1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
2.
Tokyo
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Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century
3.
IndyCar Series
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The IndyCar Series is the premier level of open wheel racing in North America. Its parent company began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League which was created by then Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, in 2008, the IndyCar Series merged with the Champ Car World Series. The series is sanctioned by INDYCAR, due to the legal settlement with CART, the Indy Racing League was unable to utilize the name IndyCar until the beginning of the 2003 season. For 1996–1997, the series was referred to as the Indy Racing League. For 1998–1999, the series garnered its first title sponsor, and was advertised as the Pep Boys Indy Racing League, the contract was not renewed after the second year. In 2000, the series sold its rights to Internet search engine Northern Light for five seasons. After only two seasons, however, the agreement ended when Northern Light reevaluated its business plan. The league reverted to the Indy Racing League name for the 2002 season, the IndyCar Series name was officially adopted beginning in 2003, as the series was now legally entitled to use it. Simmons also co-authored the new IndyCar theme song, I Am Indy, izod was announced as the series title sponsor beginning on November 5,2009. Exact financial terms were not disclosed but the deal is worth at least $10 million per year, izod ended its sponsorship after the 2013 season. On March 14,2014, Verizon Wireless was announced as the title sponsor. Since the series inception, IndyCar Series events have been broadcast in the United States on several networks, including ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports Networks, and Spike. Beginning in 2009, NBCSN began a 10-year deal to broadcast 13 IndyCar races per season, whereas the remaining races, including the Indianapolis 500, would remain on ABC through 2018. As of the 2016 season, ABC airs 5 races per season, in the United Kingdom, since the launch of BT Sport in August 2013 races are shown on one of the BT branded channels or ESPN. Previous to August 2013, the IndyCar Series races were broadcasts on the Sky Sports family of networks, the IndyCar Series also had highlights of all the races on the channel Five British terrestrial channel and Five USA, but has since been discontinued since the 2009 season. In Portugal, all of the IndyCar Series are broadcast on Sport TV, in February 2013, Sportsnet announced that it would become the official Canadian broadcaster of the IndyCar Series beginning in the 2013 season in a five-year deal with the series. The new contract will include broadcasts on the Sportsnet regional networks, Sportsnet One, additionally, Sportsnet would also originate coverage from the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Indianapolis 500, and Honda Indy Toronto with Bill Adam, Todd Lewis, and Rob Faulds. Canadian driver Paul Tracy also joined Sportsnet as an analyst, rede Bandeirantes serves as the Brazilian broadcast partner in that country since 1989
4.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that currently races in the United SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Based in Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former talk show host David Letterman. The team was established in 1991 as Rahal-Hogan Racing, became Team Rahal in 1994, following the 1991 CART season, Bobby Rahal left the Galles-Kraco Racing team. Despite consistent top finishes, Rahal actually won only two races from 1989–1991, likewise, Danny Sullivan left the Patrick Racing team, following a dismal season with the Alfa Romeo engine. The two drivers essentially swapped rides, Sullivan joined Galles, and Rahal joined Patrick. By the winter of 1991, however, Patrick Racing started to collapse due to financial and legal issues regarding the Alfa Romeo engine, rumors had surfaced that Patrick had based parts of the Alfa-Romeo engine on the Chevrolet Indycar engine. Around December 1991, Rahal and new partner Carl Hogan acquired the assets of Patrick Racing, a new team was formed, known as Rahal-Hogan Racing. In 1992, the won the IndyCar World Series title on their first try. In late 1992, Rahal-Hogan absorbed the Truesports racing team, which Rahal had been a part of from 1982–1988, the team moved its headquarters from Indianapolis to Hilliard, into the old Truesports facility. Along with the acquisition, they attempted to take over the two-year-old Truesports all-American chassis program, Rahal began the season with an updated version of the Truesports chassis, with the intention of introducing a brand-new Rahal-Hogan chassis later in the year. A second-place finish at Long Beach offered some promise, the success was short-lived however, as the chassis proved uncompetitive on superspeedways. After Rahal failed to qualify at Indianapolis, the team switched to a more conventional Lola, eventually the team abandoned the chassis project. In 1994, Rahal–Hogan introduced the Honda HRX Indy V-8 engine to the IndyCar World Series, at Indianapolis, the engine proved uncompetitive, and Rahal risked missing the race for the second year in a row. He borrowed two Penske-Ilmor machines, and finished third in the race, in 1996, Carl Hogan left the team, and started his own racing operation. As a result, the changed its name to Team Rahal. In early 1996, Rahals longtime friend, and avid fan, comedian David Letterman. Over the next few years, the team would employ Bryan Herta, Max Papis, Kenny Bräck, Jimmy Vasser and Michel Jourdain, Jr. getting closest to another title in 2001, Rahal himself retired from driving at the end of 1998. The team changed its name again to Rahal Letterman Racing in May 2004, also in the 2005 Indianapolis 500, former team member Kenny Bräck, who was replaced by Rice when he suffered a serious injury in 2003, replaced Rice when he was injured in pre-race practice
5.
Sonoma Raceway
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The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 feet of total elevation change. It is host to one of only two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses and it is also host to the Verizon IndyCar Series and several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series. Sonoma Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events which may or may not be open to the general public, the largest such car club is the Sports Car Club of America. With the closure of Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California after the 1988 season, NASCAR, wanting a west coast road course event to replace it, Riverside International was razed for a shopping center development. In 2002, Sears Point Raceway was renamed after a corporate sponsor, however, as with many renamings of sports complexes, many people still call it by its original name. Until it can find a new sponsor, the course is simply identifying itself as Sonoma. The 2. 52-mile road racing course was constructed on 720 acres by Marin County owners Robert Marshall Jr. an attorney from Point Reyes, the two conceived of the idea of a race track while on a hunting trip. Ground was broken in August 1968 and paving of the surface was completed in November. The first official event at Sears Point was an SCCA Enduro, in 1969 the track was sold to Filmways Corp. a Los Angeles-based entertainment company for $4.5 million. In May 1970 the track was closed and became a tax shelter for Filmways after losses of $300,000 were reported, hugh Harn of Belvedere and Parker Archer of Napa arranged to lease the track from Filmways in 1973. In 1981 Filmways regained ownership of the track after a dispute with Black Mountain group. Jack Williams, the 1964 NHRA top-fuel drag racing champion, Rick Betts, the track was renamed Sears Point International Raceway. In 1985 the track was repaved, in part with funds donated from the Pave the Point fund raising campaign. The first shop spaces were built, in 1986 Harvey Skip Berg of Tiburon, CA took control of the track and became a major stockholder in Brenda Raceway Corp. which controlled the track until 1996. Additional buildings constructed on the property brought shop space to more than 700,000 square feet during 1987, in addition, a five-year contract was signed with the National Hot Rod Association for the California Nationals. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series debuted at the raceway in 1989, in 1994 more than $1 million was spent on a beautification project and construction of a 62-foot -high, four-sided electronic lap leader board in the center of the road course. In the following years a major $3 million renovation plan included VIP suites, in 1995 Trans-Am and SportsCar races returned to Sears Point and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was added to the major-events schedule. Owner Skip Berg sold the track to O. Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports, major renovations began at Sears Point Raceway in 1998 with the creation of The Chute, an 890-foot high-speed stretch
6.
Grand Prix of Long Beach
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The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event, which began as a vision while working at an agency in downtown Long Beach. It was the race on the CART/Champ Car calender from 1996-2008. Since 2009, the race has been part of the unified IndyCar Series, for most of its history, the race has traditionally been held in April. It is one of the longest continuously-running events in Indy car racing, the Long Beach Grand Prix is the longest running major street race held in North American. It started in 1975 as a Formula 5000 race, and became a Formula One event in 1976, john Watsons win for McLaren in the final race at Long Beach holds the F1 record for the lowest ever starting position for a race winner. In a grid consisting of 26 cars, Watson started 22nd in his McLaren-Ford and that same race also saw Watsons team mate Niki Lauda finish second after starting 23rd on the grid. René Arnoux, who finished third in his Ferrari 126C2B, was the driver to ever finish on the Formula One podium at Long Beach using a turbocharged car. In 1984, the race switched from a Formula One race to a CART Indy car event. Support races over the years have included Indy Lights, IMSA, Atlantics, Pirelli World Challenge, Trans-Am Series, Formula D, Stadium Super Trucks, Formula E, and the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Toyota has been a sponsor of the event since its beginning and title sponsor since 1980, the Long Beach Grand Prix has been announced since 1978 by Bruce Flanders. The Long Beach Grand Prix in April is the single largest event in the city of Long Beach, attendance for the weekend regularly reaches or exceeds 200,000 people. The current race circuit is a 1. 968-mile temporary road course laid out in the city surrounding the Long Beach Convention Center. The convention center actually doubled as the pit paddock during the days of Formula One, the circuit also goes primarily over the former location of The Pike historic amusement zone. The track is noted for its last section, a sharp hairpin turn followed by a long. The circuit is situated on the Long Beach waterfront, and is lined with palm trees, the circuit has undergone numerous layout changes since the races inception in 1975. All iterations, however, have featured a signature hairpin turn, mainstretch along Shoreline Drive, the first grand prix layout measured 2.02 miles, and featured two hairpins, one at each end of the Shoreline Drive straightaway. In its early years, the line and the finish line were located on different sides of the course
7.
Formula One
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Formula One is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile. The FIA Formula One World Championship has been the form of racing since the inaugural season in 1950. The formula, designated in the name, refers to a set of rules, the F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held worldwide on purpose-built F1 circuits and public roads. The results of each race are evaluated using a system to determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers, one for constructors. The racing drivers are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the races are required to be held on tracks graded 1, the highest grade a track can receive by the FIA. Most events are held in locations on purpose-built tracks, but there are several events in city centres throughout the world. Formula One cars are the fastest road racing cars in the world. Formula One cars race at speeds of up to approximately 375 km/h with engines currently limited in performance to a maximum of 15,000 RPM, the cars are capable of lateral acceleration in excess of five g in corners. The performance of the cars is very dependent on electronics – although traction control and other driving aids have been banned since 2008 – and on aerodynamics, suspension, the formula has radically evolved and changed through the history of the sport. F1 had a global television audience of 425 million people during the course of the 2014 season. Grand Prix racing began in 1906 and became the most popular internationally in the second half of the twentieth century. The Formula One Group is the holder of the commercial rights. Its high profile and popularity have created a major merchandising environment, since 2000 the sports spiraling expenditures and the distribution of prize money favoring established top teams have forced complaints from smaller teams and led several teams to bankruptcy. On 23 January 2017 it was confirmed that Liberty Media had completed its $8 billion acquisition of Delta Topco, the Formula One series originated with the European Grand Prix Motor Racing of the 1920s and 1930s. The formula is a set of rules that all cars must meet. Formula One was a new formula agreed upon after World War II during 1946, the first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United Kingdom in 1950. A championship for constructors followed in 1958, national championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Non-championship Formula One events were held for years, but due to the increasing cost of competition
8.
2008 FIA Formula One World Championship
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It featured the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The season was contested over eighteen rounds, which started in Australia on 16 March and ended in Brazil on 2 November. The 2008 season saw the debut of the Singapore Grand Prix, scuderia Ferrari Marlboro won the Constructors title. In winning the title, Hamilton became the youngest driver ever to win the title and he was also the first British champion since Damon Hill in 1996. Eleven teams competed in the championship, although Super Aguri withdrew on 6 May from the 2008 Formula One season due to financial troubles, new technical rules for 2008 included the banning of traction control after it was re-introduced in 2001. Fernando Alonso won the first race held in Singapore, however, when Piquet admitted this to the press in 2009 Renault team-principal Briatore resigned. This was the last season for the Honda team before they pulled out of F1 later in December due to the economic crisis. Then, Ross Brawn bought the team and renamed it to Brawn GP in February 2009 using the Mercedes-Benz engines and this was also the last Formula One season to race with grooved tyres, used since 1998, before slick tyres returned to Formula One in 2009. All teams in groups have two spots each on the 2008 grid. The following teams and drivers competed in the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, ‡ Super Aguri withdrew on 6 May from the 2008 Formula One season due to financial troubles. All eleven current teams applied, as well as several others, there were 21 applications in total, several new teams applying included European Minardi F1 Team Ltd, Jordan Grand Prix, Direxiv and Carlin Motorsport. However, despite the Prodrive application being accepted, Richards later announced that the team would not race in 2008 due to a dispute over the legality of customer cars. Rumours about the sale of the Spyker team had been abundant in the paddock throughout the last few months of the 2007 season. Only a year after Spyker bought the team from Midland, Indian businessman Vijay Mallya bought the team for €88 million, on 24 October 2007, Mallya was granted permission to change the teams name to Force India. While a total of 21 teams applied for entry, the FIA had always maintained that only 12 teams would be granted entry, FIA president Max Mosley revealed that Prodrive had found the finances to support their bid. Also, Prodrives chief executive, David Richards, has experience as a Formula One team principal, during the 2008 season on May 6, the Super Aguri team folded and withdrew from Formula One. The team was in financial straits at the end of 2007 as the team did not receive a payment on a sponsorship deal. Despite this Super Aguri were unable to sign any contracts until agreements had been reached with their sponsors, sato and Davidson were confirmed on 10 March
9.
Jordan Grand Prix
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Jordan Grand Prix was an Irish Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan, Jordan and his team were well known for a rock and roll attitude which added colour and character to Formula One in the 1990s. Eddie Jordan had a stint as a race driver in the late 1970s before founding Eddie Jordan Racing in the early 1980s. The team graduated to International Formula 3000 for 1988, winning its first race in the category with Johnny Herbert, in 1989, Jordan won the F3000 drivers championship with future Formula One star Jean Alesi. The team also ran future F1 drivers such as Martin Donnelly, Jordans success in lower formulae inspired the creation of a Formula One programme for the 1991 season and a change of name to Jordan Grand Prix. The first driver to test a Jordan F1 car was veteran Ulsterman John Watson, Jordan hired Italian veteran Andrea de Cesaris and Belgian Bertrand Gachot to race his first cars, which were powered by Ford. The team had a solid debut finishing 5th in the Constructors Championship. De Cesaris ran second for much of the Belgian Grand Prix, Gachot failed to end the season after being sent to prison for attacking a taxi driver. Despite Jordans signed agreement in principle with Mercedes for the remainder of the season, Jordan applied for an injunction in the UK courts to prevent Schumacher driving for Benetton, but lost the case as they had not yet signed a contract. Future Champ Car title winner Alessandro Zanardi and ousted Benetton driver Roberto Moreno filled the second car afterwards, success for Jordan literally came at a high price. The team was forced to switch to cheaper Yamaha engines for the 1992 season, with Maurício Gugelmin and Stefano Modena driving, the team struggled badly and failed to score a point until the final race of the season. 1993 saw further changes, with the team again changing engine suppliers, again, the season started with two new drivers, Ivan Capelli and Brazilian rookie Rubens Barrichello. Capelli left after two races and Barrichello saw five other drivers become team mates of his during the 1993 campaign, Jordan only had moderate improvement, scoring three points. Signs of stability were beginning to show near the end of the season when Barrichello was joined by Eddie Irvine, the Ulsterman finished sixth and secured a point on his debut Formula One race at Suzuka. It was further memorable because Irvine unlapped himself against McLarens Ayrton Senna, Barrichello and Irvine returned for the 1994 season, as did the Hart engines, but Irvine had a bad start to the season, earning a three-race ban for reckless driving. Barrichello earned the team their first top three finish in Japan at the Pacific Grand Prix, but was killed during the following race in San Marino following a frightening qualifying crash. The team overcame these difficulties and returned to their form as they finished fifth in the Constructors Championship again. Barrichello earned Jordans first pole position after a gamble during a wet qualifying session in Belgium, Jordan switched to Peugeot power in 1995
10.
British American Racing
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British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year, subsequently, they formed a partnership with Honda which lasted for the next six years. The team was named after British American Tobacco plc, which owned and sponsored it in order to display its Lucky Strike and 555 brands, the headquarters were in Brackley, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. In mid-November 2004, Japanese car manufacturer Honda purchased 45% of the team, consequently, BAR Honda became Honda Racing F1 Team for the 2006 Formula One season. British American Tobacco had been involved in Formula One for many years, in 1997 the corporation was convinced by Craig Pollock to provide most of the equity to purchase the Tyrrell Formula One team for GB£30 million. Pollock, Adrian Reynard and Rick Gorne were the minority partners, the deal was announced on 2 December 1997. The team was officially known as Tyrrell in 1998, before it became BAR the following year. On 23 July 1998 BAR announced the signing of World Champion Jacques Villeneuve away from Williams with a contract for the 1999 season. Pollock had managed Villeneuve throughout his racing career, Villeneuve was joined by F1 rookie Ricardo Zonta. The cars chassis was built by Reynard Motorsport at a new factory in Brackley and was powered by Supertec engines. At the launch of their new car BAR unveiled separate liveries for their cars, Villeneuves car painted in a white and red Lucky Strike livery and Zontas carrying a blue and yellow 555 livery. The FIA deemed the dual liveries illegal under F1 regulations which state that a teams cars must carry largely identical liveries, BAR lodged a complaint with the International Chamber of Commerce but simultaneously lodged a complaint with the European Commission. Pollock was summoned to the World Motor Sport Council to explain the team behaviour and he also apologised to the Council and reiterated his acceptance of the FIAs authority. To get around the ban BAR ran one side of their cars painted in the Lucky Strike colours, BAR reverted to a more traditional style of livery for 2000 onwards. BAR had the slogan of A tradition of excellence, which was viewed as humorous by pundits as the team had no history, Adrian Reynard also made an ambitious claim that the team would win a race in their debut season. In a disastrous maiden season BAR failed to score a point in the Constructors Championship. The car was quick and often qualified in the midfield. However the car suffered from unreliability, Villeneuve started the year with 11 straight retirements
11.
Super Aguri F1
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Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from 2006 to 2008. The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan, the cars were referred to as Super Aguri Hondas, with the team functioning to some degree as an unofficial Honda B-team. In Japan, public pressure persuaded Honda to help its former driver Takuma Sato to continue to compete in Formula One and this was influential in the creation of Super Aguris F1 project and the engine supply from Super Aguris parent company Honda. After participating in the championship for 2 years and 4 months, throughout the teams time in the sport, it scored 4 points. All of these were scored by Sato, and all were in the 2007 season, talks to start the team began in February 2005, but it was not until September that plans started to take shape. The team registered its intention to enter the Formula One World Championship to the FIA, Formula Ones governing body, the team re-applied for entry in 2006, and continued to prepare cars for the upcoming season. Having missed the registration, the team needed to convince the existing ten teams to unanimously agree to its entry. In 2006, the cars were powered by Honda engines, the chassis, SA05, was based on the 2002 Arrows A23, bought from ex-Minardi principal Paul Stoddart who purchased them when the Arrows team went into receivership. The team had announced plans to produce a new in-house chassis later on in the 2006 season, possibly for the European races, instead, the team updated their older chassis to become the SA06 – a change which was visible from the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, onwards. Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide were the race drivers for the team in the 2006 season. The team made it onto the grid for the start of the season, in its debut race at Bahrain Sato successfully completed the Grand Prix while Ide retired on lap 35 with a mechanical failure and after nearly running over his pit crew. Suzuki deemed this race to be a good test for the team as the car had only done a maximum of 10 laps during pre-season testing, the teams second race was little better, with again only Sato finishing the race. Super Aguris third race, the 2006 Australian Grand Prix, saw significant improvement, Ide said This is the first time that both Taku and I have finished a race, so I am happy about that. For the European Grand Prix, Ide and Montagny swapped roles within the team, at the request of the FIA and this was mostly due to a collision between him and Midland driver Christijan Albers at the San Marino GP. As of 10 May 2006 the FIA Permit Office revoked Ides Super Licence, Montagny raced until and including the French Grand Prix, and on 8 June 2006 Sakon Yamamoto became Super Aguris third driver. Montagny and Yamamoto swapped roles for the 2006 German Grand Prix, when the updated car was first raced in the German Grand Prix, it managed to impress, with decent qualifying positions, although failing to finish the race. The teams cited the fact that the Concorde Agreement mandated a car may not use any parts designed or constructed by another manufacturer of Formula One cars, Super Aguri seemed to be in violation about this. The FIA however did not have the authority to act on the Concorde Agreement without the matter already being resolved in court, however, Super Aguri stated that they were in compliance with the sports regulations, though the matter was still of great contention
12.
2008 Spanish Grand Prix
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The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 27 April 2008 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. It was the race of the 2008 Formula One season. The 66-lap race was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from pole position, Felipe Massa finished second in the other Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton was third in a McLaren. Räikkönen began the race from pole position alongside Renault driver Fernando Alonso, Massa began from third, alongside BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica. Hamilton, the eventual Drivers Champion, began from fifth and passed Kubica into the first corner, Räikkönen maintained his lead through most of the race, leading to Ferraris one-two finish. The safety car was deployed several times throughout the race, including for a crash involving McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen. Prior to the weekend, the event was put on probation by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile. Subsequently, no such racism was reported during the race weekend, the result promoted Ferrari to the lead in the Constructors Championship,12 points ahead of BMW Sauber and 13 points ahead of McLaren. Räikkönen extended his lead in the Drivers Championship to 29 points, nine ahead of Hamilton. Massa moved into place on 18 points, with 14 races remaining in the season. The Grand Prix was contested by 22 drivers, in 11 teams of two, the teams, also known as constructors, were Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Honda, Force India, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Williams, Toro Rosso and Super Aguri. Tyre supplier Bridgestone brought two different tyre compounds to the race, the softer of the two marked by a white stripe down one of the grooves. Prior to the race, Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen led the Drivers Championship with 19 points, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, BMW driver Robert Kubica and Hamiltons teammate Heikki Kovalainen held the next three positions, all with 14 points. In the Constructors Championship, BMW Sauber were leading with 30 points, one point ahead of Ferrari, after Hamilton won the season opener in Australia, Ferrari had dominated the next two races in Malaysia and Bahrain. In the Malaysian Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa had claimed pole position, Ferraris form had continued at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Massa had led Räikkönen to a one-two finish. Despite the promising start to the season, Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said the team was not celebrating prematurely, the team reacted immediately and has shown the great potential of our package, which is extremely competitive. Having said that, we have to be aware, were approaching the Spanish GP with a maximum effort, keeping our feet on the ground, we were not depressed after the first race and we are not euphoric after Bahrain. We need absolute motivation and we are aware of the fact that our competitors are getting better, with his team leading the Constructors Championship, Heidfeld said BMW was outperforming expectations, Its better than expected after the winter time, of course, but it could also be better
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