Latest news with #24HoursofNürburgring
Pink Villa
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Extreme sports icon ‘Fearless Felix' passes away at 56 after sudden glider crash in Italy
Best known as 'Fearless Felix' for his record-breaking 2012 stratospheric skydive, Felix Baumgartner passed at 56 after a paragliding mishap in Italy on July 18. While flying over Porto Sant'Elpidio this week, he suddenly fell ill, lost control of his motorized glider, and crashed into a hotel pool before suffering cardiac arrest, per reports. Baumgartner's death reverberates across the extreme-sports community, as he embodied the spirit of pushing human limits, whether plunging from 127,852 feet or soaring in carbon-fiber wings. From Christ the Redeemer to the edge of space Felix Baumgartner was never built for limits. Long before his world-famous jump, the extreme sports specialist built his reputation with death-defying BASE jumps. In 1999, he leapt 95 feet from Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue and later BASE-jumped the 91st floor of Taipei 101. He flew across the English Channel in carbon fiber wings and, in 2014, raced in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring with Audi Motorsport. Yet nothing eclipsed the Red Bull Stratos mission: on October 14, 2012, he ascended 24 miles into the stratosphere and became the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall. Per The Guardian, Felix reached 1,343 km/hr before gliding safely to Earth. His calm thumbs-up before the leap remains an iconic image of human daring. A legacy carried on by countless followers Baumgartner's Instagram feed—active until the day before his accident—burst with fans' tributes: 'Rest in peace Legend,' one wrote. At the same time, another recalled how his leap helped them become 'interested in Space and aviation.' One fan wrote: 'Reunited with mentor Joe Kittinger, fly high. RIP legend.' Another added: 'Absolutely surreal that his story is still online and he is no longer alive...' His flying exploits earned him numerous awards in 2012 and 2013, as well as roles as a helicopter stunt pilot with the Flying Bulls. Though his final flight ended in tragedy, his motto still resonates: 'Learn to love what you have been taught to fear,' according to WatchTime. He is mourned by his family, close friends, and a global community inspired by every record he shattered.
Daily Mirror
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Driver rushed to hospital after crash at track Verstappen called 'too dangerous'
Aston Martin's Rolf Scheibner was taking part in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring when he was involved in a huge crash that left his car on its roof in the middle of the track Racing driver Rolf Scheibner was rushed to hospital after suffering a horror crash at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring on Sunday. Scheibner was driving for Aston Martin in the race when he was taken out by Porsche's Kevin Estre. The race was held at a track that four-time Formula One world champion Max Verstappen has branded 'too dangerous'. The infamous course has seen an estimated 170 deaths from both public and private races since it opened in 1927. Estre was battling with Raffaele Marciello when he came up behind the slower Scheibner in the section between Kallenhard and Wehrseifen. The Frenchman attempted to pass the Aston Martin. Neither man gave up the position, with the nose of Estre's vehicle making contact with Scheibner. That turned the Aston sideways, before it ploughed into a barrier, with the force of the collision spinning the car upside down before hurtling back across the track. It eventually came to a rest on its roof but Scheibner was able to escape from the wrecked car. He was then rushed to hospital for precautionary checks and was thankfully released after getting the all clear from medical professionals. The Nurburgring has hosted 42 F1 Grand Prix but Verstappen delivered a scathing criticism in which he insisted it would not host any more. He told Formula 1 Magazine: He told Formula 1 Magazine: '(A return) is really not going to happen with the cars we have now. One thing is for sure: F1 there will never happen again. Far too dangerous.' Estre was handed a 100 second penalty by the stewards for his role in the incident, which ensure he missed out on a win. But the Frenchman insisted he had been left with 'nowhere to go'. 'We were catching some traffic and the car in front of me, the GT4, had three blue flags in a row,' Estre said. 'He left the door open for the triple right. I went inside, there was room and then he turned in and then there was no room anymore. 'I saw him coming, I braked, I was fully on the curb but I had nowhere to go. He had a lot of room on the left obviously he didn't see me or he thought I was further behind, which is sad for him. 'I'm happy that he's fine and this is what we we have to face many times in the race. To be honest if the same situation would have come again, I would have done the same so for me there is nothing that I did [wrong]. Estre also criticised the decision to hand him the large penalty, which dropped him down to second. His team had tried to protest the decision but that was thrown out by the stewards. 'It's a racing incident, of course there's always two to have an incident, but for me, I was inside. They took a decision, we tried to protest but they didn't accept the protest,' said Estre. 'The rest is history, we crossed the finish line first but we had this big penalty and we lost the race. So yeah, it's a sad moment for sure for us. I think we really did a great race. One contact in the race ended up ruining our result. 'Nevertheless, it's a great weekend for Manthey, for Porsche, for my two teammates. They did well. We had a great car [and] we were all the way at the front. We didn't hide and in the end, it was not enough.'
NZ Autocar
19-06-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Autocar
Matariki Motorsport Diary: Kiwis racing overseas this weekend
It's a massive Matariki weekend of Kiwi motorsport, with 28 Kiwi drivers flying the flag across 15 categories on some of the most iconic circuits around the globe. From the fearsome Nürburgring Nordschleife to America's Road America, Italy's Mugello, France's Paul Ricard and Australia's Hidden Valley, this weekend is a worldwide celebration of speed, grit, and Kiwi talent. Endurance fans will be spoilt with Earl Bamber, Hunter McElrea and Andrew Waite tackling the IMSA 6 Hour at Watkins Glen, while Robert Stewart takes on one of the toughest challenges in world motorsport, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Clink here for more
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Toyota's Chairman Shared This Controversial Opinion About EV Sports Cars
As the former President and CEO and now chairman of Toyota's board, Akio Toyoda has long balanced his corporate responsibilities with a passion for racing. Under the pseudonym "Morizo Kinoshita," he created a second identity on the track, competing in major motorsport events such as the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2009, 2014, and 2019. Often behind the wheel of Toyota- and Lexus-branded race cars. In fact, his input behind the wheel at races and behind development, production, and race cars has been cemented so deeply into Toyota lore that cars like the Toyota GR Corolla Morizo Edition have been named after him. In a recent interview with Automotive News, Toyoda doubled down on his skepticism of battery-electric vehicles. However, when acknowledging that some Toyota engineers want an EV sports car, he said that the idea doesn't exactly align with his values. "There will always be people inside Toyota passionate about developing electric sports cars," Toyoda told AutoNews. "But for me, as the master driver, my definition of a sports car is something with the smell of gasoline and a noisy engine."In addition, he still believes that the company has a mountain to climb when it comes to building a selection of EVs that fit with Toyota's mantra of providing affordable, high-quality cars to its customers. Currently, in the United States, Toyota offers only one EV: the bZ4x, a crossover co-developed with Subaru. "Toyota is a mass-production brand, so we also need to think about affordability, even with BEVs," he said. "Once Toyota has the capacity to offer affordable BEVs, then maybe that's a moment when I as a master driver will be introducing a BEV sports car." In response to a question asking him if in his capacity as Toyota's "Master Driver," would he ever race an EV in a competitve race, the man known to enthusiasts simply as Morizo expressed that he wouldn't want to race an EV because the kind of races he likes to do (endurance races) would be less about driving skill and more about the cars' technical limitations. "No! It's not exciting," he said. "Because you won't be able to go around the circuit for more than an hour. The kind of races I enter are mostly endurance races, so with the current BEVs, it's not going to be a race of the cars. It's a race of charging time or battery exchange or something. The next master driver will have to take on that challenge. That's their job." I am not exactly surprised about Toyoda's deterrance towards this sort of thing. He has been openly critical about EVs in the past, and this is just more ink in that section of the book. In a statement at a Toyota company event in January 2024, Morizo argued that EVs "come as a set with infrastructure," arguing that many Toyota drivers live in parts of the world with little to access to electricity. "No matter how much progress BEVs make, I think they will still only have a 30 % market share," Toyoda said. "Then, the remaining 70% will be HEVs [hybrid-electric vehicles], FCEVs [fuel cell electric vehicles], and hydrogen engines. And I think [gas] engine cars will definitely remain. I think this is something that customers and the market will decide, not regulatory values or political power." In the same AutoNews interview, he defended the company's push toward hybrids by saying: "we said as a company the enemy is carbon," additionally noting that in the span of making 27 million hybrid cars, it "had the same impact as 9 million BEVs on the road." "But if we were to have made 9 million BEVs in Japan, it would have actually increased the carbon emissions, not reduced them. That is because Japan relies on the thermal power plants for electricity," he said. "We should look at all options and work in all directions. As a company, we have been very consistent in saying what we're fighting against is carbon dioxide." Taken together, Toyoda's on-track alter ego and his cautious stance on EVs paint a clear picture: he's someone who believes driving should remain an emotional, accessible experience, not just a political or regulatory checkbox. Whether it's pushing Toyota's race cars to their limits or advocating for a more flexible approach to carbon reduction, Toyoda consistently champions a future where car enthusiasts still have a say in how that future looks.
Miami Herald
28-04-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Toyota's Chairman Shared This Controversial Opinion About EV Sports Cars
As the former President and CEO and now chairman of Toyota's board, Akio Toyoda has long balanced his corporate responsibilities with a passion for racing. Under the pseudonym "Morizo Kinoshita," he created a second identity on the track, competing in major motorsport events such as the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2009, 2014, and 2019. Often behind the wheel of Toyota- and Lexus-branded race cars. In fact, his input behind the wheel at races and behind development, production, and race cars has been cemented so deeply into Toyota lore that cars like the Toyota GR Corolla Morizo Edition have been named after him. In a recent interview with Automotive News, Toyoda doubled down on his skepticism of battery-electric vehicles. However, when acknowledging that some Toyota engineers want an EV sports car, he said that the idea doesn't exactly align with his values. "There will always be people inside Toyota passionate about developing electric sports cars," Toyoda told AutoNews. "But for me, as the master driver, my definition of a sports car is something with the smell of gasoline and a noisy engine." Related: Cadillac Confirms Another Future High Performance V-Series EV In addition, he still believes that the company has a mountain to climb when it comes to building a selection of EVs that fit with Toyota's mantra of providing affordable, high-quality cars to its customers. Currently, in the United States, Toyota offers only one EV: the bZ4x, a crossover co-developed with Subaru. "Toyota is a mass-production brand, so we also need to think about affordability, even with BEVs," he said. "Once Toyota has the capacity to offer affordable BEVs, then maybe that's a moment when I as a master driver will be introducing a BEV sports car." EVs are not "exciting" to drive, says Morizo In response to a question asking him if in his capacity as Toyota's "Master Driver," would he ever race an EV in a competitve race, the man known to enthusiasts simply as Morizo expressed that he wouldn't want to race an EV because the kind of races he likes to do (endurance races) would be less about driving skill and more about the cars' technical limitations. "No! It's not exciting," he said. "Because you won't be able to go around the circuit for more than an hour. The kind of races I enter are mostly endurance races, so with the current BEVs, it's not going to be a race of the cars. It's a race of charging time or battery exchange or something. The next master driver will have to take on that challenge. That's their job." I am not exactly surprised about Toyoda's deterrance towards this sort of thing. He has been openly critical about EVs in the past, and this is just more ink in that section of the book. In a statement at a Toyota company event in January 2024, Morizo argued that EVs "come as a set with infrastructure," arguing that many Toyota drivers live in parts of the world with little to access to electricity. "No matter how much progress BEVs make, I think they will still only have a 30 % market share," Toyoda said. "Then, the remaining 70% will be HEVs [hybrid-electric vehicles], FCEVs [fuel cell electric vehicles], and hydrogen engines. And I think [gas] engine cars will definitely remain. I think this is something that customers and the market will decide, not regulatory values or political power." In the same AutoNews interview, he defended the company's push toward hybrids by saying: "we said as a company the enemy is carbon," additionally noting that in the span of making 27 million hybrid cars, it "had the same impact as 9 million BEVs on the road." "But if we were to have made 9 million BEVs in Japan, it would have actually increased the carbon emissions, not reduced them. That is because Japan relies on the thermal power plants for electricity," he said. "We should look at all options and work in all directions. As a company, we have been very consistent in saying what we're fighting against is carbon dioxide." Taken together, Toyoda's on-track alter ego and his cautious stance on EVs paint a clear picture: he's someone who believes driving should remain an emotional, accessible experience, not just a political or regulatory checkbox. Whether it's pushing Toyota's race cars to their limits or advocating for a more flexible approach to carbon reduction, Toyoda consistently champions a future where car enthusiasts still have a say in how that future looks. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
