Castrol and Tuason Racing School (TRS) is once again on the hunt for next racing star at the second Castrol Champions of the Future (COF). As the Philippines' premier grassroots karting program, this is the chance for kids ages 7 to 13 years old to live up their racing dreams and be discovered as a future racing champion. Enroll now as the COF Karting Clinic is all set on April 1 and 15, 2012.
The COF Karting Clinics will provide these young aspiring racers the basics of go kart racing under the tutelage of multi-titled champions JP and Mike Tuason, where 20 talented students will be given the a scholarship to compete at the three-leg COF Race Series starting on April 22, 2012.
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Motorsports
Words by Niky Tamayo | Photos courtesy of Nissan Europe
The gruelling 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race has traditionally been the venue for manufacturers to try out wild and innovative new technologies in motorsports. The rigors of racing flat-out at over 300 km/h for 24 hours non-stop are an excellent test bed of engineering prowess. As such, LeMans has seen some interesting technologies and innovations, such as rotary engines, gas turbines, turbo diesels, and most recently, hybrids. Yet despite the "Prototype" classification, today's LMP (LeMans Prototype) cars follow strict regulations in terms of size, shape and engine load-out.
At this year's race, however, Nissan and Highcroft Racing are doing something different. They're running an actual, honest-to-goodness... prototype. Developed in conjunction with Panoz Motorsports, who are no strangers to unusual designs, the DeltaWing promises to be a truly revolutionary race car.
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Motorsports
Words by John Luther Garcia | Photos courtesy of Honda Racing
With Honda sweeping the 2010 and 2011 driver’s, manufacturer’s, and team’s titles at the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), they aren’t resting their laurels for the 2012 Dunlop MSA BTCC season. Their latest assault comes in the form of the the jaw-dropping Civic New Generation Touring Car (NGTC) based on the new 2012 European Civic hatchback. We also expect that the Civic NGTC would be the basis for Honda’s entry to the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) later this year, tweaked to maximize the S2000 specification.
And what better way to unveil your latest racer than to put it through its paces at Brands Hatch and Donington Park. Matt Neal, triple BTCC and 2011 defending champion, reported that the car is ready to race after they fixed some minor problems during the shakedown. His Honda Racing teammate and last season’s runner-up, Gordon Shedden, was also very very impressed with the car and hoped that it will be ready soon for the season opener on the 31st of March.
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Motorsports
Words by Christopher Kho
In a sport dominated by 900 horsepower purpose-built monsters, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) is taking on the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb challenge in an all-electric production - a first in the brand’s history. Based on their road-going hatchback, the i-MiEV prototype is heading to the slopes of Colorado in the U.S. on the 8th of July to race against the clock to the heavens, driven by no less than legendary two-time Dakar Rally winner Hiroshi Masuoka.
Describing the Pikes Peak-bound i-MiEV prototype as “based on the production model” is actually a bit of a misnomer. You see, judging from the sketches from Mitsubishi, this prototype looks absolutely nothing like its road-going counterpart. The main cabin has been narrowed to fit just one occupant, while its wheelbase and track width extended so much so that it should more or less look like an odd Le Mans prototype Frankenstein.
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Words by Christopher Kho
Now on its third consecutive year, Sunshine STV is once again all geared-up to go for the 2012 edition of the Auto Rally Corporate Challenge (ARCC) this Saturday, March 3. This year's competition has left the beautiful roads of Subic and moved to a fresh new venue in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga. But as always, “on time, all the time” still remains to be the name of the game.
Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) takes the 2012 ARCC head-on with a fleet of four all-new Hyundai Elantra's. Heading the pack are Roadwise Motoring's Art Guevarra and Mike Reyes with Gef Buraga from the Elantra Club Philippines. The boys from Top Gear Philippines consisting of Dinzo Tabamo, Raynard Olarte, and Aeus Reyes occupy car number 2, while the jocks of Jam 88.3's Gearbox, Eric Tipan and Andre Palma, will be joined by HARI's own Adrian Santos from Brand Management in car no. 3. Of course, rounding up the pack is the all-star team of Ferman Lao representing Top Gear Philippines, 99.5RT, and Kotse.com; Wave 89.1 Racing Beat's Charlie Cruz; and yours truly.
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Words by John Luther Garcia | Photos and video courtesy of Honda Australia
Nope. This is not your typical stock Honda Jazz with a Mugen decal roaming the streets. Neither are its clustered foglamps and flared wheel arches just aesthetics for a car show. What you see here is a 245 horsepower Mugen-tuned Jazz that was re-engineered for rally racing. J.A.S Motorsports from Italy was responsible for turning the humble Jazz hatchback into a full-bred rally machine and was specifically built to compete in the 2012 Bosch Australian Rally Championship (ARC).
Underneath the hood is a 2.0L engine sourced from Mugen that pumps out a whopping 245 horsepower and 193 Nm of torque with a 9,000 rpm rev limit. While it maintains its front wheel drivetrain, this could very well be the fastest Jazz in the world! The J.A.S. Motorsports Jazz rally car will run under the Group 2 (G2) specifications of the Australian Rally Championship and will be driven by Mark Pedder with co-pilot by Claire Ryan, both of which are seasoned motorsports drivers. They will be joined by veterans Eli Evans and Glen Weston in a sister Jazz rally car, run by the Evans Motorsport team.
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Motorsports
10 February 2012
Honda eyes entry into the WTCC in 2012 with Euro Civic
Words by John Luther Garcia | Photos courtesy of Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
The FIA's World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) will have another manufacturer lining up on the grid this 2012 as Honda officially announced its entry into the championship with the all-new Civic. But with the car still under development and only less than a month until the season opens in Monza, Italy, the Japanese team has opted to participate only in the series of “inaugural rounds” starting in the Japanese round in Suzuka, followed by China and Macau. Hopefully, if things shape up well, they'll continue with their plans to compete in the full 2013 championship with a two-car roster.
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Motorsports
Words by Niky Tamayo | Photos courtesy of the Chrysler Group LLC
If your day job involves driving the fastest Ferraris in the most prestigious racing series the world has ever seen, you'd expect the perks to be among some of the best in the world. So, in a lead-up to the 2012 Formula 1 Season, Chrysler gave drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa a special pair of Jeep Grand Cherokees. While that may not sound like a very exciting prospect, consider that these are SRT8 models, equipped with a 6.4 liter 468 horsepower HEMI V8 and decked out in exclusive Ferrari Rosso Corsa paint and bespoke trim.
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