An unnamed team principal has criticised formula one’s so-called ‘green’ energy-recovery KERS technology.

“It gives us a green look,” the boss is quoted as saying by Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

KERS gives drivers a power ‘boost’ after collecting heat energy from braking and charging a battery.

“In reality, KERS is used only for acceleration and forces up the (car’s) weight, so that in the end the fuel consumption is higher.

“That’s not to mention the question of what happens to the batteries when they’re finished,” the unnamed F1 chief added.

Nick Heidfeld on Monday said he is losing out on the straights compared with his teammate Kamui Kobayashi.

The pair are driving identical Sauber cars, but the speed traps usually show Japanese Kobayashi with better ultimate speed in a straight line.

Heidfeld, 33, joined the Swiss team after serving test driving roles with Mercedes and Pirelli this year, and he is currently on the lookout for a full-time job for 2011.

In his three races alongside rookie Kobayashi so far, the German has been out-qualified two times, and is yet to finish a race higher than the Japanese.

Heidfeld said on his official website nickheidfeld.com that his speed deficit compared with Kobayashi is due to his “engine situation”.

He took over ousted predecessor Pedro de la Rosa’s allocation of eight engines for 2010, after the Spaniard suffered several problems with his Ferrari units.

“Therefore the remaining engines have to cover a lot of extra miles,” said Heidfeld.

“This unfortunately leads to an engine power loss due to having ‘older’ engines, which is the reason for losing out on acceleration and top speeds,” he added.

Polyphony Digtial has today fully revealed the “X1 Prototype”, a project in conjunction with Red Bull Racing.

All races that exist in today’s world are restricted by regulations. However the X1 is a machine born from a fantastic “what if” dream of Polyphony; “What would the fastest racing car on Earth, free of any and all regulations look like?”

Initially the X1 prototype was a single seater, canopied prototype wing car with covered front wheels. The performance brought about by the 1500ps direct injection V6 Twin Turbo would have been spectacular as is, with a top speed of 400km/h and a maximum lateral acceleration of 6G. But this concept showed an even greater advancement through the help of Red Bull Racing, who became a partner in this project.

Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer, the genius aerodynamicist Adrian Newey proposed that “Fan Car” technology, a dream that he had held to himself over the years be added to the X1 Prototype.

A “fan car” is a vehicle having a fan mechanism which forces the air out from underneath the car, to reduce air pressure under the car’s floor. The resulting suction draws the car to the ground surface and creates a massive amount of downforce. And because it can create downforce regardless of the vehicle’s current speed, it dramatically raises it’s cornering speed even in low speed corners.

The incredible ability of fan cars has already been proven in history. The Chaparral 2J fan car entered in the 1970 Can-Nam series was so fast that it was banned after just 1 season. Even in the F1, the BT46B fan car entered in 1978 by Brabham dominated the opening round of the series with extreme speed, and was banned just after that single race.

With this proposal from Mr. Newey, the machine was transformed with a large fan added to the rear end of the body. With additional advice regarding the shapes of the front and rear wings and rear diffuser, its aerodynamics became even further refined. As a result, the X1 prototype attained an astonishing level of performance, reaching a top speed of over 450km/h, with a maximum lateral acceleration reaching up to 8.75G. This is a performance level that is at the very limits of what a normal human body can withstand.

The driver who performed the shakedown test of the machine in Gran Turismo 5, was the world famous Sebastian Vettel. In his very first run on the Suzuka Circuit, he shortened the record time of the course by over 20 seconds. And in the test drive on the Nurburgring GP Course, he marked a record time of 1 minute 4 seconds, drawing out the incredible potential of the X1 Prototype.

This is the dream of the fastest racing car on land, brought to life through the collaboration between Polyphony and Red Bull. Witness for yourself the power of the X1 through the in-game “X1 Challenge”, the first driving lesson ever in Gran Turismo to be performed by a top professional driver.

Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer at Red Bull Racing

The results were thrilling. X1 is about evolution. Delivering the optimum combination of tested technologies in a single integrated design. This would be the future of racing were we not bound by regulations, but one that is achievable today. And as Sebastian has shown, it is about devastating speed coupled with real handling control. Today thanks to PlayStation®3 and Gran Turismo we can test drive the future.

Kazunori Yamauchi, President, Polyphony Digital Inc and creator of the Gran Turismo series

X1 sees the marriage of virtual and real worlds as we explore the boundaries of our technology and aesthetic senses. The X1 Prototype Project has been motivated by curiosity and passion, powerful forces that brought together the best the world has to offer in design, physics simulation, racing car product technology and driving.

X1 Downforce Specifications

Lets try calculating the cornering G’s of the X1 at 300km/h from the total tire load and coefficient of friction for the tires.

The total load on the X1′s tires at 300km/h is 1142.7kgf at the front tires, and 1432kgf at the rear tires. The coefficient of friction for the tires isμ=1.97. From these conditions, the maximum cornering force that the tires can exhibit can be determined to be 5073kgf. Dividing this by the wet weight of the X1 of 615kg comes to be 8.25, which is the maximum cornering G of the X1.

8.25G greatly exceeds the G’s felt during the launch of the Space Shuttle, and is roughly the same as that of a jet fighter plane at full afterburner. It is a figure at the very limits of what a human body can withstand.

Test Calculation: Cornering G at 300km/h
Total Tire Load: 2575.6kgf (Front Wheel 1142.7kgf+Rear Wheel 1432.9kgf)
Coefficient of Friction of Tires: μ=1.97 (baseμ=2.16, model calculates an efficiency reduction to 91.5% under high load)
Cornering force that can be exhibited by tires: 5073.9kgf
Cornering G: 8.25G (= 5073.9kgf / 615kg)

Read more: http://www.worldcarfans.com/110102929262/red-bull-x1-prototype-revealed-for-gran-turismo-5-video#ixzz13tUTExBi

Victory at Motorland Aragon, victory at Motegi. Double win for Casey Stoner, who returned to the levels of the “golden age” picking up the success in the Japanese Grand Prix after a change in the Warm Up ventured to improve the stability of his Ducati. Mission accomplished, good lead for the third position in the league and great satisfaction at having reached a height of 22 hits in the top class riders like Kenny Roberts Sr., John Surtees and Geoff Duke …

“This is an incredibly satisfying feeling for me, “says Casey Stoner. “When I started my first season in the world I never imagined 16 years to reach drivers of this caliber to 22 hits. All the victories came with Ducati, I am grateful to them for having confidence in me.

We gave it all this weekend, focusing in finding a good setup in search of stability and good acceleration. In Warm Up We tried some small changes that did not go well, so we ventured in the race and it worked.

When I left I knew it to be able to win, but Andrea Dovizioso has led to great and kept me under pressure. This is a major victory for me, because there was also the first successful here at Motegi, “said Stoner, who own the Twin Ring won his world title in the 2007 season.

Great satisfaction for Andrea Dovizioso tomorrow at Motegi, Honda’s home, will start ahead of everyone with his RC212V Journal. The 2004 World Champion of 125cc class has filled the gap in your resume hitting the first career pole in the top class, beating Valentino Rossi for only 54 milliseconds. With this result the prospects for Dovizioso in the race are good, but for now you can enjoy this well-deserved pole position …

“I am very happy to be in pole position, but also a little surprised, “said Andrea Dovizioso. “I did not expect to get so close all’1’46 “was a really nice ride. This to me is a bit like a second home race because here is the seat of the Honda, and this makes it even more special this result.

Here my RC212V is very good, we worked on electronics and anti-wheelie works very well, the bike rears up out of corners fast acceleration and has a good point. For the race we’re doing various tests, but I am confident of my hand.

I would however like to thank the team because he is working very well, I am very happy with this pole, but the race is what matters most and make sure to let us find the best conditions possible to play a good race. “

6 minutes after the start of free practice at Motegi, Jorge Lorenzo has found 2010 MotoGP World Champion, thanks to the fall and subsequent injury (broken collarbone) Dani Pedrosa. He did not want to win so “Porfuera, who said he was sorry for the bad luck of his only rival for the title race.

“I’m really sorry for him, “said Jorge Lorenzo. “It ‘s really a great misfortune injured at this stage of the season. As for me I must not think me to be influenced by this situation and continue working as usual. “

About the first session of activity at Motegi the “virtual” World Champion 2010 (only Pedrosa, KO, could reach it …) ended the third time showing happy, especially thinking about the difficult test to Motorland Aragon. The only “new”, the non-availability of the new engine …

“Compared to Aragon go much better and this is really a relief. I did not, contrary to Valentino, the new engine, but I hope to use it soon, but here you lose less in a straight line from the last race and we have a better acceleration. We must seek more traction in some parts of the track, but overall for us was a good day and we are not so far from Valentino. I just hope the rain does not arrive tomorrow, so as to continue our work program, “said Lorenzo.

Finally, the Aragon Motorland Casey Stoner and Ducati are back to victory. An important success for the Australian who won the third championship with the clear objective at this level is confirmed at the weekend in Motegi, a circuit but not particularly loved by the 2007 World Champion.

“Motegi is a track, a series of “stop and go ‘, it offers many features, and then sliding is not really one of my favorite layout, “said Casey Stoner. “Having said that is positive to consider that the bottom is smooth and there are many holes and depressions that often this season, they made us suffer.

Requires that the bike is stable under braking and acceleration and effective, because of these characteristics, I hope that the latest set of changes that we used to Aragon are effective again. In Spain, in fact we have finally managed to improve the stability and find a bit ‘more “grip” and if we do here we try to make another good result. “

The best result at Motegi Casey Stoner on the Ducati is the second in 2008, the race where Valentino Rossi won his world title at the expense of Australia.