Goodguy's Hot Rod & Custom Car Show

Last Saturday I made it out to Goodguy's Hot Rod & Custom Car Show at the Orange County, California fairgrounds.

For the most part it was your typical hot rod car show. There was the "show & shine," featuring a wide variety of American muscle cars and trucks, some in crisp showroom condition, others modified to an extreme. A rockabilly band played, and there was a swap meet in case you're still looking for motor mounts for your '71 Charger Super Bee. A bunch of aftermarket vendors had convention style displays. Edelbrock's stood out since they had actual physical parts to look at and fiddle with. Chip Foose was there with his daughter, driving around in his Hemisfear.


This show had the highest proportion of kids in rockabilly getups, and rat rods on display, of any show in recent memory. Maybe it's Orange County, or maybe that stuff is picking up steam.

The highlight of the show was definitely the autocross. It seemed to be open to anyone who wanted to participate, and the participants were all manner of wild street rides. About half the cars were spare-no-expense Camaros and Chevelles; other notables were a couple hairbrained rat rods, an honest-to-goodness Ford GT, a Z06, an 80s C/K pickup truck from Car Craft magazine, and a Jaguar XJ with a Chevy 502 big block swapped in.


What can I say? Top three impressions:

1. Reading, thinking, and talking about cars is great and all, but there's no replacement for seeing them actually tear around a track. Driving around a track is even better.
   
2. In autocross skill is at least as important as hardware. The fastest cars on Saturday were definitely not the fastest cars on paper.
3. Why was every single hot rod a Chevrolet? It would have been nice to see a classic Ford, Mopar, or even non-Chevrolet GM make a showing.

If you have the opportunity to attend a show like this, by all means do. It really gets the juices flowing.

Here is Your Future Car

The future is now. The solution to solving foreign oil dependence and air pollution is not going to be corn based ethanol or fuel cells that mix oxygen and hydrogen to provide energy. The soultion is in advanced lithium battery technology. An American company, based in Watertown MA, is the leader in lithium battery technologies that provide power to automotive electric engines. This company, A123 Systems, already has a deal with GM to help produce the batteries for its much anticipated Volt. Now they have released an upgrade kit for a normal Toyota Prius at the price tag of $10k. Why isn't Toyota producing a Prius that allows it to be plugged into the wall already and has advanced batteries? Either A123 Systems is a technological leader far ahead of the world, including Japan, in battery technology or there is not enough profit in it for Toyota.

12 Hours of Sebring

The 56th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring has been run. A previous Street Level entry covered particular things to watch for. Here's how they turned out:

Peugeot vs. Audi
As predicted, the diesels had problems with reliability. although admittedly almost none of the issues were engine related. A hydraulic pump failure eventually ensured that the lone Peugeot would trail the Audis across the line. The Peugeot's fastest lap was quicker than the fastest Audi lap, so the 24 hour French classic in June should be a close fight.

Porsche RS Spyders vs. Audi, Peugeot
Also as predicted, the Porsche RS Spyders were just as fast as the Audis and the Peugeot despite being in the "slower" LMP2 class. Few people were surprised by Porsche's overall victory, although just as few predicted the podium sweep of LMP2 cars. An Acura squeezed its way between the first- and third-place Porsches, relegating the lead Audi to fourth.

Risi Competizione vs. Flying Lizard Motorsports
The Risi Ferrari was poised to take a second-straight Sebring victory until about the halfway point of the race. Jamie Melo, the driver who took the Ferrari across the line at the incredible end of last year's race, got into the grass on the inside of turn 7, then came across the track into the front corner of Dirk Werner's Porsche. Both cars limped through the grass in an attempt to get back to the pits, but both cars ended up parked in the grass. Jörg Bergmeister and Flying Lizard Motorsports took full advantage and the class victory.

Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge
This classic battle played out roughly as expected. The LG Corvette seemed to have the edge and posted the fastest lap time of the three, however it succumbed to overheating problems after less than 100 laps. The Viper then pulled from the Ford, which planted itself into a wall about 100 laps after the Corvette's exit. All three are expected to improve over the course of the season, so look for this battle to heat up.

The final class victors of the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring were:

LMP2: Romain Dumas - Porsche RS Spyder - Penske Racing
LMP1: Tom Kristensen - Audi R10 - Audi Sport North America
GT1: Johnny O'Connell - Corvette C6.R - Corvette Racing
GT2: Marc Lieb - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - Flying Lizard Motorsports

Formula 1 - What To Watch For

Early Sunday morning will mark the start of the 2008 Formula 1 season. After an incredibly exciting championship battle last season which saw Kimi Raikonnen edge out both McLaren-Mercedes drivers in the last race to win the season, several changes to the rules and teams should keep this season entertaining. Here's what to watch for:

Traction Control
For the past few years, drivers have employed the use of electronic traction control to get their cars off of the line and out of the corners. Starting this season, traction control of any kind is banned, and should add quite a bit of spice to the races. Drivers who have previously just powered out of corners or through difficult sections will have to carefully modulate the throttles on their cars or lose control of the back end. Watch closely during wet races or on tracks with limited grip, like the season-opening Australian GP.

Fernando Alonso
After winning two consecutive world championships, Fernando Alonso left Renault for McLaren-Mercedes, where he placed third in 2007 and had a much-publicized feud with his rookie teammate. This season, Alonso is back at Renault where he is apparently much more comfortable. Unfortunately, Renault has lost their way and did not regularly compete for podiums in 2007. Watch for Alonso to try to right this listing ship in spectacular style.

Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton put together a sensational rookie season in 2007, very nearly becoming the first ever rookie world champion. Now the darling child of McLaren-Mercedes, look for him to try to prove that his success was not a fluke.

Sebastien Bourdais
Winning four consecutive Champ Car World Series championships finally scored Bourdais a Formula 1 ride. Driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing's "little brother," Bourdais brings plenty of talent and open-wheel experience to the table. STR has had trouble scoring points, let alone fighting for podiums, so Bourdais will certainly have his work cut out for him. Ex-F1 backmarker Robert Doornbos had a moderate amount of success in Champ Car (winning Rookie of the Year in 2007), so few are expecting Bourdais to catapult STR to the front of the field. Like him or not, Bourdais is essentially representing the full might of American open-wheel racing, however ailing it might be, so it will be interesting to see how much success he finds in open-wheel's top tier series.

2008 12 Hours of Sebring - What To Watch For

The 56th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring begins Saturday, March 15th, at 10am. The race is almost always exciting and this year should be no exception. Here are a few specific things to watch for this weekend:

Peugeot vs. Audi
Last year, Audi stood alone in the (competitive) diesel camp, but will be joined this year by one of the diesel Peugeot 908s that ran at LeMans last year. While the 908s couldn't stay with the Audis last June, the practice times in Florida have been incredibly close. Reliability will be a factor here, as the close competition will push the still-relatively-new engine technology to its limit.

Porsche RS Spyders vs. Audi, Peugeot
Last season, the Porsche RS Spyders of Penske Racing were constant threats for overall wins, scoring several over the theoretically-faster Audis. Look for them to continue to pressure the bigger, more powerful LMP1 cars. Audi is going for its ninth-straight win at Sebring, and may get as much trouble from Porsche as from Peugeot.

Risi Competizione vs. Flying Lizard Motorsports
Last year, Jamie Melo in the Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 beat Jorg Bergmeister in the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 by a scant .2 seconds in what was one of the most exciting finishes in the race's long history. The Risi Ferrari ultimately took the championship as well, but look for Flying Lizard to try to take back what they feel was stolen from them last March.

Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge
For the first time in ALMS competition, Chevy, Ford, and Dodge will all be represented in one class on Saturday. Operating outside the factory-backed GT1 effort, three-time Speed World Challenge champions LG Racing are bringing their Corvettes to Sebring to compete in the GT2 class. Robertson Racing has brought a Ford GT-R to the party (one of the first to compete in the U.S.), reminding us of the mid 60's when Ford developed the original GT40 specifically to beat Ferrari on the racetrack. Also unrelated to past GT1 efforts is Primetime Racing's Viper Competition Coupe, which ran in a few events last season in preparation for a full 2008 campaign. All three of these efforts are without factory backing or extensive ALMS experience, so none are considered significant contenders for a class win, however the fight to be the Fastest of the Slowest should be entertaining.

While we can only hope for a finish as riveting as last year's GT2 battle, the 56th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring is almost certainly going to be one of the best races of the season.

Pontiac Spy Hunter Ad is Badass

Pontiac has a new ad for their new car, the G8, that is a must-watch. Click here to check it out on Jalopnik.com. There's a story about Pontiac's ad agency trying to force the video to go viral, but the real meat is the ad itself. It is a positively genius play on the classic game Spy Hunter, proof that all is not lost in the realm of automotive advertising.

Muscle Cars

This morning in his blog, Dilbert creator Scott Adams hypothesized about how the efficiency of the human body could translate to alternative automotive propulsion. His theory is that a human body can "eat a pork chop and run 26 miles," which far surpasses the efficiency of the internal combustion engine. Other creatures such as ants exhibit even better efficiency. Further, scientists have been able to create working muscles from cells grown in a lab. Putting all of this together, could muscles be grown and used in some form of power-generation system for cars?

Mr. Adams' hypotheses are typically well outside the box and this is no exception, however it does provide an interesting alternative to consider (along with some great mental imagery). Is there a place in automotive technology for "living" components like muscle motors, plant-based upholstery, photo-luminescent marker lights, etc?

Open Wheel Racing Merger Details

Today's IRL press conference provided the official details of the "merger" between the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series:

• The "new" series will keep the name Indy Racing League
• Teams will use the IRL's Dallara-Hondas.
• The season will start with a race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 29
• The Long Beach Grand Prix and the Indy Japan 300 will both be run on April 20.
  • Old Champ Car teams that are making the switch to the IRL will contest the Long Beach GP for IRL points and prize money using their equipment from the 2007 season
• All events scheduled to be on the 2008 Champ Car calendar are under consideration for possible integration into the 2009 IRL calendar, and in fact as many as possible will be integrated into the 2008 season
  • Long Beach is confirmed to have a place on the 2009 calendar
• Champ Car teams that can commit to the full 2008 season are receiving $1.2 million, plus leased cars and engines to aid in the transition

American Open-Wheel Split Over

Finally.

The persistent dream of any fan of either the Champ Car World Series or the Indy Racing League has finally arrived: The two series are set to merge in time for the start of the 2008 racing season.

For 11 years the series have been separate entities, fighting for teams, sponsors, and fans. Originally a matter of ovals vs. road courses, each series diluted itself to become all things to all people, with neither accomplishing the desired result.

Robin Miller's article at SpeedTV.com has all of the currently-available details, but the important points follow:

• Tony George, founder and current leader of the IRL, has offered free cars and $1.2 million to any Champ Car team that wishes to defect and is able to commit to the entire season.
• Four current Champ Car teams have committed to the switch, with at least one more probable, bringing at least eight cars to the current IRL lineup.
• The IRL is planning to integrate four current Champ Car race locations and dates into the 2008 calendar, including the Long Beach GP scheduled for April 20.

The result isn't so much a merger as Champ Car finally going under and the IRL salvaging the larger pieces. Few people, even die-hard fans of Champ Car, would argue that even this result is significantly better than two independent series. With any luck, the combination of the best open-wheel drivers, teams, and venues will attract long-lost fans and sponsors and return North American open-wheel racing to the top shelf.

--Update--
The deal is officially done, per Robin Miller's follow-up article.

The end of Viper

According to Jalopnik, the Dodge Viper will be discontinued, presumably as part of Cerberus-owned Chrysler's "Project Genesis" turnaround plan.

It's always unfortunate when a performance car goes extinct, if for no other reason than thins out the "biodiversity" in the car ecosystem. Gearheads like to compare stats, pros and cons, and pit cars against each other, both in reality and in our heads. But frankly I think this is the right business decision. Continuing the Viper just doesn't make sense.

The Viper made a lot of sense when it debuted back in 1992. Let's think back to what the performance car world was like in 1991. Horsepower was on a different scale. The Corvette made 245 hp. If you wanted a performance Mopar your choices were a turbo K-car (e.g. the 224hp Dodge Sprit R/T) or a rebadged Mitsubishi (e.g. the 195hp Eagle Talon). Then the 1992 model year rolled around. The 'Vette was upgraded to the all new, high-tech, "Gen-II" V8 making 300 hp. And the Viper debuted with 400 horsepower. That 400 was an ungodly, extravagant, jaw-dropping number. Dodge finally had a car that could sell posters and make it into video games. It was an exotic beast.

Over the following 16 years, that exoticness became the Viper's Achilles' heel. GM kept the Corvette's development costs low by using a highly tuned variant of their workhorse GenII/GenIII/GenIV V8s, and spread those costs among tens of thousands of sales every year. Meanwhile just about every major component of the Viper was unique to the Viper (except for the flash-in-the-pan Ram SRT10); the snake sold a few thousand units in the good years, and a few hundred in the bad. Over time GM's R&D outpaced Mopar's, and the Viper's initial performance advantage eroded to nothing.

How do things look here in model year 2008? Well, horsepower is up. Plebeian family cars like the V6 Chevy Malibu or V6 Dodge Charger make more horsepower than that '91 Corvette. In 2006 the 500hp, $63,800 Viper was bested by the 505hp, $60,300 Corvette Z06. After massive effort, the Viper was upgrated to 600hp, only to be toppled again by the forthcoming 620+hp Corvette ZR1.

To Chrysler's credit, it has a whole crop of legitimate enthusiast cars in its SRT lineup. Like the Corvette and unlike the Viper, the SRT cars use hopped-up variants of volume production engines, are mass produced in quantity, and are priced within reach of middle class buyers. And they're just hot enough to sell posters and make it into video games -- especially the SRT4 and upcoming Challenger. So what's the point of the Viper? Why bother developing the single-application engine, or keep that factory open, when Chrysler has other halo cars and can't hope to keep up with the Corvette?

There's also the business reality that higher CAFE standards loom, Chrysler leans heavily on its pickup truck and large car sales, and its latest generation of small and midsize cars are generally considered failures. Even worse, every other major manufacturer has some kind of fuel-saving technology up its sleeve: direct injection, hybrids, smaller turbocharged engines, or a small diesel. Chrysler doesn't. Shifting resources makes sense.

Taurus SHO

Recently a hilarious Craigslist ad for a 1994 Ford Taurus SHO made its rounds on the Internet (and has now been unfortunately removed). The SHO seems like a laughable concept now, and it's possible that it was laughable at the time as well. However, the idea of a factory-tuned sedan is hardly a bad one as shown by the Cadillac V, Mercedes AMG, Audi S, and BMW M cars. Further, Ford could certainly use a kick in the pants, as they've been churning out nothing but yawners (with the exception of the various Shelby Mustangs) for a few years.
The Big Three have admittedly been against the ropes for those same few years, but Ford is doing the best of acting the part. GM responded to the announcements of their imminent death by peppering the market with incredible cars and trucks of nearly every variety. Chrysler is riding the wave of optimism generated when they were pulled (thrown?) from the clutches of Mercedes Benz. Ford, on the other hand, has made careful and effective improvements to their products while somehow managing to avoid telling anyone about them.
A return of the SVT program would certainly help to draw attention to some of their better products. The Focus and the Fusion (and the Milan and MKZ) would respond well to a performance boost, and would draw attention to their capable platforms. A current-generation Taurus SHO may not have the same flavor as those from the 90's, but there is certainly room in the Ford lineup for a power boost. John Coletti, where are you?

The next time you laugh at a scooter....

9 times out of 10, when I see someone riding a scooter around town, I have to laugh. It just looks funny. I don't know why but it does. However after seeing an article for the Piaggio MP3 500, I will have to eat my own words. This scooter moves with a 500cc engine making 40HP. That is not too bad for a small scooter. The real interesting part to this motorized bicycle is that it is really a tricycle. Thats right 3 wheels. With two wheels in the front and the one rear wheel this scooter is built for cornering. Similar to swaying on a normal motorcycle. Take a look at the Piaggio website. Oh did I mention the top speed is 90MPH.
Piaggio MP3 500

They Don't Make Cars Like They Used To

Leafing through an auto mag from sometime around 2003 revealed the following ad:

The obvious intent is to imply that the Mustang has old-school power, brawn, and attitude. Looking at it through the eyes of a 2003 Mustang driver, who is all-too-aware that the underlying chassis is from 1979 resulting in old-school (meaning archaic and ineffective) handling and body control, it takes on an entirely different meaning.

With No Star To Guide Them

GM has just announced the cancellation of its plans for an advanced DOHC V8. The premium engine was the presumed replacement for the Northstar V8, which ceases production in 2010. Rumors and speculation abound, but the consensus seems to be that Cadillac will soon find itself without a V8. Two years ago that idea would have been preposterous, but the success of the direct injection 3.6 liter V6, along with the looming demands of CAFE legislation suggest that this might be just what the General ordered.
The current 3.6 liter engine produces 304 hp, which places it above the Deville's Northstar, and just 16 hp shy if the STS's V8 powerplant. Sales have shown that this is sufficient to attract STS buyers, and is clearly on par with engines in midsized offerings from BMW and Mercedes. But one must wonder what has happened to GM's plans for offering a large luxury sedan to compete with the S Class Mercedes and Seven Series BMWs. Just a few short years ago, GM officials were dropping hints about a 7/8 scale version of the V16 concept car, powered by a DOHC V12. With Cadillac's recent success in the market it seems that now is the time to carry out that plan and re-establish Cadillac as one of the world's premier luxury marques. Yet it seems that GM is heading in the opposite direction. Have they lost their way, or is this all part of clever plan? We'll see.

Who needs race cars...

Racing improves the breed... Sometimes it to the point of irony. Ever since GM decided to take the fifth-gen Corvette racing, fans have been treated to a stunning series of victories. Most notably, the Corvette C5R and C6R won in class at Le Mans five times in six years. A stunning success by any measure.
So, if racing truly does better the breed, then one might be expecting some significant results by now. Well the results are in and it appears that something is working right with the Corvette engineering team. Whether it's the racing effort, the market demand, or just a little rivalry with the Dodge's Viper, something has inspired the engineers to let loose with a high performance Corvette variant that puts the C6R race car in it's place. You read that right. The new Corvette ZR1 actually boasts higher power output than it's racing sibling. Chevrolet Racing claims the C6R produces approximately 590 HP when they take it racing in ALMS. The new ZR1 promises "at least 620 HP" thanks to a new 6.2 liter supercharged V8. How can it be that the race car is out powered by the street-going little brother? We can thank regulations in ALMS and other race series which specify the maximum inlet diameter on each car's engine. The C6R is forced to breath through two inlets that are each about the size of a half dollar. The ZR1 on the other hand can use whatever size inlets the engineers specify. And of course there's that supercharger. As one would expect, engine is just part of the story. The ZR1 has more go-fast, stop-fast, and turn-right-freakin-now equipment than you can shake a stick at. All of this is allegedly going to cost about $100,000 - or about 2/5 the price of a Ferrari 599 GTB.
So there you have it. The question of the day is this: If 590 HP is enough to win Le Mans, what are all those Corvette driver's with 620 HP going to do?

Z-06? ZR-1? C6RS!

Anyone holding their breath for the much-anticipated Corvette ZR-1 can exhale.

For a small fee of $225,000, Pratt & Miller and Chevrolet will wrap a carbon fiber shell around you and a 500 cubic inch aluminum small block V8, giving you control over 600 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. ALMS fans will recognize Pratt & Miller as the company responsible for preparing the Le Mans-winning Corvette C6.R race cars, and their experience doing so carries directly over to the C6RS. P&M have set up a dedicated website for the car, and AutoWeek covers more details in their November 5 article, but the bottom line is 0 - 60 in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 202, center-lug wheels, interior upgrades, brake and suspension enhancements, and a whole lotta badass.

Kimi Raikonnen Breaks Through with Style

For only the eleventh time in F1 history, the World Championship was contested by three drivers coming to the last round in Brazil. Only once before, in the first year of Formula One, did the third place driver overcome the long odds to take home the championship, but that is exactly what happened this past weekend.

Kimi Raikonnen lived up to his nickname of "Iceman" throughout the duration of the Brazilian GP, despite the championship resting not only on his victory, but on luck as well. Even if Kimi won the race, points leader Lewis Hamilton would have to finish worse than 5th to give the Raikonnen the title, and fans of F1 know that luck is something the Finn has never had much of on the track.

Against all odds, Raikonnen won the race and Hamilton suffered both navigational and mechanical difficulty, and finished just far enough back for Kimi to take the championship.

2007 24 Hours of Le Mans - Finish

9:00 am Sunday
After 369 laps (3125 miles), the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans has concluded. The class winners are:
LMP 1: #1 Audi Sport North America Audi R10 (Biela, Pirro, Werner)
LMP2: #31 Binnie Motorsports Lola Zytek B05 - 40 (Binnie, Timpany, Buncombe)
LMGT1: #009 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9 (Brabham, Rydell, Turner)
LMGT2: #76 IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Narac, Lietz, Long)

For a complete listing, please see the official website of the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans.

2007 24 Hours of Le Mans - "Live" CoverageSection 3

8:19 pm (ET) Saturday
Coming back from the latest break in Speed Channel coverage, we learn that the #80 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 has been retired due to a cracked crankcase. Unfortunately this prevents any kind of final-hour battle between Jorg Bergmeister and Jamie Melo such as at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

9:14 pm Saturday
We have had a chance to get up-close footage of several Peugeot pitstops, and during all of the recent stops, mechanics have pulled louvers off of the sidepods of the car to pull rubber bits out of the radiators located there. We have just learned that the 908s are in fact having cooling problems, even in the cool night air. When Audi first introduced the R10 and ran at Sebring, they experienced similar problems and attempted similar mid-race solutions. Both teams have gone to their most open louver patterns at the expense of a small amount of added drag. Audi eventually reconfigured the cooling system of the car after that Sebring race, so Peugeot may have trouble rectifying the problem while still here at Le Mans.

9:35 pm Saturday
During an interview in the Team Oreca pits, Steve Saleen has revealed that he has stepped down from his leadership position at Saleen, Inc. According to Saleen, he is "there in spirit" and "still supporting the company," however he is directing his efforts at a company aiming to import Chinese cars to the American market. This is no doubt somewhat disappointing to fans of the Saleen S7, and leaves one to wonder what is in the water that would cause the likes of Malcom Bricklin and Steve Saleen to busy themselves with these ventures.

9:52 pm Saturday
The #82 Team LNT Panoz Esperante has been wheeled into the garage, likely for extensive repairs. The #81 sister car retired some time ago, continuing the lackluster performance of Panoz cars at Le Mans. With the exception of the unlikely GT2 win last year, the Panoz cars have been relatively unsuccessful. This is somewhat surprising considering Dr. Don Panoz started the American Le Mans Series himself.

10:38 pm Saturday
The #55 Oreca Saleen S7R has been wheeled back into the garage with starter trouble. This was the leading Saleen and was running 6th in class when it came in.

12:00 am Sunday
An interview with Team LNT owner/driver Richard Dean revealed that the #82 Panoz Esperante suffered a suspension upright failure, necessitating a lengthy repair and dimming the hopes of a repeat class victory. The sister #81 Panoz, the only other Panoz in the field, retired from the race after less than 70 laps.
Also out of the race are both Spyker C8 Spyders.

12:20 am Sunday
The class-leading Ferrari F430 of Risi Competizione has been wheeled into the garage with front radiator damage. The cause of the damage is unclear, although it is severe enough to warrant a radiator change. This will certainly take a number of laps, putting the Ferrari's previously-dominant lead in jeopardy.

12:55 am Sunday
Prodrive Aston Martin has suffered a slight setback with the #007 DBR9. It has apparently taken an off-course excursion and damaged the front splitter to the point of needing replacement. The car is currently in the garage although it appears to be a quick fix.

1:35 am Sunday
The race leading #2 Audi R10 has been pitched into a tire barrier; replays show one of the wheels coming off of the car prior to the incident. Rinaldo Capello has left the car and it appears as though his day is done.

5:45 am Sunday
The Risi Competizione #97 Ferrari has been retired from the race, presumably due to complications with the radiator damage sustained earlier. The sister #99 car is still running, and is in fact second in class.

6:39 am Sunday
Peugeot's lead entry has been wheeled into the garage where the engine cover came off in a hurry. Two mechanics are thoughtfully holding the engine cover in front of the garage door, completely blocking any camera shot. This is possibly an evolution of the cooling problems that have plagued the two French entries throughout the race.

6:52 am Sunday
An interview with Giuseppe Risi has revealed that the radiator damage on the #99 Ferrari F430 caused irreparable water pump damage that then retired the car.

7:22 am Sunday
The #7 Peugeot has been brought out of the garage and back to the track. The exact issue is still unknown, although it is strongly suspected to be electrical. The car then stalled twice on leaving the pits, although it isn't known if the stalls are related to the other problem. Unfortunately the car has spent enough time in the garage that a podium finish is incredibly unlikely.

7:37 am Sunday
The ailments to the #7 Peugeot have proven terminal, as the car has been officially retired from the race.

8:14 am Sunday
The safety cars have been deployed due to the torrential rain that has been pounding the track for the last hour or so. This is bad news for the remaining Corvette Racing C6R, as it had been running significantly quicker than the leading Aston Martin DBR9 in the rain. The Vette is still one lap back of the Aston, so it will not be able to pass while under the safety car. Corvette Racing is obviously opposed to the safety car deployment; their arguement is that no cars had yet gone off of the track due to the rain.
The remaining Peugeot has just come in for what looked to be a routine pit stop for a final splash of gas, but it was immediately put up on dollys and wheeled into the garage when it came in.

8:20 am Sunday
It has been reported that during a previous interview with Oliver Gavin, he indicated that the reason for the prop shaft failure that put the #64 Corvette Racing C6R out of the race was caused by a harmonic vibration which occured when two of the engine's cylinders were shut down as a fuel-saving measure during a safety car period.

8:49 am Sunday
With just over ten minutes left in the race, the safety cars have been parked and the racers let loose. The strongest implication is in the GT1 class, where Ron Fellows now has a chance, however slight, of catching David Brabham in the lead Aston Martin DBR9.

2007 24 Hours of Le Mans - "Live" CoverageSection 2

5:35 pm (ET) Saturday

An interview with Oliver Gavin revealed the reason for the "disqualification" of his Corvette Racing C6R: a regulation stating that the cars must move along the track under the power of their drive motors. It was not the aid he received that dropped him from the race, but the fact that he could not repair the damage to the drivetrain.

The previously-wrecked Audi R10 has also withdrawn from the race, no doubt due to damage sustained in the massive-looking crash earlier.

5:57 pm Saturday

The #2 Audi R10 has just come in from the lead for a pit stop. Rinaldo Capello has remained in the car for what will be his third stint, which is not itself unusual. What is interesting is that the Audi crew put a fresh set of tires on the R10 before sending it out. Since driver changes normally only occur during stops including tire changes, the implication is that Capello will stay out for another stint past this one, for a total of four straight, which is two more than normally expected.

6:37 pm Saturday

Flying Lizard Motorsports has been getting a fair amount of attention this weekend for their paint scheme performed by Troy Lee Designs. This Spring at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Flying Lizard Porsche 911 put up a last-lap fight with the Risi Competizione Ferrari 430. Unfortunately, it looks like the #80 911 will struggle to fight with the Ferrari again, as it is currently in the garage sporting a large oil slick along the left rear of the car.

It has been reported that earlier in the race, the passenger door actually blew off of the car, heavily damaging the rear wing as it came off. The current problem is apparently due to a gearbox issue that they have been struggling with for most of the day.