Ford - They have an official website for their racing activities
Ford Racing - Ford Racing Performance Parts - Ford Performance Group
Suzuki: Official motorsports website
Motorsport | Global Suzuki
Honda: Official motorsports website
Honda Performance Development - Performance Engine Design for Honda Racing
Toyota: Official motorsports website
Toyota Motorsports
Volkswagen: Volkswagen Racing UK official site.
Volkswagen Motorsport
They are into racing big time
Renault: Official motorsports website
http://www.renault-sport.com/en/
Toyota Motorsport GmbH
Toyota Motorsport GmbH - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
These guys were doing great in WRC until 1999, and then no results for the next two years. This was to allow for their switch into F1. F1 as we all know, Toyota never went anywhere. With all the money they had, they could not get any results and they quit F1 in 2009. Now, Toyota is making money lending its Wind tunnel facilities, and their cars for tyre testing. No racing for the last few years.
Honda-
Honda was the powerhouse in F1 in the 60s, 1964-68, and were engine suppliers from 1983. Their next stint was BAR-HONDA which again went nowhere. I remember BAR-HONDA was singly responsible for the downfall of the 1997 world champion Vilenueve. Honda too quit F1 in 2009. They made a small stint into WRC in 2006 but that did not last long either. Honda now, with its financial position is not involved in any big sport. They are losing ground and fast. Other car companies are matching them on the engine aspect as well. [Honda was head and shoulders above the rest in the past in the engine department]
Hyundai-
Google says:
No search results found for 'Hyundai' + 'racing'
No obvious motorsorts involvement (they had tried their hand at WRC a decabe back with the accent I guess)
VW-
VW dominated the Paris-Dakar rally in 2010. The Tuareg finished 1-2-3. They organize the VW cup in the UK. The same was held in India as well which was called the Polo cup. (Racing against their own cars? Eeeeeks). They are into Formula 3.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Mercedes gets heavy weights Geoff Willis and Aldo Costa
There used to be a time when Groff Willis was in the news every other day (like Andrian Newey is now a days), though I must admit not for good reasons. He has some really decent credentials which unfortunately are belittled due to his lackluster tenure at Honda. Willis and Newey worked together at Williams for many years, the former recruiting Willis to Williams when he joined the team, so its a surprise that it didn't work well for him when he joined RedBull racing as a Technical Director, reporting to Newey.
Aldo Costa had a better time at F1 compared to Willis. Although he started with Minardi, he moved up to the role of technical director at Ferrari, but later relinquished it in May 2011, a hint at him joining Mercedes perhaps.
Only time will tell how good these recruits are for Mercedes, for sure Michael and Brawn have experience working with Costa but Willis career has gone from a high to a low and there have been times when he was accused of things which people don't take lightly in F1. Though in all fairness, Hondas best years were when Willis was working with them.
Mercedes are clearly showing their intention to get the right people at the right places, I just hope they don't go the BAR/Honda way.
Aldo Costa had a better time at F1 compared to Willis. Although he started with Minardi, he moved up to the role of technical director at Ferrari, but later relinquished it in May 2011, a hint at him joining Mercedes perhaps.
Only time will tell how good these recruits are for Mercedes, for sure Michael and Brawn have experience working with Costa but Willis career has gone from a high to a low and there have been times when he was accused of things which people don't take lightly in F1. Though in all fairness, Hondas best years were when Willis was working with them.
Mercedes are clearly showing their intention to get the right people at the right places, I just hope they don't go the BAR/Honda way.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Indian GP Expectations
I hope they get the track ready in time. Looks like a decent track, and what will all the elevation changes and all should make for an interesting race circuit. I am all for circuits which promote overtaking but not artificial overtaking like what we witnessed at Turkey. Singapore was a good example of how the DRS zone should be .
Redbull would do well as expected, and unless the other teams find some dramatic form, I think it could well be a RedBull 1-2.
Fans in India are a lot more knowledgeable about cars, not race cars in particular, but they are passionate about cars which they own and i think it would bode well for the future. Having a circuit in a country where the fans love racing is far better than having a circuit in a country where the track is an exercise which the government has indulged in. The good thing about Indian track is that its built by a private company which sees the potential in building a race track and thats a very encouraging sign.
I hope to be there for the first ever F1 race in India, will update the blog with my first F1 experience, in the flesh.
Redbull would do well as expected, and unless the other teams find some dramatic form, I think it could well be a RedBull 1-2.
Fans in India are a lot more knowledgeable about cars, not race cars in particular, but they are passionate about cars which they own and i think it would bode well for the future. Having a circuit in a country where the fans love racing is far better than having a circuit in a country where the track is an exercise which the government has indulged in. The good thing about Indian track is that its built by a private company which sees the potential in building a race track and thats a very encouraging sign.
I hope to be there for the first ever F1 race in India, will update the blog with my first F1 experience, in the flesh.
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