Thursday, June 6, 2019

What to watch this Weekend (June 6th - June 12th)

  • Isle of Man TT. 2019 insane action from the infamous Isle. Thursday @ 11pm - 12am (VelocityHD) new
  • The Grand Tour. Season 3. Episodes on demand. Friday (Amazon Prime) 
  • Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Practice 1. Friday @ 9:55am - 11:30am (ESPNU(HD)) live
  • Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Practice 2. Friday @ 1:55pm - 3:30pm (ESPNU(HD)) live
  • Isle of Man TT. 2019 insane action from the infamous Isle. Friday @ 11pm - 12am (VelocityHD) new
  • Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Practice 3. Saturday @ 10:55am - 12pm (ESPN2(HD)) live
  • Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Qualifying. Saturday @ 1:55pm - 3pm (ESPNNews(HD)) live
  • Isle of Man TT. 2019 insane action from the infamous Isle. Saturday @ 11pm - 12am (VelocityHD) new
  • Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Race. Sunday @ 1:30pm - 4pm (ABC(HD)) live
  • Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
  • Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
  • Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrendHD)
Monaco was quite the weekend. Merc finally failed to get a 1-2 finish, but they still got a 1-3 finish. Ferrari got on the podium, but only because Red Bull released Max into Bottas and there was contact; this lead to a 5 second penalty, which put Max in 4th even though he hounded Hams until the very end -- Hamilton taking a set of mediums into uncharted territory, 60+ laps on a tire only supposed to do 50. However Monaco is a track position dominant track, so once you get your stop in you can typically run to the end if you have the separation needed at right sections of the circuit, which Merc had in spades; Hams rears were perfect even though his left front was graining so he could hook up out of corners without issue. Verstappen was in a pickle once he realized there would be a time penalty for the unsafe release, so he could either run to the end to get as far ahead of 3rd and 4th place as possible to maintain a podium finish, which would require he get past Hamilton, or pit, take the penalty then and try to overtake his way back onto the podium, which didn't look likely unless there was another safety car. No additional safety car came, it didn't rain, so he tried to take on Hamilton for his position. Hams drove a strong race through some old tires and defended like the grizzled vet that his is. Vettel got a surprisingly good finish despite not qualifying to well, on behalf of Ferrari, but Ferrari is still trying to figure out why they can't turn tires on. Honda missed out on making the podium in Monaco, but has been superior to Renault in every way in 2019. Bottas looked strong again this weekend, but was unable to take pole despite a great lap; Hamilton pushed his Merc to the limit and just managed to edge him out in his final lap while Bottas couldn't warm his tires up well enough for the end of Q3. Ferrari's strategy is still suspicious, Leclerc fell victim to that in Q1 -- he should've been told to go back out since the track was getting faster while he sat in the pit (after a salvaged weigh-bridge snaffu, Leclerc missing his call in and his pit pushing him back to avoid penalty). Gasley had another strong race, finishing 5th behind Max and taking the fastest lap point late in the race on softs. McLaren did well enough to get Sainz into 6th, but Norris missed the points in 11th. Torro Rosso finished 7-8, getting all four Honda powertrains well into the top ten. Ricciardo had a scrappy race and got a point for Renault in 9th, but they still have plenty to sort out. Alfa Romeo was MIA and Williams didn't finish in the last two places (15th (Russell) and 18th (Kubica)). The Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-17), Vettel (-55), Verstappen (-59), Leclerc (-80), Gasely (-105).  Canada should be a chance for all the teams to reassert themselves; unfortunately Merc is getting an engine upgrade. Red Bull is slowly putting themselves into position to overtake Ferrari; let's see how that effort shakes out.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Enthusiast Topic: BMW E92 M3 GTS: The M3 Masterpieces Ep.4 (Carfection)

The M3 Masterpieces series continues to episode four with the exclusive E92 M3 GTS.


Video courtesy of Carfection.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Current Events: Toyota GR Supra review (PistonHeads)

The Supra is back with the A90, based on a partnered architecture, engine and interior with BMW. Toyota purists are torn, the BMW purists don't care, but do the sports car enthusiasts win? Yep.


Video courtesy of PistonHeads.

Monday, June 3, 2019

Neo-Motorsport Feature: Ayrton Senna's 1993 MP4/8 F1 Car And His Personal Mechanic, An In-Depth Look (Carfection)

Henry interviews Gary Wheeler, Ayrton Senna's #2 mechanic back when he was racing for McLaren in 1993. They talk Ayrton, yesteryear in F1 and the MP4/8 F1 car he raced last.


Video courtesy of Carfection.