Slot Car News
After four races in the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic supporting the FIA GT1 World Championship, the FIA GT3 European Championship heads to Spain to take centre stage for the first time this season. Rounds 5 & 6 of the 12-round Championship will be held on the 3.8 kilometre Jarama circuit, near the Spanish capital Madrid, the first time the series has visited the country. With large grids representing 10 different marques, the FIA GT3 European Championship continues to provide action-packed racing on the top European race circuits. The visit to Jarama will be with the Superleague Formula which will provide the Spanish race fans the best of both worlds - top flight GT and single-seater racing action. So far Corvette has been the dominant force in 2010, winning three of the first four races and filling five of the six podium places in Rounds 3 and 4 at Brno last month.
The Czech track was missing from the 2009 calendar and, as a firm favourite among the teams and drivers, it made a welcome return this season. Reigning French GT3 Champion Mike Parisy and his co driver Joakim Lambotte dominated the weekend in the Graff Racing Corvette with a double win which was a huge relief for the team after the disappointments at Silverstone. In Round 3 it was a Corvette 1-2-3 with Parisy taking the chequered flag ahead of Christian Hohanadel in the Callaway Competition car, with Dino Lunardi taking the second podium finish in three races for the Toni Seiler Racing Corvette. The early pace setter of the second race of the Brno weekend was Diego Alessi in the Chad Racing Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Who will be victorious in Spain? Can the Corvettes hold onto their dominant position or will one of the other marques join Corvette and Porsche as race winners in 2010? The GT Commission have made a Balance of Performance ruling and all Corvettes will have a smaller restrictor (50mm instead of 52mm) at Jarama. Success in GT3 means more weight. The event at Jarama begins on Saturday 19 June, with Free Practice and Qualifying, while both 60-minute races will take place on Sunday 20 June.
Base models of the 718 Boxster and Cayman utilize a turbocharged 2.0L motor. The factory boost levels of around 20.3 psi is good for a rated 300 HP and 280 TQ. That translated into 301 HP and 303 TQ to the wheels for recorded baseline dyno runs. Our Stage 1 Off The Shelf Map is good for 346 HP and 326 TQ on 93 octane fuel. As you can see in the chart below, a power increase is realized across the entire power band. The 718 S model cars get a nice bump in power over base cars, utilizing a VTG style turbocharger seen on the 911 Turbo which feeds boost to a 2.5L motor producing a 350 HP and 310 TQ rating. The more efficient motor is able to produce that power at a lower boost level than the base model cars, only utilizing 15.9 psi to achieve a measured baseline of 338 HP and 318 TQ.
On 93 octane fuel, the COBB Stage 1 Off The Shelf Map produces 355 HP and 360 TQ to the wheels, seeing peak gains of over 17 HP and 41 TQ with no other changes. Boost is kept to around 19 psi as to not lean on the factory cooling system too hard. The 718 GTS gets a slightly larger turbocharger than S model cars allowing power to hold out better up top where the S starts to fall off. Our test car spun the rollers to the tune of 345 HP and 328 TQ to the wheels in stock form. With a slight increase in boost pressure, we saw results of 378 HP and 353 TQ to the wheels. As you can see in the dyno graph below, power still holds on beyond 6000 RPM whereas the S above starts to see torque tail off due to the smaller compressor wheel. We are now just days away from releasing the Accessport for Porsche鈥檚 991.2 and 718 vehicles.
It's the Aston Martin's passion to produce stunningly appealing cars with superb performance that tingle your desires. One of the most fantastically performing cars from this British carmaker is DB9. First launched in 2004, this car is also available in drop-top Volante form. DB9 is a four-seat grand-tourer reputed for its elegant styling and bespoke luxury interior. The sonorous twelve-cylinder motor gives it more power. Though there are other makes on the market with similar or higher performance, but the timeless lines and impeccably appointed cabin distinguishes it from others. The new DB9 inherits the visual appeal and more purposeful headlights from the Virage, and remains a design masterpiece. Here, people might complaint about the lack of styling differentiation between the current line and the one that existed years ago. However, it keeps Aston's identity undiluted and carries its fame seamlessly. It has also received some fresh changes that set it apart from its predecessor.