Thursday, September 9, 2021

What to watch this F1 Weekend (Sept 10th - Sept 15th)

  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Italy; from Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Practice 1. Friday @ 8:25am - 9:30am (ESPNU) live
  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Italy; from Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Qualifying. Friday @ 11:55am - 1pm (ESPN) live
  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Italy; from Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Practice 2. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live
  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Italy; from Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Sprint Qualifying. Saturday @ 10:25am - 11:30am (ESPN2) live
  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Italy; from Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Race. Sunday @ 8:55am - 11am (ESPN2) live
  • WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Race. Action from Laguna Seca Raceway. Sunday @ 4pm - 7pm (NBCSN) live 
  • Garage Squad. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
  • Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
  • Wheeler Dealers. Tuesday @12pm - 3pm (MotorTrend) replay
  • Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
  • Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
  • Bitchin Rides. Wednesday @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrend) replay
  • Top Gear America. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10:30pm (MotorTrend) new
Short week again, rolling into the final race of a F1 triple header, post-summer break. The Sprint Qualifying rules are back again for Monza, but before that, lets review Max's homecoming in Zandvoort. Max was everything we thought he'd be, over the weekend, in front of his home fans with all the pressure of trying to take the lead in the Driver's Championship back after a run of bad luck. Hamilton showed poise getting within a few hundredths of Max's pole time in Q3, but Max and the Red Bull was the superior package last weekend -- with a commendation going to the ability of the Ferrari to change direction very well and outperform their nearest rivals in papaya for another weekend. Gasly in his Alfa Tauri raced outstanding as well, finishing fourth in a generally quiet race with no one near him. Perez has more trouble on Saturday which lead to him racing from the backpack to points, but his Sunday skill was on display, finishing in 8th on a track where passing is no easy feat. Alonso had another solid race, taking 6th late in the race over his countryman, Sainz, with his tires going off. Bottas continued to play the team game despite what he wanted to do, get the fastest lap after a late stop by the team to cover off potential tire failure. He took 3rd, right behind Hams which has been typical of recent memory. Valtteri announced, post-race, that he'd be going to Alfa Romeo, replacing his countryman, Kimi, with a multi-year deal starting with the 2022 regulation change over. So this would point to George Russell making the leap to Merc, however, all should be revealed shortly (probably as I type). With the checkered flag dropped Max is in the lead of the Driver's, Mercedes remains in the lead of the Constructors and everyone looks forward to the power-friendly circuit of Monza. The scene of Zandvoort was incredible, the track design was old school, wildly banked, narrow and quick; most everyone enjoyed the track and I too look forward to the next race in Holland.
Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of peterwindsor.

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Automotive Workshop: The finest Honda engine tuner in Japan who build engines using F1 technology, we meet K-Tech/JDM (JDM Masters)

JDM Masters brings us K-Tech's founder, owner and lead engineer Makoto Kawashima. They talk engines, engineering and the custom engine parts he designs and produces to insert motorsport performance and street reliability in road cars. Grab a snack.

Video courtesy of JDMMasters.

Monday, September 6, 2021

Current Events: 2022 Toyota GR86 | First Drive and Details (savagegeese)

Mark and Jack review the new GR86, which seeks to fix all the problems from the original GT86/FRS/BRZ. I seriously considered buying a FR-S when it first came out, but the cons outweighed the pros, especially with so many other cars used at this ~30k price point. From what I've learned of the GR86 so far, I kind of want one. A test drive at the very least. I'd kill that fake audio being pumped in, that's for sure, but we have to be thankful that a manufacturer wanted to build an affordable car like this in 2022. Bravo, Toyota and Subaru. Bravo.

Video courtesy of savagegeese.