Tic Tac anyone?

Toyota test driver dies in accident in LFA on Autobahn

Numerous reports have mentioned that Toyota’s chief test driver, Hiromu Naruse, died in a head-on collision on Wednesday in Germany. Video shows the accident scene reportedly near Toyota's shop near the Nurburgring.

Video is in German but you get the gist of it.

BMW Z4 video... Lovin' the lap of the 'Ring

Lovin' the BMW Z4 at the 'Ring... 10 minutes of racing goodness!

Porsche 911 Hybrid

Exactly 110 years after Ferdinand Porsche developed the world’s first car with hybrid drive, the Lohner Porsche Semper Vivus, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is once again taking up this visionary drive concept in production-based GT racing: During the Geneva Motor Show, a Porsche 911 GT3 R with innovative hybrid drive is making its debut, opening up a new chapter in the history of Porsche with more than 20,000 wins in 45 years scored by the extremely successful Porsche 911 in racing trim.

The innovative hybrid technology featured in the car has been developed especially for racing, standing out significantly in its configuration and components from conventional hybrid systems. In this case, electrical front axle drive with two electric motors developing 60 kW each supplements the 480-bhp four-litre flat-six at the rear of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid. A further significant point is that instead of the usual batteries in a hybrid road car, an electrical flywheel power generator fitted in the interior next to the driver delivers energy to the electric motors.

The flywheel generator itself is an electric motor with its rotor spinning at speeds of up to 40,000 rpm, storing energy mechanically as rotation energy. The flywheel generator is charged whenever the driver applies the brakes, with the two electric motors reversing their function on the front axle and acting themselves as generators. Then, whenever necessary, that is when accelerating out of a bend or when overtaking, the driver is able to call up extra energy from the charged flywheel generator, the flywheel being slowed down electromagnetically in the generator mode and thus supplying up to 120 kW to the two electric motors at the front from its kinetic energy. This additional power is available to the driver after each charge process for approximately 6 - 8 seconds.

Energy formerly converted – and thus wasted – into heat upon every application of the brakes, is now highly efficiently converted into additional drive power.

Depending on racing conditions, hybrid drive is used in this case not only for extra power, but also to save fuel. This again increases the efficiency and, accordingly, the performance of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, for example by reducing the weight of the tank or making pitstops less frequent.

After its debut in Geneva the 911 GT3 R Hybrid will be tested in long-distance races on the Nürburgring. The highlight of this test programme will be the 24 Hours on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring on May 15th and 16th. The focus is not on the 911 GT3 R Hybrid winning the race, but rather serving as a spearhead in technology and a “racing laboratory” providing know-how on the subsequent use of hybrid technology in road-going sports cars.

The 911 GT3 R Hybrid is a perfect example of the Porsche Intelligent Performance philosophy, a principle to be found in every Porsche: More power on less fuel, more efficiency and lower CO2 emissions – on the track and on the road.

Nissan GT-R's at home on the 'Ring

TOKYO (May 14, 2009) - The NISSAN GT-R, winner of the 2009 World Performance Car of the Year, has improved its lap time at the renowned Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany to 7min 26 seconds 70 on April 23.

This new time underlines Nissan engineering team's commitment to constantly challenge the GT-R's performance. Previous recorded lap times at the 'Ring' were:

• 7 minutes 27 seconds 56 on April 15, 2009
• 7 minutes 29 in April 2008
• 7 minutes 38 in September 2007

"This record demonstrates our commitment to the continuous evolution of the Nissan GT-R," says Kazutoshi Mizuno, Chief Vehicle Engineer and Chief Vehicle Specialist. "We would like to continue delivering the passion and pride of ownership to our customers by improving its performance every year."

The Nissan GT-R has won more than a dozen awards globally including Car of the Year from CAR Magazine in the UK, and Car of the Year by both Motor Trend and Autombile Magazine in the US.

While the Nissan GT-R benefits from a strong image and heritage amongst performance car aficionados, its updated 2010 version will be the first to be sold globally. It was launched:

• in Japan in December 2008,
• in the US in March 2009
• in Europe, GCC, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan in April 2009

Europe is currently in the process of delivering the first GT-Rs to more than 2,200 pre-order customers.

The model R35 GT-R was first launched in Japan in December 2007, selling 5,900 units until March 2009. It went on sale in the US in July 2008, where 2,100 have been sold so far.

News and photo used with permission of Nissan.

Porsche-heavy field to compete in Nurburgring

A total of 31 Porsche race cars roll to the start of the 35th running of the 24 hour race on the Nuerburgring on 9th June. With this, Porsche is one of the most popular marques at Germany's largest motorsport event. And one of the quickest: the Manthey Racing team returns as title defender with a 911 GT3 RSR. Also amongst the favourites for overall victory are the Land Motorsport squad and a pack of competitors running Porsche vehicles.

With a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the latest spec (382 kW/520 hp), team principal Olaf Manthey is eager to repeat last year's victory. Alongside title defender Timo Bernhard, two of his works driver colleagues, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb, take the wheel of the Weissach-developed and built GT racer. The fourth pilot is Marcel Tiemann, who belonged to the victorious team last year. “We are well prepared for the race. Our win last year of the Nuerburgring Long Distance Championship gives us extra motivation to claim the victory again. But the competition this year is incredibly tough,” analyses Timo Bernhard, who normally shares driving duties with Romain Dumas at the wheel of a Porsche RS Spyder run by the Penske Motorsports team in the American Le Mans Series. Manthey Racing, with its headquarters in Meuspath a stone's throw from the 'Ring, fields a four-car team this year.

Having already claimed three victories in the Nuerburgring Long Distance Championship, the Land Motorsport team, based near the German town of Siegen, has proven the speed and reliability of the Porsche GT3 RSR lap after lap on the Nuerburgring Nordschleife. With Marc Basseng, Marc Hennerici, Dirk Adorf and Frank Stippler four of the top Nordschleife experts man the Porsche cockpit.

Konrad Motorsport has also signed on a strong driver contingent for its Porsche GT3 RSR with pilots Patrick Huisman, Wolfgang Kaufmann and Dennis Rosteck. Paragon AG team entered Pierre Kaffer, Joerg Hardt, Patrick Bernhardt and Klaus Frers for its 911 GT3 RSR.

The Porsche squad to have travelled the farthest is the VIP Petfoods team with drivers Tony Quinn, Klark Quinn, Craig Baird and Kevin Bell who regularly contest the Carrera Cup Australia. With the same line-up last year, the quartet saw the chequered flag in ninth position overall racing a GT3 RSR. With a new GT3 RSR the team is hopeful for overall victory this year. “Of course you need a bit of luck over such a long distance, but with the new Porsche GT3 RSR we definitely have a winning car,” says team boss Tony Quinn.

The 35th edition of the Nuerburgring 24 hour race gets underway on 9 June 2007 at 3pm with the flag dropping on 10 June 2007 at 3pm.

News used with permission from Porsche.

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