Upcoming Show: H2o International 2011

It's that time of year again. The summer is coming to a close, the fall equinox is in the near distance and there's one last show to run through before taking dem show wheels off. It is time for H2o International 2011. If you remember the recap from last years festivities, or better yet were there yourself, you'll know that slot machines are now in, and H2oi is now out of the old location at Ocean Downs racetrack. Thankfully Jay Shoup worked his off-season magic and albeit late in the timeline, has found new digs for the event to take place this year; Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic School (!) 2.5 miles north of Ocean Downs. This is the first major change of location for H2oi since about 2000. There have been many fond memories, mammaries and pictures taken over the last decade-plus at Ocean Downs. I look forward to everyone starting this tradition anew in this fresh location. From the pics I've seen, it's a pretty large venue and it will NEED to be. That said, who's up for a game of Racetrack Rd. Frogger?

This years event breakdown is as follows:

• Saturday September 24th - Big Ass BBQ / Pre-show gathering (12pm-5pm)
• Sunday September 25th - H2oi Show (9am-5pm)
• $25 Pre-registration for show/club cars; must be done online by Sept 18th @ 5pm
• Aircooled, Watercooled, Audi & VW classes
• 11242 Racetrack Road Berlin, MD 21811

As usual there will be a ton of gtgs for every cool to squirrely grouping of enthusiasts you can think of; have fun picking out what you will do with your time. As usual the main event is on Saturday night at 37th and Philadelphia Ave. Flashback...

Get up and out of the house, drive to Ocean Shtty, book a room and enjoy.

Quick Vid: 2012 Audi R8 GT

Motortrend looks at the all new Audi R8 GT.

Dope. #66

Image courtesy of Misha Strik.

What to watch this weekend (Sept 8th - 14th)

• Australian V8 Supercars - From Queenland Raceway in Willowbank, Australia. Friday @ 2pm - 4pm (SPEED/SPEEDHD) replay
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Italy; from Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Practice. Friday @ 8:00am - 9:30am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) 
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Italy; from Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:00am - 9:30am (SPEED/SPEEDHD)
• GT Racer - Le Mans. Saturday @ 10am - 11am (Discovery's HD Theater) replay
• Isle of Man 2011. Superstock TT Race 2. Saturday @ 11am - 12pm (Discovery's HD Theater)
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Italy; from Autodromo di Monza, Italy. Race. Sunday @ 7:30am - 10:00am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) replay at 4:30pm
• Top Gear (UK). Season 17, Episode 4. Monday @ 9pm - 10pm (BBC America/BBC America HD) replay at 11:40pm
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 10pm - 11pm (Discovery's HD Theater) replays
• The Car Show with Adam Carolla. Special Maneuvers. Wednesday @ 10p - 11pm (SPEED/SPEEDHD)

With all the rain we're getting out here, going back to Italy for a late Summer trip to check out the action in Monza this weekend sounds like the greatest short vacation on earth. Back to reality though, it's wet here and there isn't a cloud in the sky there. Hopefully the sunshine will continue for the race on Sunday. Vettel is 92 points ahead of Webber, his nearest rival, and is getting closer to claiming the championship outright. This doesn't mean you shouldn't watch though, because on top of the great 18,000+ rpm 2.4 litre V8 symphony, this track is a monster for high speeds and passing. We also need to see how Hammy responds after his DNF at Spa. Formula 1 is all about playing on the razors edge, and I look forward to more F1 action this weekend...I think I'm going through withdrawal. Oh and football is back tonight. Set your lineups if you're into that kinda thing...ahem.

Image courtesy of Christian Wright

Car Pron: 2001 RUF Turbo at Nurburgring

A smokin hot lap around the Green Hell, in the 996 Ruf Turbo.

Video courtesy of porsche911x996.

Baltimore Grand Prix 2011 - A look at ALMS Round 7

This past weekend at the Baltimore Grand Prix (BGP) was a marathon for us, not a sprint. We got in town to the Sheraton off Fayette Street Thursday, got briefed an hour later for the work we'd be putting in all weekend, then went outside to watch the crews build the chicane for Pratt Street before the infamous light rail tracks that the city and officials debated on paving. My assistant photographer Matt and I walked the track that night, much as many of the other race teams and drivers were doing at the same time, to get an idea of what things would be like during practice the following morning. Friday came and went, pics and video were taken and the grind continued for 8hrs a day for the next two days. We're working on our formal article on the Baltimore Festival of Speed, but in the meantime I figure it'd be good to give you a taste of what went down in person for the race that most of our readers are interested in; ALMS Round 7.

If you take a look at the site and recent posts you'll see more hints of our evolution, defining our brand and content, but never fear as we'll continue as always without intrusive advertising and what not. Please share our posts with your friends and like/follow us on facebook, twitter and youtube. These three media portals are filled with unique content to compliment our M-F posts here on the main site. Just as I mentioned last Thursday, we uploaded pictures taken during day of the BGP to our fb page and I suggest you all check it out to get caught up. We'll be linking a few other unreleased images to reward our twitter followers (currently a small group, but proud). Look forward to more original content through this Fall, under the ROTL umbrella as well as the APblog.

Without further adieu, ALMS in Baltimore this year was all that I hoped it would be. Great action, a hairy street course with some sneaky funneling turns, very few safe passing locations and great representation by the regulars in the driver, manufacturer and team ALMS Championship hunt. You can get the details on the race results here, but here's some of what was seen before and during the ALMS Round #7 race on Saturday.

Delayed start, awaiting fans.

Plenty of yellow flags during the race.

While limited on video equipment we captured a few short clips from the event. We've put two BGP clips up on our youtube channel today to help share the sights and sounds that fueled our engines all weekend. Make sure to turn up the volume and turn on the HD.

Quick Vid: ALMS at Lime Rock (FLD Shakedown)

Leo Parente interviews Bill Auberlen and his ALMS Race team concerning the connection between the racing road cars of BMW and their roadcar counterparts.


Video courtesy of FastLaneDaily.