Dope. #184

Image courtesy of Icypix from Dubshed 2014.

What to watch this Weekend (May 28th - June 4th)

• WRC. 2014 Rally action from Portugal. Thursday @ 4pm - 5pm (MAVTV) replay 
• 50 Years of the 911. Friday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD)
• United Sports Car Championship - Detroit Belle Island Grand Prix. From Belle Island Park in Detroit, MI. Saturday @ 1pm - 3:30pm (FS1(HD)) live
• IndyCar Series - Detroit Indy Grand Prix, Race #1. From Belle Island Park in Detroit, MI. Saturday @ 3:30pm - 6pm (ABC/ABCHD) live
• Isle of Man TT. 2014 action from the Isle. Saturday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new
• IndyCar Series - Detroit Indy Grand Prix, Race #2. From Belle Island Park in Detroit, MI. Sunday @ 3:30pm - 6pm (ABC/ABCHD) live
• Isle of Man TT. 2014 action from the Isle. Sunday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new
• Top Gear (UK). Marathon of past episodes. Monday @ 4pm - 11pm (BBCAmerica(HD)) replays
• Isle of Man TT. 2014 action from the Isle. Monday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (VelocityHD) new
• Isle of Man TT. 2014 action from the Isle. Tuesday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Amphicar. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) replay
• Isle of Man TT. 2014 action from the Isle. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new

A ton of motorsport action to look forward to -- Velocity Channel brings us 2014 (delayed airing) coverage of the Isle of Man TT, everyday at 10pm starting Saturday. TUDOR United Sports Car Championship action from Detroit, along with IndyCar on the same street course both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Official Isle of Man TT.

Automotive Workshop: The 3D Printed Variable Turbo - Inside Koenigsegg (Drive)

In this latest of the Inside Koenigsegg series, Christian Von Koenigsegg explains some of the technology that goes into the in-house built, custom variable vane turbo that powers the new One:1.

Video courtesy of Drive.

Car Pron: Porsche Cayman GTS review: motoring nirvana for £55k (Autocar)

Steve and Autocar bring us a review of the new flagship model of Porsche's very capable Cayman, the GTS. There are multiple opinions out there from the reviewers of this new model, which costs about 9k more than the base Cayman S, but depending on spec and what you're looking for you may be better off just getting the GTS (as its a factory model) rather than spec'ing up an S.

Video courtesy of Autocar.

Neo-Vintage: The 625/250 TRC is the Winningest Ferrari Ever (Petrolicious)

The crew from Petrolicious bring us another great short film, highlighting what's known as the most winning Ferrari on earth. This is the story of a 1957 250 TRC that won numerous times over its lifetime and whose current owner still enjoys it on the road from time to time. I don't think too many things sound better than a small displacement, V12 with carburetors.

Video courtesy of Petrolicious.

Dope. #183

Image courtesy of Icypix from Wörthersee 2014.

What to watch this Memorial Day Weekend (May 22nd - May 28th)

• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 1. Thursday @ 5am - finish (NBCSNLiveExtra) live
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 2. Friday @ 8am - 9:30am (NBCSN(HD)) live
• Senna the Legend. Friday @ 7pm - 8pm (NBCSN(HD)) new
• Senna - Documentary. Friday @ 8pm - 10:30pm (VelocityHD)
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5am - finish (NBCSNLiveExtra) live stream
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8am - 9:30am (NBCSN(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Race. Sunday @ 7::30am - 10am (NBC(HD)) live; re-airing @ 10:30am, 4:30pm & 11pm - pre-race @ 7am on NBCSN(HD)
• IndyCar Series - The Indianapolis 500. From Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from Speedway, Indiana. Sunday @ 11am - 3:30pm (ABC(HD)) live 
• Top Gear (UK). Marathon of past episodes. Monday @ 5pm - 11pm (BBCAmerica(HD)) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (VelocityHD) 
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 8pm - 9pm (VelocityHD) replays
• Legendary Motorcar. Race Shop and GTX resto Mod. Tuesday @ 10pm - 10:30pm (VelocityHD) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Citroen 2CV. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) new

We have an outstanding weekend ahead, with two juggernauts of motorsport lore goin' down at the same damn time. The 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place Sunday at 11am on ABC and the legendary Monaco Grand Prix will be taking place earlier that morning at 7:30am on NBC (with re-airings all day long).

Before we look to the magical street track that is Monaco, we have to speak about the previous race; Hamilton had a great race, holding off a hounding Rosberg through the checkered flag, but wasn't clean enough all the way through to keep it from being interesting. Peopled predicted this to Bahrain part 2, and it ended up being pretty close. Nico on softs, Hams on the hards; Hams seemingly losing trust in what his pit was doing for him during the race, in the form of information and appropriate chassis adjustments. This should be an interesting media week with some of the radio transmissions that took place throughout this fourth consecutive GP victory. What we know is that Hamilton wants a title this year, Nico wants it too and they both have the machinery to accomplish that task. All things being equal, Hams is pulling more out of his car and it shows. In the shadows of Mercedes' dominance is the return to the fold of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. Ricciardo has been at the front of the field for all of his races, including the vacated race earlier this Spring; he finally got his podium and it was much deserved. Seb showed his metal, coming from 15th to finish 4th, mixing it up in the pack which he's typically not known for. While he still had plenty of bad fortune, once again, he's definitely earning the respect of this viewer for his showing in Catalunya. The smoke has cleared and the drivers championship cement is firming up a bit; Hamilton, Rosberg (-3), Alonso (-51) Vettel (-55), Ricciardo (-61). Hulkenberg has been bumped out of the top 5.

Nico won the Monaco Grand Prix (his home Grand Prix) last year and I'm sure he's looking to do so again, which would not only make him a back to back winner, but also put him back a top the driver standings. Hamilton is now going to try to step on everyone's neck and separate himself to ensure himself against possible bad fortune in the future. Vettel has had a crap year in a car that wasn't fast enough, but is still in 4th. Ricciardo is starting to pay dividends and has been the third fastest driver just about all season to this point; I'm sure he's looking to keep the party going. Alonso is still scrapping as he always has, staying very consistent, but his teammate Raikkonen has finally gotten a handle on his car, enough at least for him to compete. Botas is out performing Massa, currently, in one of the two best looking cars on the track. The inter-team battle has been the highlight of 2014.

There are plenty of other regulars to look forward to, including all the Ayrton Senna you can handle. Enjoy your weekends!

Video courtesy of XCAR.