Dope. #139

Image courtesy of Elliott Photography.

What to watch this F1 weekend (Mar 15th - Mar 20th)

• Formula 1 - Australian Grand Prix; from Melbourne/Albert Park Circuit. Practice. Friday @ 12am - 3am (NBCSN(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Australian Grand Prix; from Melbourne/Albert Park Circuit. Qualifying. Saturday @ 2am - 3:30pm (NBCSN(HD)) live; replay Sunday at 12am
• Formula 1 - Australian Grand Prix; from Melbourne/Albert Park Circuit. Race. Sunday @ 1:30am - 4am (NBCSN(HD)) live; replay Sunday at 1pm,10:30pm
• ALMS - 12 hours of Sebring (FL). 61th annual running of this historic race. Saturday @ 10:30am - 12pm, 1pm -7:30pm, 10:30pm - race finish. (SPEED/SPEED2.com webcast)
• Top Gear (UK). Season 19, Ep.7: Africa Special Part 2. Monday @ 9pm - 10:20pm (BBCAmerica(HD)) new
• Chasing Classic Cars. Season 5 mini-marathon. Monday @ 7pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) replays
• Top Gear (US). Mammoth Mountain. Tuesday @ 9pm - 10pm (HistoryChannel(HD)) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 8pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) replays

We have one hell of a weekend ahead of us, starting with Practice #1 starting at 12am Friday morning at the Australian Grand Prix. There are a ton of story lines for the coming season; Hams at Petronas Mercedes, Sergio Perez not replacing Massa like many people thought last year (who kept his job at Scuderia Ferrari), but replacing Hams at McLaren Mercedes; Vettel and Webber back at it again with Newey and the gang, Raikkonen and Lotus Renault trying to improve upon their standing from last Fall...then there are the 2013 rules changes. If that wasn't enough we have the 61st running of the Sebring 12 Hour race for ALMS. Instead of only SPEED2.com hosting the race this year the race will be on SPEED -- albeit broken into chunks. The Top Gear (UK) season finale is airing next Monday night on BBC America. Top Gear America is on break. Last, but not least, the current season of Fifth Gear (UK) (Season 22) will start airing on the Velocity channel at the beginning of April. Enjoy your race weekends!

Video courtesy of BBCSport, hosted courtesy of fiftythreebucks.

Rally Pron: The Wye Dean rally in a Ratty BMW 325i (Drive)

With the WRC Season upon us I thought this was extremely appropriate; Chris Harris on Cars brings us a look at the Wye Dean rally that he recently competed in. The car used for the task was an E30 chassis BMW 325i. Even this "Ratty" rally car of his has a better dash than the red coupe. What an outrage! Enjoy.

Video courtesy of Drive.

Quick Vid: World's fastest Minis - Mini JCW GP vs ZCars Mini Busa (Autocar)

Autocar brings us two of the most hardcore Mini Coopers out there; one is a production model you can buy as a 2013MY car and the other is a extremely tuned original mini still retaining it's rear-wheeled drive setup. Enjoy.

Video courtesy of Autocar.

Automotive Workshop: Triplex Suspension Explained - Inside Koenigsegg (Drive)

In this second episode of Drive Networks' 'Inside Koenigsegg' series, Christian Von Koenigsegg talks us through the unique triplex suspension utilized in their Agera road car.

Video courtesy of Drive.