Red Bull Motor Sports Racing

Daniel Ricciardo finally got his hands on a trophy for keeps in Spain but insists Red Bull knows it has plenty of work to do to get close to Mercedes. Ricciardo was disqualified from the opening race of the season in Australia for being in violation of the FIA's fuel-flow limit after finishing second on track, but crossed the line third in Spain for his first official podium.
Ricciardo finished 49 seconds behind race-winner Lewis Hamilton and he insists Red Bull still believes it can close that gap. "It's really nice to be on the podium and I'm sure I'll be able to keep it this time," Ricciardo joked. "It's nice to stand back up there, I still feel a little bit awkward up there but I'll get used to it. "They [Mercedes] were a long way ahead. I think coming into the race today we knew a boring race would be a pretty good one for us.
We knew we didn't really have the pace for Mercedes. We looked like a third-place car and in the end that's what it was. We had a pretty comfortable third place and we just had to focus on getting the tires to last two stops and that was it."

The defending World Champion started Sunday's race at the Hungaroring in pole position but he slipped to P2 behind Lewis Hamilton as he struggled on the wet track. Things didn't get much better after the second round of pit stops as he dropped to fourth behind the two McLarens and his team-mate Mark Webber.
However, the move to put him on super soft tires for his last stint, as well as the decision not to bring him in for a change to intermediate tires, paid off for the German and he was able to move up to P2.

"I was struggling a bit in the first stint with the intermediate tires, Lewis (Hamilton) was a bit faster, then I lost it down into Turn 2," Vettel said after the race. "I lost the lead and obviously the circuit was drying, so we maybe could have come in a lap earlier.

"On the super soft tire I was feeling quite good initially but there was quite a lot of drop off, I think it was the same for all of us with the track being quite green. I think both times I would love to have pitted one lap earlier, although it was quite fun to see the McLaren's very close again. But then in the last stint, I had to let Jenson go."


Vettel finished just 3.50 seconds behind Button in the end, but he says he couldn't push any harder as he had a problem with his brakes.

"I felt that I had a bit more speed in the car but I had a couple of problems with the brakes and it was difficult to know how the car would be at the end. I couldn't push as hard as I would like to, second today is an important step, but I think the win was within reach today and we didn't get it.


"We need to work hard because both of the McLarens are very, very strong in all sorts of conditions, so it's clear now for a couple of races that they have done a step forward. We need to make sure that we come back, definitely."
Credits: f1 Planet

Mark Webber got his season off to the best possible start by topping the times during the first free practice session of his home Australian Grand Prix. As predicted, the Red Bull looked quick with Sebastian Vettel second fastest - 0.327 off Webber's 1:26.831 - and Fernando Alonso's Ferrari nearly a second adrift. However, the times should not be taken too literally as fuel loads are completely unknown and the drivers only ventured out on hard tires, saving their set of softs for the second session.


But for Webber it was the start of the mind games with his team-mate, as the Australian clocked the fastest lap on his very last attempt after Vettel had looked set to finish on top. It will only be a minor victory in the grand scheme of things, but a confidence booster nonetheless.



The tires look likely to play a major part in the story of Sunday's race as drivers experienced pretty serious wear, with chunks of rubber shedding from the surface. Vettel's first set looked in particularly bad shape after 16 laps of running, but the Pirellis should have an easier time once the track surface has been rubbered in and temperatures increase over the course of the weekend.
More f1 news at FIA Formula1 Racing and Motor Sport Total
Content credits: ESPN f1

History was made this weekend as the Red Bull Catalina Grand Prix, one of California’s most renowned motorcycles races, made a triumphant return after a 52-year hiatus. The famed race, which was held on the island between 1951 and 1958, was widely considered one of the most unique and prestigious races of the era. The weekend’s cloudy skies and chilly temperatures didn’t stop the more than 800 riders from tackling the newly minted 6-mile course, which featured a variety of terrain including a challenging motocross section and a fire road that took racers up winding turns and around steep bluffs high above the port city of Avalon.

The rebirth of the race brought some of the riders who had competed in Catalina in the 1950s back to ride the island track once more. This included Homer Knapp, who took to the course on Saturday on the same 1920s Harley Davidson he rode in the Catalina race in the 1950s. Bob Sandgren, who won the race in 1957 and 1958, also returned to serve as Grand Marshal. Other Catalina race veterans included Preston Petty and John Rice. The festivities kicked off with a parade lap of the racers through downtown Avalon, where hundreds lined the streets to cheer on their favorites from both yesteryear and today.


Other noteworthy racers included Hall of Famer Malcolm Smith, motocross and off-road champion Rick Johnson, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and Olympic skier Daron Rahlves, who won his race. Many notable "young" racers showed up as well, including Travis Pastrana, Kurt Caselli, Ronnie Renner, Jessy Nelson, Johnny Campbell and Quinn Cody. Pastrana’s Nitro Circus pals Andy Bell, Gregg Godfrey and Kurt Nicoll also lined up. The event culminated in the final Pro Race, where Kendall Norman, coming off his fifth Baja 1000 win and the 2010 AMA National Hare & Hound championship, took first place, besting young EnduroCross ace Colton Haacker. Caselli had a mechanical issue and had to drop out, as did Pastrana, who was running in the top-three when his bike seized.

Norman joins Bud Ekins (who performed the famous fence jump in "The Great Escape" for Steve McQueen) and Bob Sandgren (the race’s only two-time winner) as champion of the island spectacle.

"The race was awesome today - it was pretty heated, and people were really battling it out," said Norman. "The whole experience was amazing: the island, the course, the vibe, everything. I’ve won a lot of races this year, but this is definitely one of my favorites. I’m honored that I was able make a little history today."

"I’m just so excited to be back on a bike, and I couldn’t believe how many legends came back for this event," said Pastrana. "I really enjoyed the whole experience - I couldn’t believe the enthusiasm of the fans here on Catalina. People were cheering all the way around the track! This really is an amazing place."


The festivities also included a special screening of the film Nitro Circus Greatest Hits, held at the famous Catalina Casino’s theater. The screening raised $5,000 and all proceeds went to the Island Motorcycle Club (IMC), which organized the Catalina Grand Prix in the 1950s and is now a charity supporting young riders on the island.

Red Bull Catalina Grand Prix followed its 1950s open class tradition by providing races for a wide variety of engine displacements and skill levels. There were 12 races over the two days, with an average of 50 riders per race. The Red Bull Catalina Grand Prix was AMA-sanctioned, and all AMA rules were followed.

Reminder for all off-road fans: The 2011 Dakar Rally Raid is coming up. Aiming for a tripeat: the Red Bull supported VW team with tough competition from team X-Raid. Get all the info, daily race updates and web-casts at the Puro Off-Road sister website Puro Dakar Rally Raid.

Report Content Credits: RacerXonline