Due to costs and the status of the economy NASCAR suspended testing this season, so the IndyCar Series is also cutting back.
Announcing a new testing policy, IndyCar Series teams will be allowed six private test days for 2009 with limitations on the numbers of miles and sets of tires based on the team’s number of full-time cars.
“Our 2009 testing policy strikes a fair balance between controlling costs and maintaining a level playing field…Â More info
The huge success enjoyed at the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix and first Formula One night race will enjoy a boost with developments taking place to increase overtaking.
After consultation between the FIA and the teams, minor changes will be made at turns one, 13 and 14 to improve overtaking. Road surface improvements will be done at turns five, six and seven, and revisions made to the pit-lane entry and exit, as well as the run off area at turn 22.
“While the circuit and the event exceeded expectations around the world, as with any brand new event, there are always things which we now know we can do better,” said Singapore’s technical and race operations director Michael McDonough on the official Formula One website…Â ….More info
…can’t help thinking how revolting this year’s generation of Formula One cars look.
The best looking of the breed is Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren, largely down to a trademark fancy paintjob, but I’ve seen that close up and it is no prettier in person than it is online. The problem is the vast fairground-go-kart like front wings and silly, skinny stepladder rear wings mandated by the regulations.
There have been plenty of ugly F1 cars in the past, but their aesthetic offence has often been an effort to…Â More info Â
Formula One’s rule-makers are poised to present its teams with a dramatic cost-cutting package for 2010 that goes much further than savings already agreed, as the crisis hitting the motor industry threatens more withdrawals from the sport.
With Honda seeking a buyer for its team and other manufacturers suffering a collapse in sales, the Federation International de l’automobile, F1’s governing body, believes that the sport is in a race against time and only a radical reduction in costs can prevent more teams from pulling out.
It wants the costs of competing to fall from upwards of…Â More infoÂ