Rain Supreme: Big surprises at soaked Italian Grand Prix (SPOILER ALERT)

Racing fans are used to tuning in on the Saturday of a grand prix weekend to find the words "Scuderia" and "Ferrari" at the top of the qualifying list. But interrupted by the words "Toro Rosso"? Never. But that was only the first of many surprises at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel shockingly secured his first pole position thanks to some exceedingly brilliant driving joined with good strategy on the part of his Ferrari-powered Scuderia Toro Rosso team, which wisely stuck with the extreme wet tires on the rain-soaked Monza circuit while others experimented with intermediate treads. The young German's unprecedented qualifying performance put him in the record books as the youngest driver ever to secure a pole position, supplanting Fernando Alonso's previous record. But with so many other drivers with more experience and backed by teams with immensely bigger budgets, surely Vettel's lead would quickly be stolen by an established front-runner. Wouldn't it? Follow the jump to find out.

Gallery: 2008 Italian Grand Prix

Dodge leaving NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2009:

With the tightening of the purse strings at parent company Chrysler, the weakening economy and slow truck sales in general, Dodge has decided to pull out of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series following the completion of this year's festivities. This announcement should hardly come as a shock as Dodge made the decision to run just one factory-backed racer for 2008. That lone truck was being run by Bobby Hamilton Racing and we have no details on what the team plans to do for '09. The fact that Dodge has pulled support for the NASCAR Trucks has many pondering if the beleaguered automaker will do the same for the automotive side of the racing series. According to Dodge Motorsports senior manager Mike Delahanty, there are no reasons to jump to conclusions. We'll keep our collective ears to the ground. Thanks for the tip, Hernando!

Roger Goldammer: Official World Champion of Custom Bike Building

There seems to be a new trend in custom bike building, and it's one we're happy to see. The best designers are creating machines meant to be ridden and to perform better than anything else available, and this year's winner of the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building proves this. Roger Goldammer creates stunning designs, yet he doesn't let his creations sit in a corner collecting dust. Rather, his winning bike is a world record holder, averaging over 160 miles per hour last year at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

This year, official voting took place at the Sturgis Rally and was broken down into four separate categories. Goldammer won in the Freestyle class, the most prestigious award available, with his machine known as Goldmember. Equipped with a custom 960cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine using modified Harley-Davidson cases, a supercharger and nitrous in addition to its streamlined bodywork, Goldmember is simply amazing.

Gallery: Goldammer Goldmember

[Source: AMD World Championship]

Franchitti to stick to NASCAR, moves down to Nationwide Series

Following the closure of his Sprint Cup ride last month, Dario Franchitti will run several races in the second-tier Nationwide Series before the end of the season. The Scottish driver was reportedly offered several options by Chip Ganassi, and chose to concentrate on NASCAR rather than move back to open wheels or elsewhere.

Franchitti will begin campaigning in the Nationwide Series after the season's road course races are wrapped up in Montreal and Watkins Glen. The No. 40 Fastenal Dodge he'll be driving has been a bit of a transient car, which will have been shared with Scott Pruett, Reed Sorenson, Bryan Clauson and Juan Pablo Montoya before the season is finished. By then, the former Indy 500 winner and IRL champion may have made one more drive in the Sprint Cup at the Pep Boys Auto 500 in Atlanta this October.

VIDEO: Sometimes it's best to quit while you're ahead

Professionals earn pockets full of cheese usually because they do whatever it is they do better, faster, stronger than anyone else. Sometimes, though, they get the big bucks because they'll do something again after having nearly killed themselves the first time. That is: they'll get right back on the horse when a lot of non-professionals would instead grab a gin and tonic and watch reruns of I Love Lucy.

Jorge Lorenzo earned his money and a stay in hospital over the weekend during practice for the MotoGP China Grand Prix. On one run the bike bucked under him coming out of a turn, sending the 21-year-old rider up out of his seat like he was riding a bronco, but he managed to keep the bike upright and moving. On a following run he wasn't so fortunate, highsiding, somersaulting, and suffering a fractured left ankle, a painful right ankle, a cut heel, a knee abrasion, and forearm compression.

But here's where Lorenzo really impresses: he still got on the bike to qualify on Saturday, and came in fourth in Sunday's race. Follow the jump to check out the videos of the bucking incident and the highside. And from now on, the word you're looking for to describe Jorge Lorenzo: pro.

VIDEO: Autocar pits the Caterham R500 against a Ducati

There's no arguing that the Caterham R500 is an amazing piece of four-wheeled machinery. In fact, it may just be the quickest way around a race track short of a Formula 1 car. We're equally as certain that the Ducati Hypermotard is an awesome motorcycle, so putting both of these performers on the same track and letting them have at it is certain to entertain. Autocar must have thought so, too, and udging by the video posted after the break, the event didn't let anybody down. As is usually the case when a bike is put up against a car, the race was close. In the longer straight sections of the track, the Duck's power-to-weight ratio allows it to pull away from the Caterham. The Caterham, with twice the number of contact patches, easily out-brakes the Ducati rider and can carry more speed throughout the turn. So, is the race that will finally put an end to the age-old question about which is faster around a given course? Probably not, but it sure is fun to watch. Want to know who won? Hit the jump, and be sure to pay attention as the Caterham goes airborne.

Schumacher falls - literally - in motorbike race debut

As was reported earlier, Michael Schumacher made an appearance racing on a Honda at the Oschersleben circuit of the German Superbike Championship last weekend. On the surface, his twenty-eighth place finish seems rather disappointing, but upon further examination, it was a pretty good weekend overall for the ex-Formula 1 champ. Technical issues kept Schumacher from starting well, with only two racers behind him at position thirty-seven on the grid. Finishing all the way up to number 28 in the first race is a rather good outing considering the competition he was up against. In race two, Schumacher charged his way to position 21 before crashing out.

Despite the accident, Schumacher seems to have enjoyed his time on the track, saying, "I am a racer. I find motorcycles such a lot of fun, but I do not have any plans to enter a race series properly. Perhaps I will race from time to time, but always as a guest runner and without ambitions for another career." Good for you, Schumie. Thanks for the tip, Erik!

Valentio Rossi's new helmet a scream

MotoGP is the pinnacle of motorcycle racing and could be considered the Formula 1 of the two-wheeled world. Current series point leader and seven-time Grand Prix World Championship title winner Valentino Rossi has a habit of debuting a new helmet design at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, and this year's design did not fail to disappoint. Featuring a roughly life-size portrait of The Doctor himself in the middle of a scream, it was pretty hard to miss Rossi, even in the field of brightly colored riders and bikes. If you haven't watched the race and plan to, now would be the time to stop reading, otherwise, find out who won the event after the break, along with a link to the video of Rossi's debut of his unique new helmet design. Thanks for the tip, Gabriel!

Officially Licensed NASCAR chopper seems a bit pricey

For those who just can't get enough NASCAR in their lives comes the Officially Licensed NASCAR 60th Year Motorcycle Series. The bikes were commissioned by Destination Daytona and built by Thunder Mountain Custom Cycles. Specifications include a genuine Harley-Davidson Twin Cam 110B motor matched to one of HD's new six-speed overdrive transmissions. While it's not a bad looking bike with its black-and-red paint scheme and whitewall tires, we question whether the fact that it's status as one of 60 officially licensed bikes makes it worth the $48,600 asking price. After all, there is nothing revolutionary about the bike, and it could be replicated for way less money. Just saying...

Whatever your particular opinion regarding the pricing, the bikes do come with some perks, like tickets to a private VIP motorcycle delivery event at the Coke Pavilion at Destination Daytona on July 3, along with tickets to the race that weekend. For the true circle track junkie, perhaps that would make the bike a better deal. The last bike, serial number 60, will be auctioned off to benefit Kyle Petty's Victory Junction charity in Daytona during the weekend of the Coke Zero 400, which will run as it usually does on the first Saturday of July.

Autoblog gets schooled by Alfa Romeo in Italy

Click above for a high-res gallery of our time in the Alfa Romeo driving school.

Let's take a quick vote here. We won't be tabulating the totals, so we'll keep this unofficial, but we want you to be honest. How many of you, deep inside, wonder if you couldn't have made it as a professional racing driver? Maybe not the next Michael Schumacher, but at least a promising prospect. If only you had started out in karting at a young enough age, kept yourself in shape and found the sponsorship to fund what could have been a budding career. You look at the racing line around the corners of city streets on your commute, view a twisting mountain road as a challenge instead of an inconvenience, and offer friends unsolicited (and seldom appreciated) advice on their driving habits.

Starting to sound familiar? It did to us, but that was before Alfa Romeo invited us to take part in its Guida Sicura advanced driving program at the Varano circuit in northern Italy. While we may have gone in with delusions of tire-smoking grandeur before we arrived, they were all completely deflated after our first couple of laps around the track with a former rally champion or Ferrari factory driver riding shotgun helpfully putting us in our place. But by the end of the day those baseless fantasies were replaced by a marked improvement in our driving competence. Read on to see how the day unfolded.

F1 mechanic gets a big shock from KERS

Next year Formula 1 will see the introduction of KERS -- the Kinetic Energy Recovery System. The system stores the energy from braking and makes it available to the driver in an on-demand burst. Due to the magnificent braking forces in braking an F1 car, the system must be called on to store a sizable amount of electricity.

Red Bull got things buzzing last week when an eruption of smoke and fumes lead to a call to the fire department. Today, BMW test driver Christian Klien did three laps in a car equipped with an early edition of KERS, and came back to the pits. When a mechanic touched the car, he got a shock strong enough to throw him to the ground. The mechanic suffered slight injuries to a hand and a grazed arm, but was otherwise unhurt. BMW halted all testing while it looks into the issue, which could simply be a matter of improper grounding. Or, it could be time to suit pit crews up in rubber gear...

'08 Goodwood Festival of Speed: The highlights

Click above for high-res gallery from Goodwood

The Goodwood Festival of Speed wrapped up on Sunday after three days of pure motorsports Heaven. While we would have liked to have posted a gallery or two a day from the event, internet issues kept us from sharing anything else after firing off our initial couple of posts. To make up for it we have a few massive galleries of goodness from Goodwood planned. We start today with some highlights, but will try to show some of the special categories individually too in later posts. After all, it isn't really a race in the strictest sense of the word and the pics will keep you just as entertained now as if they come next week. So hopefully you'll appreciate what we have to offer and if it isn't your thing, feel free to move onto something else you like better.

For those who want to stick around you can expect to see coverage of everything from the Cartier Style et Luxe concours to the Airbus A380 flyover. We'll also include some shots of the people and sights from around the grounds of Lord March's estate. Although the racing is what brings people here, it is truly the ambiance that keeps them coming back year after year. The photos are captioned as much as possible for your convenience, but look for supercars, celebrity drivers, vintage racers, classic cars, movie cars, wild track action and much more. We hope you enjoy our expanded coverage of the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed as much as we enjoyed being there and sharing it with you.

[Spoiler Alert] ALMS: Late winner at Lime Rock

The first race after the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the Northeast Grand Prix at beautiful Lime Rock Park. A recent resurfacing and reconfiguration of the track presented a new challenge for the teams, who were taking on the new layout without any pre-race testing. Also the shortest track, Lime Rock presents a much different challenge than Le Mans and requires a different mindset. This has made for exciting and aggressive races the past few seasons, and this year was no different. Follow the jump to see the race results and find how who was the last minute winner.

Dodge officially announces Challenger Drag Race Package at Mopar Mile-High Nationals

This weekend, Dodge officially unveiled two Challenger Drag Race Package cars that made their inaugural runs down the 1/4 mile track in front of thousands of race fans at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals near Denver, CO. Based on the standard Challenger SRT8, each of the Drag Race Package cars features a completely stripped body that has the body sealer, sound deadener, and undercoat all removed. Additional components are also left out including the windshield wipers, HVAC system, air bags, rear seats, power steering, exhaust system, side-impact beams, rear bumper beam, and more. Further weight is saved by using composite and poycarbonate components, and overall a total of 1000 pounds has been shaved off the car.

Additional changes include repositioning the engine for a better driveline angle, a slightly shortened wheelbase, a bolt-in crossmember, and solid engine mounts. Engine options include the 6.1L and 5.7L HEMI or the 5.9L Magnum Wedge. Mopar will build at least 100 of the cars to meet NHRA requirement, and they will be eligible to run in Comp, Super Stock, and Stock categories. Pricing will start in the low $30,000 range, and Mopar will begin taking orders in late August or September. Full details can be found in the press release after the jump.

Formula Drift announces World Championship of drifting

It always seems a bit presumptuous when a "world champion" is declared for a sporting event played in America. After all, other countries have leagues for baseball, basketball, football, etc. Formula Drift, the most well known drifting association in the United States, isn't about to declare world superiority in the art of maneuvering a car sideways through a course, but it does want to find out who's the best. Partnering with Red Bull Energy Drink, Formula Drift will be bringing together the best drifters from around the world to compete head to head in one single event. The competition will be held in November on the docks in Long Beach, CA and will feature a purpose-built course that will test the limits of each driver's skills. With a few of us located in Los Angeles, you can be sure that Autoblog will be bringing you live coverage of the event. Full details in the press release after the jump.

“2020″ - a concept car for the year 2020

2000-2001: “2020″ - a concept car for the year 2020

The winner of the 2000-2001 competition was “Moonster” by
23-year-old student at the university of applied art in Belgrade -
Marko Lukovic. His proposal was that the Peugeot of 2020 should be an
original vehicle, inspired by aeronautics, incorporating a two-seater
passenger compartment in the center.

Here is a couple of screenshots of a digital 3D Model:

And here is the actual photo of a real concept from auto show:

(with thanks to CarDesignNews.com)

* * *

2002-2003: “Retrofuturism”

This contest, themed “Retrofuturism”, had a winner named Stefan
Schulze with “4002”. Schulze’s well-done, not to say fabulous, mixture
of historic elements and futuristic body design makes the 4002 differ
from the bland retro concepts we have seen on international motor shows
so many times before. The vehicle’s silhouette is intended to symbolize
the Peugeot’s heraldic animal - the lion. But the original one stands
upright whereas the vehicle’s side profile shows the one that lies and
waits in the Savannah.

Digital 3D Model:

The actual concept car photo exhibited at one of the auto shows:

(with thanks to UltimateCarpage.com)

* * *

2004-2005 “Design the Peugeot you dream of seeing in the near future”:

That years’ contest’ best work was of a Portuguese designer André
Costa with a work called “Moovie”. I guess that the main reasons for
the award were the original style expressing a clear allegiance to the
brand with lots of innovations at the same time which made it a genuine
future prospect.

The digital 3D Model:

And this is what “Moovie” looks like in actual life:

(with thanks to: Official Peugeot ‘2020′ Design Contest Results and Moovie by Andre Costa)

* * *

2006-2007 “P.L.E.A.S.E.” - stands for Pleasurable, Lively, Efficient, Accessible, Simple, Ecological:

The great winner is Mr. Mihai Panaitescu, 20 year
old, a design student of I.E.D. Turin. With unbelievable work called
“Peugeot Flux Concept.” It’s a relatively small car (3,500cm long by
1,650cm wide), it runs on a slim hydrogen power generator hidden in the
back, with the tank mounted under the hood, according to what it says
in car’s features.

3D Model:

The name Flux was inspired by the continuous change and flow of our
daily lives during work and fun. The shape also represents this flow
with transitions between hard and smooth lines, straight and curved all
of which are typical Peugeot’s styling cues.

According to the author, his intention was to design a vehicle that would please its passengers whatever the situation is.

The actual concept car:

(with thanks to: Official Peugeot ‘P.L.E.A.S.E.‘ Design Contest Results and Flux by Mihai Panaitescu)

* * *

Wesley Saikawa, 27-year guy from Brazil took the second place with
a very uncommon work called “N Jooy” that can be read in two ways:
“enjoy” and “Nature + Joy”. Designer offers to take form as “organic”,
a vehicle management system as “intellectual” and appearance as
“aggressive”. Wesley said that he was inspired with old Formula-1 race
cars to give the driver a strong sense of a car movement.” Instead of
wheels this car has some sort of spheres which makes it omnidirectional.

* * *

The third prize belongs to Venezuelan artist
Gustavo Ferrero with his project of hybrid sport car called “Allscape”.
As you can remember this work called “Peugeot Allscape - Feel the Wind”
was mentioned in our “Awesome 3D Cars and Vehicles”
blog post. This sports car is a part of a new generation of extreme,
powerful and really fast cars and at the same time it remains clean and
safe for the environment. Besides the contest jury called this work the
most detailed work ever presented in Peugeot design contests.

The most detailed work means that not only did the author make the
exterior outlook of concept car, but also designed the interior as much
as possible so that we could see the parts and how they look inside the
car. And honestly I like this concept the most.

* * *

It’s all for the winners and let’s look to some less fortunate
finalists that nevertheless deserve some portion of your attention.

A concept model “CUB” by Chineese designer Ka Dan excels from others with simple forms and futuristic ergonomics:

* * *

Nice work called “Peugeot Plaire” by James Ma. A nonstandard sports car with a calm and suspended design:

* * *

“LiiON Concept” by Christian Sano from Romania.
3-cycled-cars are very uncommon for design contests but this concept is
truly unbelievable! Single-seated, aggressive, slim - all these things
are half the battle for being a successful vehicle.

* * *

And Peugeot 910 by Turkish designer Ertug Yenidemir
with clean and streamline design. Author made accent to the lines and
form and was right about it - model looks very attractive.

* * *

As for this year - the contest’s topic is the following: “Imagine the Peugeot in the worldwide megalopolis of tomorrow.” It’s open to budding designers from all over the world. The participants can use the application form
and send one or more images (exterior perspective, side view, interior,
sketches or 3D model renderings, etc) as well as text explanations of
their concept. So designers, modelers and artists who love beautiful
cars - you still have a little time until July 20th to design the car
from your dreams and send it to Peugeot. We in turn can’t wait to see
the results of the contest of 200 - we promise we’ll publish the review
of this year’s contest participants.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins in Michigan, ends 76-race losing streak

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the darling of NASCAR, but the motorsport's most popular driver was completely winless for the last 76 races until this past weekend when the Intimidator's son won the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Junior won the race in an odd way, literally coasting across the finish line on an empty tank of gas under a caution flag after Patrick Carpenter spun out on lap 203. The race had been extended to overtime after Sam Hornish Jr. spun on Lap 200, and had it not been for the caution Carpenter created three laps later, Junior would likely would've ran out of gas before the finish. Rather than do burnouts afterwards on the track, Earnhardt's #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy had to be pushed to Victory Ciricle. The win not only ended Junior's drought, but also gave his new employer, Rick Hendrick, his second win of the season. Many thought this might be Junior's year after he handily won the Bud Shootout ahead of the Daytona 500. That was his first race as a member of Hendrick Motorsports and didn't count for points, but the rest of the season has not gone his way until this past weekend.

Ford Racing Invitational '08: The aftermath

I
went into the Ford Racing Racing Invitational drag race this weekend
with only a cursory knowledge of drag racing. Sure I was aware of all
the usual suspects like Garlits, Prudhomme, Force and other famous
names over the years. I knew about the kind of speeds they reached and
I had a vague awareness of bracket racing and the need for consistency.
But I figured "How hard can it be to go from a starting line and
traverse 1320 feet in the shortest possible time?" Well, it turns out
that it's a lot harder than you might think. If nothing else, I came
away from this experience with with a vastly increased respect for
successful drag racers.

Let's start with a brief run down of
the procedure. First up, before getting to the starting line you do a
couple of burnouts to warm the tires in hope of getting some extra
grip. On racing slicks this undoubtedly helps. Whether it actually
helps with street tires is something about which we need to consult
with some tire engineers. Once your tires are warm, you pull up to the
line. This is where things start to get very complicated. Read on to
learn more and check out the gallery below for shots from the day
showing Autoblog and its peers doing their best on the quarter-mile.

Audi R10 TDI using biofuel for the first time

In the world of alternative power, not all fuels are created equal.
This fact is true with ethanol, where the alcohol can be made using
fairly inefficient processes, some of which involve corn, or using more
advanced cellulosic methods which do not use a foodstock. Diesel too
can come from either petroleum or from non-dino sources. You're
probably aware that Audi has been assaulting various race tracks using
its advanced diesel powered race cars, specifically its two-time Le
Mans-winning R10 TDI,
which has so far been running on what is known as gas-to-liquid (GTL)
diesel fuel. With the 24 Hours of Le Mans just around the corner, Audi
and Shell, the fuel provider for Audi's race team, have announced that
the team will be blending a small amount of biomass-to-liquid (BTL)
fuel into its secret mixture. Shell's BTL fuel is made from materials
such as wood chips and will make its on-track debut on Sunday, June 1,
as Audi's R10 TDI begins its official Le Mans testing.

Ferrari Soapbox Derby kicks off at Imola

What do you think racing engineers do with their spare time? Go fishing? Watch some television? Fill in crossword puzzles? No! They build more race cars! Less complicated race cars, actually. That's what the boys at Bentley did with their Continental DC at the Greenpower Corporate Challenge. Over in Maranello, meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari has joined the ranks of little kids across America with the 2008 Scuderia Soap Box Trophy.

The first round of the trophy took place on Sunday... while the Monaco Grand Prix was underway, leaving us to wonder just who was taking part in this competition. (The Italian-language video after the jump doesn't clarify things, either.) The cars themselves seem as different as can be imagined, and Adriano Zocca of Bologna won this first round – held at the Ferrari-owned track at Imola – with his XFX soap box racer. The next round will take place this coming weekend in Milan. Congratulazioni, Adriano!

Follow the jump for the video and press release, and check out the images in the gallery by clicking the thumbnails below.