Latest news with #trackday
The Drive
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Judge Orders Tesla to Buy Back Model S Plaid Over Track Braking Failure
The latest car news, reviews, and features. A Tesla Model S Plaid owner took the electric automaker to court and won after his EV cooked its brakes on the first turn of a track day. He sued Tesla for misleading advertising as it marketed the car specifically for track use, though in his experience, that was far from the case. The judge has even ordered Tesla to buy back the 1,020-horsepower sedan as a result. The ruling was issued in Oslo District Court, citing violation of Norway's Consumer Protection Act. Vilhelm Dybwad, the Model S Plaid owner who initiated the suit against Tesla, reached out to The Drive about his misfortune. 'The stock brakes are horrible, inadequate, and downright dangerous for any type of track driving,' he wrote in an email. 'We got the error message that the bakes were too hot while under braking for the first corner (after the warmup lap) at Rudskogen Motorcenter.' That circuit is a serious one, designed by F1 track specialist Hermann Tilke. At a touch over two miles, the main course features 14 turns with long, high-speed straights and roughly 140 feet of elevation change. Turn One, where Dybwad's Model S Plaid brakes overheated, is a slightly uphill lefthander that requires heavy stoppage before rolling into Turn Two. Just after that is a half-circle that leads to another straight where high-powered cars hit triple-digit speeds. What I'm getting at is: Even if the Tesla's brakes hung on through the first corner, they wouldn't have long to recover before another high-intensity event that could spell disaster. That's Turn One on the far righthand side, following the long start/finish straight. Rudskogen Dybwad belongs to a car enthusiast organization in Norway called Amcar. The club's technical committee prepared a statement regarding his EV's failure and provided witness accounts as well as independent testing to prove the Model S Plaid didn't work as advertised. When they put an experienced track driver in a similar but different Plaid at Rudskogen, it also malfunctioned after making the first turn. This evidence held up in court, leading legal officials to observe Tesla's marketing materials. The district court agreed that Tesla advertised the Model S Plaid as being track capable, even showing it on a race circuit in several videos while claiming it can 'continuously lap the track without performance degradation.' Tesla supposedly argued that Dybwad could have optioned his car with carbon ceramic brakes, which perform far better in high-heat situations, though those weren't offered until 10 months after he purchased it. Normally, this is where The Drive would reach out to the automaker's PR department for a comment, but Tesla doesn't have one of those. Having determined the issue was significant enough to fall under the Consumer Protection Act, the court ordered Tesla to pay Dybwad the equivalent of $122,972 USD plus interest, as well as his legal costs totaling $26,869 USD. This effectively canceled his purchase of the car. Tesla can appeal the decision, but as Dybwad's legal representation told Nettavisen , they aren't worried. Dybwad and his Model S Plaid. Amcar Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Kerbz Adventures Secures $500K Seed Round to Redefine the Motorsports Experience
WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / July 18, 2025 / Kerbz Adventures, the fast-growing platform reinventing the way drivers and organizers connect in the world of motorsports, has announced the closing of its $500,000 seed round. Fueled by this new capital, the company is poised to expand aggressively, offering a smarter, more modern alternative to legacy systems like Tech Kerbz Motorsports Technology Platform Founded by a group of track-day veterans and builders frustrated with outdated tools, Kerbz is creating the all-in-one digital pit lane - streamlining everything from event registration and vehicle rentals to AI coaching and on-track data. 'Motorsports is one of the few industries still relying on 20-year-old software and spreadsheets,' said Quy Vo, CEO of Kerbz. 'This seed round is our green flag. We're building the platform we always wished existed - for drivers, organizers, and the future of track culture.' Built for Drivers, Backed by Builders Kerbz launched with a simple mission: give drivers and hosts tools as powerful and intuitive as the cars they drive. Since then, the platform has rapidly grown to support: Real-time event registration & management Integrated vehicle rentals Mobile-first inspections, paddock check-in, and social integration AI-powered lap coaching (coming soon) A connected ecosystem for drivers, instructors, and hosts Early adopters - including clubs, instructors, and track day organizers - are already moving off legacy systems to Kerbz for its user-friendly experience and real-time automation. Investors Backing the Shift The $500K round was led by a syndicate of motorsports insiders, angel investors, and product-focused operators who believe the motorsports experience is ripe for innovation. The capital will accelerate product development, grow the engineering team, and fuel expansion into new regions and track partnerships. Racing Toward the Future The team isn't stopping at events. Kerbz is laying the groundwork for an AI coaching marketplace, a peer-to-peer vehicle sharing system, and a motorsports-native social graph - tools that will make track life smoother, faster, and more connected. 'We see a future where drivers don't just register for events - they build careers, teams, and legacies on Kerbz,' Quy Vo. Join the Revolution Whether you're a novice driver, an instructor, or a club organizer, Kerbz is your new home track. The company is actively onboarding new hosts and partners. Interested organizers can learn more at and apply to join the platform. Contact Information My Ho Marketing Manager SOURCE: Kerbz Adventures press release
The Drive
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
‘Sadair's Spear' Is the Most Extreme Koenigsegg Jesko Yet
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Koenigsegg took to the internet to share its new masterpiece Wednesday morning. Privately unveiled to an audience of eager repeat buyers, the new Koenigsegg Sadair's Spear is a juiced-up, lighter-weight Jesko built with an eye toward track day dominance. Is there really anyplace to properly use a 1,600-horsepower hypercar that isn't a race track? Don't answer that—especially if you're going to say 'Mexico.' But to Koenigsegg's point, the Sadair's Spear does appear to be dialed in for even quicker lap times than your run-of-the-mill (LOL) Koenigsegg. It's named for the horse Jesko von Koenigsegg (company founder Christian's father) last competed on as a jockey. Packing completely revised front and rear aero packages, an elongated body designed to improve high-speed stability (and efficiency too, allegedly), wider tires, upgraded brakes and a higher-capacity cooling system, the Sadair's Spear certainly reads like a weekend warrior's dream ride. It can even be equipped with six-point harnesses from the factory. Don't worry, you get the fancy race buckets whether you opt for the additional restraints or not. The new 'double-blade' active rear wing is meant to increase downforce, and was designed to work in concert with the revised rear body (the source of that extra length mentioned above) to keep the rear planted. Up front, Koenigsegg reworked the Jesko's canards, added a Gurney flap and re-arranged the other hood vents to better channel air both into and around the Sadair's Spear. While they were at it, they also redesigned the intake plumbing, finding another 20 horsepower in the process (25 if you're using E85, Koenigsegg says). No details on the upgraded cooling system were provided, but Koenigsegg credited it in part for allowing the slight boost to power output. On the handling front, Koenigsegg specifically called out the Sadair's Spear's wider tires, which are wrapped around a unique set of seven-spoke 'Aircore' turbine-blade wheels. If you look closely, you'll note that they're not only directional, but unique to each corner. The suspension is also bespoke, per Koenigsegg, featuring lightweight springs and Triplex dampers. The dimensions of the brakes appear to match those of a standard Jesko, but Koenigsegg notes that the rotors are the product of a multi-layer carbon-ceramic process and that the pad compound was upgraded. Inside, the Sadair's Spear gets a unique look, right down to the aforementioned racing seats (and optional restraint upgrades). There's carbon fiber aplenty, of course, and in combination with all of the improvements to the Jesko's chassis and body, Koenigsegg says the Sadair's Spear is about 75 pounds (35 kg) lighter than the base car. Its first shake-down lap at Sweden's GotlandRing race track shaved more than a second off the Jesko Attack's best time. Want one? Well, if you're reading this, it's too late. All 30 are already spoken for, so you'll have to keep an eye on the secondary market. Koenigsegg didn't even bother suggesting a price, which I'm sure would make mortal eyes water. Got any wild horse-inspired hypercars in your production pipeline? Let us know at tips@
The Drive
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Dodge Challenger Pummels Porsche 911 GT3 RS in Soaking Wet Track Day Crash
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Social media algorithms feed us so many wild car crash videos that it's almost impossible to be shocked by anything nowadays. Whether it's Ford Mustangs careening into crowds or Ferrari F40s catching on fire, we're pretty much used to it all. But then you come across footage of a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack crashing into a Porsche GT3 RS, and it makes you go, 'What?' And that's before you learn that it happened in Europe. This YouTube video shared by Carspotter Jeroen was filmed at the famous TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands during last weekend's SuperCar Assen 2025. Judging by the event's website, the weekend features racing, a car show, a marketplace, a track day, and a big party rolled into one shindig. As it's typical in that region, heavy rain moved into the area during Sunday's track session, but surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly for some hardcore track rats), it did not bring out a red flag. You can see two Porsche GT3 RSs—one, silver and black, and another, white and green—leaving the paddock while the track surface is still very, very wet. Later on, we get to see these same cars coming around the main straight with an orange Challenger in tow (still wearing the yellow splitter guard, of course). At this point, the straightaway is still wet but not quite as soaked as other areas of the track, at least from what we can see in the various angles of the video. There's no way to tell how the real timeline of events actually happened, but just 60 seconds into the video, it becomes obvious that weather conditions have taken a major turn for the worse, and rain is coming down quite hard. However, cars are still lapping, and everyone seems to be handling it well for the most part… until the 2:20 mark. At this point, two different POVs come into frame, reportedly taken by Lena_Pink_RS7 and 026_Automotive from the grandstands along the main straight. The silver Porsche we'd seen before enters as it's making its way to the first corner, when the driver suddenly loses control (likely due to hydroplaning) and the rear end snaps left. While I can't see the entire sequence of events, this other angle found on Instagram shows that the Porsche driver did a good-enough job controlling the spin and limiting damage to his car. It definitely touches the wall, but the car doesn't appear to be heavily damaged by the time it comes to a halt. That didn't matter, of course, because just a few seconds later, a 4,300-pound American tank smashed into the Porsche and sandwiched it against the wall. The heavy damage can be seen in detail around the 3:00 mark, after the session is red-flagged and an ambulance arrives at the scene of the crash. The Porsche driver can be seen walking around his car, though the Dodge driver isn't shown in the footage. Why did race control not stop the session before all the chaos ensued? I have no idea, especially at one of Europe's flagship tracks, which currently hosts MotoGP and other major series. While some enthusiasts love to track their cars in all kinds of environments, it was obvious that the track was flooded in some areas, and no specialty tire can save you from that much standing water—even if you're a talented driver. Plus, my guess is that these recreational track drivers didn't exactly bring extreme wets for their half-hour outing. Overall, this expensive and regrettable crash could've easily been avoided, but what's done is done. Hope everyone is okay. Got a tip? Email us at tips@
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Aston Martin reveals track-day version of Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar
Aston Martin is billing a new track-day version of its Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar as near-identical to the race car. The Aston Martin Valkyrie LM Hypercar boasts the same maximum power output of 520kW (697bhp) from its 6.5-litre V12 as the World Endurance Championship and IMSA Sportscar Championship contender. Advertisement The differences between the two cars represent, said Aston head of endurance motorsport Adam Carter, 'only a few minor deviations to ensure it is a non-homologated variant and is accessible for customers to experience and enjoy'. Aston Martin Valkyrie track day car Aston Martin Valkyrie track day car Aston Martin Aston Martin This will include the removal of FIA-regulation electronics, a bespoke cockpit interface tailored for track days and the use of Pirelli rather than Michelin tyres. 'Valkyrie LM represents the most authentic Hypercar track experience that is now available,' he continued. Aston CEO Adrian Hallmark said: 'With Valkyrie LM, there has never been an opportunity to get closer to the raw dynamic forces and state-of-the-art technology deployed by the Hypercar currently competing in WEC and IMSA. Advertisement 'Valkyrie LM is an exquisite opportunity to be part of the most exclusive Aston Martin owners' club in the world, a group who can immerse themselves in the purest and most comparable endurance driving experience, one that would otherwise only be available to our works drivers operating at the very limit of sportscar racing's highest echelon.' The ownership experience Aston Martin Valkyrie track day car Aston Martin Valkyrie track day car Aston Martin Aston Martin Production of the Valkyrie LM will be limited to 10 cars, whose owners will be able to take part in a special programme during Aston's so-called 'Unleashed' track experience events. Deliveries of the first Valkyrie LMs will start in the middle of 2026 ahead of two track days at Aston Unleashed' events later in the year. Aston has put the price of the Valkyrie LM at 'circa $5 million Usd. plus taxes'. Advertisement Aston Martin will look after the cars and offer a driver development programme tailored, it explained, 'to support harness and optimise their driving ability and provide them with the ultimate top-flight motorsport experience'. The British manufacturer is taking a leaf out of Ferrari's book after the launch of the Modificata version of its two-time Le Mans-winning 499P LMH. Ferrari is understood to have sold well in excess of 20 Modificatas, which take part in its Clienti events, since its launch at the end of 2023. The Ferrari, however, is different in key areas to the LMH – one of these a push-to-pass power boost from its hybrid system, which increases peak power to 640kW or 860bhp. Aston Martin Valkyrie track day car Aston Martin Valkyrie track day car Aston Martin Aston Martin Advertisement Deliveries of the first Valkyrie LMs will start in the middle of next year ahead of two track days at Formula 1-grade circuits later in the year. Plans to race the Valkyrie in the WEC were announced in 2019 before being put on hold early the following year, but development of the still-born LMH fed into the AMR Pro track day car. This car was the starting point for the development of the LMH that entered competition this year. To read more articles visit our website.
