Dope. #125

Image courtesy of AP @ Vag Fair 2012.

What to watch this weekend (Oct 12th - Oct 17th)

• Formula 1 - Korean Grand Prix; from the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, Korea. Practice. Friday @ 1am - 2:30am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) live
• Shelby Cobra 50th Montery Race. Gathering of Cobras at Laguna Seca. Friday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (VelocityHD)
• Formula 1 - Korean Grand Prix; from the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, Korea. Qualifying. Saturday @ 1am - 2:30am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) live
• Mazda Motorsports Hour. Star Mazda: Laguna Seca, CA. (Episode #14). Saturday @ 12pm - 1pm (VelocityHD) new
• Continental Sports Car Challenge. ST race at Lime Rock Park. Saturday @ 1pm - 3pm (SPEED/SPEEDHD)
• Formula 1 - Korean Grand Prix; from the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, Korea. Race. Sunday @ 1:30am - 4am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) live; replay at 3:30am
• Continental Sports Car Challenge. GS race at Lime Rock Park. Saturday @ 1pm - 3pm (SPEED/SPEEDHD)
• Australian V8 Supercars - The Bathurst 1000. From Mount Panorama in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. Sunday @  11pm - 1am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) delayed airing from 10/7
• Top Gear (UK). Marathon of Season 11 & 15 episodes. Monday @ 8am - Tues @ 6am (BBC America/BBC America HD) great replays
• Motorweek. Porsche Boxter S. Tuesday @ 8pm - 8:30pm (VelocityHD) replay
• Wheeler Dealers. Renault Alpine. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) new
• Fifth Gear (UK). Season 21 Ep.4. 2012 911 Carrera S Track Test. Wednesday @10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new

Last weeks race at Suzuka raised some interesting questions. While Hams explained that he didn't do that great a job helping engineers tune his car for the track, he still finished fifth...right behind Button. This is the first time McLaren has had both cars finish in the top ten in quite some time. Meanwhile Vettel is chopping away at Alonzo's lead in the driver's championship; Red Bull Renault has a vice-grip on the constructor's championship. Privateer driver and all around good guy, Kobayashi, pulls off a 3rd place win; he held off Button in the last four laps. Much like Force India this season, Sauber F1 shows that another 'little' guy in the paddock can compete this year. The parity and consistency from known quantities make this 2012 season of F1 unique, and I'm really interested in seeing how the next 5 races shake out. Oh and lets not forget poor Massa. He finally get's a podium, second place to be exact, and there's no doubt that he's still in the hot seat. Why though? Perez is gone to McLaren, there aren't many people that know what driving for Ferrari means and even Alonzo is sticking up for him in interviews. He could be doing so just because with Massa there he always knows who number two works foooor. This weekend's race in Korea should be another good one.

There's plenty of Continental Sports Car Challenge racing to watch this weekend, and the Bathurst 1000 is being delay-aired on SPEED this upcoming Sunday night (as it took place last weekend). Why SPEED didn't show the Bathurst 1000 live this year is beyond me. I thought V8 Supercars did a great job promoting the event with DW last year, and this is the biggest race event on the Aussie calendar. Hopefully it's not because NASCAR feels threatened by what is, let's be honest, a better series. That'd be cowardly, but hey FOX Corp. has to make their numbers. In other news, New Fifth Gear, Wheeler Dealers and a couple other cool specials are on the docket. Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of AMFForumVideo.

Current Events: Secrets of Japan F1 And Bathurst V8 SuperCars (Shakedown)

Leo talks motorsports and takes a closer look at this past weekends Grand Prix of Japan (spoiler alert!), and the F1 car technologies that competed in it. He then looks at the V8 Supercars that competed in this past weekends Bathhurst 1000 (Will be airing delayed on SPEED later this month -- spoiler alert x2).

Video courtesy of Drive.

Quick Vid: Turner Motorsport's 535hp Frozen Gray BMW M3 (Tuned)

Turner Motorsport's supercharged E92M3 is highlighted in this latest episode of Tuned with Matt Farah. He also checks out TM's E92M3 based Grand-Am racecar, which won the 2011 Continental Sports Car Championship (GS class).


Video courtesy of Drive.

Car Pron: Track Culture's E46M3V10 (Driftworks Ltd)

This video is the fruit of one of our Web Entertainment recommendations, Track Culture. E46M3's are really starting to speak to us, and ten cylinder swaps don't make that voice any quieter.

BMW E46 M3 with M5 V10 Engine - TrackCulture.com from Driftworks Ltd on Vimeo.