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Petersen Museum Opening Perfect Exhibit For Fans Of F1’s Recent History

Starting on July 24, the Petersen Automotive Museum will open an exhibit dedicated to Formula 1’s recent history. “Pole Position: The Juan Gonzalez Formula 1 Collection” will display 10 cars from the sport’s last four decades.

As the name would suggest, the exhibit features F1 race cars owned by Juan Gonzalez, the chairman of the board of Mission Foods, a Texas-based company that makes tortillas and sponsors the McLaren F1 team, as well as the Arrow McLaren SP Indy team.

The cars on display will be the 1987 Lotus 99T, a 1994 Williams FW15D, a 1995 McLaren MP4-10, a 1999 Ferrari F399, a 2005 McLaren F1 MP4-20, a 2008 McLaren F1 MP4-24, a 2011 McLaren F1 MP4-26, a 2013 Ferrari F138, a 2017 Scuderia Toro Rosso STR12, and Fernando Alonso‘s boldly colored 2018 McLaren MCL33.

The collection follows the development of Formula 1 through the decades as aerodynamics became increasingly sophisticated and the sport entered its modern era. With cars like the Williams FW15D, the collection is also historically relevant, giving an insight into the interim car that Williams slapped together once its electronic driver aids were banned by the FIA.

Although it’s unclear exactly which drivers each car was assigned to, the exhibits represented in this collection raced while F1 greats such as Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, and more were on the teams.

“’Pole Position’ is guaranteed to excite our guests, especially those who are avid F1 fans or gearheads,” said Petersen Executive Director Terry L. Karges. “Seeing these cars up close and personal is a rare opportunity. Anyone who is fascinated by the mechanics of speed and aerodynamics will be entranced by this stunning display of sophisticated machinery.”

The exhibition opens on Saturday, July 24, and runs until June 5, 2022.

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Race-Winning Ferrari 550 GT1 Is Expected To Fetch More Than $2.2 Million

A Ferrari 550 GT1 that raced in the FIA GT Championship is heading to auction next week and is expected to sell for between €1.8 million and €2.2 million ($2.19 million – $2.67 million).

This 550 is chassis 115811 and was purchased by Italian Andrew Garbagnati before making its race debut in the first round of the 2001 FIA GT Championship at Monza. It was driven by former Formula One drivers Emanuele Naspetti and Mimmo Schittarella but was forced to retire due to a steering failure.

Watch Also: Richard Hammond Gets Reunited With His Old Ferrari 550 Maranello

In subsequent races at Brno and Magny-Cours, it finished in fifth and fourth respectively. It went on to secure another fifth place at Silverstone and during a race weekend at Zolder in Belgium, clinched the pole position. The car later competed in the 24 Hours at Spa where it qualified second and briefly led the race. Unfortunately, it retired after just six hours with a broken crankshaft, the RM Sotheby’s listing reveals.

The 550 GT1 missed most of the 2002 season but did compete (although it retired) in each of the final three rounds. It continued to compete throughout 2003 and claimed two victories at Italian GT races at the A1-Ring. The car went on to take three overall victories during the Italian GT Championship and came third in the standings. During this time it was occasionally driven by Toto Wolff, the current boss of the Mercedes F1 team.

Since being retired, the car has been comprehensively restored and features wears the same Red Bull livery it had in 2002.

The most expensive Ferrari 550 GT1 sold at auction fetched $4.29 million last year. Its value was increased by the fact that it won the 2004 Spa 24 Hours and secured the FIA GT Championship title that same year.

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Photo credits: Paolo Carlini for RM Sotheby’s

Watch How Monaco Gets Turned Into A Racetrack For The Grand Prix Weekend

With the Monaco Grand Prix coming up this weekend, you might have been wondering how the country turns its streets into the iconic racetrack dubbed “the crown jewel” of the F1 calendar. There’s now a video for that, and it shows the impressive process in full detail.

The race runs normal streets, so keeping them up to the standards set by the FIA is no easy task. Over the course of about 3 weeks leading up to the race, roughly a third of the 3.3-km circuit is resurfaced to remove any imperfections that could adversely affect the drivers. The work typically takes place at night and in sections so as not to disrupt the normal flow of traffic.

About 6 weeks before the race, they begin setting up temporary structures. With the help of a dedicated team of engineers, around 600 trucks carry in the facilities, most of which are prefabricated to save time.

The pits arrive in 120 different sections, which are assembled with cranes over 14 days like a giant set of building blocks. Grandstands are set up primarily near the waterfront, although there are others at the casino section and tunnel entrance. In terms of barriers, over 21 km of safety railing and 20,000 square meters of catch fencing are installed to keep both the drivers and spectators safe. Lastly, footbridges and gangways are set up to help pedestrians better navigate the area during the weekend.

Despite all this, even during race days the roads are only completely closed between 5:30 AM and 7:30 PM, which really highlights how the whole process, from setup to cleanup, is truly an incredible feat of logistics, coordination, and engineering.

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This Aston Martin Vantage Is Formula 1’s New Safety Car

The Formula 1 World Championship is getting a new safety car this year in the form of a specially-equipped Aston Martin Vantage.

Adorning the new safety car is the same shade of Aston Martin Racing Green as the automaker’s new Formula 1 car. The Vantage also features a Lime Essence pinstripe across the front lip, side skirts, and rear diffuser.

Like the Mercedes-AMG GT that will share the role as Formula 1’s official safety car with partner brand Aston Martin this season, the Vantage has a prominent light bar sitting atop a carbon fiber plinth. This light bar hasn’t just been designed to flash when the car joins the track but it has also been designed to offer the least possible aerodynamic resistance and optimizes air flow towards the rear wing. The latter is also equipped with a rear-facing camera that feeds a live image into a secondary rear-view mirror in the cabin.

Speaking of the interior, it has been equipped with FIA-approved racing seats with six-point safety harnesses. The center console has also been modified and now supports a switch control system used to operate various functions, such as activating the car’s siren, radio communications, and controlling the light bar.

Aston Martin also tweaked with the performance of the car, extracting an additional 24.6 hp from the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, bringing power up to 528 horses. The new front splitter also adds 60 kg (about 132 lbs) of extra downforce over a road-going Vantage while the British marque has also tweaked the suspension, steering and dampers.

The car will be driven by Bernd Mayländer.

Joining the Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car in the F1 paddock this year will be an Aston Martin DBX serving as the official medical car. It too has Aston Martin Racing Green paint with Lime Green accents, a distinctive livery, LED rear number plate, and a roof-mounted LED light bar.

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The Full Trailer For Netflix’s Drive To Survive F1 Docuseries Has Landed

Netflix has finally dropped the full trailer for the third season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive docu-series, which airs on March 19.

Season 3 of Drive To Survive will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 F1 championship, which was by any means unconventional due to the global pandemic and the special race calendar enforced by it.

All 10 teams of the F1 grid appear to be present in the new season, which is divided into 10 episodes. “In the most dramatic series to date, fans will once again be taken behind the scenes, to witness first-hand how the drivers and teams battled it out for victory – this time in a year like no other”, Formula 1 said in a statement.

“Intense battles, fierce rivalries, unexpected podiums, and Lewis Hamilton’s incredible seventh world title will ensure the series is one of the most action-packed yet.”

Of course, one of this season’s highlights will be an in-depth look at the fiery accident of Romain Grosjean at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The trailer also shows clips of Lewis Hamilton, Valterri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Sebastian Vettel, Charles LeClerc, and more.

What we’re also eagerly waiting is for the Sakhir Grand Prix episode, where George Russell replaced Lewis Hamilton, who then tested positive for Covid-19, at Mercedes. Russell went on and proved his exceptional talent behind the championship-winning Mercedes W11, leading the race for 59 laps before a pit stop mix-up robbed him of his maiden win.

The third season of Formula 1: Drive To Survive debuts on Netflix on March 19.

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ByKolles Racing Unveils Its Le Mans Hypercar Racer, Including Road-Legal Variant

Shortly after Toyota and Peugeot unveiled their Le Mans Hypercar racers, ByKolles Racing has pulled the wraps off its own competitor for the exciting new endurance class.

Dubbed the PMC Project, ByKolles Racing’s hypercar won’t just compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship but will also spawn road-legal and track-special variants.

Driving the ByKolles PMC Project race car is a naturally aspirated V8 engine that will be capped at approximately 700 hp in line with Balance of Performance rules. Interestingly, both the Peugeot and Toyota competitors have hybrid systems. The PMC Project will tip the scales at 2,292 lbs (1,039 kg).

Road-legal variant of the ByKolles Racing PMC Project

The track car will also be powered by a naturally aspirated V8, albeit with a 650-hp output and a weight of only 2,094 pounds, while the road-legal version will utilize a hybrid system alongside the V8 to deliver a combined 1,000 hp. The car’s engine will be capable of running on biofuel and the racing team is targeting a total weight of 2,204 lbs (1,000 kg).

Images of the three variations show that the Le Mans racing car and the track model will look virtually identical with a prominent front splitter, sharp headlights, a large roof scoop, and a prominent sharkfin connected to a towering rear wing. The road-legal model is also very similar to the track models but ditches the sharkfin and rear wing.

The Le Mans car and the track model will both feature a single seat mounted at the center, while the street car might add an additional seat, or even two.

The 2021 Le Mans Hypercar class will see the ByKolles Racing PMC Project competing against the Toyota GR010 Hybrid and the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus 007; Peugeot’s contender will make its debut in the 2022 season.

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Indiana Dealership Is Selling A NASCAR Toyota Camry Driven By Michael Waltrip

It’s not every day that you see a legitimate NASCAR racer hit the used car market, but that’s exactly what we have here.

This 2010 NASCAR Camry was formerly raced by Michael Waltrip and has been listed through a Toyota dealership in the small Indiana town of Warsaw. It has an asking price of $59,999, which sounds quite reasonable for a proper race car with some racing heritage.

Very few details are provided about the vehicle on the Facebook Marketplace listing, such as what races the car competed in. Nevertheless, it says that the TRD V8 engine is still operational and that the car can be driven. Of course, it isn’t street legal and could only be used during private track day events.

As you’ll notice, the car wears the number 55 and a little bit of research reveals Waltrip started racing his number 55 car in 2006 and completed his first full season with the car in 2007 but had a dismal year, at one stage failing to qualify for 11 consecutive races.

The number 55 car continued to complete during 2008 and 2009. However, it is difficult to know just how many number 55 cars the team went through during those seasons or how many races this one has under its belt.

In any case, the Marketplace photos show the car has retained its original racing livery and is sitting on the dealership floor on a set of car jacks. NASCAR racers are not the faint-hearted, though, so if someone purchases it with the intention of driving it, they better bear that in mind before taking to the track.

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