Terrific sports car racing movie now available on DVD for giving as a Xmas gift!

This movie was made over 18 months at over a dozen East coast race tracks events and show a great variety of racing cars, from extremely expensive to very affordable (less than 10 thousand dollars) and is arranged in chapters that cover the race tracks, getting into racing, growing up in racing families, and the overall story line is that the movie maker went along with the Zapata racing team to these various tracks.

this Bugatti was imported into the US when new, and stayed int he US racing ever since. Not restored, just raced. 1930 something type 37

a lot of humor is covered by the movie, the various off track moments,

the three wheel around corners traction ability of several cars

Even on two wheels around a corner... without lifting off the accelerator.. wow.

 the feeling of being on the track, the thrill of racing, and the real emotional reaction to the cars getting in the way of the car that the camera in mounted to... "Get out of the WAY!"

I yelled at my screen.

 I did.

Slow drivers upset me.

 Great rare expensive cars

even the ones that are racing against Pintos! Dan Gurney drove this Denzel in 1959

 these are Denzel 1500 International Sports cars

I was surprised to learn that some of the race track events include the towns they are at with parades and race cars driving through or stopping in for lunch so the locals can check out the cars. Good free advertising to get people interested in the racing and buy tickets to the tracks. You'll add Elkhart Lake, Road America, Sebring and Watkins Glen to your life list / Bucket list if you are anything like me, once you've seen this movie. Yeah, you've been warned you'll like it that much

the above nun is "Partial to Porches" when interviewed on camera

 from the chapter on growing up in a racing family

 from the chapter on racing as a lifetime hobby

 damn, Corvairs can look really cool in full racing battle gear

 a bit of a look around in the pits shows innovation like the above engine hoist

 and the only Shelby signature I've seen on a hood (wow cool)

and there is a chapter on how to get into racing cars, advice on buying cars like where.. . Bring a Trailer and Wirewheels dot coms, Vintage Motorsports and Grassroots Motorsports magazines, and looking around at the racetrack in the paddocks and clubhouse

the movie is made by Ben Cissell http://www.vintageracingtoday.com/

 with the generous time commitment and racing of the Zapata racing team http://www.vintageracingtoday.com/pages/zapata-racing

 the tracks that they went to

 the racing sanctioning bodies that operate the race tracks

the wonderful sponsors that helped the filmmakers get this movie produced, filmed, etc!

the hobby of vintage racing, focuses on the Zapata Racing Team. Director Ben Cissell follows the team to 17 events in the span of 18 months, capturing the excitement and sense of community that has hooked thousands of drivers and spectators to this riveting sport. Rather than put their race cars behind museum velvet ropes, these car owners have opted to race their historic cars the way they were designed and purposed...at over 100 mph around world- famous race tracks. Vintage racing is a unique and captivating sport, one that gets in your blood and carries a life-long love.
http://www.vintageracingtoday.com/pages/the-film

In review, the music is mellow, well editted, and perfectly timed to the action, the movie editing is great, the action is damn good, and plenty of it with a good variety of the trackside culture like parts helping, a bit of wrenching, some camaraderie, and after watching the movie lock up your checkbook... the desire to get a Formula V is overwhelming. The need to go to your local track and get involved is huge. Damn good movie.

2008 BMW HP2 Sport Technology

Another item on the HP2 Sport to identify its racing bias is what BMW calls the "the gearshift assistant." This bit of wordsmith trickery translates into what is a type of ignition interrupt that allows the rider keep the throttle pinned whilst snicking up through the close-ratio six-speed gear-set, as used for several years on the roadracing circuit. BMW says it enables "fast gear changes without having to ease off the gas and operate the clutch," and that "this technology is offered for the first time in a series vehicle."

Here's a peek at the "gear shift

assistant." Us old timers know this as clutch-less upshifting, and have been doing it long before "gear shift assistants" were around. Okay, maybe BMW's system is a little more advanced...

If you intend to race this bike, you'll most likely make the wise move of using a reverse shift pattern, and for just such an application BMW offers (at an additional charge of course), a "suitable replacement pressure sensor" to adapt the quick-shifter to a GP-style race pattern. The forged-aluminum footpegs are adjustable.

A quick scan of the chassis shows fully-adjustable Öhlins shocks keeping the rear Paralever and front Telelever in check. What isn't quite as obvious at first glance is just how minimal the frame is. It's really nothing more than a small collection of tubular steel to hang the engine from and to provide a place for the bodywork and fuel tank to bolt to. Lacking a traditional subframe, the Sport utilizes a self-supporting carbon rear structure as a perch for the rider’s hiney.

This hopped-up head sports larger valves than those on the R1200S, and is part of the performance package that is claimed to produce 128 hp and 84.8 ft-lbs of torque.

Braking is handled by radially mounted four-piston monoblock Brembo calipers and Magura brake levers with radial-pump master cylinders attached to the adjustable handlebars. As an option, BMW ABS can be had, the version for this bike coming with a switch to disable it for track time, or any other time for that matter.

The German bike maker claims that the instrument cluster comes "directly from MotoGP sport" offering the usual ton o' data along with a lap timer and "racing relevant data."

Finally, along with all the carbon bodywork, no subframe and a lighter generator, the HP2 Sport rolls on lightweight forged-aluminum wheels to achieve its claimed dry weight of 392 lbs, and a tank-full (90%) weight wet of 439 lbs. That’s a savings of a significant 27 pounds over the standard R1200S.

The HP2 Sport not only draws its lineage from the R1200S, it also received plenty of development time from racing.

So, at this point in time that's about all we know on the latest addition to the HP2 family. Beyond the details that we're not privy to, a couple other things we don't know is if it'll be coming to U.S. shores, and when, exactly, in 2008 it will be available.

One thing we can be certain of, in typical BMW fashion, the HP2 Sport will probably be expensive! Expect a price north of 20 grand.