Abu Dhabi, he came in second in the drivers’ championship. It was announced that Vettel’s contract with Red Bull would extend to 2011.

Nicolas Hülkenberg

Editor — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:19:48 +0000

Born in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany, on 19 August 1987, Nicolas “Nico” Hülkenberg began karting at the age of 10. He won the German Junior Karting Championship in 2002 and took the German Kart Championship title in 2003.

In 2005, Hülkenberg made his Formula BMW ADAC debut, winning the championship with nine wins and eight poles. During 2006 he took part in the German Formula Three Championship and also joined the German A1 Grand Prix team. He gained nine wins in the A1GP, leading his team to victory. 2007 was another successful year for the talented Nicolas Hülkenberg, when he took third position in the Formula Three Euroseries championship, racing for ASM. He also won the Formula Three Masters race at Zolder. Hülkenberg really impressed in 2008 when he won the Formula Three Euroseries championship. That same year he was the official test driver for the Williams team.

Nicolas Hülkenberg made is GP2 Series debut in 2009 and took home the title. He was still testing for Williams at the time. In November 2009 it was confirmed that Hülkenberg would race for Williams F1 during the 2010 season. It seems that there is nothing holding this talented driver back, and F1 fans should keep an eye out for this rising star.

Nico Rosberg

Editor — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:11:53 +0000

Born on 27 June 1985 in Wiesbaden, Germany, Nico Rosberg is the son of F1 World Champion Keke Rosberg. Nico has certainly made a name for himself in the world of auto racing. He began karting at eleven years of age in 1996. In 2002 Nico Rosberg made his single-seater debut and won the Formula ADAC Championship after nine wins that season. This victory earned him a test with the Williams team.

In 2003 Rosberg moved on to the Formula Three Euro Series on his father’s team, finishing eighth overall. He continued in the series in 2004, gaining three victories. Then, in 2005, Nico Rosberg went on to take part in the inaugural GP2 Series as part of ART Grand Prix team. He won title!

Toward the end of 2005, it was announced that Rosberg would be a driver for the Williams team in 2006. It proved to be a challenging F1 debut season for Rosberg, who finished 14th overall, but also became the youngest F1 driver to set the fastest lap at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The next year proved to go much more smoothly, with Rosberg coming in ninth overall and scoring his career-best fourth place in Brazil. 2008 saw Rosberg take 13th overall. In 2009 he continued to fight for the podium, only achieving fourth places. By the end of the season he was in 7th place, with 34.5 points, having scored all of the Williams team’s points for 2009. Nico Rosberg announced on 23 November 2009 that he would be Mercedes GP team’s first driver, and was later joined by Michael Schumacher as his teammate for the 2010 season.

Adrian Sutil

Editor — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:11:39 +0000

Born in Starnberg, West Germany, on 11 January 1983, Adrian Sutil started his auto racing career with karting at the age of 14. He progressed to Swiss Formula Ford in 2002, winning all twelve events of the season. In 2003 this talented young driver achieved sixth place in the German Formula ADAC BMW Championships, and 2004 saw him driving for Team Kolles in the F3 Euroseries. In 2005 Sutil notched up two wins, two pole positions and no less than eleven podium finishes in the Formula Three Euroseries, completing the season as runner-up to Lewis Hamilton. In 2006 he won the Japanese Formula Three title and tested for Spyker as an F1 driver.

Sutil made his F1 debut with Spyker in 2007, and despite driving an uncompetitive car, his talent as a driver was evident and he was hailed as a star of the future. Continuing with Spyker, which had now become Force India, in 2008, Sutil continued to be hampered by uncompetitive machinery, nevertheless continuing to show his potential as a consistently competitive driver. Force India upped their game, and in 2009 Sutil claimed ninth place at the Melbourne season opener, achieved second grid slot in Italy (his best to date) and crossed the finish line in fourth position at Monza, earning his only point-scoring result of the year.

As the 2010 F1 Championship season gains momentum, still driving for Force India, Adrian Sutil has the opportunity to prove that he is indeed an F1 champion in the making and racing enthusiasts will no doubt be watching his career develop with great interest.

Thirteen Countries line-up for Rally of Nations

Corona Rally Mexico — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:53:58 +0000

Registration for Corona Rally Mexico, Rally of Nations, is now closed. With a total of thirteen countries all represented by great drivers, there will be no clear favorite to scale the podium. Eight European countries and five from the Americas will be in charge of providing the spectacle in Guanajuato, Mexico from July 9th to 12th.

Germany, Austria, Ecuador, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, the United States, Great Britain, Peru, Uruguay, Sweden and Mexico are the countries that will be competing in the Rally of Nations, each represented by two crews, except for Mexico and the United States, which will have six and four crews each, respectively, making up three Mexican teams and two from the US.

One of the most innovative features of this rally is its scoring system, whereby points are tallied for each driver individually, as well as by country. At the end of each day, a points table is complied, so time differences are irrelevant. The points table defines the starting positions for the next day and so on, up to the awards ceremony on Sunday.

The line-up of drivers that have confirmed their presence at Corona Rally Mexico, Rally of Nations edition, is quite a draw. For Finland, there will be Harri Rovanperä and Toni Gardemeister; representing Spain, Dani Sola and Xavi Pons; for Austria, Manfred Stohl and Andreas Aigner; from France, Didier Auriol and Brice Tirabassi; representing Italy, Mario Isola and Stefano Marrini; for Germany, Hermann Gassner Jr. and Mark Wallenwein; from Great Britain, Niall McShea and Phillip Morrow; from Ecuador, Juan Pablo Villota and Camilo Rivera; representing Sweden, Per-Gunnar Andersson and Patrick Sandell; for Uruguay, Felipe Guelfi and Diego Elola; from Peru, Humberto Tijero and Sandro Pestana; for the United States, Matthew Johnson and Kenny Bartram, in team 1 and Patrick Moro and Piotr Wiktorczyk in team 2; and last but not least, representing Mexico, Benito Guerra and Rodrigo Ordoñez in team 1, Ricardo Treviño and Rodrigo Salgado in team 2, and Francisco Name and José Cortés in team 3.

Already brimming with competitiveness and adrenaline, there will be an extra touch to this particular adventure as all the drivers will be competing on equal terms in N4 cars and subject to the same rules, so it will be entirely down to the skill of the crew to define the winner.

With all these attractions, Mexico and the state of Guanajuato are ready to bid a warm welcome to all the competitors, teams, fans and media, to what will undoubtedly be an unforgettable event.

Spain seek the Title of Nations in Mexico

Corona Rally Mexico — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:36:33 +0000

With their eyes on Corona Rally Mexico, to take place from July 9^th to 12^th on the outskirts of Guanajuato, Spain has stepped up to the plate by sending a first-rate racing team. International drivers Xavi Pons and Dani Sola will proudly bear the Spanish flag on their cars, their having teamed up for the Rally of Nations.

This decision makes Spain one of the favorite countries to win in Mexico, given the quality of both drivers, who have participated in previous editions of the Corona Rally Mexico, Dani Sola actually winning the 2004 WRC in the production cars category.

With victories in Germany and Corsica in the production category, a dirt rally championship in Spain in 2008 and the experience of having been an official WRC driver for Subaru, Citroën and OMV, Xavi Pons, like his fellow countryman, will be a name to watch out for in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

“I’m thrilled to represent Spain alongside Dani Sola. I have done the Mexican circuit three times and it is, without a doubt, one of my favorites among those I’ve experienced. I am in good shape and I hope to do well. I would like to congratulate the organizers on this project; the Rally of Nations is a great idea,” said Pons.

Dani Sola already has one world championship behind him in the WRC Junior category, as well as the asphalt rally of 2006 and the dirt rally of 2007 in Spain, and has experience as an official driver of the Mitsubishi team in 2004 and Ford BP in 2005, credentials which will make the Catalan a tough act to beat during the Corona Rally Mexico. Dani enjoys great appeal among Mexican motor racing enthusiasts and has friends there that will certainly be out rooting for him every day.

“It is great to go back to Mexico, for me it’s one of the best rally events in the world. The fans are wonderful and the organization is perfect. Having a Rally of Nations is a great idea and I’m convinced that it will be a success. Once again, Mexico will be one of the major players in world motorsport,” commented the Spanish driver by phone.

The level of competition in the Rally of Nations will surely become more and more interesting over the next few days as other teams are announced, including Corona Team Finland and other powerful duos.

Formula One German Grand Prix 2009

Editor — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:48:20 +0000

Be sure not to miss the German leg of the the GP Championship. Date: July 12, 2009 Venue: Nurburgring City: Nurburg Country: Germany Related posts:Formula One Belgian Grand Prix 2009Formula One Japanese Grand Prix 2009Formula One European Grand Prix 2009 Related posts:

63rd IAA International Cars Show 2009

Editor — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

For the 63th year, Frankfurt will be host to one of the most popular and well supported car shows in Germany. Exhibitors from all over the world converge on the IAA International Cars Show, to showcase their products, accessories and vehicles. Motoring enthusiasts are able to marvel at the latest vehicles on the market, gain knowledge and network with others that share the same passion.

For more information and updates on the show, kindly contact the organizers, the VDA on +49 (0) 69 / 9 75 07-0 or visit the website at http://www.iaa.de/index.php?id=besucher&L=1

Date: September 17th, 2009
Venue: Main Trade Fair Grounds
City: Frankfurt, Germany