Formula 1
Kimi's BACK!
Yes, Kimi "Idon'tknowhowtospellhislastnamebuti'lltryanywaysafterthisquote" Raikonnen, AKA The Iceman, returns to F1 with team Lotus (see confusion below) after a two year hiatus during which he competed in World Rally and random left turn only Nascar events. His win at all costs, fear nobody, give one dimensional interview, party like a rockstar attitude will surely bring some more personality to the staid, hypoallergenic world of Formula 1.
While two teams ran under the Lotus name in 2011, one has come out the victor. The new Team Lotus is the former Renault F1. With the name change comes a complete driver overhaul, gone are the three drivers from 2011. Vitaly Petrov, Nick Heidfeld, and Bruno Senna have all been ousted in favor of Kimi and GP2 Champion Romain Grosjean.
Another former Renault F1 driver, Robert Kubica, or as I like to call him (phonetically) Bobby Cube, will miss his second season in a row. A non-F1 related crash in a rally race left Bobby severely injured just before the start of the 2011 F1 season. Recently, while still undergoing rehabilitation, Bobby slipped on some ice outside his home in Italy. With a freshly broken leg, rehabilitation will be incredibly slow and difficult leading some to wonder if Kubica will ever make it back into a Formula 1 car.
Oh yeah! That other Lotus team, the one that is usually closer to the back of the field, it's changed its name to Caterham, whatever that's worth.
There are some other driver changes amongst the midfielders but they're probably not hugely relevant to the outcome of the championship.
The established order will be shaken up a bit due to new rules and regulations but reality will soon set in and whoever has the most money will make the most gains. Here are the rule changes in a nutshell: blown diffusers are out, 1 three-day in-season testing session added, lapped drivers can unlap themselves under a yellow flag.
MotoGP
Claiming rule teams (CRTs) are also added to the mix. For those unfamiliar, these are bikes with prototype frames housing modified production engines. Some say this is the future format of MotoGP.
Andrea Dovizioso moves from Repsol Honda to take Colin Edwards' ride at Tech 3 Yamaha while Colin, considered to be one of the best development riders ever, joins Forward Racing on a BMW powered Suter bike.
Ducati looks to regain its former glory by reverting back to a more traditional aluminum frame from its hard to tune carbon fiber monocoque. Rossi will be very hungry after coming off his worst season in the premier class.
Le Mans
Toyota enters the LMP1 class with a gasoline-hybrid and Peugeot's diesel 908 bows out.
This info session probably isn't as complete as it could be. Feel free to add in the comments below
The biggest change in the sports car world I think is the move toward the GT3 standard in Grand Am, with NASCAR money and factory supported GT3 customer cars from the likes of Audi and Porsche (and hopefully BMW and Mercedes in the future) Grand Am is in a position to take a large chunk out of AMLS.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a ton of flux happening within IndyCar. This season is really a tipping point for the series. With Dan's death looming over the entire series and a new car that is already having issues whether it tips positive or negative is up in the air!