The F1 2018 season continues in Monaco and as many things changed over the years, this kind of battle royale remains the same as the one everybody wants to win with many memorable moments occurred in the middle of this city course straight from the south of France.
At long last, redemption comes in as Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull rose himself to victory lane after two years of defeat at this venue, thanks to his pole position advantage and his determination to retain the lead even though his car suffered some power issues, forcing him to use just six out of the eight gears. Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, meanwhile, placed 2nd, while Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton placed 3rd. Behind the battle, a disaster occurred as Charles Leclerc's brake failure caused a crash through Brendon Hartley, ending their Monaco race in a pinch.
After Monaco, Hamilton stil leads by 110 points, 14 points ahead of Vettel, while Valtteri Bottas is in 3rd place with 72 points.
The next race of the F1 2018 season is at Canada on the 10th of June.
The oval course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is starting to come alive right now but before getting excited about the high-speed oval racing event of the summer, time to do some Project CARS 2 experiment on this famed oval course of the legendary American racetrack.
Before doing the experiment, let's get to know about oval racing because most drivers believe that oval racing is all about turning left, go flat out, and it's easy to win because it's oval but the reality of this oval racing scenario is whether if you're with the pack of cars bearing the same amount of power, real skill is needed to master oval racing.
Oval racing, especially in this segment of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is different than road racing because it involves racing side by side and taking advantage of the cars' aerodynamics to do some slipstreaming, making it a close-quarters combat between one driver to another. The cars used in such format are modified for oval racing use and it involves stiffening the right side of the car because left turns shift the weight to the right of the car, making it very challenging to master even when you got overtaken by the next person or trying to avoid the inevitable "big one". Even if you're in the lead, concentration is a must in oval racing because it's hard to predict the outcome when your rivals are closing in fast on you.
Oval racing has become America's pasttime next to MMA, American football, and Baseball, and whether if you're a fan of such sport, there's a clear difference between the cars I've lined up for this experiment. Here, I have a Ford Fusion stock car that was used on America's popular oval racing series and a Chevrolet-powered IndyCar that was modified for, you guessed it, oval racing, especially the prestigious INDY 500. Yes, both these machines are made for this kind of format but the question is, how different are these machines? To find out, I did a little experiment on these two oval-focused machines, just to get a glimpse on their differences.
Driving on what is known to be the venue for the legendary INDY 500 race event, the stock car I'm driving is all fast on straights but struggling to keep up on corners and as I went to the bottom half of the track, I did some braking to make sure it goes through or risk getting stuck in the walls like a fly in a flypaper. The IndyCar, made for this track on the other hand, is surprisingly fast and lighter than the stock car and with that, no braking is necessary on the bottom half of the oval track, although there are some parts of the corners that requires slowing down. Mastering these oval-focused cars can be downright rough, especially if you're in a pack of other cars, but in the process of this experiments, there are differences between these machines and by such demonstration, the difference between a stockcar and an oval-focused IndyCar is almost five seconds apart. A five-second gap is a clear difference between the two on an oval track like this.
With that little experiment taken care off, time for me to get some rest because I got some two oval race events to catch up while in a middle of a certain Grand Prix race happening somewhere.
Zagato was well-known for their coach-built masterpieces only the privileged few can get through with their handcrafted arts and crafts inside and out to deliver a living work of art that matches the theme of grand touring. When Gran Turismo asked Zagato what will their Vision Gran Turismo entry be, their response is their take on an legendary icon.
And this is their result; it's called the Iso Rivolta Zagato Vision Gran Turismo concept and when it was showcased at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, it became a playable car on GT SPORT via an update. So, what is this masterpiece Zagato talked about? First, and foremost, let's talk about Iso Rivolta.
Iso Rivolta was well known among wealthy clients since the 60's and the 70's for combining European design and drive train imported from the USA, resulting to excellent and reliable sports cars. Their cars took part in well-known races in Sebring, Nurburgring, and Le Mans. Iso cars can be recognizably known by the griffin emblem and for Zagato's modern take on an legendary icon, it really harks its motor racing pedigree back to its ancestors.
First impressions can be somewhat hawkish and just by looking at the Iso Rivolta Zagato VGT, the design has a clear reminder that it reminded you of a car you saw from a certain tokusatsu show several years ago. Zagato says that this VGT machine draws inspiration from the aerodynamic designs of great prototype endurance race cars and it was virtually built using realistic volume and base measurements, delivering a striking visual appeal to a contemporary gentleman driver's sportscar. It's powered by a 4.5L engine producing 559HP of power and 428ft-lb of torque while the whole car weighs two and a half tons.
Although, there's too little to say about the conceptual take of the legendary Iso Rivolta sports cars, the one way to get to know more about this machine a little further is to drive it and to do that, since it was showcased at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, I went to Suzuka Circuit and find out how the Iso Rivolta Zagato VGT is made for.
Doing sighting laps on Suzuka, I'm starting to get bewildered by how the IsoRivolta Zagato VGT behaves on the track and because being one of the Vision GT cars that adhere nothing to regulations, it's a shame that you can't really race it on official Sport Mode races but you can really admire its uncanny dynamics and its character reeling from within. The sound of the engine and the gear change is what I like most by the way because the engine sounded like an angry muscle car while the gear change sounds like hitting with a sledgehammer in the foundry, such character for this car really means that this car works hard to deliver the sensational feeling drivers possess like how the pioneers of the past experience the glory days of motoring with their Iso Rivolta cars. While the car's characteristics made it special, it serves as a challenge for those who are unfamiliar with this car because at first, it can be downright intimidating to drive but with practice, the IsoRivolta Zagato VGT could be the no-holds-barred racing machine you can really ignite your senses at.
And with that, let me show you how I wrestle with this griffin round Suzuka. Enjoy the clip.
Although being a concept car that exists only in the world of Gran Turismo, the IsoRivolta Zagato VGT is a futuristic take of a legendary brand with such impressive motorsport pedigree and by making the most out of it on the track with nothing to hold back, the charisma and the performance is something to behold and inspire for the next generation of vehicles in the future. It really is Zagato's work of art to motivate the future of sportscars into new and exciting ways unimaginable by many.
- Film mogul Harvey Weinsten was released on $1 million bail after being charged with rape and sexual abuse. He also agreed to wear a GPS tracker and to surrender his passport after turning himself in to police on Friday.
- In case you missed it, Disney gained rights to rebrand a major stadium in Melbourne as Marvel Stadium.
- Actor Will Smith will sing the FIFA Anthem at next month's FIFA World Cup Russia.
- Citroen Racing announced on Twitter that they've terminated Kris Meeke for the rest of the WRC 2018 due to numerous crashes.
- After 17 years, RuneScape Classic's servers are closing this August.
- Citroen will sell the C5 Aircross crossover at the end of this year in Mainland Europe.
Star Wars aficionados are heavily enamored by everyone's favorite daredevil pilot, Han Solo, who's been fighting the Empire ever since he met Luke Skywalker up until his fate was sealed in The Force Awakens. We all love this crazed lunatic, his Wookie BFF Chewbacca, and his Millennium Falcon, but do fans really know the real Han Solo? The latest Star Wars Story anthology film uncovers the secret origin of Han Solo in a rather thrilling way.
SOLO: A Star Wars Story
Directed by Ron Howard and starring Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Woody Harrelson, Game Of Thrones' Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany, Solo uncovers the secret origin of Han Solo prior to the events of A New Hope. Plunged into the criminal underworld, the young Han Solo embarks on a wild ride of a lifetime when he joined forces with Chewbacca, Lando, and others as their thrilling adventures will change the history as the unlikely heroes of the Star Wars saga.
As a film that is all about the life and times of Han Solo, this film delivers non-stop thrills and some sense of humor only you can expect on this film that will keep the kessel running until the end of the film and with that, Solo really is the Star Wars film you can really "chew" on, just to give what is like to be in a hyperspeed rollercoaster ride with everyone's favorite bandit who made a mark in the history of Star Wars.
Call it crazy and intense it maybe but Solo delivers an edge-on-your-seat thrill that blows away every Star Wars fan in existence while getting to know about him from a thrilling perspective and that really is a blowout worth noticing.
What was once an experimental accident that plunged thousands of human beings, now turned into a brutal survival of the fittest scenario as fans of the Prime Video original series, Kamen Rider Amazons, will witness how it all end in the film titled Saigo no Shinpan.
Kamen Rider Amazons: Saigo no Shinpan
Set after the dramatic events of the second season of the Prime Video original series based on TOEI's hit tokusatsu franchise, Saigo no Shinpan (Final Judgment) is the fitting end of the Amazons saga as the main characters, Jin and Haruka, engage on one last bloodbath as Amazon Alpha and Amazon Omega. Yes, this film really is a bloodbath like fans saw from the Prime Video original series because of the intense and brutal action you'd expect from the Amazons saga.
The Amazons saga shows that this is not your little boy's Kamen Rider as seen on TV for several years because of the added horror and violence unprecedented by Rider standards but despite its terrifying elements in the Amazons saga, all the classic Rider moments are still there, meaning it works pretty much like everything from the Kamen Rider franchise and this movie shows just how mad the saga is from start to finish, whatever lays ahead.
It may not fit to be family-oriented compared to Rider installments but the added thrills really made this film why the Amazons saga is in a different league compared to them and such insanity deserves to be noticed.
