Dope. #114

Image courtesy of Raymond Polak.

What to watch this weekend (July 27th - Aug 1st)

• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice. Friday @ 8am - 9:30am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) live
• Rolex Sports Car Series. Brickyard Grand Prix. Live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Friday @ 4pm - 7:30pm (SPEED/SPEEDHD) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8am - 9:30am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) live
• Mazda Motorsports Hour. Star Mazda: Iowa Motor Speedway (Episode #8). Sunday @ 12pm - 1pm (VelocityHD) new
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Race. Sunday @ 7:30am - 10am (SPEED/SPEEDHD) live - replay Sunday @ 12:30pm
• Top Gear (UK). Season 2 - Episode 8. James and Richard test the best new verts. Monday @ 9pm - 10pm (BBC America/BBC America HD) new replay
• Motorweek. Cadillac XTS. Tuesday @ 8pm - 8:30pm (VelocityHD) replay
• Chasing Classic Cars. Mini-marathon. Tuesday @ 3:30pm - 8pm & 8:30pm - 11pm(VelocityHD) replays
• Wheeler Dealers. Ferrari 308 GT4. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) replay

This time of year is great, because you get back to back F1 races and plenty of automotive action when flipping the channels. The German Grand Prix last weekend, while not answering many questions, did clear up a couple things. First off, Alonzo isn't as fortunate as he is consistent, the first driver to three wins this season with only ten races left. He drove one hell of a wet Q3 lap and that put him in the position needed to make victory a more direct path. Second, McLaren's consistency on podium is as ragged as ever. Button finally got to sip champagne after multiple ducks and now Hams has Schumi's luck. Third, the field is as close as ever. Force India finished with both drivers in the points for the first time in 3 years. Lastly, Lotus Renault is one or two races away from sitting next to McLaren in the 'clubhouse'. They've been steady accumulating points all these weeks and now are poised for big things; they just need a little something to put them over the top. In related news Red Bull Racing is still competing strongly as always and after some scrutinizing by the stewards, this past weekend concerning their re-engineered exhaust gas flow/downforce solution, they escaped penalty for the time being but will have additional eyes on them going forward. With so little room for advantage between teams, the real skill is where strides can be taken within the existing guidelines.

There's also Grand-Am Rolex racing tomorrow afternoon. For the first time in Grand-Am history, they have a race held at the legendary Brickyard, aka Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This racetrack is well known for NASCAR and IndyCar battles, harboring motorsport in the US for over 100 years. For those of you worried it'll be an oval track race, never fear! This will be a adapted road-course incorporating the main outer oval. This three hour endurance race will start Friday at 4pm. Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of MagicLardra.

Quick Vid: Tech Art 991 (Autoweek)

The crew at Autoweek bring us a good look at the all new 991-chassis Tech Art 911.

Video courtesy of Autoweek.

Motorsport Pron: 24 Hours at the Nuerburgring (Audi)

Audi brings us a look at the 2012 24hrs of Nuerburgring, run at the end of June. Enjoy.

Video courtesy of Audi.

Orbital Dreams: BMW X5M and One Lap of America 2012 (Drive Clean)

When I say it's been months since I've washed either of my cars, I mean it. I just spent another weekend cleaning and wrenching around my house. It's sad I've yet to step a foot into the garage this summer to play with my most recent set of wheels (that have been sitting for over a year) or my new wash bucket with the dirt grate, but that's life sometimes. It's also been quite a few months since a car-detailing post, so why not start today. This flick stars Drive network's Matt Farah, and Larry from AmmoNYC, documenting them as they participate in the 2012 One Lap of America. Matt is running a BMW X5M on the trip, so they decide to use some car care products on it to compare what happens with protection, and without, over ~4000 miles of highway and track driving. I've never used wheel protectant before, but I have a feeling I will be going forward. Don't forget to watch til the end.

Video courtesy of Drive.