F1 2024: Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The streets of Baku, Azerbaijan are the next stop for the F1 2024 with the Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix as part of this month's street-racing double-header. In this race, Ollie Bearman returns to fill in Kevin Magnussen's seat as Magnussen is serving a one-race ban following his incident in Monza.

Max Verstappen is still in the lead, but Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc are closing in. The title fight is now too close to call.

As the lights went off, the action in Baku was on. Charles Leclerc holds off Oscar Piastri for the lead and both Red Bull drivers gaining positions. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton made a milestone in Baku as he raced 100,000 kilometers across his career. As the current season leader Verstappen is struggling, the race's midway point became a clash between Piastri, Leclerc, and Sergio Perez. As Piastri maintains his lead as the climax draws near, the clash between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz on Lap 50 ended in a horrific collision, triggering a safety car as the final lap approached.

Image: Formula 1

McLaren is now leading the Constructors Championship for the first time in a decade. This follows Oscar Piastri's recent win in the chaotic Baku endgame. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished 2nd and Mercedes-AMG's George Russell finished 3rd.

The next race on the Formula One calendar is the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix. It will be held on September 22, 2024.

FIA WEC S12 - 6 Hours of Fuji

The 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship continues at Fuji Speedway with the 6 Hours of Fuji endurance race. This race is usually dominated by Toyota, but with Porsche leading the standings, it looks like the tables have turned. Will Porsche be able to maintain its lead, or will Toyota regain its dominance on home turf?

Screengrab from WEC

Following Toyota Gazoo Racing's heartbreak on its home turf, the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 emerged victorious while BMW and Alpine took podium finishes for the first time on Japanese soil. The #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 made its debut win in the LMGT3 class.

The FIA WEC S12 finale is the BAPCO Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain, which takes place on October 31st. The #12 Hertz Team JOTA leads the Hypercar class, and #92 Manthey PureRxcing leads the LMGT3 class. Will these teams claim the titles? Tune in to find out!

2024 Repco Supercars Championship - Penrite Oil Sandown 500

The Enduro season in the 2024 Supercars Championship officially began with the Penrite Oil Sandown 500. In this race, two drivers share the same car and must work together to survive and win. Welcome to the endurance side of Supercars.

Screengrab from Supercars

The Red Bull Ampol team won the top two spots in the chaotic Sandown endurance race. Will Brown and Scott Pye in the #87 car held off Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup in the #88 Camaro. The #31 PremiAir Bulon Racing Camaro driven by James Goldin and David Russell came in third.

The Repco Bathurst 1000 is the most important race of the Supercars season. It will be held October 9-13, 2024.

Let's Do The News! (September 14, 2024)

   

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- 37 people, including three US citizens, are sentenced to death in DR Congo on charges of taking part in a failed coup attempt.

- Boeing workers are on strike after rejecting a deal between union representatives and the aviation giant that included a 25% pay hike.

- Russia revokes accreditation of six British diplomats it accuses of spying, according to Russian media. The UK says Russia's accusation is "completely baseless".

- Bye Bye Earth TV anime renewed for a second season.

- ATTRAKT takes legal action against Warner Music Korea for alleged collusion with former FIFTY FIFTY members to breach contract.

- HYBE responds to Min Hee Jin's injunction request for reappointment as ADOR's inside director.

- WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert promised players that she and the league will show leadership in fighting against the abusive discourse that players experience on social media.

- Michael Chandler is set to fight Charles Oliveira in a five-round co-main event at UFC 309 on November 16th at the Madison Square Garden.

- BBC presenter Jay Blades appeared in court charged with engaging in controlling and coercive behavior.

- Singer Justin Timberlake pleads guilty to driving while impaired and agrees to make public safety announcements and do community service. "We can all be safer out there, and I'm going to do my part", Timberlake said after pleading guilty.

TTFN.

The Grand Tour presents One For The Road EPISODE REVIEW

When it comes to cars, adventure, and crude toilet humor, no one comes close to Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. These three men have been butting heads for over two decades and now, their time has reached its bittersweet end as the final Grand Tour adventure, titled One For The Road, signals the end of the world's most undesirable but desirable threesome.

The Grand Tour presents One For The Road

The Grand Tour trio bought three classic cars for their final road trip across Zimbabwe. They ventured and survived to Botswana, the fateful place where the first-ever Top Gear special occurred nearly two decades ago. James chose the Triumph Stag, Richard chose the first-generation Ford Capri, and Jeremy chose the Lancia Montecarlo.

Tackling through Zimbabwe's worst road conditions, forest fires, coal dust, crocodile-infested waters, and bustling towns, the trio is doing whatever means necessary to get from Zimbabwe to Botswana, where they will relive the fateful moment they conquered their first-ever Top Gear special nearly two decades ago by driving through the flats towards Kubu Island.

After over two decades, the days of seeing Clarkson, Hammond, and May butting each other came to a complete end. From Top Gear to The Grand Tour, driving and rambling across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, they have cemented themselves as the greatest motoring trio that ever existed and now that they've fully served their purpose, it's hard to imagine what's next for them after their final Grand Tour.

An appropriately grand goodbye to TV's most iconic motoring trio that sped around the globe in fast cars and crude toilet humor.

Goodbye forever, Clarkson, Hammond, and May.

Let's Do The News! (September 13, 2024)

  

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- Senator Win Gatchalian says the government is considering banning e-gaming and POGO.

- The Kanlaon Volcano is starting to calm down overnight, according to PHIVOLCS.

- In the forecast of PAGASA, expect heavy rains in the following areas in the next few days due to the southwest monsoon. According to PAGASA, the typhoon "Bebinca" may strengthen the southwest monsoon, although the typhoon is far from the country's landmass.

- Oil demand in the world market is decreasing due to China's slow economic growth.

- Donald Trump says he won't need to attend another debate with US Vice President Kamala Harris. He claims that he won the recent debate.

- UK PM Keir Starmer says Russia started the war in Ukraine and"can conflict straight away" as he heads to the US for his meeting with President Joe Biden.

- Billionaire Jared Isaacman and engineer Sarah Gillis have left SpaceX's Dragon craft to carry out the first-ever privately-funded spacewalk.

- Genesis, the luxury brand of the Hyundai Motor Group, announced its intentions to race in WEC and IMSA's LMDh program.

- Volkswagen teases the new Tayron crossover coming this October 10th.

- Microsoft lays off 650 more Xbox employees.

- Unity cancels its runtime fee for its games customers.

- Lee Yeon Hee gives birth to her first child.

- Content creator Nikocado Avocado lost 250lbs in his "greatest social experiment".

- Media veteran Kris Aquino flies back to the Philippines for chemo sessions.

TTFN.

My FM Log: Forever Knighthood

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III is the peak of the first saga of the Lancer Evolution. It arrived in Forza Motorsport, and there's so much to talk about this JDM gem in so little time.

Here's the TMI on the LanEvo III.

Launched in 1995, the Lancer Evolution III is the third and the last verse based on the fourth-generation Lancer. It features a revised body style compared to the Evo II while the turbocharged 2.0L 4G63 engine was bumped to 266HP of power output.

Inside the world of Initial D, the Evo III was driven by the Emperor boss, Kyoichi Sudo. Takumi Fujiwara dueled against Sudo in an unofficial match in Akagi and lost because of the AE86's blown engine, but Sudo let him slide for now. Following the AE86's blown engine, Sudo battled Ryosuke Takahashi of Redsuns and lost. Later on, on his home turf Irohazaka, the rematch between Takumi and Sudo ended in a dead heat.

I respected this Evo ever since it popped up in Initial D. From its rally knowhow, the clever 4WD system, and legendary performance, it's no wonder it became one of the most formidable rally weapons in the 90s and now, to prove its worth, let's take the Evo III a hot lap around Suzuka Circuit, just to experience what's like to be inside the car driven by the Emperor boss. "It's a seminar" like what Sudo said. Roll the tape.

Mr. Emperor can do better than mine but hey, it's the experience that counts, right?

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III is the peak of the first saga of the Lancer Evolution. It's no wonder it became one of the most formidable rally weapons in the 90s. In the world of Initial D, you have to be brave and bold enough to take him down.

It's an honor to drive this iconic Mitsubishi rally car in the game.