Monday
Dec042017
DECEMBER 6, 2017
Monday, December 4, 2017 at 08:38AM 
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Though the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship December test at Daytona was not open to the public, Autoextremist.com is pleased to bring you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look - courtesy of photographer extraordinaire John Thawley - as teams prepare for the 2018 season. Check out John's gallery from Daytona here.
(DS Virgin Racing)
Sam Bird (No. 2 DS Virgin Racing) won Round 1 of the Formula E season opening weekend in Hong Kong. The British racer, racking up his and the team’s sixth win, battled his way back to the front after a pit stop issue looked to have cost him the spoils to win by a margin of 11 seconds – the second largest in Formula E. Drama started from the very first lap at the 1.86km Harborfront circuit, with a multi-car incident at the back of the pack causing the championship’s first-ever red flag. At the safety car restart, Bird – starting P2 – continued to pressure race-leader Jean Eric-Vergne (No. 25 Techeetah). Bird made his decisive move to get by Vergne near the halfway point in the race and then controlled the race to the checkered flag. Jean Eric Vergne (No. 25 Techeetah) was second and Nick Heidfeld (No. 23 Mahindra Racing) finished third. Following a post-race decision by the stewards, Bird received a 10-place grid penalty applied for Race 2 on Sunday round two for an infringement in the pit lane.
Sam Bird (No. 2 DS Virgin Racing) won Round 1 of the Formula E season opening weekend in Hong Kong. The British racer, racking up his and the team’s sixth win, battled his way back to the front after a pit stop issue looked to have cost him the spoils to win by a margin of 11 seconds – the second largest in Formula E. Drama started from the very first lap at the 1.86km Harborfront circuit, with a multi-car incident at the back of the pack causing the championship’s first-ever red flag. At the safety car restart, Bird – starting P2 – continued to pressure race-leader Jean Eric-Vergne (No. 25 Techeetah). Bird made his decisive move to get by Vergne near the halfway point in the race and then controlled the race to the checkered flag. Jean Eric Vergne (No. 25 Techeetah) was second and Nick Heidfeld (No. 23 Mahindra Racing) finished third. Following a post-race decision by the stewards, Bird received a 10-place grid penalty applied for Race 2 on Sunday round two for an infringement in the pit lane.
(Audi Sport)
Daniel Abt (No. 66 Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) claimed his maiden victory in the Formula E series on Sunday after longtime leader Edoardo Mortara (No. 4 Venturi Formula E) spun late in the race. A post-race inspection, however, revealed that the FIA security stickers on the inverters and motors did not correspond with those declared on one of his car's technical passport, even though, according to Audi, the parts were identical and fully corresponded to homologation. This breached the series' technical and sporting regulations, so Abt was disqualified from the result. Team Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler initially signaled its intent to appeal the result, but decided not to. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 19 Mahindra Racing) inherited the win, completing an unusual race for the Mahindra driver after he spun out of the lead at the first corner at the start of the race and recovered to second. Mortara stepped up second place, while Mitch Evans (No. 20 Panasonic Jaguar Racing) was promoted to third - Jaguar's first podium in FE.
(Pirelli)
(Ford Racing Archives)
Walter "Bud" Moore Jr., who won multiple NASCAR championships as a car owner and crew chief and who was the oldest living member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 92. After graduating from high school, Moore joined the military in 1943 at the age of 18 as a machine gunner assigned to the 90th Infantry Division, which landed on Utah Beach in France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. His unit was attached to General George W. Patton’s Third Army, which pushed to liberate Europe. In recognition of his heroism, Moore was decorated with five Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars (the second with clusters). Auto racing was a destination for many returning veterans and since NASCAR was born in 1948, Moore, as a South Carolinian who enjoyed fixing cars, made the organization his life’s work. Referring to himself as “a country mechanic who loved to make ’em run fast,” Moore stood more than six feet tall and couldn’t be missed in the garage, or in victory lane, where his cars won over the course of four decades beginning in 1961. Moore, a Spartanburg, South Carolina, native, won 63 times as an owner, winning NASCAR's top series title in 1957 as crew chief for Buck Baker and car owner titles in 1962-63 with Joe Weatherly. Moore and Weatherly won eight times in 1961 and twelve times during their back-to-back championship seasons. Moore also won the Daytona 500 with Bobby Allison in 1978. Moore was inducted into NASCAR's Hall of Fame in 2011.
Walter "Bud" Moore Jr., who won multiple NASCAR championships as a car owner and crew chief and who was the oldest living member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 92. After graduating from high school, Moore joined the military in 1943 at the age of 18 as a machine gunner assigned to the 90th Infantry Division, which landed on Utah Beach in France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. His unit was attached to General George W. Patton’s Third Army, which pushed to liberate Europe. In recognition of his heroism, Moore was decorated with five Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars (the second with clusters). Auto racing was a destination for many returning veterans and since NASCAR was born in 1948, Moore, as a South Carolinian who enjoyed fixing cars, made the organization his life’s work. Referring to himself as “a country mechanic who loved to make ’em run fast,” Moore stood more than six feet tall and couldn’t be missed in the garage, or in victory lane, where his cars won over the course of four decades beginning in 1961. Moore, a Spartanburg, South Carolina, native, won 63 times as an owner, winning NASCAR's top series title in 1957 as crew chief for Buck Baker and car owner titles in 1962-63 with Joe Weatherly. Moore and Weatherly won eight times in 1961 and twelve times during their back-to-back championship seasons. Moore also won the Daytona 500 with Bobby Allison in 1978. Moore was inducted into NASCAR's Hall of Fame in 2011.
