Last year’s rally had two stages canceled due to security concerns regarding Algerian rebels. This year’s rally is set to depart from Lisbon, Portugal, on January 5, passing through Mauritania on January 11 en route to the finish line in Dakar, Senegal, on January 20, covering a total of 9000km (5600 miles).

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“We had a very extensive programme on our agenda, which we managed to work through almost completely,” Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang wrapped up the positive outcome of the tests. “In the end, we were lacking merely ten minutes, otherwise we could have even completed the final tyre test we’d been planning to do. I think we’ve worked out a good base for the race today.”

A strong impression was left by the four newcomers to Audi Sport Team Joest. In his Le Mans début at the wheel of an LM P1 sports car, Mike Rockenfeller (23) set the third-best time of the day behind Sébastien Bourdais (Peugeot) and Frank Biela (Audi). Lucas Luhr was the quickest driver of the number 3 Audi R10 TDI, while his team-mates Alexandre Prémat and Mattias Ekström, were only slightly slower.

At 3m 28.277s (237.362 kph) Frank Biela, managed the fastest lap so far of an Audi R10 TDI at Le Mans. That last year’s lap times were clearly beaten, however, cannot only be attributed to the evolution of the cars: With 13.629 kilometres, the circuit is 21 metres shorter than before and, particularly due to a modification in the “Tertre Rouge” sector, almost two seconds faster, as data logs have shown.

More than 20,000 spectators witnessed the test day at Le Mans, which took place without record winner Tom Kristensen. The Dane continues to recover from the injuries he sustained in the serious accident during the DTM season opener. Whether or not Kristensen will be able to compete at Le Mans on 16/17 June will be decided, at the latest, at the beginning of the race week.

To be optimally prepared even in the event that Kristensen should not be fit for racing, Audi Sport Team Joest changed the driver teams before the test day: Mike Rockenfeller and Mattias Ekström swapped cars because Rockenfeller, in terms of body size, is better matched with Dindo Capello and Allan McNish, while Ekström is more compatible with Lucas Luhr and Alexandre Prémat.

Up to the race, the three Audi R10 TDI cars will stay at Le Mans for trackside preparation for the week of the race by Audi Sport Team Joest. The race week will start for Audi on Tuesday afternoon with the public Technical Scrutineering on the Place des Jacobins. The first qualifying practice is scheduled to start on Wednesday (13 June) at 7 p.m. (local time).

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Dragtimes.com

The site also contains pictures and drag racing videos for many of the quarter mile times that can be searched through and compared by car make and model.  Each month one of the drag racing submissions is featured on the home page as an outcome of users voting for their preferred fast cars. Since all records are reviewed to uphold the website’s integrity, DragTimes.com serves as a useful resource to research what other fast cars are running around corner or around the world.

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It is the Team Australia Speed Comparison, which will pit a MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works Tuning Kit against a Champ Car and Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car over one flying lap of the Lexmark Indy 300 circuit.

Lexmark Indy 300 Marketing Manager Greg Price said the Team Australia Speed Comparison would be a tremendous showcase of the speed and handling of three awesome motor vehicles.

“The Team Australia Speed Comparison will be a handicapped one lap race which will see the MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works Tuning Kit take off on the flying lap first, to be closely followed by a Bob Jane T-Marts backed Carrera Cup Porsche, and then the Team Australia Champ Car chasing the two to the finish line,” said Price.

“Ideally all three cars should cross the finish line together. Last year this Speed Comparison proved to be a big hit with fans especially on Student’s Day Thursday, and looks set to be just as exciting this year thanks to the manufacturers of these vehicles.”

The Champ Car is a purpose-built racecar with a huge 750 horsepower engine and can accelerate from 0 to 100kph in 2. 2 seconds. It is an open-wheel, single seat vehicle powered by a turbo-charged 2. 65L Ford Cosworth V8 engine.

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car showcases the finest in European engineering. The streamlined and meticulously detailed Porsche moves with such grace that it is easy to forget it packs a powerful 400 horsepower punch at 7, 300 rpm which helps it fly from 0 to 100kph in 3. 2 seconds. The Porsche in the Team Australia Speed Comparison will be the Bob Jane T-Marts-backed entry in the Wright Patton Shakespeare Carrera Cup.

The MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works Tuning Kit is a registered road car with the capability to race in rallies. The MINI Cooper S has impressive statistics reaching 100kph from a standing start in 6. 6 seconds powered by a supercharged 210 horsepower (154 kW) 1. 6-litre four-cylinder engine, that hits peak power at 6950rpm.

“MINI is excited to be part of the speed comparison. We have just won the Alphera Dutton Rally Victoria outright on handicap beating more than 80 other exotic cars, so we’ll be sure to give patrons a flying lap they’ll remember,” said Justin Hocevar, National Manager MINI.

“With our go-kart style handling, and more than 40 years of motorsport experience we’ll be a mighty presence on the track,” Hocevar said.

The Porsche and MINI Cooper S weigh in at 1, 150kg and 1, 180kg respectively, but they are both heavier than the Champ Car which weighs in at around 700kg.

The Champ Car is the longest and widest of the three vehicles, at almost two metres wide and five metres long. It would provide a scintillating ride as its highest point is only 81 centimetres above the tarmac and it reaches top speeds in excess of 300kph.

The Porsche Carrera Cup car is slightly smaller than the Champ Car at 1. 8 metres wide and 4. 3 metres long. The distinctive MINI Cooper S is the smallest of the three at only 3. 6 metres long and 1. 4 metres wide, but the Mini still rides almost a metre higher than the aerodynamic Champ Car.

The Team Australia Speed Comparison is the only time race fans can see these three unique vehicles hitting the track simultaneously, allowing them to compare the speed and power of the machines with their own eyes.

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The second R10, driven by the Le Mans winning team of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner, was poised to finish alongside or ahead of its counterpart, but contact with a slower GT car pushed the team back to seventh overall and fourth in LM P1.

With the win, Audi clinches the Manufacturers’ Championship in LM P1, having already won both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship. It’s also the seventh straight Petit Le Mans victory for Audi and the tenth straight win at Road Atlanta.

Watching the diesel-powered R10 mow down its gas-powered competitors all season makes us a little more than excited for the start of the next 24 Hours of Le Mans where Peugeot is preparing to fight fire with fire by fielding its own diesel-powered Le Mans racer, the 908.

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Audi has reunited this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans race winning trio for the endurance classic: Taking turns at the wheel of the Audi R10 TDI, with start number 1, will be Frank Biela (Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany), who will race together again for the first time since their historic Le Mans victory in June. Marco Werner won the American Le Mans Series in 2003 and 2004 and has been heavily involved in the development of the Audi R10 TDI.

Audi scored six straight “Petit Le Mans” victories with the R10 TDI predecessor, the R8, between 2000 and 2005. The team, under Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, plans to extend this success series around one of North America’s most demanding circuits on 30 September. The 4.088 kilometre circuit located approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta features fast corners and elevation changes, is loved just as much by the fans as it is by the drivers and should suit the world’s most modern and fastest sports-prototype.

After winning the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships with two races to spare with Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland), it is now up to Audi Sport North America to win the Manufacturers’ Championship in the “Champions League” LM P1 class for Audi over the course of the two remaining races, and to continue the impressive victory sequence of the Audi R10 TDI.

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For the first year of its three-year stint as presenting sponsor of the event, Toyota F1’s TF106 racecar will be in attendance with full team support, including team driver Ricardo Zonta, giving fans unprecedented access to a state of the art F1 car as part of Toyota’s “Working Paddock Display.” Also in attendance will be a full array of Toyota racing machinery, past and present, including the GTO Toyota Celicas developed by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers that dominated U.S. sports car racing in the late ’80s. More modern machinery will include Rod Millen’s Pikes Peak hillclimb Celica, a Lexus Daytona Prototype, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck, and a Nextel Cup Camry.

Lexus is sponsoring an exhibit of motorsports artist Hector Luis Bergandi, well-known for his frequent contributions to Road & Track magazine.

The Monterey Historic is often described as an “automotive museum brought to life,” and it’s the largest event, with over 40,000 visitors, of the renowned classic car weekend in Monterey, California. The 33rd Rolex Monterey Historic will be held August 18-20, 2006 at the historic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Complete information on this event can be found here.

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You should know that the four-door sports car has competed in and completed two 24-hour endurance races and has been entered in its third, the Silverstone Britcar 24 Hour Endurance Race, which takes place on September 9th and 10th.

Mazda will be entering three cars in the Silverstone race that have been modified only to meet racing safety requirements and are otherwise stock, including their 1.3-liter RENESIS rotary engine.

Mazda began endurance racing the RX-8 back in 2004 when it set 40 records with two cars that drove more than 3,100 miles in 24 hours at average speeds of 132 and 134 mph.

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Will Ferrell plays Ricky Bobby, a dominant NASCAR driver “who could only count to number one”. The “big hairy American winning machine” is accustomed to placing first, with his childhood friend Cal (played by Days of Thunder vet John C. Reilly) close behind him. However, things get tough when a leg-shaving French Formula One driver (Sacha Baron Cohen, best known to most of us as Ali G) challenges him for the top spot. The trailer reveals plenty of spoofing on previous racing movies, and we’re betting that the combination of Ferrell and Cohen will produce comedic gold.

Talladega Nights is scheduled for an August 4th release in North America.

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Although the current regulations allow for both coupe and roadster body styles, different specifications for the two body types have given the roadsters the performance edge. The Bentley EXP Speed 8 shown above was the last hardtop to win the race, in 2003.

The rule change is intended to make the cars in the headline class look more similar to road cars. (You see lots of waist-high winged coupes on your morning commute, right?) Rules for the smaller LMP2 prototypes will be unchanged, allowing open-top cars.

The change will also affect the American Le Mans Series in the U.S. and the Le Mans Endurance Series in Europe, both of which run to ACO rules.

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