Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to enter 2014 Australian Safari

Mitsubishi’s top selling Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is set to tackle a new frontier when it takes on one of the toughest off-road events in outback Australia next month.

With technical support from Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL), Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Australia (TMR Australia) will enter a plug-in hybrid Outlander PHEV in the iconic Australasian Safari, which takes place in Western Australia from 19-27 September.

It will be the first plug-in hybrid four-wheel drive officially entered in an Australian motorsport event – including the Safari, which is considered one of the most demanding off-road endurance rallies in Australia.

Experienced local driver and co-driver team of Steve Glenney and Bernie Webb will put the TMR Australia petrol electric Outlander PHEV through its paces during the nine-day outback event.

The Outlander PHEV will compete in class A1 for production vehicles, in a category specially created for hybrid or dual powered vehicles.

TMR Australia’s Australasian Safari entry marks the third international off-road rally outing for an Outlander PHEV since its launch in late 2012. Previously, the Outlander PHEV’s all-terrain performance and durability have been tested in the Thailand, Cambodia Asia Cross Country Rally, which the Mitsubishi SUV successfully completed in 2013 and 2014.

TMR Australia Outlander PHEV Safari Team Principal Alan Heaphy said the Australasian Safari is a challenging event that demands stamina and endurance from competitors and vehicles alike.

“We’re very excited about building the first plug-in hybrid to compete in the Australasian Safari,” he said.

“The Outlander PHEV showcases the latest Mitsubishi hybrid and four-wheel drive technology, making it an ideal platform for an entry in the Australasian Safari.

“From our long-term experience working with Mitsubishi products, the quality of engineering and technology is a good match for motorsport, and we’re looking forward to proving the Outlander PHEV’s durability and technology in genuine off-road conditions.”

Competing in Australasian Safari production class A1, the Outlander PHEV will be built to meet FIA specification with only minor modifications made for durability and safety.

To help it withstand the punishing conditions, the Outlander PHEV will have extra underbody and frontal protection, reinforced suspension arms and strut towers along with competition brake pads, rally tyres and springs with adjustable dampers for added strength and durability.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is the world’s first plug-in hybrid SUV. It uses Mitsubishi Motors’ advanced electric vehicle technology by combining a 2.0L MIVEC petrol engine with high output 60kW twin front and rear motors, high capacity 12kWh drive battery and regenerative braking system for maximum efficiency and performance.

Mitsubishi Motor Company will support the TMR Australia Outlander PHEV Safari entry by sending three plug-in hybrid specialist engineers to Western Australia for technical assistance during the gruelling seven day event, which will cover more than 2,500 competitive kilometres through sand, salt plains, dry river beds and rugged desert tracks.

The 2014 Australasian Safari concludes in Kalbarri – 600 kilometres north of Perth – on Saturday 27 September.

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WORLD FIRST: Electric Racer beats field of petrol powered cars.. twice

With less than 4 weeks to go until the inaugural FIA Formula E race in Beijing China, an electric race car in Australia has already made history.

In what is believed to be a world first, a battery powered Radical SR8 entered by ELMOFO in the NSW SuperSports State Championship has become the first electric car to win a race against petrol vehicles in a sanctioned race event. To prove it was no fluke, it won twice!

Not only did the EV win two of the three races comprising round four of the championship, held 17th August at Wakefield Park Raceway, the ELMOFO Radical, driven by Garth Walden, also set the fastest lap time for the entire meeting (57.6870 sec) beating all other categories which included Formula 3 and Sports Sedans.

The ELMOFO Radical is similar in concept to the current Nürburgring EV lap record, the TMG EV P001 built by Toyota Motorsport GmbH and the TMG EV P002 modified by TOYOTA Racing Development U.S.A. to tackle Pikes Peak in 2013.

The race winning electric Radical SREV was built by Newcastle based Solar PV systems firm Solar Power Australia. The car delivers 280 kw (375 hp) and 570 Nm (428 ft-lbs) of torque almost instantly from its twin sequential BLDC motors. Power is controlled by dual Rinehart Motion Systems inverters which are fed voltage from a 37 kWh lithium ion battery pack controlled by a Batrium BMS. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a single speed limited slip differential. Performance specs for the all-electric racer, built on a Radical SR8 chassis, include 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.5 seconds, 0 to 160 km/h (100 mph) in 6.5 seconds with a top speed of 265 km/h (165 mph).

The 2014 CAMS NSW SuperSports Championship is mostly a one-make series for Radicals, with a couple of Stohr WF1 single seaters also contesting the series. The ELFOMO team have worked hard over the previous three rounds to debug the car and the wins are a just reward for achieving solid reliability. Since the beginning of the season the car has demonstrated it had raw speed by routinely qualifying on the front row of the grid. In only round 4 of the championship the battery powered racer dominated from the front with Walden blasting well ahead of the pack for the first 4 or 5 laps and then backing off a little to preserve the car.

The ELMOFO team would like to thank Rinehart Motion Systems, AM Racing, Batrium, Garth Walden Racing, Royal Purple and the Supersports Racecar Club Committee who have been very supportive of the car, scheduling some races of a length that the battery powered vehicle could complete to ensure it’s inclusion in the series.

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Audi may move to 4MJ Hybrid class for 2015 WEC

Audi looks certain to continue racing its Le Mans 24 Hours-winning R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 with only one hybrid system in next year's World Endurance Championship.

Audi Sport boss Wolfgang Ullrich told AUTOSPORT that no major changes to the concept of the R18 turbodiesel were planned in the development drive to increase the LMP1 car's level of energy retrieval for 2015.

Asked if that meant there would be no second system to supplement the 2014 R18's front-axle braking retrieval system, he said: "We will try to do what is possible in a short period of time.

"We must be more competitive, but we must be reliable. There will not be big concept steps.

"We will try to have a little bit more hybrid power: we have talked ideas of what we can do on the basis of this car."

The R18 runs in the two-megajoule P1 sub-class, whereas rivals Toyota and Porsche, which respectively have second rear-axle and exhaust-driven systems, are entered in the 6MJ division.

Ullrich's comments suggest that Audi is trying to at least move up one class to the 4MJ category.

Audi abandoned a second, Formula 1-style turbo-driven retrieval system ahead of the start of the season.

Ullrich said that the sale of Williams Hybrid Power, which developed its flywheel energy-storage system, to global engineering group GKN in April would not affect its LMP1 programme.

"We will get support at least at the level we had before, so we are not concerned," he explained.

"The existing flywheel technology is not at its limit."

The GKN flywheel used by Audi has a maximum storage capacity of 1.2 MJ of energy while the supercapacitor used by Toyota can store up to 6 MJ.

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David Cameron has given great street racing events the green light

IMAGINE the sight of a Jaguar D-type doing battle with a Ferrari 250 TR, or perhaps a pair of Caterhams ducking and diving as they fight for the perfect line through a tight corner.

It’s an entertaining enough prospect to make you book a ticket for Brands Hatch or Silverstone, but what about watching some proper, full-throttle action on, say, Ormskirk’s one-way system? Well, thanks to the concerted efforts of some racing buffs and a largely unexpected move by the Prime Minister, it’s not as far-fetched as you might think.

Last Friday, seemingly out of nowhere, David Cameron announced he was going to give local authorities the green light to close off public roads for motorsport events. In other words, the powers-that-be are free to close off your nearest high street, suspend the normal speed limits for an afternoon, and stage races – or time trials or sprints, for that matter – for your entertainment.

Personally, I think it’s a corking idea. Having long been involved with West Lancashire’s efforts to re-enact the street racing glamour of Monaco, the Ormskirk MotorFest, I’ve asked for years why the road closures can’t be used for something a bit more dramatic than parades of old cars and motorbikes. The local authorities liked the idea.

The event organisers seemed up for it. The petrolhead public – who were already sold on the idea of seeing a 1978 Saudia-Williams F1 car tootling past the parish church – were all in favour. Yet, thanks to an obscure clause in a bit of legislation passed more than 25 years ago, shutting off a road and using it for racing was very much against the law.

That’s why a display of sports cars in Ormskirk town centre last Saturday to promote this year’s MotorFest couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. By sheer coincidence, the team behind one of the few shows in the country which actually puts racing cars on real roads were showing off cars to the town’s shoppers, the day after the Prime Minister effectively gave them permission to up the stakes.

Mike Ashcroft, chairman of event organisers Aintree Circuit Club, told me: "The announcement is excellent news, because that aspect of the law has been the single biggest stumbling block for events like the MotorFest, which is now attracting more than 30,000 people into Ormskirk every year.

"The event brings so much money into the town centre, and hopefully this change will give other local councils the confidence to host their own events in other parts of the country. I think there could definitely be an Ormskirk MotorFest with a more competitive element in the future, as long as there the people in place to organise it."

By all means don’t hold your breath; there won’t be any flat-out, fully-fledged racing battles on Ormskirk’s one-way system at this year’s event, but it’s great to know Ormskirk – or a street near you – could play host to some Monaco-esque motorsport magic in years to come. I’m really looking forward to it.

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Record Breaking Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle Run at Pikes Peak [VIDEO]

Record Breaking Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle Run at Pikes Peak by Greg Tracy.

Tracy climbed Pikes Peak in the Mitsubishi I-MiEV Evolution III and shatters Monster Tajima's 2013 Electric Modified Class record by 38 seconds with a 09.08.188 record time.

Greg Tracy came in 2nd overall beating everyone in the competition except for overall winner Romain Dumas in his Honda powered 2013 Norm racer.

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TESLA P85 Vs Electric MIATA - 1/4 mile Drag Race [VIDEO]

A Tesla Model S P85 takes on an Mazda Miata with an Electric Motor Conversion in a 1/4 mile drag race.

The tube frame and tubbed 2002 Mazda Miata runs 2x 2000 amp Zilla 2K-EHV controllers feeding dual brushed DC NetGain 9-inch motors, a Lenco 2 speed and double GV overdrive.

The boot mounted battery pack contains 450x LiPo 100C RC car batteries wired 90S5P that are good for 775 peak battery HP @ 375v. For the record run the controllers were set to 170 volt & 1100 amps per motor.

The Miata runs an incredible 9.27 @ 142 mph to the Tesla's very respectable 12.72 @ 102 mph.

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Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution III Wins Pikes Peak Electric Division & 2nd Outright

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) entered two MiEV Evolution III all-electric racecars, which combine the best of MMC's electric vehicle (EV) and four-wheel drive control technologies, in the Electric Modified Division of the 2014 edition of the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (Pikes Peak, June 23 to June 29) in Colorado, United States.

Race Day was held on Sunday June 29 and after posting the fastest time of 9 minutes 08 seconds 188, Greg Tracy won the Electric Modified Division honors and 2nd overall. Meanwhile, Hiroshi Masuoka set a time of 9 minutes 12 seconds 204, finishing 2nd in the division and 3rd overall, dominating the Electric Modified Division. These Race Day results and the performance of the cars during the event speak volumes about the advanced level of MMC’s EV and four-wheel drive control technologies.

The race starts at an elevation of 2,862 meters and takes competitors through 156 corners on a 20 km course to the finish on the 4,301 meter summit of Pikes Peak. With an elevation difference of 1,439 meters, atmospheric pressure, temperature, weather and other conditions vary significantly between the start and finish. A feature of the race course is that it is split into three major sections: Bottom at the foot of the mountain, Middle and then Upper near the summit.

Lined by coniferous trees, the Bottom section starts with its rhythmical series of mid- to high-speed corners but all of a sudden the drivers hit a series of much tighter and difficult turns which demand the utmost care and concentration.

The Middle section is distinguished by some spectacular scenery with oddly-shaped rocks closely bordering the road. This is a very technical section as shortly after the start a series of tight hairpin bends demand precise handling as the car races along the steeply ascending road.

The Upper section is a very high-speed course taking competitors through many fast corners between craggy rocks and boulders. With little guard railing at the side of the road, this very difficult section brings with it the risk of plunging over the edge should the car slide off the tarmac. This is why the highest levels of vehicle stability are required over the high-speed parts of the section. At 4,301 meters, the mountain summit is higher than Mt. Fuji and the thin air means that cars powered by internal combustion engines lose power the higher up they go. Electrically powered cars, however, are unaffected by the thin air and so this could prove the key section in setting a really fast overall race time.

Position	Driver	Vehicle	Time
1	Greg Tracy	MiEV Evolution III	9:08.188
2	Hiroshi Masuoka	MiEV Evolution III	9:12.204
3	Tajima Nobuhiro	E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special	9:43.900
4	Ikuo Hanawa	HER-02	12:18.019
5	Janis Horeliks	2014 Tesla Roadster 360	12:57.536

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Voltron Evo win Australian eFXC electric Formula Xtreme

Round 1 of the 2014 Australian electric Formula Xtreme Challenge - eFXC - was help today at Queensland Raceway.

Five electric superbikes made the record grid with first time entrant O'Hanlon Electric Motorsport winning all four heats with their new Voltron Evo ridden by Danny Pottage.

Built in Western Australia by Dr Chris Jones, the new bike is based on a custom frame fitted with Turnigy 40c LiPo RC batteries that provide 700 VDC to an Evo Electric AFM-140 Axial Flux BLDC motor good for 400 Nm peak, 250 Nm continuous.

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Behind the Scenes with Virgin Racing Formula E Team [VIDEO]

Watch behind the scenes footage of Sam Bird in the Virgin Racing garage at Donington Park.

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Outlander PHEV to Tackle Asia Cross Country Rally 2014

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announces that it will dispatch a team of technical support engineers for an Outlander PHEV entered in the T1.3 4x4 Electric class of the grueling 2,200km FIA-certified Asia Cross Country Rally 2014 (AXCR) from August 9 through 15, to be run from Thailand to Cambodia. The Two & Four Motor Sports rally team (Two & Four), headed by Kenji Ishida, will run an Outlander PHEV in the race for the second straight year. MMC engineers will provide Two & Four's team technical support for the plug-in hybrid four-wheel drive SUV for the duration of the rally. MMC will utilize valuable data and knowhow acquired by the technical support team in future vehicle development.

The 19th edition of the AXCR will get under way with the Ceremonial Start in the Thai beach resort of Pattaya on Saturday August 9. The next day, August 10, sees the start of the rally proper as Leg 1 takes entrants from Pattaya to Sakaeo. On August 12, Leg 3 of the rally takes the competitors into Cambodia and past the World Heritage site of Angkor Wat. The event finishes in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Friday August 15. The AXCR covers a total distance of 2,200 km and offers a grueling test of all-terrain performance and durability as it requires competitors to conquer mountains, forests, swamps and river crossings.

The Outlander PHEV rally car will use competition suspension and reinforced mountings to raise ground clearance and improve all-terrain performance over poor surfaces. The vehicle's S-AWC integrated vehicle dynamics control system will be tuned for competition use to deliver better traction. Other modifications include the fitting of a roll cage and underbody skid plate, the use of lighter engine hood, rear gate and interior parts, and additional sealing and a snorkel for water crossings.

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Toyota Hybrid Takes Record Breaking Pole at Le Mans [VIDEO]

Toyota Racing's Kazuki Nakajima set a new Le Mans qualifying lap record to put the #7 TS040 Hybrid in pole position for the 82nd running of the famous 24-hour endurance race this weekend.

It was the first pole position ever for a Japanese driver and lowered last year's pole position time by more than half a second.

Nakajima, who shares the #7 car with Alex Wurz and Stéphane Sarrazin, scorched around the 13.629km track in 3 mins 21.789 secs to record Toyota's second pole position at Le Mans.

The feat highlighted the performance and efficiency of the 736kW Toyota Hybrid System - Racing which set the fastest qualifying time despite a 25 per cent reduction in fuel consumption compared with last year's car.

The #8 car of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi will start Saturday's race from third on the grid.

As well as starting from first place on the grid, the TS040 Hybrid enters this year's race with two wins from the opening two FIA World Endurance Championship races.

This is the fourth pole position for Sarrazin who achieved the honour in 2007-09 and who has been runner-up three times, including last year. He praised the team for its work in setting up the #7 car and Nakajima for a "brilliant lap".

"It is promising for the race because we feel so confident in the car," he said. "We can push on every corner, every lap. Like that everything is positive. The race will be very long, we know that we have to be very calm and not attack it like a short sprint."

The 24-hour race begins at 11 p.m. tomorrow AEST.

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John McGuinness breaks TT Zero lap record [VIDEO]

TT legend John McGuinness won his 21st TT race on Wednesday morning when he took the SES TT Zero race in record-breaking style.

Riding the Mugen Shinden, McGuinness was always in the lead and with a stunning new lap record of 117.366mph, he came home 23.3s clear of team-mate Bruce Anstey. Rob Barber, on the Ohio State University Buckeye machine, took third.

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Mitsubishi enter two MiEV Evolution III racecars for 2014 Pikes Peak

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will enter two MiEV Evolution III all-electric racecars in the 2014 edition of the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (Pikes Peak, June 23 to June 29) in Colorado, United States. MMC will use two MiEV Evolution III all-electric racecars, which combine the best of MMC's electric vehicle and four-wheel drive control technologies. MMC has competed twice before in the Electric Division in 2012 and 2013, and now with the MiEV Evolution III, hopes to take its first victory, this time in the new Electric Modified Division.

The MiEV Evolution III racecar is an improved and evolved version of last year's MiEV Evolution II. Main components including high-capacity battery, high-output electric motor and electric powered 4WD consisting of four electric motors have been retained with improvements made to give better motive and cornering performance. To reduce weight in the pipe-frame chassis the design has rationalized and some structural materials have been replaced.

Total motor output of four motors has been boosted from 400 kW to 450 kW and to ensure all the extra power is put down on the road surface the tires have been uprated in size from 260/650-18 to 330/680-18. Accordingly downforce has been increased with a new carbon cowl design and with wind-tunnel optimization of the spoiler and other detail shapes. Evolutionary development of the S-AWC integrated vehicle dynamics control system has improved traction control performance and has reduced wheel slip by controlling vehicle attitude more precisely when near the limit of adhesion. These improvements allow the driver to extract the full potential of the racecar's awesome handling with confidence and reassurance.

The race team will feature the same drivers as last year. One MiEV Evolution III will be driven by two-time Dakar Rally overall champion Hiroshi Masuoka, who piloted the MiEV Evolution II to second place honors in the Electric Division last year and also act as team captain. The second MiEV Evolution III will be piloted by Greg Tracy, six-time Pikes Peak motorcycle champion whom last year drove a MiEV Evolution II to third place in the Electric Division, his first time challenging the race on four wheels.

The team technical director and chief mechanics are mainly all engineers in MMC's Development Engineering Office. Responsible for the maintenance of the racecars during the hill climb event, they will also be gathering data and knowhow which will be fed back into the advance development of MMC EV technologies, its S-AWC (Super All-Wheel Control) integrated vehicle dynamics control system and into the company's "e-EVOLUTION" - a fusion of electric motor drive and the S-AWC system.

• MiEV Evolution III Specifications

Length x Width x Height (mm)			4,870 x 1,900 x 1,390
Drivetrain			4WD using 4 motors
Motors (Made by Meidensha)	Configuration		4 (2 front, 2 rear)
	Maximum output (kW)		450(112.5 kWx4 motors)
Battery (Made by LEJ)	Maximum capacity (kWh)		50
Chassis			Steel pipe frame
Cowl			Carbon
Suspension		Front	Double wishbone
		Rear	Double wishbone
Brakes (Made by ENDLESS)		Front	φ 380 mm disc with 6-pot calipers
		Rear	φ 330 mm disc with 4-pot calipers
Tires (Made by Dunlop)			330 / 680-18
Wheels(Made by Enkei)			13J-18
Control system(Made by dSPACE)			Production i-MiEV ECU with MicroAutoBox*1

*1: Programmable general-purpose ECU

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Nissan launches GT-R LMP1 WEC and Le Mans programme for 2015

Nissan will take on Audi, Toyota and Porsche in the World Endurance Championship from the start of next season.

Nissan has confirmed that it will mount a two-car attack on the full WEC with a car to be known as the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO.

Nissan vice-president Andy Palmer explained that his company wanted to exploit the new energy-based P1 rules introduced for this season by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest at Le Mans and the FIA.

"We applaud the ACO and FIA for the work they have done to get the rules right," he said.

"LMP1 is not just an arms race - all our rivals in the class have taken different technical approaches and we will be doing the same."

He explained that Nissan wanted "to win in a very different way to that of our rivals".

"We won't be turning up in a vehicle that is a basically another hybrid that looks like another Porsche, Audi or Toyota — they all look the same to me. Our intention is to do something that is a little bit different."

Nissan, which made its announcement in London on Friday afternoon, has yet to disclose technical details of the car or where it will be built.

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ELMOFO Electric Radical First Race at Eastern Creek [VIDEO]

The Electric Radical SR8 built by Newcastle based ELMOFO had it's first race yesterday at Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek).

With Garth Walden at the wheel for the first official CAMS sanctioned race meeting for an Electric Vehicle. The instant torque can make this car a bit of a handful on tight track sections, particularly with cooler tyres.

The ELMOFO Radical, the current electric lap record holder, was the only electric powered vehicle in a field of petrol powered cars in Race 1 of Round 1 of the NSW SuperSports State Championships.

The car performed as expected during practice, qualified 3rd (of 7) in it's class and was positioned 5th (of 9) on the grid for the start. The 2 front runners are super-light and faster Stohr racers which are in a different class to the Radicals.

The 500 hp and 600 Nm of instant torque enabled Garth to wheel spin his way to the front of the Radical field which he led for the whole race until the last 150m where a technical issue caused a sudden power drop and let 2 cars pass just before the finish line.

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NISMO ZEOD RC's Electrical System Explained [VIDEO]

Jason from Engineering Explained has a look at the ZEOD RC's Electrical Systems and Zero Emissions on Demand motors that are capable of making the car go at 300km per hour!

While the video does show a close-up of the enclosure for the 400 volt 12 kWh battery, the only other details provided are that the twin BLDC motors are rated at 120 kw each.

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Monster Tajima prepares for Pikes Peak 2014 [VIDEO]

Nobuhiro Tajima and his APEV Monster Sport team are preparing for their third year at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb with Battery power.

Nine-time Unlimited division champion Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima will be gunning for outright course record again after he was the first to break the 10 minute barrier with an electric vehicle at Pikes Peak in 2013, even surpassing the 9:51.278 he turned in during the 2011 race in a 900 hp Suzuki SX4, when he was the first driver ever to crack the Peak’s elusive ten-minute barrier.

The outright hill record goal posts have been moved significantly this year by nine time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb setting a time of 8:13.878 in a 900 hp 900 kg Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak Special.

When asked after the 2013 event about beating the new gasoline record, Tajima responded: “We are able to do that very soon, it depends on the battery. With a high quality and high density battery, I can beat that record for sure.”

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Why this special edition BMW M5 will be one to remember

BMW has celebrated the 30th anniversary of a performance car institution by unveiling its most powerful production model ever.

The BMW M5 30 Jahre – roughly translated into English as 30 Years of the BMW M5 – is a special edition of the flagship saloon which offers up 600bhp from its 4.4 litre V8 engine, 40bhp more than the standard model.

While that might not sound much in an era when the world's fastest production car, the Hennessey Venom GT, pumps out more than twice that, but it's worth remembering that the M5's V8 now produces just 27bhp less than the BMW Motorsport V12 used to propel the McLaren F1 to 241mph. It also means the new special-edition M5 can haul you, three of your closest petrolhead friends and their luggage to 60mph in just 3.9 seconds - yes, the Nissan GT-R is faster, but it's nowhere near as practical.

Just 30 of them, costing £91,890 each, will be imported into the UK It's also fairly safe to assume this extremely-limited edition M5 will become one of the more sought after offerings from BMW's Motorsport Division, joining the likes of the E30 M3 Evolution and the E46 M3 CSL as one of those Munich performance machines which attracts a cult following among fans of BMW's ballsier offerings.

Since the car’s introduction in 1984 there have been five generations of the M5, which are all versions of the regular 5-Series saloon tuned by BMW’s Motorsport division.

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WEC 6 hours of Spa Francorchamps 2014 (full race) [VIDEO]

With the FIA having put all World Endurance Championship live TV coverage behind a pay-wall for 2014, we are indeed fortunate that enthusiastic Youtubers are willing to upload the entire 6 hours of Spa Francorchamps for those of us who prefer free TV.

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Not one, but two great Lancashire car shows

THAT bit of the A59 between Burscough and Maghull was my passport to petrolhead joy over the weekend. For a change I had not one, but two great car shows right on our doorstep to check out!

Yet – even if you’re someone with Castrol R coursing through your veins – these two events couldn’t have been more different. If you’re a car-loving Champion reader they were both within easy reach, but they’re emphatically the chalk and cheese of motoring. That’s why – even though I only had a day to do it – I had to go to both.

That’s why last Saturday morning you’d have found me wondering around the golf course up the road from Aintree Racecourse, with the grandstands where I’d lost a small fortune on some horses just a few weeks earlier still fresh in my memory. I was, however, totally in my element with the horsepower Aintree was offering up this time around – lots of it, under the bonnet of just about every racing car imaginable, at the same place where Stirling Moss won the British Grand Prix for the first time.

If you’ve never been to Liverpool Motor Club’s sprint events at Aintree Circuit then get the next one in your diary, because it’s seriously underrated full-throttle fun. For next to nothing, you can spend the day watching Lotus Elan 26Rs, track-prepared Caterhams (pictured) and single seater racing cars screaming and screeching their way through the corners in an effort to eake out the quickest lap time possible. It’s fast, frantic and always good for a few dramatic helpings of oversteer, and last Saturday’s event proved no exception.

I’d have loved to have hung around simply to see how quickly an Aston Martin DB6 could be hammered down Sefton Straight – which might sound like a bit like seeing how quickly you can throw a priceless painting down a flight of stairs – but I had a second car show to get to before the afternoon was out.

The Riverside Steam and Vintage Rally also had scores of beautiful classic cars to check out. It was just nice, after hours of wheelspin and full-throttle starts, to chill out and chat with their owners about why they loved their automotive antiques. If you’re sort of person who knows what an Austin A55 Cambridge is without having to punch it into Google – or why it’s nicknamed the Farina – then you’ll have loved the laid-back, nostalgic vibe of this two-day event, a stone’s throw from Tarleton.

Yes, I know the main attraction is all those steam-powered traction engines beloved of Fred Dibnah types but I was more than happy just to immerse myself in a world of Morris Bullnoses, Ford Populars and Triumph Spitfires for a couple of hours. I don’t know how – especially considering how long I’ve been doing these columns for – I’ve managed to miss the Riverside gig every year since its inception, but after being hugely impressed by the variety of cars on show it’s definitely one I’ve got into my diary for next year.

All this and it’s only the start of a great season of car shows. Roll on Lydiate, Hundred End, Bank Hall and Ormskirk! Keep an eye for my full reports on both shows in Classic Car Weekly

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