Monster Toyota Celica Beats F1 Cars and Everything Else at Goodwood Recording the Fastest Hill Climb Time

Over the past weeks we’ve been bombarding you with news about exotic cars such as the Aston Martin Zagato V12  that would participate at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. The event took place this past weekend and the spectators gathered to marvel at every car enthusiasts dream garage.

But they also came to watch more than 200 production, tuned and racing models including recent Formula 1 cars, race against the clock in the famous 1.6 mile hill-climb. However, much to everybody’s surprise, the winner was not an F1 car but a tuned, 800+ horsepower Toyota Celica that recorded a time of just 48.07 seconds.

It was driven and built by former British rally champion, Jonny Milner, who had also tried, but lost, in previous years. So he returned with an extra 100 ponies packed under the hood of the Celica and this time, he won.

Of course, this is not your run-of-the-mill Celica. Based on the 6th generation of Toyota’s coupe, it features a Corolla WRC four cylinder engine fitted with a Garret turbocharger, a Rotrex supercharger and a nitrous oxide injection system. It also sports Corolla WRC suspension and has been lightened to just 1,050 kg (2,315 lbs) while, thanks to a flat floor and a diffuser, generates a degree of ground effect.

Toro Rosso name Daniel Ricciardo & Jean-Eric Vergne as drivers for 2012

Toro Rosso have named Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne as their drivers for the 2012 Formula 1 season.Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari make way as the team name an all-new line-up for the first time since their debut in 2006.Australian Ricciardo, 22, is a Red Bull test and reserve driver and has raced for HRT this year.French driver Vergne, 21, has tested for Red Bull and took part in practice for Toro Rosso three times this year.Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost said: One has to remember that when Toro Rosso was established in 2005, it was done so with the intention of providing a first step into Formula 1 for the youngsters in the Red Bull junior driver programme.

It is therefore part of the team's culture to change its driver line-up from time to time in order to achieve this goal.Ricciardo had been linked to Caterham, formerly named Team Lotus, as a possible replacement for Jarno Trulli, despite the Italian having a contract.

He took part in Friday practice at grand prix weekends for Toro Rosso this year before moving to HRT in the second half of the season, where he drove for the final 11 races without scoring a point."This is a really big deal for me," he said. "I have to say that joining Toro Rosso was always my real goal, so a big thank you to Red Bull for giving me this fantastic opportunity."To be honest, I am still jumping up and down with excitement at the news. I can't wait to get to work once testing begins."Vergne added: "I must thank Red Bull for all their support so far and for believing I am ready to take on the ultimate challenge of racing in Formula One.
"Having driven for them a few times this year and also testing for Red Bull, I definitely feel ready to make the move, even if I know there is a big difference between testing and actually racing.

Fernando Alonso Launches Ferrari’s New F1 Car

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa unvieled Ferrari’s new car for the F1 2011 season, the “F150″ was launched at the Italian team’s headquarters in Maranello ahead of next week’s pre-season testing in Spain.

Alonso narrowly missed out on becoming world champion in 2010 and will hoping the the new car, named to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Italian unification, will see him take his first world title for the team and his third in total.

This year we have to win and we will do our best to win, said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.New rules for 2011 mean the F150 includes an adjustable rear wing and a KERS regenerative brake system but loses the now banned F-ducts and double diffuser systems that were prevalent during the 2010 season.

Track testing begins in Valencia next week, the results of which will result in additional modifications being made to the vehicle before the first race of the season in Bahrain on March 13th.Rivals Renault, Sauber and Team Lotus will unveil their new cars on Monday, with world champions Red Bull, Mercedes and Toro Rosso following on February 1.