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Felipe Massa was back behind the wheel of the Ferrari F60 on Sunday, his first outing in the team’s 2009 machine since his life-threatening crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix meeting back in July. Massa wowed the crowds at Spain’s Valencia circuit, where Ferrari were celebrating the end of their motorsport season with the annual Ferrari World Finals.

It may not have been his first time back in an F1 car - he tested an older machine at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track last month - but it was a very special day for the Brazilian, back in front of his beloved fans less than four months after his skull was fractured by a loose spring from a rival car.

“I am very happy to be here, that I can work with the team,” said Massa. “It’s true that I’ve been with them in Sao Paulo and in Abu Dhabi, but driving is really extraordinary! Today I also want to thank all the fans, who were really close to me over the last months. The messages I received were wonderful.”

Massa drove around 20 laps, first with his test driver team mates Marc Gene, Giancarlo Fisichella and Luca Badoer and later on, after a couple of pit stops, alone - an experience he described as almost as good as a race win.

Wow - it seems lately like everyone is jumping ship. Is it due to the economic downturn - or something else?

From the Formula One website:

Toyota will be absent from the grid next season after the team’s parent company announced its withdrawal from Formula One racing on Wednesday. The team had been competing since 2002.

“Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces it plans to withdraw from the FIA Formula One World Championship at the end of the 2009 season,” said a statement released by the Japanese car manufacturer.

“TMC, which had viewed its participation in F1 as contributing to the prosperity of automotive culture, remained dedicated to competing at the pinnacle of motor sports, even in the face of the abrupt economic changes that started last year.

“However, when considering TMC’s motor-sports activities next year and beyond from a comprehensive midterm viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1.”

Read more…

IndyCar Series fans unable to attend the Indy Japan 300 can still watch all the on-track activity from Twin Ring Motegi via live streaming on the internet.Every practice sessions, PEAK Performance Pole qualifying and the Indy Japan 300 will be available for free on the Indy Racing League’s official website, www.indycar.com.

Race day activities will be available via IndyCar Race Control presented by iRacing.com, which immerses the viewer in the on-track action with in-car camera views, real-time telemetry, Timing & Scoring and more. Again, it’s free but fans must sign up at http://indycarnation.indycar.com/racecontrol/

Fans located in countries around the world that do not receive IndyCar Series event telecasts will be able to purchase a full television broadcast of IndyCar Series races on indycar.com for $3.99.

The IndyCar Series broadcast rights-holder partners, working together with the IndyCar Series, are making the telecasts available online, direct to fans in countries where no one has the rights to telecast the IndyCar Series on broadcast, cable or pay TV.

In countries where the rights are contracted to a broadcast or cable partner, the pay-per-view online product is not available, however, fans will still be able to watch IndyCar Race Control for free.

Visit the Media Center on indycar.com and check for the scheduled race event. Once the event is available you will be able to log on and determine whether you are eligible to purchase the broadcast for viewing online.

This weekend’s streaming lineup (Eastern Daylight Time):

Thursday, Sept. 17

8 p.m. — Practice for rookies and those outside the top 10 in points.
8:30 p.m. — One-hour practice for all cars.
11:30 p.m. — 45-minute practice for the first of two groups (second group immediately follows).

Friday, Sept. 18

2:30 a.m. — Four-lap qualifications to set the grid.
9:30 p.m. — Pre-race activities followed by the 200-lap race.

Twin Ring Motegi is unlike any track the IndyCar Series has visited this year, which will provide a fitting battleground for the championship contenders.

Ryan Briscoe of Team Penske has a 25-point lead over Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti while his teammate Scott Dixon is third, 33 points back.

“It is a tough place, it’s demanding,” Dixon said. “You still have the main guys running up there. The race car goes off there really bad at some points throughout the race. That is the challenging part.”

The 1.5-mile oval features frontstraights each measuring 1,969 feet and 80-feet wide. The frontstretch is banked at 1.7 degrees with the backstretch at 5 degrees. The turns are 10 degrees in banking.
Read more…

Penske Racing driver Will Power will not require surgery for back injuries suffered in a practice accident at Infineon Raceway last month.

Power was examined in Indianapolis on Aug. 31 by IndyCar Series orthopedic consultant Dr. Terry Trammell, who determined that Power suffered fractures of his second, third and fourth lumbar vertebrae and a fracture of his fifth thoracic vertebra. Dr. Trammell expects Power to recover with rest and rehabilitation.

Power will continue to wear a back brace during an expected recovery period of at least four months. Power, who also suffered a concussion and a chipped left front tooth in the incident, will begin physical therapy for his back injuries this week and is expected to be ready to compete by the IndyCar Series season-opening race in March 2010.

Medical update from Dr. Michael Olinger, Indy Racing League director of medical services: Penske Racing driver Will Power continues to be treated at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa, Calif.,following his practice accident on Saturday at Infineon Raceway. Power, who suffered a concussion and compression fractures of his second and fourth lumbar vertebrae in the incident, is in the process of being fitted for a custom back brace. Medical personnel expect Power to remain hospitalized for a few more days prior to being transported to Indianapolis, where he will undergo further examination by IndyCar Series orthopedic specialist, Dr. Terry Trammell, to determine the next course of treatment and recovery.

Conquest Racing driver Nelson Philippe suffered a concussion and an open fracture of his left foot. He underwent surgery to have the foot fracture washed out and repaired. After further examination, it was found that Philippe also suffered a hairline fracture of his right fibula and he will be fitted with a brace. Philippe is expected to remain hospitalized at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for another night.

F1 2009™, the official video game of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, is set to deliver an even more authentic experience for gamers after developers Codemasters announced that a limited edition Race Wheel accessory, styled after an F1 steering wheel, will ship with the Wii™ edition in selected territories.

The F1 2009 bundle box will feature the exclusive white Race Wheel, which the Wii remote slots into, enabling players to steer the Formula One cars in the game, due for release this autumn, like their heroes.

The news comes ahead of this weekend’s European Grand Prix and the Valencia circuit, complete with its unique swing bridge, is playable for the first time in F1 2009. A gameplay video packed with race action from Spanish track is now available at www.formula1-game.com.

F1 2009 will offer a fully authentic Formula One experience, with all the teams, drivers, cars and tracks from the enthralling 2009 season. The Wii version will set new standards for racing immersion and authenticity, while remaining accessible for the entire family, and the PSP version will allow fans the opportunity to enjoy the world’s most thrilling and glamorous sport on the move.

With Formula One heating up a LOT in recent weeks, we thought we’d share some quotes from the series’ top drivers with their thoughts on how the season is shaping up and what’s in store for the upcoming Grand Prix:

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 2nd, 2008 Race - 2nd
“It’s great to be getting back to business after the four-week break. I’m still buzzing from the win in Hungary and I’m hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend - particularly with our new upgrades to the car. It’s a very demanding circuit, the kind of place that punishes any mistakes hard. It’s quite tight and relatively slow, so it should suit our package. It’s also very difficult to overtake, as we discovered last year - but, with our KERS, Mercedes-Benz has proved that anything can happen and I’m once again hoping that it will provide the difference in the race.”

Jarno Trulli, Toyota
2008 Qualifying - 7th, 2008 Race - 5th
“I am really glad to be racing again; it’s great to have some time off to relax with my family but my passion is racing so it’s good to be getting back to the track. It seems like a long time since the last race so everyone in the team is fired up to come out fighting this weekend. Valencia is not such an exciting circuit for me but that doesn’t matter so much if we are strong, which we were last year on this track. Unlike somewhere like Monaco, Valencia is actually very fast for a street circuit so that should suit our car pretty well. In fact, it doesn’t really feel much like a street circuit at all because it is so much faster than other city tracks. We were in the top six last year in Valencia and that is my target this season. It was good to have both cars in the points in Hungary. The Valencia track has a different character so it’s difficult to predict at this stage but my target is to score as many points as possible.”

After travelling back to his home country of Brazil on Monday, Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello has wasted no time in catching up with friend Felipe Massa. Barrichello visited Massa’s home on Wednesday, as his fellow Brazilian continues to recuperate from the fractured skull he sustained during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Updating his official Twitter page, Barrichello said: “I have spent the afternoon with Felipe. He is fine and exactly the same person as before…thank God. I loved the afternoon, he was so well and in good spirits. On Felipe’s comeback we need to be patient. He has to be 100 percent before he drives again.”

Although Massa has been making a remarkable recovery from his injuries, no official date has been set for his return to the track, with personal doctor Dino Altman explaining last week that he’ll need time to ‘calmly convalesce’. Ferrari tester Luca Badoer is to fill in for the 28 year-old at next weekend’s European Grand Prix.

See even more info/updates at www.formula1.com and follow F1 and other racing series every day at www.carracing.com.

The inaugural F1 ROCKS™ event will take place at the 2009 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX later this year, with a star-studded music line-up headlined by global superstars the Black Eyed Peas and Beyonce. ‘F1 ROCKS™ Singapore with LG’ will span three days of the night-time race weekend, from September 24-26.

F1 ROCKS™ fuses the world’s most popular annual sporting series with the most iconic music stars to create an unrivalled experience for Formula One and music fans alike. At the core of F1 ROCKS™ is a series of spectacular multi-artist live music events from glamorous Formula One race locations around the world, of which Singapore will be the first.

Other artists confirmed for the concerts in Singapore’s Fort Canning Park are ZZ Top, Simple Minds, N*E*R*D and Chinese pop legend Jacky Cheung. Along with the two headliners, they have sold over 245 million records worldwide between them. The show will also feature guest appearances from top Formula One drivers and celebrities.

F1 ROCKS™ is set to be a global sensation and will be broadcast worldwide across a potential 188 Formula One territories. Two TV programmes will be produced from ‘F1 ROCKS™ Singapore with LG’; the first will be an hour-long entertainment show, giving viewers unrivalled access into the glamorous world of Formula One racing with A-List celebrity interviews, TV stunts, unique performances and aspirational and lifestyle features. The second will be a high-octane music special showcasing the best live music performances and interviews.

The full line-up for Singapore (other artists to be announced):
Thursday September 24 - Jacky Cheung, Da Mouth and Sodagreen
Friday September 25 - ZZ Top, Simple Minds and N*E*R*D
Saturday September 26 - Beyonce and Black Eyed Peas

Tickets go on sale on August 5 at www.f1rocks.com