Autoblog

Organizers, fans and media alike were shocked when the news broke that Formula One Management and the FIA had canceled the perennial Canadian Grand Prix, but the prospect remained open for local officials to renegotiate the contract. We're disappointed to report, however, that those prospects have now all but completely dissipated, as negotiations between the sport's commercial rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone and representatives from the Canadian federal, Quebec provincial and Montreal municipal governments have broken down. And everyone's fingers are pointing at Bernie.

According to Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay, Ecclestone put forward an outrageous proposal extorting exorbitant multi-million-dollar fees from the race organizers, who receive backing from the three levels of government. The Canadian representatives then began considering levying a new tax over local hotels to cover the cost and planning to establish a non-profit organization to come up with a fiscally sound counter-offer, but even those prospects were completely shut down when Ecclestone stated his refusal to budge from his terms whatsoever. And so, with the US Grand Prix still out of the running – for the time being, at least – the top level of motor racing has completely abandoned North America altogether.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Lluis Gene/Getty]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Red Bull Drifting World Championship

Like Ferrari winning the Italian Grand Prix or a Mazda atop the podium at Laguna Seca, Rhys Millen scored a fitting victory in his Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP at the very first Red Bull Drifting World Championship over the weekend. The event featured the top thirty-two drifters from around the world at a purpose-built track at the ports of Long Beach, CA. Formula Drift drivers dominated the event, taking six of the eight spots in the quarter finals and all four places in the semi finals. Millen survived five knockout rounds, defeating the likes of Ken Gushi, Top Gear USA host Tanner Foust and Vaughn Gitten, and eventually beat out teammate Daijiro Yoshihara in the all-Pontiac finals. More details on the event are in the press release following the jump, and we weathered the tire smoke and flying bits of rubber to bring you plenty of fantastic high resolution photos in the gallery below.

All photos copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Rhys Millen Racing's Hyundai Genesis Coupe enjoyed some time in the spotlight at SEMA, but it's hard to see the potential of the new coupe sitting stationary on the show stand. So RMR brought out the Genesis Coupe to take up space in their pit during the Red Bull Drifting World Championship and the crew at Streetfire.net captured some video of the Genesis running around, posing or pics. In the clip, the pilot of the coupe never put his boot down, but it still sounded mean with a deep gurgle and the Turbonetics turbocharger whirring at low rpms. In person, the build also came across as very well constructed with a lot of attention to detail. Regardless of the advertised build time, it was carefully pieced together by a knowledgeable bunch.

Be sure and check out the galleries below for the whole collection of RMR Genesis Coupe images and hit the jump to check out the video.

Formula One champ Michael Schumacher has been enjoying his new gigs working with Ferrari's development team and hooning Honda Fireblades in various Superbike racing events, and he's proven to beabout as adept racing around on two wheels as he is on four. The seven-time F1 champion from Germany has been extended an open invitation by Honda racing officials to pilot one of its factory-prepped literbikes on the world stage. For his part, Schumacher has stated that he has no intentions to make a second career out of racing motorcycles, but his actions often seem to indicate otherwise, and he's apparently scheduled to take part in the German championship for 2009. We can only hope that our "retirement" is half as much fun as Michael Schumacher's. Thanks for the tip, Chris!

[Source: Autosport]

Click above for a high resolution gallery of the Ferrari F430 Challenge

So you have a dilemma. You've got an itch for racing sports cars and cash to burn. Taking on Porsches and Ferraris in the GT2 category sounds fun, but the competition is pretty stiff and a spec series with a level playing field sounds more appealing. What are your options? If Porsches are your thing you might want to try the Porsche Supercup, featuring the 911 GT3 Cup, that runs in support of Formula 1. Rather go Italian? You can race an F430 in the Ferrari Challenge in North American, European, and Italian series, or try your hand in the brand new Lamborghini Super Trofeo series racing the Gallardo. American muscle more your style? You can race the FR500S Mustang in the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge at eight of America's best race tracks. We think each of them sounds like a ton of fun, but tell us which one you would pick in the poll below.

With the domestic auto industry hurting like never before, most analysts expect budgets for motorsports activities to drop dramatically in the coming few months. This slowdown of funds will surely impact NASCAR, which sees participation from each of the Detroit 3 along with Toyota. Despite being one of the most visible racing organizations in the United States, it's also one of the most expensive for teams to operate, with some estimates pegging a single day's worth of track testing at over $100,000 per car. Large teams can expect to save a few million bucks per year in expenses due to the new policy.

Just a few months back, however, NASCAR teams were pushing for more testing sessions at more tracks, and officials had proposed a new plan that would have increased testing sessions to 24 per year. That tactic would have increased the amount of money that teams and sponsors would need to spend by a substantial figure. Although we're not big NASCAR watchers, we tend to think that the change could actually benefit the series, since it could level the playing field and make for better racing. We'll see if we're right in just a few months.

[Source: NASCAR]

At the Dubai Autodrome this week, Aston Martin revealed the car that will replace the Vantage N24, which has raced successfully in the FIA GT4 class and endurance events like the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for the past two years. Named the Vantage GT4, the new racer will employ a racing version of the production car's 4.7L V8 in place of the N24's slightly smaller 4.3L V8. Other race-bred modifications include a free-flow exhaust system, dry sump lubrication and new engine management software calibrated for racing. The new GT4 is hand-built by Aston Martin and can be ordered by race teams from the factory with a six-speed manual transmission or Sportshift tranny with paddle shifters. The production car's interior gets gutted and replaced with a molding of the dash that's covered in Alcantara suede (which also covers the steering wheel), a steel roll cage and Recaro competition seats. The suspension has been beefed up for race duty and the wheels are now cast magnesium wrapped in Yokohama race rubber, but Aston has carried over all of the production car's active safety systems like stability control, traction control and ABS. If you're a gentleman racer, you can order the new Vantage GT4 from the factory for £96,645 and have it ready to race by this January.


[Source: Aston Martin Racing]

From our friends at the Axis of Oversteer comes a story of determination, fortitude, and a healthy dose of Darwinian law.

With less than a mile left in a stage of the Ralley de Serrians in France, the throttle cable in our hero's Renault finally gives up the ghost. Does he give up? No! Does the team try to push their way to the finish? Hell no! The driver tells his co-pilot to man the wheel while he hops into the engine bay, pulls the hood over himself and then manually controls the throttle cable bracket to a heroic finish. The picture above speaks for itself, but the video after the jump tells the whole tale.

[Source: Axis of Oversteer]

While the motorsports season is coming to a close, manufacturers and teams are already preparing for the 2009 season. Pirelli is getting a jump start by debuting their new P Zero racing slick this week at Daytona International Speedway for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona test session. Both prototype and GT cars will run the upgraded rubber next season, and reports are coming back that the new tire has both a higher level of performance and increased longevity. The Rolex 24 Hours will kick off the 2009 Grand-Am series from January 24-25. More info on Pirelli's new racing slick can be seen in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Pirelli]

IndyCar great Helio Castroneves is in the legal fight of his life, and the timing couldn't be worse (like seven felony counts ever come at a good time). Castroneves goes on trial for tax evasion charges on March 2 in Miami, just one month before the IndyCar season begins in St. Petersberg, Florida.

Castroneves was indicted by the IRS on October 2 along with his sister/business manager and his lawyer, and the list of charges is substantial. Castroneves is going up against six tax evasion counts and one count of conspiracy with up to 35 years of jail time. Team Penske would undoubtedly love for the two-time Indy 500 champ to be free and clear of these allegations, but the successful race team is in a holding pattern due to its star racer's quandary. Helio's fame from racing and Dancing with the Stars will turn the case into a very big deal, and the courts will handle the case as such. That could mean a very lengthy trial for Helio and his crew, and a potentially embarrassing situation for Team Penske.

[Source: Auto Week | Image: Robert Cianflone/Getty]