COVERAGE> ALMS Last Lap At Laguna Seca
Racing today has become about closeness. Photo finishes, improved safety and lowered operating costs have made many sanctioning bodies look to spec racing, where all the cars are the same and the contest then becomes a driver vs. driver battle.
The major casualty in these forms of racing (ie: IndyCar, NASCAR, etc.) has been truth in engineering and innovation. There is not much you can do to innovate without breaking the rules - and being hung out to dry for it.
When the American LeMans Series (ALMS) came to the Monterey Coast at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, this theory was thrown to the dogs as multiple chassis, motor, and tire combinations had no hindrance on the level of competition. The four hour enduro proved to be an absolute slugfest. It looked far more like a 20 mile sprint as it proved one of the most closely contested, nail biting, bump-and-rub fests of sports cars and prototypes lapping the twisty, hilly 2.238 mile circuit in 1:13.948 while making insane 10,000 rpm noises. Read more...
The major casualty in these forms of racing (ie: IndyCar, NASCAR, etc.) has been truth in engineering and innovation. There is not much you can do to innovate without breaking the rules - and being hung out to dry for it.
When the American LeMans Series (ALMS) came to the Monterey Coast at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, this theory was thrown to the dogs as multiple chassis, motor, and tire combinations had no hindrance on the level of competition. The four hour enduro proved to be an absolute slugfest. It looked far more like a 20 mile sprint as it proved one of the most closely contested, nail biting, bump-and-rub fests of sports cars and prototypes lapping the twisty, hilly 2.238 mile circuit in 1:13.948 while making insane 10,000 rpm noises. Read more...
COVERAGE> Speed&Stance Swarms SpeedVentures
This weekend's inaugural Speed&Stance meet was crazy!!! I can't believe so many people turned up to the event, because we organized and promoted the entire thing in only five days. FIVE DAYS! Thanks to our friends at Speed Ventures, we were able to throw this gigantic car event in the parking lot of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana!
We advertised the meet to run between 12 noon and 5pm, but every single one of the infield parking lots at the speedway were FULL by 2:45pm! There was a crazy line of cars backed up from the infield parking, through the tunnel, wrapping all the way around to the Cherry Avenue entrance! I was told that once the parking lots allocated to the event hit capacity, the people at the gates had to turn away well over 100 cars! Insane.
Since traffic and road congestion became an issue, the good folks from Auto Club Speedway quickly opened up a couple more parking lots so that cars could pre-stage before rolling in to the actual show area, which saw both autocross and high speed road racing with Speed Ventures on the ROVAL course, and a beginner level car control clinic for Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ owners called the 86 Dynamic Driving Academy. Read more...
We advertised the meet to run between 12 noon and 5pm, but every single one of the infield parking lots at the speedway were FULL by 2:45pm! There was a crazy line of cars backed up from the infield parking, through the tunnel, wrapping all the way around to the Cherry Avenue entrance! I was told that once the parking lots allocated to the event hit capacity, the people at the gates had to turn away well over 100 cars! Insane.
Since traffic and road congestion became an issue, the good folks from Auto Club Speedway quickly opened up a couple more parking lots so that cars could pre-stage before rolling in to the actual show area, which saw both autocross and high speed road racing with Speed Ventures on the ROVAL course, and a beginner level car control clinic for Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ owners called the 86 Dynamic Driving Academy. Read more...
COVERAGE> ALMS Street Fight In Long Beach
Endurance racing has always been about how hard and how long you can go. For almost a century, legendary races like Le Mans, Sebring, and Daytona have made history as a proving ground for men and their machines. The Streets of Long Beach circuit brought a similar challenge to the cars and stars of the American LeMans Series (ALMS) on Saturday Afternoon.
In just two hours, 157 miles would be traveled and 36.329 seconds would separate an endurance racing champion from a former Formula One star - and with the win, produce the winning-est driver in American LeMans series history - a man who only turned a wheel for 25 minutes. Read more...
In just two hours, 157 miles would be traveled and 36.329 seconds would separate an endurance racing champion from a former Formula One star - and with the win, produce the winning-est driver in American LeMans series history - a man who only turned a wheel for 25 minutes. Read more...
COVERAGE> 2013 Formula D Tech Day & Car Meet
Formula Drift always holds a Preseason Technical Inspection Day before the annual race season starts. The objection of the tech inspection is to go over each car to verify that all safety equipment and chassis modifications are fair and accounted for. When it comes to building a race car, whether its for drift, drag, road racing or rally, safety has to be a high priority for any team.
Source Interlink Media was the host of this year's tech day. This was a free event to attend for those enthusiasts and fans who want to get up close and personal with the cars and drivers. They had food trucks, free energy drinks, and of course, lots of local car show enthusiasts and their rides in attendance! Read more...
GALLERY> HT Cup Challenge Racing with Raceline
This past weekend, I was given the opportunity to join my friends from Raceline USA and JDM Zipties at the series opener of the Honda Tuning Cup Challenge at Buttonwillow Raceway. There are three announced HT Cup Challenge events for the 2013 calendar so far - Buttonwillow, Chuckwalla Raceway, and Streets of Willow.
Raceline also added a new component to the trackdays they organize - a challenge series for the new 86 Platform,"Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ. Even though it is called the 86 Challenge (coincidentally the same name as the previously announced 86 Challenge from Speedventures), the series is tailored towards Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ drivers, not AE86 owners. Read more...
Raceline also added a new component to the trackdays they organize - a challenge series for the new 86 Platform,"Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ. Even though it is called the 86 Challenge (coincidentally the same name as the previously announced 86 Challenge from Speedventures), the series is tailored towards Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ drivers, not AE86 owners. Read more...
GALLERY> Global Time Attack & Shift S3ctor Pro Am
If you saw our previously published story on the R's Tuning Ben Sopra GTR from the Fast & Furious 6 movie, then you already know we were out at Buttonwillow Raceway this past weekend for the Global Time Attack Pro Am with Shift S3ctor. The event wasn't intended to be one of the larger GTA events; it was planned as a Pro/Amateur track day for the guys to shake down their cars at Buttonwillow. The types of cars at the event varied pretty wildly, from expensively modified AMG Benzes to homegrown builds, like Honda Civics and Mazda RX7s. Read more...
DRIVER SEAT> Track Testing The BF Goodrich Rival
Michelin North America's BFGoodrich brand just recently unveiled the all new BFG g-Force Rival, an ultra high performance tire designed for drivers that want versatile tires for their high performance street cars; tires sticky enough to be used in autocross and track-day events, then driven home.
Last week, I was given the opportunity to test the new BFG Rival at NOLA Motorsports Park, and it delivered on every single one of its claims. The BFG Rival might even be the best new tire in the Tire Rack lineup for weekend autocrossers, road racers, and midnight canyon runners. However, before we jump to any conclusions, let's take a closer look at our experiences on the racetrack. Read more...
Last week, I was given the opportunity to test the new BFG Rival at NOLA Motorsports Park, and it delivered on every single one of its claims. The BFG Rival might even be the best new tire in the Tire Rack lineup for weekend autocrossers, road racers, and midnight canyon runners. However, before we jump to any conclusions, let's take a closer look at our experiences on the racetrack. Read more...
CAR&CULTURE> MotorMavens Adventures in Spain
For the past ten years, I've been traveling to Japan to take photos and learn about the interesting car culture there. I've also traveled to places like Germany, the UK, Belgium, and Greece, but never once have I been to Spain... until now! Ah, España! In just a couple of hours, I'll be traveling there for the very first time, and I'm so excited!
Truth be told, I'm not heading there to attend a motorsports event or anything like that - I'm there on other business. However, by Facebook chatting with a fellow AE86er who hails from Madrid, Jorge Azcoitia Moreno, I learned about some of the exciting things that his hometown of Madrid has to offer. Aside from amazing paella at Casa Nemesio near Plaza de Castilla and patatas bravas from Las Bravas, I also learned about the local racetrack, Circuito del Jarama, and the Jarama Vintage Car Festival. Read more...
Truth be told, I'm not heading there to attend a motorsports event or anything like that - I'm there on other business. However, by Facebook chatting with a fellow AE86er who hails from Madrid, Jorge Azcoitia Moreno, I learned about some of the exciting things that his hometown of Madrid has to offer. Aside from amazing paella at Casa Nemesio near Plaza de Castilla and patatas bravas from Las Bravas, I also learned about the local racetrack, Circuito del Jarama, and the Jarama Vintage Car Festival. Read more...
COVERAGE> Carspotting at SEMA 2012 Las Vegas
We're here at SEMA 2012 in Las Vegas! We once again arrived to the capital of customizations in the automotive world. From everything old school, to the latest in cutting edge automotive technology we'll bring you the latest and greatest in automotive aftermarket industry. Follow our @MOTORMAVENS Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr for our live feed with the latest photos from the show and the afterparties. We'll be posting photos of cars and models live in real time as we encounter them! Read more...
GALLERY> Nisei Showoff Vs Infamous Long Beach
This past weekend, there were tons of automotive events happening, so those of us located in Southern California faced a dilemma - should we go to Nisei Showoff or Infamous?!
The tried and true Import Showoff event thrown by legendary import carshow promoter Ken Miyoshi during Downtown LA's annual Nisei Week Festival in Little Tokyo is always a good time. Everyone knows that Nisei Showoff symbolizes the best of the best - the highest standard in modified import cars, with attendance by the OG crews that used to run the streets of Los Angeles when the sport compact scene was just beginning to blow up. The whole vibe at Nisei Showoff feels a bit nostalgic, to be honest. Can it be that it was all so simple then? Good cars and good friends in a relaxed atmosphere, surrounded by good Japanese restaurants and boutique shops in Little Tokyo.
However, some young car enthusiasts don't care about memory lane nostalgia or waxing poetic about the good old days. For this rapidly growing new generation of frame-scraping tire stretchers, the newly conceptualized Infamous show was thrown as a collaboration between the Fatlace and Canibeat Crews at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.
It's obvious that MotorMavens connects to both scenes and both types of automotive taste, so those who follow @MOTORMAVENS on Instagram and Twitter already know that we decided to hit both shows. Here's a quick gallery of images from both events! Read more...
The tried and true Import Showoff event thrown by legendary import carshow promoter Ken Miyoshi during Downtown LA's annual Nisei Week Festival in Little Tokyo is always a good time. Everyone knows that Nisei Showoff symbolizes the best of the best - the highest standard in modified import cars, with attendance by the OG crews that used to run the streets of Los Angeles when the sport compact scene was just beginning to blow up. The whole vibe at Nisei Showoff feels a bit nostalgic, to be honest. Can it be that it was all so simple then? Good cars and good friends in a relaxed atmosphere, surrounded by good Japanese restaurants and boutique shops in Little Tokyo.
However, some young car enthusiasts don't care about memory lane nostalgia or waxing poetic about the good old days. For this rapidly growing new generation of frame-scraping tire stretchers, the newly conceptualized Infamous show was thrown as a collaboration between the Fatlace and Canibeat Crews at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.
It's obvious that MotorMavens connects to both scenes and both types of automotive taste, so those who follow @MOTORMAVENS on Instagram and Twitter already know that we decided to hit both shows. Here's a quick gallery of images from both events! Read more...
COVERAGE> Formula Drift: The Battle in Seattle
This year’s Formula Drift event held at Evergreen Speedway marked the sixth year that the track has hosted the FD Seattle event. Having been at every single one, I can honestly say that this year was no less amazing as every year before it. The stands and the pits were packed with adults and children alike, with every single person smiling from ear to ear! Read more...
COVERAGE> Wheelspotting At Wekfest Long Beach
Long Beach is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues for automotive events. This weekend, our friends from Weksos Industries made the trek down to Los Angeles to hold yet another Wekfest event in Southern Cali. Even though the event is pronounced "weak-fest" and their company name is pronounced "weak sauce," the turnout was anything but weak. Lowlife car owners from all over California and Nevada scraped their oilpans all the way to the Queen Mary to show off their first class wheel fitment. Read more...
COVERAGE> Southern Wörthersee Show, Helen GA
For two decades, the beautiful Lake Wörthersee vacation area in Reifnitz, Austria has played host to Volkswagen Audi Group enthusiasts (VAG) from all over the globe in what has become known as the Wörthersee Tour. Southern Wörthersee, commonly referred to as SoWo by fans, formed and bore the name as an annual gathering in the Bavarian-themed town of Helen, Georgia.
The spirit of this gathering is truly authentic as the entirety of this small town honors the tradition. In no other gathering of imports could a clean Evo look out of place! The local restaurants prepare bratwursts and fill steins at a reduced rate and the streets proudly bear the SoWo insignia as European cars arrive from all over the country. Read more...
The spirit of this gathering is truly authentic as the entirety of this small town honors the tradition. In no other gathering of imports could a clean Evo look out of place! The local restaurants prepare bratwursts and fill steins at a reduced rate and the streets proudly bear the SoWo insignia as European cars arrive from all over the country. Read more...
GALLERY> The Road to MFest Las Vegas 2012
Reporting live from Sin City, the 2012 MFest is already underway... and it's getting HECTIC over here! MFest is much more than a BMW meet. MFest is much more than a BMW car show, and it's definitely more than a run-of-the-mill track day. What started out as a meeting of BMW M-cars has turned into an entire takeover of the Las Vegas Strip, with hundreds and hundreds of cars mobbing the freeways to Vegas in a huge caravan, averaging roughly 100mph (although, honestly, I saw some people that had to be going MUCH faster than 120 because of the speed at which they passed us on the 15 North!).
While there were plenty of M-powered caravans (we're talking multiple M cars, not Dodge Caravans with M engines) driving from other states, we drove along with the Southern California group, and it was super fun!!! While everyone else is out pre-partying it up at Lavo inside The Palazzo, we're sitting in our suite next door at The Venetian uploading pictures into the new gallery we made, which contains Images From MFest 2012.
Now our readers can see what the MFest experience is like, whether they're with us in Vegas, or chillin out at home. Enjoy the images, and if you're here at MFest with us, please upload YOUR own photos into the shared gallery linked above, so everyone can see your MFest photos too! Read more...
While there were plenty of M-powered caravans (we're talking multiple M cars, not Dodge Caravans with M engines) driving from other states, we drove along with the Southern California group, and it was super fun!!! While everyone else is out pre-partying it up at Lavo inside The Palazzo, we're sitting in our suite next door at The Venetian uploading pictures into the new gallery we made, which contains Images From MFest 2012.
Now our readers can see what the MFest experience is like, whether they're with us in Vegas, or chillin out at home. Enjoy the images, and if you're here at MFest with us, please upload YOUR own photos into the shared gallery linked above, so everyone can see your MFest photos too! Read more...
COVERAGE> Formula Drift Long Beach Qualifying
It's such a beautiful day here in Long Beach at the first round of the 2012 Formula Drift Championship season! The sun is shining, with a cool ocean breeze blowing the clouds of tire smoke. The loud roar of race engines at full throttle somehow mixes harmoniously with the squealing sounds of tires being decimated on the pavement. Not a bad way to spend a Good Friday. Read more...
PERSPECTIVE> My First Experience At Nurburgring
First impressions are lasting impressions, and my first impression about the Nurburgring is that it's absolutely unreal. As you make your way into the Eifel Mountain region of western Germany, it becomes more and more difficult to comprehend that something like the Nordschleife exists. The cascading mountains covered in dense forest, although the perfect place for your dream course or a video game, don't seem a feasible locale for a high speed, high stakes race track. I would liken the feeling to going to an amusement park as a kid and trying to fathom that so much awesome could be in one place. In today's world of rules, regulations, and protocol, this place should not happen (at least not easily and with lots of paperwork). However, the automotive dreamland that is the Nurburgring was conceived in a time when they only cared about one thing: racing. Read more...
WEBMINING> Prodrive M3 Flies Through Manx Rally
Just imagine what it might be like to watch this Prodrive E30 M3 at the Manx Rally in person. Wouldn’t that be AMAZING?! The first time I ever heard of Patrick Snijers was from an BMW E30 drifter named Yoshi Jeffery. In this video, Snijers drives the living hell out of his M3, which was built by Prodrive long before they began their relationship with Subaru! (more…)
COVERAGE> AutoCon Show at El Toro Air Base
AutoCon 2011 turned out to be a pretty fun show - it has grown quite a bit since the last show they had. I drove all the way down from LA to El Toro Airbase in Irvine, CA so that I could start shooting the carshow roll-in at 10am, but they didn't allow any media to enter the show until 12pm! This definitely put a damper on my plans, because the rest of the normal spectators would be entering the venue at the same time as media.
The scheduling issue left me pretty disappointed to be honest, since my original plan was to shoot roll-in and staging before the large crowds showed up, then meet up with Antonio Alvendia and Oliver Petalver at Irwindale Speedway. I didn't make it out to Irwindale because of the scheduling mix-up, but I still enjoyed the rest of the day at the show. This event looks like it's getting bigger and bigger! Read more...
VIDEO> Cyrious Look at 2011 Slowed Down
2011 was a pretty spectacular year of drifting for me. Being a Canadian, I got to see a whole heck of a lot of America this year – not only from all the different rounds of Formula Drift that I and the rest of the Drift Posse participated in, but also as a result of a tour that saw me flying around the country for three months. (more…)
COVERAGE> Live Blogging The 2011 LA Auto Show
The 2011 LA Auto Show is here! Over 50 cars are making their debuts at this year’s LA Auto Show, with 20 of them being international debuts! Make sure you are following @MOTORMAVENS on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook our for LIVE up-to-the-minute photo updates of the coolest cars at the show! We’ll be live blogging today and tomorrow to bring you the best cars of the show, as well as some behind the scenes moments that most people won’t get to see normally! (more…)
COVERAGE> More Photos From SEMA Show 2011
The week of SEMA 2011 was one of the most fun and exhausting weeks I've ever had. Between exploring the show floor to scout cars and meet new people, live blog updates on the MotorMavens Instagram channel, and attending all the after parties... SEMA was one hell of an adventure. Since it was my first time at SEMA, I wanted to take full charge of covering everything I could. It was definitely not an easy task to take on - even with some help from my friend Terry Pham from DSTROYR,who helped me scout some cool cars. Read more...
VIDEO> Formula D Irwindale 2011 = Best Thing Ever
Seriously though, this year’s Formula Drift Finale was one of the greatest weekends of my life. All the media, drivers, and industry people I’ve met over the last few years all in one place to be a part of arguably the greatest drifting spectacle in US history. I say “arguably,” but I will fight you. FD Irwindale 2011 was the best thing ever. Period. (more…)
COVERAGE> Historic Rallycars at RMS in N. Ireland
ReallyMeanSounds.com (or RMS) is a local motoring forum here in Northern Ireland. The site was set up by Andy Cooper many moons ago to showcase ICE installations but, as the popularity of the forum grew, it became one of most popular motoring forums in Ireland. I have been a member since late 2006 when I was losing heart with my rallying exploits and RMS was just the fix I needed.
The site and its members have been very good to me in the last few years. I have made many great friends and have had very special times going to car shows and meet-ups. Now, in its tenth year, Graham Curry, who is the RMS resident photographer and a good friend of mine, decided that the milestone should be marked with a Birthday show. So, after months of planning, we found ourselves at Junction 1 in Antrim - where all sorts of fun ensued! Read more...
The site and its members have been very good to me in the last few years. I have made many great friends and have had very special times going to car shows and meet-ups. Now, in its tenth year, Graham Curry, who is the RMS resident photographer and a good friend of mine, decided that the milestone should be marked with a Birthday show. So, after months of planning, we found ourselves at Junction 1 in Antrim - where all sorts of fun ensued! Read more...
VIDEO> Formula Drift Hits the Las Vegas Strip!
Now that you’ve heard the story behind and seen all the amazing photos from Formula Drift Las Vegas, courtesy of Oliver Petalver and Mike Kim, take a quick moment to wipe the drool from your keyboards and prepare yourselves for a short video from myself and Joe Ayala. (more…)
