V8 Supercars: A Primer

 Saturday at the 2012 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 (Image courtesy of V8 Supercars, http://www.v8supercars.com.au)The following is a special guest editorial by Jon Etkins, an Australian native and Austin resident who's offered to share his knowledge love for V8 Supercars with AGP.

// V8SC

Circuit of The Americas' announcement this week that V8 Supercars will be racing at COTA in May next year, may have some folks wondering what all the fuss is about – who are these guys, what do they drive, and why should I care?  The short answer is that V8 Supercars are the Australian equivalent of NASCAR.  But there's a lot more to it than that.

Race Preview: Japanese GP

Michael Schumacher takes the Mercedes GP car out for Friday Practice at Suzuka (© activepictures.cz)

// Japan

It's the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, but before we dive into the race preview, let's spare a minute to talk about the latest shakeup in driver movements. As an F1 fan, you may know by now that Hamilton has made the final decision to depart McLaren and join the arms (or is it arrows?) of Mercedes for a three-year contract beginning in 2013. Hamilton has been groomed by McLaren for the last 13 years, one imagines that a decision like this is made with mixed emotions. In the case of Schumacher, to be essentially kicked out of Mercedes, just seems unfortunate for a 7-time WDC.

While McLaren uses Mercedes engines, McLaren has a noticeably faster car than Mercedes and has won more races this season than the factory team. Is this a wise decision from Hamilton and his management team? Can Hamilton shine at Mercedes? More importantly for this weekend's race, will the dynamic of the team change and therefore the performance of Hamilton suffer as a result in Suzuka?

The Championship title is still an open race at the moment, even with Alonso consistently leading with championship points, the 2nd and 3rd drivers on the leaderboard continue to shift between the top drivers. In terms of the track, it so happens that this year is the 50th anniversary of the famous Suzuka circuit. This classic figure-8 format has a great history of races, most notably the controversial drama between Ayrton Senna and Alan Prost in 1989 and 1990, which lead to Prost taking championship title in 1989 and Senna taking championship title in 1990.

With an abundance of low, medium and high speed turns, the track is quite demanding on the tyres for the duration of the this 53-lap race. Pirelli will be supplying this weekend's rubber with Hard and Soft tyres to help the cars conquer the terrains of this circuit. If the teams manage their tyres well, it may even be possible to do get away with one stop!

Even though Schumacher has won six times at this track and will retire and the end of the season, he hasn't really be able to break through this year except for one podium appearance. The fight may well be between Alonso and Vettel, who both have won twice at the track already. Button, Hamilton, Raikkonen all have won previously here as well, and will be brining the fight to Vettel and Alsonso to do their part to change up the championship scoreboard.

Have you made your predictions for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix? Will you be enjoying the race with sushi and sake?

As we await qualifying to begin later tonight, enjoy this Japanese GP Race Guide video, featuring Jenson Button of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, presented by Hilton HHonors.

The Stars At Night, Are Big and Bright

The Austin Grand Prix Presents: The Singapore GP "Pre-Party" at Star Bar

As drivers were waking up for their first day of the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix weekend, members of the Austin community gathered at the iconic Star Bar on West 6th Street to learn more about motorsports.

With a rapidly expanding public interest in Formula 1TM, The Austin Grand Prix invited guests to experience a taste of the grand prix lifestyle and learn about F1 TM in a social setting. Guests enjoyed an evening of networking as Event Partner, DNA Events, transformed Star Bar into a hip and happening venue (even more so than usual). Premier Party Central jazzed up the decor with gorgeous table linens and gave us the ability to showcase some of our favorite F1 photos taken at the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix. We have been working with DNA Events and Premiere Party Central throughout the year and they always know the right elements to bring to the table and help set the mood for our events. 

Colin Edwards Welcomes MotoGP to Austin

A Special Message from MotoGP rider Colin Edwards from The Austin Grand Prix on Vimeo.

We've got a very special message for our AGP readers from MotoGP Rider and Texas native, Colin Edwards.

MotoGP and Circuit of The Americas announced a 2013 race is officially set for April 19-21. COTA will be the first US circuit to host both the two-wheeled and four-wheeled championship series in the same year.

Today's announcement includes positive feedback from American MotoGP riders Colin Edwards, Ben Spies, and Nicky Hayden. Each shared their excitement for having a race close to home, and they're looking forward to being able to "drive to work" for a MotoGP race.

Colin Edwards

Adding a race to the U.S. schedule makes a statement that MotoGP is working to expand it influence on American soil.  The best way to grow our sport is to add races, and with events on the East and West Coasts—and now one in Middle America—it’s the perfect opportunity for more fans to see us in action. Plus, my family is really looking forward to jumping in a pick-up truck and driving up to Austin to see me compete.

Ben Spies

Who wouldn’t be excited to have a MotoGP race in their home state? I hope all of my CMRA, WERA and AMA racing friends and family storm the track. It will be so easy for me to cruise down to Circuit of The Americas from my house in Dallas.

Nicky Hayden

It’s great for riders and fans to have another MotoGP event in the United States, and Circuit of The Americas will give us a chance to expose more of our homegrown fan base to MotoGP in an up-close-and-personal way.

MotoGP fans from across the country will be coming to Texas to see their favorite riders compete in a spectacular event in Austin. Like Formula 1, MotoGP attracts a diverse international crowd and is known for some of the most dedicated racing fans. Having another international racing series at COTA will certainly solidify Austin's position on the worldwide stage.

Tickets will go on sale on October 16th and start at $133-199 for reserved seats, and just $89 for a three day general admission ticket.

// Show your support for two-wheeled racing coming to Austin! Get your COME AND RACE IT™ motorcycle shirt or hat, like Colin is wearing, by CLICKING HERE! 

F1 Goes "Gangnam Style"

PSY as featured on Billboard.com

I don't know exactly how to explain this, so I'm just going to let you watch the following video before the FIA removes it it mysteriously disappears.

Every Little Boy's Scalextric: Japanese Grand Prix

Suzuka Circuit, 2011 (image courtesy of Mercedes GP)

Tradition has it that Japan was always the last country visited on the annual Formula One calendar and it was invariably a Championship ‘decider’…that was until a raft of new circuits and new markets for the premier racing series opened up. Of course, in motor racing terms, Japan is still fairly ‘youthful’, having held its first GP as recently as 1976. Fuji Speedway (owned by Toyota) was the initial venue but Suzuka Circuit (owned by Honda) has superseded it, a factor that would have pleased the late, great Soichiro Honda no end.